Baseball Knitter

Bunch of FOs

2008-04-06T12:16:00.002-05:00

Long time no post. I've been avoiding the blog because I was gone for so long and really didn't want to get into a long explanation. Life continues to be challenging. I don't want the blog to turn into a whine fest so I'll focus on the good things today.
Adam turned 14 this week. Here's hoping the new year brings him better health and luck. I turned 40 something more yesterday. My boys treated me well with some thoughtful gifts and Chinese food for dinner.

I'll update with some finished objects. I've lost that loving feeling for socks right now. I haven't knit anything worsted weight in the longest time because it bothered my hands and wrists. What I discovered in Malabrigo March is that the right needles and yarn make all the difference. I'm in love with Malabrigo. I'd marry it if I could I love it so much. I'm having a blast knitting nice, warm, soft things even if I don't know who they're intended for.

Here are some highlights:

I made a cellphone cozy with some Koolhaas leftovers. A skein of Malabrigo goes a long way.

I also knit another Simple Boy Hat. This has become my go to hat. It's simple and uses leftovers well.

Next up is another Amanda Hat in Violetas. I went down a needle size to get the lacy parts less lacy and love how it tightened up the lace. I didn't really account for row gauge, however, and so the hat is a tad shorter than I like. This is really a great pattern.

Next, I used some of the leftovers to make a Calorimetry. I may be the last person ever to knit this pattern. I cast on only 100 stitches and made it smaller in the middle. I'd knit the next one even smaller. It's a cute little pattern.

Finally, I made a hat that really is for me. This is also knit in Malabrigo Violetas and is a Seaman's Cap. This hat features a fold up brim and will be very, very warm with that double ribbed layer of Malabrigo. It will be perfect for my winter morning walks to keep my ears warm.

I've got more on the needles and I'll try to update soon.

It's so nice to have baseball back - even if we still have small mountains of snow left on the lawn. I am anxiously awaiting spring weather.

More Malabrigo

2008-03-21T19:38:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday night, my middle son asked me to knit him a hat. He requested that it be olive green with white stripes. He had very specific ideas regarding what this hat should look like - the stripes needed to be in certain places on the hat and of a certain width. I had both colors of Malabrigo in my stash and quickly cast on. This is the hat that resulted.

Once he tried it on, however, it became apparent that it was a tad too long. In my desire to be sure that it wasn't too short I made it too big. He also stated that the stripes were not in the correct place and that they looked too much like a "pattern". He did tell me that the hat was very soft and that he loved it but that he'd prefer another.

One of the great things about knit hats is that they fit a wide variety of heads. Children and adults do not have heads that are very different in size. Mr. Baseball tried on the hat and found it fit him perfectly. I took the hat back and put it on my pile of finished Malabrigo objects and will decide what to do with the hat in the fall. No one needs a new winter hat right now. I've had enough of winter.

I had plenty of Malabrigo left and knit this hat for Jared. You may think it's the same as the hat in the first pictures but the stripes are lower, narrower and are not in a "pattern". This hat fits him much better than the first though if I'm completely honest I must say that it is a tad short. Just a tad. Jared likes it and loves the Malabrigo. For now, the hat has been put aside with the other newly knit items. We'll pull them out again in the fall and decide what to do with them.

I won't go into details about my ear infection or our emergency trip to the dentist today (you can guess who that was for). Let me just say that I'm eternally grateful for knitting to get me through difficult times. I'm finding the Malabrigo especially comforting.

Koolhaas

2008-03-14T20:57:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Koolhaas Hat

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Continental Blue

Needles: size 6 & 8 circulars

Modifications: none

I finished my Koolhaas last night. I love the way it looks from the top. The decreases are pure genius. I found the pattern quite easy to follow but a little too fiddly for my liking. I was glad to have read the advice of those who knit the hat before me which helped to clear up a couple of confusing parts in the pattern. Overall, however, I found that if I just followed the directions everything worked out fine.

I seem to be the only person who doesn't LOVE this hat. My gauge is spot on and the hat came out to the prescribed size but it's HUGE. It's even big on Adam's giant melon head (which he inherited from me). I don't really like the way it looks. It reminds me of a giant blue raspberry. And I don't mean that in a good way.

It's been put in the pile of FOs for now until I decide what to do with it. No one in my family wants it. The cast lady was admiring it when I had to bring Adam back to the doctor this week to have his cast changed (long boring story which I promise you don't want to hear). Maybe I'll give it to her when he gets his cast removed at the end of the month. Maybe it can join my Unoriginal Hat and I could send it to some charity that likes hats that are too big or too small.

Next up ... the Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf. I know thousands have knit it but it's a simple pattern that's fun to knit with a wonderful, soft, squishy yarn like Malabrigo. This color is called Velvet Grapes. I really don't like knitting scarves but if I'm not in a hurry and if I love the yarn scarves can be kind of soothing.

The Boy Hat

2008-03-10T17:12:00.003-05:00

Pattern: The Boy Hat Pattern

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Azul Profundo

Needles: size 7 U.S.

Modifications: None - knit exactly as written

It's really just a simple 4x4 ribbed hat but with some interesting decreasing on the top. I think it's the perfect man/boy type hat. I plan to give this to one of my brother-in-laws for Christmas and may make a matching scarf or neck warmer to go with it.

I'm really enjoying my venture into worsted weight yarns and needles larger than 2.5 mm. All my socks have been quite unceremoniously tossed aside for time being. I miss them but I'm having a great time with Malabrigo March and intend to keep going. In fact, I cast on another project yesterday.

Don't you want to squish that yarn? This is more Malabrigo in Continental Blue. It's a bright cheerful blue. I'm knitting a Koolhaas with it. I don't actually know anyone who would appreciate the color or the hat and I don't know what I'll do with it but I'm about half way done and I'm really liking the pattern. What I really need to do is find someone who wants to trade a knitted item for something sewn or something else I'm incapable of doing myself.

Pity Party

2008-03-08T18:48:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night, while Mr. Baseball hat the older boys at baseball, I had a little pity party for myself. First, I went online and ordered a whole bunch of Malabrigo from Webs. Their discount just makes you want to order more yarn. I had just gotten a credit card statement in the mail with a zero balance so I kept ordering until I hit the 25% discount and ended up with 10 skeins of Malabrigo in my cart.

After this little bit of retail therapy, I went to the kitchen. There I put on a cd of my favorite musician and cranked it up loud. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and had myself a good cry while I washed the dishes. Finally, I ate the cookies hot out of the oven. After about 45 minutes, my pity party was over.

The cookies lasted less than 24 hours but today I received my package from Webs. This Malabrigo should last me a good long while. I've got lots of Christmas presents planned.

Pretty things

2008-03-04T21:56:00.003-05:00

I finished an Amanda Hat to match the Scrunchable Scarf. I cast on March 1 for a KAL on Ravelry and finished on March 2. It's a sweet hat and I plan to give it to my sister in law along with the scarf for Christmas. Jared wasn't too thrilled with being my latest hat model but he obliged. Odysseus was much more willing to model the hat in progress.

I also cast on the new Red Sox yarn so I'd have something simple to take with me to Knit Night last Friday. These are my new first Good Juju socks for 2008. They do have kind of a Dr. Seuss look to them and the Louet is a bit finer than I normally care to knit with but I LOVE the stripes. This will be a slow work in progres.

If you can stand one more pretty picture in this post please scroll down
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That's what Adam's sporting as of this morning. Yup, he broke his arm again (for the record - that's the third time in 13 months). It's a long story which involves a snowboard and a jump (I KNOW!) and a fall. We spent many hours yesterday and today at doctor's and hospitals and now we're home with this pretty new pink and blue cast.

Can you even believe it?

Scrunchable Scarf

2008-02-29T12:14:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Bergamota

Needles: size 10 U.S.

One of my goals for 2008 is to knit a non-sock project for every month. I don't typically knit Christmas gifts but this year I thought I'd knit a few. I knit this Srunchable Scarf for my sister-in-law, Debbie. I cast on the night of the Super Bowl when I realized I needed a simple project to keep me busy. The Patriots lost but the Malabrigo kept me happy.

I have another skein in this same color and plan to cast on the Amanda Hat tomorrow for a Malabrigo March KAL. I also plan to knit a Koolhaas in a different Malabrigo colorway. It's fun to knit with larger needles for a change and I'm loving the Malabrigo. One of my LYS got a new shipment in this week and I'm going to Knit Night tonight - I could come home with a new skein or two.

Seeing Red

2008-02-28T12:51:00.003-05:00

When I saw this yarn advertised on Ravelry, I knew I had to have it. Ellen says it knits up in stripes about 5 rows wide. The colors are perfect for knitting Good Juju socks during baseball season this year. The yarn is calling my name loudly but I'm ignoring it. I won't cast on until the season officially starts in just under a month. It helps to keep that in mind as we go through snowstorm after snowstorm. We had yet more snow yesterday and have now passed all time records. It's been a long, long winter.

When I saw these Loopy totes, I had to order one (well, I actually ordered two - one for me and one for my Red Sox Spring Training Swap partner). It's the perfect sized bag for toting around a sock sized project and just love the colors. I'm not a big fan of fancy bags but this little tote is just the thing for me.

For those of you wondering if my luck has changed yet in 2008, let me assure you that it hasn't. Both Mr. Baseball and I were struck down with a nasty stomach virus this past weekend. My saving grace was that Youngest Boy was staying at a friend's house for a couple of days. Sadly, he called to ask me to pick him up early because he wasn't feeling well. He's got the same bug. The desktop started smelling like something was burning so we brought it into the shop and got a new fan. No big deal really but I wasn't too happy with the $80 fee! Finally, on Monday night Adam came downstairs to tell me that my new laptop was acting funny. Sure enough - blue screen of death and lots of other bad stuff. I brought the laptop to the shop and was told that my video card had died. Thankfully, it's under warranty and they're ordering me a new laptop to replace the dead one. It should be here in a few days.

I have to just shake my head and laugh. It's starting to sound like a high pitched cackling sort of laugh but I'm laughing just the same.

Good news

2008-02-22T14:58:00.002-05:00

Adam is walking again. We've put the crutches aside for now. He tried walking the other night when he got up to use the bathroom and didn't want to wake the whole family with the crutches. This time he didn't pass out from the pain. He's limping and wearing an air cast but he's walking. This is making us both feel much more hopeful. Of course, it's kind of like when your baby first starts walking. Now that he can walk he wants to do everything and we're having battles because he can't go outside to play in the snow or play flag football on the ice.

Washing machine fixer dude came yesterday and after hooking the computer up to my washer told me there was nothing wrong with it. Hmmm, I wonder why I kept getting error messages and why it took three hours for a load to run through? Anyway, he cleaned out a few things and poked around and now the washer runs great. The best part is that it was covered under the extended warranty we bought that I forgot all about.

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy

2008-02-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

2008-02-21T11:45:00.003-05:00

I'm feeling like Lucy at the candy factory. Everything seems to be coming at me really fast and I'm not able to keep up. With life stuff, I just put my head down and keep on shoveling. Sooner or later I'll get to the bottom of the pile. With knitting stuff, however, I'm not sure what to do. When I returned to knitting 2 years ago after a many year hiatus I was thrilled with the new blogging community that I found. Blogs were a great way to find like minded folks and to stay connected. Through blogs I met many really nice people and found great knitting opportunities.

One of the first things I became involved in was a Chocolate Swap. I'd never done a swap before and I had a blast. It was so much fun to receive a package in the mail. At the end of the swap, I won a contest whose prize was a gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. That one gift certificate opened up many doors for me as I discovered the world of online yarn buying.

One thing lead to another and I soon had a stash of yarn like never before. I joined the sock club at The Loopy Ewe and got even more yarn. This year I added another sock club from Zen Yarn Garden. I'm thrilled I joined the club because it has exposed me to different yarns which I have loved. But ... now I have more yarn coming in than I do going out. I haven't touched either of the last Loopy sock clubs (maybe that tells me how I feel about them) and I'm still working on the sock from the January Zen Yarn Garden shipment.

Yesterday I received the February Zen Yarn Garden yarn. It's beautiful. I want to knit it now. I know it will make beautiful socks. I'm committed to finishing Brigit before starting another pair and I've got the Srunchable scarf to keep me busy when Brigit is not appropriate. The thing is, I want to enjoy my knitting and not feel like I'm somehow falling behind. I'm trying very hard this year to maintain more balance. For me, this means keeping the house moderately clean, paying attention to the boys, exercising, reading, and knitting other items besides socks. I'm doing okay with my balancing act but still I feel like Lucy so clearly something is off.

D is for Dumbass

2008-02-19T20:30:00.003-05:00

True life events which happened in the last 24 hours. Seriously. I can't make this stuff up.

My washing machine is broken. My fancy only 3 year old washing machine is broken. I've been getting error signals for about a month so Mr. Baseball and I tried to fix it ourselves this weekend. We only made things worse.

I went to trusty Google and typed in Sears Home Repair to get the phone number for the lovely worker dude who will come out to my house to fix my washer. I dialed the number on the website (you know - one of those phone numbers that are actually words so you have to look for the letters on your phone which isn't easy if you're not wearing your glasses).

Me: Dial 1-800- FIXER DUDE (not real number)

Phone: Ring. (insert sultry voice) We have the nastiest girls ...

Me: Hang up. Look up phone number again. Dial again.

Phone: Ring. (same sultry voice) We have the sluttiest girls ...

Me: Hang up. Decide I'm not going to dial that number again. Look for a different number on website and dial that.

Phone: (Lovely voice recognition system starts me down the road toward getting my washer fixed) Briefly state what the problem is. For example, say dishwasher.

Me: Washing Machine.

Phone: Okay, I think I've got that. Did you say Exercise Bike?

Me: NO! I said freaking washing machine.

Phone: Okay, washing machine.

Sheesh. Seriously. Since when does washing machine sound like exercise bike and would anyone really call a repair dude to come out to their house to fix their exercise bike? After talking to some real live people - some even in this country - I have a service call scheduled for Thursday. I really, really need a washing machine.

Then, last night just as I was getting ready to head to bed around 11, the phone rang.

Me: Hello?

Phone: Hey, is Jeff there? (Mr. Baseball's real name)

Me: Umm, who is this?

Phone: Nick.

The conversation went on for a minute or so while I asked "Nick" his last name and then I heard giggling in the background so I hung up. This morning I *69 and a man answers the phone. I tell him that I received a call late last night from his number and he tells me that his son was using the phone. I asked him if his son's name was Nick. Duh! The kid actually used his real name while making prank phone calls. Dumbass! Father told me I was the second person to call and assured me he would take care of the situation.

Brigit #1 done

2008-02-16T21:10:00.003-05:00

We have had an unbelievable stretch of winter storms. This past week the snow kept piling up and the ice kept getting thicker. I don't mind hunkering down for a day or two but any longer than that and we start to go a bit stir crazy. Today was nice enough that I could drop Adam off at the school to watch the basketball games for a few hours. He needed to get out of the house more than anyone.

I spent the morning doing small chores. I've almost got Adam's bedroom finished and I'll be able to move onto Eric's. I'm kind of sad that they're no longer sharing a room but they're both happy to have their own. I baked some chocolate cupcakes for Jared because he wanted to frost and decorate them for Daddy for a belated Valentine's gift.

In between it all, I finally finished the first Brigit sock. I stalled on the sock when Gigi passed away but I love the pattern and yarn so much that I pressed on. Now I'm knitting the socks in Gigi's memory. It's a wonderful pattern. I've made just a couple of modifications. I made the cuff a little longer, changed the heel to a slip stitch heel, and centered the pattern over the instep. I like the look of the centered pattern much better. I'll have to get a picture of the sock on my foot so you can see what I mean. I decided to give the socks to my dear friend Claudia. I made sure that she'd be willing to hand wash the socks before I promised them to her. Claudia is an amazing woman - I admire her in so many ways - and she truly deserves these special socks.

Before casting on for sock #2, however, I vowed to do something about this:

Way back in the first week of January, when we were on vacation, I wore these socks. One of the socks really annoyed me at the toe. When I finally took off the sock in frustration I found that I had never cut the yarn after finishing the kitchener. So, I just took out my handy dandy scissors and cut the yarn. Duh! I had never woven in that end and it came unraveled. I tossed it aside in disgust and it's sat on the desk for over a month. Today I pulled out some rows, and reknit the toe. Sadly, when I tried it on I found that with too many ends woven in at the toe it made it uncomfortable. I ripped it back out all the way to the beginning of the toe. This time I spit spliced the yarn together and reknit the toe. Well, I'm not quite done yet but I will be soon. When this sock is fixed I can cast on for the second Brigit.

