Something finished, something frogged

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

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

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

Yippee! The swing coat is done.

Serenity Shared

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

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

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.