November's Socks

Dear Mom,
November's socks are finished in mid-December putting December's socks in serious jeopardy. At best I hope to start them after Christmas. I am feeling hopelessly behind on all my Christmas gift projects!
These are from Nightfall sock yarn- hand dyed and cleverly wound and packaged to produce a nearly identical pair of socks.

Hand made Christmas gifts make for poor blogging. But behind the screen there is a flurry of fiber-related activity going on here!
Love,
Kim

Done and Done

Dear Mom,
September's socks.
Late, but done.
October's socks- done with time to spare!
Love,
Kim

Spinning my wheels and chasing my tail(s)

Dear Mom,
Well, September flew past. And so did my September socks.....
This is how much I've managed to knit

and I'm pretty sure this didn't get started until the last few hours of September. I'll do my darnedest to get both September's and October's socks done this month.

My absence here on the blog only means that I've been busy - with things that are too mundane to be considered blog worthy, or things that are top secret and cannot be shared here. Yet. Let's just leave it that I have had some serious bouts of creativity interspersed with the last tennis matches of the Young Man's high school career. And thanks to all the good rain we had last week, that last match took three days to complete!

Thanks to a tip from Bonnie Jo, MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit and I went to the Hoosier Llama and Alpaca Association show at the county fairgrounds on Saturday morning.

In addition to the llamas and alpacas, there were a few vendors and I managed to bring home some snow white alpaca roving to spin, some colorful Shetland wool roving to spin (which I've already done and am extremely disappointed in myself. Note to Self : No good ideas come after 10 pm and spinning at 2 am is never gonna be good.) In my defense, I never intended to be spinning until 2 am, but was so tangled up in "my good idea" that there was no way to stop. And when I say tangled up, I mean TANGLED UP. Knees and teeth, in addition to both hands and feet, were occupied with plying. It was like Lucy and Ethel Learn to Spin.

I also brought home some wonderful ceramic buttons. All reasonably priced and there was a very healthy selection of buttons from which to choose.

Can you blame me for trying to figure out how to get around the neighborhood covenants, re-fence my yard and build a shelter for a couple of these guys?

Love,
Kim

Last night...

Dear Mom,
.... I finished August's socks.

And later on came downstairs to find Patsy sleeping like this:

Squished into a chair. She doesn't look comfortable, but she didn't budge during the photo shoot, and I took several shots.
Let's take a brighter look, shall we?

Yes. Her muzzle is resting on her right back foot.

Never a dull moment.

Love,
Kim

August Socks

Dear Mom,
I am woefully far behind on August's Socks. Woe.Full.ee. I turned the heel on the first sock only this afternoon. What's today? The 25th? That gives me 6 days to knit 1 and 1/2 socks if I am gonna finish before the end of the month. I know I'll get plenty of good knitting time while watching Project Runway tonight and if I knit nothing else for the next 6 days, I can probably beat the deadline.
This is more Vesper sock yarn, but it seems I've lost or thrown away the ball band so I can't tell  you the name of the colorway. Actually, I found a ball band in my sock knitting case, but it was for the colorway "Candy Corn" and I knit those socks way  back in January. I also found the business card for my neighbor's orthopedic surgeon and she saw him early in 2010.....

Love,
Kim

Off the LOOM!

Dear Mom,

It's not the first project off my loom, but the first project that is worthy of sharing on the blog. The placemats I made at home to reinforce what I learned in class aren't bad- we'll use them- but there are places where I made treadling mistakes and my edges...well, my edges can only improve.

Almost as soon as those placemats were finished I was planning the next project. A simple scarf. Very simple. One that would allow me to concentrate on improving those edges. I dug through my stash and found some sock yarn from a long ago sock-of-the-month club and some coordinating bits of leftover sock yarn. I did the math, warped Donna Reed and a-weaving I went.

My edges are better. Not perfect, but much improved. And let me just say this about weaving: It. is. FAST.

I started warping the loom on Saturday afternoon and finished the scarf on Sunday afternoon. And I didn't sit there weaving for 24 hours straight. I did other stuff, too.

