Knittin' and Lovin' It

Knitting, RA, and Other Ouchies

I think I remember posting awhile back that my RA meds weren't working anymore and that it feels like my joints are constantly trying to kill me. There have been quite a few mornings and many more nights where I wished they'd hurry up and finish the job already which led my doctor to give me Humira but my TB test came back positive which means nine months of TB meds and a swap to a new medication because I guess Humira is super dangerous to take while being treated for TB. How I managed to contract TB I have no idea. It's been in the last 11 years since my last TB test was in 2001 and it was negative. It's not like I make a habit of jotting off to third world countries or anything like that. I have almost 3 months of TB treatment done and 6 more to go. I finally got the approval from my insurance for the Enbrel and the foot doc gave me the green light to start. I was waiting on her because of the two toenails that I had removed. I took the first shot yesterday and so far so good. No serious reactions so now it's time to sit back and see if the meds help reduce some of my RA symptoms. This complicates our move a little more since I'll have to find a suitable way to keep the meds cold because they have to stay refridgerated. I did some research on how much this medication costs and from what I've found if you don't have insurance you're looking at $2,000 to $3000 per 30 days for most of the basic biologic meds, Humira, Enbrel, Orencia, etc. Makes me very thankful for the health insurance we have and will continue to receive after Shawn retires but also makes me sick thinking about the people who aren't getting the help they need because they don't have insurance. It's a rather scary thought. I don't know what Shawn and I would do if we didn't have insurance to cover my meds.

Moving day is happening 5 Sept. WooHoo!!! I'm not looking forward to the drive back and all the stuff I have to do to prep for the move but I'm so looking forward to being home again. MyiPod will be loaded with music and I need to find a good bluetooth headset for my iPhone. Budget gave us one hell of a deal for a moving van rental since we're military and they gave use 150 extra miles since we have to drive over a 95 miles to pick up the truck in Helena. A little over $300 for 5 days is an awesome deal and they frickin rock!! U-Hell wanted over double that. We've opted to move essential stuff that we need since we're living with my sister for awhile so most of our stuff will go in storage until we get our own place. Plus there are things I just don't trust the movers to pack and move, ie family photos, computers, my yarn, etc. I'm already in contact with a realistate agent. I've found several houses that I would absolutely love to have but buying isn't an option yet.

I've been working on a few things on the knitting front.

First up is my It's A Wrap shawl.

 

 

I'm using Miss Babs Yowza in the Tulipa colorway. Right now there is a knit along over in the Woolgirl group. You don't have to have the kit to participate in the KAL. The pattern is available for sale seperately. We're running the knit along through the month of March.

Second on the list is my Love Bug socks. 

These are knit using Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! and the colorway is Longhorn Beetle which is a drop dead gorgeous red!

 

Next is my knitting on the go socks.

Toe up socks knit with Opal 6 ply sock yarn. I think this one is called Lollipop. These are my basic toe up short row heel socks. Nothing fancy but they always fit great.

 

I'm working on a baby blanket for my cousin.

 

 This is actually a mish mash of patterns to get the look I want. The basic look and layout is a modified version of the Bedtime Story Afghan (ravelry)(non ravelry). The original pattern called for duplicate stitch to put the animal pictures on the blanket. Since I'd rather cut off my foot then work duplicate stitch I'm using a knit elephant dishcloth pattern (ravelry). I had to cut a couple of knit stitches on each end but all in all I think the elephant looks pretty damn good on this blanket. I'm alternating the elephants with the blanket blocks. I'm actually working on the 3rd row of elephants now. I think I need a total of 6 rows to hit the right size blanket.

I knit these lovely socks for my last TLE Swap partner.

The pattern is Twinkle Twinkle (ravelry)(non ravelry) and the yarn is Studio June Super Cash Sock. To add a little twinkle to the socks I used 6/0 Toho glass beads.

I finished my fingerless mitts and cowl for the TLE Q1 challenge.

The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino in the London Sky colorway. I asked the fine folks at Malabrigo if they were going to be doing this colorway in their sock yarn base but sadly they are not. I think it's rather gorgeous and would love to make a shawl or socks with it in the sock yarn. The fingerless mitts pattern is Princess Mitts from The Knitters Book of Yarn (ravelry)(non ravelry). The cowl is Diamond Leaf Cowl (ravelry)(non ravelry).

Kaity has a new pair of socks.

These were knit from some ONline Supersocke that adopted  from someone who hated the way it looked. Kaity liked it so I paid for shipping and gave it a new home.

Bree has a new pair too.

It's just my basic toe up sock with some ribbing on the foot and cuff for a better fit. It's funny how much she loves her handknit socks.

I'll leave you with a shot of the boys in their new birdy McMansion.

This thing is super roomy. We went with PetCo's parrot cage. Between the sale, discount coupons, and free shipping it was the best deal over all the other cages around the same size. They have tons of room for toys, perches, etc. I have to very happy birdies now.

Until next time.....Happy Crafting!

Meandering, Babbling and General Craziness

Sounds like the title of a good book. It would definitely work as a great title for my memoirs. Note to self, must add that to my bucket list. I think I could sell all of maybe 5 books if I published it. Naw, scratch that my life has been rather boring and uneventful, well to me it hasn't been boring but to the everyday Joe my life would be rather dull so maybe unpublished memoirs would be the way to go for me.

Shawn's retirement is now official and he should be seeing his official orders here soon. Hard to believe it's all done in 226 days. He's started the job hunt and we've had a few nibbles but nothing to write home about. There are a handful more that would be great but now it's a frickin waiting game. We've start checklists and have a million and one things that need to be done. We're doing a partial move so that we have our clothing, beds, etc. The stuff we can't live without while we're living with my sister since we don't know for sure how long it will be before we get out own place. Uncle Sam will pay to move the rest and for a year of storage for our household goods so that gives us time to either buy a place or find a house to rent. My sister and I spent 3 hours on the phone talking about the move and getting all excited about us coming home.

I had a mini freak out moment when we signed the lease. I might also want to add that I was already upset because I found out my great uncle had passed away. Our base housing is going through the privatization process so we had to sign a lease with the company that's taking over and I started reading their stupid little booklet on responsibilities and such because I'm smart like that and I want to know what is going on before names are signed willy nilly. I get to the carpet replacement price and see that it starts at $1400 and goes up in price and my little mind starts chanting "oh shit oh shit oh shit". I have dogs, birds and kids plus my carpet has seen two other families besides mine so it's looking shabby and crappy. It's cheap carpet and even cheaper padding, Uncle Sammy only pays for the best for his military troops (must insert a lot of sarcasm here). Then I hit the next part that starts talking about how you have to pay to have your carpets professionally cleaned when you have pets in the house when you move out. Now I'm chanting "oh shit, oh crap, wtf are they "F"-in crazy" because it would cost in upwards of $700 to professionally clean the carpets in my house from top to  bottom. My house is frick huge and I live in a two story house. I have 14 stairs and it would cost me an additional $3 per stair....the prices are damn crazy if you ask me!!! Note to self, no I repeat no carpet in my house when we buy one!!! My mind was so not G rated that day. So I'm ranting and pissed and complaining about how in the hell they expect military people (who don't make that great of a paycheck to begin with) to pay for this crap. So of course I pissed Shawn off because apparently I'm not suppose to be pissed about having to come up with $700 we weren't counting on for the move. It's not as if the uHaul (they want over $900 for one of their crappy frickin vehicles) and house cleaning fees weren't bad enough. So Shawn's nonchalant, don't worry be happy, can't change it so why get pissed attitude pissed me off even more. His comment was like oh well guess we're going to have to use the income tax refund to pay for it. Nevermind that our income tax refund was for paying off some damn bills we really need to pay off. If I would have had a frying pan I may very well have walloped him on the head with it. Apparently he's not been paying attention over the last 13+ years of marriage that I need to rant and bitch which needs no response from him at all. It's not as if I was doing it standing there in a public place (something I would never do) we were in the car/at home. Anyways back to my freak out, all is well that ends well, after a nice chat with the military housing office and the new civilian company taking over, we are not responsible for the carpet at all because it's already past its 7 year life cycle. It's the original carpet that was put in the houses when they were built like 10 years ago so all we have to do is vacuum because they're ripping it out. So I guess Shawn's don't worry attitude would have been better but I vented my stress and anger so at least I know I won't explode now. When I internalize stress it never ends well.

Anyways on to knitting and other fun stuff.

I received my TLE #9 swap in the mail today.

 

I love everything! I got stitch markers, hot cocoa, chocolate coffee, hot tamales, a lovely pair of socks made with Hazel Knits artisian sock yarn, Koigu Kersti, BFL/Seacell fiber, and an emergency fix key chain.

My It's a Wrap mini kit from Woolgirl.

 

I test knit this a while back and I've been patiently waiting to post about it. I'm co-hosting a KAL with the designer. I can't wait to get started on this. The yarn is Miss Babs Yowza worsted weight which I absolutely adore. The colorway is Tulipa which is a lovely deep purple.

I knit a Darkside Cowl (ravelry) for Bree.

Of course it's warmed back up and now she doesn't need it but it's ready for when the temps drop again. The yarn is the Premier yarns serenity sock yarn that I picked up on sale at JoAnn's. I held it double stranded and let me say that I think I'm going to knit more of these double stranded with sock yarn. I just need to add more stitches for myself and Kaity. This is a great pattern and double stranded with sock yarn makes it extra squishy and warm.

Yarn for a baby blanket for my cousin M.

She's due this summer with her second child. I need to check with my aunt to see when little dude is due to join this world. The yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Worsted and the colorway is called Macaw which this does remind me of the green on some of the Macaws. Cousin M already has a blue baby blanket so I figured I'd change it up a bit and use a non standard baby color.

Finally I finished the first part of my 2012 Quarter one challenge from TLE.

The pattern is Malabrigo Silky Merino and the pattern is Princess Mitts (Ravelry)(non Ravelry) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn. It's also a free pattern. I think it was one of those patterns that Potters Craft released as a teaser for the release of the book. The pattern had a error in the thumb chart but by the time I noticed it it was too late and I was too lazy to rip and reknit. The error wasn't that big of a deal for me. Note to self, check for errata before starting to knit, bone head!!

I'll leave you with a shot of George and Bill hanging out and getting to know each other over pop corn.

 Bill is on the left and George is on the right pigging out on the popcorn. Bill and George will be getting separate big cages not because they don't get along because they're not to bad together it's because George absolutely hates Shawn and Shawn's afraid George is going to hurt himself if Shawn puts his hand in the cage to get Bill. George freaked out when Shawn uncovered him this morning and ended up rubbing his wing so hard it bled. So each birdie will be getting their own big, sturdy cage and Shawn will ignore George from here on out. I'm aggravated with the both of them.

Till next time......Happy Crafting!

Headline News: Table Causes Problems

The other day Shawn and I wandered around one of the local furniture stores debating on which dinning room table. After much hem hawing we finally decided on a table made of mango wood. It's a solid durable wood that is sustainable which is important to us. With proper care this table will last a long time. It's it gets messed up with to many nicks and such as most tables and chairs will with use we can always sand everything down and refinish it. As you can see in the pics below the design is simple with clean lines which means it'll be simple enough to sand down. We went with the bar height since Bree can sit in the chairs without a booster seat. I find this odd that Bree has to sit in a booster with normal height table and chairs but the bar height table and chairs are perfect for her.

Anyway I digress, we brought home our beautiful table and chairs with the help of a friend and after the kids went to bed Shawn and I spent a little less then two hours assembling them. We're still waiting on the bench which is what the girls will use but they didn't have any in stock. So we stand back and behold our lovely table. The table has a hidden leaf to extend out the size and with the bench and 4 chairs we can now comfortably have 6 adults sitting at our table. We try out the chairs and decide that we love our new table. Fastforward to two days later, I decide that I want to wind some yarn and look at the table only to realize that there isn't much of a lip on the table top and I now have nowhere to clamp my ball winder and swift. How in the world did I not notice that when we were picking out the table? Isn't that suppose to be a requirement for a table when a knitter is looking for a new one? (thumps head on desk a few times) So now I need to figure out where I'm going to wind my yarn but I still love my new table. Maybe it's time for an upgrade to a table top swift?

