Solids and Stripes for Love-Squared Challenge!

I've posted here before about knitting and crocheting squares for different organizations to be made into blankets for children at homeless shelters in the winter.  One of my favorite sites is Love-Squared which is based in Michigan.  They have a network of volunteers who sew the donated squares into blankets and distribute them across shelters in Michigan and other states.  They've been having a 'challenge' to see which type of square they receive the most -- solid or striped.  Both are very welcome -- this is just for fun.  

My stash in July.

I've been switching back and forth between knitting and crocheting 8" by 8" squares for months.  The pic above was what I had accumulated by July.  Since then I've added more squares to the pile whenever I have some spare time to work on them.  The pic below is the pile I have now.  There are 23 in this pile and I'm working on number 24.

23 finished squares as of today.

If you have some time -- and can 'spare a square' -- this is a great way to contribute to a worthy cause. I usually send extra skeins of yarn along with my squares to be used to seam the squares into blankets but you can just send squares or even skeins of yarn you aren't using.  From one to hundreds, Love-Squared gratefully accepts all squares.  I wouldn't suggest using cotton yarn due to shrinkage when washed (the water might NOT be cold!) but any type of acrylic or acrylic blend works nicely.

The deadline for this 'challenge' is September 30th but they need squares all year-round.  The solids vs. stripes is really just for fun although Love-Squared will post which type 'wins' with the most donated.  Here is their site on Facebook -- Love-Squared.  You can find everything you need to know to help out this wonderful group!  Now, back to knitting...

Can you spare a square?

As I've posted at various times over the past few years, Linda, Duane and I knit and/or crochet for various charities.  The one we started making items for is Knit A Square where you knit or crochet 8 by 8 inch squares which are then sewn into blankets for orphans of AIDS in Africa.  This is a really worthy charity and we sent quite a few squares but, eventually, we found the expense of shipping to Africa to be too much.  We also made items such as hats, scarves and fingerless gloves for the group The Humble Stitch for several years but the group has been less active lately.  (Remember, these people are ALL volunteers.) 

We know that we have local groups like Metropolitan Ministries which are happy to receive finished hats, scarves, gloves, etc., but I wondered if there were any groups for basic squares.  I searched the 'net and found Love Squared.  The main address is in Michigan (Linda's home state!) and they will take 8 by 8 inch squares made of any type of yarn and pattern, crocheted, knitted, etc.  They also accept yarn donations.  The ladies of Love Squared sew the squares into blankets for children in homeless shelters.  They also operate in states other than Michigan.  So far, we've sent them one package of squares and some skeins of yarn.  Well, lately, I started making squares again.  It's relaxing to do while watching TV at night and I can crochet or knit one in a very short amount of time.  Below is what I have at this point.

Linda and Duane will be helping out, too, and we should have a nice number of squares to send to Love Squared.  It's so nice after a day of recording and/or editing sound files to just relax and enjoy the zen of soft yarn and the idea of helping others -- even in this small way.   

Two Friday Estate Sales

From sale no.1.

Yesterday morning Duane, Linda, and I set out for two large estate sales.  One was a 'living' estate sale because the owner, an artist, was in the process of moving to a much smaller place.  She had not only her own art and antiques but she was a collector, too.

Much of her own painting consisted of delicate work on pieces of white china.  It was a large house for one person but she had used one of the bedrooms as a studio.  Other rooms held a large number of vintage books, particularly children's books, along with various ceramics, clocks, and household items.

Linda found a beautiful enamel on metal shallow bowl made in Austria.
She also purchased a vintage book.  Duane found two small pieces to add
to her Delft ware collection -- a tiny hanging tile and a toothpick holder.

Sale no.1 -- lots of candlewick dinnerware.

I found a beautiful piece of coral -- it's a rose coral fossil.  This artist had collected fossils along with her other passions.

 Sale no.1 -- cabinet containing the fossils.

           

Sale no.1 -- the artist's home studio.

Sale no.1 -- lots of vintage books.

The first sale had begun at 8am.  After we left it, we were close enough to the second sale to make it before it began at 9am.  This was a 'dead' estate sale and everything had to go.  Lots of furniture, china, ceramics, etc.

Sale no.2 -- lots of everything.

The second sale had a lot of nice items, too, but Linda and I ended up buying a cache of yarn and some vintage needles.  The yarn we may divvy up or just send all of it to the latest place we've been knitting and crocheting squares to make blankets.  They'll take finished 8 inch squares and/or yarn donations and we're happy to oblige.  They're called Love-Squared.   Here's their Facebook page.  

