This, that and the other thing

This weekend, I posted in one of the Yahoo groups that I have a sock pattern in the works. It's a simple, understated pattern, suitable for both men and women. I know that because John saw me working on the sock and hinted (no, told me flat out) that he likes that design and wouldn't mind a pair of socks like it. Without further ado, allow me to give you a sneak peek at Java Ribs.

The colour, in real life, is darker than the picture shows. What the picture does show is the different colours in the yarn. That yarn, incidentally, is Cherry Tree Hill, 100% merino sock yarn in a colour aptly named Java. Very nice to work with.

Then, there are a couple of finished objects. I finally got the moebius bag finished and felted. I love it! John loves it! It's comfortable to wear, just the right length and the colour is perfect. I do believe I will get a lot of use out of this bag.

I thought I had taken a picture or two of the bag before felting, but looking through the files, it appears I didn't. Oh well. Anyone who's done any felting at all will have some idea of how big this bag was. I did model it for John before felting it and the bag itself was below my knees. Now it sits comfortably on my hip, so you can imagine how much it shrank. It was a fun knit; I can see making another one (or two or three) at some point, perhaps as gifts for special people in my life... like daughters maybe.

There's one more finished object to show you. This is, again, my own design and I will make it available in the sidebar. I call it the Lacy Cantata Cap. It's named for the yarn I used, Cantata DK weight cotton. The lacy stitch is an easy two-row pattern, easy to memorize. It's knit in the round, using a 16", 4.5 mm needle. It will fit 20-22", as the lacy stitch does have some give to it. I did this one up in one afternoon. The pattern includes both written instructions and a chart.

Oh, SoapFiberGal (did I get that right?) asked about the twisted german cast on. Here's a link that explains it pretty well. (click here) As well, if you google "twisted german cast on", you'll get a few more hits. It takes a bit of practice, but it IS a nice, stretchy cast on. It's always good to know more than one method of casting on... and off, for that matter.

And now, off to get this day going. I've got lots to do today, including making a sleep balm (it's made with herbs, oils and beeswax; you rub it into your temples, forehead and neck when you go to bed and it's supposed to help you sleep better... I'll let you know if it works), going to the doctor, laundry, laundry, laundry and more.

Kids Socks are an FO

That's right. The second pair of Most Basic Kids Socks is a finished object. Here's the proof...

This time, I used a German Twisted cast on, using a 3 mm needle. There's lots of give in this cast on, which is a good thing. Again, the yarn used is Online's Supersocke 100 River Collection. The pair used just under 50 gm, so one ball of this yarn (100 gm) should make two pairs of socks in this size. This pair of socks, like the smaller ones, was worked on 2.5 mm (US 1) double-pointed needles.

I'll be typing up the pattern today and will, hopefully, have it up later. Now, to get that fridge cleaned! *sigh* (In case you hadn't guessed, I'm procrastinating.)

P.S. I've just posted the pattern for the Most Basic Kids Socks in my sidebar. It's in the section entitled "My Patterns". Let me know if you find any errors in the pattern. Let me know, too, if you make the socks as per this pattern. Let me know how they turn out. I love feedback!

Responses to Comments

Just a couple of brief things today...

Kate asked what Yorkshire pudding is. Well, Kate, it's not pudding. I mean, it doesn't have the texture of pudding; it's not a milk based squishy substance. Do you know what popovers are? Basically, it's a type of quick bread that is usually served with roast beef (they remind me a tiny bit of dense cream puff shells). The recipe I used (click here or go to my recipe page; the link is there as well) uses six eggs, milk, flour, salt and bacon drippings. Usually, and for best tasting yorkshires, you would use the beef drippings, but today's roasts don't render much in the way of drippings. The oil is heated in muffin cups until almost smoking, then the batter is poured in and it goes back into the oven. The batter puffs up quite a bit as it bakes and the resulting "puddings" are wonderful as an accompaniment to the beef and, especially, the gravy.

Leslie asked me about lip balm. For those of you who've been reading my blog for the last year (yes, I've been blogging for almost 13 months now), you may remember I had another blog about one of my other passions: creams, lotions and natural body care. I no longer blog about it and haven't been making much of my product lately, but I'm slowly getting back into it.

The lip balm in question is made with a blend of healthy oils and beeswax. In this case, I use beeswax, jojoba oil, St. John's Wort oil, mango butter, cocoa butter, emu oil (very good for the skin!) and a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil. It's a very healthy alternative to the store bought lip balms, most of which use a mineral oil base. As my daughters are "addicted" to the stuff, I'd rather they use something I know is good for their skin and don't mind keeping them supplied.

In addition to the lip balm, I also make all of my own face and body creams and lotions and even make some shower gel for myself. It's been a long time since I've spent money of store bought lotions of any kind. There's even one product I make that is a facial soap substitue, made with a variety of ground flowers (rose, lavender, chamomile), ground oatmeal and white clay. It can be used as a cleanser or as a facial masque. It's fun stuff! And at least I know exactly what goes on my skin.

Soap Fibre Gal and Stricken Madchen, thank you so much for your input into the kids' socks. Both of you were very helpful. The second pair of socks in almost finished and I'll be typing up the pattern either later this morning or tomorrow (I'm working this afternoon). If you'd like to test knit it for me, or even read through it to make sure it all makes sense, I'd be most appreciative!

Now, off to finish the toe of the second larger sized kids sock. I'll post a picture later.

FO's... more of them!

The smaller of the kid's socks are done! I'm very grateful for those of you with children who've taken the time to give me some input. It helped! I also got some input from a young mom who just happened to come into the store with her three year old daughter (almost three). We tried the socks on her and they fit fine; that is, all except the cast on. It was a little snug around her leg, so I'm thinking the pattern will definitely recommend casting on with larger needles and a very elastic cast on. Other than that, it's looking like the small size will fit a 2-3 year old child.

I've been working on the larger size (this time making sure I use an elastic cast on). One sock is completed and the second is well under way. I'll post pictures of it when the second one is finished. The pattern is now ready for me to type up. That's one of my projects for today.

Speaking of today, it is now approximately 10:15 a.m. and I've already gotten a lot accomplished. We had my sister and brother-in-law here for dinner last night (they live four hours away and were in town for a romantic weekend getaway), and by the time we left, neither of us had the energy or desire to do the dishes. There are a lot of dishes involved in a traditional roast beef dinner!! I got all that done this morning. I've tidied up and have the third load of laundry on the go. I've even baked a batch of yorkshire pudding (HAD to try the recipe and it's WOW!) for tonight's dinner. I know, they should be served hot, but yorkshire pudding's almost as good cold. And with the leftover gravy from last night... well... just... yum! When I looked at the clock and realized it was just past 10:00 a.m., I was amazed! I've gotten almost everything done that I wanted to get done today. And I still have the rest of the day to myself.

Anyway, back to knitting. When my sister told my daughters that they were going to be here this weekend, the girls put in their orders. Lip balm! I make it for them and any time we drive to the coast or they come here, or they know someone who will be here, that's what they request. They like it better than anything they can buy. Then, when I spoke to my younger daughter, she also requested a healing balm I make, as well as another top knot hat for Oceanna. When my sister and her husband left last night, they took all of that, and Trinity's birthday present (the Jester Tentacles Bag) with them for the girls. Can't wait to hear how Trinity likes her bag. I even tucked a loonie (a Canadian $1.00 coin) into one of the tentacles.

The hat...

I didn't expect the hat to come out in stripes like it did. I expected it to be a simple variegated hat, but I like it! I hope Alaina does, too. She specifically requested one just like the one I made when Oceanna was born, but that yarn has been discontinued. This was the closest I could find to that yarn. Would you have thought it would come out in stripes like it did?

Now, what am I going to do with the rest of my day? It's a beautiful, sunny day here in the Okanagan. The birds are singing; the lake is like glass; the sunshine is warm. I have sheets and pillow cases drying in the sunshine, laundry in the machine that will also be drying outdoors. I've done last night's mega load of dishes. The pattern needs typing up, so I'll do that. And then? Well, I guess I'll have some knitting time! (May even knit outside for a while)

So... What do you think?

At work the other day, we were talking about the need for a very basic kid's sock pattern. Naturally, since I made a very basic adult sock pattern, I figured it would be no big deal to write a kid's version as well. There's just one small problem. When it comes to adult socks, there are two adults in this house I can use as guinea pigs. There are no little people around me to try kid socks on. I can write the pattern (and have)... no problem there. But, will they actually fit a real kid??

Here's the 2-4 year sock I just finished... hot off the needles, you might say. And, to avoid the dreaded second sock syndrome, the second sock is on the needles already.

So that you can give me some input (those of you with little people in your lives), here are some of the stats. The sock is made with Online Supersocke 100 Caribe on 2.5mm (US 1) needles. I cast on 44 stitches. The cuff is 4.5" long and the total foot length is 6.25". Does that sound about right?

If you knit socks for kids using sock weight yarn, please give me some input. What age do you knit for? How many stitches do you cast on? What's the total foot length you knit? How much do you allow for the toe? (In my socks, for me, I knit to 2" less than the total length required, then start the toe shaping.) I'm also looking to write this pattern for 5-6 years, so, those of you with children in that age range can be a real help. Thanks in advance!

Pattern posted!

I took the day off today. My body feels like it needed a day off. I have the house entirely to myself and I intend to spoil myself... think hot bath with lovely scented oils, a facial, manicure, pedicure... all with products I've made myself. (I've started to get back into my creams and lotions again, finally.) It's time for me to spoil me.

But before I do that, I have a pattern to share with you. The Mop Top Toque. It's in the sidebar. Just cuz I appreciate all of you. I've written it for three sizes, Small, Medium (fits me) and Large. You can use any double knitting (DK) weight yarn for the body of the hat and pretty much any furry, fuzzy novelty yarn (most knit up to DK gauge) for the top. Have fun with it! Go crazy! Send me pictures! I'd LOVE to see what kind of combinations you come up with.

And if you have any questions regarding the pattern, please don't hesitate to ask me. Now, on to spoiling me....

FO and other things

The Jester Tentacles Bag is done! It's felted and is resting comfortably at the store, where it will reside until it's time for me to send it to Trinity, my soon-to-be-two-years-old granddaughter. Here are a couple of pictures of the bag. The first shows the bag as you would normally see it and the second shows the inner pouch, which really makes the bag look like a funkily painted octopus.

I hope she'll like it; I know I had fun making it, even if there WERE a lot of waste yarn openings to pick up.

I've started (yes, yes, another round of start-itis, I know) a moebius bag for myself. I'll post pictures when it actually starts to look like something. In the meantime...

The stocking stitch vest is moving along swimmingly. Because it's stocking stitch and it's long, it makes perfect TV knitting. I'm hoping to have it done by the weekend but I'm not setting myself any hard and fast goals because I'm notorious at not meeting them. Suffice it to say, it's coming along, boring, but coming along.

Today, I've spent time off and on with a good book, one that you don't have to sit down and read from cover to cover; the kind you can pick up and put down at will. John wondered what all the chuckling was about. This week, a customer came in with a copy of the Yarn Harlot's book "At Knit's End". She told me her daughter had given it to her but didn't want it back. The daughter instructed her mother, my customer, to pass it along to another knitter. My customer knew exactly where to drop off the book and it is now in my custody. The intention is that this book will be passed from one knitter to another, presumably until the book falls apart. I'm going to write a brief note inside the cover instructing each "owner" to pass the book along. Neat idea, don't you think? I wonder where the book will end up?

I must say, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has a gift. I've gotten about halfway through the book and have had to share quite a few of her "thoughts" with John. I was laughing out loud more than a few times. If you have the chance (or if this copy finds it way into your hands), read it. I promise, you'll enjoy it; especially if you knit!

Bad Hair Day??

I've been having fun! I know, there are a few projects I MUST get finished; I have time limits on one of them. But... but... I just HAD to do this one!

I think I mentioned, didn't I, that I was inspired by something I saw during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics? Well.... without further ado... may I present the Mop Top Toque?

This one is sized to fit an average woman. It fits me perfectly, but then, I'm just an average woman apparently. I'm presently working on a child-sized version and have plans for a man's sized version as well. The yarns used in the woman's version are Schachenmayr's Extra, 100% superwash virgin wool and SRK's Baby Monkey, a gorgeously (is that a word?) soft furry yarn.

I'm planning on making the pattern available... if anyone's interested, that is. I had this hat on display at the store yesterday and the general concensus was that it's a fun hat. Everybody giggled when they saw it.

Interested???

Where does time go???

Ack! It's been far too long since I updated the blog. I was beginning to feel guilty! There has, however, been a lot happening in my "other" life. You know... the one away from the computer? Yes, Virginia, there IS life away from the computer!

I have not stopped knitting, though. Far from it. I'm almost knitting too much, if there is such a thing. I keep finding new projects to start. I simply cannot understand how any knitter could have nothing on their needles and not know what to knit next.

Ok, so here goes...

This is the vest that I'm doing on order. I'm about 2" from the shoulder shaping. Then the fronts. With no button holes and a crochet edge, I'll have this vest done in plenty of time. No problem!

Then...

There's been progress on the mermaid socks. This is, granted, still the first sock but I am up to the heel. I want to make sure I have the time to sit and follow the directions for the garter stitch heel, so it's temporarily on hold (until I have a day to myself). I'm sure it won't be difficult, but I want to be able to concentrate on it without interruption. You know what I mean?

And then, I've been playing with this...

