I couldn't resist!

First things first...I bought more yarn. Sigh. I started the Lady Eleanor Stole from Scarf Style with some stash yarn, and it looks cute, I think:

but when I went to look for more online (I bought this at Stitches Midwest two years ago), it's not being made anymore :(

I figure I can eke out a scarf with it, but I still REALLY want to make a Lady Eleanor, so I perused Ravelry to see what others had knit her out of, and found some Karaoke yarn on sale at Jimmy Beans Wool (40% off in colorway Bloom). I was going to get some Patons SWS Wool, but Ravelers said really bad things about this yarn, and Noro is too expensive for me right now...

I finished the fair isle socks. Notice I didn't say MY fair isle socks...they're too small for me, but a fun knit, and I have plenty of yarn left over for another pair so I just need to find these a good home!



I visited my Grandma this past Sunday, and gifted her my Creatures of the Reef shawl. She cried.

I had to search high and low, but bought a copy of this book on Sunday. It has the CUTEST cupcake designs in it, and most of them are pretty easy to boot.

And since I got the book, I also got a kick-a$$ cupcake tote (from Amazon.com).

And a new printer.

I think I need to cut up my credit cards!

P.S. My midterm grade in Nutrition? An A! Plus I finished my math class yesterday, and I got a B!

Knitting? What knitting?

School has been really busy this week, as I started my Math class on Monday. It's a lab class, which involves *no* lectures and is go-at-your-own-pace. I am already 2 weeks ahead of schedule! I fried my brain on Tuesday by taking 2 math tests, then having to take a *really hard* metabolism test in Nutrition. That night ended up with me at Fiesta Cancun for some yummy mexican food and, of course, a MARGARITA! I am in there a LOT, so most of the waiters know me, and they kept coming over and joking with me about getting a margarita (since I quit drinking alcohol for a while). I'm all, "I'm in school! At 33! And it's hard! Bring me my alcohol!" But hey, I'm getting an A in Math so far, and a B in Nutrition (that really hard test? Got a B. Go me!).

I am knitting a bit on a sock. I want to start a sweater, but I think a sock's all I can handle for now. It's a fair isle sock pattern and yarn I found in the Patternworks catalog. Let's see if I can find a link.... even better (they're the socks in the higher picture):

Phoebe and Mercedes Socks

My friend C had two Devon Rex cats, Phoebe and Mercedes. Last year she had to put Mercedes to sleep because she had many many health problems that hit her all at once--a result of severe in-breeding. Before C even got her, Mercedes had to have one of her eyes removed because of an infection. C loved that cat and was absolutely crushed when she had to put her to sleep. When I saw the pattern for the Cat's Face Lace Socks from JenLa's website, I knew I had to make them, and how cute they would be with one minor modification....

Here are the socks with a photo of the cats (I made the "cat couch" in the photo!):


One sock is the exact pattern for Phoebe:


And the other sock has one-eyed cats for Mercedes:


A lady at Stitch-In dyed the yarn for me (thanks Heather!), which is KnitPicks superwash wool. I gifted them to my friend C today, which by an incredible coincidence, is what would've been Mercedes' birthday!

P.S. Phoebe is still alive and well, and has a little sister, Pandora.

Another sock

I love this yarn....I only wish it wasn't hand wash. It's Melody yarn (I found it in the Patternworks catalog) in colorway Duet:


The pattern is the "Baby Cable Rib" from this book (in the 4 stitch ribbing patterns section).

And here is the start of the Susie Hoodie. I'm using Cascade 220 in a yellow-green heather, which is VERY hard to photograph correctly:

A closeup of part of the cable:

Another FO!

Some cool stripey socks in Regia Landscape yarn, color Caribbean.

It's nice to make a project that only takes a few days. Most of the things I knit go on and on and on and on and on.....

Last weekend Sir B and I went to Rockford for dinner, and ended up at the bookstore where these two gems followed me home:

The patterns in More Big Girl Knits are so much better than the first book! You can kind of see all the little flags sticking out of the top of the sweaters I want to knit.
But this one went straight to number one on the list. I should be getting the yarn on Friday. WEBS is having a sale on Cascade 220, so I got that in a pretty green:

Mmmmm, cabley goodness!
The sock book is fantastic, I like how each chapter is different patterning size (four-stitch patterns, five-stitch patterns, so on). You get the basic sock recipe for that size (some are toe up, some cuff down) then a bunch of different patterns you can choose from.


The queen was laying in the sun, and wanted her portrait taken: