Cable on a Table

Ok, I'm running out of catchy titles, plus I'm tired. But I finished my triple cable scarf, I really just made it to practice my cables, which I really, really like doing. I also made a matching hat, but the picture I tried to take of it didn't turn out that well. The pattern is from Knit Simple and I used Joann's Sensations Angel Hair yarn (I just love that yarn!).

I was pleased with the way it turned out and it wasn't hard at all. I think I'm going to try another cable if I can find one I like that is a little more complicated. A girl at work really like the hat and scarf so I'm going to give it to her, but wanted to take a picture first. I did see a cute cable sweater for a child, so I might try that for J, my niece. Although it is getting a bit warm to knit sweaters. I'm looking for some cotton summer patterns that I could try out.

And just to throw it in, here is a picture of Olivia doing her thing on her perch. I'm using http://www.photobucket.com/ for my pictures. You can add all kinds of borders and other cool stuff!

A Weekend Away...

Had a free weekend in Ocean City, Maryland and being the stellar photographer that I am, I took this picture at sunrise. Thanks Randy for the use of the condo!

Never a Skull Moment

Don't you just love my catching titles? LOL, ok not terribly original, but trying to find a word that rhymes with skull wasn't easy. Anyhoo, I finished my felted skull bag, pattern is again form the Hello Yarn website (http://www.helloyarn.com/bigskulltote.htm). Again a free pattern from the Hello Yarn Lady, she has the cutest things!

This was my first foray into "stranding" and although I don't think I did a great job with it, it worked out fairly well. Given that the bag as knitted in the round, it was a little harder also. I will try it again with flat knitting. I used Patons wool yarn in worsted weight and it was knitted double strand through out. I added a crochet color border to the top to set it off a bit. I also made a mistake using the graph (there are skulls on both sides of the bag) and made one eye on one side to small (guess what! first time using a graph also). It looked like some kind of weird skull birth defect! So I used duplicate stitching to fix the eye before I felted the bad. It actually worked really well, and it was the first time I had used duplicate stitching also. After felting in one wash cycle, I stopped and noticed the skull was actually pulling inward on the back do to the stranding, so I pulled it as much as I could to stretch it out a bit on the sides of the skull. I took the picture after one felting cycle, but I'm toying with the idea of throwing it in for a second cycle to see what would happen. The Hello Yarn Lady said she used two cycles when felting her bag. Any way, here is what the bag looked like prior to felting, it was pretty big, and a close up of the graphic work for the skull.

Don't know what I want to work on next, I don't like being without a project, since I don't like to watch TV without having something to do!

Cable For One?

I wanted to try my hand at something I hadn't tried before, so I found a link to a website called Hello Yarn, here's the link if you all are interested http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingscarf.htm.

It's a really cute website by a gal that does some amazing things with yarn. The Hello Yarn Lady offers some free patterns and there was a beautiful pattern for an Irish Hiking Scarf. A really pretty, uncomplicated cable pattern for a scarf. So I used some yarn from my stash, Joann's Sensations Angel Hair yarn in color #649, which is actually a cool purple color. The only problem with this yarn is that it is kinda hairy, so the cables are not as distinct as they could be. But it was fun to do and easy peasy japaneasy!

Pretty Puppy and Baby Sweater

Wow! Two posts in a month! I'm ramping up here so watch out! I've been meaning to post a couple of projects. First a puppy sweater I made for a girl at work who has a little Maltese (I think that is how you spell it), anyway I had been wanting to make this doggie sweater but didn't know any small dogs. Turns out it fit her Mom's doggie better, so here is Mitzy with her sweater!

The pattern is free from Lion Brand, it called for Microspun, but I used TLC Cotton Plus in pink that I already had, and used Fancy Fur in pink that I already had. It knitted up quickly. So if I can find some more of the Fancy Fur in pink I'm commissioned to make a slightly larger one for the original doggie. Who's name oddly enough is Olivia!

The second project was for a friend at work who has a 4-5 month old boy. I made this sweater from the March issue of Crochet! magazine. The pattern had flowers for a girl, so I left them off as well as the pockets and added little car buttons. He really liked it and has promised me a picture of the baby donning the jacket. I used Caron Simply Soft in Turquoise and instead of the white Bliss yarn it called for to make the collar, I used some white Bernat Boa that I already had. I thought it turned out kinda cute! Oh! I also added about an inch to the bottom in a border, not in the original pattern because it looked kinda short since my gauge was off. And one extra picture of the little buttons since they were really cute!Currently I'm knitting a scarf for myself, yeehaw! It is the first time that I have knitted cables, and I'm surprised at how easy it is! I've practiced a little before, but never made anything. Bought myself a nice cable needle to use and have subsequently lost it, so I am using a double-point needle as my cable needle. A little awkward, but it's doing the job. I'm about 2/3's finished, so stay tuned!

Cool Photo Tool!

I just found the coolest photo tool! A free download of a program tool called GIMP that is just like Photoshop! I've been wanting to put in family photos, but didn't really want to put faces on the blog (although I have about 3 readers and they all know everyone ANYWAY), but safety first right? So I wanted to post a photo with little black boxes over the eyes, like they do in Glamour magazine in their Do's and Don'ts section where they catch people on the street wearing really bad or really good outfits, and then they print them with bars over their eyes to hide the identity!

So I can finally do it and here is the photo from Christmas with the gang wearing their Christmas hats I knitted! Dad, N, J, and R all put on their hats and posed for the camera!

Very, very cool! A definite Do!

Pillow Talk

Well, so much for my New Year's resolution to write once a week! I have a couple of projects going on. I finished another pillow for the living room, some tan knotty looking yarn and some furry eggplant colored yarn I got for $1 a skein produced a pillow that's not terribly attractive, but I liked the way it turned out. This time I knitted two squares and crocheted them together to produce a border around the pillow insert. I like the way it is put together. The orange pillow was done in one piece and folded over around the insert, then sewn together on three sides. It didn't produce very sharp corners which I didn't like very much.

Snow And Some Other Stuff

Well we finally got a few inches of snow! Of course around here you get a couple of inches and the whole world goes crazy! We got out of work early, which was fine by me! Here's a little picture of my driveway.

Haven't been up to much in the knitting and crocheting world. After the Christmas rush it's been a little hard to sit down and commit to one thing. I did knit two more earflap hats, one for my brother for his birthday, it matches the ones I made for his kids and my Dad for Christmas. I thought the kids would get a kick out of having the same hat as Dad and Grandpa. I also made one for my friend's son, who I shall call Shaggy at the moment, since I don't use real names here, and because the kid needs a haircut! They came over for the playoff football games last Sunday and we teased him that if his team lost we would get to cut his hair. Of course HIS team won so he got to cut a piece of hair of my friend's head, which is saying a lot since my friend is, ummm, somewhat hair impaired on top. But Shaggy got a kick out of it! I made him a hat to go with his new coat and his favorite colors orange and army green. Here is a picture of him with the hat, permission granted by his Mom(s).

I've been spending time on my crochet website, http://www.crochetville.org/, and talking with the other guys and gals that like to crochet. There are some knitters also. One friend started a thread in the forum asking for folks to make some 12 x 12 squares and send them to her, she wants to make a KING size afghan for her bed in her new home. So she will get all these squares and join them together and have a big "friendship" blanket. I'm not much into the granny square, but decided what the heck, it would be fun to try out some new stitches. So I looked up some patterns and made four for her that I will send out tomorrow. Here's what they look like. Not fabulous, but it was fun trying something new. I did start a small project, I'm knitting my friend at work a sweater for her doggie. I always thought this particular pattern was too cute, but didn't know any itty, bitty dogs. I already had all the yarn in my stash, so I hope to finish it shortly and post a picture of the puppy wearing it. Funniest thing is her dog's name is Olivia, and my cat's name is Olivia. What's the chances of two animals, I mean children, having such a grand name!

Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish everyone of my readers (Hey Mom and Dad!) a happy, safe and healthy New Year. This picture was funnier when I thought it was a squirrel! I mean what's a hamster doing hooked to a tree outside??

