woolythyme

the week of the shawl....+ giveaway reminder

I've settled into a rhythm this week after a crazy cast-on one last week.  (Blame it on the *giveaway book...if you haven't entered for a chance to win, you can still post a comment here; Freddy will announce the winner next Monday.)

Shawls.  Yes.  Plural.  It's the week of the shawls.

 

I've been hopping among...

 

Abide (from the new Drop Dead Easy Knits...see *giveaway)--the leaf edging is knit into the body of the shawl; when the last stitch is stitched you are DONE.  A brilliant pattern.  And it truly is easy.

 

Kelpie-2 (a Jared Flood pattern). The body is mindless garter stitch with a yarn over decorative border stitch added every 4 rows.  I have miles to go before the border is added, which will alter this from a totally mindless knit, to a not-so-mindless knit that might end up in time-out (like Kelpie-1, which has been neglected well over a year).  

 

Finally,  Peppered Stripes Wrap (a Purlsoho free pattern), knit in the hated, boring, linen stitch which, I swear, takes twice as many rows/inch than any other pattern.  But, you can get into a rhythm, and this yarn is yummy, and I love the finished look.   I must not be the only one who struggles with linen stitch, because in spite of the fact that this is an incredibly gorgeous finished wrap, only 7 of us are knitting it (according to Ravelry) and only 1 has finished it. I want to be #2. 

All three patterns result is a classic, simple shawl. 

 

Reading....

I think I'm re-reading Dreamers of the Day, by Mary Doria Russell. Maybe I'm through the re-reading part and on the part that I failed to finish first time around. It's not a long book and it's really not bad.  (The story of a 40-year old schoolteacher from Ohio who takes her 'trip of a lifetime' in 1921 to Egypt, arriving just as the Cairo Peace Conference begins.  She's drawn into the company of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, and Lady Gertrude Bell.)

I've been listening to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I LOVE everything Pollan has ever written, and somehow I missed this one (or read it in 2008 when it was published and forgot every single word...highly unlikely).  You would think that an 8 year old food book would be slightly dated, but if anything, I'm thinking that the industry simply hasn't learned a single thing in 8 years.  We still allow our choices to made through lobbyists and media (should we eat low fat? saturated fat? ban trans fat? low carb? high carb?) Shouldn't we actually be looking at the foods themselves???...oops.  (The meat and dairy industries won't allow THAT!)  Does it really take a rocket scientist (or nutritionalist) to see there is a serious  problem with eating manufactured food-like substances rather than real food?  In our western-culture attempts to 'improve' upon foods, we have created a diet that has resulted in the most obese, cancer-ridden, diabetic, heart diseased society in the world.

Pollan's advice:  Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.

 

Simple.  I like simple....in my knitting AND my food.

life skills.....by Freddy Dog

I don't  believe in learning 'tricks'.  I see no point in them.  And now that I'm old and have lost my hearing....what good would it be to know 'come' and 'stay' when I couldn't hear the 'commands' anyway?  Commands?  C'mon!  I live in an equal-opportunity household and no one 'commands' anyone to do anything.  Happy co-existence.  I'm all about it.

But, I do believe in carrying my own weight around here and doing things for myself.  Like....potty-ing.  (This is my blog post and I can write about anything I want to and this happens to be sort of an important topic for me.)  I'm a very good boy, so I wouldn't dream about doing my 'stuff' in the house and I'm too short to use a toilet (although I find that a delightful source of drinking water on the rare occasion that someone---not mentioning any names, Daddy/Jaybob/CandyMan---leaves the seat up).

So, several years ago, I figured out how to let myself out.  This only works in the spring, summer, and fall when the back door is open.  Actually, getting out is easy.  A quick little head-butt and I'm there.

Coming in is a bit trickier....

First:  you use your toenails to grab the mesh in the screen door.  (We live in a very old house, with a very old door.  Don't look too closely.  It's not very pretty.)

At the same time you pull on the door, you must carefully stick your nose in the crack you make.  (I'm really good at putting my nose in all sorts of things.)

 

Drat.  When I let go of the mesh with my toenails, my nose came out of the crack.  (This sometimes happens.  No big deal.  It's just a do-over.)  Note:  an ear will not work (see photo above).  It must be a nose.

 

Better....

See?  My nose is in the crack, and my toenails have let go of the door.

 

The rest is a piece of cake...

A little nose action, and my whole head is in and the door sort of flings open, and...

I can scamper in to sit underneath my cookie jar until someone sees me looking cute.  Have I told you, I don't bark?  I don't. Ever. I don't believe in making a fool of myself.

