On My Toes.

This week we have had some chillier weather which has been a nice change from the hot temperatures we have had this summer. With the cooler temps I had the urge to start knitting some more socks. My mom had me purchase some sock yarn for her to make her some knee socks, so this week I decided to start them.

The pattern my mom had picked out is from the The Joy of Sox. by Linda Kopp I have made a pair of socks from this book before which you can see in an earlier post. I have heard stories about how turning the heel is awful and that once you get the first sock done the second sits there and waits forever to get done. I must be different than most people because I found that I enjoyed the whole process of knitting a pair of socks. The turning of the heel was rather scary for me but I found that it was rather simple once I got started on it. Once I finished the first sock I couldn't wait to get started on the second one and I couldn't seem to put it down once I started knitting it! I finished the socks in no time at all and found myself disappointed that it was over already and I was looking forward to starting my next pair. Summer arrived before I knew it and it was to warm to knit with wool very comfortably. :)  So when the weather turned cooler I started moms socks! I think sock knitting is my favorite type of knitting if that can be possible! :) 

The pattern is called Afternoon Delight and the socks are knee socks and knitted from the toe up. This will be my first time knitting socks from the toe up ( not a huge surprise since this is only my second pair of socks that I have knitted.) I had several different toe up cast ons that the book suggested and i finally settled on the Turkish cast on. I managed to muddle my way through it and figured it out on the first try with one small snag I casted on to many stitches! Much to my dismay I found myself tearing it out and trying again the next 3 tries were somewhat successful but I kept dropping stitches finally on the 5th attempt I managed to complete the Turkish cast on successfully! I was very happy that I managed to complete it without googling a video of how to do it!! :) I have been working on them for 4 days now and I am very happy with my progress. I have completed the toe increase and I am working on the length of the foot to start the turning of the heel. I cannot wait to show you all my progress as soon as I have time to sit down and snap some pictures. 

Hope you all are doing well and having a lovely end to your summer. :) 

Recent projects

Here are the promised pictures!

This is my new roving its called Snow Leopard.

I am spinning it very thin once it is plied it should be some where between a lace weight and a fingering weight yarn.

Here is the merino silk that I spun up for my mom.

I have over 800 yrds of this lovely fingering weight yarn.

It has such a lovely shine to it from the silk.

Here is a close up of the yarn. Isn't it lovely?

And here is the other half of my merino that I hand painted last year.

This is the alpaca I have been working on for my Grandma.

Doesn't it have a lovely halo to it???

This is a lovely 2 ply lace weight.

Here they all are in a group.

Aren't they lovely??

Now I thought you would like a glimpse at some of my future spinning projects. These are some roving's that I bought at a recent fiber festival.

This is some lovely jet black suri alpaca.

It is just over 4oz



This is some lovely merino bamboo.

It is 4.2 oz and my mom bought it for me to spin up for her. :)

Well that's all I have for now.I hope you enjoyed the pictures and that you are enjoying you summer! :)

Goodness!! I cannot believe how long it has been since I last blogged!!  I'm sure you were all wondering if I had stopped blogging! Life has been busy since the beginning of the summer it seems like as soon as summer hits every spare moment is taken up. 

I have been busy working quite a bit the past few months the baby I watch is growing fast and keeps me on my toes. I love watching him he is such a joy to watch learn and grow!

I have been knitting and spinning on my days off and while the baby sleeps I just haven't taken any pictures of what I have done yet. :)

I finished my Cozy Cocoon Shrug that I started in April. I loved knitting it up it was very interesting switching between worsted and lace weight yarns. I got a little confused when it came to knitting the collar and sleeves but I figured it out with some help from my mom and Grandma. :)  My grandma lives quite aways away from me and we don't get to see each other very often.  She was able to come for a visit in May and I enjoyed her visit very much. :) I am working on spinning some white alpaca yarn to make her a shawl/shrug pattern that she fell in love with on her last visit. I just finished spinning and plying the first skein it is a lovely lace weight yarn, it is very soft and has a nice halo. I cannot wait to begin working the pattern with it! The pattern is a interlock pattern which will be a new experience for me but I am looking forward to the challenge.

I had a friend over this past week and she helped me set the twist on 4 skeins of yarn and 1 skein of her own yarn. Two skeins were the merino silk that I spun up for my mom I was quite happy with the outcome I got over 800 yrds and it is a lovely lace/ fingering weight yarn. Mom hasn't decided what to have me make with it yet so for now I will just enjoy looking at it as it sits in a basket on my hope chest waiting to be knitted.

The other yarns that we set the twist on was the alpaca and the last half of my green and teal merino.
I think I would like to make a cowl for this winter out of my merino it is more of a thick and thin weight but i love the character of the overall look of the yarn. :)


Recently I was able to go to a fiber festival and I bought some more merino silk roving the color is called Snow Leopard it is a mixture of black,brown,and white. I started spinning it up almost immediately and I am loving how it looks! I will try and get pictures this week as I will have a day or two off work. :)  I also was able to purchase some jet black alpaca roving that is sitting in my bedroom looking lovely as I decided what to do with it. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!!! I have 4 ounces that I can spin up into any weight so I look forward to your ideas to what to make!  My mom also went with me to the fiber festival and purchased some beautiful navy blue/white merino bamboo roving which I haven't started spinning yet but I am so looking forward to spinning it as I have yet to work with bamboo. 


Well I think thats all for now!! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your summer!

Glimpses of spring, and a pictures of my most recent projects.

Hello again!!!

Time seems to have gotten away from me! I cant believe it has been almost a month or a little longer since I last blogged!! I have been busy working and knitting and spinning!

Spring is blossoming all around us right now and I love seeing all the plants and trees come to life after laying dormant all winter. Its fun to wake up in the morning to the sounds of birds happily chirping away as the set about making their nests. I love waking up in the morning in the spring with my window open and the fresh air blowing in. Recently our weather has turned a bit cooler than it had been we had a week of 80 degree weather so now 50s and 60s feel a bit chilly. :) But it is still lovely weather for April!! :) :)

Here are some pictures I snapped today after I was done mowing the lawn. :)

This is a purple sand cherry.

Pink daffodil

This one just started opening today.

Such a bright cheerful shade of yellow!!!

The sky is a very bright blue today. :)

These tulips are purple but they aren't quite ready to bloom yet.

I also thought that you might want to see the projects that I am currently working on and the ones that I have finished in the past few months.

I have not had as much time for knitting as I would like but I still have managed to get quite a bit squeezed in. I finished my socks I was working on as well and a pair of mitts and a pair of leg warmers.

I recently started knitting another juneberry triangle this one is for my mom. It is in a lovely shade of gray with tan undertones the yarn is a merino cashmere blend that purchased from knitpicks. I am almost done with chart B but I still have 2 more charts before the body of the shawl is complete and then there is a edging chart. It is a beautiful shawl and I really enjoy knitting the pattern.
I have also started knitting one of the kits that I received for Christmas. It is called the Cozy Cacoon Shrug the yarn color for the kit I have is purple. I am loving the pattern so far although it is a little different switching between a worsted weight yarn and a lace weight yarn.

Well here are pictures of all my projects that I mentioned and an updated picture of my counted cross stitch that I have been working on.

On the spinning front I have plied all of my merino that is in the green and blue teal color way. I am almost done plying the last of the  merino silk blend that I am spinning up for my  mom it is going to be a lovely lace weight yarn when I am done plying it. I will be sure to take pictures of them when I have taken them off the spindles and put them into skanes.

Well that's all for now hope you all have a Blessed Easter!!!

Hello again!

