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.