And, anyway.  I don't need to, when I'm so darn cute.

 

PS...if you haven't yet entered to win the knitting book Mom wrote about a couple posts ago, you have a whole week before I!GET!TO!DRAW!THE!WINNER!!!!I'M!SO!EXCITED!!!!IT'S!A!PAPER!DRAWING!!!!

You'll have to scroll around to find it because I don't know how to link anything.

the week in review....

Last Sunday at work a book crossed my desk that I knew I had to own...not just borrow.  By Tuesday, Simple Matters by Erin Boyles, was mine!  (don't you love AmazonPrime?)  I have what could be called a small library on downsizing, simplifying, organizing.  You would think I'd be a pro by now (this whole obsession of mine has been going on nearly 20 years), but I still find inspiration every time I pick up one of these books.  Probably because 'simplifying' your life is not simple.  Downsizing is not a one-and-done. And just when you think you've found the perfect organizational system....you discover something just a wee bit better.  I guess I love the whole process.

Erin is young.  She hasn't had the joy?/curse? of a lifetime of accumulated stuff with which to deal.  But the one tenet she puts forth is the same one I've been working on for years....the same one that English textile designer, artist, and writer William Morris said in the mid-1800s----own only things that are useful or beautiful.  But Erin takes this one teeny step further....own only beautiful.  When you buy a broom, do you want a lovely handmade one with a wooden handle, destined to last a lifetime and look timeless, or do you want a crazy colored plastic handled thing that may last a couple months?  A dustpan---a study, metal vintage dustpan--can be beautiful with a vintage, wooden handled dustbrush.  (I currently own the vintage brush...but, my dustpan is a yucky, blue plastic job---blech.)  If you have surrounded yourself with ONLY things that are beautiful, the unavoidable 'messy' times in your life will still bring joy.

So most of my week has been spent reorganizing, cleaning, and purging.  I can see progress. Hubby has been so caught up in installing a new basketball pole, he hasn't noticed.  (hee hee....he wouldn't have noticed anyway---I've declared his office space a lost cause; he has his own 'system' that defied 'beautiful', but he's happy with it.)

 

Leaving the spring cleaning.....

On the creative front...'the blanket' moves on.  It's now 10 squares x 10 squares.

 

and I've been able to move the odds and ends to a smaller basket...

but it appears that I will still have leftovers after I've added my 2 additional row goal of 12 x 12.  (eep!   only 44 more squares...this has actually moved far more quickly than I originally thought.  Maybe it needs to be bigger?)

The sewing machine came out and I made some two-sided napkins (sorry, no photo) and I finished the 100 Acts of Sewing tunic top...

which, paired with the AlabamaChanin scarf I made last fall, could become one funky, crunchy handmade wardrobe staple.  (The 'crunchy' was daughter's description.)  I even started embroidering the pocket and around the neck before calling that over-the-top-even-for-me---at least for now.

 See the embroidery?  See the bias-tape neckline?  I MADE THAT BIAS TAPE!  I learned to use this cute little (useful!!!) bias-tape maker gadget.  Stop laughing.  This was a big deal to me.  I'm sewing-machine impaired.  Totally useless, and I ended up with something not bad.  Yes.  I'm bragging.  (I am woman.  Hear me roar.)

And....if that wasn't the culmination of a mighty fine week, just look at what came in the mailbox yesterday.

Jennie at A lovely homemade life picked my name in her drawing and I won....a sweet little e-book, stitch markers, AND 4 skeins of GREY yarn.

Life is good.

 

Just ask Freddy.

this and that....and the winner is...

 

 

 

 

• Does this little guy look just a teeny bit queasy?  a tad bloated?

He's just consumed an entire starfish. (You may be asking why there was a starfish setting out on our back patio---in the heartland of America--hundreds of miles from the coast?  Long, uninteresting story.  It didn't need to be eaten, though.)

 

• Remember these?

They each got their mates a while ago, but their photo shoot finally happened...

the afterthought heel was bulls-eye right on...

 

 

 

Reynard socks by Kristin Kapur with mystery yarn.  Too bad that fancy cuff will always be hidden under my pants.  

 

• Do you make your bed first thing in the morning? Or is your theory that you worked hard to create that sleeping nest and you want it ready when you collapse at the end of the day?  I like being able to say I accomplished at least ONE thing in the course of the day.  (I used to threaten our kids that I'd make the bed with them in it if they didn't rise and shine.  #1 Daughter got cocooned more than once.)

