Been Busy

It has been busy around here lately. I am babysitting for the neighbors tonight but this week has just flown by.



Monday was the Parent Tea that served apple juice and hot cider for the Punkinbug's preschool class. The absent minded knitter forgot to take the camera to take pictures during the event but managed to get a picture of the graham cracker house that we built together before the little girls of the house snarfed it down for dessert after supper on Monday. I really had a good time and I think the Punkinbug did too.

Tuesday, I got all my Christmas shopping done. Now I just have to wrap it.

Wednesday, I had Mom's group and just hung out at home and knitted on my sock.



I have been working on the Autumn installment of the Loopy Sock Club. I am done with the first sock and about a third of the way done with the second one. I am so glad I got to participate in this club. It is great stuff. I think they are turning out pretty good.




I am already thinking ahead to the next sock project.I am thinking of using this yarn. It is Seacoast Panda in Signs of Spring. I really like this yarn and this colorway. The colors tend to swirl around the foot which I really like. I am thinking of Monkeys maybe but not sure yet. I am open to suggestions if anyone wants to add one.

Socks

I stole this from Deb at Wound Too Tight, her camera goes on all sorts of neat adventures. Check her out.

1. What’s your favorite sock yarns? Seacoast Handpainted, Fleece Artist, and Socks that Rock (I changed it from one kind to all the ones I really like)


2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle? Knit Picks Options DPN's

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways? Usually cuff down, I like heel flaps and I don't know how to do it toe up.

4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time? I knit them one at a time.

5. What’s your favorite toe and why? A finished one. It means that I am done with the sock usually

6. Favorite heel? Slipped Stitch Heel Flap


7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks? Patterned so they can be the same size.

8. Who do you knit the most socks for? Me, Me, Me, and did I say Me???

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them? I haven't had to yet but I need to reknit some toes on a pair since I knit them too short.

10. Do you only wear hand-knit socks? No but one day I hope to only wear handknit socks in the winter. I am not willing to mow the grass in handknits just yet.


Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? I liked the Monkeys and I will knit them again and I would like to make more Horcrux socks too.

The Monkeys are Done!!!

I am pretty impressed with myself and theses socks. These are some seriously amazing socks. I was able to knit them in a little less than two weeks. That is really quick for me. I casted them on November 29, and finished them December 11. I used KnitPicks Options needles 1.5 and Memories sock yarn in the Fly Fishing colorway. These are for my sister in law. I was very tempted to make them for myself but I thought she would like them. I will make some for myself very soon though.




Since I finished up the Monkeys, I felt the need to cast on another pair of socks. I have decided I am going to try to use the yarns that I have wound into cakes so they get used. I had the Loopy Sock Club second installment wound up so I decided to cast them on. It is Claudia Handpainted Yarn. The Pattern is the Pheasant Run from Wildhorse Farm Designs. I am halfway through the leg on the first sock. I really like the pattern and the yarn but I am not too fond of all the knit through the back loops that are in it. I am determined to knit these sock club yarns with the patterns that came with them because they match so well.


The Branching Out scarf hasn't been touched since I blogged about it last week. I think I jinxed myself. I am making myself a little goal before the end of the year. I am not going to mention it again unless I actually make it. So hopefully I will have something exciting to announce in the new year that I reached this little goal.

Hey Hey it's a Monkey

I am probably the very last person in the knitting world that has not knit this sock. I am obsessed. I couldn't put it down most of the weekend. I had to for a little while because my arm started hurting from knitting on it so much. I really like this pattern and it looks so neat in just about any yarn. I am using the Knit Picks Memories in Fly Fishing. I cast it on Thursday night.



I also dug out a UFO out of the yarn box. It is the Branching Out scarf from Knitty. I didn't realize that I was about 30 percent done with it. I am hoping to finish it this week. We shall see.



As you can tell tell from the first picture, we managed to get out Christmas tree up over the weekend. I am a little irritated because one of the strings of lights are not lighting properly. Hopefully we will figure it out next year. I didn't want to take the time to figure it out this year.

