Camouflage Socks

Pattern: Any child sock pattern will do
Yarn: Regia Galaxy Sock Yarn
Needle Size: 2 (Magic Loop)
I purchased this yarn on sale at my LYS when Brian and I were shopping last weekend. I really didn't feel there was anything special about these socks, the yarn, etc. However, I was knitting them for a very special person, my grandson Jakob, age 21 mos.
The blue is more pronounced in the pictures than in person. I usually don't like "fraternal" socks (mine, not other people's)but in this case, seeing they look like camouflage, I find it acceptable.
I knitted a plain K2, P2 ribbing as I wanted the socks to hug his little legs and not fall to his ankles as he is quite slender. By knitting this ribbing, the socks can also be folded and worn as crew socks.

For those of you who migrated from Yahoo 360, you probably remember Ewey. (<--click) She had a craft show last year when the NE Street Rodders (<--click) were in town and I worked with her. I'll be doing it again for a short while this Saturday. It's always so much fun. The people are so friendly and the cars so interesting and speaking of cars................

When I was 18 I wanted a blue Camaro so bad. That's all I talked about. Well it hasn't happened yet! (The operative word being "yet".) Today, there was a blue Camaro parked next to my car. Now, mind you that occasionally I will see a Camaro but never a blue one. The owner was sitting behind the wheel. He told me it was a '95 and get this.................he has owned 23 Camaros in his short lifetime (about 35 years). Somehow, there is an inequality there..........you think!!!

Happy Knitting/Spinning!

Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival & Diamondy Socks

I've been busy, really busy but I found time to complete several projects that were UFO's for some time. Above are my completed Diamondy Socks. See August 2nd post for free pattern and details.

Last weekend, Brian (<--click) came to visit. He and I and my co-worker, Rebecca, went to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. There were fewer vendors this year and fewer attendees but it was still a lot of fun.

Here is a pic of Brian knitting with these giant needles that were designed to knit up your leftover stash quickly (ie. six strands at a time). "Big Stitch Knitting" (<--click) Look at the price of these needles! Wow!

Brian arrived with a wonderful basket of hand-knitted items for me such as dishcloths, bath mitt, candles, hand creams, etc. Such a thoughtful guest! He also spent quite a bit of time teaching me different methods of spinning! I also had a crochet lesson. That finished project will be posted later this week.Now, here is a new way of dyeing your yarn. I felt bad for this poor animal. Tell me she doesn't know that she looks different! Worse yet, this sheep belonged to my daughter's friend from high school and who was her maid of honor at her wedding.

Check out this electric spinner! It was quite interesting!

I took very few pictures at the wool festival. It was horribly humid and I was carrying too many bags to keep digging for my camera. I was enjoying the moment(s)!!!

Happy Knitting/Spinning!!

Spinning and Birthday Celebration!!!

I'm attending my spinning group tonight. Look what I received for my birthday (August 22) from my daughters....a bag to carry my wheel. I was traveling to Rhode Island to celebrate my birthday with my daughters. My daughter , Amy, kept asking me if I thought I would arrive in time to visit her LYS. I assured her I would not spend too much time at Webs (is that possible?) and would have a nice lunch (and it was fantastic). I would arrive by 3:00 for the weekend.

Amy asked if I thought I could climb three flights of stairs with my bad leg as there is no elevator at this yarn shop. A yarn shop...wow, I would crawl up those stairs if I had to. Not a pretty site so I walked up.

The reason for the visit to the LYS was to buy me the bag. They are very, very expensive and I certainly did not expect it. I was absolutely delighted. Lucky me!!!

Like mother, like daugther! We both have Lendrums!

One of Amy's angora rabbits that is helping feed our fiber addiction. This little critter loves to be brushed.

Here I am enjoying lobster (a birthday treat to go with the homemade pecan pie and carrot birthday cake) with my oldest granchild, Joe. He has his mother's genes. Neither like lobster so they had salmon. Jakob, now 20 months old, enjoying his first lobster with my daughter, Emily!
Nick, Joe's brother and age 11, loves lobster!!! I'd say we had a feast!!!

This weekend is the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. I am so excited to attend again this year. I'll post pics when, well when I get my spinning craving over with! Oh, yes...........Brian, a longtime blogging friend, is coming to visit and attend the show as well.

Happy Knitting!

Midwest Moonlight Scarf

Pattern: Midwest Moonlight from the book, "Scarf Style"
Yarn: Classic Yarns Cashsoft DK 57 ultra fine merino, 33% acrylic, 10% cashmere
Needles: Size 8

The scarf pattern from the book pictured above had several false starts. I frogged several times before getting it right. It was knitter fatigue, I decided.
The scarf is fairly wide and could be used as a head scarf which I love the feeling of being enveloped in warmth and softness on those days when snowflakes are slowly falling. If you are in a warm climate, does the thought of snowflakes make you feel cooler?

I'm told the pattern looks like the quilting "Falling Blocks". Kim help me out on this one!!! Kim is the greatest quilter so check out her blog.
I included the above picture as can't you almost feel the softness. Just 10% cashmere really makes a difference.

I'm keeping this scarf for myself. It almost, now I said almost, makes me wish for winter. (Someone please take my temperature!)

The weather has been beautiful. Our local fair has been the attraction this week. They predicted 350,000 people would attend. (Can that # be correct?) Anyway, I think they were all here today as the Jonas Brothers were having a concert.

Regarding the info on adoption on my blog the other day, several of you rightfully expressed concern. The adoptee, first thought to be a baby by my daughter, is actually a 14 year-old girl who was an exchange student with the family who adopted her. They have no other children. I don't know the details of how she became adoptable but she is safe with this loving and caring family.

I've been closely listening to the news today. I pray that people down South will be safe. Gustav is predicted to be the storm of the century.

If You Were On Yahoo 360

If you were a longtime blogger on Yahoo 360 and miss some of those features like I do, but miss none of the frustrations that Yahoo 360 so freely handed out at the end as most of us found other avenues to blog on, then you will like the latest Blogger feature called Follower (<--click).

In many ways it mimics Yahoo 360 friends list. You can either manually add the blogs you read or select Google Reader and go from there. It's easy as pecan pie. You can track who is reading your blog as well unless they have selected anonymous.

Give it a try if you are on Blogger. In the meantime.........

Happy Knitting!

Pink Rosebud Baby Socks

Pattern: Combination of a couple
Yarn: Knitpicks Palette-Blush
Needles: Size 3 dp's

I certainly didn't need to start knitting another pair of socks! I have several single socks already waiting for mates. Actually, so many that I have stopped posting these projects on Ravelry as I have to own up to the fact that the project is not yet completed.

However.....my daughter started a pair of baby socks for a co-worker who is currently in Russia to adopt a baby. She ran into difficulties with the pattern and called the "Mom Knitting Help Line" (that's me!!) So being a mother who wants to keep her daughter interested in knitting and not get discouraged, I started the sock myself so I could help her.

There is a serious error in the pattern that I was not able to figure out so I frogged back to just before the heel flap and used one of my standard baby sock patterns. I will incorporate some of the features from the other pattern into this one before I am finished. It will have a ruffled edge on the cuff.

I've started the second sock so that I don't have one more lonely sock to look at.

I've started a new scarf and shawl that has really been "growing" on me. I'll blog about it tomorrow or on the weekend once I've had the opportunity to take pictures.

Update: I just received an e-mail from my daughter. Boy, (or girl) did she ever get her wires crossed (or is that knitting needles)!!! The opening line to her e-mail said, "No need to hurry on the baby booties". The child that is being adopted is not a baby but a teenager. Quite the transition that will be but fortunate to be able to be adopted later in life.

Happy Knitting!

Ridged Lace Cowl

Pattern: Ridged Lace Cowl (<---click)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca and Silk DK - Cream Colorway
Needles: Size 8 (???)

I'll find the info and update the blog in the next couple of days!

