Twisted Rose, and Babies!

Hello:

This is my newest afghan square design, Twisted Rose with Thorn Border.

I have been having this square tested by 6 different testers in The Testing Pool group in Ravelry.  It's such a cool group.  You just start a thread with what you need tested, and how many people you would like to test it, and people start signing up.  I have received feedback from 4 of the six people who asked to test my square.  They gave me really good ideas of rounds they found confusing or awkwardly written.  I am just about ready to post the pattern, in fact I will probably post it tomorrow.  I just need to edit it to thank the testers for their help. 

Also, tomorrow, I will post the round photos of the square here, so you can see how it comes together.

But now to the important part of today's post:  BABIES

Yes, poor CathieC is feeling sick.  She wasn't able to take a turn on driving Hvrdmnky home from the NICU.  I got another turn!

The babies are now both over 5 pounds, and just putting on weight like no body's business.  I thought it would be fun to compare/contrast their photos from the first time I got to drive Hrvdmnky home, two weeks ago, with the photos from today.

Here is Caroline on August 27.

And here is Caroline today.

This was Elena on August 27.

And this is Elena today.

They are filling out, and their color is so much healthier.  They are just beautiful.  Of course, knitwear make everyone look beautiful.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a new design

Baby Baby

Hello:

No, the photo isn't blurred, it was RAINING today.

I know you are all thinking, f1bercat, you live in the Pacific Northwest where it always rains, and yes, it drizzles a lot here, but today it was pouring.

I spent all yesterday and this morning trying to write up and get a pattern ready to publish.  I had it just about ready, then tried to put in a header, and all of the photos went wonky.  About 10 hours of work down the drain.

I took a break and went to the hospital to visit the two newest Eastside Stitchers, and give Hrvdmnky a ride home.

Elena says, "Just who are you trying to swaddle?" 

She does not like to be pinned down.  Even when fast asleep.

Caroline, on the other hand, heard our whispers and tried... to wake up to say hello,

but, she just couldn't make it.  Growing is very hard work, and girls need their beauty sleep.

Back home after dinner, I was able to straighten out my instructions and photos.  I designed this afghan square last spring,

and wrote up the instructions, but was so busy that I never had time to put the instructions together with photographs, etc.  I am very slow at the graphics part of writing a pattern.  Anyway, when I tried to hook the square again, I could barely follow my own instructions!

I rewrote the instructions as I hooked the square, taking photos when ever I thought I needed further explanation.

The border has changed a bit since the original square.  I designed a "Thorn Border."

With one more row of single crochets, I think the border looks nice and sharp.

I have started a thread in The Testing Pool asking for testers.  If anyone who reads this blog is interested in test hooking the square, please let me know.  The pattern is not up on Ravelry yet, so I will email it to anyone who wants to help.  I want to have as error free a pattern as possible.

Peace,
f1bercat
I wish I could sleep as soundly as Elena.

Deadlines

I crocheted like a fiend these last 2 days to finish the afghan I have been making for my Godson and his bride's first wedding anniversary.  I finished all but a border (which I may not bother to hook).  It was too late to take a photo of all 4 rows of squares, but here is a photo of the first 3 rows.

Also, I designed a new square for the afghan, the Spider Square.

Actually, this afghan has 3 square that were my designs:  The spider square above,

the 2 x 3 Granny:

and the Twisted Rose with a Thorn Border:

I also created a new way to join the squares, but more on that in another post.

I'll try to get a photo of the afghan tomorrow.  I hope they like it.

Peace.
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a giant spider (afghan square).

Fiber ... Saturday

Hello:

I'm catching up on the last 2 days.

Thursday
Thursdays have become really crazy busy for me, and in a wonderful way.  I started my Sewing Lab class at Lake Washington Institute of Technology 2 weeks ago.  This class is every Thursday morning from 9 - noon (with the lab open until 1 pm for those who want to stay.)  The way the class works is basically, there are lots of great sewing machines, sergers, work spaces, cutting tables, dress forms, etc. available.  If you need help with anything, especially fitting, you write your name on the list on the white board, and the teacher floats around the room helping and answering questions in order.  So far, I have been using the time to work on project bags. 

The current bag has run into a horrible snag, however.  I fell victim to the "Just one more row" syndrome.  And by that I mean, I wanted to quickly finish up one more part before leaving for the day, then made a huge mistake that will have to be ripped out.  Luckily, it was not a cutting error.  A sewing error should be easier to fix.

I'm making this circular bottom bag. 

It will have exterior pockets,

and a drawstring closure.  I'm adding piping around the bottom and between the fabric color changes. 

So, what was the mistake?  I sewed the bottom circle to the top of the exterior piece, so the pockets are upside down. 

Ugh!  And I did such a nice job of sewing the two pieces together with the piping.  Oh well, as I said, this is fixable.

I rush home from Sewing Lab, put a dinner in the oven with the timer (I LOVE MY OVEN) set to start cooking later, eat a quick lunch and head out to the local middle school where I meet with the 8th Grader I am tutoring in Algebra 1.  She is just a delightful girl.  When we finish, I drive the mile to the local high school where I help out in the Math Credit Recovery Class.  This is a class where students who have failed a semester of any high school math course can retake that semester at their own pace.  They are given packets for each chapter, then a chapter exam.  If they pass the test, they receive the next chapter, and so on, until they have completed the work for the failed semester.  They get full credit if they pass, and the grade they earned in the Credit Recovery Class will appear on their transcripts.  I walk around the room helping anyone who is stuck.  It is VERY challenging for me as the course work ranges from Algebra to Geometry to Algebra II to Pre-Calculus.  I have not done Geometry for a very long time.  I have been bringing the Braveheart socks in a small project bag with me, and am able to knit as I move  around between the rows of desks with the bag dangling from my wrist.  The kids seem fascinated by this.

I run home when the class ends, take the dinner from the oven where it is finished and on WARM.  Eat quickly, then run out again, often waiving at the Doc who is just coming home from work, and head out to our neighborhood's Club.  I meet with my neighborhood stitching group for a few hours of stitching.  The group is very small, and there are often only two of us.  But, as usual with stitching groups, it is just wonderful.  There is something so relaxing and enjoyable about sitting around a table knitting.  I love getting to know these neighbors over fiber. 

VanesaPolo, I have a funny story about the Sewing Lab for you.  A young man came in this week wearing a sweatshirt with the sleeves torn out and asked if someone could "fix" it.  The only student who knew how to use the serger was Emily.  She set it up, serged around the armholes while the boy hovered over her every move.  He seemed particularly surprised that the thread "matched."  He was really pleased with the job, thanked her and left, a very happy customer.  Everyone in the class laughed and told Emily that she should have done a bad job.  They joked that he will probably write on a bathroom wall that "torn clothes can be fixed for free at the sewing lab," and we will all be deluged with students requesting repairs.

Friday
With Redbird1 gone to the East Coast, and VanesaPolo out of town, our Fiber Friday group has become quite small.  When Skeinherder texted me that she was feeling too sick to knit (That is super sick), I knew it might just be CathieC and me, but again, stitching with just two gives a great opportunity to get to know each other better. 

I got to Crossroads at about 9 and stitched by myself.  I had to drink coffee from Crossroads Cafe instead of tea from the Hulk.  We have gotten good at letting members know when we can't make it to stitching, so I was pretty sure that CathieC was going to show up at some point, and I was making good progress on the Braveheart socks.  This was especially true as I did not have cats to let out and in, and I couldn't play on Ravelry while knitting.

Someone joined me at the table at about 10, but it wasn't CathieC.  It was the woman who had stopped by last week as we were all knitting.  I didn't ask her if I could mention her in the Blog, so I will wait to use her name, but we had a great time getting to know each other.  She was working on a very sweet baby blanket.  Then CathieC came, and it just got better.  She was working on her potato chip scarf, which is getting nice and long. 

After the new person left, CathieC and I started discussing the "homework" for the Eastside Knitters Guild meeting this coming Monday.  We decided to head out to Pacific Fabrics to buy some Cascade 220 yarn for the necessary swatches, a nice light color and a good contrast since we are learning shoulder seaming.  The Bellevue Pacific Fabrics has a very small yarn section, but they carry Cascade, and so, are a close quick stop for that workhorse yarn. 

I left CathieC using the swift and Yarn Winder when my daughter, Moogie, texted me that she had a paper due that needed some quick editing.
 
I knit a bit more, but spent most of the evening trying to recreate a square that I hooked earlier in the week for the 1st Anniversary afghan.  Of course I hadn't taken notes as I designed the square, but I really like how it came out, and wanted to write up the pattern.  I made a few revisions, but have the pattern finished, and ready for testing.  

Since I made a Costco run earlier this week, and picked up supplies for Allifer, I might make her do the test hook as payment.  That seems like a fair trade.

I am still waiting for the next round in Sock Madness to begin.  I hope to make some real progress on the Braveheart socks today, at least 3 inches on the legs.  I have closed the gussets,

so now, it is just around and around until they are long enough.  The Doc likes his socks to be 9 in in the legs, eek!, so I better get to work.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the world with a new square.