The Shock of It

Eeeek, gasp, shock, wow! I know it's shocking that I'm posting to my blog and it's only been about 2 weeks since my last post. I may just get back on a regular blog posting schedule after all, not that I have a whole lot to post about other then some yarn purchases. I have two items I knit for Miss Babs for Stitches West and since that's going on right now I'll post some pics in my next blog post.

We got the final word down the other day so it's official, we're not moving to Germany. Our orders were canceled so we'll be staying here in Montana for now. I'm really not upset about it. I think it would have been a wonderful experience for our family but at the same time it was going to be a lot of hassle. We've already been told that there is a big possibility for another set of orders to come down in 6 months so we'll see what happens. If we're meant to go then we'll get another set of orders to Germany in 6 months....only time will tell. I for one still have my fingers crossed that the next set will be to Honolulu, Hawaii. Hey, a girl can dream can't she.

I'll start with the few knitting projects I can post about then follow them up with the yarn.

First up is a pair of socks I'm knitting for myself.....Butterfly Garden Socks (ravelry)(non ravelry)

 

These socks are actually a lot farther along but I haven't taken a picture of them yet. I've finished the heels and have worked about 2 inches of the leg. The next picture I take will most likely be when I finish them. The yarn is JulieSpins M420S and the colorway is called Golden Glow which is so cheerful and perfect for overcast nasty weather. The weather here was overcast and we had a good amount of snow when I cast on these socks. The weather has since changed and is now more like Spring. I keep waiting for the weather to change and dump 2 feet of snow on us. I keep having this feeling like we're not done yet. If you like a pattern loaded with little cables and twists then you'll love this pattern. I find that the more complicated patterns work up quickly for me then plain socks.

The 1 Jan 2010 Monthly Dishcloth KAL cloth.

 
 

I was using scrap yarn in my stash and ran out. I had another red ball in there but as you can see the two colors weren't from the same dyelot. I'm not even sure if they're the same brand since they all feel the same to me.

Now on to the goodies portion of the post. I have done a bit of yarn buying since we're not moving. I need to restock some of the yarn I destashed....ok so I didn't really buy this yarn with that intention.

First up is Zen Yarn Garden's new base Serenity 20.

 
 

This sock yarn base has 20 percent cashmere in it and is completely squish-able! The colorway is Blueberry Swirl. I'm to busy hugging it to knit it right now but I'm looking for the perfect pattern so I can't start knitting with it soon.

My last Woolgirl order.

 
 

I picked up a few things from Woolgirl's shutting down the online store sale. I picked up 2 sock patterns and several skeins of sock yarn (from left to right): Union Center Knits sport weight sock yarn, Mama Llama's Bounty Ewe (merino/cashmere base sock yarn), Yarn Love Marianne Dashwood, and Curious Creek Fibers Serengeti.

I have the first shipment of the second installment of the Lord of the Rings sock club from The Unique Sheep. I joined for another 3 shipments. If you want to see it Click Here.

Beyond Basic Knits Self Striping sock yarn.

 
 

I picked this one up because all proceeds from the sells of these pink yarns are going towards their fundraising efforts for their Susan G Komen 3 day walk. They have a blog set up if you want to check it out. I love self striping yarn and the money is going towards a great cause so you can't go wrong.

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!

 
 

Need I say more. I caught this in the last update from The Loopy Ewe. The colorway on the top is Marpesia Marcella (picture came out a little bit to maroon-ish) and the colorway on the bottom is Oleander Hawk Moth.

Wollmeise 80/20 Twin sock yarn in the am kalten Polar colorway.

 
 

I happened to stubble upon a Wollmeise update going on at The Loopy Ewe. I've been wanting this colorway for some time now and finally managed to get a skein.

Finally, an order from Knit Picks.

 
 

Actually the order was placed for the skeins of Comfy worsted (planetarium colorway) for a baby blanket but I had to throw in the skein of sock yarn (stroll handpaint in the Make Believe colorway) and the Sock Club book to hit the free shipping mark. Plus the book was 40% off when I ordered.

I think that pretty much covers everything for now. I'll try to post here again in the next week with some more knitting pictures. I'm hoping to start spinning again this weekend. My back is doing much better now and I think I'm finally ready to spin again.

Happy Crafting!

No Snappy Titles Left

I think I've used up all my snappy titles. After several years of blogging I'm all tapped out. Actually I think maybe I just need a vacation. I keep saying my motivation is hanging out on a warm beach sipping mojitos and enjoying a good book so maybe I should join my motivation. I does sound like a great idea! Nothing better then your toes in the sand, reading a good book and sipping on a cold drink.

Not a whole lot going on here in the Luvs2knit household. Same junk just a different day. The base is undergoing a huge inspection so I've pretty much been stuck at home since Shawn is working late hours and weekends. If all goes well this weekend will be ours although they haven't announced if they'll get Presidents Day off or not. It's getting kinda boring sitting around the house and no I don't want to scrub the house from top to bottom just to keep the boredom at bay. Between you and me, I'd rather be bored....just sayin.

Let see if I can play a little catch up here. My mom now has her shawl and loves it to pieces. I've been working on a few test knits for Woolgirl and I have some yarn coming in to knit samples for Miss Babs for Stitches West.

Might as well get started on posting FO's and new goodies that I've received in the mail.

First up is the beaded socks (ravelry).

I ended up making these for my mom. The yarn is Huntington sock yarn from WEBS. It's very soft, super cheap, and I loved knitting with it. I see more of this yarn in the future.

Shawn's Iain cabled hoodie (ravelry)(you can find the pattern through various stores online)

The picture isn't all that great. We had a lot of days with little to no sunshine so an indoor photo was all I could get at the time. All I need to do now is knit the sleeves and hood. Shouldn't take much longer. 

I broke my no yarn till after we move rule to pick up a few skeins of yarn since my last post.

First up is JulieSpins MCN355 in the Ginger Cat and Emerald colorways.

I found two people on Ravelry who were destashing these colorways so I had to give them a new home. I can't get enough of this yarn. It's so squishy and soft plus JulieSpins colorways are gooooooorgeous!

My Ruby Slippers Oz Sock Club package came in. You can see it here if you want. This is one of the patterns I test knit for Woolgirl not that long ago.

Next up are two skeins of JulieSpins M420S which is her superwash merino sock yarn.

These were from her Unclub that she does out on her Ravelry group. The top color is called Golden Glow and the bottom is Beach Plum. I absolutely loooooove these colors. I'm using the yellow one right now to knit the Butterfly Garden Socks (ravelry)(non ravelry).

Then I picked up some Fearless Fibers Merino Cashmere Nylon sock yarn.

I like Fearless Fibers sock yarn so I wanted to give this MCN base a try. The color way is called Feel the Love and is absolutely gorgeous.

Skein of String Theory Caper sock that I picked up from The Loopy Ewe.

This is the Isle colorway. OK, I have to admit it appears I've got a merino/cashmere sock yarn addiction now.

I have in my possession a skein of the new Mountain Colors Crazyfoot sock yarn.

Mountain Colors was having a contest on their blog and I won along with I think 49 other people.....woot! The colorway is Wild Raspberry. As soon as I finish up my sample knits this will be hopping on the needles. I just need to figure out which pattern I want to use. 

Finally this yummy squishy yarn ended up on my doorstep.

It's Dream in Color Classy in the Deep Sea Flower colorway to knit Cassidy (Ravelry)(non Ravelry) for the TLE 2010 Q1 Sweater Challenge. Thankfully the challenge is going on till July so I have plenty of time to get it finished. This is my "woohoo we got our income tax refund reward".

I have a box full of goodies coming in from Woolgirl's "closing the shop" sale. She posted out on Ravelry that's she closing down the online/store portion of the business and is going to concentrate on kits and clubs. Everything is 35 percent off. I'm sadden to see her close the shop but it's for her health which is more important then yarn.

Now it's time to go wake sleeping beauty (who is snoring on the couch, quite loudly I might add) and go to bed. Course it's very possible that sleeping beauty won't wake up and will sleep on the couch for the night. I swear when Shawn falls asleep on the couch in the evening time it's almost impossible to get him to move.

Happy Crafting!

