And sometimes a break from lace...

is just what we need!

Funny, because I had just read a message from my camp pal, Happy Stasher, telling me that she was taking a break from her Mystery Stole 4 and working on some double-stranded, size 13 needle slippers! And wouldn't you know...I had just cast on a baby hat for one of the new (well, maybe not-so-new since they have already outgrown their baby hats I made them!) babies. Then I see Nartian, who admits to me that she had cast on a cabled baby hat last night, too!

Though not at the same parts in our stoles, I think we are all at the point in the KALs where we are needing a bit of a breather-and a tad faster pace!

So here is the cabled baby hat I'm working on...
I think with all this talk of holiday knitting, I was starting to feel antsy and wanted to get a jump-start.

Sometimes it's not ALL about knitting!

So I'm sure there are some of you out there who are like me and start stuff like this...

and well...maybe it just doesn't get completed?! And...maybe you don't quite know what happened to the patterns/instructions?

Yeah, well...I just resurrected this and from what I recall, it was VERY close to being finished! I think it is a bracelet and I was on the last portion. I also think I can probably figure out the last portion to finish it, but will have to either find the instructions for the clasp portion or wing it. It was a pattern from a 'Bead' magazine I bought a while back and I'm pretty sure it will turn up...

And speaking of BEADS...as you all know, the projects have been all about beads these days with the Mystery Stole 4 and Secret of the Stole iii KALs well underway.

I am happy to be able to show you two finished clues:

Secret of the Stole III is now completed through Clue 2. There are now 6 clues that have been released, so I am now 4 clues behind! Oh well...I will plug on!

Mystery Stole 4 is coming along. I am not thrilled with the laciness and think I should have done a smaller gauge, but long ago, I had decided I would not frog. I'm sure I will still be happy with this once it is completed, and I am getting more used of this tiny-thin yarn knit at this larger gauge, so at least that part's gotten better.

And now, after a school picnic at the park, I'm tired and am thinking 'nap' more than 'knit'...I'm dying to continue on my stoles, but I think the nap is going to win out! Besides, I really should be doing housework!

Yesterday morning was spent at the beach participating in Beach Clean Up day with Lil' Emp's school, then off to take care of some business in Vacaville (and hour and a half drive from here), then on to Sacramento (another 1/2 hour-45 minutes drive) for a visit/dinner with relatives. We made it back home at midnight. The good thing about long drives where I'm not doing the driving is that I got some knitting done! The bad thing about being away so long is that I have all the house stuff to continue to attempt to catch up on! But like I said...the nap is winning out at this point! ;)

Yarn Pr0n Friday filled with PRIDE!

Yep! That would be my latest Seven Deadly S(p)ins shipment-PRIDE! And look how gorgeous this kit is! FOUR gradated skeins of Unique Sheep "Luxe" (75/25 superwash merino/silk light fingering weight) : Pride 1, 2, 3 and 4! The pattern is a shawl designed by Merike Saarniit called "Syncopated Lace". Not just a pattern, but also included are the lace charts and color changing instructions. Looks pretty intimidating to me...

I also received a plastic pouch, a retractable brush, stitch markers, candies, and a 15% off Unique Sheep coupon from WoolGirl Jen!

So I am still on spending hiatus, but that doesn't stop any of my pre-0rdered kits! I also received a late birthday gift from a friend-another LYS gift certificate! YAY! (Yes, a BMFA gift certificate would have been even more coveted, but hey, I can't ask for the world! I'm just appreciative of her thoughtfulness and well...I can't expect a knitting neophyte to know about BMFA, now can I?)

So...yet another project to add to the cue. Dying to do that cute Sloth hat from last shipment, but with all my other projects I have going...well...you know...I probably have to start posting "what I didn't cast on" photos akin to my past 'what I didn't buy' photos!

Carefree Holiday-or not-KAL!!!

Come join the fun! I just joined this KAL where we will be sharing our holiday knitting and entering contests for some fun Crystal Palace Yarn-so go check it out NOW since participation is limited to the first 100 persons to sign up!

http://carefreeholiday-ornot-kal.blogspot.com/

"How to join the KAL
E-mail Laura --- proflaura at firststepinternet dot com --- for an invite to join the blog"

Thought I'd share the love (thanks, Adrienne--yeah, you thought you'd get me moving on knitting up some of my stash, huh?) Hope to see you guys there!

Today, a color theme...

can you see it? And even the cute lil' "Harajuku Girls" bag that Purple Rain Knitter gave me matches the theme!
It's all about green! These three projects are the projects du jour, and probably of the week...I'm barely half way through the first clue for Mystery Stole 4. Carmen still has a ways to go. And--what's this? A sock? Now where did that come from? Certainly I couldn't be starting another sock?! ;)

Truth be told, I am starting another sock! Accidental, really...You see, I was admiring the Grace Note socks on Ravelry; the pattern isn't released yet. The author sent me the draft version, so I decided that I'd better knit it up now so that I can properly thank her for the pattern and give her some input. So that's my story. And I'm sticking to it! Yarn? Socks that Rock medium weight in Falcon's Eye.

The Insanity has Begun!

The insanity, that is, Mystery Stole 4! Nartian had her Clue 1 well underway when we got together to knit this afternoon. I had come to a screaching halt on my SSiii when I found an extra stitch and tried to fix that one area without frogging. I may have to frog, but it sits for now.

I finished knitting up the one skein of Silky Wool for Carmen, then couldn't remember where the rest of the yarn was! So that project stopped on Saturday. But alas, I found the rest of the yarn and wound the other 4 skeins and am good to go.

So back to the Mystery Stole 4. I was too lazy to continue swatching my pathetic red Cashwool, since I had dragged it around in my bag, it had fallen off the needles and it was looking pretty hopeless. But I wanted to see if the Olive Gold-lined crystal beads would work with the red. The silver-lined light grey probaby would have been nice, too. But THEN Nartian noticed how nice the Olive Gold-lined looked with the "Wet Stone" colorway of Yarn Place "Gentle". Me being the olivey-greeny lover I am, I must confess it took little to steer my course right to that combo!

Though difficult to detect, there are beads on this swatch! The topaz were too warm/orangey, while the silver-lined Rosaline worked well...

So it has started, though I'm barely into Clue 1! And SSiii is on a little time-out.

And so I ended up with this! Talk about 'Mystery'-my yarn and bead choices were literally a mystery to me for the longest time, try as I may to swatch and plan it out a bit!

And what have I been doing lately, rather than accomplishing more than this with my knitting? Dare I say, I've been all absorbed in the election! Obsessed almost, though I have curbed myself a bit! I'm just thinking that with being PTA President and having started a non-profit and being Executive Director of the College of Business Intership Bureau at San Diego State for a year...heck! I should've run for President! What's WRONG with me??? Shall I go for Governor?

OK, I'll stop. I'm a mess!

Illegal Cast-On!

I know, I've said before that I'm only allowing new CO projects if they are part of my gift-giving intentions! But...I bought this pattern, had the yarn back-0rdered for months, and when I finally got the yarn, I couldn't find the pattern! So I just found my pattern the other day and couldn't resist! Psychologically, I seem to believe it is a 'quick knit', requiring only 5 skeins of yarn. It detracted from my SSiii knitting yesterday, but my justification (as if my Plain Vanilla socks don't fill this bill!) is that it is a non-thinking, quick, mostly stockinette project! So far, it seems there is a weird error in the beginning (row 5 or somewhere abouts) that I will need to have Nartian examine with me tomorrow. But for now, I pushed through anyway and figure it is minor enough that I can fix it later. But the further forward I go, the more of a PITA it will be to fix, so I am back at the SSiii for now.

I am past Clue 1 and about 10 rows into Clue 2. Below is my SSiii up to Clue 1...

And I neglected to show the Sweet Baby Cap I had finished knitting a while ago. It was officially finished yesterday when I added the i-cord.

Side view, no i-cord...

Front view, post i-cord, being modeled by the recipient's cousin who will deliver the gift to his cousin for me! It's a bit big and is more of a toddler-sized hat. The model is 5 months old, born on April Fool's Day!

Details (geez, I need to go copy this format from IrishGirlie or Nartian!):
Pattern: Sweet Baby Cap
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks that RockHeavyweight-Tlingit (leftover from the Forest Canapy, used for the beginning edging and i-cord), Jasper and Rare Gems (blue, green, browns, burgundy...)
Needles: Size 3 circs
Mods: though the pattern instructs to change yarn every 2 rows, it is really a pattern most people make their own choices on where an when to change colors and not even all the pics for the pattern follow this striping pattern-so really, though my striping did not change every two rows, I would say it wasn't much of a "mod"
Size: 6 mo., but this yarn is a nice, thick yarn and knit up at a slightly larger gauge and as you can see, would probably be more of a 9 mo-1 year size.

On on to a random thought...If Brain Age training is supposed to help my memory, and if I just scored an age 24 the other night (age 20 is the best and lowest age you can get...)...why did I forget I was steaming corn and still not remember even when I could smell the faint burning of the bottom of the pan?!

A plug...

I've been following some of the Rav posts for the SSiii KAL; in particular, the Turtle Club and other such threads celebrating the joys of not being anywhere near on-task with this KAL! As us Ravelers know, reading one item leads to another and so on...one of my fellow SSiii KAL members had this posted on her blog, so I thought I'd share (ETA: after posting, I saw that Lisa's write up said we have until August 31, 2008 and thought I was a dork for posting past deadline! Then I realized that August 31 is the deadline for submitting storys, not for voting...):

http://job2310.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/help-a-friend-of-mine/

I figured if you are so willing to help out this woman in some small way, wouldn't it be nice? Apparently this friend of her friend has a terminal brain tumor and her sister submitted her story for consideration for a small home remodel. She actually has quite a few votes as I write (150, as opposed to 7 when she first requested support for her story).

Admittedly, I read a few other stories and there are soooo many others who also have good cases for support. Check it out and if you are so inclined, go through the steps to support her or someone else you feel is deserving. (ETA: And the good news? You can only vote once per story, but can vote on other people you feel are most deserving! :) )

Just a plug. Hope to get a post up with some knitting content, but hey-this is knitting-related sorta...

No Knitting tonight!

Just a few pics!

Yesterday, Lil Emp and I took a walk to the beach!

He played in the sand and this was our view...
Kinda dumb that we don't walk down that way often, huh? Would you believe it really is about a 15 minute walk from our home?

And my dear bud, brought me out for a belated birthday dinner to the House of Prime Rib! A classic, but I must say, veeeerrrry bad on the WW program! I mean, I'm supposed to have 'rehearsed' going there, what I'd order and what I'd do...but guess what?

There was no rehearsing! Only a Tenessee Tea (Jack Daniels, Amaretto and Pineapple Juice) and wine on top of -what else?-PRlME RIB! Seconds on the creamed spinach-no seconds on the meat!
But come on-with an atmosphere like this? How could I resist?!

I know I have so many other things to get done right now-among them, an informational 'brochure' for tomorrow's "New Parent Orientation" at school! Yeah, nothing like the last minute! I'm proud to say that I did get the "Welcome Letter" done, though...Yeah, the life of a PTA President!

But look-I finally got the second "Joe Cool" sock done and now have a PAIR!!! They are sooo cute on Lil'Emp, 'cept for one thing...he says they are 'scratchy'! He only put them on so I could take this picture, and proceeded to wiggle around in them-I had to take maybe 8 shots just to get this one-he kept moving, putting his hand into the picture, etc...

It's a good thing I didn't bother knitting "Pikachu" heads (yes, Pokemon) to use as 'tassels' for his mini Malabrigo loafers, cuz he seems to think those are 'scratchy', too!

I SWEAR this is the last time, but I will probably try one more mini-malabrigo loafers for him using STR doubled. If he finds those 'scratchy', I give up!

And here is what I tossed in the steamer quickly on Tuesday night:This poor yarn had sat, damp, in a plastic bag waiting to be dyed. I wasn't getting around to it and decided I'd experiment with a 'semi-solid'. Using some dye I had gotten a while ago from KnitPicks in Mulberry, I mixed some up, trying for a smaller quantity for a lighter shade and basically tossed it into the bag with the skeins and tried to work the dye into the yarn. Overall, I think I like it!

Better go-everything else calls!

Can I start the stole already?!

Apparently not, since I only finished swatching today, having decided the Habu might not be such a good idea! So Motley Hue it is for the SSiii. I was flip-flopping on the bead choice, but I am pretty sure (well, I guess I am 'sure', since I just ordered the rest of the beads) I'm going with the Colonial Grey-lined crystal.

I pulled out the Silver-lined Rosaline 8/0 beads I had purchased for the MS4 and guess what? I think they may work with my now RED Mystery Stole 4!

I bought the appropriate sized crochet hook that will fit the 8/0 beads, so I am set to swatch AGAIN for MS4! Uh...except I still need to wind the new yarn!

Meanwhile, SSiii swatches are washed and laying out to dry.

