New socks

Here are the new socks I finished this tonight. What do you think?

I think I'll get back to my sweater now and finish the sleeves.

I also found the pattern for another pair of socks I need to finish. I will probably find some time to work on them this weekend.

I have a lot of sewing to finish in the next two weeks as well. I hope I can manage to get it all done.

More Socks

I have finished most of another pair of socks. I would have completed it today - but I discovered and error right after I finished the heel. Of course I had started to decrease the toe before I noticed it.

My cuticles are almost healed. This makes knitting much less painful.

I did some more rearranging in my work room. It's still an abominable mess. I threw away an enormous bag of garbage away. I also found and put in binders an amazing number of knitting patterns.

I have two shelves of space available for bins from the basement. If my back didn't spasm at the mere thought of moving heavy things I'd go and bring a few up. I hope that the muscles relax soon.

Wool Withdrawal

I have had no time to knit this week, so far.

I have finished a lot of sewing though and I only have 100 messages to get through and my email will be all caught up.

The weather here has been very nice and I do not want to sit in my office all day. I want to be out in the Spring enjoying the sunshine.

I have some really painful cracks in my skin of my fingers. It's mostly nerves. Up until last Friday I had most of them healed up but when I'm under stress I tend to worry my cuticles, usually without noticing, until they start to bleed. This makes everything from typing to knitting painful. As a nervous habit goes it's small but I'd really like to quit doing it.

Tonight I am staining the last of the trim work. (Hahahahaha) We have only trimwork left but there is quite a bit of it. We hope to be all done in a couple weeks. But then we've hoped that for a while now.

And we have cast off!

Here they are - my loud socks.

I love Koigu colors. They are some of the best. Some day I'd like to knit an entire sweater with Koigu. But for now I'll just settle for lovely socks, many pairs of lovely socks.

And now!

a whole sock! And part of a leg! The colors are much LOUDER in person. I absolutely love it!

I can't wait to finish the other one so I can wear them. I might even have to make another pair. In purple and lime!

You will see

There is sock (well, there is leg and heel of sock) and soon there will be picture.

It has been a very nice break from the cardigan.

I hope to finish the gusset and get to the toe tonight, after my time in remodeling purgatory.

Tomorrow we grout, some more.

Insanity IS my natural state of being

As if the sweater thing wasn't enough, along with the remodeling and the SCA thing, I've decided to join the Sock of the Month Knit Along 3. Mwwahahahahaha! I need more socks. I have the will and the yarn. Now I just need a 36 hour day!

Now where are my sock patterns? The sock yarn is all sorted in a box on the shelf and I have several socks started so I'll start there and do some finishing up. It will help me get my sewing room cleaned and organized though so that is a Good Thing.

Floor Galore

We have finished most of the flooring. Just some grout left. Yay!

I also finished the body of my cardigan - LOOK!

I'm so pleased with how it turned out. It is quite nice. I have started the sleeves. I'm doing them both at the same time on one circular. I like it as much as I like making socks that way. It will be nice to have them both done - but it is not a relaxing way for me to knit.

I ordered a new sock book "My Favorite Socks" and I'm still waiting for it. I'm not really sure I'd have time to actually knit any socks but I'd like to fondle the book.

I hope to find some time to start the socks for the Socks That Rock. I also have a skein of Sock That Rock yarn that I got from from a secret pal exchange. It came with a delightful pattern and I'm want to knit those up too. I have both my skein winder and my ball winder in the same place at the same time now so chances are pretty good I'll be able to get the yarn balled this time.

I am also thinking about posting a tutorial for left handed knitting. I can get my daughter to help take pictures. I'm just not sure I have the actual skill to produce a decent page that can be downloaded for use. I'll bet I have friends that will help me though.

Knitting Camp

My mother and I are signed up for knitting camp. I'm not really sure how they decide who gets in but I'm hoping!

I managed to get one whole row done on my cardigan since Sunday.

Passmentarie: I made a sample of a finger braid. According to the directions you can make longer ones if you have a second person help. I'm going to make Liz be my little assistant. That should go over well. As long as she is in a good mood it will be fine.

Tomorrow we start putting down the floor! I'm so ready for this job to be done!

Very Productive!

The weekend was very productive. The railings on the second and to the second floor are installed. The main floor is all painted. We have started prepping the floor for the tile work. I also got the first coat on the last remaining wall in the second floor bath.

I have started the neck shaping on the cardigan. I was at 20.75 inches last night, with 2 inches to go for the back neck shaping! I had a lot of stop and go when the pattern changed from in the round to back and forth. If I get lucky I might get the body done and the sleeves started this week, in between time spent tiling the main floor.

I also got a picture of the sweater I made my mother. You can't see the lovely cables. She said that she had a better picture and will send it. If I get one the shows the cables well I'll post it.

Today my daughter wore the lovely red and white mittens I made her. I don't know why but it makes me happy when she wears/uses stuff I made her. Today has been a good day.

Post storm

We have FEET of snow. I got the car out of the driveway but I couldn't get it back in. I did get it in far enough that it isn't on the street, but only just.

We have almost completed the stair railing for the new story. We can't work on the old stairwell until the tile is down. By this time next week!

I have reached the all red portion of the cardigan. I'll try to post pictures soon.

My mother and I are talking about a Kilim sweater (from Philosopher's Wool) knit along. We both have the yarn and the pattern. It is on the list of things I should knit this year. The problem is getting her to be brave enough to try to post a picture. So I am cheering for her - RAH RAH RAH - she can do it! It will be great fun to work on this project together and watch each other's progress.

Still no knitting

I am so close to done with the cardigan. Really close. But I have been busy with the house. The staircase is enclosed now and we have started setting the railing around the stair opening.

I'm having wool withdrawal.

I took my daughter to the Dr. yesterday. For the last couple of weeks she has had a very swollen toe. They took xrays, it's not broken and there was no damage that would account for the swelling. They are doing some bloodwork. I hope they learn something. I don't think we need anymore unexplained medical mysteries around here.

I really need to get some more sewing done this week but I don't know when I'm going to get time. Unless I get up at 4am.

Someday this will all be done, right?

Crappy weather

The weather here is crappy. Cold, snowy, rain.

I'm sitting in my sewing room knitting and watching bad movies.

I really want to finish my red and white sweater but I have things to sew as well. Too many things to do, too little time.

I have a lot of socks to knit, too.

I will be a busy girl this year.

A great lack of knitting

There hasn't been much knitting this week.

Tuesday evening I picked up my friend and bought him to my house, since his car was here. I left after work and after all the visiting and dinner we didn't get home until late.

Last night I went to a meeting. It was actually better than I thought it would be. I am still at a loss about what is wrong with a nice, year-round, free meeting place with room for all of us and space for storage.

Tonight we will be working on the house and probably Friday as well. Saturday I'm gone with friends and Sunday, working on the house.

The upside is that I'm almost done with my cardigan body. The red/white patterning is about 30 rows from done and then just the red patterning is left, then on to the sleeves! It is hard to be so close and to not be able to work on it.

In two weeks I am laying the tile in my house. The Last Floor. I have to gather all the bank documents and send them over this week. It's all coming together (I hope!)

The Weekend

I spent Sunday at a KnitOut. It was great fun and I have no idea how many people I helped to knit. But there were many. We got a great coupon book from the MOA but we missed all the 'vendor' goodies, since we were busy teaching instead of shopping. I conned my friend Liz into coming along. It is amazing what the promise of a trip to IKEA will talk her into.

I spent today putting together the dressers I bought at IKEA, then filling them with clothing and other stuff. My bedroom is amazingly clean, but I didn't get much else done.

I should spend some time this evening hauling boxes upstairs. I have about 1/2 of my stuff from downstairs upstairs now.

My spouse finished putting together the stair case this weekend. It is very nice. It is closer and closer to done everyday.

Progress

Here is the progress on my cardigan.

It is going pretty well. I think I'm going to try knitting both sleeves on one circular. Seeing as how well I liked that with socks it should go well. It does work well to make sure that both sleeves are the same.

Saint Valentine's Day

So here I am at home with my daughter. My sweet little Valentine.

My spouse works late. But my daughter wanted pizza for her Valentine. So - no cooking!

I have succumbed to the draw of Elizabeth Zimmerman and I have started a little blanket. It will use some 'lovely' acrylic yarn that I picked up for 25 cents a skein/ball a few years ago. It will keep me warm on these cold nights while I knit all those sweaters I have to knit this year.

9 Sweaters?! Great Ooggly Mooogly!

Next up

So the Poetry in Stitches Cardigan is next. Probably because it is only two colors and I don't have to follow the chart too closely.

Wednesday is the last day to put in a guess as to how many sweaters I'll knit this year.

Kate asks if sweaters started before 2007 count. The short answer is - Maybe. In order to count there must be a significant portion of the sweater not yet knitted. At this point the only incomplete sweaters in my house that don't count are Rogue (it just needs one sleeve sewn in) and my mother's cardigan (which just needs sleeves sewn in and a button band put on). Everything else is fair game.

Kate allowed us to borrow her router. My husband has finished cutting to size and routering 1/2 of the treads and all of the risers for out new stair case. He plans to have it done by the time I get back on Saturday. I think I will be taking days off next week to put down the tile. We'll see.

One down!

Here it is - Laela. All ends woven in and ready to wear.

I spent today hauling up more stuff from the basement. This makes the sewing room a nearly complete disaster area. I have been sorting sock kits, putting the yarn with the pattern. I've also spent some time unknitting things I didn't like once I'd gotten them started. I'll bag that yarn up and save it until I find another pattern I like.
Better than wasting both the time and the yarn.

I'm getting ready to finish up another sweater. Either AS Mary Tudor or the cardigan from Poetry in Stitches.

The BIG weekend

The weekend was a blast. I got all dressed up (I found shoes - Nordstroms carries some styles in wide AND the guy found me a regular pair from Enzo Asomethingini, that tend to run wide - they were perfect!), had dinner with my husband and friends. We danced and drank, but not too much. I have pictures. And perhaps I'll get brave and post some.

Progress continues on Laela. I'm working on the yoke.

Walker's sweater is ready to be blocked and sewn up.

For the record Laela counts, Walker's does not. :)