My First Connecticut Knitting Post!

I couldn't decide whether to let the knitting blog stay frozen in Shorewood time, or to keep writing. So you can pretty much figure out what I decided. Anyway ...... I just returned from the weekly Woodbury Farmers' Market, where I noticed yarn for sale. The woman who sells it spins it herself in 50 yard skeins, and it is beautiful (though pricey). I especially loved the angora that she spins from her rabbits' fur. Each skein has a photo of the animal it came from, and the animal's name. I love that. Her website has some information and photos of the sheep and bunnies. She'll be at the market all summer, so once I figure out what I could do with one of her skeins, I will buy one. She suggested using the angora as the bottom of a hat, which I thought was a good idea. And ...... she told me about a yearly yarn event just over the border in New York state, the New York Sheep and Wool Festival. It sounds similar to the one Cathy went to last year in Wisconsin. And, in talking with her about yarn, I mentioned that I haven't seen a yarn shop yet. She told me about one in a neighboring town and said it's a good shop. They don't have a website, but I found out where it is. So one of these days I will venture over there. Not that I have given much thought to knitting yet ....... between the settling in (translated: cleaning a mess that never seems to go away) and the lure of outdoors, it's hard to think of knitting. Friday mornings were good because they forced me to pick up yarn in the summertime. But soon enough that time will come again ........

Friday, June 12, 2009

In knitting news, Carol informed us that this weekend is Worldwide Knit in Public Day, which is being celebrated tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at Bradford Beach.
It was my last knitting morning for a long time (heavy sign) so we took a group photo at Last Drop. I am going to miss this group so much!
Look what Carol made! We were all mesmerized when she explained how she took an old purse and covered it in a knitted fabric, knit from eyelash yarn. A bit of sewing and voila! a new purse!

Since it was the project that wouldn't end, I thought I'd make it official that the college colors-themed graduation present is finished! I mailed everything off yesterday. Priscilla has the pattern for the "fit as you go" mittens. The scarves and light blue hat were done ad lib. The blue rolled hat was from KnitPicks. It's super easy and really cute; I'm thinking of making one for myself later on.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this blog after I move. I have a few ideas, and will mull them over while I unpack boxes........ til then ...............

Knitting Lunch

Monday, June 8, was a farewell lunch. I only get five pictures per post so unfortunately most have me in them, but I wanted to highlight the thoughtful gifts. Thanks to Kathleen for taking the photos.

Our cake expert, Kathleen, saw to it that I now have all the supplies to make fancy cakes. The pressure is on. The blanket that Priscilla and Mary co-knit is beautiful and will look great in our house. Gotta love it. Elizabeth orchestrated, painted, and stitched this apron, signed by all the knitters. And Elizabeth was also the mastermind behind this amazing scrapbook that has contributions from all the knitters.

Friday, June 5, 2009

We had one last knitting at our house today, but I'll be the first to admit we didn't get much (translation: any) knitting accomplished. I also forgot to take photos. Shelley, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Mary, and I enjoyed a rare warm day and each other's company.

Friday, May 22, 2009

We had a quiet morning of knitting today, and it was nice to be indoors on a chilly and overcast spring day. No plans for knitting for next week as of yet. If anyone wants to host, it's yours! I want to have one more knitting at our house, but am still waiting to see when our next round of contractors will need to be there.

Mary and Sue get things started at this morning's knitting at The Last Drop.
Carol showing off her new tank top that she knit (from recycled yarn!) and the toe socks she's just started, using Magic Loop (of course!).

Elizabeth is so happy to be back working on her embroidery project.

Priscilla checking out Carols' toe sock. Mary diligently working on her shawl.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Elizabeth and Stephan treated us all to a terrific evening of "knit and sip" -- although let's be honest, we did lots of sipping and precisely no knitting. As we all clearly enjoyed the conversation, the second annual knitting happy hour extended well into the evening and was a huge success thanks to our hosts, who made sure that our every need for food and drink was met.

Patty and Doug, enjoying a laugh.

Paul and Pat shared the couch and knitting supplies, while Mary looked on. (This is what's called a photo-op.)

Dave and Cathy have a bite to eat.

The always cheeerful Elizabeth, with Brad and Kathleen.

Most of the Friday Morning Knitters: Elizabeth, Sue, Patty, Mary, Cathy, and Kathleen.

Friday, May 8, 2009

These are some pictures from last week's knitting at Mary's house. I wasn't there, so thanks a bunch to Mary for supplying the pictures!

