Knitting with a Side of Eggnog

The temperatures are falling and the knitting is heating up!

Mike's sweater is shaping up well for Christmas and the more it looks like a real sweater the more excited I get!

One part of the first sleeve is coming along! It is strange to me to be doing a bottom-up sweater when I am so used to top-down but it is fun to see it coming together. 

Now that it is freezing and windy outside working on the blanket is even more fun. I am 2 rows away from finishing the first pattern repeat. I need to repeat 1-28 rows of the lace and cable pattern 6 times and I am almost done with the first repeat!

So pretty. Amazing what can come from one designers imagination and turns into something so beautiful! 

Socks. 

Oh my relationship with socks has been a struggle. The sock yarn I got on vacation is still sitting on the needles with only a cast on and that is it. I have been told that some people do not like using mini mochi for socks and I keep thinking that maybe I should make something else out of it. Plus socks just take so so long and the pattern I found was just so boring. I have not decided exactly what the mini mochi is to be but it is not to be socks... unless I change my mind again. 

What will be socks is the alpaca sox yarn that I have been lusting over. It is all of my favorite colors, in one skein!

Green, grey, blue and purple oh my! This yarn has been calling to me to make it socks. The last pair of socks I made out of this yarn in a different color way turned out great with a warm and wonderful finished product. In preparation for Spain I am scheming different projects I can bring with me. This pair of socks will certainly be on the list. Which sadly means I have to save it until I go, but I can wait. This yarn and color way screams for a leaf pattern. I was inspired to do leaves because a woman at our knitting group was making a baby blanket with a leaf pattern and it was beautiful, so I was inspired for leaf socks. 

tiennie's Embossed Leaves Socks

Leaves oh so pretty leaves! Lacy and interesting and will be perfect with this yarn. And I will do it using the two at a time method. Nice plane project for the trip to Spain that will be coming before I know it this January!

Cold is here along with knitting, cuddling and eggnog. Who doesn't love the holidays?

8 days until I leave for California for Thanksgiving. Can't wait!

I'll Be Home for Christmas (Well First for Thanksgiving)

Ah the weather is turning cold and there was even a little bit of snow on the mountain last week!

All is going well here. My classes are in a bit of a slump because I just had a big round of midterms so that has given me a little more time for knitting. More on that later. I promised pictures from Halloween so here we go! 

Last year Mike and I dressed up as a cowboy and cowgirl. 

This year for our couple costume we chose Bonnie and Clyde!

My roommates and I

What a fun Halloween! I had a great time with Mike and my friends and it was fun to be outlaws for a night! So much fun. 

Back to knitting because who am I kidding? My whole blog is about knitting no matter what I tell myself. 

Mike's sweater is coming along very well! I am 1 inch away from finishing the body of the sweater! Here are a few progress pictures. Now imagine that bit of sweater reaching to under his armpit! 

Next up is to do the yoke and then the sleeves. Then it will be done and wrapped up under the tree hopefully right in time for Christmas! 

In my last post I mentioned the blanket that I was considering making. Well I pulled the trigger! I went to Michaels and got 11 skeins of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in the color Fisherman which is a nice cream color. I got the skeins for $4.99 each on sale and I joined Michael's email list and got a 20% off including sale items! So I got all of my yarn for about 50 dollars! Yay sales! So I bought the yarn from Michaels and my size 15 40" needles from Purl in the Pines! I am about 18 rows into the pattern and I have already gone through one skein!

I love this blanket. It is going to be very warm and pretty. Reading off of a chart is confusing but I am starting to get the hang of it.

Things have not been too terrible exciting. I am excited to be going home for thanksgiving in 2 weeks  and then we will only have about a week and a half until I move back to California for winter break and then off to Spain!

Christmas music is already being played loudly in our (Mike's and mine) apartments and embarrassing dancing around the kitchen while we cook dinner, singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs is becoming normal. We are ready for the holiday's.

Until next post,
Laura