Category Archives: knitting

FO Friday

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I have a couple of finished objects (FO) but no pictures to share.  They are still on my camera.

  1. Sewing Project #1:  My wonderful sister made a needle roll for me (see below) so I adapted her handiwork for a travel pouch for our phone charger, helmet chargers**, camera charger, and whatever other charger we need while traveling.  I will post pictures ASAP. 
  2. Sewing Project #2:  Using some leftover fabric, fusible fleece, and teflon fabric, I made a travel cover for my flat-iron/curling iron.  Fixing my hair is usually the last thing I do when getting ready to go someplace and I needed a way to pack the still warm appliance without burning myself or damaging anything around it.  I’ll most likely use this only when traveling but could be used all the time if you like to put yours away.  I will post pictures ASAP.
  3. Knitting Project:  I am this >< close to finishing the Fetching Mitts.  I will have enough yarn to bind off and make the thumb on the second mitt.  If you recall, I did not have enough yarn the first time around so I frogged (ripped) them out and reknit them.  I will be very happy to wear these…unless I decide to gift them.  Shown below are the original pair.  I will post pictures ASAP.

    Before

I do have a few more things I’ve been working on but they are secrets for now.

Sorry for the recycled pictures.  Posts without something to look at are boring.

And the mitts pictures above really are from the same ball of yarn and are the same color.  Must be the lightning as the one on the left doesn’t look as bright as the one on the right.  Hmm.

** Our motorcycle helmets are equipped with Bluetooth (coolest thing ever) so Mr. Aitch and I can talk to each other when riding separately or together.  We don’t talk a lot but it’s really important for him to be able to hear me when I’m on the back of the Harley and play the role as navigator.  I can share a little bit about our process next week…if you’re interested.

A renewed knitter

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A couple of days ago I posted about my best friend and how we knit washcloths on our mini vacation.

I did not get a pictures of our completed masterpieces but my friend sent me pictures of hers.

Pat's first washcloth

After her first successful project, she wanted to try another one.  So we went to a big box store and bought more cotton yarn.  I gave her a couple stitch markers, a pair of knitting needles, and the printed pattern so she could get started as soon as she had time.

Pat's second washcloth

She’s addicted.  She made yet a third one (no picture) from some of her leftover yarns from other projects and now wants more patterns.  Knitting doesn’t hurt her fingers and wrists like crochet did.

I’m going to introduce her to Ravelry.

Christmas in July

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Nothing like receiving a package to make it feel like Christmas, even in July.  The outside temperatures say HOT and the yarn says warm.

I ordered four skeins of  Knit Picks Stroll in fingering weight in the color Bare, one sock blank* also Bare, blunt point tapestry needles, a knit-picker, and Pints and Purls book.

A great book so far.  I’ve just skimmed through it and found several things I want to knit.  The projects are rated for “designated driver” to “four drinks” with the DD rating for knitting with fewer distractions and the four drinks rating for more distractions aka beer or other concoctions  Did you notice those sexy reading glasses?  Buy-one-get-one free for $2.98.  Can’t beat that price even if they aren’t exactly right.

Can you guess what my plans are for the Bare naked yarn?  I picked up these Easter Egg coloring kits for $0.25 each after Easter.  I want to dye or hand paint the yarn for socks or whatever I feel like knitting with fingering weight yarn.

I’ve seen all sorts of yummy colorways of sock yarn and I really want to dye my own.  I’ve never done this so if you have any techniques, suggestions, experience, or positive energy, please feel free to share!

The next few weeks are going to be a bit hectic (motorcycle trip and a party) so I might not get to this right away.

*sock blank description straight from the Knit Picks web site:    Our brand new sock yarn dye blanks are long double-stranded pre-knit stretches of machine washable, Merino/nylon blend sock yarn that you can hand dye using the dye method of your choice, and then knit directly from the sock blank to easily create your own colorways and self-striping sock yarns. Finished knit size is 33″ long by 9″ wide.

My best friend

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Pat an I have been best friends since high school.  I met her at a summer camp between our junior and senior years in high school where we learned about state government.  Keystone Girls State.

Most of the time she and I would sit beside each other during the conference.  One day I took a transistor radio into the auditorium, put the one and only earphone on my shoulder, turned up the radio as loud as it would go (though we could hardly hear it) and listened to the latest music.   No iPods or mp3 players back then.

She was from the eastern part of the state and I was from the western part.  I’m not sure how we connected with each other but we became fast and furious friends.

Once we got back home we’d write to each other at least twice a week.   No email back then.

 

Rarely would we call each other.  No cell phones back then either and we actually had to pay for long distance calls.  Sometimes I would scrape up enough nickels, dimes and quarters and use a pay phone to call her.  Do they still have pay phones anymore?

We kept in contact throughout college, after we each got married and when our kids were born.  Sometimes it was just a yearly Christmas card but we would still talk/write about seeing each other.

It took 21 years before we actually got together again and we started up just like we’d seen each other yesterday.  We have that kind of friendship.

Our kids grew up, got married, had children of their own.  She moved.  I moved.  Life happened.

We got together several times over the years but the last time was in 2004. 

2004

That is until last week.

Zanesville, Ohio is a little more than half way for me and a little less than half way for her but that’s our meeting spot.

We went to the Longaberger Basket Homestead, several pottery places, and shopping centers.  We laughed, we talked, we stood in front of a big hairy bear.

Patti and Pat and a big bear

I knew Pat could crochet but did not know she could knit, too.  I took the leafy washcloth pattern, yarn and a couple of pair of size 7 knitting needles in case she wanted to learn how to knit.   Fortunately I didn’t have to teach her how to knit but I did teach her how to m1 (make one) and ssk (slip, slip, knit 2 together).  We each started and finished a Leafy Wash cloth in one evening.

She bought more cotton yarn to make more of these.  I gave her the printed pattern, the pair of knitting needles and a couple stitch markers so she could make more once she got home.

Pat called me last night when she didn’t have the correct number of stitches on her needles.  I talked her through it and she was good to go.

She said she’d send me pictures of her completed wash cloths.  I can’t wait to see them because… I FORGOT to take pictures of ours!!!