I hope you're having a better Sunday than I am - weatherwise, that is! There's still plenty of that white stuff around.
I was tidying up my craft space and decided to tell you about my ugly, albeit highly serviceable, circular needle storage.
I made it from a fabric belt that came, ages ago, with a pair of capris. You can use any kind of fabric strip, ready-made or otherwise. On the blog that this came from originally(I wish I remembered this crafter. Just a note to say, I 'borrowed' her idea.) the crafter used old neck ties. Belts are always a great idea because you can use the buckle as a sort of ornamental hanger.

Double your belt (or whatever!) and make a horizontal seam across the top to hold it together. Continue making horizontal seams down the fabric, about an inch and a half apart. These will be the little fabric slots to hold your circulars. You can write the size number on the front with a fabric pen or laundry marker. Hang them on the wall and get those babies sorted!

Naturally I'd love a perfectly crafted, embroidered needle holder, but this does the job more than adequately for the time being!

Did you know how to straighten curly circulars? Just pour hot water down the cable and they straighten right out. Bamboo needles might be trickier - the water could cause them to swell. For those I used a hair dryer set on "high".

PS - I got my baby hats in on time!

Have a good week.

A Thank-you, A Reminder , A Pep Talk and a Shout Out

What a thrill to see your comments -  I just now saw them (still discovering settings,etc)
 In the two years I've been posting the only comments I've had were from my sister and from my evil web addiction, Mrs. Odie2. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for your loyalty.

Caps for Good deadline is Feb 28! If you don't knit or crochet, consider making a little fleece or flannel hat. I think Caps for Good website even has a free pattern - I'll get back to you on that!

If you're reluctant to start a new project or pick up a craft like knitting, here's a thought: don't think about how difficult something looks, think about how many people can do it already. In the case of knitting or crocheting, that number would be in the millions. In other words, think instead: "How hard can it be?" and let that thought lead you to success.

In the spirit of energy conservation at home, the thermostat settings have been lowered and I've reconsidered the usefulness of fingerless gloves. Up until now I've only associated them with teenagers at the school bus stop, in the snowstorm, frantically texting their friends; or with Victorian characters in PBS specials. The cooler temperature inside had me channeling Bob Crachit and something had to be done (other than changing the interior temperature from "meatlocker.5" degrees).
 In searching for a fingerless glove pattern, I came across this blog: The Giving Flower by power-knitter Kimberly Gintar. (The photo is from her blog.) Kimberly is  an American living in Germany and her blog is a knitter's motherlode. She's very generous with her free patterns.
Fingerless gloves
You all know I love kntting socks on two circulars (I've converted my baby cap pattern to exclusively 2 circular) and if you do, too, then this is a breeze to convert. I only changed to DPNs to complete the thumb. Kimberly develped the thumb construction technique herself.

I did a little research on You Tube and found some tutorials of interest on the two-circular technique just by entering Cat Bordhi. I've used her videos with great success in the past; her tutorial on stretchy-bind-offs is a must for sock cuffs. I always fantasizing  about doing a video myself, but haven't bothered since we have Cat. She's a great teacher and always has her nails done.
Thanks for reading!

My Toe-Up Sock Pattern

here it is: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTwiddershins.html
The pattern calls for four dpns but I use two circulars in place of needles 1, 2, 3 and 4. Much easier! If you have any questions, I'll be happy to do what I can to help.
Happy knitting and thanks for reading.

Welcome to all of my TWO PEAS Caps for Good knitters!

I was so excited to see your hometowns on my Feedjit. Thanks for reading. If you find something here worthwhile, I'm happy!
This is how we shoveled snow after the deluge on Wednesday. And by "we", I mean our neighbor, John.

I just got two new software programs, Corel Paint and Photo and Printmaster Platinum. I'm going to attempt a little digital design: this is a birthday card I made for my friend Debbie, who is an Anglophile like me:

It's going to be a hand-made birthday for Debbie. I made her a pair of socks!
She thinks she hates homemade socks! I knit these from elastic and cotton sock yarn from Paton's. I don't think I've ever posted my sock pattern before; I'll look it up and post it here for you toot sweet. I'm using the one from Knity 2006. I practically know it by heart! It's all done in one piece on two circulars - a great technique you can use for any circular project in lieu of DPNs.
See you in the Pod.
Love, Rosie