The February Collection

I remembered to take pictures of my February Ice Drops while the sun was shining!

I was asked to take a picture of the different shades of blue I tatted in February. I'm kind of surprised at how many there are!

Here are 31 of the Ice Drops I tatted in February. I know I mailed some off to Mom, and I gave at least one away at school. I think I was pretty productive.

I'm enjoying knitting the Sanditon MKAL for the second time. I did have a moment of panic on the eyelet row... more like an hour of panic. I came out with the wrong stitch count at the end of the row, or so I thought! I carefully examined my stitches and couldn't see any mistakes, so I unknit the row. When I finished taking out the row, I realized that my stitch count had been correct. I was looking at the wrong row of directions! I took a break from knitting, made dinner, and then I was able to continue without any problems. Whew!

End of the week

Another week has flown by! I focused on laundry today, so there wasn't much time for crafting. Still, I did finish another Doodle Ice Drop in size 20 Lizbeth #713, Kelly Green. The copper shuttle is from  Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker.

I love Kelly Green! When I was in high school, my mom knit an Aran sweater in Kelly Green for me.  I must have worn it until it fell apart. Our school colors were green and white, and I know I wore it to many football and basketball games. Maybe I should try knitting an Aran sweater so that I have Kelly Green in my wardrobe once again!

Tropical Day

Today was Tropical Day at school. Staff members were encouraged to dress for a day in the tropics. Daughter Carol went all out, even getting a grass skirt from the prop room! I was lucky to pull out an old shirt of my dad's that I've been meaning to use for quilt blocks. I also wore my Birkenstocks, but it was way too cold for me to go without socks, long sleeves, and full length pants. Carol's feet look awfully cold to me!

Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #712, Kelly Green Medium. The copper shuttle is by Sherry Pence, LadyShuttleMaker.

I'm making steady progress on my second Sanditon MKAL. I have ten rows to go on the first clue. I'm working much more slowly on this one, and I've had far fewer mistakes. I guess I'm just one of those people who should work at a slow and steady pace!

Scrubby time

Im still having fun knitting scrubbies! This one is the Swedish Block Pattern from  A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker. It's a little larger than the other scrubbies I've made, but I think it's really too small to show off the pattern well.

I was subbing today, and since I was supervising students taking online classes, I chose to knit very simple garter stitch scrubbies. I can't believe I managed to finish four of them!

Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #711, Bright Blue Dark. The shuttle is one of my favorite ceramic shuttles from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. It's fun having a variety of shuttles from so many talented shuttle makers!

Trying again

I decided to give the knitting calendar another chance. The scrubby looks fine, but it does not match the picture. I tried the January 5 pattern, and it was totally off. Dave asked if I was going to thrown the book out. I'm afraid that if I do, I'll for get that it was not the book for me and I'll purchase another!

Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #710, Bright Blue Light. I sure am having fun going through my stash of colors!

Time flies

I subbed again today, and I only managed to tat one Doodle Ice Drop in size 20 Lizbeth #709, River Blue Dark. I love my new Doodle Art shuttle!

Finishing touches

I finished my Blue Jean Saturday shawl quite a while ago, but I didn't get around to blocking it until today. I used a finer yarn than the pattern called for, so it's more of a neck wrap than a shawl. Still, I'm happy to have it finished and ready for wear!

I also finished the last four scrubbies for my grandson this morning. This pattern is Elongated Rib Check.

Basketweave

Basket Welt

and Basket Rib round out the set. I wanted to wash them so that they could use them right away. I knew washing was necessary, because the green dye from Aidan's set rubbed off on my bamboo needles. I'm sure the green will rub off as I knit with other yarns.

The scrubbies were still slightly damp when I took them out of the dryer. They should be ready for mailing tomorrow!

I did start a Doodle Ice Drop yesterday. I just didn't finish it, because I was focused on knitting scrubbies. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #707, Sky Blue Dark. The shuttle is out of coconut shell and was made in the Philippines.

Today's Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #708, River Blue Medium. This shuttles is also from the Philippines and was made out of water buffalo horn with inlaid mother-of-pearl by Peter Cua.

It's time to make dinner. I wonder what I'll get up to tonight?

Scrubby day

I spent today knitting scrubbies for my grandchildren, and I'm amazed at how many I completed!

Double Broken Rib

Roman Stitch

Roman Rib Stitch

Ripple Stitch

Ripple Rib Stitch

Quaker Ridging

Waving Rib Pattern

Wager Welt or All Fools' Web

I am enjoying knitting these. I have four more to knit and then I'll be send a set of seven scrubbies to each of my four oldest grandchildren. The three little ones will be visiting at the end of March, so I have a bit of time to finish theirs!

Another slow day

Today was another slow crafting day because of subbing. I don't mind. I think a change of pace is important.

Part of knitting these scrubbies is trying to find techniques that make my work look neater, especially with starting, ending, and hiding ends. I've been watching lots of YouTube videos, hoping to find tips that truly work. If you look at the bottom left, there is an unsightly bump. I'm not sure what I did there. I do like the Broken Rib Pattern. I may make a larger version for a kitchen dishcloth.

Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #704, Sky Blue Medium. The personalized shuttle is from Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts.

It's been a long week, and I'm looking forward to a restful weekend!

This and that

I subbed today, but I managed to do a little of this and a little of that.

Of course I had to tat a Doodle Ice Drop! This one's in size 20 Lizbeth #706, Sunkist Coral. The shuttle is by Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts.

I took my knitting along with me, just in case I had a little time. I knit four or five rounds while talking with 6th graders. I think this cowl will be finished soon!

I only managed to knit one scrubby today. This one is Sand Stitch. Once again, I messed up the last row of the pattern, but I keep telling myself that this is just a scrubby!

I also managed to knit a few rows on my Sanditon shawl. I've been so much more careful this time, and I have only had one spot where I had to take out three or four stitches to fix my mistake. I don't want to jinx myself, so I'm knitting this one slowly!

Starting again

I wore my Sanditon shawl to school yesterday, and since I had so many compliments I decided to start another. This Yarn Bee 44th Street in silvery grey seemed the perfect fit!

The suggested needle size is 5, but I tend to knit loosely. I tried size 3 needles, but didn't like the stitch definition. So, I'm using size 2 again. Now that I know what to look for in the pattern, I think this will be an enjoyable knit!

I'm continuing with my scrubby project, starting with Double Seed Stitch from Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Don't tell anyone, but I accidentally knit the last row repeat three times instead of two. I'm pretty sure my grandchildren won't notice!

Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #702, Coral Orange Medium. I love this little shuttle. I can't remember where it's from, but it's smooth and light. Don't you love a good shuttle?

Knitting scrubbies

I've abandoned 365 Knitting Stitches A Year for now, and I've turned to Barbara G Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Of course the first pattern in the book is Stockinette Stitch. Putting a garter stitch border around it really frames the stitches nicely.

In the paragraph describing the Stockinette Stitch is a description for Crossed Stockinette, a stitch I had not tried before. I like the way it looks.

Another variation is the Twisted Stockinette. It's amazing what can be learned by actually reading a book!

Next in the book is Garter Stitch. I love Garter Stitch!

I love it enough to knit it in two different yarns!

Next up is Seed Stitch.

I also love knitting Seed Stitch!

Moss Stitch is a slightly different texture that uses a four row repeat rather than the two row repeat of Seed Stitch. I think I might make some dishcloths with this pattern. The nubbiness would be great for cleaning dishes!

The best part of this experiment is that my grandchildren love the scrubbier and would like me to make some for them. They will have homes!

Don't worry. I'm not giving up on Ice Drops. I don't do much knitting once the weather turns warm, so I'm enjoying it while I can. Today's Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #696, Autumn Orange Med. The shuttle is from Banyek on Etsy.

I wore my Sanditon shawl to school today, and several girls admired it and asked me about it. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking of knitting another!