Surprise!

What a wonderful surprise package arrived today.There was a drawing on the Knits for Needs blog (See earlier post here about the wonderful things being done through Knits for Needs.) and I was one of the winners. WOW!
 There were several knitting books and wonder of wonders, quite a few of them had patterns for baby things. I have several precious babies that I want to make things for so this was a huge gift. I am thrilled and can't wait to get started. An unexpected gift from a very wonderful cause.

I finished the prayer shawl for Prayer Shawls 4 Fallen Soldiers and just realized I didn't take a picture of it before I mailed it off. I really do think all this hot weather has melted several vital brain cells. I still have another shawl ready but haven't been able to contact the recipient to verify the address. Has to go on the Must Do list for next week.

Well, the house is being shown again tomorrow morning. Maybe this will be THE one. I am working on keeping a positive attitude but sometimes sitting in a really clean (boring) house makes that difficult. Netflix and playing with my iPad2 are the major things holding my sanity together since I can't get my craft/art stuff out. Ok, I could get it out but anyone who makes things knows that getting into a project and having to put it away in the middle of it is not conducive to creativity. Nor does it make for a happy camper.

Ok, now I really do have to go hide more stuff. My sweet realtor doesn't know I have taken a break from packing for over a month .  I need to look like I have done something before she comes to take the next set of pictures.

Knits for Needs

Do you love making things but are running out of people on your gift list? There are people out there who need your knitted or crocheted items.

Based in GA  Knits for Needs  is  a wonderful project which fiber people all over the world are supporting. Knitted and crocheted items such as hats, scarves, & blankets, etc are sent to KFN and they are  forwarded on to places where they are needed.

Knits for Needs
PO Box 551
Woodstock, GA 30188

Check out the blog at Knits for Needs

Hotter Than...

When it gets to be in the 90s without a lot of relief in sight, I find it is a great excuse to hibernate and knit. Hmm, yes I know, I rarely need an excuse to hibernate and knit but if I say that it's because of the heat, it sounds better. Maybe.

The day started off with taking the dogs to the veterinarian. Allie had managed to get something in her eye over the weekend and scratched it a bit. Fortunately I was able to get them there before it became roasty toasty outside.


I am "making yarn" for a shawl for a friend. She wanted something in red which of course is adding to the sense of warmth even with the a/c cranked on "just above really, really cold." Actually, after looking at my electric bill last year, I am using my 2 floor fans more this summer.

The yarns are a lot more red and less "pink" than this picture shows.



Now onto the knitting. I have about 5 or 6 red yarns that I am using for this shawl and will add more as I go along.  The CO will be about 140 sts and I'm using size 13 circular needles so once I actually start knitting, it should go rather quickly.

When I talk about "making yarn" I mean that I am cutting various yarns into 12-14" pieces and then just knotting them together with an overhand knot as I did for the blue shawl.

New Hobby and Old Joints

I drove Charlie today. He had been ridden too much last week so I ended up driving Chaz. Chaz made me sit up and pay attention to what I was doing. It was still fun but he required more effort on my part than Molly did. Even so, my joints were in better shape after driving him than they were today when I drove Charlie.

I tried holding my arms up in front of me more and holding my wrists correctly but I think I am going to have to go with what is comfortable rather than what is correct. Anyway, I like Charlie and I think we may rock along well together as soon as the body makes a few adjustments.

I need to find a knitting project other than washcloths but in the meantime, I am knitting away on washcloth number 9 for this month. At this rate, I'll actually make a dent in my Peaches and Creme stash this year.

Speaking of the stash, I came across 2 cones of yarn that are ugly. Have you ever bought some yarn, put it away, and found it later only to wonder "What was I thinking buying that?" I can't even think of anyone who would like these colors. Skeining the yarn and dyeing it is too much trouble and it would take some powerful dye to counteract these colors. Maybe our local group needs to have a White elephant sale. Surely I can't be the only one who has yucky yarn hidden in the stash.

Decisions, decisions

T'is hard to decide whether it is nobler in spirit to knit or to spin, ah, to spin, perchance to finish the silk, or to knit and thus to complete the prayer shawl (which is barely started), or to take up needles against a new project and thus by doing so finish something.
*My apologies to Shakespeare but it raining today and therefore waxing poetic is allowed--mildew on the brain and all that.

