Viveca Hunter Beret

Christmas gift making and stash-busting: I love it!  I did this beret in about a week; I was working on it just about every day.  Even if it was 2 rows, I was knitting away.

This is my second Viveca Beret.  My first one I knitted back in February with the softest yarn in the world, Flicker from Berroco (First Viveca Beret).  

I had heard on the radio that the "it" color for fall & winter was going to be forest green.  Perfect for my Viveca project.  The yarn I am using is Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% Acrylic, 20% Wool) in a dark hunter/forest green.  I used this yarn when I knitted the Shapeshifter Shrug in November of 2011.  I had about one and a half skeins leftover from that project. 

I always keep the patterns from the projects that I do and, thanks to my Craftolution #2, they are all organized in a 3-ring binder.  I place the pattern, gauge swatch and any other items that I may find useful if I were to ever do that project again.  In this case, I tucked away my handy flashcards with the pattern repeat on them.  Each card has one Row on it.  

This pattern has a total of 5 full pattern repeats.  Here is me at 2.5 repeats.  I think that I am only going to knit 4 repeats.  It should still look fine.

I knitted this on a size 8 circular needle, but am not joining in the round.  I knitted back and forth, as if they were straight needles.  This way the needle can accommodate a large number of sts easily.

Here is the beret at the 4 repeats and the crown shaping.  I only need to cut the yarn, thread the yarn through the live loops to close the top and seam the side closed.

The thing about substituting yarn, the project will not come out the same as the original.  It may not be a bad thing, but it also may not be a good thing.  This is did not come out exactly like my first one: brim is a bit large, hat does not slouch the same.  The Wool-Ease is a bit lighter in physical weight than Flicker, so that caused the slouch/drape to be a bit different.  

But I'm not complaining: look how cute it is on! 

I have transported my living room to a French Cafe.

It does look a bit big, but it is supposed to be slouchy.  Some online reviews of this pattern say that it was too big for them.  Not sure if they realize that it is not supposed to fit like a beanie.  

I have not decided who is going to receive this as a gift yet.  I just know that it is a cute project and I figured one of my friends may also feel the same way.  This beret may also look cute with a flower pin on the brim.  I'll think about it as Christmas draws near.

What are your ideas for handmade gifts this year? Let me know!

Books - Quarter 2

A busy knitting and crocheting life means a slow reading life.  I don't think I have ever finished this many knit/crochet projects in such a short time, so that being said: I've hardly had time to curl up with a book.

I have finished a couple books since March, and so I will share them with you today:

 5. This is book three of the Hilda Johansson series, in which the head housekeeper keeps finding dead bodies and solves the crime.  This book took place in the early 1900's when women doing the jobs of men was not received very well.  It starts out with Hilda (a Swede) and her boyfriend (an Irishman) go to the Carnival/Fair where the Irishman's uncle is planning a political speech.  Before the speeches are started the uncle's political rival is found dead and the uncle goes missing.  The uncle has been set-up and it is up to Hilda to prove it and find him.  Everyone is against this sort of behavior because she is a worker helping out a rich family and publicly dating outside of her nationality.  This also makes her a target and gets kidnapped herself.  She is locked in a basement room with only drug-laced water to drink.  She eventually discovers the real murderer and where the uncle was stashed, in addition to earning herself respect within the community.  This book was not as enjoyable as the first novel I read at the beginning of the year, but not bad.  I give it 2.5 thumbs up.

 6. My new bible.  Since I have discovered that I am gluten-sensitive last winter, I naturally had a lot of unanswered question on why there is a gluten/wheat allergy and how does that affect people, exactly.  This books has all the answers (or all the ones I knew to ask and ones I did not know to ask).  It goes over what it is, how the body deals with gluten in us sensitive folks to ones that suffer from full-blown Celiac disease.  It discusses the many forms gluten can take on, what they are named and how to avoid them in our everyday lives.  It gives hints on how to alter the way one bakes using different rice and nut flour blends in addition to where to shop for the gluten-free alternatives to our favorite foods.  Most importantly, it helps you accept this new life style change by giving you the facts you need to process the huge life change.

What have I learned as a result of reading these two books?  Well, for the first one, it is a bit of a stretch, but when you are locked in a large dark room, unstitch the lace edging from your underwear and use it as a "find your way back to your original spot" string so you don't get disoriented from the darkness.  (Yes, this is what Hilda did when she was locked in the basement.  She must've had some pretty frilly undies!)

I have learned a tremendous amount from the Gluten Free book that I cannot possibly list them all out.  One important thing is to not assume that something does not contain a wheat ingredient.  Even food items such as soy sauce and lots of creamy salad dressings has wheat or modified food starch (yes, it's often derived from wheat).  The onus is on you to figure it out by asking a ton of questions and read food labels very carefully.  Lots of people do not know what gluten is or how that affects people so you may order a salad and ask to hold the croutons, but you may get them in your salad anyway.  I am not that sensitive to it that I could not just pick them out, but not the case for all affected people.

I am currently reading two books that I just cannot get into.  One is a murder-drama novel that the murder happened in the beginning and nothing else since.  C'mon, will there be another murder; will all the excitement be squeezed into the last two chapters, as is typical with so many first novels?  Then the second one is a fiction novel based on a true story and it's just not that interesting.  I already gave up reading another book because it was just plain dumb in the first two chapters, that I was like, "Forget this!  There are way better books on my shelf than this waste of paper." 

I may have to say the same thing about the non-fiction/fiction book I mentioned before.  I think I'll just give it back to the gal I borrowed it from and know not to mind her book suggestions.  I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just that we apparently are not into the same style of writing. 

I hope you guys are having better luck with your book selections.  Happy reading!

Craft-no-lutions

I have been reflecting on my Craftolutions from 2011 and I have not really accomplished many of them (to be truly honest).  I attempted to do something with a few of them, but then forgot about them and never completed what I started.  Go figure.

I will highlight them quickly:

1. Complete UFO's:  I did give away some yarn that someone else can repurpose, but I have not finished any of my UFO (unfinished object).  There is a reason why they are unfinished and it is because I don't really like them.  Life's too short to work on something that you dislike.
2. Organize Projects in Binders:  I did buy a binder and page protectors, I grabbed all of the projects, patterns, ideas and the such and placed them in a project bag, but that's about it.  I have added to the bag occasionally, but have not put them in page protectors.  One thing I am doing is my current patterns, I'm putting them in the page protector right in the beginning so when I do get to that binder, they are good to go.
3. Have Patience: Yes, I believe that I have gotten better at this.  I give myself more time and often come up with a Plan B, in case something goes awry. I can give my first Check to this one.
4. Craft for Charity: I did not do this.  I feel awful not having time to do this; I have no excuse.  I have enough extra yarn and extra scraps of fabric, I just need to commit to this.
5. Teach Someone to Knit: I think a friend or two may be interested in learning, but I have not pressed anyone to learn.  I can't make someone learn!  They know I do it, I knit in public (in front of them, often) and some read this blog.  If that's not enough to convince someone that this is the hobby they have been missing out on, then I'm okay with that.
6. Realistic Projects: I was very realistic with projects this year.  So realistic, that I only knitted 4 toddler hats for Christmas.  I knew I was not going to finish a project for each family member and friend, so I just went real and bought gifts.  So much less stressful.  The hats came out cute, that is good enough for me. Check #2.
7. Jog in 5K's: I have been jogging.  I jog about 3 times a week, but I could never get past 2 to 2.5 miles.  A 5K is 3.2 miles.  This year I have signed up for a 5K this February and have been jogging a 3.5 mile loop in my neighborhood once a week.  It ain't pretty, but I can do it.  It's all in my head, I convince myself that it's too hard, but I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and I will eventually get to the finish line.
8. Read More: I already did a post on this just this month and I am no longer putting a "must read" number on my leisure book reading.  I was only one book short and I could have squeezed it in, but I just did not care for the pressure.

So, if you have been counting, I only completed 2 Craftolution.  To solve this issue, I've changed it from Craftolutions to Craft-no-lutions.  I have already made a few (although they may seem sort of self-centered).  I might be able to stick to these better:

1. I will make less for other people and consider myself for projects first.  I get the feeling that not all handmade gifts are appreciated.  So, that being said, I will make what I like, for me.
2. Read as many or a few books as I like.  This was an internal battle for me, but it is for the best.
3. Not stress over things that I have no control over.  This is a huge one for me.  I am a worry-wort, big time.  I worry about everyone else and not enough about me.  This has already taken effect a few months back, so I'm managing the real stress by jogging, thinking with a clearer head and not being such a perfectionist (Just let it go...).

That's it.  Yes, no "I will do this and I will do that."  I will do it, if I feel like it.  Yea to the new me.

I have started a new fitness thing (so cliche, I know), that counts calories.  It is called MyFitnessPal.  It is an online data base and food diary (also have apps for the iphone, Android and Blackberry).    My sister turned me onto it and I started it for fun.  Now, I am thinking that this is a good thing and I really want to stick with it.  It allows you to search their food and exercise database for just about anything and everything.  It shows nutrition info and helps determine calories burned during an exercise.  It teaches you to take notice what you eat and how much of it.  It is a tool to help you change your mindset on food and how you live based on that.

I am learning about portion size.  My portions were not normal; they were too large.  If you want to eat more, guess what?  You have to exercise to build up your calorie bank again.  It makes me want to get out and get moving so I can eat something good.  I'm sure after a time, I will not crave bad stuff.  You have to make the switch from eating a little bit of bad-for-you food, to a lot of good-for-you food.  It is hard at first and I almost quit (I know, it happened after only 1 week on the food diary/calorie counting) but I came to terms with how I'm living now (bad eating habits and an embarrassing waistline) and how I want to live (healthy eating habits, an active lifestyle and a toned body).  That is my goal.

I've only lost a few pounds and don't look any different, but I feel so much better, physically and mentally.  It's a great feeling.

If you check it out and join, add me as a friend.  My username is silvermox.  We will motivate each other!  Go ahead, try it!!

Books - Fourth Quarter

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and hope that you are not wasting this Sunday recuperating!  Today officially leaves 2011 behind.  It was a good year for me, so I hope that 2012 will be just as good or better.

I had a goal of 17 books this year, because that was one more than I read in 2010.  The total is in and I did not meet the goal.  I did match what I read in 2010, so I'm still content.  Here are my last 3 books of 2011:

14. This book is considered a "Romantic Suspense."  It had some mystery with a sex scene or two thrown in there - I liked it!  A woman moves from the city back to her small hometown in Georgia, where she is opening up a B&B in the home that was her grandmother's.  She instantly is attacked by her teenage crush because he is now the town sheriff and she is a suspected burglar. Of course, the teenage crush is the best-looking bachelor in town who is afraid of commitment.  As predictable as this book was, it was enjoyable with the mystery of who keeps breaking into her B&B and why?  She and the hunky sheriff solve the crime and hook-up.  I give it 3 thumbs up.

15.  I can't tell you enough how much I love reading Jodi Picoult.  Her books get so deep into a subject that is not all that common that you actually learn a thing or two.  This story is about a high school that had the ultimate act of violence occur at it: a shooting.  A troubled teen heads into the school one morning and shoots and kills 10 students and harms several others.  One of the main characters is an eye witness who can't remember what actually occurred that morning.  This story has you feeling sorry for the kids who die along with the student who killed them.  You are immersed into seeing the school system, the police investigation, the court system and how teens really feel inside even though they may not portray it on the outside.  You will have to read the book to find out what is "nineteen minutes."  I give it 5 thumbs up.

16.  This was a fitting book for winter.  I also enjoy reading Nevada Barr.  I had read most of these books, which is a series with the character Anna Pigeon.  She is a park ranger who is assigned a three month assignment on Isle Royale National Park, located in the middle of Lake Superior, in the winter.  The park has a 50-year scientific study to study the behavior of wolves.  Think camping in negative degree weather with hungry animals roaming around you.  Not my idea of a good time, but people do it!  The study is being threatened by Homeland Security and the scientists are not happy.  One of the scientists is ravaged by what appears to be a wolf, but it is very suspicious, then a second scientist goes missing.  Anna tries to be careful while trying to find out who and why someone may be the cause of these "mishaps."  No longer is it just cold outside, but also in the heart of someone at the island.  I give it 3.5 thumbs up.

I enjoy reading but I also enjoy knitting and sewing, so it is hard to find the time to do all of them, never mind all of them at once.  I have so many books on my book shelf, that I do not need to buy another book for a few years, if I read at the rate I'm reading.  I love books though, and can't resist buying them and borrowing them. 

I am not going to set a goal for 2012.  Actually, my goal is to relax more and not worry so much.  That is a challenge all in itself.  So, setting a goal for a leisure activity, like reading, is not something I am going to repeat.

As for the Craftolutions....we'll see.

Books - Third Quarter

Since I have been a knitting machine lately, I have not had a chance to read very many books.  Yeah, I slacked off a bit these last few months.  I did get to two books, so here they were (I'm continuing the numbering from where I left off last):

12. I got this book a million years ago from my friend Kj.  After my last book, I needed something light.  I have read many, many Jennifer Crusie books, so I knew what to expect.  This is a romantic comedy, but not really chic-lit.  A woman and her two friends hang out at a bar.  She just got dumped by a guy that she really did not like that much; she's ticked off.  He also goes to the same bar and makes this bet with a guy, that is not his friend, but not a stranger either, that he can't get that woman (his ex) into the sack in one month.  She overhears this bet and she plays along when he asks her out.  They are not each other's type.  They both end up having feelings for each other but they won't admit that to themselves or each other that they do because of the bet.  There are quirky scenarios and funny lines that are enjoyable for a happily-ever-after ending.  I rate this 3.5 thumbs up.

13. This is the sequel to Gone, Baby Gone.  That first book became a movie with actors that I did not picture in my mind's eye.  But, I had read that book so long before it was a movie that I did not feel nutty about not watching it.  This book series is about two private detectives that are freelance and don't always go by the book when getting info.  They are a bit edgy, but in the movie, they were shown as just regular people, like you or I, doing that job.  Eh, not what I pictured, but okay.  The background is that a little girl goes missing, reported to the police and hired the PI by the girl's aunt.  They find the little girl, but it did not turn out to be as anyone ever suspected.  Doing the right thing did not mean that it was the right thing to do (read the first book, you'll get what I mean).  This book takes place 13 years later, and the same girl (now a teenager) goes missing again.  This book takes place in Mass, so I always get a kick out of the lingo and knowing the locations that they describe.  Some scenes seem a bit far-fetched, but some people's lives very well might be that violent.  This was an excellent sequel that I would recommend.  I rate it a 4 thumbs up.

Yup, so there is my huge list.  I know, slacker, right?  Well, I'm back with my nose in a book after that last one.  I love how books can make you forget everything around you; that is a sign of a great storyteller.  I hope my next 4 books are just as great as this one.

Has anyone gotten into the other Dennis Lehane novels such as Mystic River or Shutter Island?  Let me know how you liked them. Does anyone know any other books that take place in Mass that you enjoyed?  Let me know that, too!

Happy Reading!

Books - Second Quarter - Part 2

My summer reading continues.  So far I have read a total of 11 books to date at the end of this post.  So, according to my Craftolutions, I only need six more to go.  That is about one book a month.  I have a ton of books on my book shelf that I have not read and I can't help but buy more when I go to book sales.  How can you pass up a hardcover book for a buck or a paperback for a quarter?  I can't! 

I only have two books to add to the Second Quarter reading list.  I read these while on vacation at the end of June.  I will continue the numbering, as before:

10.  This book I bought specifically for a beach read.  It is a chic-lit book that takes place in Hawaii.  Perfect!  A woman, Keeley, from the states (a mainlander) moves to Hawaii to study volcanos.  She meets a Hawaiian tour guide, Kam, and they get married.  They have a son (not necessarily in that order) and enjoy life for 5 years.  Keeley found out that Kam was cheating and she has served him divorce papers on the fourth of July.  Independence Day.  Kam is planning on moving to Fiji with the new girlfriend and wants sole custody of the son.  Meanwhile, there are funny lines and slightly outrageous situations that  Keeley finds herself in.  The volcano that Keeley is studying is supposed to be dead, but she finds that something is brewing inside it that she must warn the people of Hawaii about.  She meets someone that claims he know Davey Jones from the Monkeys and that gets her interested in him.  Through the bad-timing scenarios and misunderstandings, she is confused on whether divorcing Kam is the right thing to do.  This is a cute book, worth reading on the beach, but hard to take serious (can you ever take chic-lit serious?).  I give it 3 thumbs up.

11. This book I have been wanting to read for awhile.  This book takes place in a small town in Dublin, Ireland.  Three children about 12 years old go and play in the woods behind their town.  They play in these woods everyday, so this day should not be any different.  But then they don't come home that night and a search party goes out to look for them.  They find one of the children in the woods alone with blood in his sneakers.  He cannot remember what happened that night.  Twenty years later, he has changed his name and is now a detective investigating murders in Dublin and still cannot remember what happened to the other two children.  A case comes up involving another young child, a girl, in the very woods where his friends disappeared.  They give him and his partner the case, not knowing the connection he had with the area.  Does the lone survivor/detective ever figure out what happened 20 years ago in the woods?  Can he solve this case knowing details of the old case?  This book is a who-done-it suspense that will keep your attention.  It is a very dark story in which there are no light parts that make you laugh or smile, but it was very good modern day detective novel.  I rate it 3 thumbs up.

After that last book, I think I need some time off from reading.  I read that book in less than a week due to traveling, so I felt its weight on me and it put me in a funk.  My next one will be have to be a light-hearted and easy read to get me back into the swing of things.

Tell me, what is on your summer reading list?

Books - Second Quarter - Part 1

So, I as I mentioned in my Books - First Quarter post, I am reading a ton of books this year.  I figure that I need to read about one book every 3 weeks or so.  I go in spurts where that is all I do is read, where my nose is in a book every free second of the day, to not picking up a book in over a week.  I figure that summer is where I pick up my slack and I always travel at some point during the year and an airport and plane are the best places to read large chunks at a time.  I am off to a slow start this quarter, but I will make it up.  I will start the numbering from where I left off, so I can better track what number I'm on.

To keep this post fairly breif, I will post my books in two parts.  Here is part one.

I usually rate them (and I encourage debate, if you feel my rating was not enough or was too high) on a 5 thumbs-up scale.  One being the lowest and five being the best.

5. This book I borrowed from a friend at work.  It takes place over 100 years ago in England and Brazil.  This book is told by both the husband, Thomas, who was a naturalist that studied butterflies as a hobby and his wife, Sophie, that encouraged his hobby.  He gets the opportunity to travel to Brazil's rainforests on an expedition with several other men who study botany, insects, wildlife, and birds as scientists.  He goes and leaves Sophie behind for 6 months while he tries to find a certain specimen of butterfly that has been told to him as a myth.  While she is dealing with his intermittent letters home he is thrilled to have such an opportunity.  This thrill is turned into obsession with finding this butterfly and horror at the actions he sees while in the rainforest.  He comes back home mute.  Sophie cannot understand why he won't speak and goes to much length to help him.  At the end of the book, you find out why he came home mute and it is shocking.  While this book is fiction, some of the accounts are base on a true life story, which is why the ending is surprising.  A very good read.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

6. Here is my first classic novel since college.  I thought I would go to Jane Austen's first book, even though it may not be her best work.  I wanted to understand her from the beginning.  It took a bit to read and get the flow of their speech, but it was not as bad as I thought!  It takes place in rural England in the 1800's.  It is about a young girl, Catherine, 17 years old going to Bath, England with a rich neighbor couple.  She is introduced into society only knowing the etiquette that she learned growing up, so she was very naive when interacting with other adults.  She would not realize when someone was being sarcastic, etc.  Once you see this is happening, she gets herself into a situation where she likes a guy named Henry (finds him "most agreeable") and is tryng to run into him at the social hall ("Pump Room") and the theater.  Meanwhile another guy named John that she finds most disagreeable is trying to win her affection but is doing it by sabotaging any interaction she may have with Henry.  But she is not entirely naive because she befriends Henry's sister to get closer to Henry.  You go girl!  Although some parts were dull and the end was a bit hurried and did not go into a lot of detail of some scenes that may have warrented further chapter and verse, it was a novel that started Jane Austen's writing career so one has to respect it.  I rated it 3 thumbs up.

7. This book was recommended to me from Vince's mother.  She has his entire book collection.  This book is filled with characters that crave power.  It starts out in the 1800's with a diamond boom in South Africa.  A Scot leaves his home country to try to tap into those diamonds.  This book takes you on a journey of greed, deception and ultimate power.  Each generation of this Scot's heritage is hungrier than the previous.  The lengths that they will go to to win the game they play with money and people are beyond reason.  The book is a classic suspense tale of what happens to each one as the greed to posses takes hold.  The character string is Jaime McGregor starting in South Africa, almost dying.  He marries the daughter of the man who almost killed him, Margaret.  Meanwhile he builds an international corporation.  They have two children, one is killed and the other, Kate, goes on to take over the buisness.  She marries her father's right-hand man.  They have a son, Tony.  Tony is manipulated by Kate each day of his life and makes him her puppet.  He marries and has twin daughters, Eve and Alexandra.  Tony attempts to kill Kate when he sees what she has done to his life and is commited to an insane asylum.  The twins are to inherit everything.  Eve is the greedy one and attempts to murder her sister starting from age 5 to obtain her sister's inheritance.  Eve is disinherited and Alexandra does not want the corporation.  Alexandra marries a doctor and has a son, Robert.  In the end, Kate is still trying to mold the perfect heir to the corporation. This book was very intriguing and hard to put down.  I rated it 4.5 thumbs up.

8. This book was written by a local Floridian author.  This book I have had on my book shelf for a few years and it is a signed copy.  I usually give my books away when I am done, but not my signed copies!  This mystery takes place in Key West.  The main character, Alex, is a beach bum that discovers that his ex-girlfriends are being murdered on the island.  The first serial murder is a woman that looks like his current girlfriend, Annie.  Alex is a freelance photographer and often takes jobs photgraphing crime scenes and this is how he finds one of his ex-girlfriends, dead.  He then figures that maybe Annie should have been the first victim.  This book throws a ton of characters at you all at once, so it was hard remembering who is who in this who-done-it.  Since Alex works with the local police, he has contacts who let him know some of the clues and then he tries to find out on his own who is killing these women so he can clear his name.  Meanwhile he finds out that Annie is sleeping around with a sleezy lawyer.  This sleezy lawyer is involved with these murders along with a detective and an old aquintenace from Alex's past.  Alex's ex-girlfriends are also connected to these men which Alex is slowly figuring out.  Alex travels to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and even Georgia to snoop out clues on these guys.  I don't think that I am describing this story very well, but you get the gist of it: Murder, old girlfriends and deception.  It was an interesting read.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

9.  This is a mystery that I bought at a library book sale in St Pete.  It takes place at the turn of the 20th century in London, England. The main characters are William Monk, a former police detective turned private eye (aka an agent of enquiry) and his wife Hester Monk, a hospital volunteer who is crusading for cleaner and more educated health care facilities.  A man seeks out Mr. Monk for his enquiry ability in finding his missing fiance.  This novel is very Sherlock Holmes-ish and takes the reader into the rural working class of London to find the missing fiance only to discover a murdered coachman and hidden secrets that the found fiance would rather be unjustly hung for the murder than share with anyone.  This novel is one of the many tales with William Monk written by Anne Perry.  Very intriging; would read more of this series.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

I will be taking a break from blogging for the next few weeks but hope to finish a few more books and knit a baby blanket before June is over.

I may post some pics from my vacation, but I'm not promising anything!  See ya in a few week!

Glace Shrug - Part 1

My knitting has taken a backseat in the last month or two and now I am ready to pick-up my needles again.  Here is a UFO (Unfinished Object) that I had pulled out of my organization session back in Craftolution Update - Organize post in March.  Originally, it was to be a spaghetti strap tank top knitted out of Glace from Berroco.  It is a 100% rayon ribbon.  It is also discontinued, so I cannot purchase this yarn any longer.

Rescued UFO

I was knitting the green colored tank in the booklet you see in the picture above.  The pattern is called Daniela.  I loved it.  Now, the history behind this tank top, and why this post is called Shrug and not Tank, is that I attempted this pattern two times over the course of the years.  It is not that it is a difficult pattern, but just a myriad of mistakes I encountered along the way. 

My first attempt, I was fairly new to knitting and wanted to knit a "real" project that I would wear.  It started fine, I did my gauge swatch, and was almost done with the front half and I fumbled when I was shaping the arm and top.  I was supposed to be shaping the arms and dealing with the neck at the same time.  I read the pattern as if you do them at separate times.  So, I put it down until I could figure out how to undo what I did and get back on track.  Meanwhile, I really needed the size needles that where on this project for something else.  I ended up taking all the stitches off and just leaving them thinking that I will rip out and fix the top.  That never happened.  I just ripped it all out and started new.

My second attempt I started and knitted about 4" and put it down.  I was bored with it.  I then recently picked it up and thought about finishing it.  I took stock of the yarn I had and thought that I needed about 7 or 8 balls for this tank and I only had about 5 or 6.  Something was missing.  I did not want to continue with this pattern if I didn't have enough yarn.  That would be the ultimate worst feeling of getting towards the end and realizing that you don't have enough yarn, while the yarn has been discontinued.  So, I went searching for another project.

I chose a pattern from knit.1 magazine (which I think has been discontinued too, what's going on around here?) from Summer of 2007 called "Moss Stitch Bolero."

New project

I like how it ties in the front, rather than just having sleeves and open front.  The only thing is, is that I may not have enough yarn to do the sleeves.  So my hopes of a shrug may be a sleeveless shrug.  Can I still call it a shrug if it has no sleeves?  Well, I'm going to anyway!  The shrug/bolero has a crocheted edging, a nice touch.

For me to do this project, I have to unravel the tank top again.  As you may see in the first photo, the yarn balls look a bit tangled.  Well, they are very much tangled!!  I had just thrown them together in the bag.  Yikes, what a mess.


Takes 5 to Tangle

Only one ball is attached to the tank top, but yet 5 balls of yarn are tangled.  Here is a close-up of the rat's nest that I must untangle before I can start my shrug.


Maybe just a Mole Nest, not too bad


Once they were separate balls of yarn again, I now had to unravel the knitted part.  When it is unraveling, it stays kinky for some time.  There is no one way to get out the kinks.  Some natural fibers stay kinked until you wet it and wrap it in a ball until dry.  Since this is a rayon yarn, I did not know what to expect.

Kinky Kinky!


I did not wet it but tightly wound it back into a ball.  Since the others had been wound since my last attempt, I was going to let this ball sit and I will use the others to start with. 

The main stitch in this pattern is the moss stitch or seed stitch.  It is k1p1 across the row, then on the next row it is p1k1.  You repeat knitting the purl sts an purling the knit sts to make the pattern.  It is easy, but it is time consuming because you are pausing in between each st to reposition the yarn either to the front or to the back.  It creates this pebble look, where it is not all knit nor all purl.  It is a nice texture to look at.  Below is a close-up of the seed st.

Seeding along

My plan with this is to knit the back, then the two side front panels.  Then I will see how much I have left to do the sleeves.  I may just make this sleeveless and crochet the edging on the arm holes and have a sort of shrug-vest that ties in the front.  I could also make cap sleeves, so there is something there, but that would mean that I would have to make-up something as the sleeve.  I'm not good at that in the knitting world.  This would be going out of my comfort zone, but maybe that is what I need.

Current status

This is what I have worked up so far.  This is the back and I have started the arm hole shaping (the part at the top that tapers inward).  It is looking good and I'm proud that I'm actually rescuing a project from the dooms of the deep dark basket in the closet.  So far I have used only 2 balls of yarn, by my calculation, I may not have enough to do even cap sleeves.  I will crochet the edging along the neck and bottom and see what is left over.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which hopefully will be before I go on vacation in late June.  I would like to bring this with me. 

Does anyone out there recently completed a UFO??  If not, save yourself a few bucks and finish it.  It will keep your money in your pocket a little while longer than if you went out and bought materials for a new project.

Good luck (and wish me some too)!

Books - First Quarter

As I said in my Craftolutions post, #8, I am going to read 17 books this year.  I'm off to a steady start, but February was a slow reading month for me. I recently had to travel for work, so I read an entire book on the planes (going and coming back), so that put me back on schedule.

Well, here is my list so far and how I rate each book (5 thumbs up is the best):

                                                1. This book I got as a Christmas present.  This is the first non-fiction book I have read in a very long time.  It is about how this one woman decided that living a simpler life would be more fufilling.  She still had a 9-5 job, but when she got home she turned into a homemaker.  She has funny accounts of the highs and lows of learning how to raise chickens so she can have fresh eggs, learning how to be a beekeeper to have fresh honey, raised rabbits for their fur, grew her own garden of veggies, and she even has a couple of husky dogs that she would sled with and also make them into pack dogs (trained them to haul bundles on their sides like a donkey).  This is a story and a resource for where to get info so you, too, can live a simpler life.  She is very down-to-Earth and you end the book wishing you could raise chickens!  I rate it 4 thumbs up.

2. This next book is from an author that I have read from several times.  Her books always start off a bit slow because she is building everyone's character but always has a strange twist at the end.  This book has a wedding that the guests are all alumni from the same private school, but they have not seen each other in 20 years, so it is like a reunion.  The wedding takes place at an inn that one of the alumni converted from a house.  Each character has a secret that is either revealed dring the story or at the the end, which is the twist.  It has the characters remembering their earlier years and either wishing they did things differently or glad they didn't.  She takes you into each character's mind and feel what hardship they bring to the inn with them.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

3. This third book has been on my reading list for awhile.  I have read the entire Mayfair Witch series when I was in college but I had not read any of the Vampire series.  This book is part of both series where there is a Mayfair witch, Merrick, and a few of the Vampires, Lestat and Louis.  Merrick, I don't remember, was ever mentioned in the Mayfair series.  This book has her calling on someone from the spirit world, but it has a lot of character history that occurs by going into the past.  That part made the book boring to me because I was forgetting the point of the book, which was raising a spirit.  The end was the most interesting because the spirit was finally raised.  If you were a fan of either set of series, then this is a good book to read, but if you were not, then I would not recommend it.  These books were written way before the Twilight series and all the other vampire novels out these days.  So if you liked the Twilight stories then start reading either one of Anne Rice's series; they are more mature.  I rated this 3 thumbs up.

4. My final book for this first quarter is from one of my favorite authors.  This book has a man accused of double homicide and has been sentenced to the death penalty.  The double homicide takes away one of the main character's husband and daughter while she is pregnant with her second child.  The man (inmate) is on death row for 11 years and during this time the second daughter is on the waiting list for a heart transplant.  The inmate gets this idea that he must donate his heart to the young girl in order to make things right for what he has been accused of doing.  Jodi Picoult books have a way of making you like the "bad person" in her books because they are real and human too.  She has you think beyond social stigmas and stereotypes and makes you think of the morality of the matter at hand.  Does the woman want this heart for her daughter to live from the inmate?  No.  Does she need it?  Yes.  I won't ruin the story, but this was a fantastic book.  I rated this 5 thumbs up.

My next set of books, I want to fit in a classic, like something from Jane Austen.  I have a few of her books, I just have not started any of them yet.  I tried listening to one of them on an audiobook and they read with such a thick English accent that I could not even understand them!  So I returned the audiobook to the library.  I carpool to work most days so listening to an audiobook isn't practical anymore. 

I'm also not into those e-readers either.  For me, reading a book is about the actual book in your hand, not some computer that you read off the screen.  So, right now, I am boycotting e-books.  An audio book at least has someone reading the book to you in the way the book should be told in, so I feel like that is a good alternative to not have the phyical book in your hand.  Otherwise I like feeling each page, and carrying the actual book around with me.  Does anyone agree with me or do you like the e-readers?  I'm interested in knowing what is so great about giving up a paper book...

Craftolution Update - Organize

So, it is March and it appears as though I am not working on any of my Craftolutions.  Untrue!  I just have not been blogging about them.  Let's first start with Craftolution # 1 & 2.  I wanted to organize my patterns and projects and start on some WIPs (Work In Progess); so this post is going to be a picture blog this time (you are probably thinking: "Yeah, she talks too much, anyway").  I first went to my craft closet and took stock of what was in there, yarnwise (I have other crafts such as sewing and misc crafts that I am not talking about here):

Stuff that is not organized



Above are the items that are in the closet that are not in a bin or a basket.  Then I have the items that are in a bin or a basket that appear to be organized, but it has been ages since I looked in them.  Which is what we have below:

All seems neat, but I have no clue what's even in them!

So, let's pull the bin apart and see what we got here.....

UFO#1:Toddler's Sweater

First, I can't get this picture to rotate, so it is sideways.  It is a toddler's sweater that I had thought would be fun with the bright colors.  This sweater was originally going to be for my friend Nicole's daughter.  Nic, this was going to be Allison's!  For those of you that don't know, Allison is 6.   Yeah, no longer a toddler.  This was only the back of the sweater, I never made it to the two front sides or the sleeves.  Hmmm......Next:

UFO#2:Baby Sweater

Again, this pic won't rotate correctly.  Now, this one I really have no excuse.  This is a baby sweater that all I have to do is seam the side and weave in the ends.  It's about 98% done.  Laziness, that is all I have to say about this one.  It has been in this state for about, oh, 5 or more years.  I know, I'm ashamed, but I stuffed it back in the bag it came in to deal with another day, just the same.

UFO#3:Ugly Purple Vest

This pic should speak for itself.  This is the ugliest item of clothing that I have ever made with my two bare hands.  But, this was my first crochet project; still not a good excuse!  This was an actual pattern I got from a magazine and it looked so cute in print.  It should have a crocheted flower near one of the shoulders.  I wanted to use an eyelash yarn to fringe the edges, but that went horribly wrong and I tore it out.  This yarn is very scratchy, too.  Just downright ugly.  This will never leave the yarn bin or the UFO list.  Next:

UFO#4:Irish Knit Sweater

This one I'm not sure if I can even call it a UFO (Unfinished Object).  I would think that it had to be put to needles to be considered a project, but alas, I have about 4 large skeins of this fisherman's wool from Lion Brand.  This was going to be my sister's Irish knitted sweater.  Kathy, I know I promised this to you about a decade ago...sorry!  Next...

UFO#5:T-neck Sweater

These are two skeins that I have that were left over from a baby blanket I made for a friend and now I was using it for a T-neck sleeveless sweater.  It actually will have a cowl neck, but for some reason the pattern called it T-neck.  Whatever.  This UFO is in another bag that appeared in the first pic of loose items.  The UFO project is in the black bag and this reserve yarn was found in the bin.  Below is the rest:

UFO#5 Continued

This UFO is almost complete, too.  It will consist of a front and back and an added cowl neck.  No sleeves.  The front is complete and I am on the back.  I would say it is about 85% done.  I made a mistake and do not want to rip it out, so I placed it back in the bag until I can convince myself that nobody will notice that I did a purl row on a knit row.  I know it is there and I refuse to rip it out so I guess I refuse to work on it right now.  Stubborn, that is how I will describe my thinking on this one.

UFO#5:Beaded Sachet

This next one was from a beading class where you knit with beads.  I took the class at Knit 'n Knibble in Tampa back when I lived in St Pete, which was in 2006.  The goal was to knit a square with your initial in it as the front and then just knit another matching size square as the back and sew them together to become a sachet.  So the pink beads would have been the N and the blue beads would have been the background.  You have to string them on in a certain order before you begin knitting.  I strung them on incorrectly and so a pink or blue was not going to line up correctly.  Ha, so I ripped it out and placed it neatly back in a zip baggie.  I found out by reading an article just recently that you don't have to rip out everything, you just have to rip back to the beginning of the row and cut the yarn and fix the beads in the correct order and restart.  Duh, it sounds so logical now, but not at the time I messed-up.  Oh well.

Seaming Scraps

This one is not a UFO but scraps from another class from Knit 'n Knibble.  This was a seaming class.  Seaming is assembling separate pieces together so they look like they were meant to go together, like sides of a sweater and sleeves in the body.  This was a valuable class that I kept the scraps and refer back to them from time to time.  The red yarn is to simulate that when done correctly, you should not see the red once the tan pieces are seamed together.  Really cool.

Circular Needles

I keep all of my circs in this bin.  I used to store them in zip bags that I wrote the size on the bag, but I had to coil them up to fit them.  I read once that you should not keep them coiled but flattened or uncurled in some manner.  If they are curly, then you have to uncurl them by using very hot, almost boiling water and dip them in until they relax.  That may be ok for the metal ones to do that to over and over, but most of my "vintage" circs are plastic and I am afraid that they will melt one day.  (Who am I kidding, I have not used these circs in years.  I most likely could have left them in the zip baggies for years before I really needed them....).  Let's see what else is in this bin:

Bag-o-Patterns

This bag contained many patterns that I have made over the years.  It also contained all my double pointed needles.  I have said in past posts that I like Magic Loop so much better than using double pointed needles, that this was not such a great find.  But they are there in case I ever need them.  The patterns are what I need to organize in my pattern binder.  I have swatches, patterns, and yarn labels in this bag.  So I threw all of them in a pile and put them in another project bag with the 3-ring binder and plastic page protectors.

Craftolution #2 - Organize Patterns

For me, every project needs its own project bag.  This can be anything from a plastic shopping bag to canvas totes to reusable silky travel bags.  I am not too picky when it comes to project bags because I may not see them for awhile, so I can't be too attached to them.  But what bag I do place them in will determine the order in which I work on them.  Strange, but true.  My favorite bags will get worked on first, then the ones that end up in a plastic shopping bag may never get seen in this decade.  Sad, but true.
 

Extra Project Bags

Here are two extra project bags that I found in the bin.  My People's Saving tote that I got while working at a bank while attending college and a Mobic tote bag that I got in a 5K race promoting a drug for arthritis.  These are great totes for projects.  I will hold them aside for when new projects come in.

I packed up all these UFOs and placed them back in the bin.  I have decided not to work on any of these projects yet.  I am going to organize my binder and then get to the other pile of loose items.  I have my picnic basket of yarn and my loose items to still go through. 

I know you wanted to see me complete something in this post, but I actually did.  I got to see how I have progressed into projects and got to see what my thought process was when I chose these UFOs.  Remember, Craftolution #1 says that I can reuse yarn in a UFO for another project that I will actually complete.  That is a post yet to be written, but it is coming up.

I have to still organize the patterns, swatches and yarn labels, but I have at least gotten to the point where they are in a bag and considered a UFO.  That is more than what they were last month!

Craftolutions 2011

Happy New Year!  With the new year here, why do we feel obligated to create goals?  My answer to that is so we can be a better person than we were the year before.  Although these are my Craftolutions, my knitting, sewing, and on the path to enlightenment declarations, if I make someone happy by making something handmade for them, then it will be worth my time and make me feel good in the process.

I want to complete my UFO's (unfinished objects).  Now, I am allowing myself the freedom to do an alterante project with the yarn.  I have a few projects that are only about a few inches long, so I can unravel it and repurpose those yarns into a project that will actually see the light of day.  I think that is more important than completing a project that had it's issues from the start!

I want to organize my patterns and craft ideas in a 3-ring binder.  I have knit and crochet patterns stuffed everywhere, swatches in random bags, yarn labels in my notions bag and magazine image clippings tucked in books.  My sister has her's organized in this manner and it was so nice to look through.  I want to organize it with a section for Completed and one for To-Do.  I will include those swatches in a sheet protector along with the pattern and yarn label.

I want to have patience (aka HP).  I can't tell you the number of times I get worked-up over a project that is not coming out right or is taking too long.  Mostly my sewing projects get me frustrated.  I imagine something being easy or should only take a few hours and when it doesn't lay flat, or takes forever to complete, I often have meltdowns.  Yes, I am admitting that I swear and often shed a few tears over my inability to accomplish the task at hand.  I believe it is due to me always wanting to challenge myself and so, of course, I don't always pick it up as quick as I would like.  I need to take a time-out and deal with my patience.  New mantra: Breathe in, HP, Breathe out...

I would like to knit, crochet, or sew something for charity.  There are several charities that knit for babies or animal shelters that can always use blankets.  I am not going to put a number on how many items I will make and donate, I can only say that I will do what I can throughout the year.  A few that I have Googled are Knitting for Charity, Knit-a-Square, and Hugs for Homeless Animals.  Reading through these websites makes me feel like I should have done this ages ago.

I would like to teach someone to knit.  This may be for selfless or selfish reasons.  I want to share my knitting skills with someone; it is a great gift to give.  But, I would also like to have a local knitting buddy to hang out with and do my projects and swap ideas.  I have taught one person to knit.  She is still knitting and is developing her skills wonderfully.  She emails me once and a while for help and I do what I can, long distance!  A few people have expressed interest in learning to sew, so maybe I can get them to make that sewing machine purchase and I can help with that skill.  Although, knowing my record with meltdowns, it might not be the best idea.  Or I could think of it as working on my patience (Craftolution #3).

This is always something that needs constant watching.  I need to be realitic with projects and I need to give myself more time to complete them.  For example, with Christmas, I started in the beginning of November, but it still was not enough time to do all my homemade gift ideas.  Another example is stating I'm going to make this one thing for everyone, then not liking the first one and having to come up with a Plan B; that happens often.  So, if I start early enough, coming up with a Plan B or even C should be no sweat!

I want to get back into jogging.  Now you're thinking, "How does this relate to the Craftolutions?"  My thoughts are that knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc are pretty sedentary "sports" if you will.  I need to keep a healthy body and a healthy mind to cut down on meltdowns and to have HP.  Along with this, I want to complete at least one 5k a quarter.  One year I did a 5k each month, because I had a goal to get my time under 30 minutes.  I did not get under 30 minutes, but at least I was out in the sun doing something.  I am not going to say under 30 minutes this time, but to get it between to 30 to 34 minutes. That is being realistic :-)

My last Craftolution is reading!  Last year I read 16 books, so this year my goal is to read 17 books.  I did finally finish reading my last book of 2010 (Knit Too).  Not sure when I will be reading, since I will be so busy with jogging and completing UFO's.  Ha ha.  I don't like to pre-choose books, I will just read whatever I'm in the mood for at the time.  I will try and break it down into quarters, so that will be about four books a quarter.  I will post my reading lists as I go so I can stay on track.

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?  As long as you stay postive and set realistic goals, then you can achieve them.  If you are having trouble, see me and I will help you stay on track.  But, I also reserve the right to get your support with keeping me on track!  Here is to 2011 [clink your knitting needles, crochet hooks, sewing needles, and book bindings together now]!