Whitby

She looks like a lovely Whitby, no?

Truly I enjoyed every moment of knitting her. The Louet Gems is a dream to work with and the pattern was memorizable right from the start. I even enjoyed knitting with my old Pony Pearls that haven't been used in years.
You'd think that I'd be happy and celebrating the completion of the first sock and eager to start the second. The problem is the sock doesn't fit. Oh I know it looks like it fits but it fits like a latex glove. It's just too darn tight. My gauge is a smidge off from Nancy Bush's but that's not unusual for me. I typically knit to a much tighter gauge than she and my socks still always fit. My gauge was only off by 1/2 a stitch. I got 7 spi whereas she got 6.5. Normally my gauge is more than a whole stitch tighter than hers.

What to do?
I can't wear the sock as is. I'd lose feeling and blood flow to my feet. I could go up a needle size but I'm not sure that would be enough and truthfully I like the fabric at 7 spi. I could add stitches between the diamonds and the cables and add a couple more ribs to the back - bring the stitch count from 51 to 59 or so (I haven't done the math yet). For now, it's just resting. I didn't cut the yarn or kitchener the toe or rip it out yet.
I started working on my second Mexicali Peppers sock again. That's disheartening also because I know I won't have enough yarn to finish. I guess I've got to knit until I run out before I plan a solution - see how much yarn I'll need. I'm not opposed to contrasting toes but I'm not sure what the Perchance to Knit base yarn is and I'd like to match it. Maybe my friend, Sheri, at The Loopy Ewe could help me figure that out.
April may be my first sockless month in a long time.

I've got sunshine

It's a beautiful day!

I'd almost forgotten what the sun looked like or felt like.
My SP10 hostess, Shelby, asked us to flash our stash. With the sun shining, it seemed a good time to take the stash out to play. I don't have my stash organized in a fancy way. It lives in Rubbermaid containers in a corner of my closet.

Here's the smallest container. It has my most favorite yarns that I plan to use in the immediate future. Sweet Georgia, Apple Laine, Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Cherry Tree Hill, J. Knits, Louet Gems, and Brooklyn Handspun. There's even one lone ball of Rowan to make a Shedir.


This picture shows the bottom layer of the larger container. I don't have any immediate plans for any of this yarn. I should finish the last 5 inches of the Irish Hiking Scarf and I intend to make a red scarf with the Patons. The rest of it just sort of lingers there with no plan or intent. Two lonely skeins, one each of Lorna's Laces Sport and a Handpainted Brown Sheep, look particularly sad. I don't know what to do with these yarns.



The final picture is the top layer of the larger container. These are all lovely yarns with a plan but no timetable. Enough Lorna's Laces for 3 pairs of socks, some Cascade 220 to make a Christmas stocking (pattern still undertermined), yarn to make a There Be Pirates Hat, my felting penguin kit, some beautiful Furryarns, and the second ball of Claudia's to go with my son's toe up socks that are languishing at the bottom of my knitting bag.

The power of water

This is the scene in my neighbor's yard. A waterfall of water running through their yard and onto the road below. Normally, we have culverts in front of the houses which handle the rainfall and divert it to a common source that runs under the road and forms a small stream on the other side. The culverts couldn't handle this amount of rain and backed up.

This is what the awesome power of water can do.

See how there is no longer any shoulder to the road? If you were to stand or drive on the very edge of that pavement it would crumble beneath you because the dirt that is supposed to be below it has been eroded away. There are many gulleys like this all along my road.

It is still raining/snowing/sleeting today. We did not see even a glimmer of the sun all day. I keep checking the weather forecast and they claim we'll see sun and have temperatures in the 60s by this weekend. I'll believe it when I see it.

Meanwhile, it's been good knitting weather. The Whitby I started yesterday is 5 inches long. I wish it were on circs so I could try it on easily but I'm kind of enjoying using double points again. Whitby is a super easy pattern and knits up quickly with the sportweight yarn. I may end up with a finished pair of socks for April after all.

Counting my blessing

I am counting my blessings today. We are in the midst of a terrible Nor'easter here. Generally this means many inches of snow - and we did get a bunch of snow yesterday - but the temperatures are too warm to support snow so we're getting rain. Lots and lots of rain. We've gotten about 5.5 inches in my small town according to the local news stations. All the major roads have been washed out. We were called by the Chief of Police this morning who told us our road was washing out and there was too much water at the bottom of our hill to leave the neighborhood. Schools were canceled and Mr. Baseball stayed home from work.

The weather is depressing and a little scary but I'm counting my blessings. I live on top of a hill so our house is not subject to flooding (just some water in the basement around the bulkhead door). We are all home safe together and we have both power and heat. I am so very, very grateful for power and heat. We planned for the storm yesterday and have everything we need right here. We don't plan to leave our house until tomorrow. The boys are excited to have Dad home. He was able to help everyone through their schoolwork this morning and has had time to play with everyone too. We've had some rousing games of dominoes and have promised to play Clue later.

I decided to wind a hank of yarn and cast on for a new sock. I love my Mexicali Peppers socks but it's become very apparent that I won't have enough yarn to finish the second sock. I haven't decided what I'll do when I run out of yarn but I'm open to suggestions. I'm kind of sad about the situation because I really do like the socks so much. I'll get back to them another time. To cheer myself up I've cast on with some Louet Gems in a colorway called Robin. It's a very nice orangey color. I've been wanting to knit Whitby for quite awhile and I think this is the perfect yarn for it. Long time readers may be surprised to see those Pony Pearls in the picture. I'm a devoted two circs knitter but I have yet to find acceptable 2.75 circs. This yarn is a light sportweight. I didn't want to use my 3.0 Knit Picks circs nor did I want to use my 2.5 Knit Picks circs so I pulled out the Ponies. So far, so good.

It's here

Downy Woodpecker at the feeder this morning
Thank you to all of you who sent good thoughts or prayers or who kept their fingers crossed all day yesterday. I drove up to the school yesterday morning, through the snow, to pick up the notification letter. While at the school I ran into the coach who told me to come back at the end of the day. So I waited until the very end of the day and drove back to the school through much snowier roads only to run into the coach again. He told me something had come up and he hadn't gotten the letters out. Ugh!

Finally, this morning I called the school and found out that Adam's letter was waiting in the front office. I went to pick it up without him as he didn't want to leave the couch. He asked me not to read the letter until he read it first but when I was handed the letter it was just a folded over piece of paper - no envelope or tape or staple- and the front desk wanted to be sure they were giving me the right thing so they unfolded the letter. The only word I saw was Congratulations!

He made the team. I'm so happy for him. It takes a lot of guts to show up to try out for a school team when you don't attend the school. I know this will be a good experience for him. It's a lot of work and commitment for our family. He's not already at the school, after all, so I need to drive him there every day for practice and then return to drive him to another town for his Babe Ruth practice. He'll be at baseball from 3:30 to 8:00 many nights a week and the other two boys have their own practices (thankfully, my husband is their coach). Now if the weather would only look or act like baseball season we'd be all set.

Just drumming my fingers

Here's a sample of the fingerprint animals my boys have been making this week. This collection was done by my 7 year old son. Aren't they cute?

I'm up early today distracting myself by reading blogs and knitting. I nudged Mr. Baseball out of bed early too and suggested he go to work so he could come home early. Then the miraculous thing is that I got out of bed myself.

It's nerves keeping me awake. Good old fashioned anxiety. There are two things running through my mind this morning (well, there are more than two things in my mind but two are at the fore front). Both of them are completely out of my control and I don't really believe in worrying but they're making me nervous.

The first thing is that we're expecting another snow storm today. *deep, deep sigh* We sometimes get snow in April in New England but we don't usually get big snow followed by days and days of cold that prevent the snow from melting. We don't usually get snow at the end of the second week of April. I'm done with the snow for this year. It's starting to piss me off. Furthermore, it's really messing with our family schedule. With three boys playing baseball and involved in Scouts, we have a busy calendar at all times. When things start getting moved around and rescheduled the calendar gets impossible. It's not snowing here yet but according to the forecast it should start soon.

To understand the second thing causing me anxiety you must be a parent. Really. This week my 13 year old son tried out for the school baseball team. This is the first time he's ever "tried out" for a team. He's had to show off his skills before to make teams but it's always been a situation where every boy would make some team, it was just a matter of which. This time only some of the boys will make the team and the rest will not. Period. I so want him to make the team because I know he'd love it but also because I don't want him to suffer the disappointment.

What makes the situation even more difficult is that we homeschool. They've never had a homeschooled kid on the team before but the coach didn't bat an eyelash when my son showed up. The coach seems like a very fair minded kind of guy and everyone in town tells me what a great guy he is. He will hand out notes today to every boy who tried out. The note will tell them whether or not they made the team. My son's note will be left in the front office for me to pick up. I'll bring it home for him to read. Alone. Without any of his buddies around to congratulate him or soften the blow. I'll have to be the one to do that. Please let me be the one congratulating him. Please.

First Mexicali Peppers sock

The first Mexicali Peppers sock is done!
I used the Gentleman's Fancy Sock pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. For some reason it cracks me up that this is a Gentleman's Fancy Sock. I doubt that Nancy Bush imagined these socks in these colors. And yet, I love the yarn and pattern together. I followed most of the pattern. The socks are sized for a man and I don't have man sized legs so I started the legs with the number she had decreased down to. I also left out the purl stitch in the middle of the heel. I don't have a scale at home and I'm very nervous I won't have enough yarn to make the second sock. I cast on for the second sock right away and I'm hoping for the best. I didn't graft the toes of the first sock just in case I have to rip the toe back.

These socks will be my April entry for Socktopia for the Sunshine on My Shoulders theme. You can't imagine how much I miss the sunshine. Spring is coming very, very slowly to my part of the country. We still have 6 inches of snow on the ground. Baseball practices have had to be canceled and tryouts for the school team will have to take place in the parking lot. More snow is predicted for later in the week. I've had enough. Really.

Birthday presents

Mr. Baseball worked half a day yesterday - after spending 1.5 hours snowblowing his way out of our driveway - and then came home to spend the afternoon with me. I convinced him to go shopping with me. We decided to pool our money to buy a tv for the bedroom. We may be one of the last couples alive not to have tv in the bedroom but I believe it's bad for the sex life so I've avoided it like the plague. The thing is, though, that we don't air condition our house in the summer. We only air condition the bedrooms at night. I don't mind the heat during the day but by night time I've had enough and usually retire to the bedroom to soak up some ac. In the past we've moved the tv out of the spare bedroom in to our room for the summer but that tv is on its last legs so I made the decision to buy us a new one. We found one we liked but it's on backorder so it'll take awhile. That's fine. We won't be needing ac for awhile - especially since there's still snow on the ground.

I also decided to buy myself something with my birthday money from the inlaws. Nova encouraged me to buy something special - something I wouldn't ordinarily buy - for my birthday. I decided that I'd like to knit a small shawl. I went to a wonderful LYS and told the owner what I wanted. I want a small rectangular shawl, something lacy but not too intricate with no stitches on the side that need to be picked up later. I came home with a pattern from the LYS, new needles (which I hope help with the Carpal Tunnel), two skeins of Zephyr in a copper color and a big bottle of Eucalan that the owner threw in as a birthday present.

I also bought the second Lucy Neatby socks DVD. I've repeatedly asked one of you to come by to help me with my short row heels but none of you have showed up. Now I can have Lucy right here with me. I haven't looked at the DVD indepth yet but I checked it out briefly last night and it's going to be perfect. Perhaps I could even loan it to a friend or two when I'm done with it :-) I'm happy with my presents.

I've almost got the first Mexicali Peppers sock done. I hope to post pictures this weekend. It sure looks like Spring.

The Red Sox were kind enough to win on my birthday. That always makes me happy.

1983

Me - 1983

This is my high school graduation picture that I recently found while cleaning out my father's house. I must admit that I like this picture of myself. I look so young. It's hard to remember being 18 - it was a long time ago. The feathered hair makes me laugh because I remember how hard I had to work to get my hair to cooperate. I'd spend lots of time in the morning blow drying it to look just like this and then I'd hair spray the death out of it so it wouldn't move. Note the wool sweater. It was something like 95 degrees the day this photo was taken but I had already picked out what I wanted to wear for my senior photo and I wouldn't let a little thing like the weather change my mind.

I just found out that plans are underway for my 25th high school reunion next year. I'm not in touch with anyone from high school but I look forward to attending. I loved high school - mostly. I was listening to the Meat Loaf cd that I took from my father's house. I thought it was funny to find it among his Eric Clapton and Beatle cds and I remember how much my mother and all my friends' parents didn't want us listening to this album. As I blared the music while cleaning the house this morning I realized why(a post on that later). Anyway, somehow it helped me to remember exactly how I felt as a teenager. Scary!

Anyway, I'm quite glad to be 42. It's just hard to believe how long ago 18 was.

Seriously

This is what it looks like outside my window this morning. And it's predicted that by this time tomorrow we'll have 4 to 6 inches more. It's making me grumpy. I love the snow and I think it's silly to complain about the weather but ... come on, it's April. I am so ready for green grass and crocuses and tree buds. I'm done with snow until December.

The doctor appointments went well yesterday - even if we were there for over 2 hours. All the boys are strong and healthy. The oldest, just 13 for one day, is now 5'7"! He's grown 8 inches in the last two years and has gained 42 pounds. He's eating us out of house and home. If you've never raised a teenage boy you can't imagine the amount of food he can consume. In a few years, they'll all be teenagers and we'll be in the poor house. The doctor wouldn't predict how tall the oldest will get but it's going to be well over 6 feet.

I forgot my knitting at home which was just as well because I was kept quite busy trying to juggle all three boys through the doctor's office procedures and making sure the boys behaved in the waiting room while I was in the exam room with each boy chatting with the doctor. The doctor didn't hassle me even the teeniest bit about my unvaccinated boys and I was so grateful. I didn't have the energy to fight with him.

Mr. Baseball took the boys home so I could do a little shopping. I stopped in to a LYS and couldn't find a single thing to buy. Their stock was skimpy and I'm rather picky so I left without a single thing (though I did find another copy of Knitting Marvelous Mittens). I guess I need to do my birthday shopping online. I'm just not sure what I want. I'd like something that I haven't tried before. Any suggestions?

Birthday week

I don't tend to get very sentimental about things. I'm just not that sort of person. Yesterday was my oldest son's 13th birthday. We have our very first teenager in the house. The day just really made it official. We've seen the dramatic changes during the last year - first he got smelly, then he got tall, his voice changed, his feet grew even more. Sometimes it's hard to see the little boy left in him at all.

I watched Nova celebrate Little Sir's first birthday and I remember how we felt when our first born turned one. I've looked through the very thick photo album. I'm trying to remember our second and third son's on their first birthday but the truth of the matter is I can look at photos and remember pieces of their lives but they just don't stand out like that first child. Life just goes by too fast and it's hard to remember small moments. The boys start to blend together until Mr. Baseball and I struggle to remember which boy did what when.

Today I'll bring all three boys to the doctor for their physicals. They'll get weighed and measured and looked over. Mostly this is done so they can get physical forms filled out for camps and sports. We know they're healthy and we feel very, very blessed to have such healthy children. Still, it's always amazing to see how very much they've grown since the last time they were officially measured and weighed (unlike the marks on the laundry room wall where we measure their growth).

It's a birthday week here at the Baseball household. My son turned 13, I'll be 42, and my Nana turns 81 - each three days apart. It's snowing outside my window. We're so ready for SPRING. We all want to be outside in the sunshine but it's snowing. It reminds me of the birthday parties that were canceled for me and for my son because of snow. It shouldn't snow in April. Please send us some sun.

For those who care about such things, the Red Sox lost their opening game yesterday. To Kansas City of all teams. Ugh! It's a long season and I think we're in for a bumpy ride.

Round 1 Project Spectrum Overview

I'm such a groupie

When Sheri at The Loopy Ewe blogged about her weekend plans last Friday, she mentioned that she might be doing some needle felting for the first time. She got her kits from Laurie at Wool Pets and I had to check out the store. Oh. My. Goodness. These things are so cute. I've never done needle felting before but I've been wanting to try for a long time. I suggested to Mr. Baseball that he get me one for my birthday next week but he couldn't figure out etsy and asked me to order it myself. Here's the one I decided to get. Almost as soon as I ordered I had an email telling me it's on its way.

Isn't that the cutest thing?

A fresh start

I mentioned in my last post that I was bone tired of the icy cold colors of the Project Spectrum color triad of blue, gray and white. I am so excited to move on to the new triad of pink, yellow and green. Truthfully, I don't really care for pink, green or yellow. You won't find much of my home decor includes those colors and very, very little of my clothing. I have olive skin and yellow and green make me look ill. Pink has always been a little too "girlie" for me and I don't wear much of it either.

