Carousel Horses

Many years ago my sister gave me two cross stitch kits.  I stitched these up and now they are framed and up in my office on a bookcase.  I love them!!

2nd last day of NaBloPoMo

Today is the second last day of NaBloPoMo and I have managed to post something each and every day!  One more day to post tomorrow and I will have posted for 30 consecutive days! 

Several things I learned this month:
1) writing something every day is quite difficult for me!!
2) I know I can not keep up this pace for months on end.  It is nice to post every day but I really don't think I have that much to write about!
3) I will go back to posting on a non-daily schedule which is less stressful for me!
4) I will however try to post on a more regular basis!  I tend to post for a while then fade away... 

Thanks for the ride this month though!!  I did find some new and interesting blogs to read so that was an added bonus!

WIP-it Wednesday (November 28th 2012)

Here we are for another WIP-it Wednesday report.  I did not make as much progress on my socks as I had hoped for over the past week, but I did make a little bit of progress.  I finished the heel flaps and turned th heels.  I also picked up some of the gusset stitches, but that is as far as I made it.  Here is what they look like now:

 

To see more WIP-it Wednesday posts head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Differences in crochet hooks

I was looking through my crochet hooks the other day and was noticing the differences in the way they are constructed.  I got my old set of hooks many years ago (like 20 years ago!!) and I love the way they feel and function for me.  The grey one is the one I love.  The shaft is straight and does not have the thumb rest as is the purpley colored one.  I find that I rotate the hook in my hand while I crochet and find that the thumb rest does not feel good when I do so.  The rounded shaft is better for me!

Also notice that the head of the crochet hooks are different as well!  The one I use and like is rounded while the other hook is more angled and sharp.  I tried using both this morning and found that my old grey one felt so much more comfortable in my hand.  The purpley one felt quite uncomfortable and making stitches was not as easy as with the prey one. 

Strange things that I notice and pay attention to...

Back to work

My Thanksgiving holiday (one week off work!) is all done and I am back to the office.  My crafting time will slow down once again.  I also can't believe I have posted every day so far this month!!  Granted a few of those days have been pretty uninspiring (today included!) but it has helped me get into the habit of writing on a regular basis.  Back to work I go...

Pet Snuggles

Over the past couple days I have used up some scraps and extra worsted weight acrylic yarn to make pet snuggles (blankets) to donate to the Humane Society.  These are pretty quick and easy to make. 

The pattern:
Using two strands together and a 6mm hook.
Chain 44, dc in 3rd chain, dc all the way across, ch 2 turn…
22 rows to makes this about 15 inches square.

Here are pictures of the three I made over the past few days:

Inspiration Saturday (November 24th 2012)

I just stumbled upon this over on Ravelry and thought it seemed like a good idea (and I was looking for an idea for what to post today anyway!!).  There are links to more of these over at Woolen Diversions page.

Something that inspires me and that I want to try some day is stranded knitting and particularly Norweigan mittens!  I bought this pattern some time back with the intention of making for my sister for a Christmas gift and still have not done it...  One day!!  Maybe for Christmas 2013??

Photo from SvenskStickare's Ravelry page

These are a pair of mittens I want to make for myself.  I have not bought the pattern yet though. 

Photo from tanfred's Ravelry page

And these are adorable!!  Another pattern I need to buy for myself and make!

Photos from kleewong's Ravelry page

And one more pattern to show the basic style of Norweigan or Selbu mittens

Photo from Rigmors Ravelry page

FO Friday (November 23rd 2012)

Another project complete!!  I want to cover up the inside of my office door and have made these two crochet mini-baby afghans to do it with.  They each measure about 30 inches square and I think they will be perfect for what I want.  I mostly want to muffle voices travelling through the vent in the door.  I don't need conversations with students to be heard so easily in the outter hallway. 

Yesterday these were ready for joining and I got that done over the course of the day and this morning.  I am happy they are done and can't wait to see what they look like on the office door!  They are both the same size - the pictures were just taken at different distances...)

