I don't know how many projects I completed this year. Most of the time I knit vests because they are quicker, plus as I've gotten older, I tend to be warmer and wool sweater usually end up draped over the back of a chair. I don't usually abandon a project unless I am unhappy with it. This is one of my favorite vests, knit with Plymouth Encore.

I adapted a man's pullover sweater from an old issue of FCEK into a woman's button up vest.

I will be so glad when the holiday eating season is over, so I can get back to healthy eating. As a teenager I was about 30 pounds overweight, but I lost most of the weight before I got married. After my first son was born I lost a few more pounds and have kept within the same weight for 20 years. Then I started gaining just 1-2 pounds every year, which translated into 15 pounds over a 10 year period. This past summer, I started taking the weight off, a combination of diet and exercise resulted in a 14 pound weight loss. The tough part is yet to come when I am sitting in front of a computer during the tax season. I'm determined to keep it off, especially since the weight doesn't come off as easily as it did when I was younger. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to begin counting calories again, just to help keep me accountable through the tax season.

I wish I could say it's 100% done, but I still need one button.


I finished the culdesac vest over the weekend. Of course the only buttons I liked, there were only 4 available. I'm going to order another card of buttons from Couture Buttons
I'm not real happy with the side seams, sewing together reverse stockinette is not very pretty. I couldn't find anything useful in my knitting books about the best way to go about it. Of course after I had it finished I found an article in one of my knitting magazines, IK I think it was, illustrating the technique.

This vest was a challenge because of the way the instructions are written. In order to keep track of my increases, decreases and cables, I charted some of the rows on a piece of paper. If I hadn't had to rip it back so often I could have been done weeks ago.

If the sun ever comes out again, I'll take a better photo.

Two days of work this week, then next week is the beginning of a new tax season. I need a project started before then, knitting is the only thing that keeps me sane until April 15. I still haven't made a decision on my next sweater, but a Kathy Zimmerman design is at the top of my list. I ordered 8 skeins of lamb's pride olive from Bemidji Woolen Mills. They aren't really a yarn store but they carry lamb's pride at a terrific price.

In the meantime I think I will start the French Market Bag from Knitty's winter issue. I have quite a few skeins of Briggs and Little bulky wool yarn that I purchased to do some rug hooking, since I'm not using it for rugs, I might as well use it for felting.

Since I haven't taken any knitting pictures I'll leave you with a photo of Chip the terrier.

I have not been a very productive knitter lately. I frogged the furlana hat, but I did use the yarn for another felted purse; this one from Knitter's Winter 03, sorry no pics.
I think the clock vest from Folk Vests will have to wait, I made a couple attempts at starting it, but I didn't like the looks of the knit in back stitch.
Now, I've restarted Brigitte from The Best of Lopi. I'm using Lamb's Pride yarn instead of Lopi. I had this sweater over half way completed last winter but I thought it was puckered too much at the bottom so I made an executive decision and ripped it out. I might have been able to block it into perfection, but I didn't want to take the chance.


I've been thumbing through knitting mags and catalogues trying to decide what I want to knit next, but haven't made a decision yet. My youngest son wants a hat like the one I knit for my husband last month. So as soon as he chooses a color I'll get that yarn ordered.

Every year DH gets a Christmas tree from the family farm and every year he says it's the best tree we ever had. This year I think he'd be pushing it to say it's the best one.


A few lights and pretty ornaments and it will be perfect.

I started knitting the furlana hat from IK Fall 2003, using Lamb's Pride. I don't usually wear hats, but I wanted to knit something easy while I was riding in the car. Hopefully, it won't be a wasted effort.

I've been doing a little house cleaning, looking for items to donate to the local Goodwill. I have a large box of fiberfill that I bought for a project I will never finish. I don't like sewing anymore so who knows why I would buy the supplies for a sewing project.

I don't have a lot to donate, with e-bay a person can sell just about anything. Sometimes though ebay is too much of a hassle and then by the time the fees are paid it isn't worth the trouble.

Believe it or not the culdesac vest is nearing completion. All of the pieces have been completed. Last night I was looking at the shoulder bindoffs trying to decide if I should rip it back and add another cable before the bind off. Luckily, I didn't do that because when I looked at it this morning I decided it would be better left alone. I looked at the photo in Knitter's and my shoulder looks like theirs.

One little project I started and almost completed is another felted bag. This one is for a coworker who is always asking when I'm going to make her a bag. I thought it would be nice if I gave it to her for Christmas in appreciation for her letting me use her office on various occasions. I hope she likes it well enough to use it. I developed the pattern from various sources. The flower is from a knitty pattern and the bag is from two of Beverly Galeskas felted purse patterns.

My little town had a damaging fire a couple of nights ago. Here they are tearing down the unstable walls so the fire marshall can safely go inside.


Fortunately, no one was hurt.

PRESENTS!



