Socktoberfest Socks Finished!

Finished with time to spare, even! I finished them last night, and have been wearing them since. As you see, they are perfect to go with denim. ME likey =)

AND, my cone of Jagger Spun Lilac Silk/Wool is here!

Isn't it marvelous? It's going to make a LOT of lace.

Next time sky pics!

Socktoberfest Socks WIP

Here's where I am on my Socktoberfest socks - I'm nearing the place where I usually cast off. I just don't care much for socks that go up much past my ankles. Knitting them has really kept me much more calm than I would be otherwise. In fact, I went to get some blood work done today, and my blood pressure was pretty low and the little viles took their time filling up. I'm glad something is keeping me from freaking out. It's been a really difficult few weeks.

Lots of waiting and waiting these last few days. I finally got all the insurance stupidity somewhat straight. At least we were finally able to start the medicine this morning, I'm hoping it begins to help soon. Both the doctors say it starts to work the first time you take it.

After my 'fasting' and waiting for a long line of people ahead of my at the lab, I treated myself to some coffee and banana walnut bread from my favorite coffee place. =)

Next post should be the finished product, hopefully before the end of the month. I got some awesome sky pics to share as well. I caught the edge of a huge thunderstorm at sunset. It's the system that spawned a few tornadoes, apparently.

I may have to devote a whole post to those pictures, though, there are loads of them. Anyway, until next time.

Still Fighting

Stupid insurance companies! They have flat out denied my child what would work best for him. Now, I have to go back to the pharmacy, pick up the first prescription, take it BACK to the doctor and trade it for the lesser medicine's prescription and then take that back to the pharmacy.

~slaps forehead~

It's a darn good thing for everyone involved that I'm knitting (and praying) up a storm here - photos later - or else I'd really have lost it by now. (^ not necessarily in that order)

Socks and Suspensibility

On Friday, my sock progress was scarcely any further than my last post. At this point it was time to start the gusset increases. I'm not sure exactly what I was doing while I wasn't knitting, but the socks hadn't grown much. Fortunately for me, my oldest had a doctor's appointment (still sorting through the issues I've mentioned) so I had knitting time there. Another good thing on Friday, was my local girlfriends had organized a knit night, two of us were experienced knitters, one was an intermediate knitter, and everyone else present was a beginner. It was nice.

Nice and lifesaving, since I was strung out to the extreme after trying to get a prescription filled that my insurance needs some special extra special sort of intimate pow-wow with the doctor. (ya KNOW, you would think that the fact that the doctor WROTE the prescription would mean that they had a doctor's authorization for the medicine) By the time I hung up with the last person who had no way of helping me get the thing filled, I had to lock myself in the bathroom and sob. The result of the culmination of frustrations, suspense and fear over the last several weeks. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

SO..... yes, I needed a girl's night with friends, knitting and wine. (there was baseball on the side, as the Rangers secured their slot to go to the World Series for the first time) I worked on the gusset increases Friday while there. Then on Saturday, while waiting for my oldest's next appointment with another sort of doc (the head doc, sort) and hanging out with my sisters and mom, I finished the increases.

Now it's time for the turning of the heel. I'm still not 100% sure which heel I'm going to use from Wendy's Socks from the Toe Up. I'll keep you posted.

As a side note, on Thursday I made an online purchase that brought out the SQUUEEEEEE in me. One whole POUND of my favoritest lace weight yarn, Jagger Spun Silk/Wool in a beaUtiful lilac from Sandra Singh. A POUND! I have a super wonderful project in mind.

But.... that's a story for another post. How is YOUR Soctoberfest going??

Non Matchy Matchy Sock Progress Pics

I really have to rip up that carpet!

The socks are truckin' along nicely. It may even be possible to finish them this month. The non-matchy matchiness doesn't bother me. In fact, one of the yarn cakes is wound backwards from the other, which makes for interesting color play between them.

The sharpened needles are working very well, but I may have gone a little too sharp, last night after knitting I had a little injury on my first finger. A little round poke mark that looked like a blood blister. It was gone by this morning, though, so no biggie.

