It's A Small World (NOT!) After All

It is not a secret that my one true love in this life--besides HoneyBunny of course--is knitting socks. However, in my small minded existence, I occasionally think that I am one of only a handful of knitters that knit socks. So, yesterday I was in the mood to surf around the internet and look at some sock patterns that had been referenced on Ravelry. Let me just say W--O--W!!! There are so many sock patterns out there--some that are so amazing, wonderful, incredible, leave me speechless, that I can't believe they aren't in a book--that one will never live long enough to knit all of the socks one would REALLY like to knit. I had the crazy thought that I could make it my life's work to try to knit them all though! I knit pretty fast and have made hundreds and hundreds of socks (so many that I can honestly make them in my sleep), but sadly I will die a very old woman before I am able to make ALL of the socks that I would like. I was so taken back by the number of sock loving knitters out there!! And that is just the ones who are on-line. I am sure there are at least that many out there that aren't on-line. WOW!

In an effort to not be "out-done" I thought I would post some of my "amazing" socks that were my firsts (the first three pictured) and some of my latest (all the rest).

I just love knitting socks. It seems that my latest are so boring after those first 50 or so socks, but that is because the main wear-er of my socks is the "Boring Sock Lover"--HoneyBunny. I need to return to those exciting ones. They are so much fun!!

Well, I'm off to see if I can find the pattern for that pair of 12 color Turkish socks I wanted to make a few years ago.

Happy Knitting!

Back to Normal(?)

The holidays are now over. The final Christmas decorations have been packed away and the house put back into some sense of an organized mess. I am always a little melancholy when it all ends. There is so much build up, hype, and excitement that when it all ends I feel a little...oh, I don't know what word to use...I feel bored, I guess. The kids will return to school on Tuesday(don't ask, "Why Tuesday?" I don't know) and then the whole holiday thing is officially over.

I started putting my Ravelry page together last night. There is so much cool stuff on there! It is a fantastic space place to see what the rest of us yarnaholics are up to.

I started my January Sockamania socks. I am using some of my own hand-dyed yarn. It is a very basic sock, but the yarn makes them wild and the daughter has already claimed them. I will post some progress pictures next time.

It has been snowing here since yesterday evening. The power went out during the night for a couple of hours. We woke up because the house was so cold!!! Then couldn't get back to sleep. So we are all very tired today. It is getting ready to really lay down some snow here in a few minutes--getting very dark outside. I think I will take a nap zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Happy Knitting.

Cabin Fever!

Now don't get me wrong...I love HoneyBunny very much and enjoy his company very much, but when he is on seasonal lay-off from his job the house can get VERY small!! I am a morning person. If I am to get any housework done I have to do it in the morning. If I am going to run errands, I like to do it in the morning while the rest of the world is still asleep or at work--once lunch hits town is a mess! However, when HoneyBunny is home he likes to stay up really late and then sleep in until 10, 11, or even 12 o'clock the next day. Then he wants to run around town and shop and do all this stuff in town. Well, I hate it!!! I have to be home when my kids get out of school, I have to pick the daughter up because it is too far to walk in this bad weather and HoneyBunny just doesn't understand why we have to come home just as he is getting going. I also hate television!!! I love to watch movies, documentaries, etc, but I find the tv being on just so that there is a noise in the house bugs me to death! HoneyBunny likes tv, he doesn't care if its court tv, talk shows, soap operas, etc. He turns it on the second he gets out of bed and would leave it on even if we weren't home if I didn't turn it off as we were walking out the door.

So, I have been doing a lot of knitting in order to steady my nerves. I currently have 5 pairs of socks, a sweater, a shawl, and a hat that I am working on all at once. I have been doing so much that my hands are sore today. I just may have all of next years gifts done before summer at this rate.

This is a hat I finished last week. The son thinks it should be for him, but since I already made him two hats this season he doesn't really need another one.

These are my December Sockamania Socks. Aren't they WONDERFUL! I just love them! I waited until Christmas Day to start them because I had so many other projects I was working on. I wasn't sure that I would be able to finish them by the deadline--December 31, but I did!!

