Christmas Gifts

All gifts were a success. I knit double-knit hats and ear warmers, socks and a hat/scarf. I also sewed flannel pj pants. Basically I didn't buy anything ready made.

The hat pattern that I was missing was in Alasdair Post-Quinn;'s Extreme Double-Knitting Book. I needed a third color, and raided my 6-ply sock yarn stash.

That led to designing another hat and 3 ear warmers.

I even finished the sewing by Christmas Eve, with the last minute hemming of pj pants for a granddaughter I had not been sure was coming in town for the holiday.

I started a baby sweater for my gift drawer drawer. Pattern and yarn have been waiting for months.

In a Christmas related search session (didn't find what I wanted), I found a skein of yarn that never made it to the yarn corral. It called to me: "Use me now, use me now!" Here are some steps to craziness;

1. Find renegade yarn
2. Look on Ravelry for a pattern using that weight and yardage
3. Find one pattern, a hat, and it's an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern which I own.
4. Her instructions are very vague, so I used some Ravelry information.
5. One hat is finished, and I've only used about 1/2 of the yarn.
6. This is for charity, so I'm knitting another hat.
7. The baby sweater is not likely to be finished this year. 

Follow up

Yesterday, Blogger didn't want to upload pictures from my phone. I'm using more and more for knitting pictures.

Here is the skirt 

Here is how it fits. I love it! It's a combination of wool and acrylic, picked for color. The stitch is alternating seed stitch (k1, p1 then knit a round, p1, k1 then knit a round)

This is a hat and mitten set that I knit for the guild tree. So far I've made 2 hats and 5 pairs of mittens. I may need to take a break and knit mittens and hats for myself. My pink and purple mittens that match my coat keep getting holes. I have matching yarn and keep repairing them. Replacements are scheduled. I also need a hat and mittens for my green Borg coat if I'm going to wear it in the cold weather it is suitable for. Have yarn, must knit. In addition, I have a navy dress coat. The hat scarf and mittens are gone. I have a blue scarf that is suitable, but need hat and mittens. Have yarn, must knit. I need to do these for next winter.

In the mean time, I keep working on my green socks.

I'm having trouble with the heel. Operator error! At first I didn't have the heel centered. It's a heel construction I haven't done before, so I need to pay closer attention. I should have a heel by tonight.

The sweater will be finished by month end. I'm almost at the armhole of the second sleeve. Then on to the front bands, collar and zipper. This will go well with the skirt. The cuffs, front bands, and collar are reversible cables.

Catch Up Again

I keep knitting and fighting the snow. Yesterday was one of those "wintery mix" days. It started with rain. The temperature fell. So did about 3" of snow. SPRING IN 6 DAYS!!

This year, my city has used less salt than other years, which makes the streets more challenging to drive on. They are plowed frequently, and my driveway is plowed up to 3 times a day, but really!

Olympic Knitting
I finished all my projects/events plus one extra.

The Lady Macbeth Sweater is on track to be finished by the end of the month. The body and 1 3/4 sleeve are finished. I hope to wear it to Knitter's Fantasy April 5.

The Sock Hockey event was finished. It was entered for Team sock Knitters Anonymous, and won a prize.I got a sock pattern and a skein of sock yarn.

The Aerial Unwind event was completed and I have started preparing the yarn for washing and rewinding into cakes.

The skirt is finished and I love it. That was a WIPs Dancing event. I started it in November.

I also knit a charity hat.

I've since finished two more pairs of mittens, another hat, and a pair of socks for charity.

I've given myself a Lenten meatless challenge. I'm trying new recipes and eating more fish. I made a tomato rice casserole, and have a spoon bread recipe I want to try. It's made with polenta, creamed corn and broccoli. I also have a few things in my freezer without meat. The rest can wait until after Easter.

Winter Beauty

The snow was beautiful while it lasted! It melted and we had a few days of rain.

Snow people appeared.

 

Christmas decorations were sighted.

 

Church was attended. Knitting happened. Some gifts arrived and were opened. It's cold and snowy in SE Washington.

 I received a nylon light cube between these two hats.

 

I need to learn more about photoshopping the resulting images

Knit, knit, knit

I've about caught up on the computer re-build. Just waiting on a replacement disk for one program. There is evidence that I had the disk. I have the installation manual, but the computer is one of many things that got moved during the" great house remodel." The disk should have been in the drawer with all the other program disks, but it isn't there.

I've never done anything like this before, and I feel so empowered. I have, of course, installed programs. All of the important programs have been restored. If something is missing now, I can download it for free. The expensive software is working.

I'm still getting used to a Microsoft Office update, long needed. The disks were in the house, but not on my machine before its stroke. There are things I like about the newer version (2007), and others I'm not sure about. I had to put together a handout for a class I'm teaching Saturday on reversible cables. I had done the research and knit the samples. I hope the patterns I wrote for the swatches make sense.

