SOCKTOBERFEST = DONE!

I present...my Soctoberfest socks. Finished. On time! A first for me.
The Specs:
Pattern: 52 stitch socks from Simply Sensational Socks using the Broken Rib Pattern
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino 8 (Worsted)
Needles: #3 US DPN's and Magic Loop
Time: 10/14/06 - 10/30/06

I made the leg of these twice. I started them and was almost done with both legs and I noticed a counting problem in one and a dropped stitch problem in the other. The dropped stitch was fixable, but it was a the VERY beginning of the pattern, so RIP, out they both came and I started over on about the 14th of Socktober...BUT, that yarn was very expensive, the socks deserved to be as perfect as I could make them. I had them race each other, knitting one on #3 DPN's and the other Magic Loop. Speaking of the yarn, it was interesting, it was probably 10 teeny, tiny plies, and it doesn't have a lot of twist, I was worried about it being splitty, but for some reason, it wasn't. I'd love to use this yarn again, but for the price where I bought it, I could have gotten Cashmere, so I doubt unless I find a killer sale, no more Artyarns Supermerino 8 for me, but at least I can say I loved it when.

What will November bring for Chez Angie? Well, on Saturday, I am off to the Dulaan Knit-in, I am giving a ride to a new friend, Rochelle. It is a rare treat for me, but harvest has been long and grueling, so I am giving myself the day and DH can take care of the kiddies, surely they will all survive one day. I'll get to rub elbows with the known bloggers, and hopefully don't make an arse of myself. So, November is all about Dulaan and CIC charity knitting. I am working on a hat right now and I want to make a sweater for each and fulfil my 5 items for Dulaan, I have 2 items finished so far, so I should make it, but want to focus on sweaters this year. We'll see, what is life without grand plans?

Knitters Tea Swap 2 Report

WHAT A HAUL! I received from my spoiler, Debbie in Montana. I got, 2 booklets, Mittens, mittens, mittens from Leisure Arts, and a sock book compiled from Spin-off, AWESOME The mittens are 2 needle mittens and are adorable. 3 skeins of Regia 6 (I like thicker socks), 1 skein of my fave color, lime green Lambs Pride worsted, Tao tea (Awake), an assortment of loose tea from Cahoots, a local tea company, a peppermint and camomile tea from Montana, some chocolate covered sunflower seeds, Piroette cookies, some yummy smelling candles, a luscious goats milk soap (I am using that, yummy), a "tea spoon", a new tea ball, I need that, a hand knit scarf in my fave colors (thank you), tea towels, and a box of her sentimental favorite, Red Rose tea and a note about why she loves it so much. I fixed a pot of the spice tea from Cahoots immediately and it was luscious, I've been drinking Red Rose for breakfast. Thank heavens for the weekend, it will be all tea, all the time for me.

I don't know if the stash ghosts are here or not, but I HAD the 2 booklets, I was leafing through them at the kitchen table, someone cried and I went to assist/referee/doctor, something and now I CAN'T FIND THEM! I have turned the house upside down looking for them, I hope I can excavate them this weekend as I.WANT.MY.BOOKS!

Progress?

I turned the short row heel on the socks from hell and I'm still not sure of them, I am considering frogging the whole project and making a hat for DS#2, I'm just not feeling the love. Update, frogged the socks, if they don't want to be a hat, I will burn the yarn in a little ceremony in the driveway.

I'm still knitting on the Shadow scarf that I started in Geneseo colors for a friend's daughter, I saw them this week at a Volleyball game and it would have been convenient if it had been finished by then. I covered in a remote office for work for a day and a half last week - I was the only one there. I SHOULD have gotten a fair amount of knitting done, but I ended up working more than I thought - how did that happen?

I couldn't resist Socktoberfest any longer and I cast on for some socks of Artyarns Ultramerino 8, they color is the most beautiful muted pink and green I have ever seen. The yarn looks like it might be splitty, but so far, I have no complaints. Have you ever bought Artyarns Ultramerino? Lets just say, I'd best be burried in these socks, they are too expensive to wear, but I'm worth it, right?


I want to cast on for a red scarf for the Red Scarf Project to try out the new Brittany Birch #7's I bought at my LYS. I want to cast on for the Black Bunny Fibers Hop-a-long, I just received some new yarn from Carolyn http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=19807 and I can't wait to cast on with that...so many projects, so little time

Happy Birthday to ME!

I participated in the October Birthday swap hosted by the gracious and generous Bev Diaz. This is not a secret swap. My swap partner was Lori Bean of http://yarnbeans.typepad.com/yarnbeans/ She is a busy, busy wife and mom of 2, she is a waitress and sommelier in the evenings and still has time to not only knit, but churn out some awesome looking hand dyed yarns. In the box was....A milk chocolate Truffle bar (don't remember the name as it was consumed immediately, but I do remember that it was very yummy), a birthday card, 2 postcards from her town in Oregon, a Cherry Tree Hill Glitter mill end in a blue/green/teal which was the yarn that I listed as most interest in knitting with, a hank of STR in the Colorway "Rare Gems", a couple of bars of yummy soap, a beautiful glittery, feathery butterfly and 2 skeins of her own hand dyed yarn in Winter Blue and Pumpkin Spice...All I can say is...THANK YOU, it was a real treat, I get to spoil her on her upcoming October birthday so hopefully I can pack her box as full of surprises as she packed mine.

