Recapturing my youth?

You know how that goes.  Talking to your girlfriends you start playing the Remember When game, you know ' Remember when we used to wear  this and we wore that... and we made some of  what we wore. Kinda like now right?

Yeah...not so much.

That's kinda what started me on this latest project. First it was because I needed a new belt, and true to form, I can't find one I like. Then it was, ' oh-  remember when we used to wear those cool macrame belts, and have you seen how much one of those costs now??? Remember when we used to make them??'

Well you know me... I can make that!!! 

Well here is the one I started, nice little 2 inch wide macrame belt on D-rings made from hemp.

Yeah right.

You know what I don't remember about all the cool macrame plant hangers and bags and what-knots I used to make??? I don't remember it ever being tedious!

Well guess what! I find it tedious now!!! All those butterfly strings hanging down and trying to get your knots to lay flat and not tangle up ( and naturally I am doing this with out a pattern) and trying to remember which way the knot went,  and the hemp is just as unforgiving on your hands as jute! Even with bees wax.

Screw that...I'll just crochet one!

Crochet cotton...much much easier on the hands!

See??? Much quicker too!! Of course not as intricate looking, simple half double crochet. Easy stuff, done in no time!

Practice, it is a practice one, yeah that's it.

The next one I'd better practice not making it so damn long! Oh yeah, and don't forget about the extra yardage added from actually wearing it. It stretched ...alot. 

That's ok... 3rd time's a charm!

This one has a little sompin sompin going on. Well, some texture anyway. D-ring again, I crocheted it right to the rings for better stability, and gave it some texture and density with front and back post stitches. And a smaller hook helps too. THIS one did turn out to be a keeper! 

It still has a little stretch to it but I paid closer attention to what I was doing this time. You need that stretch...for those big holiday meals!! The brown belt, well, I could use it as a sash, or I can take out some of the stitches... or a lot of the stitches. 

And because my hands are in hooking mode... I threw together these Mary Janes for a quick gift.

Well so much for recapturing my youth! I still have the hemp belt hanging from the curtain rod in my room to keep my butterfly strings from getting tangled but I don't see it getting finished anytime soon. 

Hey.. do you remember when we used to lay on the bed and zip our painted on jeans with a fork...???

Just sayin'

Momma needs a new bag

I have been a little busier than I let on here, I just am lazy about documenting it.

Always when I can't find what I'm looking for, I get this crazy thought in my head that may-be I can make one!

Several years ago I acquired this cute little sling bag from a girl in Malaysia. It is obviously a mass marketed bag with an oriental design on it, but it has become my favorite bag and I don't want to use it for everyday and wear it out. Especially since I now find carrying a lot of crap around in the heat way too uncomfortable.

So now I need another one, you know how that goes, change things up a bit. After unsuccessfully trolling the flea market my brain went ...Uh Helllloooo.... make one!

So grabbing up some cotton that I had laying around, I make my way to the back yard flip open the lounge chair plug in my iPod and I started experimenting with a hook. 

Crochet some, rip some out, start over, remeasure, another do - over...oh wait, I have some beads in here too. No that doesn't look right, rip that out - oh maybe I should measure... 

Most people would probably draw their design on paper first ...riiight!

Finally, after practically a whole day of messing around with nothing but ...I came up with a bag I am not embarrassed to wear in public!

Finished bag : 5x6 strap is long enough to cross over the body. Scalloped edge on the flap. Yarn Sublime Organic Cotton, worsted weight.

So now I have this cute little bag, just big enough for my wallet, keys if I must, emergency crackers and a small knitting project. = P

Pumped up on my success I decided...Oh heeyy   I can make another one in this crazy hand painted sock yarn I didn't know what to do with!!

Hmmm....not so much. I still don't know what to make with it. Well, mayhap I'll ponder that while I am on my way to Bushnell.

BFF's dot dot dot

When your BFF since you were 10 years old calls you up and says "can you make...?" Pretty much you do it ...right? Well that's what I have been doing, making dot dot dot.

The conversation went something like this:

"Nadine (sister) is in AZ taking care of Mom and Dad for a month. "
"She is? that is sweet of her.  "
"Well you know how dad's feet and legs are all swollen and stuff.. right?"
"yeah"
"Well, Nadine texted me to see if you could make dad something that would cover is toes 'cuz they are ugly and then she could take him out in public. She texted me THREE TIMES to text you! Like I didn't get it the first two times" 
"Why didn't she just text me?"
"I dunno...You know Nadine"

(insert laughter)

I immediately dig through my stash to find enough yarn for a pair of slippers (not toe coverings). Eureka! I do have enough of this Wool of the Andes that I have been carting around for several years. I begin my pattern search (on Rav of course). It took me a couple of trial and errors but I managed to find one that would serve my purpose.

Tam said Dad's feet are pretty big and swollen (he is wheelchair bound), make them like a size 12ish she says. Erm, okay

Not having made any this size posed something of a challenge for me. 

Based on these ribbed slippers by Marlo I made these. I did an extra increase row and tried to gauge by my foot how it would fit. Hopefully I got it right, because one they were done I was like "holy crap these are big". 

The other difference is I used single strand and Marlo uses double. I figure he is in AZ that should be fine,    that and I didn't have enough of one color to double. *shrug* you know my middle name is Improvise, among other things...LOL

So I washed them of course and then...hmmm maybe I should throw them in the dryer for a bit. I had a load going so I tossed them in for a few. 


WOW I forgot how quickly Wool of the Andes felts. I got them out in time and and blocked them. They are still big enough ( I think) and should still fit Tammy's dad.

Finished post- frantic felting.

Here they are, dot dot dot, They kinda look like clown boots to me. 

So Nadine here they are, if they don't fit let me know I will make him another- it is always better the second time around anyway ...right?

Surf's up Brod

Last week I decided it was time to introduce Brodie to the surf and sand! 

We have been here for a while now and I'm sure he as smelled it more than a time or two but there are no 'dog beaches' in the area that I can find so we hadn't gone yet. 

He has changed much since we drove the 1200 or so miles to get here. No longer is he afraid of the car or gets sick on the road. Now he is raring to go (except with Grandpa... won't get in the car with him -probably a good thing).

I took him in the evening since I figured most people would be gone from the beach it was in the high 60's and breezy- so all the southern sissies went in for the night. Us die hard northerners were out walking our dogs! ;-)

Awww Brodie's first time on the beach

isn't he Preeeecious!

Since we had the beach to ourselves I let him off lead (which I'm pretty sure is against the rules) and gave him leave to run ( also against the rules, I think).

My boy immediately launches into crazy dog routine them minute is said "Run"! 

And run he did...flying up the beach to the break water.

And then back down to me...and Oh look... he is making a left turn!!

Unlike watching Nascar, I find this highly entertaining!!

Trying to catch Lightening McBrodie here on camera however, is not so entertaining.

Crap... I lost him for a moment, oh wait  here he comes back to me...phew scared me there for a mo.

Pause to check out um, something.  Hmmmm

There he goes again... Aak yuk! Don't bite the sand!! Aakky Aakky!!


And he's off...again

If I could only catch him on video I could share the hysteria.

He really is so fast that is it hard for me to keep up with him when I am standing still... Doh- taking pictures  of him I mean.

No - Really!

Mom, do we have to do another photo op????

Poor Brodie, no matter how much he loved smelling everything new, playing on the beach, and the freedom to run, he was not so enamored of the waves coming at him.

 Really really did not like them what- so -ever.

But good boy that he is, he posed right wherever I wanted him and let me take as many pictures as I wanted. Even if the surf was up by his toes.

Easy Peasy re-visited

....Please pause for a station identification break


A long long time ago, (2007) I posted a hat pattern here on my blog that I use for charity knitting. It is quick and easy and pretty much mindless so you can knock out a whole bunch of 'em in a short order of time.

 I have noticed an increase in the number of searches for it, so since there has been such a renewed interest in it and ... since winter is on it's frigid way...somewhere, sorry - not here by my definition anyway, I thought I would re-post this one for everyone who has taken an interest, here is it...Ta Da....my Easy Peasy Charity Hat Pattern re-visited.

There are a coupley of ways to get this pattern. You can click on the link above or to your right if you're a Ravelry member and get it as a PDF file. You can click here and it will take you to the original post.

Or you can shoot me a note and I would be happy to send you the PDF file if you do not belong to Ravelry and are unable to download it.

I also want to thank everyone for your continued interest in my hat pattern and my silly meanderings. It really does give me the warm fuzzies when I see another search for it. I love seeing where everyone is from!

And now...back to that damn wimple... or maybe that footie sock I am really working on.

My new favorite thing!

For the past week I have been obsessively knitting these wrist cuffs. I have endless little balls of yarn in my stash, as we all do, and what better way to use them up? They are super quick and super portable.
Now that my fingers have learned the linen stitch, I can sit in the back yard, enjoy the weather and knit mindlessly.

