In the Spirit of Socks
Since Wendy is working on doing a ton of socks this summer I thought I could eek out at least one pair. At the rate I am going, it will only be one pair. I had visions of new socks dancing in my head while buying 6 different kinds of sock yarn from May until now. Mind you, I didn't have a new teaching job when all of this wreckless spending was going on, but one can never have too much sock yarn.

So here is my part-time effort so far. I bought this yarn at the MSand W this past May when I rode on the Knitting Guild's bus with my serious talking buddy Susan. We had a great time especially since it was her first time at the show. I just loved all their colors. While some were not my taste, they all looked wonderful. I know it's German and can be washed in the washing machine, but other than that...nothing. I don't really care either since it can be thrown into the washing machine.


I have been using my friend Sue's faithful sock pattern from when I took her class at The Knitting Corner. I have used this pattern twice and this will be my third attempt. I love how they are simple for a beginner sock make like myself. It gives me courage and the confidence I need to move on to other patterns. Right now, I really don't have time for anything too complicated, but later....ha!

So here is my first sock using this yarn. It's soft and I love the colors. They are fallish colors and muted like I like. I am now a loud color person. I have bought a really red blouse for my new teaching job, but that's it for my adventure in colors other than, tan, taupe, beige, gold, etc. I am not a huge fan of blue but this isn't true blue so I am okay with it so far. I think these will go well with jeans. I wear a lot of jeans on my days off. Three of the four part-time jobs I have, I have to wear a uniform, so jeans are so welcomed when I get to put them on. I think I was born in them.
Here is a better view. I don't suffer from one sockitis, so there will be two eventually... I forgot to split the ball into two small balls so my strips could match. Oh well, maybe next pair.

I wanted to show that I do use the little carrier, whose name totally escapes me at this very Senior moment. It's really too small to carry a lot in, but then I guess it wasn't designed for that anyway. So it does get used!

I have started another class/knit along at The Knitting Corner, but I will write about that later. I have been bitten by the lace bug again.

Heads Above the Rest
Last year I was a member of the Southeastern Virginia Spinning Guild. While I was a member they did this really neat thing that challenged me. I was a new spinner and not real confident about my spinning, but I did enjoy it.

So the challenge was to bring one pound of roving. Everyone put their roving in a bag and we piled them in the middle of the floor. Each bag had a number and we drew a number. What ever number you had, was the bag you took home. I entered some Top Comb Silk Merino blend that was purchased my very first year attending the wool lover's Mecca, Maryland Sheep & Wool. I had no earthly idea what Top Comb was but it was yellow and I had to have it. I am a fall color person who gets teased about all the dark colors I wear. So I wanted to brighten things up a bit. You know, get out of my color comfort zone. So I bought the yellow.

After a few months everyone brought back their skein of yarn. There was another drawing of the numbers and we had to take home someone else's spun yarn. We were to either knit a hat, scarf or gloves, etc. I knitted my person a scarf. I dropped my membership in the spinning guild and and forgot all about the finished project that was supposed to be mine. I knew the person who finished it but never saw her again. Recently in the last few weeks I gave her a call and asked her if she still had the porject. She said yes but was in the process of moving. She would find it after they moved and send it to me. She did and here is what she crocheted for me. The gals at The Knitting Corner let me use the styro head to model the hat and scarf.

So here is the finished project that Deb made for me. I want to thank her for not giving it away before I could call her and find out what happened to it. I appreciate all the work that went into it and thought it deserved a place on the blog for it's 15 minutes of fame.
Here is the side view. Thanks Deb, you did a fine job.

The Finished Product
I have been working seriously on the gifts for my chef friends for our annual conference and finally finished the last one about three days before I had to leave. I just am thrilled they are all done. As I talked about in a previous post, I love this pattern, but after making 7 of them, I am over it for a while. I know that it will be a pattern I use as a gift stand-by. It takes me about two weeks just sitting in front of the boob tube. Since I am going to try something new about the idiot box, I might not get as much knitting done, but that's another post.

When I finished my gifts I was so proud of my accomplishment, I just had to take another picture of them DONE. I gave away the two dark green scarves and the black one that doesn't show so well at the bottom of the pile.




Now to show you the recipients. They are two of my closets chefs friends and one very hard working employee of the chef association that I belong to.

This is Peg, one of the hardest working persons I know. She keeps things moving and shaking at the office of The United States Personal Chef Association. If you need something done or something isn't what it should be, this woman makes it work. Peg, you are just a peach and when you retire, V will have some big shoes to fill.

Here are the girls with the scarves on. J and L. They make being friends so much fun. When I am not too pleased with a client, they talk me off of the ledge and calm me down. We are great shoppers and finders of fabulous shoes, restaurants and foods. So here's to the chef girlfriend network that has been going strong for the last 10 years I have been in business! J and L, you to are the best of the best. I feel so privilege to be friends with you and you both make me a nicer person.

If I ever doubt that my gifts are cherished all I will have to do is whip out my photos and see those smiling happy faces. They are enjoying the gift I gave them and I am enjoying knowing that they know I can do something besides talk! lol! So get out there and knit something for those who deserve your love and admiration They feel the same way about you too.

Ferns
Ferns come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors. I have several different kinds between my house and the backyard. This beauty sits on my desk. I think I have had it for at least 4 years and it has thrived here in this same spot. I bought it because of the pot . I think it's made by Mikasa I bought it for about $10. Then I was house plant hunting and fell in love with the Rabbit's Foot fern. I just knew because of it's feathery top, it would make the perfect plant for the carrot planter. The fronds of the fern mimic the of the top of a carrot.



Over the course of time, the fuzzy feet have taken over and unless you lift up the fronds, you can't see the wonderful carrot pot. Soon I will have to have it replanted. Then I guess I will start with another baby Rabbit's Foot fern again.

Then I have these two guys in my back yard. I bought four when I got them 18 months ago, but two have not done well. These two are hearty and seem to be doing very well. I have thought about putting them in a huge planter for the deck because I think they get too much sunshine on them. I don't what to lose them.

Last but certainly not least, I have this Fern. This is just as prized as the other two, if not more. This is what I was working on for three weeks at class. It took me a while to get it cultivated but once it took hold it really went wild. It is softer than the other two ferns. The softness is Pure Silk (made by Debbie Bliss). While the color is a bit pale it is still fabulous. The offical name of this fern is Fern Diamond Scarf. The inventor is Sue Von Ohlsen from the Knitting Corner. I have always had a way with plants but never knew that Ferns would be my thing! Here is a close up of the Fern Diamond fronds. Aren't they just lovely?