Good intentions . . . .

Every year I have good intentions.

I promise myself that I will start my holiday crafting/knitting/sewing early -- like in January. 

And, every year I break that promise.
This means the months leading up to Christmas are very busy.

Knitting scarves for the grand-daughters.

Sewing a baby quilt for a baby girl due in December.

And sewing pj pants for all the grandbabes. I was too busy with all the cutting out, stitching up to get a picture -  use your imagination. 

(And, if you are going to imagine a picture of the pj pant construction - please also imagine that my sewing room is clean and all the pj pants are finished and in gift bags under my completely decorated Christmas tree.  Hey - if your going to use your imagination - go big!)

P.S.   I swear, next year I'm going to start early (and I mean it this time !!!)

Can't believe I really did it . . . . .

My very first 'Pumpkin Hat' !!

I'm so pleased and proud all at the same time -- because, I made a hat and it's so cute I can hardly stand it.

After struggling for 2 years with the whole knitting with the 'dreaded double-pointed needles of doom' -- I tried using two circular needles to 'knit in the round' (thank you Jane for that amazing tip). That did it -- something in my poor dyslexic brain clicked and this summer, I made a hat for Laney. Now, mind you, it was entirely too big -- but, I had the technique down.

Then last month I made a little pink/brown hat and it fit just fine. Which made me buy a skein of orange yarn (Plymouth Encore) and immediatly start knitting a pumpkin. For the base of the hat I used my notes from the 2nd hat (written in my handy-dandy spiral notebook that's all pink and zebra print - keeping notes in a cool notebook makes me think I'm stylish). I finished this bitty pumpkin hat over the weekend and my only bobble was on the stem. In order to knit the I-Cord stem, I had to consult at least three knitting books before I found instructions I could actually understand.

But, I did it --

and isn't it cute ?

Did I ask you that already ???

P.S. I've already cast-on another hat

Weekend plans . . . . .

Just look at that forecast -- it's predicting Hot & Hot ---

followed by even more HOT

Welcome to July in Oklahoma !

And, here's a sample of what I will be doing this weekend --

Reading, knitting and enjoying the wonderful benefits of cental air conditioning.

Please notice I'm putting my first 'Jane Market Bag' to good use.

Bag 'Recipe'

This past fall, my friend Jane and I took a Felted Bag class at our local yarn shop. I fell in love with felting -- and, although, I'm certainly not an expert on either knitting or felting -- by trial/error, I've developed a 'recipe' for creating felted bags.

For a small bag -- with size 13 needles and 100% wool yarn (using two strands of yarn), cast on approximately 18 to 24 stitches. Knit plain old garter stitch until you've knit a rectangle, bind off loosely. With a circular (size 13), pick up stitches all around the knitted rectangle and knit in the round to almost the size you want your bag to be -- place stitch markers to mark button-hole handle placement. Between markers, bind off for both handles, next round cast on the number of stitchers you bound off +2 or 4 stitches. Continue knitting in the round for 4-6 more rows. Bind off loosely and trim any loose ends. For a little fancy touch, you can add a strand of fuzzy yarn for a fews rows in the body of the bag - this won't felt but will add some texture to your bag (see the two light blue rows). As you can see, the pre-felted bag is about 8 1/2 x 11 inches. Felted bags can be made in any size - just remember that the knitted bag will felt 40-60% in stitch height and at least 20% in stitch length. With that fact in mind - you will need to knit your bag larger than the finished felted bag. More information can be found on Raverly.

Place the unfelted bag in a cotton pillow protector (with zipper closing) along with a couple of tennis balls. Set your top-loading washer on hot water setting on lowest water level. When machine begins to agitate, add your bag (in the pillowcase protector). Set a timer for 6 minutes and check bag by removing from hotwater (a pair of gloves is handy for this process because that water is hot !) -- if you still see stitch definition, put bag (in the pillow protector) back into the washer and agitate for additional 3-5 minutes. This is not a process you want to wander away from -- stay close to the washer and check the felting progress often. When felted to your liking, squeeze as much of the hot water as you can before removing from the washer. Rinse bag in cold water and then roll in a towel to remove excess water. At this point, I usually throw the felted bag into the dryer with a couple of towels and dry for 15-20 minutes on low. Remove from dryer and place folded towel inside bag to continue drying overnight. I find that it's better to have the towel be a really tight fit to give the finished bag a smoother finish. Remove the towel and let air-dry overnight, remove towel and continue to air-dry for a couple of days. Beware -- you can't make just one of these bags -- they are totally addictive !

A 'beanie' bear & a bit of 'de-cluttering'

Chunky Knit Beanie

Ms Bear volunteered to model the finished beanie hat. Actually she didn't volunteer -- she was drafted -- but, she was a very good sport about the whole photo shoot thing. A quick & easy knit in chunky yarn using large needles. Knitted over the course of an evening and I have plans to knit more 'beanies' for gifts. Loved this pattern. What's not to love -- knitting a hat without using the 'dreaded double-pointed needles'! So.Cool. Check out the pattern over at http://a-friend-to-knit-with.blogspot.com/ clever/funny/talented young woman. One of my favorite blogs.

A little 'de-cluttering'

Finally sorting out my collection of cookbooks. Went from 3-1/2 shelves of cookbooks to just 2 shelves -- found cookbooks that I didn't even know I had or where they came from. And, did some serious cleaning on those dusty shelves. Boxes & boxes of cookbooks to be passed on to sisters, nieces and friends -- I'm certain all the books will find good homes.

