Time Flies

How is it the end of Spring Break already??? Hubby and I had a nice getaway to a local hotel on Monday night. We tried a new restaurant - Brazilian BBQ, where waiters carve the meat right at your table. Yummy! Baby K enjoyed her first sleepover at Grandma's house.

Yesterday, Baby K got a haircut. I was tired of all the tears when combing her hair, so we went for the classic bob.
I'm busy working on finishing some projects for Quilts of Valor. I finished this starry top several years ago, and it was waiting for a binding. I thought I had purchased some of the red sashing, but couldn't find it. Argh. So, I pieced some scrappy blues. Great project to work on while basketball is on!
I have another top for QOV, but it was a crib size pattern, so I had to improvise on some additional borders.
I finished a sock:
The multi-colored yarn, Socks that Rock colorway Flower Power, does such interesting things! I was getting spirals of color in smaller stripes along the leg and heel, then in pooled on the foot. I was tempted to break the yarn and move the colors around, but the pooling is part of the charm.

Socks

Baby K found some of my handknit socks this weekend. They don't fit her feet, so...She put them on her arms!
I finished another pair, with just inches to spare. I was sweating those last few rounds as I watched the yarn disappear!
Jaywalker pattern with Blue Moon Socks That Rock yarn in January One colorway.

I was itching to immediately start another pair, but I have so many choices that I couldn't decide. I was looking for a pattern for the abandoned Socktoberfest yarn, but I didn't feel like swatching. I have some red, white, and blue self-striping that would be cute for July, but I didn't go digging through my stash to find it. I have several sock club kits, leftovers from 2007 Socks that Rock and Tofutsies, but I didn't want to concentrate on elaborate directions. I know, I'm being much too picky - just knit already!! So, I ended up working on a baby blanket and flipping through Sunday night reality TV (Ice Road Truckers if you must know my guilty pleasures...)

My projects

The ordination stole is now longer than the cat stand...which has turned into a Baby K jungle gym. We dragged it to the center of the living room, up against the sofa to minimize the chances that she will fall off onto the tile floor. That fabric challenge I talked about? Well, I still won't meet the show deadline, but I continued piecing. I used Ricky Tims' "Caveman Quilting" techniques to do the freehand curves. I have fabric for a border, which will be wavy also. The BIG project this week was finishing a customer quilt. It had lots of green fabric, gorgeous batiks. I did some pseudo-McTavishing in the black background, which made my eyes water - hard to see black thread on black fabric and I was doing small motifs!
Here is the main block design...very simple but striking with her wonderful colors. I was crazy enough to start a new sock project...another pair of Jaywalkers in STR January One. Socks That Rock yarn is luscious!!! This is my "March Madness" project...which means it's madness to think I'll finish in 3 weeks, LOL.

1st SOCKtoberfest Finish

Presenting my Firebirds...

They were the June installment of the Rockin Sock Club. I added the picot edge, and my new Sketchers shoes, which I bought especially to show off handknit socks. They do rather well, don't ya think?

Next up...Socktoberfest yarn!!!

It's SOCKtober!

Here sits Solstice Slip #2, my first goal for the month of SOCKtober:

I measured SS#1, and I really got tired fast, LOL - only 3.25 inches of the leg before I start the picot edge!

I actually got a halfway decent picture of the whitework quilt I'm working on. This is the center medallion design. There are radiating lines and more feathers for an outer border. A little more stippling and then it gets a rinse to erase the blue marker.

Fianlly, here is Baby K, enthralled with a leftover beach toy. I think the original intent was to shape sand castles, but she likes putting Legos in it and basically carrying it around. She can get up in her rocker all by herself, then she looks over and grins when I tell her to sit in the chair properly. Typical mom fear of her tumbling over and getting a nasty bump!

Hospital Knitting

Last Friday, I was in the mood for some basic knitting. Little did I know this project would be perfect for the hospital waiting room! I started with a seed-stitch border, and the center design will be a four-patch of stockinette. You can see in the middle where I change from knits to purls. I'm aiming for about a 24" square baby blanket...we'll see if I have enough yarn! This is left over from the log cabin blanket I finished last fall. Since there is no real plan, if I run out of yarn the alternative is to rip it out and do something multi-colored.

I took my Rockin Socks along. I am almost to the heel of sock #2.

