Gate fold Mini Album

Toys anyone?

Well, I've completed a few more toys, and they have taken over the bed in our guest room.  A couple more months and they will be on their way to the Diamond Children's Medical Center in Tuscon.  Hopefully they will help some little guy or girl to smile.

Here's my favorite of my recently completed projects:

His name is Frog Charming, and he's from the October, 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet.  A delight to make, and very, very easy.  Seems he's struck up a friendship with sock monkey.  That's nice, everyone needs a buddy!












And then there's this creature of the great outdoors:

An Alan Dart pattern, Night Owl, featured in the latest issue of Simply Knitting.  His toy patterns are the best.  If you haven't seen any of his patterns you really need to visit his website and take a look around.  If you love knitted toys, you're in for a treat!

New FO's

Finally I am getting around to adding these finished objects.  I'm still in the stash-busting mode, and I'm happy to report that the stash is really diminishing, which means that soon I'll be shopping for brand new, shiny yarns, oh my!

This is my favorite of my recently completed stuff:

And once I finished him, I decided to make him a friend:

And then I decided to make him some clothes, so when dressed, he looks like this:

I think he's really pretty handsome.  The plan for all these toys is to donate them, so come this December I'll pack them all up and bring them up to the children's hospital in Tucson.  And God Bless Them Every One.

The last finished object of late is this cropped sweater, made in 2 days (really, it's that fast and easy) and this will be a birthday gift for a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless in case she is browsing this blog.  This is made using super bulky yarn (also a part of my ever-shrinking stash) and I'm thrilled to finally use it because it takes up waaaaay tooooo much room in my yarn storage.  I will update this post with pattern information, which is not available to me at the moment because I am doing this at work.  Because sometimes, when my real work is done, I fill in the hours with other things, the internets being one.  Shhhhhhhhhhh!

It's Done!

My Cropped Rib Jacket is now hanging on a hanger in my closet!  It fits, I had enough yarn (that was a real concern towards the end) and I love it.  It will be perfect for cool summer evenings, which, believe it or not, once June is gone we do get those even here in the desert!

The front, back and sleeve pieces are worked separately in a K3, P1 rib for 7 inches, and then joined at the yoke to form the raglan sleeves.  That leaves minimal seaming to do at the end, which I like, lots! 

The yarn is Cascade Cotton Rich DK, and the pattern is from the Debbie Bliss Knitting magazine, spring/summer 2009.

eta:  the black box behind the sweater is husband's brief case.  Why do boys leave things where they don't belong?  Really.  Why?

Friends Are Good

I made this because I wanted to try the 'spring card.'  I'll keep it on hand in case a friend needs a pick me up, or I just want to tell someone they're special to me.  Because friends are special, and it's good to let them know that every once in a while.

This card is super easy, and really good for cardmaking newbies because all you need is paper, double-sided tape, a computer (if you're reading this you obviously have one) and an embellishment (if you want to add one, but even that's not necessary). The sentiment was created in Adobe CS In Design, but could easily be done in Microsoft Word. If you want to try making one, here's the link.

And sometimes I make cards

Because it's fun to play with scissors and papers and glue and tape, just like when we were young! I started doing this a couple of years ago, and now my card-making (is card making one word, two words, a hyphenated word?) supplies are fighting with space for my yarn stash, but it's ok.  They are learning how to get along and play well with others! This is just one example of the many cards I've made. It's called a tri-fold shutter card, and if you google tri-fold card, you get instructions for making one of these.

Who is this guy?

Due to copyright issues, I am not allowed to call him by his recognizable name.  However, if you have someone in your life, or maybe it's you, who loves those plastic take-apart, put-together, building thingies, then you should consider knitting this.   This pattern is designed by a very talented woman, who goes by the name of Ella on Ravelry.  You can search her by entering Ella's Pattern Store, and get the pattern.  But, be warned....this is extreme knitting, not really suitable for a beginner.  The directions are clear, but knitting this requires patience and lots of experience.

The picture of his hand is not very clear (as you can clearly see!) but I wanted to show you the detail, and how much it looks like the real thing. Ella also has a really cute astronaut pattern, if you have a space freak in your life. So go ahead, knit a toy. You'll have fun, and it's a great way to use up leftover yarn, and they really make cute gifts. And best of all, gauge doesn't matter when you make toys!

and now…

…back to my regularly scheduled programming. As often happens in life, lots of things have been going on. Some good, some not very good at all. So in order to ward off the not-very-good, the needles have been busy. Very busy. Because the thing to do in life when sh_t happens (as they say) is to keep the mind occupied.  It works. 

I decided it's time to do some serious stash-busting, which meant I got to knit some toys, one of my favorite things to knit.  And even though I don't really have any little ones to knit toys for right now, I am knitting them just because I love to.  They're fast, almost instant gratification, they're cute and goofy, and they make me smile.

Here are two:This is Georgina, a free pattern from the Lion Brand site.  The pattern called for baby weight, but I made her with worsted weight, which is the beauty of making toys.  No gauge to worry about, which I really like because making gauge swatches makes me crazy.  This toy can be crocheted in just an afternoon, which is great if you find yourself needing a quick gift, or a quick pick-me-up.

Also from Lion Brand, this is the Purrfect Kitty Sock Critter, (no, I didn't spell it wrong that way, Lion Brand spelled it wrong that way because they wanted to!)) knit in worsted weight. It's a good pattern if you want to learn how to do short rows, commonly used when knitting socks. Speaking of which, they're not your grandmother's socks anymore. The art of sock knitting has come a long way. The patterns range from basic and simple to awesomely elegant and intricate. And today's sock yarn is really, really, beautiful, thanks to many talented people who spin and dye their own yarn and sell it via the internets, or in fancy, schmancy yarn shops. I'm going to try some.  Soon.

More projects tomorrow.  Or in a few days.  Right now the boy of the household is making breakfast, and I'm going off to get me some.

Ok, that was good!  Now I have a minute to post another one:

This is one of my favorites.  The pattern is (once again) from the Lion Brand website, and it was a great way to use up some Vanna's Choice worsted I picked up on sale about 6 months or so ago.  For any knitter that might be reading this, I inserted pipe cleaners in the legs (all EIGHT of them!) to make sure they would curl up.  Love this guy, and so did Miguel, my favorite cocker spaniel!

Thanks…

It's a good thing to remind oneself sometimes, what exactly it is they are blessed with.  For me, even tho I live thousands of miles from my family and friends, the sun shines on my face nearly 350 days per year. That's a gift, it's a good thing, and it's free. (And it's also called "finding the good within the not-so-good.) And speaking of family, my daughter.  She has brightened my life and filled me with pride and joy in more ways than I can enumerate.  My husband, who makes me laugh at least once every day.  These things are also gifts, and it's good to be gifted!  So for all of that, thanks.

And, to all the men and women who travel to far away, dangerous places to secure our freedom, thank you.  They leave their families behind, put on a uniform every morning, same as many of us do on a daily basis. But they risk their lives every day, and don't have the comfort of home and family to sustain them at night.  They are a gift, and they gift us every day by protecting our freedoms, and by trying to bring this gift to less fortunate people around the world.  Some may say this is just too much to ask.  But I guess the majority of those who serve don't feel that way.

In doing their "job", they sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice, and try as I might, there really are no "big enough" words to thank them for that.  So instead, I quietly, respectfully salute them.

The Freedom Tower

1 World Trade Center

The Best Birthday Gift Ever

Oh yeah!

 The best series on the Civil War.  The best gift, from the best daughter.  Thanks, honey!

KNITTING INTERRUPTED

In order to complete two Christmas gifts for two sweet, small boys.

The sequin and bead work does not show well in these shots (I NEED a new camera, SANTA), but I know two little guys who will like these stockings, and, I'm sure, whatever we decide to put in them.

