Emptyknitster

It was a perfect day for an outside graduation, the sun was shining and the morning was warming up to be a beautiful day. We hopped on the bus for a quick trip to the Greek Theater on the Berkeley Campus where the ceremony was to take place. We found our seats and soaked up the festive atmosphere! The band began to play a little Reggae "Pomp and Circumstance" as the soon to be graduates marched in. While our grad entered looking calm and collected...  there was a Mom in sunglasses desperately trying to get photos... and the graduate Mom in sunglasses trying to get everyone "sorted out." We were excited to have the ceremony begin, The Pirate never said a word but in hindsight, walking a plank appears to be a good alternative to the two hours of sitting. Then a few steps across the stage and it was all over! A few more photos featuring the star of the day... Congratulations Bri!  Your family is so p...

Hubby and I headed down to Oakland last Thursday to enjoy the California Dreamin' family's company. We also wanted be there when the California Gurl received her diploma. But before the ceremony Chloe-A-Little-Bit suggested that we all get a pedicure - great idea Missy!   The Pirate wanted to play "Dread Pirate" every night, what a fun game!  A great first day with the gang!

I fell in love with the Vitamin D sweater at first sight, and began knitting it immediately after purchasing the yarn while still in the yarn shop. I had been knitting on the sweater for a week when I realized it was by the designer of the Peasy sweater. Hmmm, I had knit the Peasy sweater a year ago. It's the first and only sweater I've ever knit that was to small for me. I had planned on knitting the body and sleeves of the Vitamin D sweater longer than the pattern called for but the closer I got to completing the sweater the more certain I was that even with these modifications it would be to small, just like the Peasy! Trying on the completed sweater didn't make me any happier. It was too tight! The Vitamin D sat in the basket several days while I tried to decide what my recourse was. I was afraid I would block the sweater and it still wouldn't fit. Then I'd be unable to rip and reuse the yarn. I got brave and soaked the completed sweater for a half hour. As...

When I saw found this yarn I knew I just had to keep knitting.... Pattern: "No Pattern" Socks Yarn: Paton's Kroy Socks, Ragg Shades Colorway: Grey Brown Mari Amount 2 skiens Needle size: US 2 I must fess up, I've committed to 12 pair in 2012! Now, on another pair!

Yes, I'm addicted to knitting socks! There I've written it. I'm not sure what happened. I NEVER would have thought I'd write those words a year ago. Perhaps, it's because I don't try to knit anything but "vanilla" socks. I can knit them without a thought, cast on, rib, stockinette, after thought heel, stockinette, toe on toe, toe on heel... I love finding unusual colors of yarn - striping yarns are a favorite. There is a new yarn dyer in our area, In Dyer Straits .  I'm told I've met this new dyer and will remember her when next I see her. She lives in Absarokee Montana, a small town not far from here and frequents our LYS often. I love the way that the colors barber pole around the leg of the sock! The price was reasonable, $16.00 for 465 yards. The fiber content is perfect for socks: 75% Falkland Merino and 25% Nylon. (You can contact her by emailing: dyrestraitsyarns@ gmail.com) This colorway is called Plumage but I prefer Fiestawea...

April 24th is the three year anniversary of Emptyknitster's Never Ending Knitting ! Some people have asked why I blog and others just look at me like I'm crazy.  But for me blogging great idea, fulfilling several wants: 1.The early family photo album just ceased to exist when I began teaching. Not keeping a photo album me feel so guilty that hubby and I stopped taking any photos because they just went into a box, never to be seen again. 2. For years I had been wanting to write a journal but because I'm a bit of a perfectionist - yes, I admit it - I never kept at it for very long because there were always editing issues or messy handwriting to contend with. Computers, and Blog-to-Book have enabled me to achieve my dream! 3. I would have liked to have been able to read a journal of my mother's or grandmother's and this is another reason I started writing the journal. The thought of my future great-grandchildren finding a journal and crawling into an ov...

The other day I asked for your help deciding if I'd made the right choice in yarns on the first Christmas Sweater of 2012 but really didn't explain my concern. The sweater is in Teens and Tween #5 by Cabin Feve r. When I went to my LYS I choose two colors I'd used before and probably have even used them for Joe on earlier Christmas sweaters. If each color looks nice on Joe shouldn't both colors look even better on him? But as I started knitting I wondered if they were the right choice... Recently, theraineysisters had the same problem with color choice. They were offered this advice: Take a photo of the yarn and then change the photo to a black and white to see if there is a noticeable contrast in color. I not, the colors probably don't compliment each other. I wish I'd remembered this advice when I bought the yarn. If I had I would have chosen  differently. If I'd stopped when I posted Friday, and taken this advice I would have "tinke...