Online 6-Ply Sock Yarn

We are having an unusual streak of arctic air blasts this winter. I decided I needed some thick, wool socks and that I needed them quickly. Leslie at my LYS, Ewephoria Yarns, came to my rescue by introducing me to Online Yarn's 6-Ply Sock Yarn.

I usually knit socks on U.S. #0 needles. This 6-ply works up well using US #2's. This means less stitches per round and much quicker knitting!

Here are the two pair I've knit up thus far:



This version of Online is the Supersocke, 6-Ply, Cottage Colors collection. It is 75% superwash wool and 25% Polyamid. It comes in a very generous 150g ball with well over 400 yards. The only draw-back for me is that since it's one ball, I was hesitant in knowing how long I could make the leg on the first sock to still have enough to complete the second sock. Turns out I could've made the legs on my socks longer. Much longer. I guess that's one of those "live and learn" things! I could have remedied that by either: dividing the wool into two balls before I started knitting (might have been a tedious task!) or by using a scale to weigh the ball and the sock in progress to determine if I was nearing the "half-way" mark of usage. Since I don't have a scale, that wasn't a real option.

Anyway, I enjoyed the feel of the yarn as I was knitting and the socks appear to be very durable. They are definitely warmer than some of the other socks I've knit with finer, 4-ply yarns.

These were just quick knits following no particular pattern, just making them up as I went. The green colorway is knit toe-up with a heel flap/gusset construction, my new favorite way of doing socks.

I'd say I'll be knitting with this brand again in the future!

Happy Knitting!

A New Day

We have a new president, President Barack Obama. I have not been so moved by Inaugural Day hoopla....ever. I feel very hopeful and I'm so happy and looking forward to doing my part!

Almost Half-Way

Today is my 43rd birthday. I suppose I'm nearing the half-way point of life (at least I like to think I have a good while left yet!)

I like where I'm at on the journey. It's like hiking in the mountains. The half-way point is the pinnacle! You get to the top and have a chance to enjoy some breath-taking views! You have a broader perspective....you can see a lot further!

And the fact that it's all downhill from there is actually a positive thought to me! Making your way up is tough, often strenuous work. The effort requires concentration and sheer will-power to take another step sometimes. Sometimes you feel like giving up. (Sometimes you sit down on a rock while everyone else goes on without you....and you don't get to see the view from the top.....I know.)

The way down doesn't require near the same exertion. You can enjoy yourself. I see more on my way back down than I did on the way up. Enjoy the smaller details. Breathe easier. Encourage the people who are struggling on their way up that it really is worth it.




I'm very blessed to have a great husband, kids, extended family and friends who share the journey with me. Thanks for a special day guys....I love you!

Holy Cr@#!!!!

Awoke to an actual temperature of -26*F with windchills in the -30s.

Our high today: -8*F.

Now: -15*F and falling.

I'm going back to my knitting.

Ewephoria

I thought I'd share a few pictures from Leslie's shop, Ewephoria Yarns, in Pocahontas. She's in a house just north of the intersections of highways 3 & 4, on the west side of the road. She's got 4 rooms full of lovely yarn, kits, needles, etc.
Have a look!












Of course there are also magazines, books and a work space to sit and knit or take a class. She carries spindles, buttons and crochet hooks made by another local artisan in addition to her own line of hand-dyed yarns (which are GORGEOUS!!) If you're ever in this corner of the world, it's definitely worth a stop!!

Happy Knitting!

Pocahontas' Scarf

Several months ago my LYS (I use the term relatively.....if I were living in a huge metro area I might drive an hour across town to visit a "local" yarn shop. Ewephoria Yarns (www.ewephoriayarns.com) is the closest LYS I have and is approximately 42 miles away in another town. Considering I live in a "city" by Iowa standards [25,000 people] and Ewephoria is two or three counties away in a town of 2000 people, some people find it odd. That's all. Just saying.) owner, Leslie, organized an event on Ravelry wherein she invited knitters to creat 6x6" or 12x12" blocks which would be sewn together to form a beautifully handknit, diverse scarf to adorn the gigantic statue of Pocahontas that welcomes people to town who are coming in via Highway 3.