Artsy Fartsy

Socktober Halfober

So... here we are, October 13th, nearly half of the month gone and I've just barely started. I busted out the old bamboo dpns and the new Knitpicks Harmony circs and started my cast-on as follows:

When I started to knit off the dpns, I realized that the tips of my new needles were super blunt. In fact, they are flat on the end, and I can't knit with flat tipped needles. So, after rummaging around I located my go-to option for wooden needles that aren't pointy enough. (and none of them are) Here is a comparison with one before and one after sandpaper:

Very much improved.

After a few rounds, I have the beginning of sock 1, hopefully at the end of the day, I'll have sock 2 next to this one on the circs to really start flying.

One of these days, I really ought to break out some solid sock yarn and try some of these other awesome patterns. But for now, I must be content using Wendy's awesome blue-prints for my plain stockinette socks.

Edited to Add:

My hopes panned out nicely and this is my progress at the end of the day yesterday. Two sock beginnings one one circ, finished with the toe.

I really should remember that my toe is much less point than this. Starting with 16 stitches, rather than 8 would have been smarter. Oh well maybe next time I'll remember that.

What Was I THINKING?

My daughter borrowed my stole the other night because she was cold. So I got to thinking, I ought to make her one of her own. Not a bad idea over all. The only problem? I had the worst migraine of the last several years yesterday, and it's not quite all gone even today. Why oh WHY did I think I could wrap my half a head around a lace chart? HUH? Why? Why why why? I couldn't even get through the first row of the chart without tinking and tinking and tinking and then finally it hit the frog pond. I'll get back to that later. bleh

Guess I'd better stick with the socks for now. Plain old stockinette and self patterning yarn. Much more doable with this head, such as it is. Well, at least I got a skein of sock yarn wound, even if it is in two very obviously different sizes. My poor little yarn weighing scale got all battery acid corroded and now it's broken. I tried to guesstimate it with the winder, but it didn't work out so good. And HOW is it that when I wind my own yarn, I more often than not I lose the beginning of the center pull?

OH well - these socks will not be matches of each other, but do I care? NO NO NO not even a little bit.

and

I have an odd craving for potato chips. Thankfully I don't buy those things very often, but these migraines definitely require potato products of some sort. Potatoes in the oven getting baked as I type. A much better option, definitely.

We need a picture to distract us.

One more random thought. Is it just me? I never get tired of watching The Fifth Element. I love that movie.

Socktoberfest Time Again!

I can't beLIEVE it's already October again! Thank goodness for blogland, or I would have gone through the whole month twiddling my thumbs and not knitting any socks. I was actually thinking of making my girl a little shawl, and I am in the planning stages of that, but FIRST! I must cast on some socks. Plain old stockinette? Maybe some color work? I dunno, but I better get to knittin'!

Issues are still going on with my boy (the oldest) but I'm hoping hoping hoping to get them sorted out very soon. My massage, yesterday, was heavenly wonderful and hurt so good. I needed it so very much. I was crying at some point (on top of a serious ragweed allergy attack this week) and my therapist got sad with me. She's so sweet.

Anyway, here are a couple of pix to cheer you, I mean me, I mean you, up =)

Life is a:

and,

look up to the skies

and seeeeee

Carmel Color Work Practice Scarf

As you can see, my tension is very iffy. And yet, I'm still smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

Why do you think that is? Well, for my first Continental purling adventure,

I don't care so much about the tension.

Plus, it's a beautiful day, and I've made it through one a of the

most terrifying weeks of my life. I can't go into detail,

but suffice it to say, when one of your kids seems to be having serious issues,

your life passes in front of your eyes like no other time.

And this little guy really loves his new scarf!

He also loves the carmel apples he asked me to make for after school snack.

You can see NOW why I had to name the scarf after carmel =)

AND - I'm getting a massage tomorrow!

A much needed and (even if I say so myself) MUCH deserved massage.