Week 2.5

Well, it only took 2 weeks for me to get behind.  I'm only a day behind though so not too bad.  I was stuck mowing the yard yesterday.  Anyone who knows me knows I don't mow, but with dh out of commission I had to either hire someone or suck it up and do it myself.  I figured it would only be once since the weather is cooling off; I sucked it up.  I'm not built for doing exertion type things out in the heat even a temperate 85 F.  Yes, it was only one day out of many, but I'm using my husband as my excuse.  He worked from home all week and required care.  I worried about him when we would leave and tried to maintain quiet when he was napping, which was a lot.  Today he went back to work and he is doing much better these last few days.  All of this is a long way of saying shit happened and I got behind.

This week I will do another craft at the end of the week to make up for it so that I still am on track.  Here now is last this weeks craft.

Jar Luminaries from Crafts by Amanda
These were pretty simple.  Kitten (my daughter) even got in on the action this week.  She has asked about making a fabric bowl from last week, but we haven't gotten around to it yet.  This, however, was irresistible.

Supplies were pretty basic:
Glass jars (plastic would work too if you think the paint will stick)
Acrylic Paint in your choice of colors
Brushes
Water
Candles

A note on the jars: make sure that at least one side is smooth.  My jars have raised letters on one side so I put that side to the back.  I have some little pint jars that are round and would have made cute pumpkins if it weren't for all the decorations that are on the glass.

I keep my canning jars in the garage so they were a bit dusty.  I just wiped the dust off since I'm not eating out of them and was feeling too lazy to wash them.

Next step was pretty straight forward, paint the jars.

I painted three jars and let Kitten do the fourth.  It took us about the same amount of time, but more on that later.

Here she is making a dark purple by mixing black and lavender.  I followed Amanda's instructions and just did one layer of paint.  Bonus, it takes less time.  I decided to just freehand my faces like she did.  I'm not very artistic, but I felt this was on my skill level.

Drawing them on with the sharpie was a little difficult.  The paint kept trying to peel off.  I'm not sure if this is because I didn't let it dry very long or if the jars were still a little dusty.  The paint on the white jar was a little thicker so it had to dry longer before I could do the face.

 Here they are after I filled in the sharpie outline with black paint.  This really was a super easy craft and so fast.  Now I just had to wait for it to get dark so we could check them out with candles inside.

Hmm, looks pretty dark now.  Time for a light.

I like the way they look even better in person.



Now for the breakdown.  Overall this craft was fun, fast and easy.
A few notes:

Don't put the paint on too thick or your candle won't show through.  Kitten was trying to avoid brush lines and her paint ended up a little thick.  This made the candle lighting anti climactic.

Lighting the candles is a pain.  I plan on picking up some LED tea lights later this week.

I didn't put the glaze on my jars since unlike Amanda I use these jars for food pretty regularly.  This way at the end of the holiday season I can simply scrub off the paint and put them back with the rest of my canning jars.  No figuring out where to store more breakable decorations  either.

Week 1

This week's craft is a fabric bowl.  I used the tutorial here at Prudentbaby.com.  I won't go over all the instructions again, just how it went.  I gathered all my supplies and since it was way cheaper I bought a big honkin' box of 1/2 " cotton piping.

I used the handy dandy iPad to follow along with the instructions while I worked.  Ripping the fabric into strips was messy, but sort of fun.  This was something kids could definitely help with.  I ended up with a big pile of strings doing it this way instead of cutting, but the point is to follow the instructions. 

So far so good.  Next step is to start wrapping.

The first twist is a little difficult and it was hard to get a snug fit.  The next issue I had was finding places to pull the fabric through on the wraps that went around two rows of piping.  The wraps block the space between the top and bottom rows which also prevents the wrap on the next row up from being able to go through in that spot.  I was prepared to persevere, but right after this picture I received a phone call from my husband.  He had broken his collar bone and was on the way to the hospital.

 I won't post a picture of that, let's just say that 8 hours, surgery and some fancy hardware later we made it home.  Here is how I left my project.  Fast forward to this morning and I was ready give it another go. 

 Yes my jammy pants are pretty sweet.  My intent was to make a bowl with a flat bottom and straight sides.  Here I am working on the bottom of the bowl.  As it got bigger around I was able to get a better pattern going with regard to the parts that go over two layers of piping. 

Here you can see that I have just started stacking the coils for the sides.  At this point my in-laws called.  For some strange reason I'm sure none of us can relate to they wanted to see their injured son to reassure themselves that he was okay.  Parents!  I spent the next four hours cleaning my very messy house.  Fast forward again.  I was able to push the fabric through with my fingers more easily than grabbing it with the hook so I did that for the remainder of the bowl.  It didn't take long to finish up since it is fairly small.

It turned out more beehive shaped than I was aiming for.  The size is good and this was a fast project.  I chose the colors to not show dirt since I don't think it can be washed.  There are some spaces where I didn't wrap through two levels of piping often enough.  This caused gaps like this one.

See my finger poking through there between the base and the side.  Here is the bowl in use.

The hole isn't a problem for a bowl holding cat toys.  The piping is cotton, but says dry clean only.  I'm thinking it could be hand washed if need be.  All in all the tutorial was good.  The project was fast and turned out reasonably well.  I think I will try it again and I think kids could do this project too. I couldn't really time it with all the starts and stops, but I would guess that a small bowl like this is a couple of hours start to finish.  The bigger you make it the longer it would take, but as I found out it is a project that you could break up and do over the course of several days. 

Next week I am thinking about trying to find a Halloween related craft.  We'll see what I can dig up.

A New Goal for a New.. Month?

I follow a lot of craft blogs. Frankly, I love making things. I also like buying craft supplies for the projects I plan on trying. The problem is with little accountability I don't always end up finishing things in a timely fashion. So that's where you, the one person who follows my blog, come in. I am going to attempt 50 craft projects, one a week, in one year. Yes, I know a year is 52 weeks, but I'm hoping to go on vacation next year so I'm building in a cushion. I don't know if they will all be projects I find online. I haven't thought that far ahead. Certainly many of them will be since I have a que of bookmarked projects, many of which I already have the supplies for. I will then write up a review of the project including difficulty, clarity of instruction and quality of the final product. If the craft is intended for children I will attempt to get A to do it with me and let you know how it goes. Also there will be pictures!

Now with Picturey Goodness

Okay so I've been done with the sweater for a while, but.... Yeah, yeah, yeah. I still need to sew it up.

See all the pieces. I can now say I have knit an adult sweater. I just haven't finished it.

I have been working on some other things too. Like Amigurumis. But, like the sweater they are as yet unfinished.














The Octopus is complete, but not attached.














The little devil still needs a cape and some felt for his eyes. Seriously how long could it take for me to pull these together. I'm taking them to the park with me today to work on.

Lastly I leave you with another project. This one is not finished, but for a lack of knitting not sewing, so that's not as bad right? I started this a few weeks ago and have been working on it.














It is the Cable and Lace Poncho from Cool Knits for Kids. There weren't a ton of projects I loved in this book, but I really like this one and a bobble (?!) sweater one.

Of course like all my knitting I seem to be using and extra ball of yarn even though I'm getting all kinds of gauge. This happened with the sweater too. I don't understand it. In the instance of this poncho it is frustrating since I'm working rather quickly, for me, and now the yarn I need is back ordered. I'm just going to keep knitting 'til I run out of yarn.

I think not being a monogamous knitter is causing me problems. When I first started out I wouldn't start something new until I finished what I was working on. Now I don't worry about that as much. It could also be that I have a strong aversion to hand sewing. Hm, maybe I'm on to something with that last bit. I did start making short row toe up socks just to avoid that one tiny seam after all.

hmm, has it really been that long?

Okay so I am a lazy blogger. I am actually lazy overall so the lack of blogging should come as no surprise to those that know me. On the plus side being lazy causes me to try and get things right the first time since the only thing worse than having to do something is having to do it twice.

All that aside I have started knitting again. I'm half a sleeve and a collar away from finishing my first sweater for me. It's only taken a year give or take a month. I don't have any pictures at the moment and I don't feel like getting the camera and all that, see lazy above. I will take some pictures soon and post them.

I think a big part of the lack of knitting has been my effort to keep up with the housework better. I don't just mean tidying up, I'm actually mopping more than every two months. The kitchen has been getting cleaned every evening and in the afternoon. It's really astonishing, but between that and homeschooling and all the other stuff I normally do I mostly lie motionless when I don't have something else I need to be doing.

The other part of the not knitting is that one of my Knitpicks sock needles has developed a rough spot and I need to order a new one. I hate paying shipping though and I don't have $50 worth of stuff that I want to order from them right now. I suppose with winter coming and this sock yarn that I really want to make some tall socks out of that I should really just suck it up and order regardless of my total.

Or I could just order that yarn I've been wanting so I can knit a ChildHood for A. That is knit on #6s and #7s and I have at least two (circulars) of each of those... Of course, I have to figure out what I need to do to make the pattern bigger and how much more yarn that will take. I still need to knit some socks though. It is an itch that must be scratched. Hi, my name is mj and I am a sock knitter. At least my addiction produces socks even if very slowly.

I have some sewing to do too for a vacation I'm taking in November. That's months away though, right?

In spinning news I have done some and have no pictures. I managed some lace weight with my practice wool. My goal is to spin some hand painted roving I dyed and some white, both lace weight, and end up with some sock weight once plied, hopefully, enough for a pair of socks. If I do manage that though I will still need a new sock needle...

Finishing thy name is me

Two skirts for A with another cut out waiting to be sewn this week. There is also a skirt for me, but I'm having issues getting the hem just right since it is an a-line skirt. Mom is supposed to help me the next time I see her. Hmm, I have a party next weekend that it might be fun to wear it too. I'll have to bug her.



Now, aprons, aprons everywhere. Two are for me and one is for a friend. I'm wearing mine. I like the pattern and they would be fast to make if you sew at anything resembling a normal speed. (I sew like I knit, very slowly) They do make me look a bit large perhaps, but they'll be comfy even if I eat a lot. I picture the yellow one with purple flowers over a Mrs. Cleaver style 50s dress. I could wear it with some high heeled shoes and my pearls. I would be resplendent as I made M and the boys from work some martinis while they waited for the rack of lamb to finish.




















Next up, sushi anyone? For some reason this took me six months to finish. I'm not really sure why. The body of the clutch (they call it a wallet, but it is 7" x 4-5" to me that is a clutch) has been knit for quite some time. The sushi were giving me a little bit of a headache since I knit tightly and my cast on row was causing them to pucker when felted. They looked more like little oddly colored breasts. I just needed a break from it I guess. Overall the project was fun and I love the way the 220 felts. I'm obviously not a master sushi chef, but it's not bad for an amateur.

I have a few projects on the horizon in my get new things by finishing things I already have started/bought. I've been pretty good about not buying new stuff, yet I will soon have a new skirt and if I can buckle down maybe I can get my sweater done before next winter. The weather here will most likely not dip too far below freezing (during waking hours) for the remainder of the season. Other projects in the works include, but are not limited to an Asian style shirt for me in red brocade, yoga pants in black organic cotton, a purple felted bracelet bag, kitty pi inspired cat bed, and yes I am still working on the damnable hollow log for the woodins to live in. This may end up and Easter or even a birthday (mid summer) present.

I also have some red Regia sock yarn that has been calling me with a siren song so sweet that resistance has only been possible because one of my knit picks size 1 circular needles has, after much use, developed a little rough spot. Since I have decided that I don't care for knitting one sock at a time on dpns, I like dpns for other things, this has prevented even the most rudimentary of gage swatching. I can't pay shipping for one stinkin' needle and since I can't purchase anything that is not a necessity.... You can see my problem. I can consider the needle a necessity, but that is about as far as I can stretch it and I hate paying shipping.

There are perhaps other things lying around undone, scrubs for A, for example. We shall not speak of these things until more of the above list is done. Hopefully soon I will have more FOs for pictures. I could also post pics of UFOs. I'll work on taking more pictures soon.

