Finished Object: Hi Mom!

Mom's Socks (click photo for clearer)
It's time to say hi and 'fess up regarding the non-posting. Here it is: nothing.
Nothing exciting to talk about. Now listen to me go on and on about nothing!
I have sorta not been feeling real well lately, but hoping to dig my way out of it soon. Don't know, just no energy. Extreme fatigue. Not sleeping well to boot. Stuff. I'm off work this week but need to go in and do some paperwork damage control. Tomorrow?
So check out the socks (not sox, mom). They are a pair. Completely finished, ends woven in. AND, I added elastic thread to the ribbed cuff last night. I was worried about the cotton not being snug enough. I think they will be ok; I hope they fit.
Details:
Size 1 dpns
Fortissma Cotton Colori (75% cotton, 25% nylon)
Cast on 68 stitches and winged it from there...
They are cute. When I knit in public all questions began with "are you making a baby ____?" It does look like baby yarn.

I am finishing the heel gusset on "mixed berries" sock #1 and have turned the heel on "Friday Harbor". I messed up the pattern on the instep, but am ignoring it. It will be ok. Love the Koigu. Oh, and I put the borders on the latest quilt. Hope to finish putting the backing together in the next couple days and hook up with the machine quilter soon...I have some baby quilts that are on the cutting mat at the moment.
Lots to do, I am currently behind in almost every life category. Later...
(Oh, by the way, I added "word recognition" to my comments since last week I got a less than nice spam type comment. What's wrong with some people??)

Tipping the (mental) Balance...

Friday Harbor
My sanity has to be questioned. I just started this sock last night. It took me 5 tries to get the cuff in some sort of shape that allowed me to go on with the sock. It involved sneaking out to the living room after DH was asleep to continue knitting. It has captivated me most of the day. I'm not sure if it is the Koigu KPPPM (never knitted with the stuff before) or the charted "lace" pattern or wondering if it would even fit or watching the colors unfold or ??? The combination of these factors is hypnotic or else I am nuts. I have stuff to do. Stuff that has nothing to do with knitting or creative projects. Like I said...
In case anyone else wants to get sucked into the sock black hole, join the Knitting on the Road knit along that I linked to yesterday. In case I am lost in space, let my mom know that I'll get back to her...

What's this Stuff??

The Roving (click for clearer)
This is called roving. It is the softest, most luxurious substance I have ever touched. So what is it? Well, it's the stuff spinners live for. They use it to work their spinning magic and end up with yarn. I have no idea how this becomes yarn, except that it is spun. It's a cosmic mystery to me. If you want some roving or to learn more, you could visit The Woolen Rabbit which is where I came up with this substance. My secret pal was drooling all over her blog about stuff like this and it turned out that Kim (from the above location) has met my secret pal! How cool is that?? So she helped me pick out some roving that would be suitable for my sp. It has some angora in it, and since my sp is an accomplished spinner, Kim was sure that this roving would be a pleaser! I was thrilled and soooo hope that my sp loves this stuff!

Secret Pal 5 Finale

What's in the boxes?
Here's the stack of packages on the way out the door to the post office...On the bottom is my secret pal's final "reveal" gift which includes the roving. The other two are my SP5 "rescue angel" gifts...Apparently there were some sp's that didn't follow through on their committment. Rox did an awesome job...but ended up needing some help in the end so those who were "forgotten" weren't totally disappointed. So I've done a little to help "ease the pain"...contact Rox if you want to help! http://www.secretpal5.blogspot.com/

Here's to you, Mom...

Mom's Socks! (Click for bigger)
I am so hoping to finish them quickly before the summer goes away...These are pretty much my own design using the Fortissma Cotton Colori yarn I talked about several weeks ago...One sock is completely finished and I am almost done with the gusset decreases on the second sock. Fun and easy, but it's like knitting dental floss with toothpicks. Since it's for my dear mom, I am safe to say the tiny millions of stitches are all knitted with love and cheer. And watching "Alias" and "24" DVDs while I knitting helps. (BTW, I could never watch that much TV if I wasn't knitting. No way. I'm so not a TV person.) I think I mentioned it months ago, but we are watching these shows now, never having watched them before...we are on season 3 on both, so will be able to join in when the regular season #4 begins in the fall...anyone else hooked on these shows??

Another Sock? It's an Illness!

More Lorna's Laces. Looks like a sock!
This is shepherd's sock once again in the colorway "Mixed Berries". Nice colors, more to my liking than "Rainbow". I'm doing a plain 1x1 rib and the colors are kinda striping/pooling in a pleasing (to me) way. I haven't been working on these much for the past week; I'm trying to get mom's ankle socks finished. But I'm also about ready to cast on for "Friday Harbor" with Koigu since I've joined the Knitting on the Road knit-along; August and September will be devoted to this particular sock. It's seemed to be problematic for some of the group members so I am sure it will be a challenge for me. First off, I need to change the pattern a bit as Nancy Bush has very small feet! Click on the link to join the fun!

Take a Peek!

Oragami Crane: see? on my table!
This is a view from the door of my office...see (the RAOK) crane on my table? It's from Julie of Stoneview . (Click to make bigger). Thanks! Always need cheer at the office! The picture is a bit "off" as my ficus tree is really quite large and dominates my space more than this picture depicts. But anyway, an "inside view" of where some of my work life takes place...

Secret Pal Strikes Again!

Thank You!
A big public, belated appreciation post to my Secret Pal! I received this several days ago and have been having fun looking through it. I've made a list of the projects that are intriguing to me so far. I've wanted to make the Flower Washcloths for a while now...and even have a hank of Cotton Chenille and the right needles! I love the lace-edged pillow cases...this will be fun, since I always try to include a pillow case with my quilts. Pillows look fun and the Berkshire pullover is simple and one wonders if it could really be done in a weekend? I do like the Perfect Pie shawl and who doesn't love the Petticoat Socks?? Now off to work. How can you work when you'd rather be knitting??
Personal News: It went well in spite of my anxiety. The information gathered from the test was helpful. The cardiologist is hitting on my risk factors and is adjusting my medications...I didn't FLATLINE! Life is good!
Family News: Tim and Katie are on a road trip around Alaska. Praying for safety and a good time. John and Steph are working hard and getting ready for their big trip to Germany in a week. They're excited! Whitney is fine, thanks for asking. I need to photograph her new haircut...

Sockapal-2-za! Finished!

Meet the Cousins...
Please click for a clearer picture!
Here they are: ta da!!
What do ya think? They will be warm and they are definitely whacky. If they don't fit, then my sock pal has unfittable feet (and I know that can't be true). But I do have a "Plan B" in the works, in case these are way too whacky for her. I've cast on for another sock in LL in a different colorway that should totally not pool (or at least be more subtle). If my sock pal *hates* these, she will have another choice...and I will wear these. because, after all, I just turned 50 and have decided that I can do what I want.
And I completed sock #1 for my mom. I am planning to post that tomorrow along with the plan B sock start. Ok. Are we good here?
At sit and knit last Friday night, the wonderful knitting teacher totally demystified the kitchener stitch for me. She taught me an easy way to graft toes, and it works wonderfully. The toes on these socks are "perfecto" and I am excited...got toes? send them my way!
On the down side, I have to go have a "stress echocardiogram" tomorrow. This is bugging me: I've done the stress EKG before and it was problematic and involved me being give nitroglycerine. I don't want to do this again, but ya know, it's part of the modern human experience, I guess. Gotta do what you gotta do. See you on the other side!

Flip Side
Click for clearer!

Quilt project

What's this?
This is what I did last weekend (no, the weekend before this past weekend). Yes, this past weekend I did nothing. At least nothing worth talking about. Oh, wait. Knit Guild. That was (and always is) a fun Saturday afternoon. Our guild is in the process of becoming affiliated with TGKA. It is an active guild. I am the charity chairperson. Lots of knitting goes on in the guild, lots of programs designed to enhance a knitter's repertoire and with an eye toward charity works. Next month the program (Saturday Seminar) will be "Socks", in preparation for members knitting a Christmas stocking for residents of a local women's shelter.
But I digress. The fabric. The picture is just a group of "fat quarters". (If you're a quilter, you know what that is). The fat quarters have morphed themselves into something else, but it's still in progress. Don't know when it will become a FO, but suffice it to say, the borders are cut and the backing is washed.

Long Time, No Post

I am a lazy blogger. What's the excuse? Nothing I can really talk about. Tired, fatigued, did I say tired? Not entirely sure why. I have lots of "stuff" to take pictures of and post...finished socks, SP gifts, sock progress, knitting news, Whitney's new haircut... so what's up?
Not much.
I will try to get pictures up tomorrow and talk about life and knitting (and quilting).
Yesterday was guild meeting...what an active and interesting group!
Hang in there with me.
Got some cardiac testing this week....and it's worrying me a bit. I'm off now to get a little exercise!

Thank You Dani!

RAOK from Dani
Dani is such a sweetie! She sent this RAOK the other day: Sock yarn, Adagio Tea in Cinnamon, and some sweets!
I know who the socks will be for, but I'm not saying now. Life is too tenuous. 'nuf said. Ok, and the tea is yummy! Say hey! to Dani and see what she's up to these days.

Wedding Quilt for Tim and Katie

Tim and Katie (and DH) holding the Quilt
Tim and Katie will celebrate their first wedding anniversary this Sunday, August 7th. Congratulations! This is something I made for them (yes, I'm slow). It's a queen size quilt (Starr Designs) in hand-dyed cotton. It was fun to make! I am glad that it is in the hands of the owners! All finished and quilted! Next project: UFOs and something new that I am starting this weekend. (super secret silence)
Knitting Content
Hmm. Still on the sock thing. Pictures in a few days. Almost to the toe decreases on mom's sock. Started a new pair in more Lorna's Laces. NO, I still haven't grafted the toes on the sockapal-2-za socks. Soon, I tell ya, soon...
I got some stitch markers from Janet! Pictures over the weekend, promises, promises!

Quilt label 

My Weekend Excursion

Mendenhall Glacier: evening view from the "office" window!
Who wouldn't love having to look at *this* all day??
We spent an evening with my son at his "office". Wow. Amazing. Too cool.
And over the weekend *lots* of knitting was done.
No pictures today of anything other than scenery. It was a good trip. The QUILT is in the hands of the owners, and tomorrow I promise to post a picture. That is, if I get out of my office at a reasonable time. Today and tomorrow were supposed to be days off for me, but some patients got put on my day off schedules anyway. And there's always paperwork to catch up on, so....no time for the headaches I seem to be having a lot of, but that's another story.
Keep on looking, the mysterious son #2 is below with his dad. We had fun!

Another "office shot" to the south 

Another view: Alaska Airlines 

Tim and Dad (DH)