Nupp time!

Swallowtail is coming along nicely. So nicely that it is time for the nupps!

After reading the many posts on how small this sweet shawl is, I decided to increase the number of repeats of Budding Lace to 19. That seemed to be the magic number for keeping the next charts on track.

I am knitting this in Silky Alpaca Lace on Bryspun #4 circs. Since the yarn is black (yes, I know - I am crazy to do this in black) the white needles make it much easier to see what I am doing. And I do like the points. So far. We'll see when I have to purl 5 together.....

Here it is so far - looking like a yarn blob. And it is black, though the photo doesn't capture that.

FO: Chapeau Marnier

Another cloche - I love this little pattern! It only takes a few hours to knit and is adorably retro. Chapeau Marnier knit in Luster Sheen

More Caps

This one is the Swirl Hat. I knit it in Serenity Garden Yarn since it is a chemo cap and needs to be very soft.

I really like how the pattern decreases turned out.

Then there is the Rolled Brim Eyelet Cap knit from Baby Bee cotton/acrylic blend.

But my favorite is the Chapeau Marnier knit with Micro Spun. I will knit this again!

Chemo Cap

My friend was just diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer and will undergo aggressive treatment to combat this horrible disease. Please go to the link and read or research this yourselves. It is not the normal type found with a lump and it is very aggressive.

Here is the first of many chemo caps for her.






The pattern is from Head Huggers and is #18 - Lace Edged Womens Hat. I used some cotton blend that was in my stash.

If you are of the mind to, please include her in your prayers.

On a more uplifting note, I am headed to NY to spend some time with Mom. She is doing remarkably well (for being 89) and I look forward to our time together.

I hope you have a wonderful week ~

Dallas Blizzard

It doesn't snow here. At least not like this!



We had record-breaking amounts of the white stuff - 24 hours of snowfall yielding 9" or so.

Here is a little video of our house and street this morning.

I know all of you in snow country are laughing at us here in Texas - but peeps - we don't get stuff like this!!

Two More Pair French Press Slippers

Two more pair of Melynda Bernardi's French Press Slippers knitted, felted and worn. My friend saw the red ones I first knit and wanted a pair so badly, I obliged her.

I loved the first pair I kept for my self and decided I needed a some in purple :-)

I used the Wonder Washer for the felting - it seemed to take quite a long time but really worked just fine. And no lint in my washer drain!

I think it is a keeper.

Wonder Felter

Here is a little video of the Wonder Washer felting 2 pair of French Press Slippers. I'll add photos of the slippers when they are complete :-)

Almost FOs

Ready to felt


And these too

So to save my washing machine, I just bought this on EBay. Some of the other felters say it works wonderfully :-) I love felted slippers and plan to knit many more. I really don't want to destroy my washer with all the lint that accumulates even with the zippered pillowcases.

I'll let you know how it works.

FO: Bitterroot

I have never knited or worn shawls. Until now -




Bitteroot by Rosemary Hill is a beautiful and intuitive knit. I used KnitPicks Gloss sock yarn and #6 Harmony needles.

I have been eyeballing Swallowtail - but will need to learn nupps. Apparently this is a stitch that has many knitters cussing! I searched and found a video on Knitting Daily with Nancy Bush showing how to do this. Did you know the "nupps" rhymes with soups?? (I was rhyming it with cups.)

I think I am hooked on lace shawls.....

White Christmas

For you in the North, this is no big deal But here in the Dallas area, it really is! A white Christmas made for scary driving home from work last night, but a pretty sight this morning.

Just wishing you all a Merry Christmas.

More French Press Slippers

One more night of Christmas music (4 Christmas Eve services at a big church) and then we will rest. It has been a fabulous season - making beautiful music with good friends in (some) lovely surroundings. No mishaps ~ knocking on wood ~ everyone made it everywhere.

Mom is here :-) too, so all is good.

And I couldn't resist knittng more of the French Press Slippers. The black ones are for Mom and the purple (though they look blue. Why is that??) are for a friend.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you and your family be blessed, happy, and healthy.

Hanukkah is here and Christmas is a coming

Hi y'all! I can't believe Thanksgiving was just two weeks ago. It seems like a very long time yet just a moment ago. How can that be?!

Since last time, I have knit and stitched together two more pairs of the French Press slippers but have yet to felt them. I did some mods on one pair - knit the sole doubled (like the FT Clogs). We'll see what if any, difference it makes.

Last weekend I played for a really sweet group of singers. We had mixed meter (counting in 4, then 6, then 3) and the conductor was, um, well shall we say - really nice. It makes the musicians' lives difficult when the leadership is tenuous. But they are really, really nice. So we play it year after year, knowing full well what we are in store for. It is a very small group - maybe 15 singers and 12 musicians.

This weekend is the opposite end of the spectrum. I am playing at a very large church with an amazing and glitzy Christmas show. It is thoroughly planned and executed - like a Broadway show. We all have earphones with a click track (like a metronome) running constantly to keep us all together. The orchestra is situated on both sides of the stage (yes folks, a stage ~ not an alter) and there would be no way to play as an ensemble with out the click. Every instrument is miked so they control what the audience hears. This has no relation to playing in a symphony - totally electronic instead of acoustic.

The singers are amazing, dancers, speakers, quite the production. We have 2 shows tomorrow and 2 Sunday.

Monday, I listen to my students' juries at the university, then home to teach for 4 hours. Tuesday fly to NY, Wednesday fly back with Mom. Thursday and Friday are my regular students, Sat and Sun more church work: Bach Magnificat and another Messiah. Monday night is a rehearsal and then Christmas Eve - we play 4 services.

One day soon I will get back to some knitting content. Right now, when I get home, I am too brain dead to hold the sticks and string.

In the meantime - I hope you are all knitting up a storm, have all your Hanukkah or Christmas decorations cheerfully displayed (we have none, yet,) and your cards all written (we have done none. And probably won't.)

Have a blessed weekend - Happy Hanukkah!

Slipper Grippers

We wore these all Thanksgiving day. I was relieved that they all fit - except mine, which were too small.

I attached Slipper Grippers with the hot glue gun since the recipients have wood floors and stairs. I'll let you know how it wears.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family, food and joy. Our family just left for home and we have Nutcracker tonight. They came to our rehearsal last night and were quite mesmerized at being able to watch a live orchestra (especially the brother and sister-in-law while we played) being only a few feet away. They had never been that close up and personal before. Oh yes, there were dancers too :-0

Performance tonight and matinee tomorrow. Work, work, work (thankfully) for us. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

FO: French Press Slippers

All done

almost FO: French Press Knits slippers

These were the fastest project I ever knit. They are not quite done but I could not resist posting....

French Press Knits slippers knit in Patons Classic Merino in bright red on size 15 straights. A very well written pattern ~ totally clear!

If you ever wanted to delve into felting - now is the time! These will make great Chrismas presents.

They were a very wet model on my feet and will probably take longer to dry than they took to knit! There is a little strap that goes across the top (drying as well) that is achored at one end by a button. Tomorrow is button searching day....

FO: Felted Clogs

They are now all felted and drying thanks to my friend Maria and her perfectly sized model feet.

Some have a bit of an odd shape, but they will still fit and be just fine.

So now I have been infected with the felting bug..... I just bought this pattern (OMG - so freakin' cute) and some more Paton's Classic Wool to make yet even more slippers.

Conglomeration of clogs

Has it been this long since the last post? Yikes!

We are into our busiest season now; between the opera, students, symphony and random church work, Day to Day has been ignored. But not the knitting. I did finish and have already worn Scoop de Jour - photos soon :-) I promise.

Rhinebeck was *very* cool. I got to meet Vi and Zarzuela and had lunch with a dear friend. I found some beautiful Cormo to spin, hand-dyed merino and bamboo lace weight and a beautiful deep red merino for a special project. It was really cold on Saturday but a nice sunny day. It was also very crowded. I am not too happy with big crowds - it felt like so many people all sort of pushing you along. While it was a wonderful event, I don't know if I will go again. I went by myself - I think it would have been great if I had a fibery friend.

Mom didn't go so I gave her ticket to a lady coming in who was very surprised she just received a free ticket. I hope her day turned out to be a good one.

These are ready to be felted

I love, love, love this Fiber Trends pattern. It is very well written (trust the pattern!!) and the clogs always turn out great. I like to use Classic Merino because it felts so well. And while the color selection at the local hobby shops is limited, I can still find some that are fun. I bought some of this to try for non-slip soles. I'll let you know how it works.

We are having Thanksgiving here with family and friends, so I thought it would be nice for them to have house slippers.

Felting party is Saturday - want to come?

Today starts with morning childrens concerts, so I must get a move on. Have a fabulous rest of the week ~

the Banda

We are in the midst of the Dallas Opera production of Otello. Since I am in the on stage band (aka banda) I will be playing in costume. Here is a shot from last night's dress rehearsal.

And here we are in our wigs!

Got home from Rhinebeck late Sunday evening and have been non-stop since. There are a few FOs to show you, but I need to take photos first. As you can see, I have been a bit busy banda-ing about :-) and will get to the knitting content soon. I promise.

My First Spin In

I took my Scholar

And spun some Wensleydale

Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera

Rhinebeck Baby!

Here is the baby sweater for my niece's son.

I used Caron Simply Soft Shadows and the needles were #6 (I am a loosey goosey knitter).

The pattern is by Carole Barenys and can be found here. I did knit the top and bottom in garter stitch. It was a sweet little pattern to knit, but the sleeves directions were to "knit to desired length." I had to look at some other patterns to decide what length; just that one minor detail. I think it is a very well-written pattern.

Rhinebeck Knitting

Yep. You read that right. I am going to Rhinebeck!!! Since Mom lives only 1 1/2 hours from Dutchess County and I had that very weekend free, I decided to make my fall trip to Mom's coincide with this. And Mom said she would even go with me on Saturday!

I just ordered City Tweed in the color Blue Blood from Knitpicks to knit a Rhinebeck sweater. Since time is getting short, I will knit the Scoop de Jour from Chicknits. Easy and classic so I should be able to finish in time to wear it.

Will any of you be going?