I was bad...

So, I need a longer circular needle to keep working on the pinwheel blanket, right? And if I can't find one locally in a longer length, I might need to order one from somewhere, right? Well, over the weekend I searched around and couldn't find a needle the size I wanted so resigned to ordering one sometime this week. Then, I got the Kaleidoscope Yarns newsletter. (I signed up when Michelle and I visited there a while back.) Turns out they are having a Koigu sale! So, yesterday I ordered my new needle and some yarn too. Okay, there were so many I wanted, but I managed to choose two and not spend a fortune. Not too bad, right?

This weekend I also finished the Monkey socks. These were SUCH the quick knit and lots of fun to do. The yarn is Koigu KPPPM #822, which I lovingly called "vomit". As they knitted up though, the greens were much more visible and the vomit-y yellow and gold colors weren't quite so vivid. I do love this yarn regardless of the names I called it..... Followed the pattern just as written but on a size 1 needle instead of size 2. No other changes.Yesterday I got these in the mail! I ordered three sock books from Amazon and these two arrived - one was shipped separately. More Sensational Knitted Socks looks awesome, as I love the first of these books. The only problem I see? Too many options I'll never decide!! Favorite Socks is very cool also, I see many patterns that I definitely want to start right away!

Right after finishing the Monkey socks I wanted to get a start on Pomatomus, which I've been eyeing for a long time. I wanted to make it in some sort of blue/green combo yarn and finally thought I had the right one. It is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Lakeview". So, started the pattern and the colors were just right - but they were pooling horribly and I knew I wouldn't be happy with the result. I put the pattern away again and instead started a new one after getting my new books. This is Retro Rib from Favorite Socks. So far so good, even though the colors are striping a bit, they are so much better than in the first attempt.

My New Love

We got something new. It is one of the best purchases I can imagine making and I am totally obsessed. I don't care how lame it sounds or what you might think, but all this is over a new appliance. Actually, a new set of appliances. That's right, we got a new washer and dryer! Long story short, our old pair were complete energy hogs (the dryer in particular) and had moved around with us so many times they were all beat up and had some issues. I present to you the new set......first comment: aren't they just awesome looking?!

We actually bought them a couple of weeks ago but they were just delivered Tuesday. Of course, I saved up laundry so we could try them out. And, Alex actually came home from work early to check out the goods. Verdict? They are fantastic! Huge capacity, very little water usage, and the washer is super low in energy use. Now, dryers are going to be energy hogs regardless, but check this out - the washer runs for 45-60 minutes depending on the cycle. Sound crazy? The spin speed is so outrageous it sounds like a jet engine. Well, really it is pretty quiet but has that type of sound. The clothes come out so barely damp that the dryer only runs about 25-30 minutes for a regular load! Amazing!

And, the boys are fascinated with the noises coming from the new shiny things. Of course, shiny things in this house soon get boxer nose prints as evidenced on the nice chrome trim...

Now, on to usual content - next finished pair of socks!Pattern: Aran Braid Socks, yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Potluck in Blues/Purples, the first knitted item from the yarns I purchased in VT. This is one of my favorite yarns to date! It is super squishy, springy, and soft. Lots of fun to knit up.

Pinwheel Baby Blanket is coming along slowly. Too much flash in this pic, but it is a minty green and will have some light yellow stripes when finished. I need to pick up a longer circular needle as I'm already running out of knitting room on this one.

Riddle

So, what do you get when you leave the dogs in the kennel (which they love!) over a long weekend?


Yeah, two pooped pups. I love them like this!

We were away in New Orleans for a friend's wedding. Had a great time and got to see a bunch of friends we haven't seen in years. Everyone is doing well and we had tons of fun.

Before the trip I finished these:

Pattern: Seduction Socks, free pattern from Spring 07 Interweave Knits, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Georgetown. How much do I love this pattern and yarn combination?!? These are possibly some of my very favorite socks to date. Add to that the fact that the pattern looks really fancy and is really a simple one to remember. Couldn't be much better, huh?

As soon as those were off the needles, I started another pair - they are coming along nicely (and quickly!), I'll post details about them once they are finished.

Keeping Warm

Doesn't that pic just say "It's cold outside" to you? This pic is actually from last week, but it hasn't exactly warmed up around here. The boys still love to run around and play outside, but are more than ready to come in and warm up afterwards.