I'm workin' on it...

Yes, last night I turned the short row heel in my socks from Hell, Only 1 more to do and I started that one today whilest waiting at the bank to get my debit card re-issued. I accidentally threw my checkbook away in the trash on Tuesday and didn't realize it until today when I needed it again. Bad news is that the trash was picked up this am around 8am, I noticed it was missing around 8:30am...bad karma, that's all it is. I hope I saved someone with less facilities to cope with such a royal inconvenience the grief. I have broad shoulders, I can take it...but not for much longer, thank you...

I'm on a roll

Yesterday I posted about finishing MG's Wonderful Wallaby and today I get to post about my finished STR socks and the story behind them...It started innocently enough, http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/ started a Socks that Rock Club (STR) and I of course had to join. The first yarn was this sock yarn, I don't remember the color...Jungle something perhaps? I started knitting socks and I knit, and I knit and I knit. They are on Size 1's something like 68 stitches, I chose the ribbing pattern that is K2, P2 for 1 round and then straight knit the next round because I'm lazy and don't like to pearl. I liked the socks but they were taking forever and they weren't going to fit me, they would fit my mother who has trouble wearing shoes and thus needs woollen socks to wear with her Birks in the winter, (It snows here in Illinois), so any whoooo, I love my mom and I don't mind knitting her socks, eventhough she has a size 10 foot. She appreciates them and I am glad that I can comfort her. Anyway, I was about to the heel flap on sock #2 (sock #1 was done) when I used sock #1 to measure the length (very scientific) and as I set #1 down, I thought, I had better be careful where I put this sock as I would hate to mis-place it. That was Friday night, by Sunday night, I had lost sock #1, I called the restaurants I ate in between Friday and Sunday, I scoured the parking lots that I had visited, I stripped the car(s), cleaned the house (now you know I was desperate), no sock...I was almost suicidal, these socks took me forever, it was the club yarn, how was I going to get enough for a THIRD sock! I didn't know what to do, but vetoed burning the sock in the driveway in a fit of anger, I doggedly continued to knit on the 2nd sock. I was telling some of my knitting homies this story about a month later and my DD MG says, "Oh, that other sock, I threw it behind the couch to keep it away from DS#3". I ran to the living room, heaved the couch from the wall and there it lay, my missing sock...Only 1 small problem, there was a cut in the ribbing at the top...wonder how that got there, $10 that DD MG cut the yarn and threw the sock behind the couch to hide the evidence, but I really didn't care, my sock was back. I begged some additional yarn from Blue Moon, and one night while the kiddies slept, I carefully unravelled under the snip, picked up the stitches and re-knit the top 1/2" of the sock, last night I executed the Elizabeth Zimmerman, sewn bind off (very simple, very stretchy, I recommend it) and voila, the socks are done....

Completion

I did it, I actually did it, I completed a sweater! First one in....well, around 15 years, and it fit the intended recipient! Behold DD in her new Wonderful Wallaby.

Specs:
Pattern: The Wonderful Wallaby, by Cottage Creations
Yarn: Cascade Sierra and Cascade Bollicine held together as one
Needles: Size 7 US for body, size 5 for ribbing
Size: Warren Wallaby - 8 year old
Time: February 06 until 9/28/2006. I put it down because I knit one of the sleeves too big, but resurrected it when we drove to Wisconsin Sheep & Wool festival and I worked on it faithfully until then.

More Wallabys are in my future for sure. This was a nice easy pattern to make and I think it turned out great, obviously, she has some room to grow in it, but at least it will fit her for a year or 2...AND she voluntarily wore it to school today! My heart swells with pride.

Warm Hands

Hurray for Warm Hands. Last year, I knit some ...oh, what were they called, mittens with the little tufts of wool in them, made my hands look more like linebacker hands than they normally do...oh, fulled mittens, in purple with white fulls. This summer I found some Malabrigo in my almost signature, lime green and then I wandered into the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool festival.... but it wasn't my fault, my friend Lori said, "If you find anything interesting, get some for me, I prefer earth tones", what was I to do when I saw more Malabrigo. Hers (which I of course didn't take a picture of) was creamy and tanny and brownie all in that pleasing Malabrigo way and I bought for myself....Good friend that I am, I offered it to Lori as well. What will I do with it? Why more mittens of course.

My Morning Ritual

This is my morning ritual, the tea pot is from my Grandmother, she wasn't a big tea drinker, but she did collect pots. I USE them. The mug is a Christmas present from my son. He went Christmas shopping with his scout troup and this is what he chose all by himself for me. It made me cry then and still warms my heart. I bought a 2nd one just in case the first one gets broken...

On the knitting front, I am to the hood (read boring back and forth) on DD's Wonderful Wallaby and I can't wait to show pics. It is a tad big, but at least it isn't too small. She looks adorable in it, but I doubt she will wear it until she grows into it a little bit. Unlike her momma, she likes the form fitting stuff.

