Blue Moon NYE

It is a Blue Moon New Year's Eve and Blue Moon Fiber Arts is celebrating in many fun ways!  For one, they had a Rare Gem Mill Ends sale.  I guess I don't need to mention that I participated.  How could I not?

Another way is that we are all casting on Blue Moon Projects!  I am hoping that my Blackbird Heavy Weight STR has arrived when I get home, which mean I will cast-on for my February Lady Sweater.

For now, I have this on my needles:

A "Baby Yours" finally started!  In a MW mill end, nonetheless! I'm not normally much of a 'blue' person, but this colorway has enough grey in it to be right up my typical 'grayed-out' colorway preference alley!

You may notice that the beginnings of this Baby Yours is a bit loaded down with circular needle cord and yarn ends.  Well, it *is* a mill end, so I hadn't noticed a knot that needed to be worked around.  And the cord?  Yes, I'm using a 60" cord  because in all honesty, I really can't find my shorter 24" or 36" cords.  Probably since they are already being used on other projects!

"Other projects", you may ask?  Yes, shocking as it may seem, I have many more projects started than finished...Happily for me, NathaniaApple (Purls Beyond Price) of Purlescence Yarns has started a "UFO Smackdown".  Irishgirlieknits started a "Smackdown" on Twitter to get some of us moving more (so far, I've not participated but I am thinking January Smackdown may be the start for me) and now, a UFO Smackdown.  Definitely two areas I can use motivation to do better in!

The sad thing is that after looking through my Ravelry Projects to jog my memory, I now know that I have at least 39 UFO's-and that is the short list!  For now, I am only focusing on a mini-focus list of a few projects:  Solly's sweater (arms and seaming to go), Kew (second sock nearly to the toe), and Baby Yours. And soon, the February Lady Sweater, but really, the main "UFO" would be the Kew, since the others are more "WIPs".  But either way, if the WIPs become FO's soon, I'll be happy!

I'll have to post the few I'm focusing on.  To post more would be too crazy and would set your heads spinning.  Well, that and it would verify what an undisciplined knitter I am.  I like to think of it more as 'Inspired'.  So I shall endeavor to 'inspire' myself more towards the UFOs

May you all enjoy your accomplishments of this past year and have a happy, healthy and productive 2010!  That's my plan and my wish for you!

Thank heavens for cousins with cameras!

Otherwise, I probably would NOT be blogging right now since I've been a bit deficient in the picture arena. 

So I have a finished Juliet!   

I was a bit worried about the flare on the bottom half, but a couple of more repeats and a good blocking allowed it to lay nicely.

As for the "Baby Mine" sweaters I made for baby-to-be's...Here is Baby Jayla modeling her Saartje Booties

 And Baby Kayla modeling her Baby Mine knit in the Fairgrounds colorway...

Baby J got a Baby Mine, too, in the hand-dyed STR I dyed at camp

The knits always look so much cuter on the babies than alone!

One day, long ago...

There was a Sock Summit. The sock summit was a wonderful event filled with wonderful teachers, presentations, a competition to beat a World Record, yarn and other knitterly goodies--all related to SOCKS and SOCK KNITTING!

In attendance was the Ravelry gang which of course meant...a RAVELRY PARTY!!!

Yes, dear readers-THIS is the SS09 Ravelry Party update-months late! Don't worry, it'll be mostly pictures.

For that evening, a crew of us got to be "Team Rav"!

Me, Linda, Christine and Sarah of the Magic Loop fame

"We" hung banners...(Actually, the taller of the 'we' hung banners!  That would be Samro of KnitQuest)

 
Helped set up the PRIZE table!




And there were clever Rav fabric banners decorating the area...


  Jess and MaryHeather consulting on the game plan of the evening...

The party is starting up!-Purls Just Wanna Have Fun (Marisol), Deb, Linda, Susan, Alice and (name I can't remember but she's...) the Shaefer Yarn Rep

 

  Casey had brought quite a selection of brews.  An interesting fact:  you must have food at events involving liquor, so once you run out of food, the bar is closed down...We hoped the food would hold out!

