A Busy Day

 Today was fantastic. We went to another venue of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  We went down to the Kino Sports Complex on Ajo Way.  We skipped the main tent and went to wonder around the back tents.  Some of the awesome things we saw included the Australian mineral exhibit.  The stones were so colorful.  They were very different from the stones from other parts of the world.  If you ever get a chance to see stone from Australia don’t pass up the chance.  Of course I found some more charms for stitch markers.  We walked around until John thought I might be running out of spoons.  I was having so much fun, that after 3 hours of walking and looking I did not want to go home.  

In other good news I tried on my largest size blue jeans in my closet today.  Only have to lose 3 more inches on my waist until they will zip up.  This is a lot better than the last time that I tried them on.  Last time the would not go over my hips.  So I consider this major progress.   

In knitting news, I finished a charity scarf tonight. I will take pictures tomorrow.   I am almost finished with the thumb on the first glove to match new shawl. Now I just have to weave in the ends, take pictures and publish the pattern.  No problem except that I either need a model or someone to take my picture.  

I have picked out the yarn for the next shawl. I just need to cake one huge skein of lace weight silk.  No it’s not going to be a lace weight silk shawl.  I will double strand she shawl with a pretty mohair yarn, I got both of the yarns at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.  The changes in yarn happen so fast that sometimes you might have to pick a different yarn combo than I am using.  More pictures tomorrow.  

Well it’s getting late so it’s time to call it a day.  

I Finished Two Projects

I fell short of my finishing my UFO goals today.  All I finished was 1 scarf and 1 hat.  I did however, tink 1 scarf and cast it on again.  I won’t put anything on someone else’s child that I would not put on my own child or wear myself. 

                    There is always tomorrow to get more done.

My Latest Charity Project

 This scarf is my latest charity project off my loom. It is made up entirely from my own hand spun yarn. I used bits and pieces which by themselves were much too small to make anything.  I really like how the colors blended so well.  I think it was a great stash busting project. 

This scarf is destined for the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  It is my hope that the child that receives this scarf will enjoy wearing it as much as I enjoyed creating this bespoke scarf. 

From My Work Table

 Sometimes it is necessary to use more than one yarn butler for a project.  Take the picture below. Notice how the black yarn is wound into a cake and the Anne from Circulo is wrapped in a shape as best described as coming off the commercial winder that they use.  They unwind at different rates. That makes it hard to put both yarns on the same yarn butler.  

My simple solution is to have two yarn butlers in use at the same time.  

The colorful scarf is destined for a boarding school on the Navajo Reservation in Northern Arizona.  It has one strand of Anne which is a fingering weight yarn. And one strand of worsted weight cotton yarn in black. They are knit together in double stranded knitting.  It is being knit in the round and will be around 6 feet 2 inches long and 6 inches wide.  If you look very closely you will notice that I am using 2 different colors of Anne, but from 5 feet away you will not notice.  

Behind the yarn busters is my OttLite with a random assortment of stitch markers and a random pen for notes.  

Now is the time to add that extra Yarn Butler to your holiday wish list. Some local yarn stores will keep a list so you get exactly what you want for the holidays. 

Weaving Thread

 Just for the heck of it, I spun some linen thread. On an uninformed whim I decided to weave it into the one of a kind scarf that I am weaving for myself.  It has taken over a week to weave that little portion at my current energy and Sjogren’s flare up level. What was I thinking?

Well I started weaving the linen thread before the flare up started.  Also it looks very nice. It is the portion between the blue and burnt orange.  Yes, the very colorful section. However, you have to look at the sock yarn that is woven in on both sides. The sock yarn looks huge by comparison.  Yes the sock yarn looks really big.

Did I mention that when weaving with thread that I had to be very careful. That there were a lot of short rows too. That meant that the up and down heddle frequently changed sides and that is really fun to keep track of  too.

The good news is that I can see the end of the warp.  I also swear that the next scarf will be woven on a 5 dent heddle. I really need a weaving project that will not take a few months for a scarf. Did I mention that it will use up some hand spun yarn too? This scarf does not have a lot of hand spun yarn. I am really looking forward to taking this off the loom.

Weaving a Scarf

 This is a small portion of a scarf that I am weaving with bits and pieces of leftover lace weight yarn. I could not part with the yarn without using it. I am using a 10 dent heddle.  That’s 10 threads per inch.  If it was wider than 6 inches it would make a great fabric for a top. So far I have done a good job of transitioning the little balls of yarn. In the picture below there are 3 yarn transitions.  .   

Every Yarn Knows What It Wants

 Every once in a while we all acquire yarn for our stash.  Some one has an idea for the yarn, but me the designer in me  just did not see it.  So it just sat there waiting in a basket.  I tried knitting, weaving and crochet.  I just could not make the yarn sing.  

Then came the long scarf’s for a Knitting Guild project.  A scarf knit on the round with 2 strands of yarn, 1 sock weight and 1 of worsted weight.  The yarn is finally singing.  Combined with yellow, red and a dark purple cotton.  I am on the fourth stripe.  The scarf is just flowing off the knitting needles.  It is so bright and colorful.  I am hopeful a teenager will like it.  Nine inches down only 65 inches to go.  

Bigger is Better

 This is a scarf for next year’s Tucson Knitting Guild’s Navajo knitting project. This scarf is long enough to be versatile. I used John for a length check instead of getting a tape measurer. It is a little over 6 feet long. Double layered for warmth. And used up 1 pound 1 1/2 ounces of cotton yarn.  Yes that is 17 1/2 ounces or 496.12 gram’s of yarn. In other words a lot of skeins and partial skeins. It is very colorful too. A fantastic stash buster for me. A very warm scarf for a young teen.  

The pattern is The Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs. I plan on making at least 6 more. I have 2 more on the knitting needles. 

Lemonade Anyone?

I screwed up and cast off a scarf 3 inches too soon. So tomorrow I will embellish one edge with six rows of double crochet. This turns a mistake into a design element. Since I wasn’t using a specific pattern no one will know the difference except the people who read the blog and me. It will still be one cool scarf for whoever gets it.

I also managed to finish the second mudd rug today. I will do the hot water and soap thing tomorrow. Since it is too short to thwack the Traditional way, I think I will throw it at the table a few times. I think that should work. If not I’ll throw it in the dryer on air dry and let it tumble with some dryer balls.

Off the Loom

 Teri and I made a mother daughter silk scarf for Teri.  Teri choose the colors, warped the loom and started weaving it.  She choose Debbie Bliss Silk yarn for the weft and cotton cone yarn for the warp  

I offered to send the loom home with her so that she could finish the scarf.  She politely declined.

So in between other projects I finished the weaving.  Did the finishing work and the final trim.  I bet she is sorry that she missed the hot water bath and thwacking.  The thwacking can be a great stress buster.

Tomorrow this is being mailed to Teri.  I do have the scarf folded in half for the picture. The edge of the loom she used is in the background. 

For Operation Gratitude

 I divided my time today between making more stitch markers and knitting Operation Gratitude scarfs.  I won’t sho the stitch markers, they are all red.  I have been working on this scarf for a few months at my slower speed.  I do have 2 more scarfs for Operation Gratitude in different parts of the house.  

Another One Bites the Dust

Today’s first finished project is a scarf for the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild Navajo Project. It is knit with 2 strands held together. 1 novelty yarn in black with 1 strand of super wash wool in green. This is the last for this series because I am thankfully out of the novelty yarn. The empty shopping tote will be used for another project, it is from one of my favorite clothing designers Bryn Walker.  

You many notice a second picture.  This beanie is another Old Pueblo Knitting Guild charity project. This one is a cotton hat going to the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank. Since I consider hats like M &M’s I have already started another cotton hat. My 2 hat bags will never be empty because I am always knitting hats.  It is my mindless knitting for car rides.  

More Progress

 Last nights dinner did not sit well on my tummy.  So instead of errands I relaxed and knit.  You can see progress on the shawl. I am about to add the last skein of hand span yarn to this project.  I did manage to make a color change on the 5 foot long scarf.  So very visible progress there. 

I am going to call it an early night.  

