Stitch N Pitch with the River Cats!

Michele, Lorna & Sheila

with their River Cats Stitch N Pitch totes!

Take me out to the ball game!

I went to my first Stitch N Pitch game Tuesday night at Raley Field. Our minor league team the Sacramento River Cats (Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A's) played the Reno Aces.

Stitch N Pitch is sponsored by the TNNA (The National Needle Arts Assoc.) and combines two great all American past times...baseball and knitting!

My knitting guild the Camellia City Stockinettes had a section for members to sit together. There was even a special Stitch N Pitch tote bag with an adorable baby hat pattern from, our very own, Lorna Miser. Lorna also threw out the first pitch...a baseball she had covered in purple yarn!

Sheila and a knitter's view of Home Plate!

(Yes, she is wearing her knit fish hat!)

The River Cats may have lost but we all had a great time knitting away! Even husbands and family members joined us for the fun. We had great seats, too! Thank you Cindi from the Stockinettes for organizing this fun event for us!

Baseball season is just starting so there are plenty of Stitch N Pitch games coming up for both the major and minor leagues. Check out the Stitch N Pitch calendar for a game near you...and don't forget to bring your knitting!

Lucy Neatby Intarsia Workshop

Lucy Neatby Itarsia

and

Fringes, Folderols & Furbelows Workshop

I am a better knitter!

Last weekend I attended Lucy Neatby's Intarsia and Fringes, 

Folderols and Furbelows workshops. 

I truly am a better knitter now!

While I may not be ready to knit a gorgeous Kaffe Fassett sweater just yet ..

I am ready to knit Intarsia now, thanks to Lucy.

Lucy Neatby

Knitting Teacher Extraordinaire!

Lucy loves color and isn't afraid to show it. Even her hair is colorful... just like her Intarsia knitting! It is her colorful and relaxed "fun" spirit that makes learning from her such a delight!

Lucy is an incredible teacher. She breaks down everything in easy to understand terms. I have always adored knit garments with pretty rose and floral patterns. I never, ever dreamed that I would attempt this type of Intarsia knitting. Thanks to Lucy Neatby...I know I can do it now!

Lucy's Intarsia Work

Lucy describes colorful Intarsia knitting as:

 "patchwork knitting or even painting with yarn"!

Lisette's Intarsia Work

I learned so many great tips in Lucy's Intarsia workshop. I learned how to make butterfly bobbins for my different color yarns. I learned how important preparation and organization is for Intarsia knitting.

Lucy says "keeping stitches happy, keeps the knitter happy"! She told us that "yarns hold hands" and "let your yarns link with one another with Intarsia knitting". Probably her best advice was "don't overdose" your Intarsia knitting..."only do a couple rows a night".

Lucy's Intarsia Cardigan

"She designs to teach!"

Lucy's Intarsia cardigan is a gorgeous example of Intarsia. She has been designing her own patterns ever since she started knitting. She is a naturally gifted designer and teacher. She said that "I design to teach". Of course, she loves knitting but teaching seems dearest to her heart these days.

Backside of Intarsia

This is the inside or backside of Lucy's Intarsia cardigan. 

Wow...she really kept all those stitches happy. 

Her work is so nice and tidy! Something to strive for!

Lucy Neatby Workshop

Danielle at Knitique told me what a fabulous teacher Lucy is and how lucky I was to be taking her workshop. I do feel really lucky. Thank you to the Camellia City Stockinettes for bringing Lucy back for more workshops!

I also purchased Lucy's Knitter's Companion DVD's Intarsia Untangled 1 and 2. I know they will be great for a refresher course and it will be like having Lucy for a private workshop in my own home!

The best Intarsia knitting advice Lucy gave was: "be brave and keep on going"!

Thank you Lucy...I am a better knitter now!

I met Lucy Neatby!

World Renown Knitting Celebrity

Lucy Neatby

I met Lucy Neatby!

Yes, Lucy Neatby the internationally acclaimed knitting designer and teacher arrived in Sacramento last night. Lucy is in town this weekend for a two day workshop for my knitting guild,
The Camellia City Stockinettes.

I went to a guild retreat meeting last night and Lucy came by after her airport arrival. What a delight she was and not one sign of jet lag from travelling all over the US from Nova Scotia.

It has been three years since my guild has been able to get Lucy back for a workshop. Being a new guild member, I am thrilled to be taking a workshop from Lucy. I signed up for her Intarsia and Fringes, Folderols and Furbelows classes. I can't wait!

I told Lucy that I am a newer knitter. I loved what she told me next about knitting (in her lovely British accent) "set your heart to it, try it and you can knit it". I love her advice and I will follow it!

