Gifts ready to ship!

Katie had her baby girl the other day and I think I've made enough items for her to send them on their way. I made another of the "jacquard" hats, two washcloths, and a simple hat from Crochet from the Heart by Kristin Spurkland.



Shorah Y'all!

Little Boy's Hat

Finished the second hat in a 24-month size for Katie's little boy. I finished it off with four rows of 1x1 ribbing and a crochet bind off. This is the same pattern as the yellow and pink ruffled hat but without the ruffle.



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Ruffled Hat & Completed Yarn Quest

I finished the hat I started while waiting for my car's A/C to be fixed. It's adorable and the Bernat Baby Jacquard is so soft!



Ravelry Project Page

I picked up some gorgeous yarn while completing the local Yarn Quest. At Three Wishes Fiber Arts in West Jordan, I picked up three skeins of ONline Linie 12 Clip for $4.99 each, in pink, green, and yellow. At The Needlepoint Joint in Ogden I picked up two skeins of the Tahki Cotton Classic in a light green that I've been trying to find. At the Needlepoint Joint, I also found a book I'd been thinking about getting, "50 Baby Booties to Knit" by Zoe Mellor. I'lll probably do at least one of them in the Bernat Berries & Cream Baby Jacquard to match the hat above. I also saw a cute little knitted dress in the window there and bought the pattern. It is called "Spring Flowers" by Fiber Trends. At the Black Sheep Wool Company in SLC, I found a Dale of Norway pattern book with some adorable knit patterns for babies.

My sister Jessica came with me on the quest as did my dog, Kaylee. She was oohed and aahed over at each store and even piddled on the carpet at Three Wishes since she'd smelled the owner's male dog scent in the store.

When we walked into the store, I saw they had several looms on the left with a wall of yarn for weaving. I told them that they were officially my second favorite store because of the weaving supplies they had. "What would it take to make us your favorite store?" one of the ladies asked. I laughed and said they couldn't as The Unraveled Sheep was my favorite.

All of the stores in the quest were wonderful places, everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, and all had crochet sections which I appreciated.

Now, I can only cross my fingers that we win one of the wonderful prizes from the quest!!!!

Shorah Y'all!

Another beanie and some booties

I'm almost finished with the second Fair Isle Beanie for Katie's forthcoming baby. I purchased some additional yarn in white so I could follow the original pattern more closely and it's adorable! I just need to weave in the ends (which is one of my least favorite tasks).





I also made some booties following a free Bernat pattern:





Ravelry Project Page

I stopped by the Firestone in Draper today to get the AC in my car looked at as it wasn't working - hot air is not a good thing in 90+ heat. I had to wait a bit (2 hours) so I walked over to Michaels in the same parking lot and bought some Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn and needles. The yarn had a cute baby hat on the label so I worked on that while waiting on my car. I'm almost finished with the top of the hat and about to start on the main part of it. I'll post pics when I'm finished with it. I'm making one for a 3 month old in pink and one for an 18-24 month old in blue. They'll go to Katie for her newborn girl and little boy.

Shorah Y'all!

Baby Beanies!

The local yarn stores are having a yarn quest this week and on Saturday I made it to
The Wool Cabin in Salt Lake City, Unraveled Sheep in Sandy, and Heindselman's in Provo. At the Wook Cabin, they had some adorable knitted baby beanies and the pattern was free with purchase of the Cotton Classic yarns in the pattern. My cousin Katie is having a baby soon and I knew these would be perfect!

I finished one of them, a Fair Isle Baby Beanie although I modified it slightly as I had only gotten three colors but it was my third finished knitting project and my first attempt at a small Intarsia project.

So, here's the finished hat and I'm working on a second one with a band of seed stitches.



Shorah Y'all!

What kind of whatever am I?

Decided to take a couple of those "What kind of ... are you?" things. Here are a few of them.

