OK, I give up!

I have often mentioned how lame I am at getting a freakin' button on this blog! Don't ask me how I managed the first RSC button. I think Blogger was less 'user friendly' then, with the premade templates. But guess what? This dummy can cut and paste and it worked out just fine! Now I can't figure out HOW to get the freakin' graphics to show! The link is there, though...,just click on the weird 'white space' at the sidebar!

OK...on to knit blogging, cuz I prefer to spend my time talking about knitting and yarn, not wasting my precious time trying to get this stupid button issue solved! Please, Blog-fixing Fairy, come to my rescue!!!

So onto the fun! Like yarn pRony goodness!

I had already confessed to these purchases made at ImagiKnit on Saturday:

And actually, this is Claudia Handpainted Chunky, not worsted, as I had first reported. And then there was the new shipment of Shibui Sock-how could I pass up this colorway? (OK, I maybe could've, but I really couldn't!) But let me remind you, I put back the Noro Sock in a lovely olive/purple/lavendar colorway, as well as Shibui alpaca/wool in the Pagoda colorway! Both lovely, but putting them back meant I cut my final shopping spree cost in half!

I don't remember if I told you all that I actually finished Clue 1 of Secret of the Stole II, since I had refused to leave ImagiKnit until it was completed! So here it is, up to Clue 1. I have started Clue 2, but am only around 10 rows further along...

I seem to think that I already confessed to casting on for the Serendipity socks! Sorry, Cat, your design had to take a back-seat because my brain was just not ready to tackle Salish Seas-yet! Besides, I had to celebrate the Lunar New Year in my own, knitterly way by knitting on these socks! The color is perfect, and once I started on the lace pattern and got past the first 26 rows, I could see how cleverly the lace pattern formed little flame-like shapes! Too cool for a Dragon colorway!


And I am happy to report that after much agony, I have finished my Baby Boo present! It is amazing that I finally got it done! A "Munchkin" hat and matching booties. I improvised on the hat, starting with ribbing and severely increasing about 5 stitches every other round, then knit straight and decreased, leaving an i-cord stem sticking up from the top. I was going to make it into a knob on the top, but liked how it was stiff enough to stick up, so I decided a crocheted flower on top would be in order-very Munchkin-esque, no? I later added a reverse crochet edging around the bottom. The booties are based on a pattern I found via Ravelry (gotta love them!) I think the pattern is Ruth's Best Baby Booties (I'll check on that later...)

I'm just so happy it's done! I had looked for some yarn in my stash that: 1) had pink in it, 2) no wool, just in case of allergies, 3) would knit up fairly quickly since I have serious finishing problems!

So I got out some K1C2 "PJs", which I loved-narrow strips of flannel! But then I wouldn't have enough for matching booties, and how lame to not do hat and booties, right? Well, it seemed the yarn that would coordinate well would be some Berocco Suede, so I went out and got a ball of it at a later Stash Enhancement EXcursion. Yeah, gals, it was GOOD!-lol! But the whole bi--h of the matter is that neither yarn is very stretchy and thus, were a pain to knit with! Every-stitch-of-the-way... So now, here they are:
I'm happy with how they came out, but I just hope Baby Elinor will be able to wear the hat at least once or twice. The hat came out a bit smaller than I had expected. But I figure this baby's probably got knit hats up the gazoo, so maybe a future dolly can wear it!

So that is my knitting story for the week-and I'm sticking to it!

Three things...

I didn't buy...

http://www.yarnwench.com/php/ItemShow1.php?InvNum=2651
Shabui Alpaca/Wool in Pagoda (LOVE that color!)
Noro Sock yarn

But I have to confess that I couldn't pass up some Claudia Handpainted worsted weight that was on sale and some Shabui Sock! I'll post pics later...

I love it when this happens!

When everything just comes together perfectly and harmoniously, it is often refered to as "Serendipity". Well...that is the name of the new sock pattern I just got for the first Rockin' Sock Club shipment! YAY! And this kit really does ROCK!

Ta-dah! Here it is!


So Nartian had just told me about the kit today and that Adrienne wrote the first pattern! YAY! I love her patterns! She won a contest for Opal a way back called "Gecko Eyes", which is just gorgeous. She also has some sock designs over at the Crystal Palace site, as well as one featured for sale over at Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

And while I am talking her up, you may want to pop over to her blog for her "Blogiversary" contest because I will get extra brownie points for sending you her way!-lol! But then again, some of you (like Nartian) already have been over and know about it! But besides that, she has links posted in her sidebar for four of her patterns-free, nonetheless!

