Sport's 4 years old!

He's getting to be such a big little man! The party was last weekend and I took loads of photos, but I'll only post a few :-)

And here's Buster the little brother

Note to Self

I knit the "Move Your F@nny" socks for Mother. Before beginning the toe section, I tried one of the socks on to see how they fit. A bit too snug for my wider feet. So, when I started the pair I'm currently working on for myself, I decided to cast on four extra stitches. That sounded reasonable. I just needed a little more width to the sock.

The original pattern says to CO 62 - an even number.

I added four stitches to make 66 - also an even number.

I didn't find it odd to be knitting 33 instep and 33 sole stitches until I started working on the short row toes. Major DUH moment. I'm doing short row toes - I really should have an even number of stitches. No wonder I had such a #%@* time with the heel...my stitch count was always [what I thought] off. Very odd that I didn't realized WHY I was having a problem. [Can't blame drugs or alcohol. Maybe listening to Harry Potter on cd? Yeah, that's my excuse.]

So last night [while listening to HP6 on cd -- and occassionally nodding off] I got to the end of the toe & turned the corner. Might be able to finish the first sock today. Maybe not. I've got to go shopping - It's Sport's 4th bd today and I haven't bought anything for him yet. I know what I'm going to get - just have to go.... His party isn't till supper time - so I've got plenty of time. I'm trying to wait out the monsoon rains we're getting this morning!

The note to myself: do 2nd sock the same as the first, this time. BUT...make a big notation on the pattern to, if I ever do this one again for myself, CO68 stitches -- or use size 2 needles instead of 1.5???

Pre-K

As mentioned previously - I've been sidetracked. When I've been knitting, it's been on little kid's socks. Here's proof. I'll kitchener the toes on the weekend and post a new photo & specs.

Now I'm back to MY Move Your F@nny socks (still on first sock...but nearing the toe part.) Also trying to finish up the last six audio-cds of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.

16850 - 0

I did it. I got on the Ravelry list & I checked immediately to see my status. Ha! 16850 ahead of me and 0 behind. Good Lord.

Oh, well. I'm really hoping I'll get my invite sometime in December when I'll have a couple weeks off work (or is that wishful thinking - to think it will be that soon?)

F@nny's not Moving & Knitting with Black

I laid my "Move Your F@nny" [in TOFUtsies] down over the weekend to work on CIC socks for little kids. I'm only in the middle of the instep/arch ribbing on the first one - and this is my August sock -- so I need to get back to it. The pattern is a quick knit, tho. , so I should be OK. My sudden panic came from looking at the calendar and realizing that I want to finish them BEFORE I head West on vacation in a couple weeks.

I'm side-tracked by CIC socks. They're so much fun -- and really quick done in worsted yarn. But, what-was-I-thinking when I CO with black? I wanted to use up a bit of left-over cranberry colored yarn - and I thought "Stripes! White-cranberry-white - hmmm... guess the main color will be black."

My eyes are too old [and too tired after work] to deal with black yarn. Maybe a black stripe or two sometime, but not the whole sock -- no matter how small it is!

Weekend Update - OTN

After I finished Mom's "Move Your F@nny" socks, I started a pair for me using that ball of TOFUtsies I bought a few months ago. The heel [and toe] drive me nuts. No. Wrong. How do I do that strike through feature?

It's my perfectionism that drives me nuts. I frogged the first sock [heel] I don't know HOW many times before I got it to suit me. First time the slipped stitches were much too loose. Last evening I missed a sl st or two. Can't watch Monk and do knitting that I have to pay attention to!

August Socks

Pattern: Move Your F@nny (from Socktopia)
Yarn: TOFUtsies #790
Needles: Crystal Palace bamboo size 2.5 mm [1.5 US]
Knit for: Me!
Modifications: To accommodate my wide feet -- CO 66 st, instead of 62. Worked heel on 33 st, thus a couple more rows needed to get to the turn. But that should work out fine for my feet. I'll have to see when I get to the toe if I want to do extra rows or have the toe a few stitches wider than the pattern calls for.

Meanwhile, I'm also working on some CIC little kids socks. No photos yet, I'll do another pair or two and then get a group shot.

Weekend Update - Grandsons

They're so much fun! And growing quickly! On Thursday evening I went for a walk with DDs 2&3 & my grandsons. Well, the boys actually rode their bikes [with training wheels.] Buster does very well on his little bike and only tipped over twice [off the sidewalk & onto grass.] Sport stopped at the end of each block and waited for us to catch up.

While the daughters walked 6 laps at the Junior High track, I took the boys to a park at the elementary school "next door." Here are a few photos:

Buster with a chocolate mug

Sport demonstrating how tuff he is

Weekend Update - Genealogy

During the past week I transferred data on a few more individuals from my old database to the new one. Slow going. But...I'm glad I'm doing it this way -- cleaner database in the end.

Also [while doing work related research online] came across reference to a gen. journal published in Maryland. I only know of one family of ancestors who lived in Colonial Maryland, but thought - what the heck, I'll check the index. Lo & Behold, I found a citation to an article that looks promising, so I requested the article and I'm waiting for it to arrive. Not holding my breath, tho, that there will be any new revelation [or new ancestors]...but, I keep hoping!

Knitting Daily

I've been receiving the Knitting Daily newsletters via email for several months. It's an Interweave Press publication and I know they produce a Lot of great books & magazines. What intrigues me about Interweave Press is that I never heard of it when I lived out there. Well, to be honest, I wasn't into knitting back then. But still....

While reading today's Knitting Daily, I poked around the links and found out that one of the people who put the newsletter together was a former co-worker of mine. Small world, eh?

I'm about ready to do my daily knitting -- It's been a long day with the boys here since yesterday afternoon.

It's been a frustrating day for their folks...they had the truck loaded and were ready to drive the 30 miles to their new apt. But before they got on the road, their new landlady called and said, Oops - the woman who was vacating the apt. wasn't completely moved out yet. DD2 & SiL had paid the deposit a couple weeks ago, so they were expecting to be able to move in today. Another issue was that they had to have the truck back down there by 5 p.m. They got the call from the landlady at 7 p.m. to say that the apt carpet has been cleaned and they can move in. So, they're going to load the beds on a pick up truck and get them set up in their apt. and then they'd be over to pick up the boys. They'll have to get a truck again tomorrow [hopefully] to move the rest of their belongings. The other grandma will watch the boys tomorrow.

Today, though, we went to a park, to the petting zoo, and to the airport. The boys also helped water the plants out front, chalked up the sidewalks and driveway, played with new neighbor kids, and spent over a half hour playing with GOOP [mix together baking soda, cornstarch, and water.] Both Buster & Sport have been asleep for several hours now. And I had a nice nap!

Now off to my current OTN project: another pair of little kids socks for CIC.

July Socks done!

I finished the Move Your F@nny pair officially last night. WooHoo! If I do say so myself, the Kitchener closings look great! I also finished [Kitchenered] a pair of CIC socks. I used these to practice the Kitchener technique before working on the F@nnies.

Pattern: Move Your F@nny [pattern at http://www.socktopia.net/]
Yarn: Knit Picks Memories in Redwood Forest [100% Merino]
Needles: 1.5 [US]/2.5mm dpns
Knit for: my Mother
Modifications: just the needles. Pattern calls for 2 circs. I only have a set of dpns in the size I needed.

Pattern: Top down, ribbed leg [k2, P2] 4 1/4" foot

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes [worsted] in Winter Night with a Fog stripe

Needles: Size 6 [US] dpns

Knit for: current CIC challenge for Little Kids

"Good job!"

That's what the EMR doctor told DD1 when he saw her ankle. The orthopedic surgeon got her on the schedule and she had surgery yet Thursday evening. She's home, but frustrated, overwhelmed and a bit depressed. She'd be bored, too, if it weren't for the Harry Potter 7 book that I picked up for her yesterday morning.

Knitting bags are marvelous. I keep necessary supplies, photocopies of the pattern I'm working on, extra yarn, etc. in mine. So when we had to take off for the hospital, all I had to do was just pop in my current OTN project and take off. I finished the 2nd Move your F@nny sock. Just need to graft them shut. Also nearly finished a little kid's pair for CIC. Photos available in a day or two.

Move Your F@nny update

Really quickly 'cos I've been catching up on blog reading and I'll be late for work....

Except for weaving/closing after the toe turn, I'm finished with the first Move Your F@nny Sock. I'll do the finishing on both socks at the same time. And, since I only have one set of size 1.5 [US] needles, I've moved the stitches to holders so I can cast on this evening for the second sock. No photo, yet.

The heel and toe turns went very smoothly, after encouragement & advice from Kathy. (Thanks again!) In fact the toe went perfectly. After fiddling and frogging a bit on the heel a couple times because I'd set it down and when I picked it up again, didn't get on the right row...was confused about where the slipped stitch was, etc. On the toe, tho, I used stitch markers to set the slipped stitch apart. Saved me much time and irritation!

Back to Socks

After several weeks' break, I've started a pair of socks - another pair for Mother. I'm using the "Move Your F@nny" pattern from the Socktopia blog as first seen [by me] on Kathy's blog. These will count as my July Socks for SAM3.

I like to read the patterns through first and was puzzled by the instructions for the heel that read: "sskWSL...." The explanation that followed probably would have been OK... IF I had read them At the Point of Need. But, I was reading ahead. Trying to get it all figured out before I got there. Probably not such a good idea.

I sent a "need HELP" email to Kathy and continued to knit the stst leg/ankle part. And by the time I was At the Point of Need, she had replied :-) Thank you, Kathy, for the advice! You're a life saver again! Here's a photo - with sock at the ready to work on the instep sts again. I got about an inch through the K1,P1 arch ribbing before calling it a night.

The yarn is KnitPicks Memories, 100% Merino in Redwood Forest. The pattern calls for 2 circs. Your eyes aren't fooling you, I'm not using 2 circs. When I ordered the yarn [which I meant for a different pattern], I also ordered 2 circs [size 2US/3mm] This pattern calls for a 8 sts/inch gauge. Not gonna happen with this yarn on 3mm needles. So I switched to my bamboo 1.5 [US]/2.5mm dpns and I'm getting the prescribed gauge.

No modifications to the pattern [other than the needles.]

Also in my last KnitPicks order, 2 hanks of Memories - Cape Cod [also from the clearance rack]:
Hmmm. Colors are a bit washed out. And now you know that I don't have a yarn winder system. Do it by hand. Fairly respectable little cake. And it pulls out nicely from the center. My Gran [GG] taught me how to do that early on. She was such a pro that her cakes were flat on the bottom. Mine are almost flat - flat enough they don't roll away.

7+1=8 Caps

I finished eight caps for the Cheyenne River project for CIC. Seven were finished in June and the other last evening. In the photo of the seven, there are two tweedy hats. They were knit with white worsted and a strand of [fingering weight] sock yarn - one with leftover KnitPicks Essentials "Dusk" [used for Mother's Embossed Leaves] and the other with leftover Opal Feelings #1703 - the blue stripes [used for the pair for my sister in SC.]

Various sizes - children through "small adult."

Two of the caps were knit using the rolled brim cap pattern from Knitting for Peace, and the rest are Seaman's Caps - several inches of K2, P2 rib for the cuff and then st st.

I tried to get Annie to model the 8th cap, but she said that it's too hot & humid today, but if I can wait till November....
She's going to spend the day on the shelf - watching Wimbledon.

Happy 4th!

Other than going to fireworks tonight with DD2 and the boys, I'm planning a stay-at-home day. The grass needs a mow, the carpets need a vacuum, a book needs to be finished [I'm only half through and it's due on Friday...I could finish it, IF I didn't do anything else.] Title? The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest by Alec R. Gilpin, published in 1958. I told you I was/am a history major, right?

Have I been knitting, you ask? Yes, some. I'm on the 7th cap for the Cheyenne River project [CIC] When I finish this one, I'll do photos of all the caps. I probably will do one or two more to use up the yarn I bought specifically for this project.

Buster stayed all last weekend while his important people went camping across The River with the daddy's extended/extensive family. Buster and I had a a good time. I was even able to knit a bit on the cap. I put it away, tho., after he grabbed it from me and pulled out the circ needle. ARGH~ Being worsted weight, the stitches were easily recovered, so no real damage done. But, I'll wait a few more months before knitting in his presence again!

What else have I been up to since last post? Besides working: a little napping [I'm still so tired after work...], and a little data entry on my genealogy project -- manually adding data to my new software from the old. [After a Big Mess when I tried an export/import, I decided to do it the Slow-but-accurate way.]

After sharing a computer with DD1 for the past term in which she had an online class with mandatory real-time online seminars in the evenings, I've 'bought' her a computer. Now don't go thinking what a wonderful mom I am. She's paying me back for it. AND it was at the IT department's garage sale at work. They were selling oldish Pentium 4 Dells for $100. Loaded with XPpro and an anti-virus product, but nothing else. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables came with. She's happy, and can transfer her music download subscription and files to her computer. :-) It came without speakers, but she's getting rid of an old, non-working, cd player and salvaged the speakers from it.

The Grandsons - 2 yr old Buster on the left and nearly 4 yr old Sport on the right: