Disappointed

My daughter convinced me I wanted to go Boxing Day shopping yesterday. That little voice inside me said, NO, don't do it, but I went anyway. What a zoo! I dragged along behind her until I couldn't stand being pushed and shoved anymore. I have no idea why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this madness. There were no great bargains that I saw, just a sea a crazy people all looking for something cheap.

Another silly thing I've probably done is get a couple of African Dwarf Frogs. Same daughter convinced me I needed 2 of them on Christmas Eve. I have an aquarium with a few guppies and platies in it and so I thought it would be OK. Wrong! We put the 2 new frogs in and all was fine until Christmas Day when 1 of them was missing. I don't think it could have possibly gotten out but it sure isn't anywhere in the aquarium so unless someone ate him whole he must have escaped. Fortunately, they are only the size of a penny and can't live out of water so he's probably stuck in a dust buny somewhere.



So we left the mall and headed for my favorite fish place which was not crowded at all and bought another frog which we found out would be much better off in it's own tank. So now I have my old Betta tank set up with 2 tiny frogs in it. I have to admit that they are cute and interesting to watch. I just hope these ones stay put!

My next stop was my favorite yarn store which may not be my favorite anymore. Since I was there last they've rearranged the whole place and seem to have almost eliminated sock yarns. They had a lot of Bernat Sox which I did not want because it is acrylic, a few colors of Kroy sock but they were boring colors and a new yarn called Moda Dea Sassy Stripes. They colors of this yarn were super but Hope wasn't interested in yarn shopping and I didn't spend enough time checking it out. I bought 4 balls of it, enough I figured for 2 pairs of socks for $5.09 per ball. Last night, I got it out to check it out and decide what to make with it. It's acrylic! Now I feel really ripped off paying that much for junky acrylic yarn and I really don't know if I want to make anything with it. Maybe it can become cuffs for other yarns.

I did finish the second boring grey sock so it can go off to Sudbury on Thursday to it's new owner. Sure hope he likes them!

Christmas Gifts

I've been chugging along on my Christmas knitting and have almost made the deadline. Everything is finished except this pair of neverending, boring grey socks for my daughters boyfriend and I have until December 29th for those so there is still hope.




I made these mittens and socks for my friend and co-worker Pam. She loved the last socks I made her but asked for something brighter next time. I think I managed to fill her request with these ones! She saw me making mitts to donate to the local foodbank and asked if I made them in big sizes. I assured her that I didn't and then made these for her for Christmas. The yarn was something I found in my stash that I bought at the Spinrite outlet store a few years ago. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy more now. It's called Aspen and has 15% merino wool content and it is sooooo soft. I can just see a really cosy sweater made with it.

More stripes

I made another pair of these scrap socks to use up some of the little balls of yarn that I accumulate. I need to come up with some other idea because I'm getting tired of the stripe thing. I'm thinking maybe some kind of slip stitch design or just trying to match up some of the colors and knit 2 socks at a time doing longer stripes in co-ordinating colors.

My Christmas knitting is on track. I did a pair for my mom in Kroy Jacquards in a denim colorway. This is the third pair of socks I've done with that yarn and I still have another 2 balls of the colorway left! I must have really fallen in love with it the day I made that purchase! I still need to finish a pair for a co-worker yet that are in shades of pinks and purples. She said she liked bright colors!

Hawaiian Lei

This is the Sock of the Month Club sock from theKnitter.com for September 2005 and I love it. It's called Hawaiian Leis designed by Adrienne Fong and the yarn is Trekking XXL in color number 106 called Pastel. I really like Trekking XXL yarn and this colorway is gorgeous although I'm part way into the second sock and still can't see that there is any repeat. The pattern looks really difficult but was quite easy to do. I do have to admit that I cheated and turned the heel in my own way instead of following the pattern though. 

Making progress on WIP's

I've been making pretty good progress on finishing up some of the socks that I've had laying around here without a mate. I finished off the Turtle Track socks that I started back in the summer and am at the heel flap of the Basketcase socks. I've worn the Turtle Tracks and really like both the pattern and the yarn. The Basketcase look like they will be really warm.

These socks are for my daughter since she loved her Hot Tamale socks so much. They are made with Bernat's Hot Sox and the color is a bit off in the picture. The heels, toes and cuff are actually a bright purple not blue. I love the color of the jewel tone yarn, I just wish it was in a wool instead of acrylic.


Another co-worker is expecting a baby in December so I started this afghan for him. They chose to find out that it will be a boy so I'm safe on color with this one. I love the MAM patterns so I should be able to finish this up quickly.

Finishing WIP's

I finally picked up my hook again and finished a baby afghan that I started last year. On Thursday my supervisor mentioned that he might be off for a couple of weeks because his wife is expecting a baby any day. Nothing like not mentioning it until the last minute! I had Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today off so I quickly finished the afghan up and ran it into work today hoping that his car would be there. Sure enough it was and I was able to slip into his office and leave it for him.


This pattern comes from Liesure Arts book "mile-a-minute Afghans". It's supposed to be a fullsize afghan but I've adapted it to be shorter for a baby. It also looks nice with brighter colors & a black border to use up scraps.

