Purling Sprite

Gryffindor Socks FO and other bits

I can finally be accepted into the Gryffindor house with honors! I finished my first pair of socks on Friday but I didn't kitchener til Sunday evening; I first wanted to take some step-by-step pictures of the process for the next issue of LKC mag.

I love the socks. The fit is perfect. Many of my previous socks have been a little loose and the toe too pointy but these came out just right. I implemented some new techniques--like a wider toe finish.

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Kona Superwashed in DK weight. The yarn was custom-dyed for me by Dani from Sunshine Yarns (she dyed it about a year ago)

Needles: Size 3 dpn (Crystal Palace used in sample)

The pattern is pretty basic for a 48 stitch sock pattern. It has a 2 x 2 ribbing on the cuff and then straight stockinette for the body, a flap heel (not very fond of the short-row heels), and a nice wide toe finish (kitchener with 12 stitches as opposed to my usual 4-love the wider toe finish).

Verdict: I love the socks and I know that my little brother wanted a pair of Gryff-Socks and right now he wears the same size shoe as I do (which will soon change as he is still a growing boy) so I am tempted of sending them to him--but only if he does well with his grades. We shall see--maybe if I feel extra generous ;).

Just wanted to also say a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by and congratulated me on my 20 mile bike ride. I am looking forward to my next ride, I was hoping to find someone to go with me this morning but the "fast riders" already booked their ride and I don't have anyone slow like me to accompany me (or anyone willing to go slow), so I will either go solo or stay home. Going solo is a bit scary as I don't have much experience and am afraid of getting into an accident and not having anyone around to help me out. We shall see--if the urge is too much, I may just get courageous and go out.

Almost forgot: I have added a free loom knitting pattern, it is for a garter stitch scarf. You can find it on the left side bar under Free Loom Knitting Patterns, or you can just click on this link.

Hope all of you have a great Monday!

20 miles---oooh yeah!

This morning was the morning when I left my fears behind and climbed on my cool monster (Anniversary-Mother's day gift from hubby), put my helmet, sunglasses and camelback on and went out with the girls for a 20 mile ride.

Before leaving, I was sure that I would end up as a decoration in front of someone's car but I am back and I have conquered 20 miles of bike riding. I was the very last one of the group but I conquered it. I was so scared when crossing the major three roads but I am here to tell the tale. If you remember, it was only last August when I learned to ride a bike and now, I am on my way to riding more than just around my neighborhood. I feel empowered and so proud of myself (despite my sore bottom). Next bump to overcome: wearing the clips and the special shoes....maybe in a month.

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! I will go now and sit on something with lots of cushion!

Socks, Socks, Socks

Well, not that many socks have been knitted on this blog but I do have plans to knit lots of them, especially now that I have this terrific book, Favorite Socks. I have seen a few of the patterns in the different IK magazines but it is so great to have them all in one place, don't get me wrong, I love my magazines, but it is rare when I take them out of the shelf to look at them again. The folks at IK had a terrific idea when putting all the sock patterns in one place. I love this book!

And to enhance my sock experience, a lovely friend was kind enough to share with me her SweetGeorgia Stash, and now, I have three of these hard-to-come-by skeins. The colors are so lovely, vibrant, fresh, they scream SPRING IS HERE! Close up of the fibery goodness...love them!

And really, I do knit with my sock yarn, it doesn't appear like I do, but I do. Currently in progress, my very own Harry Potter socks. My goal was to show them to you today finished, but I couldn't knit a stitch yesterday at Wonderboy's soccer game. I just didn't want to miss a minute of the action on the field. The one sock is finished and the other is past the heel flap, so a couple hours of knitting and I will have this beautiful pair done.

(I also got the book Fitted Knits--but I don't think my chubby composition will allow me to knit many of the items in here and show them to their best, not unless I lose a few of my spare tires first, talk about an incentive!)

Feeling the Love & a Video on Creating a Pom Pom

Edited: To add a more meaningful title (alright, I was told it is easier to find the videos when there is a subject line with the word "video" on it.)

It happens to all of us, we reach a stage in life where picking up the mail is no fun anymore. Where once there was fun an excitement, soon we realize that all we get in that little box is bills, bills, bills bills, with the occasional box of yarn, but usually, just bills! But not last week for me. Last week, I was sent a wonderful thank you gift for my help in the loom knitting community. Jennifer S., hand embroidered something especially for me:

She knows of my love for little sheep and still remembered my post on them so she went with that theme. Look at the beautiful embroidery: on my left side I have my knitting needles and yarn of course, and on my right side I have my knitting looms, and I am hugging the cutest little sheepy. Thank you Jennifer! I am definitely feeling the love this week!

