SHE LIKES IT!

I was horrified when I took it out of the washer, but after looking at it for a few days I liked it so much I was hoping she would not want it. But she loved it at first sight so she's taken it home to love.

Drops Cloche Hat Finished!

I finished the hat Sarah wanted. It is really unusual.
Shaun thinks I made it for him.

Drops Cloche Hat

EXCEPTION TO CC-ZERO!!! This picture was copied from garnstudio.com and is doubtless copyrighted.



Sarah fell in love with this cloche hat from Drops Studio. She purchased the yarn and had it sent directly to me. I am excited about knitting it; it will be the second thing I have knitted from a pattern (here's the first thing). I looked the pattern over and it reminds me of Elizabeth Zimmerman's style of pattern writing. And best of all, the pattern is free! Pretty cool eh?

Fingerless Mitts for Sarah

Now I have Sarah's birthday and Christmas finished! YAY!!!

Feral Cat at Myrtle Beach SP

He's hanging around because we're feeding him I guess :D

Hat for Sarah

I bought this lovely wool at Gate City Yarns

This hat is for Sarah. I also made a pair of fingerless gloves to match. Once I have finished weaving in the ends, I'll add photos of the gloves.

It is stretched over a paper plate holder to block it.

Here's what it looks like off the stretcher.

SNAKE!!!

I was sitting in my favorite chair when Jim walked by and said, "DON'T MOVE". I looked at him with a WTF look on my face; he pointed at a spot about 18 inches from my feet. This fellow was sitting on top of my shopping bags with his tongue flickering. The interwebz says it is a copperhead. I am FREAKED. How did it get in my house??? How did I escape snakebite??? How do I sleep in my house now??? GAH!!!

Felted Hat From Sweater

I bought a wool sweater at a second hand store. It had some damage from being washed improperly; the round yoke was shrunken and fulled a bit. I washed it in the machine with hot wash/cold rinse, then put it in the dryer. This procedure made the sweater very dense. I cut out bits of the sweater and sewed them into this hat. The brim is one piece; it was knitted that way. It is floppy when worn, and I love it.




Next time I need to take pictures of the garment before I begin cutting.

Cedar Spa

Yesterday, Moe and I laid the floor in the cedar spa room. Today I oiled the wood. I still need to buy window treatments. We've been working on this project for a year, a little at a time, as $$$ allows. I'll post more pics when it is completed.
---------------------
Ready for relaxation!

The spa.


Jim made the steps.

Another Sheep Chart

I made a sheep pattern earlier. This one is from a photograph. Click on the image to get the full size chart.

Granny Squares 1

I made 14 granny squares from cotton yarn. Now I am putting them together into a shawl.

Toad Rescue

I saw what looked like cat poo on my kitchen floor. I tried to pick it up with a paper towel, and it HOPPED AWAY!!! A cute lil' toad. I took him outside and released him in the fern garden.

Calling it Hobnail

So here's more of the 'Totally Tubular 3' sock. It is reminiscent of milk glass hobnail glassware to me so that's what I'm naming this pair.

Did I just name a pair of socks???

I've left a ball of yarn where the red waste yarn is so when I separate the socks I can add the crocheted border of sock 1, and the toe of sock 2, without splicing. There's a ball of yarn to work the toe of sock 1 at the beginning of the knitting. I just hope this ball of yarn doesn't run out before I finish the crochet at the top of sock 2. The heels will still be spliced in, but I see that as an advantage. It should make it easier to replace them.

Totally Tubular 3

I'm at it again. Striving to improve.


size 7 needles
worsted weight yarn
50/50 wool/nylon
cast on 36 stitches


BOTTOM OF FOOT/BACK OF ANKLE



TOP OF FOOT/FRONT OF ANKLE



STITCH DETAIL

Totally Tubular

I found a pattern on Ravelry, Totally Tubular Sock. I think I may have been sucked into the 'black hole of sock knitting'. I love knitting socks!

Getting started here. I used a provisional cast on so I could go back and crochet a lace trim.

Here they are on my size 9 foot.

A round of waste yarn separates the two socks and will be removed later leaving 2 socks with live stitches at each end. I used ribbing at the top of each sock to help hold them up.

This is what they look like just before separation. Once separated they need to have heels and toes knit in, and the lace trim at the top crocheted on.

You Know You Want Some

Club Sandwich.



My iris bed is beautiful.

Recycled Sweater 1

I bought a wool sweater from a thrift store and made some slippers and mittens out of it. First I washed it in the machine using hot water and cold rinse which fulled the fabric nicely. I used leather for the soles of the slippers.

