HOT HEAD

HATS
Cooler weather outside. Here are a couple of hats I designed. I love knitting hats. They go quickly and helps me to remember I can finish a project!



Some day I will get around to writing up the patterns and publish them.

HO HO HO..
Knit On!

ORNAMENTAL

Two post in one week. I am on a roll!
Bringing some Christmas cheer to you. Check out the ornament:

Knitted from Leisure Arts "Beaded Ornaments to Knit". Designed by our very own Arlene at Needle Nook. There is also a website for the book!
Knit on...

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR

Wanted to make a post to let the world know I am still here! Knitting like crazy! Christmas season has come up on the yarn doctor and I am working on last minute knits for friends and family. I have been too busy lately to show anything on the blog, and ravelry is starting to take hold as well. Wow what a monster it is!
So wishing everyone a happy holiday season and promises of posts and pictures from me soon!

HO HO HO..

One more thing. Holidays are a time for family, and I am proud to announce that I have a new great niece. Savannah Elizabeth was born a week after Thanksgiving. Here she is with her brother Waylan. I've got something for her, but it's a surprise...stay tuned!



Knit On...

CATCHING UP

Wow, so much time has passed and I have not gotten a chance to update the blog.
Let's see. Well SAFF was a BLAST! I had so much fun. Drove up with the guys..a couple of them have blogs as well. Steve drove. Lou and Doug were along for the trip too. We left about 6a.m. and got there around 9:30a.m. It was a long but exciting adventure for us. I was on fiber overload, but I managed to stay within budget which was nothing short of a miracle. There was so much I would have loved to have bought, but was a good boy and got only what I could afford. We had a knit in for all the Georgia bloggers' and it was a huge success. There were so many people that some had to sit on the floor to knit along. Everyone really enjoyed it though. Afterwards, Claudia had us over and cooked for the boys before we headed home. She went all out and it was so nice after the day at the festival.
So here are some pics of the sheep and llamas I saw. They were so friendly!




Too bad my apartment is too small. I want one!

Lily Chin
Lily Chin came to Atlanta and taught some classes...I got to participate in a couple. One of the classes was on pinstriping, the other was knitting edges for completed pieces. Both classes were so full of information. I was brain dead by the time I went home. Got a lot of really cool ideas for future knitting.
Check out Claudia's blog for all the pictures she got of Lily and classes. Lily is an awesome teacher...she is full of energy and the girl didn't miss a beat! I am so grateful to have gotten to meet her and learn from her as well.

Cat Bordhi
Cat Bordhi was in town this past week for a book signing and to teach as well. She did a special night for the AKG where she spoke to us and had a question and answer session and signed books as well. I got her latest book "New Pathways For Sock Knitters" signed. She was so inspiring! I hope to see more of her in the future. She is truly amazing. The book is incredible. I knitted the first two practice socks and her architecture and techniques just blows my mind. A MUST HAVE for any knitter who is serious about their knitting!

Ravelry
I'm finally in. Whew, there is so much to see! I have not done much, but I can see how easily you can get sucked into it! I stayed up until 1a.m. last night looking around and put in some books...it's so cool, and addictive.

So that's all for now. Didn't have many pictures to put on this week, but nevertheless needed to catch up with my fellow bloggers and let everyone know the doctor is still in!

Knit on...

BOO!

Pumpkin Carving

Happy Halloween...

Had a pumpkin carving contest at work and here is the one I carved.

Turned out pretty well...MUAHAHAH!

Off to SAFF in Asheville, NC tomorrow. I am so excited.

See you when I return

Knit on...

What a Gift!

A Sweater from a Friend

All I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW. Here is a sweater made just for me from Claudia. It is soooo awesome. This sweater fits perfectly and I love it so much. I am so honored to have such a great friend and talented knitter, and Iwill cherish this gift and wear it and wear it and wear it!

Thanks Claudia. You are the best!


Lace it up!

Speaking of Claudia, I finished the lace shawl for her last week. Here are the pictures. I think it turned out pretty well. It definitely was one of the biggest projects I've done yet. She is worth every stitch too...

Here it is on the blocking board...er bed in this case.

That's all for now.

KNIT ON!

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I enjoy knitting coffee sleeves for the major amounts of coffee I drink when I am out knitting in public or just enjoying my day.

Here is my latest creation:

These coffee sleeves are easy to make. I used duplicate stitch to put the ribbon on. I found that easier than trying to carry the yarn and fair isle it since it was done in the round.

This can also be worn as an arm band. It is great for coffee cups and saves paper too. I make them all the time and get creative with them. I have posted this free pattern if anyone wants to make one for themselves.

Here are a few other ones I have made in the past as well:

There are a couple of water bottle cozies that I felted up shown as well.

That's all for today kiddo's

KNIT ON!

PET CARE

Haven't posted for a while. I have been a little behind, but the doctor is still in and knitting new and exciting things everyday. Check out this one:

Took these pictures of my friend's dog who I knitted a little hooded sweater for. I think this dog should get an agent! He's a natural in front of a camera. I think the sweater is pretty hip on him too!

Well that is all for now. I will be posting much more soon, just have to get it all together and get it online!
Until then
KNIT ON......

NEW PATIENTS

I've got some new things to show you.
The Doctor is in and I've got plenty of knitting going on. Here are a few of my small projects that I am working on this week. I like small projects, they are easy to carry with me because I like to knit everywhere I can and they help me know that, yes, I can FINISH something once in a while....this meaning: the big lace shawl for Claudia is still in progress.

Easy, Easy, Easy and fun for the fingers. This is a scarf knitted in Blue Sky Organic Cotton. I really love it. The yarn is super soft and the pattern came from "One Skein" by Leigh Radford. Great book! She even signed the book for me...because I am the yarn doctor you know...er, or maybe because I bought it?

The next patient on the needles is the scarf I started a couple of posts back. Knitted from the hand spun yarn by Melissa. I have decided this would be a really good item to donate to The Red Scarf Project which is being supported by our LYS Needle Nook.

This is the beginning of an aran knit purse. I picked up the pattern at Micheals Craft Store where I teach knitting. The pattern is by Patons and they actually have another free pattern posted online that is not exactly the same as this purse, but just really nice as well. You will have to sign up on the web site to get the pattern. Patons has really come up with some great new patterns this year. The Yarn Doctor recommends you check them out.

This is going to be an ankle sock. The first of a pair of identical twins I will be delivering. The due date is in another week or so. I will be sending the newborns to my niece Lianna at college to keep her feet warm this semester. I thought they had a fall kind of feel to them. Lianna if you read this, pretend you didn't. It is supposed to be a surprise ok?

KNIT ON....

SURGERY: THE AFGHAN

This is the completed afghan that took around 3 months for the doctor to complete.

It was quite an undertaking and required surgery several times until I was finally able to release the patient to it's current owner.

Here is a close up of the work. The afghan was knitted in 7 panels. The argyle panels were intarsia and then completed with duplicate stitch chevrolet blue. Mistakes were made, and removing duplicate stitch was no fun, and actually resembled ER surgery. Once the panels were all completed they were stitched together with a steady hand and then blocked and fringed.

That's all for today. The Doctor has many new patients on the needles and will update the blog later in the week. Knit on.....

EMERGENCY!

Houston, we have a problem...
This is Diana at Knitch last week. It seems she was minding her own business, working on a pair of socks when out of nowhere the tip of her needle was mysteriously severred from the cable (Horrifying).
I immediately took a picture to use later as a training tool for future yarn doctors.
What do you do when tragedy strikes?
Well, Diana put the cable back into the tip and managed to continue knitting on her sock.
I suggested she contact the company and get a replacement, rather than just band aid the problem.
She will be o.k.
I'm just glad I was there. Who knows what might have happened if she had been alone when this happened.
There is no telling if there will be any post traumatic stress from this incident, but I will be sure to follow up with her at the next knit in.

FOOTO FINISH

The Socks are finished. They are being blocked and will be held overnight for observation.

THE NEWEST ADDITION TO THE DOCTORS STASH

First of all I would like to thank Melissa, a very talented spinner and knitter, for spinning this absolutely wonderful yarn. She was kind enough to give this to me and I am so excited. It has many interesting color changes and is really just a treat to get to knit with.

My diagnosis: 100% knittable.

I have started a multi-directional scarf with the gift and think it will really show all the colors well. Thanks again Melissa!

Diagnosis: Lace

This is my monster project right now. It is a birthday present for a very special knitting friend. Check out her blog.

I got the pattern from "A Gathering of Lace" by Meg Swanson. It was pretty difficult at first and of course being the "incredible" knitter that I am, I chose to "glance" at the pattern instructions instead of actually reading them. Needless to say I ripped back several times because I was on the wrong chart.


NOTE FROM YARN DR: Always read the pattern. Never assume.....you know what that makes me, right?


So once I got on track it has been smooth sailing, slowing down a bit now I have passed the 1000 stitch mark. It's really been fun. I just hope she likes it. I got the yarn at a sewing expo. It is silk and I got it for a great deal. about 2500 yards I believe.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

This is my Mother sporting her Mother's Day present, a lace top spring sweater made with "Sublime" yarn. It is a mix of extra fine merino wool, silk, and cashmere. So soft and short sleeves for the warm weather here in Georgia. My Mother taught me how to knit. She always said if we were broke, we could knit our own clothes. Well I might be broke from the yarn purchase for this (hehe), but she is worth every penny and time spent knitting for her. Here's to you Mom. Thanks for teaching me how to knit!

THE DOCTOR'S FOOT CARE PRESCRIPTIONS:

These socks are on the needles right now using size 1. Magic loop is so cool. I love knitting socks from the toe up using short rows for the toe and the heel. I really like the look of short row heels. I got the pattern from Charlene Schurch's first sock book "Sensational Knitted Socks." A MUST HAVE for any sock knitters. 1 out of 1 yarn doctors (that would be me) prefers this book, and her second book too! The yarn is from Germany, "Fortissima Socka." Gosh I hope I spelled that right.

Yes, these are my feet. Wearing some fabulous ankle socks I knitted. The great thing about ankle socks is they go so fast. A couple of nights and they are ready to wear. These were done on size 2 dpns with a sock yarn that has slipped my mind. The Yarn Doctor is getting old and can't remember where he put the label for this yarn. Oh well, next time I will write it down.