Knitting difficulty

I tried a pattern in the Vogue Magazine that was intriguing. However, as with any pattern, there are always modifications. The yarn I used, although the right weight and gauge, was too heavy for the pattern and will not drape as nicely as a softer yarn would(see above).

It is always difficult for a new knitter to determine if a pattern is going to be within their skill level. The Vogue magazine has a temperature-type gauge that helps a knitter decide if a pattern is going to be within their grasp. Over the years, I have developed a system of my own:

Beginner: Television on, comfortable chair, visiting with others. No Post-it necessary.
Intermediate: Television on, comfortable chair, Post-it following pattern rows, no other distractions.
Experienced: Television off, sit at table with more than one Post-it on pattern and row, no one else in room.

The above pattern was for experienced knitters, in fact I had to start it three times before I could get beyond the first four rows. Remember regardless of your level of knitting, there will always be patterns that will test your experience and patience.

Coupons

I went to Joann's today to buy cotton for dishcloths. The cotton I wanted was not on sale so I checked at the counter for a coupon. Thanks to the 40% coupon the cashier gave me, I bought 4 oz. of cotton yarn for less than I normally pay for 2 oz. It is such a good feeling to get a bargain. When I worked at Michael's, I was amazed at the lengths some people would go to for a coupon. Now I am one of them!

What was I thinking!!!

This week has been a very busy one--the bazaar started on Friday so we had to finish all the projects and set up our booth. Everyone has been a little frantic. I have been trying to finish all my knitting projects and also work on increasing my tatting skills, not to mention keeping up with work, etc. However in a moment of weakness I bought the new Vogue Knitting magazine and started a scarf (pattern #8) that is more than just a little challenging. I have started it and ripped it out three times and the pattern still eludes me. What was I thinking? Now is definitely not the time to start a project especially one requiring this level of concentration. I should probably save it for a quiet Sunday afternoon.

I finished another Susan Wittig Albert book "Lavendar Lies". (I really have been busy, it's just that I read while I eat and during commercials, etc.) This was another good book although I liked "Bloodroot" better. Lavendar Lies was more of a cozy mystery.

The bazaar was not as busy as we expected it to be and our sales were not as good. However we did learn a lot. The really big sellers were the dishcloths and I have orders for approximately 20 more. I did sell a couple of the lambs but the dog sweaters were a bust. We have two more bazaars lined up; one at the Congregational Church in two weeks and then one in Central Point two weeks later. We were warned that the economy was slow and sales down but it was still fun.

Dog Sweaters

 

 

Here are the dog sweaters that are now finished and ready to go. Precious and Teddy will receive the two sweaters, the others are ready for the bazaar this weekend.

Impossible Dream

One of the crochet students brought some information on needle tattingto class and was interested in trying it. I have spent more time than I should have looking for tatting needles and have had no luck at all. I thought Joann's or Micheal's would surely carry them but they don't. Needle tatting will not be offered with shuttle tatting at this time!!!

My dog sweaters are really turning out nice. I have finished the ones for Precious and Teddy, the one for Precious has an embroidered saying on it and that was much harder than I expected. The embroidery was freehand and I need a pattern.

I finished Bloodroot by Susan Wattig Albert and just loved it. It is so different from most murder mysteries. Actually, I have enjoyed all her books so far.

The class is tonight, they opted to knit rather than party for Halloween, are they my soulmates or what!

The delicate art of tatting

This will be the first tatting project for the class. We will be starting after the first of the year and I hope there is enough interest to proceed. I want to try a tatted necklace with beads next, they are similar to the necklaces that are so popular right now so want to see how they turn out. I also want to make a tatted snowflake for following class project.

The knitting projects are doing quite nicely, I will have some lambs for my next posting. The Central Point Parks and Recreation knitting group is meeting here tonight. We can't meet Friday because several have conflicts. We are calling ourselves the "Twisted Stitchers" from a comment one of them made as I was explaining about twisting the stitches.

Obviously, I haven't been reading very much. Right now I am reading the Hippotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters but have barely started it.

Tatting or What goes around comes around

Several years ago my sister and I decided we would learn to tat. Tatting is an ancient needlework that has lost popularity in the past few years. Presently there are very few accomplished tatters and my sister and I wanted to learn this craft before it became a lost art. We both set out to collect several tatting shuttles, books on tatting and thread. Tatting thread comes in sizes that range from size 10 (the thickness of small string) to size 50 (the thickness of thin thread). After several months of comparing our minuscule projects, we both gradually lost interest.

Recently, however, two of my knitting students expressed an interest in tatting. I am going to teach them and hopefully will finish some of the projects I started. Tatting still holds a fascination for me as an art that is a little more difficult than knitting or crocheting. I will post any finishedprojects.

The pool in the park

 

Knitting and Crocheting Group

At our last CRAFT meeting, a member of another church group met with us. They have been much more active than us, in fact she had a very impressive list of items they had knitted and crocheted to donate to different charities. They knit/crochet prayer shawls, caps for kids and many other items for Doernbecher Hospital, their church group and even small blankets for the puppies at the Humane Society. Needless to say, our group was very impressed. We are going to be meeting with them and increase our output too. I have already knitted a cap for the kids.

They also have an impressive webpage and I hopce to learn more about building one from her. All in all, we were very impressed. This week we are going to be taking pictures for the website and bazaar.

Miss Daisy goes to the park

Today Jackson County had a dog day at the park. There were agility trials, contests and the pool, which had been drained to just a few inches of water at the deep end, was open to the dogs. Miss Daisy and I walked around and talked to different owners and dogs, watched the agility trials and contests. MD is more shy than I realized; she wanted to hide behind me or have me hold her most of the time. There were a couple of smaller dogs that she played with, but the larger dogs were too overwhelming. We did meet a calmer, older mixed breed that she layed down by. When it came to the pool, she wanted no part of it. She would wade in the water but did not want to play with it or the other dogs. I think it is time I started taking her to the park on a regular basis. Also, I think we may join either the agility trials or a dog obedience class this winter. I'm a little surprised she is so insecure around bigger dogs as she grew up with Rusty my cocker.

I took a couple of the dog sweaters, but it was too warm to put them on her.

Life intervenes

On Sunday, August 3, my mother had a car accident. She totalled her Honda but fortunately she will be okay. She is in the hospital and eventually will have to have surgery on her heel. We are all thankful that she will be fine. Needless to say, my projects including my blog have taken a backseat for the last few days. We have been blessed.

I have been working on my dog sweaters. I realized the bazaar is only 10 weeks away and once the countdown begins, time seems to fly by. I am going to start a log of everything I have knitted and track the sales. I just hope everything sells!

Jacksonville yarn shop

Saturday afternoon I drove out to Jacksonville to visit the yarn shop, Llamas and Llambs. Orginally, they had specialized in Amish quilts and llama products but after Mimi's closed they began carrying yarn. They have some very nice yarn, a lot of hand spun and hand dyed. I bought some Fibranatura called Mermaid that is a very pretty multi-shade sea green. I am going to make a shawlette with it. The pattern (Clementine Shawlette, Interweave Knits, spring 2007) says the finished product will be 57 1/2 inches by 10 1/4 inches. I think it will be nice as a shawl and, when it is really cold, I can wrap it around my neck several time as a scarf.

I think I mentioned in the post for the dog sweaters that the only one finished is the blue one. I wouldn't want you to think I am just going to leave holes for the legs on the striped sweaters! They will have leg bands the same color as the collar.

Blue dog sweater

 

 

 

 

Dog Sweaters - finished and not

Here are the dog sweaters I have been knitting for the past few days. The blue and black one is the only one that is completed, the green stripe one is the same pattern but I wanted to show the underside before it was sewn together. I like this pattern because of the ribbing, I think it will help keep the sweater from being too loose.

The second pattern has a wonderful band that gives it a very complete finished look. I like these patterns, but don't know if I am very happy with my color choices on these two sweaters. We will see when--and if--they sell.

