An ALMOST Finished Object!

Boy, I sure love the quickie projects! I started this last Monday and got up to this point last night-that would be five days! A more productive knitter could have done this in a day or two, but I just don't have that kind of time to work on my projects. The fact that our household has been sick and the Little Emperor has had a fever over the past couple of days also boosted my down time to knit!

I didn't care for the ribbed cuffs and hadn't read about doing the provisional cast-on until after this was started, so this is the 3/4 length sleeve version. I may still try and pick up and knit the edge of the sleeves. Another thought is that I may just do a crochet edge at the neckline and sleeves in the cocoa color, since I like having the cocoa frame the brighter colors.

I found the collar suggestion (thanks for the tips search suggestion, Carla!), but I'm not sure if I'll go that route.

I also committed to making a pair of socks for a little girl. She has wanted seamless socks and well-if a little kid wants them and says they'll wear them, who am I to say 'no'!-LOL! She didn't ask me to make them-I offered!

Now, the sensible knitter would go shop in their stash first, which I did. The little girl's mom had said that yes, it probably was best to avoid wool. Well, I knew I had a bunch of Fixation and Esprit that would be just fine. I found a ball of pink (the child's preferred color), though it was a pale pink and I just didn't think it would match her mother's 'edgy' style. So, like any good knitter, I used it as an excuse to go check out Article Pract and their on-going Memorial Day Sale! I must say that I was rather behaved, having left with 2 balls of Fixation, 2 skeins of DK twisted Lorna's Laces (45% off-how could I resist?), and a coin purse that I couldn't resist. No other yarn.

Am I proud of myself? Hell yeah! Did I really *need* to go there in the first place? Well, that's not the point now, is it?

I did receive my two skeins of Smooshy, which I will have to flash for Terry. And I also completed a scarf that I made from some recently acquired yarn from the big Creative Accents Closing Sale Purchase, so I will have to post those later...

A little revelation...

OK, I think I admitted to being weak and finally caving and going over to Creative Accents for the big closing sale. I also seem to think that I didn't reveal what I got or how much, just that it was in character with my behavior-excessive! Well, I will slowly reveal what I purchased over time, I'm sure.

So...while I am at Creative Accents, Nartian and I see this very cute sweater-a Baby Surprise Sweater, nonetheless. So I end up buying 6 skeins of 2 color combinations to knit up into this sweater which I've never made before! Got the pattern, too, of course...

Fast-forward to yesterday--place: Beverly's (Crafts and Fabric) . It is Memorial Day and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the entire store is 25% off! So I see the Vanna's Choice ACRYLIC yarn by Lion Brand in some awesome colors! What do I do? Of course, I lay them out together and decide yet another color combination is in order for yet ANOTHER Surprise Baby Sweater (such named, still not even made by me...pattern untouched...). And yet-I have the pattern ON me!

Not only did I buy some Vanna yarn and yet another set of circs, I get a few other fun items. I get out the door and am immediately casting on for this baby sweater as my friend and I depart from the shopping center!

So here I am now, hooked on this crazy sweater! Thought I'd give my Horcrux sock a viewing, too, since I am now on the foot portion and oh-so-close to the finish of "a" sock! Ain't knitting wonderful?!

Mystic Sea Socks completed!

Well here they are, finally finished! I ended up tearing back the first sock to lengthen it a bit. Of course, I had already cut the yarn and had to add a new end to it, but I think it was worth having it a tad longer in length. Can I reiterate how much I love the Lunasea colorway?! The color got a bit washed out in this pic, but you can see the texture pretty well. I really like the way the heel flap is designed to taper in a bit, too. Great socks, great fit! And my first socks with STAR TOES! The pattern is great and combined with this colorway, there are absolutely no regrets with this purchase!

Now, as for resisting the closing sale at Creative Accents-well...my resistance had worn down and I finally made my way there. I won't discuss my purchases at this time, but let's just say that we all know how weak I am!

I've been holding out on ya...

I don't know why...I think it is because I started this first sock so long ago and took so long on the second. Maybe because they are 'plain vanilla'. Perhaps it was because I finished the second sock and my first Kew around the same time (on my way home from Sock Camp...) and have now misplaced my Kew and can't show the socks together!

Either way, I have now posted the latest PAIR of socks added to my sock drawer. I also have another second sock around the corner-just haven't had the time to complete the pair!

So this pair is made from some 'Watermelon' dyed sock yarn I purchased on eBay a while back. Watermelon self-striping was just coming in, and I was one of the suckers who paid top price for this stuff. I didn't mind, though, because as a crafter, I can appreciate the time, materials, money, effort and all that went into dying this yarn. It is really soft, too! I can't recall off-hand what I paid, but I know when I placed my bet I figured I could never make it myself at that price!

Now, this is kinda a funky pic and I decided not to crop because the perspective is so bizarre. See my feet below the socks? Don't they look tiny? They are ugly and pudgy, but I thought I would not edit it out just cuz the perspective is so strange...

Lots of food, a little spindling, a bit of yarn...

Well, I missed out on YPF-instead, I was spending the evening with a bunch of First graders! It's been crazy and I feel like I have been cooking non-stop since Thursday evening!

First, I made some Turkey Ragu spaghetti and an orzo salad for the Friday night potluck. I took the easy route and bought the pre-packaged salad pack, but it was still good salad! Helped serve dinner and clean up that evening. It was an overnight at the school, so I also tortured my back sleeping on the carpet-covered concrete floor.

The next morning I helped make waffles for the kids. There was other food, but I didn't have to cook any of the other stuff... Got home and took a nap, then thought it wise to get started on the Teacher's Appreciation Lunch food I committed to making! Started on the San Antonio Quinoa Salad and did some of the prep for other dishes, as well as purchasing the ingredients I still had to gather!

So today was spent making the BBQ beans ("simmer for 6 1/2 hours..."-this, after having simmered it for " 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours..."-yeah, I'm crazy...), finishing up the quinoa salad (well, actually, I still have to chop tomatoes and add it, but I don't want to add that too far ahead), and making a spelt salad. I still have to slice tomatoes and cucumbers and make some 'favors'. What was I thinking?! Oh, and I have to make some dressing, too...OK, what I was thinking is that I am a complete food snob and feel like you have to make things from scratch for it to be 'special'!-lol!

And...not that you care, but I had also told my son's teacher that I would use the leftover eggs and bread to make 'bread pudding'. I decided that is not happening for tomorrow. I guess I'll be making it for Tuesday! And guess what else I get to make this week? Oh...maybe 12 qts of Turkey Chili for Friday's Talent Show! Bad timing...! And yes, I do work, though I am taking some time off this week!

Now for the knitting news...BEHOLD! Ribby Pulli components! You know, not that it matters, but I still can't figure out how to describe this color! It is Color #4006. I went to the Cascade site and it is grouped with some random colors. Kinda 'blackberry', kinda brown, some blue and red in it...All I know is that it looked great together with Puck's Mischief!

I had to show off some new yarn I'm spinning! It is some Merino/Bombyx from Chasing Rainbows that I purchased the other week when I picked up the Cascade 220 that Purlescence had ordered for me. (You know-the Cascade 220 that I will be using with my BMFA "Twister" to make the Ribby Pulli...)

So, here, my latest roving and yarn!

What LYS is closing?

Hmmm...seems I forgot to mention the name of it, in case anyone is wondering! It is Creative Accents and is in San Leandro. I've only been there once (when it was up and running for regular business-no closing sales going on!). It was kinda funky because they do framing and sell yarn there. I have still resisted stepping foot in the store since I found out about the closing, but my 'in the know' (and going there on a regular basis to scoop up the savings!) tell me the novelties are 70% off and needles will go on sale towards the end. I think the last day is May 17th. Other yarns (as I understand) are 30-50% off.

Wha-?! Yarn Prn Friday Again?!

And I actually have something to share...? Yeah, Terry-I'm shameful, huh? See, I know that 'Terry" likes to come over and see my yarn, so I couldn't let her/him down now could I?!

So...my latest from a shopping spree at Rumplestilskein in Sacramento...Rule #1, if you are able to be good about avoiding the LYS that is closing down, don't go to an out-of-town PTA Convention with another knitter! They are sure to want to find a yarn shop to check out and will most surely enable you!

