Where has March gone?

It's nearly over that's for sure. Plus Easter just leapt out at us from nowhere, and I went to visit family on spur of the moment (Dad called the week before said you wanna come visit? I said sure, so we hopped on a bus after work on Thursday and got a ride back Sunday, I didn't get home to my own bed until late).

It was a good weekend, lots of fun and crazy busy seeing most of that side of the family, plus making a crazy decision (well, my Dad's idea it was) that we go to West Edmonton Mall.

On a Saturday.

During a long weekend.

Anyone who has been there knows how crazy this is. It was packed and we didn't do much of anything except have lunch, wade through the crowds, and stand in line (for bumper boats, which are new since I last went there.. same with seeing the seal, they had dolphins still the last time I went.. shows how often I go there).

Not much knitting content at the moment, because I haven't done much but I got my Year of Lace kit! I went and picked it up today and it looks sooo pretty, but no spoilers cuz some people don't have theirs yet and anyway I wanted to try and finish another project before I start this one. Just trying to keep things even and not too much to overwhelm me, plus I just want some nice stuff for spring.

The garter toes are coming along okay but I may have to rip out the heel as I tried them on and realized it wasn't deep enough. Should've followed the pattern but I was sorta winging it after reading through the pattern once (I do that sometimes with simpler stuff.. gets me in trouble or turns out awesome).

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Yes, today is officially St Patrick’s day (the church will rearrange it if its usual date falls during Holy Week as it does this year).

I have been buuusy, but not much knitting happening. What has been happening?

Well, practicing driving for one (a couple more months and I can take the driver’s test!) as well as various spring cleaning things and organizing (slowly). I still can’t get things for my shelves to hold them up, because the guy at the hardware store lied to my Mom about them having them and ordering them in. So I may just go buy a new shelf for my yarn and stuff because it is all over the place right now (I had taken out my old system in anticipation of being able to easily and quickly put up shelves.. so now yarn is scattered in bins around my room, along with the books and such.. this was weeks ago) and keep trying to find what I need to set up my old shelves and use them in the basement for organizing there. The old shelves are the sort meant for use in a garage or basement anyway.

Ah well, it’s a Saturday and I’ll figure this stuff out.

Actual knitting content, the finished socks for my best friend:



Which have already been appropriated by her mother, so I’ll have to make another pair in a bit. 

The Wasonga sock yarn project:



Garter Toes, which is knitting up nicely. It looks skinny, but be assured that it stretches, and since my feet are size 10W that’s very good. Knitting toe up like this is easier than I thought too, I was able to start with magic loop instead of doing what I had done with the previous pair top down (start on DPNs and switch to magic loop). You probably can do it top down without doing what I did, but it seems haaaaaard. ;)

I’ve also started the knit Easter eggs, or one of them.. I hope to get two done (maybe) before next Sunday, because I wanted to put them in Velociraptor’s basket. It sorta snuck up on me it seems.
And just for kicks, a meme grabbed from someone on my blog list (I forget who now)

Things I love more than a throat punch today.
Coffee and porridge for breakfast (good porridge, the kind that sticks to your innards, made with steel cut oats)
New books at the library
Hugs from my son
Stuff to keep me busy
A mostly sunny day

My socks!

I know I said I'd post them but I got distracted. But I have socks, see?



Thank goodness, because I've been wearing them this weekend. Nice and cozy while it's cold and rainy outside.

Now I'm working on finishing a felted purse, I'm also way behind on where I wanted to be for my hoodie *winces* and I started mittens for my son, but they were WAY too small on the recommended needle size.. I think I knit really tight, or something, so I gotta up the size and do those. And I have a few other things on the needles as always.

But I have one finished item.

ETA: And I can't quite get my template to work, so maybe I need to find another one. *sighs*

Things are moving again!

Last post was just a tad self pitying.

Things are moving, albeit crazily at times.

Got things straightened out with the college (I hope, I really want this to be my last class for diploma, then maybe I can get a slightly better paying job).

Got the sock moving again, I managed to finally get around the heel with the tutorial from Cosmic Pluto Knits! and lots of patience and audiobooks on the bus. I added a couple more rounds and then did it and the heel fits fine.

Here's my big foot in it:



Now I just need to find some time to work on the sweater. At least the classroom portion of driver's ed is almost done, so that'll be two nights a week back to myself again. Maybe I can get some rearranging done and then manage sit down time with some dvd's (I STILL have yet to watch all of Buffy and Angel) and work on the sweater.

Oh! And at least one completed sweater :D

Finally! A finished sock!

Or not..

I finished a sock. I truly did. Thing is, once I finished the kitchener stitch and tried it on I realized.. it's too small.

Ok, not TOO too small, just my feet are big (since I am 6'1, and inherited high arches and wide feet from my Mother).

So that got ripped out and frogged back to where I started the toe decreases, so I can add.. oh, say another couple centimeters. I could have worn it, but the heel (specifically the BACK of the heel) was pulled under my foot and it was pretty stretched out. I figure a couple of centimeters, then the decreases and the heel will sit properly and it won't drive me batty.

