Busy time of year.

I know that everyone is busy at this time of year. So am I
And a bunch of things are gift sensitive, so I haven't been posting..... things on the internet have a way of getting around.

You know how it is. In the case of the two photos here... one has been given already (the felt Calcifer)
and the Christmas stocking is for a baby..... and they never check blog posts.
So here is hoping that all your gift crafting is going well and I hope to have a plethora of images and tales for you after the gift giving season is over.

A few finished things.

This week was a busy one, and boy did it go fast. I am a bit at a loss for what to say so this will not be a long post.
I was a lucky gal and my husband bought me some lovely beads when we took a day trip to Granville Island this summer.

It was wonderful of him.... and I promised that I would use them up.
So I did. Yay!

I am wearing the amethyst ones right now. Thank you Husband! Seriously they make me smile, just being done.
Also completed this morning a new cowl for my Dad, I used a Knit Picks alpaca blend in a light grey. It's just drying,and I have to tack in the ends, but other than that complete! Not a really exciting photo ad it's not a real pattern per se....so no photo.
Also completed this week are the baby burp cloths....
You may recall.

All done. Yay. Sorry for the post short on words..... long on photos. Hope you had a great week and I hope I can be inspired to write a more interesting post this week.

Hello Sunday!

The view from my door is calm and wet.....

for the most part a calm and grey day. Fall is like this around here. Nice to have a break from the rain.
So as it is not sunny and compelling outside the house..... this is what I am up to inside. (so far)
I have already done some tidying, and laundry folding while watching a nice movie is on the list as well, but that is not really interesting, so no photos of that. Sorry.

So here is something I am enjoying at the moment......

tea in a space mug. I love this mug, I got it from the Science fiction book club. Remember that? Does that even still exist or has it gone the way of the CD clubs of the last century.... lol. Oh my goodness..... it still lives!(well in the USA it does.... I wonder if I can join it? hmmmmmm oops, moving on)

I have been making great progress on the Jeweled Cowl, and honestly I stand by my earlier statement that this is going to be a multiple project pattern! Love this! It just grows so fast. Seriously I am not making time for this knit... and I am working on other projects, I swear. But I may have mentioned I have mentally planned at least TWO others and I think my mother-in-law likes it too.

The potential is endless, or it seems that way. Every time  I hear about another person's project it sounds AMAZING so I can't wait to see how everyone else in the KAL is doing. Oh, I had a question about the beads. I am using size 0/6 beads, and I love the colour. The weight is a bit of a concern though, I know some people are using a size smaller, 0/8 beads and I am wondering if that is better. This cowl has WEIGHT, as in the beads give it a space that drapes. It seems pretty heavy, so I think another project may have my choice of beads change. This one is fine the way it is. I always have a tester. lol

I have been knitting away randomly on a  mustgo afghan.  It's out in the TV room so I can work on it if I am sitting and have nothing else within reach/appropriate to work on.

Called a Must- go because I have a bunch of Homespun leftovers from various baby blankets and random projects when I was less interested in fiber content than I was in just knitting something I liked in a nice colour. It's washable and handy lots of big boxes have it. Anyway, it was just sitting there and I thought I should do something... so I have wound it into balls it's in a box covered by an opaque bag and I have my husband grab a random ball for me when I am finished the one I am knitting. Random is good. No real formula here, just making a "dishcloth blanket" increase by yarn over two stitches from the start of each row and continue until you think that it's big enough across then decrease the same place. I have had my own stash supplemented by some of the swap yarns from the guild and donations as well..... it's hard to teach a newbie how to knit on boucle yarn. So it got added to my box. I even had a donation from the guild meeting. LOL and now everyone knows my little project is collecting scraps..... so I may have more coming.

Sam seems to think it's OK, so I must be doing something right. Other than that my day should consist of more laundry and hopefully some sewing. Updates on that if it happens, we shall see.
Be safe on the East Coast, I hope the weather is calm enough to be safe. Have a great day!

