I'm a Winner!

First off I'll post a picture of the first completed pair of work socks for hubby. They are on his feet at the moment, on their way to Montreal. The red is leftover Patons Shetland Chunky from hat and mittens sets. The grey ragg is stuff I got dirt cheap on eBay a couple of years ago. It's supposed to be the same thing, but I don't think it is.



Secondly, I'm a winner! I won this hand knit scarf, modelled here by the Littlest One, in the Oldest One's school raffle draw today. It's the first time I've ever won anything from the monthly school raffle draws. I went to school with the lady who knit this. I'm not sure what she used. She comes in our store and gets yarn sometimes, but this isn't anything we carry. I think it's two strands of whatever it is held together, but I may be wrong. I didn't scrutinize it. It's long, ever-so-soft, and whatever she used to wash it with smells great.





Back sometime before Christmas I bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran off of good old eBay. I got two balls in one of the shades of red, can't remember off-hand which number. Anyhoo, I had purchased it to make Knittin' Mom Chrissy's -- Karen's Sugar-Free Socks, but for some unknown reason I thought I only needed two balls, when in the real world I needed three. What's a girl to do? Get more, of course. I'll use the two red skeins for a scarf maybe.

I would have liked a darker green, but this was the color I liked best out of the seller's auctions for three skeins. I'll wear pretty much any color on my feet.

I finally got Blogger to let me accept the invitation to the new Sock-A-Month 3 KAL blog. I had one heck of a time, but after several failed attempts it worked, but I still don't know exactly how I did it. Anyone who knits socks pop on over and join the KAL! It runs for six months, and each month you complete a pair of socks your name gets entered for a draw for yarny goodness. You don't have to finish a pair each month, but at the end Chrissy usually does a special draw for everyone who finished a pair in each month of the KAL. If you're going to knit socks you may as well have a chance to win something for doing it, plus it's fun to look at what everyone else makes. You get to see new patterns, new yarns, all kinds of cool stuff. I also find it motivational when you're knitting stuff along with other people.

Go over and see Nova Knitter's absolutely adorable little sweater she knit for her beautiful granddaughter. Oh, how I wish I had a little girl! Also go see the new sweet little ball of fluff at Heddy's house. Look at those eye! (By the sounds of it, though, he's the devil in disguise!)

Happy knitting!

Noro

I just won this on eBay:


It's both Noro Kureyon, the top one is color #149, the bottom one color #92. This will be my first excursion with Noro of any kind, and I'm quite looking forward to it. I plan on making Booga Bags with this (both auctions were for three skeins). The top one will be used for my bag, and the bottom one is going to be a surprise gift for my best friend. (She's anti-computer and doesn't knit so I feel safe posting this.) I'm also eyeing some Noro Silk Garden Lite in color #2015 for Argosy. After seeing Pat's I'm rather drawn to it. I haven't decided for sure to go for it yet, though. It's in a seller's eBay store, and there's 30 skeins listed for over three weeks yet, so there's not real rush.

I've almost finished the second work sock for hubby. I just have three or four rows of the toe left to do. I'll start another pair right away. Not sure if I'll get the second pair finished before he leaves for work again. If he's home til Tuesday I might get them done. The truck is at the garage getting its yearly MVI, and so far it's needing a fair bit of stuff. It won't be a small bill, that's for sure, but I guess it has to be done.

Thanks to all on the input for the lace yarn for the shawl. I'm half leaning towards Pat's suggestion of getting both Shadow and Alpaca Cloud since they aren't expensive and decide from there which to use for Print O' the Wave. Most everyone seems to be on the same track that I am, too, as far as colors go. Oregon Coast Heather in the Shadow and either Sand Heather or Iris Heather in the the Alpaca Cloud are what I'm kind of eyeing. Maybe I'll like lace knitting and decide to make a second shawl. Ya never know!

Heddy has pictures posted of her new ball of fluff! Also, Dave has a contest going on.

Happy knitting!

