Water, water, ice??

I got out of the house yesterday and of course I had to go down to the water! I should have been a sea-gull. I love being near the water, just hate being "in" the water. lol (do seagulls hat to get in the water?....oh well, you get the idea, right?) This is the first time that there has been ice on the shore all winter, here. I love watching the waves crash over the shore ice. The spray is so pretty to watch. One thing about the beach in winter here in Michigan, the sand is frozen solid and is much easier for my large self to walk on.
I love to sit by the water and knit, yes even in the winter. In my car, anyway. We live just a little way from the beach and can hear the waves crashing on the beach when it is really windy. In better weather, I sit on my sun-porch and can listen to the waves as I knit. What better therapy can there be? Waves and knitting: great combination any time of year.

I took a jillion pics, trying to get one of the crashing waves. But with the digital camera, it is hard to catch that. The delay after pushing the button is just long enough for the spray to have returned to its source! Phooey! Well, I haven't veiwed them all yet, maybe I will find one yet.

Gotta go click some needles and sew some buttons on pretty pink PL1 for the dgs's expected new baby sister. He is almost 15 yo and getting his first sibling! Too bad it's not a boy. I do have a blue outfit in reserve just in case the ultra sound was wrong. hee-hee

DJ

My little fur baby, Bitsey is having a hard afternoon. Not! She rules the house and Daddy can't sit down without her. He is trying to make up to her for being busy in the kitchen making homemade bread and molasses cookies all afternoon. She sits and glares at him until he sits down and holds her. Spoiled? Oh, yeah.
I got 3 more repeats done on my FLAK saddles, that was all the concentration that I could muster today. I also got the ribbing and about an inch done on the cuff of a pair of socks for moi. I feel so selfish, knitting all these socks for myself lately. But, I do need them. These are socka in an ugly 70's color combo. I don't care. I kinda like the ugly socks. Pity, I guess.
Gotta go read my e-mail and knit on those socks.
DJ

I was able to get
these socks
for 'moi' done last night.
I like the way Marguerite lists her info for her projects, so I am going to be a copy-cat, sort of.
Yarn: Regia4 self striping
Color: # 5380 steel blue/
green/black/pastels
Needles: size 3 silver Susan Bates
Guage: 7 sts/in. on st. st
1 x 1 ribbing and st. st. body.
These were quick and easy, just the way I like it.
On the FLAK front:
I have re-cast on and have 3 repeats done. I am definitely checking and re-checking as I go. I love this pattern.
Gotta go click my needles again,
DJ

Saddling up for a Pity Party

I'm having a little pity party this afternoon. I thought for several weeks now that I only had one little mistake in my 'saddles'. Well, silly me! This afternoon I finally got them out and was ready to take out about 2 inches of knitting on just one saddle. Hrmpppphh! I found about 3 mistakes on the other saddle. I could have cried. All this time I was so please to have only one mistake to fix and now I am so disgusted that I just frogged the whole mess and I am going to read a little e-mail and then I will cast on again. Grumble, groan, sniffle! Back to the drawing board, as they say. Here is a picture of the "saddles that were".
And a pic of what will be the next and final pair of saddles! I mark every repeat, so you'd think that I would be aware enough to find my mistakes "before" I finish the whole saddle. This time around I will be double and triple checking every row, that's for sure!
Off to click my needles!!
DJ

Busy needles

These are some of the socks that have had my needles humming lately. I finished them last week. They are just basic socks. Knit with Lopi bulky yarn on size 8 needles. the pair on the left is just grey. The p air on the right have teal cuffs and grey foot.
The pair on the left in the second pic is kelly green Manos. The middle pair is Lopi in a deep bronzy gold and the pair on the right is Lion Brand Fishermans that I Kool-Aid dyed, green foot, peachy cuff. All done on size 8 needles.
These were for the Mittens for Akkol yahoo group.
I need to get busy on my goal for the CIC group now. I'd like to make 3 pair of wrist warmers by the end of our challenge, the deadline is March 31. So, I should be able to do that. I have one pair cast on and about 3 inches of ribbing done.
I just about have a pair of socks for me done, too. Will finish those tonight. Busy, busy needles.
Gotta go click some needles.
DJ

Beautiful Lake Michigan

I just love Lake Michigan. I don't care if it's winter or summer, I just love it. I haven't been able to get down to my favorite spot on the lake, so I am opting for this spot, for now. It's just north of St Joseph, MI and we can see their lighthouse(just barely) from this beach. The waves were running about 10 to 15 feet over the weekend when I took these pics. It was so bluster-y down there that we were getting sand-blasted by the winds. I have to wear wrap-around sun goggles when we go down there in this kind of weather to protect my eyes. But, I wouldn't miss it for anything. Hubby and the fur babies are always ready to leave before I am. Even with their little sweaters, the fur babies can only take so much of the wind and sand and cold.

I have been busy knitting wool socks from Lopi for the Mittens for Akkol yahoo group. There is a family going over soon and the need is so great that I have put everything else aside until Friday. I can get one more pair of socks knit by then and then they need to get in the mail so I can be sure that they get to their destination here in the States in time to go to Kaz.

After Friday, I need to get busy on my FLAK. I still have to re-knit a couple inches on my saddles and get busy and catch up with the rest of the group. I want to take enough time to do a good job on this sweater. After all, I plan to wear it the rest of my life. lol

Well gotta go cast on that last pair of wool socks. Pics to come when they are all done.
DJ