Monday knitting.  I have several things going and then a kajillion more that I wish I could start right now.  However, the goal:  Finish current projects.  Start new projects which utilize yarn already owned by me.

I am test knitting a purse for a friend.  The pattern calls for cotton yarn.  I thought I’d try to be frugal in my cotton yarn purchase, so I am using the old basic washcloth Sugar ‘n Cream cotton from Hobby Lobby.  It’s good sturdy stuff.  I was afraid it would make my hands sore after awhile, but it really hasn’t.    Patti has all sorts of fun colorwork going on in this purse.  I’ve started with the dots section.

I love the different colors.  I have two more dot colors to add.  I think they are going to be purple and yellow.  She’s written a great pattern, and I am happy to be able to try it out for her.

I am also working on my “Make-up Socks” from Joy of Sox.  These have gotten a little comical.  It’s hard to tell from this not so great photo (and I don’t have the socks in any sort of length context – like sitting beside a canoe),  but these socks are a tad long.

This is a toe-up sock.  I was worried that I was going to leave the foot too short, so I think in my efforts not to do this, I instead have made it abit long (clown feet).  I may have to find a person who has an even longer foot than I do.  That may not be an easy task.  It may work out to fit ok.  We shall see.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for people with really looonnnngggg feet.

I wanted to try to photograph some of the pretty detail in this pattern, so I put the sock onto my new cool Christmas gift sock blockers.   I still am having trouble getting a photo that I am happy with. (with which I am happy!)

I’m about done with the heel on this sock.  If I can not get distracted I should finish it soon.  And then.  Sock number 2.  It may be July.

And finally.  I bought this yarn in Ft Collins awhile back.  It’s the dogbite yarn. I guess calling the yarn that makes it look like I have a negative association with it, but I really don’t.  I love the fact that I know the names of the alpacas from which it came.  I’ll rename it. It’s the Angel and Wyoming yarn.  I don’t know what I should make with it though.  Any ideas?

Today we headed over to the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.  They were having an airplane model show.  Some of the planes were the small ones that you build,  and then there were the big remote control powered ones that fly 200 miles per hour and look like this:

We didn’t see any of those in action.  We’d really like to sometime.   It was really interesting to learn about them.

So we walked around and looked at the planes, and people were demonstrating their different types of remote control planes.

Davey sat in the cockpit of some kind of bomber airplane flown in the Korean War.   He wasn’t quite sure what to think about it.

I thought this giant Earth globe thing was really neat too.

It rotated.  I think I am the only one who really enjoyed watching that.  So cool.

We had lunch at a fun hot dog place called Mustard’s Last Stand.  Isn’t that cute?

This afternoon we made crowns and hats.  Davey and I went for crowns with pom poms.  David created a hybrid bear/superhero helm.   Davey found it all quite fun.  However, it’s probably pretty obvious that the poor kid wanted no part of this photo.

I love the following picture.  I need to frame it and put it on my desk for anytime I need an immediate smile.

I finished my hat and wrote up the  pattern.    I’ve named it the “Elfish Hat”.   Here’s a link to the pattern:  Elfish Hat. This is the hat that I replicated from the red one that I had bought years and years ago.  This hat:

It’s a simple hat.  Not much going on really, but it’s very comfortable and I think it’s cute with the I-cord and pom pom.  I am happy with how it turned out.  I was trying to get David to take some good pictures of the hat.  Davey was not helping matters much, but it made for fun photos.

Here’s evidence of the little monkey as we tried to get another picture.

So the hat is knitted flat.  It’s easy as pie.  Garter stitch galore which can get old after awhile, but it’s a great “pull out and knit anywhere” knit.   I still think it would be great for a beginner first learning how to decrease as well.

Here’s how the hat looks flat.

Once you are done knitting, you go right into a 3 inch I-cord.  Then you make the pom pom and attach it.  Finally you seam up the hat.  I used a mattress stitch, at least I think that’s what it was.

One final photo of the little photo saboteur.

Last June I decided I was going to knit my way through The Joy of Sox.  I was doing really well and knocking the patterns out one by one until November.  At that time, I started thinking about Christmas things.  I’d also started a pair in the book that were just totally tedious.  So I put them aside for awhile.

Now, I’ve decided it was time to get going on the book again.  The socks have been set  aside for awhile, and now they don’t seem nearly as tedious.  They are not a quick knit by any means, but I am enjoying them again.  I am still not a huge fan of purling in the round, but it’s ok, and this is such a pretty pattern.  I am almost to the heel of the first sock.  It’s a toe-up pattern.  This is a terrible picture, but it gives a small idea of what the sock will look like.

An even greater “joy” in knitting is that David finally let me teach him how to knit.  He’s really taken to it.  His garter stitch already looks perfect and even.  It doesn’t surprise me.   He’s doing his first scarf.  (He is calling it a potholder currently.)  He is using size 10 needles and is knitting with gray Lamb’s Pride yarn left over from his sweater.  I have a few skeins of it left.

Here he is in action:

and here:

And here comes T-R-O-U-B-L-E in the form of little Davey.  He grabbed yarn and was ready to take off.  His expression is just plain ornery!

What he really wanted was the camera.  So we let him go after it.  He took this picture of Davey and me.  Very goofy of me, but Davey took it so – it’s precious.

Speaking of knitting – Davey is asleep, and it is time to go knit a little!