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!