Tree Clogs

I have tamed the vicious, forest tree clog. They are not the nasty creatures they first appear to be, and they become quite tame and docile after a nice, hot bath.

Before:

After:

Now I need a bit of a break from these. My last three FOs have been these. I like them a lot, and I do need to make two more pairs for gifts, but I am going to make mittens for the next bit. I'm sure I'll be tired of them, too. I need at least seven pairs of felted mittens the last time I counted. That's just felted mittens, not including the couple of pairs of thrummed mittens I'd like to make, and the Newfoundland mittens. But back to the clogs... The purple ones are for my MIL, ladies' medium, and the grey are for step FIL, men's medium. (They never read this, so I have no worries about ruining surprises.) Both are made with Patons Classic Wool. These suckers take a lot of yarn to make! I knew I didn't have enough black, and I bought all we had at the store. I had to improvise on the second sole. This size has a seven-row sole, so I did rows 1-5 in grey, then I did rows 6 and 7 and the "bumper" join in black. No one will ever see unless he sits with his feet up! I have the yarn to make my mother's pair, and I want to make Dad a pair, too. (They don't have a computer, so they won't see this either.) I am going to try Briggs & Little for theirs. There is more yardage in that, almost 50m more per skein, and we just got an order of that in the store. No worries about not having enough.

We put our Christmas lights up on Saturday because the weather was nice. You can't really see it, but the little blips of light in the shrubs on either end of the house are a set of five LED stars that "twinkle". I just bought those Saturday. I needed something for the shrubs. I used to have white net lights, but half of them don't work any more, and also they don't go with the LED icicle lights I got last year.

Off to get the Littlest One from preschool.

Happy knitting!

Warning, Rant Ahead, But FOs Included

I'm not in a very good mood, so lets get this over with first. (Skip ahead to the pictures if you'd like -- I won't be offended.)

I think my cold is coming back. Hubby got home last night, hacking and gagging all over the place. I feel stuffy, and my head feels a little funny (no sarcy comments!). I threw my back out Tuesday hanging towels out on the clothesline. I hurt my back when I was about 17 and have had trouble with it off an on since. I must have turned the wrong way, and bang -- could hardly move. Of course, the chiropractor was closed, so I had to wait til yesterday afternoon. It's still a little lame, but way better than it was. (Lower back, too, so it really sucks.) Then there's the general stuff, you know, kid with ADHD, buggery younger one, money and the lack thereof, yadda yadda... The icing on the cake was last night.

Both boys are in skating lessons. The oldest one is still in stage 2, and the littlest one started Kidskate. They've done five lessons of ten so far. The Littlest One had some difficulties the last couple of weeks. One week he only skated about half of the half-hour for his group and came off the ice, decided he didn't want to skate anymore, he was tired. Fine. Last week he skated for a bit and just layed on the ice. He did that a couple of weeks ago at the end when it was time to come off anyways. (I understand he can't do that - it's a danger to him and to others.) Fine, bring him off. Then they decided that there weren't very many in Kidskate, they'd put them in with the stage 1 group. (She said she didn't realize there were so many little ones or they wouldn't have done that.) Last night the head of the program called and kicked the Littlest One out of skating! Three years old and booted from skating. She has a refund cheque for me for the remaining lessons. And the Oldest One got a warning that if he does what he did last Sunday he's gone. (Don't ask me what he was doing -- I sat where I could watch them both, and he wasn't any different than any other week.) I was in too much shock to ask what she was referring to, but I don't even know if I'll bother taking him. That means I have to find someone to watch the Littlest One cuz I'm not chasing him all over the rink, and Daddy usually leaves for work in the morning. I'll also have to listen to him crying that his brother's going skating and he's not. I am sort of anxious to see if anyone else got booted. There were a couple of other kids who were made to come off the ice on a couple of occasions. She said maybe he's too young (why have a program for them that young?), maybe try him when he's older. I doubt it. Never again, I'll take them to public skating and the Littlest One to Moms and Tots when it starts in January. I have a couple of friends who really aren't impressed with the program at all, so I'm anxious to see what they think when I tell them they kicked my three-year-old out. Like hubby said, if that was hockey they would have to sit on the bench til they want to co-operate. If they sit there all season, so be it. They don't kick them out. Anyways, if that's how they do things, I don't agree with it, but that's life, I guess.

Anyhoo, my blood pressure is finally coming down, so I better stop getting myself all worked up again.

