Resolutions

I want to start out by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Here are my knitting resolutions for the 2007 year.

1. To use stash yarn in 4 out of every 5 projects.
2. To knit at least 2 pairs of socks a month.
3. To make an attempt to complete all of my sock club projects.
4. To start knitting for Xmas in May (right after Maryland Sheep and Wool).

Wish me luck and good luck to all of you in the new year (I'm still not eating those nasty black-eyed peas though).

How a Wee Sock is Made

The first thing to do, if you're ever going to make an obscene amount of wee socks, is order some sock yarn. Now the whole point of the wee socks, was to use up some extras I had floating around. But there comes a point when you need some motivation. You could even order that 1 skein that you've been lusting over (or 15 different colors of that one skein). This is yarn pirate w/ tencel. It's name is Hydrangea and I got it from one of my favorite stores: The Loopy Ewe. I got this yarn 3 days after I ordered it! That amazes me alone (The mail in Mississippi is not so stellar, we won't get mail for 3 days and then so much it has to be left on the porch). You wind the yarn in you method of choice, after showing it off to your knitter friends. The knitting a wee sock usually occurs the morning before you have to give them out, along with some cursing. I did spread them out a bit better, but that late night was still there. Of all the wee socks I knit, I have to admit this one was a favorite, along with some Socks That Rock in the Christmas Balls colorway. I'll blog about Christmas later, Have a good one!

Stockings

They say a picture is worth the thousand words. This would be why I am too busy knitting to post much these past couple weeks. I am so tired of wee little socks and I still have 5 more to make. The bag is a small Noni carpet bag. I'm too tired to type anymore.

Allie's Afghan is Done!

Put a done stamp on Allie's Afghan. It only took me the Bills game (They lost, but it was a great second half) to complete it.
Here are the facts on it:
Date Started: 8/1/06
Date Finished: 12/3/06
Title of Pattern: Waterfall Afghan by Lion Brand Yarn (free on their site)
Yarn Used: Lion Brand Homespun (doubled) color #336 Barrington
Alterations: I made it 20 inches longer than called for.

It will be shipped out to New Jersey on Monday barring a staff meeting at school.
Now on to the next project, the "They Call Them Pirates" hat from Hello Yarn

Christmas Panic Arrives

Yesterday's Scarf fiasco, and the fact that I got no knitting done at play practice, has moved me into full panic mode. So here's a list of the knitting left to be done.

• Nikki's Irish Hiking Scarf (1/5 of the way done, that was it yesterday).
• Dad's Double Knit Scarf (Was cast on in September, has around 5 inches done)
• Ms. Bayles Scarf (1/6th of the way done, but it's a simple moss stitch).
• Matt's We Call Them Pirates Hat (1/6th of the way done).
• Allie's Afghan (Needs about 5 more hours work, will hopefully be done today).
• Becky's Skydiver Shaw (A little over 1/2 done).
• Peresie's Socks and Bag (I finished one sock decided it was the Satan's socks larger brother (way too big) Need to rip out and restart both projects, Also need to pick out a final pattern for the bag).
• Mini Sock Ornaments for people I like that I can't afford the stress of knitting a big gift for (Will start on the 17th)

Things I have done:

• Hat for Emily
• Hat for Rae
• Hat for Aunt Chris (Already gave it to her)
• Hat and Eyemask for Trotter
• Hat for Grandma
• Tessa's Hat (She already got it)

One of these lists is much longer that the other. I thought I had done so well (I did start thinking about this in August).

Alright now to make the goals for this week.

Today: Finish Allie's Afghan

This Week: Finish Matt's hat and Peresie's bag.

Next Week: Knit Peresie's socks (I see her on the 16th, she's first priority). Work on the Irish Hiking Scarf to get it to halfway. Start some of the mini stockings (15 total)

I haven't resorted to counting the knitting hours left, but I'm on the edge.

Cussing and Swearing Abounds

I FUBARed my Irish Hiking Scarf. And not just by a little bit. Below is what the sides are both supposed to look like. It's what the right side of the right side looks like. Now... the left side on the other hand. Not so much. It began like that and then went on a tour of Stockinette town. .