Since we're talking about cold....I spent this past Monday and Tuesday up in Montpelier, VT hanging out with my friend Michelle. Tuesday was SO cold! It was -3 or so with a crazy windchill. Something like -30 or more, according to their local weather. We had a lot of fun and Montpelier is a really cute town, I really liked it. We had a great lunch and then headed out to Kaleidoscope Yarns, which is a great yarn shop - I will definitely be ordering from them in the future. Picked up some additions to the sock stash:

I pulled out that bluey-purple Cherry Tree Hill to wind up tonight and start planning for my next pair. Just have to finish the one I'm working on now and I'm only near the toe of the first sock...shouldn't be too long.

Tuesday morning we went down to Capitol Grounds for a bite of breakfast, snooped around some shops downtown, and headed to The Knitting Studio right in downtown Montpelier. It's a really cute shop and I am extremely jealous that Michelle can just walk there in about 5 minutes! Picked up a couple of new things there as well:

Even with those awesome new sock yarns to be excited about, I think I am most proud of my other new yarn. It is handspun by Michelle! She just bought a spinning wheel last year and is doing a great job. I love the bright color combo of this yarn and am so excited to make something with it. I'm thinking a scarf, probably a somewhat plain rib or seed stitch, something that will show off the yarn and not be too busy. Check out how great it is!

I finished the Opal Ladybug socks:

And also cranked out this pair, Woven Stitch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, Elann's house brand "Sock it to Me" Colori. This yarn has been in my stash since about the time I started knitting socks. Very bright and the colors pooled in a weird way. I have another pair made of this yarn in a different color and they washed up very soft and have held up really well, so I have good hopes for these:

What do the boys think of all the knitting? That's right, couldn't care less:

Back so soon?

This morning I realized I didn't include a couple of pics yesterday. I did finish a little more knitting over the last month or so - I picked up the Mason-Dixon Knitting book a while back and, just like everyone else I'm seeing, started making some dishcloths!I just LOVE dishcloths! I have a stack of them I really use for dishes and they are great. These are a little bigger and more textured than what I prefer for dishes so I am using them for bath/shower cloths. You can tell the bottom two have been used and washed, they are nice and soft and fading already - something about that I love, makes them so homey.

I took this next pic last week. Doesn't it just make you happy? It was cold and I had put on some socks after I took a shower and got dressed. Needed to run a couple of errands and I really didn't want to take off my snug warm socks. What could be better than handknit socks and the best sneakers ever?

Still here...

Yeah yeah, I did it again and neglected the blog for too long. This time I'm really going to attempt to keep up with it a little better. Note I said a "little" better, that way I'm not too tied down...

Things are going well and pretty routine around here. The boys are well and actually enjoying playing in the cold temperatures we've had lately. They really only got one day of snow to run around in but we're expecting some possibly this week. Our favorite snow activity is to make and throw snowballs for the dogs. They get all excited that you have a ball and then so frustrated that it disappears when it hits the ground. Too funny!

Now, on to the usual routine:

Some completed knitting projects

These are my completed "Hedera" socks from Knitty. They are done in KnitPicks Sock Garden (or Memories, can't remember which collection or the name...). This was a fun pattern and one I'd be likely to do again in a different yarn to see how it turns out. These are Trekking #110, the pair I was lamenting doing toe-up two at a time on two circulars. Well, I did finish them, but I definitely found out that is not the method for me. I like the color and fun stripeyness of the Trekking though, and I split the ball of yarn at the beginning so I could just knit until I wanted to stop. There was enough yarn that I ended up making almost-knee-socks, even having to add a few increases as they reached the calf area. They are fun and cute!I just finished these a few days ago - they are my first pair made out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. It is great! This color is "Glenwood" and the pattern is Alternating Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is soft, cushy, and really nice to knit with. Will definitely make more with it, in fact I have some for another pair in the stash. I bought both Lorna's and the Trekking when we were in Chicago last fall.

