Merry Christmas to all!

At last, Merry Christmas! Best wishes for the holidays to everyone, young and old, sick and healthy.

Oops on the bookmarks

Well, the news from last night is that the bookmarks aren't bookmarks -- they're knitting needle holders. Oops!

Some of the much older wooden needles inherited from a friend's mother earlier this year will be going into them today.

The i-cord trivets went over well, but I forgot to get photos of them before they went out. However, the patterns are available for free on the Lion Brand web site.

Shamrock: http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0603005.html?noImages=0
Celtic Knot: http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0603003.html?noImages=0

For both of these, I simply made a 4-stitch I-cord on size 9 DPs instead of using the spool knitter (or "corking" tool, as it is historically called). The Shamrock was done in 100% cotton yarn, and the Celtic Knot was done in 100% wool in dark and light purple.

It's a bad sign when the cat doesn't trust you with a knife

I haven't cut myself with a knife for over a year. And yet my MIL is convinced that hubby is terrified of me using a knife. She bought me cloth butcher's gloves (the non-commercial kind) because of this supposed fear. Hubby, of course, was nowhere around in order to help me defend myself against the accusation. (I do a lot of defending on my own for 3 months every winter while my MIL is here -- what else can I do when 2 British-Canadians gang up on an American, no matter how non-typical she is?)

Fine. Everything had settled down, and Mum and I were going to have some cheese and crackers for lunch that day. Our male cat Oscar is a lovely, random little boy who feels (and often IS) guilty about a lot of things and will suddenly tear off around the house. I pick up the knife to cut a slice of cheese, an what does Oscar choose to do at that moment? Yup, nails into the carpet, and off goes the grey streak to the other end of the house. What does Mum say?

"It's a bad sign when the cat doesn't trust you with a knife!"

Fortunately, we had a good laugh about it and continued on. Having your MIL living with you for 3 months is not for the faint of heart. This is now the 3rd year of this arrangement (I won't go into the details of why), and we seem to have most of the problems worked out. Granted, I'm running around so much that very little designing is getting done, but when I finally do say that something must be done that isn't on her schedule, I'm allowed time to do it. So it's a matter of putting my foot down at strategic times.

Also in this process, I'm learning how to knit socks! It's using a photocopy Mum has from a 1940s pattern book, and I'm using size 3 needles instead of 2 (because when I was ready to start, I didn't have a set of 2s), so they're a little bigger than they should be, but one sock is done, and the other is ready to have its heel turned. Woohoo!


Oops. Thanks, Zoe. Let's try that again...


Also on the finished project list is a cabled scarf from Big Needle Knitting. This is my first cabled item ever. I've finally figured it out! I've also discovered that I really kinda dislike working on the bigger needles. Go figure!


A couple of fun bits of news. 1) Lulu.com sales continue. (Yay, and thank you, whoever you are!) 2) I'm now on Ravelry! I think there's a sidebar option for that here, so will attempt to add that shortly. Screen name: horsenround.

Well, it's time to go. I'll try not to leave you hanging for another 13 days this time. I have a friend & client coming over to go through web site things this morning. However, before I go, here's a lovely pair of bookmarks from a costumer friend whom I will be visiting tonight...



Aren't they gorgeous???

Surf Practice - Another Free Pattern

Whew! some of you may have heard that we've had a lot of flooding in the Pacific Northwest this week. Fortunately for us, most of this was in urban areas (gutter overflow) with all the rain melting several inches of snow in less that 24 hours. The rivers in our area peaked, but not at record highs, since it was still turning into snow in the mountains, and we were able to successfully get out of Duvall (which has a tendency to become an Island State during flooding) and rescue Mum-in-Law from the airport. My husband's mum, from the Toronto area, will be staying with us for the next 3 months.


With nothing else to post for now, here's the other free pattern from my Crochet 101 class. As always, you can also download this as a PDF file from my web site at http://www.horse-round.com/shop/freepatterns.html. Enjoy!



Surf Practice




Ride the waves of this scarf using single, half-double, double and treble crochet stitches. Cowabunga!

Foundation: Ch 22.

Row 1 (right side): Sc in 2nd ch from hk. *Hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc. Rep from * across, ending with a tr. Ch 1, turn.

Row 2: Working in back loops, *hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc. Rep from * across, ending with a tr. Ch 1, turn. (The row should line up so that you tr in a sc from the previous row and vice versa.)

Rep Row 2 until the scarf is as long as you like.

Finishing
Weave in ends. Add fringe to the ends of the scarf, or any other finishing touches you would like to add.

Free crochet scarf patterns

Here I sit at exactly 1:01 am. Hubby and I were exhausted from all the cleaning (his Mum is flying in tomorrow and living with us for 3 months), but my brain refused to shut off. Part of the problem is that I'm teaching my first Crochet 101 class tomorrow afternoon, and I promised we'd be doing scarves in the learning process. I didn't have any public domain scarf patterns! So now I have some great ideas for a few of them.