An effort

So I am going to attempt to reduce my purchasing. Lately I have been getting all sorts of things that I want, many of which were needed. Some of which were not. I now sit here surrounded by UFOs of more than just the knitty kind. I have four skirts, one that is even for me, cut out waiting to be sewn. I have fabric for three aprons, two for me, waiting to be cut and sewn. There are logs and woodins and sweaters and sock yarn and that mystery felting project all just waiting. Several of these need only a small amount to be finished. Just a smudge as A would say. There is also my new video game Legend of Zelda The Phantom Hourglass to be finished. I'm about halfway done and I would say that this and my daughter's Lego Star Wars game have contributed to some other projects' neglect. Sweaters don't have rewards until you finish the whole thing. Even if it is just an electronic boat prow or extra heart container that makes you harder to kill.

The theory here is that if I finish my projects I will have new things without actually purchasing anything else. We in the US have so much stuff. Generally in our house we try to mostly upgrade rather than just aquire new, new things, although it does happen. Really we have everything we need and our wants are few. Not a lot of keeping up with the Joneses here. That said I have a weakness for textiles, whether it be woolen or plant, woven or waiting to be knit. I see the potential and next thing I know I'm at the register. The plan is to avoid stores that sell anything other than food for a couple of months and see how I do.

Today, however, is a day for laundry, mopping, and the cleaning of fish tanks. I have a few other things going on as well. I will have some knitting time later. Perhaps I can force myself to pull out the sewing machine this evening and get started on some of that too.

Does the new season of Survivor start tonight?

Christmas Hangover

Here is what I have been working on. Firstly the FO. An IPod cozy for M. I am really happy with how it turned out and I love the fact the he wanted the funky lime buttons. This is the first time he has wanted/asked for anything knitted. The lighting isn't great in the photos with this being winter it's dark when he's home so no sunlight. I used a tiny bit of three colors of Cascade 220, blue, black, and reddish brown. It's just a 2x2 rib with the button flap holes made by well placed yo k2togs. He really liked it. I could change it up pretty easily if I wanted something

a little different. I'm still thinking on how to add a pocket for ear buds with out having to do any sewing. He didn't want a pocket on his so it wasn't an issue for him.



Here are woodins or at least they will be once they are felted, have eyes and tails and stuffing. I made them in different colors. Three colors as a matter of fact I must have a thing for threes. We have a green woodin, two white woodins and two brown woodins The white and brown woodins will have the leaf tails and the green woodin will have a twig tail. They were going to be for A for xmas, but obviously they didn't make it. I'm just going to give them to her when I finish the set. The last part of the knitting is....


the log that they live in. I know it looks just like a hollow log doesn't it. I'm getting ready to switch it to some circular needles since it keeps trying to jump off my dpns in my knitting bag. I have made a few modifications to the pattern on the woodins. Mine are different heights due to leg length. I wanted them to be more unique. I also used Knit Picks wool of the Andes instead of Elann.com Peruvian Highland Wool that the pattern called for. The bonus was that I had to order a book to make free shipping. You know 'cause I saved money that way. I would have gotten the book anyway eventually.

"Bob"bles and Cables

Here he is in his sweater. He is lying there because of the sweater. Bob wouldn't actually walk with it on, only crawl a little. I'm glad it's done and he's glad the photos are done so he doesn't have to wear it any longer.

A's socks are coming along nicely and I have a hankerin' to make myself some more socks. I've been wearing the pair I finished last year quite a bit and wish they fit better. They are a little big. I have thought about frogging them and starting over, but I think I'll make a new pair first and see how I feel.

I'm going to be out in the cold tomorrow night and now I wish I could knit faster. Mittens would be really helpful and all I have are some thin gloves. Really what I would like is fingerless gloves that have flip up mitten tops. I just don't have that kind of time at the speed I knit. Oh well, I guess that's what pockets are for.

The sweater is also further along. I had a dream about spinning the other night. The gist of it seemed to be that I need to spin more so I can get better. Probably good advice.

