Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the United States. It’s an important holiday, bigger than Christmas it seems, viewed from the country to the North.

I needed a history lesson to bump up my sparse Thanksgiving knowledge and turned to Google, of course. Two minuscule bits of information –

• What’s known as the first Thanksgiving, a 3 day feast celebrating the first harvest, was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans way back in October, 1621.
• The turkey that’s usually consumed was native to North America.

Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving – A Very Little Bit of History and a Few Black Friday Treats”

Anyone who has looked at my patterns or read my thoughts about knitting knows that I love reversible stitches. It’s not that I don’t like other stitches, but the ease and versatility of stitches that look the same, or look good on both sides, has had me in its grip since I began knitting. It all began with seed stitch.

Not long ago, I thought it would be fun to assemble reversible stitches, knit up swatches, and write about one each week or so until I ran out. I’m both a bit sad and very happy to discover that the work had already been done. It’s far better and in much more detail than I would have managed – Reversible Knitting Stitches – A Sourcebook of 200 Double Sided Knit Patterns . It’s available in both print and ebook: your choice. The authors, Moira and Anna Ravenscroft, have kindly offered two of their patterns free until November 30th to celebrate the launch of the print version of this book. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the pattern photos and get the details.

Continue reading “Here’s a Treasure – An Entire Book of Reversible Knitting Stitches”

When I see things that interest me, I like to make a note and add them to my list of blog potentials. Here are a few treasures I’ve come across recently.

How Men and Women See Colours – Differently, Of Course

My husband and I were picking the colour for a carpet runner and it was clear that we were thinking, and seeing, differently. Our lovely salesman pulled out the pic you see above to explain what may be going on. I can’t credit the creator as I don’t know what the source is, but it’s fun and may be useful in some situations of discord.

Continue reading “Interesting Stuff”

Handknit designer Mary Annarella, Lyrical Knits, writes to the knitting community every few weeks or so and I always read her posts. She’s funny, engaging, and always has something interesting to say about knitting, designing, and from time to time, singing.

Mary’s latest design, Heart of Glass, (named for a song by Debbie Harry) constructed in a silky yarn, is terrific right now for whichever hemisphere you live in.  She is offering this pattern to her subscribers, and mine, at 40% off on Ravelry with the code – blondie – through Monday, October 30th. Thanks, Mary. I especially love the sleeveless version. Continue reading “Perfect Fall Sweater & Perfect Sweater Folding”

Each year I dream of going to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival – a dream as yet unfulfilled. I dream of –

• the sheep and goat judging
• the dog trials
• the vendors and yarn from all over the world
• the designers, whose names I know and faces  I’ve seen, milling about
• the Rhinebeck sweaters and gorgeous shawls on thousands of knitters and crocheters.

Continue reading “I’m Not At Rhinebeck”

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada and I am posting late. Happy Fall to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere.

I’ve been almost entirely absent from serious knitting and posting since the middle of July when suddenly, what I called “my affliction” appeared.

Continue reading “Giving Thanks”

Writing twice in one week is an aberration for me, but I need to talk about the destructive predilections of my 11 month old poodle.

This is what he did today – my knitting was secured in a zippered bag and I found this knotted mess.

It’s hard to believe. You can see that the bag was still zipped, but he managed to make a small hole in it and get the knitting, the needles, and the yarn out and onto his teeth.

I know poodles are smart; it took him no time to learn the meaning of the words food, hungry, cookie, treat, chewie, but this particular yarn sourcing and destroying talent is beyond ridiculous. Yesterday he ripped opened a plastic bag with yarn and needles in it.

The only saving grace in all of this – I can tell when he has something that’s neither a toy nor a chewie, so I race to the location and save the knitting, the slipper, the credit card, the wallet, the shoe, from destruction. Even more of a saving grace is that Hugo is a sweetheart and he thinks he’s a lap dog, although a bit oversized at 60 pounds.

The only solution to save my projects? All knitting bags will have to be the cloth, zippered variety, at least until either I train Hugo better, or he turns into a dog. He loves the beach, too.

Last minute update – Hugo brought me a cone of yarn on my way out the door. I’m afraid to go home.

In 2017, Camp was not the Guide Camp of decades ago, rather a weekend away with fellow knitters on the north shore of Lake Huron. Backpacks were in order then, knitting bags now, like the perfect-for-the-weekend one pictured.

What else was different?

• There were 4 of us, not 30.
• Cooking was on a stove and BBQ, not over an open fire.
• Food was much better, although appetites were not quite as ravenous.
• There was wine and beer.
• Sleep was in actual comfy beds, not in tents on rocky ground, flesh barely protected by sleeping bag and groundsheet.
• There was a bathroom with a toilet, not holes in the ground that we campers dug ourselves.
• There was a shower, not a frigid lake, although there was a frigid lake.
• No badges were earned; lots was learned. We worked on projects, but none were finished, despite intense efforts.

Continue reading “What I Learned at Camp”

My new design, the Frenchman’s Bay Cape, is simple, reversible, knit top down, and finished with a wide 5 stitch i-cord edging that gives it a sense of substance. I especially like that cast-off with the Gansey-inspired diamond stitch pattern. The skills are rated at intermediate but would be achievable by an enthusiastic beginning knitter.

Continue reading “Frenchman’s Bay Cape”

I learned this from one of Pierre Franey’s books and I’ve been making it for years.

The best thing about it – making it early in the day and having the pleasure of walking by and taking in the amazing scent. Garlic, perfectly ripe tomatoes, and basil are all chopped, mixed together with a bit of good olive oil, and left sitting on the kitchen counter ’til dinner time.

Continue reading “The Very Best August Pasta”