Tomatoes on the run

These are my terribly leggy tomatoes. Please note that instead of a stake in one pot I had to use the handle from my MagnaDuster -- disgraceful. That farthest tomato is taller than me, and not a blossom in sight. And so naturally, no tomatoes. I fear these plants may never pan out but David waters them faithfully and we will see how the summer progresses. If there are any tomato sightings, I will post again! --Laura

coast to coast socks

Thought I'd post a picture of the socks that have been making their way from coast to coast...I knit one in Ravena and in Washington DC last summer, and then Christina valiantly jumped in and made the second in LA this spring - they are truly a wonder, and I love them! (pay no attention to the ends that I have not yet woven in...I'll get to it.)

Right now I am working on finishing the black cabled sweater that I posted about a while back...I am done with the collar and hood, and now have only the sleeves left to go! I also knit a red cardigan sweater for my friend amanda's 21st birthday, and am experimenting with free style knitting. I like the idea of it...you cast on as much as you like, increase and decrease and pick up stitches in whatever pattern, wherever, and knit many different swatches like this, then hodge-podge them all together. It is fun and a good way to experiment with new stitches/use up odds and ends of yarn. I am thinking of making a bag with the swatches when alls said and done, but who knows whether it will actually be usable :)

Christina and Steve's Patio

We've been talking about it for a good year now, and we've finally made the most back-breaking craft yet. We finished our outdoor patio - here are shots of us creating the frame, filling it with gravel and sand, tamping it down, putting in the pavers, filling the space between the cobblestone pavers with sand, and finally - our enjoyment of the patio!!

Christina's finished goods

Hoo-ey do I have a lot to post today. I got some good crafting done as of late, so here' s what's up. First, the Bag O' Bags (plastic bag made from grocery bags) is completed. I am not altogether thrilled by how it warped when I tried to sew it together with fishing line, but it is a sturdy bag made all from single crochet, and I have plans to knit it in the round next time to eliminate the unsightly, buckling seams:
Okay - then, since I love bags lately, I started work on a new bag, for Steve's aunt. I'm going to try to save it to give to her at Christmas, but I'm a little in love with it and am using all of my restraint not to use it myself. It is based on the pattern for the Sophie bag (http://www.magknits.com/warm04/patterns/sophie.htm) but I made it a little bit bigger in the bottom, and made it longer in the top. I also made it a drawstring bag, because Steve's aunt liked one of these in a store we went in together. All I had to do was to bind off four stitches every twelve stitches all the way around, and then on the next round I cast the four stitches back on every twelve stitches. This made really pretty little holes. Then I just knit a long piece that was only six stitches wide, to be the drawstring. I felted them all up (this time in a pillowcase rather than free in the washer, which I really recommend for maximum washer safety!!) and ta-da, I got this!

Finally, as you all know, I entered the world of socks and loved it something silly. Cyndie sent me self-patterning sock yarn, so it looks like I'm a lot more clever than I really am. But, I just knit it up according to a really basic pattern I found online ( I lost the site, but I have the printout if anyone wants it) and found that simple worked best. Here is one of pair of socks I made for myself:

I also finished one sock from a pair Cyndie had started, but that is currently winging its way to her across this fine continent, and I forgot to take a picture before I sent it. If anyone else wants to participate in sock exchange, knit the first sock and I'll knit the second!!! Or, I'll knit the first sock and you can knit ME the second!

Also, I like sock-making so much that if you sent me yarn you liked, I'd just make you socks because I love you. So, see what you think of that!