Archive for the ‘Knitting’ Category

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Going Nowhere Doing Nothing

August 23, 2012

After several days of running around, I’m glad to be home, doing nothing much.  I knit a little.  I cut some squares for the back of my quilt.  I read.  And I didn’t have to be nice to anyone.  Tuesday, it was easy to be nice to everyone.  I was out with some girlfriends shopping at quilt and yarn stores.  We had a great time.

Yesterday was a lot harder.  Sweetums had to go to the coumadin clinic.  The nurse has no math or computer skills.  Logical thinking is completely beyond her.  She obviously has been shown one way to enter data and knows her head would explode if she touched any other keys.  Her answers to any of our questions might as well be, “Because I said so”, for all the good they do.  We get much information on our own.  I think she would be much happier if we just said the appropriate yes or no to her mundane questions, took her printout, and left.  You know, like warm brown turds.

Later, we went to see the lung doctor.  What should have taken fifteen minutes, went on for an hour and a half.  To begin, their appointments were messed up.  The two people who were there did not seem to be listed.  So why did we have to wait?  When we finally saw the doctor, he had to show us the echo and explain every little detail.  Been  there.  Done that.   Then he basically wrote his report while we were sitting there.  Talk about bored to tears.  I am so glad I always bring my knitting to these things.  How does Sweetums manage to stay awake through these things?  But, then, that’s just another reason why I call him Sweetums.

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Another Shawl

August 15, 2012

This was the Socks That Rock sock club.  I didn’t like the sock pattern at all.  I could hardly see the pattern on the finished sock.  So I tried the shawl.  It started out all right, but I just didn’t like the look of the waves.  So I took them out and ‘kind of’ followed the lace work. 

Here it is on the blocking table.  It is pretty.  Too bad I don’t care for shawls.  Why do I even make shawls?  I never wear them.   Maybe I’ll give it to my girlfriend for the bazaar.

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Charity Knitting

August 12, 2012

Maria’s church is trying to raise money for a new roof.  They are going to have a bazaar in the Fall.  What a great excuse to make something fun!  I had the perfect yarn, an acrylic/wool blend that will be easy to wash.  I started with an entrelac hat.  For some reason, I made an extra tier of squares.  Then I had to knit the decrease tier in the opposite direction.  I found myself picking up the wrong side more than once.  Maybe I should have taken the extra tier out, but I’m I didn’t.  It really looks good on.

Next, I decided to make mittens.  I really like them.  It’s a good thing I made them a little big.  These are definitely feel good mittens.  Just looking at them makes me smile.

 

I had a little over one skein left at this point.  Do I keep what’s left?  Nah.  So I made a little scarf.  It’s only about four feet long, but it’s still long enough to keep a neck warm.  And mitered squares are so much fun.

 

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Rose Garden Shawl

August 3, 2012

I was surprised at how quickly I finished this shawl.  My loops don’t look as good as the picture.  It could be my crocheting or it could be my blocking.  If I cared more about the loops I probably would have done a better job of it.  I am so glad I found the leftover yellow and finished the shawl with it.  I’m not really a blue person and adding the yellow really made me feel better.  This shawl is going to someone who I do not know.  I hope she likes it.

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My Toes Hurt

July 21, 2012

It was overcast and only 70 degrees when we went out this morning.  It was sunny and 90 two days ago.  Instead of trying to avoid as much sun as possible, we walked around the defunct horse farm.  They keep it mowed so it was an easy walk.  We walked down the side drive, then over to the track.  There are weeds now and grass is trying to sneak in.  We took the long way around and came through the barns on the way back.  It was so enjoyable to walk at a good pace without sweating.  The bushes around the pond have really grown.  Sweetums mentioned that there were  fewer geese than in the past.  I wonder why.  Maybe next time, I’ll check for fresh fox holes.  When we got back, I had my usual aches and pains.  But it’s hours later now and my toes still hurt.  It’s so weird.

I’ve made good progress on my shawl.  Sometimes I get a little lost and have to backtrack.  I keep losing yarn overs and trying to pick them back up when I purl back can be aggravating.  There have also been times when my end of the row and the directions end of the row did not coincide.  So I just fudge it.  It is one of the joys of using variegated yarn.  I do have one obvious hole that I have no idea how it happened.  I haven’t decided if I will fix it yet.

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A Bonnet for Betty

July 12, 2012

Well.  Not really.  She’s going to be a grandmother for the first time.  She is a nice person and she is my friend.

The pattern is from the new Jane Austen summer magazine.  On the first read through, I felt that some exclamations went too far and others just didn’t make sense.  I was happy that it had charts and I made good use of my stickies with the arrows on them. 

