Speaking of Snow

After my talk of snow, I just had to share this. Go read the description. It's priceless!

The Boston French Toast Alert System: More details

A Nice Break

A little holiday trip to see family a bit farther south provided a nice break from the snow. Nary a snowflake in sight. No piles on the ground. Not even ice. Soooo wonderful. Of course I had to pay for my respite. I drove home to more of the white stuff falling from the sky... Ah well, that is winter in NE for you.

Everyone is well and the women had many a new knitted project to show off! Lovely shawls and scarves that I had missed being made. Let it be cold and thoughts immediately turn to yarn for warmth it seems. Every time I turned around, my mother was sporting another scarf she had made that I had never seen before. I was tempted to sneak into her closet to see just how many of the things she has made!

As for me, I am still working on those rectangles:

The current count is 14 rectangles because after taking this pic I made two more. Most need ends woven in, but that goes quickly. I think I've got a few more in me before I send them off. They are great for parties and travel as they do not require me to look down all the time. I can feel the next space with my fingers and double crochet away!

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays.

Free!

As of 1:59pm yesterday, I am officially on Winter Break. Twelve glorious days of freedom. I'm so looking forward to having some time on my hands! What will I do with it?

Reclaim my apartment from the pit into which it has descended. Yes, there is much cleaning in my future. Added to that is a desire to get a handle on the craft supplies. The living room has been tackled but there is still that pesky yarn stash that is taking over my walk in closet and the stacks of card making/rubber stamping supplies hiding behind my bedroom door! I'm thinking some serious podcast listening will be just the thing to keep me motivated.
I'll be donning this duo again tomorrow as I go off to work my part-time retail job. Should be wonderfully hectic. I know you are probably thinking I'm crazy, but I love retail during the holidays. You get to spend all day making people happy. They come in looking for stuff, you help them find it, the stress goes away and they smile. Some are just having such a good time they are a joy to be around from beginning to end. Are there some Crankies? Of course. But they are so few and far between! So, Happy Merry to you all. I hope your shopping is done and you are having fun.

Just saw this...had to share the cleverness!

ALIVE!

Contrary to the rumors...I am still among the living. Between health issues and weirdness with my internet connection, it has been a while. Yet, I have not been idle!

I'm still going round and round. Many kippah designs made and scrapped, a finished baby blanket, and progress on the lace shawl!

My latest addiction? Granny Squares.
Don't all gasp at once. If you have been reading this blog for a while you may remember my aversion to squares. Especially grannies. This has been slowly waining. The death knell occurred with the purchase of the latest Crochet Today. It had an article on basic granny construction. I had a small ball of yarn left over from the baby blanket. I had some gray and purple yarn of the same type staring at me from the stash. Viola, granny squares were born. These will be worked into a snuggle for donation to the local animal shelter. (lower right picture)

The granny again struck when I read this in the Daily Chum. How could I resist? Kids, special needs, and Judaism. I was done for before I got to what they wanted. Squares that are 5x7 inches. Of course grannies would be quick, easy, pretty, and use up some more of that stash yarn. (see center square of mosaic) They specifically want washable acrylic. I went stash diving today and found some more small balls that would be beautiful as little rectangular grannies! So, I'm still going round and round - this time for charity!

Playing Around

So, I've wanted to try making a kippah for a while. I'm too chicken to try it from string, yet. So, I thought I would start with yarn. I tried a traditional one that would be solid, but didn't like the way it was turning out. A switch of gears, some digging through patterns, and adaptation yielded this: Close up...
I was wondering if people think it looks too much like a snow flake? I'd appreciate opinions!



My concern about the "snowflake thing" led me to give this yarn a try...

What do you think? I spotted this yarn and it reminded me of Hanukkah. =-D

In other news, here is the beginning of a scarf that has now traveled to the frog pond. I still think it is a good idea, however, in this yarn the body was too stiff. Since my goal is a scarf for a nine-year-old, I'm on to plan B.
Lastly, as promised a pic of the center of the baby blanket. Haven't worked on the edging since my last post. It will take some uninterrupted time and concentration. It will have to wait for the right moment.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Making Room

So a few of you wanted to know what the yarn was that I plucked from the stash the baby blanket. It is the white Caron Simply Soft that I bought to make my mother a shawl. That was a little over a year ago! If you clicked on all the links you know I eventually gave up and lucked into the perfect pattern a month later.

