Merlin is Depressed

Good old Merlin is very clingy these days. He's the gold one. Every time I sit down here he comes onto my lap. It's good I like to knit since it keeps me still long enough for him to stay a while. We took him to the vet for a check-up fearing the worst. He had a crusty feeling chin that made us think of serious nasties. Good news he has a couple of infections and common acne...Oh, and he's depressed. Does he look depressed to you? Perhaps I am insensitive, but it strikes me as funny that the vet would mention our cat's depression. How would you even tell if a cat is depressed? Now that I think of it, of course he's depressed. He's old. He doesn't feel well. He likes to snuggle. I guess I'd be depressed too. Of course I might not be if I could nap all day and be fed and petted whenever I asked. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
On the knitting front, I finally finished two pairs of socks.
The "Owl" Socks for my brother for Christmas. Adirondack Leaves Socks from the Zokni socks pattern

November Already

It's time for the clocks to Fall back. We had our first rain of the season last night. It feels like Fall.
The long haul from August through November without a day off at school is almost over. We get Tuesday, Nov. 11 off for Veteran's Day this year. My daughter's play is coming up mid-month. Long rehearsals and performances continue for the next two weeks. Then one more week and we get week off for Thanksgiving. I am so tired. I can't wait.
Five pairs of socks on the needles still. I didn't finish a single pair in October. I restarted a pair I started on the way home from the Adirondacks this summer. They are made of woodsy green Classic Alpaca I bought at Old Forge Hardware and are a leaf motif to represent the woods. They are Zokni socks designed by Pepperknit.
I am on the foot of my Tidal socks in Lorna's Laces I started in September.
I've restarted heel gusset of my so called Owl socks. My brown Escher block socks have more cuff to knit, as do my Indian Corn socks. That is not including my raindrop socks and sideways socks that I've put away for the time being. Hmmmm, you think I have a sock fixation? It's Ravelry's fault with all the great sock knitting groups.

October Projects

Dear Ole Hubby has been doing some projects around the house while he is waiting to get his back fixed. Here is is shortly after his epidural. Hope it works.
Hope the projects get finished before he goes back to work, otherwise...

In recent months I have become sock obsessed. I barely work on anything but socks any more. Here are some of the socks I'm working on now.

OMG 40 degrees?

My husband tells me it was 40 degrees here last night. I am sitting here with a sweatshirt and blanket and my computer warming my lap.
Everyone is still snug in their beds while I check my e-mail and watch the kitten try to abscond with a ball of yarn with two half socks attached. He's got some nerve...

Fall Cooking Weather

We are just too warm and dry around here. I suppose there will be a time when I feel whiney about it being too cool soon enough, but right now I just want it to be cooler. It was supposed to rain this weekend. It was cloudy and cool, but we never got any rain. It still felt like Fall and I felt like cooking. I haven't felt inspired to cook much lately. It was fun. It's supposed to be much warmer again tomorrow.
Wednesday was Yarn Deli's 2nd Anniversary. They had a great sale. I wish I had decided already what I want to make for the holidays so I could have bought the yarn on sale. I still got a few skeins for other things. I have been spending lots of time on Ravelry trying to find the inspiration to get started for holiday gifts.
Finished my Wollmeise Sonne Crusoe socks last week and I LOVE them. I am almost finished with my third string bag. I may finish tonight if I get off the computer. I started some socks with colors that remind me of my dad this week. I am designing for my brother for Christmas. Owl socks. I am adapting Ruthieknits Owl Hat to make a design on a pair of socks

Mid-September...

Tick Tock, Tick Tock. Time is passing. Mid September already. I've been trying to ignore that Fall is approaching. School seems to start right in the middle of summer now. Fall doesn't mean much here in Southern California anymore.
Last week I finished the Bamboo Rib socks I designed this Spring. Today I finished the Rivendell socks I started while driving cross country coming home from summer vacation. I've been getting dental work done. Working hard at school. Driving my daughter to her play rehearsals. All those other family chores. This week I was down with a fever. Hope I'm done with it. I have too much to do to stay home this week.

