i caved...

Ok, so I caved. I cast on for the Campanulas! I'm using the SereKnity Black Forest Fudge and must say I love the colorway. I know that stronger colors and variegateds are not the best for patterned lace and textures, but I am curious to see how this colorway works with the Campanulas-the competition will be strong, but I still am interested to see.

Definitely, I think the Radiance "Heather" will be a real winner, but I want to plug through. This is a lame pic, cuz I took it in the very beginning, so it shows none of the pattern! I'm only through one repeat at this point, so it is still hard to see just how bad a choice this yarn is!

As for the yarn itself? I am actually very pleasantly surprised at how much I am enjoying this yarn-very soft with some cush after it is knit up. I really like it!

OK, so a last couple of pics-it *is* almost YPF, ya know?...
So here is an order I got from Yarn4Socks-enabling brought to me by Stilaholic Nartian, herself! She ever so slyly pointed out to me that Ruby Sapphire has an "Atticus" colorway! Well...I couldn't resist that one! So while I was at it, I added some Fleece Artist "Stone". I thought it would be more like the Nova, but I think I may have been wrong...It looks suspiciously close to another Fleece Artist sock yarn colorway I have in my stash, so I may have to consider-gasp!-a 'destash' of one of them! I am just realizing that space is extremely exceeded and the budget is very bad, so...But I have to say that I did get to give Nartian a bit of her own medicine when I whined about how I was not going to pay shipping on ONE skein. Thus the Fleece Artist purchase! THEN I was a mere few dollars from free shipping, so Nartian HAD to add a skein to my order for herself-after all, what are knitting buds for, anyways? But you know what? We considered waiting a bit to get our yarn lovelies, but I'm so glad we didn't-neither of our colorways are availabe at Yarn4Socks! Apparently they sold out!
And here is some Shibui sock yarn in Wasabi. Nartian and I did a run the other week and I limited myself to "one" skein, which in sock yarn language translates to "enough for a pair of socks"; thus, my indulgence...

Rethinking the Campanula...

I decided to shop my stash again to see what else could be Campanula-worthy. Here are two more skeins I resurrected...

Apple Laine Apple Pie yarn in "Petals"...a little more purple than I want...

And here, Yarn Botanika Radiance in "Heather". The pic came out more dark-especially the purple-toned areas, but it actually has a lot of warm pink and beigey tones to it and in person the darker purples are quite subtle. The overall look becomes subtle shadings of pinks and lavendars. It may be the better pick for the lacey texture of the Campanula pattern.

Though I'm aware of how variegateds can work against lace patterns, I am still tempted to try out the Sereknity BFF anyway, though instincts say that the Heather is probably the best choice...More to think about before casting on!

Some knitting has occured!

As amazing as it may seem, I actually have a project that is progressing and acutally looking like it (dare I say?) may get completed! I am now on my second sleeve of the Ribby Pulli. Don't hold your breath, but I am actually hopeful that I may actually be wearing this in the Fall!

I ended up lengthening the body (by a good 2 1/2" or so...), since I really didn't want the pocket to hit into my sagging boobs! No, I'm not built like the Ribby Pulli model, so I think it was prudent to do so! Some of us just can't pull off that sweater hitting in the places hers does-so flattery before fashion...I also cut the sleeve short by about an inch (17.25" vs. 18"...) and worked it in a couple of sizes smaller. The body is being knit in the size 41". (Fingers crossed-"I hope it fits, I hope it fits!"...)




And though these are nowhere near completion, I actually have my Solstice Slip socks going. They were the last Rockin Sock Club kit. I decided to start the second and have them both going so that I actually have a fighting chance at getting the PAIR done!


I want to make progress on these, since the Campanula for the Cure socks are haunting me! I haven't started them yet and really wanted to try and finish these socks before starting the Campanulas. Problem is, with the Ribby Pulli really shaping up...well, you know...guess which project is pulling me towards it the most these days?...

CAMPANULA FOR THE CURE!

In my insanity, I decided to join the Campanula for the Cure KAL. Well, when I saw MezzoDiva's pattern she was selling to raise money for her Weekend to End Breast Cancer Walk, I had to have the pattern! And of course, KALs are fun, even when I can't keep up!

