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Log Cabin Knitting Project For 2011

Posted on January 3, 2011 8:52 am by TheAngelForever

As 2010 ended, I finally conquered one of my knitting goals. I figured out how to add colors to do a Log Cabin project. Before I started anything larger, I wanted to finish the scarf for my mother. Mission accomplished. With being sick, it took me about a week to finish. Here are some photos of the process:

While everyone was sick I spent quite some time on Ravelry. I found a gorgeous pattern that I wanted to try for a Log Cabin family blanket. Basically I will knit 20 Log Cabin squares and then put them together to make one large blanket. It makes the process more portable and easy to stop and go as I need to.

Yesterday, TechyDad was itching to get out of the house for a short trip to get some food items. I managed to convince the boys to go to Michaels with me to select some yarn. My plan was to get each of us to pick a color and work with that.

We all walked to the yarn section. I pointed the boys to the Caron Simply Soft. I really like this yarn since it is easy to work with, soft, washable, and has no dye lot. NHL kept picking wild colors that would not go with much of anything. Finally he settled on a green color. JSL wanted a blue. TechyDad selected a red. I was going to do a gray and be plain, but was pushed into a purple to add more fun to it.

We left with the yarn and did our shopping. Once I finish off a second purple scarf, I am going to begin my Log Cabin project. The only item I will need is a row counter to help me stay on track (stores are always out of them). Of course, I was really excited to plan things out. I took out index cards, made squares, and used my crayons to do some preliminary plans. Here is what we picked out and my geeky plan – pretty funky and fun!

Now I just wish there was a way to knit and exercise at the same time. Hmmmm……

What project do you plan on tackling for the start of 2011?

Categories:
family jsl knitting me moments nhl photos TechyDad

Setting goals and making them happen

Posted on December 31, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Several years ago I fell in love with a knitting project. I found it when looking in a book. What book you ask? This pretty well known knitting book:

The knitting project that I craved to try is called a Log Cabin blanket. I understood the concept, but for the longest time I could not figure out how to change colors with this technique. I kept waiting to try this out myself and had it as a goal.

Wednesday night I did a search on You Tube and found a video showing how to do exactly what I needed. It seemed easy enough to follow. So, I took out a bunch of my old scraps of cotton yarn.

Next thing I knew, I had a small little Log Cabin square going. It isn’t perfect – I think I added a stitch in my original color change. Still, I am quite proud to say that I figured it out and can eventually try some larger projects with this technique.

Here are some photos of the mini Log Cabin as I worked on it.

This is the finished piece. I put it on my laptop to give you an idea of the final size.

My knitting goal helped me to come up with my final Aloha Friday question for 2010:

What are some of your goals for 2011?

I like to set goals to accomplish, rather than resolutions that quickly get crushed or forgotten. Happy New Year to everyone. May the coming year be filled with good health, magical memories, and fun times!

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #132

Categories:
Aloha Friday holidays knitting me moments photos

Day out with Nana and NHL

Posted on December 23, 2010 8:57 am by TheAngelForever

Nana and NHL both had the day off on Wednesday. We all brought JSL to nursery school and then made the most of our four hours together. First stop was to have Nana pick out some yarn. I told her that I would make a scarf. I think my mother was a bit overwhelmed with all of the different options. In the end she picked out some Lion Brand Homespun in Baroque.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited she wanted to try the Homespun. I was really intrigued with it and had never bought any. Not entirely sure I love working with it because of the way it bunches up when you have tension in your knitting, but I am figuring it out as I add knit away.

After this we went to the mall. Nana asked NHL where he wanted to have lunch and he requested Pizza Uno. NHL was really hungry and did not understand that we had to wander around for an hour until they opened for business. We went to a few places looking for the Keurig Apple Cider K-Cups that TechyDad wants to try. Nothing was found. After checking out a few stores, it was finally 11:00.

NHL knew exactly what he wanted on the menu. My mother and I decided to do the pizza and soup lunch special. Check out the soups that we tried. They were absolutely amazing.

Fighting off a cold, I was definitely more interested in these than the pizza. Speaking of the pizza check out the photo my camera took.

I am in LOVE with the new camera. TechyDad picked out a great one. The food photo setting does a phenomenal job! No really here’s another view of the pizza!

So I’m curious, do you take photos of your food?

I think TechyDad started to do it while at Disney World after seeing AJ’s blog all about Disney food. After a bit, I caught the food photo bug since AJ inspired us. At Disney you don’t get a lot of looks from people when you are snapping away photos. Around here, people look and sometimes question. I just reply that I am a blogger and often write about food out. The end!

On that note I am off to nurse a cold that has blossomed over night. The little guy and I were both up a lot. Oh and TechyDad, enjoy the pizza for lunch!

Categories:
family food glorious food knitting nhl photos TechyDad yummy

First scarf of the season

Posted on December 20, 2010 8:19 am by TheAngelForever

At the end of last winter, I bought some pretty yarn. It was blue and had flecks of other colors and looked a bit iridescent in the right light.

I cast on some stitches, but over the spring and summer months I worked on smaller projects that were easier to transport. A short time ago, my neck decided that it was in great need of a scarf. I started to stress knit at night and bit by bit my scarf was coming together.

K3P3 was the pattern of my choice. Over and over again I did this until I ran out of three skeins of my fluffy blue goodness. Finally it was finished!

Then it was time to put on the scarf. I have to admit, I had no idea how much warmer I would feel wearing this. The afternoon I completed my project, I wore it around the house and was in heaven.

Since I finished it late last week, I have worn it to Disney on Ice, shopping with TechyDad, and to pick up the kids from school. It has made the world of difference as the temperature continues to drop. So now I am working on another scarf for inside the house. With any luck, I will get to a store to have my mother pick out some yarn since I promised to make her one next.

Do you like to wear a scarf in the winter?

I was not a fan before this, but I think I have changed my tune!

Categories:
knitting me moments photos weather winter

Oh no, here comes the snow!

Posted on November 8, 2010 12:16 pm by TheAngelForever

Living in New York state, the autumn weather can be rather unpredictable at best. Some days, you can wear a sweatshirt outside, while other days you need a winter coat along with hats and gloves. This morning, they mentioned that a winter storm over the Atlantic was backing westward into our area. They said nothing would really happen here aside from a few flurries. May I show you what it looks like outside my house right now:

Yes, that is snow sticking to the ground. In addition to that, ice pellets came down for a while and have left a nice slick layer. Ah, life in northwestern New York. So today I plan on staying inside, getting laundry done, and taking care of the boys who are both home. While they play nicely, I will also do a little stress knitting.