It's for my granddaughter, Trinity. Her second birthday is coming up in April and I thought this would be a fun little something for her. If you haven't seen anything like it before, you haven't seen Cat Bordhi's "Second Treasury of Magical Knitting". I'll post another picture of this bag after it's been felted. It really is fun... and I know how to pick up waste yarn stitches now.... really well! Incidentally, little Miss Trinity spent a couple of nights in the hospital this past weekend, suffering from pneumonia. She's been battling croup and a touch of pneumonia all winter and when she started showing signs of dehydration, she was admitted to the hospital. She is now back at home, drinking plenty of fluids and is, hopefully, on the mend. Needless to say, I've been worried sick!

Oh, Leslie? The socks that I had on the needle I had to frog. I just wasn't happy with the knitting so the needle is resting comfortably with it's compatriots, all of whom are patiently waiting their turn.

pssst... Dianne? I finally got around to updating the blog.... ;)

Gifted!

There are times when you, my readers, overwhelm me. Yesterday was one of those days. When I got home from work yesterday, there was a manilla envelope waiting for me. In it was a 2.25 mm, 100 cm (40") Inox nickel plated circular needle. It is a gift from Leslie, who sympathized with my bemoaning the lack of said size in the Addi Turbos.

Thank you, Leslie. The needle will be put to good use. I'll make sure to show you a sock in progress on your gift as soon as I get something on it. Right now, I have a few projects to work on. I'll elaborate a little on those in another post.

For today, well, I start a second part time job. It's an office job. I'll be working for (and with) a friend who purchased a business earlier this year. I'll fill you in when I know a little more.

Pictures and explanations will be forthcoming when I have a little more time. One last time, thank you Leslie!

Sunny, Cold and Productive

That pretty much describes what today will be like. It's already sunny, already cold (-10C) and will be productive. I'm positive about that!

First things first. I finished the Country Style DK toe up magic loop socks. Phew! That's a mouthful. For your perusal...

They're on my feet right now. Considering the temperature here today, that's a very logical place for them to be. And my toes are still cold!

Remember how I said I wanted to finish the Donegal Tweed cardigan by the time the Olympics are done? Well, it should be a reachable goal, but it has recently been put on hold. Not because of my wrist or anything like that. Why is it that as soon as one person asks you to knit something for them (and comes up with a couple more orders at the same time... thanks Tara), two others come around asking for your help as well? That's what happened. An out-of-town customer was in and wants a vest knitted. It's a simple knit and I caved. And so, my cardigan is on hold.

Here's the vest she wants copied. Apparently, its a favourite of hers and it's showing it's age. She simply wants another one like it. By the middle of March. Thankfully, it's just stocking stitch with a crocheted edge around the armholes and front opening.

As you can see, I already have a couple of inches knit up. I used a tubular cast on, which does look really good. The yarn is Aymara (EcoCollection) from Bertagna Filati, 50% merino, 50% alpaca. It's very nice to work with, and once blocked, I'm sure the vest will meet with her approval.

Then, being me, I can't leave my sock needles empty.

I've started these. The Mermaid Socks from Lucy Neatby's "Cool Socks, Warm Feet". With the sideways cuff. Which is much fussier to knit that a standard cuff. Which looks really cool in the picture. Which I wanted to try. Am I crazy or what?

The goal for today is to finish one of the moebius hats (almost done) and continue working on the vest. The sooner I get it finished, the sooner I can get back to work on my cardigan. Incidentally, I've changed my mind on the patterning on the front of the cardigan. I decided that the cable pattern I had picked was simply too much for the yarn and the width of the front panels. I'll tell you more about that in another post.

On a completely different note, we found out last night that Rob & Carol (our housemates) will be moving out at the end of the month. We knew they were planning on it, but we had no idea about their timing. Communication around this house is definitely in short order. I'm not sure what's going to be happening with us yet. We certainly can't afford this house on our own. I think this truly qualifies as a mixed blessing.

For now, I think the washing machine has stopped; time to put the sheets in the dryer. On with my day....

This and that

I have nothing to show you today. I'm making progress on several fronts, though; that's a good thing. One of the Lotus hats Tara ordered is almost done (Addi Turbos made all the difference); the second toe-up magic loop sock is past the heel, so it's in the home stretch now; the back of the Donegal Tweed cardi has about an inch to go for the shoulder shaping, so it's in the home stretch too. The cardi is my "finish-it-by-the-time-the-Olympics-are-done" project. Basically, all that needs to be done is the two front panels and the sleeve cap of the second sleeve. I think I can manage that within two weeks.

Incidentally, my wrist is much better. I think the thing that aggravated it was working the moebius on the Denise needles. Don't get me wrong; I love my Denise needles. However, the Tentacao yarn on the Denise needles just didn't slide very well and I fought with it for the entire moebius band. It was a case of the wrong needle for the yarn, that's all. As well, the cut thumb is healing nicely.

Being a passionate knitter, I don't always realize how my constant knitting (and talking about knitting) affects those around me. Last night, I found out. When we got home last evening, we found that we had the house to ourselves. John suggested that we spend the evening in the bedroom, where he had a fire ready to light (in more ways than one). He suggested I have a nice hot bubble bath, something I never say no to. After colouring my hair and enjoying my bath (with a knitting book to keep me occupied), he had a shower. Then I had to share some of my day with him. Nothing wrong with that, right?

He listened patiently, then informed me that it took something away from the mood to realize that he wanted to "share a moment" (you know what I mean) with a grandmother who's talking about knitting and her day with other knitters, rather than a woman who's appreciating what her man's done to help get her "ready". I explained that it was my way of debriefing, getting past my working day; he understood. After dinner, a movie and a couple glasses of wine, we did resolve the issue satisfactorily. *grin*

And we still have the house to ourselves.

Incidentally, the movie we watched was "Antwone Fisher", one neither of us had seen. I highly recommend it. We really enjoyed it. I, of course, cried.

Goal for today... finish the back and second sleeve of the cardigan and solidify in my mind what I'll be doing for the fronts. It is, after all, my own design. I'd better know what I'm going to do with it. I'll let you know how it goes.

A quick note in response

A number of people have asked me about the yarn I used for the Embossed Leaves sock. I knew that would happen. I lost the ball band so I wasn't exactly sure which yarn it was, but I did figure it out. It's Cherry Tree Hill supersock, a superwash merino wool. The colour name is Spring Frost (click to see it on their website). It really is a nice yarn to work with.

One Toe Up

Yup, I've finished one toe up sock done Magic Loop style. Here's the sock in progress...

Ready to start the heel. The pattern I used has a gusset and heel flap heel, which I like. I find that, generally speaking, it's a style of heel that I find most comfortable and fits me best.

The heel is complete. Now that I've done one sock, I can figure out how to make the heel flap a little deeper... not a big deal.

