Serta Sheep at Florida Knitting Shop

Frank & Melanie Orlando

My New Kitchen - Finally Completed

Knitting Links

Discovered several links today of note:
Knitting Pro - contains articles on knitting terminology, processes, etc., patterns and other knitting site connnections
Knitters Review - contains reviews of yarns, events, polls, ads for yarn sales
The Knitting Guild Association's web site

Zig Zag Bag

On Saturday, October 28, 2006, Knitters Kove hosted a two hour class on Zig Zag Bags. By controlling the tension of the yarn knitting in the round, one can get variegated yarn stitches to stack resulting in a "zig zag" pattern. This is done by discovering the repeat pattern of a variegated yarn, using a crochet provisional cast on, place enough stitches on the needle to return to the beginning color of the dye pattern, and continuing around tightening tension to move to the left and loosening tension to move the colors to the right.

Experimenting with this technique, thickness of yarn, needle size and number of stitches can result in some gorgeous patterns.

Winter Park - Knitters' Kove Retreat

This past weekend, October 20-22, 2006, was spent with a dozen fellow knitters at the Vasquez Lodge in Winter Park. The weather was cooperative -- cold, snowing and just perfect to sit by a fire, knit and enjoy warm conversation.

On Saturday the group treked to Lonesome Stone wow-ing over the coloration varieties, size differences and gentle demeanor of both the alpacas and Great Pyrennes who protect them like family.


We wandered through the factory and store, visiting with the owners who described the spinning and dying processes used for the numerous types of yarn produced. After all the verbal and visual tantalization, we dutifully succumbed to purchasing alpaca and mohair yarns to gratefully add to our growing stash of yarns. Knowing that on the day we pull out the fiber acquired on that afternoon, we will remember the quiet solitude, docile alpacas and intriguing moments spent in Fraser, Colorado.

Our Canadian Friends, Brenda & Steve

September 2006

Dave and Susan along with sweetheart, Allie. Enjoying the Colorado Fall colors and sunshine.

The Gourmet Yarn Company, Oklahoma City, OK

9638 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, (405) 286-3737.

The LYS of Oklahoma City, located in a brick shopping center on North May Avenue, a very short distance from I-44, certainly lives up to the name “gourmet” with delights of all kinds. A wide selection of novelties, synthetics, import and domestic wools greeted the eyes upon entering the well organized shop. Shop displays featured basic to complex cabled scarves, sweaters, purses and patterns for each.

Melissa and Margaret, the knowledgeable and friendly staff and owner, respectively, helped me select an appropriate skill level cable pattern to use for Plymouth Yarn Co.’s bulky Alpaca yarn in a gray mist. They created a homey and welcoming environment for friend and newcomer alike. As a result of their enthusiasm, the Thursday afternoon group, the “Black Sheep,” has grown to an average of 20 members who come to the shop, to sit, knit, visit and experiment with new yarns.

Volumes of single patterns, magazines and books are easily located and available for perusing or purchasing as well as the latest Maggie Sexton or Debbie Macomber knitting novel. If you ever are in Oklahoma City, this shop merits a visit. Plan to spend Thursday afternoon with the Black Sheep and pleasantly while away the hours visiting with the local “yarn” enthusiasts.

A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, Cat Bordhi

Book Review

The beginning illustration of this second book by Cat Bordhi explains the mystery of a moebius using a paper design. From that basis, the author goes on to demonstrate the moebius cast-on which the reader can then use to make scarves, baskets, and sling bags with decorative stitch design handles.

One unique pattern in the book which I plan to try was one for a felted needle cozy that is placed on a wooden spoon handle, twisted and then left to dry resulting in a twirled appearance when finished.

Toledo Mud Hens, 2006 All-Star Game

Toledo and the Toledo Mud Hens hosted the 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game. This was the view of the field from my room. The events were well attended and the excitement was contagious for the whole of Toledo.

Some friends came to join me there and we were able to renew an old friendship. It was great visiting with Al and Laura and their two girls, Taylor and Paige, after not seeing them for 15 years.

During the summer of 2005, my husband and I traveled to South Dakota. One of the stop off points was Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ewe Count, at 819 Randall Ave,
Cheyenne, WY 82001, phone: (307) 638-1148. 3 stars.

In my travels with the Pacific Coast League for the summer All-Star Game, I spent of few days of July 2004 in Providence, Rhode Island and visited A Stitch Above, 190 Wayland Ave, Providence, RI 02906, phone: (401) 455-0269. 4 stars.

Pitchfork Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado

The bulbs were always the most attractive thing about our front yard on Pitchfork Dr. The hardscape was done by a professional landscaper but Frank and I labored hard to install all the plants.

The old house in Spring before the sale in June 2006. Just thought the sepia would add a nice touch!

The purple lupines were in full bloom just before the closing. Also, the white dot in the center of the picture is my ceramic sheep.

Stitches Convention, February 2006

The Keynote speaker for the Convention was Sally Melville, whose book Color, the third in her Knit, Purl series had just been released. Her topic was entitled Creative Existence, Managing Color which spoke to color theory and color combinations that work together and the creative process.

We were treated to a fashion show with the prototypes of all the designs in this latest volume and given the inside scoop on Sally's next planned topic is Texture, Our Finest Hour and the fifth book will be the Design and the Creative Process in which she plans to include the intriguing topic of "What not to Wear" for Knitters.

Friday morning, my class was Fair Isle Knitting with Beth Walker O'Brien. I actually learned to do continental knitting in this three hour class although that consists of holding the yarn in my left hand and not having very good tension. In the afternoon, I had Tantalizing Techniques with Debbie New, a very spirited English speaking teacher. Her key thought was to "look at things and figure out another way to do the same thing that might be less difficult or even easier."

Saturday began with Merike Saarnitt who was a very lively and exciting teacher. She gave a short 30 second explanation fo the purpose of the workshop and we commenced with the project of Toe Up Socks. The afternoon class, taught by Ruth Lantz, on the Elements of Design challenged the participants to create a scrapbook with ideas for projects, pictures of art work, designs, clip art and motifs to be used in those projects and a color wheel for choices of colors for those patterns. This was a very thought provoking class and my brain was on overload by the end of the 3 hours. What a lot to think about!

My last class was on Sunday morning with Nancy Bush and the topic was Estonian Lace. Nancy shared a short history of Estonia and the development of the lacemaking tradition in the region. Estonian lace is built on stockinette stitch and the two similar shawl traditions, Orenburg and Shetland, are built on the garter stitch. The Lily of the Valley pattern she demonstrated is unique to Estonia.

These few days were packed and it will take while to assimilate or even process all the ideas, techniques and new patterns. In addition to that the shopping, fashion shows, lunch, dinner, style predictions and more shopping will keep me humming a happy tune for at least the next year. Want to do this every year.

Stitches West 2006, Santa Clara, California

Cables Untangled with Melissa Leapman was my first class at Stitches in Santa Clara, CA. What a way to start the Convention! She was delightful and informative. One of the tips I garnered from her was to always slip purlwise when cabling and when finishing a cable on the right side row when you purl the next stitch, wrap the yarn in the opposite direction. When come to the stitch on the Wrong Side of the row, the stitch will be twisted. To untwist it, knit into the back of the stitch. This will prevent gaps from occurring between the cable and the remainder of the knitting.

Another tip is to use a different type of needle for cabling to differentiate it from the main needles. Use whatever form of needle you find the most comfortable.

Thanks, Melissa. I really enjoyed your class!

Golden Gate Bridge

My father's father worked on parts for the Golden Gate Bridge at a factory in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He passed away before the bridge was completed.

My husband and I drove across the Bridge from San Jose to Pittsburg, CA to visit with a friend.

San Jose, February 2006

A matching set!