Taking Bets
My mom and I went to Lowe’s today to buy some plants for some early spring gardening. The selection was poor so I came up with the idea of going to a nursery near Longview Community College. The selection was great. My mom’s main concern was finding plants to make the front of the house look nicer. I was more interested in vegetables.
For the front yard we got Spikes (Dracaena) Indivisa, Red Spike and Chicken Gizzard Plant (haha I didn’t know the name until I just read it to blog about it). The Spikes are tall and green and will be up against the deck. The Red Spikes will be in front of the green spikes and are shorter than the green spikes so we’ll have some depth. The Chicken Gizzard Plants will be in front of the Red Spikes and are even shorter. I picked out the Chicken Gizzard Plants, because I thought the pink in them would accent the maroon color of the Red Spikes.
I got Everbearing Strawberries. They are supposed to be very delicious and can withstand heat over 90°F. I also got Jet Star tomatoes. They were recommended by the nursery. I do not have pictures of my plants though because there is still the threat of frost so my plants are in the garage because their pots are too large to go inside the house.
We also got herbs. We got Cillantro, Purple Sage, Spice Island Rosemary, Lemon Thyme and Bay Leaf. My family is actually pretty good at keeping herbs alive. Other plants? Not so much. My dad started betting how long our plants would live until the died, hence the name of this post.
I really feel good about this year though! I think we can really do it!
All the plants except the ones in the garage are in our study. Here are some photos. The light was sort of dim coming in through the windows but you get the basic idea (I’m no yarnstorm).
The second pair of socks for my boyfriend are going well. I am nearly to the toe on the second sock. After finishing the second sock and ensuring a good fit, I will unravel the toe of the first one and knit the foot longer because the sock is a little short.
After running out of yarn for the socks, I put the second sock on waste yarn and began knitting a new sock. I’ve knit about half the cuff so far. I didn’t anticipate getting more yarn for the boyfriend’s socks so quickly but I ended up getting them the very next day (today). So the blue cuff will be put on waste yarn and the Mushroom sock will be back on the needles (I only have one set!) and the blue sock will have to wait. I didn’t even get to the stitch pattern! More information about blue socks later.
The Mushroom socks are a generic top down sock pattern. I didn’t think I’d ever give up my toe up construction but I’m really liking top down socks now. One of the reasons is that I think the toe looks nicer. It also seems to go quicker for me.
On to knitting pictures!
greased lightning
I cast on Cookie A.’s Twinkle Toes yesterday. This pattern was on Knitty Gritty. Now, I was impressed by my plain stockinette socks that I finished in a week. This twinkle toes sock that I have on the needles…I’M OVER 3/4 DONE!
Did I get amazing just now? I think I did. I know I can get these socks done in a week. I don’t understand it. They have lace and a gusset heel which is more involved than a plain shortrow heel with no gusset that I normally do.
They better fit my mom. I think I may try them on her when she falls asleep sometime. I’m sure I could get them on and off real quick! Hahaha.
It’s dark outside today. It’s been snowing/icing nonstop and the sun has not shown its face all day. At least it makes the giant pine trees (both taller than my two story house) in my front yard look pretty.
my first pair of socks!
I made these for my boyfriend. They are made of Lionbrand Wool-Ease. I made up the pattern. They’re a very basic toe-up sock. They are a Christmas gift. My brother is modeling them for me here. More information in the previous post.
I really hate the nasty weather that leads to crappily lit photos. The third picture is probably closest to the real thing, maybe a little dark.
Kiss my glass
Yesterday I went to the Missouri Council of the Blind Thriftstore. I bought 6 glass cups. My brother and I made stencils with painters tape on them and used etching cream on them to make designs that we thought our parents would like.
I’m working on the cuff of the second sock for my boyfriend. I’m almost done! I’m doing this cuff with Norwegian purls instead of regular continental purls in my 2×2 rib. This might make sock 1 look different from sock 2. I don’t think my boyfriend will notice though. It looks pretty regular at this point.
I wanted to do the Norwegian purls, because I thought they would be faster. Actually, it’s very awkward and I’m slow, but it’s new and I figure I should stick with it for at least 10 rounds.
I’ll have pictures hopefully on Friday. I have to work tomorrow afternoon.
31 posts in 31 days
I’ve picked up the idea of keeping my blog active by blogging once a day this month from ysolda. The original challenge came from National Blog Posting Month aka NaBloPoMo. I haven’t really changed anything except that I’m doing it in December and not in November – I’m a little slow I guess.
Yesterday I finished one sock out of the pair I’m making for my boyfriend. I am very enthusiastic about the second sock. I have it started. It’s a toe-up sock and there are only 56 sts after the toe increases. I’m knitting them with Wool-Ease from Lionbrand. They are gray. I will post pictures when I am done with them.
After the BF’s socks, I have some other things to make but I’m going to keep those under wraps for now. You could try looking at my Ravelry (not that any of you would) but you still couldn’t figure out what I’m making. I really suck at keeping my queue in check. Though I do a good job when it comes to putting WIPs on there.
I went to the gym today. I don’t even know how I managed to do that. I’m pretty impressed with myself. I didn’t get to stay long though. My brother wanted to leave after only 20 minutes! I could have done some more but what are ya gonna do?
I got a Self magazine at CVS. I love Self magazine.
Knitter-in-Chief 