Making Up for Lost Time

Every time I type up a new post I swear to myself that I'm going to start blogging more frequently and every time there is always something that seems to get in the way. It takes a bit of work to get a post put together. 

On the moving homefront we're getting prepared for the big move although it looks like it could possibly be pushed back due to some schooling the military wants Shawn to have. Right now we're set to leave around the 10th of March but if Shawn gets sent to school he'll leave the beginning of March and won't be home until mid June. As much as I'd love to pack the house up and have everything sent to Germany and follow him to Maryland for those 3 months I have to think about the kiddos. Kaity is still in school so that means missed time from school and dealing with the pains of enrolling her in a new school for the last 3 months of school. Logistically it's easier for me to stay here with the girls while Shawn's in school.

Anyone else having freakishly weird weather this year? Apparently Mother Nature is a tad confused because we're having warm spring like weather here in our part of the state for last few two weeks. We've had a few days where it's hit in the 60's (Fahrenheit that is). Of course that's not destined to last because the forecast is showing that we're suppose to dip back down into the 30's here in a few days. 

The destashing has gone well and I'm thinking there won't have to be another round to get rid of more yarn. Between what I sold, what I'm sending to my mom, and yarn that I donated to charity I think the stash has been culled down enough. There are a few things in my trade section on Ravelry that are still for sale but I'm not planning on pulling more out of my stash. I will admit I've splurged and bought a couple of skeins that caught my eye and some time toward the end of the month I should be getting the Ruby Slippers shipment from the Woolgirl Wizard of Oz club.

I managed to snag a skein of Skinny Bugga! last week from The Sanguine Gryphons site.

The color is called Emerald Swallowtail and is the most gorgeous green I've ever seen. I was also looking at this gorgeous yellow color too but decided that I should stick with just one skein.

A skein of Knitterly Things Vesper sock yarn managed to jump in my cart the other day.

I swear I don't know how it got here.....I'm sticking with the theory that it was lonely and wanted to hang out with the other sock yarns in my stash. I swear I'm innocent of all charges!! Seriously though I'm still on a self striping sock yarn kick so when I saw this colorway (Shamrockin) I knew I needed to pick it up.

Dream in Color Classy in the November Muse colorway.

OK, this one was part of my winnings from the Sonny and Shear Nutkin KAL. I won first prize and my winnings was a gift certificate for $50. So the gift certificate paid for over half the cost and it's not sock yarn....mah ha ha ha! I'm thinking maybe making Wisteria with this yarn.

Now on to knitting projects. I do have a few I'm working on and I finally finished blocking my moms Whispering Pines Shawl.

First up is the Whispering Pines Shawl (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

I absolutely love this shawl. As soon as I finish the socks I'm knitting for my mom I'll be dropping her package off in the mail.

Here are the socks I'm working on for my mom.

The pattern is the 2009 January Socktopia mystery pattern (Ravelry). I started them for myself but it occurred to me that I haven't made my mom socks in awhile so I now they are moms. Guess I'd better make a pair for my sister. I haven't made her any in quite some time too. The yarn I'm using is Valley Yarns Huntington. This yarn is soooooo soft and great to work with. It's a great price too at less then $9 for a pair of socks. I've heard a few people complain about it being splitty but I've yet to have a problem with it splitting while I'm knitting.

Basic toe up socks using Patons Stretch Sock.

It's not a bad sock yarn. It's a tad splitty but not horribly so. This is just a basic toe up sock with ribbing and I'll be using a short row heel. Nothing fancy, just a no pattern required sock that I can take with me where ever I go.

I've been making great progress on Shawn's cabled hoodie. I'm about 12 rows from finishing the back and will then move to working the v-neck for the front. The sweater is knit in the round until the armpit area where it's split and the front and back are worked separately. I don't think it'll take me much longer to finish this up. I'll try to get a picture of my progress for the next blog post. 

I do believe I've managed to catch up on all the projects I have going on. I do have some secrety secret test knits that I've finished up and will show them when I get a chance. 

Happy Crafting!

