Friday, May 15, 2015

Friday Mishmash

Mini is the brand that just keeps on giving - a couple of days ago I found a package stuffed into my mailbox...turns out it was all this:
So many fun goodies!  My second favorite thing is the Mini-shaped paper clip, but my first favorite is the tiny Mini:
It's a USB drive, and it's adorable!

I am still loving my car, and apparently I love the color so much that when I got a pedicure this week, I walked out to my car and realized that I'd chosen the same color:
OPI needs to rename this color "MINI Electric Blue"!  Wet car because it's pretty much always raining over here.

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Recently, we found some inexpensive planter pots for the backyard; it was dry for a few hours last Sunday, so we zipped over to Lowe's and picked out some plants and got them potted before the rain returned.  They aren't arranged where I'd like them just yet - Jeff wanted to line them up on the sunny side of the patio.  I just laughed - there is no sunny side at the present time.  He can dream, anyway.
Far left:  old Sago palm, then we have a Japanese Aralia, then a Sizzling Pink Fringe Flower, then the green planter is holding an Emerald Wave Sweet Bay, which is supposed to be edible and smells pretty good, and finally, in the blue pot, we have a Silvery Sunproof Lily Turf. 

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A recent text conversation between Helen and I had me wondering if I'm so technologically-impaired that I need to chuck my iPhone for a Jitterbug:
I texted her the sound of my vacuum.  I didn't mean to do that.  What's worse is that I don't even know how it happened!

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 Pattern is a mishmash of Susan B. Anderson and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's basic sock patterns; yarn is from Twisted Fiber Art's fall yarn club, colorway is Cabana.


Well.  I honestly never thought I'd knit myself a sock, much less a pair of them.  After trying to knit something akin to a sock a while back, and not only intensely disliking the process but hating the finished product, I wrote off socks as not my thing.  And I was perfectly OK with that - after all, just because I knit doesn't mean I have to knit everything.  But somehow, after looking at sock patterns, I actually understood most of what they were talking about.  So I went for it...and BOOM.  Socks.  Plural.  That I can actually wear!  

I'm pretty proud of these - sure, there are some mistakes in them, especially in the first one.  You can see in the close-up picture in the bottom left that the sock on the left has a hole near where the heel flap begins, and also, the stitches picked up on the heel flap are a little off.  But the second sock has no hole and the picked up stitches look much better, so hey - I'll take a little improvement along with the learning process.  I think using a heavier yarn rather than traditional sock yarn helped me to get through these fairly fast, which kept my interest going, as I didn't get bogged down in the process.  I have some yarn on hand that I'm making another pair of socks with, this time going toe-up instead of cuff-down.  Socks...who knew??

Have a great weekend!

17 comments:

  1. Congrats on your first pair of socks. I may try to knit a pair soon a short project versus
    the really long ones I usually do. I have a simple pattern from Ann Budd so I will try that if not I know I can always use Susan Andersons pattern on her blog for free.
    Have a great weekend.

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    1. I considered using Ann Budd's sock pattern, but I think I will buy one of her books instead, so I get more bang for my buck. Most of the basic sock patterns are similar; of course now that I've done a heel flap, I'm going to try a different heel for my second pair.

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  2. I fluctuate between blue and pink but this year seems to be a year of blue for me as well. Too funny about that matching pedicure.

    Congrats on the socks! No matter the mistakes you see, they look like they will keep your feet warm.

    Every day when I see that TX weather I worry about you guys. Hope that dumb rain ends soon!!!

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    1. Me, too on the rain. I write this as it's pouring outside...enough, already!

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  3. Woo hoo! Look at you with your very own hand knit socks!! And next, toe up? I've never done that! I might have to try so you can talk me through it.

    LOVE your toy Mini. Do they make those checkerboard roofs now?? LOVE…….

    I haven't done anything as adventurous as sending a recording of my vacuuming, but I have deleted whole days worth of emails. They were just there!! And then they weren't. frustrating.

    Nice plants, and really nice pots! I have one of those fringe flowers and I love it. It blooms for a long time.

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    1. The checkerboard roof has always been an option for the roof (also the Union Jack flag, and a couple of others). Mini's are highly customizable - I didn't want much of that for mine, because I was afraid I'd end up getting tired of them.

      Good to hear that the fringe flower blooms well. All I can tell you is that it's getting a lot of water at the moment. ;)

      So are the toe-up socks are going well...of course, I'm not at the heel yet...

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  4. How fun! I want my next car to be a Mini. I've always loved them!!

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    1. GET ONE!!! Seriously, this is the most fun, cutest car ever! :)

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  5. LOVE the mini Mini!!!! And LOL at the text between you and Helen!! The socks are fantastic! Time get to selling on Etsy! :) Have a great weekend Shelley!!!!

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    1. OMG, if I factored in the cost of yarn plus the amount of time it takes me to knit a pair of socks, I'd have to price them at $100...don't think there would be many takers, LOL.

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  6. Ha, look at you being all matchy matchy with your car! My car is black, so I don't think I will be doing that! :D And I would have peed my pants if you sent me audio of your vacuum cleaner!

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    1. Damn, I wish I knew how I did it - I'd send you a vacuuming audio if I could, just for your reaction!

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  7. Wow, your socks are impressive! My roommate in college tried to teach me how to knit, and I absolutely just could not do it, so I have a lot of respect for anyone who can knit an actual pair of socks :)

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  8. Too bad you can't push that rain to California!

    Love those pots - they look great!

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  9. Love the colour of the socks, such a bright and happy colour! Well done on knitting them. i tried to knit them when I was young with help from my Grandma but can't remember it was a success, don't think it was.

    Ah technology, I have to say that these days I know more about it than R. He bought an Iphone last week and keeps asking me questions how it works. How should I know? I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 :) Maybe I should send him to you ... hmmm he never vacuums so with that you couldn't help him LOL.

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  10. Your socks turned out great! I just love that yarn - they're so fun!

    Love all the Mini swag! :)

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  11. Socks are my favorite thing to knit. Yours look great.

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