thanksgiving desserts

i don't know about your family but our thanksgiving dinner always ends up with way too many desserts. this year, we had 6 pies, one ice cream cake, and these delicious cranberry bars for 18 adult/teenage persons and 2 younger children who didn't eat much but played a lot of video games.

cranberry bars

i was told that they are even better frozen and they are. i am so thankful for the internet and my new-found internet friends who love to knit and cook. the cranberry bar recipe came from my new friend, tunie, a former californian who has tranplanted herself & hubby to the land-down-under. yummy, yummy. i am thinking that they would be even MORE delish with a handful of chocolate chips.

i am almost done with my pair of socks i am knitting from panda superwash. for some reason, i have been making all kinds of mistakes on the mate and have spent a lot of time talking to my little green friends down at the frog pond. i have enough yarn left-over that i might make a pair of baby socks to throw in the washing machine...just to check out the superwash.

my own pattern
panda superwash "joyful"
color pretty accurate in this photo

carried pattern down toe

see how well the heel fits?
i added about a 1" heel flap before starting the short row heel.

the only thing i didn't like was the transition from the ribbing into the pattern. i would definitely change that if i were to reknit this.

old navy

finished a pair of socks for my brother who said he wanted "blue"socks; so blue socks it is!

" old navy socks"
regia line steps color #5374

us size 1.5 needles (2.5mm)
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch in sockinette
mods: cast on 72 sts because yarn is thinner and socks are for a guy! knit pattern on leg only; extended ribbing down instep; eye of partridge heel flap. and they match, too!

then, i decided to play with some of the new panda wool superwash that susan sent me. psup (nickname used by cpy) feels and knits the same as its mommy, panda wool. It's still a bit splitty but not extremely so. i only really notice it when i have to pick up stitches i've dropped or frogged. the test will be in the washing. i plan on knitting up a swatch from the left-overs and throwing it in the washing machine. the original pwool seemed to felt if you even looked cross-eyed at it!

my own pattern
socks for my sil
panda superwash "joyful" (color is pretty accurate in first picture)
186 yds/50 gm

needles: us size 1.5 (2.5mm)
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch in stockinette

i hate short row heels; and yes, you do see a short row heel in that sock. i don't like them mainly because they generally don't fit my high instep and because i can never get the two sides of the heel to look the same. nonetheless, you never can tell when knowing how to knit one will come in handy so i will periodically try different ones (which usually get frogged and replaced by a heel flap and gusset). i have learned that working a short heel flap with a short row heel or using 60% of the stitches works. i just have not found a short row heel that i like ... until now. this is a jojo heel with a tutorial here. both sides look pretty much the same. i am getting very small holes but think that those will go away with more practice. and i know you are probably asking when would i need to use a short row heel. well, two situations do come to mind. did you know that short row heels use less yardage than the traditional heel flap and gusset? so this is a handy trick for the times you don't have a whole lot of yarn. short row heels also cause less pooling of handpainted yarns and such. of course, adding the small heel flap will still cause some disruption.

jojo short row heel with small heel flap!

i can live with this one!

jasmine scarf

knit with mini-mochi strawberry-lime rainbow. lace stitch matches the fingerless mitt. if you don't mind a shorter scarf ( i calculated that you can make a scarf about 40" in length from one skein), then you can make a nice gift set of the scarf and the fingerless mitts from 2 skeins.

here is the cast-on edge, using a cute picot cast-on and garter stitch border
(i like the slight ruffle effect of the edge so would probably only lightly block the finished scarf)

this is the bind-off edge with a matching picot bind-off
(i think the two ends match very well)

and just for fun, i am showing a picture of my entire "scarf"

i used a us 5 and will have to knit a stockinette swatch to see what gauge is.
i like the fabric i got for the scarf.

edited to add gauge:
us 5 needles in stockinette (not washed or blocked)
6 sts - 8 rows/inch

it's not blocked yet. i am going to see what water does to this gorgeous yarn later today.

is that funny or what? it's about 6 inches long and weighs 7 gms. i can't wait until i have time to knit a real set for me out of neptune rainbow!

