YAY, they go back to school

Who are all these kids and why are they calling me mom? Today, the last day of spring break, I actually had 3 hours where there were NO teenagers mulling about ( ok ok so they were dying yarn and fleece and making stitch markers and knitting needles and other stuff ... but still ) and DAMN , it was quiet!!!!!!!
So the countdown begins.. yes, that's right, the surprise is beginning to unwrap!
Any guesses????

The teenager makes use of her spring break

For those that don't know DitzyCadet is selling oodles of hand dyed yarn and rovings. A little background for those of you who haven't heard...she have been invited to participate in seminars and caucuses in Washington DC this summer, a program generally reserved for juniors and seniors, and she being a sophmore makes this honor all that more important.. She is selling yarn and rovings that are HERE to raise money for the tuition and airfare.
The yarns and rovings below are all hand dyed by her. Please EMAIL ME for availablility..She takes paypal, checks and money orders.
Usual Color and monitor caveats apply

Website

Is updated. CLICK HERE

Of heels and gussets

Pic tomorrow.
Was sitting here watching tv, when my messenger was ringing... Roggey was in a heel crisis. Yes , the Titanic sock was sinking and taking her down with it.
But a few soothing words, some smart ass comments, and voila, her heel is turned and she has picked up her gusset and is before our next lesson on Sunday doing the gusset decreases.
To accomodate her love of the look of her clockwise purl, we are every other row doing a clockwise knit which is giving the same look, at least it is on my end.
Well kiddies, I'm back to the OD Alpaca for tonight.....
Forgot to mention After much thought and discussion, I am redoing my website. Again. Ease of navigation will remain, easy to read will make an entry and stay put. A couple new sections too! Will post when its available

And it's onto the heel

Yes, that's right, Roggey is ready to tackle the heel !Before you leave a comment or email me that the stitches are twisted, I know. Roggey does a clockwise purl for more info as to why, CLICK HERE, so for that reason, I have done the demo sock with the clockwise purl
Using the aforementioned clockwise purl, here is the heel flap the turned heel
Next we will be doing the gusset. I like this internet teaching. Gonna have to add it to my website while I am redoing it this week.

Titanic Socks....

Ok, so the name, well you had to be there...
Roggey's first sock lesson went well.
Took me some getting used to using her purling method, but it's all good ( just wish the towel girl hadn't jumped ship )If you teach and your student utilizes a different technique than yours, do theirs when you teach, that way your project will look like theirs and they won't think they are making mistakes when they aren't.
Shared my knowledge about gauge, cast on methods, measuring, not to forget cuffs stretch on the vertical and to allow for that stretch to get the right cuff length.
She decided to do a simple , basic sock for first sock. We are using County Garden DK. Her's in a blue, mine in fire engine red ( pic of my cuff below ) and size 3 needles. The cuff will be 3 inches unstretched in a 2 x 2 ribbing with a matched cable cast on. This cast on, I find gives a really great stretch, yet bounces back to shape really awesome.
This is my variation of the cable cast on , which is actually more of a ribbed cable cast on. If you want the details, just email me, Ill be happy to share. Roggey "sailed" through it without running into an iceberg.
Next we are going to do the heel flap and turn the heel ( relax!!! sounds way more difficult than it is. )
Roggey, I can't thank you enough, I had forgotten how much I love to teach!
And those are some damn cute toes ! Here's the cuff -
)

Pic of Quick Socks

Made these the other day, promised the pic. Here it is

Ok, so here we go again.....

A long long time ago, in a city far far away from rural Iowa, I was knitting with a bunch of really great older ( read 80-97 years old ) women at an Irish Women's Group. Most women were immigrants to the US and at some point in their lives had knitted for a living back on the Isle.
I am telling this story as a friend, Roggey, had ventured into her LYS and was told her purling technique was "wrong" and was shown the "right" way to purl by the person at the LYS, and feels that the stitches now look boring to her.
Ok, so what's the big deal, she is happy with the original "wrong" method's result???
Back to the older women.... I shall never forget this and impart, implore, beg, plead, grovel that all of you take it to heart -
There is no right or wrong in knitting. There is the “commonly accepted” , the “usual” , the “way I was taught”, but there is no right or wrong. If you are getting the result you want, then it is “right”, even if it is not the “commonly accepted” or “usual” method employed be a gazillion people. If it makes you happy with the result, comfortable with the technique, then it is RIGHT for you.
On the sock front, Roggey's first class is tonight, and it should be a lot of fun. I LOVE teaching and fortunately for me, Roggey has a twisted sense of humor, so we shall get along "swimmingly" or at least well and have a lot of laughs...
More on the lesson tomorrow.......

Sock lessons.....

Ok, so Monday I am going to start to teach Roggey how to knit socks.
I love teaching and forgot how much I miss it.
Before you all ask where... On yahoo messenger with a webcam, file transfers, mic...
Lots of fun if you haven't ever done it.
Currently, I am on a sock knitting jag for me. Pics tomorrow or monday.
And the pattern for the Mama, not the Mama tank.... Monday or tuesday, I promise.
See ya all soon!

Website Revamp

I don't know why but I was awake and functional at 3am. Hopefully this will happen again tonight as we leave for the last JROTC drill meet at 0430.
So with that extra 3 hours of no one around to bug me, cause the rest of the house found it the right thing to do and sleep, I redid my website.
All new graphics, all new layout.
Easier to read and navigate now!
Off to do last minute running around for tonight ( ok, I don't know what i was thinking but there are approx 20+ kids spending the night tonight )

Pattern coming soon, I promise

But the hell that is my life this week.. well its the last JROTC Drill Meet this year and DITZYCADET has kept me running with practices and well somehow in a complete and total fit of stupidity, well, dammit, I invited all 24 kids to spend the night Friday since we are leaving at 0430... WHAT WAS I THINKING
New on the needles.... Corset Halter