Kitchen Blessings

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Heather

As promised, here is a picture of my finished Kitchen Blessings from Enchanting Lair.

Kitchen Blessings by Enchanting Lair

I made a lot of changes to this design. The biggest, and most obvious, is changing the colours of the silk. (You can see the original design here.) I used Dinky Dyes Aussie Gold for the lighter gold and Cobar for the darker gold. The fabric was specially dyed for me by Cath of Country Stitch (it is her Firecracker at 1.5 x strength; and thank you for Cath for all your help). I recharted the border partly because I found a couple of errors in it, and partly because my husband wanted it to be spaced a little different.

Overall, I am very, very pleased with how it turned out. So much so that I am very worried about finishing it. I want to turn it into a bellpull, but I’m worried about sewing straight, etc. I’d also love to find a variegated gold thread to use for the finishing, but so far I haven’t been able to find what I’m looking for. I suppose what I really need to do is just pull myself together and finish the darn thing.

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February Review and March Plans

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Heather

You may remember that I’ve decided not to set monthly goals this year. Instead, I have a set of goals for 2011 that I am working towards all year.

They are:

  • Complete all 12 10 remaining ornaments in my personal ornament-of-the-month club (one per month)
  • Complete all 12 10 pairs of socks in my personal sock-of-the-month club (one per month)
  • Stitch Joan Elliot’s 12 Days of Christmas for my mom
  • Knit a cardigan for my mom to wear when she visits the Vatican in June
  • Complete Victoria Sampler’s Christmas Treasures and have it mounted in its box before December
  • Complete the five four Victoria Sampler alphabet samplers I have
  • Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
  • Finally decide on a birth sampler for Baby Man and finish it
  • Improve my sewing skills

This month I did finish both my February socks (Kai-Mei) and the February ornament (Hollyberry Heart). I also did some work on 12 Days of Christmas, but not too much since I was struggling so much with the chart (I suspect that getting my new contacts will help with my problems; I am near-sighted, but I am so dependant on my contacts that they do have some effect on all of my vision, near or far.) I also finished up Kitchen Blessings, and I will share a picture tomorrow.

For March, as usual, I will work on my socks and ornament. I will also focus on finishing up the cardigan for my mom (one sleeve and about half the body are done). 12 Days of Christmas will also get some attention, although I suspect working on a Christmas design in March will be difficult.

I’d like to work on another Victoria Sampler alphabet sampler (S is really calling to me), but after finishing Kitchen Blessings, my husband asked if I would work on another piece for him. Several years ago I started Chinese Dragon from Pinn Stitch for him, but I haven’t touched it in ages. Here’s where it stood when I took a picture of it two years ago (and I haven’t progressed on it at all):

Chinese Dragon by Pinn Stitch (WIP)

So, that will be my second focus piece, along with 12 Days of Christmas. Do you notice a theme this year? I seem to be doing a lot of things for other people. And I haven’t even mentioned that hat I will be doing for my dad, or the Annis shawl for my mom. I think my theme for 2012 will be “All Mine!” 😉

I also wanted to say thank you to all 41 of my followers. I really appreciate each and ever one of you. And, if I can reach 50, I’d love to host some sort of giveaway.

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Lace and Cable Socks

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Heather

More socks! I’m sure that comes as a huge surprise. 😉

Lace and Cable socks by Wendy D. Johnson

They are Lace and Cable Socks from Wendy D. Johnson’s book Socks from the Toe Up: Essential Techniques and Patterns from Wendy Knits. The yarn is Mary Maxim Bamboo Soft Stripes in colour Deep Blue Sea.

I’m pretty pleased with how well I did matching the stripes, given that I didn’t do any planning before starting. I was in the middle of one of the colours, and had to guess where to start for the second sock. (If you are smart, when matching stripes, you try to start at the beginning of a colour change, so you can easily start in the same place on the second sock.)

Close-up of lace and cables

The socks went fairly quickly since the lace was only done on every other row, and only on the front of the leg (and the front of the foot too, obviously). The cables were easy to do without a cable needle since the stitch that is crossed over was actually slipped for the two prior rows, and hung around nicely waiting to be manipulated.

These socks will soon be on their way to a new home out in British Columbia, nd I will starting my March socks soon. I will be doing another pair for the lady in Sarnia next month, which I think I will count as my March socks. They are LoveSocks, and will be done in the same pink and rose Panda Cotton I used for the other pair I did for her. I may also try to do a pair of plain anklets for myself (or at least finish the pair I’ve been working on since December.)

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A Collection of Things

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Heather

There are two schools of thought in this world: first, there is the Japanese way, summed up by the saying “The nail that stands up gets hit by the hammer;” then there is the American way, “The squeaky wheels gets the grease.” I will fully admit that I am more likely to follow the Japanese way, because I hate any kind of confrontation. (Which probably explains why I spend so much time at home, away from other people, and why I find it painful to make friends.)

Anyway, that’s the way things are with me. But, I’ve had a bit of a run of bad luck lately. First, the tips on my US10.5 Denise needle started to peel, and then I broke one of my Brittany US7 straight needles, and there was that chart from Design Works that I couldn’t read very well. So, I decided to be a brave girl and send out some emails. Here are the results:

Stuff I Got

A new set of Brittany needles (even though I only broke one; although three knitting needles doesn’t get me any farther than two do); a new set of Denise tips for my interchangeable set; and an enlarged chart for 12 Days of Christmas. Also in the picture is three skeins of Sullivan’s floss, which I requested after seeing a post from the company on the Mirabilia board offering samples. Not a bad haul, eh? I guess it pays to make waves (or at least a gentle request) when things aren’t quite right.

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Ornament of the Month – February 2011

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Heather

I know that I said I was going to stitch Julia Lucas’ Home for the Holidays this month, but when I sat down to sort through the remaining ornament patterns, Sweetheart Tree’s Hollyberry Heart (1998 JCS ornament issue) jumped out at me.

Hollyberry Heart from The Sweetheart Tree

I stitched it using the called for DMC threads on a piece of interesting linen I found in my stash. It was only after I finished that I remembered I was saving it to stitch the Carol Elmer Santa ornament. Argh. Oh well, I’m sure I can find something nice for him.  I do wish I knew what this linen was though. It is a darker brown than the picture shows, and is quite lovely.

You may have noticed that the design looks like it is missing something. There should be a little red heart in the centre (Sweetheart Tree Ruby Cabochon Heart (SV-CP152)). I don’t have it in my stash, but I thought I had a good replacement. Well, the hearts I have are purple, and the brass Santa charm I tried looked awful. So, I’ve ordered the heart from 123 Stitch. And, uh, while I was there I also ordered Just Nan’s Floral Fifteen since it was on sale. (It was a husband approved purchase; a small reward for finally finishing Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessings. Pictures soon!) So, I’ve fallen off the wagon a little bit, but not too badly.

Next month’s ornament will likely be the aforementioned Santa Bellpull from Carol Emmer Designs (1997). I pulled the floss for it today, and will look for some fabric for it shortly. It has a very large floss list for such a small design, but it looks like some of the colours are used for about five or six stitches. Fun, fun.

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Bright Dinosaurs

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Heather

I won’t go into my love for all things PlanetJune again. All I will say is that she sure makes super cute dinosaur patterns.

Plesiosaurus from PlanetJune

Example one: a lovely blue Plesiosaurus, crocheted from Bernat Satin in colour Teal. Nessie never looked so cute.

Stegosaurus from PlanetJune

Example two: a bright orange Stegosaurus. Bernat Satin again, this time in Sunset. He might not last long in the wild, but he sure is adorable.

These guys are now on their way to a lady in Kentucky. Hopefully her little man will love them.

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Kitchen Blessings Border

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Heather

Seemingly endless stitching in a semi-solid silk. Not exactly my favourite type of stitch. And that is exactly why my re-colour (and re-charted border) of Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessings is languishing. But, I dusted it off the other night, and I am now more than halfway around the outer border.

Kitchen Blessings by Enchanting Lair (WIP)

And a beauty shot of my stitching. It may not be the neatest stitching in the world, but it brings me joy.

And since I’m talking about Enchanting Lair, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that Laura is having a sale. All of her fabric is currently 20% off. I’m on a stash diet, but I dearly wish I could take advantage of that sale. There are a few colours that would be perfect for some projects in my stash. Why don’t you head over there and buy something while you think of me. 😉

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