Ten on Tuesday

It's time to get in the holiday spirit and what better way to do that than by enjoying some Christmas music!  This week's prompt from Carole is....

 10 Favorite Christmas Albums

1. A Fresh Aire Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller.  If truth be told, 1-5 should be Mannheim albums because we have them all and listen to all of them every year. Repeatedly!  But I'm going to consider them only once.  I chose this album because of Veni, Veni.  There is something about this piece that just speaks to me.  Here is a link for you to enjoy if you'd like

2. Smooth Jazz Christmas by Dave Koz and Friends. I discovered Dave Koz a few years ago and really enjoy his music. He's a talented Jazz musician!
3. A Very Special Christmas, the first one that has the red cover.  We have a little dance party to Run Rudolph Run by Bryan Adams every year :-)
4. Boogie Woogie Christmas by Brian Setzer Orchestra.  There is a song on this album called Cactus Christmas that is my husband's favorite.  Imagine a cowboy singing about Christmas, by the campfire with his trusty horse, and you've got the vibe.  Fun album!
5. Miracles: The Holiday Album by Kenny G.  I find this to be a nice instrumental album
6. December by George Winston.  This is a classic and one I find to be soothing.
7. On a Cold Winter's Night by Ed Gerhard. Ed is a local musician for me, and when I say local, I mean he lives and records in my town.  He is an amazing guitarist and the benefit concert he does every year at our Grange Hall/Community Club is a sold out/ standing room only affair.
8. Christmas by Michael Buble.  He is a smooth crooner and we enjoy him very much!

And now, I'm drawing a blank.  Don't you just hate it when that happens?  But from reading the lists of the few other people that are participating this week, I am looking forward to getting the James Taylor at Christmas album and the Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack.

Enjoy the Holidays!

Vodka Gimlet

I am so excited to show you this finished sweater! I have finished my Vodka Gimlet and I love it. It is knit top down in one piece, mostly stockinette, but has just the right amount of detail to dress it up.

This beautiful slipped stitch detail is at the waist and since I was able to try this on as I went, I managed to place it almost perfectly.  I probably could have started it a bit earlier than I did, but it's close enough.  You can also see that the detail is knit again at the hem line.

The detail is also on the collar.  There is a little bit of short rowing on the collar to give it just a bit of a shawl collar.  It's small enough that it can be worn folded over a bit or standing up.

I'm also pretty pleased with how well I did picking up for the collar.  I got it on my first try!  There's no puckering or bunching and I had the right number of stitches to make the 2x2 rib end where I wanted it to.

The yarn is The Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted in the color Barn Door.  I got this at the Plucky Knitter Trunk Show at Another Yarn in January where I also had the pleasure of meeting Sarah, dyer extraordinaire, her sister Hayley, who helped me pick out 8 well matched skeins for this, and Thea, who is the wonderful designer Babycocktails.

Now that this sweater is finished, and I'm so happy with it, all I want to do is cast on 3 more Babycocktail designs!  I really need to knock out a few Christmas gifts though first.  I'm tempted though... Maybe I can use that as incentive :-)

Ten on Tuesday

It's the week after Thanksgiving, and so it's officially the Christmas season.  With that came a cold front this weekend and suddenly I. Am. Cold!  It's time to re-evaluate my mitten collection and add to it.  Again, perfect timing with 10 on Tuesday as Carole's prompt this week is:

10 Mittens/Mitts I'd Like to Make

I merely had to go to my Ravelry queue to get me started today :-)

1. Winter Wonder Mittens - I'll admit that I've already started these, but stranded colorwork and magic loop are not a god combination for me.  My floats are too short going from needle 1 to needle 2, so they need to be frogged and restarted with dpn's

2. Postwar Mittens - I just love these and the color combinations are endless!

3. Breathe Deep - The pattern on the hand is simple but interesting.

4. Swansea - I like the texture of these.  The bobbles remind me of little snowballs.

5.  Eugenia's Mittens - I really like the cable on these.

6. Cloisonee - A simple mitten with some fun on the cuff!

7. Snowflakes in Starry Skies Mittens - More snowflake mittens, but these have snowflakes on the palm too.

8. Green Autumn - I've loved these for a long time!  Initially I couldn't find the Vogue Knitting magazine that they were published in, but now I can get the pattern through Ravelry!

9. Genmaicha - These have been in my queue for a long time!  Maybe I'll finally get to them this year.

10. Susie Rogers' Reading Mitts - this is another pattern that I've had in my queue for a long time.  I'm thinking about making these for my book group Yankee Swap.  I think they'd be perfect!

Honorable Mention - I just had to add one more, Clepsydra.  I've actually made these once before, but the yarn I substituted had a really different row gauge so they ended up ridiculously too long.  I'd like to try them again with a different yarn and a little more confidence to modify the length if necessary.

These are some of the mittens I'd like to make.  How about you?  If you'd like some more ideas be sure to check out the links on Carole's Blog. I expect my queue is going to grow a LOT today!

Visiting

Last weekend we went to Alabama to visit my middle son, Justin.  We had a fantastic time!  We brought our youngest son, Chandler, with us too.  He is a junior in high school and has no idea what he wants to do for college, so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do a school visit.  It gave him an idea as to what a big Division 1 school, far from home, would be like.  So we started our weekend with an official school tour Friday morning.  (Typical teenager, can't do anything without his phone :-))

Then we headed over to Justin's apartment to meet up with him.  As it turned out, all 3 of the boys that he lives and a few other kids from the waterski team had their families visiting last weekend too! The boys decided to have a party so everybody could meet.

Here's a little glimpse of his apartment.  I don't know about you, but the places I lived in as a student were no where near as nice as this!  He lives in a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom townhouse, fully applianced and furnished including a washer & dryer with utilities included to a capped amount.  It is off-campus housing that caters to students and very common in Tuscaloosa.  They also have a clubhouse with a pool, hot tub, pool tables, movie theater, fitness center, etc.  Amazing.

Anyway, it didn't take much encouragement for the moms to jump into action and start throwing some food together.  The dads manned the grills, and supervised the keg and cigars.  One set of parents came prepared to make margaritas.  After dinner, there was a rousing game of beer pong with father/son teams.  It was pretty hilarious and probably not all that different from a regular game weekend :-)

Saturday was Game Day! We headed over to the Quad to enjoy the festivities.  I have never seen anything like it!  EZ-Up tents were as far as the eye could see and they were fully decked out. Lots of food, tables decorated with tablecloths and flowers, flat screen TV's playing all the pre-game stuff, and if you can imagine it it was probably there!

The game was a lot of fun.  It was the first time that Alabama and Texas A&M had met since A&M joined the SEC Conference.  Sadly, UA lost, but it was a fun game to watch.  I really enjoyed the marching bands. This is the A&M band, who happened to be staying at the same hotel we were at.

And the UA band.  It's a little hard to make out, but they spelled out USA and played music to honor each of the branches of our military.

Here we are enjoying the game. We had great seats on the 30 yd line, 27 rows up on the visitor side.

Before the game, the band percussion section did a show on the Quad.  Here is a small section of it. I hope you enjoy it!  As a former band geek myself, I loved it!


So that was our weekend!  I had a great time, but the best part about the entire weekend was seeing my son, in his element, doing his thing and enjoying his friends. I am a lucky mom that I got to see and experience that.  It makes it a little easier to have him so far from home when I know first hand how happy he is.

WiP Wednesday

It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged. There hasn't been as much knitting as usual going on for me. We had some storm prep to do for Hurricane Sandy, which we survived just fine fortunately. We also went to visit our son in Alabama for a few days, and while we were gone we had our wood floors refinished, so there was lots of preparation to get read for that too.  But let me show you what knitting I have been working on.

I joined the Mystery Sock KAL on SKA.  The designer is Erica Lueder who is well known for her textured patterns, especially her Harry Potter themed patterns.  This is Moody's Secret Stockings.  I'm just about finished with clue 2.  Clue 3 will be out tomorrow.

I'm also working on one of the patterns from Cookie's October Sock Club shipment.  I'm using one of the Hazel Knits October colors for this pattern and saving the club yarn for the other pattern.