i am naming the set "jasmine". thank you, cait!

i have been trying to be good and stay away from this yarn. i have been working on my brother's sock. one done, and the other almost down to the heel flap...slowly, very slowly.

crazy over you

is up and ready for purchase. link on sidebar.

thank you for your interest and support.

margaritaville

...is spiffed up and ready for purchase over at my ravelry shop. there is a link on the sidebar!

oh boy! two patterns up! slowly getting the other ones ready. sigh.

chance to win MORE yarn

go visit to knit and write and leave a comment telling your favorite yarn and your favorite project.

please tell her i sent you over for brownie point entries. one winner will be the person with the most entries and two more winners will be selected by a random number generator. i love blog contests.

contest ends at midnight november 23rd! hurry, hurry!!!!

free mini-mochi!

did i get your attention?! yes, you can win some free mini-mochi. hey, don't look at me! i don't have any. you need to head on over to socks and more where they are holding a drawing. the deadline to enter is december 2nd, 12 midnight pst.

more details here. of course, if you win, you have to send the yarn to me! i want it ALLLLLL!













finished the sock. look at the gorgeous color transitions. it reminds of of a tropical sunset. hey, pass me an umbrella drink!

another mini mochi ball

susan sent me another color to play with. this one is strawberry-lime rainbow (#106). i am knitting the sample as a toddler size sock but am planning on using this for an uni-sex adult size sock. the slight texture brings interest to the yarn without distracting from the beautiful color changes. i did "cheat" and used the other end of the ball to knit the heel so as not to disrupt the colors as presented.

view of instep
(i still haven't reached the beginning of the next repeat yet)

side view
colors are close but not accurate. the orange is actually slightly more red than here.

i am wondering how this pattern would work with panda superwash. susan sent me a couple of balls of that to play with too. off to experiment.

you know this is really bad. i still have my windowpane socks and the mate to my brother's old navy socks to knit. distractions, distractions!!!!!! not good but oh soooooo FUN!

mini mochi, part 2

i finished my mini mochi fingerless mitt sample for crystal palace yarns. i am not use to knitting with single ply yarn so it took a bit to get use to the fluffy aspect of the yarn but once i did, knitting with it was wonderful.
i used around 22 gms for the one mitt so one skein of mini-mochi will be enough for a pair. the colors are a little faded in the pixs.


the colors are a little better in the photo below. you can see the color changes better on the palm side. just for fun, i used some of the stitch pattern from the top on the cuff ribbing.

the yarn is actually pretty sturdy. i had to pull pretty hard to break off the end when i finished the mitt.

i had a hard enough time taking a picture of my left hand in a fingerless mitt. you should have seen me try to take these pictures of my right hand in a fingerless mitt. let me tell you that it is very difficult; especially when i am right-handed and the button for the shutter on the camera is on the right hand side.

now comes the hard part...i need a name (kind of like the princess in never-ending story.)...hmmm, fantasia. maybe.

mini mochi

don't cha love that name?! reminds me of those japanese mochi which are absolutely squishable! this mini mochi (or mini m) is a new yarn ( self-striping single ply, fingering weight merino wool/nylon blend) from crystal palace yarns. it will come in some glorious colors (similar to noro sock). only this yarn is so much softer than noro. ask me how i know!

because..........(squeee) i am playing with one of only 8 partial skeins available in this world!

"heaven, i'm in heaven..."

flame rainbow (#102)
colors are a bit more subdued than in photo

and it is sooooooooooo soft! i would compare it to malabrigo; yes, it is that soft.
i want to make scarves!

but it is lacking one thing that noro has...

VEGGIE MATTER!
yep, no twigs, leaves, thorns, etc.

it has some thick and thin spots, as is common with single ply yarns, but the differences are not extreme. there is a nice halo to the yarn. and that blue one is to die for...i want it all!!! MINE! MINE! MINE!

you will need to get yourself some of this when it becomes available; if there is any after i get to it. and it will be cheaper ($8.60/50gm, yes, i had to ask) than noro.

i am working on a fingerless mitt (sample for the tnna show) to show off the color variations of the yarn . pattern for the mitts and a matching scarf will be available on the cpy website eventually. i want to make matching socks too! susan said i could!

i got some panda superwash (psup) to play with too but the mini mochi needed its own post. it is too wonderful!

merletto mitts

...are ready for my hands, just in the nick of time, as the weather has definitely turned cold this week. of course, next week is another story. this is california, after all.

i enjoyed the pattern; enough going on to be interesting, but simple enough not to boggle the mind. i did frog the first mitt back to the cuff after knitting the second one. first, i was hoping that i could knit both mitts with one skein of yarn (didn't quite make it) and secondly because i wanted to move the thumbs in from the edge.

merletto mitts
finished size: palm circumference - 6 1/2" relaxed
wrist circumference- 5 1/4 " relaxed

panda wool in lacquer red
us size 1.5 needles (2.5mm)
gauge in stockinette: 8.5 sts/inch
used slightly over one skein
i managed to knit both mitts minus the thumbs with one skein
but this is the original put-up for the yarn so you might be ok with the newer skeins.

i made quite a few modifications so they would fit my almost 6" wrist. i am showing the palm side of the mitt so you can see that the thumb placement is more anatomically correct.

• used smaller needle for smaller gauge. i knew the pattern as written would not fit my hand.
• did 14 rounds of ribbing instead of 10.
  
• continued the ribbing on the palm side of the mitt for 3 repeats of the lace so mitt would fit snugger around my wrist.
• knit 4 pattern repeats instead of 5 before starting thumb gusset.
• for right mitt: k6, pm, then started thumb per pattern. mirrored on left mitt. this helped keep the lace pattern centered over the hand. i knit the first mitt per pattern but found the thumb pulled the pattern sideways. increased every 3rd round instead of every other to compensate for tighter gauge.
• didn't like that the top ribbing did not match the bottom ribbing but could not find another way so finally just followed the pattern for the top. i did mirror the bottom ribbing on the palm side. also started ribbing on palm on round 7 of final pattern repeat.
• errata-there is a mistake in the first decrease/set-up round; the pattern assumes 29 sts on the palm side but there are only 27 sts.

i don't know how to photograph my own hand so that it is in a graceful position. this is about as good as it gets. it's kind of like trying to photograph your socks on your feet without making your leg look like an elephants.

the winner is

...picked. but first, i want to share some stuff i have been working on.

i finally finished the hermione cable and eyelet hat for my niece. i did a cast-on of 132 sts for 12 repeats of the cable pattern; worked a total of 4 repeats of the pattern; and followed the decreases for the crown per the pattern-ending with 6 sts instead of the 5. i hope i didn't make the hat too big. she does have a lot of hair so this might work. the closest thing i had to a model was our ice bucket!

hermione cable and eyelet hat
woolease (for the college student) 70 gms
us 5 needles

i finally got bored of miters after almost finishing the leg of the second windowpane sock. so what's a person to do? start another project! i've been wanting a pair of fingerless mitts to wear when our weather starts to get a bit chilly (soon). i wanted to use a fingering weight yarn so decided to go with these. i love cables and lace.

merletto mitts (ravelry link)

panda wool (lacquer red)
will use slightly over a skein or i could frog back one repeat on the arm
us 1.5 needles (2.5mm)
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

i made a bunch of modifications. i am not happy with the top ribbing yet. i have done 3 different ones so far. i didn't like the pattern because it does not mirror the bottom ribbing. i may end up with a plain 1x1 ribbing which will at least match the thumb. i will post my mods when i finish the second mitt. (and no comments from the peanut gallery. yes, i am talking to you, ms d!!!)

ah, contest. i found this lovely skein of socks that rock in lightweight for the winner. isn't it purdy?! the colorway is turquoise.

before i announce the winner, i want to thank all of you for playing along. i have put some of your suggestions in my never-ending queue. thankyouverymuch!!!!

