Knitting...actual knitting!!

Ok. Yes, I do realize that this happens to be a knitting blog...hence the knit in Bark n Knit. :) So, I figured I'd have a post with actual knitting in it. Wow...what a concept. :) I have been using knitting needles and creating stuff. First off here's the first project I'm working on. Which is a Christmas present for Surfer Girl. I've had a bit of trouble with this hat. NOT because of the pattern but first off I took it to Wed SnB and had to rip back a couple rows...I was not paying attention. Then for some reason Jack and Abby have discovered my ziploc bags which contain yarn and knitting and have decided to open them up with their teeth and find out what's inside. I spend quite a bit of time yesterday untangling the yarn. Ye.s, they are still alive. :) The pattern is Utopia Hat from Smariek Knits. It's been an easy knit and for my second cable project a fun one.

To update those of you not following along on my ravelry projects. :) Here is the finished Fawkes Sock number 1. I've cast on for the the second one but slow progress.



I also wanted to share with you a Thank you gift from my Dishcloth swap pal Heathir. What's horrible is that I guess I never even noticed that she posted on her blog about my package. I had been checked when I sent it but totally missed it. You have to admit November was a strange month but I'm slacking. Well..if you want to check out the package I sent her, which I'm so glad she liked, go check out her blog. She is also the first person in a swap who sent a Thank you gift. Which by the way is a great idea that I need to think of doing and her gift was even greater. She sent me a needle roll and an awesome keychain sock blocker sock. :) AWESOME!!!

There's some knitting....finally. I have a couple of catch up post to come too.

This weekend we spent a lot of time working on the house and our yard, very little knitting got done. Today Special K's dad showed up with a ton of sod and we laid it in the backyard where all the sand is now. We also went to Home Depot, one of my favorite stores, and bought a new hose, sprinkler, hose nozzle(I LOVE IT) and some fertilizer. I never knew how fun spreading fertilizer with a spreader was either. :) FUN!!!

So...I'm sleepy now and I'm planning on curling up in bed and watching the Iron Chef America's Holiday Dessert battle. OH What fun it is to watch people cook!! If only the TV could let us taste the food too. :)

Have a great night and hope everyone had a good weekend.

"Fall Into Autumn" Dishcloth Swap Package!!

I was so excited to get my swap package from Kelly D. She did a great job with it. :) I got chocolate which I must admit was eaten pretty quickly. Two skeins of cotton yarn, a Peaches and Cream and a Sugar 'n Cream. Both in great colorways. :) She made me a very nice dishcloth and sent Olivella soap. The card was one of those that you open and it starts singing...SO fun. :) She also sent me some post cards. Thank you so much for the package you sent Kelly. ;)

Happy Swapping!!

Swift, balls, and some extra.

So, I really want a ball winder and a swift. I'm getting these boxes of yarn for my Knitting Group and I'd like to make center pull balls so I can give each student their own ball of yarn and a set of needles to work with. I'd also like to spread out what I've got out. The only problem is that I don't want to spend so much money on them. I was looking around and swifts are EXPENSIVE!! I was disappointed until I found this, instructions to make your own swift!! I looked at them and I'm sure Special K and I could figure this out. Looks easy!! So...I'm going to talk to him and see if we can make it. I think his dad or my brother-in-law have everything we need. So...that excited me. I found some ideas on how to make a ball winder out of kids toys but we'll see. I'm going to start with the swift and then we'll figure out a ball winder.

For now I've been working on making center pull balls with a paper towel roll. Works great. I got the instructions from knits with balls. I used the knittinghelp.com technique and it was ok but I like the way these work up better.

Knitting news...I've been working on my dishcloth for my swap pal. I think I should have it done tonight. My travel knitting has been my sock and I'm almost done with the pair so I can start a new sock!! I'm not sure which pattern I'm going to try but I really want to try knitting them using 1 circular needle. I got two from my football-a-long swap pal and really have been wanting to try them. I also want to try a sock with a pattern thats more than stockinette. No cables yet though. On the cable front I think for my trip to Ohio I'd like to knit up some fingerless gloves. I've been looking at some great patterns. When I make a decision on post which one. :)

I've been lost in the world of Ravelry lately and haven't been posting on my blog as much about my knitting. I'll try to keep up with blogging since I love to blog!! :) Well...I'm off to catch up on last weeks greys and fold clothes. :) FUN FUN FUN!!!

Thank you so much for those of you who have been sending yarn by the way!! I'm sending individual thank yous but couldn't hurt for a shout out on here too. :) I'll post pictures and links to who sent them later this week. My camera is not working with me today...

Happy Knitting!!!

PS..I almost forget. Last but not by any means least sharimom, Special K's mom, sent me Crazy Aunt Purl's book to read and some great video of us at the beach. I'll upload the video after laundry and Grey's. :) THANK YOU sharimom!!

"Fall Into Autumn" Dishcloth Swap - Monday Topic #6

How was your experience in the exchange? Did you enjoy the folks you met? Did you just love the bag you received? Please share any thoughts, criticism, and things you loved!