So I decided to "shop my stash" for some yarn, rather than purchase some new. Here is what I came up with-the Sereknity "Black Forest Fudge", which MezzoDiva had figured out also has the initials "BFF"-clever you!

Of course, just when I decide this, it turns out that I will be able to lay my hands on some Hot Flash STR light, so now I can't decide which to use! I may start a pair in the BFF, then maybe do another in Hot Flash...or perhaps Chappy's "Booby Socks" in Hot Flash? I'll show a pic of the Hot Flash colorway later.

I am dying to try out the Serenknity yarn, and since the colorway IS BFF...well, I think I have my answer!

I am very much not into doing toe-up socks. I have done maybe 3 socks in this manner and so far prefer cuff-downs. I just hate the short-row heels and am not yet saavy enough to convert to a reverse heel-flap construction. (Remember the Monsoons that are still to be...yes, that is why they are 'still to be'!) That is probably the biggest reason I'm not starting them. But you know...I may just go ahead and make them following the pattern as-written. I'll live!

GADS! What is WRONG with ME????!!!!

In this past post, I had shown a glimpse of a beginning of a sock being knit in Jitterbug "Tuscany" colorway. I basically combined two different patterns...Well, smarty-me neglected to say *which* two patterns I used! The pattern copies are separated from the long-neglected sock, and though I can figure out the ribbing, I sure as heck don't recall which 'leafy sock' (of maaaaannny that exist out there!) I used! I'll have to post a pic of it later and *beg* everyone to try and figure it out. I know that pattern was from someone's blog. In addition, I think the blogger didn't write out a complete pattern, but instead wrote out the lace/leaf pattern, general total stitches CO, and that was it. I think it may have been done in a purple/lilac color and was posted with instructions for another sock the blogger had knit...Hmm...maybe I need to dig through some of my many UFO bags!

MAN! The whole point of my starting this blog was so I could keep track of this kinda stuff! I guess my thoughts escape me and I digress to other subjects!

I know...I promised knitting focus this time!

...but I wanted to share this because it was so touching to me. Of course, it means alot to me, since this is what my friend, Carlene, wrote and posted at our friend (and her sister) Penny's memorial site (so sorry, no knitting content in this post...):

Pen and Car

Tiny Drops Make a Waterfall
A poem written by Carlene Foldenauer for her sister and friend Penny

“Tiny drops make a waterfall,” she said with a smile.
Reminding me that small things make a difference.
A smile, a thank you, a hug – they matter!
Giving that comes from the heart.

She reflected on that day at the Multonomah Falls.
It was morning, and Penny has always liked morning best.
Darkness turned to light and the sound of rushing water filled her ears.
Like fireworks cascading from blue skies, the falls appeared before her.

She was tiny, yet powerful, as she stood before them.
Penny looking straight up, the water coming straight down.
Seeking shelter from the gaze of the sun, her eyes closed.
Her face was warm, yet billions of tiny goose bumps covered her arms.

She took a loooong, deep breath, dizzied by the morning air.
The moisture that settled on her lips, tasted of the pines that surrounded her.
She stood at the foot of the falls mesmerized - frozen with respect.
She couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak.

Then like wind in her ear, she heard the words, “Tiny drops make a waterfall.”
The voice was soft, low and soothing. The words were wondrous, wise and within.
Adorned with the feather of a thunderbird, wearing the tanned skin of a buck,
He blew a puff of smoke, encircling her in a mist.

Her eyes still closed to the sky, the message was clear,
It’s about sharing. About giving and receiving with no expectations.
Like a circle it comes back around naturally.
Just live from the heart and love freely.

Penny told the story of the Great Falls and to share her lesson with us.
You don’t have to climb mountains, run marathons or write novels,
Touch the lives of others by being kind and gentle.
Take a minute to listen. Spare some change. Extend a helping hand.

“Tiny drops make a waterfall” She said with a smile

At the memorial site, it says that it was Penny's wish that in lieu of donations of money or flowers, that we all do one nice thing for someone. So like Penny and her positive attitude of "small things make a difference"!

