Knitting Like Crazy

Reminiscing-NOVA SCOTIA

2026-10-05T13:14:02.901-04:00

Every once in awhile a little video pops up in my feed and this morning it was this charming video my friend made of the four of us on our trip to Nova Scotia...of course it was a knitting journey. We were on our way to the Prince Edward Island Fibre Festival. We did a lot of sight seeing on our way. We rented a beautiful little cottage and toured Halifax which is a fabulous port town. I loved the maritime museum, just filled with history especially about the huge explosion that totally decimated the harbor.

BUT on a happier note, this is more like what we did while in Nova Scotia, we never got to Prince Edward Island but we did stay in our cottage and roamed around in the little shops, here is the local yarn shop!. We all bought yarn and patterns for hats here, the hats were called "Everyone Loves This Hat" and we all knitted them.

Every morning we went to our favorite coffee shop for coffee and buns and we sat and knitted, This is the beginning of socks, next to the pumpkins that were on the table.

These were the places we liked to hang out. There were wonderful cozy yarn shops with all kinds of old antique spinning wheels and baskets. Lots of wool and hand dyed yarn and knitting books. There were patterns for mittens with instructions to knit a "trigger finger" for hunters. Very interesting.

This yarn shop sold lots of un-dyed wool so you could dye your own. Many people use natural dyes and make beautiful colors from plants and vegetables.

We were hearing that a huge hurricane was thundering up the East coast and we were warned that it was headed straight for Prince Edward Island and that the festival was sure to be closed down. This was Hurricane Ian I believe.

We actually hightailed it back to the airport and were able to grab the last rooms, all the flights were cancelled so we stayed in the hotel for two nights waiting for the hurricane. We did go out and danced in the wind and rain; who could miss an opportunity like that! We were breathless!

Lessons Learned!

2026-10-04T11:40:12.631-04:00

I finished the shawl that I was knitting with the yarn I bought at Stephen and Penelope in Amsterdam while we were on our knitting cruise to Australia and New Zealand. The entire time I was knitting it I complained about how I did not like it, I was not happy with how it was turning out, how it was not a fun knit and on and on. I was just not thrilled with it. I stuck it out, I finished it. I steamed it out, clipped off all the ends and voila!! It is fabulous! It is long enough to wrap around and stay on my shoulders, it is soft, the colors are fab...I could not be happier. My take away is this, don't give up!

I spent a good part of this afternoon learning the Italian Bind Off method so I could bind off the front part of the vest I am making for my little Olivia. This was a challenge, but well worth it.

Italian Bind off

I will suggest that if you are interested in trying this super stretchy and very smart looking tubular bind off you should refer to the Brooklyn Tweed You Tube video. After I tried a few I found that this video was the easiest to follow and understand.

I have to share a picture of my little angel in the sweater I surprised her with. Her mom asked if I could make it for her when we saw a sample in the Tangled Ball in Edgewater, CO.

Olivia!

Meanwhile, my classes are just amazing me! Everyone is super enthusiastic and ready to work and learn. I am trying to put together a list of free and easy patterns in a links list to help my students find a project that is suitable to work on. I found this cool pattern for pants! Joost pants by Lion Brand I may try to make these! I will attach the links to the end of each blog post.

My Group is Growing!

2026-09-21T09:19:38.128-04:00

I am so happy that I have been able to gather some lovely people to my Knitting Workshop to learn how to knit and crochet, although I realize I may have made a mistake in calling it a "Workshop". I am really teaching "how to" as in how to knit or crochet, or how to fix a mistake, how to pick up a dropped stitch, how to finish a garment/blanket/hat/ , how to read a pattern...These are those mysteries that one can ponder long into the night and will cause one to abandon a project that has taken many hours of contemplative work. Come one and all and bring all of your abandoned projects and we will get them finished!! Knitting Workshop Wednesdays 1:00-3:00 at Allamanda Recreation Center

speaking of which, I should be ashamed, myself, having moved and crammed all of my knitting into bags and boxes, I really must pull out one of my stalled projects and get it done. It is a Scandinavian sweater and all that is left is the arms! Sound familiar? I have a certain lovely "student" who is in the same predicament, so as I coax her along I should be heeding my own voice!

My sweater as is right now

I also have to say, the longer I let it go the more intimidated I am by the spectre of finishing it. I will have to steek the front so to. me, that is like climbing the Himalayas.

My gorgeous sister lives part of the year in Montana and she loves the color orange, she sent me a photo of a hat with just one word, "PLEASE" so II obliged! It turned out really great, I was pleased with the final result and she looks adorable skiing in it!

My daughter recently moved to Illinois from Colorado, it was bittersweet for everyone, I think, I will always remember the incredible yarn stores that I visited and the Yarn Crawl that I participated in, one of the most fun days ever. Driving up and down the edge of the mountains in Colorado visiting all the yarn stores on the list, I finished the entire yarn crawl in three days and bought an incredible amount of luscious yarn. I will miss that part of Colorado.

