Cheering me right up....

Last night I worked on some new socks. I knew I needed to get myself out of this sock slump. It was not good for my sanity. I had ripped out yet another pair, yupp that's 5 total, and needed some major cheering up. So I started these:

Basic K3P1 rib in Opal Brasil 5001



Aren't they just the happiest little things? I love the colors. They are so perky! Perky is what I need! I love them. I decided some simple, no-brainer socks were in order. These are working perfectly to cheer me up. Sometime I will get back to the more complicated ones. Maybe Cascading Leaves in STR Falcon's Eye. But maybe not, because the possiblities are endless.

Oh, and isn't that the biggest pile of "yarn barf" you have ever seen. Trust me, I knitted a ton of it already. It was much bigger than that. I had only about an inch or two of these done and hit a snag. I pulled, and out came this huge glob. My daughter couldn't believe that a pile that big came out of the middle of one little skein of yarn. Some people call this "yarn guts" or "yarn vomit". What do you call it?

A little grumpy....

That's me. I'm a little grumpy. And it is all because of socks. I have ripped out 4, yes 4, socks so far this week. The problems varied from fit, to the pattern not working with the yarn, to gauge problems, to the broken needle. You name it, I screwed it up. Yesterday I was so frustrated, but I did finally manage to at least fix my needle last night. I would have had it glue sooner but couldn't find my superglue. Then I picked some up from a local store and both of the tubes in the package were dried up! Boy was I ticked! So last night I bought a couple more tubes and these were fine. Yay! Fixed needle. I also started some new socks last night. Opal Flamingo in the Broadripple pattern. I think these will be a winner (They better be or my knitting sanity is in jeopardy!)

If you want a good laugh today, go here (play with it for a while, the longer you do it, the more fun it gets) or here (read the March 27 entry). They certainly cheered me up, and I promise I won't be so grumpy tomorrow, really.

EEEEEEKK!

Oh my! Look what happened!



See the problem? Yeah, my brand new Crystal Palace circular broke. It was the first time I used them. Sniff. I need to go to the store to get super glue now. (Note to self: You will never be able to find the thing that you need most in a knitting emergency. Example: super glue.)

Thank goodness I was able to save the socks I was working on when this happened. I tried not to get too upset and quickly transferred it to some spare dpns. Started to knit again and realized that I now hate knitting with dpns. I have lost my touch. Sniff again. All those points are just in my way! Grrr! I used to be a dpn girl, didn't even want to try circulars for a long time. Then one day I met the Magic Loop method on Addi Turbos. It was love at first try. Oh how I miss my circular........

Sidenote: Couldn't we all write to the Addi people and tell them to please make a 2.25mm circular needle? We addicted sock knitters need to take a stand. Seriously, I think I may die if they never make them. I love love love my Addis.

Spoiled Rotten

My friend Jeanie has spoiled me rotten. This is what came in her last two packages:



See I told you. That's enough sock yarn for 3 pairs of socks, merino to practice spinning on, and 4 sets of needles. She will be receiving a secret package from me this week. I can't wait to see if she likes what I bought her.

Sally's bed socks:



I'm hoping to deliver them today. She wasn't up to having visitors this weekend so I will have to bring them today or tomorrow. I love the little picot edge on them. I am definitely going to put this cuff on more socks. I think it would be especially cute on baby socks.

I didn't have much time for knitting this weekend (I was in charge of feeding 100 teens at church last night). I do have the second Bearfoot sock half done. They will be finished in the next couple of days. I won't promise any good photos of them though, this is the darkest yarn I have ever worked with. I'm sure it won't photograph well at all. Happy knitting everyone, and I hope you all had a great weekend. (P.S. The cute little blonde got the boot on America's Top Model last night. Nnenna lives on. YAY!)

Sucked in......

I have a confession to make. I have been sucked in by a reality TV show. I don't even watch reality TV. I usually hate Survivor, The Apprentice, The Bachelor/ette, and all the rest of them. I did watch a few of the Martha Apprentice shows, because I loved the challenges. I liked all the cooking and flowers and making something great happen in such a small amount of time. I know I could never perform that well under pressure, so it kind of facinated me. Usually I hate the drama of reality TV. However, like I said, I have been sucked in. Big time!

Can you guess what show it is yet? Okay, I'll tell you. It's America's Next Top Model. I can't explain it, but I can't wait for the next episode. I don't like Tyra. I don't like the whole premise of super skinny, undernourished women being our models. I don't like snippy women. I don't like any kind of fighting. So why in the world do I like this show? Frankly, I have no idea. Maybe it's just because I want that evil Jade to get the boot. This chick is so arrogant, she just makes me furious. I really want Nnenna to win. This woman is gorgeous, elegant, classy, and she even looks great bald. What more could they want? Go ahead. Watch it next week. Just be forewarned, you may become addicted. Just like me.

Knitting content next time. I'll show you the new stuff my friend Jeanie sent me. She is spoiling me rotten I tell you. The bedsocks for Sally are finished. Her tumor was removed, but it was malignant. Keep praying for her! She is a super special lady.

Gifted.......