Please don't rain on my parade

2008-02-13T18:36:00.002-05:00

In a week that has seen no less than four different snow storms, this package from The Loopy Ewe was a true ray of sunshine. As you know by now, 2008 has started off kind of rough for my family. This past week was no different and included my van breaking down, a leak in the ceiling in our family room, and yet more difficult medical news for the Oldest Boy. It's not getting me down. In fact, it's starting to make me laugh. This has got to end sometime. Right?

So, little things like the last 2007 Sock Club package came as a welcome relief. I checked the Loopy group on Ravelry and found that others had also received their packages. It's always fun to share your excitement with others who have received the same package. My joy was short lived, however, as other posters had to join in to say how sad they are (again) not to have made it into the 2008 sock club. The whining took the wind right out of my sails. I get that they're sad. I really do. But they don't have to continue to read about the sock club if it upsets them and they don't need to ruin the fun for those in the sock club. Does this happen in other sock clubs that have limited membership? I checked around Ravelry and didn't see this moaning in other sock clubs.

I'm grateful to have a warm, dry house in the midst of these storms and am also very grateful to have soft, cushy wool to keep me busy. Knitting during a snow storm is true joy.

C is for Cookbooks

2008-02-10T10:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not much of a collector. Really. I'm just not interested in collections of things. The two exceptions are yarn (of course) and cookbooks. I've always loved cookbooks. I remember getting the Better Homes & Garden Jr. Cookbook when I was a little girl. Those odd tri-colored photos of little girls serving the men and boys in their lives perfect little foods intrigued me. My mother always allowed me free reign in the kitchen and I was baking and cooking for the family by the time I was 7.

When I got older and moved out on my own, I began to collect cookbooks. My girlfriend, Christi, and I had apartments in the same farm house. We used to sit around pouring through the Molly Katzen cookbooks coming up with recipes to try. Then we'd try to find the ingredients or decide if we had enough money to go to the store to buy them. I learned how to bake bread from one of those cookbooks.

About 12 years ago, when my husband and I were renting an apartment in a duplex, we had a flood in our apartment. The washing machine hose of our upstairs neighbor broke and during the day it flooded both her apartment and ours. We came home to water pouring through our ceiling and plaster walls. We lost many things in that flood but the most heartbreaking to me was that all my cookbooks were ruined.

(Terrible photo I know but it was just too hard to get a picture of the bookcases)

Over the years, I've built my collection up again. They now live in our new built in bookcases in the schoolroom. Many of them are shown on these shelves. The remaining books are in my bedroom, the family room or the living room. I enjoy reading cookbooks just for reading. I try not to bring too many new cookbooks into the house as I'm trying to curb consumerism over all but it's difficult when I find great cookbooks at yard sales or Building 19. Just a few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of that same Better Homes & Garden Jr. Cookbook I had as a girl at a discount store for only $6.00. I don't think we'll ever cook anything from it but it's a blast to read.

This morning, my 10 year old son woke up and decided he needed to have Cinnamon Muffins for breakfast. He convinced his Dad to help him and the two of them produced muffins for the family. They were quite good and Jared was very proud of himself. Starting a snowy day with a hot muffin is always good.

Catching up

2008-02-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

The problem with not posting for almost a week is that I have too much to write about in one post. I'll have to spread it out over at least a couple of days which means, for those of you who read regularly, I'll post a bit more.

It's been a long week. Adam went to the doctor to get his bandages off early this week and, due to some really bad information from the doctor, suffered a big set back in his recovery. The doctor called a couple of days later to apologize but the damage was done. Adam's almost back to where he was before he saw the doctor but he's frustrated. It's no fun being cooped up in the house with your talented and very funny mother while your father and brothers go snowboarding or all your friends go to the school dance. Thankfully, the weather is clear enough today that he could go hang out at the school gym and watch a few basketball games. He really needed to get out of the house. Middle boy is trying to fill his big brother's shoes and learned how to operate the snow blower. For now, he still thinks it's big fun.

I do have some good C pictures for the ABC-Along but, as this is a knitting blog, I figured you'd rather see knitting today. First up, is a much better shot of the completed Madder Ribbed socks. This color has been so hard to photograph well but today I was able to use natural light on the windowsill to finally get a good picture. These aren't fancy socks and they don't make anyone ooh and ahh but they're the kind of socks that get worn over and over again because they're very warm and comfortable.

Progress on the Brigit socks had come to a standstill. First, there was the Scrunchable Scarf that I cast on for the Super Bowl. I became so enamored of the Malabrigo and the comforting was it knit up without any thinking at all that I put the sock aside. I decided to change Brigit just a little to center the pattern over the instep and I wasn't sure I had counted right and I was not in the mood to deal with a mistake that would involved lots of ripping so I continued to put it aside. Finally, I picked it back up yesterday when I had some quiet time and just started knitting. I may be off by a stitch but it may not be possible to not be off by a stitch. Now that I'm going again, I'm very happy.

I love this pattern and this Zen Yarn Garden yarn. I have to decide very, very soon if these socks are for me or for my friend Claudia. I know Claudia would LOVE them - she plays in a Celtic band and would love the pattern - but I don't know if she'd properly care for them. I'll have to give her a call before I determine the final length. I wear a 10 and she wears a 7ish (I think). I hate to think of parting with them but I know how much she'd love them. It's a tough decision.

Rewards

2008-02-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

I don't pretend to be an excellent housekeeper but I do my best and, generally, I'd give myself a B in housekeeping. I don't strive for an A because, truthfully, I don't care that much and I have other things I'd rather do. I do like a clean and tidy house, however, so I've come up with a few strategies that work for me.

1. Do the chore you dread the most first. There's nothing worse than knowing you have that big pile of dishes or laundry to do if you truly hate doing those chores. I always start my day with cleaning the counters and cleaning all the leftover dishes from the night before (from snacks) and breakfast dishes. Then I throw in a load of laundry and leave for my morning walk. If nothing else gets done that day, I can still feel a sense of accomplishment.

2. From my old waitressing days - I never leave a room empty handed. There's almost always something that needs to be put somewhere else. I'll take the dirty mug with me when I leave the living room or take a book to the bookshelves when I leave the family room. At the end of the day, this makes a big difference.

3. I reward myself all the time. I tell myself that after the floors are swept I will have a cup of tea or after the laundry is folded I will knit for half an hour.

Today I have a LOT of chores that really need to be done and I've made good progress. I took some time to photograph the Malabrio I bought yesterday and realized it's almost impossible to capture these colors. I started a new project last night during the Super Bowl (I SO don't want to talk about that). I cast on for the Scrunchable Scarf using the Malabrigo in Bergamato. This stuff is so scrumptious that I don't want to put it down. I don't know who the scarf is for yet but I'll put it away for Christmas.

Well, I could sit here all day but there are sheets that need to be put on the beds and socks to sort and fold. I think I've used up this reward allotment. I'll feel better at the end of the day if I have a long list of chores that I've finished.

Super Bowl Sunday

2008-02-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

Can you guess what I did today? I participated in a long standing LYS tradition and attended Super Bowl sales. To be fair, I actually did some Super Bowl shopping yesterday, too. Today I checked out a different LYS. I've been to Yarns for Ewe before but they didn't have what I was looking for. They're sock yarn selection is small and uninteresting. Today, however, I was not looking for sock yarn. I decided this year to broaden my horizons. I still plan to knit plenty of socks but I also want to add some hats, scarves and mittens into the mix.

Can you believe I've never knit with Malabrigo before? I bought this lovely bunch to make some hats and scarves for Christmas presents. I can't imagine anyone not loving the softness that is Malabrigo. I can hardly wait to cast on a project. I just have to decide what to do first and check out my needle inventory.

I found a new to me yarn called Freedom Spirit. This yarn would make a very affordable larger project as it costs only $4.50 per ball. I bought two balls to make a pair of mittens. It's quite pretty and very soft. It's always fun to find a new yarn.

In addition, to the Malabrigo and Freedom Spirit, I bought a skein of Dream in Color Classy and some Classic Elite Princess (for fingerless mitts). All in all, I had some wonderful stash enhancements but didn't go overboard. I think I'm all set for quite awhile (not including sock club kits). I feel yarn full.

I finished my Madder Ribbed Socks yesterday morning. I do love Mountain Colors Bearfoot and find it the perfect yarn to use for the simpple ribbed Nancy Bush patterns. It hardly seems worth sharing this photo as you can hardly see the socks but it's proof that they are indeed finished. I'm going to attempt to get a better picture later this week if the sun comes out so you may be seeing this socks again.

Now it's time for me to prepare for the actual Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is one of the national holidays in our family. It tends to fall within a few days of Mr. Baseball's birthday and so we like to have a Super Bowl/birthday party filled with lots of good junk food like pizza, buffalo chicken wings, nachos,and ice cream cake. I need to go make some 7 layer dip now so Mr. Baseball has something to eat when he gets home from skiing.

Go Pats!!

Thnking happy thoughts

2008-02-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

It's been a tough week. I imagine any week that starts with a visit to the hospital at 6:30 in the morning is bound to be somewhat difficult. Thankfully, Adam is recovering quite well from his surgery and adjusting to life on crutches. It's keeping him somewhat housebound but he's managing.

Sadly, we got the news in the middle of the week that a friend had died. He's not really a friend I suppose but I don't know the word to use for someone who you've known on a casual basis for many years. I don't know the circumstances of his death except that it was a "tragic accident". He was only 50 years old and left behind a young daughter and many people who loved him.

The next day I learned that Gigi Silva, Momma Monkey, of Socktopia fame had also died. I know that she had lupus and was ill but had no idea she could die. I didn't know her well but we had a short internet correspondence. She left behind young children. I am currently knitting Brigit which is one of Gigi's sock designs. Since receiving the news I've stalled on the sock. I adore the pattern and will continue with healing thoughts for Gigi's children. May she rest in peace.

I had no new photos for this post so decided to search through my flickr archive to share photos that make me happy. A photo-less post would have been too depressing.

B is for Balance

2008-01-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

I've been giving a lot of thought to balance. I think it's one of the most important things in life. Balance. Moderation. They're not exciting or passionate words it's true but life without them is like a roller coaster ride. I know that I'm not alone in my quest for balance.

In January of every year you will find hundreds of blog entries or Ravelry threads about yarn diets and food diets. I've never been one to diet, as I've said many times, because the sheer act of dieting causes rebellion to well up in me. Instead, I strive for more balance. I can't say that I won't buy more yarn or, more positively, that I'll only knit from my stash because that starts feelings of deprivation in me and I begin to crave yarn. I'm not, however, one of those who can collect yarn in ever increasing numbers without feeling badly. I'm reminded of how much promise each yarn held when I purchased it and I feel badly that I'm not knitting with the yarns I love sitting right in my closet.

This year I joined two sock clubs which should keep me sufficiently supplied with sock yarn for the year but I still pine for new yarns. I don't jump on every band wagon - you certainly won't see me buy any of the new Noro sock yarn after all the terrible reviews I've read - but sometimes a new yarn calls to me. Last night I ran across one of these yarns. Ivy Brambles is a beautiful looking sock yarn carried by the Yarn and Fiber Company. If you don't know Yarn and Fiber yet you should check them out - they have good prices and free shipping. Anyway, what drew me to this yarn was that I'd never heard of it before and when I checked Ravelry only one other person had knit with it. I slept on the decision over night and I'm still wanting the yarn but haven't yet purchased it.

Instead, I'm sitting here with the still life in the photograph above. I'm already struggling with balance today. I've got the beautiful Brigit which is calling my name loudly, World Without End which is calling almost as loudly, the loved and dreaded laptop which brings the internet right to my lap, and then, sadly, the all too real demands of my boys and household. So I knit some, read some, do a chore or two, attend to the boys. In between my mind wanders to the promise of new yarn.

For all those who have sent us good thoughts and prayers, thank you. Adam's surgery went very well yesterday. Can you believe that from the moment he entered surgery to the moment we left the hospital was 2.5 hours? He's home resting comfortably. We won't know the outcome of the surgery for many weeks but it's out of our hands now - we've done all we can to promote the healing of this bone.

Knitting and Reading

2008-01-27T19:21:00.000-05:00

My bag is packed and I'm ready to go. Adam is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8:00. We need to be at the hospital at 6:30. It's bound to be a long day with lots of waiting. My goal was to get the Madder Ribbed socks to the gusset so I could have some mindless knitting to do at the hospital. I've got it all packed away in my favorite little project bag. It will keep me company tomorrow.

As soon as I got the Madder Ribbed sock where I needed it to be, I abandoned it for Brigit. I think I made a great choice with this pattern. It's such a nice pattern but I don't care for the yarn used in the pattern picture. I think Brigit looks beautiful in this Zen Yarn Garden. I'm loving both yarn and pattern. I even learned to cable without a needle to handle all these little tiny one stitch cables. Dropping the stitch off the needle and leaving it hanging there doesn't work for me but knitting into the second stitch or rearranging the stitches works wonderfully. It's great to be able to knit just with my regular Knit Picks circs and not have to deal with a cable needle.

I hated to put the sock down today but all that cabling tends to hurt my wrists and I don't want a knitting injury right now. Besides, I'm reading World Without End and I don't want to put it down either. I pretty much spent the day reading, knitting and tending the fire. I managed to get a modicum of housework done and made 3 pounds of meatballs but mostly I enjoyed the quiet and solitude while Mr. Baseball and the older boys were on the slopes.

Please keep us in your thoughts tomorrow. I'll check in if I can.

Baby it's cold outside

2008-01-25T13:52:00.000-05:00

I've heard that the Eskimos have many words for snow. Unfortunately, the English language is not terribly expressive or precise. What I want is a word to tell you how very cold it is outside. It is so cold that it hurts. So cold that it takes forever to warm up even when you come inside and sit by the wood stove. So cold that my eyes watered as soon as I stepped outside this morning for my walk. Freaking cold - that's what it is.

We planted this bulb a few days before Thanksgiving but it took this long to bloom because our windowsills are all so cold. I kept this Amaryllis on the windowsill above the kitchen sink for the past two months and enjoyed watching it slowly grow and open. We've moved it to the family room now where we all enjoy it's flowery show.

I got my first installment of the Zen Yarn Garden Harmony Semi Solid Sock Club. I've misplaced the ball band so I can't tell you the exact composition of the fiber but I know it's bamboo and merino. It's a huge hank of over 400 yards and it's soft and silky feeling. The color is named Down by the Bay and it has a watery blue/green/gray tone that is impossible to capture well on camera.

The difficult part is deciding what pattern to use with this beautiful yarn. I scoured my library of sock books but didn't find anything that grabbed me. I went through my queue on Ravelry and decided that this was the perfect yarn with which to make Brigit. I've got the cuff started but I really need to put it aside for a little bit. I need to finish the leg (about 1 inch), heel and gusset pick ups on my Madder Ribbed Sock. The Madder Ribbed Sock will be the perfect knitting to take with me to the hospital on Monday but only if I get through the heel and gusset. I'll need something totally mindless.

B is for Baking

2008-01-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to do another ABC-along post this week but you know how I feel about pictureless posts and right now I'm having to go with pictures I already have loaded into Flickr. I had this little baking set already set up at flickr and realized it went perfectly for the B part of the along.

I LOVE to bake. I'd bake every day if I could. The problem is I also love to eat what I bake and I've reached an age where I can't pretend I can eat anything I want anytime I want. I had many years when that was possible but they were long ago. I'm not a great baker and I don't make fancy things because no one in my family would eat them. Guess I'm not a Fearless Baker anymore than I'm a Fearless Knitter. I love to crank out cookies and other simple things, however, and my boys are grateful for them.

Baking relieves stress for me. Right now I'm feeling the stress. Last year was a difficult year. My father died in January and I spent the rest of the year dealing with the estate and interesting family relations. My oldest son had a number of injuries including two broken arms and a serious ankle injury. We also had major renovations done on our house which took much longer than anticipated (and cost more, too). I was glad to put 2007 behind me.

Then 2008 started with a visit to the Emergency Room for Oldest Boy. We found out the serious ankle injury requires serious surgery. Although Oldest Boy's braces came off (yeah!), we found out he needs significant cosmetic work done on his teeth (which costs the same amount as his braces) and today discovered he needs gum surgery. This seems like a lot for a 13 year old boy to handle. As his mother, I feel the pain and try to lessen it for him in any way I can. Still, he must be tired of being "broken" and needing to be fixed. Although it may not be polite to talk about money, I'll be honest and say we have no idea how we are going to pay for all this. Our insurance deductibles and copayments are ridiculously high and insurance will probably not cover the dental work at all (or only marginally).

Did I mention that the reason I needed to use an old photo is because my desk top computer decided to stop working? sigh It's in the shop now. I think it has something to do with our security suite which was just renewed and that just pisses me off. I purchased a lap top a couple of weeks ago so Oldest Boy could use it while he's laid up (and, well, to be completely truthful because I've wanted one for years and I felt entitled to buy myself something special with the inheritance money) so we're not computer-less but ... I'm tired. Really.

We have a long road ahead of us with ankle surgery, gum surgery, hours and hours of cosmetic. I need some strength. I'm quite good at putting my head down and shoveling. We'll get through this and it will make us stronger. I know we'll be fine. I have faith. But tonight I'm tired and I really want to make a big double batch of chocolate chip cookies with Trader Joe's chocolate chips and then eat until I'm sick. That's why I'm here typing. It keeps me from baking and eating.

B is for Birds

2008-01-20T07:51:00.001-05:00

We have a few suet feeders in a small tree in our front yarn right outside our schoolroom. We can view this tree from all the front rooms in the house. Until we put up the feeders we never noticed the birds much. Once we put them up, however, we had numerous birds who come to visit regularly. I put a field guide and binoculars by the window and the boys and I identify any new bird who comes by. We truly enjoy the little bit of wildlife a small tree and a few suet feeders provides.

Unoriginal Hat

2008-01-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

After yet another snow storm on Monday that left about a foot of snow, I took the boys skiing on Tuesday. While the boys were on the slopes, I sat in the lodge and restarted my Unoriginal Hat. I did come to terms that the first one was not going to fit anyone's head. I couldn't find size 7 mm needles called for in the pattern but I was able to find some 6.75 needles.

I worked on the hat on and off during the day in the lodge and on and off some more that night at home. Before I went to bed I had a completed hat. It's still too small for me - and the style's not really flattering on me anyway. None of my boys want the hat so I'm putting it away for charity. Where should I send it? It would easily fit a child or young teen.

What a quick little knit! I'm very glad I added some bulky weight yarn to the stash.

A is for ...

2008-01-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

ADAM - My first born son. Adam loves to be outdoors and enjoys sports of all kinds. His favorites are snowboarding, baseball and soccer.

He's also quite the Guitar Hero. Seriously. He was great at it right out of the box. I love this picture of Adam on Christmas morning.

Unfortunately, he was very injury prone in 2007. He broke his arm snowboarding, his wrist skateboarding, and now has a serious ankle injury. He is scheduled for surgery before the end of this month. The ankle looks innocent enough, doesn't it?

Finally, because this is primarily a knitting blog, A is for Angora Rabbit. When I first started knitting I wanted one of these badly. I've since decided I do not want to learn to spin. Spinning would take away from knitting. The rabbits are still awesome.

Sunday morning chores

2008-01-13T10:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy, busy week around here and next week looks even crazier. This morning I took some time to catch up on some chores. I started the first load of laundry at 6:45 and then threw a big batch of socks into the kitchen sink to soak. It always makes me laugh when people say they "don't have the time" to handwash socks. Anyway, after a soak and wringing them out in a towel I put them on a drying rack to dry near the woodstove.

It's always nice to see the washed socks all line up waiting to dry. It makes me feel industrious. A crackling fire and wet wool smell like winter to me.

While I was spending time in the family room, I realized that the lighting might be good enough to finally get a decent picture of this Bearfoot yarn. The base is very dark plum but it has beautiful colors like blue, green and purple running through it. This picture is very close to how the yarn looks in person. I'm very happy to have settled on something to knit that I enjoy. This sock is working for me right now.

Inauspicious beginnings

2008-01-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to knit next while I'm working on my current project(s). In fact, there are usually half a dozen things I want to knit next. When I finished the Cherry Cordial socks I knew I wanted to knit a hat next. You already read how that worked out.

While the hat is on hiatus I thought I'd cast on for a pair of socks. I wasn't terribly inspired by my Ravelry queue so I took out all my sock books and flipped through. Again, nothing really jumped out at me. I knew that I wanted to use some of the ShiBui yarn that has been marinating in the stash but I had no pattern to go along with it. Finally, I settled on Waving Lace from Favorite Socks. I cast on and purled the first row and immediately misread the pattern for the rest of the cuff. I wasn't happy with the pattern and didn't want to start with a purl on every needle for the whole sock so I decided to scrap that plan.

Next I cast on for Baby Cable Ribs (seen above) from Sensational Knitted Socks. It's a very simple rib and I like how it looks and I figured it would make a very cozy sock. Well ... I misread the pattern and forgot to add the cuff. I figured that was no big deal really since the whole pattern is ribbed and decided it would look nice without a traditional cuff. I got about 2 inches of the sock done and realized it was just going to be too big. The kind of big that sneaks down into your shoes and wraps around your leg and foot big. I conceded defeat and put it aside. Although I like the pattern and the yarn, I don't love either and can't bear a third start with this yarn.

Instead, I went through the stash again and came up with this Mountain Colors Bearfoot which was sent to me by a wonderful Secret Pal last year. My Lichen Ribbed socks which are knit out of Bearfoot are one of the first pair I wear after wash day because they are so warm and cozy. I decided I wanted another pair of Bearfoot socks to wear this winter. The Knitting Vintage Socks Along is knitting Madder Ribbed socks right now so I decided to cast on for those. I think I've found what I'm looking for.

Denial is not a river in Egypt

2008-01-10T12:31:00.000-05:00

I had to come to grips with myself about the Unoriginal Hat from the post below. I realized that if I was getting 7 spi compared to the Harlot's 12 spi something must be amiss. I took a look at the Ravelry page again and realized I was knitting the hat on US size 7's (4.5 mm) instead of 7 mm needles. Big difference! The hat was maybe going to be big enough to fit a newborn and this is not a newborn type yarn. I ripped it out and intended to start over. Sadly, I discovered that although I have size 6.75 mm needles, they come in a 4 needle set and this pattern is just so much easier with 5 needles. For now, the yarn is just sitting, patiently waiting for me to decide what to do.

You know it's somewhat out of character for me to be knitting with yarn this bulky to begin with. After viewing my mosaic, however, and seeing the finished objects on other folk's blogs, I decided to widen my knitting scope a bit. When I heard a not so local yarn store was having a 60% off sale in their sale loft I decided to go investigate. Here's what I found:

Pretty aren't they? They were each around $5.00 and they'll serve me well as hats, fingerless mitts and mittens. I'm excited about the possibilities and kind of sad I didn't get a little more. The sale is through the 19th but the store is an hour away - near nothing else I need to go to. We'll see what happens.

While I was up in the sale loft, I took a good look around and I found one bin filled with Claudia's Handpainted Yarn. I remember a conversation I had with the owner sometime last year when she told me she wasn't going to carry Claudia's anymore because of the yardage and other issues she was having with ordering. I happen to really like Claudia's but with the skimpy yardage and my big feet I really need 3 skeins to complete a pair of socks and that's pretty expensive at $13.00 a skein. However, what if the skeins were only $5.20? I found five different colors with three skeins.

My stash is pretty enhanced.

First FO of 2008

2008-01-08T13:22:00.000-05:00

My first finished object of 2008. Plain Vanilla Cherry Cordial Yarntini socks. Sometimes a yarn just calls out for a plain stockinette sock. If you have never knit with Yarntini you are missing out. The colors are wonderful and only pooled a tiny bit around the gusset. The yarn is soft and squishy and knits up into a nice dense fabric. The skeins have great yardage - even with 7 inch legs and long feet I had a good sized ball left over (I really want to get a scale soon). I would love to get my hands on more.

The sun is out and we are having record breaking warm temperatures here. It was a fine day to take the socks outside for a photo (though my sock blockers have mysteriously disappeared). I also brought out another tub of yarn to photograph for my stash on Ravelry. If you have an account, check out the stash. It's beautiful but it's somewhat overwhelming. I added quite a bit to the stash this week when I went to a BIG sale at a not-so-LYS (more about that another day).

Speaking of Ravelry ... I asked a question a few months back wondering why most indie dyers do not reveal the source of their base yarn. The question prompted some great dialogue and Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden offered to send me some samples of her base yarns so I could feel them for myself. Aren't these the cutest things ever? I especially love the little ball bands. Her base yarns are wonderful - just what I look for in yarns - and her yardage is very good. I immediately joined her Semi-Solid Harmony Sock Club and the yarn arrives before the end of the month. I can hardly wait.

Last night, even though I only had a few rows left on my second sock, I couldn't help myself from casting on this Unoriginal Hat by the Yarn Harlot. I'm really enjoying it. The big needles and cabling hurt my wrists some but I'm taking it easy. I'm not getting anywhere close to gauge - she calls for 12 stitches over the cabled area and I'm getting more like 7 or 8 - but the hat is really cute and I'm figuring I can donate it to charity.

Vacation yarn

2008-01-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

I thought I had mentioned that we were going on vacation but I looked back and I'm not sure I ever mentioned it. Last week, we went away for a few days with the boys. We stayed near the mountain where the boys have season ski passes at a lovely "resort". It really wasn't very resortish but we did have a nice little condo and there was an "amenities" building which had a big pool with water slides, a sauna, a Roman spa, a ping pong table, a racquetball court and a fitness room. The boys loved the amenities building and we spend much time in warm water. I also beat them all at ping pong many, many times. In fact, I thought I'd go undefeated until Mr. Baseball destroyed my record.

I intended to have pictures to share with all of you but it was too warm inside the pool area and my camera wouldn't lens kept getting steamed up. I couldn't take ping pong pictures because I was always playing. And, well, it was just too darned cold to take skiing pictures.

Instead I have this picture of vacation yarn. On the coldest day, when the high temperature was 12 degrees F, I skipped the skiing part of the day and headed over to Patternworks which was about 20 minutes away. I haven't been to Patternworks in years. It's a nice enough shop with lots and lots of room but I can't say that I'd hurry back. The staff working that day wasn't terribly pleasant or helpful and that always turns me off. I scored some lovely solid Koigu on sale for 50% to go with some Koigu already in my stash. I also got some yarn called Soxx Appeal because I just couldn't resist the name. It feels nice with good bounce and the color awesome. It will all have to marinate in the stash for now however.

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have a finished object to share along with some rather cute knitty thing I received in the mail today.

2007 in review

2008-01-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

I tried and tried to post a mosaic picture before we left for vacation but ran into technical difficulties. Finally, through a roundabout way I got a mosaic made. I love seeing all the finished projects for the year in one place. This year, I hope to add a few hats and perhaps some mittens into the mix just for fun. I really am a small project only kind of knitter so there won't be any sweaters but I'm thinking of expanding my repertoire just a tiny bit this year.

Taking a dive into 2008

2008-01-01T11:55:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd start the year off right with a picture of some actual knitting. Pictured above is my first Cherry Cordial Yarntini sock. It's just a plain vanilla sock which shows off the yarn to it's full advantage. Yarntini is one raved about yarn that has really stood up to its reputation. I only wish I had more in the stash. I'm almost to the heel of the second sock and can't wait until I can wear these.

I picked up the mail late yesterday because of the snow storm. I was very pleasantly surprised to receive this Yarn Pirate yarn from Tiennie. I left a comment on her blog and was one of the random winners. She chose this yarn to send to me. It's beautiful. Thank you so much Tiennie. It's generous bloggers and knitters that make this blog universe such a great place.

We broke with tradition last night and went to a neighbor's party to celebrate New Year's Eve rather than staying home with Chinese food and a movie. We all had a great time. The boys kept themselves quite busy with friends playing in and outside and eating lots of junk. The adults had a great time eating, drinking, and playing Taboo. All was good until 11:59 when, with a glass of champagne in my hand, I was told that Oldest Boy had cut his eye open. There was a nurse at the party who took a look at him and suggested a trip to the ER.

Oldest Boy and I headed to the hospital about 25 minutes away. We were pleasantly surprised to find that on a snowy New Year's Eve there wasn't a single person in the waiting room. In fact, Oldest Boy was officially the first ER patient of 2008! Quite an honor I'm sure. Thankfully, nothing appears to be broken and his injuries were minor. The ER doc was able to superglue the laceration on his eyelid and sent us on our way. We made it home by 2 a.m. Oldest Boy may not look too pretty right now but it could have been a lot worse. Apparently, the boys were having snowball fights and using shovels to toss the snowballs. Oldest Boy went face first into a shovel.

2008 can only get better. Right?

Last day of 2007

2007-12-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

So, it's the last day of 2007. I've been trying to decide if I wanted to post a reflective year end recap kind of post and decided against it. 2007 has been an interesting year for my family. Interesting - that's just the word I was looking for. My father died in January, Oldest Boy broke his arm in February and then became a teenager in April, same boy broke his arm in June and we're now awaiting word on whether or not he needs surgery on his ankle, we had a chunk of our home renovated, there was lots and lots of baseball and soccer and football played. We've been almost frantically busy at times. We also came into a nice little inheritance and were able to pay for our renovations, buy season ski passes for the boys, and pay off our credit card and medical debts. It's been a full and interesting year.

We woke up to snow yet again this morning. By noon we should have passed the record set sometime in the 1800s for the most snow in December. It's like a winter wonderland out there. Everyone in our family is getting to spend the last day of 2007 just as they would like to. Mr. Baseball took the two older boys and a neighbor friend skiing, Youngest Boy and his best bud are hanging at our house playing without the interference of big brothers, and I'm still in my jammies hanging out on the computer. I couldn't be happier. Even Odysseus gets to spend his day hanging around without anyone picking him up and carrying him around like a rag doll.

Tomorrow I may update with some WIP photos before we leave for vacation.

I wish you all a very happy New Year. May 2008 be filled with peace and joy for you and your families.

The stockings were hung

2007-12-26T13:31:00.000-05:00

They were hung by the chimney with care and filled to the brim with goodies on Christmas Eve. The stockings have always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions. But now the stockings are empty and ready to be put away for another year.

We had a very nice Christmas. The inlaws arrived on Sunday for a brief overnight visit. The boys were thrilled to see their grandparents. We spent Christmas Eve with neighbors who do a very nice home church service. My boys like this so much better than going to "real" church on Christmas Eve.

Yesterday, we all spent the entire day in our jammies. We opened gifts, played with the new Wii, ate yummy food, and just generally enjoyed a relaxing Christmas. Mr. Baseball and the boys are off skiing today - enjoying the sunshine and very moderate temperatures. I did my annual post Christmas shopping this morning and finished by noon. I love to buy Hallmark wrapping paper for next year and scoff up some good deals at Target.

Now I'm spending the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house and knitting the Cherry Cordial sock. I clean a bit and knit a bit. I'm enjoying the quiet of my house.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas.

No catchy title today

2007-12-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

I've been planning a post all week to write about knitting this sock. This sock took many trips this week as we went to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday to have Oldest Boy's sore ankle looked at, to the dentist on Tuesday for cleanings all around, to an MRI for Oldest Boy on Thursday, and back to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. There's been lots and lots of waiting room knitting. I'm loving the Yarntini yarn and the ease of a plain vanilla sock is quite soothing.

Unfortunately, when we returned to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday we were given bad news about Oldest Boy's ankle. I didn't understand most of what the doctor said as I had two of the boys with me and my brain pretty much stopped working when he started talking about dead bone and detaching cartilage and surgery. I went in prepared for the doctor to say that the shadow on the x-ray was "nothing" and was not prepared for bad news. Oldest Boy is inan air cast for now until we return to see the surgeon on January 11th. I'll know a lot more then. Until then I just keep reminding myself that he's no worse today now that we know there's something wrong than he was on Monday when we didn't know. I know he'll be fine.

When I returned from my walk this morning, I had a flock of these Pine Grosbeaks in my front tree again. They love to eat the tiny apples and they don't even move when I come near or make noise. I don't know how I never noticed them until this year. I have two friends who also only noticed them for the first time this year and I got to prove how smart I am when I could tell them what kind of bird they had seen. I think they're very nice.

I must return to the bustle of preparing for Christmas. My inlaws arrive tomorrow and there is much to be done before then. The timer just beeped and it's time to pull the spiced almonds out of the oven. It sure smells good in here.

Hitting the slopes

2007-12-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

After all the storminess we've had in the last week, the weatherman predicted that today would be a beautiful New England winter day (I know it's not really winter yet but come on ... we've already had almost 2 feet of snow). Based on that forecast, I promised the boys I'd take them skiing today. That weatherman was spot on. It was a perfect day for skiing/snowboarding with temperatures in the 30s and very little wind. You might notice in the photo above that Oldest Boy is boarding with his winter coat unzipped and flying wide open (it makes a mother proud to see such a thing).

Back in April, our closest ski area had a special on season ski passes and we bought one for each of the boys (including Mr. Baseball). This is Oldest Boy's last year at home with us as he plans to attend high school next year. We fully intend to take advantage of our flexible schedule and ski as much as possible.

The older boys went skiing a couple of weekends ago but Youngest Boy was nervous about getting back on the slopes. He was a little timid at the start of the day but soon got his feet under him. By the middle of the day, he was zooming down the slopes.

It should be said that I don't actually ski. I CAN ski but I haven't for years and I don't intend to start. My job is to make sure we have everything we need, pack up snacks and lunches, get everyone ready to go, and then sit in the lodge to help the boys when they come in. I sat about five feet from this fire all day long knitting my Cherry Cordial sock. It's a tough life.

Zee Zig Zag Hat

2007-12-18T15:36:00.000-05:00

Zee Zig Zag Hat, she is finished!

I haven't knit something this quick in many years. I cast on last Thursday and finished on Monday night. It's really a very nice pattern. In fact, I think I'll make another one with just a couple of modifications. This is the first time I've knit with Koigu. I must say that although it's lovely yarn, I don't really get all the hype. I liked the solid yarn much better than the variegated yarn. I'm sure it's the same base but the solid felt softer and even a little thicker. I do like how the two worked together.

The hat fits me a lot differently than it does my boys but they were the easiest models I could find. They proclaimed the hat itchy and all of them said they would not want me to knit a hat for them. Oldest son has been asking me to knit him a hat for ages and I was planning to do so but if they find Koigu itchy I'm not sure what yarn he would like.

It's a hat!

2007-12-15T23:14:00.000-05:00

What's this you ask? It's a hat. The pattern is called Zig Zag Hat and it is published by one of my not so local yarn stores (nothing is actually local where I live). I've admired the samples in the store many times and had some Koigu in the stash. I decided after I finished the Monkeys that I would take some time to knit something besides socks.

I really like how this hat is turning out. I'm not entirely convinced the hat will fit when it's done but I did try on the store sample more than once or twice. I'm terribly slow at two color knitting. I never learned how to do it properly and so I drop the yarn each time and pick up the new color. I don't have the patience to learn the "right" way so this works for me. I'm almost done a full repeat of the pattern and it only calls for a repeat and a half before knitting the top of the hat. I may have a hat to show soon.

I realized after casting on for the Zig Zag Hat that I also needed a portable project. Our schedule is filled with dentist, doctor and orthodontist appointments and I need something I can knit without thinking. I cast on some Yarntini in Cherry Cordial to make a plain vanilla sock. Socks are the one thing I can knit from start to finish without following any pattern or directions. I'm in no hurry to finish these - no deadlines - which is making them even more enjoyable. This is my first time knitting with Yarntini and I'm liking it a lot. This is the variegated version and not the self striping but I like how it's knitting up into almost single row stripes.

Right now I'm headed off to bed. I know when I wake up in the morning we'll be in the midst of a Nor'easter. I've got all the food we'll need and we plan to hunker down for the storm. I made two batches of gingerbread dough and have them in the fridge for the night. Tomorrow, if all goes well, the boys and I will roll out dough and make gingerbread cookies.

Finished Monkeys

2007-12-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Monkeys
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Happy Forest
Needles: Size 2.5 mm Knit Picks Circulars
Modifications: I used a standard slip stitch heel instead of a stockinette one and added extra pattern repeats to the leg and foot to accommodate my big feet.

I cast on the first sock of this pair the night of the World Series. They were knit as good luck juju for the Red Sox and dubbed Green Monster Rally Monkey socks after the Green Monster in Fenway Park.

It's hardly original to knit Monkeys. There are 2,857 pairs on Ravelry alone. I really liked the pattern, however, and found it both addictive and quick to knit (despite the long time between casting on and finishing). I never memorized the pattern but it was very easy to follow and I like the socks a lot. The Dream in Color Smooshy is definitely my new favorite sock yarn. I can't think of a single bad thing to say about it. It's smooshy, has great color, lots of yardage, is pleasant to knit with, and has good stitch definition. I'm so happy to have more in my stash.

I've got a list of knitting plans. I'm hoping to have a couple of finished objects that are not socks. I need to wind up some yarn and cast on for a hat and I need to finalize my plans for some mittens. Until then, I've cast on a simple plain vanilla sock with some of the Yarntini in my stash. I need to have something simple to knit for upcoming doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments and plain vanilla socks are the one item I don't need any form of pattern for from beginning to end.

Finished Objects

2007-12-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Today is a good day to show off a few finished objects.

I finished these Harvest Cable socks on Friday and have been trying to photograph them since then. I have come to accept that this is the best I'm going to get with the winter light.

Pattern: Harvest Cables by the Sockguy (pattern no longer available)
Yarn: Wollmeise in Spice Market
Needles: Size 2.5 mm Knit Picks circulars

I can't say that I love knitting with Wollmeise. It's rather stringy and feels like cotton. It tends to hurt my wrists some, too. I will say, however, that I love the yardage and the colors are fabulous. Once the items are washed the fabric is lovely. I love my Wollmeise socks.

The second finished object is a picture of the Chocolate Crinkles from yesterday. It sure is nice to have cookies when it is COLD outside. When I left for my walk this morning it was only 19 F. It's a good thing I have a walking buddy or I'd never leave my house in the winter.

My final picture shows the colors of our new kitchen walls and some of the cabinetry.

We found Odo up there last night - apparently playing hide-n-seek all by himself.

What a day!

2007-12-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

The day started out quietly enough. We all went to bed last night knowing that we'd wake to snow and we weren't disappointed. The boys got their schoolwork done quickly and headed outside. Oldest Boy knew that he had to get the driveway snowblowed before he could play with friends and set right to work.

I took advantage of the quiet time to sit down and knit a few rows. I'm hoping to finish this second Monkey sock so I can start some mittens. As I was enjoying my solitude, Middle Boy came running into the house to tell me that Oldest Boy had fallen through the ceiling. I went running into the garage and saw Oldest Boy hanging by his armpits between two beams. He has gone into the attic space over the garage to get sleds and the floor collapsed beneath him. He was able to catch himself from falling through onto the garden implements below but he couldn't get down without risking serious injury. I was able to maneuver the ladder below him and he climbed down without incident.

(to the left of the white beam is the entry to the attic space - to the right are the two beams he fell through)

The only injury Oldest Boy sustained is a large gash to his left hand. He recovered quickly and went out to sled with his brothers and the neighbor. They stayed out there almost all day.

My nerves were shot after this incident and I didn't have the ability to sit and knit and I wanted to distract myself from thinking of all the what ifs. I kept myself busy in the Izzy way (Grey's Anatomy reference). I spent the entire rest of the day baking and cooking.

By dinner time, we had Molasses cookies, Chocolate Crinkle cookies, bread sticks, and Italian Wedding soup. My nervous energy had delicious dividends. Oldest Boy is fine and I'm just counting my blessings.

Tree hunting

2007-12-02T14:33:00.000-05:00

We went out for our annual tree hunting today. Usually, we're much more prepared and we go out on a warm October or November day and tag our tree. Then Mr. Baseball goes by himself in December to cut it down and haul it home. This year we weren't that organized so we did it all at one time.

First, we had to look at acres of trees and ~~fight about~~ debate the merits of each one. Some are too tall or too short; some too skinny or too fat. Some are just plain ugly. Eventually we found a tree to call our own.

Oldest Boy did the honors of cutting down the tree by himself.

And I was there to catch it as it fell.

Oldest Boy proclaimed himself The Conqueror.

Finally, we loaded it onto a sled and Middle Boy hauled it out.

Mr. Baseball will get it set up complete with lights while I bring Oldest Boy to youth group this afternoon. Tonight, we'll decorate it as a family and tomorrow, while the snow falls, we'll be able to enjoy our new tree.

Just hanging out

2007-11-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

As I was walking up the driveway this morning after my walk, I spied a male pine grosbeak in my front tree. He looked so nice silhouetted against the yellow house that I went in to get my camera to try to get a picture of him. It was only when I was looking through the camera lens that I realized he wasn't alone. His mate is there up above and behind him in the picture. They're still out there now enjoying their breakfast.

At least they weren't there at the same time as Odysseus. I found him there a couple of days ago. He looks fairly guilty, don't you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T17:29:00.001-05:00

It's just the boys and me for Thanksgiving this year. The inlaws were here last weekend, my folks live in Florida and my sister decided to stay home this year. I cook the same amount of food no matter who's here and somehow it all gets eaten. Today we feasted until we were about to burst. We had the best turkey ever (thanks to Cooks Illustrated and Trader Joe's) and I've finally found a great roll recipe.

It's been a crazy week with the inlaws visiting, our first snow of the season and my van breaking down yet again. I don't think I mentioned that Oldest Boy made the school basketball team. We were very surprised when he decided to try out because it's been years since he played basketball but we figured it couldn't hurt to try out. You can't even imagine our surprise when he made the team. I'm sure the fact that's he's the tallest kid there didn't hurt but he's got a lot to learn. This means that once again our lives are scheduled around getting Oldest Boy where he needs to be when he needs to be there. I'm trying to be happy for him.

I'm knitting a tiny bit every day but it's slow going. I plan to finish these Harvest Cable socks by the end of the month and can't wait to cast on the second Green Monster Rally Monkey sock. Although the Spice Market is a beautiful color, I really look forward to knitting with something more bright and cheerful.

2007-11-16T11:26:00.000-05:00

Thankful Thursday

2007-11-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

NH Knitting Mama is suggesting a Thankful Thursday blog theme today. This is something I can get behind. In general, I'm a very grateful person and I try to take the time every single day to take stock of my many blessings and to be thankful for all that I am blessed with.

With no pictures for embellishment and in no particular order here are just a few of the things I am grateful for today:

1. My walking friend, Melanie. Every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, Melanie and I meet at 8:15 to walk 4 miles together. There are many, many mornings when I'd rather stay inside but I know that she's counting on me so I get my butt out there. 4 miles in one hour and we never run out of things to talk about. Melanie is wonderful in many other neighborly ways but I am particularly grateful to have her for my walking buddy.

2. Good neighbors. Melanie is only one of my many wonderful neighbors. I know that I am truly blessed to live in a neighborhood where people watch out for each other. I've had meals delivered, my driveway shoveled, my cats fed, my children chaufered, cars loaned and, of course, eggs borrowed. I've also had neighbors call if they saw my children doing something that they thought I might want to know about and neighbors who felt comfortable speaking to the boys themselves. I am grateful to have neighbors who feel like they can call me to borrow some baking soda, to baby sit their child or to drive a child to soccer practice.

3. My home. I loved my home before my renovations but now I truly love my home. As I was walking up the driveway this morning after my walk I looked at my bright yellow house and said, "I am so grateful for all this." Having a nice home to live in with my family is such a blessing to me. This is so different than I how I grew up and I feel so blessed to be able to offer my boys such a wonderful place to live. We are truly blessed.

4. Yarn. Okay, it might sound superfluous after all my lofty blessings but this is a knitting blog. Today, in the mail, I received my Loopy Ewe Winter Sock Club kit. I don't want to give away the surprise so I won't post a picture yet but there is some yummy Yarn Pirate BFL yarn included. I haven't made any yarn purchases and don't intend to do so anytime soon because I am feeling overwhelmed by my stash and feel the need to use some of what I have accumulated. What a blessing to have so much yarn!

A surprise

2007-11-13T13:59:00.000-05:00

Does anything cheer you up quite as much as an unexpected package in the mail? Today I received these wonderful dishcloths from Abigail. She and I had emailed back and forth months ago about the allure of dishcloths. I've never quite gotten the draw to knitting or using them but Abigail tells me that I'll be converted from my spongey ways once I give these a try. I can't knit with cotton myself because it kills my wrists so I appreciate this gift all the more. The astute among you may notice my shiny new sink. I don't miss the old brown porcelain one even a tiny bit.

Abigal wrote a little note to let me know that she knit these in honor of the Red Sox victory. How cool to have Red Sox dishcloths! I'll give them a try later on tonight even though it seems a shame to get them dirty. Thank you, Abigail. This package was definitely a bright spot in my week.

I have managed to do a little knitting myself. Here is the first Harvest Cable sock complete. I'm liking it an awful lot. Wollmeise is a beautiful thing. It's so nice to know there's no way I could possibly run out of yarn. This pattern is quite nice too. I'll have to find a way to share it as it says on the bottom that it can be shared as long as the copyright remains attached. I do wonder what happened to the Sock Guy. He had great patterns.

When life gives you lemons

2007-11-12T14:45:00.001-05:00

I had a weekend filled with disappointments both minor and major. I don't tend to dwell on such things but instead just soldier on. Still, sometimes the sheer number of disappointments and irritations start to get you down.

On Saturday, I decided to drive to the nearest Trader Joe's (about an hour away) to stock up on baking and Thanksgiving supplies. I found many yummy things, of course, including our turkey. This turkey was the number one recommendation by Cooks Illustrated and I was pretty happy to find it. Sadly, I also found out that Trader Joe's no longer carries their UFOs. UFOs are mint chocolate drops that are a favorite of my youngest son and, sadly, there just is no substitute. If anyone can find UFOs at their local TJ's I'd be happy to pay to have you ship them to me.

When I got home, Youngest Boy and I decided to take a trip to the local animal shelter. I had heard that they were over run with 154 cats and Youngest Boy decided that maybe he was ready to get a new kitty. We found a beautiful little three year old cat named Marla who Youngest Boy just loved. Unfortunately, because of their paperwork requirements we could neither touch her nor be approved to take her home. Youngest Boy was crushed and cried all the way home. He has vowed never to get another kitty. I was just angry and I understand how they remain with 154 cats when they make it so difficult to take one home.

While I was at the shelter, Mr. Baseball left a message on my cell phone to tell me my van wouldn't start. I was able to call my wonderful garage today and have it towed there. They called about an hour ago to let me know that it's the fuel pump. Things could be worse but it's still going to cost about $500 to fix. Ugh!

There are a number of ways to handle stress but two of my favorites are baking and eating. This morning, while waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I figured I'd make some cookies. I started with peanut butter cookies but after Middle Boy cleaned his room without complaining I realized I needed to make cookies that he likes (alas, the lad does not care for peanut butter). So, while waiting for the phone call from the garage, I whipped up a batch of Snickerdoodles.

So we don't have any UFOs or a new kitty and while the van will soon be fixed I'm not sure how we'll pay for it. Nonetheless, the house smells wonderful and I'm feeling better as I sip my tea and eat a snickerdoodle or two.

Whole lotta bakin' goin' on!

2007-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's a bad play on words I'll admit. I'm not sure if it's a little bit of mother guilt for abandoning my babies for the weekend or the fact that it's starting to feel mighty chilly around here or if it's the thought of the impending holidays, but my new double wall ovens have gotten a lot of use already this week. We've had cinnamon buns, roast chicken, whole wheat rolls, chocolate chip cookies, pork tenderloin, and, finally, these peanut butter white chocolate chip brownies. In all fairness, I must say that the brownies look much better in this photo than they actually tasted. They were made for Oldest Boy's sports banquet though and hungry boys are not picky about their sweets.