And onwards, up the leg. I did this sock in 2x2 rib, which I find most comfortable. Interestingly, John was watching me knit this sock and commented on the "pattern". He likes this rib, too, and loved the colour. He was a little disappointed when I told him this was an experimental sock and was being knit to fit MY foot, not his.

Part way up the leg. That's pretty much where I left off last night.

This morning, while waiting for John to get ready for work, I got the leg done to about 6.5" and when I got home from dropping him off, I cast off. After reading all sorts of sources that say the cast off needs to be loose, I did it my way. As I said, I did a 2x2 rib (2 knit, 2 purl), so one round before the actual cast off, I increased one stitch between each of the 2 knit stitches, giving me 3 knit, 2 purl all the way around. Then I did a standard cast off. It worked perfectly.

Now I feel empowered! Now I know I can do what's been on my mind to do... knit each of the socks in the Lucy Neatby book, "Cool Socks, Warm Feet". I keep looking at that book; I love the socks in it. The toe up socks intimidated me. Not any more! I'm not giving myself a time limit on that project, but I will do it. Just you wait and see!

Oh yes, the pattern I followed... You can find it at "Chery Knits". It's in her left sidebar, under "Patterns". It's well written and easy to follow. Though it's written for 2 socks on 2 circulars, it was very easy to adapt to the Magic Loop method. Thanks Chery!!

It's a beautiful, sunny, crisp day in the Okanagan today and I have the car, so I'm off to run a few errands. Enjoy your weekend!

Always Keep Learning

I love learning new things when it comes to the craft I love. Thanks to Jacquie, I now know how to work the Magic Loop. It's easy! And, as posted yesterday, I'm trying a toe-up sock, my first. If it turns out alright, I might even make the second sock of the pair.

Just past the cast on for the toe. I used a figure 8 cast on, as described in the booklet. After doing it about three times, it's looking good (that was just for the sake of practice).

I had to try it on, right? And I had to try it on over another pair of hand knit socks, just cuz I was wearing them. The yarn I'm using for this sock is Sirdar's Country Style DK on a 3 mm 40" Addi Turbo. I must admit that doing toe-up socks using this method is a lot easier than doing it using double-pointed needles.

It seems I won't be doing much knitting again today. The wrist is feeling a little better, but is still aching, and my thumb won't make it any easier. I suppose I'd better listen to that voice telling me to slow it down. It's very frustrating, though. I'm not a person who can just sit and do nothing and right now, there's not a lot I CAN do around here. Even working on the computer isn't easy; we have a thumb-controlled roller ball mouse and the bandages slide on the roller ball, making it very awkward to operate. Perhaps today would be a good day to go for a long walk.

I'm still waiting for feedback and advice on toe-up socks, by the way. One of these days, I WILL get to the heel of this sock and I'll want to know the best way to go... help me out here!

One down, One to go

I finished the first of the Embossed Leaves socks yesterday.

The star toe. I'll use that toe again; I think it's a pretty one for a lacy sock, don't you?

It fits well, it looks good... I like it! I would have cast on for the second one right away, but I have a rather achy wrist at the moment and have to take it easy with the knitting right now. That's really, really hard! There are so many things I want to do, to try.

Like toe up socks on a circular needle, as in Magic Loop. Jacqui came into the store yesterday and slid the Magic Loop booklet across the counter to me; she wants me to learn how to do it so I can, in turn, teach her. Nooooooo problem. Once the EL socks were off the needles, I immediately picked up a circ and some waste yarn and tried it. I think I could get used to working on one long circular. There's only one small problem. Addi Turbos don't come in 2.25 mm. That's the size I use all the time for socks done in 4 ply fingering weight. That's the size that gives me 8.5st/inch, which I find to be just right.

If you've done toe up socks, give me some input. What's your favourite cast on for toe up socks? What's your favourite heel? What's your favourite resource for toe up socks? A favourite pattern? Help me out here. I have a few patterns for toe up socks, but obviously haven't tried any of them yet.

Input.... please? If I can't knit, at least I can read and research!

P.S. It's one thing when your wrist tells you it's time to take a break from knitting; it's quite another when it's the entire cosmos. What do I mean? Well, I was doing some prep for dinner, making sweet potato fries, and I cut my thumb along with the fries. *sigh* It bled for quite a while before I could bandage it. It's okay now, but I won't be doing much knitting for the next day or so.

Super Bowl Sunday Update

I'm not into American football... didn't grow up with it, don't know the rules, makes no sense to me at all. As far as sports go, the only ones I enjoy watching are hockey and baseball. That aside, though, it's Super Bowl Sunday and around here, it means that every television set in the house is set to the game.

We are expecting some company, not sure how many, but not a lot. I've got munchies ready to go as I know there will be some alcohol flowing. Let's see.. I've made spring rolls, deep fried wonton and will be making a couple of pizzas. (Sounds like International day at our house, doesn't it?) Now, before the game starts, I decided to take some time out for me... and you.

I've been steadily working on the Embossed Leaves sock and I think it's going to work this time. Here's where I'm at right now...

I tried the sock on earlier this morning, once I'd gotten past the gusset shaping and this time the tubular cast on fits much better. I decided to go with an Eye of Partridge heel instead of the heel flap used in the original pattern. I like how the EoP heel looks with a lacy pattern. I will, however, incorporate the star toe that the pattern uses. I really want to see how that one turns out; it's one I haven't done before.

By now, I'm sure every knitter who reads any blogs at all is aware of the Knitting Olympics started by the Yarn Harlot. I'm not getting involved. At least, not officially. After a great deal of thought and soul searching, I've decided that I will finish the Donegal Tweed cardi instead of starting a new project. The Olympics is ten days, right? I should be able to complete the sweater in that time frame. It's a great idea, but I'm trying to finish projects, not start new ones. I'm already good at that!

On another note, a couple of Christmases ago, I bought some small poinsettias. I've never had much luck with them and they usually end up in the compost pile by the time all the Christmas trappings have been packed away. However, with John's green thumb, we've managed to keep two of the plants (in one large pot) alive for another year. This summer, the whole pot went outdoors, where the plants thrived. When the weather started to cool, we brought the pot back inside and put it into a corner in the living room. We've researched what poinsettias need in order to "bloom" (a misnomer because it's the leaves that turn red, not the flower). Last year, the plants didn't turn red. We didn't manage to get red leaves for Christmas, but........

Check this out!



...and this...

I'm thrilled! We didn't even TRY to force the plant to turn to red. It's past Christmas, but we did it! (Little things excite me to no end... *grin*)

Back to the sock..... and, yeah, the pre-game stuff, too.

Another post???

Ok, I've got four days off. John's working. What else am I supposed to be doing? Besides knitting, that is. And since my adventures in knitting yesterday were not very successful, I decided to re-do the Embossed Leaves socks. You know, the one from the latest Interweave Knits. The one that I've already frogged twice. And I'm subjecting you to the process. Evil, aren't I?

