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Is It Even Worth It? Hemlock Woes

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I've been working on this tam all afternoon and am beginning to wonder if it's even worth it to continue. This project has been nothing but trouble from the start. Years ago I began this as an afghan but soon realized I had confused this yarn (one skein) with a very similar yarn that had five skeins. I found out that I could easily convert it into a tam and a free pattern was available on Raverlry! I worked on it for a while and after following the pattern realized it was going to be way too big. Off the needles it went! The tam sat in the ether for 13 years and I just re-discovered it today. Unfortunately, there was no record of needle size. Nor was there any indication of what row I was on. Also, it appears that the yarn is disintegrating! I unraveled it for a few rows to get rid of the funky and raveled yarn and then tried to figure out what round I was on. Alas! I threw up my hands in frustration and just decided to finish it off by doing a rib of knit 2, purl 1. Except it ...
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UFOs

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  A good friend of mine gifted me with a sweater that was just about finished. She found it floundering in her WIPs and had no idea how to finish it. I love a challenge so accepted the unfinished sweater - needles and yarn included. All I needed to do was to finish the yoke, collar and underarms. I own the pattern but since I was away from home I couldn't access it. Thankfully, my sister did have the pattern and sent me a screen shot of the pages I needed. There were two problems though. My friend used size 9 needles where the pattern called for eights. No biggie - a little adjustment there. A bigger problem was with the number of stitches cast on. She had cast on an odd number and all sizes were even numbers. And no sizes in the pattern were even close. That meant i had no idea how many more rounds to knit before i started the placket. Carry on and do my best. So I did.  The finished sweater turned out better than expected and no huge problems were encountered going forward. ...
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Skye's Socks

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My granddaughter loves her Skye Paw Patrol animal. When we were out east (which Toronto and Ottawa call out west) she asked me to make Skye some socks. I wanted to make them before we headed home but the yarn I had was just too thick to make teeny tiny socks. Plus I didn't have teeny tiny needles. When I got home (truly out west) I dug out some sock yarn and some needles appropriate to the yarn. So I thought. As it turned out, the socks were a smidge too big. Rolled down they seem to fit. Sorta. But she loves them! At least they are not too small.
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Mending Heels

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I figured out a way to fix those pesky holes that socks get after a few wears. All you need to do is to find some matching yarn or something close. Then you pick up stitches several rows above the hole with a little leeway on either side of the hole. Knit away! And only knit. You will be making a garter stitch flap. Knit for a while - long enough to cover the hole. Then pick up stitches on the other side of the hole. And knit the flap and the sock together. Finally, sew down some side seams. Voila! Done and cushy too!
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Gallbladder Woes and Road Trips

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I didn't realize that gallbladder surgery is one of the most frequent operations there is. I finally got mine out! It was a breeze and besides the effects of the anesthesia there were no other indications that I even had surgery. Oh! besides the bruising and incision around my belly button and the three other tiny cuts across my abdomen. The anesthesiologist put a mask over my face and said, "I'm giving you some oxygen." The next thing I knew I was waking up! I know there was a tube down my throat because my mouth and throat were a bit sore. I think I had an iv in my hand - I just don't remember.  Two weeks later I was at my gp's to get my staples out as per the form letter they send out to all gallbladder patients. And my doctor said, "there are no staples." I was glued back together!  Well, I needed to see her anyway for other reasons so it really wasn't a wasted trip. We left right away to go to Regina and to see the older girls and their fami...
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Cathedral Windows - Quilting again

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  I have had this quilt in storage for quite some time as I have been busy making children and baby sweaters. I put it on my list of things to get to and found myself making progress slowly but surely.  It seems I work best that way - a little bit done on all projects gets them finished. Then when I see "the light at the end of the tunnel" I make a blitz run and finish the project. Unfortunately,  this project has no end in sight. There are many steps involve to make just one square and you need two completed squares to be able to put in one piece of color. You start with a seven inch square Fold and iron flat every side in about 1/4 inch Fold in half (and take out previous machine stitching because this is going to be all hand done) From the folded edge sew up the two sides for 1.5 inches  Flip and twist and turn to get this shape Fold the points to the other side and tack. Do another square and insert your printed fabric between the two squares. So if my instructio...
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Could this be over 100 years old?

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Hand knit socks do wear out. If they are worn, that is. I have mixed feelings when it comes to receiving worn out socks to mend. I'm always happy to see that they've been worn so much that they are now worn out but not happy that I now need to mend them.  I kept my Granpa's darning disc for this very reason. Actually,  I'm pretty sure it was his. That's what I've been told anyway. He was born in 1899 and may have used it in his youth.  So it could be over 100 years old! Who knows? It may have even been his mother's. It works very well to keep the sock stable so that I can easily mend it. Ready to wear again!
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