EOY Needles December 27, 2013

I treated myself to a swift and winder on Black Friday.  I purchased them from KnitPicks at a nice discount.  I thought it wasn't a big thing to wind balls by hand but this is nice-especially since my husband did most of the work!  We quickly wound 3 hanks of yarn into cakes.

I am working on a sockhead hat (pattern free on Ravelry).  About half way through, the yarn had a knot and the yarn on either side of it was not dyed a tweed.  I knitted a few rows to see how it would look but it was too obvious.  I ripped out several rows and eliminated that part of the yarn.

This is yarn from Herrschners that I bought on sale on Ebay.  I have made a cowl and I intend to make some fingerless gloves as well.  I'm sure my niece will like them.

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Black Friday On the Needles

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  My husband and I have so much to be thankful for and we try to discuss that often, not just on Thanksgiving!

Have you seen these cute little solar toys?  I just love them.  I found this turkey while I was in Florida visiting my brother.  His little wings flap and his head bobs-so fun.  They are from a dollar store.  My brother has quite a collection but I have a hard time finding them here in Phoenix.

I have been knitting quite a bit and my fingers are letting me know it is time to take a break.  I am about 1/2 way finished with this cowl/scarf for my niece.  It is a free pattern from Ravelry, Irish Mesh Cowl.  I bought this yarn on line from a destash sale.  It is Herschners sock yarn, Tweed Twilight.  It is soft and thin, I think it will make a great cowl/scarf but I don't think it would be suitable for socks.  I have plenty so I think I will try some fingerless gloves or a hat too.

Check out the other needlers at Patchwork Times.

Needle Friday 11/22/2013

I'm trying to catch up with my posts.  We returned last night from Florida where we were visiting my brother and his wife.

I crocheted these two spool doilies while I was visiting.  The purple one was for my SIL and the orange one for our friend, Donna.  The pattern is Shelvy's Spool Pin Doily from Bonnie Hunter's website.
I used these bonbons from Lion Brand.  I also got the variegated yarn to try too.  I purchased it all in Florida at Joann's

Here is my finished Coco's Pearls cowl/scarf (free pattern on Ravelry) that I made for my niece.  I used City Tweed yarn from KnitPicks which is a lovely soft yarn.  The photo does not do the yarn or the pattern justice.

I am also working to finish this pair of socks.  This is a Lion Brand Yarn-Sock Ease and so far I am not real pleased with it.  The yarn splits and seems on the thin side.  I was making them for a gift but I will keep them and see how they hold up after a few wearings and washings.  

Check out the other needlers on Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I was at a group retreat the weekend before last.  We had such a good time and everyone accomplished so much.  I have been going on retreats with this group for 10 years and I cherish my quilting friends.

This year we have been working on a mystery quilt.  Three of us worked on the last clues at the retreat. This one is mine and the colors are brighter then this photo shows.  This is a large lap size.  There are more borders in the mystery to make the quilt a twin.  I haven't decided if I am going to stop here or make it a twin.  I like the mystery's additional borders so maybe I will expand the quilt-time will tell.

 This bright one is Cheryl's.  She did not intend to make a Christmas quilt but it certainly could be one.  She put smaller borders on it in an attempt to make it less Christmasy.

 This one is Joanne's and the photo does not do it justice.  These are all batiks.  She was short on material to make the last two borders and was going to see if she could get more.  If not, she had enough fabric to piece the last two borders.

I will try to remember to post the finished products and the other members tops when I see them.

I also worked on my UFO from 2005 but I apparently forgot to take pictures.  I will try to work some more on it and get a picture for next Monday's report.

Here are some of the other projects being worked on:

I am lucky to have such talented friends.

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Design Wall Monday

I have been rummaging around in my UFO box for 2 projects to take to Quilt Retreat this coming weekend.  My group is headed out on Thursday for another great weekend!  We are lucky to have a wonderful place to go, Tonto Rim View Lodge.  Ron and Maggie treat us so well and make us feel very comfortable.  We were there last March and we were snowed in for a while-coming from Phoenix, we all enjoyed the change.  

I found this UFO that I had completely forgotten about it.  It was a block of the month from our locally owned Craftmart (like a Ben Franklin).  Unfortunately, they went out of business about 10 years ago.  So, I guess this UFO has aged enough.  There were 6 different blocks and each block had 2 choices, an easy block and a more challenging block.  My friend and I were going to do this together.  She lost interest early on and gave me her blocks.  Actually I think she gave me her kits and I made all the blocks myself.  Since there were variations for each block, I made each variation so it looks like 12 different blocks.  

They are already put together in a staggered arrangement that I copied from a tile floor layout.  Even with the additional plain blocks, the quilt is small.  I have lots of fabric left over so this weekend, I will be adding multiple borders.  I have Judy L's border book all packed and ready to help me complete this quilt top.

Check out the other design walls at Patchwork Times.