The socks I made for Alex's friend have been gifted. I think she loved them if the big squeal meant anything. I told her she is very lucky. She is the first non-family member to receive a pair of hand-knit socks from me. It was fun to see her face!



I think they turned out pretty cute. Sorry for the bad pic, I couldn't find my cheapo wire sock blockers.

I've also started some new socks. These are for a friend of mine that is having brain surgery tomorrow. I hope to get them done in time for her to wear them for at least part of her hospital stay.



I picked this yummy pink yarn that I bought from Lynn H. My friend is a breast cancer survivor so I thought this yarn would be great for her. I'm just making simple bed socks with a picot edge cuff. I found a great tutorial here for a picot edge, and a video on DIY that helped. (Sorry, I can't make the link work for the DIY video.) I hope they fit okay. I don't really know how big her feet are. If not, I will just make her another pair. I have plenty of yarn, it was a huge hank. This stuff knits up nicely and I like it a lot!

Yay, I am getting together with my two knitting friends this afternoon. Hopefully Sally can fix the cable mess I have on my Bearfoot socks. Yeah, I don't even want to talk about it.

I LOVE MAIL!

Oh, yes I do! Yesterday I received 2, yes 2, packages in my mailbox. Oh the thrill of carefully opening them to see what's inside. I knew both of them were coming, but only knew what one of them contained. (and had already forgotten about it - no short term memory here) Um yeah, the first one contained this:



Ooooh, I'm so excited! My wonderful friend Jeanie sent me my very own spindle and some BFL to practice on. Believe me when I say, I need LOTS of practice. Isn't she just the sweetest?
And up close:



Isn't she, my little spindle, just beautiful? My friend Ann will ask if I named her, (unless that is only for spinning wheels) so I have to think of the perfect name. I've decided it is a she, because it is too beautiful to be a boy. Maybe I will name her Jasmine from Aladdin because my friend Jeanie gave her to me. Get it? Jeanie in the bottle...haha, I know I am a strange one. I can't wait to try her out. I may stay home this afternoon, just so I can practice.

And the 2nd package contained this:



Yumm. 2 skeins of CTH sock yarn in Peacock and Country Garden. Another knitter wanted to get rid of these (for a very good price) and I couldn't say no. I only have made one pair of socks with CTH. It was very nice to work with, so I'm glad I get to use it again.

Um, does anyone know of a cure for a sock yarn obsession?

Almost....

The socks for my daughter's friend are almost finished. I really thought I could get them done yesterday, but....I fell asleep. Yupp, I took a nap. A long one. Then I fell asleep last night while watching TV with the hubby. I'm not sure what's going on. I never sleep that much! Anyhoo....I think the socks are going to be so cute! Alex said her friend wears lots of blue and brown, so these should be perfect for her.



I actually wear a lot of blue and brown too, but I promised Alex I would give them to her friend. I've never used this sock yarn before, but I don't mind it at all. Has anyone else out there used it? What did you think? If you care to comment, let me know what your all time favorite sock yarns are. Go ahead. Tempt me. I love sock yarn and I'm always looking for new ones to try. So far I think my favorites are the STR and the Bearfoot.

I'm not Irish but......

I do like green.....especially pink and green together. My most fav color combination.

I don't have a lot of knitting progress. I'm almost done with my first sock for the daughter's friend. I haven't had a lot of time to knit this week.

Next I want to make a fairly large felted tote out of some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn that I bought last summer at the Allegan Fiber Festival. Any pattern suggestions? I would like to make it nice and thick, to carry all my knitting in. I like the shape of the Booga Bag and I may just have to make it larger if I can't find anything I like better. Or maybe the Constant Companion in all one color. Decisions, decisions. I would love some help.....SO COMMENT!

FO's

Here's the shawl I made last weekend. It is the Wear-it-as-a-Collar Scarf from the Scarf Style book. It looks nothing like the picture in the book, because I used such a different yarn.



Sorry about the lame picture. I'm home alone, so this will have to do. Major fuzz on my t-shirt is from the wool sweater I took off to take the pic. I used 1 skein of Fiesta Boucle in Burnished Red #2109. This pattern is super easy, but it took a little while because of the boucle. I always say I will never knit with boucle again (because I hate it), but when I saw this shawl on Peggy, I had to try it. Confession, I bought another ball in the Safari color. I must be crazy! I promise next time I will have better pictures.

I also finished my first Rib and Cable sock from IW Fall 2005. It's another Nancy Bush pattern. I'm doing them in Bearfoot, super dark colorway, I can't find the band though.



I wasn't sure I would like this yarn. It has mohair in it and it's not tightly twisted like STR, but I actually love it. It is SO soft! I just have to make the other sock now. I'll start it as soon as I finish the pair I am making for my daughter's friend.

FINALLY!

Finally, I can update. I was gone for the entire weekend with a bunch of knitters and spinners. We had a blast! A whole weekend just for me. I could knit as much as I wanted! YAY!

I tried to update before I left, but Blogger was down. Finally, it let me create a post and then proceeded to eat it. Anyhoo......

The sweater is done!



