Quiet.

It's been a quiet weekend, a long quiet weekend and it's been just fine by me.


What do you think? This is using Sockotta sock yarn, fair isle affect, #6670, this is the yarn Kathleen was using at Knitnight last Tuesday, and using the Jaywalker sock pattern. I was completely charmed with her sock and on Friday went out to that lys and found a skein of that yarn, cast on, and here's sock #1. Yes, it DID take me from Friday until today to knit that baby. I know. I was busy doing other things around the house....none of which were as exciting or fun as playing with this yarn and pattern though. I started out using 2.75mm dpns, and got down the leg, tried it on, tooooo big, ripped it out and started over using 2.5mm dpns, much better, I'm also using the 76 stitch-count.

I received a few questions about the Monkey sock and needle size...although the pattern reads US2...it also reads US2/2.5mm, the 2.5mm is more a US1.5 size, which happens to be what I'm using on the Monkey socks. I would say to always take note of the metric size if they list it, apparently US needles can be a range of sizes so yes...always check the metric number.

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend, had plenty of knitting time and making good times, please continue......keep it going...


Have a little fun....

You are an ISFJ

The Nurturer (that reads that I am an ISFJ, very faint lettering in that html) You have a strong need to belong, and you're very loyal. A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

What's Your Personality Type?

Yesterday...

Yesterday was a Gracie day. We baked some cookies, a recipe that's on the bag of Old Country Muesli by Bob's Red Mill, Wanda wrote and told me about this recipe. We omitted the chocolate chips, I used whole spelt flour instead of whole wheat, and Gracie tossed in some cinnamon to the mix, we stirred, baked, and just had to eat one...tough letting them cool enough....we both love them.

We also walked up to the library to get her signed up for the Summer Reading Program and of course checked out a dozen books for her. We both pick a few out, she picks some, I pick some, we get back home and I read the ones I chose to her and she 'reads' the ones she chose....what an imagination!

On the way back home we saw this little bird. Do you know about these little cow-birds? I saw my first one (that I was aware of) just a few years ago (maybe 3) and it was in the back yard and I was completely charmed by this little fella....and then he let loose with his 'song', although not much of a 'song' it was a lovely whistle-y type sound, high notes....so I watch for them every Spring now.

Ten years ago I would've called Dad and said "Oh say, the cow-birds are back"...and we would've visited for a few minutes, perhaps he would have told me about some bird he had seen that had returned for the Summer. But nowadays I just usually say it in my head, 'hey Dad....', yesterday I spoke the words out loud..."Hey, Dad! Look! The cow-birds are back!", heh, little Gracie starts looking around for whoever it is I'm talking to....so yes, we have a very brief chat about 'Old Grampa', she only knows of him through our stories and photographs...but she KNOWS he would have loved her and taken her fishing, and berry picking, and hiking, and.....

A drawing, and another photo of the little cow bird.

In the knitting news here..well, I've been playing around with that knitting the sock on 2 circs thing. The jury is still out and pondering. I made several goofs...imagine that....then Gretchen emails me and writes of knitting the Monkey socks saying they're 'smokin' fast'....I'd also heard the same thing from Emma, and I've been seeing them all over Knitbloglandia...so hey, I jumped on the Monkey wagon, here we gooooo, and yes, sticking to the 2 circs thing, will see this through.

I also tried my hand at Koolaid dyeing some cotton, Sugar and Cream cotton, I'm wanting a medium to deep red-orange.....it didn't take at all last night, then I thought...maybe it has 'stuff' in it, needs to be washed with soap first so I did that and this morning I've been working on the dyeing bit again...the dye water isn't quite clear yet but I'm hoping it does eventually get there....any comments..recommendations about this?

Knitnight was last night and it was a good one. Not very many folks showed up but it was a great group. Eva was working away on her Horcrux socks, and they're beautiful. Kathleen was working on some Jaywalkers using some Sockotta yarn, and no kidding, these socks are real stunners, makes me want to find that yarn, that particular yarn and knit some up. Cyndi is still working on a cotton ribbon type summer top, black and white, very stylish. Kathy is knitting away on her summer top, a coral colour, very pretty. Joyce is working on a sweater and wondering if it will ever get knit up...her daughter, Amy is back knitting up some red cotton shorts, those two are quite the pair, very funny. Eric was knitting a little cabled 'sweater' dishcloth and Tony was making some coasters for his Mom. Eric also finished his Swallowtail, she's a beauty, Amy and I were trying to figure out who could be the quickest on snatching it away......alas, Eric took her home with him. Emma started a cat bed but was having a bit of trouble joining her ends, she'd tried but....and several times, but....so she asked me if I'd give it a go, sure...oh my. I can't remember the exact number of cast on but I'm thinking either 230 or 270....and she had used a single loop cast on. Mercy. I have to admit I've never used this cast on for anything before and holy moly, it's very tricky getting those loops to all lay down in the same direction all the way around that circ...but I think I did it, then because...I'd never done that I went ahead and knit the first round...whew...of course it was a great experience for me but I also had some fun with Emma about it, and Emma, please, you DO know I was just teasing and having a bit of fun, right? For all you out there, Emma is an exceptional young woman, beautiful and talented and great company (very funny also).

I've been tagged by several people, that random thing, and I'm thinking about it....

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make good time.

Aaaah, it's Monday, again.....

Only it really hasn't been a morning of leisure at all. I've had errands to run, just a couple, close by, then home to mow the yard, yep, we don't have a 'lawn', it's just a plain old yard but I am rather fond of it. For the most part we have lots of shade so if I time it right I don't have to spend much time in the sun and I always try and get the yard work accomplished in the mornings.

We've been having the most glorious weather the past several days. The humidity has been very low and the temps in the 60s and 70s (F), right now it's 80F and feels wonderful, there's been breezes, blue skies with those fabulous white fluffy clouds. It's the kind of weather that if you happen to be awake in the middle of the night and just maybe you go out the back door....the birds are singing, they are singing their hearts out, aah, those mild Spring nights when they sing all night long...I love that. I also miss it in that DH will not sleep with windows open, you read that right, he will not. SIGH and several little sighs.....so I find myself waking up, either by myself or with the help of Ms.Smooch and whilst I'm showing her the door....I walk out into the night and enjoy the bird song. It's really been nice.

I have gotten the Dulaan knitting completed for this year.....10 pair of Magic 28 socks and 6 hats. I'll be sending Ryan a photo and have her add me to the list of 'completes' for the year.

I received a very sweet surprise in the mail from Dianne, you remember she just went to a fibre fest a couple of weeks ago and would you just look at that wee alpaca? Is that not the cutest? She found him/her (I haven't decided yet) there. Dianne ALSO just got back from Mexico (she's quite the gad about don't you know?) and sent me some wonderful vanilla. This smells soooo good, seriously, what is it with vanilla? Really good vanilla? It smells so good, beyond good, seems to me you should be able to sip it, you know what I'm talking about, but we've all learned (and probably the hard way,eh?) this just should not be done. But damn, it smells so divine! AND the yarn! Look at those cheerful colours! I'll be making a pair of winter house socks with this gorgeous yarn.


Dianne, Thank you so very much, you are such a sweet, kind and generous lady! (I am SO sorry I didn't get the 'thank you' in here originally.....I just got all caught up in singing the praises for the goodies....has anyone out there seen my mind? if so, could you get it back to me? asap? Dianne, forgive me, please.....)

Yep, 2 photos, and why? Ms. Smooch just walked right up during the photo shoot and sat herself down and was just looking so sweet and pretty....(just trying to make up for the middle of the night wake up meows). (plus, wish I hadn't 'lopped' her head there, oh well)

That's it for now...

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make good time.

"It Happened".......

Friday afternoon the phone rang, it was my Mother, that was her opening line. Then..."hold on, Gracie, come here, tell your Grandma what you did", I SO knew what was coming down this pike.

"Hi, Grandma"...Hi, Gracie, what's up? (in the background..."tell her"...) "I cut my hair, I cut my bangs"...Really? You did? Well, did you do a good job of it?....and in a really small voice.."No, not really". sigh.....Well, Gracie, I'm sure it looks just fine, and even if it's a bit on the short side..hair grows....it's alright.... "Yes, Grandma" Alright then, are you having fun today? "Oh! Yes I am!" well, everything is alright then, isn't it.... "Yes, bye now"

Of course, I kinda love it, you know what I'm talking about, right?

The thing is...my Mother is a lovely woman...but... yep, she has a weird streak, I know, we all have them, but why on earth should it matter if a 4 year old cuts her bangs off? Gracie was in at the table working away at some paper crafts, had her little blunt scissors and she finally got fed up with her bangs hanging down and just lopped them off. So what.

But I could hear it in her voice, a bit of hurt and shame, because my dear Mother made a much bigger deal out of it than it merited. Granted, last Tuesday or Thursday, I can't remember which, I had looked at Gracie and commented that her bangs needed a trim to which she agreed but we were busy at the time and then both of us forgot all about it, (my bad), they weren't 'that' long but this girl really dislikes having hair in her face. Before her hair got long enough to pull back into a pony tail she wanted a buzz cut like her Conor's and Daddy's...yep. I remember giggling about it at the time and said something to the effect 'why not?' to her Mom and Dad, good grief, you would've thought I'd suggested cutting her toes off or something. Maybe not a 'buzz' but something very close to it,..... what?!?!?! it is just hair....it tends to grow....right?

When I was a little girl my brother and I decided to 'do' each others' hair, he sat in the chair first, I was having the most fun but then my Mom came looking for us (we'd been entirely too quiet) and found us....I really don't remember what happened (other than the scissors being removed from my hand) or what exactly had been said to us....but I don't remember feeling shame...or hurt feelings....granted I don't remember cutting his hair again either, heh.

