Road Trip!

We had a six hour car ride (each way) to visit my in-laws this past weekend. In addition, while we were there, most of the family went to watch our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers but there weren't quite enough tickets for all, so I got to knit while watching on TV as the Steelers dominated the Philadelphia Eagles.


As a result, I am almost done with the leg of my Slipped Stitch Rib Sock for my honey, and it seems to be fitting his leg perfectly. I was concerned that the Socks that Rock Medium Weight might make a sock that's too thick for someone used to wearing thin men's socks, but he seems to like how it feels so far. We'll see how it goes when I get to the foot!

I also got back into the Gatsby Girl pullover and am almost done with the waist shaping on the front. It will still be quite some time before this project is finished, but I continue to enjoy it, no matter how long it takes.

Road Trip!

We had a six hour car ride (each way) to visit my in-laws this past weekend. In addition, while we were there, most of the family went to watch our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers but there weren't quite enough tickets for all, so I got to knit while watching on TV as the Steelers dominated the Philadelphia Eagles.


As a result, I am almost done with the leg of my Slipped Stitch Rib Sock for my honey, and it seems to be fitting his leg perfectly. I was concerned that the Socks that Rock Medium Weight might make a sock that's too thick for someone used to wearing thin men's socks, but he seems to like how it feels so far. We'll see how it goes when I get to the foot!

I also got back into the Gatsby Girl pullover and am almost done with the waist shaping on the front. It will still be quite some time before this project is finished, but I continue to enjoy it, no matter how long it takes.

One Night Stand: Cell Phone Cozy

Our family got new cell phones over the weekend. While AT&T kindly gave us faux leather cases, I didn't really like the way my phone looked in the case--especially since I went wild and got a RED phone! I didn't want to hide this snazzy little number behind a plain black case, so....I knitted an adorable little cell phone cozy last night, in about an hour.

I modified a pattern for the Swift Cell Phone Carrier that I found in One-Skein Wonders, one of my go-to books for little projects like this. I held together a strand of red and purple novelty yarn with a strand of black Lion Brand Glitterspun. I put a little handle on it and I just love it. It's also fun to complete a project from start to finish so quickly.

Now it's back to the socks that I started a couple of days ago.

One Night Stand: Cell Phone Cozy

Our family got new cell phones over the weekend. While AT&T kindly gave us faux leather cases, I didn't really like the way my phone looked in the case--especially since I went wild and got a RED phone! I didn't want to hide this snazzy little number behind a plain black case, so....I knitted an adorable little cell phone cozy last night, in about an hour.

I modified a pattern for the Swift Cell Phone Carrier that I found in One-Skein Wonders, one of my go-to books for little projects like this. I held together a strand of red and purple novelty yarn with a strand of black Lion Brand Glitterspun. I put a little handle on it and I just love it. It's also fun to complete a project from start to finish so quickly.

Now it's back to the socks that I started a couple of days ago.

The Satisfaction of Finishing Socks

After a weekend of doing--no exaggeration--about 12 loads of laundry after the kids returned from camp, I was happy to steal an hour of knitting time while watching a favorite HBO Show, "Big Love." I finished my Ridged Feather Socks--the first pair I've made from start to finish during "Summer of Socks," and I am very pleased with them.
I know some people prefer to match up the colors on variegated yarns like this so that the stripes are the same colors in the same placement on both feet, but I rather like the fact that mine don't synch up at all--that really shows that they're handmade, and I like the one-of-a-kind feel of them.

I have more of a skein left than I usually do with yarns like Socks that Rock, so I am thinking about eking out a pair of baby socks for Afghans for Afghans with the remainder...but that will have to wait.

For now, I will excitedly wind up my STR Monsoon to make my honey his first pair of hand-knit socks. Having just gotten More Sensational Knitted Socks, I may try a pair from there, or the Cable Ribs from Favorite Socks...so many choices, and he is leaving the design up to me!

The Satisfaction of Finishing Socks

After a weekend of doing--no exaggeration--about 12 loads of laundry after the kids returned from camp, I was happy to steal an hour of knitting time while watching a favorite HBO Show, "Big Love." I finished my Ridged Feather Socks--the first pair I've made from start to finish during "Summer of Socks," and I am very pleased with them.
I know some people prefer to match up the colors on variegated yarns like this so that the stripes are the same colors in the same placement on both feet, but I rather like the fact that mine don't synch up at all--that really shows that they're handmade, and I like the one-of-a-kind feel of them.

I have more of a skein left than I usually do with yarns like Socks that Rock, so I am thinking about eking out a pair of baby socks for Afghans for Afghans with the remainder...but that will have to wait.

For now, I will excitedly wind up my STR Monsoon to make my honey his first pair of hand-knit socks. Having just gotten More Sensational Knitted Socks, I may try a pair from there, or the Cable Ribs from Favorite Socks...so many choices, and he is leaving the design up to me!

Tag, You're It!

Yesterday my Dish Rag Tag box arrived from my teammate, Missy. She sent me an adorable, bright dishcloth that looked like it was knitted in an entrelac design. She also included two balls of Sugar'n Cream Dishcloth Cotton, which I promptly cast on for the Mason Dixon BallBand Dishcloth. I finished it in about an hour, while catching up on the knitting Podcasts that had built up in my iTunes folder while I was on vacation.
Today the box with my dishcloth and a few goodies will be on its way to the next teammate on our list, Amanda. Good luck, Amanda!


I am also in the home stretch (down to the toe decreases) on my current Ridged Feather Pattern sock, and my DH has agreed that he would like some socks--yay! I have 2 different skeins of Socks That Rock Medium Weight--a Rare Gems skein in hues of rust, and the Monsoon colorway that was this year's first Sock Club offering. I'll measure his foot this weekend and work with him on choosing a pattern and one of these skeins (which I hope will be enough for a pair of men's socks!) I'm looking forward to this project.

And finally, I've finished the back of Gatsby Girl and cast on the front. I hope it fits, it looks like it will, but as it has negative ease for a close fit, it will be hard to tell until I actually put it over my head, I think. Given the rate at which I've been knitting it, that will be awhile.

Tag, You're It!

Yesterday my Dish Rag Tag box arrived from my teammate, Missy. She sent me an adorable, bright dishcloth that looked like it was knitted in an entrelac design. She also included two balls of Sugar'n Cream Dishcloth Cotton, which I promptly cast on for the Mason Dixon BallBand Dishcloth. I finished it in about an hour, while catching up on the knitting Podcasts that had built up in my iTunes folder while I was on vacation.
Today the box with my dishcloth and a few goodies will be on its way to the next teammate on our list, Amanda. Good luck, Amanda!


I am also in the home stretch (down to the toe decreases) on my current Ridged Feather Pattern sock, and my DH has agreed that he would like some socks--yay! I have 2 different skeins of Socks That Rock Medium Weight--a Rare Gems skein in hues of rust, and the Monsoon colorway that was this year's first Sock Club offering. I'll measure his foot this weekend and work with him on choosing a pattern and one of these skeins (which I hope will be enough for a pair of men's socks!) I'm looking forward to this project.

And finally, I've finished the back of Gatsby Girl and cast on the front. I hope it fits, it looks like it will, but as it has negative ease for a close fit, it will be hard to tell until I actually put it over my head, I think. Given the rate at which I've been knitting it, that will be awhile.

My Sockapalooza Socks Have Arrived!

I came home from work a couple of days ago at the end of a hot, steamy, bad traffic day, and saw a box awaiting me--my Sockapalooza socks were here! I had almost forgotten that along with GIVING socks, I would also be GETTING socks!

My Sock Pal is the best! Karen is so sweet and made me the most gorgeous socks: The Waterfall Rib Pattern from one of my favorite sock books, Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is Koigu KPPM in a beautiful green and lavender colorway--I'm afraid my photos (since it's a gloomy, rainy day today) don't do it justice. They fit PERFECTLY.


Also in the box was the new Vogue Knitting 25th Anniversary issue, which I had been dying for since before we went on vacation! There was also a delicious raspberry grapefruit hand lotion, a pretty package of stationery, a lovely blank book and a roll of Baroque-patterned ribbon. All just wonderful gifts--THANK YOU SO MUCH, KAREN!!


I was happy to hear that my socks were received in Australia by Celia, and they fit her too! So all is very well in Sockapalooza land. I would definitely do this swap again.

My Sockapalooza Socks Have Arrived!

I came home from work a couple of days ago at the end of a hot, steamy, bad traffic day, and saw a box awaiting me--my Sockapalooza socks were here! I had almost forgotten that along with GIVING socks, I would also be GETTING socks!

My Sock Pal is the best! Karen is so sweet and made me the most gorgeous socks: The Waterfall Rib Pattern from one of my favorite sock books, Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is Koigu KPPM in a beautiful green and lavender colorway--I'm afraid my photos (since it's a gloomy, rainy day today) don't do it justice. They fit PERFECTLY.


Also in the box was the new Vogue Knitting 25th Anniversary issue, which I had been dying for since before we went on vacation! There was also a delicious raspberry grapefruit hand lotion, a pretty package of stationery, a lovely blank book and a roll of Baroque-patterned ribbon. All just wonderful gifts--THANK YOU SO MUCH, KAREN!!


I was happy to hear that my socks were received in Australia by Celia, and they fit her too! So all is very well in Sockapalooza land. I would definitely do this swap again.

Knitting in Spain

We got back from vacation a few nights ago. We had a wonderful trip to Spain, and I had a great time tracking down the list of LYS's that Maria-Jose, a Barcelona knitter, had recommended to me several months ago when I think I saw a blog post of hers somewhere in this funny, warm online knitting community that we have.

One of the shops was cool because it was in the Old City section of Barcelona, dating from Roman times, and the shop, Persones Llanes, is actually on a street called Placa de la Llana ("Wool Square"). How cool is that?

I was good and didn't buy yarn, as most of what they carried included brands that I can easily get here, although they did have some interesting hempy kinds of things that might have been fun to try. I never made it to the shops on Maria-Jose's list that sell Katia, a yarn made in Spain--I might have bought that just because I was there.

We did a lot of driving within Spain before we got to Barcelona, and there were the plane rides, so I did get a fair amount of knitting done (although none in the 48 hours that we've been home--mail, laundry, etc. are intruding!). I am making good progress on the Gatsby Girl, and am now on the lace part of the back. But given that I then have to do the front and the sleeves, it will be awhile before that baby is done. I also made good progress on the leg of my current sock #2, and even more progress on the Midwest Moonlight scarf. Now that I know that the Red Scarf Project is much earlier this year (scarves need to be sent by October 15), I may use the Moonlight Madness scarf for that purpose. We'll see.

Knitting in Spain

We got back from vacation a few nights ago. We had a wonderful trip to Spain, and I had a great time tracking down the list of LYS's that Maria-Jose, a Barcelona knitter, had recommended to me several months ago when I think I saw a blog post of hers somewhere in this funny, warm online knitting community that we have.

One of the shops was cool because it was in the Old City section of Barcelona, dating from Roman times, and the shop, Persones Llanes, is actually on a street called Placa de la Llana ("Wool Square"). How cool is that?

I was good and didn't buy yarn, as most of what they carried included brands that I can easily get here, although they did have some interesting hempy kinds of things that might have been fun to try. I never made it to the shops on Maria-Jose's list that sell Katia, a yarn made in Spain--I might have bought that just because I was there.

We did a lot of driving within Spain before we got to Barcelona, and there were the plane rides, so I did get a fair amount of knitting done (although none in the 48 hours that we've been home--mail, laundry, etc. are intruding!). I am making good progress on the Gatsby Girl, and am now on the lace part of the back. But given that I then have to do the front and the sleeves, it will be awhile before that baby is done. I also made good progress on the leg of my current sock #2, and even more progress on the Midwest Moonlight scarf. Now that I know that the Red Scarf Project is much earlier this year (scarves need to be sent by October 15), I may use the Moonlight Madness scarf for that purpose. We'll see.