HOT HOT DAY & FIRST KNIT SKIRT COMPLETE

Today started out really nice. I picked some veggies in our garden and I really enjoyed the nice morning. I brought my daughter to the park around noon and by then it was a scorcher! It's hard to believe at the end of September, the temperature was in the 90s! It was so incredibly hot, I thought I was in the middle of summer! I'm glad to say that tomorrow is suppose to be a lot cooler. Yeah, I'm ready to wear more of the sweaters I made! During the cooler weather a week ago, I actually wore my fall eyelet top and shell top. I'm starting to appreciate the things I made and I'm looking forward to wearing more of the items I made. Here's a photo of me wearing my shell top last week! (I'll probably revamp this top and add some long sleeves)!



I finally finished my bell curve skirt today. The pattern is from Knitty.com. It is a great pattern. It's my first skirt and I'm really glad I finally made one. I was a bit nervous because I'm between size small and medium. I opted to make the medium. I used about 5 skeins of the Lionbrand Woolease in Burgundy. The waist band was knitted in a size 7 needle and the rest of the skirt was done in size 9 needle. This skirt seemed to take forever! The star stitch, though very pretty is very hard on the hands. Half way through, I started to knit really loose the row before the star stitches and that made my life easier! I did get a bit discouraged in the beginning because it was taking so long that I started another skirt project but in crochet. (That by the way, is also on hold). I also finished the baby outfit for my sister in law. I'm glad I didn't get discouraged and decided to concentrate on finishing this project. Overall, it was an easy pattern to follow. My gauge is slightly off so the skirt is slightly longer. The skirt is a bit big on me but with the added elastic waist band, it's a good fit. I would of prefer a less of a flair on the bottom too. Hubby said it looks good so I'll take his word for it! It's such a pretty skirt. I'm still in the process of blocking it as you can tell! The bottom was curling up so I wet it down. I got too impatient that I had to have hubby take a picture of me in it ~ wet or not! I'll post another picture when it's dry! :)

Finally here are photos of my skirt fully blocked:

Crochet Baby Outfit

For the last 3 days, I've been working on this baby outfit. The pattern is called Aunt Jen's Sweater. It's for the sweater and cap. I also made the bootie today, which is from here: www.ebecountrycottage.com/bevsbooties2.html. It was such an easy crochet and fast! It was done about an hour. The bootie was kind of an after thought to completing the outfit. I had not intended to crochet anything for my sister in law. I told myself that I was not going to make anything and just send her some money. (She's due this month). When I spoke to her, 3 days ago she suggested that I make her something. So, I searched the internet until I found an outfit that was easy and quick. So here's my end results. I used 1 skein of the Bernat Softee and 1 skein of the Red Heart Baby yarn for the outfit, cap and bootie.

The outfit:
The booties:




On my 2 skirts, I've been crocheting and knitting like crazy trying to make some progress on both. I was not enjoying myself at all! I was putting this undue pressure on myself to get it done. Hubby said that I have a love/hate relationship with my knitting/crochet. It's like a race. It's true, I like to hurry up and get it done because I enjoy the satisfaction of a finished project! After a day of joy, I'm searching for the next project! So, it was probably good that I took a break from my skirt to make this baby outfit. For tonight, I'll just enjoy the rest of the night without any knitting or crocheting!

I'm BACK...to crocheting

After what seems like a very long hiatus, I've picked up my crocheting hook and I'm back to crocheting. I've been knitting a skirt called the bell curve but I was getting bored and the "star" stitch was hurting my fingers so I decided to put it hold temporary while I search for an appropriate project. After pouring through my magazines and various websites and patterns, I decided upon the waves hem skirt. It's from the march issue of Crochet, Today! (Okay, I was suppose to making something green but I got distracted...sidetracked. I wanted to make a skirt and I didn't think a green skirt would look good on me)! I'm using yarn from my stash so I hope it turns out okay. I'm using a tweed color for the body with black for the waves. It's a really interesting pattern so far and I'm actually enjoying it! No pictures yet! I'm a bit nervous about the skirt because I'm a "pear shape" and I'm between 2 sizes. My gauge is off since my yarn is thicker than the recommended. I've decided to make the small and maybe do some modifications for the waist later. Skirt is worked from the bottom up so I can try it as I go. I love that I don't have to put my stitches on scrap yarn to try it on because I'm just too LAZY!!! I hope my crochet project will be a success!

I'm back to making more jellies. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I made 5 jars last week but it's not thickening up like I hope. I'm may have to re-cook this batch yet again. I don't understand why it won't thicken up on the first try. I cook the heck out of it to get it at a thick consistency before I actually ladle it into the jars. Any canners out there, I love to hear any trick of the trade!
Hubby gave a jar away to friends and they really enjoyed it. It really made my day knowing they liked it!

I was in Walmart shopping the other day and saw a nice knitted sweater for under $15! I was admiring the beautiful cables and the ribbing around the neckline. I looked on the inside of the sweater to see how it was put together. You can tell that it was hand made by the ridge from where the knitter had picked up the stitches around the neckline. I can't believe such a nice sweater could be produced in such high volume at such a low price (okay, hubby said sweat shop :( and it also made me sad that it takes me more than $15 just to buy the yarn and all the time and effort I put into making one! Yes, it's the satisfaction of knowing I made it and picked out the yarn lovingly. I understand why people today do not bother to learn to crochet/knit/make jelly, etc. They can buy it faster and cheaper. But...I am glad that I can and do have the abilities to do these things and pass them on to my daughter.

Ravelympics Vest and Summer (Fall?) Eyelet Top Completed

I finished my vest for the Ravelympics over a week ago. The pattern is from the magazine Creative Knitting Fall issue. It was an interesting pattern. I made this using a size 9 knitting needles and 4-5 skeins of the Paton SWS yarn. It took a little over a week to complete. Honestly, the vest is cute but I don't think I would ever wear it. It's too "busy" for me. It was fun to knit.

The Summer (Fall?) Eyelet top is from the spring issue of Knit n'Style Magazine. I have been eyeing this top for a while. I'm glad I finally got around to making it. It was such a FUN pattern to knit. The lace pattern was easy but the arm and neck shaping was a bit of a challenge. I extended the length of the top by adding some rows of ribbing. (Idea borrowed from a Ravelry member). This was made using a size 9 knitting needle and 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft in purple. I love the color! The pattern called for some picot edging around the neckline but I opted to leave it out. I like the ribbing around the neckline. I also added a single row of crochet to the arm to prevent it from rolling. I took my time in completing this project because I didn't know if I wanted to make it into a vest. This is one of my favorite projects because it's such a cute top and an easy lace pattern!

Lately, I've been totally obsessed about the color green ~ the bright shade of green, that is. I have recently purchased about 7 skeins of the worsted shine in grass from Knit Picks but I'm on the look out for more green yarn! I have a few projects in mind but nothing definite. I'm not even sure if I would like the color on me! Green has always been one of my favorite colors...my car is a mint green color! Hopefully, when I finish with my Bella Curve skirt I will find a suitable project for my green yarn.

Hubby has been doing a lot of canning this year from the vegetables he's grown in the garden. I think it's rubbing off on me! I've been making muskadine jelly. I've never made them before. I searched the web for a recipe which I slightly modified. On my first attempt, the jelly did not thicken so I had to re-cook it. I added some lemon juice which I think helped. I was eager to try out the jelly, which I'm happy to report is delicious! The best part is that I made it!

Here's a few jar of them: