Life is Sweet

Me & Bugs = Trouble

I am trying very hard to become a gardener. I honestly don’t believe that one becomes a gardener, though. I believe one is born a gardener. It’s like being a priest or something. You have a calling, and you follow it.

I really hate everything to do with gardening. I hate the dust, the dirt, the bugs, the bees, the spiders, the wasps, the milipeeds, the bugs, the bees, oh and the spiders. I just simply hate it.

Okay, I do like the birds. We have the most amazing display of crazy birds in our yard, thanks to our neighbor. His yard is certified as a bird sanctuary in the State of Washington. I only know what his backyard looks like from having climbed my fence and peeked over. It’s amazing. I joke to my hubby that the birds are hanging in the ghetto when they come to our yard.

Last night we balled up tufts of our dog’s fur (it’s really nice stuff) and the swifts swooped down and almost plucked it from our fingers. We ate dinner while the American Goldfinches played in the trees and hummingbirds dived-bombed everything in sight. Just a few minutes ago I watched a mature bald eagle fly right over my house, being chased by about 40 pissed-off crows. Aww, the birds.

But, seriously, the bugs. Ick. I spend my entire time in the garden screaming and running in circles to get away from some creepy crawly thing. I don’t think I’ll ever learn to embrace this art.

Upcoming knitting meet-up

Attention all Bremerton-area knitters! There is a meet-up on Monday, June 11 from 1:30-3:00. The “Purls of Wisdom” group meets at the Downtown Bremerton Library, 612 5th Street (377-3955).

Bring any needlework project, hang, chat, visit, learn and make new friends. They also have a great collection of knitting and crochet books.

Yorkshire Yarns grand opening

Attention Seattle-area knitters! There is a new yarn shop in town and you are invited to its grand opening.

Check it out: June 14-16 (Thurs-Sat), 10-6 daily.

Yorkshire Yarns
7504 86TH ST. SW #150
Lakewood, WA 98498
(253)589-9276

There will be bevies, appetizers, door prizes and specials throughout the day. Oh, and my favorite part, a live alpaca on site!

Seed stitch baby booties

Another pattern for all of you knitters! This is one of my adaptation of a popular baby bootie pattern. It is knit in one piece, in seed stitch. I used a novelty yarn called “Coral” on the top & tie. If you leave off the novelty yarn, you shouldn’t change needle size on the cuff. Happy knitting!

Coral Dreams Seed Stitch Baby Booties

Materials needed
1 ball of Plymouth Yarn “Dreambaby D.K” (183 yds.)
1 ball of Universal Yarn “Coral” (142 yds.)

1 pair of size us 3 double-pointed needles (DPNs)
1 pair of size us 4 DPNs
Spare needle size us 5

Other materials needed: Crochet hook size F (optional), tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Gauge: 6 stitches = 1″ in seed stitch using size us 3 needles.

Abbreviations
BOR=Beginning of round
K=Knit, P=Purl
P2tog=Purl two stitches together
P2togTBL=Purl two stitches together through back loop
M1=Make one by picking up loop from row below & knitting into back of stitch.
K2tog = knit next two stitches together
YO= yarn over

Begin sole
Using one strand of Dreambaby D.K. and smaller needles, cast on 7 stitches. Knit back and forth on these 7 stitches for 30 rows (15 garter ridges).

Begin sides
Next row: (you will be moving in a counter-clockwise path)
With second dpn, pick up and knit 14 stitches along next edge.
With third dpn, pick up and knit 7 stitches along cast-on edge.
With fourth dpn, pick up and knit 13 stitches along other long edge.

Place safety pin or locking marker here to indicate BOR.

Round 1: *K1, P1, repeat from *, ending with K1
Round 2: *P1, K1, repeat from *, ending with P1

Repeat rounds 1 & 2 for a total of 7 times, ending with round 2.

Begin instep
Seed stitch across needles 1 & 2 (as round 1 above)

On needle 3: [P1, K1] 3 times, then slip last stitch onto needle four and P2tog onto needle 3.

Turn, working back across needle 3, repeat this row. Except when you slip the last stitch onto needle 2, you will P2togTBL back onto needle 3.

Repeat these two rows, working back and forth across needle 3, decreasing one stitch on needles 2 & 4 each row for a total of 5 times. (8 stitches will remain on needle 2 and 7 stitches on needle 4)

Begin cuff
Move safety pin or locking stitch marker here to indicate new BOR.

Seed stitch back across needle 3. M1 (between needles 3 & 2), putting new stitch onto needle 2. Knit across needles 2, 1 & 4. M1 between needles 4 & 3 (putting new stitch on needle 3).

You will now be knitting every round.

Knit two rounds even.

Make eyelets
*K2, YO, K2tog, repeat from * all the way around

Knit one round even.

Next round: Change to size 4 needles and add one strand of Coral to the Dreambaby. Knit every round until cuff measures 2″. Using spare size us 5 needle, cast off all stitches.

Finishing
Weave in ends. Make I-cord for tie or crochet chain for ties. Lace through eyelets.

Download printable version of pattern (MS Word)

Putting to rest Sweet Stitch

For those of you who frequented my web site sweetstitch.com, I have news for you. As of the second week of June, sweetstitch.com will be no more.

Because one of the most popular areas of the site were the free patterns (even though there were only two!), I’ve decided to begin offering free patterns here on my Blog. I hope this will give you reason to visit and keep in touch!

Thanks to everyone for making sweetstitch.com such a success. At times we had over 45,000 hits per month with page views in the thousands. Wow! That’s more than I ever would have imagined. I kept the site up for four years. It will be sad to say good bye.

Leaf Stem bookmark

If you have lots of small scraps (and I mean small! Like 10 yards or less) lying around that you want to use up … and you need to create some quick gifts, here is a pattern you will love.

The Leaf Stem Bookmark

Uses approximately 7 yds. of DK-weight yarn
Needle size: Two double-pointed needles (DPNs) size 4 or 5

Begin stem
Cast on 4 stitches. Work in I-cord for 7″. On last row of I-cord, increase 1 stitch (K1, KFB, K3)

Begin leaf
Row 1: K2, YO, K1, YO, K2 (7 stitches)
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12: Purl
Row 3: K3, YO, K1, YO, K3 (9 stitches)
Row 5: K4, YO, K1, YO, K4 (11 stitches)
Row 7: SSK, K7, K2tog (9 stitches)
Row 9: SSK, K5, K2tog (7 stitches)
Row 11: SSK, K3, K2tog (5 stitches)
Row 13: SSK, K1, K2tog (3 stitches)
Row 14: Slip 1 (purlwise), P2tog, PSSO

Fasten off & weave in ends.

Abbreviations

K= Knit
P = Purl
KFB = Knit into front & back of same stitch (increase)
YO = Yarn over (bring yarn forward as if to purl)
SSK = Slip one knitwise, slip another knitwise, put left needle tip through two slipped stitches & knit together as one
K2tog = Knit two stitches together
P2tog = Purl two stitches together
PSSO = Pass slipped stitch over & drop off needle

Download printable version of pattern [MS Word document]

New yarn and more

Made a little trip to the Allyn Knit Shop on Thursday with mon amie and got some new funky sock yarn. TOFUtsies from SWTC not only is 50% Superwash Wool, 25% SOYSILK (made from TOFU) brand fiber, 22.5% Cotton, but also includes 2.5% Chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells). Chitin apparently has anti-bacterial qualities, perfect for socks! I’m so excited to try out this yarn. But I’m going to be a good girl and finish my husband’s STEP socks first.

Had my first knit night (kind of) at my house on Friday. I wanted to invite tons more people, but I worried about space. So I just invited a very small group, and it was very comfortable. Made me realize I could easily have more, too. I really want to start a Sunday group. We’ll see.

And so it begins…

It’s time to have a blog. A real blog. Not just a LiveJournal that I only update once a year.

I recently closed my business of three years and have joined the ranks of the unemployed. With Washington State experiencing its lowest unemployment rate since 1983, I am a little worried about job hunting. I feel like I have a rich and varied employment background, and I know I am a great employee. I’m just wondering how long it’s going to take my next employer to realize this!

While this is all at the forefront of my mind, I am managing to enjoy the heck out of the time off. I haven’t had a break like this since I was a junior in high school. Thanks to my wonderfully supportive husband, I can take it easy, get things done around the house, and enjoy lots of quality time with our elderly dog, Grandma Abby.

On the needles

Since I am a knitter, I should be writing about some knitting!

I am currently working on two projects. My “big” project is the Artists Coat from Rowan Classic Yarns, using their Luxury Cotton DK. I have the fronts and back done. I’m planning to seam the shoulders and do the neck/front finishing before starting the sleeves. This isn’t exactly the usual order of things, but I really enjoy a break from the knitting, also I know for sure that I’ll have enough yarn and not run out before the neckline is done!

My other project is a pair of socks for the hubby made from Austermann’s STEP yarn which has aloe and jojoba oil for yummy softness and foot nourishment. They claim the nutrients stay in the yarn for up to 30 washings. I really love the colors. More pictures to come!