My new swift

I really, really, really, really, really wanted a swift. However, I didn't want to pay upwards of $70 for one. I'll admit, I'm cheap. I started looking online for cheaper ones and saw several different designs. Looking at some I thought they were garbage, looking at others, I thought, "Hmmm, I'll bet Dad & I could make one cheaper." Needless to say, he agreed so we did. I give you my collapsable swift.Dad is a bit of a builder type and had tons of extra wood. The base is pine, the cross arms are oak, and the pegs are cherry. The cross arms are each roughly 31" long. We drilled holes for the pegs 2", 6", & 10" from each end. This will allow for flexibility based on the amount of yarn I'm using. Very pretty in person. I'm debating adding finish or leaving it as-is. The arms spin around the center post. Nice and smooth I might add...
Dad thought I should make it so I can take it apart. I can see where he's coming from, however, with the way I work, that means I'm guaranteed to lose several pieces before I ever use it. Notice the small sewing ruler in the upper left of the pic. I added that so you could see how large it actually is.

Latest knitted projects

I made these gloves for myself from the book "One Skein". I recently purchased the book because I have oodles of leftover yarn from other projects. I wanted a way to use it without feeling like I had to purchase more. I highly recommend buying the book, I LOVE it!
This was made for my friend's daughter, Cameron. She is a wonderful six year old. I saw this pattern in "Stitch'NBitch" and it had her name all over it. I'm hoping I remembered the color right. If she doesn't like it, I'll wear it. Meow!

Carv'in Pumpkins

Scooping the guts out of the pumpkin. He was very excited about this step. I must be honest, he did an excellent job! Hubby was very impressed with his skills. I think we have a future surgeon in our family. :)

I am second guessing the surgeon bit...Looking at this, I think maybe he'll be a mechanic. You know, head under the hood, etc. He tells me he was, "checking for seeds". What a cutie! When DC saw this, he laughed out loud. He had no idea his WHOLE face and part of his head was actually inside the pumpkin.

Final products. Notice the goofy looking one on the left. NC drew the face on the pumpkin BY HIMSELF! That's right. I carved it just as he drew it. What an artist.

Boo at the Zoo

Here we are at "Boo at the Zoo". It's a way for kids to trick-or-treat in a safe environment. We went a couple of days before Halloween. NC was a blue dinosaur. I'm the one in green.

DPN case

At my husband's request, I started packing my knitting things (books, yarn, needles, yarn, bags, yarn) for the journey home. I decided in the middle of packing I really needed to get my "stuff" together and organize my DPNs. Hence the case. When my mom was visiting in May, she helped me figure out (along with my little sis's online pattern) how to construct one. Again, this is a project that took months of planning and minutes of actual construction. End result, utter glee and happiness on my part.

closed

flap closed

flap open

happy needles saying, "hi"

Samus finished...finally!

My first zipper

My first cable project (I can spot the error, can you?)

The entire sweater FINISHED!

This was quite the project. I found it on knitty. It's one of my favorite websites. I started it right before my mom, sister, niece, and nephew came for a visit in April. May was when I set it down due to the endless amount of straight stitches it calls for once the cabling is done. I decided to give it another go once school got out challenging myself to finish before moving back to NE. Needless to say, I got done. I used a washable wool and wound up having TONS of leftover. Enough to make a hat or mittens. Who knows. This pattern is wonderful if you want to adapt your own cable pattern, etc. Believe it or not, I actually made this for MYSELF. I am in shock as well.