Even hubby got me something too for my craft room: he cut the word "Knit" out of wood. We picked up some paint painted it pink. I sprayed it with sparklies too but they don't show very much. My craft room is sure looking like a place where I want to go and spend some quality time.

I am thankful for all the love sent my way, first with the Thinking Blogger Award, then with my Sheepy for Ewe from Jennifer, and even hubby for helping me make the craft room "my place."

As a show of gratitude, I would like to share my latest mini-clip: creating a Pom Pom. Hope you enjoy it.

Thinking Blogger Award

Two years ago when I started blogging, the main purpose was to keep track of all my knitting and loom knitting projects. Soon, it evolved into something more personal, I started sharing more about my personal life, my past, and even some of my future plans. At first it didn't occurred to me that I will be meeting people and actually interacting with them, or even traveling just to meet some of them. As I hopped from blog to blog, I realized that I visited some to cheer me up, others to gain knowledge, and others to receive inspiration. It appears that I am not the only one, many of the blogs out there have something that makes our minds go "bling" and others that make our hearts pump a little faster.

I was surprised and overjoyed when I saw that Kim aka ChefMessy had nomitated me as one of those blogs that made her mind go "bling". It is with a humble heart that I receive the nomination of the Thinking Blogger Award and it is with a full heart that I spread the Blog Love with the following nominations. Thank you Kim for nominating me and most importantly for making me feel special!

The participation rules are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.  Click here for the buttons:  Gold Version, Silver Version

Just like every other nominee out there, I had a difficult time too choosing only 5 from my evergrowing bloglines list. Without further delay, my list of nominees are:

1. Now Norma Knits : Norma is one of those special human beings whom you feel at home the moment you meet/chat with her. She has a love for others that comes through with every email; even if she is being a smarty pants. She has a huge heart that gives her a glow of goodness--don't let her fool ya. She inspires me everyday with her charity knitting and her kindness towards others.

2. Knit Together Wonderfuly Made: Lynda's blog is full of light and cheerfulness. She sends you a little note when you least expect it bringing you a bit of sunshine and a smile. Her blog is happy and even when her knitting is not going her way, she sees the silver lining.

3. BrooklynTweed: His work is amazing: knitting and photographs! His knitting is beautiful and I admit, it makes me green with envy. I highly doubt he even knows of me but his entries never go unnoticed on this little corner of the world. I even pull hubby to come and see his creations. Inspirational for sure!

4. Purling Dervish: Stacey--she is a such a sweetheart (despite her making me crazy with all the different themes on her blog). She tries to fool us all with a mean streak but the truth is that she is just awesome. She inspires me to keep on knitting--even when I have burned my little paw, why you ask? Well, this gal just had her paw injury and when she was faced with the possibility of not being able to knit with needles for a few weeks/months, she decided that she wasn't going to let that stop her yarn buying habits crafting, she took a knitting loom and decided to give it a try. Her enthusiasm and her determination in life makes her blog one of the first blogs I check every day. She is an inspiration to me.

5. TechKnitting: I recently discovered this blog and there is only one word to describe it--WOW! She prepares each of her entries carefully and with a lot of detail. Her posts have helped me greatly in getting a better understanding of certain techniques. 

Again, I want to say that making my list was a difficult task, I wanted to mention so many people and others whom have already been nominated. I thank you Kim for giving me the chance to mention those bloggers whom I find special and who touch my life and my heart.

Happy knitting everyone!

Finished Projects to show

My first project is not a knitted item but it is definitely knitty related. Check it out: it is my new yarn storage space. My craft room was becoming a bit overwhelming to the point that I didn't want to step inside, looking for a specific yarn was becoming a hassle, digging through all the different bins made my work a bit difficult.

 

The new set up has all the yarns for my current/in-progress projects and the bin on the right side has the portfolio with the proposed projects for the yarns.  And to keep me inspired, I have put all my beautiful sock yarns in one of the little cubes.

Not a knitted FO for sure, but the new organization will make my job (finding yarns for my projects) a bit easier. Speaking of jobs--this is an FO for one of my latest jobs--this was a sample test knit for Knit Picks and since the catalog has been sent out, I can now show it to you. 

