four-stitch reticulated pattern

Finally! I finished a PAIR of socks! I saw these socks on the front cover of Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Church. I loved them and even went as far as to buy the same yarn and same colors as the pattern suggested. I rarely do this because I find that the yarns called for in a pattern are too expensive.

I started these socks in January and worked on them while DS2 was in wrestling practice. I finished one sock and started the cuff of the second sock. From there second sock sydrome set in and the socks sat in wait. I decided to pick this project up again and was able to crank the second sock out in a week. I wasn't as careful about making sure my floats were loose in the second sock so that one is a tad smaller. It's a bit difficult to get on my big honkin' feet but with a little struggling I can get it on.
I am very pleased with these socks and very proud of them.
Thanks for looking.

White Caps Fingerless Gloves

4-28-11 I bought this yarn off of Ravelry, a knitter's social site. I absolutely love this yarn and I was glad i could help some one de-stash and get a deal at the same time!

Darn. I read (or rather just didn’t read) the directions correctly. Emailed the designer and she set me straight. I was only increasing the thumb gusset on the back of the hand and not doing the increases on the other side. Bummer. Ripped back and did it right.

4-31-11 Finished the first glove. I am not happy about how far the center panel pulls towards the thumb. I have large hands and didn’t consider this when following along the pattern.

5-1-11 Casted on the second glove. Wow! no Second sock syndrome this time! I moved the thumb gusset over by about 6 stitches and that was just the perfect amount. I also put in a life line before the start of the gusset incase I needed to change again where the gusset was going to go.

5-4-11 Outside knitting with my neighbor. Youngest son, age 3, is being a pill! Goofed up the cables (look closely you can see on the left glove where the cable went the wrong way) because I was distracted with his behaviors. I left it as a “I meant it that way” accent to the glove.

5-6-11 Finished it in the car on the way to Pizza Hut! I sewed in the ends on the way home!

Mom's Angora Sweater

Woo hoo! it is done! I found this yarn on Craig's list and purchased it on November 18, 2010. I got started right away making a gauge and then casting on for the sweater. I finished it on Thursday, December 16, 2010 with one day to spare. We had my family's Christmas on Saturday, December 18, 2010, but left on Friday, December 17. Whew! That was cutting it close. The yarn is an angora/merino wool blend and oh so lusciously soft. My hands would get quite warm as I was knitting it and even sweating.

Here you see my Mom wearing the sweater and then both of my parents modeling the sweater I have made for them.

Explorer Big Brother

I had the pleasure of being a pattern tester for this cute vest called Explorer Big Brother. It is knit in the most unusual way which allows for absolutely no seaming!! If you know me than you know that I hate sewing. I was on a time line to get this done and I managed to get it done much sooner than I anticipated. I finished it is 6 days (7 if you count the time I spent making the gauge). The striping was not part of the pattern but a little embellishment I added. The sweater vest pattern is a good template to use for the basics of the vest and then the knitter can add detail as she sees fit. If you are interested in the pattern, please contact Julie at

threefootwarrior@juji.co.nz

Here's the deets of the project

Vest size: 10

Child's chest circumference: 26 inches

Gauge: 18 sts/4 inches

yarn: Patons classic wool (worsted weight). 2 skeins red, 1 skein black. I only used about 1.5 skeins of red and about a half of black. If this was knit in a solid color I am sure it could be completed with only 2 skeins.

approximate yardage: each skein is 223 yards. I estimate I used less than 450 yards

Length from shoulder to bottom of ribbing: 21.5 inches

My new yarn to be

I found this yarn on craigslist and soon it will be mine! The owner will be out of town for a few weeks so I will not get it until she returns and we hook up. I see a sweater in that yarn!

My Chullo hat

Here's a picture of my left ear flap for the Chullo hat I am making. I bought the kit, oh, two birthday's ago for myself and never got around to making it. I finished most of the right ear flap. I just have about 5 more rows on top to do and then I will block that one as well before starting the body of the hat.

