Weekend knitting

Saturday I finished my first pair of Tofutsies socks while at Miss PJ's baby shower. I love those kind of baby showers, very relaxed and friendly. No stupid games. And lots of good food. Here is the pair I just finished.


And PJ loved them so much, I'm making her a pair to wear in the hospital. And since she's having a boy and I can't knit anything in pink, her pair are going to pinks. Here is the pair I started:And a little excitement for today. While at Wally World, they announced that everyone was to evacuate the store, due to a gas leak. We had to leave our cart where it was and exit right away. We ended up going to another store to get our shopping done.

Also, for anyone who is interested, my Valentine Lace Sock pattern in now available in PDF form. Please e-mail me at rosiegypsy@aol.com if you would like a copy, and I'll e-mail it you.

Pics and a Free Pattern

Well, as I sit here, in the late hours of the night (waiting for laundry to dry & watching Deadliest Catch re-runs), I thought I'd share a few pics, and my Valentine Lace Sock pattern. First up is the current sock WIP:

My socks made from the Tofutsies. I'm on the instep of the second sock.

Also, we have visitor. My grandma had back surgery, so we are dog sitting for her. Here is Lady:

I call her Bebe, she responds very well to that. She looks a little dejected, as she wants to play with the cats, but they want nothing to do with her. That, and she's waiting for me to go to bed, she's not used to staying up so late.

Here are the pics of my finished Valentine's Lace socks:


No, they really aren't that pointy, Katie is modeling them for me, and she has really skinny feet, compared to my small, wide feet.

Here is the pattern as I knitted it(warning: I turn the heel and knit the instep differently. I turn the heel on needles 1 & 2, not 1 & 4, so the top of my instep is on needles 3 & 4):

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Tickled Pink 2 skeins
Needles: US 1 DPN's
Gauge: Forgot to take it, oops!
Size: as written, will fit womens US 7 to 7 1/2

Cast on 64 sts. Join, being careful not to twist.

Cuff: K2, P2 for 10 rnds.

Leg: Follow Chart below. (I can't remember how to do a print screen, so I took a picture of the screen. You can click on it to enlarge it.) For the leg of my sock, I knit 6 repeats.

Heel: Short row heel.

Instep: On needles 1 & 2 knit across, on needles 3 & 4 follow the chart. I knit 3 repeats.

Toe: Needles 1 & 3 - K1, ssk, knit across; needles 2 & 4 - knit across to last 3 sts, k2tog, K1. Work decreases every other row down to 4 sts per needle. Kitchner and weave in ends.


Please remember, this is a free pattern for your personal use. If you would like to share it with friends or on your blog, please link back to this page.

Well, good night friends, and enjoy the sock pattern. I am off to bed.

Back into the swing of things

It's been so long since I've blogger, and knitted, that's time to get back into the swing of both. That being said, I finally finished a pair of socks that I designed. The pattern was for a pair of lace heart Valentine's socks. I don't have any picks of the finished pair, yet, I'll try to get that tonight. And I was thinking of publishing the pattern here as a free pattern. Sort of a way to give back to the knitting community that has given me so many free patterns. What do you think?

I have decided that since I have moved, now is the time to unpack all the UFO's I have in boxes, and finish them as I can. I will be starting with my poor Rogue, as all she needs is sleeves. Then, I think I'll tackle my bell sleeve shrug, as I only need to knit the other half. After that, I'll take on my CPH, to get her finished off. Then, I'll have to restart my Highland Heather Pullover and my Fisherman's Shrug, as I frogged them both. I really want them, that's why I'm willing to restart them both. I am also going to start my Christmas knitting as soon as I can get my hands on the yarn. And, I am starting so early because I decided to be ambitious this year and make afghans for my nieces. The good thing is, they are worked in 12"x12" squares and seamed. If I make at least 2 squares a week, I'll have them done by Christmas. Maybe. lol.

I am currently working on a pair of socks in Tofutsies yarn. They are a waffle pattern, and the colorway is #734, which is a green & white twist. So far, so good. I'm half way down the leg of the second sock. I knit the first one while watching season 1 of Lost on dvd. I'll try to get pics tonight, as I watch the season premiere of Deadliest Catch. Yes, I watch Deadliest Catch. I even have the first 3 seasons in my Netflix queue.