I knitted the Trio of Lace Headbands with the CotLin yarn in the Desert Turquoise color. Hop on over to KnitPicks to get the pattern--it is free! I am kind of happy about this sample test knit as I suggested a few changes to the pattern and they were taken into consideration and I think they make the pattern a bit easier to understand--perfect pattern for a first time lace project. And have you seen their new website set-up--I like the new Knitting Room, nice addition!

Oh btw: the dressform's name is Lolita. Lolita is modeling a mini-version of Icarus--the original mini-version knitted by Mim herself :), one of my prized possessions.

Contest Winners

We've got some contest winners to announce. Let's see, the numbers were put in to the Random number generator (a very handy dandy little tool).

1st Contest: This one is easy: anyone who dropped a comment was put into the pool.

Prize:  1 skein of Plain and Fancy  by Sheep & Wool Co. in a blue shade. 400 yards (4.5 oz)

So who is the winner of this purty skein that I got at Estes Park last year....the winner is: Mandy:

2nd Contest: This one was a bit more difficult and if you remember, you had to come up with a mnemonic for the Kitchener Toe. Many of you had wonderful ideas but the one that I actually did was Jeannie's (she doesn't have a blog but she frequents my blog). She said: "I use an index card when I kitchener" and of course, I realized that this was the easiest fix to my problem. So an Index card will go into my accessories box--I will tape a little plastic to the inside of the box and insert the index card in there.

Jeannie wins: 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden #39.

Mandy and Jeannie, I have dropped you a note asking you for your addys. Thank you all for participating!

Happy Anniversary!

It has been fun! It has been real! It has been real fun :)! Six great years and counting...looking forward to an eternity together.  Malhakita :).

Proud Mama Moment--Go B go!

We had our first soccer game and it went splendid! Despite the fact that our team lost, we still had the bestest time watching the kiddos and seeing them swarm around the ball. My Wonderboy even managed to score a goal! But what made this Momma proud was the teamwork of this little group of bees. They all gave their best and they tried so hard to get the ball.

Of course the funny moment that all parents have to face was seen--you know it, the moment where all the kids swarm around the ball and they score--except they score on the wrong side of the field. But, even that didn't stop all the fun we were all having--parents and children were all excitedly screaming encouragement to all the little ones. For many, this is their first time playing as part of a team so for most of the parents this is a big deal. For us--one of the best family moments ever! Check my boyo in action!

This is the very moment when I wish I had my dream camera...my camera stinks when it comes time to shoot many frames in a few seconds. Kimmy send me your camera for a couple of months...or better yet, hop on that private plane and come take some professional pics for me :).

On the knitting front--let's not go there. Let's just say that my Rusted Root is not even half-way there and my other two projects: one is done and the other had to get frogged. I have until the end of this month to complete them.

Just call me Milli...

Yep, that is my new name as assigned by a random Harry Potter name generator. Now, I know it is nothing fancy like my indecent "Isela" name but it works, it is a very decent name (not like Isela, hehehe, if you have ever googled my name you will know why it is not a decent name-now, don't you all rush at the same time to google it).

But why in the name change? Well you see, I am officially accepted into the Hogwarts School of Wizardry Hogwarts Sock Swap. Not only did I get a new name but I also got sorted by the infamous hat! And guess what house I got in? No, not Slytherin, I do have a little bit of a good streak in me--I got into Gryffindor. Gryffindor in da house!!!

Gryffindor's I wanna hear some noise...so if you are out there, drop me a note, I want to hear ya shout! Rah-rah Gryffindor!

Now for some logistics for my sweet sock swap pal. I have small feet so you will have an easy time knitting them. Don't forget to say a small spell while knitting them so they last me forever.

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Gryffindor

2. Shoe size?

6.5 US sizing

3. Foot length?

9 inches

4. Foot circumference?

8.25 inches

5. List your three favorite double-pointed needle brands, including size and length.

• Crystal Palace. Sizes 0-3. Length 5-6 inches.
• Plymouth. Sizes 0-3. Length 6 inches.
• Susan Bates-the old style--white. Length any. I only have one set and I love them.

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so which brand? Size? Length?

Considering that it is a wish, here it goes, my wildest needle wish: I would love to try the Lantern moon dpns, preferably in the small size 0-3. Length: the shortest the better.

7. If you are Ravenclaw do you prefer the colors from the book or the film?

N/A

8. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts sock pal?

Yep!

One last shout out to my house--Gryffindor!!! Let's get us some house points!