Great Mail Day!

I could post about what progress I've made on my Cedar Creek socks, but alas, I have no pictures! But for reporting's sake, I am now on the gusset decreases on my first sock. I am almost through the 3rd skein of Malabrigo Chunky for the hooded scarf I'm working on, as well, but it looks like...well...a scarf, so not too exciting...

So this is what arrived yesterday:

A skein of yarn I couldn't pass up at Enchanted Knoll Farm's etsy shop! The colorway is Wood Elves. The skein shows more blue, when really it is quite greeney-brown with a surprising hint of teal worked into it! Not to mention some of my favorite golds, too! The big plus? The price was right AND they are "environmentally friendly"! The live off-grid and power their farm "by solar electricity..." I like that they are 'kind and respectful to the planet'. It doesn't hurt that they included a lovely marker with my purchase, too! It seems like a nicely, snugly spun yarn, too!

And lookie what a non-Knitter friend sent me!

She went totally overboard! She insisted I send her a wish list or she'd kick my butt! So I send her a list and I think she got EVERYTHING I had listed! Then added more non-knitting goodies to the package! I think she has covered Christmas, Easter and Birthday goodies for at least the next 10 years for me!


So in addition to a nostepin and a one-yard niddy-noddy, she got me three sets of stitch markers! A row counting set, cube bead set, and a tiny droplet set on a big ring that 'can be worn as a pendant! HA! Too cool but way too overboard, my dear bud (MsInDebt)!So I guess I should post knitting pics to prove I've made some progress on focus/priority projects? Er...yeah...next post...

Nothing like seeing your gift knitting on the recipient!

I just viewed pics of my "baby" cousin's baby...among them was a recent one of him wearing the hat I knit for him!

OK, now I'm feeling motivation to work on that Baby Surprise Sweater I started for him a while back...

Even I can laugh...

at what a dork I am for letting this slip by, unnoticed! I got the rows set up fine, I just got off-sync with it -and very early on! Like around row 2! How could I have not noticed for a good 2 1/2 inches of knitting! I think I was so thrilled to be starting them that I got all crazy!
See the lovely error, pre-frogging? The sock is now back down and re-knit to about a little over an inch.

And you know what it means if I started this, right?...Yep! I finished my Serendipity socks!!! And can you believe it? I finished them-toe decreases and weaving in the ends!-on Monday afternoon and arrived home to my latest Rockin' Sock Club package! LUCKY is the colorway and I'm not posting pics right now because I haven't taken any and besides, I think all of you who read this blog or care are already club members! If ya reeeeaaaaally want to see it, I'm sure Nartian will have it posted!

I kind of think that I neglected to share my most recent acquisition. Since IrishGirlie was there when I bought this, does that make this purchase ok?-lol! It is Dream In Color "Baby" laceweight in the Gothic Rose colorway! My insane Inner Knitter seems to think she can add another lace KAL to the load!-HA! I will try and resist, but I joined anyway and shall see if I do get motivated to start and stick with this, the Mystic Light KAL.

And this, folks, is why we get 6...

DPNs in our Knitpicks Harmony sock needle sets! (And also why I should immediately put my project saver over the needles whenever I put my project down inbetween my knitting times-even for a few minutes!)

This is the second picture I took since Lil Emperor decided he would like to hold needle for the picture. He proceeded to say 'cheeeese' as I took this picture! Hmmm...hope this doesn't encourage him to run by another loose project hoping to catch it on him in the same way, resulting in this amazing breakage of a needle! I guess another good reason for having a 6th needle is for people like me who knit on 4 needles, misplace the 5th and get the 6th broken!

Lookie what I got in the mail!

NO it's not a yarn order! It is a wonderful gift from a wonderful Sock Camp pal of mine, Blogless Lisa! Lisa is in the Rockin' Sock Club and I think she's even been a member from the start, like me.

