Knitting Project Updates!

I've been very lax about posting any updates on my knitting projects lately, but rest assured I DO have a couple of projects on the needles.  Shame on this knitter for not sharing!

As my best friend said recently, I am a knitter!  That is not to say "I knit".  I "AM a knitter"!

Come on, my main screen name for most websites I use is some variation of "Knitterbug".  So yes.  I wield  my sticks and yarn proudly!

Anyhoo...on to a few photos of my current WIP's (works in progress for you not familiar with the crafty jargon).

Swiffer duster covers ready to be seamed

previously made Swiffer cover

These things are wonderful!!!

I always have a pair of socks on the needles
These are simple toe up short row heel socks

My current "big" project
A top down short sleeved sweater
with lace insets.

A bad blurry picture of the lace detail.
It's gorgeous in person

 OH!  This wouldn't be complete without a picture of my most recent FO! (finished object)

This, my friends, I'm very proud of.  The very first sweater I ever made for myself!!!

Grey Skies Lacy Cardigan

click link for my Ravelry page for this project

3/4 length sleeve lacy cardigan

Close up of the lace pattern
I loved this pattern 

Project Details:

Pattern:  Hey Teach! by Helene Rush, (published in Knitty Summer 2008 online magazine)

Made for: ME!

Size: 3X

Materials: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn, Gray Marble colorway purchased at Hobby Lobby
                Wooden toggle buttons purchased at Wal-Mart
                Size 10 needles (I am a tight knitter, I always have to use a needle 2 sizes bigger than called for to achieve the proper gauge).

Modifications:  I followed another Ravelry member's instructions to make the short sleeves into 3/4 length sleeves.  Added 2 inches to the length.

Overall impressions:  I loved the lace pattern!  It's very easy, but looks so difficult.  A little tricky to keep the pattern looking right when doing the armhole decreases and sleeve decreases, but eventually it worked itself out.

Would I knit this pattern again?:  Absolutely!  It was a wonderful project, not too difficult, but not boring.  (And, since I am losing weight, this one will hopefully be way too big by fall of next year so I'll HAVE to knit another one!!!)


Well, there you have it.  A random glance into my knitting bag.

What are your current projects?

Finished Scarf, WIP socks

Last night I finished my latest knitting project, a scarf for my stepson's bio-mom.  I know, you're asking yourself "Really?".  Yep.  My stepson's bio-mom knows I'm a knitter, so she asked me if I would be willing to make her a scarf if she provided the yarn.  I said sure, and set off to tackle the Lion Brand Homespun once again.  I have to admit, it makes lovely scarves, but it drives me crazy to knit with because it constantly sheds these tiny little wispies of fiber that of course float right to my nose and eyelashes and bug the beejeezus out of me!  So, you could say I'm glad to be done with this yarn for a while!  I do believe it turned out very nice though. 

I call it "The Other Mother Scarf"
=)

It looks smaller in the picture,
but that's
SIX FEET of warm scarfy goodness right there!

I totally didn't mind making the scarf (partly because I got to keep the leftover yarn -can you say stash?-, AND she gave me a Joann's gift card for doing it...bonus!) but I felt a little antsy toward the last two feet of it.  See, this year was supposed to be the year of knitting FOR ME...projects that I wanted to do for MYSELF.  Of all the knitting I've done over the 6 years I've been knitting, I've only made myself 3 pair of socks, one scarf, and 3 knitted bags (along with a few dishrags here and there).  So far this year I've made a hat for my husband, a scarf for my mom, and a scarf for my stepson's bio-mom.  All while I've been sneaking a row or two at a time on my Twilight Socks.

Well, no more sneaking around.  Now that I'm done with everyone else's gifts and projects, it's time to turn the knitting focus on my beautiful sockies! 

Twilight Socks

I'd love to chat more, and trust me, I do have more to say, but for right now, there is some delicious merino wool calling my name from the living room!

Love,

Dyed in the wool

What happens when you mix several women obsessed with yarn and knitting, some packages of Kool-Aid, some acid dyes, turkey basters, many hanks of wool and a few pots of hot water?

A whole lot of fun at a yarn dyeing party, that's what!!!

A few weeks ago my best friend had some of the women from our knitting group over and taught us how to dye our own yarn.  I was fascinated by the entire process. 

Here's a sampling of pictures from the evening.

Preparing the bare wool for dyeing



Vinegar soak for kool-aid dyeing




My first attempt at "hand-painting" with kool-aid dyes



My best friend Kelly demonstrating the acid dye method
(isn't she cute!  I. Love. Her.!)



Rinsing and cooling the acid-dyed yarn

 

My very own creation!
Worsted weight superwash merino
Acid dyed





Another of my creations!
Merino Wool fingering weight
(sock yarn)
Kool-aid dyed


*The yarn is actually a bit darker than the pictures show, I have horrible lighting!
**Many thanks to my bestie for making those adorable ball-bands for my hand-dyed yarn!!!  I love them!!!
***We all got to name our colorways we created that evening.  Mine obviously are Sweet Peach Tea (because when I mixed the dye it looked just like peach flavored iced tea) and Mardi Gras (I didn't have yellow, otherwise it would have been official Mardi Gras colors, but I think it works well anyway!). 

We all had such a wonderful time at the party.  Not only was it an evening of learning something new about a shared hobby, we learned a lot of new things about each other.  It was an evening of friendship and fellowship, of laughter and conversation, an evening of six women drawing closer together.  I like to imagine the yarn we dyed serving as a heartstring, connecting each one of us to the other, through another, in an invisible weaving of interconnectedness.  A tapestry woven not by hands, but by words, by affection, by the knowledge of each other.  In this knowledge I am blessed.

And I thank God daily for the blessings of friendship He has bestowed.  I am truly rich in what matters most.

Love,

NaBloPoMo Day 15: Still chugging along...

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has sent good thoughts and prayers for Matt's job interviews today. The first one didn't go as well as he had hoped; the pay was a LOT less than they originally told him, and he won't even know anything until the middle of FEBRUARY if he has been hired. Oy vey.

The second one went very well. They had him do a battery of tests and two oral interviews today. He aced them all. We are hoping and praying that this is the job he is offered. It is really good pay, great benefits (not that he needs the insurance, he's covered under mine for free), lots of vacation and paid holidays. It seems like a wonderful place to work. And the best thing about it is that we know several people who work there...one of them being his best friend's sister and the other being a close friend of mine. So, we're hoping with those "ins" and his test and interview scores he gets hired. He should know something one way or the other by the middle to end of next week.

Now we pray. Pray that he is offered the job. Pray that God's will be done through this process and His will for our family be fulfilled. It's been a struggle to believe that lately, to trust in the fact that if it is God's will it will be done. But we're trying. Baby steps, right?

I'm kind of at a loss on things to write about...I have some ideas floating around in my head but they will have to wait until I'm off later in the week so I can devote the time I'd like to in order to do them justice.

So tonight, I'll just leave you with a picture of my Granny's birthday-shawl-in-progress:

Time Flies...

Sorry for my absence you wonderful bloggy friends! I have missed you all! Life has a serious way of getting in my way sometimes, and I am just now getting a chance to stop, take a breath, and catch up. (And by catch up I mean read the 430 blog posts that are stacking up in my reader, redo a little blog and website designing, and get back into the swing of semi-normal life!)

Lets see...what's been going on around here?

The Road: First of all, you might notice some blog changes. I am incredibly A.D.D. and O.C.D. when it comes to my blog. I have spent more hours than I care to count combing the web for the PERFECT blog layout. Then I spend more time tweaking little things...my widgets and links, buttons and sidebars. I drive myself crazy with it. I settled on this layout today (finally!) even though it's a Thanksgiving theme, because I love the colors and the words "Give Thanks" on it. It's a subtle little nudge everytime I open my blog to be thankful and live with gratitude. (I'm not totally hip to the "dinner at Grandma's" type photo idea, but I can't do anything about it, so I'm rollin' with it).
Next, I have added a couple different buttons to my sidebar. Over there to the right you'll see a section called "Snag A Button". They are both for you to take if you so choose. One links to this blog, and the other links to my Women's Prayer Ministry website. Feel free to grab them. And please, if you feel moved to do so, visit/join my ministry site and pass it on to anyone you believe would like to join.
Under the buttons, there are two scrolling marquees. These are people I follow. "IF friends" are my infertility blogging buddies, and "Women of Faith" are some really insightful Christian women bloggers/sites I've come across lately. If you have a blog button and I haven't snagged it for my marquees, PLEASE notify me! I would LOVE to have it!!!
Up top, right below the header, are three page tabs. "My Journey" details the origin of this blog. "The Bookshelf" chronicles my insane addiction to books. :) "My Women's Ministry" page explains the genesis of Let Me Sow Love: A Meeting Place For Christian Women, my prayer ministry website.
And last but certainly not least, over on the left sidebar are links to my Ravelry page and Twitter. Add me to either or both, if you so choose!

