I'm going to the Fair ...

the Prince William County Fair that is!

I've volunteered to hang out in the Home Arts Building on Sunday, August 10th from 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Any guesses what I'll be doing?

KNITTING for two and one-half hours!

And talking about it and trying to get others charged up about knitting.

What more could a gal want or need?

So if you're anywhere near Manassas, VA on Sunday ... stop on by Building "P" and chat, and knit, and chat somemore, and knit some more!

Too cool to miss ....

Sheep made all from telephone parts by Jean-Luc Cornec at the Museum for Post and Telecommunications in Frankfurt, Germany ....

ht: Uncle Matt

Ethnic Knitting: Inspiration

I love ethnic/folkwear type designs ... the versatility, history and beauty of the garments makes them an amazing resource for knitwear inspiration. A place to find lots of great ideas is the Folkwear website with their luscious patterns.

Here's part of an email I got today from the owner of Folkwear ... I've just attached the part where Kate describes some of the exhibits of costume/folkwear available around the country:

If you are planning any vacation trips, perhaps you will be able to see an inspiring exhibition or festival. Some events of interest include:

• Clothes Make the Man: The Colonial Gentleman in New England, at Historic Deerfield (Massachusetts), through August 17. www.historic-deerfield.org.
• The Finishing Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian Highlands. Includes belts, bags, and other items. Through September 18. Also, BLUE, an exploration of the creation and meaning of the color blue on textiles, with emphasis on indigo. Follows last year's exhibit on RED. At the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, through September 18. www.textilemuseum.org.
• Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. Exhibit includes movie costumes, haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, until September 1. Also, Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru, brilliantly-colored feathers in high-status apparel and accessories, until September 1. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. www.metmuseum.org.
• For Tent and Trade: Masterpieces of Turkmen Weaving. Tribal carpets, bags, tent and camel trappings from Central Asia. Through September 7. At the de Young Museum in San Francisco. www.famsf.org/deyoung.
• Pride and Practicality: Japanese Immigrant Clothing in Hawaii, through September 27. At the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, in Honolulu. www.jcch.com.
• Belle Epoque Brides, an exhibit of Gilded Age (1875-1914) gowns at the Kent State University Museum in Kent, Ohio, through January 4, 2009. Also, BOLD: Rudi Gernreich, fashions by a controversial 20th century designer, through May 31, 2009. www.kent.edu/museum.
• History in Every Step, an exhibit of historic footwear and walking sticks from American and other cultures at the Charleston (S.C.) Museum, through September 1. Also, Bustles, Bicycles, and Ballgowns: Beginnings of Change in Late 19th Century Clothing, through January 4, 2009. www.charlestonmuseum.org.

Unfortunately, many of my "trips" will need to be virtual, but I might be able to catch a few IRL! I'll post those that I'm able to visit.

So how 'bout you? Up for a field trip? If you go visit any of these IRL, please post in the comments so I can live vicariously!

Great Yarns: I'm baaaaaaaack!

I had the BEST time up at Lynette's shop in Frederick, Colorado. Knitter's Nest is truly a haven for knit-a-holics and a hot-bed of fiber fanatics!

The turn-out, on this beautiful Spring-like Friday evening was great (at least a dozen wonderful ladies and even a few young un's knittin' away too!). They seemed to like Great Yarns and the designs ... and some of them homeschool!

Dh took the littles and we made an afternoon of it ... them to play at the park, read and eat McD's "sundaes" and mom to knit and talk about knitting for more than 2-1/2 hours! What more could I want?

Mary, one of the group from the In the Spirit of Design retreat came down -- her friend Melissa was to come too, but her date with the "Sock Monkey" won out! Maybe next time I'm in Colorado, huh Melissa????

But you do need to check out Lynette's shop ... it's a cozy nest of beautiful yarns, tools, and books (including a lending library!) and a fabulous place to spend a Friday evening! So, if you're ever in Frederick, CO (less than 30 minutes from Denver) ... do stop and shop at Knitter's Nest -- you'll love it!

