Leaving for a week!

I hope you don't mind if I leave for a week....:)

I'm going to spend some, very much, needed time with my son and extended family in sunny Arizona...

What am I going to knit on the way there, you ask?  Why, Elizabeth Zimmermann's 72" circular shawl in New Zealand lace-weight Wool/Silk.

I look forward to posting finished items when I get back.  Until then...

A knitted Tam for me and something else

Ever since I got to know Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen, I have been wanting to knit a Tam.
It's easy when you use EZ's math.
This one is knit with Un-Spun Icelandic  that you can purchase at School House Press.  It was super fast to knit and I did it the EZ way....no pattern!

The sweatband pattern [which is FREE!] can be found at the yahoo group called Holiday Mystery Gift Along.  It's not too late to join in the fun! 

Good knitting to all!

Knitted House Slippers

The greenish & brown pair are for my son. The purple & black pair are for Laundon.

Both are in college and both needed house slippers to keep warm. :)

Armed with Megan Mills' pattern called Garter Stitch Slippers, I used Cascade 220 Superwash and US sz 7 needles and knit them up super quick!

The only thing I added was the crocheted chain so they could tighten up around the ankle to keep the footies on.

I usually make a pair for my son every year.....and some of his friends, too. ;)

Wishbone Sweater for my son

This is the nicest sweater to knit up when you are in a hurry to send something warm to your grown child.

I used Sheepsdown wool [from School House Press], knitting needles for MY gauge and my knitting bible - Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac.

The finished sweater weighs only 2.53 pounds. Details on how to knit this wonderful sweater is in the Knitter's Almanac.

Do you see my personal message in the hem at the back? Once again, I used wool...

I wish everyone could have a sweater like this to wrap themselves up in because it's like a big hug!

Thank you to the readers of my blog....

It's the little things that make me smile......my readers....and when I see a comment, that REALLY makes me smile. Someone, out there, thinks enough about me to do that.
Bless each and every one of you. You just don't know when your comment will make a difference in someones life.

Pondering.....

Remember hearing this.......You treat people like you want to be treated.
What do you do when you've done that, to people that matter to you, and they still treat you like you don't matter?

It saddens me to no end. My heart aches and the corners of my mouth are catching up to the edge of my jaw. I find myself alone and pulling away from friends and family because I can't put my happy face on and pretend.......I just can't.

The very hard part is treating them like they treat me. I have to fight the urge to be nice to them. It breaks my heart, each time, because that is not who I am.

The finishing touch to my Spiral Yoke Sweater

Here is my personal message in the hem of my sweater. I knit with 2 different colors of Icelandic wool in pencil like roving.

Now I will always know what the name of the sweater is..........and when I knit it!

Spiral Yoke Sweater finished!

The hem is sewn down and it's ready to soak and block! This photo shows the pre-blocked state. Notice the back of the neck is taller and the back of the hem is longer. Thanks to Meg and EZ, I won't have the front of the neck strangling me or the back of the sweater riding up!

Dalaukala left a comment on my previous post with a very interesting question. The question? Why am I knitting the sweater so fast......I have started so many projects, got bored, put them to the side and then tried to remember how to finish them much, much later.

I had always wondered how long it would take me to actually work on just one project and finish it. I knit an Orenburg shawl many moons ago, by Galina, and kept track of how many hours/minutes it took me to knit it.....a little over 87 hours!

So here I am knitting a sweater, for me, for THIS winter......and I was very curious how soon I could get it done. I am a quick knitter to begin with.....and soooo.....now I know that I can knit a 42" sweater in 7 days!

Marathon knitting-Day 7 [Today!]

Every Tuesday, through October, is Farmer's Market Day so I put off my sweater knitting to buy some fresh vegetables and fruit. Then I went to the fabric store [Billie's Designs] and bought more fabric and notions.



Here is where I'm at right now as I post this! I have one side of the underarm stitches on dpn's to Kitchener the stitches while the other side still waits on pieces of wool.
The neck is ready for me to do the EZ's sewn cast-off [the best cast off so you can still get that neck, of the sweater, over your head!].
I forgot to mention that this sweater is for me AND it's 42" around....exactly what I swatched!
I'll close so I can do those things and knit my hem to stop it from rolling. :)

Marathon knitting-Day 5

...AND my gauge is still on track!

The spiral yoke is going up, up and around very smoothly!

I'd like to point out the phoney seam on the right sleeve. That seam is also on the other sleeve and on both sides of my sweater. This will help me in blocking so I won't have to figure out the exact side stitches.

Do you notice the gold colored yarn? My underarm stitches are on them and waiting patiently to be grafted, hence making this sweater "seamless". Thank you Meg Swansen and Elizabeth Zimmermann!

The rolled edge will be taking care of when I knit a hem....more of that when I am finished with the yoke.

Marathon knitting!

I started this sweater on the afternoon of September 15th [yes...this year..:)...].

I hope to finish it within a week of marathon knitting!

I'm using my gauge needle for Briggs & Little 2-ply in natural. The spiral yoke design is on a DVD from Meg Swansen at School House Press as well as the wool. I've watched the DVD so many times.....not only to see what to do but to enjoy listening to Meg.

I got to thinking, hmm, what if the body/arms end up being too short or too long. No problem! My solution would be to snip above the increases and short rows and ravel or knit more.

With that all said, I am headed back to my chair to knit feverishly on the second sleeve so I can do the fun yoke pattern! Ta, ta!!!

Christmas starts in 3 days!!!!!!

The 4th annual Holiday Mystery Gifts Knit Crochet Along event will begin on Saturday September 18th 2010!

I am among over 3200 people, around the world, who look forward to this early Christmas. There would be more if they only knew the treasures and fun to be had there!

Sunnyside Doily

in black. I used sz 10 Royale Classic Crochet Thread and a US sz 6 steel hook.

Blocking this guy was not fun as the heavy looking loops wanted to overlap each other. I put this off as long as I could stand it.....but finally finished it and even took a photo!

This pattern is in Magic Crochet Number 100, Feb. 1996. They used white sz 40 thread and it finished 10 1/2". Mine finished up at a whopping 14 1/2"!

I love doilies in black. They look so elegant.

From yarn to socks...

Armed with US sz 1 dpn's, Lana Grossa Fantasy yarn [Farbe 4760; Partie 24588] and my son's traced foot - I came up with these!

My gauge was 7 sts/inch and I'm super fussy when it comes to the pattern continuing down the front of the foot. What do I do to make sure that happens, you ask? ;o)

When I knit the heel flap I use the other end of the skein leaving the yarn hanging there waiting to be used again. Once the gusset stitches are picked up and ready to be knit round and round, I abandon [break off] that end of the skein and pick up the lonely yarn that has been waiting patiently to be put to use again.

The pattern is simple, K2, P2 rib with 64 sts; half of them for the heel flap; K2, P2 down the front of the foot and finish off with a stocking st toe until there are 20 stitches to do the Kitch with.

They took me around 3 days to knit. I sent them off to his college, he got them......and.....and........they fit! Woo, hoo! [NOTE TO SELF: Make the leg 7 inches next time] :)

14" Round Doily

This doily was crocheted with Royale Classic Crochet Thread sz 10, in Burgundy, and a US sz 6 hook. The pattern suggests using a sz 7 but for some reason, I am a tight crocheter. I may be a loose knitter but not so when I crochet. Hmmm? It still only measures 13 3/8" across...

The pattern can be found at ThreadAddicts under Files/CrochetAlongs-Monthly/2010 CAL/04-April. There is a rich assortment of doilies to make and with lots of friendship....and help, too, when needed.

I really enjoyed making this. :)

Special Tatting Shuttles

Oh, oh, oh!! I say that 3 times because I have 3 gorgeous shuttles!

I received them in June but was so busy driving around town showing them off! I opened the package at the post office and showed them to the ladies there, then off to the public library for those ladies to see them and lastly to the local yarn shop where the owner drooled over them. Too bad she is a needle tatter! She is missing out!

I love, love, love them and started tatting with them right off! They tat lovely work! :) better than the regular, flat looking ones!

Where can you get yours, you ask? You can have a beautiful shuttle, or two, at Lacossette. The owner and I were emailing back and forth when she noticed two shuttles sold. I had to hurry and buy mine or I would have lost them TOO!

You will also be able to see better photos of them than what I took of mine.
Thank you, Joëlle, for my shuttles!

A crocheted wedding gift

This little beauty is out of the American School of Needlework 'Pineapple Parade' by Yalanda Wiese. It came out to 22" across. Well, I guess it's not THAT little. :)

My friend, Nancy V. in Oregon, is getting this (1 of 2) as a 'late' wedding gift.

The BIGGEST sin of all......

This has GOT to be the biggest sin of all.....and it can't just affect me!
I can't be the only one that has fallen to it's beckoning call. If it's already in your house, it whispers for you to come visit. Ugh!!!!

One try and I was hooked. It's bad.....it's really bad!


It's the worst drug of all...........

Felted house socks for Mom

This pair of socks knit up really quick! I cast on 40 stitches with US sz 11 needles and knit a basic sock. You decrease for the toe 'after' you achieve the length of your foot [or my mom's, in this case].

I used the Reynold's Lopi I had left over from my son's Icelandic Sweater.

Mom said they are the right height and loves them!

My tatted Suncatcher

....can be found here. Scroll down and search for Feb 2006. The FREE patterns date back to 2005.

This looked better BEFORE I wet and blocked it.....but here it is. This is the first time I ever used 2 shuttles and I am a self-taught tatter. LOL. Say THAT fast a few times!

So, my wonderful followers [gosh, you all make my day!] and fellow tatters know that I am STILL learning. I can only get better. :)

I signed up for the newsletter and they are wonderful! Each month you will get an email from Nancy Tracy with a pattern to tat. What's nice about her patterns, is if you are stumped --- you can e-mail her for help!

{Royale Classic sz 10 crochet thread, color 0422 Golden Yellow, sz 7 crochet hook}

Crochet eye candy

I bought this because of the delicate crochet detail. The thread is so thin and the pattern is so interesting.

Anyone else ever see something like this?

Is this a doily or handkerchief?

Curds and Whey tatting

Here is a one-shuttle pattern. It can be found in Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.

I find her patterns to be super simple with the use of two colors used in her charts....one represents the shuttle thread and the other represents the ball thread/2nd shuttle thread.

The thread I used, is size 20 Cordonnet Mercer Crochet.

Miss No Ears

....also known as Candy. What is she? She's an Oberhasli goat.

How did she get the name Miss No Ears? My mother took her in as a rescue. This little doe, around 4 or 5 months old, was attacked by dogs who chewed her ears off....and then some. It made her deaf.

For over a year, Miss No Ears has lived with my mom who had her bred some time back. She was supposed to have her kid(s) on May 12th. Well, it didn't work out that way. Miss No Ears went into labor 4 days ago. My mom is very experienced with all animals and knew this was not a good thing.

Mom checked on her every so often all through the night for two and a half days.....then she saw something. She wasn't sure WHAT it was as it looked like a dark, hairy spot coming out. That's not right, she thought, because the front legs are supposed to be first.

Miss No Ears had another hard contraction and 2 inches of that dark spot was sticking out. My mom touched it and it was the nose of the kid.........and it was cold. Shoot. It's dead.

Without the help of my mom, Miss No Ears would die.

Mom quickly grabbed the 2 inches, of the kid, with her fingertips and helped Miss No Ears by pulling with each contraction. Once it was out, my mom took it out of the barn and came back to take care of the momma.

News today is.....Miss No Ears is fine. She's eating and mingling with the other goats. Thank goodness for my mom's expert knowledge with animals.

Tatting practice

I'm only a beginner and have only tatted with one shuttle.
I decided to tackle [with the help of Here-Be-Tatters] a two shuttle pattern.
Well, I was happily tatting along wondering why the first ring was flopping around. I looked at the pattern again and decided to stop because I was supposed to join the last and first ring picots together. I'm still laughing at myself, but I DID IT!!!

I will start this again but will join the rings together...

This reminds me of my first quilt, I can see where I first started hand-stitching [uneven] to where I finished with nice, even little stitches.
This, piece of tatting, will go in my practice book.
By the way, the pattern is FREE and can be downloaded from here.

The finished Pumpkin colored doily

I began this journey with an earlier post. I won't lie....it was not an easy one to crochet. Mind you, I'm no beginner......but, man, was it WORTH it.
I really like the looks of it.

I am still hungry for crocheting....[Is it the same as craving chocolate?].....so I will keep crocheting until I can talk myself back into knitting.

