Long Time No Blog

I can't believe I haven't blogged in such a long time!  Last week I snapped a couple of pictures of baby items I completed this summer.  Ayla graciously modeled for me, after all these are for her!

This is the Hooded Baby Poncho which is a free pattern from Lion Brand yarn.  I didn't put the pocket on the poncho, nor did I put snaps under the arms.  This will just be a quick extra layer to pop on quickly.  I used Jelli Beenz by Plymouth Yarn.

This pattern is called Child's "Ear" Hat with Tassels.  The link is to a free pattern I found on Ravelry.  This is extremely easy and I made it in one evening while watching TV.  I used Classic Worsted Impressions by Universal Yarn Inc.

Finished, In Progress and In The Wings

Finished

I just finished the Cot Blanket from Natural Knits for Babies and Mom using the Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (80% wool, 20% organic cotton). This will be delivered to my granddaughter Ayla very, very soon. No matter that the temp is in the 100's right now, it will be used in a few months.



In Progress

I started the Cabaret Raglan sweater from The Best of Interweave Knits (from the first 10 years). I'm using Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool in a cranberry color. I just finished the back.


In the Wings

I belong to the Cindy Knitters group on Ravelry. We are all named Cindy, Cynthia or Lucinda and we have chosen the pattern "Cindy" for a knit-along we starting Memorial Day weekend. I found a nice yarn in black at Elann.com called Incense. It is 50% wool, 25% silk and 25% bamboo. It feels lovely and I can't wait to start this sweater. I believe the Cabaret Raglan will be put on hold for this project.

Cat Toy

I made this little cat toy for my granddaughter due ANY MINUTE. This was a pattern from the book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms . I used Blue Sky Alpacas organic cotton yarn. Since she will have two striped, feline siblings to welcome her home, this is a replica she can chew on.

Baby Blanket

This blanket is worked in four squares that are put together at the end. The squares are formed by decreasing 2 stitches in the middle every other row which forms a “V”. This pattern is from the book “Very Easy Very Vogue”. The original pattern used many colors with smaller width stripes. I changed it to three colors and different width stripes.

I used Plymouth Encore worsted weight yarn.

This is one of the four squares.


Here are all four squares put together. No edging is needed. This was a gift to a special girl. I really liked making this blanket and have a request from my daughter to make one for my granddaughter-to-be.

I Finally Have Class

Within the last week, I took a couple of classes to learn some new fun stuff.

My first class was Kumihimo, which is a Japanese form of braiding. The instructor, Karen DeSousa, owns the online business Accent Bead Design. The class was arranged by the Hanging By A Thread chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild, and was held at Kelsey's Needle Krafts in Placerville. This class was geared toward braiding with beads. I've rarely worked with beads, so this was a first for me. So small and wiley!!! I found that my braiding thread for the beads ran a little short, so this will become a bracelet instead of a choker.


Silk cord and beads.


The Kumihimo disk and bobbins.


Ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille...

I then attended a class for Free Form Crochet. It was held at Lofty Lou's and the instructor was Karen. It was a blast! I felt like a little kid pretending to crochet. I really let myself go and didn't use many structured patterns, but that is what it is all about. There are no mistakes in this method and I found it very freeing. One method is to assign six different yarns a number and six different hook sizes a number, then roll two dice and use those numbers for your yarn/hook choice. After a while, roll the dice again. I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds like fun.

Here is my first attempt.


For more info and examples, here's the link to the Free Form Crochet site. Some amazing stuff. There are several books you can find on the subject as well.

New Yarn and a New Craft

I just love it when new yarn arrives in the mail and/or UPS. Ali and I chose a blanket and pillow from the Natural Knits for Babies and Moms book and ordered the yarn online during the Super Bowl game and didn't miss a touch down.

The blanket is the Cot Blanket pattern which involves six different patterned squares in six different colors, done twice for a total of 12. The yarn is Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (80% wool, 20% organic cotton) in colors pink lilac, mint, bluet, violet, denim and weathered green.



Ali will be making the pillow from the Textured Pillow pattern using four of the patterns in the blanket but made up in color grown organic cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas in natural colors sand, sage nut and bone. I ordered this yarn from Fabulousyarn.


Last month I joined the local chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America. A hands-on project was provided at the January meeting. This project involves a Bargello pattern on needlepoint canvas that was designed to cover the lid of an Altoids tin. Here is my version. I used to do a lot of needlework years ago. I met a new friend on Ravelry who is president of the local chapter and I decided to branch out.

Baby Sweater and Hat and Other Stories

I just finished a baby sweater and hat for the Grandbaby. The sweater is the Baby Bolero pattern from the One Skein book by Leigh Radford. I used organic natural color cotton I bought in a shop in Point Reyes. It was a handspun skein in a natural sage green and cream color.



The pattern says according to Eastern folklore, the eyelet motif on the back brings "luck and protection to the wearer no matter his or her size".




I have left over organic cotton from Blue Skys Alpaca that I used for mommy's "Bump Sweater", so I made a little beanie. The pattern is from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I used the yarn from the sweater for the flower motifs.


Snow Daze

We have had snow off and on for the last couple of days at the 2000 foot level. It would stick for a few hours, turn to slush, then stick again. This morning we had more snow that is sticking around in patches. Of course, I had to take a couple of pictures...







Exercise Cat

Our cat Gracie seems to love the treadmill. She wouldn't be so fat if she could turn it on. This picture was taken in between Bud's workout and mine. Maybe tomorrow I can use the excuse the cat's using the treadmill so I'll skip my workout. Maybe not.... I'm looking a lot like Gracie right now.