Denise Shopped for me!

My Knitting Parents yahoo group has this wonderful woman who offers to shop for us whenever she visits her parents. They live near the Lambs Pride factory in Nebraska where you can buy their yarn for $12 per pound. I took the plunge this time and asked for 4 pounds of yarn... this is what was in the fantastic box I opened today at work.

The bottom skeins are worsted weight of their regular yarn... the top skeins are worsted weight in super wash. Now... what project to start on!

Lightning speed

The prayer shawl is complete, including a trip through the washer and dryer with a load of clothes. No special care was taken (on purpose) and it looks fantastic. I think it will handle what the intended young man can dish out with no problems.

My own sons love the pattern and are coveting one of their own....some day. ;-)

Prayer Shawl 2007

Have you ever had someone ask you to do something for them and since they asked 5 months before you had to have it completed, you said "Absolutely". Then you procrastinated until maybe 2 weeks before? um, yeah - me too!
Our church gives each High School senior a prayer shawl from our congregation. This one is for a male. It is grey with a green cast to it. It seems to change color in different lights and keeps me wondering. My eldest son advised me to make it wider than the pattern for the traditional "shawl" so that the recipient could use it as a lap blanket if he wanted to. I'm using a double strand of ella rae Amity in color number 20.

This finished portion has used up 2 balls of the yarn. I would like it about 4 times as large so I better get knitting! The size 15mm needles sure help speed things along! It is currently 15 by 40 inches - approximately.

Cast on 60 stitches (or any multiple of 3)
Knit 3 Purl 3 row 1
Purl 3 Knit 3 row 2 repeat until length needed
Original email from church said to use Lion Brand homespun and size 11 (US) needles, I'm making it this year with a double strand of worsted and NOT homespun.

Socks (Barely There) all done!

The socks are completely done... the one (right) is grafting but not pulled tight enough. The other one (left) is grafting pulled tighter and with the firststitch on the end of each needle slipped over the one next to it.

I can't really tell the difference but I think the one I decreased on each end looks better. They are drying now, I can't wait to see what they look like after wearing and washing in the machine once.

Barely There Socks

Youngest son just got some light brown suede clogs and wanted a pair of "footies" to match. I just made my very first sock on sock weight yarn! :-)

The pattern is from the Knitting Pattern a day calendar, the May 1st 2007 entry for Barely There Socks by Jill Schaefer. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (80% Superwash Wool, 20% Nylon) in Chino colorway. They should be washable so I hope I don't wind up with a pair of baby booties when they get washed by him.

The toe is grafted, instead of the 3 needle bind off but it looks a little strange. I'm sure the 3 needle would have been the same but I'm not quite sure what I would have done differently. Now... I better cast on for that second sock or it will never get done!

Stitch Markers

I wanted some different stitch markers, but couldn't really find what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay. One quick trip to Hobby Lobby and the next day I had these! I still have more beads but didn't want to get too crazy!

I put a small jump ring on one end, and a larger on the other. Now I can use them for a lot of different sized needles.

Ear Cozies Pattern

I'm trying to do a little catching up today. This is the Fiber Trends pattern (CH-34) called Ear Cozies. I made it with Katia yarn (washable wool) in a size medium (1-2 years). The gaugue is a little off so it is larger than it should be but it should fit the intended giftee perfectly. This is a shot of it AFTER it was washed and dried with a load of clothes. I love stuff that comes out looking this great with no special care!

I'm so glad Christine recommended it - there's no way I would have purchased the pattern after seeing the picture that came with it. It is MUCH cuter when knitted up than the picture on the pattern.

Spring brings Finches

These shots were taken by our eldest son on April 8th. We have a split entry house that has a large transom window over the front door. We were sitting on the top steps in the house, watching the finches on the transom window sill. They in turn, were chatting with each other and watching us. One year they even built a nest in the corner of this window and we were thrilled to watch the babies hatch and then grow to leave the nest.