Knittin' Mama

Did You Know?

2008-09-06T20:36:00.002+02:00

1. That a full can of shaving cream can be fully dispensed in about a minute?

2. That two dozen eggs is very hard to get out of a carpet?

Ask me how I know.

Howdy folks! Long time, hasn't it been? With the Georgia heat I haven't had much desire to knit. I spent much of my free time this summer spinning. Although about two weeks ago the sudden urge to knit struck. I ordered yarn for the first time in months!

Dolores Park Cowl
Malabrigo Chunky, Paris Nights

A nice quick knit to get me back into the rhythm of knitting. It's destined to be a gift for someone this holiday season. I've also casted on for a pair of socks in some lovely Colinette Jitterbug. Though at the rate I seem to knit nowadays it might be awhile before they're finished.

Of course I've been dyeing up a storm. It's all I seem to think about. Color combinations pop into my head all the time and unfortunately many are lost by the time I get a chance to write them down. Wanna see some of what I've been up to?

These are from this week's update. I've finally decided that semi-solids and overdyes are going to be my main focus as far as yarns go. I just enjoy them so much more and love the way they knit up.

Oh, and did you see? I'm the Featured Artist of the Month over at Yarn4Socks! Yay! She has some colorways I don't foresee doing in the near future, so you should go over and check them out. :)

Well, children and housework are calling... Funny, I keep asking the hubby that since it's the weekend, when do I get to enjoy it? Ha! Until next time!

Energized

2008-05-08T17:05:00.002+02:00

Yeah, so my last post wasn't all that inspiring or upbeat. Really, I'm not depressed or am I deserting my blog. I think I needed a bit of a time out to focus my energies in other aspects of my life and hobbies.

When I first started dyeing my efforts were on sock yarn for myself. Then when I decided to open an Etsy shop, I went with a focus on spinning fibers and handspun yarn. Mostly because I thought there was a need to help fill this niche. Other reasons were that I hadn't found base yarns that were within reasonable prices to ship overseas. Now that I'm back in the States, I have sourced out two base yarns that I'm really happy about. Last month I rolled these out with unenthusiastic fanfare. I'd love to hear from my readers what makes them buy a sock yarn over another. Also, do you enjoy the gentle color changes of an almost solid or the spiraling nature of a hand painted? Thanks!

Anyhoo, I dicovered a few months ago a fondness for something else.

This is two pounds of suri alpaca. The other assorted fleeces will be here very shortly. I guess it's good that I decided to venture into this now, since it's shearing time. Oh, I have so much planned for myself, I'm not sure when I'll get anything done. I'm having fun so I guess that's what matters.

Way back when we were still in Germany, I had ordered some delicious top but just got around to dyeing it up. I'm not sure what the holdup was because it's gorgeous! I'll be sure to get some more when I order again. These are both Alpaca/Merino/Silk and they're in the shop!

Speaking of the shop (really, hasn't this entire post been?) I'm having a May Celebration Sale all month long. 10% off all regular prices and there may be a few extra specials thrown in every now and then.

Psst! I almost finished a sock and started two new ones! Those I'll post about next time.

They're Done!

2008-04-15T13:22:00.002+02:00

I finally got my taxes done this weekend, so I'm throwing a little celebration at the shop. 15% off most items, including these new yarns:

Uninspired

2008-04-07T21:24:00.004+02:00

Way back when, this used to be a knitting blog. Technically it still is. What else can I call it when the title has knitting in it? My point being I haven't knit in almost a month. A combination of general busyness, warm weather and focusing on my other woolly activities help contribute. Do miss it? No, no I don't. I think I miss the idea of it more than anything. Several evenings I've thought that I should go find something to work on, but it never happens.

Likewise blogging has lost much appeal for me. I know this has been discussed on other blogs. Between Ravelry and Flickr, most days I'd rather not even read a blog. No offense to anyone in particular! Heck, I just checked my Bloglines and it's scary; I'm that far behind in reading. Will I quit? Right now, no. I guess it' going to be focused in a different manner and infrequent at best.

So, what have I been up to? Well, lots of things. Spinning still is going strong. I just finished some really cool yarns, but of course haven't taken pictures yet...

I've also gotten a ton of new superwash rovings in tons of colors and bamboo for blending this past week. I made some really pretty batts and can't wait to play some more.

I call this one "Tigerlily"

Of course there's been a bunch of dyeing. I hope to hit the pots again this week, although Reilly is home on Spring Break so we'll see how that works out.

These are all at the shop

Hopefully my little funk will be over soon! Until then!

Long Overdue Hello

2008-03-26T18:05:00.003+01:00

Well, we're here in Georgia! Actually we've been here for over a month, but with the house hunting, unpacking and general business of moving this is the first time I've even thought of updating the blog.

We found a lovely little house to rent with plenty of room. Well, plenty of room for everything except the rather large stash I seem to have accumulated. So I've been doing a bit of a cleaning out of sorts and posted a bunch of stuff on my Ravelry sell page. Feel free to wander over there and see if you can't help a lady out.

The only problem with the house we picked is that the school is horrible. So horrible that it's been on the No Child Left Behind list for a few years now. Thankfully the district allowed us the opportunity to transfer Reilly to another one. In the end, he's now in a great school and I get to drive him every day(not so good).

Before our stuff got here I did manage to finish quite a few socks, but since I just unpacked my camera, I haven't had a chance to take pictures yet. Soon... Well, it's almost time to leave for the nice trek to get the boy from school. Not to leave you pictureless, I leave you with one of the latest batts I made up for my shop. It's one of my favorites!

Bye For Now

2008-01-14T11:45:00.000+01:00

It's been pure craziness in these parts, I tell ya! I hate moving, but am so glad to be doing so. I miss home terribly and after nearly four years it is time. The movers start coming tomorrow and we will have them until Thursday. We won't be leaving until the end of the month and then taking a few weeks of leave to visit family. I won't be around until sometime late February. Until then, I wish everyone well!

A Bright New Year

2008-01-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

Happy New Years everyone! I can't believe it's here already yet I'm very happy to have it here. 2007 was a somewhat dark year for myself and 2008 only promises lovely things.

I finished a few more hats for the holidays. About a week before the big day I decided that all the boys need a new one under the tree so I quickly knit some up.

Pattern: Norwegian Star Earflap Hat by Tiennie
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Coal and Mist

Pattern: The Player
Yarn: Elann Highland Wool in Tuscan Green and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Natural

Pattern: Karlchen (yes, another)
Yarn: handspun/hand dyed Columbia/Dorset in "Connor"

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk in Hollyberry

This one is for me and it fits great! Please excuse the horrible photo since my husband had no patience for taking them.

I have one more hat on the needles, but haven't decided if I'm going to finish it or not. The pressure of packing is taking effect and have been spending some time ripping unfinished knits. I'd like to finish what I can before the movers come in two weeks and have nothing waiting for me when I unpack. Wishful thinking!

I've got to keep this post short, since I've got too much to do today. I received a wonderful birthday and Christmas present this year, so I'll have to unveil that later on.

Oh, and just wanted to let you know that everything in my shop is on sale. I kept meaning to let you know, but it's been crazy and I forget things easily. As a special for my blog readers, I'm offering an extra 5% off the already 10% sale plus free shipping over $60. Just include the code "blog5" in the comments to the seller when checking out and I'll send you an invoice with the correct price.

Cover Those Ears

2007-12-11T10:38:00.000+01:00

First things first:

Yup, yours truly was the Etsy shop of the day yesterday at Lime and Violet's The Daily Chum. How cool is that! Yes, I'm thrilled.

Ok, so I feel like I owe a knitting post after that long hiatus. As I had mentioned, I have been doing some gift knitting, but have decided to not post those pictures until after everyone has opened them so that I keep the surprise.

What I can show is all the hats I've been cranking out. Serious hat mania going on over here.

Pattern: Karlchen
Yarn: "Steel", alpaca and superwash merino from my own batts

Pattern: Karlchen
Yarn: "Crabapple" BFL spun from Hello Yarn

What can I say, when I find a good pattern, I stick with it. The pattern is written from the top down so that you can try it on. Or quit when you run out of yarn. They also worked up really fast, taking just a day each. I think my handspun looks great in these too.

I figured I need a little something with interest for the next hat, so I started on a Koolhaas. Who isn't doing one of these? I chose Knit Picks Andean Silk after finding a couple balls yesterday hiding in my stash.

Perhaps I need to go through the yarn more often, since I forget I own things. Yes, "most" of the stash is cataloged on Ravelry, but that consists of the sock yarn and sweaters. Those odd balls of only a few, the lace, Shetland and gross amount of yarn purchased for stranded work remain packed away.

Well, that's all I'll get into today. Trust me there's more. Good stuff too!

Update Time

2007-12-10T16:12:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I've been busy updating the shop over the weekend. This will be my last update before I move in January and probably until early March. Please stop on by and I hope you find something you like! I promise a real post soon; there's so much to talk about!

Hello There!

2007-12-01T22:00:00.000+01:00

Despite what many may have thought, I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I guess I just needed a bit of a break from the blog. My husband came home in October (yay!) and it's been quite an adjustment. After being the only parent for fifteen months, having another one in the house is both a blessing and a challenge. My personal life was turned upside down and I needed some time to let things settle in.

I've been keeping busy with planning a move back to the States and lots of family time. In the spare moments I've been knitting on Christmas presents, dyeing a bunch and spinning a bit. Most of the gifts are in their last stages and will be given a proper photo shoot once all the ends have been tucked in. You see what I've dyeing in my Etsy shop, with more on it's way.

I finally got myself together yesterday and spend quite a few hours rewinding skeins and counting yardages on all the yarns I've spun in the past few months. For whatever the reason, I'd gotten out of the habit of doing it immediately after they were dry from their bath. Perhaps I've learned my lesson...

You can see detailed info in my spinning Flickr set (click the picture to get there). Happy knitting and spinning everyone!

One Week To Go!!!

2007-10-18T12:28:00.001+02:00

Hurrah! We're on our last week of this never ending deployment. Up until last week the reality of the close end hadn't fully hit me. In a way, it hasn't completely yet either. I suppose that it'll take awhile even after he gets home. However excitement has begun to spread like wildfire around these parts. Some groups have already come home and a bunch will this weekend. The entire community has been covered with yellow ribbons, flags and welcome home signs. I'll be very happy once the entire Brigade has arrived safely and life begins to take on a bit of normalcy.

The past few weeks since I last posted hasn't been especially busy. I'm just having a hard time concentrating on any one activity so nothing gets accomplished. We had a very nice visit with Royd's father and stepmother last week. It was great to see the boys playing and bonding with family after such a long time. Being stationed in Europe has its perks, but it certainly makes familial bonds strained.

Ok, now onto the knitting part of what I've been up to. First, I have to give a big public thank you to Dave. I "won" a prize in his Dugly Uck contest awhile ago. Not only did he send me my choice of "ugly" yarn but also included two skeins of gorgeous yarn.

Thanks so much Dave! They have been tucked into the bulging box that contains the other pretties and are now making friends.

I suppose that since it is Socktober, it only seems fitting that I knit some socks. In reality, I had kinda forgotten about it and just needed a mindless project to work on. Although I have lots on the needles right now, anything with patterning just doesn't appeal to me.

Pattern: Plain vanilla socks on 64 stitches with a band heel
Yarn: "Ripples" Minestrone from Yarn Chef

This was nice yarn to knit with. Katy has some great color combinations that are right up my alley. I've marked a few as favorites and hope to get some more in the future. While I have knit a band heel before, none of them were for myself. I wasn't really sure I was going to like it, but wanted to try something other than a short row heel to keep the stripes in line. When I first put them on it felt weird, but after wearing them about I found they accommodate my heel just fine.

Naturally since the hubby is going to be home soon, I probably won't be posting for a bit. On the other hand, he now takes control of my car everyday so I'm going to be stuck at home once again... Well, I'll see everyone once things settle down here!

Psst! Lots of new stuff in the shop this week! :)

Warm Hands

2007-09-29T15:00:00.000+02:00

Wow, you all sure know how to make a girl blush! Thanks for everyone's super nice comments regarding my latest sweater.

I'll admit I barely knit this past week. I entered my bi-annual cleaning spree and have been keeping quite busy with that. What little time that I did have I spent playing with dyes and wool. Ok, I did knit a tiny little bit.

Pattern: Fingerless mitts, a on the fly design
Yarn: my handspun Targhee from Susan's Spinning Bunny

I really like how these turned out and it was pure luck that the striping matched up. I have enough left over to do a little neck gaiter, but have yet to do some measurements and swatching. Perhaps tomorrow since I'm refusing to leave the house.

I know that I promised a post on spinning, but I realized that the last three skeins are still uncounted and I just haven't felt like doing that.

Yeah, pretty boring post. Basically I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive. Plus, I discovered that the longer between posts, the harder it is to get back into it. So, it's an attempt to keep up.

One more thing! Don't forget that I'm having a sale at my shop. Sale ends tomorrow night, so hurry on over! I'll leave you with a taste of the new stuff that just went up.

Breathe

2007-09-19T12:38:00.000+02:00

I certainly did not plan on stepping away from the blog for so long! Since I last posted Reilly has started school and that really threw my schedule out of whack. I didn't expect it to, but the adjustment was hard than I thought. We're now into the third week and we've all gotten settled but it's still pretty hectic. The redeployment countdown keeps getting smaller and I keep finding more things I'd like to get done before then. On top of that his parents will be here a week before he gets home. Unfortunately they will miss each other, but their presence will keep me busy and from going out of my mind with anticipation.

Stealing moments for my knitting and spinning has become the new norm. No longer can I sit down and knit while the kids play in the morning. Naptime is also busy with chores. I suppose that once my husband is home and he takes on some of the household duties there will be more time.

However, I have found the time to finish up two knitting projects. Yay!

Pattern: Fetching
Yarn: Bouton d'Or Ksar

These were a nice quick knit and will become a faithful companion on those early morning walks to school until it gets really cold. Guess I better start a pair of mittens soon because it's getting cold already!

Pattern: Wheat-Ear Cable Raglan, Interweave Knits, Summer '07
Yarn: Tahki Torino, color 124

When I first saw this sweater I knew I had to have it. Right after I got my copy Webs was having their anniversary sale and happened upon an awesome price for the exact wool used. Heck, I even used the same color because I thought it was a gorgeous color and it's one that not too frequently shows up in my wardrobe. I'm glad I went for it. The yarn is super soft and I really like how the color looks on me.

I did however have some issues when I knitted it up. First, my gauge was slightly off. Knowing this, I went ahead and figured I'd leave a row or two out every few inches. Well, when I finally bound off for the neck and tried it on was I in for a surprise. It was a turtleneck that was at least three or four inches too wide . Boy did that look funny. Yeah, I had to rip and reknit the entire yoke with faster decreases and a smaller needle. I think the end result is better, not great, but I'm happy with it. It's still a big on the big size and I should have made the smallest size with short rows in the bust. There's some flaring at the underarms, the sleeves are a bit bigger than I'd like and it sits kinda funny on my waist and hips so that it gives me "handlebars". Ok, so maybe I do have them, but they're nowhere near that big! :)

All in all, I'm happy and have learned some things along the way. First, I need to remeasure my entire top side, not just that one number in order to make things fit better. Since the last time I've made a sweater there's alot less of me and I have a hard time figuring out what size the new me wears. Hopefully my next sweater will come out much better. Especially since I've already casted on!

