Catching Up

I started knitting right before Thanksgiving and that is almost all that I have done since. I knitted for almost all my gifts this year. I have loved it, but I am definitely starting earlier this next year. I went to work, made dinner, did the shopping and knitted.

I made up my own shorter version of the "8 Knitted Days of Christmas"

8 handmade hats,

7 handmade scarves,

6 baby booties,

5 ideas for the new year

4 mailed packages (almost)

3 kids sweaters

2 new books

1 scrapbooked picture

I did stocking/watch caps for my DH, boys, nephew, DD boyfriend and brothers. My DD saw them and wanted one too, so I made her one. Here is a picture of a couple of them. We went and hiked in Zion's Canyon the Monday after Christmas and they really came in handy. All the guys said they were really warm. I did them double stranded. The one on the bottom right corner is DD's. She only wanted single, but it was a marble looking yarn, and so it still kind of looks doubled.

DD's boyfriend is really into hunting and fishing. Even though it is still in the 70's down in Phoenix when you hunt you are up in the mountains. I made his hat and scarf set double stranded and in camouflage. He seemed to really like it.

I asked DD if she was a scarf kind of girl. It is to warm down there for winter scarfs, but I thought a dress scarf was a maybe. She said yes, that they go well with office casual. I asked her what color and she said that she wanted something metallic, either silver or gold. I scratched my head over that one for a while, and then came up with this. I bought gold, silver and black crochet thread and combined them into one strand. I did the new drop stitch pattern and this is how it looked. She really liked it and I was really pleased with how it came out. I am thinking of doing one for me in black, silver and maybe red.

Cool Batik Scarfs

Back in April, when I went to a local quilt show there was a lady at one of the booths knitting. Of course, my friend and I being knitters had to know what she was doing. It was a really cool looking scarf. She wasn't knitting it out of yarn, it was out of batik quilting fabric. She told us how to do it, and I really wanted to try it. I decided to make them for the ladies at work and for the knitting group gift.

This is the one that I did first. I cut the strips and 1" wide and it was too much. It still came out okay. I loved the colors. It was really ironic that the one that I could picture these colors on was the one that one it. Everyone liked it.

That gave me a little more courage to do them for the ladies I work with. I made the strips on these only 1/2" wide on the same size needles. It was a little more flexible. I also made them a little more narrow. I forgot to take pictures before I gave them away, but they brought them back and I got 2 out of the 3. This one is black with pinpoint red polka dots on it.

This one is shades of purple. The one I don't have a picture of was ocean colors. Aqua, blue, purple and spots of yellow and orange. I would like to make one for me out of a soft chambray. We shall see. I had to borrow a rotary cutter to do these. I couldn't find mine. Maybe I will find it when I finish my knitting/sewing room????

My First Boutique

We went back east to visit my DH's family for Thanksgiving. 2 hours in the airport and a 6 hour flight both ways. I worked on items for my first boutique. We have one at work that part of the benefits go to a charity. I didn't do a whole lot. I kind of wanted to see how it would go. I think I did pretty well for the first time. I sold almost half of what I brought. I did pot holder and dish cloth sets, baby booties and some santa hat holiday pins. I'm not sure if I will do it next year, but it was fun.

Out of Africa sweater

Life thas been so crazy lately. Most of my spare time I have spent on the computer working on Christmas or spent knitting for Christmas. I finally finished my nephew's sweater. His church pants are black.

I have never done a yoke on a sweater, and so I thought that I would try it. In fact when I started it, I had every intention of making it a crewneck. Sometimes projects have a life of their own. I also had originally planned on having the gray as the bottom of the sweater, and the yoke varigated. When I grabbed the yarn in the store I was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong amounts of each one. Oh well! The yarn definately pooled, but I kind of like the effect. Although the white one the one sleeve stands out. The basic sweater is stockinette. When I got to the yoke I did it in a seed stitch. I like the texture. I think it adds a bit of something special. I hope he likes it.
In the meantime I am working on his sister's sweater. I am going to call it Little Butterflies. I have the back and part of one front done. I would have two fronts done, but realized last night that I had forgotten to change to the larger needles after the ribbing, and so I had to take it all the way down. What a newbie mistake! It is what you get when you knit and watch good TV shows I guess. LOL I am also going to put a collar on hers. I think I will do a round. Depends on the knitting muse I guess.

