Longest Summer...ever.

I don't think it helped that my knitting project was a shawl, that I HAD to knit, but found it a bit boring.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the knitter that developed this pattern (have knit many of her patterns)...I really like how it came out...it was just the process of knitting it I didn't like.

In the shawl's defense this summer has had us in a tiny house, staring at boxes, trying to patiently (ha!) wait for our new house to be finished.

Please pardon the picture - we have NO space for an indoor photo shoot. Where the right point is a bump in what I was laying it on. I also need to take some better photos, maybe when we are not in the middle of a heat wave.

Pattern: Windward
By: Heidi Kirrmaier
Yarn: Buffalo Wool Sexy
Yardage: ? at the moment
Needles: US 5mm
Ravelry Page

I need to find my scale, so I can weight the skein that is left. I want to make a pair of fingerless mitts.


Now on to a quick knit. Happy knitting!

What a ride...

Well, we ended up selling our house in a mere 16 hours. We moved 3 weeks later. I have to admit it was a tough time for me. While I was out straight working, my DH was left to handle the last of the packing, cleaning and unpacking.

We are currently living in a house my family owns. It used to belong to my Gram and Grandpa, so it has so many wonderful and happy memories. While leaving the house I called home for 17 to move into a temporary house was more emotional that I thought it would be, I am grateful we are not in an apartment or worse.

We've been able to fit, into an already furnished home, ALL of our furnishings! No easy task, and we feel cramped and are living out of boxes & off of clothes racks...but again, it could be a lot worse.

Our focus has been on the new house. Every day there is a new development. I went on a business trip for 4 days in early summer and in those 4 days all the framing went up!

The stage we are in right now is the finish stage, painting, molding, flooring then cabinets and counter tops. We hope to be in sometime in early October.

I just hope we both still have our sanity by move in day!

As for the craft front, again glad that knitting can be a relatively small hobby. It doesn't take up much space. I have 99% of my stash in big plastic tubs that isn't readily available, so I preplanned my knitting for the summer.

I kept out the largest single skein I owned out, during our month of staging, and subsequent month of packing up.

That would be Buffalo Wool Sexy, 800 yards. I bought it at the last Stitches East I went to.

Knowing that I wanted to create a shawl and fingerless mitts that matched. I went pattern shopping to find a simpler shawl pattern.

Windward by Heidi Kirrmaier fit the bill!

More details here. It is hard to see the pattern, maybe this weekend I'll ask DH to take a better photo.

Happy Knitting (in cramped spaces)!

Progress and moving boxes?

I can't believe my last post was 3 weeks ago. I'd say time flies when you are having fun, but I don't call the last 3 weeks fun.

We were going to start an addition to our house this month, having completed all the requirements, then decided not to. Instead we made a bigger decision to sell our home and move.

For those of you that really know me, it was a rough (aka emotional) few days as we finalized this decision. However, now I'm in it whole hog!

In light of all this change I've turned to knitting, or shall I say purchasing with a side of knitting?

These are Poste Yarns from Simply Sock Yarn Company. I want to use the top two to learn another new technique this year, with turquoise toes, heels and cuffs. The middle is black - even though it shows navy. The bottom is navy and orange, my two favorite colors!

The Heartbreak Hotel socks are coming along. It takes a while on a 1.5 mm needle and 72 stitches around...oh yeah and packing up a house we've been in for nearly 20 years!

Turned Heel

Goal complete!

Thank you Daytona 500 for allowing me to sit and knit these heels, without feel guilty that I should be doing something else! (for the record it was laundry day and we did that during the commercials.)

The Fish Lips Kiss Heel may have just become my go to heel.

Knitting along with these stripes

It was a heavy travel week for me at work, so by the time I got home I was lucky to spend 15 minutes knitting then off for some shut eye.

I'm still making good progress though. I CO twelve increased to 72 and knitting on US 1.5mm.

This is what they looked like at the beginning of the week:

and tonight:

The goal for tomorrow is the Fish Lips Kiss Heel (or as I keep calling it the Fish Kiss Heel!).

Valentine Striped Socks

Well, you should have figured that if I finished one pair of socks I'd immediately start another pair.

Since Valentine's Day is at the end of this week let's bring on the appropriate colors:

Bright pink, purple with black. These are not my normal colors, but when Alison from Simply Sock Yarn Company show this on her blog, I had to nab one in the next limited update.

Pattern: Basic Toe Up and I will add FSK heels
Yarn: Poste Yarn Stripes
Colorway: Heartbreak Hotel
Yardage: 393 yards, 100 grams
Needles: US 1.5mm
Ravelry Page

Finished my striped socks

Hot off the needles!

Pattern: Toe up Socks by Sarah Peasley with Short Row Heels
Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso
Colorway: Tiki Bar
Needles: US 2mm
Ravelry Page

Love them!

Home stretch with the stripes

Well, it took a bit longer than I expected, and gave, for my thumb to heal up. I was being so careful in just knitting a few minutes each day, for a bit of unwinding from my crazy days, but the pain came back. So, I stopped for another few days before I was back at it.

Here is what they look like currently:

The problem for me is how long it is taking for these socks to be completed. I started them on January 3rd, they should have been done at least 2 weeks ago. Grrr.

I am hoping to finish these during this upcoming weekend as we have a snowstorm on its was that is starting on Saturday and ending Tuesday. This is after already having over 4 feet of snow already. I think many of us in New England are ready for Spring!

Heel Stripes!

I rested my thumb for longer than I really wanted, but I figured if I didn't it would just lead to more painful knitting.

So, I gave it nearly 10 days of no knitting, then started on Wednesday just knitting a few minutes at a time, resting, another few minutes then rest.

It paid off with completing the heels 3 days later (yesterday).

This is what they currently look like, literally 7 minutes ago. Completed short row heels (new technique learned already this year) and nearly 2 inches up the cuff.

I'm not really liking the short row heels, as I really wish I had taken the time to do the Fish Kiss Heel, but there is always learning that in the next pair. Also, I could have probably done the heel flap as I'm getting really good yardage out of this skein as I still have half of it left, so these will be some tall socks.

The stripes are really pushing me to keep knitting to the next color, however since I've spent most of the day watching the snow come down and knitting, it is time to give the thumb a rest.

ETA: I know that Fish Kiss Heels are short row, however it is a different method than what I used.

Stripes

I am enjoying watching these stripes appear.

As you may have noticed in the last post, I'm knitting from each end of the cake, so they will not match. This may surprise those of you who know me and my OCD really well!

I've decided that I want to learn other toe up sock methods this year, as my learn something new this year. Different ways to CO, BO, turn the heel, so with this pair I'm going to work on a short row heel, instead of the heel flap.

We will see how far I get this week, as it is going to be a busy one work wise...at least for the next 5 weeks. Yikes, look at the time I need to get to the office. 

Stay tuned!

2015 and a new pair of socks

I found this yarn from following Susan B. Anderson's blog. The dyer is Desert Vista Dyeworks and you can find her shop here.

It is nice, bright and very cheerful! I fell in love with the colors, and even though it was wool I decided to purchase it anyway. I have grown up thinking I was allergic to wool, so I figured if it turned out I couldn't work with it, I would give it away.

When it arrived, I took it out of the packaging and held it for a while, put it back into the plastic bag and into the larger stash bag it went.

Fast forward 3 months, to this past Wednesday, I just decided to take a chance and just start knitting with it. I had come home from a long day, in which it was in the double negative digits from the wind chill, and went stash diving. I found this near the top of the stash bag and felt it was just so cheery and colorful during this dismal weather day.

I ended up putting it on my swift and making it into the cake. I took the time to run it through my fingers and I remember saying well, if I have a reaction it would be quite the ending to this day!

The next night I knit what you see here. No big reaction. Hmm.

Now, I'm not going to say I'm not not allergic/sensitive to wool, as I'm being cautiously optimistic. I know in the knitting community there are many opinions on the word allergic as well as fibers or the dyes, or the wool wash, this isn't the forum I'm going to go into all that. I'm only going to write about my experience.

Time will tell. In the meantime I'm really enjoying these stripes!

Details:
Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks Visio
Colorway: Tiki Bar, 6 Stripe
Yardage: 462 Yards
Needles: US 2MM (of which I wish I had gone down another size)
Ravelry Page

I thought I was finished back on November 3rd but...

I decided to make these socks longer.

I mean I had the yarn so why not. Right?

So, New Years first project begins with a frogging of an existing project? I think that is what is bothering me so much.

However it didn't take long to add a few more inches and Viola!

I really like this new length for these. The yarn is a bit thicker fingering weight, so it makes for a warmer sock perfect for this time of year.

Now I need to get going on the first 'real' knit of 2015!

Final Project of 2014 and it wasn't my socks

So, you probably know I finished my blueberry socks on Christmas Eve (see prior post). Well, they were not my last project of 2014.

My oldest niece, just a couple of weeks prior, had asked for a pair of fingerless mitts. I think it went something like a FB post stating these are nice looking....how could I resist knitting up a pair.

The pattern in her request and the yarn color wasn't going to work together, so I chose another pattern (took a big risk in this if she was even going to like this) and then had to change the yarn since the swatch I did in the new pattern didn't work well with the yarn (it wasn't going to be warm enough).

Talk about not only changing her requested pattern AND yarn. This might be an epic fail.

Well, we celebrated with her yesterday....I think she likes them. She put them right on and they stayed on for quite a while. Although I forgot to get a picture of her in them!

Heck, she even asked how I did the cabling. Music to this knitters ear!

Pattern: Mom's Cabled Mitts by Jessica Jensen
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarn - Sundance
Colorway: Slate Blue
Yardage: A skein for both (I need to do a final weight of what I have left)
Needles: US 6
Ravelry Page

Having knit 2 pairs of socks in a row in US 1.5 & 2 mm going to this size needles felt like I was working with pencils...although it does make the project go faster!

