WWKIP DAY IS THIS SATURDAY

World Wide Knit in Public Day is this Saturday! The purpose of this world-wide event is to make people aware of knitting and crochet by knitting in public (KIP) places. Many of us who knit KIP throughout the year! I think most people know about knitting and crochet these days but its still fun!

There are 2 WWKIP events being held in our area this Saturday.

1) South Branch Library on Lake Robbins Dr in The Woodlands 10am - 2pm. They have yarn bombed the library, inside and out! It is spectacular - A MUST SEE! (sponsored by the Houston Guild)

2) iPurl on College Park Dr in The Woodlands 10am - 3pm. We are having a FREE raffle drawing every 30 min. You do not have to be present to win! McAlister's and Willie's have provided coupons if you would like to lunch close by and KIP! Bring your knitting/crochet along with your bag chair and come join us for a fun day! The last drawing of the day will be for a selected Offhand Designs knitting bag!

 

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Joe Wants to Move

Joe is ready to go ahead and get moved! Now, we need to do a few things to get our house ready to show. I am going to clean out a couple of closets and start packing personal photos and decorative items. Shouldn't take us long. We try to keep everything maintained and orderly but we all have our "stuff" that makes a house our home. Realtors like the "stuff" put away. It is a great time to get rid of things we don't need or want any more. Less to move, Joe says with a smile. It's amazing how quickly things can accumulate.

We tidied the front flower beds this past weekend. They were neglected a bit while we worked getting the shop going. I will be taking a "start" of some of our plants - not digging up whole plants - just a small piece to get a start! The ever-blooming hydrangeas, lilies, Knock Out roses and lantana are beautiful this year. They can easily be replaced. I have an unusual small plant called Pink Button from Arbor Gate in the front bed that they don't always have. I will take a small pot of that. I will want to take a start of the lilies too. They are spectacular and there are many of them. I have forgotten their names.

We planted two Mimosa trees in the back yard three years ago. They are blooming right now and are so pretty. Once a staple in every Southern yard, they are very hard to find in nurseries now. Joe had to order them online! My grandparents had a large Mimosa tree in their front yard. Sometimes when we stayed the night, they pulled the rollaway bed outside under the tree. We would sleep out under the Mimosa! They lived way out in the country on a small farm where you could do that!

It makes me sad to think about moving yet I know it is the best thing for us to do. We have many wonderful memories here! I think there are 5 or 6 new homes in our neighborhood. People are moving farther out and we are moving in closer! It is truly all in what you like to do!

 

A few photos of the yard -

Lily

 

Knock Out Roses

Lilies

Back yard

Lantana

Climbing Rose from Antique Rose Emporium

Hydrangeas

 

 

Pink Button planted under an old burro wagon

 

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Taking a Day Off to Recharge

My plan is to putter around at home making neat which always seems to help me find my center again. My mind is a direct reflection of our home space! Home needs to be neat, clean and peaceful!

Of course, I have spent about an hour+ going thru iPurl biz looking to see what needs attention today - orders, shipments, customer emails, web sales and financial stuff. Now, I have put those things away and hope not to look at them again today.

I took the time to go thru Knitsy one delicious page at a time - slowly - reading articles,looking at patterns, clicking on ad links, watching videos and so on. I have to say I LOVE Knitsy. It is out of the UK which makes it interesting for me. I like to see what is current there compared to the US. If you love all things digital, you will love Knitsy! iPad stores it in your Newsstand along with your other magazines like Vogueknitting and Southern Living. Don't forget to check out Louise! I forgot to say it is totally FREE!

It's very breezy today as a cold front has arrived. Isn't this May? I enjoy the sound the wind makes as it moves through the trees all around our house! We've had a cute young adult raccoon wandering the yard and on our back porch recently. They are cute but can be such a nuisance. So far, he has been behaving. I have also spotted a few hummingbirds. Joe needs to get his feeders out. Everything is so green right now - hope that continues throughout the Summer.

Along 1488, on my way to work, there are several trees that have come down taking down the fence too! They are dead - didn't survive the drought. When the wind starts blowing like it is today, many more trees will be coming down! I told Joe to drive in the inside lanes! Some of the trees are so tall, they are falling into the road.

Based on the weather forecast and standing out on the front porch, I switched from air conditioning to heat for the night and probably the next couple of days! Mother Nature has evidently misplaced her calendar!

In the few hours of free time in the evenings (while watching baseball), I have been knitting newborn size socks. They really are kind of addictive! They have bright colors, not a big time investment, just enough detail to keep you from getting bored and are very useful for keeping small feeties toasty warm!

I have been asked for the pattern several times, so thought I would post it here - the size is 0-3 months

It is in socknitters language - if you have knit socks before, you will have no problem with the instructions.