This one couldn't be more off:

You Are a Brownie Cheesecake

A little chunky and a little gooey, you pretty much run on sugar! You take hedonism to the extreme.. And people love you for it.

What Kind of Cheesecake Are You?

Now this one is ironic since mint makes me ill even though I love it (is one of the issues I have with Fibromyalgia):

You Are A Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Girl

Creative. Expressive. Unique.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

hmmm ... maybe ....

You Belong in Spring

Optimistic, lively, and almost always happy with the world... You can truly appreciate the blooming nature of spring. Whether you're planting flowers or dyeing Easter eggs, spring is definitely your season!

What Season Are You?

Shorah Y'all!

More photos of sundress

I was able to get some nicer photos outside after I got home from work.





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Sundress Finished

I've been working on a crocheted sundress for my little cousin Anya and finally finished it this morning around 5:30 am when I couldn't sleep and figured what better way to spend a sleepless night than to finish this project?

The pattern is by Joyce Nordstrom and is found in Crochet Today! May/June 2008 issue. I did make some changes to the dress, like a third row of scs for the neck and arm edging instead of reverse scs (was taking too long) and added some little crocheted flowers at the waist.

The color is way off in these photos, the dress color is more of a light green. I'll have to take photos outside to get a more realistic color.







oooh, the color is more like this image:



Queue up on Ravelry

Shorah Y'all!

Finished the Spirogyra Mitts!

Finally!!!! Am tickled pink ... The first glove ends in orange and the second glove starts out with the end section of the orange and continues, so they aren't "perfect" matches, but I love them anyway.



Shorah Y'all!

Catching up

I'm a bit behind on posting here as I've been very busy with the charting software and my knitting and crochet projects. I also found some older projects, some finished, some not - which I've added to my Ravelry projects.

The first project is a baby hat I've started using the Spirogyra Fingerless Gloves pattern. I wanted to do another baby hat using the Jaeger Trinity yarn I have but the pattern I found required that you have another pattern from a book or magazine, neither of which I have. So, since I like the Spirogyra pattern so much, I decided to use it instead which means that when I've finished with it, I can post the changes here and not worry that my readers can't get hold of the original pattern.



The next project is one I'd made back in 2003 - just because it was so cute! It's a bobble hat for a little girl from the September 2003 issue of Crochet! Magazine. It uses Plymouth Wildflower D.K. yarn which has some beautiful kid colors!



I also found a threadholder I'd made from an e-pattern I purchased at e-patternscentral.com. It works great when traveling so my balls of thread don't roll under the plane seats or across the waiting room.



I'm also to the palm on the right glove of the Spirogyra mitts and just about to get to the thumb section.



The final project is the first half of the Mystery Shawl for the Goddess Knits Anniversary Knit Along. This will be my first knitted shawl, first circular knitted piece, and first time using lace weight yarn. I've struggled with the gauge swatch and have resigned myself to using a lifeline every other row. However, I love the Knit Picks Shadow yarn in Spring Green that I purchased. It is lovely, soft, and ... green ... which is always a plus for me.



Oh, and how could I forget the scrumptious yarn I purchased from Three Irish Girls in their Teague colorway ... this will go towards a very special project that I have not decided on or have any idea what it will be ... oh the joy of anticipation just to see what I'll come up with!



Shorah Y'all!

New Crochet/Knit Charting Software in Development

I'm currently starting on the design and development of a crochet/knit charting software program that will include symbol charting and radial designs. I want this program to be something that crocheters and knitters can use so I'm asking for your help in designing the features to be included.

Take my interest survey and then come join my Ravelry group to discuss features and ideas.

• Take Survey here
• Join Thistleberry Charting Software group
  

Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested!

Shorah Y'all!

Purple Haze Arm Warmers

My newest design is a pair of arm warmers that can be made fitted, loose, or very loose. I used Filatura Di Crossa Multicolor for mine but any fine yarn will work, with a larger hook to give a lacy, soft feel to them. The version below is fitted so it won't flop around but I'm working on a much looser version in a lighter yarn for summer wear in the cool evenings.



