Hangin' In There

We're hangin' in there - we've made it to the final stretch of Davin being away.
It's hard to believe it has been almost 4 months, and at the same time it seems like forever since he has actually lived at home.

The Bud enjoys wearing his dragon Halloween costume around lately - it worked great as an extra layer against the cold this weekend.
Great-Gramma and her friends "got a kick" out of the visiting dragon.

I find it so interesting that many strangers assume that the Bud is a girl - especially since I looked very similar as a child and many strangers thought I was a boy. Hmmm.

I finally finished Davin's Charade Socks.
I felt like they were taking me forever. They are a bit big for the blockers - size 13 mens!

Pattern: Charade
Needles: US 1
Yarn: Yarn Pirate "Killer Bees" October 2007 Booty Club
I meant to finish these by the end of December to be part of the Sock Knitters' Anonymous Knit-Along, but I just couldn't make it happen.

I must be in a dreamsicle mood...
because along with my Monkeys I cast on for a Drop Stitch Scarf with the same sort of colors.

I found this yarn in a bargain bin for next to nothing and really liked the idea of knitting the two colors together.
I love the look of this scarf, but I find that I get bored quickly with working on it - and I'm not even that far yet. I just don't think I am a scarf knitter at heart. I like the result, but I think it will be a back burner project that I will work on a little here and a little there in between other things. It will be good for that since it is a really easy pattern to start and stop at any point.

I'm not sure how it will block, since the yarn is mostly rayon, but I think I will enjoy it regardless.

Can it really be 2008?

Happy New Year!



It has been a high energy weekend for the Bud. He is always thrilled when Davin is home, and he was home this weekend for almost 48 hours.



The end is finally in sight, and he should be home for good at the end of this month.

I am looking forward to adding a few things back into my life. I have taken a short leave of absence from my etsy shop, but I plan to get back to it as soon as life gets back to normal. I started it for fun and a way to channel some creative energy, but around the beginning of December it started to feel like a huge stress. I decided to let myself stop for awhile. I will come back to it when it will feel fun and rewarding again.

I have been knitting since my last post and have finished a few things:

The Last FO of 2007
Gloria Cowl

This cowl was a christmas gift - I can blog about it now. I thought that my recent Yarn Pirate Booty would be perfect.

Luckily, after 4 frustrating attempts with various needle sizes and # of stitches cast on, I finally came up with a way to stop the horrible pooling that kept happening. I knit 2 strands together with the colorway staggered. I was quite pleased with how the colors blended after that. I added a little seed stitch edge to keep it from rolling.

I put my cowl "recipe" on my flickr page here.

First FO of 2008
Noro Silk Garden Lite Socks

Last October I was inspired by the beauty of Lolly's Silk Garden Lite socks.
I loved the colors and transitions.

Since then I wanted to make some for myself. So I bought 2 skeins on ebay - they ended up being very fraternal. I set up the skeins to have the cuffs match, but due to the long colorway repeat and other joins (from Noro) that's all that does. I loved working with the yarn, and despite the fraternal-ness, I am still very much in love with the finished socks.


First CO of 2008
Monkey socks
I enjoy participating in the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group KAL on Ravelry. For January the theme is Cookie A. designs.
I have been wanting to make some Monkeys for a long time, so I cast on with my Cheeky Monkey sock yarn yesterday.

I have been saving this yarn for something special. I love the colors, and it feels fabulous to knit with, but sadly this yarn will not be for Monkeys. The color repeat worked out to exactly 2 rounds - so there would be yucky vertical striping down the whole sock.

I couldn't let myself do that to this wonderful yarn. It will have to wait for another pattern another day.

I looked through my stash and tried this:

I am far happier with how the colorway is working out on my "Dreamsicle Monkeys".


Oddly enough... when I dyed the yarn last summer I thought it would make good monkeys - but I wasn't ready to follow that pattern yet. I have learned so much in the past few months about the way I knit (lefty-combined) and how I need to translate patterns for myself to make the finished product come out as intended.

I only recently figured out that that to K2tog, I need to knit one, change the stitch mount on the next stitch, return the knit stitch to the "unknit" needle and pass the "mount-changed" stitch over it - it took me awhile to discover that one.
For SSK I need to slip, knit one and PSSO.
My lefty combined world is so complicated!

I also discovered that to create a twisted rib, it is far easier for me to twist the purl stitch (P-through the back loop) than it is to K-through the back loop. K-tbl, for me, entails changing the stitch mount for each stitch - yuck! It doesn't look exactly the same, but it gives a similar enough effect for me.
With all of this new knowledge, I am set to put it to use on Cookie A's Monkey pattern.

I love it when a plan comes together. (Ahhh... the A-Team!)

My new year's resolution... be creative and enjoy.