Knitting: Binding Off

You have finally knitted your scarf.  Now you have to bind it off or secure the remaining stitches on the needle so that it does not unravel.

To do this, you will knit the first 2 stitches.  Then you will take your left hand needle and slip it into the first stitch you knit (from left to right) and pull it over the second stitch and off the needle.

Then you will knit the next stitch from the left hand needle onto the right hand needle.  Again, you will bring the first stitch over the 2nd stitch and off the needle.

When you have reached the end, you will have one stitch remaining on your right hand needle.  Cut the yarn a few inches out and bring this end through the remaining stitch, slipping the needle out.  Weave in this strand of yarn.

done

Knitting: Garter Stitch

Now that you have learned how to cast on, it’s time to learn a basic stitch…the knit stitch.  When you knit EVERY stitch on EVERY row, it is referred to as the garter stitch or pattern.  With this stitch pattern, you will make a SCARF.

Materials:

Size US 9 needles; one pair

Any plain worsted weight yarn (like Red Heart)

(no fancy stuff)

Cast on 30 stitches as you learned in my previous post.  Switch the needle from your right hand to your left.  You should have the tail end yarn and the working yarn (the yarn comming from the skein)  at the beginning of your needle (at the point).  Pick up your other needle and insert it, from left to right, into the first stitch.  They will form an X, with the right hand needle resting behind the left hand needle.

Bring up the working yarn from behind the right hand needle and between the two needles.  Grab the yarn with the point of your right hand needle and bring it through the stitch on the left hand needle and at the same time slip the old stitch on the left hand needle off.

Repeat across until you have completed the row.  Switch the needles to opposite hands.  The right hand needle goes in your left hand and the left hand needle goes in your right.  Repeat the procedure above. 

Continue doing this until you have almost used up the entire skein of yarn.

Follow along on this video (please forgive the quality…I promise to do better with the next one).

done

My Knitted Item for the Fair is Taking Shape

Finally, I feel like I am making some headway with my knitted item for the fair!

It is a rib knit dress with I-cord trim around the neck, armholes and hem.  Of course, I haven’t got to the hem yet, but I’m working on it.  When I get that done I will be adding beads to the dress.  Just haven’t figured out where to put them yet.

The pic below shows the dress as it is now.  The slip underneath is a little long, but I will be trimming that up so that it doesn’t show.

Fairhope

We visited the quaint waterside town of Fairhope today.  It was filled with many art galleries and shops.  The town itself was founded in 1894 by 28 people with dreams of creating a utopian village.  Today it is a major tourist attraction.

We got a few pictures, but decided not to stay long as a major storm with tornado warnings was rolling in.

Down by the bay:

Summer Colds

I have a summer cold and it’s the pits!  I’m hoarse and can barely talk (maybe that’s a good thing).  I have a cough and a sore throat.  I can’t breath through my nose.  I’m just miserable!

But what to do for a summer cold, any cold for that matter?

Drink plenty of fluids.  I do that already.  I’m currently drinking a mixture of green tea, peppermint tea, echinecea, ginger, lime juice and honey. 

Will it do anything?  I don’t know, but my throat feels better.  It helps loosen up the chest congestion, at least for a little while.

Take acetaminophen.  Yep, do that too, especially when I feel achy.

Get plenty of rest.  I try, but not always possible.  I work nights.  Sleeping during the day is chaotic at best.

Colds are caused by a virus and usually last about 2 weeks.  I’ve got about a week and a half to go.   I sure wish there was a magic pill I could take and be instantly cured.  I so hate being sick!

Happy Father’s Day!

Just a quick note….

 

Hope all you dads out there have a grand day…one with lots of good memories.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail…

hopping down the bunny trail….

Wishing all of you a Joyous Easter Day!

Meeting Old Friends for the First Time

Yesterday was a wonderful day!  My hubby and I got to meet one of my internet friends and her hubby.  We have been talking online for 5 or 6 years now.   It was wonderful.  We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  We talked for about 2 hours.  Then, of course, they had to get on the road back home. 

I hope someday all of us can get together in a central location and actually visit face to face.  That would be my dream vacation.

Here’s their pic:

Cat Spit On My Hands

One of my cats seems to think I have the dirtiest hands in the universe.  Whenever he lays in my lap, he proceeds to lick my hands…every square inch of them.  Each bend, wrinkle and crevice gets a good licking.  Of course, this feels like someone taking sandpaper to my hands.   All dead skin cells are removed via his sandpaper tongue.

Yes, I let him “clean” my hands until he is content and purring happily.  And, Yes, Most Definitely, I DO wash my hand thoroughly when he is finished.

The one on right is the handwashing culprit.

Mardi Gras! What Is It?

Mardi Gras is carnival time along the Gulf Coast.  It is not only celebrated in New Orleans, but also Mobile and Pensacola and most towns in between. 

It begins 12 days after Christmas and ends on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.    It is celebrated in many ways, from extravagant costume parties and balls, to small family and friends get togethers.    Many groups of revelers called “krewes” decorate and man floats in local parades.  They throw beads, moonpies, even crawfish to the crowds lining the streets. 

One of the traditional food items common this time of year is the King Cake, a cinnamon roll type cake decorated with icing and green, gold and purple colored sugar.

The History Behind Mardi Gras King Cakes

The King Cake is believed to have originated in France around th 12th Century.  These early Europeans celebrated the comming of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts twelve days after Christmas calling it the Feast of the Epiphany, Twelfth Night or King’s Day.

The main part of the celebration was the baking of a King Cake to honor the three Kings.  The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the Kings to get to the Christ Child and confuse King Herod, who was trying to follow the wise men so he could kill the Christ Child.  In these early King Cakes, a bean, a pea or a coin was hidden inside the cake.  The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day, or was said to have good luck in the comming year.

In Louisiana, Twelfth Night also signifies the beginning of the carnival season, which ends on Mardi Gras Day.  The beans, peas and coins have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child.  The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake Party.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.