Sighs

 I am not sure what I absolutely hate more, a Sjogren’s flare up or COVID19.  Right now my vote is for the Sjorgren’s flare up only because my face is so swollen that I can’t see my ears.  John votes for COVID19 because we both want to go out and do things.  With the flare up I am tired I can’t concentrate on things for long.  My hands get wonky at time.  I may have to read the same book section 2 or 3 times to understand it.  With COVID19 I am just bored and stir crazy.  

I have been doing a little knitting.  I am trying to finish a 40 inch square baby blanket before the baby comes and I only have 38 inches to go on itsy bitsy knitting needles.  I think that they are a U.S. size 3. I can get between on half inch and 1 inch done per day.  I hope that I get a little faster.  The ever other Purl rows slow me down, but make the blanket so much nicer.  I have about 8 inches of the first color to go. There will be 4, 10 inch sections when I am finished. Gradienting from white to purple.  

While watching television I am working on a random scarf.  I like the pattern because I don’t have to watch what I am doing.  I just let the knitting needles fly.  Tomorrow I should be at my third color change. Only about 4 1/2 feet left to knit.  

Picture Time 100th

 This is knitting project 100 for 2021.  A charity scarf.  Taken in the back yard today.  

100

 Tonight I reached my goal of 100 hand knit or hand woven projects for 2021 with days to spare. I have not taken a picture of project 100 because it is black and white, which needs good natural light to photograph.  So here is a picture of numbers 98 a long scarf and 99 a child’s hat.  I will rotate the hat on the desktop  

This and that

 We were lucky enough to be the first service call of the morning.  The garage door is now fixed.  The cause was above my pay grade.  The sensors went out.  The repair man installed new sensors.  He also cleaned the tracks and greased them.  We are good to go.  

On the other hand it is rag weed season in Tucson.  Because of the unusually high temperatures we have rag weed in December.  That’s supposed to be a late January- February thing.  Also don’t move to Arizona if you want to get rid of your allergies.  The people who moved here in the 1920’s to 1950’s to get better air quality brought all and I do mean all their pollinating plants with them.  So because of our moderate temperatures we have some form of pollen all year long.  My poor nose.  

I did get to a color change on my latest 60 inch scarf. I do have to say that by the time I am finally finished with this scarf nobody will be able to tell that I have 2 full skeins of yellow in the scarf.  The yellow which is worsted weight yarn is dominated by the sock weight yarn.  It is making some interesting color ways.  

It’s time to call it a night.   

Projects 94 & 95

 These are both charity projects.  Project 94 is a hat.  I tried a new pattern that I saw on Instagram.  It is so cool that it is reversible.  This is meant for an older child or teenager. 

The next project is 95.  A 60 inch scarf for an older child or teenager.  It is meant to be folded in half or can go over the head and wrapped around the neck. It was knit with 2 strands of yarn on size 17 knitting needles.  

Starting to Feel Better

 I am just starting to feel better.  I found getting things done 30 minutes at a time helped a lot. 2 plants got new pots and John planted a cactus out front for me.  My new sheets got washed replacing a set that I wore out.  I also started but did not finish a new organizing project, I have finally found a place to put all the masks and stuff. I think COVID19 will be here for a while. 

 I did start a new scarf today, so far I am liking that it is a stash buster.  I am 20 inches in and have almost used up 1 skein of sock yarn.  Yes, at one time I thought I would be knitting a lot of my own socks, not so much.  So I am always happy to find a pattern that uses sock yarn up.  I have also used up 1 1/4 skeins of worsted weight cotton yarn.  The cotton yarn is good for 17 inches between color changes so I think 5 skeins should just about finish the scarf. After I finish the skein of sock yarn I will start on partial skeins to change things up.  I will have to finish weaving in the ends of the scarf I finished yesterday so I can drop it off for a friend to take to guild for me.  

10 Inches

 I have noticed that whenever I warp any of my looms that I always stop at 10 inches of weaving the first day.  I also found that the British show The Great Pottery Throw Down, on HBO Max is a great show to watch while warping my loom.  So here is the beginning of my latest scarf which is going to the Flowing Wells SD Clothing Bank.  This is another of my great stash busting projects this year   I wonder how many scarfs that I can weave