Work: I was switched crews a couple of weeks ago, so instead of working my usual 28 days of dayshift, I worked 14 days of dayshift, then went back to nightshift for the other 14 days. Now I have this weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) off and will start another 28 days of dayshift beginning Monday morning. The quick turn from days to nights a couple weeks ago, coupled with the changing season has me upside down and topsy turvy. I'm lucky to remember what day it is and if I put on clean underwear!
For those of you who are newcomers to The Road, I work as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Yes, it is a crazy job; stressful, long hours, dealing with the crazy public and even crazier cops! But, it is also a very fulfilling job. I love that in doing what I do I am able to fulfill my calling to help others in some way. Whether it be as serious as talking someone through CPR on a loved one, dispatching an officer to a fight in progress or domestic disturbance, staying on the phone with a scared citizen who believes there might be someone in their home, calming a suicidal subject down until the officers and paramedics can get there to help them...or as minor as giving a caller the phone number to the jail...I serve someone in their time of need. Trust me, there are days I feel like burying my head under the covers and not dealing with the craziness, but there are always moments in every shift that make it worth it to leave my husband and family for 12 hours a day, weekends, nights, and holidays. And that's what keeps me going. My work schedule is one that confuses even me. On dayshift I work 6am to 6pm, and on nightshift, 6pm to 6am. There are a couple of short days thrown in there to even it out to 40 hrs a week...sometimes I'll work 3 12's and a 4 hour day, sometimes 2 12's and 2 8's...it all depends on what the staffing needs are on that particular week. The good thing about my schedule is that I always have every other weekend Friday thru Sunday off, and every other Wednesday/Thursday off. Makes it a lot easier to schedule doctor's appointments, family get-togethers, etc.

Health: This has been a struggle lately. About 3 weeks or a month ago, I came down with a severe sinus infection/upper respiratory infection. It kicked my butt, I tell ya what! I finally kicked it, and by the time I felt halfway human, Matt picked it up. With him being diabetic and having a compromised immune system (he has blood disorders called thrombocytopenia and leukopenia; basically his spleen is enlarged and "eats" the majority of his white blood cells, so he can't fight infection as well as someone without it, and his blood doesn't clot well), any sickness hits him HARD. His sinus infection/URI turned into bronchitis and he was in bad order for a while. We're both over that now, thank goodness!
And, last week sometime I began having serious lower back pain. As in could barely move, felt like someone was stabbing me in the butt, call off work and lay in my recliner for three days back pain. I went to the local urgent care and the doctor there "diagnosed" me with a probable slipped disc and muscle sprain. I was given muscle relaxers and painkillers and sent home to rest. I didn't truly believe there was a slipped disc (first of all he didn't do any x-rays, MRI, nothing to actually SEE a disc problem). So I called a chiropractor and went in last Monday for an exam and adjustment. He took x-rays and did a much more thorough exam than the urgent care doctor did, and performed several adjustments on my lower back. After he read the x-rays, he told me I did not in fact have a slipped disc...the problem was that my pelvis was seriously tilted forward and much higher on the left than on the right. This was what was causing the pain, because in tilting and rotating it was pinching off the nerves on the left side of my spine in the pelvic region. The muscle pain was from my body unconsciously trying to overcompensate for my pelvis being off-kilter. So, I'm on a regimen of scheduled adjustments and pelvic exercises to get it back in place and strengthen the muscles to keep it in alignment. When I first went in to the chiro, I was afraid he was going to take one look at me and blame the pain all on my weight (as every doctor I've been to blames everything on...pain, my PCOS, my infertility, you name it doctors have blamed my weight for it). Now, I'm not an unintelligent person. I realize I'm overweight. By more than a few pounds. But I've hovered around my current weight for several years (unfortunately), and have NEVER had such severe sudden onset of back pain EVER. I explained this to him and he stopped me in my tracks. He looked at me and said "Skinny people have back problems too. Their spines and pelvises get out of alignment too. You think only overweight people need chiropractic care?" That made me feel so much better! He even said he's sure that I realize that my weight doesn't make it any easier on my back, and that losing some would certainly help, but that it wasn't the CAUSE of my pelvis getting torqued. Anything could have happened to do that. And I do realize that I need to lose a substantial amount of weight for many reasons. And I am trying. My PCOS and untreated thyroid condition make it so very hard though. (And I say "untreated" because every doctor I've gone to has refused to treat my hypothyroidism. Bastards.) Anyway...long story short (too late!), I'm on the road to recovery from that and actually can't wait til I can get back to the gym and get some of this nasty blubber off me!

PCOS: Speaking of the bane of my existence, I really need to get this under control. A few months back, I was notified by my husband and mom of a webchat with a prominent St. Louis fertility specialist. I logged on and chatted with him and several other women for a while. He is AMAZING! I had asked him if he believed in the link between PCOS, thyroid problems, and infertility. He amazed me and said yes, there is a HUGE link between all three! No one ever wanted to believe me before (even after printing out research on it and shoving it in their faces!). He said that he wanted me to make an appointment because he wanted to get me going on treatment. He specializes in PCOS, and is a leading doc in the country for infertility issues/IVF/ICSI. Whodathunkit? Right here in my own backyard...a FAMOUS infertility doc?!?!?! I still have yet to make the appointment...don't know why. I think I'm scared.

