Happy New Year!!!

Hello Everyone, 

I want to thank you all for following my blog, leaving great comments and being such great online friends. I hope you will join me for another great year of blogging and all things crafty in 2014. 

I look forward to all the new things I will be sewing this upcoming year. I did a lot of test patterns this past year and I go to do some embroidery too. I can not wait to show all of you my creations for E, our home, Holly, our family and friends. I will be finishing up a lot of WIP's and I will continue to do test patterns and I can't wait to post about them.

I have been knitting off and on this past year. I am still working on a sweater for E, a cabled cape for myself and another hat. I want to make knitted ornaments for next years tree and other homemade knitted gifts for family and friends.

Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful creations, ideas and techniques. I look forward to seeing everyone's new creations and learning something new from all of you.

E, this past year has been wonderful. We found our dream home and it is perfect. I look forward to another wonderful year with you and all of our new adventures coming up. I treasure you so very much and I love you with all of my heart and soul and to another wonderful year my love. 

I also want to wish my family and friends a very Happy and Healthy New Year!! I hope you had a wonderful evening and were safe!!

See you next year in 2014!!

Fun Fur Boa Scarf

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. We had a very enjoyable, busy, relaxing holiday season and a beautiful white Christmas.

I finished my fun fur boa scarf. I had bought this yarn a couple of years ago with my MIL and just didn't feel ready to knit it. Since I've been taking my knitting classes, I picked up my fluffy skeins and got to work. I just love how soft and fluffy it is.

I am also working on my first sweater for E and I will be busy sewing too.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!!

I am linking up with these parties and TCB.

A New Scarf for E

Hello Everyone,

 

Well, I finally finished E's matching scarf to the toque/hat I made here. I did take a break after making his toque/hat...only after my sweet little fur baby got into the skein of yarn I was working on. 

I tried for days to untangle the spider web of a mess and that is exactly how it looked on our great room floor. E tried to help me untangle it also and then I just looked at him, said "thank you for all of your hard work and help" and I cut the yarn closest to the skein. I bought a new skein and started again.

I love the yarn,  how soft it is and the color (sorry about how it looks like two different colors - I took the picutre of each in different rooms). I used Cascade Yarns Pacific and 3.0 mm needles (US #2)  - it was worth all the time and effort put into it. I will have to take a picture of E wearing both when we get our Winter hats, scarves, gloves out of storage.

Since I am done with my Halloween costume and I plan on starting E's costume right after the New Year I will be doing some knitting. I am currently working with Eyelash yarn and I am love how it looks so far. I will post about it when I am done and I think there are some family and friends that will want some for themselves.

 

I am linking up with these parties and TCB.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening and weekend!!

Knitting and Loving it!!

I have always wanted to learn how to knit. My Grandmother used to make my sister and I sweaters with cute matching hats. I started taking knitting classes at Wool Tyme here in Kingston at the end of summer and  I look forward to them every week.

I started out learning a Garter Stich or "g st" where you knit every row.

Photo source: Knit Picks

I then learned how to do a Stocking/Stockinette Stich or "st st" which is a combination of a knitted row followed by a purl row.

Photo Source: Knit Picks

Next, was a K2, P2 rib or 2x2 rib. This is a combination of knitting 2 stitches and purling 2 stitches.

Photo Source: Knit Picks

A checkerboard pattern is a combination of several K2, P2 rows follwed by an equal number of P2, K2 rows.

Photo Source: Cyber Seams

I then learned a making a dish cloth in a diamond pattern. The materials I used is 1 ball/skein of Sugar 'n Cream yarn and 1 pair of size 8mm US knitting needles (2 balls/skeins make 3 dish cloths). Here is how my first project came out.

Then I was ready to make my first hat/toque for E. I used a pattern from my instructor and used bamboo circular needles and knitted in the round for the very first time. It seemed intimidating, but, after a few rows, it made life simpler.

To avoid sewing seams, you can work in rounds using circular needles or double-pointed needles. To work in rounds, cast your stitches on one end of the needle the same as you would on a straight needle. Check to make sure that the cast-on lays flat and smooth and is not twisted. I added a stitch marker to the end of the needle to mark the beginning of the round and work the first round according to your pattern instructions.

As I got to the top of the hat it became very taut, so, I switched to double pointed needles. First, you evenly distribute your cast-on over three or four needles, keeping one needle out to knit with. Make sure the cast-on lays flat and smooth and no stitches are twisted. The needles either form a triangle (if you cast on to three needles) or a square (if you cast on to four needles). With the empty needle, knit all stitches on the first needle. When that needle is empty, use it to knit the stitches on the next needle. Continue to knit the stitches from each double-point onto an empty needle, working the stitches as instructed in the pattern.
 
I'm really happy with how this came out and I can't wait to see it on E. 

I am currently using the same yarn to make him a matching scarf also on circular needles, but, I'm not knitting in the round for this project.

I already have requests to make hats/scarfs for my family. I will post pictures when I complete those too.

I'm linking up with these parties.

Have a great weekend!!