HO HO HOME......




It's good to be home, it's good to have Christmas at home surrounded by family. It was short, only lasted a day and half, but we made every minute count. Making plans for next year which will be over the top.

I knitted for Christmas, of course I did, Hats and scarves for the nieces and socks for a friend. The socks aren't done yet, well one is and the other is in the process. The nieces loved their handmade gifts, and I know they would welcome anything I made them. As a matter of fact, they've already picked out yarn from my stash for socks.





Christmas wouldn't be the same without some handcrafted cards... here are a few that went out to family and friends for 2009.




HO HO HOME......

Knit...Knit...Knit...Knit...

That's what I did this weekend... 4 days of knitting. The retreat was put on by Trish, the organizer of a group I belong to. The 'Fiber in the Forest' was held at a retreat house on the northside of Lake Macatawa here in Holland. About 20 or so women from across the country attended. We didn't just knit of course, we talked, laughed, ate, did some spinning and some took a side trip to a sheep farm, and an alapaca farm. And then was the yarn crawl on Saturday where we all probably spent more than we should of, me included.

I did finish the mystery socks and even wore them on Saturday, and got many many rows done on the pink cabled scarf. I can't wait until the next fiber retreat.

In two weeks, scrapbooking gets its turn at a weekend crop.

Busy Busy

yeah, maybe not so much. Apparently not busy enough to produce enough to blog about. I have been scrapping and I have been knitting, I just haven't been taking pictures of things..

in Scrapbooking.....

I did finish 'Adam's Visit'. What started out as pages within the 2005 album, turned out to be an album in and of itself. Adam is my cousin's son who we brought from Hungary to visit during the summer of 2005. Besides doing things locally, Adam and I flew out to California to visit my sister and her girls and we did all the California things from going to Hollywood, and Disneyland to learning to surf. Then only after days of returning home, we drove out to Washington D.C. to visit Alex and toured our nation's Capitol. Tons of pictures were taken during the summer and it was hard to keep them to a single album. Here are a few....







in Knitting...

I did finish my Swing Coat and am needing to block it and then assemble it. It's my first blocking job and I'm a bit nervous about it. I don't want to overdo it and then it won't fit. I'm planning on steam blocking it... pinning it down to the right size and then running a steamer over it. Maybe I'll attempt it on Thursday.

Continuing on the V-neck sweater using a lovely Noro Silk/Mohair/Wool yarn in a lively purple and blue coloration. Front and back are complete and started yesterday on the sleeves. I'll be wearing this next week already. I don't plan on blocking this one.



New Projects.... have started the Christmas gift knitting.. not naming what or who, just posting a picture of what I have so far. It involves three rows of cabling, the cable stitch I borrowed from another published pattern, and changed it to make my own design.




and then... working on my first 'Mystery knit'. The designer posts one set of directions each week and without a picture or diagram, you knit and see what happens. These are socks with Knit Picks Gloss sock yarn in the color 'pumpkin'. How appropriate is that for a Socktober challenge. So far I have the first cuff done, the second sock being wokred on and the next set of directions for the leg will be posted in 2 days.

Socks, Spinning, Scrapbooking ....

It's been a busy few weeks creatively speaking at least. The latest knitting project done are a pair of socks for Alex.. I just guessed at size and color, but when he tried them on when he got home Wednesday night they fit perfectly.. he likes the navy color, and he's been wearing them since. Yeah me!




I've been getting some practice in on the the new wheel as well and have a bobbin of BFL. Of course being a new spinner and this my first EVAH homespun, it's a bit lumpy and bumpy and can be anywhere from lace to chunky. I put in a new bobbin, but haven't gotten the tension down and now I have to wait until I have full use of my right arm. Torn rotator cuff according to the doctor.... yes that's another story.. Spinning and trapeze work have to wait.



I've gone to a couple of crops, one being a weekend (3 days) long, and the other with my cropping cronies and I did get a lot accomplished. The cruise album is done and I got caught up on several 'missing' pages from other albums... some title pages, some to fill in spots and some that I had just forgotten about all together. I did manage to get over 40 pages done in the last couple of weeks. That's freekin' awesome for me and here is proof positive:

Dancing the Mazurka

The Mazurka is a Polish type dance where the dancers whirl very quickly, similar to the Hungarian Csardas. It's because of this that the Polish makers of my spinning wheel named it that... the Mazurka, because the wheel spins fast and is supposed to look like dancers. I don't know about that but it does go fast.

I have a spinning wheel, the Kromski Mazurka. I've wanted one for a little while having been mesmerized by the wheels of my fellow knitters. I did my research, I found the wheel that I wanted and went about looking for the right one. I considered buying new, looked online and planned on trying them out at the Fiber Fest in August. I wanted a wheel that not only was the right size, had a single treadle and had the look and feel of an old wheel... something that an ancestor might have used in the old country.

It happened so quickly. The ad was posted on Ravelry, it came with all the accessories and more and I could tell that it was well taken care of and loved and besides... it was at a great price. That morning the wheel became mine. It came in from Boston this week and it's previous owner Dave, had it so well wrapped and labeled, you'd a thought it was Christmas. Well it really was for me. I can't wait to actually start spinning... My friend Trish (Bams on Ravelry) will start to give me lessons next week, but in the meantime, I'm practicing my treadling and getting a feel for how it works.

Many people name their wheels, much like naming their cars or boats, determining whether it's female or male.. I'm not sure I will, but there have been fleeting moments when speaking about it when I refer to it as her.

Here she is..........

Yarnoire

Most crafters, whether a scrapper, knitter, quilter or whatever, always keep an ample load of supplies on hand... in case of a worldwide shortage, of course. That hording is not usually the problem, it's the storage of the paper, yarn, fabric, wood, beads, or glass. My scrapbooking studio may not be the neatest.... HA, far from it, but most everything has a place on a rack or shelf or plastic drawer.. it's there and I can find it. Of course I have a whole room to store this stuff. My yarn on the other hand doesn't have a room, just a dresser in a corner, some boxes and bags and so unworthy of the Malabrigo or alpaca.

With some redecorating lately, the sitting room got it's turn this week with new paint, furniture, rug and the addition of an empty armoire that was taking up floor space in the basement. It was moved upstairs and now proudly holds my yarn and knitting miscellaneous. I love my yarnoire.

2 months already???

Boy, have I let things slide. That can happen when you're sick and not spending time at the computer, or if you're just not into writing, or if you've really got nothing artistic to add... or maybe a combination of all three.

Yes, I have not been well (doing much better now, Thank You), yes, I really wasn't interested in keeping my blogs going and also yes, while I have been knitting and doing some scrapbooking, it just didn't cross my mind to do anything with them.. MY Bad.

I did finish my Dragonfly socks... done in a lace pattern using Malabrigo sock yarn in a soft burgundy and gold color. Of course it gets done in time for sandal weather... now will have to wait until the temps get cooler, but by then I'll have a few more pair of socks to wear. Friends are already putting in their orders for their pair.
I had been working on my cardigan, and it's now done... all the pieces are complete and are waiting to be blocked and put together. My blocking boards as well as all my other knitting paraphernalia are boxed and stored away until the sitting/music/knitting room gets painted. I am working on DH's socks.. he wanted them over the calf which is taking much longer to knit up especially since I'm already tired of them and I'm not even done with the first sock.

Here's my Dragonfly socks....



In my absence, Father's Day came and went and while these cards were not made for my DH, they were made for The Shaker Box, a scrapbooking community that named me guest designer for May with the duty of designing several cards for men.




As far as scrapbooking, I'm still working, albeit slowly on the Panama cruise, so here's what I can add. I should scan more.... maybe this week.

Slow Scrapper

I am apparently as slow a scrapper as I am a knitter. Not that I don't have the time... plenty of that, but I take my time and contemplate each stitch in an almost zen-like quality. I choose each color and embellishment for each scrapbook page with as much thought as a professional chess player his next move. And of course there is no perfection in either, but the end result is quite satisfying.

