Smittin by Knittin'

July 16, 2009

I'm so excited I can't stand it.  It is afew short weeks to Sock Summit and I can barely contain myself.  I first noticed the add in a knitting magazine sometime in March.  I talked about wanting to go with my knitting buddies and two of friends decided to go also.  I got my airfare and hotel reservations in April, not knowing anything other than I wanted to be there for the special event.  Every few days I would check the website for list of classes, registration, etc. 

Wrote down all the classes I wanted plus alternates, I was ready.  Registration was set-up for Tuesday May 26th, 10:00 am.  Well I was at work, one person short in the office and I told my co-worker that come 10:00, don't bother me because I was signing up for Sock Summit.  Ten o'clock came around, I was on the website and knew something was wrong when it took me 45 minutes to log on.  By that time all the classes where sold out and I wanted to rip somebodys head off(no, make it two somebodys).  I was really bummed, but wasn't going to let that get me down.  I was going anyway.  If all I could do was hang out in the vendor mall and knit in the lobby, so be it.  I wanted to immerse myself in all things socks, meet other obsessed sock knitters and have a great time.  But I didn't give up on getting any classes.  I emailed the powers that be several times explaining that I had already purchased my airfare and hotel accomedations months before and if there were any cancellations, could I please be considered. Well low and behold, sometime in early June,Joanne from Blue Moon called me and guess what?  I was able to get 3 classes.  Classes that I had writted down months before plus the oppening night reception. 

I was literally bouncing off the walls. My hubby happened to be home and told me he hadn't seen my so happy in months.  Now it is afew weeks away and I am getting all the yarn together for my classes.

This is the commemorative Sock Summit sock "ORION".  Finished first sock in 6 days and second is 1/2 way finished.  They will be ready to wear for Sock Summit.  There are all kinds of cool side activities going on as well.

Alot of us are knitting minature socks to identify us when we are out and about.

I googled knitted socks for American Girl doll, and OMG, first hit was four patterns.  I knit the sock in about two hours, and let me tell you, this could definitely be the start of a whole new obsession.  I even found there is a minature sock knitting group, go figure.  There is also going to be a minature sock exchange, but I'm not sure how many I'll be able to knit what with finishing the Orion sock, etc...

There is also going to be a mini skein exchange, a Ravelry group get together, a get together with all of us that are staying at The Red Lion Inn and many more.

I got the new IPhone afew weeks ago.  I want to update the blog from Sock Summit using my new toy.

Until then, happy knitting.

May 17 2007

Rick and I got back afew days ago from our vacation up to Mammoth Lakes and beyond.  We had a wonderful time.  He got to fish in some of the most beautiful country on earth, and I got to knit to my hearts content while he was fishing.  Our trip started up in Mammoth Lakes.  We rented a tiny little cabin at Mammoth RV camp.  The cabin consisted of two beds and electricty.  We set our camp stove on the porch, but had to keep all our food inside the cabin because of bear sightings in the area. 

We got up very early everyday to get the early morning bite, but we had to hike in to all the lakes and Starbucks opens at 6:00 am so we didn't get an early a start as Rick would have liked.  One of our customers at work told me we had to go to Walker Lake.  The trail was all down hill on the way in,and uphill on the way back.  When we arrived there was not a breath of wind and the lake was like a gigantic mirror.  It was spectacular and very cold.  

There was alot of snow on all the mountains and when the wind came up it got kind of chilly.  I can't remember all the lakes and streams we went to in the Mammoth area, but needless to say, we drove and hiked all over the area for 3 days.  Rick was getting kind of discouraged because he wasn't catching any fish.  We went to Convict Lake and Rick heard about a lake up near the California/Nevada border called Carmen Lake.  We left at the crack of dawn Monday.

Carmen Lake it outside of Bridgeport.  We had a 3-1/2 - 4 mile hike in to the lake.  When we arrived it was another breath taking view.  Being mid-week we where the only people there.  I have never seen so many beautiful birds.  We also saw deer, squirls, snakes and lizards.  Didn't catch any fish there either, but the view and the hike where well worth the effort.

We left Mammoth Tuesday and headed down to Bishop.  Rick has been fishing the Owens river since he was a teen and wanted to show me the area he used to fish.  He hadn't been there for over ten years and the vegetation has changed quite a bit.  Needless to say we where driving around on these dirt roads looking for "the spot".  I was pretty impressed because he actually found the spot.  He got afew bites but nothing hooked up.  We heard about some other lakes in the area that people where having luck with, Lake Sabrina, Intake Lake 2, Pleasant Valley Reservoir.  So off we went looking for the elusive trout.  Rick had his best luck at Intake #2.

We also went to upper Owen river, another peacefull spot to fish and knit.

The last day we were went to Lake Sabrina.  We met a very nice man named Tom.  He was so sweet and very lonely, had lost his wife of over 40 years to cancer.  He talked with us for quite a while.  His son lives in Bishop, but he has been coming up to the area since he was a teenager and has alot of local knowledge about the area.  He hold us about South Lake so off we went.  The elevation was over 8000 feet, and believe it or not the lake was still frozen.

 

We didn't do any fishing there, just walked around taking in the view. 

I love going on road trips. You see so much of this beautiful country of ours and talk with so many nice people.  Rick does all the driving even though I always volunteer.  I actually prefer that because then I can knit.  I completed two pairs of socks.

These are the second pair of socks for the Yahoo kal, called Pothos socks.  I loved this pattern, knit up really cute. 

 

Viper Pilot socks,  finished the second sock. I got the pattern off of the Yarn Harlot's blog. 

 

Close up detail of some of the cableing. Also worked on my bamboo t-shirt.

 

This picture dosen't really do justice to this yarn.  It is so soft and the drape in perfect.  I am re-designing the pattern to knit in the round.  I joined the shoulders with kitchner stitch and it turned out really nice.  Knit the neckband yesterday and cast on the sleeves, both at the same time.  Can't wait to finish so I can wear. Perfect for this time of year.

I purchased this yarn at The Skien.  Very hard to knit, but worth it.  Knit on #13 needles.  I'm calling it my Woolbugger scarf because the green fuzzy part looks just like one of Ricks fishing lures.

 

One last photo to share.  I knit some arm chair covers for Rick's recliner.  It was a freeway project so it took afew months to finish. 

 

Oops, one more photo.  I started a mystery sock kal.  So far I am ahead of scheducle and waiting for clue #5. Never knit with beads before and this could be a start of a whole new addiction.

 

Since I finished afew projects on our trip, I had to cast on afew more.  I needed another freeway project so I cast on a dish towel with peaches/cream cotton.  Probably will knit a bunch for Christmas presents.  Cast on Monkey socks using a silk blend.  Shouldn't have done it, but I bought some Nashua 100% silk to knit a shrug cardigan.  I will have pics of my progress next post.

Happy knitting.

Easter 2009

 It is such a beautiful day.  My sister, brother in-law and I went for a run this morning up the arroyo by the Rose Bowl.  What a great way to start the day especially since we will all be pigging out later.

My sister and I ran in the Pasadena Marathon afew weeks back.

It was originaly supposed to be in November, but the air quality was so bad from the wild fires that it was rescheduled for March 22nd.  When we got to the starting area by Pasadena City College it was raining lightly .  There were thousands of people participating.  The 1/2 and full marathon runners started at the same time and by the time we were running by the Rose Bowl it was raining really hard.  By that time I had taken of my jacket and had on a sleeveless tank top.  I was soaked to the bone and was afraid my one contact lens was going to wash out of my eye.  If was really, really fun.  People from all over the area where on the side lines cheering us  on.  I ran the 1/2 marathon(13 miles) and my sister ran the 5K. She was getting over a nasty cold and she did really well considering she wasn't feeling that great and it was rainy and cold.

We also ran in the Santa Anita Derby 5K April 4th.  I came in first in my age bracket and won $100.00.  It was the fastest I have ever run - 7:53 minute mile.  I really wanted to win because last year I came in third.

I am so excited.  My hubby has given me the ok to go to Sock Summit 2009 in Portland  Oregon this coming August.  I already have my flight and hotel booked.  Now just have to wait until May to register and sign up for classes.  I'm hoping my sister and cousin will be able to go also.  A friend/teacher from our local yarn shop it going too.  I have been totally vibrating thinking about it and can hardly wait.

My knitting is progressing.  I finished the Berroco Arzote t-shirt.  I love it and it fits perfect.

I love the pattern so much, I'm knitting another one in Mondial 100% bamboo.  It is self stripping so instead of knitting front and back seperately, I'm knitting in the round. I love this yarn. It is so soft and the colorway is to die for.

I was reading the Yarn Harlots blog and she is knitting these really cool socks called Viper Pilot socks.  I pulled the pattern off the internet and started them March 29th.  I don't remeber where I got the yarn but it is Malabrigo from Uruguay super wash merino.

 

I love this coloway, sort of reminds me of purple irises. 

My brother send me some great pictures of him wearing the sweater I knit for his Birthday/Xmas present.  When he was visiting last summer, I told him I wanted to knit him a sweater and had him pick out the pattern.  He chose a K. Fassett design called Crisscross.  It was a very difficult pattern but I was really stoked because I love taking on very difficult detailed projects.  I learned alot from knitting this sweater and am very pleased with the results and how it looks on my bro.

Thats all for now.  Have to start preparing some of the food for Easter dinner at my sisters.  Hope everybody has a great day.

March 21, 2009

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  We took the dogs up to the snow last weekend. I didn't think there was going to be alot of snow left, but there was alot afew miles after Newcombs Ranch up Angeles Crest Highway.  The dogs really had a good time.  Trucker was sliding down the hills biting the snow as he went.  Then would get up and do it again, so cute. Trudy is more sedate, but was getting a little frisky herself.  Trucker is the coolest dog ever.   Big ol' Trudy. Just a little over weight.  She really has the body of a hippo. Trucker enjoys himself where ever he is. 

The next day(Sunday) we took Trucker and Trudy on the Race for the Cure at the Rose Bowl.  They both had baths and clean t-shirts for the event. There where were thousands of people attending.  We where part of Team KFI and it was a little frustating finding the booth with so many people and dogs milling around.  We started the walk around 10:00 am.  It was a 5K (3.2 miles). 

Trucker and Trudy were doing great what with all the people and dogs.  Like I mentioned earlier, Trudy is a little over weight and she started having a hard time after about the second mile.  We had to stop afew times for her to rest.  The wierd thing was that when we were almost finished, she seemed to get her second wind. Maybe she remembered we where getting close to the car, who knows what goes on in their heads. 

Knitting is going great.  Started a new pair of socks.  Flying Carpet socks.  The pattern is designed by Cat Bordhi and the yarn was from Mountain Colors and Lorna's Yarns.  If was a very different type of sock pattern, a little hard to interpret at first but I figured it out.  The only part I didn't knit was the fold down cuff, finished the cuff with the k1, p1, k1, p2 rib. Finished first sock yesterday and started second sock last night.  It is a toe-up sock and I really like the method.  You cast on 12 stitches (provisional), knit 24 rows, then pick up stitches all the way around the square for the toe.  It looks so cool.   

There is a lace panel on both sides and on top of foot all the way up to cuff.  The back of the sock, after the heel is a k1, p1 rib up to the cuff.  I am going to sell these socks when finished.

Another project I am making for sale is a Noro scarf (current freeway project).  I love the yarn, 65% wool, 25% silk and 10% kid mohair. Very simple, 20 stitches, knit only on Harmony wood circular needles. 

It is going to take 4 skiens. Each one is a little different and it looks so cool the way the colors blend together.  Very happy with the way this is turning out. 

Beginning of March I started another project.  Arzote t-shirt using Latitude fancy yarn by Berroco.   

The back is finished and the pic above is the front.  It knits pretty fast.  The yarn is like string,never knit with anything like it before.  I love the pattern and plan on making afew more of these. t-shirt back.

Very rarely do I follow the patterns with the specified yarn.  Ann Mary at my favorite yarn store showed me another sweater done with the same yarn in a different color and the companion book and I could'nt resist.  She has a lot of new yarns coming in for the spring that she saw at TNNA.  Last Wednesday she showed my some to die for 100% bambo yarn that I just have to have.

The Cassandra cardigan is going well.  Knitting both fronts at the  same time because of the yarn issues.  This is going to be a very interesting sweater. I finished one of the arm chair covers, but I want to do some i-cord to finished it off.  Kind of waiting until I finish the Noro Freeway scarf. 

Tomorrow is the first ever Pasadena Marathon.  It was originally scheduled for last November, but was cancelled due to the raging forest fires that made for horrible air quality. I'm running the 1/2 marathon and my sister is running the 5K.  It is a really big deal for Pasadena. Everybody wish me, my sister and all other participents good luck.  It is supposed to rain and will be pretty chilly.  Hubby will be taking pictures which I will post next time. 

March 1st 2009

You just wouldn't believe how beautiful is is right now in SoCal.  The flowers are starting to bloom and the birds are looking for treats. First daffodil,     another first bloom for my orchids, and then one of our blue jays that waits for peanuts. It is such a nice weekend. We were going to take the dogs up into the mountains but I woke up Thursday morning with a bad back so that will have to wait.  Hopefully we can do it next weekend.  The knitting is going very well.  I finished the first sock and started the second for the yahoo sock group.  I love the way they are turning out.  I did a different toe(round toe) and the leg portion is done in the traveling rib stitch. After the second gray stripe I changed to #2 needles so the leg wouldn't be so tight.  Close up detail of traveling rib stitch.  Really like this pattern.  If I can only figure out how to re-size the photo according to the yahoo requirements, I'll upload and show the rest of the group.

I finished the back of my Cassandra cardigan.  I love knitting this yarn.  It is the Alpaca I got from a friend at work.  It knits up so soft.  I started the left front Wednesday night at the knitting group.  I'm not sure if I have enough yarn so my plan is to knit the cable portion for the left side and put on stitch holder.  Start the right side and do the same, then continue.  I have several different shade of this yarn which is why I'm using the different colors.  I think I will have enough but the sleeves might not be the same as the body.  I really don't mind if it dosen't match, in my opinion that is what makes the garment unique to me. I very rarely follow the directions for the type of yarn specified in a pattern.  I just make sure to knit a swatch that matches the pattern requirements.

The arm chair covers I shared last post have been ripped out and restarted with one strand of yarn.  Hubby thought the two strands knit tog was to thick.  I could have told him that, but with him it is a visual thing.  He really likes the way they look now.  Will have a picture for that next post.

I also finished the the Sea Maiden scarf. This was knit with some yarn I bought in Mendicino. A silk/wool blend.  I knit most of this scarf during my daily commute.  A 4 row repeat the is very easy to memorize.  Since this is now finished, the arm chair covers are my new commute project. One thing to make commuter knitting easier, use circular needles or short needles.  The scarf was knit on dp needles and the arm chair covers are on circulars. Don't knit if going over 20 mph or if the chp is any where around.  Can you imagine the ticket for talking on the cell phone and knitting? omg. Like the huge tax bill we have to come up with isn't enough. But I'm telling everyone, with out the commuter knitting, I fight with myself to stay awake every afternoon on the way home.  There is something about the knitting that keeps me focused and awake for the 1 - 2 hour drive home every day.

Valentines Day 2009

It has been a very busy last two weeks.  I think I am finally over the flu and hope I don't get one of the many colds/flu that are still going around. Work has been pretty bust despite the mess the country is in.  Back into my work out schedule except for running.  It's been to cold in the morning, but I need to start training for the 1/2 marathon in March.

My knitting projects are going really well.  I finished my Leyborn socks.

Started the first pair of socks with the Yahoo group.  They are called "best of both world socks" because you start with a provisional cast on, knit the foot first, pick up stitches from provisional then knit the leg. The pattern calls for standard rib stitch for the leg, but I found a really nice pattern called traveling rib stitch that I am going to use instead. I got the pattern from "knitting socks from had painted yarn" by Carol J. Sulcoski.

The other project I started are arm chair covers for our recliner and sofa.  Like alot of other stuff in our house, our two darling dogs have kind of messed them up. I took hubby to my favorite yarn shop so he could pick out the colors.  We chose two different yarns to knit tog.  Sirdar alpaca from Peru in a tan color and Katia tundra in a brownish/gold/red colorway. 

I have knit quite afew other projects for our home.  Bed post covers for our bed.  Trucker chewed them up when he was bored and it was less expensive to knit cover than have a carpenter repair them.

 

Here is Trucker in all his glory.

 

I also knit two really cool bath mats. I used two strands of Lion Brand Wool Ease knit tog.  They are very thick and bulky.  I backed them with some burlap and they turned out great.  The Hubby and dogs love them.  I throw them in the washer every couple of weeks and they still look great 10 months later.

close up detail.

 

The last think I want to share with this post is my Dad's birthday party last weekend.  He turned 80 and we has a small family party for him.  As most of you know, we are a knitting family.  After dinner we all start with our knitting over coffee/tea and desert.

 

He is knitting a rug for his room.

 

Allison and Kaitlin helping Poppy with his new carpentry apron.  And last but not least, the beautiful neck warmer my sister knit for herself(her own design).

January 31,2009

  It was a pretty rough week for me. Back to work full-time and still recovering from the flu, going on week three.  The only thing making it bearable is my happy place, knitting, knitting and more knitting.

I'm well on my way to finishing the first Leyburn sock.  Finally on track with the toe up method after numerous attempts on both toe and heel.

My favorite thing on the weekend is to get up early and knit with my large chai tea latte w/2-3 shots of espresso. 

I went to the Wednesday night knitting group at the Skein.  A great knitting shop in Pasadena.  There are two teachers that the owner, Ann Mary has on staff for knitting lessons and general help if you get stuck... I mentioned to Nancy(one on the teachers)how much trouble I was having with the toe-up method, and she and I both agreed we like the cuff down method better.  She is also knitting the most awesome pair of toe-up socks and hopefully she will share the pattern with me.

I joined the Six Sox Knitalong on Yahoo.  They knit 6 pairs of socks every year.  The first pattern for the year will be posted Feb. 1st.  Can't wait to see what it is and get busy.  I have never participated with an on-line group before. It should be fun.  Will keep everybody posted.

Something else I wanted to share is the chart holder and chart stand my Dad made for me. It is so great for either a regular table top or it's own stand pictured below. 

Chart holder,

 

Chart holder on it's little table and my darling little boy "Trucker". If any one is interested, he is taking orders, either for the holder by itself or both.  He can make to your dimensions of choice and stain wood to match with your existing decor. Just let me know.

Thats all for now, have to give the roses their yearly pruning and carry on with the rest of the day.  It is going to be a beautiful day here in Socal.  Low 80's and clear, while the east coast is suffering so badlly with the ice storms.

January 24, 2009

   

At long last I have started a blog to share my knitting adventures with my family and friends.

I knit the sweater above for my brother Mark who lives in Alaska.  He was visiting last August and I asked him to pick out a sweater that I could make him for a combination birthday/christmas present. This is a K. Fasset design called Chriscross.  I have never done any color work before and it was a real challange getting started, only took me three attemps before I was satisfied with the results. I am going to send to him tomorrow, so I'll get his feedback in afew days. I made these socks his wife, Mary. Knit with Supersocke 100.  The pattern is called Faceted rib sock.  These socks are for my brothers daughter.  The thing that is really cool about these socks are the yarn.  My mom went to visit my brother last August.  I asked her to get me some yarn in Alaska from local fiber artists. This is from rabbit ridge designs, 50% alpaca, 30% merino, and I'm not sure what the other 20% is because the label is torn at that spot.  The colorway is called Sitka Rose.  What better yarn to knit for my niece.  She spent most of her life in Sitka.  I loved the yarn so much I had to buy more for myself (I have a horrible habit of doing that).

I made this little sweater for myself.  The pattern is from Interweave knits, called Auburn camp shirt.  Have worn several times and always get complements.

Afew of my current projects. My first attemp at toe up socks.  It only took me 3 hours to figure it out.  The yarn is from my cousins web site . It's called Juliet 3-ply superwash Merino sock yarn and the colorway is Marbel Angel. I knit the heel last night and like the toe it took 3 attempts before I was somewhat satisfied.  I cast on this sweater last week.  I got the pattern from Shear KIng which is a fantistic book.  It profiles 10 fiber farms around the U.S.  One of the reasons I really liked it was Hubby and I went to Mendicino last July for vacation.  I absolutely loved it and found a great yarn shop there.  The yarn shop and a local farm where featured in the book so it kind of reminds me of the great time we had when we where there.  I yarn came straight from Peru.  A friend of mine at work is married to a gal from Peru.  I asked him if she could get me any alpaca from Peru if any of her family members would be agreeable.  About afew month later I got a big box with all kinds of beautiful yarn. I'm combining two strands to get the right gauge and it is knitting up so nice and soft.  Can't wait to finish and wear.

I also have a Hand Maiden Sea scarf that I'm knitting from some yarn I bought in Mendicino, 50% silk, 50% wool in the most luscous purple colorway, spun and dyed by a local artist Lenora Shepard.  Will share pictures of that soon.  The last project still on the needles is a lace shawl I started last April/May called Mystic Lights.  It was a KAL thru Yahoo.  I only have 8 rows to go but it is one of those projects that require absolute quite and no interuptions(like when does that happen). I'll post a picture of that also, but I think it will be after it is finished and blocked.

Well, this is my first post.  I have more to share that I did last year but I have to get some stuff done around the house before hubby comes hom.