I know that Autumn doesn't start until next week, but it's already here in Germany. The leaves are changing and the air has started to take on that wonderful crispness. It's my favorite time of the year and I'm feeling the urge to bake. Yum! Since I'm in a very good mood, I'm throwing a sale in my Etsy shop until the end of the month. Be sure to hop on over and I hope you find something you like. I suspect that with everything going on I won't be updating there much for the next month or so.

Well, there's spinning to talk about as well, but I'll leave that for another time. Happy knitting!

Turn for the Better

2007-08-30T18:27:00.000+02:00

Wow, the past two weeks just flew by! It was a flurry of back to school madness that isn't quite over yet as Reilly doesn't even go until Tuesday. Today we had our home visit with his teacher and that just about pushed me over the edge. I started cleaning last week and continued all week for a visit that lasted all of twenty minutes. Trust me the house really needed it, so it was the kick I needed.

I want to send a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. The words of encouragement, congratulations and appreciation put a huge smile on my face. I am quite sorry that I didn't respond to many of them, since life just got the best of my time.

So, I'm sure you're all wondering who the lucky person is, and that is Rachel!!! Congratulations! I hope you enjoy it.

Thankfully things have been looking up in my world. First, although we still don't know when my husband will be home, we have been given a time frame. Granted it spans about three weeks, but it's something. Also, redeployment events are starting to happen so the feeling is that it is finally happening. Second, we have been given orders back to Fort Benning, GA. Although it isn't the nicest place to be stationed, it isn't the worse by a long run either. More importantly he will be in a position that doesn't deploy. That's all I can ask for. Hurray!

Fiber: "Ice Princess" merino
Stats: 11 wpi, 290 yards

This is the latest spinning to come off the wheel. I think it's very pretty, but not me at all, so it'll be up in the shop in a day or two.

Then, I've been working feverishly on the Wheat-Ear Cable Raglan. I just joined the body and have still alot of knitting to do. I'm trying to hurry through it, since my yarn for the Tangled Yoke has arrived and I can't wait to start on that.

Ok, gotta cut this short. Two children are screaming....

Three

2007-08-20T16:16:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Worsted Weight Knee Highs, my own making
Yarn: handspun "Flapper" Merino from The Yarn Wench

I've been wanting a pair of knee highs for quite awhile now. I tried with my last pair of socks, but that didn't work out so I dragged this yarn out and gave it a try. I think they turned out wonderful, though I may have to reinforce the cuff with some elastic thread. They feel just a bit loose, but we'll see how they wear. I'm sure they'll keep my legs nice and warm once it gets cold and I have to walk the eldest to school.

As the title may have suggested, today is officially my third anniversary blogging. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long! I originally had started this blog because I was bored out of my mind and needed something to do. Royd had just left for his last deployment and I didn't know anybody. The online companionship I found really helped through a difficult time.

This deployment however has been entirely different. I'm sure many of my regular readers may have noticed my lack of enthusiasm. I sit down to the computer armed with pictures and stories to tell, but for whatever reason the words just don't come. The next two months may or may not be any better. He's now been gone for over a year and it's really starting to take it's toll. But on the brighter side of things, Reilly will be entering Kindergarten in two weeks and I will have more time to do other things. Maybe my mood will brighten with him out of the house every day.

Long story short, I want to thank everyone that visits my little corner of the internet. I've made some fantastic online and real friends out of this. Thank you!!!

So, what's a celebration without a giveaway? (Although this will be my first time celebrating, but whatever) How about some handspun yarn, spun especially for ya'll.

Here's the skinny. Just guess how many yards are in this hank(oh, it's superwash merino btw) and the closest one wins! I'll leave the contest open until midnight Friday EST.

Good luck!

Backlog

2007-08-10T13:28:00.000+02:00

Gosh, I have no idea as where to start this post. I had stepped away from blogging for a couple weeks and now I've got a ton to share. Diving right in sounds good!

Pattern: My So-Called Scarf
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay, Wildflower

This has been "technically" done for a few weeks now, I just hadn't gotten around to weaving those ends in until this morning. Honestly I forgot all about it until I cleaned out the knitting basket. That process deserves another whole post to itself.

Pattern: made up as I went
Yarn: handspun superwash merino

I made this one for Marc and it fits great. I just wish he would leave it on so that I could get a picture. He hates hats.

Pattern: Hot Head from Stitch N Bitch
Yarn: handspun from the previous post (this color is more accurate)

Yes, another Hot Head! Can you tell that I love this pattern??? This one's for me too.

Yarn: Wollmeise, Krauterbeet
Pattern: toe-ups with gussets and picot hem

These were originally intended to be knee highs, but about three inches into the calf shaping I had to rip. The pooling just got plain ugly. So, I've got enough left for another pair in the future. I love this yarn! I'm waiting to see how they wear and wash up before I go ahead and do a big order. There's at least eight colorways I have to have and then a few more I wouldn't mind. Sock yarn problem? Nah.

These are the handspun I finished in the last three weeks. You can get all the dirt on them at my Flickr Spinning Set.

For whatever reason, the littlest one isn't napping very well lately. He's up, so my computer time is over. Happy knitting!

Tour de Fleece: Day ???

2007-07-24T18:36:00.001+02:00

Ok. I'm lazy. Sure I could go count, but that would be too hard. I'm also way too lazy to go take a bunch of pictures of what I've been up to, so today it's just the spinning.

Wool: "Crabapple" BFL from Hello Yarn
Stats: 172 yards, chunky weight

Fiber: "Royale" Superwash Merino from Funky Carolina
Stats: 310 yards, sportweight

This will become a pair of socks no doubt.

Fiber: "Feelin' Pretty" Finn wool from Flawful Fibers
Stats: 190 yards, chunky to sport weight

Wow, Finn is nice! As soon as I can justify another wool order, I'll be including alot of this to play with. I really wanted this to be a nice thick yarn, but it kept telling me to go thinner. I managed to force it into submission for the most part.

Also, the color is way off. It's much softer in natural light. Funny, it looked great when I saved it, but who knows what happened.

I promise to include some knitting next week, since there has been a little. See you then!

Handspun Happiness

2007-07-18T19:19:00.000+02:00

It's all about the spinning right now. Yet as much as I'd like to all day long, other little people have other things that they'd like to do. Since the sun has finally decided to visit Germany this summer, the playground and parks beckon. I needed some nice mindless project that would be easy to tote around as I wander behind them. Socks are out right now since I'm having a bit of boredom with them.

These came into the picture as the next best thing:

All were knit from recent handspun and all followed the basic pattern, Hot Head from Stitch n Bitch. All had different gauges than the pattern suggested, but were an easy enough modification. They also look adoreable on the boys, but pictures were out of the question. It's simply too hot for them to leave on for more than a quick try-on. Now that the required blue hats are finished, I can make some fun ones. There'll also be matching or coordinating mittens in the future. I just am not in the mood for thumbs.

Being the true sports like person I am (ha ha, not really), I've been busy doing my pedaling.

Fiber: "Hibiscus" 4 0z. merino/tencel from the Susan's Spinning Bunny
Stats: 658 yards

You may have remember me mentioning that I was going after fingering weight with this one. Oops. Well, it's my first laceweight that hasn't sucked or fallen apart during plying so I'll take it. The colors are bright, so I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm thinking maybe a very simple lace scarf. Well, we'll see.

Fiber: superwash merino and nylon with angelina
Stats: 468 yards

That's better! I'm glad that I decided to test the blend out before selling it. Not only did I have to up the nylon content, but I got to see how much sparkle the angelina adds. Although I wasn't going for alot of bling, I would add more in the future.

Speaking of sock batts, they're up for sale! I only managed to get two different ones done, since I haven't had much time to play this week. Hopefully this weekend I'll get to. Here's what I've come up with so far.

Oh, and just so that y'all know how bad the sickness is, these were in my mailbox this morning. Yum.

Le Tour de Fleece: Day Seven

2007-07-13T09:02:00.000+02:00

In my wanderings across blogland, I noticed that some people that are spinning along in Le Tour de Fleece had set some pretty big goals and challenges. Me, not so much. Here are mine:

1. spin something boy appropriate
2. spin one new fiber to me
3. finally finish that merino/tencel that's been in the works for way too long
4. not buy any new rovings

That's it! The best part is that I've already knocked off two of them.

I've already broken Goal 4, but it was all things that were on sale and I would never dye myself... Okay, I'm just weak.

Goal 1

Fiber: "Summit" Falkland wool from The Yarn Wench
Stats: 242 yards, 3.3 oz., bulky weight

Although there are streaks of purple, which I consider more feminine, it blends in very nicely and I think this will become a nice hat or scarf.

Goal 2

Fiber: "Kimono" merino, alpaca, silk and angelina from Loop
Stats: 256 yards, just short of 3 oz., mostly fingering/sport

This is what the batts looked like prior to spinning. This particular blend was a challenge to spin. At times the fiber spun so nicely and flowed through my fingers, and then it would just clump up and not budge. It also drifted apart causing my pants to become quite red. I'll have to remember this next time I use such a blend because I've got a few others that are quite similar.

This is what I'm working on now. I'm testing out a blend of my own that are going to be for socks. Right off I know that I need to add some more nylon because I screwed up my calculations. Really, this is basic math and shouldn't have been messed up. Oh well. I spent all day yesterday dyeing over two pounds of solid colored superwash for these blends. Once they're dry and I get to blending, I'll be sure to let you know.

In other shop related news, I did a HUGE update this past weekend. Since I have limited space for storing stuff and need to make room, I'm running a special on shipping (see store announcement for details) and to sweeten the deal, I'll even throw in a special offer for my blog readers. Just mention "knittinmama" when you pay and I'll take off 10% one item (highest priced and offer expires 7/20). You can either request a revised invoice or if you don't want anyone to snatch it from under you, just pay and I'll refund you.

Okay, self promotion over. I've got to go get the boys ready for some errands. Have a great weekend everyone!

Boredom Busting

2007-07-05T17:35:00.000+02:00

For the last three weeks, it has rained pretty much every day. This means alot of inside playing and lots of downtime for me. I'm running out of interesting activities that are appealing and have begun to resort to new Leapfrog cartridges and marathon movie sessions. I picked up where I had left off in pre-move activities when the extension was announced and have been cleaning like a madwoman. (not that you'd really be able to tell, since the boys tend to follow me around and undo everything) When I can't clean anymore, I turn to the fiber. This week, more so than ever. I've gotten ALOT done.

Pattern: Whisper Lace Socks from Have You Any Wool
Yarn: J. Knits Superwash Me in New Jersey

Love these socks! They're the first pair I've knit for myself in awhile, since it's been all about the holiday gift pile. I can't recommend the pattern enough, they're so delicate and feminine. Just what every girl needs!

I had been merrily knitting away on the Wollmeise socks until the heel didn't quite work out as planned. Rather than redoing it, I casted on for a pair of Monkey. Don't worry, I've begun the heel again, and if it ever stops raining they'll become my playground project.

The Tour de Fleece starts this weekend and I've been busy warming up.

Wool: Superwash merino dyed with spruce green and vermillion
Stats: 322 yards, sport weight

Wool: "Tulip" BFL from The Spunky Eclectic (June club offering)
Stats: 278 yards, dk weight

Wool: black corriedale with purple and teal colonial from the following batts
Stats: 176 yards, dk/worsted weight

These batts were lots of fun to make. They're three layers total. One black, then wide strips of the purple and teal and then another black. Then I pulled them into roving so that the three colors would mingle nicely. Then I made another two to put into the shop. Afterwards I went digging and found some roving from another Etsy seller that almost matched these colors. Heh. I guess I'll get a matching set of mittens and hat cuz it's just screaming to me mittens. When the yarn screams at you, you just gotta listen!

Droolworthy

2007-06-29T18:05:00.000+02:00

Hello out there! I am still alive, the universe hasn't exploded and I'm doing quite well. Thank you for all of the very nice comments that were left for me earlier this week. I've been avoiding my inbox since it seems to be breeding. Heck, I'm still working on last week's emails! I suppose if I would just sit down and do it, instead of playing with fiber... Nah.

I don't know about you, but I highly enjoy reading the Yarn Pron/Fiber Fridays that some bloggers do. Unofficially I've been doing them occasionally, just not always on Friday and thought it might be a nice installment on this blog. Of course, due to my sporadic posting, you'll get to see the goodies whenever I get around to posting them.

This week I got a few packages that really helped with my mood.

These would be my latest sock stash enhancements from the Loopy Ewe. Yes, I did swear to Kathleen a few weeks ago that I would not be buying any until I finished quite a few more socks. Oops! Oh, and yes those are some fingers in the bottom of the picture. A certain little baby is quite fascinated with the yarn, grabbing and running whenever the opportunity presents itself.

These two came from Funky Carolina. I just realized this week that I had spun some of hers awhile back and never showed it here. It's now in a new home and I hope she is enjoying it.

Ok, enough of that. Onto what I've been doing already!

Yup, I started another sock with the Krauterbeet Wollmeise. OMG. I love this yarn. The yarn itself is firmly twisted, kinda like Lorna's Laces, but is still oh so soft when knitted up. Can I just tell you now that I'll be ordering much more of this? Eight colorways will be mine, at least.

Fiber: 3.5 oz Falkland "Welder Brook Hollow" from PippiKneeSocks
Stats: Bulky weight, 158 yards

These are one of her solar dyed wools that she described in her article for the Summer Knitty. I saw it and thought "boy". I'm trying to make a conscious effort to buy more boy-friendly wools since I have to tendancy to just buy for myself. So far, I've made a good contribution to the stash, and just need to spin them.

Look! I finally made some batts! The colors a little funny in both pictures. The top is a bit more blue and the bottom doesn't show the chocolate brown all that well. These will be up in the shop sometime this weekend as soon as I can get some decent pictures and final weights. Of course, if you can't wait for that, you can always email me.

Phew, is that enough for y'all to drool over?

I Give

2007-06-25T18:40:00.000+02:00

Thursday
The fridge dies. A call to the Housing Office gets me an estimated time frame of "someone will be out by the day's end". Uh, my fridge is registering 55F and getting warmer. Okay whatever. Thankfully someone is out by lunch and and a new one is in it's place by three. Between those times I had to throw out pretty much everything.

It's gets better. As I'm inspecting my fridge in the morning, I find that on the underside of the door, black mold has sprouted. A quick Google search reveals that this explains my lightheadness, nausea and headaches. I spend the entire morning inspecting everything in my house.

Merino Tencel singles on the wheel

Friday
Grocery shopping for the second time this week. Ouch! Then, apparently my upstair's neighbors apartment has become the party house. I get to listen to the bass pounding as I fall asleep.

My So Called Scarf on the needles

Saturday
I finally talk to the hubby after a week and a half. Yay! At this point we discuss bank account charges and he swears he didn't make "those". I curse him quietly and promise to look into it.

Whisper Lace Socks on the needles

Sunday
At exactly 4:20 the all weekend party breaks up as the now drunk and tired guests literally fall down the stairs. I never get back to bed. Then, I get a horrible email informing me that our Commanding Officer's 15 year old son has died unexpectedly.

Yarn: Handspun from "Hunkered" courtesy Hello Yarn
Pattern: Basic Mittens from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

Monday
I go to the bank and find out that it's not my husband's bank card making these charges, but mine. At this point I feel every single fiber in my body go limp and I just want to cry. But I can't. I go home and call the companies and get some info. Then it's up to the Police Station to file a report and then back home after three hours to cancel the rest of my cards.

