Had a wonderful one! I was allowed to go over to the sister's place, on the provision that a; I don't touch anyone, and b; wash my hands a lot. Which I did. Everyone like their scarfs. Margaret admitted that she never wears her, but Jackie wears hers (Margaret's)! Don told me how he loves his chenille scarf and how he wraps it around his neck and head on cold winter days until the truck heats up. They all commented on how my knitting/crocheting/looming had improved since last Christmas! Hmmmm, thanks!
Don and the sister gave me Don's late mother's knitting stuff! Oh my! Tons of small diameter knitting needles and a whole set of circular knitting knitting needles, plus some yarn! At least, (I think), $300 worth. Jackie also gave me the niffy knitty loom set!!!! I have tried out the circular needles to try and make BF a hat to go with her scarf, and yes, the Knitting For Dummies book wasn't quite forthcoming about what they meant about straighting out the starting . . .loops. It said, "if you don't, you will be chasing your tail";. What this really means, is, you will be knitting a mobius rather then a band! So I will be frogging it (which is a nifty knitting word meaning to unravel!). Also, it's apparent that one skein is not enough for a hat. At least with one hundred starting stitches. I need a pattern! But I will tell you THIS, my twisted knitting looks good and it's sooo addicting!!!
My sister got a kindle! As part of her self stated plan to bring her into the 21st century! She read the instruction on it (note; there are buttons on the side for going to the next pages, the five way button, takes you to the next section). But she didn't buy any books, saying she has two physical books to read right now!!! I think she misses the point, senor! The sucker will hold 3,500 books!
So now I have to find out how to buy her the kindle verison of the books I was going to buy her for her birthday and get them on her kindle! (I have already buy her a Queen Victoria penny from the British Mint. Hopefully it will get here in time for her birthday.)
Since I was sick, I was not allowed to help with the food. So I watch my sister make the enchiladas, and the beans and the rice. She make the regular ones and a variation with cream mixed with chicken broth. Both were really good. I had meant to bring over some movies, but I had forgotten. So we watch the football game , parts of Ben Hur and some other stuff.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Knitting!!!!
Okay, have subcomed to every one's (and I mean everyone I work with has had this cold) head cold. I took Tuesday off from work, sorry, but when I wake up and it's almost one in the afternoon, that means I'm not going to be able to get my self together enough to do a good job at work. Yesterday (Wednesday) felt pretty good. Went to the gym and then on to work for lunch. Faded a bit towards the end of my shift. This morning, pretty much like Tuesday. Thank God I don't have to work tonight.
Have finished everyone's scarf accept the BF. I am on the the third skein on it. Had a talk with the sister about the scarves. I'm going to give her Margaret's scarf and Margaret's going to get her scarf, as the sister's scarf knitted up with a rather strong orange note and that color doesn't look good on her. Fortunately, Margaret's favorite color is orange!
Have been using the knitting needles today instead of working on the scarf. . .I want to actually knit, okay? I can now cast on, ya! I can do the knit stitch, and I can do the purl stitch. I just can't do them together. I end up with three extra stitches at each change over, and sometimes, a loop of yarn around the bottom of the knitting. I can not figure out what I am doing wrong. At first I thought it had something to do with where the yarn was when I started (front or back), but experiments with that hasn't worked out. I'm going to find some knitting video's and watch them.
Have finished everyone's scarf accept the BF. I am on the the third skein on it. Had a talk with the sister about the scarves. I'm going to give her Margaret's scarf and Margaret's going to get her scarf, as the sister's scarf knitted up with a rather strong orange note and that color doesn't look good on her. Fortunately, Margaret's favorite color is orange!
Have been using the knitting needles today instead of working on the scarf. . .I want to actually knit, okay? I can now cast on, ya! I can do the knit stitch, and I can do the purl stitch. I just can't do them together. I end up with three extra stitches at each change over, and sometimes, a loop of yarn around the bottom of the knitting. I can not figure out what I am doing wrong. At first I thought it had something to do with where the yarn was when I started (front or back), but experiments with that hasn't worked out. I'm going to find some knitting video's and watch them.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Christmas Scarves
I have finally gotten to the end of the first two scarves! It took two and half skeins each. I have managed to make a few mistakes. One, every now and then I would forget a loop. I would then do two stitches at once. I have since found out, that I'm suppose to take the new loop off, (and hold it) and then complete the stitch I missed, and then put the new loop back on and complete that stitch. As a consequence, there seems to be a bit of a curve here and there!
However, I have really bunged up the casting off of my sister's scarf. I managed to miss a loop/stitch. I kept wondering why the yarn was getting tighter and tighter, and then I saw I had missed a loop about 4 stitches back. I took the cast off apart and tried again, but it doesn't look right either. So, tomorrow I am going to try again. At least if I really mess it up, I know I will be able to crochet an edge on it.
I have also found out that one needs to pay attention to which way the needles are wrapped. I messed up on both scarves. When you wrap it the opposite way, it reverses the stitching. On my niece's scarf I did at the first quarter mark, and again at the end to try and make it look like a design. At the very end of my sister's scarf, I did the same thing due to low light. So, this has been a learning experience . Tomorrow I will start on the Brother-in-law's scarf and the BF's.
Since the BF didn't like the yarn I had bought for her scarf, and admired the niece's yarn, even although it had sequins on it (!), I bought some bright blue, sheeny yarn today for her scarf. She saw it tonight and approved of it.
********
The Senate has finally passed the tax bill, which also has an extension of unemployment benefits in it. The president is expected to sign it into law January 1st. So, I am thinking my benefits will continue after the run out date at the end of January.
However, I have really bunged up the casting off of my sister's scarf. I managed to miss a loop/stitch. I kept wondering why the yarn was getting tighter and tighter, and then I saw I had missed a loop about 4 stitches back. I took the cast off apart and tried again, but it doesn't look right either. So, tomorrow I am going to try again. At least if I really mess it up, I know I will be able to crochet an edge on it.
I have also found out that one needs to pay attention to which way the needles are wrapped. I messed up on both scarves. When you wrap it the opposite way, it reverses the stitching. On my niece's scarf I did at the first quarter mark, and again at the end to try and make it look like a design. At the very end of my sister's scarf, I did the same thing due to low light. So, this has been a learning experience . Tomorrow I will start on the Brother-in-law's scarf and the BF's.
Since the BF didn't like the yarn I had bought for her scarf, and admired the niece's yarn, even although it had sequins on it (!), I bought some bright blue, sheeny yarn today for her scarf. She saw it tonight and approved of it.
********
The Senate has finally passed the tax bill, which also has an extension of unemployment benefits in it. The president is expected to sign it into law January 1st. So, I am thinking my benefits will continue after the run out date at the end of January.
Monday, December 13, 2010
The Loom Part Two!
I have a real bad case of knitting fever! Thanks to BF, I took a look to see if there was looms for regular weight yarn, not just chunky. I discovered that there are. . .adjustable ones. They can handle anything from fingerling yarn to super chunky yarn! It depends not very much how many needles there are, but the distance between the two rows of needles. And then I found out that you can do more then one stitch! You can do Fair Isle knitting on these, Cable stitches, and you can decrease and increase. In other words, while regular knitting might be a bit more versatile in number of possible stitches, the knitting loom or machine can do an awful lot!
And then I stupidly went to to Barnes & Nobel after work and looked to see if they had any books on it. Yes, they did. I am now the proud possessor of Knitting Board Basics by Pat and Kim Novak (mother and daughter team). Which cost me $28 for a machine I don't possess yet! What really sucks is that I went online to Amazon this morning and discovered I could have gotten it for $16 plus shipping from them. On the other hand, I wouldn't have it in my hot little hands right now! I would have to wait for it to show up in the mail, and I really don't think I could have handled that! Lust! Lust!
The loom I have now, can do some of these things, but only with chunky yarn. I want an adjustable loom/machine so I can use the cheap yarn. Yes, I have been thinking about this for a while, not the loom, but this. Since I'm stuck at home with just a part time job, why don't I knit up a bunch of scarves and sell them at flea markets, swap meets and festivals around here after my unemployment runs out (I spend around two hours a day looking for a job. There just isn't that many jobs available where I live. I have all this time to do it in. Instead of wasting my time looking at crap online, knit!
And then I stupidly went to to Barnes & Nobel after work and looked to see if they had any books on it. Yes, they did. I am now the proud possessor of Knitting Board Basics by Pat and Kim Novak (mother and daughter team). Which cost me $28 for a machine I don't possess yet! What really sucks is that I went online to Amazon this morning and discovered I could have gotten it for $16 plus shipping from them. On the other hand, I wouldn't have it in my hot little hands right now! I would have to wait for it to show up in the mail, and I really don't think I could have handled that! Lust! Lust!
The loom I have now, can do some of these things, but only with chunky yarn. I want an adjustable loom/machine so I can use the cheap yarn. Yes, I have been thinking about this for a while, not the loom, but this. Since I'm stuck at home with just a part time job, why don't I knit up a bunch of scarves and sell them at flea markets, swap meets and festivals around here after my unemployment runs out (I spend around two hours a day looking for a job. There just isn't that many jobs available where I live. I have all this time to do it in. Instead of wasting my time looking at crap online, knit!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Loom!
I would love to put a picture in here of a full skein of yarn knitted up on it, but. . .my picture on the computer, broken (as are ALL my cell phone pictures on it, why?), and I can't figure out why. Blogger won't except pictures from my phone, so there you go.
The instructions for the loom, made by Michael's, were rather scanty, and as I used it, I figured out what I was doing wrong. Only one row of yarn, not two, and when you pull the loops off, the last one must be by the knob at end that you started at. Other then that, it's really easy. I need to buy a couple more skeins to make the scarves
The bad thing is, I stopped by Wallyworld last night to buy some cat litter, and I checked out the small craft section, and they had basically the same loom by Boye, that cost less then nine dollars! The Michael one cost $19, on SALE. True, it came with a hook and a needle, but even if you bought the Boye loom and a hook and needle, it would be less then $12! And the Boye loom looked like it had twenty pegs, vs. the 18 pegs on the Michael's. I feel cheated.
