more granny squares

Last week I worked on some other granny squares in addition to the scarf ones. These were and are special to me. For several years I have wanted to make blankets for the hospital. I am not much of a sewer though, and knitting takes so long that I have trouble sticking with the task. Granny squares are quick and, I think, beautiful.
I like the way the blanket turned out with the three large, solid squares and several (I haven't counted them, I don't know why) small, multi-colored ones. It is for a little boy I've never met, made while thinking of Lucy and her new baby brother.
18, there, I just counted.

I dreamed about a scarf

About a week ago I had a dream about a scarf made of squares sewn together in a row. The squares in my dream were knitted however, because the squares looked a lot like crochet granny squares, I was unable to figure out how they could be made by knitting. Well. That's ok, because I've often wished I knew how to make those. A quick google search landed me on an instructional youtube clip and before I knew it, I was crocheting a little one that was all my own. The pattern she used wasn't my favorite, so I searched a little more until I found a completely adorable one with simple enough instructions. And so I give you:

I will still need a few more, but this is what I have so far.
I'm using Peaches & Creme cotton in variegated earth tone and ecru.



The squares will be sewn together end to end, something like this:

I have a few other projects taking up my time, that and the fact that we are far, far, far from scarf season (even a slim cotton one) - I'm in no rush to finish this. Probably about a week or so. Many thanks to Teresa for posting the tutorial video!

some of the things I love about summer:

Rose of Sharon
this flower is on my neighbor's tree, but it looks right over the fence and into my backyard.
Lucky me!

***
Tomato
I actually can't eat garden tomatoes anymore because they really hurt
my mouth, but my husband likes them and I like to grow them and we have
never actually had a problem getting rid of any that may be left over.

***
Pepper flower
our good friend takes peppers, cuts them in half, removes the seeds,
fills the halves with cream cheese, then grills them.
It's one of my favorite summertime treats!

***
Eggplant flower
I've been growing eggplant for the last few years, one reason is that
the flowers are so beautiful (the other is that my husband happens
to really like eggplant parmesan).

***
Cabbage
I can hardly believe that this huge plant once was a few tiny
leaves in a cup that my daughter brought home from school
at the end of the year. It's going to be coleslaw this weekend!

***
Window box
seeing bright flowers whenever I look out my window always
brightens my mood, no matter what kind of day I'm having

river water

I recently found myself in Green River, Wyoming. While walking
across a bridge, I noticed this sign and wondered how carefully
the aquafina marketing people had considered the location of their ad...

Happy Easter

This morning my four-year-old reported that she
thinks she heard a bunny in the living room last night.
I think she could be right about that.

Happy Easter!

Salvation Army

At the beginning of January my friend Jenni and I decided to organize and update a room a month (organize? Who, me?). This month I've been working on my bedroom. It's funny to me that we've lived in this house 7 years and almost everything was still boring and white until last summer when I redid the living room. I'm a little slow with things sometimes.

So, my room. White. Boring. I have one personal challenge in the updating and organizing: Do it as inexpensively as possible. I have been loving the challenge of thrift store shopping! My husband had been wanting a reading corner so when I saw a beautiful wooden chair by the basement door at my mom's houses, I asked her about it. Right away she told me I could take it home if I wanted. The chair had belonged to her dad and so while she didn't have a use for it she couldn't get rid of it either. The afghan I bought at a local thrift store for $2. From time to time I wondered about the person who crocheted it and felt a little sad that their hard work ended up in a second-hand shop.

I have been keeping a list of items to look out for while out and about. Yesterday I took a trip up to the nearest big city to their Salvation Army. A friend had told me that it was an amazing thrift store, and she was right! I found several treasures: the table to go next to my grandpa's chair & two working lamps. The little table is solid wood and was an amazing buy at $10. The silver based lamp with the beaded shade that sits atop the table was $7. I fell immediately in love with the wooden based lamp that was only $4 and I was able to find a shade that is in brand-new condition for just $1. The one thing I did not like about the shade was how bright-white it was. My friend suggested I tea stain it, which was the perfect solution.

Still on my list is a night stand for the side of the bed, but until I find one this TV tray works pretty well. I have a few other projects in the works that I will post about when they are completed. I hope to have the room finished by Wednesday, a little before my deadline.

Failed Afghan Intentions

When I began knitting these blue, white and gray strips I had every intention of turning them into another afghan similar to the one I knit for my mom. I was using the same pattern (pdf) but made a slight change in the edges (seed instead of garter) and the cable - knitting them in a small braid rather than a plain twist (which I actually think I like better anyway, but oh well). My problem came when I went to sew the strips together and realized I had accidentally knit some of them on the wrong sized needles. I guess my attention to detail is lacking from time to time.

