Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Hi, I liked the Reims pattern so much that I made another pair, though I worked this set toe-up. The pattern, again, is from the book, "Sock Club: Join The Knitting Adventure." The toe-up pattern mods are below. I used String Theory's Caper Sock, in the colorway Agave. It is a heavy fingering weight (or maybe sport weight), and I used a size 2 needle again, as I did with the last heavy yarn. It worked up beautifully, and I highly recommend this yarn. In fact, I ordered another skein, in black. I enjoy knitting with more exciting colors of yarns, but I wear a lot of black, so I think it will be a good choice. Here is how I modified them for toe-up:: Toe CO 28 total sts, 14 on each of two needles, using your favorite toe-up circular cast on. (I use Judy's Magic Cast On .) Knit one round. Separate stitches onto either four dpns or one or two circulars, as you prefer to knit socks. The first half of the sts will be considered the instep, and the second...

Hi, We had storms in the area, today, and we sat with the news on for a little over an hour, watching the tornado warnings and damage reports. They never got very close to us, but we had a lot of rain. When most of the systems were past, we went out to dinner. It was still raining, with the storms on one side and sun on the other... and I got some rainbow pictures. I "stitched" these together. It was actually a double-rainbow. You can see a little of the outer ring on the left of the picture. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, We made a Bobby's Custard outing, yesterday, with some of the grandparents. (Gpa E was driving for a prom.) We all gathered around a round table, but Mitchell asked us, one-by-one, to sit on the "car" bench. As we got lined up, I pulled out my camera to get a shot of us all grouped together. This picture arranged by Mitchell! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Mitchell likes to run next door whenever we get home, and peek into the fish pond. Lately, the dogs have been yipping it up whenever he goes over there, causing Mitchell to look suspiciously into the house as if the dogs would burst out into the yard at any second. Mitchell likes dogs, but he's understandably cautious of big ones. Sometimes, their barking has him heading back home without even looking at the fish. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I posted " Favorite Things - Flowering Trees ," while my crabapple trees were just budding out. Here they are, in full bloom. These are the "Prairie Fire" variety, a gorgeous deep pink bloom. I saw some of them at the Missouri Botanical Gardens , and I looked for that variety, in particular. My mom and I planted five of these around the perimeter of the yard, in 2001. They were little saplings at that time. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Chris' mom's side of the family does a reunion each April. We usually make it there, as it is about 1.5 hours away. (My family reunion is about four hours away, in July, and we have missed a couple years in a row...) One of the first to arrive after we got there was little Sarah. Mitchell immediately went and took her by the hand and led her over to where he was drawing. There were a lot of little kids, this year, and Mitchell enjoyed playing and running around. I'm not sure of all the relations... there are second and third cousins and once and twice removed... The kids of a certain age all sat lined up with paper and pens. Someone brought a bag of balloons to blow up, and it kept the kids occupied. While Chris was helping scrub barbeques, Mitchell and I went outside, too, and I found a four-leaf clover. Aunt Lois said this means I get one year of good luck... and that, next year, I have to find another one. We pressed it in a book. There are a coup...

Hi, Mitchell and I planted some seedlings a couple of weeks ago. I thought he would appreciate the magic of the little sprouts appearing. Now, we're starting to put them in the yard. Here are the hollyhocks. We also have sunflowers, tomatoes, aubretia, and lupins. We're having some attrition issues during planting, so we may have to supplement from the nursery. Like knitting, it seems to have been more about process than product. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I had a trip to the Seattle area, last week, and I managed to finish the second sock in Reims. In the Seattle airport, there was an interesting display of local art. There was a rather strange spindle whorl, strange because it was enormous, and obviously too heavy to use. It is about two feet across!  Pretty, though. It seems like art for art's sake... not really a spindle whorl. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I did finish the Shamrock Socks. ( Stitch pattern in a previous post .) I also started Reims, a pattern from "Sock Club, Join the Kniting Adventure," by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrot. I'm using Cashmere Merino Sock from The Knittery, in colorway "Summer." It is rather a heavy yarn, and I'm using size 2 needles and 60 stitches around. The Reims sock in the book was made from some Zen Yarn Garden Art Walk club yarn, of which I have a considerable stash. I was going to pick some out, but Mitchell came in as I was choosing, and he wanted to choose. He picked this one. :) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Last week, we saw the Easter Bunny at the mall. Mitchell sat impatiently on his lap for a picture and told him he wanted candy for Easter. He thought it was sort of like telling Santa Claus what you want for Christmas. Well, we try to minimize the candy. The basket that came from the "Easter Bunny" did have some candy, but also a few toys. There were also some "Noah's Ark" eggs (shaped like animals), which Mitchell enjoyed hunting, first thing this morning. We are very blessed. Happy Easter, Lisa Kay

Hi, With the Spring weather we've been having, the flowering trees are really putting on a show. Here is one on the street behind Troy Foods, where I happened to be picking up some chicken for dinner. I drove around the block to take a picture of this magnolia. There is another variety of magnolia on my way home, over by the fire station in town. You can see the ambulance that is usually parked beside it. The Dierberg's in Shiloh has a row of pink trees. I'm not sure what they are, but perhaps crab apples. The purple leafed plum in my own yard is about at its peak, too, and had a lot of bees pollinating it. The crab apples in my yard aren't flowering yet. They are full of buds, though. Did you know that trees that flower before they grow leaves in the Spring are called, "precocious?" Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay