FO: A June Breeze July 10, 2009

These are my June Personal Sock Club socks. I finished then a few days late, though.

The personal sock club is something that a few of us are doing where you make one pair of socks using your existing stash every month. With the shop closing and gifts, I’ve managed to amass 60 pairs worth of sock yarn, so I needed to do something to use it all…especially because I still want to buy more yarn. Sock yarn is my weakness, I tell you.

So, my Spring Forwards were my May socks and these are for June.

These almost didn’t get done. I only had one skein of yarn and I was afraid I’d run out. Now, I know that I’ve done other socks out of one skein, but those skeins were 215-225 yards. This skein only had 185. That’s when all the trouble started.

Because I was afraid I’d run out, I tried to change up the pattern. I failed…everytime. I changed the toe 3 times and everytime was worse. I tried a pedicure sock, a partial toe and, finally, a flip flop toe. They all looked bad, so I finally decided to take my chances and follow the pattern.

Turnes out, I needn’t have worried. I had plenty of yarn. I even had a little ball left over.

Project: Breeze by Jennifer L. Appleby
Yarn: Louet Gems in Cherry Red
Needles: US 1
Date Started: June 10, 2009
Date Completed: July 3, 2009
Notes: The reason it took so long is becasue I had to banish them for a little while after the toe debacle. Once I stopped being mad at them, I was able to do the second one in a week or so.

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Oh, and for those of you who were wondering, we still haven’t heard anything about that job for Ron. Ron called the guy the othewr day, but he wasn’t available. He hasn’t returned the call yet, so Ron will try him again tonight. I’m getting the feeling, though, that maybe this job isn’t God’s plan as I thought. While I’m bummed, I’m at peace with the fact that God will take care of us. And besides, we still haven’t found out for sure.

FO: A Shop Sample July 10, 2009

Well, I’ve only been working on this for eleventy billion years, but it’s finally done.

This is the shop sample I started so many months ago. You may recall when I told you I’d been asked to make a blouse out of some new yarn the shop had as a way to highlight it and get people to buy it. Well, not more than a few weeks later, we got the news the shop was closing.

Since making the blouse for the shop had only been part of the plan, I continued working on it. You see, one of the regulars bought the yarn and had me make it to fit her very thin daughter. That way it could still be of use after the shop was done with it.

When I found out Sandra was planning to open her own shop and wouldn’t need the blouse for a few months, I decided to take a break from it. I had done the back panel and the sleeves, and had started on the front, but the almost 10″ of stockinette in fingering weight yarn was just about driving me crazy. I needed a break before I started hating it. So I stopped for nearly two months and knit on other things. It was wonderful.

But, soon the new shop, Knitting With Sandra, would open it’s doors. So I pulled out the top and knit again in earnest. It only took me another week and a half or so to finally finish it off.

I think the reason why the last bit went so fast is because I had finally gotten to the fun part, the cable bit. That makes all the difference for me. If it can keep my attention by changing things up regularly, I can knit things up very fast. It’s never ending basic stitches that tend to bore me and make things draw out.

Project: #21 Simplicity by Verena Design Team Spring 2009
Yarn: Araucania Lonco Solid
Needles: US 3 and 4
Date Started: March 21, 2009
Date completed: July 8, 2009
Notes: I wasn’t too keen on the way the pattern was written. I don’t think it’s for a novice knitter at all. There were too many place where they assumed you knew what you were supposed to do, places where they didn’t tell you. I was able to figure it out, but if I had tried this pattern a few years ago, I doubt I’d have been able to. Also, the yarn is very pretty and works perfectly with this pattern. However, it’s a complete bear to wind and the twist is loose. I worry about my weaved in ends coming undone. Other than that, it was a pleasure to knit with.

FO: Helmet Liner For Father’s Day July 10, 2009

I knit gifts for my family. I’m sure you all knew that since I post on here who I’m knitting what for. But there’s one person in my family that I’ve not been able to knit anything for. My dad.

