Almost Done

Well I didn't quite finish the second glove in time for the end of the Tour de France KAL but it should be ready for fall.





M said that her daughter's socks should have a wider toe so for the second sock I tried a different one and I'll undo the other one and make it the same. I did the kitchener stitch for the first time. I expected it to be difficult but it wasn't. The only problem I had was trying to get the last two stitches to look good and not a big bump.

Resurfacing

I really have no other reason why I haven't been crafting other than I haven't felt like it / been in the mood / gotten around to it. I was brave and contacted someone whom I'd never met but I've read her blog. She lives in the same city as I do and I asked if she was going to knit in public on June 9. She was going to be doing something else at the local market but knitting outside anyway. So I joined her and stayed for a while.

I've almost finished N's first sock. Her mother thinks the toe shape won't be suitable for her daughter's foot, so I think I'm going to attempt a kitchener toe. Ha. Well, I will when the other sock needs a toe too. Then I'll put it off for awhile as I don't think it will snow yet. Then I'll have to find out how to do the toe. I think she wants to give them as a Christmas present, so they should be done by then.

My sister D sent me a pants/shorts pattern so I bought a piece of orange material from the charity store to make a pair of summer pj bottoms and try out the pattern. I think they turned out fine. OK I know that the white thread is a bit obvious, but who cares?


These are sleeves from a housedress I'm going to attempt to refashion into a summer dress. I've taken the sleeves off and sewed them together to make a knitting sock bag for the sofa. I didn't undo the underarm seam but I just swung the other sleeve around and sewed the two sleeve caps together. Then I undid one of the and sewed it closed. The shape's a bit strange but it serves its purpose.

Baby Tube Socks

Here's the next little sock I knit. I answered the woman who got my name in the The Knitterly Letter Swap and she's let me know that she received my letter. So now I can show the sock I sent her. I had Barbie model it for me, but it's a bit big on her. I wanted to try a smaller sock this time. Maybe I'll go even smaller...

I finished the baby tube socks. I decided not to make them wider. I don't even know if the baby will ever wear them, so if they fit or not doesn't matter to me at this point. They are done and ready in plenty of time for next winter.



I bought these two balls of cotton yesterday because I want to make some granny squares. I would have preferred black, pink and white but at 1 € a ball I couldn't resist. I'll have to look in other stores to see if they have other colours. I would have liked thicker cotton but I haven't found any.

Reasons To Procrastinate

I tend to procrastinate. But I also have two reasons why my crafts sometimes take a long time to finish. The first one is that if I'm making something for someone else and I have to ask that person something before I can continue, then I don't mind waiting until they get back to me (like N's socks). The other one is a bit more stressful. If I run into a problem, then I usually put it aside and wait until I get some inspiration to continue (which might take years). I had almost finished this baby tube sock even though I couldn't decide if it will be too narrow. I put it aside just because I don't want to think whether or not to make it bigger! I knew that it could sit it its bag until the baby is an adult and having children of his own so I bravely knit to the end. I haven't tied the end off in case I change it. Now I will probably have second sock syndrome only because I can't decide if I should make it wider. Stay tuned.

What Was In The Mail

I few days ago I received this booklet in the mail. Cosy had found two of these booklets and was giving them away in a contest. I had orginally started reading her blog because I had come across a picture (I can't remember where) of a bonnet she had knit from a pattern in the booklet. I'm going to knit the same bonnet once I've found the yarn I want to use.

I was at the library in Tampere because I seldom find anything new in English in our local library. I had a quick look at the craft books and I found these. I've never seen any Debbie Bliss books before. I don't know what to say about them. There were a lot of nice things but I doubt that I'll make any of them. See booklet #115 on the back? I've had that for years.

I started H's and M's daughter's socks. The yarn is the same that I used for H's socks and A's hat but it feels so different. Almost like string. Strange. I don't really like the feel of it and I'll be glad when they're done.

