Our household goods arrived last Saturday, and I have been busy, busy, busy.  In this episode I included a visit my family took to an Anglo Saxon Village, just 15 minutes from our old house in England.  It's called West Stow Anglo Saxon village.  This particular day, there were re enactors trying to recreate what life might have been like during the Anglo Saxon era.

Episode 11: I'm Back!

I am back from my 3-year European vacation, and ready to learn more about knitting, and hopefully improve my skills.  Columbus is a great place to improve knitting skills.  I have already met a few knitting experts, and I have found that the more I learn, the less I know.

Columbus has three knitting stores (I have only visited one), but the one closest to my house is Knitting Temptations.  The ladies are extremely helpful, there are different classes, and they have knitting groups three times a week (all for free!)

On my cruise I was working on the Little Shells shawl by Holly and Ella.  I used Debbie Bliss Pure Silk wool.

I have also been working on the Clarus shawl, as taught by Laura Nelkin at Craftsy.com.

I also learned how to wind a ball of wool so that you pull from the center.

I made ANOTHER baby cocoon, this time for my new little nephew, born on July 4th!
Welcome, little soldier!  I used Lion Brand Quick and Cozy to make the softest cocoon ever!

I am doing my very first Knit Along (KAL) with Michelle from KnitPurlHunter.com.  She offers video tutorials to help build skills along the way.  In this KAL, we are making a pillow.

I am currently taking a class from Craftsy.com on Lace Shawl Designs by Miriam Felton.  I bought some cotton wool from Walmart just to practice different designs.  I got a little sidetracked, and found a dishcloth pattern that I thought I'd try out.  I tried out "Vineyard" by Danielle Cote.  Scroll down for the English version.

Here is info on the Cahokia Mounds, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.  At the top of the mound, you can actually see the St. Louis Arch.


My daughter and I are attending one day at the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair on August 18th, in Newark, Ohio. I'm so excited, it's my very first fiber fair!

Episode 10:Travels and Charity

I have been so busy lately with traveling as well as getting ready to move.

Here are the notes from this episode's show:

I visited Lyme Park, where they filmed "Pemberly" in BBC's Pride and Prejudice.
I also visited Highclere Castle, where they filmed Downton Abbey.

Baby hat patterns:

Baby bunny hat
Baby Bear Hat
The Trendy Baby Hat can be found on ravelry.com

Here are a few photos of my travels and projects:

 Highclere Castle, aka "Downton Abbey"

 Lyme Park, aka "Pemberly"

Here are all my finished hats!

Episode 9: Interview with Ms. Mac

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Gina MacFarlane was such a delightful person to visit with. I wish I could have shared all the conversations we had, but this will have to do.

Enjoy!

Episode 8

I have had this on iTunes for over a week, but haven't had time to actually post it on the blog. I hastily got it up on the web right before leaving for Sweden and Denmark. Now I am back, and between all the things I have to do, I am taking a break to get it up on the blog. Hope you enjoy.

Show notes:

Here is info about the Anglo Saxon Village I visited.

The tool my daughter used is called a Lucet

We got my daughter a French Knitting bee with a pom pom maker.

Next step for my daughter: knitting looms.

The scarf I made for my mom was taken from Stephanie Japel's class, "Knit Lab" on Craftsy.com. The wool I used was Noro Wool--Silk Garden.

The scarf I'm working on is called, "Kudo Waves Scarf," shown to me by one of my viewers and fellow ravelry friends, and is a free download on ravelry.com. I also used Noro wool for that project.

I finished my fingerless gloves. I used the pattern in Ann Budd's "Book of Patterns." She also has an iPad app of the book, so if you have an iPad, check it out.

I love finishing my projects with the super stretchy bind-off. I tend to be a very tight knitter, and this bind-off is a big help. View the tutorial on YouTube by Cat Bordhi here. The proper title of this bind-off is Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind-off.

The sock I tried to make was a Paton's pattern, Spiral Sock. I don't think I'll attempt it again, though.

I mentioned Cat Bordhi's sock book, "New Pathways for Sock Knitters," but failed to mention a reason why I actually liked this book. She has a baby size version of the actual sock, so you can practice the techniques before spending so much time making an adult-size sock. I will try some of her patterns again.

Episode 7--Special Episode: National Wool Museum of Wales

Here is the promised special episode of my visit to the National Wool Museum of Wales. I didn't even know it existed until I came upon the sign whilst driving through Wales with my family in February. So the recording was impromptu, and the young man (I forgot to ask his name!) said it was okay for me to share this with you. Sorry it took so long. I have been having a wonderful time with my mom, who is currently visiting me here in the UK. In fact, we went back to Wales last week. I interviewed another yarn enthusiast, which I will be sharing with you in a future episode.

Hope you enjoy--I sure did!

Click here to visit the National Wool Museum of Wales website.

Episode 6

In this episode I show my finished object--my skywalker shawl--yay!

For tutorial on how to make this shawl click here.

I am currently working on a shrug by Lily Chin, "Five Ways Cabled Shrug," knit in Classic Elite Lush, in Lilac. I bought it here, and I don't know if they have lilac color anymore, as I got it on sale. The pattern can be found by searching on www.ravelry.com, or you can find it in Lily Chin's book, "Power Cables."

I am also working on simple fingerless gloves from Ann Budd's book, "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges." I am using a yarn I bought at my lys.

Review of iPad app: KnitCompanion

I reviewed the iPad app, KnitCompanion, available in the iTunes store (also available for iPod). Click here for tutorials to see if KnitCompanion works for you.

Please, if any of you have a link to a tutorial about how to close the thumb gap on fingerless gloves, please leave a link in the comments box. Thanks!

Happy Knitting!