I'm not making too many resolutions, but I will try to write at least once a week, and show whatever it is I am working on.

Last year my Dad sent me a prayer that he heard at church for the New Year in 2007. We don't know the author. I saved it, he sent it last January 3rd. I'd like to print it out here, because it really is wonderful. Thanks Dad!
_______________________________________

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine;
But by keeping your face bright, even in shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need
you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope, joy to you for the year ahead.

GOD BLESS OUR NEW YEAR.
__________________________________

Investigating Ghosts in Gettysburg

Friends went armed with digital cameras and anEMF detector (a little machine that detects electromagnetic fields) to Gettysburg, PA. These are the tools that the modern ghosthunter uses to pick up spirits or ghosts that may be lurking around. We looked through all the pictures taken, looking for orbs. An orb is a round spot of light that shows up on the digital camera (or sometimes to the naked eye) . These are thought to be energy spots from spirits or ghosts that are floating around. They took this amazing photo in one of the graveyards.

Now when you look at a photo like this you first try to debunk it (everyone else will!), meaning what in the area could have caused the phenomenon. A lot of times inside orbs may be dust particles in the air that show up looking much like an orb. But outside you are hard pressed to say one huge piece of dust is floating around the Gettysburg graveyards. You then make sure that you take another picture of two of the same exact spot, most times they will come up with no orb, which is what happened here. The other thing you think of is, was there something on my lens? In this case I would say no, it did not show up in the subsequent pictures of the same spot. Also, if you look closely at the picture, the orb is directly over and BEHIND the headstone. It can't be from the camera. This is the best orb shot he has ever taken, and one of the best I have seen. And yes in the other photos of the battlefields and headstones there were smaller fainter orbs, but nothing like this.

The other point of interest is that they had the EMF detector on. The EMF detector will beep when it detects fluctuations in the magnetic field around it. It detects energy, which is what a spirit, or an orb is. In the house the thing goes pretty crazy because of the outlets, electronics, etc. Outside if you are near powerlines it will beep due to the EMFs from powerlines. But if you are in an area that should have no EMF, or no power, you get nothing. Like we got nothing at the Eastern State Penitentiary because there is no live electricity in the place, and apparently no ghosts either. On the battlefields and graveyards of Gettysburg there is no electricity, the detector would make no noise, but then for a second it would start beeping, and then again be silent. This would seem to confirm small amounts of energy passing by or that they passed through. Ghosts? You decide.

One caveat though, the detector when held up to my head and started beeping and when held to someone else's it did nothing. LOL, I guess that is another investigation all together!

Oh Baby Baby!

I just finished the little pink sweater I crocheted for a friend's granddaughter, it turned out really cute! I plan on giving it to her tomorrow, so I hope I can get a picture of her in it, maybe on with her Grandpa! I used Bernat's Baby Coordinates yarn and the little buttons have little white rabbits on them!

Now I'm off to start knitting the poncho my brother commissioned to give to his niece. It will be the same one I gave to my niece about a year ago.

I also just had to put a picture of this afghan that a girl on http://www.crocheville.org/ made. It is a picture of the face of Jesus from the Shroud of Turin. It is so amazing that I had to pass it along. She took a picture of the face and used some computer software to graph it out, the crocheted according to the pattern. It truly is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!

Funny or NOT

Ok, the first funny thing is my dear Mother telling me she got around to reading my GLOB. Say WHAT??! I didn't laugh at first because I didn't know if she was serious, she has a habit of putting her unique spin on book and movie titles, and then I said you mean my BLOG? And she started laughing, I was like, WHEW. But between you and I, I think she WAS serious.

Another funny thing, since I have been in a crocheting mood lately, is this picture I found of a life size GREYHOUND someone crocheted! I don't know that I would have the patience to do something like this, but heck then I would have to crochet a dog bed for each floor to go with the greyhound, and I don't think it's worth it.

What's NOT funny is that I am still hacking away with this cough/cold thing. I'm a mess!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all! Went this past weekend to the Eastern State Peniteniary in Philly. It's an abandoned prison in the middle of central Philly and it's supposed to be haunted! We went to the Terror Behind the Walls haunted house, which is a haunted house inside the walls of the prison, and the next day toured the prison and tried to do some ghostbusting. But that was a bust! I took a ton of pictures, but captured no orbs or crazy mists. I also used the new EMF detector I got to try to locate ghosts, but also came up empty. The EMF (electormagnetic field) detector registers the EMFs in the room. Ghosts use energy to materialize, so it is thought if you get a reading in a place where there shouldn't be any EMFs, then you may have a ghost. We got squat. Here are a couple of pictures, one of the outside of the prison and one inside looking down a cell block. Here is the prison link if you're interested, it's pretty cool! http://www.easternstate.org/

I also finished the shawl/wrap that I was working on. It didn't turn out very well, to me, but someone might like it. I'm thinking about starting a crochet/knit group at my new job to make premie hats and prayer shawls. But, I'll wait a bit, until I fit in a little better with the co-workers. It's a strange job. Gotta go, it's 6:30 PM and I might actually get a trick-or-treater this year!

The Hybrid and Triphid

I bought a new crochet book called Crochet Inspirations that has really cool stitches and motifs, I've been doing sample swatches of different stitches. I decided that I really liked the Peephole Stitch and decided to use up some of my stash to make a wrap/shawl. Of course I get into it and realized I am doing the stitch wrong! So I've got a hybrid stitch going on. The stitch calls for a row of cross-over half double crochets and the a row of singles done in the front loop only. Of course mine are in the back loop, I think I like it my way better! It's also crocheted long ways, which I think looks prettier in the finished product.

We have had almost no rain this summer and it shows. I had a beautiful fern that had been doing so well out by the hot tub, and it was a brown mess! So I got the scissors out and chop chop! I cut all the brown out and put it in a slightly bigger pot. My lovely Mother does this with her plants sometimes, cuts them back to one lonely triphid and they come back like crazy! So here is what it looks like now:


I cut a huge amount off, mostly around the bottom edges, the center seemed to remain greenish. I will post the progress of the triphid in days to come!

Shrinkage

Here is a picture of the purse/tote I started last Thursday night and finished last night on Saturday. I started out as being a medium sized tote, but after I took it out of the washer I could still see the stitches although it was felted. So I threw it back in! I have a front load machine, so I couldn't really check it until the cycle was finished, when I took it out it was now a small purse! LOL, but the felting is dense and you can't see the stiches, just like I like it. You can see in the photo that I picked up two skeins of Patons Merino Wool and forgot to check the dye lot! MY BAD! But in person you can't really tell. The pattern is from Family Circle Easy Crochet magazine from Fall/Winter 2005.

Tomorrow starts my new job, I wasn't nervous, but I'm getting there! I'm not looking forward to how exhausted I'm going to be!

Finally Finished!

I finally finished the wrap/shawl I was making, you know the one that started as an afghan and ended up a shawl since I ran out of yarn! Well I was adding the fringe and ran out of yarn again! I went to every Michael's and Joann's around me and they didn't have it anywhere! So I asked my friends on Crochetville.org (a bunch of crocheting guys and gals!) and a crocheter in Michigan found it and mailed out to me! It was so nice! And I gave it to Rochelle, my neighbor, for all the support she gave me over the last couple of months. So here it is!

The color looks weird, so here is a close up of the same, the color here is closer to the real deal. The yarn is TLC Amore in Celery. The pattern is a variation of the Lilacs afghan in the July 2007 issue of Crochet! magazine. Rochelle loved it! I dont' know what's with me, but I'm really into the crochet right now!

On another note, I got a job! I start on Monday, Oct 15th, and I can't wait. The people seem really great and it is everything I was looking for!

The Green Monster

Ok, I was trying to use up my stash, and I wanted to make a present for a friend that moved away, and I had no reason to believe I couldn't find this yarn....BUT I was wrong!

