Blooming Socks

While I generally frown on blogs that post every nano-meter of progress on knitted objects, I wanted to share some of the blooms in my yard. Since this is a knitting blog, I thought I would place the socks I am working on with the flowers to demonstrate how they have grown in the past couple of days. These are my second Griffindor Stripe sock and my Sockotta sock. I think they look beautiful with my rhododendron.


Every year, my back yard is a riot of roses. It smells so wonderful right now.

One single beauty all by herself. While the bush is burden with blooms, they are each lovely on their own.

My red bush blooms a bit latter than the pink, but there is a single rose to admire right now.

We also got down to getting our RV ready for the season. It should have been done a week or so ago, but we have been lazy. I plan to take it up to the Michigan Fiber Festival this August!

My Stitch n Bitch group will be going along with me, we should be very cozy!

WIPs and SnB

I have been lazy, so I have a lot of catching up to do in BlogLand. It's not that I don't want to post, but you see, it is the end of the TV season. There were so many end of season shows to catch. Actually, not really. I don't watch that much TV. I even lost interest in American Idol and didn't watch the last show.

I'll start with some sock WIPs.


Here is one sock that will soon be a pair of Griffindor Strips from Sunshine Yarns. I love how it is turning out. The blue stripe is Fortissima Colori, and there is a little bit of a Sockotta sock in there somewhere.


I have started my Bombshell Sweater from Big Girl Knits for the KAL. I am doing this out of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora. It is so soft! Should be great for summer. See my little Scrabble stitch marker? I got that from Jen over at Piddleloop.

Erin at last Thursday's Stitch n Bitch. Next, meet Jen! She is ALWAYS putting photos of me on her blog, so it is payback time!


So, hope you all have a great Memorial Day! I am enjoying the thuderstorms, but it gives me time to knit.

Harry Potter Yarn is Here!

Today I got my Mother's Day yarn from Sunshine Yarns! I am so excited to start making Gryfindor socks. Isn't it pretty? It was such a nice day, I thought I would take pictures outside. Too bad my legs are white as sheets.


These are my Trekking socks. I really am not thrilled with the yarn. It is fussy. It splits a lot, and I was dropping stitches like crazy. It is, however, a lovely yarn. I just don't think I'll be working with it again.

I wish I had written this!

I love Noro. I love the colors, texture, and feel of Noro. I have to say, it is one of my top three yarns.

I think this story really sums up my feelings for Noro. I wish I had written it.

Hey, I am not stupid!

Discovering Fire

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.

from Sonnet 73 William Shakespeare

I love camp fires. Every time I sit by a fire, I think of those lines from Shakespeare, and I think of how important fire is to the survival of human beings. Without fire, hot meals, warmth and light would have been impossible for early people. It was the a primal element of life and evolution. Fire nourished and protected early man, since animals avoid fire, the night was no longer a fearful place. With the protection of fire, humans could relax just a bit and they could begin to dream.

Sly and I enjoyed the cool spring evening by building a fire. My mind wondered, and I started to dream. May you all have the time to dream.

This is me. I wear a lot of purple.

My dear husband, Sylvester

No knitting news. Enjoy your dreams. I dream of yarn; what do you dream of?

Totally steeling a meme from Steph

Six years and 2 days ago, I finished my BA! Just wanted to remember.

I am....so sleepy from being lost in Indiana
I want....time to do whatever I want
I wish....that there was no suffering in the world
I hate....stupid people
I miss....my grandmother
I fear....spiders
I hear....Sly yelling at the TV, 24 is on
I wonder....what it all means
I regret....not having more children
I am not....able to count
I dance....at gunpoint
I sing....all the F***ing time!
I cry....for no reason
I am not always....happy
I make....the best chicken soup you ever ate!
I write....to live.
I confuse...students
I need....to be debt free
I should....finish my certification
I start....conversations, then I sit back and watch
I finish....Sly's sentences
I tag....anyone who happens to read this.

Lost in Indiana -- non Knitting post, almost

You know what the problem with being lost in Indiana is? The whole damn state looks like every other part of the damn state! Red barn, cows, corn, cute white farm house. It all looks the same.

My sister wanted me to take her to our parents house. My parents live about 60 miles due south of me, and my sister lives 40 miles due east. It never occured to me that my sister didn't know how to get to mom and dad's from her house, and I sure didn't know how to get there. But, Indiana has that lovely grid state road system, and I knew that I wanted to be on SR 16. Too bad there were 8 billion detors. But we did get there, eventually.

Anyway, I went to my mom's house for Mother's Day. She was pleased with her dishcloths. While she admits that they would be wonderful dishcloths, she isn't sure she can use them as dishcloths.


Dad made us all lunch, which was really nice. Grilled hamburgers, yum oh!


Here are my niece Jessica and her brother Jimmy. I call them Booger and Snot (Jimmy is Booger).

I made my sister a red pair of Sweet Mary Jane's for her birthday. I forgot to take a picture then, so here they are now.


I took several pictures of my mom, but she really hates having her photo taken, so you all will have to look over dad's shoulder to get a glimpse of her. She is a wonderful mother, and I am a lucky daughter. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Dishcloth Blitz and a Sock

Thought I would share a bit of my version of Jen's tradmarked "Mother's Day Dishcloth Blitz."

The Love to Knit Dishcloths book was on sale at Wally World (Wal-Mart) for $2, and that is what helped me to decide to do a Dishcloth Blitz (TM).

The heart motifs do not show up well on the two blue ones or the neutral one, but the pattern book has about a dozen patterns for dishcloths with hearts on them. Pretty cool for mom!

I started a new sock last week during Tony's audition at IUSB. He wants to be a Music major in school, so getting accepted is only half of his worries.

It is done in Fortissima Colori I bought the yarn a while back on sale at Erica's in South Bend. I don't know why I waited so long to make the sock. I LOVE it!

Hey, I am here!

Thought I would do a short post to let you all know that I am alive and well. I have been working a lot the past few days, and I have even been doing real teaching! I will be with the same students for a whole week this week. It is very exciting. The Lit 10 class is reading Julius Caesar, which is great for a Shakespeare nut like me.

I am knitting. I have decided to do Jen's trademark "Mother's Day Dishcloth Blitz." I got started this Saturday, and I already have 6 done. The 7th is coming along well.

Well, I have to actually PLAN A LESSON! Can you tell I am happy about this week? See ya all soon.

The Ugly Sock

Not much to say about these really. They are made from an old ball of Lion Brand Magic Stripes I had in my stash. The color is called Jelly Bean, and it is really ugLEE. I was more concerned with technique then beauty. They are really great socks; I am just not sure if I can wear them out of the house!

Hey, that is 2 FO this week! Go me!

Bad blogger, Bad

Yes, I know! You are all asking, "where the hell have you been?" I don't have a good answer. Working, sleeping, and farting on the sofa! I have been very dull the past week. Nothing much going on.

I did get my new copy of Big Girl Knits! I am totally jazzed about that. Started a Yahoo group for people working on patterns from the book.

The only knitting I have been doing is socks. Socks, socks, and socks. The yellow and pink stripped pair is a little stretch because I took them off for the photo. They were made with Strapaz Cotton Effects. The crazy strip pair, well, they are ugly. I was more concerned with

technique then the color. They are made with a ball of Magic Stripes from Lion Brand. It is not a bad sock yarn, but it sure does come in some ugLEE colors. The purple pair is Trekking. It is a very fine yarn that I am doing on size 1 DPNs. The yarn is fussy, so they are taking a long time.
I guess that is it for now. I'll try and post more regularly.

Day of relaxing fun

Yesterday, Steph dropped by to get her needle rolls and tote. In exchange, I got a FABULOUS massage! I really needed one too. For those of you who don't know, I work as a substitute teacher, and I do a great deal of work at my local high school with special needs students. It is very stressful at times. Steph really worked out all the kinks, and I feel really good.

We then spent the day shopping. No really great deals were found, but it was nice to get out of the house and have some fun. The weather was GREAT.

We went to Barnes and Noble and drooled over Big Girl Knits. It is $30 at B&N and $18.90 on Amazon, so we are waiting for the mail to bring us our copies. I still HIGHLY suggest this book. It is funny and fantastic! The book tells you the sweaters won't make you look skinny, but they will make you look GOOD!

I have knitting ADD at the moment. I don't even want to think about all the WIPs I have around the house. Is it too much when you have a project sitting on the back of the toilet? Do I need help?

I got a new shipment (12 Lamb's Pride Bulky off eBay for $55). My daughter's boyfriend has informed me that the first step is admitting I have a problem! :)

Stash, socks, and book

Isn't pretty? My stash, somewhat knit down, and now, it is totally organized. My mom gave me lots and lots of these plastic storage bins yesterday (I have about 10 more in the living room). I knew that I was going to have to clean up the mess that is my stash with them.

Not only did I store things away in these bins, but I also numbered each one. Then I created a spreadsheet in Excel that tells me EXACTLY what is in each bin. No more creating a huge mess to find that odd skein of Wool-ease, or the missing Lamb's Pride! I just check the spreadsheet (the computer is about five feet from my stash) and find what I have and where it is located. Easy peasy. Let's just hope I can stick to it!

I know I posted about my yarn binge a while back. Thought you might like to see what $40 will get you on eBay. All the new pretty sock yarns! Enough for 7 pairs of socks. I am pretty pleased with this deal.

This last picture is of a book I got over the weekend. I was never interested in paying $12.95 for Hip Knits, but when I saw it for $5.99, I picked it up. There are some sweaters I wouldn't mind making, but I am glad I didn't pay full price.

Well, that is all for now. Hope you all had a Hoppy Easter!

Book Review -- Big Girl Knits

I am just so excited about this book; I don't know where to begin! Big Girl Knits is a FANTASTIC pattern book, no frumpy, dumpy, shapeless, unflattering sweaters! Many designers seem to think that big girls just want to cover their bodies, or the styles are just plain and drab. It never seems to occur to designers that big girls want to look pretty, sexy, and fabulous. There are no boring stockinet drop shoulder sweaters in this book.

Big Girl Knits is full of wonderful designs that flatter the 3 B's (boobs, bellys, and butts)! The styles are fresh, pretty, and feminine. These sweaters have shape and texture. There is a section that discusses common body *issues* and how to deal with those issues in a flattering way. (Suz, there is a sock pattern in the book that addresses your sock frustrations). Sizes are generous as well *up to a 4x!

One word of caution, the patterns in this book use LOTS of shaping to create the flattering fits. Knitters will need to be completely comfortable with increases, decreases, and textured stitches.

I know several knitters who need to run out and buy this book! You will be glad you did.

Because I am too tried from sewing needle rolls to write a real post!

You're the 'classic' brands. You use lots of 'just
wool'. Technique may be very important to you,
as opposed to a yarn that does all the work.


What brand of yarn are you? (Knitting)
brought to you by Quizilla

Yarn HO

Sly is getting much better at the whole airbrush thing. I think this tee totally ROCKS!

I am working on needle rolls to sell at the Piddleloop (not piddlePOOP). So, I am a little behind on the knitting. Keep an eye out for how much sewing I get done!

Sewing for Knitters

So, I have been sewing up accessories for knitters all weekend. My friend Steph is a new knitter, and a fantastic massage therapist. So, we are trading a massage for some knitting accessories that I make. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Jen has been asking me to sell some of the accessories in her on-line store. I made a dpn roll for her a while back that she just loves. While making Steph's accessories, I was also calculating cost and time involved in making the rolls in order to price them to sell. My first needle rolls can be seen on my website, but I am posting pictures of what I made for Steph.

This first shot is of a tote that I made. I am not sure I will be selling these, but if there is a lot of interest, I will. This one is about 15' by 12', with a 5' by 7 ' decorative pocket. The bag is also lined in the same pink used for the pocket. I have made a couple of these in the past. I use mine all the time to carry projects in (I have a large collection of project bags). Great for Stitch n' Bitch meetings.

Here is the DPN roll I made for Steph. It is also the perfect size for crochet hooks. This one is just a little smaller than the rolls I plan to sell (8 pockets vs. 10). There is a ribbon tie and a flap to keep all needles or hooks tucked in safe.

This is the roll with the flap closed.

The outside of the DPN roll, I love the little flowers!

The GINORMOUS needle roll. I make them roughly 15' x 25' with 16 pockets! This bad boy will hold a full set of needles, and it is portable (just roll it up and toss it in a tote). There is no loosing needles with this guy. Also, it is easy to tell which size needle I am getting because I place them in the roll in order of size. No guess work!


Here is an inside view to show off all the room, and the cute fabric Steph chose!

Please, let me know what you think! Would you be willing to buy these? Thanks!

The yarn binge

Okay, time for me to fess up. I have bought yarn, and I don't mean a skein. I have purchased enough sock yarn to make SEVEN pairs of socks! I have no will power. I should be banned from eBay. How could I resist, seven pairs of hand knit socks, all for the bargain price of $45!

So, here is the tally of what I knit before I fell off the wagon.

1 sweater (it was for my niece, but it doesn't fit)
7 hats for Dulaan (Steph says charity knitting counts double, so I am claiming 14)
"I Skinned the Muppets" throw (I should post a picture, but it is so UGLY)
Finished sweater for Cindy
3 pairs of Wee Sockies
1 pair of Bell Lace Socks

Started but not finished:

Sly's Denim Style sweater
My Wool-ease sweater
Galway vest for me
2 pairs socks for me
Mr. Dangly (contest winner)
Fairy doll

Started and frogged to re-start soon:

We Call Them Pirates
Skulls of Fury

In addition, I have found a new knitter in need of a stash, so I gave Steph around 18 skeins of yarn to help her build a stash.

So, I guess I wasn't too bad. Just a little bad.

Sorry, no photos today. I spent all day knitting needle rolls and dpn/crochet hook rolls. I'll post pictures tomorrow. I am kinda beat now.

Updates

I have been a bad blogger. I just couldn't think of anything to write about. There has been so little progress on knitting, mostly because I have started about 100 new projects. I just seem to keep starting things and finishing nothing. Anyway, I do have some new stuff to show off, even if it is mostly not done.


First, two days worth of "We Call Them Pirates," which some of you may remember won the contest. It is made out of Modadea Sassy Stripes and some red Bernat Hot Sox. Both were purchased way back on clearance somewhere or other. Both have been in my *sock* drawer for a while (sock drawer here means a place I keep sock yarn, not actual socks).

I had to wait to start it because I didn't have a size 3 16 inch circ. I waited and indulged in an Addi Turbo. I am glad I waited. Love the needle!

Then I had to wait for Erin to show me how the heck to do the cast on! Actually, she didn't show me, she did it for me. I am so ashamed of myself. I wasn't getting my head around it.

I got to this point, and my gauge is just too tight. I don't want to buy a larger Addi (I am not made of money!), so I have to frog the whole thing and cast on enough stitches to include another panel of skulls. Sigh, this is the second cool skull thing I have had to frog.

The worst part is, I am going to have to figure out how to cast it on all on my own now!

These I am pretty proud of, if I do say so myself. They are "Wee Sockies" (you have to imagine me saying that in the WORST groundskeeper Willie voice you have ever heard). I always wondered what the heck I was going to do with those dozens of small balls I had left over after making a pair of socks. Then, Tara had a baby, and I knew the answer! Wee Sockies for babies! I'll work through a few more pairs, then post a pattern.

Here is the start to a lovely vest from some Galway I purchased for $20 on eBay. It is a vest because I don't have enough for sleeves!

The two pairs of socks I am working on are progressing. Slowly! The Wool-ease and Denim Style sweaters are inching along too.

Tomorrow, how I binged on the yarn diet!