She is the one who made the most incredible Hippy Chick for camp last year that I was lucky to get to take home with me. But it turned out someone at camp actually wanted the lovely Hippy Chick and I'm sure had more space to place it where it could truly been seen and appreciated, so I let her have it. And she would not take it without giving me money. And I didn't want the money that rightfully should have been Lisa's. But Lisa wouldn't take the money. And so it went...ultimately I paid Lisa in the only payment knitters WILL accept-yarn! So we should be even, right? Noooooo...Lisa has to go and send me this...
Yes, folks, that would be some SILKIE Socks that Rock in the box! It is a very "Firebird"-looking Rare Gems! And yes, some chocolate goodness as well as hand cream from Madrona, a highlighter and some magnets! How cool is this? THANKS SO MUCH, LISA!!! I can hardly wait to see you again at camp!

And about the 'priority setting'...it seems there are so many projects I want to start and my 'focus' projects have grown in numbers so that there are too many to 'focus' on!

I want to cast on: Pisgah (for the Cedar Creek KAL), the Gluttony socks (Unique Sheep 7 Deadly S(p)ins ), the new purple/gold Spunky Ecclectic (so I can have some union-themed socks and wear the appropriate colors on Wednesdays to support them!), Mystic Light KAL swatch (I am smart enough to only say 'swatch' at this point in time...the KAL begins March 26!) and I am sure there are more I am wanting to cast on for, but these are the top4 I've narrowed down. I'm pretty sure that at this point in time, I will not cast on for any until at least one WIP is off its needles.

Within my WIPs, the 'focus' projects are currently: Ribby Pulli Scoop, Central Air socks
(a friend had her b-day last month and I told her I was gong to make her socks...didn't say *when* I'd complete them, but don't want to be ridiculous about the timeframe, either...so I am about 2" into the first cuff...), Serendipity socks (I am through the heel on the 2nd sock and am onto the foot!), Malabrigo Chunky hooded scarf (just completed the 2nd skein of 4; 1/2 a skein is used for the pom-pom and fringe if I decide to go that route...), Fetching mitts (started but only 2" into the first; my quilting teacher liked them and really would like a pair and I told her I'd make her some), Tudora (a 2nd one I just CO for and am still on the set-up row; IrishGirlie says my 1st Tudora is still a WIP since the button isn't on it yet, so I guess this can be counted as 2 projects, depending on how you look at it...), Monkey Socks (still on the 1st, but am onto the foot), Secret of the Stole II (I'm barely into Clue #3 of 9!), 2nd felted flower purse (remember that Christmas gift...? Still haven't seen the girls and won't be seeing them real soon-without a deadline, I'm a bit slow! I am at the last part-the top/handles)...also on the radar of 'should be a focus' are Kew (single sock syndrome!), Chelsea (single sock syndrome but need to find it first!), Thuja Revised (a fingering weight version for my sis in KPPPM; single sock syndrome...) Of course, there are some Dashings I was working on for my work friend, only I'm not 'loving' them and think he may like the yarn better as house socks...

So...suggestions? Plan of attack? Right now I am working on finishing my Serendipity socks so I can start on my Pisgah Cedar Creek socks. I am really loving the new Ribby Pulli scoop and am about 8" into the body! The Malabrigo chunky hooded scarf moves along rather quickly, as well...The Central Air socks loom overhead and I even have a donation bear I am almost done with-need to knit the feet, seam and knit the sleeves...I think the lace stole is such a lengthy knit that it is fine to just pick up and work a few rows at a time inbetween the mindless/easier knits, so I think I won't even stress over that one right now. But still, I think I need to prioritize a bit!

There is always something...

keeping me 'unfocused' on my other projects!

Actually, I wanted to post a few projects so that I could get some input on prioritizing them, but tonight is not the night that will happen!

As if I don't whine enough about my many WIPs, I am again dying to cast on for new projects! One, the swatch for the Mystic Light KAL, which is a triangular lace shawl KAL that begins March 26. The second is a Cedar Creek sock, since IrishGirlie and Nartian have started up a Cedar Creek KAL and well...I only happen to have tons of STR needing to be socks!

