Short Rows and W1

A couple days ago, I started a knitted ruffled cowl that is primarily done with short rows. It's one of those one-skein wonders from a big book of ideas and it caught my attention because I had some beautiful dark pink wool from Peru (Christmas gift) that was begging to be used.

Although I had read patterns involving short rows, I hadn't starting any because the "wrap one" step sounded confusing. The cowl was so cute that I decided to give it a try. If I didn't get the hang of it after 20 or so rows, I'd frog and find another idea for the yarn.

It was tough going for the first few rows because it seemed like I spent all of my time readjusting the needles only to knit a few stitches. I remembered that I could do the whole "knit backwards" thing, but I haven't practiced that much (just one night of experimenting), so I felt that would actually make things slower and less even than more efficient.

Last night, I really got into the groove and am now loving the way this project is turning out. Once the ruffles started ruffling, I was hooked. And it no longer seems like a huge chore to switch needles. The W1 move isn't even that bad, although I've caught myself a couple times in mid-purl before remembering that I was supposed to W1. I think I'll have this cowl done this weekend. Chances are incredibly good if we really get the 4-8 inches that it predicted.

Today, I decided to join a couple swaps over on craftster.org. I was really hooked on swapping the second part of 2008, but had to take a break from it after a really killer swap with some outrageous expectations. I knew when I signed up for it that I was signing up for a mammoth commitment, but by the end of it, I was really showing signs of fatigue. I'll not be doing anything that large again, ever!

The two swaps I joined now are much smaller and manageable. Knitted dishcloths and embroidery. The other good thing about these swaps is that they attract crafters who are typically very talented so the swaps turn out pretty even. It will be fun to see who partners are and start brainstorming the packages.

My other big craft to-do is something I dreamed up last night. I'm attending a wedding soon and really wanted to do something more than order off of the Crate and Barrel wish list. Of course, I don't want to be one of those people who gives the bride/groom something that is absolutely absurd or will live in a closet. With that in mind, I'm going for small and useful. Tea towels!! Who doesn't need a set of nice embroidered tea towels? I'm off to search for some fun designs -- I need cute pics of a kitten, a bunny, and a squirrel (long story) -- and then I'll be all set to select colors tonight.

Wow - reading this over makes it sound like I'm settling in for a long winter hibernation! I think I'll refer to it more as making sure I make the most of my time 1) if the snow comes and 2) during the Oscars. I love Oscar night and look forward to watching it with a fun dinner . . . maybe appetizer/small plate-themed . . . some champagne, and one of my projects

TGIF!

Art deco tree of swirls

I embroidered this art deco tree onto a corner of a pillow top and am very pleased with the way the swirls with their different textures and colors represent leaves. This was the first design placed on a pillow top that is now sweeping the nation in a tea towel/pillow top swap. Sadly, the tree doesn't get to come back to me. After 5 more designs are added to the pillow top, the tree is traveling to California.

I must take some pics of some of my knitted projects soon or else this entire blog is going to be of embroidery! I usually knit a few rows on something every night, but am less likely to take a picture because the finished products (scarves, dishcloths, pillows, etc) don't seem as special or time-intensive as my embroidery projects. Right now, I can think of at least 2 dishcloths and a pretty ribbon scarf that were completed at the same time as the tea towels.

Rosemary Tea Towel - third in a series of seven

This is the Rosemary tea towel. I had a potted rosemary plant for a Christmas tree last winter, so can vouch for the leaf design. Sadly, the plant didn't live long enough for me to see it blossom -- I'm not a very good plant owner. In this picture, the pot looks kind of wonky. I think there must have been a wrinkle in the cloth when I took the picture. I promise that my straight lines aren't that crooked!

I hope to post the rest of the tea towels pictures as soon as I figure out a mysterious glitch with my picture uploads. For some reason, some of my horizontal pics are uploading vertically, so the images are standing on their side. I don't think I could be comfortable with the entry if the pictures weren't upright.

Oregano Tea Towel - second in a series of seven

The second of the herbal tea towels - oregano. While stitching this one, I learned something new. I didn't know that oregano flowers were a combination of purple and pink. My version uses purple as the outline with pink french knots in the center. That seemed to be the most appealing option, even though it may not be herbally correct. I really like how the bow turned out on the pot.

Basil Tea Towel - first in series of seven

Over the past three weeks, I've been working on a set of herb tea towels. This is the first in the series. For all of the towels, I used the same color palette of medium brown for the pots and writing, a mustardy yellow for pot embellishments, light/medium/dark greens for the herbal leaves, and appropriate colors for any flowering herbs. I used an Aunt Martha set of transfers that was very helpful because it described the coloring for each herb.

There were more than 7 herbs in the transfer set, so I selected my favorite herbs from the bunch. Basil is something I use quite often in cooking and in salads.

All of this stitching made me wish for an herb garden. I currently live in a 3rd floor walkup without a balcony, so no herb garden for me right now.

Entering the blogosphere

After years of bookmarking blog after blog after blog and spending countless hours learning all sorts of things from said blogs, I'm taking the plunge and starting a blog. The current vision is for this to be home to my hobbies - crafts, books, cooking, travel - and a record of different projects. We'll see how it evolves!

This little paisley sits on a small blag tote bag and found a home in Colorado. It was a lot of fun creating the design because I didn't know how it would evolve. I started with a general paisley outline and then decided colors and stitches as everything took shape. I'm really pleased with the outcome and think I'll be creating paisleys again in the near future