Knittin' and Lovin' It

Nada Zip Zilch...Well Almost

The title sums it up quiet well. I don't have a whole lot to post about. I have a few projects going on but I've kind of stalled on knitting. I have a few little projects that I'm working on but haven't cast on any more big projects. I really need to finish Shawn's sweater so he can wear it this winter.

On the non knitting related front our poor tree in the front yard died.

I looked out the window the other day and noticed our dead tree was noticeably shorter. The tree chopper guys came through and lopped off the top. They should be back by the end of the week to dig up the stump and plant a new one. I don't know what happened this year but there were a lot of dead trees here on base and around town.  

I'm working on a new pair of fingerless mitts for my mom.

The pattern is Basketry Mitts (Ravelry). The yarn is from The Loopy Ewe. It's their solid sock yarn brand in the Strawberry colorway. The yarn is really nice to work with. I'll definitely buy the yarn again.

Striped socks for The Loopy Ewe's 3rd Quarter Challenge. 

The challenge is to make something using their new solid sock yarn brand. I was going to knit some socks with fancy colorwork but frankly my brain isn't up to the challenge right now so I opted for some simple striped socks. Their my basic toe up, short row heel sock recipe and I opted for a picot edge. The red stripe is the Strawberry colorway and the gray is Smoke.

My "On the Go" socks.

These only get knit when I'm in the car so they take awhile to finish. The yarn is Fortissima Socka. I think in my last post I said it was Regia. This yarn has been marinating in my stash for several years now. I was originally going to use this yarn to knit socks for Shawn but he doesn't want hand knit socks.....I know the shock of it all.

And that covers all the knitting content for this post. I'm trying to get my Sun Ray shawl done so I can start my moms shawl. It's a big lace one with beads and cables so it's going to take awhile to complete.

I'll leave you with a photo of our newest addition to the household.

Meet Mr. Blue the parakeet. He's a crack up and full of entertainment. He loves to get out of his cage and hang out with Shawn and I in the evenings after the girls are in bed.  

Yarn on the Move

A couple weeks ago I decided that my stash needed to move from its current location to a less stinky spot in the house. Our house is connected to our neighbors house and our neighbor stores their gasoline and lawn mower in their outside closet which unfortunately is next to my yarn closet and the stink is seeping into my yarn closet. So for two days I worked on moving everything around in our bedroom so I could move all of my yarn and fiber stash upstairs. I'm keeping my swift, ball winder, and knitting books downstairs but the yarn and fiber had to be moved before it started taking on the nasty smell of gasoline. I also bought some more plastic drawers for yarn storage. I lucked out and found a sale at ShopKo so they were buy one, get one free. I'll take some pictures for my next blog post. All my sock yarn is sorted out nicely but self striping, semi solid, variegated and mass produced balls of sock yarn like Opal, Regia, Patons, etc. My sweater yarn has a home in the cedar chest Shawn bought for me years ago.

Now if this was my house I would look into fixing the problem, unfortunately I live in military housing and anyone who has ever lived in military housing knows that it is like pulling hens teeth to get housing maintenance to fix something. They act like it's a crime to want to live in a house where stuff isn't broken. The less they fix the more money they save thus more money for the military to piss out the window on stupid stuff....course that is a whole new can of worms I'd much rather not ponder about. Thankfully we only have a little over two years and then I can buy my own home which after seeing the craptastic way most of the newer homes are being built I we will most likely look for a older home with a sound structure and a little fixing up needing to be done. I don't mind doing some of my own house renovations.

Now on to knitting which sadly there is some I can't show you.

Here's Cassidy (ravelry)(non ravelry) in all her not finished beauty.

I finished the other front panel so next up is the sleeves. I'll most likely knit both sleeves at the same time which may be a bit of insanity on my part since I'll have four balls of yarn going at the same time. I'm alternating rows to make everything blend better.

I frogged my Mara shawl and started a different shawl with the yarn. I was counting on getting most of the Mara shawl knit in the car when we were traveling from here to Oregon and back when we visited my Granny last October. Unfortunately I didn't get as much done as I had planned and while tons or garter stitch while traveling in the car is fine I haven't touched it since we got home so ribbit ribbit.

