Artseycrafts

Last Post for 2011

2011-12-10T06:15:00.001-05:00

I promised photos of projects I've knit in the last six months but it had been so long since I used my camera that I forgot how to use the manual settings. As a result, I have snapshots - not "photos". It's been so long since I knit most of these projects that I forgot which yarns, needles, etc. I used. Nevertheless I needed to have a record on this blog, even though I finally added them to Ravelry. Sooooooo, this is mostly what I knit in the last few months.JAPANESE GARDEN SHAWL(pattern proceeds went to help the victims of the Japanese Tsunami)

SEASIDE SHAWL

HATS AND SCARVES (HARRY POTTER, THORPE, and Jacques Cousta HATS: Seaman's Cabled Scarf)

My favorite project this year was this man's pullover designed by Kathy Zimmerman (Man's Cabled Ribbed Pullover). It was designed for bulky weight yarn but I knit it with Valley Yarns Northamptom which is worsted weight. I just knit a larger sizer with smaller needles to get the correct size. I also modified the sleeves to include the cables instead of plain ribbing.

This was such a fun sweater to knit that I knit another one in black. I have it blocked and ready to sew together today.I've also knit several ladie's hats so it is possible I will post one more time for 2011. If not, MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Holidays everyone!

Anyone There?

2011-10-14T06:57:00.002-04:00

Maybe you thought I fell off the Earth? I have never been much of a blogger but for several reasons I have been unable to even try.

Something happened at Google which would not allow me to sign in to any of my Google Accounts. The page which led me to change my password told me to contact my internet provider. I did - several times. After several lengthy phone calls my IP said it was a Google problem, not their's. I practically gave up until yesterday when I clicked on my own blog from Ravelry and was able to (finally) sign in. This problem also prevented me from leaving comments on YOUR blogs but hopefully I am back (unless Google changes something again).

My second reason for not posting is physical. I have been going to two Orthopedists since April! They tell me I have problems with my spine (which I've always had) as well as Sciatica but I am beginning to wonder if I have been misdiagnosed. I've had an MRI, gone to Physical Therapy twice every week since May, and received five epidural injections but I have not improved very much if at all. If anything, the injections made me worse and now I am told by my physical therapist to stop all exercises. This physical problem means I cannot sit more than 30 minutes until I need to move around for awhile.

Knitting progress is much slower under these conditions and spinning was prohibited. Every time I looked at the unfinished yarn hanging from my spinning wheel since March, I wanted to try to spin. Finally I tried for a couple of minutes at a time and now I am trying to spin no more than 5 minutes. Don't expect to see finished handspun yarn very often - LOL.

I also lost my beloved little "Boy" on July 3d. I know people are not supposed to grieve so much for the loss of an animal but I can hardly talk about him without tears even now. He was my constant companion and the most loving and intelligent dog we've ever had. He lived 17 years and we were expecting the loss but it has been sooooo hard. I miss him every day.

During my absence from blogging, I got a new central air conditioner and a new roof. My new air conditioner is wonderful and quite the energy saver. Now my house stays comfortable and my electric bill has been reduced by $100/month. The roof was replaced by insurance due to wind damage. It is an "architectural" roof and should last many years unless we have more storm damage.

The good news is I was able to complete a few knitting projects but still haven't blocked them or taken photos. I will try to do both very soon. My next post (providing that Google doesn't lock me out again) will not be so gloomy

Until next time

Lace and other Updates

2011-05-10T11:01:00.007-04:00

Oh my - it's been so long since I blogged that I hardly know where to begin. Where does the time go?? My camera batteries have needed recharging for a month which I didn''t get around to doing. These photos were taken using my son's camera with which I am not familiar. Sounds like a good excuse for poor photos to me! (vbg)

By the way, I didn't link to anything in this post but Google or Ravelry always works if anyone is interested.

First up I should mention the Gothic Spires scarf by Wendy Johnson. Hmm, I finished it in March(?) and have almost forgotten all of the stats. It blocked to 72"X8" which is quite long for me. I used Knitpicks Essential fingering weight yarn with the recommended needle sizes (5's?).

Next I knit Asterope which is one of 7 Small Shawls by Romi Hill. This was only the second shawl I ever knit. Had I realized the last chart was not very easy, I probably wouldn't have knit it until I gain more experience but I love it. You can see how it barely drapes over the shoulders, almost like a scarf. I can see myself wearing it with a tee-shirt and jeans. The yarn is Knitpicks Stroll tonal fingering weight in Gypsy.

Now that Summer has arrived, what else would I knit but.......a sweater! (I know, the calendar says Summer arrives next month but since we are already in the 90's it seems like Summer) This is "Wishbone" by Norah Gaughan and a freebie at Berroco. I looked and looked for a simple pullover with just enough texture to break the monotony of plain stockinette stitch. This is exactly what I wanted to throw on with jeans next Winter. The yarn is WEBS Valley Yarn Superwash DK which is lovely to use (no splitting and very smooth). If this fits, I will probably knit several.

Okay, no pity party but this is the news about my leg/hip injury I mentioned last time. I finally got in to see my Orthopedist about a month ago but only because my DS happened to see one of his nurses who "worked" me in two weeks sooner than my scheduled appointment. The diagnosis was torn tissue which was more than likely caused by treadling the spinning wheel. It could have been worse but I have no joint problems, no osteoporis, arthritis, or other problems. The medication I was given had horrible side effects which caused problems almost as bad as the torn tissue. I lost almost 10 pounds while eating more than normal but don't try it - it isn't a good way to lose weight! I go back this Friday (Friday the 13th - sigh) for a cortisone injection which he tells me should have good results. For two months I have been "house bound" and hardly able to walk or even sit very long at a time. Going up and down stairs is very difficult. I have always been very independent so hopefully the cortisone injection will do it's job.

As a result, I haven't been able to use my spinning wheel (he tells me that in time, I will be able to spin again). My answer is to try this Trindle which is a lighter weight version of most drop spindles. The inventor and seller is a local man (Trindleman) who is also a science teacher at one of the metro Atlanta high schools. He had a sale so I received an extra set of little "beads - or arms". I have faceted crystal beads on the Trindle now which are beautiful as it spins. As you can tell, I still haven't done much with the Trindle but it is much easier to use than a heavier spindle. I just need to practice.

That's my update for now. Hopefully it won't be as long next time.

Lace

2011-04-06T09:53:00.005-04:00

I have never been much of a lace knitter but have always loved lace. Recently,
Wendy Johnson (AKA WendyKnits) designed a beautiful shawl and is donating all sales to the American Red Cross for Japan relief. As of yesterday, sales have reached $4575 and the pattern only costs $5! How could I resist, even if I don't wear shawls - LOL.

The Japanese Garden shawl was very easy to knit because Wendy provides charts and very clear instructions. Most of her shawls are knit with fingering weight yarn which is easier for inexperienced lace knitters like myself. Lately her favorite shawl construction begins from the bottom up - which I like. It makes knitting seem faster.

Yarn: Lisa Souza,
Color: Mulberry
Needles: Knitpicks US 5 but cast on with US 8's

This was so much fun to knit that I purchased 4 additional patterns. Wendy is offering a 25% discount on all of her patterns through April. My current project is the Gothic Spires scarf because I did not have sufficent yardage to knit the stole version.

In spinning news, while spinning 55 grams of this FatCatKnits Polwarth, I somehow injured my leg/hip and have no longer been able to spin. This was several weeks ago and I still have not healed. Wouldn't you know that I just won another FatCatKnits braid. Maybe one day I will be able to finish this braid and have enough for another shawl.

Fiber: Polwarth from FatCatKnits
Spun: 55 grams
Weight: Fingering
Yards: 193

Spinning and Knitting Updates

2011-03-22T10:21:00.005-04:00

Finally, I have a spun to finished project. The fiber is Crown Mountains Farm Corriedale which was a "fiber of the month" sometime last Fall. I forgot to photograph the fiber but it produced a nice 3-ply fingering yarn.

Then, decisions, decisions. I always have trouble deciding what to knit but then I remembered knitting this pattern before and how much I like the design. Lightbulb moment - I knit the same design again.

For the Spinners:

Fiber: 3.9 ounces Cmf Corriedale
Yarn weight: fingering
Color: Shadow on the Wall
Yardage: 409 yards
Ply: traditional 3-ply
WpI: 16
Spun: Worsted

For the Knitters:
Pattern: CookieA's "Marlene"
Gauge: 8 stitches/inch
Needles: KP's Options size 1 (2.25) circulars
Yardage used: Less than 350 yards

I detect a few imperfections in my yarn but love them anyway. I am still a beginning spinner which means nothing I spin is perfect - LOL.

Happy Spring everyone (cough, cough....sniff,sniff).

METRO

2011-03-08T09:52:00.007-05:00

Finished! .........but not fully blocked.

The basic garment was blocked before knitting the sleeves and collar but it
needs another soaking. Hmm, that may not be until next Fall since Spring arrived very early this year. (So much for my theory that Spring arrives late when Easter is later - April 24th this year). Trees are blooming and the pollen count is aleady 800 (120 is rated as extremely high - sigh).

This was a fast knit (for me) despite having a stomach virus which kept me from knitting for about 5 days. I cast on the evening of February 9th and finished March 6th. Still, very fast and soooo little yarn. I used Valley Yarns Northampton worsted weight (have I mentioned how much I like this yarn??) which only took 939 yards (3.8 skeins) for my size 37. Wow! Maybe I could even spin enough yarn to knit it again.

The techniques which were a first for me included knitting the sleeves top down with short rows and wraps and turns. Now I love this technique. It also included

A ribbed cable which was knit on the WRONG side

ribbed cable collar using short row wraps and turns and the kitchener stitch joining the two halves and then sewn to the back

Darts

I also like the opposite front which has a ribbed lapel

AS Well AS the faux side seams (no sewing)

The original version has 3/4 sleeves which I changed to long sleeves. The original also has 4" ribbed cuffs which I changed to seed stitch. I think it better matches the garter stitch edge which, if I knit this cardigan again, will also be seed stitch. The garter stitch rolled so badly that the pattern actually has instructions to block before finishing. Maybe that was not the intent but the garter stitch bottom edge was very annoying until blocked.

I've also been spinning for the first time since last November but I'll save the spinning update until next time.

Knitting Metro

2011-02-21T14:15:00.004-05:00

Lately my taste in knitting has been projects which are more simple in design. This was the reason that I selected the Metro cardigan as my current project. At first glance it looks like a very simple, mindless project but once the knitting began, I discovered several new design methods which I have never knit.

First, there are knit-in darts, both in the front and back. I knit them but think it would have looked better without them. Next was the 8-stitch ribbed cable which is knit on the wrong side instead of the front. It was not a problem - just different from any cables I ever knit.

Then I discovered that the sleeves are picked up at the shoulder and knit top down. The sleeve caps are formed by short row wraps & turns. Now I have never been very successful in knitting wraps and turns without holes appearing but finally mastered the technique. It took watching several YouTube videos and a little practice but now I've learned something new.

This was my progress after about a week of mostly knitting at night for a few hours. Since I took the photo, I completed the dreaded sleeve cap with all those wraps and turns. If I continue at the same rate, maybe I will have a new Spring cardigan before really hot weather arrives (we were 75 degrees last
Saturday and almost as warm today). What happened to Winter?

This is a fast project to knit. It also requires less than 5 skeins of most worsted weight yarn which is another plus. I think I like it - LOL.

Awwww........

2011-02-18T11:36:00.011-05:00

Want to see something cute? Meet "Po", the latest Giant Panda
cub born to the Atlanta Zoo and the ONLY Giant Panda cub born in the US during 2010.
He was just named this week as baby cubs must be 100 days old before they are named

(Photo from Atlanta Zoo)

If you are like me, it's fun to watch him as he grows. This is a link to the Panda Cam for anyone who may be interested.

Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam

While you are on the website, check out all of the cute photos/videos. It's hard to believe that baby pandas are only the size of a stick of margarine when they are born.

Continuing with Gifts

2011-02-08T11:22:00.011-05:00

Just as I thought gift knitting was finished for awhile, January was filled with more gift knitting. For instance, my son in Minnesota received three pairs of Thuja socks (which I forgot to photograph) as well as the Cobblestone sweater (Ravelry links). With the extreme winter weather, all of the warm woolies were much appreciated.

Then there was the fan of Georgia Tech who received these mittens in school colors. I didn't have a pattern - just basic ribbed fingerless mittens.

I thought the Gnome mittens would be mine but they turned out too big. I chose to knit fingerless mittens with only one row of gnomes which was an option in the pattern. My Georgia son has always liked gnomes so off they went to him but I may knit them again using smaller needles.

I almost forgot knitting my third pair of Irish Walking mitts. This pattern (sorry, I lost the link) was the first fingerless mitts I ever knit and it is still my favorite pair to wear. They are knit flat and then the seams are mattressed stitched, leaving an opening for the thumb. Easy and quick enough to knit in a night of TV watching.

But the most fun was knitting these cute baby garments for my nephew and his wife who are anticipating the arrival of a baby boy next month. I miss not having even more wee projects to knit but these are newborn size and will be outgrown before Spring.

Newborn baby kimono

Newborn
manly cobblestone-inspired baby vest

Both little hats are newborn to 6-month size

Spinning has been on the back burner since just before my surgery last November. I did spin this fiber which I won from Sandi Wisehart's blog but no photos of the finished yarn.

Now I have nothing on my needles. I started a sweater but after knitting about 10 inches decided I don't like it. I really have to find a new project - today. As of this morning, it will probably be "Metro" as my preferences lately are leaning towards simple knits.

That was January. Now on to the rest of the year.

Starting Over in 2011

2011-01-02T11:01:00.015-05:00

Is your gift box as empty as mine?

Throughout the year I knit hats, scarves, mittens, and even sweaters as gifts and now they are all gone. The good thing was no need to shop in overcrowded stores. I accomplished other shopping online (Kindle for one son, digital camera for the older son, money to grandsons - vbg). !Now I need to start over and knit gifts for 2011.

Although I already had as many gifts finished as I "thought" I needed, there were a few extras I had to knit in a frenzy at the last minute. I had no time to even photograph them before giving and so these photos will have to suffice.

