on the needles

 I always have socks on the needles, the dark pair I keep changing patterns just because I can.  The other pair is a mock cable and I only work on those when I go to appointments with hubby.  Before Christmas I helped my daughter make a couple snap bags for Christmas gifts.  I can't believe I didn't take pictures of her bags.  I had to make one to refresh my memory to help her then I made another for a  knitting bag.  The directions  called for 3/4 inch wide metal tape measure for the snap closure,  all she could find was 1/2 inch or 1 inch so we used the 1/2 inch.  It is just right for a knitting bag the yarn pulls out so smooth and is easy to open and shove the socks in and no zipper to catch the yarn.  Warm feet and wool socks make winter so much more tolerable.  --Ann--

on and off the needles

 It's been one of those not much to blog about weeks here.  I watch the snow fall one day then watch it blow the next.  Nature is just not happy with where she places the snow the first time.  We had electric cove heating installed downstairs so I don't have to wear my leggings under my jeans to sew. I got new glasses with distance correction that make me want to wear them.  Then I had my teeth cleaned and a cracked tooth repaired and scheduled a haircut. You know just everyday self maintenance stuff this week.
 New knitting projects: the Hitofude cardigan for daughter, the lace pattern is easy there are just soooo many repeats in each row.  New socks the dark blue are and alpaca wool blend on size 7 needles I really should give them my undivided attention because the will feel so good inside my snow boots, and the other are a tweed with a mock cable no cable needle required.  Knit 2 together without slipping off the needle then knit the first stitch again and pull both off the needle, do that twice purl 2 and repeat, the next row is k4, p2, 3rd row k1, k2tog then knit the first of the k2tog, k1, p2 and row 4 is k4, p2.  Pretty easy.

And I finished my very bright yellow sweater may need to tone it down by wearing my bright blue vest over it to the jackrabbit games.  I'm still learning how to use my new camera from last fall like focusing when using the self timer and I still can't figure out if there is a burst mode with self timer or maybe its the glasses and the camera wanted to defuse the focus to reduce or eliminate the wrinkles and creases that I can see now.  The needles have been busy and  another week of winter is behind us.  --Ann--

Wear wool

Socks are finished for second son's birthday.  My stocking cap was finished a couple days after I started it so I have been wearing it and covering the earlobes completely does keep them warmer and then I put my hood up.  I wear my wool gloves inside my wool mittens when I go out, they really are warm.  And over the weekend I finished the sleeves of my very bright yellow sweater.  I have one ball of yarn left so the body will be as long as I have yarn.  This is how I stay warm on the plains.
 --Ann--

On the kneedles

 New Year new socks on the needles they need to be done for son with the birthday in February which is coming fast.  And I started a simple sweater for me after the disappointment with the Gansey sweater.  I knit this pattern a couple years ago and was very pleased with it.  Top down and knitting in the round. The yarn is really yellow, good thing I really like yellow.  The neck ribbing is  the linen stitch which is a slip stitch pattern with the yarn in front as you slip the stitch. I knit the neck with a size 5 needle then switched to a 7 for the body and as I was knitting to the larger needle I noticed how much easier and faster it was to knit with a smaller needle on the left so I continued knitting that way. I may do that with all my knitting with interchangeable needles.  
Stay warm, wear wool, wear hand knits --Ann--

Gansey knitting

I started knitting a Gansey sweater because I needed a challenge.  The little sweater on the left is a sampler to get an understanding of what I am doing.  Recommended in the book.  So far it is just knitting in the round and the pattern changes are just knit and purl stitches.  Not too tough.  When I get to the shoulders I will do that part on the sampler then on my sweater.  This is sport weight yarn on #4 needles so it is taking some time.  I much prefer knitting from the top down.  Cozy evening as hubby changes the channel.       --Ann--

Socks

I'm making progress on the socks for my kids and future daughter in law for Christmas.  I love knitting socks and self striping yarn makes it so easy.   Sticks and string make me happy  --Ann--

OTN

Socks are finished for oldest son's birthday with weeks to spare!  Slow progress on the gloves and other socks but whats the rush.  Just a few more rows until the little fingers and start the fiddly work.  Thank you to  Judy at Patchwork Times over the years and exposing me to so much knitting by so many talented people.  She is the reason I started knitting socks.  I would see hers every week and want the yarns.  --Ann--

On and off the needles

I finished my sweater the other day and got it blocked.  It stretched some.  I could wear it with leggings around the house next fall because I will never wear leggings outside my house.  It is interesting that you can see the way the increases lined up on the back.  The pattern has increases every 6 rows on the front then a decrease in the sides then a right and left increase in the back giving it a little flare.  Then there were short rows to make the back longer than the front.  I really like the fit and feel of this cardigan link to the pattern the yarn is Zauberball by Schoppel Wolle.  Linking to Judy's OTN  --Ann--

On the Needles

I recently went searching for my stitch counter, it was a barrel shaped thing that fit around a knitting needle and had a dial to turn as each row was completed.  I never did find it and its just as well because it wouldn't be practical on cable needles.  I found the cute little stitch counter in a quilt shop it was hand made by somebody but I had a terrible time turning the numbers the thin little wheel was not firm enough to grip and turn so I turned to the internet because somewhere I had seen chain links with beads for counting rows which didn't make sense to me as to how it worked but I was curious.  Instead I found a link to the string chain. She explains it so well.   If you are numerically challenged like me it makes counting rows and keeping track of increases or decreases so easy.  I put one chain at the beginning of the row to count the rows between sleeve decreases and one at the end of the round to keep track of the number of decrease repeats I have done.  No more going back and looking for the decreases on the sleeve or trying to figure out how many rows I have knit.  I'm knitting non stop now not stopping to count rows.  I use it on mittens and gloves too so my fingers and thumbs are the same on both hands.  Happy knitting.  linking to Judy's OTN --Ann--

On and Off the needles

Finishing up some little projects

I have little baskets or bags sitting by my favorite chairs so there is always a little project to pick up when I sit down for a cup of coffee or grab and go for a road trip.  I like to have socks or gloves because they have short rows of knitting, short rows as in not no many stitches between pulling the needles to knit the other side, not short rows with wrap and turns.  Anyway these little projects get done a few rows with each cup of coffee.  The socks on top were on the needles for almost a year.  I would work on them after I did my time on the elliptical and was cooling down in front of the fan.  They are short because I liked the yarn with my new winter coat nothing else in the stash of yarn went with my new winter coat.  I needed some gloves to go with it so I cut the yarn and left the socks while I knit the gloves then came back to the socks and that is all the yarn there was.  The reading mitts are alpaca yarn and left over from Christmas gloves and the bottom basket is gloves, getting done row by row every morning with my coffee.  Shouldn't need them until next fall.  There has been some progress on the sweater and socks from last weeks post so I will skip the pics.  Linking to Judy's OTN --Ann--

On the Needles

My sweater is starting to look like a sweater and a little progress on more socks.  The RWB are my downstairs knitting project so I work on them after I elliptical, I obviously haven't spent much time on the elliptical this week, or when I am contemplating what to do next with a quilt I can usually spot a design problem with a glance when I'm working on something else than I can when I'm staring at it. I got all those problems worked out earlier in the week so come back next week for the super secret quilt reveal.  The blue socks are for oldest sons birthday in June.          --Ann--   Linking to Judy's OTN  

On the Needles

The second pair of scrap yarn socks are done I think they are the color of jelly beans.  Six balls of scrap yarn went into them.  I immediately started a new pair this time with a new ball of yarn.  And I started a new cardigan for me.  I've knit the pattern before and like the way it fits and I have knit this yarn a couple times before, first it was a shawl which I decided I would never use, then it was a scarf which was too wide and I didn't like it with my dress coat so I ripped again and now its a cardigan.  I saw a sweater pattern using leftover yarn and was going to combine this with a couple other skeins of yarn but after knitting some swatches that wasn't the route to go so I ordered a couple more balls of  yarn and now it will be a cardigan and I am going to love it this time I hope.   There have been some beautiful sunny days here  on the prairie and today is windy it might be a good day to stay in and knit or read or sew or a little of each.   Linking to Judy's OTN  --Ann--

On the needles

Oh Happy Day here the sun is shining and streaming in my sunroom windows!  Is there anything that feels or tastes better than a strong cup of coffee on a sunny morning other than sitting outside in the warmth of the sunshine!?!  I'll have to wait a few more weeks before it's warm enough to sit outside in the morning.  Knitting these socks was like eating a bag of potato chips I couldn't stop.  And mixing the yarns together I  was like the kid filling his own glass of pop from the soda fountain for the first time and had to have a shot of everything. I exercised some restraint and left out all the dark yarns from guy socks, they will be knit into more guy socks. The first pair of pot luck or maybe casserole socks or hot dish socks or maybe just leftover socks are finished and I immediately started on another pair and they are knitting just as fast, this time I'm knitting a pattern p2, k4 for 5 rows then a knit row then move the p2 over 2 stitches so its k2, p2, k2 for 5 rows then knit a row and k4, p2 and repeat the sequence.  Someone asked me if i saved any yarn for darning socks.   I don't.  The socks I have given to my kids and others do not come with a service contract!  Just like my quilts I include care instructions but not a service contract.  Happily using up yarn and sitting in the sun.  --Ann--  Linking to Judy's OTN

On the needles

The last snow storm completely missed us.  I thought I would come out of the basketball game last night to snow but no snow.  Then I thought I would wake up to snow but again no snow.  I wore my cap to the game as the temps have dropped from the balmy 50's to the 20's and there was a cold wind from the north.  My cap was very cozy walking across the parking lot, the lady Jacks won if you were  wondering,  the scarf not so much as there has been no progress since last week.  I did order another skein of yarn because I like scarves long enough to wrap around my neck.
I'm ready to start the sleeves of my sweater.  That color looks like spring to me.
Linking to Judy's OTN  --Ann--

On the needles

Yesterday felt like a Monday and today feels like Tuesday after being gone for a week but it really is Friday.  HD gave me 3 skeins of Mrs. Crosby Train Case yarn for Christmas.  It is hand dyed yarn and to my eye one skein was lighter but there were no dye lots on the label.  Maybe its the way it was wound, maybe its the light, maybe its my eyes, maybe its the flash,  I wound the skeins into balls and one was still lighter.  I started with the lighter ball because it is always more flattering on a small chested woman to have the lighter color on top.  I knit to the bottom of the sleeve then did the neck ribbing with the light skein.  Then I started alternating the light yarn with the darker ball to blend them together.  I saved some of the light to do the same with the sleeves.  I guess thats part of the charm of hand dyed yarns unless you hand pick them from the store they might not be a perfect match.  The pattern is Vida Dulce by Vera Sanon.  I made this sweater last fall with the same yarn and love the way it fits and wears.

Progress on the scarf, not much left of the first skein so I started a stocking cap from the second.  I'll see how far that ball goes before I send for another skein to finish the scarf.   There was a heat wave here on the plains while we were in sunny San Diego  The only snow left is on the north side of buildings and evergreens and piles that were over 3 feet high.  I may not need the cap or scarf until next winter but I'm going to knit until the yarn is gone before I call for another skein.  Maybe the scarf will be long enough.  Linking to Judy's OTN  --Ann--

On the needles

Road trip last weekend so I finished my gloves in the car the stripes even match!  Then I finished the socks for son.  I knit yet another pair of duffers from leftover balls of yarn because I helped darling niece finish a pair that she started last year when we were there and didn't take the camera along for a picture of her duffers.  I'm sending these to DD for her to felt to fit her feet.  I also bought some alpaca yarn for a scarf for my new coat the pattern is a reversible cable so there are 5 cables on this side and 4 on the other with garter stitch on the edges.

Forecast has changed here to NO snow just cold and sunny but then it is supposed to warm up and all the rest of snow is going to melt.  The poor little snowman next door lost his nose then his whole head fell off in the wind.  So sad.  Linking to Judy's OTN  --Ann--

On the needles

A little bit of blue sky peeked through the clouds yesterday as I came out of the eye doctors office with extra dark glasses on and I couldn't enjoy the moment.  After so many grey days I expected to hear the alleluia chorus with the blue sky.  There's more blue sky today hallelujah!  but that means its going to get cold again.  Its winter in South Dakota its supposed to be that way and it does no good to whine or complain.  Its good weather to knit!
It looks like a need a knitting intervention with all I have knit in the last couple weeks.  I knit a couple more pair of the duffers slipper pattern  I love that pattern but I need to remember to bind off really loose or the cuff can be too tight after it is felted.  The other pair are Monique Rae's slipper pattern for guys.  Only a couple more inches and the socks will be done in plenty of time for son's birthday and four fingers and thumbs left on the gloves.  Linking to Judy's OTN staying warm in hand knits. --Ann--