Stash Enhancement

Sunday found me in Los Angeles with two of my knitting friends. We were on a quest: Stash Enhancement. We needed yarn. Lots of yarn. We got yarn. Lots of yarn. There was a sale. A really good sale. And Scout saw a TV star: Ron Livingston. (He starred in Office Space--and he'll be in The Time Traveller's Wife!) And I saw his back. Twice.

I've finished sock one in Socks for Cutting Hair. He tried it on and said it was a perfect fit. Oh, boy. Maybe someday sock two will be finished. Not today, though. I've been enamored of my first pair of toe-up socks! The pattern is called Red Dwarf Socks, so I'm calling 'em Beach Dwarf. Mom was having surgery yesterday, so I was knitting while waiting. (So wonderful to have something to pass the time!) I tried the heel twice and got so stuck. So I got online and found the Knitty Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula and it helped me right through the heel. Yay! (Mom's gonna be there a while, so I figure I'll get a lot of knitting done.)

I tried the exercise and knit thing today. I went for a walk and, after about an hour, pulled out my Pride and Prejudice socks. I really was able to get about 4 or 5 rows done. Cool, huh. Of course, I bet I got a few double-takes from the neighbors.

Zombie Crayonzox are Done!

A Message from Our Resident Pastry Chef

When I got home today, there was a cryptic note on the counter, written in Tiny's hand. It read,

"Eat cookies!"

I looked around. No cookies. It is an interesting injunction, though. Would make a nice start on a To Do List. Or perhaps as an insult: "Eat warm cookies, you imperialist dog!" You know, if people used this kind of epithet, the world would be quite a different place.

Now, on to the needlework! I finished the top (below) and back (not pictured) for "Star in the East." It's a prayer quilt for Pat. She's undergoing treatment for metastasized cancer. If it's in your practice to pray, please pray for healing, pain relief, strength to endure, and comfort & encouragement.

And now for something completely different...

A new Photo Tutorial: The Magical Magnetic Pincushion

It has been brought to my attention that I use a technique when sewing that is unusual, but time-saving. I use a magnetic pincushion and position it behind the pass-through arm of the sewing machine. This one is red. You can just see it in the picture.

As I'm sewing, I pull out the pin just before it goes under the foot (sewing over pins leads to bent needles!) using my middle finger by the advent of spreading my fingers out (Jazz hands!)Then I flick it toward the pincushion, which (usually) catches it. All this time, I barely slow down in my sewing.I don't worry about those pins that miss the pincushion. Later, I will flip over the pincushion and hover it over them and they'll just leap right on. Then I can put the pincushion back in place.

I keep another magnetic pincushion in the place where I'm doing my pinning. (That one's purple and camera-shy.) When that one starts to look empty, I switch them out, moving the purple to the back of the sewing machine and the red to the pinning area.

I'm not sure if I figured this out myself or someone showed me. If it was you, thanks!

Ice Cream!

This is how I hope I look to strangers. Somebody peaceful, knitting serenity into life. Not that crazy lady, spending 20 hours making a blessed sock!
I've been out to La Jolla. I figure I live so close, I may as well enjoy it. If you look to the right in the frame, you can just make out a surfer that I was watching. He had a couple of good rides, standing for about five seconds per. It was so pretty and so peaceful and, for once, this little palisade was clean of birdie, um, attention.

On the home front, I finally got the motivation to finish Funky Frogs of Looove. I made the label and sewed it on. Yes, that's all it took to finish it.Is that why it's been languishing unfinished? I hear you ask. Ahem. Um. I, uh, I... think I hear the ice cream man. Who's up for ice cream?

I'd Like to Use a Lifeline

... actually I wouldn't. A lifeline is there if you get in trouble, right? According to Mirriam-Webster it is

"a line used for saving or preserving life."

