I'm Back!

My knitting companion abandoned me today. It feels like the temperature is going up again, as well as the humidity, so he wanted to be as close to the outdoors as he could. I can't blame him, I'd rather be outside too!

The girls at Wednesday night knitting decided to do a shawl knit a long called Fizzi, using Zauberball yarn. This is the first time I'm working with it. I like it well enough, I only have a few balls of it.....

The pattern is in german, loosely translated into english, and we were having a hard time of it, but Carolyn helped us with the numbers and all is well and back on track again.

These are my July socks, it's the first time I'm using the Red Heart Heart and Sole sock yarn. They knit up nice enough, however, the color and striping do not match, even though it's the same dye lot. I don't mind fraternal twins, it's never bothered me, but not having the colors be the same is not good. But, I'll wear them!

Here is my latest gift!!! I asked my friend Katie, if she had any sock yarn scraps she would ike to contribute to my sock yarn blankie, and here they are!! A GENEROUS gift. I asked her if she just wanted me to take bits off of them and she told me no, I could have them all! That she'd never get to using them, so she was happy someone would.

Thank you Katie, you made my day!

I am so fortunate to have such great knitting friends. They've really become special people in my life.

Life without the internet

Just a short one today, since I haven't been on in a few days, and I was doing so well..

I came home last Thursday to find that we had no phone service. Our development was built 30 years ago, and apparently, the builder was not that great and didn't feel he needed to follow the guidelines. So while my neighbor was having their driveway replaced, the contractor pulled up/out the phone lines.

I am not happy with verizon at the moment. They told me Thursday, "well put you on the same ticket that is open for several of your neighbors and you'll be back up on Monday."

Being the gullible person I can be at times, I believed them! THEY LIED!!

So, now, hopefully, if this supervisor EILEEN, was telling me the truth, someone will be here today to make sure that I have a dial tone. I'm not holding my breath this time though.

The one thing I can say, is not having the internet adds SO MUCH more time to your life. Though I love the internet and all that I get from it, I am rethinking how important it is.

Look what I got!

This may just look like a bunch of yarn balls, but it's not! It's a gift I got from my friend Katie. She's a sock knitter too. She's a fast knitter. She knits in the movies!



I know I mentioned that I will be starting a sock yarn blankie. I'm planning to cast on August 1st. So I mentioned to Katie this, and asked her if she had any scraps she might like to contribute to my blankie, as she has used much different yarns than I have. She said, she'd be happy too!!

When she showed me the bag she brought, I told her I wished I had brought my scale and she asked why and I told her so I could weigh out five grams and she said oh no Catherine, these are all for you, I don't want them back.

I was floored and forever grateful. Thank you again Katie. I can't wait to see how these scraps will look in my blankie.

Now, keep in mind, when you knit, you usually have a pattern. This is my Mystery Hat. I do have a pattern, which I am following. My problem is, I am using the WRONG size needle!!! I am supposed to be using a 7 and I cast on and got most of the way through the hat when I realized I was using a size 5 needle. UGH!!

No, I have not and will not rip it out, it will just be smaller and warmer for some child's head.

Remember the picture from my purse the other day? Here is the completed sock as well as the beginning of the second one. Finished it up last night and began the second one. I love "plain vanilla" socks. Where Katie loves "cookie A" socks. You can find any comfort zone with knitting, it's great.

And lastly, this is FIZZI, it is our new Wednesday night knit a long. I'm using a Zauberball as the other girls are. I can't wait to see how it finishes. I have not knit anything with one yet, though I have ..... a few... And this pattern has an extensive chart, so it will be a challenge and I certainly won't be knitting that part at knit nights on Wednesdays.

Knitting Obsession

Today I wanted to start out with a picture of the "birthday boy", my nephew Paul, from his party, and his favorite gift! It's the one we gave him. The darn thing, and kid are just too cute together. Boys and their toys!


Next we have our Mystery knit along Hat. I am making it out of some Cascade 220, one of my favorites, and some yarn that I dyed with Kool Aid a while back. I am not sure how much of that I have, the pattern said that I needed a total of 100 grams of yarn, so there were 25 grams of it, hopefully it will be enough.

I love the way this is knitting up and it will be a hard one to give away.



Here is my garter stitch charity square that I talked about yesterday. It is a simple 34 stitches and just knit. I checked my gauge and it's 8 x 8 square, which is what they asked for in blue. I will send it off in tomorrow's mail.

Now here is a smile on my face. I was searching Ravelry to look at patterns for the sock yarn blankie that TONS of people have done, and I found several that I commented on, some I even asked for their suggestions about doing it. "Lyn" over in Oxfordshire, England wrote me back her thoughts and said she'd send along some of her extras to help me with mine. IMAGINE my surprise and JOY yesterday when I got a package and these were enclosed?!!! Knitters are great people (crocheters too)

These will really help me along my way and I have will a special memory when I put them in.

And lastly, this is what I carry at all times, in my purse, a sock to knit. I am never without one. I feel as if there will never be enough time to knit everything that I hope to. I should have started 30 years ago.



Until next time,

Busy Weekend

I don't know if I have ever posted a pic of hubby and I but, here goes. We don't usually get many pictures together, as I am the one taking them. So now whenever there are others around, I always try to get a picture of us.



We went to my nephew's first birthday party this weekend. It was hot, but the pavillion it was at was just lovely and a breeze came through the whole time. The food was good, seeing family for a happy ocassion was great AND I think the birthday boy liked our gift best! It was a real boy toy. (pictures tomorrow)


Knitting this weekend was truly productive, sitting in a car for many hours there and back I was able to get another pair of socks completed! For which I am happy and grateful.

Then, yesterday I worked on a "grow with me baby" hat for Karen's infants that she collects for. It is really a simple and great hat, can be sized up or down just by changing needle size and yarn weight.

I also did a square for the "over 40" group at Ravelry, they are collecting them for blankets for headstart kids.

AND I started, though a little late, the Summer 2010 Mystery Hat and Mitten along over on the "wool aid" group list over at Ravelry. I spend too much time one there.

Life is good. Be nice to those around you.

Here they are!

Here they are! Aren't they just adorable? The pattern said they would be for a 4 year old. I am not sure about that, or perhaps it means size 4 shoe size. They're small. Made of Worsted Weight yarn that was donated to me by a RAK list knitter over on Ravelry.

Here are some of the hats I'm doing for Karen's charity group that needs infant hats for the babies. They are crochet and it is a very quick and easy pattern.

No companion picture today, he spent some time in the "man cave" with his dad this morning instead of being stuck with his mom.

On the needles this morning are another pair of those socks! They are just too cute.

Also to note, I have used up 4 skeins of the yarn that was donated to me! Yeah for stash busting.

Progress and promises

My sleeping companion. Yes, he's back near my feet in a different position this morning. He went to the vet yesterday, had his booster and was told he's 5 lbs overweight! So, that means an extra heartworm pill a month. We're going to work on that.

I've made nice progress on my child's sock. I finished the first one last night and that is how far I was this morning with the second one. It's alot of ribbing, which makes for alot of boredom, but it makes a cute sock.

Does it even look like any of the stash yarn is gone? No, it doesn't does it? Small children's socks do not use up much very quickly, but it is going to make a child's little toes warm and that's more important than emptying my stash box. (one of them anyway)

Promises. We all make them. Do we keep them? I'm trying, really, REALLY hard to not buy anymore yarn until Christmas in July on the 25th, only then may I buy some sock yarn. Then the next time to buy, will be the Fiberfestival in Sept and then at Rhinebeck. I have enough yarn to keep me going in sweaters, socks, and other projects that I don't NEED any yarn, I really, truly don't. But it's like an addiction sometimes and I can't help myself.

So, my promise is also to knit from what I have and share the projects and progress with you all.

These are the first few balls of what will some day be my own sock blankie. I asked a friend if she had any scraps to spare, so that I could have a memory of her in my blankie. If anyone ever reads this, and would like to contribute to my blankie, I'd be proud to knit a square with about 5 grams or 30 yards of your fingering weight. Just leave me a comment and I'll send my address along.

My husband thinks I'm crazy for this one. I explained it to him last night, when he saw me with the kitchen scale..... Yes, I went and bought a kitchen scale so that I could measure out 5 grams and make little skeins of sock yarn. This way, I have for my future blankie, to share and for monstersocken socks. He shook his head, but he understood the concept, "it's like a quilt made out of little squares. Why would you want that?"

People who don't knit, just don't understand, but he supports me and my quest to knit and be happy.

Life is good.

Almost a year

It is one day short of a year since my last post. I wish to change that. I hope to be able to find the time to update this blog and that someone, anyone, will read it and leave me a message. Ravelry has taken over my life and so I spend too much time there, too much time dreaming of all the things I have yet to knit.

My morning knitting is a pair of children's socks. Believe it or not, my first pair of children's socks and yes, they are on double pointeds because that was what I could find, plus they are zephr super smooth anodized aluminum, still in the package, from my mother, and they are MADE IN U.S.A. and when they were purchased, they cost .60.

These socks will be donated to WOOL AID, for their many charity knitting donations.

Here is my trusty knitting companion, he sleeps all night and most of the day and I can usually find him right under my feet!

Here is what I am currently knitting from, a container of donated to me yarns. I need to get some of my stash out of here, so I found the donations from a RAK list friend and have been making hats and now socks for a WOOL AID campaign. I want to empty the full container, which I have already used up two full skeins and most of two more, but here is still yarn in there, sigh.

Until next time,

keep on knitting!!