Down to the crunch!

 Three more weeks to go on this life changing project and I get a small break ... before I'm back at it again! So looking forward to not having any deadlines! Come on Carole ... you've got this!

FaceTime my mum yesterday!

I love her so much. She gets an A+ for being open to using new technology! 

Finished another pair of socks. The pattern is called Shepard Socks by Patricia Anne Fortune of Knitography Designs. I used Rauma Garn 2-Trads Gammelserie.

Love how they turned out however, I feel they are too big. I'll be unraveling and reducing the amount of stitches for the foot so they are not too wide. I don't mind frogging, but it will have to wait because ...

I cast on another projects ... The pattern is called Katie's Kep by Wilma Malcolmson. I'm using Jamieson & Smith 2 ply Jumper weight.

I'm liking how my colour work is improving with each project. 

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I try to pick up my knitting needles every chance I can ... in between the busyness of life. 

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

Just insanely busy .... Sigh!

 That's all ... Not much time to do anything worth blogging about. However, I have been picking up my knitting needles every now and again. 

I've been working on colour work socks. Colour work on a large project is challenging enough in itself... you should try it on a pair of socks ... using double pointed needles!

I was having difficulties dragging my yarn across four needles. My yarn dragging tension was not consistent, causing loose stitches. I decided to invest in some Addi Flexiflips to see if it would solve my issue. 

They come in a set of three needles housed in a lovely tube.

It took getting used to them. I started out using size 2mm (US 0) and found that I couldn't get a grip on the needle. When a row is done, my little pinky tends to grip the working needle, as I move to another section to stitch. The needle would slip out of my hands. I even lost one, which fell in between the cracks of my mother's wooden back porch. Costing more than your typical double pointed needles, I was ready to write them off! Thanks to two extremely persevering men in my family, they managed to fish it out from between the cracks of the wood planks. Note to self, do not use in places where the needle can get lost between the cracks.

I found that using Addi Flexiflips improved my tension and lead to better stitches. Instead of four gaps that you need to cross the yarn, I only had two.

I am getting more and more comfortable with colour work socks to the point where I was no longer frogging my attempt. I lost count of the number of times I took it all apart. I decided that I had to stop and just knit. 

The pattern is called Forest Path Socks by Patricia Anne Fortune of Knitography Farm Designs. It is available on Ravelry here. I used Rauma Yarn 2-Trads Gammelserie, a wonderful yarn from Norway.

I do like how they turned out. Pumpkin fell in love with them .... Can you guess who now owns these socks? LOL I don't mind. It's just a joy when my daughter loves what I create. I can knit another pair for myself. My colour work will only get better! 

The pattern is easy to follow with clear instructions. I do love how Patricia does the back of the heel. It's a stitch sequence I can see myself incorporating in other sock patterns. 

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later! Cheers!

Got sheep?! ....

Most of us have a bucket list and I'm no exception. I've always wanted to attend a Sheep and & Wool festival and this year, I had the opportunity to check that off that long bucket list!

Pumpkin, Goofball and I met up in Tunbridge, Vermont for the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival. It was a gorgeous fall day ... the weather was warmish and the leaves were starting to show their autumn colours. 

It was my first time attending a sheep & wool festival. I'm hooked! I just loved it! It is somewhat of a small festival but a great introduction. I would definitely attend again! There were lamas

Their fleece is so soft. They make gorgeous yarn! Just saying

And of course, the sheep!

Love how she stuck her tongue out at me! lol Love that fleece! 

A couple of weeks ago, Pumpkin and I attended the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. It is the Mecca of the yarn and fleece world, a much talked about festival amongst knitters. So many wonderful creative people walking around ... so many designers. It's huge, so much to see ... I actually found it overwhelming! It was such a gorgeous autumn day, we did a lot of walking around and enjoying the beauty of the season.

There were so much beautiful unique yarns/fleece from small farmers. I love that ... I want to know where my yarn/fleece comes from, the sheep ... it's important to me. 

I did not purchase any yarn, however I did buy a book I had been eyeing for quite some time. I had the opportunity to chat with the author, Hannah Thiessen.

Great book with some lovely patterns. 

I love agriculture fairs and would encourage you all to support them. Small farms need our support. There's something about knowing where our goods comes from that appeals to me. There's a connection and it speaks to my heart. 

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you all later!

Hello there ... do you remember me?

Wow, it's been a while. So much has occurred since my last post.  It's been a busy couple of months.

My churn dash sew-a-long is going. All of my fabrics are cut!

Everything is set up by the machine, background matched, ready for me to tackle it.

I try to find little pockets of sewing time when ever I can in between my busy schedule. They are rare these days.

When I do find a little pocket, the next thing I know, my pile of blocks higher.

I do like the scrapiness of it. Although I cut over 50 blocks for this quilt, it didn't seem to make much of a dent in my fabric craps. I'm starting to think it reproduces when I'm not looking! Oh well!

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

To frog or not to frog that is the question ...

 I started a new, what I call, mindless, knitting project ... another Hap. The pattern is by Kate Davies Designs and is called Dunyvaig. It's a gorgeous design and I was able to use some left over yarn from a prior project. Bonus!

I'm knitting along, enjoying the mindless process, thinking, "I should blog about this" ... take a picture of my progress.

OMG, don't I see a mistake! 

Do I frog it or do I let it be? It's really all about whether you can live with the mistake. Oh, but it's so far down .... Sigh!

The challenging part in this pattern, if you want to call it that, is when working on the Wrong Side (WS) ... Knit becomes Purl and Purl becomes Knit. If you're not paying attention ... well, mistakes happen. Can you spot the mistake? 

Let me help you ...

I knit when I should have purled. And for the record, I decided to frog it. Rippit!

I've since caught up and went beyond! So far, no mistake ... I think! lol

I still have quite a ways to go. It will be perfect for those cold winter days!

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later! Cheers!