I'm leavin' on a jet plane......

..and I don't know if I'll be able to post from my family's computer. I have plenty of projects to work on while I'm gone. Accompanying me on my journey will be (drum roll please).......

The Harley-Davidson colored socks for hubby, and the Pomatomus socks. Did you notice that I have picked up the gussets on the Pom socks? I may get them done in this lifetime. My hubby tried on his socks and loved the feel of them. I was afraid he would balk at the orange in the yarn, um, I mean "burnt orange," but he likes the fact that I am making something for him.

Also accompanying me on my journey will be the Tangled Garden socks. They have been on the back burner lately, but I didn't expect to get them donely quickly anyway. I'm probably spreading myself too thin on the projects, but life is short, and I do feel like I am getting something done.

So, Adios for now.....

I have been making knitting progress!!

And now for some knitting pictures! I have been working on my Pomatomus socks at home when hubby is up and about and I can't work on his socks. I think they are coming along well, and I have started really enjoying the pattern and the way they are turning out. It still feels weird to see all those holes in the socks - I guess I should get used to that if I want to knit much lace.

I love the shades of blue in this yarn, and they way that it feels while you are knitting with it.

I have made progress on hubby's socks also. I took this picture a few days ago. I now almost have the gusset decreases done. I should have some time to knit on it today, and hope to get most of the foot done. I think I will feel more secure if he tries the sock on before I do toe decreases. This is the first pair I am making for him, and I want to make sure that they fit. He is supposed to go down to San Francisco tomorrow to pick up his Harley. He is very excited! And to all of you that still doubt the power of Murphy's law, let me tell you -- BELIEVE! He committed to the purchase of the bike (he found the perfect color and style that he has been looking for at the payments he wanted) and 2 days later......the transmission goes out on one of our vehicles (AKA the "man mobile")!!!! Well, that darn man mobile is just going to have to sit in the driveway for a month or two. It doesn't have to be fixed right away since both my hubby and I, and eldest son have other vehicles we can drive.

Last weekend I had a moment of, shall we call it - insanity? I already have 3 pairs of socks on the needle, and I went down to the LYS to get some help with the provisional cast-on to start the shawl that I have been wanting to do. This is going to be the Leaf Lace Shawl from Fiber Trends when it "grows up." The yarn is Lorna's Laces in color no. 203, Seaside. I am really excited about this project. I think it would best to work on this project when there aren't any other distractions around. I can't imagine having to rip anything out and then trying to find out where you are in the pattern.

Well, wish me luck over the next week. After today, I only have 5 more days to work before I go on vacation. I should be able to post again some time before I leave, hopefully with at least one finished sock!

A little knitting, a little beading

Well, I've had a pretty productive Monday. For Mother's Day, my hubby gave me some "cashola" towards some beads that I was lusting after. I had started the ground work for this necklace by making the dangles several weeks ago. Today I strung all the beads together and finished the necklace. It didn't take too long with all the prep work done already. This necklace is very busy and I'm happy with how it turned out, but I think I will feel very self-conscious wearing it.

The black and white beads aren't really Kazuri beads as I couldn't find the beads that the pattern called for anywhere and spent quite a bit of time searching for them on the net. They have all kinds of beads, but none of the black and white ones. I wish I coul

d have found the real ones. These beads are made by hand by women in Nairobi, Kenya that are seeking finanacial independence. I finally found a good substitute to get the look that I wanted at Fire Mountain gems. I couldn't find the same black and white beads on their website, but they do have them in their catalog under handmade glass beads. I've included close-ups of the focal dangle (below) and the dangles on the side (to the right).

Below is a close-up of the dangle on the back of the necklace. The necklace has a lobster claw fastener that you hook into this chain part way down, so the rest of the chain with the dangle hangs down.

I have managed a bit of knitting too. I've been working on socks for hubby (I'm to the point of picking up the gussets). If I don't get it finished before I go on vacation, I think it would be a good project to work on while on the plane. I will post pics of knitting on next post as blogger is being verrrry slow today, and I have other things to do.

Pomatomus What??

Okay, so... I think I might have figured out how to get the most out of one project. I have started a pair of the Pomatomus socks that are blue, AND I just joined the Pomatomus KAL this week and am knitting my socks out of STR in the Lapis coorway. I figure that these socks will be able to satisfy Project Spectrum, the Pomatomus KAL, and the sock-a-month KAL. Is that cheating?





I was going great guns on the socks until I finished the first repeat. I was counting the stitches on my needles after I had moved the stitches around like you are supposed to, and one needle had only 20 stitches instead of the 24 that it was supposed to have. I tried tinking back about 3-4 rows and still had the same number of stitches, soooo...... after much deliberation, putting the project down and walking away (muttering bad words), I came to the conclusion that the only solution was to frog the whole thing and start over. I figure that at least I wasn't past the heel and that I just had some good practice with the pattern and getting more comfortable with the yarn overs. It is probably a good thing I did frog it, because if you look closely at the picture, I made a mistake early on and my ridges (or scales) aren't real straight. Last night I cast on again and got the cuff done. I hope I can finish these socks before vacation! (well, maybe by the end of the month...or before the KAL is over!!!)


I also started a pair of socks for my hubby this past week (Opal yarn in the Harley-Davidson colors) that are a surprise for him. I haven't been able to work on them for the past few days, since he has been around the house too much, but I hope to get them done before I leave for TX to visit my family on 6-26-06. Am I trying to do too much? Two pairs of socks in one month with alot of other "stuff" going on? Wish me luck!