"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

4/18/17

Child's Mittens

I have a small project finished. A pair of child's mittens for Knitwits. I started this project months ago. It was my 'waiting in line or for an appointment' project. Easy to port around, but doesn't get worked on very regularly.



Pattern: Classic Mittens No. 615 by Bernhard Ulmann Co.

Made For: KnitWits

Size: Childs 5-7

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Content: 100% Superwash Wool
Color: Brown

Needles: Circular size 5

Started: January 23, 2017
Finished: April 11, 2017



Knitwits needs lots of child size mittens for our local Head Start.



The past week was so busy. But I managed to get knitting time in. I've got the knitting done on a baby cardigan for the next layette set. It needs a button at the moment but it is already blocked.



I've started the matching hat. Probably will finish it at Knitalong today.

I did a refurbishing project last week too. I have two funky face sets that are put on trees, just for fun. They have faded and lost their colors in the weather so I repainted them. This is the first one. I had just finished painting the pale beige color.



This is how they looked when I got them done.



And on the pine tree in the back yard.



I finished painting the second one yesterday. It has to dry for 3 days before I can put it back on the tree in the front yard.

We've been getting lots and lots of rain the past 2 weeks, but we've had a couple sunny days in the midst of it all. I sat out on the deck Sunday and knitted for awhile. It was 60F degrees and beautiful out. The breeze was very cold though, so I ended up going back inside after an hour. Today it's raining big fat glops at the moment. North Idaho is thoroughly water logged.

Live long and prosper. \\//

4/3/17

Layette Set #19

Is it April already? Geez, it's been quite a few days since my last post, but there really wasn't anything I wanted to write about. I guess I'll write when I have something to say.

I am quite proud of myself because I have managed to finish 2 layette sets in one month for Knitwits. Here's the second one.



Cardigan



Pattern: Super Natural Stripes by Fawn Pea

Size made: 0-6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Classic
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Tangerine (they really ought to call it Hunter Orange)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: White

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Fairy Tale

Needles: U.S. size 7 circulars

Started: March 15, 2017
Finished: March 20, 2017

I crocheted the button because there wasn't one single button in my stash that was the right color. I used these instructions: Crochet Button. I did not put anything inside to stiffen it, like a plastic ring. It's plenty stiff as it is. I used a size F hook and the Mighty Stitch yarn.



Hat



Pattern: Chibi Striped Baby Hat by Chiaki Hayashi

Size made: 0-6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Classic
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Tangerine (they really ought to call it Hunter Orange)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: White

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Fairy Tale

Needles: U.S. size 7 circulars

Started: March 21, 2017
Finished: March 25, 2017

Booties



Pattern: Seamless Garter Tassel Booties by Karen Strauss

Size made: 0-6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Classic
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Tangerine (they really ought to call it Hunter Orange)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: White

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Fairy Tale

Needles: U.S. size 7 circulars

Started: March 28, 2017
Finished: March 30, 2017



The blanket 



Pattern: Three rows of (Sc1, Ch1) all the way around, then one round of Shell stitch (5 dc in first single crochet space, skip next space, one sc in next space).

Size made: 30 by 36 inches

Yarn: Red Heart Classic
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Tangerine (they really ought to call it Hunter Orange)

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Fairy Tale

Hook: U.S. size G

Started: March 30, 2017
Finished: March 31, 2017



I think I'm out of that blanket fabric now, so it's the end of using these colorways. Now I have to figure out what fabric I'm using next. So many choices in the stash.

Shortly after taking all the above pictures, I left the set unattended. Zoey grabbed one of the booties and destroyed it. I will knit the replacement today. It's already a third done.



We had tons and tons of rain last week, but Friday it dried up a bit and I actually got to sit out on the deck for an hour (before I got too cold). I worked on finishing the edging on the above blanket. It felt so good to sit in the sunshine for awhile. The rest of this week is predicted to be sunny and in the low 50's. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Saturday was a nice day too. I decided to take the little fences down that were around all my baby trees since we now have a 6 foot high fence around the back yard. I don't think any moose will assault them now, unless they're really desperate to eat my trees, in which case, I'll be impressed.

Almost all of the snow is gone from the yard. The yard is rather ugly now with all the dead brown grass and no leaves yet. Things are starting to sprout. I've got daffodils about an inch high, and I think the daylilies are sprouting. I will know for sure when the sprouts get a little bigger. One of the three new Peonies I planted in the front has sprouted too.

Did I blog about the daylilies? I don't think I did. Last fall I decided to forget about trying to grow dahlias. Clearly, our mini-climate isn't their cup of tea. I want to grow something that will actually bloom, so I looked into daylilies. They are zone 3, so they should do good here. A catalog came from Brecks in the mail that has some gorgeous ones available. I ordered a bunch of them in a variety of colors and planted them in the fall. Most are in the front flower bed. I bought 3 peonies, a hosta, and an azalea too and planted them in the front. I did a lot of work on the flower beds last fall. The azalea is looking good. I think it survived the winter. I have high hopes for flowers this spring.

Live long and prosper. \\//