BUT ... I have been strangely attracted to all three of these colors as I've been stash enhancing this winter. I tried to get a picture of all my triad stash together but it's not fit to share right now. I'll have to gather my yarn and head outside with it. For now, I'm sharing a picture of the yarn I picked up during the Loopy Ewe update a couple of weeks ago. It's by Perchance to Knit and the colorway is Mexicali Peppers. It is SO bright and cheerful it almost hurts my eyes. I have great plans for it and will use one of the Socktopia April themes. The April themes are the best so far.

Stay tuned to see what this snowboarding ball of yarn turns into.

A day to myself

It was a beautiful day here today. The sun was out and temps were in the high 50s. I was able to go out with just a fleece vest. The boys were all able to play outside and dinner was cooked on the grill.

I took the day to run some errands. I visited a LYS to see if they had More Sensational Knitted Socks. I really like this store and the owner is terrific. The prices, however, are high and sales nonexistent. I don't buy a lot of yarn there. The owner told me that they sold out of MSKS yesterday but I was able to find a copy of Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet which has become difficult to come by. I'm really wanting to learn some new techniques and this book comes very highly recommended.

I also got my hair cut. It hasn't been cut since last May. It's gotten rather long and the ends have gotten splitty. Most people have told me that they like my longer hair but even long hair needs to be cut to look healthy. She cut off 2 inches or so and put in some long layers. I think it looks much better but the lovely husband says he can't see the difference.

I also spent some time doing one of my favorite activities. Besides knitting the one thing I really like to do is bargain shop. Oh, you can't imagine the thrills I get when I find a good bargain. I'm a member of The Grocery Game and enjoy clipping coupons and finding food and health and beauty items for free or vastly reduced prices. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I love to buy deoderant for 8 cents. It's even better when a store pays me to take an item off their hands. So I had a good time at Target where I got lots of good stuff for very little money.

I even visited Borders to get my new educator discount card. Even with the 25% off sale this weekend there wasn't anything I was tempted to buy. I'm trying not to buy reading books for myself - borrowing from the library frees up more money to buy yarn. I'm always happy to buy books for the boys because I believe that having a houseful of books leads them to be active and voracious readers. Today I didn't even buy a book for them.

I have only knit 32 stitches all day. My wrists really hurt and I'm not really excited about either sock I'm knitting. I decided to turn the Claudia Handpainted toe up socks I'm knitting into shortie socks for my 12 year old son (who happens to wear size 12 men's shoes) but I need him around to try them on and I'm not really anxious to try the short row heel again. I sure wish I had someone around to walk me through it. All the helps I've found online just haven't worked for me. I need a real live person. Anyone want to come visit?

Cable Rib Socks

Pattern: Cable Rib from Interweave Press Favorite Socks
Yarn: Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel blend in Malamute
Needles: Size 1 & 2 Knit Picks circulars

I was so happy to finish the Cable Rib socks this morning that I went right outside in the below zero temps to try to get a good picture of them. I have found this colorway difficult to photograph and I wanted the pattern to show up too. I just parked my butt in my driveway and took some photos.

I don't usually worry about running out of yarn on my second sock but I started worrying as soon as I finished the first sock. I made these socks longer than my "normal" socks (a little over 7 inches from top to heel) and the ribbing and cabling use lots of yarn. Thankfully, the worrying was for naught as I had a nice ball of yarn left over.

When I first started knitting with the merino/tencel yarn I wasn't too fond of it. It felt kind of stringy. As I got used to it, however, I came to love it. I'm not sure what the purpose of the tencel is but the socks feel wonderful. The cables and ribbing make these very leg hugging socks - no worries about these puppies slipping down. I really enjoyed the pattern. It was simple to memorize by the first repeat. I love so many of the patterns in this book but I was looking for something that would work with this yarn. I think I made a good choice.

This will be my last Project Spectrum project for this triad of blue, gray and white. Truth be told, I am bone tired of these icy cold colors. I'm ready for SPRING and some new, brighter colors. My current sip is not very colorful but it is greenish in a khaki sort of way. I'm using Claudia Handpainted and going toe up because this time I know to be worried about the yardage. I'm almost to the heel of the first sock. I'm feeling confident that this short row heel will go much more smoothly than my last short row heel that had me pulling my hair out.

Just wait until you see my new yarn for my next project. I promise it's bright and cheerful and very, very springlike. It's made by Perchance to Knit - I bought it when The Loopy Ewe had their giant update a few weeks ago. It's certainly not like any yarn I've knit with before but I needed to make a drastic change to chase away these winter blues.

Got box?

Wouldn't you be excited if UPS showed up with a nice big box like this?



Imagine how you'd feel if you opened the box, dug through the protective bubbles, and found this:



Here they are together:



I ordered 10 reams of printer paper from Office Depot yesterday. I used a bunch of coupon codes and needed to add the paperclips to the order to bring it over a certain amount. The paper came packaged all together in a normal sized cardboard Xerox box. The paperclips came in this giant sized box. Do they not have smaller boxes at Office Depot?

Ski day

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel that is winter. I love winter - I really do. One of the things I like best is that it gives me a time to regroup, a time to be idle without feeling guilty, a time to just be. By the end of winter, however, I start to get antsy. I'm tired of all the grays and whites. I'm tired of the layers of clothes. I'm sick and tired of being COLD.

Today was the last homeschool ski school day. The weather was perfect. The boys spent every minute on the slopes while I hung back in the lodge to help them when they came in. I got some knitting done - started that dreaded toe up Claudia's sock - but the wrists are still bothering me so I take a lot of rests. Mostly I chatted with another homeschool mom and various kids from homeschool families. Because the weather was so nice I was able to venture out onto the slopes to snap a few photos. This picture is of Mr. Baseball Knitter and our middle son. That middle son just loves the opportunity to have alone time with Dad and loves the chair rides up the mountain.

