Flowers covered in snow - but not on hats!




The beret I am wearing was knit with some beautiful Silk and Cashmere that Jo of Celtic Memory Yarns had sent! It is so soft and warm - it made its debut yesterday, while wearer shovelled snow to make a path for two Cairn Terriers to get out and do what dogs do before they head off to bed for the night!!

The beret on the table (that is my huge work table that my DIL gave to me when they moved) is now adorned with a flower as well. In fact, I frogged the beret back to the smaller size increases, as it just felt a bit too large on my head. I wore it out this am when I shovelled again. The dogs needed out, the bird feeders needed filling and it is milder now and melting. However, the hat was perfect under my raincoat with a fleece jacket, rain pants and boots and my pj's. My DH is now out cleaning out the car, but I have not knit him a hat and I suspect he would not want a flower. I know they look similar in colour, but in fact one is a beautiful turquoise and the other is more like oatmeal!



This beautiful little, in fact wee, Anna's Hummingbird overwinters here in the Comox Valley. I heard him buzzing about as I was shovelling and went over to brush the snow off the feeder so he could have breakfast. I have a feeder out for him all the time and he visits a few times a day and takes long drinks and then flies off to .......... Wish I could see where he spends his nights. Apparently these little guys go into a torpor for most of the day and night and when the temps are a bit higher, they 'shiver' themselves out of the torpor and go in search of food. I feed them in the summer time with a mix of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water, but in winter, I increase the sugar to 1/3 cup to the 1 cup of water. If it is really cold at night, as it has been for a few nights in the past week, I bring the feeder in and then make sure it is out and hanging in the exact same spot every day after about 9:00 am. The extra sugar helps the little guy, but also keeps the 'syrup' from freezing. We have had birders with lifetime lists come to our yard to see the Anna's and add it to their lifetime list. It is even mentioned in the Birds of Canada that this little bird overwinters in Comox, where I live. He spends his summers up in the mountains breeding and dreading snowy winters in Comox.

We are about a 45 minute drive from our local ski hill, Mt. Washington, which is having its official opening day today - a week earlier than planned. They have had two so/so winters in the last two years - two years ago, they did not open until they got a huge dump of snow in March. They did honour all season pass holders by allowing them to take their passes that they had paid for over to the next ski season. Last year, we got our first dump of snow (that time only on the mountain, not in our Valley) between Christmas and New Year's. This was not so good for people who had rented chalets, as they cancelled about mid December when skiing looked dicey for Mt. Washington. This mountain has, from time to time, had the deepest snow of any other mountain in North America. It can be heavy snow and the snow removal can be a big issue - even plowing under the chair lifts, as they could hit the top of skiers' heads that might get under the chair lifts. The chairs can even bump into some of the snow banks, so nights on the mountain are busy with snow removal and skiers praying for another good day on the slopes!






For those who read my blog from time to time, you know that when I get a pattern I like, I knit it more than once. Well this photo is of my third beret. I am using a black worsted weight - don't know the content, as the band is lost. I have also stranded it with two strands of the beautiful red viscose that Jo sent! It will be beautiful to wear with the red viscose SIS! The stitch markers you probably recognize from my beautiful gift from Marianne.

I will finish off with a photo of two 'snow dogs'! I imagine they are telling each other that they are definitely not in Kansas. These two are Tibbie and Isla and they are Cairn Terriers, which is the same breed that Toto was in the Wizard of Oz.

Christmas Came Early and I must have been a very good girl!



My oh my, but Marianne from Tulsa, OK and of www.knotminding.blogspot.com is a super swapper!! She is simply the best, better than all the rest - thanks for those lines, Tina! I did not try to link her blog, as I tried that this morning on another blog, and it did not seem to work for me!!

There are two kinds of tea, soap, lavender herbal bath, lavender sachet, beautiful lavender blue CASHMERE DK yarn from Sarah's Yarns (www.sarahsyarns.com), sugar free bars - one is already opened and a bit eaten - delicious! The tea mug - how did she know that I usually drink my tea from a mug - unless I am feeling a little down and then I get out my Mom's china tea cups and reminisce. However, the blue,green and cream tea mug will get lots of use, Marianne. The lavender note cards will only be used for very special people - they are beautiful and so different! She sent me some patterns, but wait for it - A set of 5mm short bamboo needles from Crystal Palace - how did she know I coveted these? She also made me some stitch markers with little lavender roses and silver - sure will look better than the safety pins I am currently using. Once this note is posted, I will put on the new stitch markers on my second beret. All the goodies are sitting on a beautiful Egyptian cotton tea towel with a bird. She had to know I feed the birds all year long to send me this, don't you think!

Now here is something she made and I am hoping if I grovel enough she will let me in on the pattern. It is a beautiful felted wee bag - perfect for the stitch markers. Also, I think it will use up lots of the fingering weight yarn left over from socks - perfect and I did not know what to do with all those little balls - now I know!!


Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Marianne, you did a wonderful job of putting together a package that delights me no end. It actually could not have arrived at a more perfect time - I am no fan of winter and it is very cold and snowy at the moment. I was feeling a bit down, but no more. Now I am a happy knitter. Thanks also to Ms. K of www.floknit.blogspot.com for organizing this wonderful swap. You did a good thing! It has been reaffirmed, knitters are just the best!

Guess what, I just used the spell check and it did not recognize knitter or knitters. Go figure that one!

Another SIS - that stands for Shape It Scarf!!



I got this wonderful skein of Colinette on sale - it would appear I only buy yarn that is on a reduced sale!! The colour is does not show as beautifully as I would like, 'cause it is much more beautiful in real life! I knit it last evening, as I want it to wear with the mauve/purple sweater - perhaps tonight! It is smaller, but with the loftiness of the yarn, it is perfect. The beauty of SIS is the fact that it can be made to fit the yarn, the wearer, the whim or time - depending on which of these factors is more important at the time of knitting!!

I bought a needlework book at our Friends of the Library (of which I am one of the longest standing members) for $1.00 It is full of beautiful embroidery, tatting and crochet, with a smattering of knitting. I will show you a few of the beautiful photos.

You know what I love best about old books? It is the writing on the front page - you know to XXX with love from YYY. Well in this book it says - "To Madge. With Love. Xmas, 1933. It looks like Madge did enjoy the gift and used it well! The photos are wonderful and all the children have curly hair and all the ladies have recently had their hair 'waved' at the beauty salon. Mothers looking relaxed and wearing purls and 'fancy' dresses are cuddling their little ones in hand knit or crocheted shawls that had more stitches than an Alice Starmore sweater as Jo from Celtic Memory Yarns can tell us!


















The vests are from First Size to Sixth Size and use anywhere from 1.5 ozs to 4 ozs. of "Greenock" 3ply Baby Wool. You would also need a pair of bone knitting needles, No8. Do you think you could buy 'bone' knitting needles in a shop now? The little vests are so cute that I think they could be worn as a 'sweater' in warmer weather. There were also pattern for 'soakers' which would be worn over the diapers and whatever type of 'rubber' pant that was available.

I can remember seeing soakers for babies and also 'belly bands' which seemed to me were made from strips of flannel and then wrapped over the 'belly button' area and pinned. Oh dear, pins everywhere on little babies. The baby might also have long hand knitted socks that would be pinned to the bottom of the vest and then two diaper pins to make sure there was an even better chance of 'poking' the little one with something sharp!!

I think new Moms have it so much easier. Those little stretch one piece outfits that go into the washer and dryer and come out looking like they are new - all these little vests, soakers, etc. would have to be hand washed. Who was it that said something about 'the good old days'?

Snow Bound!

Yesterday it was snowy and today we are snow bound! This is not problem - the power is on and I have yarn and needles - oh yes, enough food too!

I finished my mauve/purple Luscious Sweater from Sally Melville on Saturday. She is a beauty and I plan to take her to the odd get together or two in the near future - the rains are due to start again about Wednesday, so this snow will go down the drain! It is pretty for about the first few hours, but no more. However, I did hear a little boy of six call in to the radio this morning and you could 'hear' the smile on his face and I felt his delight when he told of the intricacies of making a snowman. Precisely six pieces of bark mulch for the mouth - and stand way up on your tippy toes to put on the head! I can remember this, but have no desire to do it again - I will just enjoy his delight!



A few gals came to my blog yesterday and were interested in the Tweedy Beret. I will enclose a detailed photo of the start of the k x 1 rib pattern and then the decrease row. It makes a sort of diamond detail and I think it is very clever. One knitter asked about doing it from the bottom up - I would not bother, as I found it an easy knit, first on dpns and then on a circular needle to the end! I did my little I-cord knit in my own way - like recipes, I think patterns are a suggestion in some areas. I would recommend this beret, as it is a quick knit and does not require a lot of yarn.

