Peas In A Pod

Friday Finishes--Socks and Bikini Bag

You'll be happy to know that it's finally a beautiful day here!  I just finished my morning walk.  It is sunny and not windy.  It's supposed to get up to 60 degrees today.  I'm so happy!  And you don't have to listen to me whine today!  ;-)

I know a lot of people do "Finish It Up Friday" posts regularly on Fridays.  I have never committed to doing that, because I don't think I finish enough stuff for that!  LOL.

But today, I have a couple of small finishes that don't really fit anywhere else.  I don't think my brother reads my blog, but just in case:  SPOILER ALERT!  IF YOU ARE MY BROTHER, YOU PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO READ THIS POST!

My brother turned 40 years old on April 9.  Sometime around March 20, I decided to knit him a pair of socks for his birthday.  I thought I could get them done in time.......

..........

.........Okay.  I was just waiting for you to be done laughing at me.  Are you done now?

Good.  I did get them done about April 11, but then I had to get them washed and blocked.  Now, I just need to make it to the post office, which is a feat in and of itself for me.

You might wonder why I wanted to knit him a pair of socks for his 40th birthday.  Well, here's the thing...I was thinking about him as a kid.  And I remember how he used to wear tube socks all the time to school.  He absolutely hated that seam in his socks.  He would sit there and fuss with his socks for like 10 minutes in the mornings, trying to get the seams situated in his shoes just right, so they didn't bother his foot.  I get this.  I have the same issue sometimes...but not to the extent he did.

One day, I was putting on a pair of my own hand-knit socks, and was pondering on how much I loved them, in part because there is no annoying seam at the toe.  I thought, "My brother would really love hand knit socks."  And the idea to knit him some for his birthday was born. 

You can see in this photo (above) that there is some toe shaping that occurs, but it is not a seam.  The toes are so comfy.

I wanted them pretty plain, as my brother is a fairly conservative dresser.  I love this yarn.  The color is this beautiful "denim-like" color.  There are hints of green in it, too.  It is so soft and warm.  The largest fiber content is baby alpaca.  So, although the socks are wool, they are really comfy--not scratchy at all.  These will be great with jeans for a casual Saturday.  They will be great for cold, Boston winters.  Hopefully, he won't be able to wear them for a year!  haha.

One mistake I made...the yarn is not superwash.  The socks will need to be hand washed.  I hope they won't be too high maintenance for him or accidentally get thrown in the dryer.  I'll have to give him and his wife some washing strategies.

I knit these from a new book I bought that teaches me how to size socks.  The only other sock pattern I have made is one that just fits me.  In this photo, my own hand-knit socks are on the right.  My brother's socks took a lot longer to knit.  You can see why!  My brother has big feet.  I am about 5'3" tall and wear an 8.5 shoe size.  My brother is 6'4" tall and wears a size 12 shoe (at least...sometimes a 12.5).  Hope the socks fit and that he likes them.

Last weekend, as I was working on my Feathered Stars, I thought, "I need a small, accomplishable project right now...."  I looked over on my "projects-in-waiting" shelf and saw one I could do quickly, feel a sense of accomplishment, and get my shelf cleaned off--at least a little bit.  Here it is.  My Bikini Bag.  Now, don't get any big ideas.  I don't even own a bikini.  It's called a bikini bag, because it's made of laminated fabric.  I saw this in my LQS a while back, and I loved the fabric.  If you bought a yard of fabric, you got the pattern for this bag free.  Cool.

The fabric is fun.  It's a map of Paris.  I love the colors and the design.

The lining of the bag is also the laminated fabric.  So, the bag is waterproof, inside and out.

This is why it's called a Bikini Bag.  You can carry your wet swimming suits when you go to the beach, or whatever.  I thought this would be a nice thing to pack in the suitcase when we travel.  Sweet Pea likes to swim at the hotels we stay in, and I'm always trying to figure out what to do with that wet swimming suit when we leave in the morning.  Now, I'll have this.  It would also be nice for use in your gym bag.

The seam on the inside is not completely finished.  So, when I sewed it, I used the overcasting stitch on my sewing machine.  It made for a really nice, clean seam.  I'm happy with this.  I made it in about an hour, start to finish.  I needed that!

I'd do a pattern review for you (the pattern was fun, easy, and produced a really cute product), but it's not a commercial pattern.  I think someone at the LQS wrote it.  It was more of a handout.  So, I'm sorry I can't give you a reference for where to get the pattern.

I showed it to Sweet Pea when I finished.  Instead of being happy, she pouted and said, "No fair!  You always get the shiny fabric.  I never get any!"

This cracked me up.  You may recall that one time, Amanda Herring, The Quilted Fish, sent me some of her laminated fabric to make something out of.  Sweet Pea loved it so much she actually took it and hid it from me!  It took me two weeks to find it!  Haha!

I told Amanda that story once, and we had a good laugh over it.  When I came back from Spring Quilt Market last year, Amanda gave me this laminated fabric we had used as a tablecloth at Market.  She said to give it to Sweet Pea.  This was Sweet Pea's reaction to that when I came home.  I took this photo with my cell phone for Amanda to thank her.  Sweet Pea really has a thing for laminated fabric.

Anyway, I told Sweet Pea I still have a fairly large piece of the Paris map laminated fabric left.  I told her if she wants me to, I'll make her another bag with it.  She replied that she wants me to make a bag for her American Girl doll and a matching bag for her.  Hmmmm.....That one may take a while to figure out!  LOL

Well, hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend.  It's supposed to get up into the 70's here, finally.  So, I plan to be outside a lot!

Until next time,

 

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Year of the Sock: Part 4 - Final Thoughts

Jimmy Beans Wool Downton Abbey Mystery KAL Finished!

I woke up this morning to 39 degrees and lots of wind.  But it wasn't raining.  So, I decided to go for my walk.  I had to don winter coat, ear warmers, hood, and gloves.  It was a cold walk.  I put on my earphones, opened my Michigan Radio NPR app, and started listening to Morning Edition.

And I heard the news about the manhunt in Boston.  Wow.  What a way to wake up.  I am praying for the saftey of my brother and his family, as well as all those in Boston.  Amazing developments.

(Two quick updates:  I texted my brother and learned they left for Disney yesterday.  Whew!  That's a relief.  And, I saw snowflakes on my way to work.  SNOW.  FLAKES.)

A while back, I finished my gauntlets from the Downton Abbey Mystery Knit Along from Jimmy Beans Wool.  (I originally blogged it here, if you want more information.)  I had a lot of fun with this Mystery KAL.  It was the first one I had done, and it was fun.  I also loved working with the wool (Lorna's Laces) and knitting up this project.  In the photo above, on the left is the gautlet from the top side.  I loved knitting that shell lace pattern along the arm opening.  On the right is the palm side.  You can see the I-cord is threaded through some eyelets in the gauntlets so you can adjust the length of them.  I thought that was a nice detail.

No, these aren't snakes or worms.

You were all grossed out by the snake photos I posted yesterday.  I'm with you on hating snakes, by the way!  ;-)

My students were all complaining yesterday that it stinks outside with all this rain lately.  They said it smells like worms outside.  LOL.  It totally does!

This is the I-cord I made.  It's not threaded through the eyelets right now (obviously).  I wanted to show you this, becuase I love how the colors pooled.  So pretty!

Here they are laced up and tied up.  Pretty, huh?

Here is how they look on me.  I really like them.

And here they are from the side.

You can download this pattern now free on Ravelry.  So, if you want to make them, you can. They are a lot of fun to knit and it's a small, quick project.  The pattern is easy to follow.  I would say an advanced beginner can make it.  All you need to know how to do is knit, purl, yarn over, SSK, and K2tog.  All really easy.  And very satisfying.

