Sunday

SUNDAY

SUNSHINE

70's

SUN TEA

SOCKS ON CIRCS

SEE YA!

FO: Socks and Washing

Here is the finished pair. I posted them as my September socks on SAM4 . I did a 2 x 2 ribbing cuff with the leg as follows: 2 rows K, alternate with 2 rows of K2 P2. It is fun and simple and looks great with striped yarn. Sorry, I didn't keep the ballband but I believe it is Online yarn.

I love handknit socks. Once you try a pair, you are hooked! It's fun to see that my children automatically reach for their handknit socks when they want to feel cozy. I often see them wear them when they are "under the weather" or when they are tired and/or when it's chilly. The only time I am not enamored with the kids wearing their handknit socks is when they are playing basketball in the driveway without shoes. :-) They will reach for handknit socks before regular socks. They love them and have even worn them when they've outgrown them! They stretch them to fit. My daughter used to call her socks, "Mommy's Hugs" when she was tiny. I'd like to think that they can feel the love that went into them. Added note: when my kids were little, having them pick their own sock yarn at the LYS allowed me a bit more time to shop! Haha. There is always a method to my madness. :-D

My husband, on the other hand, has not been coerced into trying handknit socks yet. He thinks they will be way too hot since they are made of wool. The kids and I keep telling him that they "breathe" and feel wonderful on. At first I was frustrated that he didn't want me to knit him a pair. He said that if I did, he would not try them on. However, maybe it is a blessing in disguise. He wears a size 13 shoe. I'd be knitting forever! With my kids' feet getting bigger all the time, (my 11 year old son's are bigger than mine not to mention he is now 2" taller than me), I have plenty of socks to knit.

I've heard people say that they wouldn't want to have to wash them by hand. Ever since the kids were small, I put a plastic tote with a hand drawn picture of knitting and socks, on the dryer. They know that their socks go in there and not in the regular laundry. Then when I get a whole bunch, I wash them in the tub sink in the laundry room with a squirt of Dawn and spin them in the spin cycle of the washer. Then I lay them flat to dry on towels either on the deck if it is a nice day or on the floor by the heating vent. It really does not take long to wash them by hand at all. You could put them through the washer and even the dryer depending on the yarn content, but I think they get "nubby" faster. I like the look of them when they are handwashed.

FO: My First Lace Shawl

Charlotte's Web Shawl is finished! It took 5 skeins of Koigu in 5 different colorways ranging from yellow golds/olive greens/corals/golden browns and blues. I'm sorry I didn't save the ball bands so I cannot share the exact dye lot #'s. (The colors are much more rich and vibrant in person.) I blocked this shawl to be about 70" in width and 36" in length.

I had wanted to make this shawl the minute I first saw it but it took awhile until I could find the right combo of colors. One day last fall I made a trip to Needles n Pins . It was a dreary rainy cold day and I needed a little drive cross country to avoid climbing the walls. I had nothing in mind only a small getaway before picking up the kids from school. It was serendipity that a new Koigu shipment had recently arrived. Anyway, I sat down on the floor ( I am known to do that) and played with color combo's until I found just the "right" one for me. I had waited so long to get the right combo and as I layed the skeins out on the floor, the funniest thing happened. The sun broke thru the clouds for a moment and everyone in the shop commented on it. A sign?...it was really funny! My whole day was brightened by the new yarn combo and the thought of making this shawl.

I've had it on the needles for awhile and packed in a box to move to IN. I wanted to finish it but I was stuck on the edging. I didn't want to do the fringe. I'm not really a fringe person and I didn't care for the crochet edging all by itself. I wanted something simple. So when I got it out again recently to finish, I did a search online to look at examples and I found a beautiful example on Knitting Wench's blog . She simplified the shawl by doing a YO edging. I loved it; thank you so much for the inspiration! Aren't blogs wonderful?

So here she is in all her autumn color glory just in time for Autumnal Equinox! I really enjoyed knititng this shawl. It was a wonderful project for my first lace shawl.