Want a progress pic on the baby blanket? I'd love to show you one, however, after two days of trying to get Blogger to upload it...I give up! When it cooperates, I promise you'll see. =-D It is looking good. The center and one round of the border are complete. Just cross your fingers for me. I'm doubtful I'll have enough yarn to complete all 7 rounds of the border. I'm hoping that when I run out I'll like the way the edging looks!


Monday, the giving tree went up at school. So, now I have plans for two more skeins of Caron Simply soft in Iris and Grey Heather (scroll down they are side by side) to go with the requested present. I'm envisioning a vertically striped scarf with corkscrew fringe in the same color as each stripe. We'll see if it works...

Maturation

O.K. so I've had a "stash" for quite some time. What crocheter doesn't, right? It reflected my current interests, then stretched to include yarn I just had to have. Over time, I've developed a section where beautiful yarns just stare at me saying, "What will I be? When will you crochet me?" I haven't a clue! I do, however, sigh over their lusciousness occasionally.

Friday I had a realization. My stash is officially mature. How do I know? Well, the last three projects I've started have all been worked with stash yarn! I saw the pattern for the Olde Peddler Shawl on Ravelry and thought, "Perfect! I've got some pretty lace weight that will work." Then there was the skein of Berry Blast from Sereknity that was the perfect match for my new winter coat. However, I didn't quite realize yet that there had been a change in my usage until I went "shopping" in my stash for yarn to make this:

Yarn I didn't remember was in the stash. Yarn that was just what, according to those on Ravelry who have made this blanket, I needed. It was even the right color. The down side? I need to reorganize my stash (again) because it no longer fits in its corner of my closet! LOL The up side? I'm making room by using up some of the yarn that has been residing there. Maybe it is time to give away some more acrylic to charity...

Did You Notice?

I pulled the new Webs catalogue out of my mailbox this morning and got a surprise. Anyone watch America's Next Top Model? It is one of my guilty pleasures. Well, one of the contestants has shown up in the catalogue! See? (page 25) And since I borrowed the picture, she is modeling the Long Stitch Wrap made from Silk Rhapsody... =-D

I'm not sure what to think of the fact that she seems to be the only model with just one photo, however, it's still kind of cool to see her turn up there!

Modified Moss Afghan - Pattern

Yawn. So, what do you do when it is 6am on an Saturday morning and your plans don't begin until noon? Why you take pictures and wash swatches of course!


At long last here it is, the finished afghan sans blocking.

And a close up of the stitches...

Why sans blocking? Well, when it was done and I climbed underneath, I discovered with just a little gentle pull the afghan would tuck under my feet and tuck under my chin! I'm thinking the weight of the finished piece and simple use will stretch it enough without blocking. =-D

Can I just tell you how happy it makes me to glance around my living room and see something beautiful that came from the work of my hands? Priceless!

Pattern

10 skeins of Universal Deluxe Worsted LP color 09

Hook US I/9 (5.50 mm)

Foundation: Chain 130.

Row 1 (sc then dc) in 3rd ch from hook, *sk 1 chain, sc then dc in next ch* repeat to end. Turn, ch 2.

Row 2 in each sc across work a sc then a dc (you skip over the dc).

Repeat Row 2 until you run out of yarn! =-D

The Challenge

So I rarely talk about anything but yarn on this blog, however, today is the exception. I set my students the task of finding an "item" that related to discrimination or prejudice as part of our unit on To Kill a Mockingbird. Today, they made their first presentations . You know what? I've now heard a rap style song I can get behind (she used the third verse):




Not only is it a powerful message, it uses "Clair de Lune" as a background. This brings back memories of my sister sitting at our piano. I actually taught myself to play a very small portion of this piece from my sister's sheet music when I got older because I loved listening to her play it!

And speaking of my sis, she surprised me last week. In the mail was a package which after squeezing it I thought contained yarn. Well, only sort of...see?


So soft and cuddly! It's made from Lion Brand's Landscapes yarn in Country Sunset. Such a lovely surprise that matches the new winter coat! (Yup, it is the right blue.)

Tah Dah!

Here are the pics I promised.

One lovely new scarf to match my new winter coat. I'm loving the curls for fringe, so fun! The left over yarn is slowly becoming a hat. If there is enough yarn left after making the hat I am tempted to add some spirals to the crown. =-DHere's that yarn I purchased for 25% of its regular price at the JCA sale. It is a lovely combination of blues and greys. I have NO idea what it will become. It was just too pretty to pass up!
This is the other yarn I could not resist. I LOVE red. It was 10 skeins of DK 100% Merino for only $20. Could you have passed it up?

