Mummies!

My most recent finished project!

Revenge of the Mummies(Ravelry link)

Cherry Tree Hill DK in Caramel Corn. This was a special at The Loopy Ewe and I wish I had gotten some more =/

In other news I have signed up for the third round of the No-More-Hum-Drum-Mittens Swap 3 and have been busily searching for a pattern to make my partner. I think I have settled on Anemoi Mittens (Ravelry link) in a variegated green and gray for the contrast color. I'm going to try to go for a color theme for my partner this go-round so we're going to have to find as many green knitting related items we can! I've already got an idea for a bag and stitch markers. I wonder what else I can come up with before November!

No More Hum-Drum Mittens Swap 3!

Ack! I'm late! I have been away for the weekend and didn't publish before I left! 40 lashes with a wet noodle for me!


How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Almost 4 years now. My brother got me a learn to knit kit for Christmas.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Intermediate. The only thing that scares me is steeking. Purposely cutting my knitting is frightening.

What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike? Favs are blues and purples. Anything but neons really.

Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns? Nothing in particular.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child? For me =)

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger? 7"

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point? 7.5"

What other things do you enjoy knitting? socks!

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum) knitpicks circulars

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make? fair isle steeked sweater

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with? not really sure

What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook? i sew bags and costumes

Besides yarn, do you collect anything? mostly just sock yarn. I used to collect frogs

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to? Yes and no allergies

Do you have any kids? Pets? 4(5 in October) year old girl and a Lab

What is your favorite part of Winter? the quiet and the snow

What is your least favorite part of Winter? the ickyness of melting snow and slush

Sock Madness!

After a lot of speculation from the participants on what day of the week pattern #2 would come out we were told 'maybe' it would come out on Tuesday (April 1). So banking on that idea I decided that Monday morning while C was in school it would be a good time to haul some of the extras she had amassed out of her room. After cleaning (read: tossing things in the trash) for about 45 minutes I came to see how much longer I had and there was an email from Carole and Hilary with the second pattern! Those tricksters played an early April Fool's joke on us all and sent the pattern a day ahead of time!

The pattern is completely reversible. Which means a garter stitch foot and heel. Not something I would normally pick to knit, but they turned out really nice and not terribly uncomfortable to walk on.
The yarn is Socks that Rock lightweight in Calico. They took from Monday to Thursday night to knit up. Unfortunately for me I didn't have as clear a schedule as I did with the first round, but I still made it in time to be one of the 20 finishers in my division.

Monkey Sock Swap FOUR!

Hooray! Rebecca has decided to run another round of the Monkey Sock Swap! This is a closed swap, so only those that have a good track record in other Monkey Sock Swap rounds are invited to join. I am so excited! I love love love this pattern and I really like shopping for monkey stuff (as does C. Every time we see something Monkey related in the store she says 'Mommy! You can get this for your Monkey Pal!' Here's to hoping we can still find some monkey items...)

Monkey Sock Swap Questionnaire
The Measurements
Shoe size: 8.5 US
Foot length in inches: 9.5"
Circumference: 8.25"

Yarn Preferences
What are your favorite colors? Anything but neons

What color clashes with your wardrobe? hahaha. assuming something clashes with jeans and a t-shirt?

Do you prefer solids or variegated yarns? no preference
What are your favorite brand sock yarns? Cherry Tree Hill, Dream In Color Smooshy, Claudia Handpainted, Gypsy Knits

Is there a new sock yarn you really would like to try? Wollmeise. I am never fast enough to score some in a sneak up or at Claudia's website =/

Cookie A. Patterns
List the patterns you do not have but would like to receive: Marlinda, Mingus

Allergies
Do you have any allergies that your pal needs to know about? (animals, fiber, sensitivity to smoke etc.) peanuts make me itchy, but peanut butter does not.

Will you knitting be exposed to animals? yes. I have a yellow lab

Will you knitting be exposed to cigarette smoke?nope

Shipping
What country do you live in? USA

Are you willing to ship outside your country? sure

Knock knock

I am rather crap at updating this thing. My knitting gets updated at Ravelry mostly, and I forget to post here. I guess we'll start with the most recent and work our way backwards? Easier on my memory that way. First up is my Zombie Socks from Sock Madness. I started about 10 minutes after the pattern was mailed to us and finished up sock #1 at 11pm that night. Sock 2 took a bit longer, we left for Disney the next morning. I was able to do the cuff on the plane and knit a bit here and there while at the hotel and when having a rest at the parks. Finished sock #2 on Sunday morning. For some reason the internet at our hotel didn't want to work properly (even after computer geek husband spoke on the phone to computer geek technical support) so I wasn't able to send my picture until Monday afternoon while waiting for our plane at the airport. Luckily I was in time!



I also owe a great big thanks to Cheryl W. She was my upstream in the Sock It To Me Twice Swap and woo boy was I spoiled!


My daughter has taken the basket, bookmark, and the necklaces (not pictured) as her own. I managed to keep most of the chocolate for myself (after hiding it from her and the husband) and the knitting bags have yarn in them so she won't steal those for her treasures. I love love love everything in the package. It was like Christmas, never ending red presents to open.



I also made a pair of the Master Coriolis socks from Cat Bordhi's new book. Coolest construction ever. They're a bit big because they weren't for me =( I made them for a swap with a lovely lady on Ravelry. I'll knit her socks and she'll send me hand dyed yarn. Sounds like a great deal to me! Her socks have made it across the pond to her and they fit (yay!) so now we're in the plotting stages of the next pair.

I need to get a picture, but I am about 3/4 of the way done with my Ruby Greenjeans sweater! The body and left sleeve are finished! Usually I'll get the back halfway done, lose interest and put it down. When I go to pick it back up again I don't remember where I was and what was happening to riiiiiiiiip it goes. This is why I have a Rogue that only needs one sleeve in my closet. That poor sweater. It was my third or fourth knitting project (I guess I don't start small. Scarf, sock, sweater) and looking at it now I can tell it was my third or fourth knitting project. I want to rip it out, but all it needs is a sleeve and it'll be done. I dunno. I guess it can sit in the closet for a little while longer. Got to keep the momentum going for this sweater. Otherwise I'll have everything but 1 sleeve done. At least my Rogue will have some company?

Been awhile...

The month of January brought us various colds and viruses and general ick. I think we're all out of the woods for the time being. But you never know when the next one will strike when the kid is in preschool and the husband takes the metro to work.

There has been knitting and a bit of finishing, but I can't post the finished bit because my SITM2 pal might find out who I am and figure out her other pair of socks ;) I need to finish up her package and get it out to her soon. Have to come up with some other stuff first. Any ideas?

In the midst of all the illness I received a lovely package from my Vintage Socks upstream, Lilith.



They are 'Gentleman's Sock in Lozenge Pattern' made with her own handpainted yarn. So pretty and soft! I have lost count of the number of times I have worn them and they still smell like the lavender she sent along with the package (I promise I have washed them after every wearing!)

Then at the beginning of this month I received an email with a link to a pattern called Ironwork Socks by Kelly Porpiglia from my SITM2 pal! The pattern is super pretty. I am going to have to find the perfect yarn to knit up.

Right now I'm working on two pairs of socks for the February Sockdown! Challenge on Ravelry. I'm doing Fawkes, in memory of Momma Monkey, and a secret pair for someone I'm going to do a swap with on Rav. I have finished the first of the Fawkes and cast on for the secret pair. I must say, Cat Bordhi is a genius.

5 Goals for 2008

Alright! My 5 goals for 2008 are

1 - Knit a sweater for me. I have started at least 5 sweaters in the past, but I always get bored and put it down and when I come back I don't remember where I was so to the frog pond it goes. This year I WILL knit a sweater for me!

2- Steeking. I am pretty terrified to cut my knitting. All that work could potentially unravel. ACK! Maybe the sweater for me will be stranded and then I'll steek it. Probably not. I think I'll start small with a doll sweater.

3 - This one is rather cliche, but I'm going to put it anyway. I need to lose at least 15lbs or I'm going to more than likely have to start on blood pressure medication. No thanks. The weight will come off. I've done it before. I just need to be healthier. So yeah, goal #3 is to be healthier and get more exercise.

4 - Go back to school. Even if it's for one class a week. I need to start planning on what I'm going to do once the kid in is full time school. I really don't want to go back to working the retail grind so I've gotta get some sort of certificate or summat. I have been bouncing back and forth between being an EMT and being a Nurse.

5 - Not spend money on silly things that won't get used and will end up in the giveaway pile or thrown out. That's a big waste. The husband and I are big impulse buyers and it wastes so much money. The goal this year is to pay off credit cards and start saving. I will go into a store with a list and stick to my list no matter what. When it comes to big ticket items (we're probably going to need a new TV soon and, of course, hubs wants to get a GIANT one) we will have to sit down and research and discuss for longer than a week before deciding to buy. I'm tired of looking at my bank account and thinking 'Where did all our money go?'. Time to fix that.

So there you go folks. JessN's 5 goals for 2008. Going to have to keep coming back to this list every month to remind myself of them and get going to getting them accomplished. I will leave you with a picture of my perfect Jaywalkers for my Sock It To Me Twice pal =) I'm going to have to mail them soon, otherwise they'll find their way to my feet and I'll have to make her something else. On the plus side, they're a bit too small so maybe I won't steal them...



I think I need to invest in a pair of sock blockers. I'll put it on the list!

I did it!

Re-cast on for sock #2 for the Vintage Sock Swap on Thursday and finished in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I really like the pattern (Child's French Sock). It knits up super fast and it's very easy to memorize. Now it's off to the post office for these fellows along with some other goodies for my pal.

I also managed to get a hold of the camera to take pictures of the Christmas yarn that the hubster got for me.
Cherry Tree Hill in Jewels and Gypsy Rose and Dream in Color Smooshy Sock in Ruby River. Soo in love with the Smooshy Sock.



These are the ones I got from The Sheeps Tale. Cherry Tree Hill Cherry Blossom, Wild Cherry, and Winterberry. Opal Neon somethingoranotherIdon'tremember.



And to round it all out I got some pretties from The Loopy Ewe. Cherry Tree Hill Sugar Maple (for Firestarter Socks) and the Claudia Handpainted in Sherbet is for my SITM2 pal. And that, my friends, is the last bit of yarn I'm allowed to order until at least Easter. I figured if I told myself 'No yarn for a year!' I would be stalking the Loopy Ewe for a sneakup or something very shortly. But 3 months is no big deal. If I can make it 3 months and I'm not on edge then I'll see if I can make it to my birthday.

Oh! In the mail on Saturday I got a package from Betty in Hawaii (Hi Betty!) with some beautiful blue multicolored millefiori glass bead stitch markers! My camera battery is currently dead so I can't take a picture, but they did come and they are super pretty and I can't wait to start using them. I guess I'd better get my heiney in gear and finish the last two sets for my pals to send out next week. Or maybe before the end of this week if I'm ambitious.

Haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

So sorry to my pals that have been trying to get to know me through my blog. December wasn't a very good month. Sick kid, sick me, doctors visits, hospital stay and now I can't drive a car or yawn, but I won't have gallbladder problems anymore!

Christmas was good though. Santa brought the kid an easel and fun stuff to go with it, she got some toys as well but I tried to keep it low key this year. She has a ton of toys as it is and is the only kid on both sides of the family so she is rather spoiled. The husband got his coveted PS3 and I got a Nintendo DS and some loverly sock yarn that the husband picked out all by his lonesome (I think I'll keep him).

I don't have pictures of the Christmas yarns (not sure where the camera is atm), but I do have a picture of the lovely things that my No-More-Hum-Drum Mittens swap pal, Melissa, sent me.



The new Cat Bordhi book, knitpicks harmony dpns and some beautiful pink Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I have no idea how she knew I wanted that book, knitter telepathy I guess. I can't wait to crack into that sucker and see what fun new things Cat Bordhi can teach me! I had been waiting for those needles too. Every time I went to order, they were out of stock. Melissa must have a quick clicky finger! I also finished my mittens for the swap. I did Matrix from the most recent Knitty and I think they turned out pretty well.




I wanted to keep them for myself >.> I need to work on stranding a bit more, but I think for beginning tries they don't look too bad. I figured out color dominance and holding both colors in one hand. I have also been knitting away on the socks for my SITM2 pal. I had been looking for orange yarn for my pals socks since I didn't have any in my stash (other than Halloween yarn and I wasn't too sure about that) so hubbo decided to stop off at the yarn store after work (woah! was my reaction too) and picked up a skein of Opal Rainforest 'Otto der Tanzer', which is the bird with blues and oranges and browns. I finished the first sock while in the hospital (kitchenered the toe while on morphine, that was a feat) and the second sock last night.



That's the best I can do picture-wise right now. They match up perfectly. I am so very happy with the way they turned out. I am a big fan of the Opal yarn now. I found The Sheeps Tale had some of theirs on sale for as low as $7.25 a skein. There went my 'knit from your stash' diet for 2008. I ended up with $55 worth of yarn in my cart (can't resist the siren song of Cherry Tree Hill) and the husband finished my order for me while I was getting the kid ready for bed (I think he wants something. He usually rolls his eyes at my yarnyness, but lately he has been supportive. Although he has been dropping hints and asides about needing new computer parts. I'll bet that's what this is about...)

I have been thinking about my knitting goals for 2008 and have decided that there are two things that I would really like to do. Start and finish a sweater for me, and try my hand at steeking. Not going to give myself a pile of resolutions or anything like that. I figure if I can knock out those two goals then I'll have had a pretty good year and anything else I learn will be icing on that cake. Mmm cake. For now I have to finish sock #2 for the Vintage Sock Swap and get that package ready to send out. Gotta get it done before Monday. Just can't get sidetracked by my Nintendo DS, the PS3 or my wee warlock on the Warcraft. Focus, Jess, focus!