I need to clean up around here, don't I?
I doubt anyone even follows my blog, other than my DD, Yarn Demoiselle
so I wanted to say HI to her. ;)
I need to corral some of my knitting photos and get them posted. I'd taken a few months off of knitting but am back pounding out the socks!
Well not nothing, just no pictures of knitting! I've started knitting a plain jane SS sock at home for the girls. I'm on Abby's second pair. She had the nerve to come downstairs and ask if I'd knit her more socks. I looked right at her and said, 'I'm knitting you one right now, remember?' Apparently I do NOT knit fast enough.
This past Tuesday the hubby had ACL surgery on his left leg. (He had the right one replaced in 01) I took Tuesday off and hung out with him at the surgery center. ACL is out patient surgery, so we were there at 6:15 am and home by 11:30. It'd ridiculous how you are treated at those places. The staff is nice enough but you are on a ticking clock. Hubby is notoriously intolerant of narcotics, so he never comes out of anesthesia very well. Apparently he was to be out of that place by 11 and they pretty much dumped him in my car at 11:10, irritated with us that we weren't moving faster. Ugh. Don't get me started on Medical Care/Insurance. Just DON'T.
School is going well. Had my first test today in my New Testament class. Pretty sure I did ok on it. But the exciting news is my Biology Senior Research Project. Whoot! I'm so excited and hate to jinx it. So suffice it to say it looks like some bats are in my future. :)
I've decided that I am going to win the lottery so I can be a professional student. It's gotta work, right?
This semester I'm taking (Che 104) Intro to Forensics and Intro to the New Testament (Rel 103) plus a 300 level Bio class on how to prepare research and paper. I'm taking the Chem class for fun because nothing I needed to graduate worked out for my schedule and I had to have so many credits to get my Financial Aid. The Religion class and the Bio class are both needed for graduation. It's going to be very strange to not take a Bio course with lab, but you do what you gotta do!
Classes started today and I think I'm going to enjoy both the 100 courses. Tomorrow I see what the heck the Bio course is going to be like. I'm scared to find out..I see mucho work ahead of me with that one! It's only 2 credits, but that doesn't mean they still can't have you write a paper a week!
I have a few hours between my classes so I have a little knitting time per day. I am working on my pair of Slippery Socks, one is done and I'm 1/2 down the leg. I put them on the shelf over winter break because I really needed mindless knitting. I finished a pair of socks for Abby, one sock for Val with the rest of the yarn waiting to be skeined plus a hat for Val, a tam I designed on the fly. Quite fun! I blocked it too big so I need to soak it and reblock.
It's late today and I need to get into the habit of going to bed earlier. Hopefully tomorrow I can manage some pictures of various things!
Well my Christmas/Winter break is official over after today. I return to school Tuesday but the girls are home on Monday, so that doesn't count! I'm taking Intro to Forensics, which I am ridiculously excited about, Intro to the New Testament, which promises to be interesting, and a class on how to write Bio papers. Not so fun, but necessary to graduate, which I'm hoping to do in Spring 2011, with a BS in Bio. Still don't know what I want to be when I grow up..but who really does, right?
On the knitting front, I stalled out on the socks for Val when I realized that I wouldn't have enough yarn to knit the second one. What's a girl to do, but order more right? And well, who wants to pay shipping on just ONE little ole hank of yarn, when you could get more for the same s/h price. It appears two hanks of Shi bui fell into my cart. I love that yarn! I bought a variegated and a cream, with the idea of doing a stranded sock pattern.
I have yarn pulled aside to make Val a beret. It's just some random left over 220 from various projects. Should be quick and easy, just need to get off my duff and dig out the needles.
The dinette and kitchen work goes on. Hubby filled the holes in the wall that were bugging the crud out of me, just need to be sanded and painted. I worked on the floors and waxed them. Found out that my stupid windows are a stupid irregular size, so I can't find any inexpensive bamboo rolling shades that will fit. I'd have to custom order, which defeats the purpose really. The trim is still not painted and I'm really trying to boost myself in that direction, but failing miserably!
Not an incredibly exciting post since there aren't any pictures. I need to have Abby model her finished pair of socks and maybe have Val model the one completed one!
On one of the blogs I follow (boogaj.com) she had decided to tackle her house this year, one room per month. There are a few other bloggers who are joining her. (Room a Month) I would love to actively participate, but know that I really can't commit to the project while I'm in school. I do plan on following along with her and other participants while doing my own thing in Chez le K's.
Time and money are the issues, (we'll just ignore the fact that I don't HAVE 12 rooms) instead I'll clean one room intensely per month, and tackle projects that are incomplete in that room. Unfortunately in my house that means paint trim. I swear there is a special room in hell for me with endless trim to be painted and painted and painted....
This month is the kitchen/dinette area. Here are pictures of areas. I painted it this past August and love the colors. Before the entire area was a cold baby blue. *shudder* Just horrible during cold dreary Wisconsin winters! The dinette color is best shown in the last photo of it (orange), that also has the best representation of the red accent wall. The kitchen is a color called Bagel and it's not as yellowy as the first picture, so even though the second is dark, it's the closest to the actual color.
Ok, the stash is out of control. I'm trying to wrap my mind around some realistic parameters to rein it back into .. a state that causes me to blush less.
Wow, I was strolling through my old posts, looking for a colorway of yarn I had used, and realized just how much cool stuff is in my blog. Granted no one else really thinks it's 'cool', but it is such an amazing journal for my knitting.
So what better day to put up a new post than the last day of the year! :)
Currently I have a pair of Slippery Socks from Knitty on the needles in BMFA lightweight Grimm's Fairy Tale. One is finished and I'm going to cast on the second whenIt's a fun pattern, and I've finally learned to cable without a needle. It's relatively easy to do on the socks since they are really only 1x1 cables. Not sure how it would work on say.. 3x3 in a sweater, but it's a skill I'm glad to have. I'm trying to finish them up before heading back to school on Jan 19th. My next pair will be easier. I might even do another pair of monkeys. They are so easy and so wonderful!
Another thing that 'reminded' me of my blog was this:
Ah, clean hand knit socks! I wanted to share this with someone so I thought of you, dear blog! Not that I remotely imagine anyone reads you anymore, but there you are for posterity's sake!Classes are done. Managed to get an AB (WTF grade IS that? It's 90%) in my Excel class and a B in my Pathophysiology Class. Yay.
Summer school starts June 2nd. Boo. ;) I'm taking BioEthics so I'm sure there will be reading and, gag, papers. But for now knitting!
With various new babes in the family, hats are a must.
Nice blurry picture of one such hat. I had fun making the Pom Pom though!
Another of the same pattern in a different yarn, sans pom pom.
I added a crochet edging in an attempt to make it larger. Stopped knitting it a bit short. Funny about the color variation in each picture. The bottom shot is more true.
I managed to get a pair of socks done as well. This is from the Rockin Socks Club last year. The Yarn Harlot designed the pattern.
Love the colorway.
I knit V a sweater and am knitting the same pattern for my older girl in a variety of blues.
This is a clever knit, the Pinwheel Sweater. Easy to do, but interesting enough to keep you awake!
I have two projects that are actively being knit. I think I have a total of 5 on the needles. Anyway, both girls are getting one of these Twirly Skirts. This is A's colorway, figured I should do the skirt before her sweater considering it's May!
It will be finished off with a row that is a denim-like blue. Should be very cute. The younger's will be done in a different color story, and will be FASTER since her's is a size 6 not a size 10!
And what's life without a sock or two..on the needles? I had this Hickory colorway marinating in my stash for a bit. It's from ArtsyGal. As soon as I saw the colors I knew what it had to be. Nutkin. Easy to memorize and fun to knit pattern. Score!
These will be perfect for Fall..even though it should be AGES away!!!
Hope you are enjoying the warming trend and you are getting tons done. :)
I'll get to the knitting in the next post, I still need to take photos and the weather/light is NOT cooperating. But this post will be about books. I don't read, rather I listen so I can knit or clean house while enjoying a book. I'm a HUGE Audible and good ole' public library fan. If I find a book I want to 'read', I check my library first and if they don't have it, I purchase it on Audible. If you haven't downloaded a free book from Audible yet, please do so! Tons of podcasts have a link, plus I think you can log onto Audible and get one that way.
Here's a few of the recent books I've "read":
Duma Key by Stephen King: I grew up with King. I read Night Shift when I was in 6th grade, from then on I was hooked. I continued to eat his books as they came out, but finally stopped around TommyKnockers. I hated that book and am still convinced that Tabitha really wrote it. :P BUT anyway, on a whim I decided to get a King book from Audible and came across Duma Key. I am so glad I did! It's an amazing book. It makes me want to start reading his books from here backwards until I find out where his writing was bad. ;)
Duma Key is not a jump out and scare you type of book. It's more tension and suspense being built gradually with some good writing thrown in to boot. I highly recommend this book.
The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage: This is an amazing book. I really enjoyed listening to it. The information on their relationship is in depth and very captivating.Learning about Lincoln as a man shed so much light on Lincoln the Politician. I do think there is a lot of history in it and that I may have been more bogged down reading it rather than listening to it.
Drood by Dan Simmons I adore books that are a play on something else. Doesn't make sense? Well this book is about Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins during the last few years of Dicken's life when he was writing The Mysterious Edwin Drood. Is Drood real or not? Awesome, such a great twist and original idea.
As you can see my reading is a bit eclectic. I'll put up a few more of the things I've read in another post. I'd love to see what's on your shelf!
And so I did..I took the test and will now torture you with the results.. Oh and I do still knit, I just apparently suck at blogging!
Ok, dust off the keyboard and see if Blogger remembers me...
Aha! This this IS on. :)
(Zoey and Snowflake)
This is my Sophie Bag. I made it in 3 colors of Cascade 220. It's the perfect size for a sock projects. :)
I'm really enjoying the Drawstring Raglan, both the pattern and the yarn are really lovely.
Just had to share some shots. I'm trying to do as Jared Flood aka Brooklyn Tweed recommends in the interview on Sticks and String Podcast. Shoot in natural light but do it inside via a window. This gives the light directionality and makes the shot more interesting. I agree but the problem is the way my windows are built, they are double hung but each pane is made of 2 smaller panes, for a total of 4 panes...hence the lovely shadows! Oh well work in progress, right? :)
From http://knittyotter.typepad.com/ for a great prize! And becuase it's fun. :)
1.) How long have you been knitting?
I learned to knit in Jan 04, the month my daughter Valerie was born. I got a bee in my bonnet and said I want to knit, bought the Stitch and Bitch book and cast on. Then my needles were pretty much retired until she was 1! Learning to knit with an infant around, forget it. ;) It's been non-stop since 2005!
2.) How long have you been knitting socks?
I took my first sock class December 05 and finished them in January. I took a 2 on 1 class and didn't like it but finished. The next pair I used DPNs and there has been NO looking back since!!
3.) What do you do with a problem like Maria?
Teach her to knit so she'll stay out of trouble.
4.) What is your all time favorite sock yarn?
That's actually not too tough for me. Blue Moon Fiberarts Socks That Rock. I learned to knit from a wonderful lady, Karen, and she was making the Fair Isle Bobble Sock and I was absolutely gobsmacked. It was so gorgeous, so intricate. I had to have it!! I went to my first Stitches West in 2006 and ran, seriously no walking to The Fold's booth and bought the kit. I'd NEVER spent that much money for a pair of socks. I think it was 60 bucks all said and done. But I had the most amazing time knitting them. I love them with the bottom of my little heart. :D
5.) Toe Up or Cuff Down?
I'm a cuff down, gusset kinda girl through and through. Nothing like a little Partridge Eye pattern on a heel flap!
6.) What's your favorite color (this week or for all time)? Do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Color. I love it all. I seem to go through Seasonal phases. I am leaning more towards subdued colorways now. Hmm color though! Gotta have it.
7.) Do you have a pet(s)?
