Projects (Near) Completed

Two posts ago I wrote that I was busily working away on several sewing projects and that I would attempt to finish two quilts that I started making in Fall 2013.

Hard to see the sparkles in the light

Good size for one to snuggle up.

This week I managed to make two half slips, one sparkly burgundy vest and have almost finished the two quilts.

Finishing the two quilts is taking much longer than I would have liked. One quilt (in the photos) is complete.  The last step to finishing the sunflower quilt is to make and sew on the binding.

I  remember now why I set the quilt aside in the first place. I had run out of sunflower fabric and tried to find more.  My search wasn't successful and I set the quilt aside.  Since then I haven't felt like working on it.


Finishing up the quilts would have been much easier if I had used a walking foot.

Walking foot

When I finally remembered to use it, it made the job a lot quicker but I still had to keep un-doing and re-doing seams. Another issue is that I didn't have quite enough of the various fabrics needed to make either of the quilts and thus a lot of improvising needed to be done.  Like most things I do, I don't really follow a pattern.  That means I have a general idea when I get started and along the way I make changes depending on the amount of fabric I have.

Some decorative stitching around the edges.

My projects would probably work much better if I simply followed a pattern and purchased enough fabric to make it.  However, I do not like to pay the cost of patterns and quilt kits. It is all terribly expensive and I keep trying to do things on the less expensive side.

Anyway all of this is by way of explaining why it has taken so long to finish one lap blanket and one twin size quilt.  Trust me, I am so glad they are done so they can actually be ready for gifting this year.  LOL. Both were meant to be given as Christmas gifts last year.  Next up on my unfinished projects list is the African hexagon quilt that I enlarged from a foot of the bed cover to a double size bed cover. I won't be able to gift that for Christmas but will see what to do about it in the New Year.

I was especially pleased with the vest. I purchased some remnant material last summer for $3.99 and that is what I used to make the vest. It will come in handy during this festive season.

By the way, have any of you read the last book, Edge of Eternity in Ken Follett's Century Trilogy? I put it on hold at the library and I've been called to pick it up. I very much enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy and am wondering what my blog readers think about it. It's a good thing it is Christmas. It will give me time to make good progress on the book.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Spring

Hello friends,

Spring has sprung. It feels more and more like Spring weather though we are still getting cooler temperatures and more rain than usual.

The weather turned out to be better than the forecast on the weather news last night.

I had a good run of Spring cleaning accomplished last week in the garden and front room. Today I'm tackling my closets and chest of drawers. I can't believe how many clothes I've got.  This is even though I try hard to be mindful of not purchasing "willy nilly".  I also cull my things on a regular basis.

All the clothing from my dresser drawers is piled on my bed. My tops have already been culled and put away in the drawers.  Another bag of clothing items has been put in a giveaway bag.  Now I have to try and make some sense of the remaining pile because this is really too much to keep and to wear.  I will need to try everything on first and see what I still like or what fits and what doesn't. Some of these items I've had for years and years. Perhaps it is time to let them go.

After I get through with the clothes, I plan to cull my fabrics and yarns and give a lot of them away too especially the stuff I purchased second hand.  I bought most of it when I was just starting out as a knitter.  Now that I've been a knitter for a few years, I can see what is doable and how much yarn I need to do certain things. I've decided I can no longer keep all the yarn just in case I might use it one day.  A lot of it what I have in each colour isn't enough to make projects I'd really like to knit or crochet.  Someone else can benefit from them to make school projects or other things.

I am just so tired of clutter. We probably all feel like that come Spring. Believe it or not I've been getting rid of bags and bags of things on a regular basis but still I manage to find more!  I also try to follow the rule of getting rid of 1 or 2 items for every new item brought in to the home but it doesn't always work out that way. After I've finished with clothing and craft items, I will be doing more book culling and also going through cds and dvds. I've already culled these a few times but I think I can get rid of more.  Books are hardest for me to get rid of besides papers (old records and statements I may need some day).