Also, I figured out ANOTHER good thing about weaving: You have to finish the thing on your loom before you can start another. Unlike Knitting. And you don't have to look far or hard around here to find knitting projects that have been cast on at a whim.

Also, just the idea of putting all my leftover bits of yarn to use in weaving projects is maybe the best thing of all. Just thinking about it makes me want to stop writing this and go dig through my yarn and start a new weaving project.

It hasn't been all weaving around here. I've done a bit of spinning- no pictures to show- and July's socks are finished.

Here is a close up of the stitch detail I knit in to break up the stripe pattern.

Before it gets too much hotter I need to get out to the garden a pick beans and blackberries. For all I know, they may be cooked already!

Keep Cool.

Love,

Kim

Catching Up

Dear Mom,

After a week's vacation where we've touched our toes in the Atlantic and our fingers on a moon rock, sipped Butterbeers in Hogsmeade and mojitos on the beach, sent boys off shark fishing and girls 800 feet into the air on a parasail only to return home to house guests and the annual Cul-de-sac 4th of July celebration, I am slowly catching up and happy to home.

Despite having been  home since very late Saturday night- verging on the wee hours of Sunday morning- I didn't feel like I was truly able to relax and really Be Home until I brought Patsy home from the kennel yesterday. Now the family is all under one roof again and All is Well. (Bumper may feel differently. I think he enjoyed being Only Dog for two days.)

We planned our Florida vacation and the trip to Cocoa Beach in the hopes of seeing the last shuttle launch. As these things go, as soon as the condo was reserved and flight plans in the works the mission was delayed. And I heard this morning there is a good chance that rain will cause another delay and Atlantis may not launch on Friday. We may not be able to cross "Watch a Shuttle Launch" off our Bucket List, but we did tour Kennedy Space Center and got a peek at Atlantis on the launch pad.

Our trip was a very good one; the first family vacation we've taken where our kids brought friends with them, and despite being outnumbered by teens, all went very well and everyone had a buddy.
The buddy strategy allowed My Hero and I time to relax and read. And knit.
I finished June's socks.

And I knit this shawl with my very own handspun.

This is the result of that first bag of dirty wool I brought home. The Bag o'Wool that turned me into a spinner.

I've seen many of these To Eyre shawls on ravelry and Dianne made a beautiful one that you can see here. I wish mine were just a bit bigger. I prefer a shawl that I can really wrap up in, but this one will probably be just right for warming the back of my neck and shoulders while staying put and out of the way. The pattern instructions include directions for modifying length and width, and this was a soothing, quick project, so I may have to give it another go.

And before we left I finished this wrap.

I purchased this pattern and yarn on vacation last summer, so I guess it sort of fits to post it with stuff from this year's vacation. The pattern is Braided Glory, the yarn is Louisa Harding- a silk- I don't remember the name of the yarn and right now I am too lazy to get up and go looking for the ball band. The yarn was nice to work with but I think it may be too drape-y for this pattern. Also, I didn't do all the finishing on my wrap as the pattern suggests. I was ready to be Done With It and omitted some small edging details that didn't impress me. IF I ever make this again I will be making several modifications that, in my opinion, would neaten things up. However, with so many other things I want to make, I really don't see myself making another one of these.

I have weaving classes scheduled for the end of the week. The plan is to work on a loom in class and then come home and repeat the lesson on my loom at home to solidify what I've learned. I think we do placemats or table runners in class. So, whichever I do in class, I'll do the other at home. (I may appear calm, but my Insides are doing that happy dance kids do on Christmas Eve!)

Love,
Kim

Flowers

Dear Mom,
The past days here have been perfect. Warm, not hot, days. Cool evenings. Gentle breezes. Plenty of sunshine and just enough rain.
My perennials are beautiful this year and my photos do not do them justice. Plus, my camera is malfunctioning and this may be the last good pictures I can get. This really bums me out. Seems an impending vacation always jinxes my cameras. I've got an email into Nikon's support center and I am hoping for a magic fix.
Anyway- here are some of my pretty flowers.
When shopping for marigolds on Mother's Day, I found an Orange coneflower and did not hesitate to put it in my wagon.