2026-09-11T10:15:57.300-04:00

It's Been Way too Long

So many things have happened it may be hard to catch up, I am happily living in Florida, "The Sunshine State," I am trying to continue to be the Pied Piper of knitting here, I have a Nice little group of lovely people who want to learn how to knit and or crochet, or to finish a project that has been put aside, or just pick up where they left off. It is wonderful meeting new people and Iove sharing everything I know about something that I love.

This is the closet I have transformed into my KNITTING CLOSET, I have a room that I am lucky enough to be able to devote to my favorite past time and all of my favorite yarn. It doubles as another guest room when I am lucky enough to have my grandchildren come to visit.

Meanwhile, my tribe of grandchildren has expanded to 7, I now have 6 grandsons and one delightful, beautiful little granddaughter. I have to travel all over the country to visit everyone and it is oh, so worth it, but I am also continuing my travels abroad to find amazing yarn and knitting experiences.

My last trip was to Portugal where we traveled from Lisbon to Porto on the Douro River. This included a lot of wine tasting which was also delightful. The scenery was breathtaking, the weather was perfect. The countryside was filled with almond trees and olive trees on terraced mountainsides.

My roommate was a wonderful, smart and beautiful lady who owns a yarn dying company in California. We had a great, fun time; if you are searching for beautiful hand dyed yarn with natural dyes Here is her business card Her company is ADARAH Fiber Art

Here is an example behind me of the layered or terraced mountains where they cultivate the olive trees and almond trees. Alas, we did not find a lot of yarn to buy, most of what the Portugese stores were selling was CORK; That is another one of their major exports, so everything was made of cork, pocketbooks, bags, pens, bottles, hats, you name it you could buy it in cork.

The point of taking a "knitting" trip to Portugal was spending a dreamy time on a river cruise learning from expert knitting designers how to knit sweaters that fit perfectly and how to make your own design. There were lovely classes out on the deck while we calmly sailed on the Douro River learning new knitting techniques and embellishments.

Here I am trying on one of the sample sweaters that I decided I would like to knit, I just like the style, not sure of the stripes, but I do like the cardigan style and the drape and fit. I did take the information for the pattern. It was a fun night, followed by drinking and dancing .

This is a view of the riverbank while we passed the city of Porto, we did dock there and spent some time in the city. I liked it better than Lisbon, as Lisbon was just another big city, too much like NYC.

Here are two of my traveling companions, knitting away on deck, it was so delightful! The weather was gorgeous. Luckily we brought our own projects and yarn. Susan and Janice are from Vancouver, Canada and we have been traveling on knitting tours together for 14 years.

We miss our dear friend Norma, she is recuperating in California, I can't wait until she can travel with us again.

NEXT TRIP!!

Knitting Tour to Spain in November, 2026

Now I have SIX

2024-03-21T15:06:00.004-04:00

Since I wrote last, I have had another grandchild, his name is Gavin and he rounds out my tribe of six, 5 wonderful little boys and one magnificent granddaughter! I could not be happier unless I could see them more often, that might make me happier than I already am.

I have finally been able to fulfill the dreams I have had for many years of being able to knit all day long with no interruptions, to travel to many different destinations with wonderful friends, and to learn how to paint better and without fear!

So many things to catch up with, All to do with knitting! My classes have started for the Spring semester, I have a great group of enthusiastic learners who have already succeeded in finishing some very nice projects!

Laura with her long scarf

Marianne showing her first sweater

Mei modeling her bulky sweater

Sue working on her bulky vest

My recent travels have been centered around knitting, of course, and I was so excited to be able to visit Amsterdam and go to Stephen West's store "Stephen and Penelope"! It was night time and we walked through the red light district of Amsterdam which was thrilling in itself, and came upon his shop

Yes! It's very bright and exciting; and you walk in and down a few steps. The store is just filled with luscious yarn in gorgeous vibrant colors. I actually picked out yarn right away and walked to the cashier. As I was paying I heard her say to her colleague, "Stephen said he'd be here in 5 minutes". Well, I stared at the door and was amazed to see him walk in a few minutes later. He is very big and has a commanding presence, but is glowing with kindness and sincerity, He spent so much time speaking with each of us about our projects and colors and what we wanted to achieve in our choices, what would look best on us, or what colors worked best together. He was charming and patient we were all so impressed and happy with the visit to his shop. Thank you, Stephen!

Stephen helping Janice choose colors

My purchase at Stephen and Penelope

Me, thrilled to be meeting Stephen!

I will be updating this website more often and please note that I am including a list of links that you can use to find free patterns, I will continue to update these links as well.

Links List

Purl Soho-Free Patterns

Ravelry-Free Patterns

My Knitting Photos

My Ravelry Page

Long Flowy Cardigan

NANA AGAIN!!

2022-03-14T13:31:00.004-04:00

New babies, new projects!

I had two new grandchildren in 6 months!

This brings me great joy!

And, of course, a good reason to make some new clothes,
and hats and mittens, and blankets!

I make these little bean bag sets

for my grandchildren,

with some of my left over yarn.

This is my little sweetie in the hat I made for her!

I had the great experience of reconnecting with an old friend from college we met up and reminisced in our old college haunts, we decided to travel to Paris to celebrate our special birthdays this year. I sent her these fingerless mitts to celebrate our reunion

This is my gorgeous sister, she is sporting my favorite sweater that I made for myself with yarn that i bought from Good Karma Farms at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck NY. Once made and blocked it was just not roomy enough for me, and when she came from Florida to visit I let her "borrow" it. She looked so great in it I had to let her take it. She looks fabulous in it and I am so happy that she gets good use of it!

....And again, my sister wearing the scarf she asked me to make for her to. keep her neck warm when the weather gets chilly in Florida (?) This color matches her new hat and was made to order!

Of course, I am always knitting socks. Always have a pair on my needles. I knit two at a time on two circulars. These were made with stretchy sock yarn by Knit Picks. Very comfortable sock yarn. Nice to knit with. I have been going down a needle size lately, now i am knitting socks on Size 1.

To Knit or.....

2021-10-26T15:17:00.000-04:00

Retired life is amazing. I am so happy. Every day is my own to do with as I please. While I was working I had a little knitting group during lunch, a bunch of us sat together and knitted or crocheted, and gabbed, I helped everyone out on different problems or stitches, it was a very pleasant break in the otherwise very demanding day. I used to say, "This is all I want to do all day". and I really meant it. And now I really can! I am immersed in my yarn world every day.

Last weekend I attended the 22nd (for me) NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. I jokingly refer to it as "My Christmas Day" It was just fabulous, I go with a great group of friends and we spend the whole day touching and enjoying yarn, alpacas, and knitting goods out in the fresh October air of upstate NY.

I came home with a lot of yarn, I learned in previous years to hold back just a little bit as I had gone overboard so many times and bought yarn without a good idea of what I was going to do with it. I learned to only buy yarn when I had a good idea of a project in mind and how much I would need to complete said project.

I was just drawn to this luscious pink colored yarn, so this was my one impulsive buy for this day.

Look at this luscious pink yarn!1 it is Merino Lite from Tess' Designer yarns

The deep red is baby alpaca and merino from Good Karma Farm

The fabulous gray wool yarn is Lanaloft from Brown Sheep Co.

This is my haul.

But back to the point. I come home with all this gorgeous yarn. I now have yarn to wind, projects to research, needles to find, patterns to print and read. Now, while looking for the right needles I realize I have to organize my needles. I like to use circulars the best and almost use circulars exclusively, but I need a better organization method that is easy to use. Also, then what do I do with the straights? (I will NOT throw them out) Shall I organize those? How? And next, how to organize the yarn? by weight? By color? By project? it goes on and on. Where to stash all the stash and needles?? I have a beautiful new "craft room" that I made in my basement, and I get lost down there playing with yarn, and organizing so that I barely know that time goes by. But knitting? At the end of the day I say" I tomorrow I am going to knit ALL DAY!"

Here are my. latest projects in process:

Two at a time on two circulars
Blue Marled Regia Yarn

Diggory-Venn by Izabel Kraemer
in Blue Leicester Wool

Gammel Sandvik Kofte
Norwegian Rauma in Natural and Petrol

I hope you have a great day and enjoy this website!

More Catching Up, Stories of Toronto and. Cold Weather Wear

2021-03-02T06:47:00.006-05:00

Here I am modeling the cowl I made, it's made from
cashmere and so soft! It is gray and purple.

To add to the theme of the last post, keeping warm in this winter, I was able to use my "A Girl's Best Friend" Shawl, which I knitted after our trip to Toronto. We called it our Yarn Crawl through Toronto. I went with my three great knitting buddies that I met on the knitting cruise ship. We have had riotous times together and the trip to Toronto was just the best! Janice wore her "A Girl's Best Friend" and I was so entranced by it that I had her help my choose some yarn so I could make my own. Here it is:

Of course, I have been leaning towards Purple and gray

for all of my latest projects!

On the same trip to Toronto we visited a lovely little store off the beaten track called The Knit Cafe, where I found a beautiful shawl kit.

Here is the shawl I knit,

It was knit in four pieces which then were stitched together. It is mohair and a silky thicker yarn making the stripes.

It's sort of like a cloud, very soft and light. I love it!! It may be perfect to wear at Juli's wedding in Montana as it will be chilly in the evening on the Helipad!

The owner was such a sweet lady we spent a lot of time there and bought lots of yarn, mostly in kits. I also bought a kit for thrummed mittens which I have as yet to tackle. Keep posted!

This is an example of thrummed mittens!

