CONTEST WINNER!!

Drum Rolllllllll please!!!!
The random number generator has spoken..........The lucky winner of the Knit Mittens Book is ..... congratulations primdollie of http://alteredvisions.typepad.com/altered_visions/

Congratulations!!!!!! Yippee!!!!

Thank you to all that stopped by my blog and entered to win! I will be having another contest here shortly so keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Fun photo of the day.............

Have you ever seen one of ME in a tree?

Yeah neither has my mate!!

Actually this photo was taken in April 2008 at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor Michigan along the Huron River. I swear as I stood there watching these two he/ or she just flapped wings and landed on this branch!

Down below the mate stood there in shock and the tree goose started calling and calling, like the mate was going to join him. It was something to see alright, and who would have guessed that this was about the only time I had a camera with me.............think he was just posing?

Well have to do a shout out to my girls at the Whitmore Lake Yarn shop! Hey!!!! Mo, Dee,Lil, Lee, Kim, Dawn, Donna, Ruth! (Ruth, that was just for you! Now you have to leave a comment below! :)) And if i forgot anyone........leave a comment and I will add you to my shout out!!

Ok update for my knitting.......... I have FINISHED, yes finished the Two Needle Baby Sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman! It is done! And it is beautiful! I have also made a hat to match, and am working on a pair of socks. The socks are of my own design using the same lace pattern and leftover yarn. How cute huh?

And its just about time to go! Yippee.......the sun is shining and the air is warm here in the Mitten state!

Feeling stressed? Anxiety? Try this!!

I received this from some dear friends just thought that I would pass it along to all of you!

25 Rules to Live By

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose for today is: ________ '

4. Eat more foods that grow on pl ants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a College kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals almost everything. . . And He can heal everything if it's in His plan. We just need to trust His bigger picture.

20. However good or bad a situation is -- it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'I am thankful for _____.' AND 'today I accomplished_ _____.'

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

I have an UPDATE!!

Hello all!

Just wanted to show my progress the the Two Needle February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman..................drum roll please!


As you can see, I have finished the body of the sweater, have my sleeves on yarn to hold the stitches and have put in only 3 button holes at the top of the sweater. I also did 11 pattern repeats and 5 ridges of garter at the bottom edge which gave me 9" from 'shoulder'. That is a measurement that I located off of other newborn sized sweater patterns.

One more update just for today, the new fall issue of Knitty is up! There are some really great knit patterns here for free!! Check it out.

Please leave a comment! Thank you so much for stopping by!

I am speechless!! Well NOT really.......

I have been perusing Lime & Violet's web/blog.......from their site I was escorted to Patternfish.

LEMMETELLYOUSOMETHING!! Oh yea you have to go there if you want a pattern! There are just about tons of patterns, knitting, crochet and sewing! Of course I have only been to a small portion of the knitting part but it is fan tab u lus!!!

All the patterns are for sale, no freebies here. But the prices are really fair and if you happen to be a designer you can also sell there!

Robyn Gallimore for Red Bird Knits has an exclusive pattern there for faux isle knit socks that is to die for!

I was going to post my progress on the Two Needle February baby sweater.........well that was after I got the body section finished. Needless to say that I have spent the better part of the last few hours sitting here on Patternfish!!!! So that posting may have to wait just a bit longer. Maybe later tonight yet.

Oh leave it to the awesome Lime & Violet podcast, along with their blog etc. to keep the knitting inspiration flowing and the laughter rolling!

CRAZY PHOTO WEDNESDAY!
Just one non related photo to keep things going................am I coming or going? I didn't have a camera with me so I just whipped out the old cell phone and snapped this! I was really going to put up some silly photo of me.............for fun. But you know what? I HATE photos of myself. Just can't get past that! Ok going to knit!

Its FRIDAY!! So whats on your needles? Contest

So its Friday, for most its just about the greatest day of the week. Knowing that you get to look forward to a couple days off before starting all over again. In my world at the moment and for the past 20 years or so give or take a whole 12 months that I got to work elsewhere and LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!

My husband and I own and operate our own company. As any of you know that own or operate your own business, there are no set days of the week that you work, there are no set times.........you can not plan a vacation EVER, and it gets old. Then there are the times like the past 2 weeks that there was NO work, NO money yet plenty to do, but no advance notice so that you might be able to plan something..............anything!

I will not have a day off now for probably 2 months, as it will take us that long to get caught up, back on track and hopefully a bit ahead of our shipment releases.

Ok that is off my chest for now...............now lets have a bit of a contest!! On to the fun stuff!!!

I have a copy of Knit Mittens!: 15 Cool Patterns to Keep You Warm (Knit) (Hardcover)that I would like to give away. Its now coming up on fall and we are all starting to think of our Christmas knitting, gift giving and in our neck of the woods here in the mitten state..........winter. Brrrrrrrrrr !

So I would like everyone to leave a comment here on my blog and at the end of the month I will use a random number generator, based on what number your response is you could win this book! Please only one entry per person.

Thanks for stopping by!! Lorrie knittin in the mitten!

....above photo example only....

My Progress here

Oh whats on my needles you say? I have started a Elizabeth Zimmerman two needle February baby sweater (pattern found in this book)that is being knit with Happy Feet yarn colorway #13 and US size 4 needles in hopes of it coming out to be a true newborn size. Really its ok if the new granddaughter that will be born in December can only wear it for a good month or so.........

Grandma had to do it!!!

Hello there!

For the past 4 days I have been working on a baby doll blanket for Granddaughter Abygail. She had asked if Grandma could make a blankie for her babies. And of course I said YES!!

So, this is the blankie. I found a dish cloth pattern online for free from LaurasKnits. I modified the pattern to make it 3 hearts by 3 hearts and still maintaining a border. The finished blanket measures 20" W by 23" T. I think that it is a perfect size for a baby doll!

The first photo shows that the pattern of the hearts is almost invisible, but if you look at it at a slight angle the hearts show light right up! I used just a worsted big box store yarn that I had around so that its completely child friendly! And parent to for washing and drying!

Please leave a comment on what you think!

Thank you for stopping by. Lorrie

Waffle baby blanket finished!!

Well to start off I finished pale yellow waffle baby blanket today!!! Yippee.........now I can allow myself to move on to my next project!

And my next project is....................the baby doll blanket I promised granddaughter Abygail. I think that I will try out a new knitting technique for me. Shadow knitting or illusion knitting. I found a pattern for a heart dishcloth here and am going to modify it into a baby doll blanket. At least that is what I am about to attempt! Doesn't have to be on a grand scale maybe 3 pattern repeats by 3 pattern repeats? Just enough for the baby doll.

I found the pattern at the site mentioned in a previous post. The finished size was 27x27 inches and I used Feza Baby yarn color# 13436 100% acylic (and so soft!) 319 yard per ball and a size US7 or 4.5 mm needle. Yes it is a KA needle and its great!

Please let me know what you think about this baby blanket pattern right down here just click on the comments and leave one :)

New love in knitting needles..............

I recently attended an open knit at on of my local yarn shops Whitmore Lake Yarn Co., and found a new to me brand of knitting needle!

When I found myself getting back into knitting around 2005, I of course was in love hook, line and sinker with Addi Turbo's!! There was nothing like them on the market before and they helped me and my knitting soar! So of course I have at least one in every size and in most cases at least 2!

Then came the Knit Picks circular needle kits! And shortly after that.......the Harmony Woods! Well other than now stocking up on those knitting was sailing on gracefully!

UNTIL this past week! I found KA Classic Bamboo needles. Ok you are probably thinking "what makes these so great?" Well it is 3 things so far. Price and the revolutionary way the cord or cable that joins the needles swivels!!! Yes swivels! Its so cool, pretty much now no matter what type of material is used to join the needles as long as it swivels the cables can't twist up like the dreaded clovers! Oh and the price is pretty much 1/2 the price of the Addi's. 3rd is that that swivel join is also very smooth!

If you are in Michigan please look up the Whitmore Lake Yarn Co. from the web site and pop in for a coffee and the best sit and knit or class in town!