Church: With all the aforementioned issues going on, we haven't been to church in over a month, and we're both starting to miss it! If it wasn't me on nights, it was me sick, then Matt sick, then me injured...we're going to church this Sunday come Hades or high water! LOL
I also need to get back into a routine of Bible reading/focused prayer time. When I was doing that I felt so much more centered, more peaceful, more connected to God. I miss that. I know that He is always there, and He is ready to listen...I just haven't made the time lately to talk to Him.

Knitting: I'm currently working on another pair of socks. Imagine that! I love sock-knitting. I don't know why, but they're some of my favorite projects to make. This time I'm learning a few different techniques (for you non-knitters this will be gibberish, so feel free to gloss over this section!). The first was a provisional cast-on with crochet chain. After watching a couple YouTube video tutorials, it was pretty much no big deal. The only problem was that I couldn't get my provisional stitches to "unzip" the way they're supposed to, so I had to "uncrochet" all of them. That was a pain in my ample backside, let me tell ya. That led into the next new technique: socks from the toe up using a short row toe. I have no earthly idea HOW this works, and if I had the option to explain how the short rows make the little toe pocket or sleep on a bed of nails...lets just say I'd have to buy stock in Band-Aid for all the little puncture wounds on my back. That's how clueless I am of the workings of short rows. Don't know how they work, don't really care to...all I know is that with a few wraps of the yarn and several turns of your work, VOILA! You have what looks like a little pocket for the toe of your sock. It's a little bit of knitting magic, really. I'll post some pics in the next few days of my progress on the current sock...I think you're gonna love it!

Holy jeebus! This was intended as a short "where I've been/what I've been up to" catch up post! Well, that idea flew out the window about 1000 words ago, didn't it?

I do hope you're all doing well. Please fill me in on the goings-on in your lives if I've missed an important post. And, if you or anyone you know has a prayer need or request, let me know. I feel very moved to pray for others and will add every request to my daily prayers.

Well, at least I accomplished one thing this weekend...

The Open Rib socks are complete!

• Pattern: Open Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.
• Yarn: Premiere Yarns Serenity Sock Yarn in color Chili (although to me they look more like Christmas candies!)
• Needles: Size US 2 dpn's
• Made for: Me!
• Pattern notes: Overall I'm really happy with this pattern. This was the first time in making socks that I carried the pattern all the way down the instep to the toes, and even though it was a little tedious, I like the look (we'll see if I like the feel when I wear them with shoes! LOL). I also opted for a three-needle bind off for the toes because I loathe kitchener stitch/toe grafting. This is also the reason my next project is socks from the toe up with a provisional cast-on/short row toe. =)

In other news...well, there's not a lot to report.

I'm a little, OK a LOT melancholy and weepy tonight. I don't know why. I have felt on the verge of tears all night long and can't really put a finger on the reason, aside from some frustration with the way some things are going. Namely:

• Being indefinitely in a holding pattern regarding TTC.
• My husband being out of work since last Christmas, with only one job offer that didn't pan out because of his disability (severe vision impairment).
• My prayer ministry forum going absolutely nowhere. I know it's new, and I know that it hasn't really had a chance to take off, but I felt such a calling to do this, and I'm beginning to question whether it was really what God wanted me to do. I mean, you put your heart and soul and time into creating something and it goes nowhere...it's just kind of depressing.
• Being changed crews at work (which means I am going back on nights starting Monday, will be on nights for two weeks, then back to days for a month unless I get changed again. You wouldn't think so, but such changes take a toll on a person).

I know these things are out of my control, so I know I shouldn't get worked up about them, but sometimes you just can't help it. If you are the praying kind, say a few extras for me, OK?

Show & Tell: Toasty toes

Welcome to show and tell!!!

I usually don't share pics of my knitting projects until they're done, but since a) nothing very exciting is going on, and b) I'm seriously in love with these socks, I figured I'd break my rule for Show and Tell this week. I have the first one done and am furiously working on getting the second one done this weekend.

So...that's my Show and Tell for this week.

What's yours?

I hope you'll play along and tell your friends all about it! It will be open on Thursday mornings and close at midnight Sunday night each week. Here's how you participate:

• between thursday and sunday night, write up your own show and tell blog post.
• grab the url of your show and tell post
• visit Suzy's blog!
• use the linky tool below to enter your blog name and url of your show and tell.
• then visit the show and tell posts of others and let them know you were there.
• just copy and paste, and you can even have some bling to put the chalkboard on your blog too!

Lame excuse for a post...

I'm still here.  It's been a rough couple of weeks for me, getting back into the swing of being on night shift, some issues I'm dealing with, and coming down with an early season cold and such.  But I'm here.  I'm sorry I haven't been commenting on your blogs, I've been reading and thinking about all of you, and keeping you all in my prayers.

I'm kind of at a loss for anything witty, insightful or inspiring to write about.  I'm just tapped out right now.

