A Real "Diva"

This is our smallest girl....Diva. She's 1 year and 3 months old now. She lives up to her name. She is such a picky little girl. Chihuahuas do not like the cold so with the cooler weather approaching, I thought it was time to get her something to keep her warm. Here she's modeling her new fuzzy hot pink sweater. I have such a hard time finding things small enough for her. I got this sweater and a collar that fits (finally) and a cute little tag for her collar online. The sweater is a perfect fit. She wasn't exactly thrilled about it but once it gets cold, I think she will appreciate it. (Especially when we go out to do "business") I don't think you can really tell how small she is by the photo...she still weighs less than 5 pounds...tiny little girl. I would love to get her a Christmas sweater and I think I will knit her a stocking...Santa may come to visit her too.



Anyone with a tiny dog like Diva might want to check out this site...prices are reasonable (really, I'm so cheap...lol) and their shipping was super fast.

http://www.gollygear.com/

I'm not affiliated with them...don't get anything for the plug :( ...just a very satisfied customer who knows how hard it is to find little dog things at a decent price. They even sent her a little freebie sample of dog treats...Liver Biscotti!

Will try to get a picture of her soon that shows how small she is. My camera batteries just died and she isn't a fan of photos so it might take a bit to get a good one. lol

Saturday Sky

Soda Can Cozy....Free Pattern

Soda Can Cozy
©Copyright 2007
Designed by Melanie Thompson

US Size 7 Double Point Needles
100 % Cotton Yarn

Cast on 40 stitches
Place a marker and join…knit one round
*K2, P2 * repeat to end of round
Continue with K2, P2, for about 1 inch (not critical…personal preference)
When you have desired amount of ribbing….knit every round
Continue knitting every round until piece measures about 3 ½ to 3 ¾ inches from cast on edge
Then begin to decrease for the bottom

Round 1: Purl
Round 2: *K8, K2tog* repeat to end (36 stitches)
Round 3: Purl
Round 4: *K7, K2tog* repeat to end (32 stitches)
Round 5: Purl
Round 6: *K6, K2tog* repeat to end (28 stitches)
Round 7: Purl
Round 8: *K5, K2tog* repeat to end (24 stitches)
Round 9: Purl
Round 10: *K4, K2tog* repeat to end (20 stitches)
Round 11: Purl
Round 12: *K3, K2tog* repeat to end (16 stitches)
Round 13: Purl
Round 14: *K2, K2tog* repeat to end (12 stitches)
Round 15: Purl
Round 16: *K1, K2tog* repeat to end (8 stitches)
Round 17: Purl
Cut yarn leaving tail about 4-5 inches long
Pull the tail through the remaining stitches and tug tightly
Secure the tail and weave in the ends

The bottom will have a cone shape…not to worry…this forms to the

shape of the bottom of your soda can You could choose to do

the K2, P2 ribbing the full length of the cozy until

the decreases begin to change it up a bit. Or you could add random

purl rows through out the length of the sides just to vary the

design…have fun and experiment!

Just wanted to add that when these get dirty, just toss them in the wash with towels and they're good to go for more use.

My Soda Can Cozy...Manly Variation

Now my brother-in-law doesn't have to worry about cold hands anymore. This is his manly soda can cozy. I will give it to him tomorrow and hopefully he will like it. I love mine...using it right now as a matter of fact.

This is a terrible photo of the bottom of his can cozy....couldn't seem to get a decent one no matter how many times I tried. Oh well, I hope you get the general idea. The photo of my first one in an earlier post was so much clearer. For anyone who might be interested...my next post will be the free pattern for this soda can cozy. I give you the basic pattern but please feel free to play around with it and change it up a little....make each one a little different just for fun.

Steering Wheel Cover

My oldest DD...now the proud owner of a hand-knit steering wheel cover. She just recently got her own car and of course Mom needs to add her own special touch to everything....this is the perfect thing. She complains (read that as ...whines) about the steering wheel being so hot when she gets in her car after school so I offered to knit her a cover for it...also nice to have when the wheel is cold. I used Sweet Delight Baby (Baby Bee) and the color is "Carrots Oh No!". She is a big Clemson University fan. (Tigers) Their colors are orange and purple so I had to find something orange but pretty. It's not the same orange as "Clemson Orange"...more feminine and paler. She loves it!

