Just in time for Halloween

I finished the socks!  I really concentrated on finishing my Halloween socks.  I loved the yarn and how it striped.  I used size 1 needles, String Theory Continuum sock yarn in the color way Little Ghost Nebula with a basic sock pattern.  I love my new socks and I got to wear them to knitting today.

Yes, I went to my favorite yarn shop today and was able to knit with my friends.  What a great day.  I really felt sad though.  I miss going to knitting.  I am really going to try and get there for at least an hour each Friday or most Fridays.  The good news is that in two weeks I am off again and two weeks after that is Thanksgiving and I am off again.  So, I can definitely go those weeks. Something to look forward to.

I also finished the October Mid Month KAL.  The pattern was a witch by Alli Barrett.  I used size 6 needles with Sugar and Cream yarn in orange. 

Guess, you can tell it’s October and Halloween since I have been using  a lot of orange colored yarn?

I have purchased some new yarn.  I loved the String Theory Continuum yarn that I had to get Candy Corn and Electron from Simply Socks.

 

From the Loopy Ewe, I recently purchased Dream in Color’s Everlasting Sock yarn in Rosy and Tidewater.  It’s a nice sock yarn.  The Rosy color way is different from any other colors I have.

Now that I finished my Halloween sock, I need to get knitting on the embossed leaves sock, the prayer shawl for Christmas, and the baby hat for my niece (yikes, the baby is due soon).  I also need to start on the Great American afghan project that my friends are also knitting and need to get ready for the 2010 Kalendar scarf ( I still have to block my other scarf and take a picture of the finished project).

I can’t finish without showing a new picture of Maggie.  Doesn’t she look content and happy?

Time is flying and I’m glad.  I’m counting the days until the end of April.  Hope it goes real fast.

Knitting Makes me Happy

I am finally knitting more and starting to finish some projects.

I completed the October KAL in my Dishcloth group.  The pattern was Spider by Andi Worthy.  I used size 6 needles with Peaches and Creme yarn in the color shrimp.

I finished one Halloween sock using String Theory’s Continuum yarn in Little Ghost Nebula.  I am using size 1 needles.  This yarn is really nice and I love how it striped.

 

Three knitting friends were working on the Maelstrom sock and all of us finally finished them.  Don’t they look great?

   

I had to get a new picture of Maggie.  She just loves her ball and needs to have it by her all of the time.  She’s always ready to have me play with her.  I love how her tongue sticks out.

Yarn, Yarn and more Yarn….when does it stop?

I’m not knitting much, but I sure am buying yarn.  I just love yarn.  It makes me happy.

From The Knitter’s Edge, I got Crystal Palace Mochi Plus in color 558.  It’s a blue, green, purple color to make the Ruffled Scarf.

I also got Berroco Comfort yarn in color 9726 to make a bunny rabbit for my niece’s baby.  However, I recently found out that the theme for the room is monkey’s, so maybe I won’t be making the bunny.

Then I got String Theory’s Continuum sock yarn from Simply Socks.  This is a wide striping sock yarn.  It’s really cool and I love the colors.  I got Dark Matter (purple and black) and Little Ghost Nebula (orange and black for Halloween).

I started on the Halloween sock and it’s fun to knit. I’m using a size 1 needle.  I love the orange color.  My high school colors are also Orange and Black.  Although it’s been years since I graduated from high school.

I couldn’t resist ordering Skinny Bugga from the Sanguine Gryphon.  Her new fall colors are out.  I got Leaf Insect and The Herald.  Lovely colors!

I did start a prayer shawl for my mother-in-law for Christmas. Hope I get to finish it.  I am using the Marble Chunky yarn in color MC 15 with a size 13 needle.  I really like working with this yarn.

Sock Club Shipment

Yes, I got another sock club shipment.  They are surely fun to get, yet maybe I’m not as excited about them as I use to be.  We shall see what happens next year if I will decide to sign up for more.

From Wool Girl, I got a special shipment of divinely inspired by cupcakes.  This was separate from her sock club.  She sure wraps up the kits really nicely.

In this shipment, I got a skein of Dashing Docs fingering weight yarn in Cupcake: Divinely Inspired colorway (pink), a sock and a cowl pattern,  an accessory bag, pin cushion, push pin, stitch markers, lip balm, box, postcards, recipe, and a gift tag.

 

The Loopy Ewe September sock club came and I got Madelinetosh sock in Loopy’s Favorite Season, a sock and fingerless glove pattern. Heal Creme and a Lotion bar.  Love this package.

Fall is here

So glad that it is raining today.  We really need it.  Fall, it reminds me that I need to get knitting.  What a great time of the year to do that.  I sure am not lacking for yarn.

I got some Jojoland Rhythm yarn in color RS71 to knit the Preppie Scarf by Anni Howard.  I love how you knit the fringe.

Marble Chunky in color MC15 to knit a prayer shawl for my mother-in-law who is in a nursing home.

