Lissa, the sock...

Here is the Lissa sock. It's a generic top-down sock with a short row heel for a large toddler. Stay tuned for the pattern!

I have a benefactor!!!

One of my net-friends, who wishes to remain anonymous, had a package delivered to my house today. Imagine my surprise to open the box, and then open the brown bag {sealed with a question mark sticker} to discover this:

Now how cool is this??? It's Ram's newest Super Soxx Surprise, now in a cotton blend. This picture really doesn't do it justice, and once I figure out how to get better quality pictures uploaded without using Blogger's Picassa, I'll change it. Suffice it to say that this yarn is a GORGEOUS blend of blue and grey with charcoal flecks through it. If you look at the webpage for it, it's the third sock from the bottom in the picture of series 1. It's just as soft as the original wool Super Soxx, and I can't wait to find out if it knits up just as well.

I was told that it was because I'd been so good lately with finishing so many of my sock projects, and hadn't been able to afford any trips to Ram's at all in nearly 2 months... with no relief in sight for my unplanned yarn diet. I had been coveting this yarn dearly since I discovered its existence about a week or so ago. I would like to publicly thank my benefactor for this most generous gift. It was the bright spot in an otherwise extremely bleak outlook for me right now.

In other news, I got some pictures loaded on to the pooter and edited for posting. I don't want to sully this post by adding other pictures, so stay tuned for the next few days as I feature various FOs.

DONE!!! DONE!!! DONE!!!

I *just* finished off the ends on Lissa's socks! She's the proud owner of her first pair of hand-knits. The yarn is a "Rainbow Brite" inspired bright myriad of colour, and the little princess is thrilled to have them on her feet. I haven't measured the leftovers in the ball of yarn yet -- I'm going to get Derek to weigh it at work tomorrow -- but I'm guessing about half the ball, and that's what I'm adding to the total, 93 metres.

Now that I have those out of the way, I can cast on my "Lacy Scallops" guilt-free. I also worked on Derek's tiger socks today a bit, and I've got over 4 inches of stockinette for the leg... I have a feeling that I will need to do the heel turn tomorrow before work!

April Fools!!!

Well I was the butt of several April Fool's jokes, and none of them were intentional... or at least not caused by another person!

Firstly it rained nearly all night Saturday/ Sunday... but what did I see as I went out to my car after work??? SNOW!!! I was *not* amused at Mother Nature's joke... especially as it got progressively worse as the morning continued.

I wasn't able to get pictures of that, or any of my recent FOs due to the next of the cruel jokes played on me... the batteries for my camera don't work! Derek wasn't even able to get any pictures {except on his cell phone} of Lightning McQueen Saturday night from "The World of Wheels" exhibit that he had to work. I'm not sure if it's the batteries, or the charger... but I have no batteries in the meantime.

On the bright side, I grafted the toe of Old Shale #2, so that adds another 210 m to the total. I started a sock for Lissa, that was finished today, and I cast on the second sock for that. I'll be writing up the pattern I came up with for it, and offering it as a freebie. Derek's tiger sock #1 is around the 4 inch mark, just from at work knitting. In even better news, Lyz says that I/ we get to cast on "Lacy Scallops" tomorrow!!!

Two pair in two days!!!

And that makes the third FO pair this week {three pairs in four days for those of you who are counting}!!! I grafted the toe and wove in the ends on Derek's Columbine #2. That adds 400 metres to my total.

Once the kids find my camera batteries I'll be able to take pics of all these recent socks. I cast on the tigery jacquard for Derek and started the ribbing. I'll be making a generic pair of socks out of this to make best use of the patterning of the yarn. Once done, this pair will add 420 metres!!!

Now I can concentrate on my Old Shale for a few days. With luck I'll get these done in the next couple of days, and that will make this a FIVE pair month!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

Third FO this month...

Well the heel is turned and gusset picked up on the Old Shale sock #2, so I went and worked on Rebecca's sock. I now have my 3rd FO pair of socks this month!!! That makes another 150 metres on my tally, and another free set of dpns!!!

The agony and the ecstasy.

Well yesterday didn't provide me with any completed socks, but it was a success nonetheless. I found a bunch of stuff in my cryo lab. The biggest triumph was locating the missing sock yarn bin. *YAY* I can now properly tally up my stash for the marathon! I also found a bunch of nearly-FOs, and a bunch of dishcloths that need their ends woven in.

I'm on the heel turn of the Old Shale, and I'll be finishing off Rebecca's sock as soon as I've got the gusset picked up on those.

One down; two {or is it three?} to go...

Little Shells are DONE DONE DONE!!! Toes grafted, ends woven in, yadda yadda. I can't get over how close to being perfectly identical they are. I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out. 420 metres have been added to the ticker.

Derek's Columbine socks are up next for completion. Depending on what time I go to bed today, I'm in excellent shape for finishing them tomorrow. Then there's the toe on Rebecca's second sock.

I called Lyz to find out if we were doing the picot hem or not on the Lacy Scallops, and she told me that I'm not allowed to cast mine on until she's ready to cast on hers. So that means that I'll need to delay those about a week until she's finished her Little Shells and another SIP or two. That means I'll need a different at-the-computer sock, and what better to fit the bill than my poor ignored Old Shale socks. I'll have to put the needles back in it, as one of the kids decided to "help" mom with it. I'm on the leg ribbing *somewhere*, so if I can get it into heavy knitting rotation, I'll be able to get it done soon.

Snippets...

Little Shells sock made it to the end of the heel turn on Saturday before I went to bed. I picked up the gusset stitches and started going to town on the foot. I got to just over 40 rows before I decided that I *had* to get to sleep. I'm expecting to finish those today. That will add 420 metres to my marathon total.

After that I want to put the toe on Rebecca's sock, as I *still* haven't gotten around to finishing that up. That will add 150 metres.

Derek's socks are just shy of 40 rows on the foot, so nearly half done. I am hoping to finish those on my weekend as well. That's another 400 m to add to my tally.

I will be starting my Lacy Scallops as soon as the Little Shells are done, and I will be starting a generic stockinette sock for Derek out of the tigery-jacquard once his Columbine socks are done.

More later, as I'm busy blog-stalking Stephanie... I *so* need to find out what all happened on Thursday and beyond!!!

Scattered thoughts...

All kinds of things running through my mind and my needles today. I'm on repeat #14 of 16 for Little Shells #2. 1 or 2 more gusset decreases to do on Columbine #2. I've started a new super-secret project... this one needs to be done by the end of April. It's a fairly involved project, and I can only work on it when I'm alone... wish me luck.

In non-knitterly news, I got my income tax assessment in the mail today. This means my 2006 tax return has now been processed. They gave me an extra deduction of some sort, which means an extra federal non-refundable tax credit in my favour... not a great amount by any means, but as those of you in the know about my tax situation know all too well, that anything in my favour is DEFINITELY for the good.

I happy and bummed out at the same time for everyone that got to "Represent" with Steph et al yesterday... I can't even afford a trip to Ram's to cheer myself up with.

Damnit Lyz! I hope you're happy now!!!

Well your sock knitting curse has now officially hit me! In more than the time that it took me to get EIGHT repeats done yesterday, I've managed to only have a net increase of 3 repeats today. First I had to frog back one needle 5 rows to fix a missing yo... then I discovered another missing yo and fixed that as well... but that yo ended up being the size that you could easily poke a pencil through, and of course that wasn't noticeable until I had knit all five rows back up the one needle. So I decided to go ahead and frog it all back to prior to the pattern repeat that was causing me all the trouble. Now, each and every pattern row since, {luckily not every freakin' NEEDLE since} I have had at least one screw up of some sort that has required tinking back at least a few stitches, if not a whole needle.

LYZ!!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!! If you have any soul left at all {after you-know-who has sucked every last bit of life out of you}, can you PLEASE take your bad knitting ju-ju back??? I'm afraid of this carrying on into my FA socks, and I really want to enjoy knitting with that, not curse every damned stitch!

For those of you that aren't Lyz, and therefore have no freakin' clue what I'm hollering at her for, here's my RDCV progress report: Derek's Columbine #2 is over half-way through the gusset decreases. I'm hoping to have the gusset done or nearly tonight at work. Little Shells #2 is just past pattern repeat #11 of 16. I couldn't take pictures of my SDIPs because all of the AA batteries in this house are deader than my car in -40°C weather. That means that I couldn't do any frogging to recover yarn and dpns. As a side note, I can't find one of them anyway, but if I do save one of the pairs, that's the one that it would be. Batteries are now charging, so I can take the pics {but no promises of uploading!!!} tomorrow.

In other news, that "new" Eco-Fil stuff you may have spotted at your local WM is now on clearance at most if not all Canadian stores. At $4 a ball before, it was a good deal. Now it's between $2-$2.75 here in town which is an absolute steal. And as is typical with a lot of the newly released yarns at work, you don't find a pattern to use with the stuff until AFTER it's gone on clearance!!! I *did* find a cute little top pattern that calls for 2 balls, and Jackie has given the okay on a top made out of the blue tweed I bought for my shopping bag. Even if she hates it, it's gonna be less than $6 for a top! I'll make it bigger anyway, so she can wear a t-shirt underneath if it's itchy on the skin. I'll let you all know how it works out.

Just to upset Lyz!!!

Well I'm getting ready to go to bed here, and I've got 8 repeats out of 16 for the leg done on Little Shells #2. The wool for the Lacy Scallops has been wound into a ball, and the pattern printed... all ready for starting as soon as Little Shells are done... sometime this work week I expect. Derek's Columbine socks are all ready for their back and forth action as my work socks, and since it's all gusset, and then plain stockinette, I'm not expecting these to take very long either.

Tomorrow my plan is to photograph my two designs in progress, and decide if I'm going to finish the socks on the needles, or frog back the yarn. That might free up my 2.5 mm bamboos for the Lacy Scallops. I also need to rush home tomorrow morning as I want to try and catch the Today Show. It starts at 7, and the earliest I can get home is 7:30ish... "It's a purl, man" and others will be outside the NBC studios tomorrow morning for the start of Stephanie's "Represent" plan!

I ain't got no stinkin' SSS!!!

Nope, second sock syndrome does *not* reside in the Rodgers' household!!! It just *seems* like it does since I usually have so many pairs of socks on the go. Right now it has worked out that I have several pairs completed or very near completion. I'm expecting to have 4 FO pairs this month, and that will help my L&V Sock Marathon goal greatly.

Like I said earlier, Jackie's socks {which were started early last summer} are finally complete. I haven't written up the final draft of the pattern yet, but all things in good time! Little Shells #1 was finished knitting on Saturday, and I grafted the toe when I got home from work on Sunday morning. Then I finished the ribbing and did the first few rows of Derek's Columbine #2 before going to bed. On Monday, I finished the leg of his sock and started on the heel. Tuesday morning I finished the heel and picked up the gusset stitches. It's now ready and waiting to be my new "work-on-at-work" sock. After that I cast on Little Shells #2, and started the ribbing. I finished the ribbing at my SnB, and after comparing it to #1, they are very much looking identical. Rebecca's socks will be finished Wednesday morning, since I didn't feel like adding in the new ball of yarn at SnB. I was a few rows into the toe when I ran out of yarn, so it will be a fast finisher.

Lyz and I have decided on our next mini-KAL project, Lacy Scallops from SockBug's blog. I will be using my Fleece Artist sock yarn that I bought myself as my promotion present. I'm really enjoying doing this with her, since it's driving me to get the pair done quickly. Strangely enough, this apparent speed has carried over into my other projects as well. Derek has also chosen the yarn for his next pair of socks. I was half-hoping that he wouldn't find anything in my stash that he wanted, as I love working with the Regia Silk for him, and the Silk Shine is on sale at Ram's right now. He chose some Confetti that I bought last summer at Leona's in a tiger-like jacquard. Since the yarn is self-patterning, it only requires the most basic of sock patterns. I will be able to use the entire project as my "work-on-at-work" sock. As an added bonus, I'll finally get to try it out... I *did* buy it to actually knit with, ya know!!!

Note: I apologize for the lack of links in this post... I *had* linked all the pertinent information, but my browser crashed entirely before I had a chance to save it... I decided not to take a chance in the rewrite! If you want/ need the links, leave me a comment, and I will edit the post to put them in.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well I have a nice, new, green-containing dishcloth to celebrate St. Patty's with! As an added bonus, I just finished my first Little Shells sock, and will be grafting the toe before I go to bed. I *would* start the second sock as well, but it's already getting a bit late, and I'm really tired. I'll post more tomorrow about it and my shopping bag design-in-progress also.

I only do what the yarn voices tell me

Well today I had two balls of yarn talking to me... they wanted to come home with me and become new dishcloths for my kitchen. The first one I noticed was a cheery yellow mix, and it said "SPRING!!". The second one was more subtle. It was a white, beige, and mint mix, and once I noticed it, it screamed "St. Patrick's Day dishcloth" to me. Well since St. Patty's Day is in 2 days, I decided to listen to that one. Besides, after +1°C temps on Monday, it was -14°C on my way home this morning... that doesn't bode well for spring at all.

I tried to find a pattern that the yarn wanted to be, and couldn't find one online. Then I decided to design my own. That didn't pan out either. I'm gonna go frog what I've done so far and make a good ol' Granny's Favourite... *sigh* At least I'll have something clean to wash my dishes with tomorrow morning!

Time Warp!

Somehow I've managed to warp the space-time continuum! I started the heel stitches on my Little Shells before I went to bed last night. I had switched the pattern to 70 stitches, to add 2 more pattern repeats, and did the heel on 34 stitches. This morning I got the heel flap and turn done, and got the gusset stitches picked up and all the decreases done by 1:30 p.m... I went down to 64 stitches for the foot. I've got 30 rows done of the foot, and since my feet are usually 65 rows before the toe decreases, I can see even this stockinette black hole being very easy to knit my way out of.

Now I'm working on the never-ending ribbing of Derek's second Columbine sock. I managed to slog through over half of the 24 rounds needed to match sock #1, and am ready to start the pattern... FINALLY! I know from sock #1 that the leg goes amazingly fast, and that means that it will be ready to be my "work sock" by the time I finish the foot on Rebecca's sock.

No! No black hole for you!!!

Well, I'm really liking the Little Shells sock that Lyz and I chose for our mini-KAL. I'm using Fortissima Socka in a rainbow-like jaqcuard. I just started these a few days ago and I'm now trying to decide when to make my heel. Most of my socks have a leg in the 5½ to 7 inch range, and this one is now at the 6 inch mark. I often get into the black hole of knitting with my socks, where I knit and knit and knit, and don't get anywhere. Not this time. I think I'll take these to 7 inches before I go to bed and turn the heel tomorrow.

I finally finished Jackie's socks last night. I guess I'll have to get the pattern finalized for that, and pictures taken of the design... those socks had deadly black holes that I never thought that I would knit my way out of.

Now that Jackie's socks are done, Rebecca's socks have been bumped up to "work sock" status. Hopefully these will be done shortly as well, as I have just finished the gusset decreases for the second sock.

But is it blogworthy???

Well I've been getting a few complaints from some of my friends that I haven't been blogging as of late. I guess I've been doing a lot of introspection lately, and really wondering about my life, and what I am doing with it. The one thing that keeps coming up, to me, is "But is it blogworthy?" That's a big part of putting your life up on the web for everyone to see... just how interesting *is* my life, and does anyone other than me really give a damn anyway???

I have a podcast!!!

Well... sorta... kinda... I've just recorded the promotional clip, and gotten it uploaded to a free server. I'm still trying to work out all the bugs of uploading and RSS feeds and the like, but hopefully my first *real* episode will be up soon. I'm very new at this, and doing it on the cheap for the time being, so please be kind in your comments. I have started a new blog just for the podcast, and you can find it here.

YAY!!! Success at last!!!

Well I am a happy sock knitter again! I found the missing in a safe place ball of Regia Silk Shine to complete Derek's GI Dennis socks. I quickly got the toe finished and all the ends woven in. That makes two completed pairs of socks so far this year.

I restarted Derek's Columbine socks, and am still working on the ribbing of those. I am nearly done Watermelon #2 {I managed my first short-row heel ever!}; I'm down the foot of Rebecca's camo sock; found the pattern I wrote so that I can finish Jackie's sock; and am working on a new super-secret {for the time being} design. The Old Shale sock is currently on the back-burner while I finish up what's nearly done, but I can see several completed pairs *very* soon.

Working on the super-secret design has got my creative juices going again, so I think a few more designs will be coming soon as well... as always, stay tuned to this channel for future updates.

Houston... we have a problem...

I can buy sock yarn faster than I can knit it up!!! At least today's excuse is that *some* of it isn't for me!!! I went to Leona's, which I haven't been to since summer, and again I wasn't disappointed. She has a fairly good selection of sock yarn, and 90% of it is at very budget-wise prices. The $4/ball Confetti is a great example... I can't wait to see what our "bumblebee" socks are going to turn out like. I also brought home some Jawoll that was lonely on the shelf by itself. Total additions to *my* stash: 1410 metres; for a total of 22 012 metres.

Can I get a HOLY CRAP?!?!?

Well I finished my sock yarn inventory to the best of my ability... I am missing a bin of yarn *somewhere* in the house containing at least 6-10 pairs worth of sock yarn. Well the tally {so far} is 20 602 metres, which works out to roughly 12.8 MILES of sock yarn. Can I get a HOLY CRAP?!?! I still need to figure out exactly where I am in my marathon, as well as how much of that yarn I want to use up... I'm figuring that about 3 pairs of completed socks a month is a reasonable goal.

Sock progress so far this week is dismal... I had to frog Derek's Columbine sock as I got to the heel... it turns out that his legs aren't as wide as I first thought. I have done the frogging and reballed the yarn, but I've been too busy with other things today to recast them on. I finished my "not-on-two-circs" socks today, and cast on the watermelon yarn that Lyz gave me for Christmas. I am using the ankle socks pattern from the site for them. I've gotten a bit more done on Rebecca's sock, and finished the cuff on my second Old Shale sock. I'm now at "mindless" parts of it, so I will be able to use that sock as my back-and-forth sock for a while.

I've done quite a bit of surfing for patterns and such for my next projects. I dug out the ribbon yarn to finally make my Trio Bag, and I just need to locate needles for it. I also found patterns to make myself a top out of some of my sock yarn. In other news, I just got a call from Rams, and my sweater kit that I ordered is in!!! YAY!!!

What am I gonna do with all this spare time?

Well my worst fears were realized, I was called back to my home store a night early. It was very uspetting to me on two fronts... the first being that I didn't get to officially say goodbye to everyone like I had planned... the second being how rude my manager was about the whole situation. But what can you do, right?

Now that I'm back at my home store, I *do* get to sleep later, and I have more time at home. Even though full hours *are* available right now, I *desperately* want my three days off this week. Maybe I will feel differently next week, but I am currently looking very forward to at least a few weeks of three day weekends. Wednesday night is inventory at my store, and I WON'T BE THERE!!! I'll be at my casual knitting meeting, and having a blast as I haven't been to that one since I took my week of vacation at the beginning of September.

I haven't gotten any further in my yarn inventory, but I will be remedying that this week. I've gotten the gusset decreases done on my socks, and I'm into the third "lace" repeat of Derek's Columbine sock. I don't seem to be getting as much knitting done now that I have more time, but since I've been catching up on my sleep, I'm not going to complain too loudly.

I went through my camera, and I haven't removed pics off of it since HALLOWEEN!!! I'm gonna take some pics of the wild novelty yarn I picked up on my way out of Portage and then get the whole lot on to my computer. I haven't been so big on novelty yarn in a long while, but this is for some doll blankets for Alex and Lissa's cabbage patch dolls. When you see this garish pile of yarn, you will understand why I *had* to have it for them!

Yarn, yarn everywhere; and not a sock to wear!

Sorry... that was a *very* bad play on words -- water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink! I've been knitting socks like crazy, but still haven't completed a pair in months! I started my sock yarn inventory for the Sock Marathon, and I have over 7 km in just my Ram's Super Soxx Surprise yarn! HOLY CRAP!!! That's a heck of a lot of yarn, and I haven't even scraped the surface yet! It wouldn't surprise me to find out that I have in the range of 10 miles or so of it, but I think better in kilometres. I figger I get 2.5 pairs of socks out of a kilometre, so I would guesstimate that by the end of March {using my typical sock knitting habits} I would have about 6-8 pairs done. That makes between 2.4 and 3.2 km and if I really concentrate on nothing but socks, I'm guessing I could nearly double that.

I have two more nights in Portage, and then I'm back at my store Saturday night. Cross your fingers for me that I can get out of working Wednesday night, as that is inventory. I'm supposed to have it off due to the 28 hour work weeks, but I was told last night by a marginally reliable source that the schedules have been all changed. I will need to find my backbone and stand up to them to keep my original one, as I *really* need the extra rest.

I'm in the process of turning the heel on my Portage/Pippi sock #2, and I'm hoping to have the pair finished by the time I finish my weekend if not sooner. I had to start Derek's Columbine socks a little sooner than planned as I finished the ball of Regia that I had been using, and can't find the extra ball that I had purchased to finish the toe of his first one! I'm into the second repeat of the "lace", and I think that this project will be a quick finisher.

Where the hell has she been?

Yes... yes... yes... I *know* that I've been seriously MIA from blogdom, as well as online activity in general. Here's the RDCV {Reader's Digest Condensed Version} of the last 4 months:
1. I got a Nintendo DS and a copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World. WARNING!!! This game is addictive to the point of being nearly a terminal illness! I've gotten several of my friends, as well as my entire family addicted to playing it as well! My main involvement online in October and November was on one of the online communities devoted to AC:WW.
2. I've been commuting over 3 hours a day for the last two months as I do a store set-up in Portage la Prairie. It's been a great experience as I've been involved in the store since 4 days after possession, and will be there to the end of this week. Soft opening was last Thursday, and official grand opening is this Thursday. I'll probably post some pictures of it once it's all said and done.

That basically covers what I had been doing. My knitting has suffered greatly, and it wasn't until New Year's that I got back into knitting with a passion again. I will bring you up-to-date with my WIPs and FOs as I continue to update here. There are two main developments in my current activities. One is that I've joined Lime & Violet's 2007 Sock Marathon. I haven't done my inventory yet, but I've gone through in the range of 500 yards of sock yarn since the beginning of the year. The other development is that I am working on creating my own podcast. Stay tuned to this space for future announcements about it.

I have only this week left of insane hours {60+/week}, and then I'll be dropping down to 28/week for a few months, as is typical in retail.

Progress Friday...

What? It's not Friday, you say? Sure it is... for me!!! Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!! To be perfectly honest, last week completely knocked me out, and I forgot neglected to do my progress post, or to even take pictures! I still haven't taken any pictures, but this past week has been a huge mish-mosh of socks and various patterns. Since I finished the Kroy and Pretty Petals I've been drifting around from sock to sock, and of course have cast on even more! I need to update my sidebar as well. I joined yet *another* sock KAL, so I cast on for that one, using one of the balls of my Rams Surprise Package stash.

Currently, here is the lineup of victims: Scales Skin Socks: SSS#1 was finished last week, and #2 was cast on. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I will finish the pair in time for the deadline later this week, but I should be done shortly after. I'm about three inches into this one.
Derek's Silk Socks: This poor sock is languishing in the background for the time being... to be honest, I can't remember the last time I worked a round on them!
Dura Cabled Socks: My lonely design has been sitting all by itself in my sock bin... another victim of neglect.
Rebecca's Ribbed Camo Socks: This is supposed to be my back-and-forth-to-work sock, but after turning the heel, I wasn't sure if I'd decreased enough for the foot. After three days of sitting on my desk, I finally remembered asked her to try it on, and I was right... I need to frog back a few rounds and decrease at least 4 more times.
My Ankle Socks: These are the ones I'm designing in Lang Jawoll. These were a temporary fix for my work sock problem, and ended up the same way Rebecca's did... needing a try-on to see if I'd decreased enough. I had, and now I'm cruising right along. I'm about a third to half way down the foot on these.
Jackie's Red Socks: This one is the solid, child-size version of my design. I still haven't decided how long I'm going to make the leg on these, so they've come in handy for when I can't take anything else to work with me. I'm about four inches into this one.
Old Shale Socks: This is the newest addition to my line-up, and the current pattern for the Socknitter's List KAL that I just joined. I'm using one of my Super Soxx balls for this in a brown/ blue/ beige colourway, and won't be using a solid like the pattern calls for. I'm still working on the cuff of the first one, but I'm not sure how much longer I will make it. It calls for 6 repeats of the lace pattern, but I'll see if I'm happy with the length once I get to that point, which should be at some time during my weekend.

In other news: I'm applying for two different positions at work... keep your fingers and needles crossed for me that I get one of them. Both of them include raises of differing amounts, both will contribute to my eventual management goals, and both include REAL weekends off {Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday}. I also destashed some of my sock yarn on the weekend. My friend Sandi had her baby and I brought over some of my Bernat Sox to start her sock addiction.

Arrr, me mateys... feast yer peepers on this!!!

In case you haven't heard, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Since this is *supposed* to be a crafting blog, I have this for your crafting pleasure!!!

How many more rows to go?

I am damned and determined to finish my first SSS sometime today. The tiny 2.25mm needles are killing me on the foot! I did my usual 65 rows, and alas, the sock barely made it up to the ball of my foot. This is the only sock I'm working on ATM, so it's a doable goal, even though my housework is calling me! I'm 99.9% sure I'm not going to make the deadline of Sept. 30th for the pair -- this disappoints me, but not so bad that I'm gonna kill myself or anything. Although the sharpness of these needles may do it for me! I had poked a nasty hole in my finger last week that is now finally healed enough that I can work on the SSS again without the aid of a bandage!

I have a bunch of B&L sitting here on my desk right now. It's all nicely balled up, and I *swear* it's laughing at me because I haven't cast on yet! So far I'm resisting the urge to start another pair. I *did* go cruising looking for a new pattern to use up some of my Ram's Surprise Package stash, and I'm currently debating between Fluted Bannisters, Sixth Sense, or Lombard Street. There's another pattern that I could have sworn I saw recently, but I can't recall where right now... perhaps it was in the VK issue with all the socks. It was sort of a spiral ridged pattern... if it sounds familiar to you, drop me a line with the details on where I can find it!

YAY!!! It worked!!!

Well I took a chance and it worked! Here's the promised pics of my FOs from last week. You can click on the small pictures to view the full-sized versions.
Here's the ribbed socks I made out of some discontinued Kroy I bought last year. I had actually started this pair last summer, but had put it aside, and then frogged what I had done to make this pattern instead of the plain stockinette that I had been using. The pattern is my basic ribbed sock, and I am in the process of writing it up as a freebie on my site.


Here's my Pretty Petals socks from the KAL I joined with other members of Jeanie Townsend's group. I used Lana Grossa Maya for these, which is a cotton/ wool blend. I've got my fingers crossed that these will be comfortable to wear, and will wash and wear well. I've got one more ball of this in my stash, and would like to add more since this was such a wonderful yarn to knit with.

Progress Friday {without pictures}

I still wanted to post today even though I haven't taken any progress photos yet. I finished my second Pretty Petals sock on Wednesday evening, so I have another completed pair that I need to add to my tally. Kroy sock #2 will be getting finished sometime before my weekend starts Monday morning as well {maybe even today!!!}. I started 2 new socks this week, both different versions of the same pattern --- a new design I'm working on. Derek's sock is over half-way through the foot, so it will be getting finished soon too. My SSS is about a third of the way down the foot, so I still have a chance to finish a second one before the end of the month, and enter myself into the contest at the Six Sox Knitalong. My cabled sock is coming along slower now. I injured my knitting finger, so I can only knit my tougher socks with a bandaid over it! Plus, one of the needles was accidentally pulled out, and I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet!

Well I'm going back to my knitting, and crocheting too I suppose since I haven't done much on the babyghan! Once I get Kroy #2 done, I'll post pics --- here if Blogger lets me, and definitely in my FO Gallery at LJ.

Golf and deer.

Derek and I went golfing on Saturday, and I've posted here about it. The gallery of pictures is here.

I'm on a mission... a sock mission that is!

That's right, I'm on a mission to see how many socks I can finish this week. My brain is ready to explode with all the designs I have in mind, and I *need* to get them out! I think I should be able to finish quite a few of my SIPs. Derek's sock is nearly half-way down the foot, and if I don't run out of yarn, I should have no problems finishing it. My cabled sock is past the gusset decreases, as is my SSS. My Kroy sock is half-way down the foot, and PP#2 is on the last leg repeat.

I balled up my new Dura for another work sock design, and I started a new design last night out of a stray ball of Jawoll. These ones are going to be anklets for me, but I'm going to do full-length versions for the girls once these are done. I'm on the heel of my first ankle sock, so I should easily be able to get at least one done this week.

I stabbed a hole in my finger on Sunday from the SSS and Dura socks. Knitting at work on Sunday night was *interesting* to say the least!!! I've discovered that a band-aid over the offending hole doesn't affect my knitting, so I'm still cruising. If anything, it's making all knitting easier since I can't feel the poke of any needle there!!!

I broke 200!!!

Yes, you heard it here first... I actually broke 200 at golf today! ROFL!!! I've got some pics of me, and some pics of some deer that we saw today. Derek actually had his best round yet, and broke 80... 79 to be exact. I'll upload the pics to LJ tomorrow. I'm exhausted right now as our game took a *lot* longer than it should have due to a tournament.

The Super Secret Project... at long last!

Since Blogger won't allow me to post pictures, I've migrated the timeline of this project over to LiveJournal, along with a Gallery of the pics. Lemme know what you think!

Progress Fridays Revisited

Well I've signed up for LiveJournal, and will be posting most {if not all} of my pics there from now on. You can check out today's progress post and comment here or there! I've got my fingers crossed that I can get things to work out soon.

I'm so angry I could spit!!!

