Thank you

Well, I never thought little gift tags would make such a stir! And this didn't start out as promoting BDE, I already did that. But I did tell her that she should do something like this on etsy or her little website. I told her knitters like this stuff and did she listen to me? No. But if you want to see her pretty things or contact her: The Scrap Paper Shop or there's a link on the side. And you can read about it here. As for my tags, I have no idea which one she's doing for me, mom's apparently don't get a choice, I've been asking for these for months; but I agree with your choices. Thanks so much!

Look What's Up!

I love knitting but another thing I really love, well besides Mr. Truck, the grandchildren, the dogs, the kids, the cat, my family...where was I? Oh, it's gardening. This makes winter so hard. I hate being a prisoner inside, I want to go out and play. So every morning recently I've been making the rounds outside, while the dogs are out, inspecting the garden. And look what I found, Snowdrops!


The very first flowers. So ephemeral but so nice to see their little heads.


And crocus!


These are the snow crocus and maybe they'll be open tomorrow. And look, the dafodils are letting me know they'll be here soon.


Oh, and I saw a robin today. I think spring is on its way.

Decision

So after many promises, Best Daughter Ever (hey, that's what she calls herself) has come up with the designs for my knitting gift tags. And now I have to decide which one I want. But the problem is I like the font of one, the picture of another, and the wording of another. We have been going back and forth with the emails and I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. So even though I think I've made a decision, I'm not sure which one I'm getting. But I do like them all.

Editorial

Missed WIP Wednesday, so here's my wip:


Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang.
While I love the pictures and I'm sure I'm going to love the sweater, I'm not loving the knitting of it. Some patterns, are so intuitive, or maybe it's instinctive. Most of the patterns by Elizabeth Zimmerman for example. Recently, for me, it was the Koolhaus Hat by Brooklyn Tweed. There's a moment while knitting that you go "AHA! I see where this is going and I totally get it." That's when the knitting gets almost Zen like, or what I think Zen like would be. The knitting sings to me. Now this sweater is not doing that for me. It's more like, hmmmmm, what exactly does THAT mean, what is she trying to tell me. I don't know if it's the words or the pattern itself. Anyway, it becomes more of a puzzle that you have to slowly figure out. Not that that's a bad thing and not that you won't love the FO. Just that the process of the knitting is very different. I love all aspects of this craft, but I guess I like some better than others. And this one isn't singing.

A Very Long Time Ago

I was a very young mother and I knit my newborn a sweater from this book:
Here's the picture:

and this one, too:

It only cost one dollar, isn't that funny! Mon Tricot from Spring/Summer 1973. I knit probably almost everything in it and bought a few more of the books, too. I learned so much from those little books, read every word, more than once. And I gave away almost all the clothes I made as my babies got bigger. And the books disappeared. So when I found the books again last winter, I bought them. I paid a lot more than a dollar! Here's where I found them. And here's a picture of Baby Reese in the sweater I made for her just like her mommy's:

I think her mommy might have the original pink sweater I made. I'll have to ask her.

Do I Sound like Every Other Grandma?

Have you seen my beautiful grandchildren?

The French Hat

"Grammy, can you knit a French hat?"
"A beret?"
"NO! A FRENCH hat!"
"Yes, I can. What color do you want?"
"Black."
(frantic searching on Ravelry
This one is great. Thank you through the loops.)
"Olivia, how do you know what a beret is?"
"I just know what French people wear."

WIP Wednesday Update

Please see last Wednesday, I'm still slogging along with the gathered pullover. Body, neck, 1 sleeve done, ready to do the sleeve cap on the second one. Getting sick of stockinette. Planning what to do next.

Shameless Promo

Just a quick note about Best Daughter Ever. She has a little internet shop for scrapping right here: The Scrap Paper Shop and she is allegedly making me beautiful tags to put on my knitted gifts. Of course Mom comes after the other paying customers. And she is opening an esty shop, I told here to make more tags for knitters and she wants me to knit some booties or party shoes. The esty shop is here: Pretty Little Scraps but I don't think it's open yet. When I finally get my tags, I'll show you what they look like.

An Unexpected Honor

When I started my little blog here, I never expected anyone to actually read it. And I am always amazed that anyone does. I didn't even use it in my signature on my comments on the knitlist for a very long time and when I received my invitation to Ravelry, I didn't link it there for a while either. But this past week, Stacie friended me on Ravelry, which is always nice. And when I took a look at her blog, lo and behold, she had added me to her blog roll! Truly amazing! I've returned the favor and although I can't believe it, I am very honored. So thank you Stacie.