52 Weeks of Happy 1/52

I saw this on Irish Girlie Knits blog.  Once each week for a year I will post something that made me happy that week.  This will give inspiration to me to blog more.  I have been very lazy in my posting.

Spinning with friends makes me happy. I went to the spinning group and started this braid of Falkland wool.  Is is so pretty spun up.  I am about 1/3 of the way into this. I am trying to spin thin so that I can get a sport weight yarn.



Last week we got more snow.  This photo is from a few weeks ago but the mountains look the same.
I try to enjoy the green color on our mountains because in a few months they will be dry and brown.
In the lower mid-section of the photo is a large orange grove. I live to the right of the grove.  My backyard is next to this grove.  In April when the trees begin to bloom the air is so sweet.


And lastly here is a knitting project that is making me very happy.  This is lace.  I am knitting with lace weight yarn. It is like knitting with string.  My yarn is 50% merino wool and %50 silk.  It is so soft and beautiful.  I have knit shawls before but nothing so detailed.  So this is my first lace shawl in lace weight.  I am loving it.  I did start and rip out 3 times. But now it is going very good.
The red thread is my life line.  That is incase I make a mistake or drop a stitch and can't fix it. Then I can undo the shawl back to the red thread and go from there.


So there is week one of Happy.
Join in if you like.
God Bless,  Carol

A post from the Past: May 27, 2008 - First Socks ever

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009

May 27, 2008  My first socks ever

I am addicted to Sock Yarn. I have to admit I will spend hours looking at blogs or yarn store websites just looking at SOCKS. I love the self striping sock yarn. I only want to knit them in wool or wool blends since if I am going to put in the time I want these puppies to last.
Here is my first attemp at knitting a pair of socks.
Ahhhhhh don't look at my dry legs!! we are in winter in this pic and boy do I need lotion!!!!!



This is before they were washed. I didn't know about SWATCHING so I just measured my guage after I had knit the ankle part. I was off but I said "I love this yarn and kept on knitting."
I later did stop and knitted a swatch, it was off a little so I learned a lesson. Always always Swatch!!!!!
These were knit on 3.25mm DPN's. See 2nd pair of socks below knit on 2.75 DPN's and story.

So here they are on my feet.

They are a little droopy at the ankle. They have to be the most comfortable socks in the world. I knit them with Felici Self Striping yarn from Knitpicks.

Now I am on my second ever pair of socks. I am almost done.
They're are for my daughter in law Anne for her birthday (7/1) yeah I'm early but I didn't know how long it would take to do 2 pairs of socks and a hat.




I am using Austermann wool yarn with Aloe Vera and Jojoba in the yarn to make your feet soft. They make your hands soft to knit them.
I don't like the color much, I am a bright color kind of gal, or an earthy kind. So I showed them to Anne and she loved them. She tried one on and loved it. But I let her look in my "Stash" (yes I already have a stash) and she picked another yarn for me to make a SECOND pair!!!
Well it's ok cuz I am having fun.
Yes I swatched this pair. The swatch came out a little small so I thought "I'll knit a little looser". LOL.
I am using size 2.75mm DPN so what I did was order a set of 3.00mm DPN's for my next set of socks. That is because I already swatched the yarn she picked out and I was still knitting tight. The yarn for the next pair of socks is ON-LINE Supersocke 100 and the color is Tropic, very pretty. 
I like how these socks are coming out. I think I solved my droopy ankle problem with doing the ribbing all the way down. 



This sock has a different pattern for the heel. It is a K1 S1,repeat then on the wrong side you purl. The turn of the heel is a triangle shape where the Felici sock had a retangle shape heel (bottom). I am not sure which I like more.
I was able with this 2nd pattern to close up the holes when turning the heel. See my first sock holes.



I will continue with this pattern for a few more pairs and then watch out, I am going to try a cable or some kind of interesting pattern (easy). Any suggestions????

A post from the Past: May 28, 2008 - Knitting Books

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009

May 28, 2008 Knitting Books

So the mail came yesterday with a box full of goodies!!!!!! I received the books I had been waiting for. Here is a pic of the books plus some of the others I have been collecting.



Some of the books I have had a while. Of course when taking a photo of the books I am reading I must have my Bible there. I read it almost everyday. It's on the top right. My son gave me it for my birthday several years ago. It is a Life Application Study Bible. I used it so much that the cover was falling off. So I took it to this little book binding shop that restores books and especially Bibles. I had them recover it with a pine green lamb skin leather. It is beautiful and feels so soft.

On the left edge is a reference book on stitches. My grandmother gave me this book probably 30 years ago. It has a lot of information.
Other than that there are a lot of pattern books and then the reading books by the Yarn Harlot. I love her books. The Yarn Harlot first book is not in the pic because I loaned it out to my sister to read, It is just so funny.

A post from the Past: May 28, 2008 - Notions

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009

May 28, 2008  Notions

So the box of books and a few more notions came yesterday from Knitpicks. I put all of the needles I own on the floor to check out all of the beauty of these wood needles. I do have some straights that don't fit in the little box.



Then I put them in their Striped Box. I love Stripes and the box is metal and I wrote in the lid all the sizes I have in DPN's and Circulars.
I know you can hardly see my writing but it is there.



So I started the next pair of socks for my daughter in law. Her birthday is July first. I am starting early because she will get 2 pairs of socks and a hat/felted. I have started the hat, see other blog. 

I cast on the new socks while sitting at the plaza, outside at a table, in the sun. It is a beautiful day today. Warm but not hot. 




I'm using Harmony's size 3.00mm DPN's this time. I think the step socks were too tight, they fit but they are snug. The swatch was asking me to go up a size too. Well ok, it was yelling at me to go up.





That is my new sock cast on and a few rows done. And that is my knitting bag with all my Notions, Lovely Lovey NOTIONS.
I have the pattern, notebook, Ipod, pencils, etc. in the bag.
I keep my ball of yarn in a plastic bag so that it stays clean and doesn't get all fuzzy. I embroidered my name on the bag. You never know....

Now for the bad news. I timed myself on the last sock I made. For one sock it took me 3 weeks and a day. There was a wedding for my son thrown in there during that time but I did knit at his house in Idaho while we visited. I think I am slow. I hope I speed up with each pair of socks I do. I read that some people can whip out a sock in a day or two. How do they knit so fast?
I have been knitting socks since the middle of March 2008.

A post from the Past: May 29, 2008 - New Knitting Needles

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

May 29, 2008  New Knitting Needles

I'm so happy. My new Knitting Needles from Signature arrived. 


They are Beautiful with a big B. 
They are smooth and they have nice sharp points. I ordered them with a 7" length. They are US size 4 or 3.50mm. 


The Idea to use my pet as a model came from my friend seweccentric. So my kitty "Solo Vino" (means he came alone in spanish) was a model to show off my new Needles.



He seemed to like the job and he models like a pro. He is thinking of taking up knitting too!!!!!





He is a little nervous because a new kitten is coming to live with us tonight. Photos to follow tomorrow.

A post from the Past: June 1, 2008 - Knitting Projects

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

June 1, 2008  - Knitting Projects

I received this beautiful wool yarn yesterday by mail. I couldn't wait to cast on and start a scarf. It is K1 P1 so that it is thicker and reversible.
My first project on my new needles. I love them. they are short for this kind of project. Size 3.5mm US4 and 7 inches long. This scarf is for me.


At the same time I am working on the first sock of the second pair for Anne my daughter in law's birthday. It is knitting up very fast. I'm using ONline Supersocke 100 sock yarn in color Tropic. Needle size 3.00 DPN's by Harmony. 



And then there is the wool felted hat I am also making for Anne's birthday. I am using Patons Classic Merino in color gray and blue/green. I am putting stripes with recycled sari silk.
Hook size is Boye I (as in eye). 



I hope I am not working on too many things at one time. I won't begin any more projects till I finish these. I'm excited about all of them.

A post from the Past: June 12, 2008 - Still knitting

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

June 12, 2008 - Still Knitting

I haven't posted in a while. This week has been busy because it is the last week of school for my kindergartner.
I took some pics of Sally our new kitten. She is a busy little kitty.
Here she is on the couch ready to jump.



This is Sally under the table attacking a crunchy ball.



As for my knitting. I was distracted for a week or so with the scarf on the beautiful new needles. It is the scarf done in Kanui wool. I had started it and decided it was too narrow. So I cast off, and then cast on with more stitches. I had to set it aside to get the Socks done.



I have only 2 weeks left to finish the socks and a felted hat for my daughter in law's birthday. I know I will have the socks done in a couple days. I can crochet the hat pretty fast but the felting takes a few days. I let it air dry after the machine washing so it just takes time to dry out. 

Other than that I did get a call from my boss yesterday. I use to work in a dental lab making porcelain teeth. It was so much fun. I went to school to be a dental technician after my husband died. So I had worked in this lab for 3 years but in March 08 I had to quit because my granddaughter needs me to be home. We are still grieving my daughters death. I got custody of my granddaughter late last year. I worked when I had her for a few months but I was killing myself. I can't be mom, employee, cook, cleaner, gardener, etc. I'm not married since my husband died of cancer in Aug. 2000. It's tough being a single mom again. My kids were all grown. I had the empty nest.

So I was flattered that my boss would call and ask me to return. I know I could have asked for a huge raise. I am still thinking about it. He is even willing to wait for the fall when school gets back in. 
I loved what I did. I loved working with the tools and baking porcelain, grinding the teeth with tiny tiny high speed drills. I was also doing digital design with the Cad/Cam program with scanning models and designing bridges and crowns on the computer then sending those files to be milled out in zirconia. I was in the High Tech department. I loved it.
I hated the drive from my home to the lab. I had to go on 4 different freeways (only 22 miles) and the traffic was horrible. I do not miss that drive at all. It could take 30 min. on a good day or 2 hours on a bad day. Average time was 45 min. I was ok with the drive before I had Peanut. When I lived alone. I would just listen to the radio and kick back. But when you have a little one waiting for you at after school care it is horrible. I just missed her so bad. She needed to be with me or with family after loosing her mommy. 
So now I am home with her and I have more free time for my knitting and hobbies, also for errands and house work. 
We go to church several times a week. Our life is full.

A post from the Past: June 12, 2008 - LIfe with a 6 yr. old

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

June 12, 2008 - Life with a 6 year old. 


School is out. Fun begins. Peanut (my granddaughter) just cracks me up.
How old were ya'll when you learned to knit or crochet?
What did you make?
Is 6 too young to teach her to knit or crochet?
I tried to teach her to do the small spool knitting 
http://www.knitting-crochet.com/spokni.html
But she got frustrated. 
Any suggestions?

A post from the Past: June 16, 2008 - Socks

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

June 16, 2008   Socks 

Well last night I finished my 3rd pair of socks. These took me 18 days to knit which is good for me. I was also swatching other projects during this time. 



I didn't like the colors of this sock. I ordered it online and ironically it is named OnLine supersocke 100. I like the colors when it was in the skein but as I knit it up there seems to be way too much yellow. I also don't like the beige color stripe in the yellow section.
I love the purple, magenta, navy and red. The yarn was splitty too. For the high price I think I would have liked to spend the $14.99 on another yarn. We will see if it is worth the money by how long wearing the socks are and if they look good after some years.

I tried them on even though they will be a birthday present for my daughter in law. Sally Cat helped me. 



They fit very good. I had changed from the 2.75mm DPN's to the 3.00mm DPN's. It was a good choice. So my DIL will have a pair of socks from both sizes. She tried on the pair from the 2.75mm and they were snug. She said they were cool but I think the 2nd pair will fit better.
Here is the 1st pair I knit for her. These are done in Austermann Step Yarn, expensive at $14.99 a skein but I got a pair from one skein and I have a lot left over. This yarn is infused with Jojoba and Aloe Vera. It is soft to your hands as you knit. The yarn felt a little stiff but after I washed them the socks were so soft. The label says that the jojoba oil and Aloe Vera will last through 40 washes. 


So that is the skinny from here. I will be starting a sweater soon. More on that later with photos.

A post from the Past: June 27, 2008

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

June 27, 2008

My late daughter’s friend A. or Monkeyspinner posted a photo of her friend PIPPA who made this hat in one evening. All I saw was a photo of one side of it on her head. I love this hat and the way the colors are positioned. 
I hope that I am not offending her by trying to make this hat. Autumn was a dear friend of my daughter Sierra and I am hoping she will be honored that I want to make a hat for Sierra’s daughter. And that she tells Pippa that this is who will receive the hat. 
So I did some sketching in my notebook to make something similar.


My change is by adding a black and a white stripe. 
I also did some K2P2 ribbing for the beginning.
I read about 15 different hat patterns to understand the basic knitting of hats and how many stitches to cast on for a child. 
Other than that I am winging it.

This is my first hat I have made by Knitting in all of my life.
I have never done color changes except for the scarf that I am making 


I have done some color changes in crochet but this is really different.







I have about 8 skeins of Red Heart yarn connected to this little hat. After I started this hat I read that you can't do "intarsia" with circular needles. Intarsia is when you have large color changes like a big red heart on a white background. 
I think when you have never done something new, you just jump in and if you knew how difficult it was or how it should really be done you would never start it. 

2 days of a few hours each day and I am this far.

Here is the sweater I started last Saturday. It is merino,cashmere & silk. The yarn feels so good to work with. I know it will be warm. It is my first ever sweater. This is just the bottom band.


Wednesday I dropped off Peanut for her day camp and I went to the local coffee shop and got the best cinnamon roll I have had in a long time. I love when there are a lot of layers cinnamom. Best of all the frosting was made mostly of cream cheese. Yummy. The coffee was a Mexican Mocha. They make the best coffee at this shop. The shop is privately owned, it's called Stell, they are on FaceBook.
They roast their own beans there. It is so yummy.

A post from the Past: July 1, 2008

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

July 1, 2008

My first ever knitted hat is done. I had no pattern, just made it up as I knit. I had a photo of the pattern of the cubes but then on the top I just made up the pattern myself. I put a crocheted ball on top. Basically I had to draw out my pattern on graph paper. This is more of intarsia knitting than stranded.

It took me 3 days knitting a few hours each day. In that time was designing the pattern. 
This was designed by looking at a pattern by Pippa. She is a friend of my daughter Sierra's friend A. or Monkeyspinner. My daughter died last year of a gunshot to her head. Police say it was an accident.
I have Sierra's daughter Peanut with me. My granddaughter. This hat is for her. 
I asked A. if I could use the design by Pippa and she wrote me that it was ok. Here is what she said (so sweet):

Carol,
I am indeed very honored. I don't think Pippa would be at all offended. I hope that the hat turns out great. I am impressed how you took knitting into part of your life. People use knitting as a very healing art, creating gifts from love, from their time to keep their loved ones warm and safe. Whether it is waiting with someone while they are sick in the hospital, or warm and safe in their own bed.At the same time, finding a sense of inner peace with themselves. Create the hat, keep Peanut warm and know your happy. I am honored to be a continuous part of Peanut's life even from the outside~ lots of love Autumn

A post from the Past: August 24, 2008

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 2008 to 2009.

August 24, 2008

I've been Working on my knitting a lot lately.  Here are some pictures.......

These are some markers I made for my knitting.
Every metal part is Sterling Silver, the wire going thru the beads are headpins with that silver cluster soldered on (by the manufacture) all sterling silver.  The beads are all glass except for the skull which is bone.

Then I have been busy knitting on several projects at the same time.
Here is ONE finished sock. I am casting on the second sock today.

I'm getting better at the gusset where you pick up the new stitches from where you slipped the stitches for the heel. I also am not getting the ladders.  I used Regia Design Line sock wool.  I knit in size 0 metal DPN's because this pattern called for 72 sts. to be cast on. I began with 2.25 dpn's and the cuff was looking huge. So I ripped out and went to size 0.   They are so thin my hands would hurt after a while Sooooooooo I would take a break and work on a NEW SCARF with my new NORO Silk Garden wool.  I love the colors.

Noro Silk Garden Sock-40% Lamb's Wool, 25% Silk, 25% Nylon, & 10% Kid Mohair
This scarf is my own pattern. I wanted to learn how to make cables and I wanted to make something
that would show (socks are basically hidden by your shoe and pants, so I chose to make a scarf.
I am just knitting stocking stitch on the edges, then garter stitch, a cable every few rows, more garter stitch, then stocking stitch edge.  The stocking stitches are rolling in. I don't mind but it is making the scarf narrow. So I want to know about Blocking. 
If I block this scarf flat, will the edges cease to curl?  

I am using my signature knitting needles in size 3.50mm or US size 4.  This yarn is more like a DK weight.

I am also still working on my sweater by Jarod Flood.  I am using Queensland Kathmandu DK. It's a tweed in  the color Chocolate.   I love this yarn.  I am enjoying knitting this so much.  The yarn is  85% Merino Wool, 10% Silk,  &  5%  Cashmere. 

Here is my sweater today.  I am working on the body.

So other than this, I also spent the day at the beach yesterday with my granddaughter and friends. It was so 
beautiful and we swam in the ocean.  The waves were so big.  I got bowled over once.  I had sand in every nook and cranny.  But it was a wonderful day.  Not too hot. Only in the 70's at the beach while back home in the valley, San Bernardino valley it was hitting 100 degrees.

Huntington Beach