A few non-quilt finishes

Over the last week or so I’ve finished up 2 projects that are NQR (non quilt related).  Both are for me, one has a definite purpose, one is still undetermined.

Last winter I started knitting a pair of socks in a fuschia/purple/green yarn.  Then the weather warmed up and I lost interest, until the other day and we got cool.  I finished them yesterday and finally, after 4 pairs of socks, have my sizing right!!!  Apparently I knit with really loose tension and have had to drop to a size 1 needle….and could probably still drop to a size 0 and have an even better fit!

Until now, when I knit socks, I’ve been using DPNs (double pointed needles), but doing one sock at a time means I have to write down the # of rows (and which row I left off on) on little slips of paper.  So I have ordered a set of circular needles to go with my newest sock book that I purchased (Two at a Time Socks).  I’m looking forward to trying that and see if it’s more confusing, or less confusing for me.

Until the needles get here, I have a luscious ball of hand-dyed yellow rayon yarn to knit into a special project for a special person.  Hey, you KNEW if it was YELLOW it wasn’t for ME!   LOL

The other project, whose eventual usage has yet to be determined?  Well, it’s a woven ?????????  Hmmm, too short and stiff for a scarf?  But I finished it with fringe like a scarf.  Maybe a table topper scarf?   Or ???????    I don’t know what it will be, but I love it!!  Love the texture, love the color, love the feel of it so for now it is draped over my office chair where I can see it daily.

Oh, you want a pic?  Here you go:

And just because I can:

"Honest Mom, I don't need a bath"

Me neither mom!!! He smells worse than me, HONEST!!!!

Socks 2nd pair

I’m really enjoying knitting socks.  Perfect sized project for warmer weather.  I finished my 2nd pair today.

Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace Yarn.  It’s 59% bamboo, 25% cotton, 16% elastic.  Knits up really soft feeling.  I used a set of size 2 DP needles.

On this pair I used a moss stitch ribbing for the body of the sock.   I’ve learned socks have several parts.  The cuff, the body, the heel, the foot and the toe.  I’ve learned I don’t care for the band heel, but I love the origami toe.  And I truly must find a different way to finish socks off other than the Kitchener stitch…..truly I must!

Notice the different color pattern in the left sock to the right?  Not sure why that happened, but I think it’s interesting!  One more pair of variegated and maybe my knitting will be pretty enough again to do a pair of solid color socks!

This and that

Over the weekend I did a bit of  “this and that”.  A bit of this, a dash of that, many little things, some of which seemed major at the time.   DH was home so we worked a lot in the yard doing spring cleanup, here’s a pic of the cherry tree just before dusk one night.

And one night, after working in the yard, we treated ourselves to dinner out.  He gave me options, Statesville or Mooresville, I chose Statesville.  Why?  Because the bookstore in this county is in Statesville!!  And I don’t get there often.  But that night I found a new book I just love:

What’s so special about this knitting book?  It’s got split pages with multiple patterns.  The top of the pages are pictures of cuff variations, the center of the pages are body variations and the bottom of the pages are heel and toes!!!  And each variation shown has the pattern in the book. What you do is pick the cuff, body, heel and toe you want, band the pages open (the book has a band but it doesn’t stay well so I’m using a rubber band.  Then you work the pattern for that section from the front pages.   Unlimited (well almost) possibilities for socks!

And my first pair from this new book:

These are going to be like the last pair (the beige ones), a bit loose, but good for comfort.  I did have to order another set of needles last night, I needed a set of size 1 DPs to get the guage that I truly want.  I never thought I’d be knitting on size 1 or 2’s!!!!  When we lived in Canada, I was a bulky yarn girl!  Mum W owned size 1 and 2 needles, but not me!  LOL

Now, just in case you think I’ve not been quilting much, I have.  The last two quilts were full customs (one queen, one king), and I have three more customs booked up next, so pictures will be slow in coming as custom takes so much more time than overalls.  But here’s a sneak peak at what I’ve been working on this week:

As you can see, I’ve got more to do yet, so I best get myself into the studio and to work this morning!

Have a great day!!!!!