Stitch 'n Pitch

I'm baacck! Well, with limited access, and my computer is not 100% yet, but I can now post with more frequency. Woo Hoo!
Last Sunday was the Florida Marlins vs NY Mets Stitch 'n Pitch. We had a lot of fun!! Knitters were well represented, but I may have seen more cross stitchers than knitters, at least in the area I was sitting. I brought my Miss Dashwood shrug to work on, and did manage to get a few rows in. It was kinda wierd to either half pay attention to the action on the field, or the knitting. I liked seeing what everyone brought to work on. I was suprised I didn't see any socks being knitted, I did see baby sweaters, and scarves, someone was working on a blanket (!) and I saw a tank top in progress. I noticed a couple of crocheters, and a little girl doing the cutest needlepoint! Lots of families, couples and non- crafters came with their stitchers to enjoy the game. The weather held out, it was overcast and threatening rain all day. Stitch n Pitch was well organized, and local shops had tables they attended to with displays and such. I'd do it again! The Marlins also do a Bark at the Park, where you bring your dog to a game. I may try that out next year, too.

Here is our section, we're packed in and ready to cheer on the home team (well, about half the stadium anyway, lots of Mets fans in attendance).

Notice how full our section is compared to the rest of the stadium, I'd say we were well represented with at least 150 people.

Some of us found creative ways to hold that extra DPN.

Here is the goodie bag and its' content. Local stores put in discount coupons and candy, there were cross stitch patterns, a crochet magazine with the most ginormous crochet hooks, and lots of novelty yarn I'm still not sure what I will do with it.

If you were there, I was the one wearing this shirt. I love it! You can find it here.

Oh, and the Mets fans went home very happy with yet another win!!

Bloggus Interruptus

Oh, blog, how I have missed you! Missed my computer in general, which is sick at the moment. My laptop took a leap off the table and pancaked itself on the floor when one of the dogs ran by and caught the cord with her tail. Worked OK for the rest of the day, but wouldn't start up the next day.Sadly, the drivers are corrupted. I've had a computer tekkie friend trying to recover hard drive data, but it is not looking good. My knitting patterns! My book marks! My photos! And music! Oh, the horror! Thankfully most of the music and photos were backed up about 6 weeks ago, but not the other files. Lesson learned! I'm using a borrowed laptop, so I probably won't be updating the blog until I fix my computer. Thanks for all your e mails, which I have responded to. See you when I'm up and running again!!

A Nice Sunday

Today was a lazy day inside, almost sloth-like until I made myself get up and move around! There was knitting to this:
Watching the US Open!! OK, this image is not the US Open, but it is Roger Federer. This shot is from the Nasdaq in Key Biscayne (it was renamed this year to the Sony Ericsson). The Ericsson tournament is worth a day out of work to attend every year,I thoroughly enjoy it. But the Open is my tournament, I overdose on the coverage every year. Bless you, USA Network!


There was knitting to this, too:

The Boston Red Sox! Oh, yeah, I'm a member of The Nation!! I have followed the Red Sox since high school,and here in Florida I catch the games on MLB.TV. They won today, but last nights' no-hitter by the rookie Buchholz was as good as baseball can get. I got NO knitting done during that game! Today, I was torn between the two sports, so I watched both! And did some baking:

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread. The recipe is here. May not look pretty, but the house smells wonderful and it tastes really good. I think this will make great french toast.

And I can't forget about the knitting! Here is a peek at Miss Dashwood: She is coming along with no major problems, thankfully!

My New Toy

So, when I was at my LYS purchasing yarn for Miss Dashwood, 9 skeins of yarn seemed like a lot to wind into balls. I'll get a ball winder, I thought! I don't have a swift, but that was not a deterrent. I brought this home:

I love the look of the "cakes" of yarn it produces.

(bad photo at my kitchen counter)

So, I try the Berroco Bamboo. I heard a little voice in my head at the LYS saying ' this yarn is too slippery to wind....too slippery.....DON"T GET THE BALL WINDER FOR THIS YARN'!!! I don't listen. I get it home and it's winding pretty. Then I try taking it off the ball winder. Oh, yeah, collapses on itself. Voice in head says disparaging things about now! I try winding it onto a cardboard tube- won't collapse now, hahahaha!! Wrong! Here's my two tries, on the left off the ball winder, and on the right, wound onto a cardboard tube.

Not Pretty.

This is how the other 7 skeins have ended up:

Wound into a pretty ball without the aid of any fancy tools or gadgets!

