I've Been Busy

Even though I've been sticking to my No Knitting Rule - I did cheat a little, I cast off one of the secret items I've been making. However that hardly counts since it was about 30 stitches. I finished the phase where all you think about is your addiction. I think I am almost over the shaking hands part of withdrawl. I did carry my knitting bag with me all weekend *just in case*. I guess I am truly a junkie. But I can quit anytime. ;)

KnittyMuggins sent me a neat link (sorry the link to the tutorial is at work and I am at home) to make your own Sock Blockers. This afternoon while the girls were sleeping (prime knitting time at my house) I worked on the blockers.

I found 2 kids placemats at Target for $1.99 each. Only one is needed for a pair unless you have absolutely huge feet. My husband has size 12's and one placemat worked for his. I wanted to make a large (husbandish size) and a smaller (me and most of my family) size. I traced a sock onto white drawing paper - good thing I have all the art supplies from the kids. I cut out the paper socks and taped them onto the placemats.

I feel that I should add that the placemats I used were the thick foamy type with the plasticized front. I think the tutorial called for the thin type that are basically laminated - although I could be wrong on this. I think the foamy ones will hold up just fine, perhaps even better than the laminated ones.

Next, I cut out the feet. I added an extra bit of length to each because I wanted the tops to stick out and to be kind of decorative. I wasn't very scientific about the whole thing, my feet cutouts are not exactly the same and if I were to do it again I would add extra width to the ankle/leg instead of keeping them straight all the way up the leg. Otherwise, I think these will do just fine and are pretty cute.

The man blockers.
The girly ones. These are slightly thicker at the cankle because I learned my lesson on the first ones. I also should add that my husband (because he's better at finishing details than I am) took some light sandpaper to the edges to smooth everything out. Now the socks just slip right on the blockers.

No Knits for You, One Week.

My husband has declared that I must not knit for one week to see if that will help my hand feel better. My wrist/lower arm has been sore for about a week now - I'm not sure if it's a pre-arthritis thing, a repetitive stress injury, or just a goofy it's been raining for 2 weeks straight and everyones bones ache sort of thing. I tried to argue that typing and using the mouse at work aggravated my wrist just as much as typing, but he seems to think that I need to keep my job. :) Darn, I'd much rather have all that time to knit! So I'm using ibuprofen/aleve and seeing if that will help the pain and icing at night. It's not like it's agonizing pain, it just is achy whenever I move my fingers or wrist. It's just annoying!

So, my Sock It To Me socks will have to wait a little bit. I am so sorry that I will not have them to you in time. I feel horrible about it. You will get them though, I promise.

One More Thing...

Does anyone have any good recommendations for Sock Blockers? Do they work? Are they just for show? What are your thoughts? I know I could just bend a wire hanger to my will, but I feel like splurging just a bit.

For my non-knitters - a sock blocker is a flat piece of wood or plastic that is shaped like a foot. When you wash a hand-knit sock, you put it on the blocker to dry & to retain the "foot shape."

Bad Blogger, No Yarn for You!

OK, I can't believe everyone let me slack and not blog for over a week! It must have been the incredibly cute picture of Lily signing "more" that diverted everyone's attention.

I have been knitting some super secret projects right now. Do you want hints? Well... it may include some of this....
And some cool Koigu. (although not together). And without the red beads you see here.
And it will be made in very small sizes. That's all I'll say because a certain somebody reads this blog.

Dear SITM Pal

Dear SITM Pal,
My name is Lily. I am almost 18 months old and fluent in babytalk and some basic sign language. You can see me in the above photo signing "more" as I say "please" (it comes out peeese). It has been said that this signing/talking combination has been known to melt more than one heart. You may also notice that I have a ring of chocolate around my mouth. It is the Laderach Edelbitter Chocolate 70% that you sent my Mommy. This is some of the first chocolate my Mommy has let me have as I am allergic to dairy. My tummy gets very upset and I get a nasty diaper rash (the likes of which you never want to see or experience!) if I eat chocolate. However, the Laderach was the best chocolate ever! Thank you so much for sending it to her.

Would it be possible to send my Mommy more of this chocolate (it's the long skinny one with gold foil if that helps)? She keeps it in the cabinet and just eats a little bit at a time. It keeps her happy. And we all know, a happy Mommy is a happy kid!

