Look what came in today’s mail….
Wheee… See you all later….
Yearly Archives: 2009
Progress on the Seaweed Socks // September SKA
These are a dream to knit so far. I took the liberty of reversing the pattern on the second sock so that the waves would lean the opposite direction. Here is the link to the pattern and below are my specs on how to do the opposite sock. I am making the large size and if you have the pattern you should be able to understand my modifications. Enjoy!
Even rows, knit the knits and purl the purls.
1 – p1,k3,k2tog,k3,yo
3 – p1,k2,k2tog,k3,yo,k1
5 – p1,k1,k2tog,k3,yo,k2
7 – p1,k2tog,k3,yo,k3
9 – p1,k8
Sock Knitters Anonymous // September Sockdown
I have decided to participate in the Sock Knitter’s Anonymous Challenge for the 2009-2010 year. The challenge starts in September and runs through July. September’s Challenge is to knit a pair of socks in one of three categories. The categories are: Sock Pair using solid or semi-solid yellow yarn; a sock designed by Wendy Johnson (any color); or the Mystery Sock created for the group by this month’s featured designer Nancy Bush. I was going to do the mystery, but, have decided instead to do the yellow socks (because I had the yarn in my stash) and, as luck would have it, I also picked a Wendy Johnson pattern. Here is the first photo:
Yarn is more orange in the photo and more yellow in person.
I am supposed to complete these socks within 2 months. Shouldn’t be too difficult…famous last words…stay tuned.
Ebby Learns To Swim // Dogs On Thursday
Last week’s Dogs on Thursday post was not one that was planned. Although we did expect the outcome eventually, it was not welcome. Anyway, this week I can post photos of Ebby’s first experience with swimming. While on our trip last week we were able to visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina. If you own a dog and want to go to the beach with them, don’t go to Florida, go to North Carolina! Florida does not welcome dogs!! Anyway, Ebby was more than welcome on the beaches in Kill Devil Hills, NC and she learned to do a little dog paddle on her own. Here are some shots of the trip and of her experience. Enjoy.
I am too little to go out there!
Let's go swimming!
We are going swimming! Whee!
Ok, maybe Daddy will take me swimming!
Here we go...
Look at me, I'm swimming!
Hey this is lots of fun. Don't drop me!
Nobody told me you had to rinse off afterwards....
Dogs On Thursday // Blazer
Blazer and Scott in the fall of 1994.
This was not the post I had planned for today, but today was the day Blazer needed to leave us. He had been with us for 16 years, outlived his brother by two years and his body finally succumbed to the natural degradation that is old age.
He was so tiny at first!
We got Blazer as a baby from a breeder in Alabama while we were students at UAB. Here he is in the back yard of our house in Homewood, AL at about 6 months old.
Blazer, 6 months
And, 2 years:
Blazer, about 2 years old
Doing what he loved the most in life, chewing on a chewy...
Blazer spent a lot of time with his brother and his cousin Tanya in Auburn, espceially during the college football season. Here are the three of them together paying attention to their various interests. Aubie (the cocker) is looking at the camera (his daddy), Tanya is in the middle and is watching some people play nearby, and Blazer, as always, is looking for the next rabbit to chase.
Each watching what is important to them.
We have so many photos of him and his brother from the past 16 years, so I am just sharing a few. Here he is after we moved out to the farm in 2006.
Move out of the way, I am coming through....
Here he is doing what he did best.
Blazer doing what he did best!
And, finally, a shot of him last Halloween when he posed for me so gallantly.
I love the farm!
We loved him and will miss him, but we know he will no longer have to struggle to walk, control his bladder, or hold down his food. Blazer is now at peace, August 21, 2009.
Kill Devil Hills // Top of the Outer Banks
Ebby learned to swim today in the ocean! I will post photos of this experience in my Dogs on Thursdays Post. In the meantime, here is what we did today.
Driving through Lynchburg one last time on our way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina I snapped these shots.
We will be spending lots of time (and $$) here!
I had hoped to get a photo of Liberty Mountain with the giant LU on the side, but was unable to see the mountain for the trees. HA! So, that photo will have to wait for another time. We had an uneventful, yet scenic, drive across Virginia today. Our journey for the day ended here.
View from our balcony in Kill Devil Hills, NC
Finally, one last photo for our son. He lives in the Boulder/Longmont area of Colorado and is trying to start his own Crossfit gym. The quest for clients is always ongoing, so if you are in the market for a personal trainer and are in the area, let me know and I can hook you up with him. These photos are for him…
Cape Hatteras is on the agenda for tomorrow and then heading back toward the farm. I have to head back soon, I am running out of knitting projects…
Safe Arrival // Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
Our first stop on this trip was Clemson University, near Anderson, SC. Clemson has a beautiful campus that is pretty much a mirror image of the Auburn Campus. We took a walk through the shops on the main drag through town and came away with a new toy for Ebby. Who knows she may be starting a collection of university mascots in miniature. This one plays the Clemson fight song when you squeeze it just like her Auburn tiger plays War Eagle. She doesn’t much care for either song, and will patiently wait for the song to end before tearing into the stuffed toy.
