on and off the needles

 On the needles and fresh snow! Is there anything better than knitting and watching the snow come down? This is a spool of matching striping yarn, the lady in the store said to separate the yarn and wind it into two balls. I started to wind balls and decided it had the potential to become a tremendous tangle so I inserted long knitting needles for an axle and it sits a little wonky on my basket as it unrolls as I knit.

 Snowblower mitts for hubby dearest. They were about 16 inches long before felting finished they are 12 1/2 inches long. This last snow was not heavy enough to require the snowblower. Maybe next week.

 Sport weight yarn for boot socks on 2.75mm needles. If I'm going to knit on a solid I'm going to learn a pattern, this one is from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. I missed a couple yarn overs so I slid the left sock onto another cable while I unknit and then I will re knit to the same point on the repeat then I'll get both socks back on the same cable.

 Son was pleased with felted slippers, they were 18 inches long before felting. I shrank them down to 12 inches in length. I did not trace around them each time through the wash. And I neglected to take a picture of the finished slippers. They are at his house where they belong now. He thought the toes were too pointy so I turned them inside out and sewed a seam and cut the end off. They fit much better now and he doesn't look like an over sized elf.
I foolishly left my first pair of hand knit socks in the heavy duty cycle while felting these. The socks still fit but are anklets instead of crew length so everyone who got hand knit or smart wool socks for Christmas also got a lingerie bag for socks in their Christmas sock.   link to Judy's  on the needles






  Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
Who unto man His Son hath given; 
While angels sing with tender mirth, 
A glad new year to all the earth. --Martin Luther  
Happy New Year and Happy New Projects  --Ann--

 

Merry Christmas

Christmas Blessings to all  --Ann--

On the needles

On and off the needles. I started the grey socks last Friday afternoon and placed a marker everyday to see my progress. Knitting on solids is so boring. Last Friday the brown socks were to the last couple rows of binding even though the photo last Friday was just past the heel. Socks for hubby and son will be done for Christmas. Yippee!!! then on to stripes.
I thought the 12 pairs of socks in a year was an absolutely crazy goal but I made my first pair in September and this is my fourth in December  so I am on target and considering it was May when I picked up the needles for the first time in decades.

I showed second son a pair of mittens I felted but they are for another post and these slippers with the red trim I had just finished. (first pair click) He said my four favorite words "I would wear those" fortunately I had yarn so I knit him a pair and threw them in the washer yesterday. They look a bit okay a whole lot like muppet feet, they were over 17 inches long before felting, so 5 or 6 more times through the wash and they should be wearable. I drew around the prefelted slipper to measure how much they shrink and after 2 times in the wash they are about 2 1/2 inches shorter. I should have used a fatter marker to draw around them so you could see how much they have shrunk. Take a peek at Judy's on the needles.  Happily knitting and watching Christmas movies.--Ann--

Yesterday when I stayed home all day it turned into dough day I mixed up 9 different kinds of cookies, mostly half recipes. I used 3 pounds of butter now I can bake at my leisure. College girl comes home today so she can help me bake. --Ann--

I get to stay home today! I spent a delightful day shopping in Sioux Falls, lunch with a girlfriend from high school and we haven't changed a bit we are both still fabulous and neither one of us is lying. Then Christmas shopping and still time to check out the new larger Bernina sewing machine but it won't fit in my sewing table so I looked at the Sweet 16 table machine which suits my needs best so a little more research before I buy one. I also spent two days substitute teaching at the Hutterite colony which  is just  like going back to country school for me. They played Thumbs Up Seven Up and one little boy tapped his friend then squatted down to see if he was peeking, I couldn't help but laugh. Then a little girl told the other teacher she was a witch because she was wearing her witch shoes--black shoes with a good heel and a nice click when she walked.  My quilt friends came over one day last week, it was marvelous to catch up with each other. I served warm gingerbread: 1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. sugar cream together add 1 large egg and 1/2 c. light molasses beat some more, sift together 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 t. salt, 3/4 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. ginger, 1/2 t. cinnamon add alternately  with 1/2 c. boiling water, beat after each addition. Bake in a 8x8 pan 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. I used a nine inch quiche pan. I served with whipped cream and a peppermint square. Then we reminisced about our mother's and grandmother's lemon sauce and  buttered rum sauce on gingerbread. What's your favorite topping for gingerbread?  ~~Ann~~

On the needles

My first slip stitched heel

 I was sitting at the table a couple days after Thanksgiving picking up stitches because the heel of the striped socks was off center, why don't patterns say place a marker x number of stitches from each side?!? I have trouble counting  oldest son asked what I was doing so I showed him the socks I was knitting for his Dad and he said "I would wear those" my four favorite words!! I told him they were wool and could be washed in the machine but need to dry flat, he said he already does that with his smartwool socks. He is a smart boy! so 5 minutes after he left I was on the internet ordering more yarn for socks just for him. Happy knitting--Ann-- check out all the wonderful knitting projects at Judy's.  P.S. its snowing here!!!!