Purrrl-plexed

Found the pattern!

If anyone is interested, I found the pattern for the socks from the last post.

It's the "Tidalwave" pattern.  Enjoy!  I think that it was the perfect choice for the blue Smooshy! :)

My name is Angela...

...and I'm a bad, bad blogger.

OK.  That's out of the way.  Let's get caught up now, shall we?

1: May's socks. (Yep, I'm still on track for a pair of socks a month...)

Pattern: I don't remember, and I can't find it right now.  I found it on Ravelry. 
Yarn: Dream in Color, Smooshy
color: "Some Summer Sky" 
You may not be able to see it in the photo, but there are bits of pink and purple.  Absolutely beautiful.  The yarn was gifted to me by Beth.  I love it!  I really enjoyed this pattern, too.

2: Birthday girl.

Abby turned 7 on June 4.  She had a good day.

3: Mother/Son bowling.

On Mother's Day weekend, Matt and I went bowling.  It was fun, and he did great!  This weekend is Father's day, and we're all going to visit Kings Island.  Abby is tall enough to ride the "big" rides this year, and has already rode the racer in the front seat. :)  She's looking forward to riding Vortex, too.  Matt rode the racer for the first time this week.  He loved it. (I told him that he would!)  He also rode "Flight of Fear."  He probably won't do that again.  I think that I can get him to ride "Flight Deck" (Formerly known as Top Gun), though.  We'll see.

More later.  Next month maybe?

So much to say, so little time!

Beware, there are lots of photos coming...

Okay, first let's get the knitting out of the way.  We have more socks:

Details:
Pattern: Zigzag Socks, from Vogue Knitting: Ultimate sock book
Needles: US#1 dpns
Yarn: Lorna's laces, shepherd sock
size: freakishly long. ;)  (fits my size 9 feet.)

Why, yes.  Yes this is my 4th pair of finished socks this year.  I'm working on the 5th right now.

Next, a picture of the 3 Xavier Musketeers.

From left to right: Jamie's foot, Mom's, and mine.  Unfortunately, the fact that we all wore our XU socks for the big game didn't help the Muskies make it to the final 4....but it was a good run this year.  We'll get 'em next year!

Yarn?  Yep.  I finally bought some new stuff this year.  Alpaca Sox, by Classic Elite yarns.  I call the colorway "Cotton Candy."  Don't you agree? (Click, of course, for bigger!)
Oh yeah, and if Jeff asks where it came from, I can tell him that yarn grows on trees:

Now...for the stuff that my mom really wants to see.  We had some big adventures last week.  Abby finally learned to ride her 2-wheeler!  She is so excited about it, and so proud of herself. 
 
She's loving it. 

Present time, Present time...

...open the present and see what's inside!
(I received my prize from Margene's Blogiversary contest!)

Ohhh....what's inside?  I can't wait to see....

What wonderful goodies!  What a treat for me!  Let's see....there's some delightful Fleece Artist yarn.  Abby pulled it out of the box and wondered if it could be socks for her.   Next up, 2 skeins Reynolds soft sea wool, in a deep plum color.  I may have to hide this from Beth. ;)  Of course, what would a package from Margene be without chocolate???  This is delicious dark chocolate with cherries and almonds.  Oh, forget about any Easter chocolate for me...this is MINE...ALL MINE!   There  was also some wool wash (which smells wonderful!), some green tea mints (which I have never tried before...the jury's still out on these!), a whimsical tape measure (mine is always disappearing...maybe this one will stay with MY stuff!), and a "wooly Loofah"...I am really going to enjoy it!

Thank you, Margene.  What a fun contest.  What fun goodies! 

Happy Easter

Don't eat too many chocolate bunnies today!

Was it really less than a week ago...

...that we were dealing with this?

And now, it's almost gone.  Spring is peeking its head out everywhere I look.  A few weeks ago I was able to get outside and clean out the flower beds around the house.  Today, after sending the kids off to school, I pulled out my camera and took a few pictures of the little buds that are pushing their way out of their winter slumber. For those of you visiting from Margene's blog, yes, this is my iris garden.  I admit, it's not much to look at right now, but give it a few months, and the beauty will be stunning!

Iris Garden and daffodils.  Spring really is coming!

Speaking of Margene...YeHaw!  I won a prize in her blogiversary contest!  How lucky am I?  Thanks, Margene...Not only for the prize, but for sharing your beautiful knitting and landscape with us.

Blizzard Bandwagon

It seems that all of the "Ohio" blogs that I read are posting their blizzard pictures.  We've got at least a foot of snow here, and it's still falling.  We're officially in the middle of a "BLIZZARD!"  (Can I just say how glad I am that it's coming on a weekend???)

...But in our little cul-de-sac, everyone is ready for spring. 

(Or perhaps I should title this picture "Crazy Neighbors.")

Yes.  They've shoveled a clear spot in the middle of the cul-de-sac to play cornhole.  They really did play, too. 

As for me, I'm planning on hibernating today.  I'm still in my pj's (at 11 am!).  I *may* get out the snowblower after 4, when the blizzard has passed us by. Until then, I'm getting a lot done on my sweater.

Oh, let me leave you with another picture of my crazy neighbors....They're such fun. (Click for bigger)

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth...

...although I do feel like I've been living in a cave lately.  I have no excuse for not posting in almost 2 months.  I just haven't had motivation.  However, that is about to change. 

I have *gasp* finished objects.  Yes, that's a plural.  OBJECTS.  I have been knitting.

First, let me present my Xavier sox 2008:

Notice, they're identical twins down to the itty-bitty white part on the toes.   I've been continuing to knit from my stash for this year.  This yarn is from Beth...a Christmas gift from 2(?) years ago.  It's Opal Seide.  Yeah, 70% wool, 30% silk.  I'm so in love with these socks.  They're mine.  All mine. (I've got 'em on right now, as a matter of fact.)  The pattern is something from Charlene Schurch's book, Sensational Knitted Socks.  Sorry, no link.  I'm feeling lazy.

And then, continuing with the themes of (a) stash knitting, (b) Xavier Blue, and (c) socks, I present Xavier Sox 2008, v. 2.0.

Alright, so the pattern really is Marguerite's Old Shale Socks Pattern.  I wanted to use every scrap of the Opal, and I had some wonderful complimentary solid Opal (in the stash.) These socks are destined to be a gift.  The only modification to the pattern was that I used the solid for the heel, rather than switching back to the patterned.  The first picture was taken this morning out in the snow, and it looks a little too blueish.  The second pic was taken on the kitchen island.  Much truer colors.  Notice, too, the eye of partridge heel.  (My first ever!)  Fancy-schmancy, no?

I'm hoping that with all of this "Xavier" themed knitting that they continue to do well with their season.  Go Muskies! 

The Last and the First....

Finished Objects!

The last FO of 2007:

Bill's Socks.  Pardon the slightly blurry photo...there was a lot of activity, and this was the best that I could do.  I was really worried that these socks were going to be huge. As you can tell though, they fit him quite nicely.  I hope that you like 'em, Uncle Bill! I hope that they keep your feet toasty warm, too. Merry Christmas!

And...the first FO of 2008:

Pattern: Monkey Socks, from Knitty.
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (A gift from Mindy from Christmas 2006)
Needles: US #2 DPNs

Modifications: None that I can think of.
What I will change if I do this pattern again: Smaller needles?  These sockies are a bit big on me. Not sure how I could reduce the pattern, so I would try it on smaller needles to see if it made much of a difference.   Overall, I enjoyed this pattern...especially after I *got* it.  I was halfway through the second sock before I had the light bulb moment and could finally memorize the pattern.  (Boy did I feel like a dork when I realized how intuitive it really was.)

Next on my agenda?  Well, I won't say it too loudly, I don't want to jinx anything...but I did pick up my sweater again yesterday. Yeah, the sweater that I started in January.  January 2006. Hush. 

Happy 2008.  Here's to finishing up some UFOs!

Mystery project revealed!

I can finally post a picture of the finished "mystery" project!

This is the Birch shawl, knit from knitpicks dye your own laceweight yarn.  I dyed it using their acid dyes.  It has some wonderful variation in the color.

It was hard to send it away, but I KNOW that the recipient is quite thrilled.

Another photo?  Sure!