Baby Jaden's Feet

These are the feet that I have been knitting socks for the last couple of weeks. I have a feeling I had better make the rest of the socks I knit a bit bigger! He will be here in a couple more months.

HI Mary!

Last night was our Knit Night Out in BAM! These are the knitters who came out to knit together. Front to back - Jutta, Sandy, Patricia and Debbie W.

We are saying a big HI to our knitting friend, Mary, who is in California with her Mother. We are hoping to send a bit of home and love to her.

Other side of the table front to back - Gina, Connie, Janet (who is talking) and Emily.

Jutta knitted a gorgeous Sweetheart Shawl in practically no time! We are so impressed! You can't see the pattern here, nor Jutta, but there's a close up farther down.

That's better! Hi to Family and Friends in Germany! Andrew wasn't with her tonight but I will try to discretly get a pic of him when he is with her.

This is Debbie W's sock in Colinette's Jitterbug. Gorgeous sock and yarn - had to get a pic of it. She is working on the second one.

Sandy and Jutta knitting away.

This is a great pic of Gina. This is the way we all love to see her - knitting looking over the top of her glasses on her nose and smiling!


The handsome gentleman in the background is my husband, Joe! :)

Joe is admiring the gorgeous knitting in Jutta's shawl. He knows the work that went into this project. You can see the design in the shawl in this pic.

Christi is relaxing as Sandy continues knitting.

Diana with her sister and Christi talking away.

Knot Head Baby Socks and Hat

After knitting and frogging a bit; I have come up with a baby sock pattern in sock yarn that looks like I want it to. I love this sock! It just looks like a little boy; perfect for baby Jaden. They are fun to knit because they are so QUICK.

Self-striping yarns makes wide stripes on baby socks and hats because they are small. It is easy to manipulate the stripes. This pic shows where I cut the yarn to end the white/black jacquard and tied on the next blue stripe. I decided where I wanted to start the CO and made sure I started the second sock in the same place. These are so much fun - I have been searching thru my leftover sock yarn to make some more!

Ta-Da! This is the finished set. Joe has dubbed it the "Knothead Hat and Socks" and it does seem appropriate. This is going to Pam's Baby Shower - she hasn't seen this set and she doesn't look at the blog!( tehe) It is hard to surprise her most of the time.

It is so much fun to make something that doesn't take forever and looks so cute!

This is the food scale I got to measure yarn. It seems to do what I need it to do; measuring ounces and grams changing to either one easily. I have found that 1 gr is the smallest amount that it will weigh and that's a tiny ball of yarn!

For my Knitting Girlfriends -

Knot Head Baby Socks

Sock yarn
#1.5 dps using 5 needles

CO 40 sts (10 sts on ea needle)

takes 24" if using long tail CO

rib k3 p2 for 2"

Knit 6 rounds

Heel Flap - 20 sts

Row1 - K across needles #1 & #2, turn

Row2 - Sl1, p across, turn

Row3 - Sl1, k across, turn

Knit 14 rows, including Row1 ending with a purl row

Heel Turn

Sl1, k12, ssk, turn

Sl1, p6, p2tog, turn

cont until last st is worked leaving 8 sts

Sl1, knit across

Gussets

PU 7 sts ea side

Decrease according back to 10 sts ea needle

Knit 10 rounds (foot measures 4" finished)

Alter the length of the foot in these rounds

Begin Toe Decreases

Dec every other round to 20 sts (5 sts ea needle)

Dec every round to 8 sts (2 sts ea needle)

Draw yarn thru rem sts and weave ends

Designed and Copyright by Debbie Haymark 1/2007

For Personal Use Only

Socka Baby Socks

I started a sock yesterday at Saturday Knit at BAM. I had 3" of ribbing when I got home. It just didn't look like a little boy's sock to me, so I frogged and started again. (Of course) I decided to knit this sock the way I want it to look. Yes, I am taking notes. The difference between this sock and the baby socks I have recently knitted is that this sock is knitted with sock yarn on #1.5 needles. I want a baby sock but also a sock baby Jaden can wear for awhile.




After a few frogging episodes, I have a sock that I like! There is 2" of k3 p2 ribbing (boys don't usually cuff their socks) a nice round Dutch Heel with a little rounded toe. Now, that looks like a boy's sock to me! You have to look close to see that the ribbing extends down into the light blue color.

I bought a food scale yesterday that should be sensitive enough to weigh small amounts of yarn. (I actually weighed the price tag on the scale next to the display) I don't know yet because I don't have a 9volt battery......I will weigh this sock tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, I am knitting it's twin with a hat to follow.

