Hand Knits

Well, I haven't been blogging, but I have been knitting...

The Clun Forest Mittens above are from a Spin Off issue. I made them in Ultra Alpaca Light by Berocco. They are lovely and warm. Below, are some Cascade 220 mittens for Jimmy, and a good wool hat made from Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport.

I've got a few other small projects done, but blogger is being very tempermental with the photo uploads, so those will have to wait for another day. Knitting on....

Virginia Sojourn

We took a little trip to Colonial Williamsburg. I want to live in Colonial Williamsburg.

I also bought a little yarn.

I did a little knitting.

And a whole lot of walking, eating, and picture taking. Some other shopping as well. Jimmy got some great CD's; I got a cookbook, lanterns, candle, etc. We're already planning for next year!

New Stitches

Hey! I like to cross stitch. I'd almost forgotten...I've been enjoying looking at several needlework blogs this past week or two, and I finally got out my abandoned cross stitch project and started stitching on it again.
This is one of my own designs, right now I call it "Cream of Star Soup."
It's not far from being finished...a couple of leaves and the wording.

I'm also machine quilting this quilt...finally. The stabilizing part of quilting a big bed quilt is probably my least favorite part of the process. (The part where you stitch a grid to secure it for the decorative quilting.) I love piecing the blocks, making the quilt top, and doing the binding, but manhandling a big quilt while machine quilting takes some muscle!

I've also started a new purse for myself. I keep trying different designs and figure one of these days I'll come up with the perfect bag for holding my essential stuff, as well as a couple of magazines, a needlework or knitting project, and idea notebook. Plus look cute and hold up to daily use...I need a strong bag! I tend to jam a lot into it.

Daisies in the backyard:

Summer Days

Summer is here! It took a while arriving around these parts, but now it's here in all its glory (and heat)!

I've been busily working on a summery yellow sweater...I'm almost through with the body and ready for the sleeves. I'm using Shine Sport from KnitPicks, and loving it. It's so soft and supple.

I'm slowing getting an urge to do some sewing and quilting again. I have a list of things I'd like to make: a new purse, some clothes, finish up a bed quilt, some new potholders, a needlecase...and on and on.

I've been enjoying looking at some beautiful quilting and stitching blogs to get my motivation.

Happy Easter

Time for my bi-monthly check in here on the blog! Ha, seriously...there has been knitting, and even some quilting. A simple little baby quilt (sorry for the fuzzy picture, these are the only ones I took before sending it off).

Jaywalkers - my first pair. It's a fun pattern.

Slowly proceeding on the lace stole...it ought to be ready by fall!

I've even been crocheting a few more of these guys.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Spring's already Springing

The daffodils can't seem to help themselves...every February here they come! I can just see some yellow on the forsythia bushes and the pear tree is in full bloom. Of course, then it will snow...or ice...or sleet...or all of the above.

A new sock in progress for Jimmy. This is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Moose Creek colorway. This is some seriously nice yarn. I'm basically a budget gal, and this is the most I've spent on sock yarn to date. Yum.

I'm looking to cast on for another sweater, but first I've got to make myself finish up some quilting that has been laying about for months. The knitting has really taken over my brain, and my "want to." But...no new sweater until the new bed quilt and the baby quilt are done! I think. Maybe 75% done. Maybe.

Hey, I Made a Sweater!

Name: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne

Yarn: Northampton by Valley Yarns

Color: Ocean Heather

Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) Knit Picks Options

Mods: I used kf&b for the eyelet row, otherwise just as written.

I am in love. I've worn it everyday since I finished it. It's just a great sweater. If (and I probably will) I make another one, I'll probably go down a size, just because the garter stitch is so stretchy. But all in all, it's love.

Lace Knitting

I'm still working away on my February Lady Sweater. I've got most of one sleeve done and only lack finishing it and the other sleeve to be finished! Hopefully next weekend it'll be done. I'd love to be one of those people who whip out a sweater in two weeks flat, but I don't know how you get anything else done in life. I know I'm not the fastest knitter around, but I also know I'm not the slowest. Ah, well, if I only had the hours I spend at my job. Pesky job.

