Can't believe it's been so long...

Well, I finally checked my blog (I've been quite busy for several months) and noticed that I have not posted since March. Wow! So much to say and still no time.

I will attempt to upload the photos from my digital camera in the next few days so you can see what I've been up to (as well as tell you what's going on in my life outside of knitting)...

Thanks to Angel for reminding me about how long it's been since I've added anything. More to come real soon.

Finally... an update!

I haven't posted progress on my projects in a few weeks now, but I keep knitting. I take some time off occasionally to do other things... yanno, like cooking and laundry and other drudge stuff, but I always come back to my projects.

I'm almost done with my first pair of socks. I see now that if I had stuck to it consistently, I would have finished them during the Olympic challenge, but life got in the way. They were so intimidating in the beginning... I could not imagine working with five needles at one time, thinking I was too much of a spaz to have the coordination to do that, but I fooled myself. It's easier than I thought it would be and loads of fun. In any case, I've been trying them on Zoe periodically as I go along and guess what? They fit her like they were made for her! Ooops! They were. Hahaha.

I want to get right back to the sweater I was making her when I put that down for the knitting Olympics, and expect I'll be able to do that by the weekend. My sister's coming to visit (yea!) though, so I don't know how much time I'll spend knitting, unless I knit while we watch a couple of movies... hmmmm... sounds like a plan...

I'm considering taking my memory card to Walgreens just so I can post the pictures I took of my socks and the hugs and kisses sweater. Who knows when I'll unpack my stuff and find my cable for my camera... sigh...

Anyway, gotta run. Knitting calls and I have to leave to meet my Friday group.

Super Bowl Sunday...

Well, I'm not a daily poster yet but you never know when that may change. Not enough time on my hands to dedicate to writing when I could be knitting.

I hate football, though, so I'm having my own super bowl here. I'm knitting through the super bowl. I figure I'll flip the channel to ABC periodically to see if the game's still on or not and I'll start when the game starts and finish for the day when the game ends. Should get in a nice bit of knitting that way.

Friday I met with a few knitting peeps at our local Barnes and Noble. We've got a lovely little group of very friendly women and we meet periodically. It's a varying group but it's a great group. I would love it if we had the same people (plus some new ones) all the time because I'm finding that I LOVE to be with other women that knit (men are welcome too, but there don't seem to be any male knitters in this area). It's difficult though. Pesky things like jobs, housework etc., just seem to get in the way... Now if we could be paid for all the time we spend knitting, that would really be something.

Anyway, we are participating in the cast-on party coinciding with the winter Olympics and I'm looking really forward to it. Although I've been knitting on and off for over 40 years, I've never tackled socks before. I've been watching quite a few women making socks now and I've become intrigued by the whole process. I've decided that a pair of socks will be my project for the cast-on party. In preparation (and because I know how I am) I've been investigating the various sites out there that demonstrate the mechanics of making socks and I actually think I'm "getting it." I'm the type that has to be able to visualize and conceptualize before I can actually do something. The shocking thing (to me, anyway) is that after about four hours on these various sites this morning, I actually think I get it. I now understand heel turns, gussets, etc. and can't wait to start my socks. I think I'm really going to like this.

And, to top things off, I actually did my first EVER gauge swatch last night. I wanted to see if the gauge of the sock yarn would actually drive me crazy or not (I'm used to working with aran and other thick yarns). I'm into instant gratification when I knit and I thought it would take me eons to see any progress on the sock yarn... well, it took no time at all and my swatch worked right up into the gauge that it called for, so I was not only impressed, I was very happy about that.

For my first venture into socks, I'm going to be using Knit Picks "Dancing" with its interesting blues, brown, black, etc. I'll probably make this first pair for my daughter. Poor kid, the two sweaters I made for her recently are too big for her. Hopefully the socks will fit and she'll have something I've made for her that will fit.

We live in hope, ya know?

My hugs and kisses sweater...

Well, I finished my sweater and got many, many compliments on it, but I was seriously disappointed. First of all, I never designed something before and that, in itself, was a major challenge for me. Then I've got this body dysmorphic thing going on, where I see myself larger than I really am, so my sizing is off in my head. I made this sweater to fit an extra large man, when I should have opted for a medium, but I was fearful that it wouldn't fit, so I went full steam ahead with the wrong size and now, rather than rip it out, I gave it to my girlfriend's husband. I must say, it looks awesome on him.

I will have to take a picture and post it here so you can see how good it came out. I'm just disappointed that my very first design wound up being for someone else.

I'm now working on a GORGEOUS Rowan design for my daughter. I chose eight different colors for stripes, even though I had serious doubts about them working well together, but they are coming up beautifully and my daughter can't wait for me to finish it, so I'm working on it quite a bit.

My girlfriend (whose husband I gave my H&K sweater to) now wants me to make something for her, and for her dogs. I have to find a cute pattern for the dogs because they are beautiful animals and I would want to do them justice.

I just have to remember to pace myself. If I start too many things at once, I wind up not finishing anything at all. Very frustrating...

Just me...

 

Well, this is my first post to my new blog. I'm almost done with my sweater, one of my own design. Though I've been knitting for over 40 years, on and off, I've never had the nerve to create a sweater of my own before. I don't know if I'll be able to recreate it either, because I have not been the best about writing down the pattern as I go, but I'm trying.

I call it my "hugs and kisses" sweater. I've made it super long (about 30") and it's made from Lion's Thick and Quick (really chunky) yarn. It keeps my lap really warm while I'm knitting, so I expect it will keep me warm when I wear it. It's so thick, I don't think I'll be able to wear my coat over it.

Once I can figure out how to post a picture to the blog, I'll put up a picture of me, my daughter, and my projects.

Happy knitting to one and all. Thanks for checking me out.