SJ found a pattern he liked and we found an appropriate yarn to use for the contrast color - so now he has a matching alpaca hat. This was my first color work and my first hat. Tricky, but not too bad. I didn't have the right size circs, so I used 5 dpns. I was able to successfully knit it using both hands though - using both Continental style and American. It took 3 evenings - I wish someone had told me that hats knitted up so fast!

I had some lovely Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca - SJ bought it for me to make him a scarf with. It's wonderful on the hands, and so soft to touch. It's so warm - I would actually get hot with it just sitting on my lap while I was making it! It's about 6'4" - which you can't tell from either of these pictures.

Now I have two socks.  Technically, I have 3, but the first one will be frogged, since it's too big to be a sock and too little to be a stocking.  So I spent 8 or 9 days making two more socks!  I'm very happy, but it's too warm today to wear them.  Maybe tomorrow at work!  I improved greatly on the ladders, there's hardly any at all, and made fewer mistakes on each subsequent sock.  





 

So, as it turns out, the_souljourner  and doolies  both love novelty sized things.  I'd have never guessed they'd both get the giggles at them. :)

Well, the sock is done!  

It took me 6 days of free time, but it's not too bad for my first try.  It's "full of charm" - aka: I made a whole bunch of mistakes.  I followed Silver's Sock Class for the most part for a pattern.  I'm not convinced that it's entirely accurate for socking, but it definitely helps get the basics down.  I changed it a bit and that kind of doomed the sock.  I made it too big.  It fits the_souljourner  pretty well, but it's too big for me.  I won't make another the same size, so I'm going to sacrifice this one to the knitter's 1 sock curse.  I bought more yarn last night to redo the socks in a normal size, since making SJ a 2nd one would be useless as he wouldn't wear them.  Knitting warm things for people who are always hot is kind of tricky!  

I'm excited and inspired and really looking forward to having a pair of these to lounge around in.

48 hours after the last sock picture was taken.  I've done the heel turn, decreased the gusset, and now I'm headed toward the toes. :)

Gobs of <3 <3 <3 to doolies for being an inspiration for my new hobby.  I didn't really need a new hobby, but once I saw the cool stuff on Ravelry.com - and not just hats, mittens, scarfs and big itchy sweaters, I was pretty well hooked.  So to speak.  I have a lot of problems keeping the tensioning right, and I don't actually know what I'm making (dish towel, perhaps?) but I'm having fun, and learning and practicing.

 

We were suddenly surprised by the jalapenos.  They sort of all sprung up at once.  We have tons of onions and are starting to get our own tomatoes, so salsa?



This was cross posted at www.Garden-Finch.com.

This is the total harvest from the Jacob's Cattle Beans we planted.  They're beautiful beans.  We sowed 50, had terrible germination rates, had terrible Mexican Bean Beetles, and ended up with about 500 beans.  We're not sure yet if we'll save some to try again next year, or eat them all.  For now they will rest comfortably in a jar and look pretty. :)





This was cross posted at www.Garden-Finch.com.