I've already done actual tubular cast on in these pictures because I didn't think about taking pictures until I'd already gotten to this point. I did it the way knitty.com posted it. I'll put that link in my sidebar as well, just for the sake of convenience. In these pictures, I've taken out half of the original backward loop cast on.

I really like the look of this cast on. If you remember my other post about the Embossed Leaves socks, you'll remember I frogged the last one because the cast on was way too snug for my liking. This time, I did the original cast on on 3 mm needles, worked the four rows of stocking stitch and the pick up row on the same needles, 3 mm. Then I transferred the stitches to the needles I'll be using for the rest of the sock, 2.25 mm (I do believe that's US 1). As of my writing this, the ribbing is almost to one inch and I'm debating whether or not I really want to do the embossed leaves pattern or pick one of my own choosing. After all, I do have all four of the Barbara Walker treasuries. I have a lot of choice.

I will stay with the star toe that the Embossed Leaves socks uses. I really do want to see how that one knits up. I'll keep you posted.

I'd also like to leave you with another link to check out. On January 21, one of CBC radio's programs, North by Northwest, did an entire show about knitting. I missed it, but that's not the point. I tried to find the archive to the entire show, but couldn't find it. I did, however, find some of the interviews featured on the show. They're interesting. Now I wish I had gotten up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning to hear the show..... NOT! Anyway, check it out. Just click here.

It was a bust!

Yesterday, that is. I had every intention of spending the day knitting on the orders I'd received from Tara. I started on the first of the moebius hats. It was coming along... not great, but it was coming along. The first thing that worked against me was the needle. I was positive I had a 5.5 mm Addi Turbo, 40" long. Do you think I could find it? Of course not. I dug out the Denise needles and put together the right length, cast on and started knitting the moebius band of the hat. There's one thing that turns the pleasure of knitting into the work of knitting. Fighting with the needles and yarn. All I did for that entire band was fight with the needles and yarn. It just did NOT want to slide along the needles the way it should have. I fought to get that band done without tossing the entire thing across the room. My right wrist was aching. I should have quit right then, right? Well, I perservered. I finished the band. I casted off half the stitches as laid out in the pattern. I was ready to start the top of the hat. That's when I realized there seemed to be an extra twist in the moebius that shouldn't have been there. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to look right. Notice I said "look right".

I pulled it off the needles. I tried to frog it. I fought with the yarn for a minute. It only let me unravel one stitch before the next stitch was so tangled I couldn't do anything with it. I looked at it again, more carefully this time. Know what? It was a perfect moebius, just the way it should have been. I was so disgusted, I tossed it into the garbage can. Oh, did I mention it was black? There was no way I was going to even try to get it back on the needles. Sometimes, you simply do not want to be reminded that you shouldn't start something when you're really not in the right frame of mind to work on it. *sigh*

Then I started one of the pairs of Mrs. Beetons that Tara ordered. I'm usually a well tensioned knitter. Well intentioned, and well tensioned. I usually cast on fairly loosely. Not this time. That beaded cast on was tighter than I've ever cast on. That first round was a *&%^$*^ nightmare!

Lesson learned: never, EVER, start a new project when the one you've been working on doesn't work out and you're really uptight and frustrated. I put the Mrs. Beetons away and picked up my Donegal Tweed cardigan. At least, that one's just stocking stitch and my tension's never off in stocking stitch.

Hopefully, today will be a better, more productive knitting day. And I'm putting off the moebius hats until I can find my 5.5 mm Addi Turbo.

Off to start my day with a shower. I'll let you know how the day turns out.

One more FO for January

It's a lovely morning here in the Okanagan. I just got back from a one-hour walk. And it's only 9 a.m.! I wonder what the rest of the day will bring.

As far as knitting goes, this week I finally finished John's second work sock. It's about time, too. He started a new job this week. As a matter of fact, I have today all to myself! Anyway, here's a picture of the socks. They're pretty basic.

I've also sold some of my knitting. A young friend saw the moebius hat I made and fell in love with it instantly. She HAD to have it, so I sold it to her. Now, she's got me making another two of the hats because two of her friends each want one, too. And wrist warmers. I have to make another two pairs of those, too. It's a good thing Tara's moving back to Ontario in a couple of months; I wouldn't have time to knit for ME if she stayed around here. It does, however, help to have a few extra dollars to spend on.......... yeah..... more yarn.

Earlier this week, I got an email from my sister in Lethbridge (Hi Gloria!). She got inspired and decided to try knitting socks (hmmm..... where'd THAT inspiration come from, I wonder). This is her first pair. I'm sure it won't be her last.

She did them in Paton's Shetland Chunky (the grey) and some leftover yarn that she bought when they lived in Holland. Not bad for a first pair! I'm really looking forward to what she'll come up with for her next pair if this is the first one. She used Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns for the basic pattern. When she realized that one ball of the Shetland Chunky wouldn't finish the socks, she added the red.

I've been trying to convince her to start a blog of her own; this woman is very talented and artistic. And she's my baby sister. (Sorry Gloria.. had to throw that in... love you!)

Ain't Blogging Fun?

So, yesterday, I had a post already to publish. I hit "Preview" to see how it looked. And then, I'm not sure what I did, but I lost the post completely. It wasn't a long post; I was in kind of a funk. But it disappeared. And I signed out. I did not deal well with the frustration last night.

All I wanted to show you yesterday was the pair of Most Basic Socks. Yes, the pair. The second one is done. Here ya go...

I've decided I love these. They've been on my feet since I got up this morning. I LOVE the colours. And, did you just happen to notice there's no pattern? I mean, the colours don't repeat in any kind of order. Looking at the original ball of yarn, I could have sworn there'd be a "pattern". There isn't.

Today was a day for experimenting. We're talking food this time, not knitting. I love crackers. My favourites have always been Stoned Wheat Thins, but lately I'm finding that they have an almost stale flavour. I'll eat them, but I'm not enjoying them as much as I used to. So, I went hunting for cracker recipes yesterday. I found two to try; one is a Saltine recipe. The other is a Flax cracker. I tried the flax crackers first. Yummm! Nice flavour, nice texture. Good with cheese; good with cream cheese; good with peanut butter; good with butter (my personal nemesis.. love it, but the fat... *sigh*), good on their own. This afternoon, I tried the saltines. The flavour is a little on the bland side, the texture is not like the Premium Plus saltines at all (heavier), but we discovered they're great with soup.

I'll post the recipe for the Flax crackers on my recipe page one of these days (got more knitting to do today). Now, back to my knitting. I'm re-doing the Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave Knits, Winter 05. You know, the ones I frogged? This time, I'm using a different yarn, a different cast on (tubular) and a longer heel flap. I'll stay with the star toe that's in the pattern, though. I'll show you how they're turning out later this week.