The Jeweled Cowl KAL

This past week at the FVKG meeting I taught the gang about beaded knitting with a crochet hook.... I think it went well.

Several of my pals and I also agreed to a Knit-a-long. We are making our own Jeweled Cowl each. It's a easy project that I hoped to engage the other guild members with. The beading is in the same area along the shawl and the lacy part is not super detailed. I love beads and knitting so I am really just trying to spread the addiction! LOL

So here is a beginning shot of my cowl. 

I am using one of my favorite colour- ways of Knit Picks Shadow lace weight yarn "Oregon Coast", it's a complicated colour. The base looks like a brown grey but, it's got so many facets to it. So to pick up on one of those colours, I'm using a purple centered iridescent bead. This is potato chip knitting at it's finest. 
The pattern is so easy to get around and the yarn is so lightweight, I can pack it in my day bag easy. You can see the beads in a small purple container, it's hinged with a lid and locks closed. Awesome for keeping a small amount of beads with me. 

If you haven't tried beads and crochet hooks, I recommend it. This is a great project already...... and I know that I am so going to be making more. The combinations are rushing past me every time I see my bead collection, or my lace yarns. Especially for those single skeins that I just had to have but had no plans for. This could be a great thing to do!

Anyway, hope you had a good weekend. Welcome fall!

Updates! Yes, more!

It feels like I am posting an awful lot lately..... but what can one do? Finishing things here and there, trying all sorts of new stuff! It's really fun and I just need to share it all!

Completed is the most recent Christmas Stocking, made from the Fireside Stocking pattern. I DO like this teal and white combo a whole bunch. There have been many admiring comments on the colour.
I already have a red and white one on the go as well. Seriously kids, this is not a chat and knit pattern. I have made more mistakes on these two stockings just trying to knit at lunch with my co-worker. Yikes!

Luckily I am happy to tink until it's right. Thankfully, all I have to do is tink, there has been no massive rip back and I plan on that NOT HAPPENING. Next up is a forest green and white stocking for my BF's baby boy. Yes, I do always pair with white. So far it keeps them looking classic and hopefully will prevent them from looking dated in five or ten years.

Couple of updates for inquiry's. I buy my oils locally at a Voyageur Soap and Candle Company but you could order from them online if you so desire. I have also seen some fantastic oils in town at a health food store, Nature's Fare Market including the peppermint oil (which I believe was an excellent price for the Now brand). The health food shop doesen't sell all the amazing oils that the soap company does, but they have a solid selection.

Updates still to come on the shower puck experiment as well. Hope you have a great weekend!

Hey there, and thanks!

Hi to all the folks who have been stopping by to leave me comments lately.It's so nice to hear from new voices as well as returning ones. Thanks for taking the time to comment, it means I am not talking to myself. LOL

I have been posting up a storm it seems..... I guess I just have so much to say. It seems a bit crazy to do jumbo posts, so I have been breaking things into reasonable size and posting more frequently.

Oh, and if your into the lip balm.... the three main ingredients are beeswax, coconut oil and honey. Check out the blog Frugal By Choice she was the inspiration and directions for that as well as my new experiment. Experiment?

For the moment, I will mention that I tried another DIY recipe that pintrest directed me to. (LOL It's all in there!)

I made shower discs for colds and congestion. The photos are pretty boring, but I will give a overview of what I did.

One cup of baking soda, half a cup of water or so... to make it a pudding-like consistency.

5 drops each of  Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, Eucalyptus Oil plus 2 drops of Peppermint Oil.
Then I spooned the mix out into the muffin tin that I had ready with liners.

I did put it in the oven for a bit on a low heat (200 F) as they seemed fairly moist. Even today, they are stable and I pulled them out of the tin..... but they still feel damp on the base.With strange indentations and everything! 

As you can see they liked the extra crinkles in the cups.

The idea behind these little pucks is; when you are having a shower and have a cold you drop one on the floor and enjoy the aroma as it helps clear your breathing up. Not tested yet.... so I am unsure what the result will be, but so far the scent is very clarifying. LOL We shall see. I will keep you posted on that. There were other adventures this week...... but I will post about those later.
Tried anything new lately?
Have a great one!

My Yarn Harvest goodies

So, Yarn Harvest was really fun, and super tiring!

We had a long day and I had put some money aside so I could splurge a bit. 

Here are the lovely yarns that followed me home!

Details? Why certainly, I would never deny you! From the left, a natural skein of Jamiseon Shetland, because I found the Sheep Carousel pattern on a table at Black Sheep and HAD to make one. I have other Shetland here so I only needed the lighter shade to make the fun teacozy, and I may have to make two! Love the pattern, and check the link... it goes to the designers site and not to Ravelry (not that there is anything wrong with this  Ravelry link, but some people are not on the bandwagon yet so I want to share the joy with everyone)

Next, moving right a beautiful skein of Sweet Georgia Tough love sock in the colourway Boheme....... yummy isn't it? Here is a close up.

Because you wanted that, right? The cool thing about buying Sweet Georgia yarns during Yarn Harvest is you get to visit her in her studio! Smell the wool and see the racks of drying fiber and fleece. A great experience, especially when the lovely Felica is herself in attendance. Thanks Felicia for your creative beauty. 
I didn't just buy one skein at her studio though, I bought two. The beautiful purple on the far right is the colourway Amethyst. It really looks gorgeous. (they all look gorgeous)

A closer look.....

Finally I picked up a skein from a indie dyer I had never encountered before indigodragonfly. This skein is called "Paging Dr. Smart-ass" LOL

She has some great names for her colourways. You can find her at indigodragonfly.ca
That's it, except for some hand lotion and some new sock needles to replace a broken pair.......oh, there was one other thing.

I won a prize!
From the new shop Wet Coast Wools in Vancouver..... it's a slipper kit that is a thrummed slipper! This is a technique that I have never attempted, so I am excited to try it out. Progress shots are a promise. All this beautiful wool and I have no plans yet... LOL isn't that always the way?

Update on the Lip Balm.....

So far.... it's been great. I handed some out to friends and family (because seriously... a dozen!) and have mentioned that I want opinions. 
One pal has said it seemed a bit hard to her (less beeswax, or more honey would make it softer apparently)
I have mine in my pocket and I am super happy with it. It isn't super sweet, and there is almost no fragrance.
It keeps my lips soft for ages!
If you have considered it, I recommend it. The recipe is linked in the original post, and does not call for mango butter. That was a personal addition based on the properties of the butter itself and the fact that I had easy access to it.
The spearmint is a hit too.
Hopefully I will get some constructive feedback. Personally, more honey may be something I will test.
Thanks for listening...... and thanks to everyone who has visited from other blogs and left comments. That makes my day!

Things are moving along

Yes, my needles are moving.....

Knitting is still a big crafty, creative area in my life!

I have a few things on the go at the moment.... and a few finished objects.

First is a new Christmas Stocking that has just been flying! Since I mentioned that there are a few babies coming into our life soon, you can probably imagine that a few of these are planned, you may also recall that I dyed several colours of wool to do these.

Teal and Cream. I have to admit it's a bit boring, but I think it's because I have spoiled myself with kettle dyed yarn and the subtle colour changes always make the knitting more enjoyable for me. That being said I think it's rather handsome.This could honestly be done any time now if I just finish the bind off, tack down the flap and block the thing!

Also moving through a new pair of fingerless gloves for the gal who had been giving to me in my Sorority. (Thanks Sarah!) I hope she likes them, but they are her colours...... so I think it will go over well.

Finally I wanted to share the Prospero Hoodie that I have been knitting for my sister's kids. I think it's sufficiently unisex  for both of them to get use out of it, also super-wash wool makes it easy for my sis to care for it. I like the pattern, and I am considering a second. Knitting this has been so enjoyable. The pattern is interesting and the colour is fantastic, not to mention that the yarn is soft and pleasant in the hand.

The body and two small sleeves, almost ready to join. This goes fast when I can find time to devote to it.
I have more things that are still being worked on. Several of the sweaters that I wanted to have done for the fall are still in limbo, but I am ok with that. I have a few new ideas about getting some zippers in there, so hopefully that will be something to show off soon.
Stay tuned for more updates on the projects spilling over the edge of my bins!

Finished Object!

All done a new pair of fingerless gloves! These are a gift, so not for me..... I really should knit myself another pair.

I can't find the other fingerless gloves I made. I know where my mittens are, but not the fingerless gloves. Hmmmmm. Another project to add to the list! I have used this patter several times, and it's easy, and well written. I am sure I mentioned it before. It's loosely based on Porphyria. This pattern only has a link through Ravelry if you would like to use it. I keep making gloves from it because it's easy to remember and the instructions are good. I am sure I have mentioned it in another post. So...... all done for today.

New Obsession

Seriously, Pintrest is a bad thing...... I think.

So many inspiring things, I can hop from person to crafty person and enjoy all the DIY available. There is much "Wow, I can do that?" or "Do we have any tiles I can paint?" and sometimes"My sister and I are working on cracking marbles after heating them in the oven today"

Good times.

One of the first things I found that I decided I must try was Lip Balm thanks to Sarah at the blog Frugal By Choice. It looked so easy...... and yummy........ so I wanted to make it happen for me!

So I did.

A little local Beeswax from my favorite honey farm, Campbell's Gold, a stop to our local soap makers supply and I was good to go! Honey lip balm from my stove! It's still cooling on my counter right now. I think I may have added too much coconut oil.... or mango butter because it seems quite soft. However, this was my first test! Now to hand it out and get some feedback from friends and loved ones.

Super simple, and I still have a TON of my ingredients left!

I grated the beeswax from the block, and heated it in a hot water bath in a thrift store measuring cup.

Once it had melted I added coconut oil (which I buy in solid form) and some mango butter. My measuring was less than accurate in this area which is why I think it may have been a bit overboard.

Let those melt in and then added two tablespoons of honey (as I didn't want the solid to be too soft)

Prepared the containers (the egg carton trick was from another blog that mentioned lip balm..... smart!)

Then I poured the mix in...... added some spearmint to two of the tubes. I marked those, you can see it in the top photo. All done! The hardest thing was grating the beeswax, but I think it was worth it. I hope they turn out well, I want to move on to lotion bars next! 

It was seriously fun to try something so new and easy. I just love the fact that it all only filled half of that measuring cup, but I have a dozen new lip balms! LOL
Well, I guess the fact that I have plans for more just makes it obvious that I had fun. Have you been up to anything new lately?

Been busy!

Hey gang.
I have been busy, but sadly absent from this blog community.
Sorry about that... I just always sit at the computer and get sucked into other kinds of stuff (like pintrest........ don't judge me)

Let's see what I have to report.
I spent an afternoon a few weeks ago getting a pile of baby burp cloths ready for sewing. Turns out that we have to prep for a new family member from both sides, as well as several family friends....

so I got prepared. They are cut, paired and ready to sew up. Now all I have to do is get my kitchen table cleared off! 

I picked up a new, larger cutting mat with one of the famous 40% off coupons from a well known big box and it worked out really well. as you can see from the variety of fabrics, I have anticipated both genders. In some cases families find out the sex and in others.... we wait.

In addition I was dealing with the last of the summer berries.

I picked enough blackberries just down the street from our home, to fill two large freezer bags. It really is nice to live so near farmland. 

There were other things going on during weekends of course...... the Yarn Harvest was two weeks ago and I really should show you what I picked up as my gals and I toured the local yarn shops...... yes, must get that stuff photographed!

Husband and I are trying to get a creative studio set up in our second bedroom, and we have been pulling out the carpet to allow us to be a bit dirty back there. I have been consolidating my fabric, yarn ans craft projects as much as I can so they are reasonably easy to move around and store if we need to put them in the attic or under the stairs while we move things. It will be great, I can get my pottery wheel up and we can organize the leather working area too. 

Did I mention pintrest? Yes...... I may not be on social media. But pintrest grabbed me. Dang it...... so much to see. Drop me a line if you want to link up..... I'd love to see your boards. Okay, I have stuff going on behind me so I will end here and drop in for another post later. :) Happy crafting!

More Dyeing

This dyeing pre-dates the wool from the other week, but I never posted it. Ah..... summer blogging! So un-scheduled, random and odd.

Tye dye! I did a program for my sorority ladies, and it was fantastic! Bit before the program day, I wanted to remind myself of the procedure and that I could do it. It's been years! There was a post on the prep day... this is a post about the second day of dye!

Before

After

This is my favorite, it's faded a bit with washing.... but I love wearing it! Folded in half and then center spun. It was a great experiment.

I also really like how this one turned out.... Half one colour and half the other spun from the side, not the center.

Makes this.

Fun huh!
Thanks for looking! I don't know if I will be doing more dye this summer, but it was fun, and I am totally open to helping out if anyone wants to try.

Hunting can be fruitful!

I was wandering around Winners the other day........

And found this for $3. Everything is in it..... and now I can start the felting adventure I have been babbling to my friends about. Retail says about $25.

For all this! Sometimes I am soooooo my fathers' daughter! Searching for clearance deals! LOL. Thanks Winners for carrying amazing variety! (Remember that post about picking up supplies for good ideas...... yes this is one of those things. I already have a bunch of great roving from all sorts of places.)

Finished Shawl

Hello there!

I have finished a great shawl! My friend gifted me the Daybreak shawl from Stephen West. I was wanting to knit it and my fairy knitting godmother granted my wish!

This is it.....

I enjoyed it so much I had to rip out three inches of knitting because I got into the rythym of the increases in the first section. LOL

I used a Knit Picks Stroll and Sisu is the Black. My project page has more info. Both yarns were amazing and felt great to work with, I have to admit I want another skein of that rainbow colour!

It's fantastic! Not a kiddie rainbow, but not crazy either! There is enough left over that my niece wants a hat.... no kidding my 3 1/2 year old niece has requested a hat......... DONE! (awww first knitting request) It's not done yet, but it isn't fancy. Some ribbing and then stockinet stitch.... photos upon approval from her mom.

Tatting... who knew?

I know a few tatters, they make beautiful work.... and it just flies off their fingers.
Sound familiar? It's true. Apparently it's fashionable now......

Check out this article from Macleans. It even features a LYS. Awesome! Go Tatters!

Busy Summer bee

Sadly I do not have my own bees........ but I have been trying to finish off projects that I bought supplies for and never got around to. You know how it is, exciting, fresh and a amazing idea! You have to pick up everything that is ESSENTIAL for this idea. So I have to get to the final project or why did I get this stuff?

But it's a great idea! LOL

So I've done a bunch of different dyeing.

I have projects that require special colours and this is prep for that. Every one in a while, I do shop at the big box stores, to get the fisherman wool. White, 100% wool that I can't usually get at a LYS. This is the result. Two of the skeins are sock weight all the way from Knit Picks. This is going to make amazing stuff! I am excited. At least three skeins will be new Christmas stockings for some new family members. 

It was a great experiment in some ways. I usually dye with food colouring of some sort. Wiltons cake decorating is responsible for the sky blue, and the lighter green.

But they are less reliable. some colours separate in the heat of the water in ways you don't want and if you've never tried a specific colour before it can be unusual. For this reason I usually test and have a backup skein for a second dye-bath. Also over-dyeing is fantastic! In light of that. I tried some new dyes this time. Not food safe, so I had to find another way to do them in the pots I have.

This was my solution to using Rit dye on the stove top.........

We have a food sealer! So I made baggies and heat sealed them shut with the dye and pre-soaked yarn. It worked better than I thought, but I definitely learned what not to do next time. I have more variation in the skeins than I thought I would, one is solid.... but I poured the dye in over the wet yarn and sealed it. I should have let it sit a bit and squeezed the dye in more.  Needless to say all the bags got dropped in a pot of boiling water for 45 minutes. Then I let them cool overnight and rinsed them the next day. Only one dye was not exhausted. It was great. You can see in the top picture that the pink has quite a bit of white in it, and I have decided to over-dye that with a second pink colour..... it will be fantastic! I pre-soak wool in warm water with white vinegar.

I really love this, and honestly I appreciate the local dyers so much more for their consistency, and colour range. Those skeins are always worth the price! I know that I am looking for random variation from what I put on the stove, but they always do an amazing job.

Hope your summer of craft is going well. More from me later.

There is snoring

My house if filled with the sounds of naptime snoring from my husband, dog..... and the cat if you listen very carefully.

So what better time to update the blog!?

Looks like I have to upload some new photos too. I had some finishing. I completed the tan hat from my previous post, as well as the blue hat, a baby hat in the leftover blue and finally a second hat in the Elizabeth pattern by Jane Richmond.

Vancouver Mini Maker Faire was this weekend too and I volunteered yesterday. Always fun to teach folks how to knit, it makes them feel accomplished and happy. Gotta love a gift of time and skill. It was super tiring though, and I went to bed really early last night. Good times. I hope I'm not getting a cold I have vacation coming up.

A Hat, a shawl and a hat.

I may have mentioned that we (meaning my knitting guild) was given a bunch of yarn by some lovely knitters who are downsizing, in addition to willingly carting off the leftovers from our stash swap the other month. 

Wait..... I didn't mention that? 

Really?   

oh, I see.........

Well, um. It isn't staying at my house. Honest. Most of it is acrylic, or fun fur crazyness. I spent the other weekend winding it up to make learn to knit knits for Guild events. We generally set up at community events to get the word out about knitting and our guild...... for proof check the FVKG blog.

Any-way I did manage to find something nice at the bottom of one of the bags...... and I made a hat. It's even finished. YES! DONE!

The Elizabeth hat by Jane Richmond

I have had this hat in my queue for ages..... since she first put it out and I have just now knit it! It was very enjoyable and easy to knit. This photo is just before the final bind off. I should really have some photos of my hats on heads...... that would look better. So glad I used up that bulky alpaca blend. That one lost skein was super lonely in the bag of orange acrylic. It broke my heart. Now it's a hat, and happy.

I completed my Cassandra shawl as well and since I had an extra pair of blocking hands here on Sunday I enlisted help to get it done quicker. Thanks Jen!

Lovely isn't she. There are more photos on the project pages in Ravelry if you need more detail. Malibrigo lace in Purple Mystery.

Finally I began a second hat 

That looks alot like the first hat I already made out of this yarn. I liked it so much I wanted to make a second to give to my sister or my gal pal. We shall see. Who knows.....

Happy knitting!

Sunday trials

Today was an experiment day!

Our experiment was Tie Dye! Fun was had and learning happened!

I haven't tie dyed in ages, and I will be showing a few friends this week so I wanted to remind myself that it really was as easy as I recalled. It was! 

We set up.......

We decorated...

Several different items....

We marveled at the result!

)

Yay tie dye! Honestly Jen and I had fun and we are planning another dye day. Which could include more tie dye, as well as some general yarn dying too. If you haven't tried it, you should!!! There are tons of tutorials on the internet, as well included in some kits that you can buy. I know that my local art supply store Opus has a great couple of kits from a really good dye brand. If you don't have a boss shop line Opus around............ uummmmm   some of the big box stores also sell the brand Tulip kits. (honestly we went cheap and old school.... Tintex and Dyelon using a soda ash bath first) I honestly bought all the dye before I went to Opus for squeeze bottles..... ooopy. LOL  There may be more dye photos later this week as I am, as I mentioned teaching a group of ladies to do this Tuesday. Hope your weekend was sunny and bright!