Also in the process, I've updated the poll. Vote now!

These are such simple stitches, though, that I can't see charging for just the patterns, so they are here for the printing and will soon be available on my web site at http://www.horse-round.com/shop/freepatterns.html.

First scarf pattern from Crochet 101, coming right up!

Filet Lace Scarf




The open mesh created for this scarf gives any weight of yarn a luxurious lacey feeling. It also provides a base for weaving in a novelty or ribbon yarn.



Foundation: Ch an even number of stitches until you reach the width or the length desired for your scarf.

Row 1: Dc in 5th ch from hook. *Ch 1, sk 1 st, dc in next st. Rep from * to end of row. Ch 4, turn.
Row 2: Sk ch-1 sp, dc in next dc. *Ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, dc in next dc. Rep from * to end of row. Ch 4, turn.

Rep Row 2 until scarf is as long or as wide as you would like.

Finishing
Weave in ends. Add fringe to the ends of the scarf or weave in fur, ribbon or other contrasting yarn.

Little Knit Jingle Bells

Well, from the poll, it appears that out of the 2 votes (thank you two for visiting and voting!!!), both people had heard of Tunisian crochet, hairpin lace, and knitting looms/boards, but no one has yet heard of beadpoint. Looks like I need to do a bit of presenting! Stay tuned for more on beadpoint and a new survey.

As promised, here is my first free pattern!
You can also download this pattern from my site: http://www.horse-round.com/shop/freepatterns.html.


Traditional Jingle Bells
A traditional knitting pattern written by Kathy Kemp (http://www.horse-round.com/)




These adorable bells can be made in nearly any type of yarn. Use them as Christmas ornaments or attach them to packages. You can even use pastel yarn for baby shower gifts or Easter ornaments!

Materials:

• 1 skein of worsted weight yarn, or yarn of choice


• 1 pair of knitting needles in 1 size smaller than recommended for chosen yarn


• Yarn needle


• Scissors

Directions:

Cast on 14 sts.

Row 1 (right side): Knit across.

Row 2 (wrong side): Purl 4 sts; knit 10.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have 46 rows. The edge with the purl stitches will curl slightly on its own.

Bind off, leaving a tail that is long enough to sew up the edge.


Finishing:

1. Fold in half so that the right side is inside. The curling edge should be on one side.
   


2. Sew up the edge. This becomes the side of the bell.


3. Turn right side out. Attach a metal jingle inside and ½ inch loop on the top.

Anyone have a spare nose?

Well, the Thanksgiving-and-meet-the-fiance weekend went quite well. It was obvious before, but now it's pretty certain (as much as you can ever be) that Mom and Bruce will do very well together and continue to make each other very happy. YAY!

The downside is that a cold bug decided to ride along. Whether Bruce brought it with him, or if Hubby brought it from work, or I brought it from demoing at Ben Franklin, it doesn't really matter. Bruce was sick by Thursday evening, Allan was sick by Saturday evening, and I followed shortly after on Sunday.

The worst thing is is the William Shatner sneezes: Must. Sneeze. Now. Look into. The light. Don't. Move. It's com-- And then nothing but sinuses and eyes filling. All that energy put into a triviality. Well, maybe to be fair, we should call them Captain Kirk sneezes.

So here I sit, reading through my blog list, attempting to get enough energy for the day. Although, I do have to say that Yarn Harlot's toilet seat adventure (yeah, you kinda have to read it) definitely strikes home. We don't have the freaky European fixtures, just ultra-cheaply made, non-standard manufactured house fixtures. We're still not sure if it was the previous owners who did things this badly, or if it was already made that way. We've already had it proven on multiple occasions that the owners weren't terribly bright. But how smart is it to personally finance a house to someone without doing some kind of credit check?

At any rate, here I sit with Zoe curled up on my lap...


Although, now that I've taken the photo, she has gone, shocked that I would take a photo of her with bed-body (sort of like bed-head, but cats tend to get the full-body effect), returned to squawk for attention, and left again in search of a warm spot that doesn't take humiliating photos of her.

In the meantime, I have to decide whether to cancel my beadpoint class tonight -- yeah, another one with no sign-ups, despite the heavy interest during demos -- and perhaps when to go in to demo and gather people for the next Beadpoint and Crochet 101 classes.

On the bright side, I've finished the drop-stitch knit skirt and returned to a very old UFO, a creme-colored afghan with a two-tone green Celtic knot border, all done with tiny granny squares. I'm trying to assemble the granny squares as I go, mainly so that Hubby doesn't have to listen to me complain while trying to assemble the whole thing at once. Here's some the progress so far, to make up for not posting a picture of the skirt...

Later today, I might write up and post the pattern for the little knit Christmas bells, 'cause they're just so darn cute!