Techno Babble

I'm not having a very good time with the Newfoundland mittens. I finished one, and I don't really like how the thumb is done. Maybe it's just because I've only ever knit mittens with gussets. Anyhoo, I fiddled with the top shaping a bit, and I like how it looks, but I still need to tinker with it. I have decided against ripping it back and will make another one and put this pair in my Dulaan pile. I did two rows of "honeycombs" before doing the thumb thing, but in order for the cuff to be in a better place for the Littlest One I should have done three. This will be a good pair for a smaller child, maybe age three. (Mine just turned four, but he's bigger than the average four-year-old. That comes from a dad that's 6'4", I guess.) I will need to pick up two more balls of Emu Superwash to have enough to make the Oldest One his pair of mittens. (I made lots of scribble notes all over the pattern so I know what I did to get the first mitten, and I know what I need to do to make them right for TLO. Then I'll have to tinker again for TOO.)

The mittens are on hold right now, along with everything else. I have been guilted into making work socks now. It's winter time now, they won't be needed in the summer. I got new socks, he didn't get any. He's the one freezing his feet off in the Prairies. (You get the idea.) So I am on a work sock marathon. So far I have one finished and started the second one. I bought a whole bunch of grey and natural ragg yarn on eBay one time for $0.99US. It was advertised as Patons Shetland Chunky Ragg, but I don't think it is. (It was wound into centre-pull balls and no labels.) I've worked with that enough to know. It's softer now than it was ten years ago, but I still think this is Red Heart or something. I don't think there's any wool in it (Patons has 25% wool), but it's good enough for socks that he'll wear over store-bought socks. I have a bag full of real Shetland Chunky leftovers from all of the hats and mittens I made this winter to use for heels and toes. The socks I am making are the ones on the cover of this book. They're a fast knit on 5mm needles. I hope to have two or three pairs finished by the time he goes back to work on Monday or Tuesday.

I was not a happy camper yesterday. In the morning I went on-line like I do every morning, checking my blog, the weather, bank accounts, e-mail, play a little Pogo while I eat breakfast... Shut the computer down, went to work, no one was home all day. Came home from work, started up the computer, went to go on-line, wouldn't connect. I thought maybe the desktop icon crapped out, as they can do sometimes. I opened the network connections icon -- nothing. Hmmm.... That's odd. Checked to make sure nothing got unplugged. I restarted my machine, rebooted the modem, did the typical stuff, no go. Got out the cd from the ISP and tried to make another connection, no go. Called the ISP for help. A nice lady got me to tell her what kind of modem I have and which lights were lit up on it. She told me different places on the machine to go and tell her what it said. I go to device manager, and it says it cannot find a certain thing. She politely told me that was beyond anything they can do to help, and I would have to get someone to look at my machine. (Good thing part of the store that I work in is computer sales and repair. Free computer labour.) Sooooo... I call the big boss man at home, he says virus. I run virus protection all the time, run full scans pretty much every day, run anti-spyware software, how did something slip through? Where did it come from? Haven't been downloading anything or getting mysterious e-mails. He says run the two programs I have, see if it finds anything, bring the computer in to work in the morning. Soooo... no internet last night. It's amazing how much I miss it. I took it in this morning, and he worked on it a loooonnnnggg time. Whatever it had it deleted some windows files and was very hard to get rid of. He had to load a fancy-shmancy antivirus program on it to clean it. At first the computer didn't want to reload any of the missing files, he had to go on-line on his machine, burn new cds, then load it on mine. Another program he kept running would almost do what it was supposed to do then shut down for no apparent reason. That had him kind of baffled. At least at the end of the day I brought it home, plugged it all back in, and here I am. Only thing now is he loaded video drivers in it. Apparently there weren't any before (integrated video), but now most of the time it looks like water is running down the screen, it's all rippley, and it messes my eyes up. Not to mention the fact that I get motion sick very easily, so it makes me seasick almost. I'll have to find out what that craziness is all about tomorrow. One thing, though, the wheel on my mouse scrolls up and down web pages a whole lot faster.