We four had a fabulous time in Toronto. We stayed at an AirBnB and just shopped all the yarn stores. We dined at an authentic 40's diner for Saturday morning brunch, it was so great. Also were able to visit the huge Artisan Show where I met Gordon Harrison and we were able to buy fur pom poms. It was a very special day. We were all disappointed to learn that one of our favorite places closed after we left, the Purple Purl. Sorry to see it go.

Yarn Untangled was another quaint lovely shop in Kensington Market area that stocks local yarn, where I bought the luscious Lichen and Lace yarn to make socks. It sang to me from the display.

Here are the socks.

The photo does not do the yarn justice as the colors are gorgeous as is the feeling of the wool. Definitely some of my favorite socks to date!

Back to Basics

2021-02-27T14:14:00.002-05:00

2020 was a very trying year. I am going to move past it and just say that I will be focused on knitting more now than I have been. It is my serenity!

I Signed up for a knitting class online, to knit a Norwegian Sweater, more specifically a Kofte which is a stranded knitting project.

This is the very beginning of my project

This is what it should look like when finished

It is a challenge but its also exciting to try something different. The instructor is very serious about gauge and keeping the Integrity of the historical pattern as it is over 100 years old. She has interpreted the pattern to some of our more modern standards and into English of course. I ordered the wool directly from the Instructor who owns and runs a sheep farm in Oslo. The yarn is Rauma and is fingering weight. Her website is Knitography She offers other classes and yarn as well.

This winter has been brutal, much more snow and cold weather than we have had in recent years so I actually have had more opportunity to use some of the items I have knitted to keep me warm!

This is a neck warmer (?) or cowl, I made the same one for my sister, we both agreed that as long as your neck is warm, you are worm! She lives in Montana so she is aware of how to keep warm in the snowy winter!

And this is a more conventional cowl, it is really
a tube shape and goes over your head and around
around your neck. I made it with delicious
Cashmere that I bought in Elgin, Scotland

I have done some stranded knitting and
I enjoyed it! This was made from a kit, so the
Pattern and yarn all came together. I purchased it at
an Irish booth at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival

More Copenhagen

2018-07-03T08:24:00.002-04:00

I just loved Copenhagen. On our meanderings we, of course, visited some yarn shops, this one was the favorite, Sommerfuglen. I was told that meant Butterfly, I thought that was really cute. I did NOT buy anything here, I have vowed to not buy indiscriminately and only when I have an idea of what I am going to knit with said yarn.

I was absolutely entranced by the bicycles in Copenhagen. Everyone rides bikes. Even with dresses and business attire, everyone is riding. No one wears a helmet. No one wears fancy racing bike gear. There are bikes everywhere and you are cautioned NOT to stand in the BIKE LANES!! You will seriously get run over. Everyone heeds the traffic laws and does not walk without the walk signal. All the signals also have an audio component so this is another reminder to be careful.

This is a really great photo that Norma took of "rush hour" in Copenhagen. This is across the street from our hotel. Actually, I see two people with helmets, they must be tourists Hahaha.

For all the photos of the trip, click HERE

The rest of my trip

2018-07-03T08:06:00.001-04:00

Trying to catch up on information from the trip because it was very hard to find a reliable wi-fi to upload photos. While we were on the ship we were disconnected so that meant we had to find pubs in the ports we were in to do any internet work.

The third day we were in Copenhagen was the day that we became very adventurous and took the train north to Helingsor, which is on the coast and the closest point to Sweden across the channel. We bought the tickets as a round trip from Copenhagen-Helsingor-Malmo and back to Copenhagen,

Central Station in Copenhagen

The view of Helsingor when we got off the train

I right =way found something to buy! A gorgeous orange rain jacket

The town is dominated by a huge quay where many older sailing ships are kept. Tolls were collected by the Danish King during the

This is a panoramic photo of the castle, it is magnificent

The castle that stands on the very point is the castle made famous by William Shakespeare in his play, Hamlet. The castle is the Kronberg Castle but it is also well known as Elsinore, Hamlet's home.

My traveling buddies.

Everything is just so picturesque.

We boarded the ferry that goes across the channel every 20 minutes to Sweden, to a town named Helsingborg

A medieval town built upon a shipping industry from the 1400's. It is on a very steep hill which we climbed to get the overview. We ate our packed lunch on benches in the town square. We decided that, true to popular opinion, Swedes are much more reserved than their Danish counterparts.

We boarded the train from Helsingborg to return to Copenhagen, when the conductor came by she was frowning and confused. She called her superintendent over and they had a quick discussion. She was very nice but told us that we had to buy a SWEDISH ticket, not a DANISH one and that there is usually a hefty fine for trying to travel with the wrong ticket of 1000 Kroner. She advised us kindly to get off at the next stop, buy a new SWEDISH ticket and get back on the net train.
That actually was fine because it gave me an opportunity to shop in the local grocery store which I find fascinating, I bought a bag of mixed candies and we got on the next train to Malmo. We met and sat with this hilarious gentleman who started out as a button-up reserved business man, but quickly loosened up and by the time we got to Malmo we were all laughing our heads off and eating candy. He gave ma a an of beer from Sweden as we were teasing him mercilessly about unknown Swedish beer.

