Opportunity

Doing the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) has been a challenge to say the least.  My postings have been few and far between for well over a year.  When the opportunity to get back in the saddle came along, I decided to accept the challenge and post every day during November.

Todays post is about the Olive Oil Drip Catcher pattern I put in the My Designs page of this blog.  This little pattern has been one of my most popular.

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It’s a quick knit using a small amount of fingering yarn.  Although I haven’t measured the amount of yarn, I do believe it is under 20 yards.

And it’s useful.

Want to learn how to knit with double-point needles but don’t want to commit to knitting a sock?  Here’s your opportunity to try this pattern.

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If you don’t like the ruffle edge, just bind off before the increases.

Are you planning on gifting anyone with a bottle of flavored dipping olive oil or vinegar for Christmas (or Holiday of your choice)?  The Olive Oil Drip Catcher would be the perfect accompaniment, well, along with a loaf or two of great bread.

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And while I’m at it, I’m taking the opportunity to plug one of my favorite stores:  Olive My Heart in Hudson, Ohio.  Yes, they do ship!

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Kn words

I don’t understand why there is a silent “k” at the beginning of some words.  I’m sure there is a very good reason, right? But since I have the day off, I’m not going to use my valuable “me” time to do a search.

Knife or knives.

Hiding between my windows at the kitchen sink and a side cabinet…

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… is a magnetic knife rack.

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I love this thing.   All my good cutting knives are hanging there in plain sight so all I have to do is reach up and grab what I need.  These used to be in a drawer in cardboard sleeves to protect the cutting edge and fingers.  Not convenient, well, being in a drawer was not convenient.  Protecting one’s fingers was convenient.

Knitting.

Of course I had to include some knitting!

slipper

I knit this one, lone, seamless slipper on a bus trip I took recently.  Only had enough time to knit the one and it’s missing its mate.  Even though it doesn’t know it is supposed to have a mate.

If you’ve tried to knit these, the hardest part (IMHO) is the beginning.  The pattern is right at the top of this blog.  Under the header.   My designs.

Or click on this link.  It will take you right to it.

One last thing…  A BIG thank you to all our Veterans who have served this great country to keep us safe and free.  God Bless You!

veterans-day

 

Felt

There are a few definitions for the word “felt” and I’m going to talk about a couple of them today.

Mr. Aitch and our daughter have strep throat.  Mr. Aitch was at her house last week so they probably were exposed to it at the same time.  They felt pretty badly on Monday and Tuesday but feel better today after taking the right medication.

A couple of years ago I tried my hand at making felt Christmas ornaments.  I ran out of time.  Thinking about doing something is not the same as actually doing it.

So I am reviving that project.

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I have a few shapes cut out already.  Now comes the embellishing part.  I printed out some of my Pinterest pins from my Felt board for inspiration.  (You may need to join Pinterest (for free) to see that.)

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Sorry for the poor quality in these photos.  I was in a hurry and the lighting wasn’t good.  Plus all I had was my iPad camera.  Excuses, excuses.

I’m also working on my original  felted  CCM hat.

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I still wear it with only the one partial paisley embroidered on it.  It’s very warm.  And I love it with or without the paisley.

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I knit another one last spring and have not felted it yet.  The yarn sheds.  And I mean S.H.E.D.S.  I was afraid to felt the hat in the washing machine as I didn’t want to plug up the hose so I used a new plunger and bucket of hot water to felt the first hat.  It was quite the workout!!  It was too hot this summer to engage in that activity so I waited until it got cooler.

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What’s stopping me from felting this new hat?

I just haven’t felt like it.

One fish, two fish, pink fish, blue fish…

Recently my daughter and I went to a baby shower for one of her close friends, Alicia.  Alicia is expecting twins sometime at the end of the year.

A girl, pink fish.

And a boy, blue fish.

The theme was Dr. Seuss.

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We had Green (deviled)  Eggs, Ham (sandwiches), red (Swedish) fish, along with pasta salad, fresh fruit and cake.

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The favors were ice cream scoops and HErSHEy bars.

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My daughter found some cute Dr. Seuss bags at a big box store (sorry, no pictures of those) so we filled them with some handmade and store-bought goodies:  Burp cloths, Converse booties, box bags in Seuss fabric, books, toys, baby wipes, outfits, onesies, teething rings, pacifiers and clips, and lots more.

My daughter made “girl” burp cloths and I made “boy” burp cloths using my pattern.

I also sewed box bags using Dr. Seuss fabric.

The groom, ushers, and the rest of the men in Alicia’s wedding wore Converse shoes so I knit Converse booties, one in black and one in pink.  I adapted three different patterns to suit my patience level and ended up doing a duplicate stitch for the toe part.  I did not do laces as IMHO parents of newborns (let alone twins) don’t have time to mess with laces.  I found some star button and sewed them on a white disk of iron-on batting.  As usual, I ran out of time and was knitting in the car on the way to the shower.  But I got them finished in time.

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You can see a small part of the bright blue Cat in the Hat box bag behind the booties.  And the blue and pink burp cloths jelly rolled around each other.

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