I'm just about finished the body of Lilianna.  I'll be binding the body off tonight and starting on the sleeves.  Hopefully the next time you see this it will be a FO.

I have about 4" to go to finish the first sleeve of Vodka Gimlet.  And again, hopefully the next time you see this it will also be a FO.

So that's what's on my needles this week!  How about you?

Girl on Fire

I only have one pair of finished socks for October and it is a pair that I started in September to participate in 3 KAL's.  I missed the deadline for The Cookie Crumbs group, but I finished in time for the Hazel Knits group which was a designer challenge, and Sock Knitter's Anonymous which was a technique challenge.  The technique was for everybody to knit with the same color and the color selected was red.

The designer challenge was any pattern by Rose Hiver.  I chose Katniss, a pattern inspired by the heroine of The Hunger Games books.  Katniss always wears her hair in a braid and this pattern features a braided cable on the front and back.  It also has a great ribbed gusset that I really enjoyed doing.

The Details:

Pattern: Katniss by Rose Hiver

Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, color Barn Door

Needle: 2.25mm

Mods: None

Now I'm getting settled in for Hurricane Sandy.  I've been to the store and stocked up on food that I can prepare without needing to use the oven.  The generator is out and checked, and gas has been purchased for it.  Hopefully we won't need it, but where I live if the power goes out for weather related reasons, it's out for at least 3 days.  The only thing left to do now is knit!  If you're on the east coast too, I hope you're all settled in too and that you'll be safe!

Ten on Tuesday

Halloween is next week and it's time to think about preparing for all the little ghosts, goblins, princesses, super heroes and their friends who will stop by hoping for a treat. Honestly I get way too stressed about this!  I don't want to give out crappy candy, so what is the right candy?  The BEST candy...?  How perfect is it that this week's 10 on Tuesday prompt is:

10 Favorite Candies in Your Trick or Treat Bag

These are some of the treats that I loved finding in my bag as a kid!

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2. Milky Way
3. M&M's
4. Kit Kat Bar
5. Tootsie Pop
6. $100,000 Bar, although now I think it's called $100 Grand
7. Hershey Bar
8. Junior Mints
9. Milk Duds
10. Whoppers

Looking back at my list, I sense a theme.  There's chocolate in every single one of those!  And I remember the thrill I would feel if there was a FULL SIZE candy bar!  So that's what I do, give out full size bars.  I usually only get about 20 trick or treater's in my neighborhood, so it's something that I can afford to do. The looks on their faces when I drop that in their bag is priceless :-)

Thanks Carole for another fun topic!

Dovetail Cowl

I think I may have found the perfect cowl!  It is Dovetail Cowl by Carina Spencer.  I made the large size so that it can be doubled up or worn long.

I love that it is a textured design that looks fabulous on both sides.  It looks super sexy modeled on my deck post, doesn't it? LOL

And a crappy iPhone photo with it being worn doubled.....

I used Malabrigo Rios in the color Azul Profundo. I find Rios to be such a wonderful yarn.  It's round, cushy and has wonderful stitch definition.  It's also a super wash yarn and has a great price point!

I"ll probably make this cowl again.  I'd like to make one in the small size.  There is also an option to make a rolled edge before the patterning begins.  The only thing I would do differently is that I would cast on with a larger needle, then switch immediately to the smaller needle on the first row.  If you look at the first picture you can see that one side, the CO side, is tighter that the other.  But that's it!  Wonderful pattern and I look forward to trying more by Carina Spencer!

WiP Wednesday

It's been a while since I showed you what's on my needles and getting attention.  There are quite a few things actually, and they're almost all red!  Weird.  But I'm feeling inspired to get some of these finished, so I'm going with that feeling until it passes.

First, I have the Katniss socks.  I cast these on for the SKA red challenge in September and the Hazel Knits RoseHiver challenge for Sept/October.  I need to finish these by the end of the month for both challenges.  That shouldn't be a problem as I am ready to start the heel flap of the second sock.

I started the Lillianna sweater for my niece.  I have 1 1/2 pattern repeats done on the body and the pattern calls for 4.  I tried it on Morgan this weekend and it will be a perfect fit for the winter. My sister loves it!  We decided that since it will fit Morgan through the winter that long sleeves would make more sense here in NH, so I'm going to lengthen the sleeves.