Returning to Copenhagen it turns out that there was some huge soccer match going on in some stadium there and everyone was turned out in Swedish soccer gear and partying hardy. Our hotel was situated near the Central Station and surrounded by pubs filled with soccer fans and it was really colorful and fun. I believe the match was between Sweden and Switzerland, and Switzerland won. That is what I was able to understand from all the fans I spoke to, although when i asked they looked at me like I had two heads. They could not understand why I was not following the matches closely and that I even had to ask who won!

For all the photos of the trip, click HERE

Day two

2018-05-18T09:50:00.000-04:00

today was an amazing day although we missed the start of our “tour” Norma and I took off on our own. Headed straight to the Nyhavn canal area to take the canal cruise
It was a gorgeous day and the tour was great.

After that we headed straight for the royal palace to see the changing of the guard

The guard changes at 12:00, it is really a spectacle to watch. These guys are in the service and volunteered to be in the guard. They are very serious and must be effective because the palace is in an open square where people are milling about all day. It is beautiful and peaceful

We sat and had lunch that we packed this morning around the royal gardens near the water.

For all the photos of the trip, click HERE

Copenhagen food tour

2018-05-17T11:04:00.000-04:00

terrific food tour today, visited a world renowned brewery and award winning restaurant located in the revitalized meat packing district in the west end of Copenhagen. Also sampled handmade ice cream pops, dream cake , cappuccino from hand roasted beans and hand made chocolate. Denmark is committed to organic eating, preserving food, wind energy, these have become all important here.

Now off to find the yarn store

Hand made Chocolates on display

Mikkeller beer

Storefront for Mikkeller

Found the yarn store! Sommefuglen = butterfly

Kildten gave us his freshly made rhubarb ice cream pops covered in white chocolate

We are standing behind his shop where he makes his confections.

Sommebrot, rye bread with herring and one with organic grass fed beef

Delicious with Aquavit!

Sensation (“Sebbie”) brewing our cappucino made with coffee roasted in house. We also had a traditional treat called Dream Cake mmmmmm!!

Copenhagen

2018-05-17T04:09:00.000-04:00

I’m here!
I had a terrific flight on Norwegian air. Met a delightful young Dane who now lives in NY he was able to explain o me how to take the Metro to my hotel once we landed....

Made it to the hotel! The Square in Copenhagen!

Tomorrow!

2018-05-14T21:02:00.001-04:00

Time finally to leave, this trip has been in the planning for over a year now!!
Definitely undecided about the final packing list so In the morning it’s going to be final decision time!
I spent the day at the beach at Heckscher State Park with my dear friend Ann painting en plain air. It was so magnificent I want to do more of that it was a great and fun experience.

Rollin" rollin' rollin...

2018-05-04T21:42:00.003-04:00

I am on a roll, I just started keeping a log of my knitting, which keeps me accountable, My daughter, Laura Jean gave me a nice bound book with nice smooth paper in it and I am using that to keep my notes in. I had been horrified to open up my "knitting closet" to find at least 15 unfinished projects, all of which I am committed to finishing because I love them, I love the yarn, it brings back good memories,...or for any other number of reasons! So now I am staying focused on just a few projects at a time, and sticking with them until I finish! That is my 2018 resolution.

Luckily, I am newly encouraged and enthused because of my new knitting buddies! Yes, I am teaching knitting again in Continuing Ed departments at two different school districts on Long island. I have met the most wonderful ladies and enjoy sharing everything with them, especially tips and tricks all about knitting and yarn.

I took one of my groups on a field trip to Tarrytown to visit Flying Fingers knit shop, then on to Nyack to visit "Knitting Nation" It was a gorgeous day, we walked around the towns, bought yarn dreaming about the projects we are going to knit, and had a delightful lunch at Didier Dumas. I headed home after that but my itinerant knitters continued on to Mamaroneck where they found new delights in another knit shop. I was disappointed to have to leave them however all my children and their children were at my house waiting for me, which is another delight altogether.

I love my Garden City Class and my Port Washington class!!

Here is a picture of the Four Stitch Scarf that some of my beginner knitters are making. It is a pattern designed by Yarn Harlot and it has been so fun to see all the different results depending on what yarn they use, what size needles. It has become a whole conceptual lesson in design and materials for my knitters!!

And....SOCKS

2018-03-23T09:52:00.003-04:00

One of my most favorite Christmas gifts was a bag o' yarn from Lindsay. I had used some luscious yarn that I bought at J.P. Knit & Stitch, a lovely little yarn shop in Jamaica Plain, MA, to make a pair of socks. The yarn was so soft and delightful to work with that I raved about it to Lindsay. My fabulous daughter went back to the store and picked out several skeins of that very same yarn to give to me for Christmas. I love her!!