I have the pattern up for sale at Ravelry for $1.50, a reasonable price, and only because I need some extra cash right now. I hope you enjoy it!



Shorah Y'all!

Branching Out Scarf

Last night I started on the Branching Out Scarf by Susan Lawrence with the Filatura DiCrossa Multicolor yarn in the Green/Blue/Purple/Pink/Yellow colorway. The photo below is after completing the first 20 rows. The yarn is soft and fluffy and probably not something I should have used for a first lace project. I did have to frog it a few times as I just could not get the stitch count right and kept ending up with too many or too few stitches.

Note to self: Never try to knit by candlelight ...



Queue up on Ravelry
My project on Ravelry

I purchased a purple skein of the same yarn to make the same scarf for my sister, Jessica. She wanted the green one since there was purple in it but I'd already claimed it and Unraveled Sheep only had one skein of each. I'd love to get hold of another skein of the green to make the Silk Sleeves in the One Skein book by Leigh Radford.

While doing some sorting through stuff the other day, I found a purse crochet project I'd started back in June of 2007. I did most of it while on a plane to Seattle and over the weekend there while at a friend's wedding. I'm almost finished with the front of the purse and the back is almost identical and while the pattern called for size 10 crochet thread, I'm using size 20.

The purse pattern is from Annie's Attic # 87Z30, The International Collection of Crochet Patterns.



(Sigh) The photo isn't very good but I never seem to be able to get a good photo of light/white yarns, even when not using a flash.

Queue up on Ravelry
My project on Ravelry

Shorah Y'all!

Finished ... Left Spirogyra Glove

I'm sometimes easily amused and finishing up the left glove of my Spirogyra project has me dancing in the hall, much to the confusion of my Shih Tzu. I was able to get the main part of the mitt done yesterday and finished up the thumb this evening. I love it! Now on to the right glove ...

Here's the glove from yesterday with the thumb still left to do:



And the finished glove on my arm:



And just the glove showing both sides of it:



Dar does happy dance ....!!!

Shorah Y'all!

Back to Cris' Arm Warmers

The Patons' SWS was just too itchy even after washing it so I've switched to Mountain Goat yarn from Mountain Colors in Sweetpea. I've finished the left arm warmer and am about to start on the right one. I also submitted the pattern for the CLF book.



WiPs used to finalize pattern:

Green version:



Brown/Navy version:



Shorah Y'all!

Spirogyra Part 3

On the second row after switching to the #2 needles, at exactly the same spot as before, the yarn pulled apart again. I’ve started keeping an eye out for potential sections that might pull apart and twisting the yarn a bit to give it a bit more strength. So far I haven't had any more do this but I've probably jinxed myself by saying that ... The short mitts have 20 rows of pattern with the longer version having 50 rows, so I decided to go with 30 rows to get it a bit in between, especially since I have short arms. Next, I’ll switch back to the #3 needles for the lower hand section but need to stop for a bit as the fingertip of the finger I hold around the needle with on my left hand is numb and I need to wait until I get the feeling back in it.

Here's the mitt so far ...



And trying it on ....



Shorah Y'all!

Spirogyra Part 2

I just finished the first 20 rows of pattern on the Spirogyra mitts and am about to switch to the smaller needles to continue the piece. I'm quite pleased with my progress. The yarn pulled apart on the last set of 12 knit stitches and I had to undo a few stitches to tie the yarn back together but since I felt the yarn going, I didn't lose any work other than the ones I undid myself.

Isn't this yarn gorgeous!??!!!




Shorah Y'all!

Glamour top and Spirogyra Fingerless Mitts

Two of the many projects I'm working on will probably take me some time to complete.

The first is the Glamour top from Patons using their Grace yarn. I'd started it in Ginger for my sister Jennifer but yesterday found enough of the Azure colorway at Michael's to switch to that color. Especially since she really wanted the blue anyway. I'll save the green for another project for myself.

