on into August

Welcome. I hope that your August is starting out as well as mine. I'm finding some serious crafting bliss.

I've been working on my scrap quilt pretty regularly, and all the pieces are now cut out. It is really very fun. There is a certain freedom using only what I have, no buying of any fabric has taken place. In fact, I've only spent a wee bit of money on thread (because I don't have much of that) and some batting. I've got four blocks quilted, and I'm ready to start joining the first row together. The quilt is a total of 16 blocks.

Seeing how the squares will look together

I love that I can use scrap batting as well. I have always saved my left-overs, and this will pretty much clean me out. The book I'm using shows how to sew two scrap together and use them as well. Love! I also love that I can do it in bits and pieces. Tonight I plan on sewing at least two squares together. I've sort of put it off due to the hand sewing, but now I feel ready to tackle it. 

In other exciting news, my new yarn order from Knit Picks arrived on Monday. It is enough for three sweaters. I'm very pleased the girls picked colors other than pink. We are making progress!The girls are both getting new cardigans, and I'm getting........ something when I get finished with the ridiculous amount of WIP's and new projects I'm about to start. It will probably be after Christmas by the time I get to use this gorgeous yarn.

Lastly, I'm seeing the end of my Braid hills. As always, I slowed way down on the sleeves, oh how I hate to knit them. And the first one was too small, so I had to rip it all the way back and knit it with no decreases. I'm guessing it will still be tighter than I'm used to, but some variety in my wardrobe would be a good thing. I just need to finish sleeve #2 and do the neck band. Hurray!

That's all for me, see you next week. I might even have a FO (but don't hold your breath!)

 

What I'm working on

Sometimes, I just love the start of a new week. I like to look forward to what I'll be working on, and the things I want to accomplish. This week started out really well, with a beautiful sunny day and a nice long walk. My energy is generated directly from sunlight. 

I was really rather proud of myself last weekend. I decided I would take the template of the Creme Brulee top, which I love love love wearing (the bamboo yarn is awesome!), and make it again with a different stitch pattern. I decided to use the Sirdar recycled cotton that I bought ages ago for the cardigan I frogged. The stitch pattern I picked is  braided lace. I cast on, eager, and I knit like a fiend. 

Until my wrists started to ache and I remembered yet again why this yarn is languishing--I just cannot work with cotton. I did in both my wrists and then couldn't knit for a few days. My husband, ever wise, said "Just start over with a different yarn, and give that cotton to someone that CAN use it." How little he knows me. I think I might see if I can knit a few rounds a day, pain free. I hope so. Otherwise I will take his advice, I guess. I don't like being defeated by yarn. I really do like how it is looking though.

I also cast on the second striped sock. I really wanted to knit sports socks with leftovers I have, but am trying to be disciplined and make pairs before I start new ones! I also decided I will not make the stripes match, I think the difference will be a nice quirk, though I can see myself assigning the different stripe patterns to each of my feet. I'm just that odd.

Lastly, I've really slow to the party, and just now started listening to audio books while I knit. I'm almost done with this:

and I love it. I hope it will end the way I want it to. At any rate, it is fast paced and has that nice plot device of going back and forth from modern day to 1340 Italy. Fun!

That's it from me, see you on Friday!

Happiness

Hello and welcome to my WIP Wednesday!! Am I the only one having issues with blogger? It did NOT want me to write a post today. I finally won, because I am stubborn and I had some time on my hands. 

Coming hot off my super happy finish of Flowing Lines, I cast on Creme Brule in Plymouth Bamtastic yarn. My knitting is all backward lately, knitting a sweater in the hot sunshine, and now a summer top in the cold spring greyness. Oh well, hopefully the sun will be out again soon.

In addition to knitting, here are some other things  this week that are making me happy:

A new friend gifted me all these herbs from her garden. Chives, mint, two kinds of parsley, cilantro, thyme. People are so lovely!

This is my new yarn bowl. It is an Opp shop find--they were having a "fill a bag for $5" sale and I got my monies worth (the girls got some summer clothes as well). I love it!

The girls are cutting bits of yarn to leave out for the birds that are nesting. We were trying to entice some swallows to nest nearby, but I think we may have failed. I really want them to stay and eat the mosquitoes that are plaguing us!

