And Life just SMACKS you in the face!

The Amanda Hat! I made this in less than a day for Rachel for Valentine's Day. It looks lovely and she wears it often. She said "A hat. Awesome" When I gave it to her. Made me smile



It was an easy pattern to follow, though I did not follow it completely. I used size 9 needles. Did the second pattern repeat for two rounds instead of three, and did not do the garter rib rows and that hat fits just perfect. That is one of the things I love about knitting, you can make things to fit you~!

Here are the next socks I am working on. From Sensational Knitted Socks, the garter rib. Using size 2 circulars, I cast on 56 stitches, did 8 rows of 2 x 2 ribbing. Then a total of 20 pattern repeats for the leg, used 28 stitches for the heel, ding 29 rows. Picked up 16 gusset stitches, twisted them, then began the decreases. Did 38 rows for the foot.

I think the colors in these are so cool, they remind me of the circus!

Life really knows how to smack you in the face, year after year after year. I can't even talk about what has happened, but every year I keep saying "Next year has to be better......" I've been saying that for three years , no four, now.

Finished Objects and those in Process

Here are the socks that I have chosen to knit instead of the Friday Harbor socks that just weren't working for me. The top picture is of the finished sock, except that I finished while I was away from home and I STILL can't kirtchner stitch without the directions. So I had to place the stitches on a cable needle and a DPN to hold them.




I have decided that while the pattern is Twin Rib from Sensational Socks, in Opal Owl 6 ply, that the colors look just like dad's dog Dingo, so these will be my Dingo socks!

With this pair of socks, I am trying something different. I am doing the ribbing and leg in size 3 needles, then for the heel and the bottom of the foot I switched to a size 2 for that part and kept the size 3 on top. I wanted to see if I could make a tighter heel.

Here are a couple of pictures of Rachel wearing her sweater. I am still not that great with getting good pictures of my knitting with the camera, so I can't figure out why the top of the sweater looks wavy, but it's not really.

We had to pin down the color sides.

Here is the Tychus hat that I made for George. This was a fun knit and I will probably be making more in wool though not acrylic. Great pattern for stash busting and it will fit many sizes.

Here are pictures of my Cozy, from the KAL I am doing. Boy! What a bear! I had to rip back a number of rows in the beginning. So once I finish one complete repeat I put in the life line. This is the first time I am doing something even close to lace and it's not easy. I love the yarn though. This is the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I know I will use it again, but I'm not sure on what.

Also I know I will knit this again, with a thicker weight yarn. The pattern actually calls for Aran I believe, but I think I will use Worsted.

If you're cold, put on a sweater. That's what they're for. Brenda Dayne from Cast On

No pictures today.

I just love that quote. I hope Brenda doesn't mind that I've used it. I call her Brenda like I know her, personally. She does the Podcast "Cast On" that I have found on iTunes and have been listening to ALL the back ones for the past several days. I tell you, these podcast things are almost as addicting as Ravelry has been. But atleast with the podcasts, you get to knit while they talk! And listen to some really great music. It is like having a knitting friend in the room with you and having a conversation. It's really great.

Finished objects! I have a few of them. I finished Rachels top down raglan. I did take some pictures, I just haven't loaded them yet. It fits her wonderfully and she even wore it to school yesterday, which was such a compliment to me that she wore the sweater I made her. It is such a great feeling when you make something for someone and they just love it and wear it!

I also finally, found a pattern for a hat for George. It is Tychus and I did it in acrylic. He's a kid. It was a super simple pattern. Would be/will be a great stash buster hat as you use two skeins of yarn, different colors, and use the yarn doubled throughout. It ends up being a thick warm hat. I only did four repeats instead of the five suggested by the pattern,which makes this large enough. I tried it on, Rachel and Matthew tried it on and it fit all three of us just fine. For the last row, instead of doing the last MC set, I stopped at the CC with 36 stitches, at the suggestion of Patchworkjester on Ravelry, then bound off and seamed and pulled the yarn through the last two loops. This way the striping sequence stays in order. I do need to learn how to wrap my stitches though. The pattern says you don't have to, and really you don't because they are hidden, the holes, in the hat, but I would like to see what the difference is. I started the hat Wed. evening and finished it last night while watching the original version of "the birds". What an awesome movie. Still love it every time I see it. Alfred Hitchcock knew what he was doing. And the scenery! WOW!

Today is February 1st and I will be casting on Cozy, for the KAL that I have joined on Ravelry. It is the first time I am using this elsebeth lavold Silky Wool yarn. I am really excited about this. I purchased the yarn with this shawl in mind and I guess you could say this is my first lace type project. Even though it is not lace weight yarn. But, it is a new yarn for me and that is one of the things I menioned I wanted to do this year, knit with yarns I never have before.

Remember, if you're cold, put on a sweater. That's what they're there for!

Finished Objects

Well, here are some pictures! This is my fake Noro Vest that I have been working on for a bit. Sorry that there is no picture of me wearing it. The one we took was distorted, we'll have to try again.


If I ever make this again, I would make the back a bit wider. I believe this one was only 70 stitches wide. And I probably would have made it just an inch or so longer. I seamed up the side about 9 inches to form the arm holes. I have worn this twice already and it fits wonderfully and is very warm.

Remember the Friday Harbro socks? Well, they are now Twin Rib from SKS book. I needed a simpiler pattern to work on. Having the vest and the sweater going at once, I needed an easy, quick project and I was struggling and not enjoying the chart. I guess it take a bit more learning to enjoy it.

Here is my top down raglan that I finished last month. After working on Rachels and making hers a bit longer, I decided I liked the way that one fit much better, so I ripped out the bottom ribbing and I knit 20 extra rows and I am now going to put the 25 rows of ribbing back on it. I am hoping that this will help with the "climbing up" this sweater was tending to do.

Here is Rachels sweater. I am almost done with the first arm and I can't wait to be done with it. I have gotten so many more ideas just from this sweater.

I have been very bad. I placed another order today with Yarn Country for more Cascade 220. Enough to use what I have in order to make 3 more sweaters.

Plus I ordered some Malabrigo in Lacy weight merino (I think that is what it is called) in Hummingbird. Mom will be gone a year next month and before she left, she had tried on my second pair of socks, made with Gyspy Girl Creations 100% Superwash Merino wool in Painted Desert by Stonebarnfibers. It was the first purchase I made of fancy hand dyed yarn and I completed them while mom was ill. She tried them on and I haven't been able to wear them or really haven't taken them out at all. They still sit in the bag I carried around with me, back and forth to the hospital and lived out of for weeks. Mom loved hummingbirds, and saw real ones at our house in WI. I am not sure what I will make with this yarn, but I figure, every year, I will choose a yarn and make something special to remember mom by.

Stash and Burn

Stash and Burn is the name of the podcasts that I have currently been listening to. Nicole and Jenny are really cute with their banter between each other. But I've been learning alot about different kinds of yarn. Also they talk alot of their projects, or rather, unfinished projects. They've also included some interviews that were very enjoyable. For someone who has never been to a fleece or fiber event, they did a great job with their descriptions of Stitches West and how hard it was for them to keep control of their buying. I could so relate.

I also like that they include web addresses for other on it. If you have a chance, go over to their website or to iTunes and look up Stash and Burn, it's really nice listening.

I am still progressing on my "noro" vest. I am hoping that once I am done it will fit properly, since I really don't have an actual pattern for it as I am knitting. It's all about learning. I have made some modifications to the pattern to fit my body.

I have stalled at the moment on my top down, just because I need to do some quick projects to have something done. I know as I knit I am finishing the top down, but it is just a longer knit.

I started using the Opal 6 ply in Owl from the Friday Harbor socks that I frogged. They are a part of my Mission Possible 08 list. I am using one of the patterns from Sensational Socks. I am doing them on size 3 two circulars, which is my preferred style for socks anymore.

I am sorry there aren't any pictures again. I have to get some taken of my current projects. That is what also makes me feel like I am making progress of the items I'm working on.

Still enjoying Ravelry alot. Come on over and check out my projects pages if you are a member, if you aren't, sign up. It's awesome!

Aches and Pains

Here is a snapshot of the top down raglan I am working on. Yesterday I did about 10 rows of ribbing before having Rachel try it on, and it was a bit short. So this morning I ripped back all the ribbing and have decided to do 12 more rows before beginning the ribbing.

My arms always give me trouble, so I tend to ignore them when it comes to my knitting. But as of recent is a pain in my neck that makes it nearly impossible to knit. I have been trying, over the past few days, not to put so much concentrated time into knitting and to move around more, in the hopes that this pain will go away. I don't know what I will do if it decides to stick around.

I have been holding off starting another project. I like to accomplish what I am doing. I have been looking at how many projects people have going at one time on Ravelry and I just can't understand how they get anything done. Well, really, it doesn't seem for some that they do get anything done, but for others, they have tons of stuff on their page.

I also realized this morning that it's been a year since I started to knit socks and to really take up knitting to keep myself busy in my free time. I look back and only wish that I had done it sooner in my life. But I did alot of crochet for so many years. Mostly just lap blankets and baby blankets. I enjoyed that. But now, I get to enjoy what I have made and to wear it myself every day. I just love opening my sock drawer and seeing all the lovely socks I've made this past year.

Finished Objects

Now I have my own bag! This one is made out of the Araucania Nature Wool chunky, just like I made for Rose. I modified the pattern somewhat to make the bottom larger and the height a bit taller. I plan to use it as my travel bag.

In this picture you can see how nice the colors are done and that it looks almost like I used three different shades of blue, but I didn't. It was the same blue, number 103, but it seems this yarn does not have actual dye lots. I guess thats what causes the variations in color. I like it.
Here are my Cape May, Plain Vanilla Socks! I haven't worked on them since before thanksgiving, I think. I had one sock done up to the heel flap. I completed that sock on Saturday and began sock two on Sunday and completed it Sunday night. My shoulders are killing me for it, but i just wanted to get them done! I certainly learned something with these socks though. Take better notes. I put these down and somehow either I lost my pattern notes to myself or I didn't write any.... and I think that the heels on them are just a touch different inn the amount of stitches used. But, thats okay. I consider it something learned and they are socks for me.
This is how far I am on my Top Down Raglan out of Moda Dea Visions in Forest colorway. The picture does not due the color justice, I took it in the light of the room, no sunshine yet this morning.

You can see the neckline that I chose to try with this one. A smaller height in collar but a longer depth in the V neck. I really like this yarn, but I haven't washed it yet to see what the after sweater will look like. No, I don't plan to felt it, just want to see how it looks after washing.

On Ravelry, I finally joined a list! I joined "Mission Possible 2008" You had to list 12 things that you needed/would get done in 2008 and if you don't get them done you either have to donate them, or burn them and make a video of it for YouTube. You are supposed to do UFO's that you have, or only use yarn that is in your stash. I thought this would be a great list for me to keep me accountable for some of the things I want to get done this year. I can already check one off, my Cape May socks!

I try not to have too many things going at once as I like the sense of accomplishment of finishing. It helps to keep me going. Though I LOVE to look at all the patterns and yarns and dream!