Friday, August 28, 2009

Tunnel Lace Cloth


Tunnel Lace Cloth


This cloth was made using the Tunnel lace stitch found in one of the Harmony guides with a simple knit stitch broader.

Very quick and easy to knit up. By keeping your stitches on the loose side with the yarn overs in the first row the second row is much easier to knit. It also helps with the p3togs, in the forth row. So keep it nice and relaxed.

Size 8US needles
64 yds ( approximately ) worsted weight cotton shown in Sugar & Cream’s Summer Set
Exact gauge is not essential to this project, knitting loosely with make things go much smoother
9” by 9 ” approximately
Stitches
k = knit
p = purl
p3tog = purl 3 stitches together
yon = yarn over needle
yfrn = yarn forward and around needle
* * = repeat instructions between as many times as indicated
Stitches should only be counted after the forth row.

Cast on 35 stitches
Knit 4 rows
1) k3, p2, *yon, k1, yfrn, p2,* repeat to last 3 stitches, k3
2) k5, *p3, k2,* repeat to last 3 stitches, k3
3) *k3, p2,* repeat to last 3 stitches, k3
4) k5, *p3tog, k2,* repeat to last 3 stitches, k3
Repeat rows 1 thru 4, nine more times
Knit 4 rows, bind off. Weave in ends.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Desert Evening Shawl



Desert Evening Shawl

Size 11 US circular needles
Exact gauge is not essential to this project
300 yds worsted weight yarn main color ( Peaches & Crème’s Teal Ombre ) approximately, yarn amounts will vary to size.
130 yds worsted weight yarn trim color ( Peaches & Crème’s Black )
Size is adjustable, mine is 62 inches across without the broader.

buy now
 on Ravelry for knit patten

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Rainbow






We got some rain yesterday, and a double full rainbow. Took the photos with my phone so they don't show as bright as they really were.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Lace Wrist Covers


Lace Wrist Covers

Fits medium sized hand
Sz. 6 & 7 dpns or circular
84 yds worsted weight yarn, shown in Red Heart’s Frosty Green
Gauge 4 ½ sts by 6 rows using larger needle

Both hands are done the same so make two

Stitches
K2tog = knit 2 stitches together
Psso = pass slid stitch over
Sl 1 = slide one stitch purl wise
Yf = bring yarn forward

on ravelry

Friday, August 21, 2009

This week

This last week and a half have been crazier then normal around here.
We are still getting ugly weather, not as much lightening, now it's mostly wind storms, still very little rain. My poor weeping willow is truly looking sad. Most of the leaves are gone. They did say it would be cooler, only 97 f. this coming week.
Tomatoes are coming out the size of a large grape :( Herbs are still doing good :D
My sisters car broke down again. Brent and Dad worked on it for three straight days no less then 8 hours each day. Got it to stop over heating, and found that the wheel was falling off. Took them hours to get the new part in and it was defective, had to turn round and start all over again. She is very hard on cars, not a month goes by without having to tow her home or something.
The day before this started Mom had surgery on her nose, she bled quite a bit. She is breathing a lot better now. She's a little upset, she thought straighting the inside would also straighten the outside. It didn't, not that you can really tell anyhow. She hit a door knob when she was 6 years old, it's bugged her since then.
While all this is going on my little dog had more problems with her back side. Been doing the fiber thing and trying to drain the sacs, but it happened again anyhow. No where near as bad as last time, but still nothing I want her to have to go through of course. Vet said something like it could have been brought on by allergies, instead of her ears infecting it was her anal sac. Never heard of this before. She is our first small dog so as far as I know it could be anything.
The vet also said she is too big ( fat is what she really said ) She's got to lose about two pounds. They want me to cut out her dog bones :0 That will never work. I'll get rid of the store ones, but she's got to have a reason to live, and I don't even want to try taking them away from Buffy ( our bigger, inside dog ). She would have no reason ( except bugging the cats and barking ) to live. It's all a chain reaction thing, take them from one dog, then the bigger dog loses them, starts getting crabby. The cats get the brunt of that, then they start to do bad things like pee on my floor! At least that's how it went down today. Let me tell you if these cats weren't so old ( 12 and 13 yrs ) I'd put them in the yard ( it's fenced in ) when I couldn't watch them. We can't even leave Buffy out, she can't take the heat, she's part chow chow ( the hair part )
So that leaves me looking for away to come up with homemade dog treats that are better for them. There are so many sites with recipes I'm kind of lost as to what would be the right way to go.
To top it off I got a jury duty summons yesterday. Doesn't start until October, good thing, lasts for three months, not a good thing. Brent's ends around then, so good thing.
Didn't get too much knitting done, did finish up a few things. I at this moment I have nothing on my needles :0 I really need to fix that, as soon as I get my cloth pattern written out.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

So much for green beans


This is what I'm getting out of my garden now. Between the heat and grasshoppers, that's all that is left of a good sized green bean plant. I have never in the 20+ years I've been down here seen so many grasshoppers. You can not go in the yard without them bouncing off your legs. Not one or two, dozens with each step. We spray around the trailer and gardens, but it stopped nothing. Months of work gone in less then a week. I still have my tomatoes plants but no more pumpkins. My herbs are doing well, they are trying to eat the sage but so far so good ( knock, KNOCK )

I made a pair of toe up socks :) I found a heel I liked ( just don't like a short row ). I didn't do the cast on like the pattern called for either, I used what knitting daily called the eastern cast on. The pattern is called You're putting me on http://tiajudy.com/putmeon.htm by Judy Gibson. I made the ankle wide also, as I'm giving them to Mom for her birthday.
The photo didn't come out very well but this is a hat with ruins symbols for health, and a few others for a friend of mine that has been going through hard times. His birthday is also this month. I made a few things for my aunt this week as well, her birthday was a few days ago. Slippers and a cloth both posted on Ravelry. I also got a new cloth done up. I'll be posting that in a few days as I still have to type up the pattern.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Wide Ankle House Socks

My Mother has been having her ankles swell. She asked for a pair of socks that would be good with loose fitting shoes or slippers. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks so I put together these.



