Socks, Socks and More Socks!

Once again I’ve been neglecting my blog in favor of spending time with my kids during the summer and crafting.  Just yesterday I took the boys to the Auntie Shannon’s house and we went swimming in her condo’s pool.  It was a lot of fun.  We actually haven’t been swimming all summer and both boys really enjoyed it.  Even Bug taught himself to go underwater and Fidget was enjoying jumping in when he was wearing his floaties.  Everyone was thoroughly tuckered out, including me.  I could barely focus on our roleplaying game last night and didn’t even have the focus to work on the vanilla pattern sock I’m currently working on.

We’ve also been spending a lot of time at our local library.  Every summer they have the “Summer Reading Program.”  Kids are encouraged to read so many minutes a week and they earn little prizes for their success.  The culmination is an ice cream social with a magician.   This summer the kids made dream pillows (Bug’s was a mouse in space wearing a space helmet so he didn’t eat his cheese house), worry dolls (Bug’s was a ninja), wind chimes using clay pots, and they even tasted jelly beans to vote on the best tasting.  Bug read over 25 hours!  He’s still reading, too, even though the program ended.  He’s got a stack of books that he personally checked out on his own library card!

On the crafting front, I’ve been mostly working on socks.  Since my last craft post I’ve finished 6 more pairs of sock, a Bullseye stuffy and got most of the Spring Flowers blanket done.  Here are some pictures of my complete projects.

These are a pair of belated birthday socks to myself.  For my birthday I went to the awesome LYS, Trumpet Hill, and picked out some sock yarn.  When I was there I was introduced by the wonderful staff, to Opal’s Van Gogh Sock yarn.  The awesome yarn designers took the colors from some of Van Gogh’s famous paintings and turned them into yummy yarns!  Since it was late in the month, Trumpet Hill was running low on colorways, so I picked out a skein of In Variation Nach.  I asked if there was a colorway of Starry Night, since it is one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings (we have a print hanging in our living room) and there was, but they didn’t have it in stock.  Fast forward a couple weeks and I saw on Facebook they’d received a new shipment of the Van Gogh yarn and when I asked, they said they had Starry Night!  Squee!  I rushed over that evening to pick up a skein and also came home with a skein of Vase with Sunflowers, too!  Of course I cast on the first sock as soon as I got home!

Van Gogh’s Starry Night Socks

Barbara (Knittin and Kittens) and I did a KAL (Knit Along) for these interestingly designed socks called Carousel Socks.  We both stumbled over this pattern on Pinterest and decided to give it a try together.  I’m glad we did.  These socks had very interesting construction and we ran into the same issues together, which made getting through the project a little easier.  We’ve both decided that while it was nice to learn a new technique, we probably won’t be making these again any time soon.  They are comfy, though and I do wear mine regularly.

Carousel Socks

Upon finishing the Carousel Socks, Barbara and I decided to venture into the world of Sideways Socks.  This was another pattern that had a unique construction.  We made some major modifications to the pattern after reading notes from others on Ravelry.  I’m glad we did because otherwise our socks would have come out being knee highs!  We also modified the heel to do increases and then decreases around the other side and Kitchener the seam at the top rather than cutting the yarn and rejoining.  I think we’re both agreed again that while it was nice to learn something new, we won’t be making these again any time soon!  lol

Sideways Socks

I’ve also been getting ready for a craft fair in September.  I’ve got some baby blankets and some baby bibs done, but want to have some socks as well.  I pulled out some worsted weight (thick yarn) and made these Broken Rib socks.  They will make great boot socks for someone (with a size 9 foot) here in the great northeast during the cold winter!  They are very thick, cushy and warm!

Broken Rib Socks

Another pair of socks for the craft fair are these Pink Camouflage socks.  These are a size 9/10.  I kind of like this colorway for myself, but I’m going to save them for selling.

Pink Camo Socks

I’ve also started on another pair of striped socks for the craft fair.  I have a feeling these are going to be identically striped socks…fingers crossed, anyway.  It’s the same yarn and colorway I used for the Carousel socks.  It’s called Harlequin.  I really like this color and stripes, so I may have to pick up some more to make myself a pair.  I currently plan to make this pair of socks a size 7/8 so I can have a variety of sizes.

Harlequin Socks

I also finished a pair of socks for Darling Hubby.  His “Whether He Wants Them or Not” Socks.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture.  He’s worn them and they are ok.  He said they were a bit slippery and I noticed that they stretched a bit more than I thought.  I think that’s the yarn I used, which is a bit of a heavier sock/fingering weight.  It’s a learning experience.