This is another hat that I finished after the green one. Honey Bunny wanted this one really bad to go with his socks that feature the same skull-n-crossbones pattern, but it turned out just a little too small for him.

I'll have to post the pictures of the rest of the stuff as it gets finished and photographed. In the mean time Happy New Year to all of you! Hope this year is full of all the yarn, projects, and fluffy fiber you can handle!

Happy Knitting!

The Knitting Fest Ends! YA RIGHT!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I got some wonderful gifts as seen in the picture above! The socks, boots, arm warmers, and mittens were all very well received. My friend who received the Selbu mittens told me she would like to frame them and put them on the wall. However, she has been wearing them because she wants to show them to everyone. I love giving knitted gifts! It's like giving someone a hug that lasts.

When I finished the Christmas knit fest, I started making hats that I will be selling. I finished five in three days! Christmas day I remembered that I still had the Sockamania December Socks to make. I started them and finished the first one last night--pictures will be posted when I am finished. I LOVE the pattern, so much so that I repeated the design all the way down the leg making the sock 9 1/2 inches tall instead of the usual 8 inches. They are beautiful!

Every year as Christmas ends, I get the silliest notion to start next years presents. I think and think and think about it--for about 11 months! and never start anything until the following December. Somehow I am determined to force myself to start in January and make one, large, special gift for everyone. If I would just do it I could have some really spectacular gifts by December, but it's the "DO IT" part that I struggle with. So, once again, this year I am already thinking about what I should start making. We'll see if I actually get anything started before December 2008.

On a sad note, a childhood friend died sometime Christmas eve or early Christmas day. They think it was heart failure. His son had tried to wake him up for Christmas morning but he was already gone. What a terrible event. I have had a very rough few days as I have remembered my friend and thought of his family. My heart aches for anyone who has to endure such a tragedy on what should be such a happy and special day.

Anyway, I am off to go knit! That always comforts me and helps me feel better. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas.

Let It Snow!

It finally got cold enough here in the valley to snow. It started last night and has snowed almost all day today. Unfortunately, it is melting pretty fast, but here is a picture of it this afternoon. I love snow. I really should live somewhere where it snows more often and stays for the winter.

Saturday we went up into the mountains and took the kids sledding. It was alot of fun! The kids wanted to go on Sunday again, but it was blizzarding in the mountains.

Here are pictures of the Christmas gifts that I finished over the weekend.

These are for the Son. He insists on wearing his socks inside and outside--without shoes. As a result, he wears out his socks too fast. I thought that maybe these would be soft like socks, but he could wear them outside too. (I will sew a leather sole onto the bottoms when he opens them). I love this pattern, it is so easy and the boots are warm and wonderful to wear.

TA-DA! I finally got over the SMS and made the other mitten! The thumb on these mittens are THE BIGGEST PAIN! I have to admit it though, the second mitten went REALLY fast. These will be a fun surprise for my friend for Christmas. I made mittens and a hat and some fingerless gloves for her kids and husband as well.

So, now I am off to finish HoneyBunny's socks and hopefully my December Sockamania socks.

Happy Knitting!

Christmas is Coming

I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming. My son was dancing around the house this morning singing, "Only 20 more daaaayyys! Only 20 more daaayyyss!". Wow! Now, I really am finished with the main projects that I wanted to accomplish, but there are so many others that I would LIKE to finish as well--but I don't know if I have time at this point.

After visiting Hege's blog I just had to go take a picture of my crocheted snowflakes. I am unnaturally fond of crocheted snowflakes--to the point that I think a Christmas tree is incomplete without them and therefore EVERYONE should have at least a few. Which is why I have made so many. I love crocheted snowflakes (and little gingerbread men!).

