Grinchless Destruction

Alas, poor Grinchy, I so liked your nose...

...so I had to eat it off and pull out all your head stuffing. (Remorseful? I don't think so?)
Happy with herself, is more like it!

The evil Grinch has been defeated! Ha!

Favorite Sock Book Pattern Corrections

You know how I wasn't going to start anything new?
I had started some socks for my hubby last week from Favorite Socks, the Eesti Trail Hiking Socks by Nancy Bush, and as I got to the chart I found an error in the pattern. So I e-mailed Interweave Press this afternoon:

Dear Interweave Customer Service:
I have completed to rnd 5 of the star pattern, and I notice that when you increase the number of stitches goes to 64, yet the chart is a pattern repeat of 22 stitches -- this does not work, there will be 2 few stitches left? Am I reading this correctly? Please advise as am trying to finish the sock (ie: needle #1 22 sts; needle #2 20 sts; needle #3 22 stitches). This won't work with the chart...possibly directions incorrect?
Thank you,
Cactusneedles

And I just got this response back:

Dear Cactusneedles,
Thank you for your message. I passed your query to our tech editor and this is her response:

I compared the version in the book to the pattern that originally ran in the winter 1997 issue of Knits, and the
book has the red pattern repeat box in the wrong place.The repeat box for Rnds 5-17 of the chart should only
surround the leftmost 16 sts of the chart, or the last 16 sts of the chart as you would knit it. Also, the "inc 8 sts evenly spaced" note next to the chart should be aligned with Rnd 4, not Rnd 3. The text correctly says to increase in Rnd 4, so that's OK.
After inc 8 sts in Rnd 4 there will be 64 sts. To set the pattern up correctly in Rnd 5 from the chart shown in Favorite Socks, skip the first 6 sts, and repeat only the 7th through 22nd sts of the chart for a 16-st pattern. Drawing a line in the book or temporarily covering up the unwanted sts with a Post-it note will make it easier to remember where the right starting place is.
And the correct 16-st pattern fits perfectly 4 times around in 64 sts!

We apologize for this error and appreciate your letting us know there's a problem!

Best wishes,
Nancy
___________________
Nancy Arndt
Production editor
Interweave Press LLC
201 East Fourth St.
Loveland, CO 80537
interweave.com

Wow! I'm impressed. That was a fast and fabulous response time. I had already adjusted my pattern to make it even, but even so, I want to commend Interweave for getting back to me so quickly!

FYI -- Check here for the corrections! (hopefully this link works, I seem to be having trouble connecting to their site!) Otherwise just go to interweave.com, under the books tab, there is an area regarding corrections (and there seem to be quite a few!).

Wow, I've actually knit things this year (and finished them)!

I added a new page element today of what I've actually completed this year (see sidebar below) and it was more than I thought. And I'm quite proud of myself! I think it's good to keep track of what you've done, whether it be something you start, put away for a while and then come back to it, or something you start and finish right away.
Documenting it all makes you feel like you've accomplished something.
Happy Tuesday to all!

How I Spent My Sunday...and Saturday...

I love this!!! I needed something to organize my projects that I carry from room to room (at least all the zippy bags the projects live in until they're done) and I found this at Target last week. Don't you just love that place? It was in the back to college section, I think the brown and pink go well with my new pillows, too (from Kohl's).

Now, on Sunday I finally re-worked and re-organized where all my knitting, sewing, crafting and whatnot will live. This closet used to hold shoes, bathroom stuff (you know, extra soap, shampoo, hair gel, razors, etc.), but now the top part holds all my sewing notions (the top two bins), the next shelf is my somewhat current magazines and miscellaneous patterns, and then the next has my sock yarn (all my vacation yarn) and my pattern diary, I guess you would call it. The yellow and coral (?) bins I got at the my local dollar store, where yes, everything there is one dollar. (Not pictured: my make-up and shoes that are now living in the bottom section of this small closet all squeezed together!)
I also started (on Sat.) and finished Shopaholic and Baby, by Sophie Kinsella. If you haven't read any of this series, I highly recommend them. They are funny and sort of make you realize that sometimes too much shopping isn't all it's cracked up to be.
So...there wasn't much, strike that, there wasn't any knitting to be done at all this weekend. But don't worry, I'll have something for you soon...at least I hope so!
Happy organizing and happy knitting.

Monkey See, Knitter Finished

I think Monkey likes them!

Monkey Socks, Lion Brand Magic Stripe Yarn; jelly bean stripe (1 and a 1/4 balls, give or take); 2.75 mm dpn.

(I did change one thing, I added a slip stitch heel, I just like that way it looks and it seems a little more sturdy to me.)

Ta! Da! May I Present the Blue, Rib and Cable Socks

At first there was one sock...

...and one toe...
...but now there are two.

Rib and Cable Socks, Interweave Knits (Fall '05); Brown Sheep Company, luxury sock yarn, wildfoote turquoise; used #1 dpn for the cuff and leg, #2 dpn for the heel, foot and toe.

Monkey update tomorrow! They're getting there!

Have a great day to all!!!

(Oh, yeah, I got a new, fast kick arse computer yesterday, my old one just had too, too many problems and had lived well past it's prime, may it RIP.)

Do you like the new colors? I think I'm ready for fall!

No Show Socks

I was all set and ready to show you guys pictures of the blue rib and cable socks that I finished last night, but no such luck. My computer and my camera are having communication issues. I'll try again later.

Monkey See, Knitter Doesn't

So last night I took out the monkeys to try and jump back in and finish them. Those of you who have been with me for a while know that I ran out of yarn, but found more while on vacation. But as I looked at them, I realized I don't know where I am in the pattern. And I'm one of those knitters who writes down the pattern on a separate sheet of paper and marks off row by row where I am in that particular pattern. But I don't know where I am in these! I guess I'm going to have to sit down with them this weekend and spend some quality time with my monkeys and try and get them off my back (ha, ha futile attempt at a joke)!

Been Too, Way Too, Long...

Found this picture in my archived photos on my computer. It’s been soooooooo hot here these past two weeks that this is a great reminder for me! My feet in the cool Atlantic Ocean! {This was at Popham Beach in Maine.}

And I know, I know, it's been too long since I've posted -- I've lost track of time what with coming back from vacation, the kids started school, trying to organize the house with them gone all day and then trying to finish the blue rib and cable socks (I have to install my printer software and then I'll have some pictures--hopefully by tomorrow, Sat at the latest I hope). I'm almost finished with the second sock, and the more I look at them and admire my work (which I think you have to do) the more I like these socks.

My vow was also to not start anything new until I finished all the UFO's I've got lying around, but I don't really think that's going to happen, I've been reading all my issues of Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and the Knit Simple that all seemed to arrive in the mail in the same week. There's a lot of stuff in there that I'm considering -- so much to knit, so little time. And besides, I think I'm really, really ready for fall!!

Not to mention that I've been reading all the new books my library got in. I just finished Reality Queen by Debbie DiGiovanni -- it was very, very good. I also have Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmerman which I have glanced at, but need to read in more detail and then I've been looking for this one and finally found it Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver which somebody recommended (I can't remember who), so I'm going to try to read/start it this weekend.

(Edited on Friday 8/17 -- Started the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book and just didn't like it -- the tone of the author regarding the desert SW was not too good, somewhat negative in fact it seemed and thus this sort of turned me off of this book. I don't like starting a book with negative thoughts!)

Hope all have had a great week or so that I've been out of touch, take care and keep on knitting!!!!

Monday, Monday, So good to Be...

Happy Monday to all. It sounds like everyone had a fantastic weekend and was very productive in their knitting. I, however was not. I didn't get much of any knitting done. The family and I went to visit my parents in the Phx area and did some retail therapy, namely IKEA (get their catalog and see for yourself). I love that place, some of the stuff is a little weird, but... We got new lights for the tv room, a new lightweight comforter for the bedroom, with a cover that was on sale, and some various kitchen accessories that always need to be replaced it seems like.

Today we were going to take the kids fishing up on the local mountain here (yes, there are mountains in the desert -- see my sidebar picture), but it was raining (and yes, it does rain here in the desert especially in monsoon season), so scratch that idea. Instead we decided to hike into Sabino Canyon (a great place to go if you ever visit the desert southwest). And it rained, and rained, but the canyon had lots of water running (didn't read about this until after I got home). Seeing the canyon in the rain is always a great experience, I've been there when there has been no water and everything looks dry and brown, but today it was great, the whole desert is green and there was water in the canyon. Even the wash that runs through my town had water in it, and it's been a long time since I've seen that.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to post some picts later this week. Take care and happy (and productive) knitting.

Oh, yeah, the kids school does have ac (starting that early they have to!) Take care.

Lobster Roll

Food for thought Thursday:

The lobster roll on my vacation (I only ate one of them), courtesy of the Brunswick Diner in Brunswick, Maine.

(Edited to add: don't know if you can see the claw meat pointing from the right container to the left container -- freaked my mom out a little bit!)

We didn't eat in the diner, we got them to go (the kids didn't want lobster, they wanted McDonald's).

Happy Thursday (it's rainy here today) a great day for knitting and the watching of the first place Chicago Cubs!!! Go Cubbies!!!!!!

Vacation story part two -- click here.

Knitting Update (Among Other Things)

(A warning from me -- this is a wordy one!)

My knitting has begun again. It took me about a week or so to get back into the swing of things, don't know why, maybe my brain and body were still on vacation. Let's just say that over my vacation I only knit the top of a hat (I'm making this one for a friend, but in a stripey green, yellow and turquoise blue color), but over the weekend I finished the brim, now all I have left is the I-cord trim (I just hate making I-cord). But, I want to get it in the mail sometime soon...

I also finished the blue cable and rib sock (go here for an old visual). I decided not to rip them, but push forward and finish. So, I finished and cast on for the second. Doing good, I think. Tried to upload some picts, but my computer is just hanging on by a thread here and wouldn't let me do anything with my camera. But I did take some pictures, so when I'm able, I'll post them!

Check here: Kreative Kelpie to read the first installment of my vacation stories.

Oh, yeah, I also read that book...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Safe to say most of you who were going to read it have done so, but I'm still not going to reveal any of the secrets in case there are a few of you who are still getting through it.


I also read Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. I like this series, the bits of knitting interspersed with the story are great. This is the third in the series, and if you haven't read them, I do recommend them.

Let's see, what else. Oh, yeah. I painted the kids bathroom this morning. The color is bayside by Behr, which I bought at Home Depot. (I also have a picture of this, but again, see above as to why there are none here!)

Yesterday the kids and I went to our favorite store in town...Target. We had to purchase school supplies. The Munchkin is going into 3rd grade and the little one to kindergarten. He's all excited, her, not so much. She sometimes has separation anxiety symptoms. (She thinks I'm going to need her to do things around the house, and I do, but she needs to go to school!) Why shopping so early for the supplies you ask? Well, out here school starts a week from Thursday (Aug 9). I know it seems awfully early, and it is, but it makes the hot summer seem shorter. Fall for me starts next week! Then again, this summer seems awfully short as we were gone for a good portion of the hottest part of it.

Okay. I think I've rambled on enough today. Remember, check out my vacation story link above!

Have a great day!!