Blocked

Since Christmas I sit at the machine and can't think of even how to cast on. So I turn away and leave it sit there.

So I started a cro-hooked scarf with yarn my daughter bought to make her one. That one at least requires little to know thinking beyond the fact that I need/want two more moez cro-hooks in larger sizes. Have to check that out today since Val told me where to go to find their new site.

I am looking for a decent knitted snowboarding hat to make on the machine. So far I have found a couple with the types of earflaps I want but darn they are crocheted not knitted. Got to keep looking.

Working on things

In the week before Christmas day my grandson wanted to spend the night. Since the room he would normally sleep in was filled with unwrapped Christmas presents I had to take down the machine in my room to make up a pallet bed for him.

After that night I decided not to put the machine back up till Christmas presents were wrapped and out of the way. So I simply put back up the table to use for wrapping. On Christmas Eve night I put the machine back up.

Still I have not knitted on it. To late after machine was set up on the eve, busy Christmas day with family and yesterday every time I looked at that machine my mind went blank. Suffering a total burn out.

So instead of using the machine I have been doing a crohooked scarf for my youngest daughter. She had bought some homespun yarn for this scarf and asked me to make her one. I tried on the machine, it hated the yarn, started a loomed one didn't like it, then a crocheted one and again not getting what I wanted. So here I am crohooking it and I am loving the way it is looking.

Now the only thing I have worked on in the last couple of days is that scarf. Crohooking to me is a bit slower then some of the other yarn crafts I do but very often worth the little extra time. I am using a yellow moez crohook and they are just simple elegant to use, so smooth and nice feeling in the hands.

I have only a couple of the moez crohooks and have been meaning to order more. I need a couple larger then the ones I currently have. Someday soon I am going to have to get around to ordering them. This scarf is coming out so nice that I would like to see something done in the larger then the yellow hook. The trouble is I can no longer find their website. Guess I should check out their yahoo group and see what happened to the site.

NOTE: The yellow moez hook is a 12.7mm. It is quite large compared to the ones you normally find in stores.

One completed, almost

I switched that yarn for the slipper and now the first one is off the machine. Instead of trying to kitchener it off the waste yarn I put the stitches on needles. I am not all that good at the kitchener yet and being on needles will make it easier to do. So both sides were put on needles waiting for later today to be seamed.

This one is more work then the 14 minute slipper but I wanted to see just what the cuff is like after the entire thing is completed. The 14 minute slipper takes me less time to do but I am not fond of the cuff. Still I can work with that one.

I plan to do a set of each of these to compare them. Then I will decide if I like one better then the other or neither.

That slipper

I tried one more time to do that slipper with the yarn I was using, simply soft, then gave up on it. Oh not the slipper but the yarn. I switched to using pound of love yarn and now I am at the cuff part but found my eyes getting so tired they were closing as I ran the carriage. Not good at all with this machine. So I left it for later today.

I am thinking that the pound of love might be coming out a little loose for what I would want. No not for me but for someone else, so this might just be a test. I just might have to go to something like red heart. Ugh, I don't want to do that. I loved that yarn till recent changes to it have made it stiff and scratchy. I do still have some older skeins of it so maybe I need to pull those out. The old red heart was very nice yarn. Too bad they destroyed the quality of it. Now it isn't good for most of the things I use to use it for. As it stands right now I don't purchase much of it. I have gone to other brands of yarn.

I did recently use some yarn that is put out by Caron that is similar to the old red heart. I can't remember the name right off hand but I kept one of the labels to see if they are still making this yarn. It would be a good replacement for the red heart. It worked up so wonderfully.

So I have at least got a good start on this first slipper to see the size it is going to come out with using this pound of love yarn (which by the way makes the softest pieces, but not sure how durable it is for slippers). If it doesn't work out that well, there is always the next one but at least practice on making this pattern will be worth the work I put in on it.

(darn have had to edit this post several times due to spelling and grammar errors, what's up with me this morning, distracted thinking of the slipper and the shopping I have to do today, don't want to go, but have to)

Me and yesterday

I had a perfectly lazy day yesterday. By lazy I mean I just couldn't seem to get any thing accomplished.

I started a slipper from a video I watched posted to Berta's group by Berta herself, and I really like the cuff section. So I figured I would give it a try.

To begin I had to clean up my mess around my machine. Since I have been doing crocheted, loomed and innovations hats, I had a lot of those things (crochet hooks, looms, and the innovations machine), hanging out on the back of my bulky knitting machine table. So clean up first.

That part done I started the slipper. Blew it and had to drop, frog, and start again. Blew it again, same deal, drop, frog, and start again.

I think my distractions of the day didn't help. Plus the TV program distracted me and not feeling so hot about not getting stuff done during the day didn't help.

So now I have a forth try on the machine that needs to be dropped. Left it for tonight, grabbed some yarn and started a crocheted hat. At least I know I can do that. Well, I can do the other but was just letting myself be too lax. Got to stop that.

So nothing much got done. Three rows of the hat I started, and nothing else. Went to be very dissatisfied with myself. Figures, topped off a rather bad day badly. Ever have those days? Oh of course you have so you understand totally. Ah today is another day. I start over but later for the slipper, got work to do this morning. You know that job thing that pays the money to keep the craft supplies coming.

I still haven't finished my Christmas shopping. I am in a rut on what to get a couple of people. Things just aren't as easy as just go and get something. Sometimes that something just doesn't show up to say here I am. So this weekend will be more of that shopping I have to do. I hate shopping, but oh well. I am glad that I got a lot of it done months ago.

Nothing much else to say. Oh I should give you the link to the slippers:
http://diananatters.blogspot.com/ This is her blog and there is a link to her video for it right on this page. She has lots of videos for helping to learn to machine knit. If you have a machine and need help this is one source for you to check out. Another really good source is Berta's videos. Those are great as you do not need the computer right there: http://www.hobbyknitter.com/ I have learned a lot from these. They can be played on the computer or on my TV. I like that.

Some of these look to be too big but my doll is small and these are sizes for adults. They actually fit nicer then the doll shows them to fit.

This one has a bit of a different edging. Was trying something but not sure I like it all that much. Hat loomed with a chunky yarn.

This purple one isn't too clear but it is all I have. Innovations machine, with pound of love yarn.

This pink one is even worse as to clearness. Just couldn't get it right for these two. Innovations machine, with pound of love.

Loomed with a chunky yarn, hat edge is single yarn then doubled.

This one is crocheted with the same chunky yarns as some but in stripes. Pattern I developed when my children were little and been using since. Love this pattern.

Innovations machine, pound of love.

Loomed, chunky yarn.

This one is crocheted. I was trying for something a bit different as to looks. This is vertical crocheted, switching yarns to crochet the two colors. I think I am in love with a new to me technique that is similar to a knitting method. This one I have not done in this fashion before but will again.

Of all the hats I have done in the last few months I do have to say that my favorites are the two crocheted ones on this post. I just love this pattern.

My daughter had me tell her how to do this one and she says she loves it. It is something she has been looking for and everytime she finds what she wants it turns out to be knitted. So this one she says is excellent. That so pleases me.

Merry
Christmas
To
One
And
All
From
Me
To
You

Cuffed brim

I am doing some hats, just five or maybe a couple more, for my daughter to give to her church. They will be put into packages for homeless and my daughter came up with the idea of putting hats in them. She then asked me to help with a few. So I said ok.

The first hat I made was on a knitting loom. I did a short cuffed brim and as usual that brim is much thicker then I would normally like. I used the normal two strands of yarn and brought up the brim.

It's not that it doesn't work, the hat looks very nice. Still I would prefer that the cuff not be so thick that it feels tight.

So I finished this first loomed hat and started another, but I also started a couple of crocheted one. I have this yarn that is chunky and oh so nice. With the larger gauged loom I am using, the green kk, I still have to use two strands for it to be nice and warm but with crochet I only have to use one strand.

I now have two of those crocheted ones done, gee I forgot how nice those hats can be. These are just wonderful and if I didn't need them for my daughter I would be tempted to keep both for myself. I made them long so there could be a wide folded cuff for keeping the ears warmer. One is is vertical strips of green and blue, the other has a green for the top crown section and blue for the body. Had to work out that last as I had never done this on my hats before, not in my crochet pattern. Came out really nice.

