Knitting Holiday

It's been a wonderful holiday weekend so far. Last nite I knit on some soon to be felted baby slippers in 'galway' multicolored yarn. They knit up so fast so all they need its to be stitched up and thrown in the next few loads of wash.

Today was another knitting day on the back patio. My daughter had started a pair of socks and had gotten to the heel flaps. I took them off her hands last weekend on a visit with a promise to finish them up for her. I've turned the heels and done the gusset decreases on both and have about 5 inches knit on the first foot. They'll be finished in no time.

Every dog has it's day

Yesterday dog #4 got completed and now it's time to look for some fabric for the gangs finishing touches. They are quite a cute bunch. Now it's on to cleaning and shopping for the holiday weekend.

Another dog

Dog number 3 was finished last nite and am already working on the final 4th. These are going up so fast. Now for some paw print fabric.

Mitts and dogs

I finished the second mitt today and reworked the pattern again. This time I knit the cuff and palm then did the remaining hand, putting the thumb stitches on a waste piece of yarn. This worked out much better than the other mitt and the thumb knitted up much nicer. My son tried them on for a fit and said they fit well so it's off to the wrapping dept and then off in the post to their recipient. I know it's not cold today but it will be soon. If they are a little big then a wash will shrink them up just a bit.
Dog #2 worked up really fast tonite. I had all of the needles ready and threaded so the stitching goes fast. The random backstitching is really adding to the designs. I can't wait to get the next puppies.

On to the holidays

Yes it is time to start getting our crafting vibe on for the holidays. I went to the local book store and purchased the new issue of 'just cross stitch' magazine that featured halloween projects (really cute) and the clerk bemoaned that fact that already halloween was being touted. I told her that when you craft you have to think ahead and she agreed. I did too remembering the back to school items in the stores the day after school was out and now seeing them pushing away the school stuff in the drug store in order to make way for the halloween candy. School hasn't even started yet here. (tomorrow).

So this is the second in my quick holiday card cross stitch designs. I liked the look of this one a lot but would try a different gold thread on the next one. At this rate only close, close family will receive on of these as I anticipate an extremely limited series.
This is the first of a 4 part project. There are three other dogs needing stitching and then they will transform into a usable and useful object for the house. Fun and fast to stitch.
The first mitt from the book 'knitting for him', a requested project. I should have looked closer at the pattern before starting but no, I didn't. It called for knitting in the flat, I changed to knitting in the round. The pattern wanted a left and a right mitt, mine knit in the round will be exactly alike and work wonderfully. The pattern called for small needles for the cuff and larger needles for the hand. I stuck with small needles throughout. I think I could have even cast on less stitches for the cuff to make it tighter in the cuff area and increased in the first round of hand stitches. In reality I could have used my favorite 4 needle mitten pattern from the 'jack frost' pamphlet. It's so old but just like my favorite sock pattern from 'yankee knitters' they work every time and I can't count how many pairs I've made from it. The second mitt though will be done the same as the first so as to keep them the same. I'll send them off for testing in the field and then if another pair is needed so the changes anticipated.

I believe that there is a reason why knitters have been making basic garments the same way over the centuries. It works. It's that simple. Knitters don't want to waste their time doing something the hard way. I know in some cases the pattern writers have a great idea but do the knitting in their own style. Case in point: the mitts. No one likes mittens with seams down the sides, they are clunky and bulky. DPN's eliminate the seam and when you are doing 2-color patterns you are always just knitting, no purling at all. No carrying the yarn in the front, awkwardly. Time to get off my soap box and back to work. Those bags of projects won't magically get done, I am the elf.

Grey Socks

I got the chance to go away this weekend and visit my daughter. Of course I brought a project with me, the grey 'regia socks' was top on the list. And lo and behold I finished that second sock. They came out nicely and are soft and comfy and will fit well. We did a little bit of touring and they found me a 'yarn and sweater' store to browse in. You know the outcome. I now have two new projects in hand. A warm hat for my daughter and felted baby slippers that were too cute to pass up on. As my daughter was showing me all of her crafts and projects she gave me about a picnic basket-full of yarn for various projects. Sock, shawl, and felting plans are in the making. Because she's crafty she gets given yarn but knew she had too much for her plans and that I would turn it into something. As I match up yarn with patterns and projects I have 6 bags lined up on the floor waiting to get started on. That doesn't count the ones in the closet or footlocker. Addicted to crafting, I admit it but I'm not stopping anytime soon.

Cooking for crafts

Tonite when I got home from work I put on my apron and went to work in the kitchen whipping up treats for the weekend. I started off with 'Starbucks' crumb coffee cake, a recipe from the book 'top secret recipes. This is my favorite cake to make, soft sweet and a thick crumb topping. Always a favorite and easy to make. Next up was 'inspiration cake', a Pillsbury bake off grand prize winner from 1953. With it's layers of nuts and chocolate and the fudgy layer in between, it's a show stopper and much requested extremely yummy cake. The layers are chilling in the fridge for it's frosting appointment tomorrow. Last but not least was a batch of oatmeal, raisin, nut cookies. It's the recipe off of the back of the oatmeal box and you can eat these for breakfast, they are so good. So my recipes are baked, plated and wrapped up ready to go with for my visit this weekend.

On the real crafting front, I did get to knit on my grey sock at lunch time and am almost up to the heel flap. Last nite I was too mesmerized by the outfits on PRun to get much done.

Yarn box

Fun days at work this week. Long hours and not enough time to get everything done. I look forward to my lunch break so I can pull out my knitting bag, turn on my mp3 player, listen to others discuss crafts, book, movies and knit.

I finished the first 'regia' gray sock and another little hat for a newborn baby. I started to cast on the second sock when I broke one of my new favorite needles. I was at work with no more needles. Take a breath, put down the knitting and remember there are more needles at home. I'll have to order two more set's of #1 harmony needles from Knitpicks. These are so smooth to knit with and I love the sharp, thin points.

When I got home tonite there on the table was my order from Webs. These are some of my upcoming projects to work on. I'll have to put away the fun stuff and work on the presents.

The 'rowan' is for a pair of mitts from the book 'knitting for him'. This was a requested project and the yarn is straight out of the pattern and picture. The 'regia stretch' is of course for a pair of socks, men sized. I was intrigued by the 'stretch' factor, so more to come on this yarns final feel. The 'lambs pride' is going to turn into a one-color pair of felted clog/slippers. A present for someone, who it is I haven't figured out yet, but I know that I want to knit another pair. Maybe even for me, who can tell. There was a definite need to alternate socks with other projects. Game on knitters, the holidays are coming up faster than you think.

Sunday Crafting

I put the knitting needles down and pulled out my size 28 tapestry ones instead and worked on the new christmas designs. The reindeer in the night sky is all done and the red reindeer needs outlining and beads to turn into a christmas ball. The knitting goes to work with me today so I can get on with the gusset of the grey sock.

Slow crafting

Yesterday I brought my socks to work on during my lunch break and got all the way to the heel turn. I looked in my knitting bag in order to check the pattern and see how many stitches I would purl across for the first row. "ALARM" where was the pattern. I only check it to see how many stitches to cast on, the purl row for the heel, stitches to pick up on the edge and about how long to knit the foot and heel flap. I seem to have the rest of the pattern inbedded in my fingers. So since I didn't want to mess it up I put down my knitting and read a book instead. It just felt wrong. My fingers wanted to fly but, oh well the sock could wait. Nothing got done in the evening because there was a work potluck party to attend. Lots of fun and loads of laughs.

Today was clean the house day. That just automatically takes away from the knitting/crafting time. I did turn the heel and am half way through the gusset decreases. Sunday I've made an appointment with myself, the patio lounger and my knitting to get some more quality crafting time in.

Baby needs a Hat

I found the baby hat and it's knitting bag on the floor by my desk when I got into work today. It is soft and cute and I know that some little newborn will love it keeping its head warm.

I worked on my 'regia' grey sock today and knitted enough that I'm knitting the heel flap. No more tonite as my hands are tired. A good book is in my future for the rest of the night.

Yarn anxiety

After all of my thinking that I had plenty of yarn in my attic stash but than I went and looked at it. I had a lot but not a lot of sock yarn with enough yardage for large mens size socks. My dilema was solved with a trip to my local yarn store. I planned to purchase enough yarn for two pairs but ended up with enough for 4 pair. This is the first yarn, a wonderful regia superwash. It feels very soft and is knitting up wonderfully with nice self patterning. I've done 2 inches of k1p1 rib and am moving on to the k2p2 rib for the remainder of the leg. No fancy stitching for this yarn. The pattern is what will show in the finish.

At work today there was a two hour meeting. The day prior at the yarn store they had bagged up yarn and a pattern to make baby hats for the local hospital. I got a kit and brought it with me to the meeting. Two hours later I had made a large size baby hat with a cute i-cord knot on the top. I went to take it's picture tonite and realized it's sitting on my desk at work waiting to come home. Promise of a picture tomorrow. The best thing about baby hats is that one skein goes a long way. I'm sure there is at least two more hats in that skein.
More excitement, when I got home tonite my new issue of "Cross Stitcher" magazine had arrived. It was jam-packed with great projects. I really loved the quick stitch cards that came as the extra gift. There were 11 laminated cards with christmas patterns all designed to be completed in just one evening. The two pictured are a sample of the ones I liked. They came with a ring so you could take it with you and none of them use more than 10 colors of floss. I can already see my self pulling floss and fabric for these patterns. We'll see how it goes by the holidays. Who will get the custom cards this year.

A day of rest

After the mega crafting session yesterday I decided I would just work on a new sock design using the 'alpaca sox' yarn. I figured out a good design with cables down the side and various ribbing patterns. I cast on and knit about an inch and started to cable. Then I ripped it all out to start again. Change of plan. This yarn is very soft so the top of the sock needs a little stability first. That means a k1p1 rib for about an inch then a k2p2 rib with cables on each side of the foot about every 2 inches. I think this will work out well but again a test is needed. Also: note to self, put a cable needle in my knitting. It's hard to do without one. Even a little needle would have helpful.

Baby Blanket

Today was a great crafting Sunday. I had bought fabric to make blankets for a set of twins 2 months ago, washed it and put it aside. Now that I had their address I just had to make them up and get them in the mail. A deadline makes the craft vibe in us all come to life. They each took about an hour and 1/2 to make from start to finish and came out great.

All you need is
1 yard of fuzzy fabric for front (silky fleece)
1 yard flannel for back
1/2 yard flannel for binding

Thread
quilt basting spray

Lay out your flannel for the back wrong side up.
Spray flannel with basting spray.
Lay fuzzy fabric on top right side up. Make sure there are no wrinkles and pin all over.
Trim edges so everything has straight edges.

Cut binding fabric into 4inch strips. Fold in half and press. Then fold each edge to the center and press. Refold the center and you have a binding strip for each edge.

Open up binding strip and line up on edge of blanket sandwich putting right sides together.
Sew binding on using 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch seam. Repeat for opposite side.

Refold your binding strip around the edge of the blanket so the center fold in on the edge of the blanket. Pin in place all around. Trim off the ends even with blanket.

Repeat sewing on binding strips on other two sides but let binding hang over the end about 1/2 inch so you have an edge to turn under. Refold the strips and pin all around the edge tucking in the 1/2 inch overlap so you have a nice finished corner.

Pick a nice easy decorative stitch on your sewing machine. Do a test run on some of the scrap fabric you cut off to insure it looks nice. Make sure you have a pretty full bobbin and get started sewing. Center your pressure foot in the middle of the binding and sew the decorative stitch all around the entire blanket. Because you used such a wide binding, if you stay in the center you shouldn't have any trouble not catching in any of the binding. It also makes a nice finishing touch and one that is long lasting on the blanket.

I've made a lot of these to give as baby gifts and I always hear back from the moms that it is the child's favorite. Look for the fuzzy fabric with the fleeces in your fabric store. It comes in plain (my favorite) or with embossed bumps. It is an acrylic/rayon blend? that is a woven with only one good side. I like to get a bright color that's really soft and then match it up with a some wild flannels.

Go ahead and make a new baby or child happy.

I went ahead and knit sock number 3 and and on the gusset of sock number 4. With luck it will get done tonight and be wrapped and packed and in the mail tomorrow. They look so cute and small. All set to keep some tootsie toes warm.

Baby needs

In working on the quandry of what to do with all of the leftover sock yarn in my attic stash, the solution came in the form of baby socks. They are small and whip up really fast and look adorable. I knit this pair this afternoon. Each sock weighs 8 grams. I still have 26 grams left in the skein. That means that I can get another pair and it won't matter if they don't match because they are hand knitted. They did come out matching with no effort at all. They will be winging their way in the post to a set of twins so I really do need to keep on knitting. The yarn is 'trekking' stretch, it's washable and will keep those little tootsies warm as the fall approaches. Babies always need to keep their feet warm.

Jar of ?

I finished the second 'regia' sock tonite and couldn't wait to try it out in my new packaging idea. I have a lot of these really old canning jars with glass lids. The quart size is just perfect for a pair of rolled up socks. It looks like jelly in a jar. They look so cool but the picture isn't the best. I have to borrow my sons camera for the close shots. The next project is the new 'alpaca' sox yarn in baby blue by 'classic elite'. It's just so.. soft and comfy that you know it's going to be a joy to knit.

I'll have to round up all of the socks and get then ready for canning.

Turning the corner

I got a chance to work on the second sock today and got the heel turned and am set up and ready to go for the gussett. This pair is working up quite fast and nice. I have some maroon yarn in my attic ready to go for the next project with a cable pattern in mind.

Socks on fire

I cast on and knit 6 inches of the second 'regia' sock today while watching the movie 'I am legend' starring Will Smith. I was great and knitting kept me occupied through all of the excitment and excellent 'zombie violence'. Great movie and the sock is working up quickly.

Crazy busy

Another crazy busy day at work. We lost our power twice due to a downed powerline. If we are out for more than 10 minutes you have to evacuate the building. Of course just when we start it comes back on but then you have to turn all of the computers on and make sure everything is working.

So I read a book and then got down to doing some cutting out of cardstock to make a jumping through the hoop tiger as a companion for the circus mice. I'll have to get back to them soon.

Sock happening

Just now I finished the first 'regia' sock that I have been knitting on. It came out very nice and I can't wait to find the other ball of yarn to set up in my project bag. There was very little yarn left on the ball so no extra socks in this colorwave.

I had worked on it somewhat yesterday and got the heel flap done. My sister picked me up for a great rock concert. I brought my knitting with me but left it in the car for the anticipated wait afterwards. The concert was delayed due to weather (extreme lightning and crazy hard driving rain) for two hours but then Bruce played for two hours with a 50 minute encore after that. We took our time getting out of the stadium because there was no rush. Our back parking lot was next to last to get out so in the mean time I worked on the sock turning the heel and decreasing the gusset to the foot. We we on the road at 2 am, way later than I'm used to but in the end it was worth it.

Crafting and the Doctor

Another crazy busy, long day at work. It was so nice when I got home that I took each cat out on their leashes for a nice walk around the yarn. Then it was time to get ready for some crafting. Delay happened in the forms of a graphic novel I just got from the library and the season finale of Doctor Who. The novel is 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore. If you've gone to the movies lately you must have seen the trailer. I can't imagine how they will make a movie from this book. I pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages mesmerized by the story. Then there was the 'Doctor'. I just loved the storyline and the idea of bringing all of the companions, family and friends together along with the greatest nemisis. The music at the end, the loss of friends and companions and the unknown future all made this a great episode and I can't wait to see it return.

But the crafting. I did cast on a regia yarn sock in a grey/blue color striping pattern that will eventually make it's way to a guy in the family. Thank goodness my hands can knit by themselves and I could concentrate on the plot. I picked a simple K2P2 ribbing that will show off the striping and make a nice fitting sock. Three inches of knitting accomplished it's time to put it away for the nite. Housework awaits tomorrow but I'll set aside some crafting time tomorrow.