It's been a weird few days...

I got a bit hooked on the crochet thing and found myself spending whole afternoons trying new stitches, making potholders, and discovering the granny square.

Exhibit A: Easy-Peasy potholder (I'll be making more of these!)

Exhibit B: The Granny Square and Friend: In which I discovered that, unsurprisingly, Tahki Cotton Classic is much nicer to work with than Peaches and Cream cotton.

I had some notion here of attaching these two for some sort of... I don't know... trivet or potholder?  But that seemed to exceed my available knowledge so they've been put aside.

I really enjoy the craft... but struggle a bit with what feels like unproductive time spent creating useless objects (the potholder is too small).  But at least now I know how.

Then I spent a couple days yelling at the TV and lecturing anyone who would listen on all that is wrong with this country... while trying to consider any remotely possible positive impact of insulting the ones with whom you are trying to "compromise".  For some reason the whole thing reminds me of my sons "compromising" over what game to play.  Maybe the men and women of DC need their parents to supervise.  I don't know.  But I gave up watching.

At which point I became distracted by my peeling sunburnt legs.   In a very snake-like fashion which I've never seen before, the skin is slowly peeling away in a single layer with no sign of stopping.

Fortunately, about this time, I remembered that I needed to finish my Camp Loopy Project 2 featuring cables.

I love cables.

I also love this yarn, Madelinetosh Sock in "Silver Fox".  The pattern is BFF socks by Cookie A.

Which carried me over to yesterday and Sheri's announcement of Project 3... for which I needed to invest more time picking yarn and a pattern.

I did get some lesson planning done, so I don't feel entirely useless.  But pretty close.

Camping! No, really!

I haven't been camping in years... at least 6.  But in a moment of what I can only describe as profound forgetfulness, I exclaimed to one of my friends (who just got a new tent trailer), "Hey!  Let's take the boys camping next week!"  And within 24 hours she had managed to snag a spot at one of my favorite local beaches.  Favorite, in this case, meaning two things... very local and one of the only places I've ever camped.

So Monday morning we took her 4 boys and my 2 youngest on a grand 14 mile trek to the local beach campground.  It's actually a beautiful site because we camp nestled in the mountains.

 With lots of shade and oodles of kids.

Yet just a skip, hop and troll through this tunnel...

and you're at the beach!

The water was the most amazing blue!

And while some of us (my youngest and I) don't care much for the sand...

This little guy loved it!

It was also educational.  For example, we learned about Stinging Nettle...

which causes a stinging, itching rash upon contact.

I was reminded that cool breezes do not negate the need for sunscreen.

And my creative friend Keri showed me how to start a campfire using some Fire Starters she'd made using dryer lint, melted wax and an egg carton!  You simply stuff dryer lint in an empty egg carton, then cover with melted wax (she may have even used broken up crayons, I can't remember... but just google Egg Carton Fire Starter and you'll be set).  When they are dry, you just light a couple and stick them in the fire pit under the wood.  And voila...

 

you are ready for s'mores.  Which help them forget about the Stinging Nettle.

While the boys splashed and explored, I read Shanghai Girls on my Kindle (excellent read by the way), knit dishcloths and worked on my 2nd Camp Loopy project...

BFF socks from Cookie A's Knit. Sock. Love. for this month's cable theme.

So, overall, I'm glad I forgot that I'm not a camper at heart and enjoyed a couple days at the beach.  Who knows... maybe in about 6 years I'll do it again.  :)

This is SO Wrong!

The Unique Sheep creates amazing gradiance yarn collections for socks, scarves and shawls.  They dye the skeins in a series of complementing colors which, when knit in an overlapping series, create a beautiful gradation of color.

I got this sock set in the colorway Nox from Simply Sock Yarn.

The pattern pictured is from the book Sock Club which is a collection of different patterns from a variety of sock knitting clubs. 

I really enjoyed the yarn and the color changes kept me really amused.  So amused in fact that I ignored my gut need for symmetry and went with the mismatched concept.  It's a good thing that I really enjoyed knitting these...

because I would surely develop some sort of nervous tic if I were to ever actually wear them.

We Survived!