The yarn is "Alegria" by Manos del Uruguay

I cast on some socks right away and enjoyed knitting them because this yarn is so nice to work with.

Finished socks!! This is hand-painted yarn

Since we have had a terrible, wet, raw, cold winter here, I wore my own socks all winter, They are the warmest and one day I dragged them all out and admired them, here is a photo of most of the socks I have made and kept. Many more have gone out as gifts to my daughters, my friends and family. It is very satisfying to see so much of my work all together, a history of sorts. I remember all the yarn, the patterns and the time I spent knitting them.

Ready to cast on another pair!

Chloe Kim Fever

2018-03-23T08:40:00.003-04:00

There is nothing like seeing a knitted item and furiously trying to re-create it! This winter, in the Olympics, the adorable young Chloe Kim showed up all over the TV in an adorable hat. Right away I wanted to try to make the hat for my daughters. I spent a few days trying to get the same look, using different yarns, different size needles...Finally I got the look I wanted. I never did find the actual yarn that her hat was made of, but the super bulky yarn by Lion Brand fit the bill. After several trips to Michael's I found enough yarn to make four hats.

My two daughters in their hats!
Here is a photo of Chloe Kim in her hat, the inspiration for my projects.

This was very exciting to me.

I am going to write out my pattern to share.

CHLOE KIM HAT

Materials:

Size 15 needles. I would use a 16” circular or two circulars to knit in the round,
Another option would be DPNs , whichever works best for you.

Chunky yarn, I used Lion Brand Wool Ease “Thick and Quick” or any comparable yarn.

HAT

Cast on 46 stitches and connect in the round.

K1, P1 around

Continue until the hat is 9 ½-10 inches tall. You want to be able to turn up at least 3” around
the brim so you can gauge that as you go.

Next 2 rounds, K2Tog all around,
The stitches will be decreased to 11. Cut the yarn and pull through all remaining stitches.
Pull tight and knot the yarn on the inside of the hat.

TASSEL

Make a tassel with the remaining yarn.
I would cut 10” pieces, as many as you would like, tie them together in the middle very tight,
connect to the top of the hat with a large-eye needle and some of the remaining yarn.
You could also use the tail end of the yarn that you finished the hat with to sew the tassel on.
Make sure your tassel is big and chunky enough!
I have to add more to one of my daughter's hats when she complained that her tassel
was not as big as her sister's!

ENJOY

RETIRED

2017-01-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

RETIRED!!

Yes, It finally happened, I am retired from teaching after 25 years!
I have to say I was a tiny bit worried that I might not know what to do with myself, but LO! I can do whatever i want now! It is exceptionally freeing to wake up and say, "I can do anything I want to do!"

Me at my retirement celebration!

Most exciting, of course, is that I do not have to drive into Queens, NY anymore. The commute had become so onerous, taking up at least three hours of my day every work day.

ENOUGH of that...

Knitting became the first thing I think about every morning!
Of course I immediately started knitting socks

This is me knitting while walking around. It is not easy but sometimes necessary!

Next I started to panic about Christmas, and similar to socks, I began to knit fingerless mittens for some presents

These were for Sue, The yarn is a tiny bit sparkly, I love this yarn!

These were for Nathalie, the yarn is soft white, these are sort of dressy.

I also started knitting hats, once I got the idea about how to fit them, I became a little more successful.

This was the first hat I knitted, for my little baby grandson, Shane.

Then I liked it so much I knitted one for Callum, in his favorite team colors, the Islanders hockey team. He was not as excited as I was, when he opened his present, he threw it on the floor. He was expecting a toy, I guess!

Brad loved the photo and told Lindsay he would love to have a hat in Vikings colors!

Sooooo, he got one!

One of the funnier projects I worked on was this Wacky Scarf. That is what I decided to call it. My friend Su gave me a cone of yarn that she did not think that she would use. I started knitting up a pattern that I had saved called Nirmulintu, a sort of asymmetrical scarf/shawl. I brought it to Skytop and when Sue saw it, she said "I want it!" I took it off and gave it to her, and promptly knitted a new one for myself.

Here is Sue with the Wacky Scarf ! It was very cold at Skytop this year, any warm accessory was greatly appreciated.

Sue is the (lucky?) recipient of many of my projects, first because she always says I WANT IT! But also because she looks great in everything and she uses all of the projects I have made for her.

Laura Jean also wanted a sweater, for years she has asked me to make her a "Grandpa sweater" big, bulky with pockets...When I went to the Sheep and Wool Festival in October I actually brought patterns with me so i could choose the right yarn and the correct amount. I bought a beautiful pure wool in denim blue. She got her sweater on Christmas!