The sock was a big hit with the little girls who came to visit my brother's roommate. One of them was practically in my lap watching me knit! She even asked if I would make her some - oh my. I kindly explained that it would take too long. ;-)

And I came home to a new Rockin Sock kit:
The color is "Flower Power." This month the theme is "Summer of Love" - a throwback to 1967 hippies. Personally, I think of more yellow and orange with the turquoise and purple of that era, but whatever...the 2007 yarn is gorgeous!

Waiting...

Does this look like a sick child to you?


I didn't think so. But, she was running a low fever - just over the acceptable limit for daycare, so I got an unexpected day off on Monday. Then, on Tuesday afternoon, I got to the parking lot and my car was dead. What's next?!?

Good news, though. My first Solstice Slip sock is done. It's the Firebird colorway for the Rockin Sock Club. Pooling on the foot: Side view...
And a detail shot of the pattern and my first-ever picot bind-off!

I kept the sock a little short because I got bored. Sad, huh? It's beautiful yarn and I think the picot edge is a fun detail. Maybe I need a basic pair of socks when I have such wonderful colors! I'm thinking of knitting a sundress for Baby K in this yarn too. I know I've said before that it reminds me of a summer popsicle!

Finished Objects

I'm done with the April selection from Rockin Sock Club! The yarn is called "Walking on the Wild Tide' and it was a silk/merino blend. So luscious!!!

The first picture shows the shifting colors:


The second picture is a little better in showing the leg pattern, which I found in The Sock Calendar by Catherine Wingate and Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.

On the quilting side, I pieced the back for the Row Quilt from some fat quarters in my stash. I made a big label with details about the photos that are on the front. It's important to document your quilts, and there is extra security in sewing them into the backing.

Here is some detail of the quilting. These are two of my favorite freehand designs. An all-over scroll and a "flame flower." I used the flame flower on the bright orange and yellow quilt earlier this week. The scroll is an easier background fill for me to do than meandering.

More Socks that rock

The June kit... Colorway - Firebird. Luscious as always!

Pattern - "The Solstice Slip." The slipped stitches lean left, then right and look like little flames. I'm hoping to start these next week on vacation...as soon as I finish the one and a third that are currently on the needles. B's second sock is about halfway to the toe, then I will finish the second sock from the April "Wild Tide" yarn, and then I can enjoy the summer selection!

Sock Progress

On the bottom is the first sock made with the April Rockin Sock Club yarn. I found another pattern since I didn't really care for the lace in the club pattern. But, I promised to finish B.'s pair...they are Simple Socks on 2 Circulars from Cat Bhordi's book. I'm almost to the heel on sock #2, and I'm *really* tired of K2P2 ribbing!



B. worked long and hard to finish the ripping-out project...That is the pile of thread left once all the layers were separated. Now it's time to quilt it again! I found a golf pantograph that should make it a quick finish - if you call over 2 years quick!


Happy Father's Day from baby K:

Saturday Sewing

I finished quilting the Orange Delight! I used one of Linda V. Taylor's pantographs. This is the back:

Maybe I can get the binding on this week. I have until June 4th to finish...the foreign exchange student whose gift it is leaves then!

Baby K has been very interested in Daddy's sock progress...

I am working the gusset decreases:

Obsidian from Blue Moon Farm has a wonderful variety of rich browns, blacks and flecks of grey. Perfect for a man's sock!

Here's Baby K's latest trick - Climbing!

Enjoy the weekend!

First Mother's Day

I have two socks on the sticks. On the left is the April Rockin Sock Club yarn in my alternate pattern. On the right is more STR yarn, colorway Obsidian, for B's first pair of handknit socks. I am trying the circular needle method, and so far, so good. I can't tell if it's the easy pattern or the circular method that is allowing me to go so fast...I think I have spent less time on B's socks and it certainly looks like the same length on both pairs at this point!

Here is my Mother's Day bling...it's actually a white gold and diamond pendant, I guess the flash makes it look yellow gold!

Yesterday we had a mother daughter luncheon. Baby K was very excited to hear the entertainment...a barbershop quartet. She had been napping on my lap and perked up with a smile when the men started singing!

And just for fun, here are some bathtime pictures. Her toys are foam letters that spell her name. She likes to have one in each hand, and one in her mouth too!

With seven teeth showing, we have to practice good brushing habits...

Two more weeks of school, woo-hoo! B. and I made reservations for our summer trip to Minnesota. Now we have to figure out how to survive a 3 hour plane ride with the baby... Plan A is Benadryl, but I don't know how far we'll get with the three ounce limit ;-)

Frog, meet Grasshopper

I turned the heel, using short rows, and knit about 4 rounds of the leg.

I'm loving the yarn, but I noticed a couple things...

There was a HUGE gap between the back and the front. The pattern warned of this and suggested picking up a stitch or two in the gap, and then decreasing the next row. Well, how are you supposed to decrease the stitches when everything is yarnover and purl 2 together?!? Second problem...somehow I dropped 2 stitches on the heel-side. I did not feel like ripping it out and trying again. I had enough fun with the lace pattern on the foot.

So, I pulled out my "Sock Calendar" pattern book, and flipped to October - ta da! It's a basic pattern called "Everybody wants Sox" that has some ribbing and a pretty diagonal twist. I think it will really complement the beautiful colors in the yarn!

Today is another Stitch-n-Pitch event, which means knitting with hundreds of others at Chase Field. Go Diamondbacks!

WIPs

I was successful finding a ball winder last weekend. I kept the yarn intact as I wound the second ball...the winder wasn't big enough to make jsut one ball!

Here is the top of my April Rockin Sock...

And here is the plain stockinette sole of the sock...the yarn is just luscious!

I will be quilting the Orange Delight as soon as my thread order arrives, and in the meantime I started cutting for my next project. This is a graduation present for our best friend's daughter. She picked out the fabric and chose the Yellow Brick Road pattern. Looks like fun!

Finally, here's Baby K. She really enjoys her books! Some of the covers are tattered from being in her mouth...must be the teething - B. noticed two new ones coming in on top for a total of SEVEN!!!

We have a winner!

Toni figured the clues correctly and guessed...

JANUARY ONE (for my Jaywalkers) and OBSIDIAN for my husband. I was leaning towards getting him "Terra Firma" but he wasn't thrilled with the idea of high contrast stripes. I've made the difficult decision to set aside the "Wild Tide" socks when his yarn arrives. It's bad enough having my dad grumble about his 2-year-old unfinished birthday quilt, I don't need any more guilt!

Speaking of Walking on the Wild Tide, I think the colors are gorgeous. (It reminds me of Noro which I plan to knit from the Spring 07 issue of Knitty!) Anyway, I cast on the provisional toe from the Inside Out pattern (several times, since I tried it BEFORE having coffee!) and started the *yo/p2tog section. Oh my. Lots of concentration required! After about half a dozen rows, I noticed that something was wrong...some of my stitches looked very smooth, while others had the twisted/knotty look. I debated leaving it, since who cares what two rows on the toe really look like, but then I decided it would eat at me forever, so I frogged. I read the Club suggestions to slip the stitches and insert the left needle in the back of the loops when the yarnover comes first, and that seems to help alot. Unfortunately, this is not a fast knitting pattern! The pattern itself is easy to remember and I can read the stitches well enough to know what I'm doing next without referring to the paper, but all those yarnovers and purls make it slow going.

Friday Finishes

I had to wait until I finished my Inside Out socks before I opened my April Rockin Sock Club kit...it was torture! I had about 7 rows left when I got home, and Baby K was napping (thank goodness for small favors!) Of course, she woke up right as I started binding off, LOL. I had alot of fun with the first pattern: ***SPOILER ALERT FOR RSC MEMBERS...turn away now if you don't have your kit yet!***

Then, I got to rip into the April kit! The yarn is absolutely dreamy - a merino/silk blend. The pattern has a lacy, open leg which is perfect for spring weather. I'm itching to cast on, BUT... I don't own a ball winder :-( It's on my list for Saturday errands now! I need to swatch because I saw a comment on the club blog that the pattern is running large. I had so much fun with the first short row toes and heels, that I may try them again. WOW - my fourth pair of socks and I'm already modifying...definitely "Walking on the Wild Tide"!!! OK, I will admit that my design decisions are based on the fact that I don't have room in my budget for 2 sets of circular needles, which the pattern technique calls for!

Since the sock project is on hold for a day or so, I pulled out the Orange Delight and finished the borders. I think it came together nicely, and Gidget approves too! Now I have to decide on a quilting pattern. I have some ideas for custom work floating around my head, but I'm also in a time crunch so maybe I'll just use a pantograph. Although I could use the practice with custom free-hand quilting...(can you tell I'm a Libra?!?)

And finally, I noticed that Baby K's 5th tooth is showing through her bottom gums. We've said all along that she's a super-advanced baby...she's just 8 and a half months old. She's always on the move nowadays!

OH YEAH...this is a reminder to see my April 26th post (Audience Participation) for a contest!!!