Vickie Brown’s Registered & Protected Web Page
http://www.thevirginiapurl.blogspot.com-
All Rights Reserved
-
Mon Aug 25 06:56:52 UTC 2008
-
The Virginia Purl
-
My Registered & Protected Copyright: http://www.thevirginiapurl.blogspot.com
-
The Virginia Purl The Virginia Purl is all about being a crocheter, beginner knitter and spinner. It's the journey that will last a lifetime and hopefully you have time to stick around to watch, learn, and laugh with me about the process of hand work. Sunday, August 24, 2008 Knitting in Circlesby vlb5757Lately I feel as though I have been knitting in circles. I realized once I started looking at my current UFOs that I have a lot of circular needles occupied. I have signed up for a sweater class and need to get these things done before then but frankly, I feel like I am running out of time. Here is official documentation of my current UFOs. I guess if I see them and you see them, I can't lie about them. I truly believed that I had a grip on not starting too many projects at one time but all of a sudden I feel time breathing down my neck. Some of the UFOs are going to be Christmas presents if I ever get them finished. So if I list them here maybe I can whack them out one at a time. Since Labor Day weekend is fast approaching I might have some more time to get them done. A four hour car ride to and from our destination will help providing I don't have to help drive. This is my second Clapotis. I ran out of yarn and had to find more. I had someone mail me some but her yarn had metallic in it and mine didn't so the search was on again. I went back to the original place I bought the first two skeins and found a third one by accident. So now all I have to do is finish the last little bit of the decrease section on the end and I am done. I have plans for the first Clapotis as soon as I finish this one. This is a Lily Chin shawl that I work on when I have to time to constantly pick out my mistakes. There are so many stitches on it now that I rarely touch it, but I want to get it done soon. I need the space! This pair of socks started out as a group knit between a group of friends. Sadly the friendship have fallen by the way side and so has finishing this pair of socks. I have to do the gusset and after that it will go quickly, but like so many other things I hit a snag and set them aside. Usually when I go that, it means ripping out something that I don't have the patience to do at the moment. So to keep a cool head, the project gets set aside and then basically forgotten until I go digging for something else. Yesterday was a digging day evidently.This might be a UFO at the rate I am going. This is another Mary scarf for my friends. Hopefully here will be four knit. Okay, so I included one finished project. This is bag #3 for the Mary scarves. It is a small redemption for all the other UFOs listed here. I have one more UFO but it is a Christmas present. The person who will be receiving it reads this blog, so no photos and no mentions until later what it is.So you can see why nothing completely finished has been posted lately. I really am just knitting in circles. Posted by vlb5757 at 10:59 AM 0 comments Links to this post Labels: Clapotis, scarves, shawl, socks Friday, August 15, 2008 It' In The BagI have confession to make. I love bags, boxes and containers in general. If I like the container I buy it whether or not I have any purpose for it or not. I like the idea of things being put away in a proper order, but I fall short of actually doing it. When I started knitting, the obsession with bags and storage container for my yarn, needles, book and such got worse.I started with plastic bins, then to those colorful woven baskets from Ghana that they sell at MS&W. I have two of those woven baskets and decided this year I would abstain from buying one. I held steadfast to that. I saw oval shaped baskets this year and it took all my will power not to snatch one up. I don't need anymore baskets. Then the next progression was felting my own huge bag. I took my birthday money one year and made a huge green monster of a bag. I love it but it's folded in a hasty manner and stored on top of a basket. I have a great metal cigar case that holds 30 #1 dpns. I went into a cigar store with a friend and we looked a few cigars in their cases until I found one that would hold the length of the metal needles. I gave some lucky patron of the store a nice $10 cigar just to get the metal case. How crazy is that? If I ever need another case I would do that again in a skinny minute. I love the sound the needles make when they get jigged around in tube. I love the sound so much that sometimes, I just shake them up and down to hear that metal clinking sound.Of course all of the other knitting do dads need their own containers too. They come in different shapes and sizes. I spared no expense. Newman's Own... Whitmans... and Hershey's... are all collected because they have potential uses for do-dad storage. Not only do I have an eye for small containers but then there are those more upscale bags that will cost you an arm and a leg. I am missing one of each lately. One arm went for the Bitty Bag ...and the leg went for