 

NEWBORN BABY SOCK

CO 40 sts

Knit in rib - 2.25 inches

Knit 6 rounds stockinette

Heel flap - 20 sts - knit 16 rows with the 1st purl row being Row 1. End with a knit row.

Turn heel -

1) Slp1, P12, P2tog, turn

2) Slp1, K6, SSK, turn

3) Slp1, P6, P2tog, turn

Cont rows 2 and 3 until all sts have been worked and there are 8 sts remaining

Work gussets accordingly

Knit foot to 3.5 sts and begin decreases as follows -

K2, K2tog, around

K around

K1, K2tog, around

K around

K2tog around - 10 sts remain

Cut yarn leaving 8 inch tail pull thru remaining sts and work in ends.

 

In just a couple of hours, you will have 1 super cute baby sock! They can match or not!

 

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Knitsy

Have you found Knitsy yet? Knitsy is a new (FREE) digital knit and crochet magazine for your iPad or smart tablet! It looks to be absolutely fabulous with gorgeous photos and all the knit and crochet stuff you love! I plan to spend some quiet time going thru Knitsy page by page this evening!

All of you that are in the shop regularly know Louise.... our Lovebot. She debuted just before Valentine's Day and has been in the shop every day since. You are going to be surprised that Louise is in Knitsy! Yes, she is! I remember an email asking if they could use photos of her, and I did give the okay, but had forgotten about it. She is quite the cutie!

I spent the day doing domestic things - laundry, cleaning and cooking - getting ready to work the rest of the week. Baking the coconut banana bread from Pinterest was nice filling the house with a wonderful aroma and it is very good! (My first batch is going into the back yard in the morning for the resident critters - crows, rabbits and a young raccoon that on our back porch these days). Joe will enjoy the second batch which turned out perfect!

On the knitting front, I have been knitting small socks for Jacob! It is my relaxation in the evenings. They are so cute and quick. No, they aren't booties, they are actual little wool socks. Very soft little striping wool socks for a very special little boy!

Jacob wearing a pair of his socks

 

We are planning a SUMMER OF SOCKS at iPurl beginning in May. Sock classes will be offered all Summer as they are the perfect Summer project - small and easy to carry with you anywhere. You will be able to learn everything you ever wanted to know about sock knitting.

Crochet is absolutely blasting out of the past! I bet you have noticed! it is everywhere from the Junior Dept at Macy's to every magazine you pick up! There will be cute crochet projects through the Summer months. We hope to offer something for everyone! We have already sold every issue of Vogue's newest Crochet edition! More should be on the way.

 

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A Quiet Sunday Afternoon

Joe and I both felt like Zombies when we got home around 7:45 PM. My first thought is that it probably speaks for our age. Then I think about the day we both put in and decided we should be dead tired!

After closing the shop, We had a special dinner with Wade and Christa along with the grandchildren - Hannah (she turns 13 next week), Aiden, Audrey and Halaina! It was a most enjoyable dinner. Happy Birthday to Hannah who enters the world of teens!

Our Sunday is moving along like a lazy river. We are watching the Astros via subscription MLB.COM since we cannot get Comcast cable service at our home. We do have it at the shop but we can't live there.

I'm going to make a run and pick up something for lunch since we didn't stop at the grocery on the way home last night. Fridge is empty. I will be doing the grocery shopping tomorrow. Joe has requested crawfish sauce piquant over grill catfish for dinner. He has peeled crawfish every afternoon this past week!

I worked on a tiny little sock this morning but I must work on a pair cabled handwarmer hoping to have them plus a single handwarmer ready to mail out on Tuesday.

This pair of socks were mailed to new grandson, Jacob, last week. After washing, they became super soft!

Working on this one this morning - pattern sized specifically for Jacob is in my head now and I find knitting them relaxing and fairly quick. I can knit 1 in a couple of hours. Keep in mind, they are very small! (CO is 40 sts, 2 inches of ribbing, 16 rows of heel flap, foot is 3.5 inches before closing toe - for all the socknitters)

I will post pics of Jacob's socks before they go to him! He is doing very well and is at home.

A sneak peek- Jacob sleeping in his sleep sack knit in Araucania's Huasco. His Mom says he loves it!

 

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Baby Knitting - Ella and Grady Sack in Huasco

First, I have to say Huasco knits up BEAUTIFULLY and is extremely soft when washed! This sleep sack is the version that is opened on both ends. I split the ribbing on one end and knit it flat.

The benefit of this sleep sack being open on both ends is that you don't have to remove baby to change a diaper.

 

Close up of small cable

Close up of ribbing knit flat

This is my daughter's favorite. I'm going to knit a hat and socks to match.

