Fabulousness

(Please forgive me in advance for the abusive overuse of superlatives in this post. Really, I'm sorry. Disgusting, sticky-sweet perkiness is not normally my style but there seemed to be no way around it.)

I have found an excellent way to delay making the decision about the heel for the toe-up socks - spend all of my knitting time doing a photoshoot with my yarn and handknit gifts and then blather on about it on this here blog.

Secret Pal Love

I have been ridiculously and shamefully neglectful in posting pictures of the super stellar gifts that Joanie sent to me at the close of the Secret Pal exchange. Neglect no more!!

First up we have two skeins of Dancing from Knit Picks.

Have any of you ever used this yarn? It is a cotton/wool/nylon/elastic blend. It is beautiful and I have tucked it away in the yarn drawers until I can find the right pattern for it.

Joanie also did a most wonderful thing...just wonderfully kind and marvelous - she knit something for me. For me!! Look at the beautiful fingerless mitts she made for me. Though we have never met and she has no idea what my hands look like, they fit perfectly. They are soft and just perfectly....lovely. Thank you so much, Joanie! I have once again been happily paired in a knitting exchange.

Yarn Shopping Settles My Nerves

Dogs have their favorite bones, winos have their favorite wines, gamblers have their favorite casinos....I have my favorite handpainted sock yarn supplier. That ever-talented darling Susie. Last week was a bit of a stressful week for me and I just happened to stumble over to Susie's place and order some yarn....600 delicious yards of 100% Superwash Merino. Ahhh, Passionate Kisses.

I have never been much of a shopper but somehow, the sock yarn, it soothes me. Some people have a soft spot for other goodies but I have come to terms with the fact that I am a sucker for Susie and her magnificent sock yarn.

I have plans for this yarn. Big plans. (Overly ambitious plans.) I have a pattern that has been on my to-do list for a while now and I've looked high and low for the perfect yarn for it. I think Passionate Kisses might just be this patterns long-lost love.

If you have a few spare moments, stop by Susie's blog and send her some virtual love. She's resting up at home after a medical procedure last Friday.

One of the Cool Kids

You'll never guess what showed up in my email inbox today. Actually, ya'll probably would guess so I'll just tell you - my invitation to Ravelry! It is amazing what a person can do with Ravelry. I am in awe. And I am so SO very excited to get started populating my little corner of the community. The pictures, the patterns, the yarn, the knitterly friends....It really, really must wait, though, until the socks are finished.

As for the Socks...

I think I've decided to follow RC's lead on the heels and go with the Sherman Short Row Heel. That is, if I can decipher the tutorial. I'm a bit intimidated but I like the look of this finished heel. I'm still contemplating this tutorial Charity recommended. Does anyone have two cents to spare on this topic?

You may recall that I originally intended to knit my first toe-up socks for me. Well, when I ripped the first go, I decided I needed some making-something-for-someone-else mojo to help me get through this. That means, of course, that these socks aren't for me. These socks are for my niece Tegan. Her parents and twin sister delivered her to college this weekend (she had to report early, for cheerleading camp.) I talked to her tonight and she is already a little homesick. This is a big, big move for her and I'm planning to send her these socks in her first care package, thus the delay in diving in to Ravelry.

Today's Quote:

"Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.” -George Washington

The Trouble with Tribbles

I have both broken (not fatally, just damaged) and momentarily misplaced my camera. I am certain that I will both a) figure out where I put it and b) take it to Best Buy and hope they will make good on the extended warranty my husband got on it when he bought it for me. (I do love Best Buy.)

Last Friday was Friday the 13th and I have a confession: I fell off the Resolution wagon at about 11:30 p.m. on the 12th. See, my dearly beloved sister-in-law visited RC and saw this post about her dish rags and really really wanted a Tribble. Lori is good and kind and sweet to me and doesn't ask for much and so, I gave in and knitted Tribbles for her. This is not to say that others are not good and kind to me, nor do I mean to imply that others are not equally deserving of the knitted things on my docket for them. Put very simply, Tribbles are a nifty pick-me-up little knit - nearly instant gratification knitting, that uses very little yarn...and I am weak.

Speaking of Lori, if you haven't seen the short film The Landlord with Will Ferrell, stop by Lori's blog and watch it.

I took pictures of the of the Tribbles but alas, as mentioned above, the camera is temporarily out of commission.

I am going to need to revisit my knitting Resolution list, add and subtract (mostly add, I'm guessing) as appropriate and perhaps give myself a little extra time. Perhaps I'll have more success between now and the next Friday the 13th. June 13, 2008. I like realistic goals.

Beyond that, I have accomplished very little knitting in the last week. I have knit and unknit about 700 miles of yarn in the last 8 days because I am trying valiantly to learn to knit socks from the toe-up, based mainly on the article by Ann Budd in the Summer Interweave Knits. RC and Charity and I are having an informal little knit-a-long of the toe-up socks...I think this amounts to more of a toe-up sock support group than KAL. Call it what you will.

Tomorrow I am going to borrow the Mister's camera because I have goodies to share! I got a wonderful package in the mail on Thursday from the ever generous Joanie. Two skeins of yarny goodness from KnitPicks and something wonderful and perfect that she knit just for me! I am so jazzed - knowing that another knitter has taken her precious knitting time and made a beautiful something for me is simply magnificent. Thank you so much, Joanie!!! I love my gifts and I'll be posting pictures soon.

Today's Quote:

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." - Mark Twain

The Sock and the Fury

For once in my blogging life, I have more pictures than words. I have been taking pictures like a fiend the last week and a half but haven't managed to write a post. (The lack of posting may well have something to do with the bronchitis, etc. I had last week, too.) The mammoth black widow spider and the massive stash organization undertaking will have to wait for another day. For today, we have gift yarn and a minor sock nightmare to discuss instead.

First the Good News

I went to check the mail late on Friday night and discovered no bills, no credit card offers, no magazines, no grocery store coupons...Just a package from the lovely and talented Kiwi knitblogger Ennavic.410 meters of absolutely stunningly gorgeous New Zealand wool. Seriously. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is black and deep purple and blue and green and dark red and pink and orange and yellow....the colors are all so strikingly beautiful. I took several pictures and never did quite capture how remarkable it is. The transitions between the colors are lost but take my word for it: they are cool. These colors could not be more perfectly suited for me if I had personally selected each and every one. When I emailed her to tell her the package had arrived, I said that as soon as I saw the yarn, I immediately thought it would be perfect for a felted bag and EnnaVic said that she had had the same thought. Apparenly this yarn knows what it wants to be! Thank you, thank you!

Want to see it again? The Damned Sock

Have you ever had a project that was nothing but trouble? A project that seems to fight you every step of the way?

That's how these socks-for-the-doctor are. Words like "wicked" and "demon-possessed" and "stupid" and "&#$!>+(#" keep coming to mind. These socks should be simple. They are a generic vanilla sock pattern. Even for this barely experienced sock knitter, these socks should not be this much trouble. (Sidenote: I need to stop reading blogs where people knit socks with wild abandon...you know who you are. The ones who cast on a pair of complex, intricate socks on Monday and ***wham, bam, thank you ma'am*** on Wednesday they are posting finished socks. I do not begrudge them their fast knitting of socks. It is jealousy, pure and simple.)

I readily acknowledge that the first problem is that I haven't had much time to knit lately so I have been knitting bits and pieces here and there. This sort of knitting means progress happens but not lots of progress. Last week, during the fever/coughing, I did a bit of knitting. [Sick knitting time is seriously hampered by a) sleeping; b) cough syrup with codiene c) "Prime Time in the Daytime" on TNT. The do, in fact, know drama; d) coughing; e) sleeping.]

I was quite pleased, then, when I finished the heel and gusset of one sock and traded off to pick up the gusset stitches of the second sock. After picking up the second sock gussets, I stretched out the heel a bit to take a look and make sure it was nice and even. That's when I saw this:Do you see what I saw? Some very normal, generic spaces between nice little even heel stitches....and one gimongous hole.

What's a knitter to do? First, I laid it down. I knit a couple of nice even rounds on the foot of the other sock. I looked at the hole again. I took my antibiotics. I said dirty words. I took a nap. Then I picked up the offending sock. I knit a round. Then my inner knit-picker (ha) got the better of me and I, woefully, ripped out the heel. All the way to the point that I split for the heel in the first place. Then I took a shower.

So now I am working on the heel again. I don't know how that hole happened. I looked and looked and LOOKED at it and never figured out exactly what I did wrong. This whole hole business has included a reprehensible amount of make-a-sailor-blush language.

At this point, there is a part of me sitting quietly in the corner, angry and frustrated, saying, "Screw it. He doesn't need handknit socks." There is also a more determined, more ill-tempered part of me that could care less about the finished product and just doesn't want to lose this grudge match style battle between knitter and knitting.

Soothing My Spirits

Last weekend, I was online and happened over to Jimmy Bean's Wool to pick up a little something for my Secret Pal. I wanted something special for her last package and I thought some Lorna's Laces would be a good pick. I accidentally bought some for me, too. Oops. Unfortunately for me, the Jimmy Bean's site didn't indicate that it takes two skeins of LL to make a pair of socks. (Not that this is JB's fault. I should have checked the yardage.) Luckily, I had ordered each of us a skein of two different colors so it worked out in the end. Except for one that I only ordered one skein of....Do ya'll have any experience with the Lorna's Laces? I have never used it. Obviously. That's the reason I bought 5 skeins of it.

Today's Quote:

"CATAPULTAM HABEO. NISI PECUNIAM OMNEM MIHI DABIS, AD CAPUT TUUM SAXUM IMMANE MITTAM" (I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)

A Magnificent Surprise

Happy Dance

Saturday I spent the entire day making good on a Mother's Day present and when I got home, hot and tired and riddled with muscle cramps, there was a medium sized UPS box with my name on it. The return address said Pacific Wool & Fiber but I knew I hadn't ordered anything. I opened it and discovered it was a surprise from my secret pal, Joanie. I had almost forgotten mentioning somewhere recently that I've been wanting to learn to spin but hadn't managed to get my act together and try. So guess what she sent me?

A drop spindle!!!
And beautiful fiber!!! (described on the packaging as "Colonial Heather Top Vineyard")

There was much dancing and cheering and ohhing and ahhing on my part. Followed by several valiant, if unsuccessful, attempts at trying to explain to my Mister what all the giddiness was about.

I spent a little while last night trying to spin, with only moderate success...I was very tired. I will try again tomorrow. This fiber is so so soft and stunningly beautiful - the picture doesn't do it justice. I had some roving on hand and have been practicing with it. I think I want to practice a bit more before diving into the wonderful Colonial Heather Top Vineyard. THANK YOU, JOANIE!!! You are the best pal a girl could ever hope for!

Crochet, The Devil's Handiwork

Friday evening, I unburied the crochet hooks and made up a sample of the crochet project. (I haven't done one in a long time and thought I should dust of my skills before trying to teach them to someone else.) Here's the sample. Any guesses? (Robyn, you are not allowed to guess.) As if the fact that it is crocheted were not enough, the yarn is about 90% fun fur and similar novelty yarn. I am so ashamed.

I'll make Lisa pose with it Wednesday at KnitNight when I teach her how to do the devil's work. (And actually, the yarn shop calls it "Girl's Night Out" but I prefer to refer to it as KnitNight. Umm.)

Sock-o-rific
At long last, I feel like I am making actual, noteworthy progress on the socks. I have made some more progress on Sock #2 (left) since I took this picture and it is about one inch from the start of the heel flap. I will try to get that far before I go to bed tonight. These guys have spent an awful lot of time huddled together in my knitting bag. I may have to ship them off to Dr. B, who I think, with her special knack for sock conversations, is in fact a Sock Whisperer.

Tonight I've been knitting and catching up on tivo'ed episodes of Planet Earth. The squalls of the baby polar bears woke up my helper. (Sally and I both prefer Deadliest Catch, but we're all caught up on Deadliest Catch.)

Today's Post:


“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

A Delightful Surprise

Because I have been crazy busy the last two weeks, I have been neglectful of my email and late Friday afternoon I finally got around to return an email to my secret pal Joanie. Then, Friday evening, I was riding home from my parent's house with my husband (who had already been to the house after work) and he wanted to know what I had ordered from Staples. He said I had a big package at the house, delivered UPS, all taped up with Staples tape. I had no idea what he could be talking about.


Sure enough, when we got home, there was a box for me. When I saw the return address, I knew it had to be something from Joanie. Hurray!!!

The package was perfect. A delicious smelling vanilla candle, springy happy notecards (I love notecards), two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca alpaca/silk in the amethyst colorway (the color in this picture is pretty close but you can't see the delicate sheen or the luxurious softness), and Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, Knitter's Almanac.

What a wonderful package - and a perfect way to end the week! Thank you Joanie!!


Here's my May package for my giftee, blurred for anonymity.

I've finished the second strip of the Almost Amish baby blanket and the back of a hedgehog since my last post. Yesterday evening, I completed several rows of the first of my DrDoctor socks. Not too much knitting news...which could have something to do with the time I spent beading yesterday. The beads, they are like Starbucks. You want to resist, but you just can't.

In Hoc Signo Vinces

Susie's Brilliant Sunset

A visit to a good yarn store is like salve for a knitter's tender soul.

Babetta's Yarn in Fair Oaks (near Sacramento) was exactly what I needed. It was a warm, friendly shop where a bunch of ladies were gathered in the back knitting and chattering and admiring each other's work and, the first thing I saw after I came in the door was a hedgehog. I knew I'd found the right spot. Hurray to Caitlyn for the recommendation!

