A new trick for me.

Socks! I've been working here and there on different types of socks with this Briggs and Little Durasport that I had dyed a long time ago. It's been about four different patterns until I found this one. It's Wendy's Sport weight Toe-up Socks with Gusset Heel (link in this post). I added a cable to them since I thought they were turning out a bit loose for my liking.

I am very happy with these socks! I wore them to the Relay for Life in June and they kept my feet warm even in the midst of the rain and puddles. You can't ask for more than that.
The pattern is easy even for a beginner especially since there is no picking up of stitches on the heel or kitchener stitching. Just a slip stitch short row heel cup. This kind of short row involves no wrapping and no holes!

The pattern is so easy that I cast on for another pair right away. Girly put in an order and picked out the yarn. I'm taking my time finishing them though since they are a touch big for her. Apparently I still have a way to go on the pattern sizing mods.

Another view of the heel. Short rows with no holes!

Another of Wendy's patterns. I joined the Summer of Socks and got the pattern as a freebie. So far, so good. It's slow going though since I have so many other things I'm working on as well as socks.

Just to round out the fun. I discovered this along with all the yarns for it's mate at the Salvation Army a couple of weeks ago. No second sock syndrome possible when you have an unknown knitter making the first one for you. I scored some pretty good yarns that day. I'll show you them another time.

Ark Wanted.

So it's been raining and pouring some more. There haven't been many days or nights this summer without any rainfall. The hand print is hanging in there, but fading now. This was taken on Friday (the 18th).

Saturday was a fairly decent day so we ran some errands in the nearby town. This is an underground spring. I remember stopping here when I was Girly's age for a nice cold drink of water. There are years when it is quite dry that the water is just a small stream coming out of the pipe. This is one of those years where the cover over the top of the spring is bursting water nearly all the way around.

Our back yard is looking much like it does right after the snow melts on a year with a lot of snow. The lakes are extremely high. I wanted to go out this afternoon and take some pictures of the local docks and walkway under water, but guess what.

It was raining this afternoon.

One thing the rain does bring about is indoor time to knit. The baby sweater is now finished. I used a baby pattern with a collar and just didn't knit it as long as the pattern called for then, made up the difference with a cabled band knit separately and sewn on. I really like how it turned out and the buttons (from my LYS) are the perfect finishing touch.

This sweater (Strax - Lopi 25) started so long ago had been out of hibernation too. I took it out, looked it over and decided that since the Mr. has lost so much weight (he went from a 43" waist to a 32" waist - just stopped eating junk and drinking Diet sodas), it isn't going to fit him anymore.

Also, I never liked this obvious change in direction that going from knitting through the back loop in the round to knitting through the back loop flat made. I really need to remember to wrap my yarn differently to avoid this.

So, you know what happened next. I refuse to waste perfectly good yarn on something that will look like crap once done. I will cast on again, I just need to find a smaller cable needle this time and remember to wrap differently. Must remember that.

Fireworks, Knitting and Weirdly Cool.

The Canada Day fireworks (day after - due to rain) were spectacular this year. Our firefighters did an amazing job with them.

The sky was lit up with a lot of the classic fireworks and even a few I haven't seen before.

Girly didn't notice much due to covering her ears and burying herself as far into Mama as possible. Although I thought I saw her take a peek or two. Poor sweet. She really doesn't like things too loud. Fireworks photos courtesy of the Mr. My arms were busy with the comforting thing.

Pity too since she missed quite a bit. These were my favourites of the night. Who knows, maybe next year Girly will be able to find it in herself to look up and watch even if she does have her ears covered. If not, it's all good. Mama gets a good 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour of snuggle time this way.

At home, the needles have been busy too. I've nearly finished the baby sweater I started eons ago. My friend is due in a couple of weeks and I need to get this done so she can have it! I've got a lot of scarves on the needles. Why, I don't really know, but I seem unable to knit much else lately. The pink one is Daintier Chevron from Barbara Walker Treasury II the other is Pillar & Web also from Treasury II. I really like how it takes a drapey yarn and gives it a lot of body. There has been more knitting than this going on around here, but I am hoping for a sunny day with no where to go so I can take some good photos. Of course a sunny day, period, wouldn't be turned down!

Although the rain has brought out a pretty weird but cool thing. This little handprint showed up on our front step on June 27th. We can't figure out what Girly could have gotten into that would make a completely dry handprint on a wooden step. Sunscreen doesn't quite explain this. It had rained a good bit before we noticed it too.

Plenty of stormy days and some plain out rainy days...

... the odd hot and sunny/hot and cloudy days here and there...

... and it's still there today. I took this during some light rain. This isn't the best photo of it. The rain is beading off the handprint and is soaking into the rest of the step. I am taking it as a sign that it's time to try and have a baby. I'm really not sure what else to think of it yet other than "Weird, cool, but weird."

Happy Canada Day!

When last I wrote, I was off to the Relay for Life. It was amazing! Wet, but crowded and fun. It evoked many of the same feelings as last year along with a little more awe of how many people would ignore a pounding rain and high winds for the chance to try and change how cancer is viewed by those who are affected by the disease. Morning saw the sun break through the clouds and bring hope of a nice day along with hope of a cure. Sometimes in the moment, it's the small things we remember most. Thanks go out to all of you who pledged me! I really appreciate them and the hope they help to bring.

So far, it's been a pretty wet month. We continue to believe that there will be sunny weeks coming though. Or at least a sunny weekend at the same time the Mr. is off work so we can go camping with Girly.

Girly is enjoying her summer thus far though. She is growing so fast and learning so many new things. She's got a pretty darn good swing on her too. Things here are pretty busy with all the working, knitting (next time, I promise) and activities.

The best though are the spontaneous activites. The Canada Day kids activities on the beach here in town were rained out and as there wasn't an alternative place to hold them, we decided to drive to the next town since we had heard that they had moved theirs indoors. It either hadn't rained much there, or had cleared up a while before we got there since the park was busy. Girly got her face painted and a flag, which was what she had really wanted out of the day.


So, Happy Canada Day! I hope your day was as fun as ours.