stitchin' girl

Tuesday Tallies

2012-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

I am excited to be a part of "Tuesday Tallies" or "One-a-Day" as it's also called.

7 more hexies - I think maybe next week I will show a picture of the bowl they are all in - it's getting pretty full now :o)
More fish- I am getting to the end now - my next picture of this project will probably not be of fish, but of some of them sewn together. I am hoping it goes quickly!
More squares for the gingerbread bear blanket - almost enough to make the next section - I can hardly wait!!
THEN....because I have wanted to do these for a long time - I started another one-a-day. Kites to also sew into a blanket :o) These are super easy and super quick - although not quite as quick as the crochet squares for the gingerbread bear blanket.

More one-a-day goodness here!

4th Grade Class Quilt

2012-02-08T00:18:00.000-08:00

I finally got all the squares designed by the kids. As you can see, there is a wide variety of styles and tastes.

I tried many different ways to put them together. I wanted to balance the very colorful with the less colorful - the tanks and guns with the rainbows and peace signs - the minimalist with the total coverage squares. I came up with a layout that seemed to accomplish all these things.

This is the top 5 squares sewn together. It will be the top of the quilt.

The next 5 with sashing in between the rows.

Third row. I am not sure now why I took these pictures at each row, but I really like the progression of the quilt. This is my second quilt - the first one I made in a class.

All the squares sewn together with the sashing.

At last.....with a border. I really like the dark sashing and border - I feel like it frames the students' work quite nicely.

Next is putting all the layers together, then quilting it, and finally putting on the binding. Whew!! Quite a bit left. Then there is the quilt for the first grade class :o)

Tuesday Tallies

2012-02-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday once again! This week I barely squeaked under the wire with my one-a-days. I have been working on two class quilts and that seems to be taking up quite a bit of my time.

7 more hexi puffs

7 more fish - I absolutely adore the wild yellow, orange, and green ones!

7 more mini grannies - I am almost at the point where I can sew the next section together and then attach it to the first, but that will wait for a while.

I am not sure I will make my next Tuesday Tallies - I must work on these quilts and get them ready for the auction. Only time will tell......

Lots of Tuesday Tallies over at Gingerbread Girls' place :o)

Cheetah's clothes

2012-02-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

This weeks FO is not my own.

My sweet 6 year old son has been wanting to make clothes for "cheetah" so we decided to get out some fabric and make some. He was very adamant that he make them all by himself (but wanted me near to help). First he traced an outline around cheetah on the cloth. I let him know that he needed to give a very wide margin so that there would be room for the seams and so that cheetah could actually fit in there. He thought not so he cut out right on the lines and sewed up a shirt. I think you know where this is going......the shirt was WAY too small - he couldn't get cheetah in it. Here comes the great part. He looks up at me and says, "Is this why you rip things out so much, mom? You make mistakes?" I said, "Yes, I make mistakes on almost everything I make and have to redo at least part if not all of each project." He said, "Oh." Slight pause. "Well, let me start over." And he did.

This is the second shirt. He carefully traced around cheetah and then asked me what I thought would be the right amount of extra. We decided together and then he was off sewing.
I drew the stitching line to help him stay on track. I even asked him if he wanted to use the sewing machine. He said no - he wanted to do this all himself. He has a hard time standing and working the pedal of the sewing machine and also feeding the fabric. So hand sewing it was.

Starting to turn the shirt. I love the anticipation on his face!

Almost turned!

It worked!! Cheetah had a shirt!

Of course no self-respecting cheetah can go around with out pants so pants needed to be made.
They were whipped up in short order. I did some of the stitching on the shorts - he was getting tired and had lost a little bit of his focus by this point, but he is so proud!!

By the way, yes his favorite stuffy is indeed a jaguar. When he was one, this was his brother's favorite stuffy. Big brother gave this to little brother on little brother's first birthday. We tried to tell him is was a jaguar, but he was convinced it was a cheetah. Now, jaguar's name is "Cheetah". It's so cute :o)

Take a look at other finished objects over at Tami's.

Class Quilt WIPs

2012-02-01T05:54:00.001-08:00

I have two new, big WIPs. Class Quilts! One for my son who is in the first grade and another for my daughter who is in the fourth grade. These will be auctioned off at our school auction to raise money.

I decided on a fairly easy juvenile quilt for the first graders. I chose four fairly bright fabrics and cut out pieces that are 10 1/2" X 10 1/2".
I chose this white fabric for the kids to design and cut squares that are 8" X 8". Each student drew a picture on a square. These are sooooo cute!! You can see some of them in the photo above. We have 23 students and so far I have 12 squares - I go back after school on Thursday and again on Friday at lunch to have the rest of the students design their squares. The quilt is 5 squares by 5 squares and we have two teachers so it works out perfectly for the teachers to each design a square as well!

Yesterday, I pieced the big colorful squares.

This shows what my idea is. Next I will sandwich the quilt top with the batting and the backing. Then I will sew the students' squares to the top as shown, through all layers, creating a semi "rag quilt". I hope it turns out cute!! I think I will use up the leftover fabric from the colorful squares for the binding. I will keep posting as things move along.

The fourth grade quilt will be a more traditional quilt. I already have 16 squares made and will go in to their class on Thursday at lunch to get the rest. This quilt will have sashing between the squares and a border.

Wish me luck!! These have to be completed before March 3rd. YIKES!!

For more WIPs, check out Tami's blog.

Lovely Weekend

2012-01-31T05:57:00.000-08:00

Sunday was just beautiful weather wise. It was so warm and sunny. Unfortunately, oldest daughter had to study - what better place to study than outside!! Warm, sunny weather makes AP Chem much more palatable!!

Studying and beading.

Reading - her VERY favorite past time!

I was cleaning and working on a class quilt to be auctioned off at our school auction. The kids came in and dragged me outside to be with them. Boy am I glad I went!! It was so very relaxing to just sit and crochet at the little table they brought out there for me. Hanging out with the girls in the sun was the best thing I could have done! Laundry, dishes, floors, and fabric cutting could all wait..... These was R.E.L.A.X.I.N.G. to be done :o)
Working between beading and writing a story. She said her ideas come to her more freely whens she is working on something else. Like mother, like daughter :o)

More Chem - poor girl

7 more hexis - 28 in all

7 more fish. Last week I laid them all out on the table. Well, not all of them, there were too many. I started arranging them in rows and discovered that I now have 140 fish. Only 40 more to knit less these 7. WOO HOO!!! If I keep up with these Tuesday Tallies, I could be done with the knitting in about 6 more weeks- I just can't believe it!
7 more bear pieces :o) Eyes, nose, parts of ears and face. I had a really hard time with that nose and it is not done as the pattern calls for. I just couldn't figure it out. After a few hours and more rip outs than I could count, I just fudged it and made my own nose square. I might go back in the future and try to make it again, but for now I am happy with this one.

Head on over to Carole's for more Tuesday Tallies.

Reverse Appliqued Pillow

2012-01-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to make one of these pillows for a VERY long time, but had just never done it. I kept putting this idea at the bottom of the stack and just kept thinking about the possibilities. Well.....my 13 year old nephew needed a gift and he is very hard to get things for. He is very logical, super brainy, and very science/math oriented but not into regular kinds of toys - he likes really expensive electronic stuff. Preferably that he can take apart, figure out and put back together again - and he is good!!

When I was racking my brain for a gift, this idea just popped into my head and I thought, "This is perfect!!". I cut one piece of knit jersey into a 36" X 18" rectangle (the grey) and I cut the dark blue jersey into an 18"X18" square.

Pinned the dark blue to the grey and freehand wrote his name on the fabric.

Then I pinned around it with WAY, WAY too many pins and sewed on the lines!! I had to stop pretty much every other stitch or so to take them out, but I was worried about slippage and I didn't want to have to unpick and start over.
The I cut away the dark blue inside the stitching and presto!! A fun pillow for my nephew. I put a 16" pillow form inside and it worked out pretty well. My nephew LOVED it - he carried it around all the time while he was here visiting.

The tutorial I used is here.

For more finished objects, take a look at the wonderful things posted at Tami's.

Gingerbread Bear Progress

2012-01-25T06:04:00.001-08:00

I have been working on the Gingerbread Bear Blanket and it is coming along pretty well. I have been making the squares (1 a day) and last week I discovered that I had enough to complete the first section.

I sewed them all together using the whip stitch and this is how they look. He is going to be so cute!!

As you can see from the picture on the pattern, I have completed the section beside and including part of the left ear. I am working on the squares now that include the section with the eyes and the nose. I can't wait to finish that section and get them put together!!

There are other in-progress projects posted over at Tami's. Take a look :o)

Tuesday Tallies

2012-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Another week has flown by - It is amazing to me how quickly time seems to be moving lately. I think having these weekly check-ins (and deadlines :o) is helping that feeling right along :o)

7 more hexies - 28 total

7 more fish - ?? total - I need to get that all sorted so I can put some of them together.

7 small grannies - these are for the bear itself - I think I will tackle the eye grannies for this week.

For more "One-a-day Project Tuesday Tallies" head on over to Gingerbread Girl.

Granny Stripe Blanket Finish!!

2012-01-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

I am so happy with this blanket!! I started this about two years ago before I knew anything at all about crochet. It is my very first crochet project and the one I learned on. I fell in love with Lucy's blanket and followed her tutorial exactly. I can't tell you how well this worked - her instructions were fabulous and worked perfectly. I took this blanket along with me on camping trips and then it was put aside for other gifty type things and rested there for quite a time. I finally pulled this out about a week ago and to my great and happy surprise, there was not that much left to pull it together and finish it.

It is warm and I love it. I am hard pressed to share it unless I am also under it :o) This blanket measures: 51 1/2" X 58 3/4"
I also followed the edging that Lucy recommended and am so happy with it. I left out a row of double crochet after the light pink color because I wanted to end with the dark purple and only had a bit of that left.

More color!

I am in love with those little picots! And they were so easy to do!

I can't get enough of this blanket!

Final edge picture. For being my very first finished crochet project, I am quite happy with it. It goes to show you how well the pattern was written if a complete beginner can make something like this from it.

Click here for more finishes.

WIP #76

2012-01-18T08:55:00.000-08:00

My WIPs have been getting a lot of attention this past week. I find it so hard to see the difference on a cross stitch project though so I am glad that there are before and after photos.

Before

After. I filled in some of the little stitches that were missing and started on the back stitching. It is going slowly, but I am starting to feel that excitement when a big project is nearing it's end. Hopefully lots of progress will be made this week!
This is part of a huge granny square blanket I started a few years ago and then banished it to the box. Do you see a pattern here?? This is what happened to the granny stripe blanket (which is finished except for a few little bits and will be revealed soon!).
I really love these color combinations. This yarn was also used in the granny stripe blanket, but I liked it so much I started this one as well with just these four colors.
This is where I am at now and it will become my new yarny WIP to work on. I'm not quite sure how big it is now, but it is not big enough. My very precise way of measuring these is as follows: crochet (or knit) until said blanket it long enough to reach from my neck to past my toes - then it's done!! How's that for precision :o)

It's time for Tuesday Tallies!

2012-01-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

Boy, I am really getting excited about these tallies. I have been able to keep up (so far!) and it feels great!

First up, my hexi puffs - I really like these little guys - they are sooo cute and soft.

Here are all 21 of them together! Such hexi puff greatness :o)

The next 7 fish. I think I need to actually take all of them out and make a count. I only need 180 and I think I might be getting close.
More of the squares for the Gingerbread bear afghan. See those dual colored squares? They were quite the challenge to begin with. I now have enough to put together one little part of the blanket - we'll see if I can get that done this week.
I couldn't resist showing a picture of the 13 year old sewing on her very own sewing machine. We broke down and got her this for the holidays. She has been using mine and also doing quite a bit of hand sewing making clothes for her and her sister's dolls. I love her designs - I will try to get pictures of some of the things she has been coming up with. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Her first finished projects using her machine - little bags for her friends and teachers.

More Tuesday Tally goodness over here.

Fancy Nancy Blanket

2012-01-13T10:07:00.001-08:00

When my third daughter who is now 10 was 3 years old, she loved the Fancy Nancy books. These books were so fun to read. Fancy Nancy is a child who uses "big" words in her everyday conversations where she could use smaller words. My daughter got such a kick out of this and we read these books EVERY.DAY.BEFORE.NAPTIME. Did I tell you we read them every day?? I can recite some of them by heart which is amusing to my husband when he would read them before bedtime and I would be in the kitchen reciting right along with him :o)

One of the little cousins was turning 3 and I saw this "no-sew" blanket on sale at JoAnn's. I just had to get it. I have made these before and they a super quick and cute.
I just had to take a picture of the cutting lines!! The ones I had purchased years ago did not have these lines, you had to measure them for yourself. I guess that wasn't easy enough! It did make the blanket go even faster.
Here it is all knotted up and ready to go. I wish there had been one of these when my daughter liked Fancy Nancy. It is fleece and oh so soft and warm. The recipient was thrilled!

We also got her started on her own Fancy Nancy collection :o)

Check out Tami's blog for more finished projects.

Work-In-Progress Wednesday

2012-01-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am desperately wanting to start on the next Christmas stocking!! Filling in all these little bits and then knowing that the outlining is looming (I know, outlining is a favorite for some :o) is making it very hard to stay focused. But stay focused I did!

Before

After

And then...because I just couldn't stay all THAT focused.....

I pulled out my Granny Stripe Blanket that was started two years ago. It got banished to the box when newer, more shiny projects came my way, but I decided to bite the bullet and just finish it. I had seen so many beautiful granny stripe blankets out there lately that they inspired me to take out mine. Well, lo and behold, there was really not that much to do on it. One last stripe made it the right length and I have been sewing in ends a little at a time. Once the ends are sewn in I will only need to make a border. Whoopee!! It should be finished soon...unless I get distracted again :o)

All piled up in it's Granny Goodness!

16 year old daughter last night said, "WOW! How beautiful, when did you start this one?"

Tuesday Tallies

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

It is Tuesday once again, and I have faithfully made up my one a day project pieces. I am really loving this way of working (for a whole two weeks now!). When I am done with 7 of one project, I move on to the next and when I am done with all three of my projects, I am free to work on something else. I finished my required pieces two days ago and pulled out the granny stripe afghan from Attic24 and began working on that. Amazingly enough, there was not as much left to do as I thought - weave in the ends and put a border around it - really not that much! I'm not quite sure why it wound up banished to a box?? But without further ado, I present today's tallies:

7 more fish. I think I will start sewing these guys together soon - I have more than 100 of them so far.

7 more hexi puffs - 14 altogether

7 tiny granny squares - 14 altogether - my plan is to sew this together in panels so the next square up for next week will by a two color square. Half one color and half the other. I'm not quite sure how this will work out, but I will fiddle around with the instructions for a bit.

As always, take a look over at Carole's blog for more Tuesday tallies.

Flounce Scarves!

2012-01-06T08:34:00.001-08:00

The story: Over the summer we took a 10 day camping trip. First stop was Yosemite for 4 nights, then onto MacGrath Beach near Santa Barbara and then to Ventura Beach near San Louis Obispo. We had such a great time - camping is so fun and it just makes you relax. No electronics available, no specific time to do anything, no places you have to be - AHHHH! Anyway, we chose the beach camping spots so that we could visit a couple of colleges so our oldest daughter would start getting a "feel" of things. UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly were our stops for this trip. Well....no trip is complete without a visit to the local yarn shop. In Santa Barbara, we went into a wonderful little store with a very nice and friendly owner. She had a flounce scarf started and told us how easy and quick these things knit up. The girls were enchanted and just HAD to have one each. I thought I also needed one and if they were quick and easy.....well, that was just up my alley :o)

The story explains why there are four scarves in the above picture. The first one was a real pain to knit. I did not find this yarn to be easy at first. I am not good with the "just stab anywhere in the ribbon thing", I am way too controlling for that! I felt the need to spread out the ribbon, make sure I measured to the same spot on my needle each time so the stitches would all be the same length, and stab just under the top border - kind of fiddly! That said, by the time I got to the second scarf, things were going much more smoothly and I was clicking along pretty well. Four scarves in approximately five days. Not complete knitting days, days where we were playing cards, riding to a hiking spot, waiting at the chem tutor, etc. Each scarf averaged around 2.5 to 3 hours to make.

They do make quite a statement. I love the colors and the ruffles.

Each one measures 3" X approx. 55"

My colorway.

Color: 17 Teal-Black

Dye Lot: 147

US #11 Needles

The 10 year old's colorway.

Color: 22 Red-Fushia

Dye Lot: 152

US #11 Needles

She LOVES it and it matches the lining in her jacket!

The 13 year old's colorway.

Color: 20 Blue

Dye Lot: 150

US #11 Needles

You can't tell because of the red eye, but this scarf brings out the blue in her eyes quite well.

The 16 year old's colorway.

Color: 16 Lime Green

Dye Lot: 146

US #11 Needles

She has been wearing hers nonstop since I finished!

Take a look at Tami's blog for other finishes by talented crafters.

The Grand WIP!!

2012-01-04T08:45:00.001-08:00

This Christmas stocking seems to be my project that is lodged in the Twilight Zone. It seems that no matter how much I work on it, it defies being finished. This project has been in the works on and off for a couple of years now. It is intended for my oldest daughter who is now 16 and will be going away to college in about 18 months (EEEKK!! I'm not ready for that) My big goal for this year is to finish this thing and have it hung on the mantle this Christmas.

I have done "most" of it. The cross stitches are almost complete, but it is the backstitching that needs to be done. I can tell you, I am not looking forward to that!! Hours and hours of backstitching - WOOHOO - exciting, NOT! Anyway, I am going to try to diligently work on this every evening until it is complete :o)
Yesterday when I took this photo, I had planned on working in this section - the plan was to try to fill in all the empty spaces so that next week when I took another photo, the difference would be very evident. However, when I sat down last night, I started filling in stitches on the book that is just to the left of what this photo shows. That space was just calling to me! I am hoping to have a huge update on this project by next week :o) Wish me luck!

And....to see all the other wonderful things being worked on, visit Tami's blog.

Tuesday Tallies

2012-01-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

To help me to complete some of the larger projects that I wish to complete this year, the ones that have many pieces that will need to be created and then assembled, I have decided to participate in Tuesday Tallies on Carole's blog Gingerbread Girl. I have seen so many great things from that blog and I think it's a perfect way to be held accountable (at least for a little while!). So here goes - my first ever Tuesday Tallies:

My first 7 "hexi-puffs" for the Beekeepers Quilt. I have been seeing these all over blogland and wanted to make one myself. I held out for awhile on purchasing the pattern, but alas I fell and just HAD to have it!! These little guys are fun to make although not very quick - I am a VERY slow knitter though. The pattern calls for US#4 needles and larger yarn than I am using. The designer's hexi-puffs came out to about 3 inches across. I am using superfine sock yarn and US#1 needles. My hexi-puffs measure a scant 2" across. I will need quite a few to make a lap quilt :o)
This is my favorite hexi-puff. I just like the colors. I decided to follow the pattern for the cast on - this was different for me - I guess it is what someone would use for toe-up socks, but it is really cool how it knits flat. I wanted to follow the cast off instructions as well, but I couldn't find my itty bitty crochet hook so I am closing these up with the kitchener stitch.
I pulled out the fish again - I have less than 80 to go to have enough for a blanket. Here are the seven for this week. Lost and Wandering has a picture on her website and the link for the pattern is here. This has been on my WIP list for a very long time. Hopefully this will be the year that it gets finished!
I also started something new that I have had on my list. It is made up entirely of little granny squares. I need 157 in this color and more in other colors. These are the first 7.
The picture above is what the squares will be used for. It is called Gingerbread Bear Afghan and it is from the Fall 2010 Crochet World magazine. I fell in love with this and purchased all the yarn and then let it languish with all my other UFO's - now I have a plan and hope to make some good progress on this one this year as well.

A double digit birthday

2012-01-02T08:24:00.001-08:00

Our fourth child (third daughter) turned 10! How did a decade pass by in the twinkling of an eye?

She celebrated at one of those jumpy places with just a few of her favorite friends and lots of family. She does not like huge crowds of people (kind of like her mom!) and just wanted to have fun with those most important to her.
One of her favorite things to do is read. She wants to read all the time!! So....she asked for a "book cake". I struggled with this for a long time and was talking to the six year old at breakfast the day before the party and telling him that I was trying to figure out how to make it. He told me, "Mom, a book is just a rectangle with a line down the middle!" What a little genius!! :o) I used a regular cake pan, came up with a fun little start to a book, and made a bookmark out of fondant. The birthday girl LOVED it!! And it was totally easy thanks to the six year old.

No birthday party is complete without a sleepover! This is breakfast the next morning.

Mickey Mouse chocolate chip waffles - a must have!

All of the 10 year olds favorite breakfast food - what more could one ask for

I still can't believe she is 10!

Crayon Rolls

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001-08:00

We have a few little cousins, nieces and nephews that we love to give gifts to. I found a tutorial for these cute crayon rolls and knew that they were going to be perfect! The tutorial shows a felt flower on the front, but I decided to change that as I had some very cute patches at home.

I made two of these exactly the same, one for my 3 year old nephew and the other for my 3 year old cousin. I love the monkey patch!!
This is the inside and I found ribbon that was perfect!! The ribbon is used to stabilize the top of the crayon pocket so that it doesn't stretch.

All ready to go!!

This one was for my 5 year old nephew. He loves all things dinosaur and green is his favorite color.

This is how it looks before it is rolled up.

Inside ribbon :o)

One for another 3 year old nephew. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of this one. This patch was slightly harder to stitch around than the others.
For my 10 year old niece. She is such a sweetie!! Her favorite colors are purple and pink and I thought this was just perfect for her!! Love the smiley face button!

The outside before it is folded.

For this one, we used gel pens instead of crayons. I think my niece will like these much better.

The ribbon that I used for this one.

Take a look at Tami's blog for more great crafting finishes by some very talented people!

Flounce Scarf

2011-12-28T09:24:00.001-08:00

This is the start of a flounce scarf for the 16 year old. At first I really found this "yarn" to be extremely fiddly and did not enjoy it at all, but now it is growing on me. I love the outcome - it does really make a statement and after awhile you do get used to knitting with it.

I used this link from youtube to cast on and see how to actually knit. I found it very helpful.

The "yarn" really is fun to look at as it curls and ruffles up all on it's own :o)

Take a look at all the other WIPs in progress from Tami's blog - some of them are quite inspiring!

Fingerless Gloves

2011-12-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

My first foray into knitting gloves, albeit fingerless ones was somewhat of a success. I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to knit more of these babies, but I do like them.

Four girls will be very happy this Christmas!

This ball of yarn only cost $1 and I have quite a bit left over.

These are the first ones that I knit. As usual with me, the first glove needed to be taken out a few times before I got the hang of it. Then after it was complete and I put it on, I realized that there were HUGE holes between the fingers. Bummer!! I put it aside and started the second one. That one went a bit better, no holes, but one of the fingers is slightly shorter than all the rest. I fixed the finger problem and went back to the first one and sewed the holes shut. They are fine now, but boy, the finishing took quite a bit of time!

These are sparkly and blue and I know my 16 year old will simply love them!

These are my favorites! I like the crazy colors and they are very soft. Can't wait to see if the recipient likes them as much as I do.

All stacked up!

Only a few more sewn items and I will be done with gifts!!!

Tunisian Crochet

2011-12-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is for the FO Friday over at Tami's blog. I hope that this will keep me on track to finish up some items so that I can post over there. Some really, really talented people are taking part of this.

I tried my hand at some tunisian crochet and decided that I really liked the look of the stitch that is made. It is really cool how this actually works!!

I embarked on a scarf making mission. I thought both my sons would love to have a handmade scarf from mom. I quickly chained 21 and went along my merry way. WELL.....tunisian crochet all on it's own curls up really, really badly. I was so disenchanted, I didn't even take a picture. I googled and found that if you do a row of tunisian purl stitch at the beginning, that should take care of the curling problem. I tried that with 4 chains and it worked like magic. Can you guess the story is not quite done yet? I quickly pulled that out and chained 21 again and went along with just the one purl row. It curled again!! Pulled it out, chained, did 2 rows - no dice - lots of curling. At 4 rows of the purl stitch it pretty much held it's shape and I was pretty happy. Crocheted until it was long enough, did 4 more rows of purl stitch and was done, or so I thought. Now the ends just flipped over. HMMM...I decided to do two rows of single crochet around the entire thing. Magic happened - no curling and no flipping!!

Close up of the stitch detail. Just love the straight up and down stitches!

Started: First part of November

Finished: 12/8/2011

US9 Tunisian Crochet Hook

Yarn: Sensations It's a Wrap

Color: #3 Taupe

Lot: F1021

Chained 21 stitches to begin - 4 rows tunisian purl stitch-regular tunisian stitch for the rest-ended with 4 rows tunisian purl stitch-2 rows of single crochet around the entire scarf.

Dimensions: 66 3/4" X 6 1/2"

These are fingerless mitts. I thought the 11 year old boy would enjoy these.

Chained 26 to start-4 rows tunisian purl stitch-13 rows regular tunisian stitch-4 row tunisian purl stitch. I did not apply the single crochet around the mitts.

Dimensions: 7 1/4" X 6 1/4"

My hand modeling one of the mitts. They feel very comfortable. I hope my son likes them :o)

Scarf #2 for 6 year old son.

Same pattern used

Same hook used

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Paints

Color: 0009 Sticks & Stones

Lot: 55506

Dimensions: 44 1/4" X 6 1/4"

Stitch detail.

Younger son's mitts.

Dimensions: 6 1/2" X 5 3/4"

Now to finish up the mitts for the girls!!!

Soup Knitting

2011-12-13T12:25:00.001-08:00

Not actually knitting soup, but it has just felt a lot like soup weather so I have been making oodles of soup. I have also been knitting up a storm and boy does it feel good!!

My oldest daughter is taking a photo class and was trying out some artsy ways to take pictures of my scarf. It sure looks a lot better than what I usually do :o)
This scarf is really pretty. I love the way the sequins catch the light when I'm wearing it, but they are a tad scratchy. I wear it all the time anyway!

Yarn: Bali #4 from the Great Adirondack Yarn Company

Color: Paprika

This was a multi strand yarn. There were three different strands all in the hank together. I carefully wound the ball from the hank and discovered that all the strands were not the same length. I tried to compensate for this and thought I had done a pretty good job until I got about 3/4 of the way through the ball of yarn. One of the strands, the thickest one, was significantly longer than the other two. As I was knitting, I kept "inching it down" the other two, but eventually it got so tangled up I couldn't go on. I wound up having to separate the strands at the end farthest away from my knitting and wind them up separately, unknotting as I went along. This was extremely time consuming. But, when all is said and done, it turned out fine. It's a little shorter than I prefer (note to self: one skein scarves could sometimes use an extra skein), but it looks fine.

Needles: US 15

Start: 11/21/11

Finished: 11/29/11

Cast on 10 stitches and knit every row

Finished measurement: 46" X 4"

This next photos is my new favorite soup. I found the recipe at the Yarn Harlot and it's called "Emergency Soup".
She used leeks, but I didn't have any so I put in my shredded zucchini and crookneck squash (2C) worth from the garden this summer. I also added a bit of broccoli - OOOOHH This is super yummy!!

Seasons Sampler Update

2011-11-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

I seem to have gotten a wee bit of my stitching mojo back and it feels good. This is the Autumn portion of the Seasons Sampler from Novalee02. I am simply in love with these colors and the way this is stitching up.

Here it is in all it's glory so far. I can't wait for the next installment for winter so I can finish it, frame it and hang it up!
Now to work on that dreaded Christmas stocking for my oldest that has been taking FOREVER!!

Romantique Sampler

2011-11-07T13:46:00.001-08:00

Finally, I have finished sections 18, 19, and 20. Only a month or so late. I am so hoping that I have not completely blown it and that the designer will send me the last installments. Stitching this has been quite a bit of fun, but also a LOT of work. I am a very slow stitcher so each section takes a long, long time.

I seem to have fallen off the face of the earth in terms of blogging and even being a part of any of the stitching and knitting groups that I have been a member of. I have been in quite a bit of a slump - just a little bit down - and not very motivated on any front. I do have some fun things to share and I will get around to doing that. I have also had my fair share of disappointments and failures which I will also share. I am feeling quite a bit better now and hope to get back into a regular blogging routine as well as participating in my groups. I truly enjoyed the groups and touching base with others that like doing the same things I like doing. Until later.

Slow stitching & baking

2011-07-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

Finally!! The Summer installment of this sampler is done! We went on a camping vacation for 10 days and it was very hard to stitch on this. I truly did not want to get it dirty and camping by nature is very dirty :o)

Anywho, it is done now but with a pretty glaring error. The taller flower should be at the same height as the other full flower. I didn't notice this until I was stitching in the butterfly trail and by then there would have been quite a bit of pulling out. I just decided to leave it as is and make the stem longer. I'm not quite sure I like it this way and will decide at a later date if I should take it out and redo or leave it as a "design element".
Spring and Summer together. I can't wait for Fall - these are really nice patterns!
Something else I have been getting into is baking "real" bread. "Real" bread to me is bread that uses yeast and does not use a breadmaker. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time, but the thought of using yeast and getting everything the right temperature and kneading and all that was pretty daunting. A friend of mine awhile back was raving about this book so when I saw it at the library, I decided that I would give it a go. Well.....it is AMAZING!! Very clear instructions and super easy to do....
Here is the dough rising. This is for four 1-pound loaves. Let it rise for a few hours, put it in the fridge for a while longer...
Pull off enough for one loaf of bread and put the rest back in the fridge for another day...shape and let rise for 40 minutes...
And PRESTO!! Bread. This is the very first loaf in the book, since then I have made many more loaves including a peasant bread recipe and olive bread. I can see that this is going to become super additive. All the kids, me and my husband love, love, love bread and this bread is super yummy! I would highly recommend this book!!

Zucchini & Crookneck Sqush - what to do??

2011-07-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

My garden runeth over with zucchini and crook neck squash. I am running out of ideas of what to do with all of them!!

I baked 10 breads two nights ago. 4 of them are from bananas that were past their prime, but the other six were from crookneck squash. Last week I made 6 loaves of zucchini bread and they have disappeared - it's MAGIC!

4 loaves of banana bread - I know boring compared with the others :o)

2 loaves of chocolate, chocolate chip crookneck squash bread

2 loaves of regular crookneck squash bread and 2 loaves with chocolate chips in them.

These are just out of the garden this morning with more on the vine. We have eaten them raw, fried, in salad, with pasta, with chicken....given gobs away......now what??? My freezer can only hold so many loaves of bread along with the other food stuffs that we need! Any ideas.....?

Summer fun & Romantique Sampler

2011-07-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

WHEW!! These last 2 parts of the Romantique were finished last night. The due date is today! Why am I always cutting it so close?

Part 13

Part 12-my favorite part so far!

Romantique Sampler in all it's glory. I get the next two parts today :o)

Summer has been so much fun. We have just been hanging out and having a blast. It's been great to just follow along with what the kids want to do! Here J is having fun building with his blocks. He spent a whole day on this.
This is a fun craft I have been wanting to do with the kids for awhile. Use oil pastels (crayons work just as well, I just had these lying around) and cover a sheet of paper completely with big blocks of different colors.
Use black acrylic paint and paint over the entire thing, then before it dries, use a popsicle stick and draw your design. If you make a mistake, not a problem! Just run your paint brush over the paper to "erase" your mistake a go at it again :o) We did this for almost an entire day they loved it so much!

13 year old saying. Pretty cool huh?!

Shrinky dinks

They never got tired of watching these shrink up in the oven! We did this on and off for three days straight - all of the kids - it's nice when everyone has fun doing the same things. Other than crafts, we have had so much fun camping, going to the beach and spending oodles of time at the library. I LOVE SUMMER!!

Coin Purses

2011-06-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

I first saw this on Hakucho's blog and thought they were so very clever that I just had to make one. The pattern is from Frankie's Knitted Stuff on Ravelry and this is the link to the pattern:

pinwheel purse.
This one is actually the 2nd one I have made and it came out pretty nice.

Started: 5/17/11

Finished: 5/21/11

Yarn: Deborah Norville Collection Serenity Garden Yarn

Needles: US Size 1

Color: DN800-04 Gems Lot: S582 2011-02

The bottom

All the parts. It really is a clever construction and a quick knit.

Putting it together is a little time consuming with all those seams.

This yarn is so pretty. The only thing I found was that it was a little splitty.

The first little purse I made that got me totally hooked.

Started: 5/13/11

Finished: 5/17/11

Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks FX

Color: 57242 clover colors Lot: 249378

Needles: US 1

I find it very interesting how these variegated sock yarns knit up. I never get tired of watching the color changes.

I have now started my third coin purse, but other knitted and stitching projects are also keeping me occupied so it might be awhile :o)

Fabulous Gift and Romantique update

2011-05-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

A wonderfully generous friend on the Bits and Bobs2 Yahoo Group sent me all this cotton!! Isn't is great! And there is so much of it! I had made the off hand comment on one of my messages that I was starting to use other kinds of yarn for my fishes because I had run out of the bits and leftovers of my cotton. She contacted me and sent me hers! There is so much here!

Look at all that cotton - isn't it wonderful. And the best part....as I knit each and every fish with this yarn, I will be thinking of this wonderful and generous friend. Thank you so much, Peggy.

My newest update for the Romantique Sampler.

Part 11

Close up of the detail - it just changes the whole look.

Part 10 - love, love, love those roses!!

Another close up of the details. I can't wait for the next installment!

weaving

2011-05-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Been doing a fair amount of weaving. About 20 minutes per day. It's relaxing and I like the rhythm.

This is meant to be a sampler - so there are tons of different stitches.
basketweave

twill - you can see that my tension is way off and it looks a little "stretched"

pointed twil - what you cannot see here are the edges - they are very uneven

herringbone

weft faced twill

warp faced twill - I have a huge written list of question for my teacher. She has her studio about an hour away so I will not visit her until I am finished with the sampler. Hopefully she has some tips for me because this sampler is very "wonky". I only have a few more patterns to complete and then I will make my next appointment.

Christmas Cross Stitch Stocking

2011-05-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

I have made a bit of progress on my oldest daughter's Christmas stocking and it feels good. I came across the "Weekend Stitch-A-Thon" blog where you stitch on a WIP/UFO on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and then post your progress on the blog. I decided that this would keep me honest and working on this stocking. I am still having a lot of start-itis and am still like a little monkey in that each new project or design is new a shiny and must be started RIGHT AWAY!! I am hoping that having to post about this same project will keep it at the front of the stack - at least on the weekends :o) The toe before....
The after - a little more on the dog and the food bowl

The before on the heel...

The after - a little more on the pillow, hair of the girl, and the bear

A picture of the whole thing right now. I am having trouble with this because there are so many color changes and little bits where the stitches need to go before I have to change again. Hopefully, with consistent work it will be done soon! Don't get me wrong, I am still enjoying stitching on this, but it just takes longer and more concentration than some of the other projects I am working on right now.

Romantique Sampler

2011-05-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

This is as close as you can cut it - Parts 7 & 8 were due today in order to receive the next two parts. I finished part 7 this morning before I got the kids off to school. WHEW!! What a relief! Can you imagine getting this far and then missing the due date???
I really and truly enjoyed these two parts. Especially part 7 with the lighter shade of pink. It's just so pretty :o)

I wanted to show a closeup of this part for the backstitching. It just adds so much to the design.

The Romantique in all it's glory so far.

K with cutie pie. I actually think the cutie pie is K ;o)

Romantique Sampler update & more fishes

2011-05-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

This sampler, when finished, will be beautiful. I simply cannot fathom how the designer came up with this. She must have an exquisite mind.
At the top, with the flowers is part 8. I did part 8 before part 7 for two reasons. The first reason is that part 8 has much more stitching to it and I thought if I did it first, part 7 would seem much more doable before the deadline! The second reason is that part 7 had a color of floss that I didn't have at the time. Of course this "problem" has been rectified.

A close up - this part was very fun to stitch and went relatively quickly.

9 more fish-WITH the ends all woven in.

Total fish to date = 105

Can you see the one with fun fur......

TUSAL, fishes, gardening

2011-05-04T19:39:00.001-07:00

Here is my April TUSAL! Just look at all those threads! There is lots of DMC from cross stitching, there is the plastic lanyard from lanyard making on our vacation, and lots and lots of cotton from weaving in the ends of fishes. I think I'll need a bigger jar for my TUSAL soon :o)

What you see here are 4 stacks of fish that equal 96 fishes. Why am I showing you all the same fishes yet again??? Well.....these fish have all their ends woven in! You betcha! I sat down and wove in all the ends one right after another - now, I am weaving the ends just as soon as I finish a fish. I absolutely do not want to have to go on another end weaving binge again, EVER.

I was also busy planting. I love spring so much! We planted strawberries...

radishes, tomatoes and eggplant (there are now three different kinds of lettuce in this bed now as well)...

crookneck squash and zucchini (there are also 2 artichoke plants here now). Boy did we have fun!! Mostly the 6year old and myself, but everyone did a little bit. You can bet they are all going to want to eat our harvest :o) I also want to plant some sunflower seeds, some gourds and a few pumpkins from our pumpkins last year. Why are there only 24 hours in every day???

Random Finishes

2011-05-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

I found this little hand loom that I had purchased ages ago when I cleaned out one of the closets. I got it on clearance somewhere to use a some later date. Now the 9yo is enjoying weaving just like her mom :o)

This is just the start. We take turns - her request - so we can work together on it. How cute is that?!

I made another earring holder for another birthday :o)

This is a laptop bag for my mother-in-law's birthday. I got pictures of all the grandkids and transfered them onto fabric that can go through the printer. After they were printed out and ironed on, I hand sewed around the edges just to make sure they would stay put.

Good thing there are only 8 grandchildren so far!

A little St. Patrick's Day pot made with decoupage. Kind of cute, huh?

Easter Sampler - finished?

2011-04-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to pieces with this sampler!! Head on over to Novalee02 to see all the wonderful finishes for this.

I have a question: When do you consider a stitched piece finished?? When the stitching is done? Or when it has been made up into something or framed? It would be nice to add this to my finishes for this year RIGHT NOW - but somehow I'm not quite convinced that it's totally done. What do you do?

2011-04-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!! Today should prove to be so much fun! All the kiddos are still asleep, but the baskets are hidden around the house and there are MANY eggs hidden in the backyard :o) The cousins should be here around 10:00 and then the real fun will begin. I just can't wait!!

While we were on vacation in Maui, we drove to a lot of different beaches to snorkel and to hike. The snorkeling was fabulous and the hiking was so beautiful - I couldn't believe how lush and green everything was and how many waterfalls we could hike down to. "Little" J is a better climber than his mommy! Anyway, while my husband was driving, I would knit - 21 fish I knit. I didn't even know how many until I got home and started weaving in all the ends!! That brings my count up to 96! I am now officially past the halfway point (I need 180 total) - VERY exciting. When I first started knitting these fish, I did not weave in the ends. Whenever I ended one fish I immediately cast on for the next. As a result there are lots and lots of fish that still need their ends woven in. So now I am alternating between knitting fish and weaving in the ends. I can't wait to get them all finished so I can lay them out and begin sewing them together!

I have also been working a little bit more on my weaving. This pattern is called "rep" and is very tightly woven. You have to beat it really hard so that none of the warp threads can be seen.

This closeup show that all that is visible are the weft threads.

This next pattern is called the basketweave. You are supposed to be able to see the warp threads as much as you see the weft threads. You cannot because I beat this pattern way too hard. I was in the groove of beating and when I changed patterns, I forgot to just let it go. This has been such a great learning experience!! I have quite a few other patterns to try out before I go back to the shop where I took a lesson and my teacher can show me how to get this off of the loom and then rewarp for a new project. Weaving is so much fun and once you get into the rhythm it's very hard to stop!

Did you see??

2011-04-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

this beautiful shawl pattern from knitty?? Isn't it exquisite?? I love the way it looks. Not only that, but the way it is knit looks very interesting - a NEW to me technique!!! I have way too many things on the go right now, but I will keep it on the top of my to do list. We were away last week in Hawaii - we had such a wonderful and relaxing time. The kids did really well on the plane and the trip could not have gone better. Lots of beach time and hiking. It was too sad to come home to a regular schedule once again!! Above is my Easter Sampler after Part 6. I finished Part 7 on our trip and am now most of the way done with part 8. I just don't have any updated pictures yet.

Parts 1-6

I did manage to finish part 6 of the Romantique Sampler and get the photo to the designer before we left. Thanks so much for the encouragement Hakucho!!!

A close up just because I think it is so pretty!
Parts 1-6

Waves of Love Dishcloth from the Monthly Discloth Group.

I love this color and the design on this cloth.

I am now behind by two dishcloths!! I told myself I would make them all this year (I have not been able to do that in the past) - I better get cracking!!

Romantique Sampler progress and Kid's sewing

2011-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

These two sections of the Romantique Sampler seem to be taking me FOREVER to stitch. I know it's just me - the pattern is lovely - I am enjoying stitching - but I just stitch so slowly!!

Section 5 complete. Section 6 on it's way. This picture is from a few days ago and I am now at the half way mark. I need to finish this by the 10th. I think it is possible :o)

9 year old finished her little bear and is so happy with it.

I surprised her by stitching up the larger bear and giving it to her when the smaller one was done. She was thrilled!!

TUSAL & 2011 KALendar mystery shawl

2011-04-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is my TUSAL for April 1st. The larger bits are from the fish I am knitting. All the other threads are from various cross stitch projects.

It's kind of cool to drop the ends of my threads in and watch the beautiful color changes! I finished clue 3 of the 2011 KALendar mystery shawl. I am really liking this knit and also knitting from a chart once again. I had forgotten how fun it is to see your stitches take shape like this.

We had the option to add beads or nupps. I chose to do both. I was having an awful time with the nupps. I found a way that worked for me where on the row that I had to knit all those little stitches together, I used a size US0 needle - that worked, but was really slow. Then on ravelry, one of the other knitters knitting this shawl posted a link to a youtube video for the Easy Peasy Nupp! This method worked wonders for me and is how I finished up the nupps without going stark raving mad.

It is now big enough to move it to circular needles which is what I did and I have actually been working on clue 4 so am a little farther than this picture shows. It's so nice to be knitting something a little challenging and to be learning something new in my knitting!!

Easter Sampler Parts 4 & 5

2011-03-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

This little sampler is working up so fast and easy and it is so cute. Each section is a delight to stitch. I can't wait until Saturday to get the next part...

Above is part 4 - aren't those butterflies adorable!

Part 5 is the vine and the flower in the lower left. So very springlike - like the weather we are having now. Parts 1 through 5. Each time I put this down, I just can't wait for the next pattern.

Now....I seem to be struggling with the Romantique Sampler. So very much stitching. It's very lovely and I am glad to be a part of that SAL, but I fear that I will not be able to keep up. I am only about one fifth of the way through pattern 6 and I need to be done by next Friday. Wish me luck!

Weaving!!

2011-03-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

Finally I am weaving!!! There is a story about this. About a month ago I bought this loom for a great price $250 (at least I thought it was a great deal). Anyway, I brought it home and since I didn't know anything about looms or weaving, I thought it was great. I went about finding someone to show me how to warp it and how to weave. There are a couple of places near me that do this sort of thing, but both those places could not accommodate my schedule. Not that I am so very busy, but I do have a Kinder who gets out of school at 11:45 on most days. I searched around and found a dealer of this particular loom in Berkeley (about an hour away). She would give me private lessons on my loom on the one day that I have some extra time, and she was very reasonably priced. We started talking about my loom and I discovered that there were many pieces missing. It was actually inoperable the way I got it. I was so BUMMED - I couldn't believe that the woman who had sold it to me would do that. She seemed so nice and told me everything was there. I called her and for a week or so kept stalling about where the pieces were and now does not call me. Anyway, there is a VERY GOOD ending to this story. I have a very handy husband who took a look at the loom and proceeded to make the missing pieces. Can you believe that!!
Firstly, it needed bottom heddle bars - those were made. Then we needed warp sticks - approx. 20 of them - those were made. Then I needed tie sticks and lease sticks - those were made. With all the "important" pieces made, I trecked up to Berkeley for my first lesson on how to dress the loom and warp the loom.

It took 5 hours to get the loom in shape and get the warp threads on the warp beam. We had to retie the whole loom. The ties on the beams were completely wrong and the cords for the levers and upper heddle bar were so old they were breaking. We replaced all this, but it was not easy. Since the old cording that was used was much thinnner than the newer, stronger cording it was extremely difficult to get it through the little holes in the top of the levers. Some drilling had to happen. And it was done!! I didn't have time to stay and learn how to finish warping and then to learn how to weave so I made an appointment and went home.

My homework from the first lesson was to thread all the yarn through the heddles in a specific order and then thread them through the reed. I eagerly did all that and went yesterday for my second lesson. WOW!! Most of the prep work was done so finishing up the warp went pretty easily and then I - GOT - TO - WEAVE!! How exciting!!

I am weaving a sampler so that I can get a good feel for weaving and for some different patterns and textures. I am a bit farther than this picture shows and am loving every bit of it!!

Hula Hoop Weaving

2011-03-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

I still subscribe to Family Fun Magazine. They have great craft, game, recipe ideas and I still just love to look through a good magazine. We got our March issue and in it was an article on weaving with a Hula Hoop. Oldest daughter had been looking at the magazine while having a snack one day and decided that she just HAD to try it out.
She cut up all her (and some of her siblings) old soccer uniforms and started weaving. Our hula hoop is much smaller than the one called for, but it worked like charm!

Here is the first one completed!

And now she can't stop - she has used up the uniforms and is now cutting up shirts and sweaters that her siblings have grown out of and no one else wants. She is talking about somehow attaching them all and making a small rug for her room!! How great is that! A regular chip off the old block.

This is a close up of one of the little woven circles. This is made of soccer and basketball uniforms. I must say I think this is pretty neat.

2011-03-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am having so much fun with the Easter Sampler from novalee02. Sign ups for this one are now closed, but I hope she does more of these in the future. They are cute and easy!

Part 3
Parts 1 through 3
Isn't it cute!

It's Back!!

2011-03-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's kind of funny how things change as time passes. This blog started out as a way to share my knitting. There was almost exclusively knitting content with a little family stuff thrown in along the way. My family is my life and all this other crafting stuff is really just an outlet for me. A way for me to relax and to sometimes challenge myself, but on my own terms and in the time I decide to allot to it. Anyway, I lost my knitting mojo for these past few months. I think it might have something to do with all the holiday knitting I did. Six blankets - 5 of them fully cover twin beds and the sixth one is queen size - kind of did me in. I did not have any desire to really knit anymore. So....this space turned into a cross stitch space - I love cross stitch and it was the first handcraft besides sewing that I learned.

Well...enter the 2011 Kalendar KAL. It is right up my alley. A lace shawl and it is a mystery - the clues will be released one at a time - I simply love these KAL's. They are so much fun!! The first two clues have been released already with the third one coming on the 21st of this month. This totally renewed my knitting mojo!! I went right up to Uncommon Threads and bought the right amount of lace weight yarn. Isn't that such a great color?!! It is so soft too. Then I immediately tried to cast on.....

This is clue one complete. It took me HOURS and many, many tried to get this cast on circularly. I tried to cast on the regular way I usually do with hats - No Go - I just couldn't keep everything straight. After I tried that method a few times, I decided that maybe I didn't want to do the square shawl, maybe I just wanted to do the triangular one. I cast on for that and completed clue one - well, I have done triangular shawls and rectangular shawls, but not one that is square and I knew that I just had to make this one square. I promptly ripped out all my work and tried again my way to cast on - No Way. It Was Not Going To Work At All! Then I tried to crochet a circle like the tip on NeverFrog Blog but that didn't work for me either - I tried that a few times. Then I tried fleegle's way - I tried this many times - not working. I was so very frustrated - Why Couldn't I do This????? Then I tried the picture tutorial of Emily Ocker's Cast On - I was simply shocked. It Worked!!! I felt great!! And clue one was completed in no time.

I just completed clue 2 and couldn't be happier. Well, I guess I'd be happier if I had clue 3 to work on now, but I can wait. And I learned something new! I am pretty jazzed.

Katie the Kangaroo - the March 1st Dishcloth from the Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo Group.

And lest you think I am shirking my fishing duties, here are 17 more fish. I have definitely slowed way down from completing one a day and now am just making one every two or three days, but I am still plugging away at them. This brings the total up to 85 - only 5 more and I am half way done with the knitting.

OakHaven Designs SAL

2011-03-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

This little guy is so cute!! These stitch up so quickly they almost stitch themselves :o)

The March section
This is the January section. I finally decided to outline him because I was tired of only seeing his eyes and feet. The fabric I chose is not dark enough for the white thread to show up on.

All three sections before January was outlined

After January was outlined. He really does stand out much better, but I am not sure about all the other outlining.

2011-03-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I got really, really lucky. Carole at novalee02 did indeed take pity on me and sent me section 2 of her oh, so cute, Easter Sampler.

I stitched it up this morning while I was sitting with sick kids. Isn't it pretty??
Here is both section 1 and section 2 together. I am in love with it!

This next piece is the start of the Star Sampler by Lady Periphaeria. I have two sections, but am still working on section one. This will be put down tomorrow as the next two sections of the Romantique Sampler are due out.

What is the best thing when you are sick? Your big brother!

By the way, big brother is now sick :o(

New SAL and TUSAL

2011-03-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last week I saw the most adorable start to a new SAL on DJ's blog Tickled Pink in Stitches. I clicked on over using the link she provided and quickly downloaded the instructions for this SAL.
It's an Easter Sampler SAL and is the cutest ever! Unfortunately, registration is now closed as of March 7th and I didn't even realize I needed to register. I knew I needed to send in a picture of the first step before I would be able to receive the second step. I sent in my picture this morning (that's when I finished it) and sent an email with the photo - hopefully the designer will take pity on me and let me join and finish this. Here - can you see that my fingers are crossed!

I decided to join in on the TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long) over at Daffycat. It looks like fun to post a picture of your clippings every month and see them grow - and change color with the projects that are being worked on. I also have instructions somewhere around here on how to use these threads to make some decorative paper.....we'll see if that ever happens :o) For right now, it's just fun to drop the little bits of thread (and sometimes yarn) into the jar and look at it. I find it quite pretty!

Tree of Stitches and Something NEW!

2011-03-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

The Tree of Stitches from The Stitch Specialists Yahoo Group. This little piece comprises a bunch of firsts for me. I know the basic cross stitch, but there are two other stitches in this that I had never tried. It is the first time I am working on Linen - it is 28 count and I am working over 2 threads - also a first for me, working over two threads. It is the first time I am using anything other than DMC cotton. These threads are hand dyed and I bought them at a needle work shop. It was the first time I had been in a real needle work shop - EGAD I cannot say enough about this shop. It was.....amazing! So many beautiful canvases, fabrics to stitch on, threads, magazines and I am sure much more. I was so overwhelmed I simply could not take it all in. The woman who helped me was so very nice. She helped me pick out my fabric and my threads - Whew!! I don't think I would have been able to do it on my own - too many choices :o)
This picture comprises the first four installments. I have been looking at all the other trees in our group and they are all very lovely and all different. I have a few issues with my own though. Firstly, I am not sure I like the way the hand dyed thread I chose for the trunk of the tree looks striped. I was picturing in my head a more motled look....hmmm.....do you know any striped trees out there?

This picture really shows where I ran into trouble. I loved the french knots and think those are ok. I also really liked the smyrna stitches - those were pretty fun. Then came the eyelets - I have struggled mightily with these. They are not exactly in the right places - I had trouble seeing where to place the stitches. The linen is giving my trouble too - the threads are not an even thickness and I found it hard to count and figure out where to place other design elements like the branch at the top. It is woefully out of place as are the eyelets right underneath it. I have decided to wait for the next part of this design to see if I need to take them out or if I can capitalize on my mistake and call it a design element. All in all I am having great fun with this. I love to try new things and I know with practice all these little challenges I am running into will clear themselves up, but as usual I am impatient with myself!

Look what followed me home!

A new to me Glimakra Victoria 4 harness loom!

She has been sitting in someone's storage for the last 35 years and I have to figure out how to set her up, but isn't she LOVELY!!!

Updates

2011-03-03T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have lots of updates and fun things going on around here :o) I have been kind of in a funk lately and happily am pulling out of it. So without further ado......

I present sections 3 & 4 of the Romantique Sampler
Here is "most" of it in all it's glory. You can see how close I went to the edge of the fabric. It is the same on the other side so I will need to watch it very carefully for fraying.

Here is the February part of the OakHaven Designs SAL. These are so much fun to do!! I just got the third part yesterday and can't wait to begin. There are other things I need to do first, but I will start working on this soon.

January and February together - aren't they sweet!! I realize even more now, since seeing this photo, that the January owl needs to be outlined.

The February Mid-Month Dishcloth. I really like the pattern but now matter what I did, I simply could not get a better photo. Take it from me that the texture is really nice.

Romantique Sampler progress

2011-02-20T09:00:00.001-08:00

Section 3 is complete!! I am really loving this design - I have never stitched a sampler before so this is completely new.
After I completed section 3 I was really, really worried that I didn't have enough fabric to do section 4. I have now started section 4 and I do have enought room, but just barely!

Sections 1, 2, and 3 all together. I can't wait to finish section 4 :o)

Fishing

2011-02-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Fifteen fish "caught" in the last two weeks. I can't believe how many of the hot blue fish I got out of that ball of yarn after knitting a dishcloth. Granted the dishcloth was on the small side and I did use the Lion Brand Cotton which seems to have more yarn in each ball, but still.
I will need to do something about organizing these so that the colors are more spread out.

A respectable 68 fish so far!! I need a total of 180 so I am not quite half way there.

What do you do with an Easy Bake Oven that your 9 year old got for her birthday, but doesn't like because she bakes in the "real" oven?? Give it to the 6 year old. He LOVE, LoVE, Loves it!! The kits for these are uber expensive, but I have heard that there is a website that shows how to create goodies from your kitchen cabinets. Time to start browsing!

He is so proud of himself. He can make these all by himself which is so important to him right now. He is a big boy after all, you know :o) I didn't get a picture of the finished product because as soon as it came out and cooled off, he broke it into 9 separate pieces and handed it out to everyone. Because: "Mommy, it tastes so much better when everyone is sharing and eating at the same time." Boy, does he have it right or what?!

cross stitching

2011-02-16T06:06:00.000-08:00

This past week has been totally terrible. I lost one good friend to breast cancer on her 49th birthday and found out another friend has pancreatic cancer that has spread to her lungs. It is non operable so they are treating her with chemo. These two ladies I met when my older kids went to the parent participation preschool - they live/d a healthy life, exercize and good food. I am sad beyond belief. My cross stitch and knitting has kind of (but not really) taken my mind off things for a bit of time. My dad tells me that I need to move on - that these things happen. I know he is right. I am holding my kids and husband really close and appreciating all the little things going on on a daily basis.
I have managed to make some good progress on T's Christmas stocking. Above is the toe from the last time I blogged.

And here is how it looks as of yesterday. I did work on it a little bit last night so things have changed a bit.

This is the heel part

Some progress made over here as well. I seem to just jump around willy nilly as the mood takes me. It is totally amazing to me that some of the blogging pictures I look at have a "line" of stitches - like they stop at the same point in a row all the way down a section - How do they do that?

Betsy the Bass

2011-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is a cute little cloth named "Betsy the Bass" designed by Janet Nogle who is the moderator on the Monthly Dishcloth Group.

I think the above picture is of the front - it sure stands out nicely :o)

Started: 02/01/2011

Finished: 02/10/2011

Needles: US5

Yarn: Lily Sugar'n Cream

Color: 01742 Hot Blue

Lot: 1005 237084

or is this the front?

Both sides look really nice -- Huh....I just noticed that there is a part on the border (right by the tail - do you see it?) that is not garter stitched.....well...I don't think I'll take it apart. We just use these around the house so I think I am the only one it will bother.

FINALLY!!!

2011-02-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the second section of the Romantique Sampler by Angie. I love, love, love it!! It took way longer to stitch the second part than I anticipated, but I am so happy with it.

Here is both section 1 and 2 together.
A close up of section 2. Aren't those heart flowers sweet?!
Now to send these pictures to the designer so I can get the next two sections.
Can't wait!!!

S..L..O..W

2011-02-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

That's the word for the week this week. We have been very busy as a family so as a result not too much in the way of crafty work :o( I am also fighting off some kind of cold and my energy has been a bit low. But I am NOT sick!!
Progress on the Monthly Dishcloth - only the first day and of course everyone else is done already.

But, played with this little guy

For some reason he likes the back as much as the front. It is neat the way the pegs stick through.

This fish represents the end of this particular ball of cotton.

10yo making a fleece pillow. It's not done yet. I helped a bit and then one of his friends came over and helped him to knot. Just the rest of the stuffing left!

15yo daughter made this cake - I frosted it - for her French teacher. The teacher has been out for a bit dealing with a cancer and is supposedly cancer free now, but she is very tired and worn out and I believe needs some more treatments so she is taking the rest of the year off. We wish her all the best and the cake says: "Good Luck Madame Wolfeld" I hope she is back next year with some good stories to tell.

8 fish for the week

This is as far as I have gotten on the second section of the Romantique Sampler. I hope to finish this section soon so I can receive the next sections.

This is how it looks with the first section.

AND since I was looking around the internet, I found a new SAL that is working on special stitches and I thought I would join in. It's called the "Tree of Stitches" and I first found out about it on DJ's blog, Tickled Pink In Stitches. Her blog is fabulous!! That led me to the Stitch Specialists Yahoo Group where this pattern can be found. It seems like a very nice and friendly group - everyone helping eachother out. I can't wait to start this!

"Cinderella" Apron Challenge

2011-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am so excited!!! Jenny of Elefantz had a challenge. It was to repurpose a skirt and make it into an apron. I wanted to take this challenge very much, but with other things going on and other projects that I had been doing, I thought I wouldn't be able to complete it. Well....I took some time this morning and made the apron:o) Without any more ado, here are the before and after pictures:
I didn't have a skirt that I could use for this project. I don't have very many of them and the ones I do have I really like a lot. They have elastic waistbands that change with my growing or shrinking waist depending on the season and how much I feel like exercizing. Anyway, this is a flower girl dress that my oldest wore many years ago when she was in a wedding of my husband's cousin.

I loved this dress on her!! I loved the fabric - 100% cotton - and it was so comfortable for her to wear. I love the flowers and the design and could not bear to part with it.

I am so glad to have been able to repurpose this into something useful that we will see almost everyday! Although it was hard to cut it apart at first - I was very nervous that I would ruin it.

But, all turned out well. I used just a plain blue cotton for the waistband.

And here I am wearing it. Sorry for the glare in the picture - I took it in the mirror in one of the kid's rooms, but it does fit!! And I couldn't be more thrilled!!! I wonder how long it will take for one of the kids to steal this from me to use for themselves.......?

Progress Reports

2011-01-29T08:20:00.000-08:00

Progress Reports - that's all I have, but I have been so excited to be working on all these things that I have not gotten much in the way of domestic duties kept up.
First up is the Romantique Sampler by Angie Designer. This is a SAL but you have to complete each portion of the pattern before you receive the next portion. I have the first two sections, but have only worked on section one so far. Above is a photo of how it looked earlier this week.

Here it is without the backstitching....

And here is section one complete - what a difference backstitching makes!! I love taking before and after shots of backstitching.

Some knitting got done - the Mid Month Dishcloth for my Dishcloth Group. This one is called Freedom. I started this one in the two colors called for, but decided that there wasn't enough contrast between them so switched out the green for this ombre.

Needles: US5

Yarn: Lily Sugar'n Cream

Color: 01105 Country Blue and

00165 Daisy Ombre

I love this dishcloth pattern. It was easy to knit up and the effect is very striking.

My mandatory fish picture of the week :o)

It keeps me honest - I know I need to knit at least 7 so I keep at it. This week there are only 8 because I was so distracted with other projects! And I don't anticipate next week being much better :o) I seem to be easily distracted............

I started sewing the fish together and this is as far as I got. I do like the way it looks! Right now, it is not easy for me to do this so I have to concentrate. This kind of keeps me from sewing them together at recitals, games and the like, but slowly and surely it will get done :o)

Santa Cross Stitch update

2011-01-25T20:32:00.001-08:00

I have been diligently working on my cross stitch stocking every evening in order to make a little progress.

I just looked back at my last post of this here (scroll all the way to the bottom) and I am heartened by what I see :o) Even though it has felt as if I am making no progress at all as I am stitching each night the pictures show me that I am!

I guess an hour or two each evening truly counts!!

So exciting! Just one of the many reasons to have a blog to track the progress of projects, especially long term ones like this one :o)

OakHaven Designs SAL Progress

2011-01-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

So...this has not been as straight forward as I would have hoped. The design is VERY cute and is pretty simple - no half or quarter stitches - no real backstitching to speak of. However, it is my inexperience as a stitcher that has held things back for a bit.
I started first with the back stitching in the upper left hand corner and quickly realized that counting all those stitches as I stitched down the side would be a disaster - I haven't mastered the art of counting accurately above 10 yet :o) Then I started putting in the stitches for the snowflakes and decided that I should put in "guidelines every 10 rows. That was ok.

After I stitched for awhile, I realized that the color "dirty" called for in the pattern was not just cream - these white stitches really did not show up at all. It took me a few days to get out to the craft store where I purchased some really pretty light blue 14ct Aida cloth and promptly started out again. Part of the way throught this rendition, I realized that the white was not showing up all that well on the blue either, but I kept going and this morning finally finished the January part of this SAL.

I really love this cute little owl, but the background color is not dark enough to show the stitches. At this point, I see two choices: 1. Leave it as is and go back and backstitch around the little guy if it really still bothers me at a later date or 2. I can get some even darker fabric and re-stitch him. I am a little relunctant to do that as I don't know what the next patterns will be. If I choose a fabric that is too dark, it might not show up the next sections very well.....I will wait and see.....

And the requisite fishie photo for this week.

12 of them again

Even I am getting sick of these photos

But not the fish :o)

I did figure out that if I want a finished blanket that is approximately 4 feet X 6 feet, I will need 180 fish. Not bad.....If I keep up the same way as I am going now, I could totally be done by the end of the year. Can I stick to one project that long?????

Fish & Scrappy Scarf

2011-01-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

12 fish for this week. My goal for this year is one per day and I now have 15 fish. So on some days I have time to make one or more and some days I don't finish even one. The hope is that by the end of the year I will have enough fish to make a complete blanket. I haven't quite figured out how many I will need......That might be a truly scary number!! And then of course they will need to be attached together in some form or fashion. It's very exciting to be using up all these bits and pieces of cotton that are left over from dishcloths and other projects and have been sitting in a bag for a very long time. Some of the balls were very small and needed to be combined with other colors -kind of fun! They are so quick that they have become very addictive and each time I finish one, it feels great! Then I leave them in a little stack on the corner of my kitchen counter as inspiration to keep going and at the end of the week take a picture. It's been working so far!

I also worked briefly on this scrappy scarf that was started some time ago, but quickly decided that it took away too much time from the fish :o) After the fish blanket is complete this will be what the scraps of cotton go to. There are so many other exciting things that I am working on that I can't wait to share them, but right now there are many hungry mouths awaiting waffles!!

Finishes and Starts

2011-01-07T06:09:00.000-08:00

The First Dishcloth from the Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo Group

"Happy 2011" Dishcloth

Started: 1/1/2011

Finished: 1/4/2011

Needles: US5

Yarn: Lily Sugar'n Cream

Color: 00026

Lot: 1008 245636

Oh so fun to knit!

Yet another fish. This one is using leftovers from the Last Summer Splash Handbag.
Started the SAL for the Oak Haven Designs Yahoo Group.

I have gotten farther than this picture shows, but the design does not show up well on this light fabric so I don't like it. I went out yesterday and bought some beautiful sea green Aida 14 count fabric and will start all over again tomorrow.

This is the fabric from my stash that I have chosen for the Birdie Stitches Block of the Month over at Little Miss Shabby

Here is some of it cut. Boy does cutting this fabric into 2.5 X 2.5 inch squares take a LONG time! Each one of the blocks for this BOM will take 20 of these so I thought I would just cut them all out at once and then get started. What I spend in time now, will feel like a huge savings as things get busier and all I need to do is choose squares and sew them together.

T-shirts (12 of them) that I have chosen to make a T-Shirt quilt for my DH for his birthday coming up in March.

The T-shirts are all running shirts from foot races that he has participated in. They have just been sitting on his shelves (he has soooo many of them) and he can't bear to part with them. I hope he likes the quilt!

Fish & robot fun

2011-01-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

Started making fish again :o) One day I will have enough to complete a blanket!

Green yarn from Last Summer Splash Handbag
J got a robot kit for the holidays.He very carefully colored in all the little pieces.

Then we build the robots together.

Quite a cool little kit.

J enjoyed every bit of making these.

His robot family!

Last Summer Splash

2010-12-31T07:08:00.000-08:00

I just finished the knitting on this bag. The pattern is called "Last Summer Splash" and is designed by Ana Maria Delk. She submitted this as a free pattern on the Bag-A-Holic Yahoo Group (now non-active) back in August 2007. I found mention of this bag on Ana's Ravelry page but not the pattern. It is a very easy knit and I love the colors and the way it looks.

Started: 8/10/2007

Knitting Finished: 12/28/2010

Needles: US8

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns, Squiggle

Color: 4705

Lot: E0068330

This is the yarn in the photo that has the felt looking strips on it

Yarn: Lion Brand Fun Fur

Color: 194 Lime

Lot: 579

Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic

Color: 3805 Aqua

Lot: 833

Color: 3726 Green

Lot: 851

Color: 3402 Orange

Lot: 866

I still need to make a frame for this bag. This was started when I was very new to knitting and wasn't quite aware that very loose knitting would make for a very floppy bag - one with no structure whatsoever. I will get to that sometime in the near future. I am sure it will be an adventure as I have not done this before :o)

The start of 40 inches of I-cord for the drawstring
Hexagon #13

Hexagon #14 for the Whirlygig

It's nice to be bringing out some of my projects that have lain dormant for so long. It's also very nice to be knitting just to be knitting, not to be knitting for gifts and on a deadline. VERY relaxing!!

Patchfolio #2

2010-12-29T07:31:00.001-08:00

The last holiday gift was another Patchfolio. I made one of these for my youngest son for his birthday earlier this year and blogged about it here: http://stitchingirl.blogspot.com/2010/02/mini-wrapfolio.html
This time, I wanted to use those cool Twistable Crayons that seem to be at the height of interest right now for the elementary aged girls as this was to be for my 10 year old niece.

I measured and remeasured, cut (and recut!!), and thought I had the perfect size for this set up.

This is the fabric I chose for the inside of this patchfolio and the pocket. I just love the butterflies but the picture does not show the irridescent gold that outlines each one - truly pretty.

For this patchfolio, I pieced the front just like the original pattern called for with one modification. I only used one fabric, the one from the inside, and the rest were ribbons that I had laying around. I chose different stitches from my machine to sew the ribbons to eachother and was very pleased with the result.

However, I must have measured incorrectly! The patchfolio was too small for the pad of paper that I had chosen. I found a smaller one and that worked out just fine. I had seen this type of elastic closure on another website with a similar patchfolio and thought I would try it - it looked easy to use and easy to assemble. The end result is not that great - I much prefer the wrapped style where the patchfolio is long enough to wrap around and totally enclose the end with a velcro fastener like I did the first time. I just like that it is much neater looking and I think would have been much easier to use - the original pattern is made this way and I wish I had followed those directions. I did not have time to redo this and did gift it. My niece totally loved it and started using it right away which was very nice.

This is a close up of the patched front. I am completely happy with this!! So......when I make more of these, and I know that I will - I will make them wider so that they can close with velcro. I will also bind the edges with binding. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, but my satin stitch just does not completely cover all the layers even when I do two rounds as was done this time. There are definitely more of these in my future - all the rest of my kids want them and I think they are great take alongs for trips in the car for kids. Everything is there for them to entertain themselves for quite awhile. Love it!!

Holiday gifts and an OLD project

2010-12-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

These Alien Pillows were very fun and easy to work up. They went quickly and the Pomp-A-Doodle yarn is nice to work with :o) The kids thought they were a hoot and now all of them including the cousins want one for themselves. Something to keep in mind.......

Alien Pillows
Pattern by Red Heart

The Antenna took quite awhile to knit and then to sew pom poms to the end. All in all very worth the effort judging by the reactions when they were opened :o)

The kids loved them!! My neighbor loved them so much she wants me to make a few for our annual school auction. We'll see how I feel - right now, I'm a little "knitted out". My mojo has left me.

A super simple necklace. Wire and pendant from Michael's.

Assembly time: 8 seconds!

Another one

Not such a great picture, but the best of the lot.

I have brought back this Christmas stocking out of hiding. It is intended for my oldest daughter. I have seven of these in different patterns - one for each of us. I have lofty goals to say the least!!

I worked on it last night and am remembering how much fun cross stitch is - even though my eyes are not as good as they used to be!! Maybe this year I will finish it. There is not too much left to stitch and then there will be the finishing, but hopefully with some consistent attention, progress will be made.

Another Baby Blanket

2010-12-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Friends of ours had their first grandchild!

This is the blanket for this new addition.
I love the little monkeys!!

It has to have his name on it.

The backing is just fleece. Hopefully it will keep him warm :o)

2010-12-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

We are getting into this kit thing - E saw this and wanted to make it so I said "yes"!
It's actually well written. The holes are pre-punched for ease and also I think so that the finished product looks like the picture on the front of the box.

E is loving it!

This picture was actually taken a few days ago. She is almost done with the stitching along the outside and will stuff it soon.

T at the winter concert at her high school. They all look so polished in their dresses!

K at her concert - the band is very good this year :o)

What Ty (10 years old) put on his poster about him that hangs in the classroom. I laughed so hard I almost had to sit down!!!

