One done, one to go!

I finished the 1st sock of my KAL (KAL is with my daughter, Colleen) the day before I fell, which was on Nov 28th. Because of my injuries (4 stitches in my temple and a mild concussion which caused a miserable headache) I didn't knit at all for over a week, then wasn't comfortable knitting on US size 1 needles with sock yarn until yesterday. I just took a picture of the completed sock plus the 2nd one currently on my needles and realize now that the 1st picture of the 1st sock was just about at the same point of completion when I took that picture. I'm nothing if not consistent. LOL

These are definitely colorful socks! Wait until you see the tote bag I'll be making once the socks are done.

Kangaroo Pocket Baby Hoodie

After I finished the Baby Varsity Sweater, Bob suggested I make a baby sweater with a hood. It sounded like a cute idea so I started to work on it. I had almost finished all the four sizes except for the pocket on the last one, by cyber Monday.

We needed a few things from the store, like scotch tape and printer ink, so there we were shopping (I should have stayed home and shopped online) when I tripped over an empty shelf that was just a few inches above the floor. I couldn't stop myself from falling and banged my left temple on the (very) hard floor when I landed. I ended up in a not so Quick Care where the doctor put in 4 stitches to the left of my eyebrow. The headache from the mild concussion I had, lasted for a week. I seem to be OK now and finally bought the printer ink yesterday. :)

The results of my fall delayed my knitting for the better part of 2 weeks. I've finally finished the hoodie and took pictures. The pattern is now for sale here: Kangaroo Pocket Baby Hoodie.

I had finished one of the socks I'd been knitting before my fall, but haven't even tried to work on the 2nd sock since then. The needles and yarn are so small, I've been afraid of getting another headache. Maybe I'll try again this coming week.

Plan #67 and 3/4

About 2 months ago, my daughter, Colleen, bought some sock yarn, small skeins in a variety of pastel colors. She divided each skein into 2 cakes (balls). She then gave one of each to me (about 270 grams altogether) and kept the same for herself. She told me we were doing a KAL (knit along) and I had to decide what we'd be knitting.

Well, for the past  months I've been dilly-dallying and changing my mind every other hour (literally!!!). First I decided I'd make a small shawl but although I love shawls, I don't really like "small" ones. Then I decided I'd make intarsia or fair isle socks, but I just haven't been in the mood to do that type of knitting. The type of knitting I feel like doing is VERY important. If I start a project that I really don't feel like knitting, it won't get finished! Not a good thing. Then I figured I'd knit just striped socks, but that sounded rather boring, so I scrapped that idea rather quickly.

So, back and forth I went for 2 months until yesterday...when I came up with plan #67 and 3/4! I'm making socks! But not just any old socks.

I'm using this pattern: Nine-to-Five Socks by Nicole Hindes, but I'm knitting these in random width stripes. If you're a member of Ravelry, you can download this pattern for free. I've made these socks once before and they were a fun knit and fit well too. Since about 100 grams of sock yarn will make 1 pair of socks for me, I see a second pair in my future. :)

Here's a picture of my share of the yarn and the beginning of one sock. Colleen, are you up for the KAL???

Baby Varsity Sweater

I finally finished my pattern for the Baby Varsity Sweater and the pattern is now for sale on ravelry.com. I love the teal blue and navy blue ones but not the green one. The teal was made using Red Heart Soft yarn (yarn was gifted to me), the navy was made using Lion Brand Wool Ease (came out well and is nice and soft) and the green was made using Loops & Thread Impeccable (this yarn was also gifted to me but the yarn is really heavier than most worsted weight yarn and isn't so pleasant to use).

I do like this new pattern though. I can just picture a cute little baby wearing it. :)

Easy Lacy Socks

The name I gave to my new sock pattern (the stitch pattern is an easy knit) doesn't reflect what occurred before the pattern was complete. When I started knitting the sock pattern, I loved the look of the pattern but it just had no stretch to it, so the sock didn't fit! Grrrr! I frogged it, added stitches, frogged it yet again, modified the pattern some more and finally got it to fit. Yea! During all of this knitting and frogging I had been working from a handwritten pattern and hand written chart.

Then I typed the pattern and after downloading some knitting fonts, attempted a chart. Whew! I ended up with problem after problem trying to get the chart to behave the way I wanted it. I can't begin to describe my frustration. My knitting skills FAR surpass my computer skills.

Finally, thanks to my new BFF Jennifer :), who kindly suggested she'd help me learn how to do a chart in a document if I'd bring my laptop to our weekly knitting group. So there we sat in Barnes & Noble last week with my laptop in front of us, and Jen showed me that, yes, it IS possible to put that #%$* chart where I wanted it to go. LOL The end result is a new sock pattern for sale in my pattern store on ravelry.com. Here's a picture.

My Not Christmas Socks

I finally finished knitting the socks I started last April. I had put them aside when I was having difficulty seeing the tiny stitches on the size 1US needles, but I finally picked them up again and finished them this past week. The colorway on the yarn ball band says "Christmas" but I think they're just very colorful. I love bright colors & I'll wear them anytime, not just for Christmas. :)

My Backpack

Two years ago I knit a backpack for my daughter and ever since then, I've wanted one for myself. Finally, I knit one for me! The 1st pic is mine. The 2nd pic is Colleen's.