Other than that, softball season has begun. Katie has practice twice away, and they didn't have enough girl's in Annie's age group, so she'll be waiting at least another year. So, there'll be plenty of knittng time while sitting on the side lines.

At around 10 o'clock this morning, I started feeling like crap! I don't know if I'm getting a sinus infection, again (which is what it feels like), or if it's my allergies. I'm betting sinus infection. So, I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon vegging at my desk, and then go home and make some hot tea.

Well, off to lunch I go, to knit. Hopefully I'll have pics tomorrow.

Bouncing back (picture heavy post)

I think I am finally back. After what seemed like an endless string of illnesses, and (on Christmas eve, of all days) I developed an abcessed tooth. After a week of antibiotics, I had to have oral surgery to have it removed. And as my luck would have it, it involved 2 of my 3 worst fears, a dentist and needles. The third fear is spiders, just incase you're wondering. In the mean time, I have been able to do some knitting beyond my Christmas knitting. Here is what I have gotten done since then:

First up is my Holiday Candy Cane socks:


Specs:
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss
Pattern: Knit Picks Holiday Pattern
Started: Dec. 17th, 2007
Finished: Dec. 31st, 2007
Made for: Me

I love this yarn. Must. Order. More.

Up next is a pair of ribby socks made for Annie:

Specs:
Yarn: Regia Stretch
Pattern: my own
Started: Jan. 4th, 2008
Finished: Jan. 6th, 2008

I started these just before going in for my oral surgery, and worked on the first sock while in the chair, waiting for my mouth to become numb. The dentist was absolutely enthralled with them. He asked me tons of questions, called all the dental assistants over to look at it, and check to see how far I had gotten each time he came over to inject me with more pain killer. I just surprised I was able to knit about half of the sock, including turning the heel, while I was shaking so bad. And, as he worked on me, he told me that he has an elderly neighbor that knits socks for him all the time, and how much he loves them. And thanked me for bringing mine with me to work on.

Up next is one of many forth coming instant gratification projects:

My best friend PJ is expecting a baby at the end of May. This is such a joyous event. It took her over two years to get pregnant with her child, and he is now 10. She tried for so many years after, and had finally resigned herself to not having any more. Now she is so happy! She goes for her ultrasound next week, and they are going to see if they tell what she is having. She really wants a girl. She really needs a girl to spoil, since she has been spoiling my girls over the past 13 years. And I really want her to have a girl, because, let's face it, there is only so much that I can knit for a boy. lol. So, until she can find out, I'll satisfy myself with knitting bibs and burb rags from Mason-Dixon Knitting, in neutral baby colors. The one above is the first one. The second one that I am working on is below.

Such cute colors, huh?

Here are a few pics from Christmas morning:

Annie, opening more gifts.

Here is Katie opening one that she really wanted:

You can't really see what has caused the excited expression, but it's a skate board. Like mother, like daughter.

Here is some of the things I knitted for Christmas gifts:


A pair of cabled fingerless gloves for my niece, Jo, in Knit Picks Essentials Meteor Twist.


A pair of cabled fingerless gloves for my cousin, Josie, in Knit Picks Essentials Navy.


A pair of cabled fingerless gloves for my cousin, Savannah, in Knit Picks Essentials Petunia.


And last, but not least, a pair of Jaywalkers for my niece, Sydney, in Knit Picks Felici Atmosphere.

Even though we aren't Jewish, we still light the menorah, as we have for the past 4 years, after being given one my an old friend. Here is a pic from this past year.

Here is what I made my mom for her birthday, which was Dec. 21st:

A pair of cabled fingerless gloves in Regia.

Next up is a little stash enhancement:

Lorna's Laces in Red Rover.


For the last of today's pics, Katie wanted her hair cut, and to dye it red (she has been begging to dye her hair red for several years, I finally gave in):



It turned out really cute. She wanted something short and different. So, I thought back to some of the old girly-skater hair cuts that some of my friends and I used to have, and suggested this one. She really likes it. My mom protested, but I see it the same way I saw it back then, it's just hair, it will grow back, and it makes her happy.

Ok, I'm starting to wear down, still on the pain meds the dentist gave me. I think I'll go knit some more on that baby bib, and plan a cake to back for Annie tomorrow, since it's her birthday. She'll be 7. WOW! Where did the time go?

What have I done this week?

That's a good question. Well, let me recall.

Monday I finished my Harvest Sock Swap pal's sock, and casted on an Embossed Leaves sock for myself, in the same color way of Trekking as I used for my pal.

Tuesday I developed a soar throat. Stopped at the store for soup after picking up the girls. Went home, made said soup, and waited for my Auntie Elaine to drop off some yarn for knitting I promised to do for the family Charity auction. No knitting accomplished.

Wednesday, my throat wasn't soar, but I felt like shite! Went home, made a quick one dish oven meal, and sacked out to watch Ghost Hunters all evening with Mr. S. No knitting accomplished.

Thursday, felt a little better, voice was a little horse. Didn't feel like cooking dinner, hit Rally's, and went home to watch Grease & Grease 2 with the girls. Knitting accomplished, finished the first sock of my Embossed Leaves.

Today? Well, as soon as I get off of work, I have to pick up Mr. S at my house. Then it's off the pick up the girls and Taylor. Once all the kidlings have been loaded into my dark green easter egg of a car (a Kia Rio Cinco wagon), we are off to Dayton. Katie and Taylor are staying in Dayton for the weekend for my niece's b-day. And, at lunch, I splurged a little and bought 4 balls of Regia 4 fadig in natural, to make a pair of Over the Knee socks from Handknit Holidays. I have been waiting to make these socks for a long while. I just had to make up my mind of what yarn and in what color. I figured that natural is the best choice, as we like to dress up in costume for festivals, balls and such, and it would go with a lot of my period costumes and not look out of place.

Tomorrow, for as craptastic as I feel, we are going shopping, over most of the city. There is a book that I want that details how to make period costumes, so I'm off to see if the Book Loft in German Village has a copy (if not, I'll order from Amazon); Mr. S wants to go to Polaris mall (all I can think of is Rocky Mountian Chocolate factory and the giant caramel apples, yummmy!); and then various other locations that I'm sure we'll find time to get into.

So, that was my week, in a nutshell. How was your week?

Just another S-L-O-W day

Ok, so here I sit, at work, with not a thing to do. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I work for an air freight company. And the day before a holiday is always the slowest. I finished the sock that I was working on last night at Katie's game (they won, btw, 35 to 16) and didn't get home until way late. Late, as in I didn't get home until almost 10:30 pm, late. I was too tired to ball up any more yarn for another pair of socks, and I was on the phone to Mr. S. I was going to ball up some this morning before work, but yeah, I got up too late for that. Now, I have nothing to do at work, the boss is on vacation, it's prime knitting time in the office and I have nothing to work on. AAHHH! So, I have spent the better part of the day trying to find a new pattern to knit. I think I'll take a chance and knit something I would never consider knitting, something like....... this! I know, not such a big leap, but I usually stick with ankle socks, or shorten the leg of a pattern. This pattern calls for Lana Grossa, but I think I'll use some Trekking. Or some of the Austerman Step that I bought recently, but haven't got to try yet.

Hey, I get to leave early. See ya!

New month, new week....

So, it's Monday (Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends), and it's now July. Where has the first part of the year gone? And, being that it's Monday, we have a softball game tonight. The last of the regular games. Now we just have 3 make up games (if the other teams want to play them) and tournaments. I remembered the camera, so there should be a few good pics. The only drawl back to tonight's game is that it's out in the boonies. But that's what happens when you join a rec league in the (semi) country.

Over the weekend, We decided to paint ourselves with henna. We usually do this several times a summer, but last summer we were just too busy. And, for once, I remembered a camera to take pics of what we did. Below is a pic os the Celtic Heart that we all decided to have put on our arms. In the pic you'll see Katie's, PJ's and my arms.

PJ now wants to have it done as a permanent tattoo in that spot. Annie had a small one done, too. And like the bad mother that I am, I forgot to get a pic last night. So, I'll take one tonight. In case you're wondering, she got a small kitty on inside of her arm. It was funny when we started to put in on her. She tensed up, thinking that it would hurt, and started squirming and giggling because it tickled.

I finally remembered to take a pic of my Lorna's Lace Liberty footies. Here, they are, just in time for Independence Day.

For the 4th, we'll be heading to Mr. S's moms for a cookout. I'm gonna make pizza pasta salad and an Impossible French Apple pie. We'll toss the kiddlings into the pool to keep them busy so I can knit. There is nothing better than knitting pool side on a holiday. Especially one that fall in the middle of a work week. What a better way to spend a Wednesday! Too bad I have to work the 2 days after. :(

A new week!

Last night's softball game went well, even if it was a little windy with lots of dirt flying. I had so much dirt in my eyes, I almost couldn't see past the mud it was creating. Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic. But I couldn't wear my contact lens today, because they need a long soak to get all the dirt off. But, back to the game. Katie's team won again, 27-10. Her batting is improving, and she was named slider of the game by the coaches. She also figured out why those uniform socks are so long and why you should always wear them, as she tore up her left shin sliding into home. Her batting is also improving, as she got a triple play, with the bases loaded. On the down side, the game was too exciting to knit, so I only got 5 or 6 rows done on a footie that I'm working on.

Speaking of footies. Here are few pics of the set I finished last week.

The Specs:

Yarn: Lorna's Laces (love that yarn)
Color: Mt. Creek
Needles: US 1 Crystal Palace (my favorite)
Pattern: My own plain vanilla ribby footie

As I was taking these pics, I found another bruise from last week's fall up the stairs at work. You can see it in the bottom pic, on my right leg, just above my left heel. How I missed that one, I'll never know. But it's big enough that it wraps around the outside of my leg. Ouch.

Stop by Lexa's page to wish her well. She's feeling under the weather.

Happy Knitting!

Ok, I give up!

I am positive that there is a cosmic filing cabinet and it contains a huge folder that reads on the little tabby, in bold letters:

Things that only happens to Tonia

I have had my share of illnesses, viruses, common colds, migraines and what have you, for the rest of the year. I want no more illnesses for the rest of the year. All last week, I was at home with sever migraines, and a stomach virus to top it off. Then, to continue in that theme, the second day back to work this week (that being Tuesday), I fell up the stairs on the way in. In that accident, I punctured my left wrist, bent and bruised my right wrist, jammed my right should upwards, hit the steps with my right thigh, and if Miss Amy had been moving any slower in opening the door, I would have hit my head on the steel security door. These kinds of things only happen to me. Just like the weekend before I was home sick. I decided to get an account at a major video rental chain (which I shall not name, but I'm pretty sure you know who I'm talking about), and I receive a notice in the mail to return a movie that I never rented. My reaction was WTF???? I called the store to inform them that there was something wrong, and I needed to find a way to fix it. The manager took the offending articles off of my account. After I hung up, I started wondering how that could have happened, so I called back to talk to the manager. When I asked if someone else could have been using my account without my knowledge or consent, he started to get short with me. In a very snippy tone, he stated that it was an error. When I pointed out that it could've been a costly error for me, he then proceeds to say, "Well, I can investigate if further, but I would have to put them back on your account, and that might not go so well for you." At this point, the evil little b*#ch in my kicked in, and I said, "Is that a threat? Because, that sounds like a threat to me." He just went on being a jerk, and then made the mistake of asking me if there was anything else he could do. I replied, "Yeah, learn better customer service skills." And I hung up on him. At the point, I was spitting angry. I called another store and asked for the 800 # for their corporate office. I then called and filed a complaint on that manager, and the nice customer service lady called the store to make sure everything was taken off of my account. Upon hearing how the manager treated me, she acted outraged on my behalf, and said that my complaint would go to the local field investigator. As soon as I was done, I decided that I would drive right over to the store and cancel my account. And, as I pulled out of the garage, we found out that I had a flat, and those tires were less than 4 months old. So, Miss Amy handed me her keys, and I went and canceled my account. Once that was done, we took my car down to the corner gas station, and I put air in the tires and took it back to the tire shop. The had it fixed, and they tires rotated in under 20 minutes, for free.

But, I haven't forgotten to mail out the packages that need to go, it just may be another week or so, considering I missed a full week of work, unpaid. Yikes! That hurts. But, they will be going out soon. I promise.

I'll have some sock pics to post soon. As soon as I take pics of them. But, I will leave you with a pic from yesterday's lunch with Mr. S at Easton Town Center (for those of you that aren't from around these parts, that's a huge shopping center, on the scale of a small town, and it has to have it's own street maps, no kidding).



This poor guy! It was hot, and granted he was playing with the kids in the fountain, but that suit was rubberized, and I can lay odds that it was really hot. I hope he was paid a really good hourly rate.

I finally have pics!

Not only did I get my camera back, but Mr. S remembered to bring me the cord. Yippee! And I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but Mr. S is a comic book artist. So, when I got my camera back, there were some of his reference shots on it. He took shots of downtown Columbus, and here are a few of my favorites.




I did take a few pics at softball practice the other night. Here is Katie getting her cleats on.

Here is Annie, while she was sitting on the bleachers. You can see from her hair that it was very, very, very windy that evening. It was so windy.... (How windy was it?) It was so windy, that I had problems knitting. The wind nearly blew my sock out of my hand.

Here is Katie, covering 1st base. Looks real enthused, huh?

But, she is doing great. The coach was impressed with her batting. Even though she hit alot of fouls ('cause she swings a little late), she hit 3 times more than the other girls. She was also one of the faster runners. I think she'll do really good with softball, and stick with it for more than one season. That's more than I can say for cheerleading.

Here is a pic of Katie that I took earlier this evening, with Mr. Vinny. She actually smiled.

And here is the first of my Clessidra socks. I am just hitting the ankle shaping.


And here is a shot of it on my leg.

Not too bad, so far. But I have been walking around sing "This is the sock that never ends." Hee hee.

Wow! I just noticed that I forgot to blog about my Harvest Sock Swap package that I got from my pal. I'll sit down and do that tomorrow night, as Mr. S is on his way over, and he's not feeling good.

No pics today

I was hoping to have pics today, but when Mr. S brought back the camera, he forgot the USB cord at his house.

Anyway, we had a good weekend, despite the fact that I was on call this weekend and had 4 shipments to take care of, it was still a pretty good weekend. On Friday night, we just sorta vegged out and watched part of season 2 of Ghost Hunters on dvd. On Saturday, we had a small dinner party at his brother's house. It was very nice. Mr. S handled the grill, we had hambugers and BBQ chicken. And on Sunday, we went for a bike ride in the park and a drive in the country. Annie went with us for the bike ride and car ride. We have decided that until she learns to ride a bike without training wheels, she rides in her seat on the back of my bike. 'Cause she complains way too much. Then we stopped and had dinner at the Dairy Queen.

Tonight we have Katie's softball practice. It's threatening to rain on us. Part of me hopes it rains, and practice is canceled. But the other part of me wants practice, as it's the only time I can get in some serious sock knitting time, a good couple of hours worth. Oh well, maybe I'll stop and pick up the camera and snap a few shots of Katie at practice.

Retail Therapy

Today was a pretty ok day. I was scheduled for a half day, as I was on call this past weekend. Since I work in the transportation industry, that means that someone has to answer the phone, 24 hours a day. During the week, a couple of the managers rotate, but the weekends are manned by the rest of us. Anyway, back to where I was. So, I got off of work at noon and headed to Wal Mart to get my oil changed. After that I planned to head home to pick up a few things before going to Mom's. And this evening was scheduled Katie's choir concert. But, while I was waiting for my car, I decided to roam the store. I stopped in the photo department to browse, as I wanted to get a better digital camera with part of my tax return. I figured, what couldn't it hurt to plan ahead. I was looking for something will a good zoom and decent mega pixels. This caught my eye. And the price was great. It was one of those situations of "How can I pass this up." I had the little chickie behind the counter look for one. She said that they had one that a woman bought on line, but realized it was the wrong one and brought into the store to exchange for what she wanted. We got that one out, looked it over and decided that I would take it. She rang it up, I paid and signed for it, but as she was bagging it, it suddenly hit me that there was no USB cord in the box. When I pointed that out, she pulled it back out and looked. Sure enough, there was no cord. She said that it had been in the box when the woman returned it (or she wouldn't have be able to) and apparently, someone had taken it. She told me that she couldn't sell it me at that point, but would check to see if another store had one for me. The store that was 10 minutes away had 2, and they put one on hold for me, and she put my money on a gift card so I could pop over there and get the new one. Let me tell you. I love, love, love this camera. I took it with me to Katie's concert and even video'd her solo. And take a peek of my sock in Lorna's Laces in Irving Park.


That is so much better than my little Polaroid digital. Even in my dark, dungeon of a bedroom, it shows the true colors. I am a Happy, Happy Girl! So, that means next weekend when we go to the Newport Aquarium, I'll have some great pics to share. Welp, off to bed, so I can have a (hopefully) good Friday. Happy Knitting!