I also finished a Bullseye amigurumi for Fidget.  He’s on a Toy Story kick.  He loves anything and everything to do with Buzz and Woody.  He has a big stuffed Woody and Buzz, little mini ones and even a talking Woody.  The one thing he didn’t have was Bullseye.  I searched Ravelry high and low for a pattern that I could turn into Bullseye and the wonderful April Draven made one called “Brown Pony” that was exactly what I’d been searching for.  Apparently it had to be renamed because apparently someone was unhappy with it’s former name.    I actually managed to whip this little guy out in 24 hours!

Ride Like the Wind, Bullseye!

I’ve also been working on the Spring Flowers blanket.  It’s been tough working on it since it’s been so hot…I just don’t want to sit under a hot blanket on an 80* day.  I’m getting to the finish line, though.  I’ve gotten most of the border done and then I need to weave in all those ends…I’m kinda dreading that!  lol

So, that’s it for now.  Kind of a big ol’ Finished Object Friday post…

Cthulhu and Play Dates

So this weekend was fun.  Bug had a play date each afternoon and he had so much fun.  Saturday morning we ran to Joann’s to get some yarn for the blanket that I’m making for Bug to take to school and then we did our grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks before doing a little yard work.  In otherwords, digging up the 4 rose bushes and a hosta in my front yard that just needed to go.  They were climbers that were not in a place to have anything to climb and so entangled with this very tall grass that there was no easy way (read: a way without getting completely scratched to shreds by the inch long barbs) to clear out the grass without removing the bush…plus, I was never a fan of those roses…they came with the house…I want to find something else to put in that bed.

Around 4, our friends dropped off their son Little A to play so they could go to dinner and do a little Easter shopping.  Bug and A had so much fun, despite Bug getting injured by a thrown toy early on in the afternoon.  A little TLC and some juice and he was back to playing.  While they were engrossed in playing with some cars, Darling Hubby ran to Target and bought a Spider-man Bop bag so the 2 could smack it around a bit (it’s what they were doing with a hard toy when Bug got hurt (just seconds before I could utter the warning to stop before some got hurt, mind you)…we figured a $4 bop bag would be a good investment so there were no more injuries.  While no one else got hurt, there were lots more tears.  Bug must have been overtired because ever little thing set him off before A’s parents picked him up.  Needless to say, Bug had an early bedtime!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day.  I did a little cleaning and prepared for Bug’s second play date of the weekend, the little girl I used to baby sit, Baby Girl…She’s not a baby anymore, though!  She’s talking up a storm and she was so different from the last time I watched her.  The only thing that shut her up the entire time she was here was when Darling Hubby came in the room…she’s never cared for him, despite the fact that he was only around a few times when I watched her and he’s never done anything to scare her.  She just has a thing against him…Anyway, her and Bug had a great time.  Together they played with cars, had car races, played with trains, cooked all sorts of foods and drinks with Bug’s play kitchen.  We colored and read all sorts of stories and she even “read” several stories to us.  It was cute that most of the stories were the same thing over and over and had nothing what so ever to do with the pictures in the book…It’s something Bug has never done, so I enjoyed it while it lasted.  Oh, and they even enjoyed the new bop bag.

On the crochet front, I haven’t been working on the Gatsby sweater, not because I haven’t wanted to, but because Darling Hubby asked me to make him a “pin cushion” of sorts to use at work.  He picked out a Tiny Cthulhu and I set to work creating it.  I made the head/tentacles/body and wings according to the pattern, but Darling Hubby wasn’t fond of the arms and wanted it to have some legs, so we sat down together and perused Ravelry to find some other patterns I could use.  We found a couple of frog patterns and I whipped up a couple arms and some short stumpy legs.  I finished him this afternoon and took a couple pictures to share (although they don’t really do it justice.)  I think he’s pretty darn cute for an evil, soul sucking, terror evoking, being.  😀

Darling Hubby will take him to work tomorrow and show him off to his buddies and put him to use.  In the mean time, I feel justified in working on Bug’s school blanket since I finished an item for Darling Hubby.  😀  So far I’ve finished up the black (school roof, tires and door) and white squares (windows) and I’ve started on the red (school squares).  I have about 5 done and need 36 total.  I think I’m going to curl up  with my F hook and watch Heroes and Castle and knock out some more red squares.  I think I’ll have this blanket done in no time…I just have to keep justifying my working on it.  😀