So, either my computer got hacked or a business I purchased from did. I swear! It just keeps getting better and better with each day. I keep waking up in the morning wondering what's next.

Come on, Powers-That-Be, give me your best! No, really you don't have to... I don't want to see what else can come up.

'Cuz I Have a Minute

2007-06-20T14:27:00.000+02:00

I can't say that much is going on around these parts lately. Honestly, I'm only posting because I've had pictures ready for a few and I'm bored. This doesn't happen all that much and when it does I feel useless. Sure, there's lots that I could be doing...

So, I've been cooped up in the house this week with sick little boys. Marc started it all on Monday, Connor last night and Reilly this afternoon. I'm just waiting for it to hit me. It's been threatening to take me down as I've been funny all week. It's almost like I haven't had any coffee in the morning and I get dizzy alot. On top of it I have no desire to eat and it's hot. Of course, there's a million things that need to get done this week. Oh well, next week's good too.

So, before they all got sick, I headed out to Kathleens on Sunday for a little companionship. These babies were waiting for me:

Super yummy Wollmeise in Indisch Rot and Krauterbeet

I wanted to try it out before testing out the logistics of getting it delivered to my building, (I wouldn't put it past my neighbors to make a package disappear if I weren't home) so we did a combined order. They haven't told me what they want to be yet. Instead they're keeping my desktop pretty. Plus at only 13 euros for 150 grams, it's a steal!

There's been quite a bit of knitting going on this week as well. Too bad I'm gonna have to rip it out. It's my own fault for not swatching and then knitting an entire sock. Yes, you may smack my hand.

Fiber: "Flapper" merino from the Yarn Wench
Stats: 7.8 oz, 528 yards, approx. 11 wpi

The spinning is still going strong. Have another two bobbins that need plying and I started on some new stuff. Merino/tencel and a desired finished yarn of fingering weight make for some slow spinning.

Well, it's medicine time and someone needs some quality time. Have a great week!

My New Toy

2007-06-15T10:10:00.000+02:00

It's here! It's here!!!

It's a Strauch 205 Drum Carder

Oh, I splurged big time. I've been wanting one of these bad boys for quite some time, but just hadn't wanted to spend the money. After playing with some other batts I had bought, I knew I had to have one. I'm still waiting for the brush attachment, but that'll be here shortly.

I set it up last night and played around a bit with some scrap wool. This morning I pulled out some colors and got to color blending.

I'm still getting a feel for it and have learned that it's very easy to put too much fiber in at a time. There's lots to learn and lots of fun to be had.

Oh, and have you seen these? Too cute!

The Little Things

2007-06-12T16:35:00.000+02:00

It's almost halfway through June already and I'm in a funk. Yes, the month is flying by but for personal reasons it's dragging. The hubby was suppose to be coming home this month. Sigh. Only five more months now. Or twenty weeks. Or my personal favorite, twenty more shopping trips with children in tow. Oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to that.

Being at home all day with the little ones can be quite draining on you emotionally. There aren't any "breaks" and sometimes it feels like all you do is say "NO!". I think that is why I feel the urgent need to be creative. It feeds my desire for individuality and gives me the escape that I so desperately need. After a long hard day, I want nothing more to surround myself with wooly goodness.

I thought I'd share a few pictures of what has been making me smile around the house.

Super soft socks that feel like butter in my fingers, thanks to some extra nice yarn.

A finished skein of handspun.
("Broken Hearts" merino from CJ Kopec's Creations, 266 yards, DK-ish)

A basket of predrafted roving awaiting tonights quiet time.
(Courtesy the Yarn Wench. Yes, I think I love her.)

A color wheel that makes choosing colors alot of fun.

Yeah, it's has been alot of fun.

Happy Friday

2007-06-08T17:03:00.000+02:00

Yet another busy week just flew by. I have no idea where it went, but I'd like it back. Not even a quarter of what I had planned on doing got done. A good chunk of it was spent pulling Marc off of chairs, low tables and beds. That boy really likes to climb!

Somewhere in the midst of the chaos that reigns in my house, I finished up the socks I was working on.

Yarn: Handspun BFL dyed in purple and teal
Pattern: Plain Vanillas on 60 stitches

I'm sure they'll make the intended receiver very happy come December. I'm bound and determined to get as many gifts done now while I have time. Once the season starts, I won't have much time to be doing these things. Instead, I'll be getting ready for a move. I can't wait.

Fiber: Merino in my own "Melons and Banana" plied with white
Specs: bulky weight, 148 yards, about 3 1/2 oz.

Fiber: "Strawberry Fields" Corriedale from the Spunky Club
Specs: about 70 yards, super bulky, navajo plied

Fiber: "Chocolate Cover Cherries" Targhee wool from Susan's Spinning Bunny
Specs: 404 yards, 14 wpi, about sport weight

I did a bit of dyeing last weekend. I had mixed up some dyes, but didn't have jars to store them in and I felt bad just throwing them out. So, I grabbed some yarn that was just sitting there waiting for me to do something with them. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

It's dinnertime, so I have to go cook now. The rest of my evening will be spent reading the new issue of Spin-Off. In case you don't subscribe, it's got some great articles this time on yarn finishing and how to seperate your handpainted rovings to get the affect you're after.

Fantastic Mail Day

2007-06-01T06:18:00.000+02:00

My trip to the PO yesterday was awesome. It was just the perfect pickup I needed after a long week with the boys. I thought I'd share the goodies as a little Eye Candy/Yarn Pron Friday.

First up, the title to my car! Woohoo!!! Seriously, I haven't held one of these babies in over eight years. It feels great that I'm not carrying around that car payment anymore. At least not until we move back Stateside and have to get another car.

When I first heard about Dream in Color's Smooshy, I just knew I had to get some. A sock yarn that doesn't pool? Oh yeah. I'd done some searching only to find everyone that carried it online was sold out. Then Simply Socks Yarn Co. had some and I immediately grabbed some. Man was it ever hard to pick just two. All their colors look fabulous and I want them all.

Hey, anyone know what this "veil dyeing" is about? I am intrigued to say the least.

Moving right along. My monthly installment from The Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club in some Coopsworth. Love these colors! Also, some solar dyed Falkland from PippiKneeSocks. I always seem to miss out on the colors I like from her, but was on the ball with her last update.

These fluffy balls of roving are from CJ Kopec Creations. Yum! Great customer service and deliciously soft fiber. Oh, and for anyone having a military address, there's a special surprise included after you order.

Another Etsy store find, String Theory Fiber Arts. I bought three batts of merino/cashmere/tencel goodness and some tussah silk. Double yum!

Speaking of Etsy, I've jumped onboard. It's something I've been contemplating for quite awhile now, but just was too lazy to do something about. Well, my spinning and dyeing efforts of late have put me into stash overload. I just don't have the time to use everything I create ontop of all the other commercial yarns I have. Not to mention that oftentimes once I finish spinning something, I'm finished. To me that's the final product. It's just a bonus when I actually use it. Come by my shop and check it out! It's alittle empty right now, but will be adding more as I have time to get pictures edited and uploaded. There's a whole pile just waiting if only the boys would let me get to it.

This one's for Lynne, who keeps asking for shots of the little monsters.

Hey, three post in one week? Just maybe my blog blahs are over! Have a great weekend!

Predrafting 101

2007-05-30T20:28:00.000+02:00

A call came from Keri as to how to predraft top for spinning. I Googled until I was blue in the face and didn't quite come up with one that really satisfied me. At least not how I do it. So, I whipped out the camera and came up with a little photo tutorial on how to do it. Please excuse the horribly bad lighting and messy background!

So, here's where you start. A beautiful braid of combed top.

Spread it out and decide how many times to split it lengthwise. I'm working with almost four ounces, so I'll split four times.

I'm a little anal, so I drag out the scale and see how well I did.

Now, for some fun stuff. Examine the roving. Most times you'll see that there is a sort of fold line running down the length. This is where you start.

Using both hands (I only have one to work with), gently spread the fiber apart.

Work down the entire length unrolling it. Go back and keep repeating any spots that are still folded up. Sometimes the top will have been folded back on itself from the other side too.

When you're done, it should look something like this. An unteased portion is used for comparison.

Next, start splitting the width. I start with in half and then decide how many more times to do.

Most times I'll do four strips, sometimes six or eight. It just depends on how thick the top is, and how thin I want my final yarn to be.

Grasp the fiber in both hands spread apart(about a fibers length) and give a gentle tug until the fibers start to move. If it doesn't move, try a little harder, but not too hard. Too forceful and it'll rip apart. Reposition your hands a little further down the fiber mass and repeat. All the way down.

Keep going. And going. Until finally it's finished. Then, go back and redo over any spots that need some more work.

When it's done right, you should be able to see through the fibers. Notice, they're not wisping apart from each other. It can be a fine line, but with practice you'll know when you're done.

You'll be rewarded with a little pile of fluffy goodness.

I then roll them up and tuck them into a basket for safe keeping. Usually I do a whole bunch so that whenever I have a few minutes to spare, I can grab some fiber and spin.

Hope this helps anyone who is just entering the wonderful world of spinning out.

Proof I Still Knit

2007-05-29T13:03:00.000+02:00

OMG. I finally got my invitation to Ravelry. Guess where I've been spending all my free time? Feel free to stop on by and say "hi". Make me feel like I didn't just waste an entire weekend. Oh yeah, my username is "knittinmama".

So, before I got sucked in to that black hole, I had been knitting. I'm still not back to where I was before I lost my mojo, but it's a decent amount. During my daytime free time (the little there is) I work on my knitting. After the boys go to bed, it's all about the spinning. I think it's a nice compromise and I get progress on both.

I thought I'd give y'all a break from the handspun for one post and just introduce you to my latest projects.

These are handpun socks for another holiday gift. I almost sized them for myself, but I just finished a pair in these colors, so to the gift basket they go. See all those color combinations? All that is from just three colors. They're moving along nicely too, thanks to myself being highly entertained by the color changes. Too much fun!

Okay, these have been in the works for three weeks now and aren't seeing much action. I'm just not in the stranded colorwork mode right now. I figure if I can knit a few rounds a week until I do feel it, I'll be fine. The pattern is Bird Foot, from Red Bird Knits. She has some amazing patterns and I bought a few to have in the event of a colorwork frenzy.

This, I'm not so sure about. It's suppose to be turning into the Lace Edged T-Shirt in Knitpicks Cotlin. Frankly, now that I'm past the lace it's a straight boring knit. Not even waist shaping to have to look forward to. Just thirteen inches of stockinette in the round until I start the sleeves. Usually I relish these types of knits, but not right now.

For anyone who's been keeping track or wanting to know, here's the lowdown on those other projects that are lingering.

1. Saffy needs to be redone. I need a smaller size. Yay!
2. Gathering Intentions is on hold until cooler weather or I need a cable fix.
3. Cable Down Raglan is getting ripped. Unflattering to say the least.
4. Green Gable (never mentioned here before) needs major surgery. Details another day?
5. The gloves are waiting for fingers.

Naptime is quickly approaching and I have plans to curl up on the couch. It's raining and dinner's already cooked, so I'm going to make the most of it.

*One more thing, if anyone needs to contact me, my email has changed. Just substitute the Hotmail with Yahoo.*

Rolling in the Wool

2007-05-21T08:26:00.000+02:00

Blah.

After avoiding the blog for awhile now, I set about taking pictures this morning. Now, I can't think of a thing to say about anything.

Blah.

Yeah, I'm having serious blog blahs. I have however been quite busy being creative. So, instead of indepth writing, I give you a post mostly in pictures.

Pattern: River Rapids
Yarn: "Blue Jeans" from Apple Laine

"Cheeky Monkey" from Spunky Eclectic
348 yards

"Citrus" BFL dyed by myself
210 yards

"Hunkered" from Hello Yarn
South African Fine, 246 yards

A whole lotta wool.

Apparently I suffer from the delusion that I spin more than I do because in addition to all of this that I just dyed, there's quite a bit coming in the mail. Oh, yeah, and then I'm getting a new toy... I'm very excited about this and will give full details when I get it.

Happy knitting and spinning!!!

Yes, I Am Still Here

2007-05-10T12:19:00.000+02:00

I'd had every intention of posting last week with more handspun. Of course this didn't quite happen. Last week was a flurry of Pedialyte and soft food, frequent trips to the laundry room and the annual Spring Clean Up. Yeah, just when I thought the boys were all feeling better, their sickness came back. With a vengance. Thankfully, we've been normal for about four days now, so I think we're better.

If you were reading my blog last fall, you may have remember me complaining about the lack of participation during that Clean Up. Well, this spring I was blessed with help. One neighbor helped out. One. Together we weeded, washed windows, swept and mopped, and picked up all the trash that was floating around the building. Less than three days after we called in quits, it's a mess again. Frankly I'm at the end of my rope with these people that live here. I mean, really, how hard is it to put your child's dirty diapers IN the trashcan and not next to it???

Okay. Okay. I know y'all came here for the fiber, not my disgusting neighbors. There's actually alot, so I only included a few things to talk about. The rest will have to wait for another day.

This is my latest sock project. I'm doing Rapid Rivers in "Blue Jeans" from Apple Laine. I was intrigued by the yarn content (merino, silk, mohair and nylon) and managed to find two colorways that were fairly monogamous in color. It's nice, but I'm not in love with it. These are being made for the holiday season, so the durability factor will have to wait to be determined.

"Azure Skies" from CMF pencil roving
Bulky singles
8 oz. / 540 yards

The first skein and the last one aren't the best, but the other three turned out great. Nice and soft with very little kinking. It's been very hard resisting the urge to go and buy more.

"Plum/Olive" domestic wool from The Yarn Wench
4 oz.
9 wpi

I wish I could tell you the yardage, but my computer shut itself off before I saved the data in my little file that keeps such things. I'll have to recount when I set the twist, which should be later today.

"Anton" wool roving from The Dudley Spinner
4 oz. 152 yards so far
8.5 wpi

I still have another four ounces to spin, but I got distracted by other things. I've come to the conclusion that I should not be allowed to ply until ALL the roving is in singles. Once I see how it looks, I loose interest.

So, after last week and playing catchup all this, I'm on break today. No major cleaning, no errands, no "real" cooking. Just relaxing with my knitting and trying to keep the boys from killing one another. So far it's been harder than I thought it would be...