We had snow and ice over the weekend so all plans were cancelled we stayed home for the most part. I am so not ready for winter this year for some reason. I want the pretty 70 degree weather back.

My Ears are Warm (for the Moment)

Well, I finished my Foliage hat. I love this hat. I love this yarn and I absolutely adore the little model. He likes to "borrow" it and wear it around the house. "Hat" he says. I hope he lets me wear in when I go outside.



I used the Malabrigo merino worsted in the Curacao colorway. I started it on November 24, and finished it up November 27, 2007. It was a very easy knit and quick too. I am thinking of making some for gifts.





I did promise so yarn in the last post. Well this is Socks That Rock in the Sugar Plum colorway. I think Linda would like this one.




This one is Grinchy. Both are my preferred Lightweight sock yarn. I think this yarn is awesome and I love to knit with it. If I ever win the lottery (which I don't play so that isn't happening) I would order every color.




Last and probably least, is my current sock project. I think this yarn is jinxed. I can not motivate myself to work with it. I am hoping to plug through and maybe give them to my sister in law. I want to finish them to get this yarn out of my stash but at this point I am tempted to frog them. Maybe it would make a pretty scarf I don't know. It is KnitPicks Memories in the Fly Fishing colorway that is now discontinued.

Hey, I might dig out my lace scarf and work on it instead, I never know.

More Hats

I promised more hats in my last post. Well, I don't want to disappoint my fan base so here are the hats that I have made since last week. All three were made out of KnitPicks Swish Worsted. I love this yarn. It washes up well and is pretty soft. The blue hat has already been washed and hardly any pilling at all. I even washed it with a load of jeans to test it out. I am considering using this yarn for a sweater I want to make. The three colors are Dark Navy, Sunshine, and Ballerina. I used the Fiber Trends Pattern for Easy Mittens and Hats.





Here are the little "angels" and their hats. I have no idea about the funny face on Punkinbug.




Since the children are having warm heads this winter, I think it is my chance to have a warm head too. I have just cast on the Foliage hat for me. I am using this Malabrigo in the Curacao colorway. I hope it turns out okay. I am not much of a lace knitter but I am going to give it a go. I will probably use the other hank for a scarf because my head isn't that big.


Go Kansas Jayhawks!!! I hope they beat Mizzou tonight.
Next post, yarn?????

It Was On the Needles, I Promise!!!!

I know I said I would show you what was on the needles today, but it has escaped the needles for some reason. I guess because I finished it Yippee!!!!!!!!!! I started this yesterday for Marshmallow Thief. I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Dark Navy.
It was the Fiber Trends Pattern for Easy Hat and Mittens.




Here is the finished product being modeled by one super duper cute Marshmallow Thief. I think it will fit him for a couple of years I think, that is if he doesn't lose it somewhere which it totally possible.

With this project, I have started my adventure to be a real Knitter with a capital K. I will admit that I am only a knitter with a small k at this point. I can make socks, scarves, mittens, and hats but I am usually too chicken to try something out of my comfort zone. I am determined to try some new things. I used the Magic Loop method of circular knitting to make this hat. It was not as hard or as confusing as I thought it would be. I am going to make myself a sweater too. I know I made one for the Punkin but I need one for me.

More hats are on the way!!!!!

I Made My Goal!!!!

Have you been wondering where I have been? I have been knitting. I made myself a goal last week to get three of my projects completed. I made it. I finished the last one yesterday. It feels so good to get these projects completed.




The first one is a scarf that I made for my sister in law. She is totally awesome. The socks from the last post were originally supposed to be for her but I liked the color way too much to give them away. Sorry Denise, please forgive me. I think she will since I made her an alpaca scarf. This stuff is so soft and squishy I am sure I will make myself one soon. I used two hanks of Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande in the burgundy color. I almost kept this one for myself again but I decided I would let her have it.





