I’ve decided to take advantage of the tried-and-true method of weekly check-ins to move along my KAL. Knowing that I expected to show some progress each Tuesday will be a strong incentive. It’s not that I’m bored with my Classic Lines Cardigan. And, I absolutely love it! It’s just that I tend to let other knitting or housekeeping duties or out-of-town visitors get in the way. A weekly check-in will move the cardigan up on my priority list.
I suspect that the key will be having my cardigan easily available all day. Then, discipline myself to take it with me when I head down the hall to meet with someone in their office. Even quick meetings would allow me a few rounds of knitting.
This may sound draconian but I don’t feel like that. I really want to have this sweater ready for autumn. Must …

I’ve been working on a short sleeved sweater for ages, and it’s finally done!

The yarn is some kettle-dyed Bare Superwash Merino, Nylon Sock Yarn (this is the undyed base yarn for Stroll, formerly known as Essential). I had to alternate balls every two rows to make the colors blend, like I did with my Serpentine Sweater in WotA Kettle-Dyed, and it worked to keep the yarn from pooling into blocks of different colors.

Unlike Kelley, I kind of enjoy knitting my sweaters flat in pieces and then seaming them. This pattern is Jasmine, by Kim Hargreaves (Ravelry link). I really liked the shaping at the top of the sleeves – a couple of cleverly-placed decreases cause the neckline to curve gracefully, preventing the sweater from slipping down over the shoulders.

The yoke is all …

Three years ago Bob (my husband) and I came home and fell into our usual routine. I checked phone messages while he sorted and opened the mail. There was a message from my sister with a shaky voice saying she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. As we listened to the message and it began to sink in, Bob opened a note to me reminding me that I was due for my yearly mammogram! How’s that for motivation!?
My sister has had a rough three years but she is now cancer free. Yesterday she called to tell me that she had shot her best golf score EVER!!
Before “Sissy” was diagnosed I had participated in our local Susan G. Komen Walk/Race for the Cure regularly. I would meet up with a group of women from work at a MAX (city train service) station and ride into …

I have three pieces of news for you to cram into this one blog post, so stop and stretch first and take a deep cleansing breath. Ready? Here we go:
1. The winner of the final contest in the “Give One Away” Knit Along is “soonerknitter.” You can read her story about giving her tote to her Grandmother here .
Congratulations SoonerKnitter. She will receive our final organic basket that includes Knit Picks yarn and needles.
2. The Montavilla Tote Kits have sold out. They are all gone. That’s the bad news. The good news is, the pattern will be available in the “patterns” section of our website on August 15. It includes the yarn requirements, so you’ll be able to continue making the world a little greener one tote at a time.
3. And just a final little tidbit about the Tote. We polled you guys to ask what you would put in …

I feel like I’m back in high school! I used to make up schedules, breaking out big projects into manageable pieces and then check my progress against those small goals. I have to admit that Check-In Tuesdays had the effect of a weekly quiz. Sunday morning I realized that I needed to get going or I would be in a lot of trouble on Tuesday! 🙂
Not that I didn’t want to work on my cardigan. It’s just that the days seem to slip by so quickly. I loved having the reminder to slow down and take some time out for a nice long knitting session. I smiled, set up my Kindle and knit all day Sunday! And, knit more on Monday, etc.
Look at my progress!! I had 7″ last Tuesday. Today I have 13″ and my final goal is 19″. You can see the …

That subject line for this blog post may make it sound more interesting than it really is, but anyway…
Angela and I are going to be co-leading a “Gift” Knit Along to help everyone get through their holiday gift giving knitting.
I have already started mine and finished a couple of projects as shown in the couple of photos above. They are two kitchen towels and a sushi (spicy tuna roll to be exact) toilet paper cozy for my little brother and his new wife.
I may sound cool because I’ve started my holiday knitting, but I look downright lame next to a couple people in our office who are DONE with their gift knitting. You’ll meet them in the Knit Along and can admire and hate them–oops, sorry, I mean admire and be inspired by them. …

It seems like a million years ago, but I once thought that I was going to go into biological research. I got a BA in biology, worked on a prairie restoration project, was a student worker in the biology department, and did other science-y things. Instead of going on to grad school for biology, I freaked out my parents and went into a program that turns scientists into filmmakers. A few weird turns later, and I’m working for Knit Picks!
All of this is just me trying to explain why I wanted a test tube rack for my needle tips – I am a huge, unrepentant nerd.

I used a company out of New Zealand, Ponoko, to make a prototype of what I wanted. It’s a pretty slick service – you draw up your plans, put them into a template, …