Mississippi and Guam Socks are Finished

My socks are on their way to Crystal Palace Yarns via UPS as of yesterday! Woohoo! Today, I am finishing up edits on the written patterns and a short bio. Several pictures of both pair are below. First is the sock for Mississippi. Guam sock pictures follow. (blogger turned some of my pics again)

Leg of Mississippi sock

Heel of Mississippi Sock

Tiny beaded rib of Mississippi sock

Pictures of Guam Socks This pair of socks are siblings but not twins; meaning they are not identical. It is their differences that make them interesting.

The colors are reversed for the socks plus one sock has one more row of edging than the other. I liked them that way so didn't change it. Knitters can do their socks however they want them. Flowers are positioned on the outside of the socks slightly above the ankle. The inside of the socks have small lazy daisy flowers with beaded centers.

Closeup of sock with red flower, orange edging and orange lazy daisy flowers.

Closeup of the sock with the orange flower.

On to the next big thing!

Bluebonnets of Texas

Joe and I decided to drive to Brenham (home of Bluebell ice cream) and have lunch. It is about an hour away from us and a nice, scenic drive. It's one of the favorite routes to see Texas Bluebonnets in abundance. We had lunch at Must Be Heaven! Halving a sandwich; we saved room for a large piece of coconut pie that we also shared. It was delicious! Brenham is a wonderful little town with a center court house square. There are many many quaint little shops of antiques, flea market finds and crafts. It's a wonderful place to spend the day. Below, a field of bluebonnets that seems to go on forever.

A herd of cows grazing in a field of bluebonnets.

There were many cars stopped with people out in the fields taking pictures of their spouses, children, grandmothers and pets! It's neat to see dogs having their pictures made out in a field of flowers.

It was a bit overcast as you can see, but we had a great time.

Next weekend, Joe's kids and grandkids are coming. We are all planning to go to Chappel Hill for the Bluebonnet Festival. There will be more bluebonnet pictues, I am sure.

Still Working on Guam

I have been playing with the embellishment of Guam for several days now. I like the way it looks this morning; so I am going to make the other sock match but reversing the colors. The flower is located just above the ankle facing out on the sock. It does look very similar to what I had envisioned this sock to be. I have stayed very simple with any crocheted embellishment so that even a beginner crocheter could achieve the same results. A simple crocheted edging can give any knitted piece a look of additional refinement. IMHO.

This photo shows the center of the flower and the daisy stitch with beaded centers up close.

Another closeup of edging and flower.

I am hoping to finish the embellishment of the second sock today so that I can block them. I want to take them to Market Street DayKnitters tomorrow. Then, in the mail on Friday! Woohoo!

Guam Socks - Embellishing in Progress

To say I have been knitting like someone crazily obsessed is an understatement! I am proud to say the knitting is finished! At this point, I am working on the embellishment of the Guam socks. I thought I would post the process. For me, it is probably craziness at it's best! Actually, this is the FUN part - the creative part. I want these socks to be floral and very colorful yet something anyone can easily achieve. I want something "out of the box" for these socks. A look for socks that I haven't seen before. First, let me say that my intention with this sock was intarsia in the round but I became concerned about not having enough time to complete the socks since I have never done intarsia in the round. It would have been a learning process for me. (it is on my shortlist though) So, the next best thing would be the charted design in duplicate stitch. I have found that I really don't like duplicate stitch that much. I need a tiny embroidery hoop to make my stitches neater. I have been to two different craft stores looking for that damned little hoop. I had to settle for one last evening; I hope it works the way I want it to! While waiting to find the hoop, I wondered about satin stitching some flowers on the sock. Below is the result of some quick little satin stitches. Pretty neat, actually. Still going to do the duplicate stitch to see which I like best. It may turn out to be some combination of both. There is also a planned edging around the large flower. I hope the picture in my head translates well onto the sock! The socks are going to have different colored edging on the ribbing. One has two rows of that edging and the other has one row. I am leaning toward the one row. Already tried beading the edging and didn't care for it. This is about the 4th edging I have tried; deciding I like the simpler edging best since the socks will have flowers on them. I really like the little lazy daisy flowers hoping to scatter a few of those with a bead in the center.

