This past weekend we traveled to Fort St. John, B.C., to visit our daughter and her family. On the way I was able to finish a pair of socks for our dear granddaughter, identical to the ones I had already made for her mom, D.D.#2. (See the sock in progress in the post of August 16.)
I had ordered yarn in July from Mary Maxim, a well known yarn company with headquarters in Paris, Ontario. When the yarn came, I used my wool winder to turn it into balls that pulled from the center. But this very pretty, striped pink yarn, 100% bamboo, from Turkey, had several knots and breaks in the skein. I was very disappointed, as Mary Maxim yarns are usually just fine. I took pictures of the problems and sent them an email on a Saturday evening. Monday morning there was a return email, assuring me that a whole new skein was in the mail. I hadn't expected or asked for that, but it was good customer service, and welcome.
So when I finished the socks for D.D.#2,
I started an identical small pair for her 7 year old daughter.
This yarn was not fun to work with, as it felt more like crochet cotton than sock yarn, but I thought the socks were very pretty, and would probably feel quite silky. They took a long time to knit as the gauge was very fine: 32 stitches to 4 inches. The second pair were a treat to knit because they were so much smaller. I finished them on Saturday.
So here are the two pair, really nice socks for two dear ones.
As soon as they were off the needles I cast on a new pair, these of a slightly thicker yarn, 75% superwash wool, and 25% nylon for strength. The pattern is something I've never used before, called Skew, which I got from Knitty.com. I've had the pattern for about a year, and wanted to try this strange method. I'll show those socks when they are finished.
On Tuesday our town quilt club met from 1 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m. to work on quilts for the people of Slave Lake, Alberta who lost their homes and possessions in forest fires this summer. I brought my whole fabric stash along and said, Use whatever! That's what it's for. The only things I held back were projects in process, including a large queen size quilt for our bed that I hope to make this winter. Sadly, it didn't seem as if that much fabric disappeared. One woman joked that they had all been secretly adding to my stash as the day went along.
So I took home more than a basket full of scraps. This afternoon I got busy and trimmed all the scraps to useable squares, alá Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville's Quips and Snips. So here are the containers, with the scraps sorted by size from 1 1/2" to 4" and up. Most have been cut into squares but some of the longer ones I left in strips. The basket to the left of them was full, almost overflowing, when I started. I actually worked until it was empty, and then I was able to put the lovely Briggs and Little Sock yarn in the basket.
But, sad to say, look what's left in another even bigger container that needs to be sorted and cut up:
I bet there's about three days work there! It will have to wait for another day.
To the right of the clear boxes on the design wall are the four squares of "Red Star" that I finished on Tuesday. I need to make at least another four, maybe more to finish the quilt for Slave Lake. They take longer to make than I figured. But then, it seems every project takes longer than I think it will.
The poppy print above them is a piece of art that Dear Son #1 made and sent me via email. I took it to the upholstery shop and had it printed, first on canvas, but that was too dull, and now on this white material. I plan to put it on "stretchers" and send it to him for a present. I think it's really neat. He based it on a photo I took a year ago of a fabulous poppy in our garden.
Do you also find that there are more interesting things to do than there is time to do them? I guess that's a good problem to have, and I can't imagine ever being bored.
I had ordered yarn in July from Mary Maxim, a well known yarn company with headquarters in Paris, Ontario. When the yarn came, I used my wool winder to turn it into balls that pulled from the center. But this very pretty, striped pink yarn, 100% bamboo, from Turkey, had several knots and breaks in the skein. I was very disappointed, as Mary Maxim yarns are usually just fine. I took pictures of the problems and sent them an email on a Saturday evening. Monday morning there was a return email, assuring me that a whole new skein was in the mail. I hadn't expected or asked for that, but it was good customer service, and welcome.
I started an identical small pair for her 7 year old daughter.
This yarn was not fun to work with, as it felt more like crochet cotton than sock yarn, but I thought the socks were very pretty, and would probably feel quite silky. They took a long time to knit as the gauge was very fine: 32 stitches to 4 inches. The second pair were a treat to knit because they were so much smaller. I finished them on Saturday.
So here are the two pair, really nice socks for two dear ones.
As soon as they were off the needles I cast on a new pair, these of a slightly thicker yarn, 75% superwash wool, and 25% nylon for strength. The pattern is something I've never used before, called Skew, which I got from Knitty.com. I've had the pattern for about a year, and wanted to try this strange method. I'll show those socks when they are finished.
On Tuesday our town quilt club met from 1 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m. to work on quilts for the people of Slave Lake, Alberta who lost their homes and possessions in forest fires this summer. I brought my whole fabric stash along and said, Use whatever! That's what it's for. The only things I held back were projects in process, including a large queen size quilt for our bed that I hope to make this winter. Sadly, it didn't seem as if that much fabric disappeared. One woman joked that they had all been secretly adding to my stash as the day went along.
But, sad to say, look what's left in another even bigger container that needs to be sorted and cut up:
To the right of the clear boxes on the design wall are the four squares of "Red Star" that I finished on Tuesday. I need to make at least another four, maybe more to finish the quilt for Slave Lake. They take longer to make than I figured. But then, it seems every project takes longer than I think it will.
The poppy print above them is a piece of art that Dear Son #1 made and sent me via email. I took it to the upholstery shop and had it printed, first on canvas, but that was too dull, and now on this white material. I plan to put it on "stretchers" and send it to him for a present. I think it's really neat. He based it on a photo I took a year ago of a fabulous poppy in our garden.
Do you also find that there are more interesting things to do than there is time to do them? I guess that's a good problem to have, and I can't imagine ever being bored.
No comments:
Post a Comment