This has been a fun swap. Both swap pals have been great but I haven't really gotten to know them all that well. I'm hoping to stay in touch after the swap ends and I get to know who they are. I accidentally signed my name to an email to my downstream pal and she's been great. I'm not sure she has checked me out yet but oh well. I'm excited to get my package and I'm almost done with my dishcloth so I can send mine out. :) I guess I can't really do much criticism yet. :) I've loved how this has been organized and I like the Monday topics. Way to go!!

Well...happy Swapping.

"Fall Into Autumn" Dishcloth Swap Monday Topic Catch up!

Ok...this is going to be two Monday topics in one because I've been super busy and didn't get around to taking pictures last week. :)

Last Monday was:
In many a swap we get asked to flash our stash of yarn. However, we hardly ever (might even venture to say never) get asked to show off our needles, hooks, notions, and other tools of the trade.

For this one I still don't have time to pull everything together but here's my needles waiting place. :) All but the circs. Notice Special K's drumsticks. :)
This Monday's topic:
Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

Again, living in Florida we don't have a lot of fall activities but I do enjoy the pumpkin patches and carving!! I also like to bake more in the cooler months. This year I'm counting down to Thanksgiving because we are planning to drive up to Ohio...loads of knitting on the road time!! Special K's mom was just down for the weekend and I'm excited to see her again too. :)

Happy Knitting!!!

PS. I went yarn shopping and got all the stuff I need to send off the last two packages. Ones heading out by owl tomorrow and the other is still awaiting the dishcloth to get off the needles which will be soon!!

"Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth - Monday Topic #4

How about you? Are there any recipes you especially enjoy having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially enjoy? Feel free to share recipes with us too!

When it starts to cool off, I like to drink more tea in the evenings. I'm a cup a coffee every morning even if it's 100 degrees out but tea is more of a specialty drink for me. I also like to eat more oatmeal. It's my favorite breakfast food but when it's hot I don't tend to eat it as often. A bowl of oatmeal with some brown sugar and banana is just the ticket for a good meal. :)

My favorite recipe for a cold evening is a bowl of white bean chili. I use a pound of ground turkey(I brown it first before putting into chili) instead of the chicken in the recipe but I'll share the recipe that was given to me. My sister Fleas gave me this recipe but I'm not sure who gave it to her. It's one of the dishes I make that I get requests for. :) I like to make some corn muffins as a side.

Here's the PDF version whitechili. If you can't get it please let me know and I'll email it to you. It's a great recipe to try and it's really easy.

Happy Fall into Autumn!!

"Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth - Monday Topic #3

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

Well here in Florida the seasons really don't change but it has begun to get a little cooler. The rain has also come. We haven't had any hurricanes yet, thank goodness but they are bound to come around sometime. The only good thing about that is hurricane days at school. It's a day off and an excuse to spend the day inside this time it will be knitting away!! It's nice what knitting has brought into my life. I enjoy car rides and waiting so much more now because it's a time that I can knit. Oh back to my favorite things about Autumn and Fall must be the cooler weather and the beautiful afternoons you can spend outside without sweating all the liquid out of your body. :)

Happy Fall/Autumn!!!

"Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth - Monday Topic #2

"FIA" Dishcloth Swap Monday Topic #2 When you knit or crochet dishclothes, washclothes or face clothes, what do you use? What size needle or hook? Wood? what type? Metal? Plastic? A specific Brand? Why do you love that needle or hook so much? Is there one you are dying to try? Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for clothes? What is so special about it?

I just started making dishcloths and I've used Cascade Luna and Sugar n Cream. I really liked the Luna because it was nice and soft. I gave the only dishcloth I've made with it to my sister and haven't actually used it so not sure how it feels when wet and in use. I have only kept one dishcloth and I knit it using Sugar n Cream and really like it. Sugar n Cream is special because I can find it most places for cheap and it comes in tons of pretty colors. I've begun a pretty large collection of it so for now any dishcloth for my gifts and me are knit with my stash. Mainly i use Clover bamboo needles in size 6 and 7. I've also used some cheap metal ones that I got for fun and did not like using them at all. I'd really like to try some wood or nice metal needles.

Swap topic.

"FIA" Dishcloth Swap Monday Topic #1 Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I live in Central Florida. It's not really going to get that cold here but it will get a whole lot cooler. :) I haven't worked with too much wool so I don't think I'll start now. I have used some washable wool from Cascade to make a hat for Special K but that's about it so far. I will probably try some more wool blends and washable wools for a scarf and hats but nothing too hot. I'm really into making dishcloths using cotton but I'd like to try linen, corn, or bamboo. I also starting socks so not sure where that will take me in the yarn world. :)

I bought some pretty Sock yarn this weekend and new needles and plan on casting on for them this afternoon. I still need to develop the pictures of our Yarn Crawl but I have to take a couple more pictures to do that. I'll get that up soon.