I think I may have not even posted my lovely Pisgah Socks that Rock yarn I purchased at Purlescence the other weekend, while under the influence of fellow knitting buds (IrishGirlie and Nartian, of course!) You see, looking back at Camp Cockamamie, my camp name was "Pisgah". Naturally, I had to get this colorway because of my mental attachment to the colorway name! And based on that train of thought, I still need to get a skein of Chickabiddy, my 'tribe' name from last year!

Will this be cast-on for Cedar Creeks soon?...

Boy, I have to say that Tina (Blue Moon Fiber Arts Depraved Dyer) sure knows what she's doing when she gets us involved in her yarn names. She must know that some of us are crazy-sentimental fools who will buy one of every yarn in the same colorway-just because we are attached to that particular colorway name!-lol! Smart woman, that Tina!

So next time, perhaps I'll have time to post some of the projects I am in need of prioritizing and making my 'focus' projects for the next few months!

I started this, and now I can't stop!!!

Yes, I FINALLY started my Ribby Pulli Scoopneck version! And I am having a hard time putting it down! This child almost didn't get breakfast this morning!

So this is as far as I've gotten and I'm not picking it up until my secret sock project is completed! (Yeah, the secret sock project I will soon be revealing! Oh, heck! I think most of you who read this blog know what it is by now. If you don't, I'll keep you hanging a bit longer...)

So that's all I have for now. Oh-the Tudora is done-sans button. I will try and post a pic of it later.

And the first Deady S(p)in Has Arrived!!!

Ha! You all know I kinda don't care about "Spoilers" cuz I'm that way and by now, if any of you are in common clubs with me and don't want to be spoiled, you must know that this would be the blog to avoid, right?

Well, I just thought I'd put the little warning at the top of this anyway, since I -duh!-figured out that I can save this image on Flickr and upload it as a regular pic for my Ravelry Stash! So...since it is something I can do easily, I thought I'd be nice for this moment and post it here, too!

BUT...I don't think any of you are in this club with me!-lol! Well, actually, I have two friends who are: one who always gets hers before me and doesn't care about spoilers, and another who doesn't get around to reading this blog anyways!

So the first shipment arrived earlier this week for the "Seven Deadly S(p)ins Club" of Unique Sheep yarns that I purchased through Woolgirl, who do the distribution. And being that it would be coming from WoolGirl Jen, I knew she'd be adding in her own swag, as well.

What I didn't realize is that (at least it appears) The Unique Sheep gals treat this as a club themselves and add their own swag! So we are talking double-swag here. Swag-o-rama, if you will! Don't be jealous of what you are about to see, people. Besides, you need to remember that this *is* the first shipment and the theme *is* GLUTTONY, afterall...so of course, this is going to be a 'bigger is better' kinda thing...

Because Jen does such a lovely job packaging things, I had to show off the 'before' and 'after' opening shots. So here is what it looked like when I removed it from its box...(with it's pink tissue cushioning now serving as back-drop)

There were so many jelly bellies stuffed in the plastic bag, that it burst! You can see all them jelly bellies lining the bottom of the bag! I kinda like that look, but I guess not everyone would be pleased to have the candy loose, together with their yarn! The potential for damage could be pretty bad if some horrible dampness occurred. But luckily, there was no such weird/bad stuff happening, so I rather liked it!

In this kit: 4 mini-25 g. skeins of 4 different colors of Unique Sheep "Verve" sock yarn. These are gradient colors and are to be combined for our first pattern, which happens to be a sock pattern! (Note: this is not a sock club, nor a spinning club; we are going to get seven different yarns with different types of projects to go with them...) OK, let's see...I mentioned the Jelly Bellies, the pattern, some sock point protectors, and not only my favorite mini-sockblocker keychain, but a mini-mini skein of sock yarn from Unique Sheep to use for knitting the mini-sock! Jen threw in a WoolGirl pen and is offering discounts on Unique Sheep yarn for us club members, too! I HEART JEN!!!! I HEART WOOLGIRL!!! I HEART THE UNIQUE SHEEP!!! I HEART THIS KIT!!! (BTW, I think I mentioned this before, but my rubberstamping name I go by *is* rubberglutton!...)

