The Week in Pictures

Ok, it's been more than a week since my last post, but this will give you some idea of what I've been up to in my busy life:

Also, today a new free pattern of mine has been released. This is the Shrug of Many Colors:

You can find out more about it, get the pdf, and read an interview I did with Galler Yarns here.

Have a great weekend!!!

Girls, Ponies, and Gardens

This last week and a half or so has been so beautiful. Portland in the Spring is a lovely place. And full of pollen. Which I admit is not my favorite. I get rather miserable with it most of the time. This year hasn't been too bad with that, though. I've been enjoying the change!

Last weekend, I took my lovely daughter to visit my parents for Mother's Day. With us went some good friends. We had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect, the food was amazing (thanks, Mom!), and baby animals were everywhere. The girls spent most of their time with the ponies and horses, though.

Something about girls and horses.... It was great. Even pony cart rides to finish the day! It was a perfect girls weekend together.

Today, I am planting a container garden with the kids. Mom sent me home with strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, mint... and the kids and I got some dirt, containers and more seeds yesterday.  We were going to do  a full-on vegetable garden this year- but found out that we will be moving at the end of Summer! Containers are easier to move, and this way, we'll get to enjoy the harvest.

This Spring and Summer promises to be extra busy!  For right now, I'm just trying to focus on getting done with this years' school.  Only 2 more weeks!!! We are so looking forward to our break.  Being outside all day, gardening, playing....packing and cleaning.... Good times all around!

Derby Day Socks

This post is a bit late, as these socks became available last Friday from The Unique Sheep, but I have had a Crazy weekend, and have only just now been able to get around to posting these!

I designed these socks in honor of horse racing. I grew up on Walter Farley books, and graduated to Dick Francis. Besides just being a horse lover, I love watching them race.

For more information, and to get the pattern and/or kit, go here. Or here.

New Pattern

Lace Cuff Gauntlets.
My photography is horrible. You can find better pictures and pattern details here. This pattern is free. It will be available this Friday. Check back to the link above to get it in two days!

I loved knitting this pattern. It's a nice simple lace pattern with a fake cable.  The yarn is GallerYarns Parisian Cotton. This was an unusual yarn to knit with. It comes on a cone, and seems very thin. Similar to lace weight, but knits up more like a fingering or almost a sock weight yarn. It's a bit stiff, but loosens up with a wash and block. I love the stitch definition and the way it holds it's shape to keep the cuff a bit stiff at the end where it flares out.

This pattern is easily adaptable. You can make it shorter, longer for over the elbow, or add a couple repeats of the pattern and turn it into leg warmers. Versatile, pretty, lacy; perfect for Spring and Summer.

Enjoy!!! :D

In the Bag

Last night, I finished the cuff of a sock. It still needs a heel and a mate, but the sock is there.

It is knit with Panda Cotton in Trail Mix and Pinto Pony (which is a dot dye, and I can't find it online). It has a contrast toe; will have a contrast heel; and the cuff is double knit:

The pattern is of Celtic Gryphons. I realized about halfway through that it wasn't one that really worked to be turned upside down, but I love the pattern so much I didn't care. I don't turn my sock cuffs down anyway, and I've been wanting to use Celtic Gryphons for a very long time.

I knit this from the toe up so I could get the longest possible sock. It's a very plain sock with just the cuff being intricate. I didn't follow any sort of pattern here, it's just an "on the fly" design. I did find the pattern for the cuff in Alice Starmore's Charts book.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out. This is how much I had left of the main skein of yarn:

The full skein is for the 2nd sock. The little scrap is what was left. I could have gotten maybe 3 more rows out of it.

This sock has been on the needles in my purse since last November. I don't usually take that long to knit a sock, but with Roo, I don't knit as much away from home as I used to. My hands are usually full of little boy these days rather than knitting- at least, if we're not at home.

I did take the sock out of my bag in order to do the cuff. Double knitting is not very good travel knitting, as you have to pay close attention to the chart and the 2 strands of yarn.  I'm pleased with how it turned out, but I am putting it back in the bag now. The heel and the start of the mate will be my purse project again. Hopefully it takes less than 6 more months to finish the mate. I like this sock and want to wear it....

Thoughts on a Thursday

1. I am too busy.

2. If I was not too busy, I would be bored. That's the kind of person I am. In which case, too busy is actually a good thing- but at the same time, it seems like a bad thing because too busy means I have to say no to things I really want to say yes to. Balance is hard in most areas of life, I have discovered.

3. Life has been especially overwhelming in the last 18 days since I have posted on this blog.
3 a. Mostly because I've been worried about my kids' health.
We had another health insurance change in January, and finally were able to get in and establish (actually re-establish, which is a good thing.) with the "new" primary care doctor for our family. Which event caused a lot of concern, as one kid was promptly referred to a rheumatologist, one kid to a cardiologist, and one kid to a urologist. It was a bit overwhelming to happen all at once.
3 b. Since the initial week of doctor appointments, we have had more (and dentist appointments, but that all came out ok and not very stressful), and gotten relief from one of the stresses (the cardiologist said all is well).
3 c. It's all working out ok, and while one kid does seem to have some issues with Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis, I am finally feeling like this is manageable. I can help her with this. She'll be ok. It doesn't seem to be really severe at this point, and manageable with naturopathics, so I am encouraged. We'll know even more at the end of next week, and I am hoping for some definite answers and directions.
3 d. She is encouraged because she now gets to play with the paraffin wax bath a dear friend sent to us. We are enjoying it immensely (when we can find time to pamper ourselves).

4. I have been doing a lot of spring cleaning in between Dr'.s appointments and getting back to school after Spring Break. It's made my days extra busy. By the end of the day, I collapse in my chair and try to knit for an hour before I pass out.

5. I'm excited about the knitting I'm doing, and in the near future will get to show the results of some of the more recent work. I am also getting closer and closer to the end of the patterns for the big book that will be published next year. I am so pleased with how it is all turning out, I can hardly wait to share it with you all!

Picture Perfect

We've been keeping busy around here. Last week was "Spring Break"- well, kinda sorta. More break than not, but still had to do some school to keep from getting behind. But it wasn't a hardship for any of us. We just happen to be bookworms....

Such bookworms that my 8 year old Buddy decided he wanted to try out something he saw in a book, so he set the table for us for dinner.

I got a bit of a break from school teaching- but the rest of my life didn't let up much. Granola-making time came around again. 25lbs of rolled oats, 3/4 of a gallon of honey, 2lbs of raisins, 2lbs of chocolate chips, 3lbs of chopped dates, and 1/2lb of dried blueberries makes 10 and 1/4 gallons of the best granola.

Happy tummies make for happy families. :)