We hopped a train to Santa Barbara for the day and had a blast. Beautiful weather, lunch on the pier, a tour of the oceanography museum (with plenty of hands on exploration)...



and then to the beach for some real life exploration.

Wyatt had the most amazing find of the day...



Vertebrae! The scientist said they were either from a dolphin or a seal, but the really cool part is that they were still connected by cartilage! Of course the coolness of this is relative... "ooooh!" or "ewwwww"... your choice. But Wyatt thought it was all kinds of awesome as he is passionate about science and wildlife.

Daniel found a treasure as well. A treasure perfect for him... but of a very different nature. It was some sort of military belt which he was quick to imagine had survived WWII only to end up on the sandy shores of Santa Barbara.

So just when I'm thinking how great it was that they each found just the right treasure, Josiah emerged with his find...



An airplane liquor bottle.

Fortunately it was empty... as was the syringe they found a few minutes later.

Ahhh... you gotta love a city beach.

I would show you a close-up of the vertebrae, but to pretty things up I'll show you the Uptown Boot Sock from Favorite Socks that I started the other day with Handmaiden Casbah in Peridot.



And now I get to sleep without worrying about train tracks tonight! Yay!

FO: Kai-Mei Socks

I think this is the 4th pattern I've knit out of Cookie A's Sock Innovations... and I have no intention of putting the book aside yet.



Knit with Fiesta Baby Boom, these are the Kai-Mei socks which feature a gusset uniquely decreased across the top of the sock along the lace pattern.



These socks are going to a good friend of mine who has shown true appreciation for the hand knit sock by wearing the last pair I gave her with joy and consistency. In fact, she seemed to be wearing them every time I saw her for awhile... around the house, with her crocs, and at the park. I haven't seen them in a bit now so I'm guessing that they might have started to wear thin.

She told me recently that she felt bad that she hadn't cared for them better, but I was thrilled. They are SOCKS! As I think any sock knitter would agree, they are best loved when they are worn. So Keri gets another pair of socks to wiggle her toes in for a while.

I should also mention that she is probably one of the only people I know who even sort of understands my sock knitting... let alone would appreciate a gift of hand knit wool socks when it is a sweltering, smothering 100 degrees outside.

Distractions: The Sock Edition

It is a common fact of my life that the less I have to do, the less I will get done. Some people use free days for knitting or reading, but I use them for wasting. But this week, I am swamped with preparations for next week's VBS, the great de-clutter of 2009, and trying to learn Geometry to get a son through summer school... so it seemed like the perfect week to get a couple of blog entries up.

I have been knitting... but very inconsistently and on a variety of projects. I can't seem to settle on just one thing these days. I did finish a pair of socks.



Wanida from Sock Innovation by Cookie A knit with Claudia's Handpainted Fingering.
(pair #3 from this book for those keeping track)

And I started another pair (actually in between knitting the two socks above).



Kai-Mei - Pair #4 from the same book. I'm using Fiesta Baby Boom for these which is super squishy fun to knit with.

But then I was distracted...



These are Loksins and have been on my project list for months. I'm lovin' this pattern and you can never go wrong with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Old Rose".

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some of the other distractions.

Totally Addicted...

"Wanida"

Corny Eunice

Whew... what a blast! These socks were too fun to put down.



Like I said, Maizy wasn't my favorite yarn too work with but I won't mind knitting this pattern again sometime. Maizy is a corn fiber and elastic blend that is quite splitty and actually doesn't feel very elastic. But really, what should I expect from corn? The texture of the yarn added to the bulkiness of the pattern as well. So my advice would be to use a fine smooth yarn like Lorna's Laces for this pattern if you want to try it. And I think you should!



"Eunice" from Sock Innovation by Cookie A
Crystal Palace Maizy in "Ivory" (white really)
Size 1 Knit Picks magic loop

Corn? Really?

Saturday morning was spent surrounded by sock yarns and patterns. I pulled out many seasonal colors from solids to stripes... wound at least 1/2 dozen hanks into colorful center-pull skeins... and spent much time pondering the perfect spring pattern.

Finally, dizzy with options and color, I settled on...






white.

Afterall, one can always use white socks... and I thought the wool alternative might be good for summer.