I had not clue what this would become either, however, after buying the new Crochet Me book I'm thinking it might become this if I am brave enough! This sweater looks simple and like something I would wear. I'm considering altering the sleeves, though, by adding some lace so that I can raise my arms without revealing too much through the arm holes!

Wow!

Twenty-four hours and the black scarf is now blocking on my kitchen table and ironing board. I don't think I've ever turned out anything but a hat that quickly! I'm a little dazed.

After dipping the scarf in some Soak I got another surprise: the 53 inch scarf (before spirals) became 64 inches. SIXTY-FOUR . I left the scarf a little short to allow for some growth. But, eleven inches? I never imagined that it would grow that much. It's a new record! If only my afghan will follow the scarf's example and grow as generously when I get it done.

Pics tomorrow if I get home early enough to have some light and if the scarf is dry. The JCA yarn will also be part of the photo shoot, promise. I looked up the regular price for one of the yarns and now realize I got it for 75% off. Yipee! =-D

Catching Up on Crochet

So before Rhinebeck I was working on turning Very Berry from Sereknity into a scarf to match my new winter coat. Here's the swatch I was off to create when last we talked of this: I added a diamond repeat and it worked up very quickly. However, this pattern just did nothing to show off the yarn. It has been frogged. After many, many false starts like this I may have the answer:

With thanks to my Harmony Guide and the Crosshatch Stitch I, these little diamond allow the colors to pool. In person it is more textured dimpling forward and back with the alternating diamonds. It is quite fetching. My only problem is that the tension is not even so the sides are bowing. I'm trying to decide if I should block what I've done so far to see if it fixes the problem or just restart the pattern now that it is familiar. While I cogitate, I've started the second scarf for my new coat:

This is the Lace and Spiral scarf from Ruthie's Easy Crocheted Scarfs which is working up very quickly. The yarn is Lamb's Pride Worsted 85% wool/15% mohair. It will certainly be warm despite the openness of the pattern!

And last but not least, an FO. This wash cloth was begun ages ago on a night when I needed something simple to work. I didn't realize it was languishing in one of my project bags until I came across it the other day and finished the border. Now it is done!
Coming soon...goodies from the JCA sale!

Oh, and BTW I also fell down and went boom for this today in Sereknity's Etsy Shop. Oh such yarny goodness just cannot be resisted!

The Best Laid Plans

of crocheters and fiber enthusiasts often go awry!

So, I spent the weekend at Rhinebeck. I planned to have much fibery fun and much was had...by others. I never even set foot on the fair grounds. I did see lots of my hotel room and last night even an Emergency room (because where else do you find a doctor at 7pm on a Sunday night?). Don't worry, all has turned out well with a clear plan of action for symptom resolution. Life's good. =-D

On the up side, my generous sister was able to procure a commemorative Sheep and Wool embroidered project bag for me. It is just the perfect size for transporting the ever growing afghan. Also, she and my mother scoured the booths for a yarn that incorporated black to match my new winter coat. No luck. I'm glad they looked because otherwise the thought that I had missed out on finding the perfect yarn would have haunted me. I got to enjoy their stories of what they had seen and admire some beautiful yarn purchases.

Thankfully, I was well enough on Saturday night to make the Ravelry get together. It was so much fun to meet in person folks I've only "seen" on line. Mom even won one of the raffle prizes and had her picture taken by someone from Webs. Wonder where that pic will turn up...

KINEARING THE HARLOT

Just three people away from me when the pic was snapped. You cannot tell from the dark cell phone pic but she is wearing the finished Kauni sweater. It is just as beautiful as you would imagine. I wish my pics of Jess and Casey standing on chairs to address the throng had come out. It was quite a sight, and let me tell you knitters are LOUD! Shy? Retiring? Aged? No way Jose! lol

So, it was a fun and semi-relaxing weekend overall. Best laid plans my go awry, but all is not lost!

Problem Solving

I need a new winter coat. In fact, I needed a new winter coat last year. Unfortunately, I was not able to find one I liked. This situation became the perfect excuse to expand my wardrobe of scarves. If I couldn't have a new coat at least I could jazz it up with nice new handmade scarves. Right?!

