Felt ornaments

I had fun at the Fiber Festival in White River Junction (November). I adapted the 3D felting workshop I went to and started felting ornaments. They adorned our "Christmas tree" and I gave them as little gifts. They came out very cute.

Tick-tock

Wow. Time goes by so quickly. I have been too busy to blog. I hope to catch up over winder break. (: I have been knitting, felting, making buttons, and reading for work. To be continued....

Lovin the heat

So happy we have finally gotten some summer weather. But so sad -- school starts soon. I love when school starts. It will be hectic but so full of promice and great stuff happening for kids.

Birds of a feather

What started out 3 years ago as a bridal shower has turned into an annual event that celebrates the women in my family. Unfortunately everyone could not be there but we had a wonderful gathering of 8.

Taylor is the organizer and she enlists Morgan and me to help. We enjoyed cream cheese/goat cheese and cucumber sandwiches, wonderful cookies, tea, and sangria. But most of all we enjoyed the company. Love you guys! xoxo

Finished with floweres

The hats came out very cute. I might need to rent a baby to see how they look on.

The white hat is Encore Yarn (75% acrylic 25% wool) and the pink is Reynolds Saucy (100% cotton), both are worsted weight yarns on size 8 needles, knit from the top down.

You can find the pattern here: http://slumberland.org/patterns/cupcake-hat.pdf

Summer so far

Do I need to say anything about the rain? Moving on....
On one of the few sunny days I weeded the hen and chick garden. These are the cutest little popcorn chicks.

I had to have eye surgery for a torn retina


Don at the AVA Gallery opening. That is his painting "Tux" in the background.



Waiting for some sunny hot weather!

I am so done!

I finally finished the other pink baby sock. (I still need to weave in the ends.) If I ever say I am going to make them again, I hope someone will stop me!

To recover from the trauma of those socks, I am knitting dish cloths. Fun to make, various patterns, you always need new ones, and I am going to give them as party favors at this years tea party.

New hat

Found this pattern in Charleston at Knit, a great knitting shop full of patterns and wonderful yarns. I used Jelli Beenz yarn by Plymouth. It is one of their new colors. I will have to find a baby to try it on. I am looking forward to trying the other hat and the 4 needle mittens.

Short-row craazy

I am making these cable cuties again but using the short-row method for the heels and toes. I must admit it is a real struggle. The cable cuff is very easy but the short-row is hard. Last winter one of the yarn shops offered a workshop in this method. I will be the first one to sign up the next time they offer it. I am looking forward to finishing. They will be a gift for my daughter's friend who is having a little girl.

Burp

Made this adorable bib using Reynolds Saucy Sport 100% cotton. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a wonderful sage green color. The pattern is from "One Skein: 30 quick projects to knit and crochet" by Leigh Radford. I have made a few things from this book: cable footies, gloves, baby hat, and the pedal pib.

So long

Wow, I cannot believe it has been more than a month since my last post. I have been knitting, really I have...just not blogging. I have been working on lots of small projects, here are just a few. All these are mostly done, but as you can see they need ends woven in, flowers added, and ties knitted. More blogging this weekend?

Darling pink cables

Made these darling little socks from Knitting Daily's free "Better than booties baby socks" pattern. I had trouble with the short heel so I used the heel and toe from Yankee Knitters sock pattern. I guess I need to learn how to do the short heel, calls for a trip to the local yarn shop for help. Socks are knit on size 0 needles and fingering weight yarn. I used a superwash wool from country Woolens, Lebanon, NH.


I also had trouble with the cable on the foot. I wonder if there was a pattern error. I decided to put in a "life line" in case I needed to rip it out again. If you decide to make them here is what I did for foot: K10, p1, work 2 sts in cable patt as established, p1, K16, p1, work 2 sts in cable patt as established, p1, k10 (that is the 44 foot stitches).

Almost a flower cap

Found a cute hat pattern. Very easy. It is the first top down hat I have done. It was a little weird at first and I hated the metal needles I used. I am making a 2nd one, a larger size, but this time I am using bamboo needles. Much nicer. I still need to decorate with flowers. I used Encore yarn, worsted weight, size 8 needles. Here is the link:
http://slumberland.org/wp/2006/05/15/pattern-cupcake-baby-hat-with-real-cupcakes/

Button on

Another collar with a great vintage button. Used Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed from Green Mountain Fibers in Rutland. I had just a few yards left! It is cosy and I love to wear it. January 13, 2009 has the link to the pattern.

I finished the pink cable slipper socks. Saving them for a gift. I hope she likes them. What to work on next?

Tea time

This dishcloth came out so cute! Need to make another one. Knit with cotton. I had some trouble with the bobbles. If you wrap the yarn around incorrectly you will have too many loops of yarn.

Here is the link: http://www.knittingknonsense.com/teacupcloth.html

Slipper socks

Finished one sock and now working on the other. I am using a super wash wool. The pattern is from "One Skein" by Leigh Radford.

Thanks Beth

It came out really pretty. Not sure how I am going to fasten it. It might not need anything, otherwise I am going to try a stitch holder. I think I would like to make another one. I have really gotten a thing for scarves.

