It's been too long.

It's been too long. I have to get into a routine with posting. With my first born now in preschool, we have had to adjust to a new routine. Getting her ready in the mornings is still a nightmare but getting better as each school day goes by.

I have so much to mention in this post. First off is my wonderful Secret Pal 6 sent me a gift certificate to Knit Happens tonight. Just today I told myself that I would buy no more yarn until the next year. The end of the year is always a little tight around here at the KnitWit's house....and I have enough yarn to hold me over. So now I get to get yarn and not feel like I am breaking my promise! WhooHoo for my SP.

I also have some ROAK thank you's as well. I got a beautiful origami crane from Julie at Stoneview. Greg grabbed it and it now resides in the office of a Safeway....because he really needs good luck to run a grocery store (yes, I am rolling my eyes). I also want to thank Jennifer of Shamrock Crafts for the beautiful hand made card that she sent me. It really made my day. And last but not least, Juli of Juli's Jots sent me a really sweet e-card. Thanks Juli!

And before I get to what I have been doing, please stop by Snooze's blog and check out her de-stashing sale. It's not under the best circumstances but you might be able to help her out and get something great out of it.

Now me... I have a FO!!!!

It's a OSW that I made out of Cotton Ease. It's a little tight under the arms so I will ship this off to my niece, Aimee in Florida. She'll get more use out of it than me since it's wool sweater season here!

I bought this hat kit at Knit for Her Cure that was held on Saturday at Filati's in Rocklin. It was a lot of fun to go see the lace and felting demonstrations and see all the fun kits. 10% of the kit price will be donated to cancer research and 100% of the money that the yarn company makes off of these kits will go to cancer research as well. For such a good cause how could I resist this furry HOT PINK hat??? The blue cascade is for mittens for my two sons....can you believe that just a little jaunt up the hill it is supposed to SNOW this weekend!!!!!

These are my Beautiful Sockapalooza socks that were knit for me by Tine. Funny thing is that during SP5 I was spoiling Jaq and she was spoiling Tine! Small world huh!

And the above is my very pink package from my SP5, YarnGirl. She sent me two skeins of a beautiful pink cotton wool blend, a sock pattern, a pink notebook and a pink bracelet. I had to wrestle my daughter for it but I won :-) I am in fact wearing it right now. Go check out her blog. Her lace is amazing! Thanks Chris.

Well, I am off to try and finish my Lace Leaf Shawl for Greg's Grandma. I think we are going to pop in National Treasure tonight. Why, I don't know. To me it doesn't look very good. Not to mention that I HATE Nicholas Cage.

SP6 Questions

It's started again......here are my answers.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? There are some Liond Brand yarns that I would like to try....but mostly I avoid them

2. Do you spin? Crochet? Nope and Nope

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Not really...exceot I can't stand the smell of smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting? For about a year now.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes....I'll post a link in my sidebar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Baking scent goods :-)...Vanilla and citrus scents

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? A very large one. I love chocolate.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I bead and cross stitch....

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Country music and yes I can play MP3's

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I love yellow and soft pink. I really like the fall colors. I don't like really bright colors and I hate red. Well not all read, just bright red....maron is better for me.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am mariied with 3 beautiful kids, a 4 year old daughter, a 2 year old son, and a 7 month old son.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To finish college, move to the Northeast and remodel an old farmhouse.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I've been on a Lorna's Laces kick!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Scratchy wool.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Socks :-)

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Socks :-)

17. What are you knitting right now? A shawl, and a couple socks.....oh and a sweater for my son.

18. What do you think about ponchos? Not for me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Both

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo......but I bought my first Addi's for the shawl I am doing and I am really enjoying them.

21. Are you a sock knitter? Yup.

22. How did you learn to knit? My amazingly talented Mother.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? My son's sweater. I started it in the spring and then it got warm.....I really have to get cracking on it.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I love cows....can't you tell.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving and Christmas.

