One off , one on

Off the needles with toes grafted , ends sewn in , are Mike's Skyp socks . Finally ! The yarn is Austermann Step , lost the ball band so I couldn't tell you the colourway . Mike is a very happy camper to have another pair of hand knit socks . More coming , just not right away . I need a break from knitting socks for man size feet , albeit they're not overly large feet .

Last week was the week from hell as far as knitting goes . I cast on for these socks by Phyll Lagerman . These are intended to go into the Christmas knitting box . I was looking for a fun and funky sock design and these certainly fit the bill . I even had yarn in the stash . I'd chosen some Marks & Kattens Fame Trend that had been in the stash for at least a couple of years . What a disaster ! This yarn has beautiful colours but the yarn itself is so badly spun with so many thick(almost unspun ) and thin (barely there ) bits . The colour repeats were too long for the pattern . I 'd knit to the heel , hoping that perserverance would somehow win the day . Not to be ! Called it a day and ripped them out . Cast on with another yarn from the stash this was much better BUT got all the way past the gusset decreases on the foot and didn't like the fit . It was too loose , I should have gone down a needle size , so ripped that too . Gave up on that pattern for another day .

This is what I have on the needles now . A simple pattern , a nice yarn and mama's happy !

Snow boarder hat , toddler version

With the cooler and rainy weather last week I decided to cast on an ear flap hat for Jessey . I had enough yarn left from my Maine Blue scarf to knit the hat but not quite enough for a matching scarf . Off to the wool shop I went searching for some more Berroco Vintage . The blue that they had in stock was a different dye lot so I settled on a red , thinking I'd knit a striping scarf , then use the rest of it for another hat and possibly some mittens to match . This is the first half of the plan accomplished .

Here 's the little monkey modelling them for Omi . It actually fits ! This was my first attempt at an ear flap hat and I'm thrilled that it came out so perfectly . Gotta hand it to the crowd at Cabin Fever , their patterns are so well written . The book that I used is this one . Each design has two sets of instructions , one for a specific weight of yarn and another set you can use with the provided gauge and size charts that are adaptable to whatever weight of yarn you have on hand . Plus a chart for how much yarn you'll need . Makes it all easy peasy .

So now it's back to Mike's socks . After all it is Socktober ....

A rainy Friday

Makes a perfect day to hunker down , knit on a WIP and cook up something warm and delicious to eat . We're being deluged with rain today and I mean deluged . Mike had to go out and let some of the water out of the pool because it looked like it might overflow . Not good if it all runs toward the house and the foundation . The sump pumps were working full time overnight at Casey and Max's houses .They were worried that the power might go out so that the pumps wouldn't work . Luckily that didn't happen . We're not that deep so a pump isn't a necessity .

For some reason bad weather always puts me in the mood to cook or bake . I got up this morning , looked outside and decided to try a new recipe for breakfast . This is kind of a cross between a pancake and a souffle . I modified it slightly by adding some vanilla and sliced apples to the bottom of the pan . It was absolutely delicious ! Big hit with Mike and definitely one to make again .

Knitting wise I've been a busy bee . I finished another baby blanket , started an ear flap hat for Jessey and am busy with Mike's socks . Actually the hat is done except for the sewing in of the ends . The pattern is called the 8 Hour Baby Blanket from booklet put out by Plymouth Yarns . I found this booklet on our recent trip to Maine . I was so lucky as this was their last copy and the lady had to look awhile to find it . Guess it was meant to be ! It's a very quick knit , I used 8.00mm circulars . The yarn is Patons Decor which is an acrylic /wool blend , making it easy care . There are a bunch of other really nice blankets in this booklet so I'm set for when I need a quick knit for another baby gift .

That's the wrap up for this week . I'm off to start some soup .....

Have a good weekend !