Here is a shot of the cover. I really like it too...might have to make myself one. I've done this pattern before for my car using Lion Brand Homespun. It was much thicker and so warm in the winter but a little too bulky for summer time. I just recently took it off because it was looking rather worn and tired. I think this one may hold up better...time will tell.

This is a close-up of the pattern. It's very simple...only two rows of repeating pattern. One of those that you don't have to keep reading the pattern so you can take it with you and easily pick up where you left off. If you're interested in the pattern, it can be found here....

http://terrathree.livejournal.com/161227.html

I have tons of this yarn left over now so I'm thinking maybe she needs some additional accessories to got with the cover. Maybe a CD holer, a trash bag.........got any ideas?

My Can Cozy....No You Can't Have It...lol

This is my cute little can cozy....yeah, I actually got to keep this one. I knit my nephew a cup cozy (didn't get a photo before he left for the beach) for his sippy cups. His was done flat and seamed up the side. It had no bottom...just slips on and off the cup easily. He took it to the beach and my sister called to say she has been stopped several times by people who wanted to know what it was and where she got it. One lady who is a fellow knitter told my nephew that he was obviously loved very much since it was made for him to keep his little hands from getting cold. Anyway, after doing his I got to thinking about making some with bottoms in them. I cast on...knitted a little...frogged....cast on again. This is the end result. I like this one better for the big "kids" but it takes so much longer to knit than the ones that just slip on. It is so worth the effort though. I have been using it since I finished it two days ago and I love it. I take it everywhere with me...can't leave my house without a diet pepsi. Well unless I take a Green Tea in which case I will need to knit a cozy for that...another story entirely.

This is the bottom view. At first I thought I made a major error since this is only the second time I have done a bottom decrease this way. It has a little bit of a cone shape to it and I was so disappointed with the point until I slipped it on my can. TA DA!!!! The point pushes up into the little recess in the bottom of your soda can. It fit perfectly! That never happens to me....I was so excited. (Ok so I don't get out much and I'm easily amused....lol) Yesterday I get another phone call from the beach...my brother-in-law needs to talk to me she says....keep in mind he's not a big talker...he says..."Um...my drink is cold and it makes my hands cold." How's that for a subtle hint. I have another one OTN and I gotta hurry since they are on their way home from the beach as I type. I guess that means I should knitting.

Wordless Wednesday (Wordless I Love You)

New Designs And Some Down Time

I am still alive but I have been one of those bad bloggers...so long since I did a "real" post. I've off for the past week so you would think I have oodles of free time....rofl....yeah right! My sister, brother-in-law and nephew went to the beach for a week. She has called almost every day to check in ....they're having an awesome time. Instead of taking it easy myself...it seems like there so much to do and so little time to do it. We've gotten some major "not so spring" cleaning clean done around here and I've been trying to get some new designs finished and posted. This is one my little down time projects. I had seen it before and mentally tagged it for my "to-do" list but just never got back around to it. It was the KAL for the Monthly Dishcloths group. I almost didn't finish it since I wrongly assumed it was a feather and fan cloth and didn't want to do one. Once I saw others posting about it, I had to jump in finish mine. I knitted mine on size 7 needles but the pattern calls for 8. Another one of my many "DUH" moments. It turned out too small...but still so cute. This is going to be a pattern I repeat many times over for Christmas presents. Every kitchen should have one. This is Sugar & Cream....I think it was Pretty Pastels...not really sure....sorry.

Here is one my Halloween designs. Meet Frank...he is serious about this dish washing business. lol He can be found on my other site as well as this next "gentleman"...

Meet the Grime Reaper. Death to all the dirty dishes! Your time has come! If you're interested in purchasing these....there are here...

http://dishingknitout.blogspot.com/

Thanks for coming back to visit even though I have been so bad about updating. I will certainly try not to be so quiet in the future. I finally feel like I may be getting somewhat caught up with all my projects. I still have two to knit up and double check. They are Christmas presents for a cousin. Since he has no interest whatsoever in reading my blog, I will post them as freebies.

Hope all is well with everyone...and if you haven't checked out Aunt Kathy's blog in a while (or ever for that matter), pay her a visit soon. She will be starting another contest on Oct. 1st. She's a wonderful talented lady with a big heart. You'll love her. Here's her blog addy if you'd like to meet her. http://gimpykatk.blogspot.com/

Satuday Sky #3

Wordless Wednesday

Eyelet Rib Back Scrubber

YAY! I got something off the needles! This has been sitting on my desk right in front of my computer monitor for so long. It says very ugly things to me as I sit at my desk so I thought I should get it finished....it was very unhappy with me for sitting here for so long. I have attempted a back scrubber before but could never seem to stay with it long enough for it to actually become a back scrubber. Now that I have it finished, I can see that I will need to do more. Yes, Froggie, this one is yours. I was working on getting it done while waiting at school this afternoon. Froggie and I always sit together in our cars and knit while we wait. She really liked the scrubber so this one is for her. It's the least I can do since she did give me two skeins of Sinfonia today...one blue and one green. She's the most awesome friend and so generous with her time and herself. Everybody should have a "Froggie". lol



Here'a a little close up of the pattern. It was knit with Sugar & Cream self striping yarn. The color is Natural Stripes. So far, this is my favorite of the colors. Can't wait til she tries it out and lets me know how she likes it. I'm thinking this would be a good gift for my pregnant cousin. All us Moms know how hard it is to reach things once that belly really starts to get out there. lol

Faggoted Rib Cloth....COTW

This week's COTW....the Faggoted Rib Cloth. Okay, you know I don't really care for the lacy cloths but this one has gotten to me. It's just so pretty. This is another one I could see becoming something else. It knit up so fast it was unbelievable! It's one of those designs that makes you look like a better knitter than you possible are. It was pretty simple though or it would have taken me a lot longer to finish. I used Sugar & Cream in Pretty Pastels.

I had my other Halloween design knitted up...almost finished....when i decided that I didn't like the way it looked. His head was WAY too big. lol I frogged back to his neck and now am trying it again with a smaller head.

Halloween Dishcloth & COTW

I finally finished the first of two Halloween designs I've been working on. I just posted it on my other site. http://dishingknitout.blogspot.com/ I hope to have the other one posted in a few days.

I have been having computer issues and haven't been able to function using my back-up. It just isn't as fast as the new one. Of course, since the new one isn't working, I have to say this back-up is now the better of the two. lol

I also got my COTW done. This one has taken me longer to finish than the others...not because it was hard (it wasn't)....just the rut this computer has gotten me into. This is the Lace Chain Panel cloth. It's very pretty but I don't particularly like lacy designs for my cloths. This one will probably go to someone else. I said that like it's something new...lol.

Cross your fingers for me that I get my computer fixed this week. I sure hope so. I do miss that contraption. I was told it didn't appear to be a big thing but that remains to be seen. I have a lot of blog hopping to do and I miss my blog hopping. I don't know what's going on with all my friends lately. I've been trying to keep up with everyone but this computer doesn't always co-operate. So just in case anyone is wondering....I haven't fallen off the face of the earth and I am SO NOT ignoring anyone. I miss checking in on all of you.

Saturday Sky #2

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Sky #1

Spot On! Cloth....COTW

This week's cloth is a round one. I again learned a new trick for not having holes and this one was also a quick one to knit. I love the round cloths and am keeping this one so NOBODY EVEN ASK. lol I used some Sugar & Cream that I had in my leftover stash so I have no idea what the color is other than some shade of blue. It was actually an entire ball but the apparently was used and frogged and the label was probably thrown away. I really need to stop doing that.

Wordless Wednesday

Labor Day & Knitting

This is how we spent our Labor Day afternoon...well, some of us anyway. My 2 1/2 year old nephew, Killian, knows how to relax on a hot day. The temperatures weren't too bad today compared to the last few weeks. It seems like it's always hot and humid here in the South though. We didn't do any cooking out today but it was nice just the same.

I did get a little time to work on the COTW for this week. This one is called Spot On! I was a little confused at first but I think I have it figured out now. The last row of the pattern for each section threw me off a bit. It's different from other round cloths I've knitted before. I hope I'm doing it right anyway. lol

If you look closely at my needle, you'll see the curve. Poor things are overworked and starting to curve a bit from all the use. I got these on eBay and they were a great deal...not as sturdy as the Clover needles but they do the job. I haven't had one to break yet. I love my bamboo needles...don't touch metal unless I have to OR unless it's my Knitpicks Options. The only thing I've used them for so far is my Mystery Shawl (Feather & Fan) which I really need to get finished since the KAL has been over for a few weeks now. Maybe soon it will cool off and I can get around to actually wearing it. :)