wip update

 The penguin socks are slowly coming along. Both heals are turned and and I'm a few inches away from the toe. Right now I'm just knitting in the round... the easy part. These socks are unusual because of the seam on the leg only. After I finish knitting I will have to sew up the seams and embroider the eyes. In the photo right below is my Ginkgo shawl. This is the first time I knit a shawl with my hand spun yarn. There wasn't a lot of yardage so this is more of a shawlette. I added beads to  the last three repeats of the lace pattern and as of a few minutes ago completed the lace chart and the beading.  I have one row to finish with a larger needle and then the bind off. I hope to finish this tonight because I have plans to start another little shawl asap. Last year some time I had knit the Andrea's shawl. I bought a special yarn just to knit the shawl and I really liked the color. Well to make a long story short.. the color I loved never ended up being in the shawl and I still have half a ball left with the color I love still sitting there. I purchased a pretty natural color skein of Berrocos Ultra Alpaca ( in the photo below) to knit another Andrea's shawl in the color that I love. The first Andrea's shawl has been gifted away to someone that loves it and I know she will use it. Can't wait to start. I was thinking of knitting this for the Ravelympics, but I know that I have never completed a shawl no matter what size in less than a month. So I will start knitting this maybe later tonight.. (^_^)

More photos of my daughters new apartment. She is in the midst of repainting her kitchen table. It used to be all black. I think it looks beautiful in red!!

Bad timing..

 A friend at work is having a baby. Like everything else...the timing is off. For those that know me my old car broke down again and hasn't been running for over 2 weeks. I missed a couple more days of work which I can't afford because I couldn't get a ride. It ended up being the ECU (engine computer) which has actually been the cause of a lot of the problems lately. It burned out the fuel pump and few other things that all had to be replaced. The ECU for my car has been discontinued so I had to find it on ebay . I'm happy that it works. There are a few more things that need to be fixed like a leaky ac hose and I need a new front tire. The hose had to be ordered and I need to try and find a tire sometime during the week. At least I can get to work. That left not much money for a baby shower gift. I purchased a few balls of yarn in the nursery colors.. not really the yarn that I would have liked to get but it's soft and washable. I hope she likes it.

 My daughter Brooke just moved back to Syracuse and was able to rent a nice apartment in an old victoria house. So pretty. Little Abby is getting so big!!

projects of the day..

 Most of the time when you purchase inexpensive costume jewelry they kind of get funky pretty fast. Especially down here in Florida with the humidity and heat. Anyway I bought this really cute feather necklace and the chain got to the point where it is just plain ugly and I wont wear the necklace anymore and I just loved it with a couple of shirts that I have. Soooooo I decided to make a new chain.. a crochet chain with gold thread. I really didn't know if it would work or not and if it didn't look good I was going to make earrings instead. But as you can see it worked just fine and I have my pretty necklace back. The closure is just a crochet loop with a gold button and every place that I ended and cut the thread I made a half hitch knot around the chain and clipped the thread and added a little tiny dot of fray check.

 The last few days I have actually make some progress on these socks. Maybe the reason is my car is still not working and I have been waiting for rides to and from work which equals extra knitting time.

 Last night I started on the lace edging of my Gingko shawl and I just happened to have these pretty glass beads that I'm going to add closer to the bottom edge. I like using bead on the bottom of shawls, especially little ones as they add a little more drape and weight not to mention that they are pretty too.

so many wips!!

 Someone was thinking of me. My sister was working in a furniture store in NY and they were getting rid of this duvet set. She thought of me and now I have this lovely duvet in my room. Since then she has been promoted to manager of a store in NJ. (^_^)

 Ok here are all of the projects I am working on right now. First is the Ginkgo shoulderette shawl. I started this shawl just to have some thing easy to knit on my break at work and in the car. The yarn is some of my hand spun from my stash. I have fourteen more rows and then I start the lace edging. Second are the Pop-out Penguin socks. I'm knitting both flat until I finish the intarsia and then I will knit them both at the same time using magic loop technique. The second sock is at the point where I start knitting the flippers. Once I finish the heals these will be a take a long project and will basically be straight knitting from  that point on.  

 Third. This project has been hanging around for while. I really love it and even though the yarn isn't the best, it's very soft and the subtle color change is really nice. Once I finish one of the other projects I will work on this again.

 Fourth. This was supposed to be a quickie carry along project. I do carry it around and work a few rows now and again. The yarn is odd to knit with and I have to knit English style which to me is tedious and slow, but I will continue to work on it here and there. So this is my here and there project that will eventually get finished and become a gift. There is a lot to keep me busy and soon a friend at work is going to have a baby shower so time to start looking at a few things to whip up. Florida is pretty hot and people usually do not use many knitted items. Time to get knitting until next time have a wonderful 4th of July. (^_^)

the cutest!!

 The same day I finished my Burning stripe sock I started these super cute penguin socks. A couple of years ago I saw this book at the book store and fell in love with it and kind of forgot about it for awhile until I saw it again on sale and purchases it immediately. Knitted socks by Anna Tillman. My friend invited me to the Four Purls knit shop the week after... I picked up some pretty sock yarn and couldn't wait to start. These socks are knit on straight needles up to the heal and then they are knit in the round. I am at a stopping point on the first sock and I'm starting the second sock and knitting up to the same point where I plan to knit them at the same time from heal to toe. Did I say these are fun to knit.. 
Working at a shoes store can get you into trouble. These super cute little flats were 40% off so I couldn't resist the cuteness. They feel like I'm wearing slippers. I got a half size bigger and I'm going to put padded inserts in them which will make them super comfy.

ta da... finally finished.

 Right off the needles... first look.. finally finished...Burning Stripe socks!! I don't know why they took me so long to finish but they are finally off the needles and the fit is perfect. I love the seem detail and will probably make another pair. The BF says he would like a pair. I'll have to find a manly color for his. 
So this means I get to start another project today. A couple of weeks ago I bought more sock yarn with a particular pattern in mind and I think I'm going to cast them on. Also in the works are more wire bracelets and I'm still working on transferring black and white photos onto little plaques of wood. More pictures will follow later. 

silly little things... and a sock

 Today was a fun day. We went to the local flea market. I haven't been to a flea market in a couple of years. It was really fun. I found an awesome case for my i-phone at a really good price. It's pretty substantial and has a cover that can clip onto the back or front of the phone. It also has a little clip that can be used as a stand. I don't know why I love the flea market... I love the dollar booths and the shoes and cheap pajamas and the watches and jewelry and hair accessories and the handbags. There was one shop that had awesome handbags the I might have to go back to. A handbag has to have a nice lining or I don't like it and the ones in this booth had really nice linings, besides being pretty.

  And of course I always love all the Betty Boop stuff at the flea market. I couldn't resist. I also picked up a couple of readers for $1. After that we were hungry and went to Wholefoods Market to eat some good stuff.

 This is a very pretty building some where between Orlando and Sanford... and yes there was knitting in the car. Only one more little stripe before I start the toe. (^_^)