It was Midsummer…

I kind of like this picture of me…

 

moved from my Yahoo! 360 blog

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More cat swaps…

This month’s color theme for Feline Flipflop is black, white and pink – and aqua. I think it’s pretty ok… I like the black crocheted cat 🙂 So does my husband… So I’m going to crochet cats in the future as well. The black-and-white can thingy is a vanilla candle and it smells divine… 🙂

I was looking at some of my old pictures… I look better without makeup than with… Weird… but – really good, because I’m allergic to most of the makeup stuff… and couldn’t do my own make-up even if you tortured me 😉

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Wysocki’s Magnificat

This is me and my husband in our olden days…

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Midsummer…

Midsummer in Scandinavia is about as big as 4th of July in USA. My husband and I, we were at my sister’s and had a wonderful time 🙂 I love my sisters 🙂

In Finland they burn Midsummer fires – yes, the picture is taken quite late at night… It is not for nothing it’s called “the land of the midnight sun” 😉

I was surfing again and found this interesting blog entry: http://myblog.de/lucamutzel/art/3718138
I think the lace pattern made of self-striping yarn looks very inspiring, but… what’s with the heel? It looks like she makes the heel like a thumb on a mitten; knits the sock, and then picks the stitches of the heel and decreases… like toes… Very interesting. Looks like an easy way of knitting a sock heel. 🙂

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Some finished things

I finished the color blox sox for Six Sox Knit-a-long. My first toe-ups 🙂 And the end was probably my first multidirectional knitting LOL There’s a nice spiral going on and it all ends up in garter stitch brim, which is knitted… er… I really don’t know the words LOL well, in different direction 🙂

The other pair of paws belong to our dog, Boris 🙂 Much prettier 🙂 But I’m almost as white LOL

The yarns used are machine knitting yarn, 1-ply, four folded; the bluish-greenish is Mountain Colors in “Evergreen” colorway, and the yellow and golden brown are the same Norwegian sock yarn I made the pink and white 6th sense socks for Six Sox. I dyed the white yellow with food coloring. It’s variegated, but that doesn’t show too well in the picture. Here’s some cat toys I crocheted with the same yarn, where the yarn shows better.

I also made the Rabbit Tracks scarf. It’s easy and pretty pattern and I knitted it of the 1-ply machine knitting yarn, but OH MY! HOW BOOOOORIIIIING!!!!! I have to say that I think it looks more like cat paw marks 🙂

And here’s something to my swap pals 🙂 If you can, PLEASE, get me the corset pattern LOL
I love almost all of Annie Modesitt patterns… The “Butter and Jam” cardigan is on my “want to do” list

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Look into my nostrils… look deep into my nostrils…

Yeah… it’s an old photo 🙂 But I haven’t changed that much during the last days, you know 😉

It’s summer now, Midsummer to be precise… and the days are just getting shorter and shorter from now on… but tomorrow the Scandinavia will celebrate Midsummer with dance, song and fire – and the sun will be on the sky all the time. We are now a kingdom where sun never goes down 😉

I am very anxious… for nothing at all. I’m not sure if this medication is of any help – it was supposed to aid my therapy, but nothing is happening in the therapy anyways during the summer. Everyone is on vacation… and I’m drowning… *sigh*

I had a horrible dream last night, my sisters were being mean to me, my teacher thought I was a guy and all the other girls were slender and graceful… and my teeth broke. There was a huge hole in my smile, with a tooth missing from both upper and lower jaw… and the pieces of tooth were burgundy red… It was a great surprise to look in the mirror in the morning, and see me instead of that toothless, genderless blob I was in my dream. *brrr*

 

Moved from Yahoo! 360 blog

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Magic yarn ball

This is my magical yarn ball 🙂 I didn’t find much information about the receiver, so I just guessed. I wanted to make a themed ball, and I chose Autumn, as she had a picture of herself on her blog and it looked like she might well appreciate this.

It all starts with a lovely handmade soap with strong lavender scent – I packaged the soap in clear, thick foil, so I hope the scent will be limited to the soap… it doesn’t smell bad, but most people don’t want their stuff to smell too strong.

Then there’s a handmade maple-leaf measuring tape and a handmade needlebook – I painted the felt myself. I think it turned out really nicely 🙂
Then there’s 6 handmade autumn leaf knit markers, a sheep key ring and two bags of tea; English Breakfast – perfect color – and Oriental Green Tea. I hope she likes tea.
And to finish the ball off, there’s a pretty orange butterfly, made of feathers. I do hope it survives the long trip to its destiny… it’s very fragile.

I think my “ball” looks nice 🙂

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Socks, socks, and more socks…

Darn, darn, diggety-darn… Another little swap I missed 😦

“Knit Sock Kit Swap:

Included in the package to your pal should be:

• A little-project bag MADE BY YOU
• A sock pattern
• Enough yarn to make the pattern
• Accessories to help

You could also include

• Instructions for a new sock making technique (how to knit toe up socks, or using Magic Loop, for example)
• Treats (who can’t use a bit of candy to help with boring or challenging parts?)
• Whatever you think should go in the Sock Kit!”

I hope they will repeat this so that I can get along…

Another sock thingy I’m sorry I missed – the Summer of Socks… the last day to join was already in May 😦 So I hope some kind soul will organize “The Fall and Rise of Socks” or something.

Then there’s the Sock Nation. Of course I’m a proud citizen LOL

Of course real women knit socks… 😉

There’s the “Sensational Knitted Socks Knit-A-Long” – I don’t have Sensational Knitted Socks… 😦 I think my socks are pretty sensational, but… well… *sigh*

But here’s “Sock It To Me KAL” – and that one seems to be for all sock knitters – they even provide links to free sock patterns on-line LOL

Right now I have knitted 3 pairs of socks this year.

There’s Count Your Socks KAL, Sock Club KAL for the members of the Blue Moon Rockin’ Sock Club, Red Hot Sizzling Socks KAL, and KAL’s for many different popular patterns, like Jaywalkers or Pomatomus socks…

Nancy Bush’s socks are very popular… There’s a web ring for “Nancy Bush Knitters” and a group for “Knitting on the Road“, “Folk Socks” and “Knitting Vintage Socks“.

There’s Sock knitters SAM and “Socks, Socks, Socks” KAL. That’s another book I would love to own… I like the socks in it. 🙂 There’s also a KAL for “Knit Socks”…

It’s the year 2006 – for any sock knitter, that reads “two thousand socks” 😉

I think THIS 200socks thingy is different… it’s very confusing…

or “Joy of Socks” is a great sock blog.

There was a picture she had taken of all the socks she had made… (except a few) and I was thinking about all the socks I have made. Right now I cannot remember anything else, but those three I have made this year, a pair I knit at school, with knitting machine, and one sock I knit with the yarn from our own sheep, dyed with “lady’s mantle” (A plant, Alchemilla Vulgaris)… but I have a memory of something brown too… with three different colors… and I’m pretty sure I knit socks even before that… but… that’s like when I was younger than 20. Uh, there’s a Finnish saying “Joka vanhoja muistaa sitä tikulla silmään” (poke the eye out of the one who dwells in past things). So – never mind what I have made in last century… last millenium 😉

There’s Sock Yarn Addicts Club (SYAC) – and if you see some shiny big stars in some blogs, you know that the yarn addict have managed to keep sober from her addiction 😉 I actually deserve a gold star… I haven’t bought any sock yarn for… er… a couple of months, I think… the last yarn I bought was in the middle of April, and it was some lace-weight yarn… but on the other hand, I used it four-folded to knit socks, so… Sock yarn addicts can use ANYTHING to knit socks LOL It was two months ago anyway 😉

Then there’s the famous Sock-a-pal-oo(add the amount of o’s needed)-za. I’m going to join the 4-o 😀

There’s also Socktober fest coming 😀 I hope there will be one this year, because I have missed the both previous ones… so keep your eyes open…

I really like knitting socks… it’s small enough to be ready quickly, there’s enough action and techniques to keep me interested (never more a shawl!!!) and everyone loves socks. They are also not too expensive to get materials for, and one doesn’t need much yarn to knit socks.
You can check out my Yahoo! album for “socks” to see which socks I’m planning on knitting 😉

Edited: The links to the socks on my album are mostly on these blog entries at Yahoo! 360
Socks, socks and more socks… and More sock links

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Just a short note…

Here‘s an absolutely wonderful, amazing cat-bat-type gargoyle 🙂

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Some free patterns LOL

Just to keep everything together 😉

Ulla – sort of Finnish version of Knitty
Anticraft
Magknits

Snow Hearthwitch is giving us a lovely morning message every now and then, sharing some free patterns she has found on-line 🙂
Like these: Knitting-and-com
these: Ram Wools and this: HappyGhan
This: Debbie Bliss’ Lace and Bobble jacket
this: Magickal Yarn Doll
or this: Drops’ crocheted cardigan

CraftBits

It’s a nice idea to surf the yarn manufacturers’ sites, as most of them offer free patterns
Here’s
Caron
Cascade Yarns
Berroco
Lion Brand
Wool Needlework
Elann
Yarn Market
– they offer some free patterns “courtesy of some of your favorite yarn companies — Artyarns, Cherry Tree Hill, Crystal Palace, Lana Grossa, Rio de la Plata, South West Trading Company, Tahki-Stacy Charles, Twisted Sisters and Windy Valley Muskox — along with those from Yarnmarket designers too“
Unique One Sweaters and Yarn

And the free pattern collections aren’t too bad either – of course, “free pattern” has a taste of “it’s not good enough to be sold”, but some of them aren’t actually that bad. One makes finds every now and then 🙂 Even at Annie’s Attic 😉

So here’s some from “knitting.about.com“
Free-knitting-patterns
Knitting Pattern Central
Free Knitting Patterns Webring
Afghans and more
Knit-o-matic
Knitting help

This is cute 😀 “Ultimate “Stocking Stuffer” Crocheted Gift Basket“

Some knitting magazines have site too with some free patterns.
Like Rebecca
Kathy’s Creations is an e-zine

Grand Blue Door has a knitblog called “Chile con yarne” 😀 I like the patterns, and she has started selling them now 🙂

Cat Bordhi’s free patterns

The Knitlist

Poor Miss Finch

I’m still waiting for the money so that I can go and get myself some YARN!!!
I need some cotton, so that I can use my swap gifts, and make myself some tops 🙂
Then I need some to make the White Lies Shapely top, which is the new Knit-A-Long project 🙂 I really like it 🙂
Then I need to get my swap packages together and send them 🙂 Two feline flip-flops, one mystery craft, Secret Pal 8, One Skein, Magic Yarn Ball, Coloriffic and Cup of Java – and three private swaps 🙂 11 packages…
And then my favorite sister has birthday – and her husband turns 40 🙂 Oh, how old we are!!! It was just a couple of years ago, when we all were 20-something! Time flies…

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