Vodka Gimlet is coming along as well.  I am ready to start the "hem detail" at the bottom of the body.  I'll be starting the sleeves in no time and wearing this soon!

I also have a cowl that is almost finished so I decided not to show you that today.  I'm hoping/expecting to finish it tonight!  You should be seeing it as a FO in the next few days.  Then I will have to decide whether to keep it for myself or gift it.  It will be a tough decision.

I've gotten two sock club shipments in the last week too.

This is the yarn from the Cookie A Sock Club.  The yarn is from Green Mountain Spinnery, which is kind of local for me.  I've not tried any of their yarns though because none of my LYS carry their yarns.  I'm not sure I like it.  It has a rougher and earthier feel to it than what I usually like, but I can see how it will work nicely with the cabled sock pattern included this month.  The lace sock pattern though.....? Not so much.  I'm sure I'll knit it sometime, but it's not screaming at me yet.

 I also got my Rockin Sock Club kit.  It's Socks That Rock lightweight and....

 some complimentary Silkie.  The sock pattern has as option to embroider with the Silkie.  It makes a very cool Stained Glass effect on the sock, but there is no way that I will go to that extra effort.  There is also a pattern for a colorwork hat which is what I think I will make with this kit.

I'm still expecting my Hazel Knits sock club and Plucky Classics.  The Hazel Knits is shipping today.  I wonder if it will be in the brown family too?

Ten on Tuesday

10 Favorite Mystery Books

I love a good book and I naturally tend to favor mystery/suspense/thriller types of books.  There are some books that I read just because of the author and some books because it just caught my interest, or it was selected by the book club I'm part of.

I've broken my list into two parts this week.  The first part is some individual titles that I've enjoyed.

1. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.  This was a book club read and it was well liked by my group.  It has a great twist at the end!

2. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult.  I like her books because she tends to choose topics from the news and then approach it with a "what if..." thought. I can't imagine anything this heinous happening in the Amish community and yet it just might.  I loved how the story was told.

3. Atonement by Ian McEwan.  This was also a fantastic story set during WW1.

4. The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley.  This was the most recent book my book club read.  It is a historical piece that tells a family story that begins just before WW2.  I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Now for the series/authors that I love.

5. Millenium series by Steig Larsson.  My book group read the first book in the series and I think everyone in the group has now read the entire series.

6. Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.  I'm still working my way through these. I'm up to #6.

7. Sandra Brown.  I love her books.  Yes I know they're all the same, only the names and locations have changed, but sometimes you just want a little mind candy in the form of a fast paced, page turner story.  The most recent one I read was Lethal.

8.  Mary Higgins Clark.  Always dependably enjoyable.  The next one in my queue is I'll Walk Alone

9. Nora Roberts.  Most recently I read The Witness which I really enjoyed.  Predictable but fun.  I'll admit that I'm a particular sucker for her trilogies, although they tend to be in the romance genre.

10. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  Truth is they're more comedy than mystery, but I love them and so do most of my friends.  They are light, fun, and a fast read.  My girlfriends and I, all successful smart women may I add, have spent a ridiculous amount of time debating the tough questions that arise from these books.  Ranger or Morelli?  Are you a Cupcake or a Babe?  Hurry up November 20, I can't wait for Notorious Nineteen to be released!

Thanks Carole for a fun topic.  Be sure to check out her blog to see what other people are reading.  What's your favorite Mystery Book?

Ten on Tuesday

I just enjoyed a long Columbus day weekend.  Not only did we have no obligations for Monday, but both my husband and youngest son had Friday off too.  So what did we do?

10 Things I Did This Weekend

1. Enjoyed our final boat ride around the lake and took some pictures of the foliage.  I like to do this every year but it doesn't always work out.
2. Made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.  Yum!
3. Watched a movie.  We had 50/50 from Netflix.  It was better than we expected it to be.
4.  Made a pot of chili to eat while.....
5. Watching College Football.  (it was Alabama's bye week, so we watched the LSU game)
6. Finished listening to The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
7. Started a new audiobook, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
8. Went to my Mother-in-Law's for Sunday dinner and the Patriots game
9. Found some of my "fall" decorating accessories and started decorating the house
10. Went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  There's a brand new one in the neighboring town and we decided to try it.  We enjoyed it and Tom learned that they have The Football package on their cable and show all the Alabama games they can, especially the ones only broadcast on the SEC network.  Guess where we'll be when the game isn't on regular tv....?

