You oughta be in pictures!

I was really busy with the camera yesterday, and I was finally able to get on my computer this morning... before the kids woke up!!! Otherwise I would have been stuck waiting yet another day to upload all of these shots! I'll start with the FOs, and then go on to the WIPs.

Here are the ankle socks that I knitted up for my neice Brittany while she's visiting us here this summer. They were a fast-to-finish project, but they took a while since they kept getting put aside for the Maple Leaves. I used less than one ball of my Bernat Sox for these, and knit them on 3.25mm dpns. I used the acrylic sock yarn for her socks since I know these won't get any kind of special care once they get home... being 75% acrylic/ 25% nylon, they should hold up to regular machine washing and drying, like the socks I knitted for the girls.
Here are my Maple Leaf socks all done! This is only the second pair of socks that I have knit for myself, and the only pair with the ends all woven in. I haven't taken them off since I put them on for this picture. I feel so luxurious wearing hand-knit socks for the first time!
Here is my second CL sock at the very beginning of the heel flap. I should have these done soon as they are my take-along project right now. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the wool has a bit of a haze to it, and I'm not sure if I'm liking that or not.
Here is my typical start-of-KAL shot... I couldn't help myself and knit away like crazy on them before I took any photos. That's what happens when you throw your back out and your camera needs to be charged!!! I'm using Lana Grossa Maya in a blue colourway, and my 2.5mm bamboo dpns.
This is how much I got done in less than three days of knitting, and still working on other projects as well. I am *loving* this yarn!!! BTW: this is four of five pattern repeats for the leg.
It may be hard to see the stitch definition in this photo, but the yarn is really holding up well, with no fuzziness or droopiness {is that even a word?}. The slight sheen isn't really evident in this photo either, but it's there, albeit very subtle.
Here's the start of my Scales Skin Socks. The picot hem is actually a folded over hem, which will make the top of the leg very comfortable, since there won't be a cast-on edge to fight with. The slipped yos that create the scales make this pattern slow going, but I'm not pushing myself. I'm using Dazzle Super Socks and 2.5mm Skacel dpns. If I had my druthers, I'd be using some sharper dpns so that coaxing over the yos would be easier. If you see the gold dpn in this photo, that's the 2.25mm Boye dpn that I used for folding over the hem as well as my scale maker!
Here's a close-up of the SSS stitch. You can see the subtlety of the picot edge. This pattern is allowing the jacquard yarn to still "do its stuff", but the scales are adding the slightest touch of texture. I'm extremely pleased!

The socks are coming!!!

I must be permanently afflicted with a terminal case of sockitis! I've got so many socks on the go, I wonder if I will ever have a matched pair! Actually, I LIE!!! I have a pair of COMPLETELY FINISHED Maple Leaf socks in my knitting basket beside the couch. My camera batteries should be charged soon, so I'll take a bunch of pictures after I wake up from my "start of my weekend" nap, later on today. In the meantime, here's the status of my current sock lineup:

Basic Ribbed Kroy: This pair is currently on "back-up take along sock" status. Sock #2 will stay that way until I'm on the heel turn of my CL sock, or completely finished it. Sock #1 won't be getting worked on again until I've turned the heel on #2.
Cascading Leaves: I finished my last repeat of the leg pattern yesterday on CL#2 and am just starting the slip-stitch heel. It is currently my main "take along sock", and will remain that way until complete, with the exception of when I am doing the actual heel turn. I am undecided at present as to whether or not I will knit this pattern again for the September KAL, or if I will sit it out, since I prefer to do a pattern only once {with the exception of "plain" socks}. I do have to say that I'm getting pretty disappointed with the Scheepjes. I can't recall from when I first bought the yarn, but it's starting to look kind of fuzzy and worn, and I'm not even finished knitting it yet.
Pretty Petals {KAL}: I'm on my 3rd repeat of the leg pattern. I've fallen hopelessly in love with the Lana Grossa Maya yarn. It's sooooooo soft and cushy! It's only available in 4 colourways at Rams, and only 3 of those that I like, but I see many, many, *many* pairs of socks out of this yarn in my future. Even Derek likes it, so I'll probably make him at least one pair out of the blue colourway that I'm using for this pattern. This sock is currently my main "at home sock knitting" project. Until I'm finished the pattern repeats and the heel turn, I won't be able to carry this project with me anywhere.
Scales Skin/ SSS {KAL}: This is my first 6 Sox KAL pattern. I chose one of my jacquard yarns to do this pattern in, and am trying out my Skacel dpns. The jacquard is a great choice for this pattern, as the self-patterning nature of the yarn isn't lost in the knitting, and the knitting isn't lost in the self-patterning. The way the scales float adds just the right touch of texture. The Skacel needles weren't my best choice though. The tips aren't all that pointy, which I need to pass over the yo floats which create the scales. I'm mucking through by using a smaller and pointier dpn to coax over the stubborn ones. Because of my trouble with the scales, this pattern is relatively slow-going, but I have 2 months to complete the pair, so I'm not pushing myself. For the time being, I am doing one pattern repeat {4 rows} per day on this sock. Overall, I'm quite happy with the pattern, and the cuff is really different from anything I've ever done before cool.

Well I'm off to finish my daily dose of the SSS sock, then it's PP until I fall asleep. I promise progress and stash pics later... and maybe even some ends done on Derek's blue socks!!!

Still grunting and groaning...

Alas, my back is just the slightest amount better today. I will be switching over to using heat packs instead of ice packs a little later. Hopefully that will help me be able to actually go to work today. I'm *not* looking forward to my next paycheque at all now. I'm going to ask about my sick pay... I might be able to get paid for last night, but I need to find out if I need a doctor's note for it. I can't even get out of the house right now, so there's no way I'd be able to get one.

I do have some good news though... I saved a bunch of money by switching to Geiko I finished my ML socks and started my PP ones. I did the ribbing on them last night, and the first repeat of the pattern this morning before coming to the computer. I also got Brittany's ankle socks done last night. I haven't had the energy to try and find batteries, so I'm still picture-less.

In other news, after 3 or 4 attempts, my membership in the 6 Sox KAL was finally accepted. The newest pattern starts today, so if I can find my sock yarn stash easily enough, I'll probably get started on those over the next day or two as well. I only need to knit one sock a month, so it will fit in quite nicely I think with the rest of my sock knitting adventures.

Triumph over pain... well soon I hope!

Somehow, someway, I managed to throw my back out at work on Saturday night. I hobbled home, and spent about 3 hours at the computer before sitting was no longer "a good thing" for my back. The next 12 hours were spent writhing in pain on the bed, when I wasn't passed out from the Tylenol. Getting up to go to the washroom upstairs was a new experience. Even crawling up and down them when I was in labour with Alex wasn't as difficult as it was yesterday. The worst part of it all was when I couldn't knit or crochet. I really wanted to make some good progress on my ML sock, but my back would *not* cooperate. Finally around 9 or 10-ish I forced myself out of bed and whimpered most pathetically as I tried to get into a relatively comfortable position while sitting. It wasn't until about eleven that I was able to be upright enough without my back spasming me into hysterics. Since I had slept a good portion of the day away {an allowed offense since I *do* work nights} I was able to get some good knitting time in until I tried lying down again around 2 or 3. Derek got up for work at 4, and I managed to get myself into a relatively vertical position again. A quick attempt at the computer proved futile, so the couch it was for me. With a decent knitting posture finally possible, I did get my sock to progress more than I had expected after my injury. I have about 25 more rows to go before I start the toe decreases. This means that with some luck, I'll be able to cast on my Pretty Petals sometime tomorrow.

Since I had made so much unexpected progress on my sock, I decided to try working on my curtain a little bit. The Addi I bought on Tuesday is dreamy. Granted, I *am* comparing it to a Red Heart circ, but other than a little bit of yarn catching at the join {which could me being hyper-sensitive}, it's everything I could have dreamed of. The needle itself is silky smooth, and the cord is so thin and flexible, it might as well not even be there! I'm heading back to the couch for some down time, and will hopefully be able to test out my Addi some more today.

Maple Leaves on the way out, Pretty Petals on the way in...

Well my batteries are dead in the camera, so I'll need to change them. Today is supposed to be cleaning day, so I'll have to wait until later to get fresh batteries and take all the shots I need. I have my heel turned, and am currently working on the gusset decreases for my second sock. I've got about 50 or so more rows until I do my toe decreases, and I hope that I can get all that done by Monday. I will be using the same set of needles that I used for my ML socks, on the PP ones. They are a really nice set of 2.5 mm bamboo dpns. I bought this yarn in the Blue Mix colourway for the PP. I had the Plum Coral already, but they haven't told me which pattern they want to be yet. I've also chosen {but not purchased} my wool for the Cascading Leaves KAL which starts on Sept. 1st. It will be Regia 4fadig in the Royal/ Turquiose colourway. I used this same wool in the Red/ Wine colourway for my Maple Leaves. I really like the way the 4 different colours plied together seems to really show off the pattern without being a boring solid.

Bright Idea # 926 {aka: Geeks will be geeks!}

Well I didn't get any pics taken today. In typical geek fashion, I got sidetracked by computer stuff and coding! I've got a completely new layout for my blog, and I think it looks pretty spiffy. It took nearly the entire afternoon, but I finally have it mostly the way I want it. This is what happens when a geek decides to finally do a long overdue update of their sidebar. It turns into a complete renovation of the site. Doesn't this sound like one of my typical not so bright ideas? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think of the new look of The Purl in the Oyster.

One week later...

Well Derek has survived 5 working days of being shaved and coming home clean. He didn't think it would be possible, but it was! He even wore his Mission Falls socks to work yesterday and said that they were really comfy in his shoes! That's even more motivation to get his blue ones finished off.

I'm going to have to take some status and stash shots later on. I went to Ram's on Tuesday to pick up my first Addi ever, and brought home yarn for the next KAL, Pretty Petals.

I've just finished turning the heel and picking up the gusset stitches for my second ML sock. I've spent most of my week working on Britt's anklet and one of my Kroy socks. I need to get my ML sock done by Monday so that I'm ready for the cast-on on Tuesday.

More to follow...

Derek, before and after!

Derek has been working in the tire business ever since he moved to Winnipeg over 6 years ago, and quite a bit before that too. He's finally made it into the office now after talking to his boss about getting out of the shop. He has quite a bit of adjustment to do to his new responsibilities, as well as the new dress code that he needs to follow as a paper pusher instead of a tire man. I'm positive that I will get used to his new look a lot sooner than he will!!!

Here is what Derek used to look like on a typical day at work. He's all filthy, smells like tires and sweat, and is in desperate need of a haircut and shave... don't forget the ever-present ballcap!

This is what Derek looks like now that he's gotten a promotion... and he looks like this when he comes home too!

Other WIPs to report on.

Since I am *far* from a monogamous knitter, I've got tons of other projects on the go at all times. Other than the ML KAL, two of the more than I can count projects I'm working on are Fiber Trends clogs, and Cascading Leaves socks.

This picture shows just how big these things are before you put them in the washer. I feel like Bigfoot wearing it. Derek is concerned that it won't felt enough. I think that's just because he's afraid I'll make him wear them!!! If they actually *are* too big, I'll just pass them on to my best friend Lyz, because she *is* a decendant of the original Bigfoot!!!

This pic shows the clog in relation to the tile floor. The tile is 12", so you know this is a yeti-sized slipper at this point! I'm doing mine in Patons Classic Merino in a deep plum, and light pink colour. I hope these look as good felted as they do un-felted.

I finished this sock while I was in Thompson, but I was too lazy had forgotten to could have cared less hadn't taken a photo until now.

This pic shows the lace on the leg a lot better, but until I get a sock blocker, any pictures of my own socks will be sadly lacking.

Maple Leaf KAL update

Well I've been working hard on my ML socks. Once I got the gusset picked up, I was able to bring it with me back and forth to work, and the foot progressed along faster. I've put it aside a bit as I work on Britt's ankle sock, as well as my clogs. The second sock is on the needles and I'm working on my second leaf repeat. Even though I finished my sock earlier this week, I just got around to finally taking pics of the finished sock until just before doing this post.

Here is my sock just before I started the toe decreases. Please ignore my work boot callous on the top of my foot! I must have tried this sock on half a dozen times, and even frogged it back a bit to make the toe more pleasing. I'm beginning to think I should start knitting right and left socks.

Here is another shot of the sock pre-toe. You can see the gusset and leaf pattern a little better here. I felt like a porcupine rying these on!

Here you can see my first sock all done, toe kitchenered, and ends all woven in. You can also see how the toe looks a little lop-sided, which is making me consider to make right and left socks from now on.

You can see the eyelets for the leaves with this angle, and the sock on my foot. Until I get a sock blocker, I'm stuck with lousy shots of the legs of my socks. IMO, this photo does show off the colour of the finished sock really well.

Socks, socks, and yet more socks!!!

Well last night I finally bitched like hell quietly asked Derek why he hadn't tried on the socks I had made him yet. One of those socks is the one I shipped to him while I was up north so I was absolutely heartbroken a little hurt that he hadn't gleefully put the matching pair on immediately. He said it was because he was too damned lazy to wash his stinky feet his feet were too smelly for him to put them on. Like a good hubby, he must have sensed that I was pre-PMSing he went and got them and modeled them for me.
They are made out of an olive shade of Mission Falls 1824 100% superwash worsted weight. I used the same pattern I had used for his Tuffy socks. Lissa insisted on joining in the picture fun and made me take pictures of her with her Spongebob flip-flops. This wouldn't have been quite *that* bad, but she was showing off the dirty bottoms, not the printed tops!!! I didn't want to gross anyone out too badly so I left those off the post.
Then it was Alex's turn to model his camouflage socks knitted out of Bernat Sox in Army Hot. These socks were made months ago, but recently reappeared from their "safe place". I quickly got a shot of him wearing them before they return to their hiding place.
Lissa then asked me *again* to take more pictures of her. Since I was eager to get the ones I had just taken uploaded, I told her I would later. She runs and finds one of the socks I had knitted for the girls nearly a year ago, and one of the socks I knitted for myself. She puts on this mis-matched pair, and looked so adorable, so what choice did I have? She even ran over and got herself up on the chair that Alex had been using, and started posing for me to take many shots of her in her fabulous socks!!!

Bright Idea #237

Well unlike most of my other *bright* ideas, this one actually worked out, and didn't cost me a small fortune to finish stayed within a reasonable budget. The kids had trashed their old dresser. I *think* it had five drawers originally. At least two were gone entirely, and another one or two were missing the fronts. We had this dresser in the basement, so I got another one of my bright ideas, and decided to refurbish it a little and bring it upstairs. The process *did* take longer than I had originally planned, but I'm blaming that on being very tired this week from stocking rather than working on the reno at work. I had guesstimated that it would cost me about $25-30 to dress up the dresser, and I wasn't far off. The only thing I overspent on really was the hardware -- Derek talked me into spending an extra 50¢ per knob {$1.47 vs. 97¢} for ceramic rather than plastic -- for obvious reasons of course! 4 cans of spray paint, 2 green scrubby sandpaper sheets, 8 new handles, and several sanded-out kids later, we have a nearly new dresser for less than $35!

Here's me painting one of the red drawers. It looks like I'm getting ready to put another coat on my toes at the same time!
Here I am painting a yellow drawer. I wonder how well the yellow and red leftovers would mix to touch up those grey roots while I'm at it?
Here I am painting the dresser itself. It ain't a perfect job by any means, but it looks better, and is WAY cheaper than brush painting it. Plus the kids got to help me out, whether they wanted to or not. Alex and Lissa were the most enthusiastic about helping, which made sense since it was meant for their room!
I feel like I'm painting graffiti on the side of the dresser! Why is it that there isn't even one *remotely* flattering photo of me here???
This is what the finished product looks like with the new hardware and old junk on! You can see that the gloss finish is kind of uneven, but like Derek had said, it's not going to be long before the kids add their own touches to the dresser anyway!

Maple leaf socks - week one progress; FT clogs stash shots

Well I took a pic today of my progress on my Maple Leaf socks for the sock KAL. I have done 4 repeats of the pattern, and started the heel flap. I will be following the heel pattern from a different pattern, and will be reducing the number of foot stitches to about 64, rather than the 72 that the pattern states.
Like I needed any more yarn or patterns, I went ahead and bought the two Fiber Trends Clogs patterns, in adult and kid's sizes. I also bought the wool I'd need for a purple and pink two-tone pair for me, and a bright, Barbie pink pair for Lissa. I'm hoping to start these once my ML socks are off the needles.

Yarn Shots!

Well here we go. Yarn pr0n!!!

This is the Regia 4fadig I bought to make my Maple Leaf socks with, along with the pattern.
Here is a close-up of my progress on Day one of the KAL. I got the ribbing done mostly on the 30th, but the entire first repeat was done on the 1st.
Here is the sock yarn I got in my June sock-yarn-of-the-month surprise package from Ram's. I can't wait to get July's!

Lotsa socks!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

Well I went to Ram's yesterday to pick out sock yarn for the Maple Leaf Socks KAL I joined. I cast them on yesterday, and am nearly done the ribbing. I hope that the colour I chose will turn out nice. I'll post a picture later on when I've got the first repeat of the pattern done. I also bought the June sock-yarn-of-the-month. I'll take some pics of that and post them later too. Looking at the ball, it sould make a really cool looking pair of jacquard socks. Those will be my portable project once Derek's last Mission Falls sock is done sometime this weekend.

Derek finally got back late Wednesday from Edmonton, and he had brought me a present to make up for being gone so long right after I got back from up north. It's a gorgeous gold bracelet that he bought as a belated anniversary present {6th anniv was June 3rd, the day before I went to Thompson}. My weekends are now Thursday-Friday, so we went to the drive-in Thursday night. He's never been to one before, so it was a great opportunity to go. We saw Click and Nacho Libre. We had a wonderful time, and I can see us going again before the end of the season. I have tonight off for the holiday, so we can go out together on a REAL weekend night! The zoo is supposed to be free today, so we might take the kids there. Then tonight we need to decide what time we're going out to play pool since if we decide to go out later on, we can take the kids to the fireworks.

Scenes from Thompson

This is the view from my hotel room window, looking northwest.

This is the view looking northeast.

This is the river that basically marks the northern edge of town. This is where it turns from running relatively east, to a more northerly direction. At least those are the directions it is going here!


This picture was taken facing southwest, from the same spot as the above photo. That bridge leads into town.

Another photo taken from the same spot, this one facing northeast. That's one of the seaplane depots located on the river.

This is probably the most photographed building in Thompson. I'm not sure who painted the mural, but it's breathtaking. The "road" up to the building is a sled run in the winter... kinda scary considering I was standing on the shoulder of Highway 6 when I took this photo.


This is another one of the many murals to be found in town. It was on one of the main streets, between work and the hotel.

This mural is on a sister building to the one above. It was on one of the corners of the main crossroads, so everyone that goes to Thompson can see this one.

This is the beginning of the boardwalk to Pisew Falls. All you see is the big rock, and the bridge/ stairs disappearing into the forest.

