We didn’t freeze

What a month this has been. For those who do not know, I do live in Texas, and when the snow storm hit, we also lost power… With temperatures at night around 0F (-19C), these Texan houses are just not build to keep us comfortable! Fortunately we had wood and a wood burning fire place, and we cook on gas, which means our family stayed relatively comfortable. But the house still went down to 48F (9C), which is not terribly warm. Everyone was staying close to the fire, and wearing extra clothes. And at night we went to bed early. I did do a little knitting by candle light, however, I have gotten a new appreciation for electric light at night. And the thing that was the least understandable (from where I was sitting any way) was that a 5 minute walk in one direction a friend kept the power on the whole time. And a 5 minute walk the other direction a friend lost power for almost 4 days straight! We all live in the same neighborhood… We did get power back occasionally, first a half hour here and there, and gradually that became longer until after 4 days we finally had consistent power again. Of course then we still had an extreme water conservation order, since the water maintenance plants had also lost power and frozen over… We were not even allowed to wash clothes or dishes. But for us that is all behind us now, and while I am still helping a friend recover from the mess a broken pipe can create, the few pipes that froze at our house thawed again without any issues.

But you are not really here to hear about my power issues, so let’s start looking at what happened to the yard. This was the hardest freeze I have ever experienced here, as our winters are often incredibly mild. As a consequence of course, we plant plants in our yards that are a bit less hardy. I am still worried about one, a Leopard Plant but there were still some green stems, so I hope it will come back. One trick we use is to provide some coverage to the sensitive plants when the weather turns really cold. This time I just used big cardboard boxes (and some little ones), to see if there was any hope of protecting the buds that were showing in a number of my daffodils. Experience has taught me that when the buds get hit by a hard frost, they will go brown and fall off, and skip the bloom that year. The bulb will be fine, but I like the flowers. Behold, the power of the box:

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The left one is with a box, and the buds look just fine, the right one was without a box, and clearly got frozen.

Two ducks seem to have adopted us as a stopping point on their migration route. I am actually not sure if ducks migrate, but we have been seeing a pair show up in our pool for just a couple of days. After that they leave again. It’s always fun to have them visit.

Don’t worry, I did not forget the knitting portion of this blog. I do have something to share there too. I had some left over sock yarn, in very bright colors, that my son loved. However, it was not enough to make his size 12 socks out of. So I thought I would combine it with another leftover bit that was about the same thickness and a very similar composition, as well as a complementary color:

The pattern is just plain vanilla. He was so excited to have them, I certainly will have to make him some more. The multi colored yarn was Wisdom Yarns Naked Sock, and it was a delight to work with. Of course it has now been discontinued, but it looks like you might still be able to get it here. The pattern is the Vanilla Sock from the Yarn Harlot. It’s in one of her books, though at this moment I can’t remember which one.

Three Years??

I can’t believe it has been 3 years since I have written here! Well, 3 years as of next month anyway. I am not even going to try to catch you up on everything that has happened, I am just going to share some of my favorites with you, while attempting to get back in the habit of writing regularly.

First of all, spring has already sprung in my garden. These daffodils have been blooming since mid January. It is crazy how early they started this year.

And while I have been busy with all kinds of other things as well, I have also managed to finish a few things. First I will share with you a little shirt. The kit was given to me by a dear friend. It was called Caribbean Cooler, made by Sassy Skein. The kit itself does not appear to be sold any more, but here is what it looked like:

It was not a difficult knit. The yarn used was The Sassy Skein Key West Karibbean Kotton DK, a 100% mercerized cotton DK weight yarn. The colors are amazingly vibrant, and in my opinion worth the hassle of having to knit the loosely twined yarn. It is machine washable, on the cold setting, but like any cotton, should be air dried for longest enjoyment. After 3 years it still looks great, and the colors have not faded one bit.

Now, if you would like to find out what else I have been working on, please stay tuned!

A small swimmer

For the last 10 years, Jane Eborall has hosted a tat it and see, also known as TIAS, in January. It is a small tatted pattern she designed, which she has broken up into small bits, and feeds to us every couple of days. We do not know what it will be, but we dutifully perform the required tatting, and then the fun begins. We send a picture of our segment to Jane, and start guessing. It is so much fun to follow along on the TIAS blog and read everyone’s guesses, see everyone’s thread choices. I have only followed along since I learned to tat just over a year ago, and this was my second TIAS.

It was so much fun, and I very much enjoyed the process.

Not all is what it looks like

Take this sweater for example:

I will be the first to admit, it looks kind of odd, laying there, on the table, just to have it’s picture taken.  You can, however, get a really good look at the color play caused by the yarn this way.  I love that part.  And actually, I really love the sweater.  The ‘sleeves’ go just over the edge of my shoulder, still covering my bra straps, and the whole thing looks really kind of nice.  And I am not the only one who says so.  It took me a while to knit it, but it was fun.  The yarn had been given to me by a dear friend, as a secret Santa present.  The pattern?  It is called Summer Darling, a pattern from Drops.  I made mine a little longer then the pattern called for, I happen to be kind of tall, and the top fell quite a bit above my waistband without the extra length, something I am not fond of.  Now it falls right at my waistband, and I am quite happy with it.  I called my version Purple Pleasure…  😀

The bottom edge has a little pattern/lace to brighten it up:

I used Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Naturale Solid, a 100% cotton yarn, in the purple colorway, with the very catchy name 9563.  I ended up buying a 5th skein, for a total of 700 yards, and when I was done, I had about 11 feet left!  The yarn, being cotton is a bit on the splitty side, but it’s beauty (for me) made more then up for that.  If I would make this top a gain, I would probably rewrite it for a lighter weight, since we do not need heavy summer tops in our neck of the woods.  Fantasy Naturale is an Aran weight, and belongs more on a winter sweater, though it being cotton does make all the difference.  Even with our hot days (yes, we already hit 90 several days here) it is a very comfortable top to wear.  The color is gorgeous, consistent, and does not appear to bleed.

Definitely a pattern I would recommend, do not let the odd looking finished product fool you.

And here she is

I had a friend who very generously gave me a 11/0 bead to use in my tatting.  Unfortunately, life got in the way, and it took a week and a half between asking and seeing her again.  I had never used a bead that small in my knitting, and did not have any that would have done, especially if it was to be an eye.  When we last saw each other, I had finished the one part, and was about to start the second part, which needed the bead.  But today, after I got the bead, I quickly continued.

Here is the 9th installment:

And since I really wanted to finish with the rest, I quickly continued with day 10, and 11, and went so fast, that I forgot to make a picture of day 10!  But here is the final picture, with the whole gorgeous little lady finished:

Today I learned the alligator join!  And I learned that big rings are much harder to keep neat when closing them up.  But then, it is my first project in tatting, and I am still proud of it.

Is it fluttering

I did skip showing you day 7 by itself.  I figured you might get a little bored with all the little updates to my little lacy thing.  I am more than happy to show you at this time though.

And I have to admit, I was completely at a loss as to what this might possibly turn in to.  I trust Jane Eborall enough that I believe I will have something fun and pretty when we are done.  The guesses have centered around a big gown and a butterfly, but I also saw some guessing a frog, or a snail.  But after day 7 everyone was a bit stumped.

Then came day 8.

And I most definitely see a butterfly wing at this point!  I actually had to tie, cut and hide my ends today!  We are going to start with a new thread, and the bead will finally come into play.  Lots of people were guessing a butterfly today.  Part of me hopes so, because it does look very pretty as a butterfly.  But how the one bead will be used?  I have no idea…

To change it up a bit

I have something new to share with you.  Like some other knitters, I often like to bring a little project along, and one of the easiest projects to take along is a sock.  And my kids love hand-knit socks, so what do I do?  You guessed it, I knit them socks when I have some time that my hands are not busy, and I can’t go do something else.  It was my oldest son’s turn to get a pair of socks, and I had found a really cool sock yarn for him.  He approved, and off I went, starting just after summer break.  Well, last week they finally got their toes kitchenered closed. I think they had been waiting for 2 weeks for that, because that is the only part of the socks that I do not know by heart yet.  And then they disappeared onto my son’s feet before I thought about taking a picture!  So here they are, freshly washed, and a picture taken before my son comes home and claims them again.

The pattern is just plain vanilla, 2×2 rib board, straight knitting down the leg and a slip stitch heel.  Easy to do while paying attention to other things. The yarn?  Oh of course you want to know about the yarn!  The yarn is called Naked Sock from Wisdom Yarns, a brand under the Universal Yarn Umbrella.  The color is called Trapeze, color number 101, and it is actually completely wool free.  It is however machine washable and dry-able!  Very important when making socks for kids…  The actual composition, according to the label is 93% Acrylic, and 7% PBT.  Yes, I went to find what PBT actually is, and have given you a link.  Basically it is like Lycra, kind of elastic, and this yarn has quite a bit of stretch to it. It is put up in 100 gram balls, with 430 meters (470 yards) in that one ball.  It was fun to knit with, once I got used to the stretchiness.

Of course I am still tatting, and TIAS day 6 is up, so I did my best, and got it finished.

I still have no idea what it is going to be.  I keep changing my mind, and keep remembering that 1 little bead that will be added sometime before the end! I still have no idea, especially since there is only 1 bead needed. Most of the people, including a ballgown or crinoline lady would have 2 eyes, because usually they are not created in profile… And if the zigzag chain would be a garland or belt/ribbon (as some have been guessing), it would usually go down the right front (do not ask me why…) In other words, I am totally lost too! On the other hand, it could be a surprise, be a monk, dancing belle, looking off to the side. I am having much more trouble being patient now that I am part of the TIAS. When I was just watching, I was much more patient to find out what it was.

I guess we will see what the next part brings!

And here is day 5

I know, things are getting boring most likely.  But I am very much enjoying the making, and the guessing is getting really wild!  Anyway, here is my day 5:

Guesses around the world range from monkeys, elephant foot umbrella stand, butterfly, tulip, ballgown, hot air balloon, crown, something with vines, sheep with a very long tail, and many other guesses!  I am loving it.  I actually saw a picture where someone had managed to pull the 2 strings of rings out, and turned the whole thing 90 degrees, and it really did look like a butterfly.  I am suspicious my zigzag chains are not very tidy in that case, and a bit long.  We’ll see!

Now, if you are bored with the tatting, stay tuned, I hope to have a finished object to show you very, very soon.  Actually, the item is already finished, but I have forgotten to take a picture of it, and it walked off…

TIAS Day 4

Today’s Tat it and see installment was a doozie!  Thrilled and excited as I was to see it was up, I almost immediately started with the questions.  The installment always has all the abbreviations explained, but today there was one I did not know.  Well, it was quickly asked, and before I even finished my morning coffee, I had an answer from Jane.  Lj is a Lock joint.  Very good instructions on her website, and I was good to go, or so I thought.

Then there was the Zig zag chain, and despite the very thorough instructions, both on the pattern, her website (at the bottom of the first collumn), and via private e-mails between Jane and I, I misunderstood how to count the stitches in the beginning.  But being the beginner I was, I wanted to be sure I understood, and quickly realized my mistake.  Fortunately I was asking before doing, so I did not even have to undo anything!  😀  A zigzag chain is quite a wonderful little thing, with first a regular double stitch, and then a non-flipped on, in reverse order, which makes this chain literally zig and zag.  Because we were doing 1 stitch switchbacks, the zigzags were quite small, but really cool.  The biggest trick was that when counting stitches on a zig zag chain, you need to count the zig and the zag, or the flipped AND the non-flipped ds as 1 stitch.  This would have made for quite a difference, if I miscounted it!

So, today I learned the zig zag chain and the lock joint and the shoe lace trick!

And I am starting to think that this looks like a bulb of some kind…

Tias Day 3

And since today was a day off from school, and I therefore tried to take off a day from housework, and actually got to finish today’s installment!  I am now going to have to wait a day or 2 for the next one, but that is just fine with me.  

I no longer think it will be a monkey, I am thinking it is the bottom of a vessel, like a pot or a basket.  As I understand it, picots are usually used to attach other parts of the pattern to, and while there are picots on both parts of the (currently) upright piece, the long horizontal piece doesn’t have any.  What that means, I do not know (yet).  😀