I'm carrying on with the dietary changes started earlier this week.  Truth be told I've tried changes before and I can do okay for awhile but then I slip and fall. I guess as long as I keep trying I may eventually have success!  I'm dutifully eating my oatmeal for breakfast and lentil soup for lunch today.  I'm also boiling up some kidney beans to make some chili. I'll probably make it Sunday for Monday's dinner.  Tomorrow I will be having leftover curry sauce (homemade) and boiled yams with salad greens. I've noticed my blood sugars seem much better later in the day than earlier in the day even though I take more medication earlier.  I will have to let my doctor know in 2 weeks time. Perhaps she will have some explanation for me and some suggestions on what to do.  I can also try to find some answers on line.  Perhaps it is my coffee because I do not drink it black. I drink it with cream and I think the only way to change this is to stop drinking coffee altogether.  This will be hard to do but easier when it is summer to at least drink less coffee.  Maybe I can look for some dandelion coffee and see how I like it. I do like herbal teas but it can't replace my morning coffee.

I stayed up late (again) trying to get to a certain point on the little baby sweater you see in the photo below. I've never made a sweater like this before and I'm having to figure out a lot of new things like M1, place holders, etc. It is learning experience and I'm grateful for youtube videos where I can look things up at the drop of a hat.

My eldest nephew and his wife are having their second child in early June so I want to surprise them with this unisex sweater. The parents have opted not to identify the sex of their child. They just want a healthy baby. This sweater isn't for a newborn since the baby will be born in June and it gets very hot where they all live.  I hope it will still fit him/her come Fall.

I hope you are enjoying your week!

Our World Tuesday 

A Little Update

 “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”  Dr. Wayne W Dyer

Hi friends,

The quote today is something I reflect on now and then as a result of my health challenges.  I can either sit and say woe is me or I can try and learn things that help me get into better health. I choose the latter.

I have not posted for a few days so I am just popping in to say "hello" and to thank those of you who have been kind enough to visit my blog this month. (I have been by to visit all of you but if by chance I have missed someone please do let me know). Where does the time go? The month is almost done and a new one beginning!

I have to get some birthday cards for friends and family who celebrate in February so I better get a move on.

Not a cloud in the sky today.

The weather here continues to be absolutely lovely. We are blessed with days upon days of sunshine and no rain. That is very unusual for us at this time of the year. I am happy to see the sun and to do without the cold and damp. I only hope it doesn't cause problems in the Spring for the water levels or for the animals.  Things that are no longer normal in the weather always seems to affect something else.

Porridge breakfast with cinnamon, pumpkin seeds and goji berries.

I had some bad news this week about my blood glucose levels (A1c).  They are higher than ever  despite all the good work I've been doing to eat healthy and get consistent exercise.

Better stress management and improved sleeping hours are areas I still have to work on.  Hopefully the coming weeks and months will see improvement in these areas too.

The good news is I have lost quite a lot of weight;  about 2/3 of the weight I gained over the past 3 years.  I also lost a couple inches from my waist (more from other areas too but I am really only tracking the waistline due to diabetes). My blood pressure which was starting to creep up is also doing much better and is right in middle of normal. Some things are obviously going in the right direction and most of this is probably attributable to exercise.   It is only a matter of time before the blood glucose cooperates.

My beautiful basket from Ghana.

Some of you might wonder about the weight gain over the past 3 years.  It was because I started having major issues with my knees.  It was really very bad for a very long time.  My health which was not so good to begin with really took a downturn when I could no longer walk.  I've been trying everything possible since then to correct the problems with varying degrees of success.  It was only in Spring 2013 when I began to walk more with the aid of walking poles.  Since then I have been out and about more than I had been in the previous few years.  I have also been diagnosed with osteo-arthritis and so am needing to shed more pounds to take the stress off the joints. Though my improvements have been slow in coming, I was encouraged by some positive news this week even though I also had bad news regarding my blood glucose levels.

