Phase 1 completed

The shorts are done. Two light and one dark blue(currently being worn along with Daddy's cowboy boots!) I love this easy pattern! I have the Baby and Toddlers books, too and love the simplicity and versatility. Now J can play more comfortably. I also cut out a T shirt for him, but that can wait until the dress shirts are done for T and B. That's what's in today's line-up. We'll see how much gets done. The best part is that all of this week's sewing is coming out of stash. My Mom sent me several different lots of fabric a few years back-it's nice to see some of it turning into clothes!

I had one very nice surprise yesterday while working in the yard-my Celeste Fig does have some fruit on it! I was sure that the hailstorm of a few weeks ago had stripped it bare, but no! Looking forward to those! Everything is coming along well-we have baby tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers. And my Alpine Strawberries have blossoms :~)

Turning the heel on Mom's sock...I hope to get the first one done by tomorrow!

I went to a Meeting!

For the first time in quite a while. We made these little oil holders...


And I got to see a new(to me) LYS-Yarns Forever. Lovely shop-arranged by color, for the most part. This very visual gal was entranced. You should have seen me with the Fleece Artist. I think I may have dreamed about the turquoise/blue colorway. But, alas, since I had no yarn money, I bought no yarn. The day will come, however!

Next week must be a Sewing Week. The kids need a few things so I have to tear myself away from the wheel and Mom's socks. I'm looking at 2-3 pairs of shorts, two shirts, and a dress. At least.

Socks-part two

I got a little jolt when I started Mom's 2nd pair of socks this afternoon. When I was in the LYS, the yarn on the left sang out to me that it would be perfect for Mom. I could swear that the color card showed a speckled appearance. I suspect it saw what a hurry I was in and knew I wouldn't stop to notice that the color repeats on the ball in my hand were far too long. So I had a bit of a surprise when instead of speckles, the toe striped.


This is SO unlike anything my Mom wears that I had to knuckle under and call her for a consult. (There went the surprise) Jolt #2? She loves stripes! Do tell?! Guess the yarn was right after all!



The Targhee blend skeins are dry. And so soft that they feel like chenille! 755 yds of velvety goodness. At 18 wpi I have enough for mittens and a lace scarf.

Two!

Saturday my baby turned TWO! He loved the cake and toys...hated the haircut.





His wails became so loud, Daddy intervened. I'll have to go back today and even it up a bit. He looks so much more grown up with his big boy cut!

I did some combing last week-which means I did some spinning, too. I finished some Easter Egg dyed wool (Corriedale? Romney? Dunno. I failed to mark the bag!) and another skein of Colonial top.

And I'm ready to skein up two bobbins of Targhee. Yes, I have loads more waiting but I have enough spun for some gloves or a scarf. The rest will have to be spun a little differently. In other words, I'll have to bite my lip and spin some novelty yarn because these two bobbins made it perfectly clear that there is no way on earth I am going to be able to manage otherwise. I fussed with the wool, picking out little bits here and there, and generally made spinning it a misery. Some neps still showed up in the final yarn and you know what-I adore it. Hope I like the rest of it just as well!

I intend to finish these today, too. I like them. Just thick enough to be warm and toasty. I didn't measure wpi, so I'm just guessing when I say somewhere between fingering and sport.

The short row heels would have been easier had the yarn been less fuzzy, but I managed and they look fine. I want to try these heels on her summer pair, too-then see how much I like them. So far, I like them well enough to keep them in the rotation, and I never thought I would stray away from heel flaps!

Changes

Sadly, my camera was left behind at a relative's house this weekend, so I have no pics of my progress-DRAT! But here's one of Sugar to liven up the post! She's getting better about the camera



Today in my knitting time I will begin the sleeve section on my FLAK

I will also begin the first repeat of Emma(Yes, I've only been "setting up" so far...)

I will turn the heels on Mom's socks (while attempting to learn a new heel-short row!) this after major frogging on Friday night. I had worked some decreases after the toe section(they seemed a bit loose) and the result was...less than pleasing. Wish I didn't make these little errors in judgment. I decided to leave them as they were. After all, her feet are not as narrow as mine anyway!

Even so, I am encouraged to be at a point of change on all my projects. Helps keep me going!

I also need to run (back) in to my LYS this afternoon to exchange a ball of Austermann step that I purchased there last Sat. I checked the colorway on the 'net to see what it looked like knitted up-was not impressed. SO, back it goes. I'll get Sockotta instead since they have an exchange only policy. Those will be Mom's summer socks since the handspun pair I'm knitting are heavier than I expected.

Turtle crossing

Progress on FLAK and Emma(couldn't forget that lovely!) is painfully slow. I've accomplished a whopping TEN rows on these two projects since my last post.
This is one reason.

New socks for my Mom. Somehow Mother's Day took me by surprise this year. I was sure I had way more time than I do. Obviously, they will be late, but they will be well received. Last time my Mom was here she wore the ones I gave her for Christmas two years back almost every day. They are her house socks, she said. She wears them with her inside shoes(Birk sandals, for the arch support, don'cha know?) They had holes. I could see her poor little toes forlornly peeking out. Begging for help. So, better late than never, I say. In my defense, I had no idea she liked them that much. These are from some of my first handspun-Coopworth, if my memory serves me correctly!

The other reason I am so slow, is that just now I am immersed in all things Wendy and have been learning some new techniques over at her page. The Figure 8 cast on(above) using her toe-up sock pattern, and cabling without a cable needle to name a few.(Very helpful for my FLAK knitting!) It makes for rather slow going at present, but I have hopes that all will come together in the fullness of time. Let's just hope that means before the week is out.

Proof positive that things aren't exactly jumping-even Sugar is konking out on me...

Next!

They are done! This is the Tap colorway (A thousand thanks to Jen for her computer tutorial on links) and it's on sale!!! I am resisting buying more and I'm still reminding myself that that's a good thing. It seemed bad when I saw the sale price and all the colorways, and then good when I looked into the storage closet and under the bed.
I am actually anxious to get back to the FLAK-not that I was bored with it or anything. Only problem is that with a big project other little projects try to jump in, they're so small, etc. -just like with these little socks. And then they hung around forever.
The Kitchener Curse is still upon me. Halfway through my futile attempts to graft the toe of the first sock, I remembered that last time I had realized that I am working them inside out. After that little lightbulb moment-things straightened out magically. Really, I have no earthly idea how it happened. So, the first half of the "grafted" sts are wonky and the last half are correct. Instead of seeing this as a ray of hope that I am released from the Curse, I gave up entirely and finished the other toe with a three needle bind off.

Downhill

I'm knitting the feet on C's socks. She has proclaimed them "SOOO Beautiful!" Dh saw them the other night as I was knitting, and said with wide eyes, "Wow. Those will match everything!" Heh, Heh. I feel guilty for abandoning my FLAK and FSKAL for the present, but with the kiddos, sewing, violin practice and trying to keep up with weeding(is that possible?) something had to go! When the socks are done, I'll get back into the swing of things, I hope!

I got my order from Doorposts in today-their Family Circles chart and the Service Opportunities chart. Love them both! I sent them back with Mark at lunch to have the SO one laminated. Then they are going on the wall in the kitchen next to our If-Then chart.