Stash report Sunday 3/31/2013

I have been sewing but there is nothing to count out just yet.  I did however, go shopping with 2 of my quilting friends.  My stash is sorely lacking in background/neutral/small prints.  I found several suitable prints and most of them were end of bolt so I was able to use sales/coupons/end of bolt discounts to make myself feel better.  I also bought a dark blue wide backing fabric for my next QOV and a nice red print and a red/white/blue diagonal stripe for my QOV stash.

Fabric in this week 20 yards
Fabric in 2013:      21 yard
Fabric out since last report:   0 yard
Usage for 2013    11 3/4 yards
Total damage   +9 1/4 yards

Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times.

pooling sock challenge Yarn #4

This is the first Lorna Laces sock yarn that I have purchased.  I have no clue how it will turn out.

Now, I have shown 4 different choices for this challenge.  I seriously doubt I can get to more then 2 of them but then, this is a challenge after all.

Tuesday, I will be on a 4 hour road trip so, I hoping lots of knitting will get done.

pooling challenge Yarn #3

This yarn is from Grant Creek Farms.  I have used this yarn before and the socks feel great and wear well.

pooling sock challenge, yarn #2

This is KnitPicks Stroll yarn which I am positive will pool and/or flash.

pooling sock challenge yarn

After I wound this yarn, it looked like 2 different yarns but we will have to wait and see if I have 2 very different socks.  I have done a few more inches on this since I took the photo and it has a very subtle pooling effect.  I like it so far but time will tell.

pooling around

Judy L at Patchwork Times is having s sock knitting challenge with yarns that pool or hopefully pool-it is so hard to predict.

I have barely started one pair using hand dyed yarn I purchased on ETSY.  It is Sarah Brown Design Addiction 3 ply yarn.  I have several other skeins in my stash that are back-up choices if this does not result in any pooling.  

Actually, I'm not usually a fan of pooling but I love these yarns and I love making and wearing colorful socks.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's results,

On the needles

Last night, I finished one sock with Tofutsies yarn.  It contains Chitin, a fiber from shrimp and crab shells that is also naturally antibacterial.  So, my blue and white socks are, in fact, partially green!  The yarn is nice and soft but it is hard to work with as the twisted fibers easily separate if you aren't careful.  The stripes were a surprise that I didn't notice while I was knitting.

I don't usually stop at one sock (unlike my quilting UFO's) but I did last night so I could start my yarn pooling sock challenge at Patchwork Times.

I have several yarn candidates for the challenge and I started with the wine looking yarn.  I wound the yarn into balls-2 balls since there was a join in the yarn.  I knew about the join when I purchased the yarn and it was about 1/2 way in the skein.   I have barely started the ribbing and have no idea how it will or won't pool.  Wish me luck.

Here is a still life photo of the end table next to my rocker.

The yarn in the middle and needles are my new start for the challenge.  Tea, glasses, scissors, pencil and other stuff are all in reach.  My knitting sack is just below the photo.

Check out the other needle posts at Patchwork Times.

What are you reading?

I just finished The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe.  I hadn't read any of her books before.  A good friend urged me to read this book.   I enjoyed it thoroughly and want to read more by this author.  I recommend this book to all of you. Here is the thumbnail sketch from Amazon:

Every year, the monarch butterflies—las mariposas—fly more than two thousand miles on fragile wings to return to their winter home in Mexico. Now Luz Avila makes that same perilous journey south as she honors a vow to her beloved abuela—the grandmother who raised her—to return her ashes to her ancestral village. As Luz departs Milwaukee in a ramshackle old VW Bug, she finds her heart opened by a series of seemingly random encounters with remarkable women. In San Antonio, however, a startling revelation awaits: a reunion with a woman from her past. Together, the two cross into Mexico to await the returning monarchs in the little village Abuela called home, but they are also crossing a border that separates past from present . . . and truth from lies.

On the needles

I have only been knitting a little-my hands have been aching lately so I have slacked off.  I do have some compression gloves around here somewhere and I'll have to find them and give them a try.

I did make some progress on my blue and white socks.  I like the appearance but I am not happy with the way the strands of yarn keep splitting apart-argh!!!

I don't have much of a yarn stash but here is what I am considering for Judy's sock pooling challenge.

The skein on the left is KnitPicks hand painted Stroll yarn which I know will pool.  The next skein is from Grant Creek Yarns and the one next to it is Lorna Laces.  The one with the red band is Socketta yarn which is made in Italy.  The last on the right is from Sarah Brown Design.  I have no clue about the last 4 yarns and whether or how well they will pool-so there is an additional challenge.  

Wish me luck!

Check out the other needles at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report and Happy St Patrick's Day

I was lucky enough to be on a quilting retreat last weekend.  There were 6 of us and we had a super time.  I did quite a lot of sewing but can only count a yard for some small tea wallets that I made for gifts.

Here is the site I found the pattern and tutorial;  http://blog.christyscreations.com/tea-wallet-tutorial/

Fabric in 2013:      1 yard
Fabric in since last report:   0 yards
Fabric out since last report:   1 yard
Usage for 2013    11 3/4 yards

Our retreat was at Tonto Rim View Lodge in Christopher Creek AZ.  Here is a photo of the cabin we stayed in  along with the snow that fell after we arrived.

Hannah is sitting patiently on the porch waiting for a playmate.

Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times.

On the needles

It has been a while since I last posted, but I have been busy sewing and knitting.

I finished these faux cable socks.  The cables were worked with knit 2 together and yarn over stitches-no cable hook at all.  They were super simple.

This is Pagewood Farms hand dyed sock yarn in Fabulous Fall.  The pattern is Faux Cable Rib Socks by Jen Hansen and the pattern is available free on Ravelry.

I have started a new pair of socks using Tofutsies yarn.  This is a combination of Superwash wool, Soysilk fibers, cotton and Chitin.  You may not want to know what Chitin is but it involves glucose and  shell fish.  The yarn is a strand of white and a strand of blue lightly twisted together.  I am having some problems with splitting but so far not enough to discourage me.  I am using my go to pattern Simple Skyp.

Check out the other needles at Patchwork Times.

What's on the needles?

I have been away visiting family and had a great time.  My niece and her family joined us and I got to meet my newest great niece, Julia.  She is almost 2 and so sweet.  Her 5 year old brother, RJ is a great little boy and always very active.

After they left us, they went to Sea World.  We received this photo with the caption "What's wrong with this picture?"

I have been working on this sock while I was away.  I forgot to bring my yarn needle so I could not weave in the thread tail or close the toe.  I will finish it up tonight and cast on the second sock.

The pattern is Faux Cable Rib Socks by Jen Hansen from Knitting like Crazy.  I saw the pattern used in another Friday post a while ago.  It is a very easy pattern and no cable needle is needed-only some knit 2 together and yarn over stitches.

I was using new DPN's that I purchased from KnitPicks.  They are a set of 6" Nickel Plated needles from size 2.00mm to 3.25mm.  I like the smoothness and good points on the needles but I wish they were 7 inches long.  I miss that 1".

Check out the other knitting reports at Patchwork Times.