Maxi- cozi Blanket

by T, posted in knitting

I started a simple but beautiful blanket pattern a few months ago for my soon to be five year old. I used Woolf of the Andes superwash wool from Knitpicks. Then I finished it! Finally! I trimmed the loose pieces and sewed in bits. I had to wash it because when we returned from our road trip it was covered in cat hair and had dried cat vomit.

I put it in the washer machine carefully. I set it to gentle and came back a few hours later. I was hanging it over the banister and I saw a huge hole right smack in the middle. I walked away and cried and cried. When I told the husband I had destroyed $180 of yarn and months of my time, he asked if I knit it too loosely. 😡

When I woke the next day, I posted it in a Facebook group and they suggested I knit bottom up and graft it in. It worked.

I will never wash it again!!!!

Continuing the blanket and socks

by T, posted in knitting

This week we gave two pairs of socks and had time to work on the blanket in between wrapping presents and packing for our upcoming trip.

The socks were a hit and another pair was requested. I have plenty of driving time to whip them up.

We are approaching the end of the blanket. Finally!!! Thank goodness. I still love the yarn and the feel. I already bought brown yarn for a second blanket.

Knit Socks – ‘tis the season

by T, posted in knitting

So with my travel knitting, I decided to make a few people socks as Christmas presents. I’ve finished three pairs of socks in less than two weeks. I knit simple toe up socks with short row heels on two circular needles. I can do anything but two at a time socks. Seriously, that magic loop method has my brain scrambled. I’m looking at Pinterest for new twists on the simple socks.

Traveling while Knitting

by T, posted in knitting

I had a conference in Arizona and had to come up with a travel worthy project. I seriously considered bringing my blanket but it would have taken up the entirety of my backpack and just think of the looks I would have gotten. On second thought, the flights to Phoenix were pretty chilly. It’s day 5, and I’m in Houston International. I’m currently working on the foot of sock #4. I pulled out some yarn I bought in December of 2011 in New York City for the first pair. I can’t remember the name but it was something sister. . . Twisted sister?While in Phoenix I took the light rail and then walked to Tempe Yarn. The shop was cute, the people were crazy friendly but everything was so expensive. I picked one skein of sock yarn that were the colors of the desert (but I wanted so much more.) They also had roving for spinning and felting as well as a loom.

So I kept it simple. I ate some good food. I didn’t care so much for Phoenix downtown but loved Tempe. I rode the light rail from end to end. It was probably the friendliest area I’ve been to with some quirky but nice people. I went to Papago Park early Saturday morning and walked up to the left most peak. All in all, I loved Tempe and Phoenix area and if it weren’t for the lack of water, I’d be pressuring hubby to move. But the drought is extreme and with today’s climate changes, unlikely to improve.

Getting Ready for Christmas

by T, posted in Uncategorized

Despite the long weekend, I don’t get as much done on the blanket as I hoped. After thanksgiving we pulled the Christmas decorations out. My mom passed away last year and this is my second Christmas without her. I have so much Christmas decorations given by her, made by her and inherited from her. It would be impossible to post them all, so I’m going to share a few favorites. I am floored at how beautiful the stockings and pillow are. She had no idea how truly talented she was.

More Blanket

by T, posted in Uncategorized

I really wanted to post every Sunday when restarting this blog but I forgot one fact, I knit mostly blankets. Here I am posting about the same old blanket which isn’t half way done. That’s with me knitting like crazy plus chunky yarn. So here I am, with my blanket, getting closer to the half way point.

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes superwash and the next blanket

by T, posted in knitting, Uncategorized

In case you haven’t figured it out, I spend quite a bit of time knitting blankets. Big blankets, small blankets, they are familiar and useful here in South Florida. I want to knit my kids things and they’d fry in wool sweaters.

I knit the last few blankets in inexpensive acrylic yarn and I’m not happy with the quality or the outcome. My cables in the pink blanket look terrible.

I purchased 11 skeins of Knitpicks wool of the Andes superwash – which will be not even close to enough yarn 😭. Nobody tell the husband what that actually costs. I usually use a seed stitch or blocks but I really like this pattern on Ravelry for the Maxi Cosi Blanket. It’s a simple pattern which I find easier with big blankets.

So far it’s easy and looks great.

https://www.knitpicks.com

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/maxi-cosi-blanket

3 Kids, a CPA and a working Mom

by T, posted in knitting

It’s been two years since I’ve posted. The last time I posted, I had finished my Masters in Accounting, passed all four parts of the CPA, gotten my license and was working on getting my foster license. I had made so many baby hats, sweaters, blankets and toys that my head spun but was completely unprepared for the two year journey of fostering and adopting three young children.

I have yet to knit a sweater for any of them, but have a few blankets and now three scarves and a hat.

Blankets & Catching Up

by T, posted in knitting, Uncategorized

Living in Florida has not helped my knitting will power. I’ve found that I’ve lost all motivation to knit more than socks and blankets. More so blankets. It doesn’t help that I seem to be consummately busy which makes focusing on complicated patterns more difficult. I have not posted in several years and I’ve been averaging a blanket a year. So here we go again.

