Busy August Already

Hi everyone....How have you been?  I have been busy....I had a nice relaxing weekend and got lots of knitting done.

First....Stash Enhancements.  Have you seen all the cool sock blanks by so many fabulous artists?  Well, last Monday I snagged one of those awesome sock blanks by AndreSueKnits, but then realized it was not really the one I wanted (hey, when you are just trying to 'get one' it gets a little crazy)...but that is okay because I have a friend that wanted this one.....so she bought it from me and I asked the dyer to send it straight to her.....it was a Hot Air Balloons Sock Blank and it went to my great friend, Melissa!

Then, I snagged another sock blank from AndreSueKnits yesterday....I do not have it yet, but it is the Lips Sock Blank:...I cannot wait to get it.  I was also able to score a second blank in these lips pattern this morning for my other great friend, Tami!  So excited!

I also got some beads......yes, I know beads can be boring...but not these beads.  See, Darlene has been wanting to make Celestarium for a long time....then, Michelle from the Knotty Knit Wits podcast decides to start one and then both Darlene and I have the itch to make this gorgeous shawl.  I will use yarn from stash...and Darlene will use some yarn from my stash plus an extra small skein more to get enough yardage, but it was only like $20.00.  Anyway, I wanted to try the 'silver lining' beads....so we got some from Knit Picks:

Then, early this morning I get tagged on Instagram....Michelle finished hers!  She is leaving on a cruise in a week and I had made her a spreadsheet to help her keep up with how much she needed to knit per day to get it done and she did it!  It is sooooooo gorgeous!  Congrats Michelle!

This just makes me want to cast on now....but I will be good and finish my spire first (I hope)!

Speaking of Spire....I finally started the applied border and I got one side done!  Now just 3 more sides to go!

I finished the blanket for my boss this week....I hope he and his wife like it.  The nursery is purple and white, but I had to add some pink in there....1,117 yards crocheted!  :)

I also worked on Teresa's sweater....I did 4 repeats on one of the front panels:

and I worked a little on my Rennandi.....

Jaime and I had another Hot Rot Night this past weekend.....so I started my socks with tiny cuffs and then worked on them at Hot Rod Night....sock are the easiest thing for me to work on while I am there:

Then we went to the Deer Lease yesterday....that is all knitting time for me....so I worked on them a little more (I was craving the pure stockinette after working on Spire so much):

That is all the knitting I have for this week.....I do have some pictures to share of me when I was a little girl....maybe 10ish....in Wakefield, Nebraska on my Aunt and Uncle's ranch next to the church he was a pastor at:

Lastly....possibly the cutest knitting picture ever.  I have lots of friends doing the spouse challenge on FB where they post a picture of them and their spouse 7 days in a row (or something like that)....well, Melissa (the same one above that got the Hot Air Balloons Blank) posted this picture on her day one.....I just love it!!!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting everyone!

The Big Retreat Update!

Hi Everyone!  How was your week?  Mine was fabulous!  I only knit on TWO things all week.  More on that later....First on to stash enhancements:

I got yarn to make Antonio a Lego Blanket.....I friend of mine is making one for her grandson....and I fell in love with the pattern....and Antonio LOVES Legos!  The pattern is in Crochet....but my friend converted it to knit.  I have not decided which way I will do it yet.  I think I will try making blocks in both ways and see which one I like better.  I got 3 skeins of each color and 6 skeins of black.

Here is the lego blanket (© Breejan):

Here is a pillow done with the pattern(© taraleigh)....which made me fall in love with the black around the blocks.  I do not think I will use any white in the blanket (I will have to see how it looks)

Here is the yarn I purchased:

Then, I got an extra skein of the lace for my Knit Swirl Cardigan.  I kind of like this one better and might start using it right away and alternating skeins.  Darlene ordered it for me because she needed to place an order too....so we got to split shipping.

Okay.....so on to the knitting....along with my Big 4 retreat.....you all know I am also doing my Sock a Month.....well, I took my socks to Hot Rod Night and worked on them there....  My friend snagged a picture of me, Jaime and her husband Bobby:

Jaime's Scamp

My Knitting:

Trying them on as it gets darker outside:

Finished :)

Now, for August, I am going to do my "Martian" socks....I love the oranges!

Okay....now for The Big 4 Retreat Update....I finished my Chart C on my Spire!!!!!  Yahoo!  One chart left....Chart D.  Chart D is the applied border.  I have cut the yarn and done 8 rows of a 12 row repeat.  I need to do 4-5 12 row repeats every day to finish by the end of August!  I made myself a new chart and I am ready to go!

So, that is it!  I am on track for my Big 4 retreat.....wish my luck!  Have a great week everyone!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

Blankets in July!!!!

I think we have all heard of the Christmas in July saying....well, for me it is Blankets in July.  I know, I know...it is too hot to be working on blankets....and you are right...but my boss and his wife are expecting a baby girl in October....so I got some new yarn and had to get started.  I am about 1/2 way done with the yarn...so I hope I am about 1/2 way done with the blanket....LOL!

Then, Paige broke her toe last Monday......

And she is frustrated with her work....

So I thought a finished blanket would cheer her up.....so I finished the big blanket for Paige...this thing is over 8 feet tall.  Jaime is holding it above his head with arms stretched out and I still had a few more rows to do after this picture.  I had Antonio all weekend and he loves it...let me snap a picture of him with him pretending like he is sleeping.

Those are my blankets in July!

Now, I have one more stash enhancement....I got a new Bags By Awesomegrannie bag....I put my Salacious shawl in it....I love this bag!

What else did I work on this week?  My July Socks....I got both heels done!  I tried to switch to DPN's (because I like to try them every once in a while and see if I like them) but my love for DPN's was not happening.....so back to magic loop for me.

and my Spire.....I am still behind according to my chart I made.  I think I will just redo the chart and instead of doing 812 stitches a day, I will bump it up to whatever is needed to still finish by end of August.

Well, that is all I have.....I had a very exhausting weekend with Antonio....I usually walk about 5,000 to 7,000 a day....when I had Antonio, my fitbit says 13,301 steps Friday, 13,700 steps Saturday, and 15,586 steps yesterday (that is actually a record for me for one day!)....but it was worth every min.....seems I wore him out too!

Have a great week everyone.....Here is a beautiful handmade card I got from a friend, Brigit, for helping her with a KAL....I Love it!

Here is a great picture that was shared by my friend Pauline in a Ravelry group...I want a mailbox like this!

I love these nails!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting everyone!