 

• And then, we have body parts.. (found during the major yarn-closet-clean up)

Can you tell what it's going to be?

 The easy part is done.  There are 14 pages of finishing instructions.  I'm intimidated.  (pattern:  Boy elephant in textured sweater by Julie Williams--- of Little Cotton Rabbits fame!)  I think I'll knit the elephant's sweater first.  And then his shorts. THEN, maybe I'll think about giving him some personality and stuffing. (or put him back in the closet.)

 

• We're in the midst of the hummingbird migration.  I spent a good part of the day trying to capture a great shot of a ruby-throated hummer, the only 'native'hummer we have in our state. (supposedly, the rufous hummingbird and the black chinned hummer are seasonal visitors, and the green violetears will sometimes make a rare appearance this far north.  None of these have visited my feeder--at least while I've been stalking it with my camera.) The males have already left, getting their winter digs ready for the ladies.  Even though the prettier guys are gone, by the end of the day, I would have settled for a mediocre shot of a drab looking female.  I doubt you want to see my 287 near misses (out of nearly 800 shots....thank goodness for digital photography).  

Yep.  This was a totally wasted day (except for making my bed).  I did assorted other uninteresting things that accomplished absolutely nothing.  

 

I DID have someone draw a winner for the pincushion......

 

  

That would be me.

 

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Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway....and for all the kind words.  You all make my heart sing.

 

 

this week in my kitchen :: blog hop + blogiversary + giveaway!

 

In my kitchen:

 

Yes, this IS last week's blueberry buckle, although it IS this week's picture of it, which shows how long it will keep. Trust me, it's still moist and yummy.  I know because I ate that whole big piece and left Freddy only a couple crumbs.  (hee hee....he wasn't happy either, and kept looking to PapaGeek to put down HIS plate.  Can you believe PapaGeek opted for a Klondike bar over this?  Freddy couldn't believe it, either!) Anyway, there is the recipe!

 

 

Zucchini (or courgette!...a new word for me.  I'm using it all the time.  No one here knows what I'm talking about!  Would you like some courgette?  Sometimes it hard to give away zucchini....but courgettes!)  I PROMISE you...these were NOT in the garden yesterday.  One day I'm thinking about actually BUYING one....the next, I have enough to share.  So the kitchen goes into its zucchini mode...

zucchini boats:

  

 

 

 this is the 'cute' tool...

but guess which is the most useful one? (for grating nutmeg, not for grating the zucchini!)

for....zucchini bread. 

 

 

also known as zucchini blogiversary cake!

 

 

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Three (3!!!) years ago today, I hit the 'publish' button (twice--oops!) for the first time.  I thought I was going to be 'journaling' my knitting life for myself; I thought this would force me to be just a bit more creative, a little less of a copycat, and to branch out into other arty pursuits.  I was wrong.  Along the journaling journey I've met so many amazing knitters, gardeners, writers, photographers, foodies, and artists who have not only inspired me (I've now elevated myself to copycat-extraordinaire), but who have become my friends.  Little did I know then that THIS is the real reason for blogging.

So, thank you all....for spending time in my space, but most of all, for commenting and letting me get to know you and your blog (if you have one). 

But what to give away?  Obviously, something I've made.  Something wooly, but not yarn. (See, I realize some people who read this don't actually knit!!)  Something useful to anyone, but still usable by crafty people.  

 

I couldn't come up with anything other than the pincushion. 

(The pattern is Cearnog by Tammy Eigeman Thompson.  Cearnog is an Irish word, meaning 'square', although after a lot of seaching I found it could also mean 'polygon'.  I personally think it ended up looking like a star.....and anyone who comes back post after post after post to read about !KNITTING!  is most definitely a 'star' in my world.)

 

To be entered, just simply leave a comment!  

The giveaway will close next Thursday, August 21.  Good luck everyone.

 

 

joining Heather for this week in my kitchen.

 

wrapping up some....wraps

 

Remember my crazy casting on frenzy a few weeks ago? No, not THAT one...the most recent one.  The craziest part of it was that I actually KNIT on all the things I started in that flurry, and this week they all (well, not ALL...I think there are still some socks from that startitis attack in progress) popped off the needles....1 - 2 - 3!!!

 

 

 

First off:  Slipstream Cowl by Louise Zass-Bangham was a 4-part mystery knit, made even more mysterious with this mystery yarn in my stash. (I even had the beads in the 'bead-stash'....I would call this a real stash buster project, only you can't tell I even made a dent in the stash.) 

