FO Friday!

Dear blog friends....I feel I owe you an explanation for my quietness this week.  School/work got a little overwhelming this week so something had to suffer....so the blog was quiet. I think things are better now!   I so enjoy blogging and sharing what I'm working on with you all...you encourage me, inspire me, and welcome me to your world with such open arms.  But I also chose not to feel guilty if the blogging doesn't happen....so without further ado let me tell you about what I've been working on!

Old Shale Lace Triangle Shawl is done!!!

Needles: US 8

Yarn: 4 oz of handspun done on my spindle! about 350yds...color: Cocoa

Mods:  I didn't end on the row they told me to, but it worked out just fine.

Made for:  Mamie (DH's grandma)

The ladies at knit night think I give too much of my knitting away, but I think that is half the fun.  Thinking about someone I don't see very often and making them something special so they can think about me in the year ahead.  Oh well, I'll do what I want!

Close up of the lace!

Back view!

Lindy and I are still doing well and we've been busy, look to see what we've been doing on Monday!  Enjoy the weekend, I know I will!

Socks are done!

My knit night socks are done!  (okay...I did work on them outside of knit night)  These are a simple pair of socks but were lovely on my feet this weekend!

Details:  Plain vanilla sock.  Cast on 68, did 2x2 ribbing and a round toe!

Yarn: Online Cotton Beach Color

Needles: US 1.5 using magic loop!

**these are my October socks for the Pair-A-Month challenge!!

The cotton blend is lovely!  Not too warm for those of us who live in the south!

I was happy the stripes matched up so well...I couldn't have dreamed they would match like this!

I had a lovely weekend knitting a lot!!!  Nothing exciting, but blissfully wonderful!  I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the week (I think)

First Day of School!

Well today is the first day back to school!  It isn't as if I haven't been working this summer, but it has all been fun stuff (well I think what I am working on is fun) and on my own schedule.  Now classes start and teaching duties resume.  I'm looking forward to it, I think.  A little strange with my advisor gone, but so far it is going well with her gone.  

So I ended up getting 2 extra Gold Medals for Team Baton Rouge Red Sticks in Ravelympics!  I hate knitting under pressure, so I only entered ahead of time the shawl relay (thank you all for your lovely comments about the shawl!  I adore it and can't wait to give it away--does that sound wrong?)  Tomorrow I will show you my medals (one award ceremony hasn't happened yet)

Last minute entries:

Baby Dressage:

Another pair of bootees (they are just so fun I keep making them over and over!)

Handspun Heptathlon:

Garter Rib Mitts using my first handspun! :)  These are for me (can't part with my first handspun)  They will be perfect for keeping my hands warm in my cold office and classrooms!  I think the pattern was well suited to handspun too....the imperfections of the yarn work instead of looking odd.  I made a few modifications because I feared running out of yarn (see my ravelry page if you want all those type of details)   These were knit flat with short rows for the thumb.  Also learned how to do a provisional cast on (not as hard as I imagined)

I will try to get a better pic soon. (DH didn't quite understand the look I was going for, but he did gladly snap the shot!)

Now the games are over and let the classes begin!!

The Finish Line!

Last night I crossed the finish line in the Shawl Relay!  I couldn't have done it without all your cheering....after a night of blocking here she is:

Pattern:  Swallowtail by Evelyn Clark

Yarn: Knitpicks Bare Lace weight (about 1/2 of the skein...don't have a scale to know for sure)

Needles: US 4 (everyone at knit night were perplexed that I used straight needles, but I did)

Modifications:  Make a little bigger by doing 5 extra repeats of the budding lace pattern.  I thought that would be it until row 3 of chart 4.  I must have ripped it out 5 times.  Pepperknit details the extra mod that needs to be made here!  Then all was well!

Knitted for:  Well originally I thought this was for me, but I have another shawl in mind for myself so this will be gifted.  Who will be the lucky one?

This shawl doesn't have the shine that the last one does (no silk in this yarn) but I still couldn't be happier with it for a small shawl/scarf!