I finished Bree's toe up socks.

They are knit with JoAnn's Sensations Soles and More sock yarn, colorway 1813. Not a bad sock yarn to knit with and it's pretty cheap specially if you use those coupons JoAnn's loves to send out in the mail and email. It's like all the other work horse sock yarns out there, ie Opal, Patons Kroy, etc. I only used about half of a 50g skein so there's enough to make another pair for Bree.

I have my yarn for the first project of Camp Loopy.

I picked up two skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine. The colorways are Berry Pie Mix and Salt & Pepper. I've waffled on the pattern several times now but have finally decided to make In the Land of Oz (ravelry). I think I'm going to wander down to the local hobby shop and check out their bead selection. I'm going to put beads in the lace section of the shawl. I'm going to knit the stockinette part in the salt & pepper colorway and then swap to the Berry Pie Mix for the lace. 

I'm almost ready to start knitting the toes on my Embossed Leaves socks. I won't bother with a picture now. I'll post one when I finish the socks. I'm also just about done with a pair of Sydney socks (ravelry) for Bree. I'm using Unique Sheep Foot Prints sock yarn which is sports weight so I had to knit the smallest size to make sure Bree could wear them. They're currently turned inside out so I can knit the ruffle so no picture until they're done. 

I think that's it for now. Be back later with some more FO posts.

Until next time......Happy Crafting!

 

A Little of This and That

As I type it's a balmy -22F outside. Yes folks, the extreme cold is back again.....brrrrr. It's suppose to warm up a bit this weekend and snow some more. I was reading in the paper the other day (before this last snow storm dumped a good 3-4 inches of snow) that we'd already seen 27.5 inches of snow in the month of Feb. So with the last storm we should be up above 30 inches and then it's suppose to snow all weekend too. Wonder if we'll hit 40 inches. These snow totals are not normal for Feburary. Our average snow total for Feb is around 7 inches. I don't think we've quite broke the record yet but I think we're getting close.

Lets see, what have I been up too. Well there was a test knit which I can't show you but I have been working on my Feb YOSS socks.

They're my basic toe up recipe. I'm past the heel now but I'm to lazy to take a picture. The yarn is Twisted Fiber Art Kabam! in the Saucy colorway. I have to say they're my favorite handdyed self striping yarn pusher. I love how their colors blend. I was lucky enough to get a spot in their sock yarn club. 

I've also been working on Shawn's sweater and am almost done with the hood. I've decided that when I'm done with the hood I'm going to rip back the sleeves a few inches to make them wider. Their going to be way to small for Shawn's arms.

I finally got a cup holder for my spinning wheel (Etsy site).

I've been wanting one of these for while now but kept putting it off. When we moved the living room around I lost my spot to put my cup when I'm spinning. So the cup holder was kind of important. I won't be spinning with an open topped cup because I don't want fuzz in my drink. I have several cups with lids that I'll use I just happened to have a cup of iced tea when the box came in. 

I'll leave you with a picture of Bree and Penny chillin in my rocking chair. 

I'll be back soon with a new blog post. I finally found the perfect buttons for my Cassidy Cardi and should get them in the mail very soon.

Holy Cow It's Cold!

Not sure what the temps were yesterday morning when I woke up but I checked the weather around 9am and it was showing a balmy -37F outside. Brrrrr-Freakin-rrrrrrr. And of course in true Luvs2knit nature, I had to go out in the cold to go to a doctors appointment. Another RA checkup so I really couldn't cancel it since we're trying to get meds adjusted. Meds went up again but at least this time I have 60 days before I go back. I've been going in every 30 days. Unfortunately I still need to visit the lab vampires. I think I'll wait till later this week though since it's suppose to warm back up to more normal temps.

I have been doing a little knitting besides the stuff I can't show you.

I finished my YOSS Jan Socks. 

The pattern is Saint Brigid's Stockings (ravelry). The yarn is Dream in Color Classy. I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to have enough yarn but I still had plenty to spare when I finished. 

I started a pair of toe up socks for Bree.

I'm using some of the leftover yarn from my Rainbows & Clouds socks. I'm not very far into the socks but they never take very long to knit since her feet are so small. Basic toe up sock with a short row heel....nothing fancy.

Finally I'm making good progress on my toe up Opal socks.

I'm about an inch from starting the heel. These are my take along knitting project. Not thought involved, no pattern to bring with me, just a basic stockinette sock that I've knit so many time the pattern is permanent etched in my mind.

I'll end this post with a couple of pics of Penelope.

The first one is of her "helping me" take pictures. She was curious about what I was doing and shoved her nose right up infront of the camera. The second one is of her laying on the floor all pretty trying to get some of the pineapple that I was eating. Our dogs love pineapple and will beg for it every chance they get. 

Happy Crafting!

 

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside

The subzero temps are back again. It's a balmy -2F outside. It's suppose to warm up to around 20F by Wednesday but with that warm up comes snow. I think I'd rather have the snow then the bone chilling cold though so no complaining from me. At least we have a snow thrower to make clearing the driveway and sidewalks easier.

The only knitting I can show you right now are my YOSS socks.

 

I'm knitting St Brigid's Stockings (Ravelry). The yarn is Dream in Color Classy leftover from a sweater I made Bree. I was a little worried that one skein wasn't going to be enough but it appears that I'm going to have enough. I'm not far from starting the toe. Worsted weight socks work up quickly.

I just read the blog post on The Looy Ewes blog and this years club isn't going to be all about socks which sounds really great. I'm up for new things and something other then sock yarn would be perfect for me. The only thing I wished is that I would have had a bit more notice so that I could gather enough money up to pay for it in advance. I can still pay for them kit by kit so it's not a huge deal but I would have loved to have gotten a discount for paying for them all at once. The only way I can do it right now would be to put it on a credit card and well that just negates the whole discount by putting it on a credit card that will tack on interest.

I really need to kick it in gear and finish up my test knits and get started on my TLE swap partners knitted item. It's not going to take long but I really need to get started. Plus I need to finish up the scarves for the Special Olympics. Those I can drop off here in town so I won't have to worry about making sure they are shipped out in time.

I did pick up some yarn for the current TLE challenge.

It's going to be all about cables and I'm planning on knitting the Cabled Keyhole Scarf (ravelry) (non ravelry) by Knitspot. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Honor which is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. The colorway is Jeans.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment. I really love my dentist but I absolutely hate having my teeth worked on. We're working on crowns now which means tomorrow I'll come home with a temporary crown and I hate those. My gums are always so sore from the temp crown. 

I'll end this post with a picture of Penelope.

Doesn't she look comfy. Penelope's decided that the girls leather chairs are the best place to sleep so I've had to cover then to keep her claws from damaging the chairs. She went in to the vet the other day for another round of puppy shots and she's now up over 17 pounds. She's growing so fast.

Plugging Right Along

I'm trying to get back into a regular blogging schedule. Yes, I know I know this isn't the first time I've said that. It's only been a week since my last blog post so that's progress. I've finished a few projects but two of them are secret projects so no showing until well after the packages are sent out.

I did finish my "on the go" lemon socks.

These are made out of Lionbrand Sock-Ease in the Lemon Drop colorway. The pattern is my standard toe up pattern with a short row heel. The yarn is like most typical wool/nylon workhorse sock yarns. I'd say it's about as thin as Trekking. I haven't found any locally but people on Ravelry are destashing it at a reasonable price.

I have gotten a few kits too. I just link them to my Flickr account so I don't end up spoiling it for anyone who hasn't gotten theirs. I've received the Yellow Brick Road Wizard of Oz sock club kit, my Tea Party kit, and the final shipment of the second installment of the Lord of the Rings sock club from The Unique Sheep. There is one set to sign up for but I haven't yet. I hope to sign up for it in the next payday or two.

My Cassidy (ravelry)(non ravelry) is moving along well and I'm about a quarter of the way through the other front piece. I would have been farther along but I messed up and had to frog 20 plus rows.

I also started another pair of "on the go" socks. I'm using some Patons Kroy sock that I picked up from Michaels a few weeks ago. They're toe up and will have a short row heel. They're going to be plain stockinette because it's easy and I can toss them down and not have to worry about losing my place.

Happy Crafting!