THE WINNER OF
KNITTING IN THE BELLYBUTTON OF CALIFORNIA'S
100th + POSTS CONTEST
is........

congratulations, gigi! please email me through my profile with your snail mail addy and i will get this out to you!

announcing

...no winner yet. i'm still thinking.

however, i did almost finish one of the windowpane socks. wanna see some pictures?!

just need to kitchener the toe

cth supersock merino (river run)
13 sts mitered squares/10 squares
7 tiers of miters
(could have probably gotten away with 6)
continued miters down heel flap
3 random miters on instep
used us 1.5 (2.5mm) needles on leg and heel flap
used us 1 (2.25mm) needles on foot
gauge: 9 sts/inch in stockinette (2.25mm needles)

check back later in the week when i will announce a winner for my 100+ posts contest!

started something new

here is a progress shot of hermione's cable and eyelets hat (as seen in the movie "harry potter and the half-blood prince"). it will be for my niece who devoured all the harry potter books on the first night they were released...reading into the wee hours of the morning. i guess you could say she loves! harry potter. i am using a very machine washable woolease as she is now a college freshman, responsible for doing her own laundry. i am not sure who was responsible for her laundry last year but she said she was NOT responsible for shrinking the horcrux socks i made her for christmas. i have learned my lesson.

i am still working on the mitered windowpane socks. gladys has posted part 3 of her tutorial. i am not there yet. i figure that i will do maybe 6 to 7 tiers before i get to the heel.

isn't this just too cute?!

don't forget to leave a comment on my contest post if you want to be in the drawing for some socks that rock yarn!

someone else is having a contest

...and she is giving away some handspun yarn. go check jc out! she is holding a drawing every friday for the rest of october.

don't know if it is the link or blogger but here is her blog addy:

http://garnfiti.blogspot.com

i don't spin so i am in awe of anyone who does. but if i did start spinning, then i would have even less time to knit and i don't have enough time as it is.

wow! a contest!!!

where did the month go?

i did finish a pair of mismatched socks from the hurdy-gurdy and jabberwocky. it is fun to see how the pattern looks different depending on the yarn. i like both the definite stripes and the more variegated look. now to write up the pattern before tina kills me.

i hate boring knits. show me something different and i have to try it. i may not finish it (ie, the sideways socks from january '07. all the attempts have been frogged, never to be resurrected again) but i will try it. my latest challenge has been the mitered windowpane socks, a recipe by gladys of the yarn floozies.

the mitered squares are very easy and gladys has a wonderful tutorial, full of pictures. my problem was finding my "magic" number for my yarn (wanted an even number of squares).

• i started off with some cth sockitome in blueberry hill, my addis 2.5mm, and 13 stitch squares: 8 squares too small, 10 squares too big.
  
• same yarn, knitpicks 2.5mm, 11 stitch squares: 10 squares too small.
• same yarn, addis 2.5mm 11 stitch squares: decide i don't like the color because there is not enough variation.
• new yarn: cth supersock in river run, addis 2.5mm, 13 sts squares: same as first attempt.
• supersock, knitpicks 2.5mm, 13 stitch squares: 10 squares is perfect. did two tiers with miters facing the same direction. didn't like them facing the same direction.
• supersock, knitpicks 2.5mm, 13 stitch squares, 10 squares, alternating directions: FINALLY!

so, here is the beginning of my mitered windowpane socks:


i don't know if it is just me, but i find that i knit to a smaller gauge with my knitpicks 2.5mm as opposed to my addis 2.5mm. i measured both and the knitpicks seem just a little bit thinner. anyone else notice this?! or am i weird all by myself? (and no, debi, don't go there!)

we still have a few more spaces open for the carefree holiday (or not) kal. here's a chance to win some yarn just for knitting and you might even get a few of your holiday gifts out of the way. we cap at 100 people so if you are interested, please go on over and sign up. the kal ends november 30th.

so, about that contest to celebrate my belated 100th post! i may be convinced to dig into my stash of socks that rock to find a nice prize there. let me think (which can be very dangerous!). leave me a comment on this post about a project that you find intriguing or a project that you really want to knit. i would love a link! as you know, i am a sucker for brownie points. so, extra entry for posting about my contest on your blog (again, leave a comment on here) and extra entries for you if someone says you sent them over.

