Yes, I am alive :)

Just been very very very busy!!

Classes started back up for me the last week of August. We took our 15yo dd to a concert (Projekt Revolution – it was AWESOME!!) and took an impromptu visit to Watkins Glen Gorges. That was the end of our summer. Since then it’s been nonstop go go go. Between the kids’ school schedule and mine (six classes this semester) I just don’t have the time or creativity left to blog much (or at all as it seems lol).

I have been knitting though. I’m able to knit in almost all my classes where knitting is possible. Obviously, knitting during computer labs is not conducive to knitting (hi CJ! 😛 ). But I do knit during my other classes. My most BORING class is my business class. I had been knitting in that class until today. My professor has decided that because the recent grades have been quite poor and students are bringing in laptops to surf the net and cell phones to text with, NO ONE will be allowed to do ANYTHING during class. No knitting (she specifically said “no knitting” I almost fell out), no texting, no whatever. Never mind that while the class average on the last exam was a 69 and I got a 90, never mind that I am one of the few who actually DO pay attention, even with a sock in my hand, never mind that I sit in the front row, hand in all my work (and on time!) and am never late to class. Never mind that I have had perfect attendance. Never mind all that. Let’s just group the knitter in with the slackers who can’t be bothered to pay attention.

This is turning into a rant lol.

I have to say though, I am appalled at the level of maturity in my co-eds. Granted, they are pretty young. At least one of the kids in my business class is only 17 yrs old. Two years older than my daughter. Talk about making a person feel old. But still. The chitchatting in the back of the class, the blatant text messaging, the tardiness, the general level of disrespect just blows my mind. I mean, this is COLLEGE. You PAY to go there. I just find it impossible to understand the logic of paying for a class then goofing off, not doing the work, or not even bothering to show up. Why bother going to college? Why not use that money towards something you’re going to actually appreciate. It just burns my butt because it took me to age 32 to get there and here they are right out of high school with an opportunity to go to college and they’re blowing it off like it’s nothing. I just don’t get it.

So. No knitting in business class for me 😦 Back to non-productive doodling and struggling to stay awake.

I have been knitting though. I have tons of FOs to post, so I’ll start with those:

Transformers Cloth (made this one MONTHS ago & never scanned it)
Yarn: LionBrand Cotton “Poppy”
Needles: US7
Pattern: Transformers Cloth

Baby Knot Hat
Yarn: Bernat Sweet Stripes
Needles: US7 Addi Turbos
Pattern: from a booklet that I’m too lazy to find the name of

I finished “My So-Called Scarf” sorry I don’t have a finished picture, but I like this one 🙂 It’s about 5 feet long and 5-6″ wide.
Yarn: Unsure, it was a gift. I’m told it’s Malabrigo, but I don’t find this colorway anywhere.
Needles: US 10 bamboo
Pattern: My So Called Scarf

Made the Petal Bib from “One Skein”
Yarn: Sugar & Cream
Needles: US 5?
Pattern: Petal Bib

Made a prayer shawl for a very dear friend
Yarn: Patons Devine
Needles: US 13
Pattern: *will fill in later, gotta find it*


Made some baby booties
Yarn: Bernat Softee
Needles:
Pattern: from One Skein Wonders

Made a pair of Blueberry Waffle Socks
Yarn: Soxx Appeal – Knit One Crochet Too
Needles: US5
Pattern: Blueberry Waffle Socks

Made a pair of socks for another dear friend. I call these Witchy Woman Socks 😀 They are not quite as bright as this picture. The second picture is a better representation of the true color.
Yarn: SockPixie’s “Halloween”
Needles: US3
Pattern: my own

OTN I have:
A pair of Fetching fingerless gloves

And a pair of Roza’s Socks that I don’t have a picture for.

 

FO Friday

And how many FOs do I have to share. I’ve been remiss in posting FO pictures. I still blame it on the fact that I’m finishing so many things this summer, it’s impossible to keep up with myself 😛 This is the first summer in a couple of years that I’ve not had classes or a job. It’s nice.

First, I finished the River Socks

Pattern: River Rapids by Sockbug
Needles: Inox US2, 32″ circular (magic loop)
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces “River”
I loved the pattern! Complicated enough to keep me from getting bored yet easy enough that I didn’t feel hopeless. I didn’t have any of the problems with the p2tog that I’ve heard others did with this pattern. Maybe because I’m a thrower?

I’ve also made a couple more pairs of Thuja socks. The pink/red ones are for my niece and the black/gray ones are for my youngest son.

Pattern: Thuja
Needles: US4 Clover dpns
Yarn: Moda Dea Sassy Stripes “Crush”

Pattern: Thuja
Needles: US4 Clover dpns
Yarn: Moda Dea Sassy Stripes “Storm” 

I also made a pair of Breeze socks. They were challenging, but very rewarding. I don’t normally wear “short socks” but these are VERY comfortable!

Pattern: Breeze
Needles: Inox US2, 32″ circular (magic loop)
Yarn: DiscontinuedBrandNameYarn.com “Cherry”

I also made some things that I can’t post yet because they haven’t been received and I’d like them to stay a surprise. They are pink. That’s all I’ll say 😉

OTN I have a pair of socks for a certain someone. I call them Witchy Woman socks. Sock #1 is almost done. I’ll cast on the second as soon as humanly possible. I also have a prayer shawl and a couple other WIPs that I hope to get done this week. Classes start 8/27 and I know that knitting will be at a minimum 😦

OH! I also sold a couple of my cradle purses on my Etsy shop! It’s bare naked but for those cradle purses. I’ll try to get some pictures of them before I mail them off.

 

Yah!

I heard from my Sockapalooza receiver 🙂 She did receive the package and says it’s “WONDERFUL”.

PHEW!!

Now off to take my whiny self a nap!

 

The cutest things..

Check out these stitchmarkers a friend made for my daughter who loves penguins. I call them “Disco Penguins”.

Aren’t they adorable!?!? And they are so light! They’re made out of Polymer Clay. She has an etsy shop too and can often make things “to order” if it’s not listed on her shop. Right now she has a lot of uber-cute flipflop earrings. She is one very talented lady. Check her out:
Quick Flops

 

Sockapalooza Four socks are here!!

And oh my gosh are they gorgeous!!!

I have never had someone else knit me socks before. These are so so so soft, a Merino/Cashmere blend. Another first for me…I’ve never had cashmere anything (well, unless you count my Body Wash ). The fit is absolutely perfect! I didn’t even have to struggle to get them over my heel…something I almost always have to do with socks I make for myself. The stitches are so even and neat, I love the pattern on the leg and how it switches to wide ribbing on the top of the foot. The heel is gorgeous, with ribbing identical to the top of the foot and a nice garter stitch edge. The colors are fantabulous!! It’s called “Orange Blossoms”. She also sent some extra yarn for darning, two very cool skeins of Opal Glitter yarn, and an awesome card (where did you find them!?).

Thank you thank you thank you to my wonderful partner Suzann!!!!

 

A couple of FOs and a WIP

I’ve been remiss in posting my FO’s and WIPs lately. I think it has something to do with the fact that I’m finishing so many things so quickly (and really eager to cast on the next thing) that I can’t manage to find time to tell you all about it. Oops!

Here is a mini Booga Bag I made for my niece. She turned 5 last week. She saw my purse a few months ago and desperately wanted one. She is a purse (and shoe) hound.

Pattern: Booga Bag
Yarn: Patons SWS “Natural Gardenia”
Needles: US 10.5 bamboo circulars, 24″

Next FO are my Cabled Footsies from One Skein.

The colors are a little off, they were made from two different skeins…trying to knit from my stash. See, this is why I like to just BUY more yarn, to prevent mishaps like this 😛
Pattern: Cabled Footsies from “One Skein”
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino #103
Needles: Size US8 dpns

Also, a little bit of charity knitting. This London Beanie was knit for Caps for a Cure and sent off to Becky along with the white “Blanche” hat and the rollbrim hat I blogged earlier.

Pattern: London Beanie
Yarn: Red Heart “Soft” (and it is VERY soft) and a scrap amt of white/turquoise Mary Maxim Ragg
Needles: US size 7 dpns

Last, but not least, my latest WIP. Another pair of socks!! I think this is pair #8 for the Summer of Socks (including two pairs of baby socks). These are “River Rapids” by Sockbug. Very nice pattern, very well written, easy to memorize without being tedious. I absolutely love the heel!

Pattern: River Rapids by Sockbug
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock “River”
Needles: Inox US size 2 circulars, 32″ (Magic Loop)

And that be all 🙂

Next time I will have YARN PR0N because I’ve been enhancing my stash this week thanks to b-day money. Yarn Pirate & SockPixie…be ready to drool!

 

Smokin’ Needles

I think I have a case of the “smokin’ needles”. I just keep banging out FOs left & right. I was checking out my Ravelry Projects page…I have completed 13 projects in the month of July. And there are still three days left!!

I finished my Jaywalker socks. They turned out lovely. I love them. Can’t wait for it to cool down enough for me to actually get to wear them lol. I like the pattern. It did get a little bit tedious which is why I finished so many other projects while doing these. But I you can’t complain about the finished socks. They are fantastic!

After I kitchenered the toe on the second Jaywalker, I immediately cast on for another pair of Thuja socks. This time for my youngest daughter. I finished those in just over 24hrs. I absolutely love that pattern. It works up so quickly and the finished product is just great!

I’m not sure what’s next for me. I know it will be socks, that’s all I have a taste for right now. It will either be Blueberry Waffle Socks or River Rapid Socks (PDF file).

