Remember me?

OK, so I've been gone a while. It wasn't really on purpose - I was out of town and have been very busy knitting! Here's what I've been doing since my last entry.

Another pair of worsted socks for my aunt, done in Schaefer Lola:

A pair of RPM's for my aunt in Cherry Tree Hill, colorway "Martha's Vineyard":

The last pair of socks for my aunt, in Sea Wool (which I LOVE and will make it very painful for me to mail these off)...this is the Sedona Sock pattern:

Then I also finished the Waving Lace socks for Greg's aunt, done in Mountain Colors Bearfoot:

I managed to finish my Chevron Scarf, done in Socks That Rock (Tiger's Eye and Space Dust)...I couldn't get a picture of me actually wearing it, so you'll have to just imagine that:

Finally, I decided to knit myself a hat with the Tasmanian alpaca I received from Amanda...so here is Le Slouch:

I will leave you with a few pics of little people...first, trick or treating at the zoo (Ethan was a bat, Natalie was a cat):

Natalie lost her 3rd tooth this weekend:

And Ethan is still a silly goose:

P.S. I apologize for the lack of links today...if you have any questions about patterns or where to find them, just leave me a comment.

Slow and Steady

I'm still plugging away on spinning my first sock yarn. Last night I finished knitting with the yarn that was finished and I'll have a new batch of singles ready to soak soon.

Here is what the finished yarn looks like:
And here is where I'm at on the sock...heel is finished and I've knit a few rounds past the heel:
I'm getting 9 stitches per inch and knitting with US sz 1.5 needles, tho the yarn is so fine in places that I wish it was a 1 even a 0.

Busy Bee

So I took that yarn I made and turned it into a little bag for Natalie. It was 48 sts on US sz 7 needles and I just did a crochet chain for the drawstring. There was a definite difference in the weight of the first skein and the weight of the second...you can see that the stitches in the bottom half of the bag are much bigger than those in the top!
Then this week my aunt received her worsted weight socks and immediately requested more. I remembered that I had this sock languishing in the WIP basket from last winter (Lorna's Laces worsted, but the band is long gone so I don't know the colorway), so I pulled it out and finished it yesterday. I also started the second one and am halfway through the foot.
And finally, I bought this:
Which I spun into this:
And is now being knit into this:
I really didn't plan to start knitting with it right away - and I realize I'm probably tempting fate, but I had a little batch of singles that I wanted to ply and then the temptation was too great and I caved. I'm knitting it on US sz 1.5 needles, for what it's worth.

First Skein aka I Wanna Be Like Erin

My first proper handspun yarn.

Trying Again

So I bought a drop spindle last year and immediately tried it out. Then I got frustrated and put it away. I've always wanted to try again, but wished I had someone local I could go to for help, or even more convenient, find a helpful video online. Then Erin started playing with her new drop spindle and I knew I had to get mine out and see if I could do better than I had done before. Darn that Erin.

I played with the spindle off and on all day yesterday and was finally able to come up with this. Obviously, it's not terribly even, but the two strands on the penny show the variation I'm getting. Those are pretty much the thickest and the thinnest that I was able to spin.


Must keep practicing.

SPS

Today's self-portrait proves that I have all of my teeth. Natalie, however, does not. She lost her second tooth this week. However, you can see that her first new tooth is nearly all the way in.

What a Week

So in the past week, my family has gone from planning to move out of state to not moving at all (for the time being, anyway)...from having an offer on our house to having to take the house off the market...from certainty to uncertainty. My husband's business partners have chosen to buy him out, so he will soon be looking for a new opportunity. We are not opposed to moving wherever we need to go, if the offer is right. Right now, it's the not knowing what will come next that is a little disconcerting. I do believe that in the long run, this change of events will be for the best...I'd just like to know what's coming next, you know?

The knitting helps a bit. I have several projects on the needles right now, but my new Chevron Scarf is getting the most attention. (not one, but TWO colorways of STR! squee!) I also have a sweater body and most of a sleeve for Natalie, my Gryffindor scarf and a few socks that are in the active WIP bag.

Here's hoping for a good buy-out and a new job opportunity!

SPS

I'd nearly forgotten about Self-Portrait Sunday. Perhaps just as well since today's SPS contains both bed-head and yesterday's makeup. Happy Rose?

Finally Friday

And finally another finished object. I have an aunt who lives in Ketchikan, Alaska and she recently requested a pair of handknit socks. Since she is outdoors a lot, we agreed that a heavier weight "boot sock" would be suitable. Luckily for me, I had a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (colorway: Tuscany) waiting patiently in my stash - so out it came and these socks were born.

The pattern is the Chevron Stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks, worked with a short-row heel and a stockinette foot. I worked it over 52 sts on a US sz 4 needle, magic loop. Great stitch pattern, but you do have to be careful with the sizing as it doesn't have a lot of give.

Take That, Anne *cackles madly*

Dear Anne,

This is for you. For all the times you have made me lust after your yarn. Look!! Look at all that greyish, bluish, purpley deliciousness! Miiiiine.....allllllll miiiiiine....muwahahahaha.

Heck, for all I know, you already have this yarn. Here's hoping I made you do a double-take, at least.

Yours in yarny goodness-
Julie

P.S. This colorway is called Moonlight, but it looks like it's not available at The Loopy Ewe at the moment.

I'm At It Again

I finished the Pinwheel Blanket...
I'm close to finishing plain stockinette socks...
And I acquired new yarn. (the other skein is getting its own post.)

New is Good

I finished the Pinwheel Blanket, but haven't washed or blocked it yet, so you'll have to wait for those pictures. I'm also nearly ready for the toe of the first Soxie sock, but again, no progress picture. However, I've started a new sock! This is the yarn I received in the Dye-O-Rama swap several months ago. It was dyed with KoolAid and I really love the colors and how it is knitting up.


P.S. We put our house on the market this week!! Squee!!!

Sockapalooza!

I got my Sockapalooza package this week! Thank you, Emily! The sock yarn is alpaca/silk and sooo soft and slinky and the socks fit perfectly. The other little goodies are fun, too!

This has been a crazy week. My parents came to visit last weekend and ended up taking my kids home with them for the week so we can do the final push to get the house ready to put on the market. It has been incredibly helpful to be kid-free this week and we've gotten so much done. A few things left to go, though! The realtor comes Monday to do the appraisal and then we'll be ready to list the house.

As a result of all the house stuff, I've had precious little time to knit. However, I did start a plain stockinette sock and turned the heel last night. This yarn is so hard to photograph - this picture shows the colors well, but overall the actual sock is several shades darker than this.

WIP's

When I finished the Orchid Scarf, I must confess that I was at a loss for what to knit next. It's not as though I didn't already having some WIP's in my bag, but they weren't all that appealing. Instead, I started these:
The Charade socks, in Lorna's Laces "Black Watch." I really like the pattern, but knitting two socks at once goes sooo slowly for me.

Then I got inspired to knit a little blanket for our friends (who will receive the little baby cardi and hat I did recently) and suddenly, I'm close to finishing this:
The Pinwheel Blanket, knit in leftover Plymouth Encore from my stash (except for the red, which I had to purchase).

While I was at the yarn shop getting the red Encore, I remembered that I told one of Greg's aunts I would knit her a pair of socks. Her favorite colors are red, black and white and lo and behold...I found a new yarn in just that colorway! It's not really my thing, but I think she'll like it:
The RPM socks, knit in Crystal Palace's new Maizy sock yarn in the "News!" colorway.

Like I said, I do have a few other things on the needles, but we'll talk about them later. ;)

Orchid

Pattern: Orchid Scarf by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Handmaiden SeaSilk in Straw
Needles: US sz 6

I had the chance to test knit this pattern for Anne and I'll say now what I said before...it's a great pattern! I think it would be a very nice pattern for a new lace knitter, but is still pleasurable for an experienced lace knitter, too. The yarn was luscious and it blocks beautifully. This was my first time grafting lace - it wasn't hard, just slow.

Thank you, Anne, for another really lovely knit!

Percy

Finally! A post AND something I've finished! I've been in an odd knitting mood since vacation and had to force myself to finish these socks before I cast on for anything else. In fact, I even frogged two projects yesterday. Strange.

Percy Socks
Pattern: Retro Rib from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Two Waters Fiberworks "Gryffindor"
Needles: US sz 1.5
Modifications: I worked these toe-up with a short-row heel.

I'm Home!

Hooray!! I'm home!! I slept in my very own bed last night!!

My time away was very nice. I need to get pics off my camera and put together some links, so look for a more interesting post tomorrow-ish. For now, I'm KNITTING! Didn't do much of that during the past two weeks and I have a new project!

More tomorrow!

Over and Out

Hello all...just letting you know that I'll be out of pocket for the next two weeks! The kids and I leave tomorrow for a week in Michigan and then we're heading to Missouri to visit Greg's family. I may have some email access, so if you need me you can probably get me that way.

See you when we return!

Travel Sock and some art

I'll be leaving town for two weeks on Friday and have been agonizing over what knitting to take. Enter a new Jaywalker:
You may notice that I have already done a bit...but since I'm working toe-up and really, you just never know about the Jaywalker fit, I wanted to get it started before I leave. I really wanted this yarn to be a nice, normal variegated, but I kinda like what it's doing so I think it will be ok.

Natalie created this little masterpiece last night while we waited for our dinner. She has always loved to draw but lately has been getting much more detailed and creative. Here you can see a bird with feathers, two baby birds, a very arty birdhouse with a decorated pole, a bird deck with a ladder, a flower and tree...and Greg added the 10th hole/flag because obviously, this is an upscale bird community.

For Fun

Summertime

It's summer here in the mid-South and nothing says summer quite like felted wool! Right? I've had some KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in my stash for over a year - it was intended for a felted bag project, but as it turned out, I didn't love the pattern after all. So into the stash went the yarn until I was ready for it. For all the things I've knit, I've never felted anything and I figured it was high time. Enter Anne's Bubble Bag. (click on the Knitspot Pattern Catalog - there doesn't seem to be a direct link)
Fun knit...short rows...it's single-strand worsted...big needles...FUN! I changed up the striping a bit on mine and I'm pleased with how it came out. (Note: the mural is on the side of our house up on our deck...was here when we bought the house. Not our doing.)

And just because, here's my growing-up girl. She's got her first woggley (her word for wiggley) tooth. *sob*

Feeding the Addiction

I got new yarn this week, from The Loopy Ewe. Everyone always says such nice things about ordering from them that I figured I should probably see for myself. As it turns out, everyone was right! My order came super-fast and, just as everyone says, there was a handwritten note included.

I got some Gypsy Girl Creations in Brindle:
and some Misty Mountain Farm in Mountain Mist:
and some Fleece Artist Sea Wool:
There has been very little knitting lately, what with the house stuff. It's like I've developed a very short attention span with my knitting while I work on the house. I did start a new sock this weekend, but I frogged it last night because I wasn't thrilled with the stockinette part of the fabric on those particular needles.

I did, however, knit a little baby hat! The recipient of the baby sweater I just made is, in fact, a boy, so I thought I would make him a hat, since he will be born in November. I'm not sure how I never came across this pattern, but I'm so glad I found it - I think it's adorable!
Pattern: Jewel by SockPixie
Yarn: leftover Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and Claudia Handpainted from socks I've knit
Needles: Addi Turbo sz 2

Work

That's what I've been doing a lot of. Working. Working on the house, working on decluttering, working on cleaning...all getting ready to move. Blurgh. I did manage to put about 4 rows of stockinette on a sock late last night, but that's all the knitting that's been done since early last week.

Today's project (at least for this morning): removing a ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars that were here when we bought the house - so they've been up there for at least 10 years, if not more.

I know you're jealous.

A Good Solution

Whaddya do when life gets you down?

Well, knit, of course, but in the event you need another option...pose with your favorite Klingon.

Speed and Softness

Project: "Plain Jane #172 QK" by Minnowknits (sz 6 month, but looks to be smaller than that)
Yarn: Plymouth "Oh My" in color 12
Needles: US sz 9
Buttons: don't know the brand

One of our business partners and his wife are expecting another baby in the fall, so I thought I'd whip out something quick and then just stash it away until later. This is a great little pattern and the yarn, while 100% nylon, feels just the way a baby sweater should!