I'm hoping that whatever hurt or shame Gracie might have felt was fleeting, very fleeting.

I finished Magic 28 socks pair #9 last night and started on #10, no photos yet...but here are some late Spring, early Summer flower/plants going on...

Purple shamrock.....coming out of her Winter blahs....

Catnip with the wire over it, there's a particular Mr. Tom who comes round and thought this was his new nap-bed.....

Hey, all you folks living in or around Bedford, VA, go over to Dianne's blog, she has news about a LYS having a special day on Saturday...go on....

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make.good.time.

I love Mondays......

I'm one of those rare and lucky odd ducks in that I love Mondays. Please don't hate me. It's usually the one day out of the week that I can consider the closest to calling my own. Sure, I have an errand or two that I try to run first thing in the mornings but the house is still clean from Friday Damage Control, laundry is still caught up, I have dinner in the crock pot, and I usually try and schedule misc. appointments for Monday mornings but...mostly, it's just me and Smooch and a very quiet house and I love that.


Hey, guess what? Ms. K is back. Yep, go give her a big welcome, I know you'll show the love.


I actually meant to post Sunday morning for Mother's Day but....well, you know, I didn't. I hope all the Moms and the 'Moms' out there had a lovely and pleasant day, I know I did. My Mom and I had our usual Sunday jaunt to breakfast and then to the market...Avery called just as I was getting ready to step out the door, he was getting ready to go to work...for an all day gig..and wanted to be sure and catch me before I left so Mom and I both got to visit with him for a few minutes. He's doing quite well. After the market and getting home and putting things away I did spend some time just relaxing with my knitting.....
Magic 28 socks, pairs # 6,7, and 8....


and another Cupcake hat that should fit an adult (it fits my whopping round noggin so should be fine). I love this hat, I love all the Cupcake hats.


Later in the afternoon we all gathered up for an early dinner, received some very nice gifts from the kids, came home and.....yep, knit some more. Close to finished on pair #9 socks.


Happy Knitting to all and continue to make.good.time.

Wednesday? or Look Both Ways...

What?!? It's not Saturday? That's right...it's Wednesday, go figure.

I did a little research on the 'thing' found in the fish head..it's called an 'otolith' and the fish was a freshwater drum. Information here.

A few of you wanted to know more about the Peace Fleece and specificly about knitting cables with it. I don't know that it would do well with tiny cables, as in the Clock Vest in the book Folk Vests, (which is something I really want to knit) but I've seen some sweaters knit with Peace Fleece that have larger cables and they look great to me.

I recommend that you go visit Norma's blog and in her sidebar she has a section with 'categories', click on 'sweaters' and read away. She's making the Central Park Hoodie with Peace Fleece and she's also made 'Heather' with Shaba Green Peace Fleece. Read all about it, no kidding, she gives an excellent review of the yarn.

I'm still knitting away on the Magic 28 socks, no photos today....of knitting. I'll check the photos and see if there's anything worth looking at, otherwise.....

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make good time.

Days flying by...

Another week has flown by...where did all those days go? I know I've been busy with quite a number of things but.....wasn't it just a couple of days ago it was Monday? No?

What I've accomplished in the knitting department, # 3,4, and 5 Magic 28 socks.



The red and green yarn is Lamb's Pride, worsted. That pink? Yummy.



Peace Fleece Lauren's Coral, worsted. I am no longer a Peace Fleece virgin. I love this yarn...so much that if I had a closet to call my very own I would fill it up with Peace Fleece. No kidding, this is wonderful stuff, the bloom alone is worth the price of admission.

So, I've knit five hats, and five pair of socks for Dulaan so far, I have another green pair on the needles and 2 other socks waiting for their mates.

Check these out. (you can click for larger view)



You'll never guess what those white things are...never, ever. Seriously. My father loved going fishing, he tried his very best to go fishing everyday....weather permitting....he'd bring a few home, clean and cook them up. I don't remember the particular fish....but it had that white thing in its head....it's a calcium deposit, hard but very light weight. Dad would collect these things out of the fish, wash them and place them in a little saucer dish. They were in that dish for years and they've not discoloured at all. My Mom gave some to a friend of hers, and she made earrings, how clever is she? They're perfect for me, light weight and simple. I've worn them all afternoon with no problems.

I started the day off going to the farmer's market, sadly, the Llama Lady wasn't there. A band was playing some very cheerful Irish music with a lady singing, they were quite good. I picked up more fresh spinach and a big bag of fresh greens. Poked about checking all the vendors' wares, they're a cheerful lot I'll say that.

Then, because it's been rainy here all week, I tackled the yards, ours and Mom's and was home just a bit before noon. Pretty good, eh?

With thoughts of my Dad, I've taken a few photos of some of his very favourite flowers.






I'm ready for the knitting chair and getting back with the little green socks.

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make good time.