Is it a Cold or is it an Allergy

This was a rough week. It started on Monday, when I began to feel lousy. I had a slight sore throat and then I had to keep blowing my nose. Thank goodness it started in the middle of the afternoon. By the time I got home, I was down for the count and didn't resurface until Thursday. I did nothing but sleep and blow my nose. I was so glad when it stopped. I feel better but still am not sure if it is an allergy or a cold. I'm leaning towards a cold.

Thursday, I started knitting like crazy and I was sure ready for it since I have so many projects in the works.

I finished up socks using Creatively Dyed yarn in Watermelon Juice. I love this yarn. It is so soft and amazingly warm on the feet. I used size 2 double pointed needles with this basic sock pattern. I'm glad that I have more in my stash. It does have 10% cashmere in the mix and maybe that is having an effect on why I love the socks.

I started on the Vesper Sock yarn Trick or Treat socks last week. I got the yarn from Knitterly Things. I love how this yarn stripes. I really need to hurry up and finish them for Halloween. This is the second pair of socks that I am knitting on two circular needles (size 1-1/2) with a basic sock pattern and I am really starting to get the hang of it and enjoy the two needles.

I finished up the October Mid Month Dishcloth KAL. The pattern is called Autumn's Country Quilt by Sue Schaefer of Harvest Moon Designs. I used size 6 needles with Peaches and Creme cotton yarn in Yellow. I enjoyed this pattern.

It's so hard to believe that it is the end of October already and Christmas is around the corner. That also means tax season is near and I will be back to work again. Yikes, I got to get knitting!

I need more time to knit!

I have been getting quite a bit of knitting completed. I finished the starfish washcloth. This was really a fun cloth to knit and I highly recommend you all to try it. I used Pinky Stripes in Sugar and Cream with a size 7 needle.

I also finished the first sock of a basic sock pattern using Creatively Dyed yarn in the watermelon juice colorway. This sock is so soft. I have to cast on for the second sock. See, I should be doing these on two circular needles. But, I still love the double pointed needles.

I'm still working on the prayer shawl and the Serenknity socks. I was lucky to purchase some Halloween colored Vesper sock yarn from Knitterly Things. I was stalking the site the day she said she was going to put it up and boy did it go fast.

From left to right: Trick or Treat, Witchy Woman, Spooky, and a wee skein sock kit called the Great Googlie Mooglie. I think I will work on winding the Trick or Treat yarn into skeins and cast on today for that sock. After all, it is October and Halloween will be here before you know it.

I also got the next colorway in the Plucky Knitter sock club. It's called Lisa Carol Fremont. I love the light green colorway.

I also got some Rowan demin yarn for subscribing to their magazine. I love the denim color (I think that is my new favorite colorway). I got 6 skeins. Now I just have to decide what to knit with this yarn.

I am a bag freak and I was so excited to be able to buy a bag from Green Mountain Bags. She puts the bags up on a Thursday night and they go quickly. This is the medium carpet bag. The workmanship is wonderful. I would really like to get a bigger bag from her as well. I will just have to keep stalking her web site.

The end of the year is coming up so fast and there are so many projects I need to finish and want to start. I definately want to complete the sweater I started in 2004, a beach tote that is almost finished and a shrug that is close to completion. I just need more time to knit!

Two Socks on Two Circular Needles

I finally finished the River Rapids Sock. I was so excited because this was the first time using two cable needles. I am a die hard double point needle person, but I really liked this method. I had a bit of a problem picking up stitches at the heel, but did overcome it and the socks came out fine. It does take longer to knit, but then you are knitting two socks at a time and when you are finished, both socks are done. The trick is to use two different kinds of circular needles so you don't get mixed up. Another tip is to put the two balls of yarn in a plastic bag while you knit. It helps to control the yarn. I used size 2 needles (Knitpicks) and Indie Dyer yarn for this sock.

I love the heel on this sock. It looks like a star pattern.

So, I jumped on the bandwagen and started another pair of socks on two needles. This time I am knitting a basic stockinette sock using Sereknity yarn in the color vineyard. It's a light sportweight yarn and I love the feel of it. I am using size 2 needles. I ran into a problem casting this sock on the needles. I was getting a gap at the one side of the join. After casting on three times and ripping out the stitches, I cast onto double points, knit two rows and transferred the stitches to the circulars. How is that for determination?

I also worked on dishcloths last week. I finished the October KAL for my dishcloth group. The pattern is Frankenstein's Monster Cloth by brileyknits. I used size 7 needles with Peaches and Creme yarn in olive green. I enjoyed knitting this cloth and the size was smaller than other cloths that I have made before.