I started these socks while on vacation last month. I finally finished up the first one and I really like it. The yarn is Kroy in a color called Fancy Free and the pattern is free from the 'net called Blueberry Waffle and the pattern is easy to follow.



This shows the pattern close up. It gives a nice tight fit so the socks stay up.

I was really busy and finished up the other Hot Tamale Ugly Sock and took them to the Post Office this morning so they are on their way to their new home in Newfoundland now. Now I only have about 15 more things to finish up and I'll be ready for some new projects!

Hot Tamale

I got a better picture of the detail of my Mile A Minute afghan this morning. It would show a lot better on a lighter color but since this is a stash reduction project I have to go with what I have!


I finished one of the Hot Tamale socks and I still think they're ugly. My daughter has moved to Newfoundland and thinks she's freezing to death so I'll send them off to her when they're done. Ugly socks are better than no socks!

Mile A Minute

I haven't done much knitting or crocheting in the last little while. Work has been extremely busy and I've been doing 7 am to 6 pm days and even worked my day off this week. By the time I get home doing anything other than having something to eat, a shower and going to bed just seems like too much effort.

I was on a major clean-up campaign of my stash room aka the spare bedroom. The stash had really taken over a major part of the room so I decided that MAM afghans would be the answer. I started this one a couple weeks ago but only have 5 of the eight strips done so far. The picture is crappy and doesn't show the design and it isn't blocked yet.....and right now I don't even care that much! I lifted something the other day that I shouldn't have and my arm is a bit sore so I decided maybe giving it a rest from crochet might be the answer. Knitting doesn't seem to bother it so I pulled out a pair of socks that I started while on vacation last night.

Back from vacation

We're back from our vacation and not much sock knitting took place! The weather was great, only a sprinkle of rain overnight on Tuesday from the remnants of Hurricane Katrina. We had our grandaughter, Nyla, with us and she certainly can occupy a lot of time. She loved the beach, digging in the sand and swimming. I thought she might be scared but wasn't at all. I thought the water was freezing but she would just march right in.


We stayed at Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend, Ontario. There's nine miles of beautiful sandy beach in the park so we had lots of places to choose from. The water is very shallow with lots of sandbars.


Our campsite was great. Lots of sand in the trailer but nothing a good cleaning with the shop vac didn't fix this morning.

We had to walk across the dunes on a boardwalk to get to the beach. I'm not good on height or distance but these are BIG sand dunes.






I did get most of one sock done in the Blueberry Waffle pattern using Kroy Socks in a color called Fancy Free. I'll post a picture of it when I get done.

Basketcase finished

I just finished the first Basketcase sock. I really like the stretch of this pattern. Now all I need to do is get the second one done but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning and taking my 18 month old grand-daughter along so working on anything with a definite pattern is out. I've put in two different patterned yarns that I can either do in straight stitch or with a simple fancy rib so I can sit my sock down without having to worry about where I was.

Best of Intentions

I always have the best of intentions with my projects. I start them with all the faith in the world that I will stick with them and see them through to completion. Somehow that never happens. I started this tablecloth in the summer of 2000 for my dining room table. Somewhere along the way, it got shoved into a tote bag and forgotten until a co-worker asked me to help her decipher a pattern at work. I got thinking, Hmmm, I have a tablecloth started somewhere in my craft mess. So I dug it out this morning and am going to take a stab at getting a bit more done. No illusions it will be finished anytime soon because it is supposed to be 75" round when done and is at 43" right now.




I've switched to 10 hour shifts at work now which means I get a long break in the afternoons so instead of sitting and eating junk food which is what we usually do, I decided that I would take some socks to work on. I dug through my stash and found this really ugly Bernat Sox yarn that I can think of no reason for buying. Must have been one of those moments I have where I have to have every color of yarn! It's called Hot Tamale and the picture isn't showing bad color, it really is that bad. It's orange, pink, green and turquoise with the colors oozing into each other at the changes so there are spots of olive green and murky brown. I think I'll gift these to someone but for sure no one will steal them off my table in the lunchroom!




So while digging for the above ugly yarn I decided that the plastic tote with the sock yarn in it was too full and a jumbled mess. This morning I dumped it out and sorted it into matching pairs as well as sorting by acrylics and wools. The left are the nice wool yarns and the right is my assortment of Bernat Sox acrylics that I use for making socks for those I know won't look after wool socks. As far as I've heard, this yarn is now discontinued but from the looks of it I should be alright for awhile yet!

My needles are here!

I'm off work today and it was great to go out to the mailbox to find that my new needles had arrived. I ordered a set of Inox 6" needles in size 2mm awhile ago from Judy at theKnitter and just loved them so I ordered another 2 sets that came today. Now I can get all those socks I have on long needles onto the short ones and it will be soooooo much better! Ok, so it doesn't take much to excite me but I really hate trying to work with the long needles now.

Basketcase

I started these socks this week from the Sockknitters Intermediate SAM list. The pattern is called Basketcase and is going really well so far. I decided to use Kroy yarn instead of what was called for since I normally use 56 sts for a sockweight yarn anyway. The sock really has a lot of stretch so it should stay up well and the pattern is easy to follow. I actually have followed it to the letter so far, even doing the square heel which I hadn't done before.  

