Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Hi! I had the day off today, and Grandma and I took Mitchell down to see my brother, Dave. Mitchell hasn't been there since Christmas; it is about 1.5 hours from here. Dave and his wife, Stephanie, usually meet us in the middle, since there is civilization (i.e.: shopping and restaurants) more-or-less in the middle. [We don't see them as much as we should, but everyone is busy...] Today was one of the most gorgeous days of the summer, and we got to go in the pool. Mitchell had only been in the baby pool, up to now, and he loved the big pool. He wanted in and out, in and out. What a trooper! Uncle Dave tossed him a bit, and Mitchell pointed his arm in the air and said, "Up!" after every time! He seems to be a thrill-seeker. :) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell is very enamoured with Peter Pan at the moment. We watch it at least once a day, sometimes more. He asks for it by saying, "Pan!" He is quite insistent. Here is a picture of us lazing about watching Pan. I'm also continuing to knit socks. I am about mid-way down the foot of the Stansfield 304 sock in Claudia's Handpainted Yarn (color: Electric). Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I thought I would share this wonderful blog that I have been watching. Jeannie is doing a "Summer of Socks," and she just finished her 20th pair. She also has some great technical tips such as sewing tips for picot edging, and graphing modifications to sock stitch patterns . Fantastic! I think I like a sock from May the best. (This was before the "Summer of Socks.") I'm going to try the Stansfield 304, next. It's in "More Sensational Knitted Socks." I should also point out that Jeannie's blog is beautiful. Her posts are well organized, with the pictures much better-integrated than mine. I have some work to do on formatting. She also has some neat touches like the "flikr badge," which has me working on one of my own... There seems to be a lot to learn about everything! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

And, of course, I had to post a picture of our little man. He's such a character. He loves to draw! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi! I finished one pair of socks and didn't wait long to buy more yarn. Well, actually, I already had the yarn on the way... Hmmm. I started with three sock yarns. I knitted one pair of socks. I bought four more sock yarns. If I go on this way, it could be good for my stash! I wonder if I should "Knit One, Buy Five," now. Or maybe it is the last two numbers added together: 3, 1, 4... so now I would have to knit five, buy nine. I don't think I can wait that long! I picked up the Regia in person at Myer's House. It is so soft! The Loopy Ewe carries this also, but I don't think I would have bought it from the picture. It feels wonderful. The 45% bamboo will hopefully not stretch out too much. Reportedly, anything less than 75% bamboo doesn't have that problem. Any more bamboo content than that, and it tends to droop out of shape. The other three handpaints came from The Loopy Ewe. They look a great deal alike, which I didn't notice so much from the pictur...

Hi! I finished the second sock. No "second sock syndrome!" But I was so tempted to go to my next yarn! I picked up the book, "More Sensational Knitted Socks," and I'm itching to try a pattern-stitch sock in a wonderful, handpainted yarn! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Wow! This may seem fast, given that the heel pictures were posted, today, but those were actually taken, yesterday. I had a couple restless hours in the middle of the night that I knitted, and Mitchell had a long nap, today, which let me get some more knitting done! Now, for the second one... (I'm tempted to go start a new yarn and patterned sock stitch, but I guess I'd better not!) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi! Grandpa E just got a new lawn mower, and Mitchell had a chance to sit on it. What a little cutie! This is on the way home from getting his hair cut... that always makes him look older. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Well, the most intimidating part of the sock is done, and it wasn't that hard... I'm using Sally Melville's sock pattern from "The Purl Stitch." The pictures show the "heel flap" and then the "heel turn." I'm expecting a challenge in making the second sock look the same. The self-patterning yarn I'm using had a break in it, so I'll have to try to reproduce the join. Also, I was looking for a repeat of the colors at the top of the sock, and I realized that the yarn was running the other direction before the "knot" on the ball. That is, the first knitting is as if it were the outside of the ball instead of the inside. Oh, well. If they don't match, I can wear them in boots! Happy Knitting, Lisa