For now..... enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Beginner Socks and Other Stuff

First things first. I did say I'd post a picture of the absolutely basic sock, didn't I? Here you go. As I said, absolutely basic. It has 1x1 rib for an inch and a half, then stocking stitch for six inches. The heel is the basic k1, sl 1 heel flap with 20 stitches picked up for the gusset. The toe, as well, is the basic toe. Doesn't get any more basic, does it?

The yarn I used is Trekking XXL in colour #100, on 2.25 mm (US 1) needles

I gave the preliminary copy of the pamphlet to Sue (our knitting teacher) so she could go over it and suggest any changes or additions she might have. She also suggested that some new sock knitters might prefer to make them in a heavier yarn, so I'll add the Absolutely Basic Sock in sport weight yarn. I don't knit a lot of socks in sport weight yarn, so I'm not sure how many stitches to cast on. I make them for John and for his I cast on 56 stitches on 2.75 mm needles. I'm thinking of doing the basic ones with 48 stitches on 3 mm needles. Sound about right??

For those of you who have been reading this blog on a regular basis, you know that we live in a beautiful part of the country. I'm often overwhelmed by the scenery around here. Each day brings something new. Today was no different.

When I got up this morning (7 a.m.), it was still somewhat dark. There was low cloud (sometimes known as fog) drifting over the opposite bank of the lake. The water was like glass. As I watched, I could see that the clouds were slowly drifting south over the lake. At the same time, I watched a flock of coots slowly moving north, at almost the same pace as the clouds. It was so beautiful, so peaceful. The other side of the lake was completely obscured by the mist, but I could see clear sky above the clouds.

A little later, I went down to the dock for a while, coffee mug in hand. When I got there, I found signs of a life and death struggle. On our dock was a pile of feathers, a webbed foot and various internal body parts. A coot had met it's fate at the mercy of an eagle or osprey, right there on our dock. Nature truly is amazing.

By the time I got back up to the house, John was up and we watched the sun trying to break through the low hanging cloud. I'd never seen a sunrise quite like it. I'll leave you with that scene.

In response to Ana

Ana asked how she could get the suggestions to me. Thanks for asking! You can email me. My email address is stringsnthings at shaw dot ca. The usual applies. All at becomes @ and dot becomes just that... a dot.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

Anyone Interested?

We've been having a problem at the store. Those ladies who've been learning to knit socks have, for the most part, been using a Paton's free leaflet to knit their first sock. It's a very basic sock, but it's got a cast on of 68 stitches on 2.75 mm needles. It's supposed to fit a ladies' medium. They're huge!

Another woman brought in a pattern from another yarn store, which is fine. It was supposed to be a basic pattern, but it's almost impossible to decipher, even for me. That's daunting for someone just learning to knit socks. To that end, I told Sue, our teacher, that I'd write up a simple, basic, easy to follow sock pattern that she can use for the classes.

I finished writing it up yesterday. I've printed it up for Sue to go over and suggest any changes she thinks should be made. I'm knitting it up so that I can include a picture of what the "Most Basic Sock Pattern" sock will look like. This is where the "Anyone Interested?" comes in. Would any of you knitters out there be interested in test driving the pattern for me? I've discovered that it's all well and good for me to write out a pattern, but even I make errors and omissions at times. I want/need this pattern to be super easy to understand and follow.

Let me know and I'll post the Word format of the pattern (or I can convert it to pdf if that would be more conducive to your computer system). Once you've read it, knitted it, whatever, let me know what you think. Any and all opinions and critiques would be gratefully appreciated.

Incidentally, I've got one sock on the needles (the basic pattern, but I haven't been looking at the pattern) and it's just past the gusset shaping. Once it's done, I'll post a picture of it.

Postscript (3:00 p.m.):
Thank you, Carla, for volunteering to test the pattern for me. For you, and anyone else interested in helping me out with this, I've posted the pattern in my sidebar (Most Basic Sock pattern). It's in pdf format. Please, any and all feedback is appreciated. Keep in mind, the pattern is meant for newbie sock knitters, so it needs to be easily understood. Being the diehard sock knitter that I am, there may be things I take for granted. Seeing the pattern through the eyes and hands of others is an important thing. Thank you so much!

Another FO for January

The baby booties are finished. I don't have a baby to give them to, but I'm sure they'll be put to good use one day. They're a quick knit. The pattern could use a little re-writing just to make it easier to follow, but it works and the finished booties are cute. I'll make more of these just to have them on hand and to use up some of the little odds and ends of yarn left over from making socks. And if there are no babies to give them to, I may, once I have a "stash" of booties, donate them to the hospital.

John, incidentally, thinks they're cute, but doesn't like the colour. It reminds him of seafoam, he said. I told him they weren't for him, so his opinion really didn't count for much. They're perfect if you don't know whether the coming infant is male or female. When he needs a pair of baby booties, I'll make them in a colour of his choosing.

I've picked up the Stashbuster Spiral socks again this morning. They'll be pretty funky, I'm thinking. Here's how they look so far...

For any of you who've made these before, how on earth did you keep your yarns from tangling? I feel as if I'm spending more time untangling the yarns than I am knitting the socks!

I'm using two colours of Regia (the dark blue and the variegated) and two colours of SuperSocke (by process of elimination, that would be the pink and the blue). I cast on with a tubular cast on as found at Knitty. I like how it looks (the cast on, that is). I think this will be a work in progress for some time. The untangling is a little bit of a putoff.

Now, time to call my daugher. It's her 26th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Kristen!!

Knitting? What's that?

From the title of this post, you can correctly surmise that there hasn't been a lot of knitting happening around here for the last couple of days. The Embossed Leaves sock has become nothing more than a ball of yarn. Yes, I frogged it. I tried it on again and decided it just wasn't working out right for my foot.

The Stashbuster Spirals are on the go, but haven't left the basket at all today. I did knit one Newborn Crawling bootie (you can find it here). I'll post a picture when the second one is finished. I must say, they are cute!

I had Thursday off. After puttering around the house most of the morning, John and I took a ride to the library. We both came away with an armload of books. Surprisingly, there were not many knitting books on the shelf. Before heading back home, I asked John to take me to the Rotary Center for the Arts, where the Ponderosa Spinners and Weavers Guild has a studio. I wanted to find out about spinning classes (yes, I'm going to learn how!). There were two ladies in the studio, both spinning and chatting and very willing to share their love of spinning and weaving. One was a spinner and knitter, while the other was a spinner and weaver. I did find out that a class had just started the previous week, so I'll wait until the next session starts. Now that I have a valid phone number and contact name, it will be a lot easier to find these things out. Both ladies, incidentally, agreed that spinning your own yarn adds another dimension to knitting. I'm really looking forward to learning about spinning.

Now, I really think I should get some fresh air.

Decisions, decisions

So, I started the Embossed Leaves socks from the Interweave Knits, winter 2005 issue. I've gotten to a point in my sock knitting where I really don't need to use a pattern as I know what fits me, how many stitches I need, all that fun stuff. This one, though, employs a couple of techniques I'd never done before. One is the cast on, 1x1 rib cast on. Once I got the hang of it, no problem. It's a little awkward, but I can see the value of it. In the magazine, they call the cast on and first two rows a tubular cast on. That's not what it looks like to me, but ok. I'd never done a cast on like this, so I learned something new.

The entire ribbing is done in a twisted rib, where you knit into the back of each knit stitch, rather than the front. I like the look of it. The leafy part is no challenge at all, just follow the chart (although I must say that the placement of the lacy "holes" isn't as easy to remember as they intimate it is). The heel flap is basic, but way to short for my foot. Likewise with the gusset. I've never done socks with that short a heel flap and gusset. I'm well into the foot now and I'm thinking of frogging the entire sock and doing it MY way.

I did try it on as is and I find the cast on a bit tight. Once on the foot, it's okay, but as I said, the heel flap is just too short for my foot. I think I'm talking myself into starting over. I didn't work on it at all last night because I was mulling it over in my mind... frog or not... frog or not... watch Lost.... frog or not.... Lost..... oh, forget the darned sock for tonight... watch Lost!

In the cold light of day, I think I'll frog it.

The yarn, by the way, is Lorna's Laces 4 ply in a colourway called "Tuscany". I love the combo.

I did start another sock last night. Incorrigible, I am. It's based on the Stashbuster Spiral sock. I'll be making a few modifications, of course. The first is the cast on. I'm using the tubular cast on that's explained at Knitty.com (a little ways down the page); I'll also be using a different heel. I haven't decided between the standard heel flap and gusset (which I think I like best) or the afterthought heel (which is second best on my list). I'm using four different colours, one of which is a 4-colour variegated. Then, there's a turquoise blue, pink and navy. Sounds wild, doesn't it? I'll take a picture of it when I have a little more than the cuff knitted.

Incidentally, I've tried the Sherman Heel used in the Stashbuster Spiral socks and found it way too complicated. And, by the time I had it done, I really didn't like it. I won't be trying it again.

Now, in the continuing saga of the mouse in the house... A couple of days ago, John and I had just arrived home. We were still in the back hallway taking our coats and shoes off when I heard a slight noise off to my left.

I should explain that the back hallway is sort of like a small workshop area. It has a long counter with cabinets below and a row of cabinets above. There's a refrigerator there, shoe racks and a coat rack. I'm not sure how long it is, but I'd estimate about 12 feet or so. On the countertop, we have a microwave (we had originally intended to use that area for my creams and lotion production, but that hasn't worked out), and other odds and ends that have no real place in the kitchen.

Anyway, I heard a skittering of some kind, and when I turned to look, another mouse, looking absolutely terrified, scurried, almost bouncing, under the microwave. I jumped and yelped; I was as startled by it's presence as it was of mine. I didn't even try to catch it. Is it any wonder I'm dreaming about mice these days???

Just another FO

This time, it's a felted bag. I got the pattern from Cat Bordhi's web site. It's supposed to be for the Denise needle kits, but I decided not to put in the pocket after it was felted because it didn't felt quite the way I expected it to. Here are the requisite before and after pictures.

Before...

...and after...

I would have put the Denise needle kit in the after picture, but I was upstairs and the kit was downstairs. And I was too lazy to go back downstairs to get it. What can I say? It's just that kind of day.

I really want to do some serious knitting today, but my head's just not there for some reason. I'm very restless today. Oh well, I'll just putter around today. I've already made up a batch of Spiced Rum Glazed Pecans this morning (for anyone interested, the recipe is available on my recipe page), felted the bag, worked on a freeform moebius (pictures another time as there's not much to see yet) and picked up the Donegal Tweed cardi again. I've got two inches to go on the back before starting the shaping for the armholes. I've also been down to the dock to soak up a bit of peace.

Leslie, in her comment on my adventures with the mice, asked who Rob and Carol are. They are the couple we share the house with. We all moved in here last May, hoping that we could actually live under the same roof. In the first house we (John and I) lived in when we moved to Kelowna, Rob and Carol rented the basement suite. After we moved out, they were frustrated by the noises and lack of friendliness coming from the new owners and their two small children and decided that it was no fun living there any more. They were having a difficult time finding other housing and approached us with the idea of sharing a larger house. Since we weren't exactly thrilled with where we were living, we were easily talked into that idea. And an experiment in communal living began. It's not succeeding. Enough said.

Ok, back to the cardi.

There's a Mouse in My House

I've written about our problem with mice before. At that time, with traps set out, we caught eight of the little critters in about 36 hours.

Well, earlier this week, John and I were blissfully watching the tv in the comfort of our bedroom when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A little (and I do mean little) mouse gingerly made his way around the legs of the dresser and scurried over to the fireplace, where I happened to be sitting. It managed to climb up the bricks and went exploring around my baskets of yarn. I'm not afraid of mice, but I did let John know we had some uninvited company, and moved a basket from harm's way. He, being the loving and caring man he is, came instantly to my defence with something to trap the little creature with. It was much too quick for John, though, and after a couple of minutes of scurrying here and there, doing some of the most amazing gymnastics I'd seen in a long time, the mouse scampered back under the dresser, around the computer desk and disappeared.

A little later, when I went to the bathroom down the hall to prepare for bed, I was accompanied by a little gray creature that stuck his head under the door as I was "otherwise engaged". He got just a little too close to my slippers, so I swatted at him and he beat a hasty retreat. After all of this excitement, John told me that he'd had a close encounter of the personal kind with that same mouse earlier in the day. He'd been at the computer when he felt something on his leg. That little mouse had climbed up his pant leg!

What to do? Well, we left one mousetrap downstairs in the kitchen and the other one was moved up to the bedroom. It hasn't caught anything yet, but John did notice yesterday that the cheese on both traps had been carefully nibbled away, without sprining the traps.

Then, last night, after I got home from work, I decided to get a glass of wine before even thinking about dinner. John had just gotten comfy with a book in the recliner upstairs. Once in the kitchen, I checked the trap and discovered a mouse. Excellent, we'd caught it, finally!

I got a wine glass out of the cupboard, took the wine bottle out of the fridge, turned back toward the sink for some reason and noticed...... another mouse..... on the counter.... behind the knife block. I couldn't believe it! Being very quiet, I picked up a ziploc plastic container that was on the opposite end of the counter, turned it upside down and waited, slowly moving closer to the corner where the mouse was now investigating the two chunks of salmon Rob & Carol had defrosting on the counter for their dinner. The little creature moved around the sealed pouches of fish, trying to find a way to climb on top of the packages. He moved out into the open, saw me, sat up on his haunches and looked me in the eye. When he had determined I was no threat (big mistake), he started to move off, without a care in the world, toward the soap dish. That's when I pounced! And trapped him with the container. I think I was as shocked as the mouse was. To make sure he couldn't get away, I put the bottle of dishwashing soap on top of the container. After watching the mouse exploring his suddenly small world, I went upstairs and told John to get UNcomfy and follow me. On the way down the stairs, I let him know that his trap had caught a mouse. Then, I showed him that I'd caught one, too.