A lot of other knitting has happened. I knit up the vest "kit" I bought in Tallahassee. I knew that project would be done quickly so that I could wear it. DD Joyce and I split a bag of yarn, thinking we both would make the same pattern. She changed her mind! I have this comfy vest made form Austermann Murano, a bulky yarn. It's hard for me to say if it is flattering on me, but I love it anyway. I just don't like that I look like an old lady. Self timer on the camera may not be the best way to go here.

Last summer I started a baby blanket. A group at my church was doing them for charity. The group stopped meeting for knitting and the blanket sat. It is now done and will go to some baby at some time. It is too small for the charities my knitting guild supports, but would be fine for a stroller or car seat. I used some cone yarn that was in my stash.

In the "Oh No" department, I decided to knit a hat for great granddaughter Rayven. She turned four. Got some stash yarn and cast on. I realized that the hat would fit me, but I finished it up anyway. There was enough yarn for a proper size hat.The larger hat went to my DDIL Peg, who had her head shaved for charity. I took a picture with my phone iof her wearing the hat, but It is upside down when viewed on the pc. So frustrating.

DD Joyce had a birthday this week, and is a big Dr. Who fan. I had to knit the scarf from Knitty.com called Bigger on the Inside.

It's hard to see, but there are fifteen iterations of the TARDIS on the lower border. I called them "Tardi" although there is no plural for something that is unique. I even used the yarn suggested in the pattern, Lorna's Laces Solemate. I have enough left over for a pair of socks, a bonus I hadn't counted on. The first 100 gm knit all the lace and all the Tardi. It's back in the stash until it tells me what it wants to be.

Since DDIL Peg got a fuzzy hat to keep her bald head warm, her daughter needed one too. She also got bald for St. Baldrick's to support children's cancer. Her favorite color is black for clothes.There was some WoolEase and fun fur in my stash. the result is very soft, but I had to buy more fun fur to finish the hat.

I also knit a bulky sweater. You won't see a picture or it, as it went in the trash. There were some problems with the free pattern, and problems with the yarn. The final straw was when the yarn relaxed considerably when washed. It went from a size medium to a XL tall. It just wasn't worth trying to fix. At least I have the yarn out of stash. All of it was inherited from my mom, so I didn't pay for it. It's getting a little easier to get rid of things that aren't working, but I grew up saving everything, because you might need it some day. I'm trying to leave less for my kids to dispose of when I'm gone, but it's a struggle! It doesn't help that there's so much that I'm actually using.

The joy was clouded

I wore the jacket to work and the sleeves were too short! They may have gotten shorter during the day. The rest of the jacket was fine and I got compliments on it, but I didn't want bracelet length sleeves. I decided to try sleeve surgery and grafting, in seed stitch! If that didn't work, I had to remove the sleeves and reknit the sleeve cap. I decided on an extra 2" of length. Luckily that worked. It was a challenge to separate the parts because of the three colors involved, but it worked. I have worn the jacket a couple of times since and everything is good. If the sleeves shrink up a  bit in washing, that will be all right. I think they'll stretch out in wearing. Although the jacket is cotton, dishcloth cotton doesn't seem to shrink and all the yarn I used has already been washed in its previous incarnation.

My  DIL requested a hat for a 20 yr old man with cancer. That went fairly quickly and used up more stash. It's all garter stitch. I used Caron Simply soft for the start of the hat and filled in with the black when it became obvious that I would run out of yarn. That head is a little small, but my pottery head is among the displaced and I don't know where it is. It belongs in my living room, the last room to be painted.

The kitchen is finished and I've been moved back in. I have been doing more cooking for time intensive recipes and also baked a couple of batches of cookies.

The dining room is finished for now and the living room is primed. There are small jobs in many rooms, but for the most part they are finished and put together.

I have started another sweater for myself. This is a summer sweater that I designed a couple of years ago for TKGA. I didn't get to keep the original. It looked like this. They put it on a wider model and I didn't plan the neckline to be that wide.

I'm using yarn from two different cones, one cotton and one a rayon/cotton mix. One sleeve is finished and I've started the back. I was appalled at the numbers in the pattern. I should have been tech edited. I failed to take into account the six stitch pattern and multiples thereof. I'm reworking the numbers for myself and put a notice on Ravelry in the notes that I would refigure for anyone else that wanted to knit it. The swatch looks like this, of course the sleeve was a swatch too,

Much of my time this year is taken up with yard work, which I enjoy. I didn't have to do so much of it before DH died.. Next post, I'll have to show pictures of the yellow yarn and the socks I'm knitting, and perhaps some remodeling photos too.

Knitting update

Christmas gifts can now be shown. There was a pair of leg warmers. I had told DD that they were "a nose warmer for an elephant". She had to ask!!


There were dishcloths/facecloths.

And more dishcloths/facecloths.









And a new hat for running in cold weather, made at the last minute.




I also have finished those crazy socks, but they won't be gifted until some time in January.

The week that was

Early in the week we had freezing rain. UGH!! The next morning the sun shone brightly and all the trees looked like spun glass. Amazing!

I received a prize from a Ravelry group of a project bag. My DH calls these cows! The bag was made by Blue Tulips, who has an etsy shop.