He’s just not a knitwear type person. I suppose if we lived somewhere that got colder than 50 degreees in the Winter, he’d probably wear all kinds of hats, gloves, and sweaters. But, we don’t, so he doesn’t see the need. And I don’t want to spend the time knitting something for him that he’s not gonna appreciate. So I don’t knit for Dad.

However, a few months ago, he actually asked me if I could knit him something. I decided I would even before he told me what it was. I mean, knit wear he would want? Of course I’ll do it!

Dad rides a motorcycle for his 45 minute commute to work everyday. He bought it a few years ago when the gas prices started to rise and he realized just how much he would waste on gas money driving his Jeep to work everyday. He leaves early in the morning and, in the Winter on the bike, it does get cold enough to need knitwear. So he asked if I could make him a helmet liner to keep his face and neck warm.

Of course, he wanted it in black, which is icky for me, but, again, I was just happy to be able to knit something for him finally. And, as luck would have it, I was making one for a customer of my LYS. I was able to make that one and have Dad try it on to see if he liked it as the pattern was written. He made a few changes like making the neck bit longer to go all the way to his shouulders and ensure it would stay in his collar.

Even though Dad had asked in Frebruary or so, I figured I’d wait until Father’s Day. He doesn’t need it until November anyway. And, since my LYS had closed by the time I started it, I got Knitpicks Swish instead of Brown Sheep. I’m glad for that as the Swish is sooooo mush softer than the Brown Sheep.

Project: Helmet Liner by Bonnie Long
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish worsted in black
Needles: US 6 and 8
Date Started: June 18, 2009
Date Completed: June 22, 2009
Mods: Well, as stated above, I made the neck bit longer. And I made the part around the face a bit longer. Other than that…

FO: Yoga Socks July 2, 2009

My brother’s fiance is a dancer. She also just had her 21st birthday last week. She’s also asked me on several occasions to make her some socks.

So, I took advantage of the situation and made her some.

Now, they’re really not what she’s been asking for. What she really wants is a pair of knee socks in funky colors. I totally plan on making her some someday. But I feel I should make a pair for myself first, so I can get down the construction. Plus, it’s gonna take time to knit knee socks and I didn’t have the time before her birthday. If you read my post a few days ago, you know that I also didn’t need the stress. So I thought the yoga socks were perfect becasue they were mindless.

They’re called yoga socks, but I think they will be perfect for dance rehearsals in the Winter. She still has the ball of her foot and heel to get traction, but her whole foot doesn’t have to freeze. I’m hoping she likes them, because they were dead easy and would be perfect to add to other gifts at Christmas and birthdays over the years. I could have fun making them fun.

Project: Yoga Socks by Claire Herne
Yarn: Wildfoote in Rock n’ Roll
Needles: US 2
Date Started: June 19. 2009
Date Completed: June 23, 2009
Mods: I did change things up a bit. I added a few rows of garter right before I bound off for the heel and right after I cast on again. I thought this might help with any rolling. Also, I think a size 2 needle was too big for the number of stitches. I would think she would like them a little bit tighter. So I think that if I make another pair, I’ll use 1’s.

FO: A Hat For A Little Boy July 2, 2009

A friend at church is a foster mom. I think the world of what she and her husband are doing. It’s great that these kids get a little stability in their lives, even if only for a few days, and they get to see what a family is supposed to be like.

Well, last week, she had two brothers, and she only had them for a week. However, they left an impression in her, the younger one the most. You see, he’d been accidentally burned with scalding hot water on his scalp and forehead. As a result, he has no hair, burn scars, and very, very sensitive and thin skin. Apparently, if he lightly bumps his head on something, it’s sure to tear his skin and cause problems. So, he wears a crocheted cap that someone made. I have a feeling it’s something he got in the hospital. It’s a little skull cap and it does the job, but it’s pretty dingy and beat up since he wears it everyday.

