LUCY BAG with JJ MONTERA Handpainted yarn

After felting

Before felting

I just completed a LUCY BAG with one skein of JJ MONTERA

hand painted yarn from New Zealand.

I started off following the pattern for the large bag, but after the base, I knit 100 rounds instead of 120. I had just enough yarn from one skein to complete the entire bag and handle.

This knit up very quickly and shrunk alot after just 1 wash. The color waves are

just beautiful and totally unexpected. The waves are the same on both sides.

A joy to knit and a wonderful result!!

I purchased the yarn at the Wooster Fiber Festival from

Yarn Knit by Sue

in Fairview Park, Ohio (west side of Cleveland)

4 New Books Ordered

"KNIT ONE, FELT TOO"

more great felting projects !

" A SECOND TREASURY OF MAGICAL KNITTING"

BY

CAT BORDHI
I want to make the MOBEIUS BASKETS

" AT KNIT'S END: MEDITATIONS of WOMEN WHO KNIT TOO MUCH"

love to have my own copy

MASON DIXON KNITTING

can't wait to check out their patterns and stories

Entrelac Market Squares Bag Finished

BEFORE FELTING

I just finished the Entrelac Market Squares Bag using CASCADE 220 from the book:



The key to making this bag is learning how to KNIT BACKWARDS.

There are some great instructions on knitting backwards here:


Knitty.com

Wonderful-Things.com

Knitting-and.com

As you knit backwards, turn your work just to look, you would be purling.

JULY Knit for Charity

Knitting for charity

SITE OF THE MONTH:

JULY
Jerusalem Peace Shawls

"In an effort to reach out globally with a gesture of peace, we invite you to knit a shawl to be given to a woman in Israel" by the

Interfaith Encounter Association and Shawl Minitsry

"This association fosters dialogue among people of different faith traditions on a grassroots level to bring about understanding and, hopefully, peace!"

SHALOM = PEACE

click on the image below to learn more about Global Outreach

While I never intended to mix world events with knitting, I feel compelled to show my support of Israel, our only ally in the middle east, in its war against terrorism.

Stitch N Pitch

STITCH N' PITCH

What is Stitch N' Pitch?

Stitch N' Pitch brings together two American traditions — Baseball and the NeedleArts.

WE WILL BE AT JACOB'S FIELD - CHEERING FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS

on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

We may arrange to throw out the first pitch.... a BALL OF YARN!!

All events are sponsored by The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA) and your

Baseball Team

Look for your city and receive fun giveaways and surprises that are included with

special Stitch N' Pitch game tickets.

Another package !! Thank you ONE SKEIN Secret Pal !!

WOW is this a great way to celebrate my birthday !!

I received my July package from my One Skein Secret Pal who I have discovered lives in Hawaii.

This package was SO MUCH FUN to open.

Who would believe how many goodies were stuffed into this one ball of yarn ?!!

I had SO FUN, I couldn't stop all the unraveling !!!

Buttons, teddy bear cut-outs, ribbon, stars, and a beautiful small bag at the end. Yes, the yarn was a mess as I was so busy unwinding to find all the hidden treasures. And, I still managed to get it back into a ONE SKEIN ball of delicious SOFF CHIC luster yarn from Japan!

You have really made me feel special ---

Thank you One Skein Secret Pal!!

Thank you Tote Exchange Secret Pal !!!

I received a large package addressed to me today in a great big box, boldly addressed to me from Palo Alto. I asked myself, "I don't remember ordering anything", "I don't know anybody in Palo Alto".....then it dawned on me.... this must be my bag!! And WOW, what a treat to open this package and see the amazing bag (that I had read about on the Tote Exchange Blog and in this knitter's blog. The orange, blue and purples are my favorites and I love the mitered pattern.

The best treat of all is that Monday is my birthday so this makes for an even more special birthday. The bag came loaded with several individually wrapped gifts which I am waiting until Monday to open for my birthday!

After reading my pal's blog, I see we have other things in common as well and I thank you Allison, in Palo Alto.