Birthday Treasures Revealed...

I finally have a bit of time to post a few goodies! It's been busy around here with various birthday celebrations and prior to that-well, I think I already mentioned about the eBlogger robot kicking me out for a bit. Anyways, July 26 was my birthday...

So here, some of my birthday goodies!


Stilaholic Nartian gifted me the gorgeous Nature's Palette in the Orchid colorway! Thanks so much, Nartian! I think she knows my sock yarn stash is a bit weak in the 'nearly solids' category for handpainteds! And does it show? I used a gift certificate from another friend to get the other yarns shown-Koigu PPPM, nonetheless. Another friend got me this tea which I need to try, but the packaging is so cute that I am afraid to open it! (Note the two cute little cherry-figure motif boxes...) I also got some of this weird linen/viscose stuff called "Iside", which I am still trying to figure out...I originally thought how cool it would be for a cute little tank, but clearly I don't think it will be enough. There are 175 yds per skein and I purchased 4 of them, but: a) I am not a tiny gal b) this really doesn't seem to work well knit up at 4 st/inch. It seems to be headed for shawl/ette land...Gorgeous color, though!

And here is how I spent my day...

Making this...

And this...

And doing this...


Yes, it was an attempt to make a Bake Sale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich! (This past week's food section had an article featuring the famous sandwich-and much to my delight-included the recipe for it!) I confirmed what I always somehow knew in the back of my mind: the $8 per sandwich is well worth the price! Don't attempt this at home, folks!

OK, if you want to do it, go ahead...I dare ya! Even if you could execute it perfectly, you could not convince me it was worth the effort and cost of having to purchase those 2 quarts of vegetable oil to fry the chicken in, let alone the cabbage, red vinegar, olive oil, jalepenos, etc...not to mention the time you wait for the oil to heat up to 365 degrees Farenheit!

I like to consider myself a fairly decent cook, but I will confess that deep frying is something I have never become proficient at. I did read sometime, long ago, that it was a tricky thing to deep fry-getting the right temperature and holding it there. I wish I had tried it out sooner after reading said article, since the fine points seemed to have escaped me as I made my attempt to fry up the 4 chicken breasts that I had carefully double-coated with buttermilk and flour...Alas, my attempt resulted in somewhat anemic chicken breasts with oil-soaked, gooey (yet tasty) coating.

In my haste (and hunger) I then conveniently forgot to get any pics of the final product! However, remembering about the temperature issue with deep frying, I followed my instincts and heated the oil back up to the requisite 365 degrees and finished frying up the 4 tenderloins-each turning out much better than the earlier larger breasts. The smaller pieces definitely helped keep the heat up and fried up much nicer.

Here, what remains of the tenderloins.


The black specs are what got attached to the batter, since it was fried in the remaining oil from the earlier breasts. Despite the gummy covering of the large breasts, the overnight salt/buttermilk soak did pay off, and even the large breasts were still pretty tasty and tender.

The coleslaw is wonderful-much harder to mess up, though I am sure that the published recipe is a different than what comes out at the bakery-I don't recall the coleslaw being as moist, so I used the entire head of cabbage, since I love the coleslaw anyway. Now I've got more left over for snacking!

So...I guess this exercise had more than the one purpose of teaching me the true "Value" of a Bakesale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich...it made me work a bit harder to help burn off the 955 calories that the sandwich is supposed to contain! That's 23 "points" in Weight Watcher's language!-lol! (Which, BTW, I had the WHOLE sandwich today which exceeds my daily 'point' allowance by 3! But that's another story...) Oh-and the added benefit of going to Bake Sale Betty's to buy my fried chicken sandwich?-it is on the same block as ARTICLE PRACT! Fried chicken sandwich and yarn?! I'm THERE! Man, I sure hope she doesn't ever stop making these puppies!

OK, so I'll focus more on my knitting next time I post...

Blogless...ready to go?

Well, besides being busy celebrating my birthday, I have been blocked out of my blog! So here is a test to see if they have returned my blogging powers. If not, then I will save this entry like the few others past, to post when I am again allowed. Sucks, really...

So I thought I would share what a friend brought back to me from Hawaii. I picked him up the other week and he provided me these most-awesome treats! Friends should not start such addictions; then again, we do it with yarn all the time, don't we? ;)

Don't try them. You won't be able to get them out of your mind. My major weakness-shortbread. And the chocolate is absolutely creamy!

Taking the time...

So it appears I am again able to post to my blog-well, thank YOU, oh mighty Blogger! Glad you have decided I am not a spam blog. So...following, my previous entry...






I guess I can do what Stilaholic is doing and read my new HP book, instead of blogging, but I figure that I actually have something to prove I knit (and finish) *some* items! So here, a nice day project, the "felted cap" from Bev Galeskas. It was supposed to be for me, but I let it shrink too much! So it is a snug-fit hat for me, or...a cute 'ol hat for the Lil' Emperor, himself.

Lil' Emperor says, "It stinks!"...yeah, another reason not to knit him anything!

A Penny Returning to Heaven...

(Me, Pen and her sis, Car)

Early this morning a dear friend of mine passed on after an up and down battle with cancer. I just found out tonight. I adored her. I loved her; she loved me...I know because she told me so, and often...and because that is how she was-full of love and not ever forgetting to say anything she felt because she knew life is too short. Full of love, warmth, passion, mischievousness, generous...that was Penny. Towards the end, even more philosphical, though I think that happens when you face death so frequenty...Of course, there were so many other wonderful things about her. Hell-she was embracing life even before she was diagnosed with the beginning breast cancer. You couldn't help but love her and I know she is now in complete love and comfort on the other side.

I had just weaved in the last ends of the hat I had knit for her while on my Sock Camp trip, having seen her a week or two prior to leaving. That was the last time I saw her, and the first in some time that we had been able to get together. It was for Norouz-Sizdeh Bedar, the 13th day of (and ending the) Persian New Year. I wish I had gotten the hat to her earlier, as planned. Wish I had been in touch sooner. But I also do not believe in regrets in life and that it was meant to happen this way and in this order.

But don't let me kid you-my heart's breaking right now and I need to go grieve.

A Happy 7yo...

No cake or cupcake pics to share...I actually forgot to take pics, if you can believe that! Hopefully my parents or some other party-goers got the Emperor's Birthday captured on film/digital...I know my dad took a video...

But here is a Happy Lucky 7 Emperor!

(see the smile?...)

If You Don't Have a Knitting Buddy, Get One!

Ah, yes...now we know why 'buddies' are important. They enable us, and us them. And sometimes, when we end up in need of another skein of hand-dyed yarn (that the dyer is challenged in being able to re-dye anything remotely similar in color to...) because we decided to make larger socks than planned...our KNITTING BUDDIES can bail us out cuz, by George-they bought that same damn yarn at the same time you did because you were both drawn to it at the same time! (Nothing like sharing, huh?) So then the skeins are the same dye lot, too, cuz they were from that same batch! Well, whadda ya know?! Stilaholic Nartian came through with the Sanguine Gryphon Traveller yarn in the (trying to be re-done colorway, "Mali")!!! Thanks so much, Nartian!!! Couldn't survive this knittng adventure without you!

Oh...and another happy-happy to share...my Horcrux pair is finished-in time for the new movie and new book releases!

And I missed YPF-even purchased some yarn yesterday on the way to BINGO (yes, my friend got a bunch of us together to celebrate her birthday and play Bingo!). So I'll have to get the pics loaded to share. Guess it'll have to wait for next YPF...

Lookie what I got today!

A package from Sanguine Gryphon! What can I say? I saw the new "Little Traveller" fingering weight yarn and *had* to get a skein "Ghana" colorway! Threw in a bit o' batting (Wild Mountain Thyme) to justify the shipping... and there you go!

Well...Etsy can be bad for me. Very bad.

That same day, I saw this and this...LOVED them! HAD to get the sun one for me and the lady bug one for my friend's daughter who shares my birthday and who has always been the 'ladybug'...