So, my friend asked me to make him 3 or so more so that he’d be able to trade out. I would have done it at just that, of course, I’d love to help out any kids, for sure. But, when I saw the cap he was wearing, I was doubly sure I’d make him some. You see, the cap he had on was acrylic. Crappy acrylic. For those of you who love acrylic, please don’t get angry with me. But acrylic has one major flaw that could be really dangerous for this boy in particular.

It melts.

When it comes in contact with fire or a really strong heat source, it will melt directly to whatever it’s on. And, in this case, that’s this little 3 year old boy’s very sensitive and injured head. I feel that, just in case his accident wasn’t so much of an accident, he needs some good old fashioned wool in his caps. Wool doesn’t melt. It doesn’t even burn. Wool puts itself out. I think that’s probably the best thing to put on his head, don’t you?

So, I went through my stash to find something that was wool and still soft enough to set on his sensitive head. And, what did I come across? My prize package from winning the speed knitting contest on Kintpicks back in February. I won one of their yarn samplers, which included 4 skeins of wool, each a different weight. Well, what else can you do with one single skein of yarn besides make a hat? (Yes, I know you can make bunches of things with one skein, but stay with me, huh?) And, 3 of the skeins were superwash, perfect for a little boy who is active and dirty. AND…they are all different shades of blue! Could this be a match made in heaven?

So, I set out for patterns. I had a bit of trouble with that, though. I found baby patterns and adult patterns. I even found grade school patterns. But none that were really set for a 3 year old head. At least, none that were really interesting. So, I took one and made it fit.

I got the pattern out of 100 Designer One-Skein Wonders. I swear that is the best pattern book I’ve got. I’ve made more out of it than I have any of my other books.

It took slightly over half of the skein and I worked it up in one evening. The architecture is kind of interesting in that you knit the band first as one long 6 stitch piece. Then sew it up, pick up the stitched from one side, and then knit up. I chose this pattern to do first becasue I knew I could easily adjust the size by knitting my long piece shorter than the pattern.

It wourked out perfect. It fits T just fine and she’s only a year older than this little boy, so it should fit him as well.

Project: New Directions Hat Margaret K. K. Radcliffe (Rav link)
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Worsted in Marine Heather
Needles: US 10
Date Started: June 30, 2009
Date Completed: June 30, 2009
Mods: I changed the decreases a bit as I wanted a smoother top. I did a k3 k2tog, then k2 k2tog, then k1 k2tog, putting a kint row inbetween until I had 4 stitches or so. Then I pulled the tail through.

Bad Blogger… June 29, 2009

Wow, I’ve been gone for a while, huh? I’m sorry. Life’s been a little rough. But don’t feel too slighted, I’ve not spent much of any time on any of my normal haunts either. I’ve just been too anxious to spend much time on the computer and haven’t really been in the correct mindset to be able to explain to anyone my problem. I guess I’m ready to try now.

Most of you all know that Ron’s job will be dissapearing in a few short months. December will be the absolute last month he can be employed there. So, we’ve been actively searching for a new job for him. That’s not nearly as fun as it sounds.

Here’s the problem. What Ron makes would be ok if we were a two income family and I was making the same. We’d be lower middle class or upper lower class that way. However, I don’t make anything, so we’re just lower class. But, he makes enough that getting an entry level position somewhere would mean a pay cut of at least 3 or 4 dollars an hour. Since we are barely making ends meet now, there’s no way that we could take that kind of cut. Not and eat too. And that’s more upsetting that you’d think because Ron’s been going to school for the past two years to become an AC/heating technician and we’ve found that the starting pay for that is also lower than what he’s making now. Plus, with the economy the way it is, he’d probably just get hired on as seasonal help for the Summer and then let go once the weather cools down. So, we’d be in the same boat as we are now, only poorer.

It’s been frustrating, to say the least. Every where we looked, we found jobs that payed too little, jobs with no garaunteed future, or no jobs available at all. And, as the months went by, we’ve gotten more and more worried about our immediate future.