I'm on a cowl kick!!! I just love them! I can wear them at the office on those chilly February days and have it look like at accent piece!


A closer look!
And even closer!!
The yarn is wonderful and so soft. However, it quickly looses its shape. I knitted the cowl quite a bit shorter than the pattern called for. I wished that both edges could have been the same but I was not able to do that. I even started a second cowl with the intention of crochets the ripple edge and because of the increases and decreases in the knitting, that just did not work either.

I'm still quite happy with it!

I've been promised pictures of last weekend by the end of the week. Wait till you see what my daughter's surprised me with.

Happy Knitting!

Remember the sweater I blogged about shown below? Click this link for more info. Scroll and keep reading for a much nicer picture.

Someone asked to see a picture of the baby wearing the sweater. Well, here she is...Gracie Mae. She is my daughter, Amy's, godchild. She was born Easter Sunday.

Here's another pic of her in her Christening dress that her grandma made for her. The event was early July.
This picture is just too precious not to include in my post.

I have returned from Rhode Island. Amy's carpal tunnel surgery was successful and I had a grand time celebrating my birthday. Much more on that in the next post. I'm waiting for pictures from my daughter.

I've been very busy knitting and have lots to show you in the next few days. It's feast of famine with my knitting and blogging.

Happy Knitting!

I'm Back To The Blog World

Sorry for any inconvenience you folks may have experienced. I was trying to change some settings on my blog and really messed things up and was interrupted and couldn't get back to it. If I don't get any comments I'll know to tweak my settings some more.

I'm still having problems with the formatting on my previous posts ...so be it!!

In the meantime, life continued. The TV died, had to figure out why the darn phone kept hanging up on me, and the battery to my camera went dead. Enough for this week.

No time to take pictures now. I'm trying to get ready to head out to R.I.

Will read blogs and answer e-mails when I return unless I find a few extra minutes.

Happy Knitting!

5th Wheel Spinners

Where do I begin? It was such a wonderful day with these very friendly and talented women who belong to the 5th Wheel Spinners Guild out of the Middlebury, VT area. Please read on even if you are not a spinner and see the view I had today.

These are just a few of the women. There were more behind me. They were absolutely inspiring. But first.....

Today's event was held at one of the spinner's B&B (bed and breakfast). http://www.russellyoungfarm.com/index.html I used to live in Addison County and it is truly beautiful.....mountainous and beautiful. I now live about an hour away. The sign gives you an indication of how steep and treacherous the roads can be in the wintertime.

This was the view from the porch. (The ladies were having a pot-luck lunch.) Can you see the pond? I wish you could smell the wonderful clean and crisp air. Imagine...no traffic noises. You hear the sounds of the birds and can truly enjoy the serenity of the area.
A closer look at the pond! A yellow and inviting kayak on the left.

Breathtaking views!!! The cost of living is very high in Vermont but the quality of life can't be beat!

I am so fortunate. All of this came about when I met "Sue" at the doctor's office when I needed emergency eye surgery. Hmm....a positive definitely outweighed a negative. :>)

This group meets once a month in someone's home all around the State of Vermont. There are no dues. The guild meets one evening a month and the dues are $7.50 yr. Can you believe how little $$$. They have loaner wheels to encourage someone who might be interested but is not sure if she/he wants to make the investment. They also have guest speakers. October will be needle felting. June is usually yarn dyeing. Whatever is scheduled on the other months, I'm sure will be interesting.

I'm way behind in posting. I have several progress pics and a completed project to blog about.

How ironic that the hostess, who I met for the first time today, grew up in the same town in R.I. where my daughter now lives and her daughter-in-law's maiden name is the same as my daughter's married name. Related??? Not sure as there are two very large families in town with the same last name who are not related.

Happy Knitting!

Is It Knitting Project Theft?

I posted earlier today and quickly deleted it. I wrote it in the "heat of the moment" and thought I needed to run it by a few people before posting about it. Read on to see what happened.

A short time ago I read on someone's blog that their knitting project pictures were being stolen and used on other blogs. I'm told there are blogs out that are sponsored by advertisers that earn money for each visitor to the site. To improve the # of visitors, of course, they have to post regularly and thus the plagiarism in the knitting world.

I was on Ravelry and recognized one of my knitting pictures on someone else's project page. There was no doubt about it, absolutely none. I was not a "happy camper" and quickly sent her an e-mail telling her I did not appreciate it. The project (mine) on her page was also tagged for a knitting Olympics team that she belongs to. Well, looking closely at the page, in her comments section she states that she did indeed take the picture but if you are familiar with Ravelry, my project should have been on her "favorites or queued" page. Though not completely dishonest, it certainly was misleading.

I completed a quick project today that I am very happy with. Pics to come after I have had time to weave in the ends.

I will be spending the day tomorrow with the "5th Wheel Spinners" from 10-4 including a pot luck lunch. They meet once a month and this will be my first time with the group. I do know a couple of the members. The drive is about an hour through beautiful farm country and the weather is "promising".

Happy Knitting!

Feather and Fan Socks

Free Pattern: Feather and Fan Socks (<--click)

Yarn: Classic Elite - I've lost the ball band but there is some angora.

Needle Size: 2 - Magic Loop Method

I'm trying to destash. This Classic Elite yarn is wonderful to knit with. There is angora content which makes it very soft. I looked a long time for this pattern as I wanted one without the traditiona K1,P1 cuff.
A close up.............notice the twist in the yarn cake. It's not as tight as I would like it to be so I hope these socks will wear well.

I'm down to picking up the stitches on the second Diamondy Socks (see two posts back). They are probably my favorite socks thus far because of their simplicity and beautiful design. I'm trying to have several knitting projects at various stages as my eyes are too tired in the evening for "fine" work.

What do you think is a proper amount of time for someone to respond to a hand-knitted gift?

I'm off to click those knitting needles. It maintains my sanity during a very, very rainy summer. Guess I have to be grateful that it isn't snow.

Happy Knitting!

Making a Giant Accountable

I'm an avid Elton John fan!!! He had a concert in Vermont on July 21st. Ben & Jerry's launched a limited Elton John ice cream flavor to honor the artist's first Vermont show and raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The Vermont performance marked Elton John concerts in all 50 states and we Vermonters like to believe he saved the best for last.

I saw Elton John years ago in Montreal. It was an absolutely fantastic conert and I was disappointed that I could not afford to go this time. I could hear him from my home so I had to be happy with that. I was upset with myself that I spent money on those dang, stupid bridge lessons instead. I traded one great night of enjoyment for 10 lessons of endurement with pushy people. (sigh!)

I decided to make the best of it and drove to one of Ben 'N Jerry's ice cream scoop shops on Tuesday to buy the Ben 'N Jerry's (<--- click to see statement) "Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road" ice cream where the profits were going to benefit the Elton John Foundation for HIV research. There was none of the limited edition ice cream to be had anywhere, and nothing visible or audible that Ben 'N Jerry's had promised would be in their shops such as posters, music, etc. So what did I do to spite my ice cream hungry face? I walked out without buying any ice cream at all. First time I've ever turned away from chocolate cookie dough ice cream.

How could Ben 'N Jerry's run out of ice cream so fast? They ran out on the 21st. They advertized the ice cream would be available through the 25th. They knew it would be a hit so why not plan accordingly? Why did they give away free ice cream at the concert instead of raising even more money for the foundation? Smart advertising on their part. They get all the publicity, produce a very limited amount of ice cream thus limiting the amount donated to the foundation.

Ok, I know no one with Aids. I'm heterosexual with a few gay friends but I believe this foundation to be very important.

I contacted the local news anchor after viewing news of the event. They responded and said that they were taking the ice cream manufaturer to task for a number of promises not quite delivered. Unbeknownst to me, they forwarded my e-mail to Ben 'N Jerry's who in turn contacted me.

I was told they raised $10,000..but just imagine how much more they could have donated if the ice cream had been available for at least a couple more days. I encouraged them to not send this ice cream flavor to their graveyard, revive it and continue the relationship with the Elton John Foundation. (Yes, there actually is a flavor graveyard with tombstones, etc. on the Ben 'N Jerry's property.)

No further commitment from the ice cream giant and this is what I received in the mail....whohooooo!!!! It is good for ONE FREE PINT of ice cream. Don't let the picture on the coupon mislead you there also.

As a side note...............President George W. Bush has not visited Vermont in all of the eight years of his presidency. NOT ONCE!!! Is he also saving the best for last? Presdient Bush....you are running out of time. We are part of the United States and not Quebec (duh!). Could it be that you have not visited because one of our towns voted in Articles of Impeachment against you?

Diamondy Socks

Pattern: Diamondy Socks (<--click for free pattern)
Yarn: Knitpicks Essential
Fingering weight, size 2 needles, knitted using magic loop method

A very quick knit as most of the sock is knitted in stockinette stitch except for the 9 stitch pattern down the middle of each side of the leg. The true colorway is a deep burgundy wine... very beautiful!!
If you are in a hurry to knit a gift for someone, this is a good pattern selection. I needed something easy to knit during my commute to work and this was perfect.

One sock is completed and I must be good and finish the 2nd one. I have about 4 single socks that are pretty lonely and looking for a mate. I even joined the "SSS" (Single Sock Syndrome) group on Ravelry trying to be accountable for those single socks. There's also a group that knits one sock and then exchanges the sock, pattern and yarn with someone else who has completed one sock. The goal is to have a completed pair. In all fairness, I have completed about 30 pairs of socks so these few stray ones need not make me feel guilty.

Another rainy weekend in Vermont......perfect for knitting!

I've been known to stand up for certain causes and I'll have to blog about it tomorrow. It's been in draft form while I decided whether or not to blog about it. Just to peake your curiosity, the blog will be titled "Tackling A Giant"!!!

Happy Knitting!

Strawberry Baby Hat

Pattern: Anna Norling #10 - Fruit Cup

Yarn: Worsted Weight


I knitted the hat with a slightly darker red as I wanted it to look like a ripe strawberry. It's a very quick and fun knit.
This hat is really much smaller than it appears. It's a size 12 mos. but it will probably fit her now at age two months. The hat was inspired by the following picture:

This is Kaileigh Noella, age two months, sitting peacefully in a strawberry patch while her mom, Jodi, is berry picking. Isn't she just ever darling!!

I've been working on some other knitting projects that I will blog about in the next couple of days.

So from very rainy Vermont.......

Happy Knitting!

New Crafting Friends, Great Conversation and Food

While at the doctor's office recently, a couple walked in and sat down across from me. The woman pulled out a pair of socks and started knitting. Of course, that was an opener for a conversation.

I mentioned that I had just purchased a spinning wheel that week and was not doing well. Her response was, "Oh, please come and visit and I'll help you. I'll even feed you lunch!" So I took her up on her offer and went to visit last Saturday.

Sue lives about 50 miles away. The drive is through beautiful lush, velvet greet farmland. When I arrived I was in awe. Sue has a 17 room house with 5 fireplaces. Every room is filled with crafts, whether it be quilts, rugs, cross stitch, hand-made baskets, etc. There are many, many knitting antiques such as a "Pop Goes The Weasel" yarn winder. (I hope I have that correctly.) Sue invited another friend, Candy to join us. We had a wonderful lunch and then spent the afternoon spinning and enjoying great conversation. I must tell you that Sue is the town historian so there was a lot of interesting information to be shared.

Sue helped me with my spinning and plying and was most encouraging (as have some of my blogging friends!) I spun more when I returned home and this is the results. Getting better at it all the time!
Don't have a niddy noddy or any of those gadgets yet to wind my skein properly.

The visit I had with Sue and Candy was exactly what I needed. Sue has invited me to return and I look forward to it.

You see, I have been taking bridge lessons and those folks can be downright nasty if you don't play correctly. It's as if the mortgage is on the line for crying out loud. Because bridge really is no longer fun and I really value what free time I have, it will be spent with crafting friends. There are two spinning groups that I am joining. One meets all day, one Saturday per month and has a pot luck dinner. The other meets one Thursday evening per month.

Happy Knitting!

Ocean Wave Socks

Note: I should have mentioned earlier that yes, you do cast on with circulars and that you can use dp's but it is much more difficult to knit that first row. I switched to dp's as the pattern is an exact repeat of 4 so having 4 dp's to knit with quickly alerted me if I had the incorrect # of stitches.

As for the Cinderella comment, someone asked me about it. I was referring to the prince looking for someone that the shoe would fit and I was going to have to look for someone for the sock to fit if I didn't frog back.

Looking for Cinderella........you'll see why as you read on.

This Oceanwave Sock by Cat Bordhi was extremely interesting and fun to knit.. The sock uses "Judy's Magic Cast On". You cast onto two circular needles in a figure eight method twice the number of stitches you would normally need. You are knitting down with one needle and up with the other. After about 6 rows you fold your knitting in half and K2Tog (ending with your usual # of stitches) and proceed knitting the leg.


The sock widens with increases as you near the instep and heel.

You never have to pick up a stitch along the heel. I love the design! Notice how the Sl1, K1 is carried from the heel to under the foot.


The design down the front of the leg.

The decreases are meant to hug the arch of the foot.
And........in the end, I decided the heck with Cinderella, that I will frog back to above the heel. The sock does not fit in spite of the fact that there are the same # of stitches, same needles and same weight yarn.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about the great craft weekend I had....totally amazing.

Happy Knitting!

Gadgets!!! Don't You Just Love Them!!

If you were reading my Yahoo 360 blog last year, you probably recognize this picture. I was threading beads onto the yarn to knit a shawl. I used nail polish on the end of the yarn to facillitate the threading. Scroll further to see the gadget I can now use instead.

The "Ice Queen" pattern has been one that I have wanted to knit for quite some time. It is a cowl, a head scarf and more using the feather and fan pattern. However, the thought of stringing beads was not a welcoming thought. I have this beautiful apricot and beige lace weight yarn of alpaca and silk. Today I decided to prepare the yarn for my project using the following:

It's a bead spinner. A fish hook type needle designed especially to accommodate yarn threading (or other fiber) is suspended into this container as you spin it. The beads catch on the hook and voila!!...you can easily thread your yarn.
In this picture you can see some of the beads on the needle and a small piece of the yarn that is already threaded through the bead needle. The cost for this gadget was $20 but I only paid $11.99 with my 40% off coupon at Michael's. It's also a sales tax-free weekend in Vermont so $11.99 it was!

Happy Knitting!

Dr. Weissgold Socks - Finished

A few posts back, I told you I knitted these socks and called them Dr. Weissgold because I started knitting them while waiting for my appointment for the eye issue I had. I return for my check-up on Tuesday and I'm hoping for the best.

The real name of this pattern is "Blueberry Waffle". If you want the free pattern, let me know and I'll send you the link.

If he Googles himself, won't he be surprised to see these socks pop up. Last time I tried it, I was the 3rd link...lol.
It was a great week to be on vacation. For the most part, the weather was absolutely wonderful. I spent a fair amount of time by the lake with my knitting. I started a new pair of socks from Cat Bordhi's book and am quite pleased with how they are coming out. If you are in the doldrums with your knitting, try one of her patterns. A little challenging but truly amazing how her mathematical mind works.

Someone is interested in having me teach sock knitting classes this fall. I have to come up with an hourly $$$ (including prep time). There will be 6-8 students, 2hrs. each class for 4 weeks. Not sure how much to charge as I don't want to not have enough folks interested because of the price. I have to come up with the details by the end of the week. Any suggestions?

On the spinning front....some days are good, others not so good. I'm still familiarizing myself with my new wheel :>)

Happy Knitting!