Sadness and Joy!!!

Sadness and joy........both have touched my life this week . The sorrow.......!!!!

While on vacation, I received the news that my beloved Aunt Anita had passed away. I returned home to Vermont and then traveled to Maine for the funeral.

My Aunt Anita had a quick wit and really was a "together lady". She was 88 years old. There are many wonderful memories to comfort those of us who loved her very much.

The picture was taken December of 2006.

I was introduced to someone at the funeral home that I had not seen in 40 years. Neither one of us recognized the other but someone who knew the two of us brought us together for a few moments of reminiscing. I babysat this man's children for at least every Saturday for a couple of years. However, when told who I was he said, "Oh, yes.....you taught my wife how to knit!". I must have been about 15 years old at the time and did not remember this at all. I was an avid knitter back then so I must have. It pleased me very much that he remembered.

and for the joy..............!!!! while in my home town I was also able to see the newest addition in my family, Kaleigh Noella, only 10 days old.

On the knitting home front, I finished the caramel Primavera socks and have started another pair using a Cat Bordhi pattern that I am finding quite challenging. It involves a casting on method I've never tried before and other construction that makes me feel like I've never knitted socks before though I have completed at least 25 pairs.

I am way behind in blog reading and leaving comments. I hope to get caught up this week. I'm sure you all have been creating some very interesting things.

Primavery Socks - Yarn Selection Makes A Difference

One more pair of Primavera Socks (see previous post for pattern info). Can you tell how much I like this pattern? I’ve pulled the pattern down to the toes and I’m quite nervous because I think I may run out of yarn before they are completed. I purchased this yarn several years ago and I’m not sure if I knitted something with it or now but the yarn sure looked like it had swam in that famous frog pond.

I wanted to show you how different the same sock pattern can look depending on your yarn selection. I have now knitted so many pairs of socks that I want to focus more the pattern and color than self-striping yarn. However, I have quite a stash of that which I really love so I will probably go back and forth.

I purchased this yarn in the first month I started knitting socks and paid $5.25 skein. Haven’t seen that price in a long time. Comments from anyone who has used this yarn will be appreciated. (Brian…think you have.) Instructions say to add 1/8 cup of white vinegar to the last rinse. Is that each time the socks are washed? Will this color fade with repeated washings? If it will, break it to me gently.

I hate resolutions and I have great difficulty keeping them so this year in January I made none. However, the time has arrived and I need to reevaluate things. I have promised myself that for every new project I start (and finish, of course), I must finish a project that has been languishing on my needles.

Darn, then I remembered that I am waiting for my KnitPicks order to arrive. A sock book and yarn are traveling to my home as we speak. I’m embarrassed to tell how much sock yarn I have.

Happy Knitting!

Primavea Socks For Kim

These "Primavera" socks along with the "Blueberry Socks" were sent to Kim earlier this week as part of an exchange. I believe she is away so I have not heard from her yet as to how she likes them. She selected the color and I selected the pattern. She in turn quilted me a beautiful wall hanging that you can see in a previous post.
The pattern is extremely easy to remember and can be found for free on Ravelry. The first 5 rows are the same and the 6th row creates a mock cable stitch. I like this pattern so much that I have already started a pair for myself in a dark caramel color which really looks more like "brick". More on that later.

The book is one of my favorites because I, too, am from Maine originally. One of the women featured is Margaret Chase Smith who was a U.S. senator in days when there were only two women in the Senate. She was a great lady. Her signature mark was the daily fresh rosebud she wore in the lapel to her business suit.

On the home front, the neighbors decided to be quiet last night and I got to sleep. I actually got dressed at 1:30 a.m. the other morning and went over to tell them to turn the "dang" music down. This has been going on for about two weeks. I have spoken with them, etc. and they are always polite but keep it up. Fortunately, they are moving shortly. Not soon enough for me.

I felt like I hit the lottery last Thursday. My new glasses finally arrived after a serious delay at the lab. It was also payday. (Glasses are not the ones in the pic.) I can see well again after suffering without glasses for about 3 weeks after I broke my last pair.

Today, I visited my LYS. They were having a sale. I was good. I purchased very little and will post the yarn later when my Knitpicks order arrives. That was shipped last Thursday also. So, feeling lucky with all the positive things of Thursday, I purchased two lottery tickets today.

Life is good......things are looking up. I'm visiting my family next weekend in R.I.

Happy Knitting!

Rosette Baby Sweater

Pattern: Valley Yarns #200 April to December
Yarn: Southwick Valley Yarns - 52% Pima Cotton - 48% Bamboo (DK weight)
(5 skeins)

I’m delighted with this sweater. It was an easy knit and the yarn was yummy. This project brought me much joy and I felt a touch of melancholy seeing it come to an end. That is probably the reason (at least one of them) as to why it was so very near completion, yet sat in my knitting basket with an occasional loving glance from me while I was cheating and knitting my next project. The sweater is smaller and daintier than how it appears in the pictures. It is a size 3 months.

The cost of the sweater set was a little $$$ but it was worth it. With a 25% discount on the yarn, buttons and rosettes, the final tally was $30. Non-knitters, when receiving such a gift, are not aware of the cost of quality yarn, never mind the labor.

I have a thing for buttons. I will search high and low for just the right ones. When working on crafts we sometimes revert back to childlike habits. My mother had this long, rectangular, beige-colored button box. As a little girl I spent hours stringing like buttons together so that she would know quickly what she had in case the need arose. I enjoyed the rustling sound of the buttons in the box as I searched as if I were putting a puzzle together. Of course, I never ever saw my mother even thread a needle though she had a sewing machine, etc.

For the baby sweater, I wanted the simplest of buttons so as to not detract from the beauty of the sweater and rosettes, themselves.

I added my label for a special touch!

And, of course, you remember the bonnet from a previous post.

A little close up for you!

On another note, I have finished Kim’s socks, and though I gave her a sneak preview of the two pairs I knitted in exchange for the beautiful quilted wall hanging she made me, she has not yet seen the completed brown pair. They were shipped today and once she has received them, I will post pictures. I'm a couple of projects behind in my posting.

Happy Knitting!

Calling All Sock Lovers!

Pattern: "Primavera Socks" (free pattern on Ravelry)
Yarn: Plymouth Rockin Sox (superwash merino, bamboo and nylon)

I'm working on Kim's socks. The pattern is (and colorway) nicer than the pics show. The pattern is "springy" and "pops out" and it will fit the leg nicely. The pattern is easy to remember with increases and decreases every 6th row.

So what is your favorite sock yarn? Needles and size? Cuff down, toe up? The other day I was reading the Yarn Harlot's blog and she was trying to gather enough sock yarn to take with her for sock knitting. She said it takes her 9 hours to knit one sock. Hmmm, that sounded like a challenge to me. Wish I had asked her if she knits continental or to knit a row and show us her technique.

When I think of my favorite sock yarn I have to go with Opal though I really like the Plymouth yarn I am knitting these socks with and many other brands. Why Opal? Opal is like remembering your first kiss as a giddy teenager. It was my first sock yarn? Though not always easy to find, I like the challenge, the selection, etc.

A friend of a friend goes to Germany to visit family and returns with colorways not yet available her in the U.S. One year I received a skein for my birthday that was not yet locally available. What a nice surprise!!

Happy Knitting!