I love to make scarves. They are relatively quick and easy, use a reasonable amount of yarn, and the possibilities are endless. Living in New England, I'm sure, has something to do with my affection for this garment seeing as it is a necessity if you want to go outside several months out of the year.

So, I set off shopping for a new winter coat with the knowledge that anything I found would match the existing scarves in my wardrobe. Particularly the one I made over the summer (I did say I like to make scarves, right?). Alas, such was not to be the case. I found a coat. It is wonderful. It is one of my favorite colors, blue. However, it has the amazing distinction of MATCHING NOT A SINGLE SCARF I OWN. Stunned? Yup, I am.

On the bright side, the crocheter in my is suddenly atwitter that I have the perfect excuse to make another scarf (or two or three - vareity is the spice of life you know). Not only that, the yarn gods are continuing to aid my stash reduction in preparation for Rhinebeck next weekend. I have a perfect yarn in the stash to match the coat!

Berry Blast by Sereknity

As you can see I started a scarf immediately, but have now decided to frog and try another pattern. Why? Love the pattern, hate the drape. I could adjust the hook size and try again, but it won't be warm enough given it's openness. So I'm going to try this one without the poms. I've added a diamond repeat so that it will be wide enough in the lighter yarn I'm using. I'll give it a go today. Wish me luck! =-D

Kiss Kiss

Best wishes and Congratulations

to Ericka and Chris who

tied the knit (ahem) knot this weekend!

A sweeter more lovely couple you'll rarely meet.

Drop in on the blog and leave them a message!

And so it begins =-D

Sorry it isn't a better picture, but I was too impatient to wait for daylight! LOL

Planz

Iz gots planz!

Plan #1: Finish the first afghan that I'll keep! With all the yarn I play with one would think I'd have some lovely finished items gracing my home. Nope. Not one. This will be the first and I'm really looking forward to using it as the weather turns colder. Six balls of yarn down and four more to go. =-D Plan #2: Save the Baby It's Cowled outside for Rhinebeck. It occurred to me that a small, mobile project would be key to enjoying my first experience at this renowned Sheep and Wool Festival.

Plan #3: Blame/Bless Ravelry for my next project. You see, it is rare, extremely rare, for me to shop on line. I can probably count one one hand the number of times I have done so. Generally, I'll look at what's available then CALL to place the order. Why? Well, despite security measures, I've heard too many horror stories. So I save instances of on line purchase for moments of great need like this:

Olde Peddler Shawl by Knitting Park Studio

.

It was love at first sight. It is light. It is airy. It has the option to use beads, something I've never done before, on the border. Not only that, but the perfect yarn has been waiting patiently in my stash for the day I would discover the pattern to make it sing.

Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace in the Spanish Moss colorway

.

I have a full skein (2400 yards) so there will be almost half left over. Hmmm...maybe I could make two?

Planz!

Kindergarten Graduation!

Yipee! I can graduate from kindergarten now that I can COUNT! lol

Too Perfect

Gigi -- [adjective]: Fuzzy to the touch 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Hello? Is this thing on?

Thank you to everyone for the warm birthday wishes! I got a bit of a surprise last weekend when celebrating my sister's 50th birthday. (Our birthdays are many years and a day apart!) Big party, lost of people, tons of food etc. And in the midst of it all, a little side celebration sponsored by our brother, sister-in-law, and their children. They surprised me with a card and this:
What is it? A beautifully unusual dish filled with little pieces of index card. On the cards are the 41 inspirational phrases/actions they came up with for stress relief! I've needed some of that as the school year has begun with a bang! (Hence, why I dropped out of view for a bit...) As you can see, it went immediately to work and is sitting on my oh so lovely industrial green desk. They are so thoughtful.

On the fiber front, Ravelry has struck again. In wandering around the patterns I found this:

Baby It's Cowled Outside

Which I am attempting to make in this:

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Sapphire

I've tried to start it three times. Sigh. I need strong light (the blue is really dark) and the ability to count accurately!!! I'll try again soon. Wish me luck! LOL

Good Enough to Eat?

It certainly looks good enough to eat, however, I think I'll pet it instead. The wonderful Gina presented me with this knitted goody last night to celebrate my birthday. I LOVE that it was wrapped and presented like it was real. Plate, plastic wrap, and all! Thanks G!