deadline for drawing is whenever i get up on tuesday, october 14th. that gives you a week! let the game begin!

edited to help those who can't think of anything intriguing. grin!

socks that rock!

i am starting to get a feel for how socks that rock knits up by looking at the way the yarn is dyed. i am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. but hurdy gurdy surprised me, in a good way.

hurdy gurdy, skein
socks that rock lightweight

hurdy gurdy, opened

hurdy gurdy, "swatch"
64 sts; knit with us 1.5 (2.5mm) needles
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

i love the way the colors alternate between a fairly solid stripe and a multi-colored stripe. i am going to have to go through my stash and see which other colors are dyed up this way.

i am also playing with some jabberwocky and this is knitting up fairly typical for this pattern of dyeing. i am posting this for comparison. my moody blues is dyed in a similar manner and knit up similarly to this.

jabberwocky, skein
socks that rock, lightweight


jabberwocky, opened


jabberwocky, "swatch"
64 sts; knit with us 1.5 (2.5mm) needles
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

the colors of the skeins themselves are very true to life; rich and lucious. i wasn't too sure about that "orange" in hurdy gurdy but it is a wonderful compliment to the burgundy/purple and the blue. i may have to start broadening my color palate.

there is still time to join me over at the carefree holiday (or not) kal (crocheters welcome too). there will be lots of fibery prizes. you should check out the "welcome" drawing prizes. winner of that drawing gets a choice! kal starts on october 1st.

come on over and play

join me over at carefree holiday (or not) kal. we are holiday knitting or not, depending on your mood. regardless, there will be fun and there will be prizes (yarn and some other goodies). kal runs from oct 1 to nov 30.

kal is limited to 100 people, so if you want to play, you had better head on over soon!

everyone who joins is eligible for the "welcome prize" drawing. mention that i sent you over. yes, it's the brownie point game.

the shop is open!

i signed up to open a shop on ravelry many months ago but have been procrastinating. one reason was i needed to spiff up my patterns, add pictures, and turn them into pdf's. a second reason was i told myself that it would be hard to upload the pdf's onto ravelry and get all the little stuff up. and finally, i really didn't know how much to charge for a pattern. i was almost ready to give my patterns away to anyone who expressed interest in them instead of putting them up on ravelry.

yesterday (after some nudging by a potential customer, hi tunie), i finally got my butt in gear and uploaded my first "for sale" pattern. it was already in pdf; although i did a little spiffing up on it before letting her make her debut!

" 'round robyn's house" is now available for purchase through ravelry. you don't have to be a member of ravelry to purchase this. hopefully, i will be able to set up a link in my sidebar. my knowledge in that area is zilch! now to get some of my other patterns up. "zen garden" is next and then "margaritaville".

and what do modern day scotsmen wear under their kilts?! these guys wore basketball shorts and black undies (hey, the guy was highland flinging and his kilt was flying!). i can' t say for sure about all of them but these were two i could see. much disappointment here in the bellybutton of california.

i haven't forgotten about my "100+ posts" contest. i'm still procrasti... oops! thinking!

to distract you

...from noticing that my last post WAS my 100th (it depends on what list you are looking at. my dashboard says i have 96 posts but my sidebar adds up to 100 -d"OH!), i want to direct you over to rita at keeping knit simple. she is celebrating a late blogiversary and is giving away some yarn and a cd. go check it out and tell her i sent ya. yes, it's another brownie point drawing.

thank you so much. i will be back with a contest soon. i promise. it will just be more than 100 posts.

oh! went to the scottish highland games over the weekend and i found out what scotsmen wear under their kilts. ya wanna know? come on back later and i'll tell ya!

happy! happy! joy! joy!

where has this month gone? i don't know that i have accomplished much this month. i definitely haven't been posting, but i have been winning some contests out in blogsville.

first, from tonya at theshizknit: i received these a while back but never got around to taking a photo.