 

Now back to my regularly scheduled past time - knitting.  But I can't post the yarn, nor the project, because that too is for a gift for the dd who gave me the best birthday gift, ever.  But, I will say that the yarn, which I purchased at a lys in Las Cruces, NM, is the softest, yummiest yarn I have ever worked with, and I wish I had bought lots more.  Since I didn't, I'm hoping I can at least get it on the internets, because Las Cruces is approximately 6 hours from my home.

We went on a weekend getaway a few weeks ago to Ruidoso, NM, which is an awesome Indian reservation (Apache) situated at 7500 feet in the rugged Sierra Blanca mountain chain.  It is breathtakingly beautiful, and one of our favorite places.

The next two shots were pulled from the internets, and show the beauty of this town way better than I can.

Set in this gorgeous mountain lake surrounding is a beautiful resort/golf/convention center/hotel/casino thingy, which supports the tribes still located in the area, and shown below is one of the town's main streets (there are only two!) in it's Christmas best.  Truly a magnificent little community.

 

The Power of a Single Word

It’s official. The President has been anointed. He has garnered the big one. The top echelon of prizes. The brass ring. This would be wonderful, if only I could think of what his big accomplishment is.

He said the award is based on his "hope for peace in the Middle East" as one possible reason he might have received this. He said this award reflects not the achievement of one person, but the "hope of millions of people around the world. A hope for the world we want to live in."

That’s a good thing to hope for. Lots of people hope for that. How many Noble Peace Prizes should we make and hand out this year then? Six million, 10 million, 100 million? How many millions of awards would need to be manufactured to give one to every person who hopes for the same thing? How much air time would it take to announce all these prize winners? Could this create thousands of jobs right here in America alone?

His campaign promise of Hope and Change has worked well for him. The ‘promise’ even won him the prize. Wow. Powerful word, hope.

According to Obama’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, Obama himself has said one thing I do totally agree with, and that is "he" (sic) certainly has not done enough yet to earn it. I agree. Perhaps I’ll consider him worthy of the award based solely on his confusion over receiving it.

And then maybe it won’t bother me that handing out such an esteemed award as this one for a promise of hope has diminished the award itself.

No, it will still bother me.

OH NO!

It's a dilemma.....How will I part with her?

Beret and Scarf are knit.  Pleated skirt and jacket are sewn.  What fun this was!  Although she doesn't look like the same doll in the previous post, she is.  I didn't like her hair, nope, not at all.  So, she got a buzz cut and a new wig.  Much better!

All Dressed Up and Ready to Go!

This eighteen inch doll (not the 18 inch doll, but one that can actually be played with by a little girl!) is ready for my niece's daughter, Nicole, who has just started kindergarten.  The knitted coat and hat is from a pattern readily available online, http://www.abc-knitting-patterns.com/1013.html but I had to make numerous adjustments to the pattern.  I used the recommended sport yarn, but went down a size in needles, and shortened the length of the coat, and the length of the sleeves.  And, I didn't crochet the 'fur' edging, cuz I didn't like the way it looked.  So, I used a circular needle to pick up the stitches and knit it in the round.  All in all, I'm happy with the end result.  And I know Nicole will be as well.

I Still Don't Know

 

This is Michael, aka, Buster, my niece's son.  He's SWEET.  No, really he is.  This is Michael showing me his little electronic game, which he can maneuver and manipulate like crazy.  Michael patiently spent at least 30 minutes explaining all the ins and outs of this little game to me.  It was probably 30 of the best minutes spent on my vacation this summer (other than the minutes spent relaxing with my dd).  I loved listening to his teeny-tiny little child-like voice, watching his face become all serious and instructive-like.  I loved getting to put my arm around his soft little boy shoulders and spend 30 wonderful minutes with him all by myself.

However, I still don't know what this game is, or how to play it.  No offense to Michael's tutoring ability.  I think it's more a case of me being in love for 30 uninterrupted minutes.  My mind couldn't absorb anything other than the pure joy of it all!

Vacation Knitting

The Milkweed Shawl is done (scroll down for yarn details), but I warn you (should you decide to make one of these) the term "shawl" is an overstatement on this one. It's really a scarf, and would look good over a lightweight turtleneck sweater, or tossed loosely over a coat, but a shawl? Nope, not when it's made from sock weight yarn. If you want a real shawl, up the yarn weight and you'll have one!



See? NOT a shawl.
That being said, the work was enjoyable and relatively easy to work on while riding in a car that was going cross-country. The hardest part was trying to find something to use for a lifeline. Little towns do not, as a rule, contain local yarn shops. Went to two places in some small town in some state (they are all blurred in my memory right now) and found nothing. Next small town, nothing. Next small town, a dollar store, where I did finally find a ball of crochet thread. Bingo. Thanks, dollar store!

Stash Busting and My Sock Dilemma!

I bought this yarn from my lys about a year ago, thinking I would try making socks. I also bought the book, The Magic Loop, by Bev Galeskas, although I must add that the idea for magic looping came from Sarah Hauschka. She calls the idea for looping her "magical unvention." And magical it is. If you don't like using dpn's (as I don't), then this is a 'must do' for you, really. I've magic looped lots of things, and I like the process way better than using dpns.

However, my idea of knitting socks? Not a good one, after all. It's not that I couldn't knit them, and in fact, I have knit them. They're cute, and the possibilities are endless, and they're instant gratification in the knitting world. It's just that I hate wearing socks and luckily for me, I don't have to. Not ever! Living in Arizona makes wearing socks totally unnecessary. When I lived in MN I would buy socks when winter approached, because really, it's damn cold there in the winter and socks are just, well, necessary. Except for me evidently, because the socks I bought would just lay dormant in the drawer. I'd roll them up and keep them nice and orderly (all in a row, don't ya know), and look at them all satisfied that my drawer looked good and organized. I just wouldn't put them on my feet. My feet hate socks. So, this sock yarn just became a part of my ever-growing stash, until yesterday.

I saw this pattern at http://www.cosmicpluto.com (sorry, I tried linking this, but it doesn't want to link today) and immediately thought of my two skeins of Schoeller/Stahl Fortissima SockA (yes, sockA; no, it's not a typo). So, it's otn and I'm already on row 40. When done, I'll have one of these:



Nice, right? It's called "Milkweed Shawl." I have no idea why. Maybe someone will tell me why. I would guess it's because it resembles milkweeds, but never having seen one, I can't be sure. At any rate, I like it, and it will be mine!

Another WIP off the needles

This one I'm glad to be done with. I found the pattern to be boring, and I really got tired of it's non-portablness! 7 skeins of yarn, needles, instructions, scissors, a blunt-eyed sewing needle? Waaaay to much stuff to tote around.

I do like the finished product, though, and really love working with Knitpicks Palette Yarn. It's very yummy, and I have enough left to do a multi-colored shawl, or some fingerless mitts, or a hat or three. Time will tell.

DONE, and done again

First this:


And this, again, because my daughter wanted one. And, well, who can say no to a request from the best dd in the world?



These were my first attempt at lace, and I love it. The pattern repeats are like music, very rhythmic, very soothing, and create sort of a zen-type feeling of well-being. Not that I know much about zen-type feelings, really, but this is what I imagine they would be like. I'll definitely be knitting more lace.

On the Needles

Woah! Can I just say, this pattern is a bit like intrelac (which I've never done) and the results of someone's bad LSD trip. But, I've got it now, and like most things, it's not difficult once you 'get' the instructions. So far, it looks like this:



ETA: No, it's not a bit like intrelac!

Current Project

Casting on today...this scarf from Garnstudio Drops Design, DROPS number 103-3. Free pattern. By the way, this is a great site (www.garnstudio.com) for free patterns. This one will be for my sister-in-law, who is a quilter. I thought she would like the patchwork look of this design.




These are four of the six colors I'm using. The other two are very similar shades of purple/blue, and are laying in their own baggies with labels because I know me, and I'll mix those up for sure if I don't find a way to easily figure out which one is which. The yarn is KnitPicks Palette, fingering weight. Very soft.