Slow Down for School Buses

 A new pattern for a summer tank is in the works!

 It is a very different cotton from the last two tanks I made;  this one is says it is DK but it looks like fingering weight to me!  It is knit on #5 needles and I am going to knit it by hand first

and I can see how it fits, etc, before I tweak the pattern for a machine knit!

The swatch is completed, let the knitting begin!

I am hoping for a slow down to our schedule because school has started.

I am anticipating structure and order to my days;  tell me it is so! 

Even though BoyWonder said he changed his mind about going to kindergarten!

Empty!

 We were caught between two fronts on Saturday-

it was beautiful and noisy-with flashes of lightening both north and south of us!

The boys enjoyed some cousin time when my youngest son and family came for a visit.

 They found a turtle trying to cross the road-they took him out back 

where he could safely find a pond without any pavement to try and navigate! 

 The kids bravely 'touched' him!

After the storms...there was a rainbow-a partial that was so beautiful!

I worked very little on anything textile-it was all grandchildren and family!

We'll see what this week brings my way!

Pieces Make a Whole!

The simple charm pack is pieced and waiting for a backing! 

 I made another newborn hat and when I removed it, 

I saw that I had made the brim flat instead of doubled-sure enough, 

I had forgotten to set the right button for that part!

I did a bit of hand stitching to join the cast on edge to the top of the pink and all was right again! 

Seamed up and with a pom pom, I have a completed had 

with a pattern that won't need tweaking!

I used the sport weight yarn from Hobby Lobby,

Sweet Baby Bee which is a nice soft yarn 

BUT

it tangles from the skein and while trying to cake it up!

Throw Your Hat In!

 Another baby hat-this one out of sport weight yarn on the new knitting machine,

it has a  x 1 rib at the brim, 

The yarn split something awful but other than that,

the lessons I have been learning were successful!

 Notes are essential because while you are doing the actual knitting,

you cannot measure the fabric on the machine; 

the weights stretch everything beyond reality so you have to rely on your

gauge swatches.

For example, I doubted my numbers and stopped 8 rows short of what I had planned

and when I seamed the hat up-

sure enough,  it is one inch too short!

I am happy with what I learned today.

More tomorrow.

Each night I try to add to the Mystical Lanterns pile.

Sometimes I only manage one, other nights I can manage 2-3.

They add up either way.

And remember the lavender/blue and yellow silk from a few months ago?

That is carried around in my purse for out-and-about knitting

because you just never know when you need to pull out some patience!

Mama and Baby

The mama's hat worked very quickly

in the worsted yarn.

There was enough yarn left to make a baby's to match.

It is so easy to sit and do a few rows in between things;

I don't think I want to stop.....

It Works!

I tweaked the number of stitches and rows 

to make a child's sized hat!

I only managed to squeeze in an hour of craft time today

and this is the result.

Very pleasing.

Tomorrow, the ladies version.

Prototype Hat

  

This is 50 rows of knitting-a matter of minutes is all !

 In no time at all, I had the brim folded up to the live needles and another 30 rows knitted.

That's the part that takes the longest-a whole 10 minutes!

The k2tog also takes 10 minutes and then in no time, the hat is off the needles and being seamed up!

 It is an adult sized, doubled brim hat.

 I was very pleased with the finished item but it needed something..........

 I pulled out the pom pom maker and used up a bit of the left over yarn and sure enough-

 Now it is finished!  

A pom pom is not usually my favorite addition but I smiled because this hat needed one!

Now to learn how to make several sizes;  

it's a good thing I am good at making notes!

(Note -only one skein is needed of the Caron variegated yarn

and at only $2.94 a skein, 

there will be a whole pile of these ready for the shelter 

when the cold snaps comes this winter.)

*****this hat was made on the Bond knitting machine

not my fancy new one

Enough!

 Today I decided I was beyond sick of the unfinished bird bath on my porch!

Even though it was so humid out even early this morning, 

I put the tile adhesive down and began the process of putting those little

squares down on the bowl of the bath!

It didn't take as long as I thought it would and in an hour,

I walked away with all the clean up done, too!

(I have to wait for it to dry 24+ hours and then grout it -another 48 hours-

but by the weekend it will be out in the yard!)

I came in and pieced another row of blocks to cool down.

I wouldn't be able to go outside at all if there was no AC to come in to!

Meanwhile....

 Bill helped me clamp a board onto the crafting table so I could set up my new knitting machine and give it a real try now that I have cleaned and oiled it.

 After watching a bunch of videos, I was ready to give it a go!  I did it!  Now it will take a bit of practice to figure out the stitch sizes but that will come with experience-practicing is fun, too.
                                     
 I switched from a worsted weight to a sport weight and am practicing for another child's sweater to try out the new skills.

 See how it hangs down stretched to the max---tomorrow, I will be washing and blocking this to record a gauge swatch.  I am so excited to see this finally up and running with me!

 I also worked a few more parts to this quilt--these are not final arrangements-only pairing parts to keep it all straight and then I will be arranging the colors.

And while I flit around in the house with the boys;  cleaning, playing and building RR tracks,
this is what Bill was doing!  I got too close to the new lake's shoreline and almost lost the tractor!!!
He did manage to pull it out and has washed it down.  He can always do this again tomorrow!

Socks that Rock!

 I have a pair of completed, on-the-feet socks!!!!

This yarn is from the swap;  Dashing Dachs yarn, SW Merino/nylon in the Yoda colorway.

Worked on #1 needles over 64 stitches.  I love the way the lightening streaks across my feet!

 The rib is just right on a pair of legs.  The two socks did a good job of matching without any attempts to do so on my part.

 The other side just has an ankle strap with lots of green showing.  Perfect in every way!

There is enough for a square on my sock blanket and a baby hat for the hospital!

And wonder of wonders, Bill and I went on a lunch date to our fav restaurant.  

We sat in companionable silence soaking up the beauty in our view, we talked, laughed and remembered how much we could enjoy a meal alone together. 

We even got to see an Osprey scoop up a fish and fly away with it!

 (the boys were on a visit)

Small Things

 

 Half of the little stars are finished; catching up on the larger border for these two stars next.

 I matched all the pieces together and set them in here so they stay matched!

(little hands and furry paws both like to rearrange things I leave out!)

 Now each layer is within reach and ready to sew together in about 20 mins total.

And I am doing something unusual for me-

I am saving each of the 'cut off layers' of the flying geese segments 

and sewing them into little HST's;

since there are 8 matching pairs of triangles I could toss from each of the larger border stars,

I decided they are large enough to save for a little pinwheel quilt!

After all twelve blocks are completed, that yields 96  2 1/4" HST's

resulting in 24 pinwheel blocks each measuring 3 1/2" .

This is as close as you can drive the golf cart to our pond.

The pond has overflowed its banks completely, 

flooding the whole low-lying back acreage.

Many of the trees and bushes are turning yellow and dying.

 Our neighbor's back acreage adjacent to our pond lawn looks like Fall has come early.

The Maples are responding to the stress by turning color before they drop their leaves.  

A beautiful photo of death really.

As I turned to walk away, I saw this blue dragonfly right in front of me

resting in the viness!

 When I tried to get a close up, I caught him in flight instead! 

 And back home as I parked the cart, I spotted this large tiger swallowtail 

but he was determined not to let me photograph him straight on! 

 We are now entering our season of the butterfly;

August is the month we see our greatest number and you will be seeing more of these photos!

Experiments

 So I decided to use the rest of the Cotlin yarn to make a matching hand towel.  

I changed the size of the fabric stitches to make them closer (tighter hand).

 They turned out well but I wanted to try to tweak the idea a bit more-make the hems narrower and the faux I-cord edging a bit thicker.

 The dark towel used one whole skein of yarn, has narrower hems and one row more on the faux I-cord so it was a success!  And the whole thing took less than an hour with no hand work except for weaving in my yarn ends!

Now to use a yarn with with longer yardage so I can make a larger towel-

I'm thinking of using some of the cotton thread left over from my weaving projects!

Ahhh, Color Again!

 

 I played with a pile of Merino mini-rovings sampler pack I have had for years;

I carded them to make some colorful batts that will be spun over the next few months.

I dug out this charm pack and put them up on the design wall-

this is not the final arrangement;  I just put them up in a quick dark and light pattern.

I will keep arranging this for the next few days before I sew it together for a top.

I laughed at myself when I made this dishcloth on the knitting machine;

when I teach others to quilt or knit, 

I always say start easy and build your skills with one success after another as you progress.

I should've taken my own advice and made this first!

  I knit the center and then picked up stitches around the center 

and worked the garter stitches outwardly.  

I will play more tomorrow;  I think I will make a towel to match with this yarn,

 Cotlin from KnitPicks.