After our shopping, we had lots of time for our usual refreshments.  We spent so long talking about various subjects that we were still there when lunch time rolled around to we had lunch together, too.  A terrific day!

Our purchases.

   

A closer look at my coral fossil and Duane's Delft pieces.

Estate Sales and an update on Duane's home office

Duane, Linda, and I hit the road early this morning to get to three estate sales that were being held in the south part of town.  The first sale was a small house that had belonged to a 93 year old lady.  She had nice things but I was the only one who bought anything.  She had been a knitter and I bought a parcel of a mixture of vintage knitting needles and stitch holders.  I love knitting with plastic and bakelite needles so I'm keeping most of those and I'll be sending the extra needles to The Humble Stitch Project for other volunteers to use. 

Our second stop.

The next house was a pretty Spanish style one with lots of nice things.  We got there later since all three sales started at 8am and we couldn't be three places at one time.  This person had wonderful items.  Nice art and furniture and some Jonathan Adler ceramics!  Linda and I each bought an Adler vase.  They were the last two -- all of the other Adler items had been sold.  I've been collecting his pieces for years including just before he became really popular.  (I have one couture piece that he made himself and signed.  I don't think I could afford it now!)  I bought a green vase and Linda bought a goldish/brown one in the abacus pattern.  The prices were fantastic.  Really sorry we missed out on all of the white and lime green pieces.  The owner of this house also had beautiful box framed specimens of insects and butterflies, too.

House no.2 -- nice art.

By the time we got to the third house, which was actually a townhouse, the pickings were pretty slim.  However we felt pretty lucky with our finds from sale number 2.  Our only complaint was that the same company was handling the sales for houses 2 and 3.  This meant a LONG line to check out with only one person doing the work at the second house.  Not a good idea to stretch yourselves that thin, guys.  Lots of grumbling in the line.  Good thing the stuff was nice!

Our buys.

After we hit the third sale, we headed to the Starbucks near Duane for our usual refreshment and gabfest.  Then when we drove back to Duane's house, she showed us what she had purchased during the week from one of our favorite antique/vintage shops, D & D  Antiques.  Duane has been slowly but surely getting her home office/art studio into shape (see blog post here).  She found two shabby chic style chairs at D & D and they look great in her office.  She had also purchased an upholstered chair a few weeks ago from a local thrift store that she's using for a desk chair.  Now she's just looking for a rug to finish off the office.  She still has a lot of sorting and organizing to do in the art studio section but her office is now ready for the three of us to get together and knit, snack, and gab.  Some of the things we do best.

Duane's office desk chair.

Shabby chic chairs on opposite sides of the room.

Knitted Christmas tree ornaments and a new audiobook on the way...

Last year I decided to start making the Christmas ornaments that I attach to the gifts of my three young nieces who are now 7, 6 and 4 years old.  I crocheted an Amigurumi Santa ornament last year (see this post) and this year I knitted Christmas trees.  These were a little bigger than I thought they would be although the size does match what's listed in the pattern.  The pattern from Yarnspirations  is here.  I made three of these and the only problem I encountered was the best way to sew the back and front of the tree together.  The pattern isn't very specific so I used the main color of yarn and a large smooth pointed silver needle to whip around the edges.  I don't think that's how it was done for the ones in the picture of the pattern but that's what I did. I would have preferred for the edges to look a little neater but wasn't sure how to do that unless I used an actual needle and thread to sew them up.  Oh well, here's a pic of one of them -- all done!

My other bit of news is that my recording of The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola is now in post-production and should be for sale on Audible soon.  This is the book that the PBS Masterpiece Classic series "The Paradise" was based on.  I'll post here when it's officially for sale.

Estate Sale Saturday -- Beaucoup Yarn!

Duane and I hit several estate sales this morning.  Linda wasn't with us today -- she has company from out of town AND today's her birthday.  Happy Birthday, Linda!  (We'll be celebrating her birthday later this week or next weekend.)  Duane and I both found a few things at the first couple of sales but the last one was the best.  HUGE amount of yarn along with knitting needles and crochet hooks.  We'll be sharing our spoils with Linda when we see her and there's plenty for all three of us plus lots of yarn to send with the skeins we already have set aside for The Humble Stitch. 

