It's the Weekend!

Labor Day Weekend.  I can't believe it's here already.  It feels strange this year.  Maybe because it's the first time in 15 years that I'm not worrying about "back to school" shopping, school schedules, etc..  Nicole is in college and even though she still lives at home, most of the schooling is now her responsibility.  I didn't need to take her shopping for clothes. She went with her friends.  She made her schedule with her advisors.  She knows her way around campus. She's got it all figured out on her own.    I'm merely there to "guide" her a bit if she has a question.

I thought it would be depressing to have to step back and not be involved.  I have to say - I'm loving it.  I might even spend the weekend like the cat - sitting and enjoying myself.

Have a fun stress free weekend!

Yarn Along

It's Wednesday already?  Wow!  Time is a flying.  And so has the summer.  I can't wrap my head around the fact that it is Labor Day Weekend in a few days.  In some ways I'm ready.  I love the Fall and all that goes along with it.  I could hang onto summer for a little while longer though, ya know?

Onto some knitting.

I am moving right along on my Monster Kerfluffle socks.

I want to get them finished by Sunday so I can cast on some more Halloween socks.  Yeah - I have more Halloween themed yarn.  It's kind of frightening this Halloween/Orange thing that's going on lately.  But how cool are these stripes?

I conferred with my Instagram friends and decided on an afterthought heel for them.  That's another great thing about Instagram - you can get instant feedback on just about anything.

I cast on Sugared Violets. Right now we are at the stockinette stage.

The yarn is so soft and nice to work with.  It's Glissade from my friend Judy at Ball and Skein.  I'm anxious to get to the lace sections, as I'm reading on Ravelry that you need to pay attention.  Anxious meaning - I just want to get it over with.  After my last attempt at lace I'm a little "bleh" about it.  But this shawl is for a friends birthday in a couple of months so I have time.

Joining Ginny as always!

Kool Aid - It's Not Just A Drink

A few weeks ago I bought some plain white sock yarn from Knit Picks. 

I hadn't dyed any yarn in a while and I was getting the itch to do it.  I didn't feel like digging out all my dyes so I picked up some Kool Aide at the grocery store.  For some reason I have been into orange lately - don't ask me why.  The first thing (after tying a few extra strands of yarn around the skein for tangle-free security) was soak it in water and vinegar.

I only left it in there for about 30 minutes. Then I put it into a big glass jar along with a couple of packets of orange Kool Aide.

Then I put it on the deck to sit in the sun.

I wasn't sure how long it would take for the dye to soak in.  I know last time I had done this with acid dyes it took a couple of days.

However the next morning I found this.

Clear water!  Meaning all the color was soaked in (exhausted) and it was finished.  I rinsed it in cold water and soaked it in some Kookaburra Soak.  

And now we have orange yarn.  The color didn't take evenly (which is what I was hoping for) but that's OK. I wanted a "tonal" sort of look.  And that's what it should look like when it's knit up.  I'm planning on casting on another Brickless.  But first I have to get one of the other two shawls off my needles.  I seem to have a shawl and sock issue these days.  

Weekends

They go too fast

But we got lots done
There was dinner with friends
Another dinner with family
College goodbyes
A bit of de-cluttering
Yarn was dyed
New projects were started
A trip to the yarn store
Enjoying the perfect weather
A LOT of sneezing (allergies anybody?)
Watching the VMA's (what is up with Miley Cyrus?)
Preparing for the week ahead

How was your weekend?

Joining Amanda

Short Socks

When I knit socks for myself I usually make a short cuff.  I don't like the feel of a "tall" sock on my leg. Lately I have been looking at other peoples socks and I noticed a trend (probably because it's summer time) of even shorter cuffs.  So I gave it a try.

I thought I wouldn't like  how they felt, but surprisingly they are real comfy!  Now I wouldn't want to be wearing these in February, but for Spring and Fall they are perfect.

I used my Sock Bunny yarn from Kimberly.  You should check out her Etsy store.  She has some beautiful skeins on there!

I used my simple plain vanilla sock recipe with a 2x2 ribbing.  And the nice part about knitting "short" socks? I have enough yarn leftover to make another pair.

Brickless

A couple of weeks back I decided to join Diane at Knitabulls and Yarnivore for their Brickless KAL.  The main reason I jumped on the wagon was because I had some yarn in the stash that I thought would be perfect for the project.  I was partially right.

I really love this pattern and if you get the chance to knit it, definitely go for it.  It was easy enough to memorize and had enough variety to keep it interesting.  I used a variegated yarn which came out ok.

The yarn I used had so many colors it's hard to see the pattern.  And it was kinda hard to photograph.

I can say for sure that it will probably match most anything I would wear.

I tried it on briefly but it was way too hot to grab a photo.  I will definitely take more pictures when it gets cool enough to wear it.

Next time I knit this I will use a tonal instead of a variegated color yarn.  My plan is to dye some over the weekend out in the sun.  I'm thinking of an orange shade.

I know - I have a thing for orange lately.  I guess I'm looking forward to Halloween!

Yarn Along

I got a few finished projects but we are in need of a good photo shoot.  The weather looks like it will cooperate today so I may get to do one.  In the meantime, we always something on the needles.

Or, almost on the needles.

This is Monster Kerfluffle from Gnome Acres.  You don't even want to know the trouble I got into on that website.  There was more purchased, I promise.  But for now we are going to knit some simple socks out of this Kerfluffle.

It's all wound up and ready to go.  And it's living in  my Girl Cave Bag.

I mean seriously - how awesome is this bag?  It has owls, it has coordinating fabric on the inside, it's Halloween colors, it even has a cool button on the bottom with the website info.

And all of that makes me happy.

So what is making you happy on the needles these days?

Joining Ginny and the other awesome crafty peeps.

Weekending - Elaborated

So I mentioned that we went to a baseball game over the weekend.  We love to go see the Pawsox play. For those who don't live here, its the AAA Team for the Boston Red Sox.  And yes, it does kill this Yankee fan to cheer for the Red Sox, but hey, ya gotta go with what ya got.  We do try and go when they play the AAA Yankee team and then we cheer for them instead just to mix it up a bit.

We had awesome seats.

Second row near third base.  You have to be careful and pay attention to foul balls.  There were only a couple of near misses so it was all good.

And the seat on my left was reserved, of course.

Weekending

It was a busy weekend!

Saturday was spent at the Washington County Fair with the spinning guild
And I didn't take too many blog worthy pictures
I did take a couple on my way there
Above is the view from the Jamestown Bridge
It was a perfect boating day
Sunday we went to a Pawsox game
And of course there was some knitting
We visited some old friends and got to see all the kids before they all go away
to college next week
I'm still in denial that this is happening
Not that my daughter is leaving, but she is starting college and is no longer in high school
I got to finish and block Brickless
And if we are lucky I will get to take some good pictures tonight and show you tomorrow!

How was your weekend?

Fiber Revival

Earlier in the week I had mentioned that we went to Fiber Revival.   Carole had been talking about it for years, Wendy mentioned she was going this year, then Lisa said a bunch of girls from our spinning group were going.  It sounded like it was meant to be.  So off we went.  And I'm glad we did.  There were vendors and friends and spinning and knitting.  Fiber Heaven!  My plan was to buy some fiber to keep my going until November for the New England Fiber Festival when I can stock up again.

The weather was perfect.  I really should have taken some pictures.  I think I took one with my camera but the rest are iPhone shots.  I'm glad I at least did that.

There was a beer truck.  And all cheered when he pulled in.

I'm not a huge beer fan.  But I like the concept!  And it made the wheels happy.  See:

Sadly I left my wheel at home.  I love my Lendrum but it isn't super portable.  I brought my drop spindle and used that.  Until I bought this.

