The socks, they are colorful...

I finished the sock on Monday. It looks much nicer finished than it did when I was starting out! To answer Julie's question from yesterday...these aren't slip-stitched, they're "regular" fair isle. :-) This one is KnitPicks Essentials in "Cocoa," and Simples Stripes in "Crayons."

I've started the second sock. This one is Essentials in "Grass" and Simples Stripes in "Tropics." I'm working this one on KnitPicks' new dpns in size 2, and I'm not sure I'm very happy with these needles. For one, they're extremely heavy - I almost gave up on them when I started the sock because the weight of the needles was pulling everything down. Once I finished the cuff, though, I adjusted to the needles and things were going well...until last night when I started noticing little shiny flecks all through my knitting. Turns out that the nickel-plate finish is peeling off of two of the needles. It's not peeling at the tips, where you'd expect it, but right in the middle of the needle. Huh. Edit: I just talked to KnitPicks, and they hadn't heard of this problem before....but they will immediately replace any imperfect needles.

I've been sitting in the air conditioning all morning - it's too humid to do very much outside! I've been DVR-ing all of my favorite shows, but I'm really hooked on Midsomer Murders! Luckily, the Biography Channel runs them quite often, so I have several episodes recorded at any given time. It's a really well-done 2-hour-long mystery series, and Dad got me started on them.

Peter Tork's socks

The yarn arrived yesterday afternoon for a new KnitPicks project - the Simple Stripes Fair Isle Socks, which is a pattern for sale on their website. I need to make two different socks in the next 1-1/2 weeks. I cast on for the first sock, and as soon as Kevin saw the color combination, he said that they looked like something that Peter Tork would wear. I'm getting ready to start the short row heel:

I received my first package from my secret pal yesterday She made me a washcloth! She also sent the Fiber Trends Flower Basket Lace shawl pattern, some sticky notes in the shape of a "K," and BOOKPLATES!!! I've been looking everywhere for bookplates, and I haven't been able to find them anywhere! I'm not exactly sure how she knew that, but I'm very grateful!! Thank you, Secret Pal!!

"done" pictures!

The sweater is outta here! :-) Keep an eye out for the fall KnitPicks catalog!

Oh yeah - it's done!

for the most part, any way...

I finished the knitting on Saturday morning, and spent yesterday seaming it together (when I wasn't at Kelson's baseball game). I still have to go buy a 6" zipper for the neck and weave in a few ends, but for all intents and purposes, it's done. :-)
We may be going camping for the next 2 days - if we do, I'll have the completely finished, modeled picture before I take it to the UPS store later this week.

The hood, which should have been the fastest, easiest part of this sweater, gave me absolute fits. The rest of the pattern was clear and concise, but the hood? Oy. I think the pattern writer's kid was begging to be able to help, and the writer said "okay - you do the hood. How could you screw that up?" Believe me, they did. One side of the hood pattern is completely wrong - I knit the @$^# thing twice before I figured out that it was the pattern, notme... This book is published by House of White Birches, and if you can find any pattern support, please let me know - I searched for a looong time.

'Twas a fibery day...

Well, to start, I finished the sleeve: I've cast on for the second one, and it looks just like yesterday's picture right now. It's kind of strange to be knitting a sleeve with no cap shaping, but that's how the pattern reads...

The mailman was rather overloaded today when he came to the door! The first box that I opened was from my SP7 Angel. Look at all of the goodies!!

A beautiful skein of variegated yarn, a skein of Heilo, a package of knitting notecards, a handmade notebook, Crabtree & Evelyn handcream, a bag of spinning fiber, and a bar of handmade soap!! Thank you VERY much, Angel!! Now I have to put on my detective hat and try to figure out who she is... :-)

The next 2 boxes were expected, but it was a nice surprise to get them on the same day. The first is my order from Little Knits. Sue was clearing out her Lorna's Laces, and I scored 2 skeins of sock yarn in the IceHouse colorway for only $7.50 each.