I also completed the dishcloth from Rachel's Knitting Group. The pattern is called Zig with a bit of Zag by Noreen Hunter Talbot. I used size 6 needles with Sugar and Cream yarn in cornflower blue. This pattern was really fun to knit. The size was much larger than any other that I have knit before.

My knitting class started another dishcloth for the month of October. It's the Starfish washcloth pattern. I am using size 7 needles with Sugar and Cream pinky stripes. I am enjoying the short rows on this dishcloth.

Last, but not least, I started on a prayer shawl. I'm not sure who I am going to give this to, but I have wanted to knit one for awhile. It's the standard pattern for a prayer shawl from the Prayer Shawl Ministry (knit 3, purl 3). I am using Lion Brand Homespun yarn in candy apple red with size 11 needles.

Off to knit some more!

Sock Yarn Clubs

Do you belong to any sock yarn clubs? I currently belong to the STR group and Plucky Knitter. In the recent past, I belonged to Yarn Pirate. I'm not sure how I really feel about sock clubs, but I do know that it's nice to receive a package in the mail with sock yarn that other knitters won't be able to buy for awhile.

I have belonged to the STR group since almost the beginning. I missed out on the first shipment. I love their yarn and most of the patterns are nice, but I currently have so much of it and the club is getting pretty expensive. I'm not sure if I will rejoin for next year. I recently got the September shipment. The colorway is wonderful and I like that it is the lightweight yarn.

I do like the itty bitty hanks of yarn and the little gifts we also get with the shipment.

I joined the Plucky Knitter yarn club when she started it. Her yarn is very nice, but again, I have so much of it that I canceled after this last three months is over. I also recently got a shipment from her and I really like the colorway (Cat) and the yarn.

I recently signed up for the Unique Sheep's Color Co op that starts in November. I'm looking forward to this club because I didn't know about her last one and there is one pattern for a sheep washcloth that I am anxiously awaiting to purchase. It won't be available until November. Her yarns look really nice.

I also signed up for the Intentions Yarn club that starts in February. Violet of Lime and Violet fame is behind this yarn club and the yarn looks wonderful. She apparently had some at the Loopy Ewe and it sold out very quickly.

Last but not least, I joined the Sundara Yarn Sock collection. I love her yarn, but it is often hard to get because it goes quickly. By joining her sock yarn club, I am guaranteed getting the yarn. I picked the warm collection. We will see how it goes.

I really wanted to get in the Loopy Ewe sock club and the Wollmeise Sock club, but I missed out on both of those. I was really disappointed. But, maybe things worked out for the best.

So, what yarn clubs do you belong to? Let me know how you like them.

Knit, Knit, Knit to My Hearts Content

This week is wonderful. I don't have to work, I don't have to go anywhere except where I want to go, I can get caught up on cleaning, and I can knit, knit, knit to my hearts content. I really need to knit since I have been buying yarn like crazy.

I couldn't resist ordering from the Loopy Ewe, so I got three skeins of Sereknity Sock Options perfect and a skein of Indigo Moon yarns.

From left to right: Indigo Moon: Wine Country, Sereknity: Vineyard, Violas, and Tree Frog. I can't wait to try out these yarns. Both are 100% Superwash merino. The Sereknity is a light sport weight yarn.

I also got my yarn order from Hangefaerbt. This is another yarn from Germany and the colorways looked really nice, so I ordered 5 skeins. It took awhile because she dyes it after you order the yarn.

It's 100% merino extra fine yarn. It appears to be superwash and you get 150 grams in each skein, so I may be able to get two pairs of socks out of each skein. From left to right, colors are: Fairy Garden, Atlantis, Green Elve, Army of Orcs, and Magic Rose.

My order of Fannies Fingering Weight yarn finally came in at Kraemer's Yarn Shop. I just love the colors called Kaleidoscope and Storm. This yarn is so soft.

I have been knitting a bit. I finished the September Mid Month KAL dishcloth called Woven Cable by Jamie Monaghan. This was a great way to practice cables and it came out really nice. I used size 7 needles and Peaches and Creme yarn in the Dessert Gold colorway.

The Saturday knitting class at Kraemer's is doing a dishcloth a month to practice different stitches. The cloth for September was the Nubbins cloth. I used size 7 needles with Sugar and Cream yarn in the Key Lime Pie colorway. This cloth was fun and I can see making this pattern as a placemat.

