On (Off) the Needles Friday February 24, 2017

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on pair #2 for my 2017 Socks from Stash and Scraps Challenge. 

I finished the pair this morning and am pleased with the finished socks.  This pair should wear like iron since the main yarn is Opal Sock yarn.  I followed Blender Socks recipe to knit this pair.

I did not use the purple/green painted yarn but I did use the last of the navy yarn from the 1st pair of stash socks.

Now that Loopy Academy Winter Session has started I need to get knitting.  First up is my button project.  I am using some of the yarn from Loopy Ewe Paint Box Autumn colorway and will be following Mediate Cowl Pattern.

 Take a minute and stop over at Patchwork Times and see what others have on their Needles.

Happy Knitting,

Mary

On the Needles Friday January 27, 2017

I finished my Fade-In Fade-Out Sockens on Wednesday.  I really like how the color changes were done, makes it look like that is the actual colors changes of the yarn not scraps used to knit the socks.

This is the first pair of socks finished for my  2017 Socks from Stash and Scraps.

I needed to adjust the number of rows for the medium blue color yarn which I used all of that color. 

This is the yarn from my scraps I started with.

After finishing the socks I picked up the Featherweight Cardigan I have had in progress.  Now I am just waiting on Loopy Academy to start again.

 Take a minute and stop over at Patchwork Times and see what others have on their Needles.

Happy Friday Knitting.

Mary

On the Needles January 20, 2017

Getting close to completing my Fade-In Fade-Out Sockens. 

I had an issue with the heel with the second sock that slowed my progress.  First time I knitted the heel I started on the wrong row compared to the first sock.  Tried telling myself it is just a sock and no one will look that close at it, wasn't convinced so I ripped it out.  Second try I dropped a stitch and I found out a couple rows past and could not successfully pick it up, so I ripped it out.  Finally the third time I completed it successfully.

Finished the last color change on the first sock and getting ready to start the ribbing.

 Take a minute and stop over at Patchwork Times and see what others have on their Needles.

Happy Friday Knitting!

Mary

Weekend Project Update January 15, 2017

No completions to announce but progress has been made.

I have finished one heel so far and getting ready for the second of my Fade-In Fade-Out Sockens.  One thing I did do so this pair would not end up being a UFO is I wove in all of the ends in the foot portion before working the heel.  I just completed weaving in the ends for the second sock so I can begin that heel.

 

I am using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel pattern which is one of my favorite heels to knit.  With that heel I like the fit of the socks much better than other heels I have knitted.

I still have the table runner on the loom.  I have about 10 more inches to weave before I start the last set of borders and hearts.  I can hardly wait to see how the hearts turn out once the piece is off the loom and wet finished.

That is what I have been working on this weekend.

Go Pack!

Mary

On the Needles January 13, 2017

During the week I started on the first pair of socks for my 2017 Socks for Stash and Scraps group.  2017 Socks from Stash and Scraps is a small group of one (Me) but open to anyone.  Goal for the year is simple - knit 6 pair of socks from your stash or leftover yarn from completed projects.

For my first pair of socks I am using the recipe for Fade-In Fade-Out Socken I found on Ravelry.  All the yarn used is leftover yarn from other projects.

I am knitting the socks 2-at-a-time on separate needles but still using the magic loop method. The first sock is ready to for me to start on the heel which will be done using the navy color yarn.

 Take a minute and stop over at Patchwork Times and see what others have on their Needles.

Happy Friday Knitting.

Mary

Wednesday's Weaving Update 1/11/17

I haven't done much weaving lately.   I keep looking at my loom and thinking of projects, checking out Ravelry, watching you tube rather than warping the loom and get weaving.

I have been  thinking of this project for a while and found Kelly Casanova's You Tube channel for some inspiration.  This morning I warped the loom with worsted weight cotton for a table topper that will feature hearts.  Kelly has a video for Branoe inspired hearts that I will be using as my guide.  I did not get too far today before I needed to stop and get ready for work but at least I got the border done and ready for the hearts.

Last week I finally did the hemstitching on a set of towels I finished probably a year ago.   Love to use handwoven cotton towels.  I have 2 other sets that I had woven, they are so absorbent and feel so good to use.

Today is a Happy Weaving Day.

Mary

Design Wall Monday January 9, 2017

I haven't done much sewing lately but I do have a few UFO's at the end of my quilting table I need to finish before I can start something new. 

Before I started on any of my quilts I needed to finish the binding on a quilt for one of the women that works for me.  She found this quilt in her closet and has no idea where it came from.  She knew that I quilt and asked if I would work on the quilt for her.  The top is kind of quirky and colorful, not well pieced but one of those pieces you can't help but love.

I took my time finishing the binding so that didn't give me much time to work on my quilt. 

The first UFO I decided to complete is a easy one.  The body of the quilt is done only the borders need to be added.

Stop over at Patchwork Times to check out more design walls.

Happy Quilting,

Mary

2017 First Snow of the Season

I grew up in Wisconsin so cold and snow come without saying.  The first snow was always exciting but it was just the beginning of a few months of more snow and bitter cold.  Living in South Carolina I still get excited for the first snow as long as I can stay home.

Saturday we had our first snow of the year, what a beautiful blanket of white.  I was lucky enough to be off of work so what do my husband and I do - head for the mountains to see more snow.

We left the house at 11am to start our ride to the hills in the Renegade and by then the roads were starting to melt.  For the majority of the trip the roads were great until we hit the road to Sassafras Mountain.  On the way up we did see a couple of trucks in the ditch, 2 vehicles that slid together passing each other, lots of 4 wheelers, kids with sleds and allot of beautiful scenery.

We made it to the top of the mountain and back home safely.

Beautiful day and a great ride.

Mary

On The Needles - Friday 1/6/17

Through the past several years I have acquired (like most) a allot of left over yarn from knitting projects.  After I would finish a project I would roll the yarn into a ball and throw it in the top drawer of a plastic storage bin next to my desk.  The drawer isn't big but you can jam allot of yarn into it.  The other day I tried to open it I decided something needed to be done with this yarn.  I decided my knitting goal this year is to knit 6 pair of socks from my scraps and stash.  With Loopy Academy, Camp Loopy, work and it takes me about 2 weeks to knit a pair of socks I thought that was a pretty safe goal to attain.

I went through the leftover yarn from the drawer and tentatively separated colors into bags and trying to get about 100g of yarn per bag.  I ended up with 6 bags so far but I'm sure I have another stash of scraps somewhere but this is just fingering weight, worsted weight is another year.

For the first pair of socks from my scraps I am going to use the 'recipe' from Fade-In-Fade-Out Socken I found on Ravelry.  Kind of a calm colorway for the first pair.  I think the top right yarn is alpaca and cotton blend so hopefully it will play well with the other yarn.

My in between project right now is Featherweight Cardigan and I am using Cascade Heritage Silk.

This cardigan was started during Camp Loopy last June and I would work on it every now and then.

Without measuring it looks like I am getting close to starting the ribbing.

And because I don't have enough yarn and I had a rollback credit at Loopy Ewe a Box of Fun showed up at my house yesterday.  My very first skeins of Wollmeise were in the order which I plan to knit Elfe, I used that pattern before but this time I am adding sleeves.

Well I was rather chatty this morning.

Happy Knitting!

Mary

Been Wayyy Too Long!

Happy New Year!

Decided to jump back to my blog that has been long neglected.

I was thinking yesterday of some of my goals for 2017, what I want to achieve not resolutions.

First is to naturally lose more weight and become more healthier.  Last September I joined a program called Body Talk.  The program taught me allot about listening to myself and what my body needs.  Through the 3 month program I lost 22 pounds and have signed up for another 12 week program starting on the 16th of this month.

I have acquired allot of yarn (surprise) and collected allot of balls of yarn left over from completed projects.  So yesterday as I was going through a small bin with my left over yarn when I decided to knit at least 6 pair of socks fom my scraps and stash this year.

Next is finish my UFO quilts, problem is I don't know how many I have and don't really want to know.

Last goal is to declutter the house.  This is a big goal but if I keep working on it maybe by the end of 2018 I will be done.