I also decided to try the new Austermann Step sock yarn. It has aloe and jojoba *in the yarn,* so it's supposed to be nice on your hands while knitting it and nice on your feet while wearing it. Supposedly it will last through 40 washes, but we'll see. I ordered a Dale Baby pattern book, too - I have a good friend who's pregnant and I'm thinking of knitting her a sweater.

Last up was my monthly Zooba order. Once a month, they send me a book from my list for $9.95, with free shipping. I've added many, many knitting books to my library for $9.95 instead of the $20-$40 that they'd cost me at the bookstore. My latest addition?

Morehouse Farm Merino Knits. My overall impression? It's a pretty book with lots of nice stories, and the patterns are okay. The photography in this book is stunning. Not a book that I'll use very often, though.

Back to work - the sleeve beckons!

It's Amazing

what people throw away. Tomorrow is garbage day, so the people are lining the streets with cans, bags and boxes. Kevin went to the gas station,and on his way home, found these in somebody's pile of garbage Brand new (stickers still on the bottom!!) Flexible Flyers! We think that somebody bought the house that these came from and didn't want the contents, because Kevin said that there was a whole bunch of other perfectly usable stuff out there.

8" of a sleeve:

And because Sabrina asked, the back of the sweater:

This slip stitch pattern really makes a nice, cozy fabric.

And...the front!

The color seems a little bit "off;" the picture of the back in my last post is truer to the color.

I didn't get much knitting time yesterday, but it's still moving right along! I've cast on for one of the sleeves, but there's not much to see yet...

The back's done...

I lost several hours of knitting time yesterday with Kelson's baseball game, a *really* bad headache (complete with silver lightning flashes in my vision, nausea and everything) and a trip to Home Depot...or I would have definitely finished the back last night. I cant' believe how fast this knits up! :-)

yarn!!

To answer Bridget's question in the comments, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this yarn!!!!!!!

The back is almost done - I should have a picture of the completed back tomorrow. This yarn is soft, and the fabric it's creating is "squooshy," for lack of a better word. This is going to be a very soft - and warm - sweater. I can't wait to see the colors that will be available!

Moe doesn't care - he just wants to be left alone...

awards, anniversaries and yarn

Thursday was the boys' last day of school. Kyle "graduated" from the 5th grade - he goes on to the middle school next year. They had a ceremony at the school, and Kyle won 2 awards!! The music teacher awarded him the "Outstanding Musician" award (that's my boy!!!) and he received a certificate for perfect attendance. (Out of nearly 80 kids in the 5th grade, there were only 5 with perfect attendance, and he was the only boy)

And - as a bonus - he is officially OFF OF HIS IEP!!!!! He's had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) since he was 3-1/2, and he has done so well that he no longer qualifies!! Nope, not proud of him or anything... :-)

Yesterday was my 16th anniversary, and of course Kevin forgot. He spent most of the day sleeping anyway, because he had to work 5 - 10 am, 7-12 pm, and then 5-9 this morning. At least he's working for now...

As a consolation, though, the yarn for my next KnitPicks project arrived yesterday afternoon about 3:00!! Looky here! You're right - you've never seen this before! It's the new Wool of the Andes BULKY, in solid and handpaint! They're introducing it this fall - they had to ship this direct from Washington because it's not in the Grove City wardhouse yet. I'm making the hooded sweater from Big Needle Knitting (I'm trying to find an image, but I'm not having any luck - I really need to hook up my scanner!) By 3:30 I had wound a few skeins and cast on - I finished about 8-1/2" by the end of the evening Size 11 needles makes it go pretty fast! The handpainted yarn is a variation of the solid yarn (gray - the same as the main color, light gray and white) so the slip-stitch colorwork doesn't really show up as well as it could, but it's still going to be pretty when it's done, I think

I took 3 pictures on the last day of school - this is the room that I've been stuck in for the last 3 years. Fill it with 18-20 juvenile delinquents, and this room will suck the soul right out of you.

With any luck, I'll never see it again...but my school district never lets a good job go unpunished.

WOOHOO!!!!!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!

That is all.