Rockin' Socks!

"Clean-up in aisle Moose!"

That's what my husband said last night. I was upstairs brushing my teeth when he called up to me. Uh oh, I thought, what happened? No, Moose didn't yak, or miss his litterbox. He did, however, pull a mosaic tray of glass votive candleholders (not lit) off the coffee table and even though the candleholders hit the carpeted floor, the heavy mosaic tray followed and landed on top of them, which managed to break two of them! I'm really not sure how such a tiny cat managed to do this, but hey, I suppose anything's possible if you're determined enough. DH said Moose didn't really get scared by the ordeal, but he did get a little too curious and tried to help clean up the mess he'd made, so DH had to put him in the lavatory so we could clean up the glass. Silly Moose. And oddly enough, even though I liked those candleholders, I'm not the slightest bit heartbroken about them...and heck, I figure that's just a couple of things I no longer have to dust!

Warning: Rockin' Sock Club spoiler ahead!!

Upon arriving home from work yesterday, I pulled up to my house and spotted that telltale blue and white box outside the front door. YAY! Could hardly wait to get inside and open it up. Naturally, I had some help opening it. Moose was very curious about my STR kit, and I had the whole thing out on the coffee table and as I was excitedly inspecting it, so was he. He was pawing at the little emergency sock yarn skein, although he especially loved the little pull-tab strip that came off the shipping box. hee. Kittens are so easy to amuse (and apparently, so am I).

(And yes, that coaster you see on the table was in fact the inspiration for his name.) (And no, I did not stage the photo that way.) (And in the top left you can see the corner of the aforementioned mosaic tray, which, btw, survived the encounter with the Moose.)

I'm loving the kit...so nicely put together, the pattern printing is lovely, and so is the binder. This is really a quality operation. And the yarn, love the yarn. Can't wait to see how it knits, cuz I know it'll be great. Okay, truth be told, the color isn't one I'd have picked out for myself. But, as I believe someone else posted on the Sock Club blog (say that five times fast), I joined this club to be adventurous and to try something new! Plus, ya know? They're socks. You can wear any color socks. So I'm just going to dive in and enjoy this! Tonight I will cast on and do some swatching. Can't wait. I've got my knitting bag all set:

(FYI, that bag is from here. I've had that bag for a while and it makes a great knitting bag since it stands up by itself. Although, it doesn't have a zipper so I may need to come up with some sort of an anti-Moose security measure. Luckily Maddie never bothers my knitting.)

As I mentioned before, I am easily amused. So it will come as no surprise when I say that I am completely enchanted by the little emergency sock yarn keychain.

Oh, and I can't remember what the inside of my ball band said. I haven't wound it yet anyway.

Looks like a great pattern, and I can't wait to start them!

Knitting help

I am wondering how much knitting I'll be getting done in the near future.

Why is that, you might ask?

Here's why:

Meet Moose, our new kitten! We got him yesterday, and he's the sweetest little thing. He warmed up to us very quickly, and was soon purring and going back and forth between mine and my husband's laps looking for pets and head rubs. I am tentatively hopeful that I finally have the lap cat I wanted for so long!

We haven't introduced him to Maddie yet, because Moose has a little cold he's getting over. But I kind of think he's even doing better than he was yesterday evening when we brought him home. So, soon we'll be able to bring them together and see how that goes!

He's very curious and is being quite the active kitten, although at the moment he's snoozin' on the back of the sofa. And true to form, he also appears to appreciate handknits:

Back soon with some actual knitting content!

Because handknits are comfier

Yesterday afternoon while doing chores around the house, I got a little warm. So I took off my sweater. Shortly thereafter, a certain gray cat made herself comfy in it.


A couple of hours later, she emerged thinking it was dinnertime. It was not. Once she caught on to this idea, she went back to the sweater. (Kindly ignore old brown chair. It used to belong to my father-in-law and is slated to be replaced one of these days.)

Personally, I take it as a compliment that the cat likes my sweater! At least she matches it, so the fur factor isn't quite so bad!

Comments!

Hey, I got real, live, comments! That's a first. :o) Thank you to you nice people for leaving me comments, you made my day. Now I'll actually have a reason to blog if someone out there is reading!

I think I need to figure out blogger a little more too...some things still confuse me. And one thing that I find frustrating is with this "new" version of blogger...it's perhaps a little more user-friendly, but less customizable... My meager knowledge of html worked fine for me before (ie, adding things to my sidebar was do-able in the template html editor) but now while the overall interface seems simpler, the html seems more complex!

Anyone else out there using the new blogger find this frustrating? Any suggestions??

