Blog? Knit? Ravelry? Update Photos? Housework?...

Gads-decisions, decisions! Seems like the housework looses the most often! Which is why I need to work most on that today! And I'm still unpacking, doing laundry, putting stuff away from the trip! All that and 1/2 day spent at the Annual PPS (Parents for Public Schools) meeting and the other 1/2 day spent at Lil Emperor's school at the car wash...The good thing about the PPS, PTA, school meeting type events is that I am usually sitting in an audience listening-and able to knit! Unfortunately, I found myself at the Cedar Creek heelflap yesterday without the pattern and without a second project! BUMMER. If I had not been following the pattern, I would have just continued on. But I somehow remembered that there was something I had to do that was written in the pattern and I just could not recall what it was! Was it decreases? Where? Was it tapering decreases in the heelflap to make more of a trapezoid vs. a rectangle? I couldn't remember!

Anyways, this is what I've got and I don't expect to finish this pair until the end of next week (IF all goes as planned and I am able to knit on it as much as I'd like!)

These are the Cedar Creek socks in the Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR lightweight-Pisgah colorway!

We interrupt this Camp review...

...for my usual proof of total lack of self control in the yarn-buying department!

But first, thanks to Nartian who brought the faulty Knitters for Knockers link to my attention!

I think I confessed to sneaking a WoolGirl order in right before going to camp. So I get to the Post office and pick up not two, but THREE packages: my WoolGirl Anniversary sale order, my WoolGirl sock club package, and a package from The Knittery, since I hadn't been able to resist the laceweight she had on sale in the Moonlight colorway! So the day after I retrieve these packages, I come home to another USPS box. BUT-but-I didn't order more yarn, I know I didn't!!!

I had forgotten that I was rewarded for my lack of yarn-purchase control by Jenn (WoolGirl) by being entered in her Wooly Wool Girl club! What does that mean? It means this...

A lovely thank-you card from Jen, info on her special club, a pattern, Leili sock yarn in Lily Pond, a stitch marker, a tape measure, soap, soap and lip balm set, a notebook with pen! OH...and the cool WoolGirl tote to carry it all in!

Many, many thanks to Jen! (And I guess I have Nartian and IrishGirlie to thank for this, too...! Enablers, I tell ya!)

So I will follow-up on the Camp report next time. But for now, I have to share what Lou got me hooked on...

!

A little treat from Virginia-a "Peanut Rail"...dangerous, dangerous peanut rail that sat on my desk Monday until that afternoon when I could no longer stand it and ate (I think more than) half of it! I finally ate the last tidbit tonight before posting! Thanks, Lou-what a treat!

Oh-and though Nartian has a great pic and many more are showing up in Blogland, I'm sure...I still thought I'd post my KawKaw (special Camp Crows Feet colorway...)

.

Yeah, I was a piggie. Yeah, I ended up with two!

Announcement, announcements, annou-ounce-ments! (In the spirit of Cockeyed, our Camp Mom and Sockateer Extraordinaire!)

Lou Bolster had told us all about her participation in an upcoming Komen Race for the Cure as a memeber of the team Knitters for Knockers! Hope you will all consider making a contribution to help the Knitters for Knockers reach their fundraising goal. As an extra incentive, for every $5 increment you donate, you will be entered into a drawing for wonderful yarny and knitterly goodness!

So far, prize contributions I have seen are from: Blue Moon Fiber Arts (one of the sponsors), Cookie A patterns, Cat Bordhi, Chic Knits, and some gorgeous yarns. Check out the Knitters for Knockers blog for more info!

I tried to fix the above link and edited my post to include this purple stuff you are reading! I clicked 'post' in haste and meant to click 'save as draft'!

Wednesday updates...Camp Crows Feet #3

OK, I've just spent way too long trying to fix the previous link to Nartian's blog! Hopefully it now works; if not, my apologies for the previous post's faulty link!

It was "Curriculum Night" at Lil' Emperor's school this evening and it all went well. However, being PTA mom, I had to be at school early so I switched my day off-which means I had time to go to the PO and pick up all my goodies that were waiting for me: my WoolGirl Sock Club package (absolutely awesome!), my WoolGirl Anniversary Sale package (somehow there was a disconnect in my mind about sock camp shopping and pre-camp shopping-it just seemed like a good idea at the time...that and the fact that Nartian calls me up to ask if I'm going to buy anything and she and I end up going 'shopping' on-line 'together'! And this, all because of IrishGirlie being such a damn good informant!) And then there was my package of lovely lace merino from The Knittery that arrived! And no, you aren't not able to see the pics-I haven't posted any!

