beauty | All Night Knits

This weekend I turned off my computer – turned off any access to the internet at all and embraced a simpler life. I gardened, I went for long walks, I read and most importantly I rediscovered my love for knitting. It sounds strange that just three days could change my perspective – I guess I owe that in large part to all of you. My own version of the constant readers. 😉

I owe all of you a great deal of thanks. Praise and admiration for all of you that helped me clear my head and rid me of my Panic Monster. All of your comments, your feedback and you kind words reminded me that if you love something, well, that’s all that matters. I could write thousands of words in this post, but I think I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Thank you so much for reminding me that I truly love my craftiness.

♥♥ The Shawl ♥♥

My Baby Being Blocked.

It’s had a bath, it’s being blocked and I am just head over heels in love with it!

My Baby Being Blocked.

♥♥ The Cowl. The Cape. The Shrug. All in One ♥♥

The Stash Busting Beauty.

I have been sitting on this pattern for months, the beautiful little stash buster that it is. So my aunt Kathy’s Christmas Present is all done!

The Stash Busting Beauty.

♥♥ Hexipuffs for My Beekeeper’s Quilt ♥♥

Hexipuffs.

I haven’t made a single hexipuff for weeks! I’ve been so busy worrying about selling that I forgot how much I love this quilt. Even though Max ate part of the brown one (no great loss, it was super cheap sock yarn) the Yarny Cakes yarn – the gorgeous purple color way – was a freaking delight to work with! Here is Yarny Cakes BLOG, the FACEBOOK PAGE and of course the ETSY STORE.

♥♥ The Stitch Pattern That Became a Scarf ♥♥

Horizontal Weaving -or- Waves Scarf.

Another wonderful stash buster! The scarf knit up in a few hours and I was pleasantly thrilled with how it turned out, front and back. Just wish I had taken better pictures, after I blocked it but before it got mailed to a friend. 😉

: Dressmaker Dummy Overload

: Front of the Stitch

: The Front and the Back

♥♥ The Ruffle Scarf for my Mimi ♥♥

Yup. Another Ruffle Scarf.

I know I was going to swear these things off but when your grandmother (my Mimi) tells you she loves it and would you pretty please make one – you do. You know what’s funny? I really liked making this scarf….perspective is everything.

Yup. Another Ruffle Scarf.

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So for a weekend I put the outside world out of my mind and knitted. Knitted so much in fact I cannot believe my needles aren’t smoking! Now it is time to go back to the real world, but that doesn’t seem so daunting now. It has its perks – now I can catch up on all my favorite blogs! So I wonder friends and neighbors, do you have a favorite pattern?

I’ve missed you, I thank you. You are all overwhelmingly amazing!

Even the Owl is Impressed!

Who knew when Stitch Pattern Week 6 came to life that something even more amazing – in my ever so humble opinion – would come of it! This is one of things that I love about knitting, you learn one new skill, pattern, or technique and it leads the way to a limitless way to use it. So Stitch Pattern Week 6 is now a doodad hanger, pictured with two of my favorite things; a honeypot (which life is not complete without) and my owl cookie jar (who seems as surprised I finished it so fast as I do!).

: Up Close and Personal on the Stitch Pattern.

: More Photoshop Fun!

: Photoshop is Fun Dagnabbit!

: Doodads and Honeypots.

: Even the Owl Seems Surprised I pulled this Off!

: Knitted Jewelry Hanger

Unfortunately, the idea was not my own; Lion’s Brand website was who provided the way to assemble this DIY project, and for that I am so grateful. All I needed way quilt batting, craft glue and an extra 8 by 10 frame to bring this to life. I am typically a person who makes accessories (hats, gloves, dishcloths, place mats, scarves, baby blankets, booties, ect.) so making something that is so functional and pretty and NEW is making me a tad giddy!

My OCD played a role in getting this done so quickly, can’t forget to thank that little panic monster for it’s contribution. After a knockdown, drag out fight with my Dad (and this is insane, I am 28 and the man still talks to me like an errant child- and errant child that still cannot defend herself) I desperately needed to keep busy. So I busted out in my iPod, put on Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth (which has been amazing so far) put my head down and got to it. Knitting is therapy. I’ve seen all these bloggers saying “I Knit so I Don’t Kill People”, well, mine would be “I Knit so I Don’t Totally Lose My Mind to the Panic Monster Living in My Brain”.

: I Knit so I don’t Kill People

: I Knit so I don’t Kill People

: I Knit so I don’t Kill People

My New Moto

With my project done it is time to look forward – which means trying to figure out how and when to open my shop and….drumroll please….starting my first pair of socks! Pans & Needles has shown me so many beautiful socks that I cannot resist jumping into a new project, as if I needed another one!

So, finishing out my diatribe, I will unabashedly beg for advice. If there are any tips, pointers or magic spells for working on my first pair of socks….Please, for the love of God, SHARE.

Thanks for reading friends and neighbors!