the Namaste bag. Now the big question is, WHY? Who knows why. The same question could be applied to those who hord yarn. Can you really knit it all before you die? Do you really need 50 baskets and 30 purses for store your UFOs. I don't know what the right answer is, but my gut tells me NO and heaven help me, I can't stop.It's not bad enough that I have a collection of bags, but now I have decided that others must know the pleasure of bags (containers). Since I hate the thought of the bag and the wrapping a gift comes in being discarded to only enjoy the present inside. So this I got this bright idea that I didn't want the gift receiver to throw away the box or the wrapping. So the box would have to be worth keeping. Hence my latest project.The double duty gift idea is from the Last-Minute Knitted Gifts book. Since I have already made one project from the book, another was in order. The perfect idea was in the book. I knew this bag would be one that would delight my friends as well as feed my need to knit I knit this with Misti Alpaca Worsted weight in Ecru or #100. It was knit on Addis #6 (16") needles. This is a beginner pattern that can be used for some many things. Each bag will contain a Mary scarf designed by Linda Johnson of Wallis Knits. I have already knit eight of these but will do four more before Christmas for a group of women that I have gone out to dinner with once a month for the last six years. I hope that they will be pleased with their gifts come December. One bag is done and number two is about 1/3 on its way. I will have to buy two more skeins of yarn to finish the other two bags but they will get done. I love the rolled top and the little I-cord tie. It's just understated simplicity. If you have the need for smart packaging of a quickie gift, this little bag will sure to be a hit. Posted by vlb5757 at 7:55 AM 7 comments Links to this post Friday, August 08, 2008 What to knit on a planeI am lucky enough to be able to take off about five days a year to gather with other Personal Chefs around the country. It's all food all the time, but there are times you have to decompress from calorie talk. The plane was my decompression chamber. Going to Tucson was easy but as most travellers know there must be arrangements made in advance concerning our knitting paraphernalia. I was going to start a project that I found in a recent addition to my fledgling book collection. I was excited to try a new pattern with some newly acquired yarn. I bought new wooden needles to keep from losing my Addi Turbos, but happily nothing was taken away from me and that made me a very happy camper.I had a goal that I have published here in the past of knitting 100 baby hats this year. I did get 25 or so done already but truly have gotten side tracked with that whole project. So to help myself get motivated to get back on track, I picked this pattern to embark on during my plane ride to Tucson. Oh yeah, and the three and half hour lay over in Dallas-twice. Don't ask....This photo is from book, Knitted Gifts.So I cast on right before going on the trip and could barely stop myself for going full guns on the hats. I wanted to just keep going but knowing how long my lay overs were stopped myself. I have to say, that this pattern in incredibly easy and it turns out just the way the picture from the book shows. I couldn't be more pleased. What pleased me even more is that I got two hats done and with no help from anyone. I must be improving! Okay, it was a beginner pattern, but still...Here are my efforts. They just are so cute. I have no idea who will get them and really it doesn't matter to me. I just had fun making them and I loved the cotton yarn. This is the second project as of late that I have done in cotton. They were both pretty simple but it gave me a feel for it. DH said he likes the cotton washcloths so that's a victory. You have to take them when you get them.Here is my effort at the baby hat. This is my second venture into knitting with cotton and I have to say that I liked it a lot, but there are two observations I wanted to mention. One, there doesn't seem to be a lot of "give" when knitting with cotton. It's pretty committed to just being what it is. Wool seems to be a little more flexible. Two, it's harder for me to weave in my end and keep them hidden. Cotton unlike wool, doesn't tangle on it self so again hiding the ends in hopes they will blend in is more of a challenge. I have never done an I cord before and I think it turned out pretty well. Each cord was over 24" so it was pretty boring but thankfully it went quickly! It's twins! I took two skeins of the 1824 cotton with me and I ended up with two hats one with a cast on of 60 and the other (medium size) with 70 stitches. There isn't a huge difference in the size and I have a small ball of yarn left over. I think that I will cast one the largest one and see how far my little ball and one more skein will go. It's a very quick knit. I did have to purchase size 7 16" circs which will only make my collection more wonderful. I highly recommend this pattern for a quickie baby gift for a larger sized baby. This is not a Preemie hat project but I am going to try the pattern