Boring blah blah blah post.

No knitting pictures today, because I haven't had time to knit. This will be a very boring blog for my non-knitty pals, so I'll leave some random photos of why I'm not knitting.

Instead I have a question: Is there a stitch I can use on the bottom of the sock to make it thicker without having to worry that it will change my gauge too much? (For example, the heel on the jaywalker sock seems thicker - it's a (sl 1, k1) to the end. Next row purl. Next rowl (sl 1, k1). Could I continue this down the whole bottom of the sock or will it not work? Ladies?

The EZ baby sweater pattern is from "Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitters' Almanac" - a good knitters book - and fun to read even if you aren't going to knit anything from it. She describes her narrative directions for patterns as, "Pithy directions for . . . " Reading her book is as cozy as knitting wooly socks, of which she also has a pattern. Oh, and by the way, I think that EZ is very misleading. It does not mean EASY - as I will soon find out when I try her baby sweater. But I will not be deterred.

Heather, I took the dictionary test and (my real name) means "something akin to a banana peel." or something like that. Hmph. Not quite as glamorous as yours.

Befores and Afters

I'm going to rip this out, to knit this instead.

It's from EZ's (Elizabeth Zimmerman's) Knitters Almanac. Baby February Sweater. I've heard that it's a great knit and I've heard horror stories.

Let's hope my story is not as cursed as the Choco-socks. But as promised to myself - I will finish the Jaywalkin' choco-socks first.

Next: What I do when I'm not knitting.
or
What I should do instead of knitting.

I found a fun way to use my digital camera and the best part . . . the kids like to help too. We take a before picture: We set a timer for 10 minutes and GO! And after! Ta dah!Hopefully, I'll have a great before and after story with the new baby sweater. I'll keep you . . . 'posted'. tee hee - that pun always gets me. See you Friday!

Paddlin' & Knittin'

This is what I did this weekend. Paddled. And your looking at the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area). Incredibly peaceful. I would have brought my knitting, but I am not spill-proof yet (had my camera in a waterproof bag).

I did manage to knit on the way up to northern MN and on the way home. The chocosocks are on they're way. I just started the cuff of #2 and finished the heel on #1. The heel is different. It's a slip 1 , k1 repeat. I like it. The heel feels thicker than just a plain stockinette. Here is the progress with it's recipient in the background.

I'd say "Oh, this is knitting up so nice. Look at that heel." He responds without so much as a sideways glance, "Yup. Looks good." Good boy! Just pretend to be interested. You'll still get your socks.

We were visited several times by His Majesty the Bald Eagle. Someone left fish guts on the dock for the scavengers. Apparently, this is a big no-no up there. It attracts the gulls who harass the loons and have affected the loons' reproduction. So bury your fish guts, people.
Finally - (in a sing-song voice) - Loooorreeeeeee (Lori), look what IIIIIIII did! My first cable.


Alas, Luke Skywalker has been forgiven.





See ya Wednesday.

Sockodrama

Have you ever felt that one of your knitting projects was cursed? Truly and undeniably cursed?

Here is my sad sad tale:

After starting the Choco-sock for the fourth and final time, this time testing my gauge, using the Jaywalker pattern (thanks Guinifer) and swearing I'll never frog this one again - fate stepped in.Luke Skywalker here, pulled the needles out to use as little light sabers. He needed more than one because "they were doing battle." #$&*(#@*%&$%*(*(@#&$

DON'T EVEN TRY TO ENCOURAGE ME TO PICK UP THE STITCHES AGAIN - I WON'T DO IT!

Plus, I have to drive by this development crap every day (used to be deep forest):

And I'm out of coffee.

*************
I am pausing all projects (fun kool-aid socks included) until these choco-socks are finished and Big K is wearing them - I don't care if it's 90 and humid - he's wearing them. I will reign supreme over the choco-socks. I will conquer and destroy.

Green Glorious Green! (and a spider essay)

My oldest (8 yr) picked his favorite color for his Kool-aid socks. We used Lemon-Lime mix with Berry Blue, Lemon-Lime with Orange (to get the army green color), and Lemon-Lime with Lemonade. I think the yarn turned out gorgeous! I also dyed longer sections hoping that it will stripe up a bit thicker than my first attempt (which I also like).

SIZING:
I cast on 40 stitches with #6 US needles - this was sized for a women's small, but this actually fits a boys size 3.5 feet perfectly. My middle kid has a size 13 childs and I cast on 36 with #6 - same thing. Perfect fit with some room to grow. Completely unrelated to knitting:

Living in the woods and near a lake means that I also live with . . . spiders. I don't know anyone who really LOVES spiders, but I, for one, take no joy from them. I am an arachnophobe. And I don't mean - "Oh, ick. A spider." I actually have two responses to the sight of spiders - 1. a flight of terror 2. loss of all control - ending up with me in a heap on the floor, sometimes whimpering and shivering (I think with shock). Often times, my response is a combination of both.

My garage sits under a canopy of spider homes in the trees above. When I open the garage door, I stand far back and wait for the door to come to a complete stop - (spiders may drop from the garage door onto my head). Next, I make a terrifying dash to my door, sometimes shrieking, trying not to focus on anything in case spiders are crawling on the car. When I manage to get in, I close my eyes and wait to calm down. I'm certain that my doom will be a car crash involving me and a spider that has hitched a ride inside my car.

When my husband asked me to marry him, I had two prenuptial stipulations - I will never be tickled (hate being tickled) and don't ever . . . EVER throw, pretend to throw, or put real, dead or plastic spiders in any location to try and scare me or I'll file for immediate divorce. He has not broken this rule yet and, in fact, will diligently dispose of them quickly and quietly without so much as a rolling of his eyes.

As a back-up plan, I also have a generous neighbor who is on-call for emergency spider disposal at any time of day (she's not so generous in the middle of the night). In return, I judiciously dispose of toads in her garden. Don't worry, I only remove them to my own garden (they eat spiders). I'm unconcerned with beetles, bees . . . heck, even snakes. But . . . (shiver) spiders... And did you know that lake/woods are also home of the insanely huge and very fast "Wolf Spider" and the even bigger "Fishing Spider" (which sometimes takes a break from fishing to come inside my house). I'd post a picture, but I actually have a nasty physical response to photos as well. If you'd like to get me to stop reading your blog, you can post a big picture of a Wolf Spider - any spider - and I'll never return again.

Worsted is the Best!

I absolutely loved knitting with plain old worsted weight wool. It knits so fast and warm and soft (merino). Without further delay: Kool-aid dyed socks for my 7 yr old.

How do I get rid of that hole at the ends of the gussets on the ankles. One pair has no gaps and the other has gaps on either side! $*%&@(

A funny thing happened to me this weekend while "Up North". I didn't feel like knitting. Several times, I spread out the ziploc baggies of projects and just thought, "Blech." Finally, on the way home, I took out K's (hubby) chocolate-sock yarn and started (my fourth try) on his first pair of socks from me. I am using the Jaywalk pattern that Guinifer suggested. LOVE IT! I learned two new stitches (dd - double decrease and k f/b - knit through the front and back). The pattern is perfect for beginner sock knitters who want to take it up a notch.
And no matter how these turn out - I'm NOT ripping them out for a fourth time.

Finally, some family fun - woke up early before the heat set in and ventured forth to do our "Playground Marathon". We only made it to 4 before we had to stop for lunch and then ate it at the Excelsior Commons, which, by the way - is a fabulous spot!

See you Wednesday!

Knit Knickers!??!

That's right folks. These undies came from the same book as the men's boxers. Hmmm. This person has a lot of extra knitting time on her hands and a very good sense of humor. I will not be knitting myself a pair, but am reminded that my Icelandic ancestors probably wore wooly undergarments that would put this fluffy pair to shame.

And now for some bragging: I won a yarn naming contest! That's right! Well. I came in 3rd place. But still. The contest was to name and choose colors of a yarn based on a tv show. Brady Bunch popped into my mind with olivey greens, 70's yellows and a touch or orange. Cheerful and fun. (I know what you're thinking . . . this brilliant idea should have come in 1st place and with honors). My prize is a mystery, but I will post as soon as I know!

Finally, a very sweet sight. My oldest (8) took a siesta on our bed to escape the heat of the day. He practiced his hand at knitting. He took to it right away and here he is working on a blanket for a stuffed friend.

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!

Vampire In My Mailbox!