Since my return on Sunday evening, I've spent the majority of my time cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. The laundry pile just never seems to get any smaller. Last night, the boys decided to give our long haired cat a bath. You can't imagine the pile of dirty towels that one bath produced.

Here's Odysseus this morning looking like he might have preferred a spin in the washing machine instead of the bath in the tub.

Until last night, I hadn't even touched my knitting since Sunday. When I abandoned the Harvest Cables sock before the World Series I failed to make a note of what row I was on. I've been too tired or busy to try to figure out where I was. Last night, about 45 minutes before we had to walk out the door I finally sat down to take a look at the sock. It didn't take me long to get back on track and now I'm happily knitting along. I hope to have this first sock done soon.

Sunneshine

2007-11-06T14:17:00.000-05:00

Do you remember that friendly wager I had going on with Sunne? She contacted me before the World Series began to see if I'd be interested in placing a little bet. She's out in Colorado and was hoping to see the Rockies win and, well, I'm out here on the East Coast and I was pulling mighty hard to see the Red Sox win another World Series. The Red Sox won the World Series and, therefore, I won our little bet.

Sunne had Sheri at The Loopy Ewe send me this beautiful Apple Laine yarn in a colorway called Arizona. It is gorgeous! Apple Laine remains one of my all time favorite yarns and I'm thrilled to have more to knit with.

As if that wasn't enough, I got another package in the mail today sent directly from Sunne herself.

Aren't those the cutest stitch markers you've ever seen? Little bats and baseballs with Red Sox team colored beads. Sunne knows I knit socks almost exclusively and these are sized for small needles which I really appreciate. Just think of the Good Juju knitting with these will have. Sunne has her own shop where she sells other awesome looking stitch markers. Be sure to check it out.

I'm feeling pretty blessed on this gray, stormy day. Thank you, Sunne.

Solitary

2007-11-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

Main Entry:
sol·i·tary
1 a: being, living, or going alone or without companions b: saddened by isolation
2: unfrequented, desolate
3 a: taken, passed, or performed without companions b: keeping a prisoner apart from others
4: being at once single and isolated
5 a: occurring singly and not as part of a group or cluster b: not gregarious, colonial, social, or compound
synonyms see alone

And so it was that on Friday afternoon I found myself all alone in my husband's car making the drive to Vermont. A homeschooling mother alone; all my myself for three (or more) hours in the car. I had girlfriends joining me in Vermont but when they said they couldn't leave until much later in the day I decided to make the drive by myself so I could enjoy the drive in the daylight.

I made a couple of brief stops along the way to pick up supplies and nourishment and I listened to music on the cd player but mostly I enjoyed my solitary drive and the quiet opportunity it provided me. I savored every single minute of my solitude. The view outside my windows was beautiful and I often let out an audible sigh at the simple beauty of a November mountainside.

My girlfriends arrived later in the evening and we had a fantastic weekend filled with LOTS of food, a good amount of wine, movie watching, knitting, playing silly games and shopping. We slept little and laughed often. When the weekend was over and it was time to head home, one of my girlfriends offered to make the drive home with me. I suggested she remain with our other friend and I made the trip home alone. The solitary drive made it easier to reenter my busy, loud house filled with boys.

While in Vermont, I managed to finish one solitary Green Monster Rally Monkey sock.

The Dream in Color Smooshy really is a dream to work with. This color is named Happy Forest. How apt to be knitting some Happy Forest while in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

When I came home I found that Mr. Baseball had cleaned out the garden of all the debris. It was a terribly disappointing harvest for us this year. I don't know if I planted too late or if we had too much rain in the Spring or if the garden didn't get enough sunshine but we had very, very few vegetables. Amongst all the garden debris, Mr. Baseball found this one solitary pepper and put it on the deck railing where I found it this morning.

Feeling fallish

2007-10-31T12:39:00.000-05:00

It's the last day of October. The fall colors are mostly gone from the trees now leaving the lawns blanketed with debris. My morning walk is done in chilly temperatures with a distinctive crunch underfoot. Baseball is over and fall sports are drawing to a close. Last night the ghouls and goblins were in our neighborhood for trick-or-treat. We are putting up storm doors and clearing the furniture off the deck. You get the feeling we're settling in - getting ready for the winter. The animals all around us are doing the same thing.

This morning I finally finished my October socks. I had them just about finished last night but left the kitchener until this morning when I was more awake. As I sat down to finish them I realized that I had rearranged the stitches incorrectly when I started the toe. I tried to convince myself if wouldn't matter but I knew it would bother me so I ripped out the toe and reknit it.

Pattern: Lichen Ribbed Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Goldrush
Needles: 2.75 mm KnitPicks circulars
Modifications: I made my usual round toe instead of the one in the pattern.

I'm quite pleased with the new socks. I'm proud of myself for trying a new heel - the Welsh heel - even though it sounded silly with a seam stitch down the middle. They fit great and I'd definitely make them again. And now I can have an O next to my name on the SAM blog - just under the wire.

Here are the current socks on the needles. To the left are the Harvest Cable socks that I all but abandoned during my Red Sox knitting and to the right are the Green Monster Rally Monkey socks. Both of these socks require at least some attention while knitting leaving me without a simple, portable knitting project. This means that I need to give them my full attention. By the end of November I hope to have two completed pairs of socks to share.

We are the Champions!

2007-10-30T06:52:00.000-05:00

Too stupid to blog.

Remember when I was too stupid to knit? Well, the same thing can happen with blogging.
Yesterday, I barely had my wits about me. I didn't trust myself to actually type something into Blogger.

It's true. The Red Sox won the World Series. Again. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, it's hard to even believe. The Red Sox are supposed to come close to winning; they're supposed to get your hopes up as high as they can possibly be; they're supposed to convince you they are about to be the World Champs; and then, then they're supposed to crush your heart by finding some way to choke and lose it all. To win two World Series in 4 years is unbelievable.

Of course, all my knitting juju must have had something to do with the win. The Good Juju socks got the Sox through a rough period in September when their 14 game lead dwindled down to a 2 game lead. The October socks got the Sox past Cleveland. And, finally, the Green Monster Rally Monkey socks got the Sox all the way to the World Series.

There are only a few rounds left on my second October sock. I'll have a picture to share soon. I almost thought I wouldn't have an O next to my name in the Sock a Month KAL. I've had a letter next to my name for every month since I joined SAM 2. Once these are finished, I can even return to my sadly neglected Harvest Cable socks which have been patiently awaiting my return.

Green Monster Rally Monkey Socks

2007-10-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

As you know, I've been knitting good luck socks for the Red Sox since September. I asked you to chime in with your opinion on whether I should continue with my October socks or start a new pair for the World Series. The vast majority of you said I should start a new pair. Blogless Diane mentioned that she had never knit her red Red Sox socks but that she had knit a pair of Green Monster socks.

Green Monster socks sounded like a great idea to me but I still needed a pattern. I brought the idea to Ravelry and the majority of people suggested Monkeys. Hence, theGreen Monster Rally Monkey Socks were born. We even have a little KAL going on. You don't have to knit Monkey socks to join us but you do have to knit green ones. If you're not on Ravelry but want to join us in knitting Green Monster socks for the Red Sox, just leave a link to your socks in the comments field.

Here's the beginning of my Green Monster Rally Monkey Socks:

I cast on during the pregame show before the first game. Right as I started the first pattern row, the first batter for the Red Sox hit a homerun right into the Green Monster. Coincidence? I think not.

The Sox are now up 2 games to 0. We move to Colorado tomorrow night. Go Sox!!!

World Series

2007-10-24T06:52:00.000-05:00

The World Series starts tonight. Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red Sox. You all know who I have my money on. Well, I don't literally have my money on anyone because I'm not a betting woman but you know what I mean. Sunne, however, suggested a friendly wager between knitting buddies. She's a Rockies fan. I won't hold it against her because she does live in the beautiful state of Colorado and her husband is a Rockies fan. She thought it might be fun to place a little wager on the series. When the Red Sox win, Sunne will send me two skeins of Apple Laine in Red Sox colors (or colors of my choosing). If the Rockies win, I will send her Apple Laine in their team colors. Who could turn down such a tempting offer?

Let the games begin.

For the record, I'm putting aside the October socks for the series because they won't keep me occupied for more than one game. Instead, I'll be casting on some Green Monster socks tonight. I'm still taking suggestions for the perfect pattern.

Go Red Sox!!

Big Decision

2007-10-22T12:48:00.000-05:00

I'm too old for this. Seriously. I was up until almost 1:00 this morning watching the Red Sox defeat the Indians. The game was awesome and there were many times I thought it was lost but, in the end, the Sox prevailed and will move on to the World Series. Then I'll really get no sleep.

So I have a decision to make. I knit the Good Juju socks back in September when it seemed the Red Sox were going to somehow lose the 14.5 game lead they were carrying. The Red Sox held on to the lead and won their Division. Then I started the October socks for good luck through the playoffs. Once again, even though they were down 3 games to 1 and even though I had all but written them off, the Red Sox prevailed. In 7 games they defeated the Cleveland Indians to clinch the American League berth in the World Series.

I've got my second October sock partway through the gusset and it's moving along fine. I can't see it lasting me through 4 or more World Series games. Do I put these aside for now - well not really aside but finish them during the day - and knit a new pair of good luck socks for the World Series? Or do I just finish these and start a new pair when they're done?

Blogless Diane is knitting some Green Monster socks. I've never seen them because she never uploads pictures to Ravelry (*hint*) but I love the idea. I don't really want to knit another pair of red socks right now but I do have some lovely red Shibui yarn that I could use. I also have some perfect green Dream in Color Smooshy yarn that would make great Green Monster socks. But there's no Green Monster in Denver so would the socks have the same good fortune in Denver?

Please tell me your thoughts as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the red Apple Laine socks have been washed and are drying outside in the 80 degree weather (WEIRD!). I'll wait to wear them until Wednesday night. I need to catch some mighty sleep before then.

October socks

2007-10-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

More than one person suggested I start a new pair of Good Juju socks for the Red Sox. Trust me, I've got that covered. Originally I had planned to start another pair of red socks for good luck but after giving it some thought I changed my mind. Instead of red socks, I started some October socks. The whole point of the very long baseball season is to make it until October. If you don't play well, you don't play in October at all. If you do play well, you play until the very end of October and, perhaps, even into the beginning of November

This Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn in Goldrush all but screams October to me. The pattern is Lichen Ribbed sock by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks. I followed the pattern as written and I really like the Welsh heel. It fits me surprisingly well. I altered the toe, however, to my standard round toe. I'm not about to begin the heel flap of the second sock.

The Red Sox can use any luck or mojo or prayers or charms that you have at your disposal for the next 40 hours or so. Do you think that's too long to keep your fingers crossed?

Yarn PrOn Friday

2007-10-19T06:53:00.000-05:00

I bought these two skeins of Yarntini - Cherry Cordial and Chocolatini - a couple of weeks ago from The Loopy Ewe during a Sneak Up. I felt the need for a little lift me up and a change from the fallish colored yarns I had recently bought. I simply could not resist these beautiful, cheerful skeins of Yarntini.

And now, because I'm feeling guilty, or if guilty isn't the right word I could say pulled toward, the yarn already in my stash, I'm done with yarn buying until after Christmas. I'd like to say I'm done until the Super Bowl sales but I try not to set my goals so far away. But I really have so very much yarn that I want to knit with that I don't want new yarn to get in the way.

Good Juju finished

2007-10-17T12:29:00.001-05:00

While I was outside yesterday taking not so good photos, I snapped a picture of my finished Good Juju socks. They're just a plain vanilla, cuff down sock pattern knit with Apple Laine's Macintosh. I love Apple Laine! It feels wonderful and it smells amazing. The socks are soft and squishy and a delight to wear.

The Good Juju got the Red Sox all the way to the playoffs but there's only so much Juju can do. I don't want to talk about it or bore all you non-baseball folks but let's just say I think the Red Sox are done. I'm not a fair weather fan but I'm a realist and the Sox don't have what it takes this year. There is still at least one game to be played and I'll be watching like the good little fan I am but the truth of the matter is I'm just waiting for the agony to be over.

An overdue thank you

2007-10-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

I headed outside this morning to take some long overdue pictures. Sadly, the pictures didn't come out great but I'm thinking that if I wait to get perfect pictures I may never update the blog.

First things first. I owe a long overdue thank you to my wonderful SP9 buddy. Jessica was truly a wonderful pal. She really took the time to put together packages just for me. All three packages she sent were filled with items that let me know she was trying to find the perfect gifts for me. I appreciate every single thing she sent. What I liked best was that she appealed to both my foodie and fiber side. She sent this cute little cookbook as well as hand made goodies. She also sent lots and lots of tea. She even knitted a cozy for the travel tea mug she gifted me. AND she dyed yarn especially for me. Thank you, Jessica! You truly were a special pal.

I made these socks from the Artyarns Ultramerino that Jessica sent in my second package. I knit them toe up and learned lots of new-to-me techniques. I really liked Judy's Magic Cast on and feel that Wendy's toe up gusset and heel flap makes the best toe up heel I've tried yet. I used a bind off found on Grumperina's blog. The socks are definitely a mish mosh of toe up techniques that best suited me. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the socks. They are, perhaps, a bit too big and the heel is sort of bunchy or something but I finished them and I'll wear them. The yarn is wonderful and I'd love to use it again.

Celebrating

2007-10-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary. It hardly seems possible. I feel very blessed to have married a man that I love more today than I did 15 years ago. I am grateful for our three boys, our wonderful home, and our strong marriage.

To celebrate, I made this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. A month or so ago I asked Mr. Baseball to go through one of my cookbooks with some Post It flags to flag recipes he would be interested in. This is one of his flagged recipes. We haven't tried it yet but it sure smells good.

In other celebratory news, this is our first day without Contractor Dude. He's all done. I can't even begin to tell you how happy the boys and I are to have our house back. There's still some work to be done but Mr. Baseball will finish that on Friday. I am SO happy with how the renovations turned out. I'll take pictures on a sunny day to show it off. Mr. Baseball and I went out last night to buy some carpets for two of the rooms and new furniture for the family room. We got carpets at The Christmas Tree Shop and furniture from Bob's Discount Furniture. Here's the furniture we chose. We got the love seat, chair and ottoman (the sofa wouldn't fit) and it will be delivered next Thursday.

Knitting has been slow going. I've just been too tired to get much done at night and too busy during the day. I'm enjoying the Harvest Cables, however, and I'm working on the heel flap of the first one. The first Lichen Ribbed sock is just about at the toe. Perhaps tonight I'll finish it.

Too stupid to knit

2007-10-07T06:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning while reading my email I was quite pleased to discover that Oldest Boy's soccer game for the day was canceled. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing him play soccer, but this is his recreation team and if he wasn't playing it meant I had the day off. I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I got myself ready, made sure Mr. Baseball had what he needed for the day, and headed off to the New Hampshire Wool Arts Tour.

It was a beautiful day - perhaps a bit too warm for fall. I enjoyed my time alone in the car, listening to the radio, noticing the foliage (or lack thereof really), taking my time. I haven't done the tour in years but it was pretty much as I remembered. There really isn't much yarn for sale and I'm not interested in spinning so I didn't spend much. The farms and homes were peaceful and the folks on the tour were very pleasant. I bought one skein of yarn that I needed to make a hat I've been planning to knit and some delicious lamb stew.

Last night, I was bone tired. I decided to finish the pattern repeat on the Harvest Cable sock. I discovered, however, that I was simply too stupid to be knitting. I couldn't remember to purl when I needed to purl and I kept having to tink back. I finally put away the knitting before I did any real damage to the sock and vowed to get back to it when I had more brain cells.

In which there is actual knitting

2007-10-03T06:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as we attempted to stay out of the way of Contractor Dude and friends, we headed to two new skateparks. The boys had a great time skateboarding and scootering most of the day. I enjoyed the beautiful weather and was able to knit the cuff of my Harvest Cable Sock. I'm using Wollmeise in Spice Market and think it's a perfect color for a harvesty Socktober sort of sock.

We had a great day topped off with a win on the soccer field for Oldest Boy's team and dinner at a fantastic burger place recommended by a friend. I've driven by this place tons of times and it never occurred to me to stop in. We all had a great time and a super dinner and came home exhausted and ready for bed.

Today the adventure continues.

