more cloths

I finished the monthly dishcloth KAL a day early yesterday. I'm not quite sure that the ending follows the pattern. I'm also not crazy about the color choices that were assigned (mauve and verde green from Elmore-pisgah peaches and creme). I love the pattern though and I'll be making it again in my own color choices.

So I decided to start a ballband in the same colors and also I'll make some tribbles and use it as a hostess gift set or something. For some reason my brain just isn't working with the ballband though. I've needed to rip almost as much as knit... keep forgetting to switch the yarn to the back on those return knit rows in the bricks.


I finished another block of the Lizard Ridge though. That makes four completed blocks. This is color 170. So pretty. I'm loving the pattern and the yarn the more I work with it. just need to make sure to knit on it when I can count unencumbered by too many 'mom' interruptions.

I need to do the math for dad's vest and cast that on. Work on the flower power rug for DD and swatch for socks for DH....

I'm almost wishing for a snow day tmrw... even though I'll still be home alone with all 3 kids. The lunar eclipse last night was so cool.. wish I had been outside for more of it and had remembered to try out the moon scope. That should be fun to do with the kids this summer even without an eclipse.

well if school's cancelled tomorrow listen hard and you may hear the clicking of needles :-D

happy crafting

happy president's day

another day off from school. I'm not complaining. kids are off too and a bit nuts. it poured around noon.. i mean cats and dogs. so off to do the chores: laundry, cooking, cleaning up after DDs family party yesterday..wow did we have fun! And everyone was too generous as well.

I finished this cloth last night:

Pattern: Be My Dishcloth by Kris.
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream
Color: Hot Purple
Needle: US3

I've never knit a cloth on size 3 needles. It is tight but the picture really pops!
Kris has put a couple of really beautiful designs on her blog so check her out!

I also got the opportunity to measure my pop at the party so I'll do the math to figure out how to start the vest. Guess I better get knitting on that before the weather gets too warm.. it is 63° here today.

last minute addition

Pattern: Lattice Hearts Cloth by Rachel van Schie
Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'n Cream
Color: Tea Rose
Needle: US6

This cloth is being gifted to one of the ladies in the after school program for DD and DS1. The other lady will be given the red cloth from yesterday's post. It was the KAL for Rachel's Knitting room yahoo group for February. It's a pretty cloth and perhaps I'll make it again someday.

OK... gotta put the kids to bed.

a day off

originally it was a 2 hour delay, then at 7 am the call came in that school was cancelled :-D for my kids too though, so it won't all be a quiet day of knitting. There's plenty of wetness outside, in the frozen and liquid forms.. it's a good day to stay in and knit (maybe I'll make soup... yum!)

G-girl handed out this award a bit ago and it's taken me this long to pay it forward.


My list:

• G-girl for her friendship, yarny goodness, knitting inspiration and general cheeriness!
  
• Life with Girls Jennifer is a homeschooling mom of 3 daughters and 1 son, crafter extraordinaire, thrifter beyond compare (love that), great photographer and so green. Love this blog.
  
• hakucho Fun blog with lots of knitting!
  
• the knitorious mrs. b another knitter who actually lives nearby. You'd think we would have met already!
  
• Sarah Spins fellow spinner knitter who does beautiful work. I met her and Jennifer on diaperpin years ago. Sarah's stuff inspires me!
  
• A time to dye Lamar makes beautiful handyed yarns and each colorway has a spiritual inspiration. Beautiful, beautiful yarn and stories!
  
• Cooking with Anne Anne is a IRL friend. Her oldest 2 daughters often babysit for us. Her energy amazes me and no matter what there's always a smile on her face. Not to mention great recipes.
  
• Brooklyn Tweed Jason is an inspiraton in knitting and spinning... his work is simply beautiful. He is also a top notch photographer so you'll be visiting his blog often just to oogle at his things. He has a few designs available through Interweave knits.... great stuff!
  

Thanks rhoda for my award..... I could give it to so many more!

Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about Blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!

how perfect for me, a teacher!

