Picot Swirl Cloth Finished

I've actually finished it the next day but life has kept me busy and I haven't had a chance to post the photo until now. And as ususal, it is already gone. My Mom saw it when I was taking the photo and just "had to have it". She got it just in time since my sister also came in about that same time and wanted it for herself. She was just a bit too late. I can't wait for the day I make something that I actually get to keep and call my own. lol Does anyone else have this problem? These are the people who laughed at me for even learning to knit in the first place. They teased me about it being an old lady's hobby and never missed an opportunity to get a good "one-liner" in. Now these people are constantly wanting to know what I am working on and asking me to knit them something. I take that as a compliment. Anyway, I just wanted to get this photo posted so you could see how it turned out. Thanks again, Tea. It's a great design and a quick knit. Here's the link once again for anyone who is interested in giving it a try. For those of you who've never knit one of the round cloths...this would be a perfect first one to try. It's super easy...jump in!

http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged ....twice! Brian (http://brileyknits.blogspot.com/) tagged me and Tiff (http://babiesandbitsofyarn.blogspot.com/) tagged me this morning. Brian tagged my 360 page but I will only torture these 6 people. So, here's the deal. When you're tagged, you need to list 6 weird things about yourself on your blog. Then pick 6 people to tag and list them on your blog. You then leave a comment on these people's blogs stating that they've been tagged and direct them to your blog for the rules.

I apologize if these things aren't weird enough...but here goes.

1. I am so addicted to French Vanilla Cappuccino. Even if it's 90 degress out.

2. I absolutely love anything by Stephen King. The man is a genius.

3. I am a firm believer that no man EVER walked on the moon. :P

4. I own enough purses to fill a small dumptruck....I can't resist a cute purse, another one of my addictions.

5. I rarely watch television...except to see Ghosthunters and Nascar. Hey, girls like racing too. (GO JR!)

6. I will collect anything with a snowman on it. I love snowmen! I even have some displayed all year round.

So, now time for the "taggees"....

1. Amy-lynne http://frogiezplace.blogspot.com/
2. Mandy http://missmandigirl.blogspot.com/
3. Shelly http://kadezmom.blogspot.com/
4. Suzy http://suzysknittingnotes.blogspot.com/
5. Dawn http://lakebreeze.org/blog3/
6. Aunt Kathy http://gimpykatk.blogspot.com/

Okay ladies, you're it!

Picot Swirl Cloth

This is the beginning of the Picot Swirl Cloth designed by Tea. I love the round cloths and this one is a little different from the ones I have knitted in the past. Tea has this pattern posted on her blog to share. It's here if you'd like to see it.... http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/
The round cloths seem to knit up so much faster and I do love the "instant gratification". I bought this ball of Sugar & Cream because I really liked the colors...had no idea what I would use it for at the time though. It's called Jewels. I so love this pattern and as a bonus, I learned something new today. YAY! I didn't know how to do a picot edge til now. Thanks Tea for sharing the pattern. I love it!

Just a little close-up of the picot edge for ya. I think I like this better than the other ones with the pointy edges. I will probably have to go up a needle size on my next one. Being a tight knitter, mine is coming out a little smaller than it was designed to be. I should have known this before I started but I have something on my 8's and I just couldn't wait.

Cloth Of The Week...Poppycock Feathers

This is the Cloth Of The Week...Poppycock Feathers. I really like this one, it has a sort of feather and fan look. It's a very simple, easy to follow pattern. I was really surprised at how quickly it knit up. This first photo was taken without the flash and shows the colors much better. I used Sugar & Cream in Key Lime Pie. I love the colors since green is one my favorites.

The next one I knit, I think I will only do one row of knit before the pattern. I really like the wavy edges...it's a change from the usual square cloths. Although another group member used a 1" border on both the cast on edge and the bind off edge and it looked very nice as well. It gave the cloth a whole different look. Even the center pattern looked slightly differen that way in my opinion. Very nice.

Cable Cloth Finished

I ended up frogging the scrubber again. Just couldn't get it done to suit me. I cast on this one instead and finally managed to get one finished. The first photo is a little bright but the color is definitely more true. It would have looked a lot better if I had blocked it but I couldn't wait to share my photos. I am so excited to have actually completed one.

This one distorts the color but shows the cables really well. I made one mistake but decided to ignore it and go on. I couldn't bear the thought of another day in the frog pond. It doesn't show too bad and I'm pretty happy with the finished cloth.

This is a close-up of the cable pattern. Don't look for the mistake...you might find it. lol Once I got the hang of the pattern, it wasn't so bad. And since it actually looked like a cable this time around, I kinda enjoyed knitting this one.

Cables....I Haven't Given Up Yet

Key word here being...YET.

