A Little Yarn On The Side

IF Finishing Friday hadn't been the first nice, sunny day we've had in quite some time.... IF the sleeve I cut out for the shirt had actually been of the same pattern as the REST of the shirt..... IF Theo had been just a little less "helpful...." IF I had chosen to work on knitting that was farther along, rather than the new Ostrich Plume scarf that I'm currently obsessing over...... IF I hadn't left my camera plugged into the computer and run the battery down.... This would be a MUCH more interesting blog post.........

This scarf is actually very simple, but I'm trying to make the directions as thorough as possible.  It has a moss-stitch border of 6 rows on top and bottom and 4 stitches on each side, and uses the stitch pattern KNOWN as Ostrich Plume (hence the name).  There's a 3-stitch decrease using a slip 2, k1, pass slipped stitches over, which creates a nicer look than the traditional slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over technique, but feel free to use the more traditional decrease if you choose.  I used a shorter bottom and top edging to allow the wavy stitch pattern to pull the border into the wave effect, but you could certainly add a few extra rows of moss-stitch to the top and bottom if you would like. I have written this to slip the first stitch of all but the very first row as I think it makes a nicer edge, but you may choose to simply knit them.  As a matter of personal preference, I never slip the first stitch of the first row--it doesn't work with some cast-o...

After ALL the sewing and gardening and embroidery, I'm back with my first love: We just needed a little time apart, I guess.  And freakishly cool weather in the summer doesn't exactly hurt wool's appeal, to be quite honest. This is another Ostrich Plume scarf, and after several requests, I will be adding the pattern to the blog later.  It quite honestly takes longer to write a stitch pattern than it does to knit, but I will hope to have it on the blog before the scarf is done.  And considering I just started this last night, I definitely think it could be this month!

....the tough make towels! I've decided to count 2 towels as one finished project, which feels about right.  I've already given away the last set of coffee towels I made, so I decided 2 or 3 more sets would not be a bad idea.  Especially since most of the other ones I've made mention wine, and it turns out I have a few friends who do not drink.  They don't knit either......coincidence??????????  I think not.  Some friends of our are about to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary, and Andy and I have decided to combine out hobbies to make: Okay---so far we're on the "Toni's hobby" party, but when I'm done, Andy will make a walnut frame for it.  I'm thinking of doing a little fabric matting to set it off, so I have one more step to go before turning it over to Andy. And I did get motivated to cut out some more summer clothes for me but not motivated enough to start sewing them.  I blame the weather.  We had 25 days of rain in May, and ...

After the maniacal level of crafting that has been going on here lately, it may not be surprising to learn that yesterday I woke up to Finishing Friday with a huge case of....craft burnout.  That's right--the maniac who doesn't find it at ALL unreasonable to make a sweater in 2 weeks or finish 100 projects in one year might have some limits to her crafting drive after all.  I even gave myself permission to cast on something new and STILL couldn't get motivated..... I may need to see a therapist...........

The mitten garland--you know, the one I started about a month ago?  When I originally got the idea, I was thinking really LITTLE mittens, so I bought little squares of felt.  Then when I realized that that would mean working with itty bitty mittens and cutting out itty bitty mittens, I thought bigger would be better.  I knew I had used it as a Project of the Month bag, but I couldn't find it when I decided to start the project, and knowing I would need more felt, I bought more and jumped in. HOWEVER, I have decided that it can still qualify as a Project of the Month anyway because it isn't exactly finished, so I'm setting a goal to do 30 mittens in June--one a day.  And as of June 2, I have done.....zero.  I think it's going to be one of those "averages out" things.......

You may have noticed a distinct lack of blogging over the holiday weekend.  That's because on the one nice, sunny day I was gardening like a maniac, and on the rainy cold rest of the weekend, my sidekick and I were sewing.  I know I'm usually not this dedicated to any one hobby, but since I really, really, really think we might get nice weather at some point in the not-so-distant future, I've been making summer clothes with hope in my heart and two bored kitty cats underfoot. Project 43: which you would not be meeting AT ALL if it weren't for this insane 100-projects idea as I had to redo the zipper THREE times to get it to fit like it should.  Projects have been sent to the blender for far less than that. I finished it yesterday afternoon, then--possibly because redoing zippers had completely obliterated my ideas of what constitutes "fun"--I started doing a little math, and realized I had used up over 17 yards of fabric in one month, and was within str...