Diamond Rib Pattern Hat

Here's another hat I made on my Wonderloom using a stitch pattern from The Knitting Stitch Bible. I can't remember the exact name of the stitch pattern, but it's in the rib section. I love the way it turned out. This is another hat that will be donated to our homeless ministry in the fall. I'm off to loom something else!

"Zig Zag" Pattern Hat

I'm having fun with the new book I purchased recently, The Knitting Stitch Bible. I can't remember who it was or from which yahoo loom knitting group, but someone recommended this book a couple of weeks ago. It's so easy to use the stitch patterns on the looms because they are all represented on charts.

Here is a hat I made using the "Zig Zag" stitch pattern on 60 pegs of the Wonderloom. It's just a series of knit and purl stitches to make the design.

I started with the cable cast on and did a rib "brim" (K1 P1). I did a row of knit and then started with the zig zag pattern. I think I did 5 repeats of the 8-row pattern. Then I did another knit row and used the gather bind off method to finish the hat.

I don't think I can share the specific stitch pattern since it came from the book. I'm playing around with another pattern right now on a hat that is about half finished. I love the way it's looking. I'll post a photo when it's done.

I found The Knitting Stitch Bible at Amazon.com for less than $10. It was worth the money in my opinion.

Okay, I'm off to make dinner. The FlyLady has kicked my rear today, but boy is my house looking good! :)

I met the FlyLady today . . .

Okay, I've been inspired to try it the FlyLady way. I'm starting today to get my house in order, thanks to a link I found on Brenda's blog. I've started a blog to keep me on track -- you can read it if you wish. If you're a flybaby too, be sure to post. I'm sure we'll need each other's encouragement! Now I'm off to shine my sink . . .

I finished a dishcloth on my 12" AJAL. The funny thing is that I was reading Sara's blog yesterday evening and she had just finished a dishcloth -- almost the same one I had done. Great minds think alike I guess!

Loving my New Looms!

I received a great surprise Monday -- my DA looms arrived! I received the 12" fine gauge AJAL and the new small gauge Wonderloom. I'm loving them!

I made a premie hat on each just to try them out.

The one I made on the Wonderloom didn't take long at all. I love this loom! It's so easy to adjust -- just slip off the elastic band, slide the spacer, slip the elastic back on and knit away. It's very lightweight and fits easily in my bag so I can take it anywhere. I LOVE it! My next project is a pair of baby booties.

The one I made on the AJAL took a little longer, but I love the tiny stitches. I used the basic e-wrap and 1 over 2. It takes a while to get used to those little cotter pins spaced so close together. I'm making a dishcloth on it now with lots of knits and purls, and I was surprised at how easy purling is with the space in the pins. I love it! One tip I'd offer anyone thinking about ordering a fine gauge loom is also ordering the wood tool. It works better than the purple KK tool and even the In the Attic tool (which is usually my favorite).

I'm still working on the afghans. Josh's is coming along very nicely. I'm getting ready to start the fifth stripe now. I can't wait to finish both of them so I can spend more time with some smaller projects without feeling like I'm supposed to be working on the big ones. Hmm, even my hobby can make me feel guilty. Not good! LOL

Thanks for reading!

I feel like I've taken a vacation from looming because I don't have a lot of completed projects, but that's not the case. I've been diligently working on the afghans for my sons and I did manage to finish the prayer shawl. Note to self: try to have no more than one or two big projects going at one time. I need some instant gratification once in a while! LOL

Here's the prayer shawl I made for my friend's mom. I made it with Homespun on the DA Prayer Shawl loom using 63 pegs. I used the suggested pattern (odd rows K3P3, even rows P3K3). I like the way it came out, but somehow I must have gotten off on my stitches on one row, because one row just doesn't look right. Grrrr. But I keep telling myself that there's only One who is perfect, so it's okay if this mere human makes a mistake here and there. I think she'll still love it. Next one I make I believe I'll use a more open stitch.

Josh's afghan is coming along very nicely. I'm using three colors -- dark blue, light blue and white. The next strip after the one I'm working on will be light blue. The yarn I'm using is plain old Caron (one pound), and I'm pleasantly surprised at how soft and warm it's turning out. I've gotten the hang of using the infinity board, so I can finish several rows in an evening before switching to the other afghan.

Kyle's afghan is going much more slowly because it's being done on the 80" infinity rake. I'm wrapping, knitting off and purling almost 250 pegs each trip up and down the board, so I don't finish more than two or three rows in an evening. I might have it finished before he graduates college (he's 11 now!). I love the way it's turning out too. It will be so warm and so BIG. This might be a blanket that stays on his bed rather than an afghan he snuggles under on the couch.

Speaking of my boys, just take a look at what they did for me for Mother's Day. They went all by themselves (no help from dad) and picked out the basket and filled it with my favorites -- Sweet Pea bubble bath, shower gel, lotion and spray from Bath and Body Works, and four skeins of YARN! Talk about touching my heart! They usually don't love making trips to the "yarn store" with me, so knowing that they went into the store and picked it out by themselves is pretty cool.