Spa Day for Knits

My Charlotte's Web Shawl had a spa get away in SOAK (Aqua fragrance, I believe). I really like the scent. It is fresh and makes the house smell good, not at all like wet wool. Plus it leaves the yarn so silky soft afterwards.

Then Charlotte got blocked today. I pinned and pinned and didn't realize how long it took but I'm glad she's drying. I told you I'd show her before the official first day of Autumn and believe it or not, that is this Sunday. Time goes way too fast!

Other items that were washed today (but with a spritz of Dawn) were the kids' knit socks and some of my own. I finished the purple turquoise pair that was featured in a previous post. We've had a bout of cold nights last week in the upper 30's and lower 40's so I am just getting ready for when it decides to stay awhile. I hope it is not too soon. I'm enjoying our seasonable weather this week of 80's during the days and 60's at night.

Swatch This: Sneak Peek

It has been about a week and the little guy on Friday the 14th's post (let's name him Al) has been working along slowly but surely. Maybe he should be a turtle instead of a walrus. :-D The swatch is now 12" x 34 1/2" all garter stitch. Any clues yet as to what it is? Knitting Today's ladies cannot guess since they already know from last Friday's sit and knit.

It's coming along...not only the project but Mother Nature's project as well!

Enjoy your day!

FOF Syndrome

Looks like a fallen leaf, doesn't it? Since fall is quickly approaching, I need to get this finished.

I had a quilting friend named, Bev, who said she could never finish anything. We laughed and said she had FOF (Fear of Finishing). I know that I have ADD and Startitis when it comes to projects. I am like a kid in a candy store. I get so caught up in the excitement of new colors, new textures, new patterns, new techniques, that I always have umpteen projects going at once. I never worry about getting them finished. I love the process and I know that each will get finished in its own time.

This picture shows the state of the shawl when I unearthed it from a box in my new home. It was still on the needles. I finished the knitting this summer. Now all that remains is the darning in of ends and the blocking. Problem??? This is the first lace shawl that I've knitted and I've never blocked before.

So I am making the commitment right now to just jump in and block this baby sometime this week so that the finished photo can be posted on this blog for the official start of Autumn. Deal? Stay tuned.

Swatch This

Doesn't he just look blissful knitting a swatch? Yes, I do have something new on the needles, something that will come in handy as this taste of cooler weather stays. You'll have to stay tuned to watch it grow and get the details. Although I am not a fast knitter and although I have many WIP's that I keep inching away on, I think this one will grow quickly. I'm looking forward to wearing it this fall.

I am also working on my Noro Rambling Rows afghan. I have about 18 more blocks to go and then the border. I hope to finish soon. I'm looking forward to snuggling under it! Seeing that it is almost the middle of September, (how in the heck did that happen?) I need to crank out a pair of socks for the Sock A Month. And then there is a wonderful sweater idea that was implanted in my brain when I went to my LYS today...mmm...I need to learn how not to sleep. Just imagine, getting all of my work done during the day and having 8 hours of peace and quiet to knit, spin and create at night with no interruptions. What a dreamer! In the meantime, be patient as I give you little teasers, I'm knitting as fast as I can. Progress pictures soon!

Just for Fun

Thanks to Beth, at www.threesheeps.blogspot.com , I got a good laugh the other day when I needed one.

Did you ever want to be acknowledged for what you do? Well, now you can! You can become dubbed with a peculiar and eccentric British aristocratic title. Gee...with this, you'd think that my laundry and dishes would do themselves, my house would self clean and my children would bow and curtsy! :-)

Lesson for the day...don't take yourself too seriously; laugh and have fun!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Exalted Highness Duchess Lee the Cosmopolitan of Buzzing St Helens Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

About the only thing that is buzzing around here is my wee brain trying to remember all the things that need to be done today.

Have a great day and enjoy!

PS. A quick apology for those who read my 9/11 entry. I have NO idea why it didn't save the spacing that I had which would have made it tons easier to read. Maybe I should make better use of the "Preview" button. :-) Oh well, I'm still learning. Back to knitting, which I will post soon!

I REMEMBER...

It was an ordinary back to school day... drop my 3 year old off to 2 hour preschool and my 5 year old to half day kindergarten...go to the grocery store...and then hear the news...

...worrying about a husband who was stranded in Las Vegas for business for about a week when everything shut down after the attack...no planes, no rental cars, no bus, no train...nothing...

....hearing that Las Vegas was a suspected target after having my husband's first flight out being grounded in Arizona with US Federal Marshalls "escorting" unknown person off the plane...

...reading online how our kind Canadian neighbors were helping our people whose planes were grounded...and realizing that we are a small world...and love and kindess do exist...and we are much more alike in this world, as people, than we are different.

...holding my babies on my lap that evening while I watched our government, gathered on television in Washington DC, singing "God Bless America"...With tears streaming down my face, my 3 year old daughter reached up, touched me and said, "Don't cry, Mama...that's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Will you teach it to me?"...and so I did right then and there and listened to countless renditions of it over the next few months as one delighted 3 year old sang "God Bless Our 'Merica".

...feeling for the first time in my life a STRONG feeling of patriotism as I hung the flag and burned candle vigils in the driveway at night...and my heart lightened knowing I was not alone when flags were EVERYWHERE...barns, silos, cars...it was breathtaking!

...hooking a rug when my 5 year old son was awed by all the flags and drew one of his own...where he drew outside the lines, I hooked outside the lines and I copied it exactly as he had drawn it...When he saw it finished, he said, "OhMama, you weren't supposed to put in the parts I couldn't do right" and I replied "Honey, that's the part I love the best." ... it was a great moment for remembering that no one is perfect, we might not always be able to do it right, but it is important to do things with all your heart.

Take a moment today to reflect, remember, and reach out to show others you care.

GOD BLESS AMERICA and the world...

Starting With Socks

Hello,

No pictures today. I just wanted to give you a little background information about me. I have always loved fiber arts, texture, color, the amazing act of making something from nothing, etc. I learned to knit about age 9 from my mother but I don't have a specific recollection of it, only that I knit little bitty garter stitch Barbie scarves and that was the end of that. That was the same age as when I , with the help of my ingenious and talented mother, learned how to sew a dress for my Raggedy Ann doll. And yes, Mom, it had to be the yellow fabric with blue flowers on it! You have been recently "gifted" with that doll and said dress.

As a youngster, I tried crewel, needlepoint and counted cross stitch. I taught myself to crochet and made afghans as big as a tent! Don't laugh, Mom! You probably still have that one super duper monstrosity! Haha. But hey, I got better and won an honorable mention in Women's Day Magazine for my design when I was 19. I still have my prize, a full set of Bernat crochet hooks.

As I entered high school, I was enamored with quilts. Not knowing anyone who quilted at that time, I read everything I could and I taught myself handpiecing and handquilting. Quilting kept me busy up until the past decade or so. I even taught quilting classes for awhile when I was pregnant with my daughter (now 9).

While I was teaching at a quilting class, I met a lady who made hand hooked rugs. Well, that new passion ruled my life for awhile. I was fortunate to learn from a lady in her 9th decade of life and she was a wonderful mentor. Thanks so much, Alberta! I was also very fortunate to learn from several gifted teachers from across the country including Joyce Krueger, whom I will always be gratetful. They truly inspired me and I learned to express myself with dyeing wool fabric for hooked rugs. I even did a few commission pieces between chasing toddlers and changing diapers.

Then I happened to stumble across the book, "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook" by Lynne Vogel. It totally changed my life. I looked at the colors and the fiber and KNEW just KNEW that this was a new medium for my dyeing. I needed to learn to knit and spin... NOW!! Being a stay at home mom with two small children, and knowing that as they grew, I needed something "portable" to do, my rugs and quilts were put away to make way for this new phase of fiber arts.

I discovered Needles and Pins yarn shop in Delavan WI and signed up immediately for a sock class. Doreen Marquart, the owner (and now author), was wonderful in helping this "crazy lady" who was a beginner knitter learn to knit socks. She explained that knitters don't start with socks. I was not deterred. I was on a mission! I figure, if I want it badly enough, I'll figure out how to do it! And so it began... Thanks, Doreen, I've loved the time we've spent together and with Kim. Then I was fortunate enough to meet, Lisa, www.sheepeez.blogspot.com who welcomed me into her home and her life. I was enamored with her sheep, the shearing and the spinning process and purchased my first wheel from her. I was off and running which later included being a part of her knitting group and making great friends with creative souls, starting the quest of fiber festivals and even dyeing fiber for Wee Croft Finn Sheep for awhile. Wee Croft is owned by the wonderful Sandy DeMaster. We were thrilled when my dyed fiber was chosen one year to be used in a class for the Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison, WI.

So where does that leave me now? I am currently living in a new state since the first of the year. We moved from Southeast WI to Northeast IN. I am doing some production spinning to help feed my "fiber addiction". I am enjoying time with my family; a wonderful husband, a daughter (9), a son (11), a rough coat Collie named Simba (he's not embarrassed to have his name on my blog), two cats, Tigger and Jaguar and my daughter's hamster (who likes to remain anonymous...haha). I am trying to convince my much missed WI neighbor, friend, and creative knitter extraordinaire, Judy, to blog so I can keep up with her "works of art". I am slowly uncovering and unpacking WIP's and my yarn stash so that I can make a dent in it. And most of all, I am trying to find my way to new fiber friends.

SOCKS!

SOCKS, SOCKS, always SOCKS!!! My name is Lee and I am a sockaholic. I always have several on needles at the same time. I can be seen carrying bags of sock knitting to most kids' events, waiting lines at school pick up, anywhere I think I might get a "few rows in" and even occasionally at the movies. Shhh...don't tell.

I need to start a national chapter of SYSA: Sock Yarn Stashers Anonymous...

Eventhough I have enough sock yarn to last 3 lifetimes, new sock yarn always mysteriously follows me home. It is a unexplainable phenomenon! Even if I am on a " yarn diet", sock yarn does not count. Right??? Really, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

A Scarf With A Story

Labor Day seems like the unofficial end of summer with the kids going back to school. We've had one of the best summers yet filled with sunshine, boating, swimming, travelling, visiting family and introducing the kids to the ocean for the first time. It is a summer full of memories.

So, when I see this scarf, I'll smile. It was knit in the car travelling state to state with my family to visit other family in TN and SC. This scarf was knit while visiting the ocean and driving through mountains...it has captured a memory.

The beginning of this scarf is a different memory; my family accompanied me to the Midwest Folk Art and Fiber Festival in Crystal Lake, IL. We worked it in as a stop on the way to an extended weekend in WI. It was an enjoyable day with beautiful weather and of course, I can't leave a festival without "fluff" to spin. That, however, I will save for another day to share with you.

Brooks Farm Yarn had a sample scarf on display. The yarn is "Four Play" which is a 4 ply 50/50 silk and fine wool blend. It is truly yummy! This scarf takes one skein (4 oz = 270 yds). I chose colorway M 4P dyelot 22. I'm sorry but the pictures do not do it justice. The colors are actually deeper teals, golds, reds, corals... it was love at first sight. Another bonus was when you purchase one skein, they give you a copy of their scarf pattern. It alternates garter with stockinette (as you can see on the closeup and on the bottom half of the scarf in picture 1) but the "back side" of all garter stitch is luscious too (as you can see on the top of picture 1). It will be a pleasure to wear this winter. Not only will I be warmed by it's beauty but by its memories.

I hope your summer was full of wonderful memories too! Happy Labor Day!