Good news and bad news.....

First the good news.....

YARN!!! This is the other yarn I picked up at Convergence:


I have been wanting some Lisa Souza sock yarn for a while now, but I could never decide on a color. I was always worried that my monitor was wrong or the difference in batches would not be what I expected. So when I could see them in person, I bought 2 skeins. On the left is the SOCK! in Denim and on the right is SOCK! Merino in Wild Thing. (By the way, they look nothing alike in person!) The SOCK! is a 75/25 wool and nylon blend. The SOCK! Merino is 100% superwash merino and is more tightly twisted. (but not as tightly twisted as STR.)

And the bad news.....

Today I somehow contracted some kind of computer virus. I think it came through AOL IM. I heard more people were affected. I did get it removed with no damage (that I know of at least). But good grief, it took HOURS to run a complete virus and spy sweeper scan. Then I also downloaded a new virus program which found 5 more things that needed deleting. If that wasn't enough to really mess up my day, my favorite aunt was hospitalized this morning. She has cancer and unexpectedly needed some platelets today. Her counts were super low and she was having MAJOR nosebleeds. I really wanted to go to the hospital to see her, (she is such a sweetie and I love her like crazy!) so I went and spent a couple of hours there too. I didn't get any knitting or packing done! Tomorrow is gonna be CRAZY!!!!!!!

Yummmm.......

First, one yummy new sock:



I FINALLY got one of these finished. It is super cute though and worth the wait. I have the ribbing done on the second sock too, so I hope I don't end up with a bad case of Second Sock Syndrome. Thankfully I usually don't suffer from that.

Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern in case you wanted to see it:



I really do like the colors of this yarn. Happy, Happy, Happy!

And some yummy new yarn came home with me today.......

I went to Convergence today. It was fun. I saw Chris from Briar Rose Fibers. She is so nice! I bought some merino/tencel and some sock yarn from her. She does a beautiful job of dyeing yarn. I really like her colors. I also got a shawl pattern from her to use with the merino/tencel. Maybe I will take that project camping with me this weekend.



That's the tencel on the left and the sock yarn on the right. She just started dyeing some superwash sport-weight sock yarn and I really wanted to try it. I was just waiting until I could see the colorways in person. These two actually coordinate a lot better in real life than they seem to on this picture. So I will have some nice socks to match my beautiful shawl.

I will tell ya all a little more about it tomorrow. (I'm running short of time right now.)

Anyone going?

Just curious if anyone is going to Convergence in Grand Rapids this week? I just heard about it. I guess it is a big shindig put on the by the Handweavers Guild of America. I have never been there before, but it is only about 20 min from my house. Oooh, how tempting!



There is a massive list of vendors for this thing. I think I might have to check it out! I wish I could take some classes, but I don't have the time this week.

I am trying to get ready for camping. We leave Saturday for a week. I have to pack the trailer, bake, get ALL the laundry caught up, plan meals ahead so I can buy an unheard-of amount of groceries, and of course plan which projects will be coming along with me. Hopefully I will have a little more time to knit when I am on vacation. (IF I feel like knitting on the beach or at the pool that is....hmmm....I will have to see) Haha, I am so pale I will probably scare all the other people away! Yikes, it ain't a pretty sight people.

Ahhh....summer

First the summer socks:



These are progressing slow but sure. I should make better progress now that I am on the foot. I have only half of the twisted stitches to do. Yay!

I love summer at our house. The yard is so beautiful! I thought I would share a few shots with you.












The clematis is beautiful right now.







And up close...

And some daisies:



I love flowers! I heart you summer!!!!

Pick just one?

My sister and I were talking about favorite candy bars today, and if we could pick just one, which one would we choose. Oh the horror of that question. Narrow it down to just one? You have got to be kidding me! Impossible!

Do I pick the creamy, chewy, carmelicious Milky Way? Or the gooey Carmello? Or the crispy but chewy Whatchamacalit? Or the more sophisticated Godiva dark chocolate bar? Or one of those imported Swiss chocolate bars? I could go on and on! So many choices. All great in their own way. Can you tell I love candy bars?

Do you know what I finally settled on? No, not a Snickers or a Pay Day bar, or even a Dove. It is the not-so-popular Mallo Cup! Can you believe it? It's not even good chocolate! But I chose it anyway....



I'm telling you, these things are highly under appreciated! They are just wonderful. Simple marshmallowy, chocolatey, coconutty goodness. I especially love them right out of the fridge. I like most candy bars cold, unless they are pure chocolate bars. Those are best at room temperature and just melting in your mouth. Anyone else hungry?

I think this would be a great mini-meme! So what's your favorite candy bar and why? Cold or not? Eaten slowly and savored or snarfed right down?

