I’ve never been much of a joiner when it comes to knitalongs (Bayerische excluded).  But, I’ve joined one.

 

In November, I’ll be participating in the NaKniSweMo (National Knitting Sweater Month).  The goal is to knit a 50,000 stitch sweater in one month.  I assume that 50,000 stitch sweater = 1 adult sized sweater.   I’ll be waiting to start the Phyllo Yoked Sweater until November 1.  Now I have to find a sock or other small project to keep me busy for the next week.

You can participate too, by signing up at Knitgrrl’s blog or join the Ravelry group.

It’s been a while since I featured things from the web that I think should be shared, so I’ll provide a few links today.

Since my early days of knitting, some four years ago, I was interested in different applications of knitting.  I’ve always wanted to attempt knitting or crocheting jewelry with wire and beads.  I even have wire in a few different gauges in the stash.  (Hmmm…wonder if there is a way to track that in Ravelry? )  Yet, somehow I’ve never attempted to use it.  I think that I fear having my finished item not look like it does in my head, a beautiful, beaded piece of jewelry to wear.

While searching Etsy the other day, I decided to take a look and see what was available in knitted or crocheted jewelry.  There’s quite a lot of options available there.  The quality of the items seems to vary, but I found three pieces I really love.  If I thought that my adventures with wire and beads would end up anything like the three necklaces I feature here, I’d jump right in and be happy with the results.

First up is the Portland Necklace from Etsy seller LazyCat.  I really like the large, bauble-like glass pearls on this necklace.

The Elegant Necklace for Evening from seller Lanita is lovely.  The necklace aims to be a bit dressier than I usually am in my everyday life, but I think that it could work with a casual outfit too.

Finally, the Purple Seed Beads Necklace from seller Gulcheck reminds me a lot of necklaces I purchased the last time I was in Paris.  They did not have as many strands as this, but the style was similar.  She had this style in a lot of colors that I enjoyed; it was hard to pick a favorite.  Perhaps I was just in a bit of a purple mood, since all the necklaces I listed feature purple tones.  The only drawback with this necklace is a lack of photos featuring this style necklace being worn.  It’s hard to get a sense of scale for how large those strands end up being.

I love simple things.  I love to knit, and I love trivia/puzzles/games.  I’ve discussed this in previous Web Wednesdays.  This category will often revolve around these two subjects.

Today’s Web Wednesday is another trivia podcast, Music I-Quiz.

Anna does a really fun, 20-question music podcast.  Each podcast has a theme, and the songs and answers are all focused on the theme.  The current episode is her second “Little Miss I-Quiz” theme, where you can send in your answers to try and win a prize, and the title of Little Miss I-Quiz.  Be sure and check out previous episodes so you can hear the usual format, where you get the answers in the podcast. 

Today’s Web Wednesday is knitting related.  One of the newer podcasts that I’ve been checking out is the KnitPicks podcast.  It is interesting to hear the stories of some of the employees of KnitPicks, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to work in a knitting related business. 

Most interesting to me so far has been Episode 4, Wool:  from start to finish.  In that episode, Kelley discussed the characteristics of the fleece from different type of sheep, and how that effects the end yarn.  I’ve often heard of crimp and staple length, but never really thought about how it applys to the yarn.  As someone who isn’t a spinner, this was really informative.

Check it out at http://www.knitpicks.com/content/index.php/cat/podcast/

This is the first post in a new series.  On Wednesdays, I’ll be featuring items from the web that I enjoy.  The items could be blogs, websites, podcasts, videos, or anything else I stumble upon.  My Web Wednesday series may not always be knitting related.

NPR Sunday Puzzle with Will Shortz

What can I say?  I love puzzles – crosswords, sudoku, word games – the type doesn’t really matter, I love them all.  Will Shortz produces some of the best puzzles created today.  He’s the crossword editor for the New York Times and the author of many puzzle books.  He does a short puzzle show, about 10 minutes or less, on NPR on Sunday mornings.  The entire puzzle is available as a podcast.  If you love puzzles and don’t know the Sunday Puzzle, go check it out.