You asked to see it

2007-10-01T19:21:00.000-05:00

This is the site the boys and I came home to today.

Contractor Dude had his friend Electrician Dude here for the day. Electrician Dude put in the wiring for our new double oven, installed new lights over the cabinets, moved a cable outlet and fixed some funky wiring issues. Contractor Dude worked on the kitchen walls, ripped out more flooring and took off my cabinet doors.

I hesitate to share this last photo with you but here goes ... Turn away if you're squeamish.

That's my kitchen sink. A brown porcelain kitchen sink. Seriously. Who the heck installed this monster? I can tell you that it doesn't normally look this bad but Contractor Dude told me they've been abusing it. I can't wait for a shiny new sink.

The boys and I spent the day just trying to stay away from the house. We ate breakfast on a picnic table at a nearby grocery store, ran some errands and hung out at the skatepark. The weather was beautiful and we had quite a nice day. I finished the Garter Rib socks (pics hopefully on Wednesday) and cast on for the Harvest Cable socks.

Tomorrow we need to be absent for the whole day while Contractor Dude has two more friends here - Plumber Dude and Chimney Man. He promises me it will all be over soon.

Acceptance

2007-09-28T14:29:00.000-05:00

We're having a tough day. Youngest Boy is beginning to accept the fact that Lucy is not coming back. He believes that a fox chased her to someone else's house and they took her in because she's so cute they couldn't resist. It's better to believe that than the reality. He's in tears and is very needy. We're doing the best we can to comfort him. We appreciate all your kind thoughts.

For those who were interested in Fred the Snake - he never reappeared either. I half believed that we'd find him with all the house renovations but I've chosen to believe that he made it back outside to his snake family.

Oldest Boy's knee is just fine. He played yesterday without incident and has a double header scheduled for tomorrow. We're very grateful that he didn't have a knee injury. He's had a tough enough year.

I'm almost to the teal part of the Garter Rib second sock. I've sort of lost the oomph for these socks. I love the yarn and the pattern looks very nice but it's gotten boring and I just want them to be done. They would be finished except that I have this superstition about knitting socks that contain blue during Red Sox games.

The Lichen socks are wonderful. I love Mountain Colors Bearfoot. It smells wonderful - second only to Apple Laine. These socks can be knit during Red Sox games because they're October colors and the whole point of the very long baseball season is to make it into October.

I've got new socks planned to start on Monday. The new Sockdown challenge for October is either a Nancy Bush pattern (my Lichen Rib socks won't count because they were started in September) or a cable pattern. I've got a cable pattern picked out and my Spice Market Wollmeise wound into a cake. I can't wait to cast on.

Contractor Dude has finished the school room and we can move back in there this weekend. Yeah!! That should mean I can hook my camera up again. There has been significant progress on the rest of the house but it's all half way done and rather depressing. Monday the electrician will be here for the day and Tuesday, we have been warned, is Armegeddon day. On that day the Contractor Dude, Electrician Dude and Plumber Dude will rip out the kitchen counters, install the new counter, install the new cabinet for the oven and hook up the oven, install the dishwasher and sink and who knows what all. After that, it should be smooth sailing with only painting and flooring left. It's going to be so nice when it's done.

A little update

2007-09-25T21:36:00.001-05:00

I haven't meant to be an absent blogger but there have been extenuating circumstances. This weekend we had to empty the schoolroom for Contractor Dude. This meant moving the desks, filing cabinet, table, bookshelf and various school related sundry out. You'd laugh if you could see our computer set up in our front hall. It's not pretty but it works. The camera, however, is not hooked up so no new photos. Renovations are moving along slowly. Contractor Dude painted the schoolroom today and tomorrow he'll put down the flooring. We should be able to move back into that room on Friday.

The crowdedness and change to our routine is unsettling. It's making me anxious, has put the boys on edge, and is just all around annoying. I can't wait for it to be over. I am very grateful that we've had such beautiful weather so we can spend so much time outdoors.

Sadly, our baby girl, our sweet little Lucy has gone missing. It's been a week now and it's not likely she'll be coming back. We live in a very rural area and have coyotes, foxes, and fisher cats in the back woods. It is likely that Lucy met her fate at their hands. She would have been one on October 6th. We are all very sad but especially Youngest Son who "owned" Lucy. May she rest in peace.

We had a scary moment on the soccer field tonight. In soccer, when a player is injured, all play stops and the players go down on one knee. I saw the players go down to their knees and looked for the injured player only to see that it was Oldest Son who was on the ground. He lay there for a minute until the coach and ref went to help him. They led him off the field limping. It's a hard thing to be a mom and clap for your child as he's carried off the field. I'm not sure what happened exactly but he may have hyperextended his knee. We've applied ice and given Advil and we'll see how he is in the morning. He appears to be doing well.

I don't have any knitting pictures to show tonight. The Good Juju socks are just about done. Three more rows and the toe of the last sock can be kitchenered. I do love the Apple Laine. It is amazingly soft and smells wonderful. You should buy some just so you can smell it. The juju appears to have worked as the Red Sox have clinched a playoff spot. I'm still hoping they win the Division.

I'll post knitting updates later in the week when I get the camera hooked up to the computer again. Knitting is happening.

A little update

2007-09-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

Contractor Dude showed up yesterday to start the renovations on the house. His first order of business was to remove the lovely wallpaper in the kitchen and dining area. You have no idea how much I hate this ugly wallpaper. The house is a mess and it's difficult to feed the children with the kitchen being worked on but I know it will all be worth it in the end.

We spent a lot of time outside yesterday enjoying the beautiful fall weather. I was able to spend some time on the socks in progress but not enough to share. What I will share is this lovely package that I received all the way from Australia.

DesignerGeek sent me this lovely parcel (which also had a wonderful dark chocolate bar which disappeared very quickly) as a thank you gift for the Summer Camp Ravelry exchange. Isn't this beautiful? The yarn is from The Knittery and is a cashmere/merino blend that is LUCIOUS!! I've seen this yarn at other vendors but was never interested in the multi colored yarns. I love this semi solid in Dark Reds. She also sent me a cute little sock project bag. The fabric is beautiful and I love having another project bag to keep my stuff safe. I feel very spoiled.

Fall Bounty

2007-09-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

Clearly the crisp air has gotten to my head. Look at all this beautiful fall colored yarn!

It started innocently enough. I needed yarn to match my Garter Rib Sock and found that Allison at Simply Sock Yarn carried Artyarn and had the perfect yarn that matched my sock. It seemed silly, however, to order one lone skein of yarn so I put a couple of other things in my cart. That's how I got the Shelridge Farms yarn in a color called Fury which is a dark speckled heathery green. It's hard to describe and to photograph so you'll just have to trust me when I say it's lovely. I also picked up some Dream in Color Smoosh in November Muse. It's a perfect brown harvesty sort of color.

The next thing I knew, Sheri at The Loopy Ewe had a sneaky daytime Sneak Up. I had Loopy money just burning a hole in my pocket because I had recently earned some Frequent Shopper credit AND won a contest on Pat's blog where I earned a Loopy gift certificate. I knew exactly what I wanted - Wollmeise! I got two skeins - Spice Market and Granatapfel.

It wasn't until the Wollmeise arrived today that I realized that all my new yarns are very fallish. Aren't they beautiful? I wish I had a horn of plenty to store them in.

Works in Progress Wednesday

2007-09-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

I don't think that I've mentioned that we're having our home remodeled. I decided to use some of the money left to me by my father to remodel the kitchen. Our kitchen is very dated and I've hated it since before we bought the house. I'm excited about the remodel which will include new countertops, floors, cabinets, sink, wall oven, dishwasher and floor. We'll also have the ugly wallpaper removed and the kitchen and dining room painted a beautiful shade of yellow.

While I was talking to the contractor I decided that if we were putting new floors in the kitchen we might as well put down new floors in the family room and school room as they all adjoin. I also suggested putting in a closet in the family room to help control the clutter. Somehow, Mr. Baseball and I decided that we should also paint those two other rooms, rip out built in book cases and get rid of old furniture.

The remodeling hasn't officially started yet but I'm starting to get stressed out. I have to remove everything from those rooms and find places to store it for awhile. You have no idea how many books a homeschooling family has unless you homeschool yourself. It's amazing. The house is a disaster. Somehow through it all we've got to keep schooling and getting everyone to their numerous practices and games for fall sports. Yup. I'm feeling stressed.

I decided to post pictures of my current works in progress as I'm not sure when I'll have any completed pictures to share.

The matching yarn for my Artyarns Garter Rib socks arrived today. The teal is a perfect match and will make lovely cuffs. All I need to do is finish this cuff and I can cast on for the second sock. The problem is I can't find the second skein anywhere. I'm sure it's somewhere safe and sound but I can't put my finger on it. I've got to let it go for now and trust that if I stop looking so hard it will show up.

Next up are the Bearfoot Lichen socks. I'm using Nancy Bush's Lichen Rib pattern for these socks and liking it very much. Notice how this yarn is similar to the Claudia yarn for the Pheasant Run socks. If you live in New England you'll know that early in fall the colors are bright and cheerful like the Pheasant Run socks but later they get muted like these Bearfoot socks. I love the colors of fall.

The Good Juju socks. I'm sticking to my plan and only knitting them during Red Sox games. Last night the Red Sox came from behind - they were losing 1-8 - and went on to win 16-9. Woohoo! I truly love Apple Laine Apple Pie. I've got more red yarn waiting to be made into more juju socks when these are finished.

Finally, the Fanning the Flame mittens in Koigu. I want to knit these mittens but we'll see how I do. I have one fan done and had to unzip the provisional cast on last night and pick up the stitches for the next fan. Let's just say it didn't want to "unzip" and I was hating the darn thing but I finally got it torn apart and on the needles and we'll see what happens.

No idle hands here.

At an impasse

2007-09-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

I've reached an impasse.

It's no secret I'm not a fan of the toe up sock. I gave it the old college try for Sockdown and I'll admit that I really like the toe I used and the heel was certainly passable and probably would even get better with practice. The selling factors for toe up socks seem to be twofold. First, you can try the socks on as you knit them so you know they fit. Two, you can knit until you run out of yarn so you never have to worry about running out before you finish.

Let me tackle these selling points. As far as trying them on goes, I've never had problems trying on my socks as I knit because I knit on two circs and can try them on anytime. Trying on toe up socks is more tricky. I've found that I'm done with the toe increases long before I'd know if the sock fit or not. If I didn't know better and know how many stitches I normally need for a sock, I'd keep increasing until I reached the widest part of my foot. It doesn't seem possible that the sock will fit when I stop with the toe increases but later on - quite a few inches into the foot - I find that the socks does, indeed, fit. Sort of. I probably could have left out at least 4 stitches on the Garter Ribs and these socks would have fit a little better.

While it is true that you can just continue knitting until you run out of yarn and not worry about having a toeless sock, it is not true that when you run out of yarn your sock will necessarily be complete. I knit and knit the leg until I ran out of yarn and found that I have a leg that is only 5.5 inches long. That simply doesn't work for me. It doesn't work any better, in fact, than finding out I don't have enough yarn for a toe.

I suppose I could show you a picture of my unfinished sock here but I thought Lucy was much cuter. I love the Artyarns Ultramerino4. This is some nice yarn and I will definitely knit with it again. Thank you SP for introducing me to it. Simply Sock Yarn sells this same yarn and they have a great feature where the description of every variegated yarn includes what solid yarns match with it. Cool, huh? I've ordered some matching teal yarn to finish the cuffs of my socks.

Here's where I'm at an impasse. I've decided to wait for the teal yarn to arrive (and of course it has friends because who the heck can order one skein of yarn?) to finish the cuff of the first sock before casting on for the second. I'm just like that. Sadly, my other size 1s are in use for my Good Juju socks so I have no spare 1s to cast on with. That's okay. I'm good with waiting. Really. That's what I keep telling myself.

Because I can only knit the Good Juju socks during Red Sox games I had to cast on another sock while I'm waiting. I'm using some Bearfoot I had in the stash and some 2.75 needles that weren't being used for anything. They'll make great socks to take along to soccer/football/baseball games this fall (more about ALL that in another post) and I can put them aside when the Artyarns arrives.

On being snobbish

2007-09-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

Recently, I received an embarrassment of riches in the form of thank you gifts from swap folks in the Summer Camp exchange I've been running on Ravelry. I must say that receiving packages in the mail was an altogether welcome surprise. It's a very cool thing to have your mail carrier drive up the driveway with a package when you know you haven't ordered anything. Who wouldn't love to get a package like this? You wouldn't believe how nice those little soap cakes made everything smell.

I do wonder, however, how I come off to folks who read my blog. Both of the folks who sent packages recently wondered if, perhaps, the yarn they sent me was not up to snuff. It is true that I love luxury yarns and enjoy trying new yarns from indie dyers. It's also true that I love to try new yarns - ever on the search for the one "perfect" yarn. But everything has its place.

My first socks, knit many years ago, were knit using Regia and Opal yarns. They were all the rage at the time and I just loved the cool self striping and patterning yarn that made it look like I had done amazing things with my knitting. Those socks are still being worn today, lasting far, far longer than many of the more expensive yarns I have bought. While I may not gush over these yarns as much as things like the Wollmeise I was recently sent, it does not mean I don't appreciate them.

Check out this wonderful package:

New Kaffe Fasset Regia yarn that I would never have picked out myself but which I think is very, very cool, a beautiful handwritten note, and the best little hand sewn project bag. No one has sewn anything for me since I was a teenager. I love this little bag an embarrassing amount.

I'm not printing any names of my generous friends because I don't want to embarrass them but I hope they know how very much everything they sent is appreciated.

Thank you.

2007-09-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm participating in a Sockdown over on Ravelry. It's a cool, low pressure knit a long. The way it works is that every month there is a technique and/or pattern designer to choose from. You knit a pair of socks using that technique or pattern designer and post photos to the group. You actually have two months to complete each pair of socks although a new challenge is posted every month.

Last month, the the challenge was lace and I knit my Pheasant Run socks to meet it. This month's theme is toe up. Ugh!! As you know, I haven't had the best of luck with toe up socks. In fact, I don't ever wear the two pairs of toe up socks I knit. Nonetheless, with a willing spirit I decided to give it a try. This time I used Judy's Magic Cast On but I needed to follow a video on YouTube by Cat Bhordi to get it right. I'm just a visual sort of person. I LOVE this cast on. It produces a smooth, wonderful toe.

Next, I chose a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks - Garter Ridge. It's a simple pattern that I think looks wonderful with variegated yarn. The yarn I'm using is Artyarns Supermerino4 that was gifted to me by my Secret Pal. Finally, I decided to use Wendy's toe up gusset and flap heel. The heel isn't perfect. I'm not sure I know how to do a knit front and back in a purl stitch and I don't know how to knit the wrap together with the stitch on the knit side when it's been wrapped on the purl side (though I did wonderfully knitting the wrap and stitch together for the first half following Cat Bhordi's lesson). So, it's not perfect but it's pretty darn good.

I finished the heel today and started the leg while Middle Boy was having oral surgery. I couldn't wait to share it with you all. Now I'm just knitting up the leg without any worry about running out of yarn.

History

2007-09-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

If you didn't watch the Red Sox game tonight, you missed an amazing game. It was, in fact, an historical game. For the first time in Red Sox history, a rookie pitcher pitched a no hitter. Clay Bucholz, who was only called up to the team today, pitched nine solid innings and did not allow a single hit. It was awe inspiring.

I nervously knit my Good Juju socks throughout the entire game. The Red Sox won 10-0 but it wasn't the runs that were impressive. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to watch this young kid throw the game of his life. His name will forever be part of Red Sox history.

There was lots of knitting going on at the House of Baseball today. This morning I finished my Pheasant Run socks. I had hoped to finish them last night but had to put them aside to work on the Juju socks during the game (not that they helped last night). There is nothing I dislike about these socks. The pattern and yarn combination is perfect. Sheri put together an amazing sock club package. I hope that Lisa Parker makes this pattern available for sale in the future because it is perfect for variegated yarns.

Pattern: Pheasant Run by Lisa Parker
Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted
Needles: 2.5 mm Knit Picks circulars

The Claudia's is wonderfully soft yarn. It feels almost buttery and it smells amazing. All that being said, I can't see myself knitting with it again. In the end, I had 3 yards of yarn left and that's cutting it too close for me.

I cast on another sock immediatly using the Artyarns I flashed last week from my Secret Pal. This is some wonderful yarn. I'll post more details soon.

Juju socks

2007-08-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

One of the cool things about Ravelry is that you have the opportunity to form small groups of like minded folks. I did not create the Red Sox group but I was happy to join it when someone else did. At one point, when the Red Sox seemed intent on playing badly she suggested that we start some good luck projects.

I knew immediately what yarn to use. I had some Cherry Tree Hill yarn in Cherry just sitting in the stash. I got the hank on the swift and started winding away. The freakin' yarn wouldn't wind properly and kept falling off the ball. Then it started kinking and finally it all fell apart. I spent more time than I care to remember trying to get the yarn to behave. Finally, I had to cut it and ended up with one larger ball and one smallish ball. I then cast on for the Nine to Five socks because I figured the boys needed to get to work. About 4 inches into the sock I realized that the pattern and yarn did not work well together. The pattern was just too much work to not show up well and when I tried the sock on it was huge. Rippppp! I couldn't bear to use the yarn again so I cast it aside. I figured it had bad juju and I didn't want to touch it. I should have known when it refused to be wound properly that this yarn did not have good juju.

I went back to the stash and came out with one of my all time favorite yarns - Apple Laine in Macintosh. The color may not be as red as the Cherry Tree Hill but it is definitely red. Plus, we pick Macintosh in late September which is when you need your team to be in first place. This yarn definitely has good juju. The rules of the Juju Socks are simple. They can only be knit during Red Sox games - no other time. In addition, nothing else can be knit during Red Sox games. There's no timetable for them to be finished. In fact, if I finish them before October I'll just need to start another pair.

Call me superstitious if you will but the Red Sox are now 8 games ahead of the Yankees and I believe the good juju socks are helping.

Cabled Sweat Socks

2007-08-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Cabled Sweat Socks
Source: Socks A Spin Off special publication
Needles: Knit Picks size 2.5 mm circulars
Yarn: Wollmeise
Modifications: Substituted fingering for sport weight yarn but kept everything the same

Summer is drawing to a close around here. The high school kids went back to school on Monday and the elementary kids return this coming Monday. Soon, our neighborhood will be quiet as a mouse during the day. We've had a busy, busy summer which flew by at lightning speed.

Yesterday we spent the day at Water Country - a local water park. With a high of only 73 degrees it wasn't exactly warm. It was fine if you stayed in the sun but when you got out of the water it was COLD! None of the kids seemed to mind and we stayed for 8 hours. I went down a number of slides but also found time to sit back, soak up some sun, read a little and knit some. I had one woman stop by to admire my Pheasant Run sock and saw at least two other women knitting.

On Monday evening I finished the lovely Cabled Sweat Socks. Oh but I love these socks! They fit like a dream. The pattern is wonderful with beautiful cables running all the way down and special details like the purl ridge heel. It's too bad more people don't know about this wonderful pattern.

I loved knitting with the Wollmeise. It's true that it's not the softest yarn coming off the skein and it tends to feel a little stringy but it's soft once it knits up (and I haven't washed it yet) and has great stitch definition. Of course, the yardage can not be beat. It was so nice to be knitting cabled socks and to know that I could knit them as long as I liked and there was no way I'd run out of yarn. I'm glad to have more in the stash. I'll report back once I've washed and worn them.

My SP rocks!

2007-08-20T12:38:00.001-05:00

My Secret Pal rocks! Seriously.
I don't know who she is yet but I do know she's from Washington. She went on vacation recently and took thoughts of me with her. She did some fabulous shopping for me while she was gone and then sent me this beach vacation in a box.

I got great books to read (none of which I've read before), very cute postcards, a delicious sounding cookie mix, and cd of beach pictures. Enough to keep me busy for awhile.

Then, of course, she had to send me some yarn. I got some scrumptious Artyarns Ultramerino 4 in some ocean shades of blues, greens and purples. Mmmmm! I've never tried or even seen this yarn before. I love to try new yarns.

Thank you, SP!! You really do rock. I can't wait to find out who you are all the way across the country from me.

Fred and Mason

2007-08-17T22:17:00.000-05:00

Meet Fred.
Fred came to live with us yesterday after Oldest Boy found him under our deck. Fred is cute enough and certainly it wouldn't harm anything for him to live in a fish tank in our family room for awhile. He's small. He's harmless.

Meet Mason.
Mason is our oldest cat. We're hoping he finds Fred now that Fred has escaped the fish tank.

Artificial Deadlines

2007-08-17T06:25:00.000-05:00

I love the blogging community and credit it for helping me to get my knitting mojo back after it left me for years. I do not have a local knitting group or even any local friends who knit. My knitting community IS the online knitting community. I have gained so much through my blog that it's hard to imagine knitting without all of you out there.

Over the past year I have received advice, gifts, encouragement, prayers, jokes, praise, and assistance from people scattered all over the world but connected through our computers. For all of that I am extremely grateful.

One downside to my online knitting participation is artificial deadlines. I'm just now starting to get over this. I know you all know what I mean. You get excited to find like minded individuals (like Nancy Bush knitters) and you join their group. You become excited to join your first KAL and you are thrilled to finish your product and share with everyone else. At some point, however, all those KALs can start to feel like something you have to do rather than something you want to do. I have found myself (and others) hurrying to finish a product to meet an artificial deadline set by an online group. This can make knitting much less enjoyable. I have to remind myself that unless I'm being paid commission to knit something or plan to give something as a gift there is no deadline.

Yesterday, I took a break from knitting (though I still managed to knit some rows) to read Water for Elephants. I didn't intend to read the entire book yesterday but the weather was perfect for sitting outside so I sat on my deck and read. I could not put the book down. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. It's the best book I've read in a long time.

Today, I'll return to my socks which are "supposed" to be done by the end of the month. Perhaps they will be and perhaps they won't but I'm going to remind myself that I'm supposed to enjoy knitting them and that no knitting police will show up to take me away if I don't meet the "deadline".

Just being quiet

2007-08-14T12:38:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Lisa Parker's Pheasant Run
Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted in an exclusive Loopy Ewe Fall sock club colorway
Needles: Size 2.5 mm Knit Picks circs

I've been busy and just haven't had much to say.

It was a difficult reentry. It's not that I don't love my boys. I do. I even enjoy spending time with them. I also enjoyed my time alone tremendously and know that it won't happen again for a long time. Having the house filled with the boys and all their stuff and noise has been tough on the nerves. Having to cook and clean and look after the boys again has been draining. I'm only now starting to adjust.

I know I said I was only going to do one repeat of the Loopy Fall Sock club sock but I changed my mind. It became a contest to see if I'd have enough yarn to finish the sock for my largish feet. At first it seemed as though the yarn would win until I noticed that I had dropped a stitch quite a few rows back and didn't like how it looked when I pulled the stitch back up. After ripping and reknitting and rethinking the toe I ended up with more than enough yarn. See those little balls at the top of the sock blocker - that's what I had left. Two teeny, tiny little balls of yarn (I found one knot in the skein toward the end).

The pattern is very nice. It works well with the variegated yarn and shows it off well. The Claudia Handpainted is a dream. I'd definitely work with it more if the skeins weren't so skimpy. I prefer 7 inch long legs on my socks and I was only able to knit 6 inch legs to have enough yarn.

Here's a closeup of the very nice garter edged Eye of Partridge heel. This photo also shows how fallish the colors are. One woman on Ravelry described it as Fall Cornucopia which I think would be a great name for this unnamed colorway.

I've picked up the Cabled (Sweat) Sock again and I'm 4 rows away from the heel. I want to finish the second Loopy sock before the end of the month for a kal on Ravelry so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I think I'm going to work on the Cabled Sock for a bit until I get to or through the gussets and then pick up the Loopy sock. It's hard to go back and forth between the socks because the Claudia yarn is SO soft - it's like butter and slips through your fingers - while the Wollmeise has a stringy sort of feel to it. I love the Wollmeise but it doesn't feel great after using the Claudia and it's difficult to maintain tension with such different yarns.

I was so good

2007-08-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

The truth is, that while Mr. Baseball and the boys were away last week, I really, really enjoyed the solitude and quiet. I also missed them all - especially Mr. Baseball. I have the greatest husband and I really hate to be away from him. I tried to soothe myself with a little retail therapy but I couldn't find anything I HAD to have and I didn't want to settle. There were no Loopy updates and Woolgirl didn't get in anything new to tempt me. I even called a not-so-local yarn store who is supposed to be getting in a shipment of Dream in Color but the yarn hadn't been delivered yet.

On Monday, just hours before all my boys returned home, the mail carrier delivered these packages to me. I almost couldn't contain my excitment. I felt like I had been rewarded for being such a good girl. One package, I knew contained my Loopy sock club stuff. The other had come all the way from Germany!

Blogless Dana, who I met on Ravelry, sent me a gift from Germany to thank me for organizing the Summer Camp Swap that's currently going on (oy, I had no idea how much work organizing a swap for 100 people would be). Dana sent me Wollmeise in the Hot Chili Pepper colorway! She also sent me a cool postcard and a recipe for a delicious sounding chocolate cake. What a generous soul.

Finally, I opened my Loopy Ewe Fall Sock Club package. It's lovely. All of it. I have mixed feelings about the Claudia because the yardage is so skimpy but I'm going to give it a go. The yarn itself and the colors are gorgeous and very, very fallish. I love the pattern. In fact, I had to wind up a cake and cast on for a sock to see how it would look (pictures later) and it's pretty cool. My plan is to complete one round of the pattern (26 rows) and then get back to my Cabled (Sweat) Sock. I'm almost to the heel on the second sock.

Wild thing

2007-08-04T12:22:00.000-05:00

It is 90 degrees outside. 90 degrees for the third day in a row. It is HOT! While Mr. Baseball and the boys are away I've been acting like a hermit trying to keep myself cool. We don't have central A/C; we only have A/C in the bedrooms. I didn't really want to hole up in my bedroom for hours on end so my strategy has been to move as little as possible in an attempt to stay cool. While staying still I have managed to watch three movies, read 1/2 of a book, watch two baseball games, and knit one sock.

And the sock is a beauty! Seriously. Are you ever just so in love with something you knit? I want to walk over to my neighbors (since no one is home right now to appreciate my knitting) and say, "Aren't these beautiful? I made them." I could probably do that with my Walking Friend neighbor but the others would think I'm just crazy. So instead, neighbors, I'm knocking on your door to show you my finished sock.

And just to show how big my feet are and, consequently, how much sock I must knit every time I make a pair of socks. And the beauty is, because of the yardage of the Wollmeise (over 500 yards people!) I never had to worry if I'd run out of yarn. I could make knee socks (not that I would because I can't stand knee socks) if I wanted to and I wouldn't run out of yarn.

And just to prove to you what a wild and crazy woman I am without the boys here I'll tell you what I did to celebrate. I made a BLT sandwich. Yup. And I ate the whole thing. Mmmmm! Wild, huh?

We have a winner!

2007-08-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, the mystery has been solved. Nova and LaLa both correctly guessed that the Mystery sock is the Cabled Sweat Sock from the Spin-Off book Socks. This is an unfortunate name for such a lovely sock. Sweat Sock. Indeed.

Both Nova and LaLa employed cunning investigative skills to solve the mystery and both have won fibery prizes.

The Socks book is one of the oldest books in my knitting library. I made some of my first socks from it. When I was searching for the perfect pattern to use with my Wollmeise I remembered this pattern and was only too happy to pull out the book again. One of my goals for this year was to knit a pattern from every sock book I own. I have a terrible tendency to buy pattern books and then never use them. I'm doing well toward meeting my goal though I still haven't used either of the Sensational Knitted Socks books (though I did recently try, remember?). I'll have to tally up the patterns and books I've used before my blogiversary.

Congratulations Nova and Lala! Good detective work.

Mystery Sock in progress

2007-08-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

The Mystery Sock is moving right along. It's hard to put down. I've got the leg and heel done on the first sock and I'm moving down the gusset.

The heel is a lovely Eye of Partridge heel with a garter stitch edge. There is also this very nice rolled edge along the gusset which is caused by purling the last stitch on every row and then slipping that same stitch once you turn. I think it looks very nice. It's one of those things that only fellow knitters can appreciate. I can't imagine pointing out that nice little row to anyone who doesn't knit. Can you see it?

So I've given you a few more clues as well as a close up picture. No one has come close to guessing yet.

Can you guess?

2007-07-31T11:43:00.000-05:00

Here is the first work in progress photo of the mystery sock. If you think you know what it is, drop me a line. First person to correctly name the pattern wins a prize.

In other news, I've decided to rip out the Sweet Georgia sock. I don't have enough yarn to finish it and the leg is a smidge too tight and I don't really like socks with patterned legs and plain feet anyway. I really do love the yarn but I need to put some distance between me and it right now. I think it'd make a lovely pair of Breeze socks someday but for right now it needs to go to timeout.

My first contest

2007-07-30T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, she's a beauty, no?
This is my first skein of Wollmeise. I'm in love. The colors are deep and vibrant. The yarn is sort of squishy and soft. The yardage is generous and made a very large cake. This morning I sat outside and cast on for a new sock. This sock will meet the requirements for the new Loopy Ewe Q3 challenge and will be my first sock in Sock-A-Month 4. I've had at least one pair of socks every single month since SAM2 and I intend to do the same for SAM 4.

I'm coming up on my one year blogiversary on August 20th and I think it's time for my first contest. I will post photos of my sock in progress but will not name the pattern nor will I name the source for the pattern in my posts. The first person to guess the pattern correctly will win a prize. As I don't have all that many regular readers your chance of winning is fairly high but I warn you that the pattern won't be an easy one to guess.

How's that yellow Sweet Georgia sock coming along you ask? Let's not talk about it. I have PMS. I'm crabby and short tempered. There is no way I'll have enough yarn to finish this sock. I really should just rip it now but because of the blog I'll keep working on it just so I can show you how far I fall short. It's not like I can just buy another skein. I even looked on Ravelry to see if anyone had this color in their stash. Nope. Progress photo of the yellow sock when I'm less crabby.

I need a nap

2007-07-26T12:41:00.000-05:00

I promised you a photo of my Sweet Georgia sock in progress and so you shall have it. I'm knitting the Cross-Stitch Block pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I am LOVING this yarn. Wouldn't you know I'd love a yarn that is no longer available? Someone told me that the base yarn is Louet Gems and I do love Louet though I've never tried the true fingering weight. I've learned that I prefer my yarns to be tightly spun, with saturated colors and a good sproing to them. This yarn has all those characteristics.

I'm also enjoying the pattern. It works perfectly with this lightly colored semi-solid yarn. I'm not certain that I like how it fits. It's rather snug - the cross-stitch blocks pull in more than you'd think. I think it will be fine on the leg and I'll just knit the foot plain. If you are astute you will notice that there are no needles in my sock in progress. That's because just after I turned the heel and picked up the gusset stitches I noticed that I somehow skipped part of a row on the front of the sock. I completed the crosses on the back part where the heel is but missed that row on these 32 stitches. Alas, there was no way to fix it because not only had I skipped the row with the cable crosses but I had knit the next row that holds them into place. So ... RIP went the heel. I'm too tired and hot right now to get it back on the needles. That can be done after a little nap.

Competing Interests

2007-07-23T13:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we dropped the older two boys off for a week of summer camp. We were one of the first families to arrive so both boys had their choice of bunks in their respective cabins. Middle Son looks quite happy to be back at camp (above), while Oldest Son and Mr. Baseball look rather odd as I captured them at the end of a hug goodbye. They both love camp and I don't worry a smidge about them while they're gone. Today it's just me and Youngest Son. He's so easy compared to the other two - especially when he's alone. We're just filling his cup while they're gone and he revels in the one-on-one attention. Tomorrow afternoon, my wonderful, amazing friend, Jenn, will take Youngest Son to her house until Friday evening where he will spend much glorious time with his Best Friend. She must love me.

Mr. Baseball will take the day off from work on Friday and we will have one entire childless day together. Before that, we'll have 3 childless nights together. How ever will we survive? What ever will we do?

