Felt Like Knitting

Long weekend with lots of knitting

This Labor Day weekend is turning out to be great!

Friday I had a teachers meeting (I'm teaching beginning praise guitar) and later in the afternoon I made it to Cast-on for the afternoon KAL (which this week was just like knit night).  I worked on my Seagrass Lace Socks for a few minutes before I went to pick up Emma where she was getting frozen yogurt with friends.  Yes, I did get some for myself because it was hot waiting in the car.  :)

On Saturday I met a fellow Raveler at Cast-on and we had a great time.  We have a lot in common!  We both bought yarn and buttons for Never Not Knitting's Shawl Collared Cowl.  I got Rowan Cocoon in the Clay colorway.  When I got home, I couldn't resist and I cast on right away.  The weather was beautiful and I was able to sit out on the deck.  Steve and Emma were at Dragon*con so I had the afternoon to myself and got a lot done.  Then we grilled out for dinner - such a nice day!

"Fargo" from Eureka and Emma (dressed as "Claudia" from Warehouse 13 )

After church yesterday, we constructed a geodesic dome in the school playground.  I think the kids will really have a great time with this and it was fun to put together.  In the afternoon/early evening there was... more knitting!  The cowl is done.  It's almost done drying and I'm hoping to sew the buttons on later this morning.  I love quick, fun projects!!!

Today promises to be fun, too.  Emma needs my help with an assignment for her creative writing class.  She's supposed to sit at Starbucks and "people watch" then write about three people she sees there.  Drive her to Starbucks and knit while she's working?  I'm all over that!  But if she doesn't get out of bed soon it's not going to happen.  Because this afternoon I'm going to make cards/knit with Mary, Lydia, and friends.  Guess I'd better get moving!

Have a great Monday!  Are you doing anything fun?

My Friday

I've been wondering if knit blogging is decreasing in popularity.  It sure seems like it.  This morning I read an article from a couple of years ago.  One thing from the article that stuck with me is that people often post about a finished project but not the process.  Now, I don't know that anyone wants to read about my knitting process :) but I thought it might be fun to see what today was like for me.  There is knitting involved so it can't be that boring, right?

Last night I realized I hadn't cast on the right number of stitches for today's LYS KAL so as soon I got up I finagled the increases to get the right number of stitches.  Knowing the stitches aren't quite right bothers me a bit but not enough to rip it out and start over.

Then I did a little cleaning so one of Emma's friends could come over.  Her friend's mom and I went to lunch at another friend's house to discuss the drama program.  The lunch was fabulous!  (In fact, I think I used that word several times while we were eating.) We had barbecued beef sandwiches, potato salad made with red potatoes and bacon, make-your-own salads with wonderful toppings, and a terrific, still hot from the oven peach cobbler with homemade whipped cream.  Wow!  I'd like to eat lunch there every day!!!

After that I went to my LYS for the beginning of their latest KAL.  Since I had already cast on and worked a few repeats I already have something to show.  Wanna see?

The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in the Primavera colorway.  The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Double Eyelet Rib sock.  I really like how the yarn looks in stockinette better than in the eyelet rib pattern but I'm still happy with it.  The color changes are just a little too contrasting for me.  Mary is using a Pagewood Farm yarn - I think it may be Fruit Freeze.  Anyway...the subtle color differences in her yarn will really look nice in the socks.

Then I played with the dog and now it's back to cleaning.  We're having a 16th birthday party for Emma this weekend.  It's a pool party but rain is forecasted so that means the house needs to be ready as a backup plan.  Here's the first thing I'll tackle...

Most of my yarn is ready to go back into my room after going through the freeze-wait-freeze process.  Guess I'd better get to it.  I hope you've all had a fabulous Friday and are looking forward to a great weekend!

Too big?

After I knit Carole's lovely sock pattern, I was really excited to get another pair of socks on the needles.  I had purchased some Summer Sox on sale at my LYS in a shade of green that I love.  After starting the toes, I decided I didn't want to bother creating my own pattern so I found the Coralicious Socks pattern.  It was the right number of stitches for what I had already done, it was for a larger sized foot like mine, and the pattern gauge matched my gauge...until I started knitting more.  For some reason my gauge loosened up and the sock feels rather loose.  And I think I should have started the heel flap sooner.  When I pull up on the socks, it looks like this:

So my question is this:  Are these too big or will they shrink some if I wash them in warm water (ball band says to machine wash gentle, machine dry)?  I really don't want to rip the sock out but I also don't want to end up with a pair of socks that are too lose to wear comfortably.

The Fourth Day of Christmas

Good morning, everyone!  If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day.  Today is actually (if I've counted correctly) the fourth day of Christmas and we're still in the midst of our celebrations here.  Some highlights...

