I'm in love!

Haha! With my new sock!



Isn't it pretty? But now my other foot is really jealous. I will fix that this weekend!

This pic reminds me that summer is over. I am ready to put the toe ring in the jewelry box (they can be uncomfortable in some shoes), and get out my wool socks. The switch from sandals and summer shoes to fall and winter shoes is near. How sad. I love summer. My only consolation is that I get to wear all my beautiful socks! Hehe, I just wish I didn't get to wear them quite so long. Michigan winters seem to last forevah!

Speaking of the seasons changing, Steve and I are leaving in the morning for a mini getaway. We will only be gone for 2 days, but we always have fun on our little jaunts. I am hoping to see a little color (although this won't happen if we head south), go wine tasting (Michigan has some awesome wines, the Rieslings are my fav!), shopping, and do some yarn shop visiting. Giggle, we are so boring, we always do the same thing. But it makes us both happy so.........off we go. I will be on the lookout for some other Noro colors while I'm gone, (yes for Lizard Ridge), and I always look at sock yarn! Should be fun!

I'll be back in a few days, hopefully sporting a new pair of socks!

You've got MAIL!!!!!

I love it when I get knitterly mail! Today my mailperson brought this:



This is the yummy new handpainted yarn from my friend Catherine. She asked if I would test knit a skein for her and of course I said YES!!!!! You can read about her dyeing adventures on her blog. This skein is called Night and it is gorgeous. The depth of color is amazing. I can't wait to knit this up.



There are all shades of blue with some splashes of white (stars). The deepest blue looks almost black. She named this color perfectly. It definitely reminds me of the night sky. She has other colors available too. If you want to see them, visit her Etsy shop.

I have been working on the Bearfoot socks, I am past the heel now and almost through the gusset decreases. The rest of the foot should go pretty fast now. I work on these in the daytime if I can, because the yarn is pretty dark, and the old eyes don't see like they used to. I'm still loving the pattern and the yarn.

The GIANT bag has been bound off. The pattern calls for a turned over hem at the top, so I need to whipstitch that, and then I can felt it! YAY!!

Confession time. (hangs head in shame)
I bought two balls of Noro yesterday.
I don't know if I can hold out much longer.
I'm not kidding, that Lizard Ridge is haunting me! HELP!

Now THAT'S a bag...

I am making some progress on my tote. This thing is huge. I think I could carry a small child in it pre-felting.


I also finished the two yards of i-cord. 8 stitch i-cord. Did I mention how much I HATE doing i-cord? I think I have about 12 or so rows to go. Then I can shrink the thing, YAY!

I started a new pair of socks too. I am not very far but they are looking nice. Here is a close up of the stitches.



I am using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Pheasant colorway. I love it so far. I am using Marguerite's More Fun Than Cables pattern. It would probably show up better on a solid yarn, but I just love this yarn, so I am going with it. I got this skein as a gift from a good friend. She doesn't like the mohair in it, but I think it's yummy. Lucky me!

I am really hoping for more knitting time, but things have just not been going my way I tell ya! Friday my dad had to go for another hand surgery. My sis and I ended up going to the hospital, because when he came out he was having chest pains. YIKES! Scared us half to death. They did release him after lots of testing and seeing a heart specialist, but now he needs to go for a stress test to check his heart more thoroughly. At the same time, his brother was in the hospital because of a heart attack. Good grief! You know what? I am sick of drama lol. My life has had enough of it lately. It can only get better right? Aren't you glad you are not related to me?

Last but not least, Brodie says hi! (sorry for the el-crapo pic - one of the kids took it, but it looks so much like him!)

Awww....isn't he cute?

Back and catching up!

Well I am back from NJ. We had a really good time. The wedding was very nice, the reception was fabulous (WOW! The seafood!!!!!) and it was great to see some of family members again. I haven't seen some of them in years, so it was great! I forgot my camera though, so I have no pics. We walked to the ocean from my uncle's house. They live a couple of blocks from Pt. Pleasant beach. We drove past the boardwalk and saw some gorgeous multi-million dollar homes. Sigh.......

