On the Needles Today…

Actually, this is fresh OFF the needles.  My July socks are done…

 

…and the August socks have been cast on.  Well, actually, ONE of them has been cast on.  I have once again abandoned the “2-at-a-time” method.  It just adds a layer of stress to my knitting, and this is supposed to be relaxing and fun.  Since I don’t have the dreaded “2nd sock syndrome” it is not a biggie.  I’ll keep knitting socks one at a time and enjoying it.

Also on the needles is a practice run on the Reader’s Wrap. 

I am patiently trying to be patient in waiting for my KnitPicks order to arrive.  For the last 2 days I have run to the mail box as soon as I hear the mail carrier go by… still no package.  BUMMER!  The lovely wool tweed yarn that is ordered will make such a wonderful wrap, but it is slow in appearing. 

I was so antsy to get going on this project I decided to do a trial run.  The above yarn is some acrylic Red Heart yarn I just had lying around.  I’ve made a dry run on the cast on and knitting so there will be no stress once the yarn arrives. 

Some have asked via email how we managed the storm (hurricane Isaac) and the truth is it went too far west of us to give us more than a spattering of rain.  We were surely hoping for at least a couple of inches, but only received about 5/8”.  I sure wish folks on the eastern side of LA and MS could send us some of the water that has flooded their areas.

Now, to finish off this post I MUST share the really unusual bug I found on the screen porch.

You simply MUST click on the picture to see the ridges on his back.  AMAZING!  From a distance I thought it was the average spider.  As I moved closer I thought it was a huge stink bug.  Closer still, and I was amazed at him.  God’s creation is SO wonderful!

And I also suddenly remembered that I have forgotten to finish my “Redneck” post, so that will be in the queue for sometime soon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

KAT

Knitting At the Speed Of Light

Yes, I am knitting as fast as my needles will fly.  I MUST finish the socks that have been on my needles for several weeks now.  “What is the hurry?” you might be wondering.

First, a disclaimer…. IT IS NOT MY FAULT!  (I love it when I have someone else to blame things on!)  I was merrily working on socks, minding my own business, when I ventured over to Nancy’s blog, Wyoming Breezes.  She is working on the neatest wrap! 

I have never been tempted to knit anything other than socks, so I was very surprised when this knitted wrap kept calling for me to make it.  It think it is the pockets that really drew me to this pattern.

It is NOT MY fault I now have that pattern purchased and in my hands.  It is NOT MY FAULT that I have a wonderful tweed yarn ordered from Knitpicks to make this wrap.  It will be here soon, and I know I will want to start on the wrap as soon as the yarn arrives, so I must HURRY!

I know… I’m still trying to do a little spinning with the drop spindle I recently purchased.  (And I am wondering what in the WORLD I was thinking when I ordered 400 grams of wool roving. Gee… that looks like it will be a life-time supply!)  I’m still trying to do 12 pair of socks in a year (working on pair #7).  I’m quilting like crazy on customer quilts.  And then there is the Farmer’s Wife quilt I am working on drafting paper piecing patterns for me and my friends.  And then….  You get the picture.

It’s NOT MY FAULT!  Nancy did it.  If she pipes in here and tries to deny it, do NOT listen to her.  It really is HER fault for showing such a wonderful pattern and tempting me beyond my resistance. 

THAT’S MY STORY AND I’M STICKING TO IT!

KAT

I Hope…

(This picture has NOTHING to do with the blog post subject… I just wanted to give you something to look at this morning.  This is a thread painting, NO PIECING,  which won 2nd place at MQS in Overland Park, KS.  Size is 12” x 18”.  I no longer have it… there is a sad story there, which I can give you on another day.  You can click to enlarge.)

I hope I get lots of knitting done as we travel this weekend.

I hope we bowl well at the Grandma-Grandpa tournament in Natchez, MS.

I hope it does not rain the whole weekend, as the weather forecast predicts.  (If it does, my #1 hope will surely be accomplished.)

I hope I find MAKE the time to do some file clean-up on my PC, and do some work on future blog posts for both blogs.

I hope  know we will have a great time visiting with our friends who live in Natchez.

I hope YOU have a great weekend too!

See you next week!

KAT

I Have Discovered…

These are things I discovered last week…

1.  Katie Bug is SOOO much fun to have around!  She spent a couple of days with us… our last fling before starting school.  So here is what we did…

Sewed a purse we cut out from a kit last year some time.  DONE!  I love the look of deep concentration on her face.

Cooked a little.  The lemon cake she helped make was absolutely scrumptious!

