knitting dish towels

knitting dish towels
Originally uploaded by Jeweledfrogcreations

Oh it has been too long since I last up dated this blog. Always promising my self that I would photograph my work and post it at the end of each day.  Oh but the end of those days never come.  So I  made my self take a few quick shots of the dish cloths that I am currently working on as gifts.  My mother is out of dish cloths and my friend recently has an aniversery so I thought that these little things would be great.  I like working the details in them to show off texture. It is so nice to receive something that someone made.  The effort and thought that goes into them is the true gift.  Now for those of you that are wondering where I got the pattern it was found in July 2008 issue of Creative Knitting on page 63.   I have found that the solid color works well with showing off the diamond pattern but you can use the varied colors as well.  This is a skill level easy but be aware that the pattern changes from row to row and you must keep an accurate accounting (as always when working a pattern) of where you are.  I usually don't have an issue and can tell by looking where I am but this one on the fist one that I did left me perplexed.  Could be that I have a 14 year old always wanting to talk or that my 8 year old needs me to hear about the latest game that they won or that dinner needed to be fixed sooner rather than later.  What ever the reason was I really had to keep up with the count this time.  But it turned out just great.  On one of these little jobbers I made it just a size bigger meaning that I repeated it just one more time adding the extra bit.  I like a bit more towel when I am wiping up the counters or cleaning something.  I used the recommended "Sugar'n Cream 100% cotton from Lily.  

So this little gift gets a thumbs up wonderfully quick and the diamond patterns adds that extra zing. 

embellishments

embellishments
Originally uploaded by Jeweledfrogcreations

Embellishments are a great way to make something different. That little something that says this is mine. I loved the way the self stripping sock looked the designs that appeared had a wonderful flow. A few days later and a few socks later I thought they all looked the same and that is when it hit me put something on the cuff. Now why I did not think of that sooner. How many times as a child did I stair at my socks and look at the ruffles or other such trimmings. I wanted something soft something that was small but had a big impact . On these socks I did a simple chain stitch (chain 5 and connect) then chain 5 and single crochet through the center 5 times. I tied it on the cuff and then finished the loose in by weaving them inside the cuff. It gave a whole different feel and look. I did this with complementing thread but you could use contrasting thread for a bolder look. Even older socks can be made new with this simple process. Have an outfit and need a sock to match then you can add this simple embellishment with matching thread and there you have it. If you are too busy you can always look on my etsy store and see if there is something that you would like.

Beaded Baby Sock

P7090041
Originally uploaded by Jeweledfrogcreations

This is one of my recent creations. I am currently working on small baby socks with seed beads threaded on the yarn and then knitted into the cuff of the sock. I scatter the beads so that they give just a hint of color. This is a wonderful way to embellish any knitted (or crochet) work. Just make sure that you always put enough beads to finish your product.

What better things then baby socks.

What better things then baby socks.  Even if you don't have baby's feet to put into the socks.  I have been making baby socks.  They are the cutest things.  What else can you do with booties and socks? Well I have some ideas.  For those wonderful hand knitted socks that are to endearing to part with then why not put them on the Christmas tree next year as a remembrance.  If that doesn't do the trick then stuff them with lavender or some other favorite sent and stitch the tops up and put them in a child's drawer or even your own drawer say a sock drawer.  Where ever you put them the fresh sent will sure to be a welcome addition. Even sticking them in a baby shower basket will sure to please.   I even have heard of folks stuffing them with cat nip for a special delight for their favorite feline friend.   How ever you do it do it creatively. Hopefully I will move on from the socks to felted booties.    Got a pattern you would like to shair then let me know. 

Fun Knitted Baby Socks

What a great day.  Any day that you can just sit and knit is a great day.  I have been knitting baby socks and wow.  This is a great project that you can do and get done all in one sitting.  I have not baby to give the socks to but have been wanting to post somethings for sale on the etsy store.  This will be just the thing.  For the pattern I used one from the Doodlebird Creations a great web site that offers some wonderful choices in hand dyed and handmade items.  This web site is simply a must for your bookmarks.  

I have long pondered doing a baby line of knits and still hesitate to commit to just saying yes I will do it.  In playing around with this idea it has come out in every other thing I am currently working on.  So now I have found myself  doing a baby line of graphics called "Waddles" that are offered in various places like cafe press etc. So..... my thoughts come back around to baby knits.  They are simple cute and don't take long to do.  My hesitation is learning how to design the knits.  Since you can't very well take a Debbie Bliss item and knit it up and sell it as your own (not that I would want to do that) I will have to learn how to design the little things.   There are so many wonderful designers out there.  Just wonderful things to be inspired by.  So this journey will be interesting very interesting.  I have found a web site called etsy store and there is where I will hang my hat.  My problem is "I just want to do it with out the learning curve."  So the game is a foot. 

Some new ideas

I was thinking I say so much more with photos then I do with words at this point in my life so why not say it with photos. I have spent the day sorting and posting my stash on line on the web site Ravelry. Boy that was time consuming. But I think the photos are pretty good the colors and the textures are great. That is what draws me to fiber art. So take a look at some of the shots I am sure that I will improve in taking photos of fiber as the time goes by.

I have been so amiss in writing in my blogs. To the point that is is just sinful. I have however have been knitting, photographing and doing some graphic work along with homeschooling. Seems we will be forever stuck in Florida however. Not so bad as I can find worse places to be stuck in. We have deiced that this is the place for us. So soon will come the finial move. That will be great I will be reunited with my sweet dogs and my oldest daughter. A totally new direction will be unfolding in front of myself and family. One that I think we are all ready emotionally and spiritually to embrace. I think that it will be a great time in all of our lives.
In the mean while. I am taking a look at putting together a baby line of sock and sweaters and summer pull overs. I am going to have to master the math that it takes to create the line. But I think that will be easier then my mind is making it out to be. I am also putting together a photo blog. Got several things that will be coming about in a few days. But in the mean while it is back to the grind stone,

I have not been knitting as of late.  I have been obsessed with photographing everything.  I will resume with the knitting as soon as I can.  I have a new store open on Zazzle and that has taken quite a bit of time to upload items (photographs) and get some products made.  It makes me feel just great.  Any who.... I am going to start getting back into the spirit of knitting.  I have just purchased the Vogue summer knits (or was it spring) no must have been summer.  I love the bright colors that they use and the way they are used to create new and flattering looks.  

Until my next blog who knows when that will be due to all the craziness of my life.  

Moving back and forth

I am still working on a pair of socks for Jim.  I have been occupied with home schooling the kids for the past 3 weeks.  Boy I never know how unorganized I was up until I started to do this home schooling.  I am enjoying it.  I have been motivated to make list.  (that is a new thing for me)  I have actually followed the list also.  It took me a few days just to make just one list.  I thought that it was the hardest thing that I had ever done.  Just a list,  just a lesson plan.  The amount of thought that I had to do for something that was supposed to be so simple.  

On to a new thought.  I told Marie about the knitting community and signed her up to get in.  She is now on with me and that is just great one day when she is not going to college she will be able to join me in some fun.  

Recently I joined a knitting community "Ravelry". I was soooo excited.  They invite 800 to 1000 knitters/crocheters per day, so I waited, and checked back daily.  Everyday, sometimes twice a day just to see the number of invites slowly eek down until finally one day I got it.  Was it worth the wait?  Yes.  Even the wait was great.  It was like waiting for Christmas or a Birthday.  Now that I was in the "Loop" I went eagerly to the set up and the sign in, and typed and entered until my info was posted.  And I was asked how many years I had been knitting and crocheting.  Well I have been crocheting since I was in 5th grade.  At that time I was really begging for my Grandmother to teach me to knit but she kept putting it off.  After I promised her that I would sit still and pay attention (that was one of the prerequisites for learning anything with her) she pulled out a crochet hook and my hart dropped.  Well for me that was better than nothing.  She never did teach me to knit but years later.......

My husband I, and at the time our 3 children, moved to Ireland.  It was like I had moved home even though I had never lived there before.  I fell into the most wonder life that I could have ever imagined.  I would walk the streets of Cork and down to the markets that had the freshest fish that you could ever taste.  I developed a wonderful relationship with my fishmonger and soon he had me fixing great dishes that kept us in fine dining for the 5 years that we had the privilege of living there. 

 Every season would bring it own pleasures.  The spring would give life to a bleak country side with the tiny shoots of leaves.  Summer would reveal the emerald green that the land was so well known for, and the winter would bring the coal fires.  I would smell the fires and feel the mist of the weather.  I knew that people who were born here had all of these things and more burned into their memories.  I wanted something that I could take with me to have from this wonderful place and that is when it came to me.  Knitting.  I went to the local knitting store and said "I would like to learn to knit"  I had picked out a lovely cabled throw and needles.  The women looked at me and said there are only 2 stitches in knitting."  Just follow the instructions."  Well I thought that she was being.... well kind of non-informative, to say the least.  But off I went, and well she was right.  I never did finish the throw  I did however see a book by Debbie Bliss and my first work was a blue sweater for a new baby I was expecting.  Then I made a rabbit doll for my daughter and gave to her on her sixth birthday.   We named her Zoie.   Soon every time my husband would travel to England he would look up Debbie Bliss and go to her store and get more books (and get her to sign each one).  He would pick up all the correct yarn to match the patterns that I would select and bring them back to me.  We would also clean out Blarney Woolen Mills.  The fiber that I collected there was just fabulous. Since then I have had a lot of projects and fun with knitting.  When we moved back to the States I met a German women who knitted socks and held the yarn with her left hand.  She could knit faster that way and I learned to incorporate that style to improve my  speed and consistency.  The art of knitting  was the best thing I could have ever taken back from Ireland. Now every time I pick up wool I am transported back to a place that I will always have in my hart.  Knitting to me is transportation to a land that I will always love. 

We just spent the most incredible Sunday out ever.  Not that we don't have great Sunday outings and its not that we have not done some incredible things but this was a great day.  We started to just go and walk around the Commons in Destin Fl. and see an Elvis impersonator that would be appearing later that day.  We thought that it would be great entertainment for our 7 year old who does all kinds of impersonations one of which is ....... Elvis.   We called a friend and asked if they would like to join us.  When Jim got off the phone is said that John (our friend) had trumped him and had asked if we would like to go on a boat ride before we went.  Well need I say more?  Off we went and what a great ride it was.  I loved seeing all the boat docks and eateries that flanked the inlets. John knew extensive knowledge of the homes that also surrounded the area and was able to add colorful stories that added entertainment.  

After that we headed off to the commons.  All ready there was a crowd gathered in anticipation of the Kings arrival.  He drove up on his motor bike (exact duplicate of the one used by Denise Hopper in "Easy Rider")  This guy was good.  He even could do Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.  After a great show, Chris our 7 year old headed off with John's son to do some much needed X-Box playing and we headed off to do what we started out to do just walk the commons.  John rang up and ask if we would like to go to dinner later on.  Now what better way to end the day then to go out with our old friend and a new one..... Elvis.  That is right Elvis and his wife joined us for dinner later on that evening.  We had a wonderful time.    

So much has happened since my last blog and to be honest I just have not wanted to blog.  I lost my Yorkie Terrier this past January.  Nothing has been the same since.  I for a long time just could not even look out over my yard and still to this day have no desire to.   Since this tragic event we have gone down to  Fl. with my husband Jim.  It has been great to have a change of scenery.   Just the sun and the water have a calming effect on all of us.  Kelsey has improved even.  She was battling with a teenage depression and now seems to be trying to shake it off.  

We will relocate here as soon as some loose ends are tied.  

My knitting however is doing well.  I have completed several socks and that accomplishment a great feeling.  I believe that I will be working on some new designs for socks and will be offering them on my blog in the future.  I also will be doing a good deal of felting for purses and children's clothing.  Things are looking up.  It will just be a while in relocating and moving my studio.....again.  Keep watching I am sure that i will be making note of the process. 

The health of a knitter

As I thumb through my knitting books and magazines looking for the newest yarn and wondering what to knit next.  I am very much aware that I live, for the  most part of the day, in my chair.   I would be content to just exist there never getting up to cook or heaven forbid to clean.  As long as I can order off the Internet at my favorite stores and knit... well I am a happy knitter.  But with the new year and the excessive munching that I have done over the holidays and the fact that no matter how much I love to knit I do have to get into my jeans every morning.....which brings me to the point.  All this knitting and no exercise well....need I say more.  But this is just the tip of the iceberg.  You see no exercise also means that my bones are not doing so well either.  And the 10 minutes a day that you are supposed to spend in the sun for vitamin D well lets just say that is not getting done either.  There is a down side to just sitting and knitting away ones life.  I have made a resolution this year and I am going to keep it.  As soon as the holidays came to an end I threw out the Christmas tree and brought back in the exercise machine.   Now it is not the most flattering piece of equipment in the living room but hay at least I can watch the Today Show and do my work out.   This will improve my tone.  My muscles and my lungs and strength my bones.  The last thing that I want to do is look like I 100 when I am only 46.   

If you do Yoga, run,  or what ever,  just do it it makes for a happier healthier knitter,

Just a quick note the sock is going great!  I have been hard pressed for time today since Jim is returning to Fla. and there are always things to help with like packing and making sure that the cat does not try and smuggle her way into the suitcase.  But during "honey can you print this", and "have you seen my ....." I did manage to get some quick throws in.  This photo does not do the colors justice but know they are truly eye popping.  After all to quote Nathan Lane in "Bird Cage" "one must have a hint of color"  I have encluded a video from You Tube to show the paticular technic that I use for holding the yarn with my left hand.  You get faster results and pay paticular attention to the way she wraps the yarn around her little finger.  This will insure the best tention.  Try this with what ever you knit.  It is ackward at first but once you get it down you won't go back.  

Well it is the finish of the year and the start of a new one. I have started off this year geat, in addition to being thankful for what we as a family have been blessed with this past year I have gotten a fresh bunch of sock yarn from my new favoirt shopping hole. jimmy Beans Wool. I purchased some of the Lorna's laces sock wool. The colors are fantastic. They realy are a delight to feel and look at while you are working. I have also just about finished a pair of socks for a friend of mine. They are looking great. The sock pattern is working out and I believe that I will be able to put some of my own designs on them the next time I knit up a pair. I have two stand by patterns just to give the back bone to the sock and then I add and remove, to make it my own pattern. One of the patterns deals with the fingering weight and the other deals with the sports weight. I will pass those pattern locations on. I have already started my wish list for books that I am needing to increase my knowlage about pattern design. I feel so limited when I knit. I want to be able to call the shots and to be able to fix those shots when they dont come out the way that they did in my head.
Well I am off I have to watch for the post man and finish the other sock. If I set my self by the window then I will be able to do both.



Basic Sock patterns  (for fingering weight)
Basic Sock Patterns (for sports weight)