The early Daylight Saving Time, the end of skiing, temperatures in the 50s ... spring is right around the corner. I know the cold will return before spring is here for good and I know the reality of spring in New England (where it's affectionately referred to as Mud Season) but for now I'm happy to have had a taste of spring on a ski mountain in March.

Funny Way to Start the Day

At the risk of being redundant, I feel I must post this YouTube video. If you haven't seen it yet please watch it. I just about died laughing.



In an attempt to be completely honest, I have to say that my grandmother is a crocheter. I learned to crochet years and years before I learned to knit. I could crochet these cute little worm bookmark things which I gave to all the girls in the 4th grade (and maybe a boy or two). I also made about a zillion granny squares from great yarn like Red Heart which I purchased at stores like Ames or Zayres with my own money. I have no idea whatever became of all those granny squares but I know that I never put more than 4 together.

But back to Nana. Nana crochets. And smokes. Yuck!! Getting a gift from Nana is it's own special kind of torture because you have to act excited about the object while trying not to get sick from the stench of smoke. First of all, Nana believes in themes so I get questions like, "What theme is your kitchen?" Hmmm, I know there are theme people out there but I'm not one of them and Nana finds this incredulous. Secondly, Nana believes everything in the kitchen should be covered by crocheted items. To this end, and I kid you not even a little, she has crocheted throw rugs, curtains, tie backs, seat covers, magnets, blender/toaster/teapot covers, and tops of towels which then button around your oven door. She's also big into bathroom crochet objects - big butterflies that go on the wall, covers for toilet paper rolls (with granny heads on top), covers for tissue boxes, bathmats, toilet tank covers, skirts for underneath the sink.



I don't have a picture of the worst gift my Nana ever gave me but I wish I did. When my oldest son was born, Nana gave me the scariest shower gift ever given to womankind. Picture a slinky - a real metal slinky - that has been crocheted around. Yup, crocheted around the entire length of the slinky. Then on the sides are two crocheted arms with plastic hands and on the bottom are two crocheted legs with plastic legs. Finally, on the top is a plastic clown face with a crocheted ruffle around its neck. This thing actually gave me nightmares and I had to hide it in the closet (until I hung it from the shower rod of my girlfriend's house to "surprise" her in the morning).

I love my Nana. I really do. I'm glad she has found a way to occupy her time. She has even made a few beautiful things like bedspreads and afghans. Please know I mean no disrespect to Nana. You'd just have to see her house to understand.

First Cable Rib

The first Cable Rib sock is finished. I really wish I had a better photo to share but it's WAY too cold to go outside to take a photo. I'll get a good shot when the pair is complete. Let me just say that I really like the pattern. It's quite simple with a 6 stitch cable on each side of the leg and the cables cross every 10 rows.

I have totally changed my mind about the yarn. I'm using Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel blend in a colorway called Malamute. If you had a Malamute dog you'd totally understand the naming of this yarn. I didn't care for the yarn at first but as I knit with it and got used to it I decided I really like it. This pattern pulls in quite a bit with the 2x1 ribbing and the cables but the yarn seems to have nice elasticity. It definitely has good stitch definition (even if the photo doesn't show the cables very well). I wish I had a digital scale because I'd like to weigh the remaining yarn and sock to compare them. I'm just hoping I have enough to complete the second sock.

Speaking of worrying about running out of yarn ... I want to start a pair of socks with some Claudia Handpainted that's been sitting in my stash. I tried to start a pair of socks a couple of weeks ago with it but had gauge issues. The yardage is also an issue with me (with my size 10s). I've decided to bite the bullet and do these socks toe up. I hated the last pair of socks I knit toe up and vowed never to do it again but this yarn is really calling for it. I'd prefer to do them toe up but with a heel flap and gusset. I just want a plain vanilla pattern, toe up, with heel flap and gusset. I'll be searching. I need pictures and very small simple words.

Stash

I've been feeling a little guilty or overwhelmed or immensely grateful for my stash recently. At the rate I am knitting it will take me quite awhile before I could ever hope to knit it all and yet I keep buying more. The truth is, I've been indulging in some retail therapy. I haven't been feeling well - a combination of thyroid and hormone issues - and haven't been able to find a decent doctor to work with. The combination of some winter blues and not feeling well has me searching for ways to lift my spirits. I don't buy clothes or shoes or household decorative objects but I do love to buy yarn. I'll share a photo of some stash acquisition as soon as it arrives.

On a similar but different note, I've also increased my library of knitting books this year. This photo shows just the books I've purchased since January. Books don't make me feel guilty. In fact, they give me hope that I will indeed turn all this lovely yarn into items that can be worn. Oh how I love a good knitting book! I could thumb through the pages for hours and hours just planning which patterns I'll knit and which yarn would be perfect for each pattern. Sometimes I get industrious and make a list of possible pattern and yarn combinations.

I feel awfully lucky to have found a copy of Charlene Schurch's Knitting Marvelous Mittens at a local yarn store. This book is awfully hard to find. I'm particularly enjoying Knitting Vintage Socks and Favorite Socks. I've knit socks from both books already this year. I have a plan to knit at least one sock from each of my Nancy Bush books this year (they're not all shown in this picture).

What is your ONE favorite knitting book?

I'm coming around

After saying last night that I wasn't so sure I had picked the right pattern for this yarn I decided to try the sock on. Wow! What a difference. The cable doesn't show up well as I'm knitting and I thought it was all but lost in the yarn. Once I tried it on, however, the ribbing and cables spread out nicely and I'm quite pleased with the pattern.



See what I mean?

Okay, it's 40 degrees outside and we're expecting a snowstorm tonight into tomorrow. I didn't get my morning walk in today so I'm putting on my sneakers and heading out for a 4 mile walk.

Going slow

Random kitty photo because I don't have anything remotely knitterly interesting to share. Mason is our oldest and best behaved cat. Consequently, he doesn't usually do anything cute or funny that makes me take his picture. My middle son, ever the middle child, doesn't want anyone to feel excluded and asked me to take Mason's photo just because.

The reason I don't have much knitty type stuff to show off is that I hurt my wrists and arms knitting this weekend. Somehow, knitting my son's hat with the different size needles and worsted weight yarn I put stress on my joints. I tend to have problems with carpal tunnel and repetitive stress type injuries and I'm in the midst of a flare up now. The odd thing is my left arm is bothering me more than my right. I don't use my left hand for knitting so I'm not sure why it hurts so much.

I'm still knitting. A little. And a little at a time. I've put the hat aside but I do want to finish it. I've got the lining and the ear flaps knit and I'm just about ready to start the color chart. I'll just wait a bit.

I also cast on the Malamute yarn. I decided to go with a Cable Rib pattern from Favorite Socks. I had the hardest time coming up with a pattern for this yarn and I'm pretty sure this isn't the right pattern for this yarn. It's okay though and I've decided that okay is fine for now. Not everything has to be wonderful. I'm not sure what I feel about the yarn either. It's a merino/tencel blend and it feels sort of like cotton (which I really hate knitting with) but it has more give to it. I'm getting used to it the longer I knit with it and I'll make up my mind when I finish the first sock and can really try it on.

I'm here and I'm knitting but I'm just going slow.

SP 10

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I generally knit with wool or wool/nylon blends. I made a cashmere scarf this year and loved working with cashmere. I do not like working with cotton in any form.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a zippered case that dh bought me years ago to store my needles in. It's not beautiful but it works.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for about 13 years. I learned to knit from a friend who worked at a yarn store and made 5 Christmas stockings for family that year. I would say that I'm an advanced intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes but I'm working on updating it.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I really don't care for smelly things - they make my nose itchy. I do like very clean, natural scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have quite a sweet tooth. My favorite candy is good dark chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I don't really do any other crafts besides knitting. I do not spin and do not want to learn. I do not crochet. I love to cook, bake and garden.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I can handle MP3s. I like 70s folks singers like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Carly Simon (I know she's not really a folk singer but it's the same time period).

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I really like purple and red. I don't care for pastels. I like jewel tones and I'm open to different colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married with 3 sons. We have 3 cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear mittens and scarves but the yarn needs to be very soft. I'm wimpy that way. I'd love a pair of hand knit mittens.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I generally knit socks although I sometimes knit hats, scarves and mittens.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I just finished a pair of socks today and I'm working on a Norwegian Star hat for my 13 year old. I plan to cast on for another pair of socks tomorrow from Favorite Socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I do the vast majority of my knitting on Knit Picks circulars. I love them. I'd really like some 16" Addis in size 3, 4, 5 or 6 to make hats with. The Knit Picks circs don't come in 16".

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes, brand new this year and I love them both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Oh, probably 6 years old. I decided earlier this year that I'm not going to finish it because I really hate knitting it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love the 4th of July. It's a holiday with very little expectation. I love fireworks and cookouts and parades.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
No. Well, maybe cookbooks though I don't intend to collect them. I love cookbooks by Food Network cooks (I'll admit I really like Rachael Ray cookbooks and own them all even though Rachael annoys me).

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't subscribe to any knitting magazines because I prefer small projects most magazines focus on larger items. I don't own any of the Yarn Harlot books and those would make good reading. I'm more than happy to receive used books.
I love solid or semi solid yarns and would like to try a new indie dyer. My favorite online yarn store is The Loopy Ewe. I love Cherry Tree Hill and Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I don't care for self striping yarn.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd like someone to sit with me to go over how I make a short row heel. I'd also like to take a class to go over different cast on techniques.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes. I have size 10 feet. I generally make my socks about 6 or 7 inches tall with a 2.5 inch heel flap and 6.5 inches in the foot before toe decreases.

23. When is your birthday?
April 5th

Conwy socks finished

Pattern: Conwy from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: J. Knits Boston
Needles: Size 1 Knit Picks circs
Modifications: I only decreased to 64 stitches at the gusset instead of 60 and kept the foot at 64 stitches until the toe.

These are the first socks I've ever knit with decreases in the leg. They fit like a dream. I could have made them an inch longer in the leg and been a little happier but they seemed like they were going to be too tight if I pulled them up higher. I liked the twining cables but was very glad to have my Knit Picks needles with their very sharp points or I might not have finished the pattern. I'm not too quick so I didn't memorize the pattern right away but once I did it flowed.

The J. Knits yarn was mostly a pleasure to work with. The color variations are wonderful - I love the dark blue that runs through this yarn. The yarn is very soft and very strong. It has nice spring to it. There were a few slubby areas and it had a tendency to be somewhat splitty (which is a definite disadvantage in this pattern).

Recycled yarn

This morning, this

became this


I've had that lone sock in my knitting bag for years. I'm not even entirely sure what pattern or yarn the sock is. I do know that I loved it when I knit it but for some reason never knit its mate. It was a beautiful sock but it didn't fit. It was too big. Knowing I'd never knit it a partner I decided to just frog the whole thing. I'll have to see if I have a matching skein of yarn somewhere. If I can find a matching skein the yarn shall become socks. If I can't find a matching skein, I've decided the yarn will become a keyhole scarf.

I'm still knitting the Conwy sock. I'm making progress - almost through the gusset decreases on the second sock - but nothing photo worthy. I should have a finished second sock soon.

Project Spectrum cast

It's just been one of those kind of weeks. It started last weekend with two full days of Scout events. It's not that the events weren't fun but by the end of the weekend I was bone tired. On Monday morning we left the house bright and early to go skiing. I don't ski - I CAN ski but I choose not to - but the boys and my husband have been taking lessons and skiing on Mondays. Everyone wanted me to come with them so I could watch, take pictures and help out with the younger boys in the lodge. The day went fine, the boys were thrilled to have me there, and I managed to get in a good bit of knitting. My oldest son hurt his arm while snowboarding but he seemed fine so we plied him with Advil and an ace bandage and continued on.

