It's alive!

It may appear that I have fallen off the face of the earth due to the length of time it has been since my last post. It has been a hectic few months! I've moved. Dealt with family illnesses. Worked my butt off at work and... have not accomplished much on the crafting front. Things are starting to return to some semblance of normalcy and I have been knitting and have a few sewing projects planned. Heck, I even got a chance to take some pictures last night for today's post.

My Gryffindor Toe-Ups are moving along nicely. I finished both heel turns recently and have reached the mindless part of knitting the leg. I'm hoping to wrap these up soon so that I can move on to one of the gazillion other sock projects for which I have yarn.



I have also been plugging away on Tube Toporini. I think I may have 4 or 5 cable repeats to go before this officially becomes an FO. I'm looking forward to wearing this top over the summer and have a pretty serious queue full of other warm weather knits that I am itching to cast on.

I also have a few sewing projects planned. I was at Joanne Fabrics last weekend and noticed that Butterick patterns were on sale for $1.99. As most of my summer work clothes are starting to look a little worn, I thought I would attempt to make a summer top. The pattern is Butterick 4549 and I am going to make the sleeveless version pictured.

I picked up this shirting fabric that was also on sale to make the sleeveless top. I think it will look nice with khakis.

I also picked up New Look 6843. I am going to make the A-line skirt shown in black and white. I found this brown floral print fabric for the skirt.
I also bought the entire bolt of the burgundy paisley fabric pictured below. I am going to use the paisley fabric to make curtains for my new place. The curtains will be in a yellow room and the fabric matches a quilt that I have.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Socks, Socks and More Socks

My knitting has fallen a bit behind lately but it is gearing up to full swing again. I've had a birthday since I last posted. (I'm an April Fool's baby, literally.) Between the celebrations surrounding my birthday and taking up spinning, the aerobic kind not the yarny kind, my knitting time has been a little cramped. I've decided that 33 is not only the year for me to get financially fit but that I might as well throw physically fit onto the list as well.

Given all the hub-bub, my March socks are a bit late but I was finally able to finish them this weekend. Without further ado, here are my Embossed Leaves Socks.

Project Details

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt available in Interweave Knits, Winter 2005, and the Interweave Knits Favorite Socks book

Yarn: Miss Babs Superwash Sock in the Grasshopper colorway

Needles: Addi Lace size 1

Start Date: February 24, 2008

Completion Date: April 6, 2008

Project Notes: I loved this pattern. It was very fun to knit and very intuitive. I knit the pattern backwards as it was my first time knitting from a chart and I read it from left-to-right like I would a book. It threw the star toe a bit off but overall I am pleased with how the socks turned out. I would have finished these socks much more quickly if I hadn't put them aside for a little while. I would also highly recommend trying out Miss Babs Superwash Sock. It has an almost velvety texture to it and the Grasshopper colorway had just the right amount of semi-solidness to it. The only thing that worries me about the yarn is that it had a tendency to pill while knitting with it so I will have to wait to see how it wears. It might be better suited to scarves or other items than get less wear and tear than socks due to the pilling but only time and wear will tell.

Upon completion of the Embossed Leaves Socks, I got out my instructions for Judy's Magic Cast-on and am embarking upon my first toe-up socks. I am using Vancalcar Acres Flock Sock in the Something for Gryffindor colorway and will knit these in stockinette. I am also using Wendy's Basic Toe-Up Sock Pattern to complete these socks. I hope that they will go fairly quickly and put me back on schedule for my sock a month goal.

In keeping with the socks theme of this post, I grabbed a model shot of my Evening Stockings for a Young Lady since I had finally dug out my tripod to take better photos of my projects. These photos aren't very exciting as it's my first foray into using the tripod but I am hoping that a little practice will lead to better project pics.

Have a great Monday!