Catching up

Okay so I've been back from vacation for a few months and thought wow I should really post something. I finally got my Ravelry invite. I've uploaded a few pictures there. There has also been some knitting, quite a bit of it for me actually.

Here is the Notre Dame


That's the back and I've actually started the front. Good thing I live somewhere that stays warm until January. Well, November, at least. I'm hoping to have it done before the really cold (insert chuckling here) weather arrives.

For some reason lately the idea of moving is hard to push out of my head. I know that it probably won't happen since M wants to be close to his folks. I haven't figured that one out since we don't do much for them and they don't listen to our advice, but what can you do. Weather that isn't hot or windy sounds really appealing right now. I could even live with rain if the people were a little less zealotous. Yeah I made that word up, but you know what it means don't you. All this restlessness has resulted in a very clean house.

We also have more socks for A.
They are actually several inches longer than this, but I'm too lazy to take a picture right now.

There was dyeing of roving. I still need to spin it up. I'm going to take some pictures before and after I spin it since it is the first time I've done hand painted yarn rather than pot dyeing. Hopefully it will end up sock weight since that is what I want to make with it.

I also went to a fiber event and only purchased some books, soap, and a little bit of alpaca roving. Pretty good I think.

Lastly, I am going to attempt to make a cat sweater for the Crazy Aunt Purl contest. We'll see how Bob feels about it. He is usually game for most stuff for a few minutes at least. If I get it on him I'll post a pic.

Summer time

Or what I did on my Summer Vacation. This would be misleading though since I don't leave for vacation for a couple of days and I hope to get lots of knitting done since we will be driving around a bit. Here is the first.

Which became this.
EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket. Knit in Berroco Touche. Modifications: none except that instead of buttons I used I cord. Oh, I also followed the instruction on the knit wiki to avoid color "blips". This picture is pre-blocking and, of course, I forgot to take a picture after I washed it before I sent it off. I do this a lot with gift knitting. This was a gift for a friend of M's who happens to be married to a knitter. Who better to appreciate a knitted baby gift and it's machine washable, a first baby must.

What you ask will I be knitting on vacation. Why this of course.


Particulars: Notre Dame De Grace by Veronik Avery Interweave Knits Summer '07
Yarn: Reynolds, Andean Alpaca Regal in Color 2 (Light Heather Grey)

I am also going to bring some socks to work on. We'll see if I can pull myself away from the sweater. I won't even be able to wear the darn thing until December or January with the way our weather has been this year. We've had an unusually cool summer (barely in the 90s) which usually means a very long warm fall. Not that it gets cold enough to wear alpaca here to begin with.

I'll post pics of the knitting when I get back. I may even get a photo of the BSJ with an actual baby in it. I'm not sure if it fits the baby so we'll see.

Rainy Spring

Well, I finished A's socks and have ordered yarn for two sweaters. Sweaters for me. I have knit many things, but never real life adult size sweaters. I am going to try and get ahead of the game for A socks for next winter over the summer. Surely with swim lessons and park dates etc., I will have time to knock out a couple of pairs.

One of the sweaters I want to make is a summer sweater. Something lacy to wear over tanks and summer shirts so that I won't be cold in restaurants. I haven't found anything like what I want so I am going to have to design it. Having never made or designed a sweater I have a feeling this will be a challenge. I'm going to see how the yarn is first and then figure out the sweater. I'll post pics of the socks and more about the sweaters when the yarn gets here.

Wow! has it really been that long?

I keep meaning to post and then getting distracted. Easy enough I guess. My Xmas projects are done and I didn't take any pictures. I can tell you about them though.

For Dad's leg warmers I ended up using Knit Picks Swish in Truffle. (Don't know what that sock weight yarn I picked originally was all about.) It is a superwash Merino worsted weight. They went pretty quickly and unlike when I make socks one at a time they ended up the same size. Perhaps because I finished them in less than a month. The pattern is just in my head a simple 3x1 rib with increases at the knee and again at the thigh. They are close fitting so he can wear them under his pants and still be comfortable.