Surprises

Last night I finished another project, but it is one that will remain under wraps for a bit. It is a gift for a good friend, and I want to wait until I send it to her before I post anything, just in case she decides to go through old emails and finds a link to this blog! So, I'll be back with more on that later.

I am really excited about the first STR Rockin' Sock Club socks...can't wait to get the first package. This will be such fun, like getting a surprise in the mail every two months! This is why I wanted to finish both the above-mentioned gift knitting and the pink fingerless mittens so I have those out of the way before the socks come. I've told myself that I am allowed to wind the STR yarn and cast on for the project the moment it arrives! That's my treat to myself. :o)

More pink?!

Yep, that's right. More pink. I can't help it. Pink is my thing. Just like knitting is my thing. Combine the two and I'm in heaven.

I finished the Fingerless Mittens last night. I think they're quite nice, if I may say so myself.

Here's an attempt at a photo of the cable. I think because of the variegatedness of the yarn it is not photographing well, but here it is anyway:

(BTW, the color in the first photo is closer to the real thing.) There's a link to the pattern here. I mentioned before that I had to do some tweaking to make the open ends (for fingers and thumbs) work better, and I like the way they came out. Using the smaller needles for the ribbing on the top was definitely the way to go, because now they lie flat against my hand and don't bunch up either. I also shortened considerably the hand and thumb sections, so now I can be a little more dexterous while wearing them. I think they'll come in handy on those chilly winter evenings sitting around home! I just hope I can knit with them and not get my needles stuck in them. :o)

Wheeee!

This is fun...just changed the look of this thing. I think I like it. We'll see.

Wineberry: complete

This news is a little old, but I never posted about it. A couple of weeks back I finished the Wineberry Throw. Here it is in all its fuzzy, mohair, warm, woolly, glory:

I love this thing. It was so fun to knit (kept me toasty warm while doing so!) and now it's the greatest lap blanket. It's very lightweight, but oh so warm since it's mostly made of wool, and it's also the perfect size, not too big that it's unwieldy. Love it. :o) And so does Maddie, apparently. (She is quite fond of all handknits, actually.) Here she is helping me with the fringe:

And here she is napping on it in a new spot. She never sat on that side of the sofa before, mind you, but now that there's a new blanket, well, all bets are off!

Pink Stuff

Well, since this seems to be working now...I guess I'll try posting a little knitting content. My current knitting time is being spent working to finish up some gift mittens for a friend, and my hot pink fingerless mittens. This photo is old; I've since finished and re-finished the first one. Note too that I am aware this is a less than stellar photo, I just can't get it to photograph well, can't see the cable detail. Trust me, it's a pretty pattern.






I finished the first one and decided it was too long in the hand section to be a useful mitt while typing or such, and also the ribbing was too loose since it was done on the same size needles. So I painstakingly un-cast-off and then tinked back a few rows (I have little confidence in my ability to pick up loose stitches if I just frog back). I then reknit the ribbing in size 3's and it came out much, much better. Now I'm trucking along on the second one.

The pattern I am using can be found here; scroll down and on the left is a pattern called "*Cabled Fingerless Gloves". The yarn is called Moda Dea Cartwheel in Raspberry.

The reason I am trying to desperately to finish these mittens is because I am anxiously awaiting my first installment of the Rockin' Sock Club shipments. Yay! So excited. I am psyched by the mystery of it all, and I think I'll be happy with anything they send our way because I've looked at all their colors and they're all beautiful. Very excited about this new venture.

Guess that's it for now. Off to see about further customizing this blog. Still annoyed that though they've made it quick and easy to edit, there seems to be no way of doing some of the simple things I did before. sigh.

Third and final test

Okay, one more time. Here, I'll add a cute cat photo to make this one interesting. This is Maddie, all comfy on our bed:

Another test

Well, it would seem that my previous post finally came through. I am hoping that this one is quicker...so let's see...

New look?

So, I just updated my blog to the new template editor thingy. I can't figure this out yet though, why it doesn't seem to update instantaneously. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if it has some sort of delay. Therefore, this is a test post! Back later with knitting content.

New Links

Check out the sidebar for new links to my other pages...

Carrie's Crafts (my pages of things I've made)

and...

Knitting & Craft Links (my collection of useful links)


And in knitting news...

The Absolutely Fabulous throw continues to be just that...fabulous! And I am trucking right along, over halfway done now. I am excited for it to be done, but at the same time it's been a really enjoyable thing to knit that I almost don't want it to end. Almost.

Update-o-rama

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I haven't been blogging but I sure have been knitting. In fact, I finally whittled down my WIPs from a staggering 8+ or so to 5, which is a number that works for me. One wrap, two scarves, an afghan and a pair of socks. Not too bad.

