By Tanya

This is a site to catelog, track and share all the various projects I create. It is intended to share and log successes and failures of my various craft projects. Soon you will see Handmade Cards, Knitting projects, Scrapbook pages, and Quilting projects, to name a few.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Rest in peace, beloved mittens


I came home from work yesterday to find my mitten hanging from these flowers. As I approached it I realized it was now a former mitten as it was in shambles. I don't have definitive proof of this, but my darling year old dog Clancy is the number one suspect. I can picture him chewing the mitten and then fligging it around like he does his toys, and that would be how it came to land in the flowers. At least these mittens had a long life. I think they were over 10 years old because I made them while I was in University. May they rest in peace.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

My French Market bag is famous

Well it's not really famous, but it did get posted on to the HandMaiden blog and is along side some pretty awesome projects. Too bad I can't spell (if you read the posting you'll know what I mean).

Lovely Lace Socks are wearable


I finished the Lovely Green Lace Socks so I can work on the Wobbly Circle bag with no guilt of this unfinished project in the knitting basket. They are the perfect spring socks! I wore them on Monday to work and had 'happy feet' all day.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Touring on a Sunny Saturday

It has been a beautiful Saturday... finally the sun is shining and it feels like spring again. The week long of cold rain was starting to really be a damper.

My husband, Troy, and I set out to have an artsie tour this afternoon. We stopped at the Art Shack, a local art store in town, followed by the Dieppe Farmers market. I love the coffee at the market! I picked up some Wolfhead salmon which is a real treat. I first tried it at the Moncton Wine & Food show. It's the best smoked salmon around... can't wait to have some tonight with a nice glass of red wine... oooh!

Our final destination was London-Wul, of course. Troy had never been there and I really wanted him to understand why it is an accomplishment when I come home from there with only one ball of yarn! That is a real struggle when I'd like to buy every color of every type. Troy loved the place! He took pictures of everything colorful, which is almost everything in the shop, mostly because he was just in a picture taking mood (I think it was the sunny day, spurs on his photography side). My favorite and his was the Fleece Artist Sea Silk in a pink and green color (worth enlarging the photo). Maybe I'll get that as a surprise present someday, it would be even better than flowers (hint to Troy if you are reading).



My goal at the wool store was to pick up the yarn required to make the Wobbly Circles Tote from the Spring Interweave magazine. I'm using the Lopi yarn and there was a great selection of colors. So many in fact that I had to enlist a couple of fellow knitters to help me choose. I'm very happy with my selections and I think I'll start on it tonight (even though I should be finishing the Lovely lace sock, 1 inch until the toe).

March Thimbleberry block is Complete

Success! I finished the March Thimbleberry block this morning, only one month late.
It looks a little skewed in the picture, but I measured it out and it is the proper size so I can straighten it out when I frame it.
And I got a start on the April block. The pieces are all cut and ready to sew. My plan is to get the April block actually finished IN April.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Quilting excitement

I've got the quilting bug again!

I took a vacation day today with plans of getting up, making a big pot of coffee and settling down to make the Thimbleberry block for March. Considering it's now the middle of April, I was anxious to get started on it. My day did not start off like that at all.

Troy missed the bus! Now I had to jump out of bed at 8am, throw on some clothes (warm ones cause it was freezing) and drive him to work. This required a stop at Tim Hortons and we grabbed coffees and I dropped him off. I figured since I was already out of the house I'd make a trip to the grocery store then to the Quiltery where I wanted to pick up April's block material. My day had taken a complete turn, but it proved out to be a great thing. I took my time at the grocery store (bought supplies for Lasagna which is in the oven now, yum) and ended up at the Quiltery at about 10 am. It turns out that the Thimbleberry group meeting was this morning! I never go because I am always working on Friday mornings... but this was my chance to get to show off my blocks and see what others were working on. I quickly drove home (it's really close) and picked up my blocks and headed back. Too bad I didn't have time to shower, oh well. First impressions are not that important, right?

It was very inspiring to see what the other members are doing. Not all of them are using the Thimbleberry material, one lady is making the quilt with all Halloween material, what a difference. Here is my material for the borders and the next 2 blocks. Some had already framed their blocks in. It was fun to chat with them and it got me excited to do my blocks and get them framed. And I got the material for April's block, which contains a beautiful blue with yellow daisy piece.

Pink felted flower

I decided to add an embellishment to the Pink Market Bag. I had a pattern from patons to make a felted flower that is so easy. Unfortunately I ran out of the ran and could only make 4 petals. I think it still looks ok, but just in case I just pinned it on so it's completely removable. I gave it to a friend as a gift so I wasn't sure if she'd like the flower like I did or not.

Here is the completed bag, flower and all!

Monday, April 17, 2006

Hot Pink French Market Bag



Hot pink French market bag is now completed! Still a little damn, but finished non-the-less.
I got this pattern from kitty.com and used Fleece Artist yarn for it. I love that yarn! It was so soft and nice to work with, plus the colors... WOW. It was a shame to felt it because it is such soft wool, but it felted really really well.


It only took less than one agitation cycle in my washer and it felted perfectly. I want to make this bag again, but next time I would make it deeper. The pattern calls for 9" deep, but says you can knit more. I recommend that, but you would need more than just one Fleece Artist skein. I just had enough to complete the bag.

I forgot to post this purse... I felted it a few weeks ago. I really like the colors. It still needs a button to be complete.

Tip of the Day

Here is an archive of the Tip of the Day:

April 14
Use the proper length of needles to have a more pleasurable experience when knitting. For example, for sock knitting use 5" double pointed needles. Check out the lengths at Brittany

April 17
When following a chart, use a large post-it note to mark the row you are on. It doubles as a place to jot down notes as well.

April 19

Always use the yarn end from inside the ball. It is easy to get hold of if you are careful, and stops the ball rolling about when you pull it out. This prevents the yarn getting twisted/untwisted and getting dirty.

April 21
Measure, measure and measure when pieces for a quilt top. At EVERY step measure what you have done so far and make sure it is on track.

April 26
When knitting a pattern out of a book or magazine, make a photocopy so it's easier to transport and saves the book or mag from weathering.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Week of woe

I ventured over to London-Wul on Wednesday night for their advanced knitters get together. It was so nice to take the time for myself and relax with other like minded knitters. I learned some new things also, as always. Amazing that there is always more to learn about knitting!

After a fabulous night of knitting I was driving home and SMASH, I hit a car that was turning left right in front of me. Totally their fault, and there were witnesses to prove this. But it ruined by terrific, stress free, relaxing night. I think I was more mad about that fact then the fact that the front passenger side of my car is now completely missing.

Everything is ok now... Car is at the shop, I have a rental and the insurance is taking care of everything. I'm very glad no one was hurt either. Unfortunately, I'm working all weekend so not much good news (or knitting news) to speak of. Next week will be better, it has to be....

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Weekend of knitting

This weekend has been full of knitting maddness!

First event was that I finished the first Simply Lace Sock. I really like it and it fits perfect... but... I would choose not to do the picot top the next time. I think the ribbing would have been a better choice for form fitting your leg. But I'm not starting over.

Now the challenge is to start the second sock so I have a pair for spring time. I took one step towards this, and one step back today. I did go to buy the second skein I needed to complete the second sock, so I am one step closer. I learned something neat too, which I guess is common sense but I'd never thought about it. You can weigh the finished item (sock in this case) and then weigh the remainder of the ball of yarn you have left to determine if you have enough to make the item. In this case, my sock weighed 32 oz and the remaining ball was 20 oz... so I had to buy another. Of course you need a pretty accurate scale for this, but it saves the unsure guessing.

Second event of the weekend was that I started and COMPLETED a felted purse in the flap style. This is my second one like this. The first one I used Lopi and this one I used wool from Japan called Noro Kureyon. They both turned out really well... the Lopi is very fuzzy compared to the Noro yarn, so it is really a personal prefeLinkrence which one is better, and I guess depends on the project too. I love the colors in this wool.

Third event: I sold a pair of Thrummed Mittons to my brother-in-law! I wasn't even trying to make a sale... he saw them and loved them for a friend and that was that. These were my first and only thrummed mittons, but I do have supplies to make another pair in green. I think that will have to wait for mitten season.

Fourth event: Knitting Group trip to London Wul Store! Line and Calleen joined me in an adventurous Sunday afternoon trip out to the farm and store. Calleen had never been there before and she really liked the dog, Angus, the biggest Nfld dog ever and Osira is was around. He is the friendliest bird I've ever met, and also the first bird I've every met.

Now for this coming week I have a very pink felted bag under way. I'm using the pink yarn I bought earlier. I'm using a pattern from kitty.com as a start. The yarn is from Fleece Artist and is awesome to work with and the color is fabulous.


One last item for this weekend is that I picked up 2 beautifully colored skeins of Briggs and Little Sport yarn. Not sure yet what the plan is for these but I might give the 2 round needle sock trick a try with these. The colors scream spring to me, so I'll have to do a lacy pair of socks to wear on the cool days of spring, maybe in a stripe pattern so I can use both colors together. I'm now in search of a pattern.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

First class complete

Yeah! My first MBA class, Management, is complete! I have one month to catch up on all my crafting projects before the next classes start. Problem is that April looks like it's going to be a busy month.

I have some Quilting in the wings waiting to be completed. The March block for the Thimbleberries quilt is still sitting in the bag from the store. I'm going to try to get a start on that this weekend.

I also want to make some more felted bags. I have the wool for them now I just have to find the time. Socks and bags are my new passions! I've been reading about how to make socks on 2 round needles, and you can make 2 socks at the same time... that really intrigues me. I have to give it a try. There is a pattern for this on kitty.com http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTstraightlaced.html

Monday, April 03, 2006

A little bit of green


I love the color green! Especially this shade. Here is the yarn before I balled it up that I'm going to make the "Lovely Lace socks" with. I've started them and turned the heel. I'm probably half way into the instep. They are slow to knit since this is fingering weight yarn and the needles are only 2.25mm. Tiny! I love the feel of the yarn though, really nice stuff.


While I was at London Wul I picked up this ball of pink wool that is supposed to be great for felting. It is a huge skein and cost a lot! I was looking for a bright pink to make a bag for a friend of mine that loves pink, and this is definitely a bright color. It's very summery. Don't know yet what I'm going to make with it, so for now it's added to the stash.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Spring has sprung

The weather is inspiring me to knit some spring items. I picked up the Spring edition of Interweave and found some great items I plan to make.





The reason I picked up the magazine in the first place was because someone showed me the "Wobbly Circles Tote" and I loved it. Not sure yet if I'll do the whole pattern or just use the pattern for the shape of the bag, but it's definitely on my todo list.




First I'm going to make these "Simply Lovely Lace Socks". I picked up the yarn in green at today at London Wul. They had the exact yarn mentioned in the pattern.. if they turn out I might have to go back because some of the colors (pinks, blues especially) really caught my eye.