My garden is a haphazard mix of easy care perennials, and mostly I let things grow where they want to. I love perennials that will re-seed themselves and spread out- naturalizing themselves in the garden. I could never plan out their locations as ideally as they end up when they've planted themselves. Whenever I can, I take the seeds from favorites and scatter them in new spots, hoping for the best.

The blue delphiniums are blooming for the first time - I think I planted them 2 years ago, but they were trampled over last summer when we had new siding put on the house and never got a chance to bloom. The hot pink flowers are unknown to me, I admired them in my neighbor's yard and she gave me several seed pods. These have a fuzzy sage green leaf and have managed to grow in the best spots. Also mixed in there is some pink/purple yarrow which is really taking over, and way in the back there you can see Stella Day Lilies- another gift from another neighbor when she was dividing up hers.

I realized yesterday that if June's socks were going to get done I'd better get started on them. I've had this sock yarn in my stash for a very long time. Maybe 10 years! These will be man-sized socks.

Hopefully my camera issues will be resolved and I'll be able to post pictures of finished socks and knitting and vegetable gardens soon.  Until then I'll either be forced to blog without adding photos or resort to old pictures to make it interesting.

Love,
Kim

May's Socks

Dear Mom,
Started late but finished early, these socks are ready to be washed and put in the gift drawer! I started out with these using a rather complicated stitch pattern, couldn't read the stitches in the variegated colors, lost my place in the pattern and realized that really, when it comes to socks, I just want to knit on auto pilot. Hand knit socks feel good on your feet no matter how plain or fancy. So, simple socks it is again. And again.
Love,
Kim

Socks, Spinning and Something Really Pretty

Dear Mom,

April's socks were finished in April, but just barely. These will go into the drawer for future gift giving. The yarn for May's socks is still languishing on the dining room table waiting for a ride on the ball winder.

I spent a good bit of time over the past couple of weeks spinning this. It may just look like more pretty yarn, but I see this skein of yarn as evidence of improving spinning skills. The roving for this yarn was purchased by CarolWhoseHouseGotStruckbyLightning at the Greencastle Fiber Event and I agreed to spin it for her.

 And this next beauty came off the needles last night and off the blocking wires this morning. It was started in July 2009 and set aside for a reason I can't remember, but it certainly wasn't because this thing was hard. It was a pretty quick knit once I buckled down and actually worked on the thing.

 This is the Panda Silk Dk Fan Shawl by Gail Tanquary- a free pattern. I used Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca Silk yarn- 5 skeins, I think.  I couldn't be happier with the way this turned out. Beautiful yarn, elegant shawl. Really perfect for spring. And one less project waiting to be completed. If only I could be certain that they would all turn out this nicely.

Love,

Kim



March socks

Dear Mom,
They were started late, but March's socks are finished. Yes, Yes, they do look a little different, don't they?!
They are a perfect example of why one needs to check DYE LOTS on the yarn label. I remember purchasing this yarn on vacation- on our way to Myrtle Beach, years ago, in a lovely yarn shop in Hendersonville, NC. My Hero coordinates our pit stops with yarn shop visits if at all possible, and I remember this was one of those. And that despite all reassurances that I could "take all the time" I needed, I KNEW there two children and a husband anxious to get back on the road and get to the beach. Obviously I skipped the "check the dye lot" part of my yarn purchase.
I'll keep this odd pair for myself. My feet and I won't mind the slight difference in color, and the socks will still be just as warm.
Love,
Kim

February's socks are finished!

Dear Mom,
Last night, while watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show and hoping that I would see a breed of dog who looked like Patsy.....one that was not a Great Dane.....I finished February's socks. And the only Patsy look alike was the Great Dane. Thankfully, Patsy is pint sized compared to that guy.

The socks are wrapped and ready to be gifted. Generic sort of man sized socks, with a 4 x 2 rib around the leg. Trekking sock yarn that is probably vintage by now. I have no idea how long it has been in my stash.

I keep detouring myself from the sweater I am working on- a design of my own that has been simmering for awhile. For some reason the knitting on this has been slow going. Maybe because I sense that no matter how fast I work on it,  the weather will be warm when I finish. Or maybe I am afraid that it will still be sweater weather when I finish. I don't know. But I do want to see if the sweater in my brain lives up to the real deal, and the only way I'll know that is to get the knitting done.

