Happy Holidays From My Home To Yours!

Enjoy !

Tea Cozy

I had a busy weekend. I ended up working but was able to take a project along. It's an easy peasy pattern simply called Striped Tea Cozy.

My mom is a real tea drinker and I thought she might like this. I purchased this swirly button from Joann Fabrics. The swirls match the stripes in the cozy. Neat huh.

Only after completing the project did I notice that my letters were skinnier than the designer's photo. I did it as charted but I noticed that her letters are a column thicker. It's okay though, it looks decent. As you can see, I have not blocked this yet.

This is an okay pattern, I don't think I will make another but this project came in handy this weekend and I'm happy to send my Mom another gift.

Pattern: Striped Tea Cozy - Here is the pattern.

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

Needles: US 7

Positives: Quick and Easy

Negatives: The cozy came out really, really large.

This may be my last small project for a while. I have to make more shawls and there is that sweater I started a while ago. Oh dear. Anyway...

Have a good one !

Nothing, Just Nothing

Nothing is going on with my knitting. Or should I say nothing much.

I promised Connie a few items for her granddaughters doll. I've made two tops and a skirt so far. I'm only showing the skirt for now because the top may be one that I present as a simple pattern.

The pattern is Eyelet Hem Skirt (Rav link)

A Seemingly Non-Rotatable Photo

I should get myself fired up to make another shawl. Next thing you know Thanksgiving will be here and I have only seven shawls done for 2011. I have four more to make. You know, that 11 Shawls for 2011 Group on Ravelry. I'm happy I joined in because otherwise I would never make shawls for myself.

So for now I'm just thinking about what I might knit next. No real plan. Just nothing for now.


Enjoy your day !

So Incredibly Sad

My history with sock making that is.

Yeah, I've made a few pairs and then taken them down, gotten bored with them or lost them. Anyone looking at my Ravelry project page can see that I have little interest in sock making.


Don't get me wrong, there are some absolutely beautiful sock patterns out there. I just don't get the colored sock thing. Orange socks, hot pink socks, yellow socks, screaming green socks. What is that all about ?


Don't laugh but when I was living up north in Detroit and Ann Arbor you just didn't see people with colored socks. I had lots of socks but they were mostly black. Black lace, black netted, black jacquard. Black, black, black. Even all of my tights were black. I did have a couple pairs of socks in charcoal grey, I mean a really, really dark charcoal grey. I had a couple pairs of navy in case I was going to wear my deep dark blue jeans or my navy cords. So you see, coming from a culture that only wore dark socks, all of the pretty socks I've been looking at on Ravelry over the years have mystified me. My comment and question is always;

"Well those are pretty and all but what the heck is she going to wear them with ?"


I still don't know. When you make brightly colored socks do you wear them with jeans? Can you wear them with anything else?


Pictured above are a few of my attempts at completing socks. As you can see the first sock is a Jaywalker. There were actually two of them. I started them in 2008 which is the same year that I moved (yes, I know I just moved but this was a previous move). I stopped both socks right at the heel. Why? Why not just continue ? Anyway, one of the Jaywalkers was lost in that move and guess what. I didn't care. I just chucked the other one in a box.


The pink sock was started in the spring of 2010. I worked on that sock for three days and then stopped. Do you see that all I had to do was complete the foot? I only had a few inches to go and I stopped. Forever. Why?


The third pair of socks is out of a discontinued yarn that I love. It was Wisdom Boston. I stopped the socks right at the ankles then threw them in the box. Why? Last weekend I discovered them and started on a heel then realized I had knitted too much calf and would not have enough to complete the second sock. You see I was just winging it. I had no pattern but didn't care enough to figure out how much yardage I would need for both socks.


I asked myself a few questions this weekend.


1. Do I have a fear of sock completion?

2. Do I have a fear of success with socks?

3. Am I knitting socks because I feel obligated to?

I have no idea.

A Funny Thing

Most of my stash is fingering yarn and the funnier thing is that NONE of the yarn was purchased for socks.


