DADDY'S RIBBED KNIT SOCKS - PART TWO

Hi everyone,

I don't know about you, but this new Blogger interface is really difficult for me to figure out. Okay, enough about that, let's get to the fun crafty stuff.  This was the progress that I made on my father's ribbed knit socks since I last post here on April 11th.

This is what I did on Sunday:

I think here the cuff is about 3.5" inches long.  I hadn't done much work on the socks in the last few days. However, this day I decided to really be disciplined about this. Daddy needs new socks.  Oh, yeah, even my father said "That's it? That's all you've done?" YEP.


Our regular ride to church wasn't going that day, so we also stayed home.  Instead of being in church, we watched Pastor Greg Laurie online. I gathered all of my knitting supplies first:

It really was a lot of fun and really relaxing to be able to knit and listen to a nice message at the same time.  Our regular ride to church wasn't in town today, so that is why we ended up having to stay home. My father will be able to drive again in just a couple of weeks. He's recovered so well from his heart episode back in January.  So this is what we watched this morning. It's Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in Riverside, California. You can click here if you'd like to visit their site:

To my horror...embarassment, I couldn't find my cellphone. It might as well be a lung machine, because I feel like I can't breathe if I don't know where it's located. So my sweet daddy went looking for my cellphone while I'm listening to the sermon. The next thing I know, I look down into my knitting basket and find this:

It was in my knitting basket all along.  I told my dad right away that "I'd found it"  "What?"  "I found it".."Oh, Heather...(dad shakes his head and tries to frown, but is having a really hard time hiding a laugh and a smile)

These socks are proving to be really challenging.  The difficulty I'm having is figuring out where to increase and decrease the stitches while doing a knit 2, purl 2 rib pattern.  I know there's a way to do it, but I haven't found a satisfactory explanation anywhere.....yet. So that's why I'm kind of winiging it. That's okay. I love experimental knitting.  Maybe that's part of my "rebellious" knitting side. In any case, this is what I had last night, before I got so frustrated with how "wrong" it was turning out:

So last night while I was watching a re-run of "Hawaii 5-0"...dada da da da da... I unraveled that entire cuff, which by that point had reached almost 8 inches. I started over last night and worked on this some more today. My father, bless his heart, is being really patient.  This is what I have so far:

That's about it on the crafting front.  I really enjoy writing up a knitting pattern from scratch. It can be aggravating at times, but still a lot of fun.  I have been taking notes as I go along.  When it comes time to knit the second sock, I'll either follow the exact same pattern or alter it, until I find the right "formula" to achieve the look that I"m going after.

That is the news from the ocean shores of California today.  Love and hugs to you all, Heather

HEATHER'S TUESDAY TEA PARTY

Hi everyone,

Oh, I'm so excited.  I finally have some beautiful tea things to share with you. The ladies at my church had a "Ladies Spring Tea" yesterday afternoon. It was just beautiful. One of the ladies in our church hosted the entire group in her garden.  There were tents set up. As it turns out, that was a super smart idea, because it was H.O.T.  There are a lot of photos, so I'm not going to comment very much at all.  I thought about splitting it up into two posts, however "more is M.O.R.E" when it comes to lovely tea things.  So let's get started.  This first photo is the table that I was sitting at.  Each table was lovingly decorated by one of the ladies in our church:

Our guest speaker shared some of her life through her various stiching and needlework projects. It was truly beautiful. Oh and do you see those crazy quilts. Oh be still my vintage-loving heart. Those were gorgeous:

There was some wonderful food there. Now this posed a challenge for me, because I have to eat gluten free...and yes, I did indulge in a few limited items.  However, if I didn't, then I would have starved.  Next time, I'll be better prepared with gluten free goodies that are safe for me to eat. In any case, the food was wonderful:

These were some of the other lovely tea things that I enjoyed looking at.  Tea is such a beautiful thing that can be enjoyed by everyone:

This cute little "ladybug" decide it wanted to enjoy some of the tea time festivities, too. Apparently it decided my leg was a great spot for a lovely tea-time stroll:

My table was the only one that actually had an edible cake as a centerpiece. It is called a "Princess" cake and WOW, did it taste good. I don't care that it was full of gluten. Yes, it was that good:

Thanks for stopping by for tea. I hope you enjoyed all the photos. I just love it when you all stop by for a friendly visit.  You make me smile. 

