Another Project

I retreived this beaded bracelet project from my mom a week or two ago and said I would figure it out and finish it for her. You have to string all of the beads into a pattern and then knit each row, slipping a bead inbetween each knit stitch on both sides, using #0000 steel needles. It's long enough but I want to add one clasp and then size it before finishing off the other end.

I had to rip out the sock back to the heel flap last night. I realized that after doing all of the decreases and happily working my way down the foot I had gotten mixed up and picked up too many stitches on the heel flap. 16 instead of 13 on each side (6 extra stitches) and then I decreased the cooresponding amount to 16 instead of 13. That gave me 6 extra stitches. It may not seem like a lot but that's about an extra inch of stitches. One sock would always be larger. Couldn't have that so I ripped it all back. Picked up the correct number of stitches , knit one round and put the sock away. I'll get back to it again.

More finishing

Had a great craft day on day 2 of my vacation. I finished the second bracelet and it came out quite nicely. Now for some boxes to put them in. I was thinking of using old boxes and using fabric, tissue or decorative papers and spray glue to jazz up the covers so they won't just be plain white. We'll see how this turns out.
Next to get done was this tiny chest of drawers. It's only 3.75 inches tall but but looks really nice. Notice how the paper matches down the front of the drawers. I liked doing this project and they had translated the japanese instructions into english so it was easy to follow along. You had to use metric measurements and match up japanese symbols but all of the cardboard was marked so it went together well.

Then came an afternoon of organizing and reading followed by a little more crafting and movie watching.
The sock came to the top of the pile or projects so I'm almost done with the foot gussett. Well back to the sock and more crafting/cleaning projects tomorrow.

Museuming

Had a fun day out on the first day of my vacation. Got a pass to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem from the library and met my sister there. We had a great time getting some culture and being inspired by the art. We looked at origami, weddings through the ages and across cultures and Maori Mako tatoo art. The gift shop was great and I got a kit to make a robot, another to make lots of boxes and one to make a chest of drawers.

It's coming along and will be finished tomorrow and be a nice addition to my craft corner. On the way home I stopped at another local library and took out lots of knitting, crafting, cooking, books and magazines as well as some more books on cd. When I got home it was just too much fun reading and looking at all of the pictures of more crafts to do. It's a craft addiction and I know it but I'm giving into it.

Book Breaks

Can you believe that yesterday I didn't do any crafting at all. Well it's true. I just had to finish a mystery novel by Caroline Graham "Written in Blood". After just discovering this series I'm hooked and once started I have to see who is the killer, what was the motive and what is the rest of the cast of crazy characters doing in the towns of Midsomer.

During my break at work today I did do another inch on my sock while listening to a knitting podcast but tonite it's another book by Ken Bruen, "The Guards". I'm racing through this ex-cop /detective in Ireland mystery/selfdiscovery/revenge book and so enjoying it. I think my fingers and brains just needed a craft break.

Another bracelet

After a day of housecleaning and baking (oatmeal raisin nut cookies, shortbread cookies and corn muffins) I had a great time finishing a novel. Tonite I did get down to some crafting and finished the third segment of this bracelet and have joined up one of the ends.

I got distracted from heavy crafting watching the new "Sarah Jane Chronicles" and "Doctor Who". They were all great episodes but I loved the adorable fat monsters who reminded me of tiny happy staypuff marshmallow men from ghostbusters. But I had to laugh when the new/previous companion pulled out all of her luggage from the boot of her car in ready to go with the Doctor. One suitcase for every season and a hatbox for the 'planet of the hats'.

I finished it

Today and yesterday I worked on a really simple pillow cross stitch pattern. I bought this at a 'clean sweep' sale and it's nice but not really my style or colors. It will go over well as a church fair item.
This bear pin again was a sale purchase that will go to a fair. Nice but again not my favorite.
The sock though is my kind of project. I knit almost six inches of a seven inch leg so it's almost up to the heel. I had to rest from beading and knitting but now I'm back. I'm looking forward to sitting on the patio listening to a good book on cd and crafting away. But tomorrow some baking and housework needs to get done prior to the fun stuff.

