Sox Progress

I'm well past the toe shaping, and on to the even stitches of the foot section.  A careful study of the stripe pattern shows that the two balls of yarn were wound from opposite ends of the stripe pattern.  Not a thing you can tell when you are buying the yarn, but, what the hey, just another instance of "planned" irregularity.  As we are about 1/5 through January, I analyzed and concluded that I am on target, about 1/5 done with this pair of sox.

I finished three 10" blocks for Victoria in our SCRAP Bee, made to her design.  I will mail these off tomorrow and complete my January responsibility with that fun group.

Mostly I am still working on the Roll, Roll Cotton Boll blocks.  I have finished the "alternate" block of neutral strips, and now they all needed to be trimmed.

This is not a fun part of the quilting process and is very exacting.  Plus I have only gotten 6 of the "real" blocks together instead of the 30 that are needed.  I am malingering because the six I made did not measure up to the size required.  After trying to build one with a smaller seam allowance, I discovered this caused a worse problem , non-flatness.

Only thing I can think to do now is to CHOOSE the smaller size as my "normal" size.  That means re-trimming all the alternate blocks AGAIN!  Dang, think I'll go do a little more knitting.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Right eye seemed fine after a night's sleep
Got to exercise class like a good Dooby
Pesto on noodles as part of dinner, summer flavor!

Goals for 2011

1. Keep knitting socks.  Get comfortable starting at the toes, cause then I can use up all the yarn if I want to.

Here is my second attempt at starting at the toe.  I ditched the first attempt, which was doing two at once, and that was too much to learn at one time for me!  This is how much I got done while watching the Rose Bowl game and eating a Snack Dinner.

2.  Keep working on the UFOs.  Here are the twelve I plan to finish this year:

    

           1] Double Four Patch

      

          2]  Pale, Pale Stars

        

          3] Purple Baskets

          4] Bright Row Robin

          5] Batik Samples

          

6] Pineapples

7] Amish Sampler

  8] Purple Chain

9] Fall Leaves

10] Lenten Hanging

                      11] Marston Squares

                     12] Cabin in the Woods







Judy Liquidara has pulled out the number 6 for this month, so I should work on the Pineapples.   I have a few more UFOs, which are very close to completion, so I am not listing them.

3.  Keep on making new Quilts That I Like.  I have done a lot because they were "necessary".  Now I want to do more pleasing myself, and challenging myself.

Those are my Goals for this year.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Last year's finishes of UFOs still amazes me!
Started the year by spending a lot of time in the sewing room having fun
Some progress on the Roll, Roll Cotton Boll mystery blocks
"Snacky" dinner of shrimp and veggies

Year End, last UFOs for 2010

Sixteen-Patch and Pinwheels is now finished:

A glimpse of the quilting by Catherine, which doesn't show up on the front at all.  I told her to do a meander, and this was the result!

This is UFO #29 that I finished this year.


And LASTLY, "Difference of Opinion", which is also now quilted and bound:

Do you see the large exclamation point coming down that vertical sashing?  I might just enhance that a little at some time.

Catherine's quilting on these borders followed the geological strata in the batik fabric.

 Bit of the back showing the various pinks and oranges I used up there.

And this is my last UFO finish for 2010, number 30.  Wow, I impressed myself!  My goal was to finish or get rid of two a month.  I wasn't that consistent each month, but I have surpassed the goal of 24.  And, in fact I got rid of some that I didn't count.

I am going to be starting 2011 with 16 UFOs, and only two of those were started in 2010.  I did keep the part of my goal that was to finish all but three 2010 starts.  How on earth did I manage to stick to this idea when I have so often failed?  I guess it helped to put it on my blog, share it with Finn, and even declare it to my quilting bee.

Right now, I'm NOT ready to commit to such a plan for next year!  Finishing more UFOs is going to be in my plan, but not such a push.
Maybe by tomorrow I'll have a plan for 2011.