Here's the pattern I went with.

It's the Sun Ray Shawl (ravelry). It's not a complicated shawl but there is enough going on that I'm not completely bored out of my mind which unfortunately is why I wasn't working on Mara. It probably didn't help that I knit the sample for Madelinetosh so I'd already knit one. I rarely go back to knit a pattern again.

I also have a new "on the go" pair of socks on the needles.

This is just my standard toe up sock pattern with a short row heel. The yarn is Patons Kroy sock yarn that I picked up from Michaels. It feels a tad thicker then most sock yarns I use. To save my sanity I didn't bother trying to match up the stripes.

I finally decided to start working on a sock yarn blanket.

This is based off a pattern I used to knit a baby blanket for my sister-in-law. You knit a mitered square and then pick up stitches along one side, cast on the other half of the stitches and knit another mitered square. You just keep going until your row is long enough and then go back to the beginning and pick up more stitches and start a new row. No sewing up your little squares and all you have to do is weave in the ends. I'm working on this off and on. 

I picked up some yarn to make another shawl for my mom.

The yarn is Dream in Color Baby in the Blue Sage colorway that I picked up from The Loopy Ewe. I received the beads I ordered from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads but they are to small to work with DIC Baby which is a light fingering weight yarn. These beads would work perfectly with lace weight. Unfortunately Fire Mountain didn't really list what size these beads are so I was kind of flying blind. Oh well, I'll set them aside for another project. I have the right beads on order from Earthfaire which is where I should have went in the first place and since I was ordering the beads from them I picked up the pattern too. I've heard nothing but good things about Earthfaire. I'm going to knit the Rosalind Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry) by Sivia Harding. It's a lovely combination of lace, cables and beads. I got hooked on her patterns after a test knit I did for Woolgirl. I love knitting lace shawls but don't really use them. The only ones that I really use are worsted weight shawls that I can snuggle under during those cold winter days.

Oh and I finally blocked my Rivolo (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I have no idea who will give this scarf a good home. I started out making socks with this yarn but the a portion of the skein didn't have the little bits of green color so one sock was coming out a dark purple/pink color and the other part was much lighter with the green and lighter coloring so I figured a scarf would work best. You can actually see some of the color difference when you look at the scarf. I'm not much of a scarf wearer but I really wanted to knit this pattern. I normally wear cowls because they are easier to put on and take off when you're out and about shopping. Plus the bonus is that you can pull them up to cover your mouth, nose and ears. When a biting wind is ripping through here in the middle of winter it feels rather nice to have as much of your face covered as possible. 

I have some fabric to make a doll blanket for Kaity which I really need to get started on next week. I'm thinking about going with a simple four patch quilt. I need to do some measuring but I think I'll go with 2 inch squares. Time to bust out the sewing machine. 

I think that sums up what I've been up to. Until next time!

Happy Crafting!

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!

No Snappy Titles Left

I think I've used up all my snappy titles. After several years of blogging I'm all tapped out. Actually I think maybe I just need a vacation. I keep saying my motivation is hanging out on a warm beach sipping mojitos and enjoying a good book so maybe I should join my motivation. I does sound like a great idea! Nothing better then your toes in the sand, reading a good book and sipping on a cold drink.

Not a whole lot going on here in the Luvs2knit household. Same junk just a different day. The base is undergoing a huge inspection so I've pretty much been stuck at home since Shawn is working late hours and weekends. If all goes well this weekend will be ours although they haven't announced if they'll get Presidents Day off or not. It's getting kinda boring sitting around the house and no I don't want to scrub the house from top to bottom just to keep the boredom at bay. Between you and me, I'd rather be bored....just sayin.

Let see if I can play a little catch up here. My mom now has her shawl and loves it to pieces. I've been working on a few test knits for Woolgirl and I have some yarn coming in to knit samples for Miss Babs for Stitches West.

Might as well get started on posting FO's and new goodies that I've received in the mail.

First up is the beaded socks (ravelry).

I ended up making these for my mom. The yarn is Huntington sock yarn from WEBS. It's very soft, super cheap, and I loved knitting with it. I see more of this yarn in the future.

Shawn's Iain cabled hoodie (ravelry)(you can find the pattern through various stores online)

The picture isn't all that great. We had a lot of days with little to no sunshine so an indoor photo was all I could get at the time. All I need to do now is knit the sleeves and hood. Shouldn't take much longer. 

I broke my no yarn till after we move rule to pick up a few skeins of yarn since my last post.

First up is JulieSpins MCN355 in the Ginger Cat and Emerald colorways.

I found two people on Ravelry who were destashing these colorways so I had to give them a new home. I can't get enough of this yarn. It's so squishy and soft plus JulieSpins colorways are gooooooorgeous!

My Ruby Slippers Oz Sock Club package came in. You can see it here if you want. This is one of the patterns I test knit for Woolgirl not that long ago.

Next up are two skeins of JulieSpins M420S which is her superwash merino sock yarn.

These were from her Unclub that she does out on her Ravelry group. The top color is called Golden Glow and the bottom is Beach Plum. I absolutely loooooove these colors. I'm using the yellow one right now to knit the Butterfly Garden Socks (ravelry)(non ravelry).

Then I picked up some Fearless Fibers Merino Cashmere Nylon sock yarn.

I like Fearless Fibers sock yarn so I wanted to give this MCN base a try. The color way is called Feel the Love and is absolutely gorgeous.

Skein of String Theory Caper sock that I picked up from The Loopy Ewe.

This is the Isle colorway. OK, I have to admit it appears I've got a merino/cashmere sock yarn addiction now.

I have in my possession a skein of the new Mountain Colors Crazyfoot sock yarn.

Mountain Colors was having a contest on their blog and I won along with I think 49 other people.....woot! The colorway is Wild Raspberry. As soon as I finish up my sample knits this will be hopping on the needles. I just need to figure out which pattern I want to use. 

Finally this yummy squishy yarn ended up on my doorstep.

It's Dream in Color Classy in the Deep Sea Flower colorway to knit Cassidy (Ravelry)(non Ravelry) for the TLE 2010 Q1 Sweater Challenge. Thankfully the challenge is going on till July so I have plenty of time to get it finished. This is my "woohoo we got our income tax refund reward".

I have a box full of goodies coming in from Woolgirl's "closing the shop" sale. She posted out on Ravelry that's she closing down the online/store portion of the business and is going to concentrate on kits and clubs. Everything is 35 percent off. I'm sadden to see her close the shop but it's for her health which is more important then yarn.

Now it's time to go wake sleeping beauty (who is snoring on the couch, quite loudly I might add) and go to bed. Course it's very possible that sleeping beauty won't wake up and will sleep on the couch for the night. I swear when Shawn falls asleep on the couch in the evening time it's almost impossible to get him to move.

Happy Crafting!

Making Up for Lost Time

Every time I type up a new post I swear to myself that I'm going to start blogging more frequently and every time there is always something that seems to get in the way. It takes a bit of work to get a post put together. 

On the moving homefront we're getting prepared for the big move although it looks like it could possibly be pushed back due to some schooling the military wants Shawn to have. Right now we're set to leave around the 10th of March but if Shawn gets sent to school he'll leave the beginning of March and won't be home until mid June. As much as I'd love to pack the house up and have everything sent to Germany and follow him to Maryland for those 3 months I have to think about the kiddos. Kaity is still in school so that means missed time from school and dealing with the pains of enrolling her in a new school for the last 3 months of school. Logistically it's easier for me to stay here with the girls while Shawn's in school.

Anyone else having freakishly weird weather this year? Apparently Mother Nature is a tad confused because we're having warm spring like weather here in our part of the state for last few two weeks. We've had a few days where it's hit in the 60's (Fahrenheit that is). Of course that's not destined to last because the forecast is showing that we're suppose to dip back down into the 30's here in a few days. 

The destashing has gone well and I'm thinking there won't have to be another round to get rid of more yarn. Between what I sold, what I'm sending to my mom, and yarn that I donated to charity I think the stash has been culled down enough. There are a few things in my trade section on Ravelry that are still for sale but I'm not planning on pulling more out of my stash. I will admit I've splurged and bought a couple of skeins that caught my eye and some time toward the end of the month I should be getting the Ruby Slippers shipment from the Woolgirl Wizard of Oz club.

I managed to snag a skein of Skinny Bugga! last week from The Sanguine Gryphons site.

The color is called Emerald Swallowtail and is the most gorgeous green I've ever seen. I was also looking at this gorgeous yellow color too but decided that I should stick with just one skein.

A skein of Knitterly Things Vesper sock yarn managed to jump in my cart the other day.

I swear I don't know how it got here.....I'm sticking with the theory that it was lonely and wanted to hang out with the other sock yarns in my stash. I swear I'm innocent of all charges!! Seriously though I'm still on a self striping sock yarn kick so when I saw this colorway (Shamrockin) I knew I needed to pick it up.

Dream in Color Classy in the November Muse colorway.

OK, this one was part of my winnings from the Sonny and Shear Nutkin KAL. I won first prize and my winnings was a gift certificate for $50. So the gift certificate paid for over half the cost and it's not sock yarn....mah ha ha ha! I'm thinking maybe making Wisteria with this yarn.

Now on to knitting projects. I do have a few I'm working on and I finally finished blocking my moms Whispering Pines Shawl.

First up is the Whispering Pines Shawl (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

I absolutely love this shawl. As soon as I finish the socks I'm knitting for my mom I'll be dropping her package off in the mail.

Here are the socks I'm working on for my mom.

The pattern is the 2009 January Socktopia mystery pattern (Ravelry). I started them for myself but it occurred to me that I haven't made my mom socks in awhile so I now they are moms. Guess I'd better make a pair for my sister. I haven't made her any in quite some time too. The yarn I'm using is Valley Yarns Huntington. This yarn is soooooo soft and great to work with. It's a great price too at less then $9 for a pair of socks. I've heard a few people complain about it being splitty but I've yet to have a problem with it splitting while I'm knitting.

Basic toe up socks using Patons Stretch Sock.

It's not a bad sock yarn. It's a tad splitty but not horribly so. This is just a basic toe up sock with ribbing and I'll be using a short row heel. Nothing fancy, just a no pattern required sock that I can take with me where ever I go.

I've been making great progress on Shawn's cabled hoodie. I'm about 12 rows from finishing the back and will then move to working the v-neck for the front. The sweater is knit in the round until the armpit area where it's split and the front and back are worked separately. I don't think it'll take me much longer to finish this up. I'll try to get a picture of my progress for the next blog post. 

I do believe I've managed to catch up on all the projects I have going on. I do have some secrety secret test knits that I've finished up and will show them when I get a chance. 

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 Progress

I'm up with a sick kiddo so I figured I might as well start a blog post. Might as well put my time to good use, right? Kaity is sick with the flu and Shawn's getting over his bout with it although he still has a cough that is driving him crazy. I'm have my fingers and toes crossed that Bree and I escape the crude but seeing as we're surrounded by it it'll be amazing if we don't catch it.

I have finished a few projects since my last knitting related post but that shouldn't be to surprising since my last knitting related post was almost a month ago.

The Raspberries & Chocolate Mallow socks (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I knit these with Frog Creek Fibers Ebullient sock yarn in the Raspberries and Chocolate colorway. The colors are gorgeous, the yarn was nice to work with and I really enjoy the fit of these socks. I will be trying some of their other base yarns.

I'm trekking right along on my moms Whispering Pines shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I'm actually not far from starting the edging on the shawl. I do believe I have around 21 rows left before starting the edging.

I started Mara (ravelry)(non ravelry) for my trip to and back from Oregon.

I'm using Araucania Nature Wool which I picked up on sale at WEBS awhile back. I want to make this as big as possible so I have something warm to use when I'm sitting in my chair. The only time I worked on this was in the car with the exception of one evening at my granny's house where I knit maybe one row before swapping to a pair of socks.

I finished my stripey Regia socks.

Their just a basic toe up sock with a short row heel and a picot cuff. I used a Turkish cast on and knit until I was bored with them. The stripes aren't matched up with this pair. I thought I had it but they were off by several rows and I didn't feel like ripping them out to start again.

We got snow a few days before Halloween.

Friggin' crazy weather! It melted in about 2 days but all total I think we ended up with about 4 inches in town. I don't think we got quite as much on the base.

Thankfully Kaity didn't get sick until the day after Halloween so she was able to go out Trick or Treating for a little bit.

They both had a lot of fun. Kaity went as Mitchie from Camp Rock and Bree was a little bumble bee. I think Bree was just as excited to hand out candy to other kids as she was to get candy.

I did get some goodies since my last post. I'll just link to my Flickr account since some of these could possibly be spoilers for some people. My Woolgirl Emerald City Wizard of Oz sock club kit made it in. So did the 3rd installment from the Zen Yarn Garden Spin Art fiber club, Lord of the Rings sock club, and My Perfect Fall is Halloween Kit.

My first skein of Bugga! that I managed to snag from some one who was destashing on Ravelry.

I can see why people are going crazy about it but I'm not going to miss sleep or go crazy trying to get more when there are other cashmere base sock yarns out there that are beautifully dyed and easier to get. Yes, yes I know it has 20% cashmere but frankly I think ZYG's Serenity sock is just as squishy and soft and it's a whole lot easier to buy. That said, if I had some extra cash and I stumbled upon some in an update I would buy it if I liked the colors.

I'll leave you all with a pic of my little yarn hugger.

Bree is my knitting helper. She loves helping me take pictures of yarn and projects and sits in my lap to help me knit. Plus she loves to "fuzz" the yarn. For some reason Bree asks to fuzz instead of feel but only when it involves yarn. She always asks if she can "fuzz it" when I get a new skein of yarn. I've even caught her sniffing it. The kid is a crack up in a yarn store. She treats the yarn as if it's super special (of course it is and I've taught her well). I think I have a yarn addict in the making. :~)

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!

Some Knittin' Goin' On

Dear UPS,

Please, please, please don't fail me today. My daughter is counting on you to bring her a special package. In the past you have been untrustworthy to me. Telling me you were going to bring me my goods and then letting me know that the goods were delayed and I'd have to wait another day or too. This should not be done to a person when it's late at night and a person is feeling down because they didn't get their package fix. Please don't let me down today! I beg you because if you do I will be sending a very disappointed 8 year old to you so you can hear her cry.

Thank You,

Luvs2knit Family

Kaity is excited because UPS tracking is showing that her American Girl doll is here and out for delivery. Yes it was a splurge and a very special treat for Kaity. Yes yes yes I know that they are expensive and no we are not crazy for buying her the doll. I wouldn't scoff at you for buying a skein of Qiviut now would I.

For the past two weeks we've heard nothing but "is my doll here yet?", "I can't wait to see Chrissa!", "mom can you check the tracking to see if Chrissa is here yet?" "I can't wait till Chrissa is here so I can play at my friends house with her doll too! It's about to drive me insane. I swear on all that is holy if UPS changes the status to show that the package will be delivered on another day I'm going to scream so loud they will hear me in China!

The weather is still warmer then normal around here. I swear that it was only in the 60's and 70's Fahrenheit last year. I know it was a lot cooler in 2007 when we got here because we had to go buy warmer clothing because our stuff was still in storage. We've been hitting in to the 90's....that's just wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm getting back in a regular routine now that Kaity is in school. I'm starting to adjust to the fact that we are moving to Germany though we are pushing for the date to be moved to May 2010. We still have to be medically cleared but that will take some time yet and according to a lot of people we've talked to my arthritis could cancel our orders. We should know more within the next month or so.

I have managed to finish a few things and of course start up a few more. I just finished up another test knit for Woolgirl and am working on one for Madelinetosh.Here's a little teaser of what I'm working on.

It's a smallish project so it'll probably be done fairly quickly.

This is a test knit for Woolgirl.

I think this was from one of the Peanuts kits. The yarn is Curious Creek Fibers Serengeti and the colorway is called Happiness is. I loved all the cables and twists in this pattern. I really liked working with the yarn too.

First up are the Rapunzel's Braid Socks (ravelry).

I love love love these socks. They fit beautifully and the yarn (Zen Yarn Garden Serenity sock) is so soft and squishy. I think I have one more skein of Serenity sock in my stash so it's time to go buy some more.