Lastly, we made ribbon wands. As my Dad pointed out they are huge, but as I said to him, we don't do small and dainty around here. The girls and I went to a local craft fair and they were fairly taken with the ribbon wands. I told them we could make two our selves for the price of one at the fair, and they accepted the challenge. I was right, and they got to pick their own colors. Win-win.

Ok, this time I really mean lastly, here are two books I just finished reading and wanted to share as they were both amazing. Totally different, one is sci-fi (4th in the series by Robin Hobb, she is fantastic) and the other, uhm, well, a book that takes place in the 60's on the east coast of Australia. I recommend both!

Have a great week!

Well Fan and Feather me!

I'm going to be honest here, I'm having a bit of a struggle with my stash busting.  Sort of.  Ok, not really, but I REALLY WANT to buy some yarn to knit a pair of socks.  I blame all you crafty knitters out there making fabulous socks.  They are so tempting and really, I do need more socks.  I'll just add that to the "someday soon" list.

I am making slow progress on my second Ramona tank top.  I blame the not very nice yarn and the fact that it is a duplicate.  I just don't really like making something twice.  

I'm going to try to focus on it the next few days, because **announcement** I am going back to work (outside the house).  I'm going to be a tour guide for the season at a local distillery, which I think will be really fun.  I get to be active (I like), meet new people (I like) and make a bit more money (I really like).  The only down side is that I will have so much less time to knit.  That, I do not like.

Isn't is pretty? I first visited the distillery in my early 20's, gasp! Never in a million years did I think I'd end up working there.

Anyway, moving right along with the WIP's, and stash-busting, I decided to cast on for a lap blanket.  Yes, I am already thinking (and dreading) next winter.  This stone farmhouse is COLD.  And heating oil costs a fortune.  I am not exaggerating.  

I picked a very easy fan and feather pattern so I can just boogey right along with it, and ended up messing up the pattern twice!  That is definitely my M.O., I like to make the easy into hard.  So I  ripped the rows I messed up twice, and then when I got about 6 rows in I noticed that in the picture there is a garter stitch border.  That isn't in the directions for the beginning, but reading ahead it IS there for the end.  Sigh.  So I ripped the whole thing out and started over.  Now I do seem to be sailing right along, so perhaps it was all for the best.

I've got loads of the cream, which I'm going to stripe with navy blue and forest green.  Yay for using up loads of yarn!

Now I've got to run because it is my girls 6th birthday today!  I've got a cake to ice.  See you on Friday.

Continuance

No, you aren't having deja vu, these are the same three projects from last week.  I've made progress on all of them, and I'm enjoying the blanket the most.

It is almost impossible to see the designs.  Sigh.  Sorry about that.  I've just finished the 4th block and now I'm having doubts.  I was planning on doing 5 blocks long, but even for a throw blanket I'm not sure it will be long enough.  And I'm not sure I'll have enough wool.  So.................my thoughts are:

1) Just keep on going, hope for the best, and order more wool if need be.  Maybe extend it to 7 blocks long?

2) Frog it.  Perhaps alternate colours in a checker board fashion, maybe all the plain stockinette blocks in a different colour?

3) Stuff it in a bag and forget about it until next winter and decide then.

Any opinions?

I've also made progress on the back of my leaf cardigan.  I'm thinking I should focus on finishing the back so I can start the fun stuff on the front.  That's my goal for the rest of this week.  I'm also now at the point where I can start the heel on the girls sock, so that's good news.  It looks like I'm just as slow at small socks as I am with big ones, oh well.

Lastly, the wool arrived that I ordered for a top secret project.  You won't see it again until a FO Friday after I've gifted it.  Fingers crossed it all goes according to plan!  I seem to be a big fan of Araucania of late.  This one is called Lauca and is 80% wool, 10% camel, 10% silk.  Little bit of heaven in my hands.

On to books!  I just finished an awesome novel, the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  It was so compulsively good that I just devoured it! It has magic, love, a circus!  What more could you want?

