Make-it Monday 20190211

Since I can’t remember what projects I haven’t shared here I think I’ll show some that are in the making.

What the H#$%^&? Those are two fish and the fins and that gray in the back maybe a fish not stuffed and no eye.

A try on the purple sock loom, just following the directions from the box for the His and Hers Sock Loom.

Three little hats for the comfort dolls. They didn’t work with the doll (wrong size or yarn or color) waiting for dolls that will be compatible. The dolls are a great way to use up yarn scraps. Here’s how I learned to make the dolls and the hats:

Another knitted hat using circular needles. I can’t decide what color I have around here for the crown so I just let it sit until it hits me. A friend gave me the pattern. You can probably find it online somewhere. It is basically Brim K1P1 for about 2 inches. Then just knit until hat measure 6-61/2″ Closing is also somewhere on the nets. The bit of texture is where I did a row using continental rather than the usual right hand knit. It helps my hands to alternate.

My second attempt at the ten-stitch afghan. I use one strip from the Martha Steward loom knit kit (I found mine for $14  but I can’t remember where) that has 12 holes and I only put in 10. Yes, her looms don’t come up to the standards I think she holds. The pegs can fall out so it takes a lot of patience. I’m using GoodKnitKisses method.

By the way that afghan is boring and it may still be frogged and I’ll try not to double the yarn and see if I can make it softer.

Another ombre brown/tan hat on a KB loom. See that Kirkland Animal Crackers container? It was full of this yarn. It makes such soft hats that I’m trying to make a lot of them for the cancer patients. This one is just the knit stitch with the bottom pulled back onto the loom for the brim. It seemed that would make it softer and warmer than other brims.

And last but not least:

The socks I have been trying to make for my brother for over two years. I’m using the metal pegged KB sock loom my friend gave me last year. Finally, it is starting to look like a sock! BUT see that mess of yarn? That is because Rosey keeps finding this kit and bringing it to us as a kitty gift. She can drag half her weight down the hall yelling out how she has a present for us. This time the yarn started to escape. I fixed it after taking the picture. Now I need to find a way to get this done and keep it out of her sight. The instructions for this knitting board is on a DVD that comes with the kit. It’s pretty easy after you get the hang of it. Notice how many little socks I’ve made in learning how.

Which project will get finished first? Or will I find something else I want to try more? Stay tuned. You can ask: ADD much? And you’d be right.

 

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Remember this from yesterday?

Well, there was more to that story. My husband tried to capture the picture from the door of the creature in the driveway.

This morning the creature was right across the street.

I tried not to think about it. But then as it started snowing again, and I started to take a picture of our front porch, I saw yellow.

Look who came to visit!

That same creature. What is it? You may ask. I did. I went to the door and this is who I found:

I don’t trust that innocent smile, do you? We sent him back home. Told him next time bring cookies!

Meanwhile, the snow continues icing the view.

And I continue to knit.

Believe it or not, the socks and hat are of the same yarn. Lessons in shadows and light, I suppose. Patterns for both hat and socks came with the small gauge baby KB looms.

 

Random Thoughts Thursday 20190207

I had no idea what I was going to write about tonight. But I wanted to because I’m getting rather used to writing something every day.

So I took a few pics of Kali. When all else fails Pictures!

She loves it when I give her hugs or when I whisper sweet nothings in her ears. She will sit for a long time enjoying that one on one attention. She is so sweet!

When she isn’t attached to me, I am knitting. Here’s my newest accomplishment: Red hats for February.

And I’m learning to make little socks!

Had enough of that thinner yarn to make another little infant hat.

It is still cold here and another storm is expected this weekend through next Wednesday. Kali and I are happy that the porch and the bottom of the steps are not icy or snowy.

Chair Yoga continues. I’m not making a lot of progress but with Fibro, I’m happy to do the exercise every day without adding more pain. And now my husband is pulling up a chair and we work out together! 😀

I finished True Blood. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. In fact, I found it a bit silly at times. I hate finishing a series as then I flounder trying to find something else for pain distraction. Today I watched Knowing I think it was on Showtime. It was really good!

How’s your Thursday?

Just Jot It January Prompt: Serendipity 20190120

I can remember the first time I heard the word ‘Serendipity’. I don’t know why I learned it or even the year. What I remember is an excitement to know the word. Then I remember watching for it to happen. And it happened a lot!

It was years later that the movie came out.

I liked it so much I bought the DVD. But somehow their serendipitous adventure paled to many of mine at the time. Mine were not romantic encounters but manifestations I felt, in part, I drew to me.

As much as I want to give you a list of these happenings, I feel my brain is not up to that task right now. The closest I can come is how a few years ago when I lived in Reno, I couldn’t afford yarn. My fibromyalgia was worse in Reno. Again, I don’t know why. But I found that if I could keep my hands busy I could distract myself from the pain. So I started making things of plarn.

Stacking containers for folded plastic bags or sliced strips to crochet with and plarn balls.

The bag-bag chair. Was a laundry bag but the cats like it so much when I filled it with plastic bags for future projects when we moved. It is similar to a bean bag chair in size and comfort. But like I said, this belongs to the cats now.

This is one of the small containers I use for little bits.

If you look back into this blog and on my Ravelry page you’ll see a lot of fun ideas that kept me feeling less pain. Until crocheting itself started hurting. I still have a lot of those projects and they are still in use. Nice to know all those stupid bags became useful items.

Then we moved here and I learned of the Hat Huggers who have tons of donated yarn for donated comfort items. The leader taught me to loom knit and the rest is history. Someone else’s comfort is the result of my own comfort. I think of this as a serendipitous adventure. Though I could still work with plarn and I have lots made into balls ready for crochet (loom knitting it isn’t as easy, nor is needle knitting it as workable.) And maybe if I get bored I will go back and make a few things. Until then I’m looming a 10-stitch blanket, socks for my brother and lots more hats and toys.

I’m not so good at directing serendipity or manifesting. Because if I could, I wouldn’t mind making enough money to have my own yarn to make things for me. The donated yarn can go to my family and friends as long as I make sure to claim it on the rosters. Still, I want to go to a store and pick out the soft stuff and know it will be my own hat or my dog’s sweater. Or my own sweater? Or money to buy one– or more skeins of yarn.

Or meet the next teacher of my path. Maybe they’ll have yarn?

So this was a yarn about serendipity. For some reason, I feel I should apologize. I wish I was more alert today as I know I have stories of cars and houses that happened and lots of new friends. Just not specific ones for now. When I think of them I’ll post them, okay?

Thank you, Linda, for Jotting fun. Thank you, Jill, for another chance to remember a beautiful word, Serendipity, full of blessings.

 

 

Just Jot It January/Stream of Consciousness Saturday, 201901 (18 & 19)

I’m sorry to have to combine days but, well, life, ya know?

First, I was busy making these while binge-watching shows on television.

A friend’s daughter had a baby boy. By the way, the snowman is for the big sister. The octopus is my own creation. The hat and booties are the patterns from the KB Baby Looms.

The snowman is from Scarlett Royal.

Then I got busy thinking that working my 10-stitch afghan to keep warm while in my living room. But it had been nearly a year since I worked on it and I couldn’t get it to work right. I’d forgotten how I was working it. It was lap-size that that point. I was really unhappy with it all so I frogged it. The whole thing. It took most of the day. (Frogged=unraveled=ripped. Sounds like ribbit, get it?) I kind of like doing that as I know I will have more yarn. I like the sound of the ripping. But then I make yarn cakes with my  Yarn Winder.

I don’t often make that many cakes in a day. I couldn’t sleep last night for the pain in my winding arm. I still didn’t finish until mid-day today. Then I started my new 10-Stitch using Kristen Mangus’s pattern. I’ve made about five inches now, Can’t wait until it can keep me warm again.

Meanwhile, there was no need for companionship as this one is always within my reach, like now.

Isn’t that one of the sweetest faces around? And she understands a lot more than a lot of people!

Jot It 18th

Streaming and Jotting 19th

Television prompt

😀

Just Jot It January, Stream of Consciousness Saturday 20190105

Sap/Sep/Sip/Sop/Sup

“‘S’up?”

“Sap?”

“Nah, it’s winter. How’s the soup?”

‘SIP’ “Sipped”

“And the bread?”

‘SLURP’ “Sopped.”

“The tab?”

Diner leaves the cafe quickly and shouts, “SEP!”

Waiter shouts back, “What’s that mean?”

Teen on a cell nearby mumbles, “Somebody Else’s Problem.”

You can find others using this theme once you check in on Linda G. Hill’s site. Some are far more clever than mine.

How about a few knitted projects to add some visual interest?

Loomed mostly flat-wrap knit with e-wrapped portions.

 

Needle knitted

 

 

Both sets loom knitted. I think this was a Loom a Hat pattern. It was so easy and I loved these slippers so much I almost kept them. They were SO soft. I think someone will love them as much as I did.

 

 

I love making these tiny comfort dolls. It is one of Loom a Hat’s patterns I have memorized so that I don’t have to read a pattern or watch YouTube.

 

My ADD Saturday Stream is taking me to the next binge. UnReal on Hulu. I hate reality shows. First of all, you know they aren’t, right? Real, I mean. This show gives ideas as to how unreal these shows are. Yet this show has interesting writing. I like how the topics are current and addressed in creative, if not, horrible ways. Have you watched it? What did you think?

Oh, and yesterday I started on the Better Call Saul. Funny, mostly.

I watch UnReal with my husband as we seek something interesting while TV goes on hiatus. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, I watch in the living room during the day and my brother and son join me. Shows I really like, the guys don’t, so when I need alone time I’ll pull out a feminist movie and watch them all seek out their own entertainment. If I need more bodies in the living room to keep it warm put on a guy show. Crazy how that works! 😉

The wind is blowing in a storm. We are expecting snow tomorrow. The noise outside is crazy! I expect to see a witch riding a bicycle by the window at any moment. I took poor Kali out a while ago and she nearly crashed into the door as I tried to hold it open against the gale. Hey. Have you noticed that? Dorothy Gale got taken in the tornado!

Okay, it’s late enough that the stream of consciousness is overpowering me. Flood of consciousness more like.

 

Yay! Just Jot It January #1 20190101

Well, here we are again! Doesn’t it seem each year goes faster and faster? Yet what happened in 2018? Angst, worry, anger, and somehow we got through with much of our freedom and health still intact with hope in our hearts that it will remain so.

On a crafty note, I am so far behind in sharing the fun projects I got to make for Hat Huggers. So maybe I’ll start with a couple of the latest and over this month I’ll work backward over the past forgotten months of knitting/loom knitting. I’d start with what I’m working on but it is a present for someone and I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

The dolls are based on LoomaHat‘s comfort dolls. The blue hat was actually needle knitted.  I had a lot of that maroon and beige yarn so I made a few of these. Both are the usual hat patterns, with the 1by1 ribbing and the body of the hats knitted (the blue one I alternated regular (right hand) knitting and continental (left hand) giving a bit of texture.

***

On facing the future, I may have mentioned this to you last year, my friend and I try to write possibilities. We’ve been doing it for most of our adult lives. It isn’t resolutions which take willpower and belief beyond the normal range. Possibilities can be adjusted as you go or forgotten on purpose if not pressing enough.

This year I started with what I want to do. First is visiting with family and friends, regardless of how far away. I hope I can find a way to see many of them over this coming year. I’m happy I can see so many online, but that face-to-face/hugging stage is missing, you know? I won’t list them here to save their identities.

The want-to list brought up museums and lava sites and even a movie or two. Living an hour and a half from a major town means most trips are about grocery shopping and truck upkeep. So I’m asking my inner self for more energy to go to town for fun, too!

***

I had to give up my studio/hobby room when my son moved in last year. Now I find our place is tiny instead of roomy. So I added a clean/organize possibilities. I hope to clean a drawer a day (of the hobby plastic drawers.) I’m hoping to have drawers to put loose stuff roaming around the house (Yes, sometimes the four-footed polydactyl feline, Rosey, finds yarns and stuff to bring as ‘presents’ to us. It would be nice to keep my things cat-spitless.

AND the ugly one: clean the sweepers. I hate that job but vacuuming doesn’t happen with a hair-clogged mess. I may not be able to do the standup job as that job kills my back, but if I do the sit-on-the-floor cleanouts that don’t hurt so much maybe I can talk someone else in the house to do the sucking of the dust.

