Tag Archives: Knitting

Two To Tango: Or “I Could Have Danced All Night”

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Started Sock Pattern #2 in The Joy of Sox – “Two to Tango”.  I am totally addicted.  I did not want to put these down, but I am down to the wire now on my secret (gift) projects.  I really like fair isle, but I am pretty new to it.  I have never done it in a sock.  I have had tension problems when I tried it once with a mitten, so now I am really focusing on “keeping it loose and relaxed”.  This seems to be working.  I am using the technique where you have one color in your left hand and one in your right.  So I guess I am knitting Continental style from the left, and English from the right.  Talk about making a person feel like a real knitter!

First though, I knitted the cutest fun cuff.  It’s got a little ruffle to it.

And now – see the fishies?

This yarn is so soft and squishy too.  It’s the Knit Picks Stroll – Tonal.  It feels so nice and is awesome to knit with.  The colors are just right too.  I can’t wait to get back to it today!

Yesterday we had a nice Father’s Day.  Davey wanted an entire party.  We went to Walmart, and he wanted balloons, streamers, cups, decorations, and games.  We settled for a small cake, candle and singing “Happy Father’s Day to you”. This made him very happy – oh and David too!

And finally.  Yesterday David overheard Davey talking to our little Daisy girl.  She’s an older girl who we adopted a few years ago.  So Davey was sitting with her saying: “We love you sooooo much.  You are a precious girl.  You love wagging your tail and eating food and drinking water.”  Sweet boy.

Roll in the Hay Socks: Complete = Yay!

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I finished them!  They turned out nice.  I wrote this before, but if I were to knit them again, I would definitely knit them on a smaller needle.  I used size 2.  I should have used  size 1.  But that’s just my gauge.  I am a kind of loose knitter I think.

So then I wanted to take pictures of them.  David has not yet gotten into photographing my knitted objects with any kind of creative flair, so I wanted to try to take the pictures myself.  I walked this morning and came home a sweaty mess.  I picked up my wool socks and went back into the 70% humidity and 90 degree temperature and sat in the grass to try to get a decent picture.  I tried holding up the camera in front of me and pointing at my feet.  I got silly results such as – Socks in the Wild:

I was having a hard time with the light.

I took a few pictures inside too.  Actually this was when I had David’s assistance – but he was not thrilled with the junk in the background (which I tried to crop out as best I could):

Ok so I am happy they are done!  Enough about them, and on to Two to Tango.  I keep looking forward through this sock book and there are just such a variety of sock patterns.  I get excited looking at them.   I am blocking out of my mind that there are “experienced” patterns which also call for Magic Loop which I have never done.  That’s for another day.

Abit about Davey.  He got a haircut today.  It’s very cute.  He went to the barber shop and he did just great.  Davey let the barber put the cape on him, and he held the lollipop, that David had bought him in advance, under his cape.  His hair was getting so long with cute little curls, but this will be much cooler.  It makes him look like a little boy though – which I know he is.

He played at the playground after that.  He didn’t seem too phased by the 70% humidity and 90 degree temps – well except for that little red face:

Knit in Public Day

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I am writing a little later in the day then usual.  This morning, I went to knit  with my friends from our knitting group.  It was a great time.  We all gathered in a restaurant  downtown.  It was a great morning and we knitted into the early afternoon.  I meant to bring my camera and take some pictures, but I completely forgot it.

David brought Davey up and they “strolled” around downtown.  It was getting too hot to do that for too long though.  They came back after abit and had lunch with me.  And then I knitted some more!  Knitting all morning with friends – with a visit from the Davids – I couldn’t ask for much more than that!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on my first pair of socks from Joy of Sox!  I am approaching the toe on sock number 2.   Yay!   It’s funny that when I started this sock, I needed a quiet room and total concentration.  And now, I am knitting on it while I watch tv.  Maybe not always the best idea as I did have to un-knit (tink) a few times, but there were no major repairs required.  I am looking forward to posting a picture of the completed socks!

We just got back from the waterpark.  It’s just about too hot to even go to the waterpark.   We laughed when everyone told us that last summer was a “mild” summer.  Turns out they weren’t kidding!

Yesterday, Davey discovered the sprinklers.  He played and played and played in our driveway.  He absolutely loved them. Here are some pictures. (David took the pictures.  We just let Davey strip down and play.  So after David was done, I asked him about taking the photos, and he said he took lots of good “Elvis” shots.  I didn’t know what that meant, so he explained, “from the waist up”.  I just thought that was pretty funny!

