knit this...

so i've taken a break from knitting. after knitting not even half the amount of slippers that marm was working on, i was burnt out. my little fingers felt like they were going to die. so i took a break - am still taking? bygones.
the worst part about my little knitting vaca was that for my bday marm sent me a knitting kit! and i was super excited and considered getting off the bench- until i tried to wind the yarn into a ball myself. holy hell did that not work. like last time when i watched horton hears a who and wound balls, i grabbed a glass of wine, popped in good hair, threw my sabres pillows into a big pile on my bed, and set about winding balls. again, holy hell did that not work. i think i managed to unwind like 4 feet and then was left with a jumbled mess. and like a good little knitter, i gave up. thank god marmie is coming to the rescue! the skanes are sitting in a little box on my bed waiting to be shipped back to colden to be balled up by someone else. *sigh*

now on to my next project.....

aside from making a new pillow cover for my big pillow, im working on something else. big brother steve-o is finally expecting a little girl...my first niece!

needless to say, im super stoked. not that i dont adore the three devils they already own, but come on. unless they can sit and drink a martini with me, the thing better be wearing a tutu or im just not that entertained. which segues into my next project: baby tutu #1. now this may seem odd, as lil milla and i used to entertain ourselves by climbing trees and making mud pies, but there was that one time were given a pink barbie briefcase and boy oh boy did we use that. so we had out girlie moments. and someone enrolled us in dance class even though only one of us had any rhythm. again, bygones.

so let me introduce.... the baby tutu!!



now my baby tutu will probably not actually look like that- but i think its a good representation of what it could look like... if i actually liked babies.
So my plan is to buy a couple onsies- an adult size for moi as well- and then some tulle. my only problem is im not sure what color to make them. i was thinking pink, but that's so cliche, even for a baby. so then i was thinking light green with pink ribbon? but then i bought baby blue, orange and brown ribbons. so there goes that idea. so ladies- what are your thoughts on colors??

A Toy Story

We Howe women appear to be pretty busy these days. Miss JJ traveled across the country to the Pacific Northwest to visit our youngest brother. Marmie has some exciting stories to tell about her own adventures with knitting but I will leave the telling to her. In my own knitting life there has been a bit of a hiatus.

This past week I sent my Monkey Moo back to Boston to live with his new best friend Nico. (My own Nikolas James Pumpkinhead is coping with the loss.) I find that I miss the little guy so I have decided to make another one. I went to the craft store to pick up a new color for his t-shirt. I am thinking of making this one a girl.

My latest project, however, is not the Monkey. A good friend of mine requested a few things so I am getting started on two more toys! I will be knitting a koala bear and an owl. I got both patterns from the same site as Monkey Moo: http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.com/. I love her toy designs and I love the fact that she is knitting and not crocheting. I might get into crocheting later but this is a knitting blog, after all.

The toys are fun, and who knows, I may just end up a toy maker!

Introducing my new family member!

I have also been MIA recently but for a much different reason than JJ. I have been a busy little knitter! At my last post I mentioned that I would be straying from my normal scarf projects to make my first toy. Marmie visited and we took a trip to the store to purchase all the necessary tools for my monkey. I have been knitting away with teeny tiny little needles (size 3 and yes, I know that 3 is not very small but consider that previous to this I was only knitting with size 11.)

In addition to this I also ventured across the country for my first knitting lesson! I was planning on teaching a group of 3rd graders how to knit. Before I mention my monkey, let me give any of you considering teaching kids how to knit some pointers.

1. When you visit a website that tells you to teach kids to finger knit before using needles, follow that advice. (unless, of course, it is a one-on-one lesson.)
2. Draw diagrams to show kids exactly which holes to place their needles in. Again, this is for large group lessons.
3. If you do decide to skip the finger knitting, definitely start by casting on and knitting one row. (This is something that I actually did!)
4. Have something to give them when you are done because chances are they will have more tears and frustration than knitting. I wish I would have knit them each a back-up-swatch just in case.

All-in-all I would say the trip was successful. The kids did not learn how to knit but they got to see the process, learn a cute little phrase for remembering how to knit, and I got to see them again! Thanks CLCS for letting me visit!

I was in Boston last week because it was my Spring break. It was also a beautiful coincidence that I decided to start my previously mentioned Monkey Moo on this trip. Vacation is a great time to start knitting something! I had a lot of time to devote to my monkey. The head was the first part I made. I learned how to increase (thanks Marmie!), decrease (thanks Stitch n' Bitch!) and reviewed some other important techniques.

After the head I moved on to other body parts. I decided to postpone the mattress stitching to the end of the project because I didn't have the stuffing in Boston. After a few days I had the entire body finished and a deflated version of my monkey.


Then came the other new technique: mattress stitching. Thanks to a tutorial linked through the Monkey Moo page (http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2008/03/mattress-stitch-tutorial-for-toys/) I was able to complete all the seams on my monkey and start to stuff him.


This morning I added the finishing touches: the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and attaching all the limbs! So here he is folks. Introducing for the very first time...Maggie's Monkey Moo!


I have to admit, I am having separation anxiety. I am not sure I can send this guy to his intended owner. I might just have to knit more! The other good news is that some folks were so impressed with my knitting that I now have more requests to knit things! Let the games begin!

M.I.A.

so i havent posted in a while again. and theres a real good reason for that. not only have i lost my camera for the millionth time- ive also broken my computer! ugh oh. made it 26 years without getting the blue screen of death but it finally happened! im hoping the laptop fairy stops by my apartment sometime soon, but im thinking the chances of that are slim to none! and the worst part is i have tons of pics of my knitting that i could upload on a different computer- but that damn camera just wont be found!

oy vey.

Time to Stray!

I have slowly, but surely, moved on since my first scarf. The everything-has-to-have-an-order teacher in me has been moving through the Stitch 'n Bitch book step by step. I follow the order of suggested swatches like my life depended on it. I have just completed my stockinette stitch swatch (ha! try saying THAT 10 times fast!) and my first pattern. Yup, the very same one that lil' sis gave up on. And how do I feel after completing these swatches...eh. I have accomplished some new skills but I am ready to make something, especially after reading Marmie's last post. JJ has moved on and it is time I do as well.

A good friend of mine is about to have a baby so I feel like this is the perfect time to branch out. I was going to move on to a baby blanket, but upon further reflection I realized this is a scarf, just wider. So I am going to jump right in and try to create a knit stuffed animal! I have the expert on my side this time. Marmie has flown in to SoCal for work this week and we are spending the weekend together. So while we will get to have a little spa time, chick flicks, and martinis, I also plan on having her help me pick out the tools for my Monkey Moo. (http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.com/2008/04/monkey-moo.html)

I know, I know, I am a crazy knitter! But don't be too impressed. While I am waiting for my new adventure to begin, I am completing the next step suggested by Debbie Stoller (Stitch 'N Bitch author)...the ribbed scarf. Look out east coast family, we don't need this many scarves on the west coast! Someone may be receiving an unexpected present. ;-)

-Mags

Nice spring day...and a renewed dedication.

Having spent all day yesterday at the spinning guild, I awoke with a renewed sense of productivity and creativity this morning! I love how this incredible group of individuals come together each month and constantly amaze with their talent. I cam home and spun for several hours - loving every minute!

As to knitting; well, in recognition of my Dad's 77th birthday I wanted to create something really special for him. I'd never knitted him a single thing over the years and wanted to remedy that with a piece that was beautiful, masculine, and spoke to the quiet intelligence of this man. I thought a simple, yet lovely, cabled throw in camel brown would be perfect. The problem was that I hadn't done any cabled knitting in about 25 years. No worries - I would just jump in, read carefully, and do it.

And this is it:
It is a soft, warm collection of traveling cables - and he loved it! I call it my "Marriott Throw", because most of it was knit at the various Marriott hotels I stay in for work. It feels like a nice, warm hug - just what I wanted.

The multiple pairs of French Press Felted Slippers that I promised my multiple nieces! Stiill in various stages of finish and with 2 more pair to knit, I've made major progress on this project.

That pretty pink pair? Those are for me! Sweet daughter, JJ, was up for a visit last week and we had a great time felting slippers, including the pink pair she had made. As we were trying on the wet slippers for sizing and shaping, I asked her what size the friend was that was to receive this cute pink ones. She sweetly announced "your size" and said she had made them for me. She had noticed that while I was putting slippers on every female around me, I had failed to make myself a pair. I still need to find the perfect buttons, but I am so touched by her thoughtfulness. Wow...just wow...

My other knitting project is my favorite thing to knit - colorful, textured and creative shawls. Here's a couple of peeks at the current creation:

and

I guess when I look at it all, I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far this year.

Oh yeah, except that sock.

love, marmie

Taking this show on the road...

It has been a long time since all of us ladies have blogged, and as JJ has pointed out, a lot has happened. In addition to all that worldly craziness, we three knitters were recently reunited for the funeral of a close friend's father. It was a very sad time for us and admittedly, I just couldn't post anything for awhile.

However, my knitting is progress, albeit slow and steady. Here is the latest update.

Back in February I took my knitting on the road for the first time. My man and I headed to Vegas for the weekend and I thought the 4 hour drive would be a great time to get my knit-on. I made a lot of progress on my striped scarf. See below!

I made a few mistakes along the way but was able to fudge up a fix to make the holes not so noticeable.

The following week I booked a flight to Boston for my April vacation, to visit the friends I moved away from last August. My former assistant principal invited me to come back and visit my old school. I was pretty excited but my excitement grew even more when she suggested I teach my former students how to knit! I am not quite sure where to even start with 20 third-graders but I am pumped to take my show on the road again!

On the heels of this excitement, I showed up to school one Monday morning and a student of mine came in with her own yarn and knitting needles. Inspired by my new hobby, she had asked her grandmother to teach her how to knit. Her first attempt had a few holes but I was so excited to see her progress. It also gave me hope for my future job as a knitting teacher. The best part for the little girl in my class is that she was more focused than I have ever seen her in class. I emailed her mom and said that she should bring her knitting to school every day. Oh boy can that girl knit! I think she has surpassed me in talent at this point. Every day she brings in her bag of projects and knits away while we do our school work. It is a real transformation for this student who couldn't sit still for more than 5 minutes. I believe I have found the cure for students with ADHD! I am so proud of her accomplishments that I took a picture of her first project, just to post here.

So you can see it has been a busy month since I last posted. After my friend's dad passed away it was time to bring my knitting on the road again. The red-eye flight back to the east coast for the funeral took a lot out of me. I slept most of the next day and had a heart-breaking reunion with my friend at the wake. However, my soul never felt more full than when my two knitting ladies and I sat down with a glass of wine, hearts hurting, and brought out our projects to share. We laughed at our blunders, we talked about future projects, and we stitched together the pieces of our souls that needed to be mended.


I boarded the plane back to LA with one project complete, and my mind ready to move on to the next.

When we started this project I knew we would have a lot of fun. I am moved beyond words at how knitting has already formed bonds and relationships that I will cherish forever.