My brother and sister-in-law hosted our Christmas gathering at their clubhouse since their home is currently being redecorated. The only problem was my brother carrying about 60 loads of food and decorations from their townhome to the club house - LOL. Everyone joined in and loaded their vehicles to take it back after the party was over.

Please excuse my shiny face which was definitely not because of too much heat (but maybe after 2 glasses of champagne?(vbg). We had snow on Christmas Day for the first time since 1882! It was also very cold, cold enough to wear my Alice Starmore sweater for the first time since I finished it two years ago.

This is my niece-in-law, Paula, who loved her Corozon mitts and hat. She is the wife of my nephew Matt shown with his University of Georgia hat and fingerless mittens below. Unfortunately his twin brother couldn't make it from Colorado

Next is my niece, Lisa, modeling her lace tam by TheRaineySisters. Unfortunately her mittens are not in view.

Then there is Brett who is Lisa's husband modeling his fingerless mittens and hat. The man on the right is NOT my brother but Paula's father who was visiting from Florida. (Unfortunately her Mother could not attend due to an upset stomach.)

Next is my brother (terrible photo) modeling his Jacques Cousteau hat and glittens (I also gave him George W. Bush's new book "Decision Points"). I think he actually wore his new woolies the following day when he and my SIL took the grandkids to "Snow Mountain" (man-made snow at Stone Mountain - a large granite mountain located on the outskirts of Atlanta).

My sister-in-law really appreciated her hat and scarf. She is also a knitter but only knits simple projects. She is next to my brother, sitting on the sofa and wearing the blue hat and scarf.

The only kid's knits which were photographed were Michelle wearing her mittens. She is one of the daughters of Lisa and Brett.

But I had to include a photo of ALL of the cuties. The youngest, Danielle, is a beauty and will have a little brother next March

Last was this Cobblestone sweater which I knit for my Minnesota son' birthday. It's in the mail and should arrive before his birthday January 6th. I also knit three Thorpe hats (one is on my Ravelry project page) and more glittens but they have also found a new home. I wondered if my grandsons would like their Thorpe hats. Apparently, they did. As he was getting into the car to go to the airport for his return to college, he remembered he had forgotten his hat and ran back to get it.

My gift to myself was a new computer. I also received almost everything on my Wish List (knitting books, cooking books and gadgets, and even a dressform which is modeling the Cobblestone above). A funny thing, though, is my brother gave me another "Gone With the Wind" DVD along with several other classic films. Yes, it is my all-time favorite movie because it is about the history of where I live. Too bad I already had FOUR of the GWTW DVDs which he gave me in past years. At least it made everyone laugh and laugh.

I am happy that everyone enjoyed their knitted gifts. Now, I need to start over. Any suggestions?

Happy New Year everyone - wishing you good health, happiness, and prosperity!

Thank You!

2010-11-18T14:18:00.002-05:00

Hi again!

My surgery was one week ago today and deemed a success. It's amazing how fast they send you home these days. About this time of day I was walking around in a daze, stumbling and not speaking very coherently.(vbg) Can you tell I don't handle anthesia very well?

I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate all of your prayers and well wishes. I cannot express how much they were appreciated! Yesterday I had a follow-up appointment and was told I am doing well.

Knitting has been rather slow but mostly because I am knitting "Cobblestone" by Brooklyn Tweed which is almost entirely stockinette stich. Sometimes it is very boring but I do like the appearance of the sweater. I have completed the bottom up to the armholes and have almost one sleeve finished. Will I finish in time for Christmas? Hmm, only time will tell. Maybe I'll post progress photos at some point.

Again, thanks to all of you for being so thoughtful and kind!

Hello Again!

2010-11-08T11:14:00.010-05:00

Dear Blog, I know you have been neglected for a very long time - I am sorry! While I have been away, I completed a few projects and now show them to you.
It's been so long since I finished "Spruce Cove Pullover" in the September 2010 issue of Creative Knitting magazine. I think I finished it at least two months ago? Anyway, although it was greatly modified from the original pattern, it fits my son perfectly (Yaay!) The yarn is from WEBS - Valley Yarns Northampton which I like very much.

Then I needed something with a little more interest than the pullover. Most of the time here in the South, mittens and hats are not needed but a scarf is always nice. And so, from this Crown Mountains Targhee "Rosenrot" fiber/yarn, I knit an Autumn Days scarf for myself. Finished, it is 72"X8". This was a fun pattern to knit.

Next I knit a pair of fingerless mittens with some FatCats superwash Merino (blue) which I spun along with commercial yarn. Once again, I modified the full mittens to fingerless mitts using the "Mittens from Halland" pattern n the Folk Mittens book.

We had such a hot Summer and warm Fall that it took awhile before I started to think about warm woolies for my Minnesota son and grandsons. Once it was cool enough, I knit this Helmet Liner (free pattern on Ravelry) using Fisherman's wool. I think it will be very warm.

I also knit this "Thorpe" for one of my grandsons but still need to add the cords. It was not fun to knit because I used two strands of worsted weight yarn having no bulky yarn on hand. I have to knit one more "Thorpe" before Christmas.(sigh)

Spinning has also been lots of fun and I feel I am improving. I have purchased and spun lots of fiber lately some of which is below

KnittyandColor's (local dyer) "Grilled Peaches" Polwarth.

JulieSpins Falkland in "Koala"

There are others but I will talk about them later.

Do you remember my last post when I had just discovered I needed surgery. The very day I saw the surgeon and a date was set, I got an upper respiratory infection and had to cancel. Our area has been full of people with the same upper respiratory problem all Fall. Whatever it is, it lasts and lasts and is very hard to get over. Finally, I am okay to go ahead and my surgery is scheduled this Thursday. It is nothing serious (gallbladder) but I do have to take it easy for a couple of weeks while I recuperate - no heavy lifting, twisting, etc (should I say "Yaay") I should have plenty of time to knit (but not spin) in the next few weeks and my project bags are ready in case I get tired of knitting the "Cobblestone" sweater. (my 4th sweater this year!) It is mostly stockinette stitch (again) and garter stitch so I may become very bored before it is finished.(LOL)

I think I am finally caught up (except for more spinning). Until next time.

TWIST

2010-08-06T08:14:00.017-04:00

Knitting "Twist" (pattern by ChicKnits) was finished July 21st but getting photos has been a problem. The constant heat wave this Summer has made it extremely uncomfortable to wear for even a minute or two. Then, there is also the humidity. This is how the outdoor photo looked which then caused us to go indoors for photos.

Back in December when I purchased my spinning wheel and January when I first started to spin, I never thought I would spin enough fiber to knit a sweater. The fiber is Ashland Bay Colonial in multi-red.

Anyway, it is finished and I love it! It still needs buttons but shopping for them can wait. I knit size 42 so that I can wear it over heavier, long-sleeve garments. The entire sweater is larger than I needed but I love it anyway. I am sure I will wear it if it ever gets cold enough. I haven't calculated the exact yardage I used but I have 2 skeins left over and at least a pound of un-spun fiber.

Sorry about the quality of the photos but this is the best I could do for now.

Front

Back

So what am I knitting now? Another wool sweater! This time it is a pullover for my Son (I need to knit two!). More about that later.

Since Last Time...........

2010-07-07T15:41:00.010-04:00

........In June, we had a heat wave which lasted three weeks! Then six days of very nice (cooler) temperatures (over the 4th), and now.....back to the high 90's. I know! It's even hotter in 18 states but this is the hottest Summer I can remember in many, many years. My electric bill doubled! Hot weather just zaps my energy and makes me wish I was back in Germany....or Seattle........or somewhere cool!

........I was told I need to have surgery after over a month of pain and not being diagnosed correctly. Nothing too serious but now I am procrastinating...............because it is much TOO HOT to have surgery! I should be hospitalized for only 2 or 3 days but I think it can wait until Fall, if Fall ever comes again.

And so, everything has been at a very slow pace because of the heat. "Twist" is nearing completion with the 2d sleeve almost finished and only the bands and collar remaining. Here it is - totally unblocked as of now.

Spinning has also been slow but I managed to spin this FatCat Corriedale fiber into a handspun yarn which I like. It was a Christmas gift from my Son, before I had time to even know much about spinning (still learning!). It is 218 yards of light worsted weight in a traditional 3-ply. The color is "Redwood" which I love but she no longer has

I also spun another FatCat superwash Merino which I do NOT like. I started with a N-ply (on the left)but didn't like it. The traditional 3-ply (on the right) looks better to me but I will probably never use either version. (Note to self, never, never buy superwash merino fiber again.)

One more fiber I am spinning is Crown Mountain Farms "Targhee" (the May installment) in "Rosenrot" - a very lucious pink and red. This fiber is so well prepared and a joy to spin. I think it will become something in a colorwork project once I spin enough Oatmeal BFL fiber. The two colors together should produce a nice hat and mittens.........or maybe a scarf.

Since I tried to post this morning, my telephone, DSL, and internet went out. There is a 10-mile stretch of road near me which is being widened with "stimulus" money. They cut a really, really big cable and when I reported the problem, I was told it would be Friday before I have phone service. Thank goodness they were wrong! (Hmm, so far they dug into gas lines (twice), dug into water mains (also twice), and now the phone cable.

And so........that was June. Depending on the heat, I should be back soon to show my finished cardigan.

Doin' The TWIST!

2010-06-01T10:24:00.010-04:00

Seems like we have rain and storms every day which makes it very hard to get photographs. Unfortunately our forecast is the same until at least next week so my apologies for not so good photos.

Since last time(I know, I am a very bad blogger!), this fiber

became this 3-ply worsted weight yarn

which is now becoming the "Twist" (blogger turned the photo sideways - grrr!)

I began spinning April 26th and finished May 26th. No, I didn't post all of the spinning data to the blog but I DID keep a journal (which I forgot to photograph). As I spun each bobbin, I recorded the number of grams spun. Then as it was plied, I also recorded the number of yards produced, wraps per inch (WPI), skein number, etc. Total amount of fiber spun was 40 ounces.
Total yardage is 1597 yards - about 160 yards on the average for 10 skeins. Each skein has a tag with its information.

I had a really difficult time trying to decide which cardigan to knit. The winner is "Twist" by ChicKnits. The pattern has two versions, one with the hood and the other which has a collar. I will probably knit the collar which means I
need less yarn (maybe).

In the meantime I have been knitting but not very much. One of my projects is an afghan which I am knitting from a book of crocheted afghans (yes, crochet pattern). When I looked at the crochet chart, I decided it could be knit instead of crocheted. I also finished socks for my son but didn't photograph them.

The one finished project which I knit in March(??) is the Habitat Hat by Brooklyn Tweed. The yarn is also my handspun in a dark green Ashland Bay Colonial fiber.

That's about all I have to report for now. I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day!

Three Bags Full??

2010-04-22T16:01:00.007-04:00

Remember the nursery rhyme which asks, "Do you have any wool?" to which the reply was, "Yes, 3 bags full!"

Well, I do not have quite 3 bags full but I do have almost 3 pounds full of this gorgeous Ashland Bay Colonial blended wool. And so, this is the beginning of my effort to spin all this fiber and knit a beautiful sweater. My plan is to document my progress on this blog from beginning to end. Hopefully I will finish by next Winter.(vbg)

Before I decided to spin enough fiber to knit a cardigan in this color, I first spun the same fiber in green (RainForest)

Next I spun the same fiber in "Multi-Red". I loved the green but everyone knows my favorite color is red, don't they? - vbg

All of the yarn is worsted weight and about 160 yards per skein. I wish I could obtain more yardage per skein but I am satisfied just to be able to spin worsted weight. The finished yarn is very soft and fluffy and looks very tweedy to me which is another reason I like it. Hopefully the 40 ounces of fiber, plus 8 ounces I already had, will be enough to knit a sweater.

Speaking of sweaters, I have to decide which pattern to knit and would love to hear suggestions. So far I am thinking about two ChicKnits patterns - Twist or Cassidy. There are also a couple of sweaters in "A Fine Fleece" which I have but my favorites have corrections to the pattern which I would like to avoid.

Stitches South began in Atlanta today. I only care about going to the market on Sunday but unfortunately our forecast is very severe storms and possibly tornados Saturday and Sunday. It all depends on the weather if I go or not.

Spring Fever Time!

2010-03-31T11:23:00.009-04:00

I must have Spring Fever because I haven't been in the mood to take photographs since the last time! Neither have I wanted to knit or spin but did find an exciting (and easy) project to do. Soooooo, it is time to catch up with a few things I've been doing lately.

This hat is knit with my first handspun which is "thick and thin" but surprisingly, it worked. Handspun yarn seems to be very forgiving even if it is overspun and inconsistent. The fiber is (once again) Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale in the Chinon colorway. This pattern is the "Horseshoe Cable" hat from the Interweave Spin-Off site (free to members)

I must really like the Chinon colorway!(LOL) I spun the same color in this Wensleydale fiber which I just loved. It was the easiest fiber I've spun - practically spun itself. I forgot to write down all the specifics when I finished it 2 weeks ago but it is 2-plied and about 270 yards of DK or sport weight. What it will become is still a mystery. (My rating - 4)

Have you noticed how popular crochet is again? When I looked at all the pretty potholders on the Ravelry 2010 Potholder Swap Group, I couldn't help but want to crochet again. I already had all the cotton yarn and these are the result. All the patterns are free at Ravelry if you search "potholders". I needed quick, fun, and colorful projects to do while watching TV in the evening and these were just the thing.

HAPPY EASTER!

Handspun Socks

2010-03-15T10:09:00.008-04:00

My first! There is nothing special about these socks except for the yardage. This is the first time I was able to spin enough fingering weight yarn for socks from 4 ounces of fiber. (WooHoo!) There is no pattern - just 3/1 ribs on US 1/2.25 needles. I am very pleased with them even though they do not match (I didn't try) and are very plain. It's the spinning which is the challenge, not the knitting.(vbg) I usually never wear green but these will be my "St Patty's Day" socks.

Once again, it started with this fiber from FatCat Knits - "Spinach Souffle" Blueface Leicester (a type of sheep).

To this

To socks! The difference in the colors of the fiber to the finished yarn is always surprising to me.

WIMPLES
I think I forgot that I knit these Wimples. "Wimple" .....isn't that a strange name? The first I ever heard of "Wimples" was on Ravelry. We always called them "smokerings", or even scarves!

Anyway, first is a free pattern named Basketweave from Classic Elite.