When it is done...what to do, what to do. I am contemplating more charity knitting, finishing Birch that was cast aside a year ago due to a mysterious error that I can no longer find, there is the Warm Hands knit-a-long and the (*@#&$*(@&$(#*@& opal socks to finish..or burn in a pile in the driveway...
Have a good day all, I'm late for the grind...

Black Bunny Fiber has ARRIVED....

In a fit of joining, I also have joined, (or attempted to join) the Black Bunny Hop, http://blackbunnyhop.blogspot.com/2006/09/black-bunny-is-wild-animal.html it isn't hard, you just need to knit with the ellusive Black Bunny fiber of some sort and blog about it...I stalked Carol's etsy shop for a while and then called Rosies Yarn Cellar http://www.rosiesyarncellar.com/ for the low down on what was there. Blindly I ordered 2 skeins of DK weight (225 yds per) in the colorway named Grape Juice.

I don't know where the color came from, but it is the varigated denim-ish yarn that I have been searching for. I plan to make Susan Pierce Lawrence's Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl http://http://ma2ut.blogspot.com/2006/09/forest-canopy-shoulder-shawl.html at any rate, joined or not joined, I'm going to cast on for this as soon as I can get the project from hell off my needles.

You see about a year ago when I was expecting my 3rd child, I started a pair of socks from Opal Rodeo, I love the colors, and I'm sure it will bloom, but that yarn is like knitting with SEWING THREAD (just my opinion). To add insult to injury, I am doing them 2 socks on 2 circs, I think I will never live long enough to finish these socks. I have taken them off the 2 circs and am now racing them one against the other (1 magic loop, 1 on dpns) and I am thinking it is time for the heel, this is my first attempt at Wendy's generic heel pattern. Wish me luck ...

Knitters Tea Swap 2

Well, I've gone and done it now... joined the KTS2. I missed it last time, and I am afraid of making a commitment that I have trouble fulfilling, but darn it, I'm going to join this time...no more lurking for me, no mam/sir....

So without further adieu...My Stash

Well, Blogger doesn't want to cooperate right now with that oh wait there it is.... Suffice it to say, I have a small stash, I drink hot tea every morning, usually P.G. Tips or TyPhoo, although I bought a new one that was on clearance (box was dented - Lyons) that I haven't tried yet. Last night I had a cuppo (or rather a potto) Valentine tea from Adiago teas, luscious, is all I can say, to me it tastes like a wonder pipe tobacco (dry) smells...love.it. and tat got me going on the chocolate tea...took that to work for a pick-me up.

So there it is, I'm eagerly awaiting my swap partner and then I'll re-review the rules to make sure I do it right. Thanks for looking.

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool

Greetings!
I don't know if anyone will ever read this, but this is my first post. Reading blogs for over a year now, I decided to "unlurk" and start my own Blog.

This weekend, I dragged the DH and kidlets to Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI http://www.wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com. About a 2 hour trip. Left about 8:30am, remembered to pack extra clothes, and etc for all but ME!

Fortunately, once at the festival, I spied a woman in a rather smashing sweatshirt advertising the festival. She directed me to the vendor and I secured the last item in my size for her. Good for DH as the alpaca sweaters were $175 and up...

I won't try and fool anyone, I could have cared less about the sheep and pelts and roving and locks of dirty fleeces, I was there for the VENDORS... cased the joint, making my wish list with the kids. When the kids got tired of the vendors, had some lunch at the conveniently located lunch stand (shredded lamb sandwich $4, lamb hot dog in natural casing $1.50, and BEER, yes, Beer sold by the Jefferson Lions Club. What a hoot, never see that in IL) we checked out a shearing demo, the arms on that man...oh, wait, I digress...I said to MG, isn't that cool the way he just peels the wool off of that sheep. She said, "But won't the sheep be cold". I thought that was cute and assured her that the sheep grows fleece very fast and it would be fine.

Shortly after that, DH returned (he went to look at a tractor about 35 miles away) and took on the task of entertaining the kiddies and I hit the vendors pocketbook in hand.

I'd have to say that I was focused and restrained. Recently, I've been trying to be on a finishing tear and I focused on the things I can't get locally. I bought a book for MG (Knitting Nell, http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Nell-Julie-Jersild-Roth/dp/0618540334/sr=8-1/qid=1157943566/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0067682-3875011?ie=UTF8&s=books, which is a cute book, 1 skein of Sea Silk in a pinky orange color, as I can't find it anywhere here, 3 skeins of DK alpaca in cream for a Swallowtail shawl, 2 skeins of Malabrigo (one is for my friend Lori) and 4 skeins of Softie from Kimmet Croft Fibers http://www.fairyhare.com for the Stora Dimun Shawl from Folk Shawls. Now, I just have to get knitting.

I didn't see as many knitterly sightings as I would expect to see at say, Stitches, but there was a woman wearing a shawl much similar to the Stora Dimun Shawl that insipred me to get the yarn from Kimmet Croft. I saw a couple of intarsia bags.

Since I mentioned shawls. How do y'all choose what color to knit shawls and it is only me that seems to always pick a color that I have nothing to wear with?