26. Is there anything that you collect? Oh wow......yarn, cows, old postcards, Jasperware, pie birds......I could go on and on

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? There are...check my wish list

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? There are some I like......but haven't bought because I don't need anymore right now. I'll post them as they come up.

Needle Exchange Questions

I decided to do Catherine's needle exchange this time around....I guess I should get my questions up!

1. What do you like to knit or crochet? (socks, sweaters, etc.) Socks and shawls.....but am going to start a sweater

2. What fibers do you like? Wool, silk, cashmere or course

3. What type of needles do you use most often? Bamboo....but I bought my first Addi's for my shawl and really like them.

4. Do you like to knit in the round? Yup

5. Do you use a magic loop method or any other we should know about? Are you interested in learning a new method? No....I really love my DPN's but have been thinking of doing Magic Loop. To be honest I don't think I would switch from DPN's.

7. Do you have a favorite place that you shop online? (knitpicks.com, knitpixie.com, jimmybeanswool.com....)? All of the above :-)

8. Do you want to be surprised? then erase all your answers above and write surprise me!!! I won't erase them but I love surprises!

The days are turning colder, and the nights are just FREEZING. No really, below 32...it's freezing. SO of course I am getting excited because that means it's sweater weather.

It's not that I don't like summer, I just love Fall and Winter so much. Greg and I have been talking about where we want to move to next, and I really don't want to move away from having 4 seasons! We had been talking about moving back up to the north coast of Ca but up there there is only one season...GREY. I would miss the snow and fall colors. But up there I would get to wear sweaters even in the summer :-)

Who knows where we will go. If I had my way we would be back east in a heart beat. Greg wants to go too, I just can't leave my parents. If they agreed to come with us then we would go. It would be too hard to be on the east coast while they were still on the west. I need them and I think they need the Grandkids!

So anyway, I've decided that I need to knit myself a sweater. What sweater I have no idea but I really want to knit myself something. Here are the three that I was thinking of........

Lucille, Hattie, Peggy

All of these are out of the Jaeger JB25 book. They are made out of cotton but I would use some sort of wool. I am leaning toward Peggy.....what do you think?

I've been working away on my Lace Leaf Shawl, but really do you want a picture? We all know what a lace shawl looks like unblocked......a lump of yarn!

Greg's on vacation this week so I don't see a lot of knitting taking place. Just a lot of wood chopping, house painting, and maybe a yard sale. But that's good, I need yarn money for my sweater!

So I'll leave you with a picture of a very cute 7 month old...................

It's been crazy around here!

I have been so busy I have hardly sat down! My sockapal-two socks are finished. I really should block them but I have no idea how to block socks! I really hope she likes them. It's my first pair of "patterned" socks and I am pretty proud of them.

Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock, Glenwood

Needles: Britney US1's

I have also found out who my fabulous secret pal is!!! It's Yarn Girl of Drop Stitch Knitter. She was awesome and so fun. I know that we will keep in touch. Thanks so much for everything you have made my first secret pal experience so wonderful.

The wonderful knitter that I was spoiling hasn't gotten her last package yet. She is in Toronto and it's been taking 3 weeks for my boxes to get to her. So far it's been 2 weeks since I sent my reveal package so sometime this week she should have it. Hummm should I name her? I don't think that she knows of me....ok here goes. Her blog.

I have also started the Leaf Lace Shawl from Fiber trends. I'm using Lorna's Laces sock in Tuscany. I am loving how beautiful this yarn looks. This is going to be a gift for Greg's 95 year old Grandmother for Christmas. I hope she will be able to use it.

Let's see what else.... I joined Catherine's Needle Exchange. I didn't participate last round but I was convinced that it would be fun so here we go :-)

And also I have gotten my two September sets of stitch markers from the stitch marker swap. The bottom set is from Crafty Lilly and the top set is a mystery. Both are beautiful and I love them so much! The set from Crafty Lilly is a beautiful natural stone bead and the tops ones are the most beautiful pink I have ever seen! I can't wait to cast on for something that will need them!!!