Just playing around waiting to find a little hoop that will fit inside my sock.

I love these beads! They are glass and square. Not to mention the EXACT colors of my yarn. Hoping they wind up on the socks somewhere.

Don't know why Blogger turned these pictures sideways. Jeez.

I love the simplicity of this little lazy daisy flower!

Today, I will be in the yard with Joe. It is one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday or Sunday. He has our raised veggie garden ready to plant. (he does the work and I get to do the fun part) I have a flat of red verbenas and a flat of marigold to plant. The marigold go between the tomatoes and bell pepper plants to help keep the bugs off of them. Bugs don't like the smell of marigolds. Boy, I do! I had forgotten what tomato plants smell like! Nothing like it in the whole world! One of those simple pleasures in life. I will be posting gardening pictures along with knitting thru the Summer.

Mississippi Sock

I really do like the wave stitch pattern and have wanted to knit it into a sock. In theory, it should have knitted up perfect like the seafoam stitch for Galvez. BUT, it didn't! It "blouses" out as you knit. I have knitted, knitted and reknitted this sock! Below was my last try with a different yarn; the third yarn tried if you are keeping count. It's Panda Silk which shows more stitch definition and looks good but still is not right. It made a large sock on 60 sts. So I went back to the Panda Soy.

This is a closeup of Panda Soy knitted in wave stitch. It's a great little stitch pattern and fun to knit.

This picture, although not a great shot for actual color of yarn, shows the pattern well.

This shot shows the pattern flowing onto the top of the foot down to the toe.

Okay, full shot of the Mississippi Sock almost complete. I have been toying with a small beaded edge along the ribbing. Summer socks need a little sparkle.

The Guam sock is coming along very well. This is truly my kind of sock with bright colors and beads! I am working on the first one now. Should have some pictures to put up soon.

Mississippi Sock Design

Feeling a bit ambivalent about the Guam Sock design, I decided to start Mississippi. This design is pretty easy now that I have settled on a yarn. I had originally wanted to knit this design in Mini Mochi. Mochi has a tiny bit of fuzziness that didn't work out well. After a trip to LYS, I am knitting the design in Panda Soy. Below shows about 3/4 inch of 2 X 2 ribbing. I have placed a marker after every 6th stitch to help keep up with the pattern that repeats every 6 stitches. A tiny little crystal cube is my BOR marker. Yes, I am knitting this sock on an Addi 12" circular.

This stitch pattern works up with quite a few wraps. It is a fun knit once you get the rhythm going! You can see the wraps in the first section below.

Panda Soy is a glorious yarn to knit with. It is working up perfectly for the Mississippi design. It's a good feeling when design and yarn come together the way you envision.

50 Socks - 50 States - Guam

This is the sock for Guam. I am using Crystal Palace Panda Silk in the tone on tone greens. This was my knitting yesterday at Market Street DayKnitters. It is really pretty. I am hoping when finished, that this will look like foliage. The picture below is the heel flap.

Here you can see the ribbing and how the colors are swirling about. I knit a pair of socks in this yarn in the orange tones last year and sent them to CPY. I would love to knit a pair for ME this year for the Fall and Halloween. The orange tone on tone is gorgeous. (have no idea why Blogger turned this pic sideways, but it did)

Mississippi and Mochi proved to be a bit more difficult in starting. I LOVE the Mochi but the stitch pattern I want to use is a drop stitch. Mochi is a tiny bit fuzzy and the stitches didn't want to drop as I wanted them to. After a quick run to Twisted Yarns, I came home with Panda Soy in shades of blue. Below you can see the stitch pattern, but it's not the yarn I am going to use.

The top skein is the Mochi and the two bottom ones are the Panda Soy. I like the way the Mochi stripes best BUT.........

Just for fun, below is a pic of a Begonia leaf. Isn't it beautiful? On a tour of Brookwood Community and after visiting their gift shop, I came home with this plant and several others.

This is the bloom for the begonia pictured above.

I found the cutest little Easter Box today. I filled it with plants and set it on the coffee table to enjoy this weekend. The plants are also from Brookwood.

Have a great weekend. Tonight is margaritas at the Blue Iguana for Joe and I.

Crystal Palace Yarn Arrives!

There is NOTHING like getting yarn in the mail! (well, maybe a couple of things, but we aren't discussing that here) A box stuffed full of yarn is just so exciting. These are the yarns I chose to work up my designs for Mississippi and Guam. All of the yarns are Panda Silk except for the Mini Mochi which is gorgeous shades of striping blue. Bright tropical colors longing to be socks that we can wear way down here in the South!

Below is a closeup of the Mini Mochi. It feels absolutely lucious.

Of course, the minute you get yarn in the mail; life has a way of demanding your undivided attention so that you can't sit right down get started. I am going to Lake Charles to watch Alexis cheer her last game at her junior high school. I wouldn't miss it for the world, but now I have yarn angst.

On a Deadline! Yikes!

Exciting News! I have been asked by CPY Sock Guru, Dr. Laura, to participate in the "50 Socks - 50 States " book that is in progress. This huge multi-sock, multi-designer book will be released ONLY on CD, with previews at the June TNNA show.

The Publisher, Dr. Laura Andersson of Sirius Knitting Publications www.SiriusKnitting.com is collaborating with Susan Druding & Crystal Palace Yarns, who will also be distributors.

"50 Socks - 50 States" is Volume 3 of the "Friendly Socks" series of books, which are multi-designer compilations - I know you will find some of your favorite on-line designers here!

The CD will include sock designs that cover the full gamut of imaginative sock fun - ribbing, beading, cables, cuffs, fair isle, intarsia, and lace with novel sock construction, directions for socks including top-down, toe-up, double-pointed needles & both 1- & 2-circs and diverse sizes too! There will be socks for infants, babies, toddlers, children, teens, women, & men as well as at least one holiday stocking!

You will SOON be able to find more pictures and details at http://SocksandMorewithCPYblogspot.com and > http://siriusknitting.blogspot.com, as well as on www.Straw.com and here on my own blog.

The CD-only release will run $19.95 (plus shipping, where applicable) and can be obtained from many yarn shop as well as from Dr Laura proflaura@firststepinternet.com or drlaura@siriusknitting.com

We'll keep you posted!

ps, DrLaura will be going on a "blog tour" shortly - as she's just been invited for a blog interview with Terry Ross at

http://terryrossdesigns.blogspot.com/ - let us know if you want to play too!

P.S. As many of you know, my daughter, Pam, was in a horrible car accident on Interstate 10 in Louisiana the week before Thanksgiving. By the Grace of God and her Guardian Angels, she only had a broken leg. She will be returning to work next week. I thank everyone for their concern and prayers.

Kayla's Shrug

A few months ago in the middle of Summer, I watched as Kayla tried to pull on a shrug I had made for her. It was obviously too small but she wanted to wear it anyway. My arms get cold, she told me as she walked away with it on. I knew then I needed to make her another one. There's nothing that compares to a grandchild that actually likes what you knit for them. Until now, I hadn't found a suitable yarn for Kayla's Shrug. She likes pink, period. No other color will do but I didn't want the usual pinks we see all the time. I wanted it to be special. While browsing in my LYS, I found Lanaloft. It is so nice and soft. The colorway is Cherry Cherry. Perfect for Kayla. I had taken her measurements last time she was here. I neglected to get a couple of pertinent measurements if I wanted to knit a shrug in the round (no seams). Kim has sent those measurements and I started it this morning. I have been wanting to start this having swatched right away. It is a lucious yarn. It probably won't take very long to knit this and I am going to enjoy every minute spent knitting this for Kayla Marie. I am making it up as I go; probably will get tinked now and then until I have it just right.

