Land o’ Sunshine

Who knows what happened to my blog?   Oh wait, you mean I have to write it?  What the heck?   I’m not a writer or a photographer.   What did I sign myself up for?  

Enough of the question mark hell.  

I have been knitting, knitting, knitting.  Ok, not that much really, but I have gotten a few more finished objects done. 

First up:  The striped socks.   Plain stockinette stitch using Ann Bund pattern book.   Nothing fancy and REALLY fast.   I had a great time knitting these.   They were done in a week–though I didn’t do any other knitting.  Sorry for the fuzzies.   It is Opal yarn, done on my #1’s. 

Second was a pair of Fiber Trend Slipper Clogs.   I LOVE these things.   They are even better than I hoped they would be.   I had some design problems, but that was user error and my inability to read something and believe it would apply to me.  The yarn is Cascade 220 in Charcoal and Red (though it is really more of a varigated fushcia).   Despite the pattern errors misreading the pattern twice, they were still a quick knit.  

The before shot with a book for size.  

The after felting shot.   Thanks to Mandy for the pattern and the inspiration in the first place. 

I knit these slips again for my mom and they are going to Syracuse today, though I think they need a little more shrinkage.  She’ll have to do that!  Her slips are knit in Cascade 220 in a navy blue and true red.  I didn’t save the bands.  

Here is what is in the works: 

1.  Wonderful Wallaby for hubby is cruising along.   I am ready to start the sleeves.   Picture to follow soon.   For the last two nights, I have knit for 2 hours and never seemed to gain any length (I know that is not true, but it never seemed to get any longer).  I am at 15 1/2 inches and frankly, it will have to do. 

2. Socks.  I am knitting a pair of socks.   It is a combination pattern.  No picture there either.  

More posts to follow as  I play catch up on some things.  

Katrina of Cadipiller Days, sent this fun timewaster site my way today.   It really is too beautiful to be inside blogging, but yet, here I am creating fake book cards!  Test the card creator out and see what you can find in your library.   Let me know what kind of cards you create!

I started another pair of socks last Thursday and I am 2/3 complete already.  Wow!   I’m working on Child’s First Sock, from Knitting Vintage Socks by the amazing Nancy B.   It is so cool to do a lace pattern.  I fear yo’s no more!   Sunshine Hubby was looking at them and says, “They look really good…except you have all these…holes or something.”    DOH!  

I have been doing some knitting reading lately too.   The first book was The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood.  Great book, not great intellectual reading, but filled with knitting snipets from EZ and Montose Staley amoung others.   It could be a little overwhelming to read if you’ve lost a loved one lately, but still a great read. 

 The other knit lit book I just finished was The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.   FANTASTIC book.    The ending through me for a loop and had me choked up.   It was another lite reading kind of book that had me ignoring the housework more than I ususally do in order to finish the book.  

About the sweater avoidance, I checked out Kara’s blog today and just LOVED her completed Central Park Hoodie.   I might be moving in the direction of knitting a sweater….   Then again, good quality yarn is so expensive.

I had forgotten about this blog thing madness I started almost a month ago.   I left a comment on another blog and now it seems I have been found out.   At any rate I will try to be more “serious” about the blogging.  

I worked a few Usborne Books bookfairs during the beginning of October and actually made money and as a treat I bought…YARN!   I ordered from Knit Picks (though I did orgingally intend to order from Simply Socks) and it came in about 3 days.   A box full of yummy yarn.   Ok, I liked yarn before, but I L.O.V.E it now.   The yarn in the local retail hobby shops just don’t compare.   I’m in big trouble now! 

To celebrate, I started two new projects–mittens and new socks.    I left the Wildfoote stockinette sock half completed and cast on Almost Argyles for Sunshine Daddy.   Those socks are going to be a problem, but even with that, I still love knitting with that yarn.  

The mittens are so much fun.  Other than MD washcloths, what else can you cast on and finish in one night?   I have a “test” pair to iron out all the mistakes and now I am halfway through the pair for Sunshine #3.   So there are pink, green, and red mittens for the little Sunshines.  Once I figure out pictures, I will be posting them…. Hopefully that is sooner rather than later! 

I know, I know…another blog.   I was introduced to the world of blogs by my friend Mandy.   Mandy taught me how to knit and so my introduction to blogville through the knitting world.  Since then I have branched out into “mommy” blogs.   

Let me tell you, I L.O.V.E. blogs.   Mommy blogs, fiber blogs, book blogs, and cooking blogs.   I enjoy looking at the style of blogs and reading all the different types.   

 So what will this one be about.   Witty, informative, and insightful.   Ok, I’m kidding.   I’m sure it will be the more mundane things in life.   Parenting, knitting, reading, Usborne books, and life in general.  

Since I have that out of the way, let me introduce the Sunshine Family.   There is me, Sunshine Mommy, Sunshine Daddy, and our three little Sunshines (Sunshine Bro #1, Sunshine Bro #2, and Sunshine Sis).