Meanwhile, I am making progress on the Lucy Bag for my secret pal, and I hope to have it completed and felted this weekend!! It has a long way to travel so I need to get in the mail soon!

LYS Going out of Business Sale

RIVER YARNS

in Rocky River, Ohio

is going out of business.

Everything is 50% off and I was tempted to buy the whole lot !!

While I hate to see a LYS close, the bargains I found in my 2 trips out there were amazing.

All this should keep me busy for a long time!

See my purchases below in this NEWLY CREATED SLIDE SHOW!!

California Yarn Shop Trip Report

I recently returned from a one week vacation with my middle daughter, 14 1/2 years old, to Los Angeles and Laguna Beach, California. (my other 2 daughters are at overnight camp)

WOW what a trip. In addition to visiting many beaches and piers, shopping on Rodeo Drive, biking on The Strand, driving up to Malibu, and eating sushi, I managed to squeeze in several visits to yarn shops.

FIRST STOP STRAIGHT FROM LAX :

the LIGHTHOUSE SUSHI BUFFET in SANTA MONICA

all you can eat lunch !!





I told my daughter the best kept secret place to see celebrities is at yarn shops!! Of course, she didn't believe me but we still got to visit the following:




YARNS UNLIMITED on PICO BLVD. IN SANTA MONICA

This shop was on my list to visit but I actually stumbled across it and saw the sign as I was driving by !!

HUGE store, shelves and bins from floor to ceiling. A nice selection of yarns on sale too.

2 ONE SKEINS PURCHASED


NEXT STOP:

BEACH KNITTING

WOW - only 5 minutes away from our hotel in MANHATTAN BEACH !! I was very inspired by this shop's Knit for Charity collection. The owner was delightful and introduced me to

PANDORA - a very unique yarn that stripes and alternates with fluffy fibers and

MISTY ALPACA CHUNKY - amazingly soft.

I purchased a beautiful

LANTERN MOON Knitting Basket and 2 skeins of MEDITATION. This amazingly soft yarn smells of lavender and I can't wait to make a scarf with it. Very "ZEN CALIFORNIA" !!

WE DROVE PAST:

After all, I couldn't convince my daughter to stop EVERYWHERE with me,

so instead we went into the FAMOUS:

KNIT CAFE

I was greeted by the owner, Susan Mischer, a former vice president for specials and documentaries at CBS. Somewhat secretive about the stars that visit her shop, I knew they were lurking somewhere in this W. HOLLYWOOD location on MELROSE AVENUE.

She also wrote the book:

"GREETINGS FROM KNIT CAFE"

Greetings from me at the Knit Cafe!!

Other stops in W. Hollywood area:

and we visited MONTANA AVE.

home of:

L'ATELIER

where the friendly instructor opened the shop up just for us.

She said she recently taught, Brooke Shields.

Also on MONTANA AVE.

MICHAEL STARS

A visit to REDONDO BEACH PIER and famous sites from the T.V. show, "THE O.C."

We drove down to LAGUNA BEACH for the weekend and my daughter enjoyed seeing the sites where the M.T.V. Show "LAGUNA BEACH" is filmed.

While my daughter was getting a manicure at the:

I visited STRANDS AND STITCHES

Here I was inspired by a group of knitters who are working on the Lorraine bag by Berroco

I purchased 2 skeins of

ZIGGY made in Italy by S. Charles and I recevied their free pattern to make a

ZIGGY CURLY Q SCARF

We spent a day at the beach where I worked on the Market Squares Entrelac Bag

I made even MORE progress on the bag waiting 5 hours in LAX for our return flight to Cleveland!!

Well worth the 10 minute drive over to LAGUNA HILLS, we visited:

YARN LADY

This HUGE store had a collection of EVERYTHING!!

I especially loved the wall of COLORFUL CASCADE 220 (my favorite for felted bags)

and an amazing collection of NORO KUREYON, my other felting favorite!!

My daughter enjoyed her purchases on our vacation as well from

RODEO DRIVE in BEVERLY HILLS !!

Fireworks

Happy 4th of July

Click here for some awesome online

FIREWORKS