Classy

I finished my quick socks with Classy. What do you think? I am going to sew some leather to the bottoms because they are house socks and I really don't want to slip all over the hardwood floors. If that works out well I think I will make each of my boys a pair for this winter.

Size 5 needle, 48 sts

Happy Knitting, Trish

We Beat the Heat!

As promised pictures from the river. My car said it was 112 out today! It was very hot, but we beat the heat at the river.

Happy Knitting, Trish

HOT

It is hot hot hot! I am taking the family to the river to swim all day! It is going to be 107 today. I will hopefully have some pictures of our day for you tomorrow. Stay cool.

I am almost finished with my socks! What are you all knitting?


Happy Knitting, Trish

The start to a very good day!

I hope that this is a good start to a very good day! I woke up at 5:50am to walk and run 5.5 miles with my best friend Tara! We ran about 2 miles because I wimped out. It is hot here in the Pacific Northwest. It is supposed to be over 100 today! After my run/walk I came home did dishes made some blackberry banana muffins and then got potatoes and onions in the crock pot! We are going to have potato Broccoli soup for dinner and I don't want to heat the house up to make it, so in the crock pot it goes. I just took some pictures of my garden and of my yarn purchase from yesterday. So what does a knitter knit on a very hot day? Socks of course! I am going to knit a pair of socks out of Dream In Color Classy today. Hopefully they will be house socks for me this winter! Thinking of cooler days on a really hot ones help, right?

My muffins

My Yarn

My flowers






My garden, That I didn't get in until the first of week of July due to moving! Hopefully I will get something out of it this year.

My two new 9 square quilt blocks!

See this is a great start to the day!

Hope you have some adventures today, Trish

Finished Elliots Quilt!

I finished my first quilt! I am so excited. I have wanted to learn to quilt for years, and I finally did it. Don't look to closely, I can't sew straight yet! I am so proud. Thank you so much Helen. I love learning new things, do you?

Sorry this is not the best picture. I will try to take a better one tomorrow. I just was so excited I had to get it up to show you all right away. Although if you click on the picture it gets bigger and you can see it much better.

Happy knitting or quilting, Trish

Addicted To 9 Squares

I am so addicted to 9 square quilt blocks. This is so much fun. I got the idea from Crazy Mom Quilts! I love the quilt that she just finished. I have to make one for me!!! The funny thing is the idea of the quilt is to use scraps. I just learned to sew last week and have no scraps, so I have been buying little bits of fabric. This is so much fun! Would any of you like to join me in making a 9 square quilt? The info is on Crazy Mom Quilts Blog.

Helen came over yesterday and helped me quilt my first quilt. We are quilting in the ditch. I call it quilting in the gutter. I am really bad at making straight lines but it is still lots of fun. I don't know if you all know this about me but I am enthusiastic and obsessive! I will get better soon, very soon! Don't worry I am still knitting! Like I said enthusiastic and obsessive! I will be over it soon.

Enjoy the flowers, I know I do! Thanks Tara!

Enjoy your day and have some adventures, Trish

My Felted Nesting Bowls

Introducing the Magic Loop Felted Nesting Bowls! I had a lot of fun knitting these the other day, such a satisfying quick knit. I designed these for a class that I am going to teach in the fall, they are knit from the bottom up using the magic loop. I think that they will be perfect to store treasures for my new sewing space!

Happy Knitting, Trish

My First Quilt Top!!!

I am so happy with my first quilt top. I know that the seams are not perfect, I didn't get them lined up that well but I am still very happy with it. It was so nice of Helen to come over and help me. I learned so much, thank you Helen. Now I just need to remember it all. I need to buy the material for the middle and the back now. Shopping! No Problem!

I knit some cute felted bowls the day before yesterday. I will give them a photo shoot tomorrow. Also some time in the next week I will put the floppy sun hat pattern up as a free pattern.

Happy Knitting, Trish

My first sewing!

My dear friend Stephanie gave me a sewing machine yesterday! Isn't she sweet, thanks again Stephanie. I got it home and set it up and sewed one 5 inch crooked line and then the bobbin ran out of thread. I tried to figure out how to put more thread on the bobbin but it was a half hearted attempt. I new my husband new how to do it so I waited for him to come home. Of course in like 2 seconds he had thread on the bobbin and he did it so fast I didn't get to see how he did it. So I said will you do one more so I can see and of course he said yes. I walked in the kitchen for a second and he did it without me again. Needless to say I shall corner him again today. I did so a little last night on my practice block and it is done. My seams are crooked but at least I did it!

This is where I sit and knit, I thought you all might want to see what my spot looks like!

I am off to the farmers market with my hubby.

Happy Knitting Trish

Happenings at the shop and in life!

Well we had a nice party at the shop last night! For the last four years our customers and employees have knit bear sweaters and accessories for teddy bears to send the kids at Camp Erin. Camp Erin is a bereavement camp for kids that have lost a loved one in the last year. Each child receives a bear in costume and a quilt when they get to camp. It is a wonderful program and our customers go all out to make some really neat costumes for the bears. So the little party was to thank everyone who made a sweater or dress or costume! Jami gave out prizes to the maker of the best outfits and it turned into a real party. This little party also kicks of our customer trunk show! Every summer our customers get to display the things that they have knit with Knitting Bee yarns. There is a random drawing for a $100.00 gift certificate for those that bring in items to display. So needless to say there were lots of things happening at the shop last night! Congratulations to all the winners!!!

On another note Helen brought me some lavender Sachets that she made with the lavender from my front yard. Aren't they cute. We are going to put these on etsy also and see what happens!

And last but not least this is the last skein of yarn I dyed with black beans! I got three skeins out of 1 pound of black beans. I really love the shades of blue.

I am off to teach a kids knitting class now. More adventures tomorrow I hope!

Happy Knitting, Trish

Afghan update!

I am finishing the 19th square this morning and that means I have 5 to go, then I will put her together! I also need to decide on a border but that will come to me when I get there.

Happy Knitting, Trish

I am so excited!

My friend Helen is going to teach me how to make a small quilt!!! I have tried to learn to sew at least 3-4 times in my life without any real success. I made an apron with my mother in law once, I made a pillow with my grandpa and I made half a bag with my friend Stephanie. In the case of the apron I was using my mother in laws machine and I couldn't continue after we finished the project. With my grandpa I was given the machine but soon decide that I needed to move far far away to be with my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, so I left the machine behind. And the most recent attempt with Stephanie, I had been given an old machine and it broke half way through the bag and was a very costly repair! I didn't have it fixed. So needless to say, I hope it sticks this time! I am going to use a friends machine to start and if I really like it I will purchase one of my very own.

This is the fabric I bought. My little Elliott was with me and he picked it out with a little help.

Have an Adventure! Trish

How many?

How many stitches can you knit in a minute????
I am practicing my continental knitting, to see if I can get faster. I think that I knit about 40 sts to the minute continental and 32 throwing! How about you? I will let you know if I get any faster as I practice more. I have knit continental for years while fair isle knitting, but I have never knit an entire project continental until now! I am knitting a pair of socks. I think it is going to take me a while until I am satisfied with my gauge and how even my stitches are! I am a very picky knitter.

Happy Knitting, Trish

As promised

Here is a picture of the skein I dyed a couple days ago. This is a second skein in the same dye bath of black beans. It soaked for 4 or 5 hours and I took it out and rinsed it. I really like this nice light blue. There are a couple of tiny spots on the skein that look almost purple. That is the color it comes out of they bath as,then when you rinse it it turns blue. Anyway I had to share. I really still want to get a yellow or orange. I will have to head out and do some plant collecting soon.

Happy Knitting, Trish

We had a BBQ

We had a little party last night and it was lots of fun! I had 8 little boys between the ages of 13 and 7 sleep in tents in my backyard! We had lots of noise accompanied by lots of fun and a few tears. You can't get that many children together and never have an issue. My youngest was the sad one and he didn't even sleep in a tent. He slept in the house! He is a tiny bit afraid of the dark. I think that we had 12 kids total at the party and boy did they have a good time. I know they liked roasting marsh mellows and making shmores over the campfire, my husband built them. I really love summer and I hope my boys have happy memories of times like these. Anyway I had to show pictures of the pre-party flowers and berries.

I thought that my Garden Pouch's looked so nice hanging with flowers in them!

The boys demolished my berries in minutes!

I dyed a skein of yarn yesterday also. I will share tomorrow.

Happy Knitting, Trish

Berry berry and more berry!

We had a lot of fun picking berries yesterday. I love Oregon! There are so many you pick farms here and the berries are really cheap! We picked 14 pounds of berries yesterday. and I spent just under $14.00. I made jam and muffins and have some very happy little boys.

I read about berries for dye, they are more of a stain then a dye so I guess I won't be using them. O-well I guess we will have to eat them all, my poor family how will we manage!!!

Happy Knitting, Trish

The Last Skein!

So here is the last skein that I dyed the other day! I am really excited about this color. I have really been wanting to get a green and I did! I would have thought that the black-eyed susans would have dyed yellow or orange but no, I got green. I think that yellow and orange are the next colors that I want to go for. I see onion skins in my future. Ha, I see onion skins almost every day I just need to remember to save them! I will have to dye again next week, this is just to much fun!

Helen also made another bag it is reversible and really cute!

Today the boys and I are going berry picking. The weather is cool and overcast just the right kind of day to pick berries! I will tell you all about our adventure tomorrow! I wonder if berries make good dye???

Happy knitting, Trish

Black bean!

Black beans! can you believe it? I am so shocked that I got this beautiful blue from black beans. Can someone please pinch me. I didn't need indigo to get a nice blue! Who new? I did not end up dyeing yesterday so I will only have one more skein to show you tomorrow!

It is park day today! That means I get to sit under the trees at the park, chat it up and knit! I don't know if it gets much better then that.

Have a great day, Trish

Beautiful new colors!

I really got some beautiful colors yesterday! Who new that Black-eyed Susans make green!!! I got some great blues and greens. Here is a little taste. I will post another color for you to see tomorrow. I just haven't gotten good pictures yet. I might dye some yarn today with onion skins. Hoping for orange and yellow. Wish me luck!

Happy Knitting, Trish