But, we kept praying, knowing that God has a plan for us and he will provide. And, just a few weeks ago, during the final of Ron’s latest class, a recruter came in and spoke. He said that his company had just gotten the contracts to do all the maintenance work for all the county buildings in ours and the neighboring counties. And he needed to hired all new people to take those positions.

Now, I should tell you that Ron and I have been praying for a better job for him for years, basically every since T was born and I quit mine to care for her. We’ve asked for specific things in that better job that we feel are needed in our life. We knew that God would give us what we really need and not what we thought we’d need, but it couldn’t hurt to ask anyway, right? Well, some of the things we asked for were these: It needed to be a job Ron could be proud of, he needed to be home enough to be able to be a part of his daughter’s lives, it needed to have good enough insurance to cover all of D’s health issues without a bunch of out of pocket expense for us, he needed Sundays off to go to church, and he needed to make enough money so that we could afford to pay all the bills, fix house and cars when needed, be able to have savings, and have a little left over for some fun every now and again…oh and get off WIC, I’d really like to stop relying on the government for milk.

I don’t think any of our requests are too much or selfish. And, even though things in Ron’s job area have gotten better since T was born in 2004,(aside from his plant closing, of course) we still don’t make enough to make it, we’re on WIC, he works all kinds of overtime and misses out on things with the girls, and his company has done things that keep him form being able to be proud of his job.

Now, let’s go back to the recruiter. He needs a decent amount of people to fill the positions. Even though Ron would be hired by this guy’s company, he’d get all the benefits of being a county employee. That means no overtime and no weekends, he’d be off by 5pm every day. Also, he’d get all the county paid holidays, which is a lot, and a decent vacation time. And, he’d get county medical benefits, which would be enough for all of D’s issues. And, perhaps the best part, he’d get prevailing wage. That means he’d get paid at the top of the pay scale for the work, instead of the bottom like most companies.

Now, there are two types of positions available, a generic worker and a site supervisor. The generic worker position’s pay starts at $4 an hour more than what Ron is making now. That would really help. It would mean no more WIC, for sure. You know how good it’ll feel to make too much to qualify for WIC?

But, here’s he thing. The supervisor position, which is basically what Ron does now on a smaller scale, pays double what Ron is making now. Can you imagine just doubling your income in one day?

Even though we’ve tried not to get emotionally tied to this job, we’ve had to wait for weeks for the process to get started. Ron has sent in his resume about two weeks ago, and should get a call some time this week or early next about an interview. That means that for the past few weeks, we’ve had nothing to do but think about all the stuff we could do with that extra money. If he got the supervisor position, we could finally get all that work done on the cars that we’ve had to put off forever. We’d be able to fix up all that problems that we have in our house. When there is virtually nothing left after the bills are paid, house improvements get set aside for a long, long time. In fact, there is a decent size hole in my bathroom wall from when Ron had to work on the pipes that has been there for about 3 years. It’s covered with a white plastic garbage bag that does nothing to make it more asthetically pleasing, let me assure you.

And, not only that, we’d be able to get some of the fun things that we never get. Ron would love a new guitar. The ones he has are alright, but he’d love a quality one. I’d love to be able to get a sweater’s worth of yarn for once. That’s one of the reasons I knit socks so much. I can get the yarn so much cheaper, especially since I only buy it on sale. And, we’d be able to take the girls for a day out when we wanted to, not after we’d scrimped and saved for months.

So, we’d like to think that this job is a God send and that it’s God’s answer to all our prayers over the years. But, what if it isn’t and we are just rationalizing it to be? I’m trying to prepare myself for Ron not geting the job, and the closer we get to him finding out, the more anxiety I get. If he doesn’t get this job, what other options are there?

So, pray for us, if you would. That Ron might get this job or, if not, that another opportunity would open itself to us.

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Oh, and in case you were worried, I’ve been knitting even if I haven’t been blogging. In fact, I have at least three FO posts that I hope to get out this week for you. I’m going to try to get back into the blogging thing. I’ve missed you guys and am looking forward to sharing the stuff I’ve been working on.

Talk at you later!

