I love knitting for the holidays. It’s hard to believe Valentine’s Day is almost here and January is over. I went on a search for free Valentine Knitting Patterns and found all sorts of cute ones that I wanted to share.  The Valentine Pattern pictured at the right is from KnitOnePearlToo at BlogSpot.

Patterns with Hearts

Knitting Pattern Central – Patterns with hearts.

Ravelry.com -  Has no less than 184 free Valentine knitting patterns which include rings, hats, Teddy bears, scarves and all sorts of patterns with hearts. Ravelry requires registering but it’s free.

Nice list of heart knitting patterns on Squidoo

All Free Knitting offers a free ebook for instant download with 9 knitted heart patterns. There is a beautiful Ruby Knitted Throw pattern included.

This is just the tip of the knitting iceburg if you’d like to create something to celebrate Valentine’s Day. These are just some of my own favorites.

One project I’m really excited about for the coming year is my new Knitting Resource ebook. I’ve decided to collect the

Get the Super Easy Lacy scarf pattern

best of my articles from Spinning Alpaca Yarns and organize them into an ebook so readers will have instant access to the dozens of free knitting patterns and other resources I’ve written about for the past 5 years. I’ll also include lots and lots of pictures and articles about my own projects, plus photos of the work of artists I’ve featured over the years.

Here is just some of what will be included in The Best of Knitting Alpaca Yarns:

Free Knitting Patterns – I have 77 articles on my blog just about free knitting patterns. Sometimes an article is about 2-3 patterns, sometimes there is a whole list of 20 or more. All together, there will

Easy Triangle Scarf and Hat pattern

be dozens of free knitting patterns. Here are just a few of the topic areas:

• Free Knitted Scarf Patterns
• Free Holiday Knitting Patterns
• Free Dishcloth Patterns
• Free Knitted Hat Patterns
• Knitted Jewelry Patterns

Book Reviews – 29 pages of book reviews about knitting.

Knitting Resources -

• Knitting Resources – 60 articles of my blog contained free resources and links to help you find patterns, websites, blogs and other great knitting resources.
• How to Fix Knitting Mistakes
• Knitting Basics

There will also be chapters on:

• Felting
• Knifty Knitters – more free patterns here, including my knifty knitter slouch hat.
  

  Drop Stitch Scarf Pattern

• How to start your own knitting business

When my ebook first comes out, it will be offered free for 5 days on several different outlets like Kindle and Nook. If you  don’t have an ereader, you can download it to your computer. When I do start offering the ebook for sale, since it’s digital, I will be able to keep the cost to under $5. As you’ve probably seen on Amazon or from knitting pattern books you’ve purchased, cost for books like this one could easily be $30 or more but I don’t want cost to be an issue if you’d like to have a copy of my book. Since it’s free in the first 5 days, you can’t get more cost effective than that.

Free Knitted Necklace Pattern

If you’re interested in receiving more information and updates about getting a free copy of my new ebook, The Best of Spinning Alpaca Yarns, please just drop me an email or add a comment to this post and I’ll let you know when the free download is available.

Rocky the Rescue Cat having fun in some packing paper

Susan Sorrell’s Fiber Collage Class

plan for this year is to finish some shawls on my triangle loom and also the tapestry I started on my rigid heddle loom. Recently, too,  I signed up for Susan Sorrel’s Fiber Collage Workshop, which starts February 5th. If you haven’t been on Susan’s Fiber Arts and Mixed Media page, you’ve missed some wonderful conversations and classes. You can create a page of your own there, post pictures, take part in groups and take classes. This photo is a sample of the collage we’ll be creating.

As to knitting, right now I’m making a new baby blanket for our daughter’s son, who will be born in March of this year. I didn’t know if it would be a boy or girl at the time I started it, so I bought some eggshell white baby yarn. I’ve made baby blankets for two other grandchildren, now age 3 and they still carry them around. Here is the pattern I’m using for the baby blanket.

Actually, this past year, I haven’t been knitting very much cue to problems with my wrists and fingers. Knitting was causing me a lot of pain so I switched to some other types of fiber arts crafts, like weaving. The triangle loom my husband and I made ended up having the nails too far apart. I’m going to finish the shawl that’s on it right now and then we need to add more nails, probably one in between each two that is there now. We went over plans endlessly before we made the loom but somehow the nails still came out wrong.

