Maniac Monday

So....I feel like I have been running around like a maniac....and I think I have gotten a bit of knitting done over the weekend.  I went to see my son, Erich, this past weekend so I was hoping for lots of knitting time in the car (6-7 hours one way).  My daughter, Paige, and grand daughter, Celeste, went with me.  However, the car knitting was not meant to me.  I drove the first two hours there, then Paige took over, but it was too dark for me to knit.  I tried to sleep, but couldn't....then I drove the whole way home.  I did get some knitting in over the weekend.

I finished my Samadhi:

I worked a bit on my Spire (I know it does not look much bigger, but I promise it is)...sorry the lighting is weird:

I worked on my Hiya Hiya Shadowboxing socks (not much but a repeat and a half done on one sock):

And then the 'OLD' sock....I mentioned this before, but I started this sock about a year ago for Tour de Sock and I kind of want to get it finished before this years Tour de Sock starts....I finished the cable pattern on one leg (about 10-12 rows) and then got both of the socks thru the heel flap and heel turn.  I picked up stitches and am about to start my gusset.  The cable pattern was supposed to be finished on the foot of the sock, but I am not going to do that.  I am going to go with plain stockinette....I hope it does not look too weird just stopping the pattern, but that is the plan.  These socks will probably go to Paige...she does not like a long leg and these are like 8" (my longest leg ever I think), but she loves green....so she wins....or they go in the gift basket!

Okay, so I have a couple of Miss Babs Yarn enhancements.....I have a friend that used to live here in SA and she now lives in VA...she went the Maryland Sheep Fiber festival and knows how much I love Miss Babs Yarn, so she got me a skein in the exclusive colorway for the show.....THANK YOU SARA....I miss you!!

Now this next enhancement has a story...these pics are from the lady I got the yarn from (her name is Carina):

The story starts when Carina (crini23 on ravelry) posted in the Miss Babs Forum how she had a skein of this yarn and wanted to make her daughter a Miss Winkle...but the colors were so different because her skein was very orange and her daughter did not like orange...I posted how much I love orange and jokingly told her to send the scarf my way (I thought the scarf was completed and she had already offered it to her daughter who did not like it) and that I was also planning on making a Miss Winkle shawl with my Deep Sea Jellyfish yarn I had in the Cosmic base....well, she posted pictures and proposed a swap...she said her Miss Winkle was already started but she could frog the yarn.  I agreed to the swap and told her to just sent it the way it was and I would try to match her gauge....what I did not know what she had already knitted almost 1/2 of the skein (there is 53.5 grams not knitted)...so, I will see if I can match her gauge and see if I can finish it....she also sent me some of my favorites from Germany.  I loved the package (which I got today).   I do have to admit that when I first opened it, I felt like such a putz because I did not offer to send her anything from the USA...I just sent the yarn...and look at all the goodies she sent me....I had told her I was born in Germany and asked me what some of my favorite items were....and then she sent them to me.....Some days I really need to pull my head out of my you know what and think of these awesome gestures!  I was in such a hurry to ship it to her since I know how long it takes to go from USA to Germany, that I only sent the yarn.....Carina....I cannot say THANK YOU enough!!  And I am sorry your package was 'just yarn'!  I will ship your knitting needle back, so I hope to send some goodies then!

On the non knitting front, I got Antonio a Play Doh Fun Facory Deluxe set....he loves it!  Celeste loved it too and now there is one ordered from her Dad on the way to her house.....I only snapped a pic of Antonio playing with it (I was not quick enough to get one with Celeste)...plus, Antonio is much more of a ham and says 'Cheese' for me.

I did get a picture of Celeste riding Antonio's mini tricycle, and Antonio dressed up as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle......

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

Enhancements Week(s)!

Happy Thursday everyone!  Did you have a great Mother's Day?  I hope you did!  Paige got me some beautiful flowers with a home made card and I got a card from my son too!

I have not done as much knitting as I usually do....I guess I have been busier than normal.  I did work on finished some socks for Darlene....she is crazy busy sewing bags for her new shop and I wanted to help her out (since she does SOOOOO much for me, it was a tiny way to say thank you).....these are for 2 of her grandkids.....

I knitted a little on my Samadhi...I am just about 1/2 way done and have about 58 grams left.