Lucy is originally from the south of England. I asked her who taught her to knit and it was her grandmother. Lucy says "I was 11 when my grandmother bribed me into knitting". Lucy remembers the project, vividly too, a blue acrylic "Reggie the Rabbit" knit from a British Woolcraft booklet.

Lucy did not knit again until she was 17 yrs old and then it was of her own volition. Years later while visiting her sister in England she spotted that "Reggie the Rabbit" pattern book and now it is back home in Nova Scotia with her. I loved hearing her "who taught me to knit" story!

Lucy's Mermaid Socks

The Knitter Magazine Issue # 4

I asked Lucy if she had seen the UK's new magazine The Knitter. 

Lucy said "yes and my Mermaid socks are in it"! 

I had just picked up issue 4 yesterday from Borders earlier in the day. 

As soon as I got home from the guild meeting,
 I opened up The Knitter and there were Lucy's Mermaid Socks!

Lucy Knitting Away

(working on a charity hat)

Chatting with Lucy was wonderful. She was knitting away while everyone chatted. Lucy has been very busy back home in Nova Scotia editing her three new DVDs for her A Knitter's Companion series. She says the new DVDs will be released very soon. They are: The Brand New Knitter, Knitting Venus 1 and Knitting Venus 2 (both inspired by a cardigan).

It was really wonderful to hear Lucy talk about her wonderful film and sound crew. They are now in their fourth year of filming DVDs together. Lucy credits her talented team as the reason her DVDs are so professional. When her crew isn't filming Lucy knitting they are off travelling the world filming shows like Globe Trekker and Planet Earth. Wow!

KuKu Dolls

Lucy is also pretty excited about the Dolly-Mama's KuKu dolls. KuKu dolls are multi-cultural knitted and felted dolls (in Cascade 220 yarn) that come in a kit. A portion of all their profits are donated to women's and children's causes.

Coming soon is a new DVD Knit 'Em and Felt 'Em presented by Lucy on the KuKu dolls. Lucy is the voice, hands and the knitter for the DVD. Congratulations Lucy and what a wonderful cause!

Lucy said it best during our conversation:

 "knitting, craft, community"!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

You...can make a difference!

Just say "no" to cardboard cuffs for your hot tea or coffee cup! Switch over to an "eco-friendly" knitted cuff and you'll never go back to cardboard again!

Last week I took a fun "Coffee Cuff" class at Knitique. The pattern is called Coffee Cuff Six Ways on Ravelry by Nicole Mattson. My cuff is knit in JoJoland Rhythm, a worsted wool yarn, in color M61. It was knit on #8 DPN's.

I think a knit cuff makes a great present. My cuff is for my sister along with a Starbucks gift card. I decided to test her cuff out yesterday on my own Venti Latte. It passed the test with flying colors. All the Starbucks employees were raving about it and I was amazed at how it kept my coffee hot much longer. It is a great insulator!

Make the Eco-Friendly choice!

So drink your tea or coffee in style now with an eco-friendly hand-knit cuff. Wouldn't it be great to knit these up in pretty colors to match your wardrobe! Think of all the possibilities! Best of all, what a great way to use up leftover yarn, too..saving it from the landfill!

Kudos to Starbucks for caring about our planet, too. You can read more about what Starbucks commitment to the environment at Starbucks, Shared Planet.

Men's Heavenly Cable Sweater

Allison knitting her

"Heavenly Cable Sweater"

I met Allison last Friday at my favorite LYS Knitique. I was at the knitting table when Allison came in to knit. I could see she was knitting something special so I immediately asked her what she was knitting. She told me it was a sweater from the book Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting. I was pretty excited to see a project being knit from Lorna Miser's new book so I asked Allison to tell me more.

Here is Allison's story:

Allison met Lorna at the book signing party at Knitique a few weeks back. Allison told me she has been going through a difficult time in her life right now. Her husband is on a year long deployment in Iraq amongst other things, too. When she got home that night after meeting Lorna , she sat down and read the entire book...cover to cover.

Men's Heavenly Cable Sweater

Allison says "Lorna's book and it's stories really gave me encouragement". Allison fell in love with the Men's Cable Sweater pattern from the "Appointment in Heaven" story. She is knitting it for her husband for a surprise Christmas present this year. (So shhh...it's a surprise!) She is knitting it in Cascade 220 Superwash in, of course, a great looking "Army green" color!

Every knitter has a story of how they learned to knit. Like many knitters, Allison's Grandmother, an avid knitter, taught her to knit when she was in junior high. She remembers knitting a sweater back then and never knitting again. A few years back a co-worker nudged her back into knitting and it all came back to her.

This is Allison's first cabled sweater. She loves knitting cables. Allison says " it is her dream with knitting to be as good as her Grandmother". I think you've accomplished that Allison! When your grandmother (who is 92yrs old) sees it...she will be so proud of you!

Your Grandmother's knitting legacy will live on with you...just as Lorna's Grandmother Helen's legacy lives on with her!

Bizoo Bizu

Bizoo Bizu

Louisa Harding's New Book

Everyone loves adorable babies. This adorable baby photo (on page 23) in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting is getting a lot of attention these days!

The adorable baby photo is for a Louisa Harding ad. I did a little research and found out that the adorable hat is from Louisa Harding's new book Bizoo Bizu. It is already out in the UK. Louisa's West Coast Rep Cindy told me today it is now shipping to the US market.

Louisa Harding Baby Hat with Ribbon Bow

Bizoo Bizu is filled with 28 patterns for newborn babies and toddlers up to three years old. The boys and girls patterns are knit in Louisa's Kashmir Baby Yarn.

I love ribbon and embellishments so I adore Louisa's hat design with the ribbon bow. The printed ribbon says "with love". How sweet...I love it! Hopefully Louisa will give us her resource for her printed ribbon.

You can also check out scrap booking/rubber-stamping stores for printed word-saying ribbons. I've used a French inscribed "le bebe" ribbon to wrap baby gifts with. It comes in both pink and blue. Wouldn't it be great to knit this hat in creme and include both pink and blue ribbons to the parents instead of a uni-sex baby hat. Then when the baby arrives the parents can put the appropriate (boy or girl) ribbon color on the hat!

I'm calling my LYS today to reserve this book. I need to knit a baby hat for my husband's co-worker's baby-to-be. I can't wait to knit Louisa's new hat pattern and embellish it with a sweet little ribbon bow!

Think of all the design possibilities one can do now..personalizing and embellishing knits with ribbon!

Favorite baby hat books!

Frilly Hat

Baby Beanies

by Amanda Keeys

Baby hats are just adorable! I love making them for precious little babies. They are my kind of knitting project, too...quick and easy!

Sometimes I think I spend more time on Ravelry (the online knitting site) than actually knitting. Thanks to Ravelry though I find inspiration and great finished projects to look at. My knitting friend Sara at Knitique is a new grandmother and makes the cutest baby hats for her little Maddie. Seeing her projects on Ravelry has helped me find some adorable baby hat patterns.

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite baby hat books with you. All my favorite books are written by very talented knitwear designers who all just happen to be young mother's themselves!

All my hats are modeled on my vintage 1960's Madame Alexander doll. I am so glad I saved her since she makes a great baby hat model. My friend Sheila even asked me recently if I loan her out for photo shoots!

All my hats have been knit in easy care Cascade's Cotton Club.

The hat above is the Frilly Hat from Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys (mskeeys on Ravelry). The original hat shows it with a button. I chose to knit a flower embellishment from her other pattern, Sweet Spring. The book has 29 adorable hat patterns for babies and toddlers along with the cutest photography!

I love Amanda's story. She lives in Australia and is a self-taught knitter. She is a professional childrens's photographer and young mother of four with number five on the way. She loves using cute knitted hats in her photo shoots. Since she was having trouble finding hats she started designing and knitting her own hats. I love that!

Check out her incredible blog Fall into Blue...for the most adorable children's photography...along with the most charming knit hats!

Louisa Harding Blanket & Hat

Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

I saw this set on Ravelry when Sara made it for her new born Granddaughter Maddie. Since I love anything Louisa Harding, I immediately ran out and book the book! I made my blanket and hat set in a soft "buttery" yellow for a baby shower gift.

Louisa is a young mother to two young children. Her children inspired her to create her popular Miss Bea series of knitting books. Since she is a "Mum", I bet memories of her children as "little ones" influenced this book, too!

Louisa's signature style generally leans towards the soft and feminine side. So naturally Natural Knits for Babies and Moms is filled with 21 soft and soothing hand knits in organic yarns.

I can't wait to buy Louisa's new baby book Bizoo Bizu. (More adorable baby hats to knit!) It is already out in the UK and will be arriving at US yarn stores anytime now!

Rosebud Hat Itty-Bitty Hats

Susan B. Anderson

I love roses so I naturally fell in love with the Rosebud pattern by Susan Anderson. Rather than knit the leaves, I chose to recycle and felt a green wool thrift store sweater for my leaves. I cut the felted wool into leaf shapes and then did blanket stitch detailing around them.

Rosebuds
Itty Bitty Hats

Susan B. Anderson's book is filled with three dozen adorable baby hats. I can't wait to try more of her patterns. She is a busy mother to four kids and has a wonderful blog SusanBAnderson that you can follow, too.

My favorite Baby Hat books

I hope my favorite baby books (and Sara's) have inspired you to knit up some adorable little baby hats. Don't you think every baby deserves a hand knit hat?