Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!



Merry Christmas Everyone!

Since tomorrow is Christmas, I figured I could finally show what I have been working on. This is the winter set I made for my daughter. It includes a cable hat, matching handbag, multi-colored scarf and little slippers. I love how it came out and I had to design the bag and scarf to match the hat, so I think it came out pretty good for no pattern! :)


These are regular watch-cap hats. The 2 navy blue ones are for son and s-i-l. The black one is for hubby. I love the band around the bottom of the hat so there is no-rollup. I also changed the hat to a small decrease to make the crown rounder instead of "puckery". The decrease I used made an actual crown to the hat.






The gray hat is for my brother. It's thick and very warm, so when he is out working in the shop, his head should stay warm! I hope he wears it, and that is an "iffy" thing, but it made me feel good to make him something that hopefully he will like.





Well, that's my Christmas knitting. Can't say I am too happy that's all I got done, I still have a sister that I didn't finish her felted bag. Figured I would wrap up the yarn and the pattern and tell her I owed her one! I think she will wait, if now, well then........

Merry Christmas All! I hope you have a very happy one!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Cocoa Swap - Spread the Word

Wahooo...another swap! Just love them. Here's one to beat the winter blues : Cocoa Swap. Now just imagine being the middle of winter, after chrismas and still quite a while before spring and you get a package made up of things that make you happy and some gourmet Hot Chocolate beside.

Follow the link, post on your blog, leave a comment saying I sent ya....Would appreciate it!

Required Elements:*

A blog of your own*Post weekly*
Secret/Anonymous email address*
Gourmet Hot Cocoa*
A yummy treat that your pal says is a mood booster*
Enough yarn for a project. Here's where the mood-booster comes into play: You need to send yarn in a colour that your pal says makes them happy, for a project they are really going to enjoy. Remember: we want to make them feel really good. If their idea of feel good is sock yarn in dizzying neon shades, then send that.
*Stitch markers designed to cheer.*
(and this is our favourite) A Winter Blah Buster Buddy. This could be a knit or crochet stuffed creature that you make to chase away your pals blahs. The sidebar has links to free and fairly cheap patterns if you need inspiration, and feel free to get really creative and design your own. The point is to make something that will definiately put a smile on your pal's face.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Enterlac



Well I tried Enterlac. In the dishcloth size, I have to say I do like it, but, I've been looking at vests, sweaters, and handbags. I'm not too sure about that! The hardest part was remember where you left off and to always make sure you finished that row. Went to bed one night at the top of it and got up the next morning and oops had to take out some stitches. Was going the wrong way!





This is the short-row pinwheel. This goes real fast and faster than the 4corner dishcloth. Both are gorgeous thou and favorites of mine to do for gifts.








Seattle Seahawks colorway that I picked up when I was in Seattle. The socks are pretty, but I am really disappointed that they ended up varigated instead of the pattern. The pattern sample I saw was nothing like how these came out. I lost the tag for the yarn, so I can't tell you what it was, but it was hand-dyed.





Overall, I've been busy, but just don't have the pictures done of how busy! I've started and stopped a few projects, can't really decide what to do next for my big project. I keep looking at my stash, taking out, putting up, etc. Maybe I just need a break. Not sure, so right now I am working at 2 pairs of socks. One pair is for the Vintage Sock Swap and the other pair is red/white/blue self-striping. Since I am on the foot of the first sock for the red/white/blue, I still haven't decided if they are for me or for hubby! Will know more when I get closer to the toe. Do I stop and make them for me or continue for a couple of more inches for hubby? Hmmm....actually he has 4 pairs more than me. That should be my decision right? LOL

Happy knitting

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Busy Thanksgiving Weekend












Summer Shawlette is completed. I made a couple of mistakes, but I think the lace is so busy no one will notice! Overall I am very pleased with how it came out. The only think I did different was add 4 lace rows to the bottom to open it up a little bit. The yarn was Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora.


