My Fugly 1st Scarf

Christine, my SP11 hostess, wants to know about the worst item I have ever knit/crochet. What was it? Who was it for? What went wrong? Did I give it to the intended recipient, hide it away never again to see the light of day, frog it, or just throw it in the trash?

Yarn: Feza Iplik Hawaii in red

It took me 2 days but I found it. I hid it in a box full of old books. This drop stitch scarf is the very 1st scarf I ever knitted. It was my second knit project. I picked out the yarn intending to make a beautiful scarf that I would proudly wear.

The combination of the fun fur and 100% straight nylon yarn and my inexperience made an uneven tensioned scarf. I had a hard time with the drop stitches. Not only did I have drop stitching in the straight yarn, the pattern called for me to do drop stitches in the fur fur sections. I would get lost and rip back to a garter stitch row alot. I got so frustrated with this scarf that I went back to the yarn store, complained, and bought a skein of Elsebeth Lavold and knit me a simple garter stitch scarf. I was determined to finish the drop stitch scarf which I did. You can tell that I never intended to wear the scarf because I didn't weave the ends in.


Now, I'm not saying that fun fur is ugly and should never be used. I went on to make a few scarves with it and they came out lovely. In fact the scarf, I knitted for my cousin, T, is one of the most beautiful things that I've knitted. (I didn't take pictures of it.) I was even thinking of keeping that scarf for myself because I liked it so much.














I went to the Feza Iplik website to show you a picture of another knitted scarf using the Hawaii yarn but the picture has been taken down. It's like Feza Iplik doesn't want claim any involvement with the yarn either. lol

Now, I offer these picture to those who have read this post and don't want the pictures of my scarf burned into their retinas. Look at the pretties......

Fall into Autumn Topic #1

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I haven't changed the yarn that I'm using. I guess because I'm a beginner.... advanced beginner.... I'm trying to knit projects that I like and are fun.

In my part of the country, we have summer/spring/fall type of weather. It's still summer for us here in South Texas. I'm planning to knit things that are light weight. Light weight scarves, hats, shawls, etc. DK weight types of yarn and some merino wool. Nothing thick or bulky. In November, I think that I'll try knitting a tank top. One of my goals this year is to knit a top. I'll use a yarn that will be cool enough of our weather down here. I want the tank top to be cool yet warm also. If I want to wear it when it's colder, I can put a jacket on over it.... that's what we do here for winter... put a jacket on. Patterns like the ones in Interweave Knits or Vogue Knitting's Spring issues are the type of patterns that are appropriate for this area. I'd love knit a thick wooly cabled sweater,but I may only get to wear it on average for 2-3 weeks total yearly.

I'm being spoiled in the BEST way

I received my first package from my GREAT SP11 spoiler.



She gave me very pretty notecards. How did she know that I really like pansies? She also gave me a ball of the Sugar n Cream Stripes self patterning cotton yarn. There's a placemat pattern on the inside. I'm going to call Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's to see if the carry the yarn so I can make myself some placemats.



She sent me a beautiful tote made from sari silk. I LOVE HANDMADE GIFTS! :-) I'm going to use it as a purse. I'm taking it when I have lunch with my friend, N this week. She's a handbag collector. She changes purses almost every day. N will like that I switched purses. N bought me a purse for a few months ago because she was tired of looking at the one I was using. N is soo girly. Anyway, the sari silk tote is a nice texture and is soft. My spoiler also sent me 2 balls of the sari silk. Is it bad swapper etiquette to start making something with the yarn in your package before you take pictures of it? I saw the yarn and immediately thought I could make a crocheted cosmetic bag with it. The pattern is in my Getting Started Crochet book.

Speaking of books, my spoiler sent me Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks!!! YAY!!!!! (I'm grinning ear to ear). I've learned one tip on how to fix the holes at the gusset in my socks. I'll post more about what I learned reading the book.



Thank you very much my Secret Pal. I appreciate you taking the time to make me the tote. You're a very good knitter. Let me know where I can find the pattern for it. And I'm praying for rain in your part of the country. We've had a wet summer this year. I'm glad that it hasn't been too hot, but I'm tires of all this rain.

FiberFlix

Have you ever asked yourself..... What movie do I want to watch? That's what I've been asking myself for the past couple of weeks. I just mailed back The Closer Season 2 (the complete season- dvds). I've had those dvds out for a month. Netflix really made their money off of me in August. I pay $25 for unlimited dvds plus internet movie access. I can get up to 4 dvd at a time. I've had my membership for almost 2 years. It's great. I can sit. knit and enjoy some good..... sometimes bad..... movies.

I just joined a new knitting group blog, Fiberflix. I have in my queue the movies for September: Heathers, Clueless and Grosse Pointe Blank (the theme is Back to School). Any group that has me watching John Cusack movies is cool to me. :-) In October, the theme is Monster Movies and we'll be watching 28 days later, 28 weeks later and A Nightmare before Christmas. In November, the theme is Director Retrospective, and we'll be taking a close look at Alfred Hitchcock. He's one of my favorite directors. I love to watch North by Northwest. I like his old tv show Alfred Hitchcock Presents... especially the one where Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie from Dallas) kills her husband by beating him over the head with a leg of lamb then roasts the lamb and feeds it to the police. She gets caught when she does the same thing to her second husband.

Here's a little info on the group from its moderator, Jennifer, posted when she started it:
... FiberFlix, a crafting group for people who love movies and love knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving. Every month we will watch a couple of movie selections and discuss them. Members are also invited to craft a project in the spirit of the films that we will be watching and discussing together. This group is low stress. Participation every month is not mandatory, nor do you need a blog. If you are familiar with the Knit the Classics group, a crafting and reading group, this group will be run similarly.

All fiber crafters are welcome: Knitters, spinners, crocheters, and weavers. If you enjoy creating with fiber and often watch movies while you craft, then this group is for you! If you are interested, email me at craftylilly AT hotmail DOT com.

I learned something new

I learned how to put a link to a questionnaire using a picture button in my blog's sidebar. This will be helpful to my SP11 and Fall into Autumn spoilers. Thank you Anne at the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap for posting the very helpful link.

Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap Questionnaire

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it? I'm a knitter. I've been knitting since October 2006. I've been teaching myself to crochet this summer.

2. Have you made dishcloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? My first knitted item was a garter stitch dishcloth. I've been making dishcloths for my family and friends this year for their birthdays. Every couple of months I knit myself new grandma's favorite dishcloths to use. I give my old dishcloths to my friend's husband. He says the old dishcloths are great for washing your car.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? I like Peaches & Cream. I can only get it from Walmart. We only have 1 Walmart in town that has a craft section. I try to buy things from it so it doesn't close. I'm going to knit a set of dishcloths and potholders using Plymouth's Fantasy Naturale or Tahki Cotton next year for birthdays. I would like to try Laines du Nord Cleo Cotton yarn. My friend in my knitting group made a baby's sweater out of it. It's soo soft.

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? The yarn determines what type of needles I use. If I could knit everything with Addi Turbos I would.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much? Pinks, reds, blues and purples are my favorite colors. I don't really like neon colors.

6. What do you like best about Autumn? Kids are back in school so I can go to the movies again.

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! I love to bake apple pies. I've never liked pumpkin pies and pecan pies are just too sweet for me.

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day? I couldn't wait. I loved school. I still do.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) I don't celebrate Halloween. I've seen the product of weird things that go on on that day. I work in the medical field. You don't want to hear the story trust me.

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? Chocolate covered peanuts, reese peanut butter cups, sweet tarts

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;) I'm single, no kids and pets at this time.

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? I see myself as a silk/wool blend like Jaggerspun Zephyr because its versatile. Zephyr can be used for lace knitting, delicate and elegant, and also for sweater knitting(holding a few plies together), soft, sturdy and warm. (Guess what I just bought ;-) )

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? Dishcloths

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) Thanksgiving because I can spend time with family and friends.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? No allergies

Thank goodness I have a lifeline

It rained all week of my vacation. It started on Sunday and as I got closer to Victoria. I could see the rain clouds.



I went this past week to my home town to visit my family. It was my dad's 59th birthday. As he gets older he looks more and more like my grandmother(his mother). Same face, same peaceful, sweet personality. He's big teddy bear. My dad's great and the best male role model I could ever have. (Guess you don't have to wonder why I'm 39 and still single.) I've been stressed out lately so I needed to go to Victoria and spend time with my family, my lifeline when the world's not too nice to me.



I did get some knitting done this week. I'm knitting some dishcloths and crocheting potholders for my friend, N, for her upcoming birthday. I was able to knit 2 grandma's favorite dishcloths, 2 DW dishcloths, 1 garterlac dishcloth and crocheted 3 potholders. (Photos coming when I'm done)

I tried knitting the Branch Out lace scarf but I stopped after I made a mistake. I was talking to my lil brother and not paying attention to my knitting. I had 26 stitches when I should have had 27. I tried tinking but I ended up having to rip back to my lifeline. If I had an extra hand I would be able to show you the white dental floss that I'm using as my lifelines. All I could get was a good picture of the edges coming out of the scarf. I was able the slide my stitches back on my needle easily. My friend, J, referred me to great little article on using lifelines. Jackie E-S suggests putting the lifeline in a resting row of the pattern. My lifeline is in the 10th row of the lace pattern, the purl row. I've put them in after every 2 pattern repeats. I'm being anal so I've put in 2 lifelines just in case I need them.



I was able to unwrap and knit the stitches of the short row heel. Yay!!!! I like how they looked and I kept on knitting. I should be done with the 1st sock and will start the second sock this week. The second sock always knits up quicker for me because I all I have to do is knit it. The first sock takes me longer because I nitpick. The perfectionist in me comes out and I rip my knitting if I don't like how it looks. With this sock, I've been ripping alot. I'll post the notes I took on the Twist & Shout socks after I've finished the pair.


I took this picture as I was leaving Victoria. The rain clouds are gone. Calm, peaceful cattle country. My pictures of the cattle were too blurry.