Needless to say, all of the sweaters (except the blue one) are machine wash and dry. I will probably keep the blue one for a demo since it is a wool blend and has to be handwashed.

Parks and Rec Class

There were only two people for my Knitting class but they are very enthusiastic so it was a lot of fun. When we realized the next class was a month away, we decided to meet at one of the student's home next week. Hopefully the third person will be able to attend as she signed up too.

The extension service gave me several pamphlets on knitting. Their diagrams are excellent and should very helpful.

The Franchise Affair

I am reading an older book that I picked up at the used book store called "The Franchise Affair" by Josephine Tey. I read that she was an excellent writer, so when I saw this book I decided to give it a try. Published in the late 1940s the style is achaic and it took several trys before I could really get into it. However now I am not sorry that I stuck with it as it is really a good mystery and very cleverly written.

My Parks and Recreation class will start tonight, it is only a couple of weeks late. The director decided to combine Sheryl and my classes. I am going to go out to the extension service today and pick up some knitting brochures. I would like to use the information on Lion's Brand website but am not sure about the copyright laws and don't want to end up in jail over a pattern.

New camera

I bought a new digital camera with my economy stimulus check so, hopefully, will have some pictures of knitting to share soon. I have been working on several projects and they are in all stages of completion.

My Parks and Recreation knitting class has been delayed, only three people signed up for the class so we are waiting a couple of weeks to see if more enroll.

I have been having a problem with alarm clocks recently. I had a Baby Ben that ran for years, it had a good alarm and was totally reliable. Somehow it fell off the nightstand and the back broke. It still ran so I used it for a couple of more years before it finally died. I bought another Baby Ben but the manufacturer had redesigned the back and every time I wound it I broke a fingernail. I then bought a regular Baby Ben clock which kept good time but the back of it had also been redesigned (when will people learn if it's not broke don't fix it?) and the only way I could wind it was to hold it in my right hand and wind it left handed. Still needing an alarm, I bought a battery-operated clock hoping to solve the winding problem. This clock was so cute I knew I would keep it forever but after a couple of weeks the alarm quit. I can't bear to part with it so I have it in the bathroom where it keeps me on time in the mornings. I recently bought another windup alarm which I am now using. However the alarm on this clock is on some mysterious cycle that works only one out of every three mornings and every Saturday. Oh well, someday I will retire and no longer need an alarm!

Knitting pet sweaters

My daughter is convinced that I should be knitting sweaters for dogs. I love this idea, but am not sure that people will buy them. This week, however, I have made a sweater using a simple pattern and I am going to use it as a prototype. I am going to take several of them to our next bazaar and see how they sell. Miss Daisy, my dachshund, will look very cute in one. I am adding a d-ring to the top of the sweater right behind the front shoulders for the leash.

Lion's Brand library

I spent some time this afternoon looking the the Lion's Brand yarn site. Usually I just dash in, pick out a pattern that I want to try and dash out again. However today I went in and looked at their "learn to knit" section and was very impressed. I am in the process of building a web site about knitting and think I will use their site for knitting basics.

This is my second HTML class and I am really enjoying it. The first class was such a revelation because I have had no experience in html or any type of programming. I'm still very new at it but think it is fascinating. Also I am beginning to understand the "behind the scenes" process.

I sold five more of my lambs. I am looking for some more yarn, it has to be wool so it will felt and, since they are sheep, I want something that is not too "refined" but will give a nice woolly look to them.

Catchup time

We had a great time at Daffodil Days. It was really cold inside the grange as every time they turned the heat on the air conditioner came on. We never did get any heat, but fortunately it was warmer outside so we took turns standing outside!!! We sold tatted crosses, dishcloths and one of my lambs. We felt that people were not interested in anything large or heavy. Maybe because it was a Festival and they didn't want to carry them around or maybe because it was supposed to be spring and they weren't interested in afghans. We're going to try again but have not yet signed up for a bazaar.