Turtle Track

I finished one of my Turtle Track socks. I absolutely love this yarn. It is the perfect balance of cotton and wool. To find out more about this sock read on down to a few posts ago! 

Inside/Outside Sock

I finished the first sock of the Inside/Outside Socks from the SOTM kit for June from theKnitter designed by Nancy Walsh. I changed it a bit (like always) because I didn't want to do the wraps on the garter stitch short row heel or the garter stitch toe that the pattern called for. The sock is made with Fortissima Cotton which is 75% cotton and 25% polyamid so the offset rib pattern gives it some extra stretch that a cotton sock needs. Now all I need to do is get the second sock done without getting sidetracked! 

Flickering Flames

I managed to finish the Flickering Flame Summer Socks by Sharon Bergerson this morning. This was the April '04 kit from theKnitter that I just got around to getting done. I had started it last year and didn't like the way my tension was going so I ripped it out. Guess the second try was the charm. This sock is made with Fortissima Cotton which is 75% cotton and 25% Polyamid so it should wear well.  

July SOTM club socks

These are the July socks from theKnitter SOTM club. The pattern is called Turtle Track and is designed by Debbie O'Neill. The yarn is Fortissima Socka and is a blend of cotton, wool and polymide. It is really nice and has a lot of stretch. The pattern doesn't show up really well in this picture but I'll try to get a better one of the finished sock. 

Fell off the wagon

Ok so I did get one pair finished before I started another. I just couldn't resist trying out the new kit and I'm almost to the heel flap now on that sock! I wore the new Opals to work today and got lots of comments, not everyone understands the theraputic value of sock knitting though. Some thought they were really great while others couldn't seem to get past the idea that I would knit socks or that you would knit socks in those colors!

Success!

My plan is working so far. I put all the unfinished socks on the coffee table so they are staring at me. I finished off these Opal's last night and this morning so now they just need a bath to soften up a bit before I wear them. The empty set of needles are calling for me to start the new kit I received this week though. Just to see how the yarn works up! 

Too many socks!

After thinking about it this morning I realized I have way too many socks on the go. I decided to pull them all out so they would encourage me to get moving on them. The Opals on the left are almost done. I'm just past the gusset heading for the toe on the second sock. The pale blue is a "newer" sock kit in Fortissima Cotton that is just started. The yellow is a baby cotton that I don't think is going to work for socks. Purple is another Fortissima Cotton from a sock kit over a year old that has the second sock barely started. The dark green is Misti Baby Alpaca with only one sock done! 

Wow, it's been too hot to knit much lately. I've been working on this sweater for over a month and finally finished it. My daughter's friend is expecting a baby in September and good ol' mom volunteered to make a sweater. I already had this yarn but after I got part way done I was told it was definitely "girly" so now it's finished I'm doing another one in blue and white! I have sock kits and sock yarn I've bought piling up here and the second sweater isn't nearly as much fun as the first not to mention the extreme heat and humidity we've been having here. I know in January I'll be complaining that it's too cold! 

Vacation

I had great expectations of getting lots of knitting done on my vacation last week but all I managed was a few rows on my Opal socks. It was too hot most of the time to sit with yarn in my hands and some how sitting in the sun with my knitting just makes me sleepy! We're going away again next weekend so maybe I'll get more done.

Pam's socks

These socks are for my friend Pam for her birthday so don't anyone tell her, OK? The yarn is Bernat Sox in Jazz Hot. I've never made socks for Pam before and her description of her feet is "Flintstone feet". Very wide, very flat and square across the toes. Sure hope that these are going to fit her!  

Opal Magic 1038

Opal Magic #1038 is the yarn I used for these great socks. It has a very long pattern repeat so finding the start for the next sock is going to be fun! My daughter bought me this yarn as an early Mother's Day gift because I had been talking about wanting to try it. I didn't find the yarn itself to be much different in texture or quality but the colorways are certainly different. 

Maui Magic finished!

Today I learned that taking a picture of your own foot is not all that easy! I tried putting this sock on the stretcher but it just didn't show the pattern up. Anyway, this is my finished Maui Magic sock. I like the pattern for a summer sock and once I got the pattern repeats in my head I could do it without really looking at the pattern much which is a bonus. All I need to do is finish the second sock! 

Maui Magic

Ok, so I did finish the other Lana Gossa Cool Wool sock but the Misti Alpaca has been sidelined at one sock. I started this new sock from theKnitter SOTM club for April instead. It's called Maui Magic and is made with Meilenweit Cotton. This picture shows what is supposed to be the detail down the back of the sock but I think I'm going to switch this panel to be on the front of my leg.

This picture shows the cabled ribbing pattern on the rest of the sock leg. Not hard to do and a very interesting look. I was worried that the cotton yarn might not have as much stretch to it as needed to stay up but this yarn is 45% cotton, 42% wool and 13% Polyamid so it has a much nicer body than pure cotton. By the way, the color on these photos isn't great, the yarn is a soft mauve color in reality.