Advance

Well the retreat is over and I had a Wonderful time! I spun, knit, beaded, was fed by some really good cooks, entertained no end,and even invited back! I guess this means that I didn't make a complete arse of myself. I bought come Columbia wool from a friend, and made Plenty of new friends! Some of the ladies brought their older children (18 and up) one lady brought her chahuahua and newborn pups. We slept in bunks and were nestled in the woods. We all had sinus issues and stayed up till 1am at least 1 night. We saw an America Bald eagle, deer and red hawks. There were 3 people (including me) with mixed families. There were members from the Omaha and Fremont guild there. (dramatic intake of breath) AND... My house was not a disaster when I got home, no one was dead (though John was still sleep at 1030) and all I needed to do was unpack, tell stories, nap, and vacuum! My fingers and wrists are killing me. Even typing hurts. I only have 1 regret. That I didn't bring the camera. Several other people did, but I forgot completely. Fortunately I have finished product to show off. Beaded stitch markers and braceletFinished yarn and felting kitJohns sweater so far

I need to find a toe up knitting pattern for my next pair of socks. The toe didn't turn out too good on either sock, but on a whole they were fine and worked great as bed socks. I spun the rest of the cotton, plied the wools I had, and spun another bobbin of the wool I bought, and started knitting the I cord to replace my lanyard (apparently getting them caught in the steering wheel is bad for them. Go figure!) out of the rest of the sock yarn ball. My husband sweater progress is good, I knitted the ribbing up to 2 inches then had to stop 'cause my # 10 needles were at home. I did knit 2 inches of stockinette when I got here though. I also missed several people while I was away.
Kisses!

Retreat!

To retreat: To run away from, to do the opposite of advance, to back away from at a quick pace...ect. Well fellow blog readers I have my first retreat this weekend, matter of fact right after work today so this blog entry will be short. I have recently been to Annie Modesitts' blog http://www.modeknit.com/blog/ and read up on eastern, western and combination knitting styles. The verdict is I still knit backwards. It's actually the eastern uncrossed method, but my yarn and empty needle are in the left hand. That and I throw. But that's ok! I may gain the confidence to warp more would- be knitters soon. Maybe like at next years fiber festival. (More on that as it develops) But this weekend is the Freemont Guilds fiber retreat in Gretna. Just so you know Fremont is northwest and Gretna is southwest of Omaha. So I will be gone until Sunday noon. (Don't worry I have cleaned the house, filled it with food, Did the laundry, and loaded up on the cleaning supplies for when I get back.) I had the coolest night packing and trying to figure out which project to bring, which wheel to use, what fiber to spin...It was glorious! Kind of reminded me of the driving tour of MO John and I took in 200? (2 or 3 I can't remember) No kids, no plans, no schedule, just a rental car, one week, late June weather and plenty of money. Well we did have to be in Nevada MO over the weekend for the fiber festival there. But I can't see how that was a bad thing!

Now on to a new blog! I have discovered also on Blogspot.com a blog called "You knit What?" It is a rather harsh critique on knitted fashions. I think it's funny as heck. They use some profanity and I disagree with some of the comments, but all in all it is still..Funny as Heck!

A quick note on the needles, I found some DPN size 13's in bamboo and finished my 13 year olds' sweater last night. She rewarded me by wearing it to school today. ( I'm so proud!) It looks really good and I hope it holds up. The red lace scarf will be frogged and made into a smoke ring, like I intended in the first place, I still need to graft the toe on the second sock, (Don't ask, I've been off lately) and I purchased yarn, and cast on for my husbands first hand knitted sweater. This was supposed to be a short post but I've been busy! (apparently)

I bought 10 balls of Lionbrands Wool Ease worsted in medium gray. Y'all..His front takes 117 stitches on a #8 needle. Can you say Knitting for a month or two? But love (and a few other not so nice things) knows no bounds, right? Right!? It gets better. I showed him Durrow from Magnits (and knit by Ken the Yarn Harlot friend, for the Olympics) He said cool and how the cables looked like G clefs (musical symbol) and could I knit him one? Look up the pic people and you will see why I trembled at my computer! Anyway more on that after I get over the fright. Daunting!
Anyway the Y/H has a new post and a link to a cable designer I might want to talk to so...
Toodles!

Photos, socks, snow, and ...