It's the Road Bug by Merlin Tree.  And I'm in love.

Now I had a Hitchhiker Wheel when they first came out around 2007.  It small and cute, but it was noisy. And it just wasn't a real "smooth" spin.  I sat in the Merlin Tree booth with Dave and Kathy and tried this little gem out.  And it was great.  So much better than my old one. There is even an option for a double treadle if you want.  I'm a single treadle girl myself.

So I spent my day spinning on it.

And now it lives with me.

Yarn Along

Makai is in time out again.  I don't know if it's the yarn but I'm not loving it right now.  I love the pattern, but I'm finding it a chore to work on lately and with so many other projects in my basket - I am knitting what makes me happy.

So it's back to Brickless. 

This I am enjoying.  And while I'm not sure I picked a great yarn to show off the stitches, it's fun to work on and I think it's going to be a great knit.  

I am hoping once it's blocked you will really be able to see how pretty it is.  I'm hoping the blocking happens this weekend.  That may be a bit ambitious on my part.

And it goes so nice with my owl project bag.  

I'm getting caught up on my knitting podcasts so I might actually read this weekend.  

Unless some new ones come out...

Joining Ginny.

10 On Tuesday

When I first read the prompt for today's 10 on Tuesday I didn't think I would participate.  It's summertime and I don't spend much time in the kitchen.  I guess I'm lucky because that's my husbands favorite room in the house as he does most of the cooking.  But I thought about it and had no problem coming up with suggestions.  So here's 10 Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

1.  My Panini Maker.  I love this.  It's great for making melted sandwiches and anything else you might want to grill and not go outside to do it.  When we used to go camping this always came with us.
2.  Kitchenaide Mixer.  I even have my grandmothers (it needs some repairs) but my mom bought us a new one a few years ago and we use it at Christmas especially for cookies.
3.  Ice Cream Maker.  Fun Gadget.  Don't use it too often but I still love the way the ice cream tastes.  Like nothing you will ever get in a store.
4.  Ice Shaver.  Summertime favorite.  Except my favorite flavor is Cotton Candy and it's hard to find now.
5.  Garlic Press.  Especially the one from Pampered Chef.
6.  Toaster Oven.  It may not be a gadget but I couldn't live without it.
7.  Apple Slicer.  My husband keeps wanting to throw this away but I will be using it next month when we go apple picking.  It's great to make applesauce especially.
8.  Crockpot.  Love it!
9.  Kuerig.  It's perfect for us because I don't always drink coffee but hubby does so he can make himself one cup.  And with the filter we bought he can use regular coffee which is cheaper than the k-cups.
10. Remote control meat thermometer.  OK - so this one isn't MY gadget, it's hubby's.  He can clip the thermometer to his belt while he has meat on the grill (or oven) and work in the yard or the basement.  He thinks he's so cool.

Well, that was easy.  Can't wait to see what everyone else likes in the kitchen.

Views From the Windshield

As I was looking through my pictures from the past weekend I  noticed a particular theme.  A lot of them were taken from my car.

I caught a pretty sunrise on our way home from CT on Saturday.

I snapped a couple of shots as we were driving in Boston Saturday for the Fiber Revival up in Newbury.

Going over the bridge in Boston.  We were grateful not to hit much traffic.  Going there OR coming back.

Coming down my street yesterday I noticed a sailboat race.  The sails were beautiful but it was hard to get close enough to get a good picture.

I grabbed another shot when I got home but it was still hard to see  how pretty they all were.

So how was your weekend?

A Couple of Days Away

Our best friends (did I mention I have been friends with my Bestie since we were 5 years old?) rent a house on Cape Cod every year.  They generously invite us to spend a couple days with them.  And so we did.

Being from NY I am not real familiar with the Cape.  I have been to P-town a couple of times, went to Falmouth several times, but every trip has been a quick one and I haven't been able to really see what it's all about.  It reminds me a lot of the Hamptons (minus the attitude) with all the small shops and beach towns. And that's just what we did - small shops and the beach!

There was a cute Farmers Market in Chatham that we loved.  We bought some hand made soap - for the dog.  It's supposed to be helpful with itching, and he has been a real scratcher lately!

Best chocolate cream pie ever at this place.  Oh - and Lindzer Tarts, in the shape of a shark.  Speaking of sharks, we loved the beach.

It started out a little overcast but it made for a great beach day.  And no - there were no sharks.  There were some seals (which I couldn't get a picture of) but the Harbor Patrol were right behind them searching for sharks and came up with nothing.  Apparently the sharks were at my beach yesterday instead.  And when you're at the beach there must be knitting.

And how could I knit on Makai while at the beach?

It was a great couple of days away and we already have next year's trip planned.

Yarn Along

So I frogged my Garter Path Shawl. It felt good!  A new project with new potential. I cast on Makai. And I didn't like it. I liked the pattern. But the yarn and pattern together was not working. So I frogged that too. I found another pattern for that yarn but I wanted to work on Makai since that was a timed mystery project.  So I bought some yarn. Shocking, I know. 

Since I'm posting this from my iPad (we are on the Cape for a couple of Vaca days) I'm not sure how its going to look. Blogger isn't the best app out there so sorry for the layout and no links. Here's my Makai progress so far. 

Joining Ginny as always on a Wednesday!

10 On Tuesday

These are rocks on the beach in St. John Canada from our trip earlier this summer.   I just loved how they looked and really - they have no significance in this weeks 10 on Tuesday.  But hey, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.

10 Ways To Describe Yourself in an Interview

1.  Creative
2.  Funny
3.  Thoughtful
4.  Friendly
5.  Generous
6.  Peaceful
7.  Different
8.  Positive
9.  Compassionate
10. Easy-going

No elaborating.

Try it.

It's not easy!

I just  hope others see me the same way.

Random Monday

There's so many thoughts running through my head this morning. So here ya go!

I'm a happy camper - the weather is so beautiful right now.  There is a breeze blowing and it feels like September.  I could deal with this weather every day.

I have two major projects I must finish at work.  I will be out a couple of days this week so that will add a challenge to it.  I'm up for it.

I need to bring Mowgli back to puppy class.  He has done real well but we are having a hard time with leash walking and him jumping on people when he first meets them.  Both issues need to be handled asap before he gets any bigger.  The vet says he's not going to get much bigger, but 35 lbs. of dog jumping on you still is unacceptable.

I need to organize my iPad a bit.  I have to get rid of some apps I don't use and learn how to utilize the ones that I do.

I finished spinning the pretty blue fiber I was working on.  I'll ply tonight hopefully and soak it.  This weather is perfect for drying yarn!

Have a great Monday!

Reverse Stockinette

In May I bought the most beautiful skein of yarn from Play at Life Fiber Arts at the RI Sheep and Wool Festival.

I fell in love with the colors, the gradient, the softness.  It was heaven.  I picked a shawl I liked and started knitting it.  And it went along well.

And then I realized my stitch count was off.  And the edging was going to be a real pain in the you-know-what to reconfigure.  But I knew I could do it.

But I just didn't want to.  The thought of it gave me hives.  I had no desire to knit it anymore.

So I could either leave it until I got the desire to work it all out.  Or I could rip it out and start again, or just start something else.

I decided to start something else. It's a mystery shawl by Mel at Single Handed Knits called Makai.  If you haven't watched Mel's podcast you MUST go watch.  She records on the beach in Kauai and it is heaven. It's like taking a little trip to Hawaii each week.  Anyway - today Part 1 is coming out and I'm excited to start it.

It made going from this

to this

a lot less painful.

If only knitting went as fast as ripping out.  It was kinda like "reverse stockinette" stitch.