I was reading about a 3-day workshop/bazaar in Canby, Oregon. It may not be possible this year but hopefully sometime in the near future.

Daffodil Days

We are going to show our knitted and crocheted articles in our first bazaar this weekend. There is going to be a spring festival--Daffodil Days-- in a small town near us. We are all excited about this opportunity to "get our feet wet". I am going to be selling my felted lambs and the Debbie Bliss bootees.

Class

I took a class on building a webpage and really liked it. It teaches you to use the HTML language and how to post pages on the internet. It is amazing how much is on the internet that we don't know about. There is a free program that will check your webpage for errors and another program, also free, that will scramble your e-mail address so that a robot can't read it.

I took a second class on writing for the web. I am now trying to tighten up my sentence structure which isn't easy. Both classes were through Virtual University. I hope that I will soon be able to link my blog with the webpage. However there is still a lot of work to be done on it. At this time, it just has my class assignments on it but someday...

Yarn

I spent quite a bit of time last night winding a skein of yarn. Usually this is a chore I enjoy but this time the yarn was in short lengths so it took forever. I'm not sure why this happened, I have two skeins of this yarn and the first skein was fine and wound into a ball.

We are getting ready for a spring bazaar in Grants Pass. This will be our first bazaar so hope we are ready for it. I am making felted lambs and baby bootees.

I have been reading the Gresham series by Lawana Blackwell, there are three books and all three have been totally enjoyable. I think I like the first one best, it was more about the family and the last two romances but all three of them are really good.

 

Books

I have been reading The courtship of the Vicar's Daughter the continuing saga of the Gresham Chronicles by Lawana Blackwell. I read the first in the series: The Widow of Larkspur Inn and just loved it. I think I'm going to really enjoy this book too.

I finished the sweater for my daughter's birthday. It is chocolate brown so did not photograph that well, however here is the one I made in raspberry. This is an excellent pattern.

How to knit

I have been thinking about knitting and the questions that are asked by people interested in learning to knit. Most of them are interested in the basics; how to cast on, the knit stitch, purl stitch and casting off. Once these basics are mastered the student just needs to sit and knit. It's the student that puts the knitting aside and doesn't practice the basic stitches that doesn't progress.

The harder aspects of knitting; reading a graph (or chart)and doing more complicated stitches become a challenge. I love starting a new pattern that is so complicated I have to use a Post-it to keep my place on the chart line by line. A pattern that is so difficult I can't even have the television turned on and woe to anyone who calls me at that point! This is a challenge--one that I try to do at least once a year.

Book reviews

Last summer not long after I started this blog, I discovered that I could go on Amazon.com and do book reviews. It has been a lot of fun and I now have several reviews posted. To read my reviews or post reviews yourself, go in on the title of a book such as "Debbie Bliss Cotton Knits for all seasons". Below the title will be the customer reviews link. Open the customer reviews and there you are! Right now, I'm doing a review on "Every Fixed Star" but haven't finished it yet so it's not posted. Also, at the review itself, there is a button to read all the reviews that person has posted.

So much for New Years Resolutions

As you can see, my New Years resolution to blog at least twice a week is a joke.

I finished all my knitting projects for Christmas and got them in the mail although they were a few days late.

We are going to be in a spring bazaar so have been working on the baby shoes by Debbie Bliss and the felted lambs. This is really exciting because it will be such a good opportunity for feedback.

I just finished reading Every Fixed Star by Jane Kirkpatrick and really enjoyed it. Her books are historical fiction based on factual events. They are special, at least to me, because she brings the characters and landscape to life. Even the horses and dogs become an integral part of the story. In this book I felt as if I could get in my car and drive to the area to visit the characters. The people were very real and, as it was set in Oregon, the scenery was easily imagined. I wanted to step in and help Marie search for her husband when he was lost.

I also Murder Walks the Plank by Carolyn Hart. This is another light mystery that was entertaining.

We are going to start making blankets to give in next year's Christmas baskets for children under the age of four. We have some quilters who want to participate with us knitters and crocheters so the project involves several ministry groups.