Loki my Panamanian Kitty. I adopted him when I was living in Panama City Panama. This cat has gone from Panama to Miami to Denver to Milwaukee with me. He's my first baby.
8.) Babies: Oven Roasted or Barbecued?
Um..ya I pass.
9.) Besides socks what is your favorite type of thing to knit?
I'm really digging the whole dishrag thing. Very fun, loud colors and portable knitting..sounds alot like socks, yes?
10.) What's your favorite scent?
I like fall smells..spices, pumpkin etc.
11.) What music are you really loving right now? Like a song or a band?
Music. I think I'm lovin Endless Summer by the Beach Boys. It IS the summer album. I downloaded it from iTunes and it's become the official 4th generation for our family; 8 track, cassette, CD, MP3. :)
12.) How many pairs of socks have you hand knit?
Urp..I'm supposed to know this? Hmm...10 or so.
13.) What's your favorite treat? Salty or Sweet?
Both. Everytime I get on a sweet kick I have to top it off with something salty and vice versa!
14.) What was the most interesting thing you smelled yesterday. Not good or bad necessarily, just the thing that stuck out most so that you actually took notice of it.
Green Bamboo tart from Yankee Candle. It was amazing.
15.) Needles - DPN's: Wooden, metal or plastic?
Hmm I like both. I like metal when it's a fast easy pattern. For wood, I love Crystal Palace Bamboos. They are firmer than Clovers and I don't end up warping them.
16.) What is your favorite sock pattern that you've knit? What do you recommend?
Hmm.. Monkey or Embossed Leaves... I think I'd recomment Monkey for newer knitters and Embossed leaves for those who've done a few patterned sock.
17.) The last Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island who would you want with you, what knitting would you want with you and would you ever want to leave?
Cat, my friend and fellow knitter. We could talk about knitting, like we do all the time.. I'd want a huge pile of sock yarn, patterns and needles. If I had comfortable accomodations and my laptop with connectivity, I'd be golden. I could sit around and watch on demand Netflix movies and order new yarn online!
Yay, I have an FO. :)
Specs:
Pattern:
Monkey - Cookie A.
Yarn: Shibui Sock in Orchid. GREAT yarn.
Needles: size 2
Started: June 25, 2008
Finished: July 10, 2008
This is a bit more true to color. It's very vibrant and fun. The lime ended up swirling all up the sock.
I have all my yarn from Ravelry now, so I cast on for the Drawstring Raglan. Should I tell you how much freaking trouble I had getting this thing started? You cast on 307 for the size I'm doing, that alone is a bear. Then on the fourth row you do the stitch pattern, simple yo and k2togs kinda thing. No problem, right? Ya, right. I screwed it up FOUR times. And you can't tink back that much, you have to frog and pretty much it's better to just rip it all out and start over. Oi. I guess I just couldn't pay enough attention to what the heck I was doing...it was little things like missing a yo and do an extra stitch. A total pain for me!
It's going now and looking lovely. I knew if I could just get the pattern set I'd be golden because I could read my knitting to ensure that I was on track. But seriously, casting on over 1200 stitches in 2 days. Um that sucked!
The colors are lovely. I have 4 Silky Tweed and one Silky Wool. It really shouldn't make too much of a difference. The dark brown is the Silky Wool and I use it the least in the pattern.
I'm on the third color now and it's going along quickly. I hope this will fit well, because it's going to be cute!
Last but no least, my Options Tank has stalled for a bit. I had put in a request for the Knitting on the Edge book to pick a pattern. It finally came in today, so now I can hopefully finish that up.
Hope all is going well with you and your knitting!
I've been meaning to do this Flickr meme. I think it's so fun to see everyone else's.
the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php
the questions:
1. What is your first name? Lynn
2. What is your favorite food? Sushi
3. What high school did you go to? Western High School
4. What is your favorite color? Green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Hugh Jackman
6. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Dream vacation? England...again
8. Favorite dessert? Sugar cookies
9. What you wanted to be when you grow up? Mammology Professor
10. What do you love most in life? My Children
11. One Word to describe you? Opinionated
12. Your flickr name? Knitty_Lynn
This was so much fun. :)
1. Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, 2. Sushi-Sashimi Combo, 3. Vertigo Dreamscape, 4. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 5. OUT17292538, 6. Macro Mondays - my drink, 7. Arched people, 8. Princess Sugar Cookies, 9. Wall Of Skulls, 10. Children, 11. Opinionated, 12. Knitty Lynn
I want to cast on a gajillion projects! It's driving me crazy, I'm normally such a monogamist with the knitting!
