I Love Wednesdays!

Most people love Fridays, it's the end of the work week and they are looking forward to the weekend ahead. Not me, I love Wednesdays. I have worked in the retail grocery business for over 22 years and everyone knows...retailers work weekends. I work weekends, every weekend, every single weekend. That is why I love Wednesdays, my two days off every week are Wednesday and Thursday, they are my weekend. So hats off to Wednesday, that middle of the week day when most are working hard and starting to think of the weekend, I am off and relaxing. It's not always easy having your weekend be in the middle of the normal work week but I have adjusted my life to accommodate it and it works for me!

Today I will clean my house, bake a chocolate sheet cake, think about American Idol and who I would like to see make it to the next round, and hopefully get some knitting done.

I have found the AWOL sock! He was hiding in the guest room closet with another sock that is also missing it's mate. I really like the other sock. I designed the pattern for a Sock of the Month Club that is no longer active so I may post the pattern here. It's a pretty sock that deserves a mate, especially since I would really like to wear them! I need to contact the SOTM coordinator to make sure that it's okay to post the pattern, after all, it IS my pattern and it is copyrighted to me so I don't see a problem with that. I'll post a picture so you all can see it and decide if it's something you'd like to knit.

We are in for another snowstorm. This time it's supposed to start snowing this afternoon and not stop until Friday night! We could get as much as 16 inches. Great. That's Minnesota for you. Mother Nature must have decided that our winter had been too mild and is fixing the snowfall discrepancy. Bless her frosty heart...

I just took our favorite cake out of the oven. I got this recipe from an "older" man at work who claims it's been in his family for years. I have to admit...it's pretty darn good. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. A few pointers: check for doneness often. It bakes very fast since it is a thin cake. It only takes 16 minutes in my oven. Enjoy!

Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

Place in large mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa


Bring to boil and pour over flour mixture:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup cooking oil

Add to bowl:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda (mix into buttermilk)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Beat until well blended. Spread in greased jelly roll pan and bake for 17-20 minutes at 400 degrees. While cake is baking prepare frosting.

Melt:
1 stick of butter
Add and heat until hot but not boiling:
1/3 cup buttermilk
Pour over:
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Add:
1 tsp vanilla
Beat until smooth.

Frost cake as soon as you take it out of the oven. Let cool, cut and enjoy!

* Do not substitute margarine in place of the butter. A cup of nuts may be added to the frosting if desired. Watch closely while baking, since this cake bakes quickly.

I can hear that darn vacuum calling my name. The bathrooms are whining too. I guess it's time to finish cleaning. I have decided that when I win the lottery one of my first priorities will be to hire a cleaning lady! Have a great day!

Lots of the white stuff!

Yesterday I drove home from work in sleet and freezing rain...well, that didn't last too long. About dinner time it all turned to snow and we got blasted! Some areas of the Twin Cities got almost 20 inches. I heard that the west metro where I live (area west of Minneapolis) got about a foot. The picture shows the drift in front of my front door. It's deeper than it looks considering there are 2 steps there, even though it looks like only one. When I left for work this morning at 4:30am (yes, 4:30am!) the roads hadn't been plowed so it was like driving through 12 inches of mud! The car kept pulling and sliding but I didn't dare slow down for fear I'd get stuck. The only thing that saved me was my Mariners All-Wheel Drive...gotta love it! I arrived safely at work and when I left 8 hours later the roads were clear! Yup, clear right down to the asphalt. Bless those snowplow drivers!

Now that I'm home and pooped from a hard, and early, days work I think it's time for a little t.v. and knitting. I'll reach into my bag where all the waiting socks are and grab one. Hope your weekend was fun, relaxing, and snowless!

Rain, Sleet, Snow, and Knitting

I just drove home from work in freezing rain and sleet...good ole Minnesota winter! We have had such a mild winter this year that I really can't complain, spring is just around the corner so I have something to look forward to. I actually like winter, and snow...I'm a true-blue Minnesotan of Scandinavian descent.

Another great thing about the cold and snow is you can knit with warm fibers. It's a bit uncomfortable to have a wool sweater in your lap when it's 90 degrees out, but not in this weather! The warmer the fiber...the better! I know that I have promised to finish all my socks but that was just a promise to not start another pair. I could always cast on for that cute Lisa Lloyd cardigan I've been anxious to start. I bought a beautiful deep purple wool from KnitPicks that will be perfect for that pattern. I love Lisa Lloyd's patterns. The cardigan I'm going to knit is her Basketweave Gansey Cardigan. Check it out:
http://lloydknitting.com/index.html
I hope to have that finished (I haven't even started it yet and I'm talking about finishing it!) so I can wear it next fall. Which would mean I would probably be working on it this summer. Yuck...hot, hot, hot! Bad idea. I guess the socks have guilted me enough that they will be my summer knitting. Small, portable, fun...what more could a girl ask of her knitting?

AWOL sock!

Okay...after my big plan to knit all the socks their rightful mates, I realized that one of my favorite socks was missing! It was a sock pattern I designed for a book (never got published but that's a whole different story!) and I really wanted to knit it's mate. I do have a picture to remember it by and the hope that someday I will find it. I will share my pattern so hopefully you can knit 2 of these socks and enjoy them as much as I wanted too.

Resolution Socks
Wren's Nest Designs©2002 All rights reserved.