What a sweet little face

A favorite photo of my two granddaughters taken about 4 yrs ago. In the knitting room of the Knit N Needle, Alexis is showing Kayla how to knit even though Kayla is a bit too young yet. Kayla still talks about "her knit". Whatever you are knitting, it is "your knit" to Kayla.

Kayla playing in a large Lantern Moon knitting basket.

Grandchildren are one of the true joys in life.

The Circle Vest

I admit it. I have a Noro addiction. It's the colors; how can a knitter resist the colors and the way they flow one into the other? It was the Noro sock yarn that started it all. A couple of weeks ago, Barbara and I both bought Noro Taiyo to knit the Circle Vest from Silk Knits. I think this would look great when Fall weather finally arrives (I am still waiting) with jeans and knitted socks, of course. I started the vest Sunday after Ike wanting to knit something really fun and enjoyable that would hold my interest/attention while we were without electricity. Not to mention, brighten my mood a bit.

Gorgeous, yes?

I had to take a picture of one of my favorite orchids in bloom in my bathroom. Thankfully, this is an easy orchid to grow and amazingly stays in continuous bloom. It loves my bathroom and I love its flowers. As the flower ages; it begins to turn a bit yellow which only increases it's beauty.

(I love those old Florida souvenir plates) Below, is a violet that resides on the side of the bathtub. She loves the bathroom too! I have always been a plant lover. For the first time in my life, I have a house with a bathroom that has the perfect window light for orchids. Life is good.

Drop Dead Gorgeous Shawl

Twisted Yarns has this shawl on display with the Blue Heron Beaded Rayon. Knitted Eye Candy to be sure. You can't help wanting to knit it! Not only is the yarn beautiful to the eye; it is wonderful in the hands. I innocently decided this would be THE perfect project to take on our whirlwind road trip to South Carolina. I could easily talk to Joe, watch the scenery go by and knit at the same time!

Happily knitting away as we made our way home, near the end of the hank of yarn; I noticed that both edges were rolling in a lot! I decided at that point to set it aside knowing I would probably wind up frogging it for a reknit. After frogging Version 1, I added a 5 stitch seed stitch border to each edge. Looks great, everything is fine. As I near the end of the yarn cake, I realize it is not going to be very big?! Oh no............ that 5 stitch seed stitch border on each side made a noticeable difference in the size. I set it aside to think about it. It didn't take long for a second hank of Blue Heron Beaded Rayon in Kelp to come in. I was most grateful to get one! Knowing that the second hank would be a different dye lot; I was hoping that maybe it wouldn't be a BIG difference. Of course, it was a BIG difference. The only thing to do with yarn from two different dye lots is to knit a couple of rows from one hank and then knit a couple of rows from the other hank. So, I frogged Version 2. Joe is in awe at this point. As you can see below, it has been worth it. At least, I think it has been worth it. Joe would probably disagree with me.

The second hank of yarn added the deep chocolate brown shades while the first hank had the more brilliant purple, turquoise and greens. It truly is a perfect blend of yarns.

I knit the shawl until I thought I had enough for ample fringe. I did run a bit short but always meant to add other yarns to the fringe for a more lux look along with some beading. The two yarns pictured below are Fiesta LaBoheme and an ONline yarn that is yummy. Both yarns are from my stash and make great matches for fringe, I think. (isn't it amazing how we gravitate to the same colors we love)

This colorway has absolutely gorgeous colors.

This last photo shows the colors almost exactly. I am very fond of this shawl already. After all, we have spent a lot of quality time together.

A couple of Ike Photos

I only took a couple of photos during Ike. I couldn't believe that Joe and I were experiencing another major Hurricane in just 3 years. I don't like looking at the photos I took after Rita. By the way, we were without electricity for almost 2 months after Rita. This is the first cloud band that came over our house from Ike. It is early evening and it was quite beautiful!

