Quite often I travel light, taking only knitting bag with a sock tucked inside and nothing more. There have been a few times when a crochet hook at the ready would have been helpful indeed.

Of course it would be logical to carry one of my own hooks with me but I flat out refuse to do such a risky thing. You might think this is odd but do let me explain.

My hooks belonged to my Great Grandma and are one of the few things that I own that was hers. I simply could not bare it if I lost one.

So whilst happily skipping through Esty I came across the niftiest tool ever.

The Stitch Saver - a modified crochet hook that can be attached to a knitting bag, key ring or purse and is ready to rescue a drop stitch in a flash or help you sort out a mistake.

How positively brilliant and clever. I wish I had thought of it.

5elementknitr has a variety of sizes available and she will customize them if you wish.

Be warned if you show it to your friends they will want yours.

Do yourself a favor and order a dozen, then hand them out as Christmas Stocking stuffers for all the knitters on your list.

Do you remember the major trauma I had with my precious Wee Tiny Sock?

Well I found the perfect solution and never again will I experience that kind of horror again, nor will you.

Whilst knitting a toe up Wee Tiny Sock with the nugget of yarn and thinking about the frightening incident, which very nearly gave me a heart attack, an idea bubbled up from the deep recesses of my mind.

What if I knit an I-cord with the remainder of the yarn, which could be formed into a little loop? Then I could slip the chain of the sock blocker through the loop, and would prevent my Wee Tiny Sock from slipping quietly away.

I thought about that for a moment and did just that.

What I did was bind off all but the last stitch. I picked up two stitches from the bound off edge and proceeded to knit an I-cord for approximately two inches. When done, I sewed the tail through the three stitches and wove the last bit of the yarn into the base of the cord which automatically formed the loop.

Should you knit the sock from the top down try this: Make the I-Cord first, then cast on the rest of the stitches that you need. Knit the sock. When finished make a loop with the cord and weave in the tail neatly.

Easy Peasy.

P.S. After driving North for six hours and three pit stops later, including the place where that last WTS was temporarily lost, this little sockie stayed where I put her.

Yes, I think it my little idea worked quite well.

P.P.S. You can knit one little sockie with a nugget of wool.

Winter is non-existent in Key West, so I decided that it would be nice to enjoy a touch of winter by knitting a shawl in dark earthy tones.

This picture more accurately reflects the soft slate blue, plum, russet, chocolate, and sage colors in the yarn.

As for the pattern this is my second tour. The first time I mucked it up with an extraordinary amount of mistakes, however this time I relied heavily on stitch markers to keep me on track. Those beastly little rings slowed me down considerably with every pass, but having an error free shawl was absolutely worth every single one.

Details on my Ravelry page.

Fridays much needed meltdown proved to be an excellent day for knitting. Once RB and I settled into a movie, my needles began to make good progress on the Forest Canopy Shawl.

By late Sunday afternoon a canopy of earthy leaves came off the needles and went straight to the dressing room after a refreshing bath.

Only a tiny little nugget of wool was left from the 420 yard hank.

I wonder, do you think I could craft a Wee Tiny Sock with this very small remnant?

Your blue lace diamonds are too pretty for words, even if there are a few unplanned design elements hidden within your wings. I promise that I won't show them to anyone. It will be our little secret.

Thankfully, you were exceedingly patient with this novice lace knitter, even though things were a little dicey in the beginning. More than a few rows were tinked back until I found my bearings.

If it was not for your clear and accurate instructions to spur me on, you would have been destined to live out the remainder of your life as a simple pair of socks.

Since you stayed with me to the very end you shall be rewarded. Wherever I go so shall you go, draped gracefully over my shoulders for all the world to see.

Come Sunday morning you will make your first debut at church. I'm so excited. Perhaps you will attract the attention of other knitters in the congregation. Fingers crossed.

Together we have experienced the challenges and thrills of lace knitting and you have given me the much needed courage to try another "fancy" shawl.

Wish me luck, Abigail

Project details on my Ravelry page.

I've been busy preparing the guest bedroom this week and was in need of a reading lamp for the bedside table. So I put it on my list of things to get while out and about.

Well I didn't have go very far to procure such an item. When I went down to the dumpster with a bag of trash there was a smart looking lamp right next to it!

I gave it the once over and found it to be in excellent condition so I brought it back up to our flat, then proceeded to plug it in.

Much to my surprise the lamp worked and discovered that it even has a dimmer switch! How cool is that?! I only wish I could thank the person who left it there.

Anyway, the timing on this was brilliant because the next round of visitors starts tomorrow. Be prepared to see more of Key West.....

Magnolia is a dear friend of mine whom I positively adore. We met at the Black Sheep Knitters club in Jensen Beach.

She is a fine Southern Woman of excellent taste and has the coldest feet known to mankind.

Naturally, I siezed the opportunity and knit a pair of socks to chase the chill away from her. After all there is no better way to keep ones feet warm than a pair of hand knit socks.

And all reports say that she is in love with them and rarely takes them off.

The yarn is Mountain Colors Barefoot and very soft to the touch. I loved knitting every single stitch.

Project details can be found on my Ravelry page.

My mother left Key West early this morning and I have no cookies to console my heart.

We had a great time despite RB's wicked case of Salmonella and I was grateful that she was here with me when RB was so violently ill.

Our lean teen eating machine is back to his typical teen self and has emptied the fridge just as predicted, for which I am truly thankful.

As you know Mom and I have been busy exploring the Island.

Yesterday I brought her to the famous buoy to have her picture taken. I love it.

Did you know that Havana Cuba is closer to us than the mainland? Strange but true.

* * * * *

I promise knitting will appear on Monday's post and on Wednesday you will discover who won June's comment contest. Be sure to continue to comment since there is going to be yet another contest for July. There is simply too much yarn in my home and it's begging to live elsewhere.

And now that my life has returned to normal I will be reponding to all of your comments again. Thanks for your understanding during the past two weeks.

Mom and I went for a three hour stroll through Mallory Square.

The view from across the Square.

Yes we could live here, if we had three million dollars to spare.

The Sculpture Garden.

I adore the little girl who is being carried to safety.

A blond Key West Rooster.

The Shipwreck Museum.

A most terrifying Sea Sponge monster.

when you visit the beach!