Project from 30 Years Ago

When I was recently in Colorado at my sisters home, I noticed al long (too long) skinny baby bunting that sorta looked familiar.

Sure enough, when I looked at it a bit more closely I thought that at one point about 30years ago I remembered staring at this yellow yarn for a few weeks as it passed through my fingers and onto the knitting needles to make this for my new little nephew. 

My first attempt  at  cable stitches and I see a few mistakes. I'm sure I still see plenty of mistakes in my work, but the noticeable ones are now easier to fix than they used to be, as my expertise has increased.

I probably knitted a little tighter then than I do now and I also followed the length guidelines without taking that into account. Hence the longer than wide result. Cute little hood.
I think todays patterns of a bunting would include a little slit near a third of the way up to put a seatbelt thorough, but back then nothing of the sort would have even been thought of yet.
What a nice Aunt I was. ;-)
What a nice sister I have to have kept it for posterity.

Finally Finished - Mom's Pi Shawl

A couple of years ago I posted about a project that I was working on. Here is the post regarding that crazy, lacy, sea foam green/turquoise, and difficult Pi Shawl I was working on for my sweet mother. 

As time consuming as each row was, I was excited to finish each step along the way, although admittedly, I did put it on the back burner for months at times as I was busy with other pressing projects that didn't require as constant attention as this one. 

Now after about 3 years, I have at last finished it. I will take it to my Mother and deliver it by hand for Valentines Day.

After edging for 7/8ths of the way around the circle.

Layed out and ready for blocking. The edges look ruffled instead of pointed at this time.

48 inches of center design

Blocking the edges to make sure each point is made apparent.

Center medallion and initial 8 spokes being formed.

After blocking, this Pi Shawl in my mothers favorite color is ready for any roundish table or to be folded and put around her shoulders.
I hope she can see it well enough to appreciate how much effort she is worthy of.

Scarfs on the List

Two of the granddaughters wanted a scarf for Christmas and so I made a couple of them. Lex wanted a "Sparkle Scarf" and I was unsure of what that meant, so I just bought some yarn that had glittery edging  and was a bright color.

I think she likes it and her mom sent this cute picture of her wearing it to school the next day, so I'd say she got her Sparkle Scarf. It is bright pink and basically looks red unless you put it up against a real red and then you can see that it could be pink.

She looks cute in it.

Elles is the other granddaughter that had a scarf on her list, and she apparently borrows her mothers each time she enters her closet, so her mom told me a grownup scarf was requested.
I always have some yarn that I can use for a small project, and so I pulled this neutral/ yet semi-colorful yarn out and made a cable knit scarf for her.

 It's a 24 stitch double cable that I found online and I just surrounded it with a garter stitch that is 5 stitches wide on both ends so that the edges didn't roll.  I  didn't make it very long - it's about 24 inches long by 8 inches wide,  so it will be able to not drag or get caught when she is playing. (She is just 4 years old anyway (almost))

The scarf is then folded over with ends overlapping asymmetrically and then sewn closed with a shank type button for decoration.

 She loves it and it looks really cute on her.

Finally Finished Chevron Blanket

For several years I have been working on a knitted blanket for our family room. It is only worked on when:
#1) I am finished with the other more pressing projects from my extensive list.
#2) The weather is cool enough to have a large blanket draped across my lap.

So after 3 or 4 winters I finally got the blanket long enough to feel like it was finished.

 All the left over blues and a few beiges that were in my yarn stash were put into this throw.

 I had done a scarf several years ago that was a 13 stitch repeat chevron pattern, and I just made that pattern repeat so that it was wide enough for a sofa throw. Then it just had to continue being knitted until it was long enough for our long legged family.

Kind of random, and interesting.

I'm more than glad that it is finally finished.

Male Family Trait

My studly youngest son was asked to speak with the High Counselor in a neighboring ward at church last month. (this means that it wasn't our congregation, but he was accompanying a man who has various responsibilities in other congregations in our area)

Because Michael has been asked to serve a mission to Brazil and he has to wait several months to leave due to difficult VISA requirements, he has time to prepare and help out here in many regards.

This speech, or talk as we refer to Sunday sermons, was going well and he apparently was discussing our Morman pioneer heritage and how we can learn and grow from these men and women from the past. When all of a sudden there arose.... such a clatter.

He fainted. Right there in the middle of his talk from the pulpit.

Down he went. The Bishop of the Ward (who was a brand new called Bishop) tried to catch Michael with the help of one or both of his councilors who were sitting next to him next to the podium.  The story is that Michael took them both down with him as he fell. I assume he tried to stand as long as he could, so by the time he fell he was completely out. 

He has never fainted before, but I used to do it regularly when I was in pubescence, so I know to sit down before it is too late. Such an experienced fainter wouldn't have landed so hard.

Now there was an experienced emergency response fan in the congregation that morning. Our friend Dale immediately called 911 when he saw our sweet son go down in front of the audience.  

But after a couple of minutes of fanning face, talking softly to wake him up, and getting him up to standing, Michael convinced the Bishopric and folks on the stand that he was AOK and got right back up to finish his talk.  He thought the drama was over, but when he was finished and comfortably seated back in his chair while listening to the High Councilor give his talk, he got a wave from the back of the audience and motion to him to please come back and get checked out by the .... paramedics.

He reluctantly left the chapel and was checked out by the arriving team of paramedics. They took his vital signs, did an EKG to make sure his heart was acting appropriately, and called his Dad who was in another church that morning. 

When Dad and I talked to the paramedics per phone, we told them that if Michael checked out okay, we would prefer for them not to take him to the hospital. He probably just stood too long with locked knees on a little sleep and an empty stomach. So they let him go back into church and finish his day without any more problems.

I told him in the afternoon about my brother doing the same thing when he was giving a talk as a newly wed, probably in his early 20's.  We found out later that 2 of my nephews have done the same thing too.
They must get stressed and not realize it as they are standing up in front of a big crowd. Locking their knees causes the blood in their bodies to pool in extremities and away from the brain, which loses oxygen and then shuts right off. What a great family legacy.

Later on when I was talking about the morning to Michael and our lunch guests, I stated that the friend of ours in that ward is "an ambulance chaser."  Michael had never heard that term and inquired about it.

This man that called 911, I told Michael, has an interesting hobby. He has police scanners in his home and listens to emergency response personnel quite often. I wasn't being rude about him, I was merely stating the facts when I called him and ambulance chaser.

Michael piped right up and said, "Well I'd do that way before I'd knit for a hobby."

Ouch.

Pom Pom Hat

The jumper dress I made big Lexy had to have a coat and hat to match,  for one reason I had yarn that went with it (remember my problem with matchy-matchy stuff), and another because I had made a hat like this for Stephanie last year, so I already had this cute little pattern.

 She helped me make the pom poms. (or she wanted to for about 15 seconds) and she thinks it's okay that the hat is a little big for her.  Easy to please.

 I guess she can wear it for a long time that way. Like the rest of her life.
She is definitely my most engaged model, don't you agree.
Matching coat up next.

Green Sweater for My Boy

Such a cute little guy, I thought I'd knit him up something to keep him warm.  I have been trying to sew more lately and so my knitting has been slower than usual.  I finally finished this little sweater, then the Hubby said, "Really?, You think that's big enough for him?"

Well, this little/big guy came over last night and alas, the sweater is not going to be his. It'll just have to be stashed in my cupboard for a littler guy to come along. 

Here are the pieces all laid out before sewing them together.  I just have the shoulder seam done in the top pix.  Then below are the "blocked" sleeves.

I think the one thing that helps a sweater in the final stages look less homemade is the blocking of it before being sewn together.

Just lay out the pieces and spray with water, then pin and measure all the way around each piece to fit the sizes printed on the pattern. This makes everything lie flatter and sew together more easily.

I let it dry overnight and sometimes steam the pieces if they are curling up around the edges more than I want them to.

All finished with some ordinary buttons.

I supposed I should look at the bright side and say, "I'm done with a gift for a later time and child."

Fun, Fun.

Long-Term Project

My Mother's favorite color is light-blue with a hint of turquoise.

I grew up in a house with turquoise master bathroom fixtures (remember it was in the 60's),
and the rock on the side of our cream colored brick home, built in 1960 also, was an accenting turquoise called "Aztec Mist" if you look up decorative rock.

Some day I'll take you to my childhood home again.
For now I'll show you the lacy pi shaw that I am knitting for my mother right now.  It is done with some tensel lace weight yarn and will use nearly 3000 yards of the stuff. Every other row I just knit each stitch without thinking much, but then the opposite rows are a little complicated so the design will work and I have to concentrate for about 30 minutes to get through one row. (that is right now when there are about 400 stitches on each row, but as I add to the circle 16 more stitches every few rows, the time and stitches will increase greatly)  1000 stitch, complicated rows will take me at least an hour or two per row to complete.
So... I am making this slowly. I don't have time to think that much. :)

It will be pretty when I am able to finish it.

Right now it is in a bunched up circle.
....Later.... WAY later.

To Be "Hung by the Chimney with Care"

After knitting all my children's Christmas stockings as they grew up, my daughter thinks that the best stockings are knitted 'cause they look like "stockings." She asked me to knit them in random designs, shapes and sizes unlike the ones I made in her youth that were all the same pattern and size, with different motif and color choices. Her colors, however, are going to match well.
So, over the past few years I've made them stockings as they added to their family with yarn that I purchased in bulk to begin the project with a questionable completion date and quantity. Last year was Ellery's first Christmas and this post was about her new stocking.
Another new baby was added this year and the Mommy wanted a plainer stocking with just a couple colors, white polka dots, and a short stumpy stature.

Here is the base of the sock, nearly finished.

Now, with the polka dots added. I first tried to crochet white circles and sew them onto the shell, but that wasn't what the designer (K) had in mind, so I did duplicate stitched circles on the sock and that was just right for her. Not too hard, not to soft, but just right.

I also like the added strings of pompoms. I should get a picture with them hanging from their mantle. Maybe tomorrow.

Orange Fever

Last night I met The Hubby for a celebratory business dinner in the City. As we were driving past ATT Park and the 2nd game of the World Series was in its 3rd inning, the streets were alive with the rush and excitement of a huge crowd of people. Of course these are the people who didn't pay $500 for a "standing only" ticket, but were just taking in the vibe of the event.
The entire greater Bay Area is pretty excited about the Giants right now. Boy did they ever perform last night.  The Hubby had his smart phone at the ready right on our very formal dinner table giving updates every inning or so (until the 8th inning where he seemed to be updating every 30 seconds with yet another run for the GIANTS.)
I'm not sure the boss man appreciated the interruptions, but everyone else at the table of 14, was excited to hear all about the progress.

Earlier in the day at my little knitting group, we checked out our fellow knitter Elisa's Christmas stockings. Elisa is our most prolific knitter and has knitted about 35 times more than the rest of us this year. She has knitted 35 huge stockings for her entire extended family since about February, and we were getting a final mind boggling show.

Not one of my very favorites, but a standout today was this particular stocking.

Amongst all the poinsettia, felted, victorian, ugg, snowflake, pirate, team, sock monkey, polka dots, stripes, there was this Giants stocking for a fan in her family.
So appropriate.

Felted & Finished

I truly can't believe that I didn't take a picture of this coat/sweater before I shrunk it.

I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, because I had previously made another much smaller sweater from the same pattern, and I decided I thought the shape the pattern produced would make an adorable retro 3/4 length boiled wool coat for Lexy.
Problem was ... I didn't know how big to make the pre shrunk sweater, or for that matter, how much yarn to purchase for the experimental project.
So I just "went for it."

