Shawls, shawls and more shawls!

Well last time I was here I told you about all the KALs I had joined. Here's a progress report:

Mystery Shawl #5: Clues 1-3: done. Clues 4-5: still to go.

Halloween Mystery Shawl: I have the first 3 rows done. I have the entire shawl to do.

Secret of the Stole: Clue 1: done. Clues 2-3: still to go. Clue 4 comes out on Friday.

I am still loving this, and am trying to figure out how to get more knitting time into my day. I finally finished one of the knit Christmas presents I have been working on. I need to get working on some more. I think that this weekend will be a good time to do this.


The kids have this entire week off from school. I guess that they think that kids in elementary school need to have a week off. Considering that they have only gone to school for 9 weeks, and about half of those weeks aren't even all 5 days long.

Maybe I'll have to re-think this weekend's knitting... I keep forgetting that my DD has a 5K to run on Sunday? She is in the "Girls on the Run" afterschool program. She's been sick for the last 3 weeks (same as me), and will hopefully be feeling well enough to do this. It should be quite interesting, she is such a couch potato. I can't wait for her to do this though. I am very proud of her.

My DS is kinda mad about it though. He wants to do something too, but there aren't any programs similar that I know of. He feels left out and crummy.

Back to work!

shawl's comin' outta my nose

Well, I am completely engulfed in shawls/stole KAL's. I am working on the Mystery Shawl #5, the Halloween Mystery Shawl and the Secret of the Stole. I also have the "Creatures of the Reef" pattern that I need to do too.

FYI: Secret of the Stole's joining deadline is Oct. 4, 2007!

Here is the yarn that I am going to use for the Secret of the Stole project. It is from Lime N Violet and is their Sidhe Silk Lace. The colorway is Matzu. I think I will use some irridescent or pearl beads. That way it's very subtle.

I am completely engrossed, and can't wait to get home to knit on these.

I also am thinking about making a Hemlock Ring blanket.

On the homefront:

I had Parent-Teacher Conferences last night. Oh my. We talked about how my kid needs to get more "organized". Gee, that sounds familiar. I think that also applies to me! And my dd needs to get more confidence to do her work. That and learn her addition/subtraction. My dd has always done horrible on this timed test. Every year she struggles with it. And so what do they do? They do it all over every year. She knows the answers, just much slower that her peers.

I hate to tell the school, but I still count/add/subtract on my fingers. Can I do them without? yes. Do I trust my brain 100%? NO!

I will try to post the buttons for these shawl KAL's on here later. I just have to remember how to do that again.

Mystery Lace Knitting Galore!

I have leapt into the wide world of the Mystery Shawl KAL's. I started the Mystery Shawl #5 (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysteryshawlgroup/) the Monday after the first clue was posted.

All I can say is that this is so much fun! I am enjoying this so much. I can't wait to see what it will look like when it's all done. I think it's the mystery part of this that I like the best.

Now, if only there were a LYS that actually carried lace weight yarn in large enough quantities to make these larger shawls.

I also have joined the Halloween Mystery Shawl (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/halloweenmysteryshawl/) and the Secret of the Stole (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestole/) KALs.

OK, can you say "obsessed"? I am also working on a sock, and a few other items.

I am in the Holiday knitting mode right now. Since Saturday, I have knit a hat (folliage from the latest Knitty.com), finished and felted a bum cover, turned a heel, and done 1 1/2 clues to the first Mystery shawl.

I did a short-row heel on the socks, and I got this huge hole. It's right where you start to knit in the round again. I will go back and stitch it closed once I have the sock done.

On a non-knitting venue, my dd will be turning 8 the second week of Oct. I have no clue what I am going to do for her. I just don't know if I should try to plan a party for her, or send her away for Halloween camp overnight, or what. I'm leaning toward sending her to camp. She loved it last year.

I am on the downhill slide for the year. We start back to school, have 2 birthday's in Oct, 2 birthdays in Nov., Thanksgiving, Halloween, then Christmas and new year's. Add to that the fall football, and you have absolutely no time for anything!

this also leaves you with NO MONEY!

Well, I'm off work tomorrow, and plan to have a nice day at the library maybe, or maybe at Barnes & Noble. Who knows. That's tomorrow, and I still have the rest of today to get through.

TTFN

School's Back in Session

OK, the kids are back in school! (YEAH!) This is a good thing. They both love their new teachers. This is a great thing. I think the student-teacher relationship is half the battle to get kids to learn and behave well in class.

One of these mornings my DD is going to learn the hard way, that I leave at 7:30 a.m. No delays. And she is going to learn that it's not so much fun to go to school in her p.j.'s.

Getting used to the new schedule is still hard. There seems to be so much less time for everything. Monday is PTA (once a month), Tuesdays is counseling, Wednesdays is knitting group, Thursday is open (until Survivor, CSI and ER start back up), Friday I would like to take the kids skating, and then Saturday and Sunday are for laundry, homework, fun, cleaning and cooking, shopping and all the rest of the wonderful things that don't get done during the week. Throw in some swimming lessons, and you've got one heck of a busy time.

Knitting is going well. I am on Ravelry and can't believe the expansiveness of it all. I am knitting 3 projects right now. 2 socks for Socks for Soldiers and one top. I need to focus on the socks, then kick the top out. It shouldn't take too long for the top, the back is done and the front is about 1/3 done. no sleeves, and a quick crochet border along the edges. Way simple!

Well, I'll try to get another post sooner than the last one. (We'll see how well I do. LOL)

Bad Blogger, No Cookie!

Well, I told you I was new to this. Hence the lack of content.

Oh, well. Things will get more routine, I hope.

I received my invite to Ravelry.com, and quickly joined in the fun. (Clearbrook)

I don't have much posted as yet, but will keep adding more as I go.

Wilderness Perk

So, this Saturday (june 2) I went to Wilderness Perk (local coffee shop) and met with the Lincoln Knitters. Everyone was SO nice, and made me feel welcome.

They are going to have a Knit-in-Public at the Haymarket next Saturday. I may try to go down there, but it might be hard with my 2 kids (who can't sit still for any amount of time, or get along for more than 5 minutes).

Well, I finished the lacy vine baby hat that I started on Friday. Finished it up shortly after Lincoln Knitters. It is made with some yarn that my kids dyed with kool-aid. I also am almost done with my second Pomotamus sock. I just have a couple of inches of foot and then the toe left. I hope to be done with it by the end of the week.

After that? I think I will start on a christmas present so that I don't have to rush in Oct./Nov./Dec.

Hurrah! There are only 2 more days of school for my kids! Their last day is june 6. I can't wait. Either can they. We are VERY ready for summer break.

Have a great knitting day!

Bad blogger!

Sorry, I am a REALLY bad blogger!

I have just not really thought about updating this thing for quite awhile. I have been knitting up a storm though.

I made a sunny yellow baby cardigan, a pair of baby socks, 1 1/2 Pomotamus socks. I finished the Inside Out socks too. I know there is a few more things that I have done, but I can't think of them.

I am working on a shrug for my daughter. I frogged her old shrug and am redoing it in a larger size and a different pattern. She loved the old one, and was mad because she couldn't fit into it anymore. So I spent an entire evening undoing the old one. Let me tell you that it is hard to undo a garment that has been washed a few times, is overused by a girl who loves to crawl and lay around on the floor, and is made out of a VERY fuzzy yarn. Thank the Gods that it was something that doesn't felt.

I am using a knit stitch called waterfall. It's really easy and only has 6 rows and 9 stitches. I couldn't bring myself to do a plain stitch. I mean, really, I am already making a plain rectangle. I don't think I could pay myself enough to have it that boring.

I went completely insane buying sock yarns. I bought a bunch from Lime 'n Violet (4 skeins), 9 skeins from Astrid's Dutch Obsession, and 10 skeins from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. This is on top of the 2 sock clubs I am in (Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Mama Llama's Sock Clubs).

Then, I found out that my aunt is no longer living in Michigan, so... the sweater I started for her won't work anymore. There is no need for a heavy wool sweater in Florida. I guess I will frog that, and figure out what to do with the yarn later. I was making this for her for Christmas. Now I have to start all over. I will still maker her a sweater, but this one will be done in CottonEase, and will not be so heavy.

I am going to start on my holiday knitting as soon as my last order of Socks That Rock (STR) comes in. I just HAD TO HAVE more of the Silkie Socks that Rock.

I will have to empty my camera's memory card so that I can take more pictures of all these things. Right now it's full, and I need to save those photos. What I really need to do is buy a larger memory card. I still only have a 16MB card.

Well, school is almost out. Their last day is June 6.