Silvercharmster’s Weblog

Wow – it feels like I’m just turning out the projects left and right!  Now that I’m finished with the dreaded, bane of my existence blue cardigan, I’m playing catch-up on some of the other little things that I’ve been wanting to try out.

So, most recent first.  I love looking at amigurumi, but I haven’t ever tried one.  Basically because I know that I do NOT like to make toys.  I don’t like finish work in general, and it seems that the proportion of finish work to actual knit/crochet in most toy patterns, make them not fun for me.  BUT, when I came across this little amigurumi heart I had to try it! (Plus this weekend is Valentine’s day, so it only made sense to make a few).  These are sooooo cute!  And they went so fast – and better yet – very little finishing!  The pattern calls for 9mm eyes, but I could only find 12mm, so that’s what I used, but I don’t think they look too big.  And the pattern calls for Simply Soft or Red Heart Soft, but I had some leftover red Wool-Ease within reach, so that’s what these are made from, and I think it worked fine. Love them!

Next, I finally got around to making my Daria bracelet.  Now, let me tell you, I LOVE Noro – the colors are so amazing. And Noro Daria is WONDERFUL! I made several of these bracelets.  And, I’m thinking that I may use more of the skein for a small change purse, or possibly a pocket for my MP3 player.  Love it!  Daria doesn’t have much give like a normal yarn would, so it took me a bit to figure out how to work the i-cord to keep the stitches tight and even, but once I figured that out, they flew by!

I keep telling myself that I should take a break from swaps, but the Who Knits group on Ravelry was doing a TEA SWAP!  Of course, I have to do that one.  So, in addition to a Daria bracelet, and some stitch markers, I’ve made a mug cozy to send along. I can’t tell you who it’s for yet, but she says she likes rose colors, so I think this one might do the trick.  It’s a great pattern – very quick and not much finishing (again, major plus for me!)

So those are the new items this week.

I also finished and blocked the gift doily for my neighbor:

That went off to her yesterday with a thank-you note.

And I finally blocked my Rose Green for my cousin:

It really is circular – it’s just draped over the back of the chair. I tried to block this last weekend. Washed it, and decided to put it out on our deck table to block/dry. And . . . forgot about it. When we opened the door to go to the bus-stop Monday morning, there it was – frozen.  Never fear, though, it thawed nicely, and then dried just fine!

I love when things finish, and I can start on more stuff!  YEA!!!!  Now it’s off to update my Ravelry!

It’s Done! It’s Done! It’s Done!  After sooooooo long, the much maligned, blue cardigan is absolutely and completely finished.  WOO HOO!!!  All ends are woven in.  All seams are sewn (sewn correctly too, if I do say so myself – I did them right and didn’t cut corners), and the buttons are on!  Of course, I couldn’t find the original buttons purchased for this project, so I ran out to Joann’s yesterday for some new ones.  Then, of course, guess what I found this morning?  Oh well – I really don’t care because it’s DONE DONE, DONE!!!!

Want to see a picture:

Here ya go!

Yes, I know the picture is fuzzy, but I had to take it without the flash.  I also must say, that I felt really strange modeling this sweater, since it’s for someone else, but after so much time, I wanted to make sure it actually hung well once it was on.

So,  here’s a non-fuzzy pic:

WOO HOO!  It feels so good not to have that hanging over my head any more.

So, now I can finally play with the Noro Daria I bought ooohhhh so long ago.

YEA!!!!!

Well, after what feels like forever, I can now say that our house is FINALLY no longer under construction – WOO HOO!!!!  I can’t even begin to tell you what that feels like.  We have been stepping over stuff for so long that it’s so nice to know that we’re finally done!  (That’s not to say that we’re completely finished organizing – we still need to clean out all the “stuff” we’ve just been throwing into into a storage spot for the last year – but the actual construction part is Done, Done, DONE!!!

Here’s the new room!

The view from each end.  Pre-furniture, of course.  I LOVE it!  It’s so cozy.  I think these pictures make it look really big, but that’s only because I squeezed into a far corner to take the pics.  (You know that’s what they do for hotel room sales pictures, don’t you?)  The plan is to make this half playroom, half family room – so that the kids have a place of their own (and the toys have a home), but I also have a place to chill with them if I need to – or have a place to get out of the way if my husband wants to have “the guys” over   And, it’s no secret that it will be the new home for much of my knitting supplies – we’ve already moved in (what will be) my yarn hutch.  And, I’m so proud of my husband for creating this! LOVE IT!

And, speaking of needlework, I have actually been doing something.

The hated dreaded blue cardigan, while not finished, is coming along.  All the pieces are re-knit, the fronts, back and button band are all assembled.  So, the only thing left to do is attach the sleeves, add buttons and weave some ends.  Here’s where it stands now:

And, I know I should just bite the bullet and finish it up, but every time I think of it, I just groan inwardly.  Ugh!  By the way, the white threads are to mark the button holes and button positions.  (Did I mention I hate knitting cardigans?)

And, I’ve finished another Rose Red (this time it’s Rose Green) for my cousin.  Here it is, still unblocked:

And, finally, I’ve started another doily.  Our neighbor has been truly wonderful to us so many times.  Recently, she dropped off a huge bag of clothes for the baby.  All brand new – things that her grandson can’t use.  And, as she delivered them, she insisted that we were not to buy her ANYTHING as a thank you gift.  So, I decided that if I make a doily from stash thread, I’m not buying anything.  And, I think she’s the type who will really appreciate it anyway.  So, I’m making another one of my favorites.  It’s called the “gift doily” (appropriately enough) and it’s from an old American Thread Co. pattern booklet (10 cents) – part of my much beloved antique pattern collection (most inherited from my grandmother.)  Anyway, I’ve made this doily at least a dozen times – it’s small, easy and soooooo pretty.  Here’s the beginning of it:

I’ll post updated pics once it’s finished and blocked – I still have about 5 more rounds to go, and those are the rounds that really give it the little bit extra that make it one of my favorites.  I think she’ll really like it.

So now it’s off to get lunch for the troops!  And then back to the clean-out!

YEA!!!