YUCK!!!!

Last on my list is to try and get here as often as possible to cover Jot It January, Reviews (books or entertainment), One-Liner Wednesday, Color Pages, Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Reviews of knitted creations, edits, and postings of my own books.

Oh, and I will finish those socks for my brother (they are a couple years overdue!)

Notice there isn’t a word about getting into shape or dieting? That doesn’t mean I won’t try as I can but I feel I already work hard at staying upright against arthritis and fibromyalgia. I do try always to eat right. But the pain makes getting out there, in the cold, next to impossible. Anyone know of a website for yoga/exercise for the couch potato or physical challenges? Preferably YouTube.

Jot It January and many of the bloggy adventures like the color pages, One-liner Wednesday, Stream of Consciousness Saturday are all brought to us by Linda G.  Hill. Join the fun!

Review: 50 Loom Knitted Stuffed Animal Pattern Collection by Scarlett Royale

50 Loom Knitted Stuffed Animal Pattern Collection by Scarlett Royale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is kept for its reference capabilities. I have not made every animal in the book. But I have made enough to know that I am happy to have the book.

One of the problems I have with the book is that sometimes the patterns can be confusing and there are a few errors. But the best part of this book is the links to the tutorials. They take you right to the YouTube teaching how to make what you want to make. My latest is the snowman, that looks so cute! And it had very little sewing.

I would like to someday get the paper version so I don’t have to be on the computer while making these little cuties. But in the meantime, this will do!

View all my reviews

Loom Surprise

Look who just jumped off my loom!

Oh, wait, wrong picture!

Okay. Not exact. I need to work on it more, but for a first try not to bad, eh? Oh, Once again, I thank Scarlett Royal for her pattern and tutorial of making the dog.

Loom Knitting News

Here are some of my latest creations for charities:]

These little guys are fun to make. Thanks to LoomaHat.com for teaching us how to make them. The big one I made on the KK 24 peg. The little one I did on my Martha Stewart 24 peg loom which is much smaller. It’s fun to see how different they turn out. I usually use up my scrap yarn on these.

 

Hey, everyone! Here is my very first needle knitted hat! I started with a provisional cast on and then alternated inches of purls with inches of knits and even cast off first with the circular needles, then finally on four Double Point Needles. Please allow me a moment of awesome pride. Okay. I’m over it.

 

So, my brother and my son said this looked more like a young lion. But it is a cow. This is one of Scarlett Royal’s inventions. Okay, so I should have used more tan color but this is what I had. I think a kid will like it. The curlycue of yarn on top is the bow holding the label telling about the Hat Hugger group I get the donated yarn from and who gives our creations to the charities.

 

This lion was fun to make but the mane is hard for me. I count to nine without knitting fairly well. Keeping track of nine rows of two seems impossible. So some lanks of mane came out too long. I just took some ribbons and tied them fancy like the Cowardly Lion in Emerald City. Notice the pink arm. I ran out of the yarn I used on the rest of the lion as I reached the last arm. Since these go to kids in the clinic I figured I’d give him a cast. Hopefully, this guy will find a kid with a cast to commiserate with.

 

 

This is many shots of the same dragon and his little hat for a baby sibling. He likes the mouse. He thinks he is supposed to ride on it. He’s just a baby dragon and doesn’t know better. By the way, the lion and the dragon are Scarlett Royal patterns, too. I love her minis best and the sheriff here in town as requested I make a lot of these as he loves handing them out to the homeless kids or kids at the clinic. Because they are tiny and are easy for the kids to hold and enjoy. If the sheriff wants minis I make minis, what can I say?

 

 

I really enjoyed making this hat and love how it turned out. It was made on KB white loom with the small gauge. I just did three knits and three purls (rib stitch) all the way to the top. Because of the small gauge, it took quite a while to finish. The yarn is bumpily but very soft. It has that gradual color change that works up so cool. I have a ton of this that I took from Hat Huggers because it is so soft. So I am making another one with smaller rib stitch pattern. I think this will make a good hat for someone who might have bad/no hair days. It’s so soft and fits low on the head. I have to admit I am tempted to keep it. I won’t. But I can wish.