Miss Bea Knits

Small Shoes To Fill

2011-02-21T15:11:00.002-05:00

These are some Saartje's Booties that I knit for my imminently expected niece.

Best Swap Pal Ever!

2008-04-12T12:47:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's been quite a while. I've been unabashedly more interested in actually knitting than writing about it.

Howevah....

Mary is the best swap pal ever! I am confident that this fact has nothing to do with her also being my first upstream swap pal ever as well. She is the best. Below is the proof!

I participated in a Red Sox Spring Training Swap over on Ravelry this spring. It was absolutely perfect! Knitting and the Sox, what more is there? I had fun putting together a package for my downstream partner, including yarn and needles for her to knit her first ever pair of socks.

I received Part I of my package just in time for Opening Day. It included some Oreos (mmm, my favorite), two skeins of deliciously luxurious Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran, a set of 4 baseball stitch markers, and a pair of custom-painted Red Sox knitting needles! Mary did an amazing job with these!

Part II arrived a few days ago and to my surprise I have a new World Series 2007 Tee, World Series 2004 keychain, more Oreos, some really yummy vanilla soap, and best of all - an official cap! I have been wanting one just like this for some time now but somehow never got around to buying one. Mary to the rescue!

Thank you sooo much Mary, for your generosity, kindness, and talent!

Twilight and Dawn

2007-06-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

I have a finished project tonight (erm, this morning)! These are my second pair of Jaywalkers and they were knit from the toe up. Now I can understand why some knit this pattern over and over and over...

I'm sure you all will notice the blatant pooling on the legs of these, but I actually like it here. As I knit on these, I realized that the way the colors were coming out reminded me of night and day, and when I finished the first sock I decreed that they would be called...

Twilight and Dawn Jaywalkers

Yarn: Lime & Violet Sasquatch in Fairy Fruits

Pattern: um...Jaywalkers (toe up)

Here's the artsy fartsy closeup shot. The color is also better in this one. Or at least, closer to true. Pose, ladies!

What I did on my summer vacation

2007-06-19T19:33:00.000-04:00

Lots of knitting, that's what. Having so much time off allowed me to be a bit ADD with my projects, and it was really fun! I abandoned the Jaywalkers I was working on temporarily and started a few new projects. First up, a collegue at work was expecting his first child at any moment when I left for vacation. They knew they were having a girl, so I decided to make her a hat. Little Eva was welcomed to the world on Tuesday, so Daddy's at home with her for the next couple weeks, but when he comes back this will be waiting on his desk.

I love this lace pattern. A lot. There is a secret project that I spent quite a bit of time on over my vacation using this stitch pattern. Unfortunately I ran out of yarn, and of course it is discontinued, so the grand revealing of the project will have to wait until I've hunted down another skein. Sigh. I shall persevere though, and if all goes well, there may be an original pattern available here soon!

I also started a purse as a birthday present for one of my bestest friends. Its' going a lot quicker than I thought it would - a nice change from my usual scramble to finish things in time.

On Monday I picked the Jaywalkers back up. Monday night I was hanging out with my best friend, and had just cast on for the second sock. His boyfriend looked at the bit of yarn wrapped around a tangle of tiny needles I had in my hands and said...

"Are you building a raft?"

Hannah had a good vacation too, she hung out...

And slept.

A Walk in the Woods with a Monkey

2007-06-06T18:47:00.001-04:00

The Monkey socks are finished! I luff them. They were so much fun to knit, and I really really love the colors. A lot. I knit these with size 1 DPNs out of Claudia's Handpainted in the Walk in the Woods colorway.

And I thought Hannah would like to tell you that she likes my socks too, but more likely she would like to tell me to get that stupid contraption that makes the bright flashes out of her face while she is napping.