When 8 becomes 9

2010-12-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

E turned 9 over the Thanksgiving holiday so we decided to hold her party in the early part of December so that all of her friends could celebrate with her. The party was this past Saturday - she planned the whole thing and took charge of getting her friends in order :o)
This is the cake I made for the festivities. She wanted her "favorite" chocolate cake. So that is what I baked - 2 layers with raspberry jam in the middle. Covered with melted chocolate. Then I tried to get fancy. Heavy on the "tried"!! I melted white chocolate chips and thinned them with a little bit of crisco. Then dropped little circles around the cake and dragged a skewer through them to make the harts (some more successfully than others!) - notice that there are 9 of them :o). No matter, she loved it and it tasted good so not a total disaster! Although I think it could qualify as one of the cakes featured on Cake Wrecks.

All E really wanted to do was to play games with her friends. She made a list of games that she thought would be fun. This balloon game was the first - the kids stand in a circle and starting with one balloon try to keep it in the air - not letting it touch the floor - gradually more balloons are added one by one until chaos insues. All my kids love this game! The next game was telephone (such a classic party game) and then freeze dance. After which they were ravenous and we ate dinner.

After dinner, the girls created night shirts to sleep in and to take home instead of a goodie bag. They are just large men's t-shirts from Costco and permanent markers. Sooooo very easy!!

Then another favorite game - Frozen T-shirts. This one requires a little bit of prep as the T-shirts need to be soaked in water, squeezed out, folded up and then put into the freezer for a few days to freeze solid.

The object of this game is to pry it open and be the first to actually get it on. This can be quite a challenge and takes a bit longer than one might expect :o) After they all got the cold shirts on, they went into the hot tub to warm up. Then onto cake, ice cream and gifts.

Here are all the girls in their nightshirts ready for bed.

The next morning E had more fun games planned. Mummy wrapping - the kids pair up and wrap eachother in toilet paper to make them look like mummies. They have a certain amount of time and then the wrappee escapes from her wrapping and the partners trade places.

This year the kids got quite creative.....

Adding all kinds of props!

The last game was to build a free standing structure using only straws and masking tape. This group is talking strategy.

The winners!! This structure was taller than my husband who is 5' 11" tall!

This is the other structure. Hmmmm.....glad they didn't design my house :o)

E and her friends had a great time!! Way to go 9 year old!

Games & Knitting

2010-12-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

I have been having so much fun lately!! All of my holiday knitting is done - three items need to have the ends woven and then sewn up, but a couple of nights should do it. Then there are two items that need to be finished on the sewing machine. All in all it feels great to be done ahead of schedule!!

Another mini-bear. I love the colors of the skirt.

More beading although it is very hard to see the green beads on the hem of the skirt in this photo. It is easier to see the orange ones at the belt area.

Lots of game playing around here. It seems like we go in cycles with our activities. This Sorry game is from my childhood - it's simply amazing that it has lasted this long!! Sorry is a great game for kids of all ages and we truly enjoy playing it :o)
My oldest daughter (15 eeeek!) showed us a new card game called, "Egyptian Rat War". It is quite entertaining with much slapping of the cards in the discard pile. It is quite loud and rowdy too!! I find that I get loud and rowdy also which entertains them all imensely!! Nothing better to them than having to tell mom, "you're being too loud!"

"Unscrunchable" Scarves

2010-12-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

I tried out this pattern from Mary Ann over at Miss Woolly Knits - I can't make blogger accept the url so that you can just click on "Miss Woolly Knits so here it is in all it's glory:

http://knittingbunny.blogspot.com/2009/01/unscrunchable.html

I hope that works if you are interested. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll try something else :o)

Started: 11/2/2010

Finished: 11/30/2010

Needles: Special unique ones to be explained later in this post :o)

Yarn: Sensations - It's A Wrap

Color: 221 Blue/Angel Hair Lot: 1025

Measures: 6 7/8" X 60"

I cast on 28 stitches to start

This yarn is super soft and I LOVE it! The scarf is intended for my step mom and I chose this color specifically to go with her very vibrant blue eyes!

Started: 10/24/2010

Finished: 11/2/2010

Needles: Same as above

Yarn: Sensations - It's A Wrap

Color: 3 Taupe Lot: 10445

Measures: 8" X 63"

I cast on 32 stitches to start

This one is for my father. I hope he likes it!

This is one of the needles used to knit the above two scarves (the other one is currently being used in another project :o). Notice that there are no manufactured marks on it, there is no writing on it to tell you what size it might be. I used one of those fancy, dancy little tools and discovered that it is slightly larger than a US size 6 needle. These needles were made specifically for me because one of my favorite hobbies is knitting and because knitting makes me happy. Those were the words out of the 15 year old's mouth as she presented them to me awhile back. This girl does not like to knit or do much in the crafty department. She is all about soccer, running and music - yet she knows the perfect gift for her mom. So Sweet!

2010-12-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

Chrissa modeling her new outfit!

It was very funny watching my daughter open her gift. It took her a few moments to realize that I had made these clothes.

Her face says it all :o)

Stuffed Tutus

2010-11-28T08:04:00.001-08:00

I saw a fabulous tutorial over at Samster Mommy and knew right away I had to make a few of these for some sweet girls in our family!! Some of the cousins are reaching the perfect age for dressup and tutus are so perfect!

This is the first one, modeled by the 12yo. She loves it!
The pattern calls for gross grain ribbon. I duly purchased some and then decided that it needed some "perking" up :o)

So....I also bought some of this ribbon to add to the top to create something a little more festive!

The ribbons sewn together and attached to the top of the tutu.

Super easy pattern and fun to boot!

A close up of the pom poms. DH was with me when I went looking for pom poms and he thought the pastel ones were a little too.......bland. He chose these and I do believe he is correct. They show throught the tulle very nicely.

Ribbon for the next stuffed tutu :o) But for now we are off to get our Christmas tree and put our lights up. Fun, fun times!!

Having Fun!

2010-11-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

I worked up my courage and finally finished this quilt! It only needed to be trimmed and then the binding sewn, but that seemed so overwhelming for awhile that it was left on the "To Be Finished Pile". Believe me, that pile is quite large!

I took the quilt out and worked on it for a few nights.

And.....Presto, it's done (funny how that works). The binding is handsewn - it's not quite perfect, as the picture shows, but it will do. It's been washed and dried and I really love the way the fabric crinkles after that's been done :o) Now it's ready for our family holiday gift exchange!!
I bought this book a little bit ago because American Girl Dolls are the rage over here with two of my girls. I simply cannot justify buying all those expensive clothes from the catalog - while they are very nice, it's just too much. Youngest daughter will turn 9 on Saturday and she simply loves her doll - so I decided a new outfit for Chrissa was in order.

The wee shirt - at first I really, really disliked sewing this. I don't think my big, huge hands were meant to work on things this small (for knitting, yes - sewing, not so much). But after a bit, just like most things, it grew on me and I decided I like it a lot. I did make one change - the pattern call for snaps underneath the buttons and I changed those to teeny, tiny velcro circles. I think there will be less pulling and wear and tear with velcro. And I hate snaps anyway :o)

I simply love these pants!! I love the fabric, I love how easily they went together, and they fit perfectly. Yes, I tried the clothes on her doll just to make sure.

Could that pocket be any cuter???

So.....out of scraps and some new binding for the facing, a new outfit for less than $5. I can't wait until she opens her gift! I think I'm as bad as the kids!! It's the waiting to see their faces when they open their gifts that excites me. Especially when I think it's something they will totally like!! Only 2 more days :o)

Lazy Rainy Saturday

2010-11-21T09:10:00.001-08:00

It is quite lovely to find oneself with an unexpected open and free Saturday. This past Saturday all the soccer fields were closed due to rain. Since we had expected to spend an entire day in the throws of soccer games, it was very relaxing to just hang out with eachother with "nothing" to do :o)

First on the non-agenda were mickey mouse waffles made by the 8 year old.
With chocolate chips of course!

Then there was lego building

followed by clothespin dolls

then some perler bead madness.

Kate needed an extra big treat

Such hard work!

Puppet Kit

2010-11-13T06:38:00.001-08:00

Usually I dislike kits like this because I feel it hampers creativity. I find that kids want to make what is in the picture instead of using their imagination. To that extent I have never bought one of these for my kids.
E received this kit from a friend of hers while back and just now decided that she wanted to make them.

While she did follow the "map", she had such a great time with it, and has continued to play with the puppets, that I have been rethinking my original hesetancy in purchasing these.

She had a blast!

Who can deny that face :o)

Knittin' and Bakin'

2010-11-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Another bear complete! I just love these tiny bears!

I like the bigger, wider skirts and it thrills me more than it should that it is my own pattern!
I also really like the effect of the beads. However, it is VERY time consuming!! BUT, the bears feel incomplete without the beading now :o) So......more beading in my future!

The weather here has been feeling more and more like fall. The mornings are crisp and sunny, so very nice! Yesterday when I came home from the morning school drop off, it was quite chilly in the house (no heat for us yet!) and just felt like baking weather. And bake I did!! We had bananas - as we usually do - and I went to town. These should last about another day :o)

More Goonies!

2010-11-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

This pattern is so super easy that it is very addicting!!

Sensations - Angel Hair Stripes

Color: 4789 Purple Stripes Lot: 779

Hook: K

Chained 21 to start

Sensations - Angel Hair Stripes

Color: 105 Lime/Green Lot: 773

Hook: J

Chained 29 to start

Sensations - It's A Wrap

Color: 10 Blue/Turquoise Lot: 419

Hook: J

Chained 29 to start

Let the Holday Gift making commence

2010-11-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

Well.....Halloween is over - the decorations put away - Thanksgiving decorations pulled out and waiting to be put up. Now on to finishing up the holiday gifts!!
Capri Sun little tote bags. These are so fun and cute - the little girls in our family adore them!!

Happy Belated Halloween!!

2010-11-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

AARGH!! Me Mateys!

They're done!

2010-10-28T06:07:00.001-07:00

The costumes are done and not a moment too soon!! The school parades and parties are all tomorrow.

This is the smallest vest. All the "boys" will be wearing these vests.

This is the belt that was made from the pattern. It was NOT a success. The corners in the front curl something awful and even though I used the tool I was supposed to use, the eyelets kept falling out. These belts were to be worn by the ladies to match the guys. But they looked so bad and fit so poorly they wound up in the trash. AND have been crushed mightily by the trash compactor!! The same can be said for the boot covers that I tried to make - very poor out come for many hours of work. But, moving on......

I made lots of scarves!! Two of each.

You can't tell, but the above trim is purple.

This fabric is quite sheer and was very hard to photograph!

This is a better picture of the fabric.

I love these trims! It's been a very long time since I worked with trim and I had a lot of fun.

One sash was made. Even the boys want scarves.

9 bottoms - 7 pairs of pants and 2 skirts

Sashes/vests with the pants.

Artistic photo layout compliments of my husband. He was having fun!

Youngest with his vest. As soon as I had finished this one earlier this week, he put it on and won't take it off - he even sleeps in it! WHEW!! Boy am I glad these are done! I don't even have to stay up all night tonight to get them done. Instead, I need to stay up to complete all the chores/dishes/laundry that did NOT happen while these costumes were getting made!

Dear Children,

2010-10-23T12:26:00.001-07:00

If you would like to have a clean soccer uniform for your 8:00am game on Saturday, please put it in the laundry room before 7:00am of same day.

Also, if you would like your Halloween costumes finished before Thanksgiving, please stop bickering.

Thank you.

Halloween!

2010-10-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Halloween has rolled around once again and we are looking so forward to having so much fun! This year we managed to find a theme that all of us were happy with - PIRATES!! Even the in-laws are going to be getting into it.
This will be the first year in many years that I will make all of the costumes. So very exciting!! When we first starting having kids, I made the costumes each year. But as we had more kids and then we had 3 kids in a little less than 4 years, I was just too tired to take on the task. Now I feel back to normal (whatever normal is! :o) and was chomping at the bit to make the costumes again.