 We guarded and distributed the Ravelry "Goodie Bags"...





HizKnits and HizGuy were there with Superstar Janie Sparkles (AK(in my mind)A: NOTBob!)  Yes, people, Bob IS a Boston Terrier (and I think, male...)  Janie Sparkles IS a French Bulldog (and I believe female...).  A bit of a difference, yet it was amazing how many times I would hear voices yelling, "IS THAT BOB?!" And not in a voice of disbelief that it coul d be him but more out of excitement that he should be present at the event!  And let's remember that this is a picture from far away...these people were exclaiming this as they stood in front of Janie AND this big Bob banner!
 
Purlescence Yarn presented with Mini Purl-Girl and Purl-Guy!   The Purl Girls were at another event.

And there was a drawing!  Lots of beautiful items from Lantern Moon, Buffalo Gold, Namaste and MORE...
Funny thing is that a LOT (and I'm talking a disproportionate number considering how many male knitters there are to female...) of men won!  Again, surprising only when you look at the statistics and I have no problem with more men winning.  But I do take exception to the one Vendor Dude who won some of that gorgeous Buffalo Gold-I suspect he is a non-Knitter; especially by the way he mockingly feined overenthusiasm and screachiness in running up to claim his prize.  I only hope that he knew a Knitter who understands the value of that fluffy gold carefully resting in the lovely box he was clutching.  Mock us NOT, non-knitting Vendor-Man!  We are your bread and butter!

And what was in this said goodie bag we all got?
A skein of Vintage Wood from Berocco, a pattern, reusable Namaste bag, silk-covered notepad, a pattern and other literature.  And, of course, the cute muslin bag!

And...bringing you up to date on current WIPs:

  Juliet is started and I am now into the lace portion!

Progress was temporarily interrupted this weekend by a quick hat for an ill cousin:

I like how my somewhat random striping pattern came out...and the top, though stitches are a bit uneven, turned out cool!

 Boy Hat pattern from Crystal Palace Merino 5 and other yarn, label of which has been misplaced!

And in my typical non-focused way, I started one of these gift sacks with the remaining Kureyon from my Clapotis...but I put it aside to focus on Juliet and the hat...

 

This is the sack pattern from this year's Interweave Knits Holiday Knitting edition

And this evening...back to Juliet!

 

 I'm hoping this will be completed by the end of this month!  If I continue my focus, it can easily happen.  Sixteen days to go...maybe I'll even get it done in time for Thanksgiving!

Six Weeks of a Knitter's Life...

So many times have I blogged in my mind-and yet, nothing appeared here! I finally log in and realize it has been six weeks since my last blog! No time to catch up with the final segments of Sock Summit '09!

What have I done over the past 6 weeks?

Besides the usual PTA meetings and activities, I was inspired to crochet a Amigurumi Fuzzy Panda as part of a Craft Magazine CAL.

The body parts were quick to crochet...

All panda-parts crocheted and ready to go!

And the idea is you crochet the body parts out of a single-ply bulky wool, then use a dog brush on it to create a 'fur'...

It is still not assembled as I await joint for the arms and legs...

Then there are my Lays (Cotty), Too that I put aside for a bit. But I had to take a progress photo.

I'm thinking I may actually start and finish a third gift pair before I finish this pair, but I know I will eventually get them completed!

I had a chance to enjoy my new mug from Jennie the Potter!

The mug and memories make my homemade latte even more enjoyable!

After careful conversation with Knittinggolfer about a particular yarn I recalled in my stash. I resurrected this...

I first told Knittinggolfer that this yarn was perhaps the perfect colorway for her, and that I would never be able to wear these colors...then I pulled out the two skeins and realized I still love the colorway afterall! So, Knittinggolfer and I will ponder the possibilities-gift to her, keep for me, or bff scarflets for us!

I got a chance to sneak over to Knit-One-One Studio for their monthly Crafts Sale and, after a long yarn-buying hiatus, caved and purchased some yarn from Snicklefritz.

Who could resist the feel of merino/cashmere (bottom) in the colorway "Matrix"?!

I turned around and saw Girl on the Rocks' stuff and had difficulty resisting this!

I tried to resist the call of this Squash Blossom colorway, but alas, it won out!

I brought Lil'Emp to the local community center to sign up for some art workshops and was surprised to see Urban Fauna Studios/Maryjane's Attic there with their spinning wheel, spindles and fleece!

Blas showed LE the ropes-literally-as he taught him to spin! And I got to spin away on a spindle they had brought!

The next Sunday was my bff trip to the Farmer's Market where my bff made me buy some of the most awesome miso dressing in the world!

Nago Miso dressings are deeee-lish! What to get? Wasabi, Original or Spicy? Ginger was a no-brainer: since I don't care for ginger, it was immediately eliminated. I went for the Spicy and Wasabi!

It was my first trip to this particular farmer's market and we then journeyed over to Urban Fauna Studios, as I had yet to step foot in the shop-and it had been open for over a year!

For such a little place, there is plenty to intrigue me and I couldn't walk away without this...

My last count has me up to over 13 spindles! But who could resist? The feel, the spin...! GORGEOUS!

After a loooong time, I was finally able to make a journey to Sunnyvale to pick up Cat's new book and to get a skein of Purl Up and Dye! Now I'm wishing I'd bought two! (more on this later...*) It was great seeing the Purl Girls and spending a bit of time knitting. I even got some great help on the Solly Sweater that is still in progress!

Sassyman's birthday fell in the month of October. I opted to make him a more diabetes-friendly cheesecake. I added mangos and bananas to the top of a classic NY style cheesecake and I must say it was pretty tasty-even with half the sugar subbed with Splenda!

Not-so-diabetes-friendly was the Cupcake Clash Sassyman and I attended with Lil' Emp in tow! It was put on by SF Food Wars. There were 22 mini-cupcake entries-I think I tried at least 18 of them. And, Murphy's Law being what it is, one of the few I did NOT taste, won First Place!

See that orange one in the upper-left with the stick? It was an Orange Creamsicle flavor! Tasted just like the real deal!

And a bit of reinforcement for my ever-wandering knitting hands-if I stick to one project, I really can get it done!

After seeing a woman with a long stole at the horseraces one weekend, I wondered why I never got around to making myself such warm wrap? I then became inspired-no, it became my quest!-to make myself a nice, long stole! I realized that I: 1) had never made a Clapotis, 2) could make a bigger Clapotis to be more wrap-sized, 3) had 11 skeins of Noro Kureyon in my closet, 4) had forgotten exactly WHAT I had purchased it for and 5) only knew that whatever it was supposed to be for, was probably not so good of a use for it anyway!

I started my first Clapotis and after about 50 yards, decided I could perhaps have a finished wrap by the end of October! With a few mild meanderings away from the Clapotis for an occasional knit on my "Carmen" and to start a sock KAL, I mostly remained faithful to my Clapotis. By October 30, look what I got to wear to work!

*So now I want to make a smaller, scarfier Clapotis! If only I had TWO skeins of one of my sock yarns-and that Purl up and Dye colorway would have been just the perfect choice!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HAPPY FALL! HAPPY KNITTER!!!

We interupt the SS09 Report Segment...

(since it is so slow in coming anyway...) to present the latest musings...

Actually, it's kind of a report, because it is very SS09-related (for me, at least!)

First, that ONE sock that I've completed! Actually, this is SS09-related because it is my SS09-Inspired sock! I took Lucy Neatby's "Cool Socks A" and saw her "Almost Saintly" sock and learned of her getting hooked on eyelets for a while. She referred to it as her 'eyelet phase'.


I saw the pattern at SS09 and decided I needed to get it! I had actually admired it at SW, but ignored the urge to get it.

When I got home and dumped out my huge stash from SS09, I purchased a Zauberball after seeing how cool a sock (also knit by Lucy and seen at her class) looked with the colorful, long repeats. I went against my usual 'dull', blendy instinct and went with a Zauberball that was more fun and colorful. I realized that this could be cool as Almost Saintly socks and that I could just use some black sock yarn for the heels and toes.

After hunting for that black sock yarn I *knew* I had *somewhere* and in my excitement to start this sock, I looked at the beautiful single skein of Tartrazine I had gotten from Van der Rocks and realized it actually might work instead of the plain black! (Yeah, boring me who dislikes yellow and was going to go for the conservative, safe black...)

Do you see what I mean about this being such an absolutely perfect yellow? So lemony, so pretty...I acutally had purchased it to accent some purple socks, but what a lovely surprise to find that I was making my own special SS09 socks: a pattern by Lucy Neatby (who's class I attended...) and all yarn used was purchased at SS09! And even the smaller set of needles I switched to for the heels and toe?-purchased at SS09!

Speaking of needles, the needles I used are made by Laurel Hill from Forest Palm. So far, I like the needles, they are very flexible and I must admit that they freak me out a bit in that I fear breaking them. So far, so good, and a size that I love-5"! But I have to take this moment to seriously plug their crochet hooks! If you crochet, you have to try these out! I have to say that Laurel Hill crochet hooks are my favorite hooks!

I purchased my first hook back when I crocheted a hat for my friend. No, as usual, I didn't NEED another crochet hook, but the feel and look were so nice! And the price was reasonable for such a nicely finished crochet hook. I fell in love...

So when I saw them at SS09, of course I got a couple more! Somehow, I refrained from getting a whole set (which was maybe a bit over $100 for a set that came in a silk case...). Really because I already own just about every standard size crochet hook!

The finish is smooth where if feels nice in the hand and glides well, yet has just enough 'grab'. The tip has a point to help get the hook right into the proper holes! And the 'notch' (whatever that part is called...) has a nice, sharp angle to really grap the yarn. It is so comfortable in the hand and from what I understand, they had consulted with the Crochet Guild of America when developing the design. Hey, fellow Bay Area stitchers-Purlescence Yarns says they stock them!!!

At any rate, a surprise arrived yesterday in the mail!

My special Sock Summit (2nd) edition mug!!!
Jennie the Potter sold out on this design but took special orders for her 2nd edition!TOO CUTE! She is talented! And her sheepy/spindle mugs were pretty cute, too...

During Sock Summit, I was keeping KnittingGolfer up to date on purchases and even grabbed a spindle for her. She and I have been discussing her love affair with the Jenkins I picked up for her and I've heard and seen all her spinning adventures of late.

This, of course, gave me urge to work on my G-Rocks again! Spinning it with my Bosworth!

And I also realized that perhaps KnittingGolfer would like to see the bits of spinning here and there that I may have posted at one time or another but haven't shown the multiple faces of..like more of this Pigeon Roof Studios merino (spun on ANOTHER Bosworth spindle-yes, you want one, KnittingGolfer!)...

And some Yarn Wench merino (spun on a basic Schact spindle I purchsed at Article Pract)...
Then I dug out the merino/silk/rayon batt I had been working on in Wild Mountain Thyme that I had purchased from Sanguine Gryphon some time ago (shown on my Avi Wasserman spindle I had purchased from One Planet a while back)...
And I even did the 'coin thing' cuz KnittingGolfer said everyone else does it...so what the heck!

And Nartian must've felt the spinning vibes cuz look at the lovely roving she got me for my birthday from A Verb for Keeping Warm! (BTW, that's my Sanguine Gryphon spindle again!)


I swear, spinning colorways is soooo cool! I love to see the intermixing of the colors!

PDXKnitterati had "Dizzy" running through her head when she posted on her blog. Admittedly, I remember that song, too! But this is the song that runs through my head when I spin! Must be all those college days of my best friend dragging me to go dancing with him!