But not a knitting book in the bunch. For Son1, an avid reader and lover of sports LT: Over the Edge by Lawrence Taylor. For Son2, a poet and budding writer, The Spoken Word Revolution. For myself, since I saved money by shopping at amazon, The Road of Hope by Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan. Last but not least, for DH I bought Voice of the Poets Robert Frost and Langston Hughes, poetry recited by the poets on CD.

DH is a poet himself and self-published a book of poetry this past year, A Man Upon a Pilgrimage.

I've been thinking about how I want to improve my knitting in 2004. This past year, I wanted to do 2-color knitting, so I started this vest.


The tension is pretty good, but I think I should have started with mittens or a hat. Maybe I should finish this before I start anything new.

This year, I've joined the Master Knitters Level 1 Knit-along that Sarah is hosting. I think I will gain alot by doing this, since I've never taken knitting classes or had any other type of instruction. There's a yahoo group of knitters who are at various levels of the Master Knitter program. Reading through the archives, I've found info that will be helpful as I progress.

I got one thing accomplished yesterday. My husband's mittens were felted.


They look like they are covered with lint, but that's just the sun shining on the mohair.

I tried to get another small project started, but I couldn't get it to work out. Then I went back to MIL scarf to see if I could figure out what I was doing wrong; I finally ended up throwing the instructions away.

I haven't done anything on culdesac even though I hoped to have it finished last week. I'm sure I'll have the right front done this week, so I better start thinking about some buttons.

Yesterday I went to the December Weekend at Mt. Bruce Station in Almont, Michigan.


The owner has a flock of corriedales and jacobs. You can buy handspun, or mill spun yarn made from the wool of her sheep. She also sells alot of other sheep related products. She's not afraid to charge for the handmade sweaters, vests, mittens etc. either. Her location is nearly perfect, about a 20 minute drive from the wealthiest county in the state. We bought our first sheep from her about 8 years ago.

This poor guy was struck by lightening in 2000--so that's what the sign says.


The young shepherds were putting on a Christmas play in the barn. George the ram wasn't cooperating.


The Sheep and Wool festival in the fall, is more heavily attended. It's worth the trip if you live in southeastern Michigan.

My Knitter's Magazine finally arrived today. I love the vest on the front cover. A few other designs caught my eye, but I can't start anything until I get that culdesac vest finished. After that, I was hoping to make the clock vest in Folk Vests by Cheryl Oberle. I have some plum Nature Spun I'm hoping will work for that vest. If it isn't too dark for the cables to show up, I will start it next week.

Today I'm working on a pair of felted mittens, using the pattern in Felted Knits. These will be for my husband who was coveting the pair I made for myself last month.

Yesterday was my trip into the city to visit Grandma and take her to the store. Since it's a 2 1/2 hour drive down there, I take a break by stopping at the yarn store to stretch my legs. First stop was Skeins on Main in Rochester, Michigan. Even though their address is Main Street, you won't find it on Main Street, but in the alley. This is a nice little store. The employees are very friendly and were quick to help me find what I was looking for. I really wasn't in a yarn shopping mood, though. My only purchase was a package of blocking pins.

On the way home from Grandma's I stopped at the Crafty Lady in Macomb. I didn't buy any yarn here either, just a set of 4" dpns for the gloves I want to knit.


I went through Port Huron on the way home. Here's the Blue Water Bridge that crosses over to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Actually, there are two bridges here, one for going to Canada and the other for coming back. My husband was on the construction crew that built the second bridge in 1998 and 1999.


One freighter was coming up the St. Clair River. I bet it was cold on the deck yesterday.

Yesterday, I finished the left front on my culdesac vest. No pictures of it though. I'm going to block what I have finished and then take a picture. Instead of starting the right front I started this.

I'm making a scarf for my mother-in-law. I don't usually knit gifts for people unless requested and she didn't request this, but when I saw this free pattern called Alison's scarf, I thought it would be perfect for her. I had a little trouble with the pattern at first. I think the instructions need a little tweaking. When I finish it I will email Annie and tell her what problems I had with it.

Today is the 1st Sunday in Advent
O God, let us hear when our shepherd shall call
In accents persuasive and tender,
That while there is time we make haste, one and all,
And find him, our might defender.

This totebag was made from some of my handspun leftovers. I wanted to use it as book bag, but the handle is too stretchy, so it is my traveling knitting projects bag.



I haven't done any spinning this fall. I much prefer knitting to spinning, but usually I go on a spinning jag sometime in the fall. There is a sheep festival in Romeo, Michigan that inspires me to go home and spin; this year I didn't go. I might go to the event they are having in December. She has a nice selection of wool yarn from her own sheep.

I was hoping to spend my Thanksgiving Day knitting since I don't have to prepare the meal. My mother-in-laws house was so crowded that there wasn't any place to sit and knit comfortably.

I cast on for a pair of felted mittens for my husband, but I think I'm going to rip them out and add the cuff after they have been felted. I have a pair that is entirely felted and I like them a lot, but I just wear them in the car. If I was wearing them to do yard work I think I would want an unfelted cuff.

You probably can't tell from the photo, but the front angles down. This is done by knitting short rows. That's another reason I had to rip it out--my wraps weren't hiding very well. They look much better now and I think blocking will help even more.