You can see the top here on the Paton's site: Glamour top - it's the one on the cover of the booklet. The instructions are a bit obtuse on some points so I started a post at Ravelry in the Patons Beehive forum to discuss it.

Since I restarted the top last night, I have one of the sleeve medallions done and about an 1.5" of the back completed.

Here is the back portion:



and the sleeve medallion:



Queue up on Ravelry

The second project is the Spirogyra Fingerless Mittens by Lynne Vogel, available for free at Knitty.com. I've started over on the mitts several times since this is only my second knitting project and switched from using four DPNs to using five. Lynne has been very helpful with suggestions for working the mitts and her Spiralling Leaves Fingerless Mitts as well (which is my next knitting project as I have the pattern and yarn all ready to go).

The image below shows my progress on the Spirogyra mitts, after 6 rows of ribbing and 10 rows of the pattern.



Apparently, I'm also knitting inside out as when I work the right side of the piece is inside the round when it is supposed to be on the outside ... oh well.

Spirogyra pattern at Knittyspin: Spring 2008 - free pattern
Spirogyra page at Ravelry
Spiralling Leaves page at Ravelry

Shorah Y'all!

A few finished projects

One of my bosses ordered an afghan for his mother, the Vanna's Choice 8-Color Afghan. I started it on March 21st and finished it on April 15th. It is made up of 48 squares instead of the original 36 called for.



I also made a few bath items from the Annie's Attic Pamper Yourself booklet. I was able to get it in PDF format from e-Patterns Central, which I love being able to do (no books lying around to trip over). So far I've made the bath mitt, body puff, and soap holder. I believe the back scrubber will be next.

Here's the soap holder made with Lily Sugar'n Cream Cream color and an H/8 hook:



And the bath mitt made with Lily Sugar'n Cream Sunshine and Cream colors and an H/8 hook:



And the body puff made with Elmore Pisgah Peaches & Creme in Gumdrop, with a bit of Fiesta since I ran out of the Gumdrop, and an H/8 hook:



The bath items were easy to make, but the body puff got a bit awkward to hold, especially since I have small hands. It was also a bit more time consuming than I would have liked but it's a good project to pamper yourself with.

A note on e-Patterns Central, when you order the PDF patterns, they are stored in your account so if you ever need them again, they are there waiting for you. They mostly have individual patterns but also have some booklets and magazines (knitting, crochet, beading, etc.). They have patterns for knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, plastic canvas, cross stitch, and crafts.

Shorah Y'all!

A new knitting project

I'm a bit behind posting this but I finished the second Irish Hiking Wrist Warmer on 5/23/08 and have been wearing them ever since. It started to get warm here and then yesterday morning, it snowed again. Most of it was gone by noon but has stayed cold since and the "warehouse" where my cube is stays a bit chilly.

After work today, I stopped by the Unraveled Sheep yarn store in Sandy. My sister Jessica asked if she'd failed in her mission and Verla (the owner) asked what that mission was. "To keep me out of here!" I told her. Of course, she then showed me the new sock yarn that had just come in and I was so tempted but I was looking for yarn to make the Spirogyra Fingerless Gloves by Lynne Vogel. I ended up selecting some Noro Silk Garden Lite, colorway 2029 which is variegated with green, pink, purple, and orange. It is wonderfully soft and is made up of 45% silk, 45% kid mohair, and 10% lamb's wool. Verla showed me a purse made with this yarn that had been put through a wash cycle. It had softened up even more with barely any shrinkage.

I also showed Verla my finished wrist warmers and she said I was doing great for a beginning knitter.

The photo below shows my start on the Spirogyra gloves after the first six rows of ribbing. Next row starts the actual pattern. A pretty good start for a second knitting project!



I'll post more photos as I progress.

Spirogyra pattern at Knittyspin: Spring 2008 - free pattern
Spirogyra page at Ravelry

Shorah Y'all!