My first test knit and other fun stuff

I have lots to talk about today! I have been knitting steadily and have pictures to show you. We have another new pet. I was going to review a book today but will just review the test knit pattern instead. So here we go!

Sorry again for how the pictures are all at the bottom and mixed up. I don't know why this app won't at least put them in the order I choose.



Knitting

On the needles

Candle Flame by Dean Crane
I have cast on a lovely shawl in a pattern called Candle Flame. I am loving this pattern. There was a mistake in the pattern that I had started with so I had to search the Internet for the fixed version. After that it has been pretty smooth knitting. I am knitting in in some Crystal Palace Yarn called Meringue. It is super soft and squishy. It tends to split very very easily, but the softness and beautiful color makes it worth it.

FO/review

BLT by dartfrog911
I finished my test knit! It is a BLT scarf pattern by dartfrog911 on ravelry. To me it seemed like it is a shawl, but who am I to judge. The pattern could be knit with or without beads. I chose to knit it with beads. I have decided I like beaded knitting. This was my first and it is an easy, beginner pattern. The pattern comes with both a chart, which I still haven't learned to knit from one yet, and the written instructions. It can be made with any type of yarn and any size needles. I used size 9 needles for it and a four ply Mary Maxim yarn. It was a good beginner lace and beaded knit pattern. It had clear, easy to follow instructions. You could easily learn to read a chart, if you wanted to, with this pattern as well, since it has the written and charted pattern together. The center stitch and beaded stitches were clearly marked. You can knit it to any size you wish by simply adding to the repeats.
The only problem I had while knitting it was at the very beginning. It calls for you to knit x amount of stitches, then turn it ninety degrees to pick up some, then turn it again to pick up some more. I got confused because I'm not used to picking up stitches, especially in that way. My live or active stitch, whatever you call the next one to be knitted, kept ending up being behind the stitches i had just picked up. After a little maneuvering, I got them to where they should be. I asked the designer about it and she told me a different beginning to the pattern that would be easier yet give the same look to the edge. I thought that was nice of her. I really look forward to knitting more projects from this designer.

There are pictures below of the test knit and my Candle Flame.

Future knitting

I plan to cast on another shawl this week for a Gratitude KAL that is going on in The Fat Squirrel Speaks Podcast group. I still plan on knitting some socks, but am waiting to see if I get a scale for Mother's Day so I can divide my yarn evenly. I still want to do two at a time toe up. Also I think I will start another baby blanket soon. I found out that my future brother in law is expecting a baby this winter. Yay! Another baby to make things for. I assume that my bestie will soon tire of me making her baby items, so this means I have someone else to make them for that may appreciate them. I hate knitting for people that don't understand the time, energy, and love that goes into anything that we make by hand.

RAK
I got two more RAKs! The first one was a book from a lady in the Book RAK group on ravelry. She sent me The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It is the first book in the Thursday Next series. It looks like it will be a great read! I meant to start reading it the day I received it, but got sidetracked by the last few chapters of the Pride and Prejudice audiobook that I was listening to yet again and just had to finish.
The second RAK was a lovely package all the way from a lady in south Africa. She sent me two adorable project bags, an assortment of stitch markers, and a little thing of Happy Hands cream in mochachino scent. It was so fun to open the package and discover the goodies she had sent me.

Gardening

I don't have anything garden related really. My strawberries still show no sign of life. I think I got a dud set of roots from the store. My veggie seedlings are still trying to survive. I hope to finally borrow a tiller next week and get my garden tilled up so I can transplant them outside.

Cooking
I haven't really found any new recipes to try out lately. I look for some but nothing catches my fancy. We've been eating a lot of sandwiches lately. I haven't felt like cooking really. My son cooked dinner tonight, which was nice. He made us all some tasty hamburgers. He cooked some hamburger helper earlier in the week also. He made,to go along with it, some mashed potatoes to which he added some sour cream and chives. He is like me when it comes to cooking. He likes to add lots of different seasonings and herbs to come up with new flavors instead of plain ole hamburger helper and mashed potatoes.

That is about it for today. I used my itty bitty minuscule tax return to buy a fish tank for Zade, my daughter's Beta fish she got last week. He is a little freaked out by being moved from a tiny round home with no current, to a ten gallon rectangle with a filter and waving fake plants. Hope he doesn't totally lose it when I buy done kind of bottom feeder to put in there with him. I was thinking either a plecostomus or some ghost shrimp. Or whatever kind of fish that won't eat his beautiful fins.

We brought home a cat today to live outside. My aunt had found Miss Kitty and brought her home to her farm. She stayed in the basement for a short time and had some kittens. Now they are weaned and all live out in a barn. The problem was that Miss Kitty seems to like to kill baby chickens, as well as the mice that live in the barns. So she needed a new home. We got her home today and she immediately decided to roam the neighborhood. I have no idea how to keep her here. She knows there is food and water on our back deck, so hopefully that will keep bringing here back here. There are lots of cats roaming the neighborhood, so I guess she will be fine. The only problem is that one of the neighbor girls has threatened to hurt Miss Kitty if she keeps coming into their yard. The girl doesn't like that her cat got upset and hissed at Miss Kitty. She doesn't want her cat upset I guess and doesn't want Miss Kitty to come around anymore. I am tempted to talk to her mother, as her threats upset Serenity and she is scared that the girl really will hurt our cat.

So that is it for tonight. I am going to go to bed and dream about knitting toys and blankies and other soft, lovely baby items. In two weeks from yesterday my bestie will have her baby shower. I will then post pictures if what I made for her baby. I can't wait for July to roll around so I can help welcome her baby girl into the world. I hope to at least be at the hospital when she is born, if not right in the delivery room.

So I will say goodnight for now. I don't even know if anyone really reads this blog. I have only had one comment since I started updating regularly. Let me know if you all ate really out there! Leave a comment here or contact me on plurk (ahume08) or ravelry (anonymous76). I would love to hear from you!

Until next week my faithful tanglers,

Happy Crafting