Happy Earth Day

Finished the middle segment of the bracelet today. It's going along much faster as I'm learning more and more. To hold the two needles and keep them separated while I'm working I've put a magnet on each of my colors. The waiting needle goes onto one magnet then it's easy to pick up the second needle thats been resting on the other magnet. I tried pincushions and other methods but this has gotten the best results with the least tangled thread. It might look funny but anything to make my crafting easier.

Little bit of beading

Today was a holiday here 'Patriots Day'. For me it was a day of doing errands planning my route around the marathon route that runs through town. Then it was on to laundry, dishes and general upkeep on the house. Finally I took my beading outside on the patio and worked on the first segment of the triple bracelet. I finished that segment and started second one. I was listening to a funny book on cd and just having a lot of fun with my beads. This second bracelet is going to go together much easier as I learned a ton from the first one.

More wrist wear

I couldn't resist starting another bracelet today. This time I started the pattern with three rows of the gold band pattern. This will allow the easy joining in of the other segments and final band and limit the number of end strands to weave in. I also enlarged the pattern just a bit so its easier to follow along.

Sayings on your wrist

I finished the third segment of the bracelet last night and decided to join up at least one side. It was 11 pm and I thought I had everything all set up and the technique to use. I finished the gold peyote on one edge and then I really..really looked at the bracelet. One segment was on backwards. No one wants a misspelled bracelet so I put it down and went to bed. At lunch time today I unbeaded the end and wove in all of the extra ends. Tonite, with a clear head and a much better idea of how to match up the ends I worked the gold peyote bands. They matched up and you can read the sayings. I had magnetic clasps to use but in order to strengthen the ends I used some 'french wire' (fine spirals like a spring of wire) to run the thread and clasp through. For the final touch all of the fine hairs that stick out got cut and then burned away with a 'thread zapper'. This heats up and melts the beading thread away.
The final bracelet looks good, drapes well and fits nicely. I reset up my bead box to start another one soon.

Yard Work/Crafting Day

Worked on cleaning all of the leaves and sticks from the front and one side of the yard. Loads and loads of small sticks, acorns and wet soggy leaves blown up along the fence filled 10 yard bags. The patio got cleaned up and the chairs arranged so I can eat lunch out there on my days off. The front little patio are received two chairs and a small table so the neighbors can come and sit and visit. After a sandwich on the patio I had a great time reading on the patio and then finished up this tiny 3inch square pincushion. It came out nice and the kit did include the stuffing. I looked on web for the designer 'earth threads' but it seems to have gone by the wayside. It will be a nice addition to the church fair or needlepoint auction/sale box.
Since the pincushion got finished I worked on the second segment of the bracelet. You have to concentrate or you miss or misspell a word or letter. It will look nice on someones wrist but you'll have to look close to see what its says. The beads don't have a great deal of contrast in them. For the next one I'm going to use a true gold bead for the lettering and keep the background delicas the same. Now it's time to find another needle so I can work on the third segment.

Crafting Fun

Today I finished the first of the three part beaded bracelet. It says 'good memories'. I barely started the second one. I think I'll have to make a total of 5 of these before the end of summer. I hope there will be a lot of good memories in this project by the time I'm through.
This was a break from beading. It's a little marking sampler piece that will end up as a pincushion. This is a 'church fair' project that I got from a 'clean sweep' sale at a needlepoint meeting. It has a great deal of potential and came attractively packaged and included everyone you need to finish the project except for stuffing. I get the fun part of doing the stitching and then my mom gets a finished item for her fair. I thinks it's a good trade off.

Little bit of beading

After yesterdays craft I worked on some beading, putting all the knitting aside. I love beading too and this little piece will be part of a three band/segment bracelet. I've made it before but it is fun to do. You use two needles at a time to peyote across the pattern of words. Only 5/6 of the bracelet to go.