Craft of Choice (at least for now)

In the crafting department, sewing & quilting are both on the back burner right now --

Because by the end of my work day, my back is letting me know it's time for some rest and hot packs. And, if you didn't know, it's extremely difficult to use a sewing maching from a prone position. Therefore, my craft of choice at this time is knitting. Here's my current favorite knitting project -- you need to understand that this is not my only knitting project -- it's just the one I'm being faithful to right now.

Mistake Rib Scarf which I'm so enjoying -- just enough knit/purl to be interesting.
Size 11 needles
Berroco / Foliage yarn -- color 5940

Fiber Therapy

After all these pretties were tucked away for another year and the old year was winding down.

The New Year was suddenly here -- which meant I needed a new knitting project. Of course, I could have picked up any of a number of unfinished projects (both knitting and sewing) -- but, where's the fun in that !

Behold my first project of 2009 - - - a square afghan I'm knitting for me, myself, and I.

Simple stitches, chunky yarn and large needles. An almost mind-less project. I think I'll name it -- 'Blue Karma'. Whatever it's name -- it's certainly a very soothing project to knit. Just what I needed after all the rush and busy-ness of the holidays.

By the way - the 'fiber therapy' must be working and Hubby has noticed. Monday night I was close to running out of yarn and on Tuesday morning I had a call at work from Willie Jay. He was on the north side of the city and wanted to know if he should run by the yarn shop and pick up more yarn for me. Such a sweet man !!

Details:
James C. Brett, Marble Chunky (in a huge 200g skein)
Color: Sandpiper
Retails for $11.99.
Two strands of yarn worked on size 17 needles using a modified 'Dish Cloth' pattern

Jane's Pretty Hat

Last night at 'Stitchers' we all admired Jane's latest creation -- a beautiful hat for her sister. It has a very nice lace edge - - - -

and an amazing swirly crown - - -

I simply cannot imagine knitting something like this -- with those dreaded 'double-pointed needles of doom'. And, I do admire Jane for sticking with this pattern even though she claims to have knitted and ripped out far too many times to count. She's very proud of this hat and we are even prouder of her !!!

Note: Although we are happy for Jane with the completion of her hat -- we aren't that happy about the reason for her hat. You see, her sister is battling breast cancer and this will be one of many 'Chemo Hats' she will be wearing in the coming months. We send prayers/good thoughts to Ilo (and her family) and she will be the most stylish patient in the treatment center.

Possibilities

- Moda Charm Pack

- tote bag pattern

- knitted shrug pattern for a grandbabe

- lovely brown/pink fabric

- Snowman fabric for my collection

- 2 or 3 (or more) ideas from crafty bloggers

Many possibilites for creating - - - - and, my most important creating supplies are in place on the shelf above my sewing corner.

Reference books

knitting needles

buttons

pins

Hershey Chocolate Kisses !

Learning new things . . . .

Last Saturday -- my friend Jane & I attended a knitting class at the new yarn shop in town: Sealed With A Kiss-OKC. Very cute shop (love that bright green).

Lots and lots of lovely fiber to pet/fondle.

Friendly Staff. And, Laura -- the very patient knitting instructor.

Because you see it has to take huge amount of patience to teach this '50-Something', left-handed, dyslexic, grandmother how to knit 'short-rows' to form a round base for this knitting project.

I'm telling you - Laura deserves a raise. Because it took me 2 hours just to knit the base! Seriously people -- two hours!! Of course, when the base finally started taking shape (and I remembered to actually 'count' my rows - duh !) -- the instructions made perfect sense to me. And, after the base was completed, it was just a matter of stitching the ends together, picking up stitches and then knitting round and round for 20 or so rows (there's that silly counting thing again). Most of the knitting beyond the base was done at home and when I finally bound off the stitches, it was time for the fun part of this project.

My little project took a little turn in my washing machine (hot water cycle on lowest water level setting) in a zippered pillow case (and two tennis balls). After the felting process was to my liking - it was rinsed in cold water, rolled in a towel to squeeze out the excess water and stretched over a 'form' to dry for a few days. Who knew that Corning Ware could be an important knitting tool ?!

This is my finished project -- a small felted bowl.

It is lumpy and a bit bumpy in spots.

But, I love it !And, I've already cast on for another bowl.

See, you are never too old to learn new things -- like counting !

It's going to be hot -- so, bring out the wool !

This is the forecast for the next seven days.

This forecast means my garden will be blooming (which in turn leads to lots of watering). I will also be digging out my Capri pants, short sleeve shirts and flip-flops. So, if Summer is almost here -- why am I looking at knitting one of these -- using wool yarn ??

Knitting is a crazy hobby (obsession) !!

Building (or Knitting) a Log Cabin

It's been stormy/rainy here on the Southern Plains -- which means not much gardening time the past couple of days. But, I've been keeping busy in the evenings -- adding more 'logs' to my blanket.

This pattern is becoming addictive -- can't wait to add more colors. It's interesting to see it in a picture like this -- makes me realize that the deep purple I have in line for the next pair of 'logs' is a good choice -- I think the purple will go along with the brick red very well.

More showers are predicted tonight -- and, more 'logs' will be added to my 'cabin'