Besides my fiber arts work, I’ve also been going to Bikramhot yoga classes for the past 3 months. It’s been a fantastic challenge. I went into it to improve my flexibility and

Here is the beginning of my rigid heddle tapestry project

health but I’ve also gone from a size 10 jeans to a size 6! I never even thought I’d see a size 8 again. It happened over the holidays too, when I was eating more sugar than normal and having big holiday meals. If you’d like a challenge, I’d highly recommend hot yoga. I even started a little blog to chart my progress if you’d like to check it out.

So hot yoga has been one time consuming project which has kept me away from my blogging duties here at Spinning Alpaca Yarns. It is truly a time commitment as each class is 90 minutes long.

My kitties are doing well, as you can see by the photo of Rocky the Rescue Cat. My Lucy kitty still doesn’t like him, even though he follows her around and annoys her like a little brother-lol.

Do you have any fiber arts or knitting projects lined up for 2013? I’d love to hear about them.

Knitting for Baby-30 terrific patterns for infants to toddlers.

originally appeared in 2002 in hardcover and sold over 40,000 copies.

With five and soon to be six, grandchildren, I know that knitting for babies is a labor of love. Nothing makes a nicer gift for a baby shower or birth than an hand-knitted baby blanket, sweater or booties. I personally am always looking for new baby patterns and Knitting for Baby has some beautiful ideas which could just possibility turn family heirlooms.

Knitting for Baby offers patterns for all skill levels and if you’re new to knitting, this book begins with a comprehensive section on basics such as tools you’ need or find useful, plus how to do the basic stitches, how to block, weave in ends and more. All this info comes with helpful illustrations which are easy to follow. The book is divided by the type of stitches, such as garter stitch, purl stitch, circular knitting and cables and ribs. Many of the patterns are suitable for beginners too, like the garter stitch hat and patchwork blanket.

If you are new to knitting, you’ll love the sampler stitch cube toy for baby. Each of the six sides is done in a different knitting stitch: stockinette, 1×1 ribbing and 2×2 ribbing, seed stitch, reverse stockinette and basketweave. If you made a set of these blocks in colorful yarn, you’d be an expert in each stitch by the time you were done. Plus, these blocks would be a great way to use up some of your yarn stash.

Further into the book, you’ll find instructions on increasing and decreasing and yarn overs, then you can make a knitted ball for baby using these techniques. Patterns also come with variations for size from 3 months to 24 months. The sweater and pullover patterns are lovely and the instructions and illustrations seem easy to follow.

Some of my favorite patterns were the stay-on booties (I plan to make these for a new grandchild to be born in the spring) and the felted diaper tote, which is made with front and side pockets for keeping all baby’s paraphernalia together. I also loved the teddy bear family pattern.

Knitting for baby has something for everyone, the beginning knitter to the more experienced knitter, with patterns from booties to toys. If you have grandchildren coming along, like I do, or if you’re a young mother with friends who are having babies, Knitting for Babies by Melanie Falick and Kristen Nicholas would be a wonderful addition to your knitting library.

Colorful and engaging photographs in Knitting for Baby were the work of baby photographer Ross Whitaker.

Knitting for Baby was published by Open Road Media. I would like to than them for the complimentary ebook review copy of this book. This book is available on Amazon.com.

I really loved this book! Besides patterns it included recipes and ideas which created a warm, homey feeling and gave me some wonderful ideas for gift baskets. In fact, the author includes a page on what to include in a Knitter’s Gift Basket.

The chapter Home and Hearth has a cute dishcloth pattern knitted in the round and shaped like  flower petals. I love knitted dishcloths and I guess I’ve been un-imaginative to keep knitting square one! Melanie calls hers a washcloth instead of a dishcloth and there is a wonderful page about how to create a peaceful spa-like atmosphere in your bathroom, which of course, includes using your flower petal washcloth. I loved this tidbit and additions like this really set this knitting pattern book apart. The turtleneck egg cozy recipe even includes a page on how to boil an egg! Great information if you don’t know how to do it.

If you’re looking for a list of films which feature knitting, Melanie has provided that too. Just think, you could curl up and knit those Christmas gifts and watch knitting movies while you do it. She even included her grandmother’s butter cookie recipe so be sure to make a batch for munching while you watch the 1943 film Mr. Lucky. This movie stars Cary Grant and Lorraine Day and features a great knitting scene.

The Body and Soul section features patterns for sweaters,scarves, hats and neckwarmers for both men and women. In this section you’ll also find a delicious sounding recipe for hot chocolate as well.

You’ll also find some basic knitting instructions along the way so if you’re a newby at knitting, don’t be afraid to try this book. If you’re a yarn lover too, there are some unique ideas for decorating with excess yarn from your stash. One idea I liked, since I like photography was to use yarn as the subject of a still life photo-or painting, if you like to paint.

Farmer’s Market bags are very popular right now and Melanie had a beautiful pattern for a felted bag. I also loved the fluffy Perfect Pie mohair shawl with picot edging. The name comes from the fact that the shawl is shaped like half a pie. Lots of beautiful sock and legging patterns here as well.

The children aren’t forgotten either and there is a nice chapter full of cute sweaters, pixie hats and elf-toed slippers, along with quotes from Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. I loved the nursery rhyme finger puppets and I know my granddaughter would too-so she may get a set for Christmas.

Weekend Knitting is beautifully photographed by Erika McConnell.

It’s no wonder this knitting book is considered by some to be a classic already. Whether its patterns or tips on making the perfect cup of tea or cocoa, or finding out how to massage your hands when they ache from all that knitting, Weekend Knitting is easy to read, delightfully entertaining and full of luscious patterns, it would make a great addition to your knitting library.

My thanks to publisher, Open Road, for providing a review copy of this book. Weekend Knitting: 50 Unique Projects and Ideas is available on Amazon.com and has many 5 star reviews there.

My first triangle loom shawl

over and over about a dozen times before it all became natural to me. When I’m learning a new weaving or knitting technique or pattern, I usually figure that the first attempt might be unsuccessful. If this requires taking it all out and starting over, I might get aggravated but I know that it’s sometimes just part of the process.

When my husband made my triangle loom we read over and over on different sites about nail spacing and how important it was. We decided on 3/8 inch spacing because I wanted a rather tight weave. Somehow though, the nails on the two sides of our triangle were not close enough and I could only use every other nail across the top. For my second shawl, we have to add another row of nails along two sides of the triangle.

Also, after a few attempts at weaving, when I saw how loose the weave was going to be, I decided to use two strands of yarn to bulk it up. I am hoping when I wash it, it will blend together more.

Anyway, the first attempt is nearly done and I learned a lot. The only way you can really learn to do triangle weaving is to get in there and play around with it but once you do figure it out, it’s fairly easy and quick.

While I was weaving this shawl, I listened to the audio book of Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution which was a very engrossing book! I didn’t remember very much about the French Revolution from my college history classes and I have to admit, I stopped my weaving at certain points to look up the different characters and what ultimately happened to them. I was thinking of entitling my weaving piece The French Revolution Shawl.

Update on my rescue cat, Ricky. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him at my house. After trying unsuccessfully for a month to get him used to sharing a home with two other cats who were here first, I came to the conclusion that, although he is a loving and sweet kitty, he needs to be an only cat. As careful as I was to keep the three of them apart, in the course of a month, he attacked both my other cats and they were very afraid of him or even of walking around the house because they could pick up his scent.

I didn’t want to take him back to the shelter because he is a wonderful cat under the right circumstances. My daughter agreed to take him in, bless her heart. Her senior cat had died about a year ago and she and her family had missed having a kitty around. They all came over to meet him and spend time and then I took him over to their house on Friday. It’s nice for me too, that this way, I’ll be able to see him often. He’s settled in very nicely and seems to feel very comfortable at their house.

The local shelter is very full right now and I haven’t given up on the idea of adding another cat to our family but I will probably wait until my oldest cat is no longer with us. He’s 15 and I figure he deserves to live his last years in peace.

Beaded brooch on crocheted

I’ve made some crocheted jewelry in the past, although not like the jewelry pictured in the book. I took a class at the Shepherdess in San Diego, CA, years ago where we crocheted a base with Conso upholstery thread and #3 pearl cotton. You can make this base either round our in bracelet or cuff shape. Using a tiny crochet needle, I think crocheted over the top with the Conso in a zigzag fashion, just randomly. This creates little spaces to sew beads. The brooch at the right has a large onyx cabochon in the center and beaded fringe added to the bottom.

These beaded, crocheted creations are hard to explain, as far specific instructions but the results are beautiful. Number 3 pearl cotton is harder to find and I had to order mine. The Conso #18 nylon thread is strong and comes in various pretty colors. I bought a variety of colors from Marian-Jewels-in-Fiber. I’m not connected with her company in any way but I did get great service when I ordered. I believe ebay also carries some colors.

Ricky playing in a paper bag

This post wouldn’t be complete without an update on my adopted kitty. Ricky is doing great and loves it here. I’m still not letting my 3 cats out freely together. So far, Ricky has been in the same room with them but in a cat carrier or on the other side of the sliding door. It was 3 weeks yesterday that I adopted him and experts tell me to give it 4- 6 weeks before I’ll see them really tolerate each other.

Funny thing tho, my other two cats, 3 year old Lucy and 15 year old Tater (don’t ask where that name came from) never cared for each other. They tolerated each other but there was some spitting and hissing sometimes. Now though, since the new arrival, these two have buddied up and I see them sitting out under our swing together. I’m not sure if they are plotting for the day Ricky is free and easy prey-lol

Lucy and Tater turning into buddies

Crocheted bracelet base

Beginning of my first tapestry on the rigid heddle loom.

to use. The loom turned out beautifully! I love the Early American finish we chose for it. I also picked up an artist’s easel from Hobby Lobby on sale to hold it while I’m weaving.

Pictured at the right is the beginnings of my tapestry, woven on my rigid heddle loom. I warped it with a strong eco-cotton blend, which is almost thin twine, using a 10 dent heddle. A helpful person on the tapestry forum on ravelry told me how to warp it, basically:

warp 1 slot
skip 1 hole
skip 1 slot
warp 1 hole
skip 1 slot
skip 1 hole
warp 1 slot
skip 1 hole
skip 1 slot
warp 1 hole

and continue across til you get the desired width. I’m creating a mountain scene with pieces from my stash and kind of playing the pattern by eye as I go. One thing nice about working on this piece right now is that I am listening to a great audio book and also I take Ricky, the rescue kitty, into the room with me so we can spend some quality time. He is remarkably good about staying out of the yarn!

Lucy, my last rescued kitty, sitting in her favorite spot

My rescue kitty is also doing well but progressing slowly. It’s been two weeks since I brought Ricky home and I’m still keeping him apart from my other two cats. I let him out into the house when the other two are outside, or in the case of my 14 year old cat, under the bed, which is his favorite place. I’ve put Ricky into a cat carrier and set him in the middle of the kitchen so they could all stare at each other and they’ve finally stopped hissing. I think, actually, Ricky feels safe in the carrier as he doesn’t mind being there. Yesterday, I left it open in the kitchen and he actually went in to lay down and take a nap.

While my old cat is fine with hiding under the bed, Lucy, my 3 year old cat, will more likely show how offended she is at the newcomer by promptly attacking the first chance she gets. She should be more sympathetic! She was once an orphan kitten out in the sub-zero cold of winter when my daughter took her in. Since my son-in-law is allergic to cats, Lucy ended up at our house.

I have been trying various things I read about online to help integrate a new cat into the household. I got some stuff called Calm Pet to put into the water and also some chamomile tea, which my vet suggested. They all seem to like it all right. For Ricky, I am also using lavender oil around “his room” and some Feliway Products which contain natural pheromones which are supposed to calm cats. I went all out on that. I got Ricky a collar from Petsmart, plus a diffuser for the dining room and a spray from Amazon.

Hopefully, all of these things combined are enough to keep everybody calm-lol.

This weekend, I hope to get my first triangle loom shawl started. I plan to use some less expensive yarn for my first attempt in case I mess it up.

Hopefully, by next week, my cats will all have been in the same room with each other, without any carriers in the way, and without any excess fur flying. Wish me luck!

Ricky the Rescued Kitty

leaving it out if I’m not around.

My husband really didn’t want another cat in our lives. We have a 14 year old cat and a 3 year old cat but we’ve had as many as four at one time in the past. I made the mistake of “liking” the Facebook page for our local shelter’s volunteer group. They are chronically overcrowded and every day I’d look at the cats and think that we had room for one more.

Ricky has an interesting and kind of sad story. His picture was posted on the Facebook group because someone adopted him and then returned him for being “too active.” Now if you know anything about young cats, you know they are often curious and playful and like attention. Any cat would also want to explore its new surroundings so I’d say a lot of activity, especially at first, is expected.

Ricky (then named Stitch) appeared on Facebook and the volunteers all said they were heartbroken by his return because he was a really sweet cat and they all loved him. I’ve volunteered at a shelter before and I know that certain dogs and cats can capture your heart. I thought for sure someone else would step up and take Stitch but a week or so later, there was his picture again.

Ricky helping me warp my loom

I had to convince my husband I should go get him, but he’s very sweet and finally agreed-if, he said, I’d stop looking at the dog and cat photos! So I went to get Stitch and named him Ricky because I already have a Lucy and we love the I Love Lucy Show around here.

The obvious place to set him up, since I have 2 dogs and 2 cats who had to get used to him, was my new craft room. First I had to kitty proof it by making sure all the yarn was in plastic bins. I bought a nice soft rug for him to sleep on in front of the window. Indeed, he did go a little crazy when I visited him but after about 10 minutes he would calm down and sleep on the table while I warped my loom. Now we’ve progressed to letting him roam the upstairs and even the downstairs if the other two cats are outside. They’ve stared at each other through the sliding door but that’s as far as we’ve gotten with the socializing.

All this takes time and we’re in no hurry for everybody to get to know each other.

Ricky helping me work at the computer

On other news, my triangle loom is now had the finish applied and I can start putting in the hundreds of nails required. We are using a nail gun so that task will go faster. My husband did a wonderful job on the loom and may even try selling them when he retires in a few months as he loves woodworking.

If you ever decide to rescue a dog or cat, bring the same patience to the project as you would to any knitting or weaving project. The beauty of the whole thing is revealed

over time, not at the beginning or all at once. My own weaving and knitting projects take on a life of their own as they grow, kind of like watching a cat or dog go from a neglected, forgotten creature in a cage at the animal shelter to a loved and lovable member of the family. Patience and love are the most important ingredients to a success.

Finally, all tired out!

Triangle loom in progress

As you can see by my photos, my husband is making progress on my triangle loom and I will soon be able to start weaving a triangle shawl on it. My husband is a woodworker and he found some of the instructions and patterns

available on the Internet to be pretty confusing but I joined a yahoo group dedicated to triangle looms and the folks there were very helpful with details. Since my husband has a drill press, the process of drilling hundreds of holes for the nails was much simplified.

Nice sanded corners.

Since I have my new craft room set up and have room to spread out, I decided to get out my rigid heddle table top loom as well. I purchased this loom more than 20 years ago and used to use it to weave scarves and shawls. Since I’ve decided to take up weaving again,  it occurred to me that I could probably use this loom to create a tapestry as well. When I researched online, I found that it was pretty easy to do. I love creating tapestries but didn’t want to buy a tapestry loom, which would only add to my expensive collection of tools.

There is a tapestry weaving group on Ravelry.com where I found others who are creating tapestries on a table top loom instead of using a tapestry loom to and they gave me some good pointers.

For my warp I’m using Sugar and Cream cotton yarn as it’s pretty strong and I had quite a bit of it on hand. Pinks seemed to be the colors I had the most of in my stash so my first tapestry will be a mountain scene with shades of pink, orange and brown. I’ve decided to become practical in my old age and try and use what I have first before I rush out and add to my stash!

Having a big table in my craft room is wonderful for weaving. I used to have to lay my loom out on the bed to warp it, which meant I had to completely finish getting it onto the loom before I could quit for the day. Either that or my husband and I would have to sleep on the couch until the loom was warped – and I didn’t think he’d go for that.

Warping a tapestry on my rigid heddle loom

If you’re interested in tapestry weaving, this is a good basic book on the subject.

As my tapestry starts to emerge, I’ll post more photos. My first triangle loom scarf should also be well on it’s way by next week.