Let's talk FO's!

for a second...cuz compared to the newest stash acquisitions, the FOs discussion will be short in comparison!

I have a slipper swap coming up next week, so I actually got some felted slippers completed! The flowers I had planned on making to look more "lazy daisy" looped, felted together into more of a blobby-abstract kinda flower. Because the loopy ones took up so much room on the slipper, I opted for small 'buds' as additional accents.

Of course, hindsite is 20/20--yes, I could have and should have used a single strand of yarn for the flower accents!

Before 'felting'After!

These are due to the recipient this coming Tuesday and I still need to add some beads to the center of the flowers. Of course, me being me, I haven't done that yet! Hmmm...looks like a job for Nartian! She'll make me get that done! Only thing is, I'd sure as heck better have it done by the next time I see her, cuz that will be Monday!

Amazingly, I have two more projects nearly complete for gift-giving! Now, I guess I need to mention that the two that rank higher in priority are still sitting but "non ne parliamo!" ("let's not talk about that!"-I suck at foreign languages, but there are a few, choice phrases that stuck with me!) So here they are, pre-felting because as I said, they are almost finished...

This is a modified "Stafford" handbag (pattern from MagKnits). I didn't care for the round handles that are supposed to hold the sides, so I extended the side (short, wide straps) into a long shoulder strap. This is for a friend's teenage daughter (one of 'my girls'!) I'm considering adding a bottom areas, similar to the purse below, to add a bit more space and allow for it to sit upright a bit better.

And this, for her younger sister...the Flower Purse featred on DIY Knitty Gritty. I used a double strand of Cascade 220 on size 13 needles (vs. the bulky yarn on size 11's prescribed). I used up all 100g. of the yarn just to get to this point-and that's with adding in some Knitpick's Wool of the Andes. I still have to knit the finishing along the bottom (pick up along bottom ridge and CO), which I will probably do in black. Note that I grafted the handle to the wrong sides and am now undoing that portion!

So...on to stash enhancement! I must first say that I NEVER EVER wake up early to go to Black Friday sales. As a matter of fact, I won't drag myself up early EVER to do anything optional! That is, except for maybe when (long ago and far away) I would drag myself out of bed to "run" a race which required that I wake up early enough to arrive at the starting line, freezing, in shorts because I was never the big athlete type, anyway, so I didn't have the kinda runner wear to keep me warm while running in the freezing cold of the too early morning! OK, so yet I digress...Well as it turns out, Purlescence was having a Jammie Jam party on Friday morning at 6 freakin' o'clock!

So...I made sure the appropriate Jammie Jam attire was ready...

I had to have the proper jammie bottoms to wear, right?...

and against my natural inclinations, was up and on the road, driving 45 minutes to a 6am Jammie Jam! Yes, folks, only for a yarn sale will I do this!

The best thing about Jammie Jam? I got to meet IRISHGIRLIE in person! How about that?! And I had partners in crime as we inspected every nook, cranny and yarny goodness at Purlescence and contemplated new and old knitting projects, cuz Nartian was there, too, with the Monkeys 2!

And this is what I got:

Fiddlesticks Zephr yarn (merino/silk), Cascade 220 (already being knit into gifts!), and a skein of super bulky yarn that was 1/2 price!

Please observe the absence of sock yarn-especially BMFA Socks that Rock sock yarn that had just come in and that I had-yes-walked away from! (Well, not before carefully examining the colorways and petting just about each and every one-including the heavy weight Lemongrass, which just isn't at the top of my list!) Irish Girlie was shocked, but truth be told, as much as I wanted more, well..just look below!

The Blue Moon Fiber Arts stash (most of it!)

Does it all make sense now? And knowing that I want some Ravens colorways for some thigh length stockings, as well as one or two other skeins, do you see why additional skeins are a bit harder to justify? My above Blue Moon Fiber Arts stash may not be all STR, but even if you were to omit the one skein of Bambu, 2 skeins of Seduction, and the worsted (the pre-heavy weight worsted superwash...)...well...I think you get the picture! Nothing like seeing it all in one place, huh? And I am sure there are plenty of other skeins disguised as UFOs and just hiding out where they shouldn't be!

Besides that, there were these two orders that were to arrive later that day:
A package from The Knittery in Australia! (Nartian is to blame for the knowledge of this yarn!)

