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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

Socks Done!

The Central Air socks are finally completed. The knitting was finished last week, but I just wasn't in the mood to kitchener the toes. Well, it took all of about five minutes today when I got home from teaching. I actually started these socks last spring on dps, but the going was sooooo slow, I never knitted beyond about 4 inches down the leg. When I joined the SAM KAL on Ravelry late in July, I decided that these were going to pay a visit to the frog pond, to be resurrected on ml, knitting both socks at the same time. The knitting went a lot faster.
Pattern: Central Air by Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Needles: Addi turbo #1 47" for ml
Yarn: Trekking XXL Colorway 100
Size: Ladies Large
I'm knitting on the mystery sock from Socktopia ... I'm really enjoying it. I'm halfway done the leg, 2 more repeats of the pattern to do before starting the heel which was just posted. I'm knitting those on #2 Addi Lace with ml. I don't like the "bump" on the needle when sliding the socks from the cable onto the needle. I could see how these needles would really be helpful with lace work ... they have the bump to catch on the yarn and also aren't as slippery as the other Addis. I'll finish these socks, but will put the lace Addi away to use for only .... lace.
I'm going to start on Pomatomus for my September socks for the SAM, but haven't decided on the yarn.
Suppose I'd better get busy knitting so I have finish another repeat of the pattern on my mystery socks.
Happy Knitting! TLGB

Knitting Update

Yes! The August RSC envelope was in the mailbox on Saturday ... Alcariel, my daughter, had received hers on Friday. Lovely yarn and pattern .... don't think I'll knit the yarn in the pattern ...... thinking about Pomatomus ..... will probably do the pattern in lemongrass that I had purchased earlier this summer.

I just have to kitchener the toes on my Central Air socks for the SAM KAL on Ravelry. I plan to do that this evening.

I joined Socktopia earlier this month .... decided Cheryl from DSM was enjoying it, so why not! I have started the secret socks from there in Fortissima Jeans. The first part is a twisted rib for 1 1/2 inches and then a 14 row pattern is repeated 4 times. I've just began the pattern. I joined so late that I couldn't knit any of the theme socks, but Sept. will be different. As with most patterns, I'm modifying a bit because of my high instep .... just added 8 extra sts by adding 2 more st sts to the pattern either side of the cable .... do st st X4 instead of x2. Hope it turns out all right.

Back to knitting.

TLGB

Back to School!

What an exciting day at school today. Midway through my morning classes, the electricity was lost because of a thunderstorm going through the area ..... northern Iowa has been blessed with these the past week. The first time the electricity went off, it was for about 20 minutes. It's a joy to keep 20+ freshmen students entertained on their first day of high school. The water fountains do not even work when the power is off. I am in a newer addition to the high school that has one section of lights that are battery-powered in situations like these ... the small bathroom in the area had light in them, too. The power stayed on all of five minutes when it was gone again .... this time for 15 minutes ..... back on for 5 ....yup, off again for about 15. Then ..... it was finally back on to stay for the rest of my classes. Most of the students said that this was one way to remember their first day at the high school.

On to knitting ..... I did take some different pictures of the market bag today, but haven't downloaded them yet ... maybe tomorrow. I started the toes on my Central Air socks .... yipes, they are my August socks for SAM KAL .... I'll get them finished in time. I did sign up for Socktopia .... rather late in the month, so am only planning on knitting the mystery sock .... we have the pattern for the twisted ribbing and leg so far, but are patiently (???) waiting for the next clue, probably the heel.

I also about 4 inches short of decreasing for the armhole on the back of my Somerset jacket. I knit on it usually in the car when I don't have to concentrate on the pattern and can just knit the reverse stockinette "Braille" method.

Sorry, no pics ... next time. TLGB

Garterlac!

I purchased a pattern last fall to learn entrelac ... a felted bag knit with Noro Kureyon ... I'm using Silk Garden. Well ..... somewhere I read to start with the Garterlac dishcloth from Criminy Jickets. I started it yesterday and it's done! It took about 3 times longer than most dishcloths, but I did have to frog several times on the edge triangles when I did the wrong kind. Well .... it's done and here's the picture. Don't know if I'll make more or not .... will see how well they wear before I decide.

Also worked on the Central Air socks .... they are my August socks for the SAM KAL, so they need to get finished. I wish I had smaller feet! I should be close to starting the toe this week-end. Teacher in-service days for school start on Monday with classes beginning on Wednesday, so I won't be doing much knitting during the day.

After vacation, I finished the market bag out of Sugar 'n Cream - haven't used it yet, but I did get two large sofa pillows stuffed into it for the picture. If did get the Plymouth yarn the pattern called for while on vacation, so hope to start another one soon. The one that's completed doesn't have a lot of "substance".

Memories

I just found some old pictures taken at our family Christmas celebration in 1983. Here's my daughter in a sweater I had knitted her at age 2, probably was a size 4. You can check it out on http://limenviolet.com/ , on June 29 entry, .... just to see how it fits now. It came from a book of top down fairisle sweaters for the entire family ... no one else received one, though. Also a couple afghans that I had made for a niece and nephew. The pattern was one a friend had hand-written from her copy and surprised me with it at school one day. Whenever Jean was subbing, she was always pulling out her knitting in the teachers' lounge.

Secret Pal 11

Hope I haven't forgotten anything. Here it is!
The Questionnaire
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Wool/silk/alpaca - any combination - prefer those with multiple plys. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Fuzzy ones - mohair, angora - too tough to frog.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have my needles in a drawer of the cocktail table in the living room right next to my knitting chair.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Since the age of 10 .... that makes 48+ years. My mother taught me for a Girl Scout bag I was working on .... a yellow, garter stitch scarf. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Advanced
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, I get all my knitting books from Knitpicks, usually saves $$$. Occasionally, I do pick up one at Border's. Those on my "wish list" from Knitpicks include #30805 Cables Untangled, #30922 Fitted Knits, #30826 Victorian Lace, #30897 Lace Style, and #30859 Felt It.
5. What's your favorite scent? My body chemistry reacts with a lot of scents .... sorta turns them all to a vinegary smell, so I don't wear many. Some lighter scents from Bath and Body Works do work. 6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, don't we all? Favorite candy? Lindt truffles, especially white chocolate, caramel, chocolate mint.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Sewing, small quilted projects. Do you spin? No, but my daughter does .... I may have to learn after retirement, four years from now.
8. What kind of music do you like? Easy listening music - classical, Christian, country, but not too twangy/ Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Yes.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Blue, rose, purple, red. Any colors you just can't stand? Green, orange, gold
10. What is your family situation? Husband, adult daughter living 200 miles away. Do you have any pets? Toffee, a miniature poodle, and Cozi, a Brittany spaniel who is my husband's hunting dog. 11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yes, yes, yes, and no to ponchos.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Norwegian snowflake mittens, socks, shawls, any charity knitting project
13. What are you knitting right now? Two pairs of socks (I always have at least 2 pairs on needles), shawl for a friend, jacket for my cold classroom.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circs and dps. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo, rosewood
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes to both
17. How old is your oldest UFO? 3-4 years
18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
19. Is there anything that you collect? Willow Tree angels, small nativity scenes for Christmas decorations and of course, yarn.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Oops, just ordered two patterns from TLE - see #4. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Interweave Knits and Knit 'n Style
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?Entrelac and practice with more lace knitting so that it becomes "easier."
22. Are you a sock knitter? Yes What are your foot measurements? Size 10 with high instep. I've found that the top down heel flap with 18 sts to pick up along the edge works best for me.
23. When is your birthday? February 11
24. Are you on Ravelry? Yes If so, what's your ID? Mamateja
Wow .... now I know what my students feel like when they are taking the 150 multiple choice semester test.

Socks!

The Central Air socks will be finished by Friday ... just finished the last of the gusset decreases. Now to just work the foot and toe of each. I just cast on Jaywalker, my first try at them. My daughter has made 2 or 3 pairs, so thought I'd try one. I have 9 pairs of socks to complete for my coffee friends by Christmas, so socks are going to my first order of business .... that is after school stuff, since that is my job. Then, another week, RSC shipment should be coming ... suppose it will be some autumnal colors. Can't wait!!!
TLGB

Central Air Update

Since I joined the SAM KAL on Ravelry, I've been vowing to finish the Central Air socks I started last spring, I believe. Well, ..... the knitting was going slow for me on dps, so I decided to frog and use ml to relieve any sss that I was experiencing. Last night, I did get the first round after picking up the gusset sts. Hopefully, I'll complete the rest this week so I can say that I finished my August socks. The socks are definitely going to be fraternal ... there doesn't appear to be any similarity between the two other than the colors. This is my first socks out of Trekking XXL and my daughter has said that it does "funky" things.

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

Back From Vacation!

After a week's stay at my brother's cabin/bunkhouse, I'm back home ..... and from the kennel are our two lonesome dogs. Took some gorgeous pictures, this was the sunset the first evening at the lake. Also a pic of my db and dh with one day's catch. Fishing was great .... this year! Last year, my dh hardly caught a fish a day. Weather was very warm during the day but with a breeze most of the time ... nights cooled off enough that sleeping was comfortable with a fan.

While in the Brainerd MN area, I was able to visit two new yarn shops ... one in downtown Brainerd and the other about 15 miles north in Pequot Lakes. Both shops have sock yarn - both wool and non-wool (yes, I did break the yarn diet), basic wool, and lovely specialty yarns. I will definitely go back to either. I also paid a return trip to Among the Pines, along hwy 71 in Baxter/Brainerd. Some trendy clothing has been added to the front of the shop, but she had added Malabrigo, Jitterbug, and a couple other yarn lines since Alcariel and I visited last year. The other yarn shop in Brainerd is part of a quilting shop but I didn't go there .... did plenty of damage at the three I did go to.

Finished the second Broadripple sock from Knitty ... one Christmas gift for the coffee girls done, eight to go!

Since returning home, I've worked on Central Air from BMFA in Trekking. I had started the socks on dps, but after completing the Solstice Slip socks on magic loop, decided to frog the one sock ... I almost had the leg completed. I've been working since returning home on Friday evening and am about 4 inches down on the leg. There wasn't any chance of matching the stripping on both socks, so I guess they will just be fraternal.

A Special Shawl

A friend from church lost her husband to cancer earlier this summer and I decided that I wanted to knit her a comfort shawl. My daughter found the perfect yarn in Omaha .... Mountain Colors in the Indian corn colorway. I have started two different shawls, but didn't care for either one .... just didn't seem right for Joanne. Well ...... I have found the pattern ... Moonlight Sonata Scarf/Shawl from Elann; a free pattern. Here's the pic of the set-up 12 rows and the first pattern repeat of 12 rows ..... need to do a total of thirteen and I'm just about to the end of my second. The yellow dots are pin heads. I really like it!

I hope to get a couple of pattern repeats on my Central Air socks this afternoon. That happens in between trying to get things ready to take off for a week of fishing at my brother's cabin on Gull Lake near Brainerd, Minnesota. Last year, DD and I did a yarn crawl in the area and also taught DSIL to knit .... dishcloths. She was thrilled. Maybe I can get her going on something else. There were rumors of a yarn shop opening in Nisswa the first of the year, so we'll probably check that out for sure. My DH and DB can do the fishing. SIL and I will knit, shop, and drink coffee .... yes ..... she likes flavored coffees, too.

Better get busy ..... TLGB.

Last Squares Mailed!

This morning the final group of squares for the Greensburg KS afghans was sent. It has been an enjoyable and rewarding project. Thanks to Laura of El Dorado for giving me this opportunity.

I'm working on ML to knit Central Air out of Trekking. Thought I'd avoid SSS by doing them this way. I'm about 2 inches into the leg. Yes, I'm a top down person mainly due to a high instep.

At night, I plan to knit on the jacket that I've started for school this fall ..... or winter ...... or spring. Whatever??? It is reverse stockinette, so will be mindless knitting.

Should get back to work on the Peacock Feather lace shawl from Fiddlesticks. Better get back to the needles. TLGB