The end is near....

Not Armageddon, just the end of 2006 -- bring on the new beginnings!

Thanks for the compliments on my Scale Skin socks! I'm glad my unnatural love for them has been validated :)

A lot of commenters asked for the pattern and it's readily available at the Six_Sock_Knitalong yahoo group. It's called "Michelle's SSS pattern" listed under August 2006 in the file section BUT you must be a member to get the pattern.

That being said, I know my readers are so smart and the pattern is honestly so EASY, it's ridiculous! So for all you smarties, here's the stitch pattern:

Cast on an even # of stitches divisible by 4 (52, 56, 60, 64, ect.) I used 64 for my picot edge, then decreased to 60 for the leg and 56 for the foot. I feel the scales do run a bit big because I usually use 64 as my "standard" for a woman's medium.

Round 1 and 3: Knit
Round 2: *K2, yo K2, pass the yo over the 2 stitches just knit*repeat from * to end
Round 4: *yo K2, pass the yo over the 2 stitches just knit, K2* repeat from * to end

That's it, I swear!

So you can plug this stitch pattern into your standard sock formula and you can have a love affair with your socks too! :) And for those more adventuresome among you, why not give beaded knitting a go in 2007? It's so much fun and really enhances the finished object AND there just happens to be a nifty tutorial on my very own side bar!

Now for some more knit love, I give you Ruben!

Specs:

Ruben designed by Elsebeth Lavold in Designer's Choice, The Sentimental Journey Colllection, Book Two

7.5 skeins Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Verdigris (subbed for the cotton patine suggested in the pattern)

US #3 (3.25 mm) addi turbo for ribbing and US #5 (3.75 mm) for the body

Mods: NONE! :)



I love this design and I LOVE Silky Wool!! It's become one of my favorite yarns as it knits like a dream and just flows over the needles plus it's sooo soft.
On the downside, altho it was a simple cable, the pattern is pretty organic in that it leaves quite a bit up to the experience of the knitter. Plus, there are no schematics so size is kinda based on getting gauge and trust! Lining up the cables to "flow" into the ribbing was quite hair raising too so I'm pretty proud it only took me two tries :)



The Silky Wool is pretty fragile, you can pull it apart quite easily and I was concerned about using it for the sweater finishing. Being unable to find a suitable colored yarn to seam with I did use the Silky Wool but *very* carefully and did tear the working yarn in mid-seam a few times.



In the end, it's a gorgeous, classic, manly sweater that I would knit again keeping in mind the caveats I mentioned!

There's been a lot of buzz around Knitbloglandia about paring down for 2007. In other words it's cool to.....



And here at Chez FKD, we will be jumping on this bandwagon! And we'll even be paring down the rules......

The Rules:

1- knit from stash for the entire year, 2007
2- sock yarn DOES count (boy oh boy, does it!)
3- yarn purchases can be made for gifts but only after all possible stash options have been exhausted
4- Gifts of yarn and yarn swaps don't count - especially birthdays (hint, hint!)
5- I'm on the fence about the one "free" day...I would really like to try to make it thru 2007 with no yarn purchases at all! It's not so much that I have this ginormous stash, but that I have yarn for so many projects already that I really want to knit, it just seems a shame for them to be languishng in the stash!

ETA: The showing of the stash will NOT be happening, never ever, no way, no how, nein, neit, nunca, nuh uh so I'll just pretend we never had this conversation :)

That's it! So good luck to me and all the other knitters taking the plunge!

To all my friends in Knitbloglandia who've shared a little bit of our lives here at FKD in 2006, Pumpkin and I want to thank you for your friendship, kindness and support and wish you a

Happy, Healthy 2007!!

Is 2006 done yet??

I am SO ready for new beginnings, you know?

I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to all my blog friends for the amazing outpouring of support, kindness and love for me and my family. It means more than mere words can convey and has helped me so much!

I still don't think it's all really hit me just yet and I miss him terribly but I'm glad you all enjoyed the answer grape story. My Dad was so very special and I'm glad you all could know him even just a little.

Now for some knitting because as EZ said - knit on, with confidence and hope, thru all crisis -- and I did!

First up, some festive Regia socks

Specs:

Peaks n Valleys socks from Knit Socks! by Betsey McCarthy

2 50 gm skeins Regia mini ringel #5217

US #1 (2.25 mm) Aero Teflon DPNs

Mods: I used one less pattern repeat for the leg as the recipient is pretty tiny and slender (they fit perfectly!) and I changed the heel to my standard mini-gusset yo short row heel.

I enjoyed this pattern (thanks Carole!) - its only a 2 round, 9 stitch pattern repeat so it's easy to remember yet just interesting enough to keep your interest. It makes a nice stretchy, comfy sock and I love how the pattern turns the stripes into scallops. The Regia is nice to knit with, it's a basic staple for most socknitters but altho the dye lots were identical the socks are fraternal because the striping sequence was different in each skein! One skein had a three row stripe in with the twos so it threw off the "identicalness" of the socks. I thought about "cutting and pasting" to make them match but they are kinda funky looking anyway so I thought their disparities were endearing! Their new owner agrees!

And now for something completely different, I give you....a sock!!

would ya look at these beauties?


Specs:

Scale Skin socks from the Six_Sock_KAL Group

2 skeins Claudia's Handpaint in the Sea Dreams colorway

US #1 (2.25 mm) Aero Teflon DPNs

32 8/0 silver-lined turquoise seed beads per sock, #13 crochet hook

I confess I have a completely unnatural love for these socks! This was my first experience with Claudia's and ooooo the love!! The base yarn for Claudia's is Louet Gems Pearl and that is already a favorite of mine but add the glorious color that Claudia imparts and the result is just about the perfect sock yarn! So soft, such delicious, saturated color!! Add to that this incredibly simple yet attractive pattern and ding ding ding, we have a winner!!

Mods: Once again I changed the heel to my standard yo short row, mini gusset. I love the delicate picot edge and I thought it screamed for a bit of embellishment so I added one row (every other stitch) of seed beads using the crochet method. Here's a close up of the beads and the stitch pattern and also to really see the glorious color.... (it was hard! it's been gray and rainy for days!)


I have to say that I think this may be my favorite pair of socks EVER, they are that pretty and striking in person! I hope the new owner loves them as much as me! And if you need an easy, really atttractive pair of socks, I can't recommend this pattern or this yarn enough!

That brings me to a total of 22 pairs of socks knitted in 2006! Not too shabby!

Ruben is completed and will be taking a final bath tomorrow with pics in my next post. Would you believe I have NOTHING on the needles at the moment??? I'm doing some sweater finishing as a gift for a friend so I want to finish that before I start anything new but I plan to have one more Red Scarf on the needles by Jan. 1. I'm also gonna be announcing a new KAL that I'll be co-hosting next week, with a start date of Feb. 1. Wonderful plans are being made for 2007, stay tuned!

I leave you with this pic of the P-Man....he reminds me of a Weeble :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Joy to the World!!

Whatever you celebrate, Pumpkin and I want to wish all our blog friends a
Happy Healthy Holiday!!
Here's a little holiday fun from the two of us! Be Merry!!

I remember....

You know how Dad's just seem to know everything? Even when you're a grown woman and have spread your wings, Dad's just always seem to be the one to have all the right answers.

My brother and I used to jokingly call Dad "The Answer Grape" which was a character from a TV commercial who knew everything just like my dad! Even when Dad really didn't have a clue, he was the master of making up completely plausible answers so you never doubted the veracity of his stories. And he could never admit he just didn't know!

About twelve years ago we had some relatives visiting so we all took a trip down to Miami to visit Metro Zoo.

Metro Zoo, prior to being destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, was a "cageless" zoo...the animals lived on little islands of "natural habitat" surrounded by moats so you could really get close to the animals without having big steel bars in the way.

We walked around, taking in all the exotic sights - the white tigers being exceptionally beautiful to see.

Finally we came to the bird exhibit....imagine an enormous microforest (this was enclosed by an even more enormous net so the birds could fly freely) with all manner of rare birds flying from tree to tree.

As I walked around I stopped behind a man who was pointing to a large green fruit hanging from one of the trees. The fruit was dark green with a surface like a porcupine - covered in green spikes.

