A Quilting First - February 08, 2008

I am learning to quilt. I found a box of quilt pieces/blocks that my grandmother made and these are anywhere from 60 to 100 years old. Gotta talk to someone who knows about these things!

Anyway, I want to work on her quilt pieces, but I don't know what I'm doing. So I joined a local guild - Fat Quarters Guild - here in Grove City and they are nurturing me through the process. Tracie needs a new cover for the pad on top of her grandmother's cedar chest and I thought I'd get brave and make one in the same color scheme as her Amish-made quilt. With the help of the guild and another friend, here is my first finished quilt piece. It's so far from perfect (yes, I cut off the points deliberately, a MAJOR no-no in quilting) and the actual quilting was a quick-and-dirty process, but it's done. I love it, I'm proud of it, and I think Tracie will love it, too. 'Course, she can't have it till after the March Show-n-Tell at Fat Quarters! lol

Tote (Diaper) Bag - November 24, 2007

My daughter, Tracie, and I belong to the yahoo group, KnitNPlay. It's a knitting exchange group that replaced the KnitExchange. Currently, it is a VERY small group, but ListMom is hoping it will grow. Our first swap is a bag swap. My partner likes relatively large bags, so when Tracie found a diaper bag pattern on the label of Caron Simply Soft, we both knew this was the pattern to make for our partners. It is roomy enough for a fairly large project, with pockets to hold accessories, needles, etc. For me, making it was rather slow, because it is made with double strands of yarn and the Twisted Stockinette Stitch, meaning that every knit stitch is worked in the back loop. I just couldn't get a rhythm going and it really aggravated my hand and wrist. But that twisted stitch gives it a body and sturdiness. I'm rather pleased with the completed project. But now I have to get it into the mail!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Satisfying Day - September 01, 2007

Still working on the scarf - have about 18" or so done. Tracie and I met a couple ladies from the knitting guild for lunch at Bob Evans (Tracie was able to eat their vegetable soup - had to remove the beef). Then we went to 3 yarn shops. I was a BAD girl!!!!! But they had some sales and some yarn kept calling my name and telling me what type of sweaters I could design and make. When I got home, DH asked me if I *really* needed more yarn, and I said Yep - for the kind of sweaters I want to make. LOL

Since Tracie did the driving, I was able to knit, knit, knit (one shop is about an hour away).

Finally Finished! - July 05, 2007

One of the groups I belong to, AtMyHouse, has UFO Monday. Every Monday, you are encouraged to pull one of your probably many UFOs out and work on it. My dear daughter, Tracie, tries really hard to get me to work on at least one UFO before starting a new project (nice idea, but . . . . ) Any way, Monday (7/2/07) I did just that! I had come across a pair of socks (2 socks/2 circs) that I had started over a year ago (two years ago?????) I had gotten to the point where one heel had been turned but not the other. Took me a few minutes of looking very closely to figure out which heel pattern I was using, and then I got down to business. Worked on it some more Tuesday and also Tuesday evening when 5 of us got together at a local Bob Evans for an informal Knit Nite. Took it with me yesterday when we went to some friends at Indian Lake. Spent the day there and knit most of the day. Finished the socks last night right after we got home. YIPPEE!!!!!! Now to decide if I want to start designing a bag somone asked me about or pull out a shawl that's been driving me nuts (I want it DONE, but I don't want to work on it) LOL, or start a new shawl. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ponderings and Musings - February 06, 2007

It's cold and brisk in Central Ohio. We don't normally have single digit temperatures with sub-zero wind chill, so most aren't prepared for it. Consequently, our schools have been closed for 2 days and maybe (BIG maybe) tomorrow as well. Since I work for the schools, I don't have to report to work when school is closed. I've been having a wonderful 2 days. First of all, I can keep my slowly healing foot propped up without guilt. I was able to travel 2 hrs out of town with my wonderful daughter, Tracie, yesterday afternoon to quietly sit in on a meeting she had to attend. I've been knitting, and reading, and knitting, and watching select shows on TV, and knitting, and - well, you get the picture! This morning I spent quite a bit of time on the 'net surfing for patterns to make my KnitExchange partner's mitts/mittens/gloves and looking for a pattern for Tracie to use for her partner. My son's girlfriend sent me a message to chat for a few minutes. Now Mary is from Louisiana. She has lived in the greater New Orleans area most of her life. She lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. She immediately found some friends to room with, got another job, and met my son, who was down there with his dad as a two-man paramedic team. We tease Mary that she is my son's Katrina souvenir. All that to say, in the course of conversation, I asked her if she was warm enough. She's at work, a program analyst, trying to type with blue fingertips! I had just read a pattern that talked about mitts being perfect for hands with cold fingers. The theory is that if the bulk of the hand is warm, it will help keep the fingers warm. Mary was interested in trying some mitts! So here I am, making Mary a pair of mitts before I start on my partner's. :) While I was knitting, for some reason memories of my mom came flooding in my mind. She was so proud of my knitting, at my beginning efforts to design, of the things I made to help try to keep her tiny, elderly body warm. She's been gone nearly two years now. I miss her so! I'm learning a new technique working on these mitts for Mary - how to knit with 2 colors, but held in the same hand. I've always done this two-handed and have been frustrated by the "uneveness" of my sts. I really like the way this is turning out. Hope to have pics up soon!