I finished a lap quilt for my father-in-law. I am not a quilter really, just a wool fanatic. The top part is made from recycled men's wool suit coats and the back is just some soft, silky fabric I picked up that matched--the color is "pewter" which is my favorite shade of grey. Since I took this picture I have added a nice embroidered blanket stitch, in "pewter" colored thread, all the way around the outside edge. It turned out really nice and is very warm even though the batting is really light and thin.

And finally, here is a picture of the hat I made for the Daughter (couldn't get her off the phone long enough to take a picture of her in it so the son volunteered). I found the pattern about 8 or 9 years ago on the internet. I don't know why I waited so long to make it! I made it-start to finish-in only 5 hours! I used Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn and size 6 needles. I love it!

Hope your holiday knitting is going well!

What a beautiful day!

FINALLY, after a month or more of absolutely not a drop of precipitation, we are getting some rain/snow. The sky is completely over-cast and I can't think of anything that I would rather be doing than sitting here in my house, surrounded by the smell of fresh pine, cinnamon, and ginger, in the light of the Christmas tree (What! you don't have yours up yet?), listening to Christmas music, knitting. Is there a better way to spend the day? I can't think of ANYTHING I would rather be doing.

Last week end HoneyBunny and I took our ATV up on the mountain and went for a ride in the snow. It was so much fun! We saw elk and wild turkey's and watched the sunset as we rode through the pine trees on an ATV trail. Only a "one horse open sleigh" ride could have compared. We are going again tomorrow and I can't wait. There should be alot more snow after the storm today. I will definately be posting the pictures when we get back.

The parade of lights is tonight in town. We have never gone. The weather is usually soooooo cold and the roads are too icy for safe driving, but we are going to go tonight. The kids will be thrilled!

Believe it or not, I am almost finished with all of my Christmas knitting! I may even have time to make extra stuff at this rate. Everyone has a new pair of socks. The daughter and HoneyBunny have new hats (unfortunately they needed them right away so they are already wearing them). I have a few pairs of mittens to finish and that's it. The rest of the stuff is for fun--the shawl, turkish socks, Selbu mittens, etc. I don't know if I mentioned this in a previous post, but this year our family decided to make all of our gifts. The daughter has been making candles, the son made hand-milled soaps, Honeybunny is carving and woodburning all of his gifts, and (OF COURSE!) I am knitting all of mine. It has been so much fun!! I feel just like Santa Clause!

Alright, that's all I got for today. I have to get things ready for tonight and tomorrow, and knit some more.

Happy Knitting!

A Quick Note

Sorry for the lack of posts. Christmas, and its all encompassing projects, have really cut into my internet play time. I wanted you to know that I am not dead or missing, just very busy! (Remember all of the projects I said I wanted to get done?) So, I am off to work on another Selbuvotter mitten, socks, shawl, etc, etc, etc. In the mean time here is something to look at.

This months Sockamania socks! They will be for the Daughter for Christmas. What do you think? I think she will like them--they are pink after all. What a great pattern this has been this month!

WIP's and the Podcast

My story that is featured on the YarnCraft podcast came out this week and you can listen to it here. I found myself feeling nervous and getting sweaty palms as they introduced it. To think that people all over the world could listen to something I wrote, wow!

Now for the WIP's I promised Monday to post Wednesday, but took off on a joy ride with HoneyBunny instead. First, the mittens I started last night. Now, I already have way to much to do, but these mittens have been harassing me for months to start them. Telling me, "I knit up REALLY fast. I have thrums, which you know you've wanted to try forever. You could make the smallest pair for the neighbors daughter. Etc., etc." So, the lure of a quick and easy project hooked me finally and I found myself half way through this mitten before I even realized that I had cast on. Now I have to make me and my son a pair for our walks to the bus stop in the morning. They will be PERFECT! Who ever thought of thrums should win the nobel peace prize or something. WOW! If you don't have a pair of mittens or socks that feature these little items YOU SHOULD! They are the ultimate for warmth!

Second are the Sockamania socks for November. These will be for the daughter for Christmas. I LOVE this pattern. It is officially my new most favorite sock pattern. I am making them out of SWTC's Tofutsies yarn. I don't like pink, but I really like the color pattern of this yarn!

