Christmas Socks, take 5

On the 5th day of Christmas, our mother gave to us

Fiiiive Pairrrs of Soooocks! 

(I'll actually be giving 7 pairs...7 people, you know. But 5 pairs are finished today, so I think I am safely on schedule!)

Maybe this is a better song...

Oh, Christmas socks! Oh, Christmas socks! 

How lovely is your stripey-ness!

Or perhaps... 

Joy to the world, for Christmas socks!

Their stripes, my heart adores!

Hmmm, it is possible that I am just slightly obsessed with the Christmas socks...and stripes? Maybe. Perhaps I should take a break before pairs 6 and 7 (5 pairs are done! 5 pairs are done!).... After all, there are still a couple more holidays before Christmas this year...such as Halloween...and I do have Halloween knitting: 5 Frozen hats for 5 human heads, as part of their costumes this year! I'm really inspired, because we watched Frozen at knit night this week, you know, as I was finishing up that 5th pair! (Food, Frozen, fun duct tape! I have great knitting friends!)

I've already got two hat bases done (Elsa and Kristoff), but they still need hair...and a snowflake! Even sans hair, I think they look pretty good:

I also have two trolls and an Olaf hat planned for the humans, and I hear that the dog has requested a Sven hat...surely I can figure that out! =D I'll keep you updated, and I think that's what I'll distract myself with today...and tomorrow...and Monday! Yayyy for holiday weekends! :) What are you distracting yourself with on this long weekend?

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Holiday Knitting (and crafting)!

Sometimes I'm the Windshield

Sometimes I'm the windshield, nearly finishing a Wallaby and bragging about it all over my blog. You know, like last Wednesday.

Sometimes I'm the bug, and I don't touch the thing again all week long, so it still looks just like this:

Sooooo close! Oh, well. It's too hot for a Wallaby right now anyway. In the meantime, here's a shot of pair 5, sock #2...

So, I am still knitting. :) Just not finishing that sweater so much this week...lol! It's like that sometimes, ya know? I know ya do!!!

Thanks for stopping by anyway! I hope that you are still Knitting in Good Health (and keeping cool)!

Sunshine and Pumpkins...kinda

On Wednesday afternoon, I went out to lunch. I don't always go out to lunch. Most days, I just brown-bag it, and I eat at my desk. Sometimes (most days?) I knit a little, too. But on Wednesday afternoon, I just had a hankering to get out of the office for a bit, so I took an official "Lunch." Just so we're clear, by "lunch" I definitely mean that I left the office to buy yarn. It is what it is. 

While I was out to "lunch," I started to perspire. Actually, perspire would be putting it mildly. When I came out of the place-to-buy-yarn, sweat was nearly dripping off me! Now, I am a woman in the middle of life, so random hot is not really that uncommon, but on this Wednesday, I think I said out loud (to no one in particular, because I was alone in my car), "Man! It is hot! Why is is so stinkin' hot?!?" Then I remembered...Ohhhh! It's summer. Well, duh. 

At this, I took a moment to relish the fact that it is not WINTER (yet)...and that fall is coming! If I were going by the thermometer, I wouldn't see autumn so clearly on the horizon. But a quick look in my yarn bags, and at the things on my needles...

assures me that fall is indeed on it's way! :) I'm glad, because I am really digging these little pumpkin hats! I'm up to 3 now (and 2 have already been gifted)! 

As a summer bonus (because there are a few weeks of heat left, to be sure!), I'm also still working on this bright and colorful Brickless shawl, and it is my summer beauty this year!

One other bright spot in my little heat wave this week has been the discovery of this pic:

I had forgotten about that episode...and this pic is another little drop of sunshine for this knitter...sunshine in yellow Red Heart on aluminium needles, as Mork and Mindy await the blessed arrival of Jonathon Winters. Classic TV of my youth!

Thanks for stopping by, and for bringing sunshine into my life, friends. Here's what I wish for you, although I am stealing the words...

-- May the road rise up to meet you.
-- May the wind always be at your back.
-- May the sun shine warm upon your face,
-- and rains fall soft upon your fields.
-- And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Oh, and may you Knit in Good Health always!

Wonderful, Wordless, Wallaby Wednesday...

Thanks for stopping by to see the progress in my newest pink hoodie!

Knit in Good Health!

Sadness and Joy

Stepping out of my comfort zone a bit today, to finally say (write?) a little bit about how profoundly sad I am that Robin Williams is no longer here. I didn't know him. I had never met him, or even seen a show in person, so my relationship with him was completely one-sided. I didn't love every single thing he did or said in his comedy career, but I did admire his ability to create joy. From his debut as Mork (the name I stole for my own son on the blog), right up until his latest sitcom in 2013, and for all the moments in between...I loved Robin Williams. 

I didn't love him like a teenager crushing on Harry of One Direction, or like a middle-aged woman loves David Cassidy, and I don't know if I can really put it into words...but I loved him. I loved that he brought laughter wherever he went, and I loved the times his face would go serious, and a part of him would reach deep into my soul. It was like he was speaking out of the screen and directly into my heart. I know he was acting. I know he wasn't talking to me. I know he wasn't even (necessarily) talking about himself...but it felt so profound. It was just part of a movie, but it was part of me now. It was just an interview, but he had invited me (and millions of other viewers) to be a part of his life. It was just another comedy routine, but I love to laugh, and he made me laugh out loud...in my living room...sometimes even during the lowest parts of my own life. 

And now he is gone. 

No other celebrity death has affected me this way, and I'm not sure why this loss leaves such a void in my heart, but it does. I have not felt much like laughing since I heard the news, but my life goes on, so I will do my best to find the joy in this and every day. I will knit, and I will blog, and I will smile at strangers, like I have always done. I will think of the times that I have wanted just one person to smile, to laugh, to share joy and love with me, and I will try to leave a little bit of love and joy behind wherever I go...just like Robin did. 

Won't you join me? Just smile at one person (or more) every day, whether you know them or not. Be a little wacky with your family, even in public sometimes. Let's help to create a legacy of lingering laughter that Robin Williams himself would be proud of.

Nanu Nanu

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things. (Gal. 5:22-23)

Life on the Fringe

I was recently gifted a bag of yarn. Not just any yarn, but good quality, cotton yarn, from a yarn shop...it's nice stuff, I tell ya! So, what did I do? Well, I knit a scarf/shawl for the yarn giver, of course!

I've always wanted to try one of these self-fringing shawls, and I can tell you now that it was a lot of fun! The yarn (Cascade Quatro Pima, a discontinued DK-weight yarn in a blue-green colorway) knit up quickly on size 13 needles, and before I knew it, I was done! Fast and fabulous, I may have to make one for myself now! Right after I finish these socks...

Wait, when those socks are finished, I'll only have 4  pair...which means I'll still need 3 more pair! So maybe after those socks are finished, I'll cast on another pair of Jingle socks... Or maybe I'll work on a Wallaby... Or maybe I'll start something entirely new...! Who knows, really? When you live on the fringe of knitting, anything can happen (and sometimes it does!). 

Whether you are living on the fringe (like me) or not, thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! Now, pick a project, and Knit in Good Health!

That was fun!

Well, happy Saturday, Blogland! I'd love to say that I've got lots of knitting to share with you on this fine afternoon, but I took a little break from the knitting (and everything else) yesterday so that Sweetie and I could take a trip to Cedar Point! When I was growing up, and even into adulthood, I went to Cedar Point every.single.summer...because, you know I love it.

And yes, he is standing in front of a "big noodle sculpture" at my favorite amusement park...lol! Advertising. It's everywhere. But there is so much more than advertising, which is why I love this park. For me, the trip isn't complete unless you've ridden some pretty big rides by the end of the day, and I did. The highlight was the last coaster we did for the day - Gatekeeper! Oh, man...what a ride! I had thought about skipping it because of the wait, but by a stroke of luck, we were able to get on after only 30 minutes in line!

From the time we approached the park, with that great coaster-scape just inside the front gates, 

until the time we left, I was a happy Pretty! I think the thing that made me smile the most, though, was when Sweetie got roped into a wild west show on Frontier Trail...

We were just walking along, when we heard the cheesy dialogue (with it's signature portable sound system), and the show was clearly in progress. We stood near the back, and heard the villain say to the sheriff (as he scanned the crowd for his first audience participant), "Wait! You can't shoot me until I say goodbye to my...to my...Ma!" Seeing how this show was going to go, I could almost hear the, "Don't pick me. Don't even look this way, Dude...," that my love was inevitably thinking...because that's who he is. But the villain obviously has a nose for that kindof thought process, because he quickly spotted his next victim ("...my PA!,"), weaving and bobbing through the crowd, pulling my far-less-than-enthusiastic Sweetie (who is such a good sport) up to the front...lol!

And even though we saw 3 or 4 more shows involving similar audience participation, this was his only shot at stardom for the day, thankfully for him. As much as I like the song-and-dance on the midway, I think my favorite show of the day was actually the All Wheels Extreme show. I've never seen the bikes, skates, scooters, and gymnastics of extreme sports up so close before, and it was AMAZING! When we went into the show, I was just going because Sweetie wanted to see it...didn't know if I'd like it, but it was incredible! I could barely believe my eyes as they rolled, jumped, twisted and turned through their routines, even including a little Keystone-Cop-style humor along the way! I tried to get some pictures, but everything happened so fast, and I spent so much of the show just being completely blown away, that this is all I managed to get:

It was so cool! The whole day was so fun! We spent the rest of our time walking, and eating, our way through the park, and I did get on several rides...the Magnum, Mean Streak, Corkscrew, Power Tower, Blue Streak, GATEKEEPER!...gosh, I love roller coasters! It's been several years since we've made it to Cedar Point, and I was wondering if I could still handle the big rides. I'm so happy to say that I can, and also that I can now say that I have ridden every ride (that you don't have to pay extra for) in the park! 

On the way to and from the park, there was some knitting. :) Not much, we live pretty close, but I am now officially past the halfway point on the Christmas socks! This is sock one of the fourth pair, and I am well into the second sock of the pair (but I don't have a pic of that toe yet),

And I've cast on another scarf/shawl!

I hope to settle into some serious knitting time the rest of this weekend, and maybe my next blog post will include a newly finished project (pair 5? scarf? wallaby?). Or maybe not. It's so nice outside, and my friends are trying to infuse a new hobby into my life...we are going bead shopping this afternoon...lol!

Thanks for stopping by, and for putting up with all my blather about America's Roller Coast. (BTW, I paid for my tickets, I was not compensated for all of this advertisement...I simply, genuinely love Cedar Point this much, and I would go every day, all summer long, if I could. :) It is what it is.) And now, I'm onto the next thing, and I know that you are too. 

Knit in Good Health, friends, and enjoy the rest of your summer!

OMGosh! I LOVE These Socks!

What does a knitter do after she has finished the third pair of Christmas socks on August 2nd? 

Well, if she's Pretty, she casts on a fourth pair!

And she knits, and she knits, and she knits some more, until she realizes that she LOVES THIS PATTERN! And she LOVES THIS OMG HEEL! (The heel is part of the sock pattern, so you don't have to buy both...but if the lines don't "speak" to you, you can get the heel separately...and it is a GREAT heel!)

Thank you, Megan Williams, for sharing your brilliance with the rest of us! This is far from my last pair of Christmas socks, and it won't be my last pair of Blurred Lines either! In my mind, I see this pattern in sweaters, in hats, in mittens...just everywhere!

So, what does a knitter do when she realizes that she is totally IN LOVE WITH a sock pattern and it's heel? Well, if she's Pretty, she casts on a sweater! Because who doesn't love a Wonderful Wallaby, right? lol!

What patterns are you loving these days? Whatever they are, thanks for taking a break from your latest project to stop by today! Now, get back to it, and Knit in Good Health! :)

601 Posts, and a Trip to the ZOO!

This is blog post 601! I missed 600 entirely, and who knew I had so many words (and pictures)?

That's right...everyone who has ever met me knows that I have lots and lots of words (and pictures)! As a matter of fact, we went to the zoo on Peanut's most recent visit, and we took more pictures than ever! Some weren't even taken by me...apparently Mindy is quite the photographer, too!

Peanut was so happy that she got to feed the giraffes! So were we, it was pretty cool. :) We walked (and rode in Pop Pop's wagon),

and played, 

and saw so many animals!

The elephants were sure big!

And even though the idea of a lion can be a bit frightening, they are fun to look at from your vantage point in Pop Pop's arms!

This visit was full of funtimes,

naptimes, 

funny faces,

and knitting, of course!

There wasn't much time for project knitting, except at my desk...

Shhh! Don't tell my boss, ok? 

Well, thanks for stopping in to read blog post number 601! Mr. Pretty thanks you, too, I am sure! The more words I use up on the blog, the more uninterrupted golf he can watch! lol!

Knit in Good Health, friends!