packing my pins

Monster update

Finished my Hug Me Monster. This guy is on his way to Ohio to join the growing army for 600 Monsters Strong. It really is an army too, check out the galleries of finished monsters.

        Ravelry  -----  Facebook ----- Instagram 

In other toy news; The Toy Society seems to have been abandoned. At least the main website anyway. The posts on Flicker are still growing, people are still  leaving anonymous handmade gifts for perfect strangers.  With the organizers AWOL, some droppers have started a Facebook page to ensure theses random acts of kindness (and craft) continue. For more information about the new system for logging dropped and found toys head over to TOTS- The Other Toy Society

Blue Garter Cardi

Why have I never made cloth buttons before? They are fabulous, easy , and creates a justification for fat quarter purchases. What could be better?  These little houses seemed like the perfect foil for the plainness (is plainness a word? It seems appropriate.) of the pattern.. This is a replacement sweater for Thing 2 since she is still wearing one I made her two years ago that now fits like a shrug. Go figure.

The sweater came out rather well considering the pattern was in french and Google translate did some interesting things to the terminology. I ended up making my own diagram and sort of winging it for the collar. So it's some what off center and one side is a bit free form. But the yarn is wonderfully soft and machine washable Perfect for a very active 4 year old girl.

Garter Stitch Cardigan pattern by Mamoizelle K

On Ravelry;  gilet simple

FYI: How to Make Fabric Buttons

Monster pillow

Three weeks of rain did allow me time to finish some inside projects. My monster pillow is one of many. This guy was inspired by the very talented work of Debi van Zyl.  Checkout her Etsy store for her zany sweater creatures. My monster is taking in a little sun in the garden today as it has finally stopped raining. Normally he is on my couch hanging out with my cats.  

No two alike

What is it with slippers? I can never get the second one to come out the same.

This was the look I was aiming for. We'll see how close I get. After I redo that right slipper, the toe is so weird looking. It serves me right for making slippers in July, even thinking about slippers is weird enough. Sorry to everyone in the rest of the country but it's been cold and rainy here for days. My weather widget is way off. I don't know where the sensor is for that thing but it's nowhere near my house.

And now for something completely different --**--

Anyone know what to do with white currants? I've one bush and it's loaded.

What do you do all day?

Don't you get bored?  These are often repeated refrains from friends and family, and most recently my doctor. Post leukemia, post chemo, post moving to 20 acres in eastern Washington. Sometimes I feel like all I do is explain how life is different than before all those posts.
Before I was in school, I worked as a bookkeeper, and did CAD along with everything else in your average life.
Then the big C.  A completely life altering experience for my entire family.
Now I'm allergic to nearly everything, have issues with anxiety, live with chemo-brain and wonky ovaries.
Ah, chemo-brain, a thick brain fog that brings a slightly demented house elf into you're life. It hides things, moves random objects from room to room and leaves weird stuff in the refrigerator. Shortens attention span and makes me hunt for words. In short - chemo-brain is damned irritating!
So getting back to the original question, what do I do? Most of the time I couldn't tell you what I did the day before. I know I was up and doing stuff - just not entirely sure what. That's part of the reason I got into The Ships Project and Knit for Japan. It has clear deadlines and a tangible product. I can look at a pile of hats or cool ties and know where my time went. Outside projects are less obvious unless its something like the wood pile. Which I need to start working on again.
Maybe that's what this blog is for; proof I haven't been nuked into obsolescence.
Anyway I'm never bored.

******

Knit for Japan mailing ended July 15. My box included 9 hats, 3 pairs of fingerless gloves, and 1 cow washcloth. All of the pattern and yarn info are on my Ravelry page. (I have become completely obsessed with Ravelry. Thousands of free things and you can see how almost every yarn works up. And membership is free!)

Cool ties are off to Florida and then to parts unknown.

And I made a bench.

I'll have photos just as soon as blogger stops acting up.  It completely changed my wordless wednesday  pic.

******
Okay enough about chemo-brain. I'll be back next week with frivolity and a Many-Berry Cobbler.

Before I forget and lose the photos

My original plan for this blog was to provide a searchable record of my projects. An online backup for my faulty memory. And hopefully less duplicated gifts for those on my Christmas list.  So this is what went south for Thing 2's 3rd birthday. (That trip I went on before I got the plague.) 

Red Riding Hood Cape

Oliver and S "little things to sew"

red flannel lined with yellow and rose quilting cotton

Sleeveless Dress

New Look 6309 size 3 style D

Cat print cotton, fully lined with buttons instead of zipper

Elizabeth Zimmermann's 'sweater on 2 needles'

All info on Ravelry

And new fabric came home!

The bunnies are coming to get me.......

 Bunny Nuggets, Flannel Rabbits, Bunny Slippers

 I've been over run with rabbits.Or maybe that should be I've been run over by rabbits. As with most holidays I don't really get crafty until about a week before. Which makes shipping an issue. It also makes me go nuts on craft overload.