A Snowy Day = a new beret!!

I got my IK Winter 2006 this past week and really like the Tweedy Beret. I thought I would make it sometime, but the snow started to fall yesterday, so it seemed like a good time to get busy.

















I have taken both a front and back view of the beret. It was knitted with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and took me less than a day to knit! It was easy to follow the pattern until it came to the decrease row. I figured it out 'my way', but I did write to the designer to clarify it for me. She has a very clever way of going back to the rib pattern and it makes a bit of a diamond pattern. I will be knitting this beret again, as I have several balls of Aran weight yarn and it only took two balls of the DB Cashmerino!

We are up to our lower calves in snow, so my Tweedy Beret will get a few wearings in the days to come. Hopefully it will rain in a day or two and all this will only be a memory. That is the snow will be a memory, the beret will be in the cupboard ready for those cool days we have in winter.

I will show you my mauve sweater tomorrow, as somehow or another I must have hit a wrong button and I cannot upload any more pictures.

A Book About Knitting - with no patterns, just knitting stories!



I was in my local Winners the other day and this book jumped off the shelf into my basket. I did not put it back, as it only cost $7.99 and it has a gorgeous cover. The beautiful knits blowing in the breeze at the top of the cover is called Labyrinth of Rebirth, 2001 and is 33 colourful mohair panels flapping in the breeze like clothes on a line. It is the work of Debbie New and traces the mystery of fetal development, from conception to birth. I wish I could see it and walk about among the hanging pieces! The photo on the bottom left is from the art work, and they are certainly sperm. I love the picture of the hands knitting. My DIL carves faces and hands for her old world Santas and I have noticed hands so much more since she is always looking for good photos of 'working' hands. Any basket of yarn as beautiful as that photo on the cover is a delight to a knitter!

I love many of the photos and stories. There are stories of how some of our more famous knitters got started knitting, such as Elizabeth Zimmerman, Meg Swanson (no secret how or why she started to knit), Melanie Fralick, etc. There are also some photos of old knitting books and ads.



I was born in 1940, so the hair dos, cloths and runners (we would have called them sneakers) in this photo bring back so many memories. I would sit on our front verandah with my grandmother and knit in summer. In fact, I can remember wearing overalls with a ruffle on the straps just like the girl in front. I can also remember wearing a puffed sleeve blouse with a ruffle on the collar - was that me - NO, just someone very like me!


This photo intrigued me, as I had never seen a shearing 'machine' like this, but then I did not grow up where sheep were raised. Can you imagine the arm strength of both those men in the photo. I would think that it would be much more quiet than the electric shearer! The one man turned the device that gave 'power' to the clippers! Clever I think.

It was interesting to have people comment about knowing someone with one eye that was two colours. My second cousin, when he was young, had a blue eye and a brown eye, but when I saw him a few years ago and he was about 60, both eyes were a dark blue! My two-coloured eye is considered a birth mark!

I will add a few more photos from the book in my blog later. I also bought the 12-month knitters' calendar at Winners for a good price. It is wrapped and ready for my Christmas stocking. Santa has a beautiful garden book under wraps for me too.When you get older, if Santa does not bring you what you want, you have no one to blame but yourself. I am planning to have Santa bring me some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a beautiful red to knit Bristow I joined both the Debbie Bliss KAL and the Red Sweater KAL - you know killing two birds with one stone - I do NOT kill birds, but I do feed them. The other sweater that caught my eye was Cropped Cabled Cardigan known as C3. Isn't it odd how you can look at these things in a group, but when someone singles them out on a blog, you take another look at them and wonder why you were not taken in by that particular pattern before.

Well, I must get back to my sleeves for the mauve/purple sweater. I hear knitters talk about 'sleeve island' and I hope a ship comes sailing over the horizon soon. I prefer doing the two sleeves together, but when you have all the increases for both sleeves, you have a bit of a slog ahead! I have a good book on my MP3 player, so I am off to knit and listen!

This is the last of my Moonlight Madness yarn!!

Here is the last of the Moonlight Madness yarn. You know I will have to look back, but I think I was calling it Midnight Madness. Anyway there was no moonlight on Friday evening. We have been having a series of rain/wind storms pass through, although at the moment there is blue sky and the odd peak at the sun!


This is Louisa Harding's Nautical Cotton in a beautiful plum/raspberry colour. The sweater I have in mind for this yarn is in the Sally Melville Knit 1 book and is a long sweater with long sleeves. In the areas over the bust line and midrif, you knit with smaller needles - 3.75 mm and the remainder of the sweater is knit with 1 large needle 6.5 mm for one row and then back to the 3.75 mm needle for the next row. I hope I get onto the switching needles easily. It is not a difficult knit - just uses the knit stitch, but it is a sweater that will look great over skirts or pants. With this colour, I can also see me wearing it in the winter over black pants! I love the colour and the sweater design - what more can a knitter ask for!

This yarn is one I have knit with before. It is Grignasco Merinogold and is just the softest and best to knit with. I look great in this colour, as my eyes are blue (well actually one is half blue and half brown) and with my white hair blue looks good! I am not sure just what sweater this will be made into, but I am patiently or not so patiently awaiting Winter 2006 IK.


Today I went to Jo's blog and Angeluna, another blogger, put Jo onto this beautiful pattern for the Cul de Sac Vest. Have a look! Isn't it gorgeous. Now this is knitted, or can be knit, with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool! Remember Tilia of frog pond fame? Well, what do you think of that beautiful turquoise blue for Cul de Sac? I have one problem - getting the pattern. Apparently it is an Elsebeth pattern and was in Knitter's Fall 2003. Now I have to run the pattern to ground! If you, or anyone you know, has the pattern, I would pay good money to get it from you! A lot of knitter's asked Jo how to get the pattern, so I sent Jo a little message to say she could perhaps start a KAL! Like I need one more KAL! Anyway, have a look at it and tell me if you think it is a terrific pattern. The back is as detailed as the front and it would be a challenge, but heck I am up for a challenge! It will probably fall in line behind Bianca and Not So Warm Coat, so don't start digging through your stash of magazines just yet, but keep it in mind!

Oh yes, today is our 46th Wedding Anniversary. I am a truly lucky woman. I married a wonderful man who is not only good to me, but he is good for me. He might slightly wince when I come out of the LYS, but he never complains. I never complain when he buys woodworking things either, so that is part of our secret to a great marriage, I think.

I Shopped 'Til I Almost Dropped!

Well, I did go to the sale, not once, but twice. I will not tell you what I spent, but I will tell you I saved $222.74. If the rains come with a vengeance, I am ready!! I will add a few purchases today and then the remainder tomorrow!



When I went back, I had a look at this coffee brown Orkide - silk/merino/acrylic and thought of Bianca in Fall 2006 IK. What do you think? I have gone and looked at this sweater so many times and so I knew I would knit it eventually. I think this yarn will be perfect and I can see myself wearing this sweater often. When you keep going back to a pattern, to me it means that you love it and that is the only kind of pattern to knit - one you love!

I also have had my eye on this Colinette. The colourway is called Florentina. I put it against the mauve/purple pullover I am knitting and it is perfect!


Isis is nicer in person, as the colours look a bit harsh in the photo! I saved $5.00 on this beautiful yarn, but what is a girl to do when it hooks onto her shoulder bag as she passes? Jo can attest that my LYS is small but packed with lots of treasures - well a lot less since I have been there for the last two days!!

Now I don't have the button on the side bar of my blog, but I did join the Red Sweater Knitalong! Not enough red on sale to make a sweater - what to do? Well, I have already knit a red vest and there is no deadline for the RS KAL, so it will have to get in the queue - about #8, if my calculations are correct!

I got a few queries about the tit bits in an entry of a few days ago. The pattern for these is at www.knitty.com under whimsies! They are easy to knit and I find they are softer, cooler and lighter to wear than the silicone prosthesis I had worn before. If you know of a gal who has had a mastectomy, you can tell her about them. You can knit from a AA to a DD - remember if you still have one of your own breasts, you want to try to match the tit bit to that breast! It is easily done - add more rows and more fiberfil! I need two, so I can be any size I want, but I always wanted to be small and so now I can be what I wish!

I just did a spell check and it does not recognize blog or mastectomy! Come on, those are words in common usage today - the spell check has 'learned' them on my computer, along with KAL and LYS!

Bargains! Bargains!

