Sea Monster!

I finished my Juno Regina. It's a tad shorter than the pattern calls which makes it just the right size for me.

I think I like it most as a scarf. It'll be warm and loverly come winter. The pattern is a bit odd and the middle is quite a bit tedious but I'm like the finished thing so much it's all ok.

When you call it a Sea Monster the diamonds look like scales. Random action shot by Mr. Gnome, he insisted I put it in.

Virginia Yarn

I did a lurking version of the Fingerless Glove Fanatics monthly knit along. This month we voted on color and could do any pattern in that color. Purple won by a lot. When I was in Virginia I got some purple Malabrigo Yarn. Oh my gosh I love this yarn. I hadn't knit with it before it is so nice and soft and pretty. I made Fetching and added an extra cable to the top and bottom.

When I was in Virginia a bunch of the knitting shops were doing a kind of yarn crawl. You got this bag and then for a some amount of time could take the bag to all of those shops on the bag and get %15 off. My mom and I went to three shops it was a bunch of fun and as you can see my bag is a little full.

Big Bag

Before we left on our trip I finished the Laptop bag. The top here has so many mistakes it's crazy. Hopefully they aren't too obvious but if they are I'm not loosing sleep over it.

The back doesn't have nearly the mistakes that the front has. Ahh sweet repetition.

I bought this as a kit and ran out of yarn. You can see how the blues change better on the front. It goes light, medium, dark, medium light. Well part of the way through the second medium I ran out of that blue. I wanted this bag done before we left so I could use it so I just started the light blue early. I also ran out earlier than I would have even if I hadn't had to change to it early. Which is why there is that weird dark strip on the bottom of the bag.

The pattern called this to be knit in the round the steaked and the openings to be sewn shut. Now this means sewing two edges and steaking. I took the easy or you could even call it the chicken way out and just sewed up one side and put the zipper in on the long side of the knitting. This was a lot less work. Maybe I'm lazy, maybe I'm chicken whatever the bag is done. I'm not in love with it. I made a lot of mistakes and it's a little too big. It's not really I style I like either so that probably has something to do with it. It was a challenge and that's why I wanted to do it. I guess next time I should do something that's a challenge that I also really like.

Peaches & Blueberries

Last week The Bug and I went Peach and Blueberry picking. We've made Blueberry Muffins, a Peach and Blueberry Tart, and Strawberry-Peach Preserves with frozen strawberries we'd picked earlier in the year.

And Blueberry Cheesecake Bars I froze for a treat later in the year. Sadly, I've been a bad blogger and this is the only picture I've taken of the stuff I've been cooking. It all looked really yummy and was quite good... Bad blogger mommy bad.
I also got to try out our new dehydrator I got from my mom who got from a friend who was getting rid of hers. Confused? Anyway. I didn't realize how long it takes to dehydrate stuff and was up and down until 1am last night checking on the peaches and putting them away. Next time my timing will be better.

The Lone Dwarf

I seemed to be the lone dwarf in the One Shawl to Rule Them All knit-along. Just call me Gimli.

This is another FO I finished before leaving on the trip. After cursing my way through the edging and trying multiple ideas I finally settled on whatever it is I did.I like the size though maybe a bit big for a dwarf. Though if I consider that I'm a gnome and gnomes are smaller than dwarfs it might actually be a bit small for a dwarf. I like it quite a bit and look forward to weather that lends itself more to shawl wearing.

Stripes

After I finished the Traveling Socks and needed something else to knit during the drive I picked up this dress I'd started for The Bug.

Lots and Lots of knitting around and around and around... The shade change happens at the skirt and I'm still hoping it'll look neat instead of like a stash busting project. The Bug is excited to have another dress so at least she'll be happy.

Sewmthing Different

Before we left on our trip I finished a skirt.

Back when we did the tie dying I died some fabric.

Then using a book I'd gotten last year I made a wrap around a-lined skirt.

It was easy and not at all as frustrating as I usually find sewing to be. The book, Sew What! Skirts, has you take your own measurements and make a pattern to fit you.

The Tale of the Traveling Sock Part 3

West Virginia.

We went to Virginia Beach while in VA and I knit quite a bit on that bit of the trip too.

Kentucky

Indiana

Illinois.
You may be able to tell that this sock is inside out. It is actually the first sock having it's ends woven in. I had already woven in the ends of the second sock.

Missouri.

Well ok not Missouri but it's the view everyone knows of St Louis from Illinois.

I finished the socks just after getting into IL. It didn't take long for me to be very thankful of the socks and having something to do. I pulled out another project. I really thought I'd only get one regular sized sock done during all this driving. Boy was I wrong!

These are my July Socks for the knit along. The August ones have been started.

Oh the FOs I have to show, Oh the WIPs I have! Another time.

The Tale of the Traveling Sock Part 2

In order above going into Massachusettes, Connecticut (you can see the binding off has started), New York (Sock Number 2), New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland

And finally into Virginia! Now I'm in Central Virginia and have gotten almost half way through the heel turn. The finished first sock comes Almost up to my knee. Crazy!