I re-knit one of the strips on the smaller sized needles (because that was the original plan and most of them had been done that way). However, for several reasons I decided not to continue with the afghan and a week or so ago I started giving the strips away as scarves. They are warm and cozy and everyone liked them.

they say it has stopped (for now)

We have had snow storm after snow storm around here (makes for lots of cozy evenings spent knitting). The news claims we'll be five days without another storm! That hasn't happened for two months, hence the Christmas lights still up in the front of my house. It hasn't been safe enough for my husband to get up on the ladder to get them down (and besides that he'd have to wade through a couple or so feet of snow just to get to them).

Socks for Tess

I have in my house a very happy four-year-old (and enough yarn for at least another pair). I'm not sure what brand this yarn is (because I lost the label), but it was sent to me by Mama Bear. The pattern I used was simple enough. I cast 15 stitches onto each of 3 US size 2 needles. I knit in a k2 p1 rib for three and a half inches. At that point I worked a 2 inch heel flap over 22 stitches. I did my favorite heel, s1 k1; turn s1 p across. I turned the heel leaving 8 stitches in the middle then picked up 12 stitches along each side and continued the rib along the top of the sock. For the gusset I decreased to 11 stitches per side needle (needles 1&3) while 23 stitches remain on the top. Tess has a size 11 foot (in what? toddler? I think) for her length I knit until the sock measured 6 inches from the heel. I decreased for the toe until I had 13 stitches on the top needle and 6 on the other two then finished up with the kitchener stitch. Volia!

Sock Saga

Knit some socks. Sounds simple enough, huh? Riiiight. I wanted to make something special for Christmas for our pastor and his wife who really went above and beyond to be there for us during one of the hardest years we've faced. Nice warm socks for a cold Utah winter sounded like just the right answer. Man socks are easy enough, just a simple k2 p1 rib. I did have some trouble with the heel but once I decided to go back to my usual version I had no further complications. But when I got to the pink sock, it was a different story entirely. I wanted to make something pretty so I tried an eyelet pattern that I didn't care for. Pulled it out. I tried the Lombard sock but while I enjoyed learning how to do a picot edge, it wasn't the right pattern for what I wanted. I tried my pattern called sandy's sock but pulled that out too. Finally I modified that slightly and knit from the other end of the yarn (it was starting to feel rough from being knit and pulled out and knit and pulled out). Success! I finished them only hours before I had to give them away.

The past few weeks I've been knitting on my log cabin afghan (I know, it was supposed to be a Christmas gift. I didn't finish it),a bunch of dishcloths (and I've given most away now too) & socks for my youngest daughter who is four-years-old. She tends to have sensory issues and doesn't like store-bought socks in the least. She is thrilled that I'm knitting her socks again (she grew out of all of her old ones). I am considering putting in an order from knitpicks for some pretty new sock yarns (and the harmony needles look tempting too!).

Merry Birthday to me!

On Monday I got an unexpected package in my mailbox. When I opened it I found it was a belated birthday/Christmas gift from my friend Jenni. She sent me two beautiful hand-knit dishcloths as well as a matching crocheted pot holder. The red dishcloth has an apple design in the middle. The white one has a super cool circle pattern around the edges. There was a pretty set of her stitch markers. I love them! Now I need to get knitting something so I can use them. Finally she included a book about the fruits of the spirit. I can't wait to read it.

Thanks Jenni!

Tipless Mittens

As I'm sure it has been for most people, the last month or two have been busy here in our neck of the woods. I had a lot of knitting drama with some pink socks I was working on. But! I finished them on time (barely). I knit these tipless things for a friend who tried one of the aforementioned pink socks on her hand and commented that she'd like them that way. Well. The socks were a gift for her mother but as soon as they came off my needles, these little bad boys went on. It's amazing how much faster something knits up on 7's over 2's.

There wasn't really a pattern, I just did what worked. I knit a 1x1 rib for about an inch and a half or so (I kept measurements between knuckles, never with a ruler. It seemed easier) using size 5 dpns. After that I switched to 7's and did this: k3, p2, k3, p2 (10 per needle over 4 needles) adding mini braid cable thing on one of the k3's (I made them opposite each other so they would match when worn on the right and left hands). After knitting that for a while I ended with the same rib I began with. The thumb was super easy. I just left a hole (instead of knitting in the round I knit back and forth for a while) then later picked up 4 stitches at the base adding one on each side until it went all of the way around. These were fun and easy! I'd like to knit them again in acrylic (not 100% wool, like these) so I can wear them. Wool is too itchy for me.

short temper with the short row

First of all, thanks for all of the input on sock yarn! I looked up several different yarns and though I had wanted to try something new, I ended up purchasing Trekking yarn for both pairs. I started the first sock right away. The first pair will be Tech Guy Socks. I like this pattern for a man. I still haven't decided what pattern to use for the pink socks.

