One Sock Closer to a Pair

I have been knitting, just not blogging much. I've finished the first Twilight sock with the Wolf Creek Wools yarn I bought as Stitches West. The Twilight pattern came from the 2 at a Time Socks, book. It is supposed to be knit using the Magic Loop method....that didn't work out so well. Back to my trusty DPNs.
I've gotten to the heel flap for the second sock. Since we have moved into the season of pleasant really hot weather, now is the best time to knit socks like crazy for winter.

I've also begun my first ever sweater. Not counting the shrug I knitted for Lisa. It's going slowly. So far I have learned I make a lot of careless mistakes. These mistakes cause me to have to rip out many rows. These rows are up to 282 stitches. You do the math, that's probably why it's going slowly. There will be photos shortly.

A Boy and His Blankie

Brody already knows how to win his Granny's heart. All it takes is showing off the blanket she made just for him.

Shannon and Brody had a photo session to create a picture for his birth annoucement.
Can you say PERFECT.

This is what I've come up with so far. I have a couple of other photos to try. Then Shannon and Jamie can choose which one they like the best.

Meet Brody James

The newest member of our family made his arrival on April 30, at 3:53 pm.
He's a sweet 6 lb. 15 oz. bundle of love. The entire Knox clan was on hand to welcome Brody. Uncle Jason was the only family member who wasn't on hand....he was home taking care of all 6 of the other grands!!

Shannon was superwoman and made it all look so easy. Mama and baby are now home and settling in with daddy and big sister, Lila Jo.
I didn't get any pictures of Brody with his blanket from Granny, maybe I'll have better luck next time I see him.

I'm truly so thankful he is here safely.

Ready for baby

Granny has all the goodies for baby Brody finished....so now he can make his appearance. His momma would be less than thrilled to know that's what he's been waiting for, so we just won't tell her. I've spent the last week with the telephone close by waiting for THE call. I'm hoping to be holding my sweet new grandson soon.

Reading.....

If I could only find a way to knit and read at the same time. The Friday Night Knitting Club is what I'm reading right now. It is a story of women drawn together by what else, knitting.

It's as comfy to read as cashmere. It's not my book club selection this month, but it's been on my list of books to read for some time now. I don't know if I want to finish it or not....I don't what the Knitting Club to end.

They Are Now a Couple

My Charade socks are finished. The toe on the second sock gave me fits. I guess I didn't have my head in the game, because I messed up the decreases more times than I care to remember.

They are tucked away in my drawer and waiting for fall for their debut. I have a couple of other projects to finish up then it's on to the next BIG step.

We're still waiting for Brody.....

I Think I Learned Something Today

This could be why I need a swift and ball winder.
I turned this beautiful hank of yarn into......

...this outrageous mess!! It started out simple enough. I was going to wind this hank that I bought at Stiches West into a ball ready to start my next pair of socks. That sounds simple enough, right? Well, 3 hours later this is what I've created.

I've avoided buying a swift/ball winder because I would much rather by yarn than equipment. Most of the time the yarn store winds the yarn for me. so it has not been a huge problem. After today maybe I should decide if I want to spend time unsnarling a mass of unruly yarn or knitting.

One Down, One to Go

I've finished the first Charade sock and begun the second one. I don't suffer from second-sock syndrome, that's for sure. Finishing one just makes me want to finish the next one really fast, so I will have a pair. We are just about out of sock wearing season around here, but I hope to have lots of new socks for next year.

For some reason this color photographs kind of funky. It is a really neat shade of orange and pink. It reminds me of sherbert. :)

Happiness Is a Goofy Looking Boxer

Kirby thinking about the meaning of life, or other boxer thoughts.

Love my furry friends. :)

Socks Make Me Happy

I've been working on the Charade socks using the Dream in Color yarn I got at Stitches West.
It's been a fun pattern so far. I had a couple of false starts, but it was user error, not because the pattern was complicated.


Now that the blanket is finished, I hope to get a lot more sock time it. My 2 at a Time socks are on the back burner for right now. I'm hoping when I get back to them, I will have an Ah, moment and I will be able to grasp the circular needle concept. Actually, I have the concept, it just doesn't flow.

It's About Time

It's finished!!
I feel so relieved to know Brody's blanket is finished before his arrival. I'm very pleased with the way it came out. It took a lot longer to finish than I thought it would. Not much else to add, except I hope it keeps him cozy. I have enough yarn left to make him a little Blanket Buddy to go with it. Maybe I'll start that tonight. :)

Snow Much Fun

Our trip to Lake Tahoe was so much fun. We couldn't have had better weather. Most of the kids enjoyed playing out in the backyard at the cabin. Lila Jo and Andrew did not share the olders kid's thrill of playing in the snow.
These are just some of the photos of gang at play.

E-Boy just had to try putting his tongue on a metal pole....the outcome was exactly what you would expect. He spent the rest of the day say his tongue hurt.

The mandatory snow man.

Even in her pretty hat Granny made, LJ was less than thrilled.

CJ takes his turn on the man made hill out in the back yard.

Andy cuddled with Auntie Jo....the hat Granny made him didn't do much to improve his opinion of snow either.

The next day Jolene, John, the 3 boys, Jason, Angelina and Jamie went skiing at Heavenly and had a great time. For mommy Landers and the boys it was their first time skiing, and they all can hardly wait to go again. Granny and Shannon stayed behind with the 3 little ones.

1 + 1 = a Pair

Progress. One more of my WIPs is finished. Basic stocknette stitch socks. I chose this yarn because of colors and the stripes. It's not the best yarn in the world, but I'm still happy with them. They made the journey with me to Lake Tahoe as well as Disneyland, so these socks are made for traveling.

The next big task on my plate is Brody's blanket. I have about 7 more inches and the border and it will be finished. My goal is April 1st, just in case Brody is in a hurry to get here.

I've already cast on another pair of socks, using some of the yarn I purchased at Stitches West.

AT LAST!

I've finally finished the Palindrome Cable scarf. I really like the look of cables; I've figured out I don't like making them that much. They aren't difficult and I will do them again in the future, I just don't enjoy the process that much.

I'm very glad I frogged the original scarf, the newly finished one is much better. Now I need a hat to match, right?

Yarn Heaven

Friday I went to heaven. Yarn heaven that is. Stitches West was truly overwhelming. This is the yummy yarn I cam home with. I showed great restraint in not over buying. I purchased 3 skeins of sock yarn and some Malabrigo Chunky for a hat, also some super soft Cascade Alpaca. I could have (and now wished I had) so much more yarn. If you are into socks that is the place to go. Unfortunately I now have to wait a whole year to have this wonderful experience.


Now I'm anxious to start a new project....or two. :)

UGH!!

I haven't been around lately because I've been mostly beein sticking to my-self imposed rules and only working on the projects I've already started. Brody's blanket is coming along, the cable scarf is almost finished, one stripey sock is finished and the other is on my needles.

Then my yarn and needles I ordered from Knitpicks came and I had all I needed to begin my 2 at a Time Socks. Eagerly, I cast on and from there on out things have not gone well. Call me a Magic Loop dummy, but I can't get this right to save my soul. :(

I've cried for help on Raverly and the wonderful ladies there have give me a few suggestions. I'm going to rip this apart ONE more time and try again. I've gotten a lot of practice casting on and counting to 64. I must remember that DPNs weren't all that comfortable in the beginning either.

On Friday, I'm off to Stitches West. This is my first time going, so I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure of one thing, it will cost me money and increase my stash. I'm going to try and show some restraint, we'll see how that works out. I'll show off all of my scores when I get back.

Distracted No More

Andrew's hat is finished. I hope it fits. This was a quick little distraction from my other on-going projects.

My two major projects, the baby blanket and cable scarf, are coming along. I'm back to where I was when I frogged the scarf and Brody's blanket is progressing. When those two objects are finished I will be ready to start something new.

I'm waiting for my yarn and needles to come from Knitpicks....then I will be tempted to jump into trying out the magic loop. :)

Side Tracked Again

I did it again, started something new when I vowed I wouldn't. I've been wanting to use the leftover yarn from Jason's snowboarder hat to make a hat for Andrew. The spirit moved me last night to get started. The family is planning a trip to the snow in March and the 'lil guy is going to need something to keep his little ears warm.

This is Red Heart yarn and it's really pretty gross....but the colorway is perfect. I hope it softens up when I wash it. The little hat should knit up pretty quick, so it goes in the heap with all of the other works in progress. Back to the regular scheduled knitting. I ordered the needles and yarn I need from Knitpicks to get started on 2-at-a time socks. Yay!!

Found This In My Mailbox, May I Keep It?

As if I don't have enough knitting necessities, I have found another way to to add to my ever increasing mountain of stuff.
Today the mailman left my copy of 2-at-a-time Socks in my mailbox....you gotta love Amazon.com :)


Knitting socks faster has to be a good thing, right? The other knitters on Raverly have convinced me this will be the utopia of socks.

Well, this leaves me needing some new needles and, of course, more yarn. I don't want to get a really great yarn for the "trial and learn" pair. I also think maybe a solid color might be the best to learn with. Where can I find all of my must-haves....knitpicks.com.
Step away from the computer, now.

Egg White Hat

It's finished.

I ended up frogging the first attempt because it was too big. I re-knitted it using smaller needles (9s for the band and 8s for the body of the hat). It is a super quick knit!! The button is from my grandmother's button collection. Now I'm all dressed up with no where to go. ;)

NO MORE NEW PROJECTS until I finish some that are on my needles now.

Sock It To Me

This sock has been round forever. It's been finished once and frogged. Restarted and hibernating for a while now. I bought the yarn at Hooks and Needles right after I took my sock class. I'm ready to get these finished and move on. The trouble is that I keep putting them aside to start new projects.

I took them to Disneyland to work on....but resting came before sock knitting.

Some enablers on Raverly have convinced me I MUST try to do 2 socks at once using the Magic Loop. This sounds good to me 'cuz it is supposed to be faster than dpns and it eliminates "second sock syndrome".

Now you see why I must finish these socks....no new projects until I finish the ones already on my needles.

I'm Into Hats

I don't really wear 'em....I just like to knit 'em.

This is the almost finished Robbin's Egg Blue Hat, from Raverly. I need to finish off the top and find the "Perfect" button to go on it, and then it's finished. It's really a fast hat to knit. I used some leftover yarn from another project. It took less than a skein of Patons Shetland Chunky. I've got a couple of other hats that have struck my fancy too, but I will not buy any more yarn until I've finished the other projects I've go going.

I'm supposed to be reading "The Shack" for book club this month. I've started it, but I keep putting it aside to knit. I'm not too sure how I feel about this book yet...

Life After Frogs

I'm about 1 skein into knitting the recently frogged Palindrome Scarf. I'm much happier with the way it is coming out this time.

It seems lately I've had knitting ADD. There are so many projects I want to do, I can't keep focused on any one thing. Using a little self discipline, I've put myself on a somewhat of a schedule. Every day I work a few rows on Brody's blanket, I try to work at least 2 pattern rows on the cable scarf and a little on the Christmas stocking.

Then I get the itch to start a new project. That's why I started the Robbin's Egg Blue Hat (That's the name of the pattern, not the color I'm using). I've got socks on needles and a huge list of projects I want to start. Raverly is going to be the death of me yet. I've all but given up housework and cooking! Kent is not amused. :)

It's Like Ripping Off a Baid-Aid

Ok, this is going to be painful, but it's for my own good. My Palindrome scarf that is 2/3 finished is....FROGGED!!!

Oh, Lisa, I know you just choked! I wasn't happy with the smoothness of the stitches. I've already re-casted it on and have done a few inches. With all of the projects I have going on I must be nuts. ;0 I'm still working away on Brody's blanket and the Christmas stocking too.

It's Never to Early to Get Ready for Christmas!

While yarn shopping in Sonora I purchased the Cascade 220 I need to begin making new felted Christmas stockings. Very ambitiously, my goal was to make everyone new stockings this year...that's 15 stockings. Well, I'm maybe a quarter of the way on the first one, and I'm beginning to think that might be a little too ambitious. We'll see how it goes.



Knitting is NOT fun for everyone in the house.

There are some frogs in my future, stay tuned. :)

Shh, I Hear Yarn Calling Me

Ok, so I couldn't resist playing with the new yarn I got at By Hand Yarn. Even with all of the other projects I have on my needles this yarn was calling to me. The great thing about the Seaweed Cowl pattern is that it knits up really quickly and this yarn was so yummy to work with.

I started the cowl on the 14th and finished it on the 19th, so see it really was quick. It is a 12 row pattern that is repeated 4 times, or 48 rows in all.

I got a few other goodies from Sonora that I'm eager to get started on too. There just aren't enough hours in the day. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

An fun interruption to knitting, Disneyland. Of course, I took along a project to work on while I was visiting the Magic Kingdom, but when I wasn't on the move I could be found resting not knitting.

The family on New Year's Eve morning.

This was taken at 9:30 in the morning and we all made it to midnight!! We are nothing, if not Disney maniacs while visiting Mickey.

A New Year, and New Projects

Well, it's been quite a while since I've contributed anything new around here. I have been busy knitting...just not documenting what I've been up to. One of the things I hope to do is to keep a notebook of all the things I've knitted along with notes, photos, yarn samples and comments about each project. Over the holidays I let several slip by me in the rush of getting them completed and gifted. In the future I hope to let no project big or small be left behind. Wish me luck. ;)

While I'm anixously awaiting the birth of my new baby grandson, Brody, I have been creating a couple of knitted items to welcome him to our family.

The first is a quick little hat, The Faux Fair Isle Hat, that has become one of my favorite hats for littles. I used a bamboo, and cotton yarn that is soft and stretchy.


The second item is still a work in progress, the Basketweave Blanket. I'm currently about half way finished. I try to work a little on it every day to insure it will be completed in plenty of time before his arrival.

I have other projects in the works and I will make every effort to update this blog more frequently. :)