Tarty Gryffindor

I finished my first knee-high Gryffindor last night, I think after I knit it's mate, this will be the last time I knit knee-highs, unless they are for a small child. It became very boring and far to heavy for my liking. Not to mention the fact that it took forever to reach my favorite part of any sock, the heel.

Eye of Partridge, my favorite heel to knit.

The socks are knitted in Lorna's Laces Flame. The flash on my camera always makes gold look orange and crimson look pink. Imagine glowing embers in a hearth and that's the colours you have here.

The pretty slip stitch toe.

The entire sock.

(and Scotia)

They start immediately under my knee, and the width is actually fine around my expansive calf. As everyone in the UK, who ever wore a school uniform, knows I will need the prerequisite elastic band to hold these puppies up. The mate is already cast on (as I cast on both socks at the same time) but will wait to knit it up as I need a break and I want to finish my Sockapolooza second sock first (just finishing off the foot and toe).

I weighed in a WW this morning and hit my 10% (I have lost 18 lbs so far). To celebebrate the sock and the weight loss I put together a very "sweet" desert. I baked a ricotta cheese custard tart with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries on top. The custard tart is a WW recipe, I mixed the fruit with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water to create the sticky blue topping.

Exchange, Hats, Tart and Pup

Finished my Rowan Exchange gift.

Beaded scarf and felted hat in Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre in Bright. Socks in Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome (which has just come on the market). The clay moose pin on the hat is wearing a little Santa hat, as my theme was winter. I love the glorious berry colours, I hope they please my rowanette as much as they please me. The beads do not go all through the scarf but on the border of each end, I thought it might be uncomfortable to have so many beads around your neck, to to mention the weight of the finished scarf. The socks are ss with an eye of partridge heel and slip stitch toe. I love this yarn, wonderful to knit with, the colours are lucious and the fit the bill for winter socks, not to light but not to weighty either. Now the fun begins, I get to put in a few knitting goodies and treats for my exchange partner. It will be in the post next week, on it's way to....................shhh it's a secret.

CHARMED KNITS

Two Griffindor hats for the Charmed Knits KAL.

Will have these in the mail by the weekend. It's not to late if you want to join and knit a few hats for a very worthy charity.

BERRY TART

Bill stopped at a farmers market stall on his way home from Buffalo and picked up the delicate and tiny strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I whipped up a crust, layered it with sweetened low fat cream cheese, made a strawberry jelly, mixed in the fruit and let the whole thing set up. I loved the colours so much I had to take a picture.

THE PUP

Cooling herself on the leather couch, it hit 90 today (it was 81 by 7:30 am).

No mad dogs or English men in this house.

Harry Potter Sock Club

With the intensity rising and the movie and book dates fast approaching, the Harry Potter fever is in full frenzy.

There are many Harry Potter KAL's and knitting clubs, from socks, to hats, to scarves and sweaters the Hogwarts House Colours are in full display.

If you are feeling a little left out of the Harry Potter world Dani at Sunshine Yarns has finally given in and sign ups have begun for her Harry Potter Sock Club. All the details can be found here. I love Dani's yarns, the feel and colour will not disappoint and you and others will love the socks you create.

I have signed up and am looking forward to the first installment in July (I'm a Griffindor). I wanted to help spread the world to fellow knitters who might be interested in joining the Potter (or is that potty) World of knitting.

ps - just ordered our VIP tickets for the 11th at 12:45 pm - I have to see it the first day.

Two Sock Clubs In One Day

Postman Pat drove up in his little truck and delivered not one but two sock clubs today.

Socks That Rock

Lightweight Merino in Firebird colourway. The pattern for the sock is Solstice Slip by JC Briar, a zig zag rib with slip stitch detail. The yarn is a summer dream of purple, maroon, orange, lavender, palest lemon, cream and deep red.

Zen String Sock Club - June 2007

Lotus Toes fingerling, 100% super wash Blue Face Leicester, in Lily colourway. The pattern for the sock is Perambulate by Patti Consalves. The yarn has a lovely twist and the colours are a summer confection of lemonade, cream, lavender, coral, and lilac and yellow.

Lorna's Laces - Loopy Ewe

Shepherd Sock in Flames. The picture does not do them justice, as it makes them look orange and red, in fact they are gold, red, deep pink, and maroon. This yarn will become my Gryffindor house socks. I am going to a midnight Harry Potter party on July 20th, the theme is the Yule Ball. I really don't feel like attending "prom night", and have decided to go as Professor McGonigal, black witch's hat, black dress, black shoes and Gryffindor stockings. I wanted a pattern not a stripe and if they turn out fraternal so much the better. The best part was that all three skeins cost less than $11.00 as I had a $25.00 gift certifacate for the Loopy Ewe, love that Sheri and her Loopy Perks.

"Loopy" at the US Open

The wonderful Sheri at The Loopy Ewe is running a great summer contest. Taking your little "Loopy" postcard on vacation with you this summer. Let him see the world, go to a wedding, fly the skys, take in a ball game, head for foreign soils..........what ever it takes to show Loopy a good time.

Yesterday Loopy (knowing loads about grazing on lovely grass) went to the US Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. And boy did he have a wonderful day.

Loopy sat and thought about the course,

what to do, who to see, and where to wander.

He decided that the fourth tee might be a great place to start.

It didn't take long for the golfers to show up.

Loopy, knowing the rules of golf, was respectfully quiet
when Sergio Garcia took to the tee on #7.

Bill, Loopy and I sitting on the hill at #7

watching Luke Donald tee off.

After wandering around the course,

the 18th grandstand looked like a great place to take a much needed break.

Loopy could not have been more thrilled when

Colin Montgomery strode up to the tee,

he is one of Loopy's favorite golfers.

To cap the day off,

Loopy was invited to have his picture taken with

the US Open Trophy.

Loopy will be watching eagerly on Sunday

to see which golfer holds the trophy high.

Sock Knitting at the US Open

My WH got tickets for us to see the last practice round at Oakmont for the US Open. We left home this morning at about 6:45, parked at Hartwood Acres, borded a school bus, entered the PA Turnpike from a private road and arrived a little before 8:00. I will explain about the "Loopy Contest" tomorrow and show you pictures of the golfers we saw, and provide more detail on the wonderful day we had. While waiting for people to tee off on #3 I pulled out my sock and started to knit, Bill couldn't resist taking this picture. The yarn is the new Sockittome in Black Cherry, I am loving the way this yarn knits - simple ss sock, with an eye of partridge hell and a slip stitch toe.

A New Sock Yarn

A brand new sock yarn from Cherry Tree Hill in Barton, Vermont. This is Sockittome, an 80% superwash merion blended with 20% nylon, 480 yds (can't complain about that), knitted on US needles #1-3, it will be available by the end of June or July and comes in 15 different colourways.

Sheri at the Loopy Ewe, was offered the first 100 skein run to sell on her site, it went up on Thursday morning and I think it was sold out before noon, at the amazing price of $18.00 per skein. The colourway above is Wild Cherry.

Sugar Maple however is my favorite, a mix of orange, deep raspberry, brown, deep red and yellow.

This is definately a winter sock yarn, I know exactly who will be getting these socks for Christmas.

Sunshine Yarn

I am a huge fan of Sunshine Yarn, created by Dani Frisbie. I joined her sock club last winter and for the last few months have been delighted to receive her amazing colourways in the mail.

Last week Dani had an update of her Harry Potter themed yarns, I unfortunately missed out on the self striping house colours but did pick up these three, Dark Forest, Lost in the Woods, and Phoenix.

Dani also ran a contest at the same time and I was lucky enought to win a skein of yarn, Dragonfly Second, a colourway I did not own. (Who doesn't love free sock yarn!!!)

The day after my Esty shipment arrived I received my sock club yarn in the mail, 450yds of Superwash Merino in Colorful, a muted summery concoction of berries and greens.

Tuesday Socks

These STR's are part of my dad's Father Day present. I'm sorry I can't give you the colour way as I lost the ball band, it might be GRocks.

These are Seacoast Hanpainted Panda in Surf. They are fraternal twins not identical, I frogged and frogged, eventually I gave up and decided that fraternal's can accommodate the foot as adequately as identical. They are for a dear friend of my sister, unfortunately she is going through an illness at the moment, I hope the seaside colours bring her cheer.

I have been knitting both these pairs of socks on and off for about a month, but only knit each twin last week. They will be speeding their way to Canada by the end of the week.

The socks were snapped hanging from our Harry Lauder Walking Stick, regrettably he is under the weather at the moment. I fear that we will have to replace him and I searching online nursery sites as he is not the most available tree to find.

Exchange Update

I am in full swing for the Rowan Exchange. The first sock is knitted, the pattern is Uptown Book Socks by Jennifer Appleby from Interweave's Favorite Socks, an easy cable that's easy to knit.



I started the Louisa Harding beaded scarf, the Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid is a joy to knit with, the beaded goes on through the pattern, I am debating as to whether or not to stop the beading after several pattern repeats.

I am not sure how comfortable it would be to have beads wrapped around one's neck. I may just do them on each end, as a border repeat than ss the middle section.

It's turning out rather pretty, I wish the colour showed up the lucious berry wine it really was, and not strawberry, which it isn't.