Thursday, January 22, 2009

RESOLUTIONS!, toe-up socks and continental

RESOLUTIONS:
Happy New Year!! (Almost Chinese new year that is!) I have this thing about people making resolutions because they usually break them within the first week or two. I have really tried not to make any (resolutions ) that I can't keep. So for that very reason, I have put off on posting my resolutions until I could be sure that I would be keeping them.
here they are:
1. EXERCISE ( lose at least 50 pounds) - hence the renewed knitting to keep my hands busy so I am not eating (12.5so far)

2. LEARN NEW KNITTING TECHNIQUES - hence doing cabling again and starting my new toe up socks
3. BE DILIGENT ABOUT BLOGGING- the reason I have been on here all week. This one took a little longer to put into place. Blogging is something that will come of my tech skills up and hopefully I will be able to find some applications to classrooms.


TOE-UP SOCKS:
Knitting today:

I grabbed a pattern from Knitty Summer 2006 called Widdershins. It is toe-up ...using Judy's Magic Cast On here. WOW - not the easiest thing I've ever done. I tried it 3 different times and finally figured out that I can do it if I don't keep the yarn in my hands or on my fingers. this reminds me of something David Reidy (Sticks & Strings) just recently said " If anyone tells you there is only one way to do that (KNITTING wise) , they are wrong!" Thank goodness or I would probably never be a knitter. which leads me into my third topic today:

CONTINENTAL:
I have always knit continental style, little did I know. I learned to knit from my mom, who sat across the room from me and she was a right handed crocheter. She really didn't have too much of an idea except that she had seen her grandmother do it 50 years previous. Watching to the best of my ability, it only seemed natural that I would put the yarn in my left hand.

I didn't really realize that I was "odd" until some time later, when another knitter saw me and commented that I was knitting backwards. I've also heard that I knit "WRONG" and that I was creating my stitches "Strangely". None of it made any sense to me, everything I created always looked right when I was finished with it. It wasn't until one woman who was SERIOUS knitter, told me that I knit GERMAN style, and that many people called it Continental style. At the same time she commented on how quickly I knit - (isn't that the truth).


Over the years, I have struggled through various techniques, various stitches and patterns trying to make them work for me but now I know, it doesn't matter - because I can make it work NO MATTER WHAT!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Mitts did it AGAIN!!!

ever wonder how stupid you can be while reading patterns? ever lose your place in the same pattern repeatedly? ever wish that your brain worked a little better?
Ok, Ok...I know... trick questions - right?
The silly, stupid, aggravating Christmas Eve Cabled Mitts did it to me again!
Last night I finished (or so I thought) the second mitt (I was so proud of myself).I tried the first one on, left one, the I tried the second one on, also a LEFT!!!! HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!!!!!! I put the thumb for the wrong right aka left one on wrong!
Needless to say.....I started again and finished the real right one tonight. AND this time it's right - really right!!
But as Beks said, you're halfway done with a pair for you! (what a kid!)

I've picked my next project.....SOCKS from the toe up. I've done them the other way so it's time to learn a new technique. Hopefully I'll read this pattern better than the mitts pattern.

Monday, January 19, 2009

I hate frogging!!!!

DId I ever mention I hate FROGGING??? BTW - FROG is my fav curse word.

I worked one Christmas Eve Cabled Mitt last night. It was progressing great.
Put them down for the night, marked the pattern so I wouldn't get lost. All seems good - right?

Woke up this morning, had my coffee, shower, picked up the mitt and it looked weird, strange , definitely not right. SO I tried to figure out where I was in the cables.....yeah right!! Not for the life of me (mind you the last time I cabled was probably 8 or 9 years ago - and I think I only did it once!) !!!!UGH!! The more I looked at the pattern it looked as though I had down 2 back cables together. So i checked the pattern and lo and behold, that's what the pattern called for....but it didn't look right !! SO I Frogged the whole thing right back to the cuff and started again. ( This FROG occuring right after I had to completely frog one complete Latvian inspired mitten becuase I put the thimb in wrong AND the tension was too tight!)

I did get it finish the first mitt today. I decided to change the pattern and make that second back cable to a front and it does look much better. Maybe it's just me but oh well~ I am about up to the cable part again on the second one, but after what happened before, I decided to wait until I could do it all in one sitting.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Welcome 2009! and good bye 2008

I am bound and determined to keep a log of what I create, either knit or crochet, this year! And between this blog and my NEW Ravelry account (musiclady007) I am going to do it!!

Here are the items I finished the end of last year(mostly Christmas gifts):
14 ice car scrappers mitts, 2 pairs of mitten (green and white for Han and pink for Hay), 2 lap blankets (for some sweet
ladies at church - MH and HH), a walking scarf (EMcC), a scarf for Chris, a marketbag (for Marg) and 2 IOU's (1 hat for Bek and 1 set of mittens for D!)


SO now the new things in 2009:

1.
Nob Hill, Knitty Spring 2008 (photo coming soon!) this piece was really a stretch for me, as I hardly ever make anything large for me.
2. a blue ear flap hat for Bek (my design) photo coming soon
3. Creamy scarf for D

4. Fishy Hat for Beks, Knitty, Winter 2008
this is an awesome pattern, quick and easy and a great stash buster, even a great little ball buster.


On my sticks right now:
Latvian - inspired Mittens
Christmas Eve Cabled Mitts

Look out Knitting world - here I knit!!!