My River Rapid Socks on two circular needles are coming along. I hope to really work on these a lot this week. It's really not bad knitting two socks on two circular needles. There are some challenges, but there would be on anything you learn for the first time. I love the yarn (Indie Dyer using Louet Gems base) and the colorway.

Well, I'm off to knit! I cast on for another dishcloth and want to cast on for a Prayer Shawl plus work on my socks.

Yard Sale! - No Time to Knit

I can't believe how fast this past week went. We had a neighborhood yard sale on Saturday, so most of my spare time was spent getting ready for the sale. It was suppose to be sunny and cool; however, it didn't get warm until close to 11 AM. The yard sale went until noon and we were freezing because it was overcast. I did fine with the sale. I had a ton of books to put out and we weren't that busy, but one person came and offered me a flat rate for the hardback books. I took it. I didn't want to have to carry all the boxes back into the house. The great part is that he resells the books on Amazon, so I got his name and number and can call him as I have books to get rid of.

Not much knitting went on this week. I did get some yarn, which I will post later this week. I ordered some neat knitting tools from an etsy shop called karatstix. I custom ordered what I wanted and it has been shipped. I have a picture of my order from her and I'm so excited how it turned out. Definately, check out her shop.

Spring Forward - Fall Back

Spring Forward is complete! I guess it should be since Spring has been gone for quite awhile. I loved knitting these socks. It was a really easy pattern to follow. I also liked the Jknits yarn in the Boston colorway. I used a size 1 needle. I guess someone needs to come up with a pattern called Fall Back.

I am slowly working on River Rapid Socks using two circular needles. It's not that I'm not liking the pattern or the needles, it's just that I wanted to finish off the Spring Forward socks. I have another sock on the needles and want to finish up a couple of other things too as well as start other projects. Maggie was sick the last couple of days, so that also slowed me down. She is getting better. She has pills from the vet but I have to feed her hamburger and rice. So I keep frying up hamburger and cooking rice. Thank goodness I am now able to mix in her regular dog food. Soon she should be just eating that and I can take a break from being the Hamburger and Rice Queen.

I saw a really cool pair of socks knitted in a watermelon colorway that I'm dying to buy. I just have to be patient until the yarn is available. I'm not telling where to find it yet because I want to make sure that I get to buy the yarn first. Am I bad?

I have also been reading. I have read the following books:

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovitch

The Beach House by Jane Green

What Happened by Scott McClelland

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (this was really good)

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin (I enjoyed both of these books)

Marriage of Inconvenice and Stand in Wife by Debbie Macomber

Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton

That's 44 books read to date and 21 more to my goal by the end of the year. I am currently reading Why Women Should Rule the World by Dee Dee Myers. This is a really good read and I believe that every woman should read this. It's startling to see how much women are treated differently than men in the workplace.

Learning Something New

There just isn't enough time in the day for knitting. I think we need more than a 24 hour day.

I finished the September Dishcloth KAL. It's a schoolhouse by Andi Worthy. I used size 6 needles with Peaches and Creme in Brick Red. This is the first time I used Brittany birch needles and I really liked them. So much that I bought size 7 and 8.

I have also been working on my Spring Forward Socks. I finished one sock and I'm now working on the second sock. I hope to finish it this week.

I like this pattern. It is easy to follow and the stitches are easy to remember.

I have started two socks on two needles. This is the first time using circular needles for socks. It took me a couple of rows to get the hang of it. At times I felt as if the needles were all tangled up into loops. Thanks to a knitting friend at knitting class, I overcame my doubts and I think I'm going to like this method. I am using size 2 needles (one metal and one harmony - this is easier to keep track of the needles) and Indie Dyer yarn, which is 100% Superwash merino. The pattern I chose is the River Rapids Sock by Sock Bug. It was written for two socks on two circular needles and looks like it isn't too difficult a pattern to knit.

I guess it's a good thing to learn something new.

Yarn Porn

I have to get caught up on posting the sock yarn I bought. First is the Plucky Knitter sock club. It's the Plucky Classics a merino superwash yarn in the colorway called Madeleine Elster. I also got a tape measure with the yarn.

Then there is the Socks That Rock sock club. Lightweight 100% superwash merino yarn in the goody goody colorway. I received two sock patterns with this yarn.

I also couldn't resist ordering Socks that Rock Typhoon Tina in Silkie, Rain Forest Jaspter in lightweight, and Highway 30 in Silkie.

Kraemer yarns got a special order of Flat Feet yarn. This is from the Flat Feet sock club. I thought it was different enough to try. Can't wait to see how it knits up.

