Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Hi, These socks started off as the "Serpentine" pattern from Socks from the Toe Up. However, after getting to the gusset for the first sock, I realized that I had skipped half the "serpent" in one of the early repeats, and it looked more like a cable than a serpent. After considering ripping back, I decided to continue with more of the cable-looking pattern. (No one will ever notice except me, and perhaps an extremely observant knitter.) It turns out, the "half serpent" pattern is almost exactly the "Sea Weed" sock pattern from Wendy Knits. The only difference is that I mirrored the pattern in the middle. I think I like the "Sea Weed" pattern better than "Serpentine." Hmmm. Maybe that's just because I found it easier to see what  I was doing. The yarn is Fiesta's Baby Boomerang in the Clematis colorway. I used size 1.5 needles. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I "suggested" to Mitchell that we might visit Blueberry Hill, today. Then, he took up the idea with his dad. It worked beautifully. Blueberry Hill is just a few blocks from Knitty Couture, Thi Miller's yarn store in The Loop. It was written up in the latest "Where Women Create," which is a fun publication from Stampington and Company, who also does the "Artful Blogging" magazine. I picked up some yarn, of course. Mitchell ate his chicken and french fries like a champ. We're easily pleased, I suppose. We like to see him eat. And, of course, I like to make yarn shop trips, so it was a good day! I hope you, "Found Your Thrills," this weekend, too. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

As mentioned last week as an upcoming event, Bobby's Custard opened, today. It was pretty cold. After we took this picture, we went to sit in the car. One of my favorites is the "crunch" concrete. It has rice crispies and chocolate hard shell. Yum! We took Daddy a raspberry concrete, at his office, too. I get a gold star for the day! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay Digital photo frames from CottageArts.net

Hi, It got up to 54° F, today, and Mitchell and I were singing a song from the " Little Bill " TV show: Spring is here! Spring is here! It's the best time of the year! While Mitchell napped, I took my camera outside to try to find some signs of Spring. The purple-leafed plum tree is budded out. The lamb's ears are growing new leaves (some of which are a bit frost bitten, already. Go figure.) And we're supposed to get more freezing rain and snow over the next few days. It was a gorgeous day, today, though! And I got an email from the local custard shop, Bobby's , saying they are opening for the season next Friday. That seems early. But then, they only closed in November... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the February Sock . The stitch pattern is very pretty and interesting, though I found it fairly impossible to memorize. I prefer a pattern where I can "just go" and not keep looking at the chart. I had enough yarn left over to make two pairs of booties. I used the Checkerboard Gansey Bootie pattern, but I replaced the stitch pattern with the "I Heart Toe Up Socks" stitch chart from "Socks From The Toe Up." The only other modification is to cast on one extra stitch, because an odd number is needed to center the heart. After the toe, start the first heart chart. Then, do four plain rows and start another heart. Start the gusset on the sixth row of the second heart, and do eight plain rows after the second heart, for a total of 30 rows. (Each heart is nine rows.) Then, do the heel per the pattern. No heel modifications are required because the instructions to "work to the last nine stitches" don't care about the extra s...

Hi, Almost every Friday, I meet Grandma E and Mitchell for lunch and some quality time... frequently, some shopping. Today, we went to Border's books. Mitchell likes books, and we also go to the library every three weeks to get a new stack and turn in the last batch. Mitchell also likes to explore, as most little boys do! He hid in a little nook behind the magazine racks. Of course, many enticements capture attention besides books. This week, the Easter chicks and bunnies made their appearance. We always have a lot of fun on Friday! :) Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, We had a great Valentine's Day, mostly around the house, with lots of snow falling outside. Here's our sunshine: Every Sunday, we have the grandparents over for dinner. We've been doing this for a couple of years, and it seems to work out well for everybody. Since today was Valentine's Day, it was a bit fancier than normal. My mom brought me flowers. We had a family favorite, lasagna, which my mom taught me to make years ago. Yummy. I think all four grandparents were a little less than eager to have their picture taken... My valentine for Mitchell was gumballs. He is a big gumball fan. He likes to get one out of the quarter machines at the mall on Fridays. Now, if we could just work on where he puts it when he's done... Chris gave me a new pocket camera as my valentine. The idea is to be able to take it with me more and shoot more targets of opportunity... like last summer, when Mitchell found a frog on the lawn at Grandpa W's house, and I ...