Knitting Caboodle

I finished a pair of socks.

Sock glamor:

Do you know how hard it is to get a decent sock shot using your own feet? I suspect sock knitters all know.

This shot looks like my feet are shy… or I have to goooo.

I took these pictures in the middle of the day, and I’m wearing shark jammies.

Sock info:

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Sock (50% nylon, 50% acrylic)
Pattern: Classic Sock Pattern from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
Needles: No. 3 steel dpns… how I wish I had some light bamboo No.3’s!

These are classic (hence the pattern name) top-down socks with heel flaps. I have big ankles (but not cankles… I hope) so I used the largest pattern size. It is a smidge loose so halfway between the medium and the large would have been a better size for me. Not that that stopped me from immediately starting another pair in the same large size.  I refuse to stray from the pattern after losing my knitting mojo a couple months ago. I definitely recommend Nancy Bush’s book… it is working wonders for my sock mojo!

The yarn is okay.  If you need a cool sock, this will do the trick.  If you need warm socks, don’t use this yarn.  The day I tried these socks on it was 63F in my house and my tootsies were so cold.  Now it is 83F and my tootsies are comfy.  Not that I’m wearing socks today because it is too hot… bare feet are the order for hot days when your a/c is broken.

I received a great package from Cara at This Recycled Life last week.  This bracelet and necklace are even prettier in person than in photos.   I got the bracelet as part of winning her blog contest, and I exchanged one of my handmade things for the necklace.  I only hope she is as happy with my needlework as I am with her necklace!  Be sure to check out Cara’s blog and etsy shop.

Just before I went out of town, I entered a contest at Cara’s blog This Recycled Life.  She creates unique jewelry and dolls from recycled materials.  I won the contest for a bracelet!  I can’t wait.  Make sure you look around her Etsy shop Beautiful Garbage too.  I’m drawn to her key necklaces.

I love the idea of making pretty, unique items from things that we all normally consider junk or garbage.  It appeals to my green side and my pink side (aka “girly”).  We all should find ways to rethink things, and Cara’s take is beautiful.  Be sure to check out her patterns for junk mail… they weren’t what I expected.  I plan to put my junk mail to good use soon!

I am so happy to be home. Vacation is exhausting… especially with a 5yo in tow. I am wiped out! But we had a great time visiting snow while we were there.

One very happy 5yo:

I took this picture of BC several hours after the snow started falling. The day before rain had melted all the snow. By the time the storm was over, the courtyard here was about 6 inches deep in snow with more falling. That may not be much for you all that live in snowy areas but it was plenty for one very happy little boy from Florida.

I had plenty of time for a vacation sock:

One sock… I finished the toe at home. As you can see, the second sock is on the way… can I avoid second sock syndrome?  If I do, I’ll show it to you a modeled picture.

There was one very major mishap on the road. Fortunately, I had my medical supplies handy.

Lamb suffered a rear leg blow out. BC handed him to me and told me I could fix it. Such confidence! I had no sewing supplies with me and yarn was not going to do the job. Lamb got a bandaid. I was completely surprised that the bandaid worked!  It is still working.
Lamb is a trooper.

I will be without a computer for the next week or so… I’ll resume posting as soon as I can1

I cannot believe none of my recent posts are showing!  I have told you all some very interesting (and funny, very funny) things the last couple of weeks.  And the pictures I’ve shown you…  awesome pictures!  I think they are lost forever… seeing as how I was posting telepathically.  I was convinced I have the ability to transfer my thoughts to the ether without physically touching the computer.  Sadly… I am not telepathic.

I’ll be back soon with the real stuff.

I finished the bobbly, cably Frivol and my muse left.

Just like that - poof!

I tried to knit some socks with the nice, new yarn MC bought for me. The first try was too small… the second, too big… it gave me a headache to think about so I put it aside. The yarn probably needs to age in the stash before it can be knit.

I’m still waiting for inspiration. Seriously, a person might be driven to organize her craft area.

No, not that.  I’m going to read a few books.

I’ve been busy here at Chez Caboodle.

Not too long after the last post, I took the kitties to their vet. Since these kitties are senior citizen cats, I had a full blood panel done to check for any problems, and to give us a baseline for their remaining years.

Marble is 12 years old. He’s my one-eyed, old-man cat. Even though he is a very strong, robust cat, he has always had delicate health so I was quite surprised when the vet announced him the apparent picture of health! Except that he has gained weight the last few years. He is mostly an indoor cat now, he used to be a mostly outdoor cat. Very little tree climbing goes on inside the house.

Frazzle is 13 years old. She is exceptionally dumb but so sweet, I don’t really care she can’t figure out that I moved the litter box over 2 feet. She has always been our healthy cat so I was surprised to find that she has signs of kidney problems. I’m not totally surprised since this is fairly common to cats. I lost one cat several years ago due to kidney problems. She lived many healthy years before it got the best of her. I anticipate that Frazzle has several healthy years ahead of her. In the meantime, I have banned our neighbor’s cat, Sammy, from sneaking in since he likes to chase Frazzle. She doesn’t need the stress (I don’t either).

Mr. Caboodle and I also managed to celebrate our 11th anniversary. We went to a nice restaurant for drinks and dinner. It doesn’t sound like much but it is because BC stayed with the in-laws without any drama. That is huge for us… and it’s a fairly new development.

MC gave me yarn for our anniversary. Isn’t he the sweetest? He obviously didn’t get the memo that I’m trying to do some stash busting. Oh well, I’ll suffer through it!

I managed to use some stash to complete a hat. Here is a very sick BC modeling it (he has a virus, a black eye, and a dirty face… the trifecta of childhood):

The pattern is Frivol. The stash yarn is Lionbrand Woolease.

I got the idea to knit Frivol from Nuttnbunny. Her version is much more colorful. And you can see the cables and bobbles better in her pictures.

Frivol is a very fun knit. I finally learned to make bobbles. I didn’t make them according to the directions but they seem very bobble-like despite that detail.

Since I’ve managed to mention just about every member of our family besides her… I leave you with the world’s most lickingest dog:

Sycamore leaf versus 12-inch ruler. Leaf wins.

The leaf is bigger than the dog.

That was some list yesterday, huh?

I have to be honest about it, I cheated. I listed things that are important to me that I don’t do consistently but which I have been working on for months (even years). New Year’s resolutions seem so absolute but I prefer ongoing goals. I frequently reevaluate where I am through the year… there is no one starting point.

The one item that is new (but which I identified a couple of weeks ago) is #17. I can never tell when MC is talking to BC, the dog, the cats or me, so I usually tune him out. I’ve asked MC to make sure he has my attention before starting a conversation since it annoys both of us when he thinks I’m ignoring him.

For the record, I’m still in my jammies today so #7 is shot… I don’t feel bad. In fact, I’m pretty darn comfortable. I did get dressed yesterday to take BC to the park… where I froze into an Ice Caboodle. Coffee was a dogsicle. BC was fine but we found catsicles when we returned home. The young are so indifferent to temperature!

I worked on #21 this morning. Heart attack inducing sights like this may prevent success…

There are two of these in our house and they give me a start every time I find one.  It is part of BC’s plastic insect menagerie… the only one that fools me, and creeps me right out of  my skin.  I stomped this one pretty good this morning!

I made more progress on  #9.  Another scarf has been made from the neverending Sirdar stash.  Pictures tomorrow.  Maybe I will even show you the shark jammies I’m so comfy in.