Hey all, it snowed here like nobody's business. Sun- Mon and here it is Tues and heat don't fail me now! I love it when the earth is so warm and the sun is in a good mood. Snow just can't stand the weather. (Stevie Ray Vaughan) First the kids..home for 2 days on snow break and the little one has been running a fever. Complete with sniffles and cough. No biggie tho, cause Tylenol, good food and Water will kick that. Our dog Scooter has been renamed licks! ("I swear that dog is the lickenest S.O.B. I 've ever seen!" J Trickel) Oh and imagine the wet dog smell about right now...WHEW! I got a chance to watch Willie Wonka the J Depp version (is he a hottie or what? Oh yes ever since 21 jump street ladies. Rowl.) Is it just me or was that different? I liked it tho, answered a lot of questions. Oh and my glasses broke twice and I'm now wearing my contacts again. It made me remember what a pretty face I have been hiding behind those glasses. And now a little song to introduce the knitting! Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas tree"

Oh second sock oh second sock, you are the best thing on the block.
All the mistakes I made on 1, will be corrected when your done!
oh second sock oh second sock you are the best thing on the block.
Oh knitted sock oh knitted sock, the toughest thing there on the block
The heel I turned was off a bit, the gussets then were quite a trip
oh knitted sock oh knitted sock the toughest thing there on the block
I'm almost done I'm almost done I must say I've had quite the fun
The toe on 1 it really sucked, but now on two I'll fix it up
I'm almost done I'm almost done , I must say I've had quite the fun!
sock1 unfinished

sock 1 finished with the ankle turned down
sock 2 with the ankle up almost done!
Well that's all for now. I have mittens to make after this and maybe a trip to the yarn stash for some inspiration. (He, He, He!)
Toodles.

Do the I pod shuffle....

Yes I have finally joined the rest of the world and got an I-pod, but just a Shuffle cause I'm not that heavy into it ..yet. Now I can listen to music while working out, or just plain working. By the way, this whole purchase was motivated by the fact I can't download my knitting podcasts at work anymore. A call to Hubby is all it took Monday and she is charging right now with all the casts and music loaded on already. Hu-Rah! I love it when a plan comes together!

On to our socks. Yes there are photos but they are hiding in the camera (naughty!) and the second sock is waiting for me to turn the heel this evening. I will say the second sock is turning out different even at this early stage. Tighter which I have to watch out for. Don't want to cut off the circulation. I will say, I DID rip back to the gussets on the first one to make more decreases. Not all of them 'cause apparently I have a high arch! (who'd a thunk?) The Toe? Oh no, that got ripped out 3 times for decreases and grafting errors and still didn't get it rounded. It came out kinda straight. Oh well that's why they're bed socks. The next ones will be better.(they will have to be, they are a secret gift for a friends birthday.)

The red lace scarf is languishing in the bottom of my backpack waiting for the socks to Go Away! 'Cause it was here first and it is Much more important than mere socks. It will be going in the sale bin and must be finished! Yeah well..Ok so...Stop looking at me that way! You know I will get back to it!

Anyone read the Yarn Harlot lately? March break and a new book! Busy, busy, busy! Me too though, 2 spinning meetings, several Oz's of wool spun, a fiber festival in the works, several knitting meetings, and finally a good way to keep my hair down! Thanks Heather for letting mommy use your hair bows. Cute even at 31...I'll take it.
Toodles!

Socks that Rock!

Ok, I have been sucked into socks. Yes I know that sounds sick but it's true. I have been attracted to sock yarns for quiet some time. Reading The Yarn Harlot only made it more irrisistable. So I began to knit one late sunday night after the weekend from hell. (pipes that clog, leak and then need to be replaced, and the smell!) Tuesday I turned the heel and did the gussets. Tuesday night I purled 3 rows I shouldn't of and while ripping back, screwed up something else. It took 15 minutes to put that puppy back to rights. Today I discovered I didn't decrease enough on the gussets and had to improvise. 8 STITCHES PEOPLE! It just wasn't the kind of thing I could rip back to the mistake and re knit. (though I may have to after trying the sock on, 'cause the new snugness is so much more comfy)

living things, are the Bom!

http://www.livingthingsmusic.com/ is the link to listen to the Bom Bom Bom song. If you've seen the cingular commerials with i tunes you've heard part of the song. here's the rest!