And the week wouldn't be complete without a picture of Knox!

Goodies and FO

Well Ravelympics are well underway....I am on a good pace (I think) and will show you tomorrow where I'm at!  Yesterday I wore my new skirt to church!!!  No one commented on it, but I enjoyed wearing it and liked how it looked!  The hand sewing on the inside wasn't too bad!  I definitely will make this again...maybe the other style.  So now I am keeping my eye out for cute skirt fabric!  

If you need/want more details on the skirt let me know and I will try my best!  I had a couple of sewing projects for my Secret Prayer Sock Swap package and I got those done (except for a hand sewn detail on one of them)  It felt good to sew again, but it feels good to have the machine put back up again.  My kitchen table was a mess!

Last week I also won another contest!  Aunt Kathy has been doing a contest a week (for quite a while) and last week I won the knitting gadget jackpot!  Look at all these goodies!  Go say hi to her (and in the process you will enter yourself in the contest for a really cute needle holder made in sheep fabric)

Well today I'm working on my shawl....and doing some math...only 2 weeks of summer left....must enjoy every minute! Have a super day!  :)

A brief math lesson (with knitting content)

****I promise none of the math in this post is scary.  If you have an aversion to math it is okay please keep reading.  No one will get hurt by reading the mathematics that follows...plus you want to see the knitting!****

So I was asked to give a "fun" math talk (20 minutes) to incoming graduate students in a couple of weeks.  So what did I choose?  Geometry of course!  I really like geometry (especially non-Euclidean geometry....not what you learn in high school)  I have found that most grad students have seen very little of this and it is extremely useful (at least in what I do).  

One fun hyperbolic geometry fact:   Triangles must have angle sum (add up the degrees of all three angles) less than 180!  Yes there are geometries where angle sums are more than 180 too! 

So to the knitting.  I thought it would be a shame to give such a talk and not have a nice model of hyperbolic space.  I made a knitted version, but here is also a crocheted version.  (They often look like lettuce because they curve a lot as you go out further)

I made a Pseudosphere (in LSU colors of course) pattern here.  I added a single crocheted border to help the added curling and give it some purple!   I think it will be the perfect model to make my talk more fun!

Not too scary right? :)

Mom's Socks Debut

Mom's Lace Merino Socks:

Pattern:  Lace Merino Socks from Favorite Socks

Yarn:  Patons Australian Patonyle  (Gift from Amber during her trip to New Zealand)  I really like this yarn...ravelry says it is discontinued although it looks like they have come our with a new version)  Not sure of the colorway except gray (Mom's favorite)

Needles:  US 1.5   I used the magic loop method.  This is the second pair I've used this method on and I must admit it was much better the second time around.  I definitely got in the grove.  (Mom had my needles that I would have used....but making a new sock knitter was definitely worth it)

Modifications:  None....there is a well known error in the pattern.  The lace chart for the foot is missing the purls!  

Can't wait for Mom to model the socks when she visits in October :)

Christmas in July

When I got married and joined my DH's family there was concern over my Christmas stocking.  The kids in DH's family had granny square crocheted stockings that were clearly well loved over the years.  My MIL is not a crocheter and so there was serious concern that I wouldn't have a matching stocking (I don't recall who made the originals).  I looked at the stocking and thought...I could make that.  I searched for a pattern and none was found, so I just tried to mimic what I saw.  Anyway, I got my stocking done for the family before the next Christmas (mine isn't faded like the others, but it works)  I also thought it would be nice to make a set for our house!  I started them and hadn't finished them.

Recently, I found the almost finished stockings (just needed some seaming, edging, and weaving in of ends)  Of course that is my favorite part!   (must be why they were left unfinished)  I think they have been sitting undone for 4 years, but now they are finished and ready for Christmas 2008!!!

There are 14 granny squares seamed together and a row of double crochet at the top to neaten things up.  The heel and toe take a little thought to assemble correctly, but once I realized that the heel is made by sewing 2 edges of one square to 1 edge of the other is helped.  The yarn...Red Heart (red, white, and green)

My Story:

What did the Lord teach me during brain surgery? (what didn't He teach me?)

