Socks for Me, Socks for You

I made the socks pictured above for my sister for Christmas. In case you can't tell, they are mauve with dark purple toes. They are so thick they're more like slippers than socks, really. But she went to Alaska for Christmas, so extra-warm socks may come in handy...or footy, actually.

The socks below are for me!




I finally did it...I finished a pair of socks for myself. The first sock sat, half-knit, languishing on my coffee table while I worked on other projects. Then we had a week of subzero temps and man, were my feet cold! It motivated me to finish the pair so that I could enjoy them all winter. They are super warm. I used Sugarloaf yarn, a machine washable wool blend that is cushy and smooshy.

It's almost Christmas!

I've really been enjoying my Christmas decorations this year. Even the curtains look festive!


I always wanted a Nativity set and a few years ago my mom got me this one. I love putting it on display every year.


Here are my stockings. The one with the cardinals on it is the one Santa fills. He is smart and knows which one to fill. I did not knit that one. The red one is just for decoration and I did knit that one.

The snow is snowing...

This was the view from my living room window during the snowfall the other day. I like this picture because the snowflakes look so twinkly and magical. Since this photo was taken, we've actually gotten a lot more snow. It's pretty deep now!

Warm Woolies

I'm working on getting a box of stuff to send to Warm Woolies. So far I have finished 5 sweaters, 4 pairs of socks, and one blanket. I have one more sweater that is nearly complete; it just needs a sleeve.


The little cardigan below is my favorite. It looks a lot cuter in person. The pattern is from the Warm Woolies website and the yarn is Knit Picks Cadena. I modified the pattern a little bit by lengthening the sleeves and doing 4 buttons instead of 3.

These socks and the green and tan sweater and socks above were originally for CIC, but since they are backed up, I'm sending them to Warm Woolies.

Oddball Blanket

I just finished knitting this blankie for Warm Woolies. I made it using no new yarns, just leftovers from my yarn stash. There are actually 19 different yarns in this blankie! In the past, I've hesitated to make "oddball" blankets because I was scared that the finished product would be ugly. When I realized that I had so many leftover yarns in blues, greens, and neutrals, I figured I could use them to make something cute. It turned out even better that I had imagined. And I had no guilt about relaxing and knitting it because in a way I was "cleaning" - destashing is a form of cleaning, right?

Socks for Akkol

I have joined another knitting group, Mittens for Akkol. They send warm woolens (not just mittens) to orphans in Kazakhstan. I was pleased to find a group that focuses on the older kids, not just the little ones. I made these socks, which are ridiculously warm. They are made with one strand Patons Classic Merino (100% wool) and one strand Berroco Ultra Alpaca (50% alpaca, 50% wool).

My Puppy Sasha

Here are a couple photos of my poodle/bichon mix puppy, Sasha. Unfortunately, I had to return her to the breeder because I am allergic to her. It was a heartbreaking situation. I only had her for a few days, but we really bonded during that time.

The top photo shows her after her bath, so she is all fluffy. The blue puppy next to her is her favorite toy. She was wrestling with it right before I took the photo.

Fall Colors

It is so pretty here right now!

The leaves on the new tree are turning yellow

and the flowers turned from white to dark pink.

This tree actually turns magenta.

Here is the view across from my house. I love this time of year.

Twin Quilts

Last week, I finished one of my longest-standing UFOs. (For you non-crafters, UFOs are unfinished objects). Over a year and a half after starting them, I finally finished these quilts for my cousin's identical twin boys. The quilts themselves are not identical, but very similar. My cousin tells me that the boys are enjoying the quilts and like to identify the animals and fishies in the patterns. Yay! That was my intent when I picked the fabrics.

Now, as many of you know, I am a knitter, not a quilter, so this project was a stretch and a learning experience for me! I still prefer knitting (a lot!) but I'm sure I will continue to do some quilting projects on the side.

Toddler Sweater and Socks

I finished this set a couple days ago. It will be donated to CIC. I used a seamless sweater pattern from the book, Kids' Knitted Sweaters & More. I hate finishing seams, so I'm all about knitting seamless sweaters. The green and tan are not colors I'd usually pick, but the yarn was on sale and I think it turned out pretty cute. The yarn is Lily Chin Park Avenue, 60% merino wool, 40% fine alpaca. I had enough yarn left over, so made some matching socks by improvising on a basic sock pattern.

Land-escaping!

This year our homeowners association got new landscaping (or "land-escaping" as my relatives call it) and I am loving it. Don't ask me what kind of tree that is though, because I have no clue. It's something cute and fluffy.

The last hosta is about to bloom. It is a pretty lavender shade. The little bushes in the front bloomed earlier in the summer and they had lots of purple flowers.

Summer 2008 Mittens

7 pairs of mittens done!

These are for the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota via CIC.

Bathroom Makeover - Before and After

Before

After

Before

After

I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is much more my style now. The changes include a new light fixture, faucet, paint, drawer pulls, towels, towel bars, and a rug. I did everything myself except installing the light fixture and faucet. The only thing I have left to do is steam clean the floor, but that can wait until it's not so hot out!

Father's Day Socks

Dad got hand-knit socks, too. They're his favorite color, a dark loden green. We had a barbecue for Father's Day, which I heard was nice, but I slept through the whole thing! I had just finished a 25-hour shift at the hospital, so I was pretty wiped out. I got some nice R&R and Mom and Dad's, though!

Little Socks

I finished another pair of toddler socks for CIC today. Yay! It's my fifth pair towards our current challenge. The green ones aren't blocked yet, but I'm posting 'em anyway. They were made using Patons Classic Wool Merino and the purple ones were made with Cascade 220. They are both heathered shades - I love the depth of color.

Knitting Techniques

Due to popular demand (i.e. Marmel), I'm posting about knitting resources on the web.

One of my favorite websites for knitting techniques is Knitting Help. It has these great little videos that show you exactly what to do and they're shown from the point of view of the knitter.

I particularly like their tutorials on joining yarns without having to weave in the ends. For wool yarns, there is the felting method, and for non-feltable yarns, there is the Russian method. You can find these videos about halfway down the Tips page.

I also like their video tutorial on short rows. Many have tried to explain how to do this technique, but this is the only explanation that made any sense to me. The video is at the bottom of the page entitled Advanced Knitting Techniques.

My Favorite Knits

Here are a couple more of my all-time favorite knitting projects.

This is a felted bag that I made for my mom a couple years ago. The pattern is from the Pursenalities book. If you look closely, you will see that the centers of the flowers are embellished with iridescent red beads. I just love how this one turned out.



The next photo shows a pair of mittens that I made for my dad for Christmas 2007. The pattern is from the Folk Mittens book. My dad bought me the book, so I figured that I'd make the first pair for him. Plus, he loves getting handmade gifts. The photo shows the palmar view on the left and the dorsal view on the right.

Socks for Mother's Day

I made these socks for my mom for Mother's Day. The color is slightly off in the photos; they are actually a deep plum with lavender trim. They are really soft and cushy and she loves them. Yay!


And look, they fit her perfectly!

The next pictures are of some very cool socks that I did not make. My dad got them years ago in Masouleh, Iran. One of the local specialties there is fancy handmade socks.

The first pair is made of wool and the pattern is what I would usually call the Norwegian star, but I guess this one is the Persian star.

The second pair is much more intricate and it is actually made of silk.

Here's the front view:

And the soles:

My Favorite Websites

For cute animals:

cuteoverload.com - cute animals of all types

A maze'n farmyard - cute puppies

North country kennels - cute puppies


For yarn and patterns:

WEBS - great yarn selection, good sales

Smiley's - discount yarn store

Knitting pattern central - tons of patterns from practical to wacky


For bull riding:

PBR - official site

Chris Shivers - my favorite bullrider

Old and New Knits

These are some socks I made for CIC. The bright pink ones are made with nice thick wool and the darker ones are made with soft and cozy alpaca.



The photo below is of one of my all-time favorite knitting projects. It is a felted purse that I made for myself a few years ago. The pattern is from Pursenalities by Eva Wiechmann.

Family Portrait

I made this on the Become an M&M site a while back. Isn't it hilarious? That's me with the stethoscope and cowboy boots.

Bears and Buds

I'm getting ready to donate some hand-knit teddy bears to Mother Bear Project. They are so irresistible it's kind of hard to give them away, but I know the kids will love them.

My orchid is finally blooming. Yay! The first bloom opened on Easter morning, which I thought was rather fitting.

The photo below is from today. And, yes, that IS snow in the background. In mid April.

I am so pleased that it bloomed. I am usually better at killing plants than growing them.

My new blog

Hello! I thought I'd start a blog to share photos (mostly of knitting projects) with my family and friends. Here are some of the projects I've finished so far this year. They are warm wool garments that will be delivered to children in orphanages by Children in Common.






I did this one in U of MN colors without even realizing it. I just thought the gold and maroon looked pretty together.

This one is super soft. It was made with Elsbeth Lavold Chunky AL, a wool/alpaca blend.

Wow, I think my coffee table makes a great background!

This yarn is my favorite. It is Queensland's Kathmandu Ultra, which is a blend of merino, silk, and cashmere. It is incredibly soft. Unfortunately, I think it has been discontinued because it is really hard to find now.

As you can probably tell, our knitting group's most recent challenge was to make sweaters. Now we're onto socks.