Knit Nite

The Third Thursday of the Month is my Panera Knitting Nite at one location (we also have another one on the 1st Thurs. of the month at a different Panera). Funny, the three of us that make it to this one haven't been able to make it to the other one. They have good reasons, mine is just chicken-ness some of the time but sometimes there have been valid reasons: sick kids, school functions etc. In any case, this one is a LOT closer for me and since I hate driving in this town - (especially to jump on the interstate in 5:00 traffic) I always take this one chance to hook up with the ladies. We have a lot of fun, there are about 6 of us total, but only three of us showed this time.

Here's Beth inserting and fixing the twisted cord pulls on my Volute Purse. I'm lucky to have the ladies, this had me frustrated beyond measure. Beth is one smart lady (seriously) and she figured out in about 30 minutes what took me hours (okay, weeks.)

Here's how I wanted it to look, just like the picture in the pattern book: With the tassels hanging down when the bag is cinched up. I'd never worked with twisted cord before so it was kind of frustrating until I realized once they were threaded thru I'd have to cut the other end of one cord and tie the two ends together (makes the tassel fuller as well). No one told me that. In the pattern it just says to make two, weave them in opposite directions and that's about it. Hmmm, I get very little sleep on a regular basis and need a little more help with what seems "simple" or basic to others.

All that drama and headache for this: Miss J got the purse and now it's Mr. Somebody's (I can't remember his name!) house. For now anyway. Later she'll fill it with all kinds of "her stuff". She has all her bags full of something or other. Of course, now Miss C is upset she doesn't have one for her Mr. Somebody (forgot his name too.) I have to get started on the other one soon.... at least they make me feel wanted!

Below you can see that Tracy is the only one who got any knitting done!!! She can talk and knit at the same time!!! Amazing!!! Beth's pattern was tough, (she's making a toy dog) there were rows that weren't even accounted for in the instructions so she just put it away and we jabbed our jaws.

Here's what I did:

And I didn't even cast on the right number. And that was after about 4 tries. I'm telling you, my mouth gets going and I lose all focus.

Note to self: Next time, CAST ON BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME!!!!

Panda Cotton Socks...ehh

I know these pictures aren't the greatest but I'm really tired and rushing to get ready to leave soon for my knitting meeting. I wish I had more to blog about to keep people around, lately not a lot has been going on with me (like there ever is! LOL!). But these socks gave me a little something to talk about....

The culprit: Panda Cotton Yarn in Strawberry-Lime

I used my size 1 Harmony circ.

My rating: From 1-5 probably a 2.

I had the hardest time getting these worked up . Lately I've been trying to use "different" yarns from the stash just for fun. I'm so used to grabbing my Lorna's Laces and just going to town with my regular cast on etc. It always WORKS and I'm always happy happy with the results. But this beautiful yarn tested my usual ways.

I tried a free pattern online with a 68 st cast on. It's a cute pattern but after a bit it was easy to deduce that they were going to be HUGE around the ankle. So I went down to 64.... then 60. I finally ended up going with a 56 stitch cast on. On the flip side, this is a really soft yarn (that's why I gave it a 2), I liked knitting it with my harmony circular needle (smoooooth), and it has some elastic in it as well so I figured I'd be okay with the give from the elastic and my smaller c/o.

This is a fingering to sport weight yarn and needle size varies. The ball band says 6-7 sts for guage and mine worked up at about 8-9. I had read somewhere on Ravelry that someone's finished socks stretched out a LOT so I didn't want to already start out with a huge baggy sock. (Like I said, with that 68 st cast on, they were already HUGE). Pondering this, I decided to use a simple baby cable rib pattern hoping that would give some ease and they'd stretch for wear.