So today's purchases: some sale yarn for a slubby shawl or moebius-not sure...and some Fiesta Rayon Boucle (in Color 2117, Iris) and Cotton Twist (Color 8349) to combine into a Cat Bordhi moebius-cuz, you know-I just got inspired to knit one now that I've taken a workshop with Cat and have seen other knit moebiuses!

The green color cotton twist is more limey than what appears in the pic. Much more limey than my tastes usually go for. BUT...combined with the "Iris" color, I think it will be mellowed, while the Iris will get a bit more jazzed up. We'll see... Oh-and the pink stuff...yes, many of you who know my 'usual' palette will wonder, "What the...-?!" Well, I got this fun washcloth poodle pattern that I want to knit for my sister, so I thought I'd try this stuff out.

As mentioned a bit ago, the California PTA is holding its Convention in Sacramento through Sunday, so there I was up there attending workshops and general meetings-perfect venues for listening while knitting! Funny, too, how well-courted we were by the fundraising companies! The Exhibitors at this convention are out of control! Do you know how much wrapping paper and other goodies I ended up bringing home with me? Do you know how many cookie, brownie, chocolates, cheesecake, pretzel, pizza, coffee samples were left out for us to eat? One thing for sure-one of them needs to bring water next year.

I'm hoping to have a WHOLE PAIR of socks to show off within the next week, so I'll keep you posted!

And a closing 'let's share' thought...lookie what my brother made as invites for his upcoming 40th Birthday celebration...Yeah, he made ONE EACH; rather, one for each invitee-IOW, no duplicates going on here...And he sent them in individual boxes with some black nesting stuff. Brilliant! CRAZY!!! He spent weekends and free evenings working on these for the past 3 months!

New Day, New Post! YPF!

I just received my April Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin' Sock Club" kit yesterday-in time for YPF!!! The colorway is from the new "Tides" series and this colorway is "Walking on the Wild Tide". This is not just any old sock yarn, either. It is a new release (and we, the Notorious Sock Knitters, the first to receive it!) and is called "Silkie Socks that Rock", a merino/silk twisted blend!

So...I played a bit with my pics and was able to incorporate my skein of Silkie STR into one pic representing the skein as received, spread out (so you can see the colors in the colorway), then after I hand-wound it into a ball!

I also thought I'd show my Mystic Sea socks I'm working on in the med. STR "Lunasea" colorway...this colorway is really awesome! The more I knit with it, the more I enjoy it! The different colors that pop up and how the play alongside each other, changing their tones...I see dark teal, flecks of black, blackish teal, lavendar turning to grey (or is it grey turning to lavendar?), seafoam green, sage, yellow-green, pink...pretty amazing! And the pattern comes out so great. As for the color, you probably can't see what I do from this pictures, but at least you can check out the cool way the colors are pooling and how the pooling is interacting with the pattern texture! I'm really enjoying knitting these socks!

One last thing I had to share...embarassing, but at least it is progress...a moment I have been waiting for-to post pics of an almost-done sweater! (OK, this is partially to motivate me to finish this item! How's that for motivation?) It is the Origami Wrap Top I started (I don't know when!) and am hoping to soon finish. The body has been done for well over a year, but the sleeves were the big thorn in my side...I found an error (well, there are actually two, but I won't get into it right now...) and will have to frog back a few rows, but I am sooo close to starting the decreasing for the ragland shaping! The top came out really bright purple in the photo; the sleeves are a bit closer to what the color looks like in person. The pattern and 'yarn' are from Art Fibers here in San Francisco. The 'yarn' is "Origami", a paper yarn that kinda knits for crap since it doesn't stretch or glide along the needles well, but still cool to knit up!

Hmmm...that lasted-what?-a day or two...?

Well, here I was so good passing up a LYS opportunity yet when I went to drop off a couple of things to Nathania (you know, I had to drop her stuff off to her at Purlescence...), I of *course* had to purchase a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Twister" in the Puck's Mischief colorway. But the inspiration of being at Purlescence and being among all the lovely "Ribbi Pulli"pullovers, soon made me realize that I, too, would need to knit one for *me*! (You may or may not recall, but posted some pics on April 14 which included a lovely pic of Nathania wearing her Ribby Pulli whilst holding her lovely chicken 'medal'...) And I could not possibly pass up Jitterbug in the Castagna colorway...

So the Cascade 220 in the 'perfect' coordinating colorway is on order for me, and I walked out with a new pattern and two skeins of yarn! I swear, I am definitely off the yarn for a bit now, otherwise I will really be in financial misery...I do have a kid to feed...!

Well, it IS YPF!!!

So I think I'd better flash a bit o' stash!

You may have wondered, was all that STR for me? Well, heck yeah! Almost...here is what I ended up with after camp...5 STR lightweight (Rare Gems earlier shown with the Horcrux pattern, Obsidian, Cockamamie, Footsie Foo*, and another Rare Gems), a couple of Mill Ends STR in med. weight, a Rare Gems med wt, and (not shown) 2 skeins of Seduction in Typhoon Tina and Musk. I'll post those later...

Also shown here are two new skeins of Fleece Artist-one Sock Merino in the "Paris" colorway (I loved Nartian's so much I had to get one right away from the same source to ensure our dye lots would be the same!) and Sea Wool in the "Origin" colorway.

I have to share that my yarn cravings must be well met since Nartian and I opted for a good lunch today when our other option was to check out a somewhat LYS that is closing! How's that for a hidden benefit of Camp Cockamamie?! ;)

*interestingly, my pic really washed out the green colors. There is a very pretty, somewhat subtle limey green color to Footsey Foo; when knit, it blends beautifully with the lighter shades.

Opinions welcome...

Not like I need to be starting new socks, but I am dying to work on this pattern! Six Sox KAL is doing this one and I am thinking I'd like to use one of these yarns. Quite close in the colors that are incorporated, yet different. The one on the left is Fleece Artist "Mermaid" colorway; the one on the right is Socks that Rock in a "rare gems" colorway. The pattern is "Horcrux" by Susan Pierce Lawrence. Not sure that you can view the pic on the pattern well. Maybe I should have seen if I could find a page to direct you to...if so, I'll post it. Any preferences out there?

Proud mom...

Of a 7th place 1st Grade Winner of the San Francisco Dental Society's poster contest!

And now, to show a few chickens...

I just popped over to Yarn Harlot's blog...is the knitting world now going to embrace the knitted chicken and start knitting chickens? I tell ya, it's crazy...

But I feel even more important because I was THERE...I saw and touched these knit chickens!

So above are a few that maybe didn't make the 'big blogs', but that's ok...they can appear here on my humble blog!

Mine is the fat one above, on a wood table. ..

What a great time!

Well, camp has ended and I am heading home! There were so many great people and it was sooo much fun! The Blue Moon Fiber Arts gals are absolutely wonderful and really had such great activities and workshops planned for us!

Here's a bit of a summary:

We had four workshops and were broken into 4 tribes, rotating through the various workshops. I was a Chickabiddie. The other tribes were Rhode Island Reds, Cluckers and...hmmm...I can't remember the 4th right now!

Prior to the start of our workshops, a special Blue Moon shop was set up to provide all our class material needs-you know, just in case we may have forgotten needles or something....Yeah, or SOMETHING! I came fully equipped, but it didn't stop me from purchasing some Seduction, STR and mill ends that were being offered!-YAY! Too tempting! There were also some tres-cool patterns, sheep-to-shoe kits, books, bags, knit pouches, t-shirts, etc...

My tribe attended a Stitch and Gossip with Cookie and Nathania. We worked on a charity blanket by each knitting a square in the round, joining 4 into one large square, then running a circ along each edge of the square so that four of us could knit on the blanket at one time. (THAT'S what one of my earlier pic is showing...). And, of course, we were using heavy wt. STR which was awesome to knit up!

