Author/Book Review: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Posted on January 13, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Using some of my wonderful Amazon gift cards from Christmas I picked up a few volumes written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka the Yarn Harlot! I had been interested in reading her books as she is the reigning queen of knitting books.

At Knits End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much is AMAZING!! I finished this text in less than a day. It’s full of snippets of wisdom, humor, knitting lessons. This is destined to be read over and over again. Not to mention it’s earned a permanent place in my collection. I highly recommend this book to knitters of all ages and skill levels!

Yarn Harlot: the secret life of a knitter
This volume explores the different facets of knitting life. I connected a great deal to this book as my knitting habit has reached a level that one (not me) could call obsessive. Each chapter is a delightful, poignant, or instructive story about knitting that intertwined into a volume on the highs and lows of knitting. Another great read that didn’t take me very long to read!

Things I Learned from Knitting… whether I wanted to or not
A list of 44 things every knitter is bound to learn through their knitting adventures. Each chapter is prefaced with pearls of wisdom like, “beginning is hard, continuing is hard”. This book is more than just knitting, it’s a commentary on how knitting is like life. Stuff happens and how you deal with it is all that matters. This is a great coffee table book, sure to start great conversation especially among knitters!

All three books were excellent and I can’t wait to track down her other books!! Now I need to do some knitting so I have a few FO posts later this week!

Happy Sunday and Happy Knitting!

On the Subject of Trying New Yarn

Posted on January 11, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Despite my recent destashing efforts….I still bought new yarn. I can’t help it! I had never seen or worked with it before AND it was on sale!!

I picked up some Boutique Rigoletto Sequins by Red Heart online from Knitting Wharehouse in red, black, white, and cream.

The yarn comes in 10 yd hanks and includes a pattern for Evening Sparkle Scarf. I have to admit even this seasoned knitter had to YouTube how to work with this mohair like tube if yarn. After some basic instruction it was ridiculously easy and EXTREMELY FAST. I knit up all four hanks in two hours total.

The yarn is a bit fiddly and like a boucle or mohair it’s very good about sticking to itself. Not a yarn for ripping back errors! But when the pattern calls for CO 2 sts and then knit every st until you run out of yarn…..it’s not very likely you will have to.

I was a little disappointed that it didn’t make a longer scarf. I like length so I can wrap and contort the same scarf 100 different ways so I never get bored. Also, I knit the same pattern four times with the same gauge and all four scarves turned out differently!

Rav link here.

This yarn would be excellent for knitters who need instant gratification, a quick last minute gift, or even someone who is just learning. For me? Not so much, I enjoyed playing with a new yarn but its not a knit I’m likely to do again. Ill stick to my Boutique Sashay or Starbella Flash for scarves.

Happy Knitting and TGIF!

Stashbustin’ #4

Posted on January 9, 2013 by atangledyarn84

After hitting the proverbial wall and running out of yarn on my Waves and Ripples Blanket I had to develop a plan b so I could keep my fingers busy. I’ve had my eye on the Chevron Blanket by the Purl Bee for awhile.

I dug through my stash and came up with four skeins (three Knit Picks Biggo yarn and one Premier Serenity Chunky Heathers) of chunky and soft colors I found pleasing together.

I won’t be following the pattern exactly. I plan to follow the stitch pattern and then knit each color into one large stripe (until I run out of yarn) and then change to next. I’m planing the following sequence:
– blue
– grey
– pink
– grey
– green

I’ll try to keep to keep good track of my alterations/notes and update my Ravelry project page. Follow it here!

Chloe is less than impressed with the amount of time I have been knitting lately.

Stashbustin’ Post #3

Posted on January 4, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I love portable small projects!

The cold weather has put my knitting into overdrive. I have a lot of Loops and Threads Charisma and Premier Yarn Serenity Chunky Weight in my stash and I’m chewing through it!

I have blogged about this before, but I purchased a fun pattern Trinity Stitch Headband from Angela Juergens. About half a skein of either of the above yarns makes one headband. (I alter and take out a few pattern repeats in the pattern for a shorter headband.) I have been packing one of these in my purse every where I go and I’m knocking out some bulky FOs at a pretty good clip.

