Wednesday WIP

Hello! Hello!  We have sure had bipolar weather here in Oakley.  Monday was absolutely beautiful.  It almost reached 70F, which is unheard of for this time of year.  Then last night it snowed!  I woke up to a winter wonderland.  My kids cried.  I thought it was humorous.  Now, the sun is shining and the snow is all but gone.  How's that for ya?!

I have two projects on the hooks/needles right now.  Neither one is going very fast, because the weather has been so nice, I have wanted to be outside.  And, I have been teaching two friends how to do family history/genealogy.  The top one is my new hat for this year.  I am NOT a shopper.  I loathe shopping (unless it is to the craft store).  But, I have this fettish with hats.  I wear them all the time outside.  It is a tradition that I make a new one for myself every year.  I made one for My Princess.  It is pink, of course.  The bottom one is the toe sock I am knitting for my husband.  It may just end up being his Christmas present this year.  Wow!  Amazing concept.  If I actually commit myself to finishing it for Christmas, I can truly say that I have began my Christmas gifts.  Every year I think, "I should start a lot earlier on making my Christmas gifts."  Hmm.  I just may have to.

 

I am currently reading a really uplifting book entitled Wake Up to a Happier Life by Amanda Dickson.  She is a radio talk co-host.  This morning I got a kick out of my reading.  She wrote, "Sometimes it is the simplest work that gives us the easiest access to the most tangible joy."  She continues, "You can get that feeling from getting the garbage out before the garbage man comes.  Just once you want not not be caught in your pajamas as you hear the truck starting to head down your street.  And on that time that you remember to to put it out the night before, and it doesn't storm and blow anything over or strew your trash on your neighbor's lawn, you feel such a sense of accomplishment.  Ahhh."  As I read this, I had a vision of recent date of me running up the street in the middle of the day chasing the newspapers that had blown out of my recycling bin. 

She quotes James M. Barrie in the beginning of this chapter.  He said, "Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."  Great food for thought.  Hope you have a great day! -Dari

Work In Progress: KC's toe socks

I am currently working on knitting a pair of 100% cotton toe socks for my sweetheart.  This project is coming really slow, but it is also really relaxing for me so I am not minding.  And, since I don't have to worry about him outgrowing them before they are done, I have no added stress to complete them asap!

I am currently reading The Heart of Goodness by Jo Ann Larsen.  Definitely not a sit down and read right through kind of book.  Lots of food for thought.  Today I have had lots of extra kids and a thought that I read last night from this book has stayed with me.  She discussed a concept written by Stephen Covey about clocks and compasses.  "The clock" is our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, everything on our to-do lists.  "The compass" is our vision, values, principles, mission, what is really important to us.  Jo Ann said, "Most of us run by the clock.... rather than by the compass."   

This has helped me a lot today. I have been amazed that many of the clock tasks have still managed to get done, and yet I am not as stressed as I anticipated.

Hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping. -Dari 

Stash Buster: Knitted Baby Hats

I finally finished the two baby boy hats I was knitting for two friends.  Once again I forgot to take a photo of my yarn before I began.  I found a very simple pattern at http://twentysomethinggranny.blogspot.ca/2013/01/knitted-baby-bow-hat.html. However, I misread the pattern for the first one (on the left) and didn't give a border between my ribbing and my color change.  I like it, though, and the recipient won't know I messed up!  The second one I chose a k2 p2 ribbing and deliberately made thick stripes.  These were very easy and whipped up quickly. 

The photo of the card is not the best.  I didn't realize it until I uploaded it.  I folded a piece of white cardstock in half and cut the top 2 corners on a diagonal.  I cut a piece of patterned paper slightly smaller than the dimensions of the white card base and then cut it in half.  Next, I cut a piece of light blue cardstock. the same size as the dimensions of the card base, but instead of cutting it in half, I tore the edge.  I cut out a small frame with a darker blue cardstock and inked the edges white.  I adhered it to the card using pop up adhesives.  On white cardstock I stamped the baby blocks and used watercolor pencils and a blending pen to give it a soft pastel look.  I adhered it to the card with a pop up adhesive square, too.  I cut a small rectangle, inked it, glued it to the top, and punched a hole in the middle.  I tied a piece of translucent ribbon on top and finished it by stamping the sentiment with an olive green ink.

Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Stash Buster Knitted Dish Cloth and Swiffer Mop Cloth

OK, so I am taking an online knitting class and finished my first knitted dish cloth.  I am pretty pleased with the results (with the exception of the white pointed corner).  I will have to learn how to decrease and cast off without a funky point!  Any words of advice are welcome! Although this is not a 100% stash buster project, it began as one.  I got half way through the project with the pink and realized that I didn't have enough to finish, so I bought some white (the dye lot did NOT match). Go figure!! 

After I finished this, I immediately began crocheting a Swiffer Cloth for my sister-in-law.  I helped her this morning with some of her cleaning and decided she needed one.  She doesn't like purchasing the disposables.  They are expensive.  Who would?  Anyway, I had an almost full skein of the white yarn I purchased for my dish cloth and thought it would work just fine.  I typed up my pattern and posted it on my website if you would like to use it. 

Hope you enjoy my yarn creations!