Ravelry Dishcloth Exchange Group Dishcloths


These next 2 dishcloths were for the red, white, green exchange. The red/white one is my first ballband cloth. I'm still not sure how I like the pattern, but I hope my partner is pleased with the results.





This green one is a favorite pattern. I love how you can combine two cloths and get a pretty cloth. I just follow the regular grandmother's favorite, until 39 stitches, add the second color, continue increasing until 48 stiches, decrease to 39 stitches, go back to the original color and finish off.





These 2 are for the I'm dreaming of a white christmas. You had to do 2 dishcloths in white/blue with snowflakes or snowmen. I did the white cloth is a knitted-in snowflake and the blue one is a crocheted snow flake.






These 2 are for the Hark, the Harold Angels Sing. You could do either angels, musical notes or plain red/white. I decided on the plain red/white dishcloth. I still have to go find 2 dish towels to go with them as I like to send everything as a set.






Happy Knitting

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sock it to me twice Questionnaire

The Questions
How long have you been knitting? 2 years. Do you consider yourself beginner, intermediate, advanced? Intermediate
How long have you been knitting socks? 1 year
What are your favorite fibers to work with? cotton or wool blends
What is your favorite color? blue
What are your current WIPs (works in progress)? 2 sweaters, 2 socks, baby blanket
Name your favorite yarns, (brand, fibers, colors, etc.). Cotton Classic (any colors) dreambaby (have to take care of the new one on the way!)
What are some yarns/fibers that you stay away from. acrylic
What is your family situation? (Married, kids, pets?) Married, 2 grown kids, 1 black cocker
Name some of your hobbies. Knitting, reading
Name some of your favorite movies? Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
Do you like to read? Yes
Do you collect anything? Piebirds
Do you own an iPod or mp3 player? No, hoping for an Ipod for Xmas
What are your favorite type of knitting needles? Addi circulars
What knitting notion could you not live without? markers
Who are some of your favorite designers? None particulary
Do you subscribe to any magazines? (Knitting or otherwise.) No
When is your birthday? May 31
Do you have a "wishlist", (on Ravelry, Froogle, or Amazon)? No
Do you have a Ravelry ID? cindybmw2004
If you had a sheep, what would you name it? baby

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Latest Projects!

This is the Summer Shawlette project I am working on. After "frogging" 3 times between rows 7 and 9, I finally got the rhythm down! Whew! It took a bit let me tell you! I put in 2 lifelines, but now I have them out as I pretty much am on target. Unfortunately, I didn't estimate the yardage right, so I've had to order more yarn from here. I want to add a couple of inches to it as it says overall length is 15-1/2". 17 or 17-1/2 would be a little better I am thinking. So now I am at the point where I have to wait for the yarn to come in. I just ordered it today, so I'm going to start this:

This is an easy pullover from Berroco. I found the yarn here on clearance so it is a very big bargain. AND I get to use the new KnitPicks that my wonderful secret pal 11 sent me! Yes, I finally found out how I managed to get these in the mail. AND they are mine, ALL MINE!
Remember the square that my embroidery machine ate? Well, I knitted it over and guess what? I finished all the embroidery on all the squares (praying the entire time!) and they all came out great! So now I have to sew it together and work on the border. The border is going very slow as it is 4 strips, 4" wide by oh, maybe 30" long. That's a lot of boring knitting, but I still have plenty of time, the baby isn't due until March. Figure it will be easy knitting for the winter.
The newest baby sweater. I'm figuring this is 6 months size and it is done. I just have to sew in the sleeves and buttons (check them out!, little blue bears - they are so cute!) and then block it. Yes I do it backwards, but that is what I have always done! LOL

Anyways, thats a few projects and of course I am still doing socks as my on-the-go project. It takes care of the 14-15 stoplights on my way to work! A few of them are very long lights, good for a couple of rows!

Happy Knitting!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Embroidery machine ate my knitting!

I'm working on the surprise blanket. I did a sample of 4 squares to decide how I was going to sew everything together. Sample came out okay. It is do-able. So I was originally planning to do duplicate stitch of names/birthdates, but realized I only have 37 stitches across (8 are not usable because it is the border), so I was left with 29 stitches across. Mine, my hubby, and my daughter's names are all too long to do duplicate stitch with 29 stitches, so I decided I would try on my sample, embroidery.

It worked just fine. Initials are one of the hardest on sewing, so I did that. No problems.......
Ooops....I get the name done, going good....getting to the birthdate, so far so good. The LAST NUMBER, break the top thread. Re-thread....going along and bang! The stitches get stuck. By the time I realize it's NOT moving....it's too late. The only thing to do is cut. It was stuck on the bottom at the bobbin level. Luckily, I only have to knit another yellow square, but now what am I going to do? I have no idea....I guess I'll let it Purculate in the back of my brain for awhile and see what comes out.


Friday, November 2, 2007

If I didn't order, can I keep?



There was a box on the front steps today when I got home from work. I didn't order them, but here they are....Do I get to keep them? There was no note, no nothing, just these in a box. So, right now they are sitting back in the box and I will keep walking by them over the weekend to look and admire. I have the Denise set (which I do not really like) and have been wanting to try the knit-picks options, but didn't want to spend the $$ until I could see them. A secret santa perhaps? But it's kind of early for Christmas.....so if anyone knows where they came from, please drop me a hint, so I know that I can use them! LOL Dyeing to try them.....

Happy Knitting all! :)

My son was very Surprised!



This is the cake I had the local bakery do for my son getting on the Fire Department. Boy he really was surprised! If I could have taken a picture of his face! LOL

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Son made the Fire Department


Wahooo.....my son made our local fire department full-time. He's been on the reserves for 10 months, but starts full-time on Monday. I'm so proud of him! :) This has been a long-time dream for him, so we are very happy. I made him an embroidered towel set for his "duty" bag. We are planning to have a "congrats" cake for him on Sunday night. I'm thinking he will like this very much.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

IT'S A BOY!

In case you were wondering my first grandchild will be a boy! :)

Happy Knitting!

Fall Felted Bag Exchange - Swap



Wow! I get back from a trip and there is a beautiful box waiting for me....I dig in to it with great expectation! It was all I could ask for! A beautiful clutch in colbolt blue (my favorite color); new yarns, pattern book, chocolate, a needle case....do I need to say more! Thank you so much, it is gorgeous!

Boo-Ty Swap

This is way too cool! I received a scarf (in my colors!), a pumpkin cup (great for morning coffee), hand-dyed sock yarn (to die for!), chocolate, body splash and interweave knits magazine! Thank you so much! :)

Friday, October 19, 2007

Sock Wars II and F.O.

Sock War II----That was fun. These are the socks I made in ONE weekend. I had to let the house go, no cooking, only knitting. Whew! It was rough but I did it. Unfortunately, I ended up dying by Tuesday afternoon.


Yup, these are the socks I got on Tuesday afternoon, Express Mail. They put me out of the wars right away! They are gorgeous and fit like a glove. I'm very impressed!
Finished the socks for hubby. They fit kind of "loose" on him so I'm not sure what happened. This was a new yarn for me, it is very soft, etc. (see earlier post on yarn) but for some reason, the heel is loose and the socks are a smidge too long. I've washed them and they are hanging to dry. I'm hoping it is just a finished object stitch thingy and now that they are washed the stitches firmed up some. Remember I told you he wears them the next day and doesn't give me time to wash them! LOL

Let' see....I'm almost done with the second bag to be felted so I'm hoping to felt early next week so I can get one of the last 2 swaps out. We are on vacation starting at oh 4pm today (I'm hoping!) and will not be back until Tuesday. Then home for 2 days and then at the races! I love May and October as those are our scheduled 2 weeks off.

