Mail Call

Yesterday, DD1 left to visit her cousin in Ohio. She will be gone for 10 days. I miss her already, in fact, I called her as we were getting on the interstate to come home to ask her if she was ready to come back yet. She declined, so on we drove. I know she is in good hands with my sister, but it is so hard to take them somewhere and leave them. I hope I don't drive Karen nuts with my ten thousand calls a day. I have only called once today .... so far. Anyway, as we were getting ready to leave yesterday, we checked the mail and I had a package. (I really like the mailman so far this week.) The prize package from Heddy's blog contest came, full of Canadian goodies. My kids were as excited as I was. There is the Regia sock yarn, Farbe 5384 Partie 50958, I didn't have this color in my Regia collection. Maple Syrup suckers, 1 for each on my kids and 1 for me (thank you Heddy), Smarties, which are like our M&M's, (the candy coating is a little different), not like our smarties, a Canadian pencil, Canadian tattoos, wonderful stitch markers, and a deck of Canadian playing cards. What a great package, thank you so much Heddy.
And then today, a package from the Loopy Ewe. I showed great restraint in the wee hours of Thursday morning. It was hard but I stuck to my pre-set $$ limit. I got 2 hanks of Spritely Goods yarn. Lovely, lovely stuff. The greens, brown and coral is called Peppercorn Blend. I think this may be my favorite colorway of all the yarns in my stash, well for right now anyway. Now I have to admit, I am not much of a "pink" person, but this colorway reminds me so much of Dogwoods in bloom, (my mom's favorite tree) I had to have it. The pinks and the browns mixed with a shot of bright green just made me happy, so into the shopping cart it went. The colorway is Manzanita in Bloom II. And then I was so excited to try the Wollmeise. She had a great color selection, but the Spritely Goods colors really appealed to me more, so I only got one hank of the Wollmeise. There will be more coming soon to choose from .... :) . Beautiful shades of brown and gold and rust. It is perfectly named Spice Market. All three of these hanks have well over 500 yards of yarny goodness, so there will be plenty left over to make a baby hat or maybe even ankle socks for DD2. Sheri always puts a little something extra in the package and writes a little note. It is such a nice touch. There were yarn samples from Apple Laine and Yarn Pirate included and a lovely stitch marker. Thanks Sheri!

My take along project has been the Kenya colorway socks. I was able to do the heel turn and gusset decreases in the van on the way to Ohio yesterday. I was to the toe decreases by the time we left and closed the toe of sock 1 this morning. I have to cast on for the second one so I can put it back in the van. It is amazing how much knitting you can get done waiting on your kids :)

Have a great weekend everyone, it is gorgeous here in south central IN.

Just a small post

I finished another pair of socks this weekend. I knit these in the new Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome yarn, in the Monet colorway. I really like the feel of this yarn. And on other knitting fronts: I am still plugging along on the afghan for the in-laws, the deadline for that is quickly approaching. I am officially behind on the MS3 as I have not finished all of clue 2 yet and clue 3 is out. And this weekend when I was looking for something in the yarn stash, I rediscovered a UFO that I really want to finish, the Fiona Ellis sweater I started over the winter. I knit about 8 inches or so on that this weekend. The back is almost finished. I was thinking about how long it has been since I knit a sweater for myself. I think it has been 20 years or more. The in-laws have each been gifted 2, my sister and my niece have received a few, and of course my children have many. I think it is my turn.

More later with pictures.

Stash Enhancement

I am so glad I didn't join any of those knit from your stash groups. I would have failed miserably. I went to my mailbox today hoping to find a hank of Sockittome by Cherry Tree Hill. I bought a hank from the guys at Threadbear. But instead I was excited to see a bundle from the UK I still have a few balls to come of the Matchmaker merino. It was on back order. But WOW that was fast. I ordered it last Tues. and here it is today, in just under a week. I ordered a little surprise for my sister from an online company here in the US a few days before I ordered this and she still hasn't received it :( Anyway back to the stash enhancement, I got some Twilleys Freedom Spirit in the Air colorway, it will become a hat and mittens for DD1. When she saw it, she asked "what are you going to make with this? I really like it" She was very happy to hear it is destined to become something for her. Jaeger Matchmaker in Thyme and Ice Green which is actually pale yellow, so it will probably end up in a baby garment. And Trekking in colors 82, and 161.
This weekend, I drove up to Greenwood, Pam, was opened for a few hours and I got this: Cascade Sierra, in pink and peach to make DD2 a tank that fits a little better than the toddler tank she has laid claim to. Louet Gems Opal in off White and Sage and Artyarms UltraMerino 4 in color 121. I am working on that solid yarn deficit I have. So see, I really "Needed" to do some stash enhancing, anyway, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

And there will be even more coming, because I was the lucky winner of a blog contest last week and won some Regia sock yarn, stitch markers, Canadian tattoos, which I am sure my kids will love, and maple syrup suckers. Go on over and take a look at Heddy's blog, it is fun.

Because I am severely afflicted with the SSS, I did not finish a pair, instead I cast on for another sock in the CTH Potluck Brights. Karen gifted to me a little while back, and it has been screaming to get out of the sock yarn bin. I do love Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Very springy, it feels a lot like Koigu, I think so anyway. And boy did this stuff pool. I cast on 3 different times and it was always the same, so I knit on after the third attempt. It is a good thing I don't mind the pooling. I know it drives some people nuts, but not me.

As I was talking with Karen on the phone last night, I came to the realization that July is close to half over, so I need to concentrate on the afghan for the in-laws. I need to make myself knit on that every evening (wish me luck) as I need to have it done by the first week of August. I hope my family doesn't mind living in the deep freeze while I am working on that. It is growing and is very Hot working on it, with it on my lap. They will have to put on some woollies when I knit that, but it must get done.

Well, I am off to knit a sock or something, until it is time to pick DD2 up from her daily Parks and Rec fun. I love that program, and even better, so does she!

First Finished Pair for July

And hopefully there will be many more to follow. I am determined to defeat this second sock syndrome. These are a pair that I started a while back, I don't remember how long ago. The pattern is my own. They are knit in Lorna's Sport in the Irving Park colorway (sorry Karen, I told you the wrong colorway), on size 2 dpns. The second ball felt so different from the first though. They matched well in color and "pooling" but the yarn of the second ball seemed so much thinner than the first. Not quite fingering, but definitely thinner than the first.

I have made a little progress on the socks I started last week. The sock I am knitting in the Opal is coming along well. I am working on the gusset decreases. You get a side view this time. I ordered some solid yarn from Angel Yarns in the UK, so I will knit these again in a yarn that will show the design better when the yarn comes. I will finish this pair too, because I like them, and I know what the design looks like.

And the Kenya socks are growing too. Just the Plain Jane stockinette stitch socks in some absolutely, wonderful to work with, yarn. Sometimes you just need plain vanilla. These have grown a lot just waiting in the van for the kids to get done with all the things they need to do.

The second clue for the Mystery Stole 3 group comes out tomorrow. I am ready!! I finished the first clue in the Pacific color, alpaca/silk lace yarn, I got from Webs. I finished it on Saturday. I thought a knitting friend of mine might like one for herself, so I started another one in a red Mohair lace wt. I will give it to her for her Birthday. I won this yarn last summer in a blog contest. I need to finish the first clue still on the red one ... I have a little tinking to do :( I missed a decrease somewhere, I think one of the double decreases I knit as a single decrease. That is what I get for thinking I don't need life lines. Anyway it is further along than the picture represents, and I should be able to finish it tonight. Tomorrow, July 6th, is the last day for sign ups for this group, so if you are interested you need to click on the link above and join.

And I love my Hibiscus, so I am going to leave you with a picture of it. Sorry about the sock blockers in the bottom of the picture. Last year, this was a new plant, and we were lucky to have 2 beautiful flowers. This summer it has blessed us with a new flower every day and sometimes, even 3 or 4, with many blooms still growing. I love it!