Rip it out! Do it over! Make it better!

I swear! I can't stop! I finish knitting something. I look at it and I see ways it can, and should be improved. Especially when it is something I am designing and hope to be able to sell.

What do you call that? NO! I am NOT a perfectionist! Really! I'm not! Anyone who could see my house, especially my studio, would know that in an instant.

Sometimes I am sort of embarrassed when someone exclaims over something I've created. But they don't know that that itty bitty stuffed heart somewhere on the quilt covers a booboo, a blood stain, an "oops" in the fabric. It's sort of my signature on any quilt I make. Or that the slipper when folded flat looks fine, except that if you look at the whole thing you see that the toe is off center because my center marker fell off the needle and I put it back in the wrong place. Aaargh!!!

But I do know I can do better. This slipper pattern is just making me a little crazy I guess. Gonna take a break this weekend and get the Round Robin done. I have to mail it by Tuesday and I haven't even pulled out fabrics for it! I know, in my head, what I am going to do but I really shouldn't have waited so long. My bad! Not to mention the deadline for mailing the Civil War bow tie blocks for the TreadleOn exchange is next Friday.

Hello. My name is Gretchen and I am a Procrastinator. Is there a program??? I make these "to do" lists and if I accomplish half of it in a week I'm doing good. I won't even tell you the kind of everyday, normal things I put on my lists. It's shameful.

So, tomorrow I sew. There! I've given myself permission to rip out the slippers tonight before I go to bed. Oooh! I feel better already! Hmmm... blogging is good therapy! :o)

Brief Report

Knitted up the sole of the Men's medium size (11) with the Highland Chunky but it wasn't tight enough for me. "Grin through" in the sole is not a good thing. :o) It would probably be good with a smaller needle and would make a smaller size. Hmmm... gives me ideas! Oh, I forgot to mention that one skein of the Sierra made one slipper, with about 2 yards left over. The Sierra is 110 yards so one skein of Cascade 220, knitting with 2 strands, works just as well.

So I'm going back to the Sierra in a different color for now. I've had one person say they liked the unfolded cuff better because it made the big foot seem more in proportion. And another that liked the turned down cuff better because it looked more slipper-like. I like it both ways but, to me, the turned down one is stuffed to look more like a natural foot.

That's it. Just a short note. Just so y'all know I'm thinkin' of ya. :o)

PROGRESS!

Well, I finally successfully completed a Men's Large sample slipper. Size 13 is so big! I took 2 pictures. The first one with the cuff not folded and the foot stuffed with several balls of sock yarn. The second is with the cuff folded and the foot shaped with a couple of round little candy cans and one ball of sock yarn. Which one do y'all like?





I guess to me #2 looks more like a normal foot. It's just so huge!

So tonight I've cast on for the Men's medium in a nice heathery blue Highland Chunky from Elann. The green one is in KnitPicks Bulky Sierra. Lovely stuff! The Elann isn't as tightly twisted as the KnitPicks so we shall see how it stands up. I think this would be nice in a patterned yarn too. Have to play with that when there is time.

Been glued to the Olympics. Tonight was the best so far. It was so nice to see the ice dancing with no falls or terrible mistakes. I am really looking forward to the start of figure skating tomorrow.

Well, that all for now. The Men's medium shouldn't take as long as the large because I don't have to rewrite the pattern as I am knitting. (Knock on wood!) Y'all be good now!

Math weary brain

Sorry for the lack of postings lately. Between keeping up with the Olympic schedule and taping all I can, and slaving over the Men's sizes in my slipper pattern I haven't felt very chatty.

I wouldn't say I'm a math whiz but I was a bookkeeper for 35 years. So most math problems in knitting and quilting aren't a big deal. But one of the things I've been wrestling with in the Men's sizes was how much to knit back after a wrap and turn. After going to bed with a math induced headache for a couple of nights I just had to break out the graph paper. Thank goodness it worked!!! Now I can get on with knitting samples for pictures. This poor yarn I've been using for the test knitting has been frogged and re-knitted SO many times it is begging for mercy.

But I am having another little problem that I need to solve. I get a hole wherever I do a wrap and turn. I think it's the wrap that's doing it. Maybe I'll just try it without the wrap and see.

Had a nice Valentine's Day and hope you all did too. Alex gave me a lovely bouquet of flowers, a box of my favorite sugar free pecan turtles, a very sweet card and made steak and mushrooms and asparagus for dinner. I made him a special card and gave him a big box of his favorite cherry cordials. Santa gave him some for Christmas but, um, he didn't get many of them. (Smirk, they were very good!)

Then our nephew Seth came over with a box of cookies, a Bonsai Bear book for Alex (who is a bonsai master) and Wallace & Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit DVD for me. He is such a sweetie!

I vacuumed my studio today. Maybe that helped the math? Whatever, I am just so relieved to be able to move on! I have to get to work on the Round Robin center and get it on its way. And I have bow tie blocks to sew on my pre 1900 handcrank Singer with Civil War reprduction fabrics. And there is a mystery shawl about to start. And... and... you get the picture. So, maybe tomorrow I'll get around to some pictures. :o)

Happy teeth!

This is just a short little post to wish my friend Lois to GET WELL SOON!!!

What is a Round Robin?

Cyber twin Laura asked what happens in a Round Robin. There are all different kinds. Quilt centers that are added on to, rows of blocks that are added on to, and it doesn't really have to be a quilt. I could see this working with knitting or crocheting too.

In this Round Robin there are six of us who have made a center for a quilt and sent them to the next person on the list. #1 sends to #2 etc. As of this week we have all recieved another person's center. We each have the rest of the month to add, corners or a border or whatever, to the center and send it to the next person on the list. Each person always mails to the same recipient so that keeps that part simple. Eventually everyone will have worked on every center and will receive their own back with all the additions. A lovely surprise and an experience with neat memories.

One of our participants has made really nice journals for each of us to write in and pass along with each center. So we will not only get back our own quilt but also have the journal too.

I got my first center the other day, a compass rose medallion. Gorgeous! She wants it to end up with the blue on point. Have to do right by it now. Wish me luck!

Time Flies!

Good grief! It's nearly Wednesday already! The older I get the faster time goes by. All that humbug about "when you're having fun"? Balderdash!!! It's relativity I tell you! When you get older time speeds up. Doesn't have anything to do with slowing down and having to take naps. NO! It's all a physicist's plot. (grumble, grumble)

So for 2 days I have slaved over writing this slipper pattern, and working out changes for different sizes. And I only took 2 eensy weensy naps. Honest! I even went to the post office today to mail my Round Robin box.

Did you know the post office has ***pretty*** boxes now? Mine has roses all over it! It's gorgeous! And big enough for the pieced center, extra fabric, a few goodies for the participants and room to spare for as the project grows. Very cool I think.

I ran into 2 neighbors while I was at the post office. I love living in a small town. :o) One of them wanted to come home with me to look at my sewing machines again. Oh Lord! All the Christmas stuff has been taken down but the boxes haven't been put back up in the attic yet. So one can barely get in the front door. And, for the same reason, one can hardly get into the parlor where most of the handcrank machines are, which is what she wanted to see. She was polite. I was embarrassed.

On the upside though, Percy didn't run away from this sweet little red haired lady. That's a first! Maybe it was her soft English accent. Or maybe because she really is a short little lady, 4 foot somethig. Poor Percy, everyone is a giant to him.

So, here I am, about to go nighty night. There's supposed to be a big storm coming with lots of rain. I hope so. Good storms always energize me. Tomorrow I'll bake bread! Cinnamon raisin and egg bread. I better get to bed. I'm getting hungry. :o)

Bits and pieces

Took a break from knitting to get my center done for the Treadleon Round Robin I talked myself into organizing. Have to mail it on Tuesday! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! :o) The centers I've seen so far have been medallions, that is, the same design on all sides. Like a compass rose or a feathered star. Mine is different in that it is a scene.



But I expect the other participants will have fun with it. It will be exciting to see how it comes back. I know how but I don't do applique so I hope there is some of that.

This scene is a tribute to a friend who died way too young. He was my quilt design partner and encouraged me to get into teaching and publishing my designs. He died while I was recovering from open heart surgery and I was so devastated I mostly gave up on quilting. It still appeals to me. But I find knitting much more rewarding, comforting and practical, at least these days.

Still working on my slipper pattern. The size tens for Vera were one thing. Being able to get more sizes is something else altogether. If others are going to use my pattern is has to be more user friendly.

Got to do laundry today so I'd better get to it! Bye for now. :o)

Feelings

Alex brought home a nice note from friend Vera today. She loved the slippers and they fit perfectly! That's a happy feeling. :o)

Nice thing number 2 is... Fiber Trends is interested in the pattern!!! That's a WOW feeling! And Alex is proud of me. That's an awesome feeling!!!

I "fell off the wagon" and bought a bunch of Sierra Bulky at Knit Picks. Now I know exactly why! Gotta work out different sizes for the slippers and knit samples. It was preordained! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :o)

Just finished winding the Sierra and filled up a whole 'nother bag. That's a yummy feeling.

Tomorrow I must clear off my desk and pay bills. That's a yucky feeling. But then I will finish 2 quilt projects that are on deadlines and that will be a relieved feeling. That relief started tonight as I found the 2 little bags of Civil War fabrics I had been saving. Cleaning up my room makes such simple magic.

And the topper for the good feeling day, my friend Lois is finally through with the Canadian election and we had our first "visit" in weeks tonight. I sure missed yacking with her online nearly every night. Guess I'm spoiled. Oh well!

Nighty night!

Non Felted Clog Version 2

Just finished the second version of the not-to-be-felted clog for friend Vera. I think I like this one better. Gotta whip up another one tomorrow so Alex can deliver them Wednesday when he goes to play in her garden.

Learned a few things. Since this is totally knitted on circs, in order to get garter stitch for the nice thick sole you have to alternate knit rounds and purl rounds. The majority of the shaping is every other round so I wanted those shaping rounds to be on a knit round. That meant I had to start with a purl round. The Turkish cast on as I learned it isn't good for purl as a first round, plus, even as knit as a first round, left a non garter "seam".

So I played with it and here's what I did. When doing the Turkish cast on, instead of wrapping the yarn *under* the 2 needles I wrapped it **over** the 2 needles. It gave me a perfect start for a purl round. AND there is absolutely NO distinguishable seam, on either side! I was so pleased!

As I followed the pattern from there I saw that my counts were always right on and the shape of the slipper seemed to be much better defined. Instead of the rolled cuff that just seemed to look sloppy to me, I did 12 rows of 1x1 ribbing and folded it down. I like it alot! Here's a pic with the first one for comparison.



So whadaya think? Anyone interested in this? Wonder what Fiber Trends would think of what I did with their pattern? Hmmm...

Nighty night :o)

Tagged!

My cyber twin Laura has tagged me!

Four jobs in my life [best to worst]:Assuming these must be paid jobs...

1.) Lifeguard and swimming instructor at Temescal Pool. 1966
2.) Quilting lecturer and teacher, also did commission quilting, designed and published my own patterns and wrote a miniature quilting column for several magazines.
3.) Bookkeeper for Coastal Ordinance in San Leandro for Captain Wolfe. He was a good man.
4.) Bookkeeper for Encore Glass. Twenty Two year of pure misery.
(Absolute favorite job is what I am doing now, being retired and a knitting housewife.)

Four Movies you could watch over and over:

1.) The Abyss
2.) All Star Wars Movies
3.) All Harry Potter movies
4.) Any Jimmie Stewart movie

Four Places you have lived: Just 4? Sheesh!

1.) Thirty miles outside of Madison, Wisconsin, in a cozy trailer in the snow. 1949 - 1954
2.) Vancouver, B.C. Canada, 2 years of ice skating in the street, playing violin in the Kitsalano school orchestra, playing Badminton, loooong summer days camping with the Girl Guides, cycling to the beach for fish & chips with my best friend, and to the soda shop for 25 cent root beer floats on Saturdays. Good times! 1961 - 1962
3.) Millington, Tennessee in an off-base 2 room duplex, shared with a TON of cockroaches. My son David was born there and that is the only good memory I have of Millington.
4.) Benicia, California, in an 1887 Victorian 3 doors away from where Alex was born and raised. A real home at last!

Four Places you have been on vacation:

1.) 1978 - Cross country camping from Oakland, California to Dallas, Texas, in August, in a tent, in constant thunderstorms, with new husband Alex who had only left the state of California to go to Germany for the Army. Alex had never seen Carlesbad Caverns or the Painted Desert or the Indian countries. Or camped in a tent tied to the car so it wouldn't blow away in the pounding rain with lots of thunder and lightening. We were going so Alex could meet my Grandparents. My PawPaw died the day before we got there.

2.) 1980 - Camping alone in October for 2 weeks, moving from lake to lake in Northern California, fishing with the companionship of a darling kitten who adopted me in the wild and who loved to ride in the car. Peaceful and quiet at that time of year. I loved it!

3.) 1956 - Carlesbad Caverns and the Petrified Forrest, just me and my PawPaw. Sure miss him!

4.) 1959 - Cabin camping in Mina, Arkansas with my Dad's parents and brother, Grampa Mac, Coco and Uncle Mike. Good swimmin', fishin' and wraslin'.

Four websites you visit daily: Beyond a lot of blogs and knitting websites...

1.) My bank

2.) Buy & Hold to check on my tiny portfolio.

3.) Seattle Times to read Crankshaft.

4.) Grimmy to read Mother Goose & Grim.

Four of my favorite foods: Along with eggs any way, dark chocolate with nuts and caramel, BLTs, Southern fried chicken livers and fresh hot biscuits, cold hot dogs and cold pork and beans right out of the can...

1.) Shrimp, prawns, langoustine, whatever you want to call 'em. More is better!

2.) Rare filet mignon with sauted mushrooms and spinach salad (with baby shrimp). (Excuse me, I have to wipe my chin.)

3.) Crab (and shrimp) Louis, with fresh French bread and real butter.

4.) Creamy Navy beans with hot buttered cornbread.

Four places you'd rather be right now:

Can't think of any! I'm so happy right here, in front of the computer, knitting on the desk, television above, surrounded by beautiful yarn and affectionate kitties, talking to my friends.

Four Bloggers i am tagging:

1.) Yarn Harlot - http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/
2.) Pink Lemon Twist - http://www.pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/
3.) The Knitting Doctor - http://mousepotato.typepad.com/knittingdoctor/
4.) Will Work For Yarn - http://willwork4yarn.blogspot.com/

In Memory of MayMay

MayMay
1989 May 3 -- 2006 January 21

Best friend and long time companion of my dear friend Kati.

And the 3rd one was just right!

I feel like Goldilocks, really! The Turkish cast on worked great! I used the smallest size on the pattern. Too small. Tried the largest women's size. Too big. While I was ripping it all out again to try the middle size Alex came home from Michael's where he had gone for another Christmas storge box, with 2 skeins of Lion Brand Thick & Quick in the perfect color for Vera! I didn't even ask! He is the BEST husband!!!

So I sot right down and knitted this...



I am SO pleased! I hope Vera likes them. They are the perfect size and color. Whadaya think?

And Alex's hand is so much better! Swelling almost all gone. No redness and the heat is gone too. We are so blessed! Anyone who sent healing thoughts, thank you!

Tonight, just before dinner, Alex started to sneeze... and sneeze and sneeze. He kept it up until I gave him some hot tea and sent him to bed. We've been so lucky with no colds or flu for over a year. I hope this was just a bit of stray cat hair and not a darned bug.

Well, that's a wrap for tonight. Sleep tight all!

Fussy Old lady!

Well, I am still fussing with this not-to-be-felted clog for friend Vera. It worked out to knit it on smaller needles, size 8, it came out to my size (8-1/2) using the women's small in the directions. So I've ripped it all out and started over using the women's large directions.

I fiddled around with toe up type cast ons so there wouldn't have to be a seam in the middle of the sole. But nothing seems to work out. The figure 8 leaves a loose ladder down the middle. Before that I tried the Turkish cast on with a different slipper pattern that didn't work well. I'm going to try it with the clog pattern now and see how that goes. If it doesn't all work out tomorrow then I'll just knit the clog as written and she'll have a seam down the middle of the sole.

I'm worried about Alex. Yesterday while working in Mom's garden a rose thorn poked him in the hand, that fleshy part between the thumb and the forefinger. He says it bled and he washed it, but by the time he got home it was all swollen and red and hot. I worked it over with peroxide and neosporin and a bandaid, and we did it again before bed. Today he says it's better but it doesn't look like it to me. He must be a little worried about it because it didn't rain today but he stayed in, ALL day! That is not like him at all.

This worries ME because way back when we were newlyweds he had a puncture on the same hand from a kitty tooth. But he didn't tell me about it until he showed me a red line going up his arm! At the hospital he had IV antibiotic, then at home we did Betadine soaks for a week. I sure don't want to go through that again!!! If it isn't better tomorrow I guess we'll start the soaks.

I know it's not a big thing compared to so many other things that could happen. But healing thoughts would be appreciated. :o) Guess I'll go say my prayers and get to bed. Love and Hugs!

Well...

Yesterday an old order finally came. Some bulky and some cotton. So I wound it all and put it in the appropriate bags. Feels nice to be organized, in one area anyway. :o)

Today I've been working on a problem. I have this elderly friend, a dear lady of 93 who loves to bake goodies and send them home with Alex when he works in her garden. I told her all about the felted clogs and that I wanted to make some for her. Problem is, she's allergic to wool. I've hunted around for slipper patterns that look nice that I can knit with a bulky synthetic and I haven't really been able to find anything I like. So I had this little idea. What if I use the bulky that I have, with the clog pattern I have, but use much smaller needles? So I've been experimenting, ripping out, experimenting some more, etc... All the while thinking about the other things I want to be knitting right now.

If this doesn't work out soon I think I will knit a few little swatches for her to test herself with. The last time she was irritated by wool was ages ago and I think wool qualities have changed for the better and what exists now might be nicer than anything she has tried. I've already done a little felted swatch for her to try next week. Who knows? We might both be pleasantly surprized!

Well, that's what is exciting in my life for now! Remember how I said I was going to try to get to bed by 12 from now on? Little by little I slid back to 3AM, 4AM, 5AM... Why is it so dang hard for a nightowl to turn over a new leaf? I just get so much done when it is all quiet and peaceful. Oh well, nighty night!

Big sigh of happiness...

It's all done! Now I can knit! YAY!!! There is one thing left to wind but it's going to take a while and be a fiddly mess. Here's what tangled up cobweb looks like.



That itty bitty little bit of winding has lots of ends in it. And that took an hour!

Anyway, on to the good stuff! The first picture - clockwise from bottom right - bag of "exotic" yarns, Schaefer's Elaine and Noro Spring Garden, bag of Cascade 220, bag of mohair, bag of bulky (soon to be filled), bag of foo foo yarns, and bag of cottons.



Next picture, from left to right - bag of dk weight, bag of worsted weight, bag of lace etc. for shawls, and bag of sock yarn.



Can't leave out the crochet thread!



And lastly, my happy little Percy who can finally get close to Mommy now that all the bags are out of the way.



What's next? A quick pair of bulky slippers for an old friend. Then I have to get busy on a christening gown for my dear friend Lois' granddaughter Sioban. ( Shi-vahn) We call her Babe. :o) I am honorary Great Auntie Gretchen!

Then I have 3 mystery shawls to catch up with, not to mention all the other shawls I want to knit. Including a small one for little Sarah, the daughter of my dear friend Betsy. And I want to use some of that pretty cotton for something summery. And I'm crazy about shrugs! And I want to give an heirloom shawl out of the book Heirloom Knitting a try with the cobweb.

And I'm on 2 deadlines, one is to make a bunch of bowtie quilt blocks with heirloom fabrics on my Singer New Family handcrank sewing machine, and the other is a pieced center medallion for a Round Robin that I have to mail on the last day of January. And my Mom gave me a quilt top that I have been drooling over for several years, but I had to promise to hand quilt it. So I have to show some progress with that now and then. :o)

Not to mention the pantry is waiting for the second phase of clean out and reorganize. Oh it's going to be a busy year boys and girls!

Wanna swap?

I know I said I was going to be all done winding tonight but... Maybe it's the energetic younger me who lurks within this beat up old carcass that makes me think I can accomplish things faster than I really can. It's hard to "think old"!

So I wound yarn most all day, but I saved the hardest for last. Three HUGE hanks of cobweb. Two of them were neatly tied and the winding went fine. It just took a long, long time. I switch hands regularly but it still tires out the arms. The third hank of cobweb is a nightmare. It wasn't tied and has some tangles. Fortunately it spit splices easily but there are going to be a lot of breaks necessary to get it untangled. I'll save that for tomorrow.

In the bottom of the last bag were these 4 balls of hot pink Stretch Jaeger. Don't know what I would use it for! Anybody want to trade something for it? Here's a picture.



This next picture has the two wound hanks of cobweb, red on the bottom, white on top. Next to them are skeins of Lion Fisherman. There are miles of cobweb in those yarn cakes, compared to 465 yards in the Fisherman. Heck of a comparison!



Well, time for my long Winter's nap. Plenty to do tomorrow and it's laundry day too. Nighty night!

Waaay tired!

Sorry gang. No pics tonight. I am bushed! Spent part of the day taking down Christmas decorations and have been winding ever since. Gonna get the last of it done tomorrow. Then I'll have all these wonderful, neat and organized bags of yarn, like giant jewels. And my knitting machines will be uncovered and might actually get used sometime for something other than piling stuff on. What a concept! :o)

And I'll be able to sew again! Mom wants a new fleece jacket. And I have to make some quilt blocks for an exchange, using a 100 year old handcrank Singer. And mending? Let's not go there. Anyway, I'll be able to see my room again as a place to be creative.

So, if y'all will pardon me, I want to get to bed before the sun comes up. Nighty night!

And winding...

I'm still at it. Feels so good to be getting organized! And I shocked myself today, while digging around in the piles, by finding not one, not two, not even 3, but FIVE skeins of Opal Handpainted! I'm going to surprize Alex with lots of socks this year. :o) Wanna see what I did today?





Not too bad huh? But there's more, tomorrow. Nighty night!

Winding...

Hi Folks! Well I did it! Picked up all the stuff off the floor. Mostly kitty toys and kitty beds and kitty scratchers. Then I vacuumed very thoroughly. When the floor was completely defurred I sat down (doesn't everyone vacuum sitting down?) pulled out the tube attachment and the extra lengths and the dusting tool and caught me a whole bunch of dust bunnies under my desk and behind the computer and behind the monitor and... well, you get the picture.

Then I decided I deserved a treat, but one that would be useful. So I spent the rest of the day winding yarn. I LOVE to wind yarn! I love watching the swift whirl around and seeing the neat yarn cake form on the winder. They're so neat and tidy and stackable and storable. And, best of all, they are so ready to be knitted!

This first picture is 3 skeins of beautiful blue sock yarn, 2 huge hanks of blue green lace weight I won on eBay, some super soft variegated that came without a label, a hank of dusty pink Germantown and a chunk of pinky/lavender fingering, also without a label. All but the eBay laceweight came from my cyber twin Laura. (Hi kiddo!)



The next picture is my sock yarn storage bag which is now too small. The 3 yarn cakes on top of it are 2 skeins from Laura and the red, white and blue Opal I got in the mail today. (Thank you Soxie!!!) Behind the sock yarn bag is my bag of Elaine. Lovely stuff to knit with. :o) Those cones of yarn you see off in the corner? That is one of 2 HUGE yarn trees filled with coned yarn, mostly for machine knitting, but I do use it occasionally for hand knitting.



The last picture is of 2 storage bags under the table. The big one is all Cascade 220, mostly for felted stuff. And the smaller bag is what I call my shawl bag, because it is all lovely lacy stuff and I have LOTS of shawls I want to knit. :o) Oh, and the little bag that fell off a nearby pile is all my "foo foo" yarn. And please notice you can actually see the pattern in the rug now!



So, it was a good day! I am trying to get to bed by midnight from now on. Trying to cure myself of being such a night owl. It makes Alex happy and it's probably good for me. We shall see. G'nite all!