Boring? Maybe.

But two days later...



Not so boring!

The pattern is "Eunice". My second pattern from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. The pattern is wonderful and super addicting, but the yarn... eh. Unfortunately it's splitty and doesn't provide the pleasing tactile experience of knitting with wool. I almost ditched it several times but, like I said, one can never have too many pairs of white socks.

Ribbed Ribbon Socks

I really enjoyed knitting these socks. They were the first toe-up pair that I really felt comfortable knitting (and didn't have to re-do the heel numerous times).



The pattern is Ribbed Ribbon Socks from Wendy Johnson's new book, Socks from the Toe Up, using Oceanwinds Knits sock yarn (in a forgotten colorway) on size 0 needles. Very nice yarn by the way.



The actual color is somewhere in between these two pictures.

Kickin' It...

One of the greatest stresses before I left for my BIG trip to St. Louis was deciding on a sock pattern to start. I bet you think I'm kidding... but I seriously couldn't pack until a pattern was decided. I had two knew sock books to choose from (plus at least a dozen others on my shelf), but it had to be just the right pattern. I wanted something interesting but with a chart that would be fairly easy to memorize or at least follow.

Since, I had just finished a sock from Cookie's new book, I really wanted to try a sock from Wendy Johnson's new book Socks from the Toe Up. I finally decided on the Ribbed Ribbons Socks which turned out to be an excellent choice. I've even managed to finish one in spite of the amount of time I spent sleeping with my mouth hanging open on the airplane.



This sock is extra special because Wendy herself approached us while I was visiting with my friends in the lobby of the hotel hosting the Spring Fling. With impressive class and grace, I casually requested a photo shoot of the two of us and my sock. Unfortunately, I must've failed to upload the world's goofiest picture of me from my friend's camera to my flickr account so I am unable to share it with you all now. Awwww. But I can tell you she was very friendly and not at all put off when I lurched at approached her for a picture.

Anyway, here are a few other patterns I look forward to knitting from the same book:







In other news, my son's school has just been closed for a week due to a suspected case of swine flu. Extra quality time with a restless, house-bound teen. Oh boy.

ETA: World's goofiest photo of me with Wendy Johnson generously provided by Julie.



Tune in next time when I stalk Sheri from The Loopy Ewe. Sigh.

Under the Sea and Under the Weather

Finished: One pair of Under the Sea socks in Handmaiden Casbah (the ultimate in sock yarn I might add). The color was a special dye lot for The Loopy Ewe sock club and the pattern was especially designed for the yarn by Sharon Hart.

I am crazy about Handmaiden yarns... not only are they all high quality but they manage to blend beautiful colors that never pool.

Ongoing: The 2009 family flu... 4 days of fevers, chest congestion and misery. So far my oldest son and I are the only ones who've escaped it but realistically it's just a matter of time. Unfortunately for my poor children, compassion is not a strength of mine to begin with (and probably why God never saw fit to give me any little girls) so I'm good for about 48 hours of care taking before I have to start struggling with my inner self who begins to feel, well, annoyed and starts saying soothing things like, "The moaning isn't going to help."

Anyway, #4 came down with it first. Since he's my Mamma Mia buddy, this gave us an excellent excuse to relax with yarn and a movie. When #5 awoke ill, it meant a trip to Blockbuster for Bedtime Stories (cute), Bolt (I took a nap), Marley and Me (I'd rather not talk about it), and more Pierce Brosnan although (and this is where things begin to take a drastic turn) this time as James Bond in, well who knows, Somebody Never Dies.

With the collapse of #2 and #3 then DH, Bond and Transporter flicks have taken over... with Lethal Weapon in the line up. I did grab An American Carol but have yet to convince anyone that they would really rather watch a comedy.

So I knit... and I read (and I go to the store for more Gatorade). I'm currently reading Atlas Shrugged and have The Lace Reader on the iPod for audio back-up. However, I've found that the narrator of The Lace Reader has a soothing voice that, in spite of the interesting story, puts me to sleep.

Aside from being completely boring, I did finish the socks and make some good progress on Slinky Ribs. (Making note to clean the bathroom mirror in between pouring Gatorade and distributing Motrin tomorrow.)

I'm really taking the time with this sweater to take advantage of the measuring opportunities knitting a sweater from the top down provides. I found that I had to make the armholes longer and the neckline a bit lower for the fit that would work best for my shape. I'm really enjoying the Silky Wool and it's light enough that I'm inclined to go for the long sleeves after all. (I know the picture is less than flattering, but it's less boring than no picture at all, right? Right.)

Socks and Football

Don't fall of your chair... but I have another finished knit to share.

Rattlesnake Creek Socks (how could I resist?)

Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from The Loopy Ewe (my favorite addiction)

Fun... fun pattern! And free.

Now I must run. It's a BIG night for us. DH and a few of the boys are at the Fiesta Bowl where our wonderful nephew...

will be taking on the only college team I've ever rooted for my entire life..

I am Switzerland... and wearing blue. Well, actually I'm gonna grab my OSU sweatshirt but I'll be happy either way.

And more knitting...

I actually finished these socks a week or so ago, but was trying to pace myself with blog fodder.



Pattern: Alana Socks by Wendy Johnson
Yarn: Tempted Yarns fingering in Moonlight
Size 0 needles

It's a toe-up pattern which I'm starting to like but it still doesn't come as naturally to me as the traditional top-down. I really like the style of the socks and think they'll look great with my black mary-janes. The yarn was wonderful. Of course, I rarely meet a sock yarn I don't love.

Ironically, I am finally getting around to posting the finished socks on a day when we are experiencing the same smoky skies that motivated me to start them. We are experiencing horrible dry, hot winds with temps around 90! Fires are raging again and unfortunately quite a few homes have been lost. Pray for our firefighters... and the many who have come in from other states... as they battle these fires. They are just an amazing group! And pray for the families who are in the fire zones. Thanks.

Hellllooooo!

I'm just dropping by to amuse you with some knitting, wit, and charm!

Actually, that's a lie. It's been hot (98 today), dry and windy which means I have itchy eyes, a runny nose, and want to take a nap in the worst way.

But I have yarn!!! And new bags!!!

I've been really drawn to these beautiful autumn colors (probably because they're sorely lacking in my natural habitat).


The multi-colored one is from Earthly Hues and the other is a cashmere blend from Sanguine Gryphon. I'm seeing some handknit cowls in my future for possible Christmas gifts. (Shhh... I haven't told my inner self that we're going to consider knitting gifts again. I'm still pretending it might happen.)

I've been working on my cloudy grey socks...



It's a good thing I'm pleased with them because they aren't doing much for our weather. The pattern is Alana by Wendy Johnson. The yarn, bags and pattern are all from The Loopy Ewe.

Apparently the heat interferes more with my actual knitting than with my shopping.

Today was our annual Harvest Carnival at the Roller Dome (forgot camera) and tomorrow morning my 14 year old is participating in a mock presidential debate for his American Government class. He has taken on one of the main presidential roles so that has been taking up alot of our time. He'll have to deliver a speech and take questions from the townhall (his classmates) on different topics so he's had to watch the various debates with me (ha-ha) and gain an understanding of the issues. I'm looking forward to seeing what he and his classmates have learned about politics through the process... and hopefully I'll remember my camera!

Now I must go stand in front of the air conditioner and imagine what autumn feels like in more normal places. Hopefully, I'll be inspiring another day. :)

Two of My Favorite Things

First of all, I must thank all of you who reassured me that I'm not alone in my spellcheck joy. I feel much better now. So on to my 2 things...

New books...


*A thick book of patterns from Classic Elite (that I haven't had time to look through yet)
*A new Agatha Raisin book (the latest in a mystery series featuring the abrasive middle aged Agatha set in the English Cotswolds)
*The House of Lanyon (recommended by Laura on her blog)

And finished socks!




Firestarter socks
Wollmeise Campari Orange
Size 0 & 1 circular needles



These more accurately represent the color.



I had to relax my knitting a bit to work the cables on such small needles, but once I got the hang of it, it was fun. The Wollmeise yarn is wonderful. The colors are deep and vibrant, and the yarn is very smooth and pleasant to work with.

And I could eat Cheetos while I knit them!