More socks.

I'm in sock mode again.

Simple Stockinette Socks
Yarn: Patons Kroy Stripes - Mulberry
Size 1 magic loop - 64 st cast on.
This yarn is a bit "odd" feeling to me, but they washed up nicely, got a tad bit softer, so we'll see how they wear.


The picture on top is with photo editing, the bottom is without, and the reality is somewhere in between! It's been cloudy all day today, we've gotten 8+ inches of rain in May alone. Now is the time for the standard southern afternoon/evening "pop-up" thunderstorms. There should be another one along any minute now. I'm just tired of everyone mowing every 5 minutes. sigh.

Memorial Day I had a 50% coupon for AC Moore so we went and I got these. I scored Cookie's book for 1/2 off! I'd been seeing the The Red Heart Sock yarn on Ravelry and I just love these colors knit up. I can't wait to make my own socks out of it so I can smile when I see them on my own feet.

That's it. I've got other projects in my mind (and the yarn wound up ready to go) but all I seem to be doing is socks lately.

Happy Knitting!

Soft Waves Afghan

She's all done.

Finito.
All mine.

If I ever say I want to make another afghan, just throw something at me to bring me to my senses please.

Taking on big projects is like labor to me. You forget how much time, pain, and angst you went through when you see that finished product. In both cases, the babies you create just make you forget it all. Zap! It's all gone!

All those arm cramps, all the pain of lugging this thing around while it grew and got heavier and heavier, all the times I wondered when it would just be over with. All those blasted hours I spent yesterday to Just. Get. It. Done.

In the end you have this wonderful thing that is too precious for words and you have to go snuggle. So. I shall go snuggle now....

Pattern: Soft Waves from the book 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns
(Yarns used are on my Rav project page).
Size H crochet hook
Time: Almost a year to finish. Yikes.

Yarn Swap

I can't believe I forgot to post about the yarn swap! I had a total blast, but I think we all had a ball going through each other's orphans! I took this bag:

And came home with the same bag. Only now it's only 3/4 of the way full. (pat on back!)
I mostly brought home bits and bobs of other peoples left overs. "THE PLAN" has been
- and is - to make my girls each a patchwork Christmas Stocking. It's been nagging at my mind for..oh...maybe 3+ years now. I know I have plenty of stash for it, but there were some pretty reds and greens I just couldn't pass up! (Yes, I brought home pinks too!)

This year I'm really going to try to get my yarns together and just get them done. I hate when things nag at my mind. Especially when it seems like a really cool idea. They're both pretty special little people to me, I think they'll love them if I ever can get them done. I also got a few full skeins of baby yarn for the preemie hats I make so I scored nicely.

This isn't all of us, we had more show up, and we had the table to the right (that's barely in the picture) covered in yarn too. These ladies are so sweet and I've always felt so welcome. They probably don't realize how much they cheered this knitter up. I know that we're all in different places, we have our worries, our happy times, our troubles. But we come together for a couple of days a month and just talk and knit. It's uplifting to just be around each other. There is something really powerful about fiber arts and community.

The funny part of our meeting was that the power was out at the library. Oh my gosh, that was one HOT room we were in and it wasn't just me this time with my hot flashes! It eventually did come back on but our room never quite cooled off after that. Goes to show Knitters have fortitude. We stayed huddled in there with ALL of us, and ALL that yarn because, by golly, it was WORTH it!

It seems like every time we have a meeting lately it's like this:

But, like I said, not much can keep knitters from their scheduled rendezvous.

Today is just like this except my patio furniture is now scattered all over the back yard. It didn't look like much on the weather channel, but geez, it sure packed a punch this evening! The good thing is that now I can't walk today. My pain scale shot way UP again so now I don't feel guilty for skipping today. All I need is for lightning to strike me when I have so much yarn to knit.

I'm off to work on something....I'm not sure yet what I'm in the mood for, or even how long I'll be able to hold my needles up with my arm pain, but rainy weather makes good knitting weather.

Happy Knitting.

Uh oh.

First there was this:

And this:


FINALLY, after almost 9 years here we have our own Red Robin. I sure missed the ones back home! Not only because of the great food, but also the good times & memories of being there with friends and family. It's a happy place.

So.... it's back to this (first uphill spot):

See the house in the middle on the left hand side? That's the one that we grimace at when we're heading up because that's when we FEEL THE BURN. Yowza. It may not look like much, but it's steeper than you'd think.