Kim is Knitting Baby Things

Kim came over today to get started on the baby blanket for her sister, Pam's, baby. She is knitting with Berroco's Lullaby in a mixed baby colorway. It's verrrry soft. It will have some sort of edging on it - she hasn't decided yet.

The baby shower is Feb 17th so she has to get busy with the stix! I think she should do a little hat in a coordinating color - probably blue.




Stash Enhancement just arrived!! I love the Internet! I knitted a pair of baby socks with this; when Pam saw them she commented that she would love a little sweater too! Of ALL the baby yarn I ordered and stashed BEFORE the shop closed, this was NOT one of them. I found these 9 balls in the right colorway at One Fine Yarn in CA. (thank you, Rita, great service every time I have ordered) I am going to knit a baby cardigan and hat to match the socks for my gift at the baby shower. When everyone hears about the baby shower; they immediately ask me what I am knitting.........so.........there are some great expectations to live up to. Just a "leeeeetle" bit of pressure.


Okay, after many requests, more pictures of Tugley in his sweater. He is in his/my favorite chair.

Joe is holding an oatmeal cookie over his head so I can get a picture of the hood on him. This is truly the dog version of Garfield.

I am working on a newborm sweater - have the back and front finished - working on the arms. I will try to have it posted tomorrow. It's really cute.

Tugley in His Handknitted Hoodie

This is Tugley

Tug has been bribed with an oatmeal cookie (several) to strike a pose. Yes, he is licking his lips! He will sleep next to me in my chair for as LOOOOONG as I want to sit and knit without a bribe.

For the last couple of days, I have been wishy washy about what I want to knit. I know I need a break from socks! I need to be knitting baby things; so I spent a couple of days thinking about what I wanted to knit and looking through all the baby knitting books I have.

I decided that for a newborn, I don't want to spend a lot of time knitting something Baby Stockwell (no name yet) will outgrow immediately yet I want to knit something he can wear right away. So, I decided on a very simple baby boat neck sweater - easy and quick yet very cute! Hat and socks to match, probably.

Today's Knitting

I have to admit, yes, I had to tink all the knitting from Knit Night Out. We did have a great time! Every time I try to knit something at Knit Group that I have to pay attention to; I wind up tinking it when I get home! I thought I had dropped a purl st, but hadn't. Looking for that stitch, I found I had omitted one tiny part of the pattern to be done at the same time you pick up gusset stitches. I have tinked and knitted back to where I was. Note to myself - always take something that is truly mindless knitting to Knit Group - I know I can't knit and talk at the same time! (I will be knitting baby socks at Knit Group for the next few weeks)



This is the Cascade Fixation that Pam loves. She wants me to knit a baby sweater to match the socks. I don't have enough; so Internet shopping I go hoping to find this color. It is a great color for baby boy knitting and being cotton, it is great for the time of year Jaden will arrive.

These are Alexis' fingerless gloves! I have stopped on the socks and picked these up to knit her fingers. It looks like we are going to get some really cold weather for Lake Charles. I mean really cold - highs in the 40s! We don't see that very often at all! She is going to need her gloves. I also knit a cute beret to match. I don't think she will wear the beret but you never know. :) I will try and get a pic of her wearing her gloves.

I have had several requests for the pattern for the baby socks in Fixation. I will post it here in the next couple of days.

When the weather turns cold, I will take a pic of Tugley in his hoodie I knitted for him last year! :)

Last Night's Knit Night Out Pictures

This is a group shot - beginning on the left side of the table moving clockwise - Carole, Darline, Patricia, Christi, Jutta, Julia, Debbie W, Janet, Janet's Mom (who came to visit) and Sandy. Gina came in later and sat in the empty chair.

There was a little group off to the left in the comfy chairs - Haila, Diana and members of Diana's family.

We really have a great group of knitting friends.

At left, Patricia, Christi and Jutta discussing advanced knitting techniques :0) Jutta is knitting her second pair of Sailors Pants from Knit 2 Together. Yes, I said second pair...they really do turn out very nice. Jutta is our turbo knitter.

Julia, who is new to the group but fit right in, Debbie W (knitting socks with Colinette's Jitterbug in a gorgeous color) and Janet who is ever so patiently knitting Mr. Larry's Neverending socks. They look great and I know he will love them! (we are fixing to have some REALLY cold weather for the Gulf Coast - everyone who has handknit wool socks is going to be soooo pleased with themselves)

See, Janet is too knitting socks.

That is Haila sitting in back of Janet - in the comfy chairs.

note to group - never let Debbie W and Janet sit together. Someone always needs to sit between them. We kept hearing them say "mine IS much bigger than yours" I overheard someone ask if they were talking about their husbands....

My sister-in-law Darline :0) We actually got to sit together and knit - doesn't happen very often.

Darline and Diana have new grandsons; Trent and Jake! I wish I had gotten a picture of the Big Bad Baby Blanket Diana is knitting - it is really gorgeous! (my sandisk was full)

It's Knit Night!

Just a quick note to say that it is our Thursday Knit Night Out! I am looking forward to seeing everyone. We meet at Books A Million in Joe Muggs about 6:30pm and stay until at least 8:30pm. I will be knitting socks........... I am going to try and take some pictures this evening to post here tomorrow :0)

Panda Cotton Sock Progress

I have about 3 inches of the ribbing completed on the second sock. This ribbing goes quickly and has great stretchability. You will notice that the ribbing goes down to the toe decreases on the top of the foot of the first socks. (Ann Norling Basic Adult Sock Pattern 12A Wide Wale) The first sock is ready to be kitchenered. I still like to kitchener both socks at the same time - don't know why. (keeps "some people" from running around wearing just one sock)










Up very close (sorry if the eyes want to cross) - I wanted to show the edging with this p1 k3 rib. It looks like a tiny picot edging - a pleasant surprise.












I have this beautiful distraction on my knitting table this morning! While on the road, Joe and I were talking about how this is not my favorite time of year. Everything is brown and leafless with the wind whistling at the door. This amaryllis is tall and impressive radiating warmth and happiness in my yarn room. It's a Smith and Hawkens in a tall glass container with large red glass rounds holding "her" stable. There are 3 bloom stalks; so we should have blooms for awhile.

It's a looonnnnggg stretch now until April 1st when baseball season begins..........

The Lot is Cleared

"Where's the remote to the gate?" "I don't know." Pretty as they may be with the waterfall and flags; you can't get in without the remote. Unless, of course, you are following the construction guys, utility guys, cable guys, Development people, various builders, maintenance crew or the pizza delivery guy! Residents? Not many, yet.

This is where the house will be. The guy did a pretty good job of clearing; still doesn't look like much. That little pile of trees on the ground at left is Joe's firewood (giggling and snickering). He didn't think they would leave the root stump on those!

With memories of Rita still very vivid; they are discussing how close to the house this oak will actually be. They are measuring and Sean knows exactly what the distance is. Really, I am not kidding! This tree is almost 30 ft from the location of the house. No oaks will be allowed over or nearer than 20 ft to the house. There was also a detailed conversation about flood plan or any possibility whatsoever of flooding. Soil samples are next.

Tomorrow, knitting will be back up.............

Saturday Knitting

Pictures from the new digital camera; after an hour of reading the book - How can they make a tiny camera do sooo many things? Things that I will never, ever need it to do! It is completely mindboggling! Is there anyone that uses all those features? I want the settings on AUTO and have the camera make ALL the decisions for me.

What do you think about these colors for Baby Slade Stockwell? They are all great boy colors EXCEPT for that mauvy/pinkish one that stripes skinny. I have enough of this for a sweater and hat (trying to knit from Stash but not totally committed to it), I am pretty sure Dad to Be isn't going to like this. Anyway, I decided to knit another baby sock while at BAM as I accidently threw away my simple little baby sock pattern - notes and tweaking after making 3 pairs. I now have it written down again.

I have my eye on a cute little fairisle cardigan in one of Debbie Bliss' baby books. Since this will be a Spring baby; I can take my time and knit it to fit a 9 - 12 mo old.

The Crystal Palace Panda Cotton sock is coming along well. I have cuffed the 6 inch ribbing and it has a totally different look to it! Gussets are completed and it's down the stretch to the toe. This sock yarn gets rave comments from everyone that sees it; and touching it gets a lot of oooohhhs.

This will by my car knitting tomorrow. We are making a quick one day trip to Houston to see what the lot looks like cleared! Joe has to tell someone where to put the house. I think the last and best College Bowl game is on tomorrow evening. Joe watches the game and I knit........

Pictures from the tiny camera set on AUTO will follow.

Strawberries and Limes

Aren't these great colors?! I have 6 inches of k3 p1 ribbing done on this sock. I have never knit a wide rib for my socks. I like the way it looks, stretches and it goes really fast! I do like fast.

I will be working on the heel flap tonight at our local Knit Night Out in BAM. Hopefully, I won't have to frog any of it when I get home...

We will probably have to talk about the Fiber Diet tonight. I don't know of any of my knitting friends that will be up for that.

I love this sock yarn!

Strawberries and Limes Panda Cotton

Isn't this a fabulous colorway! It makes me happy just knitting with it. I had to come post this (Tugley has taken over my chair now). It is shades of pink with a bit of lime mixed in. This is a cotton blend but it sure feels like silk.

