Saturday, July 29, 2006

Welcome to the pond....

So, what have I been doing lately? Frogging galore, and this :

"This" being ,yes, the same sock from about a month ago. But look! visible progress! I'm onto the toe decreases and then on to sock number 2! So that xmas present should be done in time.

Then there is this piece of frustration:


That is my "Clapotis", version 3. Yup, I had to rip it back twice already, hence the lack of visible progress. I kept screwing up, and since I was so close to the beginning, I frogged it to start over. This time I got smart and put in a lifeline. (that's what the white line is. I used dental floss since it will slip out easy and not snag my expensive yarn). I'm tired of frogging. I want visible progress. (Thanks Karen for the tip on proper use of stitch markers. That was driving me spare)

Then I started a moss stitch hand towel in Crafter's Cotton, but the stitch pattern was lost in the variegation of the yarn, so that got frogged too.

I started on some squares for my Noro sampler afghan.


Left to right,l stockinette stitch with garter border, garter stitch and the bottom one is a mitred square using the pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. Somehow the garter stitch one turned out a bit bigger than the other 2, but I checked and it is not enough to make a difference once I sew 'em up together.

I have also been cutting up t-shirts to do a calamari knitting project from the Mason Dixon book, as well. It is slow going. I was getting blisters from the scissors, so someone on the Mason Dixon KAL suggested a rotary cutter. I am a neophyte when it comes to basic crafting and had never heard about this thing. I went to a craft store and looked, but the cutter and mat would have et me back approx $40! Being unemployed, that was not an option. However my VERY crafty MIL had one, so I borrowed hers. It works, and is easier than scissors, but since I am cutting thru a t-shirt, there are 2 thickness of material and I have to press quite firmly. so now I have sore wrists...sigh. Hopefully I will be able to get more done though. Sore wrists go away after an hour or so. Blisters take days.

As for being unemployed, I found a service that books relief shifts in town and have booked some work, so I won't be living out on the street, it looks like! Yippee!

1 comment:

Sandra D. said...

Hurray for not being on the street!

Re cutting T-shirts. Have you discovered "spring" scissors? They're way easier on your hands than regular ones. I like my rotary cutters, but some tasks are better suited to scissors.

Re the knitting bags. Maggie might at some point make stuff available on line. But until then, if you're interested (she charges $45 US), I can photo the ones she has available, send you a picture, and you can take your pick. I'll get it to you. I'm having her make one for each of the women in David's family that I give a Christmas present to. Anyway, Maggie is selling them at the 127 Sale, but will surely have some left over. Or if we're quick, I can maybe snag one for you during the sale.

Hope you're out of the frog pond for a while!