I've also decided to start concentrating on one at a time, since the reason I have so many WIPs is that I work a little on each and finish nothing. The phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind. Kind of how I took to languages in school...dabbled in a few but never became fluent in any. Ah well, I feel at least a little more well-rounded knowing even a little of them.

So, knitting-wise, my current obsession is my Absolutely Fabulous Throw from Colinette. Oh, the yarns. And Oh, the colors. Love it love it love it. Here are a couple of progress shots after one repeat of the yarns/rows:





(This is the Wineberry colorway.)

I am trucking right along on this thing and it's going faster than I'd expected. Although this could be the result of actually focusing on one thing at a time, but well, that's just silly talk.

Actually though, I am realizing there really is a benefit of working on one thing at a time in that I get into the groove of it, and don't forget the pattern nuances if I don't set it down for another project. Plain socks, no problem there. But that Fuchsia Lace Scarf I am working on? It's on hold for the moment but when I pick it back up I'm not setting it down till it's done. Last time I idly picked it up after a break I made a booboo. Same with the Mimi Verylong...there's a definite rhythm to the [K2tog YO] that you need to be in so that you don't forget to do that last YO at the end of the row before the edging. Been there, done that, tinked back. And with that one, you don't realize you've got the wrong stitch count until you've reached the end of the NEXT right side row.

I've updated my sidebar with WIPs and recently completed things, as well as my own page of knitting projects. I am determined to stay on top of these things now.

I am so tempted to get yarn and cast on for Print O' The Wave Stole though. So tempted. I keep seeing it on people's blogs and it is just so tempting. But I know myself, I need to finish a few other things (how 'bout that other wrap I am already working on? There's an idea...) before I can allow myself that.

So there we go. The latest and the greatest.

Pink Poncho Complete

Ah, whoops. Didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted anything, and that I never added info about my completed Pink Toddler Poncho. So here goes.

Last weekend we went to visit my friend where I gave her two girls their knitted duds I'd made them. They were well received (the 3-month-old didn't have much to say but she did spit up on it, so I'll consider that a thumbs-up) and the toddler even willingly posed for photographs.

But first some info on the completion of the poncho. First off, the pattern I used/modified for a smaller size was the Yarn Harlot Poncho. After some, er, frogging, I finally decided that I was done with the knitting portion and had it big enough, so I sent the thing through the washer and dryer before I added the fur yarn to give it a wash and make it all soft.





Then I needed to find some ribbon to stitch along the inside of the bottom to make the bottom lie flat since I'd chosen an acrylic yarn that wasn't going to let me block it. This came out pretty well I think:



And lastly, I added some colorful fur yarn to the collar and the bottom edge...





And now for the modeling pix...here we have my friend's little girls wearing the things I'd knitted for them. Here's Audrey wearing the poncho, along with her little sister Juliet in her sweater that I'd made.

Frogs abounding

Since I last posted there have been a couple of visits to the frog pond. I have decided that I'd rather re-do something and do it nicely than just settle for something that's so-so. (This however, does not apply to my Fuchsia Lace scarf where a minor boo-boo in my edging is not being fixed. I practically had to sit on my hands in order to keep myself from attempting to fix it, but the realization of the fact that I have no idea how I'd figure out how to rip back a lace pattern and pick up those stitches again--including a twisted-stitch garter edging with mini cables--and figure out where I was in the pattern was what finally grounded me and I told myself that it's okay if there's a teeny tiny boo-boo. I'm the ONLY one who'd ever know it's there...but that fact alone is what's bugging me...still. No, NO! I won't rip it back.) Ahem.

Where was I? Oh yeah, ripping back. Actually this is more of a "starting over" thing. I was marching along nicely on that soft blue scarf, about halfway through when I went to change balls of yarn and found to my dismay that the new ball of fuzzy novelty stuff was vastly different from its counterpart, despite being the same dyelot. erg. I resigned myself to the fact that I simply must start entirely over. The good news is I had gotten three balls, and the other two are the ones that match, but it's all good as I've also learned that two will suffice for the scarf. The third unmatching ball will be used to adorn the matching mittens I plan to make, which won't matter. But I was seeing enough of a difference in the scarf that it was not going to work.

