my first pair of knit socks

I used baby weight yarn from my stash and #3 dpns (double pointed knitting needles.) I followed this tutorial here. I made loads of mistakes but they fit!

Most of my mistakes were due to not reading the tutorial carefully. When doing the gusset I didn't alternate knit rounds with the shaping rounds and I forgot to do it with one sock on the toe shaping. Grafting the toes was tricky but I got the hang if about halfway through the second sock.

A sneak peak of my progress on the Harry Potter Scarf:

Shhh don't tell my crochet friends...

I'm knitting!



This is the first 10 rows or so of a Gryfindor scarf, from the Prisoners of Azkaban. I'm making it for dh. You can find the info to make it here. He's helped me get started on it this weekend. My dear husband is the first knitter in our little family. My dd does okay but hasn;t the patience to get going. I've tried and tried several time to get the hang of knitting and felt like all thumbs so I kept turning back to my hooks and books. This weekend my mind and body were in sync and I can do it. Not very well but I can do it.

I'm giddy can you tell?

now back to our regularly scheduled program

YARN! sort of yarn. I'm dreaming of yarn and swatching with some yarn. I want to design my own sweater so I've been swatching up some ideas.

I've picked out a few sweaters and some shawls to make soon too. I plan to plunk some money down for some nice fiber at my local yarn store this weekend. I might just stop by before meeting with some of my favorite moms to have a cup of coffee or meal maybe, depends on my mood. So if for some reason I don't show up at the coffee shop it means the bamboo yarn has me in it's drapy, silky trance or the Frog Tree Alpaca has lulled me into a soft slumber. Feel free to drag me away from the Yarn Barn, I 'cause I want to see you too.

It used to be that books stores lulled me into his kind of stupor but not so now, now it's yarn or yarn books.

So with out further ado here are some of my up and coming project just for me.



Sweaters from Hip to Crochet and Cool Crochet. A shawl and a skirt and possible a tank from Amazing Crocheted Lace, and another Shawl from an old Mon Tricot Mag.






Some swatching for the sweater I want to design. I'm using a star stitch I found in the Encyclopedia of Stitchery. I love how it looks. If I go with this it will be for the body of the sweater and I will do a slightly different pattern for the sleeves. The swatches are in a very decadent yarn by Frog Tree it's a pima cotton, silk blend. It is luscious, I love the muted colors and it's pricey. The sweater if I use the frog tree yarn would cost me lots of dollars so I might not and it's not a very practical sweater.

Ugh! Edited to correct typo's. I had not had my coffee yet.

More sewing goodness ....

to support the hookin' habit. Every good hooker needs a tote or two or three to hold his or her many WIPs.




Lots of pockets to hold other hookin' tools like post it notes, pattern books, hooks etc. The tote it my own design and I kind of wing it when I make them.





A hook case to store the many hooks you have



All the above and a few other things went off to my crochet swap partner on craftster. I have a smaller but similar bag in the works for my Mom who's into knitting socks. I need to make me one next.

I made the following hook cases for me while I was working on stuff for my swap partner.



I found a tutorial to make the hookcases here I followed the instructions loosely.



I really like how this one turned out, 'cause it's my favorite color and because the hooks fit perfectly in it.


Here they are all rolled up.

It's an Apron(s)

I got this one this weekend as a part of a swap on craftster. I can't show you the one I made for my partner as I have not sent it off yet. Here's the springy one I got:



The colors are bit washed out but you can see more in my swaps collection.


This one is a bit more true to color.

I made one for me, or whoever wants to wear it.

Remember this work in progress made with thrifted fabric and fabric I dyed myself:



It became this:



The towel, I have hooked through the ties, my son helped me tie-dye. I like having a towel handy on my aprons, so I don't dirty up my aprons when my hands get dirty.

Here's a shot w/o the towel:


And a shot of the lining on the back also dyed, doing low water immersion dyeing. I used left over dye I had around for months! It didn't dye very true to color because of it but the colors turned out kinds of fun.



Do you think aprons might get more more excited to cook? I can only hope.

This is just wrong!

I am flabbergasted, shocked! I can't believe this. We institute the stupidest legislation called the No Child Left Behind Act, thinking our children will be better educated. Then we close libraries? What?

Go here to see what the world is coming too. Today, please stop the world, I want to get off.

I'm feeling thankful despite the lack of modernization at my local library it's still there and standing. We don't get much federal money, I don't think so. If so, it looks like that's a good thing, because federal money=closed=stupid acts.

Ripple Progress

ripple progress
Originally uploaded by Fiber Star.

I've been quiet but I've been rippling and a few other things. Rippling is about all I have the patience for craft wise these days. The cold weather here in Kansas has be snuggled under this and another ghan to stay warm.

I plan to go yarn shopping this weekend. I'm treating myself to some good stuff at the Yarn Barn, my local yarn store. I hope the new yarn will help me get hooking more. I can't seem to focus on anything much. On my to do list a hoodie, atleast one shawl maybe two, a camisole if I can figure out how to make it big enough to fit, and a skirt.

If it weren't so cold out I would be playing in the garden. I feel more excited about my garden this year. I'll share more about that later, so remind me if I forget.

Stay Warm!