Compulsive ~ a strong, irresistible impulse to act (i.e., to knit) and
Obsessive ~ to occupy the mind excessively (thus this blog)
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| Knit by Nora
Compulsive ~ a strong, irresistible impulse to act (i.e., to knit) and
Obsessive ~ to occupy the mind excessively (thus this blog)
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Wednesday, April 30, 2003 Prayers for our Pets My condolences go to Wendy on her loss of Izzy. Mick and Bowie came into my life 18 months ago when I lost my first cats: Sid (Vicious) and Nina (Hagen) in their 16th year and Mick’s sister, Dolly (Parton), all within a three month period. Even though Dolly was the runt and in poor health, I picked her over another sister at the shelter. She passed in a loving home instead of a cage. The day after, Mick and I went to different Humane Society and we picked Bowie out together as the shelter let me put the boys in a room together. They ran behind a table and have been chasing each other since to cat wrestle. Here is a look at a calmer, more infrequent moment. 
Today’s Knitting News I am finishing the front of Maude today at lunch (about 10 short rows) and tonight will weave in the ends and block. Maude tank will be finished by the weekend and I can move onto Maude Shrug. I wore my red Gedifra belt with hipster jeans last weekend and loved it. In addition to finishing the blue belt, I want more. I used my digital camera at my LYS last time to snap the colors they had in stock for the purpose of showing them to potential customers. Now I am finding that it is great to look at the selections to plan for myself. Here are my choices. I like the black so I could put silver, gold or brass metal beads on the ends. Browns would be great, too, now that I have done color. Even though it is simple, I will put the pattern up as a pdf once I have several belts done to photograph. posted by Nora | 11:51 AM Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Let’s Make A Deal I worked on my spring house cleaning, including the knitting stuff (the books are now piling up). I probably do not have much of a readership since this blog is only one month of age, but hope to trade some books, magazines and flyers. If you want to see photos of the items (cover and contents), let me know and I will e-mail them to you. At least I can confirm two readers for certain! (Hi to Sue and Alison.) Correction, there are two more new readers in my comments today! Very cool, indeed. I'm Keeping This Stack 
Up for grabs. The following stuff has to go. Have something to trade? Make me an offer. You pay to ship your stuff and I will pay to ship my stuff. Just name your price in goods. My personal wish list includes: pretty stitch markers to yarn to anything Rowan patterns books. (*Have these magazine issues: 22, 24 27, 31, 32.) Books Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac Projects for Each Month of the Year (orig. price $6.95 –like new). Paperback. GONE!!Animal Knits (26 fun handknits for children and toddlers) by Zoe Mellor (orig. price $19.95 –like new). Hardcover. CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS STILL ON THE BLOCK!! Best of the Bunch -- This is a not-to-be found anywhere resource! Around the World in Eighty Sweaters by Sue Bradley (A Unique Kitwear Collection Inspired by Many Lands) Originally published in Great Briton as “Traveller’s Yarns”. Hardcover. I purchased it in the year it was published, 1988 and do not know the cost – but it has color on almost every page. Even the patterns have colored sketches with other color options. Like new except for my name, hometown and purchase year neatly written inside cover. This is an inspirational book for designers as it examines knitwear influences from: Northern Europe Eastern Europe Western Asia India Australasia North America South America Africa This is the prize of the bunch – it is tough to let go of. ALL MAGS ARE GONE!!Magazines All in good shape with no tears, marks or folds. Knitters Fall 2000 ($5.50 – like new) Knitters Fall 2001 ($5.50 – like new) A cable issue. Knitters Spring 2003 ($5.50 – like new) Knit ‘N Style ($5.99 – like new) Knit ‘N Style ($5.9 – like new) Booklets GONE Mission Falls East & West from Fall 2000 . Originally $11.50 – like new. Colinette Art to Wear (15 designs for hand dyed Colinette yarns). Originally $10.00 – like new. Today's Knitting News Just more Maude. I hope to finish knitting by Friday so I can weave, block and finish knitting the neckline and sleeve bands . Next Monday, I want to start the matching Maude shrug. It would be great to have the set done by May 24th for vacation. posted by Nora | 10:39 AM Monday, April 28, 2003 Bowie! 
Bowie is named after David Bowie and has many personas: Bow-Bow, Fluffy the Wonder Cat, the Flying Cat and Thang, to name a few. He is a morning cat, especially at 6 a.m. when he wants his treats. I am not a morning person but with Bowie walking like a goat all over me, yipping like a hyena and chewing my hair, he is a force to be reckoned with. Today’s Knitting News I finished the back of Maude, including weaving in about 120 ends and blocking. My total time for the back is 10 ½ hours. I cast on the front Saturday night and have 61 of 135 rows completed. I love the Mission Falls patterns in this book (In Living Color). Did you know you could take any pattern calling for M.F. 1824 cotton and make it up for winter in their 1824 wool that has the same gauge? That is great foresight. I may try a cardigan in their wool for fall. I also like that the yarn's name is the gauge (18 stitches by 24 rows) on #7 US needles, which is a fast knit. Everything about this company is knitter friendly. 
posted by Nora |
2:04 PM
Friday, April 25, 2003 Introducing Mick! 
Mick, named after Sir Mick Jagger, poses for a frontal portrait. Other than Mick, he is sometimes called “Noooooooooo”. Mick loves to be held like a baby, talk, kiss (nibble) Mark's goatee, eat any and every bug in his path and chew. “Chew what?” you ask. Brass faucets, lamp shades, kitchen cabinets, cookbooks, baskets and my bamboo knitting needles and Vogue On The Go Knitting books, to name a few. The vet says it is a behavioral issue. Ha! On Monday I will feature Mick’s stepbrother, Bowie. Today's Knitting News I am wearing Shriek today at work with brown slacks and loving it. May snap myself. I made progress on Maude last night during another great episode of Survivor and CSI. I have six hours into the back and 76 rows complete. Armhole shaping starts in six rows. posted by Nora | 9:49 AM Thursday, April 24, 2003 To Comment or Not To Comment This is a lame attempt to add comments. To compensate, I give you a cat swifter! 
posted by Nora |
4:43 PM
Stash In addition to my two knitting totes with current projects, a large basket of yarn by the couch, a set of ten hatboxes with small scraps, I have one more place to stash my yarn. My front hall wall looks very proper with a 1890's Jelly Closet, but no jelly here! (Just my most significant yarn inventory in the house.)  
Today’s Knitting News Made progress on Maude last night. I have used 10 of the 11 colors in the stripes and anticipate a great deal of progress in the next three days, minus time to hem a gown. I will be the only bridal attendant when our friends get married in Telluride, CO on May 24th (Mark is best man). Also, I have posted my completed knitting projects from the last three months in my new Gallery. These are PDF files and you will need Adobe Acrobat, to view them. I have included a link to their site to download this free software. posted by Nora | 10:43 AM Wednesday, April 23, 2003 New Love 
Today’s Knitting News Temporarily abandoning Milano was easier than I thought. Let me introduce my new love: Maude. This tank will go quickly and the colors selected by Mission Falls are awesome! I cannot wait to do the shrug that has this lavender (called peony) as a ruffle trim, a design element I have wanted to knit. Look for something new today or tomorrow: my gallery of completed knit works from the last few months. posted by Nora | 1:58 PM Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Ram Wools Slurge Just what I needed: More Yarn for the Stash! Rams Wool's Spring/Summer 2003 Catalog has too many ideas to resist, as you can see from the three patterns book and yarn for four items. The Paton book cover is for a cable and bobble cardie with hood. I saw a similar sweater in pale blue on Allie Benet's (Sarah Carter) character in the third episode of Black Sash. (My husband's interest is martial arts as he practices and teaches several forms.) The only difference was Allie's had pom-poms at the end of the strings tied at the neck. I cannot decide on a yarn color since Paton has 28 options! This will be a fall-winter project. 