The floral fashion accessories were mine from quilt retreat.  I shared them with her… she really enjoyed dolling up.

2.  Wonky tree blocks

 

are a lot easier and more fun to make than wonky house blocks.

I think I may be changing directions on this art quilt.  At first I was thinking “all houses”.  Then I decided, “just a few trees”.  Now I am leaning to more trees than houses.  We shall see what we end up with.  It is evolving as I work on it.

3.  Rednecks are very resourceful.  I’ll give you a sneak peek, and then I’ll do another post next week in praise of redneck ways.

Have a wonderful week, and be t-totally blessed!

KAT        

On The Needles Report

June socks are D-O-N-E!  I love that feeling of finishing the last knitted stitch, but even better is when you weave in the last thread tail.  For some reason I REALLY dislike weaving in thread tails.  That means for now, there is no WAY I would do stripes, unless I use self-striping yarn!

And the really great news… I have persevered!

I’M DOING IT!  I’m actually doing 2 socks at once!  I did 2-at-a-time when I first started knitting, cuff down.  It seemed so slow, but then I was knitting English style.  I abandoned that method because it seemed to take forever to see progress, and I got tired of struggling with thread tangled and wrapped up.  Plus, one sock is much more portable than the 2 hooked together.  Now that I have changed to Continental style, toe-up socks,  my knitting goes twice as fast and I have tried several times to go back to 2-a-a-t socks but got very frustrated with the yarn ball tangles.  I decided to give it one LAST try and here we are. 

I don’t cast them on at the same time because I use a Cat Bordhi wrapped cast-on technique, which would be very hard to do with 2-a-a-t.    I cast one on, knit until all toe increases are done.  Cast another one on (separate needles), knit through toe increases, and then put them on the needles together.  I got it all mixed up when I combined the 2 socks and spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out which one was on the wrong needle and turned the wrong way.

But we are “cooking with peanut oil now!”  (TRIVIA:  Can you name the reality TV show that line is from?)  All is well, I am up and knitting 2, and unless I get totally frustrated by thread tangles we are good to go!

Now back to the needles.  Oh yes, I am supposed to be quilting and sewing today.   I realized mid-morning I was not in the mood for either, I wanted to watch the Olympics and knit, so that is exactly what I have done.  Quilting/sewing will take place tomorrow because I have finished all customer quilts in the house.  Two days in a row forME…. YAH!

And the answer to the TRIVIA question… “Duck Dynasty”, of course!  If you haven’t watched it you are missing out on some good ol’ Redneck fun.  I can say this because my neck is pretty red, and I have pictures to prove it.  But that is a post for another day!

To check out other knitting adventures, go to Judy’s Patchwork Times.

KAT

I Was Wondering…

1.  I was wondering… how YOU are enjoying the Olympics.  Are you getting lots of knitting/handwork done while watching?  I have finished June’s socks and will cast on July’s socks tonight while watching.  The “Knit-Lympics” are going great for me!

2.  I was wondering… if I will be able to figure out exactly how to spin decent yarn.  My supplies came in last week, I have played with it, but figuring out exactly how much twist is necessary in a ply will be a trial and error thing since I do not know anyone who spins yarn.  I have found some tutorials on the KnitPicks web site, but I am still pondering how much twist I need.  I have made quite a bit of a single ply.  Now I need to figure out how to get it off the spindle (and keep it in a usable form where it does not twist in knots) until I can get a second ply made.  The 2 plies will be spun together to make the yarn.  It remains a puzzle, but it IS fun!

3.  I was wondering… when I will get around to making jelly from the muscadines my Honey picked this week.  I tried taking a picture of the vines hanging from the trees.  They are LOADED with fruit.  The low light and distance from the camera meant no really good pictures were to be had, but maybe you will get the idea from these pictures.

4.  I was wondering… how Jan is going to like her quilt.  I LOVE this wall quilt pattern and the quilting really stands out on the dark blue fabric.

 

5.  I was wondering… how much quilting/sewing I can get done tomorrow.  I am taking a “play-day” for myself tomorrow.  I’ve scurried around today working on cleaning things just so I can play guilt-free tomorrow.

6.  And last but not least… I was wondering…  how long I have been vacuuming WITHOUT the filter in the vac.  Once I found it in the broom closet on the shelf above the vac, I vaguely remember taking it out to wash it somewhere around Christmas.  Since it can not go back in the vac while wet, I remember setting it out on the screen porch in a sunbeam to dry.  And 2 days later when I remembered it, I set it on the shelf rather than putting it back in the cleaner, which would have taken all of 30 seconds.  So I have been vacuuming for MONTHS now without it.  I WONDERED why my vacuum cleaner was sounding different lately… now I know.