Now, as if that wasn't enough, when I placed my order for the Little Traveller yarn, I passed up the "Brazil" colorway. Gryphon emailed me thanking me for the order and mentioned that if I had knit up my previously ordered yarn (Traveller in "Mali"), if I wouldn't mind sharing pics. Well, that very yarn was in line to be knit into Ann Budd's "Flame wave" (pic shown at someone's blog I found...) pattern from IK "Favorite Socks".

I got motivated to start them NOW, and got to it, failing to remember the cuff was only to be knit to 3 1/2"...So now that I am past the heel and into the gussett decreases, I realize I may not have enough yarn! (Picture coming soon...) Becoming so enlightened, I thought perhaps I should check Gryphon's site for more of the Traveller yarn and see what other colors exist that may work for Flamewave toes...No Traveller at this time, but one last skein of Little Traveller "Brazil", looking just as fantastic and irresistable as ever! What is a knitting sock-gal to do?! Self-restraint is not my strong point. Needless to say, it is on order and I asked Gryphon to hold it until I figure out whether a third skein will be needed for my Flamewaves or not...I know it will not exactly match, but I need the yarn type to match and I'm hoping she can dye up something that will coordinate, maybe in darker shades...Apparently she is due to dye up more of the Traveller yarn soon...

Did I ever tell you how dangerous Etsy is for me? God, I *love* that place!

Missing YPF...

As I prepare for the Emperor's 7th Birthday party! Cake, cupcakes, treat bags, food shopping...all that! But this is a once in a lifetime birthday, as he turns 7 today-July 7th! So I decided to give him a Lucky 7 Birthday Bash!

I did manage to dig out some yarn that was never flashed that came not too long ago...They are both from Zen Yarn Garden. Frosty Freeze and Creamsicle colorways. Oh...and let's not forget bootey I picked up as a result of Stilaholic Nartian merely mentioning Wool Girl...no sooner do I read about the site, I click the link and what do I see? Yarn from Pigeon Roof Studios in a colorway I could not pass up-"Atticus"! So several skeins later, I am checking out and have added on some Route 66 by Spunky Eclectic. I knew I was good, but I don't think I have ever impulse shopped any quicker than that! But look how stinkin' cute that stitch marker is? Who wouldn't want a lil' lambie marker?

And then, of course, knowing that Lis at One Planet was posting more goodies, I ended up with some Madelinetosh batts and a new Avi Wasserman spindle. I love the batts and have since finished the 'Cools" batt shown partially spun.

Must-get-sleep! (Even though I'm dying to work on the Flame Wave ala Paula socks I'm working on in some yarn I got from Gryphon...) I'll have to show off my Etsy purchases and the recent cupcakes and cakes...later...

Non-Knitters-Hrummmmph!

I had been meaning to post on this topic a while back but, you know, somehow there is never enough time just to blog!

So a non-knitting male friend of mine had seen my blog earlier on and wanted his friends to see it. He gets the addy (cuz, you know, he's male and a non-knitter, so he just could care less about my little ol' blog full of knitting and knitting-related stuff...he certainly didn't have it bookmarked! Matter of fact, he probably doesn't even know about bookmarks!)

OK, so he sees it again and is all disappointed that there aren't tons of projects posted all over my blog. "Just yarn..." Well excuuuse me! As much as you want to believe I just crank project upon project out, it takes a bit more time than that. Besides, part of "knitting" IS thinking about yarn, purchasing yarn, imagining all the yarny possibilities, finding just the right possibility, trying it out, realizing maybe it wasn't the 'right' possibility, frogging or not, figuring out where you left off...or not...you know? All the steps getting you to that final outcome-the finished product!

Some people just don't "get" it. I loves all you guys out there who read this and DO 'get' it! You are all wonderful people! Knitting is just so much deeper than some people realize...

It's NOT YPF!!!

But I'll share anyway because Terry would care...(Terry-I am assuming you are Blog-Free...?

I hadn't revealed my latest sock kit. I guess because so many people I know already have theirs up that I just figure it's old news. But here it is-and my pic of our pattern is from the back so that you can get a better view of the pattern (they use a larger pic on the back). The colorway is Firebird and the pattern is Summer Solstice, which is a slip stitch pattern. I am dying to start it, but with Nartian being the more focused one, she sets a good example for me and I am trying to at least finish my Horcrux before casting on for the Summer Solstice.