Several days of melting ice and snow means that I can see some patches of lawn and parts of our driveway. The jet stream is bringing in warm air from the gulf and all that adds up to a desire to start Spring Cleaning. Completely overwhelming if I think about all of it, so I've decided to really break it down- a little at a time is better than nothing at all and even if it is 20 minutes here and there I will eventually get the job(s) done.

Patsy has gotten quite a bit of attention on the blog lately, so I am going to close with a picture of the Best in Show at this house.

Bumper Joseph

Love,
Kim

A Confession

Dear Mom,
Way back in JUNE, Michele and I had a little exchange. We traded a pair of handknit socks and an appliqued quilt block.
That quilt block has waited so long to be finished. I was feeling guilty. Because it was so beautiful, I was afraid that I would ruin it. It has taken me this long to work up the courage.
Thursday evening I took a deep breath and turned Michele's applique into a very special pillow.

Michele had very thoughtfully sent along fabric for the backing. I just needed to sew in a zipper, stitch up the other three sides, and insert the pillow form. As with most things, it was the thinking about it that was the hard part. The actual doing it was a breeze. As I said, my fear of ruining it had paralyzed me. But this gift wasn't meant to be folded away and taken out occasionally to be admired. It deserved to be seen and shared and to remind me of the kind, special person who made it for me. It now sits where you see it in that photo- in my knitting nest. Thank you, Michele!

February's socks are ahead of schedule. This is even a man-sized pair!

I've pretty much only knit on these this past week. It would seem that my nasty too-much-winter dispostion has affected my knitting. None of my knitting in progress was appealing, and I mostly knit these socks by default. I couldn't even work up the enthusiasm to start a new project. But now that one sock is done and the second sock started, and the weather forecast is promising mid 30's today, 40's tomorrow and maybe even into the 50's (!!!!!) next week, I feel a glimmer of hope. And I made a second pair of Duffers last night! I'll share them here once they've been felted and finished.

Love,
Kim

Brach's Candy Socks

Dear Mom,

I finished knitting the socks that hug my feet. This is a fraternal, not identical pair. I wasn't willing to sacrifice the yardage to find the exact same starting place in the pattern repeat. I'll do that for short pattern reps, but for long repeats I don't think it is worth it.

The yarn is Trekking XXL and I think the color ( #126) is discontinued. Too bad. It reminds me of a bag of Brach's candy.

This pair of socks is not my usual mostly generic sock pattern. I found the pattern here and I was intrigued by the unusual shaping. Strategically placed paired increases and decreases keep the knitting interesting and create a sock that is shaped to fit securely around the foot. Can you see that subtle arch shape along the bottom of the foot?

Keeping track of all that shaping made the knitting move along quickly, but it also made this a project that required more attention than my usual sock pattern. Also, they do fit my foot perfectly, but not the Young Lady's (yeah me!) , so if I am going to make them for another foot, I'd have to do some figuring.... Or just keep making them for me.

I'd show you the bottom of the foot, but I haven't mastered the skill of kicking my leg up and shooting a photo over my shoulder. I'd probably hurt myself. Not probably. I know I would. And it is weird enough that I am taking pictures of my stocking feet without asking somebody else to take the picture for me.

Another sock inspiration found me in a round about way when I was reading A Stitch to Wear last week. Reading about her baby blanket lead me here and it was as if I suddenly had magnets in my fingertips attracting me to all my sock yarn leftovers. And believe me, I have plenty of those.

Soooo, check this out.

After casting on with my main color (the leftover bit that I had the most of) and knitting a decorative border for the cuff, I knit a different yarn on to each of my four sock needles. One of those being the main color.

Because I am knitting in rounds, each needle has a "new" yarn waiting for me. All  I do is drop the "old" color and start knitting with the "new" color. And around and around I go. When I get to the heel, I'll use the main color alone, and do the same for the toe. The results so far are definitely worth the occasional yarn untwisting that I need to do.

And four partial balls of sock yarn will become a lovely pair of socks.

This is just the sort of thing that makes me believe in the magic of knitting.

Love,

Kim