A Knitter’s Dream Garage Sale!! GOODIES!!

Okay, it may be yet another day and the lace shawl is still on my needles but I have a good reason – well, three good reasons. The first being that I am over-thinking this so simple a beginner could do it pattern so much that I keep making mistakes. The second is that I was slaving over my Etsy Store, worrying about selling anything. Ever. The third is that I hit the mother-load of all garage sales today!

We were just driving back from my parent’s house when we saw the garage sale sign. Now normally I am not a garage sale kinda gal, more because I am always afraid to leave my car on the side of the road than anything but something caught my eye. “TREVOR! SPINNING WHEEL!” I screamed and he found a safe place to stow the care and on we went.

Arriving at this sale was like arriving at a divorce court. A married couple, clearly quite angry with one another, were bickering like small children. What I gathered from my eavesdropping (I have now shame) is that she decided to take up knitting about two years ago. When she did she must have spent a fortune on everything she bought – and she bought everything! Drop spindles, fiber, yarn, spinning wheels (yes, wheels), needles and memorabilia for her “craft room”. Then, well, she never touched one bit of it. The husband had simply had enough and just wanted the room back. Thus, friends and neighbors, my goodies!

** My First Ball Winder **

My pretty new ball winder.

It’s an actual Standwood!

My first ball winder cost $2.00 (retail on Amazon is $59.87). I could have cried I was so excited to see this. The two spinning wheels (each costing a mere $15.00) had both sold, but the winder was mine! I learned the hard way that I am going to have to buy a swift, as you can see below, but who cares!

How I am going to spend my night.

Knots happen without a swift.

** My First Purchase of Fiber **

I have actually only spun one hank? skein? load? (what the heck to I call a pile of wool?) before so I was hesitant. They were selling drop spindles for $1.00 (I bought another one) and the two sections of wool cost $0.50 cents. FIFTY CENTS!

Fifty Cents! Now…what to do with it?

** Knitting Antiques Anyone? **

These two of these three pieces came out of an old factory in Ohio. The two spindles were from a plant the made wool in Southern Ohio during the first World War. The cradle is an antique she found in a store. You open it up and put your center pull ball in and close the sucker tight, then proceed to hang it for easy access. Total price, $1.00. AWESOME!

Cradle Open.

World War I Spindles.

Can kinda see the lettering.

Closed to keep yarn in place.

What an incredible day, so many good finds! Now I just need to figure out how to spin the fiber into pretty yarn (advice is appreciated) and untangle my newly purchased Cascade yarn. Oh – and price a good swift (also, advice is appreciated!). I am feeling so good, how about some flamingos?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Just in case the slideshow doesn’t work – I’ve never tried it before and the pictures are just so fun!

A Fiasco at the Zoo & Oh Crap! FROGGING!

When I get stressed out I knit – I know, I know, big surprise there. I turn to knitting as a way to calm my mind, I just should have figured out that a project that requires my full attention was not the best way to go.

Frogging over 2,000 Stitches. *SIGH*

I was so intent on blocking the trip to the zoo (more on that later) from my mind that I was solely focused on finishing my lace shawl. The problem, as you can see above, is that when you aren’t paying attention you end up screwing up 10 whole rows and over 2,000 stitches. To think it had been going so well….

Humble Beginnings

It Keeps Growing!

At About 120 Stitches

Close Up of the Lace. LACE

So Big it Won’t All Fit in the Picture!

It is a pleasure to inform you now that after two hours, and a lot of cursing, the shawl is back on track. I really am hoping to get it finished either tomorrow or Tuesday – but boy oh boy I wanted to finish it today.

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** The Zoo Fiasco **

What led to this particular frenzy of knitting was a trip to the Columbus Zoo on Friday. It should have been a fun little outing; Trevor, Mom, Gloria and I bundled into the car (despite the heat) and made our way towards furry, fuzzy goodness. It started very well – just look at Trevor and his new best friend.