Daisy Stitch

I just have to say I love YouTube. I had instructions for the knitted Daisy stitch that I want to put into a sweater eventually. I read over the instructions several times, and just didn't get what they wanted me to do. I googled it and found a YouTube video. How easy. Now I know exactly how to do it. I can't wait to put it into a sweater. Maybe with a butterfly...

Moving Day

I skipped knitting group tonight to begin moving into my craft room. I am on a deadline to get my stuff in here so I can use my guest room for my mom Wed. I took some pictures of all four walls so that you can get a panoramic view. Keep in mind that I have done all the work myself and on a very small shoestring budget. I would like some nicer furniture, but this will do, and it is my own space. That is the part that I am really excited about.
From left to right in the room, here is a tour. These are the two dressers that I found at the yard sale. I am going to use them for storing yarn and projects. They were $10 a piece plus the paint.

The bookcase was my daughters, repainted of course, and my computer area. I have all ready started filling the bookcase with my knitting pattern books. A new chair is also on the list of things to get!

You can see the corner shelves that my DH suggested and put up for me. I think that I will use them for decorations and pictures. Just to the left of the box is where my sewing machine is going to go. I will put a cork board up on the wall for patterns when I am sewing, and peg board on both sides. I will use that for scissors, rulers, seam rippers, thread and bobbins, etc. To the right, at the end of the desk I have about 30" of blank wall. That is where the wrapping center is going to go.

These are my cubicles, that I have had for several years. As you can see they are really full. That is were I have our scrapbooks, photos, and magazines for ideas. I have quite a few boxes of sewing stuff to put away. Now I just have to figure out how to fit everything in here. That will take a little bit of time. LOL!!

An Accidental Trick

I was determined that I was going to get my desk done today so that I could start moving in. My mom is coming to visit Wed and the guest room has been taken over with my stuff! Imagine that!!

I went down this morning to put the varnish finish on my desk. That is the last thing to do for the desk. I started and within about 10 minutes the guys were really complaining. I must have bought varnish instead of polyurethane. The difference in smell was amazing! It was really bad. No one was very happy with me. The treat part of this whole situation is that I can start moving everything into the room. It isn't done, but it is to the point that I can start moving in.

The piece in the middle of the room is going to be my cutting table extension. It was the piece that was leftover after the cutting accident ;p I figured I should use it. I have hardware to attatch it to the desk when I want it. On the other end I will put hinged legs. When I want to cut something out I will just take it out and attatch it to the desk, with the legs down. When it is not in use it will tuck under the desk.

Over on the left side you can see that part of the desk is sticking up. That actually was done on purpose. I had to put a bookcase right in front of the plug for my computer. I cut the desk so that I would be able to get rid of the cords, and get to the plugs if I need to. The desk under it supports it, and it matches the other side will so there is no gap.

I am still going to put up the pegboard for the wrapping center and a peg board and cork board on the wall for the sewing area. I also want to do a fabric window treatment. That can be done later though.

Desk update

Tonight, I came home from work and we did dinner and then I went down and started working on the desk. I put wood putty into the coner joint and got it sanded down. I put two coats of paint on the desk, extension, and corner shelves. The painting is done for this part. Yeah!!

Lightbulb Ideas

I don't know about you, but I often get my lightbulb moments at unexpected times. For example when I am supposed to be doing something else like sleeping or working.

While we were running payroll this afternoon I got a great idea for a new knitting design. I have one more niece sweater to do for Christmas. I wanted it similar, but not the same.

Last night at knitting I was teaching Bona how to do a bobble. I was thinking about that and the sweater that I just finished and the pieces fell into place. I amb going to do a panel inbetween a small twist cable. It will be a combination of bobbles, twisted stitches, yarnovers and the stitch that is called the "butterfly" or "bow tie". I can't wait to start.

I am also gong to do something different for my nephew's sweater. At least I have not done it before, and that is to make a faux yoke with a different color and pattern on the top. I am curious to find out how it will turn out.

Craft Room Desk

I learned something this week. Cutting wood late at night is the same as cutting fabric. You shouldn't do it! I wasn't paying attention to the way the wood was turned and I cut it wrong. TWICE!! I debated for several days what to do and then I broke down and just went and got a new piece. I really wanted the bullnosed edge so that it would have a more finished look to it.
DH and I got the corner bracket up. We started drilling for the other and realized that we were hitting brick instead of a stud. We had to go borrow a stud finder. We couldn't find ours! I have marked the stud, but with DH's oral surgery and company this weekend I haven't got back in there to finish the brackets. I need to paint the desk and drill the holes in them for the electrical cords. Once I have them up, I will have a good idea of the placement. My computer is going under the window, and the sewing machine will be over by the closet. I think I am going to move the bookcase to the corner between the dressers and the desk. That way I can have that one wall for the wire cubicles that hold on the scrapbooks, magazines, pictures and negatives. I am starting to wonder if I am going to get all of this in!

I didn't want to have any unused space. When I was on the internet looking for organizatinal ideas I saw a peg board gift wrapping center. I am going to do one of those behind the closet door. It will fit perfectly. I will put up rolls of paper and have all of the tape, scissors, ribbon ect hanging with it. I am really excited about it! It will be great at Christmas time for all of us.

Girl's Lacy Cardigan

I finished the sweater I started 10 days ago. I looked for a long time for a pattern and couldn't find one for a lacy girl's sweater. I finally decided to combine 3 different patterns. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I used a basic Leisure Arts cardigan sweater for the basic structure. It had a doubled button band on it that I didn't want with the look I was going for. I deleted those stitches from the two front pieces. I found the eyelet pattern in an old pattern book for a baby dress. The lace neck and button band was from another Leisure Arts pattern book called Summer Chic. Not a bad effort if I do say so.

I was going to do the same pattern for the other niece, but have changed my mind. My problem is I get bored too easy. I want to do something different for her. I'm just not sure what yet. It will be in the lacy area again though. Perfect for little cardigans to wear to church this winter with their dresses.

Christmas Is Coming

I started on a new project the other day, even though I had those boy sweaters to finish. Christmas is coming, and I have decided to knit sweaters for both of the younger nieces. I may even do both of the nephews. Depends on how time works out.

I have been looking really hard for a lacy dress cardigan, but couldn't find one. I finally decided that I would just make up my own. It is just yarn! If it doesn't work out, I ripppp! I am using a basic Leisure Arts cardigan and have put the eyelet design into it. So far so good.

Knit for Hire Finally Done

I finally finished the knit for hire job. I love to knit, but doing 3 sweaters exactly the same was hard for me. I like variety too much I guess. I just had to give myself a deadline. I felt guilty working on anything else while I had those to finish. Here is a piture of them. I didn't have the buttons on yet, but they are done. WAHOO!

Primed Walls

Well I finally got the walls primed today. It took me a little longer to paint than I thought it would. Why is that? Things always take longer than I think they will. My DH says when I tell him a time he just doubles that automatically! I can't wait to actually paint with color though. I tried to scan in my color scheme but it just wasn't true to the colors. I went on the website and saved a sample room with the colors, but it won't let me copy and paste it. If you are curious you can go to valspar.com and pick the colors out. The walls are going to be Apple Slice Green #6006-9A and the trim and accent color Tangy Lemon #3006-2A with all of the furniture white. I think it will be calming, and cool.

Painting in the Rain

We all cleaned house this morning and then I did errands and grocery shopping. Finally about 4:00 I got time to start painting. I decided to do the furniture first. It has been really humid the last two days, and that isn't the best condition to paint a room in. I have plans to paint 2 dressers, a desk, nightstand, bookcase, a desk and then the table top once I get it.

I got the bookcase, one dresser and half of the other dresser done tonight. I would have done more but it started to sprinkle. The boys helped me clean everything up. We were getting more and more splatters. By the time we got the cardboard into the shed and in the house it started to pour buckets. We just made it.

We just kind of threw the pieces into the room. I think I will put them back together and just keep them in the middle of the room until I get it painted.

Unplanned Joke on DH

Last Sunday at church I asked a friend if he could find a refrigerator box for me. I wanted to use it as a spray box for all of my painting. He is in construction, and I thought he might be able to find one for me, easier than me going to the stores. He said sure, but if I hadn't brought one by in a couple of days to give him a call.

This morning I called his wife and she said that they had been out of town and that they were going to be out of town this weekend too, but she would remind him. I got the impression that it would be next week and so I didn't think much more about it.

About noon I got a call from my DH. He asked if I was expecting a big box to be delivered. I said yes. He said that he wished I would let him know about these things. He was also expecting something he ordered. He had opened the box and found nothing in it. He panicked a little and called the company that he ordered from and told them that the box was empty. They said that they would have to send another one. Then he was a little put out. He said he was going to have to call the company back and tell them he was mistaken. I told him that I really hadn't expected it until next week. I had kind of forgotten about it. Besides, how can you mistake a box that has "Side by Side Refrigerator" printed all over it. I thought it was a rather humorous joke, even if I hadn't planned it.

Clean Slate

I worked towards my sewing room all morning in one way or the other. I got up and went to Big Lots, they had bookcases on sale. I thought that I would use those for storage, but decided they probably wouldn't work.

I headed out to the dump, and went into the paint building. Great idea, but I don't think anyone knows about it. There were only about 20 cans out there, and most of them were dried up. Oh well, it was worth a try. I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home and got a can of primer. Then I went over to Home Depot. I priced the partical board that I am going to use for my tables, and looked at paint chips. I think I am going to go with a very pale green, white furniture and a lemon yellow for accents. I will try and scan the chips in so that you can see the colors.

I am so excited! I've been trying to figure out what I was going to do for storage. On the way home from Wal-Mart I saw a yard sale. I decided to stop and see what they had. I found to dressers. They have quite a few scratches, but they are still solid. They were only $10 a piece. I got both of them and they delivered for another $3. What a deal!! They will be perfect for storing yarn, fabric and projects in. I will just spray paint them white to go with the rest of the furniture. Let me tell you, spray painting furniture is the way to go. Quick and easy, and it looks good.

I came home and finished packing all of her stuff. I vacuumed and am ready to go. I have to go and find all the painting stuff from when we moved in. I'm not sure if I have any painter's tape left. If not I will need to pick some up at the dollar store along with a few more foam brushes for trim and a couple of new roller's for the white primer. I don't want to use old ones for these light colors.

I went to Wal-Mart again after work and picked up 6 cans of spray paint for the furniture. It is a start. I am painting almost everything. It may be really budget, but it will work and look new.

Packing DD room

This weekend my goal is to get my daughter's room all packed. I worked on it all evening and it is about 2/3 of the way done. I ran out of larger boxes. There is a little left in the closet and then some more knick-knack things on the wall. I am going to take her shelves down too. The desk and bookcase are staying. I am pretty sure that I am going to spray paint both of them white. All of the boxes will go in the shed and her computer will go under the stairs with all of her art supplies. If I put them in the shed with all the other stuff they will either dry up or start a fire with all the paint!

I replaced a couple of bulbs that were out and it really helped the room. (Note to self: Get more light bulbs).

The other day I was on the county landfill website doing some research for my garden. Our landfill takes yard clippings, trees and the like mulches them and then sells it for the community to use for their garden"s. I thought that was a great idea. While I was on there I saw that they also have a paint exchange. You can bring unused paint in and exchange it for something you want. The blurb on the site said to look there before doing a repainting project. I am going to go over tomorrow and see what they have. I would like to find some primer and then a light color to go on the walls. I would like a light green, but will have to see what they have. I need to go to an appliance store and see if they have an empty fridge box that I can use as a paint box.