Progress

Congratulations! You made it through Monday. Not long until Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving will be very strange for hubby and I this year. My mother is getting married in January after being on her own for 25+ years. She's had a few dates here and there, but they were all jerks... until Bruce.

This is the cutest story: apparently my mom had a crush on him while they went to the same high school in West Linn, OR. After graduation, they each went their separate ways, married someone else, had chidren, etc. Neither mariage worked out, after differing amounts of time, and they met up at a reunion a few years ago. This past spring, Bruce started calling, coming to visit from his home in Oregon to my mom's in Yakima. And now, as of January 5, mom is marrying her high school sweetheart. Isn't that the best thing ever?

Here's where it applies to the knitting and the crocheting and the crafting stuff. My mom bought herself a red wedding dress. Yup. Not that I have a problem with that -- she's done the white dress thing already -- but it's customary for the maid/matron of honor (me, in this case) to wear the contrasting color that the bride has chosen, right? How does the matron of honor wear white without looking like the bride? Do you see the conundrum here?

So my wedding clothing will all be handmade. It will consist of a flowing ivory chemise/blouse (similar to one from the Pyramid Collection, except that it will actually fit someone who has arm muscles), a hairpin lace shawl, and a drop-stitch skirt (which looks a lot like hairpin lace).

The red shawl here is the one I've made for the wedding. I don't dare show the full thing in case anyone who doesn't need to know finds out about this blog. The light blue hairpin lace is a practice wrap I made after first getting the lace tool. What fun!

I'll get the skirt done shortly, but that picture may wait until the wedding anyway.

In other news, I'll have a couple more beadpoit patterns available soon. These will first be available for classes at Ben Franklin Crafts next month.

The large-scale chainmail jewelry kits are also available on my web site at http://www.horse-round.com/shop/maille.html. These kits have been a lot of fun to put together!
And now the best news of my year: the Tunisian Crochet Basketweave Sweater is finally available!
It's available from my web site (http://www.horse-round.com/shop/crochet_basketkim.html), but it will soon be available from Lulu.com as well: http://stores.lulu.com/horsenround. It's grinding away on creating the printable file as I write this. I'm beginning to think that going back and embedding my fonts might have been faster than uploading the original file after all.

At any rate, that's all the news for now. My hands are freezing, which would explain why there may be so many typos. The other reason is that there is a large orange cat parading back and forth across the desk and screaming at me when I try to warm my hands under her stomach. Of all the rude things!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good meal!

Lulu.com sales!

Here's some pretty exciting news -- for me anyway. I've sold 2 of my beadpoint patterns that are published on Lulu.com!

Presenting.... (drum roll please)

The Lancaster Chess Knight: http://www.lulu.com/content/795951
The English Rose: http://www.lulu.com/content/805051

Both stained glass bookmark patterns (and more) are also available as kits from my HnR web site, http://www.horse-round.com/shop/shop.html, as well as at the Seattle Knights store during summer ren faires and pirate shows in the Pacific Northwest.

Check 'em out and let me know what you think!

Not another new blog!

Here we go with a brand new blog -- by a Brand New Blogger. In the horse world, they say Green and Green make Black and Blue. I guess I'm about to find out just how dangerous this might get! Fortunately, I have some "on-the-ground" experience, having been a technical writer and graphic designer for almost 15 years. It's just the blogging and yarnwear (yarnware?) that I'm new to.

I decided to start this blog to post little triumphs in life: new knit/crochet/whatever patterns and projects, equine events, and who knows what else. No promises on how often I can update. Life can get really insane, and I thought the year would be slowing down once the summer and show season was done. That has not happened this year!

To kick things off, here's my first attempt at posting a few pictures...

Snowdancer is my first horse, bought with jousting, trails, and general horseback fun in mind. She is a Belgian Draft, purchased at an auction. The other bidder was a meat buyer. (Oh, and the same week I bought her, I started dating the man who is now my husband of almost 5 years. How's that for tracking!)

For the past few years, she has been working on a new hobby -- vaulting!

My second horse, Tempest, was purchased as a yearling who had barely been handled, by all accounts. After several years of trust-building, she has turned into one of the barn's adored love bugs.

That 2nd picture was our 3rd ride, and the first going completely solo. (No holding the lead, no help on, etc.) And for scale, keep in mind that I'm definitely not a small woman -- 5'11 1/2", 34" inseam, etc.

Other than that, I don't have a lot of good photos to post of my crafting, although there are several pictures of things I have for sale on my web site, http://www.horse-round.com/:

Well, that's about it for today. I might rifle through a few other projects and take pictures of what's on the needle (knitting), hook (regular or Tunisian crocheting), fork (harpin lace), wheel/board (loom knitting) or any of the other UFOs. In the meantime, I'll figure out how to add links to some of my favorite blogs, pattern sites, friends' journals, etc.

I'm really good at making lists -- have you noticed?

Happy crafting!