Almost ready for felting - my first felted bag!

Almost ready for felting - my first felted bag!, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

My first finished sock!

My first finished sock!, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

The large black stripe was added because I was running out of yarn - I like it, and will try to make a 'matched' pair! I'm more than 1/2 done on the second sock....making socks is very rewarding, and fun!

sock progress

sock progress, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

I'm adding a large black stripe here - Apparently I'm a tight knitter, and so I was running out of yarn! I saved enough stripy yarn to finish the toe with it :-)

Also - I have broken three bamboo needles with this one sock....and so now I'm using metal Addi's - which I LOVE!

Finshed the flap, and I turned the heel!

Finshed the flap, and I turned the heel!, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

I'm starting the heel now!

I'm starting the heel now!, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

I hope I'm doing this right!

Getting Started Knitting Socks

Getting Started Knitting Socks, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

My first SOCK!

In my last blog update, I noted that the lovely MsLindz sent me beautiful yarn, and knitting needles, too! (oh yes, and those GORGEOUS Lakeside socks! and a project bag made just for me...yes, in short, I got spoiled by a wonderful knitting faerie!)
So, yesterday I got started, and here is my first sock!

This morning I woke up telling my husband that I dreamed about socks.
He said, "argyle?"
Me, "no, stripes"
Him, "oh. cool."
and then he went to make the coffee :-)

What a care package, eh? There is sock knitting in my near future!!!

What a care package, eh There is sock knitting in my near future!!!, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

My friend Lindsey made those GORGEOUS socks (for Ravelry people, they're called Lakeside socks), and TOTALLY surprised me with the rest of the goodies in the box! She sent yarn, three sets/sizes of needles, she even made me that cute lil purple project bag! And, look at that cute card, too!
On Saturday, a new knitting friend is loaning me a sock book, and has offered to tutor me in the art of sock making! I'm ready to make socks!!
by the by - I was opening this package as Lindsey was waking up from back surgery ...she came through it with flying colors, and is making great progress (walking the morning after surgery, go her!)

This really made my week - which, quite honestly, has been kind of crappy!

Thank you, Lindsey! I cannot WAIT to wear those socks!!!
Maybe those can be my first socks after this silly knee surgery! MY lucky socks!! ;-)

Dreamy Plum Tree Blossoms

Dreamy Plum Tree Blossoms, originally uploaded by _Anaya_.

I know I haven't posted much about knitting lately. I don't really have yarn for a new project - stay tuned, hang in there, I'm a knitter, and I shall be knitting again soon!

from our yard, the first fresh cut flowers of the year!

It will be interesting to see how my 'free time' is split - between my new hobby knitting, and my long time passion for spring-time macro photography....it will be interesting, for sure!

Shawl progress Mar 18

I had to put this down for several days - my grandson was sick, and deserved every bit of my attention! (yeah, that and I made a mistake that I couldn't fix, but I stopped by the yarn shop yesterday and got the help I needed) So! I got to do a bit more work on this last night. :-)

5 days with nothing to knit - it felt like FOREVER!

day two shawl progress

soooo far to go, but the progress is rewarding.
I'm knitting! That makes me happy :-)

the start of my first shawl

This is the first time I've used a marker for 'right side', and while this isn't my first experience with yarn overs, this is certainly the most I've done in one project! (so far)

I still ache to make my first pair of socks! Soon *crossing fingers*

"The Spring Forward Scarf"

This was a fun experiment of 'I wonder what will happen if I try this...'
I like the 'lacy' look of this knit - it is simply this: *K1, YO, K2tog*
I suggest knitting one row after casting on, and one row before casting off. It finishes the ends nicely! This is an easily adaptable recipe - I did this scarf with 14 sts. Experiment, and let me know if you try this! I'd love to see what you come up with :-)

The Noodle Doodle Hat!

I improvised from several simple hat patterns I found online. I added rows to the headband, and made it a bit taller, too. I knit with two yarns - my first attempt! I also figured out how to knit the flower, and how to make an I-tube for my doodle top! I'm very happy with my Noodle Doodle Hat! And, it's fun to wear!

in the light of the moon (this has absolutely nothing to do with knitting!)

Last night, Gabe (my husband) and I took Oberon (our great dane puppy) out for one last duty call - we noticed how quickly the clouds were moving past the sliver of a moon. The moon shined brightly even through the thickest clouds. And then we heard it...the familiar clicking sound we know to belong to two white owls that frequent our neighborhood! We often hear them, and some times we even spy a glimpse of them in the night sky. Last night we listened, we watched, and then we saw them! They circled in the darkness, loud with their clicking...and soon they were circling just over our heads! They were pretty high up there, but we could see them...it was like a show just for us! One seemed to perch on a tree, but the other just kept circling....lower, and then lower, and even lower...and soon I said out loud, "okay! that's close enough!"
Jack and Sterling, our cats, were at our feet. It was clear they knew that their curiosity would not serve them well, and so they sat in our shadows, and watched carefully... neither of them making a sound.
I think the owl was about 2 1/2 to 3 stories above us - I eyeballed this by looking at the top of our 2 story house. The owl was close to us, and seemed to actually be watching us. I want to say that it was a dozen times that owl circled over us (maybe even that precise number!), and then 'he' flew off, clicking all the while.