******RANT ENDED******

We did have a good meeting with the Oldest One's teacher today. He had a good report card, so that's a good thing. Hubby and I cleaned the basement totally out, and I have a floor again down there. We also cleaned the kitchen, the Oldest One's room, and the living room. After this I have to do my dishes and do the Littlest One's room and our room. After the kids go to bed I want to touch up some of the paint chips in the living room paint, do some caulking in the bathroom, and maybe some around some of the window. (Yes, I do that, not hubby. I am much neater at it.) I also want to mop my kitchen floor and the hardwood in the living room. So I don't foresee a lot of knitting happening tonight. But I do have some FOs!

First up I made this scarf for the store. We got Bernat Haven in awhile back, but it didn't sell. I don't think any of it sold til last week. I went in to work one day, and I had to fill the cubby with a few balls of it. I thought if I made something out if it then maybe it would sell. This is a free pattern off the ball band and also off their web site. It requires three balls, 8mm needles, and a cable needle. Very easy, very fast. This yarn is an acrylic/cotton/alpaca/nylon blend, and I used Ballerina.

The completed hat and mittens set child size 6-8 for the Oldest One's school raffle draw next week. It's made with Patons Shetland Chunky in a red that I don't see listed on their site anymore. I think it was called Rustic Red or something like that.

Fibre Trends clogs in men's medium, made with Patons Classic Wool in Royal Purple. These were ordered by a customer who doesn't knit. It's the first time I ever made these and plan on making three or four pairs for Christmas gifts. Again, a quick knit on 9mm needles.

Happy knitting!

Felted Fuzzy Feet for SAM2

Fuzzy Feet from Knitty Winter 2002

Patons SWS in Natural Denim, 2 skeins

6.5mm circs and dpns

started November 15

finished and felted November 16

no changes other than the needle size

Finally I've finished something for one of the KALs I'm in for this month. I made this pair of felted fuzzy feet a la Aija. The stripes were supposed to match, but the second ball had 5 or 6 knots in it, which resulted in the striping not being the same. I like the bottom one/right one the best. That was the first one with no knots. Those knots really irked me a lot. The yarn was quite nice to work with. We've had it in the store for a bit now, but we haven't sold much of it. We had two people say they couldn't use it because it kept breaking on them. Aija commented in her post that she couldn't rip it with her hands, and I must say I was the same. There was one spot at the very start of the first skein that was kind of funky, and I could pull that apart, almost like roving. But the rest -- I started this outside and forgot my scissors. I thought I'd just pull it apart. Yeah. This stuff would have cut into my hand before I could have pulled it apart. The way it's made is thick, thin, thick, poofy, thin.... Must just be the poofy parts that tear easily. It also felts super well. I actually overfelted mine. I didn't want them as small as when they turned out. (Made the mistake of starting the felting process during one of the shows I watch every week. Didn't keep an eye on the machine like I should have.) I wear size 8, and these are really snug. I'd say they'd be better suited to ladies size 5-7. I also had to take the scissors to mine afterwards. They were super hairy. Too hairy. Looked much nicer after a "shave".

Make sure you all pop over to Aija's and see her completed Lizard Ridge afghan. Simply gorgeous!

The aran sweater was picked up Thursday. She loved it. Everyone at the store was kinda miffed cuz I was supposed to take it in yesterday for them to see it. All they saw was the picture from the last post. I told the lady to send her husband in after Christmas wearing it so they can see it.

It's been absolutely gorgeous here lately. Today and yesterday temperatures were close to 20C. Hard to believe it's November. Tomorrow, though, temps are to drop by about 10 degrees. That sucks, but I guess winter has to start sometime. All this nice weather means lots of outdoor play. The Littlest One doesn't travel very far without his kitty (simply named Kitty). He used to be white, but he's gotten very grungy. He used to meow when squeezed in the right spot in the belly, but now he doesn't. I offered to wash him, but was told, "No, I like him grungy."

Happy knitting!

Don't ask my why Blogger won't keep my paragraph spacing lately. That irks me as much as the knots in the SWS!

Aran Sweater Finished!

Started roughly two months ago (sometime soon after Labour Day), it was finally finished tonight. (I did lots of other knitting in addition to this since it wasn't needed til Christmas.) Here it was awaiting final assembly.