Speaking of Jen and her lovely packaging, I did get a package yesterday from the WoolGirl 2-day sale in which I was being very good and only purchased this:

OK, so I also got a KnitSpot pattern which I neglected to include in the photos and which I did not have IrishGirlie purchase approval for! Oh well...at least I was true to my IrishGirlie-Approved yarn purchase! And even applied my sock club coupon to this small order because (*really*) I have no business saving it for some 'big' order that I have no business buying in the future!

IrishGirlie is pushing me to get those second socks done! Marcy and Maria and waiting to see the SW haul revealed! I have a bit of time (not really, but hey-I can post a pic or two...), so I thought I'd share a pic. Not quite the revealing big stash-enhancement photos, but more the pic of all the little extras I got! Know that I have a compulsive buying disorder and am working on it this year. It will take some work to change my old habits, and the change in behavior cannot be expected to happen overnight!

So above, is my treasure trove of goodies that didn't make the "BIG HAUL" picture! An adorable coin purse that I could not resist-even at the end of the day and after purchasing all the other stuff! Come on-you gotta admit she's too cute! I can see myself going with Nartian to get our coffee in the morning, this lovely strawberry cutie hanging from my wrist, holding my coffee money!

And I could not pass up the adorable Lucy Neatby hat pattern! HAD to get a Bob and Ravelry pin and some stickers! The great thing about Ravelry and their designs/logo is that it is not obviously knitting. It's kinda like you need to be in the 'club' to know what the symbols mean! IOW, I could safely stick this to my car without SassyMan being too embarassed to move my car for me!

Some swag: the cute lil' pen/measuring tape, the way-too-cool Malabrigo lace sample in the ever delicious Col China colorway! Now answer me this-if the label says "Col China" is the colorway "Col China" or does it mean colorway, "China"? I need to know this!

Oh, what the heck-I might as well give you a visual of the main haul--sans the (ahem!) BMFA purchase! Yes, the BMFA purchase is a separate pic on its own and is actually its own sub-stash! I'm so shameless! The worst thing is that as I was attempting to take a picture of my purchases, I kept finding more stuff to add. Like the spindle. Like the patterns...

So what you kinda get a glimpse of here is: a Stitch Diva pattern (Giselle) by Marnie McLean, a Fiber Fiend sock pattern (Ruby) , a NEW Cascade spindle!, Shelridge Farms worsted weight in "Sage" for (hopefully) a Hemlock Ring Blanket (yes, Marcy-I think I am caving on that one!). The lovely skein next to all the sage-ey goodness? A skein of hand-dyed from Creatively Dyed (thanks for the recommendation, Maria! I found lots of colorways that I *did* like and if it hadn't been one of the very last stops prior to all the purchasing damage I'd already done, I would have probably bought 2 more skeins! Nothing like supporting the small indie dyer!) Hmmm...some "limited edition" (yeah, just call me 'Sucker') Capistrano Dyeworks sock yarn , Shelridge Farms multicolor dyed sock yarn, Malabrigo lace (Black Forest and some pinky colorway that I think will be fun to mix together for a lacey scarf...-no cracks about my scarf completion record!). In front of the Malabrigo Lace is some Tess Designer sock yarn in a paled out gray-green (LOVE this!), and behind, Baywood Yarns sock yarn (Sea Otter colorway) and a skein of merino/bamboo from the Fiber Fiend!

PHEW! (Again!) Yeah, IrishGirlie-another long-A post, but admit it-you were enjoying every moment of this one! Kinda make you feel better about your shopping spree? Yeah, I exist to make others feel ok about their Stash Enhancement Expeditions!-lol!

Innocent Findings

Sometimes when you go to get a Fried Chicken Sandwhich fix, you can stumble upon some glorious findings! I mean, how can a knitter NOT pop in to Article Pract on such an excursion? And in seeking out rewards for those who are willing to be co-conspirators in mystery projects you conjure up, how can one NOT check out a mystery store with no store-front facing the street; simply an alluring sign with such words that include 'chocolate'?

And so, Nartian and I stumbled upon these lovelies...


Awesome, no? And here, some up-close shots (yeah, I'm not the greatest photographer, but you get the idea...)

And no, your eyes did not deceive you. No, the media is not getting to you. Yes, these are Obama chocolates! How could I resist? I only wished they had some Hilary ones, too-then I could've gotten two of each!-lol! Then it could be a 'you pick'. But sorry, folks, I just have no interest in any McCain chocolates...


This past week has felt crazy to me. Ten days since Stitches West and it seems so far away...probably because I had worked out the afternoon before SW (a weights class, nonetheless, when I hadn't done weights in I don't even know how long...) and my back was definitely feeling it. I felt like I was going to pull a muscle any minute! So by the end of the day, I was exhausted, my back spasming (is that a word?), I was starting to feel headachy, and my throat was feeling scratchy. Perhaps the cold I thought I had the week before had never really gone away?...So I was basically a big baby, sleeping in and laying around the rest of the weekend.

However, Sunday afternoon, SassyMan (SO and father of Lil' Emp) tells me he has called the hospital for an appointment. He later learns that they are soon closing and will see him the next day at 4pm. He was in so much pain that he had no intention of waiting that long and needed to go to the Emergency room. So I spent that evening with him overnight at the hospital. Luckily, it was minor surgery, but did require he be put under and stay the night. No sleep for me that evening! So basically, I was dead to Blogland for a week-very little time or energy to be on-line for very long!

OK, so my Stitches West haul will probably not be flashed at once. I really think it would be overstimulating for all.

Instead, let me backtrack to the President's Day holiday, a mere four days prior to SW. My friend decides she wants to go to a yarn shop and get some 'good' yarn. Don't I want to go? NO! I don't want to go! (Too tempting!) Of course I go, though. And I walk out of there with this...
Actually, this is only a partial pic, since I actually purchased FOUR skeins of the Malabrigo Chunky (in one of my fav colorways-Stonechat!). And I couldn't resist the Plymouth "Happy Feet" at a mere $6.50 per skein!

But it was a fun trip which included a brief reunion with Stephen (HizKnits) and I got to meet his friend, Tammy (PunkRawkPurl). You would know her by the "K-N-I-T" and "P-U-R-L" she has tatooed to her fingers! I knew I'd seen her before because I recognized the hands! Turns out she works over at Article Pract once a week! (Yeah, and she just *happened* to be there today!)

So from this little appetizer to Stitches West, I have now started a store-model hooded scarf (yeah, nothing like store samples to further entice a purchase of four skeins of Chunky Malabrigo!). It's looking like this, so far, and I must say that for this scarf, I have hope of completion! Chunky, mindless knitting of no more than 416 yds? I can do it!



And, as always, I got distracted from other focus knitting (yeah, like my Serendipity socks, one of which is complete...) and produced this single sock (the Two-Yarn Resoleable Socks from the Favorite Socks book)...


Knit from Heavyweight STR of course!

Lastly, you think I only got fried chicken sandwhiches and chocolates today? Of course not! I absolutely couldn't pass up this worsted weight Malabrigo-it is Malabrigo March, afterall! And besides, I got a lace sample at SW in this colorway that I so loved ("China")-I knew I loved this colorway and Nartian reminded me it was the same as the lace sample we had received!
So this came home with me and I was so excited about it, I hand-wound it!
Funny...when it is a single skein of 220 yards of soft-to-the-touch yarn in a luscious color, it is actually quite enticing to hand wind it! I also hand-wound the other 3 balls of my Chunk Malabrigo this evening!

PHEW! Yeah, it's been a long time between posts and it shows, huh?! Maybe I'll share a bit of SW love with you guys next post!