This is what you see as you start on the boardwalk. You really wonder if there is an end to the forest, and a waterfall in there somewhere. You can't even really hear the falls at this point because the trees filter the noise so much.

Nearly the end of the Earth

To be honest, I forget what this area is actually called... the cut-off or something like that. The highway actually cuts the "lake" off. It's about 10 km north of town, so it's as close as I got to "the end of the Earth".

She's baaaaack!!!

Well I only popped online once during my stay in Thompson, and that was barely enough to combat my overflowing email inboxes, and get caught up with Lyz... like we didn't wear out our cell phones with text messages, and I didn't go through an ungodly amount of phone cards calling her!!! Anyway, I had to quickly post this scan of a postcard I got. I will get the info later on how you can order one too. The place where I bought it has gotten phone calls from all over the world asking about it!

Bright Idea #436

Well I had another one of my bright ideas this weekend. Yes... head for cover now!

My original bright idea was to get the yard work done on the front flower beds, but that quickly took a back seat when Derek and I forgot the landscape edging, and bought a new patio set instead! We had a wonderful barbecue Sunday afternoon, since I had Sunday evening off for Victoria Day. We bought a pretty small set, but it fits in perfectly with the scale of our deck. It ended up that one of the deck boards for the back step completely rotted out. Derek removed it and covered it up with one of the indoor/ outdoor area rugs.
After much discussion on Monday afternoon over what to do, we decided that our best and most cost-effective option was to replace the back step section of the deck. After quite a bit of figuring out how to do it, and what exactly we needed, off to Home Depot we went. We came home not quite $100 poorer, and with a bunch of wood and nails. It took the better part of the evening but we had a nice, new, and best of all SAFE back step by the time we all went inside at 9.

I talked to Wayne secretly, and we decided to go get some deck stain and surprise Derek by getting it painted before he got home from work on Tuesday. The bit of rain we got ended up giving us a bit of trouble, but Wayne got a good coat of stain on it before everyone got home from school. He put another coat of it on after supper, so it's all nicely protected until Derek levels out the boards that we needed to "fudge" in order make it work out for the best, and puts the skirting on the one side.

I painted the first board just so that I could say that I helped, but 99.9% of the job was done by him. Even though these are "in progress" pics, the finished job looks fabulous!

Now for your viewing pleasure!

The Evolution of Dance. This is 6 minutes of the funniest video that I've seen in ages. You are going to need the kleenex from laughing so hard! Make sure you have broadband since a 6 minute video on dial-up is just WRONG!! and you'll need your speakers on for this one too. It's kid-safe too BTW! Leave me a comment on how many of them you knew!

Lissa's sweater nearly done.

Here is a pic I took on Saturday to help me decide which set of buttons to use for her sweater. I've really been taking my time with the second sleeve. I got the first sleeve done in less than two days... probably a reward for being so good when I went to Ram's on Thursday to get the dpns. I've done the collar on the sweater, and woven a few ends in as well. The top button is a kitty cat, and the bottom two are a princess castle and crown. With encourangement from others, I have decided to go with the princess themed buttons.
I added this picture because the colours appeared different in the two shots I took. The pattern is from a Bernat booklet. The lilac yarn is Bernat Satin in Stardust, and the eyelash yarn is LB Fun Fur in Fiji.
This is a close-up of the buttons.

The countdown begins...

Well Derek just phoned me 20 minutes ago and he's on his way back with the kids. We're expecting him back around noon tomorrow unless he needs to stop to sleep. My guess is with those two in the truck with him, they'll annoy him awake, and he'll come straight home just so that he can go into our bedroom, and lock the door behind him!

Hello? Ram's? Do you have any Calgon in stock?

I think I need some Calgon yarn... Derek is about half-way to Alberta now to pick up two of our kids. I'm going to have an influx of teenagers here from about this time tomorrow until the end of August... Calgon, take me away!

Distracted to the point of destruction...

I don't know what's wrong with me these days... I've been in such a funk, that even Derek offering to buy me the braided breast cancer scarf kit couldn't snap me out of it, or at least briefly enough to *actually* let him buy it for me. Yes, that's right folks, I turned down the offer of the century {well at least the offer of the month or year from him}. I've admired that kit in my knitting mags for at least a year or more now, and found it at Ram's when we were there on Saturday getting the rest of the Mission Falls that I needed to finish his socks. Part of it was that it was $55, part of it was that I have several scarf kits, and scarves in mind already, and the most important part was that I just wasn't in the mood for *me* yarn.

One thing that's been bothering me some lately is the sheer number of WIPs I have. What's stupid is that I can't even promise myself that I won't cast on, or do a starting chain for any more. I started the UFO project to try and clear a few UFOs, and that made a teeny tiny dent, but I've more than made up for *that* progress by starting who knows how many more projects since. I can't even seem to focus long enough to concentrate on just one project to get it done. I want to become a more monogamous knitter/ crocheter, but I just don't seem to have the will power needed to do that.

So sick it's hilarous!!!

Thanks to a post on KH yesterday I discovered this site. There's a link to a church sign creator, as well as a warning label creator. Here's the ones I made up for Derek, Lyz and myself:

Why do I do this to myself? Episode 142

Well I've gone and done it again. I mentioned it briefly yesterday in my post, but didn't get into details... WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!??!?

Here's the scoop: I'm doing up a new cardigan for Lissa, right? It's a really easy and really cute purl dot pattern, right? It should be really easy, and my precautions of doing a size 4 instead of a size 2 are unfounded, right? WRONG!!!

Since I'm so lazy about seaming -- my Skacel pinwheel pullover is STILL waiting for a few seams to be done -- I decided to do it up in one piece rather than separate fronts and back. Well from that decision on, this sweater has been a comedy of errors! Firstly, I neglected to deduct two stitches from the back portion, and only did one. That meant that I had to frog all the way back to the beginning after I had the first row done. Next, I didn't increase one stitch after the ribbing on the fronts, so I had to frog back three rows to redo that. Then I realized that I didn't put in the button bands, so I had to tink back and use my crochet hook to fix the stitches on each end for about 4 rows. Then, I had to readjust the dot pattern on the back, so that meant I had to frog half a row of work. The last mistake I made was neglecting to put in the buttonholes. That required frogging the border on one side back about 10 rows, and then reknitting it back up to my work using dpns... *PHEW!!!*

That was all within the first 2 inches or so of work! I'm at the 5 inch mark right now, and I'm putting it aside while I work the heel of my Cascading Leaves sock... hopefully this pattern of errors won't continue! I have to admit though, most of these errors have been caused by doing the whole body in one piece, and not fully reading the instructions for the fronts before going on. At least I had the forethought to do it up in a size 4... she will at least have a bit of a chance to wear it before she grows out of it... once I finally get it done!!!

This and that...

I've been so busy with stuff, and I still seem to be just spinning my wheels! I'm about half-way into my first sock of a pair of Cascading Leaves. It's turning out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I will be turning the heel on them today, and then it will be smooth sailing to the end.
I started a cute dot stitch cardigan for Lissa out of some Bernat Satin, and will be putting a fur collar and cuffs on it with some LB Fun Fur Prints. The pattern for it is here, it's the pink one on the cover, and I'm doing it in lilac. I've changed the pattern to work it in one piece, and it's driving me nuts with all the silly errors I'm making because of that.
I've also got an afghan on the go. I'm doing up a ripple pattern for Derek in RH Comfort, Bernat Soft Boucle, and Bernat Harmony. It's turning out really great, and if I can stop working on other things at home long enough to make some progress on it, he might actually get it this year!!!
The last project that I'm concentrating on right now is a cute summer tote bag that I'm crocheting out of some Lustersheen I picked up... I still haven't decided if I want to do it double-stranded or not, so it might be getting frogged yet again!!!!