In other words, it's good to know it's there, but having to use it means you're in trouble. Now the new definition of a lifeline (or new to me, anyway):

a strand of fiber threaded through a row of a knitted project so that, if the
knitter gets lost or makes a mistake, can unravel back to that row and begin
from there, rather than the very start.

I've heard that dental floss is recommended for this purpose. So I decided to use a lifeline in my first lace project: a square for an afghan. I knew that it would be best to use a thicker floss, so I went through the tiny floss containers from the dentist. Fine, extra fine, super fine... the only standard width floss I have is mint. So now I have minty-fresh lace. Eh! How can that be bad? Happily I never had to frog back to the lifeline, but it sure was nice to know it was there. Did I mention the minty-fresh part?

What is a Really Good Friend?

I was at a party with the Man of the Place, talking with a bunch of old improv buddies, when the subject of friends came up. "A good friend will help you move; a really good friend will help you move a body," I quipped. This provoked some thoughtful looks. We all started to wonder who our really good friends were. The Man of the Place couldn't help it. "Who would you call if you had to move a body?"
I looked at him. "You," I said. And I would. And this is how the phone call would go:

"Honey (sob), the man at the sewing machine repair shop said he couldn't fix
Molly. (another sob) And I kinda lost it. (pause) I'm gonna need a new
sewing machine... and there's something else..."

But no worries. Molly's fine. She's gonna be working later today. I've been putting off quilting Tiny's latest effort: a Fello Fitty (that's fake Hello Kitty to the Kitty-clueless) masterpiece.

The craziest thing I've done lately is join the 52 Pair Plunge. What's that, you ask? Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Here's the deal:

The Challenge
Knit or crochet 52 pairs of socks in one calendar year (midnight 1 June 2009 - midnight May 31, 2010) Socks may be any pattern, any yarn, any size (baby, child, adult) – leg warmers, knitted boots, slippers, etc. do not count because they are not socks!

And yes WIP’s count! (That's Works In Progress)
Anatomy of a sock: Socks have 3 parts, toes, heels and cuff. Yoga socks, pedicure socks, and tube socks will not count for this years plunge.

Do I honestly think I can knit 52 pairs of socks in one calendar year? Not without being institutionalized with only my knitting needles for company. But it's fun to try. Heck, if I make 12 pairs, I think I'll win (on a personal level). With this in mind, I headed out to Bucky's on the bike with knitting in tow. I stayed there for several hours, nursing my macchiato and listening to podcasts. Oh, and knitting. I really like this subtle basketweave pattern. These socks are for a friend from colder climes, who appreciates hand-knit wool socks. When he saw me knitting, he said, " Can you make me a pair of socks?" I laughed. This was about two or three years ago, when knitting a pair of socks--no, ONE sock--would have taken six months. Now, I'm up for it.

Have... Spare... Moment... Must.... Knit!

So I'm driving Tiny all over Kingdom Come, picking up pals and going to fun activities. No, I don't actually get to attend anything--I'm just the chauffer. Well, there's an unexpected delay in picking up Tiny's friend. That means sittin' in the car. Sittin'? Just sittin'? I don't do that. Now what? Do I have anything to do? I know I took out the sock knitting and left it at home. I'm sure the lace knitting is on the table. Minor panic until I discover the shiny hat is in my purse.
Phew!

Holy Sheet!

My favorite blue sheet has become holy. Not that it's been beatified (Saint Sheet!)--I mean holey. Serves me right for buying the pretty one! Well, I decided to be a thrifty gal instead of buying a new one. I searched the net to find out how to patch it--not much luck. So I used a clothes-patching tutorial and a piece of quilting scrap to take care of the job. I pinned the patch in place and zig-zagged around it with good old Molly. I thought I'd be doing it by hand but I couldn't find anything in that way. We'll see how it launders. I was going to say, we'll see how it comes out in the wash, but that seems just too cliche. Aren't you glad I refrained?