Library Day

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We are off to Hot Springs in a little while to go to the library.  It is time for a new stack for Davey.  We’ve had Yo Yes by Chris Raschka this time around.  A simple but great book.  I particularly like it because it brings back memories of reading it to Mikayla when I guess she was around Davey’s age.  And now Davey asks to read it over and over again.

Of course a trip to Hot Springs means a trip to Chick-Fil-A!  Some knitting time for me while Davey plays.  I am getting ready to start the heel flap on the second sock.  Yay!  My other project is also progressing well too!

Davey decided on a yellow beanbag.  Actually he was kind of led to the choice by the saleslady.  He referred to her as the “payer”.  This is anyone who you encounter in a store to whom you give money.  It’s no use explaining at this point that actually she would be the “payee”.  I tried.  🙂  So anyway, he kept changing his mind, and I was in no hurry, so I was just letting him go with it.  The “payer” didn’t have other customers but I can definitely see why she might grow weary, so when he came back to yellow for the 2nd or 3rd time, she said, “OK! Yellow!  Let’s take it outside!”  He was happy with his choice of yellow.  However, he has retired it to his bedroom  for the time being.  It’s a little frustrating for a 2 year old to perch at the top of a beanbag.  We are going to break it in for him.

Happy Library Day!  Oh and tomorrow is Knit in Public Day for me.  I am going downtown to knit with my knitting friends.

I took this picture at Papa Jerry and Pearl’s the other day.   Thought it was so pretty.

Davey had so much fun playing with the flashlight!

Sock One Complete!

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I finished my first Roll in the Hay Sock.  Yay!  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  Ideally, I could have probably gone down a  needle size for a slightly snugger fit.  I  have a giant foot too, so a person with a regular size foot would definitely want to gauge and adjust.  (yep, pawning the gauging off to those with little feet!)  Here’s photos:

Now it’s time to knock the second sock out!

Davey is playing and playing and playing and playing and playing with Oma and Opa.  We went to Ouachita this morning and walked around.  He “fished” in the fountain too:

He enjoyed walking with Oma and Opa:

Happy Friday!

Are Oma and Opa here yet?

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Oma and Opa are coming today.  (my parents).  Davey says, “it’s so exciting”.  He keeps asking me when are they coming?  They are just staying one night.  He will not like them to leave tomorrow already, but he will be happy to see them.

Sock number one is almost complete!  I hope to finish it today. First however, I had to take care of the mountain of laundry on the guest bed, as that might have presented a sleeping problem for my parents.  The mountain has been folded and put away.   However,the laundry never quits coming, and it’s just the 3 of us!  David would explain though that we are in Arkansas in the summer where showers and a change of clothes are required 2-3 times daily.

Davey just came up to me very happy to show me that he found a pacifier.  I am trying to keep them away from him except for nap and night time.  He will probably find them in various secret places until he is 5 years old!

I am thinking about this yarn for my Two To Tango socks that I plan to start next week:  http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420134 In “Blue Yonder” and “Springtime”.

Here is what these socks will knit up to look like: (ideally!)

Which reminds me, I never posted an image of what the first socks are going to look like (except in a different color, and maybe not quite as perfectly knitted!)

Ok. the mountain is returning.

Heel Flap, Turn Heel, Shape Gusset

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Moving right along on my sock!  (A Roll in the Hay) Yesterday I knitted the heel flap.  I did a slip stitch heel, and I just thought it looked so nice with this yarn in particular.  Here it is!

Next, I turned the heel:

I am fascinated by the heel of a sock.  You take a tube, add a flap, pick up stitches and make this cool heel.

So now I am working on “Shaping the Gusset”.   If that term doesn’t make a person feel like a “real knitter”, nothing will!

It occurred to me that after I finish this sock, I need to knit the other one.   That’s a problem when I am already looking longingly towards the next pattern.  I don’t suppose that I could work my way through the book, knitting only one sock from each pattern.  What if I promised to come back and knit the second ones later?  I know, bad bad idea.  The second sock should go much more quickly though now that I have figured the pattern out.

And then I will start a pattern called Two To Tango!  It involves a little color work where I will knit little fishies!

It’s pretty cool outside today (relatively speaking).  Davey likes to go downtown and “stroll”.  He gets in his stroller and we wander around town. So I think we are going to go do that now before it gets too warm or the sun comes back out.

Finally, this morning, David and Davey were building.  I was trying to take pictures of them, and Davey kept saying, “Mommy you startled me!” everytime the flash went off.

