Quick Knit Boot Socks

Last weekend we went walking in the woods. It was warmish and sunny but there was still a lot of snow on the ground. Miss P kept getting snow down in her boots. She was wearing thin nylon socks that did  not keep her feet warm after they got wet.

I decided that she needed some wool socks that would keep her feet warm even when wet.  She requested socks with cables.

I modified Cable Rib Sock pattern by Erica Alexander found in Favorite Socks 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave. The yarn is a hand painted yarn from Briar Rose Fibers that was left over from a baby dress/jumper that I knit for P before she was born.

Miss P enjoyed standing on the table for the photo shoot. 

Many Hours Later

After many hours of quilting I finally finished the star section of the Twinkling Stars Quilt. I am thrilled with the result so far.

I have a few other projects that I need to work on so I'll set this aside again. I still have that WIDE nine inch border to quilt. It will need a good bit of quilting in it to equalize the quilting in the middle, otherwise the border will end up wavy. So, now to think about what to do there.

I am open to quilting suggestions for the border. What would YOU do?

Here's another picture  because, well, I think it deserves another picture.

Playing with Applique

Today I needed a break from quilting on the Twinkling Stars so I started playing with some applique for Tia. She requested applique for her swap blocks this month.

She sent lots of lovely fabrics and I started right in with some freehand cutting and placing. Parts of it I liked right away; others I had to play with a bit. The flower needed a bit more zing and the leaf was just not right.  I improved the flower with a bit of the red but was still not thrilled with the leaf.

I stitched some of the units together as I thought about the plan. The whole design looked washed out and flat with all of the vines in the light color so I added a different green for the main vines. I also finally came up with a leaf that I like.

This is pretty close to the final layout that is now ready for basting! It was a fun creative afternoon.

I am thinking about putting a bird on my other block for Tia. I'll keep you posted.

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Movie Night

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Movie night means more than just watching a movie.  To me it means popcorn, knitting AND a movie!Some of us here really like our popcorn. I have been loyal to one national brand for a really long time. A few weeks ago, however, I saw some RED popcorn in our store. In addition to being red it was also locally grown so I had to give it a try. Am I glad I did? You bet! It has a much better taste; it actually tastes like CORN!

Yesterday we tried their white popcorn. This popped even better and had a great corny taste.

There's another reason to support local - it might even be better. This is!

Oh, and the knitting.

I finished some socks for B. They are basic men's crew socks made from Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn.

I also started some fingerless mitts. I love this pattern. It is an easy to memorize rib pattern that I can even manage during an action/suspense film!

The mitts are from the leftover yarn from this hat. 

Paper Doll Mittens

Last night I finally finished the second of the Paper Doll Mittens. I started the first one on New Years Day and finished it in two days. The second one was a bit more of a chore.I was ALMOST finished when it was time for P's bedtime story. P suggested that she could read a story to me while I finished knitting the tip of the mitten.  I happily agreed.

It wasn't until she got to the chapter introducing the kitten, Mitten, that I realized how fitting her book choice was.

I love the pattern of these mittens but they are a little large for me.

They are the first pair of "Men's Mittens" in the book Selbustrikk. I am a little disappointed that none of the men in my family seem very excited about wearing these. Maybe I shouldn't have named them Paper Doll Mittens...P wishes they fit her. She loves the little paper dolls.

The mittens are knit with baby ull. 

Kandinsky Circles

Yesterday in Art Club we made concentric circles based on Wassily Kandinsky's Squares with Concentric Circles. I think they turned out great!

A few of the kids finished. I saved them so that we can put all 12 out next to each other for the kids to see. They look super put together for a larger piece of artwork.

Everyone seemed to enjoy making these.

We love all the bright colors.

Double Chocolate Cherry Drops

Yesterday was the 100th day of school. P was home with a cold and was feeling disappointed that she was missing the 100 day festivities so we decided to make a favorite recipe and have our own celebration.

Santa brought M and B each a FOUR POUND BOX of dried cherries for Christmas. We have been using them to make Double Chocolate Cherry Drops and B has also been putting them in his granola when he makes it.

My mother-in-law gave us the recipe for the chocolate cookies. We love it and make them with one change - we substitute honey for the corn syrup.

P counted out 100 dried cherries and 100 chocolate chunks to go in the cookies.

Double Chocolate Cherry Drops

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cherries (cut in half for smaller pieces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt.

3. I large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in honey, vanilla, and egg until well mixed. Gradually add the flour mixture until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chunks and cherries.

4. Drop cookes by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-11 minutes or until tops are just firm. Cool on wire rack.Serve with Milk! 

Thanks for the cherries Santa!! 

Ladybug Picnic Mittens

Look what I won!! Elinor'sLadybug Picnic Mittens pattern and the yarn to make them from Brown Sheep.

The National Knit Mittens Month group on Ravelry held a random drawing and I won this mitten kit. I am thrilled that my flurry of mitten knitting last month brought me more yarn and a super cute mitten pattern!  I think mittens just may be the new socks.

It seems that stashpact 2011 is working out pretty well for me so far.

The Right Design

I have been looking at this Twinkling Stars quilt for some time trying to decide on the "right" quiting design for it. Something curvy to go in around the stars. It has been sitting in the sewing room being a weight on my mind.

I finally realized that there is no one right design. Whatever I do will be right as long as I am happy with the result. The quilting process should be fun and not stressful.

So I jumped in with a mini swirl pattern to fill in around the stars. I am leaving the stars unquilted so that they will "float" above the background a little. I like the result so far.

I'll try not to think about how big the quilt is and just concentrate on the part I am working on.This is going to take a LONG time.

But that is OK. I enjoy the process.

I'll have plenty of time to think about how to quilt the wide border area.  

Crafturday

We had more snow. I went out long enough to take a few pictures and spent the day in the sewing room.

It was a real Crafturday. Four people sewing!! D worked on some button fly jeans from the thrift store; he removed the buttons and inserted a zipper. His girlfriend finished making a skirt. P worked on her valentines and I did some custom quilting.

It is a good thing I have multiple machines!

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Almost Summer Sox

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If you are looking for some quick knit socks this pattern is for you.

I really zipped along with this sock. The only problem is that A didn't send me quite enough yarn. She assures me that she has more at her house and can finish the toe.

These are Cookie A's Summer Sox knit with Sockotta by Plymouth yarns. We used size 1.5 needles.  

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Snow Day Activity

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We enjoyed our snow day yesterday. The storm came through with a lot of wind and even had our windmill turning. It hasn't moved in more than ten years because it only has one blade left on it. That was a strong wind! We won't discuss the little snow drifts that accumulated on the entry rug and window sills. We have put that behind us and are soaking up the sun on another very cold day.We took advantage of the day off and did some crafting. I had in my mind that I would come up with a clever idea for Valentines that P and I could make for her class.  She had her own idea and went right on with it.

She liked that I let her use ANY fabrics from my scrap bin and I let her use my special fabric marking pencil.

She traced, cut, glue basted, and sewed.

Stitching hearts is great practice for sewing curves

!It is a good thing she started early. 

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Sweetheart Socks

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I am so happy that A and I have started back with our Two Make a Pair project. Here's the latest pair!

The pattern is Sweetheart Socks by Chrissy Gardener in Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007. We knit them on size 0 needles with Knit Picks Stroll Tweed.

I love all of the different cable designs around the socks.

They were not a quick knit. It was a little tedius to follow the charts and work in a darkish color yarn. Also, this yarn tended to split while knitting the cables. I do love the resulting socks but I'm also glad that I only knit one of them!

And look what I get to knit next, Cookie A's Summer Sox in a fun bright yarn.

Instagram Photos

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