I'm having a problem though. I've never done a short row heel, but I've tried before. I thought I'd try again. It's causing me stress because I don't like the hole at the top. I looked for a video tutorial but was unable to find one. I may end up just going back to the heel flap, defeated and sad. *sigh* Can you see? They don't even look like they are in a pretty line. Bleh. Perhaps I'll give it one more try (but I hate to keep pulling it out, I think that probably isn't very good for the yarn). I haven't touched it in a few days. It's in time-out.

a sock yarn question...

So I am going to knit some socks for a Christmas gift. I haven't knit many pairs of socks, especially lately. I don't have much experience with sock yarns, though I've used Trekking and liked it a lot. So I ask, what's your favorite sock yarn? Why? Pretty please leave me a comment and tell me. I'd like them to be soft, hopefully washable, warm, and - you know - yummy!

a gift basket

This is the first gift basket I've ever put together. It is small and simple, containing a couple of really cool travel coffee cups that passed the car accident test. A few weeks ago my husband had left his Contigo Autoseal cup at work over the weekend. On Monday he had to use an older one with just a hole in the lid (the contigo one has a push button that opens the drinking hole, easy to use while driving!). On the way home from work he was rear-ended and both cups, both with some coffee left in them, went flying. But only the older one spilled. The Contigo cup didn't even lose a drop!

Also in the basket is a package of Starbucks coffee beans - Colombian, and homemade anise biscotti. I was scared to make the cookies and put it off for two days, but it really wasn't hard. The recipe called for anise extract and brandy, both of which I did not have. Instead of the anise extract I used extra vanilla and I used pineapple juice in place of the brandy. I'm told they turned out well, but I can't eat wheat or sugar so I'll just have to take my husband and children's word for it. I lined the basket with the black and white dishcloths, wrapped it in cellophane and voila! A gift basket!

Black & White

The line-up:

white blackberry stitch (#242) from Vogue's Stitchionary Vol. 1

slightly modified b&w garterlac dishcloth with a black crochet border

four corners in black

grandmother's favorite using salt and pepper cotton

black outlining salt and pepper on textured slip-stitch

The Little Things

I'm borrowing the idea for this post (and the title too) from Wool Winder, who has graced the knitting blog world with pictures of some of the lovely things in her home.

Here are a few things that make me happy:

This plate was one of many that my grandfather collected. He passed away over ten years ago. Since his death, my grandma has given a lot of the plates away to Grandpa's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Five such plates reside in my home, one for each of my daughters and one for me.

I was given this angel figurine about six years ago by a good friend. Shortly after having received her, she was accidentally knocked off of the table and broken just under her arms by my oldest daughter, who was four-years-old. At that time we only had three children (we now have four). The accident made me sad, but I went on with my day. When I came up from doing laundry I found that my baby, then only two-years-old, had taken the angel and scotch-taped her back together. I scratched my plans to super glue the angel and she remains taped around the middle to this day.

Finally, this apple shaped teapot was a gift from my second daughter a Christmas or two ago. Her face while I opened such an obvious treasure was priceless. She's a very thoughtful little girl who knows how much her mama likes both tea and apples.

And so, like Wool Winder, I ask: What are some of your favorite things?

Blackberry Stitch

After knitting the Garterlac Dishcloth I decided to give a few other new dishcloth patterns a try. A bobble cloth caught my eye but after looking the pattern over, I decided I'd rather look through my stitchionary for a bobble, or something similar, that I could knit into a square. #242 was the winning pattern. I like the idea of bobbles for scrubbing purposes, but because I knit this for a gift (it will be part of a black & white dishcloth set) I won't be able to test out my theory until I make time to knit one for myself. Though this isn't a true bobble (I don't think so anyway), it is bumpy and I love the texture. It was a fun pattern and I'm thinking I'd also really like it for a sweater, maybe a cardigan or something. Of course that means I'd then have to knit a sweater (terrifying thought that it is).

For my black & white dishcloth set, I picked up Sugar 'n Cream cotton in three colors: white, black & salt and pepper. Now, I have some white still on a cone. There isn't much left, but plenty for several dishcloths. Why did I go buy more when I still had enough? Oh, because the mostly-gone cone would not have looked so cute in this picture.

snow

click on picture to view larger

We had our first snow of the year yesterday! It looks like it caught this seagull off guard (the gray dots are snowflakes). Brrrr... but at least it didn't stick here in the valley. My husband asked, "What happened to fall?" Hm, I think that was last Tuesday. Furnace is up and running. Knitting is on full throttle now! It is just such a warm and cozy pass-time. I should have some knitting content soon.

farewell summer

I took this picture in my front yard about a month ago.

I always find it a little sad to say goodbye to the summer. This year it is bittersweet. It was a hard summer, but also a good one. I put down my needles for a few months but I picked up a trowel instead. Well, I picked up the trowel for a while until it mysteriously disappeared (I had a few suspects, one with four legs and a couple with two) at that point my trowel became a large kitchen spoon (or rather my big kitchen spoon became a trowel). I planted many new perennials and some annuals for color. A good friend built me window boxes (she claims it was her own therapy). I happily watered my hanging baskets, boxes, flower beds and lawn each morning while I waited for my tea to cool. After all of my plants had been given a drink, I would take my tea in the backyard while I spent fifteen or twenty minutes having some Bible time.

But now it is cold. Mornings have become a bit crazy around here. I need to find a new routine. I look forward to next summer with more flowers and more tea on the patio.

sling

I mentioned before that my sister just had a baby. What I didn't say was that she called me while in labor and asked me to come and be with her and her husband for the birth of their child. I was so excited! It was all I could do to wait until a little later in the afternoon when I had child care for my own little darlings & head down to the hospital. Her son is the first birth I've attended where I wasn't the one in the bed begging for drugs, or for someone to shave my head (I was hot! And I totally would have done it too, but for some reason nobody took me seriously - huh, go figure).

Anyhow Monday my sis and I were talking about how sometimes people don't have the same personal space boundaries we are used to or they think the boundaries do not apply to newborns. I mentioned how I had always wanted a sling but never had one. I didn't know much about them, like where to get one or even that they could be made but I had noticed that people tend to stay further back from an infant in a sling. Of course my "baby" is four years old. Since my daughter's birth I learned to crochet (a little). About 9 months ago a woman at church briefly showed me a sling she had crocheted using a free pattern online. So I thought I should try to make one of those for my sister and her little babe. I found a few interesting looking slings online, but I had one problem - I don't know how to read crochet patterns. Oh well. I thought I'd try to make one anyway, without a pattern.

A couple of weeks ago my craft store had cotton on special 30% off, so I bought two cones of a very natural looking cotton with dull flecks of color. I think it's called potpourri. I had in mind to crochet an afghan with it, but that didn't exactly work out like I planned. I decided that would be good yarn to use and gave it a go on my new bamboo hook (I think it's a G, or an H, or an I - can you tell I'm not a real crocheter?). Pictured above is what I came up with. I don't really know how I did it but I think I am going to attempt to recreate it (or something similar) for my sister in law.

copy cat

Ok so I'm a total copy cat. I saw this dishcloth over on Sandi's blog and knew I had to make it. I have seen this type of knitting before but was never really interested in giving it a try ... of course until I saw it in dishcloth form. I'm a sucker for dishcloths ( Jen, you should try this one! It's lots of fun!).

Well, that's it for today. Nothing much, just a dishcloth. I think I'll give this one to my sister who just had a baby. It's quite big (10x10) as I knit it on size 8 needles. It may be more of a washcloth.

Macro

Over the past several months the bottom kind of fell out of my life. And I stopped knitting. I think things could be getting back on track now. I've picked up my needles again! Pictured above is the project I've been working on. It is a Christmas gift.

Every year my girls take photographs for the state fair. This year they entered a couple in the macro category. Since then I've been thinking how very much I like super close pictures, so that is what you are getting here. A macro of my knitting.

A small update on me: My mom is still hanging in there. This fall we left the ranks of the home schoolers and enrolled the three big girls in our local elementary. They love school and it's been very quiet around here. My small daughter (4 y/o) is starting to feel lonely though. She's becoming good friends with the dog.

Anyway, I'm happy to be knitting again.

It's Birthday Season

a few future gifts...


These three head wraps are a modified version of the one on Knit and Tonic's blog. I keep thinking that I'll make one for myself but then I keep not doing it. Perhaps soon.

I had hopes of knitting other birthday gifts for this month but time has run away from me. I suppose I'll just head over to the Gap (I got my own birthday coupon in the mail and it's burning a hole in the cute new tote I bought last weekend while out doing some retail therapy) or Hobby Lobby for the rest of the required gifts.

PS, Kim if you happen over here, I apologize for the scary head in the first picture. I know you dislike that thing.