DH is watching the Sugar Bowl. Louisiana's LSU is playing Notre Dame in the Super Dome in New Orleans. LSU is favored to win. Howie and the Boys are calling the game. I do my best knitting watching baseball or football with Joe.

We were going to Houston tomorrow but it is supposed to RAIN 4-6 inches. We can wait until Monday. Trips to Houston guarantee about 6 hrs of uninterrupted knitting time. We make a short Starbuck's stop in Baytown...........

More Baby Socks

Now, that's better. The ribbing is k3 p2 making a tighter rib. As you can see, after 3 socks, I still have quite a bit of this yarn left - not enough for a sweater but certainly enough for a hat. I love knitting hats! Pam likes this yarn - I may have to buy some online.

I have decided on a couple of baby sweater patterns and hope to start one of those in the next few days.

Soon to be Socks

New yarn has arrived from Crystal Palace! Aren't these great colors? The smaller balls are Panda Cotton and the large green ball is Panda Wool. This will soon be 3 pairs of socks. As requested by CP, they are going to be knit by Ann Norling's Adult Socks II Play on Ribs.

They also sent bamboo double point needles! These are my favorite sock needles!

Can't wait to get started........

Crystal Palace Bamboozle Socks

I LOVE these socks - they are really thick and luxurious! Bamboozle is a bamboo blend from Crystal Palace. Silky, silky, silky. I see these socks being worn in the evening by the fireplace; knitting, of course. :)

You can't really see them; but there are beads along the ruffle. They are the same color as the yarn. (I bead a lot of stuff)

Bamboozle - fabulous stuff!

Crystal Palace Panda Cotton

Growing up in the Deep South, you learn to appreciate cotton quickly. Cotton is cooler. This is the sock yarn for us! I can think of all sorts of things to knit with this yarn! Tank tops, fingertipless mitts, hats, baby things...

As you can see, these socks are not gonna match. I love "sibling" socks as opposed to "twin" socks. This is a great blue - it could go either lavender or periwinkle depending on what you are wearing.

Love these socks!

Baby Socks in Fixaton

Joe said this doesn't look like a sock; it's too squatty. The ribbing doesn't pull in enough. So, 2nd sock in progress is a k3 p2 ribbing. It should work better; it already looks tighter.

Cascade Fixation is great for baby things. I am going to stash dive and see how many balls of this I have. A little sweater and hat would be so cute for March. This is a great colorway for a little boy.

Red and Blue Baby Socks

As many of you know, my daughter Pam is expecting a little boy the end of March. I have started knitting baby socks. I tried to have the red ones finished to tie onto his Christmas package but didn't quite make it. Baby socks are almost instant gratification. It takes me about 4 hrs to knit a pair. These are knit in a DK weight yarn on size #2 needles.

We met for lunch today - she took the red ones home with her.

Joe's Acre in Texas

For those who are asking about how things are going in Houston, here is a picture of the lot. That is Joe and the lot is to his left. Our lot is between two cul de sacs; we are hoping that's a good spot....... As you can see, we have no neighbors yet. Hope they get some street lights up soon.

Update: The lot has been cleared and we will be going this week sometime to meet with the Construction Crew Foreman to tell him where to put the house. Pictures of progress will continue to be posted.

Crystal Palace"s New Panda Wool

Isn't this a great colorway? It is basil curry in Panda Wool. I tried for an up close picture so you can see all the colors. They are fabulous! Even though it is a wool blend, it has a real silky feel to it.

You can see the colors that will be available at www.straw.com .

I put the finished socks in the mail without taking a picture! :( The link to view these socks on Crystal Palace's website is: http://www.straw.com/cpy/gallery/sock_gallery.html

Sunglasses Sock for Lucy Glasses

Joe gifted me with a gorgeous pair of sunglasses (pictured) this Summer. They are purple with silver glitter. I LOVE them! Affectionately called my Lucy (as in Ricardo) Glasses, I was afraid they would get scratched in my purse. knitting bag or pocket. While knitting socks the light bulb came on - my sunglasses would be well-protected in a sock! So, the idea was soon on the needles. There is a ruffle followed by a tight rib on each end that holds them inside. I decided that I wanted the design of the sock yarn to be identical from each end to the center, SO after frogging, I now have two ends that need to be kitchenered at the center. Finished photo will follow.

Designer Baby Shrug

This is the Baby Shrug. It is the perfect baby shower gift for a little girl! It is knit in Berroco Touche in a shade of lavender. The Mary Jane's are crocheted. I hear you groaning about the crochet. I have since found a couple of good patterns for knitted Mary Jane's. I have not tried them yet.

The original of this design knit in pink was a gift to Lily Fae Carlile, first Grandchild of Peggy and Jerry Carlile of Lake Charles.