Tee Hee

Kayt clued me in to this comic. I think you all should go have a look.

Ravelry

I got my invitation to Ravelry before I left for Mackinac. Since I have been back, I have had oodles of nerdy, knitterly fun adding MOST of my stash (it is shameless), books (almost as shameless as the yarn), and listing items to my queued list (like I am ever going to knit ALL that).

Ravelry is great. If you haven't heard, Ravelry is an online knitter's notebook/journal all in one. Members can connect with other yarny goddesses and see what is popular in the knitting world. I love it. As a total geek and obsessive kniter, Ravelry is heaven for me. It is so easy to browse patterns. No more wondering what is out there to knit! I also love seeing what other people have done with patterns I am interested in making.

So, if you are on Ravelry, look me up! I am mollyknits over there.

I am going out of town for the holiday weekend. Buddy should be thrilled, he gets to go with us this time. My plan is to make Campfire Socks out of a discontinued Knitpicks Memories yarn called S'MORS! How perfect is that?

Happy Knitting!

Happenings

No photos or progress reports today. I am only knitting sporadically at the moment. School started this week, and that means lots of prep and planning for me. My job is remediation for students who struggle with Indiana's ISTEP test. I have a job because of No Child Left Behind (I still dislike the law, but you don't want to get me started on that).

I have been selecting the students who I think will get the most out of tutoring before the test starts at the end of September. It is great to work with small groups of students and offer them strategies that they can use to get higher scores. I also started a "Homework Help" program. Any student who sees me for tutoring can come to me during homeroom to get help finishing his homework. I am looking forward to this program!

If you have lived under a rock and don't know about the "No Child Left Behind" act, schools are required to test each student every year. If a student does not pass the test, the school must provide extra help to that student (my job). In addition, a schools over all test scores must get higher each year.

So, I am a busy girl at the moment, but I am happy to be back at work.

Happy Knitting!

My Sockapalooza 4 Socks

I have wanted to post pictures of what I got from my sock pal for a while, but Sly likes to hide the battery charger from me. Now that my camera has properly charged batteries, I can share.

The socks came all the way from Colon Germany, and they fit perfectly. As you can see, they are in my favorite colors, black and purple! Notice the Harry Potter goodness.

I also really loved the mini sock and sweater she sent. These will be on my Christmas tree this year. Aren't they sweet? The sweater is a real sweater. If I could find someone small enough, it could be worn. The sock is a fully 3D sock as well. I need to figure out the mini knitting. What a great way to use up scrap sock yarn.

School starts tomorrow, so I'll be back at work. I am running low on yarn money now. Not that I'll be buying yarn. I still have the yarn diet to think about.

Happy Knitting!

Girls Who ROCK!

Both Jen and Kayt have tagged me with this, so it is time I shared! While I question my "rockness," it will be difficult for me to pick ONLY five Rockin' Girl Bloggers.

In no particular order

Suz totally rocks! She is a shy, sweet girl in person, but her blog rocks! She had found a voice on the Internet. She openly shares her views, passions, and sweet spirit with so many people on the Internet and touched many lives.

Jools rocks! Not only because she gave me a Nice Matters Award, but because she is my oldest Internet pal. We may go many weeks or months without talking, but like all good friends, we always manage to pick up where we left off.

I have to tag nice people too, but I think it is only fair that I tag people for one thing at a time! :)

Steph rocks me like a hurricane (dumb song). She has a healing touch, warm personality, and the greatest smile. She is a totally fabulous, beautiful person.

The other Jen in my life rocks. She showed me how to make soap and knit socks. She was the best help desk person PNC ever had, but she didn't believe me when the computer ACTUALLY BLEW UP!

Last, but never least

Punkin rocks! Pumpkin pies are my favorite, but Punkin is a faithful commenter on my blog. It is nice to know that people are actually reading my rambling thoughts on knitting and life. I don't think I have ever said "thank you" for all the comments, so thank you Punkin; YOU ROCK!

Okay, all you Rockin' Girl Bloggers, slap that button on your blogs and tag five Rockin' Girl Bloggers to spread the love. You all rock, you all are awesome, and I am glad to know you.

Happy Knitting!

Sockapalooza 4

Pattern: Ridged Feather from Sensational Knitted Socks

Yarn: Fortissima Colori

Needles: two size 1 circs

Yes, I know I am a bit late with these. They took longer than I expected. I have good reasons 1) I never do a pattern over the foot. I am just lazy that way, and 2) can you all see how well these two socks match?! I mean, just look at that perfectly matched pair. I am rather proud of that.

The socks were inspired by the Great Lakes since I live so close to Lake Michigan. I think it is only fitting that I worked on the socks (not as much as I would have liked) during my camping trip.

See how well the socks match all the lovely blues in Lake Heron? Not to mention those waves.

I am off to mail the socks with a few extra goodies because I took so long.

EDIT What kind of town has a post card with a 25 year old picture of the hospital on it? Seriously, I bought a post card from my home town to send with the socks (as is tradition), and the ONLY post card I could find with ANYTHING from the town on it was a photo of the hospital. SHEESH

Happy knitting!

Vacation all I ever wanted

Yeah, I loved the Go-Go's back in the day.

We have returned from our all too short trip to Mackinac Michigan. Sly and I both agree, it is one of the best trips we have ever gone on in the RV. We are planning a much longer trip for next year.

The fun actually started during a pit stop for gas and food. We didn't have any real plans for a place to go. We both prefer diners to fast food, and we really like the out of the ordinary. Rosie's Diner was perfect. It was very vintage inside with lots of history and character. What was really cool was the old couple who came by for lunch. They used to eat at the diner all the time when it was in New Jersey back in the day!

This is the view from our campsite (Okay, we did cross the little street in front of the RV). Making the picture smaller has distorted how well we could actually see the Mackinac Bridge. We also had a fantastic view of the island.

The campground was really nice. We didn't spend much time there, but the view was great, the showers clean, and a convenient free shuttle to the island ferry.

Just me sitting outside the RV knitting and enjoying the view.

The ferry ride over to the island was really fun. It was a hydro jet, so there was a giant rooster tail of water coming out of the back of the boat. Yes, I am knitting in the photo.

Fort Mackinac is a state park with lots of cool historical re-enactments and exhibits. There are too many cool things to show ALL the photos we took, so I am just going to post the kniterly fun. I did want to share this photo of a young shopkeeper knitting to past the time. I actually showed her how to purl while we were there. Sly thought that was so strange.

Mackinac is the kind of place where there is a beautiful vista around every corner. I won't bore my dear readers with ALL the views (I am sure Sly to get a photo of them all), but I thought I would share a few really pretty vistas.

A word of warning to all of you with a sweet tooth, the economy on Mackinac is driven by FUDGE! The main shopping district has 17 fudge shops (all claiming to be number 1 and the original Mackinac fudge), and it seems that fudge is the number on souvenir from the island.

I have knitting to report on, but this is a long post. I do want to thank my Sockapalooza pal for the lovely socks. I will have a big post about Sockapalooza in a day or two. The fudge as slowed me down.

Happy Knitting!

Camping

Sly and I are taking a short trip to commemorate our 20th wedding anniversary.

You see, I spent most of the actual day of our anniversary standing in line with my nephew to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sly was not feeling well, so we didn't spend any time together.

We have a romantic RV trip planned way up in Michigan at Mackinaw. The campground is really nice, and we have a site right on the shore of Lake Heron. I promise to post lovely pictures when I return.

Happy Knitting.

Finished Object Photos

Pattern: EPS yolk sweater from Knitting Without Tears
Yarn: Purple: Galway Highland Heather Green: Manos Del Uruguay
Needles: Knitpicks options size 7

I was standing in bright sunlight, so the color looks more hot pink than purple, but it is actually a deep, lovely shade of purple. I am so happy with how this sweater turned out! I am planning more sweaters based on Elizabeth's Percentage System. It is a great why to make a sweater. The fit is fabulous. It was easy peasy to knit as well.

Here is a close up of the yolk pattern. I used the Manos for a couple of reasons. First, due to the cost, I don't use Manos much at all. Second, since the yolk pattern is a simple one, I thought it would highlight a great vergated yarn well. Third, I adore the impact the slubby green yarn makes in an otherwise traditional sweater.

I haven't blocked the sweater yet, so there is some major puckering just below the yolk.

Pattern: Cozy
Yarn: Philosopher's Wool

While I was at Stitch n Bitch Wednesday night, I finished Cozy. Don't look at the ends I haven't woven in yet!

The stitch pattern on this wrap is really lovely, but the pictures on Knitty do not do it justice.

Thank you to Jenifer from Piddleloop for all the great photos.

Off to finish the Sockapolza 4 socks!

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Diet

I have my list of the things I want to make before I purchase more yarn.

The List:

Sweaters

Blue and white snowflake design I thought up for some blue and cream Galway I have
Tweedy sweater from Jo Sharp I got super cheap (18 balls for $60)
Lavender raglan from more Galway I have

Hat, Scarves, and mittens (I am not selecting yarns for these items YET)

Mobeus scarf
Gnome hat
Knitting around mittens

Socks 10 pairs of whatever I feel like making at the time but I want to use these yarns

2 Lorna’s Laces
2 Thank Ewe
Urban gypsy
2 Knitpicks
White Willow
Sophie’s Toes
Sly Socks

One Lady E wrap in Noro Silk Garden and maybe a Pi R Square shawl in some lovely lace weight alpaca I have.


I did not get too many suggestions, so this list was compiled using Kayt's suggestion as a starting point. So, Kayt will get her pick of a book and yarn for her help. The book choices are: 25 Gorgeous Sweaters, Hip to Knit, or Little Box of Sweaters. We'll just have to root around in my sock yarn drawer for some sock yarn for her. Kayt, leave a comment with your color choices, and I'll find something nice. :)

There needs to be one exception to the yarn diet, I have ordered a large amount of Rowan Summer Tweed for a sweater from No Sheep for You. It would be really rude of me to order the yarn, and then not buy it.

I swear, I have some FO pictures to share. The wonderful Jen took some great photos last night at Stitch n Bitch. I will post the finished Grimace and Cozy shawl pics as soon as she sends them too me.

Happy Knitting!