This one I am so happy that it is done. This was a baby blanket made for the Punkinbug's teacher. It was gifted this morning. She said it is so soft. I am really glad that she liked it. She is an amazing teacher and really goes above and beyond for these kids that she works with. I am really glad to give her something like this. The pattern was Sunny Cables and Crowns. I used Caron Simply Soft in the Lemonade color. This stuff is great for little baby blankets. I made it smaller than the pattern recommended because some of them are so big and the baby is so small that it makes them hard to use. I usually make them about the size of a receiving blanket so they are more manageable.




I thought it was time for a new picture of the Marshmallow Thief. I am thinking I need to change his name but I will have to think about it for a while.

What replaced those finished objects???? Stay tuned.

FO Friday and a Visitor

Hey, well it is Friday and I finished something. I set myself a goal to try to have three finished objects by the end of next week, Sunday, November 11. One down and two to go. I think one is doable the third will be iffy. The third is the baby blanket we shall see.



This is my finished object or actually two since it is a pair of socks. I started this pair at the beginning of October. I finished them earlier today. I got a little side tracked by the baby blanket and a pair of "lippers" for the Punkinbug. The yarn is STR Lightweight in Gingerbread Dude. The pattern was Seeded Ribbing from the More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I think they turned out pretty good. I am learning not to be such a perfectionist and to quit looking at every little mistake. I am trying to remember that knitting is supposed to be fun.





I mentioned a visitor. This morning I walked outside to take the girls to school and this was in my breezeway. My visitor snuck in sometime last night and has hung out all day with us. I did a bad thing and fed the poor thing this afternoon. I thought it had to be hungry since it hadn't eaten all day. I have no idea where our visitor came from but the visitor seems to be happy right where it is.

Tomorrow, I am going on a trip up to Minnetonka to see my aunt and might get to check out some spinning wheels while I am there. We shall see.

What I Have Been Doing

I can't believe that it has been almost two weeks since I posted. Time sure does fly sometimes.



I have been devoting most of my knitting time to a long overdue baby gift. The recepient of this gift is about 3 1/2 months old already. I am hoping to have it finished and gifted before she makes the four month mark. Her mother is Punkinbug's preschool teacher. She is an amazing person. I hope she likes it.




Here is a close up of the pattern. It is called Sunny Cables and Crowns I think. I really like the pattern but my cable skills are a little unsmooth. I have no problems making them I just wish I was a little quicker and smoother with them since they tend to mess with the "flow" of my knitting. I am just over halfway done so I am on the downhill slide. Woo Hoo!!!!



There was a mysterious occurance at our house last night. Our Punkin and Punkinbug turned into little princesses. I am not quite sure how it happened, must have had something to do with candy. The Marshmallow Thief stayed home with my wonderful husband to pass out candy to other trick or treaters. When we got home I was able to watch how excited he was about passing it out. When the doorbell rang he would run to the door. I think he had a good time hanging out with dad.

Next time, maybe a finished object. (no it won't be the baby blanket unless a miracle happens or I just don't get around to posting for another two weeks LOL)

Whole Lotta Knittin' Goin On

I had a very productive knitting day today. DH don't worry, I washed dishes, did laundry, made the bed, and cooked supper. I didn't knit all day okay.





I got a wild idea to knit Punkinbugs new slippers. In Punkinese they are lippers. I cast them on this morning. I knitted the first one. After I knitted the first one I did some Stay-at-home-Mom stuff, see the above mentioned note to DH. After I did those things I thought I would start on the second. I finished them. I can't believe that I actually made the pair in one day. I must be getting faster, and size 13 needles don't hurt either. I did notice that it is much different than my sock knitting needles. They feel really different and seem harder to work with also. Want to know what else I did??????




I felted them too and folded laundry while they were in the washer. I used KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Violet and Tulip. She picked the colors out so they are very girly.

Started at 10:30 finished around 5:30 or so. Woo hoo.

We Interrupt this Blog

I was going to post about my new camera. I really did get one, I promise. I just got this really pretty yarn and I wanted to show it off. This was the last installment of the Simply Sock Yarn Company's sock yarn club. This picture doesn't really do it justice but I tried. It is Dream in Color in the Brouhaha colorway that was dyed especially for this club. It is going into the list for knit soon.


