Baby Surprise Jacket Challenge

I work much better under pressure.  Otherwise, I tend to spend too much time on the internet, reading, dreaming or just generally wasting time.  So I created a nice little challenge for myself.  Let me start at the beginning.

I made a sweet little blue & white with blue teddy bear buttons Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for Max.

When I tried it on him he looked so adorable!

 

 

While I was cooing over him....Liam looked at me with those big beautiful eyes that said "Nana, where is my sweater?"

Lily even wore Max's sweater around like a little shrug.
Then she insisted on wearing my sweater around for a bit.












So naturally I told them I would make them each one too.  I mean sweaters for grandkids are a must, right??

This is where my crazy kicks in.  I thought...."Oh, how cute would they look in matching little BSJ's for Easter pictures."  I knew I could get the same yarn in pink & green at The Fiber Closet.  BSJ's are quick, fun little knits.  So this would be a piece of cake.  Somewhere in the back of my mind the sane part was trying to tell me that Easter is early this year but I am very good at ignoring her.

So I decided I could totally do this but I might need a little help focusing.  That's where you come in.  If I post this all over Facebook, Twitter & the Blog.....I will have to be accountable.  I will have to finish on time!!

Mira Shawl by Michelle Miller FickleKnitter
Yarn is LaJolla by Baah Yarn

You will be there in the background (or in my face) saying ....  "Put that Mira Shawl down.  You didn't finish the JKnit / FickleKnitter  JKal on time so why are you trying to knit on it now. Get back to the business at hand!"  (Here is a quick pic of it...more on this in a separate post)




or
"This is not the time to organize the stash!  Quit stalling"

or
"Why are you playing around on the internet?  Don't you have baby knits to finish?"  You see, it is all about making myself accountable.

College Basketball March Madness is nearly upon us.  I plan to spend lots of time watching & rooting for my favorite teams.  A BSJ is certainly simple enough for me to knit while watching sports on tv.  See how this is all coming together?  It's like it was meant to be.

So I am off to knit a bit.  I started yesterday....twice.  Seems I can knit just fine but have trouble counting??
I will keep you posted on my progress and if you see me on FB or Twitter too much....Tell me to

"Get back to work!"

Edited to add:  Feel free to knit along with me.  Don't you have someone who needs a BSJ?

A Dreary, Drizzly Day

Yesterday it rained & rained & then rained some more.
The south field is beginning to
look like a large pond.

Today it has turned to a freezing drizzle.  Hopefully the ice build-up will be minor.  We have enough electrical problems around here recently without Mother Nature adding to them.

The only way to deal with this type of day is soup & knitting.  I put a huge kettle of beans on to simmer.  Great way to use up that Christmas ham bone that was taking up space in my freezer. (To all friends who don't eat meat, pork or beans, don't look!) My recipe for the beans: Soak them overnight, drain & rinse, cover with a few inches of fresh water, add the seasonings you prefer (I just use salt & pepper), diced onions and a ham bone.  Simmer all day on low.  I usually make a huge kettle full with about 4 lbs of dry beans.  I then freeze the soup in gallon zip bags for nights when I am in a hurry.





I am working on a new design series.
I hope to be able to share details with you soon.















In my spare time (hahahahahah) I am working on a couple of personal knitting projects.  One is a KAL with a favorite designer of mine, FickleKnitter.  I will share more on that the next time.  She deserves a post of her own.  I also am planning a future blog about the Jknit app.  I have become a fan.

The yarn is La Jolla by Baah Yarn.  Lovely colorways.

I got on a hat kick during the holidays.  I made this for my grandson Liam.

His PopPop liked it so much he requested one too.  I need to take a picture of the two of them in their matching train hats.








 I will probably have the pattern up on Ravelry soon.

Fiber Closet knit group X-mas party.

I run everything by my local knit group & if they
seem interested, I deem it worthy to go ahead
 with the pattern.











I am feeling the pull from my knitting nest by the window so I will close for today with a picture of my

" view from the knit nest".

Peaceful Sunday to all!!

A New Year....A Renewed Focus

Welcome 2013.

This past year has been full of wonderful family & fiber events.  I fully expect 2013 to be just as awesome.

The last few months of 2012 were so very busy for me.  We had graduations, trips and some minor family emergencies that just seemed to keep me on the run and away from the studio.

A bright spot in the day

However it is now the "dead" of winter.  I wonder where that phrase comes from?  Anyway, Jan & Feb are usually the time period that I hunker down here on the farm.  I love to work near the window and watch the winter rains, snows, winds and wildlife.    








Living in central Illiana you are never sure what you will see outside!

Cat won the race.  (late summer)

There may be snow, wind & near white out conditions for a day or two

Ambush in the planning stages

Beauty in a gray day.

followed by near 60 degrees, balmy breezes, which in turn usually bring a thunderstorm with heavy rains.

Taken in the early fall

This makes it a lovely time for me to get in some designing, work on projects for the spring fiber festivals and recharge my batteries after the frenzy of holiday gatherings.

I hope you have all had the best possible end to 2012 and may you start 2013............

Refreshed

Revived

Recharged

                                     and most of all............ filled with renewed inspiration for life!  

Deadlines!

When I am on such a tight deadline....why oh why do I always suddenly find myself enthused about all the wrong things.  Instead of finishing the weaving projects I have going, the photos I need to get done for the patterns, the yarns that need dyed for the kits, etc.  I find myself suddenly obsessed with..........sock knitting machines.  I know, how strange is that?  Luckily I am not buying any just watching lots of YouTube videos and such.

I have got a bit done.  I finally blocked the Baah Shawl.  It is a really fun pattern by Michelle Miller of FickleKnitter fame.  I love her one-skein shawls.  I used Baah Yarn, La Jolla in Chocolate Latte.  It turned out great.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Better pictures will be posted ( probably on Ravelry ) when it's not rainy & dreary outside.

Love blocking wires!

Blocking works magic on lace shawls!

I spent a good 30 minutes searching for my blocking wires.  When I finally decided to just forget it & pin the crap out of it, I grabbed my Block n Roll Mat and imagine my surprise when the tube of blocking wires fell out of the center of the roll.
It's a great place to store the wires as long as you can
remember that you put them there.

In the midst of my push to get things ready for the Covered Bridge Festival....I decided I absolutely must practice my spinning.  So out came the wheel, which needed cleaned & oiled just so I could decide....  "No, I do not have time for this".

But it does look lovely now.

I have a scarf on the loom that I am determined to finish today.  The yarn to the side is the next one up. I am so in love with these scarves.  They are so soft and luxurious with subtle stripes provided by the Noro yarn. I wish the lighting in here could show you  how beautiful the colors are.



Well, time is flying by so check back soon to see what else I have accomplished in my deadline crafting.

And don't forget to visit me at the Bridge Fest!

New Focus?

So, here's the deal.  I seem to really suck at having to write about specific events.

This is obvious by how much I didn't write about over the summer. I could have told you all about the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, my daughters wedding & PhD ceremony, TNNA, family celebrations, the birth of a new grandbaby, designing, knitting, weaving, etc. Now I had no one telling me what I had to write.  I just thought that was the direction I wanted to go.  Apparently I was wrong.

Therefore, I think I am going to just start putting up random daily posts about whatever crosses my mind while I am typing.  That way ya'll can see just how wacky & crazy my daily life is....or how boring.

This image is pretty accurate on my feelings about cleaning.

So on with the show for today.

Today I cleaned and organized myself a bit.  











The annual Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County Indiana starts 2 weeks from today.  I have a booth there (behind the Fiber Closet, in Rockville).  So far I don't have that much to display/sell in it.  I need to put in some serious crafting time to be ready.  Today was about getting my self ready for the big push to get everything done.  I always say I work best under pressure.  We will see.

I hope to just post a little something everyday.  Maybe a bit of a countdown to the start of the festival.  Let me know if you are enjoying any of it.

It should be a fun time.

Gina

Ps.  You are NOT off the hook on all those  pictures & stories about my summer.  It's just that you will get to read them when that is what my mind is thinking about. But here are a couple of tidbits that were on my mind today.

Easy Peasy Mac & Cheese

Layer these in order in a 9x13 pan

2 cups of dry macaroni
1 stick of butter/oleo cut into pats
1 handful of mozzarella cheese
2 handfuls of shredded cojack cheese (or your favorite)
About 5 cups of milk

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Perfection!!


Pictures of a recent lunch outing with Liam ( 1 yr old )

"Really Nana, We're at Steak & Shake & you gave me crackers??"

