January 31, 2012

How Far Will One Hank Go?

I have been knitting - not doing much sewing, but lots of knitting.   I pulled this hank of daffodil Pagewood Farms Yukon from the stash to knit a second pair of blathnat's.  These socks were designed by IGK and I was lucky enough to test knit them in December.  They were the mystery socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry in January.

I made lots of changes to this pair.  I could - because I'd knit them before.  ;o) 


The first change I made was to carry the pretty stitches on the heel flap all the way to the bottom.  I knit 2 rows "even" before turning the heel and I love them.  The second was a trick I saw on Turtlegirl's blog.  She moves the gusset decreases to the bottom of the foot.  In her words, this causes the sock to 'cup' the foot and they fit better - and you know what - she's right!  I first tried that on a pair of socks for hubby - toe up and he says they are the best fitting socks I've ever made him.  So, I had to try it for me and they are right - this feels lovely on your foot and the socks are really snugly. 

After that - I knit my first hexi, there was still a ton of yarn left (relatively) so I knit a wee tiny pair of baby socks.  No - no babies due in my life, but I have friends having babies and friends of friends and what am I going to do with all this over yarn?

Next, I'll knit up the rest of the yellow into hexis and let you know how many I end up with.  Crazy!  Who knew you could get so much from one hank of socks yarn?  Guess I'll start carrying some stuffing in my purse.......

January 25, 2012

Wanna See Mine?

Get your mind out of the gutter people!  My fabric - fabric.  Remember way back in November?  We were on vacation and I got to meet Chan, Marjie and Karen

Well - Marjie and I managed to get together to go shopping.  We went to JoMars in Philadelphia.  After a very scary trip on public transportation we managed to figure out where we really were going.  But it was touch and go for a minute and JB was very worried we were gonna get mugged. 

Marjie has already showed you hers (scroll down), so I thought it was time I showed you mine.  I didn't get a lot, only 3 pieces.  The one on the left is a plaid jersey.  I want to use it to muslin a new dress pattern that I bought because Carolyn did.  I often purchase a new pattern because Carolyn did and it looks amazing on her.  The other two pieces were remnants.  The blue print is a blouse weight and it has a kinda sheen on it which I hope will wash away.  The dark fabric is a bottom weight with a velvety texture to it.  It will make a lovely skirt and actually matches quite well with the blouse fabric.  Marjie so nicely mailed the fabrics to me. 

Thanks - girls I had a fabulous vacation.

January 23, 2012

Cape May

I'm stepping into the way back machine and carrying on with the November vacation recap.  After several days in Washington DC we went to Annapolis, MD.  From there - we took the ferry to Cape May, New Jersey.

I'm telling you - JB and I fell in love.  What a lovely little town.  However, we were there the night before Thanksgiving.  Honestly, if we didn't have to pick up The Princess in Philadelphia at the train station and have plans for Thanksgiving Dinner - we would have stayed and explored the town. 

As it was, we stayed in this fabulous Bed and Breakfast in Cape May.  We are now trying to figure out when we can get back to the New Jersey Shore (in the off-season, of course) and explore more of the East Coast.  Are there any little coastal towns we must see? 

January 19, 2012

Snow Dogs

It's hard to balance on these slippery bricks!  (Beau)

What?  Everything smells different covered in snow!  (Lucy)
Okay - it can stop snowing any time now.  (Abby)

It has been snowing off and on - more on - since Sunday night.  Yea - I live in Western Washington in a city built on very steep hills.  There has been no school this week and today even Courts are closed.  The dogs love it - except Abby who's belly now drags in the snow - but only because her legs are only 6" long!!

I am loving it.  It's beautiful and quiet.  I worked half a day Tuesday and stayed home safe and warm on Wednesday.  Who knows what today will bring?  Happy Dogs on Thursday!  Hope everyone is enjoying what Mother Nature has delivered.

January 18, 2012

Left Overs

I knit a ton of socks! Even with most of the socks I knit being for people with a shoe size of 9 or better and some of them have very wide feet - I still have extra yarn left over. 

Those are not my leftovers, however.  These are Amy's leftovers.  I was looking at knitting The Beekeeper's Quilt - which is made from stuffed, knitted hexagons which are then tacked together into a quilt.  What a great use of leftovers.  What a long process - but I think I'll work on it.

The Beekeepers Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits


Somehow - while discussing this plan.  Amy offered to send me her leftover sock yarn.  She wrapped it up in tiny hanks and dropped it in a Ziploc baggie and mailed it.  I love them.  Her leftovers are so much prettier than mine!  And how adorable are those mini hanks? 

I think I'll work on a few while I enjoy the snow.

January 16, 2012

All is Snowy & Quiet


I love the way the trees look when they are dusted with snow
I sent JB out into the cold yesterday so he could snap some pics
some of the snow has melted off already and green is showing through
but more snow is expected today

January 12, 2012

Not Enough Press

I was told last week when I missed Dogs on Thursday - that my dogs don't get enough press.
That's because they aren't majestic like Thor, they aren't funny like Fudge and the rest of his pack,
nor are they majestic like Sissy and GG, they are just 

Lucy

Beau, and

Abby.

All photos were taken last week - not that they look any different from photos taken last year.
Happy Dogs on Thursday Folks!

January 11, 2012

I'm Nooked

One day last summer while we were camping, I decided it might be nice to have an e-reader of some sort, but I wasn't sure which sort I wanted.  I mean there is the Nook Color, Kindle, iPad, Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet. 

So I mentioned to JB that it would be nice to have.  He remembered and got me a gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas.  The dogs, however, bought me a Nook Tablet.

It took me a few days to buy some books and a few more to try reading them.  I've downloaded Angry Birds Seasons, played sudoku (I'm not very good), checked my email, side loaded knitting patterns and even started reading a book.  I originally wanted it to be able to read while I was knitting and didn't have access to a tv - but with this - I have access to my netflix account and can watch tv while I'm knitting!  Or even read.

Last weekend when we were looking at the Eagles, I was able to bring my knitting pattern up and could work on a complex pattern long after it would have been too dark to read a pattern.  So far, I'm loving it.  So - do you e-book?  Can you be my friend?

January 10, 2012

There's an Eagle in that Tree


Last weekend we headed up to the Skagit River to see the Bald Eagles as the migrate.

Thank goodness for photo editing because you couldn't see the Eagle before.

It was also determined that I need a good book on using my camera and a bigger lens.

January 4, 2012

Socks!


Well - sock knitting apparently was still very important to me in 2011.
That is only a few of the pairs that got finished.
Some have been given away already. 
I think the final number was 25.


I knit up 8 of the 12 brown bags that got packaged at the beginning of 2011.
In fact, I just started the snowflake socks last night.
And I haven't pulled and caked yarn for 2012 yet - not sure if I will.

So - what did you knit?  Do you knit socks?
Do you wear handknit socks?

January 2, 2012

The Favorite Gift I Made

I did not make a lot of gifts this past year. But my favorite one has  been floating in my head for a long time.  See The Musical One made a piece of a tumbling blocks quilt way back when she was in middle school.  It was an extra credit project for geometry. 

Ever since then I've saved the top that she made and the remaining fabric with the intention of making placemats - someday.

Well - since she's buying her first house, someday is now.  
I pulled the top out of the plastic bin and took it to the fabric store.  I had to find coordinating fabric for the back and fabrics to make reversible napkins. 


I spent two days making more blocks (she had only made enough for two placemats).  I picked a dark navy with lime green and then bought 4 different fabrics to make 2 sets of 6 reversible napkins.


After I finished the piecing, cut out placemats and batting, sewed them rights sides together and then turned them right sides out. 
Then I quilted around the tumbling blocks.  Using purple thread on the pieced blocks and lime green on the solid fabric. I made 2 sets of 6 napkins. One set matches with the solid side and the other with the pieced. They are reversible. While there are only 4 placemats (that's all her table will seat), I made 6 napkins because I believe you should always have spares to rotate in - just in case something happens - like a horrible stain or a tear.
Anyway - I'm tickled pink with this gift.

January 1, 2012

Welcome 2012

I am not doing a look back.  I had a good year - with the exception of some good friends having health issues with their dogs and then saying good bye to a few dogs. 

I got more sewing done in 2011 than I have in a long time.  I did not, however, knit as much.  It's all a balancing act. 

In 2012 and I went to spend more time with friends.  Get back to developing relationships with "virtual" friends - something I've let lapse with my job change.  Sew more, knit more, blog more, cook more, exercise more - enjoy more. 

Thank you for stopping by and saying hello.  I really do appreciate each and every comment.  g

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