1.5 Mittens, Circa 1986

Last week I was looking through a plastic bin in a spare closet.  I had no idea what was in there.  My theory these days is, "If I don't know what's in there, I probably don't need it and should get rid of it." 

I did that with some of the stuff, but not these.  No.  I need to keep them as a souvenir of my earliest attempt at knitting.

This mitten is the first thing I ever knitted, way back in 1986.  (Not a bad job, is it?)  I'd wanted to learn to knit since I was in high school.  But I didn't know any knitters.  My mom and grandma were crocheters.  The internet and YouTube videos didn't exist at the time.  So I just had to wait until I met a real-life knitter.

That summer, between sophomore and junior years of college, I flew to Connecticut so I could then drive back to Colorado and the new semester with a friend.  His mom knit!  This was my chance to learn!  So I did.  I have no memory of the actual knitting lessons but apparently I learned.

I thought I'd lost this first project.  I knew I completed one mitten but I was surprised to find the second one half done and on the needles.

Interestingly, these mittens were knit on straight needles and then seamed up the side.  That seems so old-fashioned now.

The pattern was from this Jack Frost Knitting company.  I don't know a thing about them.  However, I did an internet search and if this blogger is correct, the pattern is from 1942!  Wow, it's even older than I thought.

I think I'll leave these mittens as is, just a souvenir from my earliest attempts at knitting.  It might be fun to try making them again in some prettier yarn.

KALing Away

Sometimes I really enjoy knitting along with other people.  I can ask questions if I have a problem and someone will help me out.  I like seeing everyone's results and color choices.  I don't have a local knitting group but instead have a worldwide knitting group thanks to Ravelry.

Lately I've been participating in two different knit-a-longs.  The first is for Anne Hanson's fall club.  The project is called Sonneblume and it is a big green sunflower shawl.  The start of this project is the most unusual I've ever done.  Thankfully the group points the way and answers questions! This project takes all my brain power so I mostly knit it during lunch and when I am fully awake. I'm quite sure I won't finish this before the October project arrives. Maybe before Christmas? Here is my progress so far.

The other KAL is for a Romi shawl called Carson.  This one has been quick and easy.  This is good TV-before-bedtime knitting.  I went for fall colors.  I think it will end up looking like the sunset.  Here's what I've done so far.

Tri-Color Part 2

I love a good yarn club!  There is something so much fun about getting a package in the mail at regular intervals.  It's like a gift, even though you know you paid for it.  I love Anne Hanson designs.  So what could be better than an Anne Hanson club?  I don't have an answer.  So I joined her Bare Naked Knitspot club this past spring.   As usual I have more knitting time in my head than in real life.

But finally I cast on for a project.  This is the June selection, the Sheltie Triangle.  I cast on before vacation.  Then I had a lot of time in the Jeep--about 15.5 hours each way--and I did a lot of knitting when I wasn't driving.  Seriously, Texas has some boring scenery.  I had some time during vacation to knit too.  I made a huge amount of progress.  I finished soon after vacation was over.  Here's the result.

Knitting at my mom's house, I realized the three colors of yarn were almost the same as the three colors of her kitty.  (She has a real name but doesn't recognize it because everyone just calls her Kitty.)  I pointed this out and asked my mom if she'd like the finished shawl.  She said "yes" so fast and loud!  So the shawl will be hers.

Even if the kitty hairs up my mom while wearing the shawl no one will know since it matches the kitty so well.

Peaches

My mom's peach tree in Colorado grows the best peaches I have ever tasted.  They are sweet and juicy.  Beautiful too.

The tree produced so many peaches this year.  Mom picked a whole box full of them for me to bring back from vacation.

They are so plentiful that we didn't mind (much) to share one with a squirrel.

Yesterday I made what is possibly the best pie I have ever made.  I owe it all to those peaches.  I am a pretty decent crust maker too.  We have a special recipe that includes only four ingredients:  flour, salt, oil, and milk.   This pie is so good!

Tri-Color Part 1

I really liked the Color Affection shawl when I first saw it on Ravelry.  My friend Ariel did too.  We decided to have our own knit-a-long and encourage each other on the project.  We decided a good start date would be July 1, after we'd each finished other projects.  And of course after I bought the yarn.  Picking the colors was both challenging and fun.

The knitting is very easy, pretty much just knit stitch.  

I finished my shawl while on vacation and blocked it this past weekend.

Here are the results.

It's really big!

Yarny Bike

While I was home recently we went to the bakery to get an orange chiffon cake, my favorite.  Near the bakery is a used bike shop.  The window display caught my eye.  It's a yarn-bombed bike!

A Flock of Sheep?

My boyfriend, my dog, and I were on vacation last week.  One day as we were about to begin a hike, we saw this sign.  

I got excited.  Imagine, a flock of sheep and their "guardian dog".  That would be a great sight for a knitter!

We didn't see any sheep.  They must have been grazing in a different area that day.  Oh well.  We had a great time.  All of us.  You can see it in Lucy's big smile in these two photos.

Since we are on the subject of signs and dogs, here is one that made me laugh.  I wonder how many dogs in Manitou Springs read the part pertaining to them.