Waffles for Brunch Sweater

Well, I finally did it...I finally finished this sweater after it sat neglected, one-sleeved, for months! Now it is completed and ready to send to Warm Woolies. It will probably fit a 2 or 3 year old. I used the Waffles for Brunch pattern and Rowan Plaid yarn. I really like this yarn. It's soft and warm and I like the colors. I was worried that the different colored plies might split, but they didn't - they are almost felted together. This yarn is for cold-weather knitting only, though, because it is so thick. I tried to knit with it in July and had to stop because it was too hot to even have the project on my lap inside in the air conditioning!

Grad Socks

I finished these socks for "my" grad at the Urupinka orphanage in Kazakhstan a few weeks ago, but just photographed them today. It's weird - in the photo, they don't even look that big, but in person, they look enormous. They're made to fit big teenage boy feet. The yarn is Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in emerald.

Lib-Lib!

I was looking for something in the closet today and I found my old Cabbage Patch Kid doll, named Lib-Lib. She is rather grungy and dirty, but obviously well-loved. She is still wearing the friendship bracelet I made for her in 2nd grade. :)

Socks, what else?

I haven't had much time to knit in the last month, but I did find time to snap a photo of some finished projects from January and February. These five pairs of socks are for the Mittens for Akkol sock challenge. I'm working on pair number six, but they'll take me awhile to finish because they are for big teenage boy feet.


All five pairs are double stranded. The red, yellow, and blue/brown ones were made with one strand Patons classic merino and one strand Silja sock yarn. I got the Silja years ago on sale at Smileys and had forgotten about until recently. The aqua socks were made using 2 strands Patons classic merino. The taupe/pale green pair were made using one strand Patons and one strand Ultra Alpaca, so they are very soft. The aqua ones turned out stiff and rough feeling, but I washed them with conditioner and now they are soft, too. I had heard of people doing that, but had never tried it before. It really works!

Think Spring!

My Orchid:
The first blossom of the season opened a couple days ago in late February, more than a month earlier than last year. I am just amazed that I've kept a plant alive for 3 years!

I added an extreme close-up to show the gorgeous veining of the petals, but unfortunately, it also shows the hole in my screen. Oh, well. ;)

Arizona Vacation Photos (a re-post)

I posted Arizona pics previously, but they were not working, so I took down the post. Now I am re-posting so that friends not on Facebook can see the photos.

Above is a cute cactus I saw downtown Scottsdale.

One of these cacti is giving me the finger.

This is Montezuma's Castle, a multifamily cave-dwelling that was built in the 1100s and abandoned in the 1400s. It was misnamed when it was discovered; it actually has nothing to do with Montezuma.

Eerie white sycamore trees at Montezuma's Castle.

The next few photos are from our day trip to Sedona. I took these pictures from inside the car and they actually turned out pretty nice.

The rock formation above is Bell Rock.

Would you believe this is a Bank of America in Scottsdale?
It's so much prettier than ours!

Socks x 2

The blue ones above are pair #2 for Marmel. She liked the first pair so much she requested another pair. And I, of course, love to knit for appreciative recipients...including myself. The pair below is for me! I had small amounts of yarn left-overs from other sock projects, so I used them to make stripes.