Merry Christmas all

Merry Christmas to everyone.  

I hope that you all had as wonderful holiday as I did.  Both my sons and our we daughter-in-law spent the holidays with us.  We've enjoyed every minute so far.  Gifts were given and received but the best was having them here.

New Schedules for 2014

Here are the new classes for the first half of the year.  If there is something you would like to see and it isn't listed, let me know.  I will see what I can do to add that to the schedule.  If you know someone who might be interested in a class, please share the schedule with them.

Please note, Michaels now requires 2 students for a class to be held, with the exception of Wilton Cake Decorating. All classes are 2.5 hours long and are $25 each.  Exception to this is the Kid's Crochet classes, they are 1.5 hours and $15 each.  These are for kids 6 and older.  Great idea for the grandkids. 

Also classes make great gifts for someone who wants to learn a new skill or enhance a skill they already have.

All Classes are Mondays 6pm – 8:30pm

Crochet Beginner 1 – Skinny Scarf or Phone Cover

November 11  January 6       March 3        April 28         June 16

Crochet Beginner 2 – Pillow or Scarf

November 18     January 20     March 17    May 12     June 18

Crochet Advanced Beginner – Granny Square Scarf or Market Bag

December 2 February 3    March 31    May 27 (Tuesday after Memorial Day)

Crochet Advanced Beginner – Cloche or Scarf

December 9        February 17          April 14       June 9

Please see a store associate for details about any classes or sign up online at www.michaels.com under classes for this store 1127 Quentin Rd. Leb.

Yarn Nights are times for you to get a question answered about a stitch, yarn or pattern question that doesn’t require a full class.  You can also sit and stitch with me at this time

December 14   January 11   January 25   February 8   February 22   March 8   March 22   

April 5   April 19   May 3   May 17   June 14    June 21

Warm Up America Joining Parties are times to help join afghans blocks to help the homeless here in Lebanon with the donation of warm afghans.

November 17   January 12   January 26   February 9   February 23   March 9   March 23   April 6   May 4

  

All Classes are Wednesdays 6pm – 8:30pm

Crochet Advanced Beginner – Hooded Baby Blanket

November 13   January 8   March 5   April 30

Crochet Advanced Beginner – Granny Throw or Lace Wrap

1 Piece Granny November 20  1 Piece Granny January 22   Lace Wrap March 19   

1 Piece Granny May 14

  Crochet Intermediate – Tote Bag

December 4   February 5   April 2   May 28

Discover Time to Crochet Classes

Hairpin Lace December 11   Broomstick Lace February 19   Crochet Cables April 16

   Crocodile Stitch June 11

All Classes are Thursdays 6 – 8:30 pm

Knit Beginner 1 – Hat or Wristwarmers 

November 14   January 9   March 6   May 1    June 19

Knit Beginner 2 – Neckwarmer or Tassel Hat

November 21   January 23   March 20   May 15   June 20

Knit Advanced Beginner – Hat or Legwarmers  

December 5   February 6   April 3   May 29

Knit Advanced Beginner – Cable Scarf or Fingerless Gloves

December 12   February 20   April 17   June 12

All Classes are Fridays 6 – 8:30 pm

Knit Advanced Beginner – Baby Blanket/Booties or Baby Kimono

Kimono November 16  Blanket/Bootie January 10   Kimono March 7   Blanket/Bootie May 2

Knit Intermediate – Patchwork Blanket

November 22  January 24  March 21  May 16

Knit Intermediate – Fair Isle Cowl

December 6   February 7   April 4   May 30

Discover Time to Knit Classes   

I Cord December 13    Entrelac February 21   Sock Class April 18   Intarsia June 13

Discover Kids Classes

All Classes are Saturday mornings 9:30 – 11 am unless noted

Discover Kids Crochet 1 (Necklace and Bracelet) 

December 7 January 11  February 22  April 5

Discover Kids Crochet 2 (Zipper Pull)

December 14  January 25   March 8   April 19

Discover Kids Crochet 3 (Monsters)

December 15  February 8   March 22   May 3

 

Color Inspiration

What inspires you to choose the colors you do for your projects?

 I know what inspires me is usually first who am I making something for?  I'm usually not going to make something in neutrals for a person who loves bright, bold colors.  Under this will also come the question of how will it be used?  I don't do slippers in white since dirt tends to get ground into the soles.  I don't dress babies in really dark colors.

Second, my personal preferences.  I can't knit or crochet with colors I hate.  I can't knit or crochet with colors I can't see (black comes to mind at this stage of life).  I can usually bend my choices to the recipient's likes and dislikes.

Third, season of the year is a big part of my color selection.  In winter, I feel a need to work with blacks, grays, whites, blues of an icy nature and red.  

Lots of gray, white and cold blues here

In spring, I'm going to gravitate to spring colors of not only the pastels, but deep purple of crocus, deep greens and yellow-y greens of the leaves.  

The red maple has pinky purple leaves in the background and the tri color beech is pink

Here are the saturated colors of spring

Summer brings all colors of the rainbow in fruits and vegetables and flowers.  There are very few color pairings from this selection I don't like.  I'm even happy about the beige that reminds me of sand and I usually can't stand beige of any kind.  I will usually separate my palettes by what I consider beach-y, garden-y, floral, camping type colors and so on.  I don't mix my palettes either.

A favorite

In perpetual summertime

The gardens in this Mission are amazing

Flowers and weeds, like bushes and trees can have many color facets

This being autumn, I really gravitate to plummy purples, cranberry reds, pumpkin oranges, yellows of most vibrant hues, dark pine-y greens, dirty looking browns and the two colors of blue I associate with autumn, either the gray blue of wind clouds/rain clouds or the vibrant blue of an October sky.  I have been known to pair many of these colors together.  After all, if Mother Nature can, why can't I?

Autumn harvests and thanksgiving are 2 favorites of mine for color

I find this very inspirational

Holidays will also inspire me and summer brings a host of red, white and blue to my work.  I am a traditionalist with most of my other holiday hues as well.

So I ask again, what inspires your color choices?

What can I do with...?

I get questions from students and others about what can I do with my swatches etc.  To this end, I gathered from the internet a list of ideas for these.

Swatches aside (these should go into a journal of knit/crochet projects with the ball band pattern and a sheet of notes for the next time you want to make the project.  This is what the very organized knitter/crocheter does.  I'm not that organized.) granny squares and mitered squares can be used for many more things than just afghans.  Although this idea is a good one.

You can use a mid sized block for a dish cloth or hot pad, smaller ones make great coasters to protect furniture from drinks.  Fold one in half and you can use it for a cell phone cozy, tissue case, eye glass case and more.  Sachets from one or two  squares stuffed with either cotton balls dipped with a drop or two of essential oil or stuffed with dried flowers make nice gifts when you need a lot and are short on time.

Have 8 or 9 small to medium sized?  How about a "cushion" for the back of a wooden rocker or a seat cushion?  Double them with different colors on each side that coordinate and you have a reversible and possibly stuffed cushion.  Purses, totes, and backpacks are also good ideas.  Wallets can be fashioned from 6 squares.  Coin purses can be made from 2.

There are patterns for slippers from squares, You could join a few of smaller ones and make headbands, bookmarks or hat brims.  Have a bunch?  Ponchos are sort of still in style.  Baby cocoons are also popular rather than wrapping in blankets.

An update and a review

I have finished the cardigan for my level 2 Knit certification.  I mailed off all my swatches and other assignments.  I have gotten them back.  Pictures will be posted once I get better ones taken.  A heavy wool sweater is not something to be styled with shorts and 90* temps.  This was the way the first set was taken.  I look terrible.  The sweater looks terrible.  I was hot and itchy and miserable.  Now that the temps have cooled to a reasonable October range, I will get my husband to do better pictures.

I am now working on my level 2 certification for Crochet.  The final project will be for the nieces of my daughter in law.  They will be identical except for color.  It seems the twins are the same size almost and I only need one for turning in.  The girls are also much smaller than I.  It should go quicker.

And now for a review.  Over the years, I have purchased many needles and hooks.  I can attest to the fact that the anodized aluminum hooks and needles from Boye even withstand a house fire.  Don't try that at home.  However, my newest purchase was the Clover Takumi interchangeable bamboo knitting needles set.  

I have tried them out on several projects.  I know some good things about them.  I did an acrylic baby sweater for a new family on the size 10.5 with a medium cable length.  I have a cotton dishcloth going on a size 7 short cable.  The needle tips range in size from 3 to 13.  There are 5 cable lengths to choose from.  You can also connect some or all of them for some huge knitting.  According to the packaging, you can create up to 60 configurations.  The tips are tapered and are nice to use.  The smaller needles are not quite tapered enough for me but I can make do if I need the needles.  The joins are fabulous between the cable and needle tips.  The whole thing stays tight with only hand tightening.  They are incredibly light weight.  Being bamboo, the needle tips are sticky; the cables are not.  I would use these for slippery yarns like silk and the new Paton's Metallic so they don't slide off the needles.   The set comes in a nice case but it seems a bit big to me.  Perhaps I'm just being picky though.  There is a place for all the cables to fit and a few extra small tools of your choosing.

I didn't pay the retail price for them.  I had a coupon for that purchase, which brought it down to affordable to me.  Would I buy them again?  Yes, the smooth joins and flexible cables make them a joy to use. 

If you like circular knitting needles, try some of the non interchangeable needles from their company.  If you like those, treat yourself to a set or ask Santa.  You won't be disappointed.

Stress and Crocheting or Knitting

Something interesting came across my email this morning.  I subscribe to The Simple Dollar daily newsletter from  www.thesimpledollar.com and have for many years when I was attempting to find ways to cut our budget so we could do more things we enjoyed.  In reading today's offering, this was in the middle with the questions.

Q2: Handling work stress
Whenever I feel stressed out by work, I seem to unconsciously fall back into “retail therapy” as a treatment. The only problem is that it usually adds to the stress because now I have a credit card to deal with.
- Angie

The solution, of course, is to find a different way to deal with your stress.  The effective stress-reducer depends heavily on the person. For me, playing a game or reading a book reduces my stress, as does spending time with friends and alone with my wife. Escapism and human relationships work for me.  Try different channels for reducing stress. If you feel stressed out, try going to the gym and punching a bag or running.  You've just got to find what clicks for you.

It's been proven that the rhythm of crocheting and knitting will reduce stress levels.  Reducing stress is a good thing.  Keeping small projects with you in various rooms of the house, in the car, your purse, in your desk are all great ways to take the edge off when life hands you more than you can handle.

Learning the basics can be stressful at first for some.  Once you have them down though, the repetitive nature of forming the stitches can be like a rocking chair for small children or a boat on the waves lulling you into calmness without the motion sick factor. 

Happy Birthday Lion Brand!!!

Happy Birthday Lion Brand!

To celebrate, Michaels will be hosting birthday parties on Sunday September 22 between 2 and 4 pm.  Come on out and see me in the Lebanon store.  Yes, I do have a Warm Up America Joining Party scheduled for 2 - 5 pm this day but I will be in the same area to do both.  Come on out to help with this also.

Lion Brand will be giving away bonbons!  Unlike my husband, I'm sure you know and understand that these bonbons are mini skeins of yarn and not food.  The first 25 people will get a free bonbon.  I will have hooks available for anyone who wants to sit and stitch with me with this new yarn.  These minis are just right when you only need a little bit of a color and don't have it.

Check these out!

Brights

    

Pastels

Beach

Nature

Party

Celebrate

  

Crayons

 Some of the featured patterns on the Lion Brand website for the bonbons.

Michaels Open House And a SALE!!

Just a note, all classes at Lebanon Michaels will be on sale for 50% off during our Open House on Sept. 21.  I have no information about other stores.  Let me know if there is something you want/need to learn and I will see if I can get it into the schedule before-hand so it can be gotten with the discount.  Added classes will probably be on Saturday/Sunday times due to my day job work schedule.  Kids crochet classes are normally $15 and on sale they are $7.50 and last an hour and a half.  All other classes are adult and normally $25, on sale $12.50.  Yarn nights are $5 normally, $2.50.  Warm Up America Joining parties are free all the time.  Please share this information with your friends.  It will be appreciated by all the teachers.

Here is my updated schedule.   Please note a few changes at the end of October in crochet classes:

Discover Single Crochet  All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm  
September 16
October 14
November 11

Discover the Tall Stitches of Crochet  All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 21
November 18

Discover Granny Squares   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
September 30
October 28
December 2

Discover Textured Stitches   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 7
November 4
December 9

Discover Knit Stitch Class    All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
September 19
October 17
November 14

Discover Purl Stitch    All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
September 26
October 24
November 21

Discover Pattern Stitches Class   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 3
October 31
December 5

Discover Cables Class All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 10
November 7
December 12

Discover Baby Crochet Class      All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
Textured Baby Blanket September 18
Baby Rattle  October 16
Textured Baby Blanket November 13

Discover Throws and Wraps in Crochet Class  Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
Granny One Piece Throw September 25
Lacy Wrap October 23
One Piece Granny Throw November 20

Discover Crochet Gifts Class      All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 2
December 4

Discover Time to Crochet Classes   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
Crocodile Stitch September 18
Tunisian Crochet October 9
Painted Crochet October 26 9:30 – 12
Broomstick Lace November 6
Hairpin Lace December 11

Discover Baby Knits Class   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
Kimono September 20
Blanket & Booties October 18
Kimono November 15

Discover Mitered Knitting Class   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
September 27
October 25
November 22

Discover Fair Isle Class   All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
October 4
November 1
December 6

Discover Time To Knit Classes    All Classes are 6 – 8:30 pm
Knook September 20
Mobius Knitting September 28 9:30 – 12
Entrelac October 11
Knook & Loom Knit November 8
2 Needle Sock   November 16 9:30 - 12
I-Cord December 13

Discover Kids Crochet 1  
October 5 9:30 – 11 am
November 2 9:30 – 11 am
December 7 9:30 – 11 am

Discover Kids Crochet 2
September 15 11 am – 12:30 pm
October 12 9:30 – 11 am
November 9 9:30 – 11 am
December 14 9:30 – 11 am

Discover Kids Crochet 3
September 29 11 am – 12:30 pm
October 19 9:30 – 11 am
November 17 12:30 – 2 pm
December 15 11 am – 12:30 pm

Yarn Nights are times for you to get a question answered about a stitch, yarn or pattern question that doesn’t require a full class.  You can also sit and stitch with me at this time.

September 14   1 – 4 pm
September 28   1 – 4 pm
October 12 1 – 5 pm
October 26 1 – 4 pm
November 16 1 – 4 pm
December 14 1 – 4 pm

Warm Up America Joining Parties are times to help join afghans blocks to help the homeless here in Lebanon with the donation of warm afghans.

September 22 2 – 5 pm
October 6 2 – 5 pm
November 3 2 – 5 pm
November 17 2 – 5 pm

My local shelter's needs

Warm Up America has started here in my neck of the woods.  Donated blocks are sorted.  Afghans have been bagged with joining yarns and instructions.  Joining parties have been scheduled  See the most current joining party schedule here.  I was also remembering a talk I had with some of the staff about what the needs are at my local shelter.

More than afghans and hats, they need gloves, not mittens or finger-less mitts.  GLOVES.  When I questioned for further information and thought more about it, here is what I have.  Mittens are nice for kids.  Most don't wear them since they limit mobility.  Adults won't wear them.  Finger-less mitts are a nice fashion accessory but don't do much of anything for people who are outside a majority of the time and need near constant protection.  

To this end, I thought, "OK, I'll run down to my local department store and pick up a bunch of the dollar or two gloves."  Then I headed home and checked my winter outdoor gear to see if I had any of them left from when my son ran cross country in high school.  As one of the few parents to show up on a regular basis, I had accumulated a sizable stash of hats and gloves for the colder months of practice and meets.  Most of these have disappeared over the years.  But I did find some of the gloves.  When I tried them on to make sure they were in good shape, I discovered 2 things.  One, either these things shrink or are small to begin with; and two, no two in my possession are the same size for pairing up.

I realize that I have largish hands for a woman.  I'm crediting my daily work (not knitting or crocheting) and genetics for this.  Men also have larger hands.  To this end, I would suggest that the dollar gloves that say they stretch to fit any hand are not going to suit for this purpose for any other than smaller people.

I would like to offer these patterns for this purpose and suggest not going the cheap route if you are donating to a shelter in your area.  There are not a lot of glove patterns out there but here are a couple of ideas.  Remember when donating to a shelter, some places may not have laundry facilities and appreciate dark or patterned color choices.  Adults in my area prefer subdued colors from what I have seen.  Plain workhorse yarns like Loops&Threads Impeccable, Lion Brand Wool Ease, Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, Red Heart are going to give ease of wash ability, wear, comfort and a wide range of colors.  Wool is my personal choice but, with so many having the opposite allergy of being allergic to wool, please don't use it.  It will also shrink if the recipient doesn't care for it in a gentle manner.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90370AD.html?noImages=

I also offer this link to a Christmas in July post about gloves.

My sweater pictures

I promised pictures of what I'm working on.   Here is the first installment.  I'm really working to get this finished but things at my day job are complicated and I'm having to work longer hours than usual.  I know pictures of the rest of my projects won't happen until this is done.

I have finished the back.

I have finished the 2 fronts.  The wishbone cable goes to the center on each side.

 

 

I'm working on the sleeves.  I have finally reached the sleeve caps.  That part is not shown in the picture below.

 

Left to do? A collar, wrists and body hem, and button band must be added once all the sewing up is finished.  Buttons must be chosen.  As you can see, I am a user of stitch markers.  I put them in on the beginning of the rows when I increased.  I keep track of my row counts for the cable twists.  I have markers on the needle to remind myself (in the beginning) where the cable went.  I am doing the sleeves both at the same time to ensure they are the same length and have the same number of cable twists.  Nothing worse than being the same length but lopsided.

Also left to do is translate the mess of notes I have been making to write a pattern for this. 

 





Being ahead or behind.....

I was reading the yarn harlot's post here.  And it got me thinking about the list I posted yesterday and edited today to include a couple things I forgot. 

Of those on the list, only a few have concrete deadlines.  The sweater for the certification was due a couple days ago.  The new yarns projects are due by September 20 at the latest.  The swatch of the month for the free knit and free crochet stitch patterns are due for the last weekend of the month.  Most of the rest, no one except me and maybe my husband knows about them.  And I'm very good at shifting priorities to get things done "on time".

I am stressing about the sweater not being done, but I know that I had some other, more important work to do when I should have been working on it.  I was taking care of my husband after his accident.  I tried making up for it by working on certification things when I could during less work weeks and on our recent trip.  I got a lot of work done but not on the sweater.  Could I have done more?  Maybe, but again I was being a nurse during part of the trip, chauffeur for part of the trip, mother/mother-in-law, and sight seer.   We saw incredible sites.  We met incredible, interesting, funny and lovable people. 
  The point for this post is to remind me and you, the reader, to go easy on yourself.  Things will get done when they get done.  It would be nice to say I'm going to give everyone on my Christmas gift list a hand crafted x.  It would also be nice to hear that I've won Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes/Mrs. America pageant/the lottery.  Those things all have the same probability of happening.  I know my odds on the last 3.  I don't enter lotteries or beauty pageants.  When I buy raffle tickets, I consider them a donation to whatever organization is selling them.  


  

What else I'm working on and for whom

Right now I have many things on my plate knit-wise and crochet-wise.  Some of it is for me, some is for others who are current friends or family, some for potential future friends or family through a charity of one kind or another.  I never say no to a new friend.

1.  I'm knitting a sweater that must get done for my certification level 2 from Craft Yarn Council of America.  (I have to do all of the crochet level 2 yet).  I'm using Paton's Super Wool that I got from a de-stash after a home yarn shop closed due to the death of the owner.  The color is a beige/khaki that I can wear in winter for teaching.

2. I started a ballerina style sweater for my new daughter in law for Christmas last year.  It hasn't been touched since I started it.  This is also being done in Paton's Super Wool in a magenta color.

3. I have worsted weight olive drab wool socks started for my son to replace his worn out ones.  He's in the Marines and these meet warmth requirements for wearing under his worn out socks.  He has size 11 feet.  The leg must be 12 inches or better.  I started these twice, the first time 2 at a time on 2 circulars, this time I'm doing them one at a time on either dpns or 2 circulars.  I don't have the brain space to keep track of 2 at a time right now.  I'm using Paton's Classic Wool for these.

4. I am working on a c2c baby afghan.  C2C is corner to corner.  This is a new fad on some of the fb boards featuring crochet.  I may have seen it on Ravelry also.  I've seen this before but loved the reminder.  I'm doing this instead of the "thermal baby blanket" I found in a 1960's era pattern book.  The recipient was the matron of honor in my son's wedding.  The thermal baby blanket that I had started was chains and single crochets in an elongated single crochet filet.  This is beautiful but very slow growing.  I'm using 4 skeins of Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn in two colorways, Indigo and Pink Sugar.  I don't know if the baby is a boy or girl, hence the pink and blue combo.  

5.  There is a 3/4 Pi Shawl in the works.  I'm using Paton's Lace for this in bonfire.  I'll be posting how I did this in a future post.  This is a variant of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi Shawl from the book Knitting Workshop.

6.  There is a lace mystery shawl in Paton's Lace (colorway Porcelain).  I'm designing this triangular shawl but it's slow going due to having trouble with picking lace patterns.  This will be put up in the future too.

7 & 8.  8 inch swatches for the stitch pattern of the month being given out at the end of the month during a yarn night.  August's patterns are Feather and Fan (K) and Box Stitch (C).  For these, I'm using Lion Brand Fisherman wool.  I have one skein of each color  See the beautiful natural shades here.  When I reach August 2014, I should have enough blocks for an afghan.

9.  I'm also swatching a baby sweater.  I had been wanting to use it for my level 2 certification project but it didn't meet requirements.  I have the back and at least 1 front done.  I don't remember if I have a sleeve done or just thought our.  Pattern will again be coming.  For the swatch I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in Aran colorway.

10.  New projects to showcase new yarns.  I'm using free patterns from the yarn companies.  I'm doing a hat in Paton's Metallic, a partial scarf in Paton's Colorwul , a 1/2 size baby vest in Bernat Tizzy, a cowl for Paton's Cobbles yarn, a tiny heart pillow in Loops & Threads Fashion Fur, a cowl in L&T Fabulous Fur, and finally a project using LionBrand's bon bons yarn.  Pictures will be coming.  

11.  In hibernation, I have a yellow cotton summer top/vest from a pattern from Lion Brand.  The free pattern is here.  It's a broomstick lace in the round.  I started this 2 years ago on my 25th wedding anniversary trip.  I have the shoulder straps done and all joined in the round by at least 1 round.  The yarn was from a salvaged thrifted sweater.  I got it for the color.  It's a bright, bright yellow.  I like bright colors for summer.

12.  Always on the go for bedtime, cotton dishcloths done from Sugar & Cream or Peaches & Creme.  I don't have to think for this and can knit in my twilight zone.  I use size 6 - 8 US needles for this in circular.  Circs minimize me pulling the stitches off the needles when I fall asleep.  The points don't hurt when I lay on them.  The ball of yarn is not so comfortable.  I pick up balls of both brands when I see new colors.  I have a bunch of balls waiting to be made up but when I do these as just bedtime knitting, I don't get them done terribly fast.  

13.  I also started the Lion Brand Tranquility Knit along from this past spring.  I didn't finish it.  I barely started it.  I really like this pattern.  I like the yarn I am using (cotton worsted weight yarn in the breast cancer awareness pink ombre).  Again this could be a summer top or a vest for cooler weather.