Finally!!!

I have a name and an address of someone who will finish the socks-in-progress that have been in my possession for some time now.  They will be mailed to Lambikins (who lives in Connecticut) later this morning.  Best of luck brave warrior!

We plan on spending a semi quiet 4th.  Once again we are minding a neighbor's dog and plants in exchange for hot tub/cooling pool privileges.  It is a great trade.  We are celebrating our 35th Anniversary on Sunday.  If you are looking for a gift...click here.

The Annetrelac Socks are coming along after a few false turns yesterday.  Hopefully, I will be through the entrelac section on the first sock later this afternoon.

On My Needles

The Annetrelac Socks are finally underway...this is an unofficial KAL with 3 participants. Knitdad, Mendy and moi.  Knitdad had some Anne in his stash, so he will be using that.  Not sure what Mendy will cast on.  I thought this Trekking might work...we'll see what the next round of rectangles look like. So far, so good.  Note the circular needle holding stitches on the back so they don't zoom off my dpns.

Could It Be??

Yesterday I was at SIT(Stitch in Time) to do a mini KAL with Larry.  We thought it would be fun to try the Annetrelac Sock pattern.  It was published in the Winter 2007, Holiday issue, if you happen to have it.  We'll see how it goes.  While there, several friends dropped by to knit, visit, and have expert advise from Larry on knitting questions.  I don't know how Larry manages to keep all of that information straight!  One person who came by was Andy, a brave sole who just ripped back on a project.  He had a wig with him and it didn't take much persuasion to get a shot ...

Have you heard the expression Separated at Birth?  Well, a few minutes after Andy left the store, we were looking through copies of new books and came upon this photo in

Knits for Men
Could it be?  Only their hairdressers know....

For Those of You.....

who are still confused how Sock Wars III works (in theory, at least) this is the best explanation of the process.

I am still waiting to hand off the socks in progress that were mailed to me from the UK.  

Meanwhile, the struggle to finish the Leafling Socks is drawing to a close.  After ripping the socks back to before the heel twice, I think I have it figured out.  I am planning to cast on another project tomorrow at SIT one way or another.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We saw Mongol this evening.  What a brutal life they had.

I'm Dead

Well, the mailman had several packages for us today...and YES one of them did contain my Death Socks.  I have already notified my "killers" but first, let us bow our heads for a moment of silence.



Here are my fantastic Death Socks and the package of goodies from my co-killers, Gabrielle and Freda.  They made death all the sweeter by their thoughtfulness!

Now to the problem of sorting out who will get the socks in progress that I have been holding for the past few weeks.  Once I decided to not opt into the continuation of the game (after the Supreme Commander called Sock Wars III over), I had to wait to die without influencing the game.  How boring is that?

  

Sock Wars III Winner Declared

The winner of the original Sock Wars III game has been announced.  If you are interested click here.  Because he is from California, too......I guess my postcard made it into the drawing but the force was not with me, sadly.  The stitch marker above has three skulls that represent my 3 confirmed kills...a fellow warrior had them available in her Etsy store 

The second Spring Forward sock came off the needles this morning.  Don't they look spiffy with my new garden clogs?No, I don't plan to wear the socks in the garden.  I couldn't resist the combination for a photo..

Two quick shots from the garden...it is way too hot to putter around out there these days!

Spring Forward #1

The first Spring Forward Sock is off the needles and kitchenered. It is done in BMFA's fingering weight Lemongrass. If you care to look, I have several views posted on my Ravelry projects page. The pattern was error free and quite easy.  No problems watching TV with this one!  Try it and you will not be disappointed.

Something exciting came in the mail just now....and it was not my Death Socks! Something much better than that. My latest ebay victory...Wollmeise. I am embarrassed to mention how much I paid for it. You know that MUST HAVE feeling? Here it is....the colorway is Brombeere.

Our tomato crop was increased by three plants yesterday. That brings us to a grand total of thirteen plants.  The additions are different varieties of "large" tomatoes.  We had neglected to select and plant that category - but made up for our oversight.  Stand back...Killer Tomatoes due to attack soon.

Our plants seem quite happy and most of the blossoms seem to be setting without needing encouragement.  We don't have enough to share yet...but that situation won't last much longer. That is, of course, if the squirrels don't run out of birdseed and develop a taste for tomatoes!

Hope You Had...

..a happy Father's Day.  We certainly did. As we were headed up the driveway, Spookie ran past the car with something in his mouth. Always ready to take a picture, I grabbed my camera, jumped out of the car and followed him around the side of the house.  He dropped his trophy for a quick photo.We met Meghan and Julien and went on an epicurean adventure in Monterrey Park. They find the most interesting (and tasty) places to go to...this one is called Elite and is known for Dim Sum.  I am sure Greg and I will be back there soon!  After eating we decided to go to Armstrong Nursery to continue our visit. We needed plant food for our tomato crop and they were shopping for house plants.  While there, I snapped some more photos...




































Then we headed to Borders Bookstore on South Lake to continue our visit and to look at some games on Meghan's Nintendo DS Lite.  I think she was surprised to know that I already had one! Meghan had some games that I didn't know about...so I was able to audition them.  It is a fun gadget and the games are very addictive.  Needless to say that I was on Amazon last night ordering three more games and a carrying case for my unit.  It was a very enjoyable afternoon, filled with fun things to do.

The Spring Forward Socks are coming along.  I am almost through the first pattern repeat (24 rows) on the leg.  It is the kind of pattern that lends itself to TV watching or conversation-not too taxing on the brain.  That doesn't mean that it isn't interesting. How do you think it looks?

How Cool is this?

Esmecat on Etsy has made stitch markers for Sock Wars III successful warriors.  The number of skulls indicated how many kills you have recorded.  The following link will take you to a picture of the marker she made for me.  Click here

Sock Wars III, the original version is almost over.  The Supreme Commander sent an email to the remaining "alive" warriors on Friday the 13th.  She instructed us to send a postcard to an address in Northern Ireland to arrive by a certain date.  However, since the USPS said it would take 5-10 days for mail to arrive there, my entry is not guaranteed to arrive in time for the drawing.  Yes, a drawing will determine the ultimate victor in Sock Wars!  

But hold on-the drama isn't over yet.  If you are on Ravelry, check out the Sock Wars III group threads.  A subset of the remaining warriors intend to ignore their Supreme Commander's order and carry on the battle elsewhere.  They are emboldened by SWTC's comments on the group forum.  Drama abounds!  Who expects war to be fair?

I have two more pairs of socks finished for the 52 Pair Plunge.  The Monos Locos no pick up gusset intrigued me, so I used it on the second sock in another pair.  The first sock in that pair was done in a wrap/turn short row method that I haven't quite mastered.

Sock projects on the needles today are a pair of Detonators that I am making for myself and Linda Welch's design that can be found in the current Knitty.com.  

Garden Tour II

Today I took the camera along our daily garden tour and discovered why one of the bird feeders was going down so quickly.Sometimes he (yes, it is a he) thinks that he can hide in the hedge and not be seen!  I am going to have to dig up some squirrel recipes if this keeps up.

But, I must say that the effort put forth in planting a few weeks ago is beginning to pay off.

We have peppers(several kinds), pumpkins, tomatoes of all sorts, Japanese eggplant and cucumbers (burpless variety)  merrily growing.  The roses and other flowering plants benefit from the company and additional care and feeding.

Spookie has really enjoyed the addition of bird feeders to the garden.  So far he has behaved himself.  However, that will probably not last much longer.  I think that he subscribes to a quote I saw at the back of Brad Thor's The Lions of Lucerne - De inimico non loquaris sed cogites (Do not wish ill for your enemy...plan it).  Thor's website is worth visiting so click on the link if you have time.

Last night the Monos Locos were finished during knitting group.  We had margaritas to inspire our knitting-so I should probably take a closer look at them before posting a picture.  You never know! 

 

Speaking of sock knitting, there is a new pattern in my list of must knits.  Linda Welsh, a fellow BMFA's Sock Camp camper has a pattern on Knitty.com.  Check it out...it is called Spring Forward.  How exciting!  Way to go Linda!!

The Race is on

I have been contacted by both my assassin ("killer" Freda from Canada) and the person who has to mail socks in progress(actually totally unraveled) Gayle from the UK.  That weapon is intended for Kimberly(Avenging bunny) who is from WV.  Is your head spinning yet?  Sock Wars is complicated unless you are smack in the middle of the war! Of the original 1153 warriors, 384 remain as of 9PM (Pacific Time).  I will be dead by Monday as Freda mentioned that she would be mailing my death socks tomorrow.  I have started writing my obituary.  Can someone suggest appropriate music?

On the brighter side, the toe up Monkey Socks are almost finished.  Only the cuffs remain to be knitted.  I should be able to complete them sometime tomorrow and will post a picture of them...

I've Been Busy...

I have been quite busy this week!  Before I took up knitting, I lucked into a few quilting classes at Bearly Stitchin.  Bobbie Moon, who taught one of the classes I took, is opening a quilting store near the intersection of Hill and Washington.  The space is where John Mitchell's old mystery book store was located. I decided to call Bobbie up to see if she could use an extra pair of hands to get things organized...and she graciously accepted my offer.  All the bending and stretching supplemented my morning work out at the gym.  Lots of eye candy looking at all the wonderful fabrics, too!  

Knit Nights...

are really uplifting. It is so much fun to see what everyone else is working on...and, I am convinced that the fellowship and caring expressed within the group carries me through the rougher spots in the week!  The people who were not there last night were missed...

I ran across this video while researching toe up patterns.  Fun to watch the faces morphing!

Cool Shoes

In an earlier post I mentioned that I had ordered some transparent Converse sneakers...just what every sock knitter should have in his/her wardrobe.  Well, during the heat of battle-they arrived.  I wore them to work last week to show off my Serendipity Socks.  The shoes were comfortable & transparent, as promised!

Another recent knitting related purchase that you might find interesting is a tin bank that I found when shopping at Vroman's for wrapping paper and cards for my Sock War victims(past and future).

A Lull In the Battle

I had vowed not to post until I was killed in battle, however, with over 600 fallen warriors...oddly....I am still alive.  This fact has absolutely nothing to do with skill or cunning. It is simply the luck of the game once the socks are out of your hands.  It is imperative to knit and mail once you find a wip in your mailbox to move the game along.  The only way to deflect the socks coming to kill you is to encourage your killer's killer to, "knit like the wind."  Spring Fuller, this means you.  Knit your socks for Freda Veale and post them to Canada NOW!   The picture above is the package containing the weapon that killed Gail Woods. The Detonator Socks in progress were sent to me to finish by Lori in Nine Mile Falls, WA. They were made from a lovely shade of pale yellow ToFutsies .  What a wonderful death for poor Gail.  May she rest in peace.

Our front yard is full of roses and vegetables.  Having a front yard full of vegetables might seem strange to you...but it works for us.  We frequently enjoy a morning stroll through the yard with a cup of coffee and Spookie. There are so many interesting things to see.