Our next workshop was with Cat Bordhi who had us knit a mini sock, toe-up, using a cute pattern she wrote. She taught us Judy's provisional cast on and introduced us to her left and right increase technique, which will be in her next book. Other than owning Cat's "Socks Soar on Two Needles" and visiting her site and making her cute little sock bookmark, I really didn't know much about Cat other than what other books she had written and that she is the Moebis woman! Little did I know what an entertaining, brilliant woman she is. Truly a gem and she lives in the San Juan Islands, so we even got Cat Comments added to our Whale Watching tour! Too fun!

In the evening, we had campfire! We exchanged handmade chickens and I have to confess that luck and good fortune has been on my side these days, as I scored THE BEST chicken ever! Lisa K. made a Hippy Chicken-I'll post a pic eventually, but boy was it detailed! The chicken looked like it was felted or sewn from felt; then she crocheted a mini-potholder vest for it, put a leather with beads headband on it. It had mini-sunglasses, a cool fimo necklace, sock knitting in it's wing...just FABULOUS! Cat and Yarn Harlot Stephanie did a joint project and did a presentation on the evolution of their chicken and the secret details for making an authentic felted egg-complete with olfactory effects!

The next day was whale watching-we cruised on out into the San Juan Islands and DBF and DS were even allowed to join in! Everyone sat around chatting and knitting. We even had a special "Mystic Sea" pattern that Cass wrote that was our 'official' whale outting pattern! The prescribed yarn we used was med. wt. Lunasea, but, of course, we could have used any colorway!

Another fun evening at "campfire" when storyteller (and good friend of Cat's), Antionette (need to check her last name!) entertained us with two stories. We then headed out to roast marshmellows over an open fire. Yes, folks, a REAL OPEN FIRE! Real flames, I mean...real coals, I mean...real rowdy folk, I mean...

The next day workshops for my tribe started with Tina's workshop where we learned about colors, dying, BMFA colorways, Tina inspiration, and where we got to play with colors using pastels and yarn! I enjoyed this sooo much! So inspiring! Plus, what was fun was seeing so many different colorways and socks and balls of BMFA yarn in a huge pile!

Stephanie's class was a blast! As she stated in class, "Cat is the yin, I am the Yang..." She and Cat are so complimentary to each other in their styles and yet you can agree with both! Stephanie discussed sock construction with the use of very few tools and-get this-no tape measure! Of course, she was thoroughly entertaining in her presentation.

So we then followed classes with a second Olympics event! (Did I already mention that we had had one the day before?--"Underwater Knitting", of which Nathania got the Gold Medal!) This time, it was "Paired Knitting" where a paired team had to knit together, each used only one hand and had to knit as many rows as possible. I had the honor of getting to knit with Cookie, though I think I slowed her down! It was all great fun, though!

And if you think the Yarn Harlot is entertaining, you really ought to experience Cat and her together! There was even a separate competition between the two of them for fastest knitting-Stephanie on DPNs, Cat on 2 Circs! While knitting, they proceeded to place themselves in yoga poses and even posed themselves into a knit stitch! Too hilarious!

Grand finale was our banquet followed by our fashion show and awards presentation! Oh-and each tribe even made up their own camp song, though my tribe fell short in that arena! Everyone elses' songs were clever and adorable, though! What would camp be without awards? No, I didn't get one, (I never do, but I kinda like being somewhat non-descript! That way I freak people out more as they get to know me!-lol!) The benefit is that I got to be a big "L" (for Looser!-NO, they didn't label us that, I did!) which meant we (those who had not gotten an award or prize) got to line up and choose from an assortment of goodies! I am now the proud owner of an Addi lace 47" size 1 circ!-HA! (see? Good fortune shineth upon me!) The fashion show was quite fun, too! There were such wonderful items modeled for us!

Well, I've gone on and on and now will stop! I'll try and add some pics!

No whales, but lots of Sea Lions!

It's really all about the pictures...

so let me just load them up before blogging, in case I don't get a chance to do more before our dinner break is over-we have a full schedule!

I can't believe the trouble I'm having with loading these pics and this connection!

OK-classes were fun! Nathania and Cookie had us knit up squares for a charity blanket, so four of us ended up knitting on the one blanket to 'grow' it! Too fun!

I forgot to post a pic of our official t-shirt and camp name badge. Other pics: early morning view from my room, 'campfire' last night, the big shopping haul!

