Knitting rules

I just finished reading this book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It's a great book and a fast read. It makes me want to knit -alot. Unfortunately, I only have the one project going on right now. And apparently, I'm not 'Miss Speedy' when it comes to knitting. I assume I'll get faster as I get more experienced and I'm not really concerned with my slowness, other than the fact that I keep seeing things I want to knit. And it's getting to be a long list! Not to mention, that I still enjoy crochet, quilting, sewing, embroidery, cooking, decorating and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

But knitting is the current 'obsession' with me. I love how versatile, yet practical it is. Not only do you get to play with yummy yarn, but you end up with something you (or somebody) can use! That's one of the things I love about quilting. But I gotta say playing with yarn is even better than playing with fabric...I'm hooked!

I got a few magazines when I got the book, too...

I have to say, being the newbie that I am...I really like Vogue's KnitSimple. It suits me right now. And yes, that is a Spin Off magazine tucked in the middle there. Yep, the thoughts of making my own yarn are swirling around in my head. Good golly, I've hardly had any experience in knitting or crocheting different yarns, and I'm already thinking of spinning. But as usual for me...I just go with the madness and enjoy the ride!

Quilting with Penny

I'm finally quilting on this. I got it basted together a couple of weeks ago and started machine quilting it. I tend to prefer machine quilting for my bed quilts, mostly because this will actually be used by Shepherd more than by us. And machine quilting definitely takes less time, a lot less in my case, than hand quilting, and seems to be pretty durable under 'daily dog use.'

I forget what an operation it is to machine quilt a bed size quilt on a home sewing machine. Not so much the actually stitching, but you have to fold, fold, unfold, refold, fold some more and then do a little stitching.

The best book I've ever read about machine quilting is Diane Gaudynski's Guide to Machine Quilting.

I'll never be near her technique, but it did give me a good grasp of how to handle my quilt and lots of great tips to make your stitches look better.

Oh, Penny is my machines's name. I love her! She's a Bernina Activa Patchwork Edition.

Book worm

January always has that "snuggle in with a good book" effect on me. So, in that spirit, that's what I've been doing. I've been re-reading this book

Jenny Walton's Packing for a Woman's Journey by Nancy Lindemeyer. I love this book. It's got a very definite optimistic outlook on life, which is similiar to mine. And of course, Nancy Lindemeyer was the editor of Victoria magazine, my all-time favorite magazine ever published. I could go on and on...and on... about it, and the impression it made on me. I have almost every issue. I think I'm lacking 3 or 4. And I still get them out quite often. They're like old friends. If you're a fan, you know exactly what I mean.

Along that line, I picked up a couple of things at our library's book store this weekend. One was this book (sorry for the blurry picture)

The Heritage Sampler, A Book of Colonial Arts & Crafts. It looks pretty interesting from this light perusal I've given it so far. I'm a big fan of Revolutionary-era history (why yes, I am a big geek, thanks for asking) and all things colonial.

And I also found this, for 50 cents:

Holly Hobbie's Home Times magazine. The first issue. This completely surprised me...I have never heard of this magazine, do not remember ever seeing it before, and I am loving it! It reminds me somewhat of Victoria magazine, especially the earliest issues. But a little different. I'd love to know if anyone has ever heard or seen this magazine before.

Neapolitan

I've been seeing lots of "neapolitan" around blog-land, and it's getting to me. Nevermind that it's delicious, as in neapolitan ice cream. I love that combination of colors: pink, cream, brown...wonderful! And lots of folks are making me neapolitan (groan!) with envy:

This lovely from Karen at Simply June.

Gorgeous yarn from several Etsy shops. FeltStudioUK, KristieHaynes, and WhorledPeace.

Super soft looking roving from Ruby's Daughter Handspun Yarn.

I saw a beautiful pair of socks done in a neapolitan colorway, but now, of course, I can't remember where I saw them. And in my overzealous housecleaning of my favorites folder I got rid of the link.

Brach's socks here

...this is all making me hungry.

Blue lagoon tote

I'm really pleased with how this tote turned out. Especially since I just dove in and did no planning at all! I think the only change I might have made is to make the straps a little bit longer, but we'll see how these do in actual use. I lined the straps so they would be sturdier and wouldn't stretch, since I have a definite tendency to overload my totes.

(these pictures aren't the greatest, it's been pouring rain for 3 days here)

I also added something new that I think I'm going to really enjoy. I always carry around a couple of magazines (or six or eight) with me. So I made a separate panel with super sturdy interfacing and sewed it into the lining to hold a few magazines without having them fold over or sink down...I hate that! Kind of a divider idea.

Also added a few pockets for assorted stuff, some matboard to keep the bottom nice and sturdy and I think she's ready to go.