The Knittery merino sock yarn: Chocolate, Vineyard and Passionfruit

But I enabled her and told her I was putting in this order and "want to add something to the order and split the shipping?" Hee! She got the Chocolate colorway! Man, after seeing that one in person, I was loving that colorway, too! Ever since seeing the Passionfruit colorway on someone's Flickr, confirming it's match with my color tastes, I HAD to get that colorway!

But wait-there's more! The second package from WOOLGIRL!

A little soap for the body, a little soap for the knitted stuff!

Extras aren't everything, but they mean alot to me! I love little details, and look how nicely these were wrapped? When you order from WoolGirl, it really is like treating yourself to something very special! It is so much more than just making an online yarn purchase!

Lisuu Leili sock yarn (merino/mohair in Waves of Memory and All That's Good with Christmas), Das Schneeschaff spray-dyed (Autumn Rose), Madeline Tosh sock yarn (Home)

And I really couldn't resist scoring up some of the new sock yarns she got in! I also picked up a couple of the Leili for Nartian for her birthday which was on Saturday, another reason I held off posting these for a bit...

And some unexpected addtions...

I loved this self-striping chunky wool too much to pass up on sale! I almost passed up this soy yarn, but in the long-run, couldn't resist!

I had wanted this book from the first time Allison showed it to me at ImagiKnit. But when I went back to get it the following month-it was sold out! I like to support my LYS and since Allison was the one who introduced me to the book, I thought it only fair to give her my business and buy it from her, rather than some other on-line deep-discounter. (Now don't think I don't buy books that way, either, but like I said, if my purchase is a direct response to service I've gotten at a yarn store, I'd rather pay for having that service around by directing my funds accordingly...)

Anyways, the scarves in this book are amazing! Like Cat Bordhi's new book changes your perspective on sock architecture, so does this book do the same for scarves! There were a few other purchses for my Holiday Swap pal on Ravelry: chibi needles, Malabrigo, a few other items...more on the swap later!

BTW, I will try and post the contest winner on Monday! Thanks to all who entered!

Last Call-contest closing!

Yeah, some of you may have missed the contest info...or maybe there are so few of you out there that no one wanted to bother naming the UFO socks and yarn... BUT...maybe I didn't clarify that you don't have to necessarily get them all correct to win? Or maybe it wasn't clear how to enter...? You just have to get the most correct answers. (You can send guesses to sassenmass AT g m a i l DOT com). But then again, maybe I should have made it more a lottery...


But guess what? The deadline of December 1 is nearly here and I am sticking with the original date because my goal is to have fun with my small, but loyal readers and give away this:I know, not as enticing as other yarn sock photos, huh?...Actually, it is a lovely skein of Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn in the Cornflower colorway. I decided that I prefer the slightly heavier Fleece Artist sock yarn and after stocking up on this stuff, realized I have soooo many of the lighter colorways that I should release one from my stash! So-after December 1, up to 11:59pm, it get's a new home!

I'll do a more random contest in the near future that Stilaholic Nartian can participate in, since she pointed out her edge over everyone else on this contest being that I make here listen to all my varying contemplations on my sock yarns and patterns, not to mention her getting to see each and every one in person. I figured if I had enough people guessing all the socks correctly, I could throw Nartian's name in for a random draw, anyway...Oh well, she has a special prize coming to her anyway, since I borrowed her plastic tapestry needle, proceeded to break it and still haven't replaced it for her!

I think I need to find more yarn for another contest after the new year.

Next post will catch you up with actual knitting (yeah, I've actually been doing that!) and maybe even COMPLETED projects! I know I have at least one and a couple of nearly-completed that I can post! (Hmmm...could it be that I'm actually progressing on holiday knitting?!) And, for Terry and all you other "reading about yarn is as good as reading about knitting!" readers, I have some stash enhancements to show you from my Black Friday dive into Purlescence, as well as a couple of orders recently received from WoolGirl and The Knittery!

Where to begin...?

My shameless stash? My shameless pile of UFOs?

Well, first let me send out a warm thank you to IrishGirlie! I decided it was my duty to enable her BMFA shopping spree-er, I mean help her destash, so I took a skein off her hands! It is a wonderful Yarn Botanika sock yarn in Evergreen and I have to admit that it looked pretty good along with the others in my Wall of Shame...

The one I acquired from her stash is the top right. I think it ties the other three skeins together beautifully! ;)
And look how well it blends with some of my other green sock yarns?

And here is the best treat: IrishGirlie included two other skeins from her stash dive at the BMFA destash sale!!! She sent one for me and one for Stilaholic Nartian and thought it would be more fun to let us 'duke it out'. Truth be told, Nartian and I are quite good at sharing and swapping out stash. I loved both, so I asked Nartian to do the favor of just picking one, cuz I just couldn't decide! Here is the one I got:

And, well...I didn't get a pic of the other! (for shame!) Nartian ought to have a pic up on her blog-it was a lightweight (what we guess to be) Raven-possibly the Pallos Athena or Rauen, since it was plummy brown black.

So...speaking of UFOs...I was looking through my pile of stuff trying to find my Cedar Creeks to finish, now that I have IrishGirlie doing a bit of pushing on that end towards seeing that project complete! I got sidetracked. Seriously sidetracked. The kind of sidetracked that is gloriously fun because all those feelings of inspiration came flooding back as I looked at the many results of impulsive-inspiration-on-needles. Then it was the feeling (but for a fleeting second) that gads-I truly do NOT need more yarn! Mind you, what you are about to see is not in any way ALL the projects on needles, but a sampling of what I found just looking through a couple of corners of the Wall of Shame and a few 'knitting bags'. Some you may recognize, some you may not...

First up, a few non-sock projects (yes, I do sometimes *start* non-sock projects...)

I think you are all familiar with the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern?...


And the Baby Surprise Sweater pattern? Here is my second one I got inspired to knit. The baby it is being knit for was born a few weeks ago, so I still have time to get it done...if I ever pick it up again any time soon!

Did you ever see this one? It's the Summer Braids Cardigan! Hmmmm...in the round...I think I need to knit to 17"; it is about to perhaps 8" at this time...

And let's not forget the non-knitting stuff like spinning...
Actually, this is a farce, because I actually only spun up a bit to get an idea what the final was going to look like. Haven't done much beyond that-but hey-this whole big ol' bag was on *sale* at Purlescence!

And are you ready for the socks-in-waiting...?

My first Baby Sky (Cat Bordhi) learner sock, once torn back due to a terrible oversight on my part!
Remember the two-at-the-same-time sock trick? I wasn't impressed. And smarty me decided to do two different colors, should they end up a tad different in size, so now I just have two unmatched socks anyways!

But wait-that's not all! Below, you will see a mere six different socks I started...I think I need to reward anyone who has made it this far through this post! A spontaneous contest, if you will! Prize-hmmm...obviously it would have to be sock yarn, since that is what I have tons of and can spare a skein of! (And since I was just having a discussion about my abundance of Fleece Artist, perhaps it shall be one of those...?) Name the yarn and sock pattern! The winner will be whoever gets them all correct (or the most correct). If there is a tie, I will draw names. Let's see...I will give 'til December 1, how's that sound? I think the majority can be figured out from this blog...so GO FOR IT!!!



I think I mentioned starting the Waterfall socks, right? Here is the first, only I had to stop so that I could start some felted slippers for a Secret Santa swap my quilt group is doing.

And to end with a positive note, I wouldn't be starting so much if it weren't for...

FINISHED OBJECTS!

Proof of the finished Lenores...(yeah, yeah...I know I already showed ya!)

Solstice Slip socks completed! (and pictured alone this time!)
And look-I redeemed myself and did complete a Baby Sky sock on the second go-round! Too fun!

And FINALLY...(guess this will be my PIF post, too, while I'm at it!)

I saw that Spin Bunny (Burried in Fiber) and I have a mutual friend at Ravelry. So while checking out the site, I came to her post: "Here's the blurb:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Ta-duh! I am now making that promise to the first three who respond! Reminder-it can be any handmade gift, so I am already meowing out in that it may not necessarily be knitting, though most likely will be. It will all be a surprise! I will contact you if you (make sure you let me know how to reach you) and will want to know favorite colors, hobbies, and anything interesting about yourself. If you've gotten this far-thanks for reading!

It's Twins!

I think I had been revealing my tendency towards meandering with my knitting projects. I think I had also mentioned how Nartian has been gently guiding me along the path of Lenore completion.

Well guess what? I get a message from her on my voicemail this morning that she had finished her Lenore-LAST NIGHT!!! Holy Crapola! So I encourage her to skip out on her afternoon workout and knit with me cuz I then knew that it was all about getting my task completed. That Nartian is such the good Project Manager/Engineer! I think she couldn't help but keep me on task!

So guess what? By the end of lunch break, we were able to do our planned matching sets pic!

Behold...Lenore x 2! (Or is it 2(Lenore x 2))? ...


Mine are the short pudgie feet on the left...

I've said it before, I'll say it again...Happiness is having Knitting Buddies! (or was it, "If you don't have a knitting buddy, GET ONE!"?)

Can these yarns look any more alike?!

Now, let me first say that I did NOT buy the same colorways! (Well, the 2 skeins of Koigu PPPM are supposed to be the same colorway, but the Ruby Sapphire...well, it is a different colorway!)

But just look at them side-by-side...

Actually, if you blow up the pic, you can see more raspberry/magenta in the RubySapphire yarn vs. the KPPPM with a more reddish highlight. On the left is RubySapphire sock yarn in the "Atticus" colorway. The other two smaller skeins are the Koigu PPPM, colorway P324/60.

Oh! And I believe I neglected to post a pic of this yarn that I saw the other day at Article Pract...
but there were only single skeins of the colors I liked, so I was good and passed them up! Of course, I go back a couple of days later and lo and behold...they had multiple skeins in many of the colors I liked! So what's a knitter to do? Had to buy three of these puppies!


This is Hacho 100% Hand Dyed Merino Wool, spun in Peru. The colorway is Coral Reef, and by purchasing this yarn, I 'm supporting the Peruvian Highland shepherds' kids and a portion of my purchase is "dedicated directly to the funding of a school in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno." Sounds like a perfect reason to buy this, don't you think?

And guess what came in the mail yesterday?!...

WoolGirl Sock Club shipment #2!!! Jen put together a fantastic club shipment!

Here it is, unwrapped! This shipment really is fabulous! I had not expected so many goodies, even though the first kit was so sensational. I figured it was the start of the club and that (though we would be getting 'extras' with the kit), the following kit 'extras' would be limited to one small item. As you can see, I underestimated Jen's generosity! In addition to the sock yarn, coordinating stitch marker and pattern, we also got tea with honey sticks, lavendar scented soap, and a card with attached magnet-all fitting the Ireland kit theme! The pattern is called "Irish Dreams" and the kit was packed in a theme-fitting mossy green tissue paper, too! I just love details!

And a close-up of the yarn, Spunky Ecclectic's Supernova in "Irish Dreams" colorway. It is actually more green in person-I think my flash washed out the varying shades of green and the oranges. It is gorgeous and the colors all blend together much better than how it looks here.

So all I can say is that I love this club and signed up for the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club that WoolGirl is putting together with Lisuu. I'll definitely renew this sock club, too! And, of course, I have already renewed my STR club for next year! Too fun!

So I'm plugging away on my second Lenore, though I will confess to having started my Waterfall sock from the first Woolgirl sock club shipment. It was just too tempting for me! Nartian is trying to keep me on task, encouraging me to work on the Lenore so I can finish it this week and we can then post our two pair together! I have to admit that that would be fun and it is keeping me a bit more dedicated to the cause! So in the long-run, I will have Stilaholic Nartian to thank for a finished pair of Lenores and IrishGirlie to thank for a finished pair of Cedar Creeks! Um, yeah...guess I'd better make finishing the toe decreases on those Cedar Creeks the next order of business!

I've got more to blog about, but better end this for now. Coming soon...my PIF post! Stay tuned!

Yeah, I joined a Muppet group...

You Are Gonzo the Great

"Is something burning in here? Oh, it's just me." You're a total nutball who will do anything for attention. The first to take a dare, you'll pull almost any stunt. You're one weird looking creature, but your chickens don't mind!

The'>http://www.blogthings.com/themuppetpersonalitytest/">The Muppet Personality Test

OK, sometimes even I have to question my enthusiasm towards things. Like joining the Muppet knitting group over at Ravelry, for instance! But hey-I saw Kermie, I clicked, I even posted! I guess I still can't get Jim Henson and his muppets out of my system! Must've been some subtle brainwashing going on

Proof of FOs

I hereby offer pictoral proof of 1 1/2 pairs of socks FINISHED! The Solstice Slip socks (yes, done in the prescribed "Firebird" colorway...) and ONE Lenore sock have been completed!

I was just telling Nartian earlier today how having these done makes me want to push through the Cedar Creeks as they are-no frogging! Afterall, if IrishGirlie can have two socks, different sizes, why can't I have a second pair of unmatched socks?

In my Cedar Creed socks case, they wouldn't so much be mismatched in stitch patterning and fit, but it's the idea that one is a whole 4 stitches (as I recall...) smaller and looks it! The difference in fit won't bother me. I'm so anxious to have a total of THREE new pairs of socks, that I'm thinking I wanna do it!-lol!

BTW, a friend of mine had to point out that one Solstice Slip is larger than the other. I don't care. It's not a super huge difference-it's just that one is knit a tad bit tighter than the other. I know the number of repeats match up, so I figure it will all even out in the long-run. It's not obvious to me.

On to continue my trek through my second Lenore, since I've postponed my next meeting with Gingerbread Dude til they are done...Alas, the affair has been suspended until Lenore is complete! Gingerbread Dude patiently awaits my return to him.

Hannah Montana and the Stash Enhancement Excursion!

Well it seems that there can be rewards for being the crazy PTA mom! Our principal got tickets to the Hannah Montana (spelling?) concert, so I get to be the most awesome Auntie because I scored two of these puppies up for my cousin's daughter! The principal got the tickets on short notice, so he decided to give them out as appreciation to the active families in the school.

My cousin's daughther was surprised with the outting, and my cousin brought Lil' Emperor to the Bay Area Discovery Museum so he could see the "Clifford" (the big red dog) exhibit-of much more interest to him than seeing Hannah Montana. Funny, cuz these tickets are supposedly so highly-prized, yet among our PTA, none of us really have kids interested in going! And it's not because we all have boys!

So-on to knitting! Kinda. Well, mostly about yarn, since I seem to purchase more than I consume! The good news on the knitting front is that I am two kitchenered toes away from a PAIR of Solstice Slip socks! I also have one completed Lenore! YAY, ME!!! (pics next time...) Meanwhile, a recent trip to my LYS (ImagiKnit) resulted in the purchase of this...

A miscellaneous assortment of single skeins (extra fine merino, baby cotton stuff, "PJs" (like cut up pajama fleece which seemed so nice and soft and baby things-worthy...) as well as a skein of sock yarn (I think this one is called "Ranca") and some (four) skeins of merino Optim from Cameleon Colorworks (thanks to the enabling from Nartian!)

Shall we discuss the enabling thing for a bit?

Well, it seems that Nartian is aware that it may be a bit difficult to get any Cameleon Colorworks and that I had just scored some up at ImagiKnit. She mentioned that if I happened to go there, that she would perhaps like me to pick some up for her. So being the *good friend* that I am, I made the sacrifice of stopping by there (yet again) this week (Saturday) to see what they had in stock.

I arrived at ImagiKnit, but alas, the sock yarn was no longer layed out on the table by the front door. The lovely Jenn (a bud who works there, who I had first met at Maker Faire months before her landing a job at ImagiKnit) pointed me in the right direction. Four skeins of sock yarn left! I quick-called Nartian (what would we do without cell phones?!) to fill her in on the options. I was focused on socks, got the skein she "needed", when my eyes fell upon a bowl full of stuff with Cameleon Colorworks labels on them! It was some of the Optim Merino I had read that the dyer was so fond of! What could I do, but place yet another call to Nartian to fill her in on more Cameleon Colorwork options!

What I thought were several "orphan" skeins, ended up being the traditional single colorway "there's-more-in-the-back" display that ImagiKnit typically does! So Nartian instructs me to purchase not just two, but four skeins of Peacock (I ought to photograph those, too, the colors are so gorgeous!) which (now here is where the story circles back to me...) then inspires me to purchase FOUR skeins of Flamingo for me!

Ah, yes...who was enabling who that day?

Pictures, cuz I said I would!

OK, so I had some of my pics on a different computer! I'm posting some to share...

I seem to be having blog problems (yes, again, if you can believe it...I know, must be me, since it happens so often!) Oh well...So you have to look back up to see what I'm talking about!

So the top is a swatch of Gingerbread Dude, a new Blue Moon Fiber Arts colorway love of mine! I'm trying to decide which I like best. The first, is (hard to see, I know...) a twisted stitch column with a k2 column. The second pic (and yes, also difficult to see...) are three more samples (from top down): 1) a K2, P1 rib with white stiches purled to 'pop' them out, 2) plain stockinette with white stitches purled to 'pop' them out, and 3) an 'embossed diamond' pattern .
The swatch is approximately 24-30 stitches wide, so the white would only run at the most, 1/2 way around the sock (so I don't foresee the portions of the swatch ever showing 2 white rows stacked, though what do I know? Could happen!) Anyway, I am so excited to knit this stuff up, but I need to finish Solstice Slips and the Lenores I just started!

Last, the Dream Swatch in progress...the handspun is much fluffier other yarns I've seen used for this. Maybe after I block it, the dropped/crossed stitches will stretch out a bit more. Kinda fun to see my handspun stuff actually turning into a project!

STR--SPOILER, if you worry about these things!

I think that by now, many of you realize that I really don't care about "spoilers" and, in fact, LOVE seeing spoilers! I guess I'm in a nice mood and decided to put a warning ahead of time for the latest STR kit...just in case...(Actually, I guess I usually have no regard for that since this is not a big ol' high-volume, popularly read blog-LOL!





Anyways, I got my most-awesome BMFA Rockin' Sock Club kit on Friday, after pulling an 'all nighter' with LE's costume and proceeding to work/organize the school Fall Festival. What a wonderful package to come home to! I had been so busy that I had even forgotten that it ought to be there!





I loved this kit and the pattern sooooo much that, well...I CO yesterday and am almost 1/2 way through a cuff! I did pick up the Solstice Slip sock for a bit, as well, but I reaaaaallllly love this new kit! So...the pic of my progress is posted below...








and to make extra-sure I am not 'spoiling', I will continue my post to further push the pic down!





I got the kit and photographed it. As of Saturday night, I was contemplating swatching my Gingerbread Dude, starting the new kit, and continuing on with my scarf I started with my handspun merino/silk I had gotten a while back. I'll have to post and show those later because I am so pleased with the merino/silk scarf!





You see, a while back, I had purchased this lovely fiber from Purlescence, dyed by Chasing Rainbows. I made the(what is now my common) mistake of purchasing only one skein, so ended up with around 160-180 yds. I pondered what to do with it. Nartian had suggested a Calorimetry, but I felt the silk might not keep the stretch as well and was maybe too nice for a Calorimetry. The other night, while digging through my patterns, I found the Dream Swatch pattern! I had seen IrishGirlie's knit up and thought it was so cute! Here's the crazy thing: in looking up the specific link to IrishGirlie's Dream Swatch, I had actually commented how cute her's was and even referenced my Chasing Rainbows roving. At the time I really didn't think I'd be using it for the Dream Swatch, so it must have really been meant to be, cuz it just came to me and I had forgotten I had mildly considered the pattern in the past! All I can say is I'm such a big dork (does that word date me?!-LOL)! So...there ya go! I started knitting up my merino/silk into a Dream Swatch! I altered the pattern to add a repeat and knit on smaller needles for the end, then decreased to the regular pattern. I had been trying to find a lacy pattern to make that would help stretch the yardage. So...I shall post the pic when I get the chance!





Fun thing #2: I did swatch my Gingerbread Dude and it is absolutely INCREDIBLE! I absolutely (in the most yarny-est way that we knitters do) LOVE this colorway! It is even better than I had imagined it would knit-up! The white offers such a high contrast that I was hoping it wouldn't be too obnoxious of a contrast. Well it isn't! It is so subtle and so...well, "Icing-ish"! It really just pops out in small spurts-just like-well..., like- icing on gingerbread! (Doh!) The brown and red in the yarn mix into a gorgeous gingerbready-background for the 'white icing' to ice over every so often. So I swatched a few possibilities and will post them later-too much fun!

So now for my latest WIP ...

(aka: the October BMFA Rockin' Sock Club Kit...)

...

the start of my Lenore socks!

.

.

.

.

ta-duh!

(yeah, at it again...keep your fingers crossed that it is the start of a FO, not an UFO!)

A "doh!" (slaps the forehead) Moment!

My Blog-free reader, Terry, advised about using plain old white tissue paper when LE's costume-specifically, the nightmare fabric... I'm so lame I hadn't thought about the possibility of using the plain white stuff-I had dismissed tissue paper because I lacked motivation to go find the stuff! And here I have a bunch (read: COSTCO!) of this stuff at home! Thanks for the recommendation, Terry!

Another 'duh'-I just found my 'walking' machine foot I use (ha! *bought* to *use*) for quilting and read in the instructions that it is good to use for stretch knits! At least I had the inkling to pull the the instructions out with that thought in the back of mind!

Of course, similar to Alfredo's comment in Cinema Paradiso (my favorite Italian movie!), "Ah, progress comes too late!", I read this now, but the pants are now done! At least I can use the advice on the rest of the costume: helmet liner, boots/feet and cuffs!

Thanks, Terry! And thanks to you and IrishGirlie for your support and encouragement! Really, though, the costume is quite lopsided and embarassing to post! LE is still young enough that he won't notice or care! Once it is on, no one will know...(I hope!)

What's going on?!

YIKES! I thought that my blog was being held hostage again by the posting police, but apparently not so! I can access stuff through the main website address; it seems that my shortcut links aren't working. Hmmm...go figure, cuz I can't!

Very little knitting going on. I guess cuz I'm just slow. Or maybe it's that the majority of my free time has been sucked up with preparations for Little Emperor's school's Fall festival! I'm actually supposed to be working on his costume as I write this, so I guess I'd better hurry and post. Of course, it doesn't help that just trying to figure out this blasted posting issue sucked up a bunch of time. Oh, and photosharing my reunion pics with the other attendees wasn't a quick feat, either. Oh well...here it is, 10:37pm and I am fearing for my sleep over the next few days!

So what time I've had to knit has been devoted to the Solstice Slip socks. Please tell me they look like I've progressed since the last I posted them! One is ready for the toe decreases and the other is just starting the foot. Behind them is a Crystal Palace "Splash" scarf for my mom's cousin who's birthday celebration is approaching. Another quickie gift from the stash, though this yarn was going to be a scarf for me...

Off to work on the costume-from-hell. Did I talk about it? Like, for instance, the fact that the pattern calls for a stretch fabric? I'm adapting this metallic lamme spacesuit costume pattern to "Duck Dodgers", so I decided that despite the fact I wouldn't be using a stretch lamme, I still needed to go 'stretchy'. I ended up with a stretchy, SLIPPERY fabric (those of you old enough may recall 'quiana' fabric? ok, maybe not quite as bad maybe, but close!) Suffice it to say that this fabric is slippery, stretchy (oh-so-stretchy), with quite a bit of drape. Those of you who sew can appreciate the pains I am going through! Cutting was a pain. Marking the fabric a BIG pain. Sewing-nearly intolerable, but barely. The top is done, pants to go, as well as the 'helmet liner', gloves, boots, and an alteration to the top, if time permits! Don't think I'm a great sewer, ok? I'm nuts to have chosen this fabric!

Festive!

OK, I can't figure out why this is automatically underlining and I can't figure out how to fix it! I'll try to make this a bit more brief, since this is gonna drive me nuts!

Nartian and I met at Purlescence on Saturday to help celebrate their 1st Birthday! Check out the blog and you can see me and Nartian in our Ribby Pullis!


And of course, no visit to Purlescence is complete without some sort of Stash Enhancement! Once I spotted the Dream in Color Smooshy, it was all over for me! The Little Flowers and ebony glove needles were on sale-40% off! Can't pass that up! And well...there was this gorgissimo Zitron pencil roving, which I think I should have purchased a second of! Thanks to Nartian and her Monkey1, I chose a lovely burgundy colorway...Oh yeah, and they had some lovely Jitterbug "velvet" colorways, so how could I pass up the much longed-for "Leaf" colorway?
I think I had mentioned that costumes were roaming around in my mind. Despite the fact that I have only cut Little Emperor's costume fabric out, and not sewn one stitch, here is the pile of fabric and lovelies that I wanted to turn into my Elven Queen court dress. (With my semi-pointy ears, I have always fancied myself a fairy elf of sorts...)

Needless to say, with all the fall festival activities fast approaching and Little Emps' costume still not finished, I think this will have to be a future costume!

Right on time for YPF!

Ta-Duh! It's my latest Simply Socks Yarn Co. club shipment! Here is our special edition colorway of Dream in Color Smooshy in BROUHAHA!




I placed it under my "Ott" light, since it is quite late in the evening-no natural light! The typical chocolate brown and pink club tissue paper looks a bit bleached out, but the colors of the Smooshy look pretty good in this pic. I think you can see alot of the colors that are blended in to this special edition colorway. AWESOME! To buy an additional skein or not? Hmmmm...tempting!

Alas, my Ruffled Roses scarf is finished. But not quite! Turns out it is too short; probably by about 3-4 inches. I can fit it around my neck, as prescribed (the fold in half, tuck ends through trick), but it is snug and doesn't lay properly. I guess I will have the opportunity to practice grafting the ribbing again! But first, to unweave the end, get the halves back on holders and buy another skein of yarn! Darn! I'll have to go back to ImaginKnit!

Not much new around here...

Only the lightbulb moment of how wonderful these stickers with binder holes on the side are! I think they are "Hippopotomus" brand stickers and I have purchased them here and there for years. And I have always been aware of the holes on the side and the possibility of getting a binder in which to store them and organize them, but somehow today, it seems like such a great idea! So much greater than when I first thought about them...hmmm...maybe I am tired! Maybe I'm just realizing how hard it has been to store and organize stickers in general and though this method works only for their stickers, at least all the Hippopotomus stickers can be organized! (Yes, slow knitting news day here-lol!)

But I thought I'd at least share the Rivendell sock kit I got. So, behold the Rivendell sock kit:

The yarn label had no name on it, and it is a very natural color, with very pale brown and blue in it. I really doubt it is the same colorway shown in the pattern, which seems to have more pink, purple and green blushes to it. No matter. It'll work. I may use the "Purple Rain" Cameleon Colorworks yarn I got from ImagiKnit the other week, though it is a merino tencel, so I must think more about it...

I think knitting will be at a slower pace these days, since I am now tied up with Little Emperor's Halloween costume (Duck Dodgers) and perhaps one for myself! Of course, there is also the school Fall Festival coming up that I will be working on, too. Luckily, knitting is portable and I can spend little spurts of time on...I'm not thinking big here on the knitting front for the next month, though...

Sunday Knitting...

I'm still plugging away at the Ruffled Roses scarf and brought it out for a bit of KIP. Here is my 'purse', working on the scarf...

Admittedly, I'm crazy enough (eccentric, even...) to use this for my purse, but let me tell ya-when you have to report it missing, even I was feeling a bit silly having to tell another grown woman "I lost my purse. Er, well, not exactly a purse...more like a lunch bag. Shaped like a monkey. You know-the bag-shaped nylon lunch bags, only it's shaped like a monkey. Only I'm using it for a purse. It has my car keys in it. And my money."...And even at an Asian-oriented cutesey-filled craft show, I have to admit I felt a bit silly...Yeah, that was my day yesterday as I finished my shopping spree at a craft show, got in line to pay, and realized it was missing. Missing for a good 1 1/2 hours. I was 40 miles from home with my friend; I'd driven. We looked all over for this. Of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, once I had called to have my keys driven to me, it turned up within 5 minutes! Yet, I digress...

So I was at the Presidio Main Post, sitting at a nice picnic table, eating our bad-for-you food and knitting. Turns out it was a great place to view the Blue Angels who are in town for Fleet Week!

This is about the best pic I could come up with to share...

The Campanulas haven't been out. I sent in my renewal for next year's BMFA Socks that Rock club and I just received my Rivendell sock kit order from Cameleon Colorworks! Besides the small progress on the Ruffled Roses, I have gotten to the heel flaps (I'm parting from the short-row heel design of the pattern) on both socks. So one heel flap is in progress. So not much going on in my little knitting world, though I am looking forward to going to Purlescence for their 1 year anniversary party-they will be having a Ribby Pulli group picture, so Nartian and I are up for that! I actually resisted a LYS closing in Lafayette, though Nartian updated me on that. Hey-no knitting, no yarn purchasing! For now, at least! ;) I'll try and get the Rivendell kit posted...