3 skeins of rowan denim
a cute pattern written by tonya
AND chocolate candy

i've never knit with denim yarn. it will be a different experience knitting to allow for shrinkage. i am not sure what i want to make with this yet. i saw a pattern for a cute tote bag but that took 4 skeins. i was thinking of making the bag a bit smaller or i can let the yarn age until i find the right project. any suggestions?

i was most surprised to win the addi lace needles and these cute handmade cupcake buttons (from south africa) from stephanie. you can't blame me. i did tell you about her contest! see blog entry from july 22!

my first pair of addi lace needles! i have signed up for all those shawl/stole mystery kals so these little babies will be used A LOT. i did test-drive these needles at stitches west a couple of years ago. they are very nice. the buttons are even cuter in person. i will be saving these for some very special baby. or maybe i will start making sweaters that just need ONE button. thank you, stephanie (who sent these all the way from the uk. they arrived within a week. pretty good, hey?!)

i have also been doing some olympic knitting while watching our athletes and their erratic results (i am still shaking my head over that baton pass in the relays, DOH!). i finished a pair of socks for olympicsox2008. it was a very hang-loose "competition". i wanted to see how "margaritaville" would knit up in a different stripey yarn.

"margaritaville"

red heart "heart & sole" in watercolor stripes
needles: us 1.5 (2.5mm) for the leg & us 1 (2.25mm) for the foot
gauge: 9 sts/inch in stockinette using 2.25mm needle
made for my niece who felted her panda wool "horcrux" socks
(she claimed that someone in her household washed her socks wrong)

this pattern is perfect for stripes. i LOVE it. it is a fun pattern, even if i say so myself. the yarn is actually pretty nice. i am not that into aloe soaked yarn but liked these colors. i even managed to make identical socks. happy! happy! joy! joy! now, if my niece can stop shrinking her socks. she just started college and will now really be responsible for her own laundry.

and check out these cute little babies. we went to the california state fair on opening day. uc davis vet school brought over some animals that were due to deliver during the week. we could actually watch the delivery if our timing was right (or wrong, as the case may be. did you ever watch city slickers when billy crystal's character helps deliver a calf? would major gross some kids out).

newborn long horn sheep
less than 24 hours old

we also saw piglets and a bullcalf. my camera batteries were getting low so no pixs.

i won one more thing but i haven't had a chance to take a picture yet. i just received it yesterday.

i am slowly approaching my 100th post and i have been lucky to be on the winning end of some wonderful blog contests. seems a good time to start thinking about "sharing the wealth" again. stay tuned. i'm thinking.

**DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER**

"margaritaville"

i am really happy. of course, who wouldn't be happy after spending an afternoon with a pitcher (or two) of margaritas (on the rocks, please)?! but i am not talking about THAT kind of "margaritaville". i am talking about THIS "margaritaville"...

"margaritaville"
theknitter's july sotm club kit

regia cotton color (#4177)
needles: us 1.5 (2,5mm)
gauge: 8 sts/inch

close-up of stitch

i love the play of the stitch with the yarn. i even managed to get the ribbing to flow into the heel flap. how sneaky is that?! all in all, a very playful sock for the summer.

i have gotten into a market bag kick and have been playing with different patterns. the one on the left is the ever popular "everlasting bagstopper" with some modifications. i made the body a little shorter than the pattern, added two 12" handles knit in linen stitch, and added some extra decorative stockinette copied from yeayeayeah's tequila sunrise bagstopper. the other bag is crocheted and i don't remember the pattern. it stretches to hold so much that i cannot carry the bag. sometimes i think the clerks take it as a challenge to see how much stuff they can put in the bag.



i have a couple of more patterns printed out to knit. although, i do like the bagstopper so far. both of these are made in bernat handicrafte cotton and my thumbs hurt. knitting the bagstopper in 3 days didn't help.

some of my newer acquistions of lace yarn.

top (l to r): blue moon fiberarts lucious single silk in lapis, cherry tree hill merino lace in dusk
bottom: skacel merino lace #1785

i am definitely in a yarn rut as far as colors go. if you notice, all my projects have the same color scheme!!! but i love it. what am i to do?!

i still haven't blocked my swallowtail shawl. soon...

i'm almost finished

...with my swallowtail shawl. i just need to weave in the ends and give it a bath and a stretch. i was getting bored with the shawl for some reason. maybe the nupps (yes, i did the nupps) were subtly driving me nuts. photos after i block it.

i also finished a market bag for my mil. i gave it to her before taking a pix. all market bags basically look the same and it is a boring beige so you aren't missing much. she did comment that it didn't look very big but my hubby, in turn, asked her how much can she carry at one time anyway! she doesn't know how much that bag is going to stretch!

