The Confused Knitter

Prayers for MOM!

2011-12-27T18:56:00.001-08:00

My mom is quite litteraly the toughest person that I know. I don't have her permission to tell you about her, but just take my word for it, she's one tough cookie!

Mom is having hip replacement surgery tomorrow morning.

So please, prayers for my mom.

Thanks!

Red Heart Yarns

2011-12-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd pass this along.

A Time For Change, blogwise anyway!

2011-12-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Not that anyone is paying attention, can't blame you, but I have made some changes. Changes in the blog's name, look, and a change in content (well sort of). I didn't feel comfortable with a totally personal and creative blog, a solely creative blog, so I am going to now shoot for a middle ground. Some personal content and some creative content, but not too terribly detailed as to get myself in trouble (or so I am hoping). So, welcome. Welcome to the CONFUSED KNITTER.

Sarrow and Creative Efforts

2011-06-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

On Friday May 13th, my 24 year old son was killed. I am deeply saddened by this, but will keep the details privet.

I knitted and finished this "Tea Party iPad / Kindle Cozy" downloaded from Ravelry. The first picture is of the outside of the cozy (Kndle in cover on the right side), and the second picture is the cozy turned inside out (Kindle in cover on the right).

If you make this cozy I recommend lining it as I did. The lining will prevent the cozy from stretching out of shape.

I have many projects going at the moment, too many to mention. I will be posting at least once a week from now on. Keep it in stitches.

Yarn!

2011-04-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today I was gifted with two skiens of "Kudo" yarn in colors of my choice. I chose these two, colors #'s 42
and 47.

Yesterday in the mail I received my Goddess Knits yarn order, "Peapod" is the color. The yarn is for the upcoming Anniversary KAL. This is the first time that I am able to purchase Renee's yarn for one of her kal's!

Remember, Keep it in stitches!

Most Active Pics

2011-04-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Pink Ribbon Scarf

"Damson" Shawlette, available for purchase here http://ysolda.com/patterns/accessories/damson/

Knit and/or Crochet the Classics

2011-04-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Since getting my Kindle, I have been getting back into reading some of the classics. The classic that I am currently reading is by Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre". Anyway, I am wanting to knit and/or crochet something inspired by the novel. So I haven't come up with anything, but then I am not that far into the book. I'll let you know when and what I come up with.

I have a few wips going, and hope to post pics soon, hopefully tomorrow.

As always, Keep it in stitches!

Reason for Abscence, Projects

2011-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

I had said that this would be a creative blog without any real personal details. I must make an exception to that rule today in order to explain why I have been absent from this blog for so long.

On Wednesday, March 23, I was in a wreck where my truck was t-boned, and totaled. I will be fine, and the others in the wreck will fine. I, however, have been in a rather off/on funk when it comes to knitting and crocheting.

I still have some projects going, have started some new ones, and have located a Swedish weaving that is well over a year past due! And as always, I am still addicted to Goddess Knits' Knit Alongs! If you have a Kindle from Amazon, check out all of the knitting and crocheting books that you can get and download to it. It's amazing!

Take care and as always, Keep it in stitches!

Goddess Knits Mystery 22 and Other Stuffs

2011-03-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is what I had done at the end of Clue 1 of the mystery, that was one week ago today. Since then I have been busy, ill, and done alot of "frogging". In other words, not much farther along than I was a week ago. Clue one was done in 24 hours, yet clue two I couldn't get done in a week! Now clue three is out and I am trying to catch up with clue two before going on. Hopefully I can get caught up by the time clue four comes out next week.

I purchased different yarn for mother's pink ribbon shawl. The one I had started would have made a lovely table scarf at best given it would have ended up at only 36" long. I am just hoping that I will have enough of this new yarn as there is no more to be had!

Normally I will stick to my creative endeavors as topic matters in this blog. There is, as we all know, exceptions to every rule. Please keep the people of Japan, victims of the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the Oregon victims of the tsunami in your thoughts prayers, healing wishes, etc. now and in the coming days of recovery.

Remember to keep it in stitches!

Re-Think the Square, ETC

2011-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

About the large crocheted square from my Grandma, I am rethinking my decision on what to do with it. I have decided not to add to it for now. I am going to live with it as it is, unaltered, unchanged, left alone. When, and if, I feel more wholly moved to work on it I will do so. For now, however, I will leave it be.

I have far more to take home than I came over here with, and I will definitely hear about it tomorrow when I get home and start unloading everything! I may decide to leave some things in the truck for awhile. I guess you could call it "creative editing"!

That's it for this evening. Remember to try to keep in stitches!

Grandma's Booty!

2011-02-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

Grandma's Booty

My grandmother recently went into a nursing home, and so had to distribute her possessions. One of the things I was most grateful to get was the plastic bag full of crochet thread, and big crocheted square in the picture above. (I also received a number of other creative things which I will mention in the coming days.) I have decided to use the thread to add onto the square, and may even use some of my own thread to make it even larger. I do not know if it was Grandma's intention to make table cloth, dresser scarf, baby blanket, or just what she had in mind. I, however, will leave the decision until later.

I still have two huge Rubbermaid tubs full of yarn and afghan squares that Grandma had made that she wanted me to finish working on for her and had given to me nearly two years ago (but has forgotten about now). I will finish working on those one of these days, as soon as I can at least catch up on my own crochet and knitting.

I shall return home sometime on Tuesday, and will update you on my projects no later than Tuesday night. (I bloody well may {or may not} do so before then!) Until then, remember to keep it in stitches!

Laziness Coming to an End

2011-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much of anything since my knitting on wednesday when I spent the day at the yarn shop. I worked on my "Titlting Tardis Neckwarmer" while there, but haven't worked on it (or anything else) since! My parents are returning home tomorrow, so I must do my agreed to chores in a rush (since I have put them off untill now) and not waste too much time doing much anything else!

Photos and Listings

2011-02-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

"Petals"

This is the first of two front pieces to the Petals cardigan. This piece is about 4/5's done.

"Golden Sunshine Kitchen Towel"

The pattern is called "Chili Pepper Red Kitchen Towel". Instead of using the red yarn called for in the pattern, I chose to use a sunshine yellow instead. Since the change in yarn color, the change in the name.

"German Shawl"

This a pattern referred to as the "German Shawl". I don't have all of the details with me, so will post details after returning home where I'll have access to the details.

"Tilting Tardis Neckwarmer"

This is basically a button shut cowl. The designer tinkered with the tilting ladder pattern to create a pattern that resembles the Tardis from the "Dr. Who" show. Because of this tinkering and leaning of the boxes, the name fits!

These are the photos of the current working rotation of projects. There are other bits of odds and ends, but these are the bigger projects. I hope to give some details in the coming days, but these are the promised photos.

Take care and remember, Keep It In Stitches!

Luggage, "Petals", and Decisions

2011-02-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am spending the next week or so at my parents' home dog/house sitting, this is not new news. I brought one duffel bag full of clothing. I also brought about 4 duffel bags, in addition to other such bags, of knitting and crochet supplies, tools, and yarns. This is nothing new for me. I always bring four or more times the amount of knitting and crochet items than I do clothing when I come here. I try to decide which projects I am likely to want to work on or start, which tools and yarns I might want to use on these projects, a choice of yarns for these projects, and a choice of patterns in case I might need them. If I do not bring these options I end up wishing that I had! This isn't true of everywhere I go, just when coming over to my parents' home for a stay. I may NOT want to figure out why, I may just want to live with it.

Back to creativity.

I am working on a selfish crochet project, "Petals" , from "Crochet So Fine" by Kristin Omdahl. (It;s the project on the book's cover.) I am making some progress, finally, after crocheting a gauge swatch. Now if this had been a knit project I would have done a gauge swatch right off the bat without thinking. With this being a crochet project I went immediately into to it without swatching or thinking. After wasting a bit of yarn, time, and frustration, I decided to do a gauge swatch. Since I am rather huge I need every bit of sizing in this cardigan that I can get. The swatch, according to pattern, is to be 3.5 inches blocked. To squeeze out a little larger of a size I went for an unblocked swatch of 3.5 inches, and this took going up a size in hook. Once I did this I restarted yesturday and went "gangbusters" making more progress in one day than I had managed in all the time before! I post a photo tomorrow when the lighting is better to get a good one.

While getting ready to come over here, I found a bag of Baby Yarn in soft pastel colors. I bought it nearly two years ago to make a baby gift for someone who then miscarried. She has since then successfully carried a beautiful baby boy to full term. (He's nearly 6 months old now!) I need to get busy and create something for this beautiful baby boy using this yarn, but what? Probably a baby afghan, but deciding on which pattern to do will take almost as much work as actually making it will! Any suggestions of what patterns to do? Knitting and/or crochet? I'll entertain all ideas.

Well that's it for now. Stay safe and remember, Keep it in stitches!

Biased Thoaghts and Quaint Shop

2011-02-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get this sweater started, "Petals" from "Crochet So Fine", and things were 'almost' working out. Well this evening, yes long after I should have, I did a guage swatch. It this had been a knitting project I would have done a guage swatch right off the bat without thinking twice about it. But, for some reason, I don't with crochet. I guess I am biased. I need to work on that.

Sorry no pictures for today. I'll have pictures sunday, I promise.

Tomorrow is a day to be spending at the local yarn shop.The shop is in a quaint little house down the street from a local school, and just off a busy street. For a nominal fee of $10 monthly, the shop allows you to come and spend time anytime the shop is open in what can best be described as a "sit-n-stitch". (It helps the owner to cover her overhead costs.) At lunchtime we decided where to order lunch from, someone goes and gets it, then we all sit around the kitchen table and eat. {Tomorrow I am taking my lunch.} Sometime, if I get permission, I'll post some photos of the shop and maybe the ladies as well. Again, if I get permission.