 

Next off:  Spectral by Debbi Stone.  The fun part of knitting this cowl was using the Miss Babs gradient yarn.  

It is long...can wrap twice easily. And while the yarn was wonderful to knit, the pattern got the teeniest bit tedious towards the end.  A four-row repeat, over and over and over and over....you get the idea. I love the end result; quite worth the tedium.

 

And last, but not least...and hot off the needles just last night....Bryum by Cailliau Berangere.

Ta-DAH!!!

I used one skein of Kettle Yarn's Islington and one skein of Luna Grey Fiber Arts Celeste and I couldn't tell you which I loved more.  Both are absolutely luxurious to the touch.

This shawl was like a very very good book that you never want to end. The feel of the yarn, the emerging pattern, the colors...everything came together perfectly from the first cast-on row....the whole journey was totally enjoyable.  And, as a bonus, I have something I love at the end of it.  (It's coming to church with me today!!!)

 

So, three things finished....three empty project bags!  You know what that means!!! (no?  hee hee!)

One bag will definitely hold....

I was so lucky to win this gorgeous skein of hand-dyed Mountain Girl Yarns from Camilla who blogs at Fjordgirl (and is the hand-dyer!).  It's ultra soft, ultra beautiful merino; just last week I was scrounging among my scarfy, drapey shawlettes to find something to go with a lilac linen top.  Nada.  (as you know, I've been sort of stuck on grey for quite some time.)  I held this skein up to it and the purple hues just jumped out.  So, as soon as I settle on a pattern, this is on.the.needles!!!  I don't usually gravitate towards blue, but this just looks like a mountain stream running through a field of late summer mountain wildflowers---and I love it.  I own nothing like this.  I will treasure it.  Thank you, Camilla, for such a beautiful work of art---and the anticipation of hours of enjoyable knitting!

That leaves two bags empty!  Off to find something to cast on!

Yarnalong...WIP Wednesday...

Still reading (should say hardly reading) The Light Between Oceans.  By the time I nestle all snug in my bed, the Nyquil I've been living on for the past month kicks in and I'm toast.  Maybe a page.  Maybe two.  I like the book.  I'm just not motivated to read it earlier in the evening.  Since I'm most likely the last of the Yarnalong-ers to read it, no one is waiting with bated breath for my review.

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I've actually spend quite a bit of time looking through the other 'book' in the pile!  It's a planner, an organizer, a journal....yes, all 3.  I was lucky to win this gem at the giveaway on Lisa's blog (happyindolevalley).  Besides being lovely to look at (white tulips have to be my FAVORITE flower!), the smallest details have been addressed:  month-at-a-glance (with the previous month and next month in the corner), followed by pages for a week-at-a-glance, menu planner, and to-do list---with an inspirational quote on each page.  The back has perforated shopper lists, a planning-ahead section, gift idea section, and general notes pages. There is enough blank writing space throughout that it could (and will) be used as a journal and the spiral binding will ensure that it stays flat while you write.  The only problem I could find with it is...it really doesn't start until January 2014---so I've got to wait to use it.**

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On my needles is Rachel's shawl by Melissa Wyll.  In honor of a friend she met through Ravelry, Melissa is giving 100% of the $$$ raised in September and October to Rachel's 'cause', Emerging from Cancer  (an annual retreat for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.)  Rachel's story and links are found at the above site, and after I read the story---I had to zip on over to buy the pattern ($380 raised already!), dive in the stash, dig out something pink, and immediately cast on.  (Sorry, Out of Darkness shawl...you are on the back-burner for a bit.)

 This is Melissa's first attempt at writing a pattern and she's done a lovely job. It is a perfect pattern for anyone....quickly knit in a worsted (or aran...I'm using Debbie Bliss' cashmerino aran), rest rows on the wrong side, only 48 stitches per row; a basic yet lovely lace pattern that knits to somewhere between wide scarf and shawlette size.  I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be tickled to receive this as a gift.

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Joining Ginny with yarnalong, Tami for WIP Wednesday, and Nicole for Keep Calm and Craft ON!

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** should anyone else be interested in purchasing this planner, you can find additional information at www.wellkeptlife.com.  When I got there, I discovered Mari Jean lives in the community next to the one I grew up in.  Small world...getting smaller all the time!

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if any of you clicked over from Ginny's yarnalong...a special thank you this week for taking a chance on that stupid pinterst photo that came up.....How did I click on THAT?  How did I ever find that????  Another of the world's mysteries.   

weekending with...boys, birthdays, and boats!

