More of the same

There's not much different around here. I'm still knitting wrist warmers. I did start with a new color today. I still have four pair left to knit, and I'm not sure I can do that by Friday. I am going to try!

Ewenicorn

 

My friend Denise told me about Ewenicorn needles by Addi. They have a spiraling texture that is supposed to help ease your knitting. I finally ordered some, and they arrived in Friday's mail. Today I tried them, and I am really pleased with them. I'm not sure that they made my knitting any easier, but they're very nice needles.

My sister and brother came to visit today. Dave made biscotti. I made soup. We retold lots of family stories and had a wonderful day. I kept knitting wrist warmers. The pattern is so simple, I don't need to do more than just knit. So, I finished one and a half pairs. I'm going to see if I can finish another one before I go to school tomorrow, which means I'll be able to pass out two pairs of mitts. With only three more pairs needed, I should be able to meet my goal of passing them all out this week!

Finished!

 

I finished my Unisex Crochet Hat last night, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Now I just need to redevelop my blogging habit!

I ordered some snap on faux fur pom poms, but it turns out they're not what I wanted. I would have to sew one part of the snap on the top of the hat on the outside, which takes away the option of wearing the hat without a pom pom. So, I ordered ones with an elastic loop. They should be here Tuesday.

Christmas in the Village was a great success as far as I'm concerned. I reconnected with friends I haven't seen in a while. It seemed like there were fewer vendors this year, but I was able to find some Christmas gifts for my daughters. I won't post any pictures of what I bought on the off chance that one of my daughters will read my blog!

Play practice was going on in the gym, so I stopped and bought Christmas cookies from the church ladies and took them to the kids. They were learning a dance for West Side Story, and they showed me what they've learned so far. I feel so privileged!

To knit or crochet?

 

How about a little of each? I finished and gave away the last of the Perfect Pink fingerless mitts today, and then I started on Hot Pink. I'm hoping to finish mitts for the high school girls who want them by the end of the week. I really think I'll be able to reach my goal!

Since I spent the day knitting while subbing in art class today, I decided to work on my crocheted hat this evening. I now have 12" crocheted with another 6" to go. 

Tomorrow is Christmas in the Village. Although I'm not selling anything this year, I plan on going and seeing what everyone is doing. It should be fun!

Another yarn day

It sure is difficult to restart a routine. I forgot to blog last night, and I didn't think of it until I had my first sip of coffee this morning. Better late than never!

I subbed in art yesterday and spent the day knitting. I did finish a pair of Perfect Pink mitts and got a good start on another.

After dinner, I worked on my crocheted hat. I don't want to forget what I learned from making the first one, so I need to pick it up every couple of days. I'm using I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby, and the color is Dappled Wheat. Green and gold are our school colors, so it's a great combination for someone with school spirit. 

There may be two hats in this color. Daughter Andrea gave me the leftovers from the blanket she made for Alison. I wasn't sure if there would be enough for a hat, so I picked up an extra skein when Mom and I went shopping the other day. I'll decide later if there will be two hats or one hat and a pair of fingerless mitts!

Yarn shopping

 

There wasn't much time for crafting today, but I did manage to finish another button ornament. I now have 7. I hope to have 24 finished by Christmas.

Our three youngest grandchildren called before school this morning to let me know that it was snowing in Minnesota. I'm so jealous! I love snow!

They then asked if I would make stuffies (stuffed toys) for them. Janko asked for a snowman, and Sophia and Kara asked for snowflakes. I quickly found patterns that they liked on Etsy. However, I did not have appropriate colors. 

So, after school Mom and I headed to Hobby Lobby to buy some yarn. I now have the supplies for their new toys. All I need is some more time!

A little bit of this and that

I managed to do just a little bit of everything with my current projects today.

The first thing I did today was go out to the mailbox to pick up yesterday's mail. I was so excited about my tatting class, that I forgot to stop at the mailbox! I was really pleased that my new project bag arrived. Isn't it cute? I love gnomes, and I just couldn't resist this bag. I carried it to school today, and it made me happy!

In it, I carried my current crochet project, another hat. Crochet club met today, and I worked on my hat while the students worked on their crochet. Exia has been watching YouTube videos to learn back stitch single crochet. Caroline has also been watching videos as she practices single crochet. Ester decided she was ready to move from chains to single crochet. Skyler finished a row of single crochet and asked me to teach him double crochet.

Many of the students who are in crochet club weren't able to attend today. The semester is coming to a close, and they had things they needed to work on.

Another button ornament is ready for Christmas gift giving! 

I finished daughter Carol's wrist warmers and delivered them to her today. She requested grey instead of pink. I do take color requests from my daughters, but the high school girls get what they get!

I really thought I'd finish the hot pink mitts today, but I've run out of steam. Maybe I'll finish them tomorrow!