Green Gable finished! -and other goings on

2007-06-03T18:18:00.000-04:00

Finished, and I love it! It's not to heavy, it fits like a dream, was a breeze to make (I love the no-seaming!), and the man, Danimal, vociferously approves. [It's not everyday you get to use a word like that there!]

This is the first garment I have knit for myself that I am 100% happy with the finished item. I like the pattern so well, and it it so simple that I will absolutely knit it again at some point.

In other news, I had a birthday. Danimal made me salmon for dinner and baked me this cake. He is very very good to me.

I also purchased myself an early birthday present of some of Lime & Violet's lovely Sasquatch sock yarn, and an on the day birthday present of a swift and winder. Life just got a whole lot easier!

That's Possessive Propaganda, Fairy Fruits, and Box of Wishes from left to right. Yummy! Feeding the sock addiction is goood.

We also went to a butterfly sanctuary that day.

I got to borrow my dad's Digital Rebel SLR camera that day. It was so much fun. I took a lot of pictures, but I think these are two of the best. Borrowing my dad's camera made me realize how much I wished I had a decent camera, especially considering that my current one was flaking out periodically due to an iced tea incident. - Don't ask, I'm sure you can imagine.

This all brings me to my after birthday purchase...a new camera. My old one is an Olympus, and I really liked it, so I looked at Olympus again. I found the perfect one for me in the Stylus 780. LOVE IT. To continue the theme of the catch-up picture post, here are some neat ones I took with the new toy in the Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest on Friday.

The Lowell-Tyngsboro town line. I sat here and knit on my sock for a little while, until the mosquitos discovered me.

And I found that the Lady Slippers are in bloom. I was glad to be in New England that day.

Super Macro Mode also works very good on socks in progress...hopefully they will be finished in a few days.

Happy Knitting!

Table and Sheri

2007-05-03T21:17:00.000-04:00

This is what I did last night, instead of knitting. I found a sale the other day I couldn't pass up. My apartment kitchen is very small and there isn't much space for a seating area. Before, I had a round table and could only fit 2 chairs. I only had 2 chairs and they weren't even mine at that. Not conducive for entertaining guests! Now, although I no longer have a chair back to toss my coat over (this is most likely a good thing), I do have a dining set that seats more, takes up far less space, and if I may say - it's pretty snazzy lookin'! The stools even came with a built in ass groove for a more comfortable perch. Sweeet.

In other exciting news, my Summer '07 Interweave Knits arrived today! I'm not at all impressed with most of the patterns in it, but I must say there is some really great sock stuff there. There is an article on toe up socks that is particularly catching my eye. I've only ever made socks in the toe up way. To be fair to cuff down, my next pair will be Jaywalkers and I am not going to use the toe up modification this time. I will give cuff down socks a chance before I decide they're not for me. Actually, I'm hoping I like them just as much. I really really really want to start making Cookie A's patterns, they are just sooo stunning! I don't think any of her patterns are toe up though. It shall be another knitting experiment.

Most of my earlier "squee!" was about this:

My Loopy Ewe order arrived today!! I can't say enough on Sheri's quality of customer service. If I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be a Loopy Groupie before just from hearing the glowing reviews on Lime and Violet's podcast, I am definately convinced now. On the left is Claudia Handpainted in the Walk in the Woods colorway, in the middle is Cherry Tree Hill in Indian Summer, and on the right is Claudia Handpainted in Purple Earth. Must. Go. Knit. NOW.

Squee!

2007-05-03T18:55:00.001-04:00

Very happy. More later.

Sarah's Spectacular Socks Success

2007-04-26T18:35:00.000-04:00

Sarah's birthay socks are done!

I used the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids in purple that I got a couple weeks ago, which unfortunately didn't come out very well in the picture you see here. It is really a deeper more vibrant shade of purple. Stupid flash. I should start taking my pictures outside so it doesn't feel the need to poke its nose in and ruin my colors. But...I digress. The pattern is a slightly modified version of Widdershins from Knitty. I decided I wanted a sleeker looking sock, so I knit the heel flap plain without the slipped stitches. I also used a mini cable rib for the cuff instead of the plain ribbing. I'm really happy with how they turned out. The yarn was a dream to work with, such a great hand. It felt perfect on my Brittany DPNs. I want to keep them. I know I can't - I will have to force myself to stop fondling them and wrap them up.