That is the news from the ocean shores of California today.    Love and hugs, Heather

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

HEY THERE...IT'S SUPER SUNNY TODAY

Hi everyone,

Wow, it is super sunny and super hot today  here on the ocean shores of California. I'm behind on getting my "It makes cents to me" post for this week. I'll get that to you tomorrow. PLUS, I'll have a craft post and a really cool post about tea on Tuesday :) :) I went to a ladie's spring tea this morning. It was lovely.  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

IT MAKES "CENTS" TO ME - SATURDAY - APRIL 14th

Hi everyone,

Okay, how are you all doing today? I decided to move my "It makes "cents" to me" posts from Friday to Saturday. That's my natural week, anyway from Sunday through Saturday.  So here goes. This is what I spent my money on this week. 

First was a Sunday newspaper from April 8th for $1.61.  It costs $1.50 plus tax. 

Next stop was at Trader Joe's on Monday - April 9th:

Total spent was $33.06:
- TJ's organic dark truffle chocolate bar
- 2 packages of applewood uncured bacon
- 2 packages of Applegate organic beef hotdogs. This is a great product, 100% organic and it only costs $4.99/package at my local Trader Joe's store.
- TJ's "Simple Cashew, Almond & Cranberry" trail mix
- big bag of "Cuties" citrus fruit
- 4 bottles of TJ's sparkling mineral water "lemon" plus a $0.20 return bottle deposit

Then on April 12th (Thursday) we shopped at Whole Foods:

Total spent at Whole Foods was $27.86:
- 20 oz. drip coffee with cream and sugar
- 2.19 pounds of organic Navel oranges
- 1 package of applewood smoked bacon
-1 Dagoba organic dark chocolate bar (54%)
- 1 croissant
-1 bagel
-"Natural Home" magazine

Oh, I stopped at the store on Friday the 13th to get some raw milk.  I incubate it for 24 hours when I make yogurt. It's the only form of dairy that my body tolerates well.  I've done lots of research and feel it's okay to drink this. However, I realize that's not for everyone.  Whatever milk you drink, make sure it's ORGANIC that comes from cows that haven't been treated with hormones or anti-biotics...but that's just my opinion. You have to take charge of your own health. Okay, I'm over my health "soap box", back to what all this cost:

$10.78 for two glass bottles of milk I didn't get a photo of this, but normally there's an addition $1.50 bottle deposit per bottle. However, since I returned my glass bottles, I didn't have to pay another deposit.

I also made a stop at Whole Foods...again. Hmm, I should buy stock in this store. I shop there a lot. I love this place. I spent a total of $24.59 at this place:
- 20 oz large mocha
- 1 package of applewood smoked bacon
- 1 Dagoba organic dark chocolate bar
- 2 nutty sticky buns
- 4 gallons of spring water with a total of $0.40 cents in return bottle deposits

Later that afternoon, my dad and I got the crazy idea to "walk" to Trader Joe's and back.Yikes..and we live up in the hills. In any case, it was a really good walk. Here's what we bought there:

Total spent at Trader Joe's was $15.53:
- 2 packages of frozen berries (for smoothies)
- Half gallon of unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 bananas
- 1 big bag of "Cuties" citrus fruit

Oh, I also spent $4.99 on another bag of TJ's "Simply Cashew, Almond & Cranberry" trail mix. This is good stuff...plain and simple.


Today I went to Rite Aid and Whole Foods.  I found a nice package of blank cards.  There are some people I want to thank for all the help they've given to my dad and I. In any case, here's what I bought at those two places:

Total spent at Rite Aid was $5.35:
1 set of blank cards (qty of 10) for $4.99 plus tax


At Whole Foods I spent a total of $31.24:
- 1 bagel
- 1 croissant
- 1 can of wild pink salmon
- 1 pound of organic lean ground beef
- 1 Dagoba organic dark chocolate bar
- 1 package of applewood smoked bacon
- 1 dozen organic eggs
- 20 oz. drip coffee with cream and sugar

OH, and I almost forgot,  my dad and I started participating in a local CSA program here in the area. We ordered a box of fresh, organic fruits/veggies plus 1 dozen organic eggs. We received all of this for just $27 dollars.  I'll write another post on this next week. This is pretty cool:

So that is it for this week.   I spent a total of $174.91 on food alone. That works out to $87.46 per person (between my father and myself). That is higher than I wanted, BUT remember a lot of this we're going to freeze and it will last awhile. So I'm hoping that this coming week, we'll spend a little less.


Don't forget to enter the fun giveaway over Homestead Drying Racks. Click here to read my post about the giveaway. It's really fun everyone. Plus, they just came out with a beautiful, FREE e-zine that you can download for your information and reading pleasure. 

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather 

FUN GIVEAWAY

HI everyone,


Oh, there is a super fun giveaway happening over at Homestead Drying Racks. Click here for details on how you can enter and win one of ten fabulous prizes. This is awesome stuff, folks.  I really need a drying rack to use outdoors this summer. So check it out.


Here's the info that I grabbed from their webpage. Click here to pay them a visit. Please let them know that I sent you. There's no bonus entry for that, but it would be a really nice way of showing some blogging love and a huge THANK YOU for making this first copy of their e-zine FREE to all of us :) :) :)

We are sharing the great homesteading emag with you.  The magazine covers many homesteading topics for the entire family, young and old.  There are so many things for us to learn  as Homesteading enthusiasts.    We hope it will be a blessing to all who read it.  Lord willing, we will have an issue come out quarterly.  FREE DOWNLOAD  Click on the link below to view it in pdf format. MY NOTE: I couldn't figure out how to get the link to work properly, but it's available in two different reading formats. Click here for the options for the free e-zine.


For more information about the emag go to:http://www.homesteaddryingracks.com/emag.html

If you would like to join the celebration, HCP is having a HUGE give away.  Go to:  Homestead Drying Racks - Homestead Store - Bloghttp://www.homesteaddryingracks.com/emag.html

MY NOTE:  For more specifics on the giveaway prizes and how you can win one of these fabulous gifts, click here for details.

That's it for the giveaway information.  Oh, if you really like them, check out their Facebook page by clicking here.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather

DADDY'S RIB KNIT SOCKS

Hi everyone,


Okay, so I'm finally getting a new blog post up with some photos. For the longest time, my father has said he'd like me to knit him a pair of ribbed socks.  Now that's easy, except he kept making one addition special request.  The ribbed cuff must go all the way to below his knees.  Hmm...that's a bit tough. However, I'm always up for a challenge. Oh, since I always knit custom-to-fit socks for the most part, this shouldn't be too difficult, right? Here's a photo of what I've knit so far. This is sock #1 of the pair:

Knitting a rib pattern in Knit 2, Purl 2 is really, really easy.  Indeed, all of knitting is based on those two simple stitches. However, I'm finding that I'm going to have to do an increase and decrease in the cuff to fit my dad's legs, so that the cuff won't sag down.  So this first sock that I"m knitting is a real experiment.  I won't include the instructions yet, since this is a literal knitting experiment. Perhaps, when I knit the second sock, I'll include the details. 




I had a really hard time finding a really good explanation of how to increase and decrease stitches in the Knit 2, Purl 2 ribbed knit pattern. I did find one thing that might work. However, if you have a good explanation or know of a good site, I'd be really grateful.  This is the yarn that I am using to make my dad's socks. These were purchased quite a few months ago, so the actual cost of the yarn escapes me right now. It's "relatively" inexpensive for this type of sock yarn.

I like this kind of sock yarn because it has a small percentage of acrylic in it. That eliminates the need for me to use reinforcing thread in the toe and the heel of the socks. However,  you can add some regular cotton sewing thread if you'd like. It's inexpensive. It works and almost everyone has some in their home.  Here's an extra gratuitious pic of my lovely sock yarn on my cute, vintage shop scale that I inherited from my aunt. Previously the scale belonged to my grandmother, and her father before her:

That's my project so far.  I just received another "Road to Avonlea" DVD in the mail from Netflix. This is my favorite tv series in the entire world.  It's a fabulous show that was produced in Canada, our lovely neighbor to the north :)  So I'm going to go watch some episodes and work some more on my socks. Stay tuned next Wednesday to see how my socks have progressed.  Until then, here's a lovely picture of some Spanish moss that I took while out on my walk this morning.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather 

I'M STILL HERE

Hi everyone,

I am still here :) :) I've been really lazy with posting the last couple of weeks.  Everything is okay at home.  The job front is still nothing, but I"m not discouraged. I'm working on some knit socks for my father, which should be really interesting. They're being knit completely on the fly. That means, I'm not using a pattern.  I'll share a picture or two tomorrow. 

We finally got some more rain again today :) :) Yes, I'm so thankful that God sends the rain. We need it, even here living on the ocean coast :) :)  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)