Since it is the New Year, I need to pick what my 'learn something new' is going to be. I have a couple of ideas, but nothing nailed down yet. Stay tuned!

8PM on Christmas Eve and how is the sock you ask?

Soaking!

Literally.

Moments before the Soak they looked beautiful fresh off the needles!  If you live close by you probably heard the joyful noises of the bind off and final weave in of the ends! I had made it just in time to wear these on Christmas.

Pattern: Toe Up Socks by Sarah Peasley
Yarn: Panda Cotton by Crystal Palace Yarns
Colorway: Blueberries-Grapes
Yardage: TBD (but I'm thinking about 1.25 skeins per socks)
Needles: US 1.5
Ravelry Page

Merry Christmas!

Blueberry Socks

I'm still going around and around on these socks.

I started here on Friday night...

Saturday night brought this:

So close...so I made them even and started the ribbed cuff. Sunday morning brought this, and shall we say a clear head:

I made a decision to frog the ribbing, make the socks a bit longer. Yarn yardage isn't gong to be an issue (I still have nearly a full skein left), so why not make them longer?

The only stress here is the hole I'm creating in my finger going to give out prior to the socks being completed! 2 more knitting days.

Back to the needles.

Cranking on Socks...and laundry

Reentry after a vacation is just the pits. There is unpacking, laundry overflowing, shopping for groceries, adjusting your sleeping schedule, getting back to normal portions of food and let us not forget back to work!

However, in between all that it does produce some down time to knit.

Bring back my socks and lets crank out some heels. Oh yeah!

I have 7 more days to get these done (leaving one day for washing/blocking). This is my self imposed deadline, as I want them to be the socks I wear on Christmas. Granted, they are not very Christmas-y but considering that my sister said we have to wear a 'silly sweater' to Christmas I need normal socks to balance it out.

It's an OCD thing.

Socks with a side of vacation

I'm knitting away on my socks, however a very nice vacation put a little crimp in my knitting - ie: people/boat/bird/dolphin watching, then toss in shell seeking and beach walking.

We went to Captiva Island in Florida. It was very nice! The DH took some beautiful photos of the sunsets. We found 3 conch shells and managed to get them home, along with 47 other shells, without breaking.

Below was the view from our balcony. It was so nice to have the boats all decorated. It certainly got us more into the Christmas spirit!

Let us not forget my favorite meal and drink of choice....Caribbean jerk shrimp, grilled pineapple and a lovely margarita!

As for my socks, here is where they are at:

I ended up bringing a new project with me on vacation, more on that later. Reason being I needed something mindless, and well socks are not mindless for me yet when I'm working on the increases and heel.

All about the sock

Because you know I'm all about the sock. 'Bout the sock no trouble. I'm all about that sock.

Ok. I'll stop but I can't get that song out of my head.

I put my shawl away for a little bit. The dryness of my hands was making the yarn picky. I'll take it back out when the humidifier makes it way out.

So...off to CO another pair of socks. I just can't get enough.

Pattern: Toe up Socks by Sarah Peasley
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton
Colorway: Blueberries/Grape
Needles: US 1.5 (the smallest I have ever knit with!)

Now that I have the next 4 days off I hope to make quite the progress on these socks, in between eating turkey, and shoveling what might turn out to be 10 inches of snow!

Let it snow, let it snow.....(any better than the base song?)

Secret Scarf Knitting

So, I have these two really great friends and I wanted to provide them with a little something knitted for the next time I saw them.

Well, doesn't it figure that our lives were so busy (aka work!) that it had to wait a couple of months. Last night we finally met up and they received these:

Which went from this:

To this (in a few weeks):

Pattern: One Row Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Pearl
Colorway: 50 Shades of Gray - Anastasia & Christian
Needles: US 6
Ravelry Page

When Lorna's Laces came out with the 50 Shades of Gray, I had to special order it. Jimmy Beans Wool was great in handling it, as I had requested it in the Pearl base - since I'm allergic to wool. It took a few weeks, and then this gorgeous package of yarn arrived.

These are all 5 skeins:

I mean who wouldn't want to share her 50 shades with great friends! You know the kind, they meet you for drinks, send you text messages for support/encouragement, listen to the complaining, talk you off the cliff, share life lessons...you know the kind!

The same that say "I'll have what she is having!"

Now back to regular knitting...

A Shawl

I really like this yarn, so every year it is my purchase from Lisa Souza during Stitches East.

This is the one I bought last year and once I found this Raindrops Shawl pattern I knew the two belonged together.

It is funny however, going from knitting socks on a US 2 needles to US 4 feels like knitting with pencils!

Not bad progress for a few days....it does help when you leave the office at a reasonable hour! I love this deep, rich color of burgundy.

Pattern: Raindrops by Irish Girlie Knits
Yarn: Sylvie by Lisa Souza

Back to the needles....