So many hobbies!

Outside my front door

 

I get a little worried walking onto my front porch - the vines on these Morning Glories are long and a little threatening.

 

They sure are pretty though.

 

Autumn Clematis.  I planted this about 10 years ago when I moved in.

A knitting fool

 

All I did this weekend, besides see a couple of movies, was knit.  So much so, I have cruised along on these bad boys and have heels to show for it.  The pink yarn on the bottom sock is holding onto that dropped stitch until I can tack it down.  I'm knitting from both ends of the ball of yarn so I have to wait until the socks are done so I can use the same color yarn for the tacking.  Thanks Cristi and Gayle for the suggestion.  I want to use yarn to tack it down so I made sure it would be on the top of my foot and not something I'd walk on and be annoyed about.

The movies I saw this weekend aren't for the faint of heart... or stomach.  The first one was "Machete" staring Danny Trejo.  This guy has always played bad guys and I wanted to see him play a good guy... well, sort of good.  It actually had a pretty good cast but the body count was rather high and they probably spent a quarter of their budget on fake blood.  These kinds of movies don't really bother me because I know they aren't real.  I can appreciate the choreography that goes into the fight scenes.  If I were to see any of that for real, however, I'd probably end up catatonic.

The second movie was "Resident Evil:  Afterlife."  I've seen the first three movies and frankly, I just wanted to see Alice kick more butt.  There aren't a lot of strong female leads in movies and Alice, and Ripley, are my favorites.  Besides, I want to see movies where the good guys (or girls) win and the bad guys lose.  Far too often, life isn't like that so that's what I want to see when I go to the movies.

Okay, I need some help

Stop that!  I'm talking about knitting help.  I dropped a stitch about 10 rows back:

 

I'm trying to bring it back up to the top but my knitting is so tight I can't move.  Any suggestions (that don't involve ripping back to the dropped stitch) would be greatly appreciated.  I would REALLY like to avoid ripping back if possible.  One rip per project is enough.  BTW, isn't that yarn gorgeous?

Love!

Share the love!  Here's a list of some of my favorite loves:

1. Fresh picked Golden Delicious apples.  A far cry from what the ones in the store taste like.
2. These socks!
3. This yarn!
4. The top of a cat's head.  It's the most kissable spot.
5. Family.
6. Sliding into fresh, clean sheets after a long day.
7. The satisfaction that comes with completing a project.
8. Cormos!  A breed of sheep that's a cross between a Merino and a Corriedale.  I love everything from the smell of the raw fleece to the feel of the spun yarn.
9. Crisp fall air after the stifling heat and humidity of summer.
10. Growing my own tomatoes.  Nothing beats a home grown tomato.  It's a little piece of heaven.
11. My iPod.
12. Handknit wool socks on a winter's day.
13. Baking cookies when the rain's pouring down outside.
14. Kittens!
15. The sun.  I feel so much better when the sun is out.  Michigan's lack of sun is the worst part of winter.

What are your loves?  Share!

Crap!

When I as increasing for the toe, I was getting 10 stitches to the inch.  Since my foot is 8 inches around, I increased until I had 80 stitches.  Well, now I'm only getting 9 stitches to the inch and the dang sock is TOO BIG!  I hate ripping back!  It's only about half an inch but I'm always afraid I'll miss a stitch when picking them back up and I never seem to get them on the needle in the right direction.  *sigh*  If you hear cursing coming from south-east Michigan tonight, don't worry, it's just me.

Yummy!

 

There's nothing quite like well marinated yarn.  I bought this three years ago.  I can't believe I waited till now to knit this up.  I love, love, LOVE this yarn.  I've had two people try and steal is already.  For all you would-be thieves, the yarn is Superwash Merino from Neighborhood Fiber Co. in the colorway "Girard St."  They give you a hefty 435 yards.

 

And it's knitting into a very yummy fabric. 

One sock

 

Okay, so this is 4 oz. of BFL from this roving.  Essentially, one sock.  I haven't gotten the other sock spun yet.  I couldn't wait to get this one spun up to see how it would look.  It's coming out darker than I expected but the finished yarn will tell the tale. 

Oh, my gosh, this sweater is CUTE!

Go here!  If I weren't completely terrified of knitting a sweater (I know.  I know.), I would immediately pop online and start looking for yarn.  I've already printed out the pattern.  I even love the color of yarn used in the sample.  I may have to join a support group for terrified sweater knitters...

Another pair!

 

Yay!  I bound off and sewed in the ends this afternoon.  This was my generic sock pattern with a short row heel and a broken rib on the foot and leg.  The yarn was Claudia Handpainted in the Blue Terracotta colorway purchased from The Loopy Ewe.

 

They're very comfy.