I frogged the first cable attempt...just wasn't happy with it. This is my second go at it. I'm surprised that I've made it this far since I am constantly resisting the urge to frog again. So, any of you more experienced knitters out there who might have the urge to give advice or tips....I am now begging for them. It just doesn't look right to me. (Not that I really know what it should look like...lol) I'm sure some of you have learned some tricks over the years for cables and my poor aching brain would love to hear em! I'm pretty sure there is at least one mistake so far...I think I knit one row too many before a cable row but I can force myself to overlook that if all else goes okay. It will probably end up as a gift to a non-knitting soul who will never know the difference. SShhhh....it's our secret. I won't tell if you don't.

I cannot explain the color combination...I just like these two colors together. Maybe because they're so bright and cheerful. (If you saw the previous post, you'll see that I need bright and cheerful anywhere I can get it. The weather around here stinks lately.) I think I am getting more control over the tension since I don't see the ladder effect as bad around my cable. This was driving me insane. And I just can't be a loose knitter...tried it...not happening. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Or maybe it's really cause I'm just so dang stubborn. I've retired the cable knitting for the night....maybe tomorrow I will be able to resume without pulling my hair out. I may even find a hint or two from some friends...hint, hint.

Mother Nature Is Obviously Upset...

I don't who did it or what they did...but someone has really made Mother Nature mad. This is another fine afternoon in the South. This isn't even the really scary part of the cloud. I couldn't get a good photo since I was in the car and I was driving. I had a hard enough time just staying in my lane...the wind was awful. But I have to admit, in some strange sort of way, storm clouds are so beautiful. These were so low that it looked like you could almost touch them. It's both fascinating and frightening to watch them. Luckily we only got a lot of wind, lightening and rain. It had me going for a moment though...thought maybe there was another tornado in the works.

On another note, I frogged my cable scrubber. I just wasn't happy with the way it was looking. I forced myself to knit a little loosely but that only made it worse. I will cast on again and try to knit snug, not tight, and hope that maybe it will turn out better. I guess I shouldn't expect perfection on my first cable but I'm funny that way. I can't stand it if it isn't "perfect". I have my own definition of perfect for knitting purposes. lol

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Doing The Happy Dance And Cables!

OMG!! I can't believe I'm doing cables. I thought it would be forever until I got to this point. I just joined a new group called Cloth Of The Week. This is the one they are working on now. So, I figured I would just jump on in and give it a try. I know, I know, it needs a little work and a lot of practice but I am so proud of my little cable. This is the beginning of my scrubber. I just hope I don't run out of yarn. Maybe I will pick another color and switch colors throughout just in case.

My biggest problem seems to be that I am a very tight knitter and this doesn't go well with cables. It makes them look a little warped as it causes the stitches to look pulled. I will definitely have to practice knitting a little looser when cables come into play. I was just so happy to actually be knitting something that resembles a cable that I had to post and share it with you!

Snake Bath Puppet

This is the snake bath puppet I just finished for my nephew. He loves to take baths and uses washclothes I knit for him. I thought this would be more fun than the washcloth. It's designed by Brian and is a free pattern available on his site. There's a link in my side bar if anyone is interested. (BrileyKnits) It's under free patterns...Brian's Designs. I can't wait to give it to my nephew and see how he likes it.

My snake turned out a little "beady eyed"....please don't blame the designer. No where in his pattern does it say "beady eyed" snake. I am just not skilled at sewing on eyes. It was another first for me. I think it adds to his "cuteness". That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

This little guy was fun to knit. I really enjoyed watching him come to life. It was also good practice for me at picking up stitches. I'm pretty comfortable knitting in the round but I've only done one other pattern that required picking up stitches. I will be making more of these for Christmas presents...and it'll give me more practice as well. Brian also has a frog and a duck pattern available. Thanks for sharing these with us, Brian. There are so cute.

Friday the 13th

Well in the true spirit of Friday the 13th...this is the news in our town today. An old cotton mill near the downtown section is on fire. It burned once before in 1995 and looks like today should finish it off. You can see the 50 foot flames for miles. According to the news reports, it took only about an hour for the entire building to be englufed in flames. It was built in 1888.

There is also some awesome video from the local news station's helicopter's.
http://www.wyff4.com/video/13676936/index.html

At this point, everything seems to be under control. They are monitoring the air quality since the site was found to be contaminated by metals and chemicals. There are a lot of homes in that area and an evacuation could be necessary if the air quality changes.

We do live out in a more rural part in the county so we aren't close to the danger. Although you can't help but worry about all those people in the area and the approximately 80 firefighters on the scene. There's another abandoned mill not too far from this one that also burned several years ago. You would think they would tear them down or renovate them to be used for something else to avoid things like this happening. If they sit there empty, they're just an accident waiting to happen. I do have some family that live near the fire...already called to make sure they are all okay. They have assured us that it's under control.


Maybe later I can post on a happier note. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Today's Weather Report And Kitty Update

This is how the sky is looking today. YAY! Of course, around here the saying is....Wait 5 minutes and it'll change. But, for now we have pretty blue skies with just a few small scattered clouds. It's such a nice change. This is the view on the front porch.

This is the view from the back deck. I'm so glad we're having a pretty day. We're taking the kids to the movies tonight. The "bigger boys" and the little one are going to see Transformers. My youngest son and myself are going to see a scary movie. It's called 1408. I've seen the preview and it looks pretty good.

Update on the new babies. They are growing so fast. This is Tiger in a rare (and I do mean RARE) moment of quiet. These are the most active kittens I have ever seen! He looks so sweet...please don't be fooled

This is Jet. You see he's not lying down. For these two "boys", nothing is sacred. If they can get to it...they'll jump on it, climb up it...you name it. You can see the devil in this boy. It's written all over his face.

Another Day...Another Design

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. This is what we have had to look forward to a lot of days lately. The last one we had brought a microburst that destroyed a silo just up the road from our house. Kinda scary but it could have been worse. This is the view from my front porch. In a strange sort of way....it is kinda beautiful.

This is the view from the back deck. A little unnerving to know that this is hovering over your house. It seems to be moving rather quickly thank goodness. What we really need is rain...a LOT of rain. By the look of this, you would think we get lots of it but we only seem to get quick little showers and then it's over.

See why we need the rain. These are my newest "babies". This is my giant elephant ear plant. The leaf in the front doesn't look to good but the rest is growing like wildfire. Every day you can see how it's growing. I've tried twice before to grow an elephant ear with no luck. I'm so happy to see him getting bigger.

Finally, this is my new design. My son came up with the original chart and I just modified it to fit my dishcloth designs. It's called Hoops. I should have it posted on Dishing Knit Out by tonite. I will soon have another test knit OTN that he charted. If this one turns out well, it will definitely be his favorite.

It's Here! Thank You, Brian!!!

My awesome new needle case has arrived. Brian had posted pictures of some of the needle cases he made on his blog a little while back. I jokingly (I hope that's a word..lol) said, "I got dibs on the pink one!" He asked me if I indeed wanted the case and of course I said yes. He so patiently saved this one for me until I finally got to the post office. (Took me forever...so glad he waited.) It came in the mail today. I love, love, love it!! It is so nice...much nicer than some others I have seen. Brian is super talented and he does some beautiful work. The fabric is thicker than I expected with the beautiful design. I think it will be quiet sturdy and last for many years to come. I still believe how nice it is. Thank you so much, Brian. If you haven't seen his blog, you should check it out. He just posted some new patterns for bath mitts for the kids and they are super cute. I'm planning on making the snake for my nephew. The link to both of his sites are in my side bar on the right. Here's the link for his patterns...
http://brileyknits.blogspot.com/

This is the case all filled up and tied up. I have a mixture of my bamboo needles inside. All the ones that I happened to have handy. I need to get all my needles together and see what I have. I'm sure I need more cases to hold them all. I would be embarrassed to say how many knitting needles I own. In truth, it's probably a ridiculous number. The prices on ebay are so good though...it's just too hard to resist. They are mostly bamboo since they are my favorite. I hate the metal ones with the clicking and the stitches sliding....grrr.

Mystery Shawl Update

Time for an update on my Mystery Shawl. I just finished the rows for Week 6 and this is how it looks. I absolutely love this shawl. I think it will actually be more of a wrap than a shawl but I'm no expert on this. This is my first one after all. I love these colors and the yarn. (Sonata by Elann) I think it's going to have a beautiful drape once it's finished. I'm thinking this is going to be one my favorite knits so far. If only I had known the feather and fan was this easy.

This is a close-up of the stitches. It also shows the colors pretty well. I love the earth tones and this yarn is becoming a favorite as well. I'm considering ordering some more in a different color combo to make another one. I could have one for every day of the week. :)

Happy July 4th!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe July 4th! This was the finale of our fireworks show. We usually just stay home and shoot some fireworks with the kids. They always enjoy it.

Party Time

Today has been a long one. We had my oldest daughter's birthday party today. She wanted a pool party and since it was her "Sweet Sixteen", we gave in. Man, what a lot of work. It was worth it though. I think everyone had a good time and she even let us old folks hang around.

This is the birthday girl. One of the girls was doing cartwheels off the diving board so Megan wanted to give it a try....wish you could have seen that. It was so funny. She was scared to try and everytime she moved her foot to go, she would stop and squeal. She wasn't even jumping yet. She finally did but I think it took her 10 minutes to get the courage to just do it. She's such a girly girl.

This is the baby of the family who is fearless and jumped right up on the diving board and did her cartwheel like it's something she does every day. When the boys got too rough and ran the girly girls off...this one didn't budge. She fits in anywhere.

Here's the boys. Looks like they're plotting something and they probably are. That's what boys do isn't it? If you look in the background, you'll see that fearless one again. LOL

The grand finale.....her Dad brought fireworks to finish off the party. I'm so glad I got a shot of the first one. My 2 1/2 year old nephew is absolutely terrified of them so they had to stop. He went inside and refused to come back out after this. The party was ending at this point so he didn't miss the fun.

Now I'm off to bed....seems like this day has lasted forever. We're all exhausted and aside from my youngest son, I'm the only one still left awake. He's proof reading as I type and it's a good thing as he's already caught several mistakes. :) Thanks for checking in...always nice to have visitors.