Has It Been A Week Already....

...I spent the last week with sick kids. All three of them have been to the pediatrician, 2 of the 3 are on antibiotics and feeling better, the 3rd is all viral and just has to wait it out. I would much rather they all needed antibiotics, at least they feel better much faster when they have something bacterial that can be treated with medicines. And with the puny kids comes all the extra hugging and cuddling which leads to a sick mommy.... of course the viral stuff. We have gone through a lot of kleenex in the last week and a lot of hand soap too.

The little knitting I have done in the last week has been on a pair of socks for my brother. I have a wonderful brother.... but gosh he has big feet. He wears a size 13 shoe which = a really long foot. I was worried about yardage so I knit the heels and toes in black. I also knit a short row heel so I wouldn't use a lot of yarn for gusset decreases. I have enough yarn left over that I now wish I had made the legs longer. I just have the toe to finish on the second one. I know he will enjoy these. He wore out the last pair I knit for him.

I worked a little on the blue Knit picks sock too while waiting in Dr's offices. Not a finished sock yet but soon. Once I get the toe finished on H's sock, these will see a little more knitting time. The driving daughter would really like to have this pair. She keeps letting me know just how nice they will look on her feet. She is too funny.

That seems to be all the news I have to share this week. The week almost slipped right by me without a post. Hopefully a little more knitting for next week. Have a wonderful weekend all!!!!

A Little This and That...

First let me say, that it is my intention to blog at least once a week again. I started out doing really well, blogging at least weekly, but usually twice, and then it became once a week, then every 10 days.... you get the picture. So my goal...weekly blog posts, hopefully with finished knitting content.

I finished a pair of socks. The Lauren socks I showed last week. They look a little odd in the picture, but I really wanted to show the front cable. I couldn't get an angle that didn't distort one or the other sock. Anyway they are finished and I love them. The pattern is available at The Loopy Ewe and at my Ravelry store.

Also on the needles and close to completion are a pair of socks knit in Numma Numma Toasty in the Blackberry Jam colorway. This is a very soft and super light weight yarn. It took me a while to find a gauge that worked well with it, but once I did I loved it. I will definitely be purchasing more of this yarn. It is hard to capture the correct shading of this color, it is much prettier than it looks in the picture.

I also knit a few dish cloths, I don't know why since I certainly don't need more right now. I now know that you can almost make 3 dish cloths from 2 balls of Peaches and Creme cotton. I will have to finish the 3rd one with some left over cotton in a different color. I gave one of them to my sister, so only 2 in the picture. I also knit a pair of mittens for my great niece in some very pretty Blue Faced Leicester, but gave those to my sister before I took a picture of those too. I will have to remember to take my camera over next week when S is visiting and take a picture of them on her sweet little hands.

I had to drive up to work today to sign my yearly performance appraisal. It is electronic now so I have to drive an hour one way just to sign on to the computer. I liked it so much better when they would just mail it to me, I would sign it and take it back when I worked next. It was due a little while ago, but I was never there when the manager that did the evaluation was there, it is so complicated. Anyway, since I had to drive up there, I decided to make a little stop at a yarn shop along the way. A couple of the girls at work were talking about it, so I thought I would take a looksee. They also sell fabric there. It is a small shop with a small assortment of yarn, but the ladies that were working there were very nice. I will no doubt be going back again. I bought a ball of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi in color 107 that will soon become a pair of fingerless mitts. The driving daughter was oohing and awwing over the color of the yarn so she will no doubt lay claim to them when they are finished. I also bought a pair of Knit Picks fixed circular needles there. I didn't know they sold to retailers. I love my Harmony needles so I thought I would give these a try, even though I have heard from numerous people that the join is very susceptible to breaking. At least I know they replace them. They also had some lovely colors of Rowan Pure Wool Aran that I think I must have for a sweater.

Well that is all for today. I hope everyone has a pleasant week. Until next time...

2 Posts in One Week....

... how unusual for me. I am so happy I am knitting again. During my 2 month absence I was really worried about my total lack of desire to knit. I didn't even miss it. That bothered me more than not knitting. For the last 3 or 4 years I have not gone a day without knitting, unless I was sick or just crazy busy,and then ...nothing. Even my husband commented on the situation, and he doesn't "get" the whole knitting thing at all.

I have more knitting to share. I finished these a while ago but don't think I ever posted them. A pair of socks I knit for the driving daughter. These are knit in Regia Crazy Color 6ply that I won in a blog contest from Romancing the Yarn I also have a pair started for Little Miss (the youngest) in the same yarn but a different colorway. Little Miss's feet aren't so little anymore, she is 11 and her socks are 9 inches heel to toe. I seem to have misplaced the second ball of yarn so these are on hold right now.... much to her chagrin.

I got some yarn this week from Yarn4Socks. It was on clearance. I can't resist a good price on yarn I have not tried and this was on the list of "want to try this yarn" It is Mirasol Chirapa color 702. It is bright and cheerful. It is a sport wt yarn, so it will make some nice, thick, warm, socks.

I also ordered Square Circular Needles. These are supposed to be more "ergonomically suited to your hands, decreasing stress and strain for those who love to knit" OK, I was sold... but I am not so sure I really enjoy knitting with them. While they may decrease stress and strain on your hands (they don't weigh a thing, virtually light as air) the cable is driving me batty. It has an extremely thin cable that really doesn't kink and has no memory, but is a bugger to glide the stitches onto the needle portion. I spend more time getting the stitches from the cable to the needle than I do knitting them. Though I have to admit, it seems to be getting a little easier as I progress, I still find it somewhat annoying. So less hand stress, but more mental stress. Can you see that tiny, thin, cable in the picture?? it is thinner than the yarn. I have read reviews (after I bought them, of course) that state the larger sized needles have thicker cables. I am also getting about 12.5 stitches to the inch with these, so I probably should have bought at least a size 2 or 3 instead of the size 1. I normally knit 9 stitches to the inch with size 1's. The yarn is some Knit Picks I won from the same contest as mentioned above. It is extremely soft.

Well I think that is it for today. I need to get some things organized for the fund raiser garage sale at the elementary school tomorrow morning. I am not looking forward to that, but it will be nice to have some of these no longer needed items out of the house.

Have a wonderful weekend all!!!

We Finally Got Snow!!!

.....and unfortunately a lot of ice too. In fact, I really should be outside trying to get the remaining ice off the driveway since they are predicting more snow tonight. I do love snow, but am not fond of the ice at all. Driving daughter got her first experience in driving in the winter mix, and her dad says she did really well. They had a great time while they were off from school. Patricia the "snow woman" is wearing a hand knit Merino scarf and has choc chunks for eyes and a mouth... what more could a snow person ask for. It was so much fun to see them playing in the snow. DD is not thrilled about making time up at the end of the year though.

And I have actually done a little knitting. I designed and knit a new pair of socks.

this pair is named Lauren and is available at my Ravelry store and soon at The Loopy Ewe. Knit in Araucania Ranco Solid in color 102. Lots of cable(y) goodness.

I am also making the girls each a pair of Thrummed Mittens. My first time for this. I bought some lovely roving from Poppy Flower Fibers . The colors are gorgeous and really much too pretty to be hidden inside mittens, but I am not a spinner ...yet, so this lovely BFL roving is reduced to be used for thrums. It sure is time consuming making all the thrums.

The mittens look so funny because they are so fluffy and fat from the roving, but they are so soft inside and will be incredibly warm. I was originally going to use Cashmerino for the mitten but went with some Heirloom 8 ply. I think it will hold up better.

I think that is all I have to share today. I hope everyone is having a lovely new year so far.

Oh and I ordered some square knitting needles, I will let you know how I like those when they arrive.