2009 At A Glance

Wow! 2009 flew by so quickly. I can't believe the year is over with. The members of the Luvs2knit household have a lot of things planned for 2010. As most of you know we're moving to Germany in March so things are going to start getting very very busy around here. It's time to buckle down and figure out what we are going to take, sell and store. The decisions decisions.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 2010! I'm leaving you with a slide show of all my projects from 2009.

2009 Slide Show

Overdue again!

Once again I'm here working on a blog post that is way overdue. Believe it or not I actually started this post on the 13th of Dec. It's been crazy here between Bree getting sick (her first ever stomach flu), then me, then getting ready for the holidays topped off with crappy weather that kept me from getting pictures taken. I know, I know excuses, excuses.

We've been going through the warm, cold, warm, freeze your snot cold, warm, colder then the North Pole, warm, cold that seems to be what they call winter around here. Either stay warm or stay cold dang it!

Let see, where in the world to start. There is so much to post about I'm not sure where to start. How bout the dishcloths I finished up?

I managed to knit all 24 cloths this year for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I now have plenty of dishcloths to use when we get to Germany. Truthfully I have way more then I really need. Note to self: must remember to call my Granny to see if she wants some.

I finished my Slip-Stitch Cable Socks (ravelry).

This is one of the patterns out of The Little Box of Socks. These were knit using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn in the black purl colorway. They are super comfy and squishy. I think I might make another pair again in the future.

My Nutkin socks (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

I knit these for the Sonny and Shear Nutkin KAL on Ravelry. The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan sock in the Sailors Delight colorway. I did deviate from the pattern for the cuff, heel and toe. I worked a picot cuff, my favorite short row heel from the Sock Wizard software and a standard toe.

New pair of worsted weight socks for Kaity.

These are made with leftover Dream in Color Classy from the sweaters I made both of the girls. Her cheapo acrylic socks that I knit her like 3 years ago have finally died. They developed a huge hole in them and judging by the way Kaity acted you would have swore the world was ending.To stave off the end of the world I made her this pair of socks. They've been deemed worthy of wearing and of course request from more socks have ensued.

I finished my moms Whispering Pines shawl (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

Now all I need to do is find the time to get it blocked out so I can send it on to my mom. I used 3 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss lace weight yarn. Once again I have to say that Anne Hanson is an absolute lace genius! I've yet to find a Knitspot pattern I haven't loved.

I finally got a picture of Kaity's finished Luna Trail Pullover (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

The sleeves are a little long and I wished I would have knit another inch of two in the body of the sweater but she loves it.

I've received my a few goodies in the mail. The only thing I'm getting in now is stuff that I signed up for before we found out we were moving. I'll provide links so there isn't much of a possibility of someones surprise being spoiled. I've received Oriental Poppies which is part of a Woolgirl club and my final shipment from the first round of the Lord of the Rings sock club.

I've finally started destashing some of my yarn stash. It's listed on Ravelry and the Destash! blog too. I've had success there selling some stuff.

Right now I'm working on a test knit for Woolgirl and am trying to finish up some older projects (I'm down to two projects on the needles....gasp!). As soon as I finish up the current test knit I'm going to start working on Shawn's sweater. I really want to get that finished before his 80th birthday. ;~)

Happy Crafting!

Been Over A Month....Wow!

It's hard to believe it's been over a month since my last post. All I can say is things have been super busy here in the Luvs2knit household. We've been dealing with all the wonderful viruses that are floating around making everyone sick.

Then to make things even more fun, in the beginning of November I started having this pain that was shooting down the back of my leg to my knee. I went to the doctor who referred me to physical therapy here on the base who managed to make the problem even worse by causing the pain to work its way all the way down my leg, half my foot and calf to go numb and my leg go into spasms every time I sat down. I had to fight for several weeks before I finally got my referral to see another physical therapist. There was no way I was going back to see the crazy lady who tried to cripple me. Turns out that my back spasms have caused me a lot more then just a little bit of pain and have now managed to cause my muscles to start locking down and pushing on my sciatic nerve. I'm seeing a wonderful physical therapist in town who has really helped me out. I'm now having less pain and am finally starting to do a few things around the house.

