The 11’s have it

So, it looks like the size 11 needles will be okay for the Hoodie project. The after-washing gauge came out to 3 st = 1 inch on the nose. Good enough for me. As I said; growing boy and all. He may grow another inch by the time he gets to wear this hoodie.

On the hat front; the “Warm and Ready” Knitter's Winter 2007 pattern was such a quick knit that I actually made two!

I finished the first last night and then worked the second up to the shaping. It was a quick-to-finish project this afternoon. Yeah! I have a hunch I’ll do a couple more of these before all is said and done.

We have a winter storm warning for some nasty weather this coming weekend. Hopefully that will give me some time to get going on the Hoodie for Eli and at least one more hat done.

If you’re in the path of the storm, I hope you get to stay in and knit like I plan to do!

Have a happy, safe and warm weekend.

A Day at the Spa….

I wish. Well, the swatches had their “spa” visit today. That is, they had a soak in the sink:

And they are now resting after a mini-massage:







The top swatch is knit on size 11’s and may do the trick (and save me from the dastardly 14 inch long straight 13’s); I was getting 3.25 stitches = 1 inch with the size 11. If it measures that close once it's dry, I'll probably go with those needles (since he's gonna grow). The bottom swatch is the first one I knit on the 10.5’s. I'm giving these swatches the full treatment; since this is cotton yarn, so the next step once they are dry is the hang test. I still want to see what the yarn "does" after the swatch hangs up for a day or so. (For those unfamiliar with cotton's properties - it can have a tendancy to grow lengthwise - sort of like little boys).

Other than that and some house cleaning; I worked on another hat. There was a minor tragedy when the cable on the circular needles broke. (That’s what I get for buying “cheap” needles – I found these no-name bamboos on clearance at a discount store). Ugh… no need to panic, though. The stitches are pretty firm and I picked them up with a set of dpns and kept going round. I did foray into my cache of aluminum needles, I do have a set of 16" number 8’s (but no size 13 circulars at all) if I really want to go back to working in the round, but so far the dpns are fine and the hat is near the decreasing point where I’d have to switch to dpns anyway. Onward I say!

It’s Gonna Take Some Math…

I started swatching for my grandson Eli’s Christmas gift (Santa Cruz Hoodie from Knit 2 Together). I think I might have to spend a little time in remedial math on this one. The pattern guage is 12 st = 4 inches if I did the division right that’s 3 stitches to the inch. So far on size 10.5 needles (recommended size in pattern); I’m getting 4.5 stitches to the inch (and I knit big). I’m think that I will just go ahead and knit the full 5” square swatch and give it the spa treatment just to be sure before I panic. But, that said, I will also cast on with a size 13 needle (groan) just to see what happens. The problem is as some of you sock knitters might appreciate, using size 13’s after working many socks and hats on smaller needles is like knitting with tree trunks. Plus, I’m reasonably sure without checking that I don’t have any circulars in 13. (Grrr). So, the next rational thing to do…. is THE MATH. I may have to actually drag out a calculator and figure out how the swatch numbers can be used to come up with number of stitches to get the correct measurements for the pattern. I’m pretty sure this is do-able because the pattern is mostly stockinette stitch and seed stitch borders. No fancy lace or other stuff to have to take into consideration if I have to fudge a little to make it work. Wish me luck.

Oh, I did finish the Koolhaas hat today. Much fun and pretty, too. Look:

(sorry the picture doesn't do it justice - very grey outside today)

So on that note, I think I’ll get back to my knitting. Who knows, maybe I’ll even check my needle stash to see if I have a neglected size 13 circular

