Betsy 'n Pieces

Where does the time go...

2008-08-02T08:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I had great plans of posting a lot more back in April and now it's August already. Where did those months go? Let's see if I can answer that... In April I started a new job, I found out I was pregnant and life just kind of got away from me after that. I love my new job - I have great coworkers and it's very challenging. As for being pregnant - that is going very well and I've been blessed to have felt good throughout my almost first half of the pregnancy.

Now that it's August and I'm more comfortable with my job and the pregnancy I have started working on my knitting again. I am still working on socks (well, not exactly working but at least I have 2 pairs that go everywhere with me in my purse) and my Victory Junction Gang Camp afghan that I started at the beginning of the NASCAR season. My new project which I'll be concentrating on during the Olympics is the Mommy Snug designed by Kate Gilbert which was in the Summer 2006 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. I joined the Ravelry group Ravelympics for this project - the plan and the goal is to start and finish a project from the beginning of the starting ceremony on August 8, 2008 to the end of the closing ceremony. It should be a wild 2 1/2 weeks of knitting!!

Spring is in the air

2008-04-02T21:45:00.008-05:00

Hi everyone! Well, somehow I missed posting to my blog for more than a month! So much happens and then again it doesn't... March was a somewhat busy month on the knitting side of things. So, here's what's been happening :-)

Here are the socks I was working on in the last post. I finished them a couple of weekends ago.

Pattern: Toe up slip-stitch heel by Wendy Knits
Yarn: A Swell Yarn Shop Skinny Duet Sock Yarn
Needle: Size 0 Addi Turbo
Started: February 3, 2008
Finished: March 22, 2008

I loved this yarn - the thinnest yarn and smallest needles I've used for socks so far. I had fun using the contrasting color for the toe, heel & ribbing. Can't wait to wear these - I think they'll be perfect for wearing with jeans!

These are the quickest socks I've ever knit. It is the pattern from Sock Knitters Pentathlon group in Yahoo. We get a pattern every 2 months and are in a competition to see how quickly we can knit them. The pattern was released on March 1 but I did not get the pattern until March 20.

I loved this pattern and would knit them again. And the yarn is wonderful too!! Can't wait to get some more of it someday.

Pattern: Jacobean Socks by Julie Persinger
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy
Colorway: Lipstick Lava
Started: March 21, 2008
Finished: April 2, 2008

Here's the Victory Junction Gang camp afghan that I started at the beginning of the Daytona 500. It's a fun knit and it keeps me busy when I'm at home.

These are the first 4 squares that I knit. I used all 4 colors in the 4 different spots so that they would get used up at the same rate. It's not going to work out evenly because some of the colors have been used for the second set of squares.

These are the second set of 4 squares. I'm trying to use the colors you see on NASCAR sprint cup cars. So far so good.

I've even started on one of the last four squares. Those squares will hopefully look like the checkered flag that they wave at the end of the race. Looking good isn't it?

Well, that's about it for today. I hope to post more often from now on. The plan is to do it once a week so we'll see what happens!!

Daytona 500!!!

2008-02-17T20:44:00.005-06:00

Well today was the Daytona 500!!!! I'm so excited that the NASCAR season has started again!!!!

And this year, I have a project to work on just during races (and practices) until the fall :-) One of the groups I'm a member of in Ravelry is having a Knit (or Crochet) a-long to make afghans for the Victory Junction Gang Camp for the campers. So I started my first square as the green flag to start the race. You can see how far I got above :-)

I've also been working on a pair of socks while commuting. I started this pair of socks on February 3. I really like them because of the contrasting color for the heel & toes. I decided to start the second sock to make sure that I had enough of the contrasting color for the ribbing too.

I realized that the last time I posted anything was in January. I finished the baby surprise jacket for my nephew. I forgot to take a picture before I sent it so I'll have to have my SIL take a picture.

I also completed the other duets socks. I'll post a picture of it next time.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Daytona 500! I had fun watching it!!

Saturday...

2008-01-26T13:15:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Saturday and the weather is wonderful. I was getting tired of the below zero with wind-chill business around here. It was 20 degrees F at 6 am this morning - that's warmer than it was all of yesterday!! And it's supposed to be warmer yet tomorrow.

I've been reading my friend's blog about her hunt for the medallion for St. Paul's Winter Carnival. I wish I grew up here and could help her with the clues for the hunt. I just don't know the area or the history of St. Paul enough. I'm also amazed by her creativity as always whenever I read something she writes.

On the knitting front unfortunately I'm stalled. I am still working on the duet socks but I have not knit more than maybe 10 minutes at a time for about a week. There are so many other distractions at this point that it just isn't on the top of my list. But I am planning on getting some knitting (or actually finishing) done this weekend. Today is the day I want to finish my nephew's EZ baby surprise sweater so that I can get it in the mail next week - I should have had it done months ago.

I also signed up to knit or crochet afghan squares for the Victory Junction Gang through the NASCAR group in Ravelry. There's a competition for those that want to join to make as many afghan squares as you can from when the green flag drops for the Daytona 500 through the end of the second Richmond race. I thought it sounded fun and I like to watch the races anyway so it gives me something to work on while watching!!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

Dad...

2008-01-18T11:33:00.000-06:00

I found out on Wednesday that my dad passed away from a heart attack...

Dad - I know we didn't always see eye to eye but I will miss you. I am so glad that we got back in touch a little more in 2007. I so wish that we would have had a chance to see each other again...

Love,
Betsy

A Beautiful Sunday

2008-01-06T20:53:00.001-06:00

Here are my new socks!! I love this yarn and the way it's turning out. I can't wait to get some more Duets Sock Yarn :-) If only I wasn't on a yarn diet until further notice... Oh well, I've got plenty to keep me busy for a while this year.

The weather was wonderful today and I opened the windows for a while!! We were happy to see all of the icicles melting quickly today. We hope they continue to melt tomorrow.

Have a great week everyone!

Duet socks

2008-01-05T19:56:00.000-06:00

Well, I started out the week with a cold. Found out that I had an ear infection and a sinus infection. What a pain that was. Don't know how I made it through work with my head so stuffed up!! I'm feeling more myself thanks to the antibiotics.

Started a new pair of socks on the 1st and didn't like how they were turning out. So I picked up one of my Duet Sock yarns I purchased at The Loopy Ewe and started a plain sock. I wanted to see how this yarn was going to knit up without adding a textured pattern to it. So far I love how it's turning out! I will have to take a picture tomorrow.

It was a wonderful warm day out today. Wish it could have been a little bit warmer so that I could open the windows to get a little bit of fresh air into the house. I did go for a walk around the community center track with a friend. We're planning on doing it on a more regular basis - we both want to get in better shape.

Hope everyone had a great Saturday!

First FO & New Project

2008-01-01T20:08:00.000-06:00

It's the first of the year and I have finished a project. This is a great start to the year and I hope I can keep it up.

Pattern: Yarn Over Cable Socks from the Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn: Shibui Knits Sock yarn in the Seaweed colorway

Purchased at The Loopy Ewe

Size: 9

Started: December 7, 2007

Finished: January 1, 2008

This was a great pattern to memorize so once I had it down it went pretty quickly. I ended up changing the heel to one with a heel flap instead of the short row heel because the ones with the heel flap seem to fit my feet better. I would make these again.

Next up, more socks!!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T17:30:00.000-06:00

Hello World!

I figured I'd finally get a blog of my own. Basically, I'll be blogging about my knitting and maybe a little bit about my life. Figured I'd start on January 1st to start out the year doing something new.

Let's see where this will take me...