Socks and Socks

This past weekend we made our annual visit to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. Do you remember last year how we took a class and dyed our own sock yarn? I did a post on it Here. When we were making plans for this year's festival I remembered we hadn't gotten around to knitting up our socks! I decided it was time to remedy that. Mandy isn't such a fan of knitting socks, but I could knit them all year! So I volunteered to knit her socks for her.

If you remember this is what the yarn looked like before being made into socks. I am sure you can  figure out who dyed what!

Here is my socks knitted . It is always so fun to see how striping yarn turns out! Becky was calling my yarn Watercolor, which made me think of a painting and Monet. So I googled him to get a bit of inspiration.

 I thought this pine cone stitch was very similar to water lilies and ripples on a pond. What do you think? Does it fit with my theme? 

 

Mandy wanted her socks to be knee socks, as tall as there was yarn for. I keep knitting until there was about four inches left.

I invented a new toe for these socks. The round toe is my favorite, but Mandy prefers a more square toe. Unfortunately, I don't like knitting the square toes Mandy usually knits. So I came up with my own way! It is kind of a cross between a rounded toe and a square toe. Mandy liked how they fit and they didn't drive me crazy knitting them!

Rummaging

Do you Rummage or do you actually go into people's Garage? Either way, finding a FIND as we say, is always exciting. I have to be in the mood to go out and scavenge for treasures. When we went with some friends of ours, we all came home with something, it was very exciting.

I think my favorite find for only two dollars was this set of Christmas glasses in their original box. They were in perfect shape and I thought not used more than once or twice but when I paid for them the sweet lady told me that she had many years out of them. I thanked her for not putting them in the dishwasher and ruining them. The lady also told me she got them from the old lady they bought their house from and she loved them too. I hope I can carry on the good care. I couldn't quite get the whole phrase "Designed for gracious living" in the picture. 

I love crochet and thought this was beautiful shape, it certainly looked vintage to me. I was so excited to have just the right tablecloth for my little living room side table. It wasn't until I got home and and put it out that I noticed someone had gone through all the work to put their initials in the center, then I turned it around and realized what it said! Too funny!! I love it anyway and there is usually something on the table covering up the middle.

This was my last find and it took me forever to decide if I really wanted it. I like it but have so many pieces of art not put up, I felt guilty buying another one. But the colors really go with my living room and there was something homey about the watercolors. The real test was if my Mom liked it, she has an innate sense of style and decor, it passed the test!

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Yey! Our blog is One Year Old!!

 I know I am a wee bit behind as technically it was last week. opps! But it is never too late to celebrate!!

Here is a quick overview of our first year.

We have 15 followers, 127 posts, 442 comments and 5,597 page views from 10 different countries.
Not too bad for year one.

 

Our top five posts are:

English Paper Piecing

 

Little Lillie's Sweater

 

Red, White and Blue

 

Vintage Style Magazine

 

Spiral Socks

To celebrate our anniversary month we are having a giveaway!!
 All you have to do is leave us a comment on which post over the past year was your favorite. And if you are the winner we will send a lovely handcrafted mystery gift to you!

Only one entry per person. Open to US residents only. Winners will be picked using a randomizer. Giveaway ends May 17th, 2013 at midnight.

Knitting a Gansey Sweater

My mom got this book at our local yarn shop a couple of years ago. I started reading  it recently, and have got all inspired to knit one for someone. I think the fascination of it is that I have not made one before. The Gansey just seemed to be easier to knit then Aran sweaters! But as I read this book I find they have there own special way to make them.  
   


In the book there is a pattern for sample sweater you can knit. I decided it looked fun! Here is a picture of what it will look like. 



Beth Brown-Reinsel explains a part of the sweater in each chapter. Then gives you instructions for the sampler that corresponds to the chapter. 

I thought this was cool, it is the chart of the sample sweater.  

So far I have cast on,  (a new one to me) called the Channel Island cast on. Then I knit what is called the welt or the edge. Which is knit in two pieces, then knit together. It is cool because then you have a split on the side of your sweater for more ease of movement.     



Next I am knitting the plain part, she has you put initials on it. In the corner you can see it, here in the picture under the tip of the needle the purl stitches. 

Next up is the pattern part of the sweater! I can’t wait! But first I have to finish knitting the plain part!

Mandy’s Sweater update........ It's Finished!

It's finished my sweater from our knit-a-long that we were doing! And I'm wearing it!

I knitted the bottom and was working the sleeves, but didn’t think I had enough yarn to knit long sleeves so I made them short. And I still had a lot left of extra yarn left over! That bugs me a bit to have some left over but not enough to knit anything else, then you just have it sitting around taking up room in your stash! I try very hard not to have any left over! My sister suggested that I make the bottom longer. So I knit the bottom until there was none left! Yea!  

We decided to take picture when we went for a walk! Yes, that is Kerri waiting for us! Our favorite place to take them,  it was a little gloomy out! Thank you sister for taking super pictures!      

