Wow, it feels like it’s been forever since I posted a knit-a-palooza…I have so much to share, I’m going to have to save some of it for another diary.
I saw this article earlier about some activist knitters this week, and it’s the inspiration for this week’s title:
Grannies holding a knit-in to protest the war in Iraq clashed in a shouting match with pro-war activists in Times Square on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict.
About 30 members of the Granny Peace Brigade, some sitting in rocking chairs and wheelchairs, were knitting stump socks for veteran amputees and baby clothes for Iraqi families at the Times Square military recruiting station that was damaged by a small bomb on March 6.
“You want a piece of granny?” Frederick Olbrey, 70, yelled at about half a dozen war supporters gathered across the way as the grandmothers sang “God Bless America.”
Olbrey, a 1950s air force veteran, was campaigning with the granny brigade to demand that troops be brought home now.
I love it when I see that people are still involved and out there doing things to change the world at age 70 and above. It makes me think maybe I can do the same thing when I’m their age. 🙂
I was away last weekend and didn’t pick up my knitting at all, but I made up for it in the evenings this week.
First, I made quite a bit of progress on my sweater: it has pockets and side cables now, and I just have 2 more rows until I knit the pocket stitches onto the body.
My feet were cold on Thursday, so I finally bound off my new socks. I think the colors and stripes remind me of easter eggs:
And I came home from dropping stuff off at the Obama campaign HQ yesterday to this lovely surprise in my mailbox:
It’s a little drawstring bag my mom made for me to throw my sock knitting in and take along with me – I do a lot of my knitting when I’m sitting and waiting for the boys at music lessons or orthodontist appointments. The fabric has sock monkeys all over it, and I love it!
So, what’s needling you this week?
“Knit me the fabric of your thoughts.”
Hi, I’ll be back later with some pics of all the work I’ve done, I have a backlog now as you didn’t have a diary last week. lol
We’re in the process of moving – not far, just two blocks from our old tri-level into the ranch with a basement that my parents purchased in 2002 – so I haven’t done all that much knitting. I did finish two garter stitch scarves and hats to go with them for our charity knitting group. My camera isn’t hooked up to the computer over here yet, so no new photos. I have about 5 more rows to finish the front yoke of my grandson’s sweater.
Moving? That is one of my least favorite things to do. I hope you’re almost finish and that the transition goes smoothly.
I can’t wait to see his sweater when you’re done.
It’s going to be a long slow move as we still own the other house (nothing is selling locally and keeping it is cheaper than renting a storage unit), but a little more comes over and gets organized every day. I keep finding yarn over there when I thought I had it all moved so I’m still sorting into totes and the one for whites & creams keeps popping its lid {g}.. And I haven’t even started bringing the quilting fabric over – that’s going to be a huge project as it’s full blown SABLE (Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy).. This house was my Mom’s so it was all furnished. Now we’re trying to figure out how to combine the “goodies” of a total of four pack-rats as I inherited my tendency to save everything honestly from Mom & Dad.
Well, at least it’s all getting organized. I’m thinking about my mom’s quilting stuff, and how it has a room to itself at her house… 🙂
I hope you get some knitting time in between all the moving and re-organizing this week. I got my pockets knitted onto the body while watching HBO’s John Adams, and a few more rows besides.
The sweater looks great as do the socks. I watched Emma on Masterpiece Theater this evening and finished the front yoke of grandson’s sweater. I added three rows of alternate red & white stitches (checkerboard) to the top of the yoke because my daughter warned me that he’s going through another growth spurt and it’s too late to lengthen the body up to the armholes. Got a start on the back yoke and I’ll take it with me to knitting class tomorrow in hopes of getting more done.
Your sweater is looking really good … love the colours of the wool.
Cute monkey bag too … 🙂
Thanks. Have you been knitting/crocheting lately? With all the snow you’ve had, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were continually shoveling…
I’m just tired of winter and winter related things, so the scarves and hat I was working on have been relegated to the knitting basket … heh.
Two views of the same throw I made for my son using granny squares. Right now I am working on a deep violet throw for sister and I’ve made about 6 or 7 granny squares to use in various places.
It’s beautiful, Diane! I like how you used the variegateds. About two weeks ago, I taught one of my Sr. Center students how to crochet a granny square and she’s off & running now.
How do you put your squares together? I sewed the first one I made back in the 60s together in rows and then sewed the rows together, but the seams kept coming apart. Since then, I crochet them together with a slip stitch, ch1 seam that zig-zags diagonally so all the starts & ends are on the outer edge where I can work over them when I crochet the border. One that I made for a friend in the 70s is still going strong.
Thanks DB, I sewed the squares together, I tried slip stitch and I didn’t like the look…then I crocheted the entire outer edge.
I used a L hook on this one, it would have better with a smaller hook, because it gets too loose and harder to keep square, which is a big thing with me, getting everything square.
I’ll see how the sewing holds with son using it.
I like the granny squares, they are quick and easy to make, actually very like the poncho I made, with 4 corners instead of 2.
They do a good job of using up odds & ends if you do a “scrap” one. I like the multi-colored ones with the black edging, but so far all of mine have been planned because I made them way back when I didn’t have a lot of yarn – not a problem these days {g}.. I don’t think I have a L hook yet – my collection jumps from K to N, P, Q. K is my favorite or P if I’m working with two strands for an afghan. Working with a Q hurts my hands and I’ve only crocheted one scarf with the N so far.
Diane, you work so fast! 🙂
Thanks Olivia, and btw I hope you can drop by the new Village Blue, and maybe post one of your beautiful pics. I have your site on my blog roll, only one of a couple so far.
I really like the colors…and you work so quickly!
OT, but I was glad to read that your daughter is doing better with all the big life changes. I hope things just keep getting better and better for her (and you, by extension!).
Thanks, I love colors and want to use all of them sooner or later.
Thanks about my daughter, she still has the book you rec’d several years ago, but unfortunately did not read at that time more than a few pages, now she is.
Better late than never, which is what her dad said about her divorce as well.
Going through the divorce, it seems like I crochet faster, with my mind in other places.
I have a sweater that I knit in record speed when I was going through what your daughter is right now. It was very calming to have the rhythmic activity of knitting to focus on.
I’m glad she still has that book, and is reading it now. It was a life-changer for me, and I’ve taught my kids a lot of what’s in there too.
Here are some more things I made, for my bedroom, which is changing to pink and green with a touch of red, thus the runner with the red in it.
I taught myself (figured out how) to make circles and ovals and I was trying that this week.
Really nice work, CG. Thanks for posting this.
Some truly nice knitting and crocheting going on!
I missed the post this weekend and am now at work, so no pictures. But, I’m still faithfully trying to learn to knit. I finished the wristwarmers for KamaKid and she loves them, even though they are a bit scratchy and too warm for the weather.
I’ve been trying to learn how to do lace knitting and it is driving me crazy. But, after starting and ripping ad nauseum, I am getting better. I think I have it down except for the YO, M1, YO combinations. They really annoy me and I inevitably come up one stitch too short at the end of a row. But, if I can learn lace, I can make socks! :>)
I’m also working on a sweater. It coming along nicely, but it is so far just a lot of st st. It’s a really nice bulkly wool/mohair blend and I love the feel of it, but it will be way too hot for California weather, except for a couple of days of cold and rain. Once again, it will be great practice.
I’m absolutely loving my new KnitPicks Harmony needles.
I’m a little jealous of your warm weather, but I guess I’ll just have to take comfort in the fact that I’ll be able to wear my sweater for a few weeks when I’m done.
I did a feather-and-fan lace hat earlier this winter, and it was SO easy to mess it up countwise! Would stitch markers help you keep track? I use orthodontic rubber bands for mine…
I’m glad you got your harmonies. Looking forward to some pictures later! 🙂