In the next episode, I tell about my new camera.

The Replacements

I promised pictures of the replacement projects so here we go. The first one is a scarf that I am making for my sister in law. It is going rather quickly but I am going to need to get another hank of yarn for it. I am hoping they have the same dye lot. I forgot to call them today.




The second one is of my new sock. Originally, this pair was for the above mentioned sister in law but I liked the yarn too much to give away. It is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Gingerbread Dude. I so understand why people are addicted to this yarn. It is so awesome.

In the next post, she made up her mind and will explain the not so great photos from this post.

They're Done!!!!!!

I honestly don't think I have ever been so happy to say that about a pair of socks. This pair gave me fits upon fits. I am glad they are done but I love them. They feel so good on my feet. I guess all the frustration is worth it when they turn out pretty good. I am still trying to get the toes right on my socks but that is just trial and error. I could have ripped them back to try to get them where I liked them more but I was lazy.

Yarn: Perchance to Knit in the Pond Colorway
Pattern: Slipped Stitch Ribbing from Sensational Knitted Socks
Started: August 2007
Finished: October 2, 2007

In the next post, What replaced the Perchance Pond Socks???

For the Love of Alpaca

I am in love, this stuff is amazing. I never knew just how soft alpaca was. I just want to turn it into a pillow to rest my mommy addled head on. I am making this scarf for my sister in law. I am using Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in a burgundy color.

I know this picture is kind of blurry. I have been debating about a new camera for a few weeks. I have researched and looked at a couple that I really like, but I can't seem to make up my mind. My wonderful husband says that whatever we get will be lightyears ahead of what we already have due to the fact that mine is almost seven years old. Hopefully, I will make up my mind soon.


In the next post, hopefully a FO???

These Little Piggies (and a Pigskin)

This little piggie was warm, this little piggie was cold,
this little piggie likes to sit, this little piggie has a mommy who knits,
and this little piggie was glad for some yellow socks.







I made these socks for my little punkinbug. I started these socks on September 14th and finished them this morning. They fit pretty good and they were a very quick knit. I will make some more for her I am sure. They were made with Louet Pearl in the Goldilocks colorway. I used a pattern from the Sensational Knitted Sock book in the Oblique Openwork pattern for the cuff.

To all my Minnesota Viking fans, just remember that it doesn't affect their ranking in the NFC stats. I am just glad the Chiefs finally won since they haven't won all season or the preseason.

Yippee

Chiefs 13 Vikings 10

Yes, Elisabeth, Homework Can Be Fun!!!!

I am really enjoying "helping" Punkin with her homework. Today she had a paper that she needed to fill out how many shoes, beds, lamps, forks, and doors we had in our house. It was really interesting thinking of all the doors we had. I never thought that we had 17 doors in our home. This is Punkin with most of the shoes that we could find. We counted 78 single shoes and I know we missed alot. Wow maybe time to "destash" the shoes huh????





I have been doing a "little" knitting. This pair of socks is for the newly named Punkinbug. She decided she didn't like the name Stinkerbug anymore. I am using Louet Pearl in the Goldilocks colorway. I am using a pattern from the Sensational Knitted Socks book. Little people socks sure knit up fast.







This other pair is for me. I am still working on the Perchance to Knit socks and maybe one of these days I will finish them. I am not letting myself cast on another pair until they are done. I know if I did this one would never get finished. I am determined not to have any lonely socks.

I Love Autumn!!!!!

I have no pictures. I haven't done enough knitting to show off anything since yesterday. I am just excited that it is Autumn, well at least here in Minnesota the last couple of days. Do you want to know why I am excited???? I have worn hand knit socks the last two days. I love Autumn.

What I Did While the StinkerBug was at Preschool!!!!

I picked up the living room and vacuumed. Yes that is a floor without toys, dolls, blankets, books, and shoes. I am sure it won't stay that way long. Yes my wonderful husband, I don't just sit and knit all day.