The man was pointing to the fruit as his wife gazed raptly....I leaned a bit closer and over heard the man say "yes, it's true...those green things are the nests of a very rare bird! The bird hollows out the fruit and lays her eggs in there so the nest is camouflaged and when the babies are born they can eat the fruit!" The wife was fascinated and replied, "wow! How interesting, who told you that?" The man turned and said "that guy told me!" and of course he was pointing to my Dad - who turned to look back at us with an impish grin....The Answer Grape had struck again!

Tonight the man with all the answers and the finest man I will ever know has left this life and my only consolation is that I am lucky enough to be his daughter.

Thanks for all your prayers and support, it means so much.

A heartfelt request

I'm a very private person and when I started FKD I made the decision to keep my posts mainly on the knitting track. That being said I do believe in the power of collective prayer and positive thought.

My Dad had a stroke this morning so could you please keep him in your thoughts and prayers?

Thanks everyone.

In the interest of science?

It's been suggested I post this and then ping technorati (whatever that means!?!)to assess how fast we knit bloggers can spread the word and help a fellow grad student out.

Go ahead, you can do it too, it's painless!

Pumpkin thinks pinging something sounds like more fun than a catnip mousie!

Days of wine and roses

Well, mitts of Wine and Roses anyway....

Yes, I'm still hanging with Ruben on Sleeve Island but when I saw this pattern in the latest issue of Interweave Knits I knew they had to jump to the top of my holiday knitting queue! Besides the fact that I'm almost as obsessed with knitting wristers as I am socks, I have a recipient in mind who will just adore these!

Aren't they lovely?

Specs:

Wine and Roses Mitts, Interweave Knits magazine, winter 2006

1 skein Louet Gems Pearl in Fern, US #1 (2.25mm) Aero teflon DPNs, approx. 150 olive green 8/0 seed beads, size #13 steel crochet hook (I used the crochet method to add the beads)

Mods: Honestly, I made so many mods to this pattern they should be called "Essence of Wine and Roses Mitts"!

This pattern just said *vintage* to me and I thought adding the beads would really complete the picture! I added the row of beads after the lace border and then instead of the yarn overs the pattern called for on the cuff, I subbed a bead. I also added 6 additional rows of stockinette.

I added 2 rows of beading with a K1P1 rib rather than the "pebble stitch" the pattern suggests.

I followed the lace pattern for the palm as written (surprise!) then added another 2 rows of beading with a K1P1 rib.

Lastly, I didn't care for the purl hem stitch so I switched that to a K2tog, yo picot edge for both the fingers and thumb.

I really love how these turned out and plan to make a few more after the holidays!

I know lots of people are dealing with some horrible weather....oh well, here in Florida the weather is perfection! I guess it's the trade off for living in the spectre of that nasty "H" thing all summer long! (Yes, "H" season ended November 30 - Woo and Hoo!!)

So here's a perfect Saturday sky on Sunday.....

Perfectly blue and clear with a scattering of clouds down by the beach. Anyone want to come on down for a visit? :)

This lil guy is a willing host with the most...

As long as you bring lots of chicken, he's says you can stay forever!

Everything is beautiful, wish you were here!

Since Ruben and I are vacationing on Sleeve Island I thought I'd send you guys a virtual postcard!

Both the front and back are completed and I have about 1/4 of both sleeves finished (I'm knitting both at the same time!) so this gorgeous sweater should be drying on my blocking board by next weekend. Then a bit-o-mattress stitch and he's off to a rendezvous with Santa for a special place under a special tree :) Don't ya just love the holidays?

I did manage to finish another gift....I give you A Step Above!

Specs:

A Step Above entrelac socks from Knitter's Magazine Summer 2004

Just over 1 skein (for a size 7.5 - 8 woman's foot and 6 inch cuff!!) of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colorway Seaside

US #1 (2.25mm) metal DPNs for ribbing and US #0 (2.0mm) for the rest of the sock

Mods: Because entrelac tends to bias the knitted fabric, it's hard to get gauge. When I first made these socks in 2004 I was in a group with the designer who knits TONS of entrelac and she suggests going down 1-2 needle sizes from your "usual" needles size to get gauge. The pattern as written was too large for my recipient so I knit it on less stitches and eliminated 2 of the cuff "tiers" for a 6 vs. 8 inch cuff.