One sock left to knit

The first 'jitterbug lagoon' mock twisted rib sock is finished and it came out especially nice. The yarn is soft the ribbing just right. On the its twin.
Went with my mom to an EGA beading class today on spiral ropes. I've done this before but learned a lot from the teacher and had a great time meeting and talking with other crafters.

Little bit of knitting

Today I knit on the 'lagoon sock for just a little bit. There was housework, laundry, dishes and organizing to do. Sometimes life just gets in the way of my crafting time.

New Sock

Late last night I cast on this 'jitterbug lagoon' sock in a twisted mock rib pattern. Its going along really fast but feels scrumpcious. The color is out of my comfort zone but I'm getting used to it and just enjoying the knitting.

New cast off

I finished the toe-up socks this morning while waiting for the washing machine. The sewn cast off is really easy and is quite stretchy. All you do is cut the end thread about 3x the diameter of the sock. Go through the first two stitches purlwise leaving them on the needle. Then go through the first stitch knitwise and let that first stitch only come off the needle. Repeat around the top. It reminds me a lot of the kitchner stitch. The socks fit well even though they don't have ribbing at the top. The elastic yarn takes care of keeping it up on your leg.
After doing all of the house cleaning, I picked a fun organizing project on my list. I had a huge overflowing hat box full of loose, carded and misc buttons. Everytime I wanted to find one for a project I would sift through them knowing the one I wanted was there but not able to find it. Now I'll be able to just dump out one jar and sift through them. Not a big change but they look beautiful and decorative but are useful.

Almost finished

Today was very productive on the toe up socks. I finished knitting the legs of both socks. They only need a special cast off to finish them off. Since I only had one set of #3 double pointed needles I used some circular #3's to hold the stitches on one while I worked on the other. The second heel went much easier knowing what to expect and already having worked through the instructions. Using the circulars allows you to try on the sock and see if it fits and it does. The 'cascade fixation' yarn has elastic in it so not having any ribbing works out okay in this sock. Normally I like the ribbing because it provides for a nice form fitting sock.

It felt like the first day of real spring today. I hung out all of the laundry on the clothesline and it dried so fast and smells so good. I cleaned off the front patio, put out a lawn chair and was knitting away after having lunch outside. I even got to talk to some of the neighbors who were out on such a nice day.

New Heel

Worked on the pink toe up sock today and turned the heel. This is very different from the top down, heel flap version I am used to making. The fit of the final sock will tell the tale if I'll be knitting this version again.

Two socks

The toe up socks are now a pair. I just finished all of the pink yarn so a switch to the varigated pink is next. I need about another inch or two before starting the heel turn.

Another pink sock

At lunch and tonite I worked on the first of a pair of pink 'cascade fixation' toe-up socks. The toe cast on works very cleanly. Now I'm about half way through whats left of the solid pink color so I'll put this sock on a holder and start the second one. In this manner I'll use the yarn evenly. I have another ball of varigated pink that is enough for the heel and legs of each. The heel should be interesting as there are more than a few ways to do this.

Rainbow Socks

Finished the toe of the rainbow socks today. They came out very nice but it's not my favorite yarn coloration at all. I like a more varied varigation, and more earthy or blue/purple colors. I also checked my gauge on the sole and found I'm knitting very tight (9 stitched per inch) so I need to go up a needle size or two for the next pair when I use this yarn.

I decided to do a toe up sock in cascade fixation. I cast on using a technique where you crochet a chain of stitches using a piece of waste yarn. Stitches are picked up from the back of the crochet chain, then you knit a row, purl another row then carefully remove the chain picking up the stitches from the other side. Now you have an invisible start at the toe. Again I checked my gauge and found it was too tight (7 stitches per inch) so I'll knit a few more rounds with larger needles to get the correct gauge then rip it all out and start again. I need to do my swatches in the round when doing socks because a flat swatch just doesn't work out the same when doing a knit then purl row.