Don’t you like the way the yarn changes color ? Here is  a close up of the cables that run up the sides and……….

………up over the shoulders. 

I love the cables! They help add some detail and I think some shaping to the sweater, but you do put some increasing on the sides.

The back is pretty much the same as the front.

Me and my wellies!

 If you have missed the other posts about my sweater upates you can see them here. 

Knit a long 

update 1 

update 2

update 3

Don't Eat the Daisies

 

 

The last few months, my husband and I have been thinking of buying a very old house, the conversation usually goes back and forth because its old it will need a lot of work, but we love the character of it because its so old etc. Of course my image is that we will buy it and love it and all be happy like Doris Day. I find it ironic that I have been so influenced lately by this movie and book because I have been buying daisy fabric too, just in case we DO buy the house.
 

 







 



 

And IF we do, I am getting a dress and hat like this one. 

Art of Conversation

My latest find at an antique store, the title alone got me thinking about the electronic system of communication we use today. I think this book interested me because I stll rfse 2 get txts.

 

 My husband pointed this chapter out for me, I can't imagine why?

The Twelve Golden Rules
1. Avoid Unnecessary Details
2. Do Not Ask Question Number Two Until Number One Has Been Answered
3. Do Not Interrupt While Another Is Speaking
4. Do Not Contradict Another, Especially When The Subject Under Discussion Is Of a Trivial Importance
5. DO Not Do All The Talking; Give Your Tired Listener A Chance
6. Be Not Continually The Hero Of Your Own Story; And, On The Other Hand, Do Not Leave Your Story Without a Hero
7. Choose Subjects Of Mutual Interest
8. Be a Good Listener
9. Make Your Speech In Harmony With Your Surroundings
10. Do Not Exaggerate
11. Indulge Occasionally In A Relevant Quotation But Do Not Garble It.
12. Cultivate Tact

Spinning Wool

I‘ve had  this wool for awhile, I spun just a little bit of it. Thought I would finish spinning it today and share it with you! Here is the spun yarn on the spool, it is super fun to watch how it will come out!    

Here is the wool unspun aren’t the colors pretty?

This is the spinning wheel we have it is called a Kromski, it’s from Poland! 

Now I just have to figure what I want to knit with it. Do you have any suggestions?

Well back to spinning!

Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs

 What is Easter with out colored eggs? Even though we don't usually color eggs every year, we don't let too much time lapse between colorings. To add a bit of interest last year, we tried tie-dying the eggs!

 It is actually a very simple technique. Perhaps a little messier then normal dying, but not too much. All you need is paper towels, rubber bands and egg dye. Wrap the paper towels around the egg, bunching and wrinkling the towel. Use the rubber bands to hold in place.

 As you can see there are many many ways to wrap the paper towel. Once the towel is secure to your liking, place the egg in a dish and pour spoonfuls of dye on it. The paper towel keeps the dye on the shell so it has a chance to color the egg. Wait until the paper towel is mostly dry or completely dry, depending on your patience and what affect you want.

 There are endless possibilities to tie-dying. Use one color.... two or three........ or all of them! Dye your egg first or leave it white.

Happy Easter!!

Robin's Egg Blue

 

I discovered Berroco Vintage Yarn, it is washable with a blend of acrylic, wool and nylon. I love the softness of all Berroco's yarn and finding a washable one was exciting. I couldn't choose between the lighter or the darker shade, so I took both and knit an infinity scarf in stripes with the Robin's Egg Blue or # 5194. The number doesn't do much for me, think of the catastrophe if they simple numbered all the crayons... no more cerulean, turquoise, azure or robin's egg blue. With Spring in the air and a new scarf around my neck it has inspired me to find Robin's Egg Blue items, cookies and pillowcases, eating candy and maybe a little coloring.

 

This also reminded me of a Shirley Temple movie I saw when I was little about a brother and sister trying to find happiness when they discover its in their own backyard all along. With a cookie, crayons and jellybeans how could I not be happy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJeqC19l_uk

I couldn't get a picture to appear but the link works, I believe you can watch this entire movie on youtube, but I have just included the credits so you can hear the sweet music and see the lovely drawings.

Is Spring Here Yet?

I saw this idea on the internet somewhere (I think on a blog). I thought it was cute and had to make one for myself!  I love terrariums, so I’m always on the look out for good glass containers for them!  

It is a really fun way to do a terrarium, a no fuss one!  You just have to be a little creative!

First, I needle felted a base of dirt (brown), then I put some moss on top (green), added a log,  mushroom, stones, and a blue bird!

Here you can see all the fuzzy fiber!

I think next time I make one I need to add more color in it !

As you can see in the pictures, we still have snow on the ground. The temp this morning when we went for a walk was 12 F with the wind chill at 0.

Writing this post reminds me of a book we use to read when we were little.

“Peep peep”  said little chick “I’m looking for spring.”

I don’t remember the title but, the cover had a picture of a little chick and it was fuzzy too!