There are NOT Enough Profanities....

...to describe what I'm feeling. Remember that Double Ear infection/sinus infection thing I had just before Christmas? Yeah....the fucking thing is back. Antibiotic resistant infection. FUCK!!! The good thing is that I made it to the Doctor before it got really bad. (thank goodness for my best friend who was willing to drive me to urgent care at 8am on a Sunday morning when she was out until 5am the previous night) Right now it's just my sinuses and a middle ear infection. I'm on even stronger antibiotics now.

My knitting mojo is back!

First, let's talk about how Christmas went....

We had a good one here. On Christmas Eve, FIL gave his presents to the kids, and his gift to DD was a little doll house that she LOVES. On Christmas morning, when she came out of her room, she ran past her stocking, past the big pile of presents, while yelling "MY DOLL HOUSE!!!!!" and she ran to the doll house and happily played until meanie Mommy and Daddy told her to open her presents...lol. The boys both have been playing with their new toys non stop as well. I don't think any of them received anything that they didn't absolutely love :)

My Hand knit gifts were well received this year. My Mom absolutely LOVES the afghan I knit for her. So much so that a few hours after we arrived back here at home from visiting her house, she called me just to tell me again thank you for the blanket and she just kept going on about how pretty it is and she asked me a million questions about how long it took and the construction details. I love that my mom loves the afghan. My sister, Jammie, loved the Baboons Ass socks. My other sister, Dawn, loved the Montego bay scarf. She put it on after opening it and wore it around for a few hours. She absolutely LOVES how soft it is (merino/silk blend). Baby Talia is only 4 months old, and as soon as her Mommy helped her get the sweater out of the box, Talia saw it and started crying....lol. And as for Laney and Morgan's sweaters, Look below:

Here is my (sleepy) Miss Morgan trying on her sweater.

and, here is my Laney Belle trying on her sweater. (and my dad fresh in from doing yard work in the background chomping on a cookie)

I hope everyone also had a good Christmas.
~

As soon as my Christmas knitting was finished with, and the last button sewn on, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my chest. I was free to knit whatever I wanted again! Such a liberating feeling!! So, either on the 23rd or 24th (I'm not sure), I started a pair of Anastasia socks for my best friend's Birthday gift. Her birthday is coming up on January 2nd. I am using some discontinued Regia Strato Color that has been sitting in my stash for a LOOONNNNGGGG time. I think it's been there for at least a year and a half. The ball band says the color # is 5747. I have sock #1 completely finished, and on sock #2 I'm done with the toe and I'm either 4 or 6 rows (I can't remember) into the first pattern repeat. Not shabby for only a few days work.

I have also rescued my Icarus shawl from my UFO pile. I haven't really done much with it, so it still looks the same as the last pic I posted of it. Icarus became a UFO so I could concentrate on Christmas knitting, so its been waiting patiently since October for me to return to it. Also, I have 3 skeins of STR lightweight in Korppi waiting to become an Adamas Shawl.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who emailed or left comments wishing me better. It really meant a lot to me. I am doing A LOT better now. I still can't hear out of my left ear, and I still get a little dizzy occasionally, but that's it. I can actually function now! YAY!.....lol I had a few days where I could function just fine as long as I could sit still, and on those days, I managed to knit (and finish) a Halley's Comet Hat for my niece, Morgan; and I finished the Baboon's Ass socks for my sister, Jammie.

Here, you can see DD modeling Morgan's hat, it's a better pic of DD than it is of the hat :) Instead of a rolled brim like the pattern specifies, I did some 2X2 ribbing. To make the hat more of a toddler size instead of adult , I went down a needle size. The yarn I used is Lion Brand's Cotton Ease in the Berry color. This hat took less than half of the skein, and was a really easy, really quick knit. DD saw that there's a flower on the top of the hat, and she asked for me to knit one for her, so I let her into my stash and she picked out a skein of Violet Cotton Ease for her hat.

This second pic, is the finished Baboon's Ass socks. It's a crappy pic (pun NOT intended), but I didn't feel like being persistent in getting a better one...lol. The pattern is Monkey socks by Cookie A, and I used Knitpicks Essential sock yarn in Burgundy.

