Friday, December 30, 2005

Needle Felted Bags



For the felted bag group.
I took some pictures of two of the needle felted bags I made last year. I use both to carry my knitting to and fro so they are looking extremely ratty and warped. A few pokes with a needle and some damp reshaping are probably in order.







My nine year-old daughter started knitting yesterday and she seems to enjoy it. Everything will be well as long as she doesn't sneak yarn from my stash!

Thursday, December 29, 2005

My First Knit Along!

I finally signed up for a knit along. The group is the Colorado Philosopher's Wool Knit Along and they will be featuring Fair Isle patterns from the book, "Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified." I ordered the book from Amazon this afternoon. There are kits available for purchase, but I want to mull over the patterns and feel different yarn before committing to a design and colors.

The past couple of days have been spent frogging old projects and organizing yarn. Some items ripped out included socks and about 6 inches of the Sweet Mary Jane Cardigan. The socks were ridiculously large and I just didn't like the feel of the cardigan.

I took the yarn from the SMJ and started a new cardigan. It is from a free pattern called Stella. Instead of cotton yarn I am using two strands of Knit Picks Shadow in the Lost Lake color.This one feels "right". The pattern is extremely easy, but the sweater doesn't look boring.




Now that Christmas is over my WIP basket is almost empty! I volunteered to finish a sweater that my sister started about 20 years ago. The pattern is gone so I'm going to just knit a basic sweater with no embellishments. Because I don't know how much yarn there is I'm going to save the sleeves for last and do them at the same time. It is a pale, dusty blue color and I think the yarn is mohair. I have no idea how the buttons (purchased 20 years ago with pattern) will be used.





Finally, I had a set back with my Kool Aid dyeing. After untwisting the hank of mohair to loop it around some chairs I dropped it. The results were a tangled bird's nest. Patience will be required in abundance before this task is completed!

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!
The girls awoke at 4:00 am and wanted to open presents. The compromise was that they could have the candy, etc. from their stockings but the presents from Santa had to wait until Brian and I got up.

Everyone received an outside gift with wheels. Amber now has the skateboard of her dreams, Ashley has a modified scooter (wider base with extra wheels) and Autumn is practicing for the roller derby on her new skates. Because it's raining the outside toys are designated as kitchen toys... but only for Christmas morning.

An executive decision was made several says ago that holiday baking wasn't happening. As a result, I made another purse yesterday. The color didn't photograph well. It is really navy blue. I've officially reached felted purse burnout. I look forward to working on something more delicate. I'll probably take the Sweet Mary Jane cardigan out again.

We spoke with Norma in Australia last night. It is extremely hot there. They were all heading to the pool to cool off. They have had a rough year with family illnesses. Hopefully 2006 will be better for everyone.