Ankle Socks – 2 socks on 2 circulars

I finished them!  I don’t love this method yet, but will most likely try again before I decide one way or the other.   I’m not sure why I’m knitting wool socks when it is in the 90’s outside, but I’ll have a great stash waiting for me in the Fall. 

 

Wendy’s Baked Potatoes

For whatever reason, S has been obsessing on Wendy’s baked potatoes with sour cream and chives for a couple of weeks now.  He’s never had one, but has been obsessed with them nonetheless.  I had to make baked potatoes at home three nights last week.  He actually ate some of each one.  Tonight, since I had to work today, I decided to treat the family to Wendy’s.  You’d think I had told S that we were going to Paris, France for dinner – he was crawling-out-of-his-skin excited.   It was a verrrrrry loooooong 45 minutes between when I announced we’d be going and when we finally left for the drive-thru.

 To his credit, he ate about half of it.  But he still hasn’t stopped talking about it – we’re going on 2 hours now.

His other current obsession is which restaurants – fast food AND sit down chains – serve Pepsi and which serve Coke.  We have had numerous “conversations” in which he tells us which serves which – this can go on for a while.  And, of course, he is *always* correct.  We have learned not to question his “facts” because whenever we do, it turns out that we are wrong, of course. 

Tuesday after a holiday weekend….

Why do I always feel like I need a holiday after a holiday weekend?

Here is the dischcloth that I was working on over the weekend – it has already had its vinegar bath and is now drying.  I give all my cotton dishcloths a dunk in white vinegar to ensure that the dye is set.   Have I mentioned how much I love these things? 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a whole daylong break from sock knitting – I’m not sure that it helped my sore little finger, because I couldn’t give up knitting altogether for the day.  Here are some pictures of the 2 at a time pair of ankle socks that I’m learning how to knit on 2 circulars:

I decided to make ankle socks – because that is the length that I actually prefer to wear and I thought that this colorscheme (Opal Summer Sizzler line) would look good with my bowling shoes (I bowl in a women’s league).  I’m using a mixture of Sensational Socks, Socks Soar and Sheron Goldins Online class to get me through this pair.  I hope to finish them by the end of the week.

Love those BallBand Dishcloths

I married into a Southern family, which meant that with my husband came a supply of hand-crocheted dishcloths.   Being a SoCal Valley Girl from birth, I had never come in contact with this curious kitchen tool before.  Over the years after our marriage, the supply of dishcloths dwindled down to none. 

Then I took back up knitting and learned to crochet.  And Sugar and Cream cotton yarn went on sale for $0.99 a ball.  What a great excuse to add to one’s yarn stash!  The first pattern I decided to try when attempting my own dishcloths was Mason Dixon’s Ballband cloths.  And even though I have made a number of others – dishcloths being an excellent medium for trying out new lace patterns – these are the ones I reach for in my kitchen again and again.

So, when my little finger started to ache from working with my tiny sock needles and and I decided to take a sock-break, I broke out my cotton yarn, size 7’s, and that good ‘ol ballband pattern! 

Summer and Swimming!!!

We had our first foray out to the pool today – summer has officially begun! 

Both my boys, S (7 y.o.) and E (5 y.o.), have autism.  They are a great living example of how differently kids on the autism spectrum can present.  S is extremely analytical, with a brain that never shuts off, but is not much interested in his peers.  E, on the other hand, is incredibly social, but remains uninterested in the academic portion of school. 

 Both boys, however, love swimming!  One of the family treats during the winter is to drive over to LaVale, MD, and spend a night in a Best Western hotel there that has an indoor swimming pool.    Last summer, E broke his foot and was in a cast in most of the summer – up until Labor Day weekend when the neighborhood pool closed.  So, we were thankful that it was in the 90’s yesterday and today, so that the pool would be tolerable temperature-wise. 

The water was a little chilly, especially since we went before lunch, but the boys were very happy to have an hour to paddle about. 

We’re also working on bike riding – the boys each picked out new bikes at Toys R Us last weekend.  And I figured that it would be another summer like the past two where we try to get them out and riding, but with little success.  This is year is different, however – HOORAY!  We have been out riding each night since I picked them up on Wednesday (I decided it was worth the 6 hours of my time it would have taken me to assemble both bikes to simply pay the $20 to TRU to assemble them).  S has hand braking down, and E has finally grasped the foot brakes.  With their issues with hypotonia, we are so happy that it looks like we can add bike riding to our outdoor activities. 

Sunday Morning & Needle Sizing

Sitting here and the kids are actually being quiet – amazing for a holiday weekend morning! 

I wanted to remind everyone that Mosaic Yarn Store is taking crocheted and knitted 8×8 squares in burnt orange, maroon, black and white to join into afghans for VT victims and their families.  Here is a link to their blog with all the pertinent info:  http://mosaicyarnshop.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html    I was able to get six squares to them earlier in the month.