Sincerely,
Lily

P.S. It is my fondest desire to learn to knit someday. My Mommy says she will teach my older sister and I when we turn 6. Until then, I practice by taking Mommy's knitting and running across the room with it. I have also been known to compete in speed trials by seeing how fast I can unravel a skein of yarn. I believe I am the world champion to date.

P.S.S. I hope your boys enjoyed their first weeks at kindergarten!

Shhh... Don't tell...

I finished Sock #1 for my Sock It To Me person last night at Knit Night. Luckily there was someone there who had the same size foot as my downline swapee.

Christmas Around the World Knitters Swap

Yep, I joined another swap. I just can't help it, they all look so fun!

1. Are you religious? Yes, I'm Catholic but not good at attending mass.
   
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? I've been knitting about 5 years, give or take. I'd say I'm an intermediate knitter. I like trying new things and can almost always figure out the pattern.
   
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting? Scrapbooking, reading, cooking (I love to cook and Christmas is such a great time to go overboard!)
   
4. Favorite color(s)? Blues, greens, earth tones, nothing too wild.
   
5. Do you collect anything? Willow Tree angels
   
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? acrylic! ;)
   
7. Do you have any pets? A cat named Agamemnon
   
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate? Coffee - the nectar of the Gods. I love all coffee, but there is a special place in my heart for Dunkin' Donuts. Unfortunately the closest DD is in Chicago, 8 hours away.
   
9. Cookies or Sweets? Both! My youngest daughter is allergic to dairy, so I'm not sure how I'm going to bake cookies this year. I'm going to do some experimenting with non-dairy margarines and dairy free chocolates. I try very hard to limit the amount of dairy we have in the house.
   
10. Do you knit socks? Yes. That's about all I've knit lately.
    
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits) I love knitting baby items. I desperately want to do a EZ Baby Surprise Jacket but I don't have the pattern yet. Otherwise I knit a lot of hats for my girls and to donate to the hospital nurseries.
    
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do? We have 2 fake trees that I put up - one is a hodgepodge of decorations, the other is a cream and gold Victorian tree.
    
13. Favorite holiday treats? Lefse, Krumekakka, rosettes, all the Scandinavian cookies my grandma makes.
    
14. Favorite holiday smells? Pine, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.
    
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Please elaborate. We are very traditional. We have an advent calendar for the girls that is little socks (not hand knit yet) with numbered clothes pins. I put a little something in each one for them to open on the appointed day. We usually celebrate with our extended families on the holiday depending upon my husband's work schedule.
    
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions? Baking cookies. Making lefse with my Grandma (new tradition). Waking up first thing on Christmas morning and opening the stockings.
    
17. Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about....” Spending time with my family.
    
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….? a hand knit Christmas stocking - is that too predictable?
    
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given? We found out I was pregnant with my oldest child right before Christmas. We gave each of our parents a little gift to open early - they were bibs that said, "I love Grandma/Grandpa"
    
20. When do you start your Christmas? I do not start anything (except lefse, that gets made in November usually) until the 1st of December. I believe in letting Thanksgiving pass before starting a new holiday. I do, however, shop all year round.
    
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them? I generally buy the ones that have an opening for a family picture in it.
    
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish? turkey and stuffing.
    
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do? enjoy the fact that someone can actually carry a tune!
    
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Depends on where we are. The bulk of the presents always get opened on Christmas morning unless we are at my in-laws.
    
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both? Mostly family.
    

I Swear....

I swear I'm knitting. I'm working on my Sock It To Me socks. It's toe up and I'm almost past the gusset on the first sock. This is taking me an incredibly long time but I promise they will get done. I actually got to work on the socks a lot this weekend at the cabin. Adam and his friend Chris spent a lot of time playing with the girls and I got about a half hour of completely uninterrupted knitting time while they were napping and my spaghetti sauce was bubbling on the stove.

I did take some sock pictures, but I'm hesitant to put them up in case my SITM pal knows who I am now. It does me no good to try on the socks myself, my pal has much longer feet than I do. I just have to hope that the yarn has enough stretch to cover any sizing issues.

So here's some yarn to drool over. It's Wool in the Woods, in unknown (Royal Jubilee or something like that) colorway.