Only 22 Rows to Go!!

I've been working on the Civil War Shawl, more. I've actually completed 30% of the stitches. When I've completed the body of the shawl (another 17 rows) I will have it about half way done. The edging takes so much knitting! I'm really looking forward to starting a new section on this project, even though I am still enjoying knitting on the body of the shawl. I often find myself just stopping to admire my own work. Is that too silly? I come by this trait from my mother. She often does the same thing and must have taught me to do the same!

Oh, and I almost forgot! I finished the River Valley Socks, last night.

The Latest Knitting Progress

I accomplished quite a bit of knitting these last 4 days. First, I finished the front and the second sleeve of the Green Tea Raglan. I also cast on for the back and have nearly 3 inches done! Its going great, but I decided to take some time to knit lace. I was ready for a challenge, so I started the Mystery Stole on Saturday, finishing the first clue on Sunday night. Its beautiful and the beading technique used in the pattern is new to me. This has taken some getting used to, but I have the hang of it, now. I've also been trying to finish up the cuff of the second River Valley Sock. I only have about 3 pattern repeats left to go. I really want to finish this by Friday so that I can get into the drawing on the Sockamania blog. At least I have to wait for the next clue on the Mystery Stole before I can continue knitting on it. This way there is no temptation to work on it while I'm trying to set some goals for myself on other projects.
Yesterday, I was home from work, not feeling well. So, I pulled out the Civil War Shawl and finished around 12 rows!! This is represents lots of knitting time as each row takes 35-45 minutes to complete. The MS3 started me knitting lace, and I just couldn't stop. The CWS was a great outlet for that desire to knit a complicated lace pattern.

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday, my husband and I attended church and then spent the remainder of the day with my family at my parents' house. Everyone was there, except one brother. We played had a great beef stir-fry for lunch, played some cards, and I had a few hours to knit as we all talked. It was a nice day and I wish today could be another like it, but I have to work. I finished up to the heel of the second River Valley Sock and up to the armhole decreases on the Green Tea Raglan. Sorry, no pictures, today, but they are both showing progress, which I love!

A Knittin' Weekend

I used most of my weekend to knit! On Friday night, I finished the first River Valley Sock. When I arrived home from dinner at my in laws, there was another package waiting for me. This time it was from the No Sheep Swap. My pal sent a box of yummy raspberry tea (one of my favorites and I was out of it!) and a skein a of Phoenix Soy Silk. Since, I finished the sock, I cast on for a hat with the new skein. I made Odessa from Magknits.com. I finished this project on Saturday and then cast on for the second River Valley Sock. I almost finished turning the toe. Upon checking the mail, on Saturday, there was another package! This time it was yarn that I had ordered from Sarah's Yarns, teal 100% Bamboo! I quickly set about to find a pattern. I settled on Green Tea Raglan from Interweave Knits, Spring 2007. I finished the first sleeve and started the front! Like I said, I really had time to knit this weekend. It was so fun, probably because I didn't do any housework, either. Of course the house doesn't clean its self, but my husband was working on it off and on during the day on Saturday. What a sweetheart!

On Saturday, I met with a friend for tea and crochet lessons at Village Yarn and Tea. (She asked me to continue teaching her where another friend of hers left off.) While we were getting started, another customer was watching us and my friend C invited her to join us. She, too, is new to crocheting, so I ended up helping them both. It was fun and I enjoyed getting to know another needle artist along the way. We set up time to do the same thing, next Saturday, and L (the new knitter/crocheter friend) was invited to join us, too. Surprisingly enough, I did get about 1/4 of the hat done and all of the River Valley Socks knitting during this teaching session. Neither needed as much help as they thought that they did, so it was easy to get some knitting done while talking and helping. I usually have a project with me to work on when I am teaching (I've only ever taught 2 people at a time, never more than that!) so that I don't feel like I'm hovering/watching every stitch. When I've been the one learning, I've always found it easier if I'm shown and technique, left to practice, but still knowing that the teacher is nearby to answer questions when they arise. Most times, this has worked well for both me and the person I'm teaching.