I am back to tracking my blood glucose levels 8 times a day. Every now and then I go through this exercise to see what is affecting me (diet, exercise, etc.). Oh my! I had a bit of a scare. My readings were so high. In a desperate measure to try and lower the reading, I ate some romaine lettuce leaves.  It worked. Before bed my readings were actually too low.  I had to eat an apple to try and bring the blood glucose reading up a bit. That seemed to work and this morning I was more or less where I was before I went to sleep. I hope today will be less of a roller coaster.

I continue to see the acupuncture doctor and take the herbs he prescribes. Some of those herbs may also be affecting my blood sugar readings so I will keep an eye on that.  But I will continue going as I feel that ultimately it is these herbs that will bring me into balance. My primary reason for visiting the acupunture doctor is to deal with the arthritic pain.

Before Christmas I bought the lovely green basket you see in the photo above. It holds some of my yarn. As you can see it isn't nearly big enough for what I've put in it so I will move some of those balls. Believe it or not, it is very hard to find big balls of yarn were I live (I don't get to Wal-Mart) and if you do find them, your colour choices are very limited. Every now and then I find a big ball of yarn and I buy it.  I'm building up some colours for making more throws and quilts though I have no specific project in mind.

I sewed a bunch of these hexagons into strips but when I began to join the strips together they did not lie flat.

I still haven't finished the African Flower Blanket I started in November. I intended it for a gift and instead I had to buy something. The problem I ran into is how to join the hexagons so they do not bunch up.  I do not want to just join the hexagons at their points so I need some time when I am not too busy to figure things out.  I will eventually get to it but it will take some time.

My brother and I continue to wait for a room opening at the new facility so we can move my mother. In the meantime, I have a lot to deal with concerning her needs and that keeps me on the go virtually every day.  I try to make sure I can still get out and do some things for myself as well as meet up with friends besides just going to doctors and acupuncture.   I am back to cooking one night a week and next week we will do a special dinner for Chinese New Year.  Soon I will be joining another friend for a class on dressing for your body type. I have not done anything like that in awhile so it should be fun. My reading of novels and the Bible continue though I have cut down on general reading to try and focus more on the Bible. It does not always work out that way.  My crafts are also on the back burner for the time being. I am just too busy to do it all and am concentrating on diet, blood glucose monitoring, exercise and rest. Putting some things on hold is necessary to the stress management. Crafting and reading are wonderfully enjoyable and relaxing but only if I am not forcing myself to accomplish something as a result.

I hope wherever you are in the world you are enjoying yourself.

Crochet - A - Long Thursday

Hi friends, it is time to check in with the Crochet-A-Long with Chrissie Crafts & Ladybird Diaries.  Last week I did make a small amount of progress on my afghan but didn't have time to post anything.

I'm pleased to report that I have an additional 28 hexies over the past 2 weeks. I now have 62 hexies. I have to weave in the ends of 20 of them. I will work on that part of the project when I have a few moments here and there.

I've been working on the hexies to the left of the photo over the past 2 weeks. I haven't had a lot of time for this project but am pleased with what I did manage to get done.

I'm not quite sure how big I will make this throw. I will use up the yarn I have now and see how many hexies I have before deciding whether to buy more yarn and make a larger throw.  I'd prefer to make it larger but I am not sure how long I want to spend on making this throw before I finish it off.  Whatever the case, I am hoping to complete this project by the end of this month and in plenty of time for Christmas.

If you missed my last post Saving & Giving, please click here. I didn't space out my posts very well this week. Please know I appreciate all your visits and your comments! I always reciprocate.

CAL #3

“My mother taught me many craft and household skills but she never taught me to crochet. 
For that I have to thank her, as it meant I had to teach myself.” 
~ Pauline Turner

Well our Canadian Thanksgiving is over for another year.  It is always a fun holiday and a time to reflect on our blessings.  It is also time to check in with Ladybird Diaries and Chrissie Crafts again. They are the fabulous ladies who are hosting a crochet-a-long every week on Thursdays. Join in if you can.

