Rock Chalk Shamrock

So I'm a bit behind, again.  So here is a post I wrote a while back;

On St. Patrick’s Day I’m allowed to break the work dress code and wear a green shirt.  Every year I wear a green shirt advertising that I’m a K-State fan.  I am not a K-State fan.  But since I live in Manhattan KS, home of the Kansas Wildcats, I don’t have many options when it comes to shopping for a good green t-shirt that isn't affiliated with KSU.  This year will be different.  This year my shirt will say “Rock Chalk Shamrock” with a big Jayhawk on it.  Yes, I am a KU fan.  Yes, I will be made fun of, people will look at me funny, tell me I live in the wrong city (um, hello, don’t you think I already know that?) but I will be happy. 

One of the ladies I work with was planning a trip to Lawrence Ks, to go shopping.  She wanted to know what size of shirt I wore so she could pick something up for me.  It worked out that the day she was going, I wasn't scheduled to work so we went together.   

First thing we did once we got to Lawrence was food.  Aladin's cafe is amazing.  Great hummus, amazing falafal, geens, and rice.  Baklava for dessert.  I left feeling like I'd gained 25 pounds.  P.S. they are also a Hookah bar.  We didn't try that part out though.

Then the t-shirt hunt begun.  On Mass street we went into a t-shirt shop where I found it.  My shamrock shirt.  Super happy and excited, I paid for my shirt.  We then decided to head across the street to the Yarn Barn.  I'd never been in The Barn just their website;  www.yarnbarn-ks.com   I spent way to much time in there, thankfully my coworker was just excited to see me so excited (she's a non-knitter but that my soon change).  

So now I have a shirt to wear on St. Patrick’s Day, a new small project bag to hold my wip socks (work in progress socks) and some really awesome hand painted blue fingering weight yarn from Mountain Colors.  I have no idea what I'll make with it but that's never been a problem!

Dear February Socks,

   

  I’m so sorry that you were not finished before the end of February.  I was really hoping that, with it being a leap year and all, that the extra day was all I would need to finish you before March poked its head around the corner.  But unfortunately, with my boss on vacation, my day job became really hectic.  Then, silly me, thinking that turning a heel would be to difficult to do while watching the super bowl, I started on the March socks.  I wanted to have some easy knitting while I cheered on the Patriots.  The pattern for March was so easy; I didn’t have to look at it all!  Next thing I know I’ve got several inches of March sock and only a leg of February socks finished.  With only two weeks to go, I was certain the foot portion would go fast, I wasn’t worried.  I even spent one of my days off knitting a dishcloth instead of working on you!  Which I have now paid for, many stitches over.  I should have known I wasn’t going to finish when my knitting friends started to comfort me with only a week to go.  On that extra day of February, I still didn’t work on you.  Instead I decided to plan out a shawl, started winding the yarn for it and swatching.  I’m so, so sorry for this horrible lapse in judgment.  Today is March 4^th and I’m still working on the foot of the first sock.  You have now become my “between projects” socks.  Though I will not change your name, you are still February socks to me.  You will get finished, I promise.  You are the most intricate and complicated pair of socks I’m planning on making, at the moment anyway.  You may not feel it right now, but after a year of sock knitting, you will be THE prized pair of socks out of the twelve.  So don’t feel bad as I set you aside so I can work on the March socks.  Don’t worry that you will be forgotten and left unfinished.  I will make it up to you by showing you off!  Sock wearers of the world will love and adore you. 

Please forgive me.

Your loving maker,

Sarah

Slumber Party

On Jan 10^th my niece turned six years old.  So I drove to the great city of Wichita Kansas to hang out with Emily (my niece), her mom and my mom.  My mom and sister are knitters. . . So we went to some yarn stores in celebration of Emily's birthday.  Emily, however, thinks knitting is boring.   Since we spent the day boring Emily, I spent the night doing what Emily wanted to do, a slumber-party.  Now, for those of you who don’t know, I’m almost 30, definitely on my way to adulthood.  I’m a bit over weight and my back doesn’t really like it when I sleep on a hard surface.  But I did it anyway.  Cuddled with a Disney princess blanket, I slept on her bedroom floor.  The next day I had the best coffee (thanks to my sister who works for Starbucks), which totally made up for my back ache.  That afternoon we had a party that included cake, presents and party favors.  Emily set out party horns, helicopter toys, and balloons, all color coded.  That night I drove back to Manhattan, and made it back in time for knit night.  Even though my back paid for the sleep over, I’m glad I got to spend so much time with Emily and my sister.  As a Christmas present to my sister, I told her that anytime she wanted, I would come up for a knitting lesson and maybe some thrift store shopping.  One of my sister’s many talents is finding great clothes at thrift stores.  Which leads me to my next topic, converting a sweater back to yarn.

Hello!!

Sorry for my silence!  I have had a lot going on and I haven't been doing a good job of keeping track of all the stuff that's happened since my last blog.  So here's a list of the things to come:

1. Sleep over for a 6 yr old

2. February socks

3. March socks @ the Super Bowl

3. unfinished February Socks

4. Returned a few sweaters back to their original state: yarn

5. Dishcloth knitting for a day.

Ok, that's it for now cause that's all I can remember. . . 

 

January/February Sock Progress

I've been quiet, I know. . .  Niece's 6th birthday party + Nasty cold + busy at work = no blogging.  My bad. But! I have come with good news!!!  

JANUARY SOCKS ARE DONE!! 

I finished them Jan 18th.  Ok, the ends are not sewn in yet and they haven't been blocked or photographed.  BUT the knitting is totally done.  Hubbiekins is happy to have a pair of kind-of-well-fitting socks for his weird feet.  Once I do have the finishing work done, I'll post pictures of the happy hubby wearing them.  

In the meantime, I started the February socks.  I'm glad I've started on them so early, there are a few things that make me feel a bit nervous about finishing them on time.  

1) it's a lace pattern 

2) they are on size ZERO needles, I've never used needles that small 

3) February is a shorter month (even though it's a leap year) 

4) I've been summed for Jury duty, Feb 23-May 23.  

Not sure if I should really worry about that last one.  I mean, I can knit while I wait at the court house, right?

Knitting in an Asteroid field

One of the many skills I had to learn in order to be the wife of a Lego fanatic was proper sticker placement.  I kinda already had this skill mastered due to my history with scrapbooking but, Legos are a bit different.  So the other night, between stickers, I worked on January’s socks.  I’m on sock number two.  I will not stress out over this sock until the 15^th.  Why? ‘Cause I started this pair of socks on Dec 18^th and I WILL FINISH THEM in less than a month!  I will start swatching for February’s socks soon. . . I will darn it!

But here are some pictures of the progress we’ve made

Sock number one just before I finished up the toe.

Millennium Falcon takes shape.

Luke and Vader battle my knitting needles in an alternate time vortex where they are on the same side.

Vader wanted a picture showing his "kill" &  Luke photo-bombed it.  Go Luke!

Negative Ease

So far I have made two pairs of socks using the book Sensational Knitted Socks.  I learned a lot of things while making that first pair.  Other then how to knit a sock, I learned about negative and positive ease and how/when to use one or the other.  The first pair of socks turned out to big.  I did all the things the book told me to do, I swear I did.  I measured my foot, swatched in the round several inches to get gauge, I even tried them on as they were being made.  But I decided that all was well, they would shrink in the wash.  Um, Hello? Earth to Sarah, you used SUPERWASH wool.  Key word here is SUPERWASH.  That ain't gunna shrink hunny bunny.  So now I have a pair of socks that I usually wear doubled up with store bought socks during the winter.  Nice, comfy, hand knit, and toasty warm.  These socks were made with a bit of positive ease.  The fabric covers the wearer but doesn't stretch, there is room to spare.
The second pair I made, I wised up.  I measured my foot again, this time subtracting a whole inch from the circumference of my foot so that the sock would be snug, the fabric would have to stretch.  These socks fit nicely.  These socks have negative ease.
January's socks have a good amount of negative ease and so far (he's had to try them on like three times already just today) they fit well.  I'll finish the toe up tonight and start on the second sock!  For tomorrow, I'm thinking Lord of the Rings marathon and I'll have the cuff and most of the leg of sock # 2 done.  YAY!!!