Knits at Sunset

Ok so five...umm ok. The black blob is the nearing completion sweater that I feel is taking forever. Finish sleeve and then some sewing. It's supposed to be 91 Monday....sigh. Then the big red blob is the January KAL shawl that also feels like it is taking forever! Maybe this is what happens when one knits everything on size 3 needles....hmmmm.
Then there is the row of greens. Really hadn't noticed how much green until I plopped it there on the ground. The first is technically on the needles in that it is yarn and it is wrapped around needles. This is the mystery pattern and well it's just not me. So it isn't long for the needles. Then is Frick getting it's leg re-knit, just the cuff left on that. Lastly is the tenth and supposed final pair of short socks for summer use.
Oh my....A lot of almost-dones though. So maybe next week's Knits at Sunset will be totally different!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama and followed by Life with Will & Quinn.

Yard Work

Love that feeling of working in the yard. Making it all look a bit more cozy and intended back there. Seeing stuff coming back and looking good. Then when you are done that feeling of contentment and physical tired. The weather has been so nice it's been hard not to do too much, not to plant more. Have to remember; it's only March.
Raspberry bushes are looking really great. Weeded and mulched. Weeds, specifically the viney kind are a real problem where they.
The Bug helped. She enjoys chopping those pesky vines.
This front bed is the next on the list of to dos. The Rue is Huge and I want to move it to the back yard, where, in theory, it should deter the Japanese beetles and mosquitoes. We need all the help we can get with the latter. Then I can plant some flowering something where to Rue is now giving this lovely green bed some much needed color. The sage, as always, needs a good trim. I can't believe the Parsley over wintered. I generally can't get the stuff to last the summer!

The Madness: Rnd 2

Technically Done. Technically as in I knit it....but due to gauge issues only the second one fits. This is Frick N Frack. Frick (the one on the ground) is knit toe up with and afterthought heel. Frack (the one I'm wearing) is knit cuff down again with the afterthought heel.
Now why doesn't Frick fit but Frack does? Well I can learn, slowly, but it does eventually sink in. Frick was fitting fine on the foot but as soon as those lovely cables and moss stitch got to my leg it just pulled it way to much for me to get on. Ah well. It being the madness I didn't want to rip back just finished the sock. Then with Frack I used bigger needles for the leg and went back down to the smaller ones on the foot. The plan is to rip Frick back to the heel and reknit the leg with the larger needles. Later....when my hands have stopped hurting.
The yarn. Oooh the yarn. No idea what it is. Total mystery stuff. Not really sure it's a natural anything. I got it as three balls from the Upcycle Exchange. That alone makes it cool.

Nine

It's appropriate that nine is my favorite number and these, the ninth pair of short socks for summer use are my favorite pair so far.
All those different colors! That is what I was really hoping for when I started this crazy plan. And really these have been great socks to knit in the spring. They kept popping out more and more color just like the flowers and trees outside.
Shhhh don't tell anyone but the garden is coming up really well so far.

The Next Mystery

The March installment for Janel Laidmen's Kniterati came out on Friday. In this mystery they are in a tree house high above the forest. So I tried to make my yarn like the forest. Lots of green with flecks of brown thrown in.
I used a lot of green food coloring. Then separately mixed one packet of cherry Kool Aid and one packet of Blue Berry Kool Aid and sprinkled this mess onto the yarn. It kind of made the entire thing darker as well as adding darker spots. You can't see the darker spots too much on the cake. I was too excited to start the pattern to remember to take a picture before I balled it up.

Pop

Spring is popping up everywhere around here.Here is the January Knit along shawl...almost done....It's March...ah well. There is also a tulip! Last year The Bug planted a tulip in the Children's Garden at the Botanical Garden on their closing weekend. She was also given one to bring home and plant. And there it is. It came up and lived and we didn't kill it. I get excited about these things. And it's pink. We only knew it was a tulip, not what color. The Bug is pretty tickled about that. There she is planting the tulip in the garden. See all those little sticks in the bed behind her? Those are all tulips kids planted. Oh it's going to be pretty!

Winner!

I won the race! Just barely as you can see that wee little ball is all that was left when I finished. woooh.

The socks are Slide and were in the October shipment of the Cookie A Pattern Club last year. Funky patter with neat decreasing for the gusset. Mr. Gnome wore them the day I finished them. I've only just been able to tie him down long enough to take this picture. It's been a few weeks since we've really gotten to see much of him. The last two days he took off and that was a nice treat. I think we'll see him again in April.
And now the eighth short sock for summer use. Gray from this sock, gray from this sock, blue/green from this sock and purple from this sock. This is also my 200th project on Ravelry! Wow....Is that amazing or crazy?
Two more to get me how many I think I'll need for summer without having to wash socks too often. Then you ask? Oh then, then, I am excited to start this crazy project. The Bee Keeper's Quilt. Oh with all this cute little hexipuffs. And so many people have designed color work ones to fit all your geeky interests. Oh it'll be fun!

Party like you are 7

Today was the Bug's Party. We had wonderful weather to accompany all of our wonderful friends.
There was lots of playing a fair amount of eating and of course cake. Cupcakes, heart shaped cupcakes actually. The Bug loves picking her theme for her birthday party, she talks about it for months leading up. This year the them was love. So naturally lots of hearts. See that great pink frosting? That is frozen strawberries thawed, cooked down, pureed, then a ton of confectioners sugar added. Best natural pink I've gotten yet. And it tastes like strawberries!
To go with her theme The Bug decorated a shirt with lots of heart faces. Happy, sad, laughing, scared and even sick hearts.
A few weeks ago she asked if I was going to make her something for her birthday. She said she always likes it when I make her a present. Now how can you argue with that? I had plans to make her this skirt so I figured this was a good time. I wrapped the graphic novels I'd bought her in the skirt, wrote her a birthday note and left it on her bed to find on the morning of her birthday. This also had the nice side affect of her not waking us up early with excitement.

7

Wow. How did this happen. 7. Every year since five I've said wow that is just too big. How could this have happened. Ah well here she is.
Full of energy. Never cold if she can be believed.
Full of ideas.
Always wanting to be making something.
Finding all sorts of ways to play.
Always ready for a big laugh.
This kid sure knows how to enjoy life.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

Racing

A pair of socks half a round from the toe.
A ball of yarn dwindling to nothing.
Who will finish first?

The Madness: Rnd 1

Yes my pretties it is that time of year again! Sock Madness!!!! 7 Rounds of competitive knitting plus one optional round. Optional, ha!, like there is an option for the obsessed!
Round one was/is Dicey. In which we roll dice to determine whether to cable.
Oh and you know I love random. So you know I loved this sock. I didn't go crazy knitting it. I slept, fed the family, showered. It's only round one after all and we have two hole weeks to complete the socks. I finished there babies in just over three days.
Being that this sock required dice; I used three one for each cable on each needle, I devised this bit o' genius for carrying them around without loosing them. Oh heck, let's be honest, I would have lost them sitting in one place on the couch. This solved that problem. It was however a bit loud when I'd shake it. Thus stopping my fellow knitters at knit group in mid sentence for them to stare and ask what in the world I was doing. My answer: Sock Madness. Really I think it's all the explanation one needs.
The yarn is Becoming Art and the picture of it there with the dice is probable the best representation of it. Nice jewel like purple. I got it at Sock Summit last summer.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.