More socks

I went digging through my drawer the other day and every pair of hand knit socks I have, have a hole in them!
WTH!
Ok granted, we are talking about sock that are pushing anywhere from 7 to 10 years old, but still!
I have been putting off chunking them, as I said some are the first socks I ever knit. But alas it is time to say goodbye,to put them to rest.
Rest in peace faithful friends. You deserve it!
So it is with a heavy heart that I begin to knit "The Replacements" (insert piano music)
I started these last night watching the season opener of Hawaii 5O. It was such a good episode that by the time the news came on, the heel had been turned and I was working on the gusset.
The yarn is Vinca, 75% super wash wool and 25% nylon.
I feel bad that the traitorous "replacements" already have my toes twitchy with anticipation.
This yarn is kinda rough to knit with, but when you wash it, it blooms into soft cuddly heaven for your feet.
The pattern is a simple 2x2 rib for 12 rows on the cuff, and my favorite heel, s1k1 across,purl back, k1s1 across.
I like this heel so much more better( yeah I said that) than the regular s1k1 every other row. Looks all fancy and shit.
Keep your eyes peeled, when the "replacements" are finished, I'm giving away a skein of this yarn. Which is enough to make one pair of women's medium sized anklets.

Ms. Jessie's Shawl

It's finally blocking.
I had to clean up the grand brats room and vacuum the floor so I could lay it out in there and shut the door.
Jule found it the other day and decided it was the most comfy thing ever to lay on. Hence the shutting of the door.
As you can see by the pictures, at first I had it blocked out " wingspan" style, but that just looked way too big for Lil ole Ms. Jessie, so then I pulled it all back in a little bit.
You can do some absolutely amazing things with blocking. As much as I hate waiting, it always makes it worth it.
After it dries it's off to Aunt Julie's house. She is the best gift wrapper ever!

Back to the shawl

I love KnitPicks, I really do. But waiting for my yarn to get here, I finished a lot of my sweater.

It did finally arrive yesterday. Which actually was perfect timing, as I had gotten down to the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater. Perfect stopping point, not so confusing when I pick it back up ;0)

Fortunately I had the foresight to grab two extra skeins, just in case.
This shawl really does eat up the yarn.
But I love it! It is warm and soft. And has just enough detail to make it interesting, while still being great tv knitting.

The Purl Bee: Awesome patterns

Have you been to the Purl Bee website lately?
She has the most awesome patterns on her website like the: Big Herringbone Cowl  for one.
I LOVE this cowl. It looks so toasty warm and trendy. The pattern is something I haven't tried yet, so I think this is going to be one of the next projects on the needles.

I have been searching around the web the last few days looking for gifts for the girls and the kids to make for this Christmas.
I have it almost narrowed down to a couple of ideas, but I can't share what they are.

Though I am thinking maybe some of these Braided Cowls for the kids. It would be much easier for a kid to wear this instead of a scarf.

And these Felted Oven Mitts I think my Mom would love them!

Wow! You could literally be on this page all day long!
Check it out!

Waiting for more yarn, Park Avenue Cardifan

The last of the yarn is ordered for Ms. Jessie's shawl.
Well, what is a knitter to do while waiting?
Knit something else of course!
I found some really, really vintage yarn in a bag of an unfinished diagonal shell crochet afghan, and enough yarn to finish the project.
The rust color of this yarn is perfect for what I want. So to the frog pond the afghan goes. Reclaimed yarn!
This yarn is soooo soft!
The label says Kmart and the price tag says 78 cents. Gotta be vintage! You can't buy a sample yarn for that!

And the winner is....

Dawn!
Congratulations!!
If you're on FB you can private message me your address and I will get your book right out to you.
Or email me at leah @ knittinfun . com without the spaces.
Everyone else, never fear, I have lots more that will be given away.
Thank you everyone for checking out the blog.

Labor Day Giveaway

It's that time again!
I have this great book with 50 great projects for babies and toddlers.
Family Circle's Easy Baby Knits

This is a great book I bought when I was becoming a MiMi every other year. I have gotten to using only a few simple go to patterns now as gifts, so now this book needs a new home.

The rules are the same. Comment below and BFF will draw a number to chose the winner. (sorry BFF I know this disqualifies you, but I got plenty of patterns if you need one;0)

Drawing will be Tuesday.
Because who wants to labor on Labor Day? Well besides a hugely pregnant woman who is two weeks late.... But that's another story

More Knitting Apps for the iPad

Knitting Bag App

This handy little app helps you track a project.

You list your project and you can count rows, pattern rows and pattern count. It has a handy little section for notes also.

It's a very simple little app, but I can see it is going to be very handy!