Freshile Fibers Double Down fingering yarn in Watermelon to knit socks.

And Sanguine Gryphon in Skinny Bugga (I just love Skinny Bugga and Bugga) in Faithful Beauty.  Maybe for a shawl or small shawl and socks?

I did finish a dishcloth from my Monthly Dishcloth KAL group.  The pattern is called Leaf Patterned by Andi Worthy.  I used Peaches and Creme in verde green with a size 7 needle.

Off to knit!

Where did two weeks go?

Time flies I guess.  Well, I haven’t been blogging lately because I took a full time job.  Am I crazy?  I think so.  We shall see how this goes, but if it doesn’t work out then it’s no big deal.  Something was calling me to do this and I guess there is a reason.

As a result I haven’t been knitting much these last two weeks and I have a lot to catch up on.  I did frog the Madelinetosh sock I was working on.  After casting on several times, I gave up.  I didn’t like how it was turning out so I ripped it out and threw away the yarn.  Sometimes you just have to give up on it.

I have some new yarn and projects to blog about, but I will save that until later this week.

Wool Girl – August Sock Club

I got my Wool Girl sock club shipment for August.  The theme is Butterfly Kisses.  It included:

• A skein of Zen String Serenity 20 fingering weight sock yarn in the Butterfly Kisses colorway.
• Flutterby sock pattern designed by Debbie O’Neill
• Butterfly Tattoo Scarf designed by Renee Strouts
• A set of embossed and glittered butterfly diecut notecards
• A Butterfly notions tin
• A fabric sticky note post-it note holder
• 2 Butterfly stitch markers
• A handmade gift tag

So cool.

 

Time Flies

Time sure flies.  I can’t believe that it’s after Labor Day already.  I really enjoyed my summer this year.  I finished the Calendar Scarf, but need to block it.  I hope to do that in the next few days and will post pictures after it is blocked.

I did complete the Sprout hat that I working on for my niece’s baby boy due in November.  I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in color 340003 (green) with size 2 and size 3 needles.  It had a tricky stitch in the directions, but I emailed the designer and she sent me a tutorial, which was very helpful.

I also started on the Twist hat by the same designer.  Pictures to come later.

I finished the Flounce scarf.  This was a fun knit.  I used color 06 (green and purple) with size 9 needles.  This worked up quickly.

Doesn’t Maggie looked thrilled modeling it?

 

I finished two dishcloths.  The August Mid-Month cloth.  The pattern was Ice Cream cone by Andi Worthy.  I used Peaches and Creme in cream with size 6 needles.

  

I also completed the September KAL.  The pattern was Do I Smell Cheese by Elaine Fitzpatrick.  I really like her designs.  I used Peaches and Cream in silver grey with size 6 needles.

I did pretty good in the last several days finishing up some projects, didn’t I?

More yarn to add to my stash

What a yarn week it was.  I got quite a bit of yarn this week.  I had to get more colors from the Sanguine Gryphon.  After finishing the Maelstrom sock, I am so in love with this yarn.

From the Loopy Ewe, I got Bugga in Familiar Bluet and Skinny Bugga in Painted Damsel.

From the Sanguine Gryphon direct, I got Red Spotted Purple Butterfly and Charaxes Tiridate both in Bugga.

I also got quite a bit of yarn from my LYS, The Knitter’s Edge.  I am planning on working on squares for the Great American Afghan, so I am using Plymouth Select from Plymouth yarns in color 35 a really pretty green.  Two of my other knitting friends are also going to knit this afghan.  We are going to be picking our own squares from the three afghan books.

King George yarn was on sale, so I got two skeins of color 2786 (grey) to knit a hat.  The yarn is a baby alpaca, merino, and cashmere mix.

 

And, I bought on a whim, this pretty ribbon yarn to knit two scarves.  It comes out like a potato chip scarf only you don’t have to do as much knitting.  I got color 08 (black and grey) and color 06 (green and purple).  I am going to try to cast on for one of these scarves this week and will take pictures.

I’m was really excited to buy this cool knitting bag by Laurel Burch.  It is such a big size that I needed and the colors are perfect.  The price was right too.  This bag will come in handy since I have so much yarn to knit up.  Don’t you think?

Now, off to knit so I can post some pictures later this week.

48th Pair of Socks

Can you believe that I have knit 48 pairs of socks? When I started this journey of knitting socks, I was determined to master it. I struggled for awhile. I had a hard time picking up stitches and getting holes in the corner. After much persistence, I found the solution to fix that problem. Then I had some trouble with socks being a little snug. I figured out how to resolve that by the number of cast on stitches to use with the size needle I chose. I even knit socks on size one needles, which I never thought I would do and tried two socks on two needles and found that I love one sock on two needles even better than double points. Who would have thought that? I tried a toe up sock and found out that I really liked it and while I haven’t memorized the Kitchener stitch, I do use a cheat sheet and it’s not hard to do. I stuck to a basic sock pattern for a long time, but finally tried knitting a patterned sock. Now, I love knitting patterned socks. I also have knit socks using a chart, which I also didn’t think I would ever do. I still struggle with pooling, so I guess that is the next thing I have to conquer, but I have come a long way baby with knitting socks!

I finished the Maelstrom socks by Cookie A. I used Sanguine Gryphon’s Skinny Bugga in Blue Lobster with size 1-1/2 needles. I really love this yarn and the pattern was really nice to knit. Now I have to look through my stash for another color to use for my next pair of socks or maybe I will knit a shawlette?

I had to order more yarn from the Sanguine Gryphon since I loved using it for the Maelstrom sock. I got Praying Mantis and Dawn Dropwing in Skinny Bugga and Blue Copper Butterfly in Bugga. Aren’t the colors wonderful?

I also finished day 19 of the calendar scarf. Five more pattern days to go. This is so fun. I really need to order more yarn for another year’s pattern. Maybe a green this time.

I got my next shipment from the Rubber Ducky club. The yarn is pima petite in the color way Cool water. I just love this color. I also got a bar of soap from Mimi’s called Sunny day and a small bottle of Bath Bubbles.

Well, I will be working on my calendar scarf this coming week and I have an itch to start a new pattern, but should really go back through my unfinished projects and work on completing something. Let’s see what happens.

Sanguine Gryphon

I just love the Sanguine Gryphon and the yarn she dyes.  I especially love Bugga and Skinny Bugga.  Bugga has 20% cashmere and Skinny Bugga has 10% cashmere. 

I am currently working on the Malestrom sock by Cookie A.  It’s a great pattern.  I am using Skinny Bugga in Blue Lobster with size 1 1/2 needles.  I have finished one sock and have moved on to the second sock.

 

I am also working on a basic sock pattern using Madelinetosh sock.  I love the colorway.  It’s called Plum Tree, but I hate how it’s pooling.  I started with size 1 needles and then moved to size 1-1/2 needles.  I’m still not happy.  Here it is with the 1-1/2 needles.

Here is the other side of the sock:

So, I started again.  I went back to size 1 needles and I split the ball of yarn in half.  I am knitting two rows from one ball and two rows from the second ball.  I will post pictures when I am further along with the sock.  It looks better so far.

I am not a fan of yarn that pools, but when the yarn is hand dyed it tends to do that.  I have to watch that in the future when I buy yarn.  

Reading is Fun

Well, it’s about time that I catch up with what I have been reading.  Surprisingly, I have been reading quite a lot.

A Reliable Wife – by Robert Goolrick – a very good book

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton – I love these alphabet books

9th Judgement by James Patterson

A Christmas Visitor by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer

Brava Valentine by Adriana Tirgiani

A Christmas Star by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer

Falling for Him by Debbie Macomber

Ending in Marriage by Debbie Macomber

Midnight Sons & Daughters by Debbie Macomber

True Colors by Kristin Hannah – another wonderful book by this author.

Hannah’s List by Debbie Macomber

Miss Julia Stands Her Ground by Ann B. Ross

Home is Where the Wine is by Laurie Perry

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb – excellent!

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

Troublemaker by Janet Evanovich and Alex Evanovitch

Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Orchard Valley Grooms by Debbie Macomber

I’m still on target towards my goal of reading 65 books this year.  I hope I can keep it up.

I love Skinny Bugga

I am in love with Skinny Bugga yarn by Sanguine Gryphon.  I am knitting Cookie A’s Malestrom pattern with Skinny Bugga in the color Blue Lobster.  This yarn has some cashmere in it and it is so nice to work with.  I love this pattern too.  I am using size 1.5 needles.

Still knitting on my calendar scarf.  This project should be finished in about 3 weeks.  I am loving this.

I bought some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino to make some baby hats for my niece who is pregnant and due in November.  She is going to have a boy.  I got the color 34003 (lt green) and 340027 (a denim like blue).

I went to Musicfest in Bethlehem, PA last night.  Thanks to the generosity of a fellow knitter, I got to see Allison Iriheta and Adam Lambert.  We had front row seats and got an excellent view of the stage.  It was a great experience!  Adam is a wonderful entertainer.

 

Finishing Projects feels good

I finished knitting the Angee sock by Cookie A.  I really enjoyed this pattern.  I used Numma Numma in grape jam with a size 1 1/2 needle.  Love the color and love the yarn.

I also completed the August KAL for my Monthly Dishcloth group.  The pattern is Baby Starfish Dishcloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick.  I used Peaches and Creme yarn in the color sunburst with size 6 needles.  This was a really cute pattern.

I was able to get the Loopy Ewe 4th Anniversary Kit.  We got Dream in Color Smooshy with cashmere yarn in the color Joy in the Morning.  It’s a beautiful color – Like a Robin’s Egg blue.  Also a sock pattern called Argonauta by Debbie O’Neill and a Loopy Ewe tumbler by Hadley Pottery.   Love it!