And this (second hill we go down and back up):


This one isn't as bad as the first but it's still a hill. They were a bit more challenging today. Must have been all those fries....Yum. I hadn't had my favorite burger in two years. It was SOOOO GOOD! I can't even tell ya how happy that made me.

Anyway, we're hoping tomorrow is not more of this:


I suppose we're blessed with all the rain we get, but I can totally do without the tornado scares. And my poor allergies just can't catch a break. It's funny how the very second it stops raining people are out in full mega force mowing their lawns, literally doing it a few times a week. It's one major mowing gig. Crazy. I'm so over it and it's just begun. sigh. I need to buy stock in Kleenex.

OTN: Socks & "The Never Ending Soft Waves Afghan".

Happy Knitting.

Ten On Tuesday

Your Ten Favorite Places to Shop

1. The Yarn Patch
2. The Yarn Company
3. The Yarn Haven

4. JCPenney
5. Belk
6. Target

7. The Loopy Ewe
8. The Knitting Zone
9. Yarn 4 Socks
10. Simply Socks

Guess I knew THAT was coming! hahahahahaha!! Designer make-up? No. Designer Bags? No. Designer clothes? No. Designer YARN! Woot Woot!! yea baby!

I wonder if I have a problem....well, it IS your FAVORITE places to shop!

Happy Mother's Day

There's lot's of love going around our house this Mother's Day. I'm very blessed.


My beautiful girls made me cards, gave me toys, and promised we wouldn't have any (well....much) drama today!

I got EXACTLY what I wanted from The Big Guy:

Okay, Okay!! I bought it!! But he's always happy when I'm happy!

I pretty much told them to take it easy this Mother's Day. We're having tighter times around here so we have to concentrate on being more selective about what we spend our money on. It's really for the best (as I look around at my cluttered house....)

On the Left: Blue Heron Bulky Rayon Chenille in Berry that I ordered from Coveted Yarns. I've never seen this colorway before (I've been buying this yarn for years) so I was just drooling over it. Well, when I went back to order it - it was GONE!!! I was sooooo bummed! I decided to email the nice people at CY and they answered right away that they had ONE skein left and would list it again so I could order it. Super nice people. I love my BH Chenille more than I can say.

On the Right: I was directed to PicnicKnits from Lime & Violets Daily Chum recently. She was offering FREE shipping on this merino silk sock yarn. Can't beat that. And the yarn DID NOT disappoint with all my monitor issues! You can't (usually) go wrong with PINK, I have before I know, but this time I totally lucked out! I'm thinking ANOTHER pretty pink scarf for moi.

PS. There's CHOCOLATE CAKE being made today too......

Slowly But Surely

I'm really a simple kind of gal. I think there's a reason I like simple stockinette stitch socks.

Patterned socks take me awhile....a LOT longer than usual. And they require a certain amount of concentration. Which is in short supply these days with all my other issues. (It's been raining for days now, so my pics are not in full daylight.)

I just like simple shaped patterns. Most patterns are easy, but the patterning itself makes them seem too "bunchy" looking to me. They remind me of wrinkly elephant legs for some reason! I know, but it's in my head and I can't get it out! But that's just my own opinion. No biggy. Just like my much increased appreciation of semi-solid colored sock yarns anymore. I'm getting set in my ways in my old age I guess.

This pattern is my style. Simple, but pretty.

Charade

Yarn: The YoYo String & Fluff

Colorway: Not Called Amethyst- Superwash Merino

Confession time: I over-dyed this skein with Purple Kool Aid awhile back. It's another one of my "monitor" discrepencies. It looked a deeper shade of purple on my screen when I bought it. Someday I have to fix that issue. Whatever base yarn she used though is absolutely scrumptious. These are almost silky to the touch. I adore them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was hurting the other day. Same old issues. I didn't feel up to knitting much so I pulled out the Disco Ball looking beads I'd bought recently and made myself some cool stitch markers.

I love these, I want to hustle to the Bee Gees when I see them.

Since we already have a ga-jillion beads, and I get in the mood every so often when I can't knit, my stitch marker inventory has really blossomed! I love my stitch markers! Making them is really just as much fun as using them. If I wore more jewelry I'd probably be spending as much on beads as I do on yarn.

My knitting meeting is coming up this weekend. I'd better get back to getting things ready to go to the swap. I'm a terrible procrastinator, I pulled stuff out of the closet but have yet to sort through it all. I'll probably end up doing it Saturday morning!

Happy Knitting.