Crocus are Finished, Lily's Fleece, And a Fun Evening

Tonight was a fun evening with lots of lovely people visiting the Senior Center. I managed to finish the ribbing of the Crocus socks up to the bind off. I needed to do that at home because I needed to view the tutorial for Jeny's Suprprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I think this will be my new bind off on all ribbed items.

Here's a picture of one of the Crocus beauties on my foot.

I also came home with Lily's fleece. I was suppose to get it in two weeks, but Barbara showed up with it tonight. It's soooo soft and beautiful. Lily is a 2 year old white alpaca.

I think I will spin for a bit now.

In the Home Stretch of Socktoberfest, Another Demo, Birthday Presents

There are just today and tomorrow left of Socktoberfest. My Crocus socks are almost there. I need to finish the ribbing tonight. That should be easy since I'm doing a demo with Happy Hands at the North Stonington Senior Center this evening. Instead of bringing my wheel, I'm knitting. It will round out our group. We have someone spinning, weaving, knitting, and maybe spindling. Next month is Sockvember so I plan to get the Through The Loops Mystery socks done for that while working on my Spruce scarf.

Yesterday was my birthday. Pat had the day off work for some other stuff, so it was nice to have an extra evening with him. We ended up going shopping and checking out the local BJ's. We had a 60 day free membership offer. I don't think we will be buying a membership though. We didn't find that many items we would purchase in the future.

Pat gave me a cute card that made me laugh. Since we usually buy what we want during the year, birthdays and Christmas gifts are usually gift cards or money. Some of my birthday money didn't last long. I went shopping on etsy after finding a link on a Plurk post for a really cool spindle. It's made of acrylic and has an etching on it. That and 2 "lamb tails" are on their way to me. The lamb tails are round discs with a slit to hold your yarn if you need to stop spinning. You hang them from your wheel near the orifice. I use a Velcro dot right now and this works well. These little clear etched discs just called to me so I bought them.

I need to get my knitting in it's tote and ready to go tonight. I will also be bringing my Ditto that has been hibernating and might try working on some of the increases again. This is the kind of weather when I wish I had finished it since I would be toasty warm with it on now.

Spinning with the Alpaca

Today was spent at Rocky Ridge Alpaca Farm in North Stonington, CT. with some friends. Sue and I were doing the spinning demo and there was a person demonstrating how to make leashes from fiber. There was farm raised garlic from a neighboring farm for sale as well as handmade items in the sale shed. Hot chocolate, tea, coffee, apple cider, and pastries were available to keep us warm and full.

The weather co-operated and stayed dry. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but tolerable. Then the wind kicked up for a while. After that the sun came out and it was so nice.

I have a beautiful white fleece to pick up in a couple of weeks at the next Happy Hands gathering. Her name is Lily.

Knitting at the Speed of a Snail

At the pace of my knitting today, which was only for about a half hour, I will never get the socks finished for Socktoberfest. Ughh! I think I will go do a bit more now that I have guilted myself into knitting.

The second day of the new medication went well. I had no noticeable side effects. My appetite was a bit reduced again though. That's a good thing. :)

Socktoberfest Knitting Continues...More Spinning...New Medication

With only 10 days left in Socktoberfest, I think I will fail to complete all 3 pairs of socks. One pair might be done. There has been some non-knitting things happening that required my attention and definitely cut into my knit time. The frogging of my Through The Loops mystery sock put a damper on progress as well. I had over half the leg finished when it was frogged.

Esmeralda, the Sonata, has some pretty pin drafted fiber from Fibers4Ewe on it right now. I haven't touched it since Happy Hands last Saturday. Millicent, the Minstrel, has some Crown Mountain Fibers on it right now. For some reason, I had a little bit of this fiber separate from the rest of the 8 ounces so I started spinning it. Now, I can't find the rest of it in the stash. This company wraps their items in white paper. I forgot I had put it in plastic bags and spent some time looking for the original white paper wrapping. In a little while, I'll go look through the bins again for it. :)

On Tuesday, I went to my diabetes doctor. Let's just say I didn't get any real surprises from him in regards to how I am progressing. He has added another medication to my repertoire. Now, I have an injection in the morning as well as my other med in the evening. It is a relatively new medication with some side effects that can be very disruptive. You start with a small dose, and after a week increase to another level, followed a week later with the full dose. It's suppose to lower your blood sugar, and, decrease your appetite which will cause/help you to lose weight. If I can tolerate the adjustment periods, this med will be a huge help to me.

A Sock Do Over

The Through The Loops Mystery Sock is very pretty. Unfortunately, I've been riddled with problems that are no fault of this pattern. The designer did an excellent job explaining it.

The first yarn I chose didn't show the design. I fixed that by changing to a burgundy shaded yarn. It's still variegated, but all the hues are variables of the burgundy.

It was my first real cables and I cursed my way through the painfully slow knitting of the ribbing which was clue 1. Then I got clue 2 and zip along through the first half of the leg. As I was ready to start the second pattern of the leg, I finally admitted to myself that the sock was looking a bit too big. Slowly Pat slipped it over my foot. He didn't want to lose any of the stitches. Then all was confirmed. The rib was too loose. It just slid up and down my leg without even attempting to stretch to hug my calf. Now, I'm a plus size lady with big calves. I usually don't like my socks too high. The ribbing, when stretched, could have almost been used for knee sock length.

So, off to the frog pond my lovely burgundy colored sock went. I think I will knit on Crocus a little bit first this evening just to prepare myself for those darn cables when I start it later tonight.

I think I'll take a quick ride to Best Buy for a bit of retail pity shopping. O.K. - Truthfully, I was going anyway to get Season 4 of "The Tudors" which was released this past Tuesday. See you later.........

Brrrr. The Chill Of Fall Is In The Air

The last few nights has seen the use of a blanket on the bed. I can feel the temperature difference that marks the beginning of Fall. There is also the smell of fireplaces and wood stoves having been lit for the first time in the season. I do so love the smell of a toasty fire. That smell always reminds me of camping in the summer, too. Pumpkins, corn stalks, apples, and cider are also happy reminders of the season. Now I want to go to an orchard. The cooler days also reminds me that winter is not far away with the cold white snow and ice. I can live without that last part for a while longer. I'm not a lover of the winter weather.

It's time to pack away the shorts, sleevelss shirts, and lightweight clothes of summer. Now it's time to dig out the cool weather clothes including sweaters, jackets, mitts, fleece tops and pants, and wool socks. Usually, I wear the socks all year, but this year found me wearing cotton during the warmer and hotter seasons.

I better get back to knitting the latest 3 pairs as well as my poor languishing sweater so they are ready for frosty days ahead.

Yay! For Socktoberfest!!

I love knitting socks. They are so portable and condensed. It's much easier to carry a sock in a bag to knit on than a sweater in progress. We have a button for this year's Socktoberfest.O.K. I'm heading back to my Crocus sock. I'm on the gusset increases of sock 2. Once I get the heel flap in, I'll knit the legs of both socks at the same time.

Knitting and Spinning Photos, My New Spinning Spot

I finally got the pictures of some of my recently finished knitting and some finished spinning. This is the "Blueberry Hill Yogurt" by DkKnits. She is no longer dyeing fibers or yarn. I'm spinning the last 4 ounces of the pound now.

The next two are of my "Rosebud Socks" by wendyknits.

The next two are of my "Legolas" kerchief by Susan Pandorf. The left is the entire kerchief and the right is a close up of the stitches.

The final picture is my new spot for spinning. Pat hasn't had time to put the rails or awning up on on the deck yet, but I still love sitting out there on a nice day and spinning.