THANKS to all the KN regulars for the warm welcome and the hospitality.

Great Yarns: I'm on the road again

A little knitting shop about 30 minutes from Denver is going to host me and on Friday, May 30! Yippee, I get another chance to talk "shop" with other knitting enthusiasts, maybe sell a few books and knit for a few uninterrupted hours .... what more could I ask for?

Knitter's Nest
(in Clark Plaza)334 Fifth StreetFrederick, Colorado
80530

(303) 833-5062

Baby Knitting: Easiest Ever Gift!

A very good friend is being induced this morning with her 5th baby -- this always happens as her babies always need a little noodge to greet the new day. But, when that baby does arrive I have the perfect new baby gift.

I wanted to make this 5th baby something special -- often the more babies someone has the less the new babies get. I remembered a pattern that I'd designed for my first "book", Glory of America Knits. I called it "Raggy Maggy" as it looks like a traditional rag doll ... with a bit of a twist.

So, here is a tutorial for making your own "Raggy Maggy" or teething doll:

First, as far as materials needed: #3 US knitting needles, worsted weight cotton yarn (the doll pictured here was knitted with Coats & Clarks Aunt Lydia Denim in ecru), 5 elastic hairbands (large) with no metal (you can see them in the picture, I found set of different brights from Conair).

Gauge: this is not ultra-critical but I got a gauge of 5st x 7rs. You want a tight-ish feel to the fabric. The final rectangle will measure about 13 x 20.

CO 100 sts and work 4 rows garter. Then, keeping first and last 2 sts in garter, do a stockinette center for approx. 12 inches. Finish with 4 more rows of all garter (on last round, reduce 10 sts evenly across so you'll be binding off 90 sts).

Now, for creating this little doll:

Here is the finished rectangle -- approx. 13 inches by 20 inches. Notice how it is on the table on it's short side which will be the "hem" edge (the CO edge is on the right, BO edge is on the left).

[NOTE: I used Conair's "large, no metal hair bands - a pack of 32 cost $2]

Fold the rectangle in half, with the RS out and the hems lined up. From the remaining yarn, wrap a TIGHT, two-inch ball for the head.

Place the "head" in the center of the top fold and wrap a hair-band of desired color (we know this baby is a girl so that's why I used deep pink -- you could use ANY color). You can move the fabric around a bit to get a smooth "face" while tucking the folds around the sides.

For the limbs -- do the left leg first by measuring 6" from the hem up the left side and half the hem (6-1/2"), grab this section and wrap a band around leg portion tightly. Grab the remaining 4 inches and make the arm. Repeat for the right side. Play with these wrappings a bit until you have Raggy Maggy just as you'd like her.

This makes a GREAT teething doll -- easy to grasp, cotton that softens as it washes, and easy-care: just take off the bands, remove the head and wash the rectangle and re-make. The cotton soaks up the burbles and droolings of a baby and looks just as good the 300th day as on the first day.

CAUTION: occasionally check the hair bands for any signs of fraying -- replace immediately!

Baby Knitting: Thinking outside the box

One of the MANY things I like about designing hand-knits is that I can think outside the box, go beyond the traditional, and create new traditions.

Here's a great example: a few years ago a friend came to me and asked me to design something for a couple who were having their first baby. I showed her something things I'd made in the past ... a baby blanket with a lamb on it, the christening set, etc. But nothing seemed to be just right.

Then ... my then-6 yod came running in with a stuffed cow I'd knit for her a few years earlier.

Well Jessie just fell in love with Sassie Cassie the cow and wondered if I could do a "cow theme" as the young couple and their new baby would be moving back to the family farm ... a dairy farm!

Here's what I came up with:

A cozy, cow binky (note the white "picket" fence surrounding the field) and a stuffed cow The blanket (which actually was very straight, but the camera angle makes it look a bit catywampus!) has a calico fabric sewn to the back so that the baby didn't get tangled in the intarsia cow.

This was a pretty untraditional baby gift .. but Jessie and the new mom LOVED the set.