And remember how we were talking lemmings? Well, me following a lemming, I guess it make's me a lemming's lemming! As a result, a lovely new skein of merino/cashmere (Moonlight colorway) from The Knittery in Australia. If you can believe it, I only purchased one skein, despite the shipping...Yeah, every once in a rare while I behave! It helped that I wanted another merino/cashmere and I didn't truly 'love' any of the other colors left. Well-I did love a few, but they were probably too close to the color grouping I have waaaay too much of!

a Birthday Meme...

Stilaholic Nartian tagged me on this one...



The Birthday Meme rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.



So...on July 26...

1788 - New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
1803 - The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London.

1847 - Liberia declares independence.



2 Births: 1943 - Mick Jagger, English musician (The Rolling Stones)-because everyone has to point out to me that it I share his birthday. He does have Leo-traits...

1964 - Sandra Bullock, American actress -yeah, she looks quite Leo-ish to me, too...and we were actually born the same day...(now I'm revealing my age!)



Based on the events I listed above, it stands to reason that one of the few Holidays on my birthday is Independence Day in Liberia!



Tagging 5 friends:

Most of my friends who even read this are blogless (or "blog-free" as Cat Bordhi would say...)
so I am sad and have no one to tag...sniff-sniff!

This one's for Alice...

I told Alice I'd post my new Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock" Backstabber colorway opened up. So here it is. Actually, the pic at their site is pretty accurate with the colors from what I can tell. But here is the skein opened up...

Some things just take time...

You have to know about the long road taken to knit these to appreciate them...Luckily, these were still a 'quick' knit and if they weren't, I probably would not have gone through this triple knitting exercise.

These are a pair of socks I finally finished for a little girl wanting "socks with no seams." Like I said before, a little kid says they want socks, says they'll wear them? I'm there!

So I don't do the recommended 'shop from my stash', as I think I had earlier explained. I knit one sock-the dastardly hole at the heel-flap rears its head-(is this a Cascade Fixation thing? It's my first time knitting socks with the stuff and so far, I'm a bit wary...). I push through the first sock anyway and start the second. I match up the cuffs, knit, match up the length, knit to the toes, kitchener up , weave in ends and SNIP that yarn! Yes, after closer investigation, I realize the two do NOT match up and the shorter length of the second looks quite obvious.

Well lucky me-I had purchased a second ball and one ball was enough for the pair! So I had committed the leftover yarn to my co-worker friend so that she could knit a pair for her grandaughter. Rather than tearing back another sock, I knit a third sock that -yes!- seems to match quite well. I gave the mismatched sock to my friend and now she only has to knit one sock. But she has to match it to mine! >;P

I know, I'm a big baby because I didn't have to frog a thing and I only had to knit one extra sock that is practically mini and done on a big gauge. I'm just bummed I wasn't more careful and that what I had hoped to whip out in a week, actually dragged out to 3 weeks.

So that's my story and I'm posting pics to prove I knit 3. They are small and they are DK weight, so it could be worse-like Nartian's ripping out a whole sock in smaller gauge! And no, I didn't play with my PhotoElements to fool ya'll...the striping is different in all three socks and it would have taken my inexperienced self waaaay longer to change the striping in the pics to fool you than to knit the third sock!-HA!

So much to share...

Sometimes there are days where I just have soooo much to share-and the time to do so! Actually, I realized I held out (I must be in denial that I could possibly have new yarn to post in a mere week's time...) and forgot about the pic I took of my STR order that arrived yesterday (well, and a couple from the prior week...). Of course, being a good friend, I have to post the pic so that Nartian can check it out, too. You know-I'd hate to have her wait until Monday to see it!-lol!

Brick, Silkie Socks that Rock (Puck's Mischief, Walk on the Wild Tide), Backstabber, Bambu (SeaBreeze).

