Saturday 6 July 2013

Bustin' a Scrap

Hi Lynn,
All is well with me. We did get a chance to celebrate the 4th -- in a way -- by making S'mores in our kitchen. Firstly, this may not seem like a big deal, but it really is, because you can't find graham crackers in New Zealand and the marshmallows here are not quite the same as American marshmallows. Thanks to some Yankie friends of ours, we were able to obtain all the ingredients. The marshmallows are HUGE, named 'Rockie Mountain Mega Marshmallows'. We used our gas camp stove, set on the kitchen counter, to toast the 'mallows. What a treat!
The chocolate is hiding underneath in this photo. They were sticky, messy, gooey and overly-sweet, just as a S'more should be.
I love that 'grab and go' hat you are making with your egg-carton scraps. I am particularly fond of the colors purple, green and red together. Wonderful! There's nothing better than knitting on a road trip, especially if the hubby is driving!

Knitting-wise, I've been busy too. It was great to get the Scrap-Buster hat pattern finished and posted this week. I just love this pattern! I love it so much, I made another one. My bag of scraps is now severely diminished, which is a good thing. What's so fun about these hats is you never know how they will turn out. Here the original I made for the pattern.

And another one...more subtle, earthy colors...
I also put the finishing touches on my experimental crocheted flower hat using that amazing Kaffe Fassett yarn. I put a lining on the inside, and put a tassle on the top, which somehow tied it all together and made it complete.
I also finished a UFO -- a poncho I made a while back. But now that's finished, I'm having serious doubts about it. It makes me resemble something like a grain silo. I am considering some drastic 'surgery' involving multiple steeks, but for now I'm too chicken to actually do it, so it's till in the 'thinking about it' stage. The gyst of my idea is to turn it from a poncho into a tunic. If and when I actually get up the courage to 'operate,' I'll be sure to post photos. Really, there is nothing to lose, if I don't want to wear it as is. 

We've been blessed with a bit of fine, warmer weather this week. Just enjoying not being freezing.

Got lots of knitting on my mind, so with that thought, I'll bid you adieu. 
Hugs, Christine


P.S. Another finished shawlette


I forgot to tell you I finished the shawlette a few days ago.  Here it is pre-blocking, which I'll complete today.

Egg Carton Scrap Knitting

Hi Christine,

It's the 4th of July weekend here in the States.  Hopefully, you celebrated with our expat friends there in New Zealand.  I hope you are staying warm and cozy in your winter.  I am melting in this Southwestern heat wave.


Hat knitting is practically an addiction for me and yesterday morning we were in a hurry to get on the road for our long drive to Boulder. I desperately grabbed the first thing I saw on my way out the door, an egg carton filled with scraps of (mostly) Cascade and Noro yarn. Once in the car I thought I'd made a terrible mistake but what could I do? KNIT!  So, while hubby drove, I knitted.  

Surprisingly, the colorway is not horrible and my hat knitting addiction was satisfied as we drove over the Rockies and watched the gorgeous scenery.

This is the stash buster summer, (I've noticed) and it's very satisfying to get more organized by knitting up bits and pieces laying around. It's great to create usable items.

I love your scrap buster hat, a newly posted pattern for sale on our website.

Happy Knitting!
Lynn

Sunday 30 June 2013

Ice Cave Beanie

Hi Christine,

I really love your wing it hat.  What a great design!  The colors are gorgeous.









I finished the beanie and am doing some more Zen knitting on the shawlette while it blocks. It will be dry by morning. I was inspired by looking at photos of the Ice caves. Tom took this one back in 2001.

Hugs, Lynn