I also recently finished this baby blanket for friends of ours. Joe and Erin are expecting their baby girl around the end of March. This is the Big Bad Baby Blanket pattern from Stitch n Bitch. I am kinda boring in that I like to do baby blankets with plain old baby acrylic or some sort of cotton blend, something machine wash- and dry-able. This is knitted from Lion Brand Baby Soft with one strand of hot pink and one of purple held together. Turned out pretty cute I think. This is the second time I've made this pattern and the first is well loved - I hope this one will be too!Last pic for the day - a couple of current projects. My Opal Ladybug socks and the beginnings of a Pinwheel Baby Blanket for another soon to be little one of my friend/co-worker and his wife. Michelle recommended this pattern and so far I really like it!

Now, you're thinking that this might not be much knitting for the past few months, right? Well, we were pretty busy over the holidays. Then, in January I was working a little extra and also trying to get the house back in order. Oh, and I didn't get pics of the two scarves and one pair of socks that I made as Christmas gifts!

This time I will return sooner.....I hope!

30-ish

Well, it only took me a little over 3 months to return to the blog. Please accept my apologies!

As of today, I am 30-years-and-one-day old. That's right, yesterday was my 30th birthday. Woo hoo indeed. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about turning 30, but it turns out I had one of the best birthdays I've had in years. Christine and Anders came up over the weekend to visit, we went out to dinner with them and Joe and Erin also joined us. I got some really great gifts and my co-workers brought in an ice cream cake (Carvel, of course!) and we all stayed and had cake and wine at the end of the day. (Yeah, so we have wine with everything - what do you expect??)

A quick pic from my b-day dinner at Bravo Bravo:

I got two gifties in the mail yesterday, one from my Mom and one from Michelle! My Mom sent me a great little book light - she remembered that I didn't like the cheapo one I've had forever and got me a really neat one like she uses herself. Love it! And Michelle sent me a bunch of fun things! A few boxes of neat teas, knowing that Alex and I both drink a lot of tea and really enjoy different ones. She also sent me this:I totally didn't get it at first and wondered why the heck she sent me something like this.....but, Michelle and Jon are just as Simpsons-crazy as us and that just about explains it. If you don't get it - watch more Simpsons!

The main part of the gift from her I'll use to show off some socks I've finished recently:That's right, she sent me these super cute sock blockers!! I love them! (Although I'm suspecting that she knew I'd like them but also that I could use them to better photograph my socks for the blog.... :) ) These socks are a basic toe-up stockinette pair from Meilenweit Fun & Stripes in I-don't-remember-the-color-number. Love these stripey socks, the colors are really cute.

This pair is made from KnitPicks Sock Memories "Tropical Sunrise" (another of the colors they had on clearance when I ordered a bunch). It is the Crusoe pattern from Knitty. A snug fit with the stranded knit pattern, but I really like the way they turned out.Third pair for this post are Sockotta, I love the finished product you get with Sockotta yarn but it can be a real pain to knit with. It twists like crazy as you're knitting and seems a little more coarse but once you wash it it is SO soft and cozy. I've only used variegated Sockotta before and this particular stripe sequence is so wide that my socks are a bit shorter than normal to make a matching pair. This pair marks my first venture into the 2-circulars method. I made these one at a time top-down on 2 circs. It went okay - you'll see what I'm trying next...These are my current in-progress socks. At the bottom of the pic is Hedera from Knitty - this is a fun pattern and is knitting up really quickly. The middle sock is Reptilian Lace, also from Knitty (I followed the pattern but omitted the beads). A super cool pattern but more tedious than my usual sock so I'm just getting ready to start the mate after having this one done for a month or so. And....on to the top pair you see there....I mentioned that I finished that pair of socks on 2-circs. So, since it went fairly well I thought I'd try 2 socks on 2 circs. I divided my ball of Trekking (my first time working with this yarn though, and I love it!), started the socks toe up and planned a plain old stockinette pair so I could learn the new method easily. The verdict - I hate it! But, I am too stubborn to switch the socks to dpn's and am sure I can finish at least one pair on the 2 circs. It's getting there. Slowly.

Michelle also sent me some yarn - of course! She said these need a new home and I think I can provide a good one! More Sockotta (like I said, love the socks it makes even though it can be a pain). The neat brown multi I think she said is Opal Handpainted, very nice yarn. Michelle, the "socks-that-drove-you-crazy" are cute - but I tried them on and they are too small for me so I'm going to come up with something really neat for the yarn. I see what you mean that it's not really your color but you know I like those orangey things!