I liked the hem around the face, but I did it my way.  It took less time, used fewer needles, left no more ends to weave in, no waste yarn was needed and it looks perfect.  

I also liked the I-cord around the neck, but here again, I did it my way.  It was quicker and less fiddly and looks just as good.

I thought the drawstring idea was great.  I couldn’t find the little thingy I use to hold the end, so I used Sweetums instead.  Sometimes you just have to improvise.

I tried to get one of the cats to model, but the girls were having nothing to do with it.  I put it on Sweet Baby Rue while he was half asleep (his usual state). 

Since I couldn’t get a decent shot, I put it on the glass head.

One more thing.  You only need about 190 yards to make the bonnet.  The directions mention a 547 yard skein which I thought was outrageous amount.  If you bought the exact yarn mentioned, you would have a good 2/3 left.  I have noticed that a few other patterns have a lot more yardage in them then I would have thought necessary.

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A Day with Friends

June 23, 2012

Serendipity was having a birthday sale so, naturally, we had to go.   I left the house at 9:30 thinking I’d easily be there by 10:00.  No such luck.  I’m a few miles out when I thought to look at my gas.  I had less than 1/4 tank nd I knew there was only one gas station and they always charge more than anybody.  I turned down a side road and got out my GPS.  I only had to drive three miles to save $0.16 a gallon and it was still along the way.  But I was about 15 minutes late.  I tried calling Maria, but she didn’t answer and her phone was full.  How does voice mail fill up like that?  I was going to beat her when I saw her, but I forgot.  I knew it was useless to try Betty.  She seldom even turns hers on.  All that nonsense wasn’t even worth it.  They were late too.   

We had a great time.  Everything was 15% off.  They had various demonstrations going on and Maria’s favorite, free snacks.  It is really hard not to get overwhelmed by so many beautiful fabrics, patterns, books, and kits.  Somehow. I managed to get out of there with one pattern, on kit and three pieces of fabric.

 

And then, it was on to Sea Needles.  They are only a few miles away.  It would be stupid not to go.  I was happy to see the new Noro magazine.  Two of the on-line stores I use were sold out.  Betty will become a first-time grandmother in December and I found some yarn that we both can agree on.  I have a lovely pair of socks in Panda Silk so I know I’ll enjoy knitting with it.

Afterward, we had a very nice late lunch at the restaurant across the street.  I finally made it home by 5:00, tired but happy.  There is nothing like spending the day with friends, doing what we like to do.

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Time to Block

June 21, 2012

All the pieces for the Aztec Plaid vest are finished.  Getting it pinned down takes so long when there are so many color changes.  Having the blocking wires helped, but I wish that I had more T-pins.  They are better for multicolored garments.  I managed to get it to the proper dimensions and wetted it down.  With the air conditioning running, they were dry in less than twenty-four hours.  Now, I have to weave in all the ends and sew the shoulder seams.  Some of my friends procrastinate at weaving in the ends, but not me.  It means the garment is almost finished and I’ll be starting something new soon.  It never ends.

I thought I should mention that I don’t pin down the borders or bands.

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Something to Say

June 14, 2012

I turned on my laptop to blog, but I made the mistake of tyring to clean up a few things. Well, after three hours of dumping the trash, I’m too blurry-eyed. Maybe tomorrow.

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What was I Going to Say?

June 4, 2012

I sat down to write, but I had mail to read.  And then, I wanted to see what Otis and his brothers were up to.  Is it going to rain?  Should I go ahead and order that book everybody has been talking about?  What’s on TV tonight?  And on.  And on.  And on.  Oh, yeah.  I was going to blog about………. What?  Horse feathers.  I don’t know!!!

So this is what have I been up to: 

  • The front band on my vest is almost finished.  It looks pretty good, but it made need a little tweaking before I give it to my daughter.  It’s been a fun knit.   
  • I steamed five pounds of shrimp the other day.  After we had our fill, I peeled the rest for salad, shrimp fried rice and anything else I can think up.  We won’t be wanting shrimp again for a long time once we finish it.
  • I got shots in my knees this morning.  I’m already noticing a difference.  We’ll see after our walk tomorrow.
  • Dot has been giving Olive a hard time lately.  I think she doesn’t her picking on Flo or she just doesn’t like the noise.  Maybe she wants to be boss.  That’s fine with me.
  • My sock club came.  I’m not real thrilled with the colorway, but it will go with a lot of things.  I definitely like the sock pattern.  There is also a little shawl pattern that is kind of cute.  I’m not much on shawls.  They tend to wind up as cat beds.

Wow.  Not bad for not knowing what to say.  Was that a double negative?  Where’s an English teacher when you need one? 

Always an atention getter.

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