I'm so glad I participated in the KAL.  There is a new KAL with Jimmy Beans going on right now.  It's a Game of Thrones KAL.  I got the yarn for that, too.  It's beautiful.  I'll show it to you later.  But I haven't had time to start it yet.  I'm not looking ahead at anything in the KAL, because I don't want to spoil the surprise.  So, if you are doing it and have figured out what it is yet, don't tell me!  :-)

I love Game of Thrones.  We don't get that channel (HBO?), so I have to wait until it comes out on DVD anyway.  I'm trying to decide if I can wait that long to do the KAL.  I think not.  We'll see.  I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy.  LOL. 

We actually have snow in our forecast tonight, if you can believe it.  Sigh.

But warmer and sunny weather predicted for tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Please stay safe.

Until next time,

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Really Kinda Random--Great Finds Edition

I'm linking of with Cindy of Live a Colorful Life and Really Random Thursday.  Check out Cindy's blog today for more wonderful randomness.

We've had some great finds lately:

We get a lot of snakes on our property this time of year.  Last year was so dry we never saw many.

A great, snakey find:

The sun came out for a little bit on Sunday.  Sweet Pea went out to play.  She came running inside and told me to come out and see what she caught.  She caught these two garter snakes in our back yard.  Papa Pea helped a little.  He used a rake and held the snakes down.  Then, he picked up the snakes and put them in Sweet Pea's snake catcher cage.

Spidey is a curious cat.  So, he came and looked at the snake and when Sweet Pea didn't want him making a hole in the screen, she put the snakes up on a table.  Spidey jumped up on a chair next to the table and then onto the table.  Spidey took out his claws and clawed at the glass on the front of the cage.  Sweet Pea had to pick Spidey up.  P.S.  Spidey is sort of a fat cat, his rear end is heavier than his front.  Sweet Pea put Spidey back down.  Then he hopped back up on the chair and table again, so Sweet Pea put the snakes back on the ground.

Finally, Spidey did not want to claw at the cage any more, so Sweet Pea and Mama Pea gave him a pet.  Mama Pea wanted to take some photos.  When Sweet Pea was done playing with the snakes (and so was Spidey), she let them out in the grassy grassy woods up near the road.

{All of the above was dictated to me by Sweet Pea.  She wanted to tell you all about it.}

A great wooly find:

A while back, I said to Papa Pea, "I feel like I haven't seen your mother in forever.  Let's go visit her."  So, we took a weekend and traveled to Wisconsin.  While we were there, I visited with SisLH, and we did a little shopping day.  (I really enjoyed my day with SisLH.  We had a lot of fun together.  It's fun to have a wonderful SIL.)  We went to the Knitty Gritty Shop.  (I blogged a review of the shop here.  I love going there!)  I found this pattern and really wanted to make it.

I found the yarn that was called for in the pattern, but there weren't enough skeins of it.  So, I picked something else.  This is yarn that was made from wool from the shop owner's own sheep.  She has it professionally spun.  I thought it would be fun to use that!

It's pretty neat that she names the wool after the sheep it came from.  The wool above was called "Brownie."  I got to meet Brownie outside as we went back to the car.  (Knitty Gritty Shop is located on their farm.)  Brownie is the darkest sheep toward the back of the pack in this photo.  She is the only one with a pink tag on her ear.  Cindy, the shop's owner, said that Brownie is the worst mother, but she has great wool (the color is fantastic).  That's the only reason they keep her, I think!

I still haven't started the shawl.  Surprise!

A great greenish blue find:

Next, we went to an Amish quilt shop.  I didn't take any photos of it.  I was afraid it would be disrespectful.  It was also located on the family farm.  Half of the shop was quilt supplies and supplies for making dresses and hats.  The other side of the shop was a tack and harness shop.  The whole place smelled like leather.  I found these wonderful antique jars.  The are twice the size of regular quart jars.  Wish I had a quart jar sitting next to them so you could get a sense of size.

They were such a great price, I could not pass them up.

So many great finds:

We also went to Nancy's Notions in Beaver Dam.  I don't think I've ever shown you photos of the inside when it's not the big sewing weekend.  Here is the store to the left when you first walk in.