Trapped

2007-04-29T11:28:00.000+02:00

The kids have a stomach bug. Again. I'm trapped in the house and have to shampoo my carpets. Please send healthy thoughts our way!

~~~~~

Just so y'all don't think that it's just been spinning here, may I present a finished pair of socks!

Pattern: Scale Skin Socks (from the Six Socks Knitalong)
Yarn: Polynesian Pools from Mama-E's

These were a fun knit, but man did the second one drag. I made two modifications. Instead of swatching for gauge, I just casted on. Very soon I could see that they were too loose, so after ten repeats I switched to a smaller needle. Voila! Calf shaping! Then instead of continuing the pattern into the heel, I substitued with stockinette. Just a matter of preference.

Bad picture, bad coloring, but it shows the different pooling throughout the sock.

This is the most accurate shot of the colors.

Indeed there has been more spinning going on. This was finished up last week, but it's the first time I've had a chance to spend more than two minutes on the computer.

"Joshua Tree" South African Fine from Spunky Eclectic
194 yards, approx. 11 wpi

I achieved a nice tight twist as well as a fairly consistent thicker yarn. I see mittens in my future. In fact the yarn calls so loudly out to me, that I had to put it away so I don't cast on. I have to finish some other things first!

Two more rovings are being worked on, so I should be back later in the week with more handspun pretties for you.

Disclosure

2007-04-24T15:41:00.000+02:00

I didn't mean for everyone to have to guess what the latest sweater is. I just forgot and then when I realized, I figured it would be fun to see what the guesses would be.

It's Gathering Intentions from Inspired Cable Knits. So far I haven't lost interest, but progress is slow. I'm still quite enamored with the spinning and only work on this a little bit each day. About an inch more and then I can start the shoulder shaping. Of course, I'm not cold so there's really not a rush on this.

BFL dyed with teal and purple by myself
4 oz., 400 yards

I just love Blue Faced Leicester. It's so soft and the luster is wonderful. It's one of my favorites to work with. Which would explain the tons stashed away. After having success with the dyeing process, I turned back to the dye pot and came up with some other colors.

Neither turned out exactly how I wanted, but I learned some things. I had alot of fun playing around, so I ordered some other wools to dye up. Colorways that I have in mind have been written down, so I don't forget. I tend to do that.

Boys are calling... Have a great week!

Back in the Groove

2007-04-19T17:56:00.000+02:00

I had a feeling that once I found the right project, everything would be just fine. I may have been right. Though, I'm only on the second ball of yarn and as I progress, boredom will eventually set in. It always does. For now I'm enjoying the cabling and super soft yarn. Just look at those cables pop!

I'm still spinning away at night after the children go to bed. For far too long, I didn't spend alot of time doing it. The urge was there, but knitting always seemed to take top priority. I'm trying to make an effort to balance the two out.

"Clover" from Hello Yarn
4 oz. Corriedale Wool
404 yards

Really, I should get into the habit of measuring my wraps per inch while skeining the yarn. Forgetfulness is a common trait of mine and I never seem to remember until after I've tied it up. Oh well.

In my real as a mommy, it's been a busy week. It was registration week for school and spent quite a bit of time trying to make sure I had all the necessary documents. Frankly, I can't believe I have a little boy going to school in the Fall. It seems unreal that he's that big. Sigh. On the other hand, I can't wait because he's driving me nuts!

Spin, Spin, Spin

2007-04-16T12:41:00.000+02:00

Somewhere along the way of the past couple weeks, I misplaced my knitting mojo. I looked in the knitting basket, I looked online and I looked in the boxes of stash. Nowhere. I attempted to force it into existence by dragging out needles and lots of yarn. Nope, still not there. If anyone has any ideas to find it, let me know. I want to knit again!

Thankfully, there's back up entertainment: the spinning wheel. Boy, is she ever getting a workout too!

First, I finally finished this up. I did the first half months ago and started on the second right after Royd's leave in February. Love how this turned out.

Plum Honey from The Yarn Wench
6 oz of Falkland
Navajo plied, 700 yards

Next up, I spun up some Superwash Merino. I was going for thicker singles this time. When I first started spinning, my goal was superfine singles. Once I got there, it was really hard for me to make them thicker. Of course, this was practice and it's not all that great.

Autumn from The Spunky Eclectic
4 oz of Superwash Merino
314 yards

This is a horrible shot of the colors, but it shows the inconsistency in spinning. Lots of practice is needed!

This is what I'm working on now and below is what I'll be starting next.

Well, I'm off to finish predrafting some more roving in preparation for tonight's spinning.

Bad News

2007-04-12T15:45:00.000+02:00

Read it here.

Comments Closed

Anniversary Socks

2007-04-06T14:46:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Anniversary Socks from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Paprika Merino Tencel from The Woolen Rabbit

I finally bit the bullet and finished these up. Halfway through the second I got bored as I usually do and had to put them down. The other day it started to nag on me, so I fished them out of their bag and got to work. Easier said than done. I made so many changes, of course I didn't write them down and had a horrible time trying to figure out what I did. Lots of counting was involved and I only made one error in replication. I can live with that. When will I learn to write these things down!?!

Overall the pattern was great but the changes I made were based on personal preferences. First, I made the diamond pattern over a panel of seven instead of six. It seemed off center to me with only six. Second, the cables nearest the back stockinette portion weren't separated by a purl so I added one. Third, I used four decreases on the toe instead of the three.

I have to have at least one sock on the needles so naturally I started another one.

I first saw these over at Pat's, and I just loved them. Digging around I found the perfect yarn. It breaks up the swirling colors without disrupting them.

As for all those other projects that are lingering... well, I'm getting to them. Eventually.

Oops!

2007-03-28T14:10:00.000+02:00

Well, I did it. I went ahead and ruined a pair of socks. I wear a size 9 so these clearly will not fit me. Funny, but I can't felt on purpose, but on accident it's not a problem at all.

Actually, it wasn't the washer's fault. I forgot to fish them out when I threw the load into the dryer. Oh well... Does give me freedom to cast on for another pair?

I've been trying to be good and not do that. I'm still only on the heel of the second Anniversary sock and had promised myself that they would be done before starting another. As things go, I got bored and started perusing patterns and yarn.

Hold yourselves back... It's not a sock either! Ever since I got this book, I've admired these gloves. I've never done gloves before and hadn't any desire to either. For whatever reason the thought of doing all those fingers scared me. Now I've only finished one little pinky, but I don't think it's that bad after all.

I am, of course, free to change my mind at any time.

Sadly this the only progress I can really speak of right now. I've been sucked back into spinning the past few night while the Cable Down Raglan looks at me from it's knitting bag. I suspect that until I'm finished with this bobbin, it'll remain the same.

Happy knitting (and spinning too) everyone!

Where's Spring?

2007-03-22T11:10:00.000+01:00

According to the calendar yesterday was the first day of Spring. So, why then did I wake up to snow this morning?!? To make it even worse, Housing turned off the heat about a week ago and we're freezing. Brr. Thank goodness for handknits!

I've got alot to show today and am having the hardest time putting it all into one coherent post, so bear with me.

Pattern: Ellen's Stockings from Folk Knitting in Estonia
Yarn: Koigu, P2405

You may have seen these lurking around the blog for awhile now, but I couldn't reveal them completely until now. I had knit them in a swap with Pip and Tom and I wanted her to be surprised.

In return, this is what I got. Fabulous felted bowls! I have serious issues with felting so I am quite pleased. Thank you, thank you!!!

Yes, Saffy has been put aside for something new and more exciting. I'm doing the Cable Down Raglan from the lastest issue of Interweave in Calmer. It's all Rachel's fault that I started it, including my choice of yarn. So far I'm really enjoying the pattern and am excited to wear it. For whatever reason I doubted how much yarn I'd need and over ordered. I haven't even finished the fourth ball yet, so I think I will be quite set with lots of leftovers.

Look, an almost finished mitten! Hey, guess what? It's getting frogged!

I made a decision yesterday that although I love the color combination (still can't get an accurate picture) and the pattern, it's just not doing it for me. I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I feel good about it. I'm quite sure that there some other colors in the stash that will make me even happier.

Clean Sweep

2007-03-13T08:16:00.000+01:00

We've been enjoying beautiful spring weather the past few days. Winter coats, boots and warm handknits have been put away into storage for next year. As much as we'd like to spend all day outside basking in the warm sunshine, there are little ones schedules to deal with. So in the time that we're forced to spend inside, I've taken advantage of the spring cleaning bug that bit.

This year spring cleaning takes on a different perspective. Sometime this fall we'll be moving back to the States. I know that once the hot weather hits and without air conditioning, I will not feel like doing what needs to be done. So, a little bit each day I attack a small project. Slowly but surely closets, bookshelves and random boxes are being purged of unneeded items. It's kinda overwhelming at times to see what we've accumulated over the past three years.

Yarn: Sunshine Yarn in Grasshopper
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks **

When exactly we are moving is still undertermined. Late last year it was put out that redeployment would most likely happen in late June. Now, this wasn't "official" but it gave everyone something to look forward to. Well, that's three months away and still there hasn't been an announcement as to where this still holds true or not. I understand why the powers that be won't say is because of the fear that if the redeployment date changes, there will be some very unhappy people. Right now we're in limbo and it's starting to get frustrating.

One Anniversary Sock down, lots of modifications

I guess at this point, I'd just to like to hear something. Anything. It's fine if the guys don't come home in June, I wasn't really expecting a ten month tour anyway. So, I guess in the meantime I'll continue to go through our stuff and prepare the best I can for what could be a move late this summer, or possibly winter. Big difference, huh?

**You may have noticed Anemoi in the background. Reknitting them has commenced and I'm really glad I did. They're coming out much better this time.

WIP Roundup

2007-03-08T18:17:00.000+01:00

After I finished the two sweaters last week, I found myself with some free needles. Ok, so maybe two sets is just a drop in the bucket, but you know what I mean. I kept flip flopping as to what to start next. Finally, I dragged out the ecru Denim and sat down and casted on for Saffy.

So far there's one sleeve and the second is ever so slowly coming along. Denim is like knitting with kitchen string. Actually it's not that bad when you're doing it, but afterwards you can feel it. I mistakenly had a knitathon on Monday and payed for it all day Tuesday. So, in small doses I will be working on this and maybe by the end of summer it will be done. Remember that it shrinks when you wash it so, you have to knit 20% more. Perhaps I didn't think this through...

In the meantime I've been working on a few socks as well.

Front-Back: Sunshine Yarn, Merino/Tencel from TWR and Koigu*

Anyone remember me saying a couple months ago that I was going to step back from socks? It's proving to be harder than I imagined. I had intentionally not joined the Sock A Month 3 knitalong for the purpose of not feeling the pressure to constantly be knitting socks. Instead, I'm more tempted. There's just too many great patterns out there and gorgeous yarns in the stash not to.

Hopefully I'll have at least one pair of socks done by next week. Happy knitting everyone!

*Pip, here's your sneak peak at some special socks that are on their way to you!

Odds and Ends

2007-03-05T12:17:00.000+01:00

Thank you everyone for your nice comments about Arwen! I don't think that I clearly showed my appreciation of the sweater itself. I DO love it; it fits great and the color was missing from my wardrobe. I think alot of my frustration was that I still cling to baby weight and it makes me more aware of how my clothes make me look.

I love a pair of socks that knit themselves. The ones that you pick up every once in awhile and knit a few rounds, put down and ignore for a few days. Then before you know it, they're done. It especially helps when they're toddler sized!

Yarn: Peterle Regatta 4-fach Ringeldruck
Pattern: standard top down on 48 stitches

While Royd was home, we popped into a grocery store that we hadn't investigated yet. Clearly, I need to get more "with it", since after only two minutes of being inside I honed in on a shelf of sock yarn. Score! Your standard Regia was present, along with some all acrylics and then a few balls of this brand I'd never seen before. I snatched up a few moulines and asked Connor if he saw anything. That's what he picked out. The picture does not clearly portray the retina searing colors, but he's quite happy with his first pair that aren't hand me downs.

Yarn: Plymouth Boku in color 1
Pattern: Entrelac Scarf

I finished this up last week but forgot to post about it. The original pattern had called for 4 balls of yarn. I ordered five since I was toying with the idea of fringe. As I approached the end of the third ball, I held it up and realized that it was more than long enough. Since I'm pretty short, I don't need a really long scarf and don't like them that way either. So I've got two more balls to play with and am thinking of a hat and mittens. Not in entrelac though (too matchy).

At first I was turning the scarf and then started playing with knitting backwards. It was awkward and clumsy since I have a very funny way of tensioning my yarn. Essentially, I don't but it works just fine under normal circumstances. I had to figure out a way to throw the yarn when going backwards. This was hard since I'm not a thrower. Once I got into the second ball everything worked itself out and I was cruising.

In other news, guess who's walking?

He had taken his first steps when Royd was home (which was really nice) and has been practicing ever since. It's just a matter of time before the running, climbing and jumping begins. Man, do they grow up quick or what?

A Cardigan For Arwen

2007-02-28T13:20:00.000+01:00

Yet another sweater has been completed during my finishing frenzy.

Pattern: A Cardigan for Arwen, Interweave Knits Winter '06
Yarn: Knitpicks Salishan in Red Clay

I've been sporadically working on this shortly after the issue came out. Yesterday I took advantage of nasty grey and wet weather and set about to finish it. Boy am I glad it's done (as are the boys and the housework). The seaming kicked my a**! Grafting cables is a pain. I must have ripped my work out at least seven times. Now? It's not perfect, but I'm DONE. Even just the mattress stitch on the sleeves about killed me. I'm not sure why, but it just kept looking crappy.

I made several modifications based on my body type and the yarn used. I had had a hard time trying to decide which size to knit, since one gave me no ease but the next size up gave me five. Although I knew that this was suppose to be loose fitting, I don't like to wear really big sweaters. I opted to knit the smaller and add a total of four stitches to the total circumference to give me another inch. I also knew that I wanted it longer so I added about an inch and a half to the total length.

On the flip side since the yarn is a cotton and wool blend, stretching out is to be expected. I took this into consideration when I was adding. Since I knit the first sleeve twice, I saw that it was way too long and took out two inches. One for actual length and another for stretching. In wearing it all day today, I see that my modifications were pretty right on.

Final verdict? Um, it's nice, warm and practical. However it is probably not the most flattering design for my body type. It makes me look bigger than I am. So not what I'm going for. I couldn't decide if I should even show you a modeled shot since I couldn't get a really good one. Finally I settled on one that only added about 10 pounds instead of the 30 I was getting.

Although there are two more sweaters that need some work, I'm done with this finishing frenzy. I still haven't decided on my next project. When I figure it out, I'll be sure to let y'all know.

Lucy in the Sky

2007-02-26T09:59:00.000+01:00

My favorite sweater to date!

Pattern: Lucy in the Sky
Yarn: Cascade 220, color 4007

Just as I suspected, I love this sweater! In all it only took me about two weeks to knit and then another two to finish. The finishing wasn't procrastinated as usual, but I had been waiting on the buttons in the mail. On Friday I got them and then set about weaving ends and attaching the neck band.

I do need to reblock it though. If you look at the neck, you can see that where the front meets the sleeves, it's a bit distorted. I couldn't find a good way to block the entire thing altogether without it doing that. Once that's done, it'll be perfect. For now, it's fine for me.

The color is also off in both pictures. The best representation is in this post.

I spent most of my free time this weekend working on the Entrelac Scarf and it is now about 3/4s of the way done. I'm still debating on fringing it. I'll probably play around with it and see how it looks.

