Show And Tell

I know, finally right? Admittedly I probably wouldn't even be here now except My arm is a little sore from the knitting with big needles (US 10.5, pretty big compared to the 1.5's I've been using recently). So rather than cause permanent damage I decided to take a night off. Which sort of stinks cause I am really close to FINALLY finishing this damn scarf, but more on that next time.

This post is my photo tour of the past...little while, sock style. It's been all socks all the time around here for a while.*



The Double Eyelet Rib Socks from Wendy Johnson in Seacoast Panda "Surf," finished 9/13/09. These are my re-entry into the SKA universe. With all that had been going on, I hadn't been participating in their monthly sock challenges much (or at least not finishing much), but life is getting a little more normal (hahaha) so I decided to jump back in. I wasn't sure how the pattern and the yarn would get along, but I think it works.

Funny story. Jaime saw me knitting these socks and kept saying how it seemed like I had knit them before. I had no idea what he was talking about! Until a couple days ago I remember this little number:



The socks I knit for my aunt over two years ago. Not quite the same, but still earns him big points. I'm glad he can remember...



Here we have the Dog Days Socks by Kristi Schueler in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock "Beach Towel," finished 8/27/09. This sock is brought to you by the June 2008 Woolgirl Sock Club shipment. I know the club was exclusive and all, but I can't believe more people haven't knit this pattern. I loved it! The construction was so different it really kept me interested the whole time.



Next up are my Glinda Socks by Bethany Whitney in Madelintosh Tosh Sock "Glinda the Good Witch," finished 7/5/09. The socks came in one of the Oz kits from Woolgirl and is part of my goal to finish all of the sock kits I have around here. Um, ok. I LOVE these socks!!! The color couldn't be more me. I seem to be a fan of the yarn. The pattern seemed to take forever (lots of teeny cables without a needle with teeny stitches and teeny needles), but it looks fab. Yaay!



We're really traveling back in time now. These are the Yarn Over Cable socks by Charlene Schurch in Rowan 4 Ply Soft color 378, finished 3/23/09. These socks seemed to take forever too. I like the pattern, but it wasn't that interesting and didn't even have fun yarn to help keep me into it. They turned out pretty well, and then they felted a bit in the wash. I can get them on but they're a bit snug now. These socks convinced me to start hand-washing and air drying my socks...for a couple weeks until I got lazy.



Last but not least, my first pair of socks this year. Cloning Anemone by "Team Blue Moon" in Socks That Rock Lightweight "Tide Pooling," finished 1/5/09. I am so upset over these socks I can hardly even talk about it. I made them, I loved them (PERFECT patter, GORGEOUS yarn), I wore them once maybe twice. And then I lost one of them!!! I figured it got lost at the bottom of my old closet (it was a scary closet), thought it would turn up in the move. Months later and still no sock. Makes me want to cry a little.

So, I think we're caught up now. I owe you a spinning post in the near future. Until then!

*99.9% of the links are from Ravelry. But for reals everyone is already there, right?!?

Olympic Knitting Begins

Joiner that I am, I signed up for the Ravelympics. But in a non-commital way. I am competing in the WIP wrestling event, meaning my goal is to finish stuff. As much stuff as I can.

Fortunately for me, my newest obsession (seen above) was started a week ago and therefore technically counts as a WIP. Maybe not the intention of the event, but whatever. They're actually going relatively quickly and after they're finished I plan to actually dive into my UFO bin. Scary!

Suburban Farmgirl?

What can I say? I'm a total Violet (of Lime & Violet fame) follower. First she got me addicted to Plurk. And then, the Plurkette Hencircle. I tried to hold out, but they she mentioned a project. I LOOOVE projects. So this is project #1, my introduction.

I'm Vicki, hi. I have a wonderful husband, Jaime. We've been married for almost a year, but we've lived together for 6-ish years and been together for over 7. We have a sweet boy, Junior, who is almost 11 months old (can't believe that). His middle name is trouble, and he has the sweet smile and beautiful blue eyes to get away with most of it. Jaime and I are working to re-claim our relationship after adjusting to the baby.

I work for the US Geological Survey as a budget analyst. It isn't what I had always pictured myself doing, but I have a thing for numbers. I LOVE my job. I work with some wonderful people and, while I don't always understand what the scientists are doing, I know it's important work. I'm so lucky I can leave my baby with someone I totally trust, Jaime.

I used to have lots of hobbies, in the pre-Junior days. I'm also still adjusting to having a baby (and a job). I have just recently realized that I need to take care of myself. Even if it's just 20 minutes for an exercise video and an hour for knitting before bed, I need that me time. Eventually I will get back to reading (I miss you reading!) and scrapbooking (god knows I have the pictures now). I would love to really throw myself into quilting and spinning. And I've always been down for some random craftiness.

The only other big aspect of my life if my mom. She was diagnosed with breast cancer my freshman year of college (she put off telling me so I would be able to concentrate for finals). She opted for a double mastectomy, so fortunately that cancer hasn't been a problem since. Less than a year later, however, she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in her uterus. This isn't a cancer that surgery can make go away, it just hides for a while. There is no recovery. Since then she has been through multiple rounds of chemo and radiation. She has had surgeries to remover tumors in her ureters and her lungs.

Sooo, why the desire to nourish my inner farmgirl? I need simplicity. I love the whole idea of creating. I also love the idea of the sisterhood, the connection. I have been thinking a lot about connecting lately, especially as it relates to my blog. I was thisclose to retiring the old blog. But I just couldn't do it. I love being able to share myself with this community.

For anyone visiting my blog for the first time, I hope I've given a pretty good picture of who I am. And if anyone else is still reading, hopefully I've shared something new. I can't wait to see what adventures and projects are coming up.

Mission: SOCKS!

Of course. As soon as I swore I wouldn't cast on till I finished Serendipity I lost all interest in it. Well, in my defense things got busy (busier than normal that is). So the last sock drug on a bit. But, they're done now and I'm IN LOVE!



They fit perfectly and they even survived a long day at work. I'm definitely a Socks that Rock convert. (For the record, I'm enjoying the mediumweight a bit more than the lightweight used here)

After wearing these socks Tuesday and an older pair of handknit socks Wednesday, I've come to a conclusion. It's a mission really. Life is much too short for poor-fitting socks! Nearly every sock I've knit to this point has been "great but." You know, great but a little loose, great but too short, great but bound off too tightly. Most of the time I knew the problem as soon as I tried the socks on, but decided it wasn't that big of a deal, or I just really wanted to be done with them.

NO MORE!!! These socks took a little more time, I mean it nearly killed me to have to rip back after I thought I was done, but it was so worth it. Now I have a pair of socks I look forward to wearing. From now on, I will not settle.

When Motivation And Energy Meet

Until a couple weeks ago, I really hadn't knit since my trip (had to go to DC for a work-required class for a week in February).


Fortunately, Junior has slept through the night since about 7 weeks and not long after that he established a pretty regular schedule of going to be between 8 and 9. I generally don't make it to bed till at least 10:30 and sometimes later, so it seems like I'd have plenty of time to get in some knitting or anything else. Except I was tired. I work all day and then come home and play with/take care of Junior so Jaime can have a break. I never even get a chance to eat dinner till the kid is in bed. So mostly I would just sit between his bedtime and mine.


For some reason though, I've been feeling a lot less tired lately. Work has been going well and Junior really enjoys playing with all his toys, so I can maybe even manage some dinner while he's awake.


Add this new energy to my recent motivation, namely the Rockin' Sock Club and suddenly I'm knitting again.

I had started the first sock on my trip but never finished it. Then all of a sudden the next shipment seemed to be sneaking up on me. One glorious Saturday afternoon alone and a few good lunch hours and I've finished sock one and am making good progress on sock two.





I REALLY want to keep up with this club, if I do nothing else knitting related this year. I just received the March club shipment and can't wait to get started. I had finished my Serendipity socks last night and just wanted to take a few pictures. This is how one picture turned out.



Don't know if you can tell but the bottom sock is a wee bit shorter than the other. Yeah, I sorta forgot half a repeat of the pattern on the second sock. I was just so excited to finish it! So I ripped back and am patiently (haha) working my way towards the finish line again. My new yarn keeps staring at me though...

Hopefully I'll have some finished socks to show you very very soon!