Green Gable is cast on and all I'm going to say about it now is...I'm going to go knit now.

Happy Spring!

2007-04-22T19:50:00.000-04:00

Here are some lovely colors to celebrate the long awaited

return of warm weather.

The man and I decided to have a bit of a grill party last night. Teryiaki steak tips and veggie skewers, most delicious! Good company, good tunes, good eats, what more could you want on a warm spring eveing?

Hannah would like to say hello today. She's a good helper when I sit on the couch and knit. She sits next to me and "makes sure the yarn doesn't get tangled." At least, that's what she tells me she's doing. I'm not sure I buy it...

Sarah's socks are coming along nicely. I'm almost done with the heel flap of the second one, and since they are toe up, after that it's straight on up the leg. I'm happy they are going so fast, although it really doesn't help my fast-developing sock addiction. (Not that listening to Lime & Violet is doing wonders, either.) I'll have at least two more pairs coming up soon as well, it's coming up on birthday season for me. Green Gable is next up on the needles though, that gorgeous Cotton Fleece calls my name every time I walk by my knitting cabinet.

It was the socks' fault

2007-04-16T17:36:00.000-04:00

It was a good knitting week. And weekend. The boy was away all week, so I had a lot of extra time to myself. Needless to say, it was not such a good week for house chores, but I got a lot of knitting done! I'm almost done with the baby cardi, there's about an inch and a half left on the last sleeve. I ran out of blue yarn at the very end, so I have to buy some more - and I only need about an arms length, just my luck. My plan is to have it finished, blocked, seamed and ready to be mailed next Saturday. Best laid plans...we'll see.

I made a visit to my LishYS, Ewe'll Love It in Nashua on Saturday and by lucky chance they were having a "Fiber Fiesta"! All the ladies from the shop were there and they were doing raffles and hourly sales. I won a cute little baby pattern and a skein of Hemp/Wool from Hand Painted Knitting Yarns not 10 minutes after I walked in the door! I learned how to use a swift and winder and took advantage of the great sale loft prices to pick up two skeins of Artful Yarns Fable in the Hansel and Gretel colorway. Yummy. I think a tank top shall be in order.

And then there were the socks. I never finished my first pair of socks. I hadn't even turned the heel of the first sock before I decided that socks were most definately not for me. I was most definately wrong. Socks are the best! After I finished the first pair, the bug bit me. My second pair is self designed, using the Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula from the Summer '06 Knitty. Then of course I had to start a third pair before the second was finished. A good friend's birthday is coming up and I got some mmm mmm good Cherry Tree Hill Supersock to make some for her. I love the socks! I want to make more!

Green Gable, you have not been forgotten. I just have to finish this pair of socks...

Exciting aquisitions

2007-04-08T10:26:00.000-04:00

All of a sudden my queue of projects waiting for the needles has grown!

With warm weather approaching, I decided that I really wanted to try knitting something with bamboo. I had found a few patterns that looked promising, so I headed up to Nashua and visited Ewe'll Love It! for the first time. Oooh. I did love it. I did not however, get any bamboo yarn, although they did have some. While browsing, I came across this 100% baby alpaca worsted weight by Alpaca With a Twist, and I absolutely COULD NOT leave it in the shop. She had 3 hanks and I took them all home with me. I'd never spent that much money on yarn before, buying it almost seemed forbidden in a way. I don't have a pattern in mind for it yet, but I do know that it will be the most beautiful sweater I have ever owned. The picture below doesn't do it justice, the yarn is much less red than it appears here.