Next is "Lauren's Wimple" (still unblocked)

Both were knit with Knitpicks Swish DK with needle sizes recommended in the pattern. Sorry, I already forgot!

Until next time, still having fun. Hope you are too!

Spinning Update

2010-03-06T08:45:00.005-05:00

Remember the fiber from the last post? I have been working on it a little at a time since then. This is two-thirds of a 4 ounce braid of Blue Face Leicester fiber dyed by Fat Cat Knits in "Spinach Souffle". I tried to spin a thin yarn for socks but it is almost lace weight. I think it is my best spinning effort so far because the yarn is pretty consistent.

I couldn't wait to finish the last half of a bobbin and went ahead and plied. It is 3-plied but with..........machine embroidery thread! I got the idea to use embroidery thread as a ply from Ginny at Fat Cat Knits. I have boxes and boxes of embroidery thread and I no longer use my embroidery machines.(sigh) The thread is polyester Madeira machine embroidery thread (the small spool in the photo) which I believe will strengthen the spun yarn (sorta like 75/25 Merino, etc.) I put the thread on the middle spindle with each bobbin of singles on the ends of the lazy kate. The thread plied exactly the same as the singles.

Spinning stats:
Spun on the Middle Whorl with very low twist
Method: Short Draw
Plied: Small Whorl with high twist
Yardage (for 2/3ds of the fiber) = 348 yards
My rating for BFL fiber - 3

Sorry for my very bad photography! If you click on the pictures, maybe you can see the detail a little better.

Last evening I cast on a pair of ribbed socks but will finish spinning the other 1/3d of the fiber at the same time. I am not a person who likes green but maybe I can wear the socks on St. Patrick's Day.(vbg)

Hope to have photos of socks very soon.

Mr Greenjeans

2010-02-27T15:09:00.006-05:00

I have enjoyed the Olympics soooo much and hope you have too! About halfway of the first week, I decided to finish this cardigan before Closing Ceremonies as my personal Olympics knitting. I finished the knitting earlier this week but it took almost three days to dry after blocking. Turns out, this was an ideal project to knit while watching the Olympics because I only had to knit the sleeves and bands which were mostly stockinette stitch.

Pattern: Mr. GreenJeans (Knitty.com)
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 8 and 7, circulars and dpn's

The cardigan is a very basic design and the style is one I find myself purchasing many times. It still needs a button but I sorta like it worn open. Now I do not have to feel guilty and I am even considering knitting another cardigan. I have ten gorgeous skeins of Valley Yarns Northampton which are still looking for a nice pattern.

Spinning Update

Currently I am about half finished spinning this Blue Fast Leicester fiber. The color is "Spinach Souffle" but the greens are much prettier than I anticipated. Maybe I will have finished yarn in a few days.(vbg)

Paintings

My son has been painting and getting ready for an art exhibit in April. We have lots and lots of paintings which I hope he sells! (LOL) These are a few of his most recent:

Finished Finn

2010-02-16T13:55:00.008-05:00

This is the Crown Mountain Farms fiber selection for February. Finn is the fiber in the 12th Planet colorway (my color selection). Looking at the monitor I thought it was mostly red and black but it is many colors other than red. It has burnt sienna, VanDyke brown, fuschia, purple, and black. I have decided to create my own rating system so that I will remember which fibers I prefer. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the highest and 5 the lowest, Finn is in the middle with a score of 3. It is very soft but also "spoingy" as someone else described it. People either love it or hate it. My feelings are mixed.

The bobbins before I decided to try my hand at Navajo plying (chaining) were full with virtually no wasted fiber.

I Navajo plied the first bobbin with no problem. Then I had trouble with the 2d bobbin and lost quite a bit of yardage. Finally something "clicked" and Navajo plying became fun. The advantage in this type of plying is keeping color blocks together as well as being able to use all the spun yarn. It is not my best effort but quite a learning experience and something I will do again. The finished yarn is close to a worsted weight at 12-13 wraps per inch but I lost quite a bit with my 2d bobbin.

Olympic Knitting

I didn't join Ravelry Olympics but yesterday I decided to resurrect this project and try to finish before the Closing Ceremonies. I started last Summer but put it away until now. All that is remaining are the sleeves (which I started) and the band.

This sweater has caused me to have guilt feelings because I never finished. Normally I don't have unfinished projects and this has really bothered me all Winter. Now I intend to knit until it is finished to relieve my guilty mind. It will be good to have beginning next month when it will be in the 60's (I hope!)

Does anyone remember such a cold, snowy Winter - everywhere? Last week, 49 states had snow on the ground - something which has never been recorded since record keeping began. Speaking of Winter, just what you wanted to see - more snow! I took these photos as the snow was falling last Friday. We got 6 inches which is very rare.

Until next time when I hopefully will have a few knitting projects, especially a finished cardigan.

Handspun No. 3

2010-01-27T09:14:00.003-05:00

It is exciting to see fiber transferred from this (braid on the right)

to this

to..... yarn!

My first 3-ply handspun yarn is a FatCat Corriedale braid in the Havana colorway. It was a Christmas gift from one of my sons (probably not in the color I would have chosen). Not sure of a project yet but I am sure I will find a suitable pattern eventually.

Specs:
Fiber - FatCat Corriedale braid
colorway - Havana
"inchworm" drafting and spun on low whorl
3-ply on medium whorl
Yardage: 305 yards
Weight: DK or sport wt

Spinning has become more fun than knitting, probably because I am such a beginner at a new craft. I wonder what will happen when Summer arrives and it is hot and humid. Time will tell.(vbg)

First Handspun Project

2010-01-16T08:47:00.004-05:00

This is the first project knit with my handspun yarn which I made (yaay!). I chose a popular project used by lots of beginner spinners - fingerless mittens (but I needed new mitts anyway). The fiber is Corridale in the Chinon colorway and my first real spinning effort. The yarn is thick and thin (typical of new spinners) but I was surprised at how well it knit up. The wraps per inch (WPI) were 12 or 13 in some places which should be about a worsted weight but my gauge was 5.5/inch which is DK. The pattern is a very basic fingerless mitten pattern knit with US 4 dpn's. I have another 125 yards but haven't decided (or found) a new project yet.

My second real spinning attempt is the January Crown Mountain Farms Club fiber which I spun in two different weights. The wool is "Falkland" in the colorway Planet of Bliss. Both weights are 2-ply although I did experiment by adding a strand of commercial lace weight to the thinner yarn. I love the color and the fiber!

First half is between a DK and WW wt

and the second half is fingering wt.

The only other project I've knit so far this year is this pair of Fetching mitts. I didn't spin this yarn - it is Paton's Classic Merino Wool knit with US 5 dpn's. After last week's extreme cold, both pairs of the new mittens were an absolute necessity. Wouldn't you know, our temperatures have now soared to 60 degrees!

Still learning to spin and still having fun!

Falkland

2010-01-05T16:36:00.004-05:00

Just before Christmas, I joined a fiber of the month club hosted by Crown Mountain Farms. For the next six months I will receive a different fiber each month and hopefully learn to spin various sheep fibers. Each month I will write about the fiber of the month.

Falkland is the January fiber for the club. My understanding is this particular sheep fiber was only found in the Falkland Islands until very recently. Most people like it and think it is easy to spin. I am not a very good judge of spinning ease since I am so new to spinning.

Members could select a specific color or be surprised with a mystery color. I chose Planes of Bliss (although I have no idea where that name came from!). It arrived as "Top" which looked like this

I already spun and plied half and this is the result. It doesn't look like 2 oz but the large bobbin makes it look like there is less yardage than it really is. I need to spin and ply the remaining 2 oz before deciding what to knit. I think it is probably between DK and fingering wt.

I was very frustrated when I tried to use the jumbo flyer the first time because it was impossible to treadle. Today I asked my DS to start over and reassemble. Yaaay! It works! Obviously he did something wrong the first time and I thought there was a defect in the flyer. Success at last but I may have leg cramps tonight though. (vbg)

The only other spinning I did in the last week was this Merino. So far it has been easier to spin than Corriedale or the Falkland fibers but there is only 1 ounce. It came in a spindle kit which I never used (the spindle, not the fiber). I still have a "cloud" of green and a "cloud" of red to spin. Oh yes, it is on a TP roll!(LOL) At the time all my bobbins were filled so I wound it on the TP foll. It took about 8-10 phone calls to different sites which sell the Lendum spinning wheels before someone actually had bobbins. That place was "The Fold" and their customer service is excellent. Now I have extra bobbins. Goodbye TP rolls!

I am continuing to enjoy learning to spin but still have a long way to go. I have also been knitting but the projects are men's black and gray socks - size 11 - not a very interesting subject for a blog.

I hope everyone is staying warm in one of the coldest winters in many years. We are also very cold in the Deep South and getting colder. If our forecast is correct, I may even have snow pictures later this week (just what all of you with so much snow want to see - vbg).

Next............

2009-12-22T09:47:00.004-05:00

.......is my second attempt at spinning, Corriedale pencil roving in the Chinon colorway. I have several patterns in mind to knit it up but I still have at least another half of this roving to spin up. For now I am pleased although I need to learn to spin a more consistent thickness.

Who could guess this

Would look like this

I think watching the colors develop is part of the fun of spinning. Today I started the other half of this roving and it will be interesting to see if it looks different.

Practice, practice, practice!

Yummy!

2009-12-13T11:21:00.006-05:00

No, not this. I will show you the "yummy" photo next.

This is my first handspun yarn using the ugly brown fiber. (It looks grey in the photos because it never stops raining!) The only reason I even posted this photo is so that I can remember how terrible my first yarn looks. The good thing is I learned a lot by going through the entire process of spinning, plying, washing, "whacking", and drying (I still need to learn how to tie it into a skein!) It is definitely "thick and thin" and will be saved for posterity, not used to knit.

Here is the Yummy photo.......a chocolate devil's food, chocolate ganache cake with chocolate mint leafs for decoration. I didn't bake it, my son did! He is going to a party this afternoon where guests were asked to bring a dessert which will be judged. The best cake will win a prize.

Notice the chocolate leafs. You make them by painting real mint leafs and then gently removing the leafs once the chocolate sets up. Walla!....pure chocolate mint leafs!

I think he should win but naturally I am not biased.(LOL)

Chronicles of a Wannabee Spinner

2009-12-10T16:33:00.008-05:00

DATELINE:

December 1st: A heavy box is delivered and left outside my door. While shopping earlier that morning, I injured my back when I lifted a full-size artist easel (Christmas gift for son). I drag the box indoors.

December 2d: DS assembles my hard to find Lendrum DT Complete spinning wheel which is made by a man in Canada (Gord Lendrum) and very much in demand. I sit back and admire the craftsmanship.

December 3d: Watch YouTube videos and read new spinning books. Begin to try spinning with this (ugly)fiber, also delivered with the spinning wheel(note to self - never buy this fiber again!).

December 4th til now (December 10th)

Watched lots of YouTube videos and read spinning books. Practiced treadling and drafting. Back still sore and spinning practice is very limited. So far I know I am Not a natural spinner (it's harder than I thought!). I have always self-taught myself to do everything (sewing, crochet, knitting, oil and watercolor painting, machine embroidery, etc.) Now that I would like a few lessons, there are NO lessons to be found anywhere in my area! No shops here sell spinning wheels or even spindles! Thank goodness for YouTube!

Maybe it's the ugly fiber which is filled with bits of wood and other things of which I know not. I am told it is called vegetable matter (VM). Hmmm!

And so, I ordered more fiber and after I finish this post, I am joining a fiber club. Me give up!....Never!(LOL)

This gorgeous fiber is just waiting for me. I can't wait to finish spinning the ugly brown fiber and try my luck with this beautiful Blue Face Leicester and
gorgeous red Corriedale.

This probably was not the best time to learn something as new as spinning (Christmas?). Maybe it's a good thing to have a new hobby for the New Year! Soooo, if anyone out there is interested in learning to spin, do not let my experience stop you. I certainly do not plan to stop either.

Juliet and a Warning!

2009-11-24T06:45:00.004-05:00

I normally do not enjoy knitting scarves but this scarf was an exception. I liked Juliet from the beginning but I thought it should be longer.

The original pattern is a short 37" scarf knit with only one skein of yarn. I doubled the length which IMO is better. I used two skeins of Knitpick's Swish DK in "Dusk" and my scarf is 58" long after blocking. I meant it to be a gift but now I think I will keep it for myself.

I think the reason I liked it is because the two sides are not symmetrical. Notice how one side is garter stitch while the other side is diamonds.

WARNING! WARNING!

Be careful, VERY careful or you may catch the BUG which is going around! No, I am not talking about the H1N1 virus. This is the BUG I caught from Kathy and Pat Yep, I placed my order yesterday for this elusive wheel. Yikes! Just don't expect to see results anywhere close to these two anytime soon. I know my New Year will be full of lots of learning and probably as many frustrations.(LOL)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

November??

2009-11-16T06:13:00.006-05:00

This is an Arts Fair we went to yesterday. My son is an artist and wanted to see some of the paintings other artists in our area are selling. He plans to join the Arts Council, mostly for an outlet to sell his paintings and I may join too after seeing the prices of some of these amateur paints.(LOL)

It was a beautiful day in the mid 70's but......A Christmas tree already??? (Santa was there also!)

Also unusual for November were the geraniums and camelias in full bloom. Geraniums usually bloom in the Spring and camelias bloom in the Winter.

The only word I can think of which describes this scene is Surreal! Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Meret Beret

2009-11-12T09:31:00.003-05:00

The sun is finally shining so I grabbed my camera. This is the Meret Beret, another gift crossed off my holiday list. Shhh! Don't tell anyone but the yarn is acryllic! Why?

Last year I entered the LionBrand contest with my first ever attempt of Kathy's glittens. I never thought I would be a finalist but when I was, I had to knit them again to submit for judging. I didn't win anything except a few gift certificates but Hey!.......it was better than winning nothing. As a result, I have two identical pairs of glittens which needed a matching hat. At least the young lady who receives the set will not be able to felt them.

I also finished another hat but it requires matching mittens which I hope to knit soon.

Every time I think I have almost finished holiday knitting, I think of more and more projects. What will I knit once the holiday knitting is finished?? Maybe I should start my 2010 holiday knitting.......LOL

Amanda

2009-11-10T08:04:00.004-05:00

This is the Amanda hat which I knit several weeks ago.

The yarn is Paton's Classic Wool in soft rose. I have always enjoyed knitting with Paton's Classic Merino Wool which is comparable to Cascade 220. Unfortunately Paton's recently changed the fiber content and it is no long Merino wool. This is an example of less quality IMO.

Yesterday I finished the Meret Tam by Wooly Wormhead. It is a very fun pattern which was easy to memorize. I will try to get photos if it every stops raining.(sigh)

Most of the projects I am knitting are still boring men's knits. Whew! I am anxious to finish them so that I can get back to prettier projects.

I should have taken photographs last week when the weather was beautiful because now it is impossible. As I write this post, TS Ida has already dumped 1 1/2" of rain and it is just beginning. Up to 6 inches is predicted through tomorrow with more flooding in the same areas which were devasted last month. Mother Nature is certainly strange this year!

Men's Knits

2009-11-03T10:46:00.006-05:00

Have you started or even finished your holiday knitting? I am well on my way and soon I can knit "pretty things" with pretty colors I like. I consider reds and blues as "basics" but never wear browns or greys. Unfortunately the men in my family like conservative colors. Sooooooo..........

This is my 3d Jacques Hat and I plan to knit at least 3 more. I love this pattern because (1) it is very warm and (2)the ribbed pattern stretches and should fit almost anyone. There is another very similar pattern named "Marsan" but I'll stick with this one. This time I used nature's brown Fisherman Wool on Knitpicks US 5 circulars and dpn's.

To go with the hat, I found the "Intercoastal Mittens". They are also ribbed and knit with the same yarn but the mittens are very long (11"). This morning I twisted a coathanger to make a "mitt blocker". It's very primitive but better than nothing.(LOL)

These grey convertible mittens complete a set of another Jacques Hat and the Seaman's Scarf. The pattern is "glomitts" which was designed to knit for soldiers in Afghanistan. Unfortunately I believe the glomitt KAL ended a year ago but the pattern is still available. You can find it listed at Ravelry. How did we ever get along without Ravelry??

My batteries died before I could get more photos but I'll be back with more projects very soon.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2009-10-31T06:35:00.006-04:00

Lately I find myself humming this song all the time.........."Rain, rain, go away, come again another day......". The problem is it doesn't go away and it continues to come another day. Blame it on El Nino according to the weather experts and they tell us to expect the same type of weather all the way through Winter and Spring! We are getting more rain in one day than our normal rainfall for the entire month of October (sigh)

Because it never stops raining and because I had a followup eye appointment this week with my eyes being dilated 7 times resulting in blurred vision for two days, I have no new photos of all the projects I've completed lately. I HAVE been knitting......really, although mostly boring "man" knits. In the last few weeks I completed another Jacques Costeau hat, the TurnASquare Hat by Brooklyn Tweed, Intercoastal Mitts, GloMitts (convertible mittens), an Amanda hat (to be frogged) and the Juliet scarf which was a free pattern from Knitting Daily. Most of these projects are in grey or brown (boring!). Juliet was the only feminine "pretty" project I've completed in awhile. Nevertheless, these projects almost complete my holiday knitting which means that soon I can knit what I like to knit. Next week is supposed to be nice (and sunny) so maybe I can finally photograph everything. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with this blog. The consolation is the new friends I've met - YOU!

Even the foliage in our part of the country is just beginning to change color. Blame that on excessive rain too (according to the weather experts). We went on a day trip to the North Georgia mountains last weekend where some of the trees were colorful but still not at their peak. I am anxiously awaiting beautiful colors here but until then, this was my Autumn Blaze and Bradford Pear trees in 2007 (during an extreme drought).

In the meantime, Happy Halloween to those of you who enjoy dressing up in strange costumes.(vbg)

Clandestine

2009-10-17T09:08:00.008-04:00

At last..........., my Clandestine socks are finished! The Ravelry CookieA KAL selections for October were Wandida and Clandestine. Normally my tastes in sock patterns are for more lacey, intricate patterns and I got my wish with Clandestine.

Yarn: Trekking XLL
Needles: 2.25mm(US1) double points
Mods: I had to stop the foot after 4 repeats and begin the toes (the pattern doesn't work to stop before the last row).

This pattern was tedious, to say the least. It is mostly twisted rib stitches, lots and lots of twisted rib stitches! I have knit so many twisted rib stitches that now I have to think before knitting a normal knit stitch!! Maybe they seemed tedious to me because I knit them with dpn's. I usually knit socks with 24" Knitpicks circulars but because of this pattern, dpn's just made more sense. My yarn choice was not the best either and doesn't show the detail as much as I would like.It has been raining - pouring - for a week so these photos are not in natural light. Maybe today we will finally see the sun - I don't know. At least the temperature is Fall-like today and we finally needed heat. We actually have a freeze warning and maybe a few snow flurries in the mountains.

On the Needles -

Fingerless mittens for a nephew. Men's knits are soooooo boring, aren't they! I cast on late last night and hope they will be a fast knit.

Also a cardigan which I should work on soon.

This is "Mr Greenjeans" which I started last Spring. I put it away for Summer and thought I would finish before cold weather arrived. Now I am really thinking about frogging the entire thing. It still needs sleeves and bands but do I like it?? Maybe not.

Finally,I forgot I had this very old prayer book until I spotted it this morning. It once belonged to my Father's grandmother and somehow I got it. It is very worn and the pages are loose.

Look at the date of publication if you can see it - 1898 (click on photo for a larger view). This is a treasure which I cherish. I should probably have it rebound but somehow I prefer it as it is - worn and tattered (like me - vbg).

MARLENE

2009-09-23T15:34:00.006-04:00

The two patterns selected for September's CookieA KAL were Angee and Marlene. I already knit Angee and didn't plan to knit Marlene until I started to see some which were already finished. Now Marlene is one of my favorite CookieA patterns. Originally it was published in the Knit1 Fall/Winter 2008 issue but is now sold separately.

Back

The yarn was supposed to be sport weight but having none, I used fingering weight instead. The number of cast-on stitches are 68 increased to 72 for the cuff and reduced to 66 for the foot. Using sport weight yarn would have made them HUGE!

Pattern: Marlene by CookieA
Started: Sep 10
Finished: Sep20
Yarn: Knitpicks Essential in Burgandy
Needles: US2/3.00mm for cuff and US 1/2.50 for foot
Mods: Only knit 4 pattern repeats and slightly modified to round toes

Cookie has another sock book named "Sock Love" which is scheduled to be published late February or early Spring. This time the patterns will include several sizes. I can't wait!

FLOODS

I suppose everyone has seen the news and photos about all the flooding in north and central Georgia. From Extreme Drought to Extreme Flooding in one year, we just experienced a 100 year flood and more heavy rain is in the forecast. The rain fell for 6 days with as much as 15-21 inches last Sunday - all in one day! This is my nephew's restaurant where he is (was?) the Sommelier Wine Director. It was one of the finest restaurants just north of Atlanta with gorgeous gardens and excellent food. Now it is probably totally ruined. The water in this photo had already receded from the rooftop!

I tell ya, I never expected to see homes totally under water, people being rescued by boat from roof and car tops, interstates closed and looking like rivers, etc., etc.! It looks like Katrina in North Georgia! We sandbagged our back door but I am very grateful to have no damage. Where did our normally dry Fall go?

Finished!

2009-09-09T11:38:00.004-04:00

Last Wednesday I had unplanned laser surgery to repair a torn retina but now I am doing very well. When I am able to wear contacts again instead of glasses, I will be doing very, very well!

As a result, I have not been able to knit very much but have two finished projects. The first project is the Seaman's Scarf (free download at Knitpicks or Ravelry) which I finished pre-surgery. Most of the time I do not enjoy knitting scarves but this was different. I think it was because the monotony of knitting cables was broken by all the ribbing in the middle (or maybe it was the other way around). Jacques Coustea Hat No. 1 with the Seaman's Scarf makes a nice set for a very conservative man. It blocked to 7 inches wide by 72 inches long.

The day before my eye surgery, I cast on another Jacques Coustea hat. It is very simple K3, P2 ribbing for 8 inches which allowed me to knit after a couple of days. I call it the "UGA" hat, better known as the University of Georgia hat for one of my nephews. It will complete a set with red and black fingerless gloves (another Christmas gift finished!). This time I knit the smaller size but because it is very stretchy, I think it would fit most men (women too). I used 100% wool and US 5 needles.

Needless to say, I didn't start the Cobblestone sweater as planned. Maybe in the future I will.

Most importantly, thanks again for the prayers and good wishes!

Jacques Cousteau Hat Number 845

2009-08-22T10:53:00.010-04:00

What a great hat! The ribbing makes this hat thick enough for very cold weather but the spiral top is fun and unique. It is also very stretchy which means it will fit most men (women too). I also think it is the type hat most men will actually wear.- nothing fancy, just conservative the same as Jacques Cousteau always wore.

Warning! The 8 inches of ribbing is boring but then the decreases begin and form a spiral top which makes it more fun to knit.

I will definitely knit this pattern again and again. Mine is knit with about 240 yards of 100% wool on Knitpicks US 5 circulars and dpn's.

Next I started the Seaman's scarf from Knitpicks. The cabled ends are attractive but the ribbing in the middle of the scarf seem to match the ribbing on the hat. I knit 14 inches when I decided it is too narrow. Now I am starting again with larger needles but I haven't frogged the first attempt - yet. Maybe I'll knit it for myself. It feels great to finish over half of my Christmas knitting this early!

Once the scarf is finished, I am seriously thinking about knitting Brooklyn Tweed's Cobblestone pullover. I plan to start September 1st. Anyone interested in joining me?

Vilai

2009-08-16T15:23:00.005-04:00

This may be my favorite sock pattern from CookieA's "Sock Innovation" book. Cookie named this Japanese stitch pattern after her Mother so it must be one of her favorites too. It was a little slow to knit because of so many K3togethers but I would knit it again and probably will. It did require concentration (ask me how I know!) The pattern is clearly written and with no errata! At least 10 other patterns do have errata.

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in turquoise. My camera shows it as blue no matter what I do but the turrquoise is actually prettier. I knit them with Knitpick's US 1 circulars and dpn's. I was concerned about having enough because the cuffs are much longer than my preferred length. While knitting the first socks, I weighed the remaining ball over and over and finally knew I wouldn't run out. I had 14 grams left over from a 113 gram skein.

And so, here they are (finally)

Back

Now I am starting the Jacques Cousteau hat (free pattern at Ravelry) for my brother who lives in Geneva, Switzerland and can wear warm wool. I also plan to knit a scarf and glittens. The hat and scarf will be boring for awhile but after these socks, boring sounds very good for awhile.(vbg)

New and Old Projects

2009-08-05T10:32:00.003-04:00

Each month the Ravelry CookieA Sock Innovation Group votes two patterns for the Knit-A-Long, one from the book and another from a website (free or for purchase). I was hoping August's book selection would be Vilai and it was. The other pattern is one I probably will not knit (Summer Soxx). Vilai is just complex enough that it requires concentration and will take awhile to finish.

This is my progress so far. I would have been farther along but made a mistake and had to frog several times. After that I skipped a day but now I am ready to begin the heel flap. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in turquoise and is showing the stitch detail very well.

My old project is really not that old but I forgot to post a photo once it was finished. It is the Odessa hat designed by Grumperina (aka Kathy) and available at Ravelry. Her's had beads but I just purled the stitches where the beads should be. The yarn is Knitpick's Swish DK in eggplant and also matches mittens I knit last year.

Until next time I have something finished (which may be awhile if it is Vilai), I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer. As for me, I am counting the days until Fall! This has been a very hot, stormy, and wet Summer and I can't wait for cooler and drier days.

FernGlade

2009-07-27T11:32:00.003-04:00

Another Tam finished (and dried) and another strike off my Christmas gift list. I don't have matching mittens in this color but maybe I'll knit a scarf instead. It feels so good to finish a few gifts in July. I have one more hat to knit for the girls. After that will be several men's hats (did I hear Boring?)

For now, however, this is FernGlade also knit with Knitpicks Merino Style DK on US 5 Options circulars and double points. I didn't link to the pattern but it is at Knitty.com. Once it was finished, I almost frogged the entire hat because it looked huge. Blocking over a dinner plate again was the secret. I won't say it was as much fun to knit as the Lace Tam - but it is done.

COOKIEA SOCKS
Knitting hats has been a good way to finish a few quick projects while I wait for the next Ravelry CookieA Sock Innovation KAL. There is a big voting war between "Angie" and "Vilai" but I am still hoping Vilai will be the choice. I would like to knit Vilai with this Lorna's Laces yarn which is very nostalgic to me. The lavender color reminds me of little girls and Easter. (Then again, I could change my mind by August 1st and use Lisa Souza St. Valentine yarn -red!)

QUESTION: I know some of you have knit men's socks. Can you let me know how much yarn they took? Several months ago I purchased 6 skeins of "manly" sock yarn but now I am afraid none have the yardage needed. The shoe size I will use is between 10.5 and 11. If you know of a stretchy pattern for men, I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

Lace Tam

2009-07-23T11:38:00.006-04:00

My latest project is this Lace Tam by Susan Rainey who blogs with her sister at http://theraineysisters.com/ There is a matching scarf but I probably will not knit it. I used Knitpicks Merino Style DK on their US 5 needles and dpn's. It took less than two skeins - I had 23 grams of the 2d skein left over. I loved knitting this hat! It only took a couple of nights and goes with mittens I knit last Winter. One Christmas gift off the list! (LOL)

Here is Cleo modeling her new Tam

Top View

Even the blocking was fun. I followed Susan's directions to use a 10" plate and it worked perfectly.

This was such a fun project that I looked for other Tam patterns to go with mittens I knit last Winter. I am almost finished with Fernglade but I admit I like the Lace Tam better.

These Tams have been fun projects while I wait for the Ravelry Sock Innovation Group's selection for the August KAL. I hope it will be Vilai!

Do you believe I had "fun" knitting these hats? I just realized I said "fun" more times than I want to count.(vbg)

Hedera

2009-07-17T07:54:00.009-04:00

I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted. Yes, I am still knitting but very, very slowly in the Summer heat.

