moonfrog

Well, Hubby really wanted Tychus felted. It does make up big, but it fit him fine. Guess he loves the magic of felting, too.

I must admit that I was not unhappy to felt this. The ends of the short rows had bigger holes than I would have liked and it is a bulkier knit than I like. I was worried about it getting too small, but DH understood the risk involved: there would absolutely not be another hat until after Christmas if this one was too small. So…

We are all really happy with how it turned out. The holes are gone; the hat fits without rolling it up. It took a long time to felt due to the dense knit, so no problem with getting too small.
Happy Hubby — today is his birthday!

Next? Well, after Christmas when I want to make myself something? Last night I picked up a little cotton for dishcloths…and a whole lot of JoAnn’s Sensations Dolcetto.

I think I’ll make Berrocco’s Zelda. Suggestions are certainly welcome for this soft, chunky yarn.

About the WIP bars? I cheat! I believe I got the files from Anna Knits, which is no longer around. I just post the bar image I want to my template with an image source tag and change it when I make any progress. Mine are not dynamic. This is easy for me because my images are stored on my own domain. I have WIP files saved in several colors and percentages. Email me if you would like them.

Over at the Knitticisms blog there are directions for doing REAL dynamic progress bars. I don’t know how.

P.S. OOPS! Here’s where I REALLY got the percent files and directions. Yarn Tomato’s blog. Duh! I clicked on the link on Mandy’s blog and found it. I will put the link where it belongs on my page soon. **blush**

I’m off to work. It’s amazing how much two hours a day cuts into my knitting and blogging time! Happy Knitting!

Tychus is making progress — two steps forward, one step back.

It has looked like this twice now. It’s almost done. Then DH says, “Are you going to felt it?”

Does he know what he is asking? It’s a little late to request a felted hat! Jeepers. If it turns out big, I might just felt it and see what happens. Felting would help close up the holes that form at the joint of the short rows. I’m hoping to get it done tonight.
Why, oh, why am I such a slow knitter?

We had a wonderful dinner with family and friends — now back to knitting! I have been trying to find just the right dishcloth pattern to use with tulle netting. My mom and I both like using tulle better than cotton, so I want one big enough to wash the dishes, not just scrub some spots. I tried the Grandma dishcloth (aka the “idiot dishcloth” and various other titles) and want a more lacey one. I don’t want it that dense. So I am spending some time experimenting with that, which distracts from my other projects.

I have made progress on the Tychus hat I’m making for DH. One wedge is done with four to go. I am really enjoying the pattern and my first time using Lamb’s Pride wool. The mohair makes it nice and soft.

There has not been any progress in sock-making, but I want to just say that Skacel, the makers of Addi turbos, is a great company. They really care about their reputation. I ordered 2 sets of Addis for socks, which I really like, and then ordered 2 sets of the Addi Naturas in 2 sizes for socks. The first time my mom was using the bamboo needles, the yarn got caught in a joint and it snapped right off when she tugged on it.

I emailed the company and they sent replacements. Not one but TWO sets of Addis! Now that is service. They didn’t ask for receipts or anything, just sent the needles promptly on their way.

I don’t know if the bamboos are prone to joint problems. The metal ones have a much smoother joint. I am just very pleased that Skacel replaced the needles.

Well, I’ve had enough cooking for a week and enough blogging for the day — I’m off to knit! Have a happy knit-filled day.

Mom made another felted bag. (Good thing someone is making something, ‘cuz I’ve done nothing.) It is a version of the buttonhole bag made from Noro and Patons Merino, I think. Her directions were not real clear, but she did a great job. I love the colors (which unfortunately do not show clearly in these photos.)

I have just not had time to knit. I think I’m going through withdrawals. Friday — that’s my day, for knitting. It’s a date!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The house is clean and organized and ready for the holidays. My knitting is neatly organized. Of course this means the actually act of knitting has been mostly neglected.

I have been reading a new book (which I will review later) about sock-making and have cast on 2 socks for the toe up method. Little progress was made since I had to cast on at least a half dozen times. The last time I had to frog, I had forgotten to drop the yarn for the first sock and pick up the yarn for the second sock. Yikes! So I put the stitch markers that Mandy made for me between the socks to remind me. They say love and hope. It’s so nice to have affirmations in my knitting.

This color was not what I expected when I ordered it. But I think my husband will like it. I was hoping to get these going for his birthday at the end of November. That won’t happen. But he asked for a hat and picked out his own yarn. I thought it was a bit bright and encouraged him to pick out a darker one to go with it. Then I picked out some yarn for gloves.

Lately, DH has been suggesting a motorcycle ride and offering to take me to the yarn store that is 15 miles from our house. He thinks that sweetens the offer. I think he’s right! He looks at yarn with me and shoots the breeze about motorcycles, cars and logging with the old guy who owns the shop with his wife and daughter. The women are mainly busy in the back in their beauty shop. This would usually add up to a very tiny yarn shop, but they take pride in having the largest inventory north of Santa Rosa. It’s a nice ride on the bike and they’ve gotten used to us strolling in all dressed in leather.

I had to frog my entire dishcloth and picked up a solid yarn to start again. It will be done today. And I made a couple scrubbers for my mom, who has been waiting patiently for me to get them done.

That’s it for knitting. Hope everyone is finding a bit of time to knit and relax. Happy Knitting — or whatever else is going on!

This rhodedendron is holding on into our “winter”. It really doesn’t get too cold here, but there is quite a nip in the air.

In need of a breather after my felted bag project (I am such a wimpy knitter!) I decided to cast on a dishcloth I had been wanting to try. I had been drooling all over the super bright cottons and chose this as the opportunity to try them.

The blue and green cloth is posted at Knitting Knonsense and is called the Darrell Waltrip cloth. I love how it turned out.

Here’s a close up of the stitch pattern.
The pink cloth is the mid-month knit along at the Monthly Dishcloth KAL yahoo group. I just love that group! The people are so friendly. Andi, the listmom, and Janet, the moderator, work hard at making it fun for everyone.

My mom just returned the new sock book I got that shows how to do two socks on circular needles at the same time. It’s time to start Dad’s Socks. I think I’ll start another felted bag, too.

Happy Knitting to All!

Through changes and froggings and all the other beginner woes … finally it is done! It has its lumps and bumps, but I am happy with how it turned out. It is made with KnitPicks WOA in Stream and Elann Highland Wool in Alpine Violet and New Leaf. (I think that’s what the long-lost labels said.) I think it took 3 balls of the blue and one and a little of a second of the purple and green. The pattern calls for 8 ply DK, but I didn’t care if it came out the same size.

I followed the Yarn magazine pattern for the front panel. I knew the back would never match the front, I am just not that consistent yet, so I tried gauging a piece to the front. After much frogging, I ended up picking up the stitches at the bottom of the front and extending that panel in stripes.

The side panel was crocheted to the front and back, which gave it some definition. I was hoping that would enhance the boxy shape and keep it from sagging into a shapeless mass. It seems to have worked pretty well.

I ran it through the wash cycle two full times, maybe a bit more. I wanted no stitch definition. It has some texture to it, which is what the pattern said it would have. I’m pretty happy with the felting. Now I just have to wait for it to dry.

Overall, I am quite happy with the bag and with the pattern. It was not difficult to knit, but the decisions and “getting it to fit” were a challenge for this beginner. The lumps and bumps add character, right? It is a nice size, not too big to carry along, but it will fit a fair-sized project. I’m happy with the colors, which went through their changes from the beginning.

I really love small projects that give me gratification rather quickly. This one took longer, but was really worth the effort. I am learning so much with each new technique. Mitering is really easy. I’ll probably do something else with miters, it looks so complex and is so simple.

Now I’m off to finish one Cigar Glove. Can’t decide if I’ll make a second. Time to get working on socks — instead of just talking about it! Time to get some projects on those needles!

OOPS! Forgot the prefelt picture. Guess I was just so happy it was done! Here it is:

I painted my turkey dishcloth to make it show up better. I won’t do that again. An artist could probably make it look good, but I am no artist. I will stick to crafts and leave the painting to the artists.

Friday night was Midnight Madness at the LYS . It was a busy and fun night. There was a table for scrapbookers, a table for card-makers, and the main table with knitting and food.

Four of the ladies ended up happily starting buttonhole bags. The store owner planned to teach a buttonhole bag class the next day. Instead she taught everyone for free the night before. She was very nice about it.
I worked on the sides and strap of the Mitred Bag. There will be pictures tomorrow of the finished product!
I have to stretch the hours to make time for knitting lately, but I manage to carve out a few here and there.

Happy knitting!

Thanks to Quiddity for sharing this quizy thing today. Knitting news update on Monday. Tonight I’m going dancing!

Your Birthdate: May 29

You have the mind of an artist, even if you haven’t developed the talent yet. Expressive and aware, you enjoy finding new ways to share your feelings. You often feel like you don’t fit in – especially in traditional environments. You have big dreams. The problem is putting those dreams into action. Your strength: Your vivid imagination Your weakness: Fear of failure Your power color: Coral Your power symbol: Oval Your power month: November

For anyone who wants to make a button for their blog,

I’ve written some really rough directions to get you started.

How to Make a Basic Blog Button in Photoshop

1) To set the size choose: { File > New } and

Type in a width of 1.22 inches and height of .44 inches

2) Choose a graphic for your background and open it.

Size the graphic { Image > Image Size > Height/Width }

Experiment until it looks like you want it.

You can use photos, small graphics, pieces or graphics.

–To use a piece of another graphic:

Click on the Rectangle Tool in the top left corner

of the Photoshop toolbar.
Draw a box (click and drag) around the portion of the graphic you want to keep. { Edit > Copy }.

Either paste this on your button file or paste it on a new file and make it the right size.
Then { Select > All } {Edit > Copy}
then click on the first file and {Edit > Paste }.

Here’s a piece of a photo of my Mitred Bag with the section I selected and copied outlined.

3) Now you are ready to do the lettering. Toward the bottom of the toolbar are two boxes, probably black and white. Double click on the front left box and choose the color you want your text to be.

Now click on the Type Tool, the one with the big T. In the toolbar across the top of your page you can choose the font and size.

Click on your button and type your blog name. This typing can be moved around with the Move Tool that looks like an arrow at the top right of the toolbar.

4) Now flatten your layers: {Layer > Flatten Image} and save: {File > Save As}
Type in a name for the button here and choose JPEG image format toward the bottom.

5) Now place your button on your blog! Below is a draft button I did for this tutorial. I am not an artist, so I expect yours to be much better.

*Tip* To make the view of the image bigger without changing its size, so it is easier to work with: { View > Zoom In }

*Tip* There are many things that will enhance the lettering. You can find these techniques under: {Layer > Layer Style > ?? } For ?? choose the look you prefer.

Have fun with this and feel free to email me with any questions. These instructions are very rough and will surely need clarifications.