We've heard back on our medical clearances for Germany. The girls and I are cleared to go so we're leaving for Mannheim Germany in March. Thankfully we were able to get the report date pushed back otherwise Shawn would have had to have left for Germany in Jan and the girls and I would have stayed here to get our house packed up and cleaned before heading over to meet up with him.

I'll be destashing yarn here in the next few weeks. I'm not looking
forward to weeding through my stash but I can't take it all so I'm
going to have to decide what to destash.

I have tons of knitting projects both finished and in progress to post about along with a few goodies that I've gotten in the mail. I'll try to post here soon. I have a lot of pictures to take and the weather isn't looking very promising for picture taking. We're getting ready to get hit with a winter storm tonight and could see up to 12 inches of snow.....yuck! Plus the temps are getting ready to plummet to the subzero range for the next few days. I'm planning to knit and stay here in the house where it's warm. Even Starbucks can't tempt me out when this storm hit.

A Little Progress

I'm up with a sick kiddo so I figured I might as well start a blog post. Might as well put my time to good use, right? Kaity is sick with the flu and Shawn's getting over his bout with it although he still has a cough that is driving him crazy. I'm have my fingers and toes crossed that Bree and I escape the crude but seeing as we're surrounded by it it'll be amazing if we don't catch it.

I have finished a few projects since my last knitting related post but that shouldn't be to surprising since my last knitting related post was almost a month ago.

The Raspberries & Chocolate Mallow socks (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I knit these with Frog Creek Fibers Ebullient sock yarn in the Raspberries and Chocolate colorway. The colors are gorgeous, the yarn was nice to work with and I really enjoy the fit of these socks. I will be trying some of their other base yarns.

I'm trekking right along on my moms Whispering Pines shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I'm actually not far from starting the edging on the shawl. I do believe I have around 21 rows left before starting the edging.

I started Mara (ravelry)(non ravelry) for my trip to and back from Oregon.

I'm using Araucania Nature Wool which I picked up on sale at WEBS awhile back. I want to make this as big as possible so I have something warm to use when I'm sitting in my chair. The only time I worked on this was in the car with the exception of one evening at my granny's house where I knit maybe one row before swapping to a pair of socks.

I finished my stripey Regia socks.

Their just a basic toe up sock with a short row heel and a picot cuff. I used a Turkish cast on and knit until I was bored with them. The stripes aren't matched up with this pair. I thought I had it but they were off by several rows and I didn't feel like ripping them out to start again.

We got snow a few days before Halloween.

Friggin' crazy weather! It melted in about 2 days but all total I think we ended up with about 4 inches in town. I don't think we got quite as much on the base.

Thankfully Kaity didn't get sick until the day after Halloween so she was able to go out Trick or Treating for a little bit.

They both had a lot of fun. Kaity went as Mitchie from Camp Rock and Bree was a little bumble bee. I think Bree was just as excited to hand out candy to other kids as she was to get candy.

I did get some goodies since my last post. I'll just link to my Flickr account since some of these could possibly be spoilers for some people. My Woolgirl Emerald City Wizard of Oz sock club kit made it in. So did the 3rd installment from the Zen Yarn Garden Spin Art fiber club, Lord of the Rings sock club, and My Perfect Fall is Halloween Kit.

My first skein of Bugga! that I managed to snag from some one who was destashing on Ravelry.

I can see why people are going crazy about it but I'm not going to miss sleep or go crazy trying to get more when there are other cashmere base sock yarns out there that are beautifully dyed and easier to get. Yes, yes I know it has 20% cashmere but frankly I think ZYG's Serenity sock is just as squishy and soft and it's a whole lot easier to buy. That said, if I had some extra cash and I stumbled upon some in an update I would buy it if I liked the colors.

I'll leave you all with a pic of my little yarn hugger.

Bree is my knitting helper. She loves helping me take pictures of
yarn and projects and sits in my lap to help me knit. Plus she loves to "fuzz" the yarn. For some reason Bree asks to fuzz instead of feel but only when it involves yarn. She always asks if she can "fuzz it" when I get a new skein of yarn. I've
even caught her sniffing it. The kid is a crack up in a yarn store. She treats the yarn as if it's super special (of course it is and I've taught her well). I think I have a yarn addict in the making. :~)