Back to knitting...

Once my deck was done, and I'd finished test-knitting my friend's design, I decided it was time to learn a new knitting skill.  Since I recently learned Magic Loop, and I've printed out a bunch of gorgeous sock patterns, I chose to learn two-at-a-time sock knitting.  I was going to go ahead and learn it with Bayerische, but I figured that might be tempting fate a bit, to learn a new technique on a very complicated design....so I'll save Bayerische for next.  I searched through all of my sock patterns, and picked "Popped".  I had printed it out months ago, when it was a free pattern.  Now it's available on Knit Picks: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10178220

The yarn I'm using is Fortissima Socka(superwash wool/nylon), in a nice dark gray.  I searched online for video tutorials demonstrating the technique for knitting two socks at a time, on one circular....but I couldn't find any.  So I looked for photo tutorials, which are almost as good.  I found this one, and it was very helpful to me:

http://knittinggiraffe.blogspot.com/2008/10/magic-loop-2-at-time-tutorial-part-1.html

Once I got past the first few rounds, when everything was fiddly and confusing, it got easy.  It's not much more complicated than Magic Looping one sock.  You just have to make sure that you're working with the right ball or skein of yarn, and not twisting them up together too much.  So far, so good...

 Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern.  Looks very subtle until you put it on...

 Once you put it on, the stitch pattern really opens up!

Hmmm...that's probably why it's called "Popped".

♥

Anyway, I'm almost ready for the heels now; just a few more rows.  I think I'll try to get those few rows finished today, and maybe get the heels started.



My deck is done!

My deck is done! My deck is done! My deck is done! My deck is DONE!

Here's a picture from right after it was finished:

 And no, it isn't built on an angle; I guess I just wasn't holding the camera straight.  Oops.  The deck is perfectly level and straight.  And gorgeous!

Here's a picture with a few things on the deck:

We're gonna need a bigger table.  We got that one when Angel was a baby, so it was perfect for just Hubby and me.  We didn't think ahead.  I'm hoping to, at some point, get a table with six chairs, and an umbrella. ☺

Deck-In-Progress

Framing...

 Framing done...

 Digging post holes...

 Walkboards routered and put in place, but not nailed down...

Today we're going to nail down the walkboards, cut off the ends(see where they're hanging off the end of the frame?) and router them along that end.  And it'll be done! ☺

Before and After Demolition

I finished tearing apart the deck today!  I worked all morning, and most of the afternoon, and my muscles are protesting already.  But the deck is gone!  All except for one board that is trapped under that palm tree...

To refresh your memory(haha), here's the "before":

 And here's the after!

We still need to gather up all the boards and put them in the fire.  And we're planning on starting the new deck in the morning!  I'm pretty excited, can you tell?

We're going to get a new deck!

I told Hubby three years ago that I did not like the deck we had.  It's a strange shape, and has a lot of wasted space.  He vetoed the idea immediately, without even really looking at my suggestions.  Fine.  I'm adaptable.  I still hated the deck, and wished he'd let me build a new one, but I decided I could live with it.

♥

A few weeks ago, Hubby shot a skunk on the deck, and it crawled under it to die.  So it was stuck underneath somewhere, and we had no way to get it out without tearing up boards.  And our carpenter friend Kerry told Hubby he could build us a great deck for a pretty good price.....so Hubby agreed, and told me about the idea, as if he'd thought of it himself. (Can you just hear me rolling my eyes?)  Whatever.  As long as I get my new deck, I don't care who gets the credit for the idea.

♥

So yesterday, Kerry helped me locate the dead skunk by ripping up a few boards....

 And Hubby decided to participate in the project by tearing apart the first half of the deck himself.  Yeah, I was shocked.

 You'll notice that he didn't tear apart the step I had built a few months ago...

 And we put the wood in the fire!

Actually, that's only about half of the wood from the first half of the deck.  We'll burn the other half today, and hopefully get the other half of the deck demolished today too.

♥

I can hardly wait to get started building (with Kerry) on my new deck!  Woohoo!

A little knitting...

I mentioned in my previous post that I had bought a little bit of luxury yarns on my "day off".  Here's what I bought:

 I know it doesn't look like much, but it's good yarn, and good yarn is expensive.  The tonal pink on the left is ShiBui Sock yarn, 50 grams.  I'm hoping it's enough for what I bought it for.  It's for test-knitting a dear friend's pattern.  I'm so excited and hopeful for her.  Her design is beautiful, and really deserves to get published. ♥  The teal in the middle is Lacey Lamb, extrafine lambswool laceweight, about 100 grams.  It is incredibly soft!  I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it; maybe a cowl, or a scarf.  I just couldn't resist buying it, even though I didn't have a plan in place for it yet.  The gray on the right is Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace.  It feels really decadent.  I started knitting with it last night:

It's another cowl, same design as the burgundy one that I recently started.  But I started with fewer stitches this time.  I think that will work better.  If it does, I'm going to carefully frog the burgundy one and start over.  Anyway, this gray is going to really pop against my brown hair, much more than the burgundy one will.  I'm still searching for a name for this design.  For now I'm calling it "Waltzing" because it was inspired by "The Waltz" scarf.  But I'm changing several little things, and I'm beginning to think it needs a totally separate name.  Right now I'm leaning toward "Frost", unless that name is taken.  I love this color; it reminds me of my mom's hair, which is light gray, almost white, and just as soft and silky as this lovely alpaca/silk yarn.

Not knitting...

I haven't been knitting. *blush*  I've been working outside instead.  There's just something about Spring and Fall that make me want to be outside.  I've been helping a carpenter friend build a deck for my next-door neighbors.  It's almost halfway framed, and I'm planning on helping tomorrow afternoon, after church.  I didn't get to help today, except for unloading lumber from a truck.  I had my monthly "day off" today.  I went to one of the LYSs in my city, and bought just a little bit of luxury yarns.  Then I went to Walmart and treated myself, to two pairs of jeans that had never been worn by anyone else!  Haha...I usually shop at thrift shops, but I haven't been able to find any jeans lately that I liked and that fit, so I decided to bite the bullet and pay full-price($12 each).  I also got a very cool stepping-stone for my "shady spot" in the back yard.  Then I went to the garden center and bought 4 cubic yards(which amounts to a huge pile) of brown hardwood mulch for the same "shady spot" and other spots around the yard.  I spent hours this week, preparing the "shady spot".  I pulled up all the old landscape fabric, and killed all the weeds and ants that were under it.  I trimmed the trees shown in the picture below, and cut down two others.  Then I put the border pieces in place, and put down new landscape fabric.  And today, I got to put down the new mulch.  With help from Hubby, Angel and Princess.......

 And here's my very cool stepping stone...... I think you can guess what state I live in, if you didn't already know.  I'm also going to buy a very cool bench with a star on the backrest of it, and put it right back there against the fence.

And since we had plenty of mulch, we put some in the side yard, where I had previously laid stepping stones...

I'm pretty happy about how both areas turned out.  Now we're talking about tearing out our old(weirdly-shaped) deck, and building a new(rectangular) one...which I wanted to do three years ago, but Hubby vetoed.  It took a suggestion from our carpenter friend to convince him it was a good idea.  He(the carpenter) is my new best friend. ♥