bodner041

Perhaps it's because I was an English teacher, or perhaps because I spent some career time doing technical writing for a school district, but it takes me so long to get my pattern PDFs to look satisfactory to me. I'm a stickler for details and keep editing and editing! This is my latest pattern which is now available here . I'll be adding it to my Craftsy shop and other places soon. This Striped Baby Sweater and Hat Set is sized for newborn babies. It's made with sock yarn. There are many things I love about using sock yarn for babies. It comes in gorgeous colors, is available in great wool blends, is machine washable, is soft and lovely next to baby skin, and is generally fairly inexpensive. The yarn used in this sweater set was a vintage Kroy sock yarn with a higher proportion of wool and more yardage than the newer Kroy sock yarns. The pattern works with any sock yarn though. Picture this made in many bright crayon colored stripes, or in muted pastels. If you use one...

Those of you who know me know that I'm very active online. I can be found at the following places in addition to here at my blog: http://www.KnittingGuru.com http://www.BurryBabies.com http://www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com http://www.BurryBabies.etsy.com http://www.KnittingGuru.artfire.com http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru http://www.twitter.com/KnittingGuru http://www.twitter.com/BurryBabies http://www.pinterest.com/KnittingGuru http://www.flickr.com/KnittingGuru http://www.flickr.com/BurryBabies http://www.ravelry.com/TheKnittingGuru So why am I so derelict in writing in my blog??? Today, I finally finished a new knitting pattern PDF and I thought I'd motivate my inner blogger by posting the pattern here. It's one of the many patterns for which I have photos and instructions written out, but which I haven't made into PDFs yet. My many friends at Facebook keep asking me to get this done, so it's their motivational messages that have gotten me to do this one and to bl...

I love to make fiber jewelry using fine cotton threads and sometimes beads too. Each piece is one of a kind for the simple reason that writing out the pattern would be much too time consuming. Even more importantly, these works take shape as I crochet and having to stop to write down what I'm doing frequently would interrupt the creative process and the flow of my work. Since this blog's reason for being is to take you on a trip inside the mind of a knitwear designer, I though it might be interesting to show a work in progress along with a picture of what inspired the piece. This view from my window was taken this morning. We've had an awful lot of snow this winter, but I had a suspicion it wasn't over yet. I really hate the way it collects on the sidewalks and turns black and icy or mushy, but when the snow is fresh, and especially when it's on tree branches, I just love it. To me it looks like lace. I'd been thinking about making a necklace to show this and ha...

On my website - http://www.KnittingGuru.com - I have a section called "Ask the Guru". People send me knitting/crochet questions and I answer try to help clarify things for them. I received an interesting question today and thought it might be interesting to show it and my answer. Ask the Guru - Question Hi, I have this pattern for a knitted flower for a hat. The instructions are a little confusing Co 79sts 1st row; Purl 2nd row; K2, *k1, slip this st back onto left needle, lift the next 8 sts on left needle over this st and off the needle, (yfwd) twice, Then knit the first stitch again, k2. rep from * to end.     ( This is where I am confused, I did the lift the next 8 sts on the left needle over this st and off the needle. I understand the yfwd twice, but the knit the first stitch again?? I wasn't sure what that meant. then k2.rep from * to end.?? I don't usually have a problem with patterns ,but for some reason, I can't get this. Can you help me?) 3rd...

The holiday season was a really busy time for me and seemed to extend from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day. I'm looking forward to a brief respite and to working on Late Winter/Early Spring clothing and accessories. I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook and hope my readers will follow me there at http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru and at my Profile page which is http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru Fiberart. In the meantime, here's a little Romance for you --

I have over 200 pieces in my Etsy shop and they are all discounted by 10% from today, Black Friday until Cyber Monday  at midnight. For some of my more ambitious pieces in luxurious fibers, 10% makes a big difference in price. For my smaller items such as thread crocheted rings, the price becomes so low that it's in the Stocking Stuffer range! As a special inducement to my blog readers, please make a comment here and use coupon code KGBLOG10 in your notes to seller. Wait for a revised invoice with an Extra 5% off making your discount 15%. Here are some of the categories of things you'll see in the sale...   Saturday Night Shrug   White Knitted and Crocheted Merino Lace Shawl Jewel Tone Slouch Hat with Free Flower Clip   Chunky Gray Fringed Wool Cowl   Femme Fatale Alpaca and Merino Victorian Capelet     Red Berries Scarf Cowl Wrap     White Crocheted Merino Lace Heart Gloves     Three Flower Thread Crocheted Necklace Reminder:...

I've been having a One a Day Holiday Sale at my Etsy shop. Each day until January 1st, I'm having a sale on one item until midnight of that day. If you go to my Facebook fan page -- http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru -- you'll see what's been on sale so far. Today I'm featuring the irresistible, opulent, velvety Audrey Hepburn Cowl . It's crocheted with washable faux suede and although it may not make you look like Audrey, you will look gorgeous! The cowl is 25% off until midnight tonight. I magnified the last picture to try to give you some idea of how incredibly sumptuous this piece is.