It Is What It Is

Ruffle Yarn Scarf On Knifty Knitter

2012-08-26T16:10:00.003-04:00

The yarn in the photo is Broadway made by Knitting Fever. It was made on the blue round Knifty Knitter.

Blue Knifty Knitter
1 Ball Broadway

We marked the pegs that were going to be used. You will be using 8 pegs for the yarn, but skip every other peg so this will be spread over 16 pegs.

When you open the yarn you will see it has a mesh like appearance. using the NON-metallic edge you will put 1 hole over each of the 8 pegs being used. You do not need to wrap. After doing those 8 pegs you will turn and go over those 8 pegs so you have 2 strands on each peg. Unlike the usual times you won't slip each edge stitch. When you get to the end of the 8 pegs the second time take the hook and work the yarn as usual. You do this for all the rows until you are near the end of the ball. Then take a crochet hook and put the strand on the end peg on the hook and the next hole on the yarn on the hook and chain it off. do this again with the yarn and then go to the peg. Two times with the yarn and then the peg. Repeat until you are done with the pegs. Pull the yarn through the loop and weave in your ends.

All Is Well

2012-08-03T11:48:00.000-04:00

All is going well. Have gotten a couple knitting projects (mosaic hat & cowl) done in the past week. Started planning for my DAR American Heritage projects. Loving that the LYS has moved to within a mile from home. My 3rd project for the Ravellenics is going along. Have hit a hitch, but am working it out. Now just waiting for the landlord to come and check on a problem. How much better can things get?

Kathleen's Newborn Grandbaby Socks

2012-05-02T00:36:00.001-04:00

I came up with the following pattern after my APRN commissioned me to make a pair of socks for her Grandson to be. You will notice that there are 3 socks in the photo. I was trying to get somewhat matching socks.
I used a Regia 4-ply and US2 DPN. These came out just right for a newborn.
The remnant yearn from an adult sock was enough to make a pair of baby socks.

Cast on 32 stitches and split evenly on each needle and join in the round.

Cuff and Leg
K1,p1 rib for 1" (11 rounds for me).
St st 1" (13rounds for me) to heel flap.

Heel Flap
Put 8 sts each on Needles 1 & 3 and 16 sts on Needle 2. Work over the 16sts.
Round 1: *Sl1, K1* rep across row
Round 2: Sl1, P to end of row Rep for 17 rows ending on S1, K1 row

Turning Heel
Row 1: Sl1, K8, ssk, K1, turn
Row 2: Sl1, P3, P2tog, P1, turn
Row 3: Sl1, K4, ssk, K1, turn
Row 4: Sl1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Row 5: Sl1, K6, ssk, K1, turn
Row 6: Sl1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn
Row 7: Knit
Pick up 7 sts along side, Knit across 16 instep sts, Pick up 7 sts.
Redistribute sts so Needles 1 & 3 have 12 sts each and Needle 2 has 16 sts (40 sts)

Gusset
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: NEEDLE 1: K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1
NEEDLE 2: K across
NEEDLE 3: K1, ssk, K to end Repeat until back to 32 sts (total of 8 rows)

Foot
Knit until foot is a total length of 2" from back of heel to where you currently are (including Heel turn, Gusset, and Foot, 21 rows).

Toe Decrease:
Row 1: NEEDLE 1: K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1
NEEDLE 2: K1, ssk, K to last 3, K2tog, K1
NEEDLE 3: K1, ssk, K to end row
Row 2: Knit Decrease until down to 8 sts

Kitchener Stitch sts together With a tail of yarn Take a needle and
1: Slide the needle through the first stitch on front needle as if to knit and that stitch comes off the needle.
2: Now slide the needle through the next stitch on the front needle as if to purl and keep it on the needle.
3: Next slide the needle through the first stitch on back needle as if to purl and that stitch comes off the needle.
4: Lastly slide that needle through the next stitch on back needle as if to knit and that stays on the needle. Repeat those 4 steps until the stitches are all grafted and weave the end in.

I hope you enjoy this pattern. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

ISS Round 3 Packages

2012-03-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

Well R and Me have gotten our packages from our Ravlery Partners for International Scarf Swap on Ravelry

Mine From Mocha Kitty

R's From Randcbowie

january reading

2012-01-10T13:52:00.000-05:00

Wow, i have been doing quite the bit if reading. Since the beginning of the year, i have read:

KING OF THE ROAD....Alex Debogorski
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY.... Jay Asher
A HOUSE SHAKEN... Sam Markley

Pretty good for being not even 2 weeks into the new year.

Books

2011-12-29T20:16:00.002-05:00

I have read a lot of books over th epast year. Some good, some not so good. Below are some of the books I have read. A lot are ebooks. My fave sites to get books are Barnes Noble, project gutenberg, smashwords, and internet archive. This list does not include anycraft or mental health books!

Sixteen Brides....Stephanie Grace Whitson
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children....Ransom Riggs
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne....Kady Cross
Smalley's Smirk.....William Vitka
All that is Beautiful.....Roxanne Tepfer Sanford
The Girl in the Lighthouse.....Same author
The Choice.....Suzanne Woodss Fisher
The Hunger Games Trilogy .... Suzanne Collins
The Call.....Merrill Gemus
Blood, Sweat, and Tea.....Tom Reynolds
The Story of My Life.....Hellen Keller
The Art of Candle Dipping .....Judy Alter
The Help.....Kathryn Stockett
Gods of Green Mountain ......V.C.Andrews
After Dark.....Bryan Lee
Scary Mary.....S.A. Hunter
The Front Porch Prophet......Raymond Atkins
Auschwitz.....Mikios Nyiszli
Freaks.....Tess Gerritsen
2012.....Ted Stetson
The Ripper's Brides.....Julia Vern
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.....Rebecca Skloot
Hide In Plain Sight.....Marta Perry
Plan B.....Joseph Finder
The Sudbury School Murders.....Ashley Gardner
Bubba and the Dead Woman.....C.L. Bevil
The Colorado Kid......Stephen King
Syndrome....Thomas Hoover
Roses.....Leila Meacham
Hysteria......Eva Gale
Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.....Dinah Bucholz
Shapeshifters Craving.....Lee Pearce
The Traitor's Wife......Kathleen Kent
Puppy Dog Tales.....Alice V.
Backstory to Think Twice.....Lisa Scottoline
Think Twice.....Same Author

Well, that brings usfrom where we are back to the end of May. I don,t remember what I read befor ethat. The only reason I remember all that is because it was all on my Nook. Lets see what happens next year!

holidays

2011-12-29T19:37:00.000-05:00

Ahhh the wonderfulntime of year. Well, looks like we have survived it. If entries start looking a bit wierd it's because i'm typing from a tablet. Yep, i have gotten up to the current. Things are going easier.

OH, and guess what? I AM NOW A MEMBER OF THE National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR)!!!!! I was installed earlier this month.

I Love Swap Partners and the Mail

2011-10-11T16:05:00.000-04:00

So this morning I got my glass grinder back via FedEx. It went out last week to be repaired and I have it back in working order. This afternoon I got my package from KnidiotinHavre. She spoiled me rotten. Look below and you'll see all that I got.

Packages Coming in

2011-10-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

THe latest round of International Scarf Swap is wrapping up and scarves are arriving to their new homes. I got one today From h2oPaws. It's a beautiful crocheted shawlette in beautiful fall colors. I also got a nice shell, calendar, and ball of 100% silk yarn.

My roommate got a beautiful entrelac scarf from Summer-Cat on Monday. It came with a beautiful hank of yarn.

Winging It

2011-10-02T21:30:00.001-04:00

I have a new scarf pattern that I love. I made it up at the end of last week. I couldn't find a pattern I liked for the yarns I was working with and decided to just "Wing It" hence the name of the pattern.

With Yarn "A" Chain 252 or desired even amount.

Row 1: DC in second ch from hook and in each ch to end, ch2 turn

Row 2: With Yarn "B" DC in first DC from hook, chain 1, skip 1 DC, and DC in next DC. Repeat across, DC in final DC. ch2 turn

Row 3: Skip first DC and DC in first chain-one space of previous row, chain 1, DC in next chain-one space and repeat across. DC in space between turning chain and the first DC of the previous row. Chain 2 and turn.

Repeat Row 3 until desired width (I did 4 times).

Last row: Go back to Yarn "A" DC in all DC and chain-one spaces. Tie off at end and weave in ends

I Failed to take a photo before packing this scarf off to go to it's recipient, but hope to get a photo eventually. If you make this I would love to see your creations.

ISS

2011-04-12T20:23:00.000-04:00

So My friend L and me received our scarves. They are absolutely beautiful.

This one is from Just-Do in the Netherlands and is L's. Just-Do has an awesome blog over here.

This is my scarf from Msmyrtle in New Zealand.

Both scarves are awesome.

2 Christmas presents down

2011-04-02T00:57:00.000-04:00

2 Christmas presents down and it's only the 2nd of April. Yay! At this rate I have time to experiment and try and design a scarf. Won't that be nice. I got a book in the mail today and found a really cool stitch patter that I am about to try as a scarf. If I like it, who knows, you may just find the pattern here. It'll be worked with 2 balls of yarn with 1 color getting carried up the side while not in use.

I'm making this scarf in alpaca and am going to have toms of fun. It's going to be in red and black. Someone I know is going to make a red had to go with it. Ok, enough talking about it! Have to go work on it now.

Busy busy

2011-03-29T01:49:00.000-04:00

So, the swap is going along well. My scarf is done. R's scarf is done. Our first contest is done and prizes will be going out soon. People are already receiving their scarves. Not much can be asked for.

We have the Etsy shop up and running. Now to get some sales going on it. We are always creating items and I have decided to add items on certain days.

Everything else is going great. The cold I had is going away finally. I'm so happy about that because I have missed glass class 2 weeks in a row and really want to go back. I just haven't wanted to get a certain someone sick at the class.

Now to get cracking on a rug I'm knitting and some Christmas gifts. Yes Christmas gifts. It's March and I'm already working on Christmas gifts. I've finally gotten smart and am getting a leg up on the knitting. There's an ulterior motive. The summer is coming and I plan on getting some serious weaving and spinning time in during the summer.

International Scarf Swap and Police (unrelated)

2011-02-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

So in a fit ~~of insanity~~ moment of bright ideas I started a scarf swap. It's over at Ravelry at this group. We're coming down to the wire on sign-ups and we've already started to do the matching up. It's going pretty well.

Oh and for the police bit... we ("R" & Myself) got stopped by the police today. The trooper asked us where we were going. The reply with a straight face… “To pick up some yarn.” His expression…ok, that’s a new one and so bizzare it has GOT to be true!

Bucket List

2011-01-30T23:55:00.001-05:00

So last year I created a bucket list. I was reviewing it and noticed that I have actually done a few things. In all honesty I completely forgot I created this list. Below are the things I have done and how they came out.

23. Work again -- A work in progress. Did a 4 week work eval. Had fun doing it, but didn't like some of the things said afterwards. It all comes back to not being a mind reader

26. Quit Smoking -- R and I quit using the e-cigs. It went well for a couple months. Then We ended up at each others throats. End result...Smoking again

27. Spin wool with a spinning wheel -- I have my own wheel (given to me for Christmas) and have made a 60 yard 2 ply hank. I've also spun single ply yarn, but my 2 ply one is my favorite so far. Will definitely keep spinning

35. Get off Spenddown -- Spend down is like a deductible when on Medicaid. I got off it for a while.

36. Finish my Aran Sweater -- Finished then stolen. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

46. Sell jewlery at a craft fair (not compete with a friend though) -- R and myself started with craft fairs by helping a friend out and then did several more during the holiday season. They were fun and we learned a lot. Can't wait to do more.

58. Read the Anne of Green Gables Series -- Read and loved.

63. Go on a random Road Trip -- Went on vacation and a few days we'd hit the road and see what came out way. Only a couple days were planned out as we had to be certain places at certain times.

Overall got part done and looking forward to doing more.

"R" = My Roommate

2011-01-30T20:22:00.000-05:00

My roommate is a wonderful person. We get along like 2 peas in a pod. Well except when I'm PMSing, but that's just me being disagreeable with everyone including myself. We met about 10 years ago and just clicked.

We clicked so well that when we became roommates I moved my yarn stash first (before clothes or cat) and she didn't say anything. We now share the yarn we buy. You know you click with someone when you can move in and they don't say anything about your yarn stash. Then when they start knitting you can share your stash with them with NO PROBLEMS!!!

We're both creative. She wants to learn to use regular knitting needles, but her job caused her to have carpal tunnel and she can't hold the needles. She usedsthe looms to knit with and man is she good at it. Okay, so the hooks are a little small to hold on to, but we fixed that.

We also work with glass and share that with NO PROBLEMS!!! Once we get a duplicate set of tools she's going to learn to needle felt. If I ever finish my current weaving project she's going to try that out and if she likes it we're going to figure out a way to have 2 looms in 1 apartment with 4 cats and all our other crafting sh** stuff.

She's the cook and I'm the cleaner. It works out good. I'm the driver, she's the car owner. She's Lucy & Ethel...wait so am I. Oh we're always getting into some sort of mischief or another.

Getting another convert

2011-01-30T20:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I knit, crochet, weave, spin, and needle felt (for fiber arts). My roommate uses the looms for knitting. We were talking to another friend of ours last night and she ~~made the mistake~~ mentioned that she would like to learn to knit, but doesn't have the hand eye coordination to knit. Next thing she knew we were inviting her to the local Alpaca farm today to learn to use a Knifty Knitter.

We (roommate a.k.a. "R" and me) went out last night and got her a new loom, yarn, and crochet hook to teach her today. Today we all got together and "R" started to teach her. We're getting another fiber convert. I love life!

Crafting in the works

2011-01-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

What crafts are in progress???

Knitting -- Potato Chip Scarf
                 Scrap yarn Rug

Crochet -- Sideways scarf

Weaving -- Rug on 24" rigid heddle. It's woven with raw wool tied in every so many rows.