I measured the desk and the sewing table that I have and they are the same height. I am thinking of going to the home improvment store and just buying some MDF and putting that across the end of both of them to make my work table. My friend Carole called tonight and said that Big Lots had bookcases for $15. I might buy a couple of those to use with plastic bins, or even put two of them back to back with the MDF on top to make a cutting table. I could put casters on them so it would roll. I will have to look at them to see if it will work.

Knitting/Sewing/Computer Room

My oldest moved out almost a year ago. Her room has just been sitting there as she left it. Last week I finally conceded to the fact that other than visits, she probably won't be moving back. Although this makes me sad, I have decided to make lemonade!

I am tired of my guest room looking like a tornado hit it. I have to own up to the fact that it is my fault. With my sewing, knitting and crafts in there, there isn't much room for anything minor like a guest bed! LOL

I talked to my DH and asked him what he thought of me taking it over. He liked the idea since I am going to take my computer out of the kitchen. He helped me take her bed down Saturday and put it in the shed. We will be able to take it out if we need it for extra guests or when she comes to visit. I have slowly be working on packing her stuff. I forgot how much stuff and teenage girl has. I am just going to box it all and let her go through it next time she comes home.

Once I get it cleared out then I have to repaint. She painted the room a medium gray and I can't stand it. We are in a split level home. Her room is on the back basement corner under the deck. It doesn't get a lot of light. Everytime I go in there I get depressed! I want to paint it a light color to help bring in more light. Maybe white with a lot of bright colors in the furniture...

I am a little overwhelmed with the idea of a space of my own for all of this stuff. I have been searching the web for ideas for how to organize things, and am not coming up with much. I must be doing it wrong. I definately need my sewing machine, a table for cutting fabric, and the desk or area for my computer. Also a place for the ironing board. I will still need enough space for the mattresses if needed. I want to keep her bookcase for my sewing books and pattern books. Even though I need the space for the sewing stuff I am more concerened with how to store the knitting stuff. I use that a lot more right now, and I have a lot of it. :>

Maybe dollar store plastic bins and baskets. I will have to give this a lot of thought! Any ideas appreciated.

Sweater Progress

I know it has been forever since I posted. It seems like there is always something going on, or that I have to do. I have been slowly working on the 2 remaining boy's sweaters and a HUGE stack of pot holder/dishcloth sets for the boutique this fall. I also finished two pairs of socks for me and started a pair for Nathan. If you can't tell, I have to admit that I am getting bored with the sweaters. My battery in the camera died this morning. It is charging and so tomorrow I will upload the pictures of all of these projects.

Working on the third sweater, of the exact same design, I am ready to be done! I sewed the shoulders and the sleeves into the red one tonight at knitting. I have to block it before I go any further. I have the back, sleeves and half of one side of the blue one done. If I can just make myself sit down and knit I can get done!

Baby Afagan

We got to see my youngest brother this weekend for the first time in several years. Since we saw them last they have adopted the cutest little girl that they have named Jasmine. She will be turning two this month. Even though she is not a "baby" anymore, I felt I wanted to do a baby blanket for her. I started it Sunday night and managed to finish it Friday night in time to give it to her when we met her. When she came in she came right to me and started to say "Blankie" several times. She knew it was for her.

Let me tell you, there was a lot of furious needle sounds this week! LOL The pattern was one that I found on the internet. It is a version of a dishcloth pattern that is done in garter stitch and on the bias. You then do a lace border around it. I used sport yarn and doubled it and knitted it on a 9. I think next time that I will do the same pattern, double the yarn, but do it on a 10 1/2. I think it will go faster, and it won't be quite so dense.

I used a varigated baby yarn for the middle and then did the border in a solid. I think it turned out really nice.