H's Socks are Finished

Finally. I know that I'm slow but these seemed to take forever. Part of the reason was that I would have to send a sock off every now and again to its owner so he could try it on and see if the size was OK. Then I'd have to wait for the verdict and wait to get it back (which didn't take too long but it's part of my excuse). The ribbing was 48 cm long. But they're done and I've started on the next pair. Which are red and don't feel as nice even though they are the same yarn.

H's wife had to buy a 150 g ball of yarn so I could I finish the toes. This is how little was needed for each. If only the ribbing had been a bit shorter. But then the socks would have been too short. Oh well. I've already said that I knit their son a pair so I guess I can use it for them.


Question: Even though the code for these photos was on the post why didn't they show up on the blog?

Something For Me Too

I started a scarf for myself. It's 54% polyacrylate(?) and 48% cotton. I haven't be able to find 100% man-made yarn and I would prefer it for a scarf so it won't be scratchy. I finished the first ball and I haven't decided yet if I'm going to continue with the same pattern or do something else. I've also thought that I might use two strands of yarn for the middle section to make it warmer.

I've put off continuing H's sock because I haven't wanted to figure out how many stitches to reduce, etc. but now it's ready for H to try it on and let me know if it will fit him.

Christmas At My Home: Day 3

My sister D gave these to us in 1990! I can't believe we've had them so long.

Once I had finished the ribbing on H's sock I started to wonder if the foot part was going to be too big because I had to use so many stitches for his large calf. So off went one of the socks, with the heel partially done, and the verdict was that perhaps it should be 6 stitches smaller. Now it is 6 stitches smaller and it will go off again before I start the heel to see if it is now OK.

T's Socks Are Ready

T's socks are finally done. The color pattern isn't the same on both the socks but the pooling is close enough not to bother me too much. The yarn is Novita's Nalle Colori. I liked working with such colorful yarn but it will also be nice to go back to a solid colour for a while.

I used the pattern on the back of the label with a few changes (of course). The toe was one change and I don't think that I really like it after all. I'll have to keep looking.

T's Sock

T's first sock is finished. Do all variegated socks turn out like this? Will the second look the same? I'm sure it has something to do with my knitting or picking up 18 stitches instead of 17 but could it be something else?

I was looking at the Girl on the Rocks blog and saw her set of stitch markers that she made so that she can learn the kitchener stitch by the time she gets to the toe graft because she is always looking up how to do it.

I thought that that is a great idea and I'm going to try it too, but I was thinking of doing words I have trouble spelling. My first marker will be for a Finnish word I'm always having trouble saying. Why do we stumble over some words? I remember someone who couldn't say 'chicken' and never used the word.

I redid the starting knot on T's second sock about 10 times so I could try to get it at the same point as sock number one. I'm sure that there is an easier way to do it. I don't mind if the ribbings are different but I would like the insteps to be at least similar.

Look, See

Making a promise to one's self and putting it on one's blog is a great motivator (even though no one else reads it!) Not only did I do the heel but all of the gusset too. I couldn't continue until T was at work so that she could try it on and tell me if it was OK.


I also finished the edge on someone else's UFO. The first row should have had less chains on each loop (or whatever it is called) because it is so loose. They have kind of bent over to fit. Oh well. I started the third row and when I realized that it would be really floppy, I started over with less chain stitches here and there. At the 1/3 point I decided that I still didn't like how floppy it was, so I undid it. It is still not lying flat but I don't know how all of these yarns will wash. I'm going to have to learn how block because I've never done it before.

Snowflake number four is done. I found the pattern on someone's blog but it seems to be a Lion Brand Yarn pattern, so you have to register to get it. I changed the pattern again to a six point snowflake. It is quite small. I'm going to have to search for larger patterns or try a larger hook.

Just One Honk

That's all it took for a bout of homesickness. I recognized the sound and looked around to find the source. And these are what I found. There were so many that I couldn't get them all into one picture.


I went back for a few days to take pictures. One day when I was in a store a saleswoman came up to me and asked if I was the woman who was taking pictures of the birds on the pond. She said that someone wanted to know what birds they were. It was such an unusual sight here. I said, once again, that they were Canada Geese and then someone said that she had been told that they were Barnacle Geese , so I had to say that Barnacle geese have white around their eyes. Some other people that I talked to around the pond also thought that they were Barnacle geese or had been told that they were. I had checked from the internet, so I knew that they weren't.

