Skills

This past year I've explored a lot in my knitting, cables being the most prevalent. I'm still working toward following complicated patterns. I picked out a wonderful one for an aran sweater for my Grandma and will admit that I'm ready to frog it after it has sat so very long I can't remember where I was. The need for a dozen markers and all those different cables is driving me a bit mad. So, in the meantime I think I'll settle for cabling hats.

When I first made one, about a year ago, I was happy with it. However, as time has passed there are widening gaps where the cables are. The newer ones seem to be holding up better and I think that's a good thing. I've even been asked to custom make one for a dear friend and that was the ultimate compliment.

A Tale of Two Yarns

This was "supposed to be" a post about two contradictory yarns, but being a hopeless optimist I've chosen to instead just write about the best.

I learned to knit, as many of us did, using Red Heart acrylic yarn. I chose an emerald green hue and was thrilled. I used that for a long time and branched out slowly into Caron Pound of Love. Then some baby yarns and others. I found along the way Lion Brand Microspun. I wish I could remember what led me there, but it was a fantastic lime green and some in white and I made a cute baby outfit. I love the sheen and the smooth feel as it passes through my fingers.

Microspun isn't overly pricey, but was hard to find locally in some seasons. So, I was happy to find pound bags of mill ends and discovered the Caron Simply Soft line which has a similar sheen and texture as the Microspun. Then, also in mill ends, I discovered Lion Brand Homespun. Mill ends made me a hoarder.

Simply soft has sheen and drape that I think make it good for light, feminine clothing. I also adore the fact that they now have a line of Eco products which contain post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. If I'm going to buy new yarn then this is a top choice. Simply Soft works fantastic for winter socks that can be thrown into the washer and dryer.

Homespun is great for Winter wear. The scarves I've made from it are the simplest of patterns but always get compliments. This yarn also washes wonderfully. It knits into great afghans as well (double stranded on large needles for weathering arctic temps).

I can't decide if I'm too busy or too lazy to hand wash items, but either way these two yarns fit my lifestyle and for that I'm grateful.

Cleaning House-FO, Frogging, and WIP

I'm a single-Mom (divorced, to be exact) and I'll admit it is difficult to juggle it all sometimes. I adore my two little ones but am now learning to love a bit of "me" time while they visit their Dad. So, this weekend I dove into the closet in the craft room and started rearranging. I pulled out a bag full of WIPs and started really looking at them.

1) There was a lovely lavender item. It was two rows of eyelets (K1,YO, K2tog) then a few rows of stockinette stitch. It was maybe 8 inches wide and I'd knit more than a foot in length. I'm guessing I was going to make it into a scarf but I figured if I couldn't remember maybe it wasn't worth the time to figure out again. I frogged it and liberated a circular needle (haven't checked the size yet)

2) The second item out of the bag was a red and blue beginning of a crocheted afghan with star blocks. It was cool and I kind of remembered it, but when I analyzed it I thought I could make a scarf out of it instead if I frogged a few rows then bound off and added fringe. Maybe nobody else will ever want it, but at least I don't feel as let down as I would've frogging the whole thing.

3) Next was a baby blue and white stripped child's hat. Not actually sure of the size on this, but will try it on me and/or the girls later. It was on a piece of waste yarn so I put it on dpns and started working it. I actually feel productive, even though other projects are sitting idly by. I can't wait to dive into some more of these and feel "done" maybe at some point.

FO: 18" Doll Tunic

White is a classic, or so I'm told. It goes with everything no matter the season (assuming you're not one of those "old fashioned" ones who think no white after Labor Day). So, my friend always has room in her stash for white doll sweaters. This time she sent me a pair of leggings and asked me to make something to compliment them.

I searched the stash of yarn she'd given me, and my own, and found the perfect match-baby blue mohair. Unfortunately, with my allergies acting up already, I thought it best to pass along the mohair she gave me (ivory, pale pink, and baby blue-six skeins) to someone more fortunate (who doesn't get stuffed up and have migraines when using it). *sigh*

So, the second best option at that point was white acrylic. Ruffled edge, some eyelets, drastic decrease and it is a great sweater over leggings. I know it looks a bit odd laid out this way, but believe me when I tell you it looks great on the doll. Hope my friend agrees. I even loved it enough to iron it before mailing...had to see if it would lay right as I'd thought.

Pillows

I know this is mainly a knitting blog, but I am not just a knitter. I am actually a crocheter first, but learned to sew a bit along the way and then to knit.

My girls were getting ready for a new visitation schedule and were hesitant for overnights. So, I pulled out some fabric I purchased more than a year ago (for them) and put together three complimentary pillows. Each girl has one to take to their Dad's and I keep mine with me. This way we share something even across the miles. I drew some basic designs on paper and let the girls pick which they wanted. Then I cut and sewed and they stuffed. It was a fun project to do together. Each of my little ones also has a smaller version for at home. Those are stuffed but I haven't gotten around to sewing the seam closed yet. Too much other stuff on my plate these days.

Here are the three pillows together:

and my favorite part of the blue fabric:

"May you always know you are loved." I purchased this fabric, full of inspirational sayings, to use as pillow cases of some sort for my girls, as they struggled with their life changes. I knew it would be something special that we could share and they'd be able to hear my positive voice even in the darkest hours, whispering from this fabric to their hearts.

Updates

I have been checked out for a while now on the blog, but have been plodding away with crafting. So, I'm going to try to fill in a bit now that I've uploaded some photos finally. I've been wanting to write but didn't think it would be the same without something to look at.

First, let me share my oldest daughter's 100th Day of School project. She's in first grade and came up with the idea to use 100 buttons on a shirt. I let her glue most of them on (except the ones with shanks) and then I went to work sewing them in place (so she can wear it at some point). In the process I made it to #50 (totally by chance) when my needle broke. This would not normally be a big deal, but for some reason I cannot locate my spare needles and that was the last one I had in the pin cushion. So, the shirt sat for far too long unattended to. Then I picked up a nifty case of $.97 needles and was off and running again (although I already broke one of those as well).

Anyway, all that silliness aside, LexiLou made a great design (don't you think?):

Oh, and in case you're wondering...I had all these buttons in my stash...and many, many more left over. (hanging my head)