Love on my Car

This was on my driver's window when I came out of the grocery store. I nearly threw it away-people are always leaving advertisements for 'Sensual Massage' or 'Karma Cleansing' or other questionable services. When I noticed the handwritten word, 'LovE' on the envelope, I was puzzled and opened it. $5 inside! Nothing else, just the fiver. It gave me pause. There is something I am supposed to learn here. Someone at work told me it was my lucky day and I should spend it on a lottery ticket. Somehow I don't think inducing me to gamble was the intention of the giver. Another person at work suggested it was 'Paid Forward'. That makes sense. It seems to incur a responsibility on my part to 'Pay it Forward', and I intend to do just that.

Offering Mitts 2

Not sure what happened here, I admit I didn't do exactly what the pattern said. The originals are knit in fingering weight wool, I am using fingering weight alpaca. The pattern calls for size 0 needles (!), I am using size 2 because lady gloves are always far too small to fit my hands.


1) The point should line up with my middle finger. It doesn't.
2) The cuff doesn't cover the matching undercuff. The turning row wants to roll down to my hand which means the cuff is about 2 rows too short.


I am using a friend to model the glove so I can take the picture. Her hands are not as large as mine. The glove does the same thing on my hand that it does on hers.


3) Because the pattern calls for the thumb to come out of the palm instead of out of the side of the hand, the front rolls over to the back to allow the thumb to be in a natural position.

Offering Mitts

I subscribed to Piecework Magazine thinking it was a knitting magazine. Well, it kind of is, it includes knitting along with other fiber crafts. Anyway, I got my first issue, January/February 2010. There is a pattern called 'Offering Mitts' that I have started to knit. Here is the picture of what they should look like when they are finished:

EXCEPTION TO CC-ZERO!!! This picture was scanned out of the magazine and is probably copyrighted.



Here is what I have done so far:

The originals are knit in wool, I am using alpaca. The pattern calls for size 0 needles (!), I am using size 2 because lady gloves are always far too small to fit my hands.


Edit 2/17/2010:

One mitt complete! I added the loop at the tip per recommendation on Ravelry.

This one shows the cuff construction. I feel the cuff should have been a bit longer, since it shows the underpart when turned up (just a little). I may go back later and add a crocheted border to the cuffs to correct this. Also, even though I used needles 2 sizes larger than the pattern calls for, these still seem slightly tight at the base of the thumb. I won't be making any more of these since they seem to be not practical, but if I did make any more I would find a way to make that area roomier.

knit1frog8

ARRRRGGGHHHH I've completely frogged it twice, and had to tink or rip rows so often I am entirely sick of it. It isn't a difficult item; I've already made a couple of them no problem. Is it possible I have acquired some cursed yarn??? Oh well, it's almost done now and I am certainly going to breathe a sigh of relief when I cast off this one!


EDIT 2/14/2010: I finished it! Whew!

Projects Started in ICU Waiting Room

So, here are the projects I started while sitting with Jim in ICU:


LACE SHOULDERETTE--This one gave me some problems, as I have never tried to knit lace before. Probably ICU is not the right place to learn. On the bright side, I think I am going to love it. I got all this done in the hospital, and have not worked on it since I got home.


DOUBLEKNIT BATH TOWEL--Calculations indicate it will take me over a year to complete since I cannot do more than 2 rows in a sitting without getting bored. The tan row is a provisional cast on using a crochet hook; it is supposed to come off easily simply by pulling on the yarn. I plan to crochet around the entire edge of the towel once the knitting is complete. I was having a hard time with the circular needles; I've already frogged 2 projects I started with them. Once I realized the needles were defective (and how to fix them) everything started to go more smoothly. I used an acrylic nail kit to fix the horrible snag at the point where the needles joined the fish-line part. Hooray for ingenuity!

Excitement Around Here

I haven't posted in a few days-husband found out the hard way he is a diabetic and was hospitalized for a week. I did some knitting to while away the hours there and will post some pictures as soon as I take them.

Catfish

I started with 7 catfish. Now I have 14. Here are a couple of the babies:

Brown Betty

I love my Brown Betty. It is chipped, but this is the best teapot on the planet and is a beloved companion while I am knitting.

You Know You Want Some

I had to share. You're welcome.

Cherry Cobbler
1 - 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cans cherry pie filling

Mix flour and salt in bowl. Cut in butter. Add just enough ice water a little at a time to make it stick together when pressed. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate dough for at least 1/2 hour. Roll out dough, fold on itself, roll again, fold on itself again, roll 1 more time. Cut strips out of the center of the rolled out dough. Pour 1/2 can cherry pie filling into baking dish. Place 1/2 of the scraps of dough on top. Pour on 1/2 can cherry pie filling. Place other 1/2 of scraps of dough on top. Pour on entire second can cherry pie filling. Arrange strips of dough on top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F.