Packing Day

It took 11 hours to pack this jumbo size house up yesterday, and the loading is supposed to begin in an hour. My muscles hurt from going up and down the stairs so much. I collapsed on the couch last night and actually made forward knitting progress... it's there in the middle of the picture, 3 whole rounds. 

I picked up something outside yesterday and was totally spooked by a frog that I disturbed. Maybe the knitting related frogging has been spooked away for a while?? I am ready for more forward progress!

On the needles: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK Top Secret project that has hopefully kicked it's frogging habit.

Frogs are Everywhere!

We have a lot of tree frogs around our house that frequently stick to the glass on our doors in the evening. I think they must feel a special solidarity with me because of all of the frogging I have been doing lately. Maybe I feel a special solidarity with them.

There has been so much travel and visiting and soccer tournament games, not to mention the minor details of moving, that my mind must be too preoccupied to effectively design and knit. Sound like a good excuse? I fiddled with the project I took on our trip multiple times, but nothing felt or looked quite right, so the frog took over repeatedly. I finally gave in and knit a charity hat while DD drove a shift yesterday. That's all the knitting I accomplished in the last week. 

I did finally get DD to model her Tropical Socks (footies).  I started the gusset a little closer to the toe (these are knit toe-up), so that there would be more sts around the foot at the fullest point to accommodate her high arch.  The down side to this, if it is one, is that the heel shaping is longer to decrease those extra sts. The longer heel wouldn't be noticeable at all in regular socks.

Maybe I should find some green yarn and knit a toy frog to get me through this slump.

On the needles: Nothing (how sad)

On the brain: Too much!

Days until movers come: 1!! (That means tomorrow - arghhhhh!!!!)

Little Knitters

I'm still on the road, and definitely travel weary, but I will be home and sleeping in my own bed tonight! One quick photo to share. This is my 7 yr old niece who is now a knitter - look closely and you will see a few rows of garter stitch. It was really easy to teach her. And right away, she wanted to take her knitting in the car - how funny is that?

As for me, I have very little knitting to report. I have knitted, but also frogged. The result is one more baby hat and a lot of frustration.

On the needles: Nothing!

Days until the movers come: 2!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Here we go on road trip, part 2. Tomorrow morning we are off to the Southern Regional Soccer Tournament in Raleigh and Wilson, NC. That's a "pleasant" 15 hour drive in the car.  Did you know that I-40 is 451 miles long through TN? Good thing it's pretty drive! I am hoping to sneak by my old LYS in Raleigh while we are there. DD will help with the driving and lucky DH will be flying in.

I finished up the ToFutsies socks (pictures soon), AND I caught up on my charity baby hats on the last trip.  Here's a picture of 2 little hats, and I did a 3rd that's a little bigger and  different. When I find a model, I'll post that one. I popped a few balloons trying to get one big enough for the other hat. If you have really good eyes and the sts look smaller in the blue/white one, they are.  I was knitting in the car and forgot to change to the larger needle after the ribbing. oops!

Needles and yarn are packed for this trip, along with some extra for my niece who wants me to teach her how to knit. This could be fun -- she wants to learn (and she shares my birthday, so she destined to be a knitter!) It's really nice to have family at this tournament.  All of my siblings and parents are going to be together for a cookout on Sunday. Fun times!  It's not ALL about soccer!

Life is frantic at the moment! I hope things are more settled for you all!

On the Road Again

I love road trips when I don't have to do all the driving. A sure sign that I am comfortable with my kids' driving ability is when I am comfortable enough to knit with them behind the wheel. We are taking off tomorrow to see DH at our new home in KS for a couple of days. With DD sharing the driving, I should be able to finish this sock. 

The little chipmunks in my brain are spinning my wheels over my next project. I know what yarn I am using and that it will be beaded, and I even know what I want it to be. I just need to think through the execution and start swatching.

Good weekend to all!

Current project: TOFUtsies socks 

Countdown until movers come: 13 days (and this is misleading because I will be out of town for most of time!)

What's Old is New Again!

Getting ready for this move has been enlightening. There are certain closets that I put off cleaning until I had to, and then that meant yet another trip to the store for clear storage bins (14 new bins this week!). When I get settled in the new place, I will be able to "window shop" for certain yarn or finishing items with these see-through containers. As I've opened up boxes that have been ignored for years, I've found yarn, projects, and swatches that I forgot I had. I found pieces that I had looked for and given up on ever finding.  I found these designer original Baby Bubbles that were from 1992.  I had to take their pictures for my designer page on Ravelry. They had been listed by a volunteer editor with no photo, and that bugged me! 

My kids tease me for playing around with baby clothes... they tell me I am in "Grandma mode". I just smile and tell them that I will be happy to be a Grandma someday, when the time is right for them to be parents! 

Current Project: TOFUtsies socks (I'm dragging my feet on these - ha ha!)

Countdown until movers come: 15 days

How To Name a Blog

Sometimes I wonder how people came up with their user names and blog names. Here's a big hint on how I came up with mine.

This leaflet was my first published set of designs back in 1987. You can see from the title where I went to get my user and blog names, I just prefaced the old leaflet name with Simply, and that gave me the SSK acronym for my user name. I remember designing those while I was pregnant with my DD who graduated from college last month. I used to tell my kids that I would knit them through college. I suppose that's partially true, but I hope to still be knitting long after the youngest one graduates.

The lavender top is the "designer original" of the yellow one on the front cover. I wore that top a lot!! I came across this top as I was cleaning out stuff in anticipation of our move. If I took some of the ease out, I could see my girls wearing this, probably with a cami under it... more ideas for my spare time! What am I thinking? 

Your turn, knitters, how did you come up with your user name or blog name?

Current project: Still TOFUtsies socks, but I'm on the second one!

Countdown until the movers come: 17 days

Edit: This leaflet is no longer in print, but a quick check on ebay shows there are still copies floating around.  Ciao!

Pachyderms on the Loose!

The news this morning reported that some circus elephants had gotten loose during storms in Kansas. Imagine looking out your window to see an elephant in the back yard.

I found an elefante in my yard today, too!  I made this little guy a couple of months ago  with leftover Wendy Peter Pan DK, and had no recipient in mind. Then my sister announced that she was having a baby.  I guess we know where my little guy is going now.  Must have been deja vu! Did she know I had an elefante for adoption, or did I know she was going to get pregnant?  It's great to have a baby gift ready and waiting.  Instructions for you to make your own can be found here, courtesy of Susan B Anderson.  Thanks Susie! 

Poems

Poems (Wisdom Yarns) is one great felting yarn!  I picked up a couple of skeins of it last fall and made a clutch, but didn't write down the instructions.  I had some yarn leftover, so I snagged another skein and made this new one, and this time I took the time to write it out.  It's a quick project, all knit in one piece, so there are minimal yarn ends. And it passes the teenager test -- "Is it for me?" asks DD17. These are great little gifts - you could even tuck a little something extra inside. You can find instructions here. 

I hope you have fun with this!  ~~Joan

Introduction

It's time to take time out and actually post to this blog!  Just what I need -- something to take time away from my knitting, but my knitting and designs are something that I have wanted to share for a long time.  I have grand ideas in my head, on paper, end even partially entered on the computer, and once I get my family moved and settled in to our new home, I really hope to have time to execute!  Stay tuned, and please check back for what I hope will be a fun ride.  It's hot outside, but my hydrangeas make me smile.  I will miss these bushes.

Current project: Socks, working with tropical colored TOFUtsies
Countdown until the movers come: 23 days