Here is the store straight ahead.  There are two more rooms other than these rooms as well.  It is really a fun place to shop.  I can poke around in here for hours.  It's fun to see the catalog samples in real life.  I can walk through once, then a second time and see all new stuff, there is so much.  You just can't focus enough in one pass through!

As I was up at the counter paying for this book (which was on sale for a great price),

I saw this black pin fabric on the shelf.  (Mind you, I hadn't seen it in my first two trips through the store at all!)  My friend, Jackie, had been using some of this at retreat, and I loved it.  I had never seen it anywhere before.  So, I grabbed it up.  Then, I couldn't resist this measuring tape fabric that was right next to it. I  had to get out of that store before I found more!

A doggie find:

As I was digging through my photos looking for random stuff today (I have been so busy this week, I haven't had time to collect good randomness....but I'm so far behind on my blogging, I had a stash of photos), I found this one from our Christmas trip to Florida.  I love this drinking fountain for doggies that I saw at one of the outdoor shopping areas.  Another great find.

How about you?  Got any great finds lately?

Tonight is my last night of class for the semester.  Yay!  (Yes, it's very early...we started very early in January.)  Next week is finals week and graduation.

For the record:  It's still cold.  And it has rained all week.  We had thunderstorms almost all through the night last night.

Happy Thursday.

Until next time,

 

Jimmy Beans Wool Downton Abbey Mystery KAL

I really think I have Quilter's ADD sometimes.

I can't remember how I heard about it, but just before Christmas, Jimmy Beans Wool announced they were going to have a mystery knit along....you wouldn't know what you were knitting unti you started, and you wouldn't know what the project was going to look like until the end.  That intrigued me, except the last time I tried a knit along, I failed miserably.  I just couldn't do the pattern.  It stressed me out.  So, I was worried about committing to another one.

But then they showed the wool they were using, and I loved it.  It's called Lorna's Laces.  And then they said the color was named after Downton Abbey.  And then they said the clues would be released each week with a new episode of Downton Abbey.  It was all too much fun, and I couldn't resist.  So, I signed up. 

The wool would arrive in December, while I was down in Florida, so that one could knit a swatch and be ready to start in January.  So, I had my wool sent to Florida.

So, I told my mom about what I was doing.  She got interested, too.  And then she signed up, ordered the wool, and decided to do it with me.  That made it even more fun for me.

The wool arrived on time.  You can see the colors below.  Nice, huh?  Mom and I both knit our swatches and had to go down a size in needles, which is unusual.  We both knit to guage most of the time.

We are 4 weeks into it now, and I'm actually staying on top of it and showing success!

We cast on and started this nice rosebud pattern.

Here it is after another "clue."  Are you getting the feel for what we're making yet?  (Sorry this is blurry.  I took it with my phone, and it's kind of hard to take a good photo of your own arm, I've found out!  LOL.)  With my circular needles still in it, it looks like I've had some sort of weird hand surgery, doesn't it?!

And last night, I finished the final cuff edge on this hand.  I think these are neat gautlets.  I'm having a ton of fun with this knit along.  It's a quick, manageable, and neat project for me right now.  (Sorry for my computer plug in the background.  LOL.)  But what do you think?  I think they are pretty neat and fun.  And it fits!!!  :-)

Here is the other side.  You can't see it, but along the left side of this gauntlet, there are eyelets.  I'm thinking we'll be threading something through there in the end, but I'll have to wait and see.

I assume Clue #5 will be casting on for the left gauntlet.  Great.  I'm looking forward to it.

I've learned new things already on this:  I used a crocheted provisional cast on, which was neat.  I've never done this clam shell finish before.  And I've only done one other glove before, so making the thumb gusset was kind of neat and fun.

Mom's is coming along swimmingly, too, and she's enjoying it more than she thought she would as well (considering she lives in Florida and may have limited opportunities to wear these).

If you want to join in, it's not too late.  I bet you could knit this up in a week or so and be caught up.  I have found the instructions to be really clear, and the discussion forum on Ravelry has been informative, too.  I think the gals at Jimmy Beans said when it's all over, they'll put out a PDF of all the clues put together in a pattern.  So, maybe you just want to wait until then and pick up the PDF.  Right now, all the clues are available on the Jimmy Beans Blog for free.  You don't need to sign up or anything to participate.

