askew

I love to knit these little dishcloths, to start out at one corner and end up at the opposite one. To watch it be all askew looking and then magically turn into a square when finished.

I love to use up the little bits of yarn left from a roll, piecing them together, it reminds me of patchwork quilting :)

I still use the pattern from Exuberant Color in 2013, thanks Wanda!

the pussyhat

Last year on the day after the presidential inauguration, millions of women marched on Washington DC and other cities across the nation and the world. Actively avoiding watching the news (I called it The Trump Show), I did not realize this movement was coming together for this great uprising of women. But apparently lots of folks did know about it, even crafters across the country who were busy making hats for the occasion. I saw the news on January 21st, wow, look at all those women! and WOW look at those cute pussycat hats! 

The Pussyhat Project  - these cozy little hats were part of a movement that began after the November election in anticipation of the Women's March. Started by Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman, the original idea was for marchers to knit, sew, or crochet hats to create a visual statement  - a " sea of pink" - at the protest in Washington, D.C.  The idea is both a play on pussyhat, pussycat, and also references the infamous hot mic from the Access Hollywood video, where President Trump said it was okay to grab women by the you-know-what. The idea is to use the word 'pussy' in a positive way. It's a pussyhat -- one word, one symbol of unity.

Having felt like I missed out on this historic occasion in 2017 and missed out on making one of those cute hats, I decided to make one this year. Researching the subject, I discovered there is another march this year on January 20-21, 2018. Check to see where a march is near you!

And don't forget to make your hat! There are several Pussyhat Patterns out there to try, I followed the one shown below, with only one change, I used Lion Brand Hometown USA super bulky yarn, and the only change I made to the instructions is Cast On 26 instead of 50. All other instructions are the same and very simple. I told the crafters in the family that I wanted a pussycat hat for Christmas, but they just laughed, though it was something dirty :)

So I am ready to stand up for women everywhere, not at a national march but in silent protest here in rural Kentucky! 

stripes

Fan Pride yarn at Hobby Lobby - comes in all sorts of color combinations

you don't even have to be a sports fan, maybe you just want a scarf with stripes

this is a self-striping yarn - striping like makes color stripes - not stripping like the bad girl in school under the bleachers…

so it makes its own stripes without having to join the colors, no yarn ends to weave in at the end, in fact there are no yarn ends to weave in at all making this scarf

this one takes 2 skeins, and these are joined together using the magic knot, no ends there

and when finishing, there will be yarn ends from the cast on and cast off, but those go right into the fringe, so voila! no ends to weave in

this is the Mistake Rib pattern - width is multiple of 4 (-1) - figure out how wide you want your scarf and cast on using multiple of 4 (-1) - this scarf is 39 stitches wide, then k2 p2 to the end of row, note there will just be p1 at the end of each row, repeat until length of scarf, add fringe

a good rule - length of scarf = height of person

this pattern is a good no-brainer for travel or for watching TV, because you don't have to look at the instructions

I love working with circular needles even though it is not a circular project, no lost needles in the couch cushions or down between the car seat and console, compact and great for travel

I got this set of Denise interchangeable knitting needles years ago and love them, all the sizes you need in one handy travel box, airplane safe. 

so if you are a sports fan and want a team-color scarf, this is your yarn, or if you just want a striped yarn, this works up great

Hobby Lobby $3.49, and don't forget to use your coupon!

knitting bloopers

Prayer shawl almost done knitting, then time to add the fringe.

But wait, what is this? It ended up way bigger at one end… the end I started on. It looks like I started out really big and then kind of found my stride about 12" in…

Something needs to be done, it cannot stay like this.

If I had someone to ask, they might say LMGTFY, so I just did it myself, hey GOOGLE?

I found this website and learned way more than I wanted to know, about frogging and reverse frogging...what? But I did glean the info that I needed:

Option 1 - unravel the knitting from the beginning which is virtually impossible, every stitch turns into a knot. Option 2 - cut the yarn/stitches at the point needed, catch the stitches one by one onto a needle, then ravel the rest of the yarn out from the cut point.

After you get the stitches, you can either bind them off for a clean edge, and then take the raveled out yarn to the other end and add to the shawl there (since I am not finished with that end yet). OR, after you get the stitches on the needle, you can take the raveled out yarn and start adding it back on right there, only you will be going the wrong way than before and it might show up as being different. I will try it and see…

Ok can you see the line about the midway of the picture? It looks like I purled when I should have knitted... but since all the rows are knit... anyway, it is just the result of going the wrong way. I think it looks fine and is hard to see unless you are looking for it.

fringed and done!

creamsicle

Lion Brand Pound of Love in Creamsicle.

I know, a baby blanket? Seriously? No there is no news to share, just idle hands.

Once again my friend Paula had a great idea that I just had to try. You know the cotton knitted dishcloth pattern? Well Paula used that pattern and instead of stopping at an 8" dishcloth size she just kept on going, to 32 x 32 baby blanket size. Since that dishcloth pattern is my favorite thing to knit, and since I found this soft yarn with this yummy name - creamsicle - well I just had to try it.

Paula knits very fast and donates a lot of handmade blankets etc. to Project Linus: Mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

Now I on the other hand knit slow and will be doing good to get this done in time for some actual babies to arrive around here.

Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

I will hurry and get it done and donate it pronto, so as to head off anything of the sort.

painted desert

Another prayer shawl done! 

Love the colors in this one - 

Lion Brand yarn Painted Desert. 

hugs and prayers

the purpose of the prayer shawl is to give comfort to whoever is wearing it

but it just might work - to pray for spring?

this one found a home yesterday with Linda recovering from hip surgery, 

I hope it makes her feel warm and snuggly like a big hug

~pattern Lion Brand

time to knit

Do you use Ravelry? Yes, by the picture it is all about yarn. You can use Ravelry to find patterns or ideas. Or you could visit with Aunt Sally. 

Aunt Sally came to visit next door. She likes to knit. And talk. She had her knitting needles in hand at all times, while telling stories about their farm in Minnesota. She and husband Bob were making their annual trek across country, stopping in St. Louis at the soybean convention, heading to Orlando to the time share, stopping every night and visiting a different relative along the way. She was busy knitting a scarf when I saw her, she knits all kinds of things, mostly to give away. 

She makes prayer shawls to have on hand, just in case someone needs one. She gave me a prayer shawl pattern, said this is a good pattern to take to meetings and such, as you don't have to think or count, just cast on 60 stitches and knit until it is 60 inches long.

Have you made a prayer shawl?  The idea is to knit/crochet a shawl for someone and to pray for them with each stitch, or think good thoughts, or as Aunt Sally said, "I made one for a catholic friend and threw in a few Hail Marys for good measure."

The shawl pattern is one on the back of a yarn wrapper, and can be found at Lion Brand. Made out of Homespun yarn, cast on 60 stitches, knit 60 rows, I think I can manage that. Oh and to make the fringe, per Sally, just open up the yarn wrapper, it is 13" long and use that to measure your yarn for fringe, a good traveling tip.

Aunt Sally makes lots of socks. She brought a lot on her trip to give out to folks, but at her last stop she unpacked her stash of socks for her niece to pick out a pair and she said, "Oh thanks, Aunt Sally," and took the whole lot to her room. 

I told her I tried to make socks but just didn't have the patience. She gave me this pattern, said, "You can do it." She got it off one of those free tear-off patterns. It is the Bernat Ribbed Ankle Socks, pattern found online at Mary Maxim or through Ravelry.

I will leave the sock making to Aunt Sally, and all of you other sock makers out there.

It is February, it is cold, it is time to get out the yarn and whip up a few things, I think I will make a prayer shawl for a dear friend in need of prayers. What are you making?

amazing

This is amazing. 

First of all the yarn is named Amazing.

Second of all the cowl pattern is free.

Third of all the yarn is on clearance. 

So I just had to make this!

Amazing yarn by Lion Brand, soft with beautiful colors. Regular $8.29/skein, this color, Constellation is on clearance HERE - 3 skeins for $6.22 (regularly $24.87), the pattern took just over one skein, so this project cost about $2.

Thermal Cowl pattern free HERE at Lion Brand yarn.