Today it was whale watching, though we didn't get to see any whales. There was an underwater knitting olympic and a concert and later we will be having another campfire with story telling!

More pics later, but maybe not til I'm back! Depends on if time permits.

CAMP COCKAMAMIE!!!

I'm heeeeeerrrre! And am thrilled to be a part of Camp Cockamamie! We had our dessert reception tonight-yummy! And I FINALLY got to meet Tina face-to-face! She is just as wonderful as I KNEW she IS, but there is just nothing like puttng a name to a face and finally meeting in person! (BIG HIGHLIGHT #1 for me with camp!)

So I'm sure you all want to know what's going on, right? Well, besides coffee and dessert (well, I actually was talked into -ow! Twist my arm!-a Bloody Mary prior to the reception by a new STR buddy, Sharon. She and Vicky are here together from Texas...) It is still early on in camp-pre-camp time, really, but still the energy is high!

Stephanie (Yarn Harlot) will be teaching a class, as well as Cat Bordhi, Tina and the Sockateers. Cookie and Nathania will also be teaching a class! I had a feeling they were more than just attending camp!

We each got a camp bag (and of course I had to include the pics for all of you!) And what was in this bag?...A chicken chucker! Another notions bag! A skein of STR in "Cockamamie"! And what was in the notions bag?...We got card, Shakespeare Insult Gum, and the most awesomely adorable stitch markers! (had to include a close up, cuz that's how I do...)

Enjoy! I need to be good and go to bed so I can be up early to buy yarn!-er, I mean have breakfast...

Don't be hatin' on me...

OK, it was not only an excellent mail day on Thursday, but an extra-special mail day on Friday because I received my Rockin' Sock Club 2007 *Contest #1 prizeS!!! I received TWO skeins of lightweight Socks that Rock in two of the new colorways-Lunasea and...(dum-dah-dah-dum....!)...MYSTIC KELP!!!! How cool is that?

I poured over name after name for the contest that I came up with, settled on "Mystic Kelp", which made it to the final vote, only it didn't make the mark! The majority of the other suggested yarn names were really clever and punny, but my little old 'mystic kelp' made the vote list, so considering it was maybe only one of two or three non-punny names, I was just flattered to see it on the list! I was listed as a winner, as I believe my name was randomly drawn from the entries.

Well as it turned out, I'm assuming that my name suggestion must have been "Dyer's Choice", as Tina (Fabu-Dytress Extraordinaire) came up with a "Mystic Kelp" yarn! YOWZA!!! I'm too thrilled and flattered!

And (as you see...) heeeere they are! (Again, I don't know how to work around the picture layouts, so they are kinda out of order....) I showed the skeins twisted and opened up, in case you like to get a better idea of the color proportions...

*BTW, there was a post last week that there are still spaces left in the club, so if you still want to get in on the club, contact them and see if there is still room!

Just in time for YPF!!!

Look what arrived today! It's a happy mail day and arrived just in time for YARN P0 rn Friday!!! Above, my Etsy purchases from last week: Pigeon Roof Studios "Plum Tortie", The Fiber Denn's "Silver Forest", and Sanguine Griffon's Traveller sock yarn in "Mali'! (And it looks like they just put up MORE in their Etsy store!-hint-hint, Nartian!-lol!) The Silver Forest proved to be more green than the silver/gray I had imagined it would be. Fine with me! I love it and I love greens! Mali had less burgundy/brown than I thought it would-there are actually bits of bright yellow, fuschia, cherry red and hot pink mixed with a very medium gingery-brown. No complaints here, either, since alot of my picks lately have had more brown than expected.

Sanguine Gryphon wins out on packaging-nice box and beautiful calligraphy hand-addressed to me! Not that the other two packages weren't nicely packaged, but I love the tags on the yarn and the calligraphy! The Fiber Denn labels on the yarn were lovely, as well. And yet, I just am so impressed with the Pigeon Roof Studios color combinations.

Oh...and I just wound the new Fleece Artist in Rainforest! The teal adds the highlight to the foresty green/gold combination and looks spectacular! Yes, true SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) going on here!