The problem with January Spin-in is that I end up with too many projects I want to rush out to try and there's only one of me which is why I have been trying to promote a fiber clone for years. Well, several clones and then I could bounce from one project to the next without guilt and when I moved on the clones could complete what I had left behind. Have I mentioned I am a process person?

Ok, I am now going to seriously do at least 5 rows on the prayer shawl and then reward myself by knitting with some of my handspun cotton...or maybe spin some more silk on the wheel, or on the Trindle spindle, or perhaps spin the BFL on the other wheel....Hey, you didn't expect total reform this early in the year, did you?

Hooray for Friends

Thank goodness for friends. They came to the rescue this weekend. I am trying to finish the 2nd sock of the first pair ever. How in the world it can be easier to knit the first sock than it is to knit the second one of the pair is beyond my comprehension but that's exactly what has happened.

I took a break in the middle of the second sock--holidays and all that. Well, my count got off and the heel ended up going off at a really, really weird slant on one side of the heel only.

Off to one of the local knitting shops for help. They helped me rip back and get back on track with the short rows. I came home and happily knitted away--until I really, really looked at the thing. It was at this point when I realized that what was throwing things off wasn't the short rows but rather the start of the heel flap. Apparently it does make a difference as to the number of stitches you have on your needles. So much for my cavalier attitude.

Another friend to the rescue. Stephanie is a sock knitting genius and a great friend. Who else would come out on a rainy Saturday afternoon, patiently get the stitches back on the correct needles and then wait while I slowly knit rows in the correct manner.

I finished that portion and will do the rest of the sock early this week--"Lord willing and the creek don't rise."

Startitis Still in Evidence

Ok, so I couldn't resist starting another project but this one is for a good cause. The son of a knitter in a neighboring city asked that his Mom make helmet liners for his men when they head overseas in December (That's 130 liners that are needed). Since his Mom is a fairly new knitter she asked for help from the knitting community.

Our local yarn shop announced they would provide the yarn (Cascade 220 in colors of black, dark brown, grey, and olive green) for the liners. We signed up and started knitting away. It's a very easy pattern and such a worthwhile cause.

The original pattern was designed by Bonnie Long, Knit Wits and it was designed for the purpose of donating helmet liners to our active service personnel. Operation Helmetliner, Inc. has made changes to the original pattern for clarity and to incorporate suggestions from out Armed Forces.

If you are interested in making helmet liners for the military, you can probably email operationhelmetliner@yahoo.com for further information. As I mentioned earlier, it is a easy knit and is certainly for a great cause.

Just a note: this was only a slight detour on the road to finishing projects.

Baby knits

OK, knitting for babies is fun! The stuff is little and you can actually finish something within a reasonable length of time. Amazing. The latest is a hat for my soon to be born nephew and it is purple. The pattern was the Apple Hat pattern but I had purple yarn on hand and so made a grape instead of an apple. It was such an enjoyable knit that I am now doing one in yellow.


Since it is knitting and no yo, k2tog until toward the end, I am now starting a pattern search for something a bit more challenging to do as well. I need to check my Que on Ravelry as the list is really long.

Added to the challenge is trying to find a pattern that uses something from my stash. I really, really need to stop buying yarn for a while. The stash is beginning to take over the house. (Everyone knows yarn multiplies at night since you couldn't have possibly purchased that much yarn.)

Update later in July: Baby arrived and Mother, Father and baby are doing great. Can't wait to see pictures. So now I have a deadline to get the pictures posted and hats in the mail. I function so much better with a deadline.

Knitting in the heat

Well sometimes setting records is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, it's not. This is one of those times. Record heat day after day gets really old. Throw into the mix every bit of pollen imaginable and you have a wonderful excuse for staying inside and knitting like a woman possessed.


I have put the Dr. Who scarf aside for a bit as sitting under that thing and running the a/c full blast seems sort of counter productive. Instead I am working on cotton cowls. I just finished a purple and gold one of mercerized cotton (Sassy Skein) and am working on a turquoise one (King Tut mercerized cotton). Although the King Tut was a better bargin (more yardage for your money when on sale) I find I prefer the Sassy Skein as it doesn't "untwist" when using it.




The purple and gold one is from a pattern on Rav and the King Tut pattern is out of my head. I started out using a pattern from Rav but got totally frustrated following it and after it had been ripped out 3 times, I decided to wing it. Nothing particularly wrong with the pattern but I wasn't in the mood to k6, k2tog,yo and then the next row k5, k2tog, yo, k1, etc. I kept forgetting to add on the last knit stitches. (Brain has probably melted from the heat.)

My pattern is more of a yo, k2tog, k6 but with one row "sliding" into the next one so there isn't a definitive pattern. Row 2 is yo,k2tog, k5, etc. I work down from 6 knit stitches to 2 between the (yo,k2tog) groups and then back up from 2 to 6. Yes, I know, it's a wonderful thing that I don't write patterns. The erratta pages would fill a notebook.

My project for tomorrow is acquiring a Furminator. Several of us tried one out on a couple of cats and a friend experimented on her lab. Talk about harvesting hair!!! Can't wait to see that the Shelties think of it. Talk about making dust bunnies.



This is the finished prayer shawl for the mother of the fallen soldier. I'll get a better picture before I mail it to the family. This is such a pleasure to knit. Check out Prayer Shawls for Fallen Soldiers on Google if you are interested. You sign in with the group and as shawls are needed you are contacted if they are in your area. If you are busy and don't have a shawl available at that time, there isn't any pressure but if you can, you may want to give it a try.

Two Too Many Big Projects

When will I learn? Doing 2 big projects at one time is just not satisfying to someone who wants frequent ohhs and ahhs for finished projects.

I am currently knitting on the Dr. Who scarf for J. If you have looked at one of these things, you know it will take pretty much forever to finish it. I am possibly almost, but not quite, 1/3 of the way finished. Which translates to having 2/3 of this hummer to go. The one positive note--it's a great project to drag along when you want to visit as it is straight knitting and doesn't require many brains cells to function at once.

The prayer shawl for the family member of a fallen soldier is in better shape. I have knitted 15 inches of the required 24 inches. Hopefully I'll have it finished and mailed to the family in another week or so. I may have to take a break and work on a smaller project or two before I run screaming into the night trailing yarn after me.

The heat is ridiculous right now so I am doing an impression of a bear hibernating only I'm knitting instead of sleeping during the day. Thank goodness for floor fans. They are a life saver and using them I can keep the a/c on 78 during the day and turn it down to 74 at night. NOTE TO ALL: Floor fans also have the advantage of herding the dust bunnies into a couple of groups rather than scattered around the room. Very productive. Makes for less cleaning.

Speaking of cleaning...a brilliant friend is now cleaning her place by spending 15 minutes a day doing it. She sets the timer and when the timer goes off, she stops cleaning for that day. I thought it was a wonderful idea and when we discussed it on Saturday, I decided I would start on Sunday. It is now Tuesday and I am 45 minutes behind schedule. Somehow I don't think this method is going to work for me.

As Scarlett so beautifully put it, " I'll think about that tomorrow." Hey, if it was good enough for Scarlett, it's good enough for me.

Knitting and iPod

The knitting on the prayer shawl for the family of a fallen soldier continues. I am using the Old Shale pattern which is only 4 rows. Only one row is actually a pattern row with 2 rows of straight knitting and one row of purl. As long as you remember which row you are working on, it goes smoothly. A friend told me about putting the pattern on index cards which are on a ring. I love this method as I can just flip the cards as I knit and it does help to keep my place. Previously I had used post a notes or a piece of paper upon which I made pencil marks.

I am currently listening to The Camel Club by David Baldacci. This is very riveting and certainly a timely story. Can't wait to see where the plots goes next. This is my first book by Baldacci but it won't be the last as I enjoy his style of writing.

I was going to garden some this morning but with the heat index already well into the 80s I changed my mind. Hopefully the heat will kill some of the weeds. Much better to knit in front of the fan. I am having to almost physically boot the Shelties out the door to go potty. They aren't into the heat any more than I am.

Harry lives!

Ever have one of those just plain fun days? Today was one of those really extra special times . I went to a Quidditch match between LSU and the Texas Aggies. Great time! Five of us from the knitting group went having learned about it from Ravelry.

So we ate a late lunch, knitted and watched some great Quidditch. Kudos to all who play and survive. Great spectator sport between watching what's going on on the playing field and looking for the snitch. The funniest part was when the snitch opted for the lake in order not to be caught but between the ducks and the water lillies it may not have been the best tactical decision. The LSU seeker managed to finally get the snitch despite having his head put under water for an instant.

I learned that wooden brooms are better than plastic brooms as they don't break as easily but on the other hand, if something is going to connect with some part of my anatomy, I'd just as soon it broke. However, the players don't see it that way and they prefer the wooden brooms.