Silky and Beth

Beth gave me this beautiful silk she spun. What to make? Found this pattern online.

http://evergreenknits.blogspot.com/2008/08/storm-cloud-shawlette-pattern.html

It involves dropping the yarn over stitches, be careful. Sometimes the yarn overs get in front of the knit stitches. If you don't pay attention you will drop the knit stitch and not the yarn over.

Scraps

More cute baby socks. I made them using leftovers from the Fair Isle hat, about 29 yards per sock. It looks complicated but the yarn (Knitcol) does all the work. It is a light worsted, knit on size 5 needle. The trick with small socks is to start at the same spot in the striped yarn. If you don't it looks like two totally different socks. Modeled by Sam.

New phone

Got my new phone, Verizon LG Voyager. Having fun playing with it but having trouble with the scrolling on the front window. Different from my flip phone but with all the text messaging I do I thought the full keyboard would be a bonus. Takes getting use to. Practice, practice, practice.

Done!

The gloves are wonderful! I love them. I still need to weave in all the ends. Next pair I make I am going to pick up another stitch (or 2) when doing the fingers. It will close the gap better. Then I will either decrease or knit the finger with an extra stitch. You have got to make gloves, fun and not difficult!

Red and wooly

I am working on gloves. Who knew they were so easy! The cuff is a wonderful cable design. The pattern is from my new book "One Skein." I am using Cascade Yarn 220 Superwash, 100% wool.

New book project

Made this cute hat from my new book "One Skein" by Leigh Radford. I rarely buy books, use the library I say! (or the Internet) But this book kept drawing me in. I made the Baby Hat first and now I am working on some fab gloves. I have several other projects flagged. The yarn is "RY Classic Yarns Cashsoft Baby DK" from Northern Nights Yarn Shop in Norwich.

Water socks

I finished my socks. I love the colors, they look like water. Made with Encore self patterning worsted weight yarn. They knit up fast on #5 needles. I used my usual pattern from Yankee Knitting. I use it all the time. Maybe it's time to try a new pattern?

Here is my new book! I've had my eye on it for quite a while. It has a sock pattern I am planning on making soon.

Button on scarf

I went with my sister and niece to the new yarn shop in Rutland, VT. Yeah! Finally! Rutland has been without for a long time. It is called Green Mountain Fibers, 259 Woodstock Ave., Rutland. That translates to: Rt 4 east (heading towards Killington) on the left before you get to Home Depot. Very nice shop.

They had a wonderful sample scarf that I just had to try. The pattern (which they very nicely gave me) is called “Tudora” from knitty.com.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTtudora.html

I purchased one skein of Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed, 100% wool, 50 grams. I had about two yards left, that was close! I made six cables, nervous that every row would be my last. When I was done I was not sure I liked it, it seemed too tight, so I ironed it to stretch it. BIG MISTAKE! It made the scarf too droopy and now I am trying to shrink it up a bit. So don’t iron it until you have worn it. I found a cute vintage button in my now small stash but I am struggling with the button placement.

With all that said, I love it and want to make another one.

How about this cute baby hat?

Very easy to knit with directions that are easy to follow. I used a 16" circular needle instead of double pointed and switched when I started to decrease.

Here is the link: http://cadilily.blogspot.com/2008/05/baby-cap.html

I used Plymouth Yarn DreamBaby DK, 100% acrylic. I made a size small and will have enough to make another hat. I made knit chin-ties (my I-cord looks too yucky, I need to practice) like I did on the ear flap hat:

Chin-ties
size 2 needles
Pick up 5 stitches on the right side (I used a crochet hook)
Purl the next row (knitting it would work too, maybe better actually)
Knit 2 together, K1, K 2 together through the back loop (3 stitches)
Knit all rows till you have the desired length (these are about 8”)

Knitting too much? or not blogging enough??

I have looked back on all the projects I have finished and not put on my blog I became a little worried that maybe I am knitting too much. Is that possible?

Well here is a little bit from me and don't worry Beth, I will have another one for you (complete with links for tomorrow).

Did I mention I love to knit socks? I made these for Morgan for Christmas. I used Encore Worsted weight self-patterning yarn and Yankee Knitting Classic Socks pattern. I am able to get a pair of womens socks from one skein of yarn. I have another skein in shades of blue and green. Maybe for me?

I bought a dishcloth pattern book at JoAnn's by Leisure Arts "Love to knit dishcloths." I have knit five so far. All the patterns are hearts, very cute and fun. I gave a few as gifts for Christmas. The best advice I can give you is don't get complacent, pay attention and count all stitches when you have finished a row to be sure you have not forgotten to yarn over somewhere.

The Cable Hat

The newest hat! I used Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK. It worked up nicely. Parts of the directions were a little unclear to me. Here are a few notes:
--Might want to leave a long cast on tail and use it to sew the back seam
--I bound off the 41 stitches on the "brim" in purl
--I used a circular needle to hold all the stitches for the neck band and chin straps. I felt like I was in the wrong direction and the circular needle helped to reorient the knitting.

I also had problems with the button hole, the directions were unclear to me. After lots of looking and research I made the button hole (it is made on the 10 stitches on the longer chin strap) as follows:
ROW 1: K1, P1, K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, P1, K1, P1
Knit 2 or 3 more rows following the K1, P1 pattern (there will only be 9 stitches)
Bind off
Link to cable hat