I am working on an afghan with 4 basic colours (2 different blues, cream and gray) in a number of variations.

I did not have a lot of free time this week but I managed to make 6 hexies.

Slow and steady is better than nothing at all :-)

Notice the bumble bee and hexie (honeycomb) pattern on the tablecloth?

The three hexies on the right side of the photo are completely finished but the other 3 on the left still need to have the ends woven in.

 If you are joining in with Ladybird and Chrissie, I will be peeking in at your progress.

Happy crafting!

A Fun Project

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

Proverbs 31:13

Old night clothes after washing.

Cutting up the clothing for trope or tarn.

Trope/tarn turned into this....

The finished product after a bit of steaming. It looks wider on the bottom but that is an illusion.

It measures approx. 19 inches from top to bottom and 21 and a half inches from side to side. I could have added more trope/tarn but didn't feel like making more trope/tarn.

I think the rug is ample enough for my two feet. I'm thinking I will put it by my bedside or give it to someone. (Pardon my see through sock, he he).

I am quite happy with how the rug turned out. I didn't follow a pattern, instead making one up as I went along and adding stitches to the corners as needed to try and keep a more or less, even shape. To make the trope/tarn needed for this project I used 4 pajama tops and 1 leg off of one bottom. Ideally, you should use t-shirts and in particular,  those without side seams. This will make your trope or yarn much stronger. My trope has a lot of joined sections which I can see peeking out in different stitches and it may not be quite as secure as it could be. That is quite okay with me.  I don't mind the more rustic look and this rug is likely going to be for my own use.  I decided against using green or orange coloured pajamas so I could make my rug in shades of pink, purple and  light blue. That means I will probably make another rug but first have to cut up the rest of my green coloured nighties.
 
Jessie, a missionary to the deaf in Kenya, is the one who inspired me to make tarn and the rug.  I followed her example here for attaching the strands of tarn.

If you want to learn more about how this kind of project is done, there are several youtube videos that teach you how to cut t-shirts (or in my case, pajamas) for trope or tarn. I'm posting the video I followed but there are others out there with different methods. Choose one that works best for you!  I will be posting soon about some other creative projects so come back and visit again sometime. I like hearing from crafters and would be crafters.

I'd love to know if you decide to make your own project after making your own trope/tarn.

Enjoy.

If you missed my last post, please read here. I'd love to read your comments especially if you already help on the mission field or are a missionary. It might encourage someone else to step forward ;)

Solutions

Hi dear friends,

I hope you are all doing great! It is still cloudy and raining where I live but in a few days we are expecting sunshine for a few days. Last weekend the weather report was also for sunshine for two days and though it did stop raining it didn't really shine all that much. I hope they are right this time!

I continue to nurse my leg. It is really up and down with the pain levels. On my good days I get outside for some errands. Those days aren't as often as I'd like but today the leg is feeling better and I can walk straighter than usual without a side to side gait. I am trying out this new-to-me infrared heating pad.These pads are very pricey but I got it on a significant discount.  I still had to think twice before buying it but the free shipping was the clincher. This one is on a trial basis for a few weeks.  It had many good testimonials from arthritic pain sufferers but for my knee it didn't seem to do much. Last night I also had an aching back and sciatic pain from sitting so much. I decided to use the heating pad on my back and neck before I went to sleep. Boy did it work like a charm. Today I have far less pain in my back and muscles than I did yesterday. I will try it again tonight.

It's a little hard to see the heating pad as it is black against my brown footstool.

While I've been doing all this sitting I have managed to get a lot of knitting done.  I take a break here and there for laundry, tidying, cooking, etc. I'm knitting the same pattern over and over and I'm not tired of it yet.  I expect that I will be ready to move on from this in a few days when I expect my cotton yarn will be used up as well.  Knitting for so many hours leads to some issues with the balls of yarn which can roll all over the place.  I made myself a yarn holder which saved me a good deal of money.  The cost of yarn holders varies as does what they are made of, but I saw one medium sized plastic model which cost approximately $15.00 Canadian.

I poked a hole in the top of this plastic container and it works great. I would recommend you place a piece of masking tape over the centre of the lid where you want to make the hold. Use a drill with a larger size bit if you want to make this otherwise you may crack the lid in places you don't want (like I did).  I used a sharp pointed object and it made several cracks in the lid. The yarn will get stuck in the cracks and fray if you are not careful.

My yarn holder cost me nothing and saved the container from the garbage pile. I saved about $15.00 and it holds several small, rolled cotton balls. I keep 2 or 3 in the plastic jar. Just the ones I'm using for the project I'm knitting.

I have a question for any of you avid crafters out there. I have a lot of negatives from the old days before digital cameras. I was going to throw them out but lately have been thinking it would be good to use them in a creative project if I can find the right project.  These are negatives of a lot of photos I no longer want to keep so I don't want to highlight them in something like a lamp, nor do I want to make a tote bag out of them. If any of you have some ideas as to what I can use them for please let me know.

A Busy Week at Home

What I'm working on....

Using up my cotton yarn stash. Lots more to go. These always make great gifts and I go through a lot of them myself.

 What I'm reading.....

Winner of the Booker Prize, this book is an easy read.  Something I call "fluff" reading after the lengthy books I've recently finished and all the dates and details they included, this book is easy on the brain.

I picked this book up last year at a second hand shop. I am decluttering again and that means going through my books to get rid of what I won't read. this was going to go in the pile to give away but I started reading it instead and I'm enjoying it. When I read I try to keep track of new vocabulary in the open book with page marker. I learned to do this from Linda. Visit her blog by clicking the link to "Grandma's Letters" in the African Blog Love widget (sidebar).

What I'm decluttering...

Kitchen stuff in a big wicker basket.

Books!  I've still got a lot of books so I have plenty of reading material.

Bathroom products. These seem to accumulate so easily. It also seems they are a popular item for freecycling.

As you can see, I've been busy and making progress despite limited mobility. I've still got too much of a lot of things. I will get rid of more as I see what needs to go. I have found success in giving things away through my local chapter of Freecycle.

I hope you've all had a busy and productive, or fun week too.

Weekend Plans

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. Earl Nightingale 

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15

It's Saturday today and I'm looking forward to it. It's been raining a lot over the past two weeks.  Not every day but almost every day and I've been spending a lot of time indoors.  It works out perfectly because it gives me a chance to make a lot of hats.  Some of you know that I'm planning to sell them to raise funds for my favourite charity, Missions of Hope (MOH, see button link on side bar).  I think I'll have enough inventory soon to sell and hope to spend some time in the near future to write up the descriptions and describe each hat/beanie and size, etc.  I'm hoping to make a badge too (just thought of that) and if you want to support the MOH, you can place the badge on your own blog. It will link to my Etsy shop for those that want to purchase.  Not only will a person be buying a hat but they will also support the needs of poor villagers in Kenya.

So far I've got 2 berets, 1 tam and 2 beanies for a woman, 3 beanies for toddlers and 3 for babies. I will be adding more colours and sizes but am also trying to use up what I already have.

Even though I was busy, I did manage to get out for coffee with a new friend.  We both had a good laugh when we realized that our paths almost crossed many years ago through mutual friends but we didn't meet until decades later!   At the Diabetes Clinic I attend, I was finally able to get some help with my broken glucometer.  Now I can start testing myself more consistently.  I need to monitor the blood sugars consistently to see if the new medicine I've been given will help my sugar levels which are still too high despite all my best efforts.  I do hope it works.

Last week,  I purchased alpaca yarn at the yarn store and mother of pearl buttons at the bead store. I need to go back to both of these stores to purchase another skein or two of yarn, as well as exchange some of mother of pearl buttons.

