Red Socks

I finished the red socks about a month ago, shortly after my last post. My daughter loves them, and I think they turned out very nice. These socks fit like a glove, due to the ribbing on the sides of the foot (you can see in the third picture the best). I will be making another pair with this pattern for sure. I have finished a pair of brown beaded socks too, but they haven't had their pictures taken yet. I will get to that shortly. (Click pictures to enlarge.)


I have gotten back to my Landscape Shawl and am loving the progress on it so far. I am nearing the end of the first skein and enjoy the process very much.

I have discovered Audible and listened to my first book while I was knitting last month. It was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It is read by the author, so the pronunciations of all the names and places (it was set mostly in Afghanistan) were done for me, and I truly enjoyed it. It is a wonderful story of friendship and loyalty, and I would recommend reading (or listening) to anyone. It is something different from what I normally would read I think, as I like Grisham, Michael Crichton, Oprah's books of the month. . . It was a surprise for me to have liked it so much, and I think that is one of the things I like about Audible - you get to read reviews from others who have listened to the book, and I think it will help broaden my horizons.

Other than knitting I have been laying low and waiting for Spring. It is cold in Minnesota yet, with a raw wind on most days. I walked the dog a few times this month, but it is so icy (and did I mention cold) that I have a hard time motivating myself. I feed the birds and sometimes the best part of winter is being inside looking out as far as I'm concerned. I have been rewarded with at least one pair of cardinals all year this year, and I am just thrilled to watch them at the feeder.

I am Here!

I have not dropped off the face of the earth, although for awhile I felt like I had. Life goes on, and while I have not found the end of the tunnel, I am seeing some light in my days and I have resumed knitting.

I am still knitting socks, and have a wonderful pair of red socks (had I blogged about them before?) that are all done except for the closure of the toe on one sock, weaving in the ends, and giving them a good bath. The yarn is a beautiful blend of superwash merino, silk, nylon and real silver fibers from Kramer yarns. You can see it here: http://www.kraemeryarns.com/yarn/sterling.asp


There are a lot of free patterns on their website, and I used the "Lace Sterling Sock" pattern. It knit up nicely, and I will definitely knit these again. This yarn and the pattern suggestion were a selection I got as a sock club member at our LYS, Boucle in Fargo. I will get a picture once they've had a proper bath.


I'm working on a lovely top down cardigan with another pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple. It is about 90% finished. I am using Berroco Ultra Alpaca in "Redwood Mix". I have to make a decision about the finishing of the front yet. The pattern has a small border around the neck, and then ties at the top of the seed stitching panels to hold the sweater together. It is #241 here: http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com/cardi.html


My issue is that the sweater I fell in love with at the LYS did not have the ties - it was modified to have a unique button (just one) at the top of the seed stitching there, and I haven't decided yet how to proceed. The sweater looks huge in this picture, but I think I am knitting a size XL. (Really, my sister agrees - it isn't that big in person.) I like the bell sleeves and the more tailored look of the seed stitch finish to the edging. I will have to make a decision and get it finished up in the next week or so in any case, so I can feel better about starting (or finishing) other things.

For Christmas this year I got the makings of a shawl from a dear friend/cousin. She is my knitting buddy, and we had become somewhat distant over the past year due to issues in my life and her own busy life. Enclosed with the gift was a touching note indicating she had bought identical materials for herself (but in a different colorway) and we her intention was that we would spend time knitting the shawls together and reconnecting. We have met together once a week since Christmas and the shawl progress is slow but sure.

Of course Patches had to get in on the action once he saw something was going on, and even though I lifted him off the yarn repeatedly, he would not be discouraged from hanging out while I finished my picture-taking business.

Tina also gave me a cute little ornament she made, which I completely love. I took a photo of it, and the one she made for my daughter. She had done daycare for my daughter for a time, and ever since then, (even though DD is now 19 going on 20) she still gets a homemade ornament from Tina. This year, I was blessed to get one too, and think it is the cutest thing ever. It was hard to get a good picture because of the reflection of the glass on the ornament, but inside my ornament is a small handmade skein of yarn and little knitting needles she made. The saying is "In case of Knitting Emergency BREAK GLASS"

Still Knitting

I am still knitting, but had gotten away from blog reading and surfing for awhile, and hadn't downloaded pictures from my camera for months! Here are a few of the items I've worked on over the past months.

The baby sweater. It's been so long I can't remember if I mentioned it in my last post. I took a class at the beginning of the year - it is has been languishing in my knitting bag - nearly done - just waiting for the last french knots and to be stitched together. Luckily the little recipient has been slow growing. I will have to get to this shortly now though - the weather has definitely changed and is sweater weather here in MN. This is from Mission Falls pattern book Wee Knitts and it is Mission Falls merino wool. It is my first attempt at intarsia.

Baby socks. Nothing special really, but oh so cute, and such fun to knit and give. I can't remember what the yarn was. I am thinking it was the Austermann Step yarn. I cut out the white parts except at the very top where I got a tiny white edge.

The baseball cap I knit for the Worldwide Knit in Public Day. It is a pattern from FiberSpace. I can't remember what yarn I used - Lamb's Pride maybe? It is being modeled by the neighbor girl who had just moved in across the street at the time. She is curious. It is a bit big for her (it fits me fine). The color will be good for my daughter's winter coat.

There has been more knitting too. I finished a sweater for myself and have another in the works, done almost to the sleeves. I have one pair of socks to show, and some clogs. A baby sweater done. . . two shawls started.

My goal is to better about getting things posted here in the coming months.