Then I just have to knit the next one.

Once I've got them done, I will post a picture of them. I have to show off finished socks!

Oh, and I bought some new sock yarn. Didn't get to the store for stitch n' bitch (and thus missed out on the Oceanwind) but when I went the next night I got some real nice stuff that they haven't put out front yet. Or hadn't really planned on.

I already wound it into a ball, and it's such a pretty blue (they had some wonderful greens and a rust and reds there too, but I kept myself to one skein). I'll get the name later, I left it downstairs in my bag and I'm a little lazy at the moment (considering I should already be asleep..) but it's nice. I like it, and I'm looking around for a pattern to use with it. Maybe this one?

But now I'd better get some sleep.

Heels turned!

It took two times of ripping it out, and watching the video on Knitting Help several times in a row just to be sure I was seeing it right..

but I finally turned a heel!

Now I'm working on the foot, and that's coming along steadily. I also impressed the guys on the bus with my mad skillz as one guy reminisced about his mother knitting him and his brother sweaters and another expressed awe that I could not only keep straight 5 needles, but that the pattern flowed so easily.

I of course pled modesty and told them about the interesting tidbits that Stephanie, the beloved Yarn Harlot, posted about. Such as how stockings much longer than what I was knitting, with smaller yarn (thread at that point?) and needles.. and managed to do one a day.

But of course it gave me warm fuzzies.

The socks won't be done for Christmas though.

Heel, heel, toe, toe

What the heck? Completely lost my post!

Well, as I was saying I am attempting to turn the heel on Conwy.

It's not going so well. You see it looks somewhat like a heel, but at the same time it doesn't.. I don't 
see how it is going to attach itself and go together so I can work on the foot and up to the toe. I shall soldier on though, and hopefully I will see it work (or I will see what I am doing wrong). If I don't though, I shall be attempting the short row heel tutorial that has come to my attention.

If that doesn't work, I shall try other things. Like other books and references, and hopefully finding someone who knits who will show me how to turn a heel. Heck, I'll even take a class! Maybe I should do that, I've been pondering the toe up class..

Ah well, back to knitting!

Busy as a.. flibbertigibbet?

So what have I been up to?

Knitting-wise, not much. I finished one half of the fetching pattern for my Step-mom's Christmas present (I have a month and a half yet to knit the other one.. plenty of time!) and have figured out how to read the chart for Conwy from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road (when I try something for the first time I don't go by half measures! Not overly complicated, but complicated enough for a first pair of socks..).

I must admit to only learning to read it today. I realized I was reading it right to left, not left to right. It kept confusing me as to why a round ended with a knit when the written instructions (thank goodness for those!) ended with a purl..

But I understand now, and I have started the decreases. A little late in the pattern, but still early enough since when you finish the decreases you just keep going for awhile so it won't look weird. My muck up of the twined cables might though, but I just knitted a couple of rounds and then started the cabling over, and realized I was mostly right in the first place.

Who cares anyway? These socks are for me! If I manage to get them done and do decently, I'll try to make a pair for my friend who is a sock fiend. Hopefully I get these ones done before Christmas, with enough time to try another pair!

On the crocheting front, I have decided I want to make myself the Too Good For Your Boyfriend sweater in Not Your Mama's Crochet (I need a good sweater, it's hard to find decent ones that will cover my wrists AND my kidneys unless it's a guy's one. The bane of being a 6'1 female, I've practically given up on finding something not totally shapeless on me so why not make one?). This will wait though, but I do think I should hit up Make1 again because the yarn they mentioned getting in last time looks so nice and perfect for the sweater... hopefully they still have some when I can next get there!

I also had better get cracking on those mittens I wanted to make for my son, my little velociraptor. It's cold here, he needs something to keep those little hands warm! I bet he'll get a kick out of the mouse mittens

I have decided I want this mug. I was rambling around, and it's just too cute. I need more knitting things.

Speaking of which, I have several books on my Christmas wishlist and I shuffled stuff around to empty one of those smallish rubbermaid tubs to put my stash in. It will fit in there with room to spare right now. That will no doubt eventually change.. but it's enough for now.

But for now the plan is to go drink tea and knit while I watch some tv. Haven't gotten enough of the knitting time in, and I have a schedule to keep!

Socks socks socks..

They're going a lot more slowly than I thought they would.

First I hit a snag by ending up with broken needles via preschool age Velociraptor(new ones are safely kept in my room).

Then I was merrily knitting away and had gotten a few inches done when I took a good long look at it.

It looked more like a sleeve than a sock.

Seriously, I slipped it over my wrist just out of curiousity and it was about the size of one of my sweaters floating around my wrist. If it was that big unstretched, how big do you think it would've been on my feet?

So I frogged it, and now I have two books coming from the library on how to knit socks. Just basic patterns.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have experienced this (I know it, reading from other people's blogs) but still. It's embarassing.

Well, hopefully third time's the charm.. I really do want to give my best friend a pair of hand knitted socks for Christmas. She loves socks of all kinds, and what could be better for a sock lover?