The other project that took a dip in the ole frog pond was the toddler poncho I am making. It was kicking my butt. This is a little poncho I am making for my best friend's older daughter (I made this sweater for her new baby and wanted to take something for the older one when we go visit soon). I am following the pattern for the Yarn Harlot Poncho but of course making it way smaller. I started by choosing a baby/sport weight yarn (I'm using Lion Brand Baby Soft in Bubblegum and then will do a round of Fancy Fur in Party Pink at the bottom...I think this will be cute for a little girl). I had to do some figuring on what size neck to start with. That's where this thing began its determined process of kicking my butt. First I searched online to find out how big kids' heads are and then I used that, rounded up, checked my gauge and decided how many stitches to cast on. Then there was good news and bad news. The good news was my gauge and estimations were right on and the thing was ending up the size I'd intended. The bad news was that I'd way overestimated it. I mean, I want her to be able to wear it now and for a while, but at the same time, I don't want it slipping off her shoulders now. So I debated, tried other tricks like knitting a ribbed edge around the top, all in an effort to save the rather significant part I'd knitted so far, and in the end I decided I must start over with a smaller neck opening. sigh. Once I'd accepted this fact and started over, all was well and I was back in business and happy with it.

I marched onward and then came Part 2 of the frog pond expedition. I figured I was done, and added my garter edging (not the fur stuff yet, thank goodness). I then paused to look at it and decided that in fact this was probably not yet big enough (it's hard to tell when it's all scrunched on those needles!). So at first I tried to crochet around a bit but soon came to the realization that that was not going to cut it. So I frogged. I pulled those stitches out. yikes! That was a first for me, just boldly pulling them out in the hopes that I'd eventually get them back on the needles. Which I did. But not without some angst. Nervewracking, that little process. All those live stitches just waving around, waiting for me to screw up and give the thing a tug and let them all run, run away free. But alas, they did not, and they allowed themselves to be [painstakingly] picked back up and reassembled on the needles. So am back in business. Again.

My last WIP that's listed is what I'm calling my Fibonacci Pillow for my mother-in-law. More on that later! Meanwhile, here's what I made her a few years ago for Christmas, which I've dubbed the "Math Pillow". (She's a mathematician. Make more sense now?)

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...

So here I am, returning with photos in hand.

I start with my NYAs...New Yarn Aquisitions. On my recent trip to Toronto and the lovely Lettuce Knit yarn shop, I purchased the following delightful specimens:

Koigu KPPPM


and Fleece Artist Merino


Yummy. I can't wait to start something with them, but I need to restrain myself for a while (have you SEEN my list of WIPs??).

Previously I had been at the shore with my family and visited a yarn shop I'd learned of called Sea Needles in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Cute little shop, though only about half of it was about yarn, the rest involved beads (we like beads though), cross stitch, embroidery, etc. There I purchased some...

Sockotta


and some Regia


And now for some WIP shots. I have a lot of things going right now, but I am really enjoying working on all of them. So much so that I almost don't want any of them to end...which is silly, really, since all I'd have to do is get more yarn and cast on again. Duh. But anyway.

Here is the Fibertrends Fuchsia Lace Scarf I am making, in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Very lovely soft yarn that is so far excellent for showing the fancy stitches. I hope it blocks well though when done, since it's hard to see the stitches all scrunched up. Here it is as I stretch it out a bit:



This has been a really fun thing to knit, I am enjoying it immensely. One of my favorite features on it is the "scalloped" edges. I think it adds such a nice touch and feeling of being finished along the edges. Oh, and I am making the "Trailing Lace" version (there are two in the pattern). I would very much recommend this pattern as it was very well-written and a very high attention to detail.

Another of my favorite current projects is the Feathery Lace Stole from Exquisite Little Knits. (I love this book.) I am making my wrap in Kidsilk Spray, the variegated cousin of Kidsilk Haze. I love the color, such a rich pinkish/red. Should be great for holidaytime wear. Here are a couple of WIP shots:





I got quite a bit of it done on my trip recently. A really great travel project.

One day a while ago while wandering through JoAnn's I happened upon some extremely soft, pale blue yarn that has beads in it. I thought it would make a wonderful soft scarf for a black winter coat. I decided to get some other pale blue yarn to go with it and ended up with a few balls of these two yarns:



I recently just randomly decided to cast on for this, since I'd come up with an idea of what to make. I am working K2P2 rib, and alternating the two yarns every two rows. I think it makes a neat effect, especially since the two colors are almost identical but not quite...here's my WIP:



So far I love it, it'll definitely be a cuddly soft scarf. It's not that wide so I will make it pretty long for extra wraps. I then want to make some coordinating mittens out of the wool yarn, with a little of the super-soft novelty stuff with beads on the cuffs. I think it'll be a fun set!

Guess that's it for now...see sidebar for other WIP pix not interesting enough to mention here...!

Knitting Knews

Long time no blog. Well, I do have knitting updates, though no photos at the moment. Let's see...where to begin? I'll start with this past weekend.

I spent a lovely weekend in Toronto visiting a good friend. She showed me all over the city, mostly normal, every-day stuff. Took the TTC all over, walked a lot, and ate yummy foods I don't know where to get here...my favorite meal was Ethiopian. YUM! They bring the meal all on one giant platter on a large round, flat, spongy bread stuff which you rip up and eat everything with, all with your fingers. We had a beef dish called Tibs and a veggie medley dish that mostly had variations on lentils and such. All very delicious. Then after dinner we had some lovely coffee that had a hint of cardamom and when it was served they also brought some burning incense, which was frankincense. It smelled so nice, and made for such a lovely atmosphere.

We did do one tourist thing, which was go to Casa Loma. Very cool place. I guess a bunch of movies (or parts of them) have been filmed there...one of note to me was the school scenes in X-men. They filmed in the really cool hallways that are lined with beautiful dark wood. Very cool. Upon arriving there (after hiking up well over 100 steps to get there) my friend immediately showed me her favorite feature of the house: a secret passageway leading from Sir Henry Pellatt's study directly down to his wine cellar. Hee. Brilliant.

While in Toronto, my friend graciously took me to find Lettuce Knit. I have read about it on blogs and seen the website, so I wanted to go there. Very cute little shop. I wandered a bit in there before deciding on two skeins of Koigu KPPPM and one of Fleece Artist Merino for socks. I thought it was appropriate to get some Canadian wool while I was there. Fun stuff! I'll put some photos up soon. We went to Lettuce Knit early in the morning and then proceeded to wander about the city for the rest of the day. As it was raining, I was glad to have received a plastic bag with my yarn purchase. Even though I had to carry it around all day, to make it less of a hassle (not that I really complained about having to carry around a little yarn!) I knotted the bag to keep it dry and then was able to slip the handles over my wrist and it stayed put and stayed dry very nicely! The best part was I got to admire my yarn for the whole day since the bag was clear. :)

For knitting on this trip I took my Feathery Lace wrap, which was ideal because it is so compact. I am still near the beginning so I only needed to bring the one ball, and I stuffed the ball of yarn and knitting and needles into a quart-sized ziploc baggie, squeezed the air out and sealed it up, and voila! Compact knitting for travel. It kept me very amused while waiting forever in the airport (no, my flight was not delayed, it was just me getting there super early) and I actually made some significant progress on it both on my flight up and on the return as well. Such a fun pattern, easy to memorize, so very travelable. I highly recommend it.

I finally could resist temptation no longer...last night I wound all of the skeins for my lovely and decadent Colinette Absolutely Fabulous Throw kit. Yum. Lovely yarns. Mine is in the colorway "Wineberry" and it will look really nice draped on the back of the sofa, which is a light, neutral color. Maddie Cat was kneading my yarn where it sat waiting to be wound. I let her do it though since I figured she's just going to knead the finished product anyway. So what's the problem of a little gray fur in it now? I then cast on for that (I only got 140 of the 144 stitches because my long-tail cast-on ran out of yarn, but no matter as I am just doing the simple rows of knit and purl combinations) and completed about 6 rows. I am into the second color. I know it's simple knitting but it will be great to keep by the sofa for TV knitting and as it gets colder and this gets longer, it will be so nice to snuggle under and knit.

I guess that's it for now. I need to get my camera out and post some yarn pix.

Lots of knitting, almost no blogging

Hmm. Well, no blogging since April. I got a little lax about it, since I don't think anyone reads this anyway. But I have decided I don't really care. I'll update it when I see fit. And I think I'll just use this for knitting content.

This page is way out of date for my WIPs...amazingly so. But I sure have been knitting.

My biggest accomplishment of late was my Sitcom Chic. I am very pleased with how it came out, although I had to change my plans for it a bit. Since the yarn(s) I chose for it ended up making it very thick, I decided it was no longer going to be a summer sweater. Additionally, the sleeves ended up being longer than 3/4...they were sort of too long to be 3/4 and too short to be full length. I fixed this issue by modifying them. I picked up stitches around the cuff and worked some 2x2 ribbing to both lengthen them and draw them in a little, since they were wide sleeve cuffs in their previous life. So here's my new cuff:

See? I don't think it turned out too badly. Now it will be a nice sweater to wear in the wintertime...I am thinking it'll be great for New Year's Eve or something.

Here are a couple more detail shots of the front of the sweater. I LOVED the eyelet detail of this sweater, and I loved knitting the raglan-style sleeves. So fun.

Back soon, with more photos of finished objects, and soon I'll update my sidebar of WIPs.

Yarn Harlot sighting

Yesterday my friend Jeanne and I went to Doylestown to see the Yarn Harlot at the Doylestown Bookshop. We had a great time, and I was so excited to see her in person. My first encounter with a celebrity! And Ms. Pearl-McPhee is the best kind of celebrity...she's humble and down-to-earth. We were charmed by her talk and my cheeks hurt from all of the laughing. Even my "muggle" non-knitting friend truly enjoyed herself.