I really like it! It's very warm and bulky. The pattern was easy and it's a very fast knit! I still have to block it, but if it gets cold enough, I will wear it soon. However, I may take out the hem, I'm not completely happy with it.



Progress on the STR socks. They're turning out nice. Now to figure out that afterthought heel.....
Here's a close picture of the stitch pattern and the yarn:



Tomorrow I'll show you the scarf/shawl I made at the knitting retreat. (and the sock, and the other sock I started, etc.) I even tried spinning, (very large emphasis on tried), but.............I suck! sigh....

Unforseen circumstances

I'm so sorry! Unforseen (translate rotten) circumstances, have prevented me from showing you a completed sweater. DD #1 (16 yrs. old), crashed her car yesterday. Yeah, not cool at all! She ran a confusing red light (police officer told her it happens all the time there), and hit another car. Totally her fault. Big fat ticket. High insurance here we come! We sure have had enough junk going on around here lately.

The sweater is done, but I'm hoping it's long enough. I'm not very happy with the bottom either. I may take it into my LYS and have them look at it. I still have to weave in some ends too. I've learned my lesson......I'm not promising you a picture tomorrow (even though I probably will have one) because then some other cruddy thing will happen to me and make me a liar again. Sigh.....

Sick...

Bummer. Yesterday I was sick all day. I got very little knitting done. I didn't even feel like picking it up, much less trying it on to check the fit. I only got about 2 more inches done on the body of the sweater and one sleeve is almost finished. Stinky progress, eh? I wanted to get it done this weekend, but no such luck! I shouldn't set myself up for this kind of disappointment.

Thanks for the comments guys! I love them! It brightens my day so much when you leave me some. I comment all the time on blogs now, because I know how fun it is to get them on my own blog. So all you lurkers (I know you're out there from my counter), be brave, leave me a few words.

Opinions please........I'm thinking of getting these two books:



Naturally Noro



And Sensational Knitted Socks

What do you think? Would you recommend them or have you made any projects out of them? I'm asking because I don't usually invest in books unless I'm sure I'll love them.

I'll try very hard to have some progress to show you tomorrow.

Knitting on..........

I'm making a little progress. I was stalled for lack of needles on my sweater, but I remedied that today. I had to pick up some size 15 dpns to finish the sleeves, because I LOST MINE! I hate it when that happens. I'll probably find them, now that I bought new ones. A lot of things seem to be disappearing at my house lately. I guess it's time for another organizing frenzy. Anyhoo, here's the sweater so far:



The sleeves will go really fast and I only have a few more inches on the body to go, so I hope I can finish it this weekend.

And, of course, I had to cast on some new socks......or I would not be a happy girl.



STR in Saratoga. Garter Rib pattern. I am so into ribbings right now. I just can't wait to try new ones out. They always look good, and they are such a nice, easy, no-brainer project to work on.

It's all about self control....

Oh yeah. I exercised some incredible self control today. I was with a friend and we visited a yarn store that I rarely go to. It's a cute, trendy shop with a nice variety of yarn, but it's a little out of the way for me. She wanted to check it out and I rode along. I didn't buy ANYTHING! Can you believe it? They even had sock yarn that I wanted. SOCK YARN! (my absolute weakness) Sock yarn is the one thing that I can never resist! But today I did. I am quite proud of myself actually. Next weekend I am going to a very small knitting festival in IL. It's a good thing I saved my money, cuz it will most certainly be spent there. (I might even be able to score some STR!) I'm also planning a Lopi sweater. I'm just waiting for my fav LYS to get their new stock in.



This is the pattern. Isn't it cute? I haven't done any colorwork yet and this looks like fun. I love wearing cozy sweaters!

Brodie says.........

"Nice sweater. Can I keep it?"



Um, no, I don't think so. That would be one expensive dog bed!

I'm actually farther than this picture shows. The body is almost done, and I have one of the sleeves 2/3 done. I'm doing the sleeves before I finish the body, because I am worried about running out of yarn. I may have to add some red stripes to the sleeves to have enough of the gray. I'll try to have a current picture up tomorrow.

SOCK ON!!!



I finished the Online Supersocke Nepal socks. They are super cute! I wonder how often they will actually be in my drawer and not on Alex's feet. (She likes my socks.)

Speaking of Alex, here she is modeling my new felted hat. Trust me, she is much more photogenic than I am.



I like this hat and it matches perfectly with my plaid wool coat from Banana Republic. Now to finish (and start) the cashmere scarf and wool wristwarmers to match. They might be done by next winter.

Yoohoo....where are you?

I'm calling my digital camera......and apparently it cannot hear me or doesn't want to be found. I'm bummed. I have progress pictures to take! My sweater and socks are coming along nicely. I guess I will have to wait until the kids come home. They probably know where it is.

I'm also calling my readers.......will ya comment please? I LOVE hearing from you. Lately it's been a comment desert around here. I would love your input. Tell me anything. What can I do to improve the blog? Suggest new projects. Tag me with something. Tell me about yarn. ANYTHING....just comment, would ya?

The new Magknits is up. Sorry to say, I'm not very tempted by most of the projects. I do think that twisty scarf is a cool idea though. Maybe I'll make one for Alex, she is my scarfy girl.