HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!


She's Baaaaaack! And all I can say is "it's good to be back!" I'm so glad that Christmas holiday is over. Getting ready for my trip to my parents was an utter and complete nightmare. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. But I made it through. And had a pretty good time, despite not feeling well most of the time. As always mom and dad, and all their friends made my trip a delight. I took pictures of most of my mom's Santa collection. Most people don't believe me when I describe them to them.




Also, I was working hard to finish a few projects to show off to my mom and her friends. I finished my 3rd pair of socks. Not my favorite pair, but comfy none the less. Really not sure about the rounded toe.



I also finished the "Monkey" socks from Knitty.com by the designer of the famous "Pomatomus" socks, also available on Knitty.



Before leaving I decided that I wanted a scarf for the wait in the airport and the plane ride.
Simple, but very cute. And warm.

I even found the time to start a new project. Before I left on vacation the yarn I ordered from Lisa Souza dyed in support of Miss Violet, from the Lime & Violet podcast arrived. I ordered both the sport and sock weights. And as always Ms. Souza outdid herself. The yarn is beautiful. The pink is not the standard pink color used in support of Breast Cancer research, but I don't love it any less. I decided to use the sport weight to make a scarf using a "Multi Directional Scarf" pattern I found through another blog. So far, I'm in love. Sorry for the crappy photos. My camera sucks.


I guess that's enough rambling for now. I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and festive New Year's Eve!

S.

I almost forgot


I added a Frapper map to my blog. Please take a minute to let me know who my readers are, and where they're from.

Thanks!

Shorty

What's Wrong With This Picture...





Other than my ashy leg that is.

The stripes just don't seem right to me. In several places they don't even extend around the leg. There are also spots of crossed colors. Unfortunately the true colors don't show in this picture.


Other than my issues with the striping, I really like the overall look and feel of this sock. I used the yarn and pattern from "Meilenweit, Lana Grossa". The basic sock pattern is from their Fall/Winter 2006 book. And the yarn is called "Meeting". The colors are three shades of grey, fushia, rose and white. A really nice combination for me. The round toe is different from my first two pairs of socks. I wasn't sure if I'd like the fit, but I do. And since I'm not good at grafting the toe, this was a welcome alternative.

Before I can finish the second sock, though. I've got a baby hat to make for a co-worker whose wife is due the first of the year. So off I go to cast on...

Another FO...


I knit a hat today . Wow! A hat in one day. Who woulda thunk it.
I certainly wouldn't have thought it possible. I'm not a really quick knitter. Pleased as punch with the end result. I even like the moss green in it. And for anyone who knows me could say, "I don't like GREEN!" For some reason, though, it meshes really well with the shades of purple. And I can't wait to wear it out. I'm not totally satisfied with the rolled brim either. But we live and learn. I'll do totally different brim next time.

I'm off too start my next project. I want to make something quick. So I'll either be starting another hat (I bought several single skiens of Noro for hats), or a pair of basic socks out of a really cool skien of "Meilenweit Meeting sock yarn" by Lana Grossa (the coolest mix of white, grey, pink, rose and black) that my friend Amy and I both bought on our yarn crawl Friday. Maybe even a pair of gauntlets made from the "Plymouth Yarn - Sinsation" in shades of grey and black.

What to do? What to do?

S.

One Set Down...


I finished on hat & booties set today. The toe of the booties is a little wonky. I think I may have to frog them and do them again.

Sorry for the dark picture. I need a new camera. The blues are actually fairly bright, and I love the stripping.


Now, I have two more sets left. I think I'll put them off for a bit, and make something for myself.

S.

Yarn Crawl...


Today, a couple of my knit friends and I went on our first yarn crawl together. I had such a great time. Of course I spent way to much money, but I didn't care. It was well worth the spending diet I'll have to put myself on.


