My Knitting Heritage

I come from a long line of knitters. This didn't dawn on me until recently. Soon after my mother saw that the knitting bug "stuck", she gave me these two sweaters. Being a new knitter, I didn't really look at them closely or appreciate them. Now that I know what it involves to create a sweater, I look at them in a totally new light.

The red sweater that my DD is wearing was knit by my mother's grandmother (my great-grandmother) for her to wear when she was a little girl. So, I'm guessing that the sweater is about 55 years old. If you were able to see it up close, you would notice that it looks like it had been knit just yesterday. The seaming is flawless. You can't see where she wove in an end. I'm telling you it is exquisite.

The blue sweater my grandmother knit for me. I would estimate its age at around 27 years old. I can remember picking out the buttons, which are porcelain with tiny yellow flowers painted on them. I think I may have picked out the colors too.

The final picture is of the baby blanket my mother knit for my daughters. It absolutely takes my breath away. She originally bought the pattern when she was pregnant, but when she found out that she was having twins (I have a twin brother) found the task too daunting.

When I told her we were trying to get pregnant, she started knitting this for me. When she heard the news that I was having twins, she kicked it into high gear. That's right people. She made TWO of these for me.

Please click on the pictures so you can see the details.

You can see the history of grandmothers making things for their granddaughters. I hope to carry on the tradition one day. I get a little choked up thinking about the amazing women looking down at me, or sitting next to me in the case of my mother, all united in our love of knitting.

Meme maniac

I've been tagged by my new blog buddy Ruth. This one is short and sweet.

My 23rd post, 5th sentence reads:

Repeat to yourself....must not buy more yarn...must not buy more yarn...

Hilarious! I'm still not listening to my inner yarn warning signals!


Instructions for meme:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

I'm tagging ALL of my blog friends for this one. It's easy, and enlightening.

Three Things Meme

This was sent to me from Knitamazoo. Let the games begin!

Three names I go by:
1. Amy
2. Lovie
3. Mom

Three screen names I’ve had:
1. Amylovie
2.
3.

Three physical things I like about myself:
1. My long neck
2. Eyes
3. Nose

Three physical things I don’t like about myself:
1. Love handles
2. Sagging chest
3. Thin lips

Three parts of my heritage:
1. German
2. English
3. Irish

Three things I am wearing right now:
1. Blue jeans
2. Old Navy shirt
3. Flip flops

Three favorite bands/musical artists:
1. George Michael
2. Corey Hart
3. Elton John (can you tell I "heart" the 80's)

Three favorite songs: (again too many to choose from so I'll give my fav from each of my fav artists)
1. One More Try - George Michael
2. Never Surrender - Corey Hart
3. Sad Songs - Elton John

Three things I want in a relationship:
1. Affection
2. Love
3. Trust

Two truths and a lie
1. I have never seen "Titanic"
2. I have never read any of the Harry Potter books
3. I am a triplet

Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeal to you:
1. Tall
2 Dark
3. Handsome

Three favorite hobbies:
1. Knitting
2. Cooking
3. Reading

Three things I want to do badly right now:
1. Sleep
2. Knit
3. Blow off all of my chores

Three things that scare me:
1. Child predators
2. Sharks
3. Big spiders

Three of my everyday essentials:
1. Mascara
2. Lip balm
3. Brushed teeth

Three Careers you have considered or are considering :
1. Psychologist
2. Dental Hygenist (I would find it so satisfying to scrape teeth)
3. Yarn shop owner

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Italy
2. England
3. Colorado

Three kids’ names you like:
1. Steven
2. Thomas
3. Jacob

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. Travel all over Europe
2. Snow ski
3. Fly in a hot air balloon

Three ways I am stereotypically a boy:
1. I very rarely cry
2. I don't like to discuss my problems
3. I like action films

Three ways I am stereotypically a girl:
1. I wear makeup every day
2. I love to shop
3. I love purses

Three celeb crushes:
1. Ricky Schroeder (sp?) in the 6th grade
2. George Michael in the 9th grade (The Faith video...HELLO!)
3. I really don't have one as an adult. They all seem like jerks.