I did finally finish the gifts I was working on for my friend in PA.  Since I know she's already received them, I will post pics of them now.

[caption id="attachment_804" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Log Cabin Baby Blanket"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_805" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Kimono style baby sweater"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_806" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Sweet baby gifts"][/caption]

I was really happy with the way they both turned out.  These patterns were "firsts" for me, I hadn't done them before, so it was nice to kind of stretch my legs a bit and venture out of the ordinary. 

I'm now knitting on another pair of socks for myself.  I love knitting socks, and this pair is turning out really nice so far.

[caption id="attachment_807" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Open Rib Socks"][/caption]

 

(My mom made the little blue bag so I can carry my sock knitting project with me.  And it comes in quite handy!) 

If you're curious about the patterns or more info about these knitting projects, you can click on my Ravelry button on the right sidebar and it will take you to my Ravelry page where you can see what I've been working on.  :)

I guess I'll sign off for now.  Sorry this was such a lame post, I just don't feel like saying much right now.  :(

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta vent!

A few things that irritated me the past few days:

~We had severe storms pass through our area last weekend.  Several funnel clouds were spotted, severe lightning, heavy rain, damaging hail, that kind of storm.  This was my view driving home from work after the worst was over:

But that's not the irritating part.  A local bank has a huge American flag flying out front.  Everyone in Festus knows what bank it is, because it's referred to as "the bank with the big-ass flag".  Said flag was damaged by the storm Saturday night.  As in ripped right in half.  Lengthwise.  So instead of one proud patriotic big-ass American flag, there were two strips of a sad looking flag flapping in the breeze.

 

The minute I saw it on the way to work on Sunday morning I cringed.  When I saw it on Monday morning I was irritated.  When I saw it STILL flying in two pieces on Tuesday morning I was pissed.  I mean, come on.  I understand that you might not have a replacement for a flag as big as my house just laying around in the vault, but can you not just take the damaged one down and destroy it respectfully instead of letting it linger there?  I found it quite offensive to the flag, to America, and the American citizens who still understand what the Flag and America should stand for.  Thankfully when I went out a while ago, it had been replaced with a brand new flag.

~Matt and I have been walking at the local school track recently, in an effort to lose this enormous amount of weight that I have packed on over the past few years.  I'm doing quite well, given we've only been at it for a week.  I found an awesome app for my iPhone called "My Fitness Pal", which can also be accessed without an iPhone at www.myfitnesspal.com.  Anyway, I've been religiously journaling my food and water intake and exercise, and am happy to report that I've lost 9.4 lbs in a week!  I know most of it is just water weight and the severe shock of me going from doing nothing to actually moving this immense body of mine.  But I'm pleased with the results anyway.  The first night I couldn't even walk one lap around the track without my lower back screaming in sciatic pain.  The second night I walked two laps, but halfway through the second one I thought someone was stabbing me in the lower back and hip and almost had to crawl the rest of the way.  Last night we went to walk and halfway through the first lap, we saw the high school baseball team had decided that the best place to play catch was right in the middle of the track.  Literally.  They were paired off, playing catch in every lane of the track in front of the bleachers.  Seriously?  You couldn't find somewhere else to do that shit?  So we only walked one lap, even though I made it the entire lap with NO BACK PAIN!!!  I was thrilled!!! 

~Before said walk last night, we were at the Festus PUBLIC Library because Matt needed to use some of their resources while he was studying for a final.  I went down there with him and decided to see about getting us a library card.  We were told that we would have to pay $20 a year because we live "outside city limits".  I got so pissed!  See, where we live, there is a subdivision literally 20 feet from our mailbox.  The city limit dividing line runs down the MIDDLE OF OUR ROAD.  5 feet from our mailbox.  But we have to pay $20 a year for a freaking library card, while the person who lives across the street WHOSE WINDOWS I CAN SEE INTO FROM MY LIVING ROOM gets one free.  And, someone who lives outside of Jefferson County only has to pay $25 a year.  Five dollars more than me, who lives a STONES FREAKING THROW from the city limits???



This is the view from my driveway.  See that road at the end of it?  The center stripe is where Festus "city limits" starts.  Everything past that is city.  That white house directly across from my driveway?  They're in city limits.  But we, who live 25 feet from them, are not.  Arrrrgh!!! 

The thing that irritates me is it's written on the building "FESTUS PUBLIC LIBRARY".  To me, that should mean that if you have a Festus mailing address, you should be able to use the PUBLIC library free of charge.  If you live outside of Festus, then I can totally understand charging a fee.  See, down here in Festus, we don't have any other library.  There isn't a County library until you get about 10 miles north of us, and even then if you're not a resident of that library's school district it STILL costs you to have a card.  It just pissed me off.  I mean, I pay taxes for everything else down here...ambulance, school (which I don't even have a kid in so don't get me started on how unfair that is that I have to pay taxes for a school that will never be used by a child of mine since I probably won't ever have one to send there), special road district, everything.  Matt suggested I write a letter to city hall and the local paper and I just might do that.  I even asked them if they could make an exception since we live so damn close to city limits and the old biddy wouldn't even consider it.  See if I ever go there again.

