I have a wonderful friend who is a non-knitter. When I went to Stitches West in California, I took a side trip to Half Moon Bay to visit her. Because she's that kind of friend - considerate, smart and loads of fun - she suggested we meet at the local yarn store. While I perused all the offerings at Fengari , Jill became enamored with a skein of Malabrigo Caracol in the gorgeous Piedras colorway. She wanted a scarf made from it. That's pretty much the center of my wheelhouse so I grabbed some yarn and played with a couple of swatches. Caracol is a bulky, thick-thin yarn: I knew that an intricate pattern would be lost. I settled on a simple moss stitch. I like the way it created a highly textured fabric that showed off Caracol's great colors. Sometimes it's a lot of fun to make an easy project that goes quickly. I worked this over 17 stitches on US #15 straight needles. With so many beautiful colors to choose from, I'd love to make another!

Hi everyone! After a long blog hiatus I'm back with a brand new look for the AudKnits web site. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to Shannon Blaz of Blaz Design for the wonderful new design. You can purchase patterns in the Pattern Store , download free ones, and keep up to date with my blog . You can check out the details of my popular book Reversible Scarves: Curing the Wrong Side Blues and link to sources for both the print and digital editions. As time has gone on and I've learned a thing or two from teaching workshops, I've added more handy little tips for creating polished finished projects and making knitting more fun. Look to the Tips + Techniques page for simple solutions to knitterly quandaries. Stay tuned for new designs and projects!

My husband recently encouraged me to listen to the Tim Ferris Show podcast . I love listening to podcasts while I knit, and was especially intrigued by an exercise Tim talks about in his Best of 2016 segment . In a nutshell, he reviewed his calendar for 2016 and wrote down his 80/20 analysis: "20 percent of activities, experiences, or people who produced 80 percent or more of my most positive emotions and outcomes." The same is true of negative emotions and outcomes...20 percent of activities, experiences, or people produce 80% of the negatives. I hauled out my calendar from 2016 to remind myself of events and people throughout the year. It helped me to face some realities on the negative side...the kinds of things I tend to use "magical thinking" on. I have a tendency to be blind to the truth of situations that I would like to sweep under the rug. Happily, the positives far outweighed the negatives. I didn't realize how many wonderful friends I have. True to the rule-of-thumb, about 20% of the people I hang out with bring me about 80% of the positive emotions that come from friendship. A common theme was that my favorite bonding activities are taking walks and (no surprise) knitting. Designing is a therapeutic positive for me, even when parts of the process leave me filled with insecurities and frustration. In the end, the results are worth the effort. Another thing that was consistently a positive was going to Stitches events. I love the energy of being around other knitters, I love taking classes, and I love seeing friends. The takeaway? When I look at the calendar of events coming up, I should say "YES" to Stitches and other learning events. I also love book signings and teaching workshops. So, note to self...plan more of those in 2017. Vacationing with my husband is great, and so is hiking our old favorite trails in California's Central Coast. The upshot of my 80/20 analysis is that I was reminded that my life is really great. It also shows me areas that I can improve upon as we close out this year. I'm grateful to all those who read my blog and knit my patterns, and to my great family and friends. Happy New Year!

Uncategorized Archives

Caracol Scarf

I have a wonderful friend who is a non-knitter. When I went to Stitches West in California, I took a [...]

By AudKnits|2018-03-22T14:37:18-04:00March 26th, 2018|Friends, Projects, Scarf, Uncategorized, Yarn|0 Comments

CustomFit: The Path to Sweater Nirvana

I used to have a love/hate relationship with the sweaters I knitted. I loved starting them, dreamily envisioning them as [...]

By AudKnits|2018-03-21T20:36:22-04:00March 20th, 2018|Favorite Things, Sweaters, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A New Beginning

Hi everyone! After a long blog hiatus I'm back with a brand new look for the AudKnits web site. I hope [...]

By AudKnits|2018-02-17T17:33:09-05:00January 26th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Farewell 2016

Farewell 2016

My husband recently encouraged me to listen to the Tim Ferris Show podcast. I love listening to podcasts while I [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T20:59:29-05:00December 31st, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Giveaway: Free Spirit Knits

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the beautiful book, Free Spirit Knits: 20 Knitted Garments and Accessories Inspired by [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:54:40-05:00May 14th, 2016|Uncategorized|41 Comments

New Lace Knitting Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Amanda in Merrill, Oregon, for winning the drawing for Romi Hill's fantastic book, New Lace Knitting. I love [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:55:20-05:00February 23rd, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

See You In 2016

I hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends over the holidays. See you next year!

By AudKnits|2015-12-20T06:43:14-05:00December 20th, 2015|Uncategorized|1 Comment

Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:56:43-05:00November 21st, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

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By audknits-admin|2015-10-29T11:09:50-04:00October 29th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

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By audknits-admin|2015-10-28T16:24:01-04:00October 28th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments