Archive for the ‘Knitting’ Category

Trip to Fine Needle

June 13, 2014

Yesterday, I went with some friends to the Fine Needle in Snow Hill.  Stacy is closing the shop and starting a different career.  It’s great that she can do this, but we will greatly miss her.  She will be open on Saturday at 8AM to 1PM.  Everything is on sale.  All books are $5 and patterns are free.  The most that I paid for anything was less than half price. I got sock yarn for $1 and 1200 yards of 100% alpaca lace weight for $15.  I bought a very nice kit for $15.

002

We all  had a great time, but,I, for one, will miss the shop.  At least Stacy promised to come to knitting group when she can.

buttons 001   I bought buttons, too!  Yeah.  I know.  They’re brown and I’m a color person.

 

Toe Socks

June 11, 2014

heron toe socks 012  I am so glad that these are finally finished.  I used size 000 double pointed needles.  They took so long to make that I probably could have made a nice cardigan in the same amount of time.  But, aren’t they pretty?  And don’t you just love the toes.

heron toe socks 014  I made them to wear with my Merrell sandals.  Can you see my toes?  I used the flash for this picture.  It reflected back.  They are not holes.

heron toe socks 017  See?  Day-Glo Orange.  At least they don’t glow in the dark.  If you are going to get a pedicure, you might as well go all out.

I Was Underwhelmed

June 9, 2014

My yarn club came today.  I was looking forward to it because several weeks ago, they asked which colors I preferred.  One of the choices was reds, and that’s what I was expecting.  What I got was one wine, one grey and one black.  I looked at the pattern and I said, “oh.”  I honestly expected so much more from Miss Babbs.  I have gotten some absolutely beautiful yarn from them.  The stuff the I got today was down right dull.  I am so disappointed.  I’ll be looking elsewhere for a yarn club next year.  Hells.  Bells.

005  This is the sock yarn dyed especially for Sheep and Wool.  I thought it was a little tame, but it should make nice socks.

003  This my club installment.  It’s lace weight silk and wool which is nice.  Lace weight should be soft and lacy, not geometric.  I have some yellow-orange alpaca that I plan to add.  It should help soften the look.  So.  I guess I’ll go look at patterns.

Latvian Mitts

June 7, 2014

029  Here is the product of my class with Beth.  I liked these mitts so much that I wanted to be able to wear them all winter.   Extending the thumb  was simple.  I had to do some calculating to get the fingers in.  I thought about doing the squares on the fingers and thumb, but I all ready had a hundred ends to weave in.  I didn’t want any more.  I deliberately changed the yarn dominance just to have a sample of my own.

latvian gloves 001

Where?

June 6, 2014

If I could be anywhere, where would it be?  I love my little house on the creek.  I can look out at the creek whenever I’m working.  I can check on the ducks and geese and count the turtles on the logs while thinking about what I want to do.  It would be nice if it weren’t so hot in the summer or cold in the winter.

How about a summer home in Maine and a winter home in Florida?   No, not Florida.  It’s an OK place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.  How about Georgia?  Don’t know.  I’ve never been there.

It would be somewhere along the coast.  I need to see water.  What about Savannah?  It’s on a river, isn’t it?  A river would be nice– better than a lake.  And I wouldn’t want to be in town, but not too far out.  I think about two acres would be enough with plenty of trees, especially on the road side.  It would be nice to think of people driving by and wondering what’s down that lane.  They would probably be underwhelmed by what they see.  A one story house with a dog and some cats wandering around and Sweetums and me sitting on the patio.  There would also be plenty of pleasant trails for walking with Gus.

When the weather started to get too warm, I would drive to Maine.  This could be difficult with Sweetums, the cats and the dog in tow.  I couldn’t leave them all behind for such a long time.  They would have to come along.  And therein lies the problem.  Gus gets carsick.  We’ve tried everything.  Nothing works.  And where am I going to put the litter pans?  The cats are not going to be happy, especially the ones that prefer the huge outdoor sandbox.  And then there is Sweetums.  Sweetums does not like to go anywhere.  Maybe I could just tie him to the luggage rack.  And I can’t go anywhere without my knitting.  I would have to bring an awful lot.  Or I could stop at yarn shops along the way.  Now, there’s a thought.  I have to bring at least one sewing machine which means stopping for fabric, too.  And I have to bring clothes, because, I am not a clothes shopper.  I forgot about books.  We can’t live without them.  Now, how do I get all this into my mini minivan?

