Gramma's Mittens

My Gramma taught me many things. She taught me how to make an apple pie from scratch and she taught me how to make a delicious roast from onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup and a roll of tin foil. But the most useful thing she taught me was how to knit. My Gramma made tons of mittens. The neighbor children would pass by her front porch and Granpa would look for a child without proper hand protection and call him over for a pair of "Gramma's Mittens". So in the early 70's Gramma taught me how to do it myself. My very first project was a pair of mittens for a Mennonite friend who was one of seven or eight children and only had mismatched mittens to wear. I had enough yarn left over to make myself a pair and I still have them! I can't believe they are not long gone. I have no idea how they made it this far in my life - from Pennsylvania to California to Canada. Over 40 years! But they have made it and I still use them. My girls are always clamoring for new mittens or socks or finger-less mitts and I often give them the pair fresh off the needles but I haven't parted with these old faithful yet. And I don't think I will.

Not only have the mittens made it to the 21st century so has the instruction book she and I used! It was falling apart back then but with the help of some sticky adhesive clear plastic we managed to salvage the book for posterity. Yes, I think it may last at least another 40 years.

So when someone needs a pair of mittens out comes "the book". I usually follow the instructions for 2 needles but just noticed last week that you could use 4 needles and knit in the round. Having tried knitting this pattern on four needles I think I prefer it. There's no messy seaming up to do at the end and when you put in that last stitch at the tip you are done... unless someone's fingers are longer than you thought.

Thankfully, there's no side seam to take out.

Scraps ~ I Mean Old Scraps

Take a ball of yarn ~ any old yarn. Preferably, a ball that has been hidden in the deep dark recesses of your yarn box(es). Yarn that has already served its purpose in another project or two. A scrap that is no good for any project ~ not even a woven square.

Then take some more yarn. Something that has no purpose either. Make sure it's junk. I mean something that's been in the bottom of the box for quite some time. Ugly, scratchy stuff.

And finally, take a third skein of unwanted variegated 100% acrylic yarn that you just want to get rid of but don't want to throw away since you've saturated all your friends with unwanted yarn and they can't/won't take ANY MORE!

Mix.

And knit.

Linen Stitch Scarf

from scraps

linen-stitch-scarf

Aspen Yoke Pullover

I wanted to make myself a wonderful-wallaby and had the sleeves done and sitting in my knitting basket. But when I came across Meg Swansen's aspen-yoke-sweater I had second thoughts. Besides, I really didn't think the pocket in the front would be too complimentary until I had lost some weight. Even then... the jury is still out. But in the mean time I finished the Aspen Yoke using the wallaby as a guide and modifying Meg's sweater. I'm really liking round yoked sweaters and plan on making more and have found some interesting patterns. Olive is one of the prettiest I've found but I'm not sure of the yarn to use. We'll see because it's about #30 on my list of things I want to make.

Other news: I'm making great headway on my "free the needles" campaign.

Just a close-up of the latest until I give it away and then let you know what it really is.

I have a stack of books on my end table but the one I'm really interested in is the one on the bottom.

Can you believe that someone would actually sit down and spend the time to figure out how to make these socks? And then have the nerve to wear them? I must admit, they are intriguing.

And fun.

Moving Right Along

It's not as if I have nothing to say. Those of you who know me also know that I'm rarely without something to say - often saying too much. But since Ravelry was introduced to me I found it harder to post since all my knitting projects went there. If you haven't checked it out and you like to knit or crochet, it is definitely worth a look -- if only for all the free patterns and the beautiful projects some have come up with.

A very respectful horse. Or a gluttonous one. LJ taught Gypsy how to bow and Gyps gets a carrot when she does it correctly.

More Wallabys!

Commissioned Work

Sardonyx Pendant with onyx beads

Knitting Toys

lamb knitting


Now how cute is this?

Two For One

B and I went to Kelowna on a business trip this last summer. On our way there we had two delays.

 

The Cocahalla Highway is know for being dangerous with all its curvy roads and slick ice. We were stopped for about an hour because of an accident. And there was no slick ice. Once the road was clear of all the emergency vehicles and the helicopter had flown away (it's that tiny spec in the picture) we were on our way again.

After about and hour more on the road we stopped again because the van was trying to do cartwheels down the highway! Yep, we had a flat tire. When CAA happened along and changed our tire he told us that there was a nail as well as a screw in the same tire. While we got the tire fixed the next day in Kelowna and I was able to start a new shawl I had been eyeing, with very little distraction.