As I am working these crocheted hats, I kept thinking about that too full cuffed brim. Duh, this is really an easy one to solve. You can make that cuffed brim be the thickness it needs with out being so thick that it feels stiff.

So I started one last night just to test what I was thinking. Normally I do a short cuffed brim because of that tight feeling from too thick a brim, but for this example I decided to do a very wide brim. This way the brim portion of the hat will have a little extra protection around the face and for the ears.

I haven't finished the hat yet but it looks to be coming out more of what I want. I will try this again on a shorter cuff but for now this is going to be an excellent example for me to go by.

So here is what I did.

Instead of starting with a double strand of yarn cast on with a single strand, e-wrap cast on.
Knit for 12 rows, do not count cast on as a row
Attach second strand of yarn, Knit 12 rows with the two strands held together.
Bring up the cast on row to place on pegs
Wrap and knit off the stitch and the row you brought up.

Yep it is as simple as that. You are creating a thin layer with the one strand, but doubling up for the second half of the cuff. This way you are bringing up only one single layer to sit behind that double strand layer.

This still gives you a nice thick cuff but not too thick. It has more stretch then the normal cuffed brim and feels nice.

I am also thinking this would be good for one of those wide hair bands. You know the kind that ladies wear to cover the ears but not all the hair. Work this just about the same but since there is going to be a cast off section that might show work it this way.

Say you want the band 30 row wide. Since we are going to be folding the first and second half to be behind the center rows, we actually need 31 rows.

Cast on with one strand of yarn work 8 rows, again do not count the cast on. Work 15 rows with the double strand. Work the last section with one strand for 8 rows.

Now bring up the cast on row and place on the pegs. Cast off. Use a cast off that is going to be stretchy as you need that for the bands. There are several available.

Now fold the band so the cast off is to the inside of the band and wear. I have been meaning to make a band for me and now I guess I will have to try this as soon as some other projects are completed.

Anyway, just thought for you all to think on today.

This is another of these hats. This one done with three strands held as one, green knifty knitter, EOP crochet cast on, knit EOP.

I think it is cute. My poor doll is my model. Please be kind she is 49 and kind of old for a doll. Once upon a time she was a beauty and I still love her even though she isn't any more.

Experiment from picture

Done on the small blue knifty knitter loom, crochet cast on EOP, Knit EOP till desired length, gather cast off.

Now this comes out a bit small for a new born. That EOP just decreases the size too much. So done on maybe the red loom EOP would be better.

I really had to stretch to get this on this newborn headed doll, but it is too long for the preemie sized doll so the amount of rows would need to be decreased.

I didn't have the super bulky yarn that I think the original picture I saw was worked up with, so I used two strands of a chunky but the super bulky or three strands of the chunky would make a better looking hat.

Also I only did the e-wrap and it would look more like the original if the knit stitch was used.

Tried to crowd them altogether to get them all in the picture. So you can't see them all well but there are 43 of them. Dropped off at the school yesterday.

I have to post this one

From The Inane to the Insane

There is just something wrong in a country that crashers to the White House get a pass and Navy Seals face being tried for punching a "terrorist who brutally killed, maimed, defiled and hanged four American citizens in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004".

What have we become when a terrorist (and yes I did say terrorist, not human made disaster or some other dumb thing, it is what it is, no politically correct nonsense here. An apple is an apple, it can never be an orange so don't tell me I have to try to make it one) can get better treatment then the men sent to pursue and capture him are treated.

This gov is disgusting in all it does. Speak it plain, give out military men and women their rightful dues, and those terrorist be-damned.

NOTE: for added thoughts:

Is this the way this gov body plans to help destroy our peace and freedom. Get rid of those best trained to defend us and you open us up wide for those who would take us down. Think about that one folks. At every turning you hear about more soldiers being condemned for doing the job they are trained to do. That job they do protects your rights to complain about what they do. The people of this country should be ashamed that they allow this kind of thing to happen.

No problem the way things are going soon you won't be allowed to complain at all or about anything. It won't be politically correct, or might be just outlawed. Once upon a time there was a little country where the people did not speak up, then soon it was all to late for them to speak up as that right had been ripped away. Just wait, keep silent and your turn could arrive sooner then you think.