A solution:  Rent a big ass RV.  I’d have to rent a driver, too.  Another mouth to feed.  He’d better know how to cook.  You weren’t expecting me to drive it, were you?  I probably wouldn’t make ten feet without taking something down.  I don’t want to think about it.  Or I could rent a yacht.  Maybe not.  I would wind up throwing Sweetums and Gus overboard.

Somehow, we make it to Maine.  Where is our house?  It would be the same one story down the same little lane only this time it would sit along the rocky coast. I thought of Mount Desert Island, but I think I want to be a little further north.

This may sound lovely, but when would I get to see my son and daughter and grandson?  I would have to keep my little house in LSD.  It’s only two hours away.  We always have a nice time at Christmas.  Would I wait until January to go to Georgia?  I don’t want to deal with any snow.  I could send what’s-his-face down with the herd and drive my mini minivan when I felt like it.

You know, this sounds too much like work.  I think I’ll just stay right here, in my little house Up A Creek In Slower Lower Delaware.

Aran Mittens and Hat

June 4, 2014

004  005Since I had half of the yarn left from the mittens, I decided to make the matching hat.  I had one yard left.  ONE YARD!  OMG!  Was I ever lucky.  I put that one yard in a tiny plastic bag.  Now.  Where did I put it?  Does the hat look too big?  It’s not.  It’s just that my glass head is about an inch and a half smaller than my real head.  It has to be, with all the crap it’s got in there.  So anyway.  I really  like this hat!  It fits well and even better, looks good on my head!  The construction was a lot of fun.  The cable brim is knit in a strip, then sewn into a circle.  Stitches are picked up  along the upper edge and knit in the round.  The pattern also comes with a matching scarf.  You can buy it from Beth Brown-Reinsel at http://www.knittingtraditions.com.

Twined Knitting

May 24, 2014

011  Mitts from my class with Beth Brown-Reinsel.  I always enjoy taking classes with Beth.  She talks about the history of this type of knitting and brings plenty of pictures and, of course, lovely garments to pass out.

These were knit using both ends of the yarn making them extremely thick and warm.  A little too warm to get much use around here, but they will be great for cool knitting evenings.  There is enough of my fingers and thumb showing to knit decently.  I was thinking about turning these into mittens before I realized that I would get more use from them as they are.

A Pleasant Experience

May 21, 2014

Three cheers for Delaware DMV!!

Yesterday, Sweetums and I rode over to DeDMW. There were a few things that we had to get straightened with my new vehicle and some other things. We walked up to the front desk. When we said why we were here, she handed us a ticket. Then she looked at it and said, we were next and to look for our number over the windows. I explained to the woman what had happened and what I wanted to do and she was fine with it all. She was extremely pleasant with everything. She was vey helpful and explained everything. I got just what I wanted and I had all my questions addressed. I thanked her profusely. We were back in the car ten(Yes! Ten) minutes later.

OK. One bad thing. I didn’t have any time to get some knitting done.

Getting Ready for Sheep & Wool

April 28, 2014

I always seem to pack the wrong things.  This year it’s worse.  This year I have three days of workshops, two days of festival and one girls day out.  To make matters worse,  accu-weather shows temps going from 52 to 79.  So now I have even more clothes to pack.  I have clothes there, but they are not something I want to wear in public.

I got out three little tote bags, one for each workshop.  I just have to remember to pick up the right one each morning.  Maybe I’ll leave them all in my car.  I  also have a big tote bag for shopping.  I made a list so I wouldn’t forget the important stuff.

When I get to my son’s, I have to go to the market for lunches.  They have tuna, chicken and shrimp salad.  I’m taking lettuce, bread and oranges.  My son makes great iced tea, so I’ll grab a bottle of that each morning.  Along with coffee, of course.

I was hoping to get my toe socks finished, but I don’t think that’s going to happen now.  I will be working on what I learned that day in the evenings.  Also, my son likes me to go shopping with him for some reason.

babies 006

I’ve Been Sick

April 18, 2014

Better today. Still tired. I think I scared Sweetums. He’s never seen me that sick. Poor Sweetums.  And poor me.

I’ve been making good progress on my ‘Chausettes de Dentelle’.   I love the way the color changes.  They’ll be so much fun to wear this summer.

sock 003