Gifties in the Mail

I received a lumpy envelope in the mail yesterday from Kelli. I knew that she would be sending me some pictures, but look at what else she sent! Best of all, she made them herself!

See the matching knitting needle roll and zippered notions pouch she made for me? What a wonderful surprise, this is just like having a birthday! Just look at the cool fabrics she used, I absolutely love them!

All I can say is Wow! How did you know it was exactly what I needed? Thank you so much, Kelli, I can't think of a more perfect gift!

August Markers All In

New stitch markers are here! These are the 3rd set I've received for the month of August, and aren't they lovely? Such soothing shades of pinks and blues. See how they blend together yet are each a little bit different so you can keep track of which decrease you're doing in this round.

Thank you, Swap Buddy, they're beautiful and they are some of my favorite colors!

For those who might not know, the Stitch Marker Swap guidelines allow members to choose to have one, two or three swap partners each month for 3 months. I signed up for 3 partners because A. I have a bit of a bead stash to share and B. making stitch markers is an addictive craft-after you've made one set of 4, you just have to make more, and more, and more...

I love the idea of making them for 3 months. I get to try out new ideas each time.

I can't wait to see what September brings!

Is It an Afghan Yet?

The mitered squares became afghan blocks, now the blocks have become an afghan! I chose to use white sashing with little colored blocks in between, as you can see. I still have more to do around the edge but now you can really see how the finished blanket will look. I am pleased with the results so far; for a while there I was afraid it would look a frightful mess when finished hehe.

I want to thank everyone for their wonderful compliments, you've kept me going when I was ready to stuff the darn thing into the back of the closet for the next decade or so!

I was visiting the Lion Brand website to see the new patterns they've posted when the toddler came over to see what I was doing. When he saw the photo for their juggling bags pattern he became very excited and told me 'knittins!' followed by a good paragraph of undecipherable toddler talk. After some gentle questioning, I figured out that he really liked those knitted blocks and wanted me to make some for him. Here is the first, which I've filled with polyester fiberfill and not those plastic pellets or beans the pattern calls for, as I don't relish the idea of getting hit upside the head with a beanbag. It's made of Lion Cotton using size 6 US needles.

See what I got in the mail? My second set of stitch markers for the swap! Aren't they beautiful? What a wonderful shade of green, they make me think of emeralds and dragon scales. There's a little charm there of a ball of yarn with a pair of knitting needles stuck in it that I think is so precious hehe.

Thank you, swap buddy, well done indeed!

Blocks and Sashing

I'm making progress on the baby afghan, as you can see. The squares have been sewn into blocks, and I have started putting the blocks together with sashing. Once I have it assembled I will decide whether I want to add more blocks to make the blanket larger or quit while I'm ahead and finish it with a border.

Knitting with cotton is tolerable in the heat, but only as long as the project is small enough to not cover the lap. I can't imagine working with wooly yarn right now, in fact I have difficulty imagining needing anything warm and fuzzy ever again hehe. It will pass eventually. My tootsies will get cold again someday and I'll be all over the winter yarns. But not today.

Today is day 26 of the heatwave here in California. They say it's going to get hotter before we see any relief. There's even a monsoonal flow from the south to add humidity. I guess I'll be feeling like a limp rag for a little while longer.

Swap Arrival

See what came in the mail today? It's my first set of stitch markers from the swap! Aren't they pretty, err, pwetty? They're just perfect for those projects knitted with smaller needles. As a bonus, some cute little stickers. The toddler thinks they're for him hehe.

Thank you, swap buddy, for a wonderful choice!

Heatwave

When it's 105 degrees outside I feel like going swimming, I don't feel like knitting. I have made a few more afghan squares, just to be able to say that I did knit something this week.

I like the feel of the bamboo needles I got to replace the old Balenes that broke last week. They feel so pleasant in my hands while knitting that I am sure I'd be knitting up a storm with them if we weren't having such an icky heatwave. I'm sure the toddler agrees, since he grabs the needles at every opportunity. When challenged he shouts, 'Mine!' and tries to make a getaway with his booty. I have yet to meet a little boy who doesn't develop a fascination with knitting needles at first sight. They become drumsticks, swords and archaeology tools in their imaginative hands.

Speaking of imaginations, the person who came up with these little visors made of craft foam is a truly creative person. I would never have thought about turning a child's sun visor into a turtle. The toddler just loves it, and he doesn't even know what a turtle is. We found this at our local Joann's. It's a fine little hat to wear to the pool since water doesn't damage it and most importantly it floats and is easy to retrieve.

I have been admiring some patterns for crocheted afghans. I have no idea why, since afghans are the last thing I want to use in this heat, but I seem to be getting a hankering to crochet one. So, I may begin planning one. Maybe.

I will be making some stitch markers this week, but I won't be able to post pictures of them for a while in order to keep them secret from my swap buddies. Don't you just love surprises?

Too Hot to Knit

It's much too hot to knit with much enthusiasm, but I have made a few more afghan squares. I find this green a very boring color to knit with for some reason, but find the pink more pleasant and interesting. I don't know why. Maybe it's just because I like this particular pink better than than this particular green.

I broke a needle while knitting one of those green squares. While knitting 2 stitches together, my left needle suddenly snapped, leaving 3 shards of Balene stuck in my knitting for me to fish out. I guess after 15 years they start losing some of their flexibility. This has been a bad year for needle breakage-and it isn't over yet!

This heat is making more than just the people wilt, we're having to take extra care to keep the garden in good shape. Some things are showing signs of sunburn and we'll have to give the area a bit more shade in addition to the extra waterings.

The tomatoes seem to be happy with the heat, though. Here you see the first tomatoes from our patio garden. These little darlings came from one cherry tomato plant. That one plant promises to keep us supplied with all the salad tomatoes we can eat for the next few months.

According to the weather report we won't be getting any relief from the heat until Sunday, when the temperature will come down to the 90's, but we can expect a return to triple digits soon after.