It's kind of fun to read the story behind this from Jimmy Beans.  It's the first KAL they've done, and they couldn't believe the response to it.  They thought 100 people might join in, and they had over 3,000 join in.  They couldn't keep up with the yarn orders.  It's fun to read about.  You can read about it here if you are interested.  Good for them.  It's fun to see people succeed.

Sometimes, I'd rather knit than do hand sewing.  Don't know why.  Just do.  :-)

Until next time,

 

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Really Kinda Random

It's been a while since I've been able to generate a Really Random post.  But here it goes!

I'm linking up with Cindy at Live a Colorful Life for Really Random Thursday.

My mom emailed me the other day that she finished making this shawl.  I think it's beautiful.  I want to do one.  I'm not sure I'm up to it.

Mom is so beautiful, isn't she?  :-)  This is a class on Craftsy.  There are three shawl patterns in the class.  I might cave and sign up for it, then work on it over Christmas.  Hmmmm.....

A little while back, my brother, who lives in Boston, called me one day at work.  It was about 11:30 in the morning. 

He said, "Hey, Steph.  Wanna go to lunch?" 

I was like, "What???!" 

He said, "I'm in Grand Rapids.  I'm a schmuck for not telling you I was coming earlier, but I'm going on a fishing trip with my inlaws.  They lost my luggage, so I have to wait for the 5:30 flight from Newark to get my bags.  I thought I might drive down to Kalamazoo and have lunch with you while I'm waiting." 

So, I rearranged my schedule and had lunch with him.  What a nice surprise.  Then, on Sunday, before he flew home, Sweet Pea and I drove up to Grand Rapids and had brunch with him before he flew home.  Sweet Pea was really excited to see her uncle.  Here, they are looking at a video of the salmon fishing they were doing.  My brother said he caught salmon on 7 of 8 casts one day.  One of them was 22 pounds!  I guess I didn't realize there was so much good salmon fishing in Michigan!  (Hope he doesn't mind me posting this photo.  I usually ask and didn't this time.)

I wanted to make this cowboy boot stocking for someone for Christmas.  So I ordered this pattern and kit from Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts.  She sent it wrapped up in this red bandanna.  How awesome is that?  I don't want to open it.

Happiness is a new pair of Smartwool socks for the season.  I usually buy the plain black or brown ones.  I decided to get daring and get some patterned ones.  Love them.

And a new pair of cool red clogs.  LOVE them!  These were my purchases when I was on quilt retreat a couple of weekends ago (and I still need to blog it).

My rose bushes just won't quit!  Probably because it was 75 degrees yesterday, and it's going to be just as nice today!  This is the climbing rose bush in front of my garage.  (I never showed you all the landscaping I did out there this spring.  Too busy.  Maybe next spring!  Plus, it's not done yet.)  Isn't this a pretty one?

Here's the other bush, the one that had the pretty flower with the dew on it a while back.  There are new buds on this bush, too.  But I think the hard freeze we had a while back got them.  I doubt they will open.  I have been too nervous to do any cutting back for fear I'd encourage even more growth just before the snow hits....

Sweet Pea is pretty excited, because her dad bought her a basketball hoop.  We got it from a friend who is moving away.  Good price.  Papa Pea had to build a flat spot to keep it on.  He did a great job.  Sweet Pea will have a lot of fun with this.  This photo was taken a few weeks ago, when there were more leaves on the trees.  She's got pretty good form.  If she practices, she could be pretty good!

I have more random stuff, but I have been too lazy to download the photos from my phone and other camera.  Another day!  LOL

What's your Random Act of Kindness going to be today?  I gave my students an extension until Monday on their paper that is due today.  They were pretty happy.  One said I should have a wand and say, "Your wish is granted!"  So, I'm bringing Sweet Pea's wand to school today to use in class.  Ha!

Have a good one!

Until next time,