After knitting a stocking and fuzzy feet, both of whom were just oversized socks, I decided to pull out the toothpicks and floss and start my socks over again. I found a basic pattern and went to work. i started knitting a little on this thursday and got through the ribbing on the cuff (only three inches long, I like shorter socks, mostly. I’d say crew socks. Longer than ankle socks, but shorter than tube socks). I knit the heel flap on and off yesterday and finished turning the heel last night while we were watching a movie

I can’t believe, in comparison, how quickly this sock is moving. When I was working on the now dreaded elf toe up pattern, it seemed no matter how much I knit, I would never make any progress. Obviously part of that change has come from up sizing the needles a bit (this pattern called for any gauge at all, so why not do something that feels better) but it just seems to be going quicker.

I don’t think I’ll be knitting today(my hands are sore again) but I’ll probably finish up sock number 1 tomorrow. I can’t wait.

I can see how this becomes an addiction for sure.

Sewing:

Went to Joann’s. Their simplicity patterns were only 1.99 during a three day sale, so I stocked up on stuff to make for Emily for fall or winter. I also picked up enough pattern to make six or seven things for her.

I sewed a bit on the beauty and the beast dress. All that is left is 1) putting in the zipper 2) doing the decorative things with tulle. I should have that done today, barring any emergencies. I am sewing with satin again and it’s a PITA to sew with. Even though I have pinked the edges, they’re fraying. I’m hoping that pinking AND zig zag sewing all the seams will keep it from coming apart.

I felted fuzzy feet last night. It took two cycles through the wash with a big bath towel to do it. They are now drying in the living, having been formed to my feet. They turned out really good and I can’t wait to wear them.

I have a picture of them after felting, but my computer isn’t interested in cooperating this morning so that will have to wait.

The only problem was (and frankly, I hate to admit this) one of my toes came loose! I have no clue how that happened as I did the second two the same way, but this tow started unraveling. I managed to tie it off and then sewed it up afterwards. What else was there to be done? My working loops were felted. It looks okay. Pretty good for a possible disaster. Guess my knot wasn’t good enough? Argh. Who knows.

But, regardless, I’m feel very confident about giving these for gifts. :o)

I didn’t get much else done last night. It got warmer here yesterday than anticipated and we were really warm in the house come evening. I was motivated to do NOTHING and spent all evening languishing. At bedtime I thought about starting on a pair of socks, but couldn’t motivate myself to walk out to the car to get the ball of regia I had rewound.

I could have knitted on the puppy puppet, but honestly, I don’t like working with the Red Heart Light n Lofty. It irritates my allergies for some odd reason and doesn’t feel good to knit with. Not to mention struggling with split stitches and the like. Blech.

I cut out and started work on a little summer dress, but somehow managaged to make so many mistakes that it couldn’t be fixed. I have no idea what happened, but things do happen. Thankfully I got the fabric very cheap, so I don’t feel bad about trashing it.

That let me get started on Emily’s taffeta Belle dress (from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast). I have finished the bodice (it’s okay. Taffeta is hard to work with). and sewed the skirt together. I was going to work on getting the skirt sewed onto the bodice, but I was getting tired and decided it wouldn’t be such a good idea to do that while I was feeling tired and irritable.

That means today I am hoping to: sew on the skirt, sew up the back of the skirt, put in the zipper (if I can find it!), and do the various decorative things.

This is all in preparation for my fall/winter sewing which includes, dresses, pants, jumpers, pajamas, a halloween costume and a christmas dress. :O)

My new sewing machine rocks.

I did some blog updating. For anyone interested, the colors are taken from Bazzils monochromatic Aspen Trio. I used a picture of the trio and then used Photoshop to get the color codes which I then coded into here. Isn’t it perfect? I am working on a simple flash banner that I hope to have finished today or tomorrow.

I also managed to fix my side bar. I don’t know why I was so dense about it. Now it’s neat and tidy. Just how I like things.

As mentioned yesterday, I spent time working on my Christmas cards. They’re pretty simple , but I love them (and hopefully the people on my Christmas card list will love them too). I made ten cards in about five styles. One style I probably won’t redo as I don’t like it. The other takes WAY too many of myMaking Memories Rub-On letters and at $9/pack I don’t want to waste a single one.

But, here are the three styles I like the most:

Supplies: Bazzil Cardstock, Marvy start punch, making memories eyelet charm (Christmas tree), Red Gingham ribbon by Offray

Supplies List: Bazzil cardstock, holly template from dtlk-kids.com

We will be including the following songs on the c.d. we send people. At this point, everyone on our list will get one. However, as time goes by I reserve the right to alter that idea if the project gets too expensive . This group is a selection of all of our favorite Chrsitmas songs

• Christmas Time is here-Shawn Colvin
• It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas-Bing Crosby
• Rudolph the red nosed reindeer-Gene Autry
• Linus and Lucy-Vince Guaraldi
• Santa Baby-Eartha Kitt
• Aspenglow-John Denver
• (It Must Have Been) Old Santa Claus-Harry Connick Jr
• White Christmas-Bing Crosby
• Halleujah Chours-Mormon tabernacle choir
• Stille Nacht-John Rutter
• Christmas Stays the Same-Linda Eder

I may add another or swap something out, but this is a pretty good list. It may be missing The Christmas Song by Mel Torme. We’ll see. I’m such a sucker for Christmas music that it’s hard for me to limit i to just a handful of songs. I could do a fifteen disk anthology of my favorites, for sure.

In all of this Chrismtas news, I did knit a bit yesterday. About six rows on another Simple Summer Dishcloth. Just in the car on the way to Barnes and Nobel with E, e, little bro and his gf.

Today, I’m cleaning off my scrap desk and sewing. Hopefully some FO of that nature to share tomorrow.

I apparently have done too much this weekend. My arms and elbows are sore again. In rereading old blog entires, I thought that maybe my muscles had toughened up a bit as I don’t have the pain and soreness I used to have with knititng, but today (and yesterday for that matter) I’ve been achey and sore, so I need a day off.

Too bad, too.

But I can still felt my fuzzy feet and while do that either today or tomorrow.

In other news, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas.

Actually, I have been thinking about Christmas since, well, Christmas, but there is now only 151 days until the big event. Since I have a feeling that this fall might be a tad busy on all of us, I need to start early to make sure everything gets done that I want to have done.

So, i was watching Qvc’s Christmas in July special and saw these little cuties;

No, I didn’t buy them, but I intend on making something very similar for my Christmas cards this year. Well, the similar part will be in the fact that I’ll be including a c.d. with most of my cards this year (a few older family members don’t have c.d. players, so we’ll skip the c.d.’s to them). I love the idea so much. I have no idea what it will do to postage, though. Not that it matters.

I had already made a template of one card and while i liked it, figured it would be too complicated to make 49 more. I’ll find out today if I think it is too complicated to make 50 or so cards in the style shown as I’ll work up a prototype.

Between a little car knitting and knitting in front of t.v. last night, I finished the second fuzzy feet. Hooray! I don’t think I’ll get to felting today even though I would like to. Probably early this week though. I used the scrap to make another catnip mouse for the kitties. They really love these little natural fiber toys and they’re so easy to make.

Once I finished that, I went to work at making another Turkish Bath Cloth–aka Trinity stitch washcloth with some leftover cotton yarn last night. It will be a bit smaller than my first cloth, but still usable. I have about eight rows left on that to do as well. It will certainly be finished up today.

I have updated my stash list today. You can see it on the right. I have decided that I must finish up four more skein of yarn before i can buy the four more needed to make the cardigan for Emily.

At least. My yarn basket is crammed full to over flowing.

Happy Saturday morning. We’re up and about rather early this morning. The weather this weekend (and for the next week, really) is supposed to be absolutely beautiful. We’re making the most of it and going to the zoo today. Breakfast is cooking in the kitchen as I type.

Didn’t I say the other day that I wouldn’t be buying any more new yarn until I made some headway through the piles that I had? Of COURSE I did. However, they had Sugar and cream on sale at Meijer yesterday and 1) I am loving the dish cloth I made and want to make several more and sugar and cream is a great yarn for it and 2) wouldn’t Emily look cute in a summery yellow bottoms up bucket up from Chic Knits? Of course she would and they just happened to have the prettiest, summery yellow on clearance as well, so into my cart it went.

Emil, stood there with her hands on her hips saying, “Mama! You said NO MOREYARN!”.

Of course I did, but how can you beat .80 a skein? I couldn’t and chances are, Emily will forget that I said that too when she sees the little yellow hat (with hopes for enough left over to make a little yellow purse)

Worked on the second fuzzy feet yesterday. Am now to the decreases after the heel. I may take this along for the car ride today. It’s pretty short, but you can knit a lot in an hour with this pattern and it would be nice to felt them tomorrow, but no promises.

I can say that knitting Eric’s stocking and fuzzy feet have given me a much better understanding for sock knitting and I want to pick up my sock after fuzzy feet are finished. I’ll be making two changes though. One is to knit with my size 2 needles and to work with a pattern that allows for that (I saw some beautiful Lorna’s laces yarns yesterday and they’re gorgeous, but I have to get this pair done before I buy more because I’m not sure if I like making socks at this gauge), second is to go cuff down instead of toe up. I love the idea of toe up socks, but right now my understanding is cuff down with a short row heel. Why not make it easy, you know?

However, I have always been a person swayed by things more complicated than I can do. I have been trying very hard with my knitting to not over do it. I like to knit and working on steeks or something that I wasn’t ready for would diminish my enthusiasm and I know that, so it’s a constant struggle to keep within my skills. I’m not saying I won’t break out (I never believed I could knit with dpn

Since finishing Eric’s stocking, I’ve been inspired to knit.

Of course, figuring out the size and scope of my stash has lit a fire under my toosh as well.

After finishing Eric’s stocking…

I used the left over yarn to knit up a catnip rat (too large to be a mouse) for the cats. I thought I had another small ball left over to be able to make more catnip rats, but I don’t so the cats are fighting over the one I do have.

The good news is, hooray! They like it.

I was so inspired after finishing Eric’s stocking that I cast on for my pair of fuzzy feet and whipped out the first stock in the matter of one evening and one morning. Just one more to go (and I don’t have second sock syndrome–hooray!)

My apologies for the rotten picture. I used the flash, but it didn’t seem to help. The sock is not black and is actually Lamb’s pride blue flannel that is working up to be a lovely blueberry color. I only knitting eight inches on the foot to give myself a more custom fit. However, I am NOT getting a gauge of 3 stitches to an inch which is what the pattern calls for (actually, it calls for 12 stiches over four inches, and I can’t knit that loose, I guess). I’m not too concerned about the gauge, though. I’m sure it will turn out fine. I’ll probably knit a similar length for my mom’s pair, but I’m going to have too much yarn, I think. I bought two skiens, but as it’s working out I only need one.

Oh goodie. Another odd skien.

I also think that I’m going to knit this for Emily. I have three of seven balls of yarn needed. The pattern calls for cotton ease, but I have all of that cotton tots left over that should work instead. However, it does mean adding four balls of yarn to my already too big stash, but I don’t think I’ll be able to find a pattern to use 3.5 balls of yarn to finish. Anyone have any other suggestions? I’ve loved this Lion Pattern for a while (maybe it’s the little girl in overalls? I do have a weakness for those.

Eric’s stocking is finished. I picked it up last night and got through the heel and toe today.

What a relief.

In looking over the pattern, here’s what my problem was. Possibley just a new knitter mistake. I’m using the book Knit Christmas Stockings The pattern is written from line to line with boxes to the right that detail how many stitches to knit, sort of a quick reference, I guess.

When I got the heel, the pattern appeared to read as such.

S1, p2tog, p6, p2tog, p1 turn. p6

What it was actually saying was s1, p2tog, p6, p2tog, p1 turn. Go to next line. The period between turn and the box saying p6 was wha i was missing. Once I figured that out I was able to quickly finish off the rest of the work and the stocking turned out prettycute if I do say so myself.

I should really take some pictures some day, huh? As soon as I clear vacation pitures off the memory card, I’ll pull out the old camera and take a few.

But, it does feel really good to get this project off the needles. Now I can move on to the first pair of fuzzy feet (for me-trail run) so I can then proceed to Chrismas gifts. Hooray!

to make this fit on my sidebar, so here it is. I will have to cut and paste to update it

Yarn on hand
1 skien gray worsted-bought for two needle socks-nothing planned
1 partial skein yellow worsted acrylic-bought for Emily’s many winter items-nothing planned
1 skein wite/gold acrylic dk-bought for God knows what-nothing planned
1 half skein pink worsted acrylic-bouht for center of Em’s flower pillow-possible charity knitting yarn
1 skein blue/white dk acrylic-bought in my crochet days for baby gift-now possible charity knititng yarn
quarter skein mulit cotton tots worsted-bought to finish baby gift-no plans
quarter skein blue worsted cotton-bought for Emily’s winter projects-no plans
1 skein white cream acrylic dk-bought for reasons unknown-no plans
1 skein pink worsted sugar babies cotton-bought becuase it was on sale
1 skein blue worsted sugar babies cotton-bought becuase it was on sale
half skein white worsted cotton tots-bought for Haiku-no plans
1 skein brown red heart light and lofty-bought for two needle sock gifts-no plans
1 skein blue worsted cotton tots-bought becuase it was on sale-no plans
half skein of green Berocco Two Two-bought for stocking-will use
half skein of red berocoo two two-bought for stocking-will use
half skein red acrylic dk-bought for Teddy’s sweater (which I tossed)-no plans
1 skein dark green worsted acrylic-bought for reasons unknown
half skein light blue red heart light and lofty-bought for reasons unknown
half skein of dark blue red heart light and lofty-bought for two needle sockgifts-no plans
half skein of white worsted acrulic-bought for reasons unknown-no plans
1 skein of sugar and cream worsted cotton-bought becuase it was on sale-no plans
2 skeins of lavender worsted cotton(cotton tots) bought becuase it was on sale-no plans
1 skein pink worsted sugar babies (cotton)-bought becuase it was on sale (do you see a pattern here?)
half a skein of berocco suede-bought for Sueet-anyone have any input on what to do with half a skein of berocco suede?
3.25 skeins of lamb’s pride worsted-for fuzzy feet
2 skeins of Regia sock yarn-for socks
2 skeisn of berocco twist-for Banshee (for sis)

Holy smoke!

I think what i have learned is a valuable lessona botu just buying yarn willy nilly. It makes it too hard to use!