Better Late Than Never

My sweet Norton. (Whiskers on Wednesday post a bit late...) Didn't want to skip another week, as there are too many good shots of these guys to share. Can you believe he's fifteen years old? He hasn't been acting like it lately. Norton is very much in touch with his inner kitten.
WIP Wednesday? I still need to hem, color set, and wash the guest washcloths I wove. It is an interesting adventure switching from knitting to weaving. In knitting, usually we end up with an odd, crumpled mess until it is dressed (blocked) and the stitch pattern opens up magically. In weaving, the dressing process draws in the fabric and tightens up the weave. My first project, the Made in Texas scarf, has now shrunk to a mere 4 1/2 inches wide from what I thought was a five inch finished width. So much to learn!

The Hey Jude socks are moving along at a snail's pace -- plan to finish the first today and cast on the second. Since today will be a mellow craft & watch movies day (I was up sick most of the night), I will finish the lobsters and the Tea Ball Slippers. I think with the third attempt at the Tea Balls I'll have what I'm looking for. So far, niece #5 (8 yo) and niece #4 (12 yo) have slippers -- I've been trying for SIL #3 (US Women's size 7 1/2). I'll get the adult size yet! Also want to work on the Cloud Bolero today. The Danica Scarf and Waterfall socks are being set aside until the Ravelympics. That just leaves Heroine, Celadon Jacket, and the Mallow Moorish Mosaic Afghan. Not in too big of a rush on those. Need to get working on more Kokeshi dolls, a small RAK project, and an item for my St. Patrick's Day swap partner, not to mention some patterns that are rattling around in my head.

Lots of FOs and Ribbed Yoga Socks

So far I've been tearing through the stash at a pretty good clip. I have finished a project every other day this month! They are mostly smaller items, but it still kind of blows my mind. Most of the projects are knit, a few are crocheted, and I should be able to finish up the first weaving project of the month today. I'll easily go though a mile of yarn this month!


Ribbed Yoga Socks

There isn't a whole lot to this pattern, but if someone out there is wondering what I did, here it is! They were made for a US women's size 8 1/2 - 9, but are pictured on my size 7 1/2 feet.

Yarn: Less than 200 yards of sock yarn. (I used 170 yards.) If working two-at-a-time from the inside and outside of the ball, be sure to first cut off two lengths of yarn long enough to cast on 30 stitches after the heel opening is made.
Needles: 2.50 mm (US 1 1/2). I used two-on-two circs, but you could easily use DPNs if you prefer.
Gauge: Not too critical, as the 2x2 ribbing makes a stretchy fabric. Ensure that your fabric is not too loose (will fall off or slouch) or too tight (will not go over heel or will cut off circulation!).

Directions: Cast on 60 stitches. I like using the Estonian cast on shown in this video with Nancy Bush. I use just the basic part, not where she doubles the yarn. To make the "pairs" start from the beginning, start with your slip knot, then "part B" as she refers to it. Then just repeat part A and part B until you have the number of stitches you need. When you start your ribbing, you will see the cast on edge "pairs" line up with your ribbing.

Work in K2, P2 (2x2) ribbing for approximately 4 1/2 inches. Bind off 30 stitches. On the remaining 30 stitches, work a RS row, a WS row, then a RS row again. Using a separate strand of yarn as your long tail, cast on 30 stitches in the same manner as you did for the initial cast on. Rejoin in the round and continue with 2x2 ribbing for another 4 1/2 inches, or length needed to leave the ball of the foot exposed. Bind off.


This pattern is intended for personal use only. Please do not sell this pattern or make items using this pattern for sale. Thanks!

Progress in the New Year

Lately I've been too busy studying and knitting/crocheting to post. Time to get a few random thoughts out here before any more time goes by. Absolutely cannot believe we've already been through the first two weeks of 2010!

Here's a glimpse of the WIPs as of January 1st. I am very happy to say that as of today they only cover about one fourth of the table. There have even been two projects cast on and bound off that aren't in the picture! Only one frogging -- I feared I wouldn't get the same gauge on the hat I started for my brother ages ago, so it's better to just start over on such a small project.


