very little progress

I don't have much new work to show. I have been bogged down with freezing food from the garden and getting the kids to the water as much as possible. I decided to bail on the Harry Potter sock swap as I had to get a new blogger address for it and i just don't feel like I can handle any more right now.
My drama for the day is that a large bird flew into my windshield this morning and four hours later I found it in the back of my pickup still alive. It was a Pileated Woodpecker and it was just stunning. I was in town and it was roasting hot and I didn't know what to do and I felt very guilty for being the one to injure it in the first place. I finally found a nature center that took it and was going to get it to the bird rescue place so I do hope it will survive. It distressed me way more than I thought it would have. Anyway...in the world of knitting I am just plugging away at the two pairs of socks, two scarves and one sweater I have already posted about. I did manage to make two little felted bags. I am going on vacation for a week in a couple of days and am hoping to finish a few of these things before I go. I hope to have something to show soon. Hope everyone is having a fun summer.

Sock Swap 2!!

I just couldn't help myself and i joined the Harry Potter sock swap 2. It was so exciting to have someone make me socks and it was fun to get a package together for someone else so... here are the answers to my questions.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

Second Years

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Gryffindor

2. Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference?

Shoe size- 9 ladies, Foot length 9 1/2 inches, circumference- 9-9 1/2 inches.

3. List your three favorite sock yarns.

a.Koigu

b.claudia's handpaint

c.fleece artist

4. Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand?

i would love to!! No particular brand- surprise me!!

5. Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn?
Variegated.


6. What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash?

Any. I like purples and greens. (Also reds, oranges etc!)

7. What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?

Ribbed, plain. Sock knitting is my travel knitting so it is great when it is simple to follow. I have done a little lace and loved it but it would need to be a simple pattern.

8. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.)

no.

9. Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?


An old dog who does not touch the yarn.
10. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
yes.

Owl Post!

I have an awesome Harry Potter sock swap pal! I opened my mailbox the other morning and look what I found!


There were HP candies that were promptly gobbled up by little people, a pair of Brittany DPN's, stitchmarkers that are so lovely I could wear them for jewelry and the yarn leftover from the socks she made- enough for me to make another pair for one of the boys! The socks you ask...


are beautiful! They were immediately on my feet and they fit perfectly. I am so touched that someone made me a pair of socks because I know how much work goes into them. thanks so much Erin.
I really enjoyed this swap thing and look foward to doing it again. There is a HP sock swap 2 if anyone missed out the first time.

it's raining, it's pouring

We finally had a rain free day and the kids and I hit the beach. I did manage to take a few pictures too! This is the Montego Scarf from IK summer issue. It is the first time I have used Seasilk and it is quite luxurious. I find that it is a little slippery so I can't work on the project for too long at a time or my fingers ache. I hope to get it done soon so it can be a summer accessory.


This next scarf is made with two skeins of Koigu I had in the stash. I loved the colors so much that I didn't want to put them on my feet- I wanted to see them so... The pattern is called the Twisted Rib scarf by Mountain Colors. This pattern would be lovely in the Bearfoot yarn also.


This is a cardigan sweater I am hoping to have done for fall. It is made with the Lavold wool/silk blend and the yarn is really soft. It knits up nicer than I expected from the feel of the skein. The gauge was only measured in width and there was no gauge for length so I hope it works. The pattern has me knitting until I reach a certain number of stitches (after increases) instead of to a certain number of inches so we'll see. If it doesn't work for me I have a nice gift for someone smaller!

This next picture is really exciting for me- it is my first few skeins of handspun yarn! I LOVE spinning! I had used up some random roving from someone when I first tried it a month ago and it was really hard to draft. I decided to order nice roving and it has just been great! I spun up the blue/green in a few days and all 4 oz of the darker wool in one day. I have more ordered and it is challenging to wait for it to arrive. If there was a local source (I am sure there is, I just haven't sniffed it out yet!) I would already be fast at work. I told my husband we will save money this way because I get to enjoy the fiber twice when I spin it and then knit it!
I got the roving from Amy at Spunky Eclectic online. The lighter colors were Falkland top which is so soft and the darker is BFL wool. I ordered more BFL and a little Merino to try out next. I can't tell you how proud I am of these two skeins of yarn and I can't believe they came from my own two hands!
Anyway... This last photo is just a treat from our Vermont summer. The delphiniums love our climate and grow beautifully. Hope everyone else is surrounded by flowers these days!