I know I have been telling you guys what a sock kick I am on....well, I could not resist casting on for the Shadowboxing socks in the Hiya Hiya May/June KAL....when I went to my nephew's confirmation a few weeks ago, I was knitting on socks and my mom was bragging on me a little (hey, she is proud of me!) and telling the ladies that I do not really sell any of my stuff (because I do not want to turn my love into a chore) but that I just enjoy knitting the items and most of the time I give the items away (which is all true).....so my sister's sister-in-law (follow that?) mentioned how much she would love a pair and that her favorite color was purple.....I resisted and resisted and resisted, telling myself that I will make her the first pair of socks for Tour de Sock out of purple...but I caved.....and I casted these on (my first Tour de Sock will still be in purple out of that Invictus yarn I showed you guys last Friday....so we will see which pair she gets).

Sadly, that is just about all on my knitting front...but I have quite a few stash enhancements to share with you.....I was kicking myself when I did not take advantage of the sport weight felici sock yarn that Knit Picks discontinued over a year ago...so this time I wanted some sock weight before it is discontinued....I got Jingle and Lighthouse...

Then, when Darlene heard me talk about starting a new pair of purple socks for my sister's sister-in-law, she offered me this yarn in Foxglove....I may still keep it ;)

When I ordered my camp loopy yarn, I could not decide on the color at the time and also ordered Cobalt Hydroxide and Kinetic Energy (pictures from The Loopy Ewe)....

But in the end, the XRay won and it will be my Camp Loopy Yarn for Project 1....I have always found it fascinating the difference between how yarn looks twisted up in a hank and wound out into a cake.....Here is Xray both ways...what a difference.

Again on the lines of being on a sock kick...Stacie from MustStash, had some preorder for her Martian Rainbow...I could not resist....and I am glad I did not resist...I love this yarn!

Vanesa's Vintage Rose Loves shop finally reopened after the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival....so I stocked up.....I love all her markers!  I got lots of lobster claw ones this time.

I also got in my Hostess prize from Hiya Hiya for hostessing the Waves Scarf KAL....Thank you Qianer and Hiya Hiya....I now have both the small and large interchangeable sets with my name lasered on the needles!!  LOVE THESE!

My last stash enhancement(s) from the last couple of weeks are Bags from Bags by AwesomeGrannie.....she is my best friend and I am super proud of her for getting her shop opened...I had to snag a couple of bags just for me.......I got a cute critter sock sack:

Matching Critter bag set...I love the paw prints inside:

Camp Loopy in White:

Market Days:

And one of my favorites (that I cannot believe has not sold out).....the Circus!!!!!

I know, I know....I am a Bag Ho!!!  But can one really ever have enough bags?

Well, I am sure this post has been far too long for you....sorry about that, but it is mostly pictures.  I hope everyone saw my free sock pattern I posted a few days ago here....may by catch my sock kick bug.

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

Double Gusset on Bottom - Toe up pattern, Perfect for Self Striping Yarn

I had been hearing a lot about TurtleGirl76's Double Gusset heel tutorial.  I wanted to try it toe up so when I use self striping yarn, I can do a toe up sock and just keep knitting to use all my yarn.  So, I made a toe up pattern with the double gusset at the bottom of the foot....I hope you love it as much as I do and thanks to TurtleGirl for the awesome tutorial cuff down!

Double Gusset on Bottom Toe Up Sock Pattern (Perfect for Self Striping Yarn)

Supplies:

100 grams Sock Yarn

Size US#2 (2.75mm) needles (or size necessary to obtain gauge of 9 stitches = 1”)

Knitting needles 2 sizes larger to bind off with.

Abbreviations

k – knit

p – purl

pm - place marker

sm - slip marker

tbl – thru the back loop

p2tog – purl 2 together

ssk – slip 1 knit wise, slip 1 knit wise, put them both back on left needle and knit tbl (thru back loop)

k2togfb – knit 2 stitches together from the front but do not drop those stitches off needle, then knit same 2 together thru the back loop to create second stitch.  Now drop the 2 stitches knit into off the needle.

M1L – Insert left needle under the strand of yarn that runs between the stitch just worked and the next stitch from front to back, now knit the stitch into the back.

M1R – Insert the left needle under the strand of yarn that runs between the stitch you just worked and the next stitch from beck to front, now knit the stitch into the front.

Sizes S (M, L)

Cast on 24 stitches using Judy’s Magic Cast on with 12 stitches on each needle…. After cast on, k all stitches once.  According to Judy’s Magic Cast on, the second needle of stitches should be knit thru the back loop.  I am not sure what I do wrong with my cast on, but I do not do this because it actually twists my stitches, so do this first round whichever way your stitches look best to you.

This pattern is written out as if you were using magic loop with 2 needles.  It can easily be converted for DPN’s or 9” circular.