And, yes, I did run out of yarn.  So the back bodice piece, which I had to go find semi matching yarn for, is slightly off color. It kind of looks like I just color blocked the back. I also added a contrasting yellow piping between the colors and that kinda hides the difference in fushia pinks.

Before washing the finished product in hot and very soapy water, it was a large and misshapen garment. It would have been too limply hanging on a body to look cute or even to not stretch out as the wearer was walking across the street. I knitted it with large needles (11's) and with the very easily felted "Cascade 220" yarn. I decided to leave the buttons off, as the heavy, even stiff, new fabric will stay in place with the simple tie.

I am happy with the finished coat like sweater. I think if I was to do it again, I'd make it a little longer for the width. I think things shrink more lengthwise than widthwise, but it actually fits her pretty well.
Lexy likes it too.

Hoodie Style

So the little guy is 4 months old now.
Growing like a weed and cute as a button.

He smiles on demand.

And apparently sleeps better than his seetors did at the ripe old age of 1/3.

I finished his hoodie, and it turned out very cute. It is supposed to be a 12 month size, but

I received a picture by email today and it looks as if it was made for a 4 month old growing boy.

I also made my first stuffed animal to go with the sweater.

I got this book at a "Stitches" convention. Very cute kid patterns and stuffed animals. As you can tell by the cover photo, I was very imaginative when I chose the colors for Lukies sweater.  They were just such perfect colors. (I say with a little whine in my voice)

Coat/Sweater

I realize I posted a picture of this sweater in a previous "things I need to get off my plate" post, but I thought she looked so cute in it that I had to show and tell.

This shows the back of the hat and all the pom poms on the front,

which she perhaps will not leave alone, and will pull them off. She was obsessed.

"Oh, Hi."

I'm now working an the pink and yellow one for the #1 girl. I am moving quite slowly because I only work on my knitting these days when watching TV in the evenings. If I have any other pressing project that can be worked on while sitting on the couch, that is taking a front seat to my knitting. (although I'll show another finished baby project tomorrow)

So Many Projects, So Little Time

Lexy Lou (age 4.5) was in my living room trying on a sweater made for Ells Bells (age 1.25) and it just wasn't working.
She entered the family room where the Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and cousins were watching silent NBA playoff games and chatting it up on a slow, Sunday afternoon. She then whispered to me (the Grammy) that she wanted to show me something.
Now, you have to understand that this child isn't normally a quiet, discrete soul, but she really wanted to know why that lime green sweater with crazy colorful pompoms on the sleeves and belt ties wouldn't fit her. It seemed long enough in the body and yet the sleeves and torso were just not up to the task for fitting her dainty cute little self.
So, I explained to her that it was kind of a coat sweater, long enough to cover up Ells down to her thighs and it would match a dress that I was going to sew up soon.

Great Yarns Pom Pom Coat

This is a straight stockinette stitch and shaped very simply with additions of stitches at the side edges for an A frame coat.

Love this updated 60's look fabric by Lila Tueller for Moda. I got it at Prarie Queens Quilt Shop in SJC

Then after I make a t-shirt quilt for Michael,

start a photo board for the memory room at the high school depicting Michael Michael's lifetime thus far,
whip up a blessing dress for the newest addition to our family coming in August, and apparently make some jalepeno/cheddar bread for Austin,

(just kidding Katz), 

I would then make her, Lexy, a pink and orange sweater just like the one I just finished for Ells.
"Pink and ORANGE?  I don't like orange," she stated, quite matter of factly.
"Oh, let me show you what I have in mind," I said, hoping to change her mind.

Down the hall we went  to the sewing room, where I stash materials for the above projects. "I bought this great pink, yellow, orange, & green flowered fabric to make a little outfit for you and I thought a pink and orange sweater would go with it so well."

"I think it should be just all pink," said the opinionated preschooler.
"I don't have enough pink yarn, so we will have to trim the sweater in another color," I replied.
"Oh, how about pink and yellow then," she said.
"Then I could make a little orange one for Lena to go with what you were wearing," I argued.
"I think Yellow would be good."
"Yellow, it is.  Yellow and pink."