Breast Cancer Awareness

The Pink Glove Dance

I love this video put together by Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland Oregon to raise breast cancer awareness...

I did it!

I finished my FLS!

I'm so excited! Read all the details here

happy dance


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Charmaine's Baby Shower and Dyeing party

For our first anniversary as U-knitted Amiras we had quiet a blast that day...
so much action , lots of food and laughter...
Since our meeting fell on the month of Ramadan , so our coffee shop is not available to have us before 6:30 in the evening..no problemo Kundi will host our meeting so we decid ed to have a dyeing party and a surprise Baby Shower for Charmaine.

Lavish food was awaiting us...and is handmade ...hey we knitter can do something else then knitting..

The place was decorated with baby stuff

and lots of gifts..

last but not least a yummy cake.



and we ended our day with the dyeing experience...

I am sure that my fellow knitters will show more on their blogs..

you knit....

moar funny pictures

Heads Up! Again!!

Well the meetings are coming together this month in such a way that the Dubai and Abu Dhabi meetings are back to back. SO this week we will be meeting in Abu Dhabi and instead of our usual Caribou Coffee (because it's ramadan and they are closed!) we will be meeting at one of the ladies houses! If you don't know the location (sorry not putting it out on a blog for all to see!!!) then email me at lndsy928AThotmailDOTcom and i'll get you all the details... or better catch us at our Ravelry Group where we are always chatting about the next meet!

Also this will be a dyeing party so bring your naked yarn!!!


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Heads up!

FYI: I know this is a little late! Sorry!! But wanted to let you all know that we are still meeting tomorrow at our usual place (Caribou Coffee in Marina Mall) but we will be getting together a bit earlier at 1:00 pm... don't worry if you can't make it until our usual 3:00 pm we'll all be there chatting and knitting away we just wanted a few extra hours of fun! See you there!!!

I KNIT SOCKS!!!

I finished my very first pair of socks! This is so exciting!!!! I just love the pattern from Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy Johnson.

I have given all the details on the project here on my blog...

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it... I know I know how to knit socks! Knit socks!

The Great Radish Famine (Knitting Song)

I don't know if you gals ever watched Fraggle Rock By Jim Henson... I use to love this show when I was little and I just came across this video that I HAD to share.

WWKIP Day in the UAE

The WWKIP in the UAE was celebrated by the Amiras and other knitters in the UAE at Starbucks in Abu Dhabi Mall..

We had the pleasure to meet new knitters Melanie and Monica....

hope yours was great as ours.....

WWKIP Day - UAE!

We will be interrupting our regular meeting time (on friday the 12th) this month because....

It's time to celebrate our very own holiday! World Wide Knit in Public Day on June 13th!

Let's all get together at the Starbucks in Abu Dhabi Mall on Saturday the 13th at 12 pm so that we can maximize knitting time.

Let me know if I can provide directions from Dubai for anyone.

Hoping to see you there!!

You nedded dis?

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I knew we were doing something right!

I ran across this article from The Boston Globe

As if we needed more reasons to knit! But this one's a pretty good one!

Purls of wisdom by Irene Sege

There are many reasons people learn to knit. Their mothers or their grandmothers taught them. They wanted to learn something creative. They decided to add one more craft to their repertoire.

Me? I learned to knit for my brain.

I always thought I lacked the patience and fine motor skills for knitting. Then, at my last checkup, I mentioned relatives who have struggled with Alzheimer's disease. My doctor told me I should learn to knit. Or master a new dance step. Or a language. Or a musical instrument. That, she said, would open new neural pathways that Sudoku and crossword puzzles couldn't.

I'm certainly not one to always listen to my healthcare professional - just ask my dentist about flossing - but I guess I'm more worried about my mind than my gums. So in the fall I took a class at my local yarn store and joined a knitting group. Now I knit and I purl. I've made a basketweave scarf for one daughter and a ribbed scarf for the other. I'm working on a sweater designed for "enthusiastic beginners." I increase and slip stitches and i-cord. I unravel my mistakes and start again. And I pray that neurologists are right in their emerging insights into the brain.

Years ago, common wisdom held that human beings are born with a finite number of brain cells, some number of which die as we get older. Lately scientists have discovered that the brain is capable of creating new connections throughout our lives. To be sure, the younger brain is more adaptive than the older brain, but even older brains are capable of generating new pathways.

I'm certainly not the only middle-aged person concerned with keeping my mind. When the baby boomers enter old age, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's - currently 5.3 million people - could, absent a breakthrough, jump to 7.7 million in 2030 and as many as 16 million in 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Jeannette McWilliams, who is 61, watched for a decade before her mother succumbed to Alzheimer's last year. Three years ago she took up drumming, in part to stave off dementia in herself. "Anything I could do to keep my mind sharp," she says. "I am concerned with my family history." When McWilliams told Dr. Marie Pasinski, the Massachusetts General Hospital neurologist who treated her mother, about her drumming, Pasinski started talking more often to patients' family members about their own brain health.

"It's empowering to know that you're doing things that can only help you," Pasinski says. "It's certainly not going to make your life worse."

She calls McWilliams's drumming "a wonderful thing" for her brain. "You're learning how to read music. You're listening to the music you play. You're developing your fine motor pathways as you use your fingers," Pasinski says. "Music can really change our moods and lift our spirits. It does appear that people who have a brighter outlook on life have a lower risk of dementia."

Pasinski is equally encouraging about my knitting.

"You're learning something new, how to make new patterns," she says. "You're learning new motor patterns. You're following instructions. You have to really focus and concentrate as you're learning to knit. To keep challenging your brain, you'll want to learn more complicated patterns as your skills advance."

The doctor likes knitting groups, too. "Socializing with others stimulates your brain," she says. "You're listening to what they're saying. You're processing the language. You're making eye contact. You're observing. You're sharing emotions. That's using much broader areas of your brain than when you're just watching TV."

It turns out that knitting isn't the only thing I'm doing for my brain. The fact that I exercise regularly is good for my brain as well as the rest of my body. "The same conditions that affect the arteries that nourish the heart and cause heart disease also affect the arteries that nourish the brain," Pasinski says.

I clicked on the AARP website the other day and found an article titled "50 Ways to Boost Your Noodle." On the list are playing Wii video games, eating blueberries, and talking politics.

There are no guarantees, of course, that heeding this advice will prevent dementia or delay its onset or slow its progression. Only a hope. Meanwhile, there's plenty of pleasure and no harm in learning to knit. And blueberries are delicious.

FO-Party hat!

Look what I made on my trip!


Husband and I made an agreement that he would turn off his BlackBerry and I wouldn't knit on our little mini vacation this week but the drive too and from was open season!! So I managed to knit all of this hat except for the decreases at the top on our drive. Once I got home yesterday I was able to finish the whole thing! I love instant-gratification projects! This one is for my cutie-cute niece so that I have something fun to give her when we visit.

So here are the details.

Pattern: Simple Baby Cap 2 with Simple Tool Topping from Itty-Bitty Hats
Size: 2 years and up
Yarn: Plymouth Yarns Encore Worsted in cream and Cascade 220 in magenta
Other supplies: Tool from my local Khaladia textiles supplier
Modifications: The only modification I made was to add the pink stripes because what little girl doesn't like pink! Also this was my first experience using addis. Now I love my KnitPicks interchangeables and will definately not leave them behind, but I can definitely see what all the hype is about when it comes to Addis cause they are smooooooth.

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Wishing you a pleasent evening!

What could be cutter then this photo :) it is dedicated specialy to our mother to be Charmaine..



Kisses to all.........

DFC!!

A highlight on our meeting with the girls in Dubai on the 3rd of April , at DFC and of course at Caribou coffee..
Three Amiras hit the highway all the way to Dubai : Charmaine , Lindsay and I...
as always it was great fun.....





i just love this picture...................

Knitting in the news

The Early Show on CBS news did a segment on knitting!!


Check it out


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Knitty

The new edition of knitty
is online!

March meeting!

Like Lulu said :when we ,the Amiras, meet we usually stay at the Caribou café until there is nothing we can talk about and that is never!!!!
The things that let us leave are sometimes : a daddy not being able to handle the baby , or a husband who is bored ,and even more not to miss the hairdresser appointment for attending a big wedding the same night..Otherwise we would stay till the café or the mall closes its doors.

Eva we missed your presence.....
Charmaine too , but hey she is having fun in london :)

Not so much knitting happened during this month meeting , we were busy in catching up and having each others opinion on our WIPs...