Still need to select and sew on buttons but I’m delighted to see my pile growing. So far my destashing is going full steam ahead….fingers crossed that it continues!

Happy Knitting!!

Stashbustin’ Post #2

Posted on January 3, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I have WIP-itis……and it’s bad.

I cast on another WIP just because I felt like it. I have at least five baby showers to knit for (that at least partially substantiates my WIP-itis right?)

I have a LOT of Caron Simply Soft Solidsbin my stash. I picked up most of it from a destashing friend years ago when first learning to knit. It’s soft and washable and I used to love it. But my admiration has flagged a bit and its been relegated to mostly baby knits.

I found the Waffle Blanket (free pattern) through a Pinterest pin linked to a Ravelry pattern. I was smitten immediately and cast on! Not sure who this blanket is destined for yet but I have a few months left to decide. I’m very optimistic and can’t wait to see the finished product.

I knocked out the border and one repeat of the pattern while watching a TV DVR-ed episode. It’s very pretty and I’m sure after a couple repeats very memorizable.

I must have baby blanket fever!! (Or baby fever if you ask my mother.) Stay tuned for updates on this and my Waves and Ripples Blanket!

Happy Knitting!!

Stashbustin’ Post #1

Posted on January 2, 2013 by atangledyarn84

A few years ago I made a couple electronic device covers from the Premier Yarn pattern.. It was a nice knit that was easy to memorize and visually pleasing. That stitch pattern has been bouncing around in my brain for awhile. I thought an adaptation of it would make a lovely crib blanket…

I pulled some Brava Bulky from Knit Picks from my stash in cream and white. I modified the pattern to 134 stitches and alternating color stripes but otherwise using the same two row repeat pattern.

I shall call it my waves and ripples blanket. It’s a little curly right on the needles but I think a little blocking in the end will go a long way. I’m not sure which of the five spring baby showers this will be for but it’s destined for a new bundle of joy! Follow my Rav notes here.

Happy Knitting!!!

Christmas Morning

Posted on December 25, 2012 by atangledyarn84

Before we got to peek at what Santa brought we had tea and monkey bread!

Then SANTA!!!

Santa brought me me lined yarn bags with grommet holes! Lined with knitting sheep fabric and nice wide zipper openings. The photos above are the small cake/skein bag. The photos below are the large skein bag!

How did Santa know!? Lol, looks like I have some knitting to do!

Merry Christmas to all! Stay tuned for more Swedish Christmas traditions 🙂

Happy Knitting!

Handmade Beauty

Posted on December 21, 2012 by atangledyarn84

Hello from the land of my in laws! It’s finally snowed in Kansas and we have started our Christmas travels. Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Feels good to have a couple days off of work and I packed a LARGE bag of knitting!

I have scarves:

Toasty fire:

What else do you need? Oh ya….my own handmade yarn swift!!!!!

My father in law is a gifted wood worker (see this amazing motorcycle rocking horse)!

Well he and my husband put their heads together and devised a version of a yarn swift any knitter would drool over! It spins easily and sanded to soft perfection so no nasty yarn snags.

The pegs are adjustable to conform to any hank size. The “legs” have holes so I could mount to a stand or clamp to a table. I’m in love! It’s beautiful, thoughtful, and most assuredly to get a lot of use in my house. I’m a lucky lucky girl to have such talented and loving people in my life!!

T-minus 4 days to Christmas!

Happy Knitting!

Secret Santa

Posted on December 17, 2012 by atangledyarn84

My secret Santa at work must know my hobbies and possibly my vow to learn socks in 2013…..

Now to whittle down the suspects!!

T-minus 8 days to Christmas!!!

Christmas Preparations

Posted on December 16, 2012 by atangledyarn84

My unbelievably wonderful husband decorated our entire house all by himself. I’ll admit to being a little grinchy, but his wonderful surprise helped me beat the grinch! So I did the last of our shopping today, wrapped all our gifts, and cleaned the house.

As a reward, I treated myself to a homemade mocha, some scarf knitting, and my newest book! So here I sit relaxing under the stockings waiting for Christmas to get here…..

Are you ready for Christmas?

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Tag Archives: knitting