Right now I have three things on the needles, which for me is unheard of.
First the Options Tank made from Rowan Linen Print. I scored this yarn when I went to the Cedarburg Strawberry Festival. Seriously, you know you are a knitter when you sniff out a yarn deal at the .Strawberry. Fest! It was a quilt/knit store that was phasing out the Knit side so they had a basket of 75% off yarn. The Linen Print was originally 9.50 a ball and I scored it for 1.30 !
I'm making it as a normal tank, not a racer back or halter. I have Knitting on the Edge requested at my library, so as soon as I get my hands on that I'll finish this up. It should be cute and it will have only cost 13 dollars. Yay!
I really like the way it's knitting up. Soft with great drape.
They also had some Dalegarn Falk yarn that I'd looked at so I ended up going back and buying this pile of lovelies...
for less than 20 dollars! It was 19.74 or somesuch. I couldn't walk away. There is a very cute zippered cardigan in the pattern book plus the cover hat is adorable.
Here is my Shibui sock in the Orchid colorway knit up in Monkey. I have finished the first sock and am on the heel flap of the second.
The third item is the Berliner sock. I plan on finishing up the second one after the Monkeys are done. Plus there are a few fun dishrag patterns I want to try out..and a Baby Surprise Jacket and and! Oi! :)
I almost have all the yarn to start the Drawstring Raglan. I'm hoping I can cast on this coming week or so. Yay.
Hope all is well on the knitting front with you!
Obviously the weather/environment has some seriously issues with the midwest! The skeeters are ridiculous this year after the super wet Spring we had! I live for this time of year, it is so beautiful because of the aforementioned wet Spring. Flowers are out of control, the lilacs were so lush and thick and my hostas are going to take over my entire bed! But now because of the mosquitoes I honestly can't go outside. I am allergic to mosquitoes and my bites blow up like a balloon. A single bite can get the size of the circumference of a soda can. And they itch like a son of a bitch! I usually end up with scabs and ...well ANYWAY, I'm inside and not to happy about it. :)
I've been doing two projects, the Berlin Muster pattern for the SKP2008 group and some crochet amigurumi.
The Berlin Muster is beautiful. A really challenging lace pattern where the number in the repeats shifts constantly so it requires watching and pretty much can't be memorized.
I'm using Louet Gems for the first time and love it. The Price? A total bonus! It's very reasonable. It's springy and tightly spun. I've finally figured out that's exactly what I like in a sock yarn.
The pair is supposed to be done by July 1st..and well that just ain't happening. I enjoyed it for awhile, but then realized it was becoming a job hanging over my head. Knitting is for fun and enjoyment, darn it, so I've put it aside to rest. I will return to finish the second, but just don't have a desire to work on it anymore.
See? I've been knitting, obsessive knitting actually. I have so many dishrags it's getting a tad embarrassing.
I was tired of sitting around doing the typical increase on the edge pattern. Surfing the web and Ravelry was so fun! There is such a variety of patterns out there. I chose two that really intrigued me.
This is the Vortex Pattern. It's my first whack at this pattern and I'm sure my next will be much better. It takes a once through to get the concept of the design. It is so cool. It is knit in two different colorways. Ravelry link , Regular Link
It's really fun!
Vortex Washrag
Gartlerlac Dishrag
Did you know that HGTV is no longer going to produce more shows of Knitty Gritty? Isn't that horrible! One of the few shows that I feel represents the online knitting bloggers, it would be such a shame for it to be gone.
Please sign the online petition to HGTV to try and keep it in production.
http://www.petitiononline.com/1234lulu/petition-sign.html?
I was the 3740th signer, here's to hoping we can grow that number.
