Reef Sock Report

I've been neglecting making Progress Reports because I've fallen down working on time-consuming, ongoing projects. I've been seduced by quick-finishing projects like felted purses and Mom's tea cozy, but I did take Reef Sock #1 to the neighborhood corn roast weekend before last and I picked it up tonight to work on the foot a bit. I'm about 1 1/2" from the toe decreases. I should have it done by the weekend so I can cast on Reef Sock #2 for Writing Retreat knitting in 2 weeks. I need something small and fairly mindless to knit on in the Lodge in the evenings. Look at how pretty the colors are in the foot of this sock. I am eternally entertained seeing how the colors lay themselves down. Love the orange and purple and yellow, even the pink looks good with them. I do love this yarn.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today's my mom's 81st birthday. I'm taking her to lunch at her favorite spot, HuHot, but it wasn't until Wednesday when I was about ready to leave for work that I realized that I didn't have a present for her. Now, I could have gone somewhere on any one of the intervening days and purchased something, but where's the frantic panic in that? So, in the 3 minutes before I had to leave to get to work on time, I sought out a free pattern, unearthed some yarn in her favorite shade of green (I can't believe I had it!), sussed out some needles (they were the aluminum "bottom of the barrel" and they used to be hers), shoved it all in a bag and left. I got the first half nearly done at work on Wed. and finished that evening. I cast on the second half Thursday after Writer's and finished it yesterday evening. I saw another pattern on Ravelry that had leaves at the top, I liked that so I knit some of other colors of the same yarn to place artfully on the side where I swooped an I-cord down from making the tab for the top. I got it all put together and photographed before bed last night. Ta-da! I really like it. I hope Mom does too.

Earlier in the week I felted Clutch v. 2. I was really thrilled with how it turned out. I still want it a bit narrower and twice as deep, but this is better than before. It wasn't until I looked inside that I realized more work was needed.


Um, can you imagine trying to find something in here?!? Me neither. Time for a shave, I think. Pretty colors though and I'll look for a swank button to sew over the closure this week.







Today I'm dragging a friend with a trailer and big muscles to a town 30 miles west to pick up a king-sized bed DIL's parents need to get rid of. After all the years of Durwood's traveling for work we both got used to sleeping in the middle, we're hoping a king-sized bed eliminates a few of the border disputes. Yesterday I was writing a thank you note to deliver when we pick it up and nearly wrote "we'll think of you every time we use it" but decided that was just too icky for words. I settled on "thanks for your generosity." A much more appropriate sentiment, don't you think?

Corn Roast Dive!

It was the perfect day for a fun dive and then a corn roast. A little cool and windy to sit on shore, but nice and sunny, and fun to get in the water to find Easter Eggs (the EE Dive had to be cancelled due to bad weather) and chase bass. I only ate one ear of Sunny Hill Farms corn. I am a saint.

I finished and felted Holder v.6 for my writer friend...

and I cast on Felted Clutch v. 2.

I'm determined to figure out how to make both of these the way I want them. One of these days.

A Needle Knitter's Interpretation of a Loom Knitter's Design

I give credit to my loom-knitting friend, Telaine's idea for a felted clutch. (scroll down) Hers is deeper and narrower and that's what I was aiming for. Oh well, guess I have to make another one. *sigh* What a pity.

And there won't be a picture until January, but Stealth Project #1 is completed. Yippee! One down and mmmph to go.

Veering Off Again

I got to thinking about needing to make Felted Holder v. 6 to take as a gift in about a month, and I want to make a felted purse like Telaine gave to Dusty last Friday, so I dug out my thick wool and big needles and got busy.

This is for v.6, it'll get a furry collar and fit around a green bean can once it's finished to hold pens on a writing desk.

Here's the beginnning of the fabric to felt into a small purse or something to keep little goodies in. I'll put another stripe of the multicolor and white novelty yarn soon.

Heel Turned

I always feel as if I've performed a secret magic trick when I turn a sock heel. And knitting with my Christmas present from DD yarn makes it doubly good. I am loving the colors of this yarn and the pattern. Thanks, Honey, for the yarn and the recommendation!










I've been trolling the sale tables at the fabric store lately looking for snazzy fabrics to make project bags with. I found this awning stripe and the cotton flip flop fabric a couple weeks ago and thought they'd make an awesome reversible bag. Sunday I took the time and made the bag. I love it--and I found some blue & green striped awning fabric and some coordinating cotton last week to make another one. I even have the nylon webbing for the handles in my stash downstairs. I'm not as precise a seamstress as my friend, Dusty, but I sure am having fun sewing up bags.

Jackpot!

I hit the jackpot this afternoon at Barnes & Noble. I went in to spend a coupon on a first novel by an author I just discovered (Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, thanks, Jenny) and browsed the super-duper-everything's-$2 table and look what I found! Knitting books!!! I will freely admit that I probably won't knit something out of every one of these but there are some crackerjack ideas in all of them and some very interesting charts in the afghan one. With my preferred customer (or whatever they call it at B&N) card, they were each only $1.80. I couldn't leave them there for that little money. Besides, they all have very pretty pictures in them.





After my triumphant return from shopping I finished Errol. He's bigger than I thought he'd be and I think I stuffed his body too much, but I like him. He's squishy and soft. A very lovely owl.

Distractions

This has not been a week for making progress on knitting projects or any other kiind of projects. Our DS and his bride were in from Montana, she staying 45 miles away with her folks and he staying with us. We did get to spend part of one day with both of them, and she came for Durwood's 70th birthday supper. And we'll have breakfast with them tomorrow morning before they drive off back to their Missoula home. It's been great having them here.

Today was a banner day for Durwood. He went from mild-mannered husband to Tomato Boy in one bite. Here he is enjoying the first bite of the first ripe tomato of 2009. Many more will follow but I predict none will be as delicious as that first one.





In the few quiet moments this week, I worked on Errol. I'm on wing #1 and hope to get wing #2 finished tonight at FNKC so I can stuff and assemble him. Can't wait to see him finished.

The Urge to Make Something Useless

Sometimes it just comes over me and I have to veer off into the land of "what are you going to do with that?!?"

Friday afternoon while taking a break from cleaning the house and tidying my writing space, I was gripped by the need to knit/crochet something that had no real purpose except to be. While I was cutting vegetables and chicken for our supper stir fry, my mind raced as I cast about for what I could make. It was while eating the delicious outcome of my knife work that inspiration struck. I could make an Errol, the Weasley's owl. I knew I had a skein of dark gray mohair and a skein of silver worsted that'd be perfect together, I even found some yellow for the beak and orange for the feet. Scurrying around assembling the pattern, needles, and yarns made me a bit late for Friday Night Knitting but I came home with a nice owl bottom. I did decide to knit it in the round instead of flat and I added a bit of black yarn to start so the lower end of the body will be darker, which means I've got a big hole to sew closed. Next time (when I make a Pigwidgeon) I'll start with fewer stitches.




I've gotten to the heel flap of the Reef socks. I'm really liking this pattern and the yarn is a constant entertainment seeing how the colors appear.









Another Sudoku square and three-quarters got made at work.








Most of my knitting time was taken up with the beginning of 2009's stealth knitting. You only get to see the yarn, not the results. I promise to be better at taking pictures of the finished projects this time.