I was happy to knit a couple blocks. She was happy to get a great response from kind and generous knitter across 21 states in the U.S. and from 5 countries. The scarf was put onto the Princess in time for Thanksgiving and the start of holiday shopping and travel.

I missed going up for the big moment when the actual scarfing occured. However, since I edit the local monthly magazine, I decided it was high time to cover Pocahontas and drove up there yesterday to do my story. Here's what I found!



What fun! I spent some time visiting with Leslie for the magazine article (and buying more yarn, of course!) and discovered some interesting things. The scarf is 36 feet long. One lovely volunteer from Ireland actually sheared her sheep, carded and combed the wool, spun the yarn and dyed it, then knit up her square and sent it. Leslie remembered it as an orange square somewhere about 5 or so blocks up from one of the ends.

(Here's a close up in case you can spot it. Take note of the two blocks the arrows point to.)



See the Union Jack (flag of England)?? That square was contributed by a knitter from Gravesend, Kent, England. That location just happens to be the eternal resting place of the historical Pocahontas who married John Rolfe and went back to live with him in England. What a great connection for this small town in northwest Iowa named after the Native American princess!

The other block in burgundy and cream with the slip-stitch color work was in fact knitted by yours truly. (The other block I did with cables falls at the back of the neck of the statue and isn't visible in the photo.)

What a great thing Ravelry is to have brought all these people together for such a fun and whimsical project! And how great of Leslie at Ewephoria Yarns and the people of Pocahontas, Iowa to display the project....turning one piece of "art" into two!

Happy Knitting!

Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life I've Found You!

(With apologies to Madeline Kahn!)

I can't believe it took me well over 50 pairs of socks to discover the secret to the perfect pair of socks for my feet!

I finally experimented with toe-up socks that have a heel flap/gusset. (The short row heels I had been doing never fit me right, no matter how I fiddled with the number of stitches.)

They fit me so well, I even convinced my husband to try on the pair that were too long for me. He hasn't taken them off since!!

Without further adieu, here they are . . . .



The pair in the middle are mine. They were knit from Regia and are fondly called my "Monet Socks" simply because the colorway reminds me of a Monet painting. The others are socks knit for my DH using yarn from Knit Picks. He's been wearing the pair on the left so much that I decided to knit him another before he wears through the first pair.

I LOVE this method first, because they fit the best. Second, because knitting them toe-up allows me to knit until I run out of yarn, meaning the leg/cuff are longer than my other pairs. (I always got nervous that I *might* run out of yarn, so kept them shorter and then ended up with lots left over.)

Happy knitting!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Christmas was extremely kind to me considering I wasn't really in the spirit this year. (I still can't believe we didn't put up a tree.......) Look at these wonderful gifts I received!

How many women are lucky enough to have their husband go into a yarn shop while on summer vacation in hopes of purchasing a memory to give at Christmas and unwrap this:



It's a gorgeous suri alpaca/merino blend, specially dyed there in Colorado. I wish you could feel it. It's to die for. Really. Good job hon!

My kids got me two things I LOVE: Starbucks and Crayola Crayons. (Everyone needs a new box of colors every now and then. I ended up with 120 different colors! Yeah!!)





My SIL in Ohio has ventured into making jewelry and she designed this gorgeous necklace just for me! It's made up of my favorite colors and will go with half my wardrobe! I love it!




Thanks T!!!! I got the chance to sit and visit with her for over an hour and it was so nice to reconnect again. That was one of my best parts of Christmas...and when I think about it may have been a turning point in the whole holiday for me as I felt so much lighter and happier after seeing her. I think she was my Christmas angel.

Other items that make the highlight list of gifts received: Delicious homebaked goodies from my sister, my other SIL in WI, and my friend from college; a fun Wii game of Mini-golf that we have all been enjoying immensely; a new pair of Crocs I can wear in the snow; several hugs from my niece; time spent with nephews; yummy chili my step-dad made; lots of letters from family and friends.

In the end it is the relationships I am most thankful for. While some of them remain a bit tenuous for now, others saw some progress toward healing, for which I am most grateful.