Three people I am tagging: (I try to tag someone new everyting I get one of these. Got to spread the love!)
1. Cherry Blossom Crafts
2. Yarn in Knots (so she will have somthing to post...hehe! Love ya Jenni!)
3. Yarntherapy

A couple of quizzes

KnitttingNurse always finds these interesting quizzes that I can't resist.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Cluttered Stash, Cluttered Mind

Today my stash went from plastic sacks, Rubbermaid bins, and Ziploc bags to this. I can't tell you how much better this made me feel. I even went so far as to label each drawer with what projects are inside.

No more yarn attacking me when I open the door. No more cluelessness as to what I have. Heaven!

I also promised myself that I would not buy any more yarn if all of the drawers are full, and believe me they are FULL.

Hourglass progress, Loop-d-Loop, & more yarn (gasp!)

I've made it through the body and am almost finished with the first sleeve of my Hourglass sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. The body of the sweater was a breeze, but I find the 12" needles used on the sleeves difficult to work with. They make my wrists hurt

I just brought home a copy of Teva Duram's Loop-d-Loop from my library. There are several patterns in there that I like, so I have to purchase the book eventually. Here are a few of note:

Who wouldn't love a paper chain scarf. Another scarf that I love is...

this little lovely. I love the unusual construction. And finally, because y'all know I am a fan of Fair Isle, there are these for your viewing pleasure...

I just can't resist mother/daughter outfits. I need to make stuff like this while they will still wear it and not be repulsed by the idea. The second Fair Isle has such beautiful shape. I think it would be very flattering and fun to knit.

I also mentioned in the title that I bought more yarn. Scary, I know. My girls really liked this Berroco pattern, so who was I to say no.

My sweet mother took pity on me, and will be making one of the skirts so the girls will be able to wear them as soon as possible. And finally, (I swear this is the last picture) I bought the yarn and the pattern to make this for my sweet babies...

What kind of needle are you?

You are "turbo" charged.
Fast moving and classy, you get things done with
power and grace. Your expensive tastes can be
deceiving, since what you really value is
quality and efficiency. As you're careening
around those corners in life, finishing a dozen
knitted objects each month, stop and smell the
roses. Don't miss the beauty of process!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2-Hour Shawl

Lena Brown was kind enough to lend me this pattern. She plans to sell it on her website sometime in the future. On with the details...

Yarn: Noro Hana Silk #35 - 100% silk - 4 st / in on #7
Classic Elite Miracle #3350 - 50% alpaca 50% Tencel - 5.25 st/in on #6
Needle: The famous "big honkin' needles" #50

Both the ribbon and the Miracle are beautiful yarns. If I were to do the project over again, I would have used a thicker ribbon and a heavier weight yarn. The end product of is very light weight, almost spiderwebby.

If any of y'all have seen the latest Vogue knitting, this thing is right up the "gypsy" ally. I think it would look good tied around your waist as well.

In other knitting news, my Hourglass is cruising along. I spoke to my mother, and fellow KAL participant, and she is WAY ahead of me. I had better get crackin'!

And the winner is....

ME! Look what the fabulous Knitting Nurse sent me. I won a movie quote contest that she had on her blog. The package contained two skeins of Lion Brand polarspun in my fave color pink, a container to keep my knitting needles in, and 6 gorgeous stitch markers that she made herself. I was having a bad day yesterday, so finding a surprise parcel in my mail box made my day. Thank you Janett!

Boring Post

I was at the LYS yesterday, stocking up for the winter I suppose. I don't have enough yarn you know. My husband expressed interest in a knitted cap for him to wear when the weather turns cool, so any excuse to spend money on yarn works for me. I also picked up some Brown Sheep Bulky to make the Fairly Easy Fair Isle from SnB Nation. The main color will be cream, and the contrast colors will be turquoise. seafoam green, and coral. I took a Fair Isle class this past spring, and would like to do more of the technique.

I started the Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I'm doing it as a mini knit-a-long with my mother. The Noro Cash Iroha is a beautiful yarn. The color is very saturated, and I enjoy working with the single-ply thick/thin yarn. After the Hourglass KAL, I will start the Reverse Rib Shawl min-KAL with Lickety Knit.

I have a few projects on the needles right now that I hope to finish before the end of the week.