Frog Bavarian Socks?

Bavarian Socks, should they stay or should they go? Isn't this a beautiful color Teal? Nice stitch definition, as always, from my beloved Cherry Tree Hill.

Hmmnn....I've been working on these for a few days now and you can see how slowly it is going. I can do the cables without the cable needle for the most part but it's SO tiny and still quite easy to drop a stitch with this slippery little yarn. The problem? I don't like the fabric. It's really lumpy to have cables on a sock leg. I haven't ripped it out yet but as I was knitting, I was thinking how nice this yarn would be for Embossed Leaves. The second problem? Embossed leaves uses little yardage. It seems such a waste to make it out of this beautiful teal Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Sorry that the picture is a little blurry, I was trying to crop out that hair at the top, I seem to be shedding again. Why do only the brown ones fall out?

In the meantime, Karen of the Village Knitter e-mailed me yesterday to tell me she has a hank of Dream in Smooshy In Vino Veritas for me. Isn't it gorgeous? I have seen some dark wine and some mauve so I don't know what I'm getting. I am very tempted to bring my needles and make something out of it tonight. My issue with Smooshy is that my other pair grew in length and width when washed. It just stretched and stretched right over the top of my sock blockers. I nearly have Froot Loop Kilt Hose.

They grew nearly 2.5" in length and you can even see how they got wider and longer by looking at the holes between the stitches. This was taken when they were wet and they did shrink back a bit but I still don't know how happy I am with them.

I must say, you know what I really like, as far as sock yarns? Valley Yarns Franklin. It may not be as soft as some others, a little on the coarse side when you start to work with it but softer after washing. I wish it came in nearly solids. That would make me so happy. At 450 yards for 20 bucks, discountable at Webs, you just can't beat it. I can get a pair of socks out of one hank and still have enough left over to make a baby pair for little Boobette. She'd be thrilled with the purple ones....

In other news, I taught DH how to make bread. He doesn't follow directions fully so he had a little sinking in of the top yesterday but for the most part, he's getting good at it. Here's his first loaf. (Ok, ok, I twisted it for him but he did the rest by himself!)

In other news, ponderings... the next debate is to be held at Hofstra University. My friend works there in a prominent position. Hmmn, do you think she could get me in? Do you think I could get close enough to actually say, "Here, hold this"? Which color would look the best with John or Barack? It'd be really hilarious to photograph them with a yarn named "In Vino Veritas" (translates to "in true wine") Hofstra is a mere 15 minutes from my house on a good day. Realistically, I could be standing next to the next President within, say 45 minutes of leaving my house, knitting in tow. I wonder how you get in? Invitation? Do they give out bracelets like American Idol or a Rock Concert? I would be honored...I could go Kinnearing. Regardless of who I have decided to vote for, I find it amazing that anyone has the gumption and drive to actually run for this office. The other thing is, considering what you have to deal with the salary is awfully low. ($400k, used to be alot less only a few years ago but they gave him a raise.) I may not agree with everything that Sarah Palin says (or does, for that matter) but I really admire her, too. She's working her way up the political ladder and she's a woman......do you think she knits? She might knit, it gets cold up there in the land of the midnight sun. And how about her beautiful family? They're so pretty, all of them. Ok, she names the kids with almost hippie names, Bristol, Trig, Track, Piper, Willow. Track and Trig are named after classes in school. I like the name Piper Palin for some reason. And, one more thing, she's distant cousins of FDR and Princess Diana. I think that may make her related to Nancy Reagan somehow who is also distantly related to the royal family. In fact, many people are distantly related to the Royal Family but I'm not one of them.

OK, stay tuned for an update on Shawl Collar Sweater!

Low Hanging Froot

Look at this:

Just wanted to show you a picture of my Froot Loop socks after washing. They grew and grew and grew. Next time I use Smooshy, I will knit them smaller. They seem to fit ok although they went from mid-calf to ... stockings! They looked normal size here, no?Odd. Oh well....I must say, they do feel nice and soft and I still do really love the colors.

My son is completely enamored with his blue socks and tries to wear them everyday even though it's been hot enough out that we can still swim in the pool. Next time, I'll make cotton or cotton blend socks.

Also, I wanted to tell you about my new project. I am making the Shawl collar sweater from Knitting for Him. It's huge. I am using Cascade 128 tweed, gray and charcoal and I have the gauge exactly right but it seems like it is gargantuan. I was going to knit it in the round but didn't because then I couldn't neatly make the seams big to take this in if need be. Pictures will be posted soon, maybe Saturday morning when I have time to blog.

I have to go out and take a picture now so I'm all ready for eye candy Friday and don't miss it this week!

Saturday Sky

Early Sunset, Massapequa

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Well, I promised a picture of finished Froot Loops, Dream in Color Smooshy, Butter Peeps Colorway and here you have it. I made these in nine days, finishing them on the infamous August 5th.I also would like to share a picture of the newest member of Thursday night knit night, Lars.

He's knitting a beautiful sweater in Lobster Pot and it's cashmere and we all got to feel it. It's gorgeous! Odd how the stripes photographed kinda blurry, they're not like that in person.

This is knit in the round and he's been working on it as an Olympics project. He's inspiring me to knit another sweater, which I will be doing in the near future, the fall, when I want this thing keeping my legs toasty. I am thinking about a nice pullover, a la Elizabeth Zimmerman.

That's it for now, time for the beloved treadmill and then heels and gussets on my socks!

Next time, Waving Lace update!

Socks on Vacation - Part I

Let's begin, "Vacation Series", a group of smaller posts because I have a lot to say and alot to catch up on. First off,

I'm Back! Froot Loops are Done!

We took a week's vacation in the Adirondacks, starting on August 5. Yes, something weird did happen on that day. I had everything packed up and we needed one more bag for extra shoes. DH went downstairs and brought up this bag and I opened it up and found out that it was an old overnight bag that my father used for golfing. It had his had, a pencil, a change of clothes, a hairbrush and his glasses in it. Weird that I should find that on the five year anniversary of his passing. It was like he was saying hello......

Anyway, we packed up everything for car camping...in a tent...in the Adirondacks. The weather forecast was rain every day. Wet...damp....DH being sick, kids coughing. So, we went. Little Zoey went off to the vet's to spend a week on vacation in a crate being boarded and getting a spa treatment. I gave my son a half does of dramamine for the ride, my neighbor watched Bonnie, my 15 year old Shelty, and off we went. Not having any compassion, I let DH drive all 286 miles so that I could finish up Butter Peeps socks....We later found out that he does, in fact, have pneumonia, which explains his lack of doing anything so I have cut him some slack and allowed him to sleep in this morning. We arrived at the Yogi Bear Campground in North Hudson, NY around dinner time, August 5th. It was dry when we got there but they were predicting rain. We were able to set up the tent and have dinner and get the kids to bed before the rain came. And rain it did. Hours and hours of nasty rain, thunder, lightening, luckily with little to no wind. The next morning, a deluge. We got up and went out for breakfast. There was a small amount of water that came into the tent. It came up from the bottom, through the tarp, through the floor and through the interior tarp. The ground was so wet that I seriously doubt that that could've been helped.

The whole time we were there, it rained. Every day. Even so, we were able to squeeze in a few activities between the raindrops. We hit Lake George the first day, where it cleared a bit. We went to Fort Ticonderoga to go to Rite Aid and visit Lake Champlain briefly. We did make it up to Whiteface Mountain for the Memorial Highway Drive, something that was on my "Things to do Before I Die list". We made it over to Lake Placid for a stroll through the town. We also stopped at Lake George on the way home for breakfast and made a stop in Saratoga for a snack. I have many, many pictures for you and will show you a few each day. My socks had a great time. DH is worn out. I was a sport and drove home from Lake George to the bottom of the NYS Thruway in the driving rain for a good part of the trip. He finished up the last 80 or so miles. As for the kids, they could care less about the weather. They were happy to be away, running around and having fun. I am not a fan of camping, especially in the rain, but I must say that is is really good for them. It tears them away from the regular life and gives them a chance to actually play with other kids. Play like in the old days. Bikes, hide and seek, toast marshmallows, things like we did when we were kids.

Now for the first part of the Photo Album..

Home Away from Home...?

Our View of the Schroon River

Flowers at Lake George (Note: I like this photo very much, it is one of the top five I took this trip)

Froot Loops in Smooshy Butter Peeps over Lake Champlain

Fort Ticonderoga Ferry, Lake Champlain

Froot Loops over Lake Champlain

I tried something a little different on these socks, twisting the picked up stitches. I won't do that again. I need to work on neatness there. That one spot of knitting socks is what separates the Men from the Boys. It looks very professional if you get the gussets nice. More on this when I block them and photograph them on blockers.

Well, time to do 18 loads of wash. Please tune in tomorrow for a glimpse of my new project plus some really special eye candy. Here's a sneak "Peak", New Yorks High Peaks and Socks....."Ultimate Eye Candy".

August 5 - A Day That Will Live in Infamy

August 5. A very strange day for me and it's coming up fast!

Seems I have had alot of life events on that day and it's upon us once more. Sad ones and happy ones. My grandfather passed away, my father passed away (10 years later), my dog passed away (the same day as my grandfather), I took my road test, my husband and I went on our first official "DATE", we made an offer on our house, (comon guys! That was a different year, too!)

I wonder what this one will bring?


Rough week all around, first off, kids were sick. Then, DH got sick. Coughing, hacking up a lung, sneaking the occassional cigarette, bad boy that he is. It got to the point where I couldn't take it any longer ane neither could he. He went to the dr. and it's more serious than he thought. It isn't just congestion, it's down in his lungs. Fortunately, no fever, but she's treating him for pneumonia. He gets a chest x-ray tomorrow.



I got sick, too. I'm the mommy and that doesn't matter. Mommies aren't allowed to get sick and if they do, pretty much no one notices. If it lingers for awhile, the house gets dirtier. They may notice that the toliet is dirty, there are toothpaste stains on the mirror and all the silverware and the dishes are in the dishwasher and there is a funny smell coming from it. That's how they know that I'm sick. I am much better now though...no one noticed that either.

Because of all this, the Smooshy Fruit Loop socks are taking me a long time. So much so that it's been a week and I am just finishing up the gusset decreases today. Maybe, it's more than a week. They noticed that I was sick. They don't get knit as quickly and they have to hang out in the basket wondering if they'll ever have toes. Plus, I didn't take another picture of them. Not even an eye candy Friday picture was taken this week. Not even a knit night picture. I got plenny a nuttin'. Ok, you twisted my arm. I'll post an Eye Candy picture now. Belated but a photo nonetheless.

Another lily has bloomed!

This one is white. (duh!) I like my flowers . We'll be enjoying these pictures come the long dark days of February so I matters well post them now.

Let's see what this August 5 holds. Nothing is as exciting as when I was younger. Life, it kinda slows down. I used to think it was great to run around and see Elton John, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen. Nowadays, bravo for life's little miracles. For example, I was really excited the other day when The Village Knitter got a nice shipment of Smooshy! I now have Giant Peach in my stash!

And, it wasn't even August 5th....

Smooshy Froot Loops!

What do we have here? Is this adorable or what? It's a new sock! I'm using my Smooshy sock yarn, Butter Peeps, size two needles and knitting away. I really love this yarn. It's the perfect width for socks. STR is lovely, albeit a bit thick and the socks aren't as comfy to wear. It is a dream to work with. However, I really don't like all the striping or pooling. This is more of a mottled effect. The yarn is very different than others, it's got smoosh to it. It doesn't split at all, it sails across the needles and the colors are beautiful. Gotta use my Gothic Rose next. I'm thinking that that might work for Bavarian Sock that I've been eyeing.....

Anyway, in other news. We had major thunderstorms roll through here yesterday. It was muggy and ugly and rolling thunder on and off throughout the day. My roof leaked. That's another story though...Plus, I think my wonderful little dog thinks that the hose to the pool is her play thing and she keeps putting holes in it, draining the water out lower than the filter. That's a real pain. We're not sure if its her (although we don't put it past her) because the holes are little pin holes neatly punched. She likes to tear things up, as she did to my Ruby Slippers sock, the louse. I don't think it's vandalism, so that rules that out. It may just be cheap plastic hoses. Hmmn...

I'm not feeling all that great. I have scratchy throat, cough, fatigue. I feel like the kids did last week. DS is still coughing and not 100% despite a five day course of antibiotics. DD is tougher and was only on the couch for two days. DH is sick. He feels terrible but is off working today because its my day 'off'. I get to clean the house and watch the kids today. Won't be too much knitting time until later in the evening. I don't think that I'll finish these socks in a week as I have for the past two pairs. Maybe...this pattern is a snap. We'll see. It's not that it's a race or anything. I just want to get my real Christmas Knitting projects underway.

Stay tuned for more tales of smooshy.