Today's Knitting News I seamed Shriek and tried it on last night. The fit is just right. Made Milano's back waistband using seed (moss) stitch. I want to save this project for vacation in four weeks but it is compelling me to knit it. The mostly in-the-round technique, a new stitch and other design features are keeping my interest peaked. The European wording is also a challenge. For example, place marker on the 31st stitch. Is "on" before the stitch or after? If anyone has a clue, please e-mail me. (I am still looking for a comment service for the site.) I will probably set Milano aside for now. The Mission Falls Maude Tank and Shrug, along with the Vera Bag are waiting. I have the pattern written out and color-coded and a cheat sheet with yarn samples as there are 11 colors that stripe. The tank might be my new knit interest. Foxy and Pagan will have to wait. posted by Nora | 10:53 AM Monday, April 21, 2003 Done Shrieking 
Today's Knitting News Yesterday I finished knitting and blocking Shriek. I knit the front and back twice (one because of guage and the second due to inattentiveness). At lunch today, I will seam it although I do not have the accent yarn for the embroidered motif. Likely, I will add the four strands of Kid Silk Haze later when I find an accent color that suits the aqua yarn. This will be a good week to wear this top under a suit jacket as temperatures will be in the sixties and this shell is a light-weight wool (Rowan Rowanspun DK). I cast on for Milano although I still have to rewrite the pattern, as I prefer to follow a line-by-line explaination. Other good news: my archives are on-line! This means items pending such as comments, completed projects and patterns can now be added to the template. I am looking forward to knitting and blogging this week. Also, if Joan (NYC) is reading, "Hello!" Mark and I had a great time at dinner on Friday. I hope you like this blog and do not think I have totally lost my mind. posted by Nora | 11:46 AM Thursday, April 17, 2003 Happy Easter Have a great holiday. I will be back on Monday with much accomplished, knit-wise, I hope.  Today's Knitting News Shrieked a little last night. My blue belt is on hold (note progress in comparison to red belt) . My plans for this weekend include snapping photos of my winter knit work (sweaters and accessories) that you have not seen yet. Next week, I will also tackle the archive problem. Reading code line-by-line and tweaking did not do it. Nothing from blogger, yet. May try going back to template (thus losing customization temporarily) to see if archives will work. And I love my lambie painting! I will add items back one at a time to see if it goes wooky again. posted by Nora | 10:25 AM Wednesday, April 16, 2003 Special Day My husband, Mark, notices what is important to me. Although I have not introduced them, I have two cats (kittens really, as they are 18 months of age): Mick (Jagger) and Bowie (David). This is the second piece Mark has bought in this series. These cats are the same color as the boys.  Today's Knitting News I really like the red belt of Gedifra Cubetto over jeans! Started a second in blues to wear with pale jeans and khakis. This is a no brainer, just cast 7 stitches on 10.5 and go (cut fringe first). I left a few yards on the ball to make the size small-medium. The fringe is my usual 10-12 inches, but I think longer would be better. I want to add beads to the end of the fringe on the next one. posted by Nora | 11:30 AM Tuesday, April 15, 2003 Fringed Scarf I will move this to a more practical spot later as I want to see if Adobe Acrobat files can be posted like images. I offer my first pattern to the knit blog goddess in payment for my self-indulgent ramblings.KnitbyNoraFringedScarf.pdf posted by Nora | 5:06 PM Not Knitting I am a newbie to the Knitting Bloggers Webring. Part of this culture is to espouse one's opinions about practically anything! So here are my pet peeves , as I have named them. They are certainly not rules, just my constructive (I hope) comments in response to similar lists I have read on other sites. posted by Nora | 3:42 PM New Models Two Styrofoam heads I won on E-bay for two bucks each arrived last night. Their modeling debut is a hat retrospect. All were knit during the winter of 2002-03 from ChicKnits patterns. The felted Bucket O’Chic is made with LambsPride and has an alpaca nubby scarf to coordinate. The other bucket is the Rowan All Seasons Cotton gift for my 23 yr. old niece, Bonnie, who will get it on Easter in a cool coordinating hatbox. The H2O hat has additional enhancements such as tassels, pom-poms and crochets twisters. (I had won four balls of Collinette 5 Point for a total of $24.00 during a lucky run.) The fourth skein is actually ugly and I plan to dye it later this year before making it into a H2O hat. I also have two matching skeins from another auction for this hat and Bonnie’s SuperBulky Point 5 Scarf . Not all of these hats are for me, I just do not know who they are going to yet! They are in my stash of finished items. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file. ChicKnitHats03.pdf I finished knitting my quickie hippy belt and will add fringe today. It will look bright over jeans as it is red and crimson. Plan to start fringed scarf at lunch and work on Shriek tonight. Technical news: My archives do not work due to a "203" error. Currently, there is no easy resolution from Blogger other than looking for one character making wooky (if it is that). Working on it by reviewing my coding row by row by row...a lot like knitting but no yarn. It may take some time. posted by Nora | 10:26 AM Monday, April 14, 2003 Those Pesky Scarves Finally found a way to take a picture of the triangle scarves – hung from a towel rack under a skylight. They did not show up well in any other photo. The triangles are folded in half in this photo. The rectangular scarves were much more cooperative, laying in the sunlight. The owner of the shop liked them to the point she could not decide which triangle to keep for herself. We both hope they sell well. 
Today’s Knitting News I went away this weekend with girlfriends to a ski resort, Seven Springs (no snow, just a great condo to crash in after a fine dinner out). Although I brought my knitting bag, I found it difficult to knit while partying intensely. Started a quickie project Sunday night. After the instant gratification of scarves for others, I want something right now for me. I am making a cute, red-fringed belt in Gedifra Cubetto yarn, “an effect yarn with the look of lined-up cubes, unconventional colorfulness and soft luster”. I will continue at the allergist’s office today and hopefully finish it tonight. I also have to archive my postings for the first time. I am slightly apprehensive after reading of other's problems with this function, but it is a necessary blog task. Also on my to-do list is comments, a gallery of previous knit work and a couple other items. Hopefully this week I will have more offerings to the blog knitting goddess. posted by Nora | 12:31 PM Friday, April 11, 2003 Red Sky At Night, Sailor's Delight Red in the Morn, Sailors Take Warn. I have no clue where I picked up this expression. It suits the sunset last night. If only the colors found in the sky could be duplicated into yarn. Something gets lost in the translation from air to form. 
Today's Knitting News This morning, I tried photos of the six triangle eyelash scarves and need to try again tomorrow before I deliver them. Or I may take a snap of the display as this store creates beautiful exhibits for merchandise. I have one more long fringed scarf to wrap up today and I am back to my own knitting (I hope). Texture of Triangle Eyelash Scarves 
posted by Nora |
10:01 AM
Thursday, April 10, 2003 Foolish Virgins One of my favorite reads on the webring is any reference to the pattern and work in progress for the "Foolish Virgins" pattern. (Since it has been a long time, I cannot remember if this is an apt description.) Today on e-bay, for a scant $225.00, there is an auction for the Foolish Virgins in the original colors as designed by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan Mag #7 (my lucky number) and also in Kaffe's Classics. This is a way-future wish list item for me as I have only done one intarsia sweater and that was the year I learned to knit, 1988. (After '88, I did not pick up the needles again until January 2000 because I wanted a poncho and did not want to pay retail for it). I am hoping my Hello Kitty motif on Pagan will go well as a learning process for this technique. Not a Virgin and Foolish 
posted by Nora |
10:13 AM
Wednesday, April 09, 2003 The Perfect White Tank For a brief respite from scarves, I seamed a recent endeavor, Pagan from Rowan 27, in white All Seasons Cotton. It is the perfect tank that will go with anything from jeans to flitty skirts. The shaping was a first for me as the decreases/increases occur ten stitches from the edge and make the structure absolutely beautiful (note the hour glass shape). I need to steam the edges as they are curly, but think it is a perfect tank for summer (it is still too cool for it at the moment unless I add a layer). I like white Pagan so much that I am working on a "Hello Kitty" chart for my next Pagan in navy. The yarn is in the basket and I will make the chart available when complete. Introducing Pagan 
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1:07 PM
Tuesday, April 08, 2003 So Many Yarns, So Little Time Back to my yarn store (Yarns Unlimited in Sewickley, PA) at lunch for scarf yarn for the commission and anything else that follows me home. Yarns Unlimited has the largest inventory I have seen in a store, having been to stores in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New Jersey (Princeton and Mercerville). Right now I have three cotton tops waiting for attention in my basket (after Shriek). Two are knit in the round, which I have not done for an entire project, yet. I love the booklet, Trend nr. 123, from Dale of Norway I picked up a couple of weeks ago for my E-Bay yarn (Piccadilly Schoeller Esslinger cotton in fuschia pink). I may save this one for a Colorado vacation in May. More tidbits from my knitting basket later. In The Meanwhile, Here's Milano  Monday, April 07, 2003 No Shrieking This Weekend On Saturday in my hometown, a wonderful store, the Gilded Lily, offered to carry my hand knit “designs”. My designs are simple triangles and rectangle fashion scarves; the attraction is from eyelash yarns and sometimes, furry yarns. I have knitted scarves to sell since before Christmas 2001, selling enough to support my habit (yarn). Sales were at my nail and hair salons, work place and via friends and family (strictly word-of-mouth), over one hundred sold or gifted. Two retail stores sent me business cards, but I did not follow-up due to my regular work in health care. The Gilded Lily staff asked to try on the scarf as soon as I entered the store, then took it to the owner who immediately asked about an exclusive retail order. Like all good knitters, I had scarves from my personal collection as samples and a stash of several dozen yarns to demonstrate color possibilities and combinations. Delivery is next Saturday and I will snap a photo of the bunch for you. posted by Nora | 12:18 PM Friday, April 04, 2003 Taken Down a Notch (or Row) Today's Knitting News: Shriek is stalled due to a dropped stitch way back. Picking it up did not work as it left a structural-looking pucker. I will frog the thing this weekend. In the meanwhile, I have included a knitting retrospective (probably the first of many when I have no "new" news). This was my project before Shriek, the Bucket O'Chic (#4). I am waiting to take a photo of # 3 on the gift recipient as it is my favorite of the series. The yarn is from Japan and has a great colorway -- army green and khaki relieved by Easter pink, lavender and aqua. Timely for the spring season and war... I will include specifics (manufacturer, yarn type, etc) in the soon and upcoming Gallery of Knit by Nora projects (ha, I can't wait to see that myself, now along with my other blog tasks that are multiplying just like bunnies). For now, feast your eyes on this. (Only one modification to pattern, went for a deeper crown -- looking for that Dr. Suess top hat look). Ode to Private Easter Bunny 
Blog at ya on Monday. Happy knitting. posted by Nora | 2:41 PM Thursday, April 03, 2003 Ready to Jump for Joy Worked on Shriek front last night while watching Angel and the newest demon threat on the show. Each week is a thriller. Warm weather has hit, again, temporarily. Today's Knitting News: Plan to get allergy shots and log 45-60 minutes of "Shrieking". With the end in sight, my main dilemma is what project next? I may squeeze in Bucket O'Chic #5 in Rowan All Season Cotton in an aqua shade. The next top will either be my first in-the-round cotton top or Foxy (Rowan). I need to get my list going of what is in the works. Deconstructing Shreik Back #1 (back #2 is done) 
posted by Nora |
10:27 AM
Wednesday, April 02, 2003 A New Knitting Era Yippee! A new outlet for my favorite pastime of knitting. Stay tuned. Plan to update daily and upgrade as to allow picture posting. Today's Knitting News: Went to yarnstore on lunch hour to secure an extra ball of Rowanspun DK for Shriek and mohair for the embroidered elements of sweater. Shared deconstruction (of Shriek back #1) photos with staff and customers. They liked the finished back. More compliments on my knitting bag (its 2nd trip to the store). As soon as I am photo enabled, I will use Shriek pics as my first eye candy. posted by Nora | 10:56 AM |
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