Good thing I had my knitting.

Purple Mist

Hi Mom,

This is the yarn that I was telling you about. Is it the same one that you mentioned to me? Anyway it is 100% acrylic and, as you know, I like to work with yarn that has some wool in it. But this one is okay to work with... Then look at Lion Brand wool-ease. I made Keren's latest socks out of that...the ones she had to pull off immediately after putting on because it was so hot!!! (Note to self: never try on wool socks in the middle of the summer) It has 25% wool and 75% acrylic. Washable too. Don't worry too much about it. I will be glad to work with the 100% acrylic

Fair Isle Bag - Interweave

Fair Isle Bag - Interweave

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Feather and Fan

Lest you think I have a too much spare time to knit let me tell you of an incidence that happened to me last week. I was sitting at a stop light on the way to the store and I looked over at the car next to me only see a man, woman and young girl laughing and looking at me! All I was doing was knitting - taking advantage of the spare minute the red light afforded me.

But I do get more done if Bruce is driving. And he doesn't knit so I might as well be in the passenger seat when we are together. I love long road trips for that reason and often plan what I am going to bring to knit before I decide what I am going to wear. Clothes? Pack a few skirts, a few tops, a sweater or two and some clogs and off I go.

I'm already thinking of what to bring for my trip to California later this month to visit Mom. I'm flying and as you know the airlines are very particular about what they allow through security...at least the security company is. Some knitters suggest bringing wooden circulars in your carry-on and then packing the rest. I've never had a problem and have even forgotten about my very pointed scissors in my knitting case and they let me through. They were more concerned about the unopened can of coke! (I ended up throwing that away since I didn't relish having coke for breakfast.)


As I've said before, I can do a lot of knitting while I'm waiting and it makes it so I don't get impatient. I guess it's a therapy too. There's the rhythmic back and forth and the click, click of the needles that relaxes me. Very soothing. And a very useful finished product in the end. Usually.





So there you have it. It's finally done except for the weaving in of the loose ends and the blocking. I'm ready to cast on for another one of these. To knit in the car, of course.

Felix loves yarn. And is looking for a ball to steal.














Nan, modeling the shawl. Laughing A in the background eating dinner. (Poor color, I'm still trying to figure out Corel Paint Shop.)

March Madness

I told Aunt P that I thought I would not start any new projects in the month of March. I would just work on the ones that were under construction. Never, never, never put yourself under law. That being said I did finish two projects.

This is my version of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl. I had a lot of fun making it and experimenting with different stitches. The concept for making this was to double the number of stitches on the needle every time you doubled the rows. So after casting on nine stitches and joining in the round I knit for two rows then doubled my stitches by doing yarn overs to 18. Knit for four more rows and doubled my stitches to 36 and so on til I got to 576. I could have gone on to 1000 something - I had enough yarn but I had been working on this long enough. Looking back I kind of wish I had since the finished shawl is a little small.

For the edge you just cast on eight or so stitches and work back and forth catching an edge stitch on the "forth" for 576 stitches. This makes a nice garter stitch band that doesn't pucker - the bane of a lot of bind offs.

One more large project done.

This wallaby was made from Briggs and Little yarn. I was afraid I wouldn't like it as it was very scratchy as I was working on it. Only when I washed and blocked it did it lose its roughness. Nice yarn. I was ready to cast on right away for another wallaby with this yarn in another colorway. But did refrain. Prudence won.

And since I finished two huge projects I gave myself liberty... to experiment.

I thought I would experiment with some yarn that has been bugging me for a long time. Now experimenting is not the same thing as starting a new project. (Do you get the idea that I'm trying to convince myself?) I have tons of this Paton's crayon looking yarn. I've tried cardigan sweaters, pullover sweaters, scarves, shawls, and socks (with minimal success for Chuggy). I've even made a bunny sweater which has probably been the most successful for this yarn. But what to do with 18 other balls?

Every time I decided to make something out of it I would get part way into the project only to decide I didn't like it. Well, I've been looking at shawl patterns lately. Believe it or not I've been enjoying the warmth and coziness of a shawl over my shoulders this winter. Our house is quite drafty, not unlike an old war house that's seen too many damp Vancouver winters. And a shawl is perfect to ward off the chill. This pattern looks great in this yarn so I've now got this on the needles:

This is a version of the popular feather and fan pattern. It's been around so long that you can't go very far surfing the Internet without coming across it. In fact, Bruce's aunt made a baby blanket for LeAnne 25 years ago and used this stitch pattern.

And I think it is going to stay until I finish.

Another experiment I've been working on is dish scrubbies. Someone gave me one and I thought it looked cinch to make. So voila! The first side is cotton and the second side is scratchy acrylic. Perfect for scouring pots and pans. So this experiment turned out to be more like a finished project. Or two. Or three. (They are very quick to make. Say 15 minutes?)

I found one problem with the yarn though. It could be annoying. When the plastic gets wet it smells! Then I read the label. Apparently, you need to wash this "yarn" in a pH balanced soap. Does anyone know a dish soap that is pH balanced? Do I need to give a bottle of it every time I give a scrubbie away? We'll figure it out.

And finally, a note LeAnne left on our kitchen cupboard doors:

"Due to rising energy costs the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off." (Anonymous...to me)

At least Gypsy agrees!

Cheers!

Pheasants, Peacocks and Sunny California

Ha! And you thought I was never coming back. Well, I told you it was a long winter. It's not over yet. Yesterday (or was it the day before?) we had some more flurries but they didn't stick.

On the way to work from downtown Bruce drove down our old street to bypass the train we didn't want to get stuck waiting for. Well. We drove by the house and I said, "They have peacocks!" When we lived there it was not unusual to see pheasants meandering down our 200 foot driveway so Bruce told me I must mean pheasants. "No, back up." And this is what we saw.

I remember it being unusually warm on this side of the house. That must be why he is here. On a sunny day in the middle of winter you could sit out here, close your eyes and dream you were in sunny southern California.

And guess what? We didn't miss waiting for the train.

The Long Winter

Yep! It's snowing again. We woke up to snow and it's still snowing now. And winter only started two weeks ago! Check out Laura Ingall's Wilder most boring book: the long winter You will find that book perfectly describes the long winter they had where she lived that year. Just like the book itself - long, tedius and boring. (By the way, I really did like her books for the most part and read through them several times). And that describes what we are going through right now only to a less severe degree.

"Startitus"

I have "startitus". Now, before you get the crazy idea that I have some terrible terminal disease let me explain. It's not a physical ailment, it's more mental. But it is an ailment. Maybe it is incurable. I don't know. I'm working on the cure right now. The major symptom is this: An incessant desire to start a new project (be it knitting, in my case) without finishing previous ones. Now, does that sound too bad?

Let me tell you my reasons for this "startitus":

1. There are too many cute patterns out there. Too much temptation.

2. There are so many different kinds of yarn that one must try a skein of each.

3. There are so many projects that beg to stay on the needles because of a dilemma or problem that needs to be figured out. Left to simmer on the back burner.

4. Some huge projects do get boring.

5. Some projects are more portable and thus more suitable to working on in the grocery line. I mean, you really don't want to see me knitting away on an afghan at Safeway, do you?

6. Some projects are just too challenging for my poor tired brain and need to mellow before I tackle them again. Think: kate, the kitten .

7. There are so many women having babies that one must stop all projects in view of the upcoming arrival of the little one. Actually, this problem helps alleviate "startitus" and kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. You get to try that new ball of yarn (a baby sweater only takes two) and they usually have a deadline (ie, a baby shower).

My cure is this:

(And it sort of sounds like a new year's resolution.)

Finish two projects before starting another. Simple. Clean. Easy.

Maybe that's another symptom. Putting yourself under unnecessary pressure for no good reason at all.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! What better way to celebrate than with a new batch of snow?!! Yep, it happened again last night. This morning we woke up with a new blanket of the white variety. I love it.

After meeting last night there was a new year's celebration of a sort. Most of the ladies brought goodies and those with kids brought games. We did eat our selves silly but the games stayed in the boxes. The kids had more fun with charades. Brought back memories of our young peoples' celebrations in the 70's. Only they played a very modified version. Example: Bethany stood up and hugged herself and you were supposed to guess "Hugging". Tara put her two fingers up to her hair and you were supposed to guess "Hair cutting". All fun. Those girls are dramatists for sure. And then ladies all brought out their yarn. Check out Chatty's blog for photos.

Bruce and I stayed at the meeting room as long as he could stand being awake. (I had my knitting so I was prepared for the night). That ended up being around 11:15. Even the four year olds had us beat this year.

Even though we got to bed at a decent time I still heard the revelers at midnight. It made me smile as I looked at the clock and rolled over and went back to sleep.

And finally, finished for Shy Guy:

A little big but that's the beauty of knitting for babies: at some point, sooner or later, it will fit.