And on another front, I did finally re-finish the green and purple socks.  The intended recipient chose another pair [I like to offer a choice], so these are now mine, until someone else claims them.

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Now that these projects are finished, I am back on the next step of Bonnie Hunter's mystery, "Roll, Roll Cotton Boll".

The directions for joining most of the parts arrived this morning, and I have constructed a few of the first blocks.

Because I chose to substitute blue for pink, and navy for red, I think this quilt will turn out to be acceptable to a male.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Soup from Kate made a warm lunch
Going to spent New Year's at home
Champagne in the fridge
Wishing Good Health to you all!

RRCB Step 6 completed

Where the 600 HSTs went - into 120 strips of five HSTs!  And then the "threesies" each got a triangular head and tail in brown.  Bonnie Hunter promises that THIS Friday we are going to start really putting all these pieces together.

Yeah!

Another holiday accomplishment:

Second purple sock was finished, so I now have a pair, which I am wearing today.

Off to see "The King's Speech" with Charlie and Jo.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Supplies laid in for New Year's Eve and Day
Sun shining!
Two quilts back from LA quilter can now be finished

Circular Socks

After reading about two-socks-at-a-time from both Mary Johnson and Judy Liquidara, I decided to try this method during the time Charlie took his turns driving to and from St. Louis.  Above you can see the book from the library and how much progress I made.  I took their advice and followed the instruction VERY carefully at the start, and then I got cocky.  Seems I really canNOT do three things at once.  I can knit and I can listen to the radio, but knitting and being in a serious conversation with give and take was too much for me.  Twice I found that I had three segments of the four on ONE needle, which is really not OK.  Then when I tried to "fix" my problem, I made it worse.

I've learned my lesson:  ALWAYS check that I am using the two ends of the SAME needle.

Tonight I am trying to knit and watch the World Series.  We'll see how well I do with that distraction.

Today I added three mini-blocks onto the Chinese Coins floor quilt from BIQR.  This is as big as it is going, since I have used up all my scraps from the floor!  Now to get it sandwiched and quilted.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Helpful sectional rehearsal last night
Jo's poem about October
Homemade pesto-pasta for dinner

Enjoying Christmas Gifts

Three grands learning how to play RockBand! [We hope to never again listen to "Eye of the Tiger".]
Coolest Grandpa enjoying toy from his Christmas stocking.

Our daughter Martha enjoying the "TV watching" quilt, which the family received.

Samantha wearing her "New Moon" fingerless mittens, which I made in St. Louis. Then I made a pair for Aunt Bebe, who "always" has cold hands. [Thanks to Melody Johnson for pointing out the pattern!]

Lots of other presents were exchanged and exclaimed over.

We ate lots of delicious food.

We celebrated John Sr.'s birthday.

We introduced Granny and Aunt Bebe to playing our game "Follow the Star".

And this is how much of a sock I was able to knit during the drive to and from St. Louis. I had to take my turns driving, and then darkness fell, both cutting down on the available time!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lots of laughter and some quiet conversations

Gifts for people in Haiti:

----a house from Charlie,

----a water pump from Marti & John

Safe trip driving home in unsavory weather

Knitting baby sox

Despite all the activity with the grandkids, etc. I have been getting SOME craft work done.

Since I have been knitting socks with the self-striping yarn, I have also created LEFTOVER yarn. Recently I discovered a pattern for making baby socks--and there seems to be enough of the leftover yard to make a pair of those small socks. And then there is STILL yarn left!

As we have been driving to and from camp, and to and from St. Louis, I have been following the directions. Now I have finished two pairs. This is good because I have a baby shower at the beginning of Sept.

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Sara

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Gratitudes:

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Extra blocks for the "your Way" mystery

Rook's Landscaping workers clearing windfalls and wild grapevines

Attic fan brings in cool evening air

Doll Quilt start

I have joined the Doll Quilt Swap #7 and I have been assigned a partner. No, a giftee, we don't EXCHANGE with each other. Everybody makes a quilt and receives a quilt, but not with the same person. [No side greater than 24".]

