On the Needles & a Winner!!!!

First things first.....

The winner of my giveaway of the Terri Stegmiller pattern is:

Barb of Mountain Quiltworks!!!!!

Barb chose Paws in the Garden for her pattern and will be receiving it very soon.  

Congratulations Barb, and thanks so much for following along :*)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

On the Needles.....

It would probably be easier for me to show you what's OFF my needles!!!!  I'm still trying to make myself a pair of RED socks.  Remember the last pair I made ended up way too big and I gave them to my husband.  So I bought more yarn - the actual correct size yarn for socks this time LOL!!! - in both the desired fire-engine-red and a wonderful royal blue....

....... and I got them started in my favorite method for making socks - on the circular needle for Magic Loop, Toe-Up and Two at a Time.  Then I realized this yarn is very solid-looking and would look great in a pattern.  Of course, I had gone beyond the point where you would normally start said pattern, so I tried to add in a lifeline - what a mess!

So that was the first tearing-out session LOL!!!  Starting over, the second time .....

Test Swatch!

The pattern I decided to fall in love with was this one I saw on Denise's blog, Justquiltin.  Isn't that a neat pattern?  It's called House Targaryen after the Game of Thrones books, and it's free on Ravelry.

Denise calls this an easy pattern - and I have to agree, the pattern itself is not hard at all.  It's actually a fun stitch to work.  But I guess I haven't made enough socks to be able to easily change anything in the pattern, because I tore these darn socks out THREE times!!!!   Thankfully I never got very far before it became clear I wasn't doing something right and my brain was not wired right for what I was trying to do :*)  My problem stemmed from the purl stitch carrying over to the other side on the circulars.  It kept leaving really big holes, no matter how tightly I tried to join them there.  I'm sure it was just something stupid I was doing, but I finally gave up, cast one sock onto the DPN's and got started yet AGAIN!

Yep, this is as far as I've gotten!!!

I picked up another pair of #2 DPN's so I can at least do them both at the same time and not risk different sizes like my very first pair LOL!

What kind of adventures are on your needles?  

Check out all the fun yarn eye candy over at Judy's Patchwork Times today!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

On the Needles & Etc - 6/7/13

I'm really excited to share the start of my next sock project with you all.  But first, I just HAVE to share with you the cutest gift EVER .........

Am I right?  You know I'm right!  These tiny pineapple ornaments are just the cutest things ever!!!  OMG!!!  I just love them!!!  They are a gift from my friend, Janet O, who blogs over at Rogue Quilter.  I'm sure most of you know Janet - she's such a sweetheart, isn't she!!!  She says my Rainbow Pineapples helped inspire her to start making these cute little pineapple ornaments that are only about 2-1/2" square - why are tiny things always so much cuter?  So she wanted to share a couple of them with me.  How sweet and thoughtful is that?  And of course she used batiks and bright colors - does this girl know me, or what?  I just cannot express how much I really love them Janet!!!  You know I will treasure them always!  =^..^=

So, now that we've taken care of the important, really cute stuff, let's get back to the mundane but fun world of socks, shall we?

I'm going to use this wonderful variegated red yarn which I was thinking would read more as a solid than a stripe when the socks are finished.  It is a Serenity Garden microfiber yarn, and the color is Hibiscus.  No one I follow uses microfiber yarn, so I have no idea how it will work up or if it will be comfortable to wear.  I just liked the color so I got it :*)  So far I have been purchasing my yarn at Joann's & Hobby Lobby rather than buying the expensive, nicer yarns online.  I figure these early socks are more experimental than anything anyway, right?

I used a gift certificate I received for Mother's Day along with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby to purchase a ball winder, and it made very short work of making these really cute, uniform balls of yarn.  There's something about having perfectly wound balls of yarn that makes me feel like a "real" knitter LOL!!!  But, man, those things are expensive!!!  No way I was buying one until I could cut that cost a good bit :*)

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of knitting my first pair of socks (you can see them HERE if you like), which were constructed using double-pointed needles (DPNs).  Once I finally got a handle on how to hold them and work with them comfortably, I was hooked!  But with this pair, I wanted to try using a circular needle and the Magic Loop method.  I also wanted to learn how to do two socks at the same time, since my first pair ended up with one of them just a smidge shorter than the other - imagine that!!!

This is the pattern I chose to use for these red socks.  It took quite a bit of practice and tearing out and restitching before I finally managed some success with the recommended cast on method - Judy's Magic Cast-On.  Then I had to tear it all out and figure out how to do it for two socks instead of one.  But I finally got this far along the first night .....

From small beginnings come great things..... right?  I'm sure hoping so!

My only issue right now is that I'm having a real problem with loose stitches on the ends that won't tighten up - can you see how loose they are on the inner end of the sock on the right?  I was nervous that was going to make holes in the toes, but since I've worked a little further it seems to be getting better....and no holes!

The two socks look like different colors but that is just because I started with a different part of the color strata on each one.  I think I'm really going to love the red :*)  However, it does look as though they are going to be striped rather than have a solid look, just bigger, wider stripes than the usual striping yarn.