Because I’m A Lemming… June 11, 2009

There have been a few of my fellow bloggers who have been showing off their ink. Don’t believe me? Well, go check out Pam and Carole’s blogs.

Well, it got me thinking maybe I could get away with a post showing off my work. I know that you’ve caught glimpses when I’ve modeled a sock, but maybe you might enjoy the full catalog.
(If you don’t like tattoos, feel free to skip this post. I promise it won’t have any knitting in it and I won’t feel hurt if you don’t read. I understand.) If you do like tattoos and are planning to read on, let me warn you that this is a pretty picture heavy post. I have 14 tattoos, so…

On with the show!

I figured I’d do things chronologically. So here is my very first tattoo, which I got shortly after my 20th birthday way back in 1997. I got the cross on my ankle in an effort to somewhat appease my folks. They weren’t too keen on the whole tattoo idea, and I thought a cross might help them deal. I doubt it worked. ;o)

Secondly, we have the Celtic knot on my upper right arm. This is a perfect example of how you need to stick with your original plan, and not change your mind in the artist’s chair. I originally wanted a little quarter sized design right at the very top of my arm, almost on my shoulder. But, when I got into the chair, he told me all the sizes he’d copied were the same price. So I went twice as big and lower. While I like the work, I’ve always thought it was a little too sailor-y and not quite feminine. I still haven’t come up with a solution to the dilema, and I’ve had the tattoo since 97.

Number 3 was also done while I lived in Alaska, like number 2. I made the mistake of showing it to my parents the night I came home and my mom didn’t talk to me for about a week. While we worked it all out, she still hates this tattoo and I plan to have it covered up when I can afford it. Just as a courtesy to her. This is on the inside of my left ankle.

After that, I got the worst tattoo ever. Well, the tattoo wouldn’t be bad, but the artist was terrible. It’s on the small of my back and is supposed to be the chinese symbol for monkey. However, it’s basically a black blob. The artist dug too deep and so it’s all puffy and ugly. Let’s just say that I’m glad it’s on my back where it doesn’t show.

I know the picture is fuzzy, but, trust me, it doesn’t look any better in real life.

Number 5 was an interesting design. It’s on the back of my left ankle.

Number 6 is a fairy. I love me some fairies. You’ll notice that most of my tattoos are a bit small. That was because I’ve been poor most of my life. I couldn’t come up with the cash needed to get the really big ones, so I did my ankle work in pieces. It’s still not done, but having children has made me even poorer. Someday I might get it all finished. This first fairy is a perfect example of where I needed to get the tattoo a bit bigger to get all the great detail. It’s still pretty, but…Anyway, this is on the outside of my right ankle.

And I got number 7 by the same artist. It’s a hummingbird on the front of my left ankle. Can you picture that? I have on the one ankle, at each of the four points, a cross, hummingbird, yin yang, and design. I wanted to make it a solid piece made up of all these little tattoos.

Number 8 is the top of the montage of my left ankle. This was the first done by a young man named Craig. Craig has done the rest of my work from this point on. This goes all the way around my ankle.

Number 9 is one of my favorites. Of course it is, it’s a fairy! This is on the inside of my right ankle, opposite of my other fairy.

And I love number 10 too. Actually, number 10 started out as just a gray bunny on the side of my right calf. It was very boring and not well done. A few years after I got it, I had Craig pretty it up. And here’s what he did with it.

Number 11, though, is my pride and joy. I got this as a present for my 25th birthday from my brother in 2002. I got it right when foot tattoos stopped being taboo, but before they were trendy.

When I get some cash, I think I will have it touched up and make the flowers brighter colors. I need bright. The vines continue up my ankle, kind of wrapping around my other work. You can see that in some of the other pictures.

Numbers 12 and 13 are two big flowers that craig added shortly after I got my foot done. They were inteded to close off the bottom of my ankle piece and therefore give the impression of one big piece of work. I don’t think the effect was reached, however, and I plan to eventually get it all filled in with pretty stuff.