Culdesac, for the most part, is a simple pattern. So why am I having such a problem? Well, because it takes a bit more concentration. I've finished the back and started the left front last night. My gauge was off so I ripped it out and started it over about 3 times. Today's knitting has been going smoothly so far.

Yay Amy! A woman can never have too much chocolate or yarn.

What in the world is this?

Why it's a hat of course.

and it's reversible!


This pattern (Knitter's Winter 2002) was fun and an interesting lesson in short rows. When I started it, I had no idea how it was going to work. When doing short rows and garter stitch, it isn't necessary to hide the wraps because the wrap looks like the ridge on a purl stitch. The tube is seamed by grafting and you can see in the photo that the seam isn't as smooth as it should be. I think if I work on it a little bit more I can get it to look better.

Rule number one about blogging is you must take your camera with you wherever you go. I wanted to take a photo of Elaine's Yarn Shop yesterday, but I forgot my camera.

Some of the things I like about Elaine's-- first, the owner (who isn't named Elaine) is very friendly and helpful. Second, she has a nice selection of yarn. Third, she has the shelves labeled with the name of the yarn, the price and how many yards are in each skein. Fourth, she has a lot of pieces knitted up and on display.

There are a few negatives that if they were fixed would really improve your shopping experience. First, because of her limited space she has a lot of yarn in boxes on the floor, most shoppers today don't have the time or inclination to get down on their knees to see what's in the boxes. Second, she has a lot of knitting books, but they aren't all in the same area, and some of them are stacked on top of each other rather than lined up neatly on a bookshelf. Third, most of the pieces that are knitted up don't have any references to which pattern or yarn was used.

All in all Elaine's is a good yarn shopping experience.

Culdesac has come to a standstill, that's what happens when you start other projects. Originally, I thought it would be done so I could wear it on Thanksgiving, but that isn't going to happen.

I don't have a large stash; there are a number of reasons for that. I don't have a yarn shop close by where I can go to make impulsive yarn purchases. I almost always want to have a project in mind before I spend the money. When I do buy yarn I use it right away. I think I might change that today and go to Elaine's Yarn in Davison. I figure it costs about $8.00 to drive there and back--about the same as shipping charges.

Yahoo, I finally have this figured out! Thanks Kimmy!!
I made this purse about a year ago and I've had a lot of nice comments about it. This was my second attempt at felting. Even though I'd had an interest in felting, I avoided it because it used a lot more yarn. For this purse, I used some of my handspun experiments.

I'm trying to get an upgrade so I can show photos of some of my knitting projects.

This morning I joined the TKGA knit-along hosted by Sarah. Since I am a self-taught knitter I think this will be very helpful in assessing my current knowledge as well as challenging me to become a better knitter. I joined the yahoo group for masterknitters I started reading the archives and have already come away with helpful information. The main problem I foresee, is a lack of reference material. I live in a rural area and though we have a library, their knitting books are few.

Ten Reasons Not to Open A Yarn Shop
1. I'm not a risk taker.
2. I'm not a people person.
3. I'm not a high energy person.
4. I have an easy, no pressure lifestyle.
5. I don't like being in debt.
6. I won't have time to knit.
7. I'll have a 30 minute drive everyday.
8. I'll have to work during the tax season until the shop is profitable.
9. I'm a homebody.
10. I'm not an advanced knitter.

I started another project last night--a reversible hat from Knitter's Winter 2002. This is going to be a gift for DH. I don't know why I started it I want to get the scarf and vest done. I have to figure out how to work on two projects at once.

Today, I'm going to the city to visit my Grandma who has dementia. The trip is over 2 hours, and I hate city driving. On the way back, I'm going to stop at Skeins on Main in Rochester. I want to get the new IK and the Felted Knits book.

Currently I'm working a scarf knit with Euro yarns. I love the way the scarf is knitting up. The yarn is kind of like knitting with a terry cloth towel, though. I didn't think I would be getting into the scarf fad, but I saw this yarn made up as a scarf at Elaine's Yarns in Davison Michigan and was convinced that I should make one, too. A photo can be seen here

I was over at typepad to set up a temporary account, thinking that if I posted on a regular basis that I would subscribe. Unfortunately, I have been unable to commit to that schedule so I'm back at blogspot to post on my free account. I've found that a blog isn't much without photos, so I'll try this for awhile without photos AND to discipline myself to blog on a regular basis.

Many times over the years I tried to teach myself to knit, but it was only 8 years ago that I finally figured it out. I've been loving it ever since. Other crafts have caught my attention but knitting is the only one that I've stayed with on a consistent basis. Handspinning is what encouraged me to try knitting. I had sheep and wool and a spinning wheel and I needed to do something with the wool I was spinning. I knew how to crochet, but I thought the best use of my yarn would be for sweaters--knit sweaters. Finally one day I decided I was going to learn to knit once and for all so I went to the library, brought home every knitting book they had and didn't give up until I was a knitter.