There were other projects, during the summer I knitted with Euroflax, which is like linen, I made this top it took me about 5 times to get the sizing correct, and I used several different patterns combined to come up with this. I am happy with it

And then, for colder weather, I made this Vogue pattern with some very raw wool yarn I had bought years ago. I did change the front button band from the pattern and made up my own with contrasting yarn.

This was taken in the middle of the summer so I tried it on FAST and then took it right off. When the weather got chillier I was happy to get to wear it.

Right now I am going to go get the Reyna scarf that i just made with yarn that my knitting friend Su gave me for Christmas. I will post the photo soon!

Catching up on Two Years of knitting!

2016-05-09T12:35:00.000-04:00

I have ignored my blog, but never stopped knitting, I am getting ready to retire so I want to start again, I am hoping to be much more prolific after July 1!

I decided that I like to make vests as sweaters with sleeve are:

1. Too hot! and

2. Sleeves never fit well.

I was extra happy with this aran well vest, the yarn was so bouncy (that's the only way I can describe it) and the pattern was so well written.

I also found this tunic and loved the yarn and pattern. I will slim it down the next time I decide to knit one, it is very comfortable, and perfect over slim pants, but makes me look bulky!

One of my dearest friends went to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival with me, and ran back to buy this yarn bowl for me for Christmas. I treasure it!

I had a visitor for a few months, my little Elle, she was my knitting companion while LauraJean moved from one apartment to another.

My spur of the moment purchase at Rhinebeck turned into this wonderful long sweater-jacket. I am so happy with it, I am going to move the buttons over a tiny bit so the sweater closes better, I wore it all winter, as we had a very mild sinter overall in 2015-16.

This winter was the year of the teddy bear hats. My niece, Jackie is holding her precious baby Charlie wearing the pink teddy bear I made for her first birthday.

Here is a detail of the sweater-jacket I made with bulky yarn from Rhinebeck. The jacket is warm! and soft, I love this yarn, I want to score some more next time I go to Rhinebeck, not until October!

My brother-in-law asked for FIVE teddy bear hats, I think each one has it's own funny expression! I had to take a picture of them all together!I still love alpacas, they are so gentle and serene. I feel some kinship with them not sure why!?

Nathalie wanted mittens for her birthday (according to Michael) I love the way these turned out!

And Lindsay bought yarn and a pattern in Rhode island so I would knit her this hat! I love it, and want to knit more of these.

So Much to Write About!

2014-02-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

Mostly, my trip to Iceland and Scotland with the Vogue Knitting Tour. It was amazing to travel with fellow knitters. I had a wonderful time, it was truly the trip of a lifetime!!

My very best friend on the trip, Norma, and I in the lobby at Aberdeen, knitting and laughing.

We travelled with Nicky Epstein. She never knitted except this once, when she borrowed some of my yarn to make a leaf. She was very energetic and vivacious, but had to leave the tour when she fell and broke her ankle.

A picture of me in St. Andrews Scotland. This was a beautiful part of the trip. So much was wonderful, I have so many amazing memories, I cannot even write them all here. Mostly, I want to focus on the knitting aspect!

We met Ysolda Teague, who is so talented, I was in awe of her. She came and gave a presentation and offered some of her yarn and books for sale. I bought her book which I really have not had any time to read, but I know it will be a great resource when I have the time. She was adorable and friendly and humble. I wore my curlique shawl, which everyone loved.!!

Just had to include this photo of me going into the Blue Lagoon. What an amazing experience. I would go back to Iceland just to go there.

Some of the amazing Icelandic yarn that I brought back. I had to ask my friends to carry some home in their suitcases because I did not have enough room in my bags!! This is Lett Lopi which is the medium weight yarn. All made from Icelandic sheep which are different than any other sheep in the world.

We knitted at night in the sitting area of the hotel, we knitted in the day on the bus,

I carried and knitted this sweater all the way through Scotland and iceland. Lots of my travelling companions could not understand what I was making or why I was knitting this sweater from side to side. Here it is all finished, I wish I could show everyone how nice it turned out!! Who's laughing now??

We were introduced to yarn and more yarn, all gorgeous an hand made and hand dyed, it was too much to even choose from. It was like a dream come true, everywhere we went.

Photo from the plane, this is when we were flying over Greenland to come home.

So I used some of the Icelandic wool to make this hood/cowl. The pattern was from the Lopi book that we were given at the Istex factory, the name of the pattern is Hetta. Lindsay loved this right away so she took it home and wears it in the cold Boston winter.

When I got home I set up this old worktable that I salvaged from Dad's basement as my own type of worktable. I wind my yarn here and it doubles as a sofa table.

This is some of the yarn I bought from the Sheep and Wool festival this year. I saw the colors together and had to buy it. Vogue had a pattern for a "varsity jacket" style sweater so I knew what I was going to use it for right away.

Mom and me at Skytop.