CONTEST ALERT:

well, how would you like to win some flat feet yarn? go visit darcy and leave her a comment. if you would be so kind as to mention that you were referred by me, i would greatly appreciate it. yes, brownie point entries here. contest ends august 8th at midnight her time. of course, if you win, you send the yarn to me. (yeah, right!)

and dr laura is hosting a olympic sox competiton of sorts. she has prizes. go check it out!

wanna win some addi lace needles?

go here:

http://domestic-miss.blogspot.com/2008/07/knitting-give-away.html

contest ends july 31st, uk time.

as far as knitting goes, i am finally down to the border of my swallowtail shawl. i am missing a stitch! i dropped a yarn-over on the last row of the lov #2. sigh! the nupps weren't that bad once i figured out a way to purl 5. my first set is kinda wonky because i was trying different ways of doing it.

looks like theknitter's july sotm club kits are arriving on doorsteps. i should be able to show you the sock next week. i really had fun with this one.

meet me at the fair

just a quick post. went to the county fair yesterday to see if i got any ribbons for my entries. i entered 2 shawls and 2 pairs of socks.

"zen garden" got a blue ribbon!

and...

"swan lake" got BEST OF SHOW!

and, yes! i am thrilled!

my other pair of socks received an honorable mention and my "mystic light" shawl got a third place. i am a bit upset though. this is the second time that they have shown the wrong side of a shawl as the "right" side. the shawl was also draped so you only saw the front points and not the back where all the action in. one year, i did pin a note that read "this is the right side". i guess i should have done that again this year. oh well! i guess that they don't have any knitters to help set up the displays.

i did eat the required funnel cake, garlic fries, cotton candy, fudge, and orange treet (plus a pulled pork sandwich and a beef burrito)! have to have the funnel cake, if nothing else!!!

we went over to see some of the livestock. they had cows, goats, pigs, and sheep (without all their woolies). but look at this...

the goats are wearing sweaters! probably to keep them clean for showing. funny, huh?

where have i been?

well, i have been busy knitting and frogging socks and shawls.

i had 4 sock patterns to knit and write up in the last two months. the first was for robyn's nest. to be truthful, i did not care for the yarn. it was scratchy and didn't have any "sproing". it was hard finding a pattern that would work with the colors too. i spent a lot of time at the frog pond with this one.

" 'round robyn's house"
may kit for robyn's nest sotm club

yarn: jennifer flock sock in exclusive colorway (robyn's nest)
needles: us 1 (2.25 mm)
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

then, i did theknitter's luxury sock club kit for may. i truly love this yarn. anne is very soft and has great yardage. i love the pattern too. lace and cables are my favorite!

"leilani"

yarn: schaefer yarn anne in "bugs"
needles: us 0 (2 mm)
gauge: 11 sts/inch (very tiny)

and there is this...

what are they?!

well, they are the bottoms of some socks. i can't show you the rest of the socks but i can tell you that they are for a new sock book to be published by lark books in the fall of 2009. yes!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!! can't say anything else as we are all sworn to secrecy. off to finish writing the pattern.

and i just finished the july sotm club kit for theknitter. can't show that sock to you yet but i will tell you that i had a lot of fun with it.

i finished my noro entrelac scarf. used 4 skeins and i managed to manipulate the colors so they are in the same order in the scarf. i have gotten very good at knitting backwards! my swallowtail shawl is at the first lov motif. i am doing the nupps...groan. but it is true that if you knit loosely on the previous row, it is much easier to p5tog.

i have been totally playing with crockpot cooking this month too. did you know you can make lasagna in the crockpot? and you don't have to boil the noodles first? and the lasagna was delicious. i made bread pudding last night. i am in love!!!