Last, but not least I ordered Felici from knitpicks in Provence and Mixed Berries. I saw Provence knitted up and it really stripes nice.

I ordered some new yarn from Germany (it's not Wollmeise) and I can't wait to get that yarn to see how it compares with Wollmeise. I will post that when it arrives, but it will probably be later in September. Hope I'm not disappointed. I tried to get into the Wollmeise sock club, but didn't make it, so this purchase is to appease me. Wollmeise is like gold now a days because it's so hard to get.

Knitting away like crazy in September

It's hard to believe that it's September already. The weather here hasn't been that hot lately, but this week it's suppose to go back to the 90's. I have four more weeks of teaching and then I get a break. I'm ready since my knitting has suffered the last two weeks.

Some finished projects:

I finished the August Mid-Month KAL. The pattern is called Elvish Leaves. I used Size 6 needles and Peaches and Creme yarn in the country garden colorway.

After I finished it, I found a mistake (can you find it?), so I knit up another one using Peaches and Creme in shrimp. I like this one because you can see the pattern better. I really like the pattern and it was a fun knit.

Another sock is complete. For this one I used Trekking Zitron yarn in the colorway 167 with a basic sock pattern and size 2 needles.

I also started working on my Spring Forward socks again. I let them sit for awhile and now I am on a role. I hope to finish the first sock by today or tomorrow.

Of course, I had to start on another sock, so I am using Creatively Dyed Luxury 20 (it has some cashmere in it and is so soft) and size 2 needles. The colorway is Watermelon Juice.

I got a new phone. My Razer wasn't charging anymore and I was due for an upgrade, so I bought an Iphone. I love it! Especially since it is a phone and ipod. I found a pattern for an Iphone cozy, so I knitted that up using the Sanguine Gryphon's Eidos sock yarn in Pythagorus and size one needles. I modified the pattern a bit. I knit from the top down and used a K1 through the back loop and P1 for the ribbing. I didn't knit the pocket, but may add it later. I used the knitpicks metal double points for this pattern and let me tell you they are much nicer than bamboo for size 1 needles. In fact, I also like using the size 2 needles too.

Next week at my Friday knitting group, we are going to start knitting two socks on two needles. I have been procrastinating using two needles, but thought that I would jump in and try this method since several of us would be trying this at the same time. I am going to use the knitpicks circulars to knit these socks. Someone recommended using one metal and one harmony needle. It was better for them to keep track of what needle they were using when trying the two circular method.

At my Saturday knitting group, we are going to start knitting dishcloths to try out different patterns. We are going to knit a different pattern every two weeks. So, I am going to be knitting away like crazy this September. I don't think I have time to work or teach. It's time to retire again.

100th Post!

It's hard to believe that this is my 100th post. I have been trying to post at least one time per week this year. I have been doing pretty well. The weeks I can't get a post up, I have posted more than one time per week to make up for it.

I thought I would show you my back porch since I really love to spend time out there during the summer. Here is a picture:

It is screened in and shaded so I don't have to deal with bugs and the sun. I have several fans going too so that helps when the temperature gets up there.

Here are some pictures of my view:

I live at the base of the Poconos and while I am not really in the mountains, the Blue Mountain is the mountain that you see in the picture. It is amazing how that mountain protects us. The weather can be so different on one side of the mountain versus the other side. I also live in a community that loves trees.

Here is also a picture of my Black Eyed Susans. I had these planted for the first time this year and they came in really well. If you look close, you will see an insect on one of the plants.

I just had to share this picture of Maggie May. This came out well from my cell phone and she just had a visit to the groomer.

And, just so this post has some knitting in it. Here is a picture of the socks I am currently working on using Trekking Zitron yarn in color 167 with size 2 needles.

I have been Loopified!

I love the Loopy Ewe, so much so that I have ordered quite a bit of yarn from them lately.

From left to right: Pagewood Farm in Turquoise, Sanguine Gryphon in Oznopa Ponton, Enchanted Knoll Farm in Juniper, Trekking Zitron in color 315, and finally Noro Silk Garden in color 5252

From left to right: Scarlet Fleece in poodle skirt, Creatively Dyed Yarn in Watermelon Juice and Winds of Change.

From left to right: Pagewood Farm in Forest Camo, Perchance to Knit in Peony (note the charm or stitch marker attached to the yarn), and Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in denim blues

Of course I had to buy their second Anniversary kit that consists of Handmaiden Casbah yarn, a sock pattern, two tatoos, a pin, and a Loopy Ewe mug.

I am in heaven with all of this sock yarn and I really love the Loopy Ewe (can't you tell?)!