To see more fabulous finished objects head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am spending the day at home - just the hubby and I.  We have a turkey to cook and all the fixings (stuffing, mashed potaotes, gravey, and veggies).  We plan to spend the day relaxing, watching movies, and eating.  I will work on my socks and the mini afghans to cover my office door.

Here are what the two panels will look like:

The plan is to join the squares with black yarn using a single crochet join. Once the squares are together I will do a border around each of them (also in black).  I am hoping for a little bit of a stained glass effect.

WIP-it Wednesday (November 21st 2012)

Welcome to another WIP-it Wednesday update.  I have managed to spend a fair bit of time on my socks this past week and have made some nice progress.  Here's hoping they are done before the next weekly update! I am about half way along on the heel flaps now.

Before (back of socks)

After (back of socks)

Front of the socks

To see more WIP-it Wednesday posts head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Office door coverings (in progress)

My office has two doors - one into the back hallway (seldom, if ever used) and one to the main hallway.  The back hallway door has a roughly 30 inch square vent/grate in it.  Sound carries through here badly and I want something to cover it with to muffle the sounds & voices leaving and entering my office (and it isn't really an attracitve door either...)  So I thought why not crochet something to put over it??  A smallish baby afghan type project sounds just right.  But if I put one on the lower part of the door where the vent/grate is, then I also need something towards the top to balance it out and have it look symmetrical.  So I am crocheting some squares to assemble together to cover this up. 

Option 1

I have the lighter blue squares all done and need to work on the alternate color squares.  I am not sure about the navy...  Maybe I'll have to go through my acrylic stash and find some other colors??  Anyway, I'll join these using single crochet and then do a border around it.  The second piece I was thinking of reversing the colors but maybe I will do the two in different colors...  Decisions, decisions!

Here is another color combination I have:

Option 2

And here is what I have for the second one:

Option 3

I need to get my stash out and think about two more squares to finish Option 3.  Unfortunately I have no more of this yummy purple.  Hmmmm...  What to use??

Maybe join these in a dark color to look like stained glass??  Or join with white or aran??

Anyway, I'll post more updates as this progresses and will post some office pictures once it is all compete and in place in my office.

Socks Galore!!

Yesterday was sock washing day!!  I have 28 pair of socks (so far!!) :)  I will admit to being a selfish sock knitter!  I have made about three or four pair of worsted weight ones for the hubby to wear as slippers, but ALL the rest I have knit are MINE all MINE!

Before

Smells like wet dog here!!

Another angle and moved the wet dog smell out of the bedroom.

One of my Favorite Paintings!

Here is a watercolour painting that my grandmother did sometime before 1940.  I am not sure when exactly she painted this but it was before she was married as it is signed with her maiden name.  This painting was up in my Mom's attic for years!  Unfortunately it has a little bit of water damage on it but that's OK, I still love this painting.  I certainly did not inherit my grandmother's artistic talents (at least for drawing and painting).  This is something that I am pleased to dislay in my home and is a nice momento of my grandmother. She died when I was inthe 7th grade.  I knew her quite well and am happy to have had the chance to know all four of my grandparents :)

Craft show visiting

No crafting was done yesterday...  Oh well maybe this afternoon!  This morning we are heading out to a craft show about 45 minutes away from here.  Should be fun.  I am hoping to find some Christmas gifts for family.  I also hope to find some ideas for things to make.  I love craft shows!!

FO Friday (November 16th 2012)

I finished my socks!!  Once I got back to work on these they went along nice and quickly!  They are also nice and comfy!  I am pleased with them :)  Here is a picture of the finished socks:

Here's hoping I have something else to report next Friday!!

To see more fabulous finished objects head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Next!

I finished my pair of socks (and will blog about them tomorrow for FO Friday).  Today I am back to working on another pair of socks.  I had started two pair back in June and then they got put aside and ignored for some time.  I have finally shook the dust off them both adn have plans to get both pair finished before the month is over.  Onwards on the green pair!

WIP-it Wednesday (November 14th 2012)

Here we are for another WIP-it Wednesday!  Last week I had a pair of socks that I wrote about. Well I made fantastic progress on them - so much so that they will be a FO Friday post this week!!  So this week I will focus on another pair of socks that have been on the needles since June 1st. 

To see more WIP-it Wednesday posts head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Cross stitch horse

Here is a cross stitch horse I did ages ago and by ages I mean over 6 years ago or longer.  I honestly do not remember how long ago I did this!!  I came across it a few weeks ago when I was unpacking some stuff and realized how close to done this was!  Why did I not finish it all up???   All that is left to do is the trim on the harness and the tufts on the hooves. 

But look closer - this is embarrassing...  This was obviously done before I paid attention to how clean my hands were when working on cross stitch...  It is soiled.  I will have to research how best to clean this all up and then will have to do the last bit of stitching.  Then I am ready to find a mat and frame for it and it will be all done.  I am aiming to get this all done up on my week off over the Thanksgiving break.  I'll post my after pictures once I am done!  Any suggestions or tips on how best to clean this up??

Here is where I am now.  Note the soiling and creases...

This is what it will look like once all done!

Sock update

My weekend blitz knitting has yielded me a nearly done pair of socks!!  I went from picking up the gusset stitches to being within an inch of starting the toe decreases!  YAY for knitting time!! Here is my before and after pictures:

Before

 

After

Onwards down the foot

The gusset decrease are all done and I am happily knitting my way down the feet on the socks now!  Bummer that I have size ten feet...  Takes a lot longer to knit to the toes!!  Anywho, happily knitting away!  Soon I will have another pair of homemade socks to keep my feet warm as the winter arrives :)

Gussett

I am finally working on my socks!  Last night I re-learned how to pick up the gussets two at a time!  I struggled with it and finally it came back to me.  So now I am happily working on the gusset decreases.  Hope to have this pair all done in the next week or so.

Time to organize!!

My needle and notion box is getting out of control and I usually can't find anything that I need or want.  Time to start organizing this little disaster zone!

Here is the box I have everything (well almost everything since there are some stray things scattered here and there) kept in.  It is a nice little box that I picked up at Joanne's or AC Moore a few years back.  I can't remember which one I bought it atl I just remember that I got it for something like 75% off!

Now check out the inside!  It looks like a disaster zone! The contents here need some serious reorganization!!

Here is another shot of the insides... 

Now I need to set aside some time to sort and tidy this all up.  I have all the packages for my circular needles (lots of those!) and the needles are all willy-nilly in the box and not in their proper cases.  I need to get those all separated out and then I need to go through them all and get them each back into their proper packages.  Then I need to figure out a good way to store them.  Is the best way to keep them in their packages?? Or is there some other, better way of organizing them??  Must be some good way to store these all.  Hmmm, need to research and think about this one!

I also have a lot of packages of double point needles that need to have some system of organization.  Right now they are all in their packages (mostly) and all sitting in the box.  Again, I need to search around for a good organization system for those.  Maybe I need to knit, crochet, or sew a needle case or needle roll for them all.  That would make for a nice way to store them all. 

I also have an old Pringles chip tube that I keep most of my straight knitting needles in.  I didn't get a picture of that but I think I may want to move those into a nice needle case/roll.  And I also have a bunch of crochet hooks - some in a plastic case and many loose in the box...

And I also have a whole bunch of stitch markers!  Some are really pretty ones and some are plain white rings.  Right now they are in all sorts of packages (as you can see in the pictures).  Some are in medicine bottles, old mint tins, and ziplock baggies.  I need to put together some way of keeping them all in one place and someplace where I see them and use them!  This looks like a really nice way to display them and I will likely make something like it for myself.  

Lastly I have my bookshelf full of books, papers and other crafting stuff.  More to tidy and organize...

These reorganization projects will make for some more blog posts for me so keep checking for updates on my organization projects!!

My favourite Season!

Autumn is easily my favourite season!!  I love that the weather gets cooler and I love the crisp feel in the air, especially in the morning!  But my very favourite part has to be the colours of the leaves!  Take a look at this beauty in our back yard!  It was so pretty!  In the afternoon the colours actually overtook the rooms on that side of the house.  The carpets took on a redish hue and the rooms had a redish glow to them.  So pretty!!  Sadly this tree is naked now and all the pretty leaves are all blown away, but it was so pretty to see for several weeks :)

WIP-it Wednesday (November 7th 2012)

I have not posted a WIP-it Wednesday update ina long time (and am way overdue for that!!)  Today I am going to focus on a pair of socks that I have had on the needles for far too long!  I cast these on back on June 2nd...  My plan is to get back to knitting on these!  I have turned the heel and am now ready to pick up the gusset stitches.  I need to refer back to my 2-at-a-time books to remember how to do this but once I get the first round going I am set to cruise down the gusset and on to the feet!  Let's see how much I can get done before next Wednesday!!  Here is a picture of where I am now:

Notice that this picture was taken on 10/01/12...  These poor things have been collecting dust for far too long!!

To see more great WIP-it Wednesday posts head on over to Tami's Amis!!

Lace Scarf Update

I am slowly getting some doneon my lace scarf.  I need to carve some time out to work on this or it will take forever!!  I need to be able to concentrate on it or I will make mistakes...  I now am half way through the first chart.  It wasn't noticeable when I bought the skein of yarn that is had some slight variation in the color - I am just noticing it now in the picture!  Here is a progress picture:

Monday update

I have been spending some of my time making squares out of partial skeins of yarn that I will make into baby afghans for charity.  I'm not sure if this is a formal pattern somewhere or what but here is the basics of how I make these squares;

Using a 5mm hook and worsted weight yarn, chain 36.
Row 1: Double crochet in the 4th chain and then dc in each chain to the end,  Chain 2 turn.
Row 2:Skip one dc and dc in the next stitch, then dc in the skipped stitch.  Repeat until the last stitch and dc in that last stitch. Chain 2 and turn
Row 3: DC in each stitch.
Row 4: Repeat row 2.
Continue until square - for me that is 15 rows (I like to end on a DC row).

Here is a picture of a square I have made using this pattern:

Flat Stanley

This morning we are off to church and then we will spend the afternoon hosting a Flat Stanley. This is the first time we have done this and it sounds like it will be a lot of fun!  We'll go out for lunch (Chinese buffet) and then we plan to go see some of the sights around here.  We willgo check out some of the stuff around Hershey and then go to the University.  We'll finish up getting some pictures near Three Mile Island.  Then we'll write upa nice letter to send back.  This is going to be fun!!

I struggled with my lace knitting yesterday.  I made a mistake in one row and couldn't get it figured out so I took the beast apart and started over.  Now I am done up to the end of row 8 on chart one.  I also finished up four 9 inch scrap squares (three blue one yellow)

Day 3

Day three of NaBloPoMo - so far so good in keeping up with the daily postings :)  We shall see how long I can keep up with the pace! I was ale to a little bit more on my lace scarf last night and now have 561 stitches complete (a far cry from the 30,000 I am hoping for in November!  Here is a progress picture of my lace scarf:

Not too much to look at just yet! Here's hoping tomorrow's update picture shows a little more progress!!

FO Friday (November 2nd 2012)

Good morning!!  Day two of NaKnitMo and NaBloPoMo!  I managed to get a tiny bit done on my NaKnitMo project this morning before I left for work.  I cast on for my scarf and did the first four garter stitch rows.  Not much progress but it is a little start!  My plan is to update here my stitch count and progress on the scarf.  So far 255 stitches complete (out of 30,000 for my month end goal!)  I need to pick up some speed on the knitting or I will never make my goal! I also need to post some progress pictures here as well.

I am hoping that this will keep me motivated to continue blogging once November is complete.

Today I dropped off four baby afghans at the local pregnancy resource center.  I had made these over the past while.  Here they are:

To see more finished object blogs please head on over to Tami's Amis