Oh, and check out the bottom! It's just as pretty. =-DThe birthday celebrating had just begun. Later, there were more goodies from the Manchvegas Knitters. (They know my weaknesses so well!)
Did I mention that blogless Amanda who did the shopping picked out a yarn that I have been lusting after for about as long as I have been crocheting? Great Adirondack Yarn Company's Sireno Grenada. It is 50% silk and 50% wool. Oh the soft cooshiness! (The colors are even richer in person.) I just loves me some blues and purples.
Thank You! Thank You for a wonderful birthday celebration! I feel very lucky to have found you just over a year ago.

Fringe

So, the first cold weather item of the summer is finished. The scarf has fringe and I look forward to wearing it...a few months from now.Afghan update: I have finished the first four balls out of ten. It is great for mindless/relaxation crochet. Ahhh.

Have a wonderful looooooong weekend!

Where are the WIPS?

See this? Great for storage. Holds lots of yarn, stackable, has clear sides so I can see the contents. Great. It is one of three that lives in my walk in closet where the stash resides. (Don't kid yourself, my entire stash does NOT fit in three 20 Qt. bins.) As well as this works it is simply not meant to live under my coffee table where it has been doing double duty as a project catch all. Not very pretty.

Now this Lantern Moon Rice Basket, is pretty but just not practical. It is too inviting to the cats so it must live up high where it is harder to get to. The plastic bags my WIPS live in sticking out of the top are also not all that attractive...

I also tried these cubby holes. The problem here was too much space. Yes, I know that is hard to believe. However, I found myself putting the next projects I was considering on the shelves and then going on to different ones! So, those projects-to-be are going back in the stash closet where they belong. The cubby holes have been reallocated as book shelves. Goodness knows I have plenty of books!

So what's next? This!

Looks like a picnic basket and is the exact color of my coffee table. Fits underneath with no trouble. It is just big enough to hold several live projects, lined to prevent snags, pretty, and has a cover to keep out the cats. Yipee! I hope this is it. Can I maybe, just maybe, stop looking for the perfect WIP container now? Fingers are crossed.

Scattegories - Wanna Play?

Mini-contest over on Lora's Blog!! She is in a beading mood and has decided to put all our names in a hat for one of her beautiful beaded Face pins. How do you play? Follow the directions below, post the list to your blog, then leave a comment for Lora on her blog. Good Luck!

SCATTERGORIES ... and it's harder than it looks!

Here are the rules:

* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.

* They MUST be real places, names, things ... NOTHING made up!

* If you can't think of anything, skip it.

* You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!

My name: Gigi

1. Famous Singer/Band: Grateful Dead

2. Four letter word: Give

3. Street: Grand Avenue

4. Color: Green

5. Gifts/Presents: Grins and Giggles (tee hee)

6. Vehicle: Gremlin

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Gum Drops

8. Boy Name: Gary

9. Girl Name: Grace

10. Movie Title: Godzilla

11. Drink: Grand Manier

12. Occupation: General Manager

13. Celebrity: Grace Kelly

14. Magazine: GQ

15. U.S. City: Greenland

16. Pro Sports Teams: Giants

17. Fruit: Grapes

18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Got up late

19. Something You Throw Away: Garbage

20. Things You Shout: Great!

21. Cartoon Character: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast anyone?)

Secret Project

This post is a bit late, but here's the saga! =-D This project was long in the planning. In fact it began around February when I lucked into Jan Eaton's A Creative Guide to Crochet on my first visit to the wonderful The Yarn and Fiber Company. I just loved the projects and thought, that since Ericka has an affection for crocheted lace, I'd absolultely have to give it a go. She was getting married soon. The question was, what yarn and which project?

Not long afterwards, Gina started a secret project for Ericka, a beautiful shawl (scroll down on Gina's blog and you will see its red loveliness). That was the key. I'd make a purse to match! If you look at the shawl, you'll notice they do not match. Why? Well the shawl yarn was too heavy looking. I accosted Heather in hopes that she could dye some yarn to match the shawl, but it was not meant to be.

That was when I remembered. I'd seen some Pima Cotton by Tree Frog when our group visited the Yarn Sellar back in March. I'd grabbed a skein with the idea that it would be a good back up. Yipee! Problem solved. It was a neutral natural white and should work with the dress. So, I started to crochet. Life was really good until I realized, one skein would not be enough. Sigh.