Katie's first day of school

My little princess started preschool this week. She is only going two days a week for a few hours but she loves it. So she's been in school 2 days....2 days....and she is already sick! Yesterday she came down with a fever. And so it starts. I know she will get sick a lot. She has never been in daycare of any kind so she hasn't been exposed to too many germs in her life. Hopefully Ben and James won't go through this when they get to school.

Today I have made cookies with the kids, and surfed knitting blogs. Anything but watch TV. Watching the coverage of Katrina makes me sick....I feel helpless. What can I do? Give money? I've done that but I still feel like I should be doing something. My heart breaks when I think of the children with no homes...or food or water..or toys...or a blanket...or a stuffed animal. I just wish I could do something.

Whoo Hooo....

I am on my way to finishing my sock pal socks. I am on the gusset shaping of the second one. I really liked this pattern and will have to make a pair for me. I can't wait to send these off to my pal. I really hope she likes them.

Now here is my yarn haul from last week. There is some of Knit Picks new merino lace weight yarns ( the purple solid and variegated, and the green) and some yarn that I picked up at Filati's yarn sale. One ball of Rowan Kid Silk Haze to make some Airy scarves, some beautiful Regia stretch, and some Sidar Snuggly for a cardigan for James. There was more but I am sending it off to my SP.

I decided to make the Lace Leaf Shawl for my DH's Grandmother. Claire is 96 and doing very well. She really is a wonderful woman and I love to go visit. Not that we can do that much, she is in Montana, but when we do I really enjoy her stories. I think that she will really like the shawl. I had planned on making out of Lorna's Laces but now I am thinking alpaca would be better. Montana is COLD in the winter!

Now a story to make you laugh..

The night before last I heard Katie crying in her bed. I jumped up and was going to see what the matter was. I guess I was in a hurry....I didn't want her to wake her brothers up....well I tripped over the Fisher Price Barn that was at the end of the bed. I tore a chunk of skin off the bottom of my foot and...ready....GOT A RUG BURN ON MY FACE. Can you believe that? A rug burn? You can not imagine the smart ass comments that Greg and I have gotten about it. Now that it has darkened...I look really silly. It's raw between my nose and my upper lip. Not to mention that I am hobbling along because of my foot.

Ok so it's not funny but a RUNG BURN ON THE FACE.....yeah, go ahead and laugh. If it wasn't me I would laugh!

And yes, my yarn is lounging on all the wood that Greg is splitting for winter.....we think we will need 5 cords to get us through....so far we have about 3.

Wiping the tears away....

About a month ago, I came across a blogger that was in need of a row counter. Normally this would just mean a trip to the LYS....but see this blogger lives in ICELAND! So I offered to send her one in the mail. No big deal....

Of course I couldn't just send a row counter. I sent her some of my stitch markers and some sock yarn, Brown sheep's Wildfote. I also just sent some to my SP and she flipped over it (i'm safe saying this because I am SURE my SP has never even heard of me). Well, my Icelandic friend got her package and she wrote a post that made me cry.....and cry....and cry. My darling daughter even came over and gave me a hug and told me everything was ok :-) It sure makes me feel good to make someone else happy! Go read her blog.....she is an amazing knitter.

On the knitting front, I have finished my first waving lace sock and have started on the second. I'll be posting pictures of it tomorrow. I'm getting nervous that my pal won't like them......SO I just want to say that if the knitter that is knitting ME socks is reading.....I will LOVE anything you send :-)

Stitch Marker Swap

Well I got my other set of markers today! This has been really fun and the best part is we have 2 more months left!

The cute little pouch belongs with the pink shell markers, and the other set is on the right. Of course I don't know who sent these but thanks! It's so nice to get markers made by someone else....everytime I use them they will make me smile since they were made for me!


As for knitting, I will finish my first sock pal sock tonight.....my oh so helpful son, Bennett, got to it and took out 2 of the needles. Thanks goodness that my Mom was here at the time. She was able to fix it in no time. All knitting is on hold until I finish these socks.

I am feeling a bit better today. Having this infection so many times I know the tricks to make it go away faster. I should be 100% by tomorrow.....I just wish the PAIN would go away!

A fly by night post.

Sorry guys there are no pictures today. We did Katie's 4th birthday over the weekend and I am worn out! I think that a touch of Mastitis is creeping up on me so I have been trying to just rest today.

Anyway, I got my first set of stitch markers from the stitch marker swap. I MUST KNOW WHO SENT THEM. Please Please tell me. The pouch is so wonderful and I was so touched that something was knitted for me. I have kept it with me since I got it. Really, it's beautiful. I must know who you are. AND....you live close to my parents. Really close. So close I bet you have been to the yarn shop that my Mother works at. SO tell me...who are you??????

I PROMISE pictures tomorrow if I am not in bed al day :-)

So much to do so little time.

It’s been so long since I have blogged! Things have been so busy here…

First I want to say thank you to Lynette. She sent me this gorgeous sock yarn all because I answered some trivia questions on her blog. She also sent some really good German chocolates but they have disappeared. One day I am going to make it to Germany. A week or two there to do research would be my ideal vacation! It’s really too bad that Greg and I didn’t make it over there while his Sister was there. Oh well…..

As for knitting, I have made a square for the John Glick Memorial Blanket. I plan on making a couple more but think that I will set it to the back burner for now. I have to finish my Sock Pal socks first. I also have the Irish Hiking Scarf half finished…and I need to start my Violets by the river shawl for my Mom. And I found this knitted basket pattern that I really like. These would make cute gifts.

I went to Amazon to but the Last Minute Gifts Book. I REALLY want it…and the price has gone up! WHAT? Ticked me off so I didn’t buy it. Wonder if I hint enough Greg will get it for me?

But all knitting has been put aside for this….

I can’t stand to go into my kitchen right now! That’s the walls with the wallpaper off and the spackle on. Tonight will be a sanding night. It’s amazing how much dust sanding spackle puts in the air! We bought paint while we were in Reno this week. Too bad Greg didn’t read the paint can. It’s one of those textured paints. You put it on with a trowel! Plus the color he got is way to dark for walls. AND one gallon will only do 50 square feet. NOT GOING TO WORK. So back to the drawing board on what to do with the walls.

Sine we are not removing the 70 year old wallpaper that is right on the drywall, we have to come up with something so that all the rips don’t show through. Maybe we should just wallpaper…but I would rather paint. A friend of mine told me that there are additives to put in paint to make it textured…..I am just afraid that the kitchen will look awful!

I want to get it primed before Sunday since my parents will be coming up. My little baby Katie will be 4 on Tuesday. She will be starting preschool at the end of the month and it’s so sad. She’s too grown up already!

OOO and one last thing. I was able to get to my LYS and snap a pic of my stitch markers for sale….now I need to take a pic at Filaits also…..

Butters???

Take the quiz: "What South Park Character Are You?

Butters
You're a mostly innocent shy person. You don't have many friend but the ones you do have are true and always will be!

Ok a real post later......am I really Butters????

Needed to post this

Here are my questions for the stitch marker swap....

Do you prefer shorter or more dangling type of markers? I prefer shorter ones... I need to clarify this. I like the dangling ones the best...more than just the rings...I just don't like ones that are L O N G dangles :-)

Is there any kind of markers that you would absolutely NOT want to recieve? No

Colors you like most? Earth tones and pink

Colors you like least? Red

Would you prefer markers for smaller or larger sized needles? The largest needle I have used is a 10 1/2

Do you want your sender to reveil themselves when there shipped or at a later date?
and How would you like to find out if at all? I would like to find out...maybe at the end of the swap? But it really doesn't matter to me!

My Secret Pal is a sneaky one...and a FO

Last weekend my oldest, my youngest and myself went down to the Sacramento area for a little shopping. Once I got there I called DH to let him know we were there and he told me I had gotten something in the mail from Filatis. I told him to open it because I had no idea what it was. It was a gift certificate from my secret pal! How cool is that. Only bad thing is I was going there that day and didn't have it with my to spend! The good news is that you can now purchase my stitch markers there! What a fun and easy way to make a little extra money.

I also knitted up my first Bogga Bag last week. It only took me 3 days and it is so cute! My plan was I was going to give it to my sister for her birthday but now I am not sure. I may have to keep it for myself!

I really haven't been knitting. My project for the last day was this.....

The first picture is what my kitchen walls used to look like (ummm can you say 70's) and the next is what they look like now. 2 layers of wallpaper. I am only going to remove the top layer...I think the next layer has been there since the 50's or 40's and I am not going to mess with it. Once we get the walls repaired and primed we have to decide whether to wallpaper or paint. I think that maybe paint with a wallpaper boarder would be nice. I just have to figure out the best way to remove the glue that the old wallpaper left on the even older wallpaper.....

I hate parades.....

So this weekend in my small town is "Gold Digger Days" (watch out wealthy old men).... no really that's what it's called. Gold was mined here last century hence the name.

So today is a big parade, and a street dance this evening....there are lots of other activities during the day too. I live right in town and it's driving me nuts. It's not even 9 am and I can hear the whoops and whistles of the many people that later will be very drunk and even LOUDER. It's supposed to be 100 degrees here today, way too hot to enjoy anything that may be fun......to be honest I just want to leave town.

OK enough ranting.

Yesterday on one of my many trips to the kitchen for a tall glass of ice tea, I look out the window and what do I see? 4 teenage girls waling RATS on a leash down the street. RATS! So what did I do? Ran and got the camera and called out to the girls. They were more than happy to come over and show us the rats. You know, they were really cute and soft! Katie and Ben LOVED them. Good thing the girls turned out to be our neighbors.....I'm not ready to have a rat yet :-)
I have NEVER seen a rat on a leash before.

Not much done on the knitting front...it's just to darn hot. I did find out that Filati's will carry my stitch markers....HOW COOL IS THAT? I just have to go get a Ca resellers license. I have to research how exactly to do that, I haven't found much help on the web.

On another note, now that I am getting a little more comfortable with HTML I am thinking of starting up a Genealogy web page. Knitting may me a hobby but Genealogy is my passion. I have to look into getting some webspace for it.......


grrr....now the idiot that flies his hanglider that has a engine on it (what are they called) is going back and forth over my house....sounds like a lawn mower in the sky. This will be a long day.

Gifts and just too hot to knit

Look what Ms. Snooze made for me. The most beautiful sock yarn! Wonderful brown's, pinks, and a little green. This yarn will be for ME....not sure when I will get to it but it's ALL MINE. Can you believe that she dyed this for my while getting ready for her daughters wedding? What a wonderful lady! There is a beautiful handmade stitch marker with it as well....but I hid it from Katie and now I can't find it!

Mini and I had our own stitch markers swap. I sent her 6 of mine and these are what she sent me. They are beautiful and I can't wait to start something that needs these markers! Thanks Mini.

Sorry this post is so short. I am HOT HOT HOT and the room with the computer in it is in the hottest part of the house. 100 degree heat with no humidity and NO AC is killing me. I may be retreating to my parents house in Sacramento if this keeps up. The kids and I are really crabby...we are just too hot!

Secret Pal and the reason I am not losing the baby weight

Well my Secret Pal hit last week. Things have been so crazy around here that I haven't blogged about it yet. I actually screamed when I opened my box! She sent me UTZ's chips. Ok, you in the north east probably wonder why I would love them so much well, I can't GET them here. My favorite ones in the world are the Grandma Utz chips. I have already eaten half the bag and no I am not sharing. How bad is this? The kids wanted my chips and I said noÂ…..I went to the store and bought them some Ruffles so they would leave mine alone.

She also sent me the book Bags, a Knitters Dozen and 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon color number 150. There are so many bags in that little book that I want to make! I don't know witch one to start first.
I also got the cutest little pink flip flop stitch markers. I love them!!! Thanks so much SP.

SP Goodies

I also got in my Roving from Mielke's Fiber Arts to make felted soaps. Katie and I made a one last night and I think it turned out all right for our first try. I need to find some different soap to use. Maybe glycerine oval or round ones would work well. I think that when I am in toWednesday I'll have to look for some. Pictures of the soaps to come.

I have been making picture stitch markers also. My Mom saw the ones that I made Catherine and she really liked them. So I made some of the kids for her.I didn't get a picture of them while I had Dad's camera, I'll have to ask him to take a picture so I can post it. I know what I want for Christmas...a camera that has a MACRO MODE! My camera sucks.

I got in my watchmaker tins along with some beautiful beads that I bought on eBay. The stitch marker business is fun. I decided that I would charge 15.00 for a set of 6. I can always lower the price if needed. I think I may charge 10.00 for 6 if I put them on ebay or start an online store. I have to give my cyber friends a break! Starting Wednesday I will have them in one LYS and will be off to talk to another shop!

Lounging on the impatients, On my hand so you can see the pattern

I have been working on my sock pal socks most of the time. It's so hot here and with no AC knitting isn't the first thing that I want to do. But I am turning the heel of the first sock so I am way ahead of the pace that I set for myself.

One of my good friends just found out that she is pregnant with her second child. I am so excited for her and her husband. I didn't know how to knit when she had her first, and this is the first baby expected since I started knitting! I think I will make her a baby blanket, maybe the pinwheel blanket, and some hats and booties. WHOOPPEE I love baby knitting.

Now what yarn should I use.....

Walking = Presents

Today has been a great day! The kiddo's were going a little stir crazy so we walked up to the post office this morning to pick up the mail. You know you live in a small town when there is no mail delivery to your door, you must go to the post office to pick up your mail.

Anyway, when I got there there were two packages waiting for me. The first is a gift from Leah at Knitting Pretty. She is having a summer blog party and sent me the greatest "party" favors! I got a couple of note cards, perfect for sending off to friends, candy, that is now gone, Tea, and the most beautiful stitch markers! Thanks so much Leah!!!

I also got my order of Regia Silk sock yarn. OH MY GOODNESS! It is so soft. I just love it. I can't wait to knit myself some socks. I probably won't get to them until the winter but WOW. I'll probably take out the yarn to play with it at least once a week.

And here are some pictures of the stitch markers that I have made. I ordered some watchmaker tins and am waiting on them. Once they arrive, I'll be in the stitch marker business :-)

Sorry for the blurry pics, I just need a new camera!

SockPal knitting.

Well, I started my socks for my sock pal. I decided to jump right in and make the Waving Lace socks from IK's Spring 2004 edition. This is monumental for me because 1. It is my first lace project and 2. I am using Lornas Lace for the first time. I love the softness of the yarn but I am having a hard time with it splitting. I was afraid that the pattern wouldn't come out in this variegated yarn but I am really liking it. Right now I am almost through my first pattern repeat. I would be further along but I had to tink back a few rows. Lace knitting and referring children do NOT go hand in hand. Tonight I will have some alone time....DH has a Rotary function that will keep him out late....and the kids will be asleep by 8. YIPEE!!!!! So maybe I can get a whole other repeat in!

Another spot of good news, The LYS here is going to be selling my stitch markers! I just need to package them up and get them to her. I am at a loss as to what to charge. I thought that 10.00 for a set of 5 or 6 sounded good. She wants me to charge 17.00 Would you really pay that much? Please comment and let me know what you have seen beaded stitch markers going for....and how many in a set.

Speaking of stitch markers, have you seen Erica's? They are beautiful!!! I would love to take pictures of mine, but either my camera is too basic to take a close up shot, or I am just too dumb! I'll have to wait until I see my parents again. They have the digital camera with all the bells and whistles.

I purchased a kit for a shawl from BlackBerry Ridge last night. It's the Violets by the River shawl. I was thinking the this might be a good Christmas gift for my Mom. She's a shawl lover. She almost always has a shawl on during the winter.

I was also able to score a bunch of Cotton-Ease from Tuesday Morning. I am keeping some for my stash but the other will be going on eBay.

And hey, go congratulate Cath on her first sweater! I can't wait until I can say that I have done that too!

Late night web surfing

Well, since I was up in the middle of the night with James (he has a little cough....I have been reassured that it is NOT RSV again) I did a little web surfing.

I found out that Soap Fiber Girl is doing a stitch marker swap. Sounds really cool. It's ongoing for 3 months and you get a set each month. I joined, go check it out!

I also found a needle swap done my my friend Catherine. Check it out here.

And this, found the link on Knitting Arrows blog. These would make great stocking stuffers. I think I may order some roving from them and give it a try! Never would have thought of felted soap!

And Tuesday is knitalong day. I am going to cast on for my sockpal2sa socks tonight. I think I am going to use some Lorna's Lace in Glenwood. Now the pattern I am still undecided on. Maybe the cutes and ladders from the Six Sock along.

And last but not least there is now a web ring for JENNIFERS! How cool is that?

Socks, Socks, and more Socks.

I am a sock knitting woman! I finished the first sock for my Father in law a week ago. I didn't really want to start the second one right away so I started one out of Pansy, Sock Garden from Knitpicks. I should be able to finish it tonight if the kiddo's cooperate.

Father in laws sock out of trekking, Pansy sock

I also joined . I got my sock pal but SHHHH I can't tell you who she is. I will say that she doesn't have a blog so I hope she likes what I make. I ordered some Regia Silk sock yarn in these two colors.

I might make my sock pal a pair out of one color and then gift the other two to my Mom. Hummmmmm the knitter that I am spoiling in SP5 is a big sock knitter so maybe if I really like the yarn I'll order her some too.

I decided to make a few stitch markers. So far this is what I have done. I really like them and think I make make a few more tonight. Now I am hoping that Cara does another Bead It swap.

Blue polka dot beads

I keep finding lots of patterns that I love and want to make. I think that's the hardest thing about being a knitter. Too may patterns, not enough time. I have been finding tank top patterns that I want to make but the weird thing is....I don't wear tank tops! Strange huh?

How old am I?

You Are 31 Years Old

31 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Well, in reality I am 27....but Greg is 40 so I guess that 31 for me is more realistic :-)

Today the family is going to a BBQ given by the preschool that Katie will be attending in August. Am I really ready for my first born to go to school? Not really. Of course she is so excited she can't stand it..... The bright side is, I may meet some friends at the BBQ.

I's tough to get out and meet people with 2 toddlers and a newborn. Plus I live in such a small town, with no bigger town close, there are not really any activities that we could be involved in. No play groups, no dance, the kids are too little for sports, ect. Greg thought that I should start a playgroup or a knitting group.....sure, I could do that with ALL THE SPARE HOURS THAT I HAVE. Some days I think he has no idea what goes on while he's at work!

Anyway, Maybe I'll get the Knitpicks sock done tonight at the BBQ. OOOO Yeah, I'll be KIP tonight :-)

I was knitting for Summer.....

It's crazy weather here. It's June and it snowed a little higher up a few nights ago! We have had fires in the stove for 3 days straight. Crazy stuff I tell ya. Last year I was dying of heat and cursing the company that made us move here where NO HOUSE has AC! Anyway, I'll take the cool weather as long as I can get it. But look what is going on behind out guest house

Because of the rainy weather, I haven't had any natural light to take pictures in. So bear with me...these didn't come out too badly. First is the ROAK that Kristin sent me. She had sent Laurie, Green-Eyed Grrl, a ball of Sockotta yarn and I fell in love with it. I had her pick me up a ball at the LYS that she works at. When I got may package, this was in it.



The yarn that I wanted, along with another ball of pink Sockotta, a very cute notecard with a hat pattern that I HAVE to make for my DD, and the coolest little sissors. I LOVE it all. Thanks so much!

I started a new sock out of KnitPicks Sock Garden in Pansy. I think these will be for my Sister in law, Pam for Christmas or her birthday. She loves purple and lives in Montana where she needs warm feet :-)

I have to say that I love to knit socks. They go fast and I need some uncomplicated knitting for when the kids are awake. Lace and such has to wait until bedtime or I KNOW it would have to be ripped out!

I finished the back of Ben's sweater. It's just a simple pullover knit all in stockinette...nothing too exciting but hey, it's my first sweater so I didn't want it to be too hard!

OOOO and I also got some yarn on eBay for a Booga Bag! I love this stuff it's Noro #40. I think it will be for my sister...she LOVES blue and thinks that the dishcloths that I sent her are too pretty to use! Can you tell she doesn't knit!

I have been surfing the blogs and I found this really cool one. Lou's Ends. Do you SEE the pattern for the Lattice Lace Wrap? It is BEAUTIFUL. And it has BEADS. I would love to try this one out. I have the right yarn in my stash, I just need beads. This will be going on my to do list of projects. And thank you to Lou for telling how to do thumbnails on the blog!

I leave you with a picture of my oldest, Katie. This blanket that she is sucking is a Cashmere and Silk blanket knit by my Mother. Katie sucks on it. Always has. Sucks = Felting. The beautiful blanket is now felted. Ans she still sucks on it. It's gross. It stinks. I have to wash it ever couple of days. It's so felted that you can wash and dry it now. If she sees me do it WATCH OUT.....gross.

A whale of a time

Before I start with my post....so you see it? Do you see it? Tracy made a banner for me and I am so excited. Actually she has made 3 or 4 banners for me....but this on is my current pick. No cows have NOTHING to do with knitting but I love the little buggers :-)

Wow.....I have had a lot going on the last week or so. First off my inlaws were here for an inspection...whoops I mean visit. Things went ok I think. I think they had a good time, I was a little uncomfortable. I only see them once a year and I don't really know them well. It's just different than my parents. I would call my Mom my best friend....we talk at least once a day. Greg hardly ever talks to his parents. Ok, that's not true. He calls a few times a month but that's hardly ever compared to how much I talk to mine. They stayed at the house for a week, then left Memorial day weekend.

I didn't get much knitting done while they were here. I did make a few dishcloths for them to take home, and I finished the back of Ben's sweater but that's about it.

Right after they left, I did another very silly thing. I put half a pan of lasagna down the disposal...ummmm WHAT WAS I THINKING? It clogged. Greg spent 2 days getting it unclogged. These two days consisted of him crawling in the crawl space under the house, two trips to the hardware store (30 min drive each way), and a lot of mopping. At one point I called a plummer but it was $170.00 for them just to come to the house on a weekend. So I figured I would live with it until Tuesday. Greg got it unclogged. He is my hero. He didn't even give me much of a bad time about clogging the drain! Now we have to go under and put a trap on the main pipe......so when I do this again it won't be so hard :-)

My Mom and Dad came up on Saturday and took my daughter down to their house fro 2 nights. She has never been away from home overnight before and I was worried about her. She had so much fun, she didn't even want to call me. I on the other hand was so lonely! It's amazing how much I missed her NON STOP talking! I was so happy to see her when she got home. What am I going to do when my Katie-Bug goes to school?

Then yesterday we took the kids fishing. They had a blast. Katie and Ben both caught their first fish ever. (blugills) Ben had more fun playing IN the water and touching the fish....but it was a nice family outing.




And because James wasn't photographed while fishing.....



Hey how do I make thumbnail pics that will get bigger when you click on them?