Sorry I have been so remiss in blogging lately. I started a full time Nanny position last fall and it is keeping very busy, but I am enjoying taking care of the baby. :)

I have been busy finishing up projects that I have started and left off to knit on new things. Some of the things I have finished are the leg warmers I was knitting for my mom and I also finished my sweet fern mitts. :)

I recently started and finished knitting my first pair of socks. I was very excited about knitting my first pair of socks, I started them and couldn't seem to put them down!!! I finished the first sock in about a week and then I left off on the other on for a bit but it didn't take me long to start and finish it. This was my first time wearing hand knit socks and it was extra special with the fact that I had made them!! :)

I also have been working away on my cross stitch I am now on the last page and I have the first three pages back stitched. It is looking quite lovely and I am thinking of adding a verse to the top of it once I have finished it. I am planning on framing my cross stitch when I am done with it and hanging it somewhere in our house. :) My family is looking forward to seeing it finished.

I don't have any pictures uploaded yet because the batteries in the camera are currently charging, but when the batteries are finished charging I will upload pictures to the bottom of this post.

I have also finished spinning the black merino silk that I bought last may. I took a break from spinning it to work on spinning some thicker yarns. I started spinning it again this week and it didn't take me long to finish it up. :) I am looking forward to plying it and seeing what the weight and yardage is. :) :) I also have finished spinning and plying the green, blue, and teal merino wool that I hand dyed. the colors aren't quite as vibrant as I would have liked but all in all I am happy with the end product. It is all plied and I just need to set the twist.

I have been enjoying the past few days of warm spring weather. I am looking forward to when its warm enough to take the baby out in the stroller for walks. :) I love fresh air and I am looking forward to when it is warm enough to go out and weed in the garden and get the spring cleaning done in the flower beds.

I am waiting for a recent yarn order to arrive so I can knit up 2 pairs of mitts that a lady ordered from me and I also ordered some more yarn to make myself another juneberry shawl! :) I have started a juneberry  shawl for my mom that is made with a cashmere, merino wool blend. I have finished chart a and I am blazing through chart b. It is such a fun pattern to knit and now that I have made it once already I find that I can sit back and enjoy knitting it more now that I don't have to concentrate so much on making sure I know what all the symbols mean. :) I cannot wait to knit myself another juneberry shawl.

I have the yarn to make myself 3 more pairs of socks and a pair of beaded knee socks for my mom. I cannot wait to start on the beaded knee socks. I have not done a pattern with beads in it yet so it will be a fun experience for me.

Well that's all I have for now I will make sure to add pictures soon.

Hello!!

How have you all been?  I have been busy busy of late, but I thought I would give a quick update on what I have been working on and I will hopefully be adding pictures to the end of this post soon. :)

 With all the holidays and working everyday I haven't been able to blog or take picture of my projects but I can still tell you about them. :)

I have been knitting up some leg warmers for my mom its a simple rib pattern that is easy to sit and knit while sitting and watching a movie or visiting in the evenings. :) I have the first one finished and I am now working on the second. They are knitted with yarn from Knitpicks called tide pool heather which is now discontinued. I have 4 balls of this color and so far I have only used 1 so it looks as if I will have some yarn left over. :)

I have also been working on knitting up my first sock! :) So far I love knitting a sock. Of course I didn't start with a simple sock to start me out I decide to start with a lace sock. :) I have turned the heel and I am now working on the instep. The sock I am knitting is called Blue Crush for The Joy of Sox by Linda Kopp. I am enjoying knitting this pattern it is a nice lace design and I have been doing quite a bit of lace knitting lately. After knitting up the Juneberry shawl I feel like I can do just about any thing in the lace department. :)  I ran into a mental road block when it came to turning the heel but the problem ended up being as simple as me over thinking the directions. :) Some times I have to sit back and not think about what the instructions say and then the light downs and I know what I'm supposed to do and I start back into my knitting. :)

My counted cross stitch is coming along nicely I have started on the third page once I finish that I will only have one page left!! :)

Well I hope you enjoyed my little update!  Happy knitting!!

Giveaway winner!!!

Congratulations insaneelaine you are the winner!!!

Thanks to all of you who participated in my giveaway I wish everyone could be a winner! :)
I am looking forward to hearing how the winner likes their cowl. :)