The rest of the weekend I poured over patterns trying to decide on my next big project. It seems that I either have the pattern and not the yarn, or the yarn and not the pattern. True, I do have two sweaters that are all set to be cast on for, but I really don't feel like either of them. I'm thinking I'd like to save Saffy for summer knitting when it gets hot and I just can't get excited over a sweater for the hubby right now.

Hopefully I'll make up my mind soon. Oh, the decisions!

Something Old, Something New

2007-02-22T10:42:00.000+01:00

Yup, I finally sucked it up and finished Reilly's sweater.

Pattern: Hero from Pipsqueaks
Yarn: Den-M-Nit

Oh, it's only been about, um... since August. My, I've been bad! For the past two months, all it's needed is a seaming. It feels so good to have it done though.

I've been in a bit of a finishing mood lately. Currently there are two sweaters that are slowly getting put together, two pairs of socks that are almost done and I've been contemplating finishing two more sweaters. If you couldn't tell, I have serious issues with this last step. It's so much more fun to just cast on for something new.

In fact, so much fun that I did just that last night. In defense, I needed something new to get me excited.

These entrelac scarves have been on my mind all winter long. I hadn't ordered the yarn earlier since I was scoffing the idea of a forty dollar scarf. This is brand new Boku from Plymouth and has a much nicer price tag. Especially when you get that sweet discount from Webs. Can I just say that they have become my favorite store lately?!!

This was casted on for last night and I'm having a hard time putting it down. I had forgotten how much fun entrelac could be. Now I've got this crazy idea of an afghan. Don't hold me to that, I'm likely to change my mind in a day or two.

I also finished up half of the Plum Honey roving from The Yarn Wench. I've got another three ounces and with how much time I get to spin, it might be another month before that's done.

The Shortest Two Weeks Ever

2007-02-15T13:18:00.000+01:00

Well hello out there! I'm back!

Royd flew out on Tuesday morning, marking the end of a wonderful and amazingly short two weeks. We didn't go anywhere, didn't do much but we had the greatest time. Well, except for the various illnesses that made us scrap weekend plans twice.

I know alot of people use these R&Rs to travel, especially here in Europe. With three small children, we opted to have the main focus on family time and do anything else as it came up. Since everyone got sick, I'm glad that we didn't shell out a ton of money and end up sitting in a hotel room.

I didn't get to the yarn store while he was home and I didn't get as much quality time with my spinning wheel as I had hoped, but I did work on various knitting projects. I expect that in the next couple weeks, I should have a bunch of stuff finished. That is if I can keep up with the current momentum.

There is one project that got all done and I can show today.

Pattern: Lusekofte Cap from Hats On!
Yarn: Elann Highland Wool in Dark Indigo Heather and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Natural

The top is a bit pointy, but it's not so bad. In all it took me only two days to get this knocked out. I worked on it as Marc slept off sickness and the other boys were out and about getting into mischief around town. There are two mistakes in the very center of the panel, but it's consistent throughout the entire row, so I'm not worried at all.

Well, time to get back to the laundry and get some little ones into beds for naptime. See you next week with something else!

Preview

2007-01-26T13:53:00.000+01:00

I just got off the phone with my FIL who told me great news!!! Royd is officially on his way home! Right now he's waiting to catch the first of three planes over the next few days. I expect that if things go well, he should be here on Monday. Now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that I can make the drive to pick him up from the airport. If not, he'll be catching a train.

The rest of the weekend I'll be sitting tight until I get word on his arrival flight. It's hard though, cuz I can't sit still.

Well, I'm off to go do something busy. I'll leave you with a few shots of what I may be spending time with this weekend. See you in a couple weeks!

A Little Something

2007-01-22T10:02:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you just need a quick, yet highly satifsfying project. Hence my latest FO.

Pattern: Norwegian Star Hat from Hats On!
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Natural and Mist
Time to knit: 3 days

No blocking required!

It fits perfect too!

Anyone have any ideas to minimize the jog between rounds? This is my only complaint about the hat, but it's really quite small.

Seeing that I can make my stitches in colorwork look all neat and pretty, I've decided to rip out Anemoi and redo them. I discovered that I just need to slow down and enjoy the process of each stitch instead of wanting to see the pattern emerge faster.

I also have been squeezing some spinning time into each day. I took the Optim off the wheel since it was seriously slow going. I wanted fiber that would not require too much work and allow me to relax. I pulled out the roving I had previously mentioned and am having a blast.

Isn't it just lovely? It's called Plum Honey and the colors are entertaining me way more than they should.

Well okay, I've wasted enough time this morning. I really need to get back to the cleaning. Royd's R&R is suppose to start this weekend or next week and I've got a million things to do before he gets here. If I don't post again this week, I'll be back in a few. Have a great week everyone!

Acceptance

2007-01-19T13:13:00.001+01:00

I'm a packrat although I hate being one. Clutter drives me nuts, yet cannot get rid of things. Recently I started going through stuff and just dumping it. It felt great! Everything I've gotten rid of hasn't caused me to look back once. I even went through the yarn have been trying to sell what I will probably never use.

Well, last night as I was sitting down to spin and looked at what was in front of me. Thread. Honestly, I do not have the time or commitment to spin thread. This morning I came to the conclusion that it's going to be a long time before I have those two things. Why hang onto it when someone else enjoy it?

Since I know quite a few of my readers spin as well, I'm going to give y'all a chance to take some wool off of my hands. Seriously, what's below is just a drop in the bucket, so don't feel bad. :)

Here's the important details.

All roving is untouched unless noted.
Shipping is included in my price (within the US only).
Payment is by Paypal only.
International buyers ask for a shipping quote please.
All wool has been stored in ziploc freezer bags away from children, cats and potential nasties.
First come, first serve.
Email me if you're interested and include your Paypal email addy if it is different.
Email is ericanuckols AT hotmail DOT com

Purple and White Mohair/Wool Roving
-1 pound
-$14.00

Natural White Wensleydale
-1 pound
-$15.00

Natural Brown Shetland
-8 ounces
-$9.00

Purple and Blue Merino Tencel
-4 ounces
-$13.00

Autumn Merino Tencel
-4 ounces
-$13.00

Multicolor Mohair Roving
-8 ounces
-$10.00

Superwash Merino, "Good Vibrations" from CMF
- about 4 ounces
-$7.00
-these are my leftovers from a pair of socks

A Bit of This and That

2007-01-18T13:51:00.000+01:00

Thank you for your suggestions! It was quite interesting to see what everyone had to say.

In the end I went with Ariann, as it was also the most popular one. Here it is on day four and it's fourth attempt.

Being that it seemed such an easy knit, I kinda made alot of errors. Inability to follow directions, unhappiness with the selvedge stitches, dropped stitches, and casting on for the wrong size. Now, we're doing good.

In the past month I haven't touched the spinning wheel at all. It's a shame since I keep ordering more fiber. I used to have lots of time in the evenings to sit down and get lost in the rhythm. Then a little baby I know has decided that he doesn't need any sleep and it's often after 9:30 before I get anytime to myself. Since I am usually knocked out by 10:30, it just never seems like much sense to bring the wheel out into the living room. Instead, I pick the knitting up and try to squeeze a few rows in while watching the news.

Last week I received some gorgeous fiber in the mail. I just happened to be at the Yarn Wench site looking at colorways when I noticed that she was in the middle of updating. Yeehaw! Everytime I get an update notice, everything I like is always gone. Man, it was hard not to buy a bunch of it up. I was good and settled on one. (Sadly I can't get pictures today since my camera battery died and it'll be a few hours until I can try again. Boys are sleeping, so now's my chance to post.)

Yesterday I took advantage of naptime and managed to finish plying up what was on the wheel.

It's two ounces and 150 yards of Crown Mountain Farms' Heat Wave, Navajo plied. I'm still debating whether I like it or not and if I should finish spinning it up. You'd think that the brand new roving would have landed on the wheel next but it didn't. I just can't decide what to do with it, so to satisfy the spinning urge I'm working on some Optim, from this post. (No pictures of that either. Sorry!)

Well, my time is limited, so I must make the most of this precious time. I'll leave you with a picture of what I have to deal with when someone is awake.

Obviously, I'm not spending that much time on the computer lately!

I Got Nothin'

2007-01-14T18:20:00.000+01:00

So, who wants to bet that y,all thought I'd have either a pair of mittens or a sweater to show today?

Well, neither is going to happen. First, after I had finished the first of Anemoi, I had put them aside. I had really wanted to finish Arwen. I was so good too! For five days I worked on nothing else and was content. Ecstatic actually at the prospect of a new sweater to wear. I got as far as needing to start the left side of the hood and something happened: our President.

Okay, usually I don't get political and air my opinions of things on this blog. But this situation really upsets me. I won't get into it, but let's leave it at this: I'm pissed.

So pissed, that I couldn't find the energy to knit. Yeah, it takes alot since knitting is my stress relief. After a couple days I felt better and wanted to pick up the needles again. By this time though I had no desire to work on Arwen. Or Anemoi. Or anything else I've got languishing.

So, this is what I've been doing instead. Lots of swatching.

Here's the rundown:

1. Two top reds--Valley Meadows Superwash. I'd casted on for Lucy in the Sky with another yarn but didn't like how it was looking in that color. Riiip. I dug this out and thought it was perfect. Wrong! I can't get row gauge. Sure, an easy fix but after about a ball of yarn it was clear I was going to run out of yarn. Riiip!

2. Purple Irish Wool. Just playing with an idea of a Zimmerman Norwegian sweater. Now that I've got the gauge, I can look at other colors and daydream.

3. Green Highland wool. This used to be the Ribby Cardi. Now, it could possibly be Ariann.

4. Ecru Rowan Denim. This could be Saffy.

SO.... I can't decide. I really want to do Lucy because the sweater is completely me. It's the type of sweater I would buy at the store and wear until it was falling apart. I hear y'all saying "Go buy more yarn!"

Recent examination of the stash reveals 16 sweaters worth of yarn. Hmm. I may have a problem. No more yarn purchases. *sigh*

Dear readers, this is where you come in. What should I work on? Ariann or Saffy? Both are ready and waiting your input. I really can't decide!

First Socks

2007-01-03T14:53:00.000+01:00

I finished up the first pair of socks for the new year just a few minutes ago.

Pattern: Latvian Socks from Folk Socks
Yarn: Superwash Sunshine Yarn in NSS Olive

Can I just tell you how glad I am to have these off the needles??? If you remember, these were suppose to be a Christmas gift, but due to some yarn snapping issues I didn't. I ripped back the foot of the first one and redid it for my size and then finished up the second to match. They're beautiful, but I sure am worried about them wearing out very quickly. I guess I won't be wearing them around the house without slippers.

With these finished, there are only one pair left on the needles. They're basic ribbed socks in cotton and I'm not really in a hurry to get them done. With the new year, I'd like to step back from the socks a little bit. Not completely, just enough to allow time to work on other things.

Speaking of other things...

(the colors are nowhere true, but trust me, they look great together)

Look what I started!!! After a few days of ignoring them, a lightbulb kinda popped on and I sat down to tackle that cast on once and for all. I found that the particular type of tubular cast on made a huge difference. I tried about five different once before settling on the Italian method, as described here. It took me a bit to get this one down, but it was well worth it. The edge is now stretchy and will fit over my hand.

Then there's my progress on Arwen. I finished up the left side yesterday morning and plan on casting on for the right this evening. I've called a popcorn and movie night after dinner, so as long as Marc is cooperative, I should be able to get a bit done.

Here's to hoping!

Craptastic

2006-12-28T12:57:00.000+01:00

Stop right here. If you came to this post looking for fabulous colorwork, turn right around and leave. It ain't here.

If you're interesting in other things, please continue to read.

I hope that everyone who celebrates, had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was nice and quiet. The tameness of it was brought on by my lovely children giving me the stomach flu. This had me on the couch for all of Saturday and part of Sunday. Good thing I had had all the baking and wrapping done already.

Santa brought me lots of knitterly goodness this year.

What I didn't get that I really wanted has been purchased with money from the parents. What is is that makes a hard to find book, have to be bought now? Not sure, but I got four of 'em. Can't wait till they get here.

I do have a little something to show knitting wise:

Pattern: Friday Harbor from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Spunky Sport in "Meadow" from Spunky Eclectic

No, you're eyes do not deceive you, one IS taller than the other. The second sock was knit a bit looser since these babies are tight. Well, only the cuff is, the rest is a bit loose. Should I ever make these again, I'll do the cuffs on a larger needle and then switch. And yes, the color completely obscures the pattern, but I'm not ripping it out.

How's that for some pooling??? Don't get me wrong, I love the yarn, love the colors; I'm just too lazy to do something else with it. So it stays.

So, about that colorwork...

Anemoi has been started and frogged a good ten or eleven times. I can't seem to make the cast on look like hers for the life of me. After four days of messing with it, I've put everything away until I'm not annoyed anymore. Then, I'll probably do another whole different cast on.

The Greek Mittens were started and frogged as well. They're knit from the point to the cuff and my increase were a mess. While I was at it I figured that maybe I should measure the man's hand. That will have to wait at least a month more.

Oh, and the raglan I was working on? Stuffed into a bag and waiting it's turn at the ball winder. I hated it. The fit, the neckline, the way the color was knitting up.

Maybe I'll pull Arwen out and fix the sleeve. Maybe not. Guess y'all will have to wait and see!

Christmas In Tallinn

2006-12-21T12:41:00.000+01:00

Pattern: Christmas In Tallinn, Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Elann Highland Wool in Tuscany Green and Oxblood, Knitpicks WotA in Cloud

Although this has been finished and blocked by a few days, I just finally put the braid on this morning. This was a fun project to knit and I'm already envisioning another one for next year. Also, it was great practice for some upcoming projects.

Before blocking I was quite concerned about how it was going to turn out. There were spots were the tension was obviously off, but overall it was quite lumpy and bumpy. For the most part, everything evened out.

These are what I've been working on right now. Yep, another sock and a top down raglan sweater. I needed something relatively mindless to work on to clear my head. Also, I haven't had the time to really work on anything that makes me concentrate.

Coming soon to a blog near you, one of these:

Frankly, I should start on the Greek Mittens, but the Anemoi are really tempting. Decisions, decisions....

Sorry, I'm really not all that chatty today. Reilly and Connor have been sick with stomach bug and I'm just plain worn out from everything. I'm going to spend the rest of the week making cookies, checking the mail for straggling Xmas packages and relaxing. Well, trying to relax!

Twenty Four

2006-12-14T08:46:00.000+01:00

Add one more pair to the finished list for the year.

Yarn: Regia Sierra Color, 5538
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Sock on 56 stitches with band heel

This pair brought me up to a total of 24 pairs for the year. Whew! That's alot of socks!

Really, it's an obscene amount of socks. Some were gifts and some for the family, but most were for me. Does next year hold the same? I have no idea. I'd like to think that I've got enough for myself yet my stash indicates I need to knit more. Based on the past two years average, I still have enough yarn to knit for three years without buying anymore.

Scary.

Itch

2006-12-11T13:52:00.000+01:00

A couple weeks ago I signed up for the Stranded: The Colorwork Challenge. At first, I wasn't going to do it, since I've got a few other knitalongs going on and didn't want to overcommit myself. I tried to turn my attention to the other projects on the needles but my mind kept going back to it. So, I caved in and went looking at my books to find a good project.

As I was searching, I found the Greek Mittens from Folk Mittens that I had promised to make for Royd last winter. Heck, I've had the yarn since then. As the pattern is written, it calls for an 11 spi on worsted weight for a womans hand. I figure that a spi between 9.5 and 10 will make them perfect. Swatching revealed that it just wasn't possible. I got down to an 8.5 on 2.0 mm needles and found it unbearable to knit. So, I quickly placed an order for some Nature Spun Sport which should be here by next week.

Then, I saw the wonderful new pattern over at Eunny's. By noon of that day I had the pattern and some yarn in hand. Dang gauge strikes again! This time too small. Yet another order goes in, this time for some Gems Pearl.