These were the highlights from my weekend.  What did you do?  Did you make it to Interweave Knitting Lab in Manchester?  I didn't make it but I'd love to hear about it!

Sprucey Haystacks

I finished another pair of socks yesterday afternoon. And then in the midst of a rainy, showery weekend  the rain paused, and the sun peeked out just long enough for me to run outside and take a couple quick pictures!

Pattern: Haystacks by Lisa Stichweh
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan in Blue Spruce
Needles: 2.25mm
Cast On: September 1, 2012
Bind Off: September 30, 2012
Mods: none

This is pair 6 for the 26 Pair Plunge for me.  Did I tell you that I decided to try this this year?  It's a big goal, but so far I'm keeping up with the challenge!

Also, one of my LYS, the Elegant Ewe, is now carrying HiyaHiya needles and I decided to try them.  This is the second pair of socks I've knit with them and I like them.  They have a nice cable, I'm a magic loop girl for socks, and a reasonable tip.  They're not as sharp as Knit Picks, but more so than AddiTurbo's.  They have a great price point and make a nice addition to my needle collection!

Que Sera

I have loved this sweater ever since it's debut in Knitty.com Spring/Summer 2010 issue.  It is so pretty! I used the recommended yarn which is Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton.  My LYS, Spinning Yarns, carries it so I was able to see so many of the colors in person and pick the best color for me.  I chose color #634, periwinkle blue, which looks great with dress slacks or jeans and a t-shirt.  Perfect!

(Sexy model shot on my dining room chair :-) The gratuitous bathroom mirror shot would scare small children!)

This was the first time that I have sewn in cap sleeves.  I was a little nervous about it, but they came out great!  Look at that beautiful smooth seam!

I had a little challenge with buttons too.  I wanted something with a vintage look to it.  I first picked out the bottom button, but once I sewed them on I discovered that there were a smidge too small and they would not stay fastened.  So I went to JoAnn's and found a couple more choices.  I decided on the middle button.  I love how the white pops and they just seem to have the perfect vintage look that I was hoping for. (Click on pictures to embiggen)

I learn something new with every big project that I do.  On this sweater, as well as seaming cap sleeves, I learned how to "maintain lace pattern" while shaping.  That learning curve required some ripping and re-knitting, but now I have a great understanding of matching yo's with decreases and can see it without having to count!  I also learned that I need to take a class in "fit to flatter".  This ended up too long.  It would fit better if it was 2 inches shorter and I am already taking that into consideration with my next sweater projects.  More on those soon!

In the works

I have been trying to finish up some projects over the summer, and as the summer is winding down I am running out of steam with my older WiP's and dreaming of new projects. But I am so close to being done on my Que Sera sweater!  I finished the knitting and wove in the tails last night!  This morning it had a good soak and blocking!

I stopped in at Spinning Yarns today and picked out some cute buttons that I think will work well.  Tonight I'm going to seam the shoulders and start on the neck.  At least I hope so.  It's pretty warm tonight so I might work on a sock instead of having a whole sweater in my lap.

I have just a couple inches to go before the toe on my Jubilee sock.

And about the same or less on my Haystack sock.

So the other thing I've been working on this week is a needle case for my circular needles.  Circular needles are my favorite and I have accumulated quite a few of them.  Actually, a lot of them.  I really need a way to organize them and I'd like to have a way to carry them with me when I knit away from home. The ziploc bags just aren't cutting it anymore!  Margot, who owns Spinning Yarns, showed me the one she made for herself out of the same desperation I feel. I decided I needed to copy her idea.

So basically it's a book with envelope style pockets inside.  I fashioned the pockets to be just a smidge larger than the Skacel ziploc bags that Addi needles are sold in.  This first one has 6 pockets and I'm thinking that I'll use it for my sock needles.  I can easily make one with as many pockets as I'd like.

The problem is that it's not quite right and I haven't yet figured out how to make it better.  The pockets are a great size for 1 or 2 needles each.  The problem is that I have about coughsixcough needles in each size for socks.  So..... do I have multiple pockets for each size?  Separate needles by cable length? (Which is a major consideration for larger size needles)  Make bigger pockets to more easily handle multiple needles in each size? Come up with a completely different plan?  I'm stumped.  What do you think?  What would be your dream way to organize circular needles?

Ten on Tuesday

Once again, Carole has hit on what seems to be the "Perfect" topic for Ten on Tuesday.  This past Sunday we had a somewhat chilly day, for the first time in what seemed like forever!  Don't get me wrong, I loved the gorgeous weather we enjoyed in NH this summer, but sometimes you just want to turn the oven on and enjoy an Old-fashioned Home-cooked meal with family.  So that's exactly what we did Sunday, complete with dessert!  Then Monday morning I received my weekly email with this week's prompt......

10 Favorite Sunday Dinners

I'll begin with what I made this past Sunday.

1. Lasagna - I have my own recipe that I have adapted from how I remember my mother making it.  

2. Roast Chicken - with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, peas & carrots, and cranberry sauce. Yum!

3. Meatloaf - this is my husband's favorite.

4. Pork Tenderloin - We're particular fond of this recipe 

5. Chicken Cordon Bleu - Here's a link for the recipe we like best 

6. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo - I grill some boneless chicken breast and blanch some fresh broccoli, and add to this recipe   I do double the sauce so that there is plenty with the added chicken and broccoli.

7. Pot Roast - Ever since I took the Pioneer Woman's advice and didn't worry about cooking it too long, it seems to come out better.  Plus it smells so good simmering all afternoon.

8. Roast Beef with roasted potatoes

9. Baked Macaroni and Cheese.  This is more of a comfort food, but we'll often have it for Sunday dinner because it is so rich and filling.

10. Dessert.  Sunday dinner isn't complete without a dessert to finish it off.  This week I made The Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.  Holy Goodness!  I think this is my family's favorite dessert now!

I'm looking forward to reading the posts of everybody who's participating this week.  I always love a new idea for dinner!  You can find them over here

Happy Birthday Grammy Pete!

Today is my Mother-in-law's 80th Birthday!  We had a wonderful celebration Sunday at Wentworth By the Sea.  She was completely surprised!

She says that this is her new favorite picture which is her with her 3 sons.

We were able to get a picture with almost the whole family.  We were only missing one step-daughter and family, who are currently living in London, and my middle son who is away at college.  It was a wonderful day and celebration.

I just had to include this picture too.  Four generations of Peterson's!  Grammy, my brother-in-law, his daughter, and her two sons.  Monster was hamming it up big time for the camera!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

One More Done

I didn't think I would be able to finish this pair by the end August, but I managed to get it done!  I love these socks!  I love the yarn, the color, and the way they look!  Once I got back into them though, I remembered why I had set them aside.  As much as I love them, knitting this pattern was slow and tedious for me.

Challenge #1 - This sock pattern was written as a Mystery Sock KAL in multiple sizes.  For some inexplicable reason, I had printed 3 clues for the 72 stitch size, 1 clue for 64 stitches, and 1 clue for all sizes.  I knit the 72 stitch size and yet the leg directions and chart I had was for the 64 stitch size.  I went in search of the clues in my documents library, and I didn't have them.  Hmmm.  So I went to Ravelry to download it again only to discover that the pattern is no longer available as the file had been lost.

It was time to examine my completed first sock and figure out how to make the 2nd sock match the first one.  I was successful!

Challenge #2 - I made really lousy notes on my first sock!  I had to measure and count heel flap rows so I could get them to match, and I didn't note on which row I ended the foot.  So I knit and ripped that twice, then decided it was close enough.  I'm keeping these for me, so they didn't need to match my ridiculous perfect standards.  But now they are done and I am tickled pink!

