SP11 Questionnaire - Secret Pal 11

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Favorite yarn for knitting would be Rowan. Favorite Sock yarn would be Lang Jawoll (either cotton or wool). Fibers I do not like? I guess like everyone else would be acrylic! LOL

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Straights are stored in a large tin, circulars are stored in their packages (Addies or HiyaHiya) and I also have the set of Denise's circulars

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting since January of 2006. My level is intermediate or beginning advanced! LOL. I have a strong craft, needlework and crocheting background, so I picked up knitting pretty easily.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, but I will say I do not have any Stephanie books, elizabeth zimmerman or *itching Nation books. Actually, I only have 3 knitting books that I use for reference. LOL

5. What's your favorite scent? Vanilla

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Anything Chocolate

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I knit, sew, embroider (by hand and machine), cross stitch, ummmm....and No I do not spin or weave and really have no interest. I love watching people do it, but it's not something I have ever been interested in.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Music: favorites would be REO speedwagon, MEATLOAF and Prince

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Reds, blues are my favs. Neon is not me.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married for almost 29 years, have 2 grown children, and 1 runt black cocker spaniel.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Any and all. And if anyone sees a patterns for the scarf/hat all in one I would love one of those. Not sure what it is called, but it's like a scarf but has a "back" to it so you can wear it on your head? LOL

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? SOCKS and dishclothes! But right now, baby stuff.

13. What are you knitting right now? Baby blanket, sweater, booties, etc. Expecting my first grandchild!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No, my LYS winds everything into cakes for me!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? My first sweater from Jan. of 07. I can't follow the right side directions and put it up. Haven't looked at it in that long either. The whole sweater is done, back, sleeves, and left side.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Most probably 4th of July. Love the whole red/white/blue thing.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Piebirds

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I do not have any books, besides 3 reference books and I do not have any magazine subscriptions. Boring I know! LOL

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Need to get up the "gumption" to try enterlac.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes I am. Love socks and actually got "stuck on them" from Oct to April. LOL I wear a women's 8-1/2 shoe, with 8-1/2 circumference and a 9" overall length. Pretty much normal.

23. When is your birthday? In May and yes I am a true Gemini! :)

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? No I am not. Still not really sure what it is although I have read the site! LOL

What a great weekend

Hubby and I took the RV to the casinos over the weekend. This was our first trip with it as it is about 60 minutes from home and we wanted to make sure we could hook it up, we had everything we needed and if we ran into problems we were close enough to home to get help! LOL. We had a great time and everything went smoothly....except.....we need a check list BEFORE we take off. Left the house and turned the corner, the door swung open and the stairs were still down.....We had to stop to fix that. Other than that small problem, it went really smoothly.





Going to be in the Monkey Swap 3, so I'm pretty excited about that. Maybe this time, I can remember to check that ALL needles are the same size!





Also doing the Secret Pal 11, which I have never done any of them before, so I am "racking" my brains on doing it well!





And the Dish Rag Tag, which I think will be pretty fun. Dish cloths only take about 1-2 hours to do, so the purpose is to get your box in, knit a dishcloth and get the box mailed right back out either that day or the next day! There can be no cheating, so hopefully, everyone waits to knit their cloth with a skein from the box....then rebox in the SAME box, mail and get it done!





On the knitting front:






This is the cloth I did for my Swap Partner for this quarter's swap. Hopefully, she doesn't check my blog until after she has received the box. Hope she likes it. I loved the color and it is S&C beach ball blue.








I also did an extra one just in case I need to be an angel. I didn't have enough of the varigated yarn but I had a little blue left from another cloth and they matched in color, so I think it came out pretty. I asked hubby if he thought it looked like I ran out of yarn and he said he thought that was the design of it.....so I guess it worked! LOL



Other than that, I am still working on the "secret" baby blanket and hopefully soon I can post pictures, but it probably won't be for a couple of months, as I have to wait to find out if I am getting a granddaughter or grandson. So far I am pleased with how the color scheme is coming out and have the blanks ready to fill in with pink or blue. Are you wondering what I am working on? Is the suspense getting to you? LOL

Happy Knitting!

Drum-Roll Please!!!!!!