So, as far as Christmas knitting goes, all I have to finish is both sleeves on Laney's cabled Sweater, 1/2 a sleeve on Morgan's hooded sweater and the buttons on both sweaters. Since these sweaters are for a 2 year old and a 3 year old, the sleeves are pretty short and wont be a problem to finish. And, buttons in this house are never a problem...lol

I doubt that I'll be posting again before Christmas. So, everyone, have a happy holiday! Have a great time celebrating with your families, loved ones, and SO's!

weeeeeeeeeeeee!

Ok, so it turns out that what was thought of as a run of the mill ear infection, is really both an inner and an outer ear infection. The pain got so bad that my best friend (who is the BEST BEST BEST best friend in the whole wide world) took me to the ER at 3am on Sunday morning. Apparently that cold I had last month that I thought was just a bad cold, was really a sinus infection. And that never getting properly treated, is what caused my ear infections. So, now I'm on strong antibiotics, ear drops and pain meds. The pain meds caused the title of this post. They make me a little stoned. I may feel good now, but this really sucks. I can't drive (even if I weren't on the pain meds I couldn't drive. the fluid in my ear makes me really dizzy at unpredictable times). I need to go grocery shopping. DH is going to take me tonight, But I really hate feeling like I can't get things done.

Big Road Bump....

I was making really fantastic progress on the sweater for Morgan, I finished the 1st sleeve and the hood, only one more sleeve and buttons to go. On Laney's I still have both sleeves to finish, and buttons to sew on, and I still have about an inch and a half to do on the Baboon's Ass socks. It kills me that I was making such great progress, and I have to take a few days off from knitting. I have an ear infection in my left ear. I'm managing the pain pretty well, but if I spend a lot of time upright, I get dizzy(even while sitting). Plus the drainage is grossing me out. No knitting yesterday. I was in too much pain. No knitting today. I'm too dizzy. I hope I can knit some tomorrow. Christmas is in 10 days. I can do this. Really, some sleeves, some buttons and a sock toe. I can totally do that in 10 days. Hopefully I'm not out of commission for too long.

Would you like to know something interesting? This is the very first ear infection I have EVER had in my life. None of my 3 kids have had ear infections either. I've always known I was REALLY lucky (especially with the sinus issues I have). I know that babies Eustachian Tubes are smaller than adults are, and that alone makes babies more likely to get ear infections and I just keep thinking how awful it is for a teeny lil baby to have to go through this. Poor babies.

And, here are the pics....

the ones I mentioned in the post below. I forgot to get a pic of the Baboons Ass socks, but if you've seen one ass, you've seen them all.....LMAO! (cheap joke, but worth it) Below you'll see the pics of the cardigans I'm making for 2 of my nieces for their Christmas Presents.



I'm using WOTA Bulky for both of them, Grape and Sky for Laney's, and Mauve for Morgans. I bought 3 skeins of each Grape and Mauve for the sweaters (the Sky is leftovers from another project), and for Laney's, I'm 3/4 through ball #2 and working on a sleeve; and for Morgans, I am almost ready to join ball #3 and I'm still on the body. I'm thinking I *may* have to end up using some of the grape for sleeve cuffs on Morgans sweater (the pink one).

A Pic-less update

I just realized it's been a while since my last blog post, so I figured I would do a quick update now, and I'll probably be able to post some pics tomorrow. I've been working a lot on trying to finish up Christmas gifts, and REALLY REALLY REALLY craving the sensation of casting on a new project. However, I have promised myself that I wont cast on anything new until I finish the Christmas gifts. This promise is EXTREMELY difficult to keep because I have my new STR Ravens (Korppi and Tlingit) sitting in my knitting bag begging to be knit. Anyway..... I'm getting close on the Christmas gifts. I just finished the body and started the sleeves for the Cabled Raglan Cardigan for my Niece, Laney; I am past the sleeve separation and working the body of the Hooded Raglan Cardigan for my Niece, Morgan; and I am about 90% done with the Baboons Ass (Monkey socks made with Red yarn) socks for my Sister, Jammie.

DH is out of town right now, visiting his Mom (Hi Nancy!). So, for me that means a lot more knitting time in the evenings, IF I can stay awake. Last night I started dozing off in the middle of purl row on Morgan's sweater and, miraculously, was still knitting(purling) when I jerked back awake...LMAO.

WOOHOO! I'm on a roll.......

But I doubt it'll last long......

