Friday, May 24, 2013

FO Friday.........

Well...it almost feels like cheating as I just showed you this Wednesday as a work in progress but I did finish it and I rarely have FO's so as little as it is I'm celebrating! LOL!


 This was my first knitted wash cloth and I was really happy with the pattern, the yarn and how it turned out.  I'll be making more of these in Knitpick's Dishie yarn and also in this Grandmother's Favorite Wash Cloth pattern.  I did cast on another cloth; this one is the famous Ball Band pattern in 2 colors.  It's a little more detailed in the pattern so not sure I can watch t.v. with it......yet! LOL!  I'm using circular steel needles and I think I'm going to order some wooden "sticks" instead.  I like wood the best and sticks the best too!
Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

WIP Wednesday.......

I ordered this material and it is being washed and dried as I speak.  I don't wash fabrics I am going to quilt as I like the "puckery' look they get when they get washed and dried after being sewn but with clothing or anything else it always gets washed, dried and ironed first.  This material is going to be made into pillowcases with a contrasting cuff and will have crocheted edging.  I've never done either so we shall see how it all turns out....good I hope!
I'm almost done with Grandma's Favorite Knitted Dish Cloth, another first in knitting. I'm really enjoying this pattern and I can watch t.v. and knit it without messing up!  Hurray!  I'm also loving the Knitpicks Dishie yarn that I'm using.  I highly recommend it and I like it much better than Peaches and Creme.  I'll be making lots of these and may be selling them on my blog and at the Farmer's Market too.....we'll see.  But this one is for a very special cousin of mine.  She doesn't know it yet but she is my new "product tester"! LOL!


The I-cord for my chair pad just goes on and on and on......it looks like a pile of snakes.  But it's another great t.v. project or audio book project as I could do it blindfolded about now! LOL!  I need 27 feet and I now have 12 so almost halfway there!  Yippee!  Oh, and Ruth, yes, it will get wound up into a circle for my chair pad and sewn together by hand.  You could actually do any shape you wanted as it is so flexible....even a square or a rectangle if you wanted.  I'm thinking on mine that each one will be a different color.  I used a bulky washable wool.

I have many other projects in progress but these are the only ones I've made any progress on this week.  I can't wait to see all of yours as it is always inspiring!  Take care!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Finished a couple books...........

I almost forgot to blog as I have been "glued" to the weather channel watching the tornadoes coming this way!  Please say a prayer for the people in Oklahoma who have been devastated!
Here's what I finished this week.....


I was amazed how this book held my interest, maybe I really am reverting back to my childhood.  The story line was good and although the main characters are the 2 young twins there are also the older twins and the parents and plenty of other adult characters with a little mystery, adventure and comedy all rolled into one.  A nice sweet story to go off to dreamland with and a nice visit back to one of my childhood favorites.


A great theme and many women could benefit from reading this and treating themselves at least as good if not better than they treat others.  But for me.....been there, done that and I learned it awhile ago..... not nearly soon enough but at least I learned it and now I AM The Queen!  If you already know you're the queen than you need not read this but if you want a road map on how to become one, this is a good one! And fun!
I was going to start reading my "classics" and I had picked out Uncle Tom's Cabin to read but in prepping to move I decided to read other books that I think I might not take with me unless of course they turn out to be SO fantastic that I will never want to part with them.  This one has been on my shelves for quite awhile and it looks like a good "summer read" maybe?  I've never read Ms. Siddons but I've heard good things about her although I don't always appreciate what the majority likes.  (Oh, I'm such a rebel!)  But it is highly acclaimed by all the top book reviewers etc. so we'll see.  "12 year old Emily Parmenter survived her mother's abandonment and her beloved older brother's death and now finds purpose in training her father's magnificent spaniels...and refuge in the magic of Sweetwater Creek.


For non-fiction I'm reading a new book that I've had my eye on for awhile and it has to do with maybe selling some "wares" on my blog.....but I need to learn a few things first so I'm reading this book.  It was highly rated on Amazon.  I'm curious if anyone else has read either of these new books I've picked...if so let me know what you thought.
Have a safe week and once again, my prayers go out to all the people affected by the tornadoes.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

YOP Update

Here we are again........and I have new stuff going on....I love starting projects.....finishing is the hard part! LOL!
Here is my chairpad #1 and it calls for 9 yards of I-cord so I broke it down to 27 feet so I could feel like I was getting somewhere and it helped....I now have 9 feet done and that is 1/3 of one chair pad!  Yippee!  Like I said before...it's a great project for doing while watching t.v. or otherwise what I call "distracted knitting".  I'm thinking since I didn't go with the "rainbow" chair pad that I might make each one a different color because I'm pretty sure I will get REAL tired of knitting red I-cord for 4-6 chair pads!

 Okay, this isn't on my YOP list for this year but I am knitting some wash clothes for a cousin of mine and I was planning on having them on the next YOP list so what the heck.......I love this variegated "dishie" cotton yarn from Knitpicks.....I'm using Grandmother's Favorite Dish Cloth pattern which is free on Ravelry and I'm loving it!  
 I just realized....I'm really "ramping up" for YOP 2014 simply because my remaining YOP 2013 projects are all HUGE.....I've been doing some ordering and setting in supplies......lots of wash cloth yarn and a blanket kit...WHAT??????  Am I nuts?  Another blanket?  What is wrong with me? LOL!  It's a small one though and I've had my eye on it for a long time but I will need to practice some skills before I tackle it.  What is this about "there are only 2 stitches in knitting"?   Crazy talk.....what the heck is a cf4?  I had no idea what I was getting into!  There's a "chart" involved which I have never done and "cable" stitches... and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
 Then there was that other project in the Nicki Trench book....another blanket....I think I need therapy, I have a "blankie" problem...I'm sure it stems from my Mother wanting to wash mine all the time when I was little.  The funny thing is I don't realize it until I've already started "another blanket"!
Anyway, I had to just try out this pattern....again, just "prepping"  for YOP 2014 mind you.  I discovered these are really tiny and you need 432 of them or some ungodly number.  I think I'm going to need a lot of hand-holding this next year! LOL!

I'm also making a quilt for my grandson, Uriah, who's birthday is in July...........


and I decided (quite late in the year mind you) that I want to do an ornament a month so I started my first cross stitch Christmas ornament.  I'd like to join a group for this but not sure they'll take me this late in the year.  I'm going to make all kinds of ornaments for all kinds of holidays.  I used to cross stitch a lot and I still have all the materials and supplies and books so this is a very economical hobby for me.  I am constantly inspired by Ruth of My Spare Moments who has 8 children and manages to get so much accomplished!  You go Ruth!
Oh boy, I'm tired just reading my own post!  I better go get some of that stuff worked on!  Have a great week!