Well, I am also busy knitting "little things"! I am going to be a grandmother for the FIRST time, so now you know what I have been doing! Besides holding daughter's head (she has morning and evening sickness - YUCK!) I am knitting, knitting away! Also working on a surprise blanket, but since I don't know if she reads my blog, I can't post that for awhile. The sweater (to me) appears to be very very small (haven't seening a "midget" in quite awhile) so I am making another sweater in white that is bigger! Hoping one of them will fit. Will add details (blue or pink) once the little "jelly bean" gets big enough to figure out what sex it is! LOL

Happy knitting!

So busy knitting, forgot to blog!

Finished my sweater. It was supposed to be a shell, but I added short sleeves and put some of the detail work from the front and back of the sweater onto the bottom of the sleeves and learned how to do breast darts to compensate for my size D's. LOL. That was fun and I know I will be doing the darts again. The sweater is gorgeous and fits beautifully. I couldn't ask for a better fit! To me, this is the first time, I have knitted a sweater that I absolutely loved how it looked, feels, and fits! Can't ask for more than that!

This is the new ceramic yarn that is out. I started working on this in May before I went on vacation. I was hoping to get it finished, but I ran out of time. It came out very nice, but I haven't worn it yet. Supposedly it is supposed to keep you cool by 5 degrees. Well it is 95 here, so I am going to have to try it out. The only problems I ran into was the yarn is very "slinky" and has a tendency to "pull". It goes back into place, but that is a pain. Also, if you have any "rough" spots on your fingers, the yarn "grabs". I ended up always using cuticle oil before starting knitting and then washing my hands real good to make sure the oil was gone! I can't wait to wear it, but told hubby he was going to have to take me out for dinner to wear it as it is a little too much for work (the ribbons shows skin) and I spent too much to wear to the local club (which still allows smoking) and I don't want to have to come home with "smoke sweater". But hey, he'll take me to dinner and I'll feel wonderful wearing it!

More tomorrow, as I have an important announcement to make and to show what else I have been up to!

Happy knitting!

Different sizing of yarn needles

The Monkeys were bad and the needles were worse!

No you are not seeing a bad image. The socks are different sizes! The top was done with Addi #2 and the bottom was done with Hiya #2

There I was knitting away and trying to finish the socks for the Monkey Sock Swap. I never measured the socks against each other since I was doing pattern repeats. I get done, graft the toes and UH OH! Major problem! Significant difference in socks! I almost cried! I thought I must have mixed up the #2's and #3's in their package. But nope, 2 sets of #3's were in their package!

I then got out the needle gage and lo and behold......#2 Addies measure 3mm....which is between a #2 and #3 and the Hiya's measure 2.75mm. This is a signicant difference in the smaller size needles.

So, I ask myself: "How come I never noticed this before?" and then it dawns on me. I've only used the number #2's for hubbie's socks and I do it by measurement. 68 stitches of 2x2 ribbing for 6-1/2 inches, the heel, and then stockenette for a total of 14" in length and then the toe start.

Now don't laugh (which I know you will!), but this now all makes sense to me when hubby said one of the socks feels tighter than the other! Duh! It would!

So, how do the solve the problem with my monkey socks? The only way I could, I went to my LYS, got another skein of yarn, started another sock, emailed the swap hostess and my partner and say! "I have a problem! The socks don't match!" So I'm late for mailing my package, but am making good time on the second (or would you call it the third) sock and should have them finished, washed and blocked sometime today!

So excuse me all as I go back to knitting this sock so it can be mailed, hopefully tomorrow! :)

The yarns I bought while on vacation!

One skein of Lana Grossa Stretch Cotton and 2 skeins of DG Confetti Cotton were purchased from the Bee Hive in Victoria, B.C.
One skein of Opal Cotton and 2 skeins of Crystal Palace Panda Cotton were purchased from The Yarn Garden in Gig Harbor, Washington
Four skeins of Wildfoot in two different colors, one skein of Caryn's Creations (done in Seattle Seahawk colors - Hubby will love these come fall!) and 2 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classics (for some very nice dishcloths for me!) were purchased from So Much Yarn, in Seattle, Washington.

Of course, Hubby thinks I am nuts for wanting to go to yarn stores on vacation, but he was a trooper and hunted them down and looked interested in the stores! I think it was a great yarn vacation and only had wished I had room in my luggage to have brought home more yarns!

Seattle, Victoria B.C. and Tacoma

Pike's Place Market at the Waterfront in Seattle
The Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C. - It was beautiful!
The view from our room at the Empress (I didn't want to leave!)
Well, the Moose was just sitting there, so I sat on his lap!
One of my socks in progress with an ocean view behind me!