I think this is probably my first screw-up that I didn't catch and thought everything was going along fine. It started as an afghan, the pattern is hard to see, there is a pretty cool crossover stich that makes V's down the fabric. There were supposed to be bobble rows in between the V rows, but I took them out and did a couple of rows of dc and hdc. Things were going along nicely until I realized I ran out of yarn. I go to a couple of stores and can't find this color anywhere! The yarn is TLC Amore in Celery. So I said to myself "Self, you have enough for a wrap/shawl, soooo I made it into the width of a wrap (it is crocheted on the long edge) and bound off. Then I noticed it...the edge was uneven! ACK! Somewhere along the line I decreased, I was having trouble with the turning chain. I don't think I have ever done this before!

Usually I notice, rip out, and fix it. I wasn't going to add fringe, I was just going to do a nice reverse sc edge, but now it looks awful! The other edge is fine, straight as an arrow. I think fringe would take away your eye away from the edge, at least while it is draped around one's shoulders. Of course, the last point of the the story is that I don't have enough to make fringe! Double ACK! I'm not sure what do to with it. I will have to think on it more. Or ask my friends at Crochetville.com

Had ANOTHER job interveiw today, it is safe to say previous interviews didn't amount to anything. Keep your fingers crossed.

Gag Me With A Spoon!

Oh this is totally gross! My greyhound Gigi came running in with something in her mouth last night and sat on her bed. It was a dead bird with maggots on it! Of course I stood there and yelled until someone else came in and corrected the situation, but oh how gross. I was sick to my stomach and had a headache the rest of the night!

I finally took a picture of the top I made for my Mom last summer. It turned out really well, except that I used a yarn other than that suggested and it is a little heavy. Taught me a lesson on yarn weights when substituting yarns!

It's a Wrap!

I saw a pattern for a wrap, or shawl, that used different yarns knitted longways. I thought this would be a good way to use up some of my stash yarn. I chose five yarns that sort of went together and started to knit!

It's the first time I've knitted a wrap longways, and knitted straight on a circular needle. It is actually very easy to do, and the whole thing is in garter stitch so there is nothing to think about. It is very soft and the colors are melding nicely. Problem is it is hard to tell how long it will be, I put on 150 stitches like the pattern said, and had 20 more for good measure, but since it is all bunched up on the circular, I can't tell how long it is! The pattern never did say how to end each row since you have to cut the yarn at each end, so I added a marker at each end. I bind-off one at the end to tie the loose end, then make-one (M1) right after to add back that stitch I bound off. Seems to be working, but agian it is hard to tell. The finished width is supposed to be 40x60, I can measure the width, but I don't know about the lenght.

Promising news on the job front, I've got a possible call back for an interview for Thursday or Friday, I'm crossing my fingers. This would not be an Executive Assistant job, but a job in the finance department of a large company. It sounds fun and might lead to something greater eventually. I love the EA jobs, but they don't go anywhere. Keeping my fingers crossed.

My Fans Are Waiting...

Well, not really. I don't have any fans, but I haven't written in a while so I hoped somebody noticed! I finally finished Toothless' little sweater, however as I found out Saturday, Toothless is not exactly toothless anymore! She has some very large teeth coming in at the front, why do kids always get these HUGE teeth that come in at the front?

I guess I have to call her something else now, umm Big Tooth? But the sweater fit her perfectly, and she looked really cute in it. I added a few beads to the end of the ties because she likes jewels. Of course it is a summer sweater, and seems that the Fall temperatures have befallen us this past week. I need to finish the shrug I started for her over the summer.

I took a little break from my creations, but I've been working on something things lately. Hopefully I'll have some pictures in a day or so. LOL, I had one major screw-up that is pretty funny, I'll show you that later. I'm still trying to use up my yarn stash, but it never seems to go down!

I had purchased my niece a knitting loom awhile back and she wanted to use it this past weekend. Trouble is she likes to use the hook to move the stiches over the peg, but doesn't want to wind the yarn around the loom! Thus, every row I had to wind it for her, she was happy, but I was going loopy myself. I think she had about 10 rows done in the 12 hours!

Yeah for Big Tooth and her soccor team! They won their game 7-1 on Saturday, it was cold in the AM, humm.. guess I need to make myself a poncho.