It's been fun learning a new skill and playing with new tools while starting my second pair of socks, and I'm looking forward to another finished pair in my sock drawer :*)  My mom and my daughter are currently fighting over who gets the first pair; it will be very interesting to see who wins =^..^=  I'm linking this post up with On the Needles at Patchwork Times.

In other news, we had our first Hummingbird visitation yesterday morning!!!

The feeder was empty after sitting out for over a week - we hadn't refilled it because there were no hummingbirds. But there must have been some food still in the bottom because this little fellow stayed and sipped for quite some time.  It is good to have them back!

Our little bird house, which was a gift from my friend Corinne last year, finally has a little family in it!!!  

I tried to get a picture while the momma was around but she is terribly shy :*)  They are chickadees and, although I had hoped for some bluebirds, we are very pleased to have a family using it and enjoying it!

I managed to get some marigolds planted in the flower beds around the back of the house last week....

....... and my Oriental Lillys are in full bloom and GORGEOUS!!!  Every year I wait impatiently for them to bloom, and every year they take my breath away!  These are a deep rich blood red.....

And these are purply-pink with a sunshine yellow burst in the center....

Today, I'll be playing with more red - making Talkin' Turkey blocks with  my sewing buddies....

So what's going on in your world?

Happy Friday my friends!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Ta-Da - It's a Sock!!!

May I present to you, my faithful readers, my very first knitted sock.....

Hooray!!!

I have to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who were so kind and helpful - you're the best!!!  I would never have gotten past the first 2 inches of dancing with those spider sticks if a couple of you had not pointed out that I was knitting it from the inside - really???  And suggestions for how to hold the needles so that it was a lot easier to work with them.......  And lots of helpful video sites....... invaluable!!!  Again, thanks - I couldn't have done this without you!!!

And I couldn't have done it without my friend, Joanne, either.  I got the sock to the point of the heel flap and then no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to do what I knew it was supposed to be doing.  I watched a few videos, tried a few times to get it started and ended up ripping out every time.  So then I put it in a bag and took it to Red Rooster with me and got Joanne to sit down with me and take me through that heel, row by row.  She figured out that I was completely ignoring 2 sentences - again, really???

But after that, I was okay.  I actually managed to do the second heel with no help at all......

Second sock almost finished!

Yes, my friends, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks LOL!!!

I used the pattern called Tesserae from Ravelry, recommended by Denise at Justquiltin.  I loved the pattern, but I probably should have started with just a simple stockinette until I practiced my rhythm and tension a little more.  There are one or two uneven stitches in there *tongue in cheek!*  And when I got to the gusset, I was so worried about doing that right, that I forgot about the pattern and just kept doing one pattern set over and over again instead of switching every 6 rows.

Guess what?  I decided to leave it that way and call it a design element! :*)

And I have to tell you, I'm as proud as a new mama!!!  I've shown this precious little sock to everyone who will spare me a glance LOL!!!  My husband was downright amazed!

I think it has pooled too :*)  It's really hard to tell with this busy yarn, but the colors are striping around it in diagonal waves rather in horizontal stripes.  I think that means it is pooling - am I right?

I should have entered Judy's pooling contest, but who knew I'd even manage to have a sock completed, much less one that pools, right???  And look at how this second one is going to town, pooling those lovely blues and purples diagonally down that sock - just beautimous!!!!  

I really actually like them that way much better than a boring old stripe.

As I was knitting the first sock, I was afraid it would end up too tight for me to wear.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find that although it fits pretty snug, it's not too tight.  It's close enough though that I'll have to be really careful to wash it in cold water so it doesn't shrink.  I've marked my pattern to add a few stitches when I use it again.

I'm not sure what caused those loose holes there in the gusset.  Maybe my stitches were too loose when I did the decreases?

Of course, I have to show you a picture of me "trying it on" to be sure I got the length right to the toe.  

Is this not hilarious???  Gives new meaning to the phrase "On the Needles" doesn't it?  It looks like I'm being tortured by an acupuncturist!  Or that I am trying to knit my own cast for a broken foot :*)

Oh too funny LOL!!!

I'll leave you with that laugh as I head off to Judy's Patchwork Times 

to see what everyone else has cast on their needles!!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

And remember that freedom is never FREE - 
Let's honor the soldiers who have sacrificed to keep us FREE!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

On the Needles 5-3-13

I've been doing quite a bit of knitting lately, but mostly just dishcloths, and I don't have much to show you because I've given them all away!  I did keep this one for myself.  It just needs the ends sewn in.   As you can see, I'm getting better at tension and althought it is still not completely square, it is not nearly as whoppy-jawed as my first poor attempt :*D

As for my first attempt at socks, I've hit a brick wall I'm afraid.....

I was moving along quite happily until I hit the heel.... and I'm obviously doing something wrong.  The stitches are way too tight and there's no way this is going to form a heel - at least I don't think it can anyway.  And then the directions totally lost me with all the turns and leftover stitches!  Oh my!!!

I told my friend Joanne that I'm going to put it down until a day when she can sit with me and help me interpret the directions and get it going again in the right direction.  I've watched a few videos, but it seems everyone has their own favorite way of doing heels, so I still can't tell what I'm supposed to be doing with this particular sock.  I was pretty sure I would need help at this point, so I'm not discouraged, just delayed.

