Tag Archives: knitting

Things I want to do this year

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We’re already two weeks into the year and I’ve been thinking and writing down things I want to get done this year. If they are good, I can keep doing them in future years.

  1. Post at least once a week. And on a schedule. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Pick a day and stick with it.
  2. Knit at least one row a day though I tell myself it’s five rows a day. That’s not really hard when it comes to socks which I seem to knit most of the time. I’m joining a KAL this month and surprise, I’ll be knitting a sock.
  3. Plan and finish one sewing project a month. The first project is a bag to hold my new yarn swift. Our church will have a baby shower in the spring with items donated to a local pregnancy center. I will sew burp cloths and perhaps knit a few hats.
  4. Practice makes perfect (or at least improvement). I painted wooden sorority and fraternity paddles for pledges in college which it was quite profitable. My Old English calligraphy was pretty good back then as that was the most popular font style. I even designed and printed invitations for a wedding and parties many years ago. Now that skill has all but disappeared. Lindsey at The Postman’s Knock is my go-to for inspiration to get back into calligraphy. I have the materials. I need to sit down and do it at least 30 minutes every day.
  5. Organize and declutter the basement is on my list Every. Single. Year. My grandson helped me paint one cinderblock wall one summer. I painted another wall myself. Two more walls to go so it’s brighter and cleaner looking. It’s cool in the summer but cold in the winter so this will be a warm weather project. Making zones might be best: craft zone, workshop zone, paint zone, storage zone, etc. Having rubber-type flooring would make standing on the cold, hard concrete floor much more comfortable, too. I could make space for a sewing room and get my sewing machine out of the tiny laundry room.
  6. Speaking of cleaning and decluttering…this blog needs some major work. Posts, tutorials, and how-tos need updated tags and categories that include specific words about the content. All posts related to the Dots and Stripes Purse should be tagged as such so all posts pertaining to that sock would appear in a search for that particular project. That will be time-consuming with over a thousand posts but tackling a couple a day should make that go faster.
  7. Include some self-care by relaxing and unwinding in healthy ways. I started getting a pedicure every month last fall and will continue this year.
  8. Stop playing mind-numbing games on my iPad for hours and use my time wisely. I’m pretty sure I have fewer days ahead than behind. I seriously doubt I’ll live to be 144 years old so I shouldn’t waste time with nonsense. Life is too short.
  9. Learn something new.
  10. Show gratitude.

Those are some goals, resolutions, things I want to do this year.

What are you doing this year?

Patti nona

Socks, KAL, Snow, Door, Bread

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First: The Socks I am on track to finish the second Broken Seed Stitch sock by the end of next week.

I just finished the heel flap on sock #2 and am ready to turn the heel. Then the gusset (which I detest), the rest of the foot, and finally the toe!

This picture is the side where the colors change. You can really see the jog in the stitches on sock #1 on the right. I tried to tighten the yarn at the color change point a bit on sock #2 so it isn’t as noticeable.

Second: KAL Winwick Mum is having a Winter Haven KAL. (That’s code for Knit-A-Long) One doesn’t have to knit the same thing as everyone else but she’s included a free sock pattern if desired. She has other patterns as well. The requirements are easy to join the KAL: knit one of her patterns or use one of her yarns from West Yorkshire Spinners. The Easy Mosaic socks I recently finished is one of her free patterns.

I’ve never done a KAL before but I’m going to try this one and use her free pattern called Trailblazer socks. I have to finish the BSS socks before I start on these as I need the short circular needle from those socks. Plus I need to shop my stash for the right yarn.

Third: Snow Mother Nature dropped 6-7 inches of snow on us Sunday night and Monday. We weren’t surprised that schools were closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday. But Wednesday and Thursday?? The roads were clear by Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Aitch emailed a teacher friend about no school. Evidently the wind chill factor was so low, the powers-that-be decided it was too cold for the kids to wait for the bus. 99.99% of the kids ride a bus and sit in their parent’s warm car/truck/SUV when waiting for the bus. Whatever. We don’t have kids in school and we’re both retired so it shouldn’t concern me.

Pepper loves the snow but hates getting her sweater on. Is it because it goes over her head? It’s a struggle but I put it on her if it’s below 25oF.

Fourth: Door Our front door was bare after I took down the Christmas decorations on Monday. I thought this was perfect.

Fifth: Bread I took advantage of the below freezing temperatures this week and baked bread to help heat the house. Two beautiful loaves of bread warmed us inside and out.

In fact this was lunch the day I baked it along with a glass of wine. I still haven’t found the perfect “sandwich” type bread recipe as mine always seem to have a course crumb. Any help would be appreciated.

I had a home improvement hack and some other things to talk about but this post was long enough.

Patti nona

My first FO* of 2025

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First a big Thank you! I’m truly grateful for all of you who take the time to read my blog and a extra thanks to those who leave comments. I do love to hear from you. One of my goals this year is to post at least once a week. Fingers crossed that I reach that each and every week! More on that on a later day…

…on to the post!

I finally finished the first Broken Seed Stitch sock! I powered through on New Year’s Day and grafted the toe together on January 2nd. I need to have daylight to do that when working with a dark yarn.

This is the “good” side. The blue is more prominent for some reason.

And this is the not-so-good side. That line is where the colors change. This side has more yellow and green.

I really like both the plain stockinette sole as well as the textured stitches on the foot section.

It looks like I might need to tighten up the stitches on the gusset as those bright yellow stitches seem so big! Or maybe I’ll just give them a good soak and blocking when I finish sock #2. I’m going to try to tighten the first few stitches on the color change rows to see if that helps make that seam less noticeable.

Sock #2 is already on the needles with the ribbing completed and the first 4-row pattern repeat finished. Here’s hoping the second sock will make this a pair before the end of the month.

*Finished Object

Patti nona

My yarn swift

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A yarn swift is a device that holds a hank of yarn fairly taut so one can wind it into a ball without creating a hot mess of tangles and knots. Usually I use my knees, an upside down patio table or Mr. Aitch’s arms as my yarn swift. Having a rotating mechanism is much easier.

Here are the parts of my swift.

Two arms 30-inches long that are notched in the center to fit together to make a cross. One hole is drilled into the center to hold the arms onto the base. Each arm has holes drilled partway through to hold the dowels that will eventually hold the yarn. A two-piece base. Two washers though one would work to make the arms rotate easily. Five 6-7 inch dowel rods.

The two base pieces notch together.

Next the washer(s), and the longer dowel.

These are the washers I used. I couldn’t find a large one with a hole that would fit my dowel. The smaller one fits inside the larger one perfectly so it won’t wobble when the arms turn.

The two arms lap together in the middle to make a cross and slide over the center dowel.

The four other dowels are pushed into the holes, one on each arm, to correspond with the size of the yarn hank.

I ground the ends of the dowels just a bit with a pencil sharpener so they would go into the holes easier.

Voila! I spent $10.68 on the wood and washers. After several hours of cutting, repeatedly plugging and unplugging my tools, and assembling, I got myself a yarn swift that when not in use, takes up very little space.

I had a short video of the swift in action but I couldn’t get it to load properly.

My next sewing project will be to make a drawstring bag to hold all the pieces.

Now if I had a woodworking shop and all the necessary tools, this would have looked more professional. In my dreams a band saw, drill press, table saw, chisel, and a router would be awesome. Instead I used a jigsaw, drill, coping saw, hack saw, Dremel tool, screwdriver, utility knife and sandpaper.

Here are the two videos I watched for the dimensions and demonstration from Cozy Corner Crochet.

If you want more details, just leave a comment.

Now, if I can make this, you can too!

Patti nona