Front and back

The only crafting I managed to accomplish today was to finish the button ornament I started yesterday.

With the charm added, I think the back is just as pretty as the front!

Today was the first day of tatting with my homeschoolers, and we had a fabulous time! There was a lot of laughter, and I do believe this group will catch on to tatting quickly. There are four girls, one boy, and two moms. All are eager to learn!

Evening blogging

I'm going to try blogging in the evening again. I can keep track of what I've done during the day, and maybe I'll be motivated to make more progress!

I accomplished very little today. I finished one fingerless mitt that I started two days ago, and I tatted part of a button ornament. I honestly don't know what happened with the rest of the day!

Dave spent a lot of time decorating the sun room today, but he's not finished!

I stayed out of his way. Once he's done, I have lots of gnomes to display, and possibly some Santas.

I figured out why my nutcracker picture looked so bad last night... my Ott light was on and it washed out everything. I turned out the light tonight, and they look much better!

Still on a break

My break from technology has been so relaxing! I haven't completely given up on technology. I'm just spending less time on devices every day.

There were 15 of us for Thanksgiving.

Everyone pitched in with all of the preparations, making for a wonderful family get-together!

The day after Thanksgiving, Andrea finished the 12 Step Sampler Blanket she had been working on for Alison. If you peek in the background, you can see the one I made for Dave a few years ago.

Some of the kids in crochet club are ready to move on to projects, so I crochet a sample Unisex Beanie to give them inspiration. I really like this pattern, so I think I'll work on some for Christmas next year and add pompoms to the girls' hats.

I'm a little late starting on ornaments for this year. At one of our Tollway Tatters meetings, my friend Denise showed us some 2022 charms that she had purchased. I knew I had purchased some early in the year, so I decided that this year I would tat all the same ornaments with a charm. I think I need to tat two each day between now and Christmas to have all that I want for family!

Dave has started decorating inside the house. I love the way he does the railing! I've added a couple of more gnomes since I took this picture. I do love my gnomes!

The Christmas tree isn't quite done. I need to add my crocheted angel to the top, beaded garland, and Ice Drops. We're still hunting for all our treasures!

The arch between the kitchen and dining room looks done, but I think Dave needs to add some more nutcracker ornaments.

Angels, nutcrackers, and gnomes are popping up everywhere!

The challenge is finding places to display them all!

We're off the decorate the sunroom today. I need to retake my picture of the nutcrackers in the living room window. With any luck, there will be more pictures tomorrow!

Another 22!

I passed out another 22 sets of fingerless mitts yesterday. The girls were very excited, and now the boys are asking for them! I told the boys they will have to wait until after Christmas. I guess my Christmas break has now been planned!

Yesterday I was asked to teach tatting to homeschoolers. The answer is yes! Our plan is to start the week after Thanksgiving. There will be 3 - 5 kids and possibly some parents. I am very excited to share my favorite lace making technique!

Infrequent blogging

I keep thinking I'll blog more often, and it just hasn't happened. I'm enjoying knitting and tatting way too much!

It's been a long time since I've knit a hat, and I decided it was time to get back into hat knitting. I'm using the Hat Knitting 101: Basic Beanie Hat Pattern from Craftsy. The class is presented by Jen Lucas, who gives very clear instructions. The yarn is Red Heart Chic Sheep by Marly Bird. It's a really nice yarn! the color is Velvet.

I'm still knitting wrist warmers for the high school girls. I'm hoping to have my second batch of 22 finished before the Thanksgiving break. I have ten pair finished, so I should be able to meet my goal.

It's time to start tatting Christmas ornaments! This year I've decided to make all of the ornaments the same, sort of an ornament of the year. I'm using my December 17 button ornament pattern. I'm not sure if I like the gold thread with the red and black buttons, but it's what I've decided to do!

Enjoying the break

 

I've been enjoying my break from technology. I'm amazed at how much I can accomplish whenI stay off my devices!

Since my last post, I've completed 22 pairs of wrist warmers. I'm going to start passing them out at school today. I've told the girls that I hope to have wrist warmers for all who want them by Christmas break. So far, so good!

Another shade of pink

I've ordered another skein of Pink Quartz from Patons. I managed to knit 5 mitts out of one skein. What does one do with 5 mitts? 

While I'm waiting for it to arrive, I've started with another shade of pink from Alpaca Warehouse, Antique Rose. This is an 15% Alpaca, 85% Acrylic blend. It's much denser than the Paton's wool.

I found some dot journals when I was dusting, and decided it might be fun to keep track of what I'm knitting. My friend Denise keeps journals of what she's made. My journal for the past 15 years has been my blog.

This morning I discovered that I started at the back of the book instead of the front. How do I know? The pages don't turn easily! 