You are the moment when the last bell rings and school lets out for the day. You are resistant to schedules and obligations, so you love feeling like you're in control of your life again. You are the very moment when the second hand hits the 12, and the halls fill with noise and motion. Even if your after-school time is packed with activities, lessons, or a job, somehow, you just feel freer in the late afternoon than you do earlier in the day. Maybe it's all that blue sky and afternoon sunshine? Nah -- even on rainy days, 3:15 is always a beautiful time.

party pictures

cake:
Usually I make the birthday cakes... but I couldn't top this one. The picture is scanned from a picture then put right on the cake... She LOVED it... and it tasted as great as it looked. Go Wegman's

And some party pics:
making stained glass hangups:









playing polly pockets









opening gifts


what a girl!

snow, beautiful snow

it's falling from the sky. School was dismissed early today :-)

This morning I looked out the window and saw this:
red sky in morning, sailor take warning

I finished another block for the lizard ridge blanket I'm making.The colors aren't exactly true. I want my old camera back :-( I'm loving that pattern, but I really need to do it when I can finish the whole 'row' and not be distracted or else i get lost in all the short rows.

I have to put together the V-day presents for the teachers... They'll look like this
picture to be added

And there are 2 cloths on the needles right now... a v-day gift and one for me. Here is one of the gifts I just finished tonight:

Pattern: Valentine Candy Box Feb KAL Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo Group
Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'n Cream
Color: Red
Needle: US6

Once again, the picture is too dark. Another angle shows the color better, but not the pattern.

And the last picture. This is what DS2 is taking to his teachers/caregivers at daycare.Hope it's yummy for them. Filled with chocolate candies. The felted hearts are filled and wrapped as well for DD and DS1's classroom teachers. Their reading teachers are getting the same thing as the daycare people for DS2 and I miscounted by 1.... hmmmm now what should I do with that one?

happy birthday DD

i can't believe she's 8 years old... where did the time go?

Having said that the birthday is today, so is the party with an unofficial count of 11 girls (maybe 9 though, there's 2 we haven't heard from) so I have lots to do.

Just wanted to say though that I was shopping for birthday crafts to do at the party (at our house... yes I'm nuts) and found yarn on sale at Michael's (Mrs. B if you're reading this, I was at the Whitehall one, not the one by you so go check yours out!) and found Paton's Merino on sale for $2 a skein!!!!!! I scooped up all the colors that they were offering in the bin and didn't dare go back to check the regular stock. I can only figure it's that price because A. they were fall colors or B. maybe those colors are being discontinued. At any rate... burgundy, rich red, paprika and old gold now reside in bounteous amounts in my Paton's stash... How could I turn it up??? I also got 2 lonely skeins of microfiber (1 lime, 1 white) and 2 skeins of warm brown kitchen cotton for $1 each.

It's snowing here, not hard, just enough.... I hope it snows all day!

OK... I have to go prepare for the party... hopefully there'll be some pictures.

multiplying yarn

Yesterday, I took the older 2 kids and DDs friend to see the Hannah Montana concert 3D movie..... at 8 AM. Yes, you read that right AM. It was the only show that wasn't sold out. That means on Saturday that gymnastics were cancelled and we COULD have slept in, we were up at 6 to get dressed and eat and be awake enough to go to the movies. Crazy I tell you.

In the late afternoon my brother and I met at the rents house to sort and clean. FUN! Actually I came away with quite a few goodies, hence the title of the post. Each time I'm there I come home with yarn or needles or books or some crafty thing. Yesterday was no exception. Here's the stash:

Brunswick Windrush in Brown Ragg 100g each and 2 of the same dyelot. It's orlon.. goodfor charity stuff or my dad who throws everything in the washer and says that wool is too scratchy for him


More Brunswich Windrush yarn in the color Rose Mist Ombre and again 2 skeins. This would NOT be a good color for dad. Guess it's going in the charity knitting bin.




This is 3 Brunswick Fore 'n Aft in Red Ragg and they're 50 g skeins, same dye lot.





More Fore 'n Aft 3 50g skeins of Blue Ragg. There's also a 100g skein of Windrush in the same color (different dye lot obviously) but since they're both orlon, I wonder if it isn't the same yarn.




4 skeins of Paton's Diana which is a 70acrylic/30 nylon blend. It feels a bit like mohair. Could make something nice for mom with this :-)



2 skeins (50g) of Brunswick Eleganza which is a blend of 80 acrylic/20 kid mohair. In one of ballbands is a pattern for what appears to be a möbius cowl scarf that could be pulled up over the head. It takes 200 yards and the ballband isn't marked as to the yardage but it seems to be fingering weight so there may be enough. Could also be nice for mom!

12 skeins of Rugger bulky yarn in bisque heather. This yarn is 80 orlon/20 virgin wool and each skein is 50g/70yards. I'm really hoping that there is enough here to make pop a cardigan vest (he's so thin, there should be enough) He's always cold so it could be perfect. Now to find a pattern.


This rug(?) that has been started I think crochet along with 3 more skeins of the deep rose and 3 more skeins of the black. The yarn is Clarks cotton rug yarn. Reminds me of kitchen cotton though.


And now for the motherlode:

3 100g skeins of unknown wool. (I did the burn test.. it's all wool)







100g skein of a light aqua wool yarn








100g skein of darker aqua wool yarn







100g skein of navy blue yarn.





and the piéce de resistance:

10 skeins (50 g/ 200y each) of Superfine Alpaca. from 1st Quality Andean Yarns all the smae dye lot and mom paid 4.60 total for the 10 skeins. (Can you believe that? Obviously before alpaca became a desired fiber) This will be a shawl, I think.

I brought home many different sized dpns, argyle sock bobbins(?) 2 circular needles some stitch markers, and a small stitch holder.


There was also this gem:


It's so cute. Mom offered it and I snatched it up fast.








She sent DD polished rocks and theses cute magnets. They're perfect for the magnet board we'll hang in her room.






I better get knitting!

<3-felt(ed) wishes

The baskets are felted. The darker one took 3 times as long to felt as the pink. It's the kind wool.. Makes sense that Vermont aran (designed for fisherman sweaters) would be heartier and more difficult to felt than merino. At any rate, they're both drying but I thought I'd post some pictures for all to see.

The first:

Pattern: Heart-felt wishes by Carol Bristol
Yarn: Vermont Natural Wool aran weight double stranded
Color: Handyed by me with easter egg dyes and food coloring
Needle: US13
Amount: about 3 oz.

The second:

Pattern: The same as above
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino double stranded
Color: 210 Petal Pink
Needle: US 13
Amount: about 2 oz.


Interesting to note the size differences between the two baskets. The only variable was the wool. The Paton's fulled in 1 wash cycle. The Vermont aran needed 3 cycles to full. The thickness of the wool has a result on size but the texture also had an effect on the final result.





All in all, filled with chocolate, I think it will be a lovely gift. One that I, for sure, would love to receive. It's a quick knit and the only part I didn't enjoy was picking up the stitches from the bottom to knit the sides of the basket, but that's always my least favorite thing to do, pick up stitches. I'd make it again for the right person. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the pattern is still available online. I downloaded it quite some time ago and when I went to look for it the other night, couldn't find it online.

update: Carol's pattern is NO longer available online. If you're interested in it, contact her, maybe she'd sell it to you.

the 2nd is finished

heart that is.. at least the knitting. The felting will commence Thursday evening (yes that would be later today as it is about 3:30 am here in the eastern portion of the US) I cast on tonight and kept knitting to finish as I listened to the latest episode (#60) of Cast On with Brenda Dayne, only to discover that it will be another month until I get to hear the next. I totally understand and support where she's coming from and her podcasts are so worth the wait. I'll listen to Sticks and Strings between and catch up on some episodes there as well as Lime and Violet that I've been hearing good things about.

For Christmas I got DH an adapter for the iPod in the car. It picks up an FM frequency that isn't being used and plays your iPod through that frequency. It works OK in the car that we both use for me to and from work, but for long journeys (like DH when he has to go to his church job) or to my parents the amount of FM stations in use is unbelievable so it can become cumbersome... I perservere but I think he doesn't have the patience. At any rate, I've been listening to KnitPicks podcasts on the way home from work if the NPR stories don't interest me. It's about the right lenght to allow for some channel searching mid-trip and the podcast is OK.

I really need to go to bed now so that I can get about 3 hours sleep before starting my day (with all those little kids!)

Good day and happy crafting

hearty wishes

the basket is knitted.. well basket #1 that is. I dyed the wool on Saturday night and CO on Sunday evening after the kids were in bed, whcih came after I got home from visiting the folks. Then I finished knitting last night (after the grocery store trip and putting the kids to bed) Now to knit #2 so that they can be fulled at the same time. Unfortunately there isn't enough of the handdyed wool left to knit another, so I guess I'll hit the stash. I think I have some pink Paton's classic in there and it takes less that 100g total. I can't wait to see them after they're fulled (and filled with candy of course!) One of these days I'll knit for myself LOL

Happy crafting

pictures

The little Panasonic point and shoot is now the camera I'm using. The kids got if from Red for Christmas. I don't know about the Kodak... I'm so sad about that camera.

Here are some pics:

Pattern: show your colors shawl by Spunky Eclectic
Yarn: Jeannie by Kraemer Yarns
Color: Handyed by me "berries in the snow"
Needle: US4

The color in this picture isn't great. The picture below shows its best color. I made a few stray yarnovers that are noticeable upon close inspection, but it's barely noticeable. The new thing that I learned while finishing this shawl was the knitted picot edge. I like it and it's easy peasy! Also this was my first real blocking and a chance to use the wires I bought at Joann.com with a 50% off coupon :-)




Here's mom with her newly acquired shawl. I drove down to my brother's house this afternoon to give it to her along with some other things for she and dad. I think she likes it. Hope she uses it in good health!



Tami over at Tami knits is hosting a contest in celebration of her 100th post. Go leave a comment to enter to win some yarn and stitch markers and tell her I sent you!



DD's rug has been started. Her room is pink so I chose pink. She had a fit and wanted blue So we compromised and put both colors in with white as a buffer. I'm modifying the flower power towel pattern.


That's about it for now.. Happy crafting

:-/

My camera seems to be broken. I'm wondering if little hands got hold of it. I have a shawl to show off and some new projects I'm working on. One is a knitted rug for DD's bedroom. I'm adapting the flower power hand towel pattern by enlarging it and using triple stranded cotton on 10.5 needles (well 2 of the 3 strands in the triple strands are double worsted, so it's like 5 times the thickness of the towel)

My brother called at 11 PM today asking for some remedies to my father's incontinence problems as a result of the recurring tumors in his bladder. well not a solution to the problem, but rather ways to deal with it. Seems dad isn't doing well with adult dipes... a. doesn't want to spend the $ (and probably isn't changing as often as he should to make them effective) and b. is getting confused as to how they work. So at any rate, they aren't working out very well. I grabbed some prefolds that we have sitting in the house waiting to be liberated and some Malden Mills fleece I bought oh so long ago and fashioned a super thick pad... by folding and sewing the prefold in thirds and sewing the fleece to the back to act as a waterbarrier. I made two tonight and hope that DH (who is battling the flu) is on his pins enough to let me run down there in the afternoon (it's a 60 mile trip each way) to deliver them and show him how to use them. I was thinking maybe I should try to knit up a wool soaker for his as well. I'll have to get him some briefs though because these won't work so well in boxers. The man is so thin I could wind up getting teen briefs. He 6' tall and only weighs about 130 pounds so a size small should do fine. I have a wool pad that is made from a felted sweater, double thick (the back and front parts of the body are sewn together) that I then lanolized so that he could sit on that in case of leakage. How ironic that DS2 has been out of dipes for about 6 months now and I'm still working on wool and cloth. Getting old isn't any fun!

I found a gorgeous cloth pattern on Ravelry that I think I'll knit for myself. It's really pretty. It's called Ivy's cloth. It was a part of the cloth of the week KAL that I belong to but haven't had time to knit... one of these days.

WIth any luck I'll find the software to install on my computer for the kids camera they got for Christmas so that I can upload the pictures.... I'll bet they won't even fix my camera :-(

oh my

it's been over a week with no posts. Shame on me.

Here's my brother's mittens finally finished YEA!!!!!!

Pattern: The mitten wardrobe by Kate Atherly
Yarn: Bernat Camouflage
Color: Outback
Needle: Size 4 and size 6 dpns




I married two mittens from the wardrobe and came out with this child. The left mitten is the regular mother's mitten a simple convertible mitten. The right one is the mother's mitten wed to the bad habit mitten.


Since my brother will most likely be wearing these hunting (don't get me started), he needs a trigger finger on the right hand. One was finished for Christmas and the other almost. At church on Christmas eve I sat and knitted and when he tried it on, the flap was too long, so while ripping I lost my mojo... and it sat, and sat. I had more important things to do like knit cloths for mom and dad and work on mom's shawl and I hated knitting with acrylic.

But now it's over and I'm so happy. If I was a tad more wasteful I'd burn what was left of the second skein. But I didn't use much of it, so I'm hoping to get a hat for him yet.


I finished mom's shawl during the inservice with 2 hours to spare. Now it needs some blocking, but the colors are gorgeous.... Hope she likes it. I'll post a picture after it's blocked. I wish I had taken something wlsee with me to work on. It was a boring in-service.

Dad went in the hospital again on Saturday. His port was leaking on the left side. The don't know what's blocking the ureter.. I have my suspicions, but fear if I say them aloud, it will make them true. DS2 and I got to the apt. just as the nurse and security had arrived. He was slightly (haha) agitated that they were sending him to the hospital, but they didn't want to mess with a leaking port. He has surgery well today now in the afternoon to open up the ureter again. My heart aches for him.