I made supper. It is a chili day here in Minnesota (pun intended) and I thought it would be perfect to make a big crockpot of chili so I can knit this afternoon.


I washed dishes. I am still waiting to win the lottery so I can have a full time housekeeper to do this but it has to be done. I guess I need to play the lottery to win though huh???


NO, I haven't knitted in almost three days. This is a current picture of the blanket I am working on. I plan to work on it this afternoon if all goes well.

A Project Revisited and the Marshmallow Thief Makes an Appearance

Since school is starting next week, I decided to see if I could finish this baby blanket. It is for Miss I Cut the Yarn's teacher. She doesn't go back to preschool technically until September 10th so I have a little extra time. I have made one in nine days so I think I can do it if I can stay away from sock knitting and searching for sock yarn.



This is the sock that she cut the yarn on. I switched to my Addi Turbo's (the only ones I have) to finish it. It is not nearly as splitty since I switched. I think I may actually make the other hank of the yarn into socks also. We shall see. I turned the heel last night and this morning I picked up all the gusset stitches and I am working on the decreases now.



I also thought I would show a picture of the Marshmallow Thief. It has been awhile since he made an appearance. He is growing so fast. He has learned to say Yeah and ball. He likes to wander around the house aimlessly. I think he does it just because he can walk and tends to take after his dad that he can't seem to stay still for long. He was pretty tired in this picture, he is so quick now that it is hard for me to get a good picture. I think I might need a new camera.

I have also started working out again. It is just a start but hopefully I will keep it up. I am doing the Walk Away the Pounds videos. I am also throwing in some Core Secrets with it too hopefully.

A No Pictures Post

I have learned a big lesson. Never buy more than one hank of sock yarn from a company until you decide if you like it or not. I have two hanks of the Perchance to Knit and I am pretty disgusted with it. It did not help that my daughter cut it either. I am so tempted to swap with someone if they are interested. I know that the sock fits so far, I am just really unhappy with the yarn splitting so much.

I was able to find jars. Dh picked them up for me at the Wal-Mart in the town where he works. I have 27 jars of salsa canned so far this year plus I have about 50 more tomatoes that are ripe that I need to turn into something else.

Happy Knitting

Warning Rant Ahead!!!!!!

Well, my not so secret project had a mishap, I had to rip it out. I was almost through with the leg on my beautiful Fall Sock Club package from the Loopy Ewe when I discovered a mistake. No one would have probably noticed but it was bugging me so I tried to fix it. Unfortunately, that didn't work. So it is in the bottom of the frog pond until I feel the need to cast them on again. This sock that I am knitting fighting now is out of Perchance to Knit yarn in the Pond colorway. I am not impressed with this yarn at all. I find it very splitty and not very soft but the colors are gorgeous. It might just be that I knit tight and I am knitting with the wickedest needles in the United States. I love my Options though. I just need to loosen up I guess. I am using a pattern out of the Sensational Knitted Sock Book.




My Canning Law says that if you have 66 ripe tomatoes (yes I counted them) and only five pint jars you probably need to buy more jars right???? Guess what??? The grocery store and the hardware store are both out. Also I called another store to see if they had some and they never called me back. Grrrrrrr. I highly frustrated at this point and on top of that the Stinkerbug daughter is throwing a fit about something because her sister made her mad.

Jaywalkers are Done

Well, the Jaywalkers for my wonderful sister-in-law are in the mail. I messed them up a little but I wasn't going to rip them out again. Somehow some peanut butter cookies got in there for my wonderful brother. I am not quite sure how that happened.

I did cast on for something else but I will share that in a later post. I want to see how far I can get by Friday or so.




I am starting to worry if my iPod is in danger of becoming kidnapped. Our little Stinkerbug has turned into a little music fiend. She loves music. Her dad let her listen to my iPod the other night and she just looked so cute.



Although, I am thankful that she has her own FP3 player. She thinks it is neat to listen to music that she likes (Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang and Sheryl Crow's Real Gone) over and over and over and over and over. I am sure you get the idea.

Happy Knitting