Socks are finished!!!!

Yipppeeeeee!!!!! My first socks are finished!!! I am very pleased!!! I finished them on our trip to Va Beach today to see the in-laws. I've washed them, and they will be a gift for my mom tomorrow.

After I finished the socks and wove in the ends I went back to work on my Cinxia. I'm almost done with the second sleeve--should be before I go to bed tonight--only about an inch left. Then I hope to get the sleeve attached to the body and begin on the yoke.

Tomorrow I'll spend the morning with my dad while we wait for my mom to have a biopsy done. Plan on taking some small knitting--maybe cast on another pair of socks--this time in an alpaca/wool blend for keeping the tootsies warm this winter. Dh has expressed an interest in a pair of chunky wool socks to wear around the house after he gets home from work--fortunately I have just the yarn.

Back to the Cinxia--Later!

My First Sock

10-27-2005-003web
Originally uploaded by jennyraye.

The first sock of my pair using the Magic Loop is complete. If you notice the photo of it below and compare it with the finished sock, they are different--it's not your eyes. I like the finished sock patterning much better. I had to frog because I added too many stitches at the foot increase, so it was a tad big. After that I was knitting along happily, until I came to the heel turn and short-row wrapping for that. UGH!!! The first go round was a dismal failure. Huge holes along the gusset. I found some directions for short-rowing on heels in my stash of notes from circa 1999 and used those on the second go round. Much better. There are still some nice, small, evenly spaced holes, but I can live with those, especially if the fabric blooms and hides them. They are definitely not the yawning chasms I had before. Hope to cast-on the second sock today after errands. My housekeeping is definitely suffering since I rediscovered knitting.

I'm loving the Magic Loop and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport yarn. Hope to get some more soon. I know once my mom sees these socks, she'll want some. I'll take her to the lys to pick out a colorway all her own. So many to choose from--such yummy colors. Next time I may use the Shepherd Sock rather than the Sport, since the Sock is wool and nylon and may hold up better. I'm also looking for some Lion Brand Magic Stripes on my errands today.

The weather has cooled off considerably the last few days--wool blanket on the bed--even turned on the gas logs last night to take the chill off the downstairs. Don't dare turn on the heat yet--it's still October afterall. The cool weather has made for interesting bike rides, but I just add a layer and I'm good. I don't feel the cold until I stop.

Off to the store.....................hope to find yarn :o)

A Sock Knitter is Born!!!

It's official--I'm now a sock freak!!!! Yesterday I learned how to knit a sock on one large circular needle from the web. This is an excellent tutorial/pattern that I'm using to knit my first socks. I also viewed a video tutorial that really helped get the whole technique down better. I'm very visual, so this helped immensely!. After seeing how easy the method was, I grabbed the kiddo and headed for lys. I had called and found that they carried Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn, so I knew that they had something I wanted to knit with. BUT when I got there I found that they also had Lorna's Laces. I wound up buying the Lorna's Laces Sport in Gold Hill colorway because the colorway they had in the Bearfoot was very similar to the Trekking I ordered online (just rec'd info on that order saying that the Trekking wouldn't be sent for another week or two.) I saw tons of other color combinations I would love to make socks out of for my mom or.....me! Think Seascape will be next...or maybe Aslan.....or Pioneer.......or.............

When I got home from the lys I immediately cast-on with some scrap yarn to practice the method/pattern mentioned above. The figure-8 cast-on was new to me, so I just wanted to be sure I had it down before starting with the good yarn. It went fairly easily after the first try, so I decided it was safe to start with the good stuff. Everything was going well until I tried the sock on--I'm about to the ball of my foot. Too big.....sigh. Okay--I know why. I'm using a sport weight yarn, not sock/fingering weight. Didn't take that into account when I was working the increases for the foot. So, I'll go back and frog what I've done back to just before the increases and work from there. Meanwhile, I have a nice swatch from which to get an exact gauge :o) How's that for looking at the bright side. I love the hand of the LL's yarn, and the stripping is cool, although I liked the pooling at the toe, too.

I had intended to get a smaller size 7 circ to put my Cinxia sleeve on because I can't find the one I've used in the past. (Dd found it this AM in a hat she has OTN from last winter.) One of the nice gals at the lys suggested I use the Magic Loop to do it--well, duh?!?!? Why not???? So, I put the sleeve on my 36" circ last night and away I went. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier than dpns. I'm never looking back! Magic Loop all the way!!!!!

Dry Roads

All I ask is for some dry roads!!! Finally got some semi-dry roads this afternoon. Dry enough that I wasn't scared to take my bike with its thin tires out for a spin. Did 21 miles. Met Bob C--older gent riding a Cannondale. Turns out he's the fil of my physical therapist. Small world. We rode for a couple of miles chatting, then split off to finish our routes. I pass him several times a week--nice to put a name with a face now.

Due to all the rainy weather we've been having, dh and I broke down and bought an exercise bike today. I would have been happy with a trainer for my road bike, but dh wanted something he could use too. Ours has preset programs that will be perfect for burning calories on days when it's too wet or cold for a ride outdoors.

On the knitting front....I'm about 4 inches up the 2nd sleeve of the Cinxia. Waiting impatiently for my sock yarn and book to arrive. I started and finished Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett last night--well, I started last night and finished it in the wee hours of this morning. Interesting.

On my to read list are several by Elizabeth Peters and the next one in line by Clive Cussler. I've just started reading his novels, and as I do with most series I read, I like to go in order.

Need to get dinner started before I can sit down and knit or read, so I'm off!

One Sleeve down............

Yippeeeee! The first sleeve is finally done!!! Not too bad!It took me a good three days plus--and many hours watching The Winds of War while ds #2 took his nap. For those of you who may not know or have been too young to watch it, The Winds of War was a fairly lengthy mini-series that ran in 1983 or so. It is based on the novel of the same name by Herman Wouk and is set in 1930s Europe/US just prior to the outbreak of WWII. There are 7 parts each running from 1.5 to 3 hours, finally culminating in the days just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and US entrance into WWII. I enjoyed watching the series in its initial television run, but found it just as engrossing this time around. I currently have on hold with the library War and Remembrance, which is the 7 part sequel to TWOW--this was also a made for television mini-series which ran in 1988 or so--I don't recall seeing this or its sequel War and Remembrance--The Final Chapter. I am looking forward to completing the series over the next few months. Lots of knitting time! Yay!!!

Now, back to the Cinxia (I wonder how you pronounce that? I'm thinking sin-zee-ah.) I like how the cuff looks folded back--even slipped it on my arm and it looks good on--I thought it might be a bit bulky. I still worry that the body won't be long enough for me....... even though I made it longer than what was called for in the pattern. I will probably cast-on the second sleeve this evening, hopefully prior to Survivor, CSI, and Without a Trace, so that I can get the pattern well set before my attention is divided. I really need a small #7 circular for the sleeve--hate working on dpns, but Walmart didn't have any, and the lys is a good 30 min drive one way--no time today. I guess I muddle through with the dpns. I gotta say, I'm really loving this yarn, too. Good color. Not too scratchy--the blocked pieces even feel a bit soft. I'm hoping to have the sweater finished by no later than Thanksgiving--I want to wear it to the festivities. But really want to complete it well prior to that, so that I can move on to something else. Yeah, the knitting bug has gotten me good this time.

Also OTN right now is a simple roll brim hat for my brother's live-in. They live in NYC, so I know she'll get use out of it. The yarn is Maggi Knits Irish MK Collection Maggi's Alpaca in red that I got for 75% off at my lys (I bought 14 balls--probably 3 for her hat and then whatever I need for a matching scarf.)

In the planning stages is a pair of socks--ordered the yarn and a book about knitting socks on two circular needles a couple of days ago from here. I'll post pictures when the order arrives. I haven't knit socks in years, but after seeing all the cool color combos I just had to get some and make my own. While out shopping with ds#2 this morning, I looked at some clogs that would show off my socks once they are made. Couldn't find exactly what I was looking for....but there's time since the yarn hasn't even arrived yet.

The date says October 20th, but the temperature today says September--high today in the 70s, although it feels warmer. The nights have been cool--50s--and the maple tree in the yard is just barely starting to change--you can see a bit of color if you look really closely at the outer limbs near the top of the tree. I love this maple tree. We planted it when we moved into our home 15 years ago--it wasn't much more than a stick then, but it has filled out nicely and provides much needed shade in the steamy days of summer. In the fall its color practically glows--in a good year. Some years the color is muddy--not at all the brilliant color a sunset red maple should be. We'll see what happens this year. It was a hot, dry summer, so I don't know how that will affect its color.

Off to get a little knitting done before the little one awakes!!!

Cinxia frustration!!!!

I am getting so frustrated with the first sleeve of this pattern. The slip-stitch cuff-all 6 inches worth--seems to devour time AND yarn. I knit on this most of the afternoon yesterday, as well as into the evening--started it on Saturday night and had maybe 1/2 an inch done--just enough so the dpns weren't flipping out on me. I still only have 4.5 inches done! Arghhhhhhh!!!! It's only 63 stitches around--WHY is it taking so long????? The sad part is that there's another sleeve to be faced after this one.

I'm currently trying to find information on knitting socks and/or sleeves on two circs or one big circ a la The Magic Loop. I was checking out some of the sock yarn on KnitPicks and found several that I just love. I want to knit socks, but in the quickest, easiest way possible. So much has changed in the knitting world in the 3+ years I've been away. It's younger, and dare I say, hipper. Way more fun patterns, yarn combos, etc. Can't get into the funky yarns with the metallic or whatever in them, but I am loving the rainbow of colors and self-striping yarns for socks.

I'm also trying to find somewhere were I can learn about the codes used in putting blogs together so that I can give this one some pizazz and personality. It looks all lonely and barren with no sidebar stuff like I see on everyone else's. If you know a place online where I can learn about this stuff, please leave a comment and let me know. WhooHoo--just figured out to edit my links--now if I could just figure out how to get images in the sidebar--and those little button thingys--and the tickers that show the progress of WIPs--and.....and.....and.

So, to help me deal with the stress and frustation from the Cinxia, I went on a bike ride this morning. Quite cool and windy--N winds at 9 mph gusting to 19 mph. I was glad I wore some wool socks, l/s coolmax tee, and a fleece. Fall has finally arrived in Virginia. Did about 17.5 miles. No dogs chased me today, which after Saturday, is a real bonus.

Well, back to the neverending Cinxia sleeve before I head out to dinner with some other moms who home educate. It's our monthly get together--always looked forward to by all of us! Later!

Who Would've Thought.....

....that I'd fall in love with cycling at this point in my life?

In August 2004, I found myself overweight, tired, and stressed out! I had given up exercising in January 2002 right after becoming pregnant with our 3rd child. I needed to lose the weight I had gained after weaning our baby and recapture some of the energy I once had. My first attempt was a failure because I concentrated on just losing weight--no exercise. Mistake!!!

In April 2005, I once again made a conscious decision to lose weight AND get in shape. Exercise became a priority in my life. I started running following the Couch-to-5K plan on coolrunning. Within 9 weeks I literally went from being a couch potato to being able to run 3 miles in right around 30 min. However, I started to have some physical problems related to running. It was just too hard on my middle-aged bones. What to do?

I pulled my old supermart mountain bike out of the garage and started riding.....slowly. My first few rides were around 4 miles. I quickly went up to 8 and then 11 mile loops. As I tried to push for more mileage my body began to rebel through numb hands and sore back. My bike just did not fit me well. I researched and tried out some bikes and finally settled on a Trek 1000C WSD (see above). It was love the first time I took her for a spin around the bike shop parking lot. Since I bought her the 1st week of August, I've put close to 700 miles on her, for a grand total of bike mileage year to date of 1041 miles!!!!! This from a gal who couldn't run around the block 6 months ago. The really cool thing is that now that I've started averaging around 100 miles per week, the weight is coming off steadily--I'm down almost 17 lbs. I may even hit my final goal weight by the end of the year. And that's just gravy on top of the way the riding is making me feel! I sleep better, handle stress better, feel better physically--especially those parts of my body that were feeling the pain from running. Currently, a couple of my favorite bike related sites are Bike Journal and Bike Forums. I'm involved with a 4th quarter challenge on the former that is keeping me motivated to stick to the South Beach Diet and exercise through the first of 2006. I'm a work in progress....hopefully, come January 2006, I'll be able to post an updated photo at my goal weight.


And speaking of works in progress........
The work continues on my Cinxia--I'm up to the armholes and have cast-on and knit the first four rows of the first sleeve. I went to my lys (local yarn store) today and traded some unused yarn from a previous project for a book I've been dying to own, Folk Shawls. It's now in my hot little hands--I'm having a difficult time deciding what to knit from it first. I also checked Best of Arans and Celtics out of the library. I saw a couple of things in it I may like to knit, but nothing that spoke to me like I would have thought. On the same trip I also got The Knitter's Stash and found a bunch of things in there that tickled my knitting needles. On my wish list is The Knitter's Companion because I need something compact to carry in my knitting bag with tips and such, so that I don't have to run and pull out my heavy knitting reference books if I come across something I don't remember how to do.

Enough for now....off to knit when I should be doing other stuff :o)

My First Blog Entry

Can a 42 yo mom of three learn new tricks? We'll see.....this is my first blog entry on my very first blog.

The revival of my interest in knitting has spawned the desire for a blog to record my attempts, successes, and yes, failures, as I re-enter this hobby that has changed drastically in the few years I've been away! It's so cool to see so many young people interested in knitting. It's not your grandmother's knitting anymore--thank goodness. My great-grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was about 10 yo, but she never really taught me to DO anything with the long crochet chain or knit rectangles I produced. I picked up crocheting about 15 years ago when my eldest child was a toddler--crocheted afghans for several years. I started knitting in 1996 or 1997 (?) after picking up Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop. From that I taught myself to knit, as well as converted to continental knitting. My first attempt at knitting from this book was a cap and then a sweater based on EZ's model. When I look at that sweater now, I just cringe. I knit it for my dh--he wore it the obligatory one or two times, but since then it has resided unused on his closet shelf. I have since moved it to my stash bin for frogging. The yarn is absolutely yummy, and since it is knit in the round I should be able to salvage the lion's share of it for something else.....for me!!!


















In 1998 I knit my first aran sweater following Claudia Krisniski's pattern. Above is my finished sweater. I still look forward to the cold winter months so that I can pull on this sweater and even keep the house cool, so that I'm not too warm.

After that in 1999 I did the SOA (Son of ARAN) designed by Janet Szabo as a knitalong with aranknit at yahoogroups--looks like we may be doing a new knitalong after the first of the year.

Currently OTN is Cinxia from the Fall 2005 edition of Knitty. I am almost up to the armholes using a beautiful brick red Galway Highland Heather (see below). I had a terrible time getting the stitch gauge right. I tried 7s, but had too few stitches per inch, but rows per inch was right. Then I tried 6s and still had too few stitches per inch, but the rows per inch was way off. I finally decided to knit the size small on 7s and hope for the best. Since it's in the round I could frog if necessary, but I'm hoping that it will be okay. Thus far, it looks fine size-wise.

I've knit lots of other projects (hats, shawls, scarves, socks, etc.) since I started in 1996--I just listed a couple of the highlights here--things I can actually get photos of. My next post will be about my other passion--cycling!