Monday, December 27, 2010

Thumbless Baby Mitts

I guess I must be one of Santa's helpers because I'm still making gifts. I'm becoming addicted to hats of all things. They quick and easy enough to make on a whim. Since I was off today and certainly got bored, or rather suffered from withdrawal, I had to find something to make. So I came up with Thumbless Mitts for one of my nieces. She's just 6 months so thumbs really are not necessary yet. I combined info from toe up socks, hats and top down socks and mittens to come up with these little cuties. It's a really versitile that can use pretty much any stitch but I wanted fpdc to match the Reversible Strands Hat for Men pattern by Nancy Smith.
































I think just about any yarn weight will work for these mitts as well but you may have to do a few more rows of increases. I haven't tried it yet but I think that it would be as simple as this:
inc every 4th st, inc every 5th st and so forth. Then reduce back down to for the wrist. I eyeballed this all thing so my niece hasn't even tried these on yet but it looks like they will fit. If they're too big, no problem.
Thumbless Baby Mitts
Materials:
I used a very small amount Caron Rainbow Tones (Country Rose) but any worsted weight yarn will do. Experiment with other yarn weights!
H crochet hook
Yarn needles for weaving in ends
Notes: Work first stich in same stitch where you joined when working sc rows.

Mitt
Chain 4
Rnd 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and each across (3sc). Working on opposite side of chain, sc in next 3sc for a total of 6sc, join with a sl st and ch 1.
Rnd 2: work 2 fpdc in each sc. join with a sl st and ch 1 (12 dc)
Rnd 3: Work even, join with a sl st and ch 1
Rnd 4: *dc in the 1st st, 2dc in the next st. Rep from * around. join with a sl st and ch 1 (18 dc)
Rnd 5: Work even, join with a sl st and ch 1
Rnd 6: Work dc in the 1st dc, 2 dc in the next. Work 2 dc in every 3rd st around. Dc in the last st. join with a sl st and ch 1 (24dc)
Rnd 7-13: Work even (24dc)

Wrist
Rnd 14-15: Sc in each stitch.
Rnd 16: Dec 3 sts evenly spaced (21 dc)
Rnd 17: Hdc in each st (21 hdc)
Rnd 18-20: Work fphdc in each sts around (21 fphdc)
Finish off.

I'm not a designer so I can't guarantee that this pattern is perfect but I hope it is.
Keep stitchin'

Friday, December 24, 2010

24 gifts in 24 days!

Well I haven't posted in some time but I think I'm about to make up for it today. I decided to make a gift a day up to December 24th which is my birthday. This came about as the result of someone asking me if a snowman was a gift to me. I told her it's just decoration for the holidays but it got me to thinking it would be a hoot to make a gift a day for my birthday. I know some folks who celebrate their birthday for an entire week leading up to their birthday or maybe just that weekend of their birthday. I decided to take it a step further and do the whole month just as a challenge for myself.
I actually set rules for this challenge:
  • All gifts are to be handmade (knit/crochet, sew)
  • Absolutely no yarn purchases, only use yarn from my stash can be used
  • Only supplies like beads, buckles, fabric for linings. buttons and others accessories can be purchased
  • Multiple gifts can be completed simutaneously in order to ensure a posting for everyday (I feel short a couple of days)
  • In the event of a missed posting two must be posted the next day to make up for it
  • Even fugly gifts counts (we has received those on occassion)
  • For the actual date of birth there most be a spectacular gift for my special day.

These are the rules I set for myself because I've never done this before. This was merely a challenge to myself to see if I could produce. I was late posting a couple of times because I was out late for appointments or family obligations. Most of the work could only be done in the evenings because I can't knit/crochet and work at the same time, though I'd love to.

My list of gifts:

  1. Bejai’s Shivers the Snowman
  2. Bejai’s Diamond Dishcloth
  3. Facial scrubbie
  4. Facial Scrubbie 2
  5. Red and White Bookmarker
  6. Blissful Cowl
  7. Cup Cozy #1
  8. Deep Blue Sea cup cozy
  9. Bejai’s Smidge Headband
  10. Blissful Simple Slouchy Beret
  11. Simple Slouch Beret 2nd try
  12. Scrubbie ryg
  13. My Breast Cancer tassel Bookmark
  14. My Breast Cancer Heart Bookmark
  15. Bejai’s Kerstboom Christmas Tree
  16. Bejai’s Glass Flip Flop
  17. My Breast Cancer Peephole Cover Medallion
  18. Lace Ponytail Holder
  19. My Breast Cancer Car Medallion
  20. Bucket List Ponytail Holder
  21. Bejai’s Holiday Ornament Dove
  22. Bejai’s bobble beauty hat
  23. Bobble Cowl
  24. Happy Birthday Tunic
What I learned from this is that I'm more than content crocheting and knitting as a hobby but I don't think I'd like being forced to meet deadlines, especially if it means something new everyday.


Keep stitchin'

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Still in the green

Ok so I'm been busy trying a little this and a little that before I make something else. I want new ideas for the new year. To while away some time I made a baby sleep sack for one of my co-workers. She it and especially the shades of green which match the nursery color scheme perfectly. I made the matching cap but forgot to take a shot of it so it's not here but it's made just like the sack. This is a very simple, quick project. The pattern is from Suettea Williams' blog, also found on ravelry.

With some of the leftover yarn I decided to give sock knitting a try. I can practically crochet socks in my sleep now but I've always wanted to know how to knit socks. I found a decent pattern on knitty.com like Anatomy of a sock which included a 'trainer sock tutorial' by Kate Atherley. Even though the instructions are pretty good I needed to see it to get a good understanding of it. So I went surfing for a decent video online. The video I found on youtube is Dorret's. Excellent video for someone who needs to see how to knit socks, for me anyway. Dorret has a cute British accent but I think it's easy enough to understand what she's saying. The camera is over her shoulder so seeing everything from the right angle is very good. One of the problems I was having was figuring out how to get a circle started to make the cuff. Believe it or not I've knitted a skirt but I was drawing a blank. So Dorret's vid proved very useful in helping to simple get that circle started. I did make a few mistakes with the sock put I think its mostly the size. The pattern is for a mini sock that can be used as an ornament or put on a key chain. I think I know enough to now make a pair of socks for me. Then I'll try some for someone else when I know I've gotten it down.

Keep stitchin'

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Verdure

My latest cardi, using the Sweet pattern is Verdure. I came up with the name because I wanted something that means green with having to use the word. It's an opportunity to add a new word to my vocabulary.
Verdure-
- The fresh-green color of growing things; greenness
- Green growing plants and trees; green vegetation
- Vigorous or flourishing condition
- The lush greenness of flourishing vegetation.
- Vigorous greenery.
- A fresh or flourishing condition













I made the sweater holding two strands of yarn together throughout. Of course the sweater itself was easy because I've made nearly ten projects using this pattern/formula. I love the huge handmade buttons and applique that I made to dress the sweater up a bit.
























Think I want pockets on the next one!

Keep stitchin'

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Just stitchin along

So after taking some time off trying some new things, like having a life, I'm back on track with the ones who really understand me. That's right, all my needles and hooks, they never let me down. lol

So two sweater completed but I'm not sure about the fit. Tried to take care of that yesterday but alas, I was stood up! So let's hope the baby can get these before she gets too fat. Now I can get back to big girl stuff. Hey!!! not that kinda big girl! I've got my eyes on some shrugs, hats, jewelry, socks...and so on, and so on. Ok now I'm drooling, cuse me while I go get a towel.






























Keep stitchin'

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Purple Pleasures Necklace

Of course there needed to be a necklace to go along with those earrings! I actually did two rounds for the necklace so it would be a bit bigger. I love the length, it falls teasingly right into place.



















Now what I want is to perfect this a bit more and than buy better quality wire for really stunning pieces. For now, I have to learn to incorporate beads into the piece instead of just around the edges. None the less, I am very pleased with these pieces.
Keep stitchin'

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Purple Pleasures crochet earrings

I wanted some earrings to wear today for Happy Nappy Day so I crocheted a pair and added a purple dangle! It's a simple granny square made from 24 gauge silver wire. I used a 1lb dumbell to flatten it out and then shaped it a bit. The pattern idea came from ravelry of course. But if you already know how to crochet a granny square you're good to go.































These will look very nice with the purple outfit I'll be wearing to Happy Nappy Day. It's finally here!! Stay tuned for pics from the event!!

Keep stitchin'

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Duke the petite pit bull

Duke is a pit bull I found on ravelry and thought he'd make a great pet for Alberta. If your not a member of ravelry you should join but in the meantime, if you can't access ravelry go to Liz Lindo's website to find the free pattern for this cutie. The things she is creating are specular!! Like the, again free, pattern for a breathtaking top called the Lotus Blossom Cardigan She even shows how she pieced it together. How cool is this!!! She only makes this top in a med size so too bad for me but maybe I can still use her technique and come up with something. First I need to get help making a duct tape mannequin.

But anyway, Duke!!





























He's a very happy little guy and he loves his owner, Alberta.
























What's next? Robert Earl is coming to keep both Alberta and Duke in line...stay tuned.
Keep stitchin'

Monday, July 5, 2010

PC fading fast!!!

My computer is dying! I can hardly do anything without getting a message that I'm out of memory. I don't know much of anything about hardware so this made no sense to me. Every time I looked at my C-drive it showed that it's less than half full. Now I'm starting to get the difference between storage space and random access space. So, what's the solution? http://www.tigerdirect.com/ This site has some decent, by decent I mean affordable, prices and product reviews. Most importantly I trust this site because the IT techs on my job order supplies for our office from them. You know if your job trust them they must be ok. My job has ordered everything from computers to keyboards to monitors to external drives from them so I know I've got a winner. I myself ordered an external drive from them and I have had no trouble what so ever with it, I also ordered a mouse for my laptop from them in the past.
So anyway, I just order a 1 gig memory card/slot/thingy from them which should definitely speed up my pc. I am not a gamer and I hadn't downloaded music in quite some time. I just like being able to watch a movie and maybe pay a bill at the same time, use my webcam and share photos at the same time...ordinary stuff.
So, it's supposed to take 3-5 business days so I expect to have it by the end of the week, next Monday at the latest. It's supposed to be extremely easy to install and get me running so we'll see.

July 10, 2010
PC update:
My 1 gig of memory arrived by mail on Thursday so we're talking a 3-day turn around. It came by regular postal service so I had to wait until Friday to pick it up for the post office. Installation seemed easy enough but my pc would not function properly. I called tigerdirect and the tech suggested take out the two orginal 128 mb's that were in the pc. Once I removed them and put the new 1G in it's place she is popping like popcorn baby! I can open three or four pages on the net at the same time. I have no trouble uploading my pics. I haven't tried a netflix movie yet but I don't anticipate any problems there either.
So two thumbs up to www.tigerdirect.com.

Keep stitchin'

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Alberta

I found this cute amigurumi doll pattern by Beth Ann Webber on raverly and thought this is too cute to pass up. There is a wonderfu pictorial on her flickr page that helps you design your doll, clothes for her and how to make her hair. The pattern is so easily altered to make little creatures too. Be sure to drop by her blog to see all the wonderful things she makes, including the fabric dolls too.

I took my doll to work to show her off and everybody loves her! They can't wait to see the clothes I make for her.
I have to talk about how I made mine up because I didn't have the supplies called for. I didn't have pipe cleaners so I used floral wire, 22 gauge I think, in the arms and legs with a little poly fill. I didn't have a wooden spool to put in the neck so I had to get creative. I cut a drinking straw into 1/2" pieces and taped four of the pieces together. I used lots of tape and stuffed in the neck but felt it wasn't going to stay in place...hmmmmm what to do? I wrapped a couple of rubber bands around the taped straws to add some traction! This was the perfect way to give the yarn something to grab on to and provide stability in the neck.
Getting the yarn for her lips was quite crafty, if I say so myself. I knew I didn’t want a bright red, nor did I want pink, I wanted a more ‘ethnic' looking shade. Since I don’t wear any make-up, ever…hmmmmmm what to do? <> I still have yarn left over from my Autumn Winds sweater, it has warmer shades of brown and red that I knew would work well. So I stretched out a piece of the yarn and dissected it to get the lovely warm reddish-brown color for her lips.
Now, when her clothes are complete and she has hair accessories, she will be a happy girl.


I'm behind on my blogging but I saved these notes to add everything once she was done. So, as you can see, she has a dress and bloomers now. I didn't follow the pattern to a tee, I just used whatever I already had in the house. Since I didn't have a rubber to fit her waist to make the bloomers I simply did a few chain links and made a belt to tie them on her. I would still like to make her some shoes and those hair accessories...maybe later when I finish some other started projects.
I finally came up with the name, I wanted something rather 'country' so I choice Alberta. Sorry all you Alberta's that are screaming, "I'm not country!". My doll, my name, my reason for choosing it.




















Keep stitchin'

Monday, May 31, 2010

Drops 107-1

I love this jacket! As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted to make it...or at least attempt it. The yarn, if I want to use what the pattern called for, is rather pricey so I ordered yarn from Smiley's instead. I expected this pattern to be very complicated and over my head but because of youtube, garn studio's own tutorials and so many other sites all over the net, I was able to see how to work the domino diamonds. This pattern is rather simple to follow and works up quite easy.



















The only problem I have, because I didn't use the muskat that was used to create this jacket I don't have as much color and actually loose some of the beautiful detail. If you look this jacket up on ravelry you will be amazed at some of the color choices that were used to make this jacket. The lovely varigated yarns add so much more depth to this pattern but mine is lost.
















The diamond pattern is very evident but the layers of color is missing. None the less, this is the best garment that I've ever knitted and it shows that I do have some skill for knitting. I have a long way to go before I'd say I'm good at it but this is a good start. Because I tend to be so critical of myself the mistakes I know I made nag at me at night when I should be sleeping! It's very hard not to rip & repeat everytime I make the smallest opps but I'm trying.




I'm glad to be nearly done with this jacket too. I have to finish the right side and make the sleeves to finish up. I didn't make my end of month deadline but, so what, I'll eventually be done and on to my next project.













Keep stitchin'

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Take the shirt right off their back

Ok, not literally but he did give me his shirt. Yesterday was 'Bike to Work' here in Maryland.
















No I did not ride a bike to work, plz. So since I'm working on building my tarn collection I'm always looking at people's shirts to see if they are cotton. Just something I do, just like I'm always looking to see if a sweater is knit or crochet and whether I could reproduce it not. Anywho, this man comes to my job to register for services and he has this green t-shirt hanging over his shoulder. I can some orange, some white and even some black that turned out to be blue in it. So I'm talking with a co-worker excitedly about the red tarn ball that I've already made and how I need cotton tees with lots of color in them and I point to the man's shirt and say, "Something like that shirt right there". He hands the shirt to me!!! I couldn't believe he was serious but he didn't ask for it back. That's when I saw it was one of the bike to work t-shirt from the rally that was held Friday morning.









So now I know how to get more cotton shirts, just walk right up to someone, look them straight in the eye; don't be afraid to hit them with the puppy face; and simply ask for the shirt off their back.






















Once my tarn was complete it became evident that the colors aren't showing which is a little disappointing. I am reading up on dyeing with RIT so I can try my hand at dyeing fabric. There are some cool sites, including ehow with tons of info about dyeing fabric. Just watching the videos was exciting to me. So stay tuned for some adventures in tie dyeing!!
Keep stitchin'

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Tarn!!

I made tarn! What is it? It's simple cutting an old t-shirts into a continuous strip to make a ball of yarn. That said ball of yarn is knitted or crocheted into something wonderful like a bag, hat, rug or maybe a pillow, to name a few. The only rules, which really aren't rules, is that you should use old t-shirts not brand new ones. Thus the recycle part comes into play. There are lots of tutorials on the web to help you learn how to make your tarn. After cutting up your first tee you will be an expert, at least at cutting.

Craft Passion is a very nice, very clear picture tutorial.
Eloominator is another tut that shows you using that cutting wheel thingy. lol I have one too but don't ask me what it's called.
Polka Dot Pineapple, yet another wonderful tut with excellent pics and instructions. PDP is really into recycle/upcycling so she has all sorts of great ideas for using up old jeans to make coasters, wire and scraps of fabric to make flowers and even painting window screen pink to make poinsettias!!

To make sure I didn't ruin a t-shirt I practiced with a piece of paper first. Just get a piece of paper and tape the ends together to form a tube, you've got the perfect practice piece. This will help you get used to where to make that first diagonal cut. If your diagonal cuts are off you will end up with a bunch of single loops instead of one continuous piece. Once I had the paper yarn down I was ready to make my own t-shirt yarn!














































Since I've added links to such wonderful sites with instructions I'm not going to bore you with a tutorial myself. Instead I'll show what it looked like after cutting my strips leaving the one inch at the top, stretching after the diagonal cuts into one continuous strip and finally, my tarn ball! Oh, and check out my sewing scissors with the animal print hand, they make me feel like a real seamstress...not.
So what now, what to make, what to make with my first tarn. I have already started begging for more tees from the guys who for some reason don't want to part with them, hmmm. If you follow on ravelry take a look at some of exciting rugs, hats and bowls there on the From Trash to Treasures and Got T-Shirt Yarn groups. Oh, I almost forgot Petite Purls, great website with patterns for the cutest tutu, blanket and an awesome red hat. You will find it hard to believe these things are made from cut t-shirts!


Keep stitchin'

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Sock it to me

Sock it to me is right! This pair of socks came out better than my first two attempts. I'd like to think I'll get better and better at making sock...via crochet anyway. I have a long way to go when it comes to knitting socks. Anyway these socks are so unique in the striping pattern. The toe is fairly normal, if that's a word I could use. The cuff is another story altogether. It's more like splashes of color on one side but the other side is striped. I think this happened because I worked in rows rather than rounds as I did in the toe portion.




















It's hard to believe that this is even a set/pair of socks let alone one sock but it's true. I think this uniqueness gives these socks really great character. Certainly, I'll never see anyone else wearing these socks. I can't wait to make more! First thing I have to do is come up with a pattern. I kinda winged this one taking a little from this pattern and a little from that one.

Keep stitchin'

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Say Amen

This started out kinda of strange. I wanted to make a simple hat for someone and I wanted to use yarn from the stash I already have. I went through my bins and decided to try something with Lion Brand Incredible and Vanna's Choice. I absolutely love the way these two work together. This is the perfect marriage, I couldn't have chose two better yarns to blend. The Incredible has beautiful shades of brown, pink and gold. The Vanna's Choice being rust blended perfectly. The Incredible, because it's a ribbon/tape has a bit of sheen that just catches the light and shines. The way the light it the yarn every now I was able to see a special speck of light which guided me in a different direction. I was 'inspired' to create this hat for a totally different person and I couldn't convince myself to do otherwise so I went with it and came up with the 'Say Amen' hat.

With a completed hat I thought something is still missing...a purse! So I dug in my bag of tricks and didn't have anymore of the Vanna's Choice in rust, oh no!!! Since I have had this yarn for some time I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anymore of it. So I went to Jo-Ann's with my fingers crossed and was supposed to find plenty of it! So I came home and made the 'Say Amen' clutch. I used the same yarns to make a crocheted button rather than trying to find a button to go with it.
This set, though winter is almost over, YIPPEE!!!!! I think the colors are perfect fall/winter colors. The photo of the hat almost reminds me of pumpkin pie. It could be that I'm hungry, it's past noon and I haven't eaten a thing today.
The set will end up going to a pastors wife that I really like. She already wears just lovely fashions including hats and purses that match. To me, this is a good set to add to her collection. hope she likes it.

Keep stitchin'

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sunday Best hat

I finally came up with a hat that I think works with the Sunday Best Coat I made. Because I don't have any dolls to use I keep looking up meaurements on the Internet and I think I finally found something that works. It still looks too big to me and if I change the hook size it looks too small so I guess I have to wait until Fall 2010 to see it fits. I think I'll be able to adjust it a bit if it doesn't fit. All in all, very cute outfit.

Keep stitchin'

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Express Script...What a joke

Whose bright idea was express script? So what I'm saving money on my prescription, not if I can't get it delivered so I can take it...HELLO!!!!! What a joke! The csp's talk to you like you're 6 yrs old and never have answers to your questions.
I went to the doctor Saturday, watched the doctor fill out the info and fax my prescription over before I left. Five days later, I didn't even count Sunday, I'm expecting an email saying my script has at least been processed and is on the way...nothing. I go to the website to check my order status and there is no indication that a prescription has been ordered so I call. I'm told that the pharmacist has questions about the prescription and it can't be processed until then. What is there to question? It's the same prescription, no dosage change or anything. Why not indicate in an email that there is an issue?
Eventually I'll get a three-month supply...one day before I have a stroke. I thought pressure pills were supposed to control your blood pressure!!! Ohhhhh, that's right, they do but only if you TAKE THEM!!! What should I do, order every month so that I have a year's worth and never have to run out. That won’t work why, because then they'd say, "It's too soon to order another supply".
GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS SO HARD TO FIND.
If you work for express script, TOO BAD!!!! Your service stinks!!!! Let me give you all my info and you can handle me personally every time. Then maybe my opinion will change! What's that? Can't do that can you? FREAKING WASTE OF MY TIME AND LIFE! Thanks a lot Goodwill!!


Keep stitchin'

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Sometimes I feel like a nut

Yeah, those goofy mary-jane slippers that I messed, they are complete with pompoms added and I love them! So, when I feel like a nut, my feet will look nutty too.






Some mistakes are worth it!

Keep stitchin'

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sides does matter

After taking a huge break from my craft and finally finding my way back, I am learning/discovering more and more about the craft. I have wondered if sides really, really matter, particularly in crochet. I would crochet something and just be glad to be done and have a garment that fits. Now that I am taking the craft more serious, I want that reflected in my hard work.
The Mary-Jane slippers that I just made definitely show that sides do matter.
Exhibit A, my completed Mary Jane slippers…yeah!!


If you look at the contrasting color in the left and right slippers (top is left, bottom right) you can clearly see that sides do matter. I'm showing a close-up shot of where I had to sc2tog. The top (left) has a much smoother look because the new color was added with the garment facing in the right direction. I am not real clear on exactly where I went wrong but being able to see the problem will make me more aware as I make future garments. The problem, most likely is not practicing what I preach (see previous post).
Even with this issue, I have finished the Mary-Janes. I know I will be making more in the near future. Only thing left is finding cute little buttons to put on them. It's definitely easy to make 3-4 pair in a day, depending on your schedule.


Keep stitchin'

Monday, February 15, 2010

Practice what you preach!!

A lesson hard learnt for so many of us. I teach and constantly have to say things like: Follow instructions, Attention to detail, Read the entire sentence. But many times when I am working on a project, following someone else’s instructions, I need someone over my shoulder telling me the same thing. Yesterday I started on a, what is supposed to be, simple pair of Mary-Jane slippers. A one-day project for most people but not me. Why? Because I don't practice what I preach. I had to ripped this simple little slipper sole two times and then switch to a smaller hook because I could see the sole was way to long. It was looking more like a skinny scarf than the sole of a slipper. So I finally got the sole where I was comfortable and continued. Even though my slipper was arched like a boat and pointed at the toe and the heel, I pressed on. The whole time I'm thinking to myself, hmmm this would probably work better as single crochet but I pressed on. When I got to the very last row I decided, what the heck, I'm shaking things up and doing a row of single crochet. DONE!!!!
Hmmmm, I'm scratching my head. Something ain't right! My slipper looks like an elf shoe! I went back on ravelry and took a look. No one else’s look like elf shoes So I decided to have a good look at the directions again. Maybe I worked too many rows of dc…nope that wasn't it. And then, bam!!! Right in front of my eyes! I feel like Homer Simpson. Duh, the English version, I do believe I am American, says that I should be doing SINGLE CROCHET!!! It really does pay to practice what you preach.


So here you can see the entire episode of starting with the sole, working up the sides, adding the border and there you have it...Keebler Elf! What to do now? I decided to make the best of it. I'm going to make another one exactly the same way and put pom-poms on the toes. What fun!!
Then I'll get back to business and make them the way they are supposed to be made. And this time, I'll practice what I preach.

Keep stitchin'

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Just Plain Frilly

Enough of this darn snow, right? My last posting I spoke about 3hrs of digging snow and how smart it was. Having the whole week off of work made it easy for me to relax and recoup since I couldn't even get to the doctor for pain pills. Thankfully, I worked as a Physical Therapy Aide for seven and half years so I know how to apply heat/ice and stretch out my muscles.
There was also time to work out a new project. I wanted to make a blankie for our new family member and I wanted it to be something a little different. I've never done the diagonal stitch so I figured this would be a good time to try. I'm not sure if I started it right because I just ripped until I was happy with the way it was coming out. Remember, I hurt my back so running back and forth to the computer wasn't an option. Once I got a size that I liked, may not be right because I didn't have any measurement to go by, I needed a border. I wanted something with lots of lacing and maybe some ruffling. I did search for that and found Kim Guzman's friendship squares with a really nice border. It had pretty much everything I wanted and some so I tweaked it a bit to get the look I wanted; basically adding more chains did the trick. All the extra chains and the way I changed my colors gave me enough of the ruffle effect that I wanted. It's just plain frilly.





Since the baby is due in May this blanket is more useful for bedding decor rather than for wrapping baby but I love it anyway and I'm sure Mommy will love it too, right Kiana? I'm glad we have a break from the snow because now I can get out and get a look at the spring/summer yarns for something that the baby wont have to wait to wear.

Keep stitchin'

Saturday, February 6, 2010

We got a little snow

Just a little bit of a snowfall, don't you agree. The snow is so high in my window sills I could hardly see out. This is a shot from my kitchen window. I think it was actually a bit higher but the wind probably blew it down.




I took a shot from the front door as well. Look how preeeeetty!! There is actually a step down to the sidewalk which you can't even see. The walk to my car will be about knee deep. That's my baby right in front of the door shivering. The door on the passenger side is just about up to the door handles. On the driver's side it's higher due to wind drifts; digging out is going to be a bear.


My balcony, on the other hand, reminds me of a beach scene for some reason. I pulled the blinds all the way and sat watching, wishing I was in my hotel room looking over the balcony.


Across the way the neighbors have begun to dig out. Looks like the plows have gotten to the street behind me but not the street in front of my house. I live on a circle so I'm trying not to shoot arrows. I have to remember today is only Saturday, they'll get to us tomorrow. There was one single guy out digging out his car as you can see but I missed him. Notice what's happening though. The snow is being piled into the middle of the parking lot. There are cars on the other right side as well. I already know what's going to happen, the snow plow is going to come through and push a lot of this snow off the sides and block this car right back in unless it's leaving right away.

I choose to stay in and stay warm today since I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. I did make so snow ice cream though!!! I cut back on the vanilla and added green tea to mine. It was yummy and made my teeth chatter. LOL The best part of a weekend like this is sleeping and knitting and sleeping and eating and sleeping and sleeping. Oh, did I forget to mention sleeping.

Keep stitchin'