The sad part is Xmas is fast approaching. I need to finish this scarf quickly and move on to other projects. So my question for you, is it so noticeable that a non-knitter and very good friend won't notice my boo-boo OR is it in immediate need of frogging and redoing? Here's one final shot.

Why I Hate Customs

So on the 13th of November, I got an email from Michelle saying that my yarn and other goodies had shipped. It arrived today. I have to admit after day 10 I was getting a bit worried. I even went on the Canadian post website in hopes of tracking the package. No such luck.

Then there was a post on the Sweet Sheep Sock Club blog about customs. Apparently, I had forgotten that Canada is indeed another country and item bought there must go through customs. I was still a bit worried though. Luckily, everything arrived today. What is everything you may ask...Well.... I got three skeins of sock yarn. Two of which (Fall Leaves and Suzanne see bottom of photo) are Mama E's. I like the feel of the sock yarn we got through the club so much I had to buy more. I also got (see the larger skein at the top of the photo) a Sweet Georgia yarn called Jet Set.

On Sunday I had "soaked" all my socks with a packet of Aqua Soak. Luckily for me I had also ordered some soak in "a scent for celebration." This scent is super yummy and reminds me a bit of cranberries. I can't wait to try it out. Just in case you were wondering I got all this great stuff from Michelle (who always writes a nice card in all my packages) here. Now if only I had all the time in the world to knit socks.

The Day After Thanksgiving

So over the past few days 11 people have been staying in a house with 3 bedrooms. Thanks goodness for the office and the knitting room. But people staying everywhere equals a lack of quiet knitting time and 11 people wanting handknitted items. So far the only person to win out is my 7 year old (almost 8) cousin Tessa. This is her in what I have decided to call the Shirley Temple hat (cause its got ringlets). Its a simple pattern and quite cute. Get a skein of Rowan babysoft. If your child has a small head cast on 72 stitches (for a larger one try 81). Work in St st for 6 inches. Start to decrease (SSK k7 continue across the round, next round k across, 3rd round SSK k6 and continue as set until SSK across the whole row). Finish the hat with curly fringe from Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein. I did three of varying length. Mainly because I was too tired after completing the first one, and they got increasingly shorter (I was also playing Uker at the time and they did not have the fullest of my attention).
I've also become an ambassador of knitting. Tessa started a scarf for her rabbit (its a toy) out of Cascade 220. I've even also taught Peresie to knit and purl (she started a bookmark, no patience with that one). Emily, my brothers fiance who is becoming an occupational therapist, has told me to exercise my hands after knitting to prevent arthritis. This is something I am definitely going to do because my throwing wrist was killing me after the ringlets.
Next on the knitting list: Finish Allies's afghan and socks for Peresie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. I'm off to watch football and knit socks (imagine that). Have a good one!

Pirates and deserted islands

This is my swatch for the sweet sheep sock yarn. I'm thinking that I'm going to do this pattern from knitty. I like the idea of the stranded pattern when using a yarn inspired by a sunset. Of course, I didn't swatch in that pattern. I'll probably cast the socks on this weekend. Until then, I need to work on my socks that rock and the jaywalker revised. Peresie wants the socks that I promised last Christmas, so I'm going to cast on my other All Things Heather and get started on that (she'll be here for Thanksgiving). I'm also going to cast on the We call them pirates hat (It's a skull skullcap) for my 10 year old cousin who'll be visiting also. Overall, a very pirates/deserted island week for me.

Sweet Sheep Sock club (say that 5 times fast)

Yesterday I got this. No, not the counter top (although it is spiffy). My yarn from the Sweet Sheep Sock Club came. I'm a mixed bag on this one. I like the yarn itself. It's soft and seems to be a little smaller than Socks That Rock Lightweight. I'm not crazy about the colors. I like the blues but I'm not crazy about the peaches. I'm going to wind a ball of it tonight and swatch with it. I'm not a swatcher, but after reading the blog comments from people (Yes, there are people who have already begun swatching) I'm thinking swatching is a must on this one. I'm also torn between what sock pattern to use. So many choices... I'm going to swatch in a couple of different stitch patterns and see how they look. This might be a perfect ripple pattern sock. Time will have to tell. I'll have the swatch for your viewing pleasures tomorrow night (hopefully).

