your nature loving hubby, your equally nature loving daughter and 5 year-old nephew go to the pet store without you?

Meet Lillith  (we’ve been on a bit of a Frasier kick around here lately). Yep, not quite sure how I feel about this. Well, I’m ok with  it as long as I am not expected to hold, feed or otherwise interact with her.

Sam’s not sure how he feels about it either.

For Amanda – a picture of socks in the snow. At her suggestion, I joined the Sock A Month KAL - perhaps just the impetus I need to keep my sock production going. Have plans to watch a few movies tonight and tomorrow, which should have me on track to finish this pair the first day or two of January. There – one pair down. Don’t hold your breath, but it could happen.

Well, off to the dye pots….. My self-impossed hiatus is coming to a close. Today the dye pot will be cooking up some DK weight merino cashmere, bulky weight merino cashmere, BFL superwash fingering and merino/cashmere/nylon fingering weight. Phew.

So, look for a shop update perhaps as early as tomorrow.

Of invention……

Maisy Day Handspun  purchased at Hello Yarn  about a year ago.

This handspun  (a.k.a. as “shexy handspun”  as coined by  Nicole) first became a scarf… not quite right, a tad bulky and not quite long enough to wrap about the neck twice with enough leftover to tie in front. But after mulling it over and having it sit by my beside for weeks, I had an “aha!” moment. Why not make a neckwamer out of it? First I set about frogging… not so easy. Then I remembered  the jars of vintage buttons in my closet….. So I ripped back about 3 inches, bound off and went about sewing on the button. Voila! Neckwarmer. Stays put. Not too bulky. Super warm and cozy.

Specs:

• Yarn: Maisy Day Handspun (any bulky yarn would work)
• Needles: Size 17
• Cast on approx 16 sts (or any  even  amount of stitches)  and work in Turkish lace pattern – K1 *yo, k2tog* across ending with a K1
• Sew button on one end of scarf about 6.5 inches in from the end. No need to make a button hole as the lace pattern lends itself to easily letting a button through.
• Finished measurements: 48″ long by 6.5″ wide

Hope this makes sense. If you are interested in making one and have any questions, please feel free to ask.

FYI~ This is also a great pattern for a scarf – the edges don’t roll!

Who here loves to untangle yarn? If you want to tackle the job – It’s yours!  Just leave a comment and I will mail it to you pronto.  

In a perfect world, it’s suppose to look like this.

100% Merino fingering weight

Sedona  socks – Done. Finally.  

Ok. Disclosure time. Even though I have knit lots and lots and lots of socks, I have never knit a pair. Yes, you heard correctly. Never a  matching pair – until now!!!

Up next: Jaywalkers and Monkeys and mates to this, this  and this.

Look how match-y, match-y the stripes are….. ok. I have to stop squeeling now.

Specs:

• Yarn: Yarntini Pumpkin Spice
• Needles: US size 1.5
• Pattern: Super basic sock pattern, but modified to make a short, ped like sock. Perfect for pilates class.

It’s Wisconsin in December, a storm is blowing in and three girls have cold necks. What do you  do? Why you whip of three super  squisy neckwarmers, of course.  

For B  - Luxe neckwarmer – Misti Alpaca Chunky

Can you tell she loved it?

Luxe Neckwarmer – Malabrigo Chunky  I don’t think there has ever been a colorway more suited for someone than this olive Malabrigo – is that a perfect match for her coloring or what?!?! And, there was one last one for M – out of another skein of Misti in cream. Didn’t get a modeled pic, but you get the idea.

S and the newlyweds…. six months in and they are doing great.

What a face!

There was a bit of an obsession with the flavors of the day: Mint Oreo, KitKat and Turtle.

Dandy Andy (he’ll kill me for that) made king no EMPEROR crab legs. These things were so ginormous that referring to them as simply as  ”king” crab somehow just doesn’t seem appropriate.

So as to be sure not all junk food was consumed, L made sure we had lots ‘o leafy greens…. baby spinach, goat cheese, dried cherries and homemade dressing (ala’ Martha) one night and a great pear salad the night before.

S, B and Maurice, the red velvet snowman, followed by a cut-throat game of Taboo.

Mr. Plucky takes his board games very, very seriously. It gets ugly.

M, L, S (a.k.a. Plucky Girl), me & B getting ready for a white knuckle trip to Madison.

Grandma M and her boy

Big A and Little A – awwww…..

Plucky girl and L were getting a bit loopy at the end.

Just as we expected….. a  fabulously fun  weekend with friends  who are family. We miss you already!

And, the cutest picture of the entire weekend – a  little Badger ~

It has been brought to my attention that  The Plucky Knitter has lost a bit of its  pluck  the last couple weeks (point well taken,  Mary and Tracy), but, seriously, there are times when life just comes up and slaps you around, and, well, somethings just have to give and the zing of my blog has been one of them. But, things are slowly returning to normal and… in light of that, I thought this would be fun to play along with. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.

Feel free to play along. Lifted from Karen ….  If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?      

Here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every section, type the song that’s playing
5. Next section — press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

Opening Credits: Why Was I Born – Steve Tyrell (Seriously!)  

Waking Up: I Love You – Martina McBride  

First Day At School: To Sir With Love – Lulu (huh?)  

Falling In Love: As Time Goes By – Steve Tyrell (again)  

Breaking Up: I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues – Elton John  

Prom: Desperado – Eagles  

Life’s Ok: Beat It – Michael Jackson (sheepishly admitting)  

Mental Breakdown: Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield  

Driving: Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Cindi Lauper  Flashback:

Like We Never Loved At All – Tim McGraw & Faith Hill    

Getting Back Together: Voice Inside My Head – Dixie Chicks  

Wedding: Two of a Kind Working on A Full House – Garth Brooks

Birth of a child: Rehab – Amy Winehouse  

Final Battle: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – Gordon Lightfoot  

Death Scene: Will you still love me tomorrow? Carole King  

End Credit: Have a Nice Day – Bon Jovi  

On the knitting front: This close to having my  Sedona socks done. Which, can’t  come soon enough because I am now obsessed with making Monkeys. And, Flair is languishing a bit (ok, alot….) but it is definitely being brought to the front burner. I think I am just scared of it turning out badly (that and I misplaced the pattern – I know it’s here somewhere!)…. must bite the bullet – it can be done, right? Have a great day ~