We started off at "Old Village Yarn Shop" in Plymouth, MI. Their selection was okay. There was a skein of yarn I had my eye on, but since it was our first stop, and it was a relatively expensive yarn, I didn't buy it. This is what I did buy:






After a quick lunch we made our way to our second stop, "The Knitting Den" in South Lyon. What a quaint store. I love knitting shops in what used to be houses. And the ladies there were so friendly. My haul there was a bit bigger than our first stop.




Since I returned to knitting back in March, and started knitting in public with other area knitters, I had been hearing how great "Knit A Round Yarn Shop" in Ann Arbor is. I have to whole heartedly agree with everything I've been told. This shop is a dream come true. Their selecton and prices are outstanding. And their customer service, well what can I say? One of the young ladies saw I pattern I purchased, asked a couple of simple questions about the results I wanted, and made notes on the pattern for me to insure that I'd get the end result I wanted. What more can you ask for from your LYS, than kindness, consideration, and forethought!
I spent so much money there, I'll probably need to abstain from buying yarn until next year. (yeah right!)



The last store we went to, "Busy Hands", also in Ann Arbor. Is a small, but very nice store. They had the largest selection of Malibrigo I've seen so far. I picked up two hanks, a silver grey with a tinge of pink, and a verigated purple hank. I also got a second pair of purple scissors. (I do LOVE anything purple)





Needless to say, I had the best time I've had in quite a while. Thanks to two of the nicest friends, knit or otherwise, a woman could ask for. Thanks Amy and Beth (Detroit Area Knitter - Tuesday nighters), for making this such a great day. Great Friends, Great Stores, Great Yarn, and of course "WOO HOO - Chocolate Fondue!!!"

THANKS!
S.

Don't You Just Hate It...



I'm home sick on the holiday, I've been medicated since Wednesday evening, and now I can't sleep. Boy sometimes life really sucks.

No matter what though, I'm going shopping tomorrow. Yarn shopping that is. I can't wait.

Since I was up, I decided to make a baby hat for one of my co-workers. Only three more hats, and four pairs of booties to go. I think there's something in the water at work. I've started bringing bottled water from home. Just In Case! lol

S.

An FO for show!



I finished my fist pair of Jaywalkers. Woo Hoo! Other than a little color pooling on top of the toe, that looks like a dent in my foot, I absolutely love them. Forgive my ashy legs in the pictures.

Back in August I started my first Jaywalker in shades of purple Half way up the leg my stitches skewed, and went wrong. The line of stitches ended up mis-placed and crooked. It bugged me for days until I finally frogged the whole thing and started over again. I had ordered several skiens of Koigu #312 months earlier and thought they would make interesting socks. The shades of grey and white look a little muddy, but I love them. I can't wait to wear them and show them off.


Project Details:

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina from Magknits
Yarn: Koigu #312
Needles: Addi Turbos, size #2
Started: early September 2006
Compl.: 11-23-06 9:45am



Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Off to do some work on Lady Elanor.

Shorty

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


My holiday has begun with a sniffle. I'm so sick right now, and boy does it suck. For the next day or so I'm going to medicate, watch movies and knit.

I hope everyone has a "Happy Thanksgiving"!

Shorty

Stitch Marker Madness!! (pic heavy post)

I went a little crazy
making stitch markers today.





What do you think. Is it time for an "INTERVENTION!" I've got loads more beads to work with. Wonder what else I can come up with. lol

S.

It Can't Be Missed!


Last night I went out with my aunt and her family to see... "HAPPY FEET"! Oh my goodness, this movie was way to cute. I'm a big fan of animated musical anyway, and this one will be no exception. Robin Williams voice work is awesome as always. I laughed every time he spoke. If you can, go see it at an iMax theater. The look on a big screen made you feel like you were right there. And it's well worth the price of admission.

We danced all the way to the car (not actually)!

Shorty

What was Lost is Found...