I wouldn't want you to think that I am going sockless however!!!  Actually, while I was in Gatlinburg I came upon a wonderful Sock store!!!  There were socks of all kinds - including quite a few with cats of course.  Needless to say, I think I spent more money in this shop than in the quilt shops LOL!!!

Here are a few that I brought home....

Seahorses!!!!!  Do you know how hard it is to find things with Seahorses on them????
My mommy bought these for me =^..^=

These are really cool with black jeans and a red t-shirt!

What's not to love about cats on lime green????

The ones on the left have a pale blue background and look really cool with my black Burks!
I also got a pair of cream/light blue colored patchwork kitties just like the ones on the right.

Footies!!!!  I just loved these!  Can you tell I can't resist anything Laurel Burch???

And just in case I might be tempted to make more socks, Gatlinburg had me covered.  One of the artisan craft shops had hand-spun wools in so many different colors and textures that I was simply overcome and charmed!  It's a shame that I really wasn't far enough along in my sock-knitting adventure to be able to know how to pick a few of these to make a pair for myself to remember the trip.  They were really expensive so I didn't want to buy something and find out it wouldn't work for socks.  Hopefully I will know what to buy next time!  For now, I'll leave you with pictures of the various beauties....

I wanted these - badly!!!!!

Yep, I could see me in these too!

Don't these look like warm, wonderful winter socks?  YUM!!!

Be sure to go by and check out what everyone else has on their needles at Judy's Patchwork Times!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

On the Needles - 4-12-13

I've started my first sock!!!

After so much wonderful encouragement from all of you, I screwed up my courage, picked a pattern and yarn, and cast on my first stitches    .......... and the first few attempts were almost comical!

I pulled it out at least five times before I finally got something I think I can work with.  It started out like this...

..... then (eventually - after much pulling out!) grew to this......

And as of right now, it looks like this.....

This the Tesserae pattern from Ravelry.  It's probably not the easiest pattern to start with but I get really bored with just knit and purl rows.  It's hard to tell the pattern coming through yet, but I think it's working.  :*)

I'm telling you, getting used to working with all these pointy needles in the way.... 

              ................. it's like trying to dance with a spider!!!  I know I'm probably not holding them right - hopefully I'll get the hang of it as I go along and get more comfortable with it.  I'm also a little concerned that it's going to be too small, but even if it is, the practice will do me good, right?

I've purchased a short circular needle to try that method when these are done.  And I've watched videos about using two long circular needles, as well as one long circular needle and doing the "magic loop."  It's all so confusing!!!  It's really hard to know which way will work best for me.

But I am having fun, and that's the point, right?  (Yep, pun intended!!!)

I also finished up another dishcloth - I like the bands of color in this one :*)  And I started another one using this pattern to add a little picot edge to it.  

It's much fussier to work with but I like the effect so far.  This one will be a gift for someone special :*)

What's on your needles today?  

Please share with us at Judy's Patchwork Times!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

On the Needles - 4-5-13

All these wonderful pictures of socks on Judy's blog have once again lit a fire in me and made me hanker (pun intended!!!) to learn how to make socks!  I've always thought that would be a fun and very useful skill, but the use of little tiny, very pointy, needles - 3 or 4 of them at the same time, no less! - and all those terms, like "gusset" and "turning the heel" scared me off!  :^O

However, this time I have actually gotten to the point of purchasing yarn!

Now, I am well aware that this is cheap yarn and probably not worth the time and effort I will put into the projects, but I didn't want to put a lot of money into something that I may not be able to do.  All of these were on sale - one pair was even on closeout and dirt cheap!  The needles are not what I really wanted either.  Those Harmony wooden needles at Knit Picks in beautiful colors in the shorter 6" size.... oh yes, I drooled over them!!!  But I picked these up at Joann's with a coupon, and they will do until I decide whether sock knitting is something I will be doing for the long term. =^..^=

One thing that has kept me back is finding the right pattern to start with.  I need something easy enough for a beginner, but I want the sock to fit!  I don't want some big, bulky clunky sock that bunches up in my shoes.  So I need a good, well-designed pattern, but easy.  I downloaded a few from Ravelry and picked one that I may try.  Then I saw a really cute pair of socks on Paula - The_Quilter's blog and really liked the look of their shape and simplicity.  You can go HERE to her blog to see them.  (I didn't want to show her pictures without permission).  Her pattern uses circular needles, so I'm off this weekend to get a pair of those so I can try it out!

In the meantime, I have been practicing my stitching and tension with these fun and quick dishcloths!  Here are a few more to add to my portfolio :*)  And they are actually square LOL!!!

Now I'm finding myself left with little bits of Sugar & Cream yarn, so I downloaded a cute and free Soap Saver pattern from Ravelry to use up those bits :*)  Isn't this adorable?  And I bet it's a quick project!

Photo from Ravelry - designed & knitted by Danyel Pink

I'm hoping to start my first pair of socks sometime this weekend!

=^..^=

So what's on your needles?  Share it with us at Judy's Patchwork Times!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=