more socks, sewing, etsy?

I wore another new pair of socks today. My blackberry blackrose socks. I apolize the bad photo. It is raining here again and a flash is my only option to not have blurry pictures. They are a skosh too long. But, that just means any accidental machine washing and drying won't ruin them.

I had a fun time last night playing scrabble on facebook with my sisters. We don't see nearly enough of each other, what with me living 6 hrs away. It was nice to "spend some time" with them, even if virtually. Even if I got my keister handed to me on a plate in the second game.

I got my Halloween skirt 75% done last night. Actually, 75% is probably generous. I still have to do the waistband and hem. And unpick the side seams a bit so I can fit my hand into the pockets! I showed it to B this morning (I'd left the remnant of the fabric on the table last night) and he thinks it's great. I sure hope it fits.

It's probably very illogical to think that a custom pattern drafted from measurements of myself that I took myself wouldn't fit, but there you have it.

My mindless knitting these days has been some cowls from sweater leftovers. I'm thinking of listing them on Etsy. What do you think?

And, progress on the Brick socks. Two repeats done (and one added at lunch after this picture was taken). I'm really enjoying the pattern. I think I'm going to knit every pattern in the book!

new project, new socks, a gift

Here's the ribbing on my newest socks. The pattern is Rick by Cookie A. Yeah, I know it's a man's pattern. So what? I don't see any men in my life wearing socks with intentional holes in them. I'm nearly done the ribbing. Can't wait to start the leg chart. I'm thinking of casting on some simple socks for mindless knitting, but I do have a number of Christmas presents to get started on. I only have 2 months!

I wore my Wicked socks today. They're a little too wide in the leg, but the yarn feels wonderful! I'll definitely be investing in some more Knit Picks Imagination when I'm buying yarn again.

I also started a sewing project last night. I drafted a pattern for an A-line skirt with pockets to wear for Halloween. It's black cotton with neon green bats. I have to get it cut out tonight and start sewing or I won't have it done by Friday for B's Halloween party at school.

Here's a snap shot of a granny square I whipped up earlier this month. It's going to be a gift which is why I altered the image at picnik.com. That was fun. I need to do more crochet. It only took a few hours. Now I need to find the matching fabric and finish the whole project.

some things to remember about my son

Earlier this month, B brought home some Scholastic book club catalogs. He calls them his book magazines. We decided to buy him a few books. He picked out a bunch of Halloween books, one five-pack and two stand alones. They arrived last week. We were very excited to have new books and have read them ad nauseum this last week. What I wanted to remember was this, B walking into the house from the car with the books in his hands saying "I'm so happy."

Wednesday, B got a no homework card in his folder (which I think I've since misplaced) and I wasn't clear on the concept or why he had got it. He said he was nice, but couldn't provide details. So, I wrote his teacher a note asking her about how it worked and letting her know B couldn't explain why he got it. Seems that one of the pre-K classes had left over cupcakes and gave them to the Kindergarten class, but they only had 5 and B's class had 6 kids that day. B offered to share his cupcake without being asked, so that everyone could have some. His teacher gave him the card so he could skip math homework one night when he wanted to.

Saturday morning, I was lying on the couch with a blanket over my head fighting off a visual migraine when B brought over my glass and cuddled with me.

We took B to see "Where the Wild Things Are" Saturday as a consolation prize for soccer being cancelled again. The movie upset him, although he couldn't express that he was being a whiny brat because the movie bothered him and put him in a bad mood. But, since his nap Saturday put him in a better mood, he keeps drawing crowns and has learned how to write Max.

blackberry Wednesday

Except for the lens flare, the color looks excellent in this shot. Don't they really look like blackberries in the textured portion?

I've started the heel flap on sock two. Time to buckle down if I'm going to get this pair finished this week.

socktoberfest

That thing I was coming down with last Tuesday was a cold. I stayed home Wednesday and haven't been doing much since.

I've been quietly participating with socktoberfest this year. I finished those Wicked socks and cast on for blackrose. Sock one was completed in less than a week (although, I need to re-work the toe). With my cold last week, I didn't make much progress on sock two until this weekend. I'm half-way through the leg.
My goal is get them finished this week and cast on a pair from Cookie A's Sock Innovations. The pattern I'm going to use is the reason I bought the book.

Next month, which will be here before we know it, I need to cast on for Christmas presents and my dad's birthday sweater.

I've also started knitting up a few things to try to sell on etsy. I'm not planning on making profit or much of a sideline of it, but I figure it's one way to clear out stash.

light posting

I was away for the weekend, Hubby's 15th college reunion and now I seem to be coming down with something.

I hope I feel better tomorrow, I have a sock to show you.

you're not getting the next FO today

Sorry about the blog silence yesterday. I had meetings all day.

I've decided to hold the next two FOs to parcel out over the month. This is a particularly good strategy since my WIP pictures turned out horribly this morning. If I have that problem again, I'll just post an FO.

I do have a picture of a quick solution I had for a problem with my new WIP. Blackrose has a lace inset. The lace varies a lot from row to row, so I didn't think I'd be able to commit to to memory and needed to be able to have the chart handy. This is a problem with commuting. So a little hack.

I took an old name badge, cut the chart down to size, and can clip the chart to my bag in front of me on the train or the project bag next to me on a seat.... wherever I can quickly glance at it to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. A piece of cardboard and a rubber band complete the hack and allow me to track the rows as I go. It's not beautiful, but it works!

the thing with a hiatus is

You have a lot to post about when you get back.

I started these socks back in May. Originally, they were going to be plain, then monkeys, and then something different because they were too narrow as monkeys. All I did was take my usual plain sock pattern and add a travelling garter bump (by occasionally purling in the round). I put them aside at the heel on sock two sometime in June. I just picked them back up knit the heel, gusset, foot and toe from last Friday on. I'm so glad these are finally done. I was really hating them when I had to rip and reknit the heel shaping.

I cast on some new socks this morning. I'm knitting Blackrose in Blackberry by Impulse of Delight. The skein is the last yarn I've purchased this year (I bought it in May). The dye lot I have is darker with less gray and more semi-solid. Pics tomorrow.

I have 2 pairs of socks to repair, so the new pair and those repairs are my Socktoberfest goals. I will be deliriously happy if I can cast-on another pair of socks by month's end. I'm not planning on knitting anything but socks this month.

I do have a few other FOs to share this week (MiL's birthday sweater and a baby shower gift)....

jumping back in with an FO

Wow, over three months without a post.

I'm jumping back into the blogpool with an FO.

Mom's birthday sweater. The second Ariann I've knit. It only took three weeks!




















When I started it, I didn't set a goal of completing in the three week span from cast-on to my parents' visit this past weekend. But, I got it done anyway.