This on is on the backish part of my ankle, and I think it’s very pretty.

This one is on the frontish part and reminds me of Two-ey form Little Shop Of Horrors.

Since 2002, I’ve only gotten one other tattoo, and that’s a small star on my shoulder. My best friend, Erin, and I got these 3 or 4 years ago to signify our rather long friendship. (we’ve been BeFris since I was 5) It’s nothing special to look at, but it means a lot to me.

Sorry for the bad picture, it’s hard to get a shot of your shoulder!

So, that’s it, all my ink. It may seem like a lot, but since most of it is in one spot, I still have a lot of clean space. One day, when we are independantly wealthy, I plan to get more done and some of it touched up, but….well, that’s propbably gonna be a long time from now.

So, I hope I didn’t bore you. If so, I’m sorry, how ’bout a picture of my new haircut?

Man, I look tired! Kid’s will do that to you.

On Why I Might Be Rockin’ Awesome… June 8, 2009

I’m making myself a monkey. Wait, that sounds wrong, I’m not making a monkey out of myself, I’m making a monkey for myself.

A sock yarn monkey, to be precise.

And it will be a traveling monkey, going off to see the world via the houses of other kitters. I think it’ll be grand fun.

But, before I can send my monkey off into the great unknown, I have to make it. And that’s what I’ve been working on for the past week or so. And that’s the reason I think I might be rockin’ awesome.

When I went looking for a pattern, I ran into 3 problems:
1. None of the patterns I found were written for sock yarn, they were most all for worsted.
2. I didn’t care for way the monkey looked in many of the patterns. The few that I did like were uber expensive, and I have a hard time spending that kind of money on something I could figure out on my own.
3. I didn’t like the construction of the monkey in many of the patterns. They were basically cones that you sewed arms, ears and a mouth to. Some of them didn’t even have a proper derier.

So, I took all of that into account, and decided to try to make my own monkey. Now, I haven’t been doing it totally blind, I am using this pattern by Rebecca Zelt for a reference. But, I’ve mainly only used it for starting the butt and finishing the head.

But, you are wondering to yourself, why the awesomeness? Well, it’s because of this:

It’s kind of hard to see, but that is my monkey’s original butt. I’m sorry for the icky pictures, but I was at Mom’s and only had my cell with me.

So, my monkey’s butt…I made it too….um, long, I guess is what you’d call it. My monkey had a little too much junk in his trunk.

The error was that I knew I needed to do a short row heel, but I didn’t know how many stitches to wrap on each side. I left 11 stitches unwrapped and that was the wrong amount. I discovered I should have left, like, 19 unwrapped. But, I couldn’t tell that it was funky until I was well on into the back.

That’s not entirely true. I had my suspisions while I was finishing up the butt, but I thought maybe it was just me. Then, when I started working up the back, I though maybe the thing just needed to be stuffed.

Yeah, I was in denial for quite awhile. And, when I finally admitted that I needed to fix the posterier of my monkey, I was so far up the back that I was almost ready for the arms. I wasn’t about to rip all the way back, so I came up with another solution.

First, I found where I thought the butt should really end and I picked up those stitches.

See all that that I’m having to take out? Yeah, I definately messed up this poor monkey butt.

Anyway, after I picked up the stitches on both sides, I went ahead and cut the yarn.

And started unravelling. This part was fairly easy. I made sure to cut at the top, so that I could jut pull the end and have it all come out nice and easy. After I got it all ripped out, all that was left was to kitchner it up.

I had quite a few more stitches than a normal sock toe, and I had my children inturupting me every few minutes. But I’ve done enough sock toes now that I was able to keep my place throughout the whole ordeal. And that landed me with this:

Now, isn’t that a much better looking posterier? I think so. And, while I realize that what I did wasn’t anything really, truly difficult, I’m pretty proud of myself that I was able to identify the problem, identify the solution, and execute the solution all on my own. I’m getting pretty good at this whole knitting thing, I think.

