Flashback

Notice anything familiar?  The yarn I used to knit these little socks for my granddaughter, is leftover yarn from socks I made earlier. 

My granddaughter requested some socks in a pretty color, and knowing I had some yarn in my stash that might fit the bill, I looked for a wee sock pattern.  Well, I looked and looked, and although there are some children's patterns, nothing stood out.  Perhaps knitting socks for children seems like a worthless exercise, since kids have a tendency to grow - I mean, they grow fast!

I devised this pattern myself, making sure the cast-on, the heel turn, and the toe was what I wanted.  Try to ignore the fact that with much frogging and re-knitting, this Lorna's Laces shows some wear and tear.  Now that I know what I'm doing, more or less, I can knit her up some really cute socks.

Bride and Groom

We were both thrilled and proud to attend the wedding of our dear nephew/Godson last Saturday evening.  His bride is not only beautiful, but so very warm and sweet to everyone she meets.  We've known her for a couple of years, now, and I can only say, it's a match made in heaven.  The whole family has been looking forward to their wedding day with much anticipation, and no one was disappointed.  What a beautiful ceremony and a glorious day all around.  There was much toasting, clinking of glasses, dancing, and a few happy tears shed.  What a wonderful day!

The Beginning and the End

The pattern for my project bag had some sweet little crocheted flowers adorning the attached handles.  The flower idea is cute, and it does add a bit of color and interest, but crochet flowers aren't really my thing.  I borrowed another inspiration from Pink Lemon Twist, who blogged that she might try buttons.  I used red mis-matched buttons, since I couldn't find four red buttons that matched, and the bag turned out just right.

A new project is on the needles.  It's a shawl I'll be knitting with Dream In Color Smooshy, in Ruby River.

I'll be sharing the details of this shawl at a later date, but isn't the color bright and rosy pink?  This yarn is pure joy to knit, so I'm eager to watch it grow.
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Charade, complete

Charade (Ravelry) is finally finished.  I say 'finally', because I've been working on three other projects, and I saw these languishing at the bottom of my knitting pile just begging for attentiion. The pattern isn't too fancy, but it is cute, and easy to follow.  I should have known better and used a solid color. I did change the heel and toe, but other than that, I followed the body of the sock as per pattern.

                                      

Happy Feet, by Plymouth, is a really nice sock yarn, and I have no complaints about its workability (is that a word?).  It doesn't split and the yarn knits up wonderfully with all needle brands.  I used Knitpicks, dpns in a size US 1.  If I were to knit this pattern again, I'd use a size 2, I think.



                                       

They're so cute, and would look good with jeans, as well as with Mary Jane's.  Another really great thing about Happy Feet varigated yarn is - no unfortunate pooling! 

Daughter loves these little beauties, and that's what counts, right?

Ruby Tuesday

                                     

UPS, I love you

Five reasons why I love UPS:
   1.  Dream In Color- Smooshy, in Ruby River
   2.  Cherry Tree Hill - Supersock, in Dusty Rose
   3.  Cherry Tree Hill - Supersock, in Old Rose
   4.  Malibringo - Lace, in Autumn Forest
   5.  My super-fine brother in law is a UPS driver!

It's HOT!

Only an icy snow cone can cool off my granddaughter on days like this. These crazy high temperatures are unusual for mid-July, when we're used to experiencing temps in the 70's.

I've never heard of blue raspberries, and I don't think they actually exist in nature, but my grandson loves this flavor, whatever it is.  The blue color is cause for celebration, and a good excuse to stick your tongue out at everyone!

Even Ruby loves a splash down when the temp is in the 90's.

Needle and Thread

So, I dusted off my old sewing machine, and finally began putting together the lining for my project bag.  You remember that blue crochet bag from several weeks ago, right?  I won't mention how long it's been since I've used my machine, except to say, I had to re-train my brain on how to thread her.

After measuring and seaming, came the ironing.  Even though it's just a lining, I wanted to do things right. 

I had forgotten how pretty the fabric is.  With little honeybees flying around the little yellow blossoms and sweet strawberries.  How cute is that?

Just before sewing the lining to the inside of the crochet bag, I decided - at the last possible moment - to add a wee pocket.  This might come in handy for stitch markers, a cable needle or some other small necessity.  Truth be told, I should have added the pocket before seaming, but how unlike me to be traditional!

This close-up shows the smallest hand stitches used to attach the lining all around the top of the bag.  No other attachment was used.

The fabric is somewhat roomy, bunching up a little around the bottom.  That's OK with me, since the outside of the bag is sure to be stretched , and I didn't want the inside to be tight at all.

The addition of a lining really helped stableize and give the bag needed structure.  It's not quite so floppy now, and will be perfect for small projects, such as socks or scarves.  Now, all I have to do is add the handles.  I'll be sure to post the final results soon.

Happy Independence Day!

God Bless America.  Gee whiz, hard to believe you're 234 years old today.  Even through hard times, oil spills, and a tough economy, America is free.  I'm so proud to be an American today, and every day.

Easy does it

Here is the One-Skein-Shawl (Ravelry) which turned out to be a great TV watching knit.  It's simplicity really shows off the color and quality of the yarn.

As hard as I tried, I could not get the beauty of this Dream In Color, Starry, to show up properly.  It has little silver flecks that sparkle and glimmer in the light.

In my version, I added a couple of extra rows of edging, since the Dream In Color is very generous at 450 yards.  The color is Good Luck Jade, and the feel is very soft, even with the silver threads interspersed throughout

Isn't it pretty?  The pattern called for a size 15 circular needle (YIKES).  I don't like circulars much, and I certainly don't like working with large size needles.  I used a size 7 circular needle and while the gauge was not as loose as the pattern, the result was still soft, and with a very nice drape.  The flexibility of this pattern is a big plus, in my book.