Third project that I am working on this week is the shawl that I started a month ago or so. Now that I have the lace pattern figured out it is going much faster. I really like it! In fact, I am having a hard time deciding whether it should be "Merry Christmas to me" or someone else.

Next, I worked on these the other night when I had had enough of all the other projects and got past the place for the inserted heel and started the foot. Three more inches and a toe then put in the heel and the first of this pair will be done. If I would just sit down and work on them instead of the other 20 projects I am making they would have been done a long time ago. They are for me, though, and I feel like I am savoring every minute of them. They are the most beautiful pair of socks I have made in a long time.

And FINALLY, the last project that I have been working on this week--in fact they are the project I took on my joy ride Wednesday--are the pants for the daughter. Yes, I know they are very GREEN! She loves to wear grass green and looks good in it and even requested that these be this color. So, there they are. I altered the pattern so that the front and back of the leg is knit at the same time. Otherwise there are four leg pieces and you know what that means--hours of handsewn seams. I HATE sewing up seams, especially when things can be knit in the round. I would knit these in the round completely, but I still haven't figured out how to make the crotch area turn out right if I do. Two seams are better than four!

Whew! At least I am not getting bored with any of the projects. There is plenty of variety!

Happy Crazy Knitting!

P. S. Only 39 (40 if you want to count Christmas Day) knitting days until Christmas!

The Weekend's Works

Between Friday and today I managed to finish several projects. The first one is this hat that I designed several years ago. I call it a "FunkyChunky Hat" It is made with Brown Sheep Co. superbulky weight yarn (100% wool). It makes up so fast that you can literally have a finished hat in only about 3 or 4 hours (WITH interruptions). The pattern will be available at my etsy store later this week.

Friday I finished the first of my Selbuvotter mittens. It may be a few days before I start number two. I have a touch of SMS (second mitten syndrome) right now after my battle with the thumb. I think I have come up with a better way to put one in and may put a tutorial on here if my idea works out. The mitten is BEAUTIFUL and I love it, I just hate the thumb right now.








And, earlier this morning I finished the ski socks that I will be giving my son for Christmas. The picture doesn't show the Forest Green detail very well, but there is a green stripe between each black stripe and then the trees are forest green as well. I think he will love them!
Stay tuned! Wednesday's post will show what I am working on this week! I may get all of these Christmas projects done yet!

Wednesday's WIP's

With Christmas coming on so quickly I am experiencing a knitting fever. I have cast on four projects just this week.--Now I 'm scaring myself.

First, I got my new Sockamania sock pattern for November. I am loving this pattern! It looks complicated, but it is so easy--easy to knit, easy to memorize the pattern. I am already making plans to cast on another one in some 100% silk yarn that is in the stash. I will have to adjust the pattern a little for it, but I think the Daughter will LOVE them for Christmas (I'll post a pic. when I get it started). For now though. I had some left-over yarn from that sweater that I had finished this summer (the t-shirt). I thought some socks to match would be fun. So, these are being made from "Silky Wool" 65% w00l, 35% silk, on size 2 (US) needles. Fun stuff!!! I wouldn't be able to put it down except for this...........................................

Yes!!!! I FINALLY got a pair of mittens started from the Selbuvotter book. I am loving these!! They are going to be an anonomous Christmas gift for a friend of mine. I am sure she will know who it is when she sees them, but what else would you give someone who loves Norway also? I would love to see her face when she opens them up. I am making them with KnitPicks superwash wool sock weight yarns "Bare" and "EssentialSolid". Is it normal to be in love with a pair of mittens? Don't answer that!

The other projects are the second sock for the Son's Christmas present and a pair of knit pants for the daughter--nothing exciting to take pictures of yet. I have plans to make 5 pairs of socks, a knit pair of pants, a knit hooded vest, and a pair of fingerless gloves for my imediate family for Christmas. Then there is the shawl, mittens, and my super secret project for dear friends for Christmas. Do you think I will get it all done by Christmas? Ya, I doubt it too! Here's hoping!

Happy Knitting!

It's D-O-N-E done!

FINALLY! The Daughter has her afghan! and not a minute too soon. As I worked the last few decrease rows I began to count-down the sts left and giggle histerically. (My children were quite concerned that something was wrong.)
This is the Daughter all wrapped up in it, refusing to let me have it back long enough to tuck in the loose ends.

This is the size it ended up. My daughter and I are both taller than 5 feet 5 inches, so you can see that it is pretty big. She loves it!!

I got the November Sockamania pattern over the weekend and can't wait to get started. The pattern is for a pair of lacey socks and will probably become a Christmas gift since Christmas is now only 50 days away.

OOoOOOooooooOo! That sounds scarey to say! I better get busy if I am going to get all of these gifts done! Now that the afghan is finished I should be able to accomplish a lot more!!! Our family has made a committment to make all Christmas gifts this year. With all of the recalls going on it seems like a good idea! Plus, handmade gifts are so much more fun and meaningful to give. If you are on my gift list you know what's coming!

So, with a sock to cast on, a hat to finish, two pair of socks to finish, a shawl to finish, etc. I am off to start my Selbuvotter mittens!!!!!!!

I love knitting!

Playing "Catch-up" on Friday

Halloween has come and gone. We had a lot of fun! We carved pumpkins Tuesday night.
The Daughter had a white pumpkin so she decided to draw on her's instead of carving it.
I love how they look in the dark, all lit up. The white one doesn't exactly show up in the dark though.

As soon as the kids got home from school I took them "Trick-or-Treating" in town. Everyone was dressed up and the costumes were wonderful! Later, we went to a "Trunk-or-Treat" and the kids got more candy. After dinner (not that anyone was hungry after eating a ton of candy) the kids went around our neighborhood to collect more candy than we could possibly eat in a year. All said and done--we have 10 to 15 pounds of candy laying around. What happens if you gain a bunch of weight BEFORE Thankgiving and Christmas dinner? Then what? I guess I will ignore the bathroom scales for the rest of the holiday season and scare myself sometime in January.

This is my newest sock design (for all of the details and to purchase go to my etsy store). I love ski socks and sweaters and mittens and hats! This pair will turn up again at Christmas time as a gift for the Son who loves snowboarding. I know a lot of people are scared of "Fair Isle" knitting but I love it! It takes some time, and practise, to get the stranding just right. How you strand is important on sweaters, but crucial on socks! If you don't strand loose enough the sock won't even fit Barbie doll legs.

At last count THE afghan had 80 sts (rows) left. HoneyBunny says that it is fantastic and amazing and that the Daughter will cherish it forever. (SHE BETTER!!!) I had a very terrifying thought as I was reading my e-mailed Lionbrand newsletter. It said something about a "5 1/2 hour afghan". I honestly, in my insanity, thought, "Hey, 5 1/2 hours? I could make that!" Please! don't let me do it! It's a lie! It will not take only 5 1/2 hours because I will HAVE to make some sort of substitution, then add some sort of different border, maybe a skier motif here and there, etc., etc., and then I will be caught up in another afghan nightmare! Boohoo ;)

One more thing! I got my Ravelry invite!!! Yeah for Ravelry! I am so excited I can't wait to get it all put together. I will be sure to include links, to my pages there, on here. For those of you familiar with Ravelry I am "The Twisted Hare" of course!

HAPPY KNITTING ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to post the Halloween pics of my kids all dressed up! Thanks fiber Chic!

Little Black Ridding Hood.....................................................and Skater Dude (Zombie)

Whew!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but there was a serious knitting frenzy going on. I realized that the end of the month is tomorrow and decided that if I was going to finish my Sockamania socks for the month that I had better do some serious knitting. Not to mention my house is in serious need of cleaning and I was actually in the mood to clean yesterday morning. So as soon as I wore out the cleaning mood--which only took about two hours--I knit until the socks were finished--which took the better part of the rest of the day. Now my house is really clean--in some areas--and my socks are finished!Now, I am going to work on that afghan in earnest for a few days until I get the next Sockamania project. I figure I have about 120 more rows left to knit on that ******* afghan and then it will be done. I feel really sorry for my son because he will be the only one in the family that never got a hand knit afghan from me. In fact, if I EVER get the notion that I am going to make another afghan PLEASE stop me!!!! Do you know how many pairs of socks I could make in the time it has taken to make that afghan!? It would've gone much faster though if I hadn't made it so big. Wait until you see it!! I'm pretty sure it's getting big enough to cover a queen size bed at this point.

In case anyone is interested, The Yarn Harlot is making a pair of mittens from the Selbuvotter book. They are so beautiful!!! (If I could just get this stupid afghan done I would be making a pair too!) I CAN'T WAIT MUCH LONGER TO START MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am almost finished with the next new sock pattern. I will post a picture of the sock on here, but the pattern will be available at my etsy store.

Happy Knitting!

? Rambling on and on and on......

I couldn't think of a title for today's post. I just feel like rambling on about whatever I guess.

The daughter's afghan has definately hit a black hole! I went to work on it last night and the first row I knit I counted 155 sts. Well that is very interesting because the last row I counted when I finished working on it the other day was 134. Somehow in the last several days the number of stitches in the row increased! (I am on the decrease side of the afghan right now). I worked on it for about 4 hours last night and if there hasn't been a serious decrease in the number of stitches it might be time for this afghan to become a UFO for awhile so that I can regain some sanity. HoneyBunny asked if I was knitting the afghan for a giant because it is getting HUGE! That teenage daughter of mine better like it or else.....just or else! and she better act extremely excited when I give it to her! I am going to have to quit making afghans, they are WAY too much work--especially when you are used to making socks all the time. I told myself when I got my "Selbuvotter" book the other day that I could not start any of those mittens until the afghan is done. I may have a melt-down if the afghan doesn't hurry up!!!!

The Sockamania socks are almost finished--which is good because the last day of the month is in 5 days. I would have been done weeks ago if I hadn't been knitting on two other pairs of socks this month and worked on that black hole afghan.

By the way, if you haven't ever tried Haneke Wool's merino/silk blend, sport weight yarn, I highly recommend it. I am designing a pair of "ski" socks right now out of it and it is the BEST merino/silk blend yarn I have ever worked with. I am not just saying that because I sell Haneke yarns either--course the reason I sell Haneke is because of the superior quality. I love this yarn and will be making many more projects out of it! Watch for the patterns and products on my Etsy store.

Isn't this a cool sculpture! HoneyBunny took a picture of it on one of his trips out of town. I wish it was in my front yard. I really like it.

I guess that's all. I need to get busy knitting.

Monday Again?!

Is it Monday again? The time just flies when you are having fun.

We went up to the mountains on Saturday. The weather wasn't the best, but we still had a wonderful day!! We did a little fishing and then took a drive out over the top of the mountain.

As you can see, we ran into some snow. It took twice as long to get down because we had terrible driving conditions. Ah, the pleasures of living in Colorado! I didn't mind, but HoneyBunny hates to drive in zero visibility.

Here is the hat for HoneyBunny that I mentioned briefly in my last post. Modeled by the cutest little boy I have ever seen!! Look at those eyes!!! Anyway, I used KnitPicks Panache in "Coal". It is so soft and wonderful--a great yarn! Then I duplicate stitch and embroidered the spider.

It turned out really good I think--for my first spider anyway.

I got an e-mail today from Zontee Hou--the Marketing Communications Manager for Lion Brand Yarns saying that they wanted to include the story I wrote for their "Knitting Changes Everything" online story collection in an upcoming podcast!!!! It made my whole day! I am so excited! She said that the podcast will be the third week of November and it is on "knitting and crocheting gifts and the best gifts we've given or received". I will be sure to include a link on here so that you can find it when it comes out. Did I mention I was excited?

Happy Knitting!