Girl on Fire

I only have one pair of finished socks for October and it is a pair that I started in September to participate in 3 KAL's.  I missed the deadline for The Cookie Crumbs group, but I finished in time for the Hazel Knits group which was a designer challenge, and Sock Knitter's Anonymous which was a technique challenge.  The technique was for everybody to knit with the same color and the color selected was red.

The designer challenge was any pattern by Rose Hiver.  I chose Katniss, a pattern inspired by the heroine of The Hunger Games books.  Katniss always wears her hair in a braid and this pattern features a braided cable on the front and back.  It also has a great ribbed gusset that I really enjoyed doing.

The Details:

Pattern: Katniss by Rose Hiver

Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, color Barn Door

Needle: 2.25mm

Mods: None

Now I'm getting settled in for Hurricane Sandy.  I've been to the store and stocked up on food that I can prepare without needing to use the oven.  The generator is out and checked, and gas has been purchased for it.  Hopefully we won't need it, but where I live if the power goes out for weather related reasons, it's out for at least 3 days.  The only thing left to do now is knit!  If you're on the east coast too, I hope you're all settled in too and that you'll be safe!

Ten on Tuesday

Halloween is next week and it's time to think about preparing for all the little ghosts, goblins, princesses, super heroes and their friends who will stop by hoping for a treat. Honestly I get way too stressed about this!  I don't want to give out crappy candy, so what is the right candy?  The BEST candy...?  How perfect is it that this week's 10 on Tuesday prompt is:

10 Favorite Candies in Your Trick or Treat Bag

These are some of the treats that I loved finding in my bag as a kid!

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2. Milky Way
3. M&M's
4. Kit Kat Bar
5. Tootsie Pop
6. $100,000 Bar, although now I think it's called $100 Grand
7. Hershey Bar
8. Junior Mints
9. Milk Duds
10. Whoppers

Looking back at my list, I sense a theme.  There's chocolate in every single one of those!  And I remember the thrill I would feel if there was a FULL SIZE candy bar!  So that's what I do, give out full size bars.  I usually only get about 20 trick or treater's in my neighborhood, so it's something that I can afford to do. The looks on their faces when I drop that in their bag is priceless :-)

Thanks Carole for another fun topic!

Dovetail Cowl

I think I may have found the perfect cowl!  It is Dovetail Cowl by Carina Spencer.  I made the large size so that it can be doubled up or worn long.

I love that it is a textured design that looks fabulous on both sides.  It looks super sexy modeled on my deck post, doesn't it? LOL

And a crappy iPhone photo with it being worn doubled.....

I used Malabrigo Rios in the color Azul Profundo. I find Rios to be such a wonderful yarn.  It's round, cushy and has wonderful stitch definition.  It's also a super wash yarn and has a great price point!

I"ll probably make this cowl again.  I'd like to make one in the small size.  There is also an option to make a rolled edge before the patterning begins.  The only thing I would do differently is that I would cast on with a larger needle, then switch immediately to the smaller needle on the first row.  If you look at the first picture you can see that one side, the CO side, is tighter that the other.  But that's it!  Wonderful pattern and I look forward to trying more by Carina Spencer!

WiP Wednesday

It's been a while since I showed you what's on my needles and getting attention.  There are quite a few things actually, and they're almost all red!  Weird.  But I'm feeling inspired to get some of these finished, so I'm going with that feeling until it passes.

First, I have the Katniss socks.  I cast these on for the SKA red challenge in September and the Hazel Knits RoseHiver challenge for Sept/October.  I need to finish these by the end of the month for both challenges.  That shouldn't be a problem as I am ready to start the heel flap of the second sock.

I started the Lillianna sweater for my niece.  I have 1 1/2 pattern repeats done on the body and the pattern calls for 4.  I tried it on Morgan this weekend and it will be a perfect fit for the winter. My sister loves it!  We decided that since it will fit Morgan through the winter that long sleeves would make more sense here in NH, so I'm going to lengthen the sleeves.

Vodka Gimlet is coming along as well.  I am ready to start the "hem detail" at the bottom of the body.  I'll be starting the sleeves in no time and wearing this soon!

I also have a cowl that is almost finished so I decided not to show you that today.  I'm hoping/expecting to finish it tonight!  You should be seeing it as a FO in the next few days.  Then I will have to decide whether to keep it for myself or gift it.  It will be a tough decision.

I've gotten two sock club shipments in the last week too.

This is the yarn from the Cookie A Sock Club.  The yarn is from Green Mountain Spinnery, which is kind of local for me.  I've not tried any of their yarns though because none of my LYS carry their yarns.  I'm not sure I like it.  It has a rougher and earthier feel to it than what I usually like, but I can see how it will work nicely with the cabled sock pattern included this month.  The lace sock pattern though.....? Not so much.  I'm sure I'll knit it sometime, but it's not screaming at me yet.

 I also got my Rockin Sock Club kit.  It's Socks That Rock lightweight and....

 some complimentary Silkie.  The sock pattern has as option to embroider with the Silkie.  It makes a very cool Stained Glass effect on the sock, but there is no way that I will go to that extra effort.  There is also a pattern for a colorwork hat which is what I think I will make with this kit.

I'm still expecting my Hazel Knits sock club and Plucky Classics.  The Hazel Knits is shipping today.  I wonder if it will be in the brown family too?

Ten on Tuesday

10 Favorite Mystery Books

I love a good book and I naturally tend to favor mystery/suspense/thriller types of books.  There are some books that I read just because of the author and some books because it just caught my interest, or it was selected by the book club I'm part of.

I've broken my list into two parts this week.  The first part is some individual titles that I've enjoyed.

1. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.  This was a book club read and it was well liked by my group.  It has a great twist at the end!

2. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult.  I like her books because she tends to choose topics from the news and then approach it with a "what if..." thought. I can't imagine anything this heinous happening in the Amish community and yet it just might.  I loved how the story was told.

3. Atonement by Ian McEwan.  This was also a fantastic story set during WW1.

4. The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley.  This was the most recent book my book club read.  It is a historical piece that tells a family story that begins just before WW2.  I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Now for the series/authors that I love.

5. Millenium series by Steig Larsson.  My book group read the first book in the series and I think everyone in the group has now read the entire series.

6. Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.  I'm still working my way through these. I'm up to #6.

7. Sandra Brown.  I love her books.  Yes I know they're all the same, only the names and locations have changed, but sometimes you just want a little mind candy in the form of a fast paced, page turner story.  The most recent one I read was Lethal.

8.  Mary Higgins Clark.  Always dependably enjoyable.  The next one in my queue is I'll Walk Alone

9. Nora Roberts.  Most recently I read The Witness which I really enjoyed.  Predictable but fun.  I'll admit that I'm a particular sucker for her trilogies, although they tend to be in the romance genre.

10. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  Truth is they're more comedy than mystery, but I love them and so do most of my friends.  They are light, fun, and a fast read.  My girlfriends and I, all successful smart women may I add, have spent a ridiculous amount of time debating the tough questions that arise from these books.  Ranger or Morelli?  Are you a Cupcake or a Babe?  Hurry up November 20, I can't wait for Notorious Nineteen to be released!

Thanks Carole for a fun topic.  Be sure to check out her blog to see what other people are reading.  What's your favorite Mystery Book?

Ten on Tuesday

I just enjoyed a long Columbus day weekend.  Not only did we have no obligations for Monday, but both my husband and youngest son had Friday off too.  So what did we do?

10 Things I Did This Weekend

1. Enjoyed our final boat ride around the lake and took some pictures of the foliage.  I like to do this every year but it doesn't always work out.
2. Made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.  Yum!
3. Watched a movie.  We had 50/50 from Netflix.  It was better than we expected it to be.
4.  Made a pot of chili to eat while.....
5. Watching College Football.  (it was Alabama's bye week, so we watched the LSU game)
6. Finished listening to The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
7. Started a new audiobook, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
8. Went to my Mother-in-Law's for Sunday dinner and the Patriots game
9. Found some of my "fall" decorating accessories and started decorating the house
10. Went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  There's a brand new one in the neighboring town and we decided to try it.  We enjoyed it and Tom learned that they have The Football package on their cable and show all the Alabama games they can, especially the ones only broadcast on the SEC network.  Guess where we'll be when the game isn't on regular tv....?

These were the highlights from my weekend.  What did you do?  Did you make it to Interweave Knitting Lab in Manchester?  I didn't make it but I'd love to hear about it!

Sprucey Haystacks

I finished another pair of socks yesterday afternoon. And then in the midst of a rainy, showery weekend  the rain paused, and the sun peeked out just long enough for me to run outside and take a couple quick pictures!

Pattern: Haystacks by Lisa Stichweh
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan in Blue Spruce
Needles: 2.25mm
Cast On: September 1, 2012
Bind Off: September 30, 2012
Mods: none

This is pair 6 for the 26 Pair Plunge for me.  Did I tell you that I decided to try this this year?  It's a big goal, but so far I'm keeping up with the challenge!

Also, one of my LYS, the Elegant Ewe, is now carrying HiyaHiya needles and I decided to try them.  This is the second pair of socks I've knit with them and I like them.  They have a nice cable, I'm a magic loop girl for socks, and a reasonable tip.  They're not as sharp as Knit Picks, but more so than AddiTurbo's.  They have a great price point and make a nice addition to my needle collection!