September 30, 2007

Scarf Exchange

Yippee! The scarf I'm knitting for my downstream on Ravelry Scarf Exchange is done .... that is except the fringe and blocking it. I have plenty of time to do that, so probably will work on some socks and a couple of wips in October.

I decided to attempt to finish the Mystery Socks from Socktopia ... I'm finishing the first repeat going out on the foot ..... am knitting them for a friend who's a size 7 1/2, so won't have to go as far as for my size 10s. I hope to have them finished by the end of the week. I want to knit a pair of Monkey socks for another friend and then some RSC socks for me ... the September sock ..... a lacy cuff (I'm not the cuff-type person) that I'll use the pattern for the leg of my top down socks on ML. Hope they turn out okay.

I'm determined to get a couple of items (a briefcase and a Sophie bag) felted also during October .... how tough can that be with a washer that does it great. I just have to put the items into the washer, huh?

Hope this finds everyone happily knitting. TLGB

September 22, 2007

Yarn Shop Visit




Today I took off to visit a yarn shop new to the Iowa Great Lakes area, northwest Iowa. The shop is actually a branch of The Yarn Basket in Carroll, and is located on the east side of highway 71 in Okoboji, just south from the McDonald's. It's located in a small stone house next to a small strip mall. Beth, the owner, was in the shop today with a class of three knitters, I believe. I asked for a DK yarn to knit the upcoming socks for the Six Sox KAL. I ended up with some soysilk and also some bamboo. We are to have a contrasting color for the socks, so I choose two colors of the soysilk (blue and rust) and a variegated (green, blue, brown, and rust) plus a solid brown in the bamboo. I really like both of the yarns, so just need to decide on one when the pattern is posted. I also purchased a book to send to a downstream and some light blue yarn to knit booties and a cap for a grandson of one of my coffee friends. I was thinking as I drove to the shop that I should try to get in contact with a knitting friend that lives in the area, but didn't do anything before I left. I turned around in the shop and who was coming in the door but Jean. She was there with a couple of knitting friends (they knit together once a month). When she lived here, we were part of a knitting circle that met weekly in homes with dessert and coffee served. That was almost twenty years ago ..... wow, how time flies when you are knitting.

I started the last pattern repeat for the scarf I'm knitting in the Ravelry Scarf Exchange. It's going to be a surprise, so suffice to say that I think it's awesome. Hope Humglum will, too.

TLGB



September 20, 2007

Awesome Packages!

Yesterday as I was driving between schools, I listened to a voicemail from my dh informing that TWO boxes were awaiting my arrival home from teaching. I could hardly wait! I had signed up for four different swaps on Ravelry ... Caffeine Addicts Swap, Ravelry Scarf Exchange (to be completed by December .... I'm 75% done), Christian Knitters Dishcloth Swap, and Secret Pal 11.

Here's what was in the box I received from my Caffeine Addict spoiler. Two bags of coffee from a local roaster in Jackson, Michigan -- one an organic, fair trade coffee Mexican H. G. Chiapas (which I'm drinking as I blog post) and the other called Black and Tan which is 1/2 Ethiopian and 1/2 Mexican. YUM! and so appropriate since I teach Spanish. Also included were two matching mugs, one purple and the other green. DH suggested that we try them out after supper last night .... he chose the green one which is his favorite color. A lovely coffee picture .... almost shadow boxlike rounded out the "coffee stuff." Then the candles - one in a "believe, Faith, LOVE" tin and the other a three scent pillar of pure vanilla, sugar cookie, and cinnamon roll. The yarn was gorgeous - Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Alpine colorway and Sinfonia in the Matizado Azules colorway. The latter is a 100% cotton sportweight yarn from Mexico that I usually double-strand for dishclothes. This one, however, will be single-strand in a Garterlac dishcloth. Also included was a small notebook which I needed since I had just emptied the one I keep in my purse for "lists." Thanks to scorpiongoddess from Jackson, Michigan.
Next was the padded envelope from my SP 11. Its contents included pens (a small set of 5 colors, a Statue of Liberty pen, and a Post-It highlighter complete with little marking tabs), ladybug playing cards, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (YUM for both dh and me), a 14 month mousepad,a lovely journal notebook with a note from my SP, two tubes of "stuff" for the bath, a Coke key chain, and two end of line bookmarks. Now for the yarn stuff - some Araucanía sockyarn in the Ranco Multy colorway (already caked and ready to knit!), a needle sizer, six stitch markers in a lovely bright pink tin, and a small project bag with a yarn grommet in the zippered top. Thank you to my SP from Georgia ...... at least that's on the return address.
TLGB

September 16, 2007

My Blog's One Year Old

Wow, it doesn't seem like it has been only a year since DD, Alcariel, suggested that I needed a blog. She helped me get started Sept. 16, 2006 .... one year ago! Happy Blogiversary to me!
TLGB

September 14, 2007

More Accomplished!

I have completed the Mystery Socks from Socktopia through the heels ... now I just have to continue the pattern on the instep with stockinette for the sole. This part was just posted today. I'm doing both socks on ml, so didn't want to have to frog just in case something different was done. Maybe I'll be able to get it done this week-end. The pic isn't the greatest .... we really haven't had a lot of good light here in the past week.

Started the scarf for the Ravelry Scarf Exchange .... my downstream doesn't want to know that pattern or yarn, so it is going to be a surprise for her, I'm about halfway finished .... about 20 more rows. We don't have to gift them until early December, so there's plenty of time.

This past week, I have been plagued with the "bug" that's going around school with a few seasonal allergies mixed in for a miserable experience. This is the first day this week that I really didn't feel completely drained when I got home.

Tomorrow it looks like it will be canning time for tomatoes and grapes. We usually make about 60 quarts of grape juice, but this year the grapes aren't as plentiful. That's okay because we have a few quarts left from last year. We've already canned 19 quarts of tomato sauce/juice, mainly to be used in making chili, so will be making this batch for the DD. With a frost predicted this week-end, we need to take care of the produce.

TLGB!

September 11, 2007

Update!

I've either caught the latest "bug" being passed among the students at school or allergies have shifted into high gear. I'm miserable. Woke up at 3 unable to sleep. Took a hot bath and am feeling better ...... a little!
The dishcloth for an exchange is finished, I have all the "stuff" to send my SP11 (just needs to be packaged), and I'm almost finished with the gussets on my Mystery Socks from Socktopia. The next step will be published tomorrow, so I'd better hurry.
I frogged some socks for a coffee friend (we sat next to each other in glee club in high school) and am going to make Monkey socks for her. That's all for now.
TLGB!

September 4, 2007

Scarf Exchange

I signed up for a scarf exchange on Ravelry last month. Well ..... finally the pattern and yarn have come together and the scarf has begun. We are to complete them by December, so that won't be any problem. I asked my upstream pal if she wanted me to post progress pics .... haven't heard back yet, so none here. No pics! Just heard from her and she wants a surprise! Her scarf is all I knitted on last night, so it's progressing well. I did frog and went from a #6 US to #8 US .... the thicker part of the yarn stay soft now.

I'm starting the gusset decreases on the Mystery Sock from Socktopia. I had to take the one sock off the ml and do the heel flap, heel turn, and gusset pickup on dps and then tranferred back to ml for the gusset decreases. The next step, probably the foot, hasn't been posted yet, so I can be a little lazy, huh?

Better head upstairs to get something done before bedtime beckons. TLGB

September 2, 2007

Mystery Socks

I'm just three rows short of knitting the heels for my mystery socks from Socktopia. I've been taking a picture of each part, so will post one here later today.

We went to the movie "Stardust" last night. My knitting that I usually take because it's a jacket in reverse stockinette slipped about 4 sts off about 5 minutes after the movie started. I shoved it in my bag and watched the movie. It was bad to not be doing any knitting.


It's a couple of hours later ..... the second step of the mystery socks is completed. I modified the pattern by adding 2 sts to each side of the cable ..... increasing sts knit each side from two to four. The left pic shows the lacy pattern that goes down the front and back of the leg while the right one should show the cable. Time to get back to the socks and start step 3 - the heel.
TLGB