Trim the Fringe

I have been going back and forth on trimming the loops and making regular fringe or leaving the loops on this afghan. This makes my decision for me.... Trim!

Dog Sweater

This dog sweater is a pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. I acutally used a Caron soft pink with Bernat Boa instead the Lion Brand yarns, I feel kind of guilty for that, but this is what I had on hand to try the pattern with. I have a few more colors that I'm going to try and now that I've done one by hand, I think it will be very easy to convert to the bulky machine. My cousin, the pet groomer, is getting requests for the upcoming cold season. I think I need to either get a small dog, or find a stuffed poodle someplace to use as a maniquin. I'm sure E.J. will opt for the stuffed one :)

DPN Rolled Holder

I finally had enough of having to size my dpn's and dig dig dig through my drawer to find a full set of the same size needles that I got busy the other night and made myself a roll up pocketed holder. I've numbered the slots by size, the front pockets hold the shorter (5"-6") sets and the back pockets hold up to 14" sets. As soon as I dig up some of my fabric paint, I'm going to permanently number them so I will always be organized. Well... as long as I put them away where they belong :) I used a safety pin to hold a few stitch holders and the last pocket holds a few crochet hooks.
Fold the top down, roll it up, wrap an elastic band around it ( I used a hair band) and Viola! Organized! No more digging through bags and drawers. I wish I would have made a pocket to hold my small sizer. Hmmm.... I saw a ring type needle sizer that I may have to buy and then I could just put it on the safety pin inside with the stitch holders. OH! I think I'll add another safety pin and use it to hold some stitch markers too! Perfect!

The USA Afghan is going to Canada!

Here it is. All done. I ended up knotting the fringe after all. It kind of looked like it was just coming unravelled without the knots. Now it has a more finished look, like it's supposed to be that way. I think next time I will make the knitted on band wider with a doubled up stitch pattern so it will show off the edge more. I did a pie crust edge on the sides. Alex thinks I should make some stars and add them to the blue sections. A budding designer?
He loves the blanket so much that he has begged me to let him have it when he goes home at the end of summer. He sleeps with it every night, even before I had the fringe done and just goes on and on about how it's "so warm and snuggly Grandma". What a kid! Guess my air conditioning is a tad bit cold for him. It's only Red Heart Super Saver and we all know that even though it is a very durable yarn, snuggly isn't one of it's attributes :) Oh, I used Soft Navy, White and Cherry Red. Maybe I can get some Red Heart Soft in the same colors. Now that would be snuggly!

Due to popular demand, I've put the instructions for what I did to create this afghan on my free pattern page. The link is at the right :)

Patriotic Afghan

It's almost done. Didn't quite make it for Independence Day, but there are several holidays that the red, white and blue are appropriate decor for so it will not go in the UFO closet. I hope to finish it this week and also finish up a couple of dog sweaters I've started. Having a 6 year old around makes knitting time a little difficult. Fortunately he has made friends with the neighbor boys so I'll get a little done while he is outside playing :)

The Grand Kits

The babies are tearing the house apart! If they can knock it down, over, chew it, spill it or just plain shred it, they are on it! I love it, they are sooo cute. My shins are nothing but scabs from their sharp little claws. I think they will be ready to find new homes this weekend, they are almost 8 weeks old. I'll need to start a new pair of socks and sit in front of the grocery store, then Mommy is off to the vet for her little tummy surgery.

A Creative Productive Day

I was really motivated today. I stitched up the fun fur dog sweater, ordered some 9 dpn's so I can do the legs and edges, made these 2 pairs of earrings (lousy picture but they shine and my camera still needs to see the doctor), I decided I wanted some really dangly long ones, put together my hubbies new barbeque and finished up the sock twins.

To Finish this Week!

Did I mention that I must be ADD? I admit it, I get bored too easily and I have absolutely no self disipline. My mood dictates what I do at any given moment and I have a gazillion UFO's around the house. These 3 I have picked to finish up this week.

The top 2 are dog sweaters, I'm excited about the furry one, I bought the pattern from the Lion Brand yarn website because I just had to make it. I've always felt sorry for those little dogs getting all shaved and I just think that having their own little fur coat will help them keep some of their dignity, while being all neatly groomed. My cousin Jan (it wasn't meningitis afterall, it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! She has a dog grooming business and like everything worth while, there are risks, but she is doing great now). Anyway, she mentioned that she gets requests for dog sweaters so I am working on some ideas for that and decided the faux fur was a must. I'll be trying out some of the other colored furry yarns too. What Fun!

The socks are almost done. I've had to put them down several times, because of being too nit picky about them matching up. I was on a mission and this may be the only time I bother, what a lot of tinking, but guess what? They are identical!!! I'm at the final toe decreases and it looks like I will have finally succeeded with my identical twins. Yippee!!! I'll post a better picture when they are done so I can brag about their perfection, right! ROFLMAO!!!

Continental Style

I was inspired by another blogger who was determined to master the Continental technique so I thought this dishcloth would be an easy piece to try it with. It definitely changes the gauge of your stitches. I put the arrow in just in case you can't find where I changed styles. Too me it's quite obvious, especially in real life. Who would have thought that guage would matter on a dishcloth.

Yes it's faster once you get the hang of it, but I learned something I didn't expect. I had to stop crocheting because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and my left thumb and forefinger would just cramp up in agony when I crocheted. That is when I started to knit, first with a machine because I thought my days of using my hands were numbered and the machine was an attempt to maintain my creative side, but when I tried by hand, I didn't know why, I didn't have pain like when I crocheted. Well, I now know it's because of how I hold the yarn. Continental style knitting holds the yarn the same way crochet does and it uses the same joints. So, although I have mastered the technique, I will not be using it. The trick was to use my right forfinger to hold the yarn around the needle to complete the stitch. I'm just happy that I mastered something that I thought I couldn't do :)

Baby Bonnet

Ok, here is the bonnet from Gina Ahren's Layette Set. I had a bit of trouble with the lace part, it's been along time since I did any of that type of work on the machine, and the chart doesn't divide evenly into the stitches for the bonnet. I started the chart pattern from the middle and worked out towards the sides so it worked out fine. I think I will knit a band on it to cinch it in and gather a little at the bottom, but all in all, another Gina success :) Oh, I didn't have the yarn the pattern called for so I used some cotton Knit CroSheen I had laying around. I think something a bit more elastic would work better.

Baby Blanket USM'd

And here is the baby blanket for E.J's co-worker. The top picture is a closeup of the double moss stitch edge. I sure like the look it gives to the edge but I think a fisherman rib might go faster. I'll try that for the next one. Below is a picture to show more of the blanket, because I haven't fixed my camera yet, I couldn't get a focused picture of the whole thing but you get the idea :)

After several requests for instructions on how to make this blanket, I've created a Free Patterns page. I'm not a pattern writer so I hope I was able to describe what I did in a way that makes it possible for someone else to successfully make the item too :)

OTM (on the machine:)

E.J. decided to tell me that he'd like a gift for one of his co-workers that just had a baby, soooo I'm whipping out a baby blanket on the super Bond today. It's a girl and I just happen to have a pink varigated from Caron Dazzelaire that's been waiting in the stash pile for just such an occasion :) It's a very simple blanket done in stockinette with a double moss stitch border. I guess this is how he justifies my expensive collection of machines, "Can't you just make something really fast?" Oh how little they understand, LOL! Since I'm doing the edging as I go, it takes longer to knit it up, but I really like not having to do any finish work once it's off the machine. Talk about wash and go! I'll put up a picture of it when it's done.

OTN

I'm currently re-making a pair of socks that I've started about a zillion times now. I finally gave in and asked for some help from the knitters on the sock list and I have taken their advise and am making them with 64 sts. As soon as I get some batteries, I'll take a picture and post it. So much for making something I know will work out so I can get calm! I'm still looking for the website I stole the sock earring picture from. So far I haven't gotten into trouble for sharing it here :) Maybe this is my pennance for not starting the lacey socks for my mother yet.

Sock Earrings AAAHHHH!!!

My camera needs batteries so I won't be posting my own pictures today, I just needed to vent about the tiny sock earrings I'm experimenting with. There are some beautiful pictures of sock earrings out there, Dawn's are my personal favorite. I saved the picture above so I could try to use it as a guide, they are perfect in size and proportion. Now I can't find the website so I can post the link. I hope she doesn't get upset with me for stealing her picture, I'll keep looking for the link and add it when I find it. I have found a few patterns online, I even experimented with making up my own and I just can't seem to get it to look as good as Dawn's do. Yes, I am jealous and I've put them down for a little while, I get too frustrated when I'm unsuccessful at something so I need to make something I know I can do to get my chi all calmed down :)

UFO Out of the Cupboard

This is a blurry picture of the squares I received from the Millenium Afghan swap from 1999. Just in case someone was wondering what they were :) The yarn we all used was Red Heart Soft in Navy or White and/or Wool Ease Frosted White. I'll be getting more yarn to finish it.

1st Double Bed Machine Knit Sock!

Hurray! I finally did it! I bought this wonderful double bed knitting machine by White a couple of years ago and I hate to admit it, but it intimidated me alot and I have only been able to bring myself to make swatches on it. That is until this afternoon. The manual had the pattern for this little sock so I bit the bullet and just did it and it worked! I am soooo happy!

The baby fingering yarn I used had a little trouble with the short rows and the toe decreases though. The yarn snapped in a couple of places and I didn't know it until after I was done. I'm not sure if I need to make my tension looser or just what the issue was for that, I'll have to jump on one of the machine knit groups and tap into some of the incredible experience out there and see if they can help. All in all, it's a very positive experience and I can see myself knitting the ribbing on the machine, switch to hand knit for the heel, put back on the machine for the foot and then finish the toe by hand. That would knock alot of the time out of it now wouldn't it? And talk about the best of both worlds! This is true luxury, crank out in a hurry when necessary and the zen feeling of hand knitting.

Slippers

My cousin, Jan, is in the hospital with Meningitis. It's horrible, she's been there for 3 weeks now, and I've been promising her a pair of these bootie type slippers for awhile. I hope they cheer her up. They are incredibly warm and soft. The yarn I used was from the store I hate to love, it's a chenille feeling kind of eyelash kind of super soft yarn called No Boundaries, a 100% Polyamide. The pattern is one that I memorized from High School when I took home economics. Knitting was one of the courses, along with sewing and cooking. I guess they wanted us young ladies to grow up to be good housewives. ROFLMAO!!!!! I have made about a gazillion pairs of these over the years and they are still requested by all who have had them.

OTN

I started these awhile back and decided it was time to finish up my UFOs. This is an adaptation of Lynn Hershberger's Mom's Fast Florida Footies. I used my standard cast on and anklet ribbed sock but took the no purl heel and the purled sole from her pattern. Since this is Regia and her pattern uses Cascade Fixation which has lycra and is more stretchy, my guage was way different. That's why I kind of made up a pattern with some "borrowed" ideas :) I'm going to try the pattern the way it is written too. I like the no cuff aspect of her pattern. OH, her pattern is at http://lynnh.com/patterns/florida.htm in case you don't already have it saved.

Ummm... wasn't my next pair of socks going to be a lace pattern for my mother? I must be procrastinating again :)

Fingerless Gloves From Sock Beginnings

They're almost done, just finish up the tipless fingers. I'm alot disappointed though, I tried very hard to make these identical twins and failed anyway. I pulled out from 2 different skeins, they were matching dye lots, and as you can see, I pulled out enough yarn, side by side, matching color for color and after 8 color changes thought I had found my repeat. Wrong. They match up until the middle of the palm, then the repeat changes. It seems that somehow when I was pulling out yarn and finding where they picked up the same I reversed the direction of the yarn from the skein. I'm not sure I'm making sense but if you turn the gloves around side by side....
you can see that the colors are changing in reverse. Oh well, another learning experience :) The other thing I learned is that I don't knit a very even 1x1 rib. No wonder I always prefer a 2x2 or bigger rib pattern. The next set I make will have stockinette knit fingers with just a little bit of rib at the tip. Oh, and I think I will choose a yarn with less of a contrast in colors next time, I think it looks ugly they way the fingers go, but E.J. likes them, so I guess that's all that matters since he's the one wearing them. and he says you can hardly tell that they don't really match. Bless his heart :)

Oh Dear! A New Craft?

Even though I've been knitting for years, I just recently started getting involved in hand knitting e-groups and I've just had to click on every link in every post on the sock knitters list. Wow, there is no end to the extra special talent in cyber space and the generosity of people to share their ideas and insights is beyond amazing. After my DH made his glove request, I realized that I would have to dig out some stitch markers and having seen some of the beautiful "Knitting Jewelry" available on the net, my regular old plastic rings/garbage bag twist ties wraped around a pen to form cirlces/tiny rubber bands, just would not do! I am not a jewelry maker or a bead crafter, but thank you Carol Duvall and the endless episodes that have been stored in my brain because I just new I could make those too. I'm not a very patient person and I wanted them now, not weeks later after an internet order, so I decided to run over to the "store I hate to love", looked over the beading shelf and picked up some stuff that I thought might work and VIOLA! My very own stitch markers. The very odd looking charm is actually a side view of a dragonfly. This was soo much fun, I'm going to have to buy some fancy charms to make some more. Then I can express my every mood, how many stitch markers does a knitter really need? I'll never know because I want lots! :)

The funny thing was after I figured out how to make my own, I got curious about what was on the net for jewelry making and I stumbled on a web page that someone had put up that described the exact same method to make their stitch markers as I had used to make mine. I should have known that I didn't need to recreate the wheel and looked it up online before I started :)

OTN

Well, I started the cuff on another pair of socks using Fortissima Mexiko last night, my darling husband (tongue in check) proclaims that this yarn "would make great fingerless gloves." I guess I should be grateful that he made his wishes known at this stage, I do believe I've got a wrist cuff instead of a leg cuff on the needles now :)

In the Beginning...

These are some of the first socks I ever made. They were done on my Incredible Sweater Machine, so was the mitten. I have the mates around somewhere, honest, after all it's been almost 10 years ago :) There were many more and they made wonderful gifts for those that don't have really sensitive feet and could feel the seam. I made all my machine socks using Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted weight. It worked great on Keyplate 2.