Today is the Day! Daughter goes for baby sex ultrasound. Will try to post a short post this afternoon on what she is having! I didn't think I would be this excited but I am sooooo psyched! I have so many projects planned for the baby, but most are waiting to find out if we can whether it is a boy or girl! Wish her luck that the baby is facing the right way and the parts are there or not! LOL

Happy Knitting All!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Finished Objects and 3 swaps gone!


These were the monkey socks I did for the Monkey Sock Swap. They are on their way up North to Canada. I also sent a bunch of other stuff, but will have to wait until they get to their destination to post all of it! LOL







I did 2 cloths for the Autumn Dishcloth Exchange and also added a bunch of stuff to her box. I'm really hoping she likes everything I put together for her. Again, it's a matter of waiting for box to arrive to post!





This cloth is for the Boo-ty Swap 2. In case you can't tell, it is a witch! The box was supposed to be a Halloween theme, so I think I did okay on that one!






I have 2 more swaps to finish which is the Fall Felted Bag Exchange ( the bag is knitted, but still not felted!) It has to be in the mail and received by the end of the month, so I'm still okay on time. The other one is the Secret Pal 11. This one may be a problem, so I'm emailing the hostess again, for clarification of my pal not responding to emails. I hope she is okay, but I am really starting to worry!

Happy knitting

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Ravelry Came in!

I'm cindybmw2004

Just got my invite this morning, so haven't even had time to look over the site!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Autumn Dishcloth Exchange Package In!












WOW! What an amazing woman. Received my Autumn Dishcloth Exchange Package today and all I can say is Gina spent alot of time on my blog getting to know me! Hand-dyed sock yarn, a new pattern book, beautiful twist cotton yarn, chocolate, an ameretto candle, ball-band dishcloth and red scrubbie, a bath mitt (colors match my bath) and the piece-de-resistance: A PIEBIRD!

Thank you so much Gina! You are a dream! :)

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Autumn Dishcloth Exchange Topic!

So for the Topic of the week:Either flash your needles and other items you use to make your wares or, if you don't have a camera, describe your goods for us in detail. Dpns, circs, straights, hooks, tape measures, darning needles, favorite stitch markers, needle holders, cases, the works!





This is my notions, etc. bag. I picked it up for $3.99 at Office Depot. It is actually a school bag, but it contains everything I have ever needed for knitting. There is a place in the front for the cable holder too. In the 3rd picture, you can see everything that is in it. If there is something else I need, I haven't found it yet. So comments on what I am missing would be appreciated! :)
There is stitch markers, stitch holders, crochet needles, sewing needles, scissors, tape measure, Gauger, pencils, pens, etc.! :)

Happy Knitting all!

Weekly Topics

Fall Felted Bag Exchange:

How often do you change the purse or bag you're carrying? Do you change based on seasons? Outfits? Something else? What's your favorite bag in the world (and it doesn't have to be a knit/felted one!)?

I'm really bad about NOT changing my purse until I absolutely have to. The bag I currently use is one I picked up at Wal-Mart but I love it. It has a back pocket for CC's, checkbook, $$, etc. A large open section for the miscellaneous junk. LOL and 2 front pockets that hold my business cards and 2 cell phones! :)

Finished a pair of socks for a woman at my husband's work for her birthday. He asked me to make her a pair as EVERY Monday, she asks does he have a new pair on. She is always interested in seeing the new pair I finished for him. I don't think she realizes how long it takes to knit a pair when you have other projects! LOL Anyways, I started these on size 3 needles with 60 stitches, got all the way to the foot and realized they were way to big....to the frog pond they went. I ended up doing them on size 5 needles with 44 stitches and the fit is a lot better. The yarn is ONLINE.

Finished the Monkey socks for my Monkey Sock Swap. The yarn is Luna Moon. I have to say I love the way they came out, just not really sure if I like how busy they are for the pattern. I hope my swap partner likes them. I have one more project to finish for the box and then I can mail them off. My goal is by this weekend since they have a long way to go.





This is the lastest pair of socks I am working on for hubby. It is a new yarn I have never used before, but they feel so soft I'm hoping he will really like them, since I bought ohhh maybe 5 differant colors in this yarn. The yarn is OnLine Supersocke 100 in the color Sierra






I finished knitting the bag for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange, and now I just have to get it felted. Since I have never felted before, I am taking it to my LYS to have them do it. I'm hoping I can be off to see how it is done. The yarn is Cascade 220 in a hunter green.






Since I'm getting the first bag felted, I went ahead and made another one. This one is for my sister and I'm almost done with the bag part. I'm about an inch from the start of the straps.






In between, I am still working on the surprise for the new baby, a sweater for me (which I have frogged 3 times) and I really need to start on the sweater for hubby. Not sure if I will get it done in time for Christmas as I keep joining swaps (really need to stay off the internet---NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! LOL)

Happy Knitting

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Topic of the Week

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

The cooler weather for sure! It's been very hot in Memphis this summer. Hotter than normal. I'm really enjoying sitting outside (vs. sitting in the air conditioning!) and knitting away. We do a lot more traveling during Sept/Oct and I can sit outside, people watch, and knit happily away! :)

I'm doing alot of knitting as I joined a few swaps and the dates are coming up fast. I have most everything done except for 2 dishcloths and felting a bag. The bag is knitted, but I'm knitting another one for my sister for Christmas so I will felt both at the same time.....Of course, I also want to make one for my daughter, so I just have to be careful of the time so everything has time to dry before I mail the bag to my partner.

Pictures later tonight of F.O. and stalled work. :)

Happy knitting all!

Sunday, September 16, 2007











This is the box I received from N.C. I am doing the Dishcloth Tag
and my tag member sent me a grandmother's favorite in blue, 2 skeins of pink and of course candy! I had to make up a dishcloth from one of the skeins and send to the next member who is in Texas. I used the pink Peaches n Cream and did the Pink Ribbon Awareness Cloth , but of course I forgot to take a picture. :(




I'm down to the last foot for the Monkey Sock 3 swap. I am doing them in Luna Park, 100% merino wool. I have everything else put together except for buying the yarn to make a pair of socks. I have all my monkey things, put some other stuff already, so now I just have to decide what yarn to get. I still have plenty of time, so I'm not sweating the "small " stuff! LOL















This is going to be a felted purse for the my swap partner for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange. The pictures do not do it justice. It is a hunter green in Cascade 220 and the color is gorgeous. I'm thinking my partner will like it very much.


Well, I'm still working on the baby blanket, a sweater for me, socks for Hubby, plus the other 2 listed above. Now, if I could just figure out how to knit at work, I might get everything done in time. Getting a little stressed out here!

Happy knitting all!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Socks are finished


Of course, I would give socks away without taking a pictures, so sorry for the quality of the pictures. They are cell phone pics! LOL

Anyways, the ones on the left were in the Opal Tiger colorway and I have to say, it is very nice. I love how they ended up looking like tiger stripes!




These yellow ones were for my sister's birthday (I was late!). But they fit and she loved them. She loved how she was the first in the family of "outsiders" to get a pair of socks from me! It's a long story, but the short tale is our older sister had said one time she was finished with Christmas shopping EXCEPT for the outsiders. When we asked who were the outsiders she still had to shop for, she told us "US". So for the past oh 5-7 years we have teased each other on whether we are "outsiders" or not! LOL


Mostly this past weekend, I did "sewing" stuff. Had to get my machines fixed and then pick them up and then go to Hancock Fabrics and buy some stuff, and then take my daughter back to Hancocks to pick up some stuff and then and then....LOL Actually, we got a maternity top cut out and started sewing it up, but I made a big "oops", so now I have to go get more material :( and at $10.00 a yard, I am not happy! Oh well, it's been awhile since I have actually sewn, so I'm "chaulking" it up to "blondness"! LOL

Happy knitting all!