Happy Monday

I hope everyone had a not-too-stressful weekend. We had a quiet thanksgiving. It’s hard now since the kids are so far apart and none of them are in a position to travel much. DH had to work on Friday which took us out of the position of traveling anywhere as well. We would have liked to go see either of our parents, but that didn’t work out. So we had a quite day, just us and the football games. We also took time to go see a movie. This is a treat for both of us, but a rare occurrence since neither of us likes the environment at movie theaters. (There are just too many people who don’t have a clue how to behave in public). Anyway, we saw the movie August Rush. I don’t usually go around publicly endorsing movies, because there is already plenty of advertising, but if you like a movie that has you leaving the theater saying “wow” … this is the one to see. We will definitely be adding the soundtrack to our CD collection. The story was really good and the actors did a great job of conveying the emotional content. Like I said, if you like a feel good movie, go see it, you won’t regret it.
I got some knitting done, but not so much that I didn’t treat it like a holiday. I finished 2 out of 3 hats that I’d hoped to get done and started the third, not so bad. These two purple ones are basic hats using a 91 / 90 stitch pattern and improvising on the details. One is a two-color snowflake pattern the other is a basket-weave stitch.

The 3rd hat which is in progress is Jared’s Koolhaas hat from IK holiday knits. The twisted cables took a little effort to get the hang of, but once I did it started to get faster. So far I like the look of it. I took a good look at my wool-ease stash, and the goal is to make hats using up these 7 skeins of yarn. That will put me at 21 out of my goal of 20. If I get all these knit and still have time left before we give them to the shelter, I’ll do some more with the partial skeins.

I decided the other two gifts on my Christmas knitting list could take a back seat to hats because I still have a full week after the target date for hats and that should be enough time to knit those two. It’s a plan. I’ll let you know if it works out that way (tee, hee).

A Prayer of Thanks

God has created a new day, Silver and green and gold. Live that the evening may find us Worthy his gifts to hold. Lord bless not only meat and drink, But what we do and what we think. So that in all our work and play, We may grow better every day. (From Table Graces; Prayers of Thanks, Peter Pauper Press) 5 things I am thankful for: 1. A loving merciful God who gives me a fresh start every day. 2. My family; my parents who still have their health and vitality, my siblings and their families; my Husband; my daughters and step-daughters; my grandsons and my crazy cats. The love they provide gives me strength and encouragement. 3. A clear mind and able hands. 4. A home to live in and enough to eat. (Also, yarn to knit with). 5. The friends and acquaintances that lend their encouragement and help me along the way. Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

The Pattern

If you liked the mitten decoration; here's the pattern. This has not been test knit, so let me know if you find any issues. I needed put it here before I could link to it in ravelry! Supplies: Yarn: 1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Cream (or other worsted wt Yarn) Needles: 2 size US 6 circular needles and 1 (set of 4) US size 6 double point needles (Note: instructions are for two needle technique, but can be worked entirely on double- points if preferred) 1 cable needle; stitch markers, stitch holder GAUGE: 4.5 St = 1 inch of stockinette stitch Right Mitten: Cast on 42 stitches using two circular needles. Arrange stitches so you have 21 stitches on each needle. Join and knit in the round as follows: Round 1-4: (needle 1) K4, P2, K8, P2, K5 (needle 2); K21 Round 5: (needle 1) K4, P2 slip next 4 stitches to cable needle, hold in front of the work (LT); K4; K4 stitches from cable needle, P2, K5; (needle 2) K21 Repeat these 5 rounds 3 times (15 rounds) then begin thumb gusset shaping Thumb gusset shaping Increase Round 1: needle 1, K4, P2, K8, P2, K4, place marker, M1, K1; needle 2 K1, M1, place marker, K to end of needle Increase Round 2: needle 1, K4, P2, K8, P2, K6; needle 2 K22 While continuing established rounds for cable crossings, work increase rounds 1 and 2 until 12 increases have been made (14 stitches between markers) slip the 14 thumb stitches to waste yarn or a stitch holder Continue working Rounds 1-5 of pattern until hand reaches 2” less than desired length or 50 rounds. Begin finger shaping while continuing with cable pattern: Decrease Round 1: (needle 1) K1, SSK, K1, P2, K8, P2, K1, K2tog, K1 (needle 2) K1, SSK, K14, K2tog, K1 Decrease Round 2: Work even in established pattern Continue these two decrease rounds until one more cable twist has been made, then repeat decrease round 1 without making cables until 4 stitches remain on each needle (8 stitches total). Cut yarn and kitchner the top of the mitten. Thumb Pick up 14 thumb stitches on 3 dpn and work around until thumb measures 2” from hand. Thumb Decrease Round 1: K2 tog around Thumb Decrease Round 2: K all stitches Thumb Decrease Round 3: K2tog 3 times, K1 Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Weave in all ends. Left Mitten: Cast on 42 stitches using two circular needles. Arrange stitches so you have 21 stitches on each needle. Join and knit in the round as follows: Round 1-4: (needle 1) K21 (needle 2); K5, P2, K8, P2, K4 Round 5: (needle 1) K21 (needle 2) K5, P2 slip next 4 stitches to cable needle, hold in back of the work (RT); K4; K4 stitches from cable needle, P2, K4; Repeat these 5 rounds 3 times (15 rounds) then begin thumb gusset shaping Thumb gusset shaping Increase Round 1: (needle 1) K20, M1, place marker, K1; (needle 2) K1 place marker, M1, K4, P2, K8, P2, K4 Increase Round 2: (needle 1) K22; (needle 2) K6, P2, K8, P2, K4 While continuing established rounds for cable crossings, work increase rounds 1 and 2 until 12 increases have been made (14 stitches between markers) slip the 14 thumb stitches to waste yarn or a stitch holder Continue working Rounds 1-5 of pattern until hand reaches 2” less than desired length or 50 rounds. Begin finger shaping while continuing with cable pattern: Decrease Round 1: (needle 1) K1, SSK, K1, P2, K8, P2, K1, K2tog, K1 (needle 2) K1, SSK, K14, K2tog, K1 Decrease Round 2: Work even in established pattern Continue these two decrease rounds until one more cable twist has been made, then repeat decrease round 1 without making cables until 4 stitches remain on each needle (8 stitches total). Cut yarn and kitchner the top of the mitten. Thumb Pick up 14 thumb stitches on 3 dpn and work around until thumb measures 2” from hand. Thumb Decrease Round 1: K2 tog around Thumb Decrease Round 2: K all stitches Thumb Decrease Round 3: K2tog 3 times, K1 Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Weave in all ends. Attach ribbon to inside of each mitten, add greens or other decorations. Hang and enjoy! For a wearable version of this pattern, you may want to add a 1-1½ ribbed cuff before beginning cable pattern. Note: If you copy the pattern, leave me a comment, just so I know if anyone is making it!

A Couple of Things are Finished…

I finished the Mitten Decoration last night; I added a few of my own touches, and love the way it turned out.

At knitting group this morning, Lynette brought the finished Afghan in. We did squares over the summer and she has been busy putting it together. It came out mighty nice too. The recipient, Michael will be home on leave next month and we’re going to have a formal presentation then. Here’ a peek.

I did some of the grey and black squares. I don’t think I posted any pictures of them during the knitting, because by themselves they weren’t much, but with everyone else’s efforts, it is really nice!

Designing Fun

I found a picture of a cute door decoration in some decorating magazine. I didn’t like anything else in the magazine (too foo-foo fussy for my taste), so I cut the picture out and tossed the magazine. I think it was a special publication one.

So anyway, this has been on my mental knitting list for a little bit. The only problem is the magazine didn’t provide any DIY instructions and I don’t have any patterns for cabled mittens like the ones shown. Not that I don’t love a design challenge. So after mulling this over and a few “how hard can it be(s)” to fortify my courage, I dove in. Turns out; not too hard at all! I started with this idea, but no pattern. Figured out an estimated number of stitches loosely following a basic pattern, figured out the width needed for the cable and started knitting. I had to take a break from knitting to go buy the greenery part (my coupon was threatening to expire today), so I don’t have it all done yet, but here’s some progress photos.
Oh, and BTW, while knitting these, I decided this would be a fun pattern for wearable mittens, too! This is #1 of the five things on my Christmas knitting list. 2 of the other 4 will take less than a day to knit; the 3rd about 4 days and the 5th is the 3 week project; 9 more charity hats to knit as well. Of course since knitting is how I stay out of trouble these days, most of this is just a time management thing, not a time making thing. (But, I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my progress).

Trying To Prioritize

So, I think I discovered that I don’t have a lack of ambition so much as a failure to prioritize. I know I have a lot of stuff I need to do. I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping up with and doing the stuff I write on my lists. But I realized today, that I don’t have a complete list of what I am actually planning to get knitted before Christmas. I have a sort of half-way-formed one in my head that I refer to and I choose projects from it to add to the written list as I think of them. This is okay, but the problem with doing it this way… is well, it’s not prioritized; which could lead to failure to finish. For example one project could take up to three weeks and it’s not even on the list which means it’s not started! So I think today I will really dig down and write down all the before-Christmas knitting I have planned just so I can make sure I’m being realistic and develop a prioritized list or a gift-giving plan B if knitting can’t or won’t happen. (It happens, but sometimes not FAST enough!)

I finished the plain stockinette stitch hat last night (#11 of the 20 hat goal) and started that blasted counted cross stitch. I don’t know if there is a counted cross stitch term similar to frogging, but I now know why this project has languished. I forgot that I can’t count. At least not if there is another human in a 3 state vicinity or, the TV, or the radio…. You get the picture. I was stitching away last night, and then figured out that I somehow had extra stitches – you know about an inch of work back- yeesh. It’s worse than discovering you crossed a cable the wrong way, or mixed up your y/o and m1 in a lace pattern. So today I had to fix it – about 2.5 hours of work to undo and redo it back to the point I was at before problem was discovered. I think that there is nothing worse than picking out those teeny-tiny stitches. (Oh, and BTW, the teeny-tiny stitches REQUIRE use of reading glasses, sigh!) So, it’s progressing, but I think it will only get worked on in early morning when the house is quiet and I can keep the distractions to a minimum. Not during TV time.
So this afternoon after writing up my realistic Christmas project list; I will probably cast on yet another hat and work on a project off of the new list. (let's all sing together now "She has, high-i-yi hopes!")

Has Anybody Seen My Ambition?

Wow, Terminator Thursday led to Fizzle Friday. Maybe it’s the gray skies of November sucking all the strength from my being.

Of the things I’d hoped to accomplish Thursday, I didn’t get much further than the list I posted.

I did manage to finish the (never-ending) Elfin Hat on Saturday. I liked the pattern and may yet do another to add to the pile of hats for PADS, but not right away. I had to rip a good 3 inches of the pattern and then after finally reaching the ribbing, ripped another four inches of ribbing (out of six) before getting it right. The pattern didn’t require it, but my ribbing was too loose and I decided I needed to switch to a smaller needle for the ribbing.

Much better result! Look:

Last night I cast on for a plain jane stockinette stitch cap just so I could get one more done this weekend. It’s about halfway done. The SWS sock got as far as the gusset at knit-night. I can only work on that project when Hubby is not around as it is one of his Christmas gifts. Sigh!

The cross-stitch pattern went missing after I decided to make and I used up most of my energy just trying to find it. So I looked at, but haven’t started. Maybe I’ll get it going later tonight.

BTW, the pic above is of Zelda raiding the pantry. She can't resist an open door to anywhere. She's sitting on top of the container we keep the kitty food in!