I always think it is hard to start a new book right on the heels of an excellent one, but since I had two library books at the same time and I only get two weeks for them, I had to!  I'm about 6 pages in to The Far Country by Nevil Shute.  In my opinion you can't go wrong reading a book about Australia, and I loved A Town Like Alice, so fingers crossed!

Hopping Here:

Whereupon I catch up on things left undone

Last year some time in the early spring I ordered myself a pattern and some yarn for a short sleeve leaf panel cardigan.  However when I told my Mom what I was up to she checked out the website and asked me to make her a different leaf themed top, to which I couldn't say no.  I gave it to her last year for Mother's Day. 

So with the baby blanket done, the girls jumpers done (I'll show you on Friday!!), and my second sock almost done (I've no steam for the sock, so it's slow going but I've finally turned the heel),

 

I decided to start on my leaf panel cardigan.  

 
As you can see, I've gotten really far.  Ah ha ha ha.  Well, it'll keep me busy for the next long while.

As for reading, I picked up a book that starts off rather oddly with a monkey telling the story, yet it is very moreish.  It is called Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra. 

Click below for awesome fiber fun!

Felted Slippers

As I sat down to write this post I realized just how much I love a back story.  I'm not sure why I feel I always need to include one, but I do.  So here is today's.

I currently work from home.  I know it won't last forever, and I'm already looking for another job (fat chance around here, the job market is terrible) but for now, I'm home pretty much all the time.  It is a really good gig if you can get it.  At our house we have a strict inside/outside shoe policy.  No outside shoe may ever touch my carpet (so much so that when I had to run back inside for something yesterday I used the plastic dog bags we keep by the door to put over my shoes).  You will understand when I tell you that I have free range chickens wandering around my garden.  Anyway, I wear slippers all the time.  I have yet to find a slipper that I like and can withstand the amount of use I put them through.

Recently when my last pair of slippers died I found a pattern for  felted slippers.  It is the kind of felting that takes place after you knit the item, which I am keen to try again.  Also, the pattern couldn't be simpler, check it out here (or on Ravelry here).  You basically knit a strip, then a few squares on the side, fold it up and sew.  I used some Patons Classic Wool I had in my stash.  I've got one ready for felting, here is what it looks like:

Gratuitous dog picture

Now I'm off to go and felt it, because I don't want to wait for the other one to be done, and I want to make sure I like it before I make another one.

As for reading, this week, I am gearing up for spring (yes, super early).  We are waiting for the OK to put up a poly tunnel, and I really hope it all works out.  I can't wait!

Now hurry and check out all these crafty blogs!

Tiny Tea with a Twist

I will admit that I'm the sort of parent that lets her children dress themselves--no matter how it turns out.  I like to view it as self expression, and everything from spots and stripes to terribly clashing colours is allowed.  To that end, I like to involve the girls when I knit them something.  I want them to wear what I make, or really, what's the point?

Recently we came to the conclusion that they each needed a new jumper.  Both girls were quite specific--they both wanted a pull over sweater, not a cardigan.  We decided on the pattern together (ok, mostly me), and selected Tiny Tea Leaves.  I'll stop you right there, I know it is a cardigan, bear with me.

After much searching from a seemingly endless supply of online yarn stores, the girls agreed on a yarn (the same one, no surprise there).  I ordered the yarn, bought the pattern, got a few extra needles I needed, and then waited for delivery.  I hate waiting.  It took especially long because I ordered it a few days before Christmas, so of course I had to wait until after New Year for it to arrive.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, did I mention I hate waiting?

The yarn they picked is Araucania Aysen in a variety of shades of pink and orange.  I LOVE this yarn.  It is 70% merino, 20% alpaca, 10% silk.  I swear to you, my children have better taste in yarn than I do.  They put me to shame.

I'm not one to mess around with patterns, truth be told.  However, I really like this pattern, so I put my mind to the task.  Fingers crossed it all goes according to plan.  Here is where I'm at so far:

As for reading, I just finished The Luminist by David Rocklin.  It was really very good, I recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction.

I've just picked up the Last Days of Ptolmey Grey by Walter Mosley.  I can't comment just yet on how good it is, it is certainly different that my normal book choice though.  I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, please check out these blog hops: