A New Cowl

Hello,
 One of the highest compliments you can pay me is to ask me to make you something. I think that is true of a lot of us who make things. If you ask me to cook, sew, crochet, embroider or knit you something I will stop my current projects and do it. On Thursday my boss/friend, Heather, came into the nursery and said she would pay me if I would make her one of those round scarf things. It is cold in her classroom and it is nice to have something around your neck to keep you warm. A scarf kind of gets in the way. This week a few of us have been wearing cowls. It has been around 10 F/-12 C all week and we have all been cold. So I went home and spent more time looking at patterns than it actually took to make this...

I hope she likes it. It took about 2 hours to make while I was having my coffee this morning and watching Law and Order, (Law and Order and NCIS have been on around the clock since the holidays and I have been hooked). This is the pattern. I used an H hook and worsted wt. yarn from my stash. Now I am going to work on my blanket. Still joining. Talk to everyone soon. :)

A Hat

Hello,
 I made a hat today. I spent hours yesterday working on joining my Granny Love Blanket and it is almost done. It is too big to take with me anywhere though. This little hat was the perfect project to come with me today. I made it for a CAL we are doing in a group on Ravelry that I moderate for. Here it is...

My favorite little model got bored pretty quickly. Lol. You can see Granny Love lurking behind her. Soon for the big reveal.
 This hat was a fun, quick and portable project. Just some granny squares and some dc stitches. I used 200 yds. Heart and Sole sock yarn, in Antique Rose. The pattern called for 300, but I even added some squares and one skein was exactly enough. It is so cold here and that hat is actually for me. We are expecting snow tonight too. Perfect hat and scarf weather. I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year.

A Knit TA DAH

Hello,
 I have been having a nice New Year's Day. I got up and made my coffee and finished my first ever knitted project. It was just knit and purl. I didn't follow a pattern or anything, I just very badly wanted to finally finish something that I had knitted. I used two skeins each of Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in Honolulu Pink and LA Tan. I cast on 24 and knit the first four rows and then alternated knit rows with purl rows. The last four rows of the scarf were all knit too. Here it is...

I have to say that I am pretty happy with how it turned out. A while back I saw a scarf I really liked and I am going to make another scarf like this one. I like the one Alice made because it won't roll up. This pink and cream one is already a tube. I don't mind too much. It is warm and I wore it out for a walk this morning. It is not even in the double digits (F) yet and the scarf was soft and warm.
 After I do a few chores I am pulling out the Granny Love Blanket and setting to finishing it up. It is in a big plastic tote in the basement. Then, when that is finished I am going to work on new projects. Yay! I like having finished projects and being guilt free to start new ones. I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year! Talk to you soon. :)

P.S. Yes, there are still some Christmas presents in that one photo. We still have our big family party to go to.

New Things

Hello,
 The last few days have been really wonderful for me. I have had down time. No work, all projects that needed finishing were done. I only had one WIP (Granny Love) but, after my blanket making marathon, I needed a little blanket break. I have some in between days, between Christmas and New Years, and I didn't want to crochet right now. I have several crochet projects lined up with some of my groups on Ravelry.  I have been wanting to finally make, and complete, a knitted project. I had a really good Secret Santa this year. She gave me this...

It is bulky yarn and so soft. I thought this would be the perfect time to finally commit to a knitting project. I have tried before, I learned using the English method. I think the fact that I am a crocheter first messed me up. I would make a mistake and get so frustrated I would frog the whole project. Then I discovered the Continental Method. For me this works so much better. I really don't think one way is better than the other, I just think that because of the way you hold the yarn and that I have been crocheting for such a long time, that the Continental Method is a lot easier for me. I don't get confused or tangled up. The other thing that has really helped is that this yarn is bulky. I can see exactly what I am doing and I have finally figured out how to count my rows if I get confused. It is also very easy to see what stitch I am working on if I get called away.
 So, for the last two days I practiced. I made a few swatches and then decided what I was going to make was a simple knit and purl scarf. Now, I am a yarnoholic and there are some great sales going on. I had to go out and get some more yarn. I am using one of the skeins and bought some more to go with it. I have big plans for all three colors. Here is my progress so far...

Yay! I even have the color changes figured out. I don't know anyone, in person, who knits. So I use my trusty Stitch 'N Bitch book by Debbie Stoller. She is easy to follow and understand. I have one more day of vacation left and after I clean the house I am going to work on the scarf some more.  Blogging has been so much fun for me and it has given me friends that I wouldn't have the chance to otherwise meet. Great minds think alike. Yesterday, after I had made this I sat down to read all of the blogs I follow. I check everyday. My friend, HillyT, had a post that was so similar to what I was thinking that I just had to laugh. Then I read further and she had mentioned me in that post too. We belong to several of the same groups on Ravelry. I love Harriet's blog. Check it out.
 I also have a really nice boss, I take care of her baby in the nursery at work. Everyone at work knows that I love yarn. She surprised me by giving me this...

It is bamboo yarn from Hobby Lobby. Four skeins that go together. I decided to use this yarn for something different also. For this I am learning Tunisian crochet. Not hard and it looks kind of like knitting when done. These are my two in between projects. I will show the finished projects soon. I have to get them done quickly. I have two CALs starting on the 1st. Lol.