The Verdict: I'm not sure if they'll be too small for me yet as I washed them yestersday and they're still wet. Maybe I should've put them in the dryer for a bit. It makes me wonder how they'd feel if you have warm feet already? Do they retain that much moisture for so long? hmmmm. I'm still concerned about the leg/ankle part stretching out too much once I put them on...I'll have to post later on any changes and they may go to one of my daughters after all (who are the best and brightest kids ever cause they want everything I knit!)

My conclusion is I'll use the other colorway I have of this (Roses) for something else, maybe a little scarflette or something but not for socks. I liked the baby cable rib pattern stitch though. It's a nice simple pattern for socks that doesn't look too funky.

We're not doing much for spring break this year, we've stayed home mostly just puttering around the house. Monday we cleaned and vegged. Tuesday I had a massive headache all day (must've been the cleaning! LOL!) Wednesday the girls and I dashed out to a walking trail in between the thunderstorms and had a nice walk. It was so pretty outside (I wish I had had my camera with me!!) but a bit on the humid side because of all the storms. We still haven't adjusted to living here in the south I guess, we're in light jackets and had to tie them around our waists and other people were out there in shorts. One day it's literally freezing here and the next day you need a shower as soon as you step outside. Crazy. Tonight is knit nite. Hope the others can make it, if not we're going for a walk at another park. The girls love playing outside but the back yard can get kind of boring after a bit.

Tomorrow the gang is off to the Smokey Mountains. I'm going to get some rest (seeing more deer isn't as exciting to me and I really need the sleep). I just realized why I didn't sleep last night, it was the real Pepsi I drank yesterday. It's so good but that caffeine had me WIRED! No wonder why I was up until 9 am this morning. I'm a sleeping institutes worst nightmare. They'd be exasperated with me.

I Must Hold the Title

of the "World's Most Boring-est Knitter".

Behold yet ANOTHER pair of socks on the Knitpicks Harmony fixed circular (size 1).

Even though I had problems knitting with the Harmony DPN's (I thought I was going to snap them in two), this fixed circular makes me happy-happy beyond words. I think it's called love.
(magic loop is soooo addictive)

Here's part of a sweater that I'm working on now.

It's from the same yarn that I was using for the Sitcom Chic (which landed in the frog pile, things just weren't working out). I decided on a different pattern but I have to wonder if I'll ever finish it. Seems like miles and miles of "knit 2 purl 2" and I'm still on the back. It could be years before it's ever done, but I'm not in any big hurry. This has turned into my relaxing TV knitting for now. A couple of rows here and there and I'm feeling good. This project's been one of those ones where I measure and have 7 inches, then I knit for a couple of days and measure again and I have......7 inches. It feels like I'm in that Groundhog movie where I keep reliving the same moment over and over. Then I do one more row...measure....and suddenly have 10 inches!! Crazy!!

We found out Thursday that my youngest does need braces for sure. I know I knew it already, but it's going to be for the long haul, probably around 36 mos . (I think I physically drooped when he said that). What mainly concerns me as a Mom is any pain she'll have to endure. I can handle my own pain, but when it comes to the girls, it's tough for me, very tough. Turns out it's a good thing that I'm on my "yarn" diet this year, since my pocketbook is going to be feeding her Orthodontist for a bit now. I just got another catalog from Webs in the mail today and it's sooooo hard to not peek inside and drool. I have to remember that I'm very fortunate that the stash is so well stocked. I better think about going back to work someday, these kids should come with an estimate before you have them! .

I'm thinking of getting back into the doctor soon, my blasted gallbladder is acting up again. I'm scared silly at having any type of surgery, (and even more about a low-fat diet) but man, this pain is bugging the heck out of me lately. One night last week I had some pizza and I've been in pain ever since. I hate getting old and falling apart! How I wish I was 20 again....

Spring Break has arrived so the girls will be home driving me batty next week. It's going to be fun when I get them cleaning the house with me! hahaha! They just LUV that. We don't have any definite plans but we're going to try to get out and enjoy the springtime in between the thunderstorms.


Back to my regular scheduled knitting program... socks and K2P2.