I finished another Christmas Gift!!! This sweater is the hooded baby sweater I knit for my niece, Talia. You may remember my model, Floyd. This sweater is a 6 mos size (can you believe Talia will be 4 mos old at the end of December! It still feels like she was just born!). I used 1.5 skeins of Patons Decor yarn in the colorway 'First Spring Varg'. I've gotten to the point with these sweaters that I don't use a pattern anymore, or else I would link you to the one used.



This means that out of the 6 gifts I had to knit, I have 3 down and 3 to go! and one of those 3 is already about 80% done!

The #@%&ing Afghan is Finished!

Knit from the center out, I bound off 808 stitches last night. It started by following the Kerry blue shawl pattern and then I decided to change a bit after a while. This small afghan measures 52" on each side. This was a relief to BO. Now, I only have small projects to finish for Christmas, and it all seems SOOOO much more manageable now.

For this afghan, I used Caron Simply Soft worsted in Autumn Red, Bone, and Dark Country Blue. I'm not a fan of the colors, but I know my parent's will love it.

For more pics of this afghan, and so you can see the center portion, you can either look through old blog posts, look on my flickr page , or look in my project page on Ravelry (username: PurpleYarn). I'm having issues with blogger this morning and I'm lucky to have gotten this one pic to post....lol

busy, busy, busy.....

Now that Thanksgiving is past, the Christmas Knitting Countdown has begun! Today is November 23rd, and we now have just over a month to complete our holiday knitting. I have recruited DH to help out this year, but still he is only responsible for one gift (lucky bastard....lol). Here, I am posting progress pics of some of the Christmas gifts I'm knitting this year. I've already finished a Montego Bay Scarf for one of my sisters, and the Baboon's ass socks I'm knitting for my other sister haven't been worked on at all since my last progress pic posting, I'm not posting a pic of the scarf DH is working on, and I'm also not posting pics of the sweater I've started for my niece Morgan. It just has a few rows done and isn't very interesting to look at yet.
But, anyway......

First, we have a progress pic of the afghan I'm knitting for my parents' gift. One side now measures 50", well, it's a square so each side measures 50". When you consider that I'm only 62" tall, this thing is BIG. And, that also makes me very glad that my parent's aren't much taller than I am....lol

And here we have the hooded cardigan I'm knitting for my niece, Talia. I love the way this yarn is pooling. It's Patons Decor in the First Spring Varg colorway, on size US7 needles.

and this one is the new and improved Cardigan for my niece, Laney. I wasn't happy with the old one, so I frogged it and started this one instead. I'm using rev st st for the back panel, the front panels are cabled on a rev st st background, and the sleeves are regular stockinette st.

Everyone, I bid you good luck on your holiday knitting endeavors!

Progress Pictures

Just a quick posting to show off some progress pics.......

First, we have the afghan I've been working on for my parents' Christmas gift.

and, secondly we have the Baboons Ass socks for my Sister, Jammie's, Christmas gift.

that's all we have today, all I've been working on (knit-wise) lately.

7.212

On Saturday, I was bored so I decided to haul out my stash bin and all of my knitting bags so I could go through my Stash. I ended up not only organizing my Stash, but also taking inventory of it and then I created a spreadsheet for my Stash. I have a rather small Stash as of now.....it used to be double what I currently have, but I've been working on downsizing it a little at a time for the past year. Now, in this Stash inventory, I did not include the skeins of yarn intended for Christmas gifts or any other current WIP's that are on hold until Christmas knitting is done, this is strictly stash yarn. I made my spreadsheet have categories for brand / name / fiber content / yarn weight / yards per skein / #of skeins / colors and intended project (when it gets one). I also calculated my total skeins in Stash, total Stash yardage and I then converted yards into miles. I have approximately 12,693 yards of yarn in my Stash and that is about 7.212 miles. That represents 52 skeins of yarn, and 32 of them are sock yarn, enough for 21 pairs of socks.

When my Christmas knitting is done, I have a lot of socks to knit.

Deviating from the pattern.......

I'm making a lot of progress on the Throw. It's now to the point that I have over 410 (worsted weight) stitches all held on a 47"circ. It's kind of crowded on that needle. (see where the 'points' meet? that's the middle of the blanket, the blanket is now at 32" diameter) I also stopped following the pattern about 8 rounds ago. I'm into the Feather and Fan section now, and I've decided to change the rest of the pattern. At this point, it's just small, insignificant things I'm not doing, that you can't even tell I'm not doing . I'm going to continue in this feather and fan pattern for a few more inches, then I'm going to change to a dark cream color (almost tan, but not quite) and keep the F&F pattern going for a few inches, and then I'll switch back to red and continue for a few inches, and then I'm going to switch to a very pretty dark blue and do a garter stitch border.

Hats

I know I need to be working on my holiday knitting, but some winter hats needed to be made too. These 3 were made over the past week. The blue hat is for my oldest ds, using Knitpicks Swish Superwash yarn in the color Delft Heather. The little hat in the middle is for baby Talia (my 6 week old niece). I used the Odessa hat pattern from Magknits , omitting the beads, and using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock potluck yarn on size US3 dpn's. It looks teeny, but it stretches. A LOT. So, she'll get at least one winters use out of it. The pretty hat on the right is for me. I used the Fake Isle Hat pattern from Magknits, with Noro Silk Garden (#205) and Patons Classic Merino in Black. I still have 2 more hats to make (at least), One for DS#2 and one for DD.

and no, I didn't completely ignore my holiday knitting while working on the hats. I did complete a few rows on the throw for my parents and I finished the leg and started the heel for sock #2 for the baboons ass socks I'm making for my sister.

Throw

This is a progress pic of the throw I'm knitting for my Parents' Christmas gift. I figured posting a pic of it on here might make me more likely to work on it and finish it. You guys will help keep me accountable for this thing, right? It's just starting to get big, and each patterned round is taking me approx. 40 mins to complete. Right now I have it on my KP Options 47" cord, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to buy longer cords before long so I can finish this throw. I'm using the Kerry Blue Shawl pattern from 'Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls' with a worsted weight yarn to make it large enough for a small throw.

Did I say I was going to knit a baby blanket?

Yeah.....well....Fuck that.....
I decided a baby blanket was entirely MUCH too insane for me to attempt right now. So, I instead knit this little baby sweater for my Cousins baby. I didn't really follow a pattern, but used a few different ones for suggestions. I ended up using a figure 8 cast on and then knitting the sides of the hood, doing a decrease row at the neck, and then continuing as I would for a basic top down raglan. It meets the measurements from yarnstandards.com for a newborn baby sweater. I used US7 needles with Caron Simply Soft yarn (one of my favorite yarns for babies; machine washable and really soft) in the color 'Raspberry'. My model is Floyd, my Daughter's stuffed puppy. Isn't he cute?

One down.....several more to go....

The Montego bay scarf I've been working on for a Christmas Gift for my sister, Dawn, is FINISHED!!!! excuse me while I go do a 'lil happy dance in celebration....
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ok...

This was a pretty simple and easy knit. The pattern was VERY easy to memorize, so that made it an easy project to take to work with me to knit during my breaks. I did learn something while working on this though......I DO NOT enjoy braiding fringe. If I ever do another project with fringe, I WILL NOT BRAID IT. I will simply knot the ends to help prevent fraying instead.

Last night, I decided to get organized for my Holiday knitting. I dug through my stash bin and got out all yarn intended for Christmas knitting, gathered my patterns and my Christmas WIP's, and I actually put all of it into a knitting bag (we'll see how long this lasts...lol) to keep in the living room. It's my goal to only work on Christmas knitting from now until I get it all finished. There is one exception though. My Cousin is pregnant with her first baby (a girl!) and I'm going to work my ass off to get a small baby blanket knit up in time for her baby shower. Which is October 7th. Less than a month away. I'm planning on doing an entrelac blanket, alternating tiers of color, and doing it in either a bulky yarn or worsted double stranded to help it get done quicker. I'm going to buy the yarn on Friday night. I'm waiting until then because that's during friends and family days and my employee discount it upped to 40%. This isn't entirely insane.....is it? I can do this, even if I'm weaving ends on the way to the baby shower....lol

I'm seeing RED!!!!

LOL....I just realized I MUST have a thing for the color red for Christmas gifts this year. Out of the 5 gifts I have OTN right now, 3 are red. One, is the Throw I've been working on for my parents' gift (which is collecting dust for now until I can get a longer circ). Second, is a pair of socks I'm knitting for my sister Jammie. And, number three is a cardigan I'm knitting for baby Talia.

This first pic, is what I have so far of the Baboon's ass socks I'm knitting for Jammie. I call them Baboon's ass, well, because it's the Monkey sock pattern with red yarn. I know....I have a weird sense of humor.

and this is the beginnings of another Daisy baby cardigan. This one will be baby Talia's Christmas gift. I'm using Knitpicks Main line yarn in the color Red Velvet Cake.

Remember those booties I made?

Friday night I got a new niece!!!! Baby Talia was born at 11:44pm weighing 7 lbs 12 oz! I went to visit yesterday and I put her in the bonnet and booties I made and took a pic. They fit perfectly, for now.

Where do your WIP's live?

In the past, I've tried keeping all of my WIP's in one location, whether it be a basket, knitting bag, or just tossed on the same shelf somewhere. It doesn't work for me. The more organized I try to become with my knitting, the less knitting gets done. The last part of the last sentence doesn't sound correct, but at the current moment, I can't think of the proper correction for it so it'll stay. So, Where do your WIP's live? Here's mine:

Behind the couch, next to my desk:

On top of the bookshelf:

Next to the t.v:

those are the main places I toss my WIP's. Occasionally, I do keep one, shockingly enough, in a knitting bag.....but not really. That's more of a vacation spot...lol.
~~~~~~~~~~


And here, last of all, we have a small FO! Yesterday, I knit up a bonnet to match the booties I made for my niece, Talia. (whom we are STILL waiting on the arrival of. send some labor vibes to my sister, Dawn. Her back is killing her!) I used the Top Down Bonnet pattern from Hello Yarn (also check out her rovings....drooooollllllll....)

Wee Bitty Baby Booties

hehehe...aren't they CUTE! (btw- for the 'hehehe' my spell checker gave me 'bonehead' and 'axeheads' as possible correct spelling options...LMAO) Measuring 3 1/4 inches long here we have finished baby booties for my new niece, whom we are waiting very patiently on the arrival of. My sister could pop any moment now. I can't wait!!!! I LOVE babies, and since I wont be having any more myself, I'll have to just play with (and knit for) the babies of others (I need more people I know to get pregnant). I used Saartje's Baby Booty pattern (in the right hand side bar), and some Regia 6 ply crazy colors yarn I had in my stash, on size 3 bamboo needles. Considering I used yarn larger than the pattern called for and needles larger than the pattern called for(3.25mm instead of 2.5mm), I was expecting the booties to end up larger than the pattern specifications. That didn't happen, so I must embrace that I am a tight knitter and move on.

YAY...a good start!

I think I've gotten a pretty decent start on Christmas gifts this year. I have a raglan cardigan for my niece Laney OTN, I've got a throw for my parents going, a pair of monkey socks for my sister Jammie (I'm making them using a solid color.....red.... so every time I look at them I cant help but to think that I'm making my sister a Baboon's ass), and for my sister, Dawn, I've started a Montego Bay scarf (pattern in Interweave Knits Summer 2007 issue).
I'm using Knitpicks Gloss in Serengeti (yes, leftovers from the Entrelac socks) for the main body, and for the fringe I'm going to order another color of gloss and make the fringe 2 strands Serengeti and 4 strands other color yet to be decided. Any suggestions for the other color? I think all of them will look good combined with the Serengeti and it's making for a difficult decision, and my sister doesn't have a favorite color (well, she's 9 months pregnant and can't make up her mind....LOL).

Well, I think the only WIP I have going that is NOT a Christmas gift for someone, is my Icarus Shawl. I'm not going to post a new pic of it, only because I've gotten maybe 4 more rows completed since my last update, and it looks just the same as before...lol. And pics of the cardigan, baboons ass, and throw mentioned above have to wait until DH comes home and dumps all of the pics from the camera and gets them burned to CD. (no, I can't do it myself....I've tried in the past and each time I fucked it up somehow)

New little lovelies

Look what came to my doorstep this morning!
On Friday the 13th, Macoco from Craft Pirate posted that she was giving away the books 'A Good Yarn' and 'Back on Blossom Street' by Debbie Macomber. I guess it's obvious at this point who got them, huh?
See that gorgeous blue and green thing sitting on top of the books? Well, Macoco included that little surprise in the package. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL? It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the colorway Icehouse. And, since I have smallish feet (size7) , it's plenty for a pair of socks with a short cuff (which is how I like my socks anyway!).

THANK YOU MACOCO!!! I cant wait until this afternoon (nap time for DD) to dive into 'A good Yarn'. You're the best!

a cute lil' something...

...to go with the Daisy baby sweater I posted yesterday.
Using the yarn leftover from Daisy, I made this cute little Bunny Blanket Buddy (you might have to register to view the pattern, but it's free) for Sarah's new lil' niece. My DD (2 yrs old) fell in love with this one when I finished it, so I'm going to dig in my stash for some yarn to make one for her too.

Another FO!

