Progress on Angel RSE 2

The angel scarf for RSE 2 is progressing nicely. It is intended for Julie on Ravelry whose upstream apparently bailed out for the exchange. I decided that Julie didn't have to wait until I finished her scarf to receive her "goodies" box. So........last Friday I filled a box with goodies just for her. However, I included a note that also contained the following pics of her scarf. I didn't intend for it to be so mysterious, but my camera didn't do well with the colorway of the yarn either outside in the sun or inside the house. I did bunch up the scarf so she wouldn't be able to tell what the pattern was ..... at least I don't believe she will.

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?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

Something to Satisfy Cravings!

Today when I came home from school, my dh was cleaning a pheasant in the garage .... he motioned over to the back step today and said, "You've got another package!" My upstream from the Ravelry Caffeine Addicts Exchange 2 gifted me with fabulous things.

When I saw the color of the yarns, I knew the perfect place to take the pic ... in front of some silk hydrangea flowers that my husband's Brittany hunting dog liked to eat last spring. We couldn't figure out the pieces of pink cloth that were appearing in the yard .... then I saw that Cozi had devoured one entire flower.

Included in the "haul" were two blends of coffee - Wishkah Blend and North River Blend - from the Coffee Bean Café and Popcorn Factory in Aberdeen, WA; a "to-go" appearing cup that was loaded with double chocolate espresso brownies mix (I'll make these this week-end when dd comes home for Thanksgiving); some Seattle Chocolates, actually truffles; a lovely cup with the saying "Nothing is Better than Friendship & Coffee; a tiny bamboo crochet hook that will be just perfect for picking up dropped sts on socks; Sugar 'n Cream Stripes yarn in "country stripes", actually greens and blues; some Crystal Palace cotton chenille for a face cloth; and Fly-Dyed Monarch yarn in a sport weight superwash in bright pinks. My pal, dblyouxwhyz on Ravelry, is great! ¡Muchísimas gracias! I've just started a pair of socks with yarn from my SP11 pal, but these will be the next ones on the needles for me!

TLGB

Stash Acquisitions

Well .... my yarn diet was definitely broken within one day of being on
vacation. We arrived at my brother's cabin on Gull Lake northwest of Brainerd, MN last Friday. On Saturday, my sil and I went into Brainerd to see the newest yarn shop there, Between Friends. It's located in a corner store in the downtown area of Brainerd. I picked up some yarn for socks - Tofutsies, Plymouth Dream Baby, and SandnesGarn Mandarin Petit, and a couple of Clover Soft Touch crochet hooks. I also found some Plymouth Fantasy Naturale to knit another market bag since I just used some of the Sugar 'n Cream dishcloth yarn I had and I don't think it will hold up as well of the FN. When I was ready to check out, the owner asked me to draw a popsicle stick from a bowl on the counter. Well, I drew the only 50% off of the most expensive item you have, so the Tofutsies was only $8.50 ....
what luck! We also stopped at Among the Pines in Brainerd where I picked up two hanks of Jitterbug in the popsicle colorway and two cakes of Malabrigo worsted in the saphire magenta 239 colorway. I picked both of these for my daughter who couldn't make it this year due to working the week-end of July 27-29. When I spoke with her, I told her that she would have quite a bit of the second hank left over since they only have 295 yds ..... then I thought to just go in for another hank and we can both have a pair of socks. When my dh and I went into town for some fishing "stuff", we stopped at shop to pick up another hank. Well,.... the dh was really missing his hunting dog, Cozi, by this time. The owner's very old, very arthritic yellow lab was strolling around the store. My dh got about 10 minutes of a "dog fix" that seemed to last the rest of vacation.

On Monday, my sil and I went north to Nisswa (no yarn shop there but a very good coffee shop/roaster) and Pequot Lakes where we found Unraveled, a new yarn shop that opened after the first of the year. I had already done enough damage, so just purchased some BSYC Wildfoote in the brown sugar colorway. Oh, could I have done more damage .... they even had sari silk. The owner asked how I did my socks, I replied that until the last pair I had always used dps, but since I did the June RSC socks on magic loop, that's all I want to do if I can make the pattern work. I didn't have my current socks with me, so on Wednesday my dh wanted to see Nisswa (actually to get a pizza fix at Rafferty's Pizza, a family pizza restaurant) and Pequot Lakes. He didn't even object to stopping at the yarn shop so I could show the lady how ml works. I even said he could go in the bookstore next door to the shop, but he came in with me. What a sweetie!
TLGB

Knee High To A Grasshopper Done!

Yes, the KHTG are completed! I even wore them to school this morning ... the high school is REALLY air-conditioned, so wool socks felt good. I did, however remove them within five minutes of arriving home for lunch. They looked soooo good with an old sweater set and slacks that I've had for over ten years, but really didn't care for the colors.

Now I'm ready to get back to the other three pairs of socks that are on the needles ..... Broad Ripple from Knitty in KP Sock Garden in a purple/pink colorway, Air-Conditioned from BMFA in Trekking in a rainbow colorway, and the Crooked Cable socks from SockBug in a pink/lavendar/blue colorway called Grandma.

I will really need a large bag for this week-end when we go to our daughter's home ... plan to have at least one marathon knitting session.

Cuteness alert ... here's a pic of my poodle with her first "big girl" poodle cut.

Time to head upstairs for some knitting therapy. TLGB

Grasshopper 1 Complete!

This afternoon my first STR KHTG sock was completed! I did leave a longer tail for the binding off and am glad ... left at least 24" and had only about 3" left. The sock fits well .... hope that the picture is clear. I just had to take the picture by one of the hostas ... they are really doing quite well here in northern Iowa.

Here's a bit of cuteness ... my DH took his hunting dog Cozi down to the family farm on Saturday. Both of our dogs tend to sleep during the day while we are at work. Well, no naps at the farm. Toffee was sleeping on Cozi's pillow when DH returned, so Cozi just cuddled in and they were both dozing.

Need to get that second KHTG started .... now that all the kinks are out of the pattern for me, it should go quicker.

TLGB