The picture below is two brave little hummingbirds trying to eat after the winds of Ike had died down a bit! Joe and I were absolutely amazed! Before Ike, we had about 25 hummingbirds at the back porch keeping us busy filling feeders. We (I) had gotten quite attached to them and worried that they would get blown away. These two little guys were flying into the wind to get to the porch. We had brought all the feeders in so the birds would seek shelter. These two were looking for a feeder; so we put one out for them. Here they are, sitting on the feeder as it swayed in the wind and rain. Unbelievable!

Hurricane Ike

One week ago today, Hurricane Ike roared ashore in Galveston, Texas and continued pretty much right up (north) I45. Joe and I spent much of the early morning (beginning about 4am) and the day experiencing the winds of the left eye wall. It was pretty scary. We were without electricity for 5 days having power restored at 10pm Thursday evening. Thank God for the mild temperatures in the days after the storm. Joe and I have fared very well. We had no damage to our house. The big issue for us along with millions of other people was not having electricity. Our generator developed a carburetor problem from the start and refused to work. Joe was really frustrated about that. Once we gave up and emptied out our fridge; he was fine. Once I got over not having tv; I was fine. I am so glad to have the BlackBerry as I could check email, text and get online. Unbelievably, the newspaper delivery resumed immediately; so Joe read the paper in the mornings and I knit. In fact, I knit thru the day most days. Passing time in the evenings was a bit more difficult as there isn't a lot you can do by candle light or lantern. I missed the little book light that I had given to Alexis back during the early Summer. I plan to get another to put on the hurricane shelf with the other supplies. We had to learn how to occupy our time without all our electronic stuff. I found that we could: 1- charge my BlackBerry in the car without having to drive around 2 - boil water with the propane tank for coffee in the mornings (this was a biggie) 3 - read more - Joe had two fairly new books that I had gotten him 4 - listen to the battery powered radio I had gotten at Walgreens for $5 before Ike 5 - sit on the back porch and listen to the hummingbirds who stayed during the storm 6 - take warmish baths mid-day after the sun heated the pipes in the attic After watching Katrina and then personally experiencing Rita, I never thought I would ever again see hurricane devastation that would exceed either of those storms. I was wrong. It has been absolutely horrific and mind-numbing. I am one of the many Houston area residents suffering from PSS - Post Storm Stress. Our 5 days without electricity are trivial compared to what others are now experiencing. I know the loss many people are trying to cope with and it is heartbreaking. They are in my prayers. I did hear something on the radio that made me proud. A lady said that Hurricane Ike was a bad thing but we are in the best place to be when something bad happens - TEXAS. She was so right!

Hurricane Gustav

Joe and I had 13 evacuees with 3 dogs (Dash, Lucy and Meha) in our home! (smiling) We built this house planning ahead for these times that we have to run from hurricanes. We want our children and grandchildren to be here with us instead of on the road. Our guests were: My Mom with Meha (a tiny Chihuahua) Pam, Ryan, Alexis and Jayden Kim, Todd, Matthew and Kayla with Dash (Dachshund) Heather, Qui, Crosby and Sophie with Lucy(Golden Retriever) We filled our guest bedrooms and then put mattresses on the floor. Joe made breakfast in the mornings filling everyone with waffles, bacon, sausage and eggs. During the day we all took off for various things to do since the weather was nice; hot but nice. In the evenings, we cooked. I did have time to cook some before everyone arrived. I made a large pot of White Chili and a very large chicken salad. Everyone brought their "hurricane food" so they had the snacks and drinks that their children prefer. The first full day together, Kim, Todd, and Joe went to the movies and Mom, Pam, Alexis and I with Matthew and Kayla went shopping. We all had a great time. Kayla was due a promised trip to Build a Bear Workshop for her birthday. We all came home tired and hungry. The second day, we all took off in a caravan to the Premium Outlet for a day of shopping. Arriving at lunch, we all ate together then split up agreeing to meet at the entrance at 3pm to go home. My Mom was shopping shoes while others were looking for the Croc store and so on. We kept in touch by cell phone. You would not believe that we ran into a friend from Lake Charles, La! Hi Debbie W. Poppa Joe grilled hamburgers and hot dogs while the kids went to the community pool to swim. We all fell into bed completely exhausted. Pam and Ryan along with Todd and Mother left early the next morning hoping to beat the heavy traffic and get home at a descent time. Heather and Qui left a bit later with everyone else that had evacuated and spent the WHOLE day getting home; a trip that should have taken 4 hrs at the most. Kim, Matthew and Kayla spent another two nights with Joe and I. I meant to take photos while everyone was here. I stayed so busy that I took only a few the first night.