May 2009 be full of favorite things: friends, family, knitting and photos!

2009 - New Beginnings

Well, I really did intend for my next post to have been titled "These are a few of my favorite things" in which I would have photographed a few of my most prized gifts received for the holidays. But time seems to have slipped by without my camera ending up in my hands, and I'd really like to do justice to the beautiful items I received (namely some heavenly yarn and a gorgeous one-of-a-kind made just for me necklace).....so I'll save my Sound of Music post for next time.

Here it is, another new year. 2009. My husband is a bit superstitious about odd numbered years, believing that they hold more negative energy than positive. I believe this is largely due to the fact his mother left this world in an odd numbered year. However, we were married in a year ending in an odd number, and both our kids were born during years which ended in "1" and "3" resepctively. So I am more hopeful that this year -2009 - just might have a lot more positive karma than others might think.

Last year my only resolution was to live a more intentional life. While I had my moments, I think that overall it was a good resolution which changed my life for the better. So I shall continue to make that my resolution for the coming year as well. I know that there are some life-changing events coming down the pike and my hope is to simply be in the moment. Aware. Reflective. Intentional.

That will be enough for me. Enough is good.

Happy New Year!

My First BSJ!

Well, I just completed my first EZ Baby Surprise Jacket. I made it with the intention of giving next April for a 2nd birthday, but it's so darned cute, I may add it to the Christmas gifts!

I knit it with CotLin from Knit Picks, in the Kohlrabi color. My guys thought it wasn't a "boy" green, so to give it an added masculine touch I trimmed it in brown and added football buttons.

Everyone was right. Elizabeth Zimmerman = genius.

A Little Owl

A little owl landed at my house today. It came from my Reducio Sock Swap partner from Ravelry. It had a long journey all the way from Massachusetts! Here is what the owl delivered:



There are a couple forms of muggle sweets all the way from the UK! The tin with mints has a gorgeous magpie on the lid. I've experienced these talkative birds on trips to Colorado. The Gryffindor sock will go onto my Christmas tree and Luna (see post below) will enjoy her scarf as a bookmark since ScarlettB's reducio charm worked so well!

Lucky Me

Some of you may remember the 1957 Chevy I got to take a joy ride in during the summer of 2007. If not see it here: http://kshotz.blogspot.com/2007/07/joy-riding.html




A few months ago I got to ride in a 1929 Studebaker with Harold Wingerson, the owner.



What a blast!

I was shooting the car for the magazine's Vintage Vehicles feature. Harold drove me around in the park. I was surprised by what a great ride it was. (Also, kind of funny to see how "bare" the dashboard area looked compared to new vehicles!)

Harold's son restored the car for him and it's strictly a parade and show car. I feel really fortunate to have gotten a ride in this beauty!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone once more. We had a delicious dinner at home on Thursday. Amanda worked the 5:30 am stampede at Target while the rest of us dispersed to other shopping destinations on Friday. Finally wrapped up and got home about 5:30 pm. Went to my sister's on Saturday and enjoyed extended family time with sibs and step-dad. Jeff was there and it was really nice to see him again. Here are some pics of the event!



We had just finished playing "Would You Rather" which Jeremy won by letting Sara draw a mustache and glasses on his face with an eye liner. (You had to be there.) He is not a Malawi warrior.

Gratuitous kid pics:








All in all I'd say that was a much better way to spend Saturday than in the Emergency Room, which almost happened. (But that's a story for another time and place.)

We drove home in heavy fog and drizzle, but thankfully the roads didn't get slippery. We got about 1/2 inch of snow on Sunday and the cold air is settling in.

Only 24 days until Christmas!

First (& Quite Possibly LAST) Intarsia

My knitting pals elected me as the perfect person to help a fellow citizen of our fair town in her quest to find someone who could knit matching Christmas stockings for her grandkids so that everyone in their family would have the same stockings hanging this year.

It seemed innocent enough.

And they hit the hamartia on the head: knitting hubris.

I received the package of yarns, needles, bobbins, and pattern in June.

I started attempt number one in June.