It's Done

I finally finished the sweater and skirt set. They turned out darling even if I say so myself. If I had to do them over I would charge double. I grossly under estimated the work. I'm just glad they are done though. Now all I have to do for this order is the 2 remaining boys sweaters and I will be done. They will be a breeze. I just have to make time to knit!!

Here is the sweater, and below is a close up of the stitching.

Here is the skirt.

And here they are together!

Quilt Show

Today I went to my first quilt show. Carole and I loved the quilts. There were so many styles and variations on the same pattern. There were also techniques that I had not seen before. I thought that I would share some of my favorites.

This is the quilt that was hanging in the entrance when you came in. A variation on log cabin. It was all kinds of homes. It was a bit whimsical and I loved it.
These next two I really liked for the pattern. The first one is called spinning star. I didn't get the name of the second one, but I think that I have seen the pattern before.These next two were done by a lady that specializes in applique. She was doing a demonstration and she was amazing. I was totally awed! If I was a quilter I would want to do something like this. The first one is all kinds of flowers, and the second one was Halloween. I would have liked to buy it for a wall decoration. It was absolutely fun! The picture isn't close enough to do it justice. There was a lot of detail.The next two I just liked the color schemes. I actually wouldn't mind trying an easier version of the stained glass one. Okay, let me restate that! I would like to do a version without the "lead look", just the piecing of the different shapes.These next two were out of this world in the way of small detail piecing. The first one was done with thousands of 2" hexagons. The information paper said it took her 5 years to finish it. This one was thousands of 1/2 inch squares. It was mind boggling that she didn't go nuts doing it. The information sheet said it took 18 months. She said she didn't do much else! I can imagine!

Here is a close up so you can see some of the piecing.This one was done by two people. The first lady put the pattern on and did all of the quilting, and the second lady water colored it with fabric paint. This picture does not do it justice. It was beautiful.This last quilt is the one that won the Grand Sweepstakes. It had quite a few different techniques on it.I did learn something new though. One of the ladies in a booth was knitting with fabric. She was making a scarf. It was really fun. She said she uses batik fabric because it has a tighter weave and does not ravel. She cuts it 1/2 inch wide on the bias and then knots it into a long strand and knits. I so want to try it. I think I will for the boutique.

Of course, after going to a wonderful quilt show it got me to thinking. About 9-10 years ago I made all three of my children quillos. Twin size quilts that fold into a pillow. They have loved them and taken them everywhere. The boys quilts are literally falling apart. They are to the point that there is no way to fix them. They were my beginning attempts to piece. I didn't quilt them, just pieced. Here is a picture of the boy's.
As you can see, very simple. I would like to make them new quilts for Christmas. They would definitely be pieced, but I would not have the time to quilt them. Maybe I could do some basic machine quilting along the piecing lines. A new friend of mine at church is a quilter. I will have to ask her advice. There's always another project down the road!!!

Sweater Set

I have been spending a lot of time in my garden and doing household things. I have been working on the sweater/skirt set. Wathching LDS Conference this weekend gave me good opportunity to knit as I listened. I have both sleeves done, the left side and about half of the right. It is going to be so cute made up. I decided to give you a sneek preview with a picture of one of the sleeves.I am hoping that this won't take too much longer!

I am excited for tomorrow. There is a huge quilt show at our convention center. My friend Carole and I are going to go. I can't wait. I love looking at quilts. Going with a friend just makes it more fun. I wonder if we will be able to take pictures. I would like to take pictures of some of my favorites.

Boy's Sweater

I almost had this done when the yarn for the skirt/sweater set came in, so I went ahead and finished it. I think it turned out really cute. I haven't done a double cable before. It was a bit intricate at first. After doing several repeats, I got it. After that it was a breeze. It knitted up really fast.

I am starting the skirt/sweater set tonight.

Sundress

I finshed the sundress last night. It turned out really cute, despite the amount of times I had to start. The yarn for the skirt/sweater isn't in yet, so I guess I will start one of the boys sweaters while I wait.