Here are a couple of recent layouts that I did for some challenges on Moments to Remember.

Busy Hands

Since I've been home from my surgery (find out what and why on my other blog www.margo.koroknaypalicz.com) I've been trying to keep from going completely bonkers from watching too much TV. Working on my regular knitting of socks and sweater was too intense trying to read patterns or even trying to remember patterns. Couldn't keep the concentration going. And trying to work on any scrapbooking or cardmaking project also took some amount of patience which I just didn't have. I preferred to do some very light reading, doze, and watch mindless shows. The perfect solution was knitting up some squares for the Linus Project. The project, named for the Peanuts character Linus and his always blanket companion, makes blankets for children in need. A yarn store north of here is trying to meet the need of a request from their local National Guard for 500 blankets to give to the families of troops heading overseas.

So I got to work with leftover yarn from my stash and made some squares. Coggie (from my Ravelry knitting group) is picking them up and will begin the task of assembling them into an afghan. I truly appreciate that effort.

Here are the 26 blue, purple, taupe and green squares which hopefully some child will hold onto and hug tightly while their father or mother is gone.



Busy Hands

Socks and Scraps

We're back from a lovely vacation to the Panama Canal.. (pictures on my Picturetrail album.. http://www.picturetrail.com/margokp ) and who but me thinks of what to knit when going on vacation... because there just isn't enough to do on a cruise. I grabbed some wonderful Caribbean blue yarn and a sock pattern and started a new pair of socks. I got the first one done and most of the way on the second. Not only do I love the yarn, the color, the pattern... these will always remind me of our vacation.



Shortly after we got back, I dove into some scrapbooking again by cropping with my peeps and actually finished the Alaska album.... and then got involved with an online crop. I really am not a big fan of online crops because I crop in the basement and my computer is in the office and whole floor and opposite sides of the house in distance. Turns out I actually won the big prize from The Shaker Box (Thank You) and a gift certificate to shop in their store.

Here is my favorite layout from the weekend.

uncle.... uncLE..... UNCLE....

alright already.... I give up... giving up any hopes of doing lace while on vacation. I knitted up swatches of 4 different patterns and none of them look like lace... they look more like a cobweb in a hurricane.. just a bunch of holes in no pattern whosoever. I know to stretch out the swatch to get a better idea and I know it will look better once blocked, but I couldn't tell if I missed a stitch or read the pattern wrong and I'm not going to spend my time on the ocean and in the sun being upset and frustrated.. I may tend to drink more.... and so you ask???

I'll stick to socks and I'll stick to working on my sweater.....

Knitting on vacation

We're going to be leaving on vacation real soon and I'm contemplating what knitting project to take with me. It won't be the sweater as it's too bulky... might be the Dragonfly socks to finish up, a new pair to start for the son, and maybe, just maybe, a new lace wrap. I have enough of the brown tweed alpaca left from Bob's vest and I'm thinking it would make a perfect all around wrap, but here's the dilemma... I've not done lace before. Should I start a new project, learn a new technique when I'm far from friends and internet for help? I thought I had narrowed down my search for an easy lace pattern to four, until CoggieTM (Rav name) came to knit night and brought a lace book with too many beautiful choices. Thanks a lot..

CoggieTM suggested taking not just one project, but two since this is my first lace and I will get frustrated... now how did she know that? and there's no throwing projects overboard either. Stayed tuned for pictures of knitting on board a cruise ship with pina coladas in the plenty.

Finally, the vest

It's only been several weeks since I finished and gave Bob his gift... the alpaca sweater vest and finally he put it on so I can get a picture of it. I've only asked several times.... but that's a guy for you. He's even wearing it when we go out for dinner tonight.



Now that all the gift-knitting is done, I am diligently working on a sweater and pair of socks for myself. The pattern on the socks is called Dragonfly and it's for a Knit-a-long with a group that is reading (again) the second book of the Outlander series, "Dragonfly in Amber".



Scrapbooking has been put on hold a a little bit, but I am going to a 12 hour crop this weekend and should get a ton done. I did this LO over the weekend when a couple of friends came over to play.