Teddi the model likes it, sitting on the stool by the kitchen wall quilt :)

on the needles

My teddy bear models helped me out during my December knitting frenzy. 

Finally I can show what projects I have been working on for Christmas!

sampler

My mom taught me to knit, maybe we learned at the same time, as she was teaching herself to knit from a book when we lived at Fort Bragg, NC. My dad was stationed in Korea for 13 months, so we had a lot of time on our hands. I was in the 3rd grade. I remember sitting on the couch knitting, making squares or rectangles and turning them into clothes for Barbie.

knitting sampler

Later when my dad retired we moved to remote Fannin County, Georgia, rural Appalachia, very scenic but also very isolated. With a long winter ahead, I found this pattern for a sampler afghan, got some yarn and started to make my first blanket. Every square was a different pattern, a great way to learn new stitches and to not get bored with such a big project. I used two different shades of blue for the squares and added black borders around each one. I think my mom was skeptical about such a daunting task, but with nothing else to do, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, I did it! It was the perfect project for a teenage girl (age 13 or 14) who loved to spend hours in her room, I remember sitting on my bed with the chenille bedspread, listening to the latest tunes on the radio.  

I found this picture online, it looks just like mine (except for the fringe). Photo credit - posted with permission of Anne Hanson from knitspot.com. This afghan was made by Anne's grandmother in the 1950s and is featured in the book My Grandmother's Knitting. Thanks again Anne for the picture, it is just like I remember it (mine), which brought back lots of memories.

Like other priceless heirlooms, unfortunately I lost this blanket when I stored it in the basement in a cardboard box… ruined beyond repair with the ravages of water and mold and critters and time… a lesson learned the hard way, now I own stock in Rubbermaid Totes.

Which brings me to why I remembered this story, I just finished reading Free Range Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I didn't really set out to find a book about knitting, but I kept seeing it and it had such good reviews, I decided to try it. Not so much about knitting as about a knitter and funny stories about life, had me laughing out loud a few times! Like the picture she paints of her getting off the elevator not knowing that her ball of yarn had slipped out of her pocket until the door closes, the look on her face as she is left holding her knitting project that is attached to that yarn, her eyes watching the elevator numbers climb as her yarn gets taut. And how she shocked the folks on the bus when she tried on the sock she was making, "a toeless sock with a spiky crown of deadly looking needles stuck in it." But my favorite part is the series of letters with the Customer Service department at Winterwool, Inc., regarding an unfinished project and discontinued yarn. The correspondence starts out cordially with "Dear Stephanie - Thank you for your inquiry" and then deteriorates rapidly, finally ending in "Madam - Please stop calling me, and for the love of God, walk away from the sweater. It's just not worth it."

I like to buy yarn in person so I can see how it feels. But you can shop online, like at Lion Brand Yarn. On their web-site recently I was looking at a free pattern and the options for download. Listed were: Save, e-mail, help, print, download, Pin it, braillers. The braillers buttons says: "This pattern is designed for use with Duxbury Braille software and similar products." I found this very interesting. I can understand reading the pattern in braille, but how would one actually knit blindly with dangerous pointy needles? Wow, I am once again counting my blessings.

At this point in time, I have been knitting away on dishcloths, it has kind of gotten out of hand, the stack is getting bigger. They are fun to make, and I am giving some away, saving some to go with another project that I am supposed to be working on. But it is time to think about Christmas gifts now, I wonder what to make? Scarves are pretty quick and easy, but I think the girls {granddaughters} probably are cringing about now if they are reading this - another scarf? What I really need to do is teach all of them to knit, maybe one of them will make a sampler afghan like their old granma did when she was a teenager!

"Teach someone to knit and they're warm for life." ~Selma Moss-Ward
(from a story written for Lion Brand yarns)

~photo credit: Pitcher of Knitting Needles used with permission of Country Living

busy work

keeping busy

with granma stuff

knitting and sewing

in between working

for a living, I am

practicing for retirement

getting my fiber fix

in 2 ounce batches

of soft cotton yarn

keeps my hands busy

away from keyboard and snacks

and housework 

I love this cattywampus dishcloth pattern, it is so much fun to make. By now I should have a big stack of these, but I keep giving them away!


knitted dishcloth

Size 7 or 8 needles

Cast on 3 stitches and knit one row. Increase one stitch at the center of each row until you have 7 stitches. 

Next rows: K3, YO, knit across. Repeat until you have 45-50 stitches on the needle.

Next rows: K2, K2tog, YO, K2tog, knit across until you only have 7 stitches remaining.

Decrease on stitch at the center of each row until you have 4 st.

Cut yarn and pull the tail through those 4 st with a crochet hook.

Split yarn and pull half through another st and tie the 2 ends in a double knot. Weave in ends.

pattern thanks to Wanda Henson of Exuberant Color

big heart

I am knitting little things in pink…

No, not that. Or her either, no new babies or grandbabies on the way. No, not that either - no greatgrandbabies!

Carrie looked at me (with that one eyebrow arched) and said, "Seriously, mom, now you are making teddy bear clothes?"

Carrie is my monitor of all things grandma. While shopping she steers me away from grandma purses and clothes. She critiques my decorating style - OK, Mom too much grandma stuff in here, let's lose some of the quilts and bears. I ask her advice on what the teenagers like. I trust Carrie to always tell it like it is!

But back to knitting.

I just read how Julia Roberts knits while making a movie - between scenes she is knitting away. On the set of her new movie with Tom Hanks, he played a prank on her:

Julia would knit on the set–scarves, hats. One morning, Tom thought it would be hilarious if everyone was doing it. So she walked on set and saw 50 people knitting.

Ok, back to why I am knitting.

In December my granddaughters lost a special friend and I thought maybe they would like something to remember her by - so I came up with an idea of a breast cancer teddy bear - lord knows we have enough teddy bears around here to share.



So, I converted some of the bears around my house - made them breast-cancer-pink sweaters and a BIG heart (just like Robin's). My embroidery is a little rusty, but you get the idea.



I don't know if the girls really want one or not, maybe they are just humoring their old granma, but it keeps me busy. You know what they say about idle hands… no, I don't remember either, but I think it is bad.



Hey, me and Julia Roberts have something in common, us Georgia girls have to stick together!

knit one

Just passing the winter time, anyone need a scarf?

daily dose of fiber

Why is it when the season changes and we head toward winter, we want to bring out the yarn and make something? Is it the pending gift-giving season that prompts this, or the deep down internal instinct to feather the nest for cold weather?

Whatever the reason, it is comforting to feel the fiber, to make something soft, creation is good for the soul. Of course the local yarn shop is loving this seasonal change also!

Fringe benefits - keeping my hands busy keeps me from eating junk while watching TV. Now if I could just exercise too... I know I am not coordinated enough to walk and knit at the same time, but what about sitting on a stationary bike?

And, no I can't say what it is I am making, it might be a gift for you!

one stitch at a time

Wandering round the yarn shop this one jumped out - pure cotton, named Ty Dy.

The colors and name remind me of my first tie-dyed t-shirt I made in Ms. Curtacci's art class in high school. Memories of fun times are being woven into this one, one stitch at a time.




Ty Dy yarn
Mistake rib pattern
tie dye memories

just finish it

My socks don't match.

Yes, I knew that when I put them on.

I guess it doesn't matter since I work at home.

All this teaching the grandkids to knit has me wanting to make something. Socks are the latest thing. So I decided to try it. Had some yarn, found a simple tube sock pattern on the internet. Just wanted to see if I could do it. It was easy, no problem. So tried a harder pattern, with a heel. Did that one too. All this time, Buddy was watching with that baffled look on his face. He finally said, "You know you can buy socks already made at the store?"

Now I have two socks, not matching. Hmm. I wonder if there is a charity collecting single socks for amputees? Or is this just another one of my half-finished craft projects?

I showed them to granddaughter, Sarah, and told her I was going to unravel the tube sock, reuse the yarn for something else, but she said NO I couldn't, she liked it, and I had to finish a matching one.

I guess finish what you start is the moral of the story here, and I must strive be a better role model. Thanks Sarah for the reminder, you are a pretty smart teenager!