Heavenly Apple Crisp

I made this apple crisp recipe this past weekend, and I kid you not, my husband raved about it for 10 solid minutes. He actually said, "This is what the angels eat in heaven!" He. loved. it.

It's really pretty quick and easy (it'd be even quicker and easier if I had one of those handy, dandy apple peelers like I've seen in a couple of places), so I thought I'd share it with you.

If I've done this right, you should be able to click on the picture below and it will open to a .pdf file you can print out.

or if that doesn't work, go here: Heavenly Apple Crisp Recipe

Cable able

Hah! I did it...I cabled. With a cable needle (actually a dpn), not without...who was I kidding? Maybe cabling without a needle will come later, maybe not. Either way, I'm loving cables! Who knew they weren't as hard as they looked?...well, okay, probably lots of folks. But I didn't know. Of course, there's lots I don't know. Like which way do you pick up the stitches when you have to rip back because you've purled two stitches you should have knitted? I sure didn't know the answer to that one. Technically, I didn't even know how to rip back. I'd never seen it done. But did that stop me..nooooo. And guess what, it turned out okay! I bet you can't even tell where the mistake was. (well, okay, probably you knitterly-expert types can tell, but you know...lie to me, tell me it looks great!)

So the list of knitty things I've learned continues to grow:
cast on...check
knit...check
purl...check
cast off...check
seaming...check
ribbing...check
stockinette...check
work in the round...check
work in the round on two circulars...check
cable...check
ripping back...check (I feel very officially a knitter with this one!)
follow a pattern...check

So my fourth "official project" is humming along, and I'm looking forward to my "fifth official project." A sock. Actually, uh, two socks. Yes, two socks would be better. My sweet husband got me some sock yarn for Christmas. I actually gave casting on a try with some mercerized cotton...can you say 'slick?' Yowser, my needles were slipping and sliding every which a-way! So, maybe I'll try again with a stickier yarn.

Maybe I should try a Christmas stocking first...there's a thought. Bigger needles, plumper yarn, you only need one...hmm. Must ponder that.

Crochet me a blue lagoon

I meant to post about this sooner, but it went so fast I was almost done before I knew it! I got this yarn at Hobby Lobby on sale (Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist). And had some kind of tote or bag in mind for it when I bought it. The color name is "blue lagoon."

So I just kinda winged-it with the construction. I made a front and back panel, a bottom panel, two side panels and two straps. I single-crocheted it all together (except for the straps, which still need to be attached) and now I'm ready to put a lining in it.


I had thought about the Girlfriends print (which is the white, green and blue print) before I stitched it up. But now, I'm leaning toward the blue dot (background fabric). It seems calmer, and a little better match at this point. It's been laying on my sewing table for a couple of weeks now, and I need to just finish it up. And it's for me!

Post Holiday Amusement

Well, what can I say...the dog must match! After I knit the two hats for Jimmy and I, it only seemed right to give Shepherd a matching "something." So I knit this little cuff...we call it his "fetching cuff" because he looks so very fetching in it (yes, we're goofy...we know)! You gotta admit...he's cute. It's the same yarn as Jimmy's hat and he's been wearing it when he goes for walks for a couple of weeks now. He thinks it's just part of the rest of the gear he gets to put on, along with the harness and leash. Or sometimes...the raincoat

Proof that we love our boy so much, we'll take him for a walk in the pouring (and I mean pouring) rain, just so he gets his walk. (I'm pretty sure that most of our neighbors refer to us as the nice- basically- sweet- but- slightly- eccentric- couple that live in the house on top of the hill.)

Cozy In!

Wooo, so is everybody back into the routine by now? We are. We took all the decorations down a couple of days before New Year's Day. We decided to put more of the Christmas stuff in the attic this year, which of course, necessitated a clean-up / clean-out of the attic. But now we've got an organized attic with all the Christmas stuff in one place; all the camping stuff in one place; all the spring yard-sale stuff in one place; etc., etc. Now if the rest of the house was just as organized as the attic!

January always brings the "organizer bug" for me. (Yep I know, I'm the only one!) After all the extra stuff of Christmas, I always feel a desire to pare down and simplify. Except for my candle fixation...I miss the holiday lights, so I compensate by lighting candles and tea lights all over the place. Plus, it shoots up the "cozy" factor. That's another big January thing for me...hibernating. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, nobody to see...just curl up and cozy up. Love it.

So I've cast on a January project....

The famous, I'm-probably-the-last-one-to-do-it Irish Hiking Scarf from Hello Yarn. Jimmy got this yarn for me for Christmas and now it's going to be a scarf for him...hmmm. Anyway, it's very soft...I think it's Bernat, I don't have the label with me, about 400 yards of it. I think I can do this. I understand all the instructions, which is a good sign. I've done 5 rows, the cable comes at row 8...so by then I have to decide to cable with or without a needle. Hmmm...How brave do I feel?