A successful swap and some other stuff, too

I had some good fortune come my way when infinityexplorer on Ravelry (aka Druanna) offered up a beautiful skein of Yarntini’s Good to be a Girl sock yarn in trade for something I was looking to destash. Perfect match! I got the skein Thursday and I couldn’t love it more…

It’s so soft and smooshy and cozy and cute and pink and pretty… I love it! Thank you so much, Druanna! I hope yours gets to you tomorrow and that you love it as much as I love this!!

In knitting news, I still haven’t finished that log cabin blankie… I’m starting to think I may never be done with it. ugh.  I also haven’t made much progress on the Big Bobbi Bear…  I mentioned last week that I had cast on for a baby sized tomten ala Elizabeth Zimmermann, but about halfway through,  I realized I wouldn’t have enough yarn so I frogged that one and started on another using some Lanett Superwash in the stash. I’m working on the hood now, and hope to pick up the stitches for the sleeves tomorrow or the next day. Ultimate goal is to be done by next weekend. Don’t go holding your breath on me, though!

I plan to start my Christmas knitting very soon, but am waiting for the yarn to be shipped my way.  I want to make a couple of Trellis Scarves as printed in the Spring 2006 issue of Interweave Knits… Anyone out there have experience with this pattern?  Am I nuts to think I can make 2-3 before mid-December?  I hope I can get it done, but I’m not going to stress myself out too much about it.  I think.  🙂

The oldest son starts school tomorrow, so we’re making sure everything is in order for that. I think he’s pretty excited, even though he won’t admit it. There’s only so much you can do around the house with your younger siblings, ya know?

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures (horrible as they might be) of our crazy wicked sky and the resulting floods from the other day when all sorts of strong storms hit the Chicagoland area.

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We’re home, we’re adjusting, and we’re BUSY!

We made it home mostly intact.  Mentally exhausted and done with the trip, but alive and well.  I think we’re all getting re-acclimated to our ‘real’ home with our own beds and things like that, and all is good.  Stories from the trip will have to wait until the trauma has left and only the funny remains!  Kinda like a birth story…

I managed to finish the first of my Kool Aid dyed socks on the way to Florida.  In Atlanta, in fact.  The second sock didn’t get finished until we got home, so my goal wasn’t met.  Oh well!

Fraternal Twins.  So very close to being identical, but it just wasn’t to be.  I still have a really substantial amount of the yarn leftover and think I’ll be using it to make some kid sized socks.  The pattern was just the simple cuff-down sock from the Handy Book of Patterns.  I love love love that book, as well as the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.  They’ve both helped me do so much!

The socks for my friend in Colorado are now living with their new owner, so here’s the only pic I took before sending them off:

The pattern is First Steps and the yarn is from ebay seller pkaeluvlabs… nice stuff!

I’m still chugging away, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y, on the Big Bobbi Bear for my oldest son.  Honestly, I haven’t wanted to work on it so it’s been hidden.  Unfortunately for me, the oldest son has a memory of iron when it suits his needs.  He called my bluff today and heartily requested that I finish the bear for him.  Guess what I’ll be working on tonight?!

I also have a bit of start-itis.  I’ve started a pair of the exceptionally popular Saartje’s booties using leftover yarn from my third BSJ.  I have to admit that I’m a bit confused by part of the instruction, but it’s certainly no fault of the designer!  I can’t seem to figure out how to do a long tail cast on using two different yarns.  Love advice if you have it!!

I also started a baby-sized Tomten for my friend’s grandson-to-be using some stash yarns.  I’m going to make a solid color using blue Sandnes Garn Smart superwash wool and will probably opt for a collar instead of a hood.

This project was inspired by this little beauty.  It’s going to be my in-the-car-waiting-for-the-kids-to-get-out-of-school knitting project, so I wouldn’t expect much in the way of progress shots.

I’m 18 rows (not that I’m counting) from completing the Log Cabin/Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors for my oldest.  He has given me the ‘ok’ to end it now so he can use it to cover a couple of his toys.  You’d better believe I pounced on that opportunity!  🙂

My little ‘Elefante’ toy has stalled.  Actually, it’s been stalled for a while now because I can’t seem to figure out how to make his ears.   The pattern calls for crocheting them, but no matter how I try, they just don’t work.  I need to figure out how to knit them.  Help!?  He also needs a tail, but I’ve been too lazy to make one for him.

