May Sock Yarn Decision

Decisions are being made for which yarn to use for my May Day Sock Swap pal!! I have already made a decison on the first goodie to get and have placed an order!! YIPPEE!!

Now...to choose the yarn. My Pal likes BRIGHT, BOLD colors.....

Of course my picture doesn't show the true colors!! Where is the sun when you need it???

We have a rather Harry Potterish colorway on the far left, center yarn has orange, purple and reds, far right is one with lovely shades of green (not washed out at all like the picture).....I'm thinking about grass when I look at this one.......but....just not sure. I'll take a look at patterns this weekend and then decide!

Socks!!!!!

I know these socks look HUGE.....but they are "man size" socks on a blocker for my foot!!




These are for my husband.....Knitpicks Essential sock yarn that is REALLY soft, nice yarn!!!! Garter rib stitch.




The second sock is ready to start the heel flap which I plan to do tonight!!

My FIRST monkey!!!

I K.N.O.W.....everyone and their brother has been knitting monkey socks 4-EVER......but I FINALLY got around to it!!!

This is knit with Cherry Tree Hill yarn that I received as a gift from Ginger.

I haven't started the second sock.....(hubby was pouting that he didn't have a pair on the needles).....but I plan to get this sock cast on tomorrow night while at Knit Night. I had a bit of trouble with the decreases at the end...my foot is WEIRD shaped but when the sock is on my foot it looks fine.

Last but not least.....this is the PURL FREE Monkey Sock!!! That's RIGHT....NO PURLS (except for the heel flap). I am using a picot edge rather than the ribbing called for in the pattern. Suzanne had some AWESOME picot edge monkey socks with her at the last Knit Night and I just HAD to give it a try!!

This yarn is Cherry Blossom Yarn.....here is the same yarn knit in the Parallel Pattern by Wendy!!

I love the way the same yarn looks when knit using different patterns!!

D Is For DOG!!!!!

D is for DOG........in this case, MY dog......Max!!!!

Someone Had A Birthday Yesterday!!!

My little Buddy Max (short for Max-A-Million because that is approximately how much he has cost us to date)......had a Birthday yesterday and was NINE years old!!! This is pretty amazing since he has almost died on more occasions than I care to remember.....


He has had a plethora of health issues from the time he was just a few weeks old until his latest issue...which is full blown diabetes, requiring 2 insulin shots per day. But he is a trooper. He knows the routine. As soon as he finishes eating his prescription dog food, he knows he gets a dog biscuit.....right after his shot and he will very patiently sit, with his head dropped down so I'll have access to his neck for his shot.

Then he grabs his treat and heads to the living room to savor it!!



He went to the groomers yesterday, not that you can tell by any of these pictures as the first order of business is to roll on the carpet until all coifs are back into a typical "bed head" state!! LOL!!! We are neither fancy nor formal around here....and bed head fur is just fine with me!!




He may be a "geriatric" dog now but he's still got it in the looks department.....all the Ladies at the vet think he is a HOTTIE!!! LOL!!!





Max is what they call a "grinner"....when he sees you he grins....he shows all his teeth, top and bottom and it is a most distinctive GRIN all while his entire back section is doing a very erratic happy wag..

I have YET to catch him still long enough and at just the right moment to catch a full grin....but this is close...it's blurry. It is so funny to see him grin!!!







But all the excitement was enough to cause this little old man to head for his bed early.....(this would be the bed BEFORE he goes to bed)....he slept till our bedtime then it was off to our bed for the rest of the evening.

Ahhhhh.......





Now go HERE.
Laura has a little baby named Coal....Max looked just like Coal when he was that little!!

Nothing like the love of a dog!!!!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

STUCK on Socks and the May Day Sock Swap!!

I can't seem to get past this whole "sock thing" I have going on......I am obsessed with socks of late!!! I have spent untold hours on ravelry looking at all the socks!!!

Going through my sock yarn stash....dreaming of the next socks to knit (which is going to be the Monkey socks with the Cherry Tree Hill that Ginger gave me).

SO many potential socks to knit!!!!

I have not spun at ALL since the January spin in....and hated that I wasn't able to join everyone on Sunday...I know they had a GREAT time!!! How could you NOT?? LOL!!

So....here are my socks:



K3,P1 rib
Size One Circular

Magic Loop Method

Yarn: Socks That Rock
Color: Hollydays
















Thermal sock pattern

K2,P2 for two rows
K one row
P one row
Repeat.

Size Two Circular
Magic Loop Method

Yarn: Jitterbug
Color: Toscana

Note: This particular pattern needed to be knit with a size one....quite stretchy!!














K3, P1 Rib





Yarn: Socks That Rock

Color: Titania




AND.....I have cast on for the Monkey Socks

AND.....a pair of socks for my DH!!!

And because the above isn't enough I joined the May Day Sock Swap!!!

Purple Haze

Purple Haze.....now if that makes you think of Jimmie Hendrix.....well....then you are of a "certain age"....... which is a GREAT age by the way.........but I am thinking more along the lines of THIS!!!








One pound, 16 FULL ounces of the richest, deepest, royal purple roving!!



I can't quite capture the true depth of color but suffice it to say that it is just an incredibly rich, beautiful purple!!

Christy, (first met through the Hurrican Sock Swap)......upon hearing that my part of the country had experienced damaging weather sent an email and phoned.....just checking to be sure that we had not sustained damage!! I know that the blogger friends I have met are the most wonderful folks on the face of the earth....but I was just so very touched that she would go to such effort to be sure that we were safe!!!!

In the course of the conversation, Christy asked if I would take some roving off her hands (which I tried to sound very gracious and not let out an ear splitting scream in her ear).....I believe there was some kind of veiled threats about "new crafts" mentioned by her hubby that may have played a part in the decision to part with this ball-o-loveliness.....and BAM.....In the mail......... ALL THIS beauty!!!!

I opened this little box and purple literally exploded.....did I mention this was no little ball but a FULL POUND????!!!! I'm sure the guy sitting next to me in the post office parking lot was wondering just WHAT I was screaming about!!! LOL!!

Christy, you touched my heart by being concerned about me and taking the time to check in with me......and I am so excited to receive the roving!!!! Hopefully I can spin something worthy of it and be sending some yarn YOUR way in the hopefully near future!!!!!
(When you check out Christy's blog please be sure and read her January 16th post)!!!!!

2008 ABC Along.....The Letter C and a few other things too!

2008 ABC Along

The Letter C Is For

CABLE!!

Now For Yarny Goodness!!!!

This picture in NOOOO way does this yarn justice!!! This was purchased from Jessi. She has a link to her Etsy shop on her blog....but be sure and check out her blog while you are there!!! I wish you could FEEL this yarn!!!

OH....it is very smooshy soft and the greens on this yarn is much deeper and dominant than this picture shows!! Just LOVE it!!!

Also submitted for your lust is Sophie's Toes Crushed Velvet!!

Again, these colors look washed out and are much richer than they appear here!!

AND....Last but most certainly not LEAST.....

BEAUTIFUL Cherry Tree Hill, a surprise from a MOST wonderful friend!!! (Be sure and take time to go through Ginger's Blog....just incredible entries)!!!

This color reminds me of sherbert....and I am at the moment trying to decide what pattern to use....I am thinking I may make the No Purl Monkey Socks that I recently saw on Ravelry!!!!

I Got An Email From BRAD PITT....and you can too!!

OMG....I got an EM from Brad Pitt.....if you are female and breathing you can't TELL me that you don't think Brad Pitt is....well......you know.......HOT.....or at the very LEAST....he is cute....and I GOT AN EM FROM HIM!!!

Are you jealous??? Come on...... you KNOW you ARE!!! Want your VERY OWN EM from Brad Pitt??? Come on....you KNOW you do.

O.K. All fun aside for a minute!

I know that there are a zillion charities around that tug on the heartstrings of so many, myself included! It is hard to have to pick and choose when there are so many in need.

I knew from talking to Christy (of Hurricane Sock Swap Fame) a couple of weeks ago that she was going to be a featured guest on the Ready, Set, Knit podcast to promote raising money to build homes in the lower 9th ward in Louisiana following the massive destruction from Hurricane Katrina. Christy did a GREAT job on the podcast and a GREAT job on providing information on donating to this project. PLEASE click on Christy's link to read her entire post.

In a Nutshell:

Christy's challenge is to ALL knitters to assist by donating, of course as much or as little as you can afford, and as OFTEN as you would like....but in essence if everyone that reads this would pass this information on to their friends and relatives and donated the equivalent of a skein of sock yarn......maybe once a month until Hurricane Season ends that we , the knitting community at large could raise enough money to build a house, to provide a home for a deserving family. There are several different teams participating in this challenge....Christy's is cleverly named "The House That Yarn Built".

Would it not be just AWESOME to know that by donating the equivalent of a skein of sock yarn we could build a house??????? (are you giving up yarn purchases for Lent?? Wondering how you are going to handle the withdrawal....how about every time you feel the need to buy yarn you make a donation??)

Here is the link to the team home page, be sure to click on The House That Yarn Built to be sure your donation is credited correctly!!

Go HERE to read Christy's post for additional information on Project Make It Right 9

AND.....you'll get an EM from Brad!!!! What MORE could you ask for??????

International Pajama Day!!!

Now THIS is MY kind of holiday!!!!!

I LOVE to stay in my pajama's all day (when it is a day that I don't have anything to do but drink coffee and knit).

I love pajamas.....I love Karen Neuberger pajamas and I found some really cute kitchy flannel ones at Target and Old Navy that I love as well!!

Currently, I am posting this while wearing one of my FAVORITE pairs of flannel pamajas........bright pink, with deep pink polka dots and little black scotty dogs with pink bows around their little necks... (although I like to think of them as little Miniature Schnauzers like Max).

SOOO....enjoy your day today....wearing your favorite pajamas....completely guilt free!!!!!

Hmmmm......wonder who I need to contact to see about making this holiday once a month!!!

New Yarn And A Bit Of Knitting

What an AWESOME Knit Night I had last night!!! Despite the terrible rain we had a GREAT crowd....check us out. A GREAT group of women.....we have WAAYYYYY too much fun!!!! LOL!!!

Suzanne and I had pre-arranged a little trade for some sock yarn....but in essence, I pretty much snatched this from her!!! LOL!! We are SOOO good/bad for each other!!! LOL!!!

This yarn is incredibly soft, the colors are so soothing....and I can't wait to get started on a pair of socks!!!

I have finished one sock and almost finished with the second one.....haven't even woven in the ends of the yarn on this one in case you noticed at the top but wanted to get a picture posted.....this is after all a knitting blog...guess I should post some knitting!!

Just a K3, P1 rib, magic loop, STR Titania yarn from my stash.

I do have other knitting completed....just not photographed.

I finally knit something with some of the yarn I spun. A short ruffled scarf, worn closed at the neck with a shawl pin. I will try to get a picture of this and other knitting and post later.

I just started my first Noro sock and looking forward to getting far enough along to show the beautiful color changes. This yarn IS a bit rough feeling but everyone that has knit with it tells me once it is soaked it is very soft!!