I know i know , you want photos :)

On my way to Marina Mall , i took a picture of Emirates Palace and the humidity that is rising..eeek

Lindsay creative art ;)

Rama (the hand) and Kundi discussing their FLS.

Lindsays' WIPs , the Noro scarf and at the background her FLS...

There she is trying on her FLS and not looking so happy that the verdict was : RIPPED OFF it is small;

A huge amount of free yarn given to us by our dearest Lulu who will leave us and go back home to South Africa...you will be totally missed lulu....

on the way home i managed to take a shot of one of Emirates Palace fountain.

see you all hopefully soon....

Time change for next meeting

Ok everyone... After much tooing and froing over email the Date for our monthly meeting has changed

So, Same time (3pm) & Same Place (Caribou Coffee in Marina Mall Abu Dhabi)

When: Saturday the 14th of March!

Hope to see you all there!!!!

that's not helpful

moar funny pictures

Noro Stripped Scarf

i finished my Noro Scarf & I LOVE IT!



I'm thinking of making another one out of some rowan tapestry I have now.... It was just that much fun to make!

And also because my husband called dibs on this one and now I want my own.

To get all the details go here


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Finally Started my FLS

Hi Girls,
Here is my completed FLS swatch. Sorry its a little blurry, I just can't take a decent picture today


I'll try to get a better picture of the buttons when I am a bit further along with the sweater.

Not much to show!

I don't have much to show, but I wanted to jump in!

Here is my swatch for the FLS KAL!


Thanks to Hala for the photo.

It's official, I am in love with Malabrigo!

FLS KAL!

The February Lady Sweater Knit Along has officially begun!!!


Everyone at the BIG ABU DHABI / DUBAI meet, that is participating in the KAL did swatches together and then cast on for the FLS. I even did a swatch (thanks Charmaine!).

So everyone in on the FLS KAL please keep the blog update with your progress and any questions or problems that you run across. You can also check out the discussion regarding this KAL in our Rav group here.


BTW: the meeting today was so much fun! It was great to meet so many people (17 in total i think) in person and see everyone's fantastic projects! It was great fun and I can't wait for the next time we get all the groups together... This was a perfect way to spend a Friday

Sunset Hwy

There was the most amazing sunset today as I was driving home from work down Sheikh Zayed Road in Jebl Ali.



I tried to take a picture of it but seriously this dose it no justice. The sun was a hot magenta pink and all the clouds around it were different shades of magenta. Truly amazing.

I really need to start carrying my camera around with me.

Ski mask for eating a sandwich anyone?

I can't decide which is more original.. these Body-Technology Interfaces or the braid tubes we all admired in Kundi's hat book.. hmmm

full circle

this is an article about a little orphaned lamb who needed his very own knitted sweater for the winter...

very cute. had to share

On the way to Ibn....

see more puppies

Jan 30th

Ok we finally sorted out the details (I think) for the Big Dubai / Abu Dhabi Knit Out

Who: The Desert Knitters & us the U-knitted Amiras!

When: Friday, January 30th

Where: Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai at the Lime Tree Cafe

How: Maybe we can work out a Caravan from Abu Dhabi

Why: there's been talk of knitting, gabbing and fantastic cake!

Bonus: If you are joining in the February Lady Sweater KAL then we will be casting on as a group then!

I really hope everyone can make it because it will be a blast! and there's talk of some new knitters showing up! Oh the suspense!

Knitting at the MoE?

I don't know if you all have been following the Ravelry thread on our UAE knitters group so I thought I would post something here just to keep you all informed

We have been talking about meeting up with some of the knitters in Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates on either the 24th or 30th of this month (January).

There seems to be quite a sizable group signed up already and I don't want anyone to miss it!!!

What do you think? Can you make it? and if you have a date preference (personally hoping for the 30th) better check in fast!

February Lady Sweater in February - KAL

Okay Amiras, get yourself ready for our first official Knit-a-long (KAL)!

We have chosen to make the February Lady Sweater in February!

Here's a link to the pattern which is free thanks to Flint Knits.

This pattern has been hugely popular (3351 projects on Ravelry to date) and it is one cardigan that looks good on everyone! Now it is our turn to give it a shot!

So get your yarn ready, we officially start on the first of Feb.