While cleaning out my knitting bags this weekend, and guess what I found...
That's right! I started this beautiful Jaywalker sock in Koigu #312, months ago. Somehow I got side tracked before I finished it, tossed it into a knitting bag, and totally forgot about it. I spent most of today finishing it (I had about six inches left to knit). I'm going to cast on today and hopefully finish the second sock soon without getting sidetracked again. I love the color of the sock, and can't wait to have a finished pair to wear.


Knit Night Out friday at a LYS was great as always. Especially since I wasn't supposed to be there. I was originally told that the Knit Out was full, but got a call from a friend that was there that there was room for me. Needless to say I hightailed it to the shop to knit with some really great knitters. Afterwards, a few of us met up with a couple of our friends from our Tuesday SNB at a nearby restaurant and knit for a few more hours. As always, I had a great time. And can't wait to knit with the ladies again on Tuesday, and then again on Sunday. I love Knitting with friends.

S.

The Lady's Singing The Blues...




I didn't realize how much blue is in Noro #226c. Usually I'm not a big fan of blue, but I'm loving it as a "Lady Elanor" scarf. I can't wait to get a few more repeats done to see how all the colors will come together.

S.

I became a joiner this week. While surfing through links on some of my favorite blogs I found a link to "MinxKnits" who is hosting a KAL specifically for November and Noro Yarns. Hence the name Norovember. I coulldn't wait to join up. A knitting friend of mine recently completed her "Lady Elanor" from Scarf Style in Noro Silk Garden, and so inspired me to do one too. It started out as a gift project, yarns chosen by my aunt. But as I fondled the yarn it hit me. My first Lady "E" should be for me. So, I've redirected the project as a gift for me.

Here's my progress so far:

The pics aren't that great. They don't show the colors as well as I'd like. The purples, teals, greys and greens are going to look great.

I actually started this Tuesday at knit night. But I had to frog it when I realized I was using the wrong size needles. Then I had to frog it again yesterday after I screwed up the first tier 2 rectangles. Don't knit when you have a migraine. It isn't worth the mistakes, just to get a few more rows done. Especially when you end up having to rip them back. I'll try to post every few days, to record my progress.

Model me this...

Being home sick for the last week and a half has been pretty productive, knit-wise. I finished three projects, and attempted to start a couple more. Here I am at my regular Tuesday's knit night modeling my FO's, "Touch Me" scarf and gloves set. And "Danica" scarf in Karaoke. (basically a mini Lady Elanor)




As it was Halloween, there were only two of us at the time. Most of our Tuesday knitters either have children to take trick or treating, or were passing out candy to trick or treaters. My neighborhood hasn't had trick or treaters in years, so I don't even bother anymore. As always I had a ball with my friend Beth, and I got to meet a new knitter to the group also.

HAPPY BE-LATED HALLOWEEN TO ALL!!!

S.

They're Done...


I finished the second glove tonight. And I didn't do to bad, if I do say so myself. And I do say so, myself. It took two tries. The first glove came out too large around the wrists. And the fingers were too short. The "Touch Me" yarn is so delicate, I didn't dare try to re-use it for the second try. Instead, I decided to use it in the stockinette scarf I'm making to go with the gloves. I'm doing a elongated stitch row at the beginning and end, with plain st st in the middle. so far I kind of like it.










At the same time, I'm trying to finish the Entrelac scarf I've been trying to finish for a few months. It's about 3/4th done with it. I want to make sure it's long enough to wrap around my shoulders, and then some.
As you can see it's an edited version of the "Lady Elanor" from the book Scarf Style. And an extended version of "Danica" from Knitty.com (in verigated yarn instead of two colors).


And speaking of the "Lady Elanor", thanks to a couple of my knit pals Amy and Rachel. As well as several completed project pics I found on flickr. I purchased several skeins of Noro Silk Garden (226c), a beautiful combination of greys, green, purple and blue, and I'll be casting on my own "Lady Elanor" some time this week. I can't wait.


S.