(Photos snapped on the white sheets of her hospital bed! Jacob was early!)

 

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Working on a New Display for Sassy Skein

(This post was put on hold due to a family emergency. All is well now)

The Sassy Skein's Karibbean Kotton Kollection and patterns are due to arrive early this week. Wanting something special for displaying the yarn and patterns, Joe suggested we search our favorite antique gallery for furniture. After a couple of hours +, we finally decided to put 2 pieces together. The top is an Ethan Allen hutch and the bottom is an old desk that is about 50 inches wide. We will be arranging/moving things about to make a bit of room in the shop.

We have a lot of leftover Anne Sloan paints. Joe,of course, thinks its sacrilege to paint Ethan Allen even if it is missing its bottom half! The orange sherbert color came about after some creative mixing! Joe painted all day Saturday and they look great!

This is the before picture -

This is the after picture

 

We are pleased with the outcome and hope everyone enjoys the new line of patterns and cotton yarn!

 

 

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Louise the Lovebot

I don't think I posted a final picture of Louise. She was fun to knit! Ella rae Classic wool was used for her body. Louie became Louise when she decided she needed a little skirt/tutu in Tecido Trico Floral. It was so easy and really "made" her! Then, she had to have a necklace and earrings...... You know how girls are!

Louise is on view in our front window. After Valentine's Day, she will be moved to the Baby Area. I'm sure she will love it there!

 

Trying to get Louise to pose -

 

 

Pattern is Louie the Lovebot by Danger Crafts. It can be found on Ravelry.

 

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Sunday, January 6, 2013

If ever it is football season, it is NOW! I don't mind - enjoy pro football - college football is okay - knit thru all of the games. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Superbowl!

Cindy and I got all the Christmas decor at the shop taken down and put away! We both like twinkly lights in the shop, so we must get clear ones for every day (maybe a few red ones for Valentine's Day). We have been searching out Valentine/Hearts knitting and crochet patterns on Ravelry. We have found some cute ones. A few may become classes, especially the crocheted ones. We will probably post a few on iPurl's Facebook page for everyone to see!

Cindy found Louie the Lovebot by Rebecca Danger. We LOVE her patterns - not only super cute but well-written! We thought he would look fabulous in our Valentine window display, so I brought home red and pink yarn to get him knitted over the weekend! Having knit an arm this morning early, I realized we are going to have a Louise Lovebot! Everything about the way it's turning out screams Girly! So cute! You will have to be sure and look for Louise when you come into the shop. (I am knitting Louise in Ella rae wool as she will always be a shop display). We will be stocking safety eyes to make getting everything you need to knit a DangerCrafts pattern easy!

Louie thecLovebot

 

I finished the baby sleep sack I started right after Christmas. Super easy and fun. I need to knit a matching hat and baby socks. Just taking a little break for some shop knitting! I will post pics as a set when I get them done. Next up will be a baby blanket, making sure I have enough time to get it finished before bay arrives! After the blanket, possibly another sleep sack and lots more socks!

Hoping you are having a great Sunday!

 

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First Day Back After Christmas

We had a good day at iPurl, trying to get back in step after having several days off! Cindy and I both stayed busy most of the day. We began by getting all the Christmas decorations and the tree put away! Cindy started heading us toward Valentine's Day by gathering everything red, pink and white together. It's really amazing how you can group and display certain colors and the mind automatically goes to a certain Holiday!

Putting our heads together over the the January class schedule and TV viewing schedule for Season 3 of Downton Abbey, both schedules went out via email this afternoon! We will likely add "Call the Midwife" to our viewing schedule! Cindy has suggested a fun movie on Friday afternoons! There is a good possibility that a couple more classes will be added as we get back up to speed - a crocheted doily class and a knitted lace class have been requested by several people.

Additional colors of Cascade Sierra have shipped. NORO's new lace weight yarn is also on the way! Tomorrow, I will be tracking down Feza's "turkey ball" yarn that was ordered early December. I am also wondering where our #35 circular needles are! Also, we were shorted 1 bag of Adele in the last shipment.

This afternoon, we checked for any yarn and/or needles for classes that may need to be ordered.

The heating system that keeps the shop warm is not working. An email was sent to AmREIT who was supposed to have the unit checked and serviced before we moved in during the heat of July. I'm sure they will tell us it is our responsibility and I will have to call a service repairman! Cindy and I nearly froze today! The shop was 63 degrees when we arrived this morning and 65 degrees when we left this afternoon! Brrrr! Joe got the small electric heater out of storage for me this evening.

Joe has a roaring fire going. Still feeling chilled, I plan to sit close to the fireplace knitting baby socks while he watches the college football game on TV tonight.

I hope you have a wonderful evening too!

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