Tag Archives: yarn

four things | five

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Mother Nature reminded us that it’s still winter in this part of the world and gifted us with about an inch of snow on Tuesday. It continued to snow albeit very fine flakes all night with a total accumulation of three to three and a half inches by Wednesday afternoon. Warmer temperatures and sunshine early on Thursday melted 90% of it but the winds picked up and it was downright blustery by late afternoon.

I like the four seasons though not necessarily when we’re smackdab in the middle of them. I’m already thinking of what I will plant in the flower pots on the front porch and deck for spring and summer.

what I’m reading

I just began reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan a historical fiction book based on Frank Lloyd Wright, his mistress and her untimely death. Frank Lloyd Wright is one of my favorite people of the twentieth century. I always wanted to be an architect ever since I was a young girl. Although that dream never became a reality, I still like to read about architecture and look at blueprints and architectural drawings.

Wright’s Falling Water and Kentuck Knob are within a couple of hours from me. I’ve been to Falling Water several times in the 1970’s and 80’s but never to Kentuck Knob as it was not open to the public until 1996 and by then my life revolved around other things. A visit to both are on my bucket list this year.

what I’m watching

Source: tribute.ca

Mr. Aitch and I cut the cable cord to the TV many years years ago. Now we stream what we watch when we want to watch. I’m currently watching Father Brown (season 10) on Brit Box. I would classify this as a “cozy mystery” series as it’s never too graphic nor shocking. Father Brown (played by Mark Williams) helps the police solve crimes in the Cotswold fictional village of Kembleford whether they like it or not. It’s always interesting how he just happens to get involved.

what I’m loving

Board Butter aka Spoon Butter. It’s a concoction of beeswax and food grade mineral oil* and used to moisturize and condition wooden utensils i.e. cutting boards, spoons, salad bowls, knife handles, etc. You can find any number of “recipes” online but they all have the same basic measurements. How-to one and two.

It’s very easy to make but use common sense. Oil and wax are flammable!

I only had a small amount of wax so I only made a small amount. This stuff does not get hard so if you make some, keep it in a lidded container. I used a square of cheesecloth to dip some out and rubbed it into my cutting boards and knife handles. After letting them sit for an hour, I buffed the extra wax/oil off.

The cutting board was gifted to us last Christmas so it wasn’t too dry but the knives are several years old. The wood absorbed it in the handles on the left. They almost look new!

*Food grade mineral oil is a petroleum-based product with a very long shelf life. The amount your food may absorb from the cutting board is miniscule. It’s used in cosmetics, skin care products, shampoos, gives store-bought shine to your fruits and veggies along with many other uses. Vegetable oils, seed oils, and coconut oils can go rancid quickly.

what I’m working on

Pepper decided to try her paws at winding yarn into a ball. Or maybe she was trying to rewind it. Whatever. I’m now trying to untangle her attempt.

till next week…

Patti

Broken Seed Stitch pair

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I finally finished the Broken Seed Stitch socks last week. I love how the dark green of the Knit Picks Stroll in Aurora Heather toned down the bright green, aqua, and yellow hand-dyed yarn.

The broken seed stitch looks like fish or mermaid scales that illuminate and glimmer.

The yarn color pooled a bit on the first sock (below left) that is more noticeable on the sole.

My tension changed with the second sock (below right) as I tried to tighten the stitches where the color changes. The seam isn’t as visible even if I can see it. Will it make a difference when worn? I doubt it.

I prefer the Eye of Partridge heel flap as I think it is more durable. (I must say that I’ve never had to reinforce or repair any of the heels on the socks I’ve knit whether it’s the standard slipped-stitch or Eye of Partridge heel flap so it’s just my personal preference.)

I found this sock “recipe” by Hanna Levämiemi to be a great stash buster for an ugly-duckling ball of yarn as it can be transformed into a swan with the right contrast color.

I’ve already got another sock on my needles.

Patti

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 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