Baby socks

When my sister asked for some baby socks, I figured I could bust out a few pairs in no time flat. Dead wrong. I've only finished one sock since last week!

My latest scheme is baby tube socks (no heel) made in traveling rib. Hopefully this will help me get the dang things done.

Where do the days go?

Just a few days later, and things have been crazy.  Emergency dental surgery for DP, errands, visiting the pumpkin patch with my three nieces...somehow the time just zooms.

Now that fall is truly here, I'm planning out my gifts.  After coming back from MO, I have a "new to me" loom (one I gave my MIL years ago that she no longer can use), so I may try the old placemat/table runner/hand towel thing again.  Maybe a scarf or three :)  I have to buy heddle blocks for it though, since she lost them somewhere along the way.

I'm trying another baby sweater (the last one was given up in despair over splitty yarn), and my sister is lacking in hats for my baby nieces.  Hats for babies are relatively quick, so I hope to get them done this weekend, or in the next few days.

I'm really feeling down right now; I'm not sure if it's the weather or age or what, but every day is worse than the last.  I'm doing a lot of work, and getting back into devotionals too, but I'm not sure what's up.

Beet it

So, I love beets, but I haven't done much with them besides pickling and roasting. However, I have concocted an amazing beet soup twice, so it's not a fluke :)

I sliced beets into pennies, then sauteed them in coconut oil. When they're half done, I add the chopped beet greens and a bunch of basil (or dill), and cook that down until the greens are wilted. Then I top it up with beef broth and add about a teaspoon of black pepper. Simmer it until the beets are done, and you have a delicious - and blood red - soup that goes great with crackers or bread. Yum!

I'm currently up in the air about what I should be knitting. I have a shawl on the needles that's going slowly, so I think I may need to whip up something small just to keep my spirits up. I bought a skein of cormo/silk/alpaca from Foxfire Fibers with my last sheep shares box, so I may knit that into a cowl/neckwarmer. It's gorgeous yarn, so I have to do something worthwhile with it. I also need to knit another baby cardigan...I'm thinking of tiny tea leaves, but I'm not certain about it.

The babies wore the hats I made for them home from the hospital, and they seemed to be a hit. Cotton, while not my fave to work with, was just right for this application. Here's a pic, sans babies:



They worked up fast and were fun to knit.

The reason I need to knit a second cardigan is that I finished the first for one of the twins - the whirligig shrug. It knit up really well:



My sister thinks it's cute, which is all that matters!

The reading mitts also worked out:



They feel so nice to wear, I wish I could keep them.

The shawl is done, and DP thought it would work just right for a witch/wise woman:



I've been on a roll, which probably means a lull for a bit - with all the work coming up in the next few weeks, I probably won't have much time to think.

Nieces and knitting

My sister had her twins on the 19th - hooray! They're two little cuties, emphasis on little. We've been going over there every couple of days to help out, mainly by playing with my older niece so she doesn't feel left out.

I finished the fingerless gloves, and I wish that I didn't have to give them away. They're long enough on the arm to give you support, and not too long on the hand, so you can actually type or knit with them on.

I also finished the little shrug. It's just adorable! It's soaking now, but I should be able to get a picture of it tomorrow before it goes on it's merry way.

Now the only thing left to do is the godswood shawl. I've been trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to do this thing, and I'm still not sure. Now my plan is to work from the bottom point upwards, starting with brown and moving towards green. The question is still obscure or obvious? Should I actually make a tree looking thing, or should it be more subtle. I may go with obvious, at least to start. I only have 400 yards, so it's not like it will take all that long once I decide it.

Let them wear socks, and let them eat cake

I'm trying yet another yellow cake recipe - dp loves boxed yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but I refuse to buy boxed cake mix. I've tried various butter and oil cakes, but nothing is quite right. Currently, I have Smitten Kitchen's yellow cake in the oven - most of her recipes are great, so I have high hopes for this one. I don't know what to do about the frosting though...dp didn't like the buttercream I made last time, though that might be a review of my skills rather than the recipe :)

I finished the Nibblers socks - hooray! Here they are in they're poorly lit glory:



and the detail shot:



I finished the second sock in about 5 1/2 days, so I'm only a little bit behind schedule. I'm currently working on the March mystery sock for the SKA sockdown on Ravelry. I'm happy to be knitting down the stash - though if I use up my sock yarn, I'll only have sweater weights left. It's likely though that I'll top up the sock yarn, if I could only get someone to take me to the yarn store!

I also finally got some cardigan pictures off the camera:

Side one:



Side two:



I love that it's reversible, and I love both sets of buttons. Now that my sister and my best friend are expecting, I think I may have to whip up a few more of these for them. So cute, and so quick. Though if either of them is having boys, I may not go with this cardi - it is a bit delicate looking.

I still have two half finished cardigans for myself sitting in my WIP pile, but I don't have the energy to work on them. I think I need a nice vacation, so I can concentrate on just relaxing, at which point I'll be able to work on the sweaters. I need to have either a certain state of mind, or a really hard deadline :)

Well, off to pick out a frosting recipe...

I fought the law, and it was a tie

I had to go to court a few days ago to contest a snow citation for work. I got them to drop the citation, but I still had to pay for the city workers to come and spread about 6 oz of sand on the sidewalk. Blargh.

I had a relatively good appointment at the doctor; he seems like a very nice person, but I was crying all over the place, so he probably thinks I'm crazy. Whatever - as long as he can help me, I don't care. He wants me to go in for an hsg in a couple of weeks, which is kind of scary, since I've heard it can hurt really badly. We'll see.

I'm halfway done with the foot of the second SKA sock, so I should finish by the end of the month with no problem. I have to say, these are some of the ugliest socks I've ever made - I thought the colors would go well together, but in the final equation, I think they don't jive. DP hates them, which is good in a way, since he won't be stealing them like all the other socks I make :) My mom and sister like the combo though, so maybe I'm missing something. I dunno.

I'm happy that I've worked the socks up in about a month, because I'd really like to make a pair every other month this year. Like all my beginning of the year schemes, we'll see how this one goes, but it's not a bad start. I have enough yarn to make twenty pairs of socks, and I joined the Art and Sole pattern only sock club this year, so I should have some foot fodder coming down the pike. I also have two gift certificates to a local yarn store, but I need someone to take me there. Since my sister is tired all the time with her pregnancy and DP doesn't like yarn stores, I don't know what to do. Cab?

I'm currently trying to figure out what to make for an upcoming baby shower. I have four weeks, so I'm thinking a cardigan and a pair of socks. Since I have this issue of owning a million patterns but never wanting to make any of them when the chips are down, I bought this (Ravelry link) yoked cardigan pattern by Hannah Fettig. I think I'll use that cashsoft, since it's machine washable, and make a little tiny sweater with it. If I have time, and the inclination, I might also work up a blanket.