Above is the fabric I settled on. Well...sorta. I went up to size 5 needles for this swatch and was too lazy to do a whole nother swatch with size 6, so I finished the top portion (the last 10 or so rows after the last beaded row) using my size 6 Addi lace needles. You can hardly detect them, but this whole swatch has the Orchid-lined crystal beads attached.

Here's the swatch I did with the size 2 needles; the top portion has the Colonial Grey-lined crystal beads attached. I decided this fabric is tighter than I preferred.

Here, I was trying to show a side-by-side comparison of the two beads. Clearly the Colonia-Grey shows up much more in the photos. The funny thing with transluscent beads is that so much depends on lighting! In real-life, the Orchid-lined beads seem much more visible. But still, I'm going with the subtler Colonial grey...

OK, maybe this wasn't the best idea (you know, the laziness size 6 needle idea...) and you can't see much difference; but regardless, what do you think? Size 5 needles (bottom 9/10 of the swatch) or 6 (top 1/10 of the swatch)? (All shown on the first swatch)...

Must be I'm focused!

Phew! With my parents' surprise 75th Birthdays Lunch behind me, I am wiped out! During a time of brief moderate sanity (moderate, I say, as I actually contemplated participating in the Ravelympics and brief because shortly thereafter came the insanity of the thinking I'm doing both shawl KALs...), I had decided I would NOT be participating in the Ravelympics on Team Blue Moon when I realized the planning of and this actual event fell at the same time. Probably a very wise idea...

But I am happy to report that the Central Air socks are now a pair!

And I have now finished Clue #3 of the Mystic Light Shawl. There are still 2 more clues to complete, and Secret of the Stole iii the begun! And I've not finished swatching with the Habu-possibly because I am realizing the error of my way in thinking that this was a good idea to knit something so big out of yarn so absolutely thin! But I need to figure this out soon!

I stretched out one half of the shawl on the clothesline. As always, not the best pic, but: 1) I live in the City; it is overcast today, 2) it has grown much bigger where the width exceeds the circ length, 3) I'm trying to give you an idea; I am not a photographer!, 4) You all loveses me anyways, right?! ;)

In the meantime, I got this out of hock at Article Pract!
They were able to look up my past gift certificate and I was able to use it to pay for this lovely skein of Yarn Place Gentle. The color is Wet Stone and it is a very dark, olivey-tealy green with a grey tone to it. I LOVE this and it seems to have a nice, tight twist to it. $20.25 for this 100g ball of 1380 yards! Not bad, huh? And I have $7.38 worth of credit remaining on my gift certificate! YAY, ME!!!

Now, off to go play me some BRAIN AGE cuz it taught me, "...knitting can activate your prefrontal cortex...Using both hands to create something can be a stimulating brain activity." Or maybe I should just go and...KNIT! ;)

Got me some lace!

Well, not exactly lace, but lace weight yarn! And at NO COST. In fact, I got back $1.78 in change! I made it over to Article Pract and found that they do, indeed, carry Cashwool. And I was able to find a beautiful cranberry red color. In addition, I was able to snag 2 cones of Habu in a gorgeous sage green color!

I loved the color of the Habu, but it is REALLY thin. I mean REALLY. THIN...Nartian suggested I swap out the BMFA Laci for the Habu; use the Habu for the SSiii since DK is using a fairly thin yarn for hers. I agree with that, so long as the Habu swatches up ok. It may drive me nuts to knit with in which case I can always carry it along with some other Habu for a lacey scarf or something if it doesn't work out. But I will swatch and see...

But for now, the results of the ssiii swatching:

Size 2 needles with Colonial Grey-lined crystal beads (I stupidly didn't realize I was supposed to add the beads as I went, so only ended up beading 2 of the 3 beaded rows...):
Then I realized I needed to go up a few sizes on the needles. I went up to a size 5 and tried out the Orchid-Lined crystal 6/0 beads:
I haven't completed this swatch, since I am now starting to swatch the green Habu so I can decide whether I need to switch this yarn out to use on the MS4. If not, I can use the Cashwool for the MS4 or (if I can find my other gift certificate for Article Pract) purchase this other lace yarn I found today--a gorgeous heathered greenish-teal color. It's on hold as I write! Keep your fingers crossed that I find that gift certificate!

Swatching, not Watching...

...the Olympics, that is! Never been very big on them except as a kid when I was into ice skating. But then, again, that would be the winter olympics!