Waiting

I can not wait for my sweet sheep sock club yarn to arrive. I am really impatient and the fact that we did not get mail on Saturday or today makes me mad. I had to go to work today, so everyone else should have to also. I started my Jaywalker socks and got this far.
Yes, I didn't even finish the ribbing. Sunday is usually the day when I get all my knitting done (as I watch the Steelers and the Bills) but I had to study instead. I hate the Praxis tests. I hate that I have to spend 120 dollars (that could be spent on yarn) to tell me that I can teach. PA and NC were okay with me teaching without this stupid test, but MS of all places has a problem with it. Blah. At least after Saturday, I'll have more time for knitting.

See this picture. It was in the Commercial Appeal (Memphis's Main/Only Newspaper). Now look at the tall smiling girl in the background. That's me. Yes, I know I look odd. I was doing some crazy grammar thing at a workshop (in all seriousness the workshop rocked, if you teach grammar you should check out Grammar With a Giggle).
In knitting news, I ripped out my Jayalker cuff. The Lana Grossa Sock yarn (Meilenweit Fantasy) was just too busy. Even Nikki and Mom thought so. Plus it was to loose and the size of the socks seemed off. Instead, I'm thinking of some knitpicks yarn (same yarn as the Satan socks, different colors) . Even though the Satan socks were evil, I'm thinking the striping pattern will look nice in the Jaywalker sock. I'm going to cut down the number of stitches cast on to 56 though. I'll post progress tomorrow.

Old Miss

Remember how I said I lost the month of October. This is one of those activities it was lost to. This is me knitting away at an Old Miss Football game. Had I known how much the tickets were, I might have been more appreciative (that's why I love my EB).

I wore the socks today to school. They did not pass the test. Felting beyond anything that I have ever seen before in my life with a huge amount of fuzziness. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought they were angora by the end of the day. As much as I love that yarn, I'm going to have to let it go. Maybe I'll try the sock weight next and see if it makes any difference, although the all knowing mom says its how it was spun...hmmm...

I started a pair of jaywalker socks from magknits today and I'm waiting extremely impatiently for my sweet sheep sock yarn. I'm hoping it'll arrive tomorrow. Reality of the mail in Mississippi says more like Monday. Meanwhile I'll watch season 4 of Scrubs and knit.

Fastest socks in the West

I can't believe how fast these socks knit up. I must have had a sweat shop of elves in the back working on them while I was sleeping or something. The color is more true in the first picture rather than the second. Now for all the gory details. I started and finished the first sock on Saturday. Second sock syndrome didn't hit me hard, so the second sock was begun on Sunday. Due to a cat whom shall not be named stealing a needle (size 4, 5 inch length Bryspun), the second sock was not completed until today (all was done but the toes shaping and kitchener). The sock yarn was a sportweight from All Things Heather bought here. The color is Raspberry Truffle and is a handpainted superwash merrino 280 yards. The general pattern I used is from Sensational knits Socks (pg.34). I chose an openwork rib pattern and casted on 48 stitches. I used the kitchener method in the Yarn Harlot's book Knitting Rules! It's the easiest way of doing Kitchener I've ever seen (I hate the version that was in an interweave although it did address how to kitchenered non stockinette pieces).
Well I'm off to wear my new socks around the house and then to school tomorrow. I'll tell you how the 6th graders feel about them.
L

Humberto

This is my cat, Humberto El Gatto Meow . Do not be deceived by his appearance. He is a sneaky thief. You can not leave a ball of yarn or a needle of any kind around the house without him finding it. And he will find it. It doesn't even matter if you put the object in a room with a closed door, he can open doors. Here he is ready to steal an alpaca scarf I was working on. Being of the sneaky thief sort, he's looking an innocent for the camera, but when you turn your back on him, this is what he will really look like: Sometime over the course of Monday, he stole one of my double pointed needles. Of course I need that needle to finish the socks I am working on. The socks that I want to knit on right now. Humberto and I are about to have words. These words will not be sweet or nice. In the mean time, I'm making due with 4 out of my 5 bryspun 5 inch double points. Sadness.

Visualize this

I'm going to have to post a picture of the socks I knit this weekend (OK.. Well I finished one and started the second) later because my camera is without batteries. But see if you can visualize this. I knit the socks using the pick and brown All Things Heather Yarn pictured above. I used a pattern from Sensational Socks. It's kind of a lacy ribby looking thing. Since this is the first time that I've used double points and knitted a sock in the more traditional way, I'm super proud of it. I have to say that I liked knitting socks this way. The first sock seemed to go so fast (I knit it all on Saturday) , but today's is going a bit slower. I am past turning the heel and picking up stitches though.
While I was knitting this morning, my grandma called. She asked what new and exciting things I'm up to and I told her all about the sock clubs I've joined. This led to a conversation about how things never change. You see my grandma remembers in the 50s, all the young women knitting socks and wearing handknit socks. One of the first projects I can remember seeing my mom knit is socks (she's more of a spinner kind of gal). It's interesting to be doing something so intertwined with the past.
L

October

Someone has stolen the month of October from me! No, I've just been really, really busy with moving cool people
like my friend Nikki. And my other friend Hannah had her birthday so I finished the Satan socks (I had to rush them out of the house before they led my other sock yarn to the dark side, so no pictures). I also went and saw Lion King in Nashville. And have even found time to go to work. But I'm back, and since xmas is comming soon I will hopefully have cool knitted things to post about. Until I start all those cool things, I'll just leave you with this picture of Nikki.
Later!
L

Forgive Me

I've had some really cool people staying over for the past week. Mostly Trotter who is also a knitter, but also these people.

Yes, I'm in there, too. I had a spa party, and these are just a few of the crazy people that decided to attend. Needless to say, little knitting has been done this past week and the twins deadline has been moved up to Oct. 3rd. Things to do before then...

1. Make the purple pieces of a raglan sweater into a sweater.

2. Knit the baby boy's sweater and put it together

3. Finish all the work I have to do for the awesome finishing class I'm taking at Yarn To Go.

4. Finish Allie's wedding afghan (After 2 months sitting alone for the months of August and most of September, it's sad and wants to go to it's new home.)

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.

Mail Call

I got this in the mail today. I got all three skeins from my favorite new shop http://www.thesweetsheep.com/xcart/home.php
Why I love this shop...with my sock came a card (think hallmark), with a free mini skein of Katia Bamboo, and a 10% off coupon. Unfortunately, for everyone else they seem to be sold out of the 2 side skeins that I bought, All Things Heather. This yarn is sooooooo soft and I love that I bought a sport-weight gauge (The better to knit last minute presents in). The skein in the middle is the shop's version of sock yarn called Sweet Socks. It is also very nice. I love that the colorway is called lollipop. The colorway of the All Things Heather on the left is Tequila Sunrise (like I was going to pass that up). The one on the far right is Raspberry Truffle. I love all three skeins and can't wait to try them out. I still have to rip back on the Satan socks. I'm putting it off for a rainy day, and since it rarely rains in Mississippi, I may be in luck. Think that's all that could have come in the mail today? Nope, I got the new Debbie Bliss book, too. I classic Debbie Bliss with some cute baby stuff. I got it because I have five or six baby showers coming up in the future and I've got to get cracking on some cute sweaters and such.
In other news, I think I've found the worst use of Blue Sky Alpacca's Cotton. Knitty Gritty had on today an episode oo about this, a Sushi Bathroom set. All I can say is, "Sad."

Why knitting while watching naked men might not be the best choice

I've learned through various theater experiences, that taking knitting to a musical/play can be a good thing. I've knit all the way through "To Kill A Mockingbird" and during the intermissions of various other plays. I wished I had my knitting during 1776 so I could poke my own eyes out and maybe burst my eardrums too (There I am getting all Oedipus on you). However, knitting even before the start of the Full Monty, not the best of choices. Because I was paying attention to the people surrounding me, namely Nikki commenting on other audience members, and the strange man who sat down next to me; I knit Hannah's socks together. As if I needed another why Hannah's socks are Satan, I have one. Not only did I knit them together, but I didn't catch it until I did at least 5 more rows. See, that's what even the expectation of seeing naked men will do to you, it'll make you knit your socks together. Tommorrow is offical rip it out day. I'll also be knitting out the baby hat I let Eli and Chloe help with. Their uneven stitches at the bottom are driving me crazy, as are the fugliness of the crown shapping. Hopefully, Crider's baby can hold off one more week, just one more week.
Being at the Full Monty means that I missed out on my Thrusday Night Knit Night at Yarn Studio. Sadness...but I'll catch all of you but Laura (the other one) next week.