Look, here's proof I was there (she very graciously posed with anyone who wanted a photo):

Another first for me...I now have a signed copy of a book! I brought along my copy of her latest bookbookbook Knitting Rules!. I also made a small donation to Tricoteuses Sans

Frontières/Knitters Without Borders. I snagged the button and it's there on my sidebar now. A really great cause.

And now for something completely random.

I took this picture after my cat Maddie decided to thwart my efforts to not get cat hair on my sweater by crawling up inside it to take a nap. I had draped it on an almost vertical throw pillow on the sofa, but she got in there anyway. This is the view looking into the neck of the sweater, after she'd crawled in from the bottom (her nose is way over on the left):

Maddie in the Gray Sweater

So there you go. Back again soon with lots of pink and purple yarn. Yummy.

Headed for the frog pond

I have decided that the time has come...to abandon the blue socks. Sadly, the pattern I am using is just not working out for me. The main reason being that I made the leg part too long, so I am going to run out of yarn if I continue. (I got out the little digital kitchen scale and weighed what's left of the ball of yarn...I'm not quite halfway but close enough that I would be getting very nervous towards the end of sock #2.) That's a pretty valid reason for frogging if you ask me. Secondly, for some reason this pattern has you work the heel flap as straight stockinette, not that sl1 k1 thing I am used to. So that was throwing me off, and it felt like I was knitting that heel flap for eons. 29 rows of 32-stitch stockinette. Seemed odd to me. (Not that I have much to go on, as my FO sock count isn't that high yet...) But still. I haven't really tried the thing on yet to see how that heel fits since I haven't pulled out the needles and don't want to risk breaking them by trying it on, but when I do and before I frog, I'll try it on just to see.

But I have high hopes for that yarn. It is creating a nice, random and subtle pattern...and I think it would be very well-suited for ribbed socks. The 2x2 ribbing I did at the top of the sock looked neat, so I am thinking that the next time I pick up that yarn it will be for a ribbed sock pattern.

I am searching around for a self-striping sock yarn though in colors that I like...one that makes actual stripes, not that jacquard stuff. I want to try the Jaywalker socks, and from what I've seen on other blogs, they look cool with striping yarn. Just can't seem to find a color combo that speaks to me yet. I'll find one. Not like I don't have other things to knit in the meantime...

But what is it about that unquenchable desire to start new projects? I think all knitters know that feeling. I get it too...perhaps it's that "novelty" feeling you get when you purchase something new...or a new haircut or something. That feeling that can make the most mundane things seem so fabulously exciting for a while. (Like the new light fixture in our laundry area...um, hello?! It's a LIGHT. But it my defense, it's a really cool halogen, directable light. Lights up all areas of the laundry without being an annoyance to the rest of the family room (laundry is just off the family room). It really IS cool--though I'm over it already.) And it so often wears off quickly. Although some things are good enough to keep that feeling going...and then you know you have a winner. I guess knitting is like that for me...not to say I don't get bored with some projects, but I just can't seem to get enough of it. Last night, for instance, I had about 15 minutes of down time while waiting for dinner to cook. I had something on TV to watch...but I couldn't just sit there. Had. To. Knit. Something.

Which brings me to my next topic...the thing I was knitting. Progress is being made on the black sparkly sweater a.k.a. Sitcom Chic. I have finished one sleeve and am a couple of inches into the second. My only gripe...well, there are two actually...is that the DPNs I am using are very short. 6 inches I think? And size 8s. Makes me feel like I am knitting with hotdogs or something. Especially after all of the socks I've been making. I really enjoy knitting stuff on a small scale (ie, thin yarn, thin needles) so this size 8 DPN business is making me nuts. But I will persevere... Even though I am a 4-DPN-set type of knitter, for this I had to get out needle #5 of the set in order to have enough space on the needles for all of the stitches, since they're so short. I come too close to losing a stitch or two off the end a little too frequently. Oh, and gripe #2? The yarn...two held together...this stuff and this stuff...they don't like to behave. But I'll deal, cuz I sure am liking the outcome.

Oh, and I have another WIP that I started last weekend. Some delightfully mindless knitting...a felted tote. Here's the yarn I am using...one strand of each color held together:

I am interested to see how it will come out when felted. I also have plans for another felted bag, a purse, that I am going to knit soon as well, so that when I get around to the felting I'll do both at the same time. As well as a little extra felting on an other project...a bag that could be a little smaller. I'll report back when I get around to all that.

Sense a color theme?

Thought some photos might be in order, especially after that wordy post from before.

I had been wanting to try something lately, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I keep seeing these beautiful beaded stitch markers that people make or that you can buy, and since I have been known to do a little beading myself, I decided I wanted to try. Finally got around to digging out my beading boxes, and also picked up a few pretty beads at a shop, and here's the product of my efforts:

All in all, I'm very pleased with them. It'll be fun now to keep my eye out for more pretty beads that will make nice stitch markers. I like the idea that only one or two beads are needed, so if you find that one, perfect and gorgeous bead, even if it is a tad expensive, it can be put to very good use all by itself.

In other knitting news, I have a couple of WIP shots. Here is the Mimi Verylong I am working on. I am really enjoying it, the yarn is delightful, and the lace pattern isn't too taxing. I am not in any great rush to finish it, and so I am taking my time.

Mimi Verylong WIP and detail

At first I wasn't sure what that blue was going to do. The yarn is made up of three colors...a medium pink, lighter pink, and blue. Because the two pinks blend together, their color changing isn't as noticable. But the blue stands out a lot more. So far though, it seems to be following a pattern of making a giant zig-zag back and forth. I rather hope that keeps up. But I'm also not too worried...I know I will love it no matter how it ends up! I just love the colors.

And lastly, a photo of knitting+cat. My two cats are really very good about leaving my knitting alone, though occasionally they show a hint of interest in all that flying string. Especially when winding a hank of yarn into a ball. Or when photographing it on "their" floor:

Maddie and the Pink Sock

(There was actually another photo where she was sniffing the yarn, but this was a better picture of her, so I chose to post this one!)

Happy Knitting!

New acquisitions

Lately I've been doing a little damage to the ole credit card with a few online purchases. Yarn mostly, of course. ;) One thing I got was some Simple Stripes yarn from KnitPicks. I like all of the stuff I've gotten from them previously, and they are quick and efficient with the ordering/shipping process. The project I have in mind is the Last-Minute Stripes Pullover from KnitPicks baby sweater, which is one of their free patterns. I think it's adorable, and couldn't wait to get started.

Of course, before I could get started I had to go get some new needles. I know, I know. I couldn't believe that in my stash of needles that I didn't have either size 1 or 2 straights. Or circs. Go figure. So off I went to my local JoAnn's (it's the closest place I have and often the first place I try for instant gratification). Found me some size 2 straights (them stinkers is LONG!...14") and also these. Nifty. Four 5-needle sets of teeny tiny DPNs...sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. Way cool. But learned something interesting too. I just went in search of that link for here and found a review written which I think will be helpful...in it the reviewer suggests that once you figure out the sizes of each one, note them somewhere (they're color-coded). The reviewer, much like myself, didn't have a needle sizer that went that small. So, good advice.

But I digress. Went home and excitedly cast on for the little sweater (which, of course, only took up about a third of the length of those ridiculously long needles) and though I was loving the colors and the patterning that was taking shape, I was not so enamored by the texture. Too scratchy. I am sure that yarn is just fine for socks, but not a baby sweater! And this was the yarn they recommended. I knit onward for a little while longer but soon I had to come to the realization that this was not meant to be. So off I went to TheKnitter.com and found this yarn. This time I got some that I've actually met before (same yarn as my blue socks) and I think the fun pink/orange/yellow striping will be adorable as a little girl's sweater. Plus I got enough to make some matching socks for her mom! I am now waiting anxiously for this yarn to arrive.

The other part of my KnitPicks order was this pattern for sort of "faux" fair-isle socks. I think it looks like a lot of fun, and the self-striping yarn does all the work for you! To me the only trick will be lining up the colors to start with so they work right. And hopefully I'll get close to the same gauge so my colors will line up like they do in the photo. I decided to make it in the same colors as the picture shows, which happened to be the same colors as the sweater I was going to make. So I'd purchased 5 balls of this stuff, but have since returned 3 untouched ones.

Side note: Just had a nice chat with someone at KnitPicks. I was sitting here thinking about this and realized something. See, I'd placed a few orders online recently, and then one evening, we lost our credit card. Doh. So we scrambled around, took care of things, and then I had to call the places where I'd placed the orders and give them a different number. (And of course, as fate would have it, the two things that we have tied to our credit card number for automatic deductions BOTH renewed a day after we cancelled it. Figures. Could have had three weeks or so to get the new card in and take care of things, but noooo.) Anyway, I just realized that the yarn return I mentioned above would be credited to my old credit card. Hmm. So I just called them up, spoke to a very friendly and helpful lady who made a note in my account for someone to contact me when the return was received. So I'm all set for now. Anyway, just wanted to point out how nice they are there. (No affiliation...just a very satisfied customer.)

Annoyed

Sometimes, I just could kick myself. I'd written this post, and then somehow before I posted it, I managed to erase it. On purpose too, because I thought I'd already posted it. See, I use a sort of template file where I create my posts offline and then copy and paste into blogger. Gives me the chance to tweak and fuss and then post all at once. Works for me. Or at least I thought it did. I need to come up with a new system so that I don't do that again...some sort of clue to myself whether I've posted it yet or not.

Anyway, what I was going to say in my post was show you my completed Ski Hat and Ski Headband. I know I showed you the hat before, but here's a photo of it with the coat, so you can see how the colors match nicely:

(That photo was taken in our driveway, before we tackled that foot of snow from a couple of weeks ago.)

The first time I'd written this post was before the ski trip...I was saying how excited I was to go. Now, as I have mentioned, the trip was awesome, and so was my hat! I wore it every day, though on that one windy day I had to pull my hood up over my head as well. It was soooo cold, and if you had any little exposed spot the wind would just find its way in.

Unfortunately it was a little too cold for wearing the headband during skiing, and I almost wore it one evening, but then we ended up not going out after all. But here it is. It came out nicely, though as I think I have mentioned, it's very thick since I stitched it on top of a fleece headband. But I still like it!

Here you can see the whole thing...(it sort of stands up on its own!):

And here's detail of the pattern, which I love. It was so fun to knit!

That's about it in the way of Finished Objects. I am still enjoying my socks, and am also working sporadically on the black sweater. I did two rows of Mimi Verylong last night before bed. (I would have done more but I was sleepy...)

Back to reality

Well, it's back home for us, after a great ski trip. We went to Sunday River, in Maine. Had a great time! We flew to Portland last Wednesday (took three glorious days off from work!) and rented a car and drove from there. First though we stopped in Freeport for a little shopping. The only store we were interested in was L.L.Bean, which we thoroughly enjoyed! I love that store...it's like walking through a catalog! We didn't end up buying all that much, although we both got some new ski mittens and I got new long underwear for skiing that was on sale. We did scope out some camping gear that we'll order online (we have the L.L.Bean credit card so we don't have to pay shipping). We want to get some new sleeping pads before next summer's camping trip. (Needless to say, we're DONE with air mattresses!!) The only other stops we made in town were some lunch at Gritty McDuff’s before we got started with our shopping, and of course some Ben & Jerry's before we headed out of town!

The weather was perfect for driving and we got to Sunday River without incident. We stopped along the way for a few groceries and beverages to stock our mini-kitchen. When we arrived we decided to pamper ourselves and made use of the valet parking service (a free service, just gratuity-based) and we also stowed our skis in their valet ski check. Very cool! That room is just inside the door from the slopes so it's very convenient. We stayed at the Jordan Grand. It's a really nice place.

The skiing was good, best the first morning we went which was Thursday. We got out there right when it opened and really had a great time. As the day progressed it got a bit icier, though still enjoyable. That evening we relaxed a bit in the heated outdoor pool! (I didn't get any photos, but there's a pic on this page.) The two hot tubs at the end of the pool were wonderful! One with quiet underwater jets and the other all roiling and bubbly.

On Friday the skiing was still good, and again nice that there weren't many people. There's definitely something to be said for making the effort to get in a couple of weekday ski days, because it sure makes a difference. The interesting part about Friday though was the wind. I remember sitting in our room before we left, idly staring out the window at the trees moving around. Little did I know...that meant it was VERY windy up on the top! In fact they had to close the lift that led to the only trail back to our hotel, so at the end of that day we had to take the shuttle back. Wasn't much of a hardship though...we sat at the bar in the Foggy Goggle and had a drink before catching the shuttle. It was very nice! Later we went in the pool again and this time, because the wind was really whipping around, the bubbles from the one side of the hot tub splashed water around and our hair got wet, and because of the low temps, it promptly froze! It was kind of fun, though we didn't stay long.

Saturday's skiing wasn't quite as good, as there had been no new snow to speak of and there were MANY more people. So we called it a day a little early since we were both tired, and wanted to quit before either of us hurt ourselves. We went back to relax in the pool again. Personally I am surprised we went in the pool as much as we did, since I'm not usually a pool person. But the novelty of this one won out I guess!

On the knitting front, I took my two sock projects along. I had finished one of the pink socks, and took the materials for starting the second, though I just ended up working on the blue sock. This was also my first time since you-know-when that I even tried taking my knitting on the airplane. I figured my teeny tiny bamboo needles wouldn't present a problem, and they did not. I knitted some in the airport, but not on the plane after all. I felt that in those oh-so-roomy plane seats it was easier to just read my magazine. (I know... Craziness. What was I thinking?!)

Sorry for the photo-less post...! I'll get on that soon.