These sock are made with an afterthought heel. As much fun as the socks are to knit, picking up the stitches for the heel is heinous! Bogie of Knit Flix made very similar mods to mine as well as suggestions for making the heel a bit easier...and she was smart enough to write em down, hehe...(link above)

I LOVE how these socks turned out! I think they are really unique and very stylish and I hope the recipient loves them as much as I do! Go ahead, make a pair - entrelac is fun!!

Since I do much of my knitting for family/friends/body parts that are far away you guys never get to see the "action" shots.

My brother and his family were here for Thanksgiving (sadly sans my niece who has a new job -- miss you Nicodemus!) and my beautiful sis-in-law was kind enough to do a little modeling....

Hedera with the recipient's actual feet in them! Imagine that! And my niece's beaded wristers....

My beautiful SIL the feet and hands belong to!

Last but surely not least, here's what I see 99% of the time when I'm sitting on my couch watching TV and knitting away...


My knitting supervisor hard at work....notice the silky wool and the addi turbo in the pic....the P-Man is taking inventory to facilitate Ruben's completion! Wouldn't you just kill to be that relaxed? :) Have a great week everyone!

Even if your bird is bilingual, have a......

Happy, Healthy
Thanksgiving!

Reminders, memes and sky, oh my!

Today is the kick off for the wonderful

So let's all get out there and make a difference for people who need us!!


Since everyone is doing it, here's my latest meme....


1. FIRST NAME? I know this is a shocker - Debi

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Dad's uncles David and Joe (my middle name is Joy)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? What time is it?

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When I'm careful, very much - when I rush, not so much

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Buffalo chicken breast or Olive loaf

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS
WITH YOU? I think so, I'm a good and loyal friend

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? You're reading it but I also keep a written knitting journal with notes, planned future projects and stash inventory (excluding sock yarn!)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope, had em out when I was 25

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Now wouldn't that be the loudest splat heard round the world, lol! Fluffy girls don't bungee jump!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Oatmeal or Kashi Blueberry Heart to Heart

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Headstrong, you bet! Pretty strong personailty too, I often find people around me picking up my mannerisms

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Sadly discontinued Ben and Jerry's Southern Pecan Pie and Hagen Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond

14. SHOE SIZE? 9 W.I.D.E!!!!

15. RED OR PINK? I like em both equally

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I procrastinate WAY too much and too often and my temper

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Jaxon and Mickie and Nicole

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nah but I love reading them across Knitbloglandia

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pants? No pants today...a blue flowered cotton sundress

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? some onion rings

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My a/c running and "Something's Gotta Give" on the TV

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Since it's a fantasy anyway I'll change with my mood....today's color? BLACK!

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Vanilla, freshly squeezed lime and Polo by Ralph Lauren on a hot guy (well any guy truth be told!)

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mom

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Strong manly hands......delicate, effemminate hands are a total turn off! Also eyes, lips and dimples!

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I'm sure I do but I don't remember who it was :)

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Diet Coke is my addiction!

28. FAVORITE SPORT? I love watching baseball in person

29. EYE COLOR? Hazel green

30. HAT SIZE? huh?

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, glasses just for reading

32. FAVORITE FOOD? pasta, thai and sushi

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? winter in Florida is perfection...I love the snow but don't think I could handle it anymore for more than a day!

36. HUGS OR KISSES? mmmm kisses!

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Creme Brulee or Apple crumb pie

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille

l41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? got a laptop here

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? 20/20, the Barbara Walter's special and my *favorite* show How It's Made!

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The P-Man chirrrrp especially my "good morning mom" chirp

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? The Stones baybee!!

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? California and Canada

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I'm very intuitive and a great diagnostician

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hialeah, Florida

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I nicked it off someone's blog, don't remember who

The weather today is glorious, everything weather should be! Cool and clear, no humidity - blue skies and soft fluffy clouds abound!

I love the lone puff of cloud in the forefront seemingly scooting along under the watchful canopy of "real clouds"!

Hopefully your weather is equally spectcular and your weekend full of knitting onto others! Enjoy!

Make some noise from the front to the back

A little bit o lyric borrowed from Fatboy Slim :) Ooodles of bonus points if you can name the flick it was featured in.....

I've been trying to post for days but the weather has been gray, gray and more gray with cloudy, dark skies not very conducive to photo ops. Luckily today I managed to squeeze in some pics during a lull in the deluge!

Here's my progress on Ruben making some noise from the back to the front.....

I havent been knitting as much as I'd like cause this rain is wreaking havoc with my wrists and achy wrists = pain = less knitting but I've finished the back and am just past the ribbing on the front. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this is shaping up and I enjoy every minute of knitting with the amazing Silky Wool. That Elsebeth Lavold knows her yarn and her cables, that's for sure!

I've also made lots of progress on the entrelac socks, see?

As you can see I've completed sock #1 and I'm about to begin tier #5 (last tier before I add the waste yarn for the afterthought heel)

What's really surprising to me is all this sock knitting has been done with ONE skein of Lorna's Laces!! And I still have yarn from the first skein left to use! These socks are average size....my standard woman's six inch leg and the foot is 9 inches for a woman's size 7.5 - 8 shoe! I've knit this pattern twice before but I never realized how "economical" entrelac socks can be!

Here's my favorite guy acting like a 'fraidy cat....

In reality, the P-Man is really friendly and outgoing but I think he might have gotten wind that today is nail clipping day and as easygoing as he is, he's not real fond of having his nails clipped :)

Hope your day is brighter and dryer than ours and filled with lots of great knitting! See ya!

W is for Worthy Causes

In my life, one constant that brings me peace (most of the time, hehe) is knitting...

Knitting soothes me when I'm frazzled, keeps my brain occupied and keeps me learning new skills, all very good things.

It brings, by way of Knitbloglandia, companionship of like minded friends from all walks of life and all parts of the globe.

Knitting gives me so much that it seems only natural to give something back via knitting. Luckily Carole and Margene are two of those like minded friends!

Once again, these lovely ladies are hosting....

(click here for more info)November 18 - December 2
Here's a quote from the Knit Unto Others website:

This KAL was started as a way to stay grounded at this time of over-consumption and excessive giving. It is sad to see children, adults, students and others around the world suffering for lack of warmth or basic needs. The basics of life are very hard for some people, right here in this country to come by. A warm hat, scarf or mittens can do more than warm fingers and ears, it can lift someone up and show that someone cares. Do what you can from November 18-December 2 and join our Knit Unto Others campaign.

Take a minute to surf over and look around for more info including charities that need our help...you won't be sorry!

A worthy cause that particularly resonates with my heartstrings is

(this button links to orphan.org - you know what to do!)

Our very own Norma, owner of one of the biggest hearts (and the sauciest vocabularies!) in Knitbloglandia has championed this cause since last year and kindly set up a website with lots of info, scarf patterns, prizes!, and pics of completed scarves here: Red Scarf Project Blog

Why knit a Red Scarf? Here's a quote from the website:

The Red Scarf Project, a project of the Orphan Foundation of America, or Orphan.org, collects red (and other unisex-colored) scarves to send in Valentine's Day care packages to college students who have aged out of foster care. These brave young people are going it on their own and trying to improve their lives and the community by attending college. The care packages are welcome tokens of encouragement to young people who otherwise receive little to no mail.

Just to make it even easier I've gathered a few of my favorite scarf patterns off the net.

I'm partial to seaman's style scarves for warmth without the bulk so I'll be knitting this scarf: Matthew's Scarf

Here's a few more I like alot:

Rainy Day Scarf

Irish Hiking Scarf

And a plethora of scarfy patterns sure to please any chilly neck:

Scarf Pattern Resources

So consider doing a little charity knitting for those who have little to cheer them, it's the feel good WIP of the season!

The P-Man thinks orange is a much better color but red is his second favorite!
So knit something for others, you'll be so glad you did and so will they!

V is for Voting, Voices and Verdigris

I try not to be terribly political here at Chez FKD but please get out today and VOTE! It's a priveledge many nations don't have, a right we are lucky enough to be afforded and a responsibility we have to ourselves and each other.

If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. Use your voices today and VOTE!

On a lighter note, I give you Ruben....he's the new man in my life!

He comes to me from Sweden on a Sentimental Journey, isn't he dreamy?

Ok, ok I confess, he's my new WIP....

Ruben designed by Elsebeth Lavold in Designer's Choice, The Sentimental Journey Colllection, Book Two.

I'm making Ruben as a Christmas gift for my old friend Augie. Remember him?

