Joe's First Sock

All the Way Out of the Yarn Closet -

As of last Thursday, I am an official KIP man!!! I went with the wife to BAM and sat with the knit group and KNITTED. It was not so bad. All the ladies were very pleased that I decided to join them with my knitting project, which by the way was a sock. Yep, I did a sock, the whole thing, knitting in the round with five DPS, ribbing, doing a cable pattern, the heel flap, picking up gusset stitches, gussets, toe decreases and finishing with the kitchener. For the cable pattern, I chose the Double-Wrapped Braid out of Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns book. Now I have to admit it was a bit of a task to work the cables, and I might have expended several of my “Sailor words”, but not as many as in the past, actually once I got the hang of the front cross, the front knit cross, the back cross and back knit cross thing; it was not so hard, except for having to work with that dang little extra needle, 5 needles gets a bit much for my big fingers. Any way, I feel a total sense of freedom now that I did it, and now Debbie W. and dear sister-in-law Darlene should be happy. They were the ones who “needled” me the most about being a man about it and showing that I was secure enough in my masculinity to show up and knit with a group of ladies. I can now sleep at night knowing that task is no longer hanging over my head.

Now I am here to tell you I have a wonderful wife/knitting teacher. Bless her heart, she had the good sense to NOT inform me that I should not have picked cables as a pattern for my sock, let alone one as complex as the one I choose. It was not until it was all over that she informed me that just knitting a sock for the first time was normally challenge enough for a novice; BUT to try cables for the first time at the SAME time was just not something that is recommended, specially the one I chose, it really is true as they say, Ignorance is Bliss……

Now you may notice, the toe of the sock looks a little strange, that is because being an impatient person, I did not take the time required to knit a full length sock that would fit me. My goodness, I would have had to knit at least 6 more inches! That would have taken over 8000 more stitches, (I actually calculated out an approximate number of stitches in the whole thing, it's a guy thing, and it is staggering). Anyway, I just wanted to get to the toe decreases, do the kitchener, and move on to my next project (a cool pattern I found in one of Debbie’s mags, it is a newspaper boy hat). It is really cool looking. Now I just have to see if I can do some kind of stitch pattern of my own choosing……hummmmmm (Debbie is telling me to just follow the pattern the first time, we shall see)

So, I have been busy even though I have not posted for a while. I made another belt for Gabby to go with her other birthday stuff, knitted the sock, worked on my blanket (which may or may not ever get finished), plus working in the yard, and having to make a couple of trips over to the new house that as you know is now coming along quite well. Life is full, but good. I am a bless man, I have a wonderful wife, great kids and grandkids, terrific health and am embarking on a whole new life, it just don’t get any better…..

Until next time,

Knit on……….Joe

House Progress

Wow! This is what we saw as we came around the corner. A lot has been accomplished since the last time we were at the house; about two weeks ago. Joe and I were quite surprised. We did the electrical walk through today with the Contractor and Electrician making sure outlets, telephone/tv jacks, light switches, ceiling fans and computer connections were where we want them.

Finally, there will be enough outlets on the front porch for Christmas lights.

We are expecting to move the end of August - first of September. Yes, we will be here for 3 months of 2007 Hurricane Season. Joe said not to worry.

Panda Silk Sock

Panda Silk is a fabulous new sock yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns. It will be available later this Summer. This is my favorite sock yarn from CPY so far! It has a wonderful feel to it. After playing with several stitch patterns, I liked a simple eyelet best. A Beaded Eyelet Trouser Sock began to appear.

This is a nice taupe colorway and would make a nice pair of socks for your favorite man.

I think this shot shows the colorway most accurately. The two little shiny spots are beads. There are a few beads every other eyelet row.

You can see the sheen to this yarn and it does show stitches beautifully.


Warning Extreme Closeup!
Stitch Definition
(for the countertop to show through as I am seeing it; the eyelets front and back have to line up exactly. I cound not have done that if I were trying to)

Houston Zoo

Isn't this a gorgeous shot? This is the Reflecting Pool with lots of benches for sitting. There was such a nice soft breeze blowing through the trees.

Here were are with the elephants - one of the Zoo favorites. There is the cutest baby elephant cavorting behind us - he was playing like a small child would.

Flamingoes! There is a beautiful flock at the Zoo. We had to make sure we found these guys as they are my favorite.

We were at the giraffe area at their breakfast time. What you can't see in this picture is the food being put out for them just to the right. He is reaching out to try and get a taste!

Kayla was a bit frightened at first. Joe assured her all the animals were in cages and couldn't get to her. All of Vincent Settlement's kindergarden classes were at the Zoo. There were friends of Kayla's at every turn!

Mr Ferocious rolling around on the ground looked so kittenish until he surprised everyone and roared! Scared the heck out of everyone in the Zoo! It was incredibly loud resonating through the whole place. (I didn't realize the glass where I was taking pictures was smudged - I had zoomed in so it really showed).

Daddy elephant having breakfast. The others were in the area next to him. I guess he was being cranky, maybe.

Looks like Louisiana...

This was sooo funny. This is an orangutan that had found a towel somewhere to help keep his head cool. It was beginning to get hot. This one had more sense than a lot of the people that were walking around.

We had a great time with Kim and Kayla. The Zoo is beautiful with lots of trees and plants; many in bloom. All in all, we had a great day!

House Construction Has Begun

Wow! They have been busy! It was exciting to see they had made such progress since we were there last. There were 10 (yes, we counted) construction workers hard at work.

Joe and I left home at 5:45AM yesterday morning and got home at 9:00PM last night. We always seem to cram as much into a day as we possibly can. We had a great time at the zoo! The weather was absolutely perfect for strolling around watching all the kids watching the animals. The drive out to the house was a nap time for Kim and Kayla. We walked around a bit then headed to The Woodlands to eat dinner at Tortugas (Turtle) before starting home. Kim and I had a margarita with our enchiladas and got the giggles.

Zoo pictures to follow soon.

Maizy Sock Completed

I have had the hardest time getting a nice pic of this sock for some reason. I have tried taking the picture in 3 different rooms (you know, different lighting in different rooms). Couldn't have been the person taking the picture........

This is the Maizy sock yarn from Crystal Palace. . I tried to get some detail of the sock as it is really cute.

A liiiiiiiiitle blurry; but it shows the twists running diagonal in the leg of the sock and also the baby mock cables along the sides of the heel flap. (those were fun!)

The cuff at the top can be left up or folded down. I envisioned this sock being worn with hiking books. I think it's the colors - it's called Night Shades. The final pictures are pretty close to the actual colors. On to another sock.

Tomorrow, Joe and I are going with Kim and Kayla on Kayla's school field trip to the Houston Zoo! I LOVE THE ZOO! Joe and I have never been to the Zoo together. It's going to be fun watching Kayla too - she is such a little tart! She is sooo expressive - I think she exhibits "pissed off" best.

After the Zoo, we are going to drive out to the house-in-progress. They are framing in now. Then, Kim and I are going to try and talk Joe into having mexican food for dinner - Lupe Tortillas. You know, two against one. The last two times we have been to Houston, we ate at Fajita Jacks. He's been really good about that. Pictures will be up on the blog Saturday morning.

Maizy from Crystal Palace

This is a quick shot of a current design in progress with Maizy (available Fall 2007) from Crystal Palace. Maizy is a new corn yarn! It feels so soft; very suede-like making it an enjoyable yarn to knit with. Surprisingly, it is very light with a bit of "springy-ness" to it. This makes a great sock yarn; but will knit up many other things equally well. I am using CPY bamboo needles #1.5 dps making a nice knitted fabric. This shot looks like a lot of blue; it's not real accurate to the color - it has a nice amount of browns also. This colorway reminded me instantly of a Ralph Lauren Fall ad from last year. I am sure it has influenced the design.

Socks Finished and Mailed

Final picture of socks before being mailed off the Crystal Palace.

Now, on to new knitting!

1st Sock Dilemma

I sat down after lunch to kitchener the toes of both the socks so that I can mail them to Crystal Palace tomorrow.

Upon inspection, I see that I have some knits that should be purls! How could I have missed these while I was working on this sock?! I am certain you can see them. At this point, you ask yourself the question "can I live with it?" I can't send this sock out with obvious misknits in it! By this time, Joe is looking at me incredulously as I slip the needles out of the top of the sock and begin to FROG...

Looking at the positives of this situation, I like the way frogged yarn looks AND I can fix this! I have frogged back to where I started the toe decreases leaving a row or two.

This extra row or so, gives me enough room to pick up the stitches and get them seated properly on the right needle.

Continuing on - this is quite tedious but it beats the heck out of frogging all the way down to the mistakes and then reknitting half the sock!

There are 5 stitches total that I have to undo down to and then work them back up the ladder. Once you are past the initial aggravation of the whole thing, it's pretty cool to realize that you CAN do this little maneuver.

These two are not so far down - almost a piece of cake.

These three little darlings are a looong way down - to the beginning of the gussets to be exact.

I thought you would enjoy a close up........

I have finished all the laddering down and laddering back up! Finally....

I am ready to kitchener now instead of an evening of reknitting a nearly completed sock.

2nd Sock Update

Thursday, after Knit Night Out, I came home and finished the heel and picked up gusset stitches. As you can see, I didn't knit very much on the way to Houston Friday. I needed to relax and clear the clutter from my head. I hope to fnish this sock by tomorrow as I have a project that I am eager to start!

I did knit a bit last night...
Joe and I got up early this morning; had coffee on the patio watching the hummingbirds. By 8:30am, we were pedaling into Graywood! We biked almost 5 miles this morning. (Our goal is to bike at least 5 days a week - I AM being realistic - I can hear Kim giggling now) We went to the grocery and Joe is currently grilling steaks. After lunch, I will be knitting. Baseball comes on this afternnoon! Sometimes, well, a lot, Tugley and I sack out on the sofa for an afternnoon nap. That is such a luxury and truly a sight to see!

Joe and I have been trying to getting our body clocks in sync since he retired. He is a morning person and I am an afternoon person. Maybe we are almost there.

Our back yard -

I did take lots of pictures Friday - as you can see, they had not poured concrete. Joe was actually glad he got to see the footings. They install a cable lock system under the slab. He liked that A LOT! This view is from the front porch thru to the back porch on into the back yard - right through the house. In the front, they were working on the driveway. Using a neat little tractor, they were digging it out and bringing in clay by dump truck loads. All I can say is it's good to see some progress after nearly 4 months of weather delay. We will probably be moving in August - the hottest month of the year.

Sock 2 Report

I am knitting Sock 2 in Crystal Palace's new Panda Wool color strawberry with needles #1.5. The ribbing is complete and I have started the heel flap. I am so happy to be finished with the ribbing! Panda Wool is a wonderful yarn, but I am spoiled to the silky feel of Panda Cotton now. (There are two more Crystal Palace sock yarns not yet available that have a wonderful feel to them also!)

I am trying to decide if I should take this sock to Knit Night Out tonight...... or do I want to be tinking on this sock on the way to Houston in the morning? Wish I could talk and knit at the same time.

Sock Update 4

Ready to kitchener the toe -

This sock knit up very quickly. I think the pebble rib has enough variation in it to keep it interesting. The wide wale rib of k3 p1 was so boring, I thought I would never finish the other socks. This rib is a variation of that rib. Knitting never ceases to surprise me. I also have to say that Panda Cotton really show great stitch definition. This photo doesn't show it well; but this sock looks really great. I will try and take a better picture after finishing the toe.

I have started the second sock this evening. We are watching the Yankees vs Devil Rays and knitting. Joe has decided it's time to learn to knit socks - he wants some sock yarn.......

Sock Update 3

I am really enjoying knitting this sock for two reasons: 1) I love CPY's Panda Cotton - it has such a silkiness in hand; 2) I am enjoying this rib. I haven't knitted the pebble rib before. It has just enough change in it that you have to pay attention.

I have 6" of ribbing completed along with the heel flap, heel turn and am now decreasing in the gusset area. I have folded it down for ease of photographing and found that I really like the texture on the backside/inside of the ribbing.

Today is the Saturday Knit Together at Books A Million. I am picking up granddaughter Alexis and we are going to go knit for a few hours. She hasn't seen her "knitting friends" in quite some time now! Having Alexis in the shop last Summer was so much fun. People would come in and see her sitting on the sofa knitting. They would ask "Is she knitting" and at second glance, ask incredulously "Is she knitting a sock?"

First, we will probably have a lite lunch at Que Pasa as she like the cheese dip there! I will snap a few pics for the blog.

Sock Report

I started this sock on Tuesday getting about a good inch of ribbing done.

Yesterday, I went to tend to/rock Jayden (still on a 2 hr feeding schedule) so Pam could take a much needed nap. That 2 hr schedule is rough on parents. By the time you feed and diaper the baby and he is back to sleep, you have about 45 minutes until it's time to get another bottle ready. Joe and I had a business mtg last night and didn't get home until after 9PM. So, no knitting yesterday.

This evening I was able to work on the sock some. I am abiding by the "Gina Rule" especially since I am feeling tired. (the rule states no knitting after 9PM; otherwise there is major tinking the next morning) So, I am finished for the evening.

Tomorrow, after the gym, I have promised Joe to work in the yard with him. I have gardenias to replace the ones that Rita blew away and I want to get the patio back to where we will enjoy sitting out there in the afternoon.

