Knitting and Reading

Love to knit and love to read.

Still slogging through The 12 Tribes of Hattie.  I want to get it done so I can sell it while the book is still relatively new.

There has been production since I last blogged.  I have finished a dishcloth.  Really, I love to have a dishcloth on the needles, very easy to take with you.  Some people are so, "I'm never knitting a dishcloth" but they are quick and easy doses of success.

Next I have almost finished a Green Bay Packer hat.  All that is left is the tassels.  The yarn is crappy acrylic but it was on sale, it looked like a fun easy knit and it was.

Lastly I have started my 2nd sock.  Actually I had forgotten that I had the one sock done, was digging around and tada, there is was, so might as well finish it.    Love the yarn,  love the color Regalia Kaffe Fassett.

Froze 9 bags of asparagus tonight.  Unfortunately I picked up our Bountiful Basket this past week, had purchased a case of asparagus and didn't get to it until tonight.  It was starting to go bad.  It was a great deal, I would like to buy more case specials like that but not if I can't get to it.  I also got a case of 8 containers of strawberries. Three of those were eaten fresh, I froze 4 bags for smoothies and make 6 pints of jam.  It seems so early to be starting preserving but with the prices I can get the produce for it is well worth it.

Can't wait to see what others have posted at Ginny at Small Things.

Yarn Along and Reading

Still working on the same book, Minding Frankie.  Just not into reading as much as I am enjoying knitting.  Maybe it is a weather thing, maybe it is just a I like to knit thing.  Who knows.

I am trying to get my finances into check.  Love to spend money and even though I realized that I was spending more than I should I chose to do nothing about it and ended up having a balance much higher on my credit cards than I should  have.  In my efforts to not spend money I am knitting from my stash and pulling out older projects that are WIPs.  I wish I was monogamous with my knitting but I'm not.  There are always at least 4-5 projects going at a time.

The project that I have decided to try to complete is a Kaffe Fassett scarf I started a very long time ago, maybe 5 years even.  It is made out of Kid Silk Haze, is fun to knit with but with this pattern you use two different colors and there are many color changes.  I started this as a new knitter and did not weave in the ends as I went.  Now I am maybe 1/4th of the way done with the scarf and have a zillion ends.  There is a border on the scarf so am going to incorporate the loose ends into the border and secure them that way.

The colors are beautiful.

Can you see the haze of the yarn?

This is supposed to end up being 60 inches.  I obviously have a very long way to go.  See those loose ends.  I tucked a lot of them under the scarf.

Pattern:  Earth Stripe Wrap
Yarn:  Kid Silk Haze

No one does color better than Kaffe Fassett.

Check out Ginny every week for her Yarn Along.  Wonderful inspiration.  There are so many talented people every week that post their projects.

Reading and Knitting Yarn Along

Reading and knitting are two things I enjoy the most so participate with Ginny - Small Things in her weekly Yarn Along.

This week has been spent knitting on a plain basic sock pattern.  It is the first of my Christmas gifts for next year.  My goal  is to have a totally home made Christmas which would include knitted items and cooking/kitchen items.  Knowing myself and the way I can procrastinate I need to get going now otherwise it may not  will never happen.

I started reading The 12 Tribes of Hattie but just can't seem to get into it.  So far it is good, but not a "I can't put this down" kind of book where you stay up until 2 AM when you know you have to get up at 6 AM for work.  So far, not that kind of book.  My book club a couple of months ago read Minding Frankie.  It was in December, I was super busy and didn't get it read.  So far a great book so hope to be done by the end of the weekend although it is Super Bowl Sunday and there are parties to go to so it may take a little longer.

The sock I have decided is actually for my s-in-law.  I need to knit about an inch more on the foot and then do the toes.  Am hoping to be done with this by tomorrow, will cast on another and hope to finish by mid February with that one. With that accomplished her Christmas gift is done.  I need to keep plugging away.

The needles I am using are square, I love them.  They seem to be easier on my fingers than round ones. If you haven't tried them most shops will let you experiment before buying them to see if they are for you or not.  The brand that I like is Koliage.  

Yarn Along

I love knitting, and love reading so participate in Small Things Yarn Along.  I think knowing that you are going to post something every week gives that little extra push to get with it and not waste time.

This week I have on my to do list to finish a baby bunting that I made for my grandson, who is now 2 years old.  Why do I do this?  I have a full at least 7 months to prepare, you would think I could get it together but obviously not.  As you can see there is a grand total of 6 buttons to sew on, really I can't finish this in time.  The knitting part has been done for almost 2 years.   So, that is project 1 in the knitting arena that I am working on.  Not that you can really see it in the picture but the yarn is a turquoise tweed with little flecks of yellow in it which is why the yellow buttons.  The yarn has long ago lost it's band so don't have a clue what it is.

What I am currently knitting is a sock.  I always try to keep a pair on hand for a last minute gift, which came in very handy last week for Secret Sisters at church.  My secret sister was someone I didn't know, had never met and had to have the pastor's wife point her out.  It is really hard to choose a gift for someone you don't know but usually something hand knit is enjoyed so made a gift basket of foods from our area, a kitchen dish towel and a set of hand knit socks.  I didn't make the party but everyone thought the socks were pretty cool.

Yarn:  Regia - Kaffe Fassett  The link is to his yarn but I bought mine so long ago they no longer make the color.  Is a nice soft yarn to knit with and I kind of like the stripes, a different background would take a better picture...next time.

The book I am reading real quick is Proof of Heaven.  I say real quick because I am having to use my e-reader, I prefer a book.    Book club is on Tuesday and I haven't even started it yet.  I hate when I forget what is coming up.  Anyway I hear it is a quick easy read, lets hope so.

Knitting and Reading

Joining the Yarn Along at Small Things.  I love to read and love to knit, honestly don't have enough time to do either.

I am just beginning to read The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, it has gotten good reviews so I truly hope it is good.  For a while I read all of Oprah's Book Club selections and then she seemed to go through a dark phase and I lost interest, can only do doom and gloom for so long.  The sweater I am knitting is for my grandson's in Florida, I'm not sure which one it will fit, depends if I can keep gauge. It is the Anchor's Away Pullover.  Have just started the sweater knit from the top down, my first attempt with this technique.  Was able to learn a new skill also the provisional crochet cast on.  Super easy and really easy with the video.

Also this week finished a scarf I have been working on forever, super simple but for some reason took me forever.

 Ignore the pile of ironing in the picture, I know I do, much rather knit.

Isn't this a fun fabric.  It is tecido trico.  The link I pulled is actually the least expensive I have found the fabric/yarn.

Charity Knitting and Reading.

I am joining Ginny at Small Things for  her weekly Yarn Along.

The book I am reading is an excellent book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  If you have anyone in your family who is a WW II buff it is an excellent book.  This book has to be done by Monday as I have already listed it on E-Bay.  Nothing like a little pressure.

The knitting I am doing is a premie hat.  There is a great group I belong to through Yahoo Groups, Knitting 4 children.  It is a great group of people, not that I partake is too much of the conversation, but it motivates me to knit for someone other than myself and hopefully be a blessing to whatever child can use any of the hats or blankets that are knit.  One day at lunch I was sitting knitting and a co-worker asked what I was doing, so I told her.  The next thing I knew in about 4 weeks she brought a bag with 3 blankets, then another two months passed and she had another blanket. She didn't even think about knitting or crocheting for charity before I mentioned something about the group.  She had a whole bunch of yarn at home, didn't know what to do with it, so now I have blankets to mail in.  The pattern for the hat is super simple it is a mock rib and eyelet preemie hat, looks like cables but is fake (the kind of cables I prefer).  It is a great road trip project if you are needing one in the future.