I am glad to be back though, because of course, much work awaited my return. I am finally catching my breath a bit, but I really feel bad I haven't updated before now.

I have been knitting.....a little.

I finished this little blankie for my niece Kennedy (aka Peep to me). She has this little attachment to another yellow blankie (appropriately named Yellow - gotta love kids), but her other one is falling apart. So I thought we would try this one, to make original Yellow last a little longer. This yarn is called Heaven or something, I lost the band. It is very, very soft and not that horrible to work with. It only took me a few hours in the car to finish it. Parker was feeling the yarn, and now he wants one too. So yesterday I picked up a skein of blue and one of white to make one for him too. Easy project - Yay!


Also on the ride to NJ I finally started my Maggie's Tote (Fiber Trends pattern). I am using some handpainted yarn from Briar Rose Fibers. I am alternating between skeins a little, hoping for a bit of subtle striping. The colors scream autumn to me, very appropriate for this time of year. Brrrr, it is supposed to get down in the 30's here tonight. Hey! It might be time to start an afghan hehe. (yes I will say anything to justify making THAT blanket!)

No progress on the shawls, minimal progress on the socks and I still haven't found another skein of yarn for the cardi. I have a couple more local stores to try, so I hope I get lucky.

I should be exercising, because, wow, I think I ate enough for 3 people last weekend. YIKES! Does cleaning count?.........I didn't think so.

I am SOOOO in trouble!!!!!

Dang that Knitty.

Did you see the new patterns? Oh! My! Gosh!

That blanket is haunting me, no lie. I just can't stop thinking about it. How in the world am I going to be able to afford that much Noro? Ouch! I know the hubby isn't going to let me splurge on that one. But maybe there is a substitute yarn to be found. Any ideas? Please? I am desperate! There has to be something right?

Other patterns are tempting me too. Like this, but yikes, a whole sweater on size 1 and 2 needles? Not sure I can do that!

This and this are nice too. But...........I am not going to cast on another sweater until I actually finish the other one. And yes, I am ticked at the sleeves again on the cardi. I think I did something wrong and the seams looks like crud.....yes, crud. I am praying I don't have to rip them. I think I will go to the LYS today and have her look at them. I hope they are fixable. Or I will have to knit them for the 3rd time.......and this will NOT make me happy. Sigh....

Like forever!

Yeah, that's how long it seems to have been since I posted last. Busyness has captured me and it won't let me go. My evil friend volunteered me to be on the costume committee for the fall musical at the high school, so I have been busy with that. That along with everything else that starts up in the fall, like soccer, piano, voice, church activities, etc. - yupp that equals busy me.

I did actually accomplish something though. At last, another FO!


I finished the shrug and it fits Alex, and it DEFINITELY doesn't fit me. Oh well, I kinda expected that. This pic really doesn't do it justice though. There isn't really a wonky spot on the front edging either, it was just in a weird position when I took the pic. It is so cute on her when she is not wearing a sports bra with a tank top that is too big for her. (Believe me, I tried to get her to change it for the pic!) I used the Knot Ugly Shrug Pattern from the Happy Hooker book. I modified it quite a bit, but mostly on just the edgings. I really like it on her, and I think I will make another one (a bazillion times bigger!) for myself. I am tellin ya....I really love to crochet! If you haven't tried it yet, go for it. It is fun to achieve stitches that look different from knitting.

Well I am off to continue my organizing, and let me tell ya, many, many things here need it. Yikes, the paper piles alone!!!!!! I also need to plan my knitting and crochet projects for this weekend. I am going to a family wedding out of state, and I will have many, many hours for knitting and crocheting. The trip takes about 14 hrs each way, and yahooie, I don't have to drive. I smell a pair of socks coming...........

KAL's

I think I'm becoming a joiner. I have already joined the Knittin' Mittens KAL.


