how I made the edging...

lay a crochet hook on top of a knitting needle and make a

long tail cast on

really really long tail!!!

make ten stitches on the needles 

make sure the yarn goes over both of them and doesn't get trapped between!!!

using the 

WORKING yarn

(the one that comes off the ball)

yo and pull the loop through the stitches

it will be awkward but it works

(I used 4mm needle and hook... but use what you think is right to make it how big you want it!!

and for this I used Lily cotton...the kind we make wash cloths with!!!)

take the work off the needle and put the pulled loop back on the needle

and the first loop too

voila!!

put the hook back on the needle and make 10 more cast on stitches

make sure there isn't a big gaping gap between the first set and the new one!!!

I know!!!

continue to do this until you have as many 

shells/fans/scallops as you need/want

now you need to connect them by knitting on more cast on stitches

knit the first stitch

and cast on two more stitches before working the next stitch

(I used the twisted loop method...don't know what it's actually called

 you wrap the yarn around your finger and put it on the needle )

?

so we have the stitches on the needle with two new cast ons

do this till all the sets have been done

then decide if you are going to continue just knitting on

or

if you have made a piece of lacy edging that can be added to something else

I cast off the first piece

made a second piece ... changed colour

and kept knitting

will show what when it's finished

!!!

I am useless at writing how-to's, so if you have a problem with this, ask and we'll figure it out...

:)

colour here...

and there....

some silicone muffin liners

bright happy neon colours

nothing wrong with that

blue berry muffins

in said muffin cups

nothing wrong with that, put the kettle on

and some

vintage-y looking fabric I forgot I had

called jelly rolls

long strips all rolled up

nothing wrong with that, at all

more hex's possible

:}

and to practice my "Quilting" abilities

a new

pin cushion

nothing  more useful than that

.....................................................

:}

second verse...

same as the first!!

ever present

always glad to see'em...

 ^^^^^^^^^HONKER^^^^^^^........................... left of the flags.............. not the Canada goose...!!!

:}

while taking care of the bit of baking I did today

a fresh loaf and a banana bread made with some mighty ripe 'nana's

they arrived in a flotilla

and out of the water some of them got 

and 

HONKER

let us know they had arrived

they signal the time to start thinking about making something for us to eat

they like next door's lawn...they come when no one is home

and I'm not tellin'!!!

three of the hexagon "flowers" 

don't really know how to finish them so I played

wish I hadn't put them together as it's now difficult to actually do something with them

like make a "straight" mat...will have to play some more

have some boring hot pads

maybe!!??

late afternoon sun...

here 

lots of geese floating on the water

there are new comers and old ones and a group of the babies 

just chillin' in the sun

seems it was a lovely day today so I took a little meander outside

when the sun was getting low and the shadows were getting long and sharp

inside the shadows did their thing too

on the shells and the pine needles

on my desk with the new edging I just found and HAD to try

will show you some other time

now it's time for fabric and sun and shadows 

and black eyed susans 

and

bright bee balm

and the ever present

gooses

a change of needles...

I absolutely know that you will understand

I feel the need to put down these

pick up these to make these

I suddenly need to make

hexagons

not yarn ones

but

fabric ones

for no particular reason other than

it takes my fancy!!!!!

I will get back to the yarn

but I need to put it away for now

COZ IT'S DRIVING ME

CRAZY!!!

and I know you understand that too!!!

so after a little play around yesterday figuring out how to do it the old fashioned way

I made some paper hex's

and this morning

as I got up nice and early

and after my coffee and an episode of 

the Vicar of Dibley !!!!!

I cut a couple of cardboard templates and

off I went

fun fun fun

and I have been collecting little stashes of fabric

one fat quarter collection

at a time

and I have a pile

as you can see

so I'll be hexing for a while

what are you doing???

a gift...

so... there I was on a Sunday afternoon

admiring my new purchase that had come a couple of days ago

and promptly disappeared into the pile of stuff that seems to sit in a certain spot

(and just refuses to leave....get smaller...bugger orff....go away...no matter how many times I beat it down)

and looking up how to read knitting charts online and getting grumpy

again!!!