1. He is faithful!

2. He grew my faith and I got to live out my faith in a way I never had before!  I would say I no longer had my parents faith, but my own.

3.  We all have a testimony.  It may not always be dramatic in our eyes, but becoming one of His is huge in God's eyes.  We all can and should share how God has worked in our lives.

Recovery went well.  I went back to college after 3 weeks to start the fall semester (not sure how my mom let me go)  I felt fine, but looking back it took about 6 months for me to have energy and really be myself again.  I slept lots. (my body just needed to heal)  My grades suffered at first because I just couldn't remember things, but by the end of the semester my grades were up to their normal standards.  Who would have thought that after brain surgery I could go on to get a Phd?  God is so good.  His plans are perfect!   

So in all this, my boyfriend (of 2.5 years) saw more of the recovery than anyone else (he was at school with me).  From what I hear my personality was affected for awhile...I think a lot of that stemmed from being so tired.  I had always wondered how I could be sure who I was to marry.  It seemed such a daunting decision.  But he stuck through all the hard times and never left me!  He could have, there was no reason to stay.  We knew we loved each other, but....well.... many relationships don't last.....ours did.....now he is my Dear Husband (DH).

4.  I got confirmation about who to marry!   

5.  and so much more!

Monday's Musings

WooHoo!  These socks are finally finished!  I'm not sure why they seemed to take so long, maybe because I worked on other things while working on them, maybe because they are guy socks.... bigger than my socks (hard to do with my size 11!)....does switching from knit to purl all the time slow you down like it does me? 

Pattern:  Retro Rib Socks (from Favorite Socks)

Size: Men's 11

Yarn:  Knitpicks Essential in Dusk (2 balls)

Needles: US 2 dpn  

Modifications:  None (no major mistakes that I know of either!)

My DH (dear husband) wishes these were for him....he REALLY liked this pattern, so I will be doing up another pair of these asap, especially since I've never made him socks (YIKES!) okay, not that I haven't tried...but guy yarn, guy pattern, DH's taste....not so easy for me!

My story:

So let's see where were we? You know the back story.  You know it will take a while for everything to unfold.  Now you want to know what happened eight year ago.  Am I right?  So on July 10th, 2000 I thought everything was fine.  I seemed perfectly healthy.  Then my right arm started doing weird things....it would randomly go really numb (almost like it was falling asleep, but worse)  Every time it happened, we prayed!  But it kept happening!   After much convincing, my mom persuaded me to stay home from work ( I hate missing work/school/etc)  Before it was time for my doctor's appointment, I was in the ER after having a grand mal seizure!  There was much to PRAISE God for in this!

1) My nine year old brother was at the park (1st time on his own) so he didn't witness this!

2) It happened it a place where I couldn't hurt anyone (ie-not driving!)

3) I didn't hurt myself (Yeah for being in the middle of the living room floor)

4) My mom was close by to take care of me (Thanks Mom!)

God was in control and taking care of me, but what was the cause...off to do a million medical tests! (more later)

Now remember the contest is still on, so go ahead and leave a comment! (it isn't hard)  Please make sure that there is a way I can contact you if you win!!!

Contest & FO

Lately I have seen so many people with one type or another of reusable bags that I wanted to make some of my own.  I had a cone of cotton lying around, so I thought this Crocheted Grocery Bag was perfect.  I don't really care to knit with cotton....too hard on the hands.....so this was perfect.  It is about the size of a regular plastic grocery bag, but I think will hold a little bit more because you don't have to worry about it breaking.  So far I've made two and want to try them out before making more because some alterations may be necessary. (yep there is still more cotton on the cone)

Now on to the contest!!!!  I always love when other people do contests (and have won two) that I wanted to do one myself.  But then came the decisions...when? how? prize? oh my?  Then I got it!  