Trevor Meets His Soul Mate – In Goat Form.

Cumberbatch loves to cuddle

He enjoys laying.

He enjoys photo bombing us.

He is proud of his facial hair.

He is planning on stealing my husband.

Everything seemed to be going so well, until my Mom’s first asthma attack.

All things considered it really wasn’t that bad, since her diagnosis with COPD almost 10 years ago we’ve all gotten used to varying degrees of attacks. Two hits on the inhaler, some water and cotton candy and we were on the move again.

We saw polar bears….

Some Blue Mallards….

and baby elephants…..

Things seemed to be going pretty well – until they weren’t.

We were standing in line to get on a ride about dinosaurs of all things. I should say that no one but my mom wanted to do this, but she was like a little kid – so excited to go see the dinosaurs. So we humored her, put away our cameras and stood in line. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until she was grabbing my shirt and pushing through the throngs of people behind us.

By the time we were clear of the crowd her asthma wasn’t going to be easily controlled. Two more hits on the inhaler didn’t seem to damp it down, neither was hot water. I left her in Trevor and Gloria’s care and ran to some poor kid selling ice cream to see if he could get me a medic cart. I scared the hell out of this kid, but my insistence – as well as my fear that my mom was going to drop dead at the zoo – made me determined to get what was needed.

He radioed the cart and I returned to where my family was perched on a bench. I should have been freaking out when I saw here EpiPen but oddly enough I am always calm in stressful situations. It’s usually only after that my Panic Monster and I get reacquainted. She was holding it in her fist, shaking from tears and adrenaline released from four monster hits on her inhaler in less than two hours. All she could keep saying was “I want to go home”.

By the time the cart there all I wanted to do was go home too, unfortunately the cart held 3 and us being 4 I had to run behind the cart. This isn’t usually a big deal but my shoes were not fit for running and after about 35 minutes of this (the cart was kind enough to take us to the care) my shoes were full of blood.

My mom is fine – physically she is fine, mentally is another story. It breaks her a little every time her asthma takes something else away from here, and it has been doing that pretty steadily for the past 10 years. So, to work out the frustration of knowing my mom is mortal I temporarily ruined my lace shawl.

Silver linings right? The trip was great (except for the asthma). The shawl is going great (except for the marathon session of frogging). My mom is better (for now) and life keeps going.

Ahh, it feel ridiculously good to get that off my chest. As a reward friends and neighbors, how about a few more photos? You’ve earned it! 🙂

Stitch Patterns Weeks 18 & 19

It seems that since this month has begun I have been trying to play catchup, every single day. I cannot believe it is Sunday and I am JUST getting around to posting not one, but two weeks worth of my great-grandmother’s stitch patterns. Well better late than never I suppose.

So, friends and neighbors, with no further adieu I present the stitch patterns for weeks 18 and 19!

** Week 18 – The Tulle Stitch **

The Tulle Stitch

• Needles: Size 5 US (3.75mm)
• Yarn: Bernat 100% Cotton in Blue
• Stitches: Multiple of 2 + 1 Stitch -or- ×2+1 ( I also alway do at least 1 stitch garter on either edge)

kythkek – Row 1: *K1, yarn forward, K1*. Repeat till last stitch, K1 (Okay. So “yth” for you non-veteran readers means “yarn towards heart” in my great-grandmothers scrawl. As for the “e” that popped up – after a little investigating it meant “end”).

pand p3-1 – Row 2: P1, *P3, slip 1st stitch of these 3 over other 2stitches*; repeat to end. ( I am going to beg mercy at giving up after 4 frogs trying to figure this out. I turned to a stitch pattern book from the library – which is also where I found the name of the stitch. I mean, come on! Who could figure out what “p3-1” meant!)

k1an kythk – Row 3: K1, *K1, yarn forward, K1*; repeat to end. (I had already decoded this before turing to the stitch book – thank you very much ;))

p3-1ep – Row 4: *P3, slip 1st stitch over second 2 stitches*; repeat to last stitch, P1 (Again, the book reaffirmed what I (might) have figured out – but it was still nice to know that I would be giving you a readable pattern).