Anyway I am putting together a top from batik scraps. I've made little strippy blocks of the little scraps and am finding a way to set them together.

Other than that I have been knitting on two separate pairs of socks when ever I need "hand" work, which is mostly in the car travelling or sitting at the beach.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Fireflies at dusk

Shrimp for dinner

Progress on the doll quilt, not due until Sept.

Wild Phlox and Sox

When we bought this property sixteen years ago, I don't recall ANY wild phlox to be seen in the spring. Little by little they have moved in, and now we have this glorious spreading patch on the hillside down to the lake.

And there is even quite a bunch next to the garage.

The yearly changes are fascinating to watch--and require no work!

Another burgeoning growth pattern is in the "double file" vibernum I planted, maybe eight years ago. This year's blossums are very full.

Here is a less prolific "American cranberry vibernum". I have quite a few of these, acquired from the county agricultural extension as little sticks. They are now about eight feet tall.

I finished this set of grey striped sox for Charlie while we were travelling. My double pointed knitting needles are made of bamboo, and (therefore?) caused no problems with the airport security forces. [Next knitting sox project visible to the left.]

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Sara

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Gratitudes:

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Decrescendo party for the Women's Chorus last night

A Saturday with no list of things to do

Zeke begging to munch our cantelope rinds

Olympic Sock Knitting

My "Olympic" socks did not get finished. However, the first one was completed, and the second one was down to the heel.

Photo is as of the end of the Closing Ceremonies.

More knitting has been done since then; the heel is "turned" and I am working my way down the foot. These are going to be mis-matched in that I finished the first ball of yarn at just about the point in the photo. When I started the second ball--it was not at the same point in the dye-ing of the stripes. I considered unwinding a chunk of yarn and not using it so that the stripes would match, but I'm just too frugal. I decided that a variation in the strips between the two socks would be "interestiing" rather than "a mistake". I'll see how I like them when finished.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Annual physical exam results in no surprizes

Second batch of brioche

Call from DH last night

Pair #2 finished

Yes, I finished knitting this pair of socks during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Then I needed to have 10 minutes with the TV turned OFF so I could sew the end of the toe together using the "Kitchener" stitch. This too is a new process to me, and I need to follow one direction step at a time.

Saturday we were busy most of the day with a friend's wedding, so I was only able to begin casting on the Kaffe Fassett yarn for the next sock. It was soon clear that I had cast on too tightly, and I had to rip that out. Today I will start over.

Charlie's mother died this afternoon. She has not recognized her sons for the last year, and has been slowly declining, just turning 92 in July. Our feeling is one of gladness for her. The extended family will have a memorial service in September when more people can go to St. Louis, her home for over 80 years.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Happy 40th birthday, Peter!

Wedding that all parties enjoyed

Blessed release for DMIL Ruth.

Olympic knitting

Time for a lot of TV watching as the Olympics take over our evenings. Time for some projects that are done BY HAND. Something I hardly ever have to work on.

So during the Opening Ceremonies, I plan to finish my second pair of socks. Only a bit of the toe left of the second sock. Should be able to do that tonight.


After that I am going to start my THIRD pair of socks. I have bought two balls of Kaffe Fassett yarn that will make stripes of navy blue, purple, brown, red, rust, and tan. One ball for each sock - and then I'll have some left over for baby tube socks!


These yarns have been developed since the last time I knit, years ago. Both of them are dyed in sections so that you don't have to change yarns to change the color of the stripe. Easy peasy! Which is good since I have to pay enough attention to the FORM of the sock (cuff, heel, foot, toe).

On our return from the Grand Canyon we found that the birdbath in the middle of the herb garden was gloriously bright. And the basil is doing well also. Time for pesto making.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Temperatures in the 70's

Lots of mail goes directly into trash

Black-eyed Susans in the meadow