Not my Birthday, not my blogiversary, but an anniversary of a special time in my life! (Thus July 10-26th....I will tell you more details in the coming days) Eight years ago my life changed! I was 19 years old, had just finished my first year of college, (oh no....did I just admit my age) I thought everything was perfect. Until July 10th! Everything was definitely not okay, but God was in control. Okay, okay....on with the contest details....plenty of time for my story later!

Contest:

3 Ways to Enter:
1) Comment on a post dated between July 10-26th (1 comment per post please)
2) Announce my contest on your blog (just let me know that you've done it)
3) Keep your eyes open for a special post that will be worth a double entry!

Prize:
$25 gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe!!!!

(nonknitters are welcome to enter too....I will make sure you get something you like, but a guarantee a Loopy gift certificate will be awarded) I like my stash....so I didn't want to give it away....and this way I know you will get something you like!!!

Why:
So why do a contest....I think they are fun....I want to thank everyone who reads my blog (THANKS!!)....and I hope to find a few new readers too!

So let the contest begin!!!

Wee Tiny Sock

So many people have made darling Wee Tiny Socks that I felt like I had to join in.  I got a blocker at The Loopy Ewe and now can broadcast that I'm a sock knitter :)  I also think these would make great Christmas ornaments or cute package toppers!  (I think you could even make your own blocker out of cardboard! )  Can you tell more of these are in my future?

The yarn?  This yarn I won in a contest from Trish back when I was blogless Leah!  It is Apple Laine Apple Pie in Sunset and my first pair of Monkey socks!  (also the first pair of socks I made for myself that actually fit!  It took me awhile to figure out how long to make my socks)  Thanks Trish!!!!! (sorry it has taken me so long to show you the finished product)

Speaking of contests.....I have finally decided on a contest I want to do ( I think)!  It will begin July 10 and run through July 26th, so be sure to check back for details!  I'm really excited about it!

Pictures

I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves! (They aren't too bad considering I took them all myself)

Pictures!

Here they are....pics of my finished socks!

Here are the details:
Pattern: Undulating Rib socks from Favorite socks
Needles: US 2 dpn
Yarn: STR won in a contest from Abigail! (thank you again!)
Modifications: Do you call mistakes modifications? Doing the first sock while visiting home I wasn't paying that much attention! There was supposed to be a purl on each side of the instep...mine only has it on one side. It didn't bug me enough to rip it out, so it was a modification. In light of first modification, I did a standard toe instead of one with pearls like the pattern said.

It was a nice knit and the yarn was great too! a little thick, but very fun!

Oh, here is the giraffe cookie cutter!

News from mom: she is on the heal flap of the second sock! Wow! (She is a little worried about doing this part by herself, but I'm confidant she can do it!)

That was close!

So finishing my socks 20 minutes before bedtime the night they were "due" whew! glad they got done. See as much as I like knitting I realize that it could take over my life. So I have some rules: (I guess right there that means I have a problem)

1. it never comes before school (or to school for that matter--I would never get any work done),
2. it never comes before church, or
3. I can't lose sleep due to knitting
4. the housework can't get too neglected....must have clean clothes and not be mortified if an unannounced visitor comes by.

I started my May socks today. I don't want to push it this time (and I don't think I'll have to with some serious travel time coming up--13 hours in a car=lots of knitting time) More details on that later, because first you need details on the ones just finished!

So here they are: details of April Socks (see pics in previous post):

Pattern: Old Navy socks by Abigail!
Yarn: Knit picks Risata in Navy (2 balls)
Needles: (hmmm, forgot to check the size, I think they are US1--the larger 1's if you want me to double check just let me know) Knitpicks Harmony DPN
Made for: ???? I'm not telling

Modifications: So when turning the heel on the first row I only P18 instead of 19. For whatever reason that is what made it work for me. And last night as I was doing the second toe I realized I didn't decrease enough. I decreased until there were 8 stitch on each needle instead of 8 on top and 8 on bottom. So since I made the mistake the first time I just went with it the second :)

Yarn thoughts: This was the first time I had used this yarn. It is the best cotton sock yarn I've used (but I haven't sampled a whole bunch) I still had some give in it. The twist is a little different, but it didn't pose any problems for me. The dark color on the other hand was a little challenging to see the stitches (and makes photographing hard, sorry for the bad pics)

New skills learned: Cabling without a needle--not sure I will ever go back! (Thanks Abigail for writing a pattern that motivates one to learn this skill) and a new grafting technique that works for me (yeah!)