I do like the ball winder, though. It is easy to use, actually fun! And it makes the plainest of yarn look mighty fancy:

Sugar N Cream, top, and Wildfoote, bottom, in their cakiest finery.

WIP Monday

Meet Miss Dashwood:

Miss Dashwood by Chic Knits. She doesn't look like much yet, this is only one pattern repeat with many more to go! The yarn is Berroco Bonsai, it has a very nice feel to knit with, not too slippery on metal needles, and not too splitty. This is for Child Of Mine, who is a bridesmaid in a wedding in New Hampshire in late September. Since she gets cold when temps dip below 70, she wanted something to put over her shoulders after the ceremony. Her dress is a strapless, mid shin brown number, she calls the look "poo on a stick". (Can you tell she is not too enamoured with this dress)? Below is a photo of the yarn with the dress, I think she picked a good complimentary color, and the dress really isn't that bad (said by one who doesn't have to wear it)!

I'm enjoying knitting this, but I have to pay close attention to the pattern. I'm paranoid that I'll miss a YO or mess it up, and have to tink back. My nightmare is getting 3/4 way done, finding a mistake and getting hopelessly lost in the pattern. As we all know I'm not the fastest knitter, and I have about a month to finish it. Wish me luck!

Saturday Sky

Tropical clouds, rain on the way. It was more overcast today than typical for South Florida.

FO Monday

Pop Tart!

ipod cozy

Pattern: Pop Tart Cell Phone Pocket by Heather Kaminsky at BitterSweet

Started and Finished on August 15, 2007

Yarn: TLC Lustre for the Pop Tart, Sensations wool (store brand from Jo Anns, on clearance, yea!) for the "icing", assorted beads, and a snap closure sewn in.

Needles: size 5, straights

Comments: Saw this on a website and thought it was adorable. Very fast knit (ha, if it's fast for me, you know it is ultra fast to knit)! I increased the width stitches by 2 thinking it would be too small, but the pattern as written would have fit my ipod (video ipod) just fine. I like having different cozies for the ipod, which I take everywhere.

Saturday Sky

Warm, breezy, nice day today. Showers early, then blue sky.

Parrots waiting for their turn at the feeder. Similiar to these visitors:

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens

Since I live in a tourist area, and I am not the most prolific knitter, I thought I'd occasionally share some of the local places that are interesting to visit. My first stop is the Fairchild in Miami.

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens

10901 Old Cutler Road Coral Gables, FL 33156 • Phone: 305-667-1651

The Fairchild is an 83 acre botanical park, located in south Miami. It's a beautiful place to picnic and spend the afternoon among the palms. There is a pair of wild blue and yellow macaws that live at the Fairchild, which is always makes me think I am in some far-away tropical place to see them fly by. The Fairchild is home to a lot of festivals, such the Mango Festival, the International Orchid Festival, and the International Chocolate Festival. Yes, chocolate!! Recently it housed a Chihuly exhibit that complemented the gardens beautifully.

a cormorant checks out the Chihuly

The iguanas are curious.

A nice place to relax and knit!

The Fairchild is really a beautiful place to spend some time. If you have a membership in your local science museum, your membership is reciprocal for a visit to the Fairchild. Bonus!! We use our membership to visit Flamingo Gardens, Miami Science Museum, and The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science. A very nice membership perk, indeed!

FO Monday

String Bag:

Pattern: String Bag from Erin, at My Best Friend's a Dork blog

Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'n Cream in Ecru, 2 plus a smidgen more balls

Needles: body in # 11 circulars

Started July, 2007 Finished August, 2007

Modifications: I added some texture to the bottom by adding purl stitches, only because I got tired of knitting it plain. I like how it came out.

Comments: This was my first time with a circular cast-on, which was not as daunting as I expected it to be. I will knit this again, but probably use a needle size or 2 larger, I am a very tight knitter!

bag bottom:

bag thief:

My other finished object is the flamingo dishcloth, found here.

Sugar 'n Cream cotton, size 7 needles. Took me a couple of sittings to finish it. I think he's cute! I'll enjoy the color until it fades to beige like all the other sugar 'n cream dishcloths. Anyone use a kitchen cotton they like that doesn't fade with repeated washings??

Saturday Sky

The day really was this pretty. Hot, but pretty.

Kids, I got kids!