Davey loved the giraffe they built:

Her Bags are packed…she’s ready to go.

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Frazzled hot sweaty Arkansas Christina is all set to go to London.  I know this is a little weird, but I couldn’t stand to seal her up in a plastic bag for protection.  I had to leave it open at the top which kind of defeats the purpose of protection.  I didn’t much like taping her in the envelope either.  Maybe quite a bit weird.  But Davey and I are getting ready to take her to the post office.

I am through with the leg of my Roll in the Hay Sock and am starting the heel flap!  I made it through the transition row! There was some errata for that row as well that I found on ravelry.  I was able to figure out it though without too much trouble.

I will take pictures of the heel process.  I love making the heel of a sock.  There are several ways to do it, but I only know one. (Although, as I work my way through this book, I have a feeling I will learn others.)  I do a standard heel, and it is just such fun.

Ok, time to go say bon voyage to mini-me.  Oh, I started re-reading A Walk in the Woods last night by Bill Bryson.  I read it probably 10 years ago.  I made the mistake of starting it right before I went to sleep.  David was already asleep.  Bill Bryson makes me laugh so much.  I was trying to not wake David up, so laughter tears were just rolling.  He is magical in his humorous writing.  I love him.  I guess I am stating the obvious when I say that I highly recommend this book.  As an added bonus, I am learning a lot about the Appalachian Trail.

Davey is feeling totally recovered an is back to his normal energetic self.  Yay for that.

Ok, now I am getting the hang of it.

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Ok, the Roll in the Hay socks are progressing nicely.  I have got the hang of the pattern!  Here is what happens to me a lot in knitting.  What at first seems almost impossibly hard to figure out next becomes very simple.   I guess maybe that’s life in general huh!  So I am just going right along on my sock.  Basically it’s a k2 p2 rib with these triangles thrown in for good measure!

Here is something else I am excited about.  Stitch London teamed up with London’s Science Museum  for this Who am I? project.  Crafters are encouraged to knit, crochet or sew a mini version of themselves.  Once complete, I am supposed to send it to London where it will be part of an exhibit in the museum.  You can read more about it at: http://www.stitchldn.com/stitchyourself.html

So,  I finished mine this morning.  It’s time for her grand unveiling.  I have created “Frazzled Hot Sweating Arkansas Summer Christina”.  She is wearing her standard t-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks.  Hair styling is an impossibility, so she has made an attempt to pull it back into a ponytail.

Now I have to mail her to London.  This makes me kind of sad.  However,  I bet it is lots lots cooler in London and not as humid.  She’ll probably be very happy that I sent her!

Here she is! (please don’t make fun of her funny left arm.  She’s really sensitive about it.)

Rippppit. Ripppppppit

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Yep.  Frogged ’em.  I still like the feel of bamboo sock yarn, but this yarn is not meant for a pattern where there is so much texture and stitch definition.  So I have begun again.  I had some Knit Picks Gloss in Burgundy in my small stash.   It is 70% wool and 30% silk.  Going to try that.

I had reached a row in my pattern that I could just not figure out.  I was befuddled.  Thank goodness for Ravelry.  I messaged the author of the pattern. (Her name is Gina House, and she is very helpful and friendly!)  She referred me to a forum where they had been discussing errata for the pattern and in particular, this row!  I can imagine it would be really frustrating to see errors in  your pattern after publish.  But thank goodness for ravelry.  Yeah, said that already.

If you knit this pattern, watch out for row 10.  I will be happy to point you to the errata for it.  There is also errata for the transition row.  I am not there yet so I have no idea what it is about.  However, here’s the cool thing that happens in row 10.   You slip 10 stitches and pass the first one over the other 9.  It is not easy to do, but creates that look of a sheaf of wheat.  Cool huh!  That part I was able to figure out, it was the rest of the row that I was having trouble with.

Luckily I am a “process” knitter instead of a “product” knitter.  So starting over again is of no consequence to me.  Yeah, I’ll keep telling myself that.   But I really minded a lot less than I thought I might.  It was good to test out the bamboo, and now I’ll see how this knitpicks knits up!

And now to Davey.  He is sick.  He had almost a 103 last night.  Now this morning it is back up to 102.  Poor thing.  He’s watching shows and is tucked into his little fold out sofa thing.  Pillow and little blanket and his “tas” (pacifiers) are all he wants at the moment.

We had some fun family/friend plans for the weekend – more this weekend than usual – but it happens. Here’s Davey a few days ago feeling great!  Here’s  hoping he will be back to this in a day or so!