Well, here is The Knittery lace in Moonlight. LOVE this colorway. Don't love how the lace is knitting up with it. The colorway is so incredible that it really competes with the lace patterning. LOVE the way it washed up and the feel of it, too! Oh well...

The good news is that if I decide not to purchase new yarn and continue on this attempt at insanity that is, the Mystery Stole 4 KAL, I still have other things to occupy my time. Like the Secret of the Stole iii, which I finally started to swatch for!

I'm further along that what is shown in this pic, and the beads above were placed on the swatch. I think I should have read up on the crochet hook beading method first, cuz then I would have realized I needed to hook the beads on as I went along! Oh well...I continue on the swatch and am this swatch will at least have the upper three bead rows with beads attached.

So far, I still can't tell which beads I like best. I'm now leaning towards the Colonial Gray-lined (the ones I have placed on the right side...). I will probably try going up a needle size or two and do a second swatch at which time I'll add the Orchid-lined crystal and see what the overall look is.

And while I'm discussing my swatching, let me add that working with the Laci so far is FABULOUS! It has a softness to it and good stretch! Me loveses it! But what else could I expect from a Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn?! Definitely less lofty than the Dream In Color Baby I'm using for the Mystic Lights shawl, but its smooshiness is much like that. And the hand is soooo soft! I'm sure the Baby will feel softer once washed, but the Laci already feels so soft knit up without washing! I'm no expert on lace, but so far, I have to say that this is a winner in my book!

Beads! Beads! More Beads! Cake!

I can't believe I FINALLY got the whole 1750 yards of Laci wound into a cake! And without the help of the Jumbo winder, since I had returned it and hadn't gotten around to borrowing it again! Nartian was right-go S L O W... And here it is!


I think alot of the driving force in finally getting this wound is that my beads arrived!

Above, Laci is shown with the three bead choices (left to right): Colonial Gray-lined Crystal, Orchid-lined Crystal, Gilt-lined Peach. Off the bat, I think a NO on the peach. The Silver-lined Rosaline is in the background and I think would be a lovely choice, except they didn't offer it in the 6/0 size. The ones in the background are supposed to be for the MS4 KAL and are size 8/0.

So now I REALLY have to swatch!

When Duty Calls, I Answer!

And that's why I ended up casting on yet another pair of socks! But look how awesome my Socks that Rock Blarney Stone is knitting up?!

This is the Sunshine Socks pattern from SockPixie that a friend of mine had done using a skein of STR in Purple Rain that I had given her as a consolation for the fact she had knit her brand new Shabui (a gorgeous CherryBlossom colorway-pink with flashes of lime green!) into Monkeys that only a small child would fit! And well...she has three boys! Three boys who are not of the petite variety!

Anyways, she knit this Sunshine Socks pattern up and the socks turned out gorgeous! Our other friend decided she would try out the pattern and found herself getting 5 remaining stitches from the original 70 stitch CO! So, being the helpful knitting pal I am, I told her I'd take a look at the pattern.

I looked. I counted. I didn't get it! Not even messing with it on an already in-progress sock! What was I to do? Only what any good Knitter would: I cast on so I could figure it out! And proceeded to get 2 remaining stitches after the first round! HUH??????????

So I even get KnittingGolfer Marcy to look at it, while at the same time getting on the 'hot line' to my Purple Rain knitting bud to review what I obviously must be getting wrong! Well...turns out there was nothing wrong with the pattern or with our interpretation! It was actually something I had kinda suspected from the get-go: we are more used of knitting with patterns whereas Purple Rain Knitter learned by doing under the supervision of her knitting aunt without patterns. Naturally, PRN followed the pattern, no problem, since she was actually FOLLOWING the pattern! We, on the other hand, probably leaped over a K2 or a P1 here and there resulting in the extra stitches at the end!

Long story longer, this is a great pattern! Especially for our lovely hand-dyed yarns. Just be veeerrry careful when running the first row-those K2's after K2tog with P1's scattered throughout can throw some of us more confident, (or shall I say, reckless-?) knitters! But really, once it gets going, it is awesome! and looks great!

And before allowing that to distract me from my housework and other knitting projects, I actually have an FO!