I'm still thinking about this. I didn't think about it, but Pat reminded me about Knitpicks lace yarns. (Go check out her beautiful Argosy.) They have this and this and this. Anyone have any recommendations on which one and/or color? You're talking to someone here who doesn't knit lace. (Well, just lacey socks.) Never knit a shawl before. I want it for the annual Firemen's banquet in May. I can get a new outfit to match the color of the shawl. I know I don't want white. I sort of lean towards this one because I like the heathers. Oh, I don't know. I'll have to decide by mid-February or I'll never get it finished in time for the first Saturday in May. Help!

Well, I guess I've kept everyone long enough. I'll leave you with a picture of the Littlest One wearing a sweater I made for him quite awhile ago. It's getting too small, but he loves it and still insists on wearing it. Guess I'll have to try to make him another one. See how short it is in the arms and torso? (It's kinda like this.)

Everyone go visit Heddy, a new blogger from my area! She's got a new kitty. Look for pictures on the weekend! (I hope -- me loves cats!)

Happy birthday today, too, to the Old Fart! (Assistant manager at the store where I work -- he's 42 today.)

Happy knitting!

KMKS Fabulous Package!

My Knit Mitt Swap Kit arrived yesterday, courtesy of the wonderful Jaci at Confessions of a Knitting Diva. I love everything in this wonderful swap! The bag she knit me was on the top of the box when I opened it, and it immediately made me *gasp*! I love the color, the pattern, the handle, the button, it's so soft... Did I mention I love it already? I don't carry a whole lot of stuff in a purse, and I can see me using this as an everyday thing instead of a project bag! (Yes, I love it that much!) I also got two bags of Werthers, one hard candy, one soft caramels, a bottle of wool wash, a twined mitten pattern (something totally new to me -- can't wait to really read the booklet over and get started, they look amazing!), two skeins of Cascade 220 (can't tell in the pic but it's black and brown ragg #9412, gorgeous!), and a bonus skein of Cherry Tree Hill in Martha's Vineyard. I eyed that color before. I'm thinking another pair of these.


Dontcha just love the handle?!

And this gorgeous button!

I was like a kid in a candy store yesterday when I opened this. Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooo much, Jaci!

Think I will wind the sock yarn tonight and start my next socks. I started Newfoundland mittens for the boys. The first time they were going to be too snug for the Littlest One, so I ripped them out. Started again, looked at the picture I have of them, decided to rip back to the cuff and try it a little different, and now I'm chugging along. I seem to be getting a little more "stretch" in my two slipped stitches. The picture I have it looks tighter. This is my first time knitting these, so I'll just keep going. Maybe I'll get better at it on the next pair.

Happy knitting!

New Years Day Socks Finished

New Year's Day Socks by Dipsy

started January 16, finished January 21

Cherry Tree Hill purple potlucks (I think, CTH for sure)

2.75mm needles

followed pattern except my standard toe

Next time I make these socks I will probably go down to 2.25mm or 2.5mm needles. These are a little loose, but I don't mind loose socks. I didn't swatch, I hate it, especially for socks. I'd like to make a pair of these for the MIL for Mother's Day maybe or put them away for Christmas. It's a great pattern, easy to follow, and I was able to memorize the 10-row repeat and not have to keep looking at the instructions.

One thing I don't really knit is lace. I'm not a stole or wrap kinda person. I only get dressy once a year, and that is for the annual Firemen's Banquet the first Saturday in May because I have no choice, it's the rule. Unless something unexpected pops up then this is the only time you'll see me in a dress, skirt, or dressy pant suit/outfit. But this has caught my eye for some reason. I definitely won't use cobweb weight yarn, but I saw this and kinda thought about using it. (Says superfine -- is that cobweb? I have no idea when it comes to laceweights.) Not sure about the color. Any lace knitters out there feel free to leave me a comment with your recommendation(s) on yarn and/or color. I don't want to spend much more than $40 because I doubt this will get much use. Since I don't knit lace I'm not sure what is good lace yarn to get. I don't want white, it will be spring, and I have no idea what I'll be wearing, probably something new for a change that I can get to match the stole. (I also see these happening soon out of a solid colored yarn of some sort.) I won't be able to get the yarn til the middle of February probably, so I'll use it as a birthday gift to me. (March 1 -- mark it down! LOL, just kidding.)