On the needles

I have two projects underway.  More socks-these are pretty pink ones for a friend.  This is Lion Brand Sock-Ease yarn which I haven't used before.  It is soft to use and feels nice.  I'm using my old stand by pattern, Simple Skyp, free on Ravelry.

I am also working on a cowl for my niece, Tara.  Tara lives in Brooklyn and can use some warm outer ware.  She wears lots of black.  This is Knit Picks yarn in City Tweed.  It is a soft yarn in a soft grey with bits of brown and beige woven in. The pattern is CoCo's Pearls by Lovely Little Knits, a pattern on Ravelry.  The pattern is pretty simple but I found it was even easier after I added stitch markers every 20 stitches.  

Check the other needle reports on Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I have not been doing much sewing lately.  I really missed it and I'm enjoying getting back into it.

I did help a friend make her first small quilt.  She is making it for her soon to arrive great nephew.  It is almost finished but I haven't seen it lately.  Here is the top when I last saw it:

I did finish a scrap quilt for a wedding present.  I am really enjoying using my scraps and long collected  stash.  I had fun using the true scraps-great memories.

This was based on Bonnie Hunter's Oklahoma Backroads.

Check the other design walls at Patchwork Times.

On the Needles 10/18/13

I have been out of the blogging business for a while.  I have not been knitting or sewing for ages.  Now I'm ready to get back into it.

I did do some knitting this summer and some reverse knitting as well.  Both of these pairs are from the Fluted Banister Sock pattern which is free online.  I used yarn from Grant Creek Yarns for both of them.  The second blue sock is almost finished.

I had originally tried the blue yarn for the pooling sock challenge but it didn't appear to be pooling.  Now that I have a photo, I can see some "flashing".

I am ready to branch out and make something other then socks.  I have been lurking each Friday and checking all the patterns everyone who posts have been using.  I surely don't need scarves or cowls or mittens since I live in Phoenix but luckily, I have a niece in New York who will be glad to have any I make.

Off the needles

I have been absent for a while, lazy I guess.  We are in our summer RV park and enjoying checking in with friends we only see in the summer months.  It is also quite a bit cooler here then in Phoenix right now.

I finished these socks that I was making as part of the pooling challenge.  None of the socks I made or started for the challenge cooperated but that's ok I still like them.

I don't have the yarn label with me to tell you what this yarn is but they are so nice and soft.  The yarn was hand dyed so each sock is different-one much lighter than the other.

Check the other yarn projects at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall and Packing Monday 5/13/2013

I am getting ready to head north for a quilting retreat on Thursday.  I am so glad to be able to go again so soon after being there in March.  Remember, we were almost snowed in that time.

Living in Phoenix, we are not used to snow.  Our retreat is at Tonto Rim View Lodge and it is only about 3 hours drive from home.  Obviously a great deal of that trip is up hill!

Anyway, I am collecting my squares and strips and I plan on starting a new project, Bonnie Hunter's Oklahoma Backroads.  It will be a wedding present that I need for late July.  I have a mystery quilt clue that I plan to work on and maybe a UFO???  I plan on taking too much to work on.

I finished the mystery quilt from Quilts 4 Military, which was partially complete and on my design floor  last Monday.  If I decide to put borders on it, I will also take it along on the retreat.  I have a navy blue wide fabric for the backing so no need to sew on it.  If I put borders on it, I may use some of the backing fabric.  It looks rectangular in this photo but it is actually square.

I didn't get a chance to post a stash report yesterday so I haven't counted the fabric in the top.  Hopefully next Sunday I should have an extra good report after the retreat.

Here is a little treat for Judy L.  It's a shame it is so heavy or I would have sent it to her to accompany her solar oven.

Many years ago, possible 35 or so, my BIL sent us this ROCK POT for a gift.  We did a lot of camping and I guess he thought it would be practical.  He doesn't camp but he bought one for himself as well.

There are no actual rocks but rather 2 cement discs, about 8" in diameter and maybe 2" thick.  You heated them in your campfire and then put them in an insulated bucket.  Put your food/pan on top and closed the lid.

My husband was cleaning out his workshop and came across this gem from long ago.  It was never used.  I sent a photo to my BIL and he was surprised we still had it.  He had gotten rid of his 3 years ago when he moved.  I don't know why we didn't get rid of ours when we moved 25 years ago.

Anyway we all had a good laugh.  It has been given to Goodwill so maybe someone will actually get to use it.

On the Needles May 10, 2013

Remember last Friday when I reported a LOST sock?  Well, it should have been a lost mind!

I looked and I looked in likely and unlikely places.  No luck.  Then, I weighed the sock I had, all the remaining yarn (and the needles still in the unfinished sock).  DUH

Since then, I have finished the sock I was working on and started the other sock that was only missing in my mind.

Design Wall Monday May 6th 2013

I have been a member of the Yahoo Group, Quilts4Military for about a year.  This is the third mystery quilt I have completed with them.  These quilts will all be donated to Quilts of Valor.