Not much done craftwise. In order to motivate myself I've promised myself that I will get further along on this sock this weekend. Well one stitch would be further on! Goals should be measurable so, I will knit the flap and try to turn the heel.

I Started A Craft Journal

I finished the main piece of the Isabeau purse. I didn't have much yarn left so I was planning to use some other yarn for the sides and the rest of the main yarn for the handle. I pulled out all of my yarn stashes and imagine to my surprise when I found a small ball of what looks like to be the same kind of yarn. I think that there will be enough to do the whole bag. When I tried to make a pattern to use for the lining, the newspaper just started to pull up. As it is basically a rectangle I will just draw it on the paper instead. I bought a piece of flowered material from a charity store to use as lining.

I finished the second snowflake. I found the picots annoying to do for some reason. The pattern for this snowflake is here. I should have used a bigger hook.

H's socks are on hold as I still haven't received the measurements I need. I saw H's s-i-l in the store and she reminded me that autumn is coming, so I said that I could start her socks and continue H's later. She already had bought the yarn. I started them with a bigger needle than the pattern called for but I will start again and use the men's size as it still looks too small.

I started a craft journal. This blog is for projects too, but the journal is more for needle sizes, number of stitches I finally decide to cast on, any changes I make in my sewing, etc. This is the page from the apron I'm making.

Isabeau Purse

I haven't been following my rotation because I suddenly had the urge to knit a purse. I 'm not really a purse person but I want one or two. So I've been working on the Isabeau Purse. I'm using a thinner yarn than recommended so I added an extra pattern repeat and knit more rows than the pattern had. I hope I have enough yarn to do the main piece. I probably will have to use another color for the sides and strap. The red thread is just a life line because I had to undo so many rows, so many times. I changed the bottom from seed stitch to stockinette because I thought that it would knit up faster as I wouldn't have to keep undoing stitches. I've been doing so much K2 P2, I'm sure I'd start doing it instead of K1 P1.

I was crocheting R's second snowflake when I noticed that the yarn was a bit darker and felt different but I thought that it just this bit of the yarn. I had done a few of the longer points and then happened to turn the snowflake over and the reason revealed itself. Some of my hair was being crocheted along with the yarn! (You can see it left of the uncrocheted yarn.) I don't know why it wasn't obvious from the front side. I had almost finished undoing it before I thought to take a picture.

H's socks are almost of equal length, so I'll have to wait until I hear what the finally length should be before continuing.

Introducing Stacey

Meet Stacey. I guess you can see that you can't see her. 'Ahh,' you are thinking, she's shy. No, guess again. Hiding? Not that either. Cold? Nope. Modelling the ribbing on the sock? No way!




This is Stacey trying not to fall out of the tree while she is laughing. The answer is, she is trying to embarrass me. 'Why, why on earth would she want to do that,?' probably popped into your mind. Well I bought her a while ago. OK Stacey, quite a long time ago, as I wanted to make this sweater because it is so cute, but didn't have a doll for it. So I purchased her from a charity store but haven't yet made any clothes. She wants to be out and about but she can't because she's not wearing anything .

It's unlikely that I will actually make the cute sweater but as I would like to try knitting some lace, and I have absolutely no use for any, I thought that I would make a small doll scarf. And as she can't wear a scarf without some clothes under it, I'll have to make some of those too. The first thing will probably be a skirt.

By the way, the picture also shows how far I am on the ribbing for H's first sock. I don't know how much ribbing I need to do, and H is on holiday without a computer, well his wife, the one who will send me the measurements, is without the computer, so I started the second sock, which is only 3.5 cm long. I was listening to a podcast where the speaker said that she names all of her knitting. I thought that was a fun idea, and decided to name these socks Selanne.

New Projects

The day after I wrote about the felt keychains, I was given this keychain from Moscow. It was a funny coincidence but I still want to make my own.




I'm changing A's project again. He wants a cloak for his larping. We have bought and preshrunk the material. It's the dark stuff under the other material. My apron has about had it. I've been using it for 15 years or so. I went to the charity store today and bought the bits and pieces that are on top of the cloak material. I'm hoping to get 4 aprons out of them but because they have been cut into, I don't know how big they will be.

I've finally got the Xmas squares crocheted together. I'm so pleased. I've almost got the first snowflake done, but I found the pattern confusing and I'm not sure if I will undo it a bit. H's sock is coming along. I've been knitting it also while I'm on the computer.



M: R's crocheted snowflakes (find new patterns, crochet)
T: D's crochet completed!
Next week: apron (wash material, find pattern, draw and cut out pattern, cut out material, sew)
W: H's socks (knit them)
T: Home - A's pjs (find pattern, draw pattern, cut out, sew)
F: Personal (decide what to do about bay pouch, make cord, finish it)
S: A's project (decide on pattern, draw pattern, cut out, sew, wash)
S: Xmas square lapthrow (crochet strips together, find a border pattern, crochet border, sew in ends)

It's Been a While

I can't believe how long it has been since I've done any crafts. I've been blogging on my other blog for 2 months now, so I have been doing some blogging. I had planned to have the knee-high socks done by now, but I haven't worked on them at all. And winter is fast approaching! Well, at the speed I'm going, it will be here before I've knitted the socks. I've only done this much and I will have to undo it all. At the moment I don't remember why but I think it was because I should use smaller needles.

I started to crochet the squares together but I didn't really know how I wanted to do it. Not liking sewing in ends, I had planned to try to crochet as many together as possible without tying a knot. But I just gave up and it has been sitting waiting for me to continue. I saw a similar way to crochet squares together but it is just one square at a time and then 2 strips together so it will have lots of ends. But maybe I should just do it that way to get it done!

The square with the white in the middle is suppose to be a corner, as I only have four of them. As it has been so long since I was working on it I don't understand how it will be a corner when I've crocheted them together like this.



I am going to arrange them the way I want them because there are only 4 with white in the middle and some of the reds are different. Then I will string the long rows together so that they will stay in order (they have been knocked around a few times). I can crochet sets of 2 and then continue from there.

I have gone through this pile of magazines and will try to give them away. If I can't then I will put them in the paper recycling.

First Entry

Now that we have finally dared to get internet at home, I decided to start a blog. About nothing spectacular but just to help me focus on what I should be doing. That would include crafts (knitting, crocheting, card making, whatever else should, could and would like to be done), de-cluttering (if we move we have too much stuff that doesn’t need to be taken with us), eating healthier (I need to loose weight for my health and I would like to eat less processed foods if possible) and anything else that comes along the way.

Something like this:

Daily tasks:
Read 1-2 magazines (I have hundreds of them and if we are going to move I’d rather not take them with me. I know I could just throw them away but I do want to read them.)
Work on M’s socks

Daily goal at this time:
Eat only 5% fat cheese (we don’t have fatfree cheese here)

Weekly tasks:
Internet search of the week: homemade birthday card ideas

Monthly goal:
Find a ”unfinished project” and work on it

Whenever someone asks me what my hobbies are, I always include handicrafts. One day I started to think about when had I actually last done any crafting. And realized that it had been long enough ago that I shouldn’t really include it in my hobbies. So I decided to do something about it. Fortunately my sister D sent me a ball of crochet yarn and I crocheted about 10 bookmarks to send back to her. Then sister R wanted crocheted snowflakes for her Christmas present last year. I made 12 of them (getting most of the patterns from the internet).

Now I’m working on a pair of socks for my friend M. She mentioned that her family needed wool socks and I said I could knit her a pair. She gave me a ball of wool and now I’m at the heel of the first sock. I had to undo the heel turn a few times because I wasn’t concentrating on it very well. But now it’s done and I can try to attempt to pick up stitches for the gusset. I haven’t used such thin wool before and it seems to take so much longer to knit.