So for fun (more my fun than yours I suppose) here are the unedited photos….

Full Frontal

Full Section

Up Close and Blurry

Up Close

and here are the fun, edited ones…..

The Tulle Stitch

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ONWARD!

** Stitch Pattern Week 19 – Horizontal Weaving / The Wave **

The Wave Stitch (or Horizontal Weaving).

The real pattern is called horizontal weaving (thank you LYS!) but under her notations it was called the wave. She actually made a baby blanked out of this pattern – it was adorable!

• Needles: Size 5US (3.75mm)
• Yarn: Bernat 100% Cotton in Blue
• Stitches: Multiples of 3’s + 1 stitch -or- ×3+1st.

k – Row 1: Knit all stitches (*JUMPING* *CLAPPING* *GIGGLING*! It is like Christmas morning to find a pattern that has a no-brainer row).

kskip2pythk – Row 2: K1 *Slip 2 stitches purl wise (with yarn in back), K1*; Repeat to the end of row (Okay, this was a head scratcher to be sure. If you are “skipping” then you must be slipping…right? RIGHT! Moving right alone to “yarn towards heart” and your home free!).

Again…unedited….

Close Up

Mid Section

Entire Cloth

and the far sharper (both literally and figuratively) edited ones….

The Wave Stitch (or Horizontal Weaving).

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Since I took the photos with my Canon instead of just my iPod I thought it might be fun to see the difference in the unedited vs. the edited photos. It gives me a little more perspective on what I can accomplish with a little bit of touching up. It also lets me play with filters – which is always fun!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks installment and I wonder, friends and neighbors, which pattern do you like better?

Oh SO Many Goodies

Sitting here with my Sweet Tea and contemplating how to go about all this information, I have come to conclusions that I will do it in quick bursts. Otherwise I am going to be here all night and bore you to tears with a post resembling an epic tome.

So let’s get to the goodies!

˜ The Sweet As Honey Hat ˜

Frannie in the Bar

This is where the Sweet As Honey Hat got placed today to my utter amusement, there is nothing quite like seeing a Styrofoam head in your liquor cabinet. Also, Gloria and I have named her Frannie – in case you are curious the male head is Stu and the dressmaker dummy is Beverly. That’s just how we roll in the Folk Household.

The slouchy beehive hat was so much fun to work up with super shiny aqua yarn, this hat is begging me to wear it, although I know I can not. It should be posted on the Etsy store within the week, as soon as I get the okay from the designer on Ravelry.

Frannie in the Bar

Face Right Please

Back of the Hat – Distance

Full Frontal

Back of the Hat – Up Close and Personal

Face Left Please

Sweet as Honey Beanie

Top of the Hat

˜ I Am Making Socks…..No Really….I AM TOO!! ˜

This is a very condensed version of the conversations T and I had this morning as I pulled out size 2 needles and very, very fine yarn. I know it was out of concern that he questioned my choice of knitting but I will sooner eat my fingers off than deem them worthless.

Before the accident I was one of those super scary-fast knitters, and I could handle any size or any type of needle with ease. I took it for granted of course, now with a hand that is absolutely stubborn I have to go much slower and it still turns purple when overused. I remind myself to laugh at this, as if I had consumed forbidden candy from Willy Wonka’s Factory instead of intense swelling – otherwise I would pull my hair out.

The process is slow but I will keep all of you updated on the progress. I am really quite excited!

Cast On – CHECK!

Finish Cuff Ribbing – CHECK!

Sidebar: I may be sending out desperate requests at some point. So far I have frogged one row, and dropped….oh dear me….14 stitches. This is something I haven’t done in years, I actually had to go on Knitting Help’s website to figure out how to use a crochet hook to fix my goofs. I remain undeterred.