Details:
Pattern: Through the Loops Mystery Sock 08 by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Skinny Bugga in Cotton Stainer
Needle: 2.25mm
Cast On: September 4, 2010
Bind Off: August 31, 2012

Tomorrow is the beginning of Year 6 for Sock Knitters Anonymous.  It's also a new KAL for the Hazel Knits Group.  I already have a couple patterns picked out to cast on!  I'm sure you'll see them soon!

August Pair #3

I've finished another pair of socks from my orphan sock collection.  This was the oldest single sock, started way back in 2009, so I'm glad to have it finished!

It's a simple textured pattern, and was very easy to memorize.  Add in a garter stitch short row heel and toe and it's a cute sock.

This was the Over the Rainbow kit from the Woolgirl Oz Club.  What I liked was that it was an opportunity to try a yarn that is new to me and I was also introduced to a designer, Lisa Dykstra, that I was not familiar with.  The pattern was well written and I would knit one of her patterns again. The yarn.... not so much.  There were a few places where 1 ply of the yarn was broken and/or frayed and that annoyed me.  This is also a much lighter fingering weight yarn than what I am typically drawn to.  I wonder how much I will actually wear these?  Who knows, I may surprise myself and decide that I love them after wearing them.

The Details:
Pattern: Over the Rainbow (fingering) by Lisa Dykstra
Yarn: Zen String Lotus Toes
Colorway: Over the Rainbow
Needles: 2.25mm
CO: July 10, 2009
BO: August 26, 2012

Everything Old is New Again

Do you know the expression "Everything Old is New Again?"  That's how I feel right now.  My friend  Christine started a challenge a of couple summers ago to finish as many pairs of socks as she could in August.  She also challenged her fellow Sock Knitters Anonymous friends to see if anyone could finish more than she could.  I've followed along for the last couple of summers but didn't really participate.  The only rule, if you will, this year is that the socks have to have been started before July 1, 2012.  It's time to finish up all those WiP's that I have kicking around!

I finished this pair today.  These are the Queen of Beads socks.  I think this was the Rockin Sock Club kit from January 2009 and I started these in January of 2010!  This is the second pair that I've finished in August.

Which project should I tackle next?

The ones on needles are all first socks, so I'm thinking that I should cast on the mate for one of the single socks.  Too many choices!  I do think that I'm going to frog the top left sock though.  I wasn't sure that I liked the yarn/pattern combination when I started it.  It's been hibernating for a little while now and I'm still ambivalent about it.  Time to frog it.  What do you think?

Ten on Tuesday

After a crazy busy summer I am so happy to have life slowing down and getting back on schedule! Which means that I can make time to participate in Ten on Tuesday again and this is a great topic to get back on track with.

10 Favorite TV Shows from my Childhood

1. Little House on the Prairie.  Hands down, this was my favorite show growing up and the first one that came to mind when I read this topic.  Who wouldn't want Charles Ingalls as her Pa?
2. Happy Days.  I'm not sure who I had a bigger crush on, Fonzie or Richie?  And I loved that Mrs. C always called Fonzie, Arthur.
3. Laverne and Shirley.  Those girls had some crazy times!
4. WKRP in Cincinatti.  I. loved. this. show!  It drove my mother crazy but she let me watch it anyway.   To this day my favorite line is still "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly" Poor Mr. Carlson :-)

5. The Brady Bunch.  My favorite character was Alice.
6. Quincy. I wanted to be a coroner for the longest time because of this show! LOL
7. The Love Boat.  It was just a fun show with fun cast a guest stars.
8. Charlie's Angels. I spent most of my teen years trying to have "Farrah Fawcett" hair.  And I loved that they were girls that were kicking butt and taking names.
9. Emergency! I remember that this was must watch tv in my house.  Everybody loved it.
10. Gilligan's Island.  Gilligan was so lovable!  And the Howell's cracked me up.

I also have a couple of Honorable Mentions that just didn't make the cut.
11. Fantasy Island.  The Plane, the plane!  I used to watch this on Friday nights while babysitting.
12. Dallas.  I loved to hate JR!
13. Mork and Mindy. Robin Williams was so funny.
14. Zoom.  This and The Electric Company were the only PBS shows that I liked as a kid.

What show was your favorite as a kid?