Stepping Forward
I was on Ravelry yesterday for a couple of hours looking at sock patterns. There are sooooo many patterns. At least ten million! Kidding. I chose a few and then ordered yarn which I will share with you at a later date. I have decided to try more socks. Socks are not painful and I can make them. I will bring my colors up a bit from black, navy and charcoal grey. I can make a pair in maroon, dark green, dark blue, dark variegated.


Yes, I will try.


Wish me well and have a wonderful day !

I'm Calling It Amber Wave

Here are photos of my Annis shawl which I have named Amber Wave.



I think I will make another one of these because I love the short rows and how quick the pattern went along.

In these two photos the shawl looks like a mild yellow color.

The photo above shows the true color of the yarn. It really is an amber or gold color. I loved working with this yarn, I love the pattern. Oh and I purposely blocked my points in a way where they are not too pointy. They are just pointy enough for me.

Pattern: Annis

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Sunsilk

Colorway: Mustard Seed

Needle: US 9

Positives: Everything about the pattern and the yarn

Negatives: No negatives

Have a wonderful weekend everyone !

The Pink. The Quick

I had a really good weekend. I got a bit of reading, sewing and knitting done. My pal Connie and her hubby came in from out of town for a visit.

Do you remember some months back when Connie had me make a few American Girl outfits for her granddaughter. In case you missed that post, here they are. I have actually made a few more since then but forgot to take photos.

Friday Connie called to say that she would be over our way for a visit. She asked me if I could whip up something quick for her granddaughters doll.

"Nothing special Carolyn, just something quick and cute."

I didn't exactly say yes. I don't know what happened with that but I wasn't busy anyway and it was early in the day. I didn't feel like sewing so I browsed Ravelry patterns in hopes of finding a quick knit.

I did. The pattern is Fishtail Lace Sundress (Rav link) by Janice Helge. This is an easy peasy and really quick project. I made it in less than a day. The shape of the dress is the same as Janice's design but I did not want the three rows of lace. I wanted an interesting bottom though. Whether it was scalloped or pointed I wanted to put either buttons or bows on the bottom of the dress.

I have no idea what I did with my dolly's shoes.

In my rush I sewed the middle button down a bit lower than it was supposed to be. I started to clip it off but Connie stopped me telling me it was fine. I just didn't look at anymore because it really urked me. She was happy though.

This doll is not Connie's granddaughters' but mine. I purchased her last December so I could see how the doll clothes fit. Though I haven't given her a name yet I think she is adorable. For some reason she totally creeps my daughter out. She says she is weird looking and calls her Lady Chucky ! Could my daughter be jealous ? Just kidding.

Here is Connie holding the dress.

I forgot to mention that I used size 7 and 8 US needles. The yarn is Lion Cotton in Fuschia.

Did I mention that this pattern is QUICK ? :) !

Enjoy your day !

Three Hours Of Cool

To my surprise I was able to sit outside from 7:30am to 10:30am this morning. It was cool, there were no mosquitoes to interfer with my knitting and coffee drinking. I hope this is an indication that the heat has decided to subside for now.

I'm taking a break from my shawl knitting for now

with a bit of Wollmeise in the color Orient

A few days ago the temperature here was 77 degrees. That was 5:07am. So you can imagine how the rest of the day turned out. Like the entire country, it's been unbelievably-miserable-science-fiction-like hot.

Michigan where I was born and raised can get hot but at least the air circulates thanks to all of the surrounding lakes and rivers. Not here, not in Athens. There seems to be no air, just a stand still heat. I go outside and feel as though a burning building is following me around or that I have stepped into an oven. It's pretty bad.

I stopped buying plants for my garden a couple of weeks ago. I planted a beautiful Holly Hock in the early morning, came back from work and 90% of it was burned and dried. I water my garden late at night or before the sun rises but some days it doesn't matter.

Well, I guess we all have our Summer of 2011 Heat Stories though.

No matter how warm it is gets, enjoy your day !