The pattern calls for cotton but I wanted something warmer and a bit less casual so I decided to use Silky Wool. This is my first experience with Silky Wool and WOW is it nice! It's a very smooth knit and I love the tweedy depth and almost felted feel of the yarn....yummy stuff! And the colorway I chose? VERDIGRIS!

Here's my knitting supervisor to show you my progress so far....

Isn't the Verdigris lovely? Look at that stitch definition (and that handsome P-Man!)

As much as I loved knitting the Thistle Flower tank (thank you for all the lovely compliments, btw!) I missed knitting with wool so I'm thrilled to be back! I'm really enjoying this new WIP, can you tell? I'm gushing :)

I've added 2 new buttons to my sidebar that I'll post about next time and I'll show you the progress on the entrelac socks too....til then go raise your voices and VOTE!

A little rant and a lotta knit

/begin rant.....Altho I blog for myself, as a record for my knitting, I am blessed to have readers who enjoy my musings as well. I'm thrilled that I'm part of a community of like minded friends who come here to visit and share this little piece of my world and I love having y'all here.

Now I'm amenable to sharing any tips or knowledge I have because that's one of the best things about this community as I see it, a shared online resource. However, if you, my dear reader, comment anonymously, I cannot respond! I don't want to turn off anonymous commenting but some of the "questions" are not really applicable to a post. For example: "where do I find your tutorials?" Um well, if you're seeing my blog (the actual blog, not thru Bloglines or Newsgator, ect.), look over on my side bar and you'll find them, I promise :) Another frequent "comment"...."how do I find your patterns?" Um, same place...sidebar, click on links, go to free file hosting site, look around, brave the pop-ups (it is FREE after all!) find the file! Easy Peasy!

I have my email posted over there on the side bar too....if you ever have a problem or question, dear reader, just email me and I'll do my best to help, but please comment with a contact so I can help/answer or email me, mmmmkay? /end rant

On to the knitting!

Finally after much ado I bring you the Lotus Blossom Thistle Flower Tank!

First a close up to show off the pretty colors

Thistle flowers, right?

A peek at the back and the pretty striping in outdoor light

The view from the front*

The glamour shot

Specs:

Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank, Interweave Knits Summer 2006

#6 (4 mm) and #5 (3.75 mm) addi turbos

12 skeins of Kelly yarn, a cotton/microfiber blend, color #100

Mods: I knit the large size to achieve a 48" finished measurement with my gauge. I knit six pattern repeats rather than the five suggested by the pattern. I also added 3 inches of stockinette to the bodice before the armhole shaping.

I added an eyelet row under the bodice with a threaded twisted cord (to make sure the "girls" stay where they belong!) I chose not to add short row shaping for the bust because I felt it wasn't needed with the length I added to the bodice and I felt the short rows at the bustline would be too conspicuous because of the stripes.

One very cool thing is that the pattern is written with short row shaping for the shoulders/ back neck using Japanese short rows! This was my first experience with the Japanese short rows and I'm now a total convert! I think they look much smoother than wrapped short rows and they are much easier to do! No digging around to find the wrap! There are some good tutorials on the net and if you've never tried Japanese short rows, you should! I can't wait to try them on a sock heel myself!

I really love how this tank turned out! The patten is well written and a pretty easy lace so it would make a good first lace garment. The fit is great, the sweetheart neckline very flattering. The yarn is very soft and drapey but light as a feather and the color is subtle but lovely! I see this getting lots of wear for years to come - wearing it makes me feel all girly :)

*you might notice the long "ends" not woven in on the tank. With cottons, I leave long tails on the private side and I find they never poke thru to the front like they can do when they are shorter!

And now knitting present and future....I started the ubiquitous pair of socks.....


I'm revisiting my favorite socks, gotta love that entrelac! This is Lorna's Laces shepherd sock in the Seaside colorway. I love the unique way this is striping!

I also started a gorgeous new sweater but I'll save that for next week.

I leave you with the P-Man and more backscratcher fun.....

An action shot - don't you love the tongue of concentration?
Ah ha, evil backscratcher, you're mine now!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Just under the wire....

Where did October go? It seems like Socktoberfest just started and here we are at the end...didn't October just fly by?

I only knit one pair for Socktoberfest 2006 but they turned out to be one of my favorites so just under the wire on the last day of October I give you....

Hedera!

Specs:

Pattern: Hedera by Cookie for Knitty
US #1 (2.25 mm) Aero double pointed needles
Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn, colorway Melon
Mods: Switched from flap heel as written to yo short row heel with mini flap and gusset

I love this pattern - easy but interesting and I think the subtle colorway of the Fleece Artist really worked well with the lace! I highly recommend this well written pattern for beginner lace knitters and I can't say enough about this super soft, beautifully colored yarn!

The Lotus Blossom Thistle Flower Tank is finished (woot, finally!) and is blocking even as I type so she won't make her debut for another few days....she is a real beauty tho!

These aren't socks but I used sock yarn so do they count for Socktoberfest?....hehe...

In all my years of knitting pre and post 15 year hiatus, I've never knit any sort of hand covering, I'm not sure why! I'm so glad I changed that cause they are almost as fun as socks!

Here are some beaded wristers for my neice....


And a close up of the beads which I added using the crochet method


Specs:

Pattern: my own cobbed together from a few different free internet patterns
US #1 (2.25mm) Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs
Regia Silk, 6 fadig (sportweight) in Black (I know this is a shocker, lol!)
About 200 6/0 seed beads, size #13 steel crochet hook
Totally fun and totally cute!

My neice is 17 and I think she's gonna go crazy for these....and they were so much fun to make I want to knit her a whole wrister wardrobe! I've seen so many bloggers knitting some variation on the fingerless mitt and now I know why! Another reason to love Knitbloglandia!

Here's the P-Man playing with one of his favorite toys.....a backscratcher from the dollar store a friend bought me as a joke!

He just loves to bite and "bunny kick" this thing, better than any of the assortment of genuine cat toys he has! Whatever the P-Man wants, the P-Man gets, what can I say?

My "Great Pumpkin" and I wish everyone a Happy Halloween with lots of treats and no tricks! See ya soon!

U is for UNBELIEVABLE!

So I got my laptop back from being serviced 2 weeks ago and the manifest said they reinstalled the memory....WTF?? There was nothing wrong with the memory, all 1000 megs of it!

I turned on the newly serviced machine with hope and anticipation just to be disappointedly staring at a black screen and a flashing cursor, nothing more....sigh.....Apparently none of the knuckleheads over at Gateway bothered to turn on the machine after they replaced the memory which clearly was the reason I've gone thru 4 hard drives since June......UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!

The good news is Mohammed, Gateway on-site tech extraordinaire, came to Chez FKD today and installed a new motherboard, new hard drive and new processor so here's hoping this is the last installment in a wholly unbelievable and seriously frustrating saga! See? Here's Mohammed the Wonderful, hard at work....YAY Mohammed!! (and he thought my pic taking for blog fodder was totally fun, hehe!)

Here's hoping my stay in the Computa Triangle is over and the saga of The Computer Woes of a Fluffy Knitter can reach it's much awaited conclusion! And on that note, to all the new subscribers to FKD, let me say thanks for showing me the love and still subscribing even tho I haven't been posting much and to all my staid and steadfast "longtime" readers that have hung in there, thanx guys, YOU ROCK!!! So...... let's get this party started!!

Here's another interesting and beautiful Saturday Florida sky....


Looks likes a sky full of cottonballs!
I finished the Soctoberfest Hedera/Fleece Artist socks as well as 2 pairs of wristers plus I'm just a neckband away from finishing the Lotus Blossom Thistle Flower Tank. I didn't want to push my computer luck so quickly after Mohammed's visit so I'll be back next week with a bevy of FO's and some new projects!
Til then the P-Man says have a great weekend!!

Saturday Sky and a good snooze

My knitting looks pretty much status quo....another repeat on the Lotus Blossom Tank Thistle Flower Tank and a heel turned on the Fleece Artist Hedera sock. Both lovely, yes but nothing really exciting to see.

So instead I bring you spectaular Saturday sky!

All these were taken from my fifth and top floor catwalk at about 4 pm.

This is the sky to the south towards Miami

And looking straight up

And eastward towards the beach

Isn't it amazing how different the sky looks which ever way you look? Like I said before Florida isn't very verdant and it's really flat so the scenery isn't very beautiful but we do have some breathtaking sky!

And what did the P-Man do while I was surveying the sky?


He had a nice little snooze!

Enjoy your weekend!