Some randomness

I hope you all had a great weekend. The Queen Princess had off school Friday & today. She was happy to have 4 days off. The party for her classroom on Thursday went well.

Now for a bit of randomness (since I don't have any really exciting things to share with you!).

I finished my second sock- S A TUR DAY... NIGHT! - remember that song, by the Bay City Rollers?? If you weren't alive (or weren't very old) when that song was out, don't tell me! Anyway. I finished my second sock. This one is an ankle length sock & I have about half a skein of yarn left over (I don't have a scale, so I don't know exactly how much was left over - I'm just guessing about the half a skein). The knitting is much more uniform on this sock (see the picture showing both of the socks). I love the leg length. I want to finish its mate by Wednesday, so that I can wear the pair to my Nutty Knitters group.



Last week, I was visiting a neighbor. She was in the process of making Easter eggs. She takes styrofoam eggs and pins sequins & beads all over the egg. They look so cool. She's an artist (she does watercolor, acrylics and pencil drawings) and has a good eye for color. She doesn't knit, though. Anyway. She was talking about selling these eggs in one of the local gift stores and said that she needs a way to present them. This got me thinking about felted knit baskets. So I went home, got out some wool yarn, and started to knit a basket. The picture shows the end result. It's a little too floppy for me. So I'm thinking of ways to add some stiffness to the sides, bottom and handle. Any suggestions?

My next basket will be a little smaller. And probably without a handle. I'm thinking these would be great for Christmas, Easter, everyday gift baskets. I'd just use different colors. I'm also thinking that some needle felting would look nice on these (random designs, tulips, eggs, flowers, stars, etc.). I also have some wooden beads which would look nice, sewn onto the basket.

Years ago, I got some wooden beads from a great-Uncle. Well, from his estate, when he passed away. The executor wasn't interested in trying to sell these things (beads, string for the beads, patterns). My great-Uncle had TB as a child & spent time in an institution. While there, he made beaded things (bags, purses,etc.). One year I made Christmas ornaments from some of the beads (using a portion of a pattern for a beaded purse). Recently I was shopping for clothing for the QP and noticed that alot of the clothing had wooden beads on - and that there were even beaded purses. I still have alot of beads left. Now I think of ways to add them to my knitted items.

I always have projects in my mind. Things I see. Things I think of (like the felted basket). Things I think of changing/adding/deleting from a pattern. I can never just knit something. My mind always thinks of ways to tweak it - or of other things to make, using a certain technique. I have more projects in my mind than I'll probably ever be able to finish.

Having said that, I plan on joining the Dye - O - Rama Swap that Scout is starting. The official sign-up will start Thursday, April 20th at 6PM (MST). Sign-ups will be accepted for 48 hours. There will also be a website just for the Dye - O - Rama Swap. This will be so much fun! I've been wanting to try dyeing yarn, and this is the perfect opportunity. The button for the Dye - O - Rama has been moved to the bottom of my blog (it was fighting with the blog text). If you're interested, be sure to sign up on the 20th!

Is anyone going to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival? If so, Cara has arranged for a get-together of bloggers. It will be on Saturday, May 6th at 1:30 PM, at the Stage Area. If you want to participate, let Cara know.

That's all for tonight. MAKE it a great day!