Endpaper progress

Here's my progress on the endpaper mitts.
I finished the 3 Chart A repeats. Tomorrow I start on the increases for the thumb gusset. Of course I need to pack for my trip to Arizona too. I'll be incommunicado for 6 days. I wonder if I'll have time to knit...Well on the plane of course.

Home with a cold...

Today I moved very little and very slowly. I can't remember when I last had a cold and just took the day off.








Here are my first hand dyed yarns all balled up. I really love the turquoise, brown, and gray one. Hmmm, what should I make with it? The yellow and green one needs to be toned down by being an accent rather than the whole garment...





I did fix this wrap, Twisty Turns, I made from the book Wrap Style. It took me all summer to knit. Then, when I put it together I sewed the center together a tad too tightly. I was so disappointed when it was finally finished and was too tight at the seam. Finally I had to release the seam and re-sew it more loosely. Up until now I just hadn't dealt with it. Now I have to find something that looks right to wear it with. Oh, and it looks like I need to block it. Still working on the endpaper mitts. I started the green and navy version until the other yarn dries. Just getting to the colorwork.
I need another cup of tea. Ta Ta For Now.

What I do with my free time

With Christmas over and winter break in full swing I have more time on my hands than I've had in a very long time. I've never had any trouble filling my time. Today I continued work on the endpaper mitts. I went to Yarn Deli to get help getting started on the color work. Later, it was recommended that I re-rinse the teal yarn I dyed. I really don't want to have dye running into the second color on the mitts, so I unknit the color work and re-rinsed the yarn. I started on another pair that will be light green with navy blue. I just couldn't wait to make a pair of these wonderful "gloves."

Didn't go to the knitting circle at Enchanted Unicorn tonight. I feel a cold coming on. I did some more yarn dyeing. I just LOVE playing with the colors! I do need practice with amount of dye though...tonight I had one batch that is still bleeding yellow dye. It's all experimental, but I hope my results aren't too bad.

Allison the Dancing Elf

Stlll working on this one, but thought it was awfully funny

http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=a88323850f4c129c56733a4G06122816

Knitting and Dyeing

Okay, it's really late. I should be asleep, but today was a motivating day and I just haven't wanted to give up yet.


I stopped at the Yarn Deli not once, but twice. First to get help with gauge and casting on Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. Then again for knitting circle night. This is Claire and Sharon (co-owner of the Yarn Deli, and my personal project savior) Thanks for all the help Sharon.


I did some more dyeing too. This is more turquoise, gray, and brown. I really like this one. The colors are more vivid in real life.


I followed the Vogue Knitting Book to learn a tubular cast on and then a tutorial online that showed the Italian turbular cast on. It was a little tough getting started, but I like how the cast on looks. I am now on row 4 of the K1P1 rib. The teal yarn I dyed yesterday should be dry by tomorrow to start on the colorwork.

My first hand dyed yarns

I bought some Koigu yarn to start on Eunny's endpaper mitts, but was disappointed by the color when it arrived. I thought I'd try to re-dye it to a better color. This is my first ever dye experience so I think I went a little overboard with the amount of dye I used. I just put in the Koigu with a tablespoon of turquoise and a teaspoon of teal. It dyed really dark. The color was still pretty vivid in the water so I threw in some Bare from KnitPicks too. Now I have two different turquoise yarns. I keep rinsing the dark one and keep having a fair amount of dye rinsing out. I must have rinsed 15 times or more now. I hope it starts running clear soon. I wanted to start the mitts tomorrow and it won't be dry at this rate.

The turquoise one is the one I dropped in with the Koigu. For the other one I used yellow, turquoise and a little teal. They are darker at the bottom since they're still wet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! HOPE YOUR DAY HAS BEEN FILLED WITH LOVE AND JOY, FAMILY AND FRIENDS!




Just four of us home today. It was quiet. Heard from my son in Afghanistan early morning our time, Christmas night his time. Got a call from my daughter on a beach on Maui. Good to hear their voices. Miss them today. Rather low key in the festivity department. Lots of good food and time to spend together. I am blessed.

After the festivities. Fun while it lasted...I don't know about you but I am tired.

Had tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas music playing... the kids opened their one Christmas Eve gift. Funny, they were anxious to go to sleep on time tonight. Everything is wrapped. The cheesecake and cherry pie are ready and the pumpkin pie is baking. The kids have been asleep for hours. Can't wait to pull the pie out of the oven and sleep too.
We didn't make cookies this year so Santa will have to settle for a tamale and milk instead.

Christmas Eve day

We all got up this morning preparing to go to our son's guitar recital. My husband went off to get our '29 Packard cleaned up to drive over. My son put his clothes in the dryer and started preparing... just one problem. The recital was yesterday and we missed it. Quite a disappointment as you may guess. That kind of threw the whole day off. Not that there was much left to do by the light of day. We did have a lovely lunch with friends at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Oscars. We picked up tamales for Christmas Eve dinner.

The boys are out delivering gifts. My daughter dropped off a cheesecake for friends down the street. My older daughter is in Hawaii with her boyfriend and his family for Christmas. My oldest son is in Afghanistan. I'm hoping he's having a decent day. It's Christmas day for him already. Sure miss him.

I'm thinking hot-buttered rum would be just the ticket right now. Is 4 PM too early? Then I'll probably want to take a nap. Still, this recipe is soooooo GOOD and it's not often I have it.

The yarn for my endpaper mitts arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't like Koigu KPM1500. It doesn't have nearly the depth of color that shows in Eunny's original ones. I just LOVE the ones she made. The color I got is kind of flat and dull. Now I have to search for something else to make them with.

Projects for Christmas gifts: Work on the Circular Sock Knitting machine has been slow. I have made some tubes, but not socks yet. I made one wine bottle gift bag and am finishing one more. I have a couple of small tubes made for Build-a-Bear purses. I am so looking forward to a little time to try again on the socks. I was getting close. I do have some coffee cup cozies to finish. Though, one coffee cup cozy was given to my son's guitar teacher. They're turning out kind of cool. I finished my oldest son's slippers, but not in time to get them to him for Christmas.

Hope all your projects were received in time for Christmas and you enjoy a very happy holiday!

Wow! It's the End of the Year as we've known it.

Mid-late December...where did this year go? It's been a busy one, but who am I kidding? They're all busy. I can't remember ever not being busy. Busy mom, busy teacher, busy artist/craftswoman, busy gardener (not so much lately), busy traveller(would like to do that more). I've never had any trouble filling my time. There are so many wonderful things to try in this world! For the past couple of years now I have been focusing on knitting. A friend took me to our local yarn store and started me on a scarf about two years ago now. It's been pretty much non-stop knitting ever since. Even my orchids have taken a back seat to knitting.

I think my family is getting impatient with the whole thing. My youngest daughter likes going to the local knitting circles with me. I have yarn all over the place and now have a couple of circular sock knitting machines...though I have yet to make a sock. I just love beautiful fibers and garments! It's really a great constructive pastime. Friends and family make out with special gifts from time to time. My sister-in-law has encouraged me by putting some of my scarves and baskets in her shop, the Dragonfly Center in the La Mesa area of San Diego. I find that it is more rewarding to make things for people I care about than trying to break even selling them. I suppose if my time was unlimited...but then why go there? I already have more things than I can possibly attend to vying for my time. Why wish more onto myself?

Some of my other interests include drawing and painting, flameworking and enameling beads, jewelry making, sewing, embroidery, just learned how to crochet granny squares. I had been working towards a graphic arts certificate a couple of years ago, but got sidetracked. My family and I like to spend time driving our antique cars around and have jamm sessions playing guitars. We are developing more interest in cool small planes...my youngest son got to fly a T-6 for his birthday. We go to the Adirondack mountains in New York to spend time at our family camp. Of course we have to stop and see things along the way so we drive from California to New York every year. This year I hope to go to the Circular sock knitting convention in Maryland too. I think I may fly to New York to see my oldest son when he comes back from Afghanistan...hopefully in the next month or so.

So you see...busy busy busy. And I can't think of how it could be any other way. It's been a wonderful year and there's still a little left to come.