˜ Knitting Bucket List & Facing Reality ˜

A long time ago (this morning) I thought I was a pretty advanced knitter, until I sat down and thought about it. I have mastered the basics and even some of the higher skills, but there are so many things I have not done that keep me from claiming what is rightfully mine…damn it.

There are only so many times I can complain about my hand before it gets annoying, so I will just skip it. Anyway, a lack of confidence has kept me from trying the more advanced techniques and skills that I am now currently lusting after, thus starting a pair of socks that scare me more than a centipede in my shower. So here is my “by the end of 2013” to-learn/try bucket list:

• Socks.
• Double Knitting.
• Lace Work.
• A Garment – probably a cardigan – and assembling the pieces.
• A Shawl.
• Looming – My uncle wants to make me one he saw on a retreat, God love him!
• Weaving.
• Spinning.
• Dying yarn.
• DUH DUH DUH….Try to learn how to crochet…again.

Okay, HUMONGOUS list of things to learn knitting wise but I am ready to branch out from my comfort zone. I am going to need to return to those things occasionally to retain my sanity anyway. I just feel like life is too short to say I haven’t tried all I can try.

RECOMMENDATIONS ARE LOVELY IF YOU CARE TO SHARE!

˜ My Mom and Dad’s 30th Wedding Anniversary ˜

Here is the a few pics of the progress thus far. There is way more going on but this is what I have stopped and taken pics of – more to come!

First Trail Vase…Needs Work.

Assembly Line.

Loads of Flower Stems.

First Attempt at Construction.

I currently have around 60 stems done and the pom-poms are very easy to make. Another 40 and I should be done.

** Thank You for Hanging In There…How About Some Pictures? **

Truthfully I should have spread this out a bit but I wanted to share it all so badly, plus my mind is busting with all sorts of new things I want to write about. Thanks for hanging in there friends and neighbors, until tomorrow!

Stitch Week 13 & The Infamous Manly Man Beanie

Alright, let’s jump right on in and get to the good stuff!

♥ Stitch Pattern Week 13 – The Triangle Stitch ♥

Dark Orange

As you can see, I got a little over ambitious with the whole photo editing aspect of this pattern. Even though I knitted it with the orange yarn you see above, I was still a bit desperate for contrast – something that would make the pattern pop out at you. I hope I did it, but if not…well…playing with photos is always fun!

Red Sharpened at an Angle

Triangle Stitch Dishcloth.

Light Orange

Dark Orange

Dark Gray and Flat

Light Gray and a bit Blurry

I did the above pattern with Sugar and Cream yarn and size 6 needles, and I will be the first to admit that I am a little in love with it. It is so simple, just knitting and purling and you get this fun pattern that just comes out of nowhere. The pattern however – well – GG had it in for me this week. After last week’s breeze of a pattern the last thing I should do is complain, but boy howdy she made me work for it.

≈ The GG Pattern and The Actual Readable Pattern  ≈

• k5p5 – Row 1: K5, P5 (Excellent way to start off friends and neighbors!)
• k4p1k1p4 – Row 2: K4, P1, K1, P4 ( My oh my, am I flushed and heady with happiness…YES!)
• k3p2k2p3 – Row 3: K3, P2, K2, P2 ( I am swooning, yup – a totally readable pattern!)
• k2p3k3p2 – Row 4: K2, P3, K3, P2 ( …*this is where I stopped and did a happy dance*…)
• k1p4k4p1 – Row 5: K1, P4, K4, P1 (Two weeks in a row, things are looking so delecitably simple… I should have figured out that after there was a scribble of a phone number and cost for diabetes medication that things were about to take a turn for the confusing).

Okay, so here is where it gets real weird…just a warning.

