Teaching myself how to knit Continental Style

I have been taking knitting classes at The Paper Sparrow and have been working hard on this new skill every day. But what i have been noticing is that when i work with the smaller sized needles, my hands and wrists hurt, especially my right hand and wrist. I have been doing some reading on this issue and have read that knitting Continental style is not only a faster way to knit, but that it seems to put less stress on your hands and wrists and is more comfortable for folks with arthritis. So, after searching in YouTube, i found this short video on how to do the garter or knit stitch using the Continental method. At first it was awkward as all get out, but isn't everything awkward at first? So after working on it for a few hours, i'm getting the hang of it! Here's the video:



After a little more practice, it's on to learn how to purl Continental style!

Another big snow storm

This is what it looked like yesterday when i went out on the front porch to get the paper.....
Another BIG snow storm... The roads were so bad, we didn't go and visit my Dad at the hospital. Being snowed in, i did get a few things done...

I finished and trimmed the hat and scarf set i made for my sister in law, Annie....

And finished the little baby guinea pig dolls i made for The Paper Sparrow ( 2 sold right away)

And i finally got to making that apple pie.... I had some apples i bought at the Farmer's Market. Well, Lola learned how to say "APPLE" and every time she would say that and point to the bowl of apples i would hand one to her and she would fire that thing like a baseball! (What an arm that girl has!) So before every single piece of fruit got bruised and pulverized, i made the pie...

It was nice having the extra heat from the oven in the kitchen, and it sure smelled good in here!

And the pie sure tastes good too!

Just before it started to get dark, the snow stopped

but being snowed in didn't bother some of us at all. Nothing bothers Bella....

What i did during the Ice Storm....

I prayed...i paced.....

and i knit knit knit....I knit during the light of day, and even by candlelight...What else was there to do? I finished the baby sweater i started a while back. It just needs to be trimmed and embellished. I started a new loom hat in charcoal (the dark yarn doesn't show up so good...) I finished the 2 pair of baby mittens i made on 2 needles and made my first thumbless baby mitts in the round using the "Magic Loop" method my knitting teacher Linda taught me

(thank you so much Linda) I started another baby sweater for a friend who is due to have her third baby girl in January. And there are more knitted guinea pigs dolls in the making as most of them sold during the Victorian Stroll at The Paper Sparrow....

We did have one casualty tho....Remember the mitten in the making i was so proud of? The one i am into three weeks of knitting class with? See that mass of tangled yarn in the picture above???

Yeah...that's my mitten...I noticed Polly and Zinnia playing tug of war with something brown in the dark the other night, but i thought it was Pollyanna's little monkey doll....but no...it was my mitten. Somehow Zinnia must have jumped up on the couch where i had my knitting bag and it tipped over and ...well...the mitten is mostly gone now. Thankfully they did not get poked with the circular needles, and the 2 plastic stitch markers were still in the mit when i discovered it.

See? As you know, mittens are not supposed to have fingers, or holes coming out the sides....Linda, my dear, patient knitting teacher...if you are reading this, i want you to know i am getting right back up in the saddle and starting anew! I am determined to learn how to make mittens...

A few finished projects...

Lola's stripey hat is done! Let's hope she will keep this one on her head...

And two Snowfolk are ready to go to The Paper Sparrow for the Christmas shoppers!
Now on to the teddy bear assembly!

Keeping Busy!

I have been away from my blog and email lately, and it feels good to get back to it and to all my good blogging friends...I've been so busy getting ready for the Christmas shopping season. My daughter Kate at The Paper Sparrow has asked for more dolls, more jewelry, more prints, more...everything! And i am very happy to be asked! So here is what has been going on around here...

From this tangled mess, comes.....

some new jewelry, with more on the way. Here we have a blue lace agate necklace, some chunky garnet pieces, and as always the popular pearl pieces, some bracelets and gobs of earrings....

...more teddy bears knitted up, and waiting to be stuffed and sewn together. Some will be for small children, embellished with embroidered features and a few will be thread and button jointed with safety and button eyes....