My days are filled with competing interests. While the boys are gone, I like to give their rooms a good cleaning. Today I washed all the bedding - including comforters. I just think it's nice to come home from a week away to a clean bed and room. I also, like millions of other minions, am engrossed in The Deathly Hallows. I'm savoring it and allow myself to read a chapter or two after I complete a chore or play a game with Youngest Son. I've also got the Sweet Georgia sock on the needles. I had hoped to be able to share a picture but it came out much too blurry and now it's raining. Perhaps a picture tomorrow. Blogging time is over. I think I've earned another chapter.

Vesper Socks finished

2007-07-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

Last night, while watching the Red Sox cream the White Sox, I finished the Vesper Socks. I never counted row or measured the socks but instead matched the colored stripes from sock to sock. They came out virtually identical. I have to say that I feel rather disappointed upon their completion. I'm thrilled to have them done but I don't care anymore for the finished product than I do for the yarn. They fit fine and I even like the way the short row heel fits my foot but I just do not like this yarn and I just know I'll never wear the socks. I'll have to take exact measurements later and send them to some lucky soul who will appreciate them much more than I.

After I had woven in the ends and put the socks aside, I tried to decide what to knit next. I swear I heard some yarn calling from the stash. What I really need right now is a good yarn experience to wipe the bad one away. I found this lovely hank of Sweet Georgia in a colorway called Saffron that made me smile just to touch it. As I was winding it into a cake, my 9 year old son came into the room and said, "Oh, that's a pretty color." Yup. It is. As I cast on (for a cuff I ripped out this morning) I couldn't help but compare the yarns. Where the Vesper felt dead and lifeless the Sweet Georgia is bouncy and exuberant. While the color of the Vesper is ho hum and left me cold, the Sweet Georgia is vibrant and warms my soul. Ah, how I should enjoy knitting with this lovely yarn. Stay tuned to see what it will become.

Thank you, SP

2007-07-19T09:28:00.000-05:00

I always like it when Secret Pals flash the swag I send them. I take a lot of care to choose things I hope my SP will like. I, however, have been remiss in thanking my SP9 partner. I received a wonderful package in the mail last week. I don't have any pictures of all the stuff put together because as soon as I opened the package the various items were spread all over my house. My SP sent me a 4th of July themed package because it is one of my favorite holidays. My gifts were wrapped in red, white and blue tissue.

My SP sent me some delicious homemade brownies which had zuchini as the secret ingredient. They were chocolatey, minty and delicious. We ate them quickly. She also sent little catnip pillows for each of my three kitties. You can see Lucy above enjoying them. In addition, I got four wonderful cooking magazines. Next to yarn, there is nothing I like more than a good cooking magazine. Finally, of course, I got some lovely yarn. It's a very pretty pale blue yarn called Palette from Knit Picks. Thank you SP. I promise next time to take a picture before everything gets strewn around my house. I have no clue who my SP is but she pays careful attention to detail.

Yesterday while the boys were off visiting friends I sat down to complete the short row heel for my second Vesper sock. It was much easier the second time around and did not take me nearly as long. I was even able to close up the holes at the sides. I'm still not thrilled with how this heel looks. One side is very neat and tidy while the other side looks wonky. The perfectionist in me is not happy with this. I had hoped that this was the perfect short row heel for me because it is the first one I've tried that makes sense to me. Hopefully, I will have a finished pair to post soon.

Just a little update

2007-07-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last updated. I don't have much knitting news or photos to share. Instead, I'll share a photo of my daylillies that I took this morning. My lillies always bloom later than everyone else's because we don't get much direct sun. I don't even particularly care for them but they bloom every single year without fail and don't need any attention. That's my favorite kind of gardening.

I've been knitting on the second Vesper sock and am almost to the (dreaded) heel. I'll have to set some time aside tomorrow for the heel. I hate that I have to set aside uninterrupted time just to get a heel done but I want to finish the pair and see if my second heel can be better than the first. After this, I'm back to my wonderful heel flaps and gussets which I can almost do in my sleep.

We had a busy, busy weekend just filled with grown up fun. So much of our time is devoted to our children and their pursuits. It is highly unusual for us to have much of a social life ourselves. On Saturday, we went to a Bastille Day party. It was wonderful time filled with good food, grown up conversation and live music while the boys enjoyed themselves in the pool and hung around with their equally surly teenage friends. On Sunday, we joined some old college friends for a rousing game of softball. We had a blast! Grownups and kids combined on teams - everyone having fun - lots of sweating and laughing. My muscles have hurt ever since.

The boys are in their second and final week of swimming lessons. I will be very happy when I no longer need to get out the door every morning to get to the lake. I prefer not to be out of the house so much.

I'm feeling rather down these days. The stressful situation that started back in May has finally come to its conclusion and it is not the ending I was hoping against hope for. It's not worth retelling the whole long sordid tale so I'll just say that I hate mean people. I'll be putting this behind me soon but right now I'm just filled to the brim with anger and hurt and disappointment. I'm very grateful for my husband and good friends who have stood beside me through it all.

First Vesper done

2007-07-12T13:19:00.000-05:00

The first Vesper sock was completed this morning during swimming lessons at the lake. I'm considering it a learning experience. Here are a few of the things I learned by knitting this one sock:

Do NOT jump on the bandwagon of every sock craze. Although I have loved most of the yarn that I have bought online, the Vesper was an impulse buy and one that I regret. I don't care for the yarn in the least.
I made a good enough short row heel. The Priscilla's Dream Sock short row heel was the easiest of the short rows I have tried to date. I think I need to tweak it a bit but at least I got through it without crying.
I think I need to make the leg longer when using a short row heel. Normally I knit a 7 inch leg and then a 2.5 inch heel flap. Without the heel flap the leg is rather short. Live and learn.
I like knitting toes with all the instep stitches on one needle and sole stitches on the other. This makes so much more sense than the way I normally do it in profile.
Sometimes good enough is good enough.

I will cast on for the second Vesper sock this afternoon so I have it ready to go for swimming lessons tomorrow (and besides, the Red Sox return to regular play tonight). I doubt that these will ever be my favorite socks and I'm not even sure if I should keep them but I can't stand a single sock without a mate. I'll make the pair.

After these are through I'm rewarding myself by casting on with some Apple Laine. I can hardly wait.

The Good Enough Short Row Heel

2007-07-10T08:57:00.000-05:00

I can't let something as small as a short row heel stymie me. This self striping Vesper yarn is just calling for a short row heel so I took the advice of Kathy and tried the short row heel from "Priscilla's Dream Socks".

Yesterday, while a storm brewed overhead, I warned the boys to stay well out of my way, sat down with the sock and the Favorite Socks book and was determined to master the short row heel. I even put on my glasses which I can never seem to find. It took me 2 hours but I never needed to rip it out and I never swore. In the end I had a short row heel. It's not perfect - far from it - but I'm putting perfectionism aside and calling it Good Enough. Yup, I'm accepting that Good Enough will do.

Here are the pros and cons of this Good Enough Short Row Heel.
Pros:

The directions are very clear.
I was able to tell where I needed to turn without any problems.
There is no wrapping or picking up of wraps.
The purl side of the heel came out quite nicely. Well, mostly.
There are no gaps on the knit side of the heel.

Cons:

The k3 together does not make nearly as neat a row as the p3 together (what would happen if I did the k3 together through the back loop?)
I had holes on one side of the heel where it meets the leg.
It took me about two hours to complete the heel and I never felt I could really put it down during that time. This isn't really practical for me most of the time.

Here is the purl side which looks very neat except for those holes where the heel meets the foot.

Here is the knit side which looks wonky but has no holes where the heel meets the foot.

It needs some work but I'm not ripping. They're good enough and I'm sure I can improve with practice.

Embossed Leaves Finished

2007-07-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Embossed Leaves
Yarn: Louet Gems fine/sport weight
Color: Robin
Needles: Knit Picks circulars 2.75 mm

I finished my Embossed Leaves this morning. I tried to finish them last night after we returned home from a birthday party for a friend. I noticed a mistake a few rows back and decided that five margaritas and putting stitches back on the needles did not mix. I think it was best that I decided to wait until this morning. Perhaps it would have been even better if I had just stopped at two margaritas. I'm feeling a little green around the gills this morning.

The only modifications I made to the pattern was to skip the fiddly cast on and first two rows. I used my usual cable cast on and just started the twisted rib. I think it worked out quite fine. The author of the pattern doesn't even recommend the silly cast on in the book.

I knit these socks as a going away present for Oldest Son's Latin Tutor who is moving away. I thought the color and pattern would remind her of fall in NH. I liked this pattern so much that it may be the first pattern I ever repeat. I really want a pair for myself. Now I just need to decide if I should knit the pair for me right away while the pattern is still fresh in my memory or take a break to knit something different. I am very happy that I have more Louet Gems in the stash. This is a lovely, wonderful yarn to knit with. I look forward to spending more time with it.

Mimi and Papa

2007-07-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!
I love the 4th of July. It's a perfect holiday. This year was made even more special because my mother and step-father were here from Florida. My boys have loved every minute with their grandparents and especially enjoyed seeing the fireworks with their Mimi. We also had a little party with some friends and had a great time with lots of kids running around, plenty of food to eat, and pyrotechnics supplied by Mr. Baseball and Mr. Handyman (our friend who is remodeling our kitchen). Even the rain didn't spoil the festivities.

There hasn't been much time for knitting because I've been entertaining my parents. Mom loves to play Rummikub with me when she's here even though I beat the pants of her regularly. We have a good time.

Mom admired the Embossed Leaves sock but expressed her surprise once again that I would choose to knit socks which cost so much more to knit than to buy. The second sock is almost through the gusset now and should be finished soon. This is a wonderful pattern.

Mimi and Papa leave tonight after dinner. Hopefully we'll see Mimi again this fall if she can swing another trip north. Papa hasn't been back this way for 4 years so I don't expect we'll see him again anytime soon. I'll be sorry to see them go. I really wish my mom lived closer.

First Embossed Leaves Sock

2007-06-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

Well, it took me a little longer than I thought to post pictures of the first Embossed Leaves sock. First I had to download all 104 pictures that Mr. Baseball took at Cub Scout camp. Then I had to go to Oldest Boy's double header game today (they lost both games). Finally, even though the light wasn't very good, I sat down on the deck while I was cooking dinner and took a few pictures.

I'm almost done the leg of the second sock. Doesn't the naked foot look sad? Actually, both feet are sad because these socks are great and they're not for them. The Louet Gems is simply a dream to knit with. It is so soft it's hard to believe it's wool. I can't wait to use it again for socks for me.

Here is the beginning of the plain vanilla Vesper sock I started the other day. I was able to knit a little at the games today. The truth is I don't really care for the yarn so I'm not very motivated to knit with it. I'll finish these socks but I won't buy Vesper again. It certainly does not live up to its hype.

No pictures

2007-06-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting this week. Honestly. I finished my first Embossed Leaves sock. I love everything about this sock. The Louet Gems is a dream to work with and the light fingering weight is perfect for a slightly heavier sock. I'm glad I have more in the stash to work with. I even followed the pattern for the star toe and, while I thought I'd probably rip it out, I really like both how it looks and how it fits. This is a terrific pattern.

Sadly, I do not have a picture to share with you because Mr. Baseball took the digital camera with him to Cub Scout camp. Mr. Baseball and the younger two boys are off at camp this week leaving me and Oldest Boy home. Oldest boy has enjoyed being an only child for a few days and I've enjoyed the relative quiet. I really miss Mr. Baseball a lot and can't wait for him to come home. The bed's too big without him.

I cast on for the second Embossed Leaves sock and finished the twisted rib cuff last night. It's almost too hot to knit with temps in the mid 90s and my brain needs a simpler pattern until the temps come down. I cast on for a simple plain vanilla sock using some Vesper yarn I acquired. Vesper yarn is highly sought after and flies out of the shop during updates so I was pretty happy to score some. I have to say, however, that I'm pretty disappointed in the yarn. It seems awfully thin and there are many white spots between color changes. I can't seem to get the yarn to flow along the needle cables when I switch sides and I never, ever have this problem. I'm not enjoying knitting with it at all and I'm not impressed with the yarn base or the colors. This is one yarn I don't need to buy again. Live and learn.

Mr. Baseball will be home late on Thursday evening so I hope to have pictures to share on Friday.

Making it count

2007-06-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

My friend, Melanie, says that if you're going to cheat on a diet you should be sure to make it count. Why cheat with a Hershey bar when you could have delicious dark chocolate mousse? Why eat a hamburger when you could have a Porterhouse steak?

Now you know I'm not on a diet because I don't believe in diets. I have however, been on a self imposed spending break. I have more than enough yarn to last me the rest of the year (and boy does it show when you start cataloging it on Ravelry) and I was feeling some guilt about not using the yarn I love so much. But ... well, Patternworks was having a stupendous sale and I found out about it before they ran out of stock and I decided to dive in. I made sure to make it count, too.

That's eight skeins of Koigu KPPM. Right now I don't intend to use it for socks - which is how I partly justified the binge. I also bought the patterns for Diamond Patch mittens and Fanning the Flame mittens from Heartland Knits. Click on the Heartland Knits link to see pictures of the patterns. I probably won't start them until the fall but I'd really like a pair of hand knit mittens for myself before winter starts. Aren't these patterns pretty?

Like a lemming

2007-06-22T10:47:00.000-05:00

As the Summer of Socks starts, I'm feeling a bit like a Lemming. Generally, I hate to follow fads and I've never been known as one to follow the crowd. In my knitting, I will often eschew an overly popular pattern (like Monkeys) simply because everyone else is doing it. Sometimes, however, a pattern just calls to you. Popularity, after all, is not a bad thing. Very often a pattern becomes popular because it is so good that people can not resist making it.

Acting like a lemming conveys the notion of following along with disastrous results. Such was the case with my Jaywalkers. When I returned to the knitting world last August it seemed that everyone and their brother was knitting Jaywalkers. I jumped right in even though I had read on many blogs and knitting boards that people had trouble with fit, even though I knew that I hated overly tight socks. I knit the darn things, hated how they fit, wore them about three times, and now, after washing, can't even get them on without a fight. Truly lemming like behavior.

Right now, however, I'm very glad to be following the crowd. There are a few very popular patterns in the Favorite Socks book. One of these is Embossed Leaves. I have chosen to knit Embossed Leaves as my first socks of the summer. I cast on with my salvaged Louet Gems from the failed Whitbys and can not put the sock down. This is addictive knitting. The pattern is wonderful and I love how the leaves appear before your eyes as you work your way down the chart. I'm already at the heel of the first sock. I'll have a picture soon.

A pair of Juta's

2007-06-20T07:27:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Juta's Stockings from Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Times Remembered Nantucket Heather in Wild Strawberry
Needles: Size 1 (2.5 mm) Knit Picks circulars
Modifications: I used my regular round toe

I finished my Juta's Stockings yesterday and I must say I'm very pleased with them. The pattern was, of course, very well written and super easy to follow. After the first round it was very easy to memorize the pattern. The pattern on the leg is very similar to the Dublin Bay pattern and I like how these lacy panels work with an almost solid colored yarn.

Unlike Pat, my perfectionist side wasn't bothered in the least by the difference in the k2 togethers and the ssk. I think mine look equally neat. Instead, I was bothered by the difference in the size of the lacy holes on the foot portion. The holes were decidedly different after a k2 together than they were after a ssk. It drove me crazy. I'm sure you can't see it in the photo but trust me the holes are different.

Overall, however, I'm happy with the pattern. I think it makes a nice looking and nice fitting sock. The yarn I used is much different than my usual sock yarn. I bought it at NH Sheep and Wool for less than $4.00 a skein. It's 100% wool and is much more "rustic" than the luxury yarn I'm used to. It wasn't rough and it didn't have any debris in it. It was nicely spun and had no knots or slubs. After I got used to the rustic feel I really enjoyed this wooly feeling yarn. It's not the least bit itchy on the skin either. When I handwashed the socks yesterday, there was quite a bit of color in the wash water. I'm hoping this is a one time thing.

Now I'm gearing up for Summer of Socks which starts tomorrow. Although I had been planning to knit Brigit from Socktopia, I found that the yarn I wanted to use didn't match the gauge for the pattern. Rather than switch yarns I've switched patterns. I feel a little like a lemming but I'm going to knit Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks with the Louet Gems I frogged from my failed Whitby. I'll get to Brigit another time.