Well DS2 just came down the steps crying. He still feels a tad feverish.....

another year older and no smarter

the half century mark is approaching more and more quickly. I was so glib to tease my brothers when they turned 50, I'm sure it will come back to bite me in the behind when the day comes.

DH was so generous to me... I'll post pictures soon, but right now isn't the time. I can say he bought me almost all things wool but nothing for me to make. In other words, no yarn, already FOs... from Donegal Square (one of my favorite stores downtown) and a beautiful necklace from the same place.

We went out and got the 2 oldest kids new mattresses. Ready to be picked up Thursday.

It's snowing now.. I can pray for a snow day tmrw. Half of me wants it and the other half dreads it.... never make this old woman happy!

I worked on mom's shawl this weekend. Was knitting on the way to church (a long commute) and noticed a dropped stitch before the last lace section... so I'm frogging back to the stockinette section. I was so hoping to finish it today, but I'm afraid that won't be happening.

We went to see the folks today. My younger older brother brought dad from rehab to the apartment both yesterday and today so that he and mom could spend some quality time together (and to get him out of that place) so we all had lunch together. The kids were pretty well behaved but 3 hours of being in the 'village' was about all they could handle. Next week I'll go alone and try to get something accomplished for them. I know the visit with the grandkids was good mental health for mom. Dad gets annoyed with them behaving like little kids (which of course they are.. he'd reather have grandchildren that were 3 5 and 7 that behaved as if they were 18 and older) He's back to his old self again... but he's looking worn. I hope he gets to move in the apartment soon. He needs that.

Happy crafting!

2007 totals

well just to give myself an idea of what I accomplished knitting wise in 2007:

• bathmats: 2
  
• blanket rectangles: 14
  
• bookmarks: 1
  
• Chakalaka: 10
  
• Easter eggs: 4
  
• felted baskets: 3
  
• felted changepurse: 1
  
• felted slippers: 3 pair
  
• felted purses: 3
  
• fingerless mitts: 2 pair
  
• hats: 5
  
• headbands: 1
  
• mittens: 1.5 pair
  
• peeps: 3
  
• pumpkin: 1
  
• scarves: 2
  
• socks: 2 pair
  
• warshrags: 40
  

hmmmm not as impressive as I had hoped.. guess I better get knitting!

Miracles DO happen

Well mom is in her new digs. Dad is SO much better... thanks to all of you who held him up. They moved him out of CCU yesterday to the telemetry unit. His BP is stabalized without meds, his kidneys are fully functioning with drains in them to 2 bags because both ureters are blocked (which explains why he wasn't urinating... hard to get it out) So his potassium levels are great now instead of deadly and the creatinine levels are good as well. He does have MRSA in his bladder, which needs to be dealt with but it's really a miracle that he made it through all he did. Praise the Lord! Pop said to me Friday night he guesses he has something else he has to do in his life.

On to knitting, which of course is kind of the purpose of the blog.

Cloths for the rents new apartment:

Pattern: Zigzag lace by Maile Mauch
Yarn: Lily Sugar n Cream
Color: Potpourri Ombre
Needle: US7
This doesn't look like the example on Maile Mauch's page at all. But it is really pretty



Pattern: Tuscany Tile Roof by Maile Mauch
Yarn: Lily Sugar n Cream
Color: Potpourri Ombre
Needle: US7



Pattern: Carlsbad Flower Fields by Maile Mauch
Yarn: Lily Sugar n Cream
Color: Potpourri Ombre
Needle: US7




Pattern: Mad Dash by Maile Mauch
Yarn: Lily Sugar n Cream
Color: Potpourri Ombre
Needle: US7

The center of this cloth is completely screwed up. I was knitting this at the New Year's Eve party when I got the call about dad and tried to knit it off and on in the hospital, when I wasn't holding his hand.. but I really wasn't concentrating on the pattern and it's obvious when you look at the cloth!

And finally, the last installment to my SIL's Christmas set:

Pattern: Snowbird by Sue Schaefer at Harvest Moon Designs
Yarn: Lily's Sugar N Cream
Color: wine
Needle: US6

frantically knitting

to finish the dishcloths. 5 of 6 are complete. Pictures to be added later. TOnight I have to go down to pack up some of the rent's things as the move is scheduled for tmrw.

We almost lost dad Monday night... and things are looking pretty grim Just taking one day at a time. So it won't be until after the weekend when I post. Keep him in your prayers....