But on to Camp Crow's Feet-Day 2-All About the Monkeys!

Today was Craft Day-a new activity this year! And it was all about the Monkeys! We all worked on mini-monkeys from a pattern Cockeyed had written-fun but tiring!

IrishGirlie works hard on her monkey!

Can you believe this...became this..
..

and was on its way to monkeyhood? Whodda thunk we knitters could achieve such wonders in a mere few hours?

We then were forced to put away our (for most of us) unfinished monkeys so that we could work on sock puppets, a less favored activity for some of us. Obviously I was less enamoured with the sock puppets, as I got very little pictures of any...but here is Sheila's....

In keeping with Camp traditions, outrageous entertainment and activities were planned for the evening-knitting and TP relays! I do have to mention that my knitting relay team included Cece (Fiberfish) who had developed a reputation at last year's camp for her knitting speed (she's the one who started her Mystic Sea socks on our boat trip out and had a completed sock by "campfire" that same evening!) and competetiveness ("I want to win!"). So I must confess that I was shocked when she, (first in line and thus having the duty of casting on our 10 stitches of knitting) stood at the table, completing her task well after the other teams had finished their cast ons! What the hell happened to Cece? Turns out that she 'ran out of tail' (Cece-it was only 10 freakin' stitches for crying out loud!)



The relays transitioned into a tp'ing of Tina, Cockeyed and Alice...then we got to watch a baster-knitting competition as well as a demonstration of how knitters can knit with just about any implement they are given-even a pepperoni stick! YES THEY CAN!!!

Camp Crow's Feet...another installment!

I cheated again and wrote this up already. I'm tired. I'll just post what I have. If you can believe, the stash has been held captive in SassyMan's car and I haven't had a chance to get it out yet! He was working this evening and it is now later than I want to go outside and get it. So no pic of the camp yarn (Kaw Kaw) nor the Knitters without Borders yarn. If you haven't already seen them, you can always peek over at Nartian's blog

Day 1, Camp Crow's Feet




E-gads! I think I may already be scrambling the order of things! Can I remeber what happened when? YIKES! I know this was the first day of camp-which was back-to-back classes with a half hour for lunch inbetween.

My tribe, the Tricksters, started our class day out with Cat Bordhi who (in her usual Cat way) did an excellent job with our Insoucient Socks class! She made sure we had our short-rows down and could knit a sock in any shape we desired!

For us Tricksters, class with JC Briar followed lunch as we enjoyed Cast-on Cornucopia. (Don't Sheila, Nartian, IrishGirlie and I look like we've been doing some serious casting on?) This was my first class with JC and she is amazing! Filled my head where it was ready to explode! As if the TP Cover wasn't enough of a drain on this knitter's brain, dealing with a Cat and JC class all in one day just about put me on overload! Luckily, Nartian was there by my side, cuz I will probably have to make her review some of the finer points with me!

Our evening event involved the traditional homework exchange. This year, we campers got to vote on winners of various categories for the TP covers. It was amazing how varied and awesome these projects were. Unfortunately, this is where I lagged in the picture-taking. I think I just didn't bother to bring my camera in to the voting room. For some reason, I decided to keep my homework out of the swap and instead sat back and watched the fun. Afterwards, the camp store was open and we all made a dash for our stash!

Sadly, this is a scarce picture day for me! What can I say? I was distracted and busy! But I'm sure you will find many fine examples of the TP roll covers if you check out Yarn Harlot or other camper's blogs...

Pre-Camp!

First off-confessions-I pre-wrote this part last night because, well...I was inspired! But loading pictures sucked, so I'm glad I waited to finish this tonight. I may not be so quick to post the next days, but I'll see how I do.

I said this before, I'll say this again-Sock Camp is not for wimps, and this camp was no exception! I'm still recovering! Nartian and I were half-dead as we knit this afternoon at work.

And before continuing on, I thought I'd slip in a bit of knitting progress. Still not through Clue #3 on the Secret of the Stole II KAL, but here is what I have thusfar...


