Ta Da!

I love these socks.  I finished them last night and took pictures this morning.  The cashmere in the Wanderlust yarn makes them soooo soft and squishy.  They feel so good on my feet.  I love the pattern, the little clouds that appear on the leg (it's also nice to be able to mindlessly knit the foot) and the chart is easy to memorize.  As others had mentioned on ravelry, they are quite snug getting over the heel.  I went up to a size 3 needle and they are still a bit tight, but wearable and quite comfortable once on.

Now, for the bad news.  All had been completed in the sunroom, blinds hung (all 13 of them!), furniture moved in and arranged, kids tvs/video games set up, and suddenly, the air conditioning wall unit began to drip.  Drip, drip, drip!  We quickly moved the tvs/video games and dried the shelf.  The air conditioning guy is coming this morning.  Hopefully, this little hiccup will be resolved quickly and easily.  But, if that's my only complaint, it's a good day!

Today, I'm knitting as much as I can.  We have baseball late tonight, with the younger son's team playing.  Then more knitting this weekend.  Next week is spring break for the kids, so that makes life much less hectic.

Getting back to normal

The final touches were completed on our sunroom renovation this morning.  Yesterday, I ran from one Lowe's store to the other in order to acquire the 13 aluminum mini-blinds needed to keep the strong sun from the southwest facing windows to a minimum and give us privacy at night.  I am almost finished installing the blinds and have had some wonderful assistance and supervision from Captain Jack.

I can't wait to get the furniture back in here and start knitting in the beautiful sunlight.  This room also houses the kids' video games, board games, etc.  It will be a nice room for our family to share.  Captain Jack seems to be the most enthusiastic "person" so far.  He truly enjoys the wide window sills.

Tomorrow, pictures of my finished Tuscany Cloud socks!

Tuscany Socks

The Tuscany Socks are coming along nicely.  I am pleased with the leg portion, despite it being slightly tight going over the heel.  It really is pretty and the way the little puffs show the colors of the yarn remind me of tiny clouds.

The first picture represents the colors of the yarn the best.  It's a periwinkle blue. 

 

On other fronts, the sunroom is almost finished and ready to be occupied.  This can't come soon enough, as we are stuffed to the gills with spare furniture in the living room.  Baseball continues to take a great deal of time.  The kids were dragging this morning after a late game last night and two are on tap for Wednesday.  We'll see if they go to bed early tonight - I'm betting they do not.

Yardwork's cutting in on knitting time!

Spring has sprung and with it rain and tall grass.  So, this morning after dropping the kids at school and switching a load of laundry, I set out to cut the grass.  This is more difficult than it might appear, due to the resident mole hunter (aka Shiloh, the beagle).  He follows mole (or is it vole) tunnels, digs the critters out and kills them.  However, he never refills the tunnels, so our backyard is full of 8 inch deep canyons.  Sadly, my encounter with one of these tunnels has injured the self-propelled mechanism on the mower and I was only able to accomplish 2/3 of my task.

So, since dinner's in the slow cooker and laundry only requires a bit of attention, knitting is on tap for this afternoon.  I am glad I used a needle a size larger for the legs of my socks.  I tried them on yesterday and they were a bit snug.  Any smaller and they might be too snug over the heel!

Friday, at last!

I don't know why, but this has been a LONG week for me.  Nothing devastating has happened, it's just seemed to drag.  Maybe it's the beginning of baseball season and busier weekends and weeknights.  I don't know, I'm just glad it's Friday and we have very limited commitments for the weekend.

I began the leg of my Tuscany socks, using a lifeline (a brilliant suggestion from the writer of the Minding My Own Stitches blog.  So, the lifeline is in place and I am going up 1 needle size for at least the beginning of the ankle.  Most complaints have been about getting the sock over the heel of the foot, so we'll see.  If it's too baggy, my lifeline will be there!

Baseball, Sunroom, and Knitting

These three things are all consuming for me right now.   As for the baseball, the Junior Orioles' game began on shaky ground last night, but they came back to win in exciting fashion.  Michael (son #2) came home with a beautiful baseball impression on his ribcage which remains this morning.  He's sore, to say the least! 

Regarding the sunroom, it's ALMOST finished.  Just a door, some trim and a storm door to install and we'll be in business.  This room is where I plan to do most of my knitting.  I just can't wait until it's all ready!

There was also knitting yesterday.  I've completed the heels on my socks and am debating going up a needle size for the leg.  Others have suggested that the pattern makes for a tight leg and I'm concerned about that.  So, while I debate I continue on the Lazy Day Shawl.

Ah, Spring!

Despite some wild weather yesterday morning, it's looking quite a bit like spring around here.  The Dogwoods are blooming, the grass is growing AND I'M SNEEZING!  But, that's ok.  Spring is wonderful. 

I've been knitting on my socks at baseball games and making slow but steady progress.  I've realized that I'm not a fast knitter.  I see blogs where people knock out an entire shawl or sock in one evening of knitting.  That is not me.  But, I think since I'm more of a process knitter, it's ok.  I really enjoy the whole process of a project, from selecting a pattern and yarn, knitting a swatch, and every part of the pattern.  Which is a good thing, considering I'm a relatively slow knitter!

We have another baseball game this evening, so more baseball knitting is on the schedule.  Hopefully, I'll make it - Captain Jack decided 4:00 was a great time to wake up this morning.  This is how he will spend the day: