Wednesday when I came home at noon, there was a large box on the kitchen table that dh had brought in when he was home. Mamaphyknits on Ravelry had been my swap partner ..... we had both signed up late after the deadline, but agreed to our own deadline of Dec. 1. I opened it and was greeted by the above. Sprinkled throughout the box were pieces of candy ..... all chocolate, of course!
The the "yarnilicious" things were four different types of socks yarn .... all in great colorways, stitch markers that will work great for socks and lace knitting in a tiny china chest painted with roses, a copy of the British Simply Knit magazine accompanied by a calendar with twelve patterns for socks, slippers and booties. Once again, a big thanks to mamaphdknits!
Stats Yarn Berroco Sox colorway 1425
Someone will definitely be surprised with what is going on my needles tonight. I'm not going to divulge anything about it .... not even on Ravelry! It's going to be a surprise.I did a few rows on clue 3 of the Mystery Stole 4 this morning before dh awakened. The stole is knit from both ends through clue 5. Then, clue 6 is only done on one of the pieces. When completed, the grafting begins. I hope I can get it done before Thanksgiving.
I also have about 80 rows to do on Secret of the Stole 2 that I started back in January when I was home from teaching for most of a week with a severe sinus infection. I got it out about a week ago and saw a "goofy-looking" decrease about six inches below. Froggin' definitely took place. I picked up all the stitches and have done about 5 rows after that. It is definitely on my "to-do" list for 2008, so I'd better get busy.
Happy knitting until the next post! TLGB
Clue One finished. I ran out of beads with just the last beaded row to do, so had to wait about a week without doing any more knitting. This is the second yarn I tried the Mystery Stole 4 with - first I used a navy laceweight yarn, but the beads I had purchased were too heavy for it. I had STR lightweight in the Motley Hue colorway. I like this color better with the beads. The above picture is closer to the actual color than the one below. The beads are a black rainbow color from Hobby Lobby.
The stole is knit from both ends and then grafted in the middle. I have both ends done through the second clue. This is the first knitted beading I've ever done, so have enjoyed the learning experience. After 48 years of knitting, you can still learn something new! Clues 3 and 4 are knitted with no beads .... some other participants that have finished those clues and I really like the look of this stole. There are only two more clues to come out .... with very little beads (9) on clue 5 and about 60 on the final clue.
Two weeks ago, our great-niece and her dh had their first child, a little boy. Well, I have a lot of sock yarn "leftovers", so decided to try making my own pattern for infant socks. CO 32 sts to begin The socks on the left are from Colinette Jitterbug in the popsicle colorway and had a 2x2 rib for 24 rows for the leg, a slip st heel flap of 16 rows, heel turn, 10 rows for the foot and then my favorite toe. Even kitchenered the toe of 12 total sts. The right socks are from STR Bella Coola colorway and are just 1x1 rib for 6 rows and then stockinette for the rest. Now I'm working with some Lisa Souza sock yarn in the gendarme colorway ..... doing 8 rows of 1x1 rib, then 6 k row, 2 p rows, to the heel flap, and plan to continue the 6k, 2p rows to the toe (except for heel). It is really turning out cute.
This second pic is of the two dogs ..... can't believe it! The Brittany, Cozi, used to run by my knitting basket and just grab anything she could get ahold of on the run and take off. Now she won't touch my knitting if I hold it right in front of her nose. My little poodle has always left yarn/fiber alone..... but she really is eyeing it this time, isn't she?.JPG)
I'm about 60% finished with the scarf, but won't be able to do a lot this week as school starts.
Once again, I didn't have any socks on the needles, so I co for some socks with STR mediumweight in the Rolling Stone colorway .... haven't firmly decided on the pattern, but have started the top ribbing. As for the past year, I knitting both socks on ml ..... no ssd here! TLGB
My dh had the week-end off, so we were at our dd's home constructing a block wall for an area for plants on the backside of her home. We got the job done ...... here's the pic of the finished product ..... it's late to be planting, so will do the plants this fall and next spring. The only black dirt in her yard is what came in on the sod that was put down, so dh brought compost w/manure and some peat moss to try to help a bit. We'll add the good top soil later. The Brittany spaniel to the left is dh's hunting buddy and the white fluff of behind on the right belongs to dd's bichon frise. My apricot poodle was in the yard, too, but just out of camera range.
When I signed up for the Ravelry Scarf Exchange 2008, I once again volunteered to be an angel ... that is to supply a scarf and other goodies in the case of the bailout of a participant. Well,..... the angel call came on Saturday while at dd's. I waited until the return home to check out my ample stash ..... had two balls of the perfect color for the swap partner. So, this morning I've been trying different size needles until now I have the first inch of a 60 inch scarf. I figure that knitting from one to four o'clock each afternoon, I should finish about the middle of next week ..... that is also the week that school resumes for the district, so this teacher will be back to work in the morning only. With retirement approaching in a few years, that doesn't sound too bad to me.
I'm working on February Lady Sweater KAL her on Ravelry. Have almost finished the yoke of the sweater .... four rows to go. Then the body is a lacy stitch .... I think I'm going to substitute a different st. I've consulted a very old stitch pattern book I have (from the 1960's) and am going to try a couple. Hopefully, I'll like one.
Did some work out with the perreniels ..... cutting off spent blossoms/flowers and dead growth. I'm about half-done, so will still spend time tomorrow.
My socks for the STR forum Spring Forward KAL are done ..... finished .... waiting to be washed. They were knit with STR mediumweight Lemongrass on Addi circ #1.5 with ml. Started them July 12 and finished knitting them last night but waited to kitchener the toes this morning. Now,......what sock will be next. Who knows?
The Adamas Shawl that I started July 21 is finished, blocked, and dry! Here's a pic of it hanging on the fence ....had to put a sheet underneath it for any of the design to display. Below is the closeup ..... I'm really going to enjoy wearing this.
Last night I joined the February Lady Sweater KAL on Ravelry. I already had the yarn .... BMFA Twisted in the Rook-y colorway (one of the Ravel colorways). Decided that I wanted some 1x1 ribbing around the neck and then to carry it down the 8 sts edging on either side. I've made the first buttonhole using a new technique that was given on the pattern. Went downtown to the local fabric shop to look for buttons (one buttonhole is finished) and found some beautiful Celtic knot buttons .... only ..... there was only one card left and the owner said that she was getting a new button display in September. Well, when we are out and about in nearby towns, I'll just have to look for buttons since this is going to be a quick knit. After sock knitting and lace knitting the past two years, it will be a joy to work on a sweater with worsted weight yarn. Here's a pic of the neck ribbing and about 4 rows garter st. 
DH is teaching a lot of classes for area EMS services, so I get a lot of knitting time at night while I'm watching television.
While I was at the fabric shop, I saw a lady that had knitted with a group of us in late 70's and early 80's. We had a group of about eight ladies that would meet at each other's home every Tuesday to just knit and taste some good desserts. My dd, Alcariel on ravelry, was born on a knitting group day in 1981. That must be the reason that she is such a good knitter now. One of the ladies, a former public librarian here, is turning 100 years old on Aug. 12. I've decided that I'm going to finish SOS2 for her and send it out to her in Goleta, California, where she moved about 15 years ago to be near her son. Kitty was a very avid knitter but no longer is able to do such intricate patterns due to loss of her eyesight. She is, however, still able to knit a simple hat or scarf. Happy Almost Birthday, Kitty!
Happy knitting, TLGB!
Included was a lovely scarf in the perfect color of blue, some Noro Kureyon (will be used for a buttonhole neck scarf), a coffee cup sleeve, a Moonstruck chocolate bar, locking stitch markers, a coffeepot keychain, a small notepad that will go in my purse, and some salt water taffy. The chocolate bar and taffy were made in Oregon. Thanks, Knittog. 
The Spring Ahead socks are knitted about 4 inches out on the foot .... these are my "in the car" knitting, so not a lot of progress there lately.
I realized last week that I didn't have any socks on the needles after I finished two pairs that were WIPs. Decided that I'd do the Spring Ahead Socks KAL that the Socks That Rawk group is doing this month. I chose lemongrass for the colorway, but it is mediumweight. I do knit quite tightly, so I'm using Addi 1.5 ml. I've only knitted about three hours total, but have already completed 1.5 pattern repeats (24 total rows per repeat) on both socks .... that leaves just 24 more rows until I'm at the heels. The repeat is an easy one to memorize, so don't have to refer to the pattern/chart. 