-  My brother and my nephew were here for a week and we had a great time!  We visited the aquarium, went bowling, shopped, cooked and ate, worked on a puzzle, played games, went to our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service, etc.

-  My brother liked his mitts!!!  I'm really happy about that!  I made hockey-print flannel pajama pants for my nephew.  My brother is such a huge hockey fan that I bought more hockey material for a pair of pants for him, too.  In fact, his Christmas tree is hockey themed.  Any ideas for knitted hockey-themed Christmas ornaments for next year?  I was thinking of knitting a sweater that looked like a hockey jersey but there is probably something more unique that I could do.

-  My mom is still here and will go back later with my other brother who gets in this week.  We've played several games of Scrabble and are planning on making meatballs and sauce later today.  Yum!

-  I tried out one of my Christmas presents (a skillet) and made potato pancakes yesterday for lunch.  They were made with onion and garlic and were pretty tasty.

-  This is definitely not a highlight...  Emma was sick.  Fortunately, it was a 24 hour bug and she recovered quickly.  Steve's parents were going to stop back in yesterday evening but instead drove through Atlanta.  We were disappointed but also didn't want them to get sick.  I'm glad we got to visit with them earlier this month!

-  I'm still working on Christmas knitting!  Earlier this year I knitted a beret for one niece and am just now finishing up one for my other niece.  I just deleted the photos from my computer so I'll have to take an FO photo later to show you.  (Or there is a photo on my Ravelry projectspage.)  And I've decided that my brother and his wife each need a pair of mitts, too.  They might end up getting the yarn and IOUs wrapped up in boxes!

I'm really supposed to be cleaning for my family's visit so I'd better get back to it.  Hopefully I can keep up with blogging this week.  If not, I will see you soon!

 

WIP Wednesday: December 16

Most of you are probably in bed by now and figured that I didn't get around to posting today.  Not so!  I just spent the whole day working on Emma's dress.  It is still a WIP but I'm not going to post a picture until it's done, which should be very soon.

 

I was able to snap a photo of some mitts before the sun went down.  The pattern is Dashing and I'm finding it to be a fun knit.  They are for my brother and I need your opinion.  Here's the scene that caused me to doubt if he'd wear them. 

Me:  I'm knitting these mitts for Tim because he keeps his house so cold.  He can wear them while he's on the computer.  Do they look too girly? 

Steve:  He won't wear them.

Me:  What, are the cables too feminine?  The mitts are brown, that's a nice manly color.  Would you wear them?

Steve:  I'd rather turn on the heat.

That gave me a good laugh even if I didn't appreciate his lack of enthusiasm for my project.  So what do you think?  Would a man wear these fingerless mitts?

A red scarf, a funny pug, and a fabric question

Last week I read on Anne's blog that the OFA Red Scarf Project is in need of scarves.  So I cast on this scarf pattern with some reddish handspun yarn, but I could tell that it wasn't going to make the required length.  Now I'm knitting it in Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn (not squeaky feeling like some) in cranberry.  Having it be machine washable and dryable for a college student seems like a good thing.  When I measured last night, I had 18 inches to go so I should be able to make the 12/15 deadline.

     

How about a pug picture?  As Trump has become more comfortable here, he has developed some quirks.  Like now he barks at everyone instead of cowering.  We think he's saying "This is my territory.  Back off!"  So it's a good thing that he feels at home but his new behavior is annoying, scary for visitors, and something we need to train him not to do.  And here is another quirk:  When he gets really relaxed he lets his tongue hang out.  At first I thought he had had a stroke or something but now we're guessing that he's just comfy.  Does anyone know if it's a bad sign for a dog's tongue to stick out at an angle like that?

     

I'm making a dress (view B) for Emma for her school's Christmas dance.  I made a muslin (several actually) and I'm now ready to make the real thing.  She chose satin with an overlay of something sparkly (It's sheer like chiffon but crisper.).  She wants the lavender for the bodice, and the purple and sparkly for the skirt.  There will also be a bit of the sparkly as trim on the bodice.

 

I've read tips on working with satin but I'm still a little scared to start this project.  If anyone has any helpful advice, that would be great!  My biggest question now is about the skirt.

The skirt is pleated and I'm wondering if I should sew the sparkly and the purple together as one fabric.  Or should I sew the skirt then sew an unpleated sparkly section on top the skirt?  I'm thinking that won't look right.

Okay, another question came to mind.  I'm going to line the bodice instead of using facings.  I think I won't need to interface now except that I'm worried the surplice neckline will be too floppy without something to support it.  The sales clerk at the fabric store suggested I sew hem tape/twill tape into the seam when I sew it.  Had anyone done this with satin?

