Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 And A Few Good Weeds!

My Wee Tiny Sock is completed and will be leaving Alabama today.....headed for a LONG trip!!!! (Gee....if I could take HALF the trips that my knitting takes I would be one happy gal)!! LOL!!!!









Wee Tiny Sock

Cherry Blossoms Yarn by Sunshine Yarns , knit with size 0 Knit Picks circular needle.


I LOVE Sunshine Yarns....the colors are great and they knit into the softest socks!!!










Have a good trip Wee Tiny Sock!!!!





Inspired by Bibby's Post (who has THE most gorgeous, enviable yard).......I decided to take a walk around MY yard.....keeping in mind that my yard is a JOKE.....NOTHING grows but WEEDS!!! But, I guess beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder....too bad most of these flowers are only appreciated when lying on your stomach and using a Macro lens!!



I bring you......WEEDS!!!!!!!!

(Wendy, help me on this one.....Trillium????)

I usually have 3 in the same spot, this year only one came up!!

If you should find yourself driving by my house one sunny Spring Day and see me prostrate in my yard, no need to panic.......I'm just enjoying my WEEDS!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!

The Letter F

F is for Flowers!! (Original I know)!

These were grown by Bibby, who has THE most beautiful yard!!! Lot's of old trees!!! Straight out of a Southern Living Magazine!!!! I am SOOO envious of her yard!!!

Is this not THE cutest sock bag????

My sweet friend and her ADORABLE offspring came by the other day and brought me this bag!!! The sun was shining so bright that is you look hard you can see the lining which is tiny little coordinating flowers!! These little dogs look just like Max......only more colorful!!! LOL!!! This is the PERFECT sock bag size!!!!

Also included, but not pictured, was a loaf of THE BEST banana nut bread.....which lasted....oh....just a few hours!!! LOL!!! YUMMY!!!! YUMMY!!!

Thank you so much for thinking of me!!!!

I am so very lucky to have such wonderful friends!!!

Out With The New, In With The NEWER New!!!!

WARNING: Woman On A Mission/Rant/Public Service Announcement, WHATEVER...... Long Post!!!!




This is what I bought 17 months ago,..........and was quite happy with until:



I stupidly moved the passenger seat back and everything in the car shorted out, had to be towed to the dealership......



Even after the oil plug came out (cross-threaded incorrectly by that friendly "electronic" robot that builds cars)...while driving down the interstate, but with the built in safety feature that holds a bit of oil in reserve so you don't burn up the motor (thank you very much)......but prevented me from realizing anything was wrong until I pulled into my basement and smoke comes pouring...and I DO mean pouring from the car, causing much stress as I was afraid I had another "short" in the electrical system and my car was on fire!



Then there was the time I got out of the car and the dash and dome lights stayed on for...well I'm not exactly sure how long.....I finally went to bed....but the battery was dead the next day.



But the love stopped when I pulled into the basement Thursday night and the ENTIRE electrical system went bonkers, even turning off the car and removing the key didn't slow it down a bit!! It would have been an AWESOME scene in some poltergeist movie, all the inside and outside blinking lights was quite impressive!! LOL!!



My husband decided to disconnet the battery but the battery was sizzling and oozing the contents of itself all over the place so we slammed the hood and hoped for the best.



After a sleepness night Thursday night (I was afraid something would spark and burn my house to the ground....oh...forgot to mention the car wouldn't go in gear so we COULD get it out of the house in case of fire either). I decided the love affair was over.....NO more chances........you had your 3 chances and it is SOOOO OVER!!!!!!!



After two full days of "discussions", the Dealership saw things my way, paid off my car, will have it towed (where by their own admission will repair and put on their lot to sell or trade with another dealership....... ultimately selling to some unsuspecting person which is SOOOOOO wrong).....sold me a new car for pretty much the same price I paid for the old one....got more for my money this time around....pays to do your homework and go in with documentation to back it up ladies....these guys just THINK we ladies are an easy sell!!!! Could be the knitting throws them off!! Hee! Hee!




I do like this car, but I don't like change....I like things simple and this car is SOOOO not simple.



I feel as though a training class should have been included just to operate it!! LOL!!!

I reached up to adjust the mirror to night driving and no little thingy to flip the mirror.......it just "knows" when it is night and when a car gets within a certain range something changes and the back windshield will turn green......reminds me of a story I had to read in 2nd year English/Lit....about a futuristic house that was all "electronic" and could sustain itself on it's own.... Come to think of it.....the end of the story wasn't a good one......GULP!!!! And now the cars can do all this stuff without your input at all!!!

LAWZY.....what's this world coming to!!!!!!!!!!!!



I know, I know....I'm showing my age!!!



I think some enterprising company should create a car that has doors that must be locked and unlocked with a key INSERTED in the door lock (gasp), windows that roll down with a crank knob (how CRUEL).... mirrors that must be adjusted by hand, (remember that feeling of having to roll down your window while going 60 miles and hour and adjust your side mirror.....while trying to maintain the integrity of your hair "do"??) LOL!!!



A car that requires a MECHANIC to fix anything that goes wrong........NOT ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS and a computer!!!



Such a company would make a KILLING I'm telling you!!!! Every old pooh like me would be lining up to get there name on the list! AND all the investors would be RICH, RICH, RICH I tell ya!!! SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!




OH......and if you find yourself contemplating the purchase of a 2006 Honda Accord EXL in the Carbon Bronze Purl color any time in the near future from Precision Honda in Jasper, Alabama, or in ANY STATE (because they trade off with each other).......let me know.....I have the VIN number....might be able to save you some trouble!!

I don't want something for nothing.....I'm like the Dyson commercial.....I just think things should work right!!!!!!

O.K. WHEW....glad I got that off my chest......I feel ALL better now!!!!!!!!!!!!

May Day Sock Update!!

Can you believe it??? I have a sock on the needles for my May Day Sock Swap Pal!!! Wooo Hooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so used to some form of ribbed pattern that this sock looks HUGE to me....but I have tried it on several times and it fits nicely....

I have a couple more rows and the heel flap will be completed!

Monkeys and a Mystery!!

Actually there are TWO Mysteries!!!


One Monkey has Purls....One Monkey Doesn't.......or DOES it????????? Hmmmmmm??????


Socks on the left are the regular Monkey Socks, knit with Cherry Tree Hill from my sweet friend Ginger.


Socks on the right are the NO PURL Monkey Sock, knit with Sunshine yarn, Cherry Blossoms color way. Not enough difference in my opinion to justify purling!!! What do you think???





SECOND MYSTERY!!!




Despite all the deterrents I could think of Bella continues to sit in the kitchen window on a regular basis....pretty much every day at about the same time when the sun is typically shining and the ledge is nice and toasty warm....(today is overcast).

I keep a bottle of Lysol kitchen disinfectant on the counter by the paper towel dispenser as a permanent fixture and give everything a good cleaning once her Highness has finished with her sunbath.

Apparently, Miss Bella decided to be quite the helpfull little kitty today.....see how she pulled all the towels from the dispenser...... I guess she couldn't figure out how to work the spray bottle.!!! LOL!!!!

Looks like I'll have to give an in-service....I'll let you know if she learns to "do windows"!! LOL!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

May Your Yarn Stash Never Run Low

May you always have projects on the needles

And may you ALWAYS have friends to share it all with!!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

*Old Irish Knitting Saying.....well....sort of!!!!

ABC Along.....The Letter E

E is for:

EASTER EGGS!!!

May Day Sock Yarn Decision and SNOW!!

Decision made:

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock

Jewels.

I'm still working on the pattern...I started one yesterday but something about it just didn't sing out to me.....so I'll continue looking this week and hopefully have a decision made by the end of the week so I can start on the socks this weekend.

While the socks may not be going just yet.....I am having fun shopping for my May Day Swap Pal!!! LOL!!!

And....we woke up Saturday morning to SNOW......it was 79 degrees one day last week!!!

What can I say?? It's Spring In Alabama!!!

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread!!

Can you GUESS what this is???

(The white spots are due to my camera)!























Here is another hint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got it figured out now????

It is just THE Most AWESOME sock blockers I have ever seen!!!



See the colored blocks....the numbers??? This is PURE Genius!!

My husband was complaining that he only had one pair of hand knit socks while I had SEVERAL pair!!

I dug through my stash and came up with some Knit Picks Essential sock yarn and cast on that very day!!

The problem with knitting for someone else's foot is that they aren't always conveniently sitting right by your side when you need to try the socks to check for proper fitting!

This was a problem. I decided a pair of sock blockers were in order so I sent an EM to Becky.

After explaining my dilemma to Becky about wanting to be able to make socks for my husband, but not wanting to wait around for him to be available to try them on for sizing purposes she came up with this MOST INGENIOUS idea!!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the fact that now I know exactly where on the blockers my socks need to be prior to starting the heel and toe decreases!!

NOW.....I have a pair of blockers that are CUSTOM made to match my husband's foot, high arch and all!!! I can knit socks when it is convenient for ME and not have to wait around for the "model" to be present!!!

In this "throw away" age it is very comforting to pick up needles, yarn and be able to create something that is uniquely your very own. I find the very rhythm of knitting socks to be very soothing and somehow "centering". There is nothing more comforting to me than wearing a pair of socks that were hand knit....whether they were knit by my own hands or someone else's. I am so tickled to know that with these custome blockers that I can now knit for someone other than myself and be sure that what I am creating will fit PERFECTLY!!!

I think the creativity that Becky demonstrates every time she makes a pair of custom blockers is just incredible!! I can follow a pattern, but I am not creative......there is a HUGE difference!!

I know you can buy sock blockers from a lot of different websites, but they aren't custom made to fit your foot.......or the foot of the one you love to knit for!!!

If you are a sock knitter......you owe it to yourself to get over to Becky's site, let her work with you to create a pair of custom blockers just for you!!!!

Becky, thank you again so very much for coming up with such an awesome idea!!!!!

Winter Doldrums Surprise!!

Talk about someone SPOILING me!!!





Mary has ABSOLUTELY spoiled me!!! I could not believe all that I received.....I feel very grateful and a bit overwhelmed with so much goodness!!!





First off is CHOCOLATE.....and not just ANY Chocolate but TRUFFLES.....oh my.....this is my FAVORITE but one of those that I won't buy for myself!! I haven't seen the Hershey's sticks....but oh my...are they GOOOOD!!! LOL!! CHeck out the KnitPicks yarn in Smores colorway!!! How cute is that??!! There are subtle shades of gray and blue with chocolate brown and cream....good enough to eat!!


The washcloths are AMAZING.....the one on the left looks like an angel and the red one has such detail in the pattern.....I can't bring myself to use either of them for awhile....I'll have to admire them for a bit until I can put them to work!! LOL!!


WEIRD.......I borrowed this VERY book from a friend and YIPPEE....now I have my very own copy!!!!!! (Laura, your book will be in the mail this week)!! (Mary MUST have ESP)!!!


A WONDERFUL bar of VAnilla Bean soap....that will be hitting the shower with me in the morning!!!!


AND......if this weren't MORE THAN ENOUGH????????????




Some BEAUTIFUL roving yarn in the most beautiful shades of purples/lavender!!

Middle is some Blue Sky Alpaca in such a beautiful lilac color...I have not knit with this yarn and I can't WAIT to go through my patterns and decide what to knit!!

OHHHH... another skein of Knit Picks in the Rocky Mountain Dusk colorway......which the mountains are my favorite place to go so how appropriate is this color way???!!!

Mary, you did WAYYY more than you were supposed to have and I feel very spoiled indeed!!!

It is always so nice to find new friends through swaps!! Turns out Mary and I both have dogs with Diabetes....funny how these swaps pair folks isn't it??

A million thanks are not sufficient Mary.....I am so very, very tickled to received the bounty of gifts and appreciate all your thoughtfulness!!!

Anniversary And A FUN Class!!

Hello there Mr. Handsome Hubby Sock.....care to Monkey Around????

On March 1, 1986, I married a wondeful man!!! Neither of us could remember exactly what time we were SUPPOSED to have been at the church....we were LATE!! LOL!!

We spent the day reminiscing on how far we have come in 22 years!!! What a blessed 22 years it has been!!

(Mr. Handsome Hubby Sock does indeed have a mate that is almost completed....as does the Monkey sock)....but until then....these two will hang out together!!

AND...........................................................................................

Teacher Extraordinaire Suzanne taught a MOST wickedly fun class today on the art of Fair Isle Knitting!!

We had a BLAST.....just too much cutting up and laughing going on.....all while learning something new!!!

There are teachers that can teach...all technical and proper....but it isn't fun....and then there are teachers like Suzanne that make ALL the difference in the learning experience.....taking all the technical stuff you need to know and giving it to you in such a way that you never get stressed or feel rushed!!

We were absolutely SHOCKED when three hours had passed and fun/class time was over!!!!

We are SOOOOO tickled that Suzanne joined our knitting group!!!!

OH...and that little white dot between Bibby and Jessi is Cindy.....who was there in spirit!! Hope you feel better soon!!!!!!!!

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!!