I have slightly altered the layout of the current mystery.  I used scraps from my stash and tried to get a wide variety of red and blue fabrics into the quilt.

I have all the blocks complete and three more rows to add to the top.  This is a square quilt-I tend to like rectangular quilts better but I am happy with the way this one is looking.  The blocks were not complex to complete but it is taking quite some time to put them together with sooooo many seams.

Check out the other design wall reports at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report Sunday

Shopping again this week!   I had a 50% off coupon and I hunted down several end of bolt fabrics (each 20% off)-I feel so thrifty...BUT that's not what the total said.

I found some more neutrals for my collection and 2 different blue fabrics.  One of the neutrals I bought was a wide backing so that can go either way.

Fabric in this week 1 yards
Fabric in 2013:      32 yard
Fabric out since last report:   0 yard
Usage for 2013    11 3/4 yards
Total damage   +20 1/4 yards

Bit and pieces of sewing but nothing countable yet.  Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times.

On the needles 5/3/2013

Help, I have lost my other sock.  Where, oh where, has the other one gone???

I know I already made one sock for this pair.  The socks are for the pooling challenge and a birthday gift I need by next Friday!

No luck with pooling but I really, really like the look and feel of these socks.

I have not been doing much knitting as old arthritis has come to call and my hands have been aching on and off.  Maybe I need a project with bigger needles or a crochet hook?  However, at least I have been sewing a bit.

Design Wall Monday 4/29/2013

I have been working on a R/W/B quilt mystery through Quilts 4 Military Yahoo group.  This one was real mystery.  It is the 3rd one I have done with the group and I have liked each one.

I did not get all the blocks finished but I had enough to try to figure out the mystery.  No such luck!  So, I looked at the last clue and started arranging the blocks on my wall.   This is the quilt shown at the reveal:

I am using red and blue scraps that are pretty dark.  I decided to rearrange the pattern to lighten up the corners.  There is another row needed on the right side of the quilt but my wall did not have room.  I am missing some blocks in the middle but I think you can see where I am going with this quilt.

I'm pretty pleased with this lay out.  My husband was a big help too!

Check the other design walls at Patchwork Times.

On the needles 4/26/2013

Can you believe it, this year is just rushing by.  I know many of you are still in winter time but here in Arizona, we are having a wonderful spring.  I'm not trying to rub it in, but we don't often get any spring at all-just lots of really, really hot weather.  It is so nice to have spring and get to sit outside and enjoy the weather.

We live in a neighborhood of acre lots and we have lots of trees.  We have irrigation available to us (less expensive) and we use it instead of city water for our yard.  We get water twice a month in the sprain/summer/fall.  It takes about 24 hours for the water to soak in.  Our yard looks like a big lake- and sometimes we get drop in visitors.  This is our front yard.

Just before bed last night, I finished one pair of my pooling challenge socks.  I chose 4 different yarns and started 4 pairs of socks.  These starts did not work for the competition so I began to finish them up in the hope that things would change.

This is the first pair completed:

This is Lorna Laces yarn in daffodil.  The only pooling was in the heel/gusset area which you can usually count on happening.  The is the Simple Skyp pattern, free on Ravelry.  I have small feet and I like my socks fitted, so I use 56 stitches through out the leg and foot area.  The socks do look a little stretched in these photos so I think I will use 60 stitches next time.

On the needles

I have several pairs of socks started thinking each would fit well with Judy L's pooling challenge.

Ha-so far the joke is on me.

The only pooling is in the gusset area and we all know that often happens.  The remainder of the socks look nicely striped!  I still have 2 other starts that I hope will pool or flash!

Check out the other socks and knitting projects at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report April 14th

Another week with a shopping trip to LQS's, of course, resulted in more fabric.  I found 2 more neutrals for my stash.  One of them, I am already cutting into for the latest mystery quilts with the  Quilts 4 Military Yahoo site.  

Fabric in this week 6 1/4 yards
Fabric in 2013:      27 1/4 yard
Fabric out since last report:   0 yard
Usage for 2013    11 3/4 yards
Total damage   +15 1/4 yards

I also purchased some Retro Clean for a sweet little quilt I have that has some unidentified stains on it. This little quilt was a baby gift for my husband's Mother's birth.  She was just 97 years old in early March.  I have read good things about this cleaner and I'm hoping it will remove the few spots on my quilt.  When I wash it I will let you know the results.  The work on this quilt is just beautiful and I wan to keep it  in the best condition I can.

On the Needles/ pooling challenge

So far, not real good.  I have started 4 different socks with my choices for the pooling sock yarn challenge.  So far, I have more stripes then pools or flashes.

I first one I worked on looks amazing but not for this challenge.  The stripes. coloration make me think of a letter sweater-my high school colors were garnet and grey (but the sweaters were white).

The next 2

This last one shows some poling potential in the blue and green-here's hoping.

Check out the other needle posts at Patchwork Times.