2nd Finished Pair for Summer of Socks 2007

... and just in time too. SOS2007 ends this Friday at midnight, I just made it. I started these on August 15 and finished tonight. This was my first time knitting two socks at a time on two circulars. I liked the method as there's no chance of suffering from the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome.

These socks are the Wild Kat pattern by Deby Lake knit in Tofutsies color 723 "Put Your Foot Down". I cast on with 3.0mm Addi's and finished with 2.5mm Knit Picks 24" circulars. I enjoyed the pattern and the yarn has grown on me.

Next up is Fetching and a scarf for my niece while we travel to Canada this weekend, and then the Second Wave Clapotis KAL starts on Sunday.

Two weekends from now the annual "We Interrupt This Marriage for Hockey" season begins.

First Pair for Summer of Socks 2007!

I am so excited to have finished my Monkey Socks! As the post title says, this is my first pair for Summer of Socks 2007, she says like she may be able to finish a second pair. I started these around June 26 and finished them August 15. I love these socks, the pattern, the yarn, the color and the feel. I did make one modification - I added 8 stitches and divided them by 2 stitches per pattern repeat. I've never modified a pattern before, so I was excited that logic worked. This is Tess' Designs Supersock and Baby in the Peach Melba colorway.

New project, deep breath, teaching myself to knit two socks at a time on two circulars. I purchased two Addi Turbo circular US 2 24" needles at my LYS and cast on last night. Starting this at 9:00pm last night was not a good idea. You know the saying, read all the instructions before starting? Why would I do that?! So - ripped back out this evening and will start over.

I joined the Tofutsies Sock Club a couple months ago and have already received two of their limited edition colors and three patterns. I'm actually going to use the first ball of yarn I picked up at Maryland Sheep and Wool and I'm doing the Wild Kat pattern.

I received my Ravelry invite a couple weeks ago and as a couple of my friends here have said, it is the black hole of time! LOL The database is fantastic - it's such a great search engine. If I haven't found you yet and you're there, let me know.

Keep kind thoughts for me will you? I don't know how this circular needle sock knitting thing will go. After I ripped out this evening I discovered I had the needles around my neck, not like a noose YET, but like a necklace.

Woodpecker update: MFB put cheap pinwheels up. The next morning - you guessed it - the little ph is back. MFB then put up a magnifying makeup mirror and covered up the holes with galvinized steel. (poor embarrassed porch) Since then we haven't seen any new damage, but - the roof is low and MFB is tall. He had to move the makeup mirror over about a foot - he forgot it was there *giggle* Keep your fingers crossed!

Decompressing

Where has the summer gone in the APK household? Mine has been drowned in work hours due to a staffing shortage and special projects on top of my usual duties. I'm lucky as I enjoy my job, but I'd say I was close to burnout. Luckily things started letting up a bit this past week, and by the end of this upcoming week things will be settling down.

MFB definitely handles more than his share of the domestic duties normally, and during the last couple of months has taken on 99.9%. Thanks for looking after me and things this summer MFB, you're one in a million!!

OK my knitting friends - thanks for all the compliments on the start of the Monkey Socks from the last post, and I'm sorry I didn't thank you all personally via an email or kept up with you all. That should be changing over this weekend though, as I am currently sitting on the deck with my MP3 player (Bob Seger at the moment Old Time Rock & Roll), glass of orange juice and club soda, house phone and cell phone. The phones are with me so that I don't have to leave the fresh air. Nothing better than the fresh air and sunshine (today very overcast though) to recharge.

I finished the first Monkey Sock last week and took it with me to my knitting group. I have a feeling a few other ladies are going to be looking for some of this Tess Designs yarn as it truly is a joy to the touch and wonderfully dyed. I'm currently working on the ribbing of the second sock.

Tide to Go® to Grove City --

I have to tell you a quick story of a weekend away last month with a little fiber at the end. Our best friends live in Canada and so of course we don't get to see them often, but we made special plans to meet in Grove City PA. It seems Canadians flock here as most of the cars we saw had Ontario plates. Why that tourist hotspot? (snerk) Outlet Mall shopping of course. My girlfriend (I'll call her B) is in her final year of residency and our spouses know when their spouses are working hard and the going is rough, the tough go shopping. I was wearing white pants and during one of our rest the tootsies breaks, must have sat on something. We didn't realize this until I made a restroom break after lunch where B tells me "you have something on your arse". No worries, I have Tide to Go® My attempt to remove the item was decent, but my friend the doctor decided this required the expertise of an MD. We were in luck, there was a forlorn looking folding chair in the large sized restroom and so she sits down and all of a sudden I see the doctor in her. I'm told to "bend over". So here I am with my dainty white pant clad behind sticking in her face and she's operating. Anyone with a camera? I hope not. Ladies are walking by doing their best to ignore, but one looked particularly surprised. Now my friend and I are not what our spouses would call shy. I looked at this lady and said, "Don't worry, she's a doctor," and B says, "You wouldn't believe the things I've seen!!" Priceless. The weekend was unforgettable and exactly what the four of us needed.

There was a yarn store there I wanted to visit but I think the store I found wasn't the one I was looking for. I think what I found was a more of a gift shop, and it was CLOSED on a Saturday for a family reunion. Couldn't have been a yarn store, eh?

So here's the fiber. We return home from a fantastic weekend with our Canadian friends, and in the mailbox is a package from a new Canadian friend I've met. First at her blog, and then in person when I stopped in Kniterary, the yarn store she just recently purchased in Whitby Ontario. She sent me a lovely note and this terrific Canadian sockyarn which is 74% Superwash Merino and 25% Nylon in Winter Skies colorway, which was dyed exclusively for her shop. I was admiring it when I stopped in her shop but didn't purchase it. Thanks so much Martina, it was such a wonderful surprise. I plan on starting this on the first day of winter. It will remind me of the warm greeting you gave me in your totally cool (I love your store) shop!

Next post could be a bit longer - stories of why I'm currently haunted by the number three. Oh - and pictures of stash enhancement, because even though I've been working, I've been shopping.

Monkeying Around

I've been too busy to post or to catch up with friends. But I have found some time to knit. After finishing the P socks last month I had a hard time deciding what sock yarn to use for my first Summer of Socks project. I did a swatch with my Tess' Designer Yarns Supersock yarn I picked up at MDS&W this year and fell in love with the yarn and the vivid colors, which I think is their Peach Melba colorway. At first I thought I would do just a plain stockinette sock, but I saw the Monkey pattern that so many were knitting and thought I'd see how this yarn looked. I really liked the look but found the pattern a little tight after the first two pattern repeats so I ripped it out and started again with eight extra stitches. The extra stitches did the trick. I'm almost done with the heel flap now - this is another fun pattern.

We've been extremely busy over the last month. Mostly with working long hours (67 last week to be exact), a quick trip here and there, a major purchase, friends and family down from Canada and a surprise from a friend in Canada. If we aren't on the road this weekend, I'll be trying to catch up with everyone.

Memo to Twig: I am so LMAO over the Axe comment and I have to apologize that I haven't sent the package off yet - hopefully this weekend.

Happy Birthday MFB!!!

Finished Pomatomus Socks

Right I finally finished them, they're not pretty but finished they are. See what I mean. I started these back in September and picked them up again about a month ago. Maybe my tension changed or I can't count pattern repeats. This certainly lets me know something I need to work on. Oh well - the socks are for me and I don't think the difference in height is going to bother me - much. I'm going to wear them in a couple days so I'll see how I feel about them then.


I've been working some ghastly hours over the last couple of weeks, but work may start getting back to a more normal routine later this week. In order to recharge our batteries MFB and I headed down to Lancaster PA for the weekend. We had a blast and great weather and even found a small restaurant between Intercourse and Bird In Hand (those are names of farming communities with a large population of the Amish) where we watched the cows grazing. On the trip down we stopped at Knitters Dream outside of Harrisburg and I picked up a small Laurel Burch bag. Jessica gave me the idea as she had picked one up when we were there together back in March. It's going to be perfect to take sock projects on the road.


I can't decide which sock yarn and pattern to use for the start of Summer of Socks 2007 so I am doing some research. In the meantime, I picked up a WIP I started several months ago and ripped it out and started over. I'm using Noro Kujaku Color #5 and am making an evening bag. Originally I cast on over 200 stitches, this time it's about 120 stitches. It's fast going being as it is just (edited) stockinette garter stitch. This yarn is 85% Wool and 15% Polyester. Can't say I'm overly fond of the feel of it but it's a good project to be working on to tide me over till the SOS.

It's a good thing MFB is no longer in need of cane or crutches, because I've taken over use of his cane. Yes somehow I've done it again. Injured a tendon on the bottom of my foot and hopefully I'll be limping around for only another week. If you want to see what I think is a real cool xray showing screws in MFB's ankle click here.

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

(warning picture heavy post)

I actually spoiled myself on Friday of Memorial Day weekend by taking a few hours off in the morning. Lori and I got together for breakfast and then hit our LYS for their annual Memorial Day weekend sale. The store opened at 10:00am, which is when we arrived and there were already knitters leaving with bags full of their goodies. The doors opened 10 minutes before we arrived. Not to worry as I still came away with what I went for. Solid color sock yarn, I have some instructions from Twig on Mosaic socks and the blue and white will make nice warm Penn State hockey socks. The multicolor was an impulse buy a well thought out plan for a pair of socks. When I left Lori was still shopping.

I worked for about four hours and then MFB picked me up and we headed north to Canada to visit his family for the weekend. It's usually about a seven hour drive and if I'm knitting, then I'm a happy camper as it makes the drive go quickly. About two hours into the drive and my knitting, I was to the point of picking up stitches on the gusset of the P socks when I discovered I didn't have the fifth needle. OH NO!! I searched and searched. No luck. I accidentally left my MP3 player at home, and my camera in the back seat of the other car, and my knitting needle - who knows. Shortly afterwards MFB heard "I'm bored, you must amuse me now." We managed - somehow.

My SIL and I were going to do our version of a yarn crawl but she had to cancel as she was hosting the family barbecue the following day. Several months ago Martina had passed along some information to me about Myrtle Station Wool and I was bound and determined to find it, which we did. In my experience this shop is a little different. I was browsing stock in the owners actual living quarters - bedrooms. She has a lot of stock, but I had my heart set on more sock yarn and I fell for this Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Maya color 7019. I'm excited to see how the color striping will look. I also asked her for a some #2 needles forgetting that in Canada when you ask for #2 Canadians think millimeters, and not the #2 that I needed. The good news is it never hurts to have an extra set of needles, eh? The shop owner was very helpful and friendly, so much so that when I got out to the car MFB told me I had been in there for an hour! He's a good sport, but I've also gone with him when he's being fitted for hockey skates and that can take some time.

From there we headed into Whitby for the shopping highlight of the weekend. I mentioned Martina, well this was my chance to actually meet her. A couple months ago Martina did what I think a lot of us dream of. She bought Kniterary! I emailed her about a week before and told her I hoped to stop in as we would be up visiting family. This shop is wonderful. I don't know how to describe the interior color but it was a light green color somewhere between lime and neon, bright, cheery and the perfect backdrop for Martina. You know who had some stops to make in the area and after meeting Martina he went off on his own. If any of you have read Martina's blog you'll know that she's had some changes in her life recently, a few rough patches, but I have to say she's found her calling. I even met her husband Jim who stopped in while I was there. The Kniterary website shows that they have Canadian wools and this was of special interest to me. So while Martina and I were getting to know one another she was showing me all her special yarns. And here is what I came home with. The hank of hand dyed yarn is Fleece Artist Kid Aran, 50% Kid 50% Wool. I think it's the Cosmic Dawn colorway. Then two balls of Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 100% merino superwash in the Macaw colorway. Martina suggested a scarf with alternating rows and then braiding the ends together and she showed me some braiding she was working on which was just lovely. All too soon it was time to head out and at the last minute I remembered a set of dpn's and I saw these little packages of tissues and picked up one for my SIL and one for Lori. This was such a treat for me. I enjoyed meeting Martina as much as I enjoyed meeting Jessica. I'll be back Martina! Not just for your wonderful wares, but your company as well.

Our time not spent hunting yarn was spent enjoying family. MFB, his brother, and sister's boyfriend had planned on golfing Sunday morning before the family barbecue but wouldn't you know it - it rained all day. As my MIL predicted, the rain let up some time late afternoon. All the "grandkids" were in attendance which is a real treat as all but one are now over the age of 18 and have very busy social and work schedules. Our best friends (see you later this month in Grove City) who we get to see maybe once a year came out to the family barbecue even though it was about a three hour drive for them, so my SIL had, lets see 19 people in her house. She makes it look so easy.

On the drive home I was able to knit so here is my progress on the P socks, which lost their twinness somewhere along the way, and here is the yarn haul for the weekend.

Thanks to all the family and friends who made our first trip back to Canada since Christmas another one to remember.

Knitting motivation

Wheeee!! Here's my Pomatomus Sock progress. The marker shows where I started when I decided I better get back to this fun pattern. I think I finally have my knitting motivation back. It must have gone on vacation when I did back in March. Motivation had a longer vacation then I did, that's for sure. These almost look like they are going to be identical twins, if so, how in the world did I manage it? This is made from Opal in the Petticoat colorway.

MFB is steadily healing up. He ditched the crutches a couple weekends ago for a cane and even the cane has been abandoned. When he told me the surgeon said he should try going without the removable cast boot, I asked him if he told the surgeon the advice was a week and a half too late. Now, if I can just keep him off the baseball diamond and golf course for a couple months so the sprain can heal. Bad news, we drive past both every day to and from work. Patience is required in these situations. Do I have patience? Yeah - not so much.

I love the show Boston Legal, especially William Shatner as Denny Crain. This has absolutely nothing to do with knitting but has everything to do with hockey. Tonight Denny is threatening to engrave his name on Lord Stanley's Cup! The nerve.

Entrelac and the Sheep on the Bus

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Mothers Day weekend.

I have actual knitting content. With many thanks to Knitty Otter and her wonderful instructions on Entrelac, I have two samples that will become dishcloths. This was my first try using 6 stitches per diamond. I used Sugar and Cream cotton in the Buttercream colorway. Here's my second worked with 8 stitches per diamond, again in Sugar and Cream but I can't remember the colorway. I didn't block either of these yet.

I signed up for which starts up in June. When Jessica asked me about it at MDS&W, I told her I didn't think I would. Keep in mind that just about everything I picked up in Maryland was sock yarn and I have Trekking, Regia, Sockotta, Froelich and Knit Picks. Does this sound like someone who shouldn't join? In preparation for this I decided I better finish up my Pomatomus Socks from Knitty. I set aside the P Socks back in the winter when I was working on some charity knitting. The more I think about Summer of Socks the more I'm looking forward to it.

Thinking more about my story about the sheep on the bus at Maryland Sheep and Wool, I did find another blogger who was on that bus and she does have a picture of the sheep on the bus.