Wide Ankle House Socks
Fits US shoe size 8 to 9 with wide ankle
188 yds worsted weight yarn. I used Redheart Super Saver in Peruvian Print ( see note at end of pattern)
Size 6US & 8US dpns. Set of 5 each
Gauge 4 sts. by 6 rows = 1” on size 8

Stitches
2 by 2 = knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches, repeat. Continue in this manner.
K2tog = knit 2 stitches together
Sl 1 = slide one stitch purl wise
Skp = slip one stitch knit wise, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch.
P2tog = purl 2 stitches together

Cast on 40
place on four size 8 dpns evenly, careful not to twist stitches when joining.

Cuff
2 by 2 ribbing for 2”
Knit even for 4”

Heel Flap
Knit needle # 1 with sz. 6 dpns, turn and sl 1, purl all the way across needles # 1 and # 4, keeping all heel stitches ( 20 ) on one needle. You will not be working with needles # 3 & # 4 for the heel flap.
Work heel flap for 2 ½ ” as follows
Sl 1, k to end
Sl 1, p to end
End with a knit row

Round heel
Sl 1, p11, p2tog, p1 turn
Sl 1, k5, k2tog, k1 turn
Sl 1 at the start of each row, knit or purl ( depending on the row your on ) to one before gap, decrease over gap, knit or purl one more stitch and turn.
Repeat until all stitches have been worked ending with purl row ( decrease will be the last stitch )

Gusset
Pick up stitches along gusset ( still using smaller needles ), making one stitch at side of heel flap ( using the bar between ) knitting into the back loop of all picked up stitches, to avoid holes.
I kept to the smaller needles on the soles and larger on the tops of the feet to give a stronger sole, yet stay a little more “roomy” on top.

After picking up stitches on right side, knit across needles # 2 & # 3 using sz. 8 dpns. Then pick up stitches on left side using size 6 again ( needle # 4 ).

Knit to center of heel using needle # 4, place stitches back on 4 dpns, by sliding the other half of the heel stitches to needle # 1. You should have half the heel stitches and the gusset stitches on needle # 1 ( sz. 6 ). 10 stitches on needle # 2 & # 3 each ( sz. 8 ) and the other side gusset and heel stitches on needle # 4 ( sz. 6 ).
Knit one round.

Start gusset decreases
Knit to last three stitches of needle # 1 then k2tog, k1. Knit across needles #2 & # 3 to needle # 4, k1, skp, knit to end of round.
Knit next round.
Keep decreasing in this manner until you have 10 sts left on gusset each needle.

Knit for 4”, switch to all smaller sized needles, knit for 1” ( for a total of 5 “ from end of heel ) this adds to the strength for the tops of the toes.

Toes
Needle # 1: k to last 3 sts., k2tog, k1.
Needle # 2: k1, skp, k to end of needle.
Needle # 3: k to last 3 sts., k2tog, k1.
Needle # 4: k1, skp, k to end of needle.

Knit next round.
Repeat decreases until you have 5 sts remaining on each needle. Graft together, weave in ends.

Color Note
I used Redheart Super Saver in Peruvian Print, one skein of yarn for both socks. I wanted to make sure the white and gray specks were around the ankle, so I cut the yarn at the start of that section, then cut it again after 40 yards, I rewound it so the white/gray sections would be at the end of the ball. I did that twice ( there were only 2 of the white/gray sections of yarn on that skein ). I used the rest of the yarn as it was wound on the skein. So I did have one extra cut in the yarn just before the heel. I’m sure they would come looking good without this extra step.

Monday, August 3, 2009

A chilling touch

Today looks somewhat clear out, yippee I can be online :) :) We've been getting quite a few lightening storms, not a lot of rain a few drops here and there mostly. We did have one or two that got pretty wet, pretty fast, but mostly a lot of lightening. Thankfully no fires ( knock, knock ). We've been very hot though, in the 100's for what seems like months, our power went out a few times during some of the worst heat. The humidity has been high as well.
I lost a good part of my garden to the heat. Came close to losing our weeping willow, very hot indeed.
All of that in mind is what made last night a little odd. Right around sunset, I was outside cooking on the grill, it had to be in the mid 80's if it was anything. A still night, you could hear a pin drop. I had been turning out the yard light when I went in, so not even a lot of moths around. I was standing at the grill turning the food when I felt the hair on the top of my head start to move. I couldn't feel any "wind" or movement on the rest of me. I reached up and felt my hair as it was still moving, it stopped after a second. That's when I realised my hair was ice cold. It was kind of nice, as I was just thinking how hot it was. I finished turning the food, then went inside. My hair was still very cold. It stayed chilled for almost a hour.
I've had ghosts walk through me before, but it didn't feel like that, it felt friendly. Any thoughts on this??????