I will smile for chili & fries!

Summer Part 2

Next up I was at  The Fiber Event  along with Cheryl Moreo from the Fiber Closet.

The Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN is a favorite for me as it is close enough to drive home every evening. It's also usually the first bigger show where I can visit & catch up with other vendors to find out what they have been up to over the winter and what their new products are.  It's always fun to meet up with Carol Wagner of Hidden Valley Farm and her cohort.  This is also the first show where I have the opportunity to spend way, way too much money ( if that's possible ) while visiting with Kimber & Ellie.  Kimber is the owner of Fiber Optics Yarn & Kimber Baldwin Designs.  Her yarn comes in the most vibrant, exciting colors.  You have to see them in person to get the entire "retina searing" effect.

I also picked up a copy of "Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett from Kimber.  This is a wonderful picture book for children.  My granddaughter absolutely loves it.   We read it every time she visits.  It's a nice addition to any fiber person library whether you have children around or not.









The year the weather was pretty good for Indiana in the spring.  Just 1 quick shower.  No floods, snow, wind etc.  Nice change from recent years. The Fiber Event is a fairly large show.  It has three buildings of fibery fun, lots of interesting classes and a very nice mix of products.  This year I added KnitPicks needles & notions, dellaQ bags, Soak wash & Heel foot cream to my line of handwovens, hand knits and felted items.  This gives me a broader base for the shows where the average customer is more interested in making their own fiber crafts than purchasing ready made items.  It was a good show for us this year.  We plan to be back next year.  Look us up!

Summer Review - A Visit with "The Yarn Harlot"

Sorry for the long delay.  I have been a wee bit ( tongue in cheek) distracted by my life.  Oh, where to start??  Let's just back up to the beginning of the summer.

Cheryl and I had the unexpected opportunity to take a class with the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  It was a full day class at Knitting Today in Wolcottville, IN.  Rather than leave at an ungodly time of the morning, we decided to drive up the day before.  We made a couple of yarn shop visits along the way.  Seriously, you know you all think that way...."How many yarn shops are between home & where I am traveling to?" First up was Knit Stop in Indianapolis.  This is a very large yet lovely & inviting store in the Clearwater Shoppes area.  While we were there we ran into Kate Larson from our SWIFT group.  It turns out she teaches there.  It's a small world we knitters live in.

We next traveled to Fort Wayne where we discovered Knitting Off Broadway. We had a nice time visiting this quaint shop run by a mother & daughter team.  Then it was on to Kendallville for dinner and finding a hotel.  We spent the evening searching Ravelry for patterns to complement the yarns we bought during the day.  Then it was an early turn-in so as to be fresh the next morning, which was the whole point of this day before trip.  Stop that laughing!  Really, it had nothing to do with buying more yarn.

Such Concentration!

The class we took was titled, "Knitting for Speed and Efficiency".  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with nice, slow, peaceful knitting.  I quite enjoy that at times.  However, to steal Cheryl's line...."It would be nice to finish something before I get bored & want to start 10 new things."  So perhaps a bit of speed is in order for me.  The morning session concentrated on the history of knitting, knitting as seen through art, various techniques through-out time,  So many things I had never really thought about.  A person as obsessed with knitting as I am should know much more about the subject than I do.

We broke for a lovely buffet lunch provided by Knitting Today owner, Lea-Ann McGregor then got busy in the afternoon learning different techniques to speed up your knitting whether you are a picker, thrower or lever knitter like Stephanie.  We had varying degrees of success.  Some knitters gained speed, others lost a bit while practicing new techniques and some were so completely over-whelmed they nearly forgot how to knit at all.  But after personal attention to each knitter from the talented instructor, everyone came away with so many tips and tricks that we can't help but be better knitters.

Stephanie recommends practicing a bit everyday to build your muscle memory.  This is good advice for any new technique whether knitting related or not.  I would suggest if you ever get a chance to take a class or attend a lecture with the Yarn Harlot that you not pass it up.  She is so very entertaining ( even when ill & hoarse from the dreaded plague). I can promise you a good time was had by all in attendance.  A special thank you goes out to Lea-Ann and her family for welcoming us to their delightful shop.



As a final note....at every stop on this trip I shopped for the perfect pattern & yarn for a special wedding gift.
More on that next time.


Happy (insert your favorite fiber art addiction here)!!

Regina