Another Present Finished

I finished another Christmas present this morning...These are the Tantilizing socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. They knit up quickly, maintaining my interest long enough to finish them! They are a men's size 7, knit on 2.5mm needles and using Colinette Jitterbug. I used nearly the whole skein!

Two Finished Christmas Presents!

Though I just blogged about the yarn 2 days ago, I actually received it over a week ago and have been enjoying knitting through it just as quickly as possible. As a result, I have 2 presents completely finished: a pair of socks for my dad and a scarf for my sister's husband. I have started 2 more, a pair of mittens for my youngest brother and an afghan for my mom. Each one is coming along quite well and I am excited to work on each one. I have one mitten completely done and 2 skeins (out of 14) done on the afghan. I have made something for everyone only once before and had such fun with it. I love to give hand made gifts and they like receiving them as well. The other year that I did this was 2 years ago and I had been knitting since February. This time, I did not decide to do it until about 2 weeks ago, and will have to push myself a little to get them all done. However, I am happy to do so. :)

Let the slaying commence!

Using Elanns' Esprit, I knit this pair of Air Raid socks for my assassinee. They have already gone on to their new home, so I figured it was about time to show them off!

Status Update

This last weekend, being a long one, I took plenty of time for knitting. I finished the first sock on two pair (nearly finishing the second on one pair!) and worked a little on my Civil War Shawl. On the shawl, I finished the main body of the shawl and am ready to begin working on the edging. This marks the halfway point on the shawl. I may finish up a few projects that are closer to being done, and then start working on the shawl again. I’d like to finish a pair of socks or two, and my February Lady Sweater. All of these are nearly done. If I stay in with the current CWS KAL, I have about 2 weeks to wait until the group catches up with me. That should be plenty of time to finish the sweater and one pair of the socks. At least, if I work on the pair that is nearly done! :)

A Finished Project and new WIP

On Tuesday night, I finished my Touring Socks from the LYS Tour. They fit a little tight. I think that I may have knit them a little too short. I might rip back a little (they are knit top-down) and add some to the foot length, or I could give them to someone with smaller feet.

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As I had finished one WIP, I decided to cast on for another. Just as I was finishing the socks, the yarn for some gloves came in the mail from Knit Picks. The pattern is Annemor #11 from Selbuvotter, by Terri Shea. This is the second project that I've knit from the book and I'm really enjoying it. I have the second glove nearly done to the fingers!

New Swap

Here's one that fun and almost cost free:

It looks like fun, takes just a short amount of time, and is knit from a little left over sock yarn!

Socks Finished

The Esprit socks were finished in no time! I've just been a lazy blogger. In the picture you can see the first one only, but I do have a pair. I was working on them at my in laws, 2 weeks ago, and my MIL loves them. She told me a couple times, "I have a birthday, soon." They did end up just a little longer than I like to wear and, with the elastic in the yarn, will easily stretch to fit her feet. (Hers are slightly larger than mine.) I knit these from Cat Bordhi's latest sock book. I'm still loving those patterns. I don't have the book checked out from the library right now, but I managed to practically memorize this one.

A Trip to the Frog Pond

I've decided that I didn't really like the combination of yarn, pattern and color that I was using for Arietta, and have decided to rip-it out. Since I have all this yarn that I no longer have a pattern picked out for, I cast on for a pair of socks out of a couple balls. So far, I love the fabric created by knitting the yarn on size 1 needles! (The yarn is Elann’s Esprit. While I didn’t like it so much on size 3 needles for a sweater, it does make nice, thick socks.) There really is a saving grace through this whole ordeal, after all! :) I can always use more socks and don't have any in cotton that fit very well. These are going to be wonderful.

New Socks

As I finished 2 projects, yesterday, I decided it was time to cast on for another! I bought a skein of Fleece Artist Sock yarn in a solid golden wheat color at Village Yarn and Tea. I cast on before I left the store as I had about a half hour to knit with a friend. After I arrived at home, I continued to work on the sock. I did about 3 inches, when I realized that I had started with the wrong needle size (a US 1 instead of 2!) I am knitting these for my Sockapalooza partner, and the size was going to be way, way too small. So, I frogged it and began again. I managed to get the ribbing re-knitted and started on the charted pattern. Its looking good, but I'm trying to decide whether to rip it again, as I liked the denser fabric created by the smaller needle. There is a larger size in the pattern that I could easily knit from, so I would not have to recalculate the number of stitches, pattern repeats, etc.

As I was looking at my list of WIP on my blog, this morning, I was realizing that I really should try to finish up some of the those projects which are more than half done. Maybe that would be a good thing to do this weekend? I'll just have to see what I feel like working on...

New Finished Project

I finished my Purple Mix, Sockotta socks. They fit great! These were knit from the pattern Tidal Wave Socks.

Back Home

We left home early Tuesday morning, following my parents up the mountain pass to Coeur D'Alene. As we drove, we hit snowfall at the summit! It was beautiful and was not sticking to the highway, so I loved it! Since dh was driving, I had the opportunity to look out the window, taking in the beautiful scenery.

Coming back down into the valley, the sun was out and it looked so warm. However, we stopped to view the Columbia River from a lookout, it was so windy that we felt like we might be blown down the hillside!

