Saturday, September 17, 2011

Still knitting

The summer really flew by and now I find myself right smack dab in the middle of September. Can't believe the month is half gone. It really feels like fall already. It is actually cold here with the temps yesterday barely reaching 60 degrees.

I have not been a very good blogger. At the beginning of the summer I thought I'd have so much time to do everything I wanted to do. Never happened. I did have a wonderful visit with my sister and husband, but the rest of the summer just flew by.  We spent a little time at the cape. Then, once home had an extended power outage due to that nasty "lady" named Irene, mean Irene, as I have heard her called. The hurricane that hit New England pretty hard. We didn't have much damage, a few minor branches down, but we lost power, phone, cable, internet for almost four days. That was hard. We managed ok. I bought ice to try to save our food. Lost some, but not due to spoilage. Just couldn't refreeze what had thawed and couldn't cook and eat it all. Lost the ice cream I had. We sacrificed it, knowing the if we opened up the freezer to eat it, we definitely would lose what was in the freezer.

I have been knitting. I've been listening to audiobooks. Early in the spring/summer I discovered them and have not looked back. It all started when I borrowed one of those playaways at  my library and I liked it! I also tried downloading audiobooks from my local library. My middle son was kind enough to let me borrow his MP3 player, a sansa fuze, and I loved it! Totally awesome and I found myself not only knitting with it, but cooking and doing my household chores while listening to my books. This takes multitasking to a whole new level for me. Doing something you enjoy while doing things that are not, well, exciting, makes me stay focused and I easily get the jobs done with less distraction. I also found when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep, I really liked listening to my books. Since my husband didn't know what I wanted for my birthday in June, I suggested he get me my very own fuze. Which he did. I did a little research and found that the best model for audiobooks is the older model of the  Sansa Fuze MP3 Players), the same one my son has:
IMG_1271I found it surprising that the newer and "improved" fuze was not so good with audiobooks from the reviews I had read. Thankfully new models of the old fuze are still available. I bought mine on amazon. I have got to tell you I LOVE that little thing.

Now this leads me to tell you about what I have been knitting, well actually if you really must know know I did do some crochet, not knitting this time. I needed something to hold my fuze when I would listen to it in the middle of the night. I came up with this, a bed sling for my fuze:IMG_1313IMG_1314

Perfect to hang on the bedpost. It keeps it nice and handy for when I need it during the night. I can listen and I don't disturb my husband. Perfect!

Then I realized I could use a sling for me to wear around my neck. Most of my pockets don't hold much and some of my pants don't even have pockets. I didn't want to buy a special case so I crochet a similar little pouch to wear around my neck. IMG_1311IMG_1312The neck sling is ideal for a mobile fuze holder while I'm actively doing housework or just for sitting and knitting and when I knit and listen in the car. It's always handy. Can you tell how happy I am with the way both of these slings turned out?IMG_1315


The other project I worked on was a poncho for me to wear in the house this winter. I can wear it over my multiple layers when I get cold. I made it on the suggestion of my sister when she was here this summer. I used some of her handspun wool, plus some of my odds end ends of wool yarn that I have accumulated. It is a real stashbuster! She even furnished me with the pattern. Not sure where she got it from....have not been able to find it on the internet anywhere. Here it is:IMG_1320IMG_1323


I'm sure to be nice and warm this winter :)


Currently I am working on a baby blanket for a niece whose baby is due in November. It's a new to me pattern and I'm liking the way it is knitting up. I'm also still working on the circle squares for a blanket, but I have to admit there has been very little progress on this project.IMG_1316 I In addition I have to get going on some gift items that I'll be needing soon. You may not be hearing from me, but I assure you ....I am still knitting away....happily :)

Bye for now....Happy Knitting :)

P.S. I'm getting very forgetful. In my last post, I forgot to show you the pepper mill my brother-in-law made for me:
IMG_1325 It looks like a lighthouse and I love it!


Copyright ©2006-2011 hakucho, All Rights Reserved.

17 comments:

  1. You are so inventive: I love the pocket you made for your fuze.

    I agree that audio books go great with knitting. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your poncho looks warm and cozy and a great idea for around the house.

    I have a fuze, too, and I love it on trips. I just don't use it much because I don't like putting anything in my pocket even if I have one. Looks like I need to get smart and make a sling like yours. Thanks for the inspiration.
    The pepper mill is awesome! Have a great weekend!

    The pepper mill is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have fallen in love with audio books too! I have a full time job working at a computer all day, and I'm able to borrow audio books from the library. It makes my days so much better! Now I want to make a circle cloth again... haha

    ReplyDelete
  4. Welcome back! I love that poncho!! I am determined to make one for myself one day!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those little slings are pure genius!

    Love your peppermill. You have a talented brother.

    ReplyDelete
  6. you are so cute with your fuze holders! :) i haven't entered the world of audiobooks just yet. though i can see how handy they are with multi-tasking. the poncho looks warm and cozy. love the pepper mill too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good to see you back. I agree it's hard to blog in the summer! Love the poncho; was it difficult? And you left us/me hanging as to what books you've been listening to? Happy knitting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! You have really been busy! I love the poncho.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the bed sling, what a great idea. I don't tend to listen to things, but think my DD might enjoy having something like that. Love the poncho.

    Almost the end of Sept, sitting here with a fleece on in the house.........groan....summer is officially over and that never makes me happy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Uh-oh, a new techo-toy to watch out for ;) Sounds like you are really enjoying yours, so nice. You made some darling holders for it. I love your poncho - it does look warm and cozy. And it's part of your sis to comfort you and have with you. Love those circle cloths - and the handmade peppermill is gorgeous! It look like a lighthouse.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the mp3 holders, great use of leftover yarn.

    Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice pepper mill, I really like that!! Isn't knitting along to an audio book the greatest!!! I have become totally addicted to audiobooks & podcasts.....so many things I do don't require my full attention (laundry, cooking, etc) and having something interesting to listen to makes such a difference)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the tip about audio books!
    I am slow to go high tech ! Still stuck in low to no tech ! lol!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Popping in to say, hope life is slowing down a bit for you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice to see you are back!
    Your Poncho looks fabulous, and it's a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your poncho is so cool and I think you'll be roasty-toasty this winter.
    I also likeyour sling-thingy too!
    I quess the thing about regular blog posting is (a) finding the time and (b)finding your latest knitting "muse" to write about.

    I'm trying to post a little something weekly, but sometimes it gets really hard.
    Thanks for sharing your world with us!

    ReplyDelete
  17. The poncho looks cozy, and I like the super creative Fuze sling---now that's thinking!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you all for your comments! I really appreciate them. I usually don't follow up with an email, but if you do have a question please make sure you include a way to reach you within your comment so I may answer your question. Thanks and happy knitting :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.