I have never made a pair of mittens or gloves in my life, but hey, I am willing to try it. Now I just need to decide on a pattern. I have some lovely brown alpaca that would make some nice warm gloves, but yikes, I am scared to try gloves. Those fingers! They look really hard. You know I am an avid sock knitter, would I be able to make gloves? You experienced people out there, please let me know. And if you have an easy glove pattern to suggest, I would appreciate that too!

I think I'm joining the Sexy Knitters Club too.


Right now they are making Sizzle (and one other pattern), and I just happen to have the Sizzle pattern. I think this would be a fun knit. Now I just have to wait for my acceptance email.

So what KAL's are you all joining? Any great ones that I haven't heard about? I know there was a list somewhere of current ones, but I can't seem to find it.

Oh, I almost forgot, I started seaming my sweater last night. YAY!!!

FO!!!!!!!!!

Finally I finished the STR socks! I know why they took me so long, because I really don't feel the love for short-row heels. I just love the flap heel. It fits my foot better and actually goes faster for me. I know that if I do the short-row method more often it will become easier, but so far I just don't love it. Anyhoo.....


I think they are Bee-YOO-tee-ful!
Pattern: my own
Yarn: STR Highway 30
Note to self: using this pattern in a solid yarn could be very nice too.

An old, and I mean very old, UFO - yay! I'm almost there:

That is the last piece (woot!) of a cardigan I have been working on, for like FOREVER! See! I really am trying to finish things! I am determined to wear this thing within the next couple of weeks!


And what is that new blob of mesh you ask? It is a crocheted shrug from the Happy Hooker book. So far so good, although it started out being for me and I am not sure I can squeeze the old body into it. If not, Alex gets a new shrug! (it is so nice having a slightly smaller than myself child to fall back on hehe)

Working on this reminds me yet again that I really like to crochet. Now to locate some more really great crochet patterns. If any of you have suggestions where to find some, let me know.

NOTE: I am so sorry that my blog still doesn't read well with Firefox. I have tried to fix it, but I still can't figure it out! Grrr.....I wish I could be a techie!

No pain, no gain....

I am having a bit of hand pain. When our family got in a car accident last year (we were hit head-on by a teenage driver), I must have gripped the door handle a little too hard while crashing, and damaged something in my middle finger. Now when I knit or crochet too much, it can flare up. Today it is quite sore, so I am taking a little break.

I would love to keep on knitting and crocheting/starting new projects, especially now that the new Magknits is up! I particularly want to make Seaside and the Lombard Street socks. I have to keep up the chant......I will not cast on, I will not cast on, or start anything new, or start anything new. Believe me, I know I won't last long, seriously! I know myself well enough to realize that the temptation will win. Ooooh, good grief the new Knitty will be out soon too! Aghhh....what is a girl to do? I have no chance! I am, however, determined to finish up a couple of UFO's from the past, and I have been faithfully working on them.....really! I promise I will show them off soon!

Oh, and I am going to call my sewing teacher Tues, so hopefully I can have a lesson sometime next week! I love crafty stuff!!!!

Gifties!

Yay! I have received some delicious yarny gifts! I love it when people know me well enough to buy me YARN!!!!!!!

Wednesday I went out for lunch with a friend that I hadn't seen much this summer. We have been trying to work out a time to get together for over a month now and finally it happened. She showed up with an unexpected, belated birthday gift for me.


2 skeins of Regia Crazy Color yarn in great bright colors, and a little trinket box from Willow Tree. (I collect a few of their pieces.) She is not a knitter so I was very surprised to get yarn from her. What a good friend!

I received another great yarn package in the mail this week from one of my knitting friends.


2 skeins of Regia Bamboo. I really have been wanting to try this yarn. My LYS has a baby sweater made out of it, and it is so incredibly soft!!!! I can't wait to make a pair of socks with it. Now I just need to finish the STR socks so I can dig into this stuff!

Yikes! I found a new dishcloth pattern here. I am trying really hard not to start one so I can finish up some of my UFOs, but wow I am TEMPTED!!!!