So anyways, I just didn't even think I'd be seeing this kit in person but lo and behold, it made it to me today! I didn't get home til late since Lil' Emp and I went over to his friend's to play and have dinner. M&P had the package, so I didn't get it until I went into their place and saw it sitting in their entryway!

And in it, even a note from Cockeyed, herself-one of the BMFA Sockateers! So everything came together for me today, because I am just about knit back to the place I was at on SSII when I discovered The Mistake, my package arrived today, the pattern is by Adrienne, I LOVE this package, I got a lil' note from Cockeyed, and all is well in this knitting world!

The Big Froggin' Dilemma

So I think I shared the beginnings of my Secret of the Stole II-all 12 rows or so...Well here is "Clue 1" (54 rows total), knit to row 44. Lovely, so I thought...Not the most consistent yarn overs, not the most even stitching, but I was still pretty happy to have gotten that far without incident.
Nartian had been tied up working on her Twist and is seaming it. Me? I still hadn't started it and decided to abandon the immediate intention of a Twist until a later time. How much later, I'm not sure, but I knew I needed to get my A** in gear if I wanted to keep up with this SSII endeavor!

Well, I finally see that Nartian has started her Clue 1. She takes a look at my progress and helps me to realize that-in her subtle and most diplomatic way so as not to make me feel I was being a dumb-a**-I misread the pattern! Now how the heck did THAT happen? So she and I discuss how this looks and I decide (and she agrees) that I could probably leave it as it, but just have to remember to do the same thing at the other end. Yeah! Good plan! That's what I'll do-it's cool...

I call her later in the day-what led me to conclude that the row labled '1' on the chart was the row 7 we were to start with after doing our 6 knit rows? I assure her I'm over it, but I can't stop obsessing over how I could have been nutsey enough to have figured out this re-design! I go to Ravelry and find...someone else made the same, exact mistake! And guess what? At least I felt better and not so alone in my 'unique' interpretation of the instructions!

Perhaps you can see a bit better here:
See the stockinette portion following the garter stitch foundation? Yeah-shouldn't be there! It's now or never with the froggin', ya know? I think I decided that I will start knitting Clue 1 again and see how far I get before the 2nd clue is posted. Not like I don't have other items to devote my knitting time to! But you know what? It may end up bugging me, so I need to know if I can live with this or not!

Admitedly, I must confess that the true turning point came for me when my newbie knitter friend looked at the error and proceeded to ask, "So is that why it's turning up like that, there?" (looking at the flopped over edge. the edge which folded right where the Stockinette portion lay. Which then got me thinking and pondering..."will this stay in place after it is blocked or will it forever be flipping in and needing adjusting?" Someone on my list assured me that it will block out, yet I have my reservations. I believe it truly will flatten after it is blocked, but will it STAY flat? Will it easily flap back in?

OK, if you made it this far in my post, LMK what you think!

A little more evidence of completed projects...slippers that I finished in the Summer-took forever to put the second button on and still haven't mailed it out yet!

Some yarn I handspun, knit into a tiny stocking with a little note of inspiration for a WW pal. I hope it encourages her...This is actually one of my very first completed project knit from my own homespun yarn! (The other being a slightly larger mini-sock that I gave to a buddy to adorn her tree...)

Really, I can explain!

This arrived in the mail today...
Another order, you ask? You may also wonder how I can possibly think I'm cutting down on the yarn purchasing, but this order is one of the justified ones! You see, this is the order I had made with WoolGirl for some Miss Babs 100% Merino Superwash for my Ribby Pulli Scoop. Yes, THE order of lovely hand-dyed Miss Babs worsted for my next RibbyPulli variation. I actually ordered this before the holidays and (in my warped mind), this was classified as a 'justified" purchase for the fact that it was a planned project. A seriously planned project that I am very committed to seeing through. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Jenn (the Wool Girl, herself) was great and special ordered this for me from Miss Babs in her Rose Garden colorway. I figured that while I was getting the yarn for the Ribby Pulli, why not order some sock yarn to go with it?

So I now get to go to Purlescence to find some contrasting color for the bands! Right now, I'm leaning towards the greens. I think pink will make it more pink than I prefer, though a purple may be ok. And I think brown might actually blend into the whole thing too much.

I think I should at least swatch it to give a better idea how the overall percentage of colors ends up looking. We'll see...

And surprise, surprise! Look what I actually started?!
The FIRST CLUE of my Secret of the Stole II! Yowza! I'm on row 10. There are 53 rows. I'm just thrilled I actually started!

So now I'm going to start posting things that I am NOT buying!-lol! Here, another fiber I resisted (Yarn Wench "Ming" Merino Silk roving)! Of course, I found this Whimsy color to be pretty sweet, too! But NO roving purchase for me! (Well, at least not today!) I also didn't buy these wonderfully pretty 2oz. fibers (at $6 each) for ME from WoolyWonka, one of the fab fiber sources Terry had to go and point me to! Luckily, alot of her favorites were low in stock when I checked them out-it makes for a much easier 'browsing' experience!

I hope to have the Baby Boo present finished and posted very soon!

"Everyone's wearing their scarves like this in France!"

...so says my friend...Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but I thought it would be nice to show those of you who aren't familiar with this method, how to tie this 'scarf knot'. (Just for kicks, I thought it worth mentioning that one of my co-workers said she watches international poker and that this one champion from France who is always on the broadcasting, always wears a scarf and has it tied just like this. See? Perhaps it IS true?!)

I'm going to attempt to walk you through this; I wish I were better at drawing arrows onto pics and all that, but I'm not.

This looks best with a plain, solid scarf, but you have to admit that Nartian's Chevron looks pretty good like this! This also works best with a long scarf.

1) Take your long scarf and put it around your neck, leaving a short end ("end A").


2) Taking the long end ("end B"), wrap the scarf once (completely) around your neck. See how the first short end ("end A") is the bottom-most layer, then the loop that comes around the front then forms a second scarf layer on top? Then the free end ("end B") is hanging (in this example, it is shown on the right as we look a the picture.


3) Take this end ("end B") and bring it (crossing) under the first short end ("end A") and up through the loop (second scarf layer).

4)Voila! A nice braided knot that will stay in place! The French are doing it, why not you?!


Phew! Hope you were able to follow this! You wouldn't know this, but that took alot of time! Long story, but all of a sudden I couldn't get my pics rotated properly without having to go in and edit and save them individually! UGH! I wish I had more time to get more computer-saavy!

So since this has taken so long, I might as well show off the latest stash enhancement for YPF!

Look what arrived in the mail?!

I had already ratted myself out on having caved and ordered from Woolmeise, and here is the lovely package I received! If you look closely, you will see the mini skein sample I got-it's Rosen Rot, so the color blends in with the bag, but it is tucked right under the flap.

And here, the yarns I couldn't resist...

• Versuchskaninchen 2 (medium intensity), Dani (dark intensity) and Salamander (medium intensity)! The Dani has a nice swath of that royal blue Nartian loves so well. She and I figured out that the Versuchskaninchen is a "Guinea Pig", which she explained (doh!) is one of Claudia's "experiments". This thrilled me and made me even happier that I'd chosen it! Yes, folks, the thrill is in the capture of rare bounty-not only known as Woolmeise, but in an experimental colorway, nonetheless! SCORE! BTW, I hadn't even checked the content of any of them! The Salamander and Versuchskaninchen 2 are 100% Merino Superwash and the Dani colorway is the 80/20. As always, I'm lame and haven't even knit with either of the other two skeins I purchased earlier, but I have had the priviledge of touching Nartian's Firestarters and KNOW this stuff is going to knit up incredibly awesome! Soft, strong, springy fabric! But I also know that the Salish Sea socks will be first, and I can't start those until...well...among many things, I still have a few outstanding small projects and-golly-gee-wow! Secret of the Stole II starts tomorrow!-Wowweee Wow Wow! (Yes, it was a Junie B. story reading night tonight...!) So as always, this Tapmouse is tapped! The usual lament: so many projects...so little time!

You're not really seeing new yarn!

OTOH, it IS YPF and I *did* mention this minor lapse in my budgetary judgement! So here it is, *the* WoolGirl order! (And I forgot to use my coupon for this, though I'm not sure if it would have applied for this sale...so-oh darn!-I'll have to place another order in the future!

I had been eyeing (how the heck do you spell this?) the Wool/Ramie sock yarn by Das Schneeschnaff, as well as the Incante colorway from Dasching Dachs, so when I saw they were on sale, it was difficult to resist. And the Spunky Ecclectic (Sport Weight, Autumn) was priced so well, and the colorway so gorgeous, well...you know how I am!

So far, the Dasching Dachs seems nice and sturdy. The Dasching Dachs is their wool/mohair and has an uneven spin-not what I expected, but I will live and I am sure I'll love it once it is knit into socks! I suspect it will soften with washing, too. As for the Spunky Ecclectic, I think I was expecting a tighter twist, but this is fine. I love the colors, too!

Oh! And the pattern-too lovely to pass up when it is on sale! Cherry Blossom socks by Sivia Harding! I love her patterns! At least, many that I've seen...

and I must mention that as always, WoolGirl did a fantastic job wrapping my order, adding the gorgeous extras (a stitch marker with a Murano Flower motif heart bead and green crystal accents and a Soak packet), and getting it to me quick! THANK YOU, WOOLGIRL!!!

And if you can believe it or not (well, if not, here's the proof!) I have finished my Secret of the Stole II swatch! I am using the Knitpicks "Shadow" in the Redwood Forest Heather that is on clearance. I was neutral on this color-it looked like it would be lighter than my preferred palette, but just look at it in my pics:

Wet and pinned.

Dry and nicely bloomed! I think I will stick with the Addi Lace 2's!

This colorway was right up my alley! So much richer and darker than the picture appeared on all the computers I viewed if from! Such a 'me' color! I loveses it!!! OK, so my swatch is a bit ucky, with the uneven stitches and all, but I will just need to be more diligent in my knitting!

Yessireee, sometimes I do knit! Sometimes. I did finish the Dashings...And I have this to prove it...

OK, I didn't have my tripod or other alternate way of taking this pic, but I did want to show how good it looks on the hand-you can see the cable much better. I knit this with Jo Sharp Aran, using size 5 Suzanne ebony DPNs. To compensate for the larger gauge, I knit 12 rows prior to knitting the first cable round instead of the 18 rows stated in the pattern. Everything else remained as written in the pattern until the top portion (rows past the thumb). I knit 14 more rows, then bound off.

So the Twist is still not happening, but I at least washed the swatch and can show why I've not progressed on it much!

BTW...look what I'm NOT buying! (Waaah...I love this!)

A no-pics post...

So I'll share this first, for your entertainment-it's an update my sister sent on the progress of her husband and her Bed and Breakfast that is underway in Cortona, Italy. They are naming it "Casa Chilenne"-I think it is after the gentleman my sister's husband inherited the building from.

I guess I might as well rat myself out on the fact that I have no self-control and majorly slipped, buying 3 skeins of Woolmeise this evening! I know I'm sick! But in a twisted way, I'm sure you like knowing I'm worst than you and are dying to see the yarn once it arrives!-lol!

As far a knitting progress goes, I did wash the finished Twist swatch, only to find that the growing gauge phenomenon only occurred on the first swatch knit at 19 stitches over 4". The new swatch that was knit at 20 stitches over 4", in hopes of getting gauge after washing is still at 20 stitches over 4". Go figure! Will I ever get this right? I think I may have to just knit it at 19 and hope that it doesn't end up ginormous. The good thing is that it is a cardi which I am only allowing 1/2" ease based on the size I've chosen; also, Nathania mentioned that they are coming out a bit on the small side, so if I stick with the 19st/4" gauge, it may be fine even if it does grow a tad larger. We'll see...

And meanwhile, my Secret of the Stole II swatch is exactly where I last reported it being-a little over the 1/2 way mark!

So maybe some pics of the swatches next time...

YPF, so why not!

I kinda don't have any new yarn purchases to post!-lol! Well, I did post most of my new yarn last night, but since it is YPF, I will show our latest Rockin' Sock Club-yes, the last of the year...And, as earlier mentioned, I have the little bits of yarn and Yarn Wench roving I spun them from. The rovings are "Faulkland Wool", which spins up more easily than merino, yet has a bit rougher hand. I'm not as afraid of non-merino wools, since I have been able to successfully wear my Ribby Pulli close to the skin without irritation.

Here they are:

Gothic Nightfall 2-this was difficult to get a good color representation of. Alot of highlights in the yarn show up as light shades of color, when the color is a bit darker and flatter.

This is Orchid Smoke 1-yes, very typically me...

Last is the Amethyst-Topaz Variation 2 that I added on to my order. I had waffled on it, resisted, and in the long-run (yeah, after reading the description of "lilacs, golds and olives") thought-how can I NOT get this colorway?! It is actually a bit lighter than my medium tone palette preferences, but it is still gorgeous!

And last, the end of the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 club kit:
And even wound it into a cake already!!! (Can you tell I am dying to start this Cat Bordhi pattern?!)...
Final GPA?...Yeah, a 2.o-I think that's about what I got last year...!