bodner041

Here's a little something I whipped up this morning as I thought about how I REALLY need to update my BurryBabies website. I'm almost finished, but who has the time to get it to the last stages - proofreading, adding new photos and descriptions, rewriting text, connecting all items to Paypal? So instead, I was thinking about how people now buy beaded bracelets for their babies and how I NEVER would have put one of those on my three babies -- too much danger from chewing on beads and choking! So I crocheted this little flower bracelet that has no beads, no buttons, no snaps -- just 100% cotton yarn and a lot of love. Look: I'm a frustrated non-grandmother. How do you think Burry Babies got started anyway? Here's a photo of the little flower bracelet. If there's a baby you love, it's up for sale on Etsy for only $4.00! Hope you have a happy day today! I think I'll just go make some more baby bracelets.

Recently Linda wrote to Ask the Guru: "I am trying to find instructions for a "half linen stitch". Have you heard of it?" The KnittingGuru answers: I am familiar with this stitch. It isn't always called Half-Linen Stitch, however. Barbara Walker calls it Woven Stitch, for example. Most knitting stitches have numerous names and sometimes this causes problems when we try to research them. One thing that's important to be aware of is that this is a very dense stitch. It belongs to the category of stitches called Slip Stitch and as such it involves slipping certain stitches over two (or more) rows. This is sometimes called Mosaic Knitting and it's an interesting technique in that you can knit fabrics that have patterns without using two or more colors in the same row. You are always knitting with only one yarn at a time for the whole row. The slipped stitch can be made with the yarn in front of the work or behind it. This gives two very different textures. ...

This week on KnittingGuru I have a visual tutorial on making Bigger Better Bobbles. There are 13 photos showing details, so please be patient as this useful tutorial downloads. See it at: http:// www.knittingguru.com Also New at KnittingGuru: A Cool Blue Waffle Textured Long Cotton Scarf with Vintage Button Decorations $25. and A New Knitting at the Beach Kit -- A Deep Pink (Magenta) Textured Knit Bag with a 1950s Vintage Button. The kit includes an instruction card, yarn, & the button, and is packed in a lovely gold gauze drawstring bag. $10.95 You can see the scarf and bag at: http:// www.knittingguru.com/boutique.html SORRY FOR THE PHOTOLESS BLOG ENTRY, BUT I AM REALLY BUSY! Not only am I knitting like a fiend and designing kits, etc. but also I am having major renovations done at home. This is taking physical energy, but most of all psychic energy. Oh, the mess, the phone calls, the forgotten tasks, THE MONEY ITS COSTING..... Anyone out there who has gone through major renovat...

I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote here. Of course, I did take some time off for Memorial Day Weekend - 4 days in fact! We heard a truly great Shostakovich concert that really revitalized me. I'd never heard his Preludes & Fugues before and was amazed how much like Bach they were, and yet in an entirely different spirit. Very exciting music! I never do stop knitting, however, no matter what else is going on. Here's one of a series of skinny cotton scarves I've been knitting. This one's hot pink with semi-precious bead decoration. This works just as well as a belt, and offers so many ways to wear it as a scarf. I'm posting a lot of photos of this so you can see the variations. In fact, it reflects the theme and variations of the Shostokovich music I so loved! You can get this scarf at my Etsy store now. I will be putting it in the KnittingGuru Boutique soon, too. I do love comments and questions, so let's have some feedback here, OK...

The flowers are blooming in my garden and it's hot! I always want to have something to get my hair off my neck in the heat, but I hate those ugly elastic holders. Ergo, my latest invention: the combination bracelet & ponytail holder! Looks charming on your wrist and great in your hair. Don't you love to get something that serves a dual purpose? Crocheted over a pony tail elastic, so this is stretchy and will fit anyone's wrist or ponytail. The 2" flower is so cute. This could easily be hooked onto the strap of your bag or a belt loop on your jeans. All cotton and washable, too. This one's in purple with blue, but I can make just about any color you dream up. Just email me . You can get this one at my Etsy shop now.

You take a book with you when you go to the beach don't you. It's called Beach Reading. So I thought, what about Beach Knitting... or Mountain Knitting... or Anyplace Vacation Knitting? Then I decided to give my customers lots of choices: There are four scarves to choose from -- Hot Pink with Beads, Cornflower Blue, Purple with Lady Bugs, or Green. You can read more about these, including the price, on KnittingGuru . You don't want to drag a lot of stuff to the beach, right? So I designed the patterns to fit on two postcard sized, double-sided, full-color heavy weight cards. And then I thought, this needs to be in a portable bag, so I packaged it in a gold gauze drawstring bag that you can carry your knitting in. I hope everyone enjoys their day at the beach and/or has a Great Vacation!

Suzan wrote to me last night asking about how to make a mini-bobble - a stitch she read about in a pattern given online. I must say that I find MANY errors in online patterns. I guess you often get what you pay for and some designers are less careful when posting patterns than they would be if they were submitting the pattern to a publication. Therefore, Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)! Anyway, bobbles are usually made by knitting several times into one stitch and then immediately decreasing back to the one stitch. The pattern Suzan is attempting only has you knit three times into the one stitch -- therefore the name mini-bobble. Here's Suzan's question: Can you explain about making a mini bobble? Here are the directions: knit one, purl one, knit one all into the same stitch, (this is where I get lost). You will now have 3 stitches from ONE stitch on your right needle. (I don't understand one stitch. I am thinking I should have 3). Take the tip of the left needle and lift t...