Well I think I'll be getting back to my crocheting and packing to go out of town this next 10 days or so. (I'll be taking my laptop with me, so am planning on keeping touch.) Be safe and remember to keep it in stitches!

2011-02-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is the commissioned hat that was the pain in the ass to get done! I will NOT mention where the pattern came from because they normally have great patterns. It's just that if you crochet the pattern as written, as far as the hat is concerned, you will NOT get the hat in the picture! I had to improvise and and "okie engineer" the design, but I have done that sort of thing for years. I was able to follow the pattern, as written thank heaven, for the non-felted brim. And then the reversed single crocheted to put a finish on the edge of the hat. I have to purchase a bottle of liquid starch at the store to starch the brim of the hat before ironing, under a towel, to finish the hat. I have told the yarn shop owner that I will turn it over to her this saturday. (I am taking it in with me tomorrow to show her.)

I am still working on the dishcloths, washcloths, and towels. These will be an ongoing project worked in between everything else that's going on. I have other UFO's and WIP's, but I won't go there for now.

This saturday I will be going back to the yarn shop to spend the day. I am to spend 11 or so days dog and house sitting for my parents starting saturday night. So, and this routine for me on such occasions, I will spend the day at the yarn shop then head on out to my parents' house. I am taking my laptop with me so I will do my best to keep in touch and keep posting.

Remember: try to keep it in stitches!

OCD and Ribbons of Pink

2011-02-13T20:03:00.000-08:00

I have knitted my share of socks. Heck I have even had two of my patterns published in a book! But I have never crocheted socks. So, in an effort to correct that, I downloaded some patterns for crocheted socks today. I now have a growing stack of patterns for crocheted socks. Yes, I have started to go a touch OCD* here.

I have continued to go OCD* on my collection of dishcloth/washcloth patterns. I now have another nice stack of patterns waiting to go into their binder. I can no longer keep these patterns in the 2" binder purchased for them, I must now get a 3" binder and hope it will be big enough to hold them all!This is what I started for working on for my mother. It's a pink ribbon prayer shawl, and you can find it here:
http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?p=2202709#post2202709

This shawl can actually be made for a variety of things as the pattern comes with a list of what the different ribbon colors can mean. You can make it for Christians, with crosses, or non-christians by using the plain pattern. I am using Crystal Palace Yarns fingering weight yarn, Panda Cotton: 59% Bamboo, 25% cotton, 16% elastic. It's crocheted, so I am using a size F/5-3.75mm hook. I am not paying any attention to gage, I am getting a fabric with the drape and feel I like so I am just being happy with that. To heck with the gage.

Anyway, I was going to make this for my mom and give it as a late Valentine's Day gift, but changed my mind. This year will be Mom's 25th year of survival! She learned of her cancer around Easter time 25 years ago. So I have decided to wait and give this to Mom at/around Easter Time as a 25th Survival Anniversary gift.

*OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Howdy Y'all!

2011-02-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start this blog to feature my creative endeavors. I will, from time to time, write about other things. However, the focus will always be my creative endeavors.

For example: I couldn't find a good potholder in the kitchen a couple of weeks back. I asked my son, it's his chore to keep the dishes done and kitchen cleaned, where they all were. He said that they had all worn out and he'd thrown them away. (Why the child hadn't told me is another kettle of fish!) I bought some Christmas pot holders, 8 for $1 can't beat that sale, to use for now. So now I am in the middle of making new pot holders, hot pads, dish cloths, all of which we need.

I can't just pick out a few patterns and get busy, now that just isn't me. Instead I now have a 3" binder full of hot pad, dish cloth, pot holder, kitchen towel, and such patterns. Most of the patterns in this binder were free. Some of the patterns are different versions of the same thing, but not many. I have a wide variety to choose from, many holidays, lots of subject matters, and enough there to keep me busy for a long time!

Besides making dishcloths, hot pads, and the like for myself, I am wanting to make washcloths for gifts. I am thinking a handmade washcloth along with a bar of artisan (or otherwise special) soap would make a nice gift.

In the photo on the far left is a pot holder/hot pad made using a new stitch I learned called "Russian Stitch". It results in a double thick cloth and is great for pot holders/hot pads. The middle one is a washcloth/dishcloth with a Dr. Who theme. While you cannot see it the photo, it has "Don't Blink" knitted into it. If you're a Dr. fan you know what this means. If you are not a fan, well I haven't the time or space here to explain it's meaning. The cloth on the far right is a "fold-over" cloth that is double thick and is good at grabbing the edge of pans, baking sheets, or oven racks.

I am currently working on a cloth featuring "Woody" from Peanuts. I am using a lighter yellow color of Peaches and Cream yarn, the same yarn used above, for the cloth. I'll post a photo when I am done. For now this will be it.

Take care, and keep it in stitches!