Month: November 2014

November 29, 2014

10-stitch Pillow Ta-Da!

I finally finished this!!  Hooray!  I had finished knitting the top quite awhile ago and it has been sitting in the mending pile for all this time.

Front of the 10-stitch pillow.

Front of the 10-stitch pillow.

I blogged about it’s beginning here.  One of the reasons it took me so long to finish is because I couldn’t figure out what to do for the back.  Should it be as colorful as the front?  Should I do some sort of patchwork?  Did I want to put a zipper in there?  I tried out so many things that just didn’t quite look right that I was beginning to give up.  Today I went back into the sewing studio and started pulling out fabric and something clicked!IMG_3390

I decided on this white on white fabric (really it’s off-white) and a simple velcro closure.IMG_3391

And I LOVE it!  Having something so simple and plain really complements and shows off the vibrancy of the front.  I’m so glad I didn’t give up!  Now I can’t wait for the kids to come home to tell me what they think!

November 24, 2014

Knitting runs in the family

I just had to share a picture of my oldest daughter wearing the scarf her sister made for her.IMG_3364

As a present for Christmas last year, my then 15 year old daughter made this scarf for her older sister to wear to keep her warm at college.  Older daughter told me she wears it almost everyday.

November 22, 2014

Book club

Our school holds a Fall Fair every year. At this fair, they have something called a “Fall Party Book” where families donate parties and events for other families to buy tickets to as a fundraiser.  I bought a ticket to a one-time book club.IMG_3369

This is the book we are all reading for this special book club.  I have just started it and it is a very interesting read.  I am only about 25% of the way through it, but am learning more about my teen son and my soon-to-be pre-teen son.  The book club meeting should be very interesting as we all have sons in the 4th grade and will have lots to discuss.

November 20, 2014

New Yarn!!

I recently went to visit my oldest daughter who is a student at the University of Illinois.  It was sooo good to see her!  She is way too far away for my taste, but she is completely happy and enjoying herself immensely.  The first day I arrived, she was in class for part of the time so I decided to visit one of the local yarn stores, Klose Knit, and believe me it was such a fun and friendly place to go.  Obviously I bought some yarn:

2 skeins of Silky Merino and 2 cones of Mango Moon Zing String

2 skeins of Silky Merino and 2 cones of Mango Moon Zing String

I bought these to make a Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf – you hold both the yarns together and knit away.  I can’t wait to start!

3 hanks of Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima

3 hanks of Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima

And these lovely colored hands also found their way into my bag :o)  They are to make the Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West.  I think this is going to be a wonderful shawl to knit.

November 18, 2014

Scarf Ta-Da!

The weaving on this fun scarf was finished quite awhile ago, but I needed to weave in ends and cut the fringe to the desired length.  Why does the finishing take so much longer than the actual weaving?  But no matter, without further ado, here is my fun, soft and colorful scarf.IMG_3330

I bought this yarn on a whim at JoAnn Fabrics because it was something new at the time and so so soft.IMG_3331

I bought two balls of variegated, two balls of the green and two balls of orange.  IMG_3328

That’s me!IMG_3333

A couple of the kids were having fun with poses with this scarf.IMG_3334

They make me laugh!IMG_3332

Here’s his “tough guy” face.IMG_3335

More color!  You can’t have enough color!

November 16, 2014

Giraffe Graphghan

Some days I am working on this graphghan and I don’t feel like I am making any progress at all.

Another two hours.

Another two hours.

But then I go back and look at where I was before I did a session and I can see that I really did make progress.IMG_3209

It just feels like it’s going so slowly right now.  This might be because I have a couple of other graphghans lines up to work on and am anxious to finish this one and start a new one :o)

November 14, 2014

K’s Christmas Stocking

I have been working a little bit here and there on a Christmas stocking for my second oldest daughter and slowly elements are taking shape.

Finished bird before backstitching.

Finished bird before backstitching.

I finally finished this little birdie and all the surrounding stitches.  This is what he looked like before backstitching.

After backstitching.

After backstitching.

This is what he looks like now that the backstitching has been finished.  What a huge difference, don’t you think?

Progress to date.

Progress to date.

As you can see I am making slow but steady progress.  Will I finish before Christmas??  Only time will tell…  I sure hope so!

November 12, 2014

Zoom Loomin’

I have been working on my new Zoom Loom from Schacht lately and I LOVE it!  IMG_3238

These squares are made using Bernat Handicrafter Crochet Thread #5 and I really like the lacy feel of them.IMG_3239

Here are two more of them.  The lower one is made using one of their glitter threads and while it was more difficult to weave with because the thread kept tangling up on itself, it looks really nice.  You can’t see the glitter in this photo, but it’s pretty cute.  IMG_3233

These squares are made using a thicker yarn – Nature Spun by Brown Sheep Company, Inc.  They have quite a nice pattern to them.IMG_3234

I found these on the Eloomanation Website and decided to give them a try.  I am working my way through the “Weave-It” Magic Squares booklet and am having a blast.  The one above is called “Double Diagonal”

"Bars and Squares"

“Bars and Squares”

"Butterfly Design"

“Butterfly Design”

"Plain and Fancy"

“Plain and Fancy”

There are many more of these patterns to try and I can’t wait to get to it!!  I’m not quite sure what I will do with all these squares, but part of me wants to sew them together into a vest.