I did make a Baby Dress two years ago. This is my go-to pattern for new baby girls. This is the second (maybe third?) dress I’ve made. The bottom is a pain but it looks gorgeous.

I’ve been knitting basic basket weave blankets.

One was a baby blanket for the kid pictured above. I guess I didn’t take a picture of it.

The second was a queen size blanket made of Bernat Cotton – which is more comfortable in Florida.

I knit the majority of this during a time of personal emotional turmoil. For about two weeks, I would knit row and row in a fury trying not to think. We survived and it’s not easy focusing on a 350 stitch row one after another.

I started blanket number two a few months ago with the intention of giving it to baby above – which I decided against because all of a sudden we don’t have enough blankets in our home. It’s the same pattern but flecked with pink and purpose instead of green and orangish. This one fits a twin size bed easily and I finished it 1 year from the date I finished the queen size blanket (thanks TimeHop App!).

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Loom – ology

by T, posted in Uncategorized

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A short while back, I bought a Northfield Tia riddged heddle loom from someone online for $30. The thing has some wooden parts and other plastic parts. The books (and the loom) all appear to be from the 1970s. I figured out how to warp it using YouTube. I wove a blue and white checked scarf for my mother and sent it to her for her birthday. It wasn’t long after receiving it that she pulled down her old loom that was hidden for about thirty years. I was trying to explain the process of warping and weaving to her over the phone and through Skype but a lot was lost in translation. I am a very inexperienced weaver and her loom was a completely different type with skinny metal teeth rather than my big moving heddle. I took these pictures to try to explain the process. This might help someone else out there.

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6 Months Later

by T, posted in Uncategorized

So, it has been about six months since I posted, probably a little more. This last year has been one of the most stressful of my life. I survived and came out the other side. Yay. I must be very busy knitting and spinning, right? Nope. I have been going nonstop for the last month and I’m wondering why. I’m taking advanced accounting classes, tutoring, exercising (because these past six stressful months have added at least fifteen pounds to my belly) and trying to cook dinner a few times a week.

In the past six months, I have:

bought a loom and learned to weave

bought a dehydrator so I can make my own fruit rollups

shuffled yarn so many times I can’t even count

convinced the cats to stop stealing my yarn   never mind, the cat is playing with my yarn right now

applied to the master’s program for accounting and taxation

decided to do a PhD program in Accounting if anyone will accept me

 

Obviously, life is busy and that doesn’t include the crazy activities that I won’t post publicly. From now on, I will try to post every Monday. These posts may be knitting or yarn related or they may involve cooking, baking, dehydrating, general crafts or chasing cats around the apartment (changed my mind, no cat posts allowed on knitwerks).

For this week, here is a picture of my very old tia rigged heddle loom that works like a charm and has made me want a room sized loom as soon as I win the lottery.

 

Pinterest Week 3

by T, posted in Pinterest

I actually haven’t done too much with Pinterest this week. All in all, I’ve been too busy and too under the weather to be all that creative.

Week 2 with green smoothies. No weight loss yet but I feel a lot better.

http://lindawagner.net/blog/2011/03/green-smoothie-for-weight-loss/

 

However, I have been drinking green drinks for exactly one month now. I’d love to say I feel great but see statement above. Between school, work and home stresses, I don’t think there are any vegetables that would fix my stresses. I am down six pounds overall and my appetite has decreased dramatically.

 

 

Easy summer skirt

http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/2010/09/socialite-skirt.html

Secondly, I sewed up the summer skirt above. I found a lovely fabric in JoAnn’s and did this in one night. My sewing isn’t so great, but my crooked lines are barely noticeable. I can’t wait to try this again. It was very easy to follow.

Pinterest Week 2

by T, posted in Pinterest

It is week two of the Pinterest reporting challenge. This is my way of proving that surfing Pinterest is not complete waste of time. It is a great source of crafting and money-saving ideas.

1. Tshirt Skirt: I love this idea. I did it with four shirts altogether. I do have to say my sewing is not great. I had a hard time finding the elastic thread and finally found it at Joanns. I had to buy 2 XL shirts in order to make sure the length would be appropriate.

http://pinterest.com/pin/144185625539877435/

http://sewlikemymom.com/the-shirt-skirt/

 

 

 

2. Steel Cut Oatmeal in a Ball Jar. This worked surprisingly well. I cooked it for twenty minutes and spooned it into jars, added water, brown sugar and maple sugar. These may have actually been over cooked by the time I ate them, but they were still delicious.

http://pinterest.com/pin/144185625539918487/

http://stresscake.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/breakfast-resolutions-steel-cut-oats-on-the-go/

Such a great idea for healthy weekday breakfasts!

 

 

 

 

 

3. Rosemary Mint Fabric Softener: I don’t use fabric softener at all because I don’t like the waste and the chemicals. This is great though. The rosemary mint conditioner is all natural. Everything smells awesome.

http://pinterest.com/pin/144185625539950792/

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/rebeccas-rosemary-mint-fabric-softener.html#more

Homemade rosemary mint fabric softener