Mom's Scarf

Here is the start of Mom's Handspun scarf. I cast on 25 stitches on size 7 Clovers and began working in the foaming waves pattern from 365 Stitches a Year. I've made decent progress, but I haven't gotten to the pink part of the skein yet. I'm not going to get a chance to work on it tonight, but I promise to work on it some tomorrow and update you on my progress then.

Endless Socks

On the far left are Hanah's Socks. I am firmly convinced that Hanah's socks are possessed by Satan. These are the socks that will never end. They were concived in May with Sock Garden Yarn from knitpicks and all seemed to be going well. They're going to be a Christmas present for this year and I got cocky. "Wow, I started these early, there's no way I can't get these done in time." Better yet Hannah had requested them in this colorwave so I knew that I couldn't lose. I knit my socks on two circulars from the toes up (double points and I don't get along). Before I knew I was ready to turn the heel. It was only the last week in May and I had returned from Maryland Sheep amd Wool ready to knit new more exciting projects (I think I bought out Morehouse). So Hanah's socks became less of a focus and a stand in line and wait project. But the heels were soon turned (eye doctor's appointments) and I was moving on to the cuff. Now, I hate the cuffs of socks on a good day, but they still remained my wait in the car/appointment/game duty socks. Somewhere in this period is where I am convinced that the socks became possessed. However long I work on them, they refuse to grow to the proper sock length. Now if these were socks for me I would have switched over to ribbing already and then quickly bound off. However, these are socks for someone else and this someone else likes long cuffs on her socks. The cuffs are stuck at 5 inches and refusing to grow any further no matter how much ESPN I watch. I'm getting a bit frustrated with them. I even took them out on the porch and knit them there, but they are stubburn. So, in typical Laura fashion, I decided to move on with life.
The second picture is a skein of handspun yarn. I don't spin, but my mom does. My mom has been spinning since I was born, maybe longer. That is some of her handspun yarn and since she rarely knits, I've decided to grace her with a scarf handknit out of her handspun. She's out of town motorcyling with my father and her B-day is fast approaching., so now's the perfect time to raid her stash. I'm thinking of using it in a lace pattern, which will keep her warm enough in the Mississippi climate.

This is one of the Snuggly Fair Isle sweaters I'm knitting for a teacher at school (she's having twins). It never seems to fail that I'm behind on presents of various sorts, so I decided to start this project early. The babies are due in November so it seems like I have plenty of time. Of course, by starting on the twins early enough to finish, I've been neglecting other more tardy presents, including an afghan for a wedding. It's around halfway done and because it's already late, it might get postponed to even later. Sorry Allie. The twins sweater was a fast knit though, it took less than a week, so I might have time to finish all. In other news, two of my best friends are coming down for a visit and they are also due some tardy presents. For the one, I got that cool new scented yarn called Lang Emotion http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Lang_Yarn-Emotion_Color_Yarn-2463.html in the Gingseng scent. I'm thinking of making an eyemask for her (I'm also having a spa party that weekend). The other, Jenny is already a knitter. I'm going to take her to the yarn stores in town and see what catches her fancy. Unfortunatly, she's on tour (she works for Sesame Street Live) and has a 40 pound lugage restriction on her bagage. I'm thinking about teaching her how to knit socks. I owe her big time because she's bringing me back Kinder Eggs http://www.kindersurprise.com/home.html which they sell in Costa Rica. Odd since they're made in Germany, but they are my favorite thing ever, so I'm super excited.

First Blog

I'm been wanting to start a knitting blog for some time now, but fate had not been on my side. I moved down to Mississippi last July and we moved into our house the last week in August. We were just setting stuff up when Katrina hit. Luckily, I live far enough north in Mississippi that there was very little damage, but it did mean that stuff like internet service was postponed. Then our developer had issues. Sooo... to make a long story short, I finally got broadband this week. I'm super excited to be starting this blog, plus I'm hoping it'll help me stay organized and sane. This way I'll be able to keep track of all the projects I finish and the lack of progress on all of my UFOs. Next blog I'll have pictures and everything, If I can figure it all out.