Rain rain go away...

So it looks as if we may have a rain free day here in Vermont! We have had rain every day for weeks and there are parts of the state that are flooding and needing Federal help. I hope to get some pictures today when the sun finally shines. I have been working on a couple of projects through this gray period although nothing is completed. I bought my first skein of Sea silk and it is gorgeous! I am making the Montego Scarf project out of Interweave Knits Summer 07. The yarn is a little slippery and I can only work on it for so long before my hands get sore from holding so tight to the yarn. I am still plugging away at my Koigu scarf and a pair of socks made from Mama E's cyber fiber. Beautiful colors she uses! The most exciting thing that has happened is I am spinning again. I spun up a bunch of white Romney last month for the first time and then for some reason I couldn't seem to spin anymore. It turns out that the flyer wasn't spinning and once I figured that out (a month later!) I have been spinning away and I love it! My first skein is drying right now. This is just a quick check in as I have been away from the blog for a while but I will get pics up soon!

it's been a while

This is the grey neckwarmer made out of the baby camel yarn I wrote about earlier. It is so lucious. I used a larger needle size then called for, and to be honest, I can't remember how many stitches or what size needles I used and I already gifted it to the intended. I wanted to show you the project as I recommend people try out this yarn. Classic Elite Baby Camel.
This baby sweater is for my new neice. I used Manos Stria- it is my favorite cotton. So soft and always has a nice drape. The project is Yoda Sweater from Dogs steal Yarn. Baby sweaters leave me with such a sense of satisfaction as I can complete a sweater in a few days. This following picture is the recipient of the sweater, Morgan.
I finished up a pair of socks that have been on the needles for at least half a year. They will be a gift for my son at Christmas. He already has two pairs of socks made for Christmas. i am knitting myself into a little bit of a pickle; if one kid gets two pairs of socks they all want two pairs of socks! At least the other two have smaller feet!
These last socks are for my Hogwarts Sock Swap partner. I double stranded Brown Sheep Nature Spun sport and they knitted up beautifully on size 7's. I love the Cowgirl Slipper Sock pattern in last winters Interweave Knits and I wanted to make them again. It was a little challenging to find a pattern I liked with the colors I needed to use. I hope my pal likes them.
I also did manage to find the Addi Turbo DPN's again in VA. They are my favorites and i only had one pair (I now have three!). I went to one yarn shop and the owner didn't believe me that they even make DPN's and instead told me they make circulars, "you know two needles with a string in between". I was a little offended. Anyway, my second stop at Uniquities in Vienna, VA had the Addi's and a very nice woman working there. It is a lovely shop if you are in the area. I go to see my family a few times a year and have to visit all the shops around. One of these days I would like to do a yarn crawl from here to there and stop all along the way. i know that trip will not involve my husband or children!
On a final note my Herb Conference was amazing and i met many new teachers. I took a four hour intensive in Hula dance with a magical woman from the big island of Hawaii . It is a powerful dance and she is a powerful woman. I learned alot about medicines from all of the other plant lovers there and came home feeling renewed. It has been a challenge coming home to my life of chores and children but I just go off the good energy there and count my blessings that I have chores and children to tend to!

busy, busy, busy

My computer is acting funny so I have no photos today but I do have some fun things to show when I get it fixed. I used Classic Elite baby camel yarn recently and I have to tell you if you see this yarn you want to buy some. It is so soft and creates a beautiful and lucious fabric. I made a neckwarmer for a friends husband and I am looking foward to using it again.
I have been under famly travel deadlines which have made me whip my garden into shape. We grow a lot of our food and getting the crops in has been a big feat. I bailed on planting corn this year but I managed to get everything else in. I also have full flower gardens for the first time! I created these gardens five years ago and up until this year they have small plants with alot of dirt. This year the plants have filled in and the dirt is minimal. I am now trying to move things and figure out what blooms at which part of the year so there can always be color. My mom is an amazing flower gardener so I have learned from her.
There has been knitting. I was on a 12 hour car ride twice this week and I finished the Hogwart's socks for my sock swap pal. They turned out to be pretty good and I hope she likes them. Bright yellow and black were new colors to work with!
I am headed off to the International Herb Symposium this weekend. I love these conferences and this is my second year going solo- without any children. I get so renewed and I need that to get through the summer.
I hope to get pictures for the next post when I get home.