Monday, January 31, 2005

Secret Pal has begun... I 'm so excited.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I avoid Red Heart because it is so stiff. But, occasionally use Lion Brand for a few things

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I would love to learn to spin. I do crochet,just not much anymore. I prefer to knit
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
No allergies

4. How long have you been knitting?

I taught myself to knit at eight years old. I used to go to a Girls Club program after school. They had a few books with instructions. I have been knitting for 37 years, YIKES!!!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Amazon Wish List

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Lilac or Rose

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Yes, I love Sour jellybeans

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I like to sew and stained glass
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

No MP3's. But my computer plays CD's. I love Eva Cassidy, Allison Krauss, Dixie Chicks, Stevie Knicks , Natalie Merchant. I guess mostly women artists.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?

Blues purples, reds. I guess more of a winter palette

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have a wonderful husband and three fantastic grown stepchildren. I have a gorgeous cat named "Peaches". She pretty much rules the roost in our house.


12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

I have only been married for four years after being single my whole life. I waited 39 years for this wonderful man. So, I would say my dream is to have as much time with him as possible. Life is wonderful and I feel very blessed.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I do not have a favorite...Anything that is soft. I have never used Alpaca, it is on my list one things to try.


14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Red heart and anything that is scratchy or stiff


15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

I have been obsessed with mittens . Most recently I have been wanting to make some fairisle hats.


16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I love lace and cables and socks are one of my favorite things to knit.

17. What are you knitting right now?

A pair of socks and the "Bias Stole"

18. What do you think about ponchos?

I like to knit them for others...But they look horrible on me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Both ,I tend to use circulars more often

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I am a big fan of Addis. I have a ton of Bernat aero needles too.


21. Are you a sock knitter?

Yes, I like to knit 2 socks on 2 circulars. I always have a pair of socks as my portable project.


22. How did you learn to knit?

I guess I answered this one above


23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Happy to report I have no UFO. I have a thing about having too many projects going. I only ever have the main project and a pair of socks. Weird , huh?

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I love cats and dogs ( lost my beloved dog two years ago). I am not in to animated characters.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter

26. Is there anything that you collect?

I am not a collector of anything. But, I LOVE to read and have a very full bookshelf.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Keeping busy...

Thanks everyone for the comments about Peaches. Of course we just think she is beautiful. She does bring much joy to our lives. I also love to feed the birds... We have many feeders that I keep up all year long. I am never sure if I am torturing Peaches or she enjoys them. As you can see from the picture, I have been busy. I'll start with the felted clogs. The Gjestal yarn from Elann required six cycles to felt. I was getting a little nervous that I would have to scrap them. They finally felted short enough....But, I really wish the width has shrunk a bit more. I generally use Lamb's Pride yarn. It felts beautifully in my machine. The Gjestal is fairly fuzzy too. I will try another pair that is not a Men's size 11 to see if that makes a difference. I finished the socks which were for me. I was using the "Simple Sock" pattern from Socks Soar on Two Circular needles. I had made the men's size thinking I needed the width in the cuff. When I tried them on to start the toe , they were too big. I was just about to frog them both..... When my husband yelled"Don't you dare! Can't you finish them off for me?" So, now Bruce has a lovely pair of socks to wear ice fishing under his boots. I just love the way the yarn striped. The felted hat is for my sister's birthday in February. The picture does not do it justice. The color is a purple heather shade from Cascade 220. It was my first time using the Cascade, it felted beautifully. In other news....I had a crown put on my tooth yesterday. My mouth is still tender today form all the poking around. The crown will cost $900.00. It is going to take me forever to pay that bugger off. I will continue to knit out of my stash for quite awhile. $900.00 could by a bunch of gorgeous yarn. What the heck was I thinking?

Bruce's clogs/

Socks/

Mary Jane's hat Posted by Hello

Friday, January 21, 2005

Peaches and clogs..

I just had to share a couple of pictures of Peaches with you. Bruce had downloaded a screensaver from mangler.com. It is a fishing site where he orders bait. It is the funniest screensaver ,with bass swimming around chasing bait. The other night we were watching a movie....She jumped up on the computer desk and started batting at the screensaver. She is totally mesmerized by the thing. She has brought much joy to our life. We lost our dog almost two years ago. I had brought Peaches home from the shelter about six months before Brandy died. She has certainly helped us along these last two years. I just finished a pair of Felted Clogs for Bruce. They are gigantic.... I am going to felt them tomorrow. I used the Gjestal Naturgarn No. 1 from Elann. I am hoping that it felts as well as the hat . I still did not find a size 13 24 inch Addi Turbo needle. I made do with a 29 inch and a 16 inch. When in doubt "Improvise".... I want to finish my socks before I cast anything else on the needles. I have this thing about too many projects going at one time. I am always amazed when reading blogs. Some people have five or six things going at once. I would be totally overwhelmed. I have been trying to decide about dropping out of the "RAOK" ring. There are over 200 members and I can't seem to get around to read all the blogs. I fooled around with bloglines . I was not having any luck getting it to work. I always seem to stumble around when adding things to my blog. I have been learning as I go. It is -2 degrees as I finish up this post. Is Spring just around the corner? Also, I wanted to thank everyone for the comments about my mittens. I am going to block them this weekend. Wish me luck.

Peaches/

Peaches fishing Posted by Hello

Felted clogs/ Posted by Hello

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Mittens and socks...

Well... I finished the "Lapland Mittens". They are TOO small for my hands. I did get some advice from Beth to try aggressively blocking them. Take a look at her gorgeous "Baltic Mitten". These were so fun to knit. I just have no one to knit them for in my family. My stepdaughter do not wear mittens. My sisters and nieces said they are nice but not their style. I guess I can knit a few pairs for myself. I have invested in "Magnificent Mittens, "Mostly Mittens" and "Folk Mittens". I am going to take the other two books to family and see if anything catches their eye. I am working on my socks. I am almost finished with the gussets. They always seem to fly after the gusset. I love to knit my socks two at a time. You never have to worry about the second sock syndrome this way. I was going to cast on a pair of felted clogs. I realized today I don't have a size 13, 24 inch needle. I called my LYS and they are out of them for a week or so.I plan on making many clogs to put away for next Christmas. I think I will wait to felt them till closer to the end of the year. One of the pair of socks that I made for Lacey were too small. I made them about four month's before Christmas. Well, she is seven and growing like a weed. So any socks I make for the girls I will add a bit of length . I was looking at Lacey's socks that I made with sock yarn from Elann (their house brand). They have only been washed 3 times and are pilling . Has anyone had this problem? The pair of Opal socks I made are holding up beautiful. I would love to hear some of your favorite brands of sock yarn. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

Lapland Mittens

/Socks Posted by Hello

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Folk Mittens....

Look what I made!!!!!!! This is the Lapland Mitten from Folk Mittens. I have been dying to try these since I have seen them on Sandy, Stephanie, Vicki and many others blogs. They are addicting...It is like watching a puzzle come together. I was totally fascinated my the little braid in the beginning of the pattern. I have worked a quarter of the way on the second one. Only one problem.... They do not fit my chubby hands. They are a Women's medium and I went up one size on the needle. I used Galway worsted weight wool for yarn. I showed the mitten to my sisters and nieces tonight. They all said,"Ohhhh, that is nice....But not my taste". I was sadly disappointed as I had planned on making many of them. Speaking of mittens. I forgot to tell you all about my "Hat and Mitten Tree" at work. It was a huge success. I had about 60 pairs of mittens and 30 or so hats and a few scarves. I gave them all to the homeless shelter in my town. It was such a rewarding experience. I will definitely make it a yearly event at the salon.Think I will put on a pot of coffee and read some blogs. All for now...

Lapland Mitten Posted by Hello

Friday, January 07, 2005

Hats abound...

As you can see ...I have had "Hats" on my mind and needles.These two hats were made with "Lamb's Pride", one Bulky and the other 2 strands of worsted weight. I used
Helen's Fabulous Fulled Hat pattern. It really is a great easy pattern. I also have just felted a dark grey one made with Gjestal Naturgarn No. 1 from Elann. I just finished shaping it a few minutes ago. I like this yarn.... It is a wee bit hairy, but made a nice firm fabric.It took four cycles to felt to the right firmness. I will definitely order more of this for felted clogs. The socks are what I am working on right now. I love the striping of the yarn. It is called Fun and Stripes. I just love the colorway. I had bought this yarn on Ebay last year.I have enough sock yarn for six pairs of socks in my stash. I want to use it up before I buy anymore. My sisters and nieces all received two pairs of socks for Christmas. They have been raving about them all week. Time to start knitting for next Christmas. I also have a confession to make "I knit dishclothes". I made eighteen of them through the year for Christmas presents for friends and family. Everyone begged for more for next Christmas. They are a nice portable project for the car or in between customers.Time to go shape my hat a bit more. Have a great weekend everyone.

Kathy's Hat

/LeAnne's

/Socks Posted by Hello

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. We just arrived home late last night. We had traveled to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania for the holiday week. We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. We arrived back home before the ice storm. I always get so nervous traveling this time of year.Our trip down was a long and treacherous one. I started and completed a "Coronet" hat for Lacey. I even knitted for five hours in the dark. Am I good or am I good? I visited "The Yarn Basket" while I was in town. I was in there for two solid hours.... I was so overwhelmed I could not make a decision. I ended up being practical. I bought three skeins of Lamb's Pride , a couple of skeins of Cascade 220. The Cascade 220 is for a felted hat for my sister for her birthday. I actually am almost finished with it. I bought the Night on the town pattern. These bags are just adorable. I made two of them while on my trip. There were so many yarns to chose from, many things I have only seen on the internet. It is amazing how some yarn looks totally different in person. I have two felted hats that have been drying while I have been away. I will post some pictures later in the week. Hope everyone had safe and happy holidays.