 

I’m working my way through learning how to knit two socks at a time on two circular needles.  I’m using a discontinued color from Opal – in the summer line – and I love the yarn.  I’m struggling a little with the two at a time on two circs, mainly because Cat Bordhi’s Socks That Soar book and Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Socks books (where I get almost all of my patterns) both just deal with one at a time and I tried to redistribute the stitches as recommended when I came to decreasing the gusset and then back again after the decrease.  Clearly, that is possible when knitting one at a time on two circs, but not two.  I had to get out my dpns and actually take one sock off the circs to make it work.  

 Anyhow, when getting the one sock off, I came to the realization that Addi has its own system for sizing that is not standard.  It is .25 mm larger than the industry guidelines for their smaller needles.  I first found this out when I had to get out my size 3 dpns by Pony to get the same diameter as my size 2 Addi Turbo circs (3 mm), because my size 2 Pony Pearls were 2.75 mm.   I thought that Pony must have been off, given Addi’s stellar reputation.  But then I checked my plastic needle guage and they had 2.75 mm as size 2’s.  And then I pulled up the industry guidelines (http://yarnstandards.com/hooks.html).  I then looked at the insert in my Addi envelope that lists the sizes along the side and a number of the smaller needles all run “large” when they convert them to US sizing.  

 Moral of the story:  if at all possible, forget about US sizing for sock needles and stick to mm, since the popular brands do seem to be different in how they convert to US sizes.

The beginning: a.k.a. Knifty Knitter Looms

While reflecting on why I picked up the needles again, I realized that it was a process that began in January when my mom and I booked tickets to fly out to visit my sister who lives in Israel.  She has 6 kids – 10 and younger – and so I always try to bring some crafts to do when I come out to visit.  While thinking about what might be unique and fun, cruising the craft aisles of Michaels, I came upon the Knifty Knitter Looms by Provo Craft.   Since Provo Craft is HUGE in the scrapbooking world, I was drawn to a tool by them for something different.  I picked up a set for me, because I had to learn how to use them first before deciding whether my sister’s kids could master them.   Fun Fur was also on sale at JoAnns that weekend (President’s Day) for $1 a skein, so I figured that I couldn’t go wrong.

 Within 2 days I had my first scarf finished.    I proceeded to make another scarf and a matching hat within a week, along with a few baby hats for my new nephew. 

It was this success that gave me the confidence to pick up a “First Crochet” and the yarn to make a baby blanket for my nephew.  I did manage to get that done in 2 weeks and was hooked (bad pun, I know).    On the plane to Israel, I managed to crochet the single skein scarf from “Happy Hooker” which I gave to one of my nieces.   It helped make the 12 hours go by rather quickly.   While there, I was talked into making scarves for 3 of my nieces and nephews on the loom with Fun Fur and I also managed to crochet another single skein scarf for myself.  It really is a wonderful pattern – so simple, and results in a beautiful scarf.  My mom, who hasn’t crocheted in over 30 years, even crocheted one on the plane ride home.  

I didn’t pick up my knitting needles again, however, until after our trip to Disney World in the middle of March….

Hello world!

Well, here I am.  Up until a couple of weeks ago, I swore that I would never have a blog.  It seemed too public, too much sharing, too much attention.  But then I was re-bitten by the knitting bug, as it were, and I’ve become immersed in creating with yarn and hooks and needles.  I see those wonderful knitting journals and read about keeping them, but my life is such chaos and my writing so illegible, that I know that I would never sit down with one and a pen and write enough to make it a valuable exercise.

I first learned to knit in college – 25 years ago.  I don’t remember how I learned, whether I took a class or taught myself.  But I made the requisite scarfs for boyfriends and even a few sweaters for myself.   Then came graduate school, and I put knitting aside, along with just about everything else in my life that wasn’t academia related.

Fast forward 25 years – I’m now a 44 year old mom of two young boys with autism.  When ds #1 was born, I really got into scrapbooking and stamping.   I was able to do that “unassisted” for about 18 months, after which I could only scrap and stamp at night after the kids went to bed.  So, needless to say, I haven’t been able to craft as much as is therapeutic for me. 

 I frequent a scrapbooking site that has a NSBR (not scrapbook related) board and there I came across the weekly knit and crochet threads. I started reading them and looking at everyone’s pictures with envy.  I don’t know what finally pushed me, but I decided it was time to pick up yarn again.  I first taught myself crochet, and then picked up the knitting needles again.  It is wonderful to be able to knit and crochet while the boys are awake and I can easily move it from room to room with me as I supervise them. 

I can finally craft again. 

 So here I am.  Using a blog as a journal for my knitting and crochet, and maybe a little bit of life thrown in.

Here is a throw that I made out of Homespun by Lion Brand with their free pattern – it is my first large crochet project.  The yarn was sometimes a PITA to work with, but the end result is great.  It is very soft, machine washable (a necessity in my house) and has a comforting heavy weight to it (a big plus in a throw/afghan, in my book).   Click on the picture for a link to the free pattern at the Lion Brand site.