Elizabeth seems to be pondering her next knitting project . . . . Kathleen's cross-stitch scarf.Carol finished her fingerless gloves!Is Patty back to making bowls? Magic loop? Crochet? I'm intrigued . . . . .

Friday, May 1, 2008

Cathy helped us usher in the month of May with knitting at the Reed Ranch this morning. We had a wonderful morning and talked about a lot of different stuff. Some of it veered off the topic of knitting and although I usually try to keep this blog focused on knitting, I'm breaking that rule today because I can post links for a lot of what we discussed.

Kathleen and Cathy, who is modeling Kathleen's newest creation, a Tuscan Lace Scarf knit from one of the One Skein Wonders books. Kathleen is a fearless new knitter!
It's not done yet, but Priscilla is in the process of putting together a stuffed lamb. The way I just phrased it I made it sound like dinner, but it's actually a very cute stuffed animal, just in time for the Easter season!

Mary is using her shopping bag! Today she brought it to knitting loaded with her knitting supplies!

And Cathy finished her shopping bag too. The handle hardware is to compensate for running out of yarn, but she wasn't happy with how the straps turned out, and we talked about other options. So to find out whether she'll keep it as is, or improvise with new strap hardware . . . . stay tuned!

In other news . . . we talked about computer-related stuff. After I showed Priscilla, Mary, and Patty how to set up a MyYahoo page the other day, Priscilla arrived this morning with suggestions for new internet home pages, specificially iGoogle and Netvibes. I took a look and they are very cool! I also found another one that appears to be similar to Netvibes, called Pageflakes. And I found a site called Mashable that reviews 14 home page options, including the four already mentioned.

Kathleen, who has a blog for her CakeVase, showed me her Twitter on her iPhone. I've been thinking about Twitter lately, wondering what I should do, so I came home after knitting and signed up. I have absolutely no idea what to do with it, but it's a start!

We talked about different ways to publish a blog other than Blogger, and I mentioned WordPress and another blog publisher that starts with a V, although now that I'm home and have checked, for the life of me I can't find it. Oh, and we talked about a book by Arianna Huffington about blogging, and I got the title wrong so here's a link to it on Amazon that should clear things up.

Now, onto more serious business and a plug for Brad. I mentioned how Schick is partnering with the new Hugh Jackman movie to promote a razor. Doing a quick Google search, I've found a Schick Quattro Titanium X-Men Origins contest, a commercial, a sweepstakes, and a trailer. And while we're on the subject of Hugh Jackman (like the segue?) as I mentioned today, Peter and I got to see Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz in the summer of 2004. His performance was amazingly charismatic. Peter, this one's for you, because I found a clip of Hugh Jackman singing and dancing a song from the play, in character, at the Tony Awards. It's really fun and worth the 6 minutes.

Ok, and finally I keep saying I'll post the photos of our new house and here they are. It's way more photos than I am sure you care to see, but we posted all we had just to keep things simple.

And that's it! Next week we're at Mary's. I won't be able to be there, but I'll see everyone the following week at Elizabeth's for the second annual May knitting happy hour!

Friday, April 24, 2009

We met at The Last Drop today, and I forgot my camera, so no photos! It was me, Patty, Mary, Priscilla, Carol, and Shelley. Carol was the most industrious knitter, showing us a pair of beautiful lace fingerless gloves that she's making. She has one glove finished and the second is about halfway through. And Mary showed us her finished shopping bag! We enjoyed a warmish morning, sitting outside for the first time of the year. Yeah! Next week we'll meet at Cathy's.

Friday, April 3, 2009

We had a big gathering at The Last Drop -- Patty, Sue, Priscilla, Kathleen, Cathy, Elizabeth, and Carol. Kathleen finished her lace scarf and she's working on a really cool scarf from the One-Skein Wonders book. Priscilla finished her Shorewood scarf. Patty was working on - what was that? - crochet practice? Cathy started a dishcloth. Carol continued her pretty red cable tank top. Elizabeth was stitching away, but what was the project? Sue worked on a hat. Sue and Priscilla were inspired by Carol's recycled yarn, so we left early to go to Goodwill for their $1.49 sweater sale. I got two sweaters, but really the pickings were very slim, and they wouldn't be my first choices but at least I'll get to try out the concept. Elizabeth joined us there later and the three of us shopped together for a bit. No one went away empty-handed either! As for the next two weeks . . . . it's spring break. Sue and Cathy will be out of town. The knitting locale for the next two weeks is tba.

Thank you Priscilla for modeling Kathleen's Packer scarf. Sorry for my poor picture-taking.

That's Elizabeth behind Kathleen's Cross-Stitch Scarf, from the One-Skein Wonders book.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Thanks to everyone for a fun morning of knitting and chatting on a beautiful sunny day - the calm before this weekend's storm! Priscilla, Mary, Cathy, Patty, Elizabeth, and Sue spent the morning plugging away on our various projects, and also managing to catch up on a variety of issues, but mostly just enjoying a morning together. Next week we'll meet at The Last Drop. And for the kind friends who requested it, here's the Spinach Leek Pie recipe. (Note: I added an additional 5 ounces of feta, and lots more salt and pepper.)

Elizabeth's heirloom embroidery project, pinned to its future home. Photo credit goes to Patty!

Elizabeth and the embroidery project.
Cathy, her afghan, and Patty.

Friday, March 20, 2009

I missed all of you last Friday but thanks to Elizabeth's pictures now I feel like I was there! It appears that The Last Drop was open for business and everyone looks comfortable and productive (and also, I assume, caffeinated)! I will insert Elizabeth's comments for the photos and say that I'll see you all this Friday. Knitting's at my house this week!

A cell phone cosy, which Carol put together (it also turned out to be her birthday, for which we managed an impromptu song).

Priscilla at work on the scarf, getting lovely and llllloooooong.

And finally, the very cheerful Mary, who brought two ‘inherited’ sweaters along that needed updating.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Elizabeth had us over today. We caught up on her trip to the Bahamas and her new shorter hair. And . . . she fed us far too well with delicious cakes and fruit and chocolate. Kathleen showed us her lace scarf (photo), almost finished. Priscilla continued on her scarf, Cathy on her blanket; Patty practiced crochet, Elizabeth cut up an heirloom crewel pillow for preservation, and Sue worked on a dishcloth. We all must have had a great time, because we didn't leave until 12:45! For next week . . . The Last Drop at the corner of Oakland and Beverly.

Friday, March 6, 2009

For knitting this morning, Kathleen made a cake that was as delicious as it was gorgeous. As everyone who knows her knows, she used her CakeVase to decorate this cake. For those of you reading this blog who don't know her, Kathleen invented this amazing device, and she runs a business that manufactures, markets, and sells the CakeVase. The CakeVase is so simple, yet so brilliant. It's a round plastic ring that fits easily on the top of a cake, in a bowl, on a plate, etc. Put fresh or artificial flowers in and instantly you have a beautiful decoration. To learn more about the CakeVase click here for the product website. Kathleen has also started a CakeVase blog, and the link for it is on the upper left side of the CakeVase website.

Almost done! Mary and Priscilla show off Mary's shopping bag, which is minutes from competion! She's working on the bottom section. Last year Priscilla made an identical bag.

Thanks for Kathleen for having us over on this gorgeous day, and for the yummy cake and fruit. She continues to work on her lace scarf, Carol is working on a new cozy, Mary's almost done with her shopping bag, Priscilla's making headway on her scarf, Sue plods along on her vest, and Cathy is wrapping up a shopping bag. We didn't talk much about the afghan project, but Priscilla mentioned that Knitpicks.com sent an email with a new yarn in the color palette for the afghan that Cathy suggested at last week's knitting. Here's the link so take a look, but note it's for color only, not yarn content or yarn brand. We also talked about alternating coffee shop weeks with house weeks. Next week we'll go to The Last Drop at the corner of Beverly and Oakland. Since they stood us up last fall, I'll call them Thursday to make sure they're going to be open on Friday morning and send an email around.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Today we met at the Alterra next to Loop. The coffee roasters were loud but we all still managed to catch up and there was a lot of chatter around the table. Let's see, what was everyone working on . . . . . Priscilla's scarf is coming along nicely; Patty and her knitting are at odds so she left it at home; Elizabeth rode her bike so she was excused from her knitting; Carol started a sweater from her new French Girl Knits book, using a recycled sweater. She's also very happy with a new technique she learned for knitting and purling using the Portugese method. Kathleen has started a lace scarf. Cathy brought her blanket along, but thought she'd better not try to follow her pattern and follow the conversation at the same time. (Smart choice.) Susan started a new sweater for Eddie. Sue continued with her vest. Now, in another department . . . . . we decided to knit the 63-square afghan from Priscilla's book (see last week's post for links). Patty declined and Elizabeth cringed (that wasn't a decline, was it?); everyone else is in! (Even good sport Susan who is opposed to size 6 needles.) Anyway . . . . . we have a year to finish, as the idea is that it will be donated for the March 2010 SEED auction. (And, as Priscilla noted, if we aren't ready for 2010, we can donate it in 2011.) Priscilla and I each knit up a sample square and brought them today, and they came out the same size. (Yeah!) We figured each took us about two hours, and they were easier squares. In terms of logistics, the blanket will need to be four colors. Cathy has agreed to chair (be) the Color Committee. She is going to buy some fabric swatches and bring them to knitting so we can discuss color families that we like. All of this means we're on our way! Next week's knitting will be at Cathy's house. Elizabeth will be in the Bahamas and Sue will be in Connecticut . . . . . but hope everyone else can make it!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Today was the big day of Ruhama's semi-annual sale, with a gathering before the sale at Starbuck's. Susan, Mary, Priscilla, Kathleen, Carol, and I were at the sale. I can't believe I escaped with just a $1 pattern . . . but I think most everyone else found some great yarns for lots of beautiful projects.

