Yarn Journal

Since knitting around here has been almost non-existent, I thought I'd share my method for keeping track of my projects as a way to keep you interested. Wait a second, I finally did finish the 3rd bootie. Anyway, last year probably around this time I was in a LYS and came across this yarn girls' knitting journal. Later on I picked one up for a friend to give as a Christmas gift. I just couldn't stand being without out one so I added it to an Amazon order (probably so I could get the free shipping=sucker) in the later part of December. I've been keeping track of all my projects since December 31st, 2004.

It has all the right spaces for all the right information that I want to remember. Usually the gauge swatch spaces are left blank since I don't normally knit swatches for several reasons. #1 I knit a lot of felted objects such as bags which aren't affected much by gauge being off. #2 I'm lazy. I always print a photo from my ink jet and add a swatch of yarn. This is the page I journaled for the converse socks.

And for the yet to be completed circus socks.

And the Knit for the Cure tote bag.

Any other pages you would like to see?

He Just Doesn't Learn

If we're outside and Casey isn't, he pokes his head through the screen on the side door. This has become a common occurence around here. So much so that I've resorted to duct taping the screen on the door instead of truly fixing it, luckily I had white from when I made wallets. I'll fix it for real in the fall when the glass is pulled down and the screen is not at risk. What a goofy dog.

Today is the first day in forever that it's not HOT & HUMID. It's only 67º and it's already 12:30! I love today.

Chicago Rocks

I'm not turning my blog into a foodie blog but since I have no knitting to show I thought food would be the next best thing. Tonight we met some friends and their kids at a local neighborhood Chicago style eatery, Joey D's. I love Chicago dogs. All the mess and the mixture of all the flavors...heaven.

Yes there's a hot dog buried somewhere under there.

Do You Mind if I Put My Hands Up Your Shirt on the Street?*

Friday night I got together with a couple of friends for a little pampering and a yum dinner. Look at the great job *Sandy did on my nails. I chose La Paz-atively Hot for my color and Sandy added some freehand flowers which look like Hibiscus to me. I love the flip flops you get at the salons and this time I even got to keep the toe jammers. I promised Sandy I'd come back today for a manicure but decided it would be better to go next Friday so I'll have pretty nails next weekend for the drive-in movie, Kyle's class reunion and a wedding we're invited to.

Later in the evening we went to Tiburon, a local Carribean fusion restaurant. I really wanted the filet topped with lump crab meat but the chef was out of filet. So... I had the lobster tacos on blue corn tortilla shells, mmmmmm. Loved them. As far as drinks go, I had a billy ocean and a mojito, the best mojito I've ever had. I need to go back and get the puffer shot and the filet.

We each opted for our own dessert, mine was the berry chimichunga drizzled with honey and served ala mode. Very good. I ate all of it. When we were finished eating salsa dancing started up so we hung around a while in awe of all the twirling and such. Good times.

*As for the title of this post, long funny story...probably not what you're thinking. It's actually a very tame story, right Splatgirl?

Melon Anklets

I couldn't resist knitting Alison't ankle socks! She's doing it, and so is she. And her and her and her too.

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM 1 skein
Color: P140
Needles: Size 3 birch DPN's
Pattern: Alison's Ankle Socks Thank you Alison!!
Started: July 9th
Finished: July 19th

I love this pattern, it's very well written and clear. No mistakes. Quick too! Even though it took me 10 days to knit the pair, each sock was finished within 2-3 days. I will definitely be knitting another pair of anklets. I may have to get some Cashoft as soon as my yarn diet is over. When are you going to knit a pair?

Friday Night Lights

First, I apologize for the out of order post.
This past Friday a bunch of us from my office went out for one of the young one's 21st birthday. We had a fun time, beginning with Erin's photo ironed onto our t-shirts. She was a bit shocked but took it all in stride. One day Erin mentioned she would like a case for her camera like the one I use so I found her birthday a perfect opportunity to knit her one. She loves pink & purple so this is what she got.

She loved it!
Here we are at O!ive Garden before the night out. I work with a great bunch of people, wouldn't you agree?

Later in the night we made our way to a German bar which serves only German beer and plays polka (is that German?). If you're into German beer games, Das Boot is for you. I was able to snap a few photos of a few guys playing with the boot, they didn't seem to mind.

Das Boot rules...

Afterwards, I went to Barnes & N*ble for HP6...too busy...went home to bed. Fast Forward to Saturday's post................

Summer Lovin'

Splatgirl invited me over today for a little floating and knitting. I knit a bit on my sockapal2za project and managed a little sunburn as well. It's just crazy how hot it's been here but being in the pool made it so much nicer. Boy also had some friends over (one was fellow blogger, Matt) so it became a regular pool party! Boy even did some pool stunts which I caught on film but won't show here...take my word, it was funny.

I even got a little giftie while I was there, silicone muffin liners just like she sent Super Eggplant! So cool. The presents didn't end there however. When I got home I had a package waiting for me at the door from my seret pal 5! A couple of books...one being 'the book', some scrapbook stickies and a decorate-it-yourself frame! Thanks so much secret pal!!! Now I can cross a few books off my wishlist.

Speaking of books, did you get it yet? I went to the local Barnes & N*ble last night around midnight but left since I had no desire to wait a couple of hours for a book. I went back early this morning to get my copy...the store was still busy...and also scored a HP poster, an HP rubber bracelet and a set of HP glasses. Now when am I going to find time to read?

Summer Cleaning

We are in the midst of a heat wave here in MN, the warmest stretch in 10 years. I feel like a hermit since I've been a wimp about the heat & humidity. Last weekend I did a little cleaning in my studio and found a few skeins of yarn I can part with. These are all single skeins, and I'd be willing to trade for just about anything or cash through paypal. What should you trade? You read my blog, you know what I like...make me an offer. Email me! The button is on the sidebar.
This is a 50 gr 100 meter skein of Noro Shinano.
65% wool 35% silk
Color # 8 Lot C
I originally bought this to make a simple hat.
update 8/3 : Shinano is traded!

Magic Garden Buttons
50 gr 123 meters
83% Pure New Zealand Wool 17% Polyester Effect Yarn (machine washable)
Shade 887 Batch 5485
I bought this for an accent color on a pair of socks and ended up finding a color I liked better. Maybe it would knit a pair of kids socks?
It looks a little bit blue here but it's more of a turquoise shade.

Berroco Medley
1.75 oz-50 gr 73 yds-67 meters
75% wool 15% acrylic 10% nylon
Color 8923 Dye Lot 9141

The famous Lion Brand Cotton-Ease!
3.5 oz-100 gr 207 yds-188 meters
50% cotton 50% acrylic
Color # 107 Candy Blue Lot # 25296C

Kitchener Help

I feel fairly confident with my kitchener stitch skills until I reach the last 2 stitches. I usually follow this link which doesn't tell me what to do with the last 2 stitches. So I searched around a little (well actually not at all since this was the 1st listed on Goog!e) and found this link, at Knitty no less, one of my favorite knitting websites. It told me what to do with the last 2; slip through the front stitch as if to knit and remove, slip through the back stitch as if to purl (then remove??). OK, my dilemma. When I remove these 2 stitches from the working needles, they're always really loose and loopy. What do I do with them now? I try pulling them through to the wrong side but then they're still loopy. If it's socks I'm kitchenering, I especially don't want loopy loose stitches on the inside. What do ya'll do?

Dye Job²

Since it was too hot to do much outside (IMO), yesterday I dyed my yarn for the dye job craft-along. Mostly, I followed the kool-aid dying directions from Knitty.com and used Knitting Iris's photo for color reference. I started out by soaking the wool in cold water.

Meanwhile, I set out my supplies.

Then I mixed up the kool-aid.

I squirted the kool-aid onto the wool using turkey basters not worrying about covering all the yarn since I wouldn't mind a little light or white mixed in. The white areas ended up filling in as the yarn was "cooking". I wanted to make yarn to match my new shoes so I used 3 envelopes of berry blue and 3 lemon-lime. I wrapped this skein up in the plastic wrap and nuked it for about 10 minutes, until the liquid was clear.

I wasn't sure what I wanted for the 2nd skein so it was purely all about having fun. I used 3 envelopes of pink lemonade, 2 orange and 2 grape. Not too crazy about the grape so I mixed in a little of the green & blue leftovers. Kyle even got in on the fun and colored about 1/2 of the skein. A few polka dots later and it was ready to cook.

Since it was about 100º in the shade yesterday I decided just to lay it out on the sidewalk for a while. I checked about an hour later and the water was clear. Easy, easy. The colors really ran together well and it looks like it might be a winner. Kyle said "That yarn looks like the type to be knit into socks with toes". Great idea Kyle, when is your 1st lesson?

Hanging out to dry.

And finally wound up into a ball, all ready for knitting. Now get out there and dye up some yarn, it's fun!!

Ch Ch Ch Changes.....

I've made a few changes to my Sockapal2za socks these last few days. I got to thinking that the sock I was knitting on size 3 needles was a tad loose for my taste so I decided to try size 2's. I liked the result much better so I continued knitting and knitting and knitting and ripping and ripping the sock on the 3's...when I realized I should probably check my gauge especially since this pair is not for me. OK, so the gauge was different on the 2's (obviously) and according to the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook I should be knitting with 68 stitches (4 more than what I cast on the 2's-I was just guessing). So RIIIPPP again and start over. The third time is a charm I keep telling myself. I'm a bit furthur now than what this photo shows. Heck, I've been watching 3 hours of le Tour de France each day, that makes for lots-o-progress. I LOVE this yarn, the colors are vibrant and scattered and the merino is SO soft. I'm going to have a hard time giving these away. And since I'm on that yarn diet, I'm screwed. Go Lance.

Cold Toes

One circus sock down, one to go.

Knitting in the news: The giant knitting machine.

Socks & Cycles

Where do I begin? First of all, Happy belated 4th of July to everyone. I hope you all were able to do something fun. We were in Iowa for a motorcycle track day...well Kyle rode and I knit. Here we are on Sunday afternoon, all packed up & ready to go. Me and five anxious guys.

Onthe ride down Sunday I did all my gauge knitting and calculations, then on Monday I cast on and started the Sockapal2za sock. We had a great time in Iowa and great weather too. It can get fairly hot in Council Bluffs but this weekend it mananged to stay in the high 80's with a nice steady breeze.

Kyle on the track and then in for a rest.


Last night we drove home and lucky-non-rider-not-tired me drove 98% of the way. I ate Bertie Bott's Beans blindly and I must admit, gagged on more than one occasion. It kept me awake though, mission accomplished.
I wanted my sock in action photo to turn out Claudia style but it didn't work. Must.Practice.
One bad thing about the weekend? Splatgirl and boy weren't there.

Dye Job

Guess what I'll be doing next week? Dying yarn for the Dye Job Knitalong! Cara of Earth Mother is hosting this summer knitalong. I ordered my yarn a few days ago from Knit Picks and it arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. Since I bought this before my self proclaimed yarn diet, I'm in the clear. Now I have to figure out what colors I want to use, I have a few ideas. Knitting Iris has a great photo of most of the kool-aid colors as does Knitty. Here's a few more links to kool-aid dying. I hope mine turns out how I'm envisioning it will.

We're headed south to Iowa for some motorcycle racing so I'll be back mid-week. Have a great Independence Day everyone! Check my photo blog for a really cool carving of the Statue of Liberty. I ran across this a few weeks back while cruising along on my Suzuki, I made a u-turn so I could grab a photo...couldn't pass it up.

Pocky

I usually don't post these quizzes but I thought this one was funny since I'm lactose intolerant. Also, I've never eaten a Pocky.

what flavor pocky are you?

It's July!

I can't believe it's already July, where has the summer gone? Our weekends have been jam packed with activity (which I've enjoyed actually) so the time is just cruising. Not to mention this week I picked up some kind of stomach bug so I've been a bit under the weather. Today was the 1st time I've had some spare time this whole week and I spent with Kyle. He had an eye exam appointment in one of my favorite small-town-feel suburban cities today so I tagged along. I wanted to find a unique gift for a 1 year old and a few things for my SP5. Of course I had to visit the yarn shop there and since I had a gift certificate left over from my birthday I had to buy something! I want to make a pair of the padded footlets from the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits. I found this Meilenweit Cotton in a bubble gum pink and a variegated pink/purple for an accent. I would have used my SP5 sock yarn but I needed a fingering weight yarn. These babies are knit on size 0 needles! Yikes.

Since it's the beginning of the month I suppose I should set some goals. This month should be a tad less busy than June so goals should be easily met.
1. Start my Sockapal2za socks
2. Finish the 3rd bootie and send it off
3. Go grocery shopping so I can eat healthier (pathetic I know)
4. Finish a few "almost there" projects
5. Work on my quilt
6. No yarn shopping, yes I know, this will be tough. Feel free to send yarn...that doesn't count ;-)

I think that's enough for starters.