Stitch 'n Sue

Simply Scraps

2008-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

I knew this would happen. I knew I would start this sock yarn scrap blanket and that I would become addicted to it. I knew it would be lovely and fun to work on. And I knew I would quickly run out of scraps.

If anyone else is working on one and would like to trade some scraps, email me. Or, if you'd just like to send me some scraps, that will work too!

I have been so busy knitting thiese last few weeks, I haven't had time for blogging, which really is a nice change from my knitting dry spell which seemed to last all summer long.

Projects on the needles: the sock yarn scrap blankie and a Christmas stocking my boss asked me to make. His mother was a knitter and she knitted stockings for all his kids. Now that he has a grandchild, he and his wife thought it would be nice to have an identical knitted stocking for the baby. I'm going by a pattern from a kit, probably from the mid-60's. And it's intarsia, which I have never done before. Pictures next time, once it starts to look like something!

Where's That Damn Charger?!?

2008-10-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

I still can't find my camera charger, and it's starting to concern me now because my battery is dead.

On the plus side, my summer-long knitting drought has broken, and I have a few new projects in the works, with a few more potential projects buzzing around in my head. Since I can't show you right now, I'll just make a list.

On the Needles:

1. A soft pink Clapotis for a woman in my office who has breast cancer and just underwent a double mastectomy. Before she left work, she asked me to knit her a pink wrap, so I've been working hard to get it finished. I knit one of these before, and I've been reminded while working on this one what a clever pattern it is. I kind of want to start another one, even before this one is finished!

2. A single sock--a test knit fr the folks at Woolgirl. This is my second ever test knit, and it's been a fabulous experience. I got a skein of yarn, the pattern, a sample of Soak, AND a self-addressed, postage prepaid envelope for sending my completed sock in. And as payment? Two skeins of sock yarn. Not a bad deal. The sock is done--just needs the toe stitched up.

3. A swatch for the Cardi Cozy from the new Mason-Dixon knitting book. I'm using Kidsilk Night.
Longing to Start:

1. Sock Yarn Scrap Blanket. Sue and Amy from Knit Nite are working on this, and I'm intrigued.

2. Monteagle Bag, also from Mason-Dixon.

3. Honeycomb, the vest that was suppose to be my Ravelympic project. Yeah, that didn't happen.

Sorry for the pictureless post. We're going to Michigan on Wednesday to visit Paul's sister and her family, so I really hope I find that charger by then.

Have a lovely Sunday!

I'm Back!

2008-09-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

And my Embossed Leaves took second place at the Tulsa State Fair!

The socks to the right were the third place winner. I stupidly neglected to take a picture of the first place winner. Oh, well. It's kind of thrilling to have won a ribbon though; this is my first ever Fair entry. In the interest of full disclosure, there appeared to be only 4 entreis in the "Sock" category. And I was sorely disappointed in the spinning turn-out--I only saw one skein, and while it was lovely, all wispy and white, I had been really looking forward to seeing more. More knitting, more handspun--next year, I will definitely encourage my spinning friends (Marianne and Ann, I'm looking at you. Oh come on, ladies, I'll loan you my SSN if that's what it takes!) and my knitting friends to enter something.

Look at these sheep! Why are they wearing clothes? The only thing we could figure out, because it certainly wasn't cold in the animal barns, is that they had been bathed and brushed and were ready for show, and the clothes help keep the hay and, er, poop, off of them. Can anyone confirm?

Anyway--I'm back! It's been a long summer--but not in a bad way, I promise. A long summer full of knitting ennui, but I do feel I am back, and next post I'll have lots to show, provided I can find my camera charger that is. If anyone's still reading, thanks for hanging in.

I'll leave you, in the spirit of the first presidential debate tonght, with a pumpkin entered in the kids' pumpkin carving contest at the Fair (it didn't win, more's the pity--but this is Oklahoma, after all).

False Start

2008-08-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

After knitting a couple of inches of my pattern, I realized I couldn't tell the right side from the wrong side, which struck me as odd. So I consulted the online version of the pattern and saw that whatever it was I was knitting was most definitely NOT the honeycomb pattern.

So I ripped. Now the pressure is on.

(Just for fun, me as a child)

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad!

2008-08-10T15:54:00.001-07:00

Knitting Underway

2008-08-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

The Ravelympics kicked off during last night's opening ceremonies. I spent yesterday in an all-day meeting, working on my gauge swatch. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

I started the ribbing last night during the show (which was awesome).

Should be some frantic knitting around here for the next 17 days!

Home Again

2008-07-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Home from the beach. It was a grueling 15 hour trip through seven states to get home yesterday, but it was worth it to see Elly again and come home to a house only slightly cat-vomit stained, thanks to the valiant efforts of Sara, the Best-Cat-Sitter-in-the-World.

No knitting was accomplished on the trip though. I seriously don't know where the knitting went. I signed up for the Ravelympics (go Team OkieKnitters!) though and my goal is to complete Honeycomb. I haven't even swatched yet though. Humph.

What else...?

I love this bag.

The Kellyville Fiber Festival is this weekend--yay! Maybe I'll find inspiration there.

If you're thinking of adopting a cat, check out Sheepish Annie's thoughts on the matter first.

Sorry for the bullet points, ya'll. I'm exhausted.

Vacation Time

2008-07-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

.

Photos from vacations past, just to get everyone in the mood. The top ones are from my parents' vacation with my sister and the nephews in Gulf Shores, Alabama. They were so good I couldn't resist posting them.

The unprofessional ones are from our previous vacations to Sea Grove Beach, Florida.

And for those who are wondering, no, that chest does not belong to anyone I know. It's a deckhand from the Beer Boat.

Socking it to Me

2008-06-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am a great admirer of Cookie A's sock patterns. In theory, at least. I have made several pairs of Monkeys, and that's an undeniably great sock pattern. But when it comes to her more complicated sock patterns...well, let's just say after my previous two disastrous experiences with Pomatomus, I wasn't hopeful about my chances with the advanced stuff.

I got the Twisted Flower sock pattern last year during the Monkey Pal Sock Swap. It's such a gorgeous pattern, but I put it away, figuring I'd tackle it some day, maybe in about twenty years' time.

However, having decided I wanted to knit a pair of socks to enter in the Tulsa State Fair this year, and in thinking of something that would be impressive, I took a second look at Twisted Flower and found, to my amazement, that after successfully completing Tangled Yoke--at least the cable section was a success--this pattern is a bit of a cakewalk.

Even with all the teeny-tiny cables.

Only problem is I am not even to the heel-flap of the first sock and I already have Second Sock Syndrome.

In other news, we leave next weekend for vacation, so I hope to post an entry or two from the beach.

Dog Sitting

2008-06-08T08:09:00.001-07:00

My parents have gone on vacation, so we have a canine guest this week.

I know pugs are popular, but I don't know why. They are fairly disgusting, what with the snorting and the snoring and such. Still, there's something undeniably charming about them. The cats are unhappy about the visitor--there's been lots of disgruntled meowing and accusations and "Why wasn't I consulted about this?"

In knitting news, the handtowels are done. I noticed while uploading this picture that the towel on the left is twisted so the wrong side is showing, but I couldn't be bothered to re-photograph.

It seems like all I am knitting these days are ballbands. I have the yarn and patterns for more interesting projects like Rusted Root (Rav link) and Honeycomb but the disastrous results of my first two attempts at sweater knitting have kind of put me off starting them. I just don't want to be disappointed again!

Hope everyone has a great week.

Bathroom Update

2008-05-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

We finally put some finishing touches on the bathroom this weekend. This has been the never-ending home improvement project from hell. Seriously--never-ending. Now some spots on the walls need touchups because when the so-called painter's tape came down, it took wall color with it. It's a vicious cycle.

But it looks pretty good, despite those pesky spots. This is my favorite view:

In case you're wondering, the towel rack is a custom job from etsy seller thedarkcottage. My current knitting project is ballband handtowels that will hang from the hooks. Strangely enough, this project did not occur to me until the day before yesterday, but I think it's a perfect solution.

Oh, and Monkey Pal Jody--I lost your email address, but I wanted to say thanks so much for the package. The socks are a perfect fit and the yarn is gorgeous--definitely well worth the wait and just to my liking. Thanks for everything!

How Absent Have I Been?

2008-05-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, that's arhetorical question. I have been very absent. The thing about not blogging is that it kind of turns into a habit. But sitting here watching this horrible trainwreck of an American Idol finale--well, it just seemed like the right time.

More this weekend, and hopefully some knitting to show too!

And the Winner is......

2008-04-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

I kind of screwed up my blog contest because of my own fickle nature. We went with the color Honeydew, which the astute among you will know was not one of the choices! Oooops.

See, what happened is we decided on Pastel Jade. Went to the store, got the supplies, came home and got to work. Just for fun, I opened the can and put a little paint on the wall. And I didn't like it. So I let it dry, put a second coat on the spot, but that didn't help matters any.

It's a lovely color, but it wasn't what I had in mind. It was too pale, too washed out--not juicy enough. So back to the store we went to make another selection. And we ended up with Honeydew.

In related news, I have a full gallon of Pastel Jade if anyone local is interested!

So I used a random number generator to select from all the guesses. I'll get to the winner in a minute, but first--pictures.

It's a hard color to photograph, but it's a bright, springy green with a pale yellow ceiling and white trim (which is not finished yet). We love it.

Ok, on to the winner.........

Congratulations, Kristie! I'll send you an email.

Thanks to everyone for participating. Hopefully I'll have some knitting to show one of these days.

It's Coming!

2008-04-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't forgotten about my contest. I'm just waiting until I can get a good picture.

And can I just say--wow! 83 comments? That's a record for me.

Oh, and for anyone out there contemplating stripping wallpaper and painting? Don't.

Hahaha, just kidding. Stripping the paper was a major chore though, compounded by the fact that we did the MS walk Saturday morning (3 miles!), then went to Home Depot, then got started on the bathroom and worked for about 10 hours. Yeah, exhausting.

And then a repeat on Sunday, except substitute the walk with breakfast with friends at The Crusty Croissant. And then last night--another coat on the ceiling and the first coat on the walls.

Tonight, a second coat on the walls.

Tomorrow, trim and touch-ups.

Then, photos and a winner!

I did pick up some helpful painting tips though.

1. Put lotion on your hands before painting. It makes clean-up way easier.
2. After finishing for the night, put your wet, drippy brushes in plastic bags and put them in the freezer. The next day when you are ready to start painting, take them out about an hour beforehand. Perfect!

Thanks for your patience.

New Project! Now With A Contest

2008-04-13T13:54:00.001-07:00

When we bought our house five years ago, the bathroom was a big selling point. We loved the elegant, understated wallpaper.

These days the wallpaper is looking a little shabby, peeling off in some areas, and scratched off by Oliver in other areas. Also, we're just tired of it and ready for a change. We've decided that a makeover is in order.

Now we're looking to make it a little more fun--a juicy, refreshing color is going to go on the walls as soon as we decide on one. It's funny though. With these samples taped up on the wall, I am starting to like some of them I had initially not even noticed. It's going to be hard to make a decision, that's for sure.

But nevertheless, a decision must be made. We're kind of committed to it now.

As for knitting, I started a Baby Surprise Jacket yesterday. No, I'm not having a baby--it's not that big a surprise.

Sarah and I decided to do a little craft swap. She's sewing me a tote bag, and I'm doing the BSJ for the baby she's got cooking. So unfortunately that means no progress shots because I want her to be surprised when she gets the package. But I'll show it off after she receives it.

****ETA: I totally missed my Blogoversary! It was April 10. I thought it was sometime in May. Poo, I was looking forward to doing a blog contest. It is too late, or should I go ahead and celebrate?

Ok, for my Blogoversary contest, please make a guess as to what color we will end up painting the bathroom. It will be one of the colors pictured below. Leave your guesses in the comments. In the event of a tie, I will write the names on strips of paper, wrap peanut butter in them, and let Elly decide.

She's totally excited already. Also a little bit confused about why she is being made to pose in the bathroom. It's a theme, Elly--go with it.

Did someone mention a prize? There will indeed be a prize for the eventual winner--a skein of the oft-coveted Wollmeise sock yarn. This is an intriguing blend of blue and brown, colorway (if that is indeed what Farbe means): Dani.

Leave your comments by 12 midnight Central Standard Time Friday, April 18th. The winner will be announced as soon as a color is chosen.

Hints and Tips:

1. This is a small bathroom, which means we are not likely to choose one of the darker shades.
2. Paul and I both have blue eyes. This may or may not mean anything.
3. We are still completely undecided, so once you post your guess, feel free to send me emails lobbying for your choice.
4. It's not likely to be purple. Our laundry room is already purple.

Good luck to all! Here are your choices:

Knit Kniece!

2008-04-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

My nieces Brittany and Caleigh are in town from Kalamazoo for Spring Break, and tonight, Caleigh went with me to Knit Nite.

She actually ended up doing more spinning than knitting, and, I am not joking here, this kid's a natural.

I need to take lessons from her!

All while the boys of eatsts and Sue looked on.

The amazing and talented Ann provided the wheel and the fiber (thanks, Ann. I promise I'll pay you back), and Caleigh will be heading back to Kalamazoo with her very own skein of handspun.

In other news, this came in the mail today:

God, I feel old!

A Well Dressed Bear

2008-03-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

My nephew Ethan requested a sweater for his teddy bear, so I spent yesterday afternoon and evening watching Season 1 of Dexter (a very good show--although I must admit I woke up this morning feeling slightly...murderous) and whipping up this little sweater.

Made from leftover Malabrigo scraps, I think it suits the little guy quite well.

A very well dressed bear indeed!

Monkey Sock Swap

2008-03-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Measurements
Shoe size: 9.5
Foot length in inches: 9.5
Circumference: 9.5

Yarn Preferences
What are your favorite colors? Pinks, reds, blues, greens. Paler colors, for sure. I am not really into earth tones, although browns blended with the above colors is always nice. I think my color preferences are pretty apparent from a scan of my blog, and if you need clarification, feel free to ask!

What color clashes with your wardrobe? Colors I tend to dislike are earth tones, jewel tones.

Do you prefer solids or variegated yarns? I love variegated yarns, especially for Monkeys! For lacy patterns or anything else, I like solids. I have been trying the last month or so to focus on amassing more solid colored sock yarns because I have a tendency to buy the lovely variegateds, and then have nothing to use on all those lovely patterns from Favorite Socks!

What are your favorite brand sock yarns? Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Fleece Artist, Koigu, Lisa Souza, Socks That Rock, Lorna's Laces, various independant Etsy sellers

Is there a new sock yarn you really would like to try? I'm always up for new and interesting sock yarn. Basically, as long as it's pretty, I love it!

Cookie A. Patterns
List the patterns you do not have but would like to receive: I love the German Stocking--it looks like a real challenge. I also like Red Thread, but have never done a toe-up sock before.

Allergies
Do you have any allergies that your pal needs to know about? (animals, fiber, sensitivity to smoke etc.) None
Will you knitting be exposed to animals? Cats
Will you knitting be exposed to cigarette smoke? No

Shipping
What country do you live in? U.S.
Are you willing to ship outside your country? I prefer a U.S. pal.

Is This Normal?

2008-03-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

Introducing...

2008-03-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

...my newest purchase.

Here's how it happened. I have been thinking about a wheel for a while, but was hesitant to get one because I wasn't sure how much I would like it, whether it would be something I would keep up with, whether I wanted to devote the time and money to yet another hobby, etc.

Yesterday my mom, Eric, and I went to visit Ann, who just got a wheel in January. We tried it out, played around with it a bit, then went home.

When I got home, I checked craigslist and found a local woman who was selling her three-year old Ashford Kiwi for $200.00. I emailed her, then called her and Eric and I went this morning to check it out. Two hours later, I was back home with my new spinning wheel!

Dody, the seller, sent me home with lots of different kinds of fibers to try too: some silk, some mohair, some angora, and several varieties of wool. And a book and a niddy-noddy, and a bottle of homemade wine, which Eric and I promptly polished off.

So all in all, a productive Sunday!

Etsy Monday!

2008-03-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

I'm sick of sweater angst, so let's turn our focus elsewhere for the day, eh?

Etsy goodies!

First up, and the only thing I have actually received so far, a bag for my mother-in-law, who is a big tea-drinker:

It's really cute, and a great size for toting knitting and, er, other stuff, probably. From etsy seller communitea (cute!)

Speaking of tea, I also ordered some Dream Journey Herbal Blend from etsy seller Lilithsapothecary.

Check out the product description:

A dreamy tea for drifting off into a land of lucid dreams..Mugwort is traditionally held as the visionary dream tea, and should also help you recall your dream journeys after awakening. The other herbs will help settle your nerves, your stomach, and ease you into a dreamy state of relaxation.

Ok - you don't *have* to go to sleep. It is a perfect tea for taking the edge off a frustrating day or for just chilling out in the evening.

Sounds fun, no?

And now for something completely gorgeous, from etsy seller DreamsandJewelry:

Ahhhhh! I love it. It shipped out today, and I can't wait for it to get here. Thanks to fabulous fabulous! for pointing me in the direction of this awesome find.

Yay for etsy. God, I love that place. Be sure and share some of your favorite finds with me in the comments.

Stupid Sweater

2008-03-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's too big. Like, waaay too big. Not sure what went wrong. It has several of the same design features as the sweater I made for Paul--extra-long arms, wide, gaping neckline, etc.

So I am considering my options. As I see it, I have basically two. Well three, really, but one involves re-knitting the cables, and that ain't gonna happen.

Option one is to re-knit everything except the cables. This option might be a little difficult, but I think it could be done.

Option two is to rip the entire thing out and use the yarn for something else.

I'm not too crazy about either of these options, to be honest. So for the time being, it's sitting.

Mom's pug, Sadie.

Finishing Touches

2008-02-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

Whoa.

2008-02-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but it's because I have been busy turning this

into this:
Yes, the sweater is done, nothing left but the buttonbands. Which I have never done before. Of course, this sweater has led me to do lots of things I have never done before: knit a cardigan, attach sleeves in a very complicated manner, short rows, and, of course, this:

I think this is the project that has promoted me to the ranks of the intermediate knitters.

And can I just say one more thing about the cables? There were literally hundreds of them. At one point for several rows in the middle of the chart, there were well over 500 stitches on my needles, and constant cabling all the way across. (Tip: Color-coding is a must. And use stitch markers.)

I still need buttons. And I have some concerns about the wonky neckline right now, but I hope it will work itself out in the blocking.

Stay tuned!

Oh, and a Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all.

Taking Shape

2008-02-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for all the kind words on my last post. I read all the comments through tears! It's been a strange week with Annie gone, but I think all of us are starting to adjust. If you are reading this, please take a moment and send out some good vibes for Annie.

ETA: Paul told me this had been updated, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at it, but I did. It made me sad, but I am posting it here in hopes that someone local is interested--Annie's Adoption Page.

Ok, now onto long-absent knitting content.

Tangled Yoke is finally looking like an actual sweater! I attached the sleeves last night, after finally figuring out what the pattern was trying to tell me. It was none too clear, and took some time to get it together. And then, with 388 stitches, my KnitPicks cable broke.

The end join came right off the cable, leaving many stitches just dangling. I got those picked up, switched cables (because when I ordered the 40" cable, I forgot they came two to a package, and ordered two packages. Which turns out to be a good thing), and then the second cable did the same thing!

I then put the whole thing on waste yarn, switched cables again, testing them by making Paul pull on both ends as hard as he could, transferred the stitches back on to the new cable, then went on my merry way.

Next up: the cables. Is it crazy that I am attempting this with Fetching my only other previous cable experience?

Most Horrible Weekend Ever

2008-02-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

We have had our dog Annie for five and a half years. Last Monday, she viciously attacked little Elly, and the attacks went on all week until Wednesday when we finally decided to board her so that we could all get a little rest.

Elly is ok; there were no injuries.

The biggest problem for us was that two years ago there was a vicious attack and Elly ended up with a gash on the top of her head that went all the way down to her skull and required an overnight stay in the animal hospital and five stitches.

Annie is a sweet, good-natured, beautiful, highly intelligent dog who is loyal, active, aboundingly healthy, great with people, cats, and kids. But it has become increasingly obvious that she and Elly cannot continue to live together. I hear this is a common issue when female dogs of the same age are housemates--but that hasn't made it any easier.

When we adopted Annie in 2002 at the age of two, we went through the Pet Adoption League, which specializes in the adoption of adult animals. They also have a policy that if, for whatever reason, things don't work out, they will take an animal back.

This morning, after owning Annie since October, 2002, we took her back. It has been a weekend of tears, keeping the dogs completely separated, changed plans, and more tears.

Paul requested a photo of him with the camera-shy Annie, and I wanted to post it here, with the request that is any of my local readers are in the market for an amazing dog to join their family, they check out Annie.

after math

2008-01-30T14:47:00.000-08:00

i am home from my ltttle surgery thing and i cannot type ery well, so forgive thr typos.. the doctor says this thing was actully in two of my tendons and so required quite a bit of digging around to eradicate. the doctor said he thinkns he loosedn the "shelf" (whatever that is) that runs across the wrist that my tendons were rubbing gainst to cause my cyst, so he is confident it will not return.

i finished my mittne s but now cannot wear them for 12 days due to hti s ginourmous bandae and brace thihgn on m my right hand. it hurts already but i have visodin.

i wish i could start my secon tangled yoke sleeve but it may be a few days before knitting can resumme. i thikn i can kjit with the bandage but i will have to wait for the pain to sbside.

and i have two stitches in my hand! i have neer ever had stitches before so that is kind of cool.

thanks for all the well-wishes. it's not really that bad except i shudder to thik ow dirty my hand will be after being wrapped and not able to get wet fori twleve days!

no posts wihtuht pictures:

my friend dustn, me, my friend kirsten, and my dad finding something hilarious in front of the cathedrap on my wedding day.

Knit Nite

2008-01-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

My knitting group meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Brookside Library. I missed several weeks and so it had been a while since I attended, but I did drag myself out last night in freezing cold temperatures to join the ladies for some knitting and project-sharing.

I had really missed it! Just about everyone is local--like neighborhood local--and so we get a chance to talk about neighborhood issues too, like ice storm debris removal and the demolition of the Camelot (it's now completely gone).

I had my camera with me last night, so I took some shots. So here you are--the ladies of Brookside Library's Knit Nite:

Ann and Eva.

My original sock mentor, Sue.

Cindy and Kathy (whose current post just happens to be about the Camelot!)

The boys of eatsts, Eric and Tony.

The always-inspiring Marianne.

And a silly picture of Eric I just couldn't resist.

In more knitting news, I finished one Bird in Hand mitten and the second is firmly under way. Love this pattern.

And the results are amazing.

The titlular Bird in Hand.

Long Time, No Post

2008-01-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

My sister keeps nagging me to post to my blog, but to be honest, I haven't had anything exciting to post about, knitting-wise.

Although, speaking of my sister, I did finish one Endpaper Mitt before Christmas. These were originallyintended to be a gift for her, but I ran out of time and wouldn't have been able to finish the second one. So I decided to keep them for myself.

Love this pattern, but I have yet to cast on for the second. The color is more true here:

There is also sleeve-knitting, and you know just how exciting that can be. Except it's not. It's just lots of garter rib. Although I am about to transition into the plain stockinette section, so it's just bound to get more interesting...

As for future projects, I am just dying to cast on for Kate Gilbert's Bird In The Hand Mittens. They are so gorgeous. I have a little anxiety when thinking about future projects because on the 30th, I am having just minor surgery on my right hand to remove this cyst that has formed there. I really think it is a result of knitting! It's not painful or anything, but it was becoming somewhat unsightly, so the hand doctor stuck a needle in it and drained it (yeah, gross) then told me I needed surgery to make sure it doesn't come back.

In one of those a-little-knowledge-can-be-a-dangerous-thing situations, I started to browsing the internet in search or more info about this procedure and found the consensus is that it can be 10 days to 2 weeks before you can resume normal activity. Which is bound to have a big effect on my productivity. So I am trying to get as much done as I can before the 30th.

Let's see, what else? I had a birthday last week. I got some cool knitting magazines, some clothes, a digital picture frame, and a gift certificate to Stitches from Paul, who knows I prefer Loops, but Stitches is just down the street from where he works, and I just like yarn, so it all works out in the end!

On Friday night, Paul and I went to some friends' house to see another friend, Sarah who now lives in Philadelphia, but was back in Tulsa for a visit. Sarah and her friend exchanged Christmas gifts, and it was so cool because they each knitted something for the other. Here's Sarah modeling her new fingerless mitts:

Later, we went to this art gallery thing and I was walking around trying to get through the crowd when a girl stopped me and said she knew me from my blog. I guess she recognized me from the phot of Paul and me that I posted for Christmas. It was really funny and kind of strange. Hey there, KnottyLady (Ravelry link)!

In other news, Elly needs a haircut.

Have a good week!

Last Post for 2007

2007-12-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. Mine was busy, as always, with lots of Paul's family coming in for visits. My plan for today is to spend the whole day in my pajamas until it's time to go out for New Year's. Yay!

I got some yarn for Christmas. Some Tempted from my mom:

And this, which I wrapped up for Paul. It's sock yarn that I had dyed in Philadelphia Eagles colors for him from Knitting Like Crazy:

Paul was a little confused at opening it until I explained.

Ooh, I also got Photoshop, which I only just installed yesterday. I am looking forward to figuring out how to use it, it seems kind of confusing right off the bat though.

Everyone have a happy, safe New Year's Eve, and I'll see you back here next year for more yarny fun!

Happy Christmas

2007-12-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here's to a great holiday and a very Yarny New Year!

Back!

2007-12-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

Power came back on this morning. Thank God.

Thanks for all the sympathy on my last post. It's been a crazy stressful week, but things could always have been worse. We lost some trees and the entire contents of our refrigerator and freezer, but at least everyone is safe, and things should slowly start returning to normal.

Hopefully I'll get to some knitting content in the coming week!

**Edited to Add: Ok, I just signed onto Bloglines, and I have nearly 800 new entries. That blows my mind. I probably won't be commenting much, just trying to catch up. Just know I adore all of you and think all your projects are awesome!

Powerless

2007-12-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

There's been a catastrophic ice storm in Tulsa. Lost power the night of Sunday, December 9th. Today is Saturday, December 15th. I still have no power at my house and am staying with the in-laws. Eddie, Oliver, and Annie are being boarded. Elly is with my parents. The electric company says our power won't be restored until Monday night.

I have been to depressed the whole week to do any knitting. Was finally dragged out today by my husband to start Christmas shopping, but would prefer to skip Christmas altogether this year. This has been the worst holiday season ever, and I just want to go home.

My Cake

2007-12-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not cook. Ever. When Paul was in San Antonio last weekend for the Big 12 Championship game, I made him go stock up on macaroni and cheese and frozen pizza for me to eat while he was gone. Paul is the cook in the family, and it's a darn good thing.

I do, however, have three majorly yummy recipes that I trot out for parties, entertaining, bring-a-snack-to-work days, etc. These items are as follows:

1. Spicy Nuts. Very simple, very flavorful. Adapted from a well-known chef's published recipe. Everyone loves them--except my dad, who says they are a waste of good old plain mixed nuts.

2. Bruschetta. This recipe is of my own devising, based on truly amazing concoction of my favorite local Italian restaurant, Ti Amo. I asked them once about their recipe, and they refused to give me specifics (which I totally understand), but they did tell me it has 23 ingredients. Years and years of trying to duplicate the flavor, and I am still only up to between 9 and 13 ingredients in my version. My version is still pretty damn tasty though.

3. French butter cake. Published in a cookbook by the same chef as #1, this is a simple, four-ingredient cake with the taste and consistency of shortbread. I am making it tonight for my Bunko group's holiday party tomorrow night.

Obviously a well-used page.

All the ingredients whirrling in the mixer...

...turns into a sticky mess.

And then it's spread in the cake pan and marked with fork lines, then gets popped in the oven. Yum! The cake is still baking and Project Runway is about to begin, so you may see a photo of the finished product next post.

My policy on these extraordinary recipes is that I do not share them. With anyone. My sister-in-law begged me for my recipe for spicy nuts for years, and I steadfastly refused. The day before she left Tulsa to move to Michigan, I wrote it down for her. I have so few things to work with, I don't want any competition!

I'm sure at least one of my many astute readers will figure out my source material for Numbers 1 and 2. All I ask is that you keep it to yourself and hope we don't show up at the same potluck!

As for knitting, I am working on the same old projects. Sadly, I found out that 2 of the 3 Malabrigo hat recipients...don't wear hats. So I have two extras and that makes me sad.

I started some Go With The Flow socks in the Yarntini Pomtini I won in a blog contest. I absolutely love this yarn. It's the best.

Hats

2007-12-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

How much do I love the Foliage pattern? A lot. I made the worsted weight version for myself. Don't laugh--it's really hard to take a photo of yourself wearing a hat.

And three of the bulky weight version for Christmas presents.

All in wonderful, lovely, luscious Malabrigo.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my Christmas decorations. Turns out my sister was right--the pink Santa really was originally pink. I asked my mom. I hate it when my sister is right!

A Christmas Explosion

2007-11-26T15:45:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Or a lovely Thursday, for those who are not in the U.S. Mine was very busy, as usual, and getting up to go back to work this morning was a real struggle.

There has been some knitting. I am still working on my ISE5 scarf, which I am starting to genuinely hate. I made a worsted and a chunky Foliage, which I love, but have not yet photographed.

And! Korknisse!

I used this modification for sock yarn remnants and have been having a grand time (Ravelry link).

I have 9 of them now, and I can't seem to stop!

These adorable little cork folk lead in to my tour of my favorite Christmas decorations. We spent yesterday getting Christmas out and I truly had forgotten how long it all takes, and how much hoisting, stretching, and cursing is involved. The effort though, as always, was worth it.

Our tree, newly purchased last year for our tiny little house. It's 7.5 feet tall, and very narrow, so it doesn't take up much room, and I love it.

Our front door. When the Christmas cards start coming, this is where they go.

A soft and pensive looking Santa.

A particularly festive corner of the dining room.

Even the bathroom gets some Christmas spirit!

I bought this wacky tree last year after Christmas and totally forgot I had it. That was a nice surprise.

The lovely stockings I made last year.

A pink velvet Santa. His suit was red back when my great-grandmother purchased him in the 40s, but he's faded quite nicely, I think.

What holiday decor is complete without a bowl of shiny ornaments?

Which, by the way, are nearly impossible to photograph without getting an oddly distorted reflection of the photographer.

Lastly, who knew how much fun it could be to take squiggly pictures of your Christmas tree in the dark?

Seriously.

Birthday Weekend

2007-11-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Paul's birthday was last Monday. I got him this:

and this:

Very fun. We did dinner with his family Friday night at Los Cabos at the Jenks Riverwalk. It was insanely crowded and, as Los Cabos always is, insanely noisy.

This big group behind us was exceptionally loud--shrieking, whistling, cackling, shouting all through dinner. I got a blurry shot of the worst offenders, and it looks to me like they caught me photograpghing them. Sorry, girls, but you were really obnoxious!

Saturday was nephew Jack's birthday.

And today is birthday lunch with my family for Paul and my dad. I finished the scarf for my dad and even had time to wash and dry it. It ended up being really long. Like, really long. Draped around my neck, the edges nearly touch the floor. But my dad is 6'4", so I am hoping the length will be more appropriate for him.

Tonight, the ongoing birthday celebration continues with Paul's lasertag party. Will this birthday ever end?

My Camera's Back--And Better Than Ever!

2007-11-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

The camera is charging now on its new charger, which, did I mention comes with an adaptor for charging in the car? That's awesome.

Of course, the people from the cabin we stayed at called the other night and said, Ooops, I guess we really didn't go and search the cabin you stayed in after you told us exactly what it looked like and where to find it, and even after we told you we searched the place from top to bottom, because, funny thing--we found it and we're sending it back to you.

Figures.

But not only did I find this great charger on eBay, I also got a 1GB memory card to replace my old 64MB one. So now, instead of only being able to take 42 pictures before emptying my camera, I can take 803!

Charger + memory card + shipping=$20. I love the Internet.

Knitting-wise I am about done with my dad's yak scarf and am winding Mmmmmalabrigo (my first!) to make Foliage. Still working on Tangled Yoke, and planning to wind my Yarntini to make some Go With The Flow socks.

Pictures this weekend!

Camera Issues

2007-11-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

So I left my camera charger in the cabin we stayed at in Branson two weeks ago. I called them, and they said, yeah, we have it, we'll ship it to you. So I paid their $10 shipping fee, and when the box got here--it was the wrong changer! I don't know what it is they sent me, but it's certainly not my camera changer. So I call them back, and they tell me that's the only thing they found and my charger apparently just disapperated into thin air.

Balls.

In knitting news, I finished my Monkey Pal Socks. The Koigu pooled horribly on the second sock, and I felt bad about sending them to my pal, especially after reading an entry on her blog about a pair of socks she did with Lorna's Laces that striped nicely on one sock, and pooled on the second one and how much she hates it when socks don't match and she ended up giving them to her sister. Oops. I suck as a Monkey Pal because I left them to the last minute and so didn't have time to redo the second sock. My pal said she loves them anyway. Yeah, right.

I received my socks too. Lovely Koigu Monkeys, a handsewn projects bag, monkey keychain, and a skein of Jitterbug sock yarn in the most gorgeous blue-green color.

I'm still working on Tangled Yoke. I am about 4 rows from finishing the main part, and then will start on the sleeves. Hmm, what else--yak scarf for my Dad, Trellis Scarf for ISE5. No socks on the needles right now! Amazing, I know. I spent all last week making crafts for my sister's church sale. I told her I didn't donate to churches, but she guilt-tripped me into it. Two pairs of Saartje's Boooties (Ravelry link), and a set of holiday ballband dishcloths.

Well, this will probably be the last post from my with photos until I figure out what to do about the charger situation. I found a new one online, but I don't really want to pay $50 for it! My camera is a Canon Powershot SD600 Digital Elph if you have a creative solution for me! ***

****Edited to say: Oooh, I found a non-Canon brand charger for my camera on eBay for $1.00! And it comes with an adaptor for charging in the car. Awesome. Let's hope it works!

I'll leave you with a couple of shots from Halloween:

My nephews, Noah and Ethan

Paul's brother, Eric:

Monkey Business

2007-10-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

I am woefully behind on the socks for the Monkey Sock Swap. I only just started the second one yesterday, and they are supposed to be in the mail tomorrow. Yikes!

I did dedicate myself to them this weekend, but seeing as how the weekend was spent at Silver Dollar City, I didn't get a whole lot done. They will get in the mail this week though. At some point. (on a side note I left my camera battery charger plugged into an outlet at the cabin we always stay at. My father-in-law called them today and told them to just hold it until we come back in December! Maybe I flatter myself, but I don't think you guys would be too happy if I didn't have photos for the next six weeks. I really hope they can mail it back to me).

The reason for my lack of progress on the Monkeys is this:

Love knitting this sweater. I am afraid of the cables though, God help me. I don't have much cable experience, and I am convinced I will get there and find I have made a terrible mistake in selecting this pattern.

One last thing before I get back to the Monkeys. I won a contest at Tres Chic Veronique! The prize? Yarntini. Sportweight. Fuzzy Navel. Yumm! And Halloween candy too. Awesome prize.

I'm Back!

2007-10-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the kind words and comments on both Leo and Yarnival. I had a great time putting both of them together, and I appreciate your support throughout.

Not a lot to report. I got my October shipment of the Brooklyn Handspun Holiday Sock Club. It's very difficult to capture the colors. They're black and bright green, and purple all entwined. It's called Spook, and looks appropriately creepy!

I started Tangled Yoke last week, and am still powering through the garter rib section. I went with Rowan Felted Tweed in Clover, which is a pink-y, rosy color flecked with specks of white, blue, and black.

In other news, I went to Ocktoberfest with my husband and my father-in-law. My father-in-law collects beer steins, and brings home several every year, much to the displeasure of my mother-in-law. See the guy in red? My father-in-law insists that every year, The Man in Red tries to cheat him on the price of the steins. So this year, he came armed with his own calculator, and he used it, too, getting The Man in Red to knock $25 off his purchase. Effective, yes. Also embarrassing.

Almost as bad as Paul chugging down the dregs of his beer on the way out.

Yarnival! The Yarnies Edition

2007-10-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the October issue of Yarnival. Without further ado, I present...The Yarnies!

The Award for Biggest Sock goes to Mariknits for her Snowy Night Gansey Stocking (although maybe the award should go to her husband for his size 14 feet). Such a beautiful project, and it looks like a great one for the holidays.

Most Thoughtful Dissertation on Stash goes to Mishkaknits for her post about the constant struggle to come to terms with her stash.

The Seriously Bad Pooling Award goes to Lucy. Scroll down, this is really bad pooling.

Best Use of High School Curriculum to Describe an FO goes to Kristy. It's a well-rounded reflection on her finished Back to School U-Neck Vest.

Best Instructional Post on How To Start Your Own Farm goes to Loren for her very awesome photographic tour. This one is of special interest to me because I have always wanted a pet goat. Loren takes it further with goats, rabbits, a horse, and, of course a Border Collie!

Best Original Pattern Inspired by Literature goes to BigAlice for her truly stunning Cheshire Cat Stole. It's so wavy, so modern looking, so beaded! I'm a sucker for knitting with beads, and this is a gorgeous piece.

Amy is the lucky recipient of the award for Best Seasonal Instructional Post for her mitten tutorial. I haven't tried mittens before, but she makes it look so easy, I just may have to give it a whirl. And who doesn't love mittens, really? Especially purple ones!

Best Post Written Entirely in Pirate Dialect goes to Leone for her entertaining and useful Pirate Scarf Pattern. Love bright colors, stripes, and mismatched textures? Check this one out. I think she's well on her way to starting a trend.

Best List to Keep Handy When It's 3am And You've Just Placed Another Order at The Loopy Ewe goes to Maria for her very through list of reasons to stock up on sock yarn (like you needed an excuse). Bonus feature: Sock Yarn Stash Flash!

Best Tale of a Valiant Struggle goes to Miss T for her post about her encounter with The Very Bad Stitch--just in time for Halloween!

Best Attempt to Duplicate an Interweave Knits Photoshoot goes to Orata for her very showy photoshoot in her Tilted Duster (Step One: Get a better umbrella). There should be more attempts to duplicate Interweave Knits photoshoots!

The Honorary MacGyver goes to Emily for her seriously creative swift.

The Pink-Is-Awesome-HaHaHa Award goes to TheBlackSheep for her account of redemption after angering The Pink Gods. Let this be a lesson to you!

Scariest Tale (with Happy Ending) goes to Lara for her woeful tale of The Ripping of the Kyoto Sweater.

Closest Encounter With a Famous Knitblogger goes to Bertha for her fascinating post about how she ended up owning a sweater handknit by Grumperina. Bonus Award: Best Use of Striped Leggings in a Photoshoot!

The No-Animals-Were-Harmed-In-The-Creation-Of-This Post Award goes to Nia for her thorough documentation of her quest to put her cats in skirts. No, really.

Most Awesome Sweater goes to Kirsty for her truly awesome Wonder Woman Sweater. Seriously, this is not to be missed!

The Best Knitblog You're Not Reading Award goes to Sheepish Annie for her overall wonderfulness. Zombies, cats, trucks, hilarious crock pots--it's all here, folks!

Yarnival Hunk of the Month goes to Tienne's husband husband Matt. Lovely photoshoot in his very handsome Cobblestone Pullover.

That's it for this month's issue. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Remember, if you didn't make it in this month, be sure and try again next month, when Yarnival will be hosted by WryPunster. You can go ahead and send in your submissions here.

Happy Yarnival, everybody!

Happy Anniversary!

2007-10-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Leo is done, just in time for our 7th wedding anniversary.

Only problem is, the sleeves are way too long. But I knew they would be. The pattern says that after completeing the sleeve decreases, knit even until the sleeve measures 18 inches. Mine already measure 20 inches by that point. So they are long. Very long.
It's still a lovely sweater though, and I am amazed that it came out looking like a sweater at all.

Dear Paul, every stitch was made with love, except for that one area under the left armpit where you were falling asleep in front of a football game instead of vacuuming like I asked you to. I hope you love wearing this sweater, and I want to see you wearing it on our 30th anniversary.

And I am never, ever doing 5x3 ribbing ever agin.

My wonderful husband got me a substantial gift certificate to a LYS, so the plan for tomorrow is to go and try and get enough Rowan Felted Tweed to do a Tangled Yoke Cardigan for me. Yes, I like the sweaters.

Stay Tuned

2007-10-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Leo is blocking! My first sweater....

Socktoberfest! And A Garden Makeover!

2007-10-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ah, Socktoberfest! I make socks all the time, but there's something so organized about Socktoberfest.

And to get everyone started, here's some inspiration:

Happy Socktoberfest, ya'll!

Some of you may remember when I posted about the sad state of the flowerbed in front of our house. Just to remind you, it looked like this:

Now, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, Beverly, it looks like this:

Help!

2007-09-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am fairly certain I am going to run out of yarn for Leo. I think one ball would do it, but two would be better. Problem is, I can't find the dyelot I need anywhere.

Does someone out there have some spare Rowan Cashsoft DK in Shade 507 (Savannah)? Preferably dyelot 21D5?

Weird...Etsy Wednesday Again

2007-09-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

I guess my Etsy purchases tend to arrive on Wednesdays. Maybe because of the impulsive, late-night weekend shopping I do.

Anyway, the latest is dog collars from Lucky Fiona. This was some fun shopping. I sent in photos of the pups, and it was like they had a personal shopper. Shannon picked out what would look best for both, and them custom-made them to size.

Great packaging,

And cute collars.

Elly says, "Whee!"

Annie says, "I abhor having my photo taken; however this one time I will consent because I know how much you like to blog about this stuff." Seriosuly, this dog hates having her picture taken and generally scampers off for safety if she just sees a camera. Or anything that resembles a camera. Or a flashlight. Sad thing is, now when she sees me get yarn out, she scampers. I guess I take a lot of pictures of yarn.

Anyway, thanks Shannon, and Fiona. Four very enthusiastic paws-up.

There's been some knitting. There's also been some yarn purchasing, although they didn't show up in time for this edition of Etsy Wednesday.

I've been knitting some Embossed Leaves from blue Koigu, very slow going on the second sock.

And Leo has resurfaced! Has anyone been wondering about this poor, neglected WIP? I've kind of been obsessed with it lately, probably because cool weather is approaching and it just seems appropriate.

Ooh, also I made my Famous Spicy Nuts for a party last week. Don't they look yummy?

Don't forget to submit to Yarnival!

A Moment of Weakness

2007-09-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

I totally just joined the Brooklyn Handspun Holiday Sock Club. My first sock club! I am way excited. I haven't actually used her yarn before, although I did own some for a fleeting couple of weeks before I made myself send it on to my Lime and Violet Secret Pal.

I am so looking forward to my first shipment!

Don't forget--submit to Yarnival! This means you, Eric, and Marianne, and Amy! I want to see some Tulsans represent. Come on, Tara, share your half-assedness with the world.

Oliver, disdainful, as usual

Yarnival, Ya'll!

2007-09-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the call for submissions. Send me your funniest, most interesting, most insightful, most yarniest blog entries for the month of August/September-ish.

I'm looking for helpful tips, great stories, extravagant stash enhancements. I want to see your pets, your kids, your vacation, your FOs. I want socks, lace, sweaters, hats, scarves, mittens, willy-warmers.

I want to hear about knitalongs, knitting in public, knit groups, swaps, and your favoite LYS.

Show off your spinning, your dyeing, your wildly creative pursuits.

Give me your Ravelry groups and your Ravelry frustrations.

Submit your entries here: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_417.html

Check out previous editions here, here, and here!

So get to submitting. There's a whole wide world of fiber out there, and I want to share it with everyone!

And because no post is complete without a photo.

Ok, now, get to sharing. Email me with questions!

Etsy Wednesday

2007-09-05T16:42:00.001-07:00

In a low-rent, mid-week tribute to Aija's Etsy Friday, may I present my recent purchases?

Ok, one purchase, but it's an awesome one:

A watch! Made from antique flatware! From LTCreates Jewelry! It's been years since I've worn a watch, but with my new job comes a new need to keep track of time. And I don't think there's a prettier way to do it.

I was on the phone with my mom when I ordered it, so she decided she wanted one too. Here's the one she picked out:

Also, there are bracelets! I have the feeling someone I know is getting this one for Christmas this year. I just hope it's me.

I'd also be happy with this one.

In other news, did you see Sock Wars is on again this year? It was a lot of fun last year, but I think I am going to sit it out this time around. I'm passing on the link solely for your own benefit. Go sign up and have fun!

Lucky Yarn Day

2007-09-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I won a contest on Jessie's blog, she of Yarntini fame. Today, my prize arrived and made my day. It's so pretty, squishy, beautiful. I've never had Yarntini before, but I have already added my name to her mailing list--I want to get in on the next update.

Here's the specs:
And the colorway is Pomtini, and I love it.
And then, as if the above was not enough, my husband insisted (no, really!) on taking me to Loops and buying me some sock yarn. And this was after treating me to lunch at The Local Table, which was delicious.

I chose this Koigu, which I think represents a bit of a variation from my usual color zone. I thought it was pretty and unusual, and it put me in mind of autumn.
It's really very pretty, but the colors are hard to capture accurately. It's a blend of purples with lots of dark tones mixed with occasional streaks of deep rose and slate blue.
Hope your weekend is going well, and includes new yarn!

New Sock Yarn

2007-08-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

Look what I got from The Loopy Ewe:

It's The Knittery!

60% Merino, 20% Cashmere, 20% Nylon. Very soft.

Colorway: Summer. Which is kind of funny considering we are at the end of it (hopefully).

Swap Status

2007-08-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

My box from my Dish Rag Tag Team arrived today. I got home at 5:32 p.m., tore into the box, pulled out my goodies, picked a pattern and some needles, cast-on for a feather-and-fan discloth, and cast off at 8:48 p.m. Now I'll drop it in the mail to Heather In Utah tomorrow morning, and Team Whatever-Our-Name-Is is in the homestretch!

In Monkey Sock Swap news, I have selected and wound the yarn I will use for my pal's socks. Green Koigu! Whats not to love? By the way, I think there is still a day or two to sign up for this swap.

We went out with some friends last Saturday night to The Boston Deli. It was really, really good--seriously, if you're in the Tulsa area, stop by for a meal. I promise you won't be disappointed. Especially if you get desserts, to go, of course.

We went back to Sara and Kris' house for take-out dessert, jug wine, and a little fortune-telling with that ancient Mattel seer, Fortuna.

The weird thing is, she's eerily accurate. Here's Sarah, checking Fortuna's picks against her favorite horoscope site. Definitely a match!

And here's Paul, apparently supremely unconcerned that his hitherto unknown lovechild is supposed to appear on his doorstep this week. I'll keep you posted...

Monkey Sock Swap

2007-08-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

I liked Sockapalooza so much, I decided to get in on the Monkey Sock Swap. Signups are ongoing until August 31st, so you might want to check it out.

Anyway, this is where I do the swap questionnaire, and it likely won't be interesting to anyone except my swap pal, so feel free to skip it!

The basics:

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I think I am at an advanced beginner level, or possibly a beginning intermediate.

The measurements:

Shoe Size: 9.5 US

Foot circumference: 9.5 inches
Foot length: 9.5 inches
Weird!

Yarn Preferences:

What colors do you love? Pinks, reds, blues, greens. Paler colors, for sure. I am not really into earth tones, although browns blended with the above colors is always nice. I think my color preferences are pretty apparent from a scan og my blog, and if you need clarification, feel free to ask!
Do you prefer solids or variegated? I love variegated yarns, especially for Monkeys! For lacy patterns or anything else, I like solids. I have been trying the last month or so to focus on amassing more solid colored sock yarns because I have a tendency to buy the lovely variegateds, and then have nothing to use on all those lovely patterns from Favorite Socks!
Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? I prefer wool, wool blends
What colors would you never wear? Earth tones, jewel tones
What are your favorite brands of yarn? Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Fleece Artist, Koigu, Lisa Souza, Socks That Rock, Lorna's Laces, various independant Etsy sellers
Are there any new brands you would like to try? Brooklyn Handspun, Wollmeise, Yarn Nerd, The Knittery cashmere/merino blend, sKnitches

Cookie A. Patterns:

Which of her patterns have you already knit? I've done two pairs of Monkeys, started Pomatomus several times
Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? I really, really love Twisted Flower, and at the same time am intimidated by it. I do want to give it a try though!

Other pertinent information:

Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? Prefer US
Do you have any allergies? None
Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? Cats and dogs!
Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? lawyerlit

Conference Sock

2007-08-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

I got lots of knitting done on my Yarn Pirate sock during my conference. Lots of knitting in public, and lots of questions and interest from people watching me. Seems like everyone wants to have a sock, but no one wants to learn how to do it themselves.

I am not that crazy about this Yarn Pirate sock yarn though. I love the colors, and I love the feel and the sproingyness of the yarn, but this skein is full of knots. I ignored the ones I could, but there was one that was actually holding two pieces of yarn together, and it came undone, causing many minutes spent dealing with reconnecting the yarn in a way that didn't disturb the striping too badly.

Speaking of the striping, I thought they striped really badly, more in a ragged spiral pattern. I tried varying the stitch counts several times before finally going with a 64-stitch sock. I have seen other socks made with this yarn, and the stripes were much cleaner. There's either a secret to it, or I got a bad skein. Plus the sock broke one of my favorite DPNs.

Those Yarn Pirate fans out there, tell me--what is going on with these socks?

Obviously I am not the hugest fan of these socks. I am just ast the cuff on the second one, doing them Magic Loop style, just for fun. Next up? A pair of Embossed Leaves in this ice-blue Koigu. An excellent incentive to get the Clementine socks done ASAP.

Garish Monkeys Gifted

2007-08-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

I pressed on with the socks, and in the end, I think they came out pretty well. The odd striping held up through the gusset section, and duplicated itself precisely in the second sock.

And Tara was thrilled with them, she loved the colors, so it all turned out well. By the by, Tara's birthday party was last night, and it was pretty wild. Much wilder than one would expect from a bunch of drunken Ph.D students, but maybe I should have known better!

I'm off today to Oklahoma City for a conference. I've got hotel room knitting packed away in my suitcase...

...and a plain stockinette sock ready to go for actual conference knitting.

Drive By Post

2007-08-15T15:07:00.001-07:00

Just dashing in to say, how freakin' cute is this lunchbox? Love it. (And it matches my blog!)

Also, kelp is accepting submissions for the September edition of Yarnival. Hop on over and send something her way.

Socks, More Socks, and a Poll

2007-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

My Sockapalooza socks arrived!

Broadripple from knitty in Panda Cotton. They are so soft and silky, and this is a pattern I have looked at several times, but never made.

My pal was Sereknitty, and she also sent along some much-longed for Trekking XXL. Thanks so much--I am looking forward to wearing the socks once it's no longer 100 degrees every day and I start wearing socks again.

Now, for opinions. I started a new pair of Monkeys and they are patterning in the weirdest way. Big bands of pink alternating with bands of yellow and red stripes.

What do you think? Garish or gorgeous? I keep going back and forth on it myself, and I want to make this pair for a friend's birthday next week, so I need opinions, and I need them quick!

Oh! And a heads-up. I am editing the October edition of Yarnival, so start thinking about a post you may want to submit, or start composing that brilliant gem in your head, and watch this space for the submission call.

Posted

2007-08-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

One (1) pair of Sockapalooza socks and fun skein of sock yarn

One (1) somewhat sloppily finished baby blanket.

What a relief.

Big Post! Lots of Pictures!

2007-07-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

ETA: This is my real inspiration for spinning. If I could ever learn how to make something so gorgeous, I would be very happy indeed!

Oh my God, Eric and I went to a fiber festival today just down the road from Tulsa. It. Was. Awesome! I don't know how those of you who go to the giant ones all the time do it--I brought home so much good stuff. Here's a peek inside the bag I brought home with me. I'll get to all that in a minute.

So, without further ado, let me lead you on a tour of the festival.

This was mostly a gathering of local spinners, dyers, and Alpaca/llama/sheep raisers. I've never seen so much fiber in one place--and I had no idea what one does with most of it

But that didn't stop us from making the round several times, visiting each booth, some more than once, and handling all the fiber, even the oily stuff.

There was just so much to see--and touch!

The above is the East Winds Farm booth (etsy seller NakedSheepStudios). I see she doesn't have any sock yarn up at the moment, but keep checking back because this stuff was beautiful.

She had two varieties--a Corridale/nylon blend (465 yards for $10!), and a Merino/tencel blend (410 yards for $12). Eric and I nearly cleaned her out, buying three skeins each.

One of these will be going to my Sockapalooza pal. I just have to decide which I can stand to part with.

Handspun yarn:

Handspun bamboo yarn (very shiny!):

And this booth had some of the most amazing stuff I have ever seen--silk caps! If you don't know what it is, and I had never heard of before now, I've already googled it for you. Check out the link, because they are just impossible to describe.

These things are so strangely strong to the touch, but filmy and delicate looking. Eric and I each bought two.

Apparently we can either spin them on our new spindles, or just peel off the layers, stretch them out and roll the fiber back and forth to create instant yarn.

I got pink with green, and blue with green, so I'll be able to combine all the colors together when I decide what to do with them.

Endlessly entertaining!

Before we left, we sat down with Janine and Tara to rest a minute. They were also quite the happy little shoppers, so our table was loaded down with our purchases--and my new green spindle!

Janine gave an impromptu spinning lesson, and she made it look so easy. Which I prompty found out it is not once I tried my hand at it. I'll need tons of practice, but seeing the amazing handspun yarns today gives me an incentive to get going immediately!

Excuses, Excuses

2007-07-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted lately.

And I haven't been knitting any exciting projects, just churning out miters, and working on the Sockapalooza socks.

Baby blanket still not done, but it's a priority for this weekend.

The truth is that my new job is exhausting me, There's so very much to learn, and every day I come home completely drained. It will definitely get better, but after 3.5 years of working at home, this new out-in-the-world schedule is tough to adjust to.

On the definitely up-side, I got paid, and to reward myself, I bought a teach-yourself-to-spin kit from Hello Yarn. Could this be the start of a new obsession?

Stay tuned...

And, just because hate posting without photos

Eddie says hey.

Ah, crap...

2007-07-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

...roommate's baby came three weeks early!!!

Finishing the blanket will be a priority this week. I'd better be done by Friday because--Harry Potter!

Welcome to the world, Ally. We're glad you're here, and, I promise, you'll have your blanket soon!

Sugary Sweet FO

2007-07-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Mrs. Beeton
Yarns: Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Rowan Silk Wool DK

Wow, I loved this pattern. I have been wanting to make these for a while, and I am so glad I finally did. It's a quick, fun pattern, and the results are beautiful.

Although, I have to admit that, as much as I like frilly, sparkly, pink, girl-y things, these definitely border on "too much". I like them though, and I will totally wear them this fall and winter. I would make them again, just maybe not in such a cotoon candy color scheme. I also think they would be lovely without beads. But ya'll know how much I love knitting with beads!

If you've been considering this pattern, go ahead and do it. It's very entertaining. Oh, and did I mention that it took me less than 24 hours to complete the pair?

FO

2007-07-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

I now present a finished object--the Flame Wave Socks:

From Favorite Socks

Yarn: Cascade Fixation
Needles: size 4 and 5 dpns

These socks are nice and cozy, and oh-so-stretchy. It's definitely strange knitting up socks on such large needles, but they worked up quickly.

I need to finish up my second Sockapalooza pal sock. The deadline is only three weeks away!

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here lately. My husband is off on vacation, and I am starting a new job this week! Wish me luck.

Pinks!

2007-06-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I saw that Phoe was getting rid of some sock yarns she wasn't going to use. They were up for grabs, so of course, I grabbed. How could I not? Look at them:

Adorable. Thanks so much!

Details

2007-06-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

Not much new knitting progress to report. Paul's had lots of family in, so we've been busy nearly every night for the last week.

I have mainly been swatching for Sarcelle.

I'm considering making a modification to the pattern. Here's a hint:

I've also been experimenting with ways to cover up the part of my baby blaket I didn't show off.

Other than that, I've been knitting miters, and adding projects and stash to Ravelry. Sorry I'm so boring!

ISE4 Package!

2007-06-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

My package from the International Scarf Exchange arrived today, and it held a treasure trove of surprises. My English swap pal, Saffy, was, in a word, amazing.

She sent some yummy looking British treats, including tea, biscuits, chocolate, and candies.

And the yarn! My goodness.

Some Twilley's of Stamford wool. Gorgeous stuff, and very soft. My pal initially wanted to use this yarn for a scarf, but she sent it along to me instead!

Sock Yarn!

From The Natural Dye Studio.

And what you've all been waiting for....the scarf!

Knitted with wool from The Natural Dye Studio, it's truly a thing of beauty, and in colors I love.

Thanks so much for everything. Now to wait for cool weather.

Too Damn Cute

2007-06-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished the baby blanket I have been making for my college roommate's July arrival.

Seriously, it is too damn cute! It's almost too much.

A fairly simple knit, with crochet edges that a member of my knitting group graciously helped me out with, and a large section of duplicate stitch.

Really, look at it.

Pattern: Mimi Baby Blanket, an original pattern from an LYS

Yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Organic, Jersey, and Soul

Really, it's too much.

I love it.

A Pair of Socks

2007-06-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hey, I never said it was a matching pair!

These are the Monkey socks I am making for myself. So pretty. I love these colors, and the yarn works really well with the pattern. Yarn, by the way, is from WhiteWillow.

The other pair is the Waving Lace Socks for my Sockapalooza pal. Also from WhiteWillow. The color was supposed to be a blend of Tiffany box blues, but it looks more like a swimming pool to me. The yarn is so soft and when you put the sock on, it almost feels like slipping your foot ito a swimming pool on a hot day.

The downside is I'm not that crazy about the pattern. It seems rather bland to me, but I think my pal will like it. What do you guys think?

We don't do much gardening around here, as you can tell from the grassy state of the flowerbed in front of our house. But today we weeded the whole thing and pulled up as much of the stubborn roots as we could. We're still debating on what to plant there, but here's my visual representation of how I would like it to look:
Lastly, Oliver says hi!

The Blues

2007-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in a blue period lately. I didn't even realize it until I was taking photos for this post, but it definitely gives me plenty of fodder for Knit Blue.

First up, the pair of socks I finally finished for Paul. Started back in October, they are plain old stockinette socks in the fabulous Boathouse from Piece of Beauty.

I started the Dotty Cat Bed from kelpknits. I totally didn't even deviate from the colors of the original. What can I say? It looked great! It's a fun pattern that's moving along more quickly than I had anticipated. I doubt my cats will sleep in it, but we'll see when it's done.

And the yarn I ordered for my Sockapalooza pal arrived. Mmm, beautiful, custom-dyed yarn from darling etsy seller WhiteWillow. Seriously, check her stuff out. Send her an email, and she'll work with you to come up with whatever color you want. Great prices, fast shipping--what's not to love?

I haven't decided on a pattern yet--my goal for this afternoon--but it's all ready to go!

Finally, I spotted the enemy outside the other day. It appeared to be sleeping because it didn't move at all while I was photographing it. Or maybe that's all part of the strategy...

Tagged! (photos at the end--please persevere!)

2007-05-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

I actually got tagged, by name, for one of those meme things. I was curious about what a "meme" actually meant, so I consulted that tried and true source: Wikipedia. And this is what I found:

Richard Dawkins coined the term meme, which first
came into popular use with the publication of his book
The Selfish Gene in 1976. Dawkins based the word on
a shortening of the Greek "mimeme" (something
imitated), making it sound similar to "gene". The concept
received relatively little attention until the late 1980s
when several academics took it up, most prominently
American philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel
Dennett, who promoted the idea firstly in his book on
the philosophy of mind, Consciousness Explained (1991),
and then in Darwin's Dangerous Idea (1995).

Interesting, no? (Bonus Fact: I took Ancient Greek my last semster of law school. Eric and I had to do a real song and dance to convince the Dean of Students it was a legitimate request. I got an A. I still cannot write the Greek alphabet).

Anyway, I was tagged by Miss Malice and challenged to reveal 7 random facts about myself. People, there are rules:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about
themselves. Those tagged need to write in their
blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need
to tag seven others and list their names on your blog.
You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in
their comments so they know that they have been tagged
and to read your blog.

Ok, I realize this entry is starting to resemble an academic dissertation. Please bear with me.

1. I read in ths shower. Yes, you read that right. I always have, probably always will.

It's simple, if you want to learn how. Just hold the book in your left (or weakest) hand, use your right (or dominant) hand to do all the washing.

Once you get more advanced, you'll be able to switch hands and hold the book at impossible angles so you can continue reading even while rinsing conditioner from your hair with nary a drop of water touching the book.

I can even read magazines and 800 page tomes while enjoying a cleansing shower. I've been doing this since age 6, people.

2. Also related to reading, because that is a huge part of my life, I grew up in a very touristy area of Kentucky, Cave City, and thus, the first word I ever learned to read was "Motel". When I was in kindergarten, I got my photo in the paper for reading a sixth grade book to an actual class of sixth graders.

I'm glad I wasn't a boy because I so would have had my ass kicked on the playground that day.

A few more: when I got in trouble, my parents would ground me from reading and order me to watch TV as my punishment; I would pull out my current book and read between words on elementary school spelling tests.

3. I am a nerd.

4. I am a dyed-in-the-wool (hee!) Democrat. I come from a family of Republicans, and I don't think my parents have ever gotten over me registering as a Democrat the day I turned 18. I ended up majoring in political science in college. I started the Knit Blue KAL (email me to join!).

5. I hate wet bread. It makes me gag. My husband knows this, and when I am cleaning the kitchen and I call him in to push biscuits or pancakes or whatever down the garbage disposal, or rinse caked-on pizza crust off the pizza pan, he doesn't even have to ask what my problem is.

I also hate orange juice. Whether this is due to my mother crushing baby aspirin and spooning it to me partially-dissolved in orange juice, or my orange juice-addicted sister leaving glasses of it around the house to form graceful, yet disgusting, moldy crusts is yet to be determined.

I have a strong suspicion it's a combination of both.

6. I love my husband. Truly, madly, deepy, always. He's the person I turst, the person I rely on, the person who is always on my side.

My parents have been married since 1968, and Paul's parents celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2004. The day Paul and I got married, my mom told me if we screwed it up, we certainly couldn't blame it on them.

I really don't think that will be a problem.

7. Paul says that he thinks it's weird that I can watch a whole movie or TV show, and then just get up and walk away with ten minutes left to go. He also thinks it's weird that I love books, but I hate going to the bookstore.

Hee, this list makes me think I am a weirdo.

Ok, I am going to tag 7 random people from my Bloglines list:

Sheepish Annie

Mouse (currently attending my alma mater!)

Amy

BrownPants

Jill (aka NapLover)

Katie

Criminy Jickets

Ok, photos.

I could add number 8 to the list and say I had no idea wine could freeze:

Whoops!

Also, this is totally my new favorite miter aquare:

Or this one:

Er, or this one:

Thanks for sticking with me! I apologize for the looong post. I vow to be more pithy next time.

More Miters.

2007-05-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

First off, thanks for all the overwhelmingly generous comments on my last post. I think I had an all-time high of 48 comments! I'm glad everyone liked the scarf--I adore it too, and your enthusiasm assures me that my pal will love it.

We're still dealing with the office issue. Taking it slow, considering the options, etc., etc., etc. That event was really just one in a series of events for me lately--the week before, my husband was diagnosed with Type-II diabetes, this week my mom was hospitalized with pneumonia.

So I have been knitting miters.

Slow, steady, predictable miters.

Colorful, cheerful miters.

Miters, miters, miters.

Still not nearly enough miters.

Fun to photograph miters!

The One Bright Spot

2007-05-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, this has been an unbelivably crappy day. Have you ever been in a situation where someone is attacking you for no legitimate reason? Where the things they are complaining about have been festering for them for months? Where every problem they have could have easily been solved with a little bit of communication?

Well, that's what happened to me today. Remember when I blogged about the great office-sharing opportunity we had "lucked" into? Turns out--ain't so great. I mean, if you don't mind completely bat-shit crazy, it's probably fine. As for me and Eric, we're outta there. Reasonable, rational, grownup-type people can't function in an insane person's world, and we're not going to try anymore. It's not worth it.

My Tulsa readers: know of any office space? We're so going to need it. Email me!

On to the good stuff. This scarf--my God. So gorgeous.

After blocking, it laid so flat and nice. It's delicate, airy, very ethereal.

It's going to be hard to give up and send off to my Scarf Exchange Pal. The good news is my scarf pal is awesome, so I am going to be very happy to let her have it.

It will still be hard though.

Specs:

Pattern: Heart strings' Beaded Lace Scarf II (don't pay $5 for shipping though--I have heard you can find it cheaper elsewhere.)

Yarn: Hand-dyed 100% Merino laceweight from Etsy seller WhiteWillow

Beads: size 8/10 seed beads, approximately 1,175 of them--seriously

Needles: US size 4 KnitPicks Options

Length: 68 inches (53 prior to blocking!!!)

Width: 11 inches

It's been a long time since I have knit a scarf and I forgot how much stamina it requires. I loved this pattern the first few days, but the closer I got to the end, the more I couldn't wait to be done. I have enough yarn and beards left to make myself one, but I just don't know if I cold manage it. At least not for a looong time.

Thanks for all the great comments about this scarf. I can honestly say it's the most beautiful thing I have made thus far, and that's with all the credit to the pattern, and the yarn. All I did was knit it.

FO At Last

2007-04-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

My scarf for ISE4...

...she is done.

Details (and more pics) to follow post-blocking.

Thanks for all of the great advice in the comments to my last post. I concentrated exclusively on the scarf this weekend, and lo and behold--I finished it!

Funny how that works.

WIPs

2007-04-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

I love starting new projects. I have several new projects in mind that I would like to start now. But that mindset is responsible for the state of my knitting table.

Plus there's Leo, and the yak scarf, and all those miters yet to be finished. I have definitely created a too-many-projects problem for myself. It's hard to ever finish anything when you don't spend much time on any one thing. But how do you know which ones to focus on first?

I have been trying to focus on the beaded scarf, because that has a deadline, and because I will have to start knitting soon for Sockapalooza.

But I didn't knit on the beaded scarf at all yesterday because I felt guilty about still not finishing the Boathouse socks. This shouldn't be making me feel guilty. My husband won't need his sweater until September at the very earliest. Ditto for my dad's yak scarf. So I feel less guilty about those.

How do you prioritize your projects? Or, better yet, how do you keep yourself from having too many going at once?

I'm A Winner And Good Yarn Karma

2007-04-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

I won a contest over at Knit-Whit.

Carrie sent me some dishcloth cotton, a lovely ballband warshcloth (I have made so many of these for other people, I never knew how fun it was to have someone make one for me), and something I have been wanting for a long time...

...a Chibi! Thanks Carrie (and Casey)

Have you guys visited Good Yarn Karma? It's a group blog where participants can get rid of things they no longer need by sending it to someone else who wants it for free (good karma!) or swapping it for something else. I've received some dishcloth cotton, adorable stitchmarkers, and, just last week, Vintage Knits for nothing. Go over and check it out.

Miters!

2007-04-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your kind words on my Scarf Exchange scarf. It's always nice to get positive feedback on projects in progress.

I realized I haven't made any mention of the miter square blanket since I started it. I've only made 8 of them--still a looong way to go!--but the colors are so pretty, and the process is so fun.

Hanging in the breeze.

And still lots of colors to choose from!

Lastly, I updated my blog's design a little, which I'm sure you noticed. I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to this stuff, but overall I'm pleased with how it looks now. It's cool to be using a photo in the banner that I actually took myself--I feel so professional!

Scarfing It Up

2007-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Much progress--with seemingly little effort--has been made on my International Scarf Exchange Pal's scarf.

I'm loving this pattern!

A Good Yarn Day

2007-04-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

When I got home yesterday, after a very dull meeting in Oklahoma City, I found a stack of packages waiting for me. Ok, two packages, but the contents were so great, it felt like more.

First up, I got the yarn I ordered from etsy seller WhiteWillow.

Merino laceweight for my International Scarf Swap pal:

I was a little afraid of winding 880 yards of laceweight, even with my ball winder and swift, but it wound into the most perfectly delicious little yarn cake with no snags, no tangles, nothing but smooth, gorgeous Neopolitan yarn.

And it is now being turned into this:

I also got the sock yarn I ordered, in "Sweet Tart". This stuff is beautiful!

And as if that wasn't enough, my package from my Lime and Violet Swap Pal arrived. It was stuffed full of treats--chocolate and exotic little goodies. And this funny ostrich pen that I took to my office before I took a photo.

But, best of all, it also contained yarn! And not just any yarn, but Piece of Beauty yarn. Thanks, LnV Pal! You are the best. This yarn is so pretty, I love the colors, and everything else in the package was perfect too.

Definitely a red-letter day for me!

Yarn Portrait

2007-04-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

...more later...

Hey, Blogiversary!

2007-04-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

So today is the actual day and....Tina was the winner of my contest, as determined by the Random Number Generator. Congrats, Tina, I have emailed your gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe to you. Have fun!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and to everyone who is reading my blog and commenting. It's been a lot of fun, and I have learned so much from your comments, and your blogs, and the entire community. It's such a good thing!

To celebrate, I stopped by this crazy little yarn shop in Grove, Oklahoma today and picked up these:

Holy mackeral! Tahki Cotton Classic! None of them priced over $4.00. Most of them were priced at $3.85. I so wish they had had more colors, because let me tell you, this is a bargain. Eric and I both got Tofutsies too, for way less than we would pay in Tulsa. This little shop is definitely going to be a must-stop place everytime we are in Delaware County!

WIP Round-up

2007-04-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on Leo. I have one sleeve finished, and the second sleeve is started, I have the back finished, and am working on the front. Progress pics of this thing are so boring though, so just imagine miles of 5x3 ribbing, and you'll have an idea of what it looks like.

I also cast on yesterday for the STR Cedar Creek socks with my lightweight Lemongrass. Only one pattern repeat done so far though, so you don't get to see that either.

What you do get to see is my progress on my dad's scarf in the Karabella SuperYak:

And you get to see a teensy corner of a baby present I am making for my friend and old college roommate's new arrival, scheduled for July:

It's going to be so adorable when it's done!

And my plain old stockinette socks in Piece of Beauty's Boathouse.

And finally, a soon-to-be-started project, the Miter Square Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I have been rereading this book lately, and that combined with Cara of January One's gorgeous, seductive photos, have convinced me I need to start one of my very own.

I may soon be regretting this, as I understand the miter squares are addictive, and when you're done, you have tons of ends to weave in, not to mention all the seaming. But it just looks like such fun.

I bought one of every color my LYS had, but I know it won't be nearly enough for the whole project. But at least it will get me started. If you have any unwanted or un-needed full or partial skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic, email me. We may be able to help each other out.

That's all for now. Enjoy the weekend!

Last Push

2007-04-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, my Blogiversary Contest ends tomorrow, and I have 27 entreis, which makes your odds pretty good.

If you haven't entered, please do by emailing the answers to the following questions to yarnpal at cox dot net (remove "at" and "dot", replacing them with the appropriate symbols).

1. What is my miniature schnauzer's name?
2. What yarn did I use to knit my first ever pair of socks?
3. Where was I born?
4. What sock-in-progress did I have the deckhand pose with?
5. What sweater am I knitting for my husband?
BONUS: Which of my projects finished in the last year is your favorite?

Thanks for playing along!

Back to the Drawing Board

2007-04-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your kind words about the Chevron Scarf. The same Chevron Scarf that has been ripped back and put away. There was just something about it that wasn't working for me.

But I have a new idea for my Scarf Pal....

Stay tuned.

And be sure to enter my Blogiversary Contest if you haven't already (scroll down a couple of posts). You have until this Friday the 6th to enter!

Scarf Review

2007-03-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

***If you haven't entered my Blogiversary contest (see previous post), please be sure to do so. The prize is a gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe!***

I joined the International Scarf Exchange, and started my scarf last night.

I looked at lots of different patterns, but I just couldn't get past the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. And since I was too anxious to start to wait for Blue Moon to restock the mediumweight STR or for my LYS to reopen so they could sell me some Koigu, I started with the lightweight STR I had on hand--Lemongrass and Farmhouse.

So, tell me. How's it looking?

Also--FO Alert! I finished this pair of baby cable ribbed socks for my sister-in-law Cheryl. Just for no reason. Well, that's not true. She was COMPLAINING that I hadn't made her a pair yet...

The yarn is STR in Marbles.

Blogiversary Trivia Contest

2007-03-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like my blogiversary is coming up, so in the grand tradition of giving away stuff to celebrate, I am announcing a contest.

All you have to do is answer the following 5 questions about me and my projects. All the answers will easily be found somewhere in my posts.

The winner will be chosen at random from all entrants. You have until Friday, April 6th to enter, and then I will announce the winner on April 10, which is my actual blogiversary!

To enter, send me an email with your answers. I guess it doesn't matter if you post your answers in the comments because everyone who sends me 5 answers gets entered to win, whether the answers are right or not, but still, it might be fun for people to do a little scavenger hunt. So email them to me at yarnpal at cox dot net (Replace "at" and "dot" with the appropriate symbols and remove the spaces).

Let's seem what else.....AH! You want to know about the prize! It's a good one....

A $25.00 gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe!

Is that worth playing for?

And now, here are the questions:

1. What is my miniature schnauzer's name?

2. What yarn did I use to knit my first ever pair of socks?

3. Where was I born?

4. What sock-in-progress did I have the deckhand pose with?

5. What sweater am I knitting for my husband?

BONUS: Which of my projects finished in the last year is your favorite?

Thanks for playing along!

Random Photos

2007-03-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yarn Extravaganza

2007-03-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

One of our LYS' is relocating, and for the last several weeks they have been increasing the sale priceof all their yarn. Today was the first day I stopped by, and I was surprised to see they still had quite a lot of good stuff left. And all at 75% off!

Who cares that I have no idea what I am going to do with the majority of it.

One skein of Louet's Euroflax.

4 skeins Patagonia Nature Cotton.

5 skeins Rowanspun.

5 skeins of Elisabeth Lavold Silky Tweed.

4 skeins Karabella SuperYak. This, I actually have a plan for. My dad has asked for a scarf. Since this shows him actually taking an interest in my knitting, I thought I had better deliver, and deliver good. 50% Yak, %50 merino ought to be pretty good.

All of this for less than $50! Gotta love a sale.

Self-Indulgent Pet Photos, Dyeing Yarn, and Leo Update

2007-03-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Elly is very shaggy and in desperate need of a haircut. However, tonight, more than a haircut, she desperately needed a bath.

See, schnauzers can get very dirty, very surreptitiously. It's one of their traits, along with stubbornness and wet beards after drinking water.

So this one, after I discovered a patch of dried mud on her belly, got unceremoniously tossed into the bathtub.

Ok, I am almost embarrassed to post this photo. I swear the bathtub was clean prior to the schnauzer-bathing.

As for other news, and this time is it yarn-related, Eric and I decided to try our hand at dyeing yarn. Eric had received some pretty crappy fingering-weight arn on a big cone, so we experimented with that and Wilton icing dyes.

We're looking forward to trying it with some good quality sock yarn, so if you know of a source, let us know!

I think our ultimate results were pretty good.

As for the finished product, you'll have to wait until the knitted-up swatches are complete before I show them off.

But here's a little sneak preview for you.

Lastly, The back of Leo is finished. I have started on one of the sleeves, and don't look forward to all the miles of 5x3 ribbing ahead of me. But it will be worth it!

I'll leave you with this creepy photo of Oliver looking out the front door.

A Book Meme!

2007-03-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

I snagged this one from Craftyminx.

In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole*, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

*except I did mine in red because I don't know how to do a strikeout!

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. +Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. +A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. +The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitch hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. +Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. +The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Whew! That was a fun one.

Speaking of fun, ya'll should go sign up for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap. It's just that. A teeny 20-stitch sock that you make, then send to someone else. A non-laborintensive, time-intensive, or money-intensive swap!

I'll look for you there.

Springiness

2007-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

It has been warm and sunny here for several days, and I noticed my neighbor's magnolia tree is starting to bloom.

Soon they will all be blooming and smell wonderful. And then they will all fall off and turn in to a sloppy, brown, slippery mess. But they look pretty now.

There was the first faint sign of a spring storm in the air yesterday afternoon, and sure enough, we had a brief thunderstorm late last night.

Of course, storm season in Oklahoma brings with it the everpresent weather warning on the corner of the television screen.

I must be avoiding talking about the knitting. I remind myself of the irritating people who get on the elevator with me in my office building and chatter inanely about the weather. Sorry.

Leo is growing. I am just under 11 inches now. So only 6.5 inches to go. On the back. Someone in my knitting group suggested starting the sleeves, just to break up the monotony. It seems that doing both sleeves at the same time is the best route to go, so I may cast on for those this weekend.

Oh, and Paul made pork chops the other night. He was extremely proud of them, so I just wanted to document the result here.

Have a good weekend!

Faux--matomus

2007-02-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

Here are Sara's new socks. No, they aren't Pomatomus, but the pattern is somewhat similar. It's Child's First Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.

This was a geat little pattern, and one I want to make again in a more solid color. Still, I think they turned out beautifully.

The yarn again--because I know someone is going to ask--is Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in Mombassa.

We've Got Gauge!

2007-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

The yarn for Leo arrived on Wednesday, as did my Knit Picks Options set. Very exciting.

So my swatches are made, and as soon as I finish this post, I'll be casting on. And then working 17.5 inches of 5x3 ribbing...

A Violent Frogging

2007-02-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Sara's Pomatomus...

Ugh...

Gasp...

Ack...

Yikes...

Ah, Liberation.

This project was just not being fun for me. It was, in fact, stressing me out. So I frogged it, and never again will the Pomatomus darken my needles! I think I may try instead for the Child's First Sock Pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.

I bought myself two little treats today. The new issue of Interweave Knits and one skein of Artyarns Regal Silk. This stuff is luscious.

No, really amazing:

I thought I might just hang onto this precious little bundle and give it the occasional longing look and tender pat, but then I saw that Sarah's Yarns sells this stuff, priced quite reasonably. So I started thinking, hmmm, three more skeins and I could make a decent-sized and absolutely beautiful Clapotis. Definitely something to think about.

Of course, I would welcome all advice and suggestions on what to do with my beautiful silk.

I have decided it's time for me to give a sweater a shot. Not a sweater for me, but a sweater for Paul, who is seriously lacking in cold weather wear. Of course, the fact that I probably won't have this item completed until the trees are back in bloom and the tar is melting on the road is no deterrant. At least he'll be warm next winter!

We decided on Leo from knitty. I have the yarn choices narrowed down to three options, all of which would likely work equally well.

I like the Rowan Cashsoft Dk because it's washable, and would be so soft. The drawback is the not-so-great color selection, and the higher price than my other options.

ETA: Well, I went ahead this morning and ordered the Cashsoft for the sweater. And in the very same color pictured here! Please, no one come along and tell me how this was a bad idea.

The Peruvian Highland Silk comes in nice colors, and is affordable, but handwash only.

Ditto for the Queensland Uruguay DK.

Suggestions/advice would definitely be appreciated here too. This is my first sweater, ya'll! I have already ordered the KnitPicks Options set just for this very purpose. I am way excited to cast-on.

And in other news, Eric's Tony brought us a phalaenopsis in bloom to enjoy in our office. It's so beautiful. And speaking of Eric, drop by to leave condolences on the death of his cat, Sherby. He was a charming little cat, and I know he will be missed.

Knitting for Friends

2007-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Our friends Sara and Kris commissioned me to do some projects for them.

Kris wanted, what else, a pirate hat!

The colors she picked were so, ahem, muted, I had to add a bright red stripe to the lining, just for my own amusement.

Sara wanted some socks. And not only did she want socks, she wanted Pomatomus socks. Now, I know it's my own fault for showing her the pattern, but still, Pomatomus and I do no have a great history together.

Luckily, it seems to be going much smoother this time. I am ready to work on the heel of the first sock, and so far, no major problems. (FYI, the yarn is Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in Mombassa.)

In Progress:

Closeup:

Now, we all know knitting for others is its own reward, but a skein of Lisa Souza Sock! Merino certainly doesn't hurt!

Book Meme

2007-01-29T06:57:00.000-08:00

I don't usually do these things, but I saw this on Schrodinger's blog, and I love books, so I just couldn't resist. Unfortunately, I am at work now so all I have are boring legal books.

Instructions:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.

5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

6. Tag 5 people

The first book I picked up was my Professional Responsibility textbook, but page 123 was a chapter divider. So the next closest one is Nonprofit Oragnizations, and page 123 gives us this nugget of wisdom:

Some nonprofit statutes provide that a charitable corporation holds full ownership rights in donated property and is not deemed a trustee. See N.Y. Not-for-Profit Corp. L. § 513. Where a donor makes an unresticted gift to a charitable corporation, the corporation may use the donated property for any of its charitable purposes. Alumnae Assn. of Newport Hospital School of Nursing v. DeSimone, 106 R.I. 196, 258 A2d 80 (1969); Y.M.C.A. v. Morgan, 281 N.C., 189 S.E. 2d 169 (1972).

Ok, now that I have thoroughly bored you, consider yourself tagged!

New Stuff!

2007-01-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

I had a very knitty birthday this year. From my sister, I got a Yarn Harlot book and a pattern book.

From Eric and Kim:

From myself:

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in "Spring Frost". Love CTH!!! Very sproingy.

Purchased with a gift certificate from David and Cheryl:

Koigu!

From myself:

Brooklyn Handspun in "Java". This will be my first BH experience. I'm excited!

From my husband:

Regia bamboo and Regia cotton colors.

Also, I finished Odessa (did ya'll even know I was working on Odessa?). I love this pattern. The beads look like little dewdrops. I think I will knit with beads all the time now.

Ok, so I had it with me at work. But I wasn't working on it at work. Unlike some people.

Close-up look at beads:

Great birthday! Oh, and my parents got me a generous gift certificate to Lands End, which is not knitty, but very much appreciated nonetheless!

Ideas Needed

2007-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

I got my replacement skein from Piece of Beauty, and, while lovely in and of itself, it is a completely different dye-lot than my surviving skein.

So...any suggestions on what I can do with about 700 yards of coordinating, but non-matching fingering weight yarn, besides a pair of mismatched socks?

Preppy Pirates

2007-01-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

The second pirate hat is finished!

Me:

Oliver: Specs:
KnitPicks Merino Style yarn, Asparagus and Rhubarb!

Pirate Hats

2007-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

It's cold and icy here in Oklahoma tonight, and I have been working on the We Call Them Pirates Hat.

Some of you may recall that I attempted to make this hat for my husband, but it came out to small and was gifted instead to my nephew. Which is all well and good, but it meant I owed my husband a hat. I joined the KAL for the pattern, and got started again, this time with a carefully measured gauge swatch at my side.

Ta da!
The inside:
The happy recipient:

Particulars:

KnitPicks Merino Style in Coal and Vanilla

Size 7 Addi Turbo

Size 5 KnitPicks needles for lining

Plymouth Wildflowers DK cotton for lining

Started Tuesday, January 9th

Finished Friday January 12th

I love this pattern so much, I decided to make one for me as well. Only this time I started from the lining up to avoid all that fiddly provisional cast-on stuff.

Lining completed:

First chart repeat completed:

Yarn:

KnitPicks Merino Style in Asparagus and Rhubarb

Awesome!

Stitch 'n Sue

Simply Scraps

Where's That Damn Charger?!?

I'm Back!

False Start

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad!

Knitting Underway

Home Again

Vacation Time

Socking it to Me

Dog Sitting

Bathroom Update

How Absent Have I Been?

And the Winner is......

It's Coming!

New Project! **Now With A Contest**

Knit Kniece!

A Well Dressed Bear

Monkey Sock Swap

Is This Normal?

Introducing...

Etsy Monday!

Stupid Sweater

Finishing Touches

Whoa.

Taking Shape

Most Horrible Weekend Ever

after math

Knit Nite

Long Time, No Post

Last Post for 2007

Happy Christmas

Back!

Powerless

My Cake

Hats

A Christmas Explosion

Birthday Weekend

My Camera's Back--And Better Than Ever!

Camera Issues

Monkey Business

I'm Back!

Yarnival! The Yarnies Edition

Happy Anniversary!

Stay Tuned

Socktoberfest! And A Garden Makeover!

Help!

Weird...Etsy Wednesday Again

A Moment of Weakness

Yarnival, Ya'll!

Etsy Wednesday

Lucky Yarn Day

New Sock Yarn

Swap Status

Monkey Sock Swap

Conference Sock

Garish Monkeys Gifted

Drive By Post

Socks, More Socks, and a Poll

Posted

Big Post! Lots of Pictures!

Excuses, Excuses

Ah, crap...

Sugary Sweet FO

FO

Pinks!

Details

ISE4 Package!

Too Damn Cute

A Pair of Socks

The Blues

Tagged! (photos at the end--please persevere!)

More Miters.

The One Bright Spot

FO At Last

WIPs

I'm A Winner And Good Yarn Karma

Miters!

Scarfing It Up

A Good Yarn Day

New Project! Now With A Contest