It was wonderful to have a little taste of winter here this year. A white Christmas! By the end of this weekend we'll be back up to 67 degrees or so, which works out well for the winter pruning. I took this picture Christmas Eve Day:

WoW #3 (Whiskers on Wednesday)

Haven't WoWed for a while, so here are a few to enjoy.Receiving supervision while I trim the hedge along the driveway.Cold weather makes for cuddly cats.Norton inspects the Christmas cactus. The cactus is eleven years old. It used to be three times its current size, but was neglected for about six months when my house sitter stopped showing up. It is recovering beautifully!Frank was on hand to help me warp my new Kromski Harp, 32" rigid heddle loom. I managed to keep my discipline at the Kid 'n Ewe Festival this year and only bought one skein of yarn (Plain and Fancy) for An American in China, but the Harp kept calling my name! Speaking of Kid 'n Ewe, not all whiskers are on kittens!Still trying to get the Christmas knitting done and enjoying the cold weather.

If you wait long enough to change your header...

...it will come right back in season. Back with the chilly weather here, putting the "North" into "North Texas." We were fortunate Friday to have our heat pump fixed -- the fear was that we would need to replace our old unit. Should be able to get at least one more year out of it. If anyone in the DFW area needs a recommendation for an HVAC repair person, message me and I'll give you Hector's number.

College ball was the big news this weekend. I know, I know. I didn't think I'd ever write about sports on my blog, either. Cousins Dave and Jon came down from Nebraska for the Nebraska-UT game on Saturday. Nebraska lost 13-12 in the last second of the game. We had precious little time with them because it was a drill weekend, but were thrilled to have them come down. Managed to eat lunch with them Saturday at The Railhead in Fort Worth, and Jeff was able to give them a tour of one of our planes. (That was at the same time I was dying a slow death by power point/video presentation. Knitting kept me awake and sane.) We learned that a whipped cream bribe will get Frank to make an appearance in front of company and were reminded that Norton knows no strangers.

Jeff still has the crud, and I'm teetering just over on the healthy side of things, so I'm trying to take it easy. I would love to start posting pictures of what I'm knitting, but it will have to wait another two-and-a-half weeks until everyone has received their Christmas presents! My Ravelry page is short quite a few pictures.

Time to make breakfast/brunch. I'll upload some pictures later today.

Sum It Up Sunday

Earlier this week I had a successful culinary creation. I've actually been having quite a few lately, but there is photographic evidence for this one:Lemon Garlic Shrimp on a bed of spaghetti squash in a nest of green beans. Yum in any language. Almost forgot to mention that I had the pleasure of using our homegrown Meyer lemons for this one!

Tuesday involved a little field trip to the Dallas Arboretum. Gorgeous day and gorgeous landscaping! Need to download the pix and show a few in a post of its own.

Myron & Jeff removed our back fence yesterday. By Wednesday we should have a new fence put up in anticipation of dog sitting Tank regularly and Massey's occasional visits. Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate. I need to build a square foot garden bed and pull the dirt from the fence line. It is obvious it was a dumping ground for leaves and some other organic debris and there is some good soil there waiting to be used. That will get us started with a few things (broccoli, radishes, lettuce). Still clearing out and covering the beds against the house. All I can say to that end is what a mess. Making progress also on picking up all the broken glass around the property.

Although the knitmeter has not been updated, there has been knitting. More starting than finishing, but progress nonetheless. Of course this time of year much of what is OTN falls into the gift category, so that severely restricts what can be posted. I'll see what I can pull together this week to get some knitting/yarn p0rn up on the site. If all goes well I'll be headed to Boerne this weekend! I'm the only one in our group going without a spinning wheel, so I've been trying to at least pull together the parts for a kick spindle. I think I can get the rest today and try construction tomorrow. The idea is to bring with me the roving I bought *ahem* last year and work on spinning it this year. I took a picture of my haul from last year to bring with me to remind myself that I don't need any more! Three finished objects resulted from that trip, and there is one WIP, but there is still more yarn...

Back from Blogging Oblivion with a Bang! (and a free pattern!)

It's the age-old dilemma: when you actually have something in life worth blogging about, you don't have the time to blog! No good way to restart other than to jump back in with both feet. So here is the pattern I finished months ago, and a link to it on Ravelry here.

Since March, I moved from Biloxi to Wichita Falls, then back to Mansfield. We recently took a very wet vacation to Maine, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. We've been fixing "those little gray pieces of... aircraft" and I've been studying, knitting, cooking, and trying to actually get moved in enough that we can start some remodeling. Yes, I know we've been in the house for a year, but I was gone for half of that, so cut me some slack! Throughout November I hope to "catch up" with the blog. Mainly knitting, gardening, and cooking content, with some travel and (hopefully) remodeling thrown in the mix. And of course, I will get back on track with WOW so Norton and Frank can get their face time!