Tuesday, March 6, 2012

WARNING....Long, rambling post!

As the title states....this is a long "catch up for the past few weeks" post..... I hope I don't put anyone to sleep with it!

One of the craft stores I visit (more often than my hubby would like) is having "March Madness" sales, and while I was looking around yesterday, I found myself in the yarn aisles.....considering giving knitting a go, again. 
My last knitting project was over 3 years ago, when I knit a baby blanket while pregnant with my daughter Kella.  It was definitely a beginner project, with no pattern and just going back and forth until I ran out of yarn.  I have knitted before, wayyyy back in High School.....but I haven't really gotten the hang of it.  

I figured I'd give it another shot, so I found a pattern online and bought myself some yarn and some needles (all on sale...in case hubs is reading!).   So there I sat last night, trying to remember which hand holds what and trying to figure out what YO, ST, K and P all meant!   After working on it for a few hours, here's how far I got:

I think the toughest part was that first row...either I'm doing the cast on wrong or I'm not pulling the yarn enough or something...I did that first row over and over about ten times!   Stay tuned to see if it actually turns into something! :)

Let's see...what else have I been up to.....  Oh yes, my son has an "Erupting Volcano" due this week, so we worked on it over the weekend.  I think he did a great job!

We'll pour some baking soda into each volcano and he has some red dyed vinegar to pour in.  He's so excited to take it to class!

I was also able to complete a lap quilt for a wonderful friend of mine this past week.  I used a charm pack of fabric and made pinwheels.  I love how it turned out and can't wait to send it to her!



I know this week is our WIPocalypse update week, but I'm going to post my progress on Coral anyway.  Maybe I'll get a bit more done between now and March's Full Moon date!!

The darker colors in her wings has been my favorite to stitch....I love how they create the contouring and depth!

Of course, because Michele at Heaven and Earth Designs went and had a Leap Day sale...I had to buy, right?  And buying new charts gives me the itch to kit up and start new ones :)   Over the weekend I kitted up Please My Wings Take Me Away, here's a picture from the HAED site:

This will be my first "black and white" piece and I'm exicted to get started.  Calling it a black and white is sort of funny to me, because there is actually no black or white floss used at all.....there are shades of gray and light blues and of course, the dreaded metallic sparkly floss.  There are only 10 colors in this work!

I also kitted up my first Little House Needleworks piece!!  I'm so excited about this piece because I won it from Bekca at The Stitching Lion.  Winning a piece from a bloggy friend makes it extra special to me, so I can't wait to get it done!  I'm thinking of finishing it as a pillow...not sure yet.  Bekca also sent me some scented DMC floss!  We don't have this in the states, so I felt spoiled when I recieved it!!  Why don't we get this fun stuff over here?

    
After winning 2 wonderful giveaways, I'm ready to have another one myself!!  I have a girl's day planned for this weekend, with a stop at our local cross stitch shop.  I'll be on the look out for some cute items and I'll start my giveaway next week!


-lesli

13 comments:

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Great start on your knittng.I am a bit of a knitting novice,my best work was baby stuff for elder son back in the early 1980's !!!
I love your lap quilt. I'm sure your friend will be delighted with it.
Great volcano's, reminds me of younger son making his Norman era Motte and Bailey castle for history in 1998. Hope your son's volcanoes errupted with style :)

I love the LHN you have kitted up.and your HAED too. I have a 'black and white' HAED design to stitch at some point, a QS by Selena Fenech..Dragon Soul.

Lovley stitching on Coral, the colours are really gorgeous.

Bekca said...

I would love to learn how to knit, I'm thinking about just buying some wool and plunging in head first!
I'm so excited to see your LHN grow, I'm so pleased it went to a loving home :)
Have a lovely week.

Terri said...

I tried teaching myself to knit quite a few years ago and I didn't do very well at all. I may try again. Yours looks pretty good so far!
Wow, an HAED! I haven't attempted one of those.
The lap quilt is lovely, as is your stitching! Congrats on the progress and finishing!
And your son is a real cutie! His volcano looks very real! I'm sure he will do well with it. Let us know how he does!

Lesleyanne said...

Good luck with your knitting. I keep trying to get the hang of it but have yet to manage it. Lovely progress on Coral. Look forward to seeing your first LHN progress.

Dana said...

Looks great! Everything. The knitting, I tried crocet and can't get the hang of it. I think I need a real person to teach me rather than a book or video. The volcano, never thought about red for the vinegar. Quilt great too, I can't sew for the life of me. And I bought my first HAED design during the sale, not sure which one to start first.

Katie said...

I've never tried knitting. Good luck with it! Love your son's volcano. My son has never done one. I think we need to try it sometime. The quilt is beautiful. Coral is GORGEOUS. I fell for the Leap Day sale too haha. The piece you picked is beautiful. I didn't realize there was only 10 colors WOW.

Shebafudge said...

I can't knit so your progress looks great to me!

Lovely new charts too.

Happy stitching!

SoCal Debbie said...

I don't know anything about knitting either. Good for you for giving it a try and great progress. The lap quilt looks fantastic! Wonderful HAED charts!

Veronica said...

I wish I knew how to knit. But maybe it's best I don't know how considering how much stash I already have. Not a good idea to pick up another craft ^.^

That's a beautiful quilt you've made. You friend is so lucky :)

Coral is looking great. A lot of progress since your last update.

Look forward to seeing WiP pics of both your kitted projects.

Hugs,
Veronica.

Ewa said...

pfffff that post was neither long, nor rambling! Knitting patterns are too difficult for me to decipher, so I'll stick to knitting scarves and crocheting blankets - lol! Beautiful choice of chart and great progress on Coral! Looking forward to your WIPocalypse post :)

Joysze said...

Nice start on your knitting, Lesli. Your son's volcano looks really cool and he's such a cutie pie. :D

Coral is looking beautiful and the lap quilt is fabulous! :D

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

lovely knitting and awesome volcano :D

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