I felt kinda deflated since I really, really, really wanted to do some colorwork. After putting Arwen in the corner for a time out that I don't really want to talk about (whole sleeve being reknit for the second time), I dug the books back out.

I wasn't exactly searching for stranded patterns, but for a sock pattern and ended up getting both.

My latest project: Christmas in Tallinn

I'm not making it for anyone in particular. I figure it's good to have an extra stocking in the house, should we ever have guests.

This is my warmup for the mittens. It's been awhile since the last time and I needed the practice with tension. So far, I'm loving it and am having a hard time putting it down.

The best part of it all? I'm using leftovers!

No Rest For the Weary

2006-12-07T09:17:00.000+01:00

I cannot wait until this week is over! It's my busiest week for the holiday season. All those presents I have to mail back to the States must be sent by tomorrow. That's according to Post Office's deadline. I waited until the last minute to block, so we'll see if everything dries in time.

I'd had a request for a pair of mittens, so I did these over the weekend.

Pattern: Cabled Gloves from One Skein, modified to a mitten
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Natural Mix

Yarn: Online Highland Color
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks on 64 stitches

I also finished these up a few days ago. Nothing too exciting. Notice they're lounging on a not decorated tree.

There's a story here.

Last year Royd and I decided to purchase a artificial tree for when the kids are small. There's no water to worry about them getting into, no finding a truck to borrow to transport the live tree in and no sawing. Granted, I don't like nearly as much as a real one but for a few years, I can deal with it. Anyway... when we went to go buy one, Royd really wanted the pre-light kind. So, that's what we got. On Monday I dragged the thing upstairs and got it up. I figured that I wouldn't decorate it yet to give the little ones a few days to get used to it before pretty shiny things started grabbing their attention.

Tuesday, I go to plug the tree in and half the lights aren't working. After about a half an hour of playing with the fuses and bulbs I discover there's a faulty cord. Well, shoot. Okay, easiest solution is to just replace that particular cord, right? Yeah, but that's only temporary. Instead I'm taking every single light off the tree. Each individual light is ATTACHED to the tree. 500 of 'em. Only 300 to go.

No one ever said I do things the easy way.

Going back earlier in the week, on Sunday the boys and I headed downtown to the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market). I hadn't been planning to go until this coming weekend, but it was nice outside and decided to seize the perfect moment. Our town is small and the market is just as small, but I picked up lots of great stuff. Most of it was decorations that I will show another day, once they're put out. For now they're safely tucked away from little hands.

I did find a stall selling sock yarn!!! But what I really liked was my new knitting basket.

Okay, so it's not the best picture of the basket, but you get the idea. The balls of yarn in front are Regia's new lines: Sierra Color, Country Color and Royal Color. None of it's for me. Reilly picked out two for himself and one for his daddy. The other stuff in the back, wasn't from here, but Spunky Eclectic. Yum.

Now it's back to those dang lights.

Blueberry Hill

2006-12-01T13:48:00.000+01:00

Thank you for all the healthy wishes. I feel much better today!

As promised, I finished up another pair of socks. I kitchenered the toes and wove in the ends just this morning.

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Blueberry Hill
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks on 64 stitches

I'd casted on for them while I was contemplating the substitute for the ill fated Latvian Lace. Although I had decided that they weren't what I was looking for, I didn't rip them out. All last week I kept turning to them and knitting a few rounds here and there. Before I knew it, they were finished.

Words cannot express my love for these socks. Supersock is awesome! Soft, squishy and tightly twisted. I foresee more purchases in the future.

Speaking of purchases... Way back late this summer I had placed an order for two different colorways of merino/tencel from Chameleon Colorworks. I'd gotten one right away along with a note saying that the other would be sent shortly. About a month ago I'd realized that I'd never received the rest of the order. I sent an email off inquiring about it. We came to the conclusion that the mail had ate it and she would send a replacement immediately.

Since the original colorway wasn't available, I opted to choose a different one so that she didn't have to dye up more just for me. Well, I got the package today. Imagine my surprise when I got not just some gorgeous fiber, but some free stuff too! Janel so kindly gave me some Optim as a thank you. Wow, I can't wait to try this stuff out!

Beautiful colors, no?

Gee, I guess I need to hurry up and finish spinning the superwash merino that's hanging out right now. Then again, I have no idea what I'll do with either. I'm thinking one should be done laceweight.

This is the Heatwave colorway from Crown Mountain Farms. I'm trying to spin ever so slightly thicker than the last batch. So far, so good.

That's about from here. I'm hoping to get some cleaning done today and tomorrow so that we can set up the Christmas tree and all the decorations early next week. I'll leave with you just one more picture.

Look who learned to stand this week!

Please Pass the Nyquil

2006-11-29T14:11:00.000+01:00

I sure hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was, well, interesting. Reilly and Connor woke up that morning with slight fevers and runny noses. After spending a good chunk of time cooking that day, both refused to eat. I suspect that both of their throats hurt since the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce were the only foods poked at.

Saturday everything got even better when Marc and I woke up sick. So between illnesses, cheap modem problems and general holiday activities, I'm behind. Yeah, what else is new.

So when I wasn't cuddling with the boys, I managed to finish up a few things.

Yarn: Handspun from Good Vibrations (Crown Mountain Farms)
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks on 72 stitches

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland (dark green) and Wolle Rodel Merino (blue)
Pattern: very loosely based off of The Handy Book of Patterns

Well, since I can't really think straight I'll cut this post short. I should be back later this week with another pair of socks.

I'm Procrastinating

2006-11-22T12:52:00.000+01:00

Lots to share today. I really should be baking for tomorrow.

First up, all the loot I came home from the Post Office with. Well, most of it. There's a few books but since they're Xmas presents I can't look at them yet.

As mentioned in my last post, I'd been waiting on some new needles. No, nothing broke. I'm very picky about which needles I use when knitting cables. I like them nice and pointy for cabling without a cable needle. Arwen has the arm and the front pieces worked all at the same time, so a long needle is required. Nothing in the collection was working out right. Time for new needles, right? One would have sufficed.

After four years of kniting, I have finally decided to embrace my knitting style in that my purls are larger than my knits. That means two different sizes. I started Arwen with two circulars but it started to drive me nuts with the loose ends hanging and getting caught. Thus, the salvation to my crisis:

Yup, I went ahead and did what everyone else already has. I haven't played with them yet, but I'm impressed with them so far. Now, I can get back to Arwen!

I also went ahead and bought the color cards from Zipperstop. Can, I just say "wow"? Oh, yeah, baby. WOW!

Look at all those colors! And there's three more sheets not shown. Maybe now I can get off my butt and order an appropriate zipper for Mariah.

Okay, enough of my spending habits. I finished up half of the roving from Crown Mountains Farms.

The first measurement of yardage gave me over 600 yards for 4 ounces. My heart sank since I had wanted it to be for socks, not lace. I shrugged it off and threw it in the sink, hung it up to dry and went to bed. The next morning I could see that the yarn had fluffed up considerably and the skein didn't seem quite as long as before. A quick down and dirty recalculation gave me about 500 yards. Whew. I blame alot of the shrinkage on the fact that I tend to wrap my yarn around the niddy noddy very tightly. So tightly that I almost couldn't get it off the dang thing this time. Lesson learned.

Eagerly I casted on and this is my progress of this morning. These are going to be the replacement pair for the ill fated Latvian Lace. Nothing fancy to detract from the pretty colors of the yarn. Plus, they'll get done much faster.

One last picture of Connor on his birthday. I spent all of Monday afternoon icing that cake. Every year I wonder why I do these kinds of cakes. Then when their faces light up, I remember why.

Hey, mom! This is what four years of schooling comes in handy for.

Things Were Going So Well...

2006-11-17T13:29:00.000+01:00

... and then, snap.

(look at the yarn end)
The first time it happened, I wasn't sure what happened. I had left the sock on the bookshelf and when I came back the yarn was broken. Naturally I blamed a child. The second time, it ever so slightly got snagged on the edge of a throw pillow.

There's no way I can give these away now! The thought of them wearing through quite quickly scares me. So, back to the drawing board. I've entertained the thought of giving this person a different gift, but it ruins my grand idea. I wanted to package these up with some sock yarn, needles and a pattern for a fellow knitter who hasn't attempted socks yet. So, I'll spend some time this weekend thinking about my options.

Here's my progress on Arwen. I'm ready to cast on for the sleeves, but have to wait for my needles. Hopefully they'll be at the mailroom tomorrow. Fingers are crossed so that I can get back to knitting.

Well, with one more day left of the Fall Cleanup, I think that my prediction was correct. I have spent the past three days cleaning and have yet to see anyone in the entire building help. I've called in quits and figure if someone from the Housing Office wants to complain about the stuff not done, too bad. Heck, my downstairs neighbor hasn't even bothered to walk the bag of garbage sitting in front of their door for a week now outside. Eew!

I'm going to relax the rest of today and sift through the sock yarns to see what inspires me.

Marc wishes everyone a wonderful weekend!

While I Have Time

2006-11-13T10:40:00.000+01:00

I'd hoped to have more to show this morning, but alas things happen. Sure, I could have waited until later in the week but I've got a very busy week ahead. Make that the next two weeks.

This week is the Fall Community Cleanup here on post. It's a chance to make all the buildings and the grounds look nice and clean, just in time for the snow. Knowing full well that the other families in my stairwell will not be participating there's alot for me to do. I mean, why should it be an different than any other day. Basically, I can't stand my neighbors. Dirty and lazy. Long story and I really don't feel like getting my blood pressure up, so I'll stop now.

Next week Connor turns two and then there's Thanksgiving. It's weird, I can't believe he's going to be two, yet I can't believe he's only going to be two.

Well, onto the fiber.

The second Latvian Lace sock is almost to the heel. Two more repeats, gusset time warp and then it's onto the home stretch. This is what I'd really wanted to have almost finished. I got distracted by something new.

Sure, it doesn't look like much, but it's an almost half finished back to Arwen. I'm using Salishan, a cotton/wool yarn I picked up from KnitPicks. It was really cheap and couldn't resist.

For some reason I've been craving a rusty red/copper/orangey sweater for a few months. It's typically not a color I would pick to wear, but it's always good to shake things up. The color's a bit more muted in real life, but I had to use the flash. Winter is here in Germany and we won't have true to life colors until April.

I'll sign off for now and be back when I have something interesting to show ya'll. Have a great week!

Hourglass Pullover

2006-11-11T09:04:00.000+01:00

This is what I've been working on so secretively.

Pattern: Hourglass Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Knitpicks Main Line in Dusty Lavender

When I had said I was itching to cast on for a sweater I meant it. At first I thought I'd just swatch. Well, the swatch led to starting the body. I then figured that I'd get bored once I got to the sleeves. That didn't happen either. Before I knew it (ten days later) I had a finished sweater! Wow, it's amazing how quickly things get done when you stick to it and only work on one thing.

I had picked this yarn up in the summer when they had discounted it to 1.97 a ball. In fact I have more in their blue. The yarn itself is nice and soft but it is pilling a little already. For the price I got it for, I don't mind so much.

After hearing about many knitters running short on yarn, I knew I had to do some yarn conserving. According to the yardage I had, I would be cutting it pretty close. First I opted to not do a hemmed edge and replaced it with seed stitch. Then I shortened the body and the sleeves a bit. I'm short so this was sensible since the sweater will probably lengthen with wear. The modifications made weren't necessary in the long run, since I have three balls left. But it fits perfect. Yay!!!

Instead of doing a traditional bind-off, I opted to do a grafted one. I'm never happy with how the usual looks with ribbing and seed stitch. I think it looks nice, even if it doesn't match the cast on.

For those who want to see how it fits, here ya go. Please excuse the lack of makeup and messy hair. I have to seize quiet moments to take pictures when I can.

Next up, another sweater and maybe a finished pair of socks. Stay tuned!

Can't Talk...

2006-11-07T15:40:00.000+01:00

... I'm busy knitting!

Superheros

2006-11-01T14:15:00.000+01:00

Superman, Batman and Pumpkin Boy hope that y'all had an awesome Halloween!

31 Days of Socks

2006-10-31T13:02:00.000+01:00

Today's the last day of Socktoberfest. Whew! My fingers sure have been busy knitting up those socks. I even managed to do a pair over the weekend.

Yarn: Wolle Rodel Sport and Strumpf Wolle Color
Pattern: toe up with no-wrap short rows

Yes, these bad boys only took 4 days. Gotta love the size 5 feet and 7 stitches per inch. No, they're not for me, my feet aren't that small. Or even remotely close. Someone on my knitting list mentioned high heating bills and cold feet, so they're getting two pairs.

I still have yet to finish the Latvian Lace socks, but I give myself a few more weeks for them. They're not exactly a fast knit.

I'm actually kinda burned out on the socks. Good thing that I signed up for the Warm Hands knitalong. Some little boys I know need new mittens. Well, to be honest, I don't really feel like making mittens either. I'm itching to cast on for a new sweater. I know, it's the last thing I need to be working on right now. Yet, it's getting to be that point where I'm squirming. Indeciveness about which one to start is the only reason I haven't casted on yet.

Ok, I'm off to go think about my choices some more. Maybe I'll have something to show next time too. Happy Halloween!

It's All About the Socks

2006-10-27T12:34:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Gentlemen's Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Crazy Woman (I think, I lost the band)

These are the replacements for the cabled socks from last week. I only used the stitch pattern for them, substituting my usual heel and toe. My gauge was also different so I only worked them on 56 stitches. A nice fast knit!

Closeup of stitch pattern and better shot of the color

Whew. It's been one of those weeks! I had let a lot of things build up and with the news I had received on Monday, my body revolted. I've since spent the entire week with my behind planted on the couch with an excrutiatingly painful back. Tylenol and antacids have become my best friends. One might think that this equals quality knitting time, but at times it hurt just to be awake. Thankfully, it's feeling somewhat better and I'm able to get around the house easily. I'm not pushing it though, I don't want to overdo it.

Thankfully, I've received a few things in the mail that have helped keep my mood in good spirits.

This book was a present from my hubby. For no reason either! Honestly, I think it's to butter me up for something. :)

Isn't this too cute? Keri sent me a little package with a few knitting themed gifts and I love everything. Especially the chocolate that is now gone... Thanks Keri!

Awhile ago, I had won a contest on Kim's blog. She had just moved to a new town and was in the process of getting their house finished so I wasn't too concerned when I didn't receive my prize right away. Actually, I had kinda forgotten all about it and was quite surprised when I opened up the package. Thank you, Kim, I appreciate it!

Scoop du Jour

2006-10-23T11:08:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Scoop du Jour
Yarn: Gedifra Wellness, I think 10 balls

Yay, it's done! Well, almost. I need to reblock it for the button and neck band. I also need to tighten up the cast off edge since I did it a bit too loose.

While I'm at, I should just rip the whole dang thing out and reknit it. Once again, it's too big. I really have a hard time with this, don't I? I won't rip because it's going to make a great around the house/errand sweater.

I just love these buttons!

I'd had this great post made up in my head, but I can't recall any of it. I just found out that our battalion has lost our sixth soldier. It's only been eleven weeks. I'm really not liking these statistics. Frankly, it scares the crap out of me. I could get into it more, but I won't. Mostly because I can't quite make sense of what I should say.

Have a great week everyone! I'll be back when I'm in a cheerier mood.

Pretty Cabled Socks

2006-10-19T13:02:00.000+02:00

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish in Red Pepper overdyed with Burgandy
Pattern: Karen's Sugar Free Socks

I'd had some reservations about finishing these barely mentioned before socks. In the interest of clearing up the needles, I finished them up since I was already near the toe when I had put them aside.