Finished stuff and mostly finished stuff ---

Bunny Nuggets from the uber talented Rebeca Danger. Hers are really cute. Mine look a little deranged and the green one turned out like a slug.
Rabbit Softies (still to be stuffed) come from Martha Stewart. I used flannel and stash cotton instead of suiting. (who has suiting fabric lying around?)
Bunny Slippers are Mom's creations.( Aren't they cute!) She felted a basic slipper and added bunny features. They're sized for Thing 2 who's coming up on  her 3rd birthday.
In the works there's also this bunny. Two squares are done, I just have to make them into bunnies. A vest for Thing 1 is almost done. I'm down to choosing buttons. It's good I'm on a dead line since button decisions tend to be lengthy.
On the list of 'If I have time' -  boy's tie and bow tie

The Easter box will also have some very yellow clothes. The peasant dress (I made) from stash fabrics and sheet from the 70's. As a sheet the big yellow flowers are a little much but I like it with the white. The western shirts (Simplicity 5366) are Mom's continuing project from our attempt at making Toy Story clothes. Cow print vest and chaps were done for Christmas but the shirts turned into a larger undertaking. Cuffs and pearl snaps proved very difficult and much cursing was needed to finish. Snap pliers are now on their way. We shall never snap alone again!

finished and frogged

 

Hat's : Whit's Knits; Winter Hats for Everybody
Booties: Calista's version of Babystøvler

After finding a stash of yarn (mostly baby) in the attic Mom and I have been madly making hats. The thinking was that this pattern would provide good practice with knitting in the round with two circular needles. So when I try for socks at least I won't be fighting with double pointed needles. I hate DPN's. Once the first few hats were done what would happen but Knit Pick's had a sale. Yarn Sale! What happy words! So sock yarn was painstakingly selected. (Yarn choices are sometimes right up there with finding paint colors. there's just so many choices. ) The final decision came down on Felici, a wonderfully soft merino wool blend.  As you can see we couldn't pick just one. 

Once the hat's were finished I had to make some matching booties. This shade of pink makes me think of raspberry sorbet.

Pattern: Tam-o- Shanter By Elizabeth Zimmernann
Yarn: Lion Brand Amazing 'Regatta'

That rather bulbous thing just above is my unwashed tam. The Amazing yarn turned out to be amazing. Lovely colors and it got softer the more I worked with it. Alas, after washing and then drying over a Lenox plate, it turns out I don't have the proper head shape for a Tam. So the poor thing will be frogged. Returning back into a lovely ball of yarn waiting for inspiration to hit.

available at Ravelry

Last week I had posts all planned and fun and interesting things to post. Then the earth creamed Japan. So Friday went to watching CNN and trying to find out about any damage to northern California. The national news kept saying the only area affected was Crescent City. "An 8 foot wave swept the area." Well Mom's family is one of the original pioneer families in the area. The family dairy is still in operation by Smith River. So the news of an 8 foot wave was rather alarming. (By the way the 'e' in Del Norte is silent.) As it turned out the tsunami was more of big tide. It still destroyed the harbor, but didn't go over the sea wall into town. Thank you CNN for never including that bit of information.

Anyway my time spent glued to watching Japan turn to rubble was a complete nausea inducing waste. I finished my horned hat for Thing 1. I'm much happier with how the horns turned out, and the hat will actually fit a six year old.  The hat and some Lego's are heading his way.



So now it's Tuesday and Japan is still creamed. For ways to donate and avoid scammers, Apartment Therapy has list of really good links and info. (What does it say about the human race that you have to double check a charity to make sure it's legit.)

Annekata had some really nice thoughts on the quake and importance of empathy.

March Mailing

Hats : Ellen's Knit Hat
Slippers: Beginner knit slippers

Knitting this month for The Ships Project was kept stalling out on me. The need for solid black wool is waning. It's already in the fifties/sixties in southern Afghanistan and they are starting to think about staying cool. Such news is hard to take while it's 35 degrees here. So with black wool out, the need runs to ships and medical units. They want soft colorful things. Soft is not a problem, Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft are both approved , readily available, and easy care.  The stumbling block for me is this: What is a bright guy color?

Having knit for the men in my family for years, I can tell you anything bright or too patterned will cause carping from the recipient. Granted none of them live in a gray ship or are in hospital. But still, the only way my brother would wear a bright colored hat was if it had horns on it.

In the end I went with the super soft blue and mixed it with a multi color I found in the attic. (Yes, I have so much yarn that I lost some in the attic for a few years.)
Everything goes out on Monday heading off to Florida and from there to parts unknown.

For more information about The Ships Project or the patterns click on the links below.

The Ships Project main site, on Ravelry, and their Yahoo group .

Cheers and have a happy Sunday!

Monster Monday

Little Monster Hat pattern found via Ravelry. It's also available for free on amiable knitting. Check out the matching booties!

 The hat I made turned out too small for Thing 1 (as I will be referring to my brother's eldest)  He will be turning six soon and likes dinosaurs, monsters and all things with big teeth. So I've been collecting monster inspiration.

Wool Monster Slippers from etsy

etsy

Source: made-by-rae.com via Meredith on Pinterest 

The pics above are from the very talented Made By Rae as part of Celebrate the Boy 

Also dragon slippers, very cool!

Iris the Gourmet Monster

Of mice and moss

 The slipper on the right I wore when I was about six. It saw a lot of action, so much so that only one slipper remains and his ears are hanging on mostly out of habit. The new one on the left will be going to a cousin's new baby this week along with the hat below and some other stuff. Both patterns are on Ravelry.

Finished my moss pincushion. Pictured here over looking the frozen kitchen garden.