~Everyone, and I do mean everyone (with one or two exceptions) is popping up pregnant. 

A few things that made the past few days a little more bearable even with said irritations:

I have a husband that loves me and would do anything for me.

I have the most awesome and inspiring and supportive best friend in the whole wide world.

I have lost 9.4 pounds.

I got the yarn to start my second attempt at my Renaissance sweater and cast on last night for the first panel.



I, in a moment of weakness, left Walgreens today with TWO new Dean Koontz books.  :)  As if I needed more books...I already have 17 waiting to be read!!!

Ok, I feel much better now.  On to our regularly scheduled blogging.  :)

 

 

A WFO!!!

A Wonderful Finished Object, that is!!! 

I finished my Waterfall Socks tonight while watching The Blind Side with my hubby. 

I love love love them!!!

[caption id="attachment_702" align="alignnone" width="272" caption="My gorgeous Waterfall Socks"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_703" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I was actually able to line up my stripes!"][/caption]

 

Project Details:

Pattern:  Basic top down sock pattern with Waterfall Rib by Charlene Schurch found in Sensational Knitted Socks.

Made for:  Me!

Needle size:  US 2 (2.75 mm)

Yarn:  JoAnn Sensations Soles and More

Started:  2/23/10

Finished:  4/22/10

This is the third pair of socks I've made, and I think I finally found my perfect recipe.  The first pair was too big, the second pair was slightly too small (but still wearable) and this, the third pair, is JUUUUUUST RIIIIIGHT!!!  They are snug enough but not too tight, and feel lovely on my tootsies! 

And from here on in, I'm going to do socks the same way I did these.  By sections, simultaneously.  It helps soooo much on that dreaded SSS.  (Second Sock Syndrome) 

Anywho, that's it for tonight.  I have to get up at the crack of dawn so I think I'm going to go read my Bible for a little while and fade into dreamland. 

Have a great night!!!

Spring has sprung...

Well, spring has burst upon us here in little ol' Missouri.  The weather has been increasingly warmer, and we're getting the typical weather patterns of spring in the midwest (read: can't have a nice sunny day without gale force winds and the threat of tornados and thunderstorms.  Forget having any type of hairstyle if you go outside, it'll be gone in thirty seconds.  It's fun, you should come visit.). 

The other day I noticed my lilies were poking up just a little, so today I did a check of the entire yard and found that while we were busy passing time, someone's been hard at work making my gardens grow.  For your viewing pleasure:

[caption id="attachment_687" align="alignnone" width="260" caption="Unknown shrubbery"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_686" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Peach tree my hubby bought for my birthday last year"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_685" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Hosta"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_681" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Lilies"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_682" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Phlox"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_683" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Phlox in rusty wheelbarrow"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_684" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Peach Tree Blossom"][/caption]

 

We have a lot planned for the yard and house this year.  All of my plant areas need to be cleared out and remulched, we're going to rebuild the deck, paint the exterior, and hopefully re-gravel the driveway and if we have time (and the budget) we are hoping to get a small patio built so we have a permanent spot for the firepit and a seating area. 

And in knitting news, I have been working hard on the Waterfall Socks (they're called Waterfall because I used the Waterfall Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, and the colors lend themselves to a nature theme).  Here's one almost done:

[caption id="attachment_690" align="alignnone" width="259" caption="Waterfall sock 1"][/caption]

 

I have been working them simultaneously, in sections.  I'm to the toe decreases on this one, and the 2nd one still needs the foot section worked, so it's about 3 inches shorter right now.  I love knitting socks, but dread "second sock syndrome".  It sucks.  You get done with one gorgeous sock and realize...aw damn.  I still have another whole sock to do!!!  So I worked these together, doing one cuff and leg, then the other.  One heel flap and turn and then the other.  One gusset decrease, then the other.  You get the idea.  It's worked out really well doing them this way, and kept me from getting too bored.  I bought a book a few weeks ago about working two socks simulatneously on the same circular needle.  It looks really complicated and I'm not sure if I'll be able to figure it out.  Next time I do a pair of socks, I am going to try working it on two circs instead of four double pointed needles.  You still get the same sock in the end, it's just a different method of getting there.  (Hmmm, knitting paralleling life apparently).  I'm excited to get these done so I can start on another project.  I can't decide if it will be a clothing item for me or more socks.  I have two more sock patterns that I want to do, and more yarn for another Booga Bag.  I might make the bag to break the monotony of the sock knitting.  We'll just have to see when the time comes what strikes out at me.