Elf hat and Gauntlets--Done and Done

The Elf hat is finished along with the gauntlets to match, the second one went quite well, down to only a couple of the sailor words, no tinking, and no help from the DW, ta da!!! Actually, Gabby will get something else to go with the gauntlets, after seeing the finished product, the Elf hat is something I feel she may not wear. Being an 11 year old in June, the hat may be too “cutsie” for that age, she will probably feel like it makes her look too young.

You guys remember not wanting to look too young don’t you? Now I for one would love to look “too young” for my age, that ain’t happen'! Funny isn’t it how we view age. As a teenager, we try to look 20ish, all grown up, got all the mature “equipment” we have no idea how to use but are aching to try out, just as soon as we figure "it" out. Then the 30’s come along, we have it all figured out, plus the consequences that come along with it, namely our dear, loving, sweet, adorable children (said as a loving dad)……yeah right, and we don’t have time to worry about age. Then somehow the 50’s- 60’s creep up and all of a sudden we are trying to look 20ish again, or at least do the best we can, which is usually a total failure, you can’t make a 57 Chevy look like a 2007 Corvette no how matter how hard you try, (actually the 57 Chevy is a much hotter looking a car, but that is only my opinion). And sadly a lot of folks spend what it takes to buy the Corvette trying to look younger, you can only stretch a piece of leather so far………..

Anyway, back to the Gabby issue, I will be making her a belt to go along with the gauntlets, this will be much cooler and hopefully something she will wear. It will be like the one I just finished, the DIY Fringed Hippy Belt in Crystal Palace Yarns Trio, it has a lot of shiny stuff a young lady should really like. I modified it some, added a double YO instead of the single in the pattern, it gives it more openness, as Debbie says, Cute!

I am not knitting as much now, as Debbie said the house in Texas has started and now I have to get our yard here in better shape. I will be spending more time in the yard with the ax, shovel, rake and hoe ( hoe as in yard tool, not as in ho that can get you fired…oh wait I can’t get fired, I don’t have a job). But fear not, will be doing some knitting, and will keep you up on my adventures.

Till next time, Knit On…..Joe

Turbo Knitting a Sock

Here we are.... This is Ann Norling's Adult Socks II Pattern. I need to knit 2 socks, from different yarns, by this pattern and get it back to Crystal Palace by June 1st. (not mentioning the other sock from a yet to be debuted yarn) I believe that I am up for the challenge.

Close up of the pebble rib; one of the ribs used in the pattern. I cast on this afternoon late (7pm) and this is all I have gotten done between talking to Joe and watching the Astros - about 1 inch of ribbing. (9pm) I hope to do better tomorrow. My plan is to get up a bit earlier than usual and knit for a couple of hours before my day actually begins. Lately, my days seem to be busier than I would like. We made a pitcher of margaritas; so I am putting the knitting down for the night.

Yarn Arrived in Today's Mail

A box of sock yarn from Crystal Palace came in Today's Mail! I have never been crazy about getting mail unless there's cool stuff in the mailbox. Magazines, Christmas cards, plant/seed/orchid catalogs, money or knitting accouterment. Sock yarn does qualify!

Skeins on the left are Panda Wool and the skeins on the right are Panda Cotton both are from Crystal Palace Yarns. Solid colors of sock yarn! Wahoo!

These skeins are out front because they have to be knit first! They are the yarns that were chosen to knit socks for the new photo on the Ann Norling 12A basic sock pattern pattern. They need these yesterday; so knitting begins in the morning. I will photo and post every day so you can see how I am progressing. There were a couple other balls of yarn that I am holding back for later. They are pretty special......no hints! I will be working on these projects at Knit Night Out on Thursdays.

Construction Has Finally Started

Joe and I were in Houston this weekend to go to the Bluebonnet Festival in Chappell Hill, Texas with friends. It was truly a great Festival! Chappell Hill is a beautiful, historic, small town. (there is a beautiful white chapel on a hill) We had thought it would be nice but it was much more than we had expected! There were quaint shops with all kinds of antiques and handmade items. There were booths set up for blocks and blocks with crafts, foods, music and just about everything you could imagine. It was so neat that many people brought their dogs! Dogs of all sizes and shapes, leashed and very well-behaved, were participating in the fun.

On the way home, we detoured to Brenham, Texas, home of BlueBell Ice Cream. Our intentions were to go by the Creamery for ice cream but they were closed. Instead, we went to Must Be Heaven for Homemade Pie and Ice Cream. Unbelievably Delicious. (Joe and I had vanilla shakes and coconut pie) The bluebonnets were gorgeous!