Soy-Lent Green socks got finished on a long drive to the mountains with my family. Here's the story: The Man of the Place hadn't been driving much, so I've been the driver (which I dislike: I'm a much better passenger than he is... or just about anybody. It's one of my special skills.) I had got it into my head that I'd be driving, so I packed up the car and my nearly-finished socks (just in case I had some spare moments at the picnic area) and, when I went to sit in the driver's seat, he was already there. I was so flabbergasted I didn't think to go inside and get more handwork: I just sat down in the passenger seat with a shocked-yet-grateful look on my face and closed the door.

Needless to say, the socks got done when I still had above an hour's worth of riding time. So I just cast on some of the very small amount of remaining yarn and knit. It's the start of another soy sock, but just the start. I tucked it away when we got home and may or may not finish it with more soy scraps. At least it kept me from twiddling my thumbs.

Second Sock Syndrome

Faith told me about a pair of socks she had been knitting. She didn't really want to make the second sock as the pattern hadn't been fun for her. I said I understood and suggested she give it to a lady with one foot. Well, she decided to give it to a lady with one sock. In other words, she gave me the completed sock, the pattern (Girl's Best Friend Socks), and the yarn to make the next sock! Wow! The cuff does look like a challenge, but why not? So I'll start on that one soon. Nice to have a project already half done simply by opening the bag...

Disappearing Stitches

I know the Ooh--Shiny! hat looks like it's been knitted backwards (tinK, tinK), but no! I had to frog the whole thing and start over because I got lost. "How do you get lost when you're just going in a circle? You're just doing a simple rib," I hear you say. Yeah, well. Because the right side is identical to the wrong side, it's easy to flip it over and just go horribly wrong. This time I marked the right side with a safety pin. And after I secured it properly and figured out how to keep it from sipping around the stitches and marking the wrong side, things have been going very well, thanks for asking.

Everybody Loves Zombies

I think this yarn looks like you took a pack of crayons, left 'em in the car on a hot day, and then colored with 'em. So I'm calling the project Zombie Crayonsox. (Zombie because the "dead" crayons will be animated once you put a foot in 'em.) It's an easy sock pattern that I've had for a long time and never completely used. Same goes for the yarn. Kinda hard to tell which is the ball and which is the sock, huh? Well, I'll be sure and put it on a foot next time.

Forensic study may show that the heel has been turned (yay!) and the mate will begin to germinate soon.The Funky Frogs of Looove quilt is nearing completion. I've been trying to work on the border about 10 minutes every day. The back of the quilt is so eye-searingly pink that a time limit is only in self-defense. I do like it, but I couldn't photograph it. I can't afford to replace my camera.And one of my readers, let's call her Mom (I do!), has asked about Dream Dancer. She's had a little progress in her cape (which is completely invisible to the naked eye) and I've just started working the outer points of her background shield. So, invisible progress is still progress.

Green is the New Blue

Hmmm... As this is the Year of No-Fear Knitting, I've decided to make a sweater. A cardi, in fact, but just a little one. And now, if your name is Marie and you're pregnant, just stop reading right now.
Now.
Is she gone? (sigh) Okay, here's a video for Marie: (the rest of us can just slip away and look at what's on the needles.)
Now, Teens, don't get jealous. Your little one got my very first booties. And a sampler.
Of course, they're probably neither one of them reading this. Have I babbled long enough?

Okay, here it is! I was going to post it in progress, but I just couldn't stop to take a picture. Cute, huh? I just love the little stars on the hat. (That got done in ONE DAY!)

And Teens told me all about baby leg warmers. Apparantly, it's the hottest new trend in baby apparel: you can keep their little legs warm, change their diapers, and not fight with putting tiny pants back on. Good idea. I also heard that, if they're long enough, you can cover their little feet with 'em. So, using the same yarn, I'm making leg warmers instead of booties.

In a Garden

Lest you think this has become a knitting exclusive blog, note below that the hanging flowers have grown stems, the birdhouse has begun(on right) and the lemon tree is making progress (on left).