Happy 4th of July

We're here in the Adirondacks. Had a pretty uneventful 4th of July. Just stayed at camp and visited with our cousins and friend for dinner. Here's one of the fireworks we saw from our dock. It was een nicer just being on the lake while we watched instead of fighting the crowds in town.Here's the coolest moth that was resting on our screen door.
I did get to the knitting club meet-up at Old Forge Hardware today and finished my Traveling Loon socks!!! Had fun with all the local ladies. They are a funny bunch of women.

Half Way Across the Country Already

We started out on Thursday about 5:30 PM. Here we were yesterday. Stayed over in Oklahoma and are now in Missouri. Still going!!!
Here are my Traveling Loon socks at the Cadillac Graveyard outside Amarillo, Texas.

Dyeing Sock Blanks and Summer of Socks '08

We were supposed to leave for New York today, but have been delayed til mid-week. It's hard to wait to leave, but then again I still have lots to do and good friends and family to do it with.
Here's yesterday's hand dyed Knit Picks sock blank on the left. The dyes migrated blended a little more than they look in this photo. I hope it knits up as cool as it looks now. The one on the right I painted today. My friend Leigh Ann made a really cool striped one too.

Midnight EST June 21 was the start of this year's Summer of Socks. I joined up for the first time this year. June 21st is also my son's birthday so I decided to knit him socks for his birthday. He doesn't really like socks, but when he tried on some I knit he loved how they felt. Sooooo, I am making him some to go with the cap I knit him this fall. I had extra yarn to make sure I had enough for the beanie and never used it. It is Mountain Colors Twizzle in the Moose Creek color.

A Sweet Surprise

This morning I was awakened by my husband and daughter putting a kitten on the bed. It's a very sweet kitten. It somehow managed to ride in the engine compartment of a truck from Lake Elsinore to Colton and then spent the night wandering around the Union Pacific yard. I think it has a home. Our other two cats aren't thrilled, but it is very reasonable so I think it'll work out. Cute isn't it?
I finished my Aqua Granny Square socks.

Appointments, appointments, appointments...

Trying to get caught up on all the appointments I've put off during the school year. It is definitely challenging.
I did make some progress on my Aqua Grannies.
Dyed my Maple Leaf socks. Eh, not that great. The green was too glowing and the spots of color I added to the ' leaves ' bled, so I tried to tone it down. The brown made them splotchy so I had to over-dye with a little more brown. Now they are dull. Oh well, it's all an adventure.

Quiet Weekend

Didn't accomplish much other than finishing my Maple Leaf socks. The weather is pleasant out. It was nice to just rest up.

Socks and the End of the School Year

I am so into knitting socks these days. These are a few of the ones on the needles. Unfortunately my knitting time has been limited so I haven't finished any lately. I have about 6 pairs of socks on the needles and have decided I need to make my son a pair for his birthday I haven't started yet. I am doubtful I will get any finished in time for the end of sock group deadlines at midnight tonight.













I just joined the pair a month challenge and have a great accountability partner. This will be great to have someone checking on my progress from time to time and egg me on. She is going to participate in the 52 pair plunge. I am in awe. I would like to step up my knitting to at least 2 pairs a month on a regular basis and work on other things too. Who knows maybe I'll be able to.
Only three half days left of school. Still lots to pack up and take off the walls, not to mention keeping my students from getting into trouble now that just about all their work is done. Preteens can be quite the pains when they have the opportunity.
My son has had his 8th grade dance. Paul drove him and his friends in my 30 Pierce Arrow. They had a really good time. Today is his band trip to Soak City, Tuesday is the 8th grade trip to Magic Mountain. After that he is a 9th grader.
My daughter is sad her 8th grade friends will be leaving after Monday and she'll never see them again. She really thrived and made a lot of friends the last two years in drama class.
pics later

Happy Mother's Day!

My reasons for celebrating Mother's Day.
Here are my babies. Not so little any more. I couldn't be more proud. They are amazing people.
Their grandparents are all gone now. Their grandmother died in March. None of them have children. I guess I am the only mother in our immediate family now. It's strange not to have anyone to wish a Happy Mother's Day to.
I guess this is my year for socks. I finished my green granny square socks on late Friday night. Have been working on two new pairs. Flaming anklets and Bamboo rib socks I designed. My April Raindrops socks need tweaking. I don't like how the foot is coming out. Have two more pair in the designing stage.

More New Starts

Once again it's been a long week. State testing for my students is next week. Lots of last minute review and checking progress. I volunteered for a program they put on to motivate students Thursday night, too bad hardly anyone came. I haven't had much time to knit. I started three pairs of socks last weekend. They are my own designs. They aren't very far along. Hope I can finish them soon.
Here are two of them.
April Showers Socks
Granny Square Socks

Spring Has Sprung!

How are these for Springy? Just need to put the finishing triangles on and knit the heel, foot and toe...
It's so nice to be on vacation. I spent a couple hours at Yarn Deli, fixing my Sidewinder socks so I can rush to the finish(after I finish my son's flame socks.)

Weekend Joy

I had all four kids home this weekend. Nothing makes me happier. They were all joking around with each other too. My favorite sound. Really not a lot going on. Took the younger two and hubby to a dance class on Friday night. It was not the best class I've been to. Hubby was very unhappy. I am glad I got the kids started before. They looked great on the dance floor.
My youngest daughter had her top braces removed on Thursday. Tell me, does she look happy?
Here's a little progress on my Scrap-trelac Socks. I had leftover Noro sock yarn from my January KAL socks. Couldn't let it go to waste. Not my best photography, but I am tired and going to bed now.

CSM fun!

My friend Leigh Ann and I had a great day going to a Circular Sock Knitting Machine meet-up at Newton's in Anaheim. There were 9 of us us who met up. Darn I was so busy getting my machine cranking I never took any pictures. It was a great day, though I could have gone a lot longer. By the time I was able to get my machine knitting smoothly everyone had begun to pack up. I am sooooo glad I finally got started with my NZAK though. Maybe I'll make something this weekend. I thing I am going to try to knit a pair of tube socks for the Ravelry 2008 Sock KAL group. Now that I know how to put in an after thought heel I can just knit a tube, then take it off to make the toes and heels. Maybe I'll feel like I can catch up with my sock yarn stash.

Didn't get far with my sock knitter once I got home. Here's the progress on my hand knitting. Finished my Noro Rainbow socks and started my February Jay Leapers on Feb.29th

Mis-Adventures of the Kennedys and friends

This weekend we rented a motor home, packed up, and went down to San Diego to hang out in the Qualcomm Stadium for the weekend. It was the yearly Big 3 old car and motorcycle swap meet. I've been going down there for about 20 years to this event. My parents used to be the ones to get everything down there and we'd just show up and walk around, shop, and visit. Of course they didn't have jobs to go to or kids at home. It's tough to get organized enough to do it. We missed it last year. We don't live in San Diego either.


Any way, DH and DD were supposed to get down there before 8AM Friday, but didn't make it. The rest of us were supposed to leave after work and school or Saturday morning. My older DS and DD decided not to go. I wouldn't have even rented the motor home if I didn't think I was going to get to hang out with my kids. We ended up leaving Friday at about 7PM with our friends Leigh Ann and Robert. When we arrived around 9PM the gate was still open, but no one had the list of space renters and we didn't have the passes they gave us last year. They made us wait until 5AM Saturday morning to go to our spot. Ridiculous.
We kept our spot for next year, but unless we start getting ready for it months in advance there isn't a lot of point. We don't sell enough to cover the space rent let alone the motor home. It would be worth doing if we could get rid of some things doing it. We had a pretty decent time even though DH was a grouch. It was a little cold yesterday, but beautiful today. I guess next year we might do it again.
I did finish my Noro rainbow socks and decided to start the Annetrelac socks from the Holiday issue of Interweave Knits with the leftover Noro. I had some really BRIGHT yellow yarn with me (that I dyed to put a Pikachu on a present for my niece)that goes with the remaining yarn. So I started them. They will definitely be vivid. I'll be able to use up my scraps up. Don't want Noro to go to waste.
I finished one of my son's Fiery Socks in time for him to wear one to his Vista Idol competition.

Still sick...

I had a very uneventful day. I've been in bed all day. Made a little bit of progress on my Noro Socks. Not anything close to finished though. these are taking so long.