I don't know how he can fall asleep in such odd positions.

Kinda freaks me out when he still has his eyes open a bit.

Pop on over to Nova Knitter's and see the sweet little sweater she knit for her grandson. It's soooo cute! (By the way, NK, we got in our new Patons Classic Wool and some new colors in Briggs & Little. Unfortunately black CW was out of stock, but I think she placed another order Friday and tried it again.)

Happy knitting!

New Stash Stuff

Can you believe I finally have a post with no FO? Well, not a fully completed FO anyways.

To start, I got this Briggs & Little Tuffy in red mix a couple of weeks ago to make Hermione cable and bobble hat and mittens for me. I've never used Tuffy before. It's 80% wool, 20% nylon. I really liked this color the best. It's brighter in person. (The drawbacks of trying to get good pictures inside in the winter.) Hopefully I'll get better in progress pictures and finished pictures.


Next is some blurry, ever popular on this blog Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in charcoal tweeds. All of us have a basic tweed hat except Daddy, so I was informed the other day that he needs one, and it has to be black to match the big truck. It doesn't come in black, so charcoal it is.

I got this a bit ago, discontinued Emu Superwash wool. This will become Newfoundland mittens (or honeycomb mittens) for the boys. I see one getting navy with lighter blue honeycombs and the other lighter blue with navy honeycombs.

Does this look familiar, Dipsy?

New Year's Day Socks by Dipsy. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill in purple potlucks, I think. So far one down, one to go. It's a great pattern, I don't have to look at the ten row repeat any more. I've followed her pattern to the T except for the toe. I extremely rarely ever follow the toe of any pattern. I stick to my usual toe. I almost followed hers, but the sock was getting a little long (wanted to end on row 10 of the repeat, the final row), and I wasn't sure if her toe was longer than my standard, so I stuck with the standard. I'm using 2.75mm needles, but when I do this again (for I will do it again!) I will try 2.25mm or 2.5mm. They're a little loose (didn't swatch, I hate it), but I don't mind loose-ish socks at all. I was thinking of making these for MIL for Mother's Day in May, and I'd do hers a little more snug, I think. The yarn is dark, too, flash washed it out. I'll have to try to take the final pictures during the day in natural light maybe. Too cold to take them outside, which is my preference!

Lastly I'll leave you with a picture I took the other day that Blogger wouldn't upload. I went down in the basement the other day, and there was Nala, curled up in the box I had to use to mail my Mitt Kit Swap Pal's loot! Our basement is a little chilly (gorgeous in the summer!), but she spends most of her time down there. All the places upstairs she could lay, including a nice, warm waterbed...

The kids ended up getting yesterday off school, too. Two days in a row!

Sign ups for Sock-A-Month 3 are open! Check it out!

Happy knitting!

Storm Day

The kids got a storm day out of this mess. It's their first storm day this school year. The roads were quite icy this morning. The snow changed to freezing rain yesterday, then rain, so everything is a slushy mess. This afternoon temperatures will drop below freezing, and everything will turn to ice. I got my steps and walkway cleared off before it starts to freeze. Needless to say there was playing outside yesterday when the Oldest One got home from school. It didn't start snowing til almost one, so there was a lot down by the time the bus arrived. They didn't send them home early. (He's babbling something about shovelling snow at me when I snapped the picture. He was impatiently waiting for the school bus to arrive. They each got their own snow shovel back in December. This was the first chance to use them.)

The snow was wet and heavy. My hedge is cleared off now because of the temperature rise and the rain. That's good because birds eat these berries through the winter. (That's why we won't trim the hedge too late in the fall. The birds lose out on a supply of winter food.)

I have my package ready to mail to my Mitt Kit Swap Pal. Here's what I'm sending. I'll let you know who she is once I know she has received my package, and the jig is up.

I know it looks like a lot, but I got a too-good-to-pass up deal on the Emu Superwash (discontinued). I sent that and a pattern for Newfoundland mittens so she can make her son and daughter some mittens. The Classic Wool is for her. I sent the adult Newfoundland mittens pattern as well as the felted pattern I use, then she can decide which she wants to make. I took it quite literal, too, about sending everything you need to complete the pattern and sent darning needles, needles, stitch markers, and stitch holder. Everthing she needs for the mittens is here except for scissors. I even printed off pictures of both pairs of mittens since the patterns are just printed off the computer and have no pictures.

I fit all the stuff for her mittens in the bag. The rest of the stuff I'll set in the bottom of the box under the bag. Originally I didn't plan to send the stuff for kids' mittens, but like I said, the deal was too good to pass up, and the kids will enjoy it!

I do have a fo to share. I finished the basic hat for me out of Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in earthy brown. One skein, 6mm needles, 64 sts, knit every row for about 11-11.5", shape top K2tog around, knit one round, K2tog around again, knit one more round, K2tog around last time, 8sts left, draw end through, fasten securely. (I use circs til I get to the top shaping, then it's dpns.) I do the kids hats the same except only 54sts and knit til about 10-10.5". I like 'em long so if it's cold you can pull the roll-up brim down over your ears and neck. This pattern is based on Pat's basic hat pattern but modified for chunky yarn. I think I'll make some of these for The Dulaan Project.

I think I'll start a pair of socks today. Either that or a scarf. I wound yarn for both things yesterday. I'm sure everyone is getting sick of hats and mittens! I am, too. I need a change. I would like to make the boys Newfoundland mittens, though. I think I'll do one or two other things first.

Happy knitting!

Happy Birthday to My Second Baby!

Though he would say, "I'm not a baby I'm a BIG MAN!"



He got a Plug and Play Winnie the Pooh game, a new Spongebob shirt, and dvd about Bigfoot (monster truck), a new Shake and Go racer, and the Spongebob Krusty Krab Lego set. Of course there was more cake decorating and the eating of said decorations while the actual decorating took place. (Oh, yes, and he also got snow for his birthday today. By the sounds of the forecast we're going to get snow, freezing rain, rain, ice pellets, etc, at varying times over the next three days. I guess winter has finally hit. It seems to have stopped snowing at the moment.)

There's even a little Plankton!

My parents gave them each $50 for their birthdays, so they picked this Lego set out. I have to order it for them.

I finished the bag for the Knit Mitt Kit Swap. It's the ever-famous buttonhole bag from these guys. I made it a little more "bulbous" on the sides by decreasing an extra round at the top before the handle. It's made with Briggs & Little Atlantic in violet. It's still wet in this picture. I mostly defuzzed it, but I'll go over it again when it's dry. I'll have to sit it in front of the fan all night so it will be dry when I package it up to mail on Tuesday. This bag was started yesterday and finished today.

I also made this child hat and mittens set on January 12 for a little guy's birthday yesterday. It's made with Patons Shetland Chunky in deep red.

It was really busy at work yesterday. The yarn department did very well. We're trying to do inventory, but when the other lady there and I aren't there at the same time it's rather hard. I didn't get much counted. (The whole store is done except for the yarn.) One good thing is we find all the odd dye lot balls or just one of a certain color left, and it gets thrown in the mark-down bin. I bought a ball of Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in earthy brown for a plain hat for me since it was the last ball left, and I like that yarn a lot (obviously!). {Nova Knitter -- there's an order coming in within the next two weeks of new Classic Wool colors and more Briggs & Little colors. Also, we're supposedly placing an order this week for some self-striping Fortissima Socka yarn.}

Well, off to do some dishes.

Happy knitting!

Fuglies

I made myself a pair of felted mittens. They aren't the most attractive things I've ever made, but they're good enough for me. I used leftover Patons Classic Wool from all those mittens made for Christmas gifts. I really would have preferred pink thumbs, but I didn't have enough yarn, and I didn't want to buy a ball just for two thumbs. (winter white, worn denim, and petal pink) Good timing for mittens, I guess. Our forecast is actually calling for a 70% chance of snow on Monday.

Froggy in action. I actually started and finished this hat today. It's for the son of friends of ours who has a birthday tomorrow. He's going to be five. I am trying to get the mittens done tonight as well. (It's the same set as the one in the last post.) We won't make the birthday party because I have to work. I am hoping to finish it all tonight so they pick it up on the way to the bowling alley for the party in the morning. Nova Knitter asked if the dangling markers get in the way. I don't mind, but I do have to flick them out of the way most of the time. I've gotten fairly slick at it, though. This one has a tiny bell on it, and that can grind on the nerves sometimes. If I'm not in the mood for bells I switch to one sans bell.

Next up after this is a must finish bag for my Knit Mitt Kit Swap pal. Guess I'd best get off my duff since the package has to be mailed Tuesday. As it stands right now I don't foresee me doing any other swaps this year except the mighty Sockapalooza. (Works are underway for #4! Keep an eye on her blog.) Things may change. I've only ever done one Secret Pal (#4, I think it was) and Sockapalooza. The mitten one is my third exchange.

Well, Most Haunted is coming on. Better go. It's the first I've seen it in about 1.5 months. They're all repeats here. Lucky Miss Tonia gets new ones!

Oh, yes, I wanted to mention -- Shelley of Kitten Knits Yarn has started a web ring for sock lovers. It's called One Sock Two Sock. It's on my sidebar for anyone who wants to join. All you need is a love for knitting socks.

Happy knitting!

You Have Got to Read This

You've got to go to Stephanie's and read this. Unreal! The nerve! (Makes my dislike of banks grow even more!)

Happy knitting!

Goodies in the Mail

Got some goodies in the mail today. First off are my stitch markers from acloset.com. She sent me a little bag to keep them in, plus the little red bag she shipped them in, plus she sent an extra Piggy cuz I broke my first one. (He's a decoration on a shelf in the living room now.) Isn't the little Froggy cute? I got flat form rings this time. They're a little bigger than the spring form rings, which is what I wanted. (Yes, that's Pumba's hind end!)


Second was my stitch markers from Aija's Etsy shop. These are so nice! They will become my sock stitch markers cuz they have nice little rings. She also sent me a Special Sneak Peek of The Friday Night Knitting Club. (Read about it here.) I just love the little hand-made paper card and envelope she sent.


I do have a couple of FOs. First are two crappy pictures of my Irish Hiking Scarf for the Red Scarf Project. It's really a dark red, made with Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds. The second blurry picture is a better one of the color, and at least you can see the cables in it. (It's been windy and rainy lately, so I couldn't get outside for a good picture. Now this is sealed and ready to mail.)


My next FO is a plain old hat and mittens set, child sized, for the Oldest One's school raffle draw. That completes my contribution to the monthly draws for this school year. This is also Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds. The picture is a little dark, it's a bit lighter blue.


I don't know about you, but this does not look overly comfortable to me.

Yah?
Happy knitting!

Happy Birthday to My First Baby!

Today is my First Baby's 7th birthday. We had a quiet day today. He opened his gifts from us this morning. He got Spongebob Lego, a hand-held Star Wars game that plugs into the tv, a new Shake and Go racecar, and a Gravedigger DVD. The Littlest One's birthday is next Sunday, so we are going to rent the arena for an hour when we find out what hubby is doing for work. I don't want to rent the ice if he isn't home. Then we will invite their classmates and some other friends to go skating.

After a lot of hard work (he didn't really want any help), he finally had the set finished.

Little bit of sprinkles for the cake, little bit of sprinkles for the boys. Golden cake mix with rainbow chip icing and added sprinkles, of course!

My first FO of the year, Dad's felted slippers. I also finished the Irish Hiking Scarf for the Red Scarf Project, but it's still blocking. I'll have a picture next time.

Well, I'm pooped. Just got back from taking hubby and BIL back to Halifax. I hate driving, especially at night. The last two days running back and forth to the city really cut into my knitting time.

Happy knitting!