Another Package!!

When I arrived home, last night, my mail box was stuffed full! I opened the first padded envelope and found the Sweater Stone that I had ordered. The felted bag that I received from the ITEIII was picking up balls from other fabrics, so I used the "Stone" on it. It worked great! The bag looks like new, again. I still need to do a tiny bit of mending by stitching the lining down in a few places. (I am very hard on this bag. It goes to work with me everyday and is often over stuffed. I can't say enough about Jen's knitting ability that it has lasted so well, and still has much, much more use left in it!!)

The second package was a puffy from Gail for the Things Knitters Want...Exchange. She sent 2 sets of markers (1 for tiny needles, like when knitting socks, and the other for a little larger needles.) They're perfect! The extra stuff was so much fun, too!

I've continued to work on the first River Valley Sock and have the cuff almost half done. The knitting is going a little more quickly than I thought it would, especially after knitting the last pair of socks with such thick yarn.

River Valley Progress

When I arrived home, last night, my husband said that I had a package! Here are just 2 of the great items that Kris sent (from the Stuff Knitters Want Exchange.) The stitch markers are the perfect size for the medium to small sized needles that I typically use, and the tin will be perfect for keeping loose tea fresh! She also sent a star-shaped knitted cloth.

Lately, most of my knitting time has been spent on the River Valley Sock. I turned the heel, last night!

There has, also, been some progress on the French Market Tote, but its difficult to tell, so no picture, yet...

Restarting the River Valley Socks

I know it doesn't look too much different, but I did rip and restart the toe for this sock. The green & black was pooling on the top of the foot. The sole looked great. Weird, huh? I ripped and then restarted using the cast on suggested by the pattern. I do like it better, and the patterning is coming out much more to my likeing, as well.

The real reason that I gave in to ripping out what I had done, was that it was too big. I knew that I was going down 1 needle size, so I carefully measured the gauge and found that I was getting 8.75 stitches to the inch, instead of the pattern's gauge of 8 stitches to the inch. So, I added an extra stitch in each of the purl columns. I turned out that the extra was not needed. I was ending up with a sock that would be too big. I should learn to rip sooner. I'm always more pleased with the finished project when I take the time to redo.

I'm loving the pattern. I was just a little concerned that the pattern might be difficult to memorize. It has a similar feel to it as the Luna Moth Shawl. However, the big difference is that their is no center line that mirrors the effect on the left verses the right side of the patterning. So, this one is quite easy to memorize. It only took 1 pattern repeat. I'm no longer carrying the directions, as I know how to do the short-row heel suggested in the pattern. I'll just work until the top is long enough. At that point, I may have to look at the pattern, so that I'll be able to work the cuff as suggested.

I finished the Rainy Day Socks, yesterday!! They are probably the best fitting sock that I've ever knit for myself. Oftentimes, I am in a little too big of a hurry to get the project finished and so I don't rip it back, like I should, when they turn out a little to long or short. This time, I did! It took 3 time of knitting the toe on the first sock to get it right, but I am so glad that I went to the extra work. The yarn is a sport or maybe even a dk weight, so the knitting on these went very quickly. They'll be great for wearing around the house on cool days or evenings. My feet always seem to be a little cold, so finding a good time to wear them should not be a problem!

My next project in line to be started was the June Sockamania pattern, River Valley Socks. I took the yarn and pattern with me over to my parents' house, yesterday, in hopes that I would finish the ones above. Since I did finish, I cast on for these. I'm knitting the toe up version, but used the Magic Cast On from Knitty. It worked well, especially because I did not have the waste yarn with me that would be required to do the crochet cast on called for by the pattern. I like the way that it is turning out and am excited to see how the pattern will begin to zigzag. So far the lace "holes" seem to run straight up the foot, whereas the pattern picture shows a zigzag or scalloped pattern to them. (I've only knit one pattern repeat, so far, and I can see it starting a little, but expect that it will show up even better