Socks and Table

Been making some socks. Just my basic house sock.

I love them. Cheap yarn means I can be just as hard on them as I want. No hand washing, or flat drying for these, and yep right through the desert sand no problem ;)

Don't you just love quick knits that are so useful and fun :D

Went to El Paso a few days back. Still looking for that just right pair of boots for Jorden. Stopped at our favorite burger place :D Had a great time even found a good pair of boots :D

Our new reiki table

It took a couple of weeks to get here, but was well worth the wait. It's about 50 lbs. Came with a case and head rest as well as arm rests. Very sturdy, 3 inch thick foam, with adjustable back. It's great :D no more bending over a chair or couch :D

King Charles Brocade Cowl

Spring time is here :D and with the warmer weather comes our winds.
I needed something to wear over my hair that would be easy to pop on and off, that the wind didn't take off for me ;)
I wanted to be able to wear it laying smooth as well as up, so I went with buttons and quick yarn over button holes.
This is a loose knit, so it's perfect for this in between kind of weather. Quick and easy to knit.

King Charles Brocade Cowl
Size 8 US needles
120 yards worsted yarn, shown in Preaches & Crème’s Sage
Gauge 4 sts by 5 ½ rows per inch
27” long by 8” wide ( approximately )
Three ¾” buttons

on etsy
on ravelry

Basic Cloth

We all had to go to the dentist the other day. The dentist had all four of us set for the same time, and who know how many others :( It was over a hour before one of us was called in :(

I am sure everyone out there has come across this pattern in one form or other it is very basic, however I didn't realise how much I had evolved this pattern to fit my needs. So I thought I'd share mine with you all :)

I started this one at the dentist office and finished it there too ;) it is a very fast knit, but I had way more time than I needed :(

I often use these as a hot pad as well, so I place the yarn overs close to the edge. I like the speed of a yarn over to most other increases, but you can use any increase you like, knitting into the back loop works well :)

I really don't like large sized kitchen cloths. When I use them as hot pads I always mange to get them in the food ;(

I am a very messy cook, I swear I can't even open a can without making a mess, let alone cook lol. I try, but you know somethings just can't be helped ;) ... no this has nothing to do with why I cook outside so much ;) lol

I add a little chain loop on the end so I could hang them on the cabinets for easy reaching.

I use a size 6US needle, as I find they give me a nice and tight stitch for use as a hot pad, but still knit up fast.

If using as a hot pad always use yarn that can take the heat. I always use 100% cotton in worsted weight, and be sure to keep your stitches on the tight side or go to a smaller needle. As well as keeping to the knit stitch for thickness. As always be careful with anything hot :)

I don't like the way it hangs if knit into a square, the sides kind of fold in :( so I don't make mine square. They are also great for using up bits of cotton.

Mine are "work" cloths so I use whatever colors I have around :)

Cast on 6

k1, yo, k to end.

repeat until you have the size you want ( I go anywhere from 35 to 45 stitches across )

k1, yo, k2tog, k to end

repeat 5 times

k1, yo, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k to end

repeat until you have around 15 stitches

k1, yo, *k2tog, * to end, knitting the last stitch if need be ( the k2tog's give a slight curve to the cloth that makes hanging them easier )

Bind off, leaving tail long enough to make loop for hanging.

I use whatever size crochet hook I have around, making about a dozen chain stitches, join loop by weaving in end.

This style cloth can be changed up in so many ways. Go with what you like :)

The next time you find yourself sitting at the dentist office without a pattern give it a try :)

Nemmy

This last Sunday was Jorden's 16 birthday :D :D :D
We went boot shopping. All my guys needed new boots. This is no easy feat ( okay bad pun ). They all had different ideas of what a boot should be. Andre was the first to find a pair, at the first stop :D a few stores later Brent found a nice pair. Many stores later Jorden found a pair that will work for now. I don't think they are as sturdy as the others, but that's what he wanted so as long as he is happy SWEET :D


When we got home Nemmy decided to make a bed out of the box.

That's when I saw the boot maker's name..... LOL


She been sleeping in her "cat box" everyday, and was not pleased to find one of the other cats thought it was a scratching post ;)

Books

Last week I went looking for books on Reiki again. I was able to not only find some more old knitting books, I also got all the books on Reiki that I was looking for YIPPEE

A wonderful friend, did an Archangel Oracle card reading for me. It was very cool, really helped me out.

The cards are so pretty. DH took me to the store to get a deck for me........ 3 times, I didn't want to pay quite so much. They came with a small book and DVD on how to use them, so it wasn't a bad price, I was just looking for the deck itself. I had just paid full price for one of the books on Reiki ( the rest were less than $1 with credit at the used book store :D ) and didn't want to spend more on me.

We got them anyway ( he's so sweet :D )

So not only did we all get Mexican food from our favorite place, but I got new cards too :D hope everyone had a great Valentines Day :D

DS#2's Birthday is coming up pretty soon.

Last year my poor garden went through hell. It got so hot and dry....... it dried my green beans on the vine :( tomatoes didn't get much fruit until October! a month later the frost hit :(

For my Birthday last year, we got a herb garden started. If it had not been for DS#2 aka Jorden, my whole garden would have died out. He kept all of the herbs except for the chives and basil alive the whole winter :D The chives are starting to pop up again :D

This year Jorden has control of the whole garden. The hot boxes, herbs, roses, grapes, and now the small green house DH got for us ( a good deal, really like him working at a tool shop :D )

He moved the grapes to a better spot, and is putting roses there instead, he picked out 3 different kinds of roses. One red, one white with pink trimmed petals, and a climbing red and white one.

He took over my yellow rose bush a few years ago....... he saved it :D it's huge now. He also takes care of the roses out front. They are a mix of ours and Dads.

He asked for a blue rose bush, for his birthday. I'll have to mail order that one :) He's got it looking better then ever :D

I benefit from this the most as he brings me flowers daily for most of the year :D ( the bees like it too lol ) and the herbs wow....... this has changed the way we cook.

Mom only used black pepper and salt as I was growing up. So I tend to add a fair amount of herbs and spices ( you know to make up for it ;) lol )
When Jorden cut our thyme for the first time I was hooked. I had only had freshly cut thyme once before at my sisters place in Wisconsin. It had just popped out of the ground up there ( in May I think ), she wanted to show Jorden how it use it, but only had a bit. It was good.

Now days he asks what herbs I need for dinner and he cuts them for me on the spot. Food was never so good.

He has sage, 3 kinds of thyme, mint, basil, parsley, 2 types of oregano, chives, rosemary, and garlic. He is adding another type of chives as well as basil, plus chamomile and marjoram :D This is so sweet :D

The lettuce is is going great can cut it soon. Swish card is going crazy ( Dad should love that ),

the wild strawberries, we got from my sister ( poor things had a rough ride down here ) made it through the winter :D

Dad wants yellow zucchini so we are adding that as well.

Trying chili again been reading this time ( knock, knock, knock )

Last year I put some right into the little cup things, and some I tried wet starting ( between paper towel in a covered bowl ) well it says you should do both. First wet them for a day then plant them in the cups.... I so hope this works, DH has gotten really good at roasting them :D
Life is GOOD

Eye Cloth

Eye Cloth
11 ½ by 11 ½ inches unblocked
Size 5 US

Exact gauge is not essential to this project
115 yards worsted 100% cotton yarn, shown in Peaches & Crème’s Sage
K = knit
P = purl
Cast on 55 stitches
1 - 7) knit
8) k6, purl to last 6 stitches, k6
9) knit all stitches
10 - 21) repeat 8 and 9 ( 6 more times )
22) k6, p18, k7, p18, k6
23) k23, p9, k23
24) k6, p16, k3, p5, k3, p16, k6
25) k21, p3, k7, p3, k21
26) k6, p14, k3, p9, k3, p14, k6
27) k19, p3, k11, p3, k19
28) k6, p12, k3, p4, k5, p4, k3, p12, k6
29) k17, p3, k4, p7, k4, p3, k17
30) k6, p10, k3, p4, k9, p4, k3, p10, k6
31) k15, p3, k5, p3, k3, p3, k5, p3, k15
32) k6, p7, k4, p6, k2, p5, k2, p6, k4, p7, k6
33) k13, p4, k6, p2, k5, p2, k6, p4, k13
34) k6, p9, k3, p5, k3, p3, k3, p5, k3, p9, k6
35) k16, p3, k4, p9, k4, p3, k16
36) k6, p11, k3, p4, k7, p4, k3, p11, k6
37) k18, p3, k4, p5, k4, p3, k18
38) k6, p13, k3, p11, k3, p13, k6
39) k20, p3, k9, p3, k20
40) k6, p15, k3, p7, k3, p15, k6
41) k22, p3, k5, p3, k22
42) k6, p17, k9, p17, k6
43) k24, p7, k24
44) k6, purl to last 6 stitches, k6
45) knit all stitches
46 - 47) Repeat 44 - 45
48) k6, p18, k7, p18, k6
49) k24, p7, k24
50) k6, p17, k9, p17, k6
51) k23, p9, k23
52) k6, p16, k11, p16, k6
53) k22, p11, k22
54) k6, p15, k13, p15, k6
55) k21, p13, k2156) k6, p14, k15, p14, k6
57) k20, p15, k20
58) k6, p13, k17, p13, k6
59) k19, p17, k19
60) k6, p12, k19, p12, k6
61) k18, p19, k18
62) k6, p11, k21, p11, k6
63) k17, p21, k17
64) k6, p10, k23, p10, k6
65) k16, p23, k16
66) k6, p9, k25, p9, k6
67) k15, p25, k15
68) k6, p8, k27, p8, k6
69) k14, p27, k14
70) k6, p7, k29, p7, k6
71) k13, p29, k13
72) k6, p6, k31, p6, k6
73) k12, p31, k12
74) k6, p6, k31, p6, k6,
75) knit all
76) k6, purl to last 6 stitches, k6
77 - 82) repeat rows 75 and 76 ( 6 more times )
Knit 7 rows
Bind off, weave in ends.

Sunset and Full Moon plus BOOKS

A few evenings ago Jorden was able to get this photo :)

On the night of the full moon he took these shots of the moon coming over the mountains through our yucca plants and pine trees.



Went out looking for some books on Reiki this week, didn't find what I was looking for but I did find a few knitting books ;)

Altogether a grand total of $7.25. I love having guide books from different times. These range from the mid 1950's to 2004.

The Yummy Yarns and Knit one for The Kids are old library books that I had checked out at one time or other :) a couple of cute patterns in both. They have a tiny used book store in the library I've wanted to check out for ages. I finally got there when they were open :) :)

A few more of my finds over the last few weeks. With credit at the used book store they were only a few cents each :) :) :) These are from 1967 to 1993.

Last night

Last night was wonderful, beautiful, magical.
You all know I don't like cold, this was different even little doggie wanted to play in the snow.

Buttons

So I was on Ravelry the other day and saw a thread on "how do you start a button jar," just asking how you may have come about yours.
I must admit I have more than one jar, or can, or box etc. I didn't realize just how many I had. Now I didn't count each one, the number of jars, cans, boxes were enough to see I would never need to buy another one again ;)
I've had my own button jar for 40 years or so. It goes back to when my Grandma taught me to sew when I was 3 years old. Most of the "first" buttons were used making doll clothes, but have long since been replaced.
When my Grandmother could no longer sew, she gave me hers. Her crafting came out of need most of the time. With seven boys and little money, she saved everything she could, and made most everything else. Her jars held mostly work clothes buttons. Very useful.


My Great Grandmother on the other side, also kept buttons. While she had her fair share of "work" buttons, she had saved some of the coolest buttons too. I used to go through the as a small kid, so cool. I now own those buttons as well. She would make more art type things, pillows and the like.

Now what to do with some of these?????




I got these done a couple of weeks ago.


I used "I Love This Cotton." The feel is so soft, really like the colors, easy to work with unless you need to rip anything. Got stopped on the grafting of one of the toes and ripped a few stitches. The yarn started to come apart!! The socks feel great to wear, but the are not holding up well :(
I used part of a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks "Yarn over Cable" Hard to see in the photo but I think they came out well enough.

update

The last time I posted anything about the "odd" things happening around here. I told you all about how I was going to email a web site on haunting and such.