Well . . . I found out why I never received my "Flavour-of-the-Month" sock yarn. I never signed up for it. oops. The nice lady from The Sweet Sheep was very patient with me and explained this to me on the very day . . . the very moment I received THIS in the mail. It's what I had, in fact, signed up for . . . The Project Spectrum Club (now sold-out) which began (achem) in June. (insert very sheepish face). It's called Vampire! Isn't that cool? Can't wait to knit this, but must find perfect pattern. sigh. This will be a pair for myself. ANY PATTERN SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE WELCOME! (No cables, Lori :-)

A KOOL (aid) WEEKEND!

Lori introduced me to the idea of Kool-Aid dyeing yarn. Heather further inspired. This has been circling around in my mind for some time. So on Saturday, we picked some Kool-Aid and used Patons Classic Wool Merino yarn (cheap from Michael's Craft Store) and got to work. A very fun project to do with the kids. A word of warning - wear gloves. I did not. My hands look bruised and maimed from the staining. I am going to put all projects aside to knit up a pair of socks with some of this yarn. I definitely recommend this project! I'll post what we did - AND we got our instructions from HERE!

1. Wound the yarn around the dining room table. (a big pain in the #*%)

2. Washed the yarn in cold water with a drop of 7th Generation Lavender dish soap.

3. Patted the yarn dry and spread it onto Saran Wrap to protect my ancient table.

4. Mixed two packs of (same) color with 4 T. water.






5. Used a turkey-baster to squirt dye onto the yarn.

6. Used baggied hands to squish the liquid dye through the yarn.

7. Steamed the yarn in a steamer basket for 45 minutes.

8. Cooled and washed in cold water with drop of same soap from above (no dye came out - the rinse water, amazingly was clear).

9. Dried and wound it into a ball.








These are the socks that my middle boy (7) designed. He choose the colors based on his best friends. If I have extra yarn (the skein was huge) - I may knit up a pair for his best bud, too. He's calling them his "Best Friend" socks.

Elf Hats, Magic Rocks and Sea Monkeys

These elfy hats are very addictive because they knit up so fast. It would be even better if I could knit them in the round so that I wouldn't have to sew up the back seam. But I haven't found double pointed 13 needles or 40" circular 'magic loops'.

QUESTION: Why do I have to block my finished stuff? (for those of you who don't knit - Blocking is when you dampen or wet your knitting and lay it out to dry in the shape you want). I don't get why because when you put on socks/hats/scarves they are the shape of your foot/head etc. What's the point. I blocked this orange hat, but I did not block the first one. I see no difference. And socks? You knit them and wear them. Why would I block them?

My 3rd Noro (silk garden) scarf is so pretty! I did not know it would have so much purple in it. The skeins were deceiving - mostly greens/browns/blues. This is why knitting these scarves is so fun. Why doesn't Noro ever go on sale?
Day one of summer vacation:

MAGIC ROCKS! Remember those? Got 'em at Target. In the 70's I ordered mine from my Archie comic books . . . along with my Sea Monkeys - perhaps the biggest disappointment of my life. You cannot train Sea Monkeys. Nor do they grow arms and legs with flipper feet.

Wingardium Leviosa!

I have finished my Hogwart socks for my secret swap (Hufflepuff colors). They are by no means perfect, but that is the beauty of handmade socks. I managed a decent "Wingardium Leviosa" spell to show them off. I think my secret pal has seen my blog, so the rest of her package will remain a secret until she receives it.

I still don't have my Flavour of the Month yarn from the Sweet Sheep, but she has been very kind to work with and we're straightening it all out. A glitch with customs, I think. BUT I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!

Also, good for a laugh. I checked out more books on knitting from my favorite library and saw this project:These men's boxers are just too weird.

Crafts and Pointy Hats

We're getting our 'summer crafts' in order - anticipating the last day of school this week. Two articles were suggested to me at Knitty (here and here). Thanks for those suggestions! So we will be trying to dye our own self striping yarn and I'll knit up some thick warm socks . . . or one of these:

I found the pattern in this book - which I got from the library and LOVE. I'm going to buy this one. It's the best knitters self-help book I've come across so far with everything form sizing charts, to finishing instructions.

The pattern is called "Tweedy Pointed Hat" and it only took a few hours to make from beginning to end (big fat US 13 needles). They're rustic and perfect for the cabin.

Hubby gets the first one because the hat turned out way too big for my kids or myself.