Friday... A great day to post pictures!

WIP
My stranded socks are coming along nicely. I know, I'm going a bit slow, but I'm so very happy with them! I'm on the last pattern repeat before I do the heel.


FO
I was terribly bored looking at homes and jobs, so I decided to do a little surfing looking at knitting blogs. I found a real gem that I knew I had to knit right away. I'm a nut for hummingbirds, so this Hummingbird Dishcloth was a must for my kitchen.


I did find what I think is a mistake. Row 44 didn't look correct when I did it, so I changed it to:
Row 44: k4, k6, p8, k1, p5, k1, p4, k1, p4, k10, k4
which now looks correct to me :)

Yarn PrOn!!

I didn't go to town today with DH and the kids, but instead stayed home and made dinner, since they would get to the orthodontist, do a few errands, then get home just in time to eat and run back out the door again to get to their 4-H meeting. I asked them if they had time on their outing today, would they stopping in at the yarn shop and picked me up some yarn so I can make DH the socks he wanted :) What a surprise it was to find 3 skeins instead of one in the bag!! They decided I needed to make them all more socks.

On the left is Fortissima Colori Socka Color in color #9 that my son chose for his socks. In the middle is the Hot Socks they were supposed to pick up for DH. (Not only is it the same color as the one I made for DS, but it's also the same lot number, so if I run out, I have some left from DS socks I did this month!!) On the right, DD chose Opal Petticoat #1295. Now, better yet, they remembered to give my frequent buyer's card, and brought it home with another new one. Yup - it's now full and I get $10 off my next purchase!

I have been a member of The Knitter's Sock Of the Month Club for 2 months now, and am finally just getting around to posting the great kits I've received so far. First is Feb's SOTM and is called "Hugs & Kisses". It came with Reynolds Whiskey yarn. Oh what a lovely soft yarn it is!! I can't wait to get these knitted up, but looks like they will be put aside a bit longer now :)


My March SOTM kit arrived last Friday and it's just lovely. The pattern is called "The Road to Hana" and uses a lovely colorway from Trekking XXL. I'm dying to get this one started. Purple is one of those colors that calls to me.


Well, with all these socks that need knitted, it looks like I won't be getting any XS done for a while :) No complaining here tho, because I'm just so grateful that I have a family that appreciates my hand made things!!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Our household had been taken over by the flu, and blogging wasn't one of those things I really felt like doing. Knitting and reading got me through some sleepless nights. It's amazing how soothing the tinking sound of knitting needles are.

I have completed two more pairs of socks this month. First is one of my DS's favorites. These were knitted in 4-Seasons Hot Sock yarn in 927 Jacquard Rio and I used my own formula for his socks. It seems like every pair I make, I am tweeking and changing a little bit. I'm looking for that "perfect" fit for him.



My next finish was for the Socktopia KAL knit-off. A pattern was released on Saturday, and we have until this evening to finish the pair of socks. I finished mine last night. This is my first marathon KAL, and it was a blast. The pattern is called "Eleanor" and I used Sockotta color #15. I tried making identical socks, as I love how the first came out (sock on bottom), but found I couldn't duplicate the pooling, so I gave up and figured a fraternal pair would just have to do. I will be making these again, but will either use a plain color or a yarn with a longer color stripe. Sometimes the colors in the Sockotta lasted only 2-3 stitches before they changed.



I've started my first stranding project. It's a lovely pattern called "Simple stripes Fair Isle Socks" that I purchased from Knit Picks last year. It was purchased just before they discontinued the Simple Stripes line. I finished the first sock, but only have this WIP pic to post at the moment



I joined The Knitter's Sock of the Month Club and have received 2 mailings so far. To say I'm pleased with what I have received so far is an understatement. The first mailing contained a toe-up pattern and Reynolds Whiskey yarn. I've never done a toe-up before, so I used Wendy's Generic Toe-Up tutorial to try a sock. First I tried the sock using the pattern and yarn from the kit, but decided after ripping it out, that I wouldn't want to rip it too many times. The yarn is lovely and soft, but I'm not so sure how it will hold up to ripping. I did Wendy's sock with great success, but found it too large for DD's feet. I even did a fitting a few times on her, but it fits differently than the cuff down.

The kit for this month contained a beautiful pattern and Trekking XXL #187. It's just gorgeous and is in a purple/blue colorway. After the Fair Isle socks I think I'll do this one. The colors are just calling me. :)

When my mother died, (almost 12 years ago now) I inherited her spinning wheel. It's a lovely Ashford Traditional but sadly, there hasn't been any place to put it up and use it here. I've been so anxious to learn how to spin, so I decided to bite the bullet, and try my hand at a spindle first, then do the transition to the wheel. I bought a lovely little beginner's kit from Carolina Homespun but upgraded my spindle to a Cascade Little Si It is being shipped this week, so I should have it in my hands soonly - but certainly not soon enough.

Socks & Bag Finishes

Finally, I have something to post. I finished felting, shaping and then putting grommets in my bag and actually got to use it this week. I still need to put a closure on it, but I'm looking for the "right" bead or other weight that will be exactly what I want. I'm now writing the pattern up, but not sure if anyone would actually want it. I am pleased with how it turned out. Next time I make it, I might add an I-cord around the top for a little more stability. Hubby thought it would be be taller after he saw how large it was when it went in. I used the Bartlett Yarn that I had in my stash. It took 3 times through the washer, and I could have possibly put it in again, but decided it was to my liking.

I bought the grommet pliers at JoAnn's and even though they work, I didn't like how they crimped the grommet. No matter how much I tried, it crimped off center, and made it look sloppy (to me). However, I don't think many people are going to be snooping in my bag to see the crimps. :)

I finished the first of the Gentleman's Plain Winter Socks and put it on DS. It was a great fit, EXCEPT he didn't like the toe. He said it crowded his toes too much. I tried to figure out a way to make them so they'd work, but nothing was satisfactory for DS. So.... I ended up frogging it back to the leg and did my normal heel and toe. So now, the only thing that's the Gentleman's sock is the cast on, number of stitches and the cuff pattern. The whole rest of the sock has been modified. He's happy with them now. Me - I LOVE the colorway!! And the Trekking held up to the frogging so much better than I thought it would.