Increases:

Round 1:               Needle 1: k1, M1L, knit to last stitch on needle, M1R, k1;

    Needle 2: k1, M1L, knit to last stitch on needle, M1R, k1

Round 2:               Knit all stitches

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 till toe reaches 56 (64, 72) stitches;  28 (32, 36) on each needle.

Knit in round until sock is approx. 3 1/2” less than desired length.

We will start increasing for the first gusset now.  Since we want the gusset on the bottom we need to place some markers in this next round.  You will place markers and remove them 3 times…..

Next round

Needle 1 will be the instep stitches and the stitch count will not change, knit all stitches.

Needle 2 will be where we work the gusset and the heel, k13 (15, 17), pm, M1L, k2, M1R, pm, k13 (15, 17).

Increase rounds

Round 1:               Needle 1: knit all stitches

    Needle 2: knit to marker, sm, M1L, knit to marker, M1R, sm, knit to end of row

Round 2:               Needle 1: knit all stitches

    Needle 2: knit all stitches

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 above until there are 38 (42, 46) stitches on Needle 2. **You can remove your stitch markers on Round 2 of your last increase, you will need them again in the next round.

Next round

Needle 1: knit all stitches

Needle 2: knit k18 (20, 22), pm, M1L, k2, M1R, pm, k18 (20, 22).

Increase rounds

Round 1:               Needle 1: knit all stitches

    Needle 2: knit to marker, sm, M1L, knit to marker, M1R, sm, knit to end of row

Round 2:               Needle 1: knit all stitches

    Needle 2: knit all stitches

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 above until there are 48 (54, 60) stitches on Needle 2.  **You can remove your stitch markers on Round 2 of your last increase, you will need them again in the next round anymore.

Heel Turn

Knit across Needle 1

For the rest of the Heel Turn you will only be knitting back and forth on Needle 2

Row 1:  k10 (11, 12), pm, k27 (31, 35), sl1, pm on left needle, bring yarn to front, put slipped stitch on left needle, turn work

Row 2:  bring yarn to front, p to 1 st before marker, sl1, put yarn to back, put slipped stitch on left needle, turn work

Row 3:  move yarn to back, k to 3 sts before the last wrapped stitch, sl1, bring yarn to front, put slipped stitch on left needle, turn work

Row 4:  bring yarn to front, p to 3 sts before the last wrapped stitch, sl1, put yarn in back, put slipped stitch on left needle, turn work

Repeat Rows 3 & 4 above until there are 2 (6, 4) unwrapped stitches in the center (end after a purl row…a row 4)

Heel Flap

Still knitting on only Needle 2

Row 21  sl1, k to 1 st before the marker, be sure to work your wraps with their stitches as you go (to do this, you knit the stitch that is wrapped and the yarn that is wrapping it as a k2tog), sl1, remove marker, put slipped stitch on left needle, k this stitch, its wrap, and the next st all together tbl, turn work
Row 2:  p to 1 st before the marker, be sure to work your wraps with their stitches as you go (to do this, you purl the stitch that is wrapped and the yarn that is wrapping it a p2tog), sl1, remove marker, put slipped stitch on left needle, p this stitch, its wrap, and the next st all together, turn work

Row 3:  *sl1, k1* repeat to 1 st before gap (created by the slipped stitches), ssk, turn work

Row 4:  sl1, p to 1 st before gap, p2tog, turn work

 

Repeat Rows 3 & 4 above until all of the stitches on the sides have been worked ending with a purl row.  You should have 28 (32, 36) on Needle 2 once again. 

Knit all stitches across Needle 2 and now you can go back to knitting in the round on both needles.  However, here is a SIDE NOTE:

SIDE NOTE:  I found that just starting to knit in the round created a small hole next to my heel flap so this is what I did for the very next round after your heel flap, I have tried to word it so it is not too confusing:  knit all stitches on needle 1 to the last stitch.  For the last stitch, borrow one stitch from Needle 2 and k2togfb the last stitch from Needle 1 and the first stitch from Needle 2.  Now, take the second stitch created from this k2togfb and put it on Needle 2 to replace the one you borrowed….you are basically making two stitches from two stitches, but the reason for this weird way of doing it, it just so you pull the last stitch from needle 1 and the first stitch from needle 2 together and avoid a hole.

Continue to knit in the round until your sock leg is desired length minus ribbed cuff.

Knit in a *k2, p2* repeat for as long as desired ribbed cuff, bind off with larger needle, weave in ends and love the way this pattern ‘Hugs’ your foot!

Enjoy!!!

Happy Happy Knitting!  I have a friend testing this pattern right now, but if you have any problems, please feel free to tell me...I want to get any errors corrected.

What Time it is?

Well, there are several answers to that questions......

1) Camp Loopy Time
2) Tour de Sock Time
3) Grand opening of a store time
4) GIVEAWAY time

So jumping to numbers 3 and 4.....as I have been teasing for a while, my best friend, Darlene aka AwesomeGrannie, has been sewing bags for a while and finally opened up her shop yesterday and has a ravelry group (you may want to join....she might be giving away a set of bags)..  Her bags are soooooo awesome, but you have been seeing them since February when she gave me a bag for my birthday.  Now you can get a bag of your own at her store....I know you will love them!  To tie that in with number 4.....since my bloggiversary....I want to blogGIVEersary you a set of Darlene's bags!

Now....to tie that into number one......Darlene made the above yellow bag set way before the announcement of Camp loopy (this past Wednesday)....this camping material is PERFECT for Camp Loopy...and the trailer in this material even look like the one that Sheri has on their website:

So I am calling this bag my 'Camp Loopy Bag'........I am not sure how many of you out there are doing Camp Loopy, but I am going to give away a set of these bags to one lucky reader/follower.  I am even going to let you pick your color of fabric!  Yellow, white or aqua.

All you have to do is comment below your favorite thing about my blog or what you want to see more of or what you want to see less of.....any feedback is great!  Please also include your ravelry name so I have a way to get a hold of you...if you do not have a ravelry name, please be sure you are signed in with an email address and not set as anonymous!  .....I will draw a winner on June 5th...the actual day of my blog"GIVE"ersary!

Lastly, I tie this into number 2.......Tour de Sock....the supplies for the socks are posted....the start date has been announced as June 1 (same as camp)....and I ordered some sponsor yarn.  I have never used Invictus Yarn......I got the Haze colorway....I love this purple (and I am not usually a purple girl).  I am on Team Roasted (the same team as last year) and I hope to get more than one 1/2 socks done this time!  Wish me luck!

Happy Happy Happy knitting!

Is it May already?

My My May......How time flies!

I have not knitted that much this past week....but time just keeps flying by.

My nephew had his confirmation this past weekend....I am soooooo proud of him!!!  There were 90 confirmands and the ceremony was 2 hours and 15 min, but it was worth it.  I have never knitted in church so I was not sure if I could not or.....I chose not to, but I am thinking next time I will be taking my knitting...ha, ha!  Isn't my nephew handsome?

So....what did I knit on?  Well, pretty much just socks!  I finished Celeste's socks!

I worked on my double gusset on the bottom socks...just need to knit a little more on second one, do the cuff and I am done....I am hoping to write out the pattern this week!  I love the way these socks feel on my feet and my daughter has already tried to steal them and they are not even done!

Then, I pulled out some socks I started for Tour de Sock last year......since I signed up to be on the same Team Roasted this year....I thought maybe I should try to finish up last years sock first.

I do not have too much more to go....just a little cuff on one and then the heel and foot on both!

I have a couple of stash enhancements.....a variety of sorts....first, I got my second set of dyakcraft needles.  These are in the chestnut color, purple case, and lace tips (my first set is regular tips).

Next......remember that Waves Scarf KAL I did and finished in April?  Well, there was a lady in that KAL named Roxi....her yarn was gorgeous....I guess every time she posted a picture I kept telling her how much I loved the yarn (I did not know I was doing this too much) and when the KAL was over, she sent me her left overs......I love this yarn.  It is Brooks Farm Yarn Solo Silk and the color is all me....I love it!  I cannot thank Roxi enough!  Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, there is a lady from one of my SNB groups named Betsy...she is a weaver.  She posted some pictures of some kitchen towels and I loved them....so I gave her my colors of my kitchen (red and brown) and she made me some kitchen towels....hand woven.  These are so much more awesome in real life!  Thank you Betsy!

Remember that news that was in the works about Darlene?  Well, I am sure you guys have all figured out that she is opening an etsy store.....she is so close to opening, I can taste it!  She has some inventory, she has ordered extra supplies, she ordered her business cards, made her ravelry group, and now we are just finalizing a few more things....then it should be open....really soon!  Remember, if you want to win one of her bags, you have a chance to win one here at this KAL.

I took Precious to the groomer last week...and while I did not get a 'before' picture, I think her 'after' pictures are too cute not to share:

Those bows lasted all of about 4 min at home!  ha, ha!

That is all I have for this week.....I hope you all have a fabulous week!  I leave you with a semi blurry pic of Antonio in a new outfit my mom got him....he is so handsome and I love his smile!  Plus, a little bit of Spurs Love as they advance on in the NBA playoffs after beating the Dallas Mavericks in game 7 yesterday!  Go Spurs Go!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!