The other yarn in the picture is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I have admired the Green Gable pattern for a long time, and this spring I am going to make it. I bought the pattern from Zephyr Style and ordered yarn online for the first time. Let me tell you, I was so excited to open that package when it arrived! The color is even better than the picture I saw when I bought it, I can't wait to knit with it!

I also have a shawl or stole type of deal cast on, but that's it. It's a lace pattern that uses Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo, and I got about 8 inches in before I decided that I would really rather use larger needles. So I've cast on with the larger needles, but haven't gotten any further.

That's because my cousin just had a baby! I decided to make her little boy a cardigan, my first baby item. I wanted it to be washable and durable, so I chose Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. I'm about finished with the back of it and am almost ready to start the neck shaping. There will be a second one soon, another cousin is due in 3 months.

Talking about it makes me want to go work on it!

Happy Easter and Happy Knitting!

First Post

2007-04-06T16:08:00.000-04:00

Welcome!
=)

I'm new to the blog world. I read lots of them, and have decided that I want my own! My goal in doing a blog is to give myself an outlet to talk about my knitting and hopefully get to know some other cool knitters. I don't know if anyone will be interested in my ramblings or not, but I'm going to dive right in anyway! It's my first entry, so I figured I'd make it more of an introduction and background on me and my knitting. I'm Miss Bea, although of course that isn't my given name, and I LOVE to knit! I can't get enough of it, I am obsessed!

I first learned when I was 9, my mother taught my sister and I to knit and crochet. Neither of us really liked knitting at the time though. My sister proceeded to make a long string of crochet bobbles (not intentionally, mind you), and then nothing even remotely crafy ensued from her for many years. I, being the pie in the sky type of gal I am, decided that I was going to crochet an afghan with my newfound skills. Needless to say, it did not keep my attention. Somewhere in my parents attic is a horrible mess of pink and teal Red Heart that shall remain unfinished.

I picked up knitting again during my junior year of college in the fall of 2000. My first project was a scarf for my boyfriend at the time, modeled after a scarf worn by the main character in the show "Rent". I gave it to him for Christmas and then started a scarf for myself. I designed it myself from stitch patterns I found in one of my mother's knitting books, and knitted it in Lion Brand Wool-Ease. It is my favorite scarf still, and every time I wear it I remember how proud I was when I finished it.

After that I knitted in fits and starts, only finishing a project or two a year. I would knit furiously for a month or two and then not a stitch for months. I did branch out into garments though, finishing a zip-up hooded sweater with pockets (I was quite proud of that one when I finished it too), a tank top, several pillows, and some mittens.

Then there was a looong lull. I had two UFO's; an Aran sweater knitted in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, and a fair isle style sweater knitted in a gorgeous handspun and dyed yarn that I picked up in green and lavender on a trip to Prince Edward Island. I didn't get any further than about 6 inches up the back on either of them.
My fiber craft dry spell ended this past October, when my boyfriend and I went to upstate New York for the weekend. I decided to crochet snowflake ornaments for my mother for Christmas during the trip. One thing led to another of course, and by the time January rolled around I had blasted through 4 crocheted hats, a crocheted sweater, 5 knitted hats, 3 knitted scarves, and a pair of arm cosies. I was a knitting fiend, and I loved every minute!

Since then I've slowed down a bit - I don't have the holiday deadline looming over me anymore. I made my boyfriend a hat, the poor lad had nothing to keep his ears warm! He's got a pretty big noggin, so it had to be custom designed and was my first attempt at designing something that involved shaping. Next up was another hooded zip-up sweater, which turned out to be a disaster (more on that another time) but I love it anyway. And then I knit my very first pair of socks! What fun!

So that's my personal knitting history, a very important thing for every knitter to recall from time to time, I think. It's nice to remember not only how you have become the knitter you are and what started you on that path, but also to reflect on how far you've come in the journey. There is so much to learn that I doubt I'll ever be bored.