Overdue again!

Once again I'm here working on a blog post that is way overdue. Believe it or not I actually started this post on the 13th of Dec. It's been crazy here between Bree getting sick (her first ever stomach flu), then me, then getting ready for the holidays topped off with crappy weather that kept me from getting pictures taken. I know, I know excuses, excuses. We've been going through the warm, cold, warm, freeze your snot cold, warm, colder then the North Pole, warm, cold that seems to be what they call winter around here. Either stay warm or stay cold dang it!

Let see, where in the world to start. There is so much to post about I'm not sure where to start. How bout the dishcloths I finished up?

I managed to knit all 24 cloths this year for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I now have plenty of dishcloths to use when we get to Germany. Truthfully I have way more then I really need. Note to self: must remember to call my Granny to see if she wants some.

I finished my Slip-Stitch Cable Socks (ravelry).

This is one of the patterns out of The Little Box of Socks. These were knit using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn in the black purl colorway. They are super comfy and squishy. I think I might make another pair again in the future.

My Nutkin socks (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

I knit these for the Sonny and Shear Nutkin KAL on Ravelry. The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan sock in the Sailors Delight colorway. I did deviate from the pattern for the cuff, heel and toe. I worked a picot cuff, my favorite short row heel from the Sock Wizard software and a standard toe.

New pair of worsted weight socks for Kaity.

These are made with leftover Dream in Color Classy from the sweaters I made both of the girls. Her cheapo acrylic socks that I knit her like 3 years ago have finally died. They developed a huge hole in them and judging by the way Kaity acted you would have swore the world was ending.To stave off the end of the world I made her this pair of socks. They've been deemed worthy of wearing and of course request from more socks have ensued.

I finished my moms Whispering Pines shawl (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

Now all I need to do is find the time to get it blocked out so I can send it on to my mom. I used 3 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss lace weight yarn. Once again I have to say that Anne Hanson is an absolute lace genius! I've yet to find a Knitspot pattern I haven't loved.

I finally got a picture of Kaity's finished Luna Trail Pullover (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

The sleeves are a little long and I wished I would have knit another inch of two in the body of the sweater but she loves it.

I've received my a few goodies in the mail. The only thing I'm getting in now is stuff that I signed up for before we found out we were moving. I'll provide links so there isn't much of a possibility of someones surprise being spoiled. I've received Oriental Poppies which is part of a Woolgirl club and my final shipment from the first round of the Lord of the Rings sock club.

I've finally started destashing some of my yarn stash. It's listed on Ravelry and the Destash! blog too. I've had success there selling some stuff.

Right now I'm working on a test knit for Woolgirl and am trying to finish up some older projects (I'm down to two projects on the needles....gasp!). As soon as I finish up the current test knit I'm going to start working on Shawn's sweater. I really want to get that finished before his 80th birthday. ;~)

Happy Crafting!

A Little Knitting

Dear architects,

Could you please rethink the design of homes and take note that my coat closet size bathroom does not need a heater vent. Nor does my bathroom sized walk in closet for that matter. My clothes could care less if they are hot or cold and I really hate it when I'm taking a shower and the heater/AC kicks on and pushes the shower curtain in....very annoying! Isn't it sad that my walk in closet is almost 3 times bigger then the tiny little room they claim is a master bathroom?

Thanks,

Luvs2knit

I would love to know what the architect was smokin' when he designed this house? There is tons of storage space but the fool couldn't give an extra 2-3 feet in the bathroom? Seriously!

Still no news on what's going on with our orders. Some people are saying that my arthritis is going to stop us from going to Germany. Others are saying it's not going to be a problem. Gotta love it when you can't get a definitive answer. We did find out that if we go to Germany our car insurance is going to shoot through the roof. It's going to be alike $138 per month and that doesn't include renters insurance. I guess you have to have higher coverage over there. It'll be off set by some of the bills we wont have over there. It'll all work out in the end but the price did make choke on my coffee.

I've been making progress on the knitting front and have managed to start a few projects but haven't finished anything major. Although the way I'm going I'll be finished with Kaity's sweater in no time at all.

First up is Kaity's sweater.

The pattern is Luna Trail Pullover (ravelry)(non ravelry) and the yarn is Dream in Color Classy, Punky Fucshia. I absolutely love knitting with Classy but hate, hate, hate winding it up. The yarn is so squishy and springy that it doesn't wind very well....at least not for me. I've wound 4 skeins of this yarn so far and every single one of them has given me fits. That being said it won't stop me from using it again.

New socks for me, yippy!

Oh wait just about every pair of socks are knit for myself. Oh how selfish I am! These are the Mallow Sock pattern (ravelry)(non ravelry). The yarn is Frog Creek Fibers Ebullient in the Raspberries and Chocolate colorway. The yarn is soft and has a nice tight, twist. It's going on my list of yarns I'll buy again. I'd like to try some of their other base yarns.

New on the go socks.

My basic toe up sock pattern with a turkish cast one. I'll probably knit a short row heel and a stockinette leg and to change things up a little I think I'm going to knit a picot cuff. Easy socks, perfect for car knitting.

The 1 Sept Monthly Dishcloth KAL cloth.

Basic ABC cloth done in Red Peaches and Creme. I haven't found the link for this pattern so no link for this one.

Some yummy String Theory Caper sock now lives in my stash.

I placed an order from TLE a few weeks ago to order the Namaste small clutch to match my Laguna bag. I wanted something for quick trips to the store. Since I was ordering I decided to go for free shipping. I couldn't have my Namaste bag all alone in the box now could I. I ordered a skein of String Theory Caper sock in the Black Cherry colorway and a couple of sock patterns.

Look at what Shawn came home with for me.

A drying rack for my socks. He noticed that hanging up all the socks on hangers was a pain in the butt so one night while he was out at Wally World he found this and picked it up. The drying rack is huge. I'm around 5' 8" give or take a smidge and the rack is up to my shoulders. It has all but a few pair of socks on there and without Bree's sweater I could probably have fit ever pair of handknit socks that I have for Kaity and I.

We're on our way to Oregon to visit with my family. I started this post at home but am finishing it up here in Spokane, WA. We're staying the night at Fairchild AFB. TLF (military hotel for families) is a lot nicer here. Big rooms and just way nicer all around. Wished we would have had this much room when we were stuck in TLF in Montana for over a month. We're getting the visiting in now just in case we do go to Germany because chances are once I get over there we won't be able to visit with family. The plane tickets are just to much money. Not to mention passports and visas. As it is it looks like we're going to have to shell out over $400 on passports to be able to travel around while we are there. If we don't pay for the passports we won't be able to leave the country. Well if I'm going to be stuck over there I'm damn sure going to travel to other countries. The government pays for traveling passports for the girls and I to get to Germany but that is all they are good for. Sucks I know! If they're going to send us over there the least they could do is give us full fledged passports to travel with.

I'll be back for another post after we get home from our trip. Till then...Happy Crafting!

Stunning Lack of Progress

Ok, so maybe I have been making progress on some things. Of course those things must remain secret for awhile yet. I finished one test knit for Woolgirl about 2 weeks ago which I've absolutely fell in love with and I'm working on another one right now that is really cool. Sorry I can't show them to you but I can show you the ones I knit up for Woolgirl and Miss Babs for Sock Summit.

The first knit was a sock.

It's a new entrelac sock pattern called Choix Entrelac Sock which should have been available for purchase at Sock Summit in Miss Babs booth. If I remember correctly Woolgirl has announced on her blog that she will be getting this pattern in her shop. I really want to make a pair for myself. It's just enough entrelac to add interest without doing the whole cuff entrelac and making it impossible to get on your foot. I found it easier to work the entrelac portion on my trusty dpns then moved to my circular needle after I finished.

The second knit was a caplet.

The pattern is In the Garden (ravelry)(non ravelry). This is knit in the round from the top down and was a very pleasant knit. I used Miss Babs yummy sock and the color is Merlot.

I have managed to finish a few small things and I have two pair of socks that aren't far from being finished. I really need to kick it in gear and work Shawn's sweater. I'm planning that as one of the projects I work on while he's gone in Sept and Oct for schooling.

Thank You cloth (ravelry)(non ravelry)

This one was the 1 Aug KAL cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL.

"Have no clue what it's name is so there is no link" dishcloth

This was the 16 Aug KAL cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I've been trying to knit all the cloths for this year. So far, so good I've stuck with it. If I've made it this far I'll make it to the end.

Rapunzel's Braid Socks (ravelry)

This pattern is actually a top down sock pattern but I'm working it toe up because I prefer working toe up pattern for socks I'm knitting two at a time. I worked a short row heel and I've left the cabled pattern off the back of the leg because it was making the sock too small for my foot and going up a needle size made the cables look sloppy. I'm really enjoying these socks which I could attribute to the cables or the sock yarn which is Zen Yarn Garden's Serenity sock. Deliciously soft squishy sock yarn. It's a merino/cashmere/nylon blend. This colorway is from the Woolgirl sock club. I picked it up from someone who was destashing it.

My "on the go socks" are just about finished.

Just a few more inches on the leg before starting the ribbing. The yarn is Opal Brasil, color 5001. I picked it up cheap from someone destashing it quite some time back. It's been sitting in my stash just waiting to be knit. This colorway is such a happy color. The stripes are so bright and cheery.

The Whispering Pines Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry) is moving right along.

The color is off since I took this picture indoors. I've been working on my moms shawl and have managed to get part way through section C of the pattern. This is a very enjoyable knit and so far I've managed to remain mistake free (knock on wood) which is rather shocking. Normally by now I've had to rip back several rows because of a mistake. I've knit several patterns from Knitspot and have yet to find one I didn't like. Her patterns are so well written.

I picked up some JulieSpins MCN 560 from a Ravelry destasher.

I can see why people go "gaa gaa" over her yarn. It is very nice and the colors are beautiful. This is 560 yards of light fingering weight yarn in the Iris colorway. I'm not sure if this will be socks or if I'll make a shawl or scarf out of it. I haven't made up my mind yet so it'll just let it marinate in my stash for now.

I received some Zen Yarn Garden Bamboolicious in a Ravelry trade.

Someone was looking for Koigu for a blanket so I swapped some of mine for the bamboolicious. The colorway is Dublin Bay which I'm pretty sure is the colorway ZYG dyed for the shop Dublin Bay Knitting Company.

I have a spinning project on the wheel right now.

This is the start of some very delicious merino silk roving from the August shipment of the Artwalk Fiber Club from Zen Yarn Garden. You can see the roving here. I've been trying to spin for at least 30 minutes every day but there have been a few days where I haven't been able to spin. My goal is to Navajo ply this. I'll be re-upping this club in Nov and if all goes well I'll go for the 8oz option for more fiber.

I finally got my hands on some Pony Bead lacing for my wheel. I've had a heck of a time finding it from a place that has a reasonable shipping charge. This stuff is nowhere to be found here in town. Michaels & JoAnn's both carry the flat lacing which is not what I wanted. Everyone keeps telling me to go to Hobby Lobby. Well my nearest Hobby Lobby is in Billings which is like a 4 hour drive so that's out. I absolutely hate buying a $3 item and then being told I have to pay $6 to ship said item. I picked mine up from this ebay seller. The 5 yard hanks for $2.49 are the tubed lacing with the connectors. They shipped the stuff out first class mail and I had it in a few days. Just thought I'd share this store with anyone who may be having a hard time finding this stuff. No affiliation, just a happy buyer.

I'll leave you all with this shot of Bree enjoying her big birthday gift.

I had to wait till the first of Aug to order it so it's a little late for her b-day but she didn't seem to mind. It's the Naturally Playful Big Folding Slide by Step 2. I picked mine up through Amazon and got free shipping. I could have picked the slide up cheaper at a few other places but once they started tacking on the shipping costs and over sized fee it was crazy and way more then what Amazon wanted. One place wanted like $90 for the slide but then they wanted to charge me another $60 for shipping. It's not that heavy nor was the box that big. All the hassle was worth it to see her go down the slide continuously for like 45 minutes. This will definitely come in handy this winter when it's too cold to go outside to play.

Well that sums up our irregularly scheduled blog post. I'll be back soon, hopefully with some FO's to show you all.

Happy Crafting!