I added two new books to my library this week. 1000 Great Knitting Motifs has lots of charted patterns that I can't wait to try out. The Knitting Stitch Bible has tons of stitch patterns represented by charts so they're easy to create on a loom. I can't wait to get started with both of them! Now if I could just find a few extra hours in the day. Oh, I ordered both of these books from Amazon.com and paid less than $10 each.

Here's my progress after day 3 of the Decor Accents group May Knit-a-Long (you can also find it here). On past KALs I've printed out the directions and have done several days worth of rows at one time. This time I'm printing them out and working the rows one day at a time. I believe this is called shadow knitting or illusion knitting? Looking at it straight on it just looks like a bunch of stripes. But look at it from an angle and you can see a pattern starting to appear. I can't tell what it is yet. I finished day 4 last night but haven't photographed it yet. Can't wait to see what it is!

Okay, I'm off to grab a cup of java and get this day started. I have to clean the middle level of my house -- I'd be embarrassed if ya'll stopped by for an unexpected visit and saw my mess! Then I'll work a little on my jewelry website and start working on my husband's coworker's website. We have a cool deal going on. She sells clothes in a booth at Virginia Bazaar (a giant flea market) and I sell jewelry from my website. We've worked out a deal where she will take some of my jewelry with her to sell in her booth and I'll put some of her clothes on a website for her.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Have a great Friday!

VA State Champs!!

My son's basketball team won their State Championship last weekend in Roanoke, VA! Quite an accomplishment for a team that has been together only two years. Next year we have to move up to Division I, but we're ready for it. We won all of our games in the state championship tournament by between 16 and 25 points. In the photo above, each coach is next to his son. Three proud dads, wouldn't you say? The other moms and dads were with me, taking photos of our champs.

Kyle with his medal

Kyle with some of his teammates. These guys are so funny! They're just so calm and collected, even after a big win like this one. To them, it's just another day, another game, another win.

Gerard (my hubby / one of the coaches) with Kyle after the game. A proud moment!

My mom, dad, sister and great-nephew (sister's grandson) were able to meet us in Roanoke for the tournament. We live about 6 hours from them (they're in WV, we're in VA), so any time we can "meet in the middle" we try to take advantage of it.

My mom, dad and Josh (older son) -- speak no, hear no, see no . . .

My sister and her grandbaby. He's such a little nut! My boys had him saying all kinds of silly things this weekend. He's a little sponge, soaking up everything you say to him.

My sister with the boys - Josh and Kyle. Take a look at the cutie in the middle. At the risk of sounding like a bragging mama, I just have to tell you that he's not just a pretty face -- he's also really smart. He just brought home a straight A & A+ report card, and he got the results back for an exam he took to become a Certified Drafter. He received the same score as his teacher. He's a junior in high school and plans to become an engineer.

Can you believe how big this kid is? He just turned 12 in January. We always get questioned at the tournaments about him, so we started carrying his birth certificate with us! We thought it was so funny seeing him next to my petite little mom.

The "secret" of our success? Our coaches and players gather to pray before and after every game. God is at the center of everything we do, even our basketball games. Does He give us a win everytime? No, I don't think so. But our boys are learning to rely on Him in every circumstance, and they are learning to win with class and lose with grace. We have a great bunch of coaches, kids and parents, and our basketball program is about more than just learning basketball skills.

On the knitting front, I have two major and one semi-major projects going on at the same time. On my 48" infinity board is one son's afghan (finally cast on and a few inches completed). On the 80" infinity rake is the other son's afghan. And I have a prayer shawl on the prayer shawl loom. I've been trying to work a little on each every evening, so they're all taking a while to complete.

To satisfy my need to finish something, I'm also throwing in a few smaller projects along the way. I finished some scrunchies -- here are just a few:

I bought Isela's Cable Baguette pattern and have two that I need to finish:

I did the black one on my small gauge travel hat loom. It made a cute little mini bag to carry a cell phone, lipstick and a few other small essentials. I love it! I just need to stitch up the sides and make the liner, but first I need to study the mattress stitch again to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

The ivory one was done on the red loom as the pattern suggested. It's much bigger, and I know I'll carry it all the time! I'll have to make others in different colors. I couldn't find the handles with the straight end so I'm using round bamboo handles. Next time I'll order online if I can't find the others at the store. I've added one of the handles to this one; now I just need to attach the other one, stitch up the sides and add the liner. I can't wait to carry it!

When I get them finished I'll photograph them together to show the difference in size.

The kitties get the last word today:

This is one of Bud's favorite spots when he's ready to play. He hangs over the rail on the stairs (usually during dinner) and meows until someone comes to play with him. Silly kitty! That's my son up there with him. Kinda look alike, don't they?

Sometimes you just have to claim your sunspot and take a nap!

Thanks for bearing with me today. Happy knitting (and gardening!!)