It was so wonderful to see and feel and admire so many yarns that I have only seen before online. Lori was a very good sport, looking around with me and pointing out yarns that sounded familiar to her - and some scary novelty yarns. Luckily, she came to her sense before we left the store and decided she didn't want a scarf from some scary ladder yarn.

What she did want (and how can you deny a women who only rarely mocks your knitting and supports your habits so enthusiastically) was a knitted bookmark. So I got some Misti Alpaca laceweight.

In my enthusiasm, I took off the labels and started knitting in the car. Then when I got home, I wound the skeins into center pull balls and and now have no idea what the names of these colors are so I am calling them (amazingly) dark purple and light blue

Babetta's had a great selection of Cascade 220 and I picked out these two darlings for a little project that has been milling around in my head. I like the brown and red (garnet) together.I picked up a little something for my Secret Pal.

I don't think she knows who I am but just in case...

Last but most certainly not least, I brought home this fabulous, beautiful skein of Trekking XXL.Trekking is another one of those yarns that I have heard knitters talking about (well, blog about) but never met in person. I am eager to knit with it. I'm sorry, I am a lazy blogger...I can't remember the name of the colorway and I am not getting up to look. It is very pretty. Feeding my weird green cravings that seem to continue unabated.

That was all from Babetta's but today (oh, hurray for today!) I got a package in the mail from the always super duper uber fabulous Susie. It was some handpainted merino and a book she was destashing.Susie's beautiful handpainted yarn in the Pastel Rainbow Black.

And the book is The Knitter's Template. Kim recommended this book a while back and I've heard several other's say it is very useful in learning about garment construction. There is some very enthusiastic and (in my opinion) misguided use of novelty yarns in this book but after just a casual first flip through, I can see why so many tout the virtues of it.

So I am feeling all yarned up and happy. I was reading the Yarn Harlot's posts from the last several days about the big get together in New York and all the nice knitters and the hats and the socks and the gathering togehter...that combined with my latest yarn acquisitions... it all just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy and proud about being a knitter. (ahhhh....)

Today's Quote:

“In hoc signo vinces. (Under this standard shalt thou conquer.)” - Emperor Constantine, motto assumed by him, AD 312

Secret Pal 10

or: The Novelization of the Questionnaire

I got the sweetest e-card from my Secret Pal 10 hostess. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about this exchange and it hasn't even really started. (As a side note, it hasn't really started yet and somehow I am already behind...)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Likes: I like lots of yarns. (Don't we all?) My very favorite yarn of all time is wool blend sock yarns. The Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton Silk, too, ranks high on my list of yarns that are pure joy to knit. Oh and speaking of Alpaca…I have been looking longingly at the Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk ever since Ann over at Mason-Dixon Knitting pointed out there enchanting line of colors.
Dislikes: I don't like itchy. I've met a few "high end" acrylics and acrylic blends that I like but as a general rule, I am not a fan of acrylic.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? The majority of them are in two large glasses vases with decorative rocks on top of the entertainment center. Lots of them, though, are scattered about the house in various places. This stems from both my inability to keep things like that organized and from the idea that, if I actually put all of the needles all together in one visible location, someone (Mr.) might realize just exactly how many needles I have. Oh and the KnitPicks Options are all neat and tidy in their little case.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Three years? Five years? I can’t remember exactly. I learned on a rain day either on or near my birthday (it is a vague memory) and it was just sort of on a whim. A friend of mine taught me the basics and since then I have been learning mostly from books and from a great deal of trial and error and from help from strangers on the internet (i.e. how I learned to knit socks).
Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I guess I would consider myself an advanced intermediate. I feel pretty confident doing most techniques and I have developed my “reading my knitting” skills but I also know enough to know that there is still SO MUCH I don’t know about knitting.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, but I really should, huh?

5. What's your favorite scent? I like lots of scents…vanilla, baking cookies, coconut, berry smells, lime, pineapple…I must be hungry. I really really don’t like the incense and musky smells.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth. I prefer salt snacks usually but my favorite candies are Snickers bars, Smarties, apple Sour Straws white chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I do origami and I like other paper crafts – like making cards, etc. – but I do very little of those things since I learned to knit. I’ve recently fallen into the black pit of despair otherwise known as beading. I have not yet admitted that I may actually love the beads but I have recently come to terms with the fact that I am going to need to come up with a better storage system for the beads than the system I am currently using.
Do you spin? No, but I dream of learning some day.

8. What kind of music do you like? Mostly I listen to country music. My favorite songs are mostly 80’s country and some 70’s. I also like 60s/70s/80s pop. I do not listen to current pop or rock really at all. I have an inexplicable fondness for Anne Murray and Marty Robbins.
Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?Yes

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? My favorite colors are autumn colors: deep red, terra cotta, browns, dark greens, lavender and plums...I like rich, saturated color. I also like creams and white and dark blues and some very dark pinks. I don't like mousy colors. I like mustardy yellow but I can't wear yellows or oranges so I largely stay away from them.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married, no kids. We have two pets, both dogs – a boxer/rottweiler mix named Zena and a miniature dachshund named Sally.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves: Yes, occasionally.
Hats: Not where anyone can see me.
Mittens: Theoretically, yes, but my life doesn’t include much call for mittens. Maybe once in a while if we go to someplace cold or snowy.
Ponchos: No. Perhaps I might one day if someone holds a gun to my head and threatens severe bodily injury to me or mine. But really, it would have to be a big gun and some serious threatening.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? They aren’t really my favorite but I have knitted a lot of felted creatures. I don’t particular want any animals for myself but there are people in my life who like felted animals and they are interesting to knit so that is good. I love knitting cables but I am not overly fond of the way cables look. I love to knit little, precious baby things but I don’t have a baby – nor any plans to have one – so I make do with making stuff for other people’s babies. I have recently fallen in love with knitting socks and this is something I might actually knit for myself so maybe socks are my favorite.

13. What are you knitting right now? Socks, actively, and a herd of hedgehogs for my mother, neglectfully. I also have a baby sweater I need to get started and, um, finished...

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes!!!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? As a general rule, I prefer circular needles but for socks, nothing beats the dpns.
Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Metal needles. I occasionally use bamboo but my heart really belongs to the metal needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes! I got a swift for Christmas. I heart my swift! (and the ball winder, too, but there is something kind of magical about the swift.)

17. How old is your oldest UFO? A sweater I have been working on for my mother for well on two years now. I really really must finish this but since she requested her hedgehog herd after Christmas.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Does yarn count? Or dust bunnies? I guess the only thing I really collect is books (quote books and old books) and I like old/antique teacups but I am not a very motivated collector. The books are a hit or miss proposition and I only have like 6 or 8 teacups… If I am out and about and find one of these that I like, I will get it, if it doesn’t damage the yarn budget too much. I guess this isn’t a very good answer to this question.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? This is an exceptionally open ended question!

Books:

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac

Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks

Melissa Leapman’s Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting

Yarns:

The Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk I mentioned above

Rowan Kid Silk Haze

Or the Kid Silk Spray

And of course, one of these days I vow I will splurge and gets some qiviut and make something all musk ox fabulous.

Patterns:
The only one that particularly comes to mind. . . I have been contemplating the Safari Friends from Knitting at Knoon

What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I don't have any knitting magazine subscriptions

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I-Cord bind off. I’ve seen it used on several patterns and I tried once but couldn’t figure it out and I’ve never gone back and tried again.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes. I wear a size 8 or 8.5 women’s shoe. I don’t know what my “foot measurements” are. Heck, I don’t even know how I would determine my foot measurements. (If someone wants to tell me, I will measure them!)

23. When is your birthday? February 1

Today's Quote: "It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion." Rene Daumal

Where Do the Days Go?

I mean really. Time flies. Sometimes I am a bad friend to my blog. I get so busy working and sewing up and having the stupid flu and working (this week I'm starting a shorthand course) and oh yeah - and walking in my boot without crutches! Yes, the days have been wild and crazy here since my last post. So wild and crazy is in the eye of the beholder but in the eye of this beholder, it has been hectic.

I haven't been knitting much. Sadly. I miss my knitting when I don't knit for several days. I have turned the heel on the first of the Black Cherry Kool-Aid socks. I'm happy with the looks of it so far. Just wish it was, you know, more done! Ahh well.

As for my crutchless state...I know it sounds sort of ungrateful but the walking is really not as much fun as I remembered it being. I'm glad to be rid of the crutches - I've been carrying all sorts of stuff around, which is super-duper fabulous. It is just kind of tender. I am not rushing it. I am not overexerting. I am being careful and walking only in the boot. I am not risking it. I see the doc later this week so hopefully it will be a stunning example of ankle health.

Other than that, nothing much going on here. I've joined the Secret Pal 10. I've never done the Secret Pal gig and I'm really looking forward to it. I need to get the questionarre posted in the next couple of days. Yippee...we have that exciting post to look forward to. :)

Today's Quote:

"Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise." - H.G. Wells