And yet another post today...

because it's YPF!!! Well, no yarn-gasp! Well, actually, I can never disappoint! I have a couple of new rovings I bought from the Yarn Wench. (Yes, the Leming Syndrome that Nartian has made me aware of...) I popped over to Knitters Anonymous and read about how much Kristie 'loves' the Yarn Wench's rovings...so...I bought some! I really only purchased ONE...but then she posted more and so, of course, despite doubled shipping now...I bought ANOTHER. These are the 'Retro' and "Islander" colorways. So no new purchased yarn, but some roving and pics of some handspun yarn from the three lastest purchases of Funky Carolina "Toadstool", Yarn Wench "Retro" and Yarn Wench "Islander" rovings!

The colors appear in this pic a bit more browned out. Picture, if you will, a bit more yellow to these colors. So picture, if you will, the center "Retro" color REALLY looking, well..."Retro"-think back to the old days of harvest gold, avacado green and burnt orange kitchens/refridgerators...remember the upholstry? Kind of a furry, velvety type damask with the gold in it? Well, this yarn reminds me so much of that. It really is a swirl of those three colors! And definitely more gold/yellowish in color vs. the brown tone. And the Islander? Look above at the rovings, which are more true to the colors. I can hardly wait to get around to getting a whole braid spun, but since I am still only handspindling, progress is slow. Sock Camp was my splurge this year, setting the spinning wheel back for now. Definitely in the next two years!

Yay, ME!!!!

Well, I think if you read this blog, you know that I am not too clever in coming up with titles for my entries...Literary I am not. But-on to why I'm so proud of myself! I purchased, started and completed my Celtic Vest I purchased from One Planet Yarn and Fiber! AND...it fits! Here, pics of before and after blocking (or, what I referred to as 'reverse felting', since the wool/silk blend actually "grows" by about 20% when blocked!

I'm of pudgy, apple-y proportions, despite the waifly proportions of my little representative doll (but hey, they don't give pudgy body options when you make them and they are fantasy 'dolls', afterall...not look-alikes!), but hey-the vest fits and I like it! LOVE the colors and the feel of the fiber, too. Now-to either finish the ever-haunting sleeves of my origami wrap or to get moving on the Ribby Pully. My one excuse for not progressing on Ribby-Pully is that I'm waiting for Stilaholic Nartian to finish some things so we can do a KAL with it. But then again, considering how I still haven't finished my Kews and Nartian breezed through those, I could probably use all the head start I can get!-lol!

Have I reached SABLE?

Well, I think I reached SABLE (Stash Aquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) a looong time ago, but if not, I probably clinched it at Creative Accents. Well, today I went to tea to celebrate my friend's birthday. NEVER go out with a group of knitters because you will inevitably have cause to go the LYS (ImagiKnit)...which we DID...And I could not pass up some of the Jitterbug colorways that were in stock! And they also have the Sheep Shop Yarn Company bulky yarn on sale for $10 a skein. What was I to do?! Had to get some for a future vest! Yeah, I'm on a vest kick now.

Many pics to sort out-sure wish I were better at editing these pics and such...

OK, the first is today's acquisition. The second is my Smooshy acquisition from Knitter's Palette. I was a bit disappointed in the In Vino Verite colorway-not as rich as I'd hoped, but just as Smooshy! The next pile is my order from One Planet Yarn and Fiber-a Celtic Vest Kit, roving in Toadstool colorway, and Yarn Botanika Radiance in Amber. All gorgeous!

So...back to vests...I started the Celtic Vest kit! And it is coming right along. Let's see if I actually complete it!

Lastly, ONE Horcrux sock finished today! Now to cast on for the second!

Now What?

I just finished spinning and plying the last of the 2oz. of Chasing Rainbows merino/bombyx! I figure it totals around 150 yards. So what now? I was thinking lacey shawl shaped scarf, though I'm not sure if it is even enough for that..

Any ideas or pattern suggestions? I counted around 95+ strands at about 1 1/2 yds, each. I didn't figure out the wpi yet, but I think it is maybe DK I guess other options at this time is do nothing. Just toss it in with my other spun stash and maybe it will look good with something else I spin down the line and it can be part of a shawl...Well, not like I don't have other projects looming at this time...

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...