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The CandyMan is 10---double digits!  Big deal, yes?!  About 20 friends helped him celebrate, although I'm not sure all 20 of them were ever in the same space at any one time.  The 'baseball' players were in the backyard; the football players were in the frontyard;  a few 'eaters' hovered in the kitchen...and then they'd switch.  The front yard became the soccer field---which lured some of the baseball players and eaters; a few football players turned into baseball enthusiasts---and the sports and dynamics sort of flowed like that all afternoon.

A nicer group of little boys  young men (?) just couldn't be found.  Kind to each other (CandyMan was the only one who knew EVERYONE there), polite, not terribly rambuctious, and somehow, they amazingly remained injury-free.  A good time was had by all. (We never did get a photo of everyone together.)

The dragon races were also in town this weekend, and it sort of looked like everyone who wasn't somewhere in my daughter's yard was at the waterfront, either watching or somehow participating.  We're a river town, and what better way to support our river history and local River Heritage Museum than with this event.

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It has absolutely been the prettiest weekend of this late summer season....and there is still some of it left.  So,....sorry...I can't chat any more..... I've gotta go!!!!!  Freddy and I have 'stuff' to do!!!!

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The CandyMan did manage to take a mini-break and select the giveaway winner:   (drum roll.....)

 

Wanda, from Reinventingmother.blogspot.com  

She has been contacted, but thank you once again to everyone who entered!!!  

My new, oldest UFO.....and a giveaway!

Last week I posted about a really old UFO, that got repurposed.  Gosh that felt good, but it got me thinking about what would NOW be the oldest UnFinished Object hanging around.  (Don't worry....this is NOT going to be a weekly post, even though, it could very easily turn into one!!!)

 

L  *  O  *  O  *  K  what I found!!!

 

It was the middle of the day, the end of July/beginning of August, 2002.  The phone rang, caller ID said it was my son calling.  My son never calls.  Never.  (He hates to use the phone....growing up, he used to make his sister call the pizza delivery place for him.  He just doesn't make phone calls.)  I saw the ID, my heart went directly to my left big toe, and I answered, nearly in tears.."what's wrong?"

 

"No. Mom.  Nothing.  Really.  (chat, chat, chat---he's also NOT a chatter-er!) We just got back from the doctor's office (see I KNEW something was wrong!!!)------and you're going to be a Grandma."

 

When the tears finally stopped (tears of unimaginable joy now!!!), I did what any new Grandma-to-be would do, right?  I tossed my Kleenexes and pulled out my knitting needles.  I.AM.ON.IT.  Grandma-of-the-Year (at the very least, knitting Grandma-of-the-Year)--here I come!!!  I had already stockpiled assorted baby patterns, but I knew just what I wanted to make FIRST!  It had a really stupid name:  60-Overalls, but it was adorably cute and the absolutely cutest baby in the world was wearing them in the picture.  (Are you seeing a trend here?  See previous post.)  

 

Now, I may be a new-to-be Grannie, but I'm certainly nobody's fool.  After all, I did birth two babies, and I know they never get any wear out of the 0-3 month size of anything.  I'm casting on 6-9 month!!  And I did.  And once again....I used a superwash wool, knowing that washability was important (although all the handknits I had made for my own babies were 100% wool and after a couple felted oops, I learned the fine art of hand washing!  but, I digress.....)

 

Rachel was born in February (they chose not to find out boy/girl ahead of time), and while I had oodles of booties, hats, and several blankets awaiting her arrival, these overalls eventually had taken a backseat.  They were looking darn boy-ish.  (They were shown with white, vertical stripes sewn up and down the whole thing; sort of rail-roady.)

 

Meanwhile....my daughter announces just a few weeks before Rachel's birth that they, too, were now expecting!  They were going to find out.  And yes, a little bit later we knew the CandyMan was on his way.

I whipped out my precious Bouton d'Or book....with all the too cute babies....and my first ever cast-on project for a Grandbaby (still not quite finished) to show her.  

 

"MOM!!!!  Are you crazy????  You'd have to take that thing completely off and on every time you changed a poopey diaper!!!"  Gotta love that girl.  If nothing else, she tells it as it is--is practical beyond belief.  And yes, she would most definitely NOT have found this cute thing nearly as cute I did.  (I never saw that 'pull-the-whole-thing-off' as a potential problem.  I always had to pull the whole thing off of my babes; of course, I used cloth diapers, too. So what do I really know? Times are a-changing...at least for some moms.)

 

Sadly, I put my precious little overalls away--and moved on.  Until today!!!  You know, they still are darn cute.  It took less than 15 minutes to tuck in all the ends, and I decided they really didn't need those stripes after all.  Deciding on the buttons took much much longer!

 

 

 

 Halloween pumpkins?  too restrictive.  Cupcakes?  too girly.  Lions?  too red. Truck, planes, rollerskates?  no. no. no.  I finally just went with vintage mismatched buttons  (oh, what a surprise!  I ALWAYS go with vintage mismatched buttons unless I have some handmade ones around!!)  

 

It turned out surprisingly, rather neutral---I think a little ruffly tee underneath would work for a girl; a plain tee, and it would most definitely work for a boy.

 

SO.....in honor of the CandyMan turning 10 (TEN!!!--double-digits!!!) next week, I'd like to offer up what could have been his first pair of overalls.

 

size:  6-9 month

yarn:  Laines Bouton d'or baby superwash (huggably soft!)

 

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Is there a baby/grandbaby in your future?  Do you simply want to stockpile a little handknit baby gift for future re-gifting??  If you would like to be part of the drawing....just leave a comment. The CandyMan will draw a winner on the 19th....his birthday!

 

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(He would have loved those overalls as a babe!!)

Blog-iversary!!! and a little giveaway (NOT a bear) to celebrate!

 

 

I took a class once with Anna Zilboorg.  What an amazing character!  The class was on strip knitting, and as many weekend classes will do....this one had us making a teddy bear sized sweater.    Our assignment was to bring a bear and multiple colors of the same weight yarn.  Things went pretty well in the beginning, although I think I was the only one in the class with DK weight yarn (the directions might have specified worsted (!) but I had more colors of DK) so I was forced to knit like a whirling dervish to keep pace.  Also, Ted E. Bear was a bit paunchier than his peers in the class, so his sweater needed to be a tad bigger;  it was a good choice-- the dk weight was far more flattering than the worsted would have been. Things were progressing well until the end of class.   All those loose ends!  So, I'm working on tucking them in--when Anna declared she never tucks in loose ends.  No one sees them, no one cares.  (no one cares???  really?)  It was break time---everyone was breaking but me....I just had to take care of those ends.  I HAD TO.  Anna came over, complimented me on the sweater (like she did to everyone) and declared it beautifully finished.....teddy bears really didn't care about those ends.  

Ted E. Bear cared---(and he told her so).  

I'll come back to Ted in a minute......

Can you believe I've been merrily blogging for a year??  A YEAR????  What started as a little personal knitting journal has turned in to a venue where I've met some of the most remarkable, creative, intelligent people..... who truly have made my world a better place.  I cook better (healthier), I take better pictures, I'm inspired to try new things---from all of you who have hopped into this little space and welcomed me into yours.  The one thing that you all haven't been able to do, though, is improve my sewing skills.  I still stink at it.

So, of course, this is what I've chosen to give in my give-away.  #1 Daughter found this fabric---I couldn't resist!!

 Yep.....that's the Lorax and friends----KNITTING!!!  I had to make SOMETHING out of this!!!  Sewing machine is dragged out of the closet.....maybe if I really really stay focused, my Japanese knot bag will turn out PERFECTLY.  (I've made a bunch of these----they are just the thing for small projects-on-the-go---mine all look sort of jimmy-wonked, but I still love them.)  I used to think that it was my machine's fault.  It is a BASIC one---it sews a straight line (does go backwards) and zigzags.  No fancy stitches, no blind hemming, no buttonholes, no serging, no computerized anything.  (Let's be honest, here--I make jammies for me and the grands, aprons, tote bags, that's about it.---I don't NEED fancy stitches, blind hemming, buttonholesl --oh maybe, but I can do those by hand-- or serging.  The problem is most definitely a user problem, not a machine one!)  Anyway, I patiently stitched my giveaway gift, and it's as poorly constructed as all the others I've made in the past.  (I did give #1Daughter the first one with the Lorax knitting upside down; that I could fix!)

BUT...even though it isn't perfect, believe me----your socks (or mittens or hat) really, truly won't care.

 

Even Ted E. Bear says so.  And he cares about everything.*

 

(*He's very politcal, too, as you may have noticed, and has collected pins from family and friends for years.  I think the only one that came from me was the Earth Day one!!!  He and I don't talk politics.)

So if you would like to be entered for this very usable, but not perfect knitting pouch---and I bet I might find some goodies to go in it!!--just leave a message below!!!  I'll choose a winner August 14th (my official 1st blogging day).