Today's subject is Toilet Paper

I started an Elfin Hat (IK Fall 2007 issue) and the grey SWS socks on Tuesday. I have no progress pictures yet, but both projects are well underway. I had a lot of errands after knitting yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to do much with the camera or computer. I did find a great knitting tip online though go here for more information. Warning: Public Service Rant ahead…. Do you ever get the feeling that you had been assigned some sort of task in life beyond your normal job, etc? I’m talking about something mundane, that you notice while others around you seem entirely oblivious. Maybe it’s actually just a “mom” thing. Mine is toilet paper rolls. I have a knack for picking every public/semi-public restroom with no paper on the roll (which is one reason I carry a pack of tissue in my purse). This happens at work (well it used to), church, small businesses, etc. I worked in one office where this was especially bad. The bathroom had two stalls and the office was staffed by 75% women employees- nurses no less, and I still experienced this on a daily basis! It’s bad enough to sit down and see no paper; but the thing I find that really drives me especially buggy is when you go into a bathroom and the brand new roll of TP is just perched pretty-as-you-please on top of the old used-up roll in the holder. I’m not talking about the big giant industrial size TP. I’m talking about single roll dispensers here. Now come on, REALLY, would YOU do this at home? It just mystifies me why anyone would do that. My thought is that the person before me, or perhaps even the bathroom attendant / cleaning person had enough resourcefulness to get another roll and bring it into the stall, but for some reason stopped right there. Why stop the play a yard short of a touchdown? There really aren’t any anti-toilet paper-replacing linebackers who are going to tackle you for actually putting it on the spindle! I mean really how hard is it? Open the holder, pull off the old roll, put the new one on; zip, zip, zip! You’re done! You have not been contaminated any additional amount, held up the next person or held yourself up from your important business more than 2 seconds worth of goodness. Then, you can wash your hands, fix your hair/make-up, as usual SMILE and exit the restroom, knowing you have left it a nicer place for the next person. (WHEW!) Having gotten that off my chest, I feel a little better now. Terminator Thursday updates: To do list items completed: 1) Purge grey file box and sort papers to keep 2) Collect all Army papers into one spot (for later sorting) 3) Vacuum stairs (eew, much cat hair) Things to work on after this: 1) Make gift tag ornament for Elaine (in ‘stash’ since at least 2003) 2) Finish Elf hat 3) Finish at least one grey sock

I should be vacuuming…

But instead, here I am playing on the internet. You know, posting ravelry, checking my favorite blogs, posting here, all that stuff.

I did get another hat done since yesterday the “fair isle” hat. Cast on Sunday night, finished between runnings around and hubby-pampering yesterday and goofing off today.

Here’s the snail hat (fabulously) modeled by Zelda.
The Fair Isle hat is from the pattern A Two Color Hat by Elizabeth Zimmermann (Knitting Without Tears). I made up my own color designs as I went and it worked up pretty fast using the two-handed knitting method. 91 stitches on size 7 needles with Wool-Ease yarn. (I’m using wool ease for all of the charity hats I’m doing). Mushroom, Cream, Forrest; lined with Forrest.

Here’s what Saucey did today:
Warmed her toes

Basket Making and Finished Socks

Whew! Having my DH around an extra day this weekend is like work. Saturday was all about him. I love him dearly, but he expects me to entertain him sometimes. I got all my pics uploaded yesterday, but he started protesting the lack of attention due to me being on the computer, so I didn’t get a chance to post anything. This morning we got the car serviced and went out to breakfast which was nice. Then we walked around the mall some to work off the breakfast and looked at all the sales.

We had lots of fun basket making. My one friend didn’t make it down because her husband surprised her by coming home on his 2 week leave from his tour on Iraq. We voted on it and decided that was the one excuse that we’d let her get away with. Nonetheless, even DH got into the action at the basket making because our consultant let him make her basket so she could take pictures of everyone else making theirs. The basket actually has handles, but I took this picture before the handles got added and got too busy shopping after. (got some great stuff for gifts!) I'll have to post another better one later.

On the knitting front, I finished the SWS socks and snail hat. The SWS Socks came out with more of the tan than pink. I probably should have knit from the outside of the ball where all the pink was. Oh, well, they are still pretty.
I don’t have a picture of the snail hat since I just finished it last night while the Colts gave it up to San Diego. I decided I probably won’t do anymore of that snail hat pattern because it requires too much paying attention and since I’m trying to make at least 20 hats, that means no fiddly patterns.

Did I mention “entertaining” my DH is basically sitting and watching sports with him? I don’t mind baseball so much, but football and basketball….eeeh.
Right now he’s watching old war movies. I think his lack-o-attention meter will expire in about 20 minutes.

So for those who served our country…. Thank you. If you know someone who served or see someone in uniform-Thank them.

