Latest knitting news, landscaping chores, and candle projects

I finished the two rectangles for making the little girl's poncho. Unfortunately, I wasn't watching the length carefully enough and one rectangle wound up being a bit larger than the first one. Maybe, they could be table runners, with fringed ends or maybe I could knit a small piece and sew it onto the smaller rectangle and then finish off the poncho. or maybe I am now ready to move onto the next knitting project after I finish some of the following projects.

I need to soon finish digging up my liriope to donate to my neighbors, to my church and to finish my own landscaping while the ground is still soft from the recent rainy days. Liriope had started taking over too much area for my liking, it looks better as a single plant-wide border where I use it for edging. Then I have a Japanese maple tree and a fig tree to plant.

Then, there are the candle projects waiting to be done. One friend has a birthday in a few days and I want to give a nice homemade candle to her. Another friend wants a candle for one of her relatives. I need to make candle samples for a couple shops. Then some candles for my church's craft shop for its Open House. I am not quite sure what I want to turn by way of some of these candles

Getting late, time to put my dog Jody out one more time and then go to bed.

Wednesday

Yesterday, the green fun fur scarf project was finished, and most of it looks great except where there are holes that I had to close up with additional green fun fur yarn, and was soon wearing my own creation.

tried to start the fairly new lawnmower, to cut my lawn for the first time this year and it wouldn't start. can hear another lawnmower right know and wish mine would work, but not to worry, a friend will get the mower started in a couple days.

time to put a new row of stitches on my poncho project, (I knit three new rows on this a day just to keep this project in progress) One of my friends asked of my many knitting projects, something to the effect "how can you bear to not just finish them?" Well, I decided to take her seriously and just finish only two knitting projects at a time, until they are all done.

I will get some cool items like project and tote bags and a shirt frm "Cafepress"that let the world know that some men like myself do indeed knit and this is a hobby not just for women alone.

Past history includes the fact that men have knitted as sailors, fishermen, (whether to make sweaters, mend their nets,) or to make blankets, etc to support a war effort, etc. and that men in some cultures like the native peoples of the Andean mountain regions of Bolivia, etc, knit as they sit or walk.

Males of all ages, I have read are taking up knitting right here in the USA as a hobby, passtime, stress-reliever, etc. maybe more men might do that, perhaps when they feel a craving for a cigarette.

Just to keep themselves occupied with a better thing and could maybe just knit up a storm, chew gum, drink water and even talk to themselves (even if noone else is around to talk to) if necessary all at the same time rather than engage in a nervous, addictive and health damaging smoking habit.

Fortunately, even though I have tried smoking a few times, I have personally found the lingering taste and smell of burning tobacco so unpleasant (in my clothes, hair and skin) plus accidentally burning a small hole in my clothes and car seat due to misdirected small hot cigarette ashes blown on inward on to me by a slight breeze, that I never acquired the smoking habit and never have had another cigarette for about 4 years.

My own thoughts are also that crafts that create useful things like my candle-making and knitting are valuable indeed. I am not relying on some foreign country to produce every last thing for myself, my friends and family, I do am doing that right here in my country the USA. I am creating rather than merely consuming and doing something for my own spirit as well.



.

Beautiful Sunday here in the Washington, DC area

Today in the Washington, DC area it is sunny and hot, forsythia, hyacinths, are out as I believe likely the Japanese cherry blossoms that Kenwood, (a large suburban subdivision in Montgomery County, Maryland near DC) is too famous for. People love Kenwood to death when the white cloud like blossoms are at their peak, make driving very slow watching out for many families and their children. So, I usually just park my car, take out my bike and ride it slowly around Kenwood, sample at least one lemonade stand manned by small children offering lemonade and cookies.

I am thinking about heading down there to Kenwood today for a short while, having done my three rows a day routine on the second half of the same knitting project I mentioned Friday the 8th. I will thus have it done, by April 20th in time for open house at my consignment shop just before Mother's Day.

I plan to maybe mow my grass after I return from Kenwood as it will be both cooler and the sun less glary. The first lawn mowing of the year for my home.

In a few days, I will turn my attention to the current fun fur knitting project still left on the kid's knitting machine, tying on some more green fun fur yarn. Unfortunately, the project had gotten snagged inside of the machine several times and I had to cut it loose making some holes that I need to sew up. I bought another machine, if it performs better than this one, I will donate the first one to a consignment shop that takes all kinds of household items.

Then I have ongoing house cleaning to do some of today, take the furnace filter out for its monthly washing, etc.

Time to let the dog out and then down to Kenwood.

Ciao for now.

Welcome to Morgan's knitting blog

Today is very uneventful, friend of mine just came by and helped set up my blog about my knitting activities. So, I am writing in a blog of mine own for the first time in my life about anything.

Earlier today, I worked at my church's arts and crafts shop where some of my own knitting is consigned, there are tube scarves that I knitted on a plastic kid's handcranked machine using purple, pink and silver fun fur yarns. I have one that is going to be five feet in length when I finish (in green fun fur), wearing it for either spring this year or saving it for Saint Patrick's Day next year.

I tried crocheting for the first time in my life at a class in a local store and it took a while for me to catch on to it. I think I am more used to knitting.

Half of my little girl's poncho is finished, and I will work on the second half of it tomorrow while a friend drives me to my beach house. This consists of 2 rectangle halves sewn together and fringed. When finished, it will drape around the shoulders of a thin, slim girl. Will be somewhat stretchable done in cream colored very bulky "Lion" brand yarn with huge wooden knitting needles.

This will be consigned to my church's shop. Along with several of my homemade candles, in time for the shop's Open House just before Mother's Day. Some of those candles will be rose shaped candles on a stem done from a candle-making kit.

Well, I have to now clean house to get ready for a student tonight whom I am tutoring for the first time in Irish Gaelic language.