Frames

I finished this one last night, a remake of the one over a week ago. I am extremely pleased with how this one turned out. It is a c8 with additional support lines. I marked the c8 and the first set of additional lines with white cotton, and the second set of supporting lines with gold braid, which effectively outlines the squares. I started stitching the squares 1/2 cm from the corner, which gave me about 7 rows of color. That was still more than the original, last night when I looked I counted 5 rows, but there is still enough room for the lettering.



There are 4 words: Love, Joy, Peace, and Hope, with several blank squares left. The lettering is done with floche thread, a softly twisted cotton thread that is lovely to stitch with. I had the perfect color, an orangy red! The flowers are done in lazy daisy stitch, with pearl cotton.



I have to write the pattern, revise the patterns for 3 other temari, and stitch one more. I think I can make it!

Lunar New Year G.I.T.S.: Year of the Tiger

Since it is Valentine's week, there should at least be a mention of hearts, right? My friend from Moonsilk Stitches was featured today in a guest-blogger appearance in Subversive Stitchers. Both the valentines featured are beautiful, and I can't wait to see what she makes this year.


Last night, when I got home, I received a package from the UK. (My package inspector C was not home, so she missed it! She always announces with great interest when a package arrives, and is on pins and needles until she sees what it is.) This temari is from Karen and is for the Lunar New Year G.I.T.S. (Great International Temari Swap). Sunday (Valentine's day!) is the Chinese New Year, and the animal this year is the tiger. I think these colors are perfect for representing a tiger, and the stitching is beautiful!



My temari for her is finished, and packed, but not mailed yet. As soon as I hear from her that she has received it I will share, because I think it turned out very interesting.

I think February 10th is a wonderful day for birthdays! Happy birthday, mom! Stay warm. Happy birthday Margie, I hope you have a wonderful day. Happy birthday Lois! Miss you! Happy birthday, Janet! I hope you don't have to work too hard today.

Guild Meeting

We didn't have an official guild meeting last night. Our project this month was to make blankets for the Children's oncology dept. of a local hospital, so as soon as we managed to unlock the door (yes, we have issues, and yes, we are looking for a new place to meet) people started making blankets.

There are only a couple of steps:

1. Buy 2 lengths of fleece that coordinate with each other.

2. Cut fringe through both layers on all four sides.

3. Knot fringe together.



This is the fleece I brought, monkeys, leopards and zebras. The blanket turned out so soft and cuddly I was tempted to take it home with me! We had so much fun visiting, and everyone pitched in. You can read more about the process here (when I get to it, please check back).

Last Friday I felt like I had ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I had just finished 3 projects, and I had to choose a new one, C requested a crocheted valentine and 3 stocking hats for the girls, and I got the felt stocking kit for P, and of course I had to open that and check it out. So I started my mittens and I felt a lot better. They are not beautiful.



But they are already amazingly warm. This is a picture of the right one, from the back of the hand. (There are two different colors of yarn. I used one for the cuff, and then started the second one right before starting to crochet the thumb.) The loose thread under the thumb is a marking thread, and the threads coming out of the top are the working threads. I have been totally engrossed in them, which is how I got this far. I think I should have stuck with one color, but I will still wear them because of the way they feel. That is, when I get them done; there's a whole 'nother one to crochet yet.

Two Finishes

I finished this hat on Wednesday night. I've been taking it "on the road" crocheting in the down time of preparing the visuals for church every week. DH is a musician in the praise bands at our church and I try to make sure the song words flow smoothly on the AV screens. I'm hoping the mitten crochet is straightforward enough to do during this time slot. You do have to pay attention to what is going on around you, and be able to stop and start a lot. I tried cross stitch, but there is not enough light by the computer, but crocheting works great.



This hat turned out too big. At first it was too small and I took out a dozen rows, and went overboard the other way. Does anyone know if cotton thread shrinks if you wash it in hot water? I know dish-rags don't get smaller. I also have the possibility of adding an elastic thread to the edge to make it fit better.

The same night, after we got home, I finished the knit mittens. The embellishment came last night after I consulted with C. She picked the colors for the red and green antenna, and was pretty excited about the plastic eyes. The mittens turned out big; I might try fulling or felting them a little bit but I don't want them to get too small.



After I finished them I noticed her sitting on the sofa cuddling her cheeks with them. I think she likes them! Unfortunately my camera wasn't out, and also, it was too dark to get a good picture.

I'm working on a GITS temari, so you know I won't be able to show a picture until after it reaches its destination. I really like how it is turning out. I'm getting close to finishing.

Knitting vs. Crochet

Do you like to knit or do you like to crochet? Most of the people I know have a decided preference for one or the other. My paternal grandma crocheted, my maternal grandma knit, my mom knit, I crochet. I have one friend who knits, and another who crochets. Do you stick with the technique you learned first? I learned to crochet out of a book, and made tunics for my trolls; I had to be 10 or younger.

Having said that, I fell like I have been knitting a lot more than crocheting lately. I the last couple of years I have knit bowls, a hat and a tote bag, a nice scarf, and an afghan. I have crocheted small things: a couple of pot holders, a reef element (except not that beautiful), and a pink elephant, and I'm working on a chemo hat. Even so, I feel like a crocheter.

I am bringing the subject up because I am feeling conflicted. After teaching my temari class last Saturday I "rewarded" myself by stopping at a yarn store. I had purchased a copy of Interweave Crochet magazine and fell in love with two projects. The first is a ruana, and the second is a pair of mittens. I decided that the budget would not accommodate the ruana... I was upset by the price on-line, and just about fell over when I priced it in the store. But there was a sale on for the yarn I needed for the mittens. I have never made a pair of mittens, it always felt like too much work to knit a pair, and I had never seen a crocheted pair I liked. I liked this pattern so I bit the bullet, and bought the sale yarn (they will not look anything like the picture!). I brought it home and started to show it to C last night. Her comment was "I really need mittens, because gloves are too hard to put on."

Well, I happen to have a kit for knit buggy mittens (this pattern, different decorations) put away in my sewing room. I had planned on making them for P, but when I got the kit it felt like too much work. However, C liked the pattern, and asked when they would be done(!). What's a grandma to do? I guessed I could finish them in a couple of weeks. They are scrappy, and I have about 6 different colors to work with. I let her pick the colors, and started.

I must admit I'm a little shocked. I didn't have to look up any of the instructions in my "Knitting for Dummies" book. I started with the 3 double-pointed needles, and finished the body of one of the mittens! All that is left is the thumb.

Mittens aren't too hard.

Am I a knitter or a crocheter?

Temari Class

I had a very fun day on Saturday teaching temari to five lovely ladies. I procrastinated taking the picture until one had packed up and left, but you can see that they picked beautiful colors, and they all were nearing completion on their balls. Next month we will be having a Kiku (chrysanthemum) class. I can't wait to see the beauties that will come out of that class.



In my last post DH informs me that I was too vague. I think I was trying to be coy; that doesn't work for me. Yes, the temari pictured in the newspaper were all mine, and yes, I will be teaching the two temari classes in the fall for my EGA guild. The first class will cover marking the ball, the second class will cover the embroidery.

Newspaper Article

My EGA guild made the papers! Here's the article about our programs for the coming year, notice the Temari classes in September and October. Also, if you look at the pictures you can see a whole stack of temari balls on the show and tell table; what can I say, it was a good month!

What I'm looking for on the temari from yesterday is sort of an acrostic (with English characters) that would fit in the spaces on the ball. "Temari" would fit in one of the directions...