Amarantine | Live ~ Laugh ~ Love ~ Knit ~ Read ~ Stitch

Vacation Time

17 May, 2013 1 comment

Well, the house sitter is set, the kids are settled in. So it is vacation time. Dad & I are going to Tulsa, OK for our end of tax season break. Yeah, I know we were going to go to Denver, CO but the cost of that trip would have been more then it was worth. So we are just going to Tulsa for the zoo, aquarium, & the museum. I can’t wait. Oh yes, there are three yarn stores I am going to drag Dad to. Just hopefully, I won’t spend a fortune. I think I have all the needles that I will ever need.

Though when Signature releases the US7 I will probably get a 32″ fixed circular. Though Signature Arts Needle is releasing a surprise at the end of May. I am thinking it is going to be either the US 7 , smaller sizes, or interchangeables. I am hoping that it is the US 7.

Anyhoo, back to vacation. I am hoping that this is going to be a nice smooth trip, but who knows.

At the moment I am typing this in Barnes & Noble in Springfield. Dad & I just came from one of our friend’s graduation at Missouri State University. So happy &proud of her.

I have Queen Anne’s Lace #2 & Jessica’s blanket going with me to Tulsa so I have plenty of knitting to do. Also just in case, I have my US7 to start anything new I may need to do. *Better not be anything new started.* I am hoping to have QAL2 done by the end of the month & then Jessica’s done by the end of July. That way I can mail it to Jessica in August. I have to say that Miss Jessica is a lot faster then I am when it comes to making blankets. She is through with mine & is just putting it together. I am at a 30inch square & needs to be 60in square before I start the lace. Sigh, I will get it done. It is going to be very warm though. Hope that will work.

Ok, I am out of here & going back to knitting QAL2 & watching Youtube or Netflix.

Signature Needle Arts

11 May, 2013 No comments

As you know, I have several different type of knitting needles. I have:

Knit Picks Options Nickel Plated Circular Knitting Needle
ChiaoGoo
Addi Turbo
Hiya-Hiya
Knitter’s Pride Nova & Dreamz

There has been one company I have wanted to try for a while. I keep hearing wonderful things about the needles & how they are simply divine to work with. Signature Needle Arts is the company that I am talking about. I hate ordering knitting needles without being able to feel or touch the needles first. Then to top it off the needles are $48 each. I can by almost three (3) Addi Turbos for that price. Then a couple of weeks ago, I was at Barnes & Noble with Dad & had a shock. Usually I am the only one knitting in the store so when Dad told me that I needed to look over my shoulder to see a surprise, I looked. Lo & behold, another lady was knitting (a sweater or cardigan), my eyes zeroed in on her needles. They were Signature Needle Arts needles. I was so excited. I hurried over & ask if I could see the needles. Thankfully, most knitters are the sweetest people on Earth & she [...] Continue Reading…

Shame on You NOOK

7 May, 2013 1 comment

As you are all aware I am a heavy reader. I have over 3000 books in book form & over 4000 in e-book form. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that I demand a eReader for myself. My father has one also. He bought his Nook Color in 2011 & I got my Nook Tablet later that year or the next year.

We did a lot of research before choosing the Nook. We thought we were purchasing a product that the company Barnes & Noble would stand behind. Though we still love our Nooks the recent problems Dad has had with his Color makes me really wonder about them. Here is what happened.

Dad uses his Nook every day for at least 2-3 hours. The Nook has approximately 2000 books on it at a time. *This is a normal thing for our readers.* About three weeks ago his Color stopped charging unless he charged it on the computer. So he called support to find out what he needed to do since we were good customers & bought the extended warranty. Ok, so the first staff was nice & told him that they would send [...] Continue Reading…

Day Seven : Looking Forward

28 April, 2013 Comments Off

One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?

This could be anything from mastering a technique (broomstick lace, entrelac, etc), trying a new yarn or skill, or a long-term wish to crochet only from your stash, or knit every stitch in one of the Harmony Guides. Maybe you have no desire or plans for your craft at all, no new element of knitting or crochet that you dream of mastering, in which case write about why that might be. In a year’s time participants will be asked to look back to see if they achieved any goals, no matter how general, and see which house conquered the art of looking forward.

Honestly, instead of learning new skills, I would prefer to work on the ones I have. Plus, get caught up with the numerous projects that I have waiting for me (yes, I know that it will never happen). I do want to complete something with cables, learn to knit color work *still learning that one*, complete a [...] Continue Reading…

Day Six : A Tool To Covet

27 April, 2013 Comments Off

Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers.

Is it an item that you would recommend to others, and if so for which applications/tasks do you think it is most suited. Conversely, do you have a tool/accessory that you regret buying? Why does it not work for you?

Hmm…my favorite would have to be my knitting needles. All of them. I use my Knitter’s Pride Novas for most projects, but when I am working lace I want my Chia-Goo’s. They are the best for lace knitting. I started a lace shawl with my Nova interchangeables & just wasn’t happy. So I moved the shawl to my Chia-Goos & I am moving along very nicely. 12 rounds in one day (that is good for me).

I recommend the Knitter’s Pride Nova for metal lovers & Dreamz for wood lovers. Though if you are going to be doing lace, I highly recommend Chia-Goo’s for that. They seem to work better for the lace.

Day Five : Something A Bit Different

26 April, 2013 Comments Off

It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog. You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in verse. You’ve already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it’s time to freestyle. You can post on any topic you like, but be sure to post in a style different from your usual blog presentation. There’s not too much guidance for this one simply because the more varied the posts are on this day, the wider the sources of information for other bloggers will be. Bonus points if you manage to work your house animal in somehow.

Queen Anne’s Lace
We went a round
To determine who would win
I must say it was a draw
You won some
I won some
Shall go for another round
To see who shall win this time

Day Four : Colour Review

25 April, 2013 Comments Off

4KCBWDAY4 Colour Review: What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting.

Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate?

Now think back to your house animal – do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in any way – if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

Oh boy, color time. YAY!!!

My favorite colors for knitting are ones that I like. Which, honestly, means just about every single color there is. I have knit with blues, blacks, whites, variegated, pink, purple, brown, greens, etc. Just about every color there is except for most yellows. I don’t know but yellow to me is very harsh bright. I will use butter yellow provided that [...] Continue Reading…

Day Three (Wednesday April 24th): Infographic

24 April, 2013 Comments Off

Day Three (Wednesday April 24th): Infographic
There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.

Make your own infogaphic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding.

This is an approximate graph of how I spend my knitting time. Yes, I know I don’t have a *huge* stash but I do have a stash. I spend most of my time knitting. So that got the biggest chunk.