Mille Lacs Mojo

I haven't touched a knitting needle in over two months.  This has kept me up at night, thinking of the three (or more) large plastic bins full of yarn and projects getting dusty in my damp, dank basement.

Then my niece showed up . . . the one who has taken up the calling, remember her?  She said, "Auntie, can you show me how to knit a pair of socks."  And she produced a few (sorry Liv) limp and dusty skeins of lumpy old wool and said, "I brought my own yarn."  Oh, you sweet thing.

So a quick trip to the Local Yarn Shop (LYS) for some Addi Turbos and a quick dip into one of those aforementioned bins* and THIS is what she whipped up in a matter of hours. 

 Literally.  Hours.  She is knitting faster than I am!  An eleven year old!  I am so proud of her.  She chose a nice Collinette Jitterbug sock yarn in the colorway: Popsicle.  Isn't it perfect for summer and for an amazing niece?

 Today she turned her first heel.  I am a very proud Auntie.

*Side note: when you open one of my yarn bins, there is an ethereal light that shines forth and if you listen closely, you may even hear angels singing the hallelujah chorus.  I'm just sayin'.

And while Liv was busy looking for the perfect yarn in my bin, I noticed this neglected yarn called "Icehouse" and thought how UN-icehouse it was, but how perfectly "lakey".

(Here is a picture of Minnesota ice houses - note the lack of, um . . . color).   This picture was taken in February of Lake Mille Lacs (say it with me "mill - LAX").

However, I spent a beautiful summer day fishing on Mille Lacs with some friends and family yesterday and these were, indeed, the colors of the day.  The photos don't quite show it off, but the day was heavenly blue and deep shady green.

So this is my Mille Lacs sock using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi - Colorway: Icehouse.

The pattern is Nutkin by Beth LaPensee which is a favorite since it is quick and easy to memorize.  So thanks to Liv, my knitting mojo has returned!  Thanks, Liv.  I'm back.

Nothing like watching the world go by and getting some knitting done.

Brown Socks: Primavera socks in Lonna Grossa Meilenweit Bosco #3518

Pink Socks: Rivendell socks in DKknits Technicolor Dream Toes in "Molly Ringwald"

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.

Bye Bye Little Birds!

This scarf is expensive and just tedious enough that I can't cart it around with me. Also, I'm not sure if I like the colors. They looked good all balled up in the store with the nice lighting. The good news is that the scarf will probably go with just about any coat I wear, and once it's balled up around my neck, it may look really pretty. Hmmm. There is a section in here that looks sort of Rastafarian. Not that anything is wrong with that. It's just that I'm not a Rastafarian. I do hum "Three Little Birds" everytime I visit Little Birds Handmade. (sigh. she's leaving us bloggy pals) This woman is amazingly talented - and takes beautiful pictures of her work. But she is discontinuing her blog.

I pulled out K's (hubby) Choco-socks again. I believe that makes it the fourth time. But this time, I'm taking a deep breath and putting the yarn away until Fall. In the meantime, I'm going to practice my cables (which Lori so graciously took the time to teach me - THANKS!!!) so that when I crack that sock yarn out again, I'm going to whip up some unseemly, gorgeously cabled socks for my beloved.





This is an Icelandic kleiner. It's a bit like a doughnut, but not quite as sweet and has just a pinch of cardamon. A bit better than M & M's for breakfast, I dare say. (compliments of my mother-in-law)


And how about knitting soccer socks for this pinky-punk! Just one more thing to add to my list of things to never get done. But check out the link. . . maybe I'll post the picture. I hope I don't get into trouble. I consider it free marketing for the pattern. I got it from atypically.knit.

Knitting Saga

My m&m's were siphoned off by my 4 year old. So much for my breakfast.

OK! Socks are much more fun than sweaters. Look at this goop! It happened while trying to decrease. I did a ssk and look what I did. But this is the least of my worries. Look at this! And this is not a weird camera angle. The front panels are different sizes!! AUGH!! I thought I was measuring so carefully! I am so frickin' mad!
Also, I found on someone's blog (and I'd link it, but I can't remember where/when I found it) that they hated Rowan's Summer Tweed because the texture was so coarse - while I found that it was soft. Well - here's the answer. It depends on the color. My brown Summer Tweed is rough and yuck to the touch, but the pink is wonderfully cuddley.
I've been putting off my Hufflepuff socks due to lack of needles. (I only have one pair of #1 magic loop) but today, I vow to begin. My mom will be picking up more Magic Loops for me, so there will be no excuse.

Here is 8-year-old E's sock. The second is on stitch holders (again - shortage of knitting needles). And yes. I am modeling his sock on my foot. He is large for his age, which is what happens when you introduce Viking/Nordic genes into the mix. (I'm not bragging when I say he was 10 pounds 2 oz. at birth - just letting you feel my pain).
And yes . . . I'll start using my self tanner.

And the cotton stripey socks I started for myself with the Panda Yarn will probably be footies to wear around the house, since they're 'summer' socks and I don't forsee myself wearing these bright things in public with my shorts and sandals. (Oh the geekiness). (Renee) I thought the cotton would fall apart and come unraveled, but it's actually quite nice.

One more frivilous picture.

The ice is finally out on our cabin lake!!! Why is this significant? We're 'water-access' only. So here is a shot from a resort near us of the OPEN WATER!! Cabin - here we come.

PS. My dream would be to have a knitting weekend with all my knitting friends up in Ely (but few of my friends knit. sigh. And the ones who do, aren't keen on outhouses. That would be a lonely weekend).

To My Blog Friends

I want to say thanks to my readers (all two of you) for your kind, wonderful AND HELPFUL comments. I really enjoy reading your blogs and seeing your knitting and families grow. I'm still new to this, but have really enjoyed it. Thanks ladies. Truly truly!

Also, I have been knitting. Here is some proof of my works - as they lay. No fixed up poses for these piles of yarn.

Noro-Scarf-I-Swore-I'd-Never-Knit-Again Scarf:













Ocean socks for my big 8 year old:













Nell's Baby Sweater:













My hubby's Choco-socks (third try):
I have my last sock-knitting class tonight with my ma. I'll finish the ocean sock and start the second. Have a great day, my bloggy friends!!!

Keeping You Abreast.

Went to the knitting shop - JUST TO LOOK - and walked out with three more skeins of Noro yarn. It was so heavenly beautiful - I couldn't resist. Now I have to decide if I want a scarf or maybe a new hat. Are cables difficult? Because I absolutely love this hat. (from this blog)

Non-Knitting Entry

I told myself I'd keep this blog completely about knitting - no cat pictures, kids as knitting models only, no personal family blah blah blah, but I have really enjoyed seeing other people's blogs and bits and pieces of their families and lives. So I'm using this blog entry to show some non-knitting stuff. Like the kids at Easter and my precious baby niece and one picture of Ruby. This is Ruby's favorite pose second only to Ruby sleeping, but those pictures are REALLY boring.

Also, it's April 10 - the boys start baseball tonight but it will be cancelled to to freezing and snow. FREEZING AND SNOW! The good news is that it makes it much more fun to sit inside, cozy and warm - to KNIT. Also, it's not as freaky as the weird, globally warmed weather that brought my tulips up 3 weeks early (they're frozen, now . . . sigh).



ps (Heather) I'm really Hufflepuff, but I like the Gryffindor colors better. ;-).

Lesson #1

Did I learn something new at my first knitting class? YES! The tail-cast-on (I guess I didn't learn what it's actually called). This method proved to be much easier than I had anticipated.

The bad news: I wanted to knit really cool striped socks (my own stripes, not yarn-self-striping stuff). But they didn't have colors I liked. Hmph. So I bought this instead and decided to knit socks for Mr. Moody, my 8 year old. I was grumbling until I figured out how easy and fun the magic loop needles are and how truly entertaining self-striping yarn can be - especially when pulled from inside the ball. But they're too small and I'll have to pull them out and start over. sigh. GAUGE GAUGE GAUGE

So I did learn something and enjoyed myself - despite the fact that the teacher thought it would be great fun to start me out on #1 size needles.

My Choco-socks are kind of boring, but still coming along.

Oooh! And I ordered my yarn for my Nordic Stockings AND ordered THE last three skeins of Rowan Summer Tweed from Patternworks so I can make this:

for her (my niece):