If you hear of a Quidditch match near you, I encourage you to go. It is a fast paced game which is not gentle and requires quite a bit of athletic ability on the part of the teams. If you are not familiar with Quidditch then immediately read all the Harry Potter books and then go see a game. It's worth the trip.

I am still knitting on the enterlac tote bag but should finish within the next day or so and can then felt it. Feel like I have been knitting on it for a long time but it is just a week. I am enjoying working with the Knit Picks yarn and will definitely use more of it in the future.

I'll get a picture before it is felted and then another one after the felting.

The weeds in the garden are calling.

Moebius or mobius - It's all fun!

I don't care how you spell it, knitting a moebius using Cat Bordhi's method is just plain fun! I started knitting one yesterday using a DK weight cabled cotton. I am knitting on 47" Addi needles , size 9.

The youtube video is extremely helpful in getting started even though I also have her book on the topic. I have knit a moebius before and although it was fun, the beginning few rows were very hard on the hands and I never did fully understand why the whole thing worked. Cat's method is so much better and easier to understand.

I should finish this moebius today, even though I will probably stir the dust and round up the bunnies in the house since spinners are coming over tonight.


Speaking of dust bunnies... I am seriously wondering if you could needle felt them since most of it is hair from my Shelties. How cool would that be to have a needle felted dust bunny by the front door. Do you suppose it would scare people away or make them feel comfortable? Must give this some more thought.

In the meantime, I'm going to cast on for the next moebius since I have another circular needle just like the one I am using. Don't ask me how that happened. I have no idea and didn't discover it until I organized the needles yesterday. My thinking is that if I have 2 moebius going at the same time it won't look as if I bought the second needle because I couldn't remember what I had in the stash at home. I bought it because I "needed" the second one. different matter altogether. HA! I'll post pictures later.

I'm thunking!

I have a couple of knitting projects I am "thunking" about but so far no action on any of them. Every get where you have ideas buzzing around in your head but can't quite settle on which one to tackle first? That's where I am at the moment.

I want to do a mobius cowl. I want to do a regular cowl. I need to make a couple of baby gifts. I absolutely must finish the afghan for J that I have been knitting on forever. We won't discuss what the house looks like. Sigh.

So, what am I doing? I am sorting knitting needles---again! I really do think they jump out of their ziplock bags all by themselves while I sleep. Then they race madly around the house finding the absolute best hiding places they can. They also tend to remain very, very quiet when I am looking for them. I wonder if I could train the Shelties to find my hiding knitting needles? Bet I could hire them out if I was able to train them. Surely I am not the only knitter who has this problem.

Too many ideas OR Where did I put that yarn?

I have about 3 or 4 projects floating around in my head right now. The problem is putting the project and the yarn together with the needles. I just sorted my knitting needles--AGAIN--and hopefully the knitting elves will stay away and they can remain in order for the next few days.

Naturally, I don't have exactly the right needles or yarn for the projects I want to do. Thus the huge frustration level that is occurring. I really do think that sometimes it would just be easier to be the type of person who is focused on one craft and doesn't enjoy doing 500 different things.

I have put all of my major knitting patterns and books that I use a lot in one very large tote bag so I can find them when I need them. The needles are now sorted by size in plastic zip bags and in another tote bag. I have all my commercial wool yarn in a large clear plastic container. So far so good wouldn't you think? Then there's the rest of the fiber stash. ...on shelves, in plastic containers, in drawers, and probably some stored under the bed but I refuse to look there as the dust bunnies reside there and they are getting somewhat aggressive when disturbed.

I know where the big bin of silk fiber to be spun is because I stumble over it regularly. It won't fit in any of the closets and I can find it in the middle of the room where it is currently located. All the cotton fiber is out in the "workroom" and there it will remain until I make a dent in the spun cotton.

So project # 1 is a moebius scarf using some of my handspun cotton. I am actually going to, GASP, sample a swatch so I can buy the correct size needle that I need for the project. This is so difficult as I just love to jump right into things and sampling really is at odds with my basic nature. It will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be....... Did I mention that I hate to sample?

Thankfully I have Catherine Coulter's TAILSPIN to listen do which should help me get through this step.

Thanksgiving???

No, it really can't be almost Thanksgiving again. I'm not ready. Not that the universe seems to care about that or take my considerations into account but more notice would be a good thing.

I need to find a calendar that has a fake Thanksgiving and Christmas on it. They should arrive about 1 month before they actually get here so I would have a nice cushion to finishing making and ordering presents. The problem with that is that I would know it was fake and would still procrastinate. SIGH. Give me a week or a year, it's all going to get done in that last week.

The roof is finally fixed and beautiful once again after the hurricane. The fence is back in place and the only things remaining on the extra to do list are the ceilings in the 2 bedrooms which need to be repainted. The problem is the regular to do list. It never seems to stop growing. The flower beds need to be prepared for winter, the bath tubs need to be recaulked, and the windows need a serious cleaning.

Take the mail for instance. It arrives here with great regularity. I appreciate my postman who is wonderful but wouldn't it be great to have a post office filter for spam mail? It could be intercepted and shredded before it ever gets here. The post office would make money, the organization would have the satisfaction of sending it out, and best of all, I wouldn't have to deal with it.If I ever find political candidates who don't send 5,000 flyers or make annoying telephone calls, I seriously think I may support them. Wouldn't you vote for them?

Knitting: I have made 2 Dumpling Bags (pattern by Sharon Dreifuss in Fall 2008 Interweave Knits). Love the pattern . Interesting enough to keep you from being bored but you can still take it along and visit while you knit without totally losing your place. I should have paid a bit more attention when they were in the washing machine since they are slightly smaller than intended but I am pleased with them anyway. When they are dry I'll post a picture.

I think the next thing on the list is to remember to be ever so grateful that I have all these things that need doing and people to do them with if needed.

Heat index, polka dots, and knitting

The heat index is ridiculous. I almost wish they wouldn't tell us so we wouldn't anticipate how hot it is going to get. Sometimes being ignorant of that kind of information helps to keep you cooler, even if only in your mind. Thinking that an egg might fry on the sidewalk is not as bad as knowing that it would.

I now have polka dots on my face, or will have in a day or two. Went to the dermatologist and he found 4 precancerous spots which he froze. On the positive side, it's too hot to go running around town so the number of people who will be exposed to my polka dotted persona is limited. It should look really lovely in another week after the blisters have formed. Something to look forward to as we approach the dog days of summer.

Speaking of dog days, my dogs do not care to go out in this heat either. They have each claimed a floor fan and there they plant themselves. The positive side of this is that all the dog hair gets blown into 2 piles. My dust bunnies are majestic in stature!

I am currently knitting a baby blanket for Josh and Tanya's baby which is due in Dec. What possessed me to make up my own pattern I really don't know. That sort of thing is always slower than if I just follow a pattern someone else has worked the kinks out of already. I am knitting the 3rd panel. The middle panel is a yellow ombre of Peaches and Creme cotton done in a seed stitch. The panel on one side of that is a solid golden yellow done in a basket weave of K4,P4 and the current panel on the other side is done in a lace pattern. A very simple lace pattern.

It's fun to knit with the various patterns and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

Well, I am off to enjoy wonderful, cooling, fabulous sweettea. That was not a typo. In this part of the world, sweettea is one word and don't even think about trying to tell me that you can add sugar to unsweetened tea. It is NOT the same thing at all.

Organization?

I just read the funniest thing in the world! I was surfing and looked up "organizing your stuff" for the fun of it. It has been on my mind quite a bit lately as the "stuff" runnith over.

Well, in this article it talked about getting rid of things and that having empty shelves meant you could live in a smaller place, etc. Ok so far. And then the biggie "Put your knitting yarn in a plastic bag." Dear organizer person, if I could put my knitting yarn in a plastic bag there would be no need to read your ideas!

Now if you are any kind of a knitter or fiber person at all, you know that no decent stash is going to fit in A plastic bag. 10 plastic bags, maybe, but one-no way. Anyway that was my giggle for tonight.

I am halfway finished with a multi-directional scarf I am knitting on # 3 circulars using sock yarn. Seemed like a good idea at the start-just didn't expect this to take as long as it is. I wanted a flat scarf that isn't very long. I love the pattern and so have started a second one which will be a gift. For it I am using a larger size sock yarn and # 7 circulars.

Treated myself to an iPod this week. What fun! I have been listening to knitting podcasts while I knit and have found several I really enjoy. I suppose my next purchase will be a docking station but I am currently using the earphones and they are fine. I did get the adaptor for the car but haven't used it yet. Geez, do I feel hi-tech or what?