I set it aside by July 1.

I thought, "I'll take it on vacation."

It got left behind at home.

School started, work projects piled up, the seasons changed.

The bag sitting in my stash room mocked me.

The commissioner phoned me. "How's the project coming along?"

November rolled around. I started again.

I frogged it.

I started again.

Frogged.

Tried again.

Frogged.

(Sensing the pattern here???????)

Finally, after an intense two weekends (and a few intense week nights between),
this is the result.




I had an inkling before I began that there was a reason I'd avoided intarsia prior to this. All my suspicions were confirmed.

It's time consuming. It makes me anxious rather than helping to relieve my stresses and anxieties. It's fiddly.

Basically, it's a very HIGH MAINTENANCE kind of knitting.

I'm not very likely to repeat the experience any time soon.

I deliver said stockings on Wednesday.

I hope she likes them!

Cute Kids

I drove over to my brother's house, about 2 hours away, on Saturday in order to take some photos of his adorable kids. They are so cute and such sweethearts! I thought I'd share my favorites from the photoshoot.

This is my niece who will be five years old in January.




And this is her brother who is 18 months old.




I had fun doing it and my sister-in-law made delicious spaghetti for lunch! My niece wanted me to stay longer and watch a movie with her, but we needed to head home again. I also enjoyed spending time with my own son coming and going and he enjoyed playing with cousins.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Well, election day is FINALLY behind us.

Thank God Obama was elected!!!!!!!

Even though it is supposed to be rainy and stormy and grey today,
something about the potential, the hope, the promise of change to come
makes the air just a bit easier to breathe this morning.

Looks like I can hold off on learning verse 2 of the Canadian National Anthem.
(Although if we don't do something about healthcare in this country, you never know!)

Hermione & Luna

Dressed for "Witch/Wizard Wednesday" during "Haunted Homecoming" week for school, my daughter and her best friend were the best-dressed witches from Hogwarts in my opinion.

My favorite parts of the costumes?

1. The real radishes Luna is wearing for earrings!

2. The U.S. #10 Brittany birch needles transformed into wands.

3. The socks. You gotta love the socks!

4. Hermione's time-turner necklace.

Luna's Quibbler is posed just right so that you can't see the official Ravenclaw house badge on her uniform sweater, but it's there too!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Arthur Miller

Some schools might be performing Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, this fall. (I remember my own high school's performance as one of the worst productions in memory with cast members reading their lines off the walls behind other actors and one set falling over....but I digress!) It's also getting to be the time for spooks, etc. as Halloween (not to mention, an election) approaches.

I just discovered the perfect song for contemplating such things. It's from my favorite indie artist, Josh Woodward (music buttons on the side bar to the right!)

It's called Gallows Hill. Give it a listen!

Autumn Colors

Out shooting photos for a variety of projects and ran across this tree the other afternoon. Decided to turn it into a "painting." I finished off the socks I was doing with the new On Line 6-ply. I really like them and they sure knit up quickly.

I'll post a photo of them soon!

Happy Knitting & Shooting!

My Sweater

Well, I finished the sweater I knit for myself. Here it is!



And in full . . .



It is pretty much exactly what I suspected it would be:

Really, really comfortable.

Incredibly soft (I mean, it's baby alpaca and cashmere for crying out loud!)

Beautiful color

Perfect fit (I adjusted the pattern to make it longer in both body and sleeve length.)

Not wearable outside the house.

Why? Well, because it was knit with worsted weight yarn on size 8 needles and as I've always suspected regarding sweaters for myself any such knit would look "bulky" compared to machine knits at fine gauges.....SOOOOOO.....add that to my already "bulky" frame and it's not exactly flattering.

Even though I TOTALLY love the sweater, I'm afraid that if I go out of the house in it people might mistake me for a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon that got loose. Shamu in blue. It just wouldn't be pretty.

(Your first hint should have been the fact the photos of the sweater were of it laying on the floor rather than on me!)

Anyway, we'll see if I ever get up the nerve to knit something on needles small enough to make something that looks nice enough on me to wear in public. I think that would be a HECK of a lot of knitting!