First up are the items we found that were NOT yarn.  Duane's grandson has begun working for Home Depot and she came across a Home Depot picture frame (no kidding -- it's orange with the logo, etc.) and bought it to place a picture of her grandson in his uniform in it.  Then at the next stop, I found a beautifully framed and signed rendering of a building in Bonn-Bad Godesberg from Germany.  The couple having the sale had spent years going back and forth between the U.S. and Europe due to the man's work with U.S. Customs.  I'm going to do a little research to see if I can figure out the artist's name.  It's difficult to read the signature.  I also found a copy of a book that I'd like to eventually record for LibriVox It's a 1908 reprint of a book published in 1903 and hasn't been recorded yet for the LibriVox catalog.  It's going into my pile of 'books for LibriVox when I get a break from paid recordings.'  I with I could do both at the same time but I've found that it's discombobulating to go back and forth between books.  I prefer recording one at a time.

Our last stop was the best.  The lady who had lived in the house had quite a few books and, lucky for us, did a lot of knitting and crocheting.  We filled the trunk of my Mini with bags of yarn, crochet thread and needles and hooks.  It's going to be fun for the three of us to sort it all out and decide what each of us wants to work with.  Duane also found several books so we left the sale with a number of bags.

Afterwards, we headed back to Duane's part of town to hit Starbucks for some coffee and a snack.  Bummer alert!  Due to a problem with the city water system that occurred yesterday, Starbucks was open but had a sign up stating that they could only sell bottled items and prepared foods.  So we had to skip our coffee and substitute bottled water with a treat instead.  There was a big printed sign on the door of Starbucks and another sign (along with today's newspaper headline regarding the water fiasco) sitting on the counter where you place your order.  While Duane and I were having our treats with water, a local news team drove up and took a close-up shot of the sign on the Starbucks door.  Guess a lot of people went without their coffee today.  Supposedly the 'boil water' alert will end after tomorrow.

Gearing up for Valentine's Day

It's become a custom now for me to make a little something for my three nieces, ages 6, 5 and 3, for the various holidays.  Last up was Christmas where I made them each an Amigirumi Santa ornament.  With Valentine's Day coming up next week, I got busy early and finished knitting three 'hanging' hearts last week.  It was nice to knit something instead of crocheting for a change but there seem to be a lot more patterns for cute crochet items.  This knitted heart pattern is knitted and purled and the 'purl' side is actually the 'good' side on these.  I added some white satin ribbon so the girls can hang them in their rooms and also chose a little pewter charm for each one.  The pattern for these hearts can be found here.  Instructions are given for different sizes.  I went with the 'medium' which measures approx. 4" by 4" when finished.

George will be getting his usual chocolates that he can't live without and I suspect he'll get me something in the jewelry area.  That's our usual Valentine's Day MO.  I've told him NO chocolates for me because I don't want/need the temptation although I usually end up eating a few pieces of his.

As for my recording, I just finished up a book and had started another project when I ran into technical problems.  I'm so bummed I don't even want to go into it.  If I can't find the source very soon, I'm going to have to call someone in.  Ack.  More on this later...
  

Where did the time go?!

Every year I vow to have everything that can possibly be done for Christmas finished ahead of time.  Sigh.  It's been a long time since that's actually happened.  I just realized a couple of days ago that Monday is the deadline to mail items to The Humble Stitch Project in order for them to meet their deadline of getting the clothing to people who need it.  All I have finished for this last shipment for the year is the hat and scarf pictured.  Then I suddenly remembered that I had specifically bought some bulky weight yarn in order to be able to whip up some scarves and/or hats or gloves quickly and easily.  AND I finally get to use my size 35 vintage knitting needles, too.  The second pic shows one of the size 35 needles
next to a size 11 which is a standard size that many people use.  Quite a difference.  Using them reminds me of those huge pencils we were given to learn to write the alphabet in Kindergarten.  Only I'm using two of them and I've found some great patterns that work up super fast.


Here's the scarf I'm almost finished knitting with the
size 35 needles.  It's a bulky (6) yarn called Red Heart

Light & Lofty.  This color is called Salt & Pepper.  I found this type of yarn a real pain to work with when I made a pair of slippers for my mother last year.  However, it makes a big difference when you're using needles this large.  This is a great dropstitch scarf that only requires casting on 7 stitches.  The pattern can be found here.  It's called the Marley Scarf and the pattern is free.  There are other free patterns on this site that also work up quickly that I may try.  I do have other bulky yarn that isn't 'fuzzy' like the Light & Lofty so I may be able to squeeze in another couple of items before the Monday mailing date.

This scarf measures approx. 5.5 inches by approx. 70 inches when it's finished and I have to say that the Light & Lofty yarn is incredibly soft to the touch and should keep someone very warm.  After I finish with the last of the Humble Stitch items, I still have a few gifts to make.  I'm on my last Santa ornament mentioned in the previous post.  I'm also making a bracelet for my niece and a couple of goldfish that I'm going to fill with catnip for my nephew's cats.   I've been assured that they'll like them. 

Ready for The Humble Stitch and a Fashion Show Birthday Party

My buddies Linda and Duane and I have a box ready to ship to The Humble Stitch Project this week.  We have caps, scarves, fingerless gloves and squares for Knit-A-Square to be made into blankets.  You can find out more about both projects by clicking on the titles.  We also have a nice selection of extra skeins of wool and acrylic yarn that we're sending for other stitchers to use to help out.

 

I'm particularly proud of my first broomstick lace scarf.  It was really fun to make and I plan to make more of them.  I chose a pretty mocha brown for this one and made it approx. 6 feet long.  I may make the next one a little wider so that I won't need to make it quite as long.  I just wanted to make sure that it would be warm enough for the lady who wears it.  I looked at a number of sites while trying to learn how to work with this stitch.  The best instructions I found were at this site: Speckless by Heidi Hengel.  She has her own wood 'pins' that she uses to make her lace.  I used a size 35 wood knitting needle to make my lace.  Heidi's easy to follow steps, complete with pictures, really helped me and I wanted to point anyone her way who might like to learn this stitch.  So pretty!

Now, for something completely different, I attended my niece Ava's 6th birthday party last Sunday and, as usual, my sister Carol (Ava's mother) pulled out all of the stops.  The theme was 'A Fashion Show' and the guests, along with Ava, modeled outfits on a runway built by Ava's dad and a friend.  Carol made all of the decorations and the food including the fashion doll cake and the cupcakes.

The tables set for the party.

Cake and cupcakes

Included in the activities, before the 'fashion show' began, Carol had set up three different 'stations' for girls to 1) have their nails painted, 2) have makeup applied and 3) have their hair styled by three lovely girls who were all part of 'Salon Ava' -- yes, my sister actually embroidered that on their aprons with her sewing machine.

Ava having her hair 'done' at the hair station.

A guest having her nails painted.

There were also tables set up with flower shaped sandwiches and cheese doodles for the party-goers to have for lunch.  And, there was a candy table with tiny cardboard purses for each girl to fill as she liked with the various candies on the table.

The 'fill-your-purse' candy table.

Ava's big brothers, my nephews Sam and Ben, were able to make it home from college to attend the party.  Sam also served as 'emcee' for the fashion show.  He entertained us with a little Bobby Darin while we were waiting for the girls to start coming out.

Big Brother Sam as Emcee

Ava's Runway Sign

Ava's entrance.

Ava posing.

One of the guests strutting her stuff.

Finally!  Time for cake and cupcakes.

Ava opening presents.

Mommy helping Ava read the cards.

Big Brother Ben wondering, 'How did I get here?'

As usual, the kids had a great time and took pink or purple gown shaped plastic bottles filled with candy and small toys home as party favors.  Carol never does anything half-way.  I was so tired, it's taken me a week just to blog about it.  Heh, heh, heh.   I wonder what Carol has planned for Ava's 7th birthday...

Gearing up for The Humble Stitch Project - 2012

I've been knitting and crocheting items for The Humble Stitch Project  since the beginning of the year.  However, this year's official kick-off began on September 14th and will continue through December 19th, 2012.  More info here.  Basically, The HS Project collects hats, scarves, mitts, and other handmade cold weather clothing for our homeless neighbors here in South Florida.  My little group has already sent in two packages this year and we're gearing up to send more.  Right now, I've finished a hat (unisex), a woman's scarf and a set of fingerless gloves.  Linda and Kristen have also donated some squares for the Knit-A-Square project which we also participate in via The Humble Stitch.  Knitted and/or crocheted 8 by 8 inch squares are sewn together to create blankets for orphans of AIDS in South Africa.  Even if you don't like to knit or crochet but would like to contribute, The Humble Stitch gladly accepts skeins of yarn (preferably acrylic) and knitting needles/crochet hooks.