After tossing around lots and lots of ideas, everyone agreed on being pirates. That in and of itself is quite the miracle since the kids range in age from 5 to 15. The best part.......my in-laws also want to be part of the group! What you see above are some of the 9 pairs of pirate pants being cut out. I was planning on sewing them up today, but with all the soccer games and various other things that needed taking care of, it didn't happen. It won't happen tomorrow either - 2 more soccer games and a wedding to attend - so hopefully Monday the pants will be sewn and the vests cut out. I can't wait to see these take shape!!

Granny Square Blanket

2010-10-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have seen lovely pictures of these blankets all over blogland and have wanted to start one for a very long time. While I have been working on the Granny Stripe blanket, some of the colors just jumped out at me and I thought they made a good combination. Right away I decided to start one of these Granny Square Blankets!! I am using TLC Essentials and Vanna's Choice. Vanna's Choice has become one of my favorite blanket yarns. It is soft and really easy to use. I used it in a blanket I had knit some time ago so I also know that it launders very well - an absolute must around here!
I just love this color combination!!! It represents all my favorite fall colors!

A side view - I just love these types of photos. Although I am not very good at them! I will be putting all these "extra" projects away now in favor of Halloween costumes and holiday gifts. These "other" projects will resurface most likely at the beginning of the year :o) I just always gotta try something new though!

Goonies!!

2010-10-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

I seem to be loving this pattern. It makes up very quickly and is quite easy. When I first started this pattern, it was hard to figure out the half double crochet. Now that I have done it a few times, I wonder what was so confusing. The first time I crocheted this pattern, I couldn't wrap my head around how it would "make up". It's pretty neat and has now become my favorite hat pattern.

Started: 9/17/2010

Finished: 9/22/2010

Hook: K

Yarn: Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky Weight

Color: 06 Chocolate Lot: S4631

Chained 25 to start

Started: 10/3/2010

Finished: 10/4/2010

Hook: K

Yarn: Sensations - Sumptuous

Color: 2157 Sumptuous Green Dot Pattern

Lot: 182

Chained 18 to start

This one is very dense and stiff. The kids love it, but it still has to grow on me for a bit.

Started: 9/22/2010

Finished: 10/3/2010

Hook: K

Yarn: Sensations - Sumptuouts

Color: 2155 Sumptuous Teal Dot Pattern

Lot: 179

Chained 27 to start.

This is a VERY big, dense hat!!

Hats

2010-09-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Marjan Earflap Hat without earflaps made for the best friend of the 10yo boy.

This hat is called a "Goonie Hat" and I found the pattern on a blog, but I did not copy down which blog it is from - rats!! Anyway, I love this pattern. It is crochet and I had to learn the half double crochet - it's totally great. The yarn is soft and the hat came together really quickly. It is for one of the cousins for the holidays. I will knit a matching one in a different color for his wife :o).

Tiny Bear

2010-09-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

I truly do like making these little bears. This one is for K - she has been wanting a small one for ages and I thought I'd make her one for the holidays. Although you can't see it, there is a clip attached to the top so she can hang it from her backpack if she would like.

Started: 8/6/2010

Finished: 9/16/10

Needles: US0

Yarn: #10 Crochet Cotton

Color #310 for feet, hands and head

Color #26 for legs, body and arms

White for the skirt

Misc. beads for the hem of the skirt and for the belt

My own pattern for the skirt. A combination of yarn overs, k2tog and then garter stitch.
Although this picture is a little fuzzy, I think you can see the beaded detail at the wasit.

More beads at the hem. These seemed to take FOREVER to stitch in place!

I think this is my favorite bear. I like the beaded detail and also the longer more complicated skirt.

Class Quilt

2010-09-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Every year our 2nd grade teacher has the students in her class make a quilt. The students come up with the quilt idea and then they learn some basic hand stitches. The students are always enthusiastic and excited when this time of year rolls around. This year the theme was "One World, One Nation" - I thought that was a very sophisticated theme for 2nd graders - Go Students!!
They decided to put a picture of the globe in the middle and flags from their ancestor's countries all around it. Myself and three other mom's helped out with this project. One of the mom's cut out all the globe components, I sewed the globe together, and another mom sewed the globe to the background fabric.

Sorry this picture is sideways! In class, the students cut out felt and handstitched their flags together. Then they embroidered their names under their flags. The teacher contacted our school photographer who graciously allowed us to use their images on our quilts. I printed out each child's picture on fabric, cut them out and then attached them to the quilts underneath their flags. The fabric I purchased was supposed to be able to be ironed on, but it was peeling off so I just tacked down each photo with "real" stitches to make sure they would stay put.

Here is a picture of the finished front. The front was finished before school ended in June and all the kids were totally thrilled! I think this is a great quilt - imagined by and mostly made by the kids - love it, love it, love it!! Another mom put on the backing and binding over the summer - perfect don't you think?

I also put the class picture on the back of the quilt. The quilt was delivered and hung in the class the day before school started this year. WHEW!! We wanted it up before the first day so the students could come back and see the finished quilt. Made it just under the wire!

Granny Stripe Blanket

2010-09-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

More progress on my Granny Strip Blanket. All the different color combinations have really taken me out of my comfort zone which is a really good thing!
The top part of this picture shows the new rows that have been added since the last time this blanket was blogged.

I tried to get some pictures of the whole thing - not too successfully as you can see :o)

There are now 45 stripes

and it measures: 50 1/4" long X 48" wide

Almost done!

Blankets, Blankets, and more Blankets

2010-08-31T15:40:00.001-07:00

WHEW!! Finally, Finally, Finally!! Yeah Team! The last blanket is done, done, done :o) I like the way the color changes on this one the best. If I were to make one of these for us, this is the color way I would choose.

Started: 07/16/10

Finished: 08/26/10

Needles: US13

Yarn: 2 strands held together

Lion Brand Homespun

Color: 377 Harvest Lot: 99377460

Color: 309 Deco Lot: 104060

Just shy of 7 skeins of each color

Zee pile of 6 blankets!! Can you believe it???? All six are for holiday gifts and they are totally complete! Even I am having a hard time believing this!

Here three of them are again - folded and stacked

Here are the other three folded and stacked!

Such a great feeling!

Booooo! Summer vacation is over!

2010-08-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

This summer, as with all of our summers, has been so much fun. Just hanging out with eachother, going on day trips, reading, playing games, going to the park, flashlight tag, and so much more. I am so sad that in two days time it all comes to an end. The kids are very excited to get back and to see their friends - I, on the other hand, and very sad and melancholy. I am truly going to miss being with my kids everyday. I know I am kind of a freak - most of my friends are happy to get back to a schedule and have some "down" time. I guess I will enjoy some of the down time as well, but it is with very mixed feelings.

We all played games - even preschool games...
play dough figured in big time.....

"big" leggo - we all got involved in our creations...

bean collages....

so fun....

cornstarch packing peanuts make great building materials.....

for all.....

reading time for all....by themselves or to others. We all would sit down on most days and read quietly for a bit.....

arranging and rearranging the fishes....

Kate enjoying some late afternoon rest time.....

puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles....

games, games, and more games....

The summer was such great fun. It's not to say that the kids didn't fight (they did), or to say that everyday was full of exciting things (it wasn't), but overall it was fantastic and I am sorry that it is over.....oh, well....something to look forward to next summer!!!

A Finish!!

2010-08-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

The 5th blanket is finally finished. It felt like it took a really long time to sew these strips together, but the edging only took two evenings to finish. These blankets are really easy to make and they are soft, but I am ready to move onto other things. I wonder what I will choose next.....there are quite a few UFO's around here to work on, but there are always new ideas floating around in my head. Lovely patterns that I have either made note of in magazines or printed off the computer - yarn in my stash to be used - new stitches to learn - it might take a bit to settle on something or a few somethings. There are also the holidays to be preparing for. The lists have all been made, but now to get down to the creating! Hmmmm lot's to think about.

"Emily's" Blanket

Started: 6/24/10

Finished: 8/12/10

Gifted: For E for the holidays

Needles: US13

Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun

Color: 404 Lagoon (blue) Lot: 105085

Color: 309 Deco (cream) Lot: 102885

I think this shot shows the color a little better. The teal is not a solid teal color. It actually has quite a few flecks of other colors (lighter blue, red, purple) in it and there are long color runs of different shades of the teal color - I think this adds a little bit of interest.

More camping activities

2010-08-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is where I could be found in the early morning and the evening right after dinner while camping - knitting by our campfire. This was so very relaxing, I have been trying to figure out a way to make this happen at my home - I think it would be frowned upon to light fires in my backyard!! Anyway, a fair amount of knitting happened.

The 6th and final blanket was worked on almost everyday...
The stack of strips - 4 of them - the blanket is now completely knitted! WAHOO!!!! It just needs to be sewn together and the crochet edge put on. That is happening now in the evenings while we watch our shows and wind down at the end of the day.

I always bring a book with me to read.....except for this time.....I had placed it on the piano right by the front door to take along with us....and forgot it. Oh, Well - we had just been to the library for the kids and they let me read their books. The above book, First Light, was pretty good. It was very, very similar to the City of Ember but in a different setting. I totally enjoyed it. My oldest daughter had read it, then I read it, and now 10yo son is reading it. It's nice to be able to talk to him about a book while he is reading it - he gets much more out of it and I find it so enjoyable.

This book is about a troubled youth who gets a second chance. Also an enjoyable read. 10yo old son will like this one as well.

This is a cute take on an old tired story line. I thoroughly enjoyed it and laughed out loud many time. My 8yo daughter is reading it right now and really likes it - I also think the 12yo would like it as well.

This one is very well written and based on a true story. It touches on a whole bunch of issues that were nice to discuss with the 12yo. I was hoping the 14yo would read it, but so far she is not interested. I think the 8yo would enjoy it and will try to guide her to it as soon as she finished the genie book. I found it so nice to read some of these books. I don't usually have time to read all the books that they read. My kids are voracious readers - it's hard to get them to stop reading to go to bed!! I do try to keep up with the core literature they read during the school year. First, it's great to discuss these books with them as I read them at the same time they do. Second, I enjoy re-reading these books now as an adult. Some of them have a much great impact like Island of the Blue Dolphins - I remember reading it and thinking how scary it would be to be all alone on an island, but also how exciting. Now after reading it as an adult, I found it also amazing how she survived and also thought about how hard it would be for her to reintegrate into society. Talking about that with my children and hearing their feedback and thoughts was enlightening. Right now I am reading the prequel to Anne of Green Gables and am having a hard time putting that one down - I guess it runs in the family!! I hope the girls will want to read it because I am enjoying it so much!! Well, it's back off to the everyday chores of my daily life. At least the laundry is FINALLY caught up from being away for so long!

Camping trip crochet

2010-08-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

We went on vacation for 12 whole days!! 12 days of fun - 12 days of uninterrupted family time - 12 days with the hubby - 12 days of bliss!! 8 of those 12 days were spent camping and what a fun, peaceful, relaxing, serene time it was. It kind of made me want to move into a more rural area with not so much hustle and bustle. We hung out and talked, played games and cards, hiked, cooked together, cleaned up together. We arose with the sun and basically went to sleep right after the sun totally went down for the day. Although not before huge quantities of smore's were made and consumed!!
As always the question of which projects to bring on a trip are of a big concern to me. This time there was also the space contraint to think about. With all the clothes, camping gear and food there was very little space leftover. This is the box of yarn for my granny stripe blanket that sat on the floor in the front passenger well. It really wasn't too bad!!

Side view of "the blanket". It was a lot of fun to work on this. And to get to change yarn every two rows was a huge plus for me. I like the way the double crochet stitches look.

The last few rows that are being worked on. I'm not quite sure why the crochet bug never hit me before - it has me now with a vengence!! I have a few ideas in my head of other things I would like to create with yarn and hook.

The blanket now has a total of 28 stripes - I think it might take 50 or 55 stripes to get it to the size I would like it to be. Just a little lap quilt to snuggle up with and keep us warm!!

Sewing for "Cheetah"

2010-07-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Of course "Cheetah" (favortie lovey) needed a pillow as well as a blanket. J couldn't be happier!

He is so cute when he is sleeping!!