Cardiac College, The Great Train Robbery...Toilet Paper Rolls Again

Cardiac Collage is growing.  Got 6 blocks, or parts there-off done.  Managed to tuck some ends after this photo was taken.  Surely don't want to wait til the end have a ton of them to do at one time.  The arrangement above isn't what it will be, I can see there's no orange in the 2nd row, so need to mix that up a bit, and there's no dark dark purple in the 2nd row either.  It's good to take pictures along the way to see, study the color combinations and balance there-off.  

Didn't find just a picture or poster of the move, but did find this video.  This is a two part story.  Part One is the story from the criminals side of things.  How they planned it, who was involved and their mind set.  Part 2 is the Scotland Yard perspective and how ...one by one, they got them.  Some arrests were pretty quick, others took a while.  This is a true story, so found the whole thing fascinating.  This is one hubby chose, he's not watched any of the others I've posted.... He likes more action stuff so this worked from his perspective.  I highly recommend this.

More, what to do with your toilet paper rolls.  I didn't find this particularly interesting or creative...after all we can make yarn balls without using the toilet paper rolls, or we can wind into cakes if we have winders...but, one thought came to mind with this method.  You could slide these over a paper towel dispenser (at leas the type with a rod), and your yarn would unwind nicely while you knit or crochet?  Perhaps I'll give it a try.

LOl....well, just thought this humorous ditty worth a share. 

Afghans, Shawls, Toilet Paper Rolls and Ladies in Lavender...Oh MY!

Cardiac Collage is coming along, it's growing both in numbers of pieces and size of the pieces.  You can see some irregularity in shapes due to some slightly different texture with the various yarns...one problem when you use bits and pieces.  But, I think when things are pieces together and playing off each other...then it get's laundered and blocked, it will be alright.  I'm enjoying the pieces parts, the mish mosh look to it.  The irregularity to it, speaks to cardiac events. (participating in Slow Sunday Stitch, see blog badge in right side bar--yippee, haven't been able to participate for several weeks, and just realized, thought the link is correct and the badge is correct, I've been referring to it as Slow Stitch Sunday...oophs)

I mentioned in my last post (please scroll back if you missed it), things you can use toilet paper rolls for.  Mentioned that I had saved several pictures of things that seemed like a good idea to me....but, could only find one (the bird seed thing in the last post).  YIPPEE in a totally unrelated file I stumbled onto some of the other pictures I thought I'd saved.  And, this is one of them.  Depending on where you live, this isn't one you can do much with now...but come next Spring.  Now I didn't read the article about this idea, but think...once you start the seeds you could plant the whole roll? Vs having to to try and remove the seedlings?  Thoughts??

Been awhile since I've posted about another enjoyable British series or movie.  Since I've been able to be a bit more active, less sitting and icing...equates to less watch my ipad.  That, and I was out of town for two weeks.  I had started watching this several week prior and just now got back to it.  Finished watching it last night.  Sweet sweet movie.  Very enjoyable, but than what's not to like with both Judi Dench and Maggie Smith!  Highly recommend this.

For my cross stitching friends.  A gift I made long ago for a shower gift.  Long enough ago, pre-digital, so this is a scan of a an picture, thus the quality is lacking.

Headway, even if minimal with my drop stitch (elongated garter stitch) shawl.  You can see the two cakes of yarn are basically the same colors but different intensities or different levels of how vibrant the colors are.  I think it will be an interesting look.........at least I hope so, as the fiber was $$$$$.  It's super soft, fingering.  The lighter version is BAAH New York, (Island Sorbet) 400yards, (100% SW Merino) the darker version is Swanky Sock 378 yards (10% cashmere, 10% nylon and 80% superwash merino Magpie, a local in the Park City area from my understanding.  You can see the pattern beginning to show with small drops, than larger drops...light and dark.  You can also the dreaded needles I moan about in the last post, Loops and Threads.  See how the cord won't lay flat at all...

And more importantly look at the significant bump where the cords joins the needle.  Horrible things.  Happy to say it's knitted off those needles onto the wonderful ChiaoGoo.......what a difference.  No bump to work over and the cord does NOT coil.  Worth paying twice as much.  Note to self, that's a mistake you don't repeatl

Home Again with Yarn and Needles, Don't buy Cheap Needles!

Isn't this a cleaver idea?  Spotted this and some other ideas the other day for how to use/re-use toilet paper rolls.  I thought I'd saved about half of them, but when I went to look for them, they weren't in my files.  I tried doing this while out of town using my ipad...and always seem to have issues with stuff when I don't have my trusty computer.  It's simply rolled in peanut butter and then bird seed.  Tie it on a tree or slide it on a branch.  Birds don't need this right now, but come winter, might be nice.

This is a possible layout with blocks from my start with the Cardiac Collage AFghan.  You'll remember I started this sitting in the ER while hubby was having a Cardiac Event.  No real pattern....amounts of color and size vary.  I want it to be very sporadic looking.  I've got 2 other sections started, but they didn't make the picture....And, as time goes on this may not be the arrangement, but you get the idea.  The smaller squares (15.5 x 11.5 so far) were easier to tote on the plane on my recent vacation, as well as the sitting at the hospital.  Then I can put them together.

A wee start on a shawl with fingering weight yarn and size 4 needles.  I had the yarn with me, but didn't have the right size needles so bought some at Michaels....horrible things they are.  Loops and Threads.  They were cheap and the join from the needle to the cord is horrible.  I had to really coax the yarn/fiber across it with my finger nail.  Didn't get very far before I decided I really needed better needles.  This was my first attempt at elongated garter stitch (wrap and drop).  Hard to see in the picture but there are several rows of single wraps and drops and then 2 wraps and drops  to give it a light airy lacy feel and look.   Next picture will be after purchasing nicer needles and actually being able to knit comfortably.

Now home, and am once again working on Jeweled Lines, the last section so picture of completed ghan soon.

Added some notes about luggage and packing cubes on my travel blog, Traveling Suitcase, if you'd care to check it out.  Our trips was 2 weeks at Park City, Utah.  More to follow there.