For Love or Money

I was doing “show and tell” with some of my latest FO’s at my knitting group last night, one of my knitting friends (blogless Jenny) commented that I should consider selling stuff on Etsy. Now the idea is intriguing; earn a little extra cash while doing what I love. I did go check out some of the knitted stuff for sale there and yes, I do believe I could get a good ROI if I put some of my projects up for sale there. But here’s the thing, as lovingly pointed out by my Mom. I knit for pleasure. Mine and the pleasure I get of sharing my knitting with people I know who will appreciate and love knitted things as gifts. Also I knit as a ministry for the charities my church is involved with. Knitting for profit, as fun and easy as it sounds, is just something I’m not sure that I want to do. My Mom had a gift shop when she lived in CO and she sold some of her handcrafted items there. The thing she found was that the pressure to produce a product diminished the pleasure in creating the craft. I’m not sure that’s a road I want to travel.
Now, designing on the other hand, and possibly selling some of my designs – that appeals to me and may be something more worth exploring. I’d like to think that I can come up with some original knitted designs that would appeal to others. Enough appeal that another knitter would want to knit it and be willing to pay a few bucks for the pattern. That I think I can do. One, because I get the pleasure of knitting and refining an idea I have and Two, because I get to share it with someone else who can feel free to add their own unique stamp and share their love of the craft at the same time. That’s the win-win in designing for me. So selling products, no; selling designs, maybe!

Here are a couple of great quotes that I came across in my reading this week:

… I have learned that there is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration. – Steve Martin (Personal History / In the Bird Cage; The New Yorker, Oct 29, 2007)

Sometimes you make just the smallest change and it can ripple across your life, and I love that idea. – Laurie Perry (aka Crazy Aunt Purl/ from Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair)

So, since I was busy cleaning, perusing Etsy and generally not doing much this AM; here are some Saucey pictures I meant to post yesterday:

Mmmmm… Chicken

Hand over the chicken and nobody will get hurt…..

Terminator Thursday projects to do today:
Finish Counted cross stitch Christmas ornament started in 1998 (just needs a loop for hanging - don’t know why it has sat this long!)
Fix collar of jacket that I’d like to wear again
Finish pair #1 of SWS socks

Tomorrow I get to go to the Jelly Belly factory for the Longaberger Event . My friends from MN are coming down for it and we are going to meet up and “make a basket” Should be fun. Hopefully I’ll get some good pics of all the fun!

Not much

Not much noteworthy to post about today. I'm still working on the three projects mentioned in yesterday's post. Aside from that I did get one gift item done which will be posted on ravelry-but not here due to giftee being a reader. I also got a pair of DH's pants hemmed. Woo hoo! Last pair unless he buys more. He has short legs so he sort of falls between the two closest standard mens pants lengths in ready-to-wear. Since the shorter length is really too short - that means all new pants must be hemmed. He bought 5 pair recently. I've been getting them done inbetween other things. Hemming is not my favorite task. Zelda gave me a scare when she fell out of the (10 foot high) window over the door. She was doing that weird kitty thing when she runs around like her tail is on fire and ran over and jumped into the window, tried to execute a turn and well.... WHUMP! I think she landed on her feet because she ran up the stairs just as fast as she had run around the room right before that. The good news is she was okay. I know this because when I tried to check her out she decided I was the cause of aforementioned tail-o-fire and tried to attack me. She fell and I'm the one with scratches - go figure!

What ever happened to Monday?

Did everyone else get kind of whammied by the time change or is it just me? I had fully intended to post yesterday, but there was knitting, then DH wanted to go to the mall and walk since it was too cold and windy to run out side and he really needed to stretch his legs, then he needed the computer, then dinner and phone calls and TV and all of a sudden it’s bedtime (as evidenced by hubby sleeping in his recliner and the cats circling the bowls for night time feeding). (Him, waking up slightly; “It’s time for bed” Me: “just one more row!”) But over the weekend and yesterday I did knit and sew and do crafty things so I now advance this hypothesis:

The cure for “Startitis”….

Is “finishitis” ‘git-er-done’ ‘just do it’, and all that; completion. So here’s what’s on the needles and what’s now done:

OTN:
1) SWS socks #1 - (I plan on making a second pair in another colorway when these are done). Easy peasy basic sock with fancy-shmancey rib stitch (okay K2, p1, k1, p1) cuff and foot
2) Mitered T (Knitter’s Spring 2007) – swatched and blocking
3) Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Snail Hat (another PADS hat) (no pic as nothing much to show yet)

Done:
76-Stitch Hat #2
Sidekick Purse

(non-knitting) Tote/purse This was the purse I mentioned in a previous post that I forgot to cut handles for. Turns out, I also forgot that if I was going to put a zipper in, then the said zipper needed to be the right size. So, forgoing a trip to the fabric store, It is now more totelike than pursey, but I like the way it came out and it's a bit classier than most of my totes. Medium size; Faux suede; fully lined; interior pockets. What's not to love?

On a sadder note, my DD #1 had a sad event this weekend when her sweet kitty Hanna died. ** Hugs ** Please send good and cheerful thoughts to her.

Just a short post

Forgive me for not being wordy and bright today. This cold is still hanging around and after spending the morning at work and a good chunk of the afternoon at the VA doing registration and stuff… well, I’m pooped. Plus, I still have to pay bills before supper.

So, here’s one more finished item: (the project list be dwindl’n’)
This is my re-knitted Christmas stocking. Originally knitted circa 1996, re-knit to correct some criminally rookie sock-maker mistakes. Much happier now

Tada!

The pattern was the “Family Socks” pattern from the Homespun Hand Knit book by IK. The only real mod is that I exaggerated the length of the leg and didn’t have to knit it to fit a foot. The yarn is some sparkly holiday acrylic I picked up who-knows-where a long time ago. Labels long gone! Here’s one with its “mate”

I just had a thought that made me giggle; last year between Veteran’s day and Mid-December I knit 23 unique mini-Christmas socks (for my co-workers). Not a feat I’d care to repeat. I guess doing just this one wasn’t so bad after all.

Terminator Thursday

I got this idea earlier in the week when I was looking at the comments on one of the Knitting Daily posts in regards to the recent UFO poll. The commenter stated that she planned to institute a “Fix it, Frog it, or Finish it Friday” to take care of her UFO problem. Well I don’t have a lot of knitting UFO’s but I do have a tendency to put things on my project list and then put them off until they sort of don’t seem worth doing anymore or until some other reason forces me to get them done. I decided I liked the idea of setting aside a day to get things done. I also discovered that most of the projects this happens with are usually not huge; they are just, shall we say, less interesting or challenging than others I may want to work on? So, with that in mind I thought I’d adopt the idea for November at least. Since Thursday is a better day for me to devote chunks of time to doing things I came up with simply “Terminator Thursday”. And here’s what I got done as a result. Two “finishing” projects that were languishing on my list:

1. Fix the handles on the “mitered” purse. I made this purse as a project from my class at Camp Stitches in June, but I didn’t like the handle I made. I bought a leather handle kit at Stitches Midwest in August and the project has been on my list since.

2. Add handles to the purple felted purse. I won’t even say how long this has been on the list, but suffice it to say the felting was done when we still lived in MN. This one really just needed more inspiration. I had bought some handle strap material but didn't like the way it looked and couldn't figure out exactly how I wanted to attach them. I was looking at the silver buttons on the front when a thought came to me that I had some silver cording. Yesss... a cute little evening bag!

The other project that has stalled was the purse I am sewing. I overlooked the handles when I cut the fabric, so I needed to decide what I wanted to do for handles before I could move forward with that. So, I decided on self-fabric handles and cut the fabric for the handles today. I think I can get the rest of the sewing done on this one by the end of the weekend.

Hmm, I just noticed that the common element in all these projects was handles… so I guess you could say I was getting a ‘handle’ on my stalled project problem. (ha, ha)

Other than that; last night I made good progress on the Christmas stocking after looking thru old photos to reassure myself on the order of the colors and I did get half of the hat done. I’m just posting those photos on ravelry. (Sorry). I’ll save the finished ones for here.

On a lighter note; my husband woke me up to tell me that one of the cats (gee, I wonder which?) had gotten into some yarn. He didn’t have time to do anything about it, but, what I found when I got up was a ball of cotton twine wound all around the chair and all over the floor. It's a little hard to see here because the yarn blends in with the floor and I took this picture during the detangling but as you can see, I also got a little help from the guilty party.

Note: no actual knitting yarn was harmed during the telling of this story

That's all for now.... I'll be back