Hi everyone,
I'm participating in Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday link-up again today. If you'd like to visit her blog, click her. She takes beautiful photos and has some of the most amazing photo textures, too.
Here is the original photo that I took last Sunday:
There is a really sweet story to this photo. An older couple in our church got married at the beginning of June. They are both in their 80s. They were both married to their respective spouses for well over 50 years. They both became widows. They met at a weekly dinner/Bible study at my church. They eventually found love again in each other. It was really sweet to see. We surprised them with a post-wedding reception after church. The wife was totally surprised. The husband knew about it all along. He can keep a good secret.
It was such a sweet, precious time. Everyone was clapping and cheering for this couple. I think the best love stories are the ones that are written by God - the Author of Ultimate Love.
Okay, so what did I do with that flower photo? See below:
Voila, here it is. I used TWO of Kim Klassen's beautiful photo textures. I used Photoshop to edit and texturize my photograph today. First I used two layers of "Reverie" texture. The first layer in soft light at 60% opacity. The second layer in hard light at 30% opacity.
Then I added a THIRD layer of "waterstained frame" at "I totally forget" opacity...just dark enough to see the waterstained frame around the edges of the photograph.
All the textures were free downloads from Kim Klassen's website. Thank you, Kim :) :) :)
That is the news from the ocean shores of California today. Extra special love and hugs to your day today, Heather
Hi everyone,
So this will be the last and final post in my series on the "magical blue socks" tutorial. Socks are really easy to knit and once you know the basics, you can customize the socks to fit any size foot.
If you want to catch up on all of the previous posts in this series, please click on the links below:
Heather's Magical Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part 4
Heather's
Magical Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part
3
Heather's
"Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part
2
Heather's
"Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial
Now the last thing to do is shape the toe and close it off.
At this point, I put all the instep stitches from needle three onto needle 2. So I work with only 3 double-pointed knitting needles when I'm shaping the toe.
SHAPING THE TOE:
Round 1:
Needle 1 - Knit to last 3 stitiches, knit 2 together, knit 1
Needle 2 - Knit 1, ssk (slip, slip, knit), knit to last 3 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 1
Needle 3 - Knit 1, ssk (slip, slip, knit), knit to end.
Round 2: Knit even all the way around
Just repeat these two rounds till the toe measures 1 1/2" long. In my case, that was a total of:
22 rounds
All that is left to do is close the toe, so you can actually wear your socks.
There are different methods of doing this, but my all-time FAVORITE is the "kitchener stitch". It keeps that knit stitch going and has the smoothest finish I've seen so far.
This is how to do it:
Knit stitches from Needle 1 onto Needle 3.
Hold double-pointed knitting needles with purl sides together.
With your yarn needle, draw the yarn through first stitch on the front needle as a purl and leave ON, draw yarn through first stitch on back needle as a knit, and leave ON:
Now here's the rest:
Step 1 - Draw yarn through first stitch on front needle as a knit, slip OFF. Draw yarn through second stitch on front needle as a purl, leave ON.
Step 2 - Draw yarn through first stitch on back needles as purl, slip OFF. Draw yarn through second stitch on back needle as knit, leave ON
All you do is repeat steps 1 and 2 across. Then tie knot at the end and weave in the yarn end. It's that simple ;) :)
Some people like to block their projects, I do not...especially when it comes to socks. I'm putting the socks on right away..and if they're knit to the correct measurements they WILL fit.
If you have any questions about the instructions or need some help, please let me know. I'll do my best to help answer your questions :) :)
With that, I'll leave you today with this nice photo:
This was a rose that was part of my dad's Father's Day bouquet. I think it's really pretty.
That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather.
Hi everyone,
I'm just doing a test to see if I can change my Blogger font. I had a really pretty font, and just noticed that it had switched back to something really plain. So I"m just writing this to see what happens.
I'll be posting the last post in my sock tutorial tomorrow (Thursday).
That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather ;) :)
UPDATE: I think I figured out the "problem" with the fonts. So hopefully from now on, I should be able to write in the "pretty" font ;) :)
Okay, so I'm just now noticing that Blogger is no longer giving me the fonts that I want. So I have to stick with this plain font....boo !!!! Anyone know how to fix that?
In any case, I am participating in Kim Klassen's "Texture Tuesday" link-up today. I LOVE to take photographs. I'm also just discovering all the cool things I can do in Photoshop as well, including adding layers of texture to change the look of my photos.
Here is what I have to show you today.
This is a photo that a friend actually took of me last Wednesday. This is the original. It was a very cloudy day last Wednesday:
I figured out how to not only add textures in Photoshop, but how to resize the texture so that it fits over my photo like sand in an hourglass. So after doing all that,I ended up with this photo:
I used Kim Klassen's texture called "waterstained frame" I really like it and it gave me a real retro vintage cool look to my photo. It felt like I found the "holy grail" of vintage photo coolness.
Since it's Tuesday and I love you all, here's another photo. This one I took way back in October 2011...and I applied the same "waterstained frame" texture. This is what I came up with:
OH, this is totally random, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...and did I say LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the vintage 3D Kodachrome photoreels...the ones specifically from the 1950s and earlier that you insert into a ViewMaster. The colors are brilliant and they all have a vintage cool look to them.
That is the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs to your day today, Heather :) :) :)
Hi everyone,
How are you all this morning? I'm doing really well. I have a chiropractor appointment later today and some grocery shopping, too. In the meantime, I want to get this ready for you who have been following my sock tutorial :) :)
Last time we finished off with turning the heel. When it's done carefully, it turns out really, really beautifully :) :)
Here are the links to the last three posts on this. Feel free to visit:
Heather's Magical Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part 3
Heather's "Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part 2
Heather's "Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial
Okay, so you've turned the heel. Now what? Next is to pick up the stitches on either side of the heel to begin shaping the main body of the sock.
On my sock, I ended up with 22 stitches left after I was completely done turning the heel..
Switch back to Size 0 US (2 mm) double-pointed knitting needles.
Knit 11 stitches
Use new needle and knit 1 stitch, place a stitch marker here, and knit remaining 10 stitches.
Now it's time to start shaping the GUSSET of the sock. This is the part that fits around the ankle bone and going to the main part of your foot.
Now you want to pick up stitches on the left side of the heel flap. It's up to you how many you want to pick up. However, I always pick up one stitch in every row. In this case, I picked up a total of 24 stitches on the left side of the heel.
Heather's Helpful Hint: Keep track of how many stitches you pick up on one side of the heel/gusset. Why? You want to make sure that you pick up the same number of stitches on the other side. it will ensure that you have a nice, even looking sock.
Heather's Helpful Hint: I use a small crochet hook to help me pick up stitches. It makes the whole job of picking up stitches so much easier. in fact, I actually insert the crochet hook through a stitch and pull a loop of yarn through. It works really well for me.
Okay, so now you have half the heel stitches and 24 instep stitch on your knitting needle. I call this Needle 1.
On needles #2 and #3, you want to continue in your ribbed knit pattern of knit 2, purl 2. You may have to make a few minor adjustments depending on how big your sock is. The point is to maintain that particular set of stitches all the way through the sock.
Next take needle #4 and pick up 24 stitches on the right side of the heel then knit that first half of remaining heel stitiches onto the needle.
SHAPING:
Now it's time to start shaping this to fit your foot.
Row 1:
Needle 1:Knit to last three stitiches, knit 2 together, knit 1
Needles 2 &3: continue in ribbed knit pattern across of knit 2, purl 2
Needle 4: Knit 1, ssk (slip, slip, knit), knit to end.
Row 2: Knit even continuing in pattern.
You just repeat those two rows, until you have the same number of stitches as you started with when you began your sock.
In my case, I narrowed it down just a little bit to fit my foot..so I continued in this decrease pattern until I had 80 stitches remaining.
Once you've reached that point, you just knit until the sock measures 1 1/2" inches less than the total length of your foot. In my case, I continued knitting till the sock measured 9 1/2" from the heel.
That means a total of 96 rows that I knit, including the decrease rows as I was shaping the gusset. It will vary for you, depending on your knitting style, yarn and needles. So it's always good to measure as you're knitting.
Next time, I'll show you how to shape the toe. That's the best part, unless you like socks with holes at the toes :) :) :) :)
Until then I leave you with this photo:
This is Cannery Row on a super busy day. It's not normally this busy. However, this photo was taken during the Cherries Jubilee car show. So there were people everywhere, looking at all the cool rides.
That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs to your day today, Heather :)
Hi everyone,
I'm participating in the "One Beautiful Thing" link-up over at Brooke McGlothlin's blog "Surprised By Life"
She's also hosting a really cool giveaway for some awesome photography classes. Click on the link above to check it out.
Here is my one beautiful thing for the week:
My sweet friend D. from church invited me over to her house yesterday for some tea, fruit and crochet. She's a military wife, so it was really cool to learn a bit more about her life as a military spouse. She's also a fantastic crocheter.
D. taught me how to crochet a granny square. I'm an experienced knitter, but granny squares terrified me, until yesterday.
She is the sweetest friend and bought fruit for us to eat, since I have to eat gluten free for health reasons. Berries are a good choice. I just had to snap a photo of this because I love the bowl. It's so simple, but it has some serious retro vintage appeal.
The fruit looked really patriotic sitting in that bowl, too. Well, not for long, because we ate it all :) :) :)
That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs to your day today, Heather :)
Hi everyone,
I hope you are doing well today. Here is the next installment in my sock-knitting series. If you want to see the previous posts, you can click on the links below:
Heather's "Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial - Part 2
Heather's "Magical" Blue Socks with Tutorial
Now it's time to knit the heel flap. That's the part that's like the "back of the chair" for your heel:
HEATHER'S HELPFUL HINT: If you can't or don't want to use reinforcing sock thread, another way to add a bit more firmness to your socks is by switching to a needle size that is one size SMALLER than what you're using for the rest of the sock. It adds a little more strength and density to the parts of the sock that get the most wear and tear.
So take the stitches from Needle 2 and place them onto Needle 1. Also, very important for the heel flap SWITCH to Size 00 US ( 1.75mm) double-pointed knitting needles for the heel flap. You'll continue to use these same needles when you begin to turn the heel as well.
Row 1 - sl 1 (slip 1 stitch), knit 1 across
Row 2 - purl all the way back
Repeat both of these rows until the heel flap measures 1/2" inch LESS in LENGTH as it does in width.
In this case, the stitiches from Needles 1 & 2...when knit in this way, measure 3 inches across. So that means my HEEL FLAP will be knit in this pattern till it measures 2 1/2" inches in length.
So for my feet that means you'll continue this way until you finish: 44 rows total.
Now it's time to TURN THE HEEL:
This part can be really easy, and also a real "stinker" if you're not careful while knitting.
HEATHER'S HELPFUL HINT: You should have an even number of stitches, since you originally cast on a number of stitches that were a divisible by 4 and 8. It needs to be an even number in order for this to turn out correctly.
Row 1 - Knit 2 stitches past the center, SSK (slip, slip, knit), knit 1, place stitch marker here, and turn the work.
HEATHER'S HELPFUL HINT: SSK (slip, slip, knit) is really easy. All you do is slip 2 stitches to the right-hand needle as if you're knitting them. Then with the left needle, come in through the back of both loops and knit them TOGETHER.
Row 2 - Slip 1, purl 5, purl 2 together, purl 1, place another stitch marker here, and turn the work.
HEATHER'S HELPFUL HINT: The use of stitch markers does require a little bit of extra work, but you will be over the moon HAPPY, EXTRA DELIGHTED, because this will ensure that you don't miss any stitches and the "heel turn" will turn out properly.
Row 3 - slip 1, knit 6, SSK (slip, slip, knit), knit 1, and turn the work.
The row markers mark the space in the GAP between the two stitches that you will either be knitting together or purling together. This is the part that helps turn the heel.
Row 4 - Slip 1, purl 7, purl 2 together, purl 1, and turn the work. Continue in this fashion until you've worked all the stitches on your knitting needle.
Keep in mind that the very LAST knit and purl rows, you'll only be knitting or purling the stitches together. You will NOT have to do the extra knit 1 or purl 1 before turning the piece.
That is it for today's knitting lesson. If you have any more specific questions, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment here. I'll do my very best to help you :) :) :)
Until next time, I will leave you with this photo for the day:
I bought this teapot with matching teacups and saucer's at an auction. It was part of a collection of random pieces. I'm actually trying to sell these. The teapot is from a company called SAJI in Japan. The teacups are from Radfords of England. it's interesting because the patterns are almost exactly the same. It's really lovely, but I need to declutter some things.
I've decided that my personal FAVORITE is anything that is Royal Albert or Prince Albert patterns. Right now, my all-time FAVORITE pattern is Royal Albert "Old Country Roses". I have a creamer with matching sugar bowl with lid in that pattern. That was in that same auction lot as this violet teapot with matching cups/saucers.
That is the news from the beautiful ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs to your day today, Heather ;) :) :)
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