Knitting binge

 

My knitting binge continues! Right now I'm focusing on very simple wrist warmers/fingerless gloves for some of the high school girls. We've had some banter going on for over a year about the color pink. I have never been a big fan of pink, but I've been told it's a good color for me. So, I wear pink once in a while.

Last year a couple of the girls told me I should be wearing pink on Wednesday. I had no idea why until about a month ago. It's from the movie Mean Girls, which I had never seen. I watched the movie about a month ago, and then I understood why pink should be worn on Wednesday.

I have made a point of wearing pink every Wednesday this school year, and the girls and I get a laugh out of it. With the weather turning cooler, the girls have been complaining about how cold they are. I decided they needed pink wrist warmers/fingerless gloves. I played around with stitch count and finishing last week, and I now have something that will work for me. The girls liked my prototypes, so the serious knitting has begun. Quite a few girls have show interest in the project, so I may have created a monster!

I'm using worsted weight wool with size 4 needles. I've cast on 32 stitches, and knit in garter stitch for 6". I then slip stitch the sides together using a crochet hook, and hide the ends. I did have to buy pink yarn for this project. I did start knitting a pink sweater for myself about 20 years ago. I ended up throwing it out. The size was wrong, and I just couldn't take the pink any longer! Somehow, smaller projects in pink don't bother me.

My brother and sister came down to visit this weekend, and Mom wanted a picture of the three of us wearing our Orenberg warm shawls. Mom and I wore ours folded in half as a rectangle. Janet folded hers into a triangle. Mom did a beautiful job on all three. It took her about a year each to knit hers and mine, mainly because we were both distracted by other projects. She knit Janet's in about three months. Mom's is out of a lace weight acrylic. Janet's and mine are out of a silk/merino blend. All three of us will stay warm this winter!

Ready for blocking

In the past few weeks, I've spent most of my spare time working on a Craftsy class, Alder Shawl. I was hoping to expand my understanding of chart reading and learn some new skills. The only thing new I learned was the Knit Two Together Through the Back Loops Bind Off, which I really enjoyed.

This is my first half circle shawl. The design is wonderful, but I am not a fan of DK weight yarn. I prefer working with fingering or lace weight. 

It's easy to see that this shawl needs to be blocked, which I will do after the weekend. My sister is coming to visit, and I use the bed that she will be using for blocking my shawls. Since this yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend, I think it will take a couple of days to dry. It will be nice and cozy on cold winter days!

To post or not to post

I have been very busy knitting and crocheting since daughter Carol's wedding, and posting to my blog has really not been a priority. I haven't been in the mood to post bits of progress, so I keep asking myself if I have anything worthy of posting. Finally, the answer is yes!

My Hitchhiker shawl is finally finished! I'm short one pattern repeat, because I didn't pay attention to the yardage requirement. However, I don't think very many people will come up to me and ask to count the number of teeth in the finished piece. 

This is knit with Malabrigo and is fantastically soft!

I finished another Kria shawl for Mean Green Goes Pink night. I was doing a little online shopping, and through a little back and forth conversation about Wollmeisse yarn with an Etsy seller a discussion was started about knitting and crocheting for charity. The shop owner sent me a sample of Peruvian highland wool, the vibrant pink yo see in the picture. I finished it off with Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks.

A couple of weeks ago, Mom and I went yarn shopping at our favorite shop, Yarn Hollow. Jamie, the owner, had posted a picture of the Moreton Street Cowl, and I wanted to see it in person. This is knit in hand-dyed fingering weight yarn (Cherry Blossom) and Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It is absolutely luxurious!

There was a lady shopping for yarn while we were there, and she asked Jamie how long it would take to knit this cowl. Jamie said she wasn't sure, because she had stopped working on it to finish a top she wanted to wear on a vacation to Scotland. She guessed two weeks. With that in mind, I headed home and started right away. I started winding my hand-dyed yarn into a ball on Friday evening. Two weeks later, I finished my cowl at 10:30 in the morning. Jamie had it right... two weeks!

I really enjoyed knitting this cowl, but I'm not overly fond of the point. I think I may look and see if I can find a pattern that is more rounded, or I may try to figure it out on my own!

Kria 2 finished!

 

I finished my second Kria shawl just a few minutes ago. There's a YouTube tutorial for this shawl, which may be helpful to some.

I'll probably wait until the weekend to block it. This one is for our school's annual Mean Green Goes Pink night, which is a fundraiser for the Beverly K. Roberts Foundation. This is a local charity that benefits local cancer patients.

I'm thinking of putting it in a basket with a cozy mystery and a selection of hot chocolate, something I could go for!

Now I have to decide which yarn I want to work with next!

Progress

 

I spent a good portion of the afternoon crocheting, and I made pretty good progress. I'm into the lighter pink portion of the yarn. The pink will fade into white and then grey. This Kria shawl is working up so quickly!