A few of the buttons are too thin on one side (see lower right of photo).  Buttons are so expensive these days with these ones being $4. (Canadian) a piece.  The owner let me have them for $2. each and about 4 of them are not of good quality.  I've never had this problem with a button before.

I've always loved mother of pearl buttons.  Do you like them too? 

These buttons are quite large.  I'm thinking of using them for embellishment on cowls and hats, or perhaps on a sweater.

Once the errands are done, I 'm heading out for dinner with my nephew and his girlfriend.  It will be the first time I've seen their new apartment so I will take them a draceana plant as a house warming.  I checked with them first if they wanted it.  I thought they might be too busy to care for a plant or not that interested but they seemed eager to have it.  I think they like the fact that it will grow quite high over time.

After my dinner, I am meeting up with a Ph.D. student from Kenya.  He also teaches and tutors in the Swahili language and I'm thinking of hiring him as my tutor.  This might work out better better than taking classes once a year.  The classes don't always fit into my schedule and the sessions are so short that one can't learn a whole lot before the sessions are all over.

Sunday I am hoping to hear from a new Brazilian friend, Maria, whom I met here last week when I went for a foot reflexology session (heaven).  Maria is a psychologist and she will be returning briefly to Vancouver after a tour to the Rocky Mountains.

I hope you all have plans for a good meal and or joining up with friends. Enjoy!

Berets & Beanies

Wordless Wednesday here.

Quilting for Kenya

I finished my lap blanket/quilt. It took a bit longer than I was planning but it is done! It took longer because I didn't have enough of my desired fabric and had to try different colour combinations with fabrics I had on hand.

I have a lot of fabric in my stash but not quite enough of the colours I need.  Originally I was going to use only the turquoise and gold colours predominantly but didn't have quite enough of the gold toned fabrics.  Despite that,  I am pleased with how it turned out. The black now becomes the high contrast colour.

I've laid the quilt on the floor to get a good look at it. The fabrics are all pre-washed cotton.  The turquoise binding around the edges is made of batik  which is machine stitched to the top and hand stitched to the bottom. All fabrics are new, not recycled.  The batting inside the quilt is needled cotton batting by Warm & Natural.

This is the backside made of muslin. It is machine quilted to secure the top to the back.

Folded in half it sits nicely on the ottoman.

Stretched full length, the blanket is long enough to cover my torso and legs.

I was in a hurry to post it (so I can go to sleep) that I didn't take time to brush off all the stray threads and fuzz but that will be done soon, as will the pressing.

I'm not sure whether I will gift this little blanket or try to sell it.  I'm hoping to make more quilts for sale to raise funds for the mission field in Kenya.  Once I use up my yardage, I'm also hoping to buy some quilting pre-cuts. It will help to streamline some of the decisions about colour and appropriate yardage.

Let me know if you are interested in this little blanket and and I can send the details as to size.

Relaxing, Shopping & Quilting

Hi everyone,  I hope you've had a great start to your weekend.  The weather here has been glorious and sunny; warm but not hot. I understand though that we expect rain by the end of the weekend. The ground could sure use it as we've had far less than our usual rainfall this August. We got a lot of rain in the previous months of May, June and July.

In my last post I said I would share some  photos of my trip south.  I'll share sky photos taken in White Rock, BC at Crescent Beach yesterday, and at Bellingham, Washington (please scroll down for the sky pics).  I'm also sharing my latest "work-in-progress", a lap quilt.

Bits and pieces of fabric were purchased in Washington State on Wednesday and Thursday.  I also purchased a bit of fabric in Kamloops earlier in the week and was eager to get started on my quilt.  I want to make several quilts once this one is finished as I have a fair bit of fabric to use up.  The problem as quilters will know is that you always find more fabric to add to your stash!

The small leaf patterned fabric and the teal blue fabric were purchased in Kamloops when I was there recently.  The geometric Native American design fabric was purchased in Bellingham, Wa.