He slid a magazine under the container, scooping up the mouse and the container and we disposed of him in the great outdoors. No, we didn't kill the mouse; we let him go. No doubt, he'll be back in the house very soon if he doesn't meet up with the neighbourhood cats. For the night, though, we were not interrupted by any little creatures checking up on us.

How long will the saga continue?

I'm Back

Yes, we were away for a few days. We drove up to Prince George to attend the funeral of old family friends of John's. I didn't get a chance to do any taking of pictures or blogging before we left, so today's post could be on the long side (space-wise, hopefully not too wordy).

First of all, I've got a finished object. It was finished on January 3, the first FO of 2006. (Incidentally, I'm going to set up a separate web page with little pictures of all my finished objects of 2006... just cuz I can. The link will be in my sidebar when I have it up and running.)

The object, you ask? The Bernat Soft Boucle shawl. I didn't use a pattern for this one, just started it at the neck, the way the Kiri shawl is done, and then just knit the right side and purl the wrong side. And when I forgot what I was doing and knit on the wrong side, I just made it a design feature and did a few more reverse rows on purpose.

And one picture taken a little closer in so you can see the true colour. This ended up being a nice cozy shawl, perfect for wrapping around your shoulders while you're watching TV or sitting around doing nothing but knitting. It took two balls of the Bernat Soft Boucle; total cost for this shawl is under $10 cdn.

So, that's the first FO of 2006. Then, while we were on the road, I finished this little project. I had started it before we went to PG, had one done, finished the second on the way home yesterday. I love them!

The pattern is Mrs. Beeton, from Knitty.com. I was a little leery about knitting these at first, but I shouldn't doubt my knitting skills, for one thing, and for another, the pattern is clearly written. I wouldn't recommend it for an absolute beginner, but an intermediate knitter shouldn't have any problems with this project.

Just a couple more shots of Mrs. Beeton. Did I mention that I love these? I think I'll even wear them to work this afternoon.

They're just so feminine!

I did one in purple, too; still have to do the second one. Depending on what's happening at work this afternoon, I just may cast on for it today. Incidentally, I did put the beads on the green pair, but not on the purple pair.

The yarns used in the green pair are Atacama 100% alpaca and Rowan Kid Silk Haze, 2 strands in the ruffle, 1 strand with the alpaca for the cuff. In the purple one, I used the Atacama alpaca and 2 strands of Allessandra Kid Silk (I think that's what it's called... the ball bands are still at the store) in plum and light purple. I found that using 2 strands of the kid mohair with the alpaca made it a little too fuzzy for my liking. That's why I used a single strand with the alpaca in the green pair.

Then, on the drive up to PG, I cast on 56 stitches with Sirdar's Country Style dk. By the following evening, I had this......

I've got the second one cast on, but haven't done anything with it yet. They're for John, of course. Personally, I don't really like dk weight socks except for wearing in my slippers around the house. He, on the other hand, doesn't mind the heavier weight of socks and I don't mind making them in the dk weight; they knit up a LOT faster than the fingering weight yarn.

There, now you're all caught up and it's almost time for my shower. Two FO's and the year's just ten days old. Not bad!

Good News and Responses

First, the responses...Carla asked how I made the reversible hats. It's a pattern I downloaded from the Elann web site. You can find it here. I'll also put it in my sidebar, under Patterns I Recommend. It's not a difficult knit. The only challenging (if you can call it that) part was the provisional cast on. If you enjoy learning new techniques, you'll find it a fun knit. I know I did. A lot of the knitting was done watching television, as it's pretty much just knit, knit, knit!

Leslie, your idea for the Soft Boucle shawl would work, but this is a difficult colour (it's actually 3 or 4 colours blended) and texture to match. I didn't have to resort to Walmart (yesssssss!!), thankfully. I tried Michael's first and found the yarn there. I've almost done the shawl now and will post pictures of it when it's off the needles. It's really just a simple triangle with four increases on each right side row (one at each side and one on each side of the center stitch), started at the center of the neck. Simple, easy knit. In addition to being a response, finding the yarn at Michael's was also the good news.

That's one project very close to being completed, the first of 2006. Not bad; the first week's not even over yet.

Something New for a New Year

There's not a lot of knitting content today. I'm continuing working on UFO's and will keep you up to date on progress as I make it.

I've added a link to my sidebar that you may (or may not) be interested in. I've set up a recipe page with some of our favourites. Right now, there aren't a lot of recipes there, but I will be adding more now and then. All of the recipes I include have been tested, either by John and myself or my family. Some of the recipes have been in my repertoire for many years and are considered comfort food by my children, like my Cream of Onion Soup recipe... so creamy, so very yummy!

Let me know what you think. And if you have any favourite recipes you'd like to share with us, please feel free! You can email me at stringsnthings at shaw dot ca. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy 2006!

I did it! I finished hat #4 in time for it to qualify as an FO for 2005. That feels good. Now, to get them mailed out to the grandkids.

And, as resolved, I've started (again) to work on some of the projects already on the needles. When we moved into this house, I decided I needed to have some wraps available for those cool nights we were sure to encounter on the lake. Now, it's become even a more practical idea. This house is not one of the warmest I've lived in. With all the windows in the living room, it can get downright cold in there. A lot of heating dollars go straight out those windows. Sweaters and warm wraps are more and more important.

The project I've picked up to finish first is one of those wraps. I started it shortly after we moved in here and it got put to the side when the weather turned warmer. It's a simple triangular shawl, worked in Bernat's Soft Boucle, an inexpensive, but cozy yarn. It's a 5 oz ball, priced at about $6.00. I thought one ball would do the shawl, making it a REALLY inexpensive project, but now it looks like I'll need one more ball. It still won't be an expensive project. At this point, I'd estimate that the shawl is getting close to 48" along the top edge and about 24" in length at the deepest part of the point. That's not big enough to wrap around yourself for warmth and coziness. That's where I may have a small problem. It's a yarn that my boss brought in only to have some boucle yarn in the store. It's a yarn that hasn't sold very well, but well enough that we have none left in my colour of choice. I'll have to make the trip to Michael's or WalMart this week to see if I can find one more ball. I don't like shopping at either store. They're always way too crowded and I just don't like the way WalMart (and a lot of the major chains) do business. It's a matter of principle for me. I don't have to shop there, so I choose not to. In this case, however, I may have to.

I'm looking forward to putting quite a few finished objects in my sidebar this year, starting soon. Now, where did I put all those already-started projects?