DS3's sweater vest

My last and final sweater vest. Yay!! Here DS3 is modeling it for me. Notice how he's wearing my boots?? Kinda cute! He's standing in front of the woodstove, but he didn't step aside so you could see the pretty flames. Instead, you can see the ash on the floor!

DS1's raglan sweater

My first attempt to make a raglan sweater and it turned out beautifully!!!

Second Vest is done!

Here is the vest I made for my oldest son. Again, this isn't the turtleneck I will have them wear with the vests. I just put something on him for the picture. I noticed this one turned out just a bit nicer than the first. I guess practice makes perfect! The only other change I would like to make would be to make the shoulders a bit narrower. Other than that this is a great pattern. I will take some time off from this pattern and switch to something else for a bit before starting the last (and smallest) vest.

Claptois Shawl

Here Hubby and I are showing off the Claptois shawl I made. I bought 100% silk yarn and paired it with a shimmery yarn, Lincate gold rush. I had a garage sale 2 years ago and the proceeds from that sale went towards this shawl. I had almost finished the project with a small corner left to do when, gasp, I needed to buy another skein. I contemplated about that because the yarn is super expensive. I bite the bullet and did buy the second skein. I am glad I did! Ah, the shawl is gorgeous!
We are on our way to a wedding. By the way, I bought the dress and the shoes at a second hand store!

What a model!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Vest for DS2

Here's a picture of my middle son showing off the sweater vest I finished for him. I will be making one for each of the boys (what was I thinking??) to wear for the holidays. The shirt is not part of the look, I just grabbed one from his closet that was a button down.

I chose to make DS2's first so if it was too big it would then become DS1's and if too small then it would have been DS3's. As it turned out, my gauge was right on and the vest fits him perfectly.

I have cast on DS1's vest (the back) and I am on row 1. UGH! what did I get myself into??

Thanks for looking!

baby hat and socks

I finished this project today. There are a lot of women pregnant at work. This lady is expecting a girl. I had this skein in my stash. Another co-worker gave me a bag full of yarn she didn't want last year and this was one of the skeins. Turned out cute, I think!

This is the picture that is supposed to be on my header. I can't seem to downsize it to make it fit. If you can help me please do so!

Dad's Sweater

Remember my trials of getting through my Dad's sweater? Well, here it is right after he opened it. He is holding the shirt I bought to go with it.

Dad and Mom didn't realize I made it until I told them. Mom started crying. It fits him great! Especially since I didn't have him try it on as I made it.

Mini Christmas Stockings

This is my pattern for mini christmas stockings. I am posting this more for my information because I know I will forget the pattern once I am done making these.
I will post pictures later.

Mini Christmas Stockings

Materials:
Size 3 dp needles
Worsted weight yarn
Sample project knitted with Dark Horse Yarns, Fantasy
Needle

Gauge:
not critical to this project
6 sts to 1 inch in st st

Directions:
CO 24 stitches. Divide stitches between 3 needles. Join in the round by switching first and last stitch (This closes the gap).
Cuff:
Knit for 3 rows or k2, p2 for 3 rows.
Leg:
Knit for 14 rows. Begin striping pattern if desired.

Heel flap:
(set up rows) Knit across 6 stitches. Turn and purl across.
Change color if desired.
St st for 8 rows.

Turning the heel:
Slip one, knit 6, k2tog, k1, turn
Slip one, purl 3, slip one, p1, pass slip stitch over, p1 turn
Knit to end of the row.

Gusset:
Change back to main color or continue in striping pattern if desired.
pick up 5 stitches. Knit across instep stitches, pick up 5 stitches knit 4.

Row 1: knit to last 3 stitches. SSK, k1, knit across instep stitches, k1, k2tog, knit 4
Row 2: knit
Continue last two rows until total stitch count is 24.

Foot:
knit for 10 rows

Toe shaping:
Change to contrasting color if desired.
Row 1 N1: Knit to last 3 stitches on needle, SSK, k1
N2: K1, k2tog, knit to last three stitches, SSK, k1
N3: K1, K2tog, knit to end of row
Row 2 Knit even on all needles
Continue rows 1 & 2 until 12 stitches remain.
Bind off with kitchener’s stitch. Weave in ends.