7 posts tagged “knitting”
I have been board knitting blanket squares for charity for the past few weeks. The day after I posted about this charity project, I hurt my back and had to spend my at-home time flat on my back. I've got a ten done and in the process of being wrapped for mailing, but I'm still knitting. I have some yarn from about ten years ago that I really want to get rid of because I'm tired of looking at it.
Lately, I've been thinking that I need to get back to sewing. It has been ages. I was never very good at customizing clothing to fit me so I long ago stopped that and stuck to quilting and other crafty stuff. My attemps to find new clothing for the summer have left me so utterly frustrated that I am going to have to bite the bullet, haul out the sewing machine that I haven't used in six years, and figure out how to customize patterns to fit my bizarre pear shape. This may or may not actually happen, as I tend to put things off forever. However, my current work wardrobe is so limited that I've worn the same thing twice in the same week. I am such a fashion don't.
Just because they are beautiful and people should have the opportunity to see them, I am including photos of my cats.
I took time off work last Mon-Tues-Wed. The state inspector was supposed to be coming one of those days and I wanted to be there because (a) I don't want someone wandering around while I am not there poking into who knows what and (b) the cats are escape artists. I decided to use the time spring cleaning. The inspector came on Tuesday. On Wed, not having to be concerned about anyone showing up, I decided to take a drive over to the mall and looked at/try on/purchase some spring clothing for work.
Bad idea. Very bad idea. Innocently driving along am I, going about 35 miles per hour in a 40 mile zone through an intersection, and my perfect car gets beamed by a left-turning-fast-going guy who did not yield right of way. There was much freaking out and crying and shaking and hyperventilating on my part. My main concern was that my car lease is up in two months and I had managed to keep my car is near-perfect condition for three years.
I felt mostly ok psycially at the time. Mostly. Didn't want to go to the hospital. Would have just meant waiting around for ten hours before someone acknowleged my existence. I work at that hospital; I know how it works. I started hurting on Friday and made an appt with my doctor (it's April 10th). Spent most of the weekend flat on my back. (That's not as dirty as it sounds.) After sitting at my desk at work all day today, it's really killing me. Needless to say, I haven't been doing much that cannot be done while lying on the sofa. No knitting. Spring cleaning on hold. The cats are enjoying it, though. They have me in one place all the time for constant snuggling.
And because she is so beautiful, here is bossy!kitty:
I finished and felted these two weeks ago and I'm just now getting to the photos.
The handbag was made with Lion Brand Landscapes on the green long loom. It has a flat bottom using the stretched-across method. I don't know if that has a real name, but I call it stretched-across. The drawstring purse is made with Landscapes and Paton's wool on the blue loom. It also has a flat bottom using the method with the fancy name.
Landscapes isn't 100% wool so it didn't felt the way I expected it would. I might have run it through again but I can only monopolize my sister's washer for so long. Still, I like how they turned out and have been using them - the little purse as a wallet inside the big purse.
I have been working on some handbags that are to be felted. Not having a washing machine, I have to wait until I got to my sister's to do the felting. I have tried one by hand a while ago and really didn't like how it looked. Having a washing machine is one of my dreams. *sigh* Others dream of fame and power, I dream of being able to do laundry at home.
AC Moore had a yarn sale "event" type thing on Saturday. The sales ad mentioned a hat and scarf drive to benefit the American Cancer Society. In the fall, I made up several hats and scarves with yarn left over from previous projects. I wasn't making them for anyone in particular; sometimes I like making things I can't mess up and that don't require much thought. So, I took the bag to donate. Would have been nice if they'd mentioned the hat/scarf drive to the employees, but I eventually found out where to go. I also bought a ball of yarn while I was there. Just one. First yarn purchase since January first. But, I was only buying it to finish a project as I didn't have enough. So it practically doesn't count.
I have back pain that is interfering with my knitting. Or might be caused by my knitting. Either way, it's irritating. Is there such a thing as a back brace for people who tend to hunch over their work?
I am making the Rowena's toe up slippers that I found through Kim. I made up my own pattern based on the description of what Rowena did, so it took me a few tries before I came up with a pattern that works. I'm using three strands - two strands of Caron Simply Soft and one of Caron Wintuk I am halfway done with one so far.
Since January 1st, I have not purchased yarn. I have gone to the store looking for yarn, wanting yarn, intending to purchase yarn, but have either not found what I wanted or talked myself out of buying it. I should have such will power in other areas of my life.
For your viewing pleasure, we have my furry children:
<-- Being cute playing with my
yarn. She doesn't look evil there
but she really is. Just look.-->
And her sister, who is actually the sweet and gentle one. She hates the flash on the camera so it's difficult to get a photo of her. Most pics are of the back of her head. This photo also shows my exellent housekeeping skills.
Am I the only one who has a hell of a time getting photos to stay in position in line with the text? They have a mind of their own. I have a few more from this modeling session in my collection folder. You know you want to look. I mean, what's more exciting than looking at someone's cats?
I am officially on yarn probation. I am not permitted to purchase any more yarn, no matter how on-sale it is, what a good deal it is, or how pretty/soft/fabulous it is. This probation does not, however, preclude me from purchasing knitting accoutrements. I am wanting the Needlemaster 200 kit. It makes more sense to buy the interchangeable needles rather than buying a bunch of circular needles in different sizes. I can't find it in the local stores so I will have to get it online. Amazon has it cheaper than I have seen anywhere else.
I got a $25 gift certificate to Ragshop for Christmas so I went there today to see if they carry the Needlemaster kit. They do not. However, they had a sale on yarn: 25% off the entire stock and 50% off certain yarns. With the certificate, I only spent $7.72. But I had just spent $87 in Target ($107 minus a $20 gift card) when I only went there to get cat litter. And I haven't even mentioned last week's sale on Pattons Classic wool at AC Moore. Except I just did. I'm not sure how much I spent. Thus the reason for the probation.
For Christmas, I got two of the books from my Amazon wish list: Illustrated Knitting & Crochet and Organizing Your Craft Space. The latter looked good online and had mostly good reviews, but I am going to return it and see if I can find something more practical for my living situation, and something that maybe mentions where the nice little storagey things were purchased. Fortunately, sister got them at Barnes & Noble rather than online, so I can return it and peruse similar books to decide which would be best. In the meantime, I purchased lovely plastic drawers and smallish plastic containers. The drawers are already filled with yarn and I have to figure out what to do with all that jewelry stuff that I am not using at this time.
Both purses are knitted but not felted. Here is one, being eyed suspiciously by the Queen of the Universe:
And a scarf I am making for Griffin using Bernat's Softee Chunky. My own pattern. Not that it's complex or actually unique, but I didn't follow a pattern. Hard to see it here. I'll take another when it's done.
The lighting in my house is very bad, as evidenced by the bad lighting in all my photos. For about a year, I have been wanting one of those Ott full spectrum lamps, maybe with the magnifying attachment. I just learned that mom has one.