Hi! I ran out yesterday at lunch to Myer's House and picked up the Opal you see in the top picture. It is a "self-patterning" one, which I find very intriguing. My shipment from The Loopy Ewe also came, yesterday, so I found it difficult to decide where to start. I picked the Opal, since it has a bit of stretch to it and will hopefully be more forgiving. (The other two are 100% Merino Wool.) I did a gauge swatch and then a couple rows of ribbing for the sock. I knitted more ribbing at lunch time today. I'm hooked! The Boomerang is a bit heavier gauge than I expected. I'll have to be careful to watch the gauge mentioned on The Loopy Ewe. I was just picking by color and "assumed" it would be a "sock" yarn. Oh, well! This should make an interesting, thick winter pair! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I mentioned my first three sweaters in the introductory post. Here are pictures and stats: Title: Einstein Coat Designer: Sally Melville Source: "The Knit Stitch" Yarn: Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets, Big Horn Wool, in color Chinese Poppy Shown with: Title: Misty Garden Scarf Designer: Jo Sharp Source: "Scarf Style" Yarn: Grace Wool and Silk, Color 6 Title: Drop Shoulder Cardigan Designer: Sandi Prossen Source: "Vogue Knitting," Winter 2004/2005 Yarn: Tahki Yarns, Ghost Print, Color 4105 Title: Surplice Lace Top Designer: Gayle Bunn Source: "Nashua Designer Series #4" Yarn: Berrocco, Nostalgia The Einstein Coat was a dream to knit. I loved the yarn so much that I picked up a coordinating color to make Sally Melville's modular sweater from the "Color" book. It's in the stash... The Drop Shoulder Cardigan is too bulky and doesn't close in the middle if you don't hold it. The model in Vogue Knitting was holding hers, t...

The picture of Mitchell in the introductory post is not a great picture of him... I chose it to show the afgan. So, here is a better and more recent picture of Mitchell. He is a wonderful boy. I can't brag on him enough. He is 20 months old and starting to count and write. He knows his animal sounds. (We have a lot of fun with "Old McDonald.") He has recently started "stacking" his toys. He takes them out of the toy box and carefully stacks them all somewhere, perhaps on the sofa or a spot on the floor. Today, he used the high chair! I'm trying to glean some meaning from that behavior. I hope it doesn't mean he's obsessive-compulsive! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I did mention that I would post more regarding Crazy For Ewe . It is a divine little shop in Leonardtown, MD. I found it on one of my earliest trips to Patuxent River ("Pax"), where I have been traveling often this year in support of EA-18G flight test. Crazy For Ewe has magnificent yarns (an obvious desire in an LYS), but I mainly love it because of the people. Ellen Lewis is a special lady, and she has created a relaxed and enjoyable environment. She has "knitting happy hour" on Wednesday evenings, and I always try to go when I'm in town. The folks who attend always have very fun conversations (like the one about the bare-rear pants in Key West). Ellen's shop is full of lovely details and special touches. I even enjoy her bags, which are a fun pink (the shop's signature color-- see the web site) and have the shop logo on them. The picture is my stash. I think you can start to get the idea that: 1. I am a fairly new knitter. (That isn't much of ...

I've been plunged into a world of knitting in the last year or so, and I've found other blogs so very interesting and useful that I feel compelled to start my own. I actually began knitting in 2004 after happening upon a totally compelling yarn shop, The Village Knitter , in Newburgh, IN, on an antiquing expedition. The beautiful shelves of candy-like yarn and the cozy circle of wing-back chairs made me want to plop down and knit right then and there, even though I had no idea what that meant. I investigated lessons and was in the process of arranging to take one when I found Sally Melville's "Knit Stitch." The book seemed so helpful and easy-to-follow that I picked it up to "prepare" for class, and I ended up not taking a class at all, but just learning from the book. I got some "cheap" yarn (Lion Brand Homespun) and made an afgan, shown over the rocking chair with my son, in the picture. (Lots of garter.) After finishing the afgan in 2004, I...