July's selections for the Ravelry CookieA Sock Innovation KAL are "Rick" and "Hedera". I knit the Hedera pattern which is free from Knitty.com. The yarn is Cascade Heritage superwash merino/nylon and I knit them with Knitpicks US 1 (2.50mm) circulars. It's strange but when I saw this pattern several years ago, I didn't really care for it. Now that I knit it, I like them. I don't remember how many times I started "Rick", frogged, started again, etc. The problem is a 60 stitch cast on which is too small. Cookie's suggestion for resizing is (1) add a pattern repeat or (2) use a larger needle size or thicker yarn. I tried both suggestions but (1) the pattern repeat is a 12 stitch repeat which made them too large and (2) knitting with a larger needle size produced a flimsey fabric. Too bad I couldn't make the pattern work. It is a very easy pattern and I like the look of the design.

Has anyone ever seen, grown, cooked, or tasted green eggplants? DS accidentally got this instead of the purple eggplant. So far I sauteed them but they tasted terrible! Any recipes will be much appreciated!

One of my favorite things about Summer is Crepe Myrtle trees which bloom from now until ..............?? I have about 7 trees which are just beginning to bloom.

Hopefully it won't be another 3 weeks before I have a finished project to show you. Next time it will not be socks.

Sunshine

2009-06-22T09:57:00.005-04:00

"Sunshine" by CookieA. This is the Ravelry KAL selection for June but I do not qualify. I was between projects when I cast on sometime earlier and then they were selected for the June KAL. That's okay - I like them anyway.

The entire time I was knitting them, John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulder" was running through my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about the song! Then last week on the hottest days of the year, I started to not like the word "Sunshine". I wonder how hot July and August will be.

Anyway, notice the change in color between the two socks? I didn't see it until the second sock was almost finished. The yarn is from the same big skein and the change of color is surprising. It is Lisa Souza's Sock! in the Can't-Elope colorway which I had in my stash. Lisa's yarn is one of my favorites but this is the first time there has been such a difference in color. It's okay since they are for me but I doubt I would want them to be a gift. They fit perfectly. They were knit with US 1.5 KP's Options Circulars with no modifications to the pattern.

I think I will wait for the announcement of the July selection before I cast on another CookieA pattern. I hope it will be one I like. Sock knitting is about the coolest thing I can think to knit in this excessive summer heat.

Hemlock Ring Blanket

2009-06-15T08:12:00.004-04:00

What a fun project to knit! As of this morning, this is the 2655th Hemlock Ring Blanket on Ravelry. It only took about 10 days of evening/TV watching from start to finish. It really is "mindless" knitting once the center motif is finished although the center is not difficult either. The only thing which was difficult for ME was the circular cast-on which I had never tried. I used Emily Ocker's crochet cast-on but next time will use Wendy's which she posted just today.

There were lots of Ravelry people who mentioned having difficulty blocking to make their blanket flat. I was also concerned that mine would not change from this

to this

I soaked mine in cold water for 30 minutes, wrapped in towels to remove the excess water, and then pinned to my blocking tiles. It blocked perfectly flat.
I used Paton's 100% wool before investing in Cascade Eco Wool which Jerod used. I needed to know if it would lay flat before I make that purchase. Now I want to get my hands on the Cascade Eco yarn and knit another!

There are several KAL Groups to knit this pattern and some have extended charts to make the blanket larger. I used BrooklynTweed's chart, stopping as he did. My Hemlock measures 4 ft. 3 inches which is a perfect size for a lap blanket.

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket
Yarn: Paton's 100% Wool
Color: Aran
Needles: US 10.5 Susan Bates dpns and KP's circulars with 32" and 47" cables;
Crochet hook US K

Now I have started a new secret lace project - using lace weight yarn. More about that later.

It's Hot!

2009-06-02T17:16:00.007-04:00

It is 91 degrees and what am I knitting?? A blanket!!! To be exact, it is BrooklynTweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket. I should be knitting lace (but I am not good at knitting lace), socks, or some other small cool project. This looks very small but I think it is about two feet in diameter as of now. It is surprisingly a very enjoyable - almost a "mindless" knitting project for lazy hot days. I am half way through Jerod's original chart and will post photos once it is blocking. I understand there have been problems with it laying flat so I will keep my fingers crossed for a flat blanket. Jerod's pattern had a small error which has been corrected and linked to the corrections by "The Rainey Sisters".

Some of you may remember our patio gazebo storm damage photo last March (this hole got much larger while we waited to buy a new one).

The patio gazebos are not in the stores until late Spring but we finally have our new one installed. This is how we spent our weekend - removing the old gazebo, pressure washing the patio, and installing the new gazebo.

We also installed matchstick blinds for additional shade in late afternoon.

And can you believe another bird built her nest on our patio?? This time it is in a planter filled with silk flowers!!! The two babies are one week old but I worry about them being too hot. I move them around because they chirp and chirp when they are in the hot sun. Silly birds!

Pomotamus (and other green things)

2009-05-19T11:48:00.009-04:00

Pomotamus - What a strange name for a pair of socks! Cookie wrote:

"The finished socks are reminiscent of blue-green fish scales hence the name Pomatomus, the genus of the blue fish."

And so, in honor of the blue fish, I chose Lisa Souza's Sock! in South Pacific. (Not really - it just happened that way). I found this pattern not very difficult but oh so tedious to knit. It's probably because I really do not enjoy knitting through the back loop as much as these socks require. Nonetheless, I finished and I love them! My only modification was knitting two pattern repeats plus 7 rows for the cuff instead of a full three pattern repeats. As usual, I used Knitpicks Options 1.5 circulars

Tomatoes - We have Tomatoes!! I am tempted to pick this one for "fried green tomatoes" but I suppose I can wait awhile longer.

Have you ever seen such a small bell pepper? (it's in the center, just below the bloom) It is about the size of a pea. Guess this is the first time I ever tried to grow bell peppers. I think it is cute.

We also planted a few herbs which we are already using in our cooking

and my Earthbox is planted with another tomato, a green eggplant, and a banana pepper. This is the first time in at least 15 years for me to grow anything edible. Growing in containers limits the number of plants but there is no weeding. Actually, Georgia red clay would need to be tilled and tilled and tilled with lots of amendments. People do have gardens here, though.

Now back to knitting. This is the time I always dread - trying to decide on my next project.

Purple

2009-05-07T16:45:00.009-04:00

What I am Knitting - "Mr PurpleJeans" (AKA "Mr. Greenjeans)

In my Yard- Purple Rhododendrons (okay, maybe they are lavender)

AND - Purple Salvia just beginning to bloom

New sock yarn

All of this purple (okay, lavender too) reminds of a poem. I only remember a few lines:

"When I grow old, I will wear purple....................

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple."

Oh well it's probably too late! (vbg)

Stitches South!

2009-04-27T12:01:00.009-04:00

Stitches South was in Atlanta this past weekend, April 24-26. There was so much yarn everywhere!

The exhibition hall was at the Cobb Galleria which adjoins the Rennaissance Hotel. It was a beautiful location for the event.

Wouldn't you know my recurring back problem......... well, uh.....recurred starting last Monday. Most of the week I was either sitting or in the bed, trying to regain enough strength to go to Stitches. I didn't do housework, I didn't do laundry, I didn't shop for groceries, but....I went to Stitches! My son drove so that I wouldn't have to walk from the parking lot. Good thing he did because there was not a single parking space when we arrived at 10:00AM (opening time).

Over 200 vendors and every major yarn manufacturer were there. I was overwhelmed with so much gorgeous yarn as well as every notion imaginable. It was so nice to be able to see and feel the different yarn brands since I do not have a yarn shop anywhere close to me. My first stop was at WEBS which had more booths than anyone. I purchased enough yarn for my next cardigan and was able to see the color which is a medium teal (Ocean Heather).

Eventually I met Chappy and her husband who make and sell most of the wood sock blockers you see on blogs, etc. She was such a nice person! I am sorry I didn't get a photo of her booth.

Then I finally met Lisa Souza and her husband. Her yarn is gorgeous but I already knew that because most of my socks are knit with her yarn. She was tired and so was I in this photo.

One of the most unusual things I saw were these gigantic knitting needles. What size could they be - 100 -- 150? You could knit an entire afghan in about an hour with these needles.(LOL) She also had extremely large crochet hooks.

My only regret was not buying more yarn, needles, notions, books, patterns, etc......... Next year when Stitches returns to Atlanta April 22-25, I will be ready!

Angee

2009-04-16T09:21:00.009-04:00

Angee is the first pattern from Cookie's new book which I chose to knit (it's easy!). While I was knitting them (the same socks I messed up during stormy weather), I thought they were not the prettiest pattern I have ever seen. The purl and knit rows looked like something I have seen crawling??

Once I tried them on my feet, the pattern looked very different and one I like very much.

Pattern: Angee from Sock Innovations
Yarn: Cascade Heritage fingering wt (a gift from Kathy)
Needles: US 2 Options circulars

I loved knitting this pattern! It is very easy (unlike many of her designs) and her method of picking up stitches for the gusset is slightly different. She uses one or two stitches from the top of the foot, transferred to the gusset which totally prevents holes. My only problem with most of her patterns is the small sizes. All of her patterns are supposedly a woman's medium size 8 but I am not too sure about that with so many 60 stitch cast-ons. I wear size 8 1/2 and have a very narrow foot. My normal cast on is 68 stitches but this particular pattern has a cast-on of 65 stitches for the cuff reduced to 64 for the top of the foot and sole. I modified the sole by keeping 36 stitches on the sole until I reached the toes. To get back to an even number of stitches to close the toes, I decreased the sole stitches two times when I worked the "knit" row. Make sense?? It works for me.

Next is the Sunshine pattern with a cast-on of 60 stitches, increased to 80 stitches for the leg, and back to 60 for the foot. My modifications may not work for this pattern.

What could be prettier than red roses?? - a birthday surprise from DS

Boy said, I want a new toy too!

Spring!!!

2009-04-11T08:14:00.006-04:00

It's nice to have warmer temperatures and Spring flowers. It's also fun to watch the birds building their nests, enjoy the return of Hummingbirds, and feed the Canada Geese. Boy even tolerates "Maggie and Jake" when DS feeds them.

But!.........Winter snow you think? Oh no, yesterday's temperature was 72 degrees which brought severe weather and dumped hail everywhere. This is just one view in a Georgia neighborhood but reports of baseball-size hail were everywhere.

No Wonder! The National Storm Center put us in a "High Risk" area for tornadoes and issued a "PDS" (Particularly Dangerous Storms) - for the first time in Georgia history! We had over 30 tornado warnings (not watches) with winds over 100 mph and large, baseball-size damaging hail. My roof is already scheduled for replacement because of hail damage and I am happy it was not already replaced. What happens when a new roof is damaged again in a month or two of being replaced?? Will the insurance company replace it again?

I sat in my kitchen and knit for 6 hours, watching TV live weather coverage as the storms "trained". The weather alert radio sounded every few minutes and tornado sirens were heard so much that I could still hear the sounds after they stopped. I thought knitting would calm my nerves and it did! Good, I thought - I will finish this sock tonight. After the storms finally ended, I looked at my sock and realized I had missed several rows. I ripped and ripped - so many rows but couldn't find my place. Rip!

There was a time when April was a beautiful month. We never had tornadoes - or snow and earthquakes, not in the month of April or any other month of the year. People only knew about tornadoes which struck a town in NE Georgia in 1937. April is still a pretty month with dogwoods and azaleas in bloom and nice warm temperatures. It is not nice when there is severe weather which seems to occur every 3 or 4 days. What happened?

Until Sunday evening, I have the pleasure of nice Spring weather. Until Sunday evening! Anyone know where there are no tornadoes?

Next time I hope to have a pair of finished socks, or at least a photo of new yarn.

Happy Easter!

Makin' Cookies

2009-04-06T11:19:00.008-04:00

Don't you wonder how many knitters are using this same blog title since receiving the new Cookie book?(lol)

In my last post, I showed you my new book of socks by Cookie A. Look what else I received in the mail!

This lovely yarn is an early birthday gift from my friend Kathy.
I wanted to try Cascade Heritage sock yarn for the longest time and now I can. Red and blue are two of my favorite colors too.

Now I am makin' Cookies. My first selection from the book is "Angee"using my gorgeous RED (what else??) yarn. This is my choice for the April Free-For-All at Ravelry. Thanks again, Kathy!

SPRING!
Isn't this strange weather for Spring? We are having severe storms (hail, lightning, strong winds, tornadoes) about every 3-5 days. Oh yes, there were two minor earthquakes last Saturday afternoon - only 28 miles away. We are not supposed to have earthquakes in Georgia!!! All of this bad weather has hampered my knitting time (not to mention damaging my roof) as Boy and I hide in the downstairs bathroom with my emergency radio, flashlights, and pillows. In between storms, I try to catch up with routine chores such as laundry and cleaning. It hasn't left much time to knit.

On a positive note, I have petunias in bloom but in the wrong location.

I didn't plant them behind the flower pot where they grew last Summer but I suppose the seeds which fell from last year's blooms rooted. Tomorrow morning our forecast is 28 degrees and with a chance of snow. Gee! It isn't even Blackberry Winter yet!

Do You See What I See???

2009-03-31T14:49:00.007-04:00

These socks are for my DS (men's size 11). The pattern is a simple 1X1 ribbed cuff followed by 3X1 ribbing (the same as the Thuja socks but with fingering weight yarn). Most of his socks are worsted weight, which knit up fast. These fingering weight socks took much longer on US 1 (2.50MM) needles He wants more.(sigh)

I was pleased with how my stripes matched until................Do you see what I see??

At first I thought I missed a row...or somehow did something wrong. Then I realized there is a flaw in the stripes of this yarn. See? Just where the heel flap begins, there is an extra strip of white where the wider blue strip should be. No wonder the yarn has been discontinued.

I am trying to update my blog but I have more to do. I was still using the old template without all of the new features until yesterday. It is taking awhile to learn about "gadgets" and "widgets" but I will get there someday.

How many of you have already received your new CookieA's book.......Innovations of a Sock knitter? Mine arrived unexpectedly last Saturday, before the scheduled delivery date of April 1st. I have already selected a favorite pattern but more about that later.

In the Mail!

2009-03-24T07:58:00.002-04:00

I am still in shock that my glittens were selected as a Finalist in the Vanna's Choice Contest. Instructions were to tag the project and mail to arrive by April 6th for final judging. Yesterday I mailed them for final judging which is supposed to happen on April 30th.