(The color is a little washed out in these pics, it's a very rich teal blue)

I also cast on for a lace scarf for myself. I don't really have a handknit scarf of my own. So I thought I'd go "pretty" as well as soft. Yummy, yummy Kidsilk Haze in the colorway Marmalade. This is the Feathery Lace Stole from Exquisite Little Knits.

I also made myself some stitch markers, as you can see above. These were a pack of 4 charms for .52 cents! How can you go wrong?

It's a Mushroom

Wow, finished the baby rattle in record time (for me). And I pronounce it...CUTE.

It's a simple little knit, and I skipped the duplicate stitch for the dots and just embroidered some circles.

The only down, and it's a tiny one, is once you put the rattle in the cap, you get to listen to it rattle with every stitch while you're making the gills and the stem. But worth it.

I'm working on my February Lady Sweater, and it's growing. I'm almost to the eyelet increases, so we'll see if I have my stitch count right!

January knitting is good.

New Year Knitting

2009 is tomorrow, and I've got a bevy of knitting projects underway or about to begin in celebration. We enjoyed a lovely, relaxing Christmas...as well as a stash enhancing one for me!

My sweet husband gave me the basket full of yarn, plus more and books, books, books. (I did knit him two pairs of socks, one in secret...which is not easy.) So I've cast on for the everybody-is-knitting-it February Lady Sweater (Ravelry link) with Valley Yarns Northampton in colorway Ocean Heather. It's yummy.

Also on the needles, a toe-up (first) sock for me in a red & bronzey stripe. I discovered Patons Kroy recently, and it is a great sock yarn. Plump and smooshy at a reasonable price. Yah! The colors are a little limited, but you can't have everything.

I also need to get started on this little baby rattle...which I think it just about the cutest thing I ever did see. It's from The Purl Bee. Using leftover sock yarn, no less. The hardest part was finding the little ball with the bell in it!

Merry Christmas

Shepherd wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas! And so do I.

See you in 2009!

Holiday Knits

It's the gift knitting season and I'm knitting away -baby sweater -done!

And a little crochet: (washcloths - my favorite pattern)

And the sock knitting continues unabated:

Simple Surprise

We go to the library just about every week. Our library sells old magazines for 10 cents, and I usually check them out to see what they've got. I've managed to snag a couple of old Interweave Knits and several other knitting mags. Several weeks ago they got in a bunch of old Knitter's and I bought a few (I mean, 10 cents, come on...) and I've been buying a few each week. Last week I bought the premier issue and a couple of early issues. I was looking through them, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this -

Apparently, whoever this belonged to went to Elizabeth Zimmerman's and Meg Swanson's Knitters Camp in 1986. And they got Meg Swanson to sign their book. Very cool.
There's also an article about Mary Walker Phillips, and she signed her page too.

The library is a good thing.

Sock-tember?

I seem to be participating in my own Sock-tember (as opposed to Socktober)...I'm about to finish this pair:

And I've got baby socks to knit (gift knitting), and a pair for myself planned. Love.to.knit.the.socks.

I'm also working on a baby sweater (more gift knitting), and I need to get some other gift knitting a-going.

So has there been any quilting? Nope. Sewing? Nope. Crochet even? Nope. It's all knitting all the time. At least until tomorrow when my new oven arrives! Then I suspect there'll be some baking.

Strippy Striped Bag

Wow, our morning glories are really putting on a show for us right now. I should've gotten the whole mass of them, but here's a couple in the autumn light.

I finally (whew!) finished my newest bag. It's a strippy bag with striped pockets. I doodled and dawdled around on the thing until I just wanted to call it done. It's a softer look and I love, love, love the lining with the dragonflies buzzing around inside (so softly).

Knitting continues on the shawl and another pair of socks (for Jimmy). I'm really looking around for some sweater yarn to cast on for a sweater.

Fall is fabulous!

Fall is in the air

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I always have more energy after the heat of summer. I've gotten a few things finished up, tried a new knitting technique, and oh yeah, taken pictures of the dog:

Finally wove in the ends to the Tweedy Vest. It's been sitting done since May-ish, right about the time it got too hot to wear. I'm pretty happy with my first sweater attempt. The collar is a little floppy, but I know it's because I picked up too many stitches after I shortened the body by a couple of repeats.

Tried my hand at entrelac. It's not perfect, but now I understand what it involves. I'll probably make this into a small pouch and line it with fabric.

One, Two

I finished the first sock and have cast on the second sock. These have been a fun and fast pattern for me.

I've also started a new shawl for myself. I am very cold-natured and I am always cold when no one else is. So, my plan is to make several shawls and cardigans for myself. I ripped out the crocheted shawl I was using this yarn for, because it was just too heavy and clunky looking. I'm enjoying the feather and fan pattern, and I can knit on it in between other projects.

It's a Knit Thing

Well, the knitting bug is back. I knew it would happen as soon as some cooler weather came around. I've been working on a couple of things, a feather and fan shawl (no pics yet) and a new pair of socks...for me! Green socks. This pattern is from the book 2-at-a-time Socks, but I knit it on dpns. They're my favorite way to knit socks.

I am still working on the quilt, I'm ready to baste it and start quilting. But it definitely took a back seat once the knitting obsession kicked back in.

Picking Up Speed

I've gotten a few things done around here lately....it must be the unseasonably (very unseasonably) cool weather we've had around here for the past week. I mean, 60's and 70's in Arkansas...in August!? All I can say is...hallelujah! Especially, since for the last month it's been, oh, about 150 around here. This is what Shepherd usually thinks of August in Arkansas:

But these days, it's more like:

Anyhoo...I finished the four patch. It was completed handpieced and handquilted. And I loved every minute of it. There's probably not a square corner on it, but I don't care. I love it, and I named it "Shepherd's Coat." For obvious reasons.

I also got the stitchery framed and hung in my sewing room. Lovely $1 dollar frame.

And we were given a couple of pounds of fresh figs, so I made fig preserves. Boy, oh boy you talk about making the house smell wonderful, and fall-like. And what beautiful jars they are.

Four Patch

I've been quilting on my little quilt, and enjoying every minute of it. Don't look too close....it's a little wonky. I have thoroughly enjoyed hand piecing and quilting this little quilt. As a matter of fact, I'm going to work my way through all five little quilts in this article.

The next up is this Antique Baskets, all by Jo Morton.

The bed quilt is coming along nicely...I'm adding the inner border now and then a pieced outer border and it'll be ready to quilt.

Sew Many Memories

This is a very old UFO that finally got finished about a month ago. The name of it is "Sew Many Memories" by Sue Hillis. I love this piece, but boy oh boy, did I ever get tired of backstitching! Yowser. But, it's finally complete (after about a 3 year wait) and I'd been looking for a frame. It fits into a standard 8 x 10 frame. So, yesterday while we were out and about, I found a great old wood frame at an antique store for $1.00. I love it when that happens.

So, I just gotta mount it and frame it, and then call it "done!"

Quilting Fever

Hot, hot, hot...it has been too hot around here! 108 degrees earlier this week...blech! For a family that loves fall and winter, that is not good news. It was even too hot to enjoy the kayaking last weekend.

So, indoor pursuits are in order for the next month. Namely, quilting. My quilting fever has returned with a vengeance, and I'm taking advantage of it. The bbbq (blue basket bed quilt) is coming together. I'm piecing the rows together and I hope to layer and baste it soon.

I'm also working on a small doll quilt, which I'm handpiecing. It's a Jo Morton pattern from an old Quilters Newsletter Magazine. Just a simple four patch, but a lot of fun and very quick to do.

I don't post enough photos of the furry one, Shepherd, so I thought I'd throw one out there just 'cuz.

I've added a "quilting blogs" list to my sidebar because I've been discovering so many great quilt blogs...I seem to be adding to the list daily!

Mountain View

We took a little trip up to Mountain View, Arkansas last weekend. It's always a great time when we head up there... a little music, a little food, a little fabric, a little flea marketing....all good things.

If you haven't ever been to the Ozark Folk Center, it's a great place for traditional crafts and traditional music. And lots of herbs!

Now, I've got to get busy and get this quilt top together.

Morning Glory

This morning the first flower unfurled...just beautiful!

On the crafty side, I've made a couple of these crocheted washcloths. They are very fast to make and feel great on your skin. It's the washcloth from the Summer 2008 Interweave Crochet by Kim Werker. I know I'll be making many more of these...

Summer Sunset

A beautiful 4th of July Sunset on DeGray Lake in Arkansas....

And much needed rain today...

Tisket, Tasket

Wow, three weeks just flew by! I've been in a quilting mood lately....I knew it would kick back in one of these days. I think I'm more of a 'winter knitter' type person, because when warm weather gets here, I lose all interest in knitterly things. But I'm sure as soon as fall peeks out, I'll be picking up the needles again. Or maybe even a pair of socks before then.

But right now is all about the quilting. I've started a new bed quilt using a basket block. It's going pretty quick since they're 12 inch blocks. The handle is appliqued, and I'm just eyeballing it, so they don't all look exactly perfectly alike, but that's just more charming to me. Especially since I know a big ol' furryhead will be laying all over it most of the time!

I'm also working on a new patchwork bag, but don't have any pics of it yet. And while I'm still waiting on the morning glories to start blooming, I'm enjoying the blue hydrangeas.

Blue Heaven

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower, followed by gardenias, daisies, and morning glory. Blues and whites...love 'em. Last year my hydrangeas were very pink, and while they were still pretty, I really wanted blue hydrangeas. I added a good amount of 'something I can't remember the name of at the moment' to the soil around the hydrangeas and this year, voila...blue!

We've got a good morning glory vine going in the front yard around our old gas lamp. Hopefully, you'll see some beautiful blue blooms from it soon! They make me swoon as well.

Green and Orange

Well, I finally finished this purse, that I've been working on for a few months off and on (mostly off). I spent a whole lotta time just letting it lay there on my work table. But, now she is done! And I swore I would never make another purse like this again...it was just too 'much.' Too much piping, too much interfacing, too much thinking... I think that last one is the crux of the problem.

I suppose these feeling shall fade as time goes on, and I may consider another version of this bag...but I kinda doubt it right now!

But I do like how it looks. I love all the pockets I put in it, and I love the colors. But mostly, I love that it's done.

Happy Mother's Day

A happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I'm not a mom (except to this sweet fella)...

but I had a great mom who was my best friend until the day she went to be with the Lord. And I am ever thankful to Him for giving me a mom like her. It's an extraordinarily marvelous blessing to have only sweet, sweet memories of her.

I love you, Mom! (...I think she heard me :)

May Days

May has been a whirlwind month around here! First there were these....

Then there was this...

You'd think we found a money tree in the back yard! Alas, no. We'd been planning on buying the kayaks for over a year and spent last summer paddling in an inflatable kayak we'd had for several years. It got us out on the water and we got around fine in it, but it can't compare to these babies!

The car was definitely not "in the immediate plan," but my car (which I'd had for 12 years, and loved that entire time) decided it was worn out (read- needed new power train and a/c repairs that were more than the value of the car). So, even though the plan had been to hang on to my old car about 3 more years, it didn't work out that way.

Of course, after the sticker shock of a car payment once again, we're in love with it! And it gets better gas mileage that my old one. And it's loaded with stuff I've never had in a car:

CD player

MP3 capability

power windows, locks, mirrors

all kinds of dashboard readouts, like gas mileage, outside temp, etc.

and...get this...remote start

For someone who's pretty plain in her living...I feel very decadent in this car! I didn't even know about the remote start until after we bought it, and I thought "I'll never use that." But now I'm thinking on a hot Arkansas day, start that puppy up and let it be cooling down before I ever get in it...yessir!

Red

Red seems to be the color of the day. Red impatiens (with a few orange for zest!) and a 'very close to finished' tweedy vest in red.

I think I'm really going to like this vest (when I get to wear it next fall!) I've got to seam the sides, and add the neck and arm bands. I love the color and the texture and I think it'll be very "fallish". But right now, it's a pile of wool on my lap during warm spring days.

I'm feelin' the itch to quilt ... cotton!