I hope you all have a great weekend!  You know what I'll be doing.  :)

 

Mice in my stashes

We've never had trouble with mice, but I guess we were due.  I've stored food in the basement with no trouble before, so when I had to clear out the pantry for this summer's remodeling project I put all unopened food downstairs.  What I didn't think about was that the garage doors were open all day long for the workmen.  Food + Open Doors = Mouse Trouble.  We had a very determined mouse.  I threw away all the food in the stash that the mouse had been near that wasn't in cans, hoping that would cause him/her to leave.  No luck.  We finally had to resort to traps and did catch the offender.

Fast forward a few weeks later and we hear noises in the attic.  So Steve put some traps upstairs and came down the other day with another mouse.  Ugh!  I had no idea that mice are so repulsive to me.  It's almost the same reaction I have to snakes.  I feel like such a wimp...

On to a better mouse story... I was happy to use my yarn stash to make a felted mouse for my Dad's cat Lily.  This is my first knitted toy and I'm really pleased with it.  Knitting a toy isn't difficult like I thought it might be.  The pattern is from Ann Budd's Knitted Gifts, which I purchased last week.  The funny thing is that I don't really enjoy handling this project because of the other mice in the house.  Weird, huh?

  
 
 

Sweaters for a cold day

There was a prediction for snow and cold weather here in Georgia and we got both.  The snow (about 0.5 inches?) was beautiful while it was coming down.  I didn't get pictures, but Leslie did.  She also lives in the south, so her pictures show you what it was like here.  Today it's cold but it will be in the mid-60s by the end of the week!

Since it was going to be cold and snowy, I decided I should knit some sweaters.

                                    

Okay, so they won't be keeping anybody warm, but they will make great ornaments for my nieces and nephews this Christmas.  Three down, four to go!  (Goals are great things.  It occurred to me on 2/27 that I hadn't completed a Christmas gift this month.  Two sweaters were completed on 2/28 and one on 3/1.  So I'm covered for February and March now!)

                                    

Here's my menu plan for this week.  I feel like we eat the same things each week so I'm trying a new recipe from the Menu Plan Monday site.  The site is a great resource for lots of recipes since 300+ people post their weekly menu plans.

Monday:  Homemade chicken noodle soup, tomato soup (my DH is allergic to chicken), grilled cheese sandwiches, apple slices

Tuesday:  Meatloaf, roasted cauliflower, Parmesan crusted mashed potatoes (doesn't that sound delicious?!), salad

Wednesday: ---

Thursday:  Venison pepper steak, rice (I finally remembered to buy peppers at the store!)

Friday:  Grill out!  Probably brats, potatoes with carrots, baked beans, salad

Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  Stir fry, rice

This week we're eating more food from the freezer because it really needs to be emptied and defrosted!  The end of this week will be a good time to do just that.

Hope you all have a great week!

Brought to you by the letters B and C

B is for Beth's Brambler and C is for Clare's Chevron. 

                 

                                Brambler by Anne Hanson, Shibuiknits Sock yarn in Mulberry

            

          Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Cherry Tree Hill and Great Adirondack yarns

Wow, two FOs this week!  Can you believe it?  In all honesty, the Chevron scarf was about done.  It's a few inches shy of the recommended length, but I'm happy with it.  (It's a gift for my friend Clare, who I now hope hasn't been reading my blog!)  I was a little tired of knitting it and I wanted to free up the needles.  I thought they were the size 3 needles that I need for Alhambra , but they're size 4.  My size 3 needles are in my Clapotis.  I'll bet you can guess what my knitting goal is for this week.  :)  And I'm  excited about Brambler.  I'll really enjoy wearing it when it cools down a bit.

May I ask a quick question of you?  Do any of you have experience with Facebook?  The kids and some of the staff in my daughter's school use it and I'm wondering if you feel that it is a safe thing for young teenagers to sign up for.  Thanks for any advice you can give me.  Navigating the teenage years can be challenging for a parent.  But I think it may be easier than going through it as a teen.  :)

WIP Wednesday - Brambler

            

My goal for this week is to finish Brambler.  I decided to change yarn, so on Saturday I went to a LYS and bought some Shibuiknits sock yarn in Mulberry.  I also bought some Bristol Yarn Gallery Buckingham in a beautiful grayish-blue color (picture coming later).  It's so soft and I thought I might opt to use it for Brambler, but I couldn't resist the beautiful berry color of the Shibuiknits.  The scarf is much farther along than in this picture.  It also has more dog hair on it!  This has been a fast knit and I can't wait to block it.

I know I'll be tempted to cast on for another lace scarf when Brambler is done.  But, I'm going to try to finish up a few things first.  I'm close to being done with the Bubble Bag and the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  Maybe I can have those finished by next Wednesday, too.