Look at us!

I hope y'all had a good Memorial Day weekend. Mine was very quiet. Hubby went to visit his dad in North Dakota, so the girls and I were able to get his gift for our eleventh anniversary figured out.  He's difficult to buy gifts for, because anytime I ask him what he wants, he says "You know what I want."  Typical man. Haha.  So I came up with the idea of giving him some updated pics of his girls(including me) to have at his office.  I got some white curtains, and hung them in the family room(best lighting in that room, due to the huge windows) to use as a backdrop.  Angel took pics of me, and I took pics of the girls.  Here are a couple...

I also got a bunch of knitting done.  I started the sample "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Socks on Thursday night, and I've got just a few more inches to go on the second one.  I'm hoping to get it done before the yarns come for the other samples I need to make.

Suddenly Busy!

I'm going to be very busy knitting samples all of a sudden!  Last night, I got an email from Knit Picks; they like my "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Socks...

 And my "A Girl's Best Friend" Scarf!

I have some Stroll Tonal to make the sock sample, and they're going to send some Swish Tonal to make the scarf sample!

♥

And earlier this week, I volunteered to make a sample of my "Laura" Shawl for my friend Leann.   

I'll be using some of her Forbidden Woolery "Sparkle" yarn!

Back to knitting!

♥

Ideas

I came up with an idea for Angel's socks!  Here's the "rough draft" swatch.  I've edited the design a bit since making it...

In case you can't tell, it's a hibiscus.  The yarn I bought for her socks is a green and brown colorway called "Aloha Multi", so that was the inspiration.  I just might call them "Aloha Socks". The editing involved shortening the top and bottom petals, and widening the other three, and shortening the...stamen(?)...and once I had it how I liked it, making a mirror-image to go with it.  It's a very long chart; 84 rows.  But Angel loves it, so it's a winner!  In fact, I like it pretty well myself, so I'm considering making an adult size in the pattern as well.  All I would have to do is add stitches on the sides.

♥

I sent off the design proposal for Kitty's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Socks yesterday, so now I'm waiting to hear about two proposals. ☺

Another design...

I've just sent off the design proposal for this scarf.  It matches the "Girl's Best Friend" fingerless mitts pattern that is on Knit Picks.  I actually designed the scarf at the same time, but I had forgotten about it.

I hope they like it!

♥

For this one, I used some lovely, soft Reflections yarn.  It turned out a little short, since I had only one skein, but it will be a nice Christmas gift for someone.  In the design proposal, I suggested KP Swish Tonal, which is a new yarn line they've just introduced.  There are some terrific colors in their new tonals.  Thunderhead and Pearlescent are my favorites; if I were any good at colorwork, I would design something that uses both of those colors. ☺

♥

I'm still waiting for my little sister to send me photos of her modeling the bag I made for her, so I can send off that design proposal.  I'm going to hang on to my Frost Cowl design until fall; I haven't finished it yet anyway.  I'm ready to send in the proposal for Kitty's socks, which have earned the moniker "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".  I'm still working on Princess's "Sweetheart Socks", and I haven't started yet on Angel's socks; I still need to decide on a lace pattern for them.

♥

Back to knitting!

Herman Cain

For the first time in my adult life, I've found a political candidate that I would consider donating money to.  His name is Herman Cain, and he announced this morning that he is running for President in 2012.

To find out about him, start here: Herman Cain 

To read one of his books, click here: Common Sense Solutions

Go check him out!

Crown Jewels is up!

My latest pattern is up on Knit Picks!  Here's a pic to remind you what it looks like...

 Crown Jewels Shawl can be found here:

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Crown_Jewels_Shawl__D11059220.html

♥

And today I got tired of the "Mommy Gives Up" look, so I went and got a haircut.

I finally have a style again! ☺ The girls all got their hair trimmed too.  We went to the salon at Walmart, because the guy we "usually" (once or twice a year) go to is out of the country.  I think I'll stick with the Walmart salon.  It was quick, and relatively painless when it came time to pay.  The stylist gave me exactly what I asked for; long layers, without taking too much length off.  And all the damaged hair from when I used to dye it is gone! Finally.  It took about two years to grow it all out.

Knittin' from someone else's pattern...

I'm participating in a KAL with some of my friends.  We're doing the Ginkgo Shawl by Maggie Zimmerman.  I found some lovely yarn on sale last Friday, and I couldn't wait to get started.  It's Patons Silk Bamboo, and I love it.  It's so soft and silky, and not too warm for a summer shawl.  Once I got started, I couldn't stop.  I finished it yesterday.  Most of the others haven't started.  I'm planning on getting some laceweight and making another one, so I can still KAL.  Anyway, here's my Ginkgo Shawlette.

 I followed the pattern exactly, which I almost never do.  It turned out about 48 inches wide, so it just covers my shoulders.  I think I'll make the next one bigger.

I also made the shawl pin.  I needle tatted it, using silver rayon embroidery thread.  I discovered that rayon thread is very slippery, and not very well-suited to needle tatting.  It turned out lovely, but it was a pain to work with that thread.  The stick is just a piece of dowel(the thickness of a US5 needle), sharpened and sanded.  I used a silver paint pen to make the stick match. 

It's raining!

It's been months and months. Much of the state has been burned by wildfires(which have finally been contained, no thanks to the federal government). The news has been describing the situation as "severe drought" across most of Texas.  So I'm sure you'll understand the joy displayed in the following picture, as we have rain!

And it's not just sprinkles, either!

Socks, socks, socks.

Here's a better pic of Kitty's socks!

 And just because I think it's a good pic, here's a closeup of Kitty.  She didn't want to look at the camera, or smile.  She still looks pretty though.

 And I've started on Princess's socks!  She's going to have hearts in the front and back of hers.

The colors aren't quite right; I had to take the picture without the flash so that the lace pattern would show up.

Kitty's socks are done!

We haven't had time yet today for a photo shoot, so this will have to do for now.

As you could probably tell from the previous post, I did these two-at-a-time, from the toes up.  I started with Judy's Magic Cast-on.  I did short-row heels, because they are the easiest heels I know for toe-up socks.  To make the top half of the legs wider without messing up the stitch pattern, I switched to a larger needle, which totally changed the way the colors pooled.  I really like how that part looks more evenly striped, unlike the strange pooling that happened in the feet and bottom half of the legs.  I finished off with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off, and it lived up to its name!

Angel helped me out by stretching the top of the sock so I could get a picture. ☺ I'm certain Kitty will have no problems getting these socks on!  Now if I could just find a caston that's this stretchy, for when I do top-down socks....

Workin' on Kitty's socks.

I decided to start with Kitty's socks, since her feet are the smallest.  I'm doing a simple all-over lace pattern.

I took this pic yesterday.  They're actually quite a bit bigger now.  I've turned the heels and started on the legs.  I'm planning on making them knee-length, or as long as the skein will allow.  Considering her legs are still pretty short, I'll probably be able to make them knee-length and have yarn left over.

Back to knitting!

Another finished project!

The "Popped" socks are done!

The pattern is here:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10178220

Yarn: Fortissima Socka

Needle: US2

I'm glad these are done.  They were my first two-at-a-time pair, but the stitch pattern is more subtle than what I like.  I need a pattern that holds my interest.  I had started these ages ago; last summer or fall sometime.  But I got distracted and put them aside for a long time.  I picked them up yesterday with the plan of just getting them done so I could start something new.  I think that's the only reason I finished them so quickly; I wanted to use the needle that was tied up in this project.

So now I can start socks for one of the girls.  I just have to decide whose socks I'll do first. 

Another finished project

Yay, I finished the Winding Road Socks!

They turned out great, if I do say so.  Okay, vital stats:

Pattern: "Winding Road" by Mara Jessup (available on Knit Picks)

Yarn: Reflections Indulgence Sock (Merino/Cashmere/Nylon)

I don't know that she has any more of this same blend and colorway, but you can find Mara's yarn on Etsy; her store name is Reflections Yarn.

Needle: US2

♥

Next I'll finish the "Popped" socks, which is also a Knit Picks pattern, but not one designed by a Bunker Babe.  I had already turned the heels when I set them aside (magic looping, two-at-a-time), so I should - in theory - be able to finish them this weekend or next week.  I'm waiting on my sister to send me pics of her modeling the bag I made, so I can send off that design proposal.  USPS tracking tells me that Knit Picks has received my samples for Crown Jewels and the Lacy KIP Bag.  But it usually takes a few weeks before the patterns get put up.  And until they accept Katiee's Bag (I hope) I don't have any more samples to make.  So I get to work on whatever I want to!  That's a kinda nice feeling! 

♥

Oh, I almost forgot: I got an email yesterday telling me that one of my patterns would be in the May catalog!  Finally!  I've got six up on the website, but so far none have been in the catalog.  They didn't say which one, so I'll just have to wait and see.

♥

No news yet about Hubby's truck.  Considering it was stolen on Monday and it's now Thursday, the likelihood of it being recovered is pretty slim.  It's probably across the border by now. 

Soft, beautiful yarns...

I got yarns in the mail!!  Woot!

Knit Picks announced last week that they were having a sale on selected sock yarns.  I had been waiting for this!  I wanted to get some yarns to make socks for me and the girls, and I really like Stroll.  So I went and looked...and found that all the colors I really wanted were in the sale list!  The red (Gypsy Tonal) is for me, the green and brown (Aloha Multi, which actually looked turquoise and brown on the website) is for Angel, the darker purple (Berry Patch Hand Painted) is for Princess, and the lighter purple (Dolly Hand Painted) is for Kitty.  I did a little swatching(with scrap yarn) last night, and came up with a plan for Princess's socks.  Now I just need to swatch with sock yarn to figure out the needle size I need to use.  But first I need to finish the second Winding Road Sock.  I'm just a few repeats from being done. ☺

♥

I've started doing yoga, in the hopes that it will make my back better.  Yesterday Princess was doing it with me.  I thought the video was over and put away all my equipment, and she said, "Oh, look, mommy, there's more!"  so I left it on for her to do.  And she looked so cute, I just had to take a picture.

Please excuse the mess in the background.  We were doing laundry two days ago, and some of the stuff didn't get put away.  And now it's time to do laundry again, so why bother?  Haha.  Ow.  I shouldn't laugh.  Or try to move.  My back went out again while I was sleeping.  It hurts.

Craptastic day.

Hubby's truck was stolen today.  He went to the gym at lunch time, and left his keys, wallet, wedding ring, West Point class ring, and watch in his truck.  When he came out, it was gone.  And so began my craptastic day.

While Hubby dealt with the police and went back to work...
I called the bank and canceled the credit card and debit card he carried in his wallet.
I called the insurance company to get a claim started and find out about getting a rental car.
I went to Home Depot...twice, because I got the wrong thing the first time...to get a new deadbolt for the front door, since the dirtbag got Hubby's driver's license and thereby our address, and the house key was in the truck.
I reprogrammed the garage door opener, since the remote was in the truck.
I got the deadbolt installed, which was very easy to do, thankfully.

Keeping my pistol with me the whole time.

And I made lasagne, to make the day end on a good note.  I hope it works.

Congratulations to the US Military!

According to the news, the US Military(which branch is still unclear) has succeeded in finally killing Osama Bin Laden.  HOOAH!

To anyone and everyone serving in our military, THANK YOU for your service, from the bottom of my heart!  You have the hardest job in the world; keeping us civilians safe from monsters like Bin Laden, usually without any thanks or even acknowledgement.  You are paid hardly anything, definitely nothing near what the job is worth.  You have to spend months and years apart from your loved ones.  You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders with your "full battle rattle".  You are in harm's way every day, so that we can be secure here at home.  Know this: you are appreciated.  There are still patriotic civilians who honor you for the job you do.  God bless you.

To the ones who are actually responsible for killing Bin Laden: you are true super-heroes.  We may not know your names, but we honor you.