And before I go on to the Pre-Camp story, please bear with me while I whine about how quickly it is to gain a good 8 lbs. over a week, while it takes a good 2 months to lose 8 lbs! OK? Just had to share...! (grumble!)


So this is installation #1-Pre Camp!

Yes, there again was homework which I (AGAIN!) did on the fly! Conveniently, there was a "mall" located right across from our motel on our way up which conveniently had not only a Michael's, but a JoAnn's! Score! It seems I always end up needing *some* crafting item to complete my homework that I always seem to not have completed in time for camp!

This year's assignment? Toilet paper roll covers! Really.

Without boring you with my thought process, here is what I ended up with in it's final form. Not the grandiose project I had first planned, but nonetheless, finished!

And a side-view to show off the mushroom I labored over!




Actually, the TP cover wasn't done 'til after check-in. Tammy (Lavendar Knits) and Etta Mae were a happy, familiar site! This year, I was assigned to the Tricksters tribe. Funny...so was Nartian, Irish Girlie, past camp tribe members Sharon and Vicki, hizKnits and Stariel...hmmm...made me wonder!


Nederlass lives in the Washington area and was gracious enough to transport a group of knitters not only from the airport, but on a pre-camp yarn crawl. So look what was parked in front of our cabin later in the day after we arrived and checked in? Looks like the pre-camp journey was a fun time, though I can't report on this portion I was not a part of. Stariel showed me a special 'bus pass' Nederlass' hubby had made for all the bus riders. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of it to share, but trust me-it was a cool bus pass! You may catch a glimpse of one around Stariel's neck over at her blog!


And again, this year, I offer you a view of the resort-this time, and emphasis on the Discovery House (the big square building) where camp was held. The mansion is beyond the alcove...


I got to the evening reception a tad early (for me, 15 minutes was way-early), and I was the first person there, so I got my own, personal 'sneak peek'. Again, this year, I offer a picture of the fabulous 'color wheel of socks' table!

The Sockateers and teachers/staff arrived and 'put me out' so that they could prepare for our entry. What were they preparing for? Well, only to guard and protect the camp yarn store which was to open for an hour that evening for us!



(Note the camp store behind the body guards! Think of all the yarny goodness I could've have snatched up during my time alone with it, had I no scruples...)

And of course, camp is not camp without the team of Yarn Harlot and Cat! Here they are, together again! I always say and will say it again-there is nothing like this combination!

So next post will be on to Day one of camp!

Back from Camp!

Wow! Another year, another fabulous Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Camp! This year, our camp was called CAMP CROWS FEET. It's hard to imagine that camp could be as awesome as last year without being the same-same, but it was just as good-probably even better! But, since my tendency is to be long-winded, I decided I should handle camp in installments this time. So for now, I will leave you with this...


I was afraid I'd run out of storage room, so this is pretty much the finale of a fellow-camper's performance. You'll have to come back later for the the details...

Real, live knitting content!

Well, it is now April 5, so you know this can't possibly be an April Fool's Day joke!

March was Malabrigo Madness and I cast-on for three projects. So...(believe it or not), I have a completed project!

"The" completed project, "Tudora" in-what else?-Malabrigo worsted weight! The colorway is Col China.



And a hooded scarf (which looks like a big ol' scarf at this time!) is a little more than 3/4 way done.

And all this time, the new Cedar Creeks (previously ripped-back and now again on its way...) are coming right along. I am now on the foot of the first sock!

Here's a non-approved new project I started on...yeah, I know-naughty!...I couldn't resist and started the Mystic Light KAL. The Dream in Color Baby was IrishGirlie-approved, though, so how could she think I wouldn't cast-on for the shawl I purchased the yarn for?!

Then thing is, this actually isn't really the project because since it was taken-I ripped it all back! Long story, but the beginning basically became a swatch because the needles I started with (I decided) were not the 'right' size, afterall...I then kept knitting with the next size up, then lost a stitch and couldn't find it. I decided at this stage, it was prudent to frog the whole thing! So now, I am just about at that same place.

But alas, homework awaits and I really need to focus on THAT! So...I need no guidance on the foucs for the next week becaue I know I had no business frogging and re-knitting on this one! If I were more disciplined, I probably would have frogged and set it aside to cast-on (as IrishGirlie says, 'as a reward') later...