Just in time!

Here are the finished socks! at 9:40 pm. Details tomorrow (or the next day depending on how crazy it gets tomorrow, things will get back to normal soon!)

Blanket is ready for baby!

So as promised here are the pics of the baby blanket! Overall I really enjoyed this project--even with the different edging construction (I guess that was part of the fun) Thanks for your help picking the pattern! This was the first time I used Bernet Softee Baby yarn. (I think I have enough to make another blanket--I always overbuy because I hate to run out) So I may make another one, just to have around for the next baby, we'll see. The yarn was okay. I think I prefer Lion Brand Baby Soft, but this wasn't bad!

This weekend I had a first--I went to an LSU gymnastics meet with some ladies from church! It was great fun. I have always liked to watch it on tv and thought it would be fun to do that, but my lack of balance caused me to never try (I have been called the Leaning Tower of Leah--another story for another day, probably better told by someone other than me) It was exciting to watch it live--plus LSU did super! I definitely plan on going to more in the future.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long absence. I had planned on posting over spring break more, but instead I just enjoyed my break! It was super! I got to sleep in, knit, relax, and hang out with DH. Now I'm excited to go back to math world and work hard on my research! So what have I been knitting? Well I finished my Monkey socks by Cookie A! I'm super pleased with them! They are using Knitpicks Essential yarn in Lily Pad with US 1 dpn. (for an undisclosed recipient)

In other news, I hope you all had a fantastic Easter and enjoyed celebrating the resurrection of our Lord! It was a great time to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for anyone willing to take it. (I did miss my dad's Easter Egg hunt---he always hid eggs so well and my brothers and I took our Easter egg hunt very seriously not to mention the Easter baskets mom always had at our door when we would wake up)

Tomorrow look for pics on the sweater!

Baby Set 2

Here is Baby Set 2 (aka-the girl set) minus 2 buttons. See last post about my inability to count. The color is off in these pictures. There wasn't a lot of natural light this morning and the flash made it orange. This pic which was taken before buttons is closer to the real color, but still not quite right, but you get the idea!

The color is coral, knitpicks shine sport. So cute! Next person having a baby girl will probably get it, otherwise it is going into my hope chest :) Not a lot of knitting got done this weekend. I had the math contest (fun) and then good friends for dinner on Saturday (lots of fun) and the Sunday didn't feel good (so lots and lots of sleep) I did start a new sock so I will tell you all about it tomorrow (hopefully I'll get a little further on it tonight).

Baby Set Done!

So the green baby set is done, well at least I think. I really wanted to squeeze a hat out of the green I have, but I don't think it is possible. I'm really happy with how the bootees came out. They are Saartje's bootees (small version) using KnitPicks Shine Sport in grass using size 4 needles. As you all know I had great difficulty with the size, but I consulted "someone" who said her baby (now 7 months old) has 5 inch long feet as best she could measure with squirming baby. So these are a full 4 inches with plenty of give. I think that will work!

Now here is the problem....this is for my pastors upcoming child. I thought we were going to find out if the baby was a boy or girl, but at the last minute they've decided to wait. I have made another baby set (bootees in progress) in coral with a little lace, but same basic shape/size/yarn. Now I have to decide what to do. Would the green work for a girl? (the coral won't work for a boy) So here are my options:
1) wait and give them the set after baby is born. Then they get the proper color no problem, but it is so fun to give these cute things at a shower. (I'm planning on making a blanket in white too, so I know that will be a shower gift too, but...)
2) Give the green regardless....that is if you think green is ok for a girl
3) Some better option you all come up with (HELP!!!)

Here's Knox showing off her tummy!