Category Archive: Knitting
Yarn day
Remember these socks. The toes were shot, so I just ripped them back to where the toe decreases started. Then they sat for the longest time. I looked for the original yarn but it has been a long, long time and I didn’t find it.
I really love these socks and yes, they are a bit worn, but I added new toes – who will see them in the shoes – and now they will take me through some more years.
For those who don’t know, this is called a “swift”. Yarn that comes in hanks must be made into “cakes” or balls to use it.
I usually put an empty toilet paper tube on the winder before winding as it is easier to pull off.
These balls were 100g so approximated the size, then weighed them. I was hoping for 40 and 60 oz balls out of each hank. I usually have a some left over and am hoping that it will be in one piece for whatever I choose to make. I am now ready to knit the next three pair of socks -think 3 months or more with canning season slowly starting.
Then it was off to get some items at the grocery store and to bring my sewing machine back from the “hospital”. Now both of them are home again and I trust in good working condition.
Sox and errands
I’m really happy about how these three yarns worked together. As well, I ran out of the first two yarns and only have some of the toe yarn left.
It’s too bad, I didn’t remember to take a photo of my car before I emptied it. We sold our parrot nest boxes. The buyer insisted I deliver them which was about an hour each way. However, sometimes you do what you really don’t want to do. And I did want to get these boxes moved on. The car was so loaded that there was not enough room for anything else plus I could not see out the back or passenger side. I was unwilling to make 2 trips, so I stayed in the right lane and fortunately, though it was a long way, half of the roads were straight country roads.. I made it there without encountering much traffic. Then the buyer said to me ” I thought you had a truck” But he never asked me. People just make too many assumptions. However, that is one more job taken care of. Now I need to advertise some other items that we seem to be storing.
It’s not Friday?
I have been working all day trying to get everything done, thinking this was Friday. The laundry is done, bed has clean sheets, floors are mostly done, oven is cleaned, watering is done. I still have meals to prepare and a kitchen floor to clean. Does this mean I’ll actually get sewing time tomorrow. I won’t count on it, but would love it if I did.
Progress is very slow on these socks as ideally one has to sit down. I am nearly to the toe decrease and once there, the socks get done rapidly.
This little fellow and friend have visited us several times today. He is a black headed grosbeak and loves sunflower seeds. He tosses the other seeds overboard.
And look! This plant volunteered in the hoop house this year. It is right at the top and will be a delightful treat for these birds.
s
Clown socks
This yarn is strange. I’m wondering if someone who was at the controls was also on substance. The top sock in the photo is of the sock as looking down on it, and the bottom one is of the bottom of the sock.
. I changed to the last two skeins where the red on the toe begins. But why would the entire two skeins be like the heel and part way down the socks and then change to this pattern. Can you make sense of it? And both skeins were identical.
as
June 17 recap
I’ve pushed hard this week to finish two flimsies – one is 73″ square and the other is 59 x71″ And the report is in for the test quilt.
.
Today there were two potato casseroles made – one for Father’s day and one for us, plus I cleaned 6 gallon bags of picked greens. Tomorrow, I will grab some from each bag and combine for a salad for the celebration.
The garden is doing good. The hoop house with 7 zones needs daily watering and the big garden will need watering after the rains cease. I let someone else pick the pea pods for their use as I just didn’t keep up – especially between the rain squalls. The strawberries are on their way out and the raspberries are coming in good. I didn’t get to the blueberries today, but they are just starting, so they can wait until Sunday and the rest of the lavender will also wait. The peppers need to be tied up – maybe Monday. I did plant carrots in the hoop house for a winter picking. The zucchini are so huge, I think they are trying to be tropical plants. There are 6 4-5″ zucchinis growing. And the cauliflowers are starting tiny little flowers in the middle.
The bees have been checked for this week. I added a box to their unit and set up two new hives if they would like to swarm – which doesn’t guarantee they will stay here, but as they are in the peak laying time as well as honey collection time with blackberries blooming, I don’t want to bother them.
The floors are mopped. Can I just say that I am collecting dust? That didn’t get done, but DH was good enough to clean the bathrooms, so we are ready for the weekend. Housework is one of those things that waits until it is so bad, I don’t feel I have a choice. But I am so thankful to have a roof and things to clean that it doesn’t seem like a chore – just a priority matter.
Today I had a man here to help with some of the larger and heavier pots that needed to be transplanted, but the rain got in the way, so he will be back to help on Monday. Last week he cut down most of the nettles and blackberries, which is a great help. At our speed, we can’t do it all by ourselves, so we do hire out the more difficult jobs. Knowing that moving and using our muscles keeps us younger longer, we do as much ourselves as time allows.
When I needed a break, I did knit couple rows on the socks. But 2 days this week, I didn’t get all my steps in so I will have to work harder on that next week.
These days so much of our time hinges around the gardens and soon will include saving the produce for winter. So even though we are constantly busy, it sometimes seems we get nothing done, because we start again the next day. I am very thankful that we are able to have the gardens with their produce.
This is what we found when we went into the hay building. Isn’t she a beautiful bird? Sadly for her, we took the eggs. We no longer have a rooster, nor do we want more chickens right now, and we do have someone who wants the eggs.
Summer socks again
This bit of unused yarn from a pair of socks is a very soft yarn from Lorna’s Laces. I made a full pair of socks from this yarn which I absolutely loved. However, last winter when I washed several pair of socks, the pair vanished. I have looked everywhere for them and they haven’t shown up. So, I will see how far I can get with the yarn left and finish with another yarn. I understand a single sock disappearing, but a pair of socks, where ever could they have gone?
Today I picked the first head of cabbage out of the hoop house. It’s a small one, but was really good in
the stir fry we had for lunch. This included pea pods, Swiss chard, and garlic scapes from the garden. From the store we added onion, cauliflower and celery which needed to be used. It was delicious!
Red varigated summer socks
We get venison scraps in the fall for our dogs. They come packaged in the large banana boxes with 40-50# of meat in a box, frozen. So when we have room for separate packages in the “dog” freezer, we thaw it out and repackage it into daily portions. This was one of the morning chores today.
When that was done, I started another pair of short summer socks, because after counting, I need at least another 5 pair for this summer. One should not have to wash more than once a week and then sometimes, it is a tad longer. So rummaging through the scraps, I like this variegated red yarn and had this other yarn that had some of the reds along with whites and blues. I took time to go to the dentist and when I returned, I definitely needed something to sit and do. I have just finished the heel and picked up the instep heel. If this isn’t enough yarn (after weighing), I’ll look for another solid to go with them. Or maybe the blue-gray and white that I have would work.
How many of you are now knitting socks – even summer socks? And how many of you are mixing the yarn left from other socks to make a new pair? I’d like to think that I have company.
An ordinary summer day
Watering takes priority when it’s hot, so as soon as breakfast is over, the watering started in the hoop house. While watering, I found the first zucchini. Yes, it was small, but it was part of our lunch salad. There are 2 more out there half this size and I will let them get a bit larger. But as you know zucchini are prolific, so I’m getting a head start on them. I worked on the tomatoes for some time, taking off suckers and put the ties around them so they don’t crash. Many of them are now in bloom.
(Oh, yes, a load of laundry was started before going out to water – can’t have a dryer adding heat to the house later)
Yoga is on our Monday morning list to do, so we went to that. We went to bed sore, so I couldn’t believe I wasn’t sore from all of yesterday, however, I’m very happy about that.
After Yoga was lunch time. And then we both took an hour nap which is not normal. I think yesterday was a bit strenuous. DH fertilized the outside hill garden, and will water it later this evening. And I can’t forget that we get our steps in each day. 10,000 steps takes a bit of time.
Finally a time for crafts – sewing etc. I finished this box stitch wash cloth and sewed a little.
Then it was supper time and after that supper and bed for the animals. That brings us to our on-line Bible study after which I will put some lettuce seed in the hoop house to get a new crop. Oh, and then I get to water the front yard. (And some days we get to water grapes and blueberry bushes, which we are so blessed to have.) I really like the rain to come about twice a week.
By then we are exhausted and as I look back through the day, it doesn’t seem as if we got much done, because the next day, we start all over again and do most of the same things again. Does this sound familiar to you. If it does, know you are not alone. Even so, I love summer time.
A Barn Door
I am so excited about getting this barn door. It will make life when I need to work with the sheep. They won’t be able to escape their pen when trying to get one in. We were going to put up a new small barn, but we would have had to ask for a variance and then it would have cost more money than we wanted to spend. So after much thought, we have cleaned this old aviary out and had this door made. We will put in 3 lambing stall across the back a gate across the outside sleeping area and I will be a very happy person. And so will DH since it is so much less expensive.