Well, I guess that's all for now. 

Have a great week!

"Felt" Up

Well friends, I'm finished with my very first felted project!  I actually finished it last weekend.  I just haven't had (or taken) time to post the pictures of it yet.   

Here's my "Booger" Bag before felting:



And after felting:



Project specs:

Pattern:  Booga Bag

Yarn used:  Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes (colorway: Key West)

Needles:  US size 10 1/2, 29" circular

Finished (felted and blocked) dimensions:  7in wide x 7.5 in high x 4.5 in deep

I am really happy with the way my first bag turned out.  I still think the colors are hideous, but in a good way.  In an "E.T. he's so ugly he's cute" kind of way.  I must admit, I'm completely amazed, intrigued and utterly fascinated at the entire felting process.

I was so enamored with the entire knitting/felting process while making this bag that I made another one.  In about three days.  :)  Imagine this one right side up with the handles attached (it's blocking and drying right now).  One thing I did different with this bag from the first one is that I hand felted it.  Instead of throwing it into a hot wash cycle in the washer, I agitated it in the kitchen sink with water as hot as I could stand it.  I believe I prefer the hand felting method better.  I had more control over how much it felted and I think I got a more uniform felt out of it.  The machine felted one had really felted spots and some felted but not so much as the really felted spots.  And I love love love the springy colors of this one too.  One last note to self about creating another Booga in the future:  KNIT THE I-CORD HANDLES FIRST!!!  Good grief, by the time I got done with the bag and realized I had six FEET of i-cord handle to knit, I thought I was going to induce vomitation by swallowing my own knitting needle.  I hate i-cord.  Oh, it turns out nice, and all that...but I just don't like making it.  It's boring.

The other change to the second bag was I knitted it a touch bigger than the first one.  I cast on a few more stitches than it called for to make the bottom of the bag, and I knitted several more inches onto the length (it turned out to be 9 in high when felted). 

Specs:  Same Booga Pattern, same brand of yarn (colorway Pastels), same needle.    



I'll admit, I've become addicted to this pattern and can't wait to make some more!!!  I'm picturing all the poor naked sheep wandering around out there that will be feeding my upcoming wool stash requirements! 

***On a totally unrelated note, does anyone have or know of a really good daily devotional book or Bible study book for new Christians?  I'm reading through the Bible (I've made it to the middle of Deuteronomy so far) and I have several books (Stormie Omartian's Power of a Praying series) that I have bought to read and learn from along my journey, but I thought I would check with my friends and see what, if any, devotional and/or Bible study books you have tried out and liked (or not liked for that matter...any advice is great!).  Thanks in advance!!!

This and that...

Good morning fellow travelers! 

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Superbowl Sunday so far.  Who are you rooting for? 

We're not football fans around here (ducking to avoid the projectiles being hurled at my head after that comment!)...actually we don't care for much in the way of sports except for watching the Olympics.  I guess we're weird that way.  Our Superbowl Sunday is being spent being totally and utterly lazy!  We tried to go to church this morning, but when we got there, we realized that they changed the time of the service.  It used to be at 9am.  We arrived about 8:37 to see a sign that they are now having two Sunday morning services, at 8am and 10:45 am.  So we headed back toward home, stopped for a bite to eat, and hubby started feeling really bad.  He's had the flu this week, and he had a few dizzy spells before we were supposed to leave for the 10:45 service.  So, I decided to stay home to monitor him instead of going to church.  I think God would understand! 

I have a turkey breast roasting in the oven for dinner, and aside from checking that once in a while, I'm 100% committed to doing little more today than camping out in the living room catching up on my shows that have DVR'd this week and knitting my little heart out!  I love love love lazy days!!! 

Did I hear someone ask what I'm knitting?  :)  Well, as a matter of fact, I'm working on my first "me" project of the year...my Booga Bag.  This is my first felted project.  Remember the hideously ugly yarn I bought a while back?  Go check the picture, I'll wait.  :)

Here's that yarn again, this time being worked into a Booga Bag.  I still think it's gloriously ugly, but the striping effect is nice.  I've nicknamed this my "Booger Bag"...because although you can't tell very well in the picture, parts of the yarn appear the beautifully appetizing color of snot.  Or baby poop.  But I didn't think Poopoo bag had the same flair as Booger Bag.  But, maybe that's just me. 

"Booger" Bag in progress: 



Yesterday I had to make a hasty trip to the yarn store in order to pick up another skein of said hideous yarn, because when I first bought it, I didn't know quite what I was going to use it for.  So, I bought three skeins.  I should have bought four, because once I got into knitting the bag, I realized it's quite chunky and I was afraid I was going to run out.  While I was there, I found another colorway of the same yarn, which since it was on SALE, I bought as well.  :)  Oddly enough, these two skeins shown are the same colorway, but because of the long color changes, they appear to be totally different.  I really liked these shades, and will probably do a second Booga with this.  Or maybe not.  It all depends on what strikes my fancy!

Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes (pastels): 

In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.  So if God has given you...ability...[use it] with as much faith as God has given you.  ~Romans 12:6 NLT

Challenging myself...

Kristin from Dragondreamer’s Lair is hosting the Annual Book Challenge.  Since I read all the time anyway, why not challenge myself to see just how many books I can devour in one year?  I usually average one to two a month, depending on the book length, content or subject matter, and my availability of reading time.  So this year I am challenging myself to up it a bit (and maybe reap the added benefit of a little less mindless time in front of the TV…although, TV time is my knitting time, so this might be tough considering the amount of projects I have lined up!).  My goal is 3 books a month, or a total of 36 books read in 2010.  I have one (and a half) down already.  You can check the “My Reading List” page for what I’m currently reading and have lined up to read.

In knitty news, a few weeks ago my bestest friend and I had a girls’ day out trip to a local yarn store.  We had such a great time!  She bought some gorgeous yarn for a sweater project, and I bought some beautiful sock yarn.  I am deliriously in love with the colorway of this yarn. 



It reminds me of twilight on a spring evening…cool, calm and a little mysterious. 

I also bought my first 100% wool yarn.  (I'm usually a cheapskate frugal, and use less expensive, mostly acrylic or "blend" yarn.  I felt might hoity toity purchasing these fibers, let me tell ya!)  I plan to use it for my first felted project, a Booga Bag.  I have to admit, I honestly believe this has to be the UGLIEST yarn I have ever laid eyes on. 

 

However, I just had to have it in spite of (or because of?) the sheer hideousness of it.  The picture isn't true to life,  but it's orange/muddy green/brighter green/red.  Blech!  I think it will knit up beautifully and give a gorgeous stripe.  The socks and bag will have to wait for a little bit because I still have several projects STILL on the needles.  In addition to the baby gifts I’m furiously trying to finish before my friend’s twin boys get here, I have a scarf for my sister (that was supposed to be part of her Christmas gift, but since she does live in Minnesota, no worries…there will be winterlike weather there for quite a while!), a knitted skullcap for my sweet husband, and my Renaissance Sweater.  I have a feeling I am going to have to redo a couple of the panels because I think I wasn’t following the right section of the pattern.  OOPS.  Bummer.  Oh well, everything is a learning experience, right?  My knitting challenge for this year is to make more things for ME.  I love knitting for other people, don't get me wrong!  I love the feeling I get knowing that I created something one-of-a-kind for someone.  However, most of my "other people" projects have been baby gifts, and sometimes it's just too darn hard for me to keep knitting baby sweater after baby sweater and baby blanket after baby blanket for everyone else but myself.  So...I'm taking a step back from consistently knitting for others and taking some time to knit for myself this year.  I have lots of projects lined up, and I'll share them as I start each one.  :)

Another task I’m challenging myself with this year (and a significant portion of The Year of Self) is to read the Bible cover to cover.  My bestest friend (who has also become sort of a “faith mentor” to me as of late) is participating in the Bible in 90 Days challenge.  I’m doing a “modified” version of that.  I am not setting a daily page quota, rather trying to make a conscious effort to make reading my Bible at least 30 minutes a day before any other leisure activity (including knitting…egads!).  I’ve missed a couple of days just due to things going on around here, and I really find that I miss that quiet time.  I’m still in Genesis, of course, but making progress.  The Bible I use also has a guided topic reading track that I’m also using during my readings.  I must admit, I’m surprised at how much comfort my going back to church and taking steps to reconstruct my relationship with and faith in God has brought me.  I still have many, many questions and stumbling blocks to overcome, but I’m getting there.  One step at a time.  I’m trying to institute a routine of daily prayer time, learning how to pray*, and trying to understand and embrace the concept of “God’s Will” and submitting (the mere mention of the word raises my feminist hackles, I can’t help it) to Him while still believing I have free will.  My conversations with my bestest have not only shed a different light on my view of religion, but also opened up a whole new dimension to our friendship.  I cannot describe how that makes me feel.  We’ve been through a lot in our friendship, and for a while I honestly didn’t know that this level of connection between us was even possible.  God has been working in mysterious ways, as the old saying goes, in my life recently.  And I thank Him every day for it.  Now if only He could grant me a few more hours in each day to accomplish all this reading, learning and knitting …THAT would be great!  Have a great night everyone!   

 *How do you pray?  Do you have a standard prayer that you use each time you pray?  Do you have an “outline” you follow when praying or do you simply speak to God about what is on your heart as you would a friend?  Is there, in your opinion, a right or wrong way to pray?  Would you mind sharing some examples with me?