I took photos at the sale and for some reason they disappeared from my camera. So no photos this week.

Priscilla talked to me about the afghan project. She and I are going to try to each knit a sample square this week, so as to give everyone a visual. Hopefully this means we can talk about it more at next week's knitting, which will be . . . . . . . ???

Priscilla's Quiche Recipe

Thanks to Priscilla for making this last week, and for sharing the recipe! If you click on the recipe it should show you a close-up version.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Priscilla's Shorewood scarf for Tom looks like it will fit perfectly!
Elizabeth is so crafty! This adorable Valentine's heart was made from a Goodwill wool sweater. She felted it and cut it into strips, then tied the strips around a hanger shaped into a heart. It's amazing and inspiring!
Kathleen's hat (not finished!) and scarf (in progress!). More to come!
Carol and Priscilla talking knitting business.

Cathy's red blanket is underway, and Mary's shopping bag is taking shape!

Priscilla had us all over today and made a wonderful asparagus quiche from a Jane Brody cookbook. (I looked for the recipe online but couldn't find it. Priscilla, if you have a chance and want to send it to me I can post it!) We talked about making an afghan to donate to the SEED auction for next year. Priscilla has the book Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book by Barbara Walker. If you Google the title, you will see lots of sites where knitters have made or are making this blanket. Here's one that was pretty cool, and here's another. We figured that each of us would need to make about seven squares, but since we would have a year, that should fairly realistic. Everyone, give it some thought and we can talk about it next week. And speaking of next week . . . we're going to the Ruhama's sale!! Doors open at 9:30 a.m., so we're meeting for coffee at Starbuck's in Whitefish Bay at 8:30 a.m. (or whenever). Now, on a side note, Carol mentioned to me that yesterday she and Susan got together for a knitting lesson. Carol taught Susan the Portugese knitting method, and apparently it was a successful lesson. Anyway, Carol said that they coined their meeting a "Knitzvah," which, when I started writing this post and Googled it, I learned is actually a term that other knitters have used! With practically everything on Google, it's hard to be original anymore!

Cathy Reed hosts Friday Morning Knitters

Friday, January 30, 2009

Cathy enjoying the thrill of victory! We all love the throw!!!

Kathleen and Elizabeth as knitting paparazzi.
Mary, Priscilla, and Carol knitting on the couch.
Susan starting a scarf.
Patty humoring the photographer.

The roaring fire in the Reed's fireplace kept us all warm on a cold but sunny knitting Friday. Cathy as usual was the hostess with the, well, you know how it goes. She gives us all something to aspire to! Carol brought a yummy Hungarian-style poppy seed strudel (or was it streusel?) like her grandmother used to make. Cathy wowed us all with her finished throw for Maddie. See below for more photos. Kathleen is starting a hat, which you can also see below. The rest of us plodded along on our projects: Elizabeth's still embellishing the pig, Patty's working on her shrug, Cathy started Bennett's throw, Susan started a scarf, Mary's making her shopping bag, Priscilla's making headway on her scarf for Tom, Carol started a shrug for Meg, and Sue started a vest. So much knitting, so little time! So thanks Cathy, for a lovely morning. Next week we might be at Priscilla's, but it will depend on the condition of her ceiling -- stay tuned.