I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

It's time to take this show on the road. I leave tomorrow for Sacramento. I'm going to visit my friend Maya, and to celebrate her birthday. It's been over three years since I've been to California. The last time was also for a birthday celebration. (It seems to be a recurring theme). I'm really excited to visit Maya. She has been living in Sacramento for quite a few years, but I have never visited her there.

My cross-country flight will provide an excellent opportunity to work on my Log Cabin squares. That's the only project that I will be bring on the plane with me. I'm sure to get a little bored with it, but I need to focus on getting more squares completed.

Maya is also a knitter! If all goes well, I will be giving her a crash course on sock knitting. As her birthday gift, I have offered to supply her with everything she needs to make her first pair of socks...a knit along, of sorts. I'm not sure if an actual pair of socks will be completed in a week, but we'll be able to finish them when she comes to DC in September.

See you next week!

14*/35...

I have been working on my Log Cabin Blanket off and on since February. When I started, I calculated that I would need to knit a little more than one block per week to have things complete in time for their September wedding. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

I knit many of the 15 completed blocks while riding the bus to and from work. This is a very portable project...It's also a very monotonous project. After a few weeks, I got a little bored with it, and knit a couple pairs of socks. Then life got really busy, and I had little time to breath...much less knit. Now, with only a little more than 7 weeks until the wedding, I find myself only with 40% of the squares needed for the originally blanket design.

*Technically, it should be 15/35, but one of my squares has gone AWOL.
I will need to knit almost 3 blocks a week to meet the deadline! I'm not sure I can make it on time, but I'm going to keep plugging along. I'm devoting today to log cabin knitting. I had a few chores to wrap up this morning, and I will now install myself on the sofa for miles and miles of garter stitch.

a mid-summer debut...

Please ignore the goofy look on my face. AF loves to take pictures right at the moment just before you're ready. In this case, I think I was in the middle of talking about how much I really didn't want my picture taken. Either way, our recent trip back to his hometown proved to be a perfect place to debut my Summertime Tunic from the Summer Interweave.

I started this project a couple of weeks after the magazine came out. I thought it would be a quick and easy project. I used Jaeger Trinity, that I recycled from an underworn project. I think the yarn is perfect for this top because it's lightweight and has an slightly uneven, bumpy quality.

This was the first time that I have visited Michigan in the summer. Usually, we visit AF's family around Thanksgiving or Christmas...which automatically means cold weather and snow. However, the 4th of July was perfect! The sun shined every day. We visited the Midway at Summer Celebration and rode the Ferris wheel. We walked around the downtown, which is going through a renaissance of sorts. And, we even made time to drive up to Silver Lake for a dune ride.

Mid-year execution review...

A post wherein I apologize for not writing a post in nearly 3 months, and I try to make up for it by updating all knitting-related things.

That's right, it's been nearly 3 months since writing a post. I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. To tell you the truth, there's been a lot going on. Since it's mostly non-knitting related, it really has no place on my knitting blog. That doesn't mean that I haven't been knitting! So on to the knitting content!

At the beginning of the year, I laid out a few loose resolutions for 2007. I'm proud to say that the only new yarn that I have bought this year was for my less than stellar efforts to take part in Sock Madness and the shipments that I have received as a member of Rockin' Sock Club™...all sock yarn. I haven't even used my "Get Out of Jail Free" card!

I haven't been as committed to the 1st seven of '07. So far, I have only finished one project from the list, the Aran Tee. I have also been *slowly* chipping away at the Log Cabin Blanket. Of the 35 squares that I need to complete the blanket, I have finished 12. That's about a third...with only two and a half months before the recipients are to be wed. (EEK!) I also have a few more finished objects that weren't on the 1st seven list that I am hoping to share very soon.

out, but not down...

I decided that I would continue to knit the Sock Madness socks, even though I'm not in the competition any more. I restarted the week 2 sock last Wednesday after finding a more suitable yarn, and managed to finish them in about week...Not too shabby!

I finished these yesterday afternoon, just in time for the release of the Week 3 pattern. I'm not all the crazy about the idea of a sock with cuffs...I don't imagine they will make my legs look all that flattering. But, I'm still going to knit them. I'm making mine in a solid color, though. So far, I have knit one of the borders. I'm going to make both before picking up stitches for the sock.

Since, I'm no longer competing, my goal is to finish these before the next pattern is released.

sock madness...I'm out.

First, I want to congratulate Kellie for moving on to the nest round! She completed the 2nd pattern just over two days.

Unfortunately, my endeavour wasn't nearly as successful. I seemed to have a lot of things going against me this round. First, there were lots of time obligations -- practice the night that the pattern was released, a dinner Friday night, and general business all day Saturday. By the time I had more than 10 minutes to sit and knit, it was Sunday morning. At that point I had made it only to the heel of sock #1. But, I kept knitting.

I had decided to make this sock using Elann's Esprit yarn, since I already had it in my stash. I even took time to do a swatch last week, and everything looked good. Well, after turning the heel of sock #1, I thought I'd try it on. That's when I decided to throw in the towel. I couldn't even get the sock onto my foot. It was just too tight. I think I would need to go up a couple of needle sizes for it to work out.

I'm out of the competition, but I'm still going to knit the socks. I looked through the stash and have a couple of other yarn possibilities. Maybe I can even finish before the next round begins.

sock madness: round 2...

This week, I'm gearing up for the next round of Sock Madness. The first round officially closed on Saturday...Although there were several people who knit this pattern in 2 days, a new pair of socks finished in a week is nothing to sneeze at.

The new pattern is supposed to be released some time Thursday afternoon/evening. Until then, I will be swatching and picking yarn. All I know is that this pattern calls for a sport weight yarn, yet it should be knit at 7 stitch per inch. The organizers recommend a variegated yarn, but say that any color will do.

In round 2, I am paired up with Kellie. To advance another round, I will have to complete the socks and submit a picture before she does. I'm hoping that the pattern will be released before I leave work on Thursday, so I can cast-on on the way home from work. I'm busy all day next Saturday, and will have to make up some time on Sunday. I have a feeling this next round will take me longer than 3 days.