I have my Sockapalooza Four package all ready to go. I can’t wait to send it out!! It occurred to me the other day as I was finishing up shopping for my pal…I have been so involved with this package, the socks, my partner that I completely forgot…someone out there is knitting for me too!! Not only did I get to have fun knitting & shopping for my partner but I get a new pair of socks made especially for me too! Can’t beat that 🙂

 

Free Pattern: GI Joe Pants

After listening to my boys fight all weekend over who’s GI Joe got to wear the only pair of pants they own…I decided to knit them a pair (or three or four). I could not find any knit patterns so I made one up.

Hopefully, this pattern will save some other mother of boys’ sanity 😛

GI JOE PANTS

Yarn: Scrap yarn
Needles: Size 8 dpns
Darning needle
3.5mm crochet hook

Cast on 36 sts

Knit 2 rows.

Next row: *K4, K2tog, yo, repeat from * around.

Knit 10 rows.

Divide sts in half, placing 18sts on a scrap piece of yarn using a darning needle. Rearrange the remaining 18sts on the dpns, join & begin knitting the pant leg in the round.

Knit in round until pant leg reaches 4.5″.

Purl 1 row around.

Knit 1 row around.

Purl 1 row around.

Bind off.

Place the stitches saved on scrap yarn back on the dpns, join yarn and knit in the round until pant leg reaches 4.5″.

Purl 1 row around.

Knit 1 row around.

Purl 1 row around.

Bind off. Weave in ends.

Using crochet hook & scrap yarn, chain 65. Weave the chain in & out of the yo holes for a belt.

 

Socks, socks, & more socks

I am on a sock knitting binge. Actually, I’m on a ‘start a new project every 5 minutes’ binge. I’m going to fast, I don’t have time to update my WIPs thingy on the side there.

I’ve started my very first pair of jaywalkers using the Sockpixie yarn I purchased few weeks ago. They are lovely. I love how the striping is so even and neat. Like I planned it that way. Well, at least until I get to where I do the heel flap. Then the stripes get smaller, then on the foot where the stitch count goes from 84 (for the leg) to 76…the stripes get more tiger looking than I’d like. I’m about 5″ into the foot and I think I’m going to (gasp) rip it out back to the bottom of the leg and try a short-row heel instead. I’m thinking that might help keep the striping a little more uniform. I’m not all that fond of heel flaps anyway. Any advice?

I am loving the yarn though. It has a shine that makes it look like it has tencel in it, but it doesn’t. It’s 100% superwash Merino and oh so yummy soft.

I finally made my mom the pair of socks I’ve been promising her for months. I decided on the Thuja pattern from Knitty. They were such a quick and easy knit!! I started the first sock around 3:30 in the afternoon and finished it by 9:30 that night. That’s with lots of starts & stops (remember, I have four kids home on vacation who for some reason feel the need to EAT, several times a day…three dogs who need to go out ever 15.3 seconds or they will DIE…and three cats who think my knitting needles & yarn are on this earth purely to entertain THEM). I started the second sock the next morning and finished it before lunchtime. They are sooo super soft & comfy, even though I used Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (mom’s choice) which is 100% acrylic. The color is “Crayon”. I also managed to make them twins. No small feat considering the striping on different skeins does NOT match up at all even though the dye lots on the label are the same. Found that out when I made “My Socks” a while back.

I also started a pair of Cable Footsies from my “One Skein” book. I’m using Artyarns Supermerino #103. It is so soft, I can’t wait to get them on my feet. I’ll try to forget that it’s July and eleventy billion degrees outside. I started the first one last night (while contemplating frogging the jaywalker) and am already onto the foot part. I’ve been working on another Booga Bag for my niece, who’s birthday is NEXT WEEK (eep!). I’m using Patons SWS in “Natural Geranium”. The girl loves pink! Practicing my continental while doing the boring round & round knitting every row for eternity (it seems).

What else? I’m getting my Sockapalooza Four pal’s package ready for sending off in about 2 weeks. I decided on some stitchmarkers made by me, some soak wash from the Loopy Ewe, maybe a Bee Bar. Of course, I’ll send some yummies. It’s just a matter of deciding. I’m not too keen on sending chocolate to where I have to send it in this heat. Still thinking.

It’s very quiet. I wonder what my children are doing…..

 

meme

The rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends. 

My birthday is July 31.

Events Why are almost all of these about men, disasters, deaths or wars?? I tried to pick some that weren’t…:
1930 – The radio mystery program The Shadow airs for the first time.
1975 – In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing. My actual birth date 😉
1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 – NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo.

Births:
1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d. 1940)
1966 – Dean Cain, American actor
1981 – Matthew “M. Shadows” Sanders, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
Not listed on Wikipedia, but I also share my birthday with HARRY POTTER 😀

Holiday:
La Hae Hawai‘i – Hawaiian Flag Day.

Tagging…no one because this is an old meme 🙂