Cotton Fern Clog Socks

I am nearly finished with my cotton Fern Clog Socks. Here's a preview. They are knit from Sockina, a self-patterning cotton and nylon blend yarn. These were also the second effort at knitting with two circular needles. I must say, I love my DPNs, but I can't lose nor break 2 circs as easily whilst traveling and knitting.



I wear a lot of clogs and slides, so these socks are a perfect fit in more ways than one.



The lace pattern only goes up the heel and calf, for show and the rest of the sock is in stocking stitch.




Of course, the pattern is available from Ravelry.

Wyoming Celtic Festival, again

Darla at the Wheel








Jenna at the Ceidhl


Some of the Rocky Mountain Scottish Atheletes at the Ceidhl.


















Seven Nations on the Festival Stage






Furry Murray McDogal waiting for his family to come home from the supper.

Randomness from the Wyoming Celtic Festival

The Wyoming Celtic Festival
Seven Nations
Gobs







Some of the Music, Seven Nations, Gobs O'Phun as well as Jenny and Tim Sullivan (Gobs O'Phun)

Ren Scots in various activities. Mark Reihm and Will from the Wyoming Pipe and Drum Band in the Pub entertaining us at lunch. Ren Scots lining up for the Opening Ceremony. The Chief, the Seneschal and the Wolves Fight Directors taking a meeting. The Ren Scots





Katte Judd and Jenny at the Ceidhl.


The girls at the Ceidhl.
Episcopal Church in Douglas, WY

Just a quickie to share some of the wonderful weekend up in Gillette. The musical line up this festival was one of the best I have experienced in a lang (long) while. The Muses (Traditional) played on Saturday and then Prickly Pair (Cowboy Celtic) played on Sunday along with Seven Nations and Gobs O'Phun on both days.


Me setting up to card some wool into a batt to spin it up. I relearned to spin over the weekend. More shall be revealed.

Grace and St .Stephen's Episcopal Church Garden

Today was gardening day again. Every Saturday morning and Tuesday at some time we all meet to work the gardens and get them back into shape.
It has been a joy and a challenge to watch the gardens come back to life after a few years of neglect. The fountain of course is working again, the peonies, clematis and roses are growing like gangbusters. The dandelion, clover and thistles are being overwhelm by the sheer force of will of our amazing crew. Here's some of the folk that meet together to work the wonder and some of the gorgeous peonies and such.
I must say the peonies smell like heaven.

We had cool, cloudy skies this morning, I don't think the temperature got much over 65 degrees all day. Here are some of the folks that can out to work. They were as young as fourteen and as old as eighty.

Even Sadie came out to keep company with us.

Quilt Guild Demo - Cloth Napkin Tute

First off, just let me say; I love cloth napkins made from cotton, linen and even silk. Having 4 children in the house made cloth napkins very useful. They sopped up spills, doubled as bibs and aprons, kept rolls warm, and generally looked prettier than paper and certainly are not as wasteful in resources.

I have napkins made by this method for nearly all holidays and also to match the quilted table runners I have made. Another benefit of cloth napkins is that they tend to stay were you place them and not slide off your lap onto the floor.

My biggest frustration with making my own cloth napkins was getting the hems done to my satisfaction. Sergers and me do not agree on what constitutes a nicely turned corner. I also don't have the proper foot for my sewing machine to make a rolled hem and again in the past I have had issues with turning those corners. What to do? What to do? I wanted to make my own napkins, but how to resolve the hem issue?

Enter a subscription to Martha Stewart's Living Magazine as a gift from the Dear Daughter, Erin. Without fail, if I wanted to do something like, oh say, make pierced tin can lanterns or make my own soft pretzels, the next issue of the magazine would have the instructions, sigh. It is a running joke in our household as it happened so often.

The basic instructions for making these napkins came from an issue of Living magazine, probably 10 years ago or more as my Christmas napkins are at least that old. Of course, Martha's team made them in linen and hand hem stitched them. Not for me, that hand-stitching business, if I can help it.

Basic instructions are as follows:

Step 1. Choose fabric(s) Squares can be as little as 10 x 10 up to 22 x 22 inches (I like big napkins, I did make a 4 x 4 finished just to see if I could, BTW)

Step 2. Press 1/4 inch fold on all four sides




Step 3. Press another 1 inch fold on all four sides (Get a good hard crease here, shot of steam helps)

Step 4. Open the 1 inch fold and fold corners into a point with the 1/4 inch folds aligned

Step 5. Measure for the 45 degree angle from the junction of the the crease marks

Step 6. Draw sewing line, repeat for the other 3 corners.



Step 7. Stitch on sewing line

Step 8. Flip corner to right side to check your angle (Ask me how important this step is)


Step 9. Flip back and trim point seam allowances on all 4 corners to 1/8 inch.

Step 10. Flip all corners and press, stitch hem. (this can be a straight stitch, hem stitch, decorative stitch or even done by hand)



Voila, you have made a napkin!

FYI: I just lay the cotton ones flat to dry and rarely have to press them. Be sure to make them from a good quality cotton.

Fawkes Socks Redux

Here is the progress I have made on my Fawkes Socks on 2 circs. Picked up from the heel and finished the decreases for the gusset and now down to the toe. Jury is still out on knitting with two circs, but I am DOING IT.

There were fewer decreases than I am used to so I had to frog back two rows to get my 30 stitches on the one needle again. I had my knitting rhythm going and just zoned out. Thank the Gods for a life line. I didn't screw up the pattern across the instep when frogging as the life line was in place. You can just see the thread of dental floss that I used dangling with the needles. I move it every pattern repeat just to be on the safe side. One of the kewl things about interchangeable needles is that they have a key hole for tightening the threaded part and you can thread your lifeline through the hole and it pulls along through the stitches as you knit. The other advantage to 2 circs is that it is certainly easier to try on the sock for fit as you go.

In the background you can just see Erin's yardage counter (green wheel) and the new swift LOADED with the Sad Sack bamboo yarn. It's been through the ringer to put it mildy. First it arrived smashed flat in a torn and greasy Tyvek package from Singapore. Then it was washed to get the grease spots out. Then it was wound off the cone into skeins and caked and all manner of mayhem that can be committed on yarn. Read Erin's Journal of Impossible Things to learn more.

The ribbon yarn sweater is done but I haven't got a picture of it that I like yet. Will post later.

Why is There a Bicycle in the Bathroom?

Friday, sigh!
We are up to our asses in plants and patio chairs in the house and there's a bicycle in my bathtub. They are suppose to be power washing and painting the house today. It's 1:51 pm and they haven't even started up as of yet. Do we get taped inside while they work or do we go find something to do that doesn't cost a ton of money? the stair landing is covered in pots of plants. This is the only way up the stairs. Pan's napping spot is at the top of the landing. Pan has chive breathe from raiding my kitchen garden pots as he goes back and forth...



Here's one of the tomato plants and the chives. I am also sitting on some lilies that will go into the church garden when it is decided where the Return to Grace bed will be.







I have though, made great progress on the tee-shirt sweater, I am knitting from a Bernat Yarns pattern. I am knitting it from a variegated ribbon yarn I found for a dollar a skein. I am getting the same gauge, even though I am using a different yarn than the pattern calls for. This is what progress I have so far.I have used a skein and a 1/3 for about 10 inches. I did make one adjustment. I ground off the pointy tips to the bamboo needles to make them less pokey. Works so much better now, I can just "clicket" away without much attention.



I had to put down the Fawkes Socks as I need to frog the heel flap, as I am not liking the directions I was given and want to do my own heel.