So, what are YOU wondering about today? 

Have a blessed week/weekend.  See you again soon!

KAT

Let the “Knit-Lympics” Begin!

Hello, knitting fans!  This is my first time to post a link on Judy L.’s “On The Needles Friday” because well… I procrastinate.  So here I finally am!

Yes, I am way behind on my goal of 12 pair in 12 months… but I have a plan. 

 

I am almost done with my JUNE socks.   These were cast on 2-at-a-time, toe up.  I get so frustrated by the tangling, twisting, yarn balls.  I know, there are folks that love that approach, but it is just not me.  So I took the second sock off, am finishing the first one, then will complete the second.  This yarn knits up quickly.  It is a cotton blend so it is a little larger size yarn.  I am enjoying the pattern on the solid-color sock.  Perhaps I will try the 2-at-a-time thing again with another yarn that is not as twisty-clingy as this was… we shall see.

Now, for my plan:

I am “Going for the Gold” and having a “Knit-Lympics” at my house.  I love watching the summer Olympic Games, but can’t spend that many hours in front of the TV without feeling guilty for “wasting” time.  So… I plan to  knit and watch, and hopefully finish the red pair and at least one more pair for July.  Perhaps I’ll even get the socks for August cast on?

 

My candidates for the next ones are:

Lion Brand Sock Ease.  This will be my first time using this yarn.  I still need to get it wound so it will be ready to knit.

August socks will be Felici self-striping from KnitPicks.  I’m thinking I may do something a little different pattern-wise for this.  I have an idea that will be simple, but yet different.  We will see.

Of course, in the middle of all of this, my spinning supplies will arrive.  Hopefully I can sit and spin while watching the Olympics, also.  Of course, that will greatly slow down sock progress, I am sure.

So that’s the plan, and we will see how things unfold.  Do YOU have a plan for accomplishing more knitting?  If so, I would love to hear it.  Just leave a comment, and TIA.

KAT

An Easy Target

I did it again… I got sucked into something I really had no intention of doing.  Saturday we went to the Natchitoches/NSU Folk Festival.  I wandered around, and then I saw it… something that had intrigued me before.

There in front of me was a lady using a drop spindle to make cotton threads, then weaving them into beautiful garments and home accessories on a loom.  She also had a spinning wheel, but I knew that was totally out of my means so I didn’t even glance at that.

I have lately been wondering about a drop spindle.  How do you use it?  Is it hard?  Can I do this?  I was bitten by the bug after she took about 20 minutes of her time and demoed the spindle for me.   Even though she did not have any spindles or fibers to sell she graciously spent time explaining the process to me.  It seemed she was speaking a foreign language as she named off the different tools needed, what the fiber was called in its different stages, so many new terms I was totally lost, but yet the fiber and her nimble use of the simple spinning tool really called my name… again and again.  I kept repeating, “I do not NEED another hobby or craft!”  My heart did not believe that and did not listen to me.

I dragged my Honey over to her booth to look at the spindles because I was about to ask him to make me one.  He looked carefully at the different styles and, “Yes”, he said, “I can to this”.  As I was about to leave she reached into a bag and pulled out a handful of green cotton seeds.  Yes, different varieties of cotton plants produce different colors of cotton fiber.  Who knew?  If all goes well, about a year from now I will have just a few green cotton plants producing a reasonable amount of green cotton.

Sucked in, I tell you.  I was totally sucked in!

When I got home I did some internet browsing.  That was such a dangerous thing to do in my weakened state after trying to fight this tug of my creative spirit all afternoon.  Oh, I was SOOOO sucked in, and SOOOO bad!  It turns out my favorite knitting site also had a lot of items for spinning at very reasonable prices. 

Wool roving,

 

a book,

a drop spindle,

and a niddy noddy

are heading my way from KnitPicks.  I will surely post pictures when my new things arrive.

No regrets!  I will absolutely love trying to spin my own yarn for making socks or other knitted items.   Perhaps I was born in the wrong century?  NAAAWWW!  I love my AC too much to dwell in pioneer times, but I sure do enjoy trying my hand at old craft skills.

I wonder what I will get sucked into next?  I have discovered my heart/creative spirit does not listen to my pleas of “no time for new things”, so I might as well stop fighting it and dance with my muse.  Cue the music!

KAT