Well I did. I gave them a very brief account of just the last few things to have happened.

They sent me a real nice email, giving me instructions on how to send it to the light. I got to thank them for trying.

I don't think this is a ghost but I didn't make myself very clear to them. I didn't want to. I needed to see what they would say for a simple matter. Then we could get into what I believe to be going on here.

I don't trust very many people or anything else for that matter. I'm more of the kind of person who needs proof.

The advise they gave was good, for most issues, I guess. I'm kind of torn on this one. Why would I want to force my will in such a manner on someone just trying to get through to me.

Anyhow that's not the case here. This thing for lack of better term, is trying it's best to cause chaos.

A day or so after I sent the email off I was sitting at my computer in my bedroom with my door closed.

I had just fed my little dog her fiber and was trying to keep Buffy ( medium dog ) out. I know I closed the door tight. Buffy had her treat but gave me a hard time leaving the room ( okay it was more a sad look and her head hung low ) I clearly remember doing it.

Anyhow the door was closed, I saw this haze and picked up on the smell that I now associate with this thing. My door opened just a bit at first, like it was making sure I saw it, then opened the rest of the way at a faster pace.

At this point the guys are still in one bedroom in the main body of the trailer. As my door opened I could hear nothing. A second later I heard a lot of movement, my first thought was Andre was cleaning, and knocked something over.

I saw the haze get thicker, and felt a rush of anger pushed at me, trying to get me to believe they were fighting.

Okay I got to say at this point I'm pretty much like bull cookies... up yours, but wanted to see if I was right, is this thing really trying to start fights. So I yelled for the boys to come out like I was mad. This thing got darker for a second.

They came out all upset thinking was I was really mad. I told them what had just happened and why I called them to come out. All this time I can see this haze, when the guys realized I was messing with this thing we couldn't laugh hard enough lol

It was like whoosh and it left. It is still trying it's best, but now that we know it's laughable.

Things are not quite normal yet, still picking up on that smell, not as often. Still see haze at times but can now laugh it off.

I don't want this thing hanging around just waiting for another "meal" so I was still seeking advice.

Wow I just love the way life's turns and twists brings you right where you need to be. After blogging about this I got an answer to my questions.

This weekend has been a wonderful renewal of my beliefs.

I have been so fortunate as to have a new really cool friend who is willing to help me out with this.

I have been blown away by her. She's been doing what is called Reiki, http://www.reiki.org/FAQ/WhatIsReiki.html Even gave me this link. ( need to know more about this )

We could feel the difference in the trailer right away. Much lighter, brighter even.

I have been most impressed by her insight, and willingness to help out a stranger. I truly mean really help out, like one of those life changing times.

For the first time in months I feel clear,..... I can "feel" again. I had been blocking so much to keep this thing at bay, everything I could even the good ( although they never turned away ). I was putting my Guides and Angels to test. They really came through for us.

My new friend :) told me to be on the look out for the Angels to pay me a visit. Sometimes you can tell by sight or smell. Said maybe sandalwood or roses. A while after reading her email I was still pouring over what to write...... "not" write is more like it. I took a break from everything and started thinking it over. I asked them to make it so clear I couldn't say it was anything else. I started doing some cleaning, with Jorden ( he helps me clean up quite a bit, I'm so lucky Knock, knock ), when we walked back into my bed/knitting/computer room my whole area was filled with the sent of sandalwood.... this could not be I don't have any in the house, but yet here it was and Jorden could smell it too. I hadn't told him about the email yet. Being me I went looking all around the place.

Nothing, until I got to the living room, what had been a rainy drab day, had just burst into a sunny warm day, like a flash. I stopped and stood for a moment it was a feeling of deep warmth, then it dawned on me I could feel that warmth through out the trailer. It was really cool. The whole place was so much lighter.

I believe I had Angels pay a visit soooo cool. Any doubt I may have still had was blown away with my friends next email. She spoke of all the things I had removed from my last email to her, wow

She did an Angel card reading for me. WOW this is just so cool :) I'll be emailing you on that soon. Thank you so much, you have brighten my life :)

Didn't get much knitting done but ... Life is Good