A Picot Edge

My girlfriend, Debbie W., loves a picot edge on her knitted socks. Her version of The Galvez Sock sports a picot edge and looks so nice (see debyknits on Ravelry)! So, I decided I would try the picot too! The yarn pictured is ONLine Supersocke 100 in an orange stripe colorway. (I can't find the darn label) The picot is definitely fun to do and makes a really nice top edge. I have cute little orange picots peeking up over my green stripe in stockinette. I am really hoping I can duplicate this for the second sock. I did pay attention to where in the colors I started my cast on. At least, I think I did.....

What great Fall socks this is going to make! I have been daydreaming about Fall and fireplace weather. It has been so hot; can't even begin to describe it!

Joe and I had a busy weekend. We really hadn't anticipated it as we have tried to stay pretty low key on weekends since our marathon of company a few weeks ago. Saturday we had tickets to THE Kenny Chesney Poets and Pirates Concert at Reliant Stadium. There were several people with him - Keith Urban, Leann Rimes, Gary Allen and Luke Bryan - so we knew it was gonna be several hours of music. We left home at 2pm and returned at 1am. It was a GREAT concert, to say the very least! As one of Barbara's little grandsons' would say, "we got a great day" and I got a Kenny Chesney Tour t-shirt! Joe held up pretty well although he did realize that he doesn't have nearly enough "padding" on his backside for sitting that long. We saw George Michael a couple of weeks ago at Toyota Center and we saw Tim McGraw at Cynthia Woods. Having said that these are all favorites of mine; George Michael has been the best performance; really incredible. Tim McGraw is realllllly nice to look at... Sunday turned out to be a family day as all of Joe's kids AND grandkids were in for the day. Willies was the lucky restaurant that got all 18 of us (9 children; including 2 - 2yr olds and 1- 3 yr old) for lunch! Everyone was fairly well-behaved most of the time! We got home in time to watch Monday night baseball; my favorite program to knit by.

Crystal Palace Yarn's New Panda Soy

Finding a box of yarn in your mail box is one of those fabulous joys in a knitter's life! (the walk back from the mail box always includes shrieking and the happy dance with lots of twirls) The box I received was from Susan at Crystal Palace Yarns. It was full of full of Panda Silk, Panda Silk DK, AND.....the brand new, not yet available, Panda Soy sock yarn! Susan has requested a sock pattern in the yarn pictured below. It is called Cocoa Mint #2001. It looks just like chocolate mint ice cream according to my friend Barbara! Experiencing Panda Soy will be an absolute MUST for every sock knitter. Panda Soy is so soft; it glides along my needles like a dream. Even though it is loosely plied as other Crystal Palace Panda yarns; I don't find that to be a negative aspect at all. It seems to make this yarn even softer! The colors in the pics below are not exactly true to the yarn. There is more mint green and less blue in this colorway. I will take more pics as this design project progresses. I have begun to swatch with Panda Soy. Below is a mini sampler of stockinette and garter to see how the colors fall in the knitting. I really like how they look in reverse stockinette but forgot to snap that picture!

One more snapshot for good measure! If you are a MarketStreet DayKnitter; you will be seeing this yarn on Thursdays!