I went shopping this morning - to finish off my gift buying, but how can a girl not sweep past her LYS? I dropped in just as Jen, the owner, was marking down this beautiful cream silk/merino/acrylic! It went from $7.99 a 50 g ball to $2.00 a ball. It is from Marks and Kattens and is Orkide - 20% Silk 40% Merino Wool and 40% acrylic. It is very soft and is 'twisted' so it, hopefully, will not split!! Each ball contains 120 metres, so I bought 12 balls. I have a few sweaters in mind, so we shall see what I cast on the needles! Would you be able to resist, even if it does have some acrylic in it and it is really soft and it is not itchy and it will 'go with everything'? I thought not! The yarn has apparently been discontinued, so I bought a few extra! It is actually more cream than the photo shows!


There was also another $2.00 basket and in it were these balls of Filati Costa Blanca - I got two balls of the burnt orange and two of the off white. I am making some more Shape It Scarves. It was originally $6.99 a ball and it is 40% viscose 40% Poliammide and 20% Linen. It is thick and thin and also has strands with a bit of sheen. The beauty of the SIS (Shape It Scarf) is that it is straight garter stitch and really lends itself to yarns that 'blur' the stitch. This yarn is doing it beautifully. I am not sure if I have enough for two scarves of each colour, but there is certainly enough for one. If I don't keep both scarves, there is always gifting to consider.


Our LYS is in Courtenay, which is having Moonlight Madness tomorrow evening, is planning on having more sale yarns tomorrow. The shops really have their sales on all day, but after 5:00 pm, they close off part of the street and carole singers, etc. gather in the streets and sing and even a bit of theatre happens. The prices will be good on lots of items, even in my LYS, but I just did not feel that these yarns would be any cheaper. However, what is your thought on me going back tomorrow to see just what is happening? Any who disagree can now go and make a cup of coffee and the others can await to see what happens at my LYS tomorrow!

These are what started me knitting again!



I got a call yesterday from a gal who had to have one of her implants removed (she is a breast cancer survivor too) and knew that I knit tit-bits. She is a beautiful quilter and crafter, but does not knit. She wondered if I knew anyone who would knit one for her, and so I said sure I would knit one! I dropped the purple/mauve sweater and in about two hours, I had three tit-bits made. I am wearing the pair shown in the photo and the other one is partly sewn together and she can stuff it as much or as little as she needs and then finish the seaming and it can be worn now - she had the surgery on Friday. These are so light weight, and one thing that I was not aware of until it happened to me is the fact that your nerves are all cut and most do not grow back, so your chest is numb! Not a problem in the big world, but something that a gal with a mastectomy has to learn! You can drop an earring back down your front, and not even know you have caught it in your bra! Is this a skill one needs, NO, but it is something we live with and it is not a problem. I hope she likes them, as they are knit with the softest cotton - Sari. I bought four balls on sale at $2.00 each and one ball made three tit-bits. They can cost about $65.00 each, but if you buy the silicone variety to fit in your bra, you are talking $450.00 or more. So, I think that is a good thing to knit for a friend or myself!


Here is the current sweater I am making from the Sally Melville Purl Book. It is a lovely soft Paton's Katrina - unfortunately, the yarn is now discontinued and it 92% rayon and 8% acrylic, so it does not cause me any itching! I love the colour and it will be a year round sweater for me. We do not get terribly cold here on Vancouver Island, so heavy scarves, hats and mittens do not get much of a work out! We really only have a few weeks of very warm weather in summer, so the sweater is loose around the midriff and it will be cool over pants or skirts in summer. In winter, I have a nice long sleeve pure silk undertop that makes me cozy, but adds no bulk. I also have the long silk pants that are great for our cool rainy days. It certainly beats the old navy blue bloomers and lyle stockings I used to wear as a child. Who said they were 'good old days'?

Those yellow plastic needles were my Mom's, so it makes me feel good to use them. I often would knit this on a circular needle, but there are times I like to think of my Mom - she would be 100, if she were alive, and I feel her closness when I work those needles. She was a beautiful needle woman, who did beautiful fine work and I thank her for passing on the love of hand work and also the skills. Anything other than knitting was called fancy work when I was young. Have you heard of this term before?

IT is completed!

The lace cardi is completed, not blocked yet, but completed!! I am happy with this sweater and it will be a great sweater for summer, or an evening sweater with a nicer top than the one I have on in the photo for winter. It was not a particularly difficult knit, but the yarn is Phildar Canasta in the Cafe colour! It is 79% viscose and 21% acrylic. The main problem with this yarn was the splitting! It did that big time and 6 ply to each strand! With lots of yo's and psso's, it was easy to 'split' the yarn and then you would have a ply or two showing up on the surface of the knit! Because no sheep gave up their fleece for this yarn, it is not itchy and it does have a subtle sheen. Would I knit with it again - probably not - but I am glad to have this sweater in my wardrobe. I have a pair or khaki/brown silk trousers and I will look for some sort of top with a bit of bling and I am ready for the holidays!!