The pic is a bit bleached out, but this is my newly ungrafted, length extended, grafted back, end-woven-in and completed Ruffled Roses scarf! When I saw this scarf at Annie Modesitt's site, I thought it was so clever! She offers it to LYS for free* to encourage knitters to visit their LYS. I immediately contacted Allison at ImagiKnit and asked her to request it. Bought the yarn, did a pretty good job (cuz well, I can often not be very good at focus...) focusing on this project and finished it. Only to find it was a bit too short; well, actually, it was a bit strangling around the neck, to tell you the truth! Could I live with it? As much as I wanted to just 'live with it', I couldn't. Not if I valued my ability to breath! So it sat. And sat. And sat...Because face it-and I think you all know what I'm talking about!-when you feel like 'knitting', you feel like 'knitting' and this was not going to be 'knitting'. At least, not until I got the grafting undone-oh yeah, and did I mention that the ends had also already been woven in? Bottom line: the yardage of the two green skeins of yarn were obviously NOT enough for my fat neck-even having done an extra lace repeat of the reddish/brown color at the base! You could either: a) do as it says, if you have a slender neck or knit tighter, b) decrease the ribbing after the lace portion or c) buy extra yarn! d) utilize the proportions of colored yarns differently to avoid the 4th Misti Alpaca yarn skein purchase...

So there I sat last week with Nartian while we both enjoyed each other's company while performing 'knitting-related' drudgery tasks! She, seaming Monkey 1's fingering weight sweater; me, un-grafting, resetting stitches and lengthening the scarf! We were in hell, but we were together! And now our tasks are complete!

I kept my focus on the Central Air sock and the Mystic Light no-longer-KAL shawl (the one person on the Rav board I thought would be KAL with me had her KALs mixed up and is actually working on her MS3! But that's how I ended up joining MS4!-lol!) We may yet KAL together on the Mystic Light, afterall, I am that slow...yeah...more like CAL (crawl-a-long!)

I am happy to report that I have finished Clue 2 and have started Clue 3. And as much as I knew it was too good to be true and had pictures to lead me to conclude otherwise, I had been thinking there were only THREE clues!-HA! Who was I kidding? There are FIVE, People! FIVE CLUES! So I gues that maybe makes me at least 1/3 through?

When I finish Clue 3, I'll flash a new pic, cuz it isn't looking much different from the last pic at this point. But if you looked at the link above, it shows how the finished shawl is supposed to look. Let's hope I can be as good as Adrienne and finish it!

(*PS-Nartian told me there was some buzz about this pattern on Ravelry-seems some LYS had the nerve to sell this pattern to someone! Don't buy it-it is supposed to be offered for free through your LYS! They may require purchase, but they may not charge for it! Can you believe that?!)

Choices, and the possibility of a lone lace KAL!

I swatched the "The Knittery" Merino Lace Moonlight colorway for the Mystery Stole 4 KAL. Rather, I started to swatch. Here is how it looks thusfar, after 1 1/2 pattern repeats:



I'm thinking it is too variegated for this project! I will continue the rest of the repeats for the swatch, then block it for a final verdict.

In the meantime, I've been pondering what to do:

1) Not do the MS4 right away, thus postponing the yarn purchase (cost-$0.00)
2) Buy a second skein of this lace yarn I pulled from my stash (cost-~$15.00)
3) Buy enough lace yarn for this project from The Loopy Ewe with my $25 gift certificate (cost-~$50 less the $25 certificate+shipping=~$30)
4) Same as idea 3, only purchasing at Article Pract with a $30 gift certificate (cost ~$20.)
5) Shop for some cool new lace yarn (like perhaps 4 skeins of this?!) from somewhere (cost-$45-50)
6) Buy some BARE from Knitpicks and dye it myself (cost-$15 w/shipping)
7) Buy some undyed lace yarn at Dharma Trading Co. (cost-not sure, but I think they have some around $30; add gas and bridge toll of $5!)

As you can see, only option 1 is a zero cost proposition. Option 2 won't be more than $15 (I think they run $12 but the price could have gone up...). BUT...this assumes they have said yarn. And another thing to consider-no shipping and I could probably postpone the purchase until next month. And then, there is the risk that the dye lots may not be the same even if they DO have said yarn...Options 3 & 4 also assume that the said stores actually HAVE a lace yarn that will meet my requirements (light, non-variegated). Options 6 & 7 will take extra time to dye, but I know I can make a solid/semi-solid yarn that should work.

So my more practical, disciplined, knitting pal says, 'DON'T DO IT!!! DON'T BUY MORE YARN!!!'' (Yeah, definitely not of the same Knitter Species as many others of us are!) What can I say? She is much more practical-minded with her purchasing and she's not what I consider 'frugal'; just not the compulsive/emotional yarn purchaser I am...