And so, just to recap - The moon, though just a sliver, was shining brightly through a cloudy sky. There were lots of bare branches from large old trees making nice silhouettes against the moonlit sky...and there were two white owls circling us overhead.
The cats stood at our feet - but Oberon stood in the middle of the yard, watching overhead... turning around and around. (he always watches birds, and planes, too)

It was amazing. Truly.
A little show...just for us.

The cats quickly followed us in the house - and without any coaxing at all ...Oberon, too.

(I imagine Jack looks like a big white bunny to an owl, eh?)

edit to add - it was in this space that our show happened last night - (though this was a different day, )the moon was just about in the middle of this shot

(it looks like the image got cut off a bit)

I'm a bit out of commission for a while

Hey there - if anyone's reading this - I wanted you to know
I'll be away for a while - I hurt my knee, and won't be sitting in front of the computer much for a while (I've got this big brace, and it's actually hard to sit in a chair). I'm sure I'll be knitting a lot, so hopefully I'll have some nice finished projects to show you when I'm up and about again!

Thanks for reading!

if you can read this...

If you can read this, please leave me a note. Just a character, if'n you want to!
I will continue to post in this blog, but I am entirely curious as to who's looking at it!

please, and thank you!
Anaya

Big Wool Hat

I've been dying to make this hat since I first saw the yarn! My local shoppe has SUCH a wonderful selection of fibers - so many choices, and me with an empty pocketbook *sigh*

okay, so check out this gorgeous fiber!



I LOVE this yarn!
www.ravelry.com/people/ZebraArtist/stash/bear-creek-bulky

I learned a new trick today... the I-tube

A very nice lady at the yarn shoppe taught me how to make an I-tube.
Cast on three sts to dpn - slide it to the end, knit. slide it to the end, knit - and it make a tube. I then made loops out of a loooong tube, and made a cute noodley loopy hat topper!

I might not ever take this hat off again! I love it!

"come to the dark side, we have cookies"...

You've heard it before...perhaps you even have an icon for your journal/blog. It's amusing.
So, I couldn't help but laugh out loud when at the last social knitting (stitch an' bitch) get together, someone brought home baked cookies! I had to confess why I burst in to laughter, and in turn, they all laughed out loud, too.

I started knitting January 2, 2009. My friend gave me the gift of some beautiful yarn, and my first set of knitting needles...a size 8 circular. 24". I believe I've worked on a project every day since then...oh! save the day I drove from Sonoma California to home, Southern Oregon...I may not have knit on that day.

I appreciate my local yarn shoppe! The owner, the employees, and all of the social knitters. I felt immediately welcome at the knitting table. And, I'm new, so they all laugh at my jokes - that's fun! There are women from many walks of life, and spanning generations. (there's a mother & daughter who attend together often - the child of the daughter is 49 - there are five generations alive and well in that family. That's amazing to me. They are lovely women, a couple among many who gather at the yarn shoppe!

Okay, off I go. Time to primp for yarn shoppe time (and, by primp I mean to say - organize my the knitting items I want to take with me...I need better organizational tools for my growing knitting supplies. That would be helpful :-)

progress on hat and scarf set

I figured out how to knit these lil flowers - I hope they tie the set together... Thoughts?

knitted flower embellishment!

I wanted a way to tie the hat and scarf together - this might be the ticket!

skinny scarf to go with hat previously posted

this will be adorned with yarn from the hat I made yesterday - I hope it makes a coordinating set (like I'm hoping it will!)

an experiment with color and texture

I've just got the 8 rows of decreases to finish up. I thought it would be fun to play with color and texture - this is a quick knit! I like how the two colors combined make a whole different hue to the hat. Groovy!

a new model for my hats and scarves - help me name her? :-)

She needs a name....and she has a 'sister', who will also need a name! Won't you help me? *laughing* Silly, I know....but better to be amused by them, than to be annoyed with me! *laughing some more*
It's all in good fun :-)

New yarn in my stash!

I acquired a few new yarns today at Michael's. Nice prices!

maybe this is a good time for a change

I don't think anyone's reading this (not yet, anyway)

I've been in livejournal since Dec 21, 2o01 - and my paid acct. is about to expire.
Perhaps it's time to move along. Perhaps it's time to let that account expire, and move my blogging over here.
I will be taking photos until the day I die - and, I'll happily be posting my photography at flickr.com/photos/zebraartist (until such time as it doesn't work for me anymore)

another hat finished

I played with a pattern that I used previously for a slouchy hat (see post before this one), I love the hat, but wanted it slouchier....so I revised the pattern, and made just what I wanted!
I'll take photos soon.

nobody is following this blog

slouchy hat and scarf set

I found "another slouchy hat recipe online, and made up the scarf pattern.
I'm making another hat like this, but altering the pattern a bit - I want it slouchier!
Overall, though - the pattern was easy to follow, and I'm happy to wear that hat!

Welcome to my knitting blog!

there's no separating photography from knitting - I might be so bold as to say - my photos may be making my knitting look good! *laughing*

In any event - I've never really used this thing before, but I'd like to start a journal/blog about my new hobby!
I have NO idea why it took my 44 years to learn how to knit - but I'm happy to be doing it now!

If you can read this - say hello!
Anaya :-)