Rainbow Sock

Worked on the rainbow sock tonite, turning the heel and over halfway down to the toe. With another project waiting in the wings I'm really concentrating on getting this one finished. I'll have a lot of yarn left over so there is going to be another smaller size pair made of this yarn at a later date.

Updates and progress

Had a great day today, attending a quilt show, shopping for yarn and eating out and even doing some crafting. Here's a picture of the 'cascade fixation' pink socks (for Red Sox ladies) that was a secret gift project prior to Easter.

The Hello Kitty/Chococat mug had flowers sprinkled around the design. I stitched it into a tube so it fits snuggly in the mug and then glued the mug insert into the mug after positioning the fabric. It came out cute but the flowers just added that special touch to make it even more special.

I'm up to starting the heel on the rainbow sock. I have to finish it because at the yarn store I bought yarn for two more pairs.
This is 'jitterbug' colorway lagoon. I love knitting with this yarn but the color is out of my comfort range but I'm going to love it anyway.
This is a new brand for me 'Skakel trekking hand art' in colorway atlantic. It's soft but superwas so I'm sure this will knit up wonderfully.

The quilt show was fun to go to. Not having been to one in a while it was good to see the range of color palets, styles, patterns and quilting techniques. There were lots of full size quilts which makes the show more interesting. A total craft day.

Wilhelmina the Witch

Worked on finishing the witch that I had completed all of the knitting on a month ago. She had a bag full of part including each finger and thumb knitted separately.

Here's her body all stuffed and weighed down.
Here are her two arms with individual digits sewn on.
Her shapely legs with boomers, ruffles and fancy high heel shoes.
A cauldron for brewing potions.
A hat for her head. You spray it heavily with hair spray, pat it into the fibers, shape it and then let it dry. This lets the knitted item hold its shape. The cauldron handle was shaped in the same manner. This method of stiffening doesn't effect the feel of the yarn or change its look at all.

Here she is with her legs attached and now she's a fully formed witch. The hair is put on by using a crochet hook and looping a strand through, one at a time. I worked in a circle around the crown of her head so it looks nice if she takes her hat off. The yarn was kind of kinky from beening in the skein so you just use a steam iron and holding it up to her head give the hair a blast of steam. This worked really well, and her hair falls smoothly down her back. Her nose is a little big for my taste but over all I'm very satisfied with this project.

New room

Here's a picture of the new room looking out into the back yard. There's plenty of room on the shelving for the family treasures and all of the future craft projects. The gang of cats were all checking out the room today, laying in the sun beam spots on the carpet and looking very happy with themselves.
Here is Fern looking all fluffy and pretty after a brushing this morning. She was a very happy and contented little cat this morning and allowed my son to take her picture.
Before work I worked on the 'chemo beanie' and finished it. Then I tried it on for fit and it was too short. This is a project I'm making up as I go from a description and I had underestimated the amount of length a cap needs to be to actually sit on a head. I did find out that the decreases measured 2 inches, the ribbing 3 inches and the plain knitting inbetween needed to be 3 inches not a half an inch. Ripping insued, back to the start of the decreases and then it all went back on the needles. As you can see it worked up quickly and I finished it on my dinner break this evening. It will be wrapped up tomorrow and hopefully it will be what the recipient envisioned.

New Project

Didn't get to do much in the way of crafting today. Did a few rounds on the rainbow sock but you can't even tell the difference. It was 'prayer shawl' knitting tonite so the comfort blanket got blessed and is on it's way to an yet unborn baby. I cast on for a requested 'chemo hip hop beanie' tonite and knit a few inches before doing a test fit. This is Tahki 'Sky' yarn, nice and soft, 100% biofil cotton so it doesn't have any chemicals in it at all.

Promise to post pictures of the 'heritage room' tomorrow. It's been rainy and gloomy and I need to take a good photo during mid day.