When we arrived at our condo, my mom and I took a few minutes to unpack the food we brought & then headed out to take the 25 minute trip back into Coeur D'Alene. We found the scrapbook store and spent about 45 minutes looking around. I found some great camping/ATV-ing papers and stickers. Afterward, we went looking for the yarn stores. We found 2, but they had already closed.

Most of Wednesday we spent scrapbooking. I finished my album for Christmas 2006, except for a little journalling that still needs to be done. Then, I went on to work on my camping pictures from last year. I was certainly glad to have the papers & stickers that I purchased the day before, as I forgot the notebook with all my outdoors-y stickers & embellishments in it! Although I didn't catch up on any of my knitting, I feel a great sense of accomplishment getting so much done on the scrapbooking.

We needed to be back home by Thursday evening, so my dh & I left around 11AM. He offered to stop at a yarn store, before going home! Isn't he great? I found 2 skeins of Sockotta sock yarn that I loved & we were back on the road. I, of course, immediately cast on! :)

As we drove, the sun was shining & it looked gorgeous, until we arrived back at Snoqualmie Pass. This time, it was raining pretty good!

By the time we arrived home I had about 3/4 of a sock finished in the Purple Mix colorway.

To top off this great trip, I went to the mail box, and what did I find? A great package from Mildred on my Stitch Marker Exchange! She sent some great, purple markers and a skein of sock yarn!

2 Finished Projects!!

I finished the yellow "Baby Stripes" sweater, tonight!!

When I finished it, I went on to finish the Huskies socks. They fit well and dh likes them. I was going to wait to give them to him, but had to see how they fit!

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.

She Loved Them!

We had the Birthday party for my MIL on Friday night. She loved the socks that I made! She didn't try them on, but I'm sure they should fit. We had a quiet little party with just 2 of her 7 kids showing up. (My husband & his next oldest brother.)

Everyone brought some little thing as a gift, which she loved. We sat and played Five Crowns, a card game that is her favorite.

Yesterday and Saturday, I worked on my Civil War Shawl in order to get this week's assignment done. I finished the assignment, photographed it, and then kept knitting on it. I have about another 1/2 inch completed than shown in this picture. Its turning out beautifully, and the KAL is keeping me going on it. (At least, its reminding me to get some done each week. This in itself keeps the project in my mind and as something that I still want to work on!)

They're Done!

I finished the Malabrigo Gloves, last night! They are very warm. I wore them when I went to go to church for Worship Team Practice. They felt so good and soft, I didn't want to take them off!

My first Huskies Sock is also completed. I've cast on for the second one, but haven't quite finished the toe. I did not get a chance to knit on them this morning as I had to drive myself to work! What a pain. (I try to Vanpool as often as possible, as I like to have time to knit and really don't like to drive.)

Today is my MIL's birthday. As such, we're going to have a quiet little party for her. I'll get to see how the Blue & White Socks fit. I'm so happy that I found something she likes to give her as a birthday gift.

Tomorrow morning, I have choir practice. We are trying to finish rehearsing for our Easter Cantata. I'm looking forward to it as we're going to be practicing with the actual music, rather than a CD with some other choir's voices on it. Its going to be great.

Secret Pals

Secret Pal 10 has begun! I'm getting excited to start buying special things for my pal. I just love the anticipation of sending and receiving. Waiting to see if she will love the items I send is always fun, too. Hearing from my upstream Secret Pal, was fun. I had barely received the email for my downstream, when I received the email from her! She sounds as excited as I am to be in this exchange.
Last night, I decided that I would try finishing up a UFO, or two. I did finish the first Huskies sock on my way home from work, and then started on #2 last night. I crochet cast on is not too easy to do in the limited light of the vanpool, so I cast on and worked the first row. Between finishing #1 and starting #2, I worked on my gloves, a little. I was knitting while watching Star Trek Voyager with dh, when I realized that I had not worked the gusset for the thumb correctly. Since I was watching TV, I didn't realize it until I started on the first finger! This meant that I had to frog back to the middle of the gusset & rework it. I did manage to get it re-knitted and get 3 of the fingers done, too! I'm really hoping that this UFO will become a FO, tonight. I'm so excited to get these finished. It looks like I will have almost 1/2 of the ball of yarn left, so I may make a hat to go with the gloves. There was a little frost on my car, this morning. The cold weather made me wish that the gloves had already been finished.

Sock almost finished!!

I have 1 of the Huskies socks almost finished. I may even get it finished later on today! These seem to be taking a long, long time. However, I only have a little yarn left at this point. I started the ribbed cuff after taking this photo, so I actually have about 1 inch more finished! They're looking great & I think that they will be well loved.

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!

Huskies Sock

Since beginning the Huskies sock on the 4th, I've knit the toe and most of the foot. Only one more inch to go, before starting the heel. I'm looking forward to the stitch being a little different as I work a short-row heel. I am doing the entire sock in stockinette, which gets a little boring after a while. However, it makes for great commuter knitting, since I can either look out the window (and knit by touch) or watch what I'm knitting, taking time to admire the way the colors are pooling. It has been a fun knit and is going a little more quickly than I thought that it might. The sock will be about 10 inches in diameter and about 11 inches in length. I split the yarn into 2 equally weighted balls so that I can just knit until I run out of yarn on the cuff. I'm hoping I have enough yarn to make it as long as the foot, but doubt that. Instead, I'll make it as long as possible by not using a hem for the cuff and using ribbing, instead.

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!