Thursday, March 25, 2010

Get a clew

clew |kloō|.  noun.   a ball of yarn
skein |skān|.  noun.  a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled


Have I mentioned how much I like my yarn winder?  I love the way it makes a "clew" of yarn that has a flat bottom and top so it doesn't roll away.  And because it makes centre-pull balls I don't have to go fishing around to find that hidden inside end to start the project with.  It almost makes me want to rewind every skein of yarn into a clew before using it ...


So next time someone tells you to "get a clue"  why not go yarn shopping.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Knitosis

knitosis:  [nit - o`- sis]  n. a condition that causes knitting enthusiasts to begin planning a new project before completing the work in progress.


I suffer from knitosis.  My sweater is almost completed.  I have half of the second sleeve to knit, the collar to knit and sewing the pieces together.  As my needles click and clack my mind wanders to what I'll do next.  Not surprisingly,  my brain is swimming in ideas.  With a new baby soon to make an appearance, I can't help  but have itchy fingers for knitting baby items.  


I recently found a "snugly" pattern for babies.  Basically it's a sack to slip the baby into to keep them warm.  It's such a basic pattern that it lends itself to all kinds of variation.  The body of the sack is done in stockinette stitch ... but it could easily be done in any number of stitch patterns .. and I have a book called  The Knitting Stitch Bible ... and I have already marked three stitch patterns that would work nicely ... and ....  Oh, how I wish I knew if this was a girl or a boy so I could contemplate colours, too.  


I've also found a cute little dress pattern that would be FUN to knit, but I think Lin is destined to birth to boys.  Admittedly her boys are adorable and another one would be just fine.  So, if boys are the norm, I have a nice pattern for a knitted sleeper.  I made one for Anthony and after Anthony and Jacob it's looking a bit worse for wear.  (I made it in white.  Oops!)  Maybe I should knit a new sleeper.


Oh ... so many ideas ... so little time.  Literally.  The baby is due in only 5 weeks, so I'll have to get going soon.  


Re: knitosis,  to quote Christoper Walken:  I got a fever.  And the only prescription is more [yarn!!].