.................................................................

when I saw the

shawl I lust after

I looked for some yummy yarn

and found it on Knit Picks

if you don't know Knit Picks 

or you don't have a special "yarn provider"

go

they have lots and lots to choose from and the prices are good too

always a help in filling that basket!!!

anyway

I was admiring this

merino/silk blend

 Gloss Lace

Winter Night

and dreaming of making the shawl

................

husband must have heard the 

SIGH

and 

on his way past the door asked if something was wrong

you know with the

computer

of course

I said no

 just lusting

-over what now-

he asked

THIS said I

like always

-so get it and learn as you go

and get some yarn

looks like you need more-

:P

I already have the yarn

I said waving the 

merino/silk blend in the air

I already have it and the new needles too

-so what's the problem-

....

well, that broke the spell I had been under 

and 

I decided to check the e-mail

and there 

was 

a 

gift 

for 

me

from Andi

my favourite knitter 

:)xx

all I had to do was click on it and it

showed up on 

Ravelry

all ready for me to cast on and begin what will be a journey of the knitting kind

Andi bought me 

the pattern 

(so I shut up about it and get on with it!!!!!!!!)

so I'm off

after doing what I HAVE to do

I'm sitting down and starting it

in there somewhere is the pattern... but it's a little shy

I grabbed a bit of yarn and cast on and tried the chart

it worked

!!!!

mohair is not the yarn to use ... too fluffy!!!

then, there was the mohair ball staring at me

(I bought more than one of these babies!!!)

too fluffy

and I did it again

and it worked again

so

it works.... let's see if I do!!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :)

thank you Andi 

you are just the

♥♥♥ sweetest  ♥♥♥

MWAH!!!

(knit knit yo ssk k2tog yo knit knit knit)

all things bright...and beautiful...

all I did to this was crop it

the colours are as the camera saw them

a black eyed Susan opening up in the warm and slightly humid morning

this is the one I showed you the other day

open and striking in the light

there are many many lilies this year

but this is the only one with the sun inside it

again all I did was crop a bit

the light is wonderful outside

but there is some shade 

for the ferns

this one is so old but it never stops unfurling itself

in the dappled shade of the bed

the sun drops are still blooming

and making shadows on themselves

they really do light the place up

and it's such a shame they don't last longer

there was only one bee that I saw

and these blooms should be covered in them by now

and butterflies too

but I haven't seen any yet

nor the humming birds

maybe I'm just not looking hard enough!!!

or it's still too early for them to be here in numbers

will keep watching!!

meanwhile inside

not much in the way of hooking or clicking has been happening

I'm in a bit of a lull and it's mainly because I'm at a loss as to what to do

I think Annette has figured out the stitch mystery to her satisfaction

she says it looks like a sc ch1

always the simple answers it seems

:) 

I did buy some mohair that I saw online somewhere

'coz I've never had any

it was on sale so I got it

(ever the tight wad is she)!!!!

but it made me start on this scarf/shawl that I saw on

Ravely

and in other's blogs

especially may favourite knitter of all

Andi 

so I just got down to it and found it to be so easy I feel completely stupid for thinking I couldn't do it

we do that sometimes

 don't we

silly us

!!!

so... I am doing it slowly and steadily

and I'm dreaming of other shawls I might make

someday

in the future

up the road

down the line some time

the one I truly

 deeply 

passionately 

want to make ...may just be beyond me

because I think it is charted and I don't do knitting charts

but maybe 

if I concentrate really really hard 

and ask for help from all of you who know how to read knitting charts

one day I may have

 this

I'll dream a little while longer and try to figure it all out

after all

 there was a day not that long ago when we couldn't do any of the things we can do now

so 

on that positive note

I wish you all a good week end

may it be dry and warm and wonderful

and

fluffy

just like my big ball of

mohair

♥♥♥