Out in the backyard we put in a butterfly garden about 2 years ago. In this climate, it only took about 6 months and all the plants looked like they have been there for years. The garden supports about 12 different kinds of butterflies year round. Since we have host and nectar plants, I get to see the whole cycle, from egg laying to emerging butterflies. This is my way to relax, to putter in the garden for a little while after work. I've been watching these "kids" this week:

Oh, a face only a mother can love! He's almost ready to turn into a chrysalis, and then into this:

A Gulf Fritillary.

Also out in the garden is this:

Does anyone else see this and think :

Must just be me.

This is the caterpillar of a Zebra Longwing, the State Butterfly of Florida:

We also have some Monarch caterpillars and some Giant Swallowtail eggs. Butterflies are just amazing to watch!

WIP Monday

I've had cold symptoms all week, which has zapped my energy and left little motivation for any complex knitting. I finished my string bag and a couple of fish (pictures later). I wanted to make something easy, comforting and something that would make me smile. This flamingo dishcloth is just the project! The pattern is here , by Enid Danforth. I used a moss stitch border,and have about 5 more rows to go. Not sure what I'll make next, but using all this cotton with the string bag and dishcloth, my hands are ready for some merino or cashmere, something SOFT!!

Saturday Sky

Hot and humid today, probably the warmest "feel like" temperatures we've had all year. Only the backyard avocado tree liked the heat today!

Notice anything similiar here?

these yarns are in the witness protection program and their names will not be revealed

When I was photographing my stash for Ravelry, I noticed that a lot of the skeins had the price tag covering the name. A lot. The offenders were all purchased in yarn stores, never if purchased on line or a craft/fabric store. Why is this?? And it seems to be from Boston to Miami and in between. I mean, if you have to cover anything, why the name?? Makes it hard to look up the other pertinent information for the yarn when I can't remember what the heck the yarn is. (Never mind why I bought it and WHAT did I think I was ever going to make with THAT yarn)! *sigh*

WIP Monday

I have been knitting this week, I have photographic proof, but I'm starting to think I am the *s l o w e s t* knitter in the blogosphere! My string bag is up to the handles, I hope to have it completed by the weekend. My languishing sock, well....it is living up to its name. What I have been doing is my newest addiction, the Tessellating Fish. I decided to knit a fish with each leftover from a finished object, sort of a memento for the item. Eventually I will put them together in a blanket. A lap blanket, for as fast as I knit! Here's a couple:

This gives you an idea of what they would look like put together for a blanket.

Before I go, here is the Sunday sky, which was much more dramatic than the Saturday Sky:)

Saturday Sky

The sky from the backyard. We often see the banner planes coming and going to the beach, usually not this close! I'm posting this in anticipation of joining the Saturday Sky ring, which I have always liked viewing on other blogs.

Languishing Sock

My poor beginner sock. I started this a couple of months ago, then I lost my sock knitting mojo. I have knitted a couple of pairs of socks before, but nothing in the past few years. I learned how to knit socks shortly after learning how to knit, about 10 years ago. I took a class on sock knitting where we were taught with worsted weight yarn with size 8 needles. You can imagine how BIG the sock was. I had some trouble with DPN's and somehow moved a stitch each round to the next needle. It made for a spiral pattern of ribbing, and the instructor gently told me maybe I was in over my head for a beginner. I persevered, and finished the Paul Bunyan Socks! So, with all the beautiful sock yarn around, I thought I'd practice and get the kinks out before using yarn I can't wait to use, such as:

Panda is destined to be Jaywalkers. The Trekking I'm not sure what sock this will be, but this yarn is sooooft!

My languishing sock is cheap 'ol Lion Brand Magic Stripes. It is serving its purpose, and actually is OK to knit with. Oh, and the snout in the picture? That belongs to this cutie-

This is Kaya,the ridgeless Rhodesian Ridgeback. She looooovess wooden needles :(

What's on the Needles?

What is this mess of stitches?? Why, it's going to be The String Bag! The pattern is well written and easy to follow , you can find it here.

I am almost up to the handles, it is knitting up fairly quickly. I modified the plain bottom, you can see in this picture:
I'm hoping to knit up a few of these for gifts. My other project on the needles is a lonely sock I have been languishing over for a couple of months now. I don't know why I have lost my sock motivation!

New Knitting Blog!

Hi, new blog here. I'm Jenny and I live here in South Florida, where one has to find creative ways to knit and stay cool! I've been knitting for about a decade now, and presently like the instant gratification items such as socks, bags, scarves, baby stuff, etc.. I am starting this blog at the same time as starting on Ravelry, to be more active in the knitting community. Thanks for stopping by!