We were excited to find that forming up for the slab has started! We were really surprised! It was a gorgeous day to be outside! Joe saw tracks where deer had been walking around at the back of our lot!

Joe standing inside our house!

Knitting posts will continue tomorrow..............

A Little Bit of My Sock

We had a nice Easter! We made 8 little Easter Baskets full of chocolate this year. Saturday, we had Joe's children, spouses and grandchildren for a late lunch. Sunday, we all went to Heather's house for Easter. We delivered 5 little Baskets to Gabby, Alec, Crosby, Sophie and Jack for the Easter Bunny. Kim and Todd are coming here for dinner this evening. Two more Easter Baskets will go home with Kayla and Matthew. Tomorrow, we will deliver a Basket to Alexis. Jayden doesn't know about the Easter Bunny and Chocolate yet!

As you all know, a family gathering for us is a BIG event. If everyone shows up; we have 25. Joe and I just about have it down to an art. The key is having everything ready and a buffet area designated. We feed the children first; there were only 5 children on Saturday; usually we have 8 - 10 children. Then, the adults fix their plates and find a place to sit and eat. After that; you are on your own.

OTN - I started a mindless knitting project. I desperately needed one. I can't decide what shrug/cocoon I want to knit with my new Rowan; so I started this shrug from Knit2Together. I am knitting it in SWTC's bamboo. It is completely k2p2 ribbing for the body of the shrug. After that, you knit some really beautiful lace to go around the edges. Until then, this is my knitting for Knit Night Out and late evenings.



This is the beaded sock design (it's kinda hard to see the beads in this shot) that I have been working on. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Poppy knit on #2 dps. There has been a lot of tinking going on. I frogged it the last time to change 2 stitches. The stitch at the beginning and end of my dps. One or two stitches can make a big difference in the way your sock looks. The second sock of this design will probably be knit on #1.5 to see the difference in size. #1.5 is my personal preference for knitting socks.

One of my knitting girlfriends, Debbie W., likes the pattern "between" the design. So, I have been trying to chart that to see if I can achieve that look as a design on it's own.

Joe's Knittin' Adventures

The Demise of the Clementine Shawlette

The groan of agony heard lately was me doing the unthinkable…….pulling out the shawlette, yep, the whole thing. After much soul searching and a lot of prodding and coaching from the resident knit master, I decided the only right thing to do was pull it out. You see there were a few (actually a bunch) of bugger-ups in the darn thing and as any self respecting knitter knows, you can’t just leave them (one of the draw backs of living with a pro). It was one of the hardest things I have done to date as a knitter, but it is done and I recovered. One of the things that helped was Debbie said it would look much better in a solid color so the pattern would show better, and as usual she is right. Plus I got a big ole kiss on the head for doing the right thing. I was hoping for a little better “reward”, but she said she didn’t reward for something that minor, so I took her to Texas the next day, that always works ……….woo hoo……… Okay, the shawlette is on hold for now; but will be started again at a later date.

Do not despair; I have been knitting (how did this start becoming a habit?). I made two bibs for the new little guy, Jayden. The first one he will have to wait a while to use - at least a year. The pattern called for a 25 cast on, well that just didn’t look like it was going to be anywhere big enough to do any good. Dude here decides to cast on 40 sts. I guess the people that make up patterns know what they are doing cause after a couple of rows it became very obvious that the darn thing was going to be way to big for an infant. Being undaunted; I finished it then did another one with the correct cast on. So little knothead got himself two bibs from Poppy instead of just one. I also made him two knitted foam filled blocks. Each one has a different yarn color and pattern; plus, each one is knitted using different stitch patterns. I used them to practice the patterns, so when I get ready I will have better skills to tackle the more difficult designs. No fear! (My DW forgot to take pictures of my knitted gifts before sending them home with the new little guy! :O( She promised to snap them when she goes to visit next week).

Currently, I am working on the Knit Wits' Pixie Hat for my granddaughter, Gabby for her birthday June 1st. She will get the hat with a pair of gauntlets to match. They are in her favorite color; lime green with some fuzzy fur around the face. The fur will be added to the gauntlets so they will match the hat. So far, it has not been too bad. Knitting with two yarns at the same time was a first, especially since one had all the fuzzy hairs, but I got it on with not too much trouble as in a minimum of the sailor talk. And I have only had to get Debbie to fix some “things” no more than 4 or 5 times, so all in all things are going well.

That’s it for now; the finished project will be posted at some time in the future.
Until next time,

Knit On………Joe