Mom's green stripey socks turned out great. She even got them on her birthday, last week. You know cause that's when they were done. I was very excited they fit her so well. Plain stockinette foot with a 3x2 rib leg. I still haven't figured out what size my feet are and I don't care for the fit of the last pair of socks I made for me. I'm going to use the same formula for my next pair that I used on hers. I have also decided that I really like the metric system and the USA is crazy for not using it. How many times do I need to convert .4 inches to 2/5 and then try to locate that on my tape measure? It's one frickin' centimeter.

Currently I am making socks for A. She decides periodically that she doesn't like the seam in commercial socks. While I can understand this I don't think it is actually physically painful and deserving of tears. I am wrong. It only seems to be an irritant about every two weeks. Hopefully, if I can manage to have two or three pairs of socks without seams for her she can wear those on the days the seam is a nuisance/painful. She may not be rational, but she has the smallest feet in the family so I don't really mind.

I have realized that since I like making socks that seems to be what I think of to make for everyone. In fact the yarn originally purchase for Dad's leg warmers (Essential Solid in Dusk) is now destined to be socks for my brother. The only person who requests knitted or hand made items other than A is my dad so he ends up with variety, mittens, leg warmers. Perhaps I should make my brother a blanket or something, but not out of the sock yarn.

Lace is still on my mind if not on my needles. I purchased some crochet cotton to practice with. A friend loaned me a book so I can design my own lace. I even found a pattern online for a 1940s doily and coaster set that looks interesting. Now I just need to jump in and start. Perhaps after I finish sewing A's jammies...

More Fiber Crafts

I took a needle felting class this weekend. Just what I needed another reason to buy wool. I have a bag of cat fur somewhere around here I want to try it with. The stuff wet felts and I've seen cats that had mats which are basically felted so... Yes, perhaps it is weird to make a 3d copy of one of my pets. I never said I was normal, whatever that means. I wonder how Bobcat will feel about a 3d counterpart. The better question may be how will Orange Kitty feel about Bob Jr.

Well, I think I need more cookie cutters for the shapes of the felt projects so I'm off.

Mmm! Yarn

Here it is before I got it out of the box. I was so happy when it came today. I don't enhance my stash often.


Here it is on my bed. It is all from Knit Picks. I love their prices. The brownish yarn is Gloss (70%merino30%silk) in Serengeti and is destined to be socks for me. The dark blue is EssentialSolid (75%superwash25%nylon) in Dusk and will be leggings of a sort for my dad who apparently has cold knees. These are both sock weight. The last yarn on the right is Alpaca Cloud (100% baby alpaca) in Mist. It is a pale purpley blue and will be a lace scarf for me. It is lace weight. Where I live it is rarely cold enough for a full on Alpaca scarf, but a lace scarf that can be doubled up on really cold days will be perfect.

The dyes are for a roving I have and we'll see how that project progresses. As it stands now I have some knitting to do. Now I just need to cast on something. Hey, I did work on my hat while I was in line to vote.

Startitus

So I think I'm coming down with something. I have yarn on the way for three new projects, plus dye for a roving I have for a fourth project. Currently I'm working on a very dull hat for myself. Red Cascade 220 in a 1x rib. It will match a scarf M bought me years ago and that I love.

I'll post a picture of all the yarn booty when it arrives. I've been really bored with the stuff I'm working on so hopefully this will motivate me. Even though I have all this on the way I had to check out the new yarn store in town, Happy Cat. (by new I mean they've been open for quite some time and even changed locations, but with A always around I hadn't had a chance to go, like many 5 year olds she hates the yarn store) I promised, I mean told surely it wasn't a real promise, M that I wouldn't buy any yarn. I suppose if you want to be literal I did buy "yarn", but it isn't really yarn it is just an unmade pair of socks for my mother for X-mas.



Fortunately I married a man who understands me and M didn't even roll his eyes when I told him about my lovely purchase. I showed great restraint considering the store. They had some very, very lovely yarns. There was this one that I wanted so badly, but seeing as how it ranged from butter to lemon yellow I don't know what I would do with it. I really just wanted to have it, just to have it. I think I may have a problem. It wasn't just the yarn, they had other colors, it was something about that, particular color that I loved.