So for now, I will endeavor to finish the MS4 swatch, then I'll post it and poll the rest of you for your input!!! As always, feel free to comment at any time-no need to wait for the big Swatch Post!

One hour...and a half!

...just to hand-ply this much skinny two-ply yarn!
and then, to wind it into its puny little skein...
The good news: I see progress! Below is all the handspun put together, compared to the roving that is left. Looks like it is almost finished! Well, maybe in this pic it only looks a little past 1/2 way, but remember, the stuff on the left is spun and denser; the stuff on the right has more air! I think I am at least 3/4 way there!
Why my little diversion this afternoon to spin, rather than knit?

Must be because I just got this from Nartian for my birthday!!! Thanks so much, Nartian!

It's a Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Sheep 2 Shoe" kit! And guess what the colorway is...?

PUCK'S MISCHIEF!!!

Biased as it may sound, I LOVE this colorway! If you just look at it, you can see why, so no, it is NOT because it happens to have been assigned the name suggestion I made long ago in a contest!

(NOTE: the above was started as an entry for Sunday, August 3; alas, Lil' Emp called me away to help him figure out how to find a "Lumineon" pokemon...yeah, duty called!)

Speaking of contests...

I have to say I'm kind of embarassed to admit to having won two more...

one, being the one over at Tina's Blog at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website! I received my Rare Gems the other day! It is very dark-almost a Ravenesque black, but extremely dark teal with streaks of natural color.


And look-a very slight hint of yellow!

The other contest was one that Raquel had at her blog, Rockinknit. And can you believe what she sent me for a prize?!

A tin of chocolate (dark! my fav!!!), a notepad, and yes-you are seeing this correctly--A $25 gift certificate to the LOOPY EWE!!!!!! I have heard many wonderful things about this on-line shop and haven't had a chance to order there yet, so now that I am on my yarn shopping hiatus, I can keep this for a guilt-free splurge into wonderful yarniness! The hard part will be deciding what to use it for! There are so many awesome indie yarns and gorgeous patterns at the site!

Thanks for a fun contest, Rocky! (I had guessed what she was knitting in the middle of the night on her lit knitting needles! She was making a knitted 'tag' for a tree in front of her house-too fun!-in honor of a group in Texas called "The Knittas". Yeah, in the middle of the night. Really. Using her light-up knitting needles! No one can say we knitters aren't motivated individuals now, can they?)

As an addage, Raquel and I were in Scout's dying workshop together and met through Marisol. Raquel has only been knitting since December and has been participating in Sock Wars, knitting fine lace scarves, socks...I swear, she's amazing--one of the 'naturals' at this craft!

So if you are still with me, a couple more things I've been working on...(yes, this long post is just for IrishGirlie!)...

I started a gift for a friend! Nicholas' Gloves using lightweight STR doubled. Colorway: Valkyrie.

Incredible as this may seem, I'm working on a second sock! These are the Central Air socks I started back in February using Spunky Eclectic's Super Sport in Route 66-the colorway is so NOT me, but I absolutely love it!

And look what I resurrected! It's the Mystic Light KAL shawl-I actually pulled this puppy out, finished Clue 1 and am 1/2 way through Clue 2! YAY ME!

Favorite details: the braid running down the center ...

and the cabled edging!

So I must admit that I had started this entry before my rant about crazy Shawl KALs that I am thinking I am actually going to participate in! Actually, I am going to attempt to KAL, just don't know if I can truly keep up!

And now, here are the lace yarns I'm planning on using...
for the Secret of the Stole III:

Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Laci" in the Motley Hue colorway. Like the Mystery Stole 4, this one is to be knit with beads, so I 'auditioned' a couple of coulors on the skein. One is kind of a champagne color (slight pink tinge and silvery center). The second is a irridescent sheened topaz. I think the lighter champagne color wins out, but I'll have to see what I actually find in a store!

And here is the second skein from The Knittery. It is 1040 yards; the pattern calls for 1100 yards which includes a 'fudge factor'. I am thinking I shall take the risk with this one. What do you think? The colorway is "Moonlight" and it is merino lace.

The above shows the darker beads on the Moonlight colorway; below are the lighter beads. I gave up trying to get a better pic-that was the best I could do!

PHEW! Yeah, this was a long one for me, too, folks! If you got this far, congratulations! If you had to come back and re-visit (or perhaps skim through), I totally get that!