There are four categories in the Vanna's Choice Contest: Afghans, Baby, Craft, and Fashion. There will be about 30 prizes awarded from 100 finalists and winners will be notified around May 1st. . The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two with 2 airline tickets and hotel accommodations to Los Angeles, $500, and tickets to be in the audience of Wheel of Fortune. (My sister-in-law loves that show and never misses it!) The next prize is $1,000 in each of the categories. $100 gift certificate will also be given to the 3d prize winner.

I never win anythng but I already feel like a winner to have my project in the finals! I'll let you know if I win anything, but I am not really counting on it.

Finalist???

2009-03-12T08:13:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I received this message from LionBrand.

"Congratulations! Your contest entry, entitled Glittens (Mittens +Gloves= Glittens!), has been selected as a Finalist among thousands of entries in the Vanna’s Choice Contest sponsored by Lion Brand Yarn Company and Michaels Stores, Inc"

Remember my first attempt to knit Kathy's wonderful glittens?

LionBrand had a contest for projects knit with Vanna's Choice yarn and I entered these glittens. This was the only time I knit anything with this yarn and I did it because......it was my first attempt to knit the glittens. I've written to LionBrand and told them Kathy
should be the finalist, not me!!!

My current project while waiting to receive CookieA's new book is a mitered scarf.

It is a design by The Yarnarian and a new technique for me. It is a very good way to use that sock yarn which you no longer like! Mine is a Knitpicks yarn which has been discontinued. As with most popular projects, there is a Ravelry Group knitting the scarf. Mine is longer than in this photo, about half finished.

Since my "snow" post, our temperatures soared to the low 80's. I went from wearing wool socks, coats, and glittens to short sleeves, shorts and sandals - all within a week. Whew! We have a few cooler days ahead but it looks like a long, hot Summer in our future.

Snow - Southern Style

2009-03-02T08:34:00.015-05:00

March 1, 2009 - a rare snow storm. There was a time when we used to get snow several times each Winter but never on March 1st. I know because March 1st is my son's birthday.

Snow started to fall around 10:00am - huge, quarter-size snowflakes. It continued most of the day with a total of about 6 inches.

After about 3 hours, the trees were covered

The birds were hungry

and my gazebo was ripped because of the heavy snow on its top

The nice thing about snow in the South is Friday's forecast.

Please don't laugh.(vbg) I know most of you get snow all Winter long but snow has become a rare "Southern Style" treat for us. Schools are closed, businesses are opening late, kids are playing in the snow. Better hurry, it will all be gone by afternoon.

Samples

2009-02-25T11:02:00.009-05:00

Lately I just cannot seem to finish anything - I think I have Spring Fever - already!

First, I started the Pomotamus socks which I put aside for a later time. They are just not fun to knit, at least not for me.

Then I started another pair of men's socks which I will finish. This time I am knitting with fingering wt. yarn in a ribbed pattern which is the same as the Thuja socks.

Next I thought I thought I would start a knitted afghan using sampler blocks. I have crocheted lots and lots of afghans but never knit one. So far I have one block finished (sigh). At least I learned a new stitch - the trinity stitch which was a first for me.

What I really want to do is crochet this afghan again. This was a fisherman aran afghan in the tunisian stitch which I crocheted at least 25 years ago. (I remember being in the hospital while I was crocheting it, which is how I know how old it is.)It has been used almost every day since I made it but is finally beginning to fuzz after 100's of washings. Usually I keep old patterns but this one is no where to be found. If anyone sees it anywhere, please tell me where. It is my all time favorite and I cannot believe I didn't keep the pattern! Maybe I could chart it.

eta - The pattern in the afghan looks off balance but that is because I didn't get it straightened before I took the photo. The diamonds and "vee's" really are balanced, not askew as in the photo.

A Little of This and That

2009-02-15T10:19:00.006-05:00

It's Cherry Blossom time! My cherry trees do not bear fruit but are ornamental only. They are almost finished blooming which seems earlier than last year. I wish the photo was brighter but it is a cloudy day with a forecast of rain. The rain could finish the blossoms so I didn't wait for a sunny day.

The blue denim Thujas are finished. It is supposed to be cooler this week which means they will be worn tomorrow before Spring sets in. These will be the last of the men's socks until.......??

Yesterday I pre-ordered both CookieA's and Wendy's new sock books. There is a Ravelry Kal for Cookie's new book which I joined as well. I have never knit socks from the toe-up so Wendy's patterns may be a challenge. I think socks are in my future knitting plans!

Finally, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Ravelry supposedly had an option to send Valentine's cards but I never got it to work. This is my "Valentine" pillow which I machine embroidered. I like hearts any time of the year!

Quilted Wallhanging

2009-02-12T20:08:00.009-05:00

Lately I have trouble deciding what I want to knit next. Now that the weather is warmer, mittens no longer seem appropriate even though there are so many I still want to knit. So while I am finishing another boring pair of men's Thuja socks, I thought I would show you a quilted wallhanging I made.

As you can see, I have my favorite Hummingbird "smelling" the tulips. Yes, I know hummingbirds don't smell them but I like hummingbirds and tulips.(vbg) I call this my Spring Wallhanging which has some of my favorite things.

First I appliqued the tulips and greenery from fabric I happened to have on hand.

Then I machine embroidered the bunnies and hummingbird directly to the fabric.

The background is one of the few times I ever tried free motion stippling but I think it turned out okay.

The Spring Interweave Knits magazine arrived today! I think I may be inspired to knit one of the new cardigans.

Spring Forward!

2009-02-09T09:09:00.006-05:00

No, it isn't that time of year yet so don't change your clocks!(LOL)

This is the Spring Forward pattern from Knitty.com. The yarn is Blue Moon Socks That Rock Peaseblossom which is no longer available. I won it several years ago and never found a suitable pattern until now. This yarn pools worse than any yarn I ever used. There is still a little bit of pooling in this pattern but you should have seen it in the first three patterns I tried. The pattern is one I like very much and will knit again with a yarn which has a more subtle color variation.

I am still knitting with stash yarn which feels great but I won't promise how long my "stash-busting" episode will last.(vbg)

Half Skein Wonders!

2009-01-27T16:05:00.007-05:00

Do you have an odd ball of yarn with no idea what you can knit with only one skein? I did! About a year ago, my son who lives in the Twin Cities gave me several non-matching skeins of Plymouth worsted weight yarn but I couldn't think of anything to make with just one skein. Since I am "stash-busting" lately, I was determined to use at least one of the skeins. After all, Moms feel compelled to make something when their sons are nice enough to go to a yarn shop (The Yarnery, if anyone knows that shop).

This is what I came up with. First, a pair of fingerless gloves in a very simple and fast pattern which is free at Ravelry.

Then I found this cowl pattern, also free at Ravelry. It has a strange name, "Dark Side Cowl", although it doesn't look dark to me! Well, maybe just a tad.

Here is Cleo wearing it

and a closer look at the stitch pattern

I know, the cowl would look better in a solid color but what's a Mom to do? Each pattern took only a half skein of yarn (100 yards each) and a couple of evenings to knit while watching TV. (He sent the book too.)

Big Green Socks

2009-01-21T14:19:00.004-05:00

Last week when a very cold Arctic Blast arrived (11 degrees F, -2 wind chill .......the coldest it has been in almost 7 years!), I offered a pair of Thuja wool socks to my son. I knit them last year but he didn't want them then. Now he says they make his feet "feel happy" - something we women have known for a very long time.

Soooooo, now he has another pair (the third pair of Thuja's I've knit, one going to my son in Minnesota). This is such a nice pattern for men's socks and they like them too.(LOL)

Pattern: Thuja
Yarn Knitpicks Swish Superwash WW wt.
Color Jade
Size Men's 10 1/2
Needles Sizes 6 (4mm) and 5 (3.75mm) Susan Bates DPN's
Mods Cast-on 48 stitches instead of 44

Boy says, "when does it get warm again?"

Moose Loves Roses

2009-01-14T08:07:00.012-05:00

This is a "first" for me - I never knit an animal before. It was designed by
Jorid Linvik for a Ravelry KAL but I know you have all seen it. They are a little smaller than other patterns I've finished but still wearable. I tried to follow Pat's
modifications - my first braided cast-on and a "Kihnu vit" which I had never even heard about. It seems I have been knitting them for a very long time but they really only took a few days once I sat down and knit.
Pattern: Moose Loves Roses
Yarn; Knitpicks Essential
Needles: US 1's and 2's - dpn's

What I have REALLY been doing ---

This is the time of year I always get into a cleaning out/organizing mood and how I have really been spending my time. I had tons of fabric and yarn which I knew I would never use so gathered it up to go to the Senior Center (I saved some quilt batting and just a little fabric). Then I purchased clear plastic bins for the yarn and sorted it by weight, not color.

Next I separated the circular needles from dpn's and stored them in their very own shoebox-size containers with knitting notions in yet another container. The straight needles had to go into a drawer but I rarely use them anyway.

I love being able to see what I have at a glance but now I think I need to go on a yarn diet. This is my new system, visible and stored at one end of my closet. I would love to hear about yours!

Boy says, "I need my toys organized too!"

Year's End - - Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T14:34:00.006-05:00

Since Christmas, I had time to knit two Brooklyn Tweed hats. One is already being worn by my son in Georgia and the other goes to my son in Minneapolis. The second (brown) turned out better. The beige with red stripes was knit with Cascade 220 and the brown striped hat was knit with Paton's Classic Merino. Paton's seems warmer to me.

These hats and all of the mittens I knit before Christmas have helped to significantly reduce my stash (it's a good thing!).

Top of "square" hat

Just as I finished taking these photos, my son came in from doing errands and brought my new model. Meet "Cleopatra"! Guess I'll have to knit more hats for her to model.

I also finished a project I started last Fall - my faux Noro scarf. The yarn is Paton's SWS which is splitty but sooooo soft that the results are worth the effort. It feels so good to finish what I started!

To all my friends who live in cold climates, I wish you warmer weather with NO piles of snow and NO ice storms or blizzards!! I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas or whichever holiday you celebrate.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-22T08:52:00.008-05:00

I almost forgot to photograph the last of the mittens and actually removed them from their gift bags so that I could. All last week was gloomy and raining but today we have sun.

What to call the first two pair is puzzling. Most people call them fingerless gloves but they do have fingers. I call them "half gloves". Both were knit with Patons 100% wool with US 5 and 6 double point needles. They fit a medium size man's hand.

These are the "Very Cabley Mittens", a free pattern at Ravelry.
I needed to knit something quick and these are a very fast knit. The yarn is Knitpick's Swish DK in Fired Brick, knit with US 4 and 5 dpn's. Warning - this color bleeds, a lot!

I hope everyone has finished their Christmas knitting and has a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! See you next year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Town

2008-12-15T17:57:00.010-05:00

Sometimes you just have to take a break from the holidays. I feel for everyone suffering from subzero temperatures while we are a balmy 70 degrees. It was nice today and I wanted to get out. Believe it or not, I had never parked and walked around our town square until today. This is what I saw (although it was cloudy and the photos are not very bright).

(Click on photos to embiggen)

Welcome Center (built in an old gas station)

This is a Civil War Monument. We also have monuments for VietNam Vets as well as Iraq veterans (just not in this location).

Shops around the town square

City Hall

Chameleon Lizard, enjoying the scenery and the mild weather

One of the houses near the town square, all decorated for Christmas

These photos do not really do justice to how beautiful our town square really is. I can just envision a Thomas Kinkade painting if he ever visits.

It was a nice day! Now back to knitting my final pair of mittens

Smittin' with Mittens

2008-12-01T09:02:00.008-05:00

I know - it's been too long since I blogged but I have been busy knitting mittens. Some took longer because I forgot and knit two lefthand mittens.(sigh) I also discovered that swatching is very important for mittens and swatched and frogged, then swatched and frogged again (at least 4 times!). Turns out that all of these are 6 stitches per inch on US 5 and 6 needles, perfect for the "guys". They also took longer because I was making up the pattern as I knit. Soooo, without further adieu, this is what I have been knitting lately:

Glittens for someone - either my son in MN or a nephew: I used Patons Classic Merino 100% wool in Brown and Cognac.

Next are my son in Georgia's glittens in red and black which he requested and is already wearing.

They match the hat I knit earlier this year.

Finally, these are just mittens. They do not have the finger inserts and are not convertible. They also take less time to knit.(LOL)

On my needles now are the Cigar gloves from Knitty. Unfortunately the color is very boring - Natural Heather. These were also frogged two times before getting a size which will fit a man (I hope!)

Red Mittens

2008-11-10T09:14:00.004-05:00

Exactly one week ago today, I received a nice surprise when I went to my mailbox. The surprise was a beautiful skein of Malabrigo Red yarn, a gift from my friend Kathy. I've already checked all the LYS's in my area and none of them sells Malabrigo yarn so I was thrilled to have a skein of my own. Thanks Kathy!

These mittens are the project I chose for my new yarn. They are the Chevalier mittens from Ravelry. I knit them exactly as written except I omitted one little "green secton" near the cuff so they would not be too long. They are so soft and warm, all because of the yarn. These will be mine - all mine.

Thanks again Kathy for the beautiful Malabrigo yarn. I think I used it wisely!

Something Different

2008-11-06T07:45:00.003-05:00

This is the Amanda Hat, a free Ravelry pattern which seems to be very popular. I knit it exactly as written except for adding another K2together round for the crown decreases. The entire hat only took two evenings of leisurely knitting and requires only about half of a skein of worsted weight yarn (50 grams) I used Valley Yarns Northampton leftover from my Inishmore sweater.

Now back to mittens. This is only the palm side but soon I will post the front. It is a lovely pattern which is also very popular at Ravelry.

Pirates for Halloween

2008-10-31T15:53:00.003-04:00

Pirates or Skulls??? I always thought pirates wore a patch over their eyes! These are for my teenage grandson - hope he likes them! Before I cast on, I read lots of posts at Ravelry from others who knit them and learned they knit up very small, "child size". Several who succeeded in knitting them larger used US 6 and 7 needles. So did I! (Isn't Ravelry great?) I also modified the cuffs and thumb and knit them in solid black.