An old quote....

Houses are like people......either they're your kind or they're not.

From a hat to a scarf....

Judy B was back to taking Chemo.....again. I met her at my Sister-In-Laws house with the other 3 wood carvers and learned that she would be going through the treatment for a second time.
I felt impelled to knit her some hats and asked if I could. She was elated!
At home, I got out my yarn catalogs and decided on the yarn called "Great Adirondack". [pictured is 1 of 3 hats]
I purchased 3 different colors and just loved the way the yarn felt as I knit love in each stitch.
I presented her the hats and her eyes just lit up! She was so happy someone made her some "new" hair.
Just before the last of her treatments, I got the brainstorm to "repurpose" the hats into a scarf. Judy B was good with that and gave me back the hat she wanted a scarf made from.
Here is the reincarnated hat....which is now a scarf.


Judy B has been "free" for 5 years now.

James Wilson Hathaway [1892-1954]

I've been busy with Ancestry.com so I haven't been blogging.........Here's a little TRUE story to keep you with me. :)

There once was this gal named Nancy [me] who grew up to believe she was a granddaughter of Ramon and Maria Bejarano Vega......until she got in her mid 30's.
I will now tell the story:
I was surprised by my Auntie Francis Vega Olmos with the story of who her father was....James Wilson Hathaway. Auntie told me James used to "visit" Maria quite a bit and that is how she and my father, Ramon, came to be in 1938......twins....
That meant he was my grandfather!
Needless to say, I was in shock for quite a few years and then decided to meet some of my family. Sometime in the 1990's, I made an appointment with James David Hathaway [one of James Hathaway's nephews] who was the Appellate Court Judge in Tucson, AZ. I was sitting, in the office, when this man walked up to me with the nicest smile..............I thought it was my father! Judge Hathaway and I had a pleasant meeting. We talked about our children, etc. Then I asked him if he knew about my father and auntie. He said he did but they didn't speak of those things in those days.
We couldn't visit too long as he had a very busy day ahead......but oh, was it nice.
I have since found out that my grandmother, Maria, wore a gold band given to her by James with this simple inscription on the inside - Jim -
So, there it is in a nutshell....the "Other" Hidden Treasures of Santa Cruz County......
NOTE: I have another aunt and her name is Margaret. She IS the daughter of Ramon and Maria.

Tatting and Martha Washington

I finally got gauge with my Martha Washington Motif! It only took two tries!
This motif was introduced to me by a dear, departed friend named Donneen Wavra years ago. She had crocheted many table clothes for her family, as well as, doilies. Her work was exquisite and I, too, was one of the lucky recipients of her doilies.
My tatting wanted to be in the picture, too.....:)

OT: Can you believe it's already March?! It seems the older I get, the faster the arms of the clock go

Antique Baby Shoe

I need YOUR help. Someone, somewhere, somehow, has got to have seen this pattern.......I feel it in me bones!

I crocheted a pair of these little shoes more than 10 years ago from an antique pattern.

Do you recognize it?

Question.....

.....Reba wants to know:

"Does this picture make my butt look big?"

Starting over.....

....for the 3rd time!

Oh, well, I'd rather get it right anyway. Besides, I'll know the ins and outs of THIS pattern! You can find it [FREE] here: Doily-of-the-Month. This one was the Member's Choice and I've learned...when in doubt....ask on the group because they will help you so you'll only have to attempt to make it Once.

I'm using the color, Pumpkin, and US sz 8 steel hook.

Lost City Denise....

...how did she DO that?! I ordered some of her precious silk in the Wild Violet colorway, got it today, opened up the package and the fragrance of a field of lavender came out! OMG!

Check out Denise for her scrumptious variety of hand-dyed yarns. I just HAVE to go here and order some of that Lavender!

Stay tuned to see what I will knit from this luscious silk!

Top it off, she's a nice lady!

NOTE: Photo is property of Lost City Denise and used with permission.

Another doily completed..

Ahhhh, there's something to be said after you have crocheted a "new" family heirloom. My hope is for this to be passed on from generation to generation....to be proudly displayed.
It's interesting to see how everyone else's doily turns out by their color choices, etc.

With crochet thread and hook in hand...stop by and join the Doily A Month group. If you join today, you can vote for one of the choices [in the new poll] for NEXT month's DOM!

Can you identify this motif?

If you can, please tell me where I can find it..........AGAIN!

I can't believe that I sat at my lap top, crocheting it and now I can't remember where I got it!

I would like to crochet a tablecloth from it.

If I don't come across the pattern, I can always dissect it.........but I'd rather some brilliant person [who knows crocheted motifs] tell me where they've seen it.

I think I'm going to cry........

I love, I mean LOVE, counted cross stitch

I finally took a picture of it. DH picked this one out and it was a very challenging counted cross stitch. There were many stitches that used 2 different colored strands at once...........but boy did it make [IMHO] a stunning piece.

Most people, that see this, think it is a painting.

Do you like to cross stitch and what have you done? Please include a link to your work in the comments.

Doily for Marilyn.....

.....is finished and blocked at 15 1/4" across. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to crochet doilies and have been making a few more.
This one is called "Curtain Call" and is in The Ultimate Doily Book #1185. I used sz 10 crochet thread and a US sz 5 hook to get gauge. The pattern called for bedspread-weight cotton and US sz 7 hook.
Well, I'm off to get this in the mail to Marilyn! I know she will be happy to have it to replace the one burned up in the house fire.

Icelandic Sweater finished and mailed...

...to my son. He asked me to knit this a couple of years ago and sent a picture of a band member wearing this design.

I hymmed and hawwed and dragged my feet a bit. Why?

Well, because this was the first time knitting an Icelandic Sweater, my son has loooooonnng arms [6'4"] and I doubted my ability to get it to fit right.....the first time. I'm the only one....right?

He sure had faith in me or he wouldn't have asked me to knit him one.

I actually had it knit up with gauge in stitches...........HA. Since I haven't knitted something in a yoked pattern, I didn't think gauge in rows was needed. Well, I was wrong and had to frog my first attempt and start over.

I am so glad I did. I am so happy I did.

Thanks to EZ and Meg's way of thinking [and now mine], I made the back a bit longer to avoid that dreaded frontal droop AND the back of the neck is raised a bit, too, so there wouldn't be that dreaded uncovered neck.

The unfinished sweater traveled with me, at Christmas time, to visit my son. He tried it on and oh did he look fine......except that I needed to add an additional 2 3/4" to EACH sleeve. Ha! That was an easy fix! Once I got back home, I snipped a thread about an inch above the needed sleeve increases and picked a whole round out. I then knit the required length, grafted the sleeve back on, weaved the few threads in - here and there, soaked, blocked, dried and mailed it.....

I hope to post a photo of him wearing it real soon!

Tube socks

These tube socks are pretty small. They are for Newborn's and will be leaving my house and going to Bev's. Bev takes them to hospitals in kits for the new babies.

They took me a very short time to knit using wooden US sz 4 dpn needles and Cascade 220 Superwash. The pattern is written for knit OR crochet.

Read about her charity, make just one pair and send 'em to her. You'll be glad you did!

A doily for a friend....

....I just found out their house burned down.

In 1998, I crocheted this same doily for Marilyn in MO. She picked this pattern, after looking through several of my doily books. It's called Curtain Call and it can be found in 'The Ultimate Doily Book' from the American School of Needlework.
I started this yesterday using Steinbach Wolle (sz 10) and a US sz 5 crochet hook. I should be finished with this today, block it and mail it off. She doesn't know I'm crocheting her another one.

The Swatch is done......

....actually, this has nothing to do with the pattern except to see how you like the way your yarn and needles play together.

I like the way this looks.....after I changed to US sz 4 [3.5mm] needles. The yarn is Ornaghifilati Merino Oro in a light blue.

Can you believe that I didn't have the yarn, I needed, in my stash?! Thank goodness for my LYS, Yarn & Things. I called her, yesterday, and she put the yarn away for me. DH picked it up today and I was able to knit the swatch AND knit Clue 1!!!!

Not even a bad head cold can stop me!!!!!

.....from the FIRST MMario MMystery KAL......nothing! It started yesterday!!

I am armed with Chicken Noodle soup, Merino Oro lace wool (color 030), and 3.75mm [US sz 5] AddiTurbo Lace needles. So, off to do my swatch!