How am I doing?

I have been knitting like crazy! I finished David's scarf in 2 days because they were leaving for New York and it was snowy there. I don’t think I have ever knitted anything that fast…even on Christmas Eve. Since we are in Florida, I thought I had a long time before he’d get into any cold weather.

I finally finished the bulky loopy yarn prayer shawls and the tam and scarf set. I did NOT like that yarn. It was a mill end and it kept getting tangled and the tiny individual threads snagged. Once knit, it looks pretty good, but it is not easy to work with. If I can find my camera, I will post pictures. I used it to take the picture of David’s scarf and since it was about 2:30 am when I took it, I can’t remember where I put the camera. I was more than a little sleepy by then.

I'm doing very well on my hats with several on the needles right now. Some are mindless and quick to take to my meetings and others have to be done when I am alone. The chemo hats are great to take along, so I am trying to keep one on the needles all the time. The only problem is that I want to knit everything with my size 6 Lantern Moon circular needles. I love them, but they are so expensive and I hate to get another pair of the same size.

I am also knitting squares for a charity blanket our group is giving away to the St. Gerard’s Campus in St. Augustine and blankets for another charity one of our group members is involved with. I’ll probably knit the squares all year long since they are so easy to carry and work up so fast. Then there is the sampler scarf and hat I am designing to teach my two friends how to knit. That will become either a gift or a charity project. I’m making it with Red Heart Fiesta and I really like it. I have a lot of inexpensive yarn left over from years of knitting kids sweaters, so I am trying to use it up.

That’s another thing I am doing pretty well with…using my stash. I have tons of yarn and now that my house is so much smaller, I have to do something to save space. I am trying to use the largest yarn first so I can reduce my stash quickest. Unfortunately, my cousin sent me some instructions for knitting Mary Hoyer doll clothes to sell on ebay, but they use very fine yarn. I love knitting things like that, but it isn’t helping make much space. About the only yarn I buy is what I need to go with something I already have and I am trying to keep that at a minimum.

So, how am I doing so far? I’d say pretty good. If I can keep this up all year, there should be a lot more space around here and a lot of warm bodies

Charity Knitting

This is a little blanket I made for "From the Heart," a charity shop in Richmond, VA while I was up there for the summer. It's a wonderful place where you can go to get donated yarn, needles and patterns for your charity projects. They also have comfey chairs and sofas so you can sit and knit. The first time I was there, there were about 15 second grade students there, boys and girls, all knitting. They had already contributed squares for an afghan for the homeless and someone had put the squares together for them and brought the finished afghan for them to see. They were working on another one while we were there. The school bus picked them up after about an hour to take them back to school. What an inspiration!

They had a need for preemie blankets and I found the mock cable in and was trying to make a blanket 24" x 24," but the pattern is actually a ribbing and the cable draws the fabric in. I can't remember what I cast on, but I calculated it from the gauge.


I learned a few things from this project; cast on about 10% less stitches than you want so it won't ripple at the ends and use some short rows in the side borders about every 3 inches to keep it from drawing in. The cable is really easy to do and you don't need a cabling needle for it.

Charity Knitting - more projects done!

I am on a roll. I got 2 more chemo caps done and finished an isolette blanket. I'll upload some photos when I find all the cords and things I need to download my photos. Nothing is going to happen if I can't get the camera charged up again and that cord seems to be elusive.

For the isolette blanket I used a tiny mock cable that I frequently used years ago. It is such a sweet pattern for baby things and it is so small that tiny fingers don't get caught up in it easily.

I met a knitter from Ravelry this morning at the Kafe Haus in Fernandina. We had no problem picking each other out of the crowd...who else is dragging bags with sticks sticking out and balls of color peeking over the edge. I hope we can get a few more knitters to meet with us. I did the finishing on the charity projects I had with me and then picked up a sweater for my granddaughter out of lavender Fluffy. That was in my UFO basket also, so I am looking forward to counting that in my list of finished projects.

I am making some progress on my project to inventory all my books and needles. I entered some more on Ravelry, but I find that I have to take photos of some of my books and, of course, I need the camera. I have also gathered a number of old projects and put the yarn and pattern in the bag so I am ready for the next one when I finish.

I am trying to do my UFOs in an 80/20 ratio. I work on UFOs 80%of the time and new projects 20% of the time. I am only doing this for one year and if I make it, I get to go with my sister on a Virginia Shop Hop next spring. Even my 20% should be from my stash unless I find a really good sale; We shall see.

Back in town

Yeah! I am back in town again in my own little house..which is now a mess because I am starting a project to gather all my needles and hooks and take an inventory. That means getting out more unfinished projects and evaluating them.

I GOT EVERY UNFINISHED PROJECT I BROUGHT WITH ME TO VIRGINIA FINISHED!!!!! What a high! I made 4 pair of hunting socks, 2 pair of regular socks for presents this Christmas, a vest for my granddaughter's friend, 3 mittens (one for spare), Charles' sweater, a novelty scarf, a baby sweater, and ??? I can't remember, but I photographed them and will upload soon. Every single project had something wrong with it, which is how it got to be an UFO in the first place.

I also made about 10 chemo caps for From the Heart, a sweater for Addie which I didn't bring quite enough yarn to finish the last sleeve, 2 more baby sweaters, designed and started an incubator blanket and an Aran sweater for Eli.

I can hardly stand myself I am so tickled! I accomplished this marvel because I had my mother and sister around me to talk to while figured out what was wrong, unknitted the mess, corrected the problem and finished the project. If I was at home, I would be mumbling about the yarn, the pattern developer (mainly me), the fickle knitting goddess etc. I also brought these projects in their own little bag and when I went somewhere, I only took that bag...no other choice:)

So now, I am going upstairs to sort out some more projects and see how well I can keep this up. I did bring back some beautiful fall colored sock yarn that I am going to make for myself and I am trying to decide if I start it before Addie's sweater or after. Since I live in Florida, I think I will finish the sweater first so Addie can wear it (if it ever gets below 80 degrees!)