And in this pile you can see a little baby sweater almost finished in a soft blue and pearly white yarn, a new patterned hat for Lola, a super small dog sweater in the works(my first one) and a loomed snowman doll almost ready to be stuffed and shaped.

And as if that wasn't enough, my new knitting class started at The Paper Sparrow. This time we are learning to knit mittens....

My teacher Linda is starting me out with two different methods of making mittens to see which one i like best...The traditional double pointed needle way, and the "Magic Loop" way on circular needles. I like both methods but i think so far the Magic Loop is my favorite. I know that with more practice, both methods will get easier, but right now knitting with four needles feels like i am wrestling with a porcupine in my hands! (Keep your fingers crossed for me that i can get this lesson right)

So as i type this, this is what my kitchen table looks like at this very moment. What a mess! But with time and a little bit more focus, i should be able to wrap a few of these projects up and get them to the shop before Troy Night Out and the Victorian Stroll. What have you been up to?

Knitting like Crazy!

Well, i finished my second doll, using the Mother Bear pattern, but made a few changes on my own. This little critter knit up much faster, now that i know what i am doing, and i did my own thing with the face pattern too.

Meet Miss Kitty
She is shorter and more plump than Teddy

and she even has a tail!

And here is a hat and scarf seti just finished. The hat was knit on the loom, and the scarf was crocheted. I'm tagging every thing up, and bringing them down to the Paper Sparrow for the Holiday shopping season! I just can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving and before you know it, Christmas will be here. I'd better get going!

I hope some little boy or girl will like my dolls enough to take one home...
(proceeds from the sale of these dolls goes to the Mother Bear Knitting Project)

New Sock Dolls and More Knitting...

I've been busy, trying to get some things made up for the Christmas season

at The Paper Sparrow

I call these little guys "Buns". They are made much like my other sock dolls, but using only one sock per doll. Their faces are painted on and the paint is non toxic and permanent, so it is washable and safe for children of all ages....

Buns have cottontails too! And here is my first knitted teddy bear, using the pattern i bought from the Mother Bear Knitting Project. I just finished him last night. I am hoping that the more i make, the faster they will make up. My intention is to send them to the main office for shipment to an African country, to children in orphanages who are suffering from HIV/Aids... For more info, click here But for now, i might just see if i can sell a few, with the profits going to the project for shipping and operational costs.maybe i'll make him a matching hat too!
This little sweetie is one of the recipients of the Mother Bear project... Any knitters out there want to help? They have a pattern for crochet too! Their motto is: "Make a Bear-Make a Difference"

More Hats

The peach hat is for newborns, and the white hat is for an adult sized head.

The peach baby hat was knit with needles, and the white hat was knit on the loom...

Pumpkinheads and Posies

Here are my latest projects...This one is made especially for Halloween and the Fall...

A little Pumpkinhead Hat!
And i finally finished the turquoise sweater. Both the hat and sweater are the same patterns i used here modeled by Lola, but i changed them up a bit. I put the edging on this sweater by learning how to "pick up" stitches... The posies on the collar are crocheted, and then sewn on as embellishments.

I also learned how to make french knots, tho you can barely see them in the center of the flower as i used pale yellow for the center.

Next projects? Knitted teddy bears. I have two different projects going here and will hopefully have something to show for all those stitches soon! I am loving this new skill i am learning!

New Knits

I am continuing to practice my new skill, and have a lovely model to show these new creations to you....

This is the first sweater i made actually being WORN by my granddaughter Lola. This was my goal to be accomplished by the end of this year - to make a baby sweater for Lola.

It is by no means perfect, but i am very pleased with it.

I have a lot of work to do as far as perfecting my seaming technique, but that will come with time and practice, just like anything else...

I got this pattern free online here if you are interested in trying it. It is made up of rectangular pieces knit in garter stitch, and sewn together into this little kimono style sweater. I plan to make dozens of these little sweaters, all in different colors and sizes and different types of yarn...

I made this hat up in a few evenings, from a pattern i found in the book:

Debbie Bliss: Baby Knits for Beginners

So cute!