The rainbow stripe Opal socks are finished.

I knit these with some Opal Brasil, #5001 from my stash. This is my basic toe up pattern that I know by heart. No need for a paper pattern which makes for perfect on the go socks.

Merletto Mitts (ravelry) for my mom.

I finally finished them. They are a quick knit (when I actually work on them). It took me less then two days of knitting to make both mitts. It took me so long because I kept getting side tracked by other projects.

I've started & finished a sweater for Bree.

The pattern is Cookie Sweater (ravelry) from Miss Bea's Rainy Day and the yarn is Dream in Color Classy, Visual Purple. Bree loves it and is very proud of her new sweater.

Now to wait for it to cool down enough for her to wear it.

The Pearl-barred Scallop Scarf (ravelry)(non ravelry) is finished.

Well I'm done knitting it but lazy me I have yet to block it. That's on the agenda for tomorrow. I hope to have it in the mail to the new owner by the beginning of next week. I want to find some goodies to put in the box. I have an idea of what I want so I'll pick it up this weekend.

New socks for Kaity.

She's worn these sock for the last 2 nights and I suspect she'll wear them again tonight. Worsted weight socks are such a quick knit. Kaity requested some new worsted weight socks to wear to bed so I dug out the scraps of Cascade 220 and started knitting. These are a basic toe up sock with a heel flap. Nothing fancy and a fairly quick knit since I used worsted weight wool. I planning on knitting her several pair out of whatever worsted weight yarn I can dig out of my stash. I really should knit these with some superwash yarn to make it easier on me when they need to be washed. Guess I'd better go digging through my stash.

I'm moving right along on moms Whispering Pines Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I can't wait to get this blocked out. I'm just about through with Section G.

The most absolute gorgeous color of sock yarn from Madelinetosh.

I picked this up from Woolgirl. The colorway is called Tart and I'd love love love to have this dyed up in Tosh Worsted for a sweater. Might have to save up some money and see if Amy will custom dye the yarn for me.

JulieSpins MCN sock yarn.

I picked this up from a Ravelry destasher. The color is Dark Peony and the yarn is completely petable. Now to find the perfect pattern for this yarn.

Self striping sock yarn from Fireweed Dyeworks.

I'm still on my self striping sock yarn kick. I'll probably wind this up and knit it for my next "on the go" sock project. The dyer was great to deal with and shipped the yarn out quickly. She even dropped me an email to let me know that she had shipped it.

I picked up a couple of skeins of Tosh Merino to try.

I picked these up from Madelinetosh's etsy shop. I'm planning a cowl and hat, maybe some fingerless mitts too. The colorway is called Ophelia and this yarn is so delightfully soft. I could totally imagine a cardigan made out of this yarn.

I pre-ordered a skein of yarn from Frog Creek Fibers awhile back....I think it was right before Sock Summit.

I received it in the mail last week and absolutely fell in love. The color is even prettier in person. The colorway is called Raspberries and chocolate.

A Spin-It Kit from Yarn Pirates etsy shop.

This kit has 4 ozs of Shetland wool dyed in 4 different colors, 1oz of each color. I have no idea how or what I'm going to spin this for but I thought it was a cool idea and isn't roving like sock yarn...you can never have enough?

My Sept shipment from the Artwalk Fiber Club came in last week. You can see it here. The fiber is so soft.

I received my Angel package from a swap that had gone wrong.

My TLE swap partner flaked out on me at the last moment but my wonderful angels more then made up for the flaking. They spoiled me rotten and even threw in some goodies for the girls. The cool thing is the skein of Trekking I received is the same color and dyelot as the skein I bought a long time ago. What are the odds of that happening? So now I have two matching skeins. I do believe this yarn is destined to become knee highs for me.

I did cave on the no more buying yarn before we move rule I had started. In my defense I only purchase one skein of yarn and it was to help meet the free shipping from The Loopy Ewe. I picked up the small clutch that matches my peacock Laguna bag that Shawn and the girls got me for Christmas. I picked up a few patterns I've been wanting and a skein of String Theory Caper. It should be here tomorrow.

Well that sums up my post for now.

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!