The sister wants to know if I can return it, but I don't know, I've used it and I'm sure I've scratched up the sides of the pegs with the hook.
Also have started using the Knitting For Dummies.I have finally conquered casting on. I understand how to do it now! No more thumbing! I am working on pearling and knitting, and not dropping and adding stitches. I have figured out how I am adding them and I can say, I haven't dropped any stitches yet [Okay, I dropped one, but that was deliberate as I hadn't remembered how to double the extra stitches yet. Also, there is a section on how to fix mistakes in the book :)] did. I have kept it at 24 stitches, by doubling up the extras (!), but I'm having a real problem remembering whether I have just purled or knitted. Also I am suppose to be doing the seed stitch, but I'm doing it wrong (purling vs knitting) and I am doing what I think is the garter stitch. But right now, I'm just focusing on the basics, and trying to get comfortable knitting and trying for the subconscious rhythm.
The instructions for the loom, made by Michael's, were rather scanty, and as I used it, I figured out what I was doing wrong. Only one row of yarn, not two, and when you pull the loops off, the last one must be by the knob at end that you started at. Other then that, it's really easy. I need to buy a couple more skeins to make the scarves
The bad thing is, I stopped by Wallyworld last night to buy some cat litter, and I checked out the small craft section, and they had basically the same loom by Boye, that cost less then nine dollars! The Michael one cost $19, on SALE. True, it came with a hook and a needle, but even if you bought the Boye loom and a hook and needle, it would be less then $12! And the Boye loom looked like it had twenty pegs, vs. the 18 pegs on the Michael's. I feel cheated.
The sister wants to know if I can return it, but I don't know, I've used it and I'm sure I've scratched up the sides of the pegs with the hook.
Also have started using the Knitting For Dummies.I have finally conquered casting on. I understand how to do it now! No more thumbing! I am working on pearling and knitting, and not dropping and adding stitches. I have figured out how I am adding them and I can say, I haven't dropped any stitches yet [Okay, I dropped one, but that was deliberate as I hadn't remembered how to double the extra stitches yet. Also, there is a section on how to fix mistakes in the book :)] did. I have kept it at 24 stitches, by doubling up the extras (!), but I'm having a real problem remembering whether I have just purled or knitted. Also I am suppose to be doing the seed stitch, but I'm doing it wrong (purling vs knitting) and I am doing what I think is the garter stitch. But right now, I'm just focusing on the basics, and trying to get comfortable knitting and trying for the subconscious rhythm.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
It's that time of year again!
Yes, with the cold weather I feel the urge to start crocheting and kitting! My sister gave me $50.00 bucks for my birthday and I have spent it and more. I am going to make scarves for everyone again because I can afford that, even although I don't really think any of them wore them . . .tough! It's the thought that counts, right! Besides, if it snows this winter they might actually wear them!
So I bought a reference book on knitting, Knitting For Dummies. Looks good, but I think it cost $25 dollars as I also bought a paperback as well and the bill was over $30.00. Then I went to Jo-Ann's. Apparently I have missed the velor yarn season, or it hasn't happened yet. That sorta screws my plans for BF's present. However I did buy some yarn, checked out their "So You Want To Learn How To Knit" kits, and instead of the Boyle one they have at Wallyworld, with the stitch holders, gauge thingy, etc, all they had was one with two knitting needles, a tapestry needle and two skeins of yarn, with a instruction booklet! Screw that.
Then I went to Michael's in the hopes they would have the velor yarn, but nope, not one skein. So I bought some more yarn and a yarn loom. More money. .
The Knitting For Dummies book has a section on circular knitting. I don't know if I will ever be able to handle this mentally, but I want to try. I also have some ideas for knitted tubes. I don't know yet whether this are done on one of those circular looms, or with the round needles. I would like to make a long tube and then crochet it into a scarf. Also try making little circles and making a scarf out of them, joined together into rows, like chain mail.
So I bought a reference book on knitting, Knitting For Dummies. Looks good, but I think it cost $25 dollars as I also bought a paperback as well and the bill was over $30.00. Then I went to Jo-Ann's. Apparently I have missed the velor yarn season, or it hasn't happened yet. That sorta screws my plans for BF's present. However I did buy some yarn, checked out their "So You Want To Learn How To Knit" kits, and instead of the Boyle one they have at Wallyworld, with the stitch holders, gauge thingy, etc, all they had was one with two knitting needles, a tapestry needle and two skeins of yarn, with a instruction booklet! Screw that.
Then I went to Michael's in the hopes they would have the velor yarn, but nope, not one skein. So I bought some more yarn and a yarn loom. More money. .
The Knitting For Dummies book has a section on circular knitting. I don't know if I will ever be able to handle this mentally, but I want to try. I also have some ideas for knitted tubes. I don't know yet whether this are done on one of those circular looms, or with the round needles. I would like to make a long tube and then crochet it into a scarf. Also try making little circles and making a scarf out of them, joined together into rows, like chain mail.
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