Onward!

I took a day to bask in the glory of my Inside Out Socks. They really are pretty, comfortable and yada yada. :)

But I have a new love.

Trekking XXL.

Yes I know, you are thinking to yourself, 'Where the heck has SHE been? Trekking is all over the place.'

Yep, it is, but I'd never worked with it before. I wanted to make hubby a pair of socks that he'd actually wear so I picked a manly colorway. Number 69, to be exact. When I grabbed it off the shelf at my LYS I thought 'Eh. Gray. Should be bland enough for Hubby to wear to work.' and it promptly went into the stash for the right moment to cast on.



That day ended up being last Thursday night. And I found out the total coolness that is Trekking XXL #69. It has so many color nuances in it, I was excited to knit with 'gray'! There is a woodsy brown, a dark green, a gray-blue color, yet the colors aren't obnoxious, they are subtle.

And then there is the way it feels. Soft! Lofty! I also hear it washes up well.

I'm using a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. It's a great book, I highly recommend it. I think I've knit 4 pairs of socks from it now. Anyway here is the lovely gray sock in the making! Click on it to really see the color variation. It's so neat.

Knitting Mojo!

Alright! Knitting mojo is slowly coming back. :)


I finished my Monsoon Inside Out Socks. They are so comfortable. I was surprised by so many parts of this pattern.

1. Ribbed foot. Thought it would be uncomfortable, but it's actually really comfy because it hugs your foot.
2. Sizing with different needles. Had never really seen this before. Toes/Heels done with 1's, foot with 0's and leg with 2's.
3. Garter toe/heel. Again, had never seen before. They are very sturdy and again, comfortable.
4. Short row toe/heel. I've done a pair of socks with short row heel and it didn't fit. Obviously I didn't do it right to fit me. :) This pair fits wonderfully!

Mod's None. I did do the foot on DPN's but the leg on Magic Loop. It was hard for me to juggle the DPN's and the cable needle. I will keep this in mind in the future when I do cable socks.


Specs:
Pattern:
Rockin Sock Club Inside/Outside Socks
Yarn: 1 hank of STR Monsoon mediumweight
Needles: size 1 Clover DPNs, size 0 Crystal Palace DPNs, size 2 Addi Turbo Magic Loop
Started: March 3, 2007
Finished: March 24, 2007

Next on the needles is a sock from Trekking XXL for the hubster. I'm planning on doing a simple sock recipe sock for him.

Hmm..

Anyone else seem something wrong?

'Nice-Pressure' Sales

We all know about high pressure sales. Where you feel like you are being stalked the moment you enter the door..the sales person sizes you up..circles inward..and blurts out
"Hi! Welcome to ..blah.. Can I help you? This would look great on you/is a great gadget/is a popular movie/is an electronic you NEED to have to keep up with the Jones''

This, luckily, never seems to really happen at either of my LYSs. No, there I'm put under 'Nice-Pressure' Sales.

Example. I went into my LYS to order some more of a yarn for a project. I wasn't going to spend a DIME. (You there, quit laughing.)

And so it begins...

"Hi Lynn!"
Because every good LYS employee knows your name, your entire family's sweater sizes, what yarn you covet, what yarn you don't like, your favorite color...etc.

"Hi! I came into order some yarn. Can I look at the book so I can pick colors."

"Of course!" Plunking huge binder full of color cards in my lap.

I blissfully continue, feeling sure I'm going to put in my order and escape.

"I'd like these colors please."

"Hmm. You know we are really trying not to put in a ton of color orders from that distributer because we just got a shipment. What are you making?"

"This project"

"Well I'm sure we can find some substitution yarn for you!"
And off she plunges into the store, hanks and skeins flying over her shoulder as she goes.

"How about this? Or this? Oh, this would be a lovely texture difference."

20 minutes later I walk out with a serious dent in my wallet and my head spinning.

You know the feeling. The nice guilt..

"I'd hate not to buy anything. She's been so nice. So helpful. I'd hate to walk back through the store and plunk these back on the shelf."

Forget high-pressured sales, 'nice-pressure' sales get me everytime. *sigh*


Anyway, I'm in the middle of the heel on the 2nd monsoon sock!

Knit On Babeeee!

Oh ya. Oh ya.

The wrist resting/ibuprofin/wrist brace did the job and here's the result. And I'll throw instead of pick for now.



Rockin' Socky goodness #1. I do wish I'd gone 1/2 a repeat further, on the cuff, but I know I'll have enough for the second. Unlike others that like to wind their hank into 2 cakes, I'm lazy and just wing it.



I'm really into the cables. The rib is ok, feels very good on, is boring to knit..but the cables are neat. I did the toe and heel on 1's, foot on 0's and cables/cuff on 2's. I also moved to an Addi Turbo and Magic Looped the cuff. I honestly felt like I was wrestling a porcupine when trying to cable at first. Moved to the Magic Loop and all was well. I'm glad I've got an arsenal of sock techniques!

Anyway I hate SSS, so I immediately cast on for the 2nd sock. :)


I use this crochet provisional cast on. The link is to a great video. It's SO much easier to do it this way (crocheting around the knitting needle) rather than crocheting a chain and picking up in the back of the loop. It essentially eliminates a step. Too cool.

I don't think I'll ever make this particular sock pattern again, but I do love watching the short rows do their magic. The toe and heel really make you feel clever, even if all you are doing is following directions!

For those that are curious, the yarn used for the cast on is STR Mediumweight in Cove Light. It's dark and cool.

Yarn Porn/Eye Candy

No knitting means I have to entertain myself somehow!


This is my own kool-aid (black cherry, pink lemonade, Berry Blue) dyed yarn from KnitPicks. C at The Woman Who Says 'Knit' blogged about our dying night. It was a ton of fun, if a bit stinky. :) It looked funny before it was caked, but now I really like it. I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it. It's 100% Wool in worsted. I figured I could felt up something..or..who knows. For now I just love looking at it.


I have a whole basket full of yummy sock yarn goodness just waiting for my wrist to heal. There's some Lorna's Laces, Trekking XXL, Bernat Sox, Katia Mississippi 3 and Socks That Rock. Is it any wonder I'm going crazy?



I have this lovely group of Cascade to make a spring bucket bag. The colors just make me smile. Speaking of yarns that make me smile..here's some Dale Baby Ul I have. I was going to make a sweater out of it, but that didn't happen. Someday I'll get to it.


How do you store you needles? I keep my straights in a basket and a vase.



And my circs in a Knitters bag and a tote bag. I can't believe how many I have. I also have a card in my wallet with all of my needles listed. It's a cute card provided by one of my LYS. It's really handy to have since I always use my 40% off JoAnn and Michael cards to pick up ones I don't have.

Now you see what I'm surrounded by on a daily basis! Heal wrist, heal!

This Sucks

No other way about it. I don't let my kids use that word. It's not nice, you know.
But I honestly can think of no other way to say this.

This SUCKS.

My wrist hurts and hurts bad. So I've put my knitting projects in the closet, because if I see them I pick them up. I've been knitting for almost 3 years and have never ever had my wrist hurt like this. I have to attribute it to knitting mass amounts of SS continental style. Now my left wrist is killing me. Wheee.

I've got a partial Rockin Sock Club sock staring at me and a lovely baby sweater, as well as a bag full of yarn to make a knit Hedwig. And me, not knitting. So what have I been doing? Reading knitting blogs, books and listening to knitting podcasts as well as stalking hand painted yarns across the internet. (YAY EUNNY!!)

Pathetic, I tell you.

No more knitting for an entire week in hopes that this gets better. And from now on I'm a 'throwin mama' unless I'm doing 2 handed fair-isle.

OH! That reminds me, C and I are going to Stitches Midwest! Dude! I'm taking 2 classes, Russian Style Continental (which will hopefully end this wrist problems) and a Finishing Class. It's this August and should be beyond fun. :)

So all of you enjoy your knitting for me!

Book Meme

Look at the list of (100) books below.
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you want to read.
Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
Movies don’t count.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) - Partially read it and HATED it
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Hmm, 44. Not too bad..I guess? :)

BTW consider yourself tagged!!

Signs of Spring

It actually might be coming! Yay spring.

Rib in a tight gauge on 0's does in my wrists. This is what I have so far, and I'll finish it and it's mate soon! I'm ready to start the cuff and love cables.

To rest the wrists, I cast on 7's and started a baby sweater. Throwing, instead of picking, and it seems to be working. It is a lovely pattern by Debbie Bliss. I'm making it for a new addition to our extended family. Baby boy Jack. I can't wait to send this off to his new parents.


I'm making it out of Blue Sky cotton that I actually had in my stash! Wohoo! Stash busting, gotta love it. This is a quick knit so hopefully I'll be able to finish it up soon.

Rockin Sock Club Ring

Hi! I've set up a blog ring for members of the Rockin Sock Club Ring. Follow the link, read the rules and join up! It's a fairly easy process.
Can't wait to get to know you.

Rockin Sock Club Button

Hi!

I managed to paste this together. Feel free to copy it, put it on your own server, and use it!

I was wondering the interest level in starting a Rockin Sock Club Ring. Let me know by dropping me a comment.


SPOILER WARNING!!

If you do NOT want to see the February shipment, do not scroll down farther.

Magic Yarn!

As clever Margie noted, my monsoon appears to have blueish-gray in it. I swear this yarn changes color! Now that the sun has come out (yes we are all cringing from the rays in WI since we haven't seen them FOREVER) the colors appear different. From gray to blue..yum.

Ugly day gets better! STR SPOILER!

*Move along if you want your Rockin Sock Club Shipment to be a surprise* :)

The day started out like this. And I am SO sick of snow. For those that don't know, I grew up in the southwest, Las Vegas to be exact. We had a pool in the backyard that we used about 8 months out of the year. I love the sun. The warmth. 115 degrees? who cares it's a dry heat! And here I am in the tundra.


Anyway as mentioned in the title, this day gets better. MUCH better!



This was on my doorstep that afternoon! Yahooo! My Socks That Rock Club mailing. This definately made my day a bit brighter!!




I was so good and called C before opening it. I wanted to see if hers had come. I really was going to wait till she got hers, but she told me to go ahead. So I did! Here is the loveliness that spilled out of it.




In it was the binder for the year with the current pattern in it. A small keychain of yarn, which says 'Emergency Sock Yarn - Don't leave home without it!', a sticker, a button, a coupon, a flyer for their camp/retreat and then a hank of Monsoon. It's lovely. Blue Moon never fails to come through. Their yarn is so soft and beautiful.


The pattern is clever and fun. A toe up one with the advantage of being reversible.


More Yarn Porn.


Of course I had to cast on. It wasn't an option really, though I did pause and actually did a gauge swatch.
And see, I made it! Whoohoo.

And after the gauge comes the pattern.
(Excuse the flash )

Love the toe. It's short rows, which I've never done. Too cool.
Gotta go knit!

Snow and no knitting..

Can there be a worse day?
I've had to put down my needles and most likely won't pick them up again for a few days. I'm in pain. About a 3 on 1 -10 scale, but constant, in my left wrist. This sucks. I've knit 5 inches on each sleeve and have 12 more to go. I want this sweater done, but I obviously need to change my knitting style. I never had pain when 'throwing' just now that I 'pick'. But you can't change your style in mid-project. I can just imagine the lovely tension issues, besides the fact your stitches slant differently.
So here I sit, listening to podcasts and getting ready to read some more on Harry Potter. A knitter that can't knit.
What a pathetic thing!

In Theory...

Yes, in theory this sounds like a good idea. Knit both sleeves at the same time...and so far it's turning out to be.

Anyone have any experience otherwise? My circs are long, 32 or something, so I'm pretty sure I should have plenty of room. And this way 'Sleeve Island' won't be as long a stay. Granted I have to stitch it all up. But the front is done as is the back! Yay!
I highly doubt I will get to wear this sweater this year since it is 100% wool. By the time it is finished/blocked it will no doubt be spring. I will fold it up nicely and put it away for next year. Trust me, there will be no complaining. I'm sick of winter. What is it with February? Ugh. We are supposed to get at least 6" of snow this weekend. YUCK. I grew up in the southwest and am having daydreams of 100 degree weather.

Next up on the radar will be the STR Club. They promise they are shipping next week! Woohoo!

Birthday and a Sweater..

Happy Birthday to me, well it was on the 16th, but here' s pict of my haul. I got an iDog and nintendogs. See a pattern? :) We are currently a dogless house, but someday we'll have one if not two. I just refuse to housetrain and pottytrain at the same time.

Please note the guilt worked!! That would be the front of the Perfect Sweater. I'm almost to the armholes and v-neck. One of my stumbling blocks was the bust. I'm a busty gal. It's life but I knew I needed to figure out short-rows and make darts. I found an amazing website, don't you love how knitters share? It's the Knitting Fiend and she has so many useful patterns/engines/hints.

I've been pretty monogamous with the Perfect Sweater, now that I completed the darts. It will be interesting to see how the V-neck turns out. The problem is my wrists start to ache if I do SS too much. I've completely switched over to Continental/picking and my tension is good. I enjoy the motion more than English/throwing which I think might be an echo of learning crochet first, when I was in 2nd grade. Anyway, Shifting Sands gets a few repeats done every now and again. I love the yarn, but it's hard to photograph up close because it does have a bit of a halo.

This week should be fun. My S&B group is doing Kool-Aid dying! Whooohoo. It should be a really good time and I'll make sure to take some good pictures.

V-Day, Some Knitting and a Decision

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some folks seem to want to tear Valentine's Day down, blaming Hallmark and commercialism for berating singledom or some such.

Sorry but I'm not in that camp. I love Valentine's Day. I feel it's actually more for children than for adults which might be why it doesn't upset me.. Valentine's morning was always fun in my house growing up, and I'm continuing the tradition. There are cards, chocolate and a small gift for everyone. Today my girls both received these adorable pop up/playhouse/paper doll books I'd purchased last month at Borders. They were only $7.99. Both the girls seem to love them, and if they don't, I'll play with them after they go to bed!

This is why I didn't have any knitting photos the other day..
I'm thinking that I should take that flag down now. I feel I just might be tempting fate a bit.
But thank goodness the sun actually came out today!
So here are the obligatory shots.

The completed Chemo Caps that will be mailed off to Kate in the next few days.


The Humane Society Cat Blanket, made from Wool-Ease.

Shifting Sands, growing along.















Now onto the decison. Have you SEEN all the gorgeous cabling going on around the net? Cromarty at Wendy's site is amazing and has me thinking feeling the need to cable. I just need to figure out what I want to make. I've whitled it down to 4 choices, all gorgeous.

Which do you think?

Knitting and Knits

On the knitting front here the Shifting Sands is longer, and needs to be MUCH longer. I knit a 12x12 basketweave blanket to give to our local humane society. It will be a blanket for a cat. I think that's cool. Also I knit another Chemo Cap, this time in Pink and Purple.
And NO pictures of any of it. Don't you LOVE cloudy days? *grrr* Stupid snow.

I'm waiting for my Socks That Rock Club stuff. I called and they won't be mailing it out until the last week of February. Again, *grrr*. I do understand they had to be set back slightly due to the stupid Bank Snafu, (Read about it here if somehow you've never heard about it!) but I want my socks!

Speaking of socks, do you want knee high enterlac socks with tassels??

I so DO! Eunny is an amazing designer and I'm going to have to try these. I'm not sure if I'll do knee high..but then again why the hell not! Koigu has a ton of amazing colors to choose from, I'm not sure which way to go. Thinking maybe yellow and orange..hmm..

Other than that I didn't see much in the Spring Interweave Knits. Normally I think they have some good designs, this just seemed light on them.

The Bonsai Tunic is kinda cute, maybe I'd make it.


Of course Grumperina's socks are a given! Again, as noted prior, this girl can really design! I can't believe she's only been knitting for 2 years. That's so unfair!


Now THIS on the other hand will not be hopping off the needles anytime soon!

Ramblings and 2 socks..

I've been thinking about how I approach knitting and wish in some ways I could be different. I believe, for me, the draw to knitting is the repetitiveness of the stitching. The fact it's only made with one stitch (the knit stitch from the front and the back - purl). It calms me. Helps me find my center. Structure can be a good thing.

But, as they say, too much of a good things isn't necessarily good. (Who are they anyway. Know it all's..)

I find myself locked into rigidity with my knitting 'queue'. It drives me nuts. I want a sweater for myself. I started The Perfect Sweater and well, I am not enjoying it. Period. I set it down and haven't picked it up since early Dec 06. It's so boring. It's SS and it makes me crazy. The yarn is ok, (Cascade 220) and I believe I will LIKE this sweater. As in, I will wear it and enjoy having it. But there really isn't any fun in the making. And isn't that why we knit? Fun? Hell I could buy a sweater (yes I know. Please don't throw stones at me for saying that in a Knitting Blog) for less pain. So it sits. On the needles. Mocking me and making me feel inadequate!

I've always been pretty monogamous in my knitting. I start something, I finish it. Pretty much one thing on the needles and that's it. I feel strange if I abandon anything in mid-stream. Why? Since childhood I've been an avid crafter; painting, stenciling, jewlery making, crocheting, scrapbooking, flower arranging, sewing. But everything was on a light level. I had incomplete projects scattered everywhere. I had great intentions, but never seemed to come through. There are boxes full of 'craft crap' in the basement to prove it.

Then I found knitting and it changed how I feel about things forever. Sounds drastic, doesn't it? But if you've made it this far into this post, I bet you feel similar. I have always been a giver, and knitting has given me another outlet for this. Yet I'd like some hand knit items for myself! So far I have 1 pair of socks, 3 felted bags and a scarf for me. That's out of amost 3 year of knitting. I'm hoping that this year, 2007, will give ME more handknits! Which is why that stupid 'Perfect Sweater' is mocking me. Maybe I'll move it close to my knitting chair and will get a few rows done on it every now and again.

Anyway, on to knitting pictures!


The minute they were off the needles, they went on her feet. Too cute. I'm glad she likes them! This was my first attempt using the Yarn Harlot's Sock Recipe. I've created felted bags and scarves without a pattern but I've always used one for Socks. I love the Charlene Schurch book Sensational Knitted Socks. But this time I did it all without a pattern, and you know what? I got it. I finally get it and think I could manage to make a sock for anyone with any yarn. Wohoo! I love it when I understand what I'm doing and not just following directions. It takes me awhile, but eventually I get there!

Val's Socks
Specs:
Pattern: Sock Recipe, Yarn Harlot (Size 8 Toddler)
Yarn: 1 hank of unknown sock yarn
Needles: size 1 DPNs, Clovers
Started: February 4, 2007
Finished: February 7, 2007

As for getting it, I did NOT get the Shifting Sands pattern by Grumperina. I had earmarked some Malabrigo for it and now that it's freezing here in Wisconisin I could use a new scarf. So I cast on. And frogged. Cast on. Ripped. Cast on. Cursed. Ripped. I honestly cast this stupid scarf on more than 6 times over the last week. (Remember the Motto: Yarn WILL Not defeat me, Damn it!) Yesterday I sat down and tackled it one more time. That's when I realized something.

I've been sick. Really sick. I've had a cold, then a sinus infection and overall ickies since last Thursday. Due to the ickies and various cold meds, I was plain out it! Now that I'm feeling better and less medicated I 'get' it. It's not a difficult pattern, but it requires cabling without a cable needle. Ok, doesn't require but you are nuts if you try to use one since there are over 1,000 cables in the scarf. It's a great pattern, as all ofGrumperina's patterns are. And is turning out luscious in the Malabrigo. Swiped that idea from brooklyntweed!



Now I'm off to work on MY scarf!!

Simple Socks and Cold!

Frigid! Dumb stupid Wisconsin..freakin'..frakin'..
Ok, so it's SO cold here..
HOW cold is it?

Tonight
	Bitterly cold. Mostly clear. Lows around 10 below. West winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chill readings 10 below to 27 below zero.

Tuesday
	Bitterly cold. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light snow. Highs around 8. West winds 5 to 10 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 6 below to 24 below zero in the morning.

So cold they cancel stupid school for 2 days! Today (Monday) and tomorrow, no school. And Tuesdays are preschool day! My 'free' day. Instead of a free day, it's my day to be sick and home with 2 well, very bored, kids. Aren't you jealous!

On to the knitting. I'm one of those sick sock knitters. I love the yarn, I love turning a heel, love how the project has different parts so I feel as if I'm making progress. Then add to this the fact I have 2 young daughters. Whoohoo! Let the fun begin. There's nothing like a quick knit for a 3 year old. I make them a tad big so they get worn, but I'm not too worried since I know a handful of girls younger than V.

I've one done and am onto the next. I'm using some yarn I bought at Stitches. It was only $5 a hank because it was a test dye run. It's superwash merino with nylon, so there's a no brainer!


Lovin' the piggie flannel jammies! The toe looks a bit pointy, but as I mentioned I made it slightly big. Off to work on the second!

New FO - Cable Purse.

Yep, This is a quick/easy item but is so adorable.

The pattern is free from KnitPicks.
Chunky Cable Purse
I've made it twice with Sierra, the yarn recommended. It's fairly nice and soft but does pill slightly. This time I made it with Hubro from Dale.

I ADORE this yarn. I've loved all yarns I've used from Dale and this is no exception. It's a Super Bulky, 100% Wool yarn. It's very lofty and gives great stitch definition. This is a very clever pattern. You knit it in the round and close the bottom off. You need handles, magnetic closures and a little canvas tote bag. The handles are removed from the tote and it's inverted to become a nice liner for the purse.
It's large enough to hold my full sized wallet and a cell phone easily. I've had many compliments/comments on mine. This one is for my best friend in Las Vegas for her birthday. (Hi J if you are reading!) Hope she likes it. :)

Specs:
Pattern: Chunky Cable Purse
Yarn: 3 skeins Hubro, 0020 (cream), 4132 (dusty rose), 5062 (plum)
Needles: 16 in size 9, Addi Naturas
Mods: I made it a few row longer
Started: January 31, 2007
Finished: February 1, 2007

I'm going to have to take the leftover Hubro make a zipper bag or something to felt, just to try it out.

Not sure what I'm going to tackle next. I have more Fun Fur that needs to be made into Chemo Caps. Also our local Guild is making blankets for the Humane Society. Decisions Decisions!