Socks

I love socks. I do love knitting socks but other projects tend to distract me. I still have several single socks waiting for their mates, and I owe Dan a new pair as well. Over the weekend I finished up a straightforward pair of toe-up socks that were a sample for Interlacements in Sweet Feet, a new yarn.

This pair is the "Wagon Wheel Gap" colorway. Very pretty colors in there - purples, golds, burgundy and a hint of green. I was pleasantly surprised to see the subtle stripes emerge as I knit.


I used to consider myself a "Top-down" sock knitter, but after knitting this pair toe-up I might have to revise that. I know the sequence of top-down socks so well: Cuff, leg, heel, foot, toe. I was a bit surprised to find that knitting the sections in the reverse order actually seemed to go by faster! I do believe that I will be giving toe up socks another go - maybe even for my socks in need of mates!

This Moment - Snowman

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

from souleMama



(Have to add this - that purple hat she's wearing? Toasty Topper - a knitty pattern I made when she was 2. Still fits her when she is 4! Good pattern!)

Assorted DIY

I can't show you my knits in progress right now as one is a pile of pieces and will be much more interesting when it is put together and the other is a sample knit in a new yarn. I can show you some of the DIY things I have tried over the weekend.
We finally reached the bottom of the Marshmallow Fluff container. I had spotted a recipe in Make the Bread, Buy the Butter and it looked easy enough.

Tah-dah! It was straightforward, though I did make the mistake of not whisking fast enough. The only consequence of that mistake was that it took longer to get to the final product. Now I know for next time. I made a full pickle jar, plus that mason jar, plus a smaller pint jar full of fluff. It is different from the storebought, but just as delicious - the Lorax and I have each enjoyed fluffernutters with it. Now, if my brother's homemade peanut butter business would take off we would really be set! I am not yet ready to tackle making my own peanut butter, but I really should. Food prices are only going up.

Last night for dinner I tried making these Quick French Dip Sandwiches:

Source: kitchensimplicity.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

I used prepackaged roast beef (again with the food prices going up - roast beef at the deli counter was ~$10 a pound!!). These were delicious and quick, just as kitchen simplicity promised! We all liked them enough that they will be worked into the dinner meal plan rotation. It was salty, but I loved it.

Our master bathroom has one of those huge plain wall mirrors above the sink and I thought this was brilliant. I called my local Mr.FixIt and showed him the picture and let him take it from there. I didn't want to have to fuss with changing the lights, so we kept those the same.

Obviously, this is still in progress - I will be priming it all and then painting the trim and shelves white. I am thinking about maybe a pop of color inside the tower - maybe a different color, maybe mod podge and some scrapbook paper or wrapping paper? I'm not sure yet - certainly pinterest has more ideas? :)

I am sure it is quite clear how much I love Pinterest ()
I just wish sometimes I didn't see great ideas that are dead ends. I can not stop thinking about this shirt -

Source: polyvore.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Can not find it for sale anywhere! I follow the links to polyvore and see it with all kinds of cute looks, and they just link back to pinterest. Please let me know if you ever see this shirt for sale!

Source: store.delias.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

And these sneakers? Adorable! Only available in size 11. I have big feet, but not that big. And I checked zappos too. Bugger.

Have a good week - we've got school vacation and good weather!

Spice Road Cap - Unwrapped

I feel like so many of my knitting projects lately have been under wraps, that is the way of it when you knit for others. One of the projects I recently test knit has been released, so I can share it here!
Presenting TECHknitter's Spice Road Cap:

Straight from the Ravelry pattern page:

Spice Road Cap is knit flat, all in one piece and shaped via short rows. Although the cap is seamed, there is no needle-and-thread sewing. Instead, the welt is constructed using slip stitches and the back seams by a three-needle-bind-off, while the lower brim is added by means of picked-up stitches.

I especially enjoyed knitting this hat with such a unique (and easy!) construction. The pattern is chock full of information about why you would use a technique or stitch (reminded me of the tv show "Good Eats"!). I used a hand-dyed worsted weight yarn from Romney Ridge Farm.

Wrong gauge, still a success!

Valentine's Day is coming up next week. (It's already the middle of February?) New holidays mean new hats! I have had the I Love Mom beanie in my queue for a while, so I took full advantage of a naptime or two, which currently are all over the place and not consistent in their length as he is actually teething now, to work on this "holiday hat". Good thing the hat works up quickly, because my first go at it (with some unlabeled worsted from the stash) in making the 3-6 month size turned out way too big! See?


The second version, using Berroco Comfort DK and the 6-12 month sizing worked out much better.


I kept the first hat as well, and made it a "Dad" tattoo for the Lorax.


This is the first (and probably last) time I have intentionally made my kids "matchy-matchy".

Cute right? Not creepy, or even an Awkward Family Photo. This was tricky to get a shot of the two of them with both in focus - someone is always moving!! This made me think of a photo of my brothers and I that was (professionally) taken way back when - also not an awkward photo, but all three of us are in hand-knit sweaters, made for us by a family friend. Mom found the photo!

I think we were around ages 8, 5 and 3? The woman who made these has 4 boys of her own (pretty close in age to us!) - I wish I could see these sweaters now - I would appreciate them so much more!

Photo Challenged

One thing I enjoy about having a blog is that I feel some sort of (self-imposed) pressure to have good photographs. How do you get good photographs? You could take a class like I did (and would totally take again), and you have to just take pictures. Lots of pictures. I do take a lot of pictures, but wanted to push myself a bit. I challenged myself to a "30 day photo challenge" that I spotted on pinterest. (More on that in a minute). Today I found, and promptly pinned this one:

Source: untangling-knots.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

I snapped my first photo, "in action"

Me, working on a sock sample for Interlacements.

This is not my first photo challenge.

Source: wildolive.blogspot.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Let's ignore the fact that this particular challenge was from August, 2011 and it is was January when I tried it. Let's also ignore the fact that I lost track of it on the weekends and there was a week when my whole house was sick. Let's ignore that I also only shot photos on 21 days.

Practice is practice.