As I see the back of my head, I realize that my back needs some growing out. I had my head shaved to raise funds for childhood cancer just over a year ago and have it worn it quite short since then, but now I want it all a bit longer! Why does the hair on our heads grow so slowly and on our legs and underarms so quickly?

I have now cast on for a pullover in a beautiful mauve Paton's Katrina and I will save that for another blog. I can talk a mile a minute, but writing on the blog and I get writer's cramp.

Don't You Love red?

Here is the beautiful scarf I made from the viscose that Jo gifted to me! I doubled the yarn, which is the same as the blue/mauve yarn that made the other Shape It Scarf from Sally Melville!




I like the 'weight' of the scarf when knit with doubled yarn, but I also like the drape of the blue/mauve scarf as shown in this photo!

These two scarves come from a set of four of the Shape It Scarf collection in my scarf drawer. When I get something I love, I make it again and again or use it again and again. Such as the name 'Elizabeth' - it was my Mom's name, my middle name and the middle name of our DD and two GDs. It is a name that seems to go along with most other names! You can only imagine that with the name Margaret Elizabeth that my three older brothers often said to me that just because I was named after two princesses (British Royal Family) that I need not expect princess treatment. I think I did, but believe me I never got it. I grew up strong!

I also started another clapotis! This is from the yarn that Lisa from Daily Distractions gifted to me. It is a fingering weight yarn, but I like the feel of it and it will make a great scarf. It is also a very pleasant distraction while knitting the lace cardi.


Oh yes, in the picture of me wearing the red vest that is my collection of sock stretchers on the wall behind me. That is if you can call four pair of sock stretchers a collection.

Knitting, but no photos!

I have been busy knitting on the lace cardi. I have both sleeves on the needles and am at the point where I turn on the timer for an hour and knit - then I go on to something else I would rather do! Do some of you get tired of a project at some point in the process? I like the lace cardi, but I am awfully tired of it! I did take some fingering weight yarn and cast on a Clapotis, but no pictures yet.

It is definitely fall here with periods of rain, wind, the sun desperately trying to break through and then we run through the different categories of weather for fall all over again. We did the rest of the pruning in the garden on the weekend, so I give you the last roses of summer and some mums from a plant my brother gave to me two years ago! I have managed to cut it back, pot it out and have blooms for the last two falls. It is now pulled up against the dining room window, so we will have flowers for at least another month!











I did join another KAL from Carolyn I find that I can wear Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and so I think a baby could also wear it with no problems. We have friends expecting twins in March and Debbie Bliss does design beautiful children's clothing. This KAL is like the Red Sweater KAL - no deadline. I am also taking part in an exchange with Ms. K I mailed my parcel off this morning, as I am finding that a parcel from here in BC to the USA can take about wo weeks. I also mailed off my parcel to our DD and family for Christmas today. They live in Germany and their parcels take time to get there. It is their first Christmas away from us - the granddaughters that is - so I wanted to make sure they had gifts. I also managed to tuck in the left over Halloween candy!

I have tried to get that bit of writing out from between the two photos, but no luck! I also have tried to blog a few times lately and if they are not down for MAINTENANCE, they should be! What is the problem - is it me?

The Best Plans Sometimes Need Changing!

I have been busy knitting and swatching. I did finish a little red vest I was knitting. It is done with Sandnes Smart and I really like it. It is the same pattern as the Ultra Alpaca was knit from and I just did a little garter lace in the front. It is a bit small for the Red Sweater KAL, but I did show it and plan to really knit a red sweater.


I had to change my plans for the viscose evening sweater. I knit the swatch and found that it was the wrong yarn or the wrong pattern! I love the yarn, so the pattern would have to go! I tried knitting it with a strand of fingering weight yarn and the viscose and it did not work. A single strand of viscose was not working for the sweater so on to plan "B"! I doubled the viscose and started knitting the Shape It Scarf from Sally Melville's Knit 1 book! I love the feel of it, so that is what the beautiful viscose will be used for and I know I will wear it lots.


While I am still ahead in this game, I will keep this post short. I have tried for two days to post, but blogger was not cooperating or I was not doing something just right! Better short than not at all!