Knitting & Quilting keeping me sane

As the mom of two little boys, and the wife of a husband that seems to work around the clock lately while in command of 110+ soldiers, I feel like my time for knitting and quilting is constantly being juggled with poopy diapers, sippy cup refills, doctor appointments, macaroni and cheese, crying, temper tantrums and play time.  While I love the chaos a house of boys and toys creates, it can be easy to get sucked into the feeling that the whole point of your life is switching the laundry and planning a grocery list.  

Every day I make it a point to fit in at least two hours of knitting and quilting- because I have to.  I have to have that new project to look forward to, with all the skeins of yarn looking so delicious and inviting, and that freshly ironed fabric ready to cut into a beautiful quilt.  Why?  Because it is my release.  It truly makes me feel and remember that life is also about taking time for yourself to enjoy hobbies that make you happy.  Knitting is cathartic and relaxing for me.  I feel like I am a better mom and wife by forcing myself to take time for my creative outlets.  Hobbies give me new energy and make me excited to face the day's tasks.  There is something soothing and gratifying in creating something beautiful for the family or home, be it a new knitted blanket, pieced quilt or paper wreath. 

a new quilt

a new wreath for the home

on shaping lace

Vogue Knitted Hoodie-Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece Yarn


The Spring/Summer issue of Vogue Knitting features several beautiful lace pieces.  I (Lydia) am working on "The Hooded Cardigan" on page 73 of the Spring/Summer 2012 issue.  I'm 27 and have been knitting for about 2 years now.  While I really picked up the craft and ran with it, I still have lots to learn about knitting.  Lots.  When I got to the portion of this piece where I had to shape the armholes while continuing with the lace pattern, I panicked!  I mean, if it is an 8 stitch repeat on the lace pattern consisting of yarn overs (increases) and k2tog (decreases) and you bind off your required stitches and end up in the middle of the lace sequence (say you only have to bind off 3 stitches thus are on stitch 4 of the lace pattern), you may have ended up binding off the portion of the sequence where you would have otherwise increased the stitch or decreased the stitch.  So essentially, your stitch count is all out of whack.  So, I emailed Vogue Knitting and they directed me to this article on shaping lace.  They also told me I had to draw out my own chart and figure out, based on the size I selected, how to shape the piece by making it seem as if a portion of the fabric was removed, in other words, not shift the lace repeat even though your binding off may have altered the starting position of your lace sequence.  I still was confused after I read it, so if you are too don't be alarmed!  I am definitely a hands on person so I needed to just do it and make mistakes, so I did.  And a many mistakes I did make.  Luckily my mom was visiting, so we sat down together.  I was protesting the chart making, because I felt like I should be able to figure it out without it.  But, my mom, the perfectionist, made the chart for me.  It started to make sense.  Using the chart, once you remove those stitches that disappear after the bind off, you can adjust your stitches accordingly and make sure that after that first 8 stitch portion of the pattern that is near the armhole edge, you are back on track.  What she also did is use stitch counters to space out each repeat of the lace sequence, so even if your armhole binding wasn't perfect, you know that by the time you get to that first stitch counter, you just continue your sequence as normal before the armhole binding begun.  So, here's to learning something new, and sticking with it!

heirloom pieces

Natural Nursery's Heirloom Blanket

We've had a lot of requests about this blanket after I (Lydia) posted a photo of it on our facebook page. Some people were hoping to see it in person at the store, but, alas, it is here in Clarksville, TN where I reside with my husband and two boys.  My mom was hoping to smuggle it home with her when she was here visiting after boy #2 was born last month, but here it is.  Anyway, what I love the most about this blanket is that it is composed of 10 knitted squares and 10 squares of vintage linen.  I am an avid quilter, to say the least, and I loved that this blanket let me integrate my two loves-knitting + quilting.  The 10 knitted squares knit up pretty fast.  The one above is the diamond lace square.  After you knit the 10 square of 5 different lace patterns (2 each) you then proceed to the more quilt-like process of the piece.  Cutting your linen squares, piecing the blanket, applying a border, etc.  This blanket requires some good knowledge on sewing, and it is tricky at parts but I just love, love love the finished product. I love the integration of yarn and fabric.  Something you can't get from a strictly knitted or quilted blanket.  Also, I had a blast collecting the pieces of vintage linen from the Nashville Flea Market.  It is my absolute favorite place to go for collecting amazing treasures--an entire fairground filled with the greatest collectibles. It is worth a weekend trip for any of you antique or junk collectors like myself.  Just make sure you check the schedule first-it's only a once a month deal!