I think that ought to do it for now.  I’ll try to compose some of the funnier moments from the trip into some readable material in a day or so.  My oldest starts first grade on Monday and the middle starts her first year of preschool on Sept 4, so we’re in the midst of last-minute details surrounding that.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Party’s over. Time to go home.

We had lots of fun, but now it’s time to go. I’ll post pics and stories once we’re settled back home.

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Now that’s just mean!

The title is in jest, but man just the thought of this makes me cringe!  🙂

Seen in a restaurant where we’re vacationing:

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We Made It.

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Self-Striping Accomplished!

I finished the second sock and now have a pair to send off to my friend in Colorado!  They won’t be sent off till we get back from Florida, though.  I promise pics by the end of the month!!

Since I finished her socks, I immediately cast on for a pair of generic cuff-down socks for myself using my freshly dyed sock yarn.  I’ve been chomping at the bit to see whether I achieved any sort of striping effect at all.  I did!!

The color is a bit washed out and the stripes are much too short in sequence, but I knew this would be a learning experience!  Next run, I’ll be following Eunny Jang’s tutorial to the T.  I haven’t decided what colors I want to try on my next attempt, but I’m sure it’ll be fun.  It’ll probably be a while, too.  I’ve amassed a decent amount of nice sock yarns and I want to knit my way through some of them before dyeing anymore.  Maybe.  🙂   Overall, I’m very pleased with my first attempt and am anxious to finish the pair to see how they look together–will I have fraternal twins or identical?  Only time will tell.

I also sewed up another little bag, and this one I like a lot more than the first.  I even went to the trouble of putting a real drawstring cord in it and everything.

It’s not my best photo, I know.  It’s so flippin’ humid here that unless I have 30 minutes to sit outside and wait for my camera’s lens to acclimate, I’m stuck with foggy photos.  Ick.  My dad said it best when he came out a few years back… “It’s like trying to breathe through wet cheesecloth… Sheesh!”

Have a great weekend coming up and I’ll make every effort to post while away… We ought to have some funny stories about the trip!

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Getting nothing done, fast.

I feel like I’ve gotten nothing done in weeks.  Probably because I haven’t!  I cast on last week for my second big Bobbi Bear, this time for my oldest son, and he’s been sitting in the wings since about 5 rows in…

I did manage to finish one sock for a friend who requested a pair.  Unfortunately, I can’t post pictures of it because it’s supposed to be a surprise to her–the color, the pattern, etc.  I really hope the socks fit her–I can’t really try them on because her foot is shorter than mine, although our foot circumference is the same and the sock fit me that way…  I can hope, right?

I asked fellow blogger, Bertha to help me learn to sew my own little sock travel bag and she sent me this wonderful link!  Of course I had to try my hand, and this is what resulted:

 

Now, before you laugh yourself right off your chair, keep a few things in mind.

1)  I CAN’T SEW.  ANYTHING!  Especially not in a straight line!

2)  This was made using scrap fabric which is supposed to be drapery fabric and lining.

3)  I didn’t have any drawstring-type cording available, but I HAD to finish.  I’m sure you understand.

Truth be told, I’m actually quite proud of this.  I’ve attempted to make no less than two more bags and apparently this first attempt was the closest to being usable.  Call it beginner’s (not) luck.  🙂

In other news, we’re gearing up for a last-fling-before-school type of vacation at the end of the week.  We’re going to Florida and we’ve decided to drive this time.  From Illinois.  I’m beginning to think we might regret this decision, but only time will tell.  We had planned on housing the kittens with grandma, but her apt is being renovated and the kittens could easily escape.  We thought about boarding them at our vet, but considering the health troubles thus far, neither of us want to introduce more bacteria and other buggies by putting them in a kennel situation.  Do you see where I’m headed with this?  The kittens will be traveling with us to Florida.  In the car.  With 3 kids.

Yes, we’re nuts.

Hope you had a great weekend, and I’ll do my best to post at least once more before leaving for Fla.

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