• wrong1 – Row 6: P5, K5 (Okay, not to shabby. Not “wrong” exactly, just the opposite. I will not be deterred).
• from out work backwards (From here I was on my own. Working backwards makes sense – you are creating triangles that are going in opposite directions, that much I figured out from row 6. I still wonder why she stopped though…odd).
• Row 7: K1, P4, K4, P1
• Row 8: K2, P3,K3, P2
• Marcy should’ve used common sense, I mean how stupid does a woman need to be for me to have to rewrite a pattern, she’s been knitting since God was a baby. Row 9: K3, P2, K2, P3 (The rant was written where row 9 would have been and I wanted to share. As it turns out, Mary and I have something in common…my GG’s patterns are not always the easiest to read!)
• Row 10: K4, P1, K1, P4

Below this pattern was a note that, luckily, Marcy never received (this is also copied exactly, so please excuse spelling errors):

Dear Marcy,

I have gone through and see nothin wrong with my pattern. A woman as old as you should have the wits in her brain to figure out how to knit, you’ve been doin it longer than I have. If you really need it writen step by step go buy a book cause I’ve another great grand on the way and your wastin my time.

Jessie Sovine

Gesh GG, reign in that temper old girl. 🙂

♥ The Manly Man Hat That Turned Out Better Than Okay! ♥

A Beanie for a Manly Man.

So this picture is a little sharp, but the point was to show that there is no decipherable difference from the size 3 needles to the size 4. Success! So for all of you that were so comforting and helpful during my crazy tirade, I want to thank you. The knitting/bloggine community has once again shown its kindness in all it’s splendiferous glory!

Manly Beanie Right

Manly Beanie Left

Manly Beanie Top Decrease

Manly Beanie Top

Manly Beanie Front

A Beanie for a Manly Man.

The beanie was a blast to knit up by they way, I cannot get enough of cable work. Even when the cables are hard on my hand, that instant twist in my knitting makes me near giddy, and this baby had 2 sets of cables so it was my lucky day. The yarn is from my stash – which is currently getting busted – and very easy to work with. If I hadn’t broken the needles yesterday it would have taken no time at all to finish, as it was I had to worry about twisted stitches and changes in gauge. The last repeat round and all the finishing was done at a snail’s pace to prevent another mishap, and thus another total nervous breakdown.

The Panic Monster has been defeat and my house is spotless! The hat is all done and currently drying on my mat. The best part of this project? T let me take a picture of him in the hat!

My Manly Man in a Manly Beanie.

This is a good start to my Friday and tomorrow…OH TOMORROW…there are so many wonderful pictures that I want to share from our recent nature hike. I dare say that I am pleased with every single one of them, even before editing!

So I will end this long post in preparation of another long post tomorrow, just with far fewer words. I will leave this with you as I end this post: So, friends and neighbors, what has been the most disastrous thing to happen to you mid-project? It doesn’t need to just be knitting either, and my ears are wide open.

HAPPY FRIDAY Y’ALL!!!!

Knitting Emergency and Attack of the Panic Monster!

Beware friends and neighbors, there is about the be a full on attack from the Panic Monster….

This is Why You Don’t Buy Cheap Needles

Now, I know this may have happened to many of you out there, but this has never happened to me. I am sitting, drinking my coffee and working a round of particularly demanding cables when BOOM! there goes my needle off the cord. Stitches are flying, cables are unraveling and my mind has just jumped into OCD Panic Monster mode.

Serves you right for buying cheap needles Rachel. This wouldn’t have happened with nicer needles. How are you planning on fixing your epic failure here? Hmm…you probably don’t know how to. Best to just frog the whole hat and start over, you’ll never figure it out.

– Panic Monster

So, sitting here I am faced with a dilemma, do I try to figure out how to get the stitches back on the needled or do I frog? Well, first I needed to pace the house a bit to calm down…then do the dishes…then clean the bath tub… After doing so I managed to save all the stitches in the goofiest fashion ever.

Needles and Cords Held Together…sans Harmony.

After saving the stitches and ensuring they were back on the needles/cord correctly I felt pretty good about myself.

Then came my next problem.

The needles I was using were a size 3, and I don’t have another pair of size 3 needles. Usually the idea – even in this situation – of going out to buy new needles would have been delightful, but there has been a stop put on:

• Buying new yarn.
• Buying new tools.
• Buying new books.
• Buying anything that isn’t absolutely necessary!

So…cannot afford to buy new needles, big deal right? Well, yes. It is a big deal. It makes me feel so small knowing that I cannot afford to buy something so simple as a new pair of needles to fix my project. I was so enjoying doing this hat and now the only way to finish it is to put it on a pair of size 4 needles and pray that you cannot tell the difference in the gauge. I am crestfallen, 28 years old and I cannot afford to buy a new pair of needles.

Back on the Needles. Just on the Wrong Size.

I keep reminding myself that this is bullshit (pardon my language), and temporary. I don’t have cancer, no one has died, and money isn’t everything. I’ve never even really considered it a big thing – but then we’ve always both had jobs. I just wish the store would sell something or I could get a part-time job where I could bring in some extra money. I feel like I am letting my husband down, and it is a wicked bad feeling. I just never expected to be financially responsible for so many people (my niece (kinda), my mother and father in law, my husband and myself…and Max).

GET A GRIP RACHEL!

Okay…I’m back. So the hat is on bigger needles, the world will continue to turn and I am strung so tightly that gauge shouldn’t be an issue ;). So, I will hopefully finish this hat today so I can post about it tomorrow with the new stitch pattern. Until then, please enjoy the newest bird that has come to visit our feeder.

Footloose and Fancy Free Bird. Lucky Bastard! (Again, sorry about the language).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos for the Weekend

Well, polldaddy and I had a serious conversation about it turns out that The Library Series is what you guys really want to see! So this weekend, I am going to clean my shelves (without moving any books, no matter how embarrassing it may be) and get then all photographed, edited, and eagerly awaiting your reaction.

Until then, I thought I would share some of the things my Canon and my iPod and I have been looking at. I hope you enjoy and all have a truly wonderful weekend!

Bird on Fence

 

Inner Peace

Fireside

Hello Squirrel!

Stupid Bug

Bird on Rooftop

Bird on Feeder

Angry Bird on Feeder

Tree Bark Up Close and Personal

I Love My Camera, Look at this Bug!

Bug on My French Doors

Peace of Mind in Sunlight

Unemployment & Gardening & Panic Monsters & Photographs…My What a Title!

Mmm….The dirt under my nails, my hair swelling from the heat, the sweet – oh so sweet – breeze that cools off the day. Fantastic!

It has been a good day so far, the hubby and I have been buzzing around the house with a new purpose – to clean/repair/improve every inch of the house and the garden. Within our budgetary means, which means anything we can do for free.

We have both been a little, preoccupied. Him not having a job is obviously already taking its toll, he’s like a hummingbird on crack. We will get through this no doubt, but I just wish I could ease the stress lines that are appearing on his face. It’ll be good for us to be together and working in the house, refreshing even. We can take our time, enjoy what we have and realized that we have more than enough in our lives.

I feel like I should be knitting, should be working on my Etsy store, should be blogging, should be taking photos, should be reading on how to….you know what? Never mind. In the here and now, I am happy just the way I am. I am going to drink my iced tea with lemonade and relax with a nice fiction book in all it’s purposeless splendor.

Just for fun (despite the Panic Monster’s fear of humiliation) here are some photos I’ve recently taken. Enjoy your weekend everyone, I will try to be more organized come Monday!

One Pink Rose.

Sky at Sunrise

Before the Storm

Flowers in Focus

Full Moon at Sunrise

Golden Flowers

Full Moon at 4am

Magical Sunrise

Rosebud

Water on Flowers

Hungry for Bird Feed

Bird in Tree

Dragonfly? Alien? Hmm…

Stupid Luck I Got This

Water Collected