Inside the bag is a shawlette from CPY Panda Silk DK yarn (another prize from a different group). I followed one of their patterns and ran out of yarn. The shawl is now finished and being blocked, so more photos of that later.

I finished the Tulip socks for DD the remodeler. It was a gray day. She is plugging along on her bathroom, taking showers elsewhere, like the "Y". Destruction has finished and she is beginning to build back. Luckily she has family and friends to help and advise.

Another baby hat was finished. This one of sock yarn. It will fit a larger baby.

I'm designing a shawl from this sock yarn. It should be a one skein project.

September Knitting

It's Labor Day here in NE Ohio, and I'm being lazy. That implies that much knitting is happening, as well as some TV watching. There will be a cookout with family later.

Much knitting has been finished recently. Small projects get done quickly. There were the Fiesta Feet. I doubted my sanity at times during the knitting, but soldiered on and they're done. Both yarns are Kroy 4 ply sock yarn. They were originally designed with a light colored solid. I had some, but used it for some other socks and couldn't find a comparable substitute.

The leftover from these socks went to DGD Ana for her birthday. There was just over 1 ball of the paintbox color. All but 1 yd went into the socks. No leftovers to worry about there. I used a pattern from a book by Janel Laidman, called the Eclectic Sole. We collect books and patterns and don't use them, especially if you're a designer. This year I'm trying to use some of what is on my shelves.

The tomato hat will be mailed with a hat for big sister Rayven. The base hat is a fruit hat, like the tomato, but I put a rose on top from Nicky Epstein's Embellishment book.

I loved the yarn from the Swiss Cheese Scarf and had a lot leftover. A sweater for me is on the needles. It will have short sleeves and is lacy, which doesn't show here. If I can't finish it in the grey tweed, I have a few choices of matching yarn. Green is my first choice, possibly a lace edging and crochet edge on the neck.

A simple project, now that the hats are done, is a baby sweater for the gift drawer. All the girly sweaters were used up this spring. This is a simple one-piece kimono from dish cloth cotton, left over from my jacket. The pattern is in Mason-Dixon Knitting, which calls for this yarn.

Of course, there are socks! There is the Ravelry SKA Mystery Sock; clue #1, sock #1.

The Ravelry Solid Sock group has chosen brown for this month. I have a Ram Club pattern from last year that is for DH. Yarn substitution was required, because the given yarn didn't have enough yardage. Hopefully this Hazel Knits sock yarn will cover both toes without additions from the scrap drawer. I love the depth of the color and the pattern really pops.

The SKA group also has a color of the month for September. It is white, or black, or black/white. A pair of socks for DGD Luci has been started in black. I'm using a Cookie A pattern from her Sock Innovations book.

Last Wednesday i judged needlework at another fair. This time it was Geauga County, the oldest fair in the state. The building I worked in was rebuilt in 1899 after a fire. Lots of good entries. It's harder to choose the best, but I feel better about it. There were only a few items int he wrong class. Sometimes people don't read, and sometimes they may mix up the tags on entry day.

Tomatoes of various types

Tomato Hat

DGD Kat is having another baby in Sept. The sweater I knit for the first one is gender neutral, so I decided to make fruit hats for both kids. The new guy is getting a tomato hat. I bought the pattern on the shop hop last week and came home to find another copy. DD #1 knits and now has a fruit hat pattern. I thought the pattern I had was the flower hat, but can't find that one. Do I need to repurchase to find where it is hiding?

Everyone has red tomatoes in their garden except me! The area where my plants are planted used to be sunny, but when I wasn't looking, trees grew up and the neighbor installed a wooden fence in a corner which also shades the plants. Score on 2 plants; 4 tomatoes on one of them.

I only planted tomatoes and peppers this year, and the pepper section of the garden is doing well. Something ate most of the leaves from the pepper plants early on, but I moved them to our back porch. We have lots of peppers of various sizes and colors. Next year I'll try a couple of other things in addition to tomatoes and peppers. Cutting back a little on work commitments means more time for other pursuits.

Quilter daughter is in town this week. We had dinner with her Wednesday night at her favorite restaurant. Nice long talk about what she's doing and how the new house moving is coming along. She moved July 4th weekend and is mostly unpacked now. Leaving Saturday to be home in Florida on Sunday.

Red sweater

Last March, I knit a sweater for the Cast On Anniversary issue. It is now out and available to the public. I think TKGA picked a model too large for the sweater. My photo shows how I expected it to fit.
The yarn is Classic Elite Classic Silk, a very nice yarn, but TKGA wanted a machine knit pattern and this yarn doesn't work on the machine. I used a more machine friendly yarn for that, and the pattern is on their website. This sweater was knit by hand. It went quickly , especially with no cable needle. The pattern is a four stitch cable, but big enough in gauge to just drop stitches and pick them up again.

My Lucy Neatby Fiesta Feet 2nd sock is mid foot, so it'll be finished by the end of the month to count for the Ravelry SKA challenge for July. Not that I have much chance of winning a prize, but I do like to meet the deadline.