Monday, December 25, 2006

Santa
Since Santa's presents come in different sizes I decided to try something new in smaller sizes. I just learned how to use dpns, but I am still pretty awkward with them. So as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

I have wanted to send something here for this project for some time now but never thought I could make anything that small. Well here are two of my efforts so far. One was more pointy and the other was more rounded. I goofed somewhere, but I think they might still take my stuff. I was too late for Christmas '06, but I think I can make it for '07. I am excited to be a part of the efforts, and I hope my efforts get my better with time!

Thanks to Tracy from Wool Windings for the inspiration to create something I have never made before.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Hats in the Round
This past Saturday I took another class at The Knitting Corner. I wasn't expecting to take the class but it came up and I thought it would be a good one for me to learn. I learned how to knit a hat in the round with double point needles. I thought it was a bit awkward at first but once I got it going, it was fun. The pattern is from Ann Norling.
Below is the work in progress.


Here is the finished product. Actually it's Sue's (the teacher).
Now here is the true finished project done by me. Can you tell that I am proud of my new hat??

Clearly, I think I can make a hat in the round now. This is what I made the next day to see if I remembered how to do it. I used some left over wool that I had in the wool basket. It will be donated to Caps for Kids.

Monday, December 11, 2006

I have been knitting...REALLY!
As my last post said, I have been having some computer problems. Then after I got things up and running, I loaded the wrong program to save and post my photos with and never knew why things wouldn't load. Hubby and I finally figured out I needed to load a different program and now things are back to where they were. Thank goodness.

While I have not been posting, I have been knitting. I am not fast but I am steady knitting every day. Some days it's 5 rows some days it's a total of 5 or 6 hours while doing laundry, simmering dinner and watching TV. Yesterday was one of those days.


I finally finished "the nephew's" sweater and matching hat. I did have a bit of a mishap with the hat and will have to re-knit it. But it did not go to waste. It was taken The Knitting Corner and given as a donation to the homeless shelter that Susan takes things to. It fit my head! Way to large for a 6 month old baby, even if they say he has a large head. So a second hat will have to be knitted and shipped out later. I steamed the sweater to block it and it got a little larger but it looked great. I can't say that about the hat. It got so large...well you already know the outcome. There will be no blocking of the second hat.


Above is the project that I have been most stressed out about. I saw a fellow knitting guilder's felted bag and fell in love with it. I had to have one to store and carry my knitting, well...unfinished knitting projects in. She was kind enough to tell me the pattern that she purchased from The Knitting Corner and I headed right down there and spent my birthday money and then some on the yarn and pattern for the bag. I of course, never do things that are small. I made the largest bag in the series.

I have never felted anything in my life so this was an expensive way to start, but thankfully with all the coaching from the ladies at the shop, I love my new bag. It turned out well and I am so excited. The first time I felted the bag, it was beyond huge! On the ladie's urging, I felted it again yesterday and today it's over a heating vent drying out a second time. Takes a while but it's so worth it. I am going to felt myself a Noni oblong purse without the straps to use as a needle case. I will have to find and pay someone to put a zipper in it, but I think it will be worth it.

The felted bag pattern is by Fiber Trends-Fabulous Felt Totes. I used 7 skeins of Donegal Tweed homespun. That was $10.99 a skein. Then I used a novelty yarn and didn't save the label. The novelty yarn was the knitted in with the other two strands of Tweed. It looks great at the top of the bag.

I have more but can't get the pictures to post. Blogger must really be busy this time of the day. But hopefully in a few days I can post more of the things I have been doing!

Thanks to everyone who has been coming by to see if I am still alive.

I know my mother-in-law is a lurker. Hi Joan!! Are you shocked??

Sunday, December 03, 2006

AWOL
I am sorry that I haven't been here, but really I have. I come all the time to look at the site and then wish I could figure out how to post my latest projects on the blog. The desktop of the last 6 years had a hissy fit and locked me out with my own password. I had a computer repair man come out to fix it and $200 later he got most of the important stuff off the desk top and on to the new laptop. I had been dragging my feet about switching things over and I want kick myself for not doing any of this sooner. The upside is, I still have all the importants things like recipes, that keep my business going but the downside is, I can't figure out how to get pictures posted on the blog from this new laptop. I have a new picture storage system and I can't figure out how to down load to the pictures to the blog. This is hampering my blogging!! So please hang in there and hopefully soon I will have some pictures of what I have been doing instead of blogging.