A call to Maine and, lucky me, the Yarn Sellar still had the same dye lot on the shelf! Enter the intrepid hero, Melissa, who stopped in and grabbed the yarn for me on her way back from visiting a friend. By this time it was July and I was running out of time! Some quick stitching, miles of braiding (from which I earned myself a blister - love ya Ericka), some weaving, and some knots then it was done in time for the wedding shower! (Of course I forgot to take pictures, so the one above was lifted from Ericka's blog.)

Much love and joy to you Ericka and Chris. Looking forward to the impending wedding!

Sometimes...

Sometimes it's the yarn and sometimes it's a pattern that inspires. Approximately a year ago I came across this (click for big):

I knew immediately that I wanted to make an afghan. It would be for me so I was willing to invest in the quantity of wool that would be necessary. Hey if you cannot splurge once in a while, what's the use, right?

So, I dug through my stitch dictionaries. I looked at patterns to see what stitch combinations were being used. I swatched, frogged, swatched, frogged, swatched, frogged (well, you get the idea). This afghan was going to be something I kept for the rest of my life so it had to be just right. The yarn had to be shown off to it's best. And if I could find a stitch pattern that didn't eat yarn, that would be even better. The yarn was going to sit there and taunt me until I found just the right stitch pattern to show it off. I was NOT going to give up.

Know what? The moment I gave up trying to find a stitch pattern that would conserve yarn, I found the right one. A pattern I'd used before. One I love that really shows of the long color repeats and provides texture. I have capitulated. The afghan won't be as large as I would have liked (maybe blocking will help me eek a bit more size out of it), however, it is just lovely.

Every time I pick it up to stitch, I smile. Mission accomplished.

And Now for the REST of the Story...

First, I'd like to thank all of you for your lovely comments and commiserations on the last post. I'm having a blast tooling around in my new slick silver car. Just loving it! Silver lining indeed. =-D

So, here's the story...Last post I introduced Miss Elizabeth, then left you hanging. Well, here is the rest of the story. Miss Elizabeth is actually Elizabeth #2. The first Elizabeth was one of many, many bears created by my Nana. Never did I visit without seeing a cadre of bears sharing her living space. Why so many? She made some for family, some for sale, and some for charity! Occasionally grandchildren such as myself were allowed to pick out a bear or two to take home. Miss Elizabeth was one of the last two such bears I ever owned. Unfortunately, after keeping them for years and years, I succumbed to a moment of idiocy and allowed Elizabeth and her sister Zebratta to go into a yard sale. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

My sister has been claiming for years that she once wrote down the pattern as our Nana knit away on a bear. She observed each step and carefully recorded it. We had practically given up hope of this record ever resurfacing. Not long ago, however, I got a call:
"You'll never guess what I'm holding."
"What?"
- long pause -
"No. You found it?!"
"Yes! I found the bear pattern!" Insert much squealing carrying on... Before the call was over my wonderful sister promised to recreate Elizabeth.

Miss Elizabeth's knitted pieces were all complete and ready to be assembled by the next time I saw my sister at the 2007 Pops by the Sea. (It was awesome - go next year if you get the chance. We sat in the cool shade of that big tree you can see on the right in this photo.). I got to insert the first bit of stuffing and consult on plumpness and the location of certain features. A fascinating discovery was how the pattern had evolved over the years. The bears from my sister's childhood were smaller, wore pants, and had suspenders! I suspect the growth and simplification of the pattern were a response to our Nana's advancing age. Larger is just easier to create with older hands and eyes. =-D So, we altered the pattern to reflect my childhood memories. By the end of the day, Elizabeth was ready to make the trip home. My sister gave her the first hug then handed her over. Squeeeeee!I have discovered that this Elizabeth is not shy. She has made herself right at home. Here she is mugging for the camera with one of my cats Peneenah.And here she is exploring my WIP basket. She just dove right in! After rummaging around for a while through the projects she found one that is almost done.

This scarf is the product of an experiment with stitch pattern and a killer deal on a skein of yarn at the Chain Link conference. All that is left is to find some coordinating yarn to create fringe. Luckily, cold weather is quite a ways away so I have time!

Miss Elizabeth is just the first of many bears that will be knitted. My Nana's skill, memory, and the joy she brought to others with these little bears will now go forward emerging from the needles of her granddaughter. Thank you KnitOwl for bringing the bears back to life and recreating one of my sweetest childhood memories! Love Ya!