Weekend Socks on Monday

I finished up one of the commissioned pairs of socks I have to make. These ones were started on May 20 and finished on the 28th. The yarn is On Your Toes 4 ply in the Weekend Print colorway. I just did the standard 60st vanilla sock on 2.5mm needles. Ravelry details here.

Perfectly matched! I'm surprised cuz when I got to the last pink stripe on the second sock's toe there was a knot. There wasn't enough pink to make the stripe as wide as what it should be. Since these were for a customer at the store, and I'm fussy, I cut the knot and tried to find the same pattern repeat to make it match the first sock. It wasn't too bad til I realized that from the knot on the skein was wound backwards! There wasn't much yarn left, so I just rewound the skein, found the spot I needed, and continued on. Luckily it worked out perfectly.

So I think these socks will be the last socks for me for the 52 Pair Plunge III. These Weekend Socks make pair 33 in a year. I started the second pair I need to make for the same customer, but I don't think there is any way I can finish them today since I don't have the first sock quite finished, and I have to work all day. So I think these will be the first pair for me for the next Plunge. (But I'm not doing the full plunge, I signed up for the mini-plunge, which is 26 pairs of socks in a year from June 1/10-May 31/11. They allow you to use WIPs, it just has to be finished on June 1 or after.)

I worked on this sock outside last night while we had a big bbq on the go. The Littlest One brought his knitting outside, too. He started this dishcloth for Nanny ages ago, he doesn't work on it very often. He managed a few rows last night. I must say he is faster and makes less mistakes than the Oldest One on the rare occasion that he decides to knit.

Happy knitting!

Long Week!

It has been a long week. I ended up taking the Littlest One to the hospital again Tuesday night. Two doctors were there Monday night (well, the on-call doctor and his intern), and they said the xrays they took showed some stool but not enough for constipation and pain. I had my doubts, he was acting just like he did that time he had it really bad. So the Tuesday night doctor said she read the radiologist's report, and that said constipation. (Nice of someone to call and let me know.) Since his problem was up high we opted for lactulose treament (always have that on hand as Pumba needs it on a regular basis). Well, that didn't really do anything. Wednesday I worked, so he was at Ma's place, and he was feeling better and actually played some video games. But Wednesday night he was back to crying, not eating, moaning and groaning. So off I go to get a bottle of Fleet. I put half of it in some orange pop, and he drank most of it. Nothing happened. The next morning he woke up before six in agony, so I got him to drink the rest of the Fleet in orange pop, but he puked that back up. So I call my doctor's office, and he says stop the lactulose and get Lax-A-Day. Knock on wood that seems to be working. He's his normal self and eating again, but I kept him home from school today anyways. I went and got his work he needs to catch up on, so he should get there Monday.

So no oodles of knitting this week. I do have almost all of the gusset decreases completed on a second sock of a pair I was commissioned to knit for someone. I also am knitting finger puppet blanks for my church group. They are having a get-together on June 5, but I have to work, and they'll put the faces on them and seam them up. I have 28 or so made so far. Think I'll have that as my Saturday project when I'm at work tomorrow.

So I don't have a totally pictureless post, here's what I'll be using for my next pair of socks once I am finished the ones I'm doing now. These are going to be plain vanillas for the same person I'm making the current ones for, it's Patons Kroy bronzed berry stripes.

Happy knitting!

Long Weekend

We had a lovely long weekend weatherwise. Yesterday it was hot, hot, hot! Sunday afternoon I took the boys to one of the local parks. There was sliding...

... and swinging...

... and I worked on a sock.

Yesterday was so hot we decided to clear off to the beach. Many other people had the same idea, it was like a day in July or August. It was not much cooler at the beach. The boys and several other people braved the water a little bit, but it was cold. They basically were in and right back out again.


It's probably hard to see, but there are several big, gorgeous houses on the other side of the stream that is on the far end of the beach. They weren't there when I was a kid. How things change.

The Littlest One wasn't feeling well in the morning, but then he insisted he was better (cuz he wanted to go to the beach). When we got home he got bathed up, fell asleep, and when he woke up he didn't feel well at all. He complained of stomach pains, so I ended up taking him to the hospital where he had some xrays and a pee test. Nothing showed up, so they said if he wasn't better today to get him seen again. I just got a call from my mother, he woke up from a nap crying that his belly hurts again, so I'm at work, waiting for a call back from my doctor's office. He just had the flu two weeks ago, but I hope it's just that again and nothing serious. They mentioned the start of appendicitis, so we've got to keep an eye on that possibility.

Happy knitting!

Wooded Denim Socks

These will be the last pair of socks for Hubs for awhile. A customer at the store brought me a skein of yarn and asked if I'd make a pair of vanilla socks for her. Then she bought some more yarn for me to make her another pair, so I am going to do those next (since they'll make me a bit of cash to buy more yarn!). These are just a plain old vanilla pair in Bernat Sox wooded denim, started May 6, finished the 20th. Ravelry details here.

My hand is getting better, but it's still sore to touch and if I have to close my hand.

And I have to crack right up every time I look at this picture of Maggie. What a goofy looking thing, lol! She is in the middle of scratching herself, so I guess that's to be expected.

I don't know how long Mindy will be on the home page of this site, but please check it out, and if anyone can help a bit, that's great! (Such evil people in the world!) This place is how we got Jewel and Maggie She is such a great lady, she operates it all out of her house, and it's all volunteer. They were on the news last night. Go to 16 minutes, 16 seconds here to see her.

Happy knitting!

War Wounds

Saturday my hand was super-duper sore. The bites were infected, of course, which is pretty common, so I was told, with cat bites. Today, however it's a lot better. It's still sore, and I have to watch what I do, but the redness is gone. It's still swollen a bit. I was able to knit a bit last night on my cardigan. Thought I'd stick with that as it's on circular needles, nothing to poke into my hand. I had to take frequent breaks, though, as my hand got sore and lame. I haven't knit any yet today, but I think I'll tinker a bit shortly and see how it goes.

The other day I was puttering around on the Bernat and Patons sites and saw that there were some new colorways in Kroy and Handicrafter Twists (which have been added to my next order which will hopefully go this week or next). So I did some more looking today at work to see if there was anything else new. Much to my surprise I found out that Bernat has discontinued their Jr. Jacquards, along with Camouflage and Baby Boucle. (More, too, but we ony carried these three.) They have also made four new Baby Jacquards colorways (which I will be ordering as well). And Kroy has discontinued some colorways including mercury, country jacquard, paint box, norfolk blue, and bronzed berry stripes. So all of these discontinued yarns and colorways have been marked down by about 25% since all we have is what is in stock, and we can't get any more. (Good time if anyone was looking to make any of these blankets! Or one of these.)

Happy knitting!

How Did You Spend Your Friday Night?

Q: How did you spend your Friday night?

A: I went to outpatients, and luckily they weren't very busy, so I wasn't there too long.

Q: Why did you have to go to outpatients?

A: Because my Evil Bitch-Baby, Old Lady Cat, Nala, bit me. Had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics for 10 days.

Q: Why'd she do that?

A: She's got something quiffy happening with her back. I was holding onto her neck as I was trying to comb some of the loose fur from her back, but I didn't have ahold of her well enough. She whipped around and bang-bang-bang, before I knew it she'd bitten me three or four times. She's fast for an old lady. She can't really groom her back any more without taking a spasm and flopping over like one of these guys. (video results here) I should have had better hold on her, she can't be brushed anywhere except for her head, ears, and chin. And she's a calico, they can tend to be cranky anyways.

Q: Will you be able to knit?

A: The hand is pretty darned sore right now, and the doctor says it will get worse over the next few days. Apparently cat bites are a very nasty bite to receive. It's my left hand, so it's the holding hand, not the throwing hand. We'll see....

This has been a crappy week. I had the flu early in the week, I didn't feel well the rest of the week til late yesterday afternoon. I still don't have much of an appetite (which isn't necessarily a bad thing!). I'm getting yet ANOTHER cold, and now I got bit and had to have a needle and pills and have a hurtin' hand.

Happy knitting to everyone else, though!

It Was My Turn

I hope all of the mothers out there had a nice Mother's Day. I got this home-made card from the Littlest One (he's seven). Nanny W and Nanny S each got the same poem, lol.

I also got some yarn, surprise, surprise. First up is some discontinued Tutti Frutti Jacquard from Patons Kroy Socks that will be vanilla socks for me. (New color alert! Getting the link I see four new stripey colorways -- must order for the store. We keep all the colors of Kroy in stock, or try to.)

Next is Lavender Jacquards that will also become vanilla socks for me.

And lastly there is another discontinued colorway, Krazy Stripes, that will become Broadripples for me. I made my BF a pair a few years ago, and I really liked them.

Remember how the Littlest One had the flu in the last post? Well, that's also what I got for Mother's Day -- the flu. I had to miss work yesterday, so I'm working tomorrow to make up for it. I went in today, but once I got there I wasn't feeling so hot. I think mostly it was because I'm so sore in the chest and back from heaving so bad, and of course I'm still not feeling like eating much. It got better once the afternoon hit. Unfortunately we don't get paid sick days, so if we don't work, no moolah. (Years ago we had paid sick days til we had a few young employees who called in sick for every little headache and sniffle. Then it was bye-bye sick days which really sucks for T who had his 20 year anniversary in March and never had a sick day. My 11 year anniversary was in March, and I only missed days for a couple of occasions of the flu and a week when I had chicken pox. That week came, unfortunately, after the no more sick days rule. Luckily I'm only part-time, I guess, and don't have any trouble making up a lost day or two.)

Anyhoo, no knitting was done yesterday at all. I slept off and on all day and evening. I figured I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, but that wasn't the case. I get up 7:30 on school mornings, and unfortunately that came too soon, I still could have slept more! It will probably be an early night tonight, too. Well, right after Glee.

Happy knitting!

Camouflage Socks

I finished yet another pair of socks for Hubs, these ones are Bernat Sox in camouflage. I basically did vanillas, but instead of another pair in just stockinette I did 4x1 rib instead and did a garter stitch edge on the sides of the heel. These ones were started on April 26 and finished on May 6. Ravelry details here.

This was the Littlest One yesterday morning on his way to school, being all cool and gangsta in his hat. This cheerfulness didn't last long. I got a call at noontime that he was feeling like he was going to be sick. His teacher said one of the other classrooms had 11 kids out yesterday. Anyhoo, I went and got him, and by mid afternoon the puking began. He couldn't keep anything down, not even water. I finally conned him into taking some liquid Gravol, but that only stayed down for about half an hour. Nanny and Grampy dropped him off some ginger ale and potato chips on their way home from the grocery store. He ate a handful of chips, fell asleep, woke up an hour later and threw them up. He had a rough night, but fortunately the vomitting stopped, but he kept waking up, crying, that he didn't feel well. This morning he had a bad headache (probably from an empty stomach). I think today is recovery day, so no school for him. (And I'm hoping he doesn't pass it to me.)

I'll close today with a couple of animal shots. First with Maggie and NOT my old, worn out slipper. (If I take them off for five seconds they disappear, or at least one of them.)

And this is how I usually get to work on the computer -- with roly-poly Pumba perched on my shoulder. Maybe he thinks he's a pirate's parrot or something.

Happy knitting!