Now the closures. Hmmm, I don't have a stash of buttons anymore so I went on a quest. I hit up the Red Barn ( our local flea market) and wandered all through that to find buttons. Somebody must have a jar of buttons like the one my momma had - right ? Oh sure, I ran across them, 18 bucks for a Mason jar full... really? I might have considered it if they had been some really old buttons, but they were just your run of the mill buttons cut off of run of the mill shirts! Bull Ca!!

Oh well... I guess if I want a button collection like the one mom used to let me play with, I'd better start saving them myself! 

I ended up at Michaels and Hancock Fabrics and found some cool looking buttons there. Some nice guy at Michaels gave me a 50% off coupon so that was a bonus!

~Hahaha here is the start of my collect~

I still have one cuff on the needles but here are my finished Pretty Twisted cuffs. My first one I used a size 1 needle, since that what I usually use for socks, but I discovered it was a pretty tight weave.

 Cuff # 2 ( the green one) was on size 3. It turned out to be quite a bit looser, so just like Goldilocks, I found size 2 to be just right! I was going to make all three but I decided 70 something stitches was too much to fool with on a single couple pointed needle and was too lazy to find a circular in a size 2.

I still have one on the needles but last night I went back to my wimple to finish the lace repeat I was on before I forget and loose my place...must knit wimple, must knit wimple, must knit wimple...


I am already looking for something new to get into, my affair with wrist cuffs is now over- no longer my favorite thing.

I keep thinking there must be something I can get into with the sea shells I keep picking up on the beach...ideas welcome!

A done do-over!

I think one of the most heart breaking things for me to deal with here, besides watching my formerly robust father fade away, is to watch him struggle to maintain a measure of independence.

I come home from work yesterday to discover this. Scared the bejeezes out of me I can tell you!

Dad trying to cut down a tree, with a reciprocating saw. I felt like I was the parent watching over the child while he was trying to cut the branches. [ the whole experience was nerve positively nerve wracking] 

Dad was trying not to notice me hovering while I was pretending not to hover over him.  Finally I managed to convince him to let me do it, without hurting his pride. "Let me try" I say.

Tomorrow I get to help him fix the leaky toilet tank! Yay!

I had some trouble getting the rhythm of the linen stitch [video link] Not because it is hard, but because my mind didn't want to pay attention to my work until my fingers got the memory down pat. Eventually I did get it down pat after I ripped the first one out and started over. No more bumps on the right side or rather in pattern speak, the wrong side (ws), or wait was that really the right side?? Like I wasn't confused enough in the first place! 

Bumpy side aka the side that started with row one ;-)

The only way I could get through it was to stop looking at the ws' and rs' and remember the purl side needed a stitch marker! Because to me the whole thing felt backwards. 

Cuffed is one of the Pretty Twisted Cuff's posted in Knitty's First Fall issue. What a great way to use up all those great little balls of sock yarn leftovers (Dawn your girls will love these).

Starts with a cable cast on [video link] and ends with icords. Clever little pattern!!

I am on to the next one. 

I am thinking of trolling the thrift stores for some really cool buttons. I think we have a thrift store damn near on every corner around here...like Kenosha with bars...haha

I think Raine needs some cuffs too!

'Cuffed' sans buttons.

Big Scary Bridge !

Last week I had to drive across that big scary bridge again...aka the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

This is me on the way up...

This is me at the top...(white knuckled of course)

And starting the descent- for some reason it is not quite as scary on the way down.

I know my pictures leave a lot to be desired, it is very difficult to take a picture while keeping both hand in a death grip on the steering wheel.  But I think the this next picture courtesy of Wikipedia gives a much better view!

SEE!?!?!? I told you... BIG SCARY BRIDGE!!!

Just over 4 miles of sheer terror...for me at least. Unfortunately my doctor happens to be on the other side of that bridge from me.  Did I happen mention they close  that bridge on a regular basis due to high winds?

In the mean time...

I am still plugging away at my wimple, I am nearing the end of the second repeat...geez louise!

And I decided to try something a little more, erm mindless...riiiiight

  I am trying my hand at a wrist band...specifically one of these Pretty Twisted Cuff's.

'cept, this will be my first attempt at linen stitch, and you know how I hate to pay attention. So while I'm thinking it looks pretty good on the 'wrong side',,,the 'right side' looks like this!

Not supposed to have bumps on this side...grrrrr!!

Do over!