Tools of the trade: The woman who makes these knitting pots by hand was retiring, so it would be her last year at the Sheep and Wool festival. I had to buy one of her pots. It holds the yarn while you knit so the ball doesn't roll all around the place, like under the couch or something. Also does not allow Elle to get all tangled up in it!

And buttons! I am always fascinated with buttons, especially old buttons. I love to search through all my buttons to find just the right ones. Karen and Gap went to an antique show while we were in Atlanta for Brian McNally's wedding and they came home with this Ball jar full of old buttons for me!! What a treasure!!

Laura Jean is still making great use of the warm hat and cowl I made for her. This winter has been brutal, especially in Chicago!!

I me other famous knitters when i went into Manhattan to the Vogue Live! show. I met up with Beth, a friend from the trip to Iceland, and her friend Helen. It was so great to see them and enjoyed the show together.

They also got to spend some time at Times Square which was a thrill for them.

And the picture of my house, this is what it looked like almost all of February, encased and surrounded by snow.

Pretty in Pink

2013-08-12T10:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, I finished the luscious pink mohair sweater that has been in my mind for so long. Happy with the results, Sue looks great in it! I used the new book I got for my birthday from "my knitting girls"and followed many of Deborah Newton's tips. This made a big difference in the finishing of the sweater. Here she is!

Now, the next sweater I have to focus on is for Karen!

For Sue's sweater, I rummaged through a box of old buttons. I have a collection that I have somehow gathered from all over, some were Aunt Marion's, some Nana's, I am sure some were Aunt Kate's and of course, mommy's. I was able to put together 8 tiny pink pearlized dome buttons which looked perfect on this sweater. So! A little old, a little new.

I also had to add in a few panels on the sides of my raspberry sweater, it makes it a little bit more "swingy" as my friend Martha put it I agreed and now I am pondering buttons, although it did not call for buttons originally.

Elsewhere, I am still struggling with the linen cardigan that was inspired by our knitting field trip to Downtown Yarns in Manhattan. I bought the yarn and the highly improvised upon pattern, I have knitted this sweater three times, now the fourth, I am not getting the fit right, but the linen yarn is so wonderful that I keep trying. This time, I will get it, I am determined and hopeful because I have been sticking to one project at a time. No more many projects at once. As enticing as it may be to start a new project, it is like reading a book, once you get into it, you can't put it down, and if there are any distractions you lose the thread!

And finally, I did finish this afghan. Some of these squares came from a dear friend who passed away. I do not usually work on this type of project but I wanted to finish it in memory of Nadine.

Tools of the Trade

2013-07-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

What is the one huge roadblock that stands in the way of my knitting? (Besides having to go to work) Disorganized materials!! Fed up with having to sort through bags of yarn, boxes of needles, and not being able to put my hands on what I needed I set my mind to organizing!
I visited the Container Store on a whim and in it I found this!

It is really a jewelry organizer but look how perfect it works for circulars? By the way I am using circulars almost exclusively right now, they are such an ingenious design, even two socks on two circulars is GREAT!

Each tab holds a different size needle

Now, on to the yarn!!

Like Pink Cotton Candy

2013-07-10T12:30:00.000-04:00

Having the summer off is such a gift! This is the first time I have had a summer off since I was 14 years old. My goal is to become a master knitter starting this summer. My wonderful, "knitting ladies" gave me a book entitled "Finishing School" by Deborah Newton which has been a true inspiration.

Two pink sweaters are shaping up beautifully with the tips and tricks I have already learned from this book! This is the raspberry sweater that I am blocking out right now.

This sweater is based on a vintage pattern, published by Bernat. I am thinking it was from the 70's, but I loved the shape. I did make a few minor changes, for example I incorporated a 3/4 sleeve and di not make the mutton sleeve so wide. I also deleted the pockets. so I am hoping it meets all of my expectations!

Here is the pattern and the beginning of the sweater:

The other pink sweater I am working on is the mohair sweater I am making for my sister, Sue. It does look like pink cotton candy!

She has wanted it since she moved to Massachusetts and we saw one in the window of a pretty yarn shop in Salem, Mass. I purchased this mohair yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 3 years ago from Mohair in Motion. It is harder to find pink mohair than you would think! When I saw it I grabbed it and bought it right on the spot. We were in a tent and it was about 95 degrees, absolutely one of the hottest days I can remember. These lovely people were so sweet and offered us some iced tea, which was incredibly delicious at the time we were so parched!

The book has pointed out ways to seam edges, which I always just thought were straight sewing, but the edges on my raspberry sweater are the best I have ever done ...

Look at that SEAM!!

I have also found out that EVERY row must be counted. No more relying on mere measuring tape measurements.

Finished product!

Novelty

2013-06-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

Novelty yarn bought years ago at target turned into this gorgeous summer shawl! I love the final product and am lucky enough to have bought enough of this yarn to make another one. I used a very simple bias shawl pattern, the texture of the yarn makes it very special!