Project updates

Well, the Steeler’s baby sweater is at a standstill. I’ve knitted the 2nd sleeve and the neckband. The other night I went to pick up the stitches for the right front button band. I read the pattern and got one number stuck in my mind as to how many stitches I needed. Well, I was wrong. By 6 stitches. That’s a fair amount on a baby sweater. So I ripped it out and set it aside for now. I’ll probably work on it later this weekend.

So, I picked up the Tofutsie’s sock. I just love this pattern! I swear this is the quickest I’ve ever knit a sock. Hmm, I wonder if those Rosewoods have anything to do with it?

Robin just finished her pair. They’re some great lookin’ socks!

Last night Mom, Luke and I went to the local baseball stadium to watch a game and some very cool fireworks! After about the 3rd or 4th inning, I broke out the knitting:

It’s another cup coozie for a good friend of mine. Easy mindless knitting. However, I did put Mom in charge of making sure I didn’t get hit by any baseballs! There was one that came close. We were sitting off the first baseline and it was on a direct trajectory to us but fortunately it hit the sound wire and bounced into the next section to us 2 rows down. Whew!

One last thing, an online store testimonial! Last Saturday I was browsing about looking for sock yarn that I had to have. Well, I ended up going to our LYS, Needle on the Square and got that Tofutsies. BUT I found something else I just couldn’t live without.

Stitchkeepers!!

I love them. Admittedly, I’ve never had a problem with stitches falling off of my DPNs but I worry about them all flailing about in my knitting bag. This way they’re all nice and safe and clumped up together. No flailing. The best part? Sheri at the Loopy Ewe (link in my sidebar) mailed them on Saturday and I got them Tuesday! This was a holiday weekend we’re talking about here, people! I expected them to get MAILED on Tuesday. She also includes little presents with your first 5 orders! I will certainly be buying from her again. The only “downside” is picking between all her luscious sock yarn!

40% off!!

I don’t think I mentioned this but our LYS (Needle on the Square) has a drawing every month. 4 or 5 names get picked out for various percents off of a project. Well, back in August I won the 40% off! I was so excited! I’d never won anything like this before and it was right at my birthday and I had birthday money and just went crazy. I bought some gorgeous soft pink yarn for a sweater. That’s a whole nother story but lets just say that someone else is loving that yarn right now because I sold it on eBay. I couldn’t enter the drawing for 6 months so when I went back in April I could finally enter again. And guess what? I won the 40% off discount again! So I wanted to use this discount cautiously. I looked and looked and couldn’t find a sweater pattern I NEEDED. So today, I went to the store and got 2 skeins of Tofutsies. And some more black Encore DK to finish off the baby sweater. I decided not to make it as stripey as I originally thought so I knew more black would come in hand. And I got some Cascade Fixation that I plan to make some of these with. Minus the eyelash yarn. I’ve started drinking more water at work and the cup I have sweats a lot. My poor little felted coaster is getting a work out so I thought I’d give it some back up. Plus I thought they’d make cute little gifts.

I also got some DPNs for the baby sweater and a stitch counter/marker for working the round. They also had some adorable (perfectly sized!) buttons for the baby sweater. Little robots! How cute!!

So I decided since I did get a 40% off discount for all the sock supplies I’d buy myself a little something special. Truth be told, with the discount, I basically got them free! :

Yup. Rosewood sock needles. I can’t wait to try them! I’m going to use them to knit up one of the Tofutsies for my Aunt Judy’s socks.

Here’s a picture of the rest of my haul:

Dianne- I want you to note the other DPNs are the Bryspun you showed me.

I was going to go up to Yarn Theory to pick up the knitting bag that I won and maybe stop by Tapestry on the way home but they’re apparently closed today. Which isn’t all that bad since I don’t need to go to any more yarn stores today!

So I think I’ve got all that I need to settle in for a long relaxing weekend of knitting. Let’s see how many FO’s I have on Monday. Or at least how many new projects I have on the needles!

I hope everyone has a very safe happy Memorial Day weekend!

Catch Up Saturday

I’ve been trying to find the best way to photograph my homespun yarn (any suggestions here would be great, BTW). So it took me a few days to bring you this:

It’s the Beneath the Waves roving I bought. Even though you can better see the colors here, it’s still so much prettier in person. I’m trying to decide what to make with it. Maybe a vest? or shawl? I’m just not sure yet.

Today I took the smallest of the 3 Beneath the Waves hanks and my first homespun skein up to Bedford. We went to see Dianne and her Sock Sister Linda at Yarn Theory. They were having a Spring Fiber Fling. I ended up sitting and knitting with them for a few hours chatting and visiting and having a lovely time!

I suppose it’d be nice to show you what I bought:

That’s Austermann Step for a pair of socks and Koigu for the Chevron Scarf in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Yup, I’m one of the last 5 people who haven’t made it yet.

Lastly, I’d like to share with you what happened here last week:

I know, the Taco Salads are exciting but what I was showing you that on Thursday, May 17th, the gas prices really broke $3. The worst part was when I left for work that day, it was $3.03, when I got home it was $3.09. For the record, I don’t get my gas here. I get it at a cheaper (sometimes by 20 cents!) place near work.

Well, back to knitting and spinning! I’m almost done with my cousin’s present (thanks to said knitting for hours earlier today) and want to go on and get that done.