Pastimes of Pamala

Additions to the farm

2010-06-06T10:13:00.001-05:00

Kids are thrilled with the first successful duck hatching here on our funny farm.

EZ vest

2010-04-16T11:33:00.002-05:00

What do you do when you run out of yarn for the January sweater when it is already March? You do the March color work on the January sweater.

Tada! a vest.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-24T08:56:00.002-05:00

Working against a deadline

2009-09-21T07:44:00.001-05:00

Taking a weaving class. Got homework due tomorrow afternoon. Work requires me to be present at the office (and not weaving) in order to be paid. How unreasonable! Guess that means knit night in Ithaca is out and weaving is in for the evening. I will have to admire everyone's market bags next week.

Upsized Freddie Mac

2009-09-11T08:03:00.001-05:00

One upsized Freddie Mac successfully executed. Gotta turn my scribbles into a readable pattern and then see if my guess for my size turns out as well.

What to work on next

2009-08-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

No pictures to share but the needles are working...

The upsized version of the Freddie Mac vest for my daughters is progressing nicely. Back was finished last week and I am currently working at the shoulders of the front. Hoping to finish it this weekend while waiting between games at the 3 on 3 my daughter is playing in. Then we will share pictures and plans for my vest which will be out of the beautiful cashmere blend I have had my eye on at the yarn store.

Got the yarn from Sharon for the American Brilliant throw and I started on the first square. Casted on, knit about 3 rows, compared to gauge and her sample square and then promptly frogged it back. My guess is I will need to go down about 2 needle sizes but I haven't gotten back to it yet this week. Pattern calls for a loose cast on and I just saw a you-tube video for a new one I may have to try out so I am waiting to find 30 minutes of time to fire up the computer and sit with the yarn. Maybe I should set the alarm for 2am.

And lastly, yarn arrived for the hooded vest in the Fall 2009 Knit Scene and I have the first skein in the knitting bag waiting for the swatch to be done. Gonna have to do that before next Monday so I can pick up any needles or notions I need to get it going. Carri is already flying on her version and it looks lovely.

Available for Hire

2009-07-31T09:34:00.001-05:00

I have been doing test knitting for Alpaca With A Twist yarn for a couple of years now and I just got a new project. What is test knitting you may ask...this is when you take a newly designed pattern and knit it up for the designer or yarn company so they have a sample to send around to your favority lys. You are also looking for any errors in the pattern so they can be corrected before it gets printed and made available to the general public. My new project looks very cool and I am excited to get the yarn next week and start on it. It is a Sharon Winsauer pattern titled American Brilliant. A really cool looking throw knit in blocks. And if you know of Sharon, you know it includes lace. The perfect traveling project for this coming fall and the sports seasons that will be here before I know it. Come back next week and check out my progress...current plan gets me and the yarn together on Tuesday.

Back from Vacation

2009-07-17T08:35:00.001-05:00

We are back from the family vacation in Tennessee. I can report that summer weather does exist and we found it 10 hours south. 90 - 95 degrees every day. We had a great time hiking the trails and doing the tourist thing and are now happy to be back home. Weather this weekend looks like rain and cool (only in the 60's tomorrow --eek). Perfect weather for me to stay inside and do the final check on the new pattern. If all goes well the Freddie Mac vest should be available via etsy and ravelry sometime this weekend.

Thanks Maggie

2009-06-10T07:45:00.002-05:00

Last night I took a trip over to knitting buddy Maggie's place with shovel in hand. She has a beautiful and peaceful little slice of heaven next to a creek and a massive stand of deep purple lilac bushes. (They were no longer blooming so I had to search the internet for an appropriate picture to show you what I would eventually have blooming in my own yard.) The runners dug up easily and are now planted in my yard. Weather report for today says to expect some rain which is perfect for my newly planted friends.

Then, to treat myself for a job well done, I stepped over to the strawberry patch and picked a couple quart. These were quickly washed, smashed and served over shortcake and ice cream which was eaten while we watched the final period of the hockey game. Bummer, we are going to have a game 7. At least the food and company during the game was good.

Blogging via email

2009-06-02T08:38:00.002-05:00

Just stumbled across the feature in blogger that lets you email messages to your blog. Thought, hey that's cool, lets give it a try and see what happens. We can tell the blogging world that the Shedir hat is done and was sent off in the mail prior to getting a picture of the finished product. But that's ok because it needed to get to its new home. And the leftover yarn has become a vest that demonstrates splitting a cable. The pattern in my head has become reality and is even scribbled on paper.

Moving on - the final part

2009-05-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

What could have sidetracked me from those bright green socks you ask? What could be more interesting? Several things...

First there was the offer of paid knitting. This is the back and start of the front of a sweater being designed for Alpaca with a Twist. The designer needs it knit and has no time to do it herself.

And then of course there was spring weather. We had a waterfall that needed to be reworked and Dave decided to start one day while I was at work. I came home to all the rocks pulled off the hill and re-digging in progress. Couple of trips to the landscape supply place and several evenings of hauling and stacking resulted in a waterfall we are both quite happy with...finally.

Lastly, there was the email from a friend. Breast cancer had been found and surgery was done. Chemo comes next. What better use of a knitters time is there than to make something for a friend in need. Pattern is Shedir from a special breast cancer awareness issue of Knitty and prayers for good news are being knit into every stitch.

Winter/Spring 2009 - part 2

2009-05-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

What else was I doing instead of blogging you ask...

This is 1/3 of a scarf to match my thrummed mittens. Going pretty good now after I got past the lace pattern at the beginning. I reknit that several times and finally just made it work. Not sure if it was the pattern or me but I couldn't find any corrections online and I didn't care anymore. Now it is a mindless knit. Great grab and go project which will probably not get done until next fall. And I have the other end of the same lace to look forward to yet. Pattern is the Qiviuk Webs Scarf from 2007 Interweave Knits Holiday issue.

It was also time to attempt toe up socks. While I was at it I threw in working them both at the same time on one circular needle. Found a pattern I liked online (Naga Socks by Abigail Welbourn) and went to it. Since I didn't bother to check gauge I was half way to the heel (on both socks) before I admitted they were just going to be too wide for my foot. Checked the pattern, decided I wasn't going to get gauge given the needles and yarn I was using even though I really liked the pattern. Ripped back to the toes and meditated on my options. Looked at the pattern and did lots of math. Started again. Less stitches round, pattern from Naga Socks running on 2/3 of both socks (on the inside), small cable pattern running up the side on top of the little toe. Just turned the heel on sock 1, working heel on sock 2 when I got sidetracked by a couple of other projects I will share next time. If all goes well with these when I get back to them I might have my first sock pattern to share with the world.

I also expanded my knitting skills by taking a cable class from Melissa Leapman. I will be sharing a bit of the knowledge I gained this coming July at Sip N Knit. We will be splitting a cable and running it up a neckline in what I hope will be a beautiful and pretty manner. A doll sweater pattern to help us learn is in my head right now but needs to get to paper in the next month.

Finally, daughter number 1 was confirmed into our Church in March and daughter number 2 is working her way towards the same next spring. I am a reasonably intelligent person but it never registered (and no one pointed out to me) that having your kids practically on top of each other would mean all these major events in life would also occur on top of each other. Too late now, guess we just hold on and enjoy the ride.

For Mary and Maple - part1...

2009-05-16T14:23:00.010-05:00

OK...I'll update the blog with everything I have been doing other than blogging. But considering we are looking at 3 months worth of knitting and things I'll break it up into multiple posts so you don't have to swallow it all in one big gulp.

First up the Cobblestone sweater. It was questionable a few times there but it has been completed and worn. He likes the fit and says it is quite warm. He wore it once before winter stepped aside for spring.

I also finally put the cuffs on the slippers I was working on before Christmas when Travis showed interest in wearing them. These are perfect for him because there was yarn for three slippers which means he has an extra one in case of loss. Being 9, this tends to happen to him occasionally. Pattern was from the 2008 Interweave Knits Holiday Issue.

Next, Cary from Serenity Farms taught us how to make thrummed mittens one Saturday morning at Sip N Knit. I am really happy with how mine turned out and they were a lot of fun to make.

Finally, the east side of the barn now has steel on it. Dave had a down week and a neighbor who works for GM had time on his hands. One more side to go.

Something finished, something frogged

2009-02-20T08:54:00.002-05:00

What a fun little project this turned out to be. I got to try some new stitches, finished something in a relatively short amount of time and my sister really liked it. I need to find out what the Mom-to-be thought of it next time I talk to sis.

Back on the needles is husbands sweater. Ripped out both sleeves back to the cuffs and I also ripped back the body to about 3 inches below the arms. Both sleeves have since been re-knit modifying the pattern so that the cuffs start at an X-small and increase up to the size medium. Working on the body presently taking that from the X-small we did at the waist to medium at the chest. If this still doesn’t work/fit right I may have a lovely green and black yarn being given away to the first blog reader who sends me their address.

On other fronts, I bought a new wireless photo printer because the kids had finally destroyed our old printer and what fun I am having with this one. I can sit down at the kitchen table with my work laptop, check out my email and when my interweave newsletter gives me a link to a free pattern I just push print and magic happens. A beautiful, color copy of the pattern is waiting for me in the storage closet (where I stashed the printer). I love technology when it works!

Baby Blocks

2009-01-16T14:53:00.002-05:00

My current project started with my sister presenting me with 4 balls of yarn. She needed a baby blanket for a friend who is due at the end of this month. She would have just purchased a blanket but this friend is not your traditional baby colors kind of person as you can see in the picture. We are working on a baby blanket in brown, rust and off white. I decided to experiment with patterns I hadn't tried before so we have a different pattern on each block. I intend to sew the blocks together and then put a garter stitch border around the edge using what remains of the yarn. We should make our due date in good time unless the baby decides otherwise.

I thought I had also completed my husbands cobblestone sweater. I had knit the body of the sweater twice before I got the waist how he wanted it. Took 3 tries before I got the cuffs right. Thought I was home free until he tried it on for me. Waist is excellent, cuffs are delightful, shoulders and upper arms need some work. Apparently my husband is not your average middle age dude. Waist is a small, shoulders are a large. I have no complaints about his measurements except when it comes to making a sweater for him. I will be frogging the shoulders and half of each arm as soon as the blanket is done. I may have pictures for you sometime before I retire.

Random Monday - Money Order

2009-01-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

What is random Monday? A fun way to learn something (maybe) and a reason to look forward to Monday (yea right).

What am I going to do on random Monday? Generate a random number (using random.org) between 1 and 1459. This happens to be the number of pages in my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate dictionary. Once I flip to that page, I will count the number of entries on the page and generate a second random number to determine which word will be the focus for that Monday. Note: there is no guarantee on my counting ability and the decision of the judge (that would be me) as to which word is in randomly selected position is final. After that you will get any profound statements I may have to add about the random selection which was selected. Wouldn't my English teachers be proud of that last sentence?

This week we have
Page 801 with selections from monastic to monkey

I find it interesting that my first random Monday page selection included a definition of Monday, which happens to be defined as the second day of the week.

And item 29 … Money order
An order issued by a post office, bank, or telegraph office for payment of a specified sum of money usu, at any branch of the organization.

Did I find a typo in my first random Monday pick? Me thinks ‘money usu,’ should be ‘money used’. Wonder who we contact to get that corrected?

See you next week.

Swing Coat Done

2008-11-23T21:30:00.001-05:00

Yippee! The swing coat is done.

Serenity Shared

2008-11-10T21:19:00.004-05:00

Last week I opened my home to some fiber friends. We shared laughter and fiber, patterns and food. I gave them a tour of my home and barn. We visited the ducks. Best of all we just spent time together on a beautiful sunny fall day. Maple brought me fiber to spin. This has not happened yet but it will. Cary brought fiber and some mill spun yarn that wasn't as planned. She had requested it be spun into 3-ply sock weight but the machinery was sick that day and before it was noticed her 30 pounds of fiber had become mostly worsted weight with a few odd spins thrown in for variety. This beautiful yarn immediately spoke to me. I had a new technique I wanted to try called a Baltic Braid. Could I incorporate the braid and a simple cable into a hat? Would I like it? More importantly, would a picky teenager like it?

Success is mine!

Note to friends...the pattern is written. The plan is to share it and the Baltic Braid during the January fiber group meeting.

Lots of Swing

2008-10-26T10:19:00.003-05:00

Been a busy week of running kids. Working on a couple of new patterns for the AG dolls but not yet ready to showcase them. Instead we will show you the progress on the Wistful Swing Coat from Mission Falls.

This is the back, right front and about 1/4 of the left front. I am still enjoying this pattern. Just enough variety to keep you interested and 'swinging' along. (Sorry, :0) I couldn't resist that one.)

Baskets of fun

2008-10-19T18:15:00.003-05:00

Weekend weather was beautiful, sunny fall skies. Weekend activities were a joy...moebius cast on class resulted in a wee basket. Sunday we eeked out a little time to spin with friends Maple, Cary and blogless Mary. A lovely weekend all around.

Ballaghaderreen Finished

2008-10-12T19:52:00.003-05:00

I finished my Maggiknits Ballaghaderreen Cardi last night. This morning I quick knotted some buttons on so I could wear it to church. The rest of the day has been crazy busy with soccer and cooking and baking so it took me until after dark to take a poor picture for posting here. Hopefully I will find time this week to take a better picture for Ravelry.

Quack House

2008-10-05T16:53:00.007-05:00

We are now the proud owners of 3 ducks. Kids haven't decided on names yet but I am sure it will be a heavily discussed item at the dinner table for the next few days. Last weekend was spent building their new home.

And because D can never be ordinary (not that I am complaining) this is what we came up with.

This is just their temporary home while we fix up this chicken coop which just joined us from its original residence which was down the road about a 1/4 of a mile.

The neighbor decided to let us have it since he would probably never get around to fixing it up. Here it is from the side view where D cut out the wall to jack it up.

It is still on the wagon while we decide exactly where to position it. Then we need to build a new foundation and set it down on it. That will probably be as far as we get this fall but I am sure D will have a new roof and repaired windows in it by the time the tulips bloom in the spring.

Doll Kiddo Hat

2008-09-21T18:13:00.003-05:00

I have a new pattern available for free on Ravelry. It is a crochet hat for the American Girl doll. As soon as I have time to figure out the link process I will add a link to it from here.

