Snowflake Socks - Finished!

All right!   Last Wednesdy, I finished a pair of socks for "someone" that had complained that I had not yet knitted her a pair of socks....and she noted that everyone else in the family has at least one pair.   Hopefully this pair will remedy that situation!  I hope she likes them!

These were made from Cascade Sport Weight Superwash yarn on size 4 needles, so they knit up fairly quickly.  These socks are for lounging around, watching TV....not really for wearing in shoes.   I used the sock pattern that came in the Drops Advent Calendar this year.   Their pattern uses k 2 together through the back loop instead of an SSK on the gusset decreases and toe decreases.   I used their method for the heel....but found I didn't like it as much as the SSK, so I stuck with the SSK for the toe decreases.   It's a great little pattern.

One thing I need to learn, but didn't with this project, is how to do "jog-less" stripes.  Since the sock is knitted in the round, it's essentially a "spiral", so the pattern does not exactly line up where it's joined in the round and so what you see are stripes that don't quite match up.   (I didn't show the misalignment here....I wanted to show the "good sides" of the socks.   I did manage to knit them so that the "unaligned" sections can be worn to the inside.....and if you look at the outsides of the socks....all looks good.

Once I've mastered at least one of the techniques for "jog-less" stripes....I'll be sure to post "before" and "after" photos of my progress. 

Let it Snow!

Our first snow of 2015. The neighborhood looks so pretty and pristine (8 am as the snow was coming down....)

I love how it looks though....especially at sunset.These photos are reflective sunset....the sunset is actually behind me and the colors played out on the clouds and horizon in front of me.   The photo on the left was taken at 5:04 pm on Tuesday evening and the one on the right at 5:12 pm.   I love how the colors changed as the sun moved further down the horizon.

 

 However, because of the cold, it really made things slick!  The snow arrived Tuesday morning...and you can see the conditions of the road on Thursday evening - two and a half days later!   It really made for slow going.  

Where's Aubrey?

Last night, DH and I attended a benefit concert for the "Downstream Project" at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville.   The music was fabulous!    "Where's Aubrey" is a musical duo playing the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar.   We thoroughly enjoyed the music and bought all of their CDs!     You can check out their info here:

Where's Aubrey

They were joined on the stage later in the evening by some of the members of  "The Bitter Liberals".  We bought their latest CD as well.  Both groups made for a very enjoyable evening.  For information about "The Bitter Liberals", check out this link:

The Bitter Liberals

One of the musicians, Gary, is a member of both groups.   They were very entertaining and quite talented.   They were full of anecdotes and stories..as well as fabulous music.  I LOVE local groups and smaller, more intimate concert venues. 

2015 is starting out as a continuation of the fabulous musical talents we enjoyed in 2014!

Happy New Year 2015!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

New Year's Breakfast - Starting the Year Out Right!

 

Resolutions?   Of COURSE I have some resolutions!

Health and Wellness:

1. Exercise at least 10 minutes every day - good for my health
2. Set realistic weekly goals for weight loss
3. Reduce the amount of "empty calories" (Ah....those evil chips.)
4. Reduce the amount of refined sugars (This one will be difficult!)
5. Start my day with yoga stretches every morning.

Home:

1. Spend an hour at least 5 days per week unpacking boxes and purging items no longer wanted/used
2. Establish a basic cleaning schedule
3. Re-organize cabinets and pantry
4. Organize storage 
5. Setup spare bedroom
6. Finish setting up guest room
7. Finish setting up office (get those dang boxes out of there!!!!)
8. Finish setting up dining room
9. Finish setting up living room
10. Finish setting up family room
11. Finish setting up TV room
12. Finish setting up kitchen

Work:

1. Spend 15 minutes per day purging old emails and old folders on laptop
2. Document daily processes and periodic processes 
3. Perform a daily de-cluttering of my desk

Crafting:

1. Warp my small loom and start my kitchen towels
2. Weave more
3. Spin more from stash
4. Knit more from stash
5. Start working on 2015 ornaments in January
6. Plan and start 2015 Christmas gifts