After I finished the blue sampler, I immediately cast on a bunch of reds and golds for another throw.
Red is so hard to photograph, especially in my dark bedroom.
Once again, I use the Treasury for patterns. The sampler includes wool, silk, cotton, and some fun fur. Stash busting at its finest.
Last year, I discovered that I was in danger of being smothered by my yarn stash. What’s a crafty person to do when supplies are overabundant? Get crafting, of course. I organized my stash into color schemes: blues, reds, and naturals. The blue sampler throw was the first project I tackled. I just cast on and started knitting….
Miles and miles of stitches… enough to fit across my king-size bed.
Eventually, I became bored with stockinette, garter, and moss patterns so I opened up Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns to break up the monotony.
I was happy with the results. The only issue I had with this throw was running out of blue stash yarn before I got halfway up my bed but it is still snuggly on cold nights.
Crafting is going really slowly now. My daily schedule changed when BC started kindergarten and I don’t have as much free time. That seems backward, I should have more free time with him in school.
I have made a little progress on my quilt top using the rose fabric.
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| From October08 |
And I knit the Galway yarn till I ran out.
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| From October08 |
Then I felted the piece. You can see from the dog’s feet that it shrank quite a bit.
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| From October08 |
I washed the rectangle piece two times in hot water (with regular loads of laundry… trying to be moderately green). I am really pleased with the texture of the Galway felted yarn… so nice and nubbly, and not too frizzy.
I have had this pretty rose fabric for a while now.
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[This photo doesn’t really show the colors very well. The rose fabric is pretty close but is prettier in person. The solid fabric is a light yellow that coordinates with the background yellow of the rose fabric.]
I was looking for the “perfect” project for the rose fabric. It sat in the closet for a long time. I realized that there is no “perfect” project, and that any project was better than no project. I broke out my beginner quilting book and picked out a pattern.
There was one critical criteria for the pattern… I only had 1 yard of the rose fabric. I could have cut it up and used it in a scrap quilt but I really wanted to have something that showcased this fabric. I found a pattern, bought some coordinating fabric, and started chopping and sewing.
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I didn’t get too far along before my back started screaming. I don’t have a very good set up for sewing. I sit at the dining room table on a dining room chair. The ergonomics are excruciating.
I tried adjusting the sewing machine height with yoga blocks.
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It was better but my back still hurt.
After much research, I ended up putting the sewing machine back on the table. I put the yoga blocks under my feet and a lumber pillow behind me. Raising my feet and supporting my back was a 80% improvement. I think the final 20% will require tilting the sewing machine somehow and using an office chair. Also, better lighting would be lovely.
And, just in case you think I’ve forgotten how to knit, I started working on this:
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I don’t know what “this” is going to end up being. Does anyone else ever knit for the sake of knitting? No pattern just knitting? I do have some ideas for it but it is definitely a “I love to knit for the sake of knitting” project.
Hi!
I’m Mouse.
I want to show you my threads… or rather, my yarns. This outfit was handmade for me this year.
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| From September08 |
The inside of my jacket is not lined… I thought it should be lined but the designer couldn’t be swayed.
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| From September08 |
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| From September08 |
Raglan detailing with shoulder button closure.
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| From September08 |
The back looks as good as the front.
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| From September08 |
Take a closer look at these buttons! Cute!
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| From September08 |
Thanks for dropping by… take care!
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| From September08 |
Stash busting happened while I was away.
I was knitting this… thing?… while sitting with my mom in the hospital. One of the nurses was really enthusiastic:
“What are you knitting? It’s so PRETTY!”
Really?
Pretty?
Really?
You be the judge:
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| From September08 |
Either that nurse was the nicest lady in the world, or I don’t want to see her non-work wardrobe. Just saying…
The recipient of the… thing… chose not to show her face:
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| From September08 |
Do you blame her?
I finished a pair of socks.
Sock glamor:
Do you know how hard it is to get a decent sock shot using your own feet? I suspect sock knitters all know.
This shot looks like my feet are shy… or I have to goooo.
I took these pictures in the middle of the day, and I’m wearing shark jammies.
Sock info:
Yarn: Berroco Comfort Sock (50% nylon, 50% acrylic)
Pattern: Classic Sock Pattern from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
Needles: No. 3 steel dpns… how I wish I had some light bamboo No.3’s!
These are classic (hence the pattern name) top-down socks with heel flaps. I have big ankles (but not cankles… I hope) so I used the largest pattern size. It is a smidge loose so halfway between the medium and the large would have been a better size for me. Not that that stopped me from immediately starting another pair in the same large size. I refuse to stray from the pattern after losing my knitting mojo a couple months ago. I definitely recommend Nancy Bush’s book… it is working wonders for my sock mojo!
The yarn is okay. If you need a cool sock, this will do the trick. If you need warm socks, don’t use this yarn. The day I tried these socks on it was 63F in my house and my tootsies were so cold. Now it is 83F and my tootsies are comfy. Not that I’m wearing socks today because it is too hot… bare feet are the order for hot days when your a/c is broken.
I am so happy to be home. Vacation is exhausting… especially with a 5yo in tow. I am wiped out! But we had a great time visiting snow while we were there.
One very happy 5yo:
I took this picture of BC several hours after the snow started falling. The day before rain had melted all the snow. By the time the storm was over, the courtyard here was about 6 inches deep in snow with more falling. That may not be much for you all that live in snowy areas but it was plenty for one very happy little boy from Florida.
I had plenty of time for a vacation sock:
One sock… I finished the toe at home. As you can see, the second sock is on the way… can I avoid second sock syndrome? If I do, I’ll show it to you a modeled picture.
There was one very major mishap on the road. Fortunately, I had my medical supplies handy.
Lamb suffered a rear leg blow out. BC handed him to me and told me I could fix it. Such confidence! I had no sewing supplies with me and yarn was not going to do the job. Lamb got a bandaid. I was completely surprised that the bandaid worked! It is still working.
Lamb is a trooper.
I finished the bobbly, cably Frivol and my muse left.
Just like that – poof!
I tried to knit some socks with the nice, new yarn MC bought for me. The first try was too small… the second, too big… it gave me a headache to think about so I put it aside. The yarn probably needs to age in the stash before it can be knit.
I’m still waiting for inspiration. Seriously, a person might be driven to organize her craft area.
No, not that. I’m going to read a few books.
I’ve been busy here at Chez Caboodle.
Not too long after the last post, I took the kitties to their vet. Since these kitties are senior citizen cats, I had a full blood panel done to check for any problems, and to give us a baseline for their remaining years.
Marble is 12 years old. He’s my one-eyed, old-man cat. Even though he is a very strong, robust cat, he has always had delicate health so I was quite surprised when the vet announced him the apparent picture of health! Except that he has gained weight the last few years. He is mostly an indoor cat now, he used to be a mostly outdoor cat. Very little tree climbing goes on inside the house.
Frazzle is 13 years old. She is exceptionally dumb but so sweet, I don’t really care she can’t figure out that I moved the litter box over 2 feet. She has always been our healthy cat so I was surprised to find that she has signs of kidney problems. I’m not totally surprised since this is fairly common to cats. I lost one cat several years ago due to kidney problems. She lived many healthy years before it got the best of her. I anticipate that Frazzle has several healthy years ahead of her. In the meantime, I have banned our neighbor’s cat, Sammy, from sneaking in since he likes to chase Frazzle. She doesn’t need the stress (I don’t either).
Mr. Caboodle and I also managed to celebrate our 11th anniversary. We went to a nice restaurant for drinks and dinner. It doesn’t sound like much but it is because BC stayed with the in-laws without any drama. That is huge for us… and it’s a fairly new development.
MC gave me yarn for our anniversary. Isn’t he the sweetest? He obviously didn’t get the memo that I’m trying to do some stash busting. Oh well, I’ll suffer through it!
I managed to use some stash to complete a hat. Here is a very sick BC modeling it (he has a virus, a black eye, and a dirty face… the trifecta of childhood):
The pattern is Frivol. The stash yarn is Lionbrand Woolease.
I got the idea to knit Frivol from Nuttnbunny. Her version is much more colorful. And you can see the cables and bobbles better in her pictures.
Frivol is a very fun knit. I finally learned to make bobbles. I didn’t make them according to the directions but they seem very bobble-like despite that detail.
Since I’ve managed to mention just about every member of our family besides her… I leave you with the world’s most lickingest dog:
Knitting Caboodle 