Pattern: Pirate Mittens (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino 100% wool
Needles: US 3 dpns for cuffs and US 7 for mittens

This is the closest "scary" thing I have for Halloween but I hope everyone has lots of little Trick or Treaters tonight (but no Tricks!).

Corozan Mittens

2008-10-26T11:54:00.002-04:00

These mittens were fast and lots of fun to knit. I also love the yarn which is Knitpicks "Merino Style" 100% wool. They have not yet been blocked because I need to launder a test swatch to know if the red runs. The other day I read an interesting article about how women blocked their mittens in the "old days". They put them in their kitchen chairs and sat on them for days and days! Maybe I'll try their method.(vbg)

Pattern: Corozan from Knitty Summer 2006
Yarn: Knitpicks "Merino Style" DK weight
Colors: Hollyberry and Cream
Needles: US 3 and 4 dpn's
Size: Medium

Except for the very top of the mittens, I only used one skein of red which was 123 yards per skein. There were 25 grams of the white leftover so I already have a plan for the next pair. Each "flower" has the same number of rows as the red top. Guess what I plan to do!

Glittens Number Two

2008-10-24T11:36:00.010-04:00

It has been almost three weeks since my last post but I haven't been idle. I finished another pair of Kathy's glittens last weekend but it took three days for them to dry after blocking. The yarn is Paton's Classic Merino 100% wool knit with Knitpicks Options dpn's in size US 5 and 6.

These are knit to fit a man which explains how large they look on my hands. Please ignore the wrinkles.

Before I knit them, I also started these but didn't like the yarn. They are now in the frog pond!

As I knit, I was "sorta" making up the design which I have never done. Once completed I decided I should chart them to use again. I have never used Excel but thanks to Kathy I was able to make a chart. Of course, it is not correct since I accidentally left out some of the rows.

Next up will be these mittens. I always have trouble knowing about gifts for adult nieces and nephews. This year I decided to knit mittens. Only nine pairs to go!

Glittens

2008-10-03T10:49:00.006-04:00

This is my first glitten. I knit it as a test to know if I could knit anything with fingers, something I never attempted before. Now I know how easy it is and this will not be my last pair.

Kathy has offered her free pattern (on the sidebar) which is very easy to follow with lots of photos (I looked at them often). If anyone wants a very warm pair of mittens+gloves (glittens), I highly recommend Kathy's glitten pattern. Thanks Kathy!!!

Welcome to our Newest "Georgia Bulldog"

2008-09-28T17:15:00.010-04:00

Announcing the arrival of my newest niece, - Danielle Joy who arrived Tuesday, September 23rd, weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz. She is already wearing our favorite sports team's clothing (notice the booties). She is our newest little Georgia Bulldog (University of Georgia for those who do not know) and her first game was last night. Too bad we lost the game. Uncle Ben who is holding her flew in from Colorado to be with her as she arrived. (Click on image for a clearer view)

"Daddy" Matt is to the left while Uncle Ben is holding her. I hope she can tell them apart! They are identical twins.

It's the Process!

2008-09-22T10:02:00.003-04:00

More than ever, I realize I am a "process" knitter. So why am I attempting to knit another lace shawl? I haven't seen anyone wear a shawl in decades! It must be the "process".

This is Clue 1 of the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl 10 (MS10) The yarn is a lovely fingering weight which was intended for the previous KAL but arrived too late. I could have used it for at least 3 pairs of socks but, No! - I am attempting to knit lace again. It's the "process".

Yesterday I also started a pair of mittens. Maybe I still wishfully think it will be cold enough to wear them in our region but that is not likely. I remember when we needed heat by September 15th (my grandmother swore by that date). I also remember freezing at high school football games when I was in the marching band and later when both my sons played in their band. No more! Now people go to games wearing shorts and teeshirts. Sooooo, why am I knitting mittens when no one wears them? It's the "process".(LOL) I'll save the mittens for another blog post.

INISHMORE

2008-09-14T11:59:00.005-04:00

She is finished! This is my first Alice Starmore sweater and my favorite project - ever! (You can probably tell by all the photos below.(LOL) I don't know how many hours and days (months?) I spent knitting it. I cast on last March and put it aside during our really hot Summer after finishing the back. Several weeks ago I started it again with a goal of finishing by yesterday (yes, I have another KAL which I need to begin). At times I thought I would never finish because all of the cables are time consuming. I couldn't wait until it was finished but already miss knitting it. Hmm, is there another Starmore sweater in my future??

There are two versions of this pattern - both short and long versions as well as a crew neck or longer crew "turtleneck". I selected the short version with crew neck. It fits perfectly! I am so happy with this sweater !! My only regret is wondering how often I can wear it in our warm Southern climate. More than likely, it will be worn in lieu of a coat.

(The true color is shown in photos 3 and 4. Click on images to see a larger view)

Details:
Pattern: Inishmore
Source: Fisherman Sweaters by Alice Starmore
Size: Small
Needles: Knitpicks Options US 5 and 6 circulars
Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton purchased from WEBS
(Used almost all of 8 skeins or approximately 2,000 yards (247 yards/skein)
Color: Deep Periwinkle

Coming Soon....A Finished Object!

2008-09-10T17:22:00.004-04:00

Inishmore should be finished by the end of the week (hopefully!). Both sleeves are blocking and all that remains is seaming and the neck. Seaming will take at least most of a day and then I can knit the ribbed crew neck. Who knows when it can be worn because we are back in the 90's! (sigh) Don't expect any photos with me wearing it - not now!(LOL)

Inishmore Update

2008-08-29T08:24:00.007-04:00

If you enjoy knitting cables, this sweater is for you. "Inishmore" is an Alice Starmore pattern in the "Fisherman Sweaters" book and still available at a reasonable price (unlike some of her out of publication books being sold for $300-500). Alice Starmore patterns are not difficult but very time consuming to knit. After I knit the back, I put it aside during the hot Summer months. Just recently I realized I should try to finish it sometime this year. Fortunately, our cold weather usually does not arrive until November and sometimes December. I doubt I will wear this sweater very often but it is fun to knit.

Really, there is not much to show. The front is finished but looks very similar to the back except for the neck opening. The center diamonds are bordered by.......what else?? -- cables! There is hardly a stitch which is not cables (okay, it has moss stitch too).(LOL)

Now I am knitting the first sleeve which seems to be going nowhere. The only reason I even mention this project is to show I am still knitting.(LOL)

I am also knitting a "fake" Brooklyn Tweed Noro scarf with Patons SWS yarn. It will not be as pretty as authentic Noro yarn but will cost about one-third to knit. Somehow I think $45 to knit a scarf is a little too much. I also joined two Mystery Lace KAL's which both begin in a week or two. I "hoped" to finish Inishmore before the start dates but that will not happen.

Visitor

2008-08-10T10:25:00.010-04:00

Every now and then a Great Blue Heron visits our pond. It stays for a few months, leaves, and then returns.

Recently a new visitor appeared!

At first we thought it was the "Great WHITE Heron" but according to Peterson's Field Guide - Eastern Birds, it is a Great Egret. The distinguishing difference is the color of the legs with Great Egrets having black legs and the Great White Heron having yellow legs. The difference between it and the "Snowy" Egret is the color of the bill. Snowy Egrets have a black bill and the Great Egret has a yellow bill. It's range is normally southern Georgia which is why we were astonished to see it in north Georgia. It also resides along the states which border the Mississippi River.

I think it is beautiful!

Lace Again

2008-08-07T09:02:00.004-04:00

What? Two posts in the same week for me is a record. After this I may not have any FO's for quite awhile. I picked up my Alice Starmore "Inishmore" this week but it is still too hot to knit a heavy sweater. Until it is cooler, I am back to knitting small projects.

This was a very easy project. The pattern reminds me of a sock pattern I knit but which one? After awhile I wanted it finished and stopped after 27 repeats rather than 30. The blocked size is 50" long and probably would have been 2 or 3 inches longer if I had finished.

Pattern: The Waltz (free pattern at Ravelry)
Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow lace
Color: Pink Posy Heather (looks like Mauve to me)
Needles: Knitpicks Options US size 4

Oh yes - the vase is one I painted many years ago. I love roses, lace, English cottages, and hummingbirds. I guess you could call me a romantic.(vbg)

Knittin' Mittens

2008-08-04T09:42:00.003-04:00

During the "Dog Days of Summer", it has been much too hot and steamy to knit anything large (I think most everyone has this problem). Mittens are easy and faster than knitting socks. I was able to use leftovers since these small mittens do not require very much yarn. I especially enjoyed knitting the pink and yellow as well as the turquoise and coral mittens which I knit with two strands of fingering wt. yarn. The fabric is dense enough to make them very warm. My goal was four pairs for the current CIC (Children in Common) challenge which is contributing mittens to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota . There is still time before the late September deadline which means I will probably knit more. The patterns are very basic and can be found at Ravelry in the pattern search.

In the meantime, I joined the Goddess Knits Mystery 9 KAL but very late! There are already four clues and I only ordered yarn last week. I should receive it this week and start the shawl. On the other hand, Mystery 10 KAL starts in September so maybe I will wait for it.

Anyone knitting Christmas gifts yet? I have no ideas and would love to hear of any you may have, especially for men.

Something Different!

2008-07-16T09:40:00.019-04:00

When I started my blog, I thought I would blog about other hobbies/crafts. I used to sew and do machine embroidery (anyone interested in buying an embroidery machine? I have three!). I used to paint! I used to crochet. Then I started to knit and have done nothing else since then.

But even though I no longer paint or do my other hobbies, I encouraged my son to paint again. Lately he started to paint dogs!

First up is our dog, "Boy".
Boy's Photo

Boy's Painting

Then there is one of Boy's buddies, "Briley". Briley is a 2-yr old Jack Russell with a doting "daddy". No, you are not seeing things! Briley has one blue eye and one brown eye. His "daddy's" sister raises show dogs and now is commissioning paintings of her dogs.
Briley's photo

Briley's Painting

Last but not least, the first dog he painted. It's Sofee!!! Many of you know Sofee's Mom, Kathy who is my very good internet friend! She often posts the cutest photos of Sofee and allows Sofee to post to "their" blog. Just recently her first grandchild was born and this was intended to be a "grandparents'" gift. It was painted over a month ago and still drying so it can be shipped to Iowa. I hope Sofee likes her painting!

Sofee's Photo

Sofee's Painting

Since Last Week.........

2008-07-15T10:37:00.005-04:00

The Mitten KALended with the last clues on Sunday morning. The "mystery" was the appearance of a snowman. I made a mistake and reversed the bottom cables before I realized a snowman would emerge. It was a very cute pattern and one I think children will enjoy. Mine are below. Jean plans to make the pattern available at Ravelry very soon.

After I finished the mittens Sunday night, I knit a pair of booties. I used to crochet baby sets (dozens of them) but this is the first pair of booties I ever knit. After looking and looking for other patterns to go with the motif, I went with the pattern which is in the set.

Notice I also added pink ribbon to the hat, booties, and sweater sleeves. We are expecting a niece so I had to add just a little bit of pink.

I promise! This is the last mention of the baby set!

Charity and Other Knitting

2008-07-10T08:36:00.008-04:00

These are the mittens for the the Mitten KAL. New clues are posted every 2 days and this is through Clue 3. I am knitting them with Patons 100% wool in brown and turquoise. My goal is a minimum of 4 pairs but hopefully more. This is for the September challenge for CIC (Children in Common) with a deadline of September. (Sorry the photo is blurred!)

I also finished the matching baby hat to the Aqua Baby Layette Set last weekend but forgot to post a photo.

The pattern is knit flat and then seamed. I prefer knitting hats in the round to eliminate the seaming but it turned out okay. I also started the baby booties but didn't like the pattern. As of now, the hat completes the set (but I may knit socks to match).

Lace knitting is still a struggle but I keep trying. It's just much too slow for someone as impatient as I am. The Print of the Wave stole is "on hold" while I start this scarf. It is named "The Waltz" and is a free pattern at Ravelry

That's it for the last week. See you next time!

Baby Sweater

2008-07-03T10:56:00.005-04:00

This was a fun little sweater to knit and it feels good to finish something again. When I tried the pink buttons, it just didn't look as finished as these little white buttons. The photo doesn't show the tiny roses on the buttons but at least they look "girly".

Pattern: Aqua Layette Baby Set
Source: LionBrand
Yarn: Bernat "Baby"
Needles: Perl Inox 3.5mm straights

Knitting for babies as well as children is fun as well as fast. The current CIC challenge is for mittens so this morning I joined the Mystery Mitten Challenge. Hope to see some of you there!

Best wishes for a safe and happy 4th of July! Boy will be hiding under the bed during all the fireworks.

WIP's

2008-06-26T10:26:00.006-04:00

There was a time when I never had more than one project on the needles (I usually finish what I start). Then I was struck with the "Lace Bug". Why oh why is it so appealing??? I know I will never wear it, even if I succeed in knitting it. Maybe I can give any successful shawls or stoles to the charity group "Wrapped in Comfort" (found at Ravelry). I learned something about myself. I am definitely a "process" knitter which I never realized until the "lace bug" struck.

Now I have two new lace books on the way - "Victorian Lace" and "A Gathering of Lace". Knitpicks' current book sale is under way and I couldn't resist (40% off). I must be obsessed with this process!!!

And so, I continue trying. This will hopefully be the "Print of the Wave" stole by Eunny Yang (free pattern at Ravelry).

Another WIP is one I must finish to be able to give during upcoming baby showers. It
is a baby sweater which I started for a new baby girl scheduled to arrive to my nephew and his wife in October. Can you tell, it is lacy too!(sigh) This will be a set which includes matching hat and booties (or socks). There is also a matching blanket which I probably will not knit. When I purchased the yarn (Bernat "Baby"), I wanted pink but they only had blue, yellow, mint green, and white. Once I finish, I hope to find pretty little pink buttons and maybe some pink ribbon.

Soon I need to get back to Inishmore. It has been lingering in my knitting basket much too long.

On the nature front, a Robin is building a nest in the exact location where the Cardinal had her nest. This is a Japanese Maple which is about 5 ft tall but the nest is only 3 ft off the ground and still 4 ft from our patio table. I wonder why this Maple is so appealing to birds??