Materials
Yarn: 100 gms Opal or any fingering weight that will knit to gauge
Needles: size US 1 (2.5mm) set of 5 dpn (or size needed for gauge)
1 st Marker

Gauge: 9 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch
Size: Fits womens shoe size 8 (adjust foot length for different sizes)

Stitch patterns:

Scallop Top Pattern (multiples of 9 sts):
rnd 1: knit
rnd 2: *yo, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo, k1* rep

Baby Braids Pattern (multiples of 6 sts):
rnd 1: *k5, p1*
rnd 2: *k1, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, yo, k1, p1*
rnd 3: *k5, p1*
rnd 4: *k2, yo, ssk, k1, p1*
rnd 5: *k5, p1*
rnd 6: *k5, p1*

Cast On

Cast on 72 stitches.
Divide the stitches evenly onto 4 dpn’s (18 sts on each) needles.
Join, being careful not to twist stitches.

Place marker at beginning of round between needles one and four. This marker will always be considered the "beginning" of any round.

Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round.
Purl 1 round.

Work 5 repeats of Scallop Top Pattern.
Knit 1 round even.

Work 10 repeats of Baby Braids pattern for leg. Stop at the beginning of
ndl 4 on a round 6.

Slip last st on ndl 1 onto beg of ndl 2. The 37 stitches on needles 2 and 3 for the instep are not worked at this time. The extra st on ndl 2 (the one you slipped on from ndl 1) will remain a purl st for the remainder of the sock until the toe decs.

Heel Flap
You will be knitting back and forth on the 35 sts on needles one and four only (you may combine these onto one needle if you desire) for the heel flap. This heel flap has a 5 st garter stitch edge on both sides of the flap. You will always be knitting the first 5 and the last 5 sts of each row. Start the heel stitch pattern now at the beg of ndl 4 with row 1.

Heel Stitch Pattern:
Row 1:(right side) knit 5, *sl 1, k 1* to last 5 sts, knit
Row 2: knit 5, p across to last 5 sts, knit

Work 40 rows of heel st or until heel flap is about 2 3/4 inches long. If you desire a longer heel (or shorter) just continue until the length you want. Remember, the longer the heel, the more gusset sts you will have to pick up. End after a row 2.

Turn Heel

Next row: (right side) slip 1, knit to center marker, k2, SSK, k1, turn.
Next row: slip 1, purl 5, p2tog, p1, turn.

*Slip 1, knit to within 1 st away from gap, SSK, k1, turn.
Slip 1, purl to within 1 st away from gap, p2tog, p1, turn.*

Repeat from * to * until all stitches have been worked, always working
together the 2 sts on each side of the gap. End after a purl row. Turn.

Knit to the end of ndl 4 to the center back of your sock (be sure your marker is between needles 1 and 4).
Gussets
Pick up for the gussets:
Knit across ndl 1, pick up one stitch between each purl bump on edge of heel flap. You will have the heel sts PLUS the picked up sts on needle one. The amount of sts picked up will depend on how long you knit your heel flap. I picked up 20 sts for my sock.

Knit across the instep stitches on needles 2 and 3 changing the pattern to a 5x1 ribbing. Always purling the first stitch on ndl 2, so instep pattern for ndls 2 and 3 is now:
p1 *k5, p1* across

With loose needle, pick up one stitch between each purl bump on edge of heel flap. Knit across ndl 4. You will have the picked up sts PLUS the heel sts on needle four. You are once again at center back of your sock and ready to start the gusset decreases.

Knit 1 round.

Decrease for the gussets:
Needle 1: knit to 3 sts from end of needle, k2tog, k1.
Needles 2 & 3: Knit across in pattern: p1 *k5, p1*
Needle 4: k1, SSK, knit to end.

Knit one round, always keeping ndls 2 and 3 in pattern.

Alternate decrease and even rounds until needles 1 and 4 are back to 18 sts each.

Instep
Knit all rnds keeping ndls 1 and 4 in stockinette st, and ndls 2 and 3 in rib pattern st. End when the foot length is about where you big toe is attached to your foot or approx 1 1/2 inches shorter than your foot.
Knit one round even decreasing 1 st on needle 2 so each needle is now back to 18 sts.

Toe
Decrease round:
Needle 1: K to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: K1, SSK, knit to end.
Needle 3: K to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k1.
Needle 4: K1, SSK, knit to end.

Knit one round even.

Alternate decrease and even rounds until 9 stitches remain on each needle.
Now knit decrease round every round until 4 sts remain on each needle.

Place stitches on 2 needles. The 4 sts each from ndls 2 and 3 onto one needle and the 4 sts each from ndls 1 and 4 onto one needle. Graft together. Weave in any loose ends.

Knit another sock to match!

Wren's Nest Designs© 2002 All rights reserved.

I May Never Knit A NEW Pair of Socks Again!

So, a few days ago I decided that I wanted to start knitting a new pair of socks. I've had this wonderful purple and turquoise Fixation that is just screaming to be socks. I hauled the giant Rubbermaid chest from my closet and dug through the dozens of skeins of sock yarn. There they were...those two beautiful little balls of Fixation. I grabbed my Crystal Palace bamboo dpn's and was about to cast on...when it happened! The guilt!!! It washed over me like a tidal wave and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I tossed the lovely Fixation on my bed and slowly walked to my closet door. I flipped the light on and stepped in...and there they were, the cause of my extreme and painful guilt. The single socks of years past, just waiting for their mates. So solemn in their singleness, never crying out for their mate that they so long for. I couldn't stand it! I had to make things right. So it was then and there that I vowed to never knit a NEW sock until I had married off all my single socks. This may take awhile......
That is my beautiful greyhound Summer watching over the single socks so they don't run off and marry up with the wrong mate! Good Girl Summer!

New Blog!! Old Knitter!!

Here I sit...in front of my little iMac, entering the big world of blogging. I read so many blogs, mostly knitting related, that I figured...hey, maybe someone would want to read a blog that I wrote. And maybe not. So, either way, I am now a real blogger that will write all about my interesting and exciting life! So stay tuned, check back often, and enjoy the adventures of a string-slinging, Minnesota gal that loves her knitting.