On another note here is something from my garden.



This is a brown cotton boll. I only got two bolls so not enough to do anything with, but I think if I plant it in a different spot next year I can get some more. Who knows maybe I'll have enough for a hat in a few years.

Done, Done and Now What?

Of course I couldn't leave the socks alone. I don't know why I thought I would be able to knit them knowing there was a mistake. I found that actually there were two mistakes. They offset each other so as to give me the correct number of stitches. Just not in the right order, yarn overs and whatnot. It took a little doing, but I figured it out and ripped back the affected repeat about ten rows. It was really slow at my garage sale. I sold almost nothing but, I now have a completed pair of socks fit for this winter. I'm sure it will cool down enough to break out winter clothes sometime before January. Here is a picture of the socks.



The pattern is Falling Leaves from the Fall '05 issue of Knitty.

They make my ankles look fat, but since I will only wear them with pants it shouldn't be an issue. I will have warm chubby looking ankles.

I also knitted an ear warmer for A. I had some handspun merino that I was planning on turning into a hat. The only problem with this plan was that I really didn't have much of the handspun. I picked the roving up at a fiber rendezvous a little over a year ago. I spun it up pretty much right away as I had just started learning to spin. I like the random colored plys that don't always match. I still have some left so I may knit up some matching wrist warmers. Nobody likes wrist warmers more than a five year old. Here is our friend Funshine Bear modeling the ear warmer.



I put some cables on it even though they are hard to see. She should get a lot of use out of it since it won't be as warm as a hat and it doesn't get too cold here. Seems like we had winter here when I was a kid. The last few years it has been very mild.

I am also still wanting to make a shawl. I am looking for a triangle pattern that has straight edges instead of little pointy bits along the bottom sides. Personal preference. If you have any suggestions let me know. I'm thinking of using the Alpaca lace weight from Knit Picks.

Socks

I finished the socks on the two circs. I have to say it was wonderful to be done with both of them at the same time. I think it would be easier if I got some shorter circs, but that was part of the test, to see if it was worth it. I'd rather buy yarn than needles. I am wanting to do a shawl for some reason I have yet to figure out. It is presently in the 100s (F) here and I'm thinking about shawls and sweaters. I'm sure my friend Cynthia's beautiful Pi Are Squared may be influencing me.

I am also finishing a pair of socks that I started ages ago. Okay a couple of months ago. I found a mistake or rather there is a mistake somewhere and I can't find exactly where. Since I can't find the mistake I've decided that probably no one else will notice it. I had put the socks down so that I could get a little distance and perspective to see if that would help. It didn't. Since I am less than 20 rounds from the top (yes they are toe up socks) I've decided to just work through it. I'm sure as soon as I cast off the mistake will become very obvious.

I need to go through the stash and see what potential projects I have. Usually Sunday is a good knitting day for me since I go to the In-Laws for a few hours with M and A, but I haven't taken anything in weeks. My time has been sucked away since me and M installed new flooring in a measly 590sq feet of our lovely home. It's done now though and I need a project.

photo of socks

Just a quick post for a pic.


Here is a picture of the two socks and the two circs. The little feet belong to A. Little socks for little feet = less knitting. So far I am liking it and as I said before it will be wonderful to be done with both socks at once. I have a friend who kept shaking her head every time I would talk about trying this. I don't think she thought it was worth it. Of course, unlike me, she knits really fast.

2x2

M is tired of hearing about my knitting so I thought I would start a blog. Most likely this will mean that I am telling no one about my knitting, other than my knitting friends, but hey it will give me something to do late at night.

I have just started my first pair of 2 socks on 2 circs. I'm pretty excited about it. I really like making socks since I am a slow knitter and they are relatively fast. Not exactly instant gratification, but close. Finishing both at once seems like it will be a big bonus. I was having trouble using the right needle at the right time, I kept picking up the wrong one. So today I came up with a brilliant plan, I drew a line in paint pen around each needle on the circs using different colors for each needle. Now if I'm knitting off of a purple needle I should be knitting onto a purple needle as well. I'll post pics after the camera batteries are done charging.