Some weekend knitting

We traveled up to northern Michigan for a nice long weekend with family. I had about 10 hours of knitting time in the car while my husband did the driving. I am working on this cute little sweater for a future niece or nephew.

Monkey goodies arrive..

Look at all the goodies that Kelly sent to me. I love the socks she made for me and the Woolmeise sock yarn is so pretty. The fuuny thing is... she was my monkey spoiler last swap. Now we have made each other a pair of socks. Thanks again Kelly.

Monkey Sock Swap 4 socks-completed

Here are the monkey socks I made for Angela Marie in Oregon. I had fun making them and see that she received them so it is safe to post a picture now. The yarn is called Yummy in a wonderful green colorway. I had a hard time not keeping these for myself because the yarn was so nice and soft.

As always I will look forward to the next swap.

Monkey Swap 4 Questionnaire

Monkey Sock Swap Questionnaire
The Measurements
Shoe size: 8.5
Foot length in inches: 9"
Circumference: 9"

Yarn Preferences
What are your favorite colors? I love reds, greens, browns, yellows
What color clashes with your wardrobe? neon colors, pinks, purples
Do you prefer solids or variegated yarns? I love both
What are your favorite brand sock yarns? Opal, Regia, Lorna's Laces, I love them all!
Is there a new sock yarn you really would like to try? Always willing to try something new

Cookie A. Patterns
List the patterns you do not have but would like to receive: Any

Allergies
Do you have any allergies that your pal needs to know about? (animals, fiber, sensitivity to smoke etc.) No allergies, I am not a fan of cotton
Will you knitting be exposed to animals? No
Will you knitting be exposed to cigarette smoke? No

Shipping
What country do you live in? USA
Are you willing to ship outside your country? Yes

Prettier as a skein

Second Sock Syndrome is going to hit pretty hard with this pair of socks. They did not turn out how I had imagined. Oh well, they are blue so I can wear them with a pair of jeans. Can you see the lighting bolts of black running through the blue? Hmmmm

Monkey socks finished!

My monkey socks will be off to my pal on Tuesday. I have collected a few monkey goodies and had a great time with this swap. I was very happy with the skinny duets yarn. It was very soft and did not split at all. Although, I did run out of yarn but I guess that is why they send you some matching color to do the heels and toes in. Looking forward to Monkey swap 4!

Blurry self portrait

This is what happens when I try to take a picture of myself. I was tagged by Janice for a self portrait. My kids said "come on mom give it your best my space face" I guess I am not hip enough for that.

So now it is your turn. Consider yourself tagged if you are reading this.

I received my monkey swap socks!

I love all the goodies I received from my pal Janice. She did such a wonderful job. The colors are perfect especially for this time of the year. I also received these great monkey slippers to wear around the house to protect my socks. The yarn is STR in a wonderful blue colorway. I have never used this yarn before so I am eager to knit it up. Not shown in the picture were some dried banana chips-which were already gone by the time I took this picture.

Thank you Janice.

Summer sock party '07 sock completed

Here is a picture of my Summer sock party '07 swap. In this swap you make only one sock for your partner and send all the directions for her to complete the other one. The yarn I used for this sock is Trekking XXL. I found this yarn very nice to knit with although, it can get thin in spots.

Finally my camera is fixed

Here is a picture of my sockapalooza socks that my pal Ruth made for me. I love them and they fit like a dream. Sorry this picture is kind of dark my camera started to die right about this time. The colors are a beautiful shade of peach and yellow. I love it. The weather finally feels like fall around here so I will be wearing them very soon. Thanks Ruth!

Monkey Sock Swap Questionnaire

I signed up for the Monkey Sock Swap. I think it will be so much fun! So here is my completed questionnaire:

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? Intermediate I guess. I have been knitting socks on and off for about 15 years now.

The measurements:
Shoe Size: US Women's size 9 foot measurement from heel to tip of big toe: 8.5"foot circumference measured at the ball of the foot: 8.5"

Yarn Preferences:
What colors do you love? Fall colors are my favorite but I love all colors
Do you prefer solids or variegated? Variegated

Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? Wool only, please

What colors would you never wear? Neon colors

What are your favorite brands of yarn? Regia, Claudia's hand painted, Shaefer Anne, almost any washable wool sock yarn

Are there any new brands you would like to try? Socks that rock, Yarn Pirate, I don't really know all of the new ones out there

Cookie A. Patterns: Which of her patterns have you already knit? Monkey! Just Monkey so far

Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? No preference

Other pertinent information:
Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? I will take anyone

Do you have any allergies? No

Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? No smoke, No animals

Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? I am not familiar with this

Beach Day

The kids and I decided to go to the beach today. It was exteremly hot and very windy. I had planned on lots of knitting time but the kids said the water was cold and sand was blowing in my face. I still managed a few rounds on my current sock.

As you can see the beach was very busy today.

Here is a picture of "Big Red" lighthouse in Holland, MI. This is one of my favorite Michigan lighthouses.

Red, White and Blue socks

look what arrived in the mail today!

More yarn..... I loved the yarn I received from my spring sock hop pal so much that I ordered some more online. It is called Sunshine Yarns and I ordered them from Loopy Ewe. I can't wait to knit them up.

My current project

Recently one of the local yarn shops in the area had a going out of business sale. It was sad to see them leave but on the last day they had 70% off everything in the store. I saw this purple and yellow yarn left with three other less desirable skeins of sock yarn. I couldn't resist at 70% off so I bought them all. I still have not decided if I like these colors together or not. More ugly socks to come.

My first entry

Since I have joined 3 sock swaps I felt out of the loop without a blog. Today I received a wonderful package from my spring sock hop swap pal. Laura from Alabama sent me the greatest package filled with a sock book, beautiful yarn, a mini sock blocker and a jaywalker sock. This was my first swap and it was so much fun I joined two others.