Ok, so there's a bit of a story behind these. I'd ordered the yarn after comparing the color swatches online and in the catalog. It showed such a pretty bright but deep red. Look at what I got:

Bright flaming red that was flat and devoid of any beauty. Prompty I put in an order and got some burgundy dye. My first "real" dyeing experience. Lessons learned: overdyeing uses alot less dye than I had anticipated and tie the skeins very loosely.

Nonetheless, the color I ended up with was quite pretty.

This is a horribly out of focus and dark picture, but I think it best represents the final color.

Well, because I had tied the skeins too tightly, there were a few spots where the original color popped up. Originally I had intended to gift these away, but in good conscience I can't now. So, I get a new pair of super thick and cushiony socks.

I've got some last minute planning to do now!

Stalled

2006-10-17T10:54:00.000+02:00

I'm not sure what's wrong with me. I'm having a very hard time completing anything. I have a pile of knits that need to be finished, but for whatever reason I can't seem to pick them up.

1. Mariah from last winter still needs a blocking and a zipper.
2. The Manly Sweater needs to be ripped to the start of the neck shaping and redone.
3. Hero needs the shoulder shaping reknit due to my inability to count.
4. Scoop du Jour wants a button band and a seaming.
5. The Latvian Lace socks are awaiting the recipients measurements. Ok, that's not my fault.
6. The red cabled socks are awaiting a decision as to whether reknit in another yarn or forge ahead. Details another day?
7. Lastly there's PotW. After sitting on it for a week, I did finally manage to pick up all those stitches and am about to start the edging.

Ok, I know some of you may think it's not all that bad, but they're all weighing on my conscience quite heavily. The holidays are fast approaching, there's baby knits to get started on (they won't wait for something warm before making their debut) and plus it's getting cold! Reilly and I would really like to wear some nice sweaters.

Does anyone else do this? Get to a certain point that requires a little thinking or effort and stop?

I did manage to finish one thing though:

Yes, I realize that in every single picture the socks have appeared to be a different color. They do this in real life, not just in the camera. I gave up trying to get what I thought was the truest color.

Then since I can't commit to anything, I started a new pair of socks:

This is one of the yarns I picked up the other day in a new to me LYS. Depending upon my mood, I either love the funkiness of them or I completely hate them. I'm forging ahead mostly because I need the solace that only stockinette in the round can give me.

This??? I couldn't resist the call of the new fiber that landed in my house. It's superwash merino from Crown Mountain Farms in the Good Vibrations colorway. Mmm... I love this stuff. It's very easy to spin and so soft; I see myself buying more in the future.

New Stuff

2006-10-13T09:51:00.000+02:00

New socks on the dpns

New fibery goodness

An almost new pair of socks for the husband

My Sock Drawer Exploded

2006-10-06T13:04:00.000+02:00

Whoops!

Sorry about the dark picture. I did do some editing but I guess something didn't get saved. I'm still trying to figure out how Photoshop works! I also wanted to get a bit more creative, but I had to take the picture before little hands took off with all of them.

Since I don't have very interesting progress shots to dazzle everyone with, I thought I'd distract you with Socktoberfest activities.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
My interest in socks started early in '04 when a friend mentioned she was crocheting a pair. I bought some Lion Brand Magic Stripes and proceeded to knit an entire sock before discovering the dang thing didn't fit my foot. Stupid gauge.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My first real pair was knit in April/May of that year during our move to Germany. I used a pattern I found on the internet that I now forget which. The yarn was Plymouth and I still wear them although they are a bit snug in the toes.

What would you have done differently?
Nothing. Those first few pairs that I made were learning experiences. Gauge, fit, yarn content and stitch preferences would never had been learned without some goofs.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Almost every one. All sock yarns have a place in my drawer. Some are gorgeous and some are durable. Some I can even wear with sneakers without looking silly and being too warm.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
5 dpns are the best! I've tried Magic Loop and 2 circulars only to be miserable. I can't keep track of those long needles hanging about and usually end up screwing up royally. I have started a crocheted pair but I'm afraid they're off to the frog pond. First I misplaced the sock for a month or two and now I can't find my notes. I'll probably try again at a later date.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
For most socks I prefer a flap solely based on how they fit. But I like to mix it up and use short rows when the sock dictates that.

How many pairs have you made?
Oh, good question. I've got 25 in the picture, 4 in the wash, 2 for the hubster, 3 for Reilly, and 5 or 6 as gifts. Plus there's the pair that the laundry room ate one of. So, that's over 40. Goodness!

Have a great weekend! Me, I'll be nursing three kids back to health, along with myself. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting next week.

Behind

2006-09-29T10:07:00.000+02:00

What a week! It's just been one of those, a million things to do and just not enough time to complete everything. If I owe you an email, I'm sorry, I'll get to it. Eventually.

My sister comes to visit on Sunday. So on top of it being a hectic, I've got massive amounts of cleaning to do. There are things that I haven't gotten around to since Royd deployed so I'm using this as an opportunity to get them done. It's amazing how far behind I've gotten. Those few hours that he would be home a day really help!

I do, however, have something to show you:

Pattern: Asymmetrical Cable Hat from One Skein
Yarn: Knitpicks Sierra in Cranberry

This lonely skein was bought to swatch and test durability. I'm thinking of using it in a sweater for myself and needed to see if it would be a good choice. You just can't beat those prices, but sometimes I'm not quite happy with the yarn itself.

Anyway, I saw the hat in the book and knew it would be perfect. He needed a new hat as it is. I had to make a few modifications based on that I refused to use the needles that I got gauge on. My only 8 mms are plastic and I hate them. So I opted to use the bamboo 7.5s instead. I casted on three extra stitches for his size and then did a 10 row repeat instead of a 8 so that the cables weren't all smooshed.

What should have been a nice one day project took me two day and that's all I worked on. I haven't touched the stole or any of the other poor neglected projects. I don't see much progress until next week either.

Okay, back to cleaning and errands. Have a wonderful weekend!

21 Done

2006-09-25T12:27:00.000+02:00

Current state of the stole is at 21.5 repeats. Originally I hadn't planned on doing the full number since my gauge should be larger, but i'm rethinking that. At this point, it is still quite small. I did a test dry block and it didn't get as huge as I thought it would be so I do believe I'm going to keep going. I'd much rather run the risk of it being bigger than smaller.

In anticipation of Socktoberfest, I pulled out this Cherry Tree Hill yarn and started a toe up sock. Honestly, I have no idea about what to put on the leg. Feather and Fan jumps into mind, but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

I plan on using October as the time to get those gift socks done along with the Manly socks. I'm almost done with one except for toe shaping, but there isn't a rush on those, yet. The other pair that I need to do will be these in some Swish Superwash that has still not arrived.

I'll admit that it's been hard to stay focused when new things keep showing up:

Seven skeins each. I'm thinking that the green would make a great Rogue and the purple as a West End Raglan. I'm of course free to change my mind at any time. :)

I belong to that craft book club and when they offered me books for 9.99 each, I couldn't pass it up. I'm quite happy with the purchases except for one. The Yarn Girls new one wasn't as good as their first kids book. I just didn't feel that it was very inspiring and the models looked like they were drowning in the sweaters. Maybe I just don't like chunky that much.

In a personal note, Royd and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on Friday. It was alittle sad knowing that this our third in a row that we haven't been together for. Hopefully this will be the last deployment for us and we won't have to worry about him missing important events anymore.

Weirdness In the Eye of the Beholder

2006-09-20T20:36:00.000+02:00

When Keri tagged me, I thought it was going to be a piece of cake. Heck, Royd is constantly telling me that I'm weird. Then I sat down to write this post and was stumped. Suddenly things that seemed weird before, seemed a little mundane and some a bit more neurotic. How much of my craziness was I going to let be aired in cyberspace for everyone to see?

Well, after some deliberation here's my five things:

1. I must have chocolate every night. I used to think it was just something sweet, but realized that after I stopped buying the stuff that it must be part of my dessert. I really don't care in what form (pudding, cookies, bar, cake, brownies) but it has to overpower whatever its in. Yum.

2. I cannot stand to be licked. I have two cats that just love to hop into bed everynight with me. Inevitably one of them will start in and it sends the heebie jeebies all over my skin. It's worse on the face.

3. I hate calling people on the phone. I would rather go without knitting for a day than pick up the phone and talk to a stranger. Unfortunately I can't do everything on the internet, so it's something I have to suck up. Seriously, it takes me about a half hour before I'll actually dial the number just to make a stupid checkup for one of the kids and Royd always calls the pizzaman.

4. I stash more than yarn. Favorite styles of t-shirts, bandaids and cleaning supplies are a few. The worst is my pantry. I really don't know where I get it from, but I keep enough food in the house to feed the family for at least a month. It's not just regular day to day food either, I've got the makings for a party or two as well. Stashing IS a sickness people.

5. I cannot stand to have dirt on my feet. Of course when I'm outside it doesn't bother me, but inside it drives me bonkers. Well, with two kids that breed crumbs, it's hard to keep the floors nice and clean. That's why I vacuum every day, if not twice, and I use it on everything. Sweeping always leaves dirt that I'll feel afterwards. A day that I don't means I really don't feel good.

So there you have it, my little piece of craziness. I'd love to see what everyone else has to say about themselves. You're all it!

New Knits on the Needles

2006-09-18T11:16:00.000+02:00

What's the best way to celebrate the casting off of an extremely large sweater? Why, casting on for some extremely large socks, of course!

The yarn is a lovely mouline with three strands of different blues and one grey that I had bought last summer. I'm just getting around to knitting them up.

That purple shriveled mess is The Print O' The Wave Stole. When the pattern first became available, I printed it out and put it into the stack of possible knits. There it sat languishing while other things were casted on for. Well, Keri announced that her and Angelika were knitting it and said that I just HAD to do it too. :)

So, what you see is nine repeats. I'm using Alpaca Cloud from Knitpicks in the Iris colorway and I'm double stranding it. Initially I had started with a single strand but it was just too airy for me. I'm sure that I'll have to take out a few repeats so it isn't too big, but I'll worry about those numbers in a few days. Also, I'm not going to do it in two pieces. That seam line just looks too funky for me.

I think that maybe I shouldn't even be posting today. I'd had a great post in my head yesterday, but now I can't recall a thing I wanted to say. Between an average of five hours of sleep for the past three nights, the gloomy sunless day and three cranky boys, I think that I need either a pot of coffee or a babysitter so that I can sleep. I can not wake up!

Well, I hope everyone else has an energy filled day!

Whew!

2006-09-13T14:55:00.000+02:00

I think this says "I love you" !

Saturday Randomness

2006-09-09T15:42:00.000+02:00

Okay I know I usually don't post on Saturdays, but I'm bored. It's a beautiful day outside and we should be outside enjoying. Instead Reilly is sick. As an added bonus, he woke up at 5am and promtly woke everyone else up. We're all off schedule and cranky. Especially me.

Last weekend I visited with Kathleen and this is some of what I came home with. Knowing that I don't get to the yarn stores much, she picks me up cool yarn when she sees it. I in turn get her stuff from the States. We've got a good thing going on between us.

Since I had the camera out, I figured I'd show the latest indulgences.

Claudia Hand Painted, Socks That Rock and J. Knits

I'm looking for opinions on some yarn from everyone. I want to know about
1. SWTC Bamboo--softness, stretching, overall opinion
2. SWTC Phoenix--softness-would it be comfortable for next to skin wear?

Any thoughts would be appreciated very much.

I don't have a sweater to show you so I'll leave you with a picture of the kids the other night right before bedtime. Have a great weekend!

One Down

2006-09-07T11:00:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Interweave Knits (I think Winter '05)
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock in Peaches and Cream

What can I say, it's a great pattern. I did make a few modifications though. First, I didn't do the cast on method as written. I tried it and it was just too tight even after doing it again with a larger needle. I reverted back to the long tail cast on and although it doesn't look as pretty, it's got enough stretch. Second, I did the heel just a bit different. I didn't read the pattern right and messed up, but it was an easy modification that resulted in the same look. Since these are to be gifted away, they will be blocked later on for a prettier presentation.

I'm still mulling over my choices for the rest of the socks to be made for gifts. Surely there will be another pair going on very soon. That is, as soon as I finish knitting Scoop. I'm on the last sleeve and expect to start the finishing details tomorrow. I ordered some buttons and they just shipped yesterday so it'll be another week or so until I can get that far.

In sadder news, we lost two soldiers over the weekend and it's been a bit sad around here. Please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Sifting the Stash

2006-08-31T18:23:00.000+02:00

I hope ya'll didn't come here expecting a finished knit, cause it ain't happening! Instead of just sitting down and picking up those previously mentioned projects, something new landed on the needles.

This is quickly becoming Scoop in the Gedifra Wellness I got for a steal a few months ago. So far I love working with the yarn; it's soft and squishy. It does split easily so I had to switch to my Susan Bates which have a nice blunt tip and scoop the stitches perfectly.

I can make no promises as to when I'll return to the other sweaters. Probably when I'm bored with this one. I refuse to have more than three sweaters on the needles at a time, so eventually one of them will get finished.

I also came to the conclusion that it's a good thing no one has answered my desperate plea for coupon codes to Kpixie. See, Keri asked that her readers do a little stash flashing. I had already pulled out a few tubs in anticipation of a organization of sorts and thought why not. Lords, I scared myself! I only took two pictures and had to stop.

This is most of the sock yarn and below is most of the sweater projects.

I've also have enough for three adult sweaters hidden somewhere within the other four bins. Within those are the random single skeins, the lace yarns, the handspun and enough for quite a few kids sized sweaters. Yikes! Time to get those needles flying.

Confronted with this, I made a promise to myself that 1.) I must finish what's on the needles and 2.) start another sweater with some of the stash before I'm allowed to order anymore. Boy, this going to be hard. I really, really want to knit this:

I got the pattern last week and have been on a search for an acceptable substitute. There's no way I can spend that much on one sweater! So, in the meantime, I'll knit with what I have and watch the knitalong to see what other people have success with.

Any guess until how long I can be faithful?

Help! Please!

2006-08-30T14:30:00.000+02:00

Does anyone know the current coupon for Kpixie? I saw one a bit ago, but forgot to write it down. Duh. I'd really appreciate it!

I'm Working On It

2006-08-28T08:35:00.000+02:00

I've been having a hard time focusing on any of my current projects lately. I'll pick up one and knit on it for a day and then shift my attention to another for another. Although this means there is progress on each, it feels like none is being made. The three that are getting the most are the Manly Sweater (still!), Hero, and Embossed Leaves.

I think that part of the problem is that I received my fall magazines two weeks ago. I just love this issue of Interweave Knits! There is so much that I want to make: Gatsby Girl, Equinox, Swallowtail Shawl, Coral Crossing, Weekend Pullover and the Sienna Cardigan. Then there some great socks in Vogue. Of course, there aren't any appropriate yarns in my stash for any of them. Another shopping spree? No, I need to be good. I've got yarn for seven sweaters so I really need to work with some of those first.

Another thing I'm stressing about is Christmas. Yikes, it's coming up fast this year. Pretty much everyone on my list will be getting a pair of socks this year. I figure that I love making socks, but have plenty of pairs. So the next best thing is to introduce everyone to the joy of handknit socks.

As much as I love these, they will be given away.

Things are going well here. We've settled into a new routine and are taking things a day at a time. Royd has internet in his room so we can IM whenever he has time, which is really nice. He's already been given a tentative R&R date of January and that gives all of us something to look forward to.

Well, it's time to start moving and get cleaning! Have a great week!

2006-08-27T19:25:00.000+02:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Evolution of a Spinner

2006-08-18T13:05:00.000+02:00

When I bought my wheel I had opted to buy the complete package that is offered with the Lendrum. This set up gave me room to grow by including a fast flyer and a bulky head. I'd used the bulky head for plying but hadn't needed to use the fast flyer for anything. I'd been able to get the yarn to the desired twist without requiring faster ratios.

Recently I became enamored with the long draw in an attempt to speed up my knitting. I found an ebay seller carrying Spinning for Softness and Speed and ordered it. Though, the technique described in the book is a little bit different than a traditional long draw, I read through it and applied some of the basic principles. One of te first things I noticed that I needed the fast flyer and may need to invest in the very fast flyer.

My first attempt. Meh.

Progressively as I spun it became easier and better. Only direction to go is towards success! Next I pulled out some merino/mohair that I had gotten a few months ago. I figured this was a good roving to continue practicing long draw since I really didn't like the colors in the roving. The picture I had bought from showed beautiful, soft muted colors, what I got where garish and loud.

Not only were the colors pissing me off, but the roving had been felted in the process. Drafting was a complete nightmare despite predrafting to the point of the roving nearly falling apart. What to do, what to do. I pulled out the hand cards that I had just received in the mail last week and got to work. I seperated the colors out and put the blue, yellow and green in pile and the purple, gold and orange in another. After a about an hour I had these fluffy, gorgeous rolags from the first color group.

The spinning? Wonderful!!! Long draw is made for carded fiber. Granted, I still need practice, but it just keeps getting better. I guess it's a good thing I have a fleece on it's way.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've been bad. Royd's last week here and first week gone I was a bit depressed about the whole thing. So, I did a little internet shopping. Let me tell ya, Paypal is evil! No reaching for your wallet to make you think for another minute about what you're doing.

there's more on the way...

For Now

2006-08-15T16:21:00.000+02:00

It's been pretty overcast and I can't get good pictures so this will have to do...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cd's
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Finished Frenzy

2006-08-10T15:50:00.000+02:00

I've got alot to show you, both knitting and spinning. For today, I'll stick to the knitting to keep it more manageable. As the title suggests, I finished a few things.

I bought the yarn for this hat last winter when Reilly wanted a new one. I kinda waited to cast on until it was way too warm and kinda tossed everything aside. Of course, the needles were snatched and then the yarn was a mess. Only thing to do was to start over. I didn't use a pattern per se, I kinda used the idea of a skull cap I had made for Royd before. I was way too lazy to go find the pattern, so the top's a bit wonky. He loves it, so that's all that matters!

Pattern: Here There Be Dragons

Yarn: Knitpicks Memories, Geranium

What can I say? Great pattern, I didn't change a thing. Oh, except I used my usual no-wrap method instead of the short rows suggested. For whatever reason, Nancy Bush's method gives me holes no matter what I do. The yarn is nice and soft and finally out of the stash. I've tried to use it several times and never liked what the yarn was doing. This pattern made great use of the pooling and broke it up. Below is a much better representation of the color. For some reason the color combination confuses the heck out of my camera!

Long time readers may recall that I went through a bit of a lace obsession last summer. (Very temporary. My lifestyle just doesn't do lace well.) Well, I've had one project that needed to blocked, I just never got around to it. I mean, why block it if it's never going to get worn? Well, I need it for tomorrow. Someone's getting married!!!

Pattern: Snowdrop Shawl

Yarn: JaggerSpun

Another great pattern. Not too challenging, but with enough interest to keep me knitting. Nevermind that the edging took foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever. Blocking didn't go as well as it could have. I ran out of room on the carpet and little ones were getting tired of me saying "one more minute!" I think that I need to invest in a set of blocking wires so that when I do have things to block, it goes much nicer.

My, it's huge!!!

And It Begins...

2006-08-07T11:25:00.000+02:00

Have any idea how hard it was to get a picture with all of them facing (somewhat) the camera and no one screaming? Horrible.

Well, Royd left us Sunday for another year. We said our goodbyes on Saturday night and sent him off. We did have a chance to go see him one more time on Sunday morning, but Royd asked me not to bring the kids up. He just thought it would be easier on everybody.

So far we're doing okay. Reilly understands that he's gone, but still keeps asking for him. I think it'll take awhile before he really comprehends the full depth of what's going on.

There isn't much to say except that I'm glad it's finally here and we can get it over and done with. I'll be back later this week with some knitting and spinning content!

My Random Life

2006-08-02T10:53:00.000+02:00

** We didn't get to go on vacation as planned. Here's the rundown of why. First we all got sick. Just when we were feeling better, all the boys came down with hand-foot-mouth disease. Since Marc's mouth hurt, he wasn't eating very well. I got a blocked duct that lead to mastitis. Ouch! The antibiotics I'm on killed everything and now Marc and I both have thrush. Oy. I cannot wait until I don't have administer medication.

Thankfully, we still got to see my in-laws since they headed up here instead. Plus Royd didn't have to miss out on time with his dad.

** I finished another pair of socks for a belated birthday

Yarn: Regia Strato

Pattern: top down on 64 stitches, band heel and round toe

** I started another pair for myself

Here There Be Dragons

** Thanks to some cooler weather the past few days, I've been working on the Manly Sweater again. Two sleeves down and now onto the enormous body.

** Remember Picovoli? Well, I lost about ten pounds since then and it's too big! Yay for a skinnier me. Boo for all that work.

** I've got two babies to knit for that are due in December. The great news is that they're both girls and I can finally knit something cute and pretty.

** Royd should be gone by next week. We're just waiting. It stinks.

That's it for now. Sorry about the choppy post. I've got screaming children here and can't think straight.

Real Quick

2006-07-21T10:26:00.000+02:00

I finished up a few more socks this week. Here's the details:

Reillys--Lion Brand Magic Stripes, top down on 48 stitches with a band heel

Mine--Koigu, toe up with short row heel and a sewn bind off

That's all I've able to work on. Between the heat and the various sick people in the house, I haven't had alot of time or inclination to knit. I tried spinning but the wool is sticking to my hands resulting in some pretty lumpy singles.

I'm heading off on vacation next week so I probably won't post until I get back. Royd's dad is on leave from Iraq, so me and the boys are heading to South Germany to meet up with him and his wife. Royd's probably working that weekend, so he won't get to join us. I've got a ton of things left to do before the trip !

On a sader note, we got official word Sunday that Royd will be deploying in the next month or so. Due to security reasons, we won't know until the last minute when.

Well, the boys are getting into all sorts of mischief, see you in a bit!

Too Dang Hot to Knit

2006-07-13T16:48:00.000+02:00

Ugh. Stitches sticking to the needles plus no shade at the playground equals two bored little boys and one cranky mama. So we got a little crafty.

Chop or shave old crayons, sprinkle between layers of wax paper, iron on low

"Stained Glass" for your windows!

And since they were still bored, we made playdough.

And I started a new sock... (notice no needles)

Soft and Squishy

2006-07-11T09:05:00.000+02:00

Yarn: my own handspun

Pattern: top down, 48 stitches on leg and 44 on foot

As the title implies, this is how these socks turned out. I used my first three ply for these and love how the yarn (and the socks) turned out. Needless to say, I'm beyond tickled with myself that I dyed the wool, spun the yarn and knit the socks. Funny though, the yarn took two weeks to spin and a total of four non-consecutive days to knit. A labor of love.

Because I'm so enamored, here's two more shots.

I started a new webring, for all those that are attached to the military, just for kicks. You can go here to sign up or here for the blog.

A Post in Pictures

2006-07-07T11:29:00.000+02:00

Chickami, handspun sock and more handspun

12 balls for only one euro each for Scoop

I swear I only went looking for a dress. I didn't find one.

Mmmm. Fingers sure are yummy!

Picovoli

2006-06-30T11:34:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Picovoli

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport, Hydrangea

Do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of yourself that is semi-flattering (three kids and age have really taken over for the worst) and in focus? I tried to get the hubby to take some, but he really couldn't be bothered.

Here's the details. This took less than two weeks to finish and could have been done sooner, but I had to rip out a few inches. I decided to incorporate some short rows to give me a little bit more room in the bust but had put them about four rows too low. That lost me two days of knitting. Then there was the inconvenience of the kids being sick. To keep the edges from rolling I used a hemmed edge on the bottom and single crocheted around the neck and sleeves. Overall it was a great little knit that I may use as a template for a future sweater.

The yarn was great to work with as well. I'll definetely be using it again and am coveting some of their worsted weight.

Since casting off I've been working on the Manly Sweater while I contemplate my next project for myself. (No rush to finish his sweater since he won't need it for quite awhile) I'm waivering between a lace stole or a t-shirt. Front runners right now are Print O' the Wave Stole, Nothin' but a T Shirt, or maybe even Chickami. I almost forgot, I'm thinking about Soleil too.

Here's something to check out.

Speaking of, obviously Royd hasn't deployed yet. We still don't know when but it won't be for at least a month. Everythings up in the air as of now. Which means we can't make any plans farther than a month in advance. I'm starting to get frustrated because we're due to move back to the States in May, if he's not deployed. Of course, if he goes downrange, it means that we'll move after he gets back. The thing is that the longer he's just sitting here waiting to find out if he's going or not, means our move could be delayed more and more. Does that make sense?

As much as I have enjoyed the opportunity to live overseas, I'm getting about ready to go back home. I miss it.

Gotta Love the Trekking

2006-06-21T11:56:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Melanie's Twist Socks

Yarn: Trekking XXL color 106

I sucked it up and finished 'em up. Not for a lack of love, I just wanted them done. I looked through my WIP basket and realized I had way too much in there. My earlier cast on craze left me with lots of projects and not enough time. I found myself consistently cycling through them, but progress was scant. I figure if there's less to work on, the perceived progress is greater.

The original pattern didn't specify left or right increases or decreases. I left the increases at a simple M1 left, but subsituted a SSK on the first half of the pattern repeat. I thought this resulted in a clearer twist and also helped me keep track of where I was. Instead of my usual heel, I used a Eye of Partridge and think it turned out quite pretty.

Hopefully next week I'll have Picovoli finished. I have to rip a few inches out due to a miscalculation of the placement of my short rows. Other than that, it's looking good! Now, where did I put that other skein of Koigu...

Commitment. Or a lack of.

2006-06-15T12:47:00.000+02:00

I've been trying to stay faithful to the current projects on the needles. For over a week I've remained vigilant and worked on two pairs of socks in anticipation of the start of SoS. I'm not competing for the most pairs done, but would like a fresh start when it begins. The problem began when I received my yarn last week for Picovoli. I was good and put it away along with some Luna and went about my business.

Yesterday I caved and merrily have been knitting away on some delightful stockinette in the round.

Surprisingly I'm enjoying working with this yarn. Although it's mostly cotton, it has just enough give to not cramp my hands up. I can't wait to wear this!

My first three ply is almost done. I need to dye up another half ounce to finish what's left on two of the bobbins. Although I carefully weighed the roving before I spin it, I kinda lost out due to inconsistant spinning. One bobbin was spun just a bit thicker than the rest so I lost some yardage.

Somehow something else ended up on the wheel in the meantime.

This is merino/silk that I'm spinning at over 40 wpi (my control card doesn't go thin enough!). Can we just say that it'll take me forever.

Stuck on Socks

2006-06-06T12:01:00.000+02:00

Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Fun

Pattern: top down on 64 stitches with a 3x1 rib

I finished these up on Friday minus weaving ends that was done today. Nothing special to say about these except that I used over 45 gms on each sock when I usually use less than 40.

With these finished, I quickly dug through the sock stash and pulled out a few more balls.

Now I have Trekking, Koigu and handspun to occupy my time. I think they're a pretty good mix to keep my attention. The handspun is a bit hard on my hands to knit (I'm doing them on 2 mms to get a really tight fabric) so I'll work on the Trekking to give my hands break. Then when I don't feel like concentrating, the Koigu does the trick.

Haven't gotten much knitting done since Sunday though. Poor Marc had to have his first round of shots yesterday and they hit him pretty hard. He'll try to smile and be cheerful, but he can't help whining through it all. Tylenol and cuddles to the rescue!

Fussy Socks

2006-05-31T17:13:00.000+02:00

Yarn: Rico StrickSpaß SUPERBA Color
Pattern: top down with afterthought heel

I picked up this sock yarn awhile because I had never seen it before, it was soft and the colors spoke to me. My initial take on it was that I thought it looked similar to some Regia or even LB Magic Stripes. The softness of the yarn called out for me to knit it up and I did so soon after it came home. I started out with the intention to do my usual top down sock, but as the pattern emerged I knew that this would be a good candidate to try out the afterthought heel.

Look at how pointy that heel is! Hmm. I'm glad I tried the technique out as I think it's a good one to have in the arsenal, but I won't be doing alot of them based upon the fussiness of it. Things I would do differently next time: work heel on 60% of stitches for a deeper heel and a central double decrease for a prettier seam.

The pattern turned out to be quite different than I imagined. I had to do a little research to see how it was ""suppose" to look. The top is what I was getting and the bottom is what I had to force. In order to get this I had to knit significantly tighter on those bands of blue and white.

I didn't think I'd be getting these done for awhile but last night I realized that my June socks for the Sock-a-Month Knitalong weren't completed. So I quickly got to work picking up stitches and finishing the heels.

I think the next pair will be some purple cotton that are almost done.

A Case of Startitis

2006-05-30T14:11:00.000+02:00

Fresh in the stash: two balls of Regia Bamboo Color.

Kathleen finally(!!!) came to see Marc on Sunday and left these bad boys behind. Yum! I in turn sent her home with all of my sock leftovers for her Log Cabin blanket. I do think that there's yarn from about 30 pairs of socks. She should be busy for awhile. Yup, anyone who's wondering if the thing actually exists, yes it does! And it's really cool too.

Anyhoo, I'm tempted to cast on with this yarn but I really need to restrain myself. See, I have a bit of a problem:

Four pairs of socks and three sweaters need to be finished. Oh and then there's a sweater for Royd I just started along with some potholders. And we won't even get into the yarn that has yet to be delivered for some summer knitting. Honestly, I think I need some intervention! The worst part of it all? All I want to do is spin, but I can't while keeping an eye on the kids. I've tried. It's really hard.

In other news, the kids are all sick. Again. In the past month this is everyone's third cold. I'm getting pretty tired of wiping noses and listening to sickly whines. When will it end?!?

On a brighter note I'll leave you with a picture of Marc. I've been trying to get a picture of him smiling and this is the closest I've come to yet.

Happy Roving

2006-05-23T14:51:00.000+02:00

Why yes, that is a new template. I really like how it looks, but I'm still tweaking it. I appear to have a problem with the coding in the comments section. They show up incomplete, but are right when you click on the "post a comment" link. Anyone know how to fix this? This is way beyond my HTML knowledge.

Although I did not sign up for Dye-o-Rama, I have been following enthusiastically. I just love seeing all the beautiful colors everyone has been creating and it's been very hard to just sit back and watch. I've begun investingating sources for yarn and which dyes would be best for me. I'm leaning towards WashFast Acid Dyes but have yet to order any. My itch came to a head yesterday when I just had to play. This is what I came up with using Koolaid.

Ice Blue Lemonade, Orange, Lemonade and Artic Green Apple

Grape, Lemonade, Strawberry, Black Cherry and Coral (lemonade and strawberry)

Blue and Red Wilton dyes mixed to make purple

The Wilton dyes broke in the bath which surprisingly turned green. Thankfully, I was dyeing this to go with some previously dyed purple and green roving. I love happy mistakes!

Another?

2006-05-18T14:18:00.000+02:00

Go sign up. You know you're knitting them anyway!