with wool and see how it fares! Happy Cotton Knitting everyone! Posted by vlb5757 at 2:25 PM 5 comments Links to this post Labels: cotton, hats Monday, July 28, 2008 From the Past...I have been knitting so much on washcloths killing time until I go away for business, that I really don't have a ton of exciting washcloth pictures. So I found some pictures from Maryland Sheep & Wool that I wanted to share.This first one is one that I love to see every year. I just love all the colors and they attracted me the first year I went but I passed on buying them. Then the second year I bought about five of them. This year I didn't buy any but just had to take a picture of them. They are the cocoons of the silk worms. They have been dyed to such wonderful colors. I still have not had time while at the show to watch the demo on how work them, but I have heard there are videos on the Internet. Maybe on the 8th day of the week , I will watch it and figure out how to work them. Just like food, color and presentation get you every time. This was on the end cap of a booth. I love the color and again it's the texture and presentation that got me. Someone spent a lot of time making this and I just think it's awesome!This one was hanging next to the one above. When you see things that are so unusual you just have to stop and look, touch and ask questions. I know this is blurry but you can see that it's got texture all over the place. It reminds me of barnacles that attach themselves to pylons in the ocean here. I promised the woman below that I would take a picture of her banner to give her credit for what you are about to see... She has a hat on her head that hold a soda, beer or water so you don't lose your drink. I just thought it was so funny. I would be the one who bent over to pick up something off the ground and pour my drink completely out...and what would a sheep and wool show be without some really cute faces?Happy Knitting Everyone! Posted by vlb5757 at 2:07 PM 2 comments Links to this post Labels: Maryland Sheep and Wool Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Great Balls of JoyI am so excited. I got the good word from a friend who owns a sheep farm about an hours drive from here where I live. She taught me how to spin and I bought my spinning wheel from her. It's sits idle in the living room but it is admired every time I walk past it. That's a start right?Two years ago when I belonged to the local spinning guild, I was gifted two fleeces from a member who was moving from one house to another and wanted to purge her fleeces. No one in the room was jumping at the chance when they heard that they had to be picked and cleaned. Being the beginner I was, I jumped at the chance and took them home. They have been sitting under my bed ever since then. I did at least wash them, but nothing else. I bought some lock combs and have not really used them. So the enthusiasm had failed by the way side.Maryland Sheep and Wool rekindled my enthusiasm for those forgotten fleeces. My friend Mary told me about Zeilinger Wool Co. She told me to bring my raw fleeces to them and they would take them, process them and then mail them back to me. I was truly not a believer for leaving my fleeces with someone else. Being the doubting Thomas that I am, I only trusted them with one fleece. If that one fleece came back unsatisfactory, I wouldn't give them anymore of the fleeces I have waiting under the bed. So I toted my fleece to the show and left it with Zeilingers. They said it should be to me sometime in July. About the first of this month, I started thinking about my fleece. Where was it? Did they lose it or what? I figured that I would give them another few weeks and then start dialing. Opps, we don't dial anymore do we? Okay punching. Lo and behold, I fell asleep in the chair this past Saturday when DH went outside to mow the yard. When he came back in the had a box. I thought it was a shipment of books that I had ordered. I was so happy to see those books. I opened the box and got a BIG surprise. Not books, but fleece. It was coiled in the box like a big fuzzy hair ball. I had a devil of a time finding the end so I just picked a spot and broke it. I somehow had it in my mind that the roving would come wound up in balls. After all, that's the only way I have seen roving. I had no idea that I had to wind it myself. Nevertheless, I did and got four rather large fluffy balls from the box. I am tickled pink with my roving. It's soft and looks pretty free of veg matter. I picked through it a bit and there doesn't seem to be too much.I might have to spin some of this stuff here pretty quick. I have a full schedule until the end of this month so I may have to spin in August. That certainly won't stop me from admiring the ball of joy though!So what color do you think they are? I can't decide. There is about 3 1/2 pounds of roving there. I am going to give the small ball away to another spinner so she can test it. All in all, I am just so pleased that I dragged that big honking bag up and down MS&W so I could get those. I am going to have to get the others ready to take next year! Posted by vlb5757 at 3:57 AM 3 comments Links to this post Labels: roving Thursday, July 17, 2008 Simplicity is what it's all about.I love doing lace and socks. I think I am much better at socks than lace but that doesn't stop me from doing it. There are times that I want to throw the projects away and never look back, but I set them aside and take a breather. I set down the Lily Chin shawl for a few months and now have picked it back up. I have ripped out countless rows but somehow it has not stopped my desire to finish it. I want to triumph against my frustration. I can understand how other knitters have numerous UFOs. You just get to a point that if you rip out one more row on that project you are going to just toss it in the trash and move on. I haven't gotten to that point lately but I could feel my frustration level rising and needed a quick time out.I ordered a massive amount of books from KnitPicks at 40% off recently and found a book that I think will be a lot of fun. I used to never understand the fascination with books until I became a chef. There is something about owing a book that is very empowering. If you saw my cookbook collection you would understand I have a grasp on that concept now. This concept has now moved to knitting books. I don't buy a lot of them at full price just because. So about once a year I order when KnitPicks has them on sale. I did my part this year for sure!One of the books I ordered is this one. I have knit with one of her silk yarns and I loved it. It's this project here. So I was curious about what her books would be like. I went to KnitPicks and checked out what was on the inside for projects. I thought it had potential. I ordered the book.A few days ago I worked on a new project to distract me from the Lily Chin shawl. This was knitting therapy that was so fast and it worked. I made these in less than two days. Yes, I did one and actually had to catch some ZZZs and darn it; go to work. As soon as I got the next day, I started and finished the second one. I still have some left over yarn and now am looking for a project befitting the left overs. I have a project in mind but not the proper sized needles. So I will have to buy needles before starting the next project.Here is what I made. It's so simple that it was nerve soothing.I made the washcloths from the book on page 78. I was so happy with how they turned out that I have been looking in my stash for other cotton yarnsto make more. I told DH that if they worked outthe way I hoped they will, the "others" will beleaving us shortly. Today I will use one of themand report back. I am not usually a wash clothuser but this requires some testing.I used TY-DY 100% yarn. I have never used this yarn before and I am pleased with how easy it was to work with. I split it a few times but that speaks of my technique more than it does the yarn if you get my drift.I bought three balls total and have plans for the other two balls. I am hoping the plans work out but again, I have to buy some more needles. If you have never made yourself a washcloth, give it a shot. It's great for a really, really new beginner knitter. It's all knitting all the time. What could be easier??Postscript: I used the washcloth after working on this post. I have to say that I was very impressed. I loved it so much that I am in the process of making more. 'Nough said... Posted by vlb5757 at 6:50 AM 3 comments Links to this post Labels: washcloths Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Country Christmas SocksI have been working on these socks a little longer than I wanted but when you have four projects going on at the same time, well you know... I wanted to get started on my Christmas knitting so that I won't be in panic mode come December. I see it all the time on other blogs that knitters are scrambling at the last minute to finish something for a family member and then other who are starting on the 23rd while driving to Grandma's house. That's just a bit too last minute for me. These will be a gift for someone in my family so I can't do into too much detail. I have gotten better at reading instructions and these socks are from different patterns, sort of. The heels are Eye of Partridge from Sensational Knitted Socks book by Charlene Schurch. I knit my first Eye of Partridge for the Ribbed Lace Socks. I liked it so much I decided to incorporate it into another pair of socks to see if I could do it and I did. The Ribbed Lace socks has no reinforcement yarn so you can really see the pattern clearly. This pair has reinforcement yarn so the pattern isn't as visible as I thought it was going to be. So the upside to this heel pattern is picking up the gusset stitches. It is very easy to pick them up with this heel pattern. I do like the ribbed heel that I learned first but I want to learn other patterns and this one is number two. While I have been experimenting with the heel of my socks, the toe is still the same pattern I learned on my very first pair of socks. I am hoping to learn how to make a pair of socks from the toe up as I have heard that I can adjust the pattern more easily. I don't know this for a fact but hey, it never hurts to try and learn something new. While trying to get better at the toe, Sue from The Knitting Corner suggested a new toy. I bought it and it has made the kitchner stitch so much easier to work with.I always dread closing up the toe but this tool has made it easier and now I close up the toes as soon as I get there. I have closed up every sock just as soon as I have finished it since getting this HUGE needle. I just love it! I have not been posting because I have been trying to finish my UFOs and frankly, it's just not that exciting! I had to find someone on Ravelry to buy what's left of a full skein of yarn that I started my second Clapotis with. I really thought that two skeins totalling 737 yards was going to be enough. I was wrong. So I am sending her a check tomorrow morning to get that half skein so I can finish another UFO. Then it's on to the Lily Chin that is still giving me fits. I will blog about that later. For now I am off to do laundry... Posted by vlb5757 at 3:10 PM 3 comments Links to this post Labels: socks Older Posts Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) About Me vlb5757 I am a personal chef who dabbles in learning how spin wool and knit. View my complete profile Finished Projects 2008 1824 Cotton Baby Hat Austerman Socks Clapotis Country Christmas Socks English Garden Shawl Garter Rib Socks Homesick Handspun JaWoll Socks MIL socks Red and Purple Socks Labels charts (1) Clapotis (3) cotton (1) garden (2) Green Sock Knit Along (1) green socks (2) handspun (1) hats (1) jewelry (1) Knit Picks (1) Knitting for Peace (1) lace (4) Maryland Sheep and Wool (2) needles (2) Pink Lemon Twist (1) Preemie hats (4) roving (3) scarves (5) scissors (1) shawl (6) socks (20) The Knitting Corner (4) washcloths (1) yarn (8) Finished Projects 2007 7 Mary Lace Scarves Breast Cancer Prayer Shawl Guinea Hen Socks Swizzle socks Trekking XXL socks Zachary's hat Blog Archive ▼ 2008 (29) ▼ August (3) Knitting in Circles by vlb5757 Lately I feel as t... It' In The Bag I have confession to make. I love ... What to knit on a planeI am lucky enough to be abl... ► July (4) From the Past... I have been knitting so much on... Great Balls of JoyI am so excited. I got the good ... Simplicity is what it's all about. I love doing l... Country Christmas Socks I have been working on th... ► June (5) Garden Update I showed pictures a while back of o... Flowers I love to garden and I am not really sure ... Yet Another Pair of Green Socks... This post got l... Same Song Different Versus... I never thought that... Pattern Dilemma I have a pattern dilemma and I tho... ► May (4) They Only Come Out At Night...Wrong! This post sta... In the beginning... there was an idea to knit wit... A No Knitting Day... As much as I want to be a she... Laundry Day I bought the neatest contraption from ... ► April (2) Spreading My Wings I am the kind of person who doe... Falling Behind I have fallen behind in keeping up ... ► March (3) Summer Knits I know it seems a bit early to be thi... Done, Done, DoneI haven't been posting because I w... Moving on...I think that moving on is good in so m... ► February (3) Slump Last week I caught some nasty bug from one o... Devastation... The weather here at the beach has b... Football Sunday I am a football fan, but only for ... ► January (5) Shiny Things I am a pretty dull person in the jewe... One Skein Shy, Now Where Have I Heard That?? I wa... Happy Feet I make no bones about it. I love the s... Christmas Vacation-Part 2 The drive to Texas from ... What I did on my Christmas Vacation... Hubby and ... ► 2007 (46) ► December (3) Hangin' in there I haven't had time to post lately... Wee Thoughts I am just in love with the current kn... Ready for Eight I am a planner. I try to be organi... ► November (5) Christmas Came Early I was tickled pink when hubby... And Baby Makes Three Recently I was talking about... Guinea Hen Socks I haven't posted in a while becau... Sock it to me baby...more socks I am on a roll wit... First there was one... and now there are two. I... ► October (3) Breast Cancer Awareness Month For the past two ye... Knit/Crochet Out 2007 I was lucky enough to be abl... Swizzle socks I am trying to learn on my own, how ... ► September (3) Hats off to Me! Well, it's about time. I have had ... Diversion After ranting and raving about knitting ... Keeping Secrets I have been keeping this knitting ... ► August (4) In the Spirit of Socks Since Wendy is working on d... Heads Above the Rest Last year I was a member of t... The Finished Product I have been working seriously... Ferns Ferns come in so many different shapes, size... ► July (5) Too Pooped to Party Mom says hello but really she... Gifts I have been struggling for the past few we... Deserved Reputation Today is Friday the 13th. I ne... ► June (3) ► May (3) ► April (4) ► March (5) ► February (4) ► January (4) ► 2006 (55) ► December (4) ► October (5) ► September (7) ► August (3) ► July (5) ► June (7) ► May (5) ► April (8) ► March (7) ► February (4) Blogs I Read Leighs Fiber Journal Mason Dixon Knitting Mistress Stash Enhancer The Woolen Rabbit Three Sleeves to the Wind Wendy Knits Wool is Wonderful Wool Windings Yarn Harlot Yarnstorm - e608fc89850d0833d4380c8eee0f792579cff47c05ea863b43d162e6455a8536
-
(What's this?)
W4F64-FB334-17ADF
