May Day Socks Really Finished!

Here they are, and this time, they match!! (For details click here.)


This weekend, I also worked on the Mitts for Mary. The second one is a little over half done.



Mom's birthday was yesterday and she really liked the sweater. She was surprised, saying that she couldn't believe that I made it for her!

Update 6/24/07: Mom was wearing the sweater today. It fits great and she said that it is very comfortable.

Green Gable is Finished!

Here it is!! Green Gable is finished, blocked after weaving in all the ends! I'm even more pleased with it than I thought that I would be. Though it was a somewhat boring knit, I love it and may have to buy some yarn to make me one, in the future. It looks great and is just a little snug on me, so it should fit Mom perfectly! Her birthday is Sunday. I don't know if anything is planned, yet, but I know that we will all go see her after church.
(You can see the details here.)

Lots of FOs!

This past weekend, we drove about 3 1/2 hours to spend some time camping with friends. We were out near Pateros, WA staying in the trailer. There was some work to be done, as the property owners (my friend C's parents) are getting ready to have their manufactured home brought in. I mostly walked about, going to find and retrieve things that were needed for everyone else to keep going...Things such as duct tape, beer and water, and so on...This gave me lots of knitting time. I finished so many projects this weekend!
On the way to Leavenworth to meet up with our friends, I finished the Lace Wing Scarf. (See the details here.) Since it was dark on our way from Leavenworth to Pateros, I worked on Green Gable for while. On Saturday I finished the second May Day Sock, and then went back to Green Gable, finishing on Sunday. After that, I turned to Snowmen and Skates, finishing up to the point where I needed to sew & then cut the steeks! After all this, I worked on the Luna Moth Shawl. I knit more than one skein of yarn into it, though I had to spend about 2 hours fixing some mistakes. When the pattern mirrors for the left side, I seem to have troubles remembering to change the pattern that I was knitting for the right side of the shawl. I do love it, though and expect to get much wear out of it. (I'm going to try to get more pictures up of my FOs later this week, maybe one a day? =) )

Finally, to answer a great question from Put a Sock In It:

"How do you decide which ones to work on? I only ever
have 3 or 4 on the needles, and I struggle!"

I, too, often struggle with this one...There are many different things that will get me to work on a specfic project: 1) if it is nearing a deadline (for gift knitting or KALs,) 2) if it is nearly done and I really want to have a FO, 3) small items are great for knitting on the road, 3) simple projects are great for either knitting on the road or knitting when I'm tired or there is little lighting (like in a movie theatre!) Sometimes, I just reach for whichever project is closest to where I am sitting. This reason, I guess is just out of laziness, but I do get some knitting done!

Sock Progress

I have been working diligently on my second May Day sock and it is almost half done! I'm about halfway through the heel flap. I'm excited to get these done and then, on to the next project, Green Gable. My mom's birthday is June 3rd, so I want to have it done by then. We are going camping, again, this weekend. Woohoo! 3 days to relax, knit and enjoy the sunny, warm weather of eastern Washington. This will all be with the same, good friends that we last camped with, plus some of their extended family. This time, we're staying at C's parents' property. 40 acres on a hillside above the Methow River. Aaah, the views are stunning! I plan to try and finish Green Gable on the way to "the property." That way I can knit on something more fun, like Luna Moth or one of my other WIPs. I won't be as tempted to start a new project as there aren't any LYS out there (at least none that I know of.)

Knitting & Camping

The Curvalicious Cardigan is finished (see picture at left)! I managed to get it all done in time for our camping trip. It was the perfect weight for the somewhat overcast, warm weather we had over the weekend. I rarely took it off, and yet didn't really need another coat, either. (Since we were renting a 1 room cabin at the KOA and our friends had their trailer, we were indoors or sitting around the campfire whenever it was cool enough to need something heavier.)
On the one and a quarter hour drive to the campground, I worked on Snowmen and Skates. After unloading the car into the cabin, I continued to work on it...until I ran out of cream yarn! I'll need to go over to Village Yarn and Tea, to buy another skein. At this point, I switched over to Green Gable. Finishing the skein I was on, and barely starting the next/last one, I tired of the stockinette stitch in the round and moved on to the Luna Moth. This one, I kept working on until Saturday afternoon, when I purchased yarn to start the Leaf Lace Socks from Fiber Trends.

On Saturday morning, our group met to make breakfast. After the cleanup, the kids and guys rented some bikes from the KOA office. They rode around for a while and even let us (my friend C and I) have a turn. They were fun, but made us all use muscles we're not used to! Around noon, we made lunches and took the 20 minute drive to Lake Padden. The kids were happy to run and play on the playground while we took in the beautiful scenery. After eating, we packed the stuff back up to the car, and then walked around the lake. Its about 2.5 miles. The day was so gorgeous and the sun came out just enough to burn the tops of my shoulders around the back of my neck just a little.

After our walk, C & I took the kids and dogs and the guys went for a game of golf. While they were golfing, we went in search of a yarn store. We found NW Handspun in downtown Bellingham. They had a 20% all yarn sale going on for Mother's Day weekend. Who could withstand that temptation! So, I purchased a ball of Louet Gems in a medium purple and the Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Socks pattern. I started immediately, as I was not driving. We also visited Michaels in search of items to make stitch markers. We found some great charms on sale.

At this point we met the guys at the golf course to pick up the keys to the trailer. They offered to take the kids, so we had about 2 hours to sit outside and knit away. By the time I went to bed last night, I had the first sock about 75% done! It looks great, but the yarn is a little heavier than I realized, so they'll be very warm socks, that I'm sure I'll love to wear.

Decision Made

I kept thinking about the May Day Sock all day during work, yesterday. I made even more time to think about it by working on Green Gable. As I knit about 1/2 skein into it, I made the decision to frog the sock and restart on the smaller needles. This morning, I worked on it for about 2 hours and finished the first pattern repeat for the leg. It looks great, and I am sooo glad that I made the right choice. I've measured it, and the circumference is just perfect for my partner. I think she'll love them.

I've also been working on the Curvalicious Cardigan. I ripped a little of the hood so that I'd have the yarn to edge the front. I started working with this yarn and made it all the way to the last 15 stitches, when I ran out of yarn, again!! Now, I'm using some leftover brown yarn and am starting to re-knit the applied i-cord edge. I plan to knit it brown for the part that will be attached to the zipper and use the pink to edge the hood and the part of cardigan front that will not be attached to the zipper. I'm hoping it will look good.

I am pretty proud of myself that I've mostly worked on old WIPs these last 24 hours!

Vacation!!!

First, Green Gable news: I have finished the second sleeve and am about to begin the remainder of the body! I'm satisfied that I've completed this milestone.
Meanwhile, my dh & I have been invited, by my parents, to join them on vacation in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. I'm excitedly planning, now. Mom & I have been talking about what food and entertainment to take with us. I think I will scrapbook with her, while we're away. (We're only going for 3 days and 2 nights, but they are all mid-week, so I'll be off work!) I need to clean out my scrapbook bag, re-organizing it and removing anything that is finished or that I won't be working on while over there. It currently weighs about 80 pounds!
I'm also planning on taking Green Gable to knit on in the car, since dh will drive most of the way. Its about a 6 hour trip, so that equates to plenty of time to knit on it. Hopefully, I'll finish just before we arrive. This way, I won't feel guilty when we go scrapbooking & yarn store hopping and I buy a new project to start. I love to buy yarn at "new" stores. Its one of my favorite things to do while on vacation. I'm probably going to buy yarn that can be used for this month's Bag of the Month. I wasn't very excited about last month's bag, and I only joined at the end of February, so this would be my first project knit with the group. Its a beautiful slip stitch pattern that creates a nice felted bag. Add some lining and a sturdy bottom & its just about perfect!!

Green Gable

I finished Green Gable to the point of removing the sleeve stitches from the needle! I knit about an inch on the body of the sweater, and then went on to finish a sleeve. Since they're short sleeves, it didn't take too long, except I was using a 60" circular needle and the magic loop method. Every time I knit a half round, I would have to stop and pull 60" of the circular through the work! This seemed to take forever, so I really need to put a shorter circular needle on it. (I'm using KnitPicks options needles, so this will be no problem. I just need to remember to grab a shorter cable!) I'm really loving the way that the yarn is knitting up, and so is my mom. She still thinks that the sweater is for me, and, of course, I'm not correcting that mis-belief! I figure that I have it at least half way done. Hopefully, I will get a picture posted this evening or tomorrow.

Knit...Knit...Knit...

I've been knitting quite a lot, lately, but have no pictures to show for it! On Sunday, I started knitting a sweater for a coworker's upcoming baby shower. I wanted something that would be machine washable, so I'm using the softest yellow, acrylic that I could find at Michael's. (Usually, I hate acrylics, but there are some good uses for them!) I have it almost done, but need to finish the last sleeve. When I was tired of knitting on it, I stopped and sewed as much together as possible. I even knit on the button & button hole bands and finished the collar. It has been a quick knit, which is a great way to take a break from some of my other projects.

In other knitting, I have the second Huskies sock almost done...Maybe tonight, or tomorrow. As I wanted to give them to him before Easter, I'm right on track. Phew, what a relief!

My shawl hasn't come very far since I last posted a picture. Its getting up there in the stitch count, so its starting to take a while to finish a row. I still love it, but there are only certain times that it can be worked on. Green Gable has been getting some work put in, as well, but I am still not down to the bottom of the armhole, yet. This is the project that seems to really be taking way, way too long.

I have so many projects I'd love to start, right now, but am making myself finish at least some (maybe 2? :) ) projects before I allow myself to do that! Finishing the project always feels so good, but I often feel like I have to drag myself through the last eighth, or so, of the item.

Oh, I almost forgot! I now have 2 friends at work that are meeting with me on Thursdays to knit! It has been so much fun to work with them. My one coworker said that she wanted to learn, and she has ended up showing me a new way to cast on. Both are working on their own at home, and doing a great job.

A Knitting Weekend

This weekend, I finished knitting the first Malabrigo glove and started on the second. Past that, I worked a little on my Civil War Shawl, Huskies sock & Green Gable. I didn't get much done on any one project. Then, on Saturday, I met a friend at Village Yarn and Tea (one of my favorite LYS and the closest to my house) for tea and knitting. I wanted to knit something small for an exchange that I am finishing, so I bought a skein of yarn at the store & knit the larger "Spiral Bag" from One Skein. I finished it that same day, but didn't have time for any other knitting. The bag came out great, but I forgot to take a picture before I mailed it. Silly me!

One FO, 2 new UFOs

This weekend, I did manage to finish the Blue & White socks. I stayed up a little late, last night to get the ends woven in, but they look great!

On Friday night, I finished all but the hood on my cardigan, and for that I only have about 11 inches left to finish knitting. I'm excited to see this project almost done, as it will make a great Spring jacket. Our weather is warming up, after the snow last week, and so it is feeling like Spring, again. This will be some good motivation to finish the sweater.

I started 2 new projects this weekend. On Saturday, I went to my LYS to return the extra 2 hanks of yarn from the cardigan, and ended up exchanging them for some of Elisabeth Lasvold's Hempathy. I'm going to make the Green Gable for my mom for her birthday, in June. I finished off one of the six skeins of yarn on Sunday afternoon. Its looking good. She saw me working on it, and absolutely loved the soft hand to the fabric and the lace at the front neckline. I asked her a few questions about the style, which she answered as though the sweater was for me, but with an answer like, "If it was me, I'd..." This was perfect!! Then, she had a favorite sweater drying in the bathroom, so I measured it for length and width at the underarm. Green Gable should be very easy to knit to those specifications. I really want to make a new favorite for her.Finally, I started the Huskies socks. I am using my favorite pattern, Wendy's Generic Toe Up Socks, which I have re-calculated the number of stitches to fit a foot that is 11 inches instead of 8. I finished the toe, as seen here, and then worked another 1/2 inch or so on my way into work, this morning. The yarn is so soft and squishy. These socks would be hard to give away, if they would fit me. Of course, they won't, though as they will be way to big!