The race continues

2008-09-07T09:39:00.005-05:00

School started last week. I now spend several evenings a week running to a parents meeting to organize some activity for one of the kids or busing one of them to the already organized activity. The activity list contains 2 soccer teams, 1 basketball team, religious formation classes for 2 and the normal things like homework and housework. The housework takes last place as always but I can report that the protective coating (ie dust) on the flat surfaces of my home is in good if not great condition.

In other races, I had been working diligently on the wistful swing jacket. As you can see here I have the back done and was working speedily through one of the fronts.

Then I got sidetracked by my Maggi Jackson class and the Ballaghaderreen Cardighan that I purchased the yarn and pattern for.

This is one sleeve done and the other started. I really want to have this done for the fall weather but I also want my swing jacket. What is a knitter to do? I'd quit my job but then I couldn't afford to buy yarn.

My hurry up and wait time is coming back too so my travel knitting is also getting more attention than it has seen in awhile. The railroad sock is on the homebound track. I have about 50 rows to go on the foot. Soccer again this afternoon so this should be a lot closer by this evening.

If I was a betting girl, the railroad sock will beat the cardigan with the swing jacket coming in a respectful 3rd. Unless another sock gets in the way.

Rub a Dub Dub…a new home for the tub

2008-08-30T11:52:00.005-05:00

Meet my claw foot tub. He is one of the treasures which came with the house when we bought it 19 years ago.

The last couple of decades have been a little dry for tubby. Relegated to the dog kennel to collect leaves and twigs and wait for the day when his services would again be needed.

That day has finally arrived.

We spent last weekend scrubbing and rubbing, priming and painting. Spiffing him up for his new job.

Tubby has a new lease on life and doesn’t he look happy? He is now the focal point in the center of the expanded garden. Next spring he will be bursting with flowers, standing proud and showing the world what a grand old guy he is.

MeMe tagged

2008-08-13T12:16:00.001-05:00

Cary at Serenity Farms MeMe tagged me a couple of weeks ago in a desperate attempt on her part to get me to update my blog. I guess is worked because I am finally getting around to following the rules of this adventure (at least most of them).

The meme is Six Quirky Things About Yourself and here are the rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged me (Cary)
2) Mention the rules
3) Tell six quirky yet boring things about yourself
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them
5) Go to each person's blog to let them know they have been tagged!

So here are my Six Quirky Things:

1. Whenever I eat chips (potato chips, Doritos, etc.) I try to eat all the little broken pieces first, saving the large whole chips for the last.
2. And, once I am down to just the whole chips, I tend to snap off pieces and eat them instead of biting into the whole chip.
3. All the t-shirts in my drawer are folded with the front picture out and visible. This makes it easier for me to grab the desired white t-shirt. Since my kids do most of the laundry folding this means I usually re-fold most of my t-shirts because they rarely even turn it right side out much less fold it picture out.
4. All of my white socks live in a Christopher and Banks bag at the bottom of my closet. My colored socks are in a dresser drawer (which is too small to also hold the white socks) arranged somewhat by color.
5. I hate crawling into an unmade bed but I am willing to navigate through and around all kinds of stuff to get to the bed.
6. The toilet paper roll is always put on the dispenser with the paper coming over the top and falling towards the front of the roll (farthest point from the wall). I believe this is done by me because the plaster wall in my bathroom has a rough texture and if the roll is placed the other way I will invariably scrape a knuckle on the wall attempting to find the end of the roll. In my next home the walls of the bathroom will be smooth so that this problem is eliminated.

Wow, that wasn’t easy. Probably because I find all these things to be completely rational, this just proves how crazy we all are.

Now to the part of the rules I will be rebelling against. As a bad blogger I rarely update this blog and the only blogs I visit consistently are Serenity Farms (who tagged me), Maple who has way too much happening right now to be tagged and a couple of blogs visited by millions (Yarnharlot and PioneerWoman) neither of which will I be tagging. So…if you happen to visit this post and want to be tagged so you can play along feel free to leave me a comment and I will update this post to tag you.

Enjoy the rest of your day and come back and see me again if I haven’t scared you off with my quirky self.
…Pam

Treating Myself

2008-07-06T15:38:00.004-05:00

Just got back from Lansing, signed up for a weekend of classes at Threadbear being given in August by Maggie Jackson. She is from Ireland, a country I really want to visit someday, and she designs using unusual textures, materials and stitches. I am excited to expand my knitting knowledge and try something new.

This is a treat for myself after surviving the last week and what will probably be the challenges of the next 3 weeks. Husband had neck surgery last Monday for a compressed disk and all went really well. One night in the hospital and I brought him back home. First couple of days were pretty quiet because the 'good' drugs kept him sleeping quite a bit but we are now well on the road to recovery and boredom is setting in quick. He has never been one to set still so a month of no driving and limited lifting/movement will be interesting. I will certainly deserve that class by the time it gets here.

I finished daughter #2's bolero and happily put that pattern and leftover yarn away. Making 3 sweaters from the same pattern is enough for me.

During my wait time in the hospital, I worked on the second sock for the railroad sock pattern started in January. Purposely took this sock with me because I knew the odds of me finishing the second sock on this one was pretty slim because the first took me such a long time to do. Combination of skinny yarn and small needles was not good even though I loved the look of the final sock. Strategy worked as sock number 2 is at heel and going well.

Nursing time at home has been spent working on the Wistful Swing Jacket pattern from Mission Falls. Fell in love with this coat when I tried it on a couple of years ago in a local yarn store. At full price the yarn itself would have cost me about $175 so I couldn't justify it at the time. I got lucky and found the yarn on clearance so for $27 plus cost of pattern and time I will hopefully have a long coat sweater I love.

It will be interesting to see if the coat or sock is finished first.

A Short Visit

2008-06-15T10:19:00.005-05:00

I finished my rambling rows jacket this week. Pattern from Cottage Creations, cream yarn was recycled from a sweater I made my husband 25 years ago when he was my boyfriend. It was in the donation box and I had always loved the feel of the yarn...so I disassembled, washed and finally chose this pattern to remake it. I ran short of yarn when I got near the end of the sleeves so finishing digressed from the original pattern which calls for cuffs and a button band. My version has kimono type sleeves with I-cord edging around cuffs, collar and front. Chose Plymouth Encore Colorspun in colorway 7512 with the help of Mary.

While taking my photos to share I had a short visit from a friendly butterfly. I think he saw the camera and decided to get in on the action since he posed for several shots before continuing on with his daily flight.

I'm still here...

2008-05-30T19:19:00.004-05:00

I'm still here...just been busy weeding and raking and knitting and doing the Mom thing. A quick catch up on the last 8 weeks.

Garden is in. Lovely Michigan weather means we have had to cover plants for frost warnings 3 times now. The last one took out about a dozen tomato and pepper plants so we just picked up some more. Gotta have enough plants for the salsa and spaghetti sauce.

Finished daughter number 1's Holy Moly just in time to wear it for Short Ones First Communion. Here we are in our fancy clothes.

Daughter number 2 has now requested a Holy Moly of her own since the little sweater we found at Sears is a little big. I have the back done up to the armholes compliments of hang out time on Mother's day.

Items I've managed to finish -
Sweater for Alpaca with a Twist (sorry forgot to take a picture before shipping it off).
Last February's sock, pattern is Hellen's Socks, yarn is from Live On.

Track meets have been good for knitting time. Got a dishcloth done for the kitchen supply cabinet and finished sock one 'Little Sky Sock' in Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Need to make the pair to this guy to figure out a couple of things I did wrong on the first sock.

Knitting goals for the summer are to work my way through the remaining socks in Cat's book, try a mobieus scarf, finish a few UFOs and hopefully add a couple of designs to the Etsy store. I better go get busy.

Holy Moly

2008-04-07T18:30:00.003-05:00

I finished my Holy Moly Bolero. Now working on the same pattern in a smaller size for daughter number 1. Used yarn that has been in the stash for at least 20 years. Pattern came from December 07 issue of Knit N Style. Made my sleeves 3/4 length instead of long. Daughter is talking about short sleeves for hers.

In case any of my knitting buddies visit...I did not attend the knitting circle tonight because I am fighting a cold. Thought we would all appreciate me sharing my knitting via my blog and keeping my germs to myself. Hope to see you all next week.

Yarn Swift

2008-03-24T19:04:00.004-05:00

Yarn swift is done. This was one adventure I don't think he wants to repeat. He just finished a mini niddy noddy that turned out really nice. I want to put a finish on it and add a cool pin to hold the one end before I share pictures.

Niddy Noddy

2008-02-25T20:10:00.003-05:00

My husband was busy in the wood shop again last weekend. This time I have a niddy noddy to show for his creativity. It is always amazing to me how I can hand him a picture of an item and he will come back a few hours later with a 3D version of my request. He is also working on a yarn swift following a pattern I purchased. He got it about 1/2 done before he left for his last snowmobile trip of the season.

My snow widow weekend was spent reorganizing one of the few closets in my farmhouse. I moved some items not needed to the basement to make room for a clothes bar. Tonight I skipped knit night in order to play with power tools. My clothes bar is hung and now I have wiggle room in my regular closet since the rarely worn dresses and coats now have a new home.

A Nostipinne

2008-02-17T18:19:00.005-05:00

The 45 degree weather and rain took the view of the barn from a winter wonderland to this...

The cats spend the day close to the house and watching what we humans are up to.

And my husband spent some time in his woodshop working a nostipinne on his lathe.

Still on his list to create...a wpi gauge and a niddy noddy.

Fuzzy Slippers for American Girl dolls

2008-02-10T17:08:00.000-05:00

I finally modified my doll slipper pattern to include a knit sole for all those non crocheters out there. Enjoy the pattern in which ever form you decide to create it. If you have any questions please post them as a comment to this entry so that others can benefit from the answers. Feel free to print this pattern off for your personal use but do not republish or post this elsewhere.

Thanks
...Pamala

Gauge: 9 rows and 11 stitches = 2 inches / 5 cm

Needle size: US 7 / 4.5 mm double point or size to obtain gauge

Crochet hook size H (if following crochet foot pad option)

Materials: a small amount ( 8 yard / 7.3 meter) of a plush yarn such as Plymouth Heaven, Schachenmayr Hip Hop or Red Heart Baby Cloud

a small amount ( 15 yard / 13.7 meter) of a worsted weight yarn

Abbreviations: sc – single crochet

Pattern

Knit Slipper foot pad

With 2 of the size 7 needles and worsted yarn cast on 5 stitches.

Row 1: Knit across increasing 1 stitch in 2^nd and 4^th stitch. (7 stitches)
Row 2: Knit across.
Row 3: Knit across increasing 1 stitch in 2^nd and 6^th stitch. (9 stitches)
Row 4 – 20: Knit across
Row 21: Knit across decreasing 1 stitch at each end. (7 stitches)
Row 22: Knit across.
Row 23: Knit across decreasing 1 stitch at each end. (5 stitches)
Cast off.

Continue with slipper body instructions.

Crocheted Slipper foot pad

With crochet hook and worsted yarn chain 8 stitches.

Round 1:
2 sc in second chain from hook, 1 sc in each of the next 5 chains, 4 sc in last stitch, following around bottom side of original chain, work 1 sc in next 5 chains, 2 sc in last hook (this should be the same chain in which round started). Do not join with beginning of round. (18 sc)

Round 2 and 3:
In back loop only and without joining, sc around foot pad increasing 4 stitches on each round by doing 2 sc in each of the corners of the round. (26 sc)

Join final sc to beginning of 3^rd round with a chain stitch. Tie off end.

Continue with slipper body instructions.

Slipper body

Row 1:
Using double points and plush yarn pick up and knit 26 stitches around foot pad starting at join or cast off point and arranging stitches so that 9 stitches from first side and 2 from footpad back are on 1^st needle, remaining 2 stitches from back and 9 stitches from second side are on next needle and 4 stitches for front toe are on 3^rd needle.

Row 2 (increase row):
Knit across increasing 1 stitch at each corner, 30 stitches. (Increases should occur in stitches 1, 9, 14 and 22.)

Row 3 (increase row):
Knit across increasing 1 stitch at beginning of needle 1 and at end of needle 2, 32 stitches. Stitches should be arranged 14 on needle 1, 14 on needle 2 and 4 stitches for front toe on needle 3 which are the last stitches worked on row 3.

Toe short rows:

Working in stockinette stitch starting with purl row and only the stitches on needle 3 (toe stitches) bring in 1 stitch from the side needle and work it together with the 1^st stitch of the toe row as follows:

Row 1: slide 1 stitch from needle 1 to needle 3, on needle 3, purl 2 together, purl remaining 3 stitches. Turn work.

Row 2: slide 1 stitch from needle 2 to needle 3, on needle 3, knit 2 together, knit remaining 3 stitches. Turn work.

Continue in this manner for 10 toe rows. 22 stitches remain.

Row 4:
Knit across 22 stitches even.

Slipper cuff
Change to worsted weight yarn, work in knit 1, purl 1 rib for 4 rows. Cast off cuff.

Finishing
Weave all loose ends into cuff, foot pad or body as appropriate to hide.

Thursday

2008-01-31T20:20:00.000-05:00

This week started out with a couple of inches of snow which quickly melted in the 40+ degree weather of early in the week and then reality hit in the form of high winds and sub-zero wind chills and by the end of the weekend we should be back to at least a couple inches of snow or lots more depending on which meteorologist you listen to. Michigan weather is never boring.

Running hither and yon this week was limited so I was able to attend sock night at Sip N Knit. Good thing…I had them lining up for help on double knitting and sewing up the bunny pattern from Heart Strings Fiber Arts. It is always good to be welcomed with enthusiasm and then be able to share my skills with others. I went home with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I get this feeling a lot with the women in Ithaca. Recharges my batteries for another week of going to work, helping with homework and all the other chores of life.

Off the needles
This week 2 items have come off the needles:

Sock number 1 for January’s Sock of the Month which is the Railroad Rib Socks pattern from Fiber Trends is done. I like the pattern but the yarn chosen from the stash ‘Red Heart Luster Sheen’ and size 1 needles make this a long knit although I love the resulting fit. Up until now I have not been happy with the fit of my hand knit socks, they are always rather sloppy on my feet. Could be a sign I should do a better job of checking gauge and such but where is the fun and adventure in that? Sock 2 will happen but not immediately. Need to rebuild the reserves for this one.

I also took out the lace waist of the AG shorts, decreased stitches and used smaller needles and I am much happier with the result. The fit is much nicer on the doll. I can now finish this area of instructions on the pattern. Should be up for offer it in my Etsy shop soon.

On the needles

February’s sock has been started. The pattern is Hellen’s Socks from Fiber Trends and I am using some yarn from the stash that I picked up at Lavender and Peonies, a yarn shop in DeWitt, approximately 2 years ago. Golly, time flies when we are busy.

Started the Cobblestone Pullover from Interweave for hubby by doing the swatch on size 7 needles which turned out to be too small so we re-swatched on 8’s which are closer. The number of stitches per 4 inches is within ½ a stitch so that is good but I am several rows shy of the rows per 4 inches so I may have to adjust shaping at the neck to accommodate this difference. Needles have been purchased though so onward we shall trudge.

Goofy Girls

2008-01-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

My final Christmas project was a knitting bag for my younger daughter. Here it is as modeled by both of my goofy girls.

One of my bags was being used to carry her knitting around and I had some wool that she kept wanting to help herself to so I put that together with an old bag turned liner and crocheted her a bag. I got to test felt a swatch and determine how big to make the bag based on my test. I was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked out close to my calculations. Also got to install a zipper into my work for the second time. I think I am getting the hang of it.

Knitting for Gift Giving

2007-12-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

12 days to go until Christmas and the knitted gifts are coming along quite nicely.

First up is the felted clog from the fiber trends pattern. Knit out of Cascade 220, color number 9454. These are going to the sister-in-law but I also purchased some more Cascade 220 in color number 9413 (a mixture of green and black) last night at the Sip N Knit Pajama Party to make my own pair this winter.

Next, finished just this morning, is the Funshine outfit for Bitty Baby. Niece Sierra is a fan of both American Girl and Care Bears so we attempted to meld the 2 together and I must say I am very happy with the results. I used the hoodie pattern I designed for the American Girl doll and used one size down for needles, shortened the arms and it fit. I also modified the front to include the signature Care Bear belly white and then came back later with duplicate stitch for the sun. Skirt is a simple tube with a rib waist and picot edge and socks are from the wonderful sock pattern designed by Judy Gibson.

Back to the needles, still have a couple of projects to finish.

Knit Night

2007-11-27T22:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Knit Night but I didn't go because it looked like this out my kitchen door.

I was good though and sat down during the regularly scheduled knitting time and finished the doll pants I had been working on. No picture yet though, sorry.

I can share this picture though.

This is a reversible headband to match the winter coat I purchased last year. I have been meaning to try this since I took my double knitting class. It is made using a black yarn and a self striping sock yarn. Pattern is my own. I prefer the black side myself so that is how I have been wearing it.

Side tripping

2007-11-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

As I type this my shawl pattern lays next to the keyboard and looks back at me accusingly because I have pretty much ignored it over the last week or so. I got side tracked turning this fiber which is the result of my first dyeing attempt

into this single

and then plying that single with my first spinning which I did about 1 year ago

into 170 yards of this

which I am thinking will soon become a pair of mittens to go with my brown coat. We will return to the shawl pattern as soon as we admit to the error we made which means I need to go back about 10 rows in the already completed portion, rework and then continue on.

Battle of the Forsythia

2007-11-04T20:26:00.000-05:00

I am still working away at the shawl pattern. Made fairly good progress today since I lacked ambition to do much else. Used it all up yesterday on the forsythia bushes. Or, more accurately, in ripping out the forsythia bushes. Several years ago I planted 3 twigs. I have spent countless hours trimming and trying to control the resulting jungle. Yesterday I hauled out 4 wheel barrows full. I am now down to the original 3 twigs which are currently 4 inch stumps that will require the use of the axe. Once that is done I will need to diligently watch this area over the next couple of growing seasons to make sure I get any remaining roots before they can take hold. If all goes well, I will reward myself with some Rose of Sharon bushes next spring. Pretty flowers and low maintenance.

Diligently Writing

2007-10-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

I have been diligently writing up the pattern for my journey shawl. I am not sure how others do this but my method is to track what I do as I knit the item, then write up what I think I did and finally create the item again from the written pattern. This method has worked fine for me up until now because the items I have written patterns for have been small. The shawl is a slightly larger task though. But I am making progress. I am through the shoulder increases and half way to the end of the side cables. Once I get to the bottom lace I will be home free since then I can knit it anywhere as the pattern get repetitive at that point. My goal is mid-November to have it ready to go in the Etsy shop.

Recent Projects

2007-10-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

Finished a couple of projects recently. First was a swap busting project. I took the yarn leftover from the shawl I was test knitting and made a capelet following the Chanson en Crochet pattern. I had to finish without the picot edging around the neck because of lack of yarn at the end but I like how it turned out even without this.

Project number 2 was new yarn purchased for the Monday night sock group at Sip N Knit in Ithaca. Cary provided us with her new pattern to test knit. I really enjoyed this pattern and may even be converted into a sometime sock knitter. It was much more enjoyable than the first pair of socks I made. Probably because of the heavier yarn which was used. If you look closely you may just be able to make out the coffee cup pattern which runs just below the ribbing on the sock. Hard to see in the variegated yarn I chose but some of the other yarn combinations being used have shown the pattern off beautifully.

New Desk

2007-10-05T15:13:00.000-05:00

My sister was hitting garage sales last week and found me the perfect desk. Since my husband has taken over the office for his work I have been relegated to a corner of the dining room on an old tv table that came with our house and a chair we used to use in the kitchen. There was barely enough room to set my laptop on the table and the height of the table did not correspond with the chair. My new desk fits well in my home and in the tiny corner I have carved out for myself. I doubt I will get any more done but at least I look good while sitting at my desk.

Harvest almost complete

2007-10-03T18:53:00.000-05:00

Fall is here in full swing and hubby and I have been harvesting and preserving in every free moment. The final big push happened this weekend when we added 15 quarts of salsa and 11 jars of pizza sauce to the spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, grape jam and myriad jars of other items that can be found on the basement shelves. It gives me a good feeling to walk into the basement and select a jar from the shelf or an item from the freezer to set on my table which was grown in my garden and prepared in my kitchen. The final batch of grapes have been cleaned, smashed and is currently draining in the kitchen. The juice will become jam sometime in the next couple of days and I will again have time to devote to my other hobbies.

An update on the cotton...
The plants continue to flower and produce pods. All the rain we have gotten in the last couple of weeks seem to have encouraged a new flowering season. The things I have read say I should be plucking off the flowers so the plant can concentrate on the bolls but they are too pretty so I will be happy with less cotton and enjoy the flowers while I can. We covered the plants once a couple of weeks ago when we got a scattered frost. Other than that they are still doing well and I am waiting patiently for my first boll to pop open and share its soft bounty with me.

Blocked and ready to go

2007-09-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

The wrap has been blocked and is ready to be sent off. All I will have left is this picture and the pleasure of having made something I am proud of.

Trains and Buses

2007-09-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

Recently took the train to Chicago with my daughters for a long weekend and then a bus to Nashville, Indiana with my mom and sister for a girls outing. The results of these excursions where my hands were free to knit is that the wrap I am test knitting for Alpaca with a Twist is almost complete. I have about 1/2 of the last side to edge and then I can block it. The yarn is almost a burnt orange instead of the red it appears to be in the picture. A beautiful fall color. The pattern is by Sharon Winsauer and is easy enough to memorize (after a couple false starts on my part) once you get going and difficult enough to keep your interest. It is not yet available on their website but probably will be shortly.

Rainy Weekend

2007-08-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

A rainy weekend at the cottage with friends had kids out dodging raindrops, husbands having a grand time as the fish were biting and wives sitting in the quiet of the cabin and enjoying the peace. Lots of gossiping and, in my case, knitting was done. Finished the shawl and I am very happy with the results. I wasn't sure about my edging when I started it but I love it on the finished project. Next on the list is writing up the pattern.

I have started a wrap for Alpaca with a Twist. Pictures will be shared next time maybe.

Abundance of Summer

2007-08-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, been almost a month since my last post. Too many things to do in the summer so computer time is taking a hit. Things I have accomplished in the last month...

Finished first pass of a new pattern for the etsy shop. Here is how it turned out. I have some changes I want to try on the next one before the pattern is ready for publishing.

Read the final book in the Harry Potter series. I really enjoyed the ending. I will say no more in case any of you are still working on it.

Garden produce is everywhere. I have been distributing zucchini and cucumbers at the office. Canning of the beans and pickles is done for the year. I started freezing beets and peppers this evening. Sweet corn is almost ready. Husband has started digging up the red potatoes. Noticed my first orange tomato tonight so we are getting close to salsa, spaghetti, soup and pizza sauce time. Half of the onions have been dried and stored. Waiting patiently for the first cantalope to be ready for picking.

Finished spinning my purple fleece and made my first 2 ply. Still need to wash it to set the twist.

Cotton plants are flowering. I saw my first flowers on them last night and they are lovely in my opinion. Color seems to vary from light pink to deep rose on the same plant. Not sure if this is an indication of how long the flower has been opened or just the way it is. I will have to keep an eye on them for the next couple of days and see what I can learn.

Finally, this years fun project has been eating up a considerable amount of time. We have had a flower bed next to a wall on the barn hill for about 15 years. It's main purpose is to hold the cement wall which holds the dirt on the hill. Maintaining and weeding of this area has become impossible so my husband suggested converting it into the water feature I had been hinting at for a couple of years. It only took us about a week to start digging in. Lots of shoveling and rock arranging later this is where we are currently at. Still working out the kinks on the pump which the water can also flow through and pour into the bucket and we will probably be doing some more digging to increase the size and depth of the bottom pool so it is deep enough to house fish. Those modifications and some more plantings to disguise the mechanics of it and I think we will have this one conquered. Next year, we are talking about a covered bridge.

Update on the cotton and knitting projects

2007-07-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

I had a request from Jean about my cotton growing venture today so I thought I would provide some more information for her and an update for anyone else who is interested. Along with a quick note on the knitting projects.

Cotton status, as of today, I still have 4 of the original 10 cotton plants which went outdoors (3 green cotton plants and 1 white). The plants are approximately 12 inches tall and appear to be getting some type of seed in the center just below the top leaves. I tried to get a picture of this but it got too fuzzy when I zoomed in. So I have only included an overall picture of the plant.

In the knitting arena I currently have 3 projects I am actively working on.

My Journey Shawl grew considerably during the Maine vacation but I wasn't happy with some parts of the pattern. Originally, I was going to continue on and just do another one using what I had learned with this one but last night I changed my mind. So I ripped out (is this what people refer to as frogging???) about 4 inches of the shawl, back to the part of the pattern I was not happy with. I have now started back in finishing out the cables and converting over to a simple lace pattern but this time I have included a border to separate the cables from the lace and will hopefully not make quite so many errors on the lace portion.

Another project is a rambling rows cardigan for myself from yarn I recycled from a sweater I had made my husband when we were dating (approximately 17 years ago). He wore it rarely and was getting rid of it. I always loved the yarn so I took the sweater apart and am making one for myself. I have completed the back and am working on the front right side currently. Pictures will be provided someday.

Final project is a double knit hot pad in a yellow and green check pattern. I made one for my sister-in-law last fall which she really enjoys so I started another to place in the etsy shop if I ever finish it.

Now, more cotton details for those who are interested. Everyone else may want to stop reading now unless you are having trouble with insomnia, then by all means continue.

March 12, 2007 - received 3 varieties of cotton seeds (white, red and green) from mail order
March 15, 2007 - planted seeds in 4 inch peet pots filled with Miracle Grow potting soil. 12 (6 white, 3 red, 3 green) pots were placed in bay window with an eastern exposure. Remaining 3 pots (1 of each type) were placed at a western exposure window. Watering was done as needed to keep the pots moist.

Late May, 5 white, 2 red and 3 green pots had sprouted. All 3 in western exposure sprouted and 7 in Eastern exposure. Plants varied from just a couple leaves to up to 5 leaves. Placed on screened in back porch to harden off in preparation for planting outdoors. Continued to water as needed.

June 2, approximately 11 weeks after starting the plants, they were transferred outside to a full sun location on the corner of the property. Soil in the outside location is just regular dirt (I added nothing special to improve it) although, it is some of the better soil we have on the property since we have a lot of clay which is like growing in rocks. For the first 3 weeks, I watered pretty much daily unless I got help from Mother Nature. Since then it has been just as needed. I lost all but 4 plants usually to the sun burning them off but one was killed by an over-helpful husband, I still have 1 white and 3 green plants. In hind site I shouldn't have planted some of the smaller plants out until they got 4 or 5 leaves on them.

Hope that helps Jean. If you or anyone else has more questions let me know.

Vacation in Maine

2007-07-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

Maine was beautiful. We took off on Saturday morning and by Sunday evening we had made it to Portland, Maine (driving, of course, with 4 kids). Maine reminded me a lot of the upper peninsula of Michigan only on a grander scale. The hills and mountains are higher, the rocks are bigger and the water is colder. The kids had a wonderful time climbing on rocks and daring the waves as they came in one the tide. Most of the time the waves won.

We did lots of hiking through Acadia trying to burn off the energy of 4 kids cooped up in a car for too long. Most days it worked and we didn't leave any of them behind in Maine so it was a good vacation. Here is the gang on one of the trails and another shot of a rock they all thought looked like an 'L' which is a joke with the neighbor - L stands for Loser and we will have to get this one framed for the Big M.

If anyone has thought about visiting Maine I would say go for it. We all had lots of fun. On the way home we stopped at several locations including Step Falls in Newry Maine

Toured Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory in Vermont and also the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. Lots of fun.

When I got home I had a package waiting for me. It was the 2008 knitting calendar. I had submitted one of my patterns and they included it in next year's calendar. Guess I can now say I have been published.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-06-29T20:11:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted and this one isn't going to be much of a post but at least I can say I am still here.

Working on a design for the journey shawl. Hope to have a picture or two to share in the next week or so since I will have lots of knitting time in the car in the near future.

Garden is growing like a banshee and the cotton plants are looking very good. I still have 4 plants, 3 are green cotton and 1 is standard white. All of them have doubled in size since we got the thunderstorms earlier in the week. Joe at work says they love the nitrogen in the rain. Don't know if he is right but they certainly like something about God's watering over mine. That's ok, I prefer God do the watering as well :o) .

Hubby has been gone for the last week working on a cottage for a friend so I have had to keep the home fire burning on my own. Thankfully he is back.

Getting ready for vacation now, probably won't post again until we get back. Check back in a couple of weeks, I hope to have some awesome pictures to share from Maine.

Let the Journey begin

2007-06-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

Last night was the second official meeting of the Journey to a Shawl group at Sip N Knit and the first I was able to attend. Journey to a Shawl was an adventure I heard about through Maple and Cary. If you would like to learn more about the Journey click here. Originally I was going to make the shawl from yarn I purchased some time ago and I have even started that shawl as mentioned in a previous post. But the more I thought about what this is suppose to be...a journey, trying something new, expanding ourselves together...I decided that I should at least try the spinning part of the journey. So last night I took along my spinning wheel instead of my knitting. When I purchased my wheel Alisa threw in the roving and spinning you see at the base of the wheel. It is a beautiful shade of purple which is one of my favorite colors as attested to by the blue purple tiles and purples walls in the background of the picture. She had spun everything you see and decided it wasn't the hobby for her. My plans are to finish spinning the roving and then using my spinning and whatever I need of Alisa's to knit the shawl. This is definitely not lace weight yarn so I am also studying some shawl patterns to get the general idea and then I will come up with something I hope will work with the yarn I have.
On other subjects, I have 3 cotton plants doing really well and 3 others I am hopeful will make it. I lost a couple of them within the first days of being moved outside and yesterday my husband accidentally uprooted one while he was weeding. Luckily it was one of the questionable ones although my last red one that was still hanging in there. He quickly replanted it but the odds are not in it's favor.

Summer vacation has begun for the kids and boredom is looming for them. I need to get the chores list done for them as well as the summer olympic games. And for anyone who is curious about the summer olympics, this is a boredom chaser we started 2 summers ago. Each year we come up with silly games/contests the kids do during the day and then record their progress. Hubby and I try to make sure we note the events recorded through out the week and praise the progress. I will even do up award certificates at the end of summer. Amazingly, each child usually receives the same number of awards. Previous years events have included # of free throws made out of 100, best golf score using the miniature golf course we created in the back yard using empty frosting cups, number of puzzle pieces placed, pages and books read, etc. It is a fun way to get the kids to keep in practice with their sports, keep them reading or just stop boredom.

Off to check on the garden and cotton and then spend some time studying the shawl patterns.

Growing cotton in Michigan

2007-06-05T18:12:00.000-05:00

About 9 months ago I got an opportunity to buy a used Louet spinning wheel which I jumped at the chance to purchase. Spinning wheels are one of those things that have fascinated me since I was a small child. Through the Middle of the Mitten group I have also met wonderful ladies through whom I can purchase wool, alpaca and angora roving for spinning but even with these sources I wanted to have my own source of spinning material. I thought about rabbits or a goat but my husband wasn't keen on the idea and I admit I don't really have time to take care of animals. So I found a used copy of the book 'A Weaver's Garden' by Rita Buchanan which tells how to grow many plants for fiber. Flax and hemp are mentioned as being very easy to grow in Northern climates but the preparation of the plant for spinning was somewhat involved, not to mention growing hemp (or marijuana) is illegal and I don't think they would allow my wheel or needles inside the cell with me.

So my next choice was cotton. But I live in Michigan, definitely not cotton growing country but
nothing ventured, nothing gained so off I went to investigate using my trust worthy tool, Google. I found an article by Nev Sweeney describing small scale cotton growing. He described how he had broken several rules of cotton growing but was still successful in his endeavor. With Nev in my corner I found a source for cotton seeds at www.earthlyseed.com (Google again), purchased some peat pots and potting soil and away I went.

Placed the planted seeds on the windowsill about mid March.
It took 2 - 3 weeks for the first little guys to poke their heads out.

At about 10 weeks after planting, I moved the plants from the windowsill to the screened in back porch to prepare them for the fluctuations in Michigan's weather and at 11 weeks I moved them to the selected location in the yard.

Like a hen with her chicks I have been checking them at least daily making sure that they are doing ok and nothing is disturbing their growth. If all goes well I will have 3 kinds of cotton to play with by September, a standard white variety - Upland, a green cotton and Nankeen - a red cotton. Gotta go check on my babies now.

Knitting from the stash

2007-05-28T11:53:00.000-05:00

I learned to knit one afternoon at my cousin's house when I was about 8 years old. For the next year or so I could randomly be found messing with the set of needles and yarn my mom had in her collection of hobbies tried and set aside box. Back then I remember casting on by just putting loops on the needle, made for a really loose edge. In 3rd grade I joined the local 4H group. That first year I made 2 pairs of slippers and a hat, mittens and scarf set. The following year I made 2 sweaters, one for myself and one for my little sister. I was well and truly addicted. This afternoon I will work with the 4H group I currently lead and beg them to concentrate on their projects. Most of them will not have picked up the needles since last week when we met last. I have to remind myself that they are learning and not everyone will be as obsessive as I was back then. But I digress...

Once I started babysitting and earning money I began spending that money on yarn. Through high school and college I haunted places like Michael's and Frank's, both of which had much larger selections of yarn than the local Meijer's or Kmart. Anytime there was something on clearance that I liked I picked it up without having any idea of what I would do with it. This habit along with the leftovers from countless afghans has lead to a fairly large stash of yarn which I am currently attempting to work my way through. Much of the stash is used for the doll clothes in my etsy shop but some of the larger quantities I have put to use for bigger projects. A couple of years ago I made a poncho for myself.

My latest stash project (pictured here as it is blocked) is from the 'Saity' pattern at knitty.com. The blue/gray color is from the stash. It is an acrylic yarn called Angorel which was purchased approximately 20 years ago. The navy blue sides are washable Iceland purchased from Threadbear in Lansing. I am pretty happy with the final results. Just have to find some fun buttons, thinking navy blue, to finish it off and I will have a new coat for the fall.

Friendship Sweaters

2007-05-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Maple's order for 2 sweaters for her granddaughter's I finally finished writing the hoodie pattern. I usually have to make 3 or 4 sweaters before I am ready to write the pattern. Yesterday I blocked the sweaters and then wrote up the pattern. I am currently working one more sweater from the pattern instead of from my chicken scratchings to make sure I wrote it correctly. Then it will be off to my etsy shop with the pattern.

Next on the doll pattern agenda may be a dress or sundress. Ideas are still percolating.

I also saw the cutest sweater at the wedding last week that I am thinking about making for myself or my girls. It might make a perfect first pattern to submit to knitty.

Now I am off to work on sewing up the sweater I am making for myself. Pictures to share in a day or so hopefully.

Creative Wrapping 101

2007-05-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

I picked up a gift certificate for my parents for their 45th wedding anniversary. We are heading over to my sister's house for a family get together in honor of the folks in about an hour. So...I was looking around trying to come up with a way to wrap the certificate. Certificates are great to give and get but they are kinda boring when it comes to the whole gift opening/surprise thing.
Looked through the stash of gift bags and ran across this short little cream colored guy that reminded me of a vase. Thought of the lilacs (which my dad likes) that are growing in various locations in the yard. Now I just needed a vase that travels.
Cottage cheese container, tissue paper and a ribbon and we had it. Put water in the container, place cover on container to prevent splashing, insert flowers into slits cut into cover, wrap with tissue paper held in place with ribbon. More tissue paper in the bag to hold the container and flower steady, insert card and gift certificate in back behind flowers and presto...a nicely wrapped gift certificate. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Stop the world and let me off

2007-05-16T05:08:00.000-05:00

Some weeks are crazier than others and this one is shaping up to be one of the craziest in recent history. Since I last posted here my days have been insanely full but this is the norm for May (and why it is one of my least favorite months). Why does everyone schedule events in May? Since last Thursday I have attended the school picnic and served sno-cones for 3 hours, gotten my son and daughter to their soccer games, attended a wedding, did the mom day things for both moms, gotten the other daughter home from track practice, met to plan the girl scout Chicago trip, taken minutes at a 2 hour plus parent school council meeting, went to the girl scout bridging ceremony and worked my 40 hour a week job. We still have a track meet at which I have to work concessions, a couple of soccer and track practices and a 45th anniversary party for my parents to get through. Hopefully Sunday stays open because my oldest desperately needs a new pair of skateboard shoes. We are presently using duct tape to keep them together.
Luckily, I have found a small amount of time to knit. While visiting on Mom's day I finished one of the two american girl doll sweaters ordered by Maple. Picture is not the best since I took it last night during the storm (poor lighting) but this one is peach and the blue yarn next to it is in process of becoming the next one. If things go well tonight at the track meet, I should get home by 8pm so that will leave about an hour in my day to get some more knitting in. Hoping to finish and get them blocked and ready to go by the weekend.

I also managed to get the onions in the garden last night before the rain. Dave got some lettuce and radishes in a couple of night ago and the tomato and pepper plants have been purchased and are residing in the garage presently. Sunday may be the day to finish putting in the garden as well as going shoe shopping and lets not forget that the house is a mess, gotta fit in some house cleaning. Time to head to work.

Elbows and Arms

2007-05-11T04:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday started out like a normal Thursday, get up, go to work, find something to do productive. Then the phone rang and off to get x-rays we go. Megan, our 12 year old, had taken a spill at school that her elbow had not appreciated. So I called the doctor for an x-ray appointment and I called Dave who went and got Megan and met me at the doctors and then we filled out forms and waited. There was no swelling or bleeding so we were pretty sure we just had a bad bruise or hyper extension but better safe than sorry given last fall when Molly sent us through the adventure of 2 broken arms.

X-rays appeared fine (although the radiologist still needs to look at them). Megan is still babying the arm so we will see how today goes and then decide what to do about soccer this weekend.

Then, since it was a beautiful day and nothing pressing was happening at work I got a free afternoon once I dropped Megan back at school. Came home, grabbed some lunch, transplanted some rasberries that were coming up in the cardinal bush hedge and then went through the yarn stash looking for possible colors for the hoodies Maple has commissioned.

Pictured above is my first color choice (in pink) and what I am making (in green). I wasn't sure how much yarn it was going to take and the pink was not enough. I have 2 arms, a front and back but no hood. Guess that one will be finished and posted in the etsy store and we go back to the stash for a larger quantity.

A man and his remote

2007-05-08T20:13:00.000-05:00

Don't get between a man and his remote! Our youngest showed his temper earlier today by throwing the remote. We recently applied parental limits on the cable so that the kids would have to go outside or do something else besides watch cartoons. Apparently, Travis was upset when his time was up so he threw the remote and busted it. Like all current technology, using the cable without a remote is not an easy thing. Well, Dad got home, discovered the broken remote and went off the deep end (hmmm wonder where Travis gets his temper from?).

Anyways, Travis (and the other kids by default) are now all banned from the cable. Travis is also banned from the computer. Dave's blood pressure should go down in about an hour and I have disappeared to the computer since conflict and me have never gotten along.

I left Dave with the suggestion that we bring the other cable box from the basement up to the living room TV (has a working remote but of course they are not interchangeable remotes) and we move the living room cable box to the bedroom. This provides me with a few more options of things to watch when the neighbors are over for sports and I disappear with my knitting into the bedroom. Getting up to change the channel doesn't bother me. I remember when TV used to be black and white and someone had to hold the antenna to get the picture to come in correctly.

Kids are now off to bed so it is probably save to go pick up my knitting and relax. I am about to start the collar...the end is near.

Shawl Knitting Begins

2007-05-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

I made the trip north today after work to join some lovely ladies in an evening of knitting. These ladies have been meeting every Monday night since last fall, conquering a new sock pattern each month. I haven't been able to join them up until now since my Mondays have been committed to parent school council meetings or the 4H knitting group. But today the stars aligned (in other words, no 4H because no school, records day and no meeting) so my evening was free and, the best part, they have decided to do shawls for the summer and I have had pattern (Point D'Esprit Shawl from Aurora Yarns) and yarn (100% Alpaca from Drops) sitting here for months waiting for me to start. A sign from the heavens... me thinks.

So off I traipsed to Sip N Knit in Ithaca for knitting and socializing. If you are ever in the area I recommend a stop as it is a lovely yarn shop and they serve very tasty sandwiches, soup and slushies. (They also have coffees but I don't have the taste buds for that particular beverage, everyone else seems to enjoy it though.) Did a little socializing, a little knitting (progress pictured along with pattern picture of what it will be when done) and generally relaxed for a couple of hours. Just the way every Monday should end.

Haim on Fire

2007-05-06T18:11:00.000-05:00

It took me all day but I finished my entry for the etsy Haim on Fire contest. Not thrilled with the final product but my girls think it is cool. Just the fact that I knit something that looked completely different from one side to the other has them completely baffled.

For me, I need lots more practice on both double knitting and intarsia before I will be happy with the final results but I will say that creating it was fun and it will hopefully increase the traffic to my etsy shop.

Now, back to the spring jacket I am making for myself from my stash. Will hopefully have pictures of that to share by the end of the week.

A New Hobby

2007-05-05T13:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new hobby, blogging. Time I started figuring out what this blogging is all about. If nothing else, it will give me something to look back on to figure out what I did last week since the memory isn't what it used to be.

Eventually, once I figure this all out, I will be sharing pictures of what is currently on my needles, recent patterns created for my daughters collection of dolls, how my garden grows and the progress of my current adventure, cotton growing.

Best day of this week was Wednesday. I took a vacation day and treated myself to a Lucy Neatby class. It was such fun and the day flew by. Lucy shared lots of tips and tricks for double knitting. This is a technique I have been playing with recently when I made a hot pad/trivet for my sister in law. She wanted a hot pad big enough to set a cake pan on and pampered chef no longer carries theirs. So last time I was in the yarn shop I picked up some wool and away we went. Some basic double knitting and a little bit of felting and we had a hot pad made to order. Mailed it off to her a couple of days ago. Still waiting to hear from her but hopefully she will like it.