My current HS project is a woman's scarf using a pattern called broomstick lace.  In years past, women actually used broomstick handles to wrap the yarn around to create this pattern.  Now, most people (including me) use a 35mm wood or plastic knitting needle.  I've made a bracelet before using a broomstick pattern but this scarf will be pretty long.  Long enough to wrap several times around the neck since it's narrow.  I love this brown 'mocha' color and I may add fringe or crochet more decorative stitches on the ends when I finish making the scarf.

If you'd like a lesson in how to make broomstick lace, there are many sites on the Internet that you can access.  However, I found the best place to learn was from a blog called Speckless.  I've learned how to make several items by following Heidi Hengel's instructions.  She's a wonderful teacher and generously shares her knowledge via her blog. 

I find knitting and crocheting to be a relaxing activity when I want/need to take a break from audio recording.  I started crocheting over river rocks after first hearing about it via Etsy and I've given a number of them to friends.  I've also started filling a shell covered tray that I found at an estate sale several years ago.  I wasn't sure what I would do with the tray but I liked it and remembered that I had it when I was thinking of how to display some of my stones.  I choose a stone, select a thread color and then either follow a pattern (old doily patterns are a great start), an Internet pattern or make one up as I go along.

I sent a covered stone to my friend Kate who founded The Humble Stitch.  I had no idea that Kate collected rocks although I was pretty sure she liked crochet.  She took photos of the rock I sent along with her method of displaying it.  It sits atop other beautiful rocks in a glass bowl and looks wonderful.

I've also seen crocheted rocks sitting on fireplace mantels, and on bookshelves and window sills.  Oh, they make great paperweights, too.

  

Update on recording and all things yarn

I've been recording a book of short stories called Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes by a variety of southern women writers and it's been a terrific read.  Colorful characters (some of these people could be my relatives) and great writing have made this job, well, not like a job.  Except for the editing -- then it's still a job.  I've also recorded a horror short story by Joel M. Andre.  I understand he has a pretty loyal following so I hope I don't disappoint his fans.

Work in progress

On the yarn front, I have another group of items almost ready to ship to The Humble Stitch.  Linda finished her very first piece of clothing -- a man's scarf -- and she did a wonderful job!  It's the light tan scarf on the far right in the photo.  We have 2 hats, 2 scarves, a pair of handwarmers and a bunch of squares (for Knit A Square) -- thanks to Linda and Kristen -- and I'll have a second set of handwarmers finished soon.  I think I'm going to work on another hat when I've finished this pair of gray handwarmers. 

My niece, Bailey, turns 5 later this month and, of course, I had to think of something 'Amigurumi' to make for her.  I made her younger sister, Taylor, an Amigurumi Elmo (see this post) for her birthday in May.  I decided to make a Hello Kitty using an Amigurumi pattern that I found here by Armina Parnagian.  I think Bailey will like it.  Mine is a little larger than the pattern I followed because I used a slightly heavier yarn.  She ended up at around 6 inches high. 

I've also been experimenting more with using finer yarns and thread to knit and crochet and I'll post here when I actually have something to show for my efforts.

Almost finished -- with several projects

I'm rounding the last curve now on my latest paid audiobook project.  My deadline is next Thursday but I'll be finished well before then.  I'll post here when the book, The Distant Shore, becomes available on Audible, Amazon and any other sites.  Remember this one is for children or, more specifically, tweens, aged 12 and up.  I would consider it a girl's book since the main character is a girl but there are many interesting characters and the story is well-written.  The author, Debora M. Coty, includes plenty of humor but pulls no punches when it comes to the sad parts of life.  I'll have more on this title later.

I finished another scarf to send to The Humble Stitch and Linda delivered more squares last weekend for the Knit-a-Square Project.  However, I also found a little time to whip up a purse for my sister Carol to give as a birthday gift to a little girl.  Carol wanted a purse like the ones I made for our nieces Bailey and Taylor here.  Except she wanted it in HOT pink with a zebra embellishment.  I knew I could find hot pink yarn but I wasn't sure about trying to crochet a 'zebra' style flower.  Instead I found a pretty zebra pattern hair bow which I clipped to the purse.  This way, the birthday girl can either leave it on the purse or use it in her hair.  I did suggest that the bow be removed if the purse needs to be laundered.  These bags wash and dry really well and the flowers that I've made on the past ones are sewn on and wash and dry with the purse.  I'm currently making a purse for my niece Ava (Carol's daughter) and, at Carol's suggestion, I'm using pretty wild (almost neon) colors.  Will post a pic when it's finished.