As Promised

You didn’t believe me, did you?? I said I’d post more about what’s been going on knitterly today, but you didn’t believe me! Well, I can’t blame you. There hasn’t been much typing going on around here, but here I am, as promised.

First off, I got a cool toy… 
Okay, so not really a toy, but I think they’re cool. These are those interlocking EVA mats, 12×12 inches, and they’re PINK! I got these off of eBay for about $12, and if I remember correctly, shipping was free! I’ve only used them once so far, to block my very first piece of real lace.

 

I purchased Wendy D. Johnson’s Argus Shawlette pattern, and knitted it up using Hand Maiden Mini Maiden. It was supposed to be the Polar Sea colorway, but they accidentally sent me Sea Shore instead. Here’s how the shawl turned out. Not bad for a first try, I don’t think.

 

 

Right now I’m knitting Kai-Mei from the eye-bogglingly talented Cookie A. I’m knitting them in Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the Moss colorway. Unfortunately I don’t have a current picture. Let me tell you, these socks are easier than they seem. I was trying to make them more difficult than they are, and was about to frog them, when I just gave myself over to the genius of Cookie A, followed the instructions, and voila! It worked. I’m on the foot of the first sock right now. I usually knit 2 socks at a time on 2 circulars, but was afraid that method would get me into trouble with this pattern, so I knitted the cuffs together on 2 circs, then switched to (ugh!) DPNs for the feet. So far so good! I’ll have a picture soon.

In everyday news, I had a terrible night with my back last night. Our bed is old and sunk in in the center, which causes my spine to twist while I sleep, causing muscle spasms and pain. The only thing I can figure is I shouldn’t have lifted that 20-pound bag of cat food yesterday, because I was in tears half the night. I finally got some relief around 9 am and slept a few hours. I’ve got to get something done about my back, because I can’t afford to lose sleep now that I’m starting school!

Til next time! Can’t promise how soon that will be with school starting, but I’ll get a picture of my Kai-Mei socks posted when I’ve completed them at the very least.

It’s been so long…. again!!

I’m sorry I’ve been so lousy about updating this blog, but SO much has happened in my life since we last chatted! In October of last year I met the man of my dreams, and in December I moved in with him. I’ve never been happier! The cats adjusted well to the move, but not so quickly to my boyfriend’s 6-year-old son whom we have on the weekends!

In May, I got a bug up my butt. I decided I want to go back to school! I immediately started the process of admission and everything that entails, and it’s been one whirlwind ride! My major, you ask? Geology! I’m so excited! My boyfriend’s son says I’m going to rock school. =)  I’ll be starting on August 23rd!

Going back to school is going to create some problems for me, and I hope someone out there can direct me to someone who might be able to help. As many of you know, I have health problems. To be precise, I have lupus, fibromyalgia, mild generalized anxiety disorder, major depression with dysthymia and sacroiliac joint dysfunction, which I’m sure has turned into a rip-roaring case of sacroiliitis. I had to quit work because of this latter, and hope to have something done about my SI joint. I’m hoping they’ll just fuse the damned thing and be done with it.  Here’s my problem (as if that weren’t enough):

I have bills. Not tremendous bills, just about $600 worth per month. I’m going to school on grants and loans, but it doesn’t leave me anything leftover to pay my bills. I’m hoping to find some kind person who can help me get through school by paying my bills for me for the next three years or so. If you’re interested and want more detailed information about exactly what I owe, I’m as close as the e-mail address near the top right-hand side of the screen. This would take SOO much stress off of me and allow me to focus on academics! Does anyone know how I’d go about finding a benefactor? Any suggestions or ideas?

Oh, knitting, you ask? Yes! There HAS been some knitting! I’ll post pics tomorrow. No, really! I promise!

The Blog, It Lives!

Yeah, so it’s only been two years since I blogged anything. If you read my last blog post, you probably realized I’ve been going through some rough times. I still am, but decided I was ready to start blogging again. I never stopped knitting, so there’s plenty of that that has happened! I have relocated from south Georgia to Waynesville, NC. I live in the Great Smoky Mountains, and it is truly beautiful here.

In other news, on August 16th I’m going to be 40! It’s hard to imagine, since mentally and emotionally, I’m only about 15. =)  To celebrate, I’ll probably spend the day playing World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online. I have such an exciting life!

On to things knitterly…  I recently got two sock knitting books – Socks From the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson, and Sock Innovation by Cookie A.  I love both books! Wendy’s is a good solid sock book, with loads of instructions on various ways to knit all the parts of a sock, while Cookie’s goes into great detail on designing your own socks. I’m currently knitting the Van Dyke socks from Wendy’s book, which uses a sport-weight yarn. I THINK I’m using Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Monsoon. What with two moves, I can’t find the ball band without some major searching. I got it from the 2007 Rockin’ Sock Club. I’m not far enough yet to really know how they’re going to look.

The last socks I made were a variation on Cookie A’s Monkey Socks. I call ‘em Monkey Toes! Since I first began knitting back in 2005, my younger sister has been bugging me for a pair of socks with a separate big toe, so she can wear them with flip flops. It took me awhile, but I finally made them! I used the Monkey Sock pattern until the toe section, where I followed directions on Camy Tang’s blog, Camy’s Loft. Have a look and tell me what you think…

I like them enough I’m thinking about making myself a pair!

The Post I Never Wanted To Make…

It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you, my friends, of my dad’s death on Saturday, August 4, 2007 in Statesboro, Georgia. He was a healthy man, so it was very unexpected. They think that he probably had an abdominal aortic aneurysm that dissected, or burst, and he bled out internally into his abdomen. Other than some mild pain he’d been having over the previous 24 hours, he suffered very briefly, probably less than an hour. He has said many times that he did not wish to suffer for a long time when it was time for him to go, and he didn’t. My dad is from a very long-living family. Both of his parents were in their 80’s when they passed away, and he left behind a brother who is 82 now, as well as four other siblings. He was next to the youngest, at 67 years old. I thought my dad would be around for years to come, and I am still in shock. I’ve lost my dad just weeks before my own birthday of August 16th.

My dad loved to make people laugh, and didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He would do anything he could for anyone. He was kind and gentle, loved animals, loved life, and loved his family. He was a true gentleman – a gentle man.

His funeral was yesterday, August 7, 2007 in Nashville, Georgia, where he lived for the last three years of his life. The funeral was full of tears and laughter, and great honor to my father. He had a military funeral, with the flag ceremony and presentation of arms. I am quite sure he felt very honored.

I don’t know how I’m going to manage without Dad. He was my best friend, my confidante, and my strength. He was my hero! And I still cannot believe that that great man is gone. But to honor him, I will go on, and I will do my best to make him proud.

Dad, if you can hear me, I love you so much! Please help me stay strong…

Edit:
If anyone wishes to contact me directly, my e-mail address is cveale AT mchsi DOT com. Replace AT with @ and DOT with a period.

Beginning of Icarus Shawl is Frogged.

I ripped it out. I think the Lane Borgosesia Cashwool is just way to thin. It’s definitely too thin for my first lace project! I would like to save up for a skein or two of some yummy Hand Maiden Sea Silk (from The Loopy Ewe, of course), and try again. I know the Yarn Harlot says lace looks like arse until it’s blocked, but mine looked worse than arse. More like dog poo. And I couldn’t imagine the torture of knitting for months on something that looks like dog poo, finally get it blocked, and find out it still looks like dog poo! So off the needles it came. More soon!

Loopy Ewe Sock Club Socks

I got my Summerfield socks finished, and I must say, I really like them! When I got the yarn and pattern, I LOVED the yarn, but wasn’t so sure about the pattern. I guess it just doesn’t photograph well, because I really like them “in person”. The yarn is soft and springy, with a nice touch of sheen to it. The socks fit fantastically too! As far as I can recall, I followed the pattern, with no modifications, other than knitting on two circulars rather than DPNs.

Hand-knitted socks are the best. Having said that, I DO want to broaden my horizons a bit, and knit a sweater as well as a lace project. I have started a lace project, but it hasn’t gotten far yet. I’m attempting to knit the Icarus shawl, using Lane Borgosesia Cashwool in Cocoa, from The Loopy Ewe. Am I in way over my head, for a first lace project? Probably. Don’t spoil if for me though, by telling me! If you’ve never been to The Loopy Ewe, Sheri is the greatest. She’s got the best customer service around! She has the sock yarn, of course, but she also has lace yarn now! Plus patterns, accessories of all sorts, needles, knitting bags, even gift certificates, all at great prices. I urge you to stop by The Loopy Ewe if you haven’t before.

Now on the needles, and already almost half finished, is Rainy Day Socks from HeartStrings FiberArts. It’s an easy, fun pattern, quick to memorize, and the results are very nice, I think. I’m knitting them in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the Devon colorway. Is this stuff yumalicious, or what?? Here’s what they look like so far…

Next up, finished Rainy Day Socks, and probably Rockin’ Sock Club Socks on the needles!

Sock Club Socks?? Not yet…

So I said I was going to be knitting sock club socks next. I did start them, my first toe-up pair of socks. I got to the ankle, and had a real struggle with the cable, which is worked across eleven stitches. I got so frustrated, and then… Well, then I got more yarn in the mail from The Loopy Ewe, the BEST place on earth to buy sock yarn, and now the best place to buy lace yarn! In that package was some Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in Royal Purple, the color my mom chose for a pair of socks. I was really interested to try this yarn, since I live in south Georgia, and wool is kind of warm in the summer (I wear it anyway). I had my mom pick a pattern, and she chose Country Girl Socks from HeartStrings. The pattern recommends size 1 needles, so that’s what I started with, but they were knitting up too big for my mom’s very petite size 5.5 feet. So I frogged them and started over with size 0 needles, and that looked like it would fix the problem. So I knitted. And knitted. And knitted. Knitting goes reeeeaaallllyyy slow on size 0 needles! But I finally completed them, and I think they turned out well. Here, have a looksee for yourself…

What do you think?? Not bad?

This yarn wasn’t the easiest to knit with. I found it to be extremely splitty. Maybe it’s because of my tension. I try my darndest to break my needles in half, I pull my yarn so tight. I’m trying to break myself (no pun intended) of this habit, but it’s slow going. It just seemed like the yarn just separated into separate strings very easily, but I’ve got some more, and I’m going to give it another chance.

So, I was getting close to the end of these socks, and what do I get in the mail?? My second Rockin’ Sock Club kit! One look at the yarn, and I had to knit it. The colors are luscious, and it has silk in it! SILK, people! It’s 81% Merino and 19% Tussah silk. Dreamy, to say the least! These are toe-up socks, and I’m fast approaching the heel. Right about the time I get these finished, I should get my sock club kit from The Loopy Ewe! I will finish my first Rockin’ Sock Club kit, but it might have to wait for a bit longer. =)

Words Do Not Convey…

My condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech, but especially to the victims’ families and Cho Seung-Hui’s family. My heart aches for each and every one of you.

Dragon Socks Are Off The Needles!

…and have been since March 16. It’s just taken me forever to get them photographed and PhotoShop’d. I have to say, I LOVE this Merino/Tencel blend! It’s soft and squishy, and knits up so nicely!

The yarn is Yarn Pirate 50/50 Merino Tencel fingering weight in the Earth and Ocean colorway. I used the Here There Be Dragons pattern from the Keyboard Biologist. The pattern was a fun and easy knit. I didn’t knit the heel as the pattern dictated because when I started on the heel, I was out somewhere, and didn’t have the full pattern with me. NOT knitting was NOT an option, so the sock got an Eye of Partridge heel flap. I did manage to knit the toe as described in the pattern…

I used size 1 US Addi Turbos with the two socks on two circulars method.

Next up, my Rockin’ Sock Club socks!

Another Pair Completed

Whew! This pattern was really a challenge for me, for some reason. I kept trying to add in extra yarn overs, but I kept at it, and I prevailed!

I really like how the pattern broke up the borders between the colors, yet you can still see that they literally swirl around my ankles!

In this picture, you can see how the colors actually swirl perfectly from one sock to the next as well. I didn’t plan this, it just happened.

I used Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Black Purl, purchased from the wonderful The Loopy Ewe. I also got the Rococo pattern there as well. I started out on size US 0, 24″ Addi Turbo circulars, using the 2 socks/2 circs method. After the cuff, I switched to size 1’s, because I didn’t like how tightly the fabric was knitting up. It felt a little too stiff. The only modifications I made to the pattern were to use an Eye of Partridge heel flap and then I used a star toe (I think that’s what it’s called). I’m wearing them now, and I’m loving them!

Next up, we have socks knitted with Yarn Pirate Merino/Tencel (YUM!!) in the Earth and Ocean colorway, purchased from none other than The Loopy Ewe! I’m using the Here There Be Dragons pattern from the Keyboard Biologist. As always, I will have an update with pics once the socks are complete.