I had to take the pictures inside, so the color isn't the greatest. It's a wet forecast for the week (although a warm one), so I don't know if I'll get any outdoor natural light pictures. There's a cable on the sleeves, too, that you can kinda see in the picture.

Adult size large sweater.

An old pattern I got years ago from Mary Maxim.

Patons Decor in aran, 9 skeins.

No pattern changes.

Ordered by store customer for a Christmas gift.

And I hope she likes it. I hope she thinks it will fit. Cuz there won't be another one for Christmas, that's for sure! I have my own gift knitting to get at. (I can't really call her to let her know it's done, either, so I hope she pops in the store soon. Can't call her from the store cuz he'll wonder why we're calling her. Can't call from home cuz he'll wonder who the heck I am and what I want.) Also the lady I made the blue felted wool hat for wants a pair of slippers for next Thursday. She wants these ones for herself, and possibly she may want more for gifts. (She has a sewing business but does not knit.)

Pop on over to Shannon's site to see a sweater that her mother, Nova Knitter, had knit for her older son, now part of the youngest one's wardrobe. (Good thing about having two kids the same sex. My oldest one wears most of his stuff out now. Not so much saved for the youngest one any more, especially pants and pjs -- the knees get worn out!) I love this little sweater. I love tweeds, and red is such a good color, too. Be sure to scroll down and check out her new door, installed by her hubby. (You didn't have to knit after all to get a link!)

Check out Aija's felted SWS footies. We carry that yarn, but we haven't sold a lot of it. It's 70% wool, 30% soy. I may have to try a pair of these myself.

Also check out The Blue Blog's post from yesterday. A bunch of them knit strips to make a baby blanket for an expecting friend. Such a neat idea!

Happy knitting!

*Don't ask me why Blogger won't let me space my paragraphs. I typed it that way and have tried repeatedly to fix it, but it's no-go.

Contest Alert

There's a contest going on over here. Just leave her a comment.

Hope to have a real post later today or tomorrow.

Happy knitting!

Quickie

Just a quickie post to basically say I have nothing new to show. I have vowed not to work on anything else til that last dang aran sweater sleeve is finished. Then it's Christmas gifts. That's it. Them's the rules. Yeah.

Except this weekend I do have to whip up that chunky hat and mittens set for The Oldest One's school raffle draw. That way I can send it to school Tuesday so they can put it in their display case. That will be an easier project for me to take to the park tomorrow or out in the yard, whatever we end up doing. It's supposed to be +12C and sunny. Can you believe it's November? Right up til Tuesday it's supposed to be upwards of +12C, but I think showers and rain as well. But it's better than cold and snow, at least in my book. Saves on the oil bill. It really doesn't get too cold til January/February anyways. We rarely have a White Christmas.

I missed Dorothy from Doro-Crafts -- again! That's twice I've missed her. She was at the store tonight, but I was off at 2:30 today. One of these days we'll meet in person!

Pop on over to The Blue Blog and check out the sweet little sweater Alison knit for her baby-girl-in-waiting. I have a pattern very similar, but the lace pattern goes all the way up the body and arms, and I found it confusing with the shaping. Think I'll try it modified to look more like this one.

Pop on over here to see a cardigan that I absolutely lurv! We have this pattern at the store, and I've eyed it several times. This one is made with my favorite Briggs & Little color, Fundy Fog. I have two skeins of it, enough to make another one of these. I did one of those before, but I just used Canadiana.

Be sure to check out Nova Knitter's awesome colorwork sweater! Egads, the ends! The ends!!

I promise pictures of some sort on Sunday/Monday. No school Monday because Remembrance Day is tomorrow. No school Thursday or Friday because of inservices.

I hope the links help to distract you from no pictures and lack of any knitting progress on my end! Have a good weekend!

Happy knitting!

Been Busy

For some reason Pumba had taken to squishing his 17lb carcass into my knitting basket. I have to make sure I cover it at night or else I wind up with this. The basket is on its last legs as it is. The side pieces are held together with hockey tape.




Been quite busy lately knitting, but not knitting the stuff I should be doing. First I made a hat out of Bernat Black Lites for the store. We only had one ball of this color, and all the patterns I saw required two or more. (Really bulky - not much yardage.) I modified their free ribbed hat pattern to fit child size 3-5. Click here if you'd like to see how I did it. I can't get the picture to upload, but you can see it in my Flickr album.

Second came this set out of Stylecraft Eskimo and Patons Astra. I've had the yarn home for almost a year now. It fits size 6 months-ish. (Revision here. It's one of those patterns that only tells you inches not real sizes. I looked it up on a baby sizing chart on the internet. Once I had it beside one of my sets I design I knew there's no way that this would fit what that chart said. It may be closer to 9 months.) Really cute. I had to modify the hat a little because I was running out of yarn. (Even though I had the exact amount the pattern required, and it's one of those pattern that tells you exactly how many rows to knit.)


I also made another felted hat. I wanted to try using Bernat Disco for the brim.

I really need to be finishing that aran sweater. Only have one sleeve and the finishing left to do. I need to get cracking on Christmas knitting, or first thing Christmas will be here, and I won't have what I need finished.

The Littlest One wanted cupcakes yesterday. The closest thing I had was muffin mixes. That suited him just fine.

There's a contest going on over here. It ends November 15. Just take a picture of your November calendar picture, post it, and let her know it's there. This is my main calendar. It came from the local Movie Gallery and had a coupon for each month of the year for rent one movie or game get one free. They come in handy. I also have two more calendar pages pictures, but Blogger got contrary and won't upload them. Just click here to see them.

I had to take this picture of Simba this morning in my chair with a lone Scooby Doo slipper.

Happy knitting!

Knit Mitt Kit Swap Questionnaire

The Questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors?

I like many colors. I like dark green, burgundy, I have quite a few grey tops... I need a new winter coat this year, and I have no idea what color I will get. I'm sure this doesn't help too much, sorry!

Are you a new mitt knitter?

No. I haven't really knit anything complicated. Mostly children's mittens and felted mittens. I have the stuff to try thrummed but never got to it yet. (Did a little experimenting with it, that's all.) I also have the pattern for the Newfoundland mittens (honeycomb) but have yet to sit and try it.

How long have you been knitting mittens?

I don't think I really tried mittens til a few years ago.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?

Doesn't really matter.

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn?

Anything that isn't itchy. I am not fussy, really. I like wool/arylic blends or all wool. I'm getting away from mostly 100% acrylic yarn.

Where do you usually knit mittens?

At home mostly. Sometimes at work on Friday nights/Saturdays and my mother's place. Also I take them in the truck if we are going somewhere that I don't have to drive.

How do you usually carry/store small projects?

I have a lighthouse tote bag that I usually use.

What are your favorite mitten patterns?

I don't know.... Newfoundland mittens are kinda nice cuz of the two color thing. I've seen some nice fair isle type mittens out there, and I'm not much at working with more than one color! I like felted mittens, and I love all things cabley.

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques?

I have only ever used dpns.

What new techniques would you like to try?

Don't know.

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens?

All I have for dpns are metal and plastic.

What are some of your favorite yarns?

Patons Classic Wool is great for felting. I also like Patons Shetland Chunky and the Tweeds. Those are what I mostly have been using for mittens lately.

What yarn do you totally covet?

I mostly covet sock yarns like Koigu, Socks That Rock, Cherry Tree Hill, Sweet Georgia, etc.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?

Hmm... I am ordering the Hermione cable and bobble mitten pattern. Guess if I wanted to go really fancy I'd make them with cashmere yarn or something ridiculously soft and squishy.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?

I mostly have Aero because I come from a small town. Most of my stuff was bought in my early 20s at our only yarn store in town, and that's mostly what she sold.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?

Don't know.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?

Anything chocolate. Werthers Originals are good, too.

What's your favorite animal?

Cats. Got three bobtails.

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts?

Super warm mittens.

If you were a color what color would you be?

Dark green.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?

Don't know. Baby animals maybe.

Do you have a wishlist?

Got one on The Sweet Sheep. Don't think it's public. Let's just say it consists of lots of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?

I just want whoever gets my name to have fun. Don't stress and fret over yarn choice and color choice. I'm sure I'll love whatever you send!

Happy knitting!

Two Quick FYIs

Two quick things before I forget and/or it's too late:

Alisha is having a contest. Pop on over to check it out. (Thanks, Ragan!) Contest closes Saturday night at midnight.

Also, thanks to Charity I found out about the Knit Mitt Kit Swap. Sounds like fun! You have til this Friday to sign up, kits mailed out on January 16.

Happy knitting!

Pictures From Yesterday's Post

Here are the pictures that go with yesterday's post. Blogger wouldn't let me edit them in, so I had to do a separate post of photos only.

Happy knitting!