June 30th, 2009
Huge thanks to everyone who entered the competition to name my new scarf and hat. I was thrilled with all the names, and would have been very happy with each and every one of them. You certainly got my creative juices flowing with some of them! Imagine my delight with the name that was picked out of the hat: Pendenza. It means slant in italian. I love it! Huge thanks to Mary for the suggestion - and congratulations to her - she’ll be receiving a goodie bag of TNNA fabulousness very soon.
Five of you also will be receiving a pdf of the pattern in your mailboxes tomorrow, and everyone else will have a special coupon for a special price on the pattern!
Thanks so much for the love everyone 
You can find the scarf for sale here
June 28th, 2009
Yesterday, I got to take a break from home and go over to my friend Amy’s house for a couple of hours. Knitting, gossip and her adorable puppies - joy!
Got lots of design ideas, a little knitting done, and had a rollocking good time! Thanks Amy for being my sounding board, giving me the RHP design idea and for letting me play with Marshall and Lucy!
June 28th, 2009
I love my group of stitch n bitches - not only are they an awesomely talented bunch of individuals, they also happen to be very funny! This week, I was hosting the group and looked forward to two or three hours of uninterrupted sock knitting.
I’m silly sometimes. I know that there’s no way anyone of us can do any serious knitting when we get together! Anything that isn’t straight garter or St st. just gets messed up! How can you seriously knit when there’s a very deep conversation going on regarding the correct latin for “always wear underwear”? I was laughing so hard, I thought I was going to snort onion tart out my nose! I love these women, two hours with them is like a two week vacation.
I did want to knit though, so I cast on another scarf - same unnamed pattern, different yarn - I think it’s Lambs Pride seconds that I picked up at Great Lakes Fiber Festival? Not too sure - it’s lovely though! The great news is that this pattern passes the “knitting whilst seriously distracted” test! woohoo! I can’t wait for the patt to be released this week - i get to pick a name out of the hat for it, give copies of the pdf away and see what people make of it!
June 23rd, 2009
I’m working on another pair of the sunny side up socks from Alt Fiber. I’m using a purple hand-dyed yarn from my bautiful friend Martha, and I have to say, I’m quite enjoying the knitting process. When I designed them, time was definitely a factor and even though I enjoyed the process, I was too busy on a deadline to notice just how much fun they are to knit. Other than a very wonky start this time, I’m having a blast! A toe-up sock is a wonderful thing, however, starting out on dpn’s is a bit of a tactical nightmare. Do you know where I put my US1 16″ circs? I wish I did! So I gamely used dpn’s and I think if I had about three more hands, it would have been fine, but it sure felt a little clumsy until I got going 
Now though, I’m loving the way the cables flow into the lace, the way the increase at the back is so seamless. And I’m thoroughly thrilled with Martha’s yarn - I’ve seen her dye techniques, and am a big fan! Here’s an original piccy of the socks, I’ll post a pic of the new pair later today!
Photography by Sasha Gulish
Originally published in Alt Fiber by Shannon Okey 2008
June 20th, 2009
Check out photos of the pink cabled scarf by scrolling down the page. Come up with a great name for it and win a TNNA goodie bag, a free copy of the pattern and bragging rights! Deadline 6/30. Good luck!
Update- You guys are knocking my socks off! What great ideas you all have. You’ve inspired me to add a hat to go with the scarf - photos tomorrow, along with the finished scarf. And just to sweeten the pot, five of you will also receive a copy of the pdf July 1!
Tuesday Update - Thanks to all who have looked at the scarf, and special thanks for the amazing suggestions! I knew I could count on you all. Finally have pictures of the finished scarf and hat - enjoy!
Another Tuesday update - the wonderful people at Ivy Brambles yarn are also offering up a couple of skeins of the awesomeness that I made these from! How cool is that?
as you can see, the back of the scarf is also pretty, the diagonal columns were definitely an added bonus!
June 18th, 2009
A mitten version of my Love Squared Gauntlets.
The new scarf
A crochet scarf that I really can’t talk about, but am loving desperately!
June 18th, 2009
Not too bad for my first machine aplique - and Ben loves it (hence the wrinkles) Enjoy!
June 18th, 2009
Sitting on my back porch this morning, I noticed that one of the plant pots had exploded - and it looks like Robert Smith! All it needs is some smudgey red lipstick.
June 16th, 2009
This is Ivy Brambles superwash worsted. I got quite excited by their yarns at TNNA - the color choices and dye methods are sweet. I had to cake and swatch almost immediately. I’ve ended up with this - a diagonal cable that is doing some very interesting things. Can’t wait to have it finished and the pattern written up! (sorry for the crappy photog skillz - I haz none)
ETA- to fix appauling grammar mistakes
June 16th, 2009
Well, I guess I should start with the beast. About a week before Christmas, a puppy was roaming the neighborhood. We went all around our area, but no one wanted to claim her (hooray!)
This is Trixie. She is an awesome dog, very funny, very talk-y and she does the best roll overs ever - or at least she would if she could put her arse down. Anyway, Trixie rocks, and I’m so glad she’s ours.
My mom came out to visit at the beginning of April.
Somewhat of a bitter sweet visit, since it was about a year since my brother passed away, but it was so good to see her and it really helped with the healing process. On a lighter note, I believe I’ve brought mom back to the yarn side. Since she is the one that taught me to knit in the first place, I feel it’s somewhat apropos that I was able to renew her interest. She’s even on Rav - how cool is that?
I’ve spent a lot of time out in the yard - I’ve extended one bed, and added a whole new bed. For those of you who know my landscape. you know that we’re dealing with clay. Nothing but clay. Mark and I dug out an 80 foot semi circular bed in the back, and I’m quite loving it, but am pretty much done for the rest of this season. The bed that I planted a couple of years ago is really starting to come to life. The lillies and delphiniums are in bloom right now - sweet!