Socks and Snow

I finished my Soxx Appeal Socks and they're quite squishy & "sproingy". I've used Cascade's Fixation before (which has elastic in it also), so I didn't have a hard time adjusting my tension for these. These feel almost like Fixation too, they're sort of nubby, it's just fun to use something different once in awhile. I bought this yarn mainly for the colorway. The jury is still out on how well I like it worked up, but I think they're growing on me. (edited to add picture that you can actually see! LOL!)

Magic Loop Size 2 - Cast on 56 - Soxx Appeal by Knit One Crochet Too in Oceana

Another note: Look how far ONE ball of this got me (Note: It isn't your eyes, just my blurry self taking blurry pictures....):

I just used a "smidget" of the other ball to finish the toe on the second sock. I could easily get another pair of anklets out of the second ball. I made these in a womens' small size 5-6. I don't know that I'll use it for more socks though, I'm thinking of other accessories like ipod cozies or headbands or such. Someday....

Saturday morning we finally got a "little" more than a dusting of snow. We have a huge hill behind the houses on our street so the girls and their Dad hit that as usual. There was just enough for that, so they had a good hour out there and got totally wet & dirty. They loved every minute of it. It was soooo cold. We ran errands later and most of it was gone all over town by then, but the icicles were everywhere. I was just waiting for one to end up stabbing my head!

Jenna loved it too. She wishes she could be running with the sled dogs in Alaska! You should see her go!

And that's about it. More socks on the needles, I'm so predictable....here's to a good week ahead.

PS. Thank You Anna for making me laugh about my grouchy post. It's good to know that even when you're a total bummer, you still have friends. You cracked me up, I'm forever asking my husband "do you smell that?" too!!

PSS. Miss Dawn, get well soon!!! (as in Please Go to the Doctor!) and thanks too for calling me even when you were so sick!! Sending Get Well Wishes & Hugs your way.....

Soxx Appeal Socks

This is one of those colorways that I think looks really cool in the ball...but I'm just not sure if I like it knit up. I'm using Soxx Appeal in Oceana. I also have some Raspberry Sundae in the stash. Here's MY Sock going for a ride in the car (hanging it's foot out! hahaha):


Here's a picture of both, but it's not easy to get a good color representation with my camera. I asked The Big Guy what he thought and I could tell he was careful about saying that he liked it better in the ball too. He's so brave , but this time I already agreed. Oh well, they're just socks.



I've already strarted sock #2 using Magic Loop again. I feel a little guilty ditching my DPN's in a heartbeat once I learned this method (especially since I have so MANY of them) but I really like this method a lot more than I thought I would. I recently got my 40 inch ones from Knitpicks and plan to try two socks at a time in the near future. I've done 2 socks on 2 circs before, the craziest part is the very beginning when you're transferring things around, after that it's a piece of cake.

Here's a pic of the size 8 Fixed Circular I ordered. I thought it was very "tiny" but after comparing it to my addi turbo, it's the same size. The wood is just part of it. They had me fooled! I wanted to try this out to see if I liked the Harmony's.

Here's a pic to show Jeanne the "dusting" that we got one day last week. Nothing compared to your area huh? I just love our little "flurries"though, it just tickles me. And I don't crash into anyone cause it doesn't stick so that's good. We did get quite a bit of white stuff up in the Smokey Mountains which aren't far away. The girls wish we lived up there so they could have some snow days.

My youngest daughter's last cheer game is today so we're happy that we'll have our Saturdays free again, but sad that it's ending at the same time. This season just flew by. The awards presentation is next Friday along with school spring pictures, book fairs, and other stuff. School is busy as ever for both of them.

Today I've actually been up since 8:30 am! What a treat it is to wake up and FEEL awake! Even with only a few hours of sleep! It's Crazy what that medicine did to me! I'm about ready to drop now though, but the roast is in the oven, all the errands are ran, and I've just got to make it thru this game and I can take a nap! Life is good. Better than yesterday! Oy, my post was so sad! But it felt good to get it out. I bounce back eventually. Today I feel so much better. Whew.

Knitter Alert: Miss Dawn in California has the flu bug really bad right now. She can't even knit! Maybe send a little get well wish to her blog if you get the chance. Hang in there Dawn! Hope you feel better soon.

Gotta get the princess ready for her game...Happy Saturday and Happy March!!

Mrs. Grouchy

Fair warning: I'm cranky. Grouchy. Just a pill to be around. I totally understand if anyone flips out of here now. To start with, I have no knitting to show. Not that I haven't been, but I'm working on some plain vanilla socks and they just aren't all that exciting (and seem to be taking for-ev-er). Wait until I get pics, you'll see what I mean.

I've just been having a tough week as far as pain and crankiness go. It's PMS time, so I'm down a bit by nature anyway. Isn't it funny how things seem sucky when you're feeling bad already? Someone is totally rude to you (Mean Old Hag Librarian) for no reason, or other stuff seems to bother you more than it normally would? It's like getting kicked when you're down. It really stinks. You just get in a funk and the hormones make it worse. It doesn't even have to be anything big or specific. Things just bug you in a weird way, way bigger in proportion than they should.

I've had my usual monthly symptoms making me a joy to be around - worse allergies and headaches (I haven't been using my Neti Pot lately because it seemed to dry me out too much). This "time" also heightens my sense of smell, which was a bummer when all of a sudden "something" in the fridge smelled bad. We cleaned it out, cleaned it out again, and couldn't for the life of us figure out WHAT it WAS??? Finally The Big Guy just threw a bunch of stuff away (after he brought it to me to smell). We finally got rid of the smell, but we still don't know what it was. Crazy huh? This schnoz of mine is a curse sometimes. I can't be in the perfume area of dept stores for too long or I'll pay later, same for candle or other soap shops. I once went to a "Party Lite" candle party and nearly died after I got home. Strong smells trigger my migraines faster than anything. I wish a Dr could fix that! I'd LOVE to wear perfume again...

I was also a little bummed about the Knitty Gritty thing. The post to start this was going on well before I got into it, like 3 months ago, so I figured people must be sending out their squares. I guess I got a little discouraged when I tried to ask if anybody had mailed any out so we could see if there was an impact at DIY and only one other person responded - and she hadn't actually gotten hers out yet due to bad weather. I suppose it's one of those things that people say they want to do (and have good intentions), but never get around to. So my guess is this "major impact" thing is a Big.Fat.Dud. And that's ok. It was a great idea, and I did my part. Actually, it bothered me more at first than it does now.

Another bummer, I've been hurting more and yet had to cut back on the Lyrica. I realized (slowly - duh) that I went from sleeping very few hours a night to sleeping 10+. It didn't make me "fall" asleep (my usual is 3 or 4 am), but it kept me asleep somewhat, I still woke up a lot but went right back to sleep, which for me is a BIG deal. But I was missing whole "days" because I couldn't get up without feeling drugged and dizzy until I HAD slept enough. I was barely making it to pick up my daughter from school and there were a couple of days that I can't believe I DID make it . I had upped myself to the actual dosage (instead of half) because I was hurting again after having some relief, and it finally dawned on me that it was too much. When you can't get up until dinner time, something isn't right...I'm still hurting and yesterday my wrists and arms hurt so bad I couldn't knit, that was a total bummer, but I got some house cleaning done despite the pain. You gotta do what you gotta do.

You know what else bugged me? That there were 10 quilting magazines in the grocery store, 4 beading ones, two sewing ones, two scrapbooking ones.... and not one knitting or crochet one. I subscribe to all the ones I like anyway...but still. It bugged me. Silly huh? I know knitting isn't going anywhere (despite DIY network throwing us out). I know knitting has it's crazy ebb & flows, but geez. Not one magazine to represent.

On the flip side: I'm extremely fortunate to have a spouse who just "knows" that I'm not myself at certain times. Honestly, he usually knows well before I do what my mood is. He made me chocolate cake and even offered to buy me some yarn (I said no, keeping to the yarn diet is way easier than the food diet-chocolate is crucial at this time). He's a really cool guy . If I can compete with college hoops right now for some attention, I must rank somewhere up there with him and I'm very grateful.


I guess all this stuff isn't so important after all. See? My therapy hour is up.

Knits & Bits

Here are my SIL's socks finally. Actually they've been done for a few days now but I was trying to get a decent picture that showed the colorway better (it's still not a great one but you should see the others!) This is the Charlie Brown Valentine Pattern that Dawn shared with me so we could learn to do Magic Loop together. Thanks again tons Dawn, I really enjoyed learning ML and I'm working on another pair now with my handy long needle!

Yarn: Fleece Artist 2/6: Burgundy
Size 2 Knitpicks 32" needle
Only 6 pattern repeats done w/plain foot (Just my preference-not the pattern).


Then I made one of these: The Binary Hat

This is for my nephew, well since I'm sending my SIL the socks and I already sent my brother that Campus Scarf I decided my nephew deserved something "cool". I love this hat, so does my daughter. It spells "HAT" in binary code.

Yarn used: Caron Simply Soft -Black & Country Blue

Used Less than a skein each. I could probably make 2 more hats!!

Needles: Size 7 & 8 Addi Turbo Circs/clover DPNs

Soooo, I made another one that's in his initials. I kind of like the first one better since it has more black space between the blue lines, but this is so "personal" it's a hoot. I used size 7's on this one (okay, I forgot to switch to size 8's after the ribbing, but I really liked how it was firmer and less mushy.) For a guy, it's perfect. I think he'll like it. My brother is an IT Mgr. so he'll totally get a good laugh from it.
Here are a couple of dishcloths I made for my Auntie's BD next month. I hope she likes them. I'm not crazy about the round one, they sure look pretty, but to me it's just easier to "use" the square ones. I'm just weird, I know. I had put that towel down on my chair to take the picture since the cats are always on them and my aunt's allergic, but it's a big duh moment - they blend in so well! Oh well, I haven't been at the top of my game lately. I need to block that round one still.....

Used: Sugar & Cream: Denim & Sugar & Cream: Blue stripes.

Patterns: Dapper Dab (From Color Splash Dishcloths Booklet)

& Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth

Guess you can tell her favorite color is blue!

Onto other news: The kids are super duper excited -School was cancelled for the next two days due to illness. Apparently it's mainly the teachers that are getting hit really hard. I had my oldest out for two days last week. Luckily we just dealt with head colds and not the other stuff that's going around. The Big Guy's employee's have had their kids get terrible other stuff. They've been in my prayers. ER trips and such are not fun and I feel for anyone who has kids that are so sick it's scary.

I'm putting the girls to work though. Yep, we're going into the crazy black hole that is "The Playroom" to seriously de-clutter and get rid of the "baby-ish" stuff. They're growing up so fast, they just don't play barbies, babies, or house anymore. It's all Pokemon, computers, DS games, ipods and High School Musical (well, for the 9 yr old, NOT the 11 yr old as I've been stoutly corrected so I mercilessly tease her!). We only cleaned out their desk today and we got about 4 bags out of there! We have WAYYYY to much stuff.

I don't know who they get that from (Mrs. 250+stash Mama over here ).

We're expecting lots of rain over the next few days...it'll be good to stay inside and not have to pick them up from school. I do have my knitting meeting tomorrow night though. I can't miss that! I can handle rain, and Friday's really the day we're expecting thunderstorms and stuff. I'm off to try to read some more of that depressing novel (only about 200 pages to go) so I can get it over with and get some sleep. Happy knitting.