What’s become of the monkey now? Well, I’ve finshed up his main body and head. I haven’t sewn up the top of his head yet, I still need to stuff the rest of him. Instead of sewing on a mouth, I went ahead and just did another short row heel. I learned my lesson this time and made it look right the first time, though. And I’m currently picking up the stitches and knitting the arms. That’s another change from the patterns I saw. They were all about knitting the arms separately and then sewing them on. I don’t like that look, so I’m doing it my way. I may knit the tail separatly, though, I haven’t quite decided yet. I want it to be long and so I’m weighing the annoyance factors of having to knit 15 inches attached to the monkey or having to stuff the tail and then sew it on. I’m not sure which one I like the least yet.

Anyway, happy Monday, everyone!!!

FO: Sock For My Eldest Girl June 3, 2009

I think I’m just going to have to stop apologizing for my week long dissapearances. Just know that if I’m gone for more than a few days, one of my kids is sick or something. )

So, I’ve finished T’s socks. I guess she likes them.  She didn’t take them off for more than a minute in three days. In fact, I had to sneak them away so that I can wash them. She’s in love with them, I tell you, which makes me feel good….but it’s ruining the socks. I know now not to pay too much for sock yarn for her. She’s just too hard on socks. But, she loves socks so much, I’m going to have to make her dozens of pairs.

Thankfully, I have a gazillion partial skeins that have been donated to my sock yarn blanket. Many of them are almost full skeins, plenty to make a few squares and socks for T. And, I won’t have to feel bad about her ruining them because I didn’t spend any money on the yarn.

It’s still a bit of a sting, though, to see her mess up something I worked hours on. But, I know it’s love,so that makes up for it.

Without futher ado, here they are.

You must excuse the the fuzzyness of these pictures, it’s very hard for a four year old to hold still, you know. But she did have fun posing for the pictures…

Project: Opal Kid’s Socks by Sharon “Soxie” Philbrick
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces in Happy Valley
Needles: Size US 1 ML
Date Started: May 1, 2009
Date Completed: May 29, 2009

I don’t think I’ll make this pattern again. I was dead easy, don’t get me wrong, but it makes the socks too stretchy and they’re a bit of an ill fit for T’s skinny feet. I think that next time, I’ll stick to stockinette.

 

(While I was spell checking this post, T came up and saw the pictures and immediately asked where the “sock you knit for me” were.  It’s a good thing they’re already in the washer, huh?)

Closeknit Is Closed. *Sigh* May 26, 2009

Well, it’s over, the yarn store is no more.  As of 4:00 pm on Sunday May 24, Closeknit ceased to be.  I’m sad.

But, I took the oportunity to spend as much time there as I could this weekend.  I was there on Saturday for about an hour and then there for the entire business day on Sunday.  I’d like to show you all what I was working on during that time, but it’s a birthday present for a little man who’s about to turn one year old.  While I realizes that he probably doesn’t read this blog, his mom does.  So you just get a little tease:

I’m really happy with the way it’s turning out. And I’m loving the yarn. It’s Heirloon Cashmeno that I got a few weeks ago. There were 10 or so balls in the two blue colors and I thought I might be able to use it for a top for me, but there just wasn’t enough. When I was trying to figure out what to make for young master Caleb, I saw this yarn in my tub and thought it would be perfect! Very soft and well made. And a pretty blue that’s not too blue, you know? Manly, but not boring. I think it’s perfect for a little boy.

On Sunday, the yarn at the store was 75% off, so I was able to afford enough Tahki cotton to make Ron a polo shirt. I’ve wanted to get some to make him something for a while, but never had enough money. I believe I ended up spending about $20 to get all the yarn and pattern, which is close to what we’d end up spending if we bought a shirt in the store. Love that! But, I’ve got to finish Caleb’s thing first. Oh, and I cast on for my Tomato last night…and I’ve got to pick out my June socks for my personal sock club….and Summer Of Socks starts in a few weeks…and my future SIL’s birthday is next month…

I’m never gonna catch up.