This is where I sit in the truck.
The drive from Clemson to Lynchburg is a pretty one and after arriving safely, yesterday afternoon, we took a quick tour of the city of Lynchburg, VA and the campus of Liberty University. The roads here are amazingly confusing. Everywhere you turn there is literally another set of railroad tracks or a river to navigate around. Getting from point A to point B with any ease will require a little practice and a whole lot of patience. We were so busy running around today that I only snapped a few photos. However, I did manage to do the important things, like, locate a Michaels, A.C. Moore, JoAnns, Wal-mart, and even a cross stitch shop, squee! About an hour from Lynchburg is the Yarn Barn, which will be a must do trip for me once we are settled.
The seminary is on the north side of the campus right next to the law school. The south side of the campus seems to be all undergraduate studies. There is an ice rink, a very nice basketball arena, a football stadium (Go Flames) and best of all, recreation wise, there is the new LU Snowflex, a year round outdoor ski area up on Liberty Mountain.
We really like the area and found an apartment complex that will work for us as well. Now we are headed to Kill Devil Hills, NC for some beach R&R. Tomorrow night a hotel room with a balcony overlooking the ocean awaits. Look out east coast, here we come…
Travel Time // Checking Out The Prospects
Summer semester is officially over and we have a week off to get ready for fall semester. Are we going to sit still and veg? Of course not! We are off to Virginia, to scope out apartments, and then the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a few days. Our apartment hunting is for our temporary move to Lynchburg, VA for the winter semester that begins January 1, 2010. We plan to begin on campus classes in that semester. Expect posts and photos. Until then, here is an indication of what Ebby is looking forward to soon…enjoy!
War Eagle!
Dog Days Of Summer // Dogs On Thursday
Ebby and I have been staying indoors of late, because if it is not 90+ outside, it is pouring down rain. We hope everyone in the northern hemisphere is having a great summer 2009!
Hot Dog!
Delicious!
Productivity And New Challenges // What I did this week…
I have been enjoying myself so much this week I haven’t had time to stop and tell you all about it. My classwork has slowed considerably since I am down to one class and next week is the last week of the Summer semester. So, I have been a knitting/sewing fool the past week and a half. Here are some things I learned how to do this week and some other things that I have either started or finished…
First up, I learned to do fair isle this week. I have only tried this on my own once (winging it) and it turned out nice, but this time I am working from someone else’s pattern and am actually going to produce a pair of socks to boot. The pattern is Elika, by Heatherly Walker. The yarn I am using is knitpicks essential and kroy socks. The pattern is bare bones and basically assumes you already know a lot about knitting socks. It also includes instructions for a short row heel, which I have learned that I DO NOT LIKE! The fair isle, on the other hand, is great!! I can see more fair isle in my future!
Next up is a pair of gloves/mittens. I have never made gloves or mittens before, so I figured I would make both at once and learn both at the same time. The pattern is easy enough, but contains errors. Actually, I expected better instructions in a pattern from Knitty.com, but free is free. The concept of the fingerless glove covered by a mitten cap is great! If you want to make a pair of these I suggest these notes as they helped me out tremendously! So, now I give you the left hand of a pair of Broad Street Mittens by Janis Cortese.
Left Hand Glove
Left Hand Mitten
About a week or two ago the secret knit a long that I put together for the Atlanta Knitting Guild ended. I designed an original lace pattern for them to knit so they could enjoy the experience of a knit a long and have a pattern (free) to call their own. The KAL was done exactly like the Secret of the Stole KAL’s, but exclusively for the guild members only. Here is the resulting pattern. This pattern will be for sale as soon as we get the photos done this weekend. If you would like to be notified when the pattern is available please join the Nautical Knitter Designs Yahoo Group.
Blocked and ready for the photo shoot this weekend.
As if knitting wasn’t enough, I also did a bit of sewing this past weekend. This top is from a Butterick pattern (#4684) and apparently I am a smaller size in Butterick than in Simplicity. Who knew? So, this top came out a size or two too big for me. I do like the pattern though and the next one should fit just right. This one is being gifted, if it fits and she likes it …
The mail held some wonderful goodies this week as well. I received 3 new books on my newest interest, socks. Remember the socks that I just finished that were too short? Well, I traded them for some awesome hand dyed sock yarn which also came. Unfortunately, the US Postal Service has not delivered the socks to her yet and I fear that all that hard work may be lost. If so, I will have to do something to compensate for this lovely yarn she dyed for me. Snail mail stinks!
Can you tell what is on my list?
Well, if you made it this far in the post you deserve a treat, so for those who have been patiently waiting I can officially say that I have begun test knitting the Secret of the Stole IV! YAY! It is probably the coolest pattern I have done to date and I can’t wait to share it with you all. The yahoo group is not open yet, but you can join the Nautical Knitter Designs group to be notified when it is. Until then, here is a teaser:
Could it be? Why yes, it is, SOTS IV in progress!
There you have it, my last week or so in a blog post. I hope your week was just as productive. Until next time, Fair Winds