My stomach is growling.

P.S. Don't get any chocolate on your yarn!

She wore....

An itsy Bitsy teeny weenie
sexy hand-dyed yarn bikini.



Bitsy decided to catch some sun out on the deck today. She was feeling a little pale. Haha, doesn't her new bikini look great?

Now the real knitting:



I am doing a broad spiral rib on the Opal Petticoat socks. I really like how this pattern is turning out. Alex is in love with the colors of this yarn. She keeps telling me to hurry up so she can wear them! I do have one small mistake but I am choosing to call it a design element. Sometimes ripping just isn't worth it!

Aptly named....

I've decided there was a reason I named my blog A Little Bit of Knit. My subconscious must have known there would be times where that's all the knitting that would be going on......a little bit. This week proves it.

It has been all about soccer, busyness and the heat.


On Saturday Alex and I went to the state championship girls soccer game. Unity, our home team won the championship. We know several girls on the team and it was fun to see them win it. They are undefeated and play a mean game of soccer. It was so hot there though. The temps were in the mid 90's with the sun blazing down on us. I developed quite the headache. Then Saturday night we went to the beach to visit some friends that were camping. Sunday was Father's Day and a family get together. Today was shopping with Alex, (the girl has outgrown EVERYTHING!), and tonight was soccer tryouts from 6-9. Whew....I am tired. Ramble over...but the point is, not much knitting time, or even the desire to, because of the heat.

I did manage to knit another sockie for my keychain, who I have now named Bitsy. Haha, she is so cute. I knit another pink sock because the first one was way too small. This one fits fine.



Those little socks are just way too much fun! I have been sporting around town with Bitsy and she is turning some heads. Nevermind that people are sometimes laughing. Come on, I'm only a little bit sock obsessed. Pics of my new full-sized sock tomorrow.

Productivity!

I have been busy the last 2 days. I am so excited to be getting things done! Last night while not feeling well, I finished Alex's bag. We both love it!



Fat Bottom Bag from the Stitch'nBitch Crochet book.
Sugar and Cream cotton in hot pink and yellow.
Embellished with a flower experiment.
This is really a one day project. It took me two, because I didn't have the handles. I will definitely be making more of these. Lauren wants a white one and I want a pink and green one!

In knitting......my poor nekkid little keychain now has a sockie!



Awww, isn't it cute? Not nearly as cute as Jeanie's though. Sigh, I think my key chain is jealous....

Playing Hooky

I have been playing with a crochet hook. Yesterday I made a bag for Alex. It is the Fat Bottom Bag from Debbie Stoller's crochet book. (whose name will not be mentioned here for fear of perverts lurking on my blog!) I have the bag part finished, I just need to sew on the handles and weave in the ends. This bag goes really fast, although my hands are protesting fiercely against the cotton yarn!



I haven't quite figured out how I am going to embellish it yet. Maybe a flower pin.... I haven't crocheted much the last few years, but I think I am hooked again.

Umm...just a little too little.......



Yeah, my sockie is WAY TOO SMALL! Ooops....off to make another one, cuz I want to use this thing SO BAD!!!!! I may turn the dinky one into a pin or something. It's too cute to waste!

A little Meme

I found this Meme over at Jen's blog today. I though it was kinda cute.

Take a look around you. Apart from your computer and its peripherals, and your computer desk/table/milk crate and chair, what, in order of their physical closeness, are the five things nearest to you right now?

1. Digital camera

2. Fingernail clipper (I have a serious hang nail problem!)

3. Small white dog (otherwise known as my shadow or Brodie)

4. Kleenex (grrr allergies stink!)

5. Diet Coke (haha there is ALWAYS a Diet Coke near me!)

You're it if you want to be!

In knitting news:

I started a new pair of socks in Opal Petticoat #1290. I only have a few rows done beyond the cuff. I am trying the Retro Rib pattern from IK Winter '04. No opinion yet. I'm just not far enough. I like the yarn though.



Happy little yarn, isn't it? I love the colors!

I am also making a shrug for myself. I may or may not look ridiculous in a shrug. Only time will tell. I have it a little over half done. I'm just winging it. So far I like it. I'm a little worried I may have a curling problem with it though.


















I am hoping a little blocking and having it stretched over a not-tiny body will help. (I just hope the belly chub won't hang out the bottom all disgusting like....ewww.)

P.S. Do you ever have it that reading blogs seriously cuts into your own knitting and blogging time? Ooooh.....I have it bad. But you all are so interesting!!!!!!!!!!

Fun little stuff!

I started a little, and I really do mean little, project last night. What do you think?



Awww, isn't it cute? Why would I knit such a teeny tiny sockie? Well for my new keychain that is on the way. My friend Jeanie ordered me one of these



and I can't wait to get it!

I may have to knit another sock for it though. I think the pink one may be too small. Oh well, they are a riot to make. Watching that itty bitty sock appear is just too fun! If you want one of your own, you can get them here.

Wanna see my leavage?

Haha, I named my post that on a double dog dare from my evil friend who shall remain nameless. (She knows who her naughty self is!)

And no perverts better come looking. I was talking about my new socks! Tada!



Embossed Leaves Socks (leavage not cleavage!)
Socks that Rock Falcon's Eye
Size 1 Addis magic loop

I love 'em! If you haven't tried the pattern yet, go for it. They are a really fun knit!

Alex was messing around with my hand knit socks yesterday and copied Sockbug's idea of a sock wheel. Here's what she came up with.



These are not all of them, but a good amount. Yes, I surely do love knitting socks! Now off to decide on my next pair.......hmmmm. (Any suggestions? For once I don't have my next pattern picked out.) New projects tomorrow.

AWOL

Sorry I have been AWOL. Life keeps getting in the way. It is the last week of school for my kids, and there are lots of activities. Alex had 8th grade graduation last night. It was very nice. One of the favorite teachers is retiring after 41 years, and he gave the speech. It was very good and brought a few people to tears.


She looked really pretty in her dress. Doesn't her little shrug look cute with it? She actually got some compliments on it too! Yay! Gotta love it when other people notice the knitting.

The sock is coming slowly. Gosh, I have to finish these! I think this pair has taken me twice as long as usual.



At least they are past the heel. I wish I had size 6 feet right now haha.

Today is the last day of school. Hopefully this means less running around and more knitting!!

Just for laughs

Have you watched this video yet? I think it is hilarious. I've watched it 4 times already. It brings back lots of memories. (um, some of them not so good lol)

This is adorable too. Go look, it's worth it.

Laughing is so good!

A little bit of everything....

It was a busy weekend. Yesterday Lauren had to sing at a church up north. This was the choir's last performance for the year. I will miss hearing them sing. We had to drive a little over an hour each way. It was a great day. They sang, then we went to a friend's cottage for a few hours. A good time was had by all. (No knitting for me though. I was the driver...sigh.)

Alex is at Cedar Point today for her class trip. She was very excited to go. We were not excited to bring her to school at 4:15 this morning....agh. Isn't school finished yet?

The embossed leaves socks are coming along. I have about 3 inches done on the leg of the 2nd sock. There just wasn't much time for knitting this weekend, thanks to a killer headache on Saturday and yesterday's busyness.

I did manage to finally finish the baby gift. Yeah, we had a little problem. First the hat was too small, so I had to knit another one. Apparently he is not a small baby. Then hubby accidentally spilled coffee on the new one. Gah...it is drying now. Oh, and I made some booties too.



I was looking through the pictures that Steve took from the air and I could see our message.


If you look really closely in the middle of the picture (click it to make it bigger) you can see the word "HI" and a smiley. Haha Parker loved it.

Flying!

Well once I got going on the Embossed Leaves socks again, I was just flying. Yippee! One done!

I cannot tell you how much I love this pattern with this yarn. Just beautiful!

I can't wait to finish these so I can wear them!
















In other flying news, Parker and Steve got to go flying last night. Parker had never been in an airplane before and he was so excited. He called when they landed and had to tell me all about it. Steve's uncle co-owns a plane and took them up. They flew over our house a couple of times. Alex made a HUGE "HI" message with old sheets on our lawn for them to see from the air. I put a smile face on the lawn too. He got a kick out of that. He could see us waving at him from the ground. Pretty cool stuff!




It was a perfect night for it. They had a blast!

Feeling much better thanks!

Thank you for the comments and emails about my allergic reaction. I have been faithfully taking the meds they prescribed and I am feeling much better. I won't ever be without Benedryl again!

I haven't been getting a lot of knitting done. It has just been so busy here. I spent a good portion of today at the hospital with a friend whose daughter is there, ran errands this afternoon and then went to Alex's soccer game tonight. (Yay, she scored!!!!) I was working on the Embossed Leaves socks, but I ran into a little trouble......



My STR had a frayed spot and a knot within less than an inch of each other on my sock. I was so bummed! I have contacted Blue Moon and they are going to take care of me though, so I am one happy girl. They have EXCELLENT customer service (and the best sock yarn around!).

I have almost completed a boring little Fixation footie. It's just a little ankle sock. I will wait to post a pic until the pair is done. They aren't very exciting.

I got some wonderful pink fluff to spin in the mail today from my friend Ann. I really need to practice my spinning. I just haven't had the time, patience or peace and quiet lately...sigh. Maybe I could give up sleeping....hmmmm.