ARGH!!! Blogger is driving me completely insane! I can't upload a single image, regardless of which machine I use, or for that matter, if it's from home or linked off the web!!! Angry doesn't even begin to cover it. I went and did some hunting online, and discovered I'm far from the last one that's having difficulties like this. In any case, this means that my Friday progress photos are on hold, as well as the pictures of the Super Secret Project afghan. I was so proud of how much I accomplished this week too... *sigh* Let's see if my posts to the help group lead me anywhere... if not, I may be soon searching for a new blog home.

Grumble, grumble...

My computer and Blogger are at it again, and not talking. That means I can't upload any pics until I get on to Derek's computer. *So* frustrating!!! Well here it is, my vacation is more than half over, and I don't have as much to show for it as I'd originally hoped -- best laid plans and all. I've gotten quite a bit of sock knitting done, however, and I have several feet to do since I've turned the heel on my SSS, and am working on the heel of my Dura sock, as well as Derek's GI Dennis.

The Super Secret Project I was working on in August was completed, and gifted on Monday. I'll have that up as soon as I can get the pictures uploaded, and the last update done. It was received very happily I might add. The baby blanket I'm currently crocheting is going a bit slower, but that's because I've been concentrating on my socks a lot, and will pick it back up again once all these heels are done.

I haven't found as much of my house as I would have liked, but I am finding quite a bit. The cryo lab is still begging for attention, and I still *do* intend on getting in there for at least a little while.

Vacation musings...

Well I started my vacation off on a really good foot, I think. I got in the range of 18 hours of sleep/ rest yesterday and this morning. Now I'm fully into knitting and cleaning mode. I want to find my house! And as my rest periods, my socks will get a lot of attention too. I've just finished the third cable repeat on my work socks, and I'll take it outside for a pic later on. I also want to tackle my yarn cryogenics testing lab this week... we'll see on Friday Progress how far I got!!!

Friday Progress...

I like the idea of being responsible to myself {and to anyone that actually reads this tripe}, about my continuing goals and progress. This week wasn't the greatest personally, which is reflected in the complete lack of posts. I *have*, however, taken pictures of my current WIPs, including the latest to be added, the baby afghan for Sandi and Rod... due in 19 days. As always, clicking on any of the pictures will bring you to a larger version that you can see in more detail.

I'm just tickled about my "girly" work shoes, so I *had* to blog them! Here they are with my Durasport which will soon be a pair of work socks for said shoes.

Here's the Durasport all balled up. It's going to be rough on my hands, but well worth it. Progress on my socks is below.

I came home from work early last night, and was able to get started on Round Ripple the 2nd... My friends Sandi and Rod are expecting, and of course a new baby is the prefect reason to stash bust! Rebecca found a bunch of this pretty vari in my cryogengics lab, so I have plenty for a HUGE blankie for baby. I think I've done pretty good for less than a day's work. Like I did with my last crochet project, I'm alternating between this and my knitting to save my hands.

Here's the second PP sock. I haven't made a lot of progress in it this week, but that's mainly because I've been rotating between my various socks until one grabs me.

Here's the THIRD incarnation of my SSS socks. They are actually getting somewhere since I've been doing at least one repeat a day on them. I'm tempted to turn these into my "back and forth to work" sock once the Kroy is done, but the yo round is so slow going, I'm afraid to. The Inox needles, while *much* heavier than what I'm used to, are the perfect dpn for this project.

Here's Derek's Regia Silk Shine sock done with Jeanie Townsend's GI Dennis pattern. I've gotten the first 2 complete patterns done, and I'm back to the tractor tires. I think I will do 3 "tires", and 2 "furrows" to complete the leg before starting the heel. I really hope Derek likes these.

My current sock for at work is coming along nicely. I'm not touching it at home, so all this is, is 2-3 days of work progress. The gusset is now completely done, and it's smooth sailing from now until I hit the toe. Even though I'm on vacation next week, I'll probably push it to complete this one... especially once I choose my next at work sock.

Last, but cetainly not least... my own design done in Briggs & Little Durasport. You can't tell yet, as I've just started these yesterday, but I've incorporated two cable patterns into the leg of the sock. I'm really excited about these. I *was* going to wait until the Kroy was done, but since I've decided to go with the cable design, I don't think these will be an "at work" replacement anyway. I'm thrilled to be learning cables finally, and even more excited at designing my own. Wish me luck!!!

You've been grafted!!!

Here's my first Pretty Petals sock in all its glory!!! I couldn't wait to try it on, and it's extremely comfortable. The fit is really nice too, I call it "snuggy huggy", since it's quite snug, and it's hugging my foot so well. I'm also very pleased with how it turned out extending the pattern over the foot. It gives the sock that "little something extra".

Here is a close-up of the toe I "unvented". It still isn't an absolutely perfect fit, but it's purty durned close. Unlike my straight toed socks, this follows the natural shape of my toes more closely. You can click on the picture to see the toe in more detail. Now I get to cast on PP#2!!!

We have a sock!!!! {well almost!}

I'm now officially on the toe of my first Pretty Petals sock. Thanks to my sock guru, Ariannah, I've unvented a toe that will hopefully fit my foot better than a conventional one. I've started the toe section at the very end of my baby toe, and I'm decreasing on that side of the foot each row, while decreasing conventionally {every other row} on the other side. We shall see how it goes. I also had the forethought to write down exactly what I did for centering the pattern on the foot, and adjusting it at the toe. I have my fingers crossed that this actually works, and even better yet, that my instructions make sense when I get to this point of sock #2!!!

Progress... in more ways than one.

I've made a lot of progress this week, albeit on a limited number of projects. I've been focussing my energies on a few things, and the amount of work I have gotten done on them is significant, compared to the usual limited amount on many. I like the feeling of control that I get by doing this, since my list of WIPs is beyond overwhelming. I've even managed to resist the temptation of the Durasport. It was bought, and even balled up on Monday, and I still haven't cast it on. I've promised myself that I am going to finish the Kroy socks first, and then I can concentrate on the Dura. I also haven't *replaced* the Cascading Leaves socks. That's another victory in itself, as usually each FO is rewarded with starting another project {or three}.

Derek's GI Dennis socks are currently on the back-burner. While out on Saturday and Monday, I got the Tractor Tires pattern repeat done, and the next time I pick these up, I will be ready to start the Plowed Ridges and Rows pattern repeat. This is normally the sock that is in my purse, so it gets worked on while I'm out doing errands and such. I'm not on the final stretch of the pair, and it's not on a deadline, so even though Derek's socks tend to be a priority, I can easily set these aside for a little while.

Here's how close Kroy sock #1 is to completion. One heel was turned Monday evening, and the other Tuesday morning. This one is now about halfway down the foot, and within 30 rows of the toe decreases. Since I get about 10-15 rows done per night at work, I expect to be finishing this one off before my weekend starts on Monday morning. You can click on the pictures to see them larger and in more detail.

Here's my Pretty Petals sock, nearly ready to start the toe. I've decided to try to make a left and right foot. My toes aren't nearly straight across, so shaping the toe more should make for a better fit. I'd really like to have this sock done by the start of my weekend as well so that I can start the second sock.

I'm not going to bore you with yet *another* photo of the hem of my SSS sock. Yes, I've cast on yet again, this time makes it the third attempt at this pattern. I used my Inox dpns Wednesday night and started the hem. I did it then since I wanted to work on it while waiting at the airport for my niece's flight Thursday morning. I got the hem completed and joined, and the first whole pattern repeat done during our wait. I am really loving the Inox needles in spite of their weight compared to my other dpns. They pick up that yo like it was nothing, so I can go much faster than I had been. It's amazing how much those yo's were slowing me down. Once my PP #1 is done, I'll probably go back and forth between the SSS and PP#2 for my knitting breaks from crocheting. The SSS pair needs to be done for the end of September to make it into the drawing at 6 Sox, so I've got my fingers crossed that I will make it!

And on the eighth day, she created socks!!!

With all the sock yarn recently added to my stash, I'm going to *need* an eighth day every week simply for knitting!!! Not that I couldn't have used it before. I've decided to go with smaller pics on the blog main page, so if you'd like to see any of these in greater detail, simply click on the picture and it will take you to a larger version of it.

This is the Briggs & Little I picked up at Rams on Monday. There is one hank of Durasport in "Bluejean" for work socks for me. I also bought 4 hanks of Tuffy. There is two hanks each of a charcoal grey and olive green to make some winter socks for Derek. I'm using the excuse that I need to use up the rest of the cream Tuffy from his first pair!!!


Here is the complete collection of yarn that came home on Monday. I also completed my bamboo dpn collection and added a few more patterns to my stash! Clockwise from top left: Regia 4 fadig; Sisu; Super Soxx {2 balls}; B&L Tuffy {3 hanks}; B&L Durasport; and B&L Tuffy. Not all of the yarn has been earmarked for future projects yet. The pink Sisu is for some breast cancer ribbon socks, and the B&L is all for work socks for Derek and I. When the time comes, I know that the Regia and Super Soxx will tell me what they want to be.


Tuesday I ventured out and discovered a new-to-me LYS called "Leona's Sweater & Wool Shop". The Confetti is in a tigery colourway, and was a bargain at only $3.99 a ball. The Socka is a rainbowy jacquard, and set me back $7.99 each. The JaWoll was a steal at only $5 each... that's the one that has the thread included for reinforcing the heels and toes!!! I'm hoping that the comfort cushion will help my poor beat-up hands from crocheting. And the Patons booklet has many interesting sock patterns in it. Jacqueline and Rebecca each had 2 different patterns chosen for me to make for them before we even made it home. I'm certain that I will be returning to Leona's many, many times!!!

10 more pairs of socks come to live with us!

... well *potential* pairs anyway! I got a gov't benefit cheque in the mail, and my income tax refund was in, so I went SHOPPING!!! I've taken the stash shots, but haven't loaded them up yet... tomorrow probably when I've got progress on socks to report anyway.

Yesterday's shopping was at Rams. I came home with a carload!!! Needles: 2.0 and 2.25 mm bamboo dpns. Now my set of bamboos in the longer length is complete. Patterns and Magazines: Fiber Trends Butterflies & Blossoms, and Acorn socks; Patons Kids "Twister Sisters" booklet; Patons freebie sheet "Positive Energy Shawl"; and Knit.1 Summer '06. Yarn: 2 Surprise Sock Yarn packages; 2 hanks each of Briggs & Little Tuffy in green mix and oxford grey; B&L Durasport in bluejean; and 2 balls of Regia 4fadig in royal/turquoise.

Today I went and visited a new {to me} LYS. It's called Leona's Good Wool Shop, and it lives up to its name. She's got a wide variety to please every budget, even if she's so small that there's not a heck of a lot to select from {compared to Rams}. What thrills me most is that her stock overlaps very little with them... it's nearly ALL different, which is *very* desirable in a city with only two LYSs. I'm not looking so much for bargains, but for selection. Her prices were excellent nonetheless. I came home with 3 more pairs of socks, a comfort cushion for my yarn hook, and a neat Patons sock book. I bought 3 different brands of sock yarn, and she also carries the Scheepjes, as well as a few Kroy, and what she has left of the now-discontinued Bernat Sox. A pretty brown, beige, cream Lang Jawoll tweed, DBG Confetti in a tigery/ Halloweenish jacquard, and Fortissima Socka Color in a rainbowy jacquard all have a new home with us. The sock booklet I bought has instructions for toe socks for kids and adults, a neat colourwork chevron pattern, and several other lace, cable, and plain socks in kids and adult sizes, as well as short and extra long lengths.

I am a very happy knitter today! Only problem is that I've got a ton of crocheting still to do. On the plus side, since the dentist was running behind schedule today, I was able to make very good progress on my Kroy socks. I had turned the heel on one yesterday, as well as frogging back the heel on the other. Well I got the heel turned and gusset stitches picked up on the other sock while waiting. Now both of my Kroy socks are on the foot stitches, and I have my fingers crossed that one of them will be done this week at work. I'm rotating back and forth between crocheting and my PP sock here at the desk, so the first one of that pair might be an FO by the end of the week as well... the foot is more than ½ done. I'm finished the first set of 4 repeats on Derek's sock, and will be starting the next section soon. Mainly this sock is my on-the-go project at the moment, so with my work week beginning tonight, I'm not holding my breath for any major progress over the next few days on that. I haven't brought myself up to frog my SSS sock yet again, so I *will* cast on the second ball with my Inox's, but I just haven't decided when. My Durasport is calling to me something terrible since that's intended for work socks for me, but I need to calm that voice down and get at least one other pair off the needles first.

Wearing hand-knit socks while golfing...

may make the game more enjoyable, but it's still easier to make the socks than make the shots!!!

Well Derek and I went out golfing again yesterday, this time with one of his former co-workers and his son, but I wasn't doing anywhere as well as I had when we went 2 weeks ago. At least I didn't have too many misses, I just wasn't getting anywhere. I scored 77... on the front 9!!! Our biggest problem was the weather... we were kicked off of the golf course because funnel clouds had been spotted, and one had nearly touched down at the course!

We had just come up to the 13th tee, when a group that had been behind us came up and told us that they'd been told to clear the course because of funnel clouds. We figured that unless the course marshall came, or staff, we didn't need to listen! It had been extremely windy all day, and we could see some nasty clouds off to the west a little, but nothing right where we were. As we were playing the hole, we saw more and more people leaving. We reached the green finally {it was a par 5, *gasp*}, and saw the girl in the beer cart, but she didn't stop to talk to us. We were thinking that since she didn't stop to talk to us, then we didn't need to leave. It was then that we looked at the sky over the rest of the course, since we'd been on the low end of the course at the beginning of the hole. Kildonan Park Golf Course is built on a riverbank of the Red River, and is on two "levels" due to that. Well "holy crap" doesn't quite cover our reaction. We decided to finish up since we were all on the geen at this point, and it was just beginning to drizzle. By the time we'd finished up, it was raining a little harder. I stopped for a few moments to put my cover on my bag, and get my belongings out of my bag and put them in my pocket, so I wouldn't have to do that once we reached the truck. It's a good thing I did, because on the 5 minute or so walk back to the truck, the skies opened up full force. First the rain came pouring down, then it turned sideways. We kept an eye on the clouds right by us, and the hail started. Thankfully it wasn't anything larger than pea-sized, but it still hurt like hell. Derek said later that when the hail hit, he'd looked back and could barely see me, and I wasn't even six feet away from him. By the time we reached the truck, we both looked like we'd been in the shower. I was so wet and soggy and uncomfortable it wasn't funny. My wonderful hand knit socks, which had kept my feet comfortable throughout the afternoon were now funnelling the water that was squishing through my toes. I have to admit, that my feet *did* feel dry until they were completely deluged about one third of the way back to the truck.

Derek and I went home and tried to dry off. He got online and started checking the weather websites. He found out that there had been tornadoes that had touched down in Stonewall {just northwest of the city}, and just to the east of us. Funnel clouds were being reported all over the northern edge of the city, and the storm cell that we'd been in was the southern tip of a horribly nasty cluster that was heading east, and expected to hit Kenora soon. I don't think I want to go through anything even close to that again... at least not without shelter.

The next surprise package revealed!!!

Well Derek and I went to Rams today so I could pick up the Inox needles I wanted, as well as find out if the newest surprise packages had arrived. I wasn't so lucky with my needles... they only had 2.25 mm, so it looks like I'll be frogging my SSS yet *again*!!!! The latest Super Soxx *had* arrived and I picked up one. Apparently a lady there this morning got one that was turquiose and blue, so methinks me will be returning soon for some more. I want to complete my set of bamboo sock dpns anyway... well the longer length, I'm not going to mention the shorter ones, at least not yet! I think the one that I got will make a nice pair of Thanksgiving themed socks. It's not a colour that I would have chosen myself, but I'll live with it!

The socks are coming... the socks are coming!!!

Well I accomplished my goals yesterday. I got the hem done on the SSS, and I got my Cascading Leaves sock done.

I got pictures of the whole process so that, hopefully, I will know wtf I did when it comes time to get the second one started. I am quite impressed with how flat the hem is, and I'm guessing that this might have been what I did last time, and just didn't remember. I've gotten one repeat of the stitch pattern completed as well. The new needles aren't helping as much as I'd hoped, but I'm going to compare them to the Inox at Ram's, and see how that goes.

The toe on my second CL went like a dream. I would hazard a guess that knowing that getting the toe and ends done would mean TWO whole pairs of hand knit socks for ME to wear!!! I do need to figure out a better way of photographing completed pairs that I am wearing.
I'm still not completely thrilled with the wool I used, Scheepjes Invicta, but it's not *that* horrid either. Hopefully after washing they won't seem so fuzzy to me.
I have gotten some work done on Derek's GI Dennis socks as well. I have the stitch pattern memorized kinda for the section I am working on, and the silk feels so nice to work with. I'm not taking it to work, since the black yarn will be difficult in the low light conditions I am often knitting in at lunch {outside at 3 am is *not* ideal lighting}. It fits nicely into my current tote that I am using for a purse, and it's not hard at all to get a needle or two done while waiting for various things.
I know the colour on this picture is *really* bad, but I tried to get the stitch detail to photograph better. The flash would pick up the "shine" in the yarn, and you couldn't see the texture at all.

Hem Success at Last!!!

They say that pride goeth before the fall, and that is certainly true here. It's amazing what a few hours sleep on the start of a four day weekend will do for the knitting soul {especially a four day weekend that's *actually* on a weekend}!!!

Man oh man, when will I ever learn to stop overthinking things and Just Do It? I was fighting with the hem on my SSS yesterday, and gave up before I got too frustrated {this *was* smart of me BTW}. Today I went back to trying again and tried about three different ways of doing the hem before I was ready to frog it yet again and to a provisional cast on. Mental note: Do a provisional cast on for any subsequent hemmed socks. The only thing I hadn't tried was to pick up the stitches through what I'm calling the "back loop" of my cast on. I thought it would look funny, or shift over the hem half a stitch. Firstly, the last attempt at a hem {before the back loop attempt} was picking up the stitches through the first row of knitting, which made for a REALLY obvious seam, and would probably be uncomfortable as all get out. That is what made me consider the provisional cast on. Then I had what I call a Harlot moment, and decided that the possibility of having the hem HALF A BLOODY STITCH off wasn't worth the provisional, and I should give it a try anyway. Well, you can all guess now what happened? IT WORKED!!! I promptly took pictures of the whole process, and am now documenting it here. No, I'm not trying to say to you all that this is the way you should do it, I have absolutely *no* visions of knitting grandeur here, I'm simply having a written record of how the hell *I* did it so that I can do it this way again when I make the second sock! However, feel free to go ahead and copy this for yourselves if you so feel the desire to follow a nut like me!

Here I used my 2.25 mm Boye dpn to pick up the back loop of my cast on. I had started my cast on where the red met the white and charcoal jacquard section. My first attempts were to pick up the red stitches, which were actually the "long tail" of my long tail cast-on.

Once the initial 4 or 5 picked up stitches were worked in, I could simply pick up the yarn through the stitches of the cast-on on my own. This made the rest of the hem a lot faster to work, except with the last few stitches which were a bit fussy, but nothing worth using my extra dpn for.

Here is the hem completely joined, and the first round of stockinette knitted.

This is a close-up of the now-joined hem. It's difficult to tell truly how flat this hem turned out, but I'm very pleased.

It's picture time!

Well I finally uploaded a week's worth of photos to my computer, so I can now update you on some of my progress with photographic evidence!!! I haven't taken any pictures of Derek's current sock yet, but I will rectify that when I shoot my Cascading Leaves completed pair.

Here's me trying on my first Pretty Petals sock. I was testing it out to see if I'd decreased enough for the gusset. It fits nice and snug, so I guess I did!

Here you can see the completed gusset.

I tried to take a good picture of the top of the foot. I decided to continue one pattern and the eyelet-bordered purl bands down the foot. It makes it slower going since I need to follow the pattern, and therefore can't have it as my back-and-forth-to-work sock, I think the finished result will be worth the extra time involved.

Here is the first part of the hem and the picot edging for my SSS sock that I restarted yesterday.

Here is the completed hem, just prior to joining it. I was having much more trouble trying to join the hem than I had the first time around, so I put it away before I got completely frustrated.


I have two main goals knitting-wise today. One of my goals is to get that hem done, so I can get started on the pattern proper. Then the sock will able to be a "work" project. My second goal is to finish my current work project, which is my second Cascading Leaves sock. I am about to start the toe decreases, so it's an easily achievable goal. I'm embarking on a four day weekend here, so I am hoping to get the heel turned on my second Kroy sock, as well as the heel on the first one frogged back and reknit. Both socks will be able to go back into "work" rotation then as well.

Anyone got an extra pair of hands they can spare?

And while you're at it, I'd love a pair of arms to go with them. Well it didn't take long, but my hands are already complaining about my increase in crochet volume. I woke up with the horrendous pain that I've been so mainly mercifully free of for ages.

I'm still knitting away in between crochet mini-goals... it's the best way to get through the slogging parts. I'm nearly done the gusset of my first Pretty Petals. Continuing the pattern over the top of the foot is still driving me batty, but one more set of decreases and I'll be checking the fit to see if I can just knit even until the toe. I'm done the second repeat of the first pattern in Derek's GI Dennis/ Regia Silk socks. This continues to be a dreamy knit, even though the yarn feels springy in comparison to others I have used. I'm a few rounds away from heel turn on Kroy Sock #2, so then I can write down my generic sock pattern and get working on the feet of these two. Cascading Leaves #2 is nearly done the foot. I need to count the rows yet, but I *know* that I'm more than half-way to the toe. My SSS sock is now dreadfully stalled. I *had* checked the fit the other day, and decided that I needed to frog and restart. I just needed to figure out what size needles to change to, and how many stitches to cast on. Well this morning, I went to model my cuff on the webcam to Lyz, and it felt perfect!!! Now I'm completely befuddled. I will have to take a bit of time now to decide if I'm gonna frog it or not. I guess now if I *do* frog, I'll go get the 2.25 mm Inox needles from Rams.

A bass-ackward life...

For the majority of you, it's the weekend... not me, it's mid-week. Friday night is like my Wednesday. It *does* mean, however, that I *should* be able to sleep more than an hour or two per day unlike the three hours that I've gotten since I woke up Thursday morning. But, being my work-week, it means that I can knit to my heart's content without guilt. The goals I have set for myself crochet-wise over the next two months are during my "days off", so all I *need* to crochet during my work week, is anything I fell behind in, which should only take a day or so.

Status Reports:
Pretty Petals Socks: I've gotten a few rows further into the foot of my Pretty Petals. I haven't yet decided how I'm going to redistribute the stitches, or if I will simply wait until I've finished the gusset, and then mark the beginning of the round. Scales Skin Socks: I tried on my SSS socks, and I'm going to have to frog it and restart it. I'll likely cast on the next smaller size, and use a set of 2.75 mm dpns, and see how that goes. I'm not feeling up to all that, so I'll set it aside for a few more days. I may need to free up a set of needles anyway, or simply use my 2.25s instead. Derek's Dennis Socks: I've gotten a few more rows into that sock as well. The garter rib variation that borders the stitch pattern is a little awkward, but otherwise the pattern is really easy to follow, and the Regia Silk Shine is a dream to knit with. Crocheted Tote Purse: I've dug this design out and restarted it again. I'm going to be teaching one of my co-workers to crochet, so this will likely be my main back-and-forth project for work.

Oh my aching fingers!!!

Well after being completely insulted by my best friend's reaction to yesterday's post, my fingers decided they had enough of crocheting for a little while. I did take a couple pics for my running commentary on the project though before switching over to the sock-du-jour, my Pretty Petals. I had been working on the heel flap before it got set aside a few days ago. Well I got the heel turned, and am currently working on the gusset decreases. It sure is a thinking exercise since I'm continuing one repeat of the petal pattern over the top of the foot. One round is the decreases for the gusset, and the next round is the pattern across the top of the foot. I've got it on 3 needles right now, and I really need to figure out a way to separate the petal pattern so I can put it back on four working needles.

In other news, I got Britt's hair re-dyed today and all the brown patches from the first go round are gone. The colour is a lot deeper now too. I also bit the bullet and dyed mine too... I'm about to go wash it out, so I can't tell you how it turned out yet! As long as I don't lose too much hair {I've been losing it nearly in clumps for the last few weeks} when rinsing, it will look a heckuva lot better than the horridly grey it is was before. I also need to decide which project to take with me to work tonight. Now that the renovation at our store is done, my hours have returned to normal. This means that my crocheting lessons with a co-worker can resume start finally. I have a couple of socks that I *could* take, but I really *should* dig out the shtuff for my summer tote purse... let's see what I decide to make time for!!!

What is this thing anyway?

I have a few of these on my desk that I use for picking up dropped stitches, and repairing boo-boos on my knitting, but I can't seem to recall what other use(s) they may have. I *did* find this on a Google search:

That explains what it *is*, but not what it *does*... well other than for fixing knitting mistakes!!! Now that is what my best friend would think I'd be saying at this point! She teases me all the time about not crocheting anymore! Well she is in for a shock... Lyz, you sitting down? buckled in? no coffee or other items that can expectorate in your mouth? Good, now you can continue to read!!! I will have a crochet hook in my hands for 95% of the time for the next 2 months!!! The year has just blown by me, and I'm left in a serious crunch, with 4 big projects needing to be done by the end of September. One of the projects is a secret because the recipient is an occasional reader of my blog... that project will be revealed in its entirety {including timelines and progress photos} after it has been gifted. I also have a baby afghan that I need to make by the time my vacation week is done in September. I still need to make a baby afghan for my friend Daryl, since the original became a burnt offering. Colton's birthday is in late September or early October {I can't remember right now}, so I'll make him one for then. If my hands allow me to, I'd also like to get Wayne's afghan done during this time. Since all of these projects will be taking the same hook, I might as well get them all done at the same time. I still have socks that I need to knit, and I'm stumbling through trying to design Derek some winter work wear, but other than that, it's gonna be hooker heaven here!

What to do???

I was thinking today that I didn't have enough projects on the go I should make Derek a sweater for work, now that he can actually wear nice clothes on a daily basis. What I would really like for him is something of a classic cardigan, perhaps cabled, in a sportweight yarn. Do you think I could find *anything* online that even comes close??? I'm either going to have to do some serious searching at Rams, combine about 6 different patterns I found online, or just bite the bullet and design one. I *did* find quite a few nice pullovers, but I can't see him wearing them to work that often. Although if the current problems they seem to have in getting him his work shirts continues, it may be a good idea after all. I'm going to sit on this idea for a while, and put the bug in the ear of the ladies there at Rams, to see if they can find something suitable for me.

Golf is harder than knitting socks!

I never cease to be amazed by the comments I get while SKIP {sock knitting in public}. Especially when I was in Thompson, and I did a lot of waiting in public for food orders and such and got a lot of feedback on how difficult *that* must be. I guess that most of the people that see me regularly are used to seeing sticks and other assorted sharp object coming out of my extremities. I have to admit that I was pretty daunted by the whole dpns sticking out everywhere and such until I started my first sock. Hard to believe that was only a year ago! Now look at me, I'm searching out newer and fancier dpns, and they are getting ever tinier too! I've been using 2.5 mm quite a bit lately, and I was shocked to discover that I *noticed* the difference in size when I cast on Derek's newest sock on 2.75s yesterday! That observation turned into my mantra for the day! I've also come to the realization that Regia Silk is even nicer than Lana Grossa Maya while being knit! We'll see how these two fare once they are both done!

I took a chance with my back and went to play 9 holes of golf with Derek yesterday. Between not sleeping since I worked that night, and my back, I wouldn't commit to a full 18 holes. It's a good thing too, because by the time we hit the links in the afternoon, the course we went to was jammed. It took over 2 hours to get 9 holes done, and the couple we were paired with said that it took nearly 5 hours for them to do 18. I made the mistake of saying at the first tee {actually the 10th, since we golfed the back 9} that I should have brought my sock {it was in my bag, back at the truck}. Derek actually got upset with me!!! "This is GOLF time, not CROCHETING time!!!" But we had to wait over 10 minutes to tee off, and another 10 minutes again at the 17th tee... do you know how many needles I could have done in that time?!?!?! Oh well, I did manage to have my best game ever. I'm not sure if it was because I was taking it really easy so I wouldn't hurt my back, or if it was because we were paired up with another twosome, but I actually hit the ball nearly every time. It wasn't until about the 16th hole that I actually missed the ball while swinging!!! And that only happened about 2 or 3 times total on those last 3 holes. Since we weren't playing with Dave and Louise, there weren't any magic balls, or dropping my ball *after* the water, so I actually had to hit it OVER the few water hazards they had --- AND I DID IT!!! --- I didn't lose one ball all day! On one hole, I thought I lost my ball in the reeds at the creek edge, and was shocked to find that my ball was actually a good 10 yards *past* the creek edge! I'm pretty proud of myself, especially since this was my first round this season, and I haven't even been to the driving range at all. There may be hope for me yet!

Like I *really* needed more sock yarn!!!

Well Derek got off of work early yesterday for the long weekend, so I asked him if we could go to Rams. I had a few things in mind to buy, as well as a show-and-tell session since I hadn't brought in any FOs or WIPs in a while. I was hoping to get July's Sock Surprise package, as well as some pointier 2.5mm dpns. Of course there's always the items that follow me home as well!

I got some respectable oh's and ah's for my sock collection, and a good giggle over my Bigfoot clog. I didn't find either of the items I wanted though. It looks like my only option for my SSS socks is to frog and restart them on either 2.25s or 2.75s. I had Derek looking and feeling the sock yarn, and now that he doesn't *need* to wear wool work socks anymore, he doesn't want yarn that's scratchy at all!!! I forgot that I wanted something pink for breast cancer socks, but Derek finally decided on some Regia Silk Shine that he liked. Once I decide what I'm doing about my SSS, I'll cast on Jeanie's Dennis sock design for him.

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!