Tuesday was a catch up day. I was trying to get everything done that I hadn't gotten done over the weekend and Monday. I also had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and my oldest son's Court of Honor for Boy Scouts that evening. Wednesday brought the Nor'Easter. We had a pleasant day at home and I was so grateful not to lose power. Yesterday I was up early because my middle son had his first orthodontist appointment in preparation for getting his braces next week. As I was checking email and drinking my morning tea the oldest son came to show me his "sprained wrist" from Monday. I could tell right away that this was not a sprain and spent the next couple of hours getting him set up with an orthopedic appointment. It turns out that oldest son broke his radius in that snowboarding fall on Monday. Finally, by 2:00 yesterday we had finished with the orthodontist, the orthopedist, the lab (for my bloodwork), and two separate trips to Target (oldest son's long sleeve shirts don't fit over the cast). I was so tired last night I just wanted to cry.

Today is another catch up day. I've got the laundry started and the boys moving. I need to clean the downstairs of the house and keep the boys going with schoolwork. I don't want to spend the weekend doing chores that could be done today. I'm looking forward to a productive day.

This poor Hairy Woodpecker was at the feeder off and on all morning. It was not fit for man nor beast outside today as the Nor'Easter pelted us with snow all day. We don't often see the Hairy Woodpecker. He seems much more shy than his friend, the Downy Woodpecker. I was able to snap a few photos but I wasn't actually going to go outside to try to get a better one.

I've been waiting for a large order from KnitPicks and when I checked the UPS website this morning it said my package was out for delivery. I wasn't holding my breath because of the storm but I did hold out a little hope. Sadly, when I just checked the website again I got this message: THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED DUE TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS BEYOND UPS' CONTROL. I'm sure my package will be delivered tomorrow instead and there's nothing in it that I can't wait another day for but I'm pouting like a three year old.

I have so much to be thankful for - my husband stayed home today and worked from here instead of driving in terrible conditions, my boys all went out to play in the snow, husband picked up a treat for me for Valentine's Day and made waffles for breakfast, we have heat and electricity (knock on wood for that) and plenty to eat, we have a beautiful fire going in the fireplace and roast chicken in the oven. It's a good day even without my package.

First Conwy finished

My first Conwy sock was finished this morning. I really wanted to share a picture but the temperature outside right now is 1 degree F. It's cold. Really cold. The funky winter lighting and the cold prevented me from being able to get a good photo. I'll try again later. The close up shot showing the detail on the leg came out much better. I really like the way the yarn works with this pattern. I don't think I would have liked this pattern in a totally solid colored yarn.

Here's what I think about the yarn and pattern:
Yarn - J. Knits yarn is very soft but has good memory. It produces a fabric with good stitch definition and good elasticity. The colors are very nice. The yarn could have a tighter twist and had tendency to split. There were also a few slubby areas. I was very glad I used my KP needles with this pattern and yarn - the pointy tips were definitely a necessity.

Pattern - Conwy makes a beautiful sock with twining cables all the way from the top to the bottom. The cables were easy to make once I got the hang of them and the 4 row repeat was easy to memorize. I've never done a sock with calf shaping before and I like how this sock fits. I knit it an inch shorter than the pattern called for but an inch longer than my usual sock. I wasn't sure I was doing the decreases down the back of the leg properly as the pattern only shows you how to do 3 out of 6. In the end I think I did fine because the back of the leg looks good. Again, I'm glad I was using a multi tonal yarn. As I was doing the gussets I kept the foot a bit bigger than called for in the pattern because it would have been too snug otherwise (I kept the foot at 64 stitches instead of 60 as called for in the pattern). It fits very nicely this way. I also did my own regular round toe that I always do. I just like it and don't see any need to change it.

Now I just need to get the second sock on the needles.

Mittens finished

Mittens knit with Cascade 220 in Heather Blue. Eric loves them.

When the boys were little I used to knit all their mittens. Cute little mittens with reindeer on them. Once I even knit black mittens with yellow lightning bolts for my Harry Potter loving son. As the boys got older, however, they started to prefer store bought ski mittens. I was very surprised by Eric's request for me to knit him a pair but I was happy to do so.

This is my first time knitting with Cascade 220. It's lovely yarn. I will certainly return to it again the next time I do some worsted weight knitting (which isn't very often). It's much less itchy than the Brown Sheep yarn I always used in the past for their mittens. The mitts were a quick knit and made for a happy boy. They are also my second completed project for Project Spectrum.

I have my third Project Spectrum knitting project on the needles now. A pair of Conwy socks using the J. Knits Boston yarn that I've shown here before. The yarn is wonderful and I'm enjoying the pattern. I got a little confused with the calf shaping decreases but I stayed with it and it all worked out in the end. I don't think this will be a quick knit but I like how they look so far.

Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Tart

A cashmere scarf wasn't the only thing I made my wonderful husband for his birthday. I also pulled together this little concoction. It's a Chocolate-Glazed Peanut Butter Tart from the Chocolate edition of The Best of Fine Cooking. My husband was very surprised and delighted. He gave it two thumbs up and a big A+.

Like Sheri, at The Loopy Ewe, I don't pretend to be a food stylist but I thought this was too pretty not to share.

Stealth scarf finished

Today is my husband's birthday and it was 10 degrees F when he left for work. It was the perfect time for him to wear his new cashmere scarf. I don't have any modeled photos of the scarf but he wrapped it lovingly around his neck before leaving the house. I don't normally knit for him because while he's terribly supportive my my knitting habit he has no desire for hand knits himself. He seemed to love the scarf.

The pattern for the scarf is called Little Pyramids. The pattern was a simple 6 row pattern - actually, a 3 row pattern that repeated backwards. It doesn't roll at all on the side or top edges and is completely reversible. I ordered the cashmere from Sarah's Yarns and I was very happy with it. Her service was exceptional and her prices for cashmere are very, very good. I LOVED knitting with the cashmere - it was soft like butter but sturdy. It produced a fabric with wonderful drape and very good stitch definition. Maybe I'll even make a cashmere scarf for myself sometime.

This is my second completed project for Project Spectrum in the blue/gray/white triad. I have two more projects on the needles right now. I'm making mittens for my youngest with some Cascade 220 in a heathery blue and I decided to knit the Conwy socks with the J. Knits Boston. Clearly, these colors are not a stretch for me. I should have mitten pictures to share soon.

Super Bowl shopping

I'm almost embarrassed to show this photo but I feel like I'm hiding a dirty little secret. I briefly mentioned that I went to a Super Bowl sale on Saturday. I didn't mention that it was at my all time favorite LYS. I drove an hour to go to the sale on icy roads and let me just say it was well worth it. The store was not the least bit crowded and there was plenty of staff working to assist in finding things. I met a couple of nice people and helped one mother pick out a great birthday gift for her sock knitting daughter.

I knew how much money I had in my Paypal account and I was determined not to go crazy and spend more than I had. I was careful and deliberate in my selections - the yarn you see here took me almost and hour and a half to pick out. With all the yarn in the store 30% off it was tempting to buy everything but I remained calm.

Here's what I did buy:
Louet Gems Grape -no particular project in mind yet
Louet Gems Linen Gray - I don't know why they call it Linen Gray as it is a very tannish khaki color. When I bought new khaki pants recently I realized that I had no socks to match. I figured this very plain boring yarn could become a most excellent sock with unlimited pattern potential.
Dalegarn Falk in black and cream - destined to become a We Call Them Pirates Hat
Dalegarn Svale - for lining of said pirate hat
Rowan Calmer - a beautiful raspberry color destined to become a Shedir
Mountain Colors Bearfoot Berry - no particular pattern but some nice warm cozy socks

I also got an unpictured skein of Cascade 220 in a heather blue which is being turned into mittens for my youngest as we speak.

I won't be doing any shopping for awhile. I have more than enough yarn to keep me happy for a bit.

I did my duty

I finished my duty socks this morning. Jared is very happy with them (though proclaiming them a bit short) and they fit him well. Mostly, I think, he's happy that I took the time to knit socks for him. His love languages are gifts and time and these socks represent both.

These socks also count as my first Project Spectrum contribution as well as my February socks for the Sock a Month KAL. Woohoo!

Pass it on

I have this belief that when we let go of things we make room in our lives for new things to enter. When we let go of things we don't love, we make room for things we do love. It's just the way the universe works. I love to get rid of things and I'm happy to pass them along to new owners who will appreciate them.

This week I passed along a nice box of preschool toys which I gathered from various places in my house to a neighbor with preschool aged boys. The next day my middle son and I found a slew of wonderful books at Goodwill. As a homeschool mom, I'm always happy to buy new books but I'm kind of picky about what they read (not very picky but I'd like it to be better than Goosebumps). It thrills me to no end to find good books for low cost at Goodwill. So old preschool toys out, new books in (new used books which is even better to my recycling karmic thinking).

I have become the owner of so much yarny goodness this week that I hardly know where to start. Today I received my second yarn swap. It's wonderful Maine Mousse from Furryarns. I can't even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to trade something I didn't want and knew I'd never use, for something that I love and I know I'll use.

Swap yarn

Look at this beautiful yarn I received in a swap for a book I really didn't want.


Here is a close up of my son's favorite part.


The yarn is Winter Breeze by Brooklyn Handspun. I can't believe that someone parted with it. I don't have specific plans for it right now but I'm keeping it close to me. Last night my husband asked, "Why do you keep smelling that yarn?" "Because it smells good," I said while tossing him the yarn. He took a big sniff and admitted it smells good but he didn't get it. Muggle.

Project Spectrum Knitting Goals

Project Spectrum has officially begun and I hardly know where to start. After two pictureless posts in a row, I have plenty of photos to share today. It seems like a good time to go over my Project Spectrum knitting goals for the blue, gray, white triad. After two pictureless posts in a row, I have plenty to share today. Remember you can click on any photo for a larger image.

1. Finish the stealth scarf in time for my husband's birthday in 5 days. It now measures 53 inches and I'd like to get to 64 inches if I don't run out of yarn first.

2. Finish Jared's Silja socks. I've got the first one complete and the second one just rows away from starting the heels. I'm having a good attitude about this duty knitting as Jared routinely checks my progress to tell me what a good job I'm doing.

3. Finish the barely started hat for Dulaan. I found this turquoise yarn in my stash. Although I never knit with bulky yarn and it hurts my hands if I knit with it for very long, I figured I could eek out a toddler hat. I'd like to complete one charity project for each PS triad.

4. Knit socks with these beautiful yarns. I've had enough of smelling them and touching them, I'd like to knit with them. I won't cast on with either, however, until numbers 1 and 2 above are completed. I still haven't decided what they'll be. The Yarn Pirate yarn may become Monkey socks or Conwy socks. Any thoughts? The J. Knits is tougher because I want a pattern that takes full advantage of the color - probably something cabley.

5. Knit at least one of the socks for the current Nancy Bush KALs. I'm not really terribly interested in either but I'm considering the Gentlemen's Plain Winter Sock (pictured on the right). Maybe if I find the perfect yarn at the yarn store sale this weekend. If I don't find the perfect yarn, I'll just knit a different Nancy Bush sock.