My best friend, Sarah, also has a new niece arriving in Sept. So, as a joint gift for the new baby, Sarah bought some yarn, and I knit a baby sweater for the lil' pea. It still needs buttons, but Sarah will add those when she gets the chance. I used the Daisy pattern from knitty, and Caron Simply Soft yarn in the color Plum Wine. I love the bottom up construction of this sweater, but I must say my seaming skills (for the sleeves) need some work. This sweater didn't take long to knit, I cast on for it on Saturday morning and worked on it while waiting for Deathly Hallows to be delivered (I finished reading it Sunday morning and OMG it was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!! (the epilogue sucked though)), and I finished the knitting and seaming yesterday afternoon. I can't wait to see a pic of lil' pea wearing it!

and, here is a progress pic of Icarus. I am on my 3rd repeat of chart 1. It's coming along steadily, but I am starting to get a little bored with this section of the pattern. oh well..... after I finish this repeat, I'll only have to do 2 more repeats and then I get to start another chart that looks MUCH more interesting!

Embossed Leaves FO!!!

HA!
FINISHED!
It's after midnight and I'm tired but wired on caffeine, but THEY'RE FINALLY FINISHED!!! I conquered SSS (second sock syndrome) this time....I still need to start sock #2 of Twisted Flowers...but damn......it's feels good to have an FO! Now I wont feel guilty about neglecting my knitting later today when I'm engrossed in Deathly Hallows.

Well, I mentioned that my bout of SSS (second sock syndrome) was slowly subsiding. :) I am now on the foot portion of sock #2 of my Embossed Leaves Socks. I know I'm using a yarn that's too 'busy' for the pattern (or a pattern too busy for the yarn...take your pick...lol), but I really like how it's turning out. The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock lightweight in the Little Bunny Foo Foo colorway, and the Embossed Leaves Sock pattern can be found in the book Favorite Socks by Interweave Press.

And, here is a brand spankin' new WIP. I cast this on earlier this morning. This, my friends, is an Icarus Shawl (Another Interweave pattern, available in the Summer 2006 issue and also available for download for $6.00 HERE). I am using KnitPicks Shadow lace yarn, in the Vineyard Heather Colorway. I'm only about 9 rows into the first chart, but I'll be able to make more progress later (as in when the kids aren't bickering over every single teeny tiny itty bitty little thing) I'm hoping I'll enjoy knitting Icarus A LOT more than I did knitting the Peacock Feathers Shawl, and so far, it looks like I will.

This WIP, is just a simple raglan cardigan, and I am adding a cable alongside the button bands. The cable is the Cruller cable from the Vogue Stitchionary Volume 2. I am using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Sky for the collar ribbing, and Grape for the body. This is going to be for my niece, Laney's Christmas Gift. This was going to be for my niece Morgan, but I did too many increases to fit Morgan, so now it's for Laney because I didn't feel like frogging...LOL

It's gone.......

I don't know when or why it happened, but I no longer possess the burning desire to simply expand my stash. I used to yearn for yarn, I NEEDED it, I felt I needed to have as much yarn as possible in my bin. I guess somewhere along the way it just became pointless to just buy yarn having no real intention for it. I still love yarn, I just no longer have the desire to just buy it. Now, sock yarn is the exception here. That is always bought with a project in mind.....socks. It's just all the other yarns out there that I just can't get it up for anymore if I don't have a project planned out.

In other knitting news....the SSS (second sock syndrome) I was suffering from, has ebbed some. I have been working on sock#2 for Embossed Leaves again. I have gone from having 2 rows done, sitting on my shelf for weeks, to having only one repeat left to finish for the leg, in less than a week! I have also completely finished Monica and the Anthropologie Inspired Capelet. I have also started the cardigan for my Niece, Morgan's Christmas gift. I decided to use leftover yarn from the Capelet for the collar ribbing, and am using the grape for the body. I am also doing a cable alongside the button band. I'll add a pic of this WIP and more details of the above mentioned FO's when I get another chance to hop on here.

WIP's and YARN!

well....My Monica in the round has been coming along quickly. The Body and Ruffle are done, it's just the straps left now. I'm working both straps at the same time from 2 balls of yarn, and will graft them to the stitches held for the straps at the back. This Monica is going to be a birthday present for my Niece, Laney, who turns 3 at the beginning of August. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Prosperous Plum and Blush. Pattern from Knitty.















This WIP is an Anthropologie Inspired Capelet that is for my Niece, Justice's 10th birthday coming up in August (3 days after Laney's birthday) (if you wanted to know, Justice and Morgan are my Nieces from my sister Jammie, and Laney and new baby are from my sister Dawn) I am working on the sleeves, but there's not much work left to do on this. I altered the pattern slightly to accommodate a buttonhole (instead of using a broach) and to make it smaller to fit a youngster. I need to find the perfect button. I'm thinking something pale pink and/or lavender and sparkly would be prefect for a 10 year old. The yarn I'm using is Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Sky.

My Nieces are going to look SOOOO FREAKING CUTE in their birthday gifts!!!! I'm all giddy and excited!

And, now, YARN!!!

Here we have some Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Mauve and Grape. These are going to become some cabled cardigans for my nieces Laney and Morgan's Christmas Gifts. I'm still planning the cardigans out. Right now I'm thinking make one mainly grape with mauve ribbing for the collar and cuffs, and the other mainly mauve with grape for the collar and cuff ribbing. Both with a cable pattern going down the front panels beside the button bands, but the cables will be different on each sweater.

This is Knitpicks Main Line yarn in the Red Velvet Cake colorway. The lighting in all of these pics is off, but in this pic the color is the most inaccurate. It's a really pretty creamy red. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with this one. I only have 5 balls of it. I'm thinking maybe using it to knit a cardigan for DD to wear this fall. I probably don't have enough for that, so I might just use it to make a sweater for my newest niece, Due September 1st. 5 balls is PLENTY for that.


......and here we have some sock yarns that have been residing in my stash bin for a while, but I don't think I've ever posted a pic or even mentioned them here before. From top to bottom, we have BMFA STR lightweight in Socktopus, Lime & Violet yarn 'Penelope' colorway, and another Lime & Violet yarn called 'The Human Skeleton'. You can see a gallery of Lime & Violet yarns HERE. They do WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL work.

want some details?

After I read the comment CraftPirate left on the post I made yesterday, I realized some might like some details as to what it was on my needles in the second pic in the post below. Well, remember the Monica I was working on before? I wasn't happy with it, and I had a sweater version of second sock syndrome (couldn't make myself start the back), so I decided to frog the fucker and start it over, but knitting it in the round this time. So I'm making a slightly altered version of Monica from Knitty, using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Prosperous Plum for the body and Blush for the ruffle.

Speaking of second sock syndrome, I still haven't started sock #2 of Twisted Flower, and I've only managed a few rows of sock#2 of Embossed leaves.

I LOVE Options!!!!

I FINALLY ordered the Knitpicks Options needle set a week ago (Monday 6/11th), and Saturday (6/16), a mere 20 minutes before I had to leave for work, they arrived!!!! I hurried finishing getting ready to leave, and ended up having a full 10 minutes to play with my new beauties! I transferred one of my wip's onto the KPO's, and as soon as I started knitting.....I was in love :)
They're SOOOO very smooth and slick....the stitches glide easily across them. DH likes them too. He already transferred a project to a set of my KPO's. Sometime soon, I think we'll have to get DH his own set of KPO's....I don't want to share :)

the ability to breathe through ones nose is greatly underappreciated

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. The kids are out of school on Summer break so I've been busy chasing them around and going crazy. The little boogers decided to bring home one last cold from school too. I felt it coming on Friday, and it hit me full force Friday night. Yesterday was so miserable, I spent the day half passed out on the couch. Today, I'm much better. I still have a sore throat and some muscle soreness, and I get dizzy if I try to stand for too long, but still, MUCH better than yesterday.

As for knitting......not much has gotten done lately. Thursday evening I was working on a project for my niece's 10th birthday, and the cable snapped on me. This was the 2nd Denise cable to do this to me. DH, hearing the string of profanity leaving my mouth when it happened, told me, "just order the Options you've been blathering about for the past year". So, that's what I'm going to do :) (don't worry, I got all of my stitches rescued on some scrap yarn) I am also going to have Denise replace my snapped cord (they have EXCELLENT customer service), so I'll have 2 sets of interchangeables soon :) Not much else has been worked on lately. I started knitting yet another garterlac washcloth, and I did a pinwheel washcloth. A few stitches on some other projects have been knit, but not much.

Also, because of some family drama, and my freaking cold, I was unable to attend any part of Knitters Connection. You have no idea how torturous it is to know that not just an emporium of beautiful, yummy, spectacular yarn and fiber, but also my two favorite podcasters (Lime & Violet), were just a mere 25 minute drive away from me. Not to mention missing out on the Knitters Connection goodie bags. Sometimes life fucking sucks ass.

an update....YAY!

Here's a pic of a WIP that I've mentioned here a few times, but haven't posted a pic of. It's going to be a throw for my Mom & Dad's Christmas gift. I am using the Kerry Blue Shawl pattern, but instead of using lace weight for a shawl, I'm using worsted weight yarn and size US7 needles for a small blanket. My Mom & Dad's living room is tans & browns, so I chose this red (it's a bit darker IRL than in the pic). It'll look beautiful in their living room.

And here is sock #1 in the pair of embossed leaves socks DONE! I've already cast on for sock#2, but have only done a few rows so far. I still need to cast on for Twisting Flower sock #2.

I've been tagged......

GI tagged me with the 7 things meme.

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven other people and list their names on your blog. Then you leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

I'm bad at these things because I never know what to write......

1. When I was 8 my family and I went on vacation/business trip with my dad, and we stayed at the Orpyland Hotel. While my parents were checking us in, I went and sat in a chair to wait. A nice 'old guy' sat down next to me and we started talking. Then he gave me a piece of gum. A few years later I learned that the 'nice old guy' I remembered was Willie Nelson.

2. Dh and I met when I was dating his old best friend in high school.

3. I was practicly raised in a Gas Station. My dad has owned gas stations my whole life, and my mom does the books. I used to go to work with my parents A LOT.

4. When I was 5, I decided that I didn't want to have bangs anymore. But, I didn't want to wait and grow my bangs out. So, I got the scissors out and cut my bangs off. At the hairline. After I had done it, it occured to me that this might piss off my mom. So, I put a hat on. BUT, I was the kind of girly girl who never wore hats, so as soon as my mom came home, she knew something was off. Then she went into the bathroom and saw hair in the sink. uh-oh...

5. During our wedding, DH saw how nervous I was. So, to distract me and to make me smile, he started playing thumb wars with me while the judge was marying us :)

6. I was 5 months pregnant with my oldest son when Dh and I got married. Despite us announcing out engagement in August, and DH and I getting married in May, I STILL have family who insist that DH and I only got married because I was 'knocked up'. DS was born September 28 1999. (2 weeks past due)

7. I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux and Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 12. That means I've been living with these painful conditions for 13 years now. Well, living with the pain for longer, it's just been 13 years that I've known what's wrong.


ok...who shall I tag?

Sheep of a Different color
PinkPorcupine
Pointy Sticks
FiredUpFairy
Knit Happens
The Witch Learns to Stitch
kellibus

One down, one to go.....

I have finished sock#1 for the pair of Twisted Flower Socks!!! I made a few minor alterations to make it fit me better. I eliminated part of the second repeat for the leg, and I did a typical slip stitch heel instead of the lacy heel that was written for the pattern. The pics aren't all that great. I blame it all on the sun. It looks all pretty and bright outside, so, I go out to try to take pics and the sun immediately runs off hiding behind a cloud. What a bitch....LOL.
Now off to work on Embossed Leaves, and maybe cast on for Twisted Flower #2.

Little Bunny Foo Foo...

Come on....you know you want to sing it with me. " Little Bunny Foo Foo, Hopping through the forest, Scooping up the field mice, And boppin' 'em on the head......" (click HERE for full lyrics)

ahem.......

I started a pair of socks with my BMFA STR lightweight in the Little Bunny Foo Foo colorway :) I am using the Embossed Leaves Pattern from Favorite Socks. I absolutely adore how this yarn is knitting up. I even love the color pooling that's happening on the gusset. (see pic below) This sock has been a really nice, welcome distraction from Twisted Flower.








I'm becoming a little demotivated on the Twisted Flower Socks, but still plugging along. Today, after ds#2 goes off on the bus to Kindergarten, and DD goes down for her nap, I'm going to attempt to get in some knitting time with Twisted Flower. It's a lot easier to work on when the house is quiet.