The brightly patterned black fabric is from mom's fabric stash.  I inherited it just over a year ago. Sadly I had to get rid of a lot of her fabric but I kept some of the pieces I thought I could use soon.

These are the two completed blocks for the quilt. I have completed all the blocks.  The blocks will have a different placement to what you see in the photo and they will be framed by a solid colour.  Though it looks a bit busy now, I think it will all work when I'm done. I was trying to use small bits of fabric and had to adjust my original vision for this quilt.  I may have to buy more fabric for the backing or I may use some muslin fabric which I have on hand.

I took a fabulous trip to White Rock, BC yesterday.  White Rock is very near the BC-Washginton State border.  There I soaked up the sounds of waves on the shore at Crescent Beach before heading south to Washington for shopping.

The first 5 photos are taken at White Rock's Crescent Beach.  It was a hot and hazy day so the conditions were not ideal for taking photos.

 

This is the approach to Bellingham, Wa. from the I-5 freeway. Mt. Baker is in the distance.

I hope you've enjoyed the short tour.  I'll be sharing a lot more scenic photos of my recent travels so please visit again soon.

If you haven't already visited at Skywatch Friday, I encourage you to join in  here to see more glorious skies from around the world.

I also invite you to check out the wedding photos if you haven't already. You can see them here and here.

Enjoy!

Back to Routine & a Bit of Knitting

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

After having a visitor for a few weeks, I'm catching up on my own schedule of things.  I've actually been very busy with household work, doing my laundry and trying to clean my carpets; vacuuming and steam cleaning, vacuuming and steam cleaning and so on, until the high traffic areas are clean.  I have one of those small steamer (steam-tek mop) that works with just water in it. I like it because it is very light and easy to use. It isn't for heavy duty jobs but it helps a lot.

Following my post yesterday, I've also been spending a lot of time trying to implement my new blogging approach by deleting many of my subscriptions. One thing I've learned is that although there is a place to manage one's subscriptions in Google Reader, it actually doesn't work that well. I've been trying to delete certain subscriptions since well before yesterday and they continue to appear in my dashboard. Has anyone else experienced this? So much for efficient computer use. Though I will keep trying I didn't expect it to be so difficult to delete blogs!

I've also been fitting in a bit of knitting which I find so relaxing. This time I made two dishcloths in this rib knit pattern which I found here last year. I use size 6 mm needles rather than the size 4.5 mm called for. I really like my 6 mm needles because they are bamboo and so comfortable to use.  I really should try knitting with the proper size needles to get a neater look (I need all the help I can get) *smile.

Since I first printed the pattern for the washcloth in the photo, the author has made corrections to her pattern but I am still using the old one! I'm such a newbie that I didn't notice anything wrong with the pattern other than it isn't as neat around the edges as I'd like and that is perhaps due to my lack of skill. I'll have to try the new instructions and see what a difference it makes. I just finished putting the crocheted edge around the dishcloths today. Later I hope to go downtown and continue the sofa search I started last month.

As I was looking for the yarn to make these dishcloths I realized I still have my small afghan to finish. It was going to be a baby afghan but now I will turn it into a lap blanket for my mother.  Sadly she didn't get to use the crocheted afghan I made for her (photo of the work in progress here).  The very day I gave it to her, someone rolled it up in a bunch of things they donated and we never saw it again. Mom didn't even have a chance to get a label put on it so that she could be identified as the owner.

I hope you are all having a good week. Enjoy!

Works in Progress

I've been super busy trying to learn how to read knitting patterns and make sweaters. Knitting a sweater is one of my goals for this year so I am making good progress on my goals. Now that I have some limited experience with flat sweater making I have to learn how to do it in the round. Then I'll be able to make socks and tackle more interesting sweater patterns.

Knitted newborn baby sweater and cap made with new yarn. This is my first set. The sweater still needs to be sewn together.  The cap is not really a set with the sweater but for now it is the only one that I've made in complementary colours.  This was a learning experience in every way.  I learned how to read a pattern, how to add cast on stitches to a work in progress,  and how to shape the neckline.  

This knitted baby sweater is my second attempt at knitting a flat sweater.  This one will fit a 3 month old baby with added room for ease.  I have changed up the pattern in the first photo (above) with mixed results. I added a crochet insert in each sleeve (visible on the under sleeve to the right of the photo), added a crocheted edge all around the outside of the sweater and a button for extra interest.   It is made with unused yarn from the thrift store. I have one more skein of this yarn and I'm hoping it is enough to make matching booties.

 This is the latest item I am making and the first crochet item I've made in this pattern which is a ripple or wave pattern.  This item is being crocheted with odd balls of yarn in (mostly) complementary colours.

I thought this would be a lap blanket to drap over the the wing chair in the master bedroom.  In talking to mom, I realized she needs it more than I do.  She will cover her lap when she is driving around in her chair. The colours seem busy, but they will coordinate with a lot of her wardrobe.

I've had mixed success with these projects so far. I'm finding I don't have a lot of patience for starting and re-doing things when I make mistakes. I also don't have a great deal of patience for reading patterns and/or waiting for long periods to be able to ask someone for help.  I do belong to a group of knitters and crocheters but most of them are not experienced knitters and are learning like me. We also meet very infrequently, so it isn't much help as of yet.  So then I go on line and try to find the answers to my issues.

There are a lot of video tutorials on line but I find they generally leave some important aspect of the learning process, or the pattern, unaddressed. Not everyone out there is a good teacher though they may be excellent knitters or crocheters.  I need detailed instructions and I also need to have the patterns explained to me in a way that it helps me remember the patterns. I don't learn well by simply watching. I need to understand HOW a pattern works and the potential issues and solutions beforehand.

For example, one instructor said he had had a difficult time for years with uneven ends a the ripple afghan (That is a ripple afghan in my bottom photo. The bottom edges need to be uneven and "wavy". It is the sides of the afghan that can become uneven and they aren't supposed to be.) similar to the one in my bottom photo above). Then he went on to explain his version of how to make the ripples.  When I went to view and follow his written instructions, they were incorrect.  One small error but it makes a huge difference to a beginner.  He also  never did say how to make sure you don't get uneven side edges in your finished product to save everyone else the grief that he himself experienced.  In the end, I abandoned his video lesson and I resorted to a set of written instructions I had on hand.  The end result, is a pattern which is somewhat different than those that I've been viewing on line.  At least I did learn enough from the video tutorials to make more sense of the printed pattern I have.

Initially, I intended to make the crocheted afghan with the yarns in my yarn stash.  I quickly discovered that this won't really work. I don't have enough skeins in the right weights and colours to make a lap afghan. Even though my yarns are mixed washable fibres in 3.5 or 4 weight yarn, I still found that the cheaper yarn at the slightly heavier weight made a difference in the stitches and things became a little less even than I would like.  I will try to resolve any uneven edges with a border finish at the end of the project but I won't be able to do anything about the stitches in the body of the afghan.  I also realized that it isn't a good idea to mix inexpensive yarns with more expensive yarns. In the above example, the blues and whites at the bottom of the photo are less expensive yarns and it really comes across in the feel and size of the stitches. Nonetheless, it is a good practice piece. I think my second attempt will be better and I've already decided on the colours (burgundy/dark red, cream, orange, tan, maybe green) for my living room lap afghan. On second thought, I think I will skip all the colours and make it shades of green which will be more neutral.

Based on what I've learned, I will buy all my yarn in advance.  I will use a larger size hook (size 6 instead of 5) and I will work the stitches in double crochet stitch,  rather than single crochet. I think these steps will ensure a smoother finish, a looser stitch and a smoother feel to the finished product.

If any of you are crocheters and have tips for me based on what I've shared, please do drop me a line!