So, what are you going to do ...

... when the sweater that technically (that is, I promised it) belongs to one brother, actually fits the other brother better? You photograph them both and let you, dear reader, decide:

BamBam will definitely grow into it (probably much sooner than I think!) and it really does have a cozy, jacket feel for him ... but LegoManiac looks pretty dashing too, huh? BTW, it's knit with two strands of Dale of Norway's Baby Ull, which is a washable wool and knits up SO NICE!

Cozy as a binky ...

... but can be worn ANYWHERE (once the temp goes below 70!). VERY SIMPLE stockinette poncho and cozy-sized hood knits up quickly with Coats and Clark's Red Heart Grande.

Here's a pic where StringBean has her arms out so you can see the arm length:
We're ready for some cold weather, now!

Now this guy understands knitters!

Machinery Doesn’t Answer Either, But You Aren’t Married to It

by Ogden Nash

Life will teach you many things, chief of which is that every man who talks
to himself isn’t necessarily out of his wits;
He may have a wife who knits.
Probably only he and his Maker
Know how many evenings he has spent trying to raise a conversation while his beloved created sweaters by the acre.
Ah, my inquiring offspring, you must learn that life can be very bitter,
But never quite so much so as when trying to pry a word out of a knitter.
Sometimes she knits and sits,
Sometimes she sits and knits,
And you tell her what you have been doing all day and you ask what she
has been doing all day … and you speak tenderly of your courtship and your
bridal,
And you might as well try to get a response out of an Oriental idol,
And you notice a spasmodic movement of her lips,
And you think she is going to say something but she is only counting the number of stitches it takes to surround the hips;
And she furrows her beautiful brow, which is a sign that something is wrong somewhere and you keep on talking and disregard the sign,
And she casts a lethal glance, as one who purls before swine,
And this goes on for weeks
At the end of which she lays her work down and speaks,
And you think now maybe you can have some home life but she speaks in a tone as far off as Mercury or Saturn,
And she says thank goodness that is finished, it is a sight and she will never be able to wear it, but it doesn’t matter because she can hardly wait to start on an adorable new pattern,
And when this has been going on for a long time, why that’s the time that strong men
break down and go around talking to themselves in public, finally,
And it doesn’t mean that they are weak mentally and spinally.
It doesn’t mean, my boy, that they ought to be in an asylum like Nijinsky the dancer,
It only means that they got into the habit of talking to themselves at home because they themselves were the only people they could talk to and get an answer.

Excerpted from the full poem as published in the collection
Verses from 1929 On by Ogden Nash
(Modern Library, Random House – page 122-123)

Vogue has done it again ...

... they've come up with a book that I just HAVE to have ... The Best of Vogue Knitting: 25 Years of Articles, Techniques and Expert Advice is a mouthful of a title to describe this book that is packed with useful info! At first glance, it looks like a pretty coffee-table book -- it's large-ish, 10+ inch shape and it's glitzy graphics fool the casual reader.

But DON'T stop -- read each article and remember that you've got this sensational book on your resource shelf and re-read the articles when you need a knitting "fix". And there are tons of articles to choose from.

The articles about a few of the 40-some (!) cast-on methods are particularly enlightening. There are other articles on ethnic knitting, designing your own, and finishing like the pros. There are articles about men who design and women who design. There are articles about folks who make their living shearing and spinning and those who make their living writing about knitting. There are articles about the history of knitting and articles about the latest innovations in techniques. In all, there are 13 chapters with a total of 100 articles covering virtually every aspect of knitting.

This is a fantastic resource for all serious knitters. It should fit nicely on the shelf next to the rather dog-eared copy of Vogue Knitting: the Ultimate Knitting Book, a classic in all things knitterly. Only one problem I have with the book is I REALLY WISH book producers would ditch the glossy paper and the graphic designers would stop using pale inks ... very hard for these 40-something eyeballs.

Come join in the fun ...

Give a spiritual twist to your holiday knitting with this weekend retreat. Presentations will include an overview of the knitting design process, as well as practical instruction on fiber choice, stitches, texture, ethnic influences and lots of ideas for getting the look you want from your hand knits. A resource packet will be distributed at the retreat. There will also be time for retreatants to join in the liturgical life of the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey, including the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass.

Retreatants should have an understanding of the basics of knitting, but need not be experts. Be sure to bring your knitting projects, ideas and questions so that we can all share and knit and learn together.

The fee of $160 per person includes the program cost, private room with shared bath, and meals from Friday supper through Sunday breakfast. A $40 deposit is requested to secure your reservation. Please contact the Abbey for reservations or telephone the retreat office at: 970-484-1887 during retreat office business hours (M-Sat 9:30-11:30 a.m. or 2:30-4:30 p.m.) The retreat office is closed on Sundays and major holidays. If the Sisters are not available to answer your call, please leave a message and they will be happy to return your call as soon as possible.

* ----- * ----- *

Mary Gildersleeve began designing shortly after teaching herself to knit at the age of 8. In 1997 she established By Hand, With Heart: hand-knit designs, where she creates designs for knitting publications (such as Knitters, INKnitters, and Knitting Digest) , custom knits original designs for purchase, and self-publishes her patterns. She is a writer, reviewer, teacher, and most importantly, talker about knitting whenever anyone will listen. She is currently working on a book of original designs linked to great family read-alouds – scheduled for publication Spring 2008. She can usually be found doing something knitterly, even when she’s homeschooling her younger three children.

* ----- * ----- *

The Abbey of St. Walburga is a Benedictine abbey located in the small village of Virginia Dale, Colorado, at 32109 North US Highway 287. It’s about 35 miles north of Fort Collins and 30 miles south of Laramie, WY. Please note that the Retreat House is a simple facility designed to offer a time of quiet withdrawal from the busy noise of the ordinary home and work world. Individual rooms are not equipped with telephones or modem connections. The single telephone line that serves the Retreat House cannot be used to download e-mail. Television and radio reception are extremely poor in the valley, and cell phones and pagers will not work here. Retreatants are asked to use headsets if they wish to listen to tapes.

So simple, and yet so elegant

This is just a simple, K1-P1 rib scarf -- yet it is reversible (as the purl stitches "hide" and allow the knit stitches to appear as if it's knit stitched on both sides) and so soft using Lion Brand's Cotton Ease. This one is for Lego-Maniac and took just over a skein each of "snow" and "charcoal" making this scarf approx. 45". For an adult version, I'd add 2 more repeats of the 15-row stripes and end with the snow, to make it about 60". No fringe so this can stay nice and elegant!