FIRST LACE

2008-06-13T10:00:00.013-04:00

Swallowtail Shawl is finished! This is my first knitted lace project (not counting sock cuffs) and I am very pleased with the results. Once I started in earnest (not counting the many times I frogged) it took eleven days to knit. The yarn is Knitpicks Bare fingering weight knit on Knitpicks Options US 7 needles. The only modification was to eliminate the "Nupps" because I didn't think they warranted the extra yarn. Instead I knit a purl stitch in place of the P5 stitch. I think it looks almost as nice.

From this:

to Blocking:

to the finished project:

Rather than purchase blocking wires until I know how often I will use them, I found these floral wires at Michael's.
I was concerned about them rusting but they didn't. The cost - only $1.99 for 20 18" stems. They worked so well that I will continue to use them unless (or until) they rust.

Next will be the Print O' The Wave Stole. Last night I cast on using a provisional cast-on for the first time. Hope it works!

Too Much of a Good Thing

2008-06-10T10:03:00.009-04:00

My Swallowtail Shawl is almost finished. I only have to knit the last 10 rows and block which should be an interesting experience. I chose this pattern to (1) learn to read lace charts and (2) know if I like to knit lace. I do! More about my Swallowtail later this week (I hope).

Now I am hooked on lace! Can you tell? This is Knitpicks lace sampler
in the Wine Tasting colorway. It includes all of their lace blends and I thought it would be a good way to see which lace I prefer. I also purchased some of the Harmony needle tips, especially to knit lace

Then I added even more lace.(sigh) It is mostly Shadow and Gloss lace which has good reviews at Ravelry.

This should be enough to knit at least three stoles or shawls plus several scarves. Hmm, guess what will be on my Christmas gift list! (LOL) (I hear that lace yarn can also be used to knit socks when two strands are used together.)

CARDINAL UPDATE:

There are no baby cardinals yet and I fear there will be none. According to Wikipedia, the incubation period is 11-13 days and these are at least 21 days old. The female Cardinal is still sitting on her nest so I feel sorry for her. It seems she would know the eggs are bad and leave the nest. Does anyone know?

Her nest is in the little Japanese Maple which is next to our patio (in the area with the circle). She has grown accustomed to us and only leaves the nest if we touch the bush. Maybe it's a blessing after all if the babies never hatch. I was concerned about them being too close to the patio once they left their nest. It is still sad -I was looking forward to watching the babies grow and fly.

In other news, I just threw all of my tomatos out. Such a waste but who wants to be poisoned by Salmonella. What's next?

The End of May (or Why I Haven't Blogged Lately)

2008-05-31T14:54:00.009-04:00

Seems that I caught the latest knitting trend.......L A C E (or should I say the latest knitting "bug"). For the very first time, I am trying to knit L A C E. If you count lace cuffs on sock patterns, it should be easy. If you count knitting from charts, it should be even easier. So why am I having so much trouble???

First I tried this scarf but it seemed too easy. Uhh, that was before I tried to read real lace charts.

Then I started a small shawl which is supposed to be easy enough. Not to me! I cannot count how many times I have started and frogged this shawl. I am even using lifelines which I never needed before! Sooo, before I get confused or lose my place and have to frog again, I thought I would post what I have so far....unwashed and unblocked. (Maybe I have a mental block about knitting lace.)

While spending waaaay too much time trying to knit lace which I know I will never wear anyway, this book finally arrived at my local library. I placed a hold on it six weeks ago but at last I have it. Oh, what gorgeous sweaters! This Alice Starmore book reminds me I could have finished knitting the front of my Inishmore sweater during all the wasted time I have spent trying to knit lace.

NATURE

We have a Cardinal nesting in a Japanese Maple which is beside our patio. If my calculations are correct, the babies should hatch on June 6th. This little tree with the nest is only 3-5 ft from our table and chairs. Once the babies are learning to fly, it could be a problem for our dog. We'll see!

Finally, look at the scary guy which my DS caught in the pond today. He is an Alligator Turtle weighing in at 29 lbs!

THANKS! - (and New Socks)

2008-05-20T09:27:00.003-04:00

First, a BIG THANKS for all the nice comments and emails wishing me well after my "minor" surgery last week. It means so much! I am healing very well, enough to walk up and down the stairs without a problem.(vbg) For now I am waiting for the stitches to come out but feeling very well.

While I was resting, I finished my Fishermen Socks. When I knit this pattern two years ago, it was the first time I ever tried knitting from charts. At the time I thought it was very difficult but now I think it is easy. The pattern is free and can be accessed through Ravelry although this version is written in German. The Yahoo Sockamaniac Group (link also available at the Ravelry link above) has the English translation. Monica has four Fishermen sock patterns available at her website although only in the German langauge. Once you knit these, it would be easy to use her charts to knit the other three designs. The yarn was a birthday gift from a very special friend. It is the first time I knit Dream in Color "Smooshy" which is truly a "dream".

Pattern: Fishermen2 by Monika Eckert
Yarn: Dream in Color "Smooshy"
Color: Peach
Needles: Knitpicks US 1 circulars

Thanks again everyone for your well wishes!

Next post may be about knitting lace, that is if I ever finish a few rows of the SwallowTail shawl.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

2008-05-14T11:03:00.008-04:00

It all began April 17th when my Dermatologist announced I had skin cancer. The GOOD news after waiting a week for the lab results, it was not the serious spreading type and surgery was scheduled on June 24th. The BAD - I was not happy about waiting that long and asked to be re-scheduled if there was a cancellation. GOOD news - A cancellation occurred and surgery was performed Monday (May 12th).

May 12th:
The GOOD:
8:00 AM - Surgery.
10:30 AM - surgery complete and lab results show..... cancer is gone! Doctor's instructions - stay off feet, leg elevated, no lifting, bending, etc. for 3 days. LOTS of knitting time!

The BAD:
2:00 PM - Developed serious sinus infection and most sinus medicines not allowed. NO knitting
Midnight: Couldn't sleep because of sinus headache.
All hours: Trying to go up and down the stairs without bending leg.(sigh)

May 13th:
The GOOD: Just remembered that Tylenol Sinus medicine is okay. Asked DS to pick some up. Slept well all night.

The BAD: (could have been worse)

May 14th: ALL IS GOOD!
My daylilies are blooming

the birds are still visiting and singing.

I am thankful for good surgeons and technology. All is well again!

Now please excuse me while I elevate my leg and try to finish these socks

Blackberry Winter

2008-05-02T09:48:00.004-04:00

Our Blackberry Winter occured earlier this week but now it is much warmer - 80 degrees in the forecast for today. Wikipedia defines this last cool spell of Winter as "An unseasonally cold period in spring. This may also be called a blackberry winter as it may coincide with the time when the blackberries bloom......"

We had a Frost Advisory but it doesn't seem to have hurt the roses

and it didn't stop this little bird from his daily concert! He sits in the same spot at the top of this maple tree and sings all day long. I wish I knew his name but he is definitely some type of warbler.(LOL)

INISHMORE

2008-04-30T10:19:00.005-04:00

I finished knitting the back of Inishmore several days ago but just now got a photo. It looks like a big rectangle which it almost is. The front has more shaping around the neck and will be more interesting.

This shows the pattern stitches which hopefully can be seen in better detail. Each diagonal row in the diamond is a cable. If I ever needed to learn cabling without a cable needle, this is the time. (LOL)

I also started new socks with my Dream in Color "Smooshy" yarn. This is the Fisherman socks pattern by Monika Ekert (www.northern-lights.de). I knit this pattern once before when it was a knit-along on the Sockamaniac Yahoo Group during 2006. It has always been a favorite pattern but mine now have a hole in the heel. The pattern is also free at Ravelry.

Whew! Seems that everything I knit lately has cables!

Petticoat Socks

2008-04-15T09:45:00.004-04:00

It has been two months since I knit adult socks but my April socks for SAM 5 are finished. These stripes were a little more difficult than usual to match but I think I did it. The pattern is a simple K7, P1 pattern with a standard flap heel. I had 40 grams left over, enough for another pair of children's socks.

Yarn: Opal
Color: Petticoat
Needles: Knitpicks US 1 circulars
Yardage: 60 grams
Size: Medium

Inishmore now has 2 1/2 repeats but was put aside while I knit the socks. I plan to get back to it before I forget all the symbols. (LOL)

This photo was taken within a few blocks of downtown Atlanta only one week after it was struck by F3 tornados. I was in the car and it was raining so unfortunately the photo is not very clear.

Inishmore Progress

2008-04-07T15:21:00.006-04:00

After several false starts and several frogging sessions last week, this is the beginning of Inishmore. It hasn't been the easiest thing I've ever knit but I think I finally have the symbols memorized. Now I know why Alice Starmore designs are in demand. Her designs are gorgeous - even the ribbing has small cables and is the feature which first caught my eye. There are so many cables in each right side row (14 to over 30) which makes it a very slow project to knit. I am loving the Valley Yarns Northampton yarn. At first I thought it was slightly scratchy but now that I have knit more than a few rows, it feels soft but sturdy. So far there is no splitting or fuzzing.

Oh yes, I regret to say the cookie sheet setup didn't work for me. Using the same ideas to tape the charts together, I switched to my cross-stitch magnetic board which is working much better for me. This photo shows all the charts for the front and back. The chart at the top is knit twice, once on each side. I'll switch to the sleeve charts if I ever get that far.(LOL)

Catch of the Day

2008-04-06T06:51:00.004-04:00

Warning! This post is not about knitting so delete if you wish!

My son has always enjoyed the sport of fishing. We have a small pond in our neighborhood which lately is producing larger fish. It's nice for him to be able to walk about 100 yards and start to fish with no need of a boat. This was his catch the other day, a catfish weighing about 7 lbs. I wish we had a photo of the large mouth bass he caught a few days earlier. It was 4.5 lbs. It is surprising to me that there are large fish in such a small pond. This fish as well as all the fish he catches went back into the pond and swam away because we never keep any of the fish he catches. Hmm, with food prices going up every week, maybe we should!

Getting Ready for Inishmore

2008-03-30T08:05:00.007-04:00

If you have ever looked at an Alice Starmore design, you know how daunting it is to see so many charts. Charts printed on separate pages and charts with varying numbers of rows. How can a person possibly knit across so many charts and still not lose their place?

My friend Kathy recently started her St. Brigid and told me about a tip she read at Ravelry for keeping up with Alice Starmore charts. Without her help, I would never have thought of using a cookie sheet on my own! (It's interesting how innovative knitters are when using everyday items as knitting tools!) My version is a little different but may help someone who has ever felt overwhelmed with so many charts.

First, check out your cookie sheet to see if it is magnetic. I am told by Kathy that most older cookie pans were but some of the newer pans are not. (It was easier for me to buy a new cookie sheet at WalMart rather than scrub my old pans.) While shopping, look for "magnetic tape" which I found in the Crafts Department.

Next, make multiple copies of all the charts. My printer is also a copier which works well but would have worked better if I had put new ink cartridges in before printing. After you have as many charts as needed cut them out.

Arrange the charts in sequence according to the knitting instructions and tape them together with cellophane tape. In some cases, I used 3 copies of one chart to complete a full repeat across the sweater.

Cut pieces of the magnetic tape and adhere to the BACK of the charts. By doing this, the charts can be held to the cookie pan but can also be moved when needed.

Finally, find a ruler to use in keeping up with the rows. I had an Olfa Ruler which has a "lip" on one end. It's customary to use these rulers with a rotary cutter for cutting fabric strips for quilts. Once again, cut the magnetic tape and affix to the BACK of the ruler. My ruler is slightly longer than I would have preferred but now I can slide it up each row of the charts and hopefully not lose my place. (I also had room on the cookie pan to add the chart symbols and abbreviations.)

Whew! Now I hope all this chart preparation helps me knit "Inishmore". It will be the most difficult sweater I have knit and will probably take months to finish.

Baby, Baby!

2008-03-27T11:01:00.005-04:00

As promised, I just finished a few more baby gifts. First is the Sachiko Kimono Sweater. I used Knitpicks Swish superwash in three colors. Young Moms these days seem to prefer more sophiscated colors for their babies - much different than baby pastels in pink, blue, yellow, and white. Then I decided to knit a matching hat which looks very, very small. Hope it fits! It is a newborn size with a ribbed cuff and finished with stockinette stitch.

Next is the little penguin bib for a neighbor's new baby. It is knit with Peaches 'n Cream which supposedly washes well (necessary for a bib, wouldn't you agree?).

Now I am ready to start "Inishmore", an Alice Starmore sweater from "Fisherman Knits". More about that in a few days. Anyone interested in joining me??

Baby Socks

2008-03-21T15:24:00.004-04:00

Lately it seems that many of my friends have new babies or are expecting new grandbabies. These little socks are a gift for a soon-to-be grandchild of a special "Grandma". She has wished for a grandchild for a very long time. The yellow socks were knit with Lisa Souza "Sock" and the multi-color socks are Sockotta. Both patterns were designed by Ann Budd and have the name "Better Than Booties". The free pattern can be found here

I am still knitting baby garments so there will soon be more which I can show. Baby clothes are so much fun!

Atlanta and North Georgia Tornados

2008-03-16T09:03:00.007-04:00

The past 36 hours has been devasting in Georgia. Dozens of tornados crossed the state beginning Friday evening through Saturday PM. It has been like living the movie, "Twisters".

Here are a few scenes of the Atlanta tornados. The damage looks much worse on TV. A State of Emergency has been declared and the affected areas are closed to the public. Photos are courtsey of local TV stations - not my own (thank goodness!) We are fine but such devastation makes Spring much less desirable.

Centennial Park - Concrete Columns

What was once a two-story brick house

Central Park Hoodie - Finished

2008-03-05T18:07:00.004-05:00

I always dread the obligatory "modeled" photos because I take horrible photos! Here they are, nevertheless. (sigh)

This sweater was a very fast knit for me. I cast on Feb 11th and today is only March 5th. I still need to buy buttons. Mostly, I followed the pattern but modified the cuff ribbing to 4" rather than 5". If I knit it again, I would shorten the cuffs even more and knit the hood slightly longer.

I really am not a person who wears hoods over my head so it will probably never be pulled up anyway. While knitting the CPH, I thought about knitting more than one but it would be hoodless next time.

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie (purchased from Knitting Daily)
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino 100% Wool
Color New Denim
Needles: Knitpicks Options circulars in US 7 and 9