Spinning -- Some brown wool on an Ashford Traditional

Glass -- Fused jewlery

Other Projects: Moderating a Travelling Scarf Swap
                         Organizing an International Scarf Swap
                         Organizing 2 informational fairs on Self Injury
                         Organizing a celebration of people in recovery from Mental Illness at the State Capitol
                         More that can't be thought of at the moment

Almost a year

2011-01-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's been 3/4 of year since I last posted. Quite bluntly...I forgot about the blog. Things are still busy and enjoying life. All the usual activities are still going on plus some.

Sick and tired

2010-04-14T02:13:00.000-04:00

I am not a mind reader. I don't know when I am making people feel stupid. If you are extra sensitive, I'm sorry, but I don't know what to say. Especially when you don't react to someone the same way you react to me. I've seen people treat you like you were 2 years old and you take it fine, but if I try and explain things so you'll understand, you have a fit. I don't know when you're going to have a meltdown over it.

I have been the same today as any other day. I've used the same tone of voice and everything else. Why is it that today you have been on this kick of me treating you like you're stupid? I know things when I was in school were not the same as when you were in school. I'm not stupid either. You treat me the same way sometimes, but as far as I know I don't have a metldown over it.

As for the Wal-Mart conversation . . . I was not insisting on being right. After 5 or 10 minutes of batting it around though I thought it was over. The horse was dead and beat into the ground. That is why I said "OK Maureen" when you brought it back up. You know that person takes a topic and will discuss it till it has been beat into the ground like a dead horse. You know when I insist on being right.

Ok, thinking about it the glasses topic I can see where I may have made you feel stupid. You do have to look and see my point though. You haven't tried them so you don't know. You also do the same thing to me when I haven't tried something.

Happy Birthday Space Shuttle

2010-04-12T01:59:00.000-04:00

You're 29 years old today. You have had quite the life. Many triumphs and tribulations, then the 2 disasters. I have cried, cheered, held my breath and more for you. I was 6 when you had your first disaster. That is what made me realize you existed. I may have been young, but I became interested in astronomy and learned a lot. Through you I have told a teacher off at 7 years old. Visited Cape Canaveral at 10 (and corrected the tour guide). We have grown up together.

I've watched many of your launches. Your launches in my darkest days brightened them and have kept me going. I'll miss you when you're gone, but will always remember you. You have done so much for this country and world. Enjoy your day.

Life

2010-03-16T21:11:00.000-04:00

There are times I really hate my life and right now is one of them. For the past few days I haven't been able to get 2 minutes peace unless it's in my sleep. If I'm on the computer it's "What are you doing?" or "Why does your screen look like that and not mine when I play that game?" or something else like that. If she's on the computer it's "How do I do this?" "I can't do this." "The computer won't do this." Driving she's telling me how to drive. I know it's her car, but let me drive, I know what I'm doing. Cripes I'm even being bugged in the bathroom.

She was even melting down in glass class because I decided to make my version of something she did last week. Apparently I'm outdoing her. I don't say anything though when she does her version of what I've done.

Just a few minutes ago I'm on the phone and she's telling me to leave a phone number (which I was trying to get to). Then tell them it's very important (which would be next). She could have done it herself if she kept the phone herself. I dialed the phone and gave it to her. She asked me what we wanted (even though it was her idea to call) and I told her whatever. She is trying to decide whether or not to go to a luncheon tomorrow. If we don't go to the luncheon we'd be going to the capitol to do visibility regarding a hearing on consolidating several state agencies which we're against. We'd testify if we had ink in the printer. It doesn't matter to me which we go to right now. I just want some PEACE & QUIET.

Knitting Olympics

2010-02-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

I'M DONE

I finished at 9:50 p.m. EST on 2/16/2010

Granted this picture is of Gizmo's coat on a cat (what a travesty), but I didn't have a dog to put it on. I was able to put it on Gizmo last night and it looked good. His owner's loved it too. I used Berroco Comfort Chunky in a red and Cream color and US 7 needles to get Gauge. The pattern I used is here.

New Knitting Group

2010-02-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

I have found a new knitting group. New to me that is. I definitely will not be going back to the one I was going to on Saturdays any more now. There are multiple reasons I like this new group.

It's closer to home.
I don't have to put up with a certain someone from the Saturday group.
It's on Sunday which fits by schedule better.
It's at an alpaca farm. Besides that it's a yarn store & coffee shop.
There's some really cool people there.
I don't have to get up early in the morning to go.

I can't wait for next Sunday already.

New Thing #5

2010-02-13T22:45:00.008-05:00

New Thing: Knitting Olympics & Ravelympics

I've signed-up and am participating in the Knitting Olympics & Ravelympics. This post shows the yarn and a pic of the pattern of the project I'm going to be working on. It's the Garter Stitch Dog Jacket over on Submissive Knitting. It's for my neighbor's little doggie.