Warning! Grab a Snack First

As when I was teaching, I'm not one to stop for structured breaks. Just quietly get up and do what you need to do, and I'll keep talking. Food and drink are encouraged, unless you have a known spewing problem...

The things we do for friends! Firstly, pop over HERE and check out Holly and Anne's coffee swap. They both seem a little surprised that I'm excited about it, but firstly, when two pals of mine host a swap, I want to be a part of the fun. Secondly, Anne has taught me that I don't HATE coffee; I hate run of the mill coffee. She's also promised my pal isn't allowed to make fun of me if I ask for Starbucks or McDonald's gift cards. Dudes... even Anne adores McD's iced coffees. My funny little mother inlaw had FITS on her cruise, because they kept seeing McD's, but no iced coffees! I guess it never crossed her mind to ask someone on the ship to make her one...

Also, for a great cause, please go visit Nicole's first contest. I'd also like to encourage you to help her meet her donation goal for the year. Heck, let's see if we can blow her goal out of the water, okay? Pets everywhere need a helping hand, and the ASPCA is a great organization. You even get bonus entries for adopting a dog this year. I won't be getting those points, but I can assure you that our next basset will be a little girl from our rescue. There are so many pluses to adopting, but this is going to be a long post anyway...

Now, y'all have been great about reading along without pictures long enough. So, look out! Here come the photos.

First comes my current pride and joy, the shrug done in Amanda's yummy yarn. Giving the camera the green table and the gold project bag to focus on seemed to help me get closer to accurate colors. That's four of the nine repeats of the lace. Then, another cuff, stitch the cuffs together as sleeves, and then pick up about a gazillion stitches all the way around for a little ribbed border there too. It's warm outside now, but just you wait. I'm going to be wearing this by the weekend, no matter what!

Next comes several days worth of stash and supply building packages. These Peace Fleece needles are Nicole's fault. The Knight has asked me to knit *HIS* cloths on smaller needles, so I ordered some #6s. (Don't tell him I'd already ordered #6 Bryspuns, okay? I'm sure in time, I'll use them both.) They sure are pretty, and knowing that I'm shopping and knitting and making the world a better place all at the same time is a great feeling.

Next comes the fiber love. It's been a while since I really did some shopping with Loopy, so I got a little crazy last week when I arrived home just in time to get my Loopy's Groupies notice that a sneak-up was happening. I scored a couple of Wendy's sock patterns, and this Bambewe in "Sedona" which makes me want to skip the cruise and go back to those warm, red rocks and The Red Planet diner. But that's another story. If you haven't been to Sedona, you're missing the jewel of the Southwest. If you have, you know exactly what I mean.

I also snagged some Yarn Pirate in Loopy Blues, because I could and because so many of you swear by this yarn. I love the colors. I seem to be hung up on turquoise again, not that it's a bad thing. The brown actually has some red in it, but I guess the redwood stain on the deck didn't help draw that out.

Last, but hardly least in my Loopy haul is the Yarntini in Designated Driver. It looks like my favorite pair of almost thread-bare jeans, and I think it will make socks just as comfortable and long-lasting. Yummy, yummy yarn, all of it. And stash police? Don't worry. When my inlaws retire, I'm taking my knitting to work and my productivity will double. I will use up my stash, but I thank you for caring.

I also grabbed some of Bernat's Cashmere, which only has 5% of the fine fiber in it. However, I'm in search of a soft, favorite sweater meets easy-care yarn, so someone will be getting a little something made of this buttah. It sure is soft to the touch, but it's a relatively new yarn, so no one on Ravelry has been complaining about it pilling or anything yet. (See? Once the inlaws retire, I'll have my queue stacked and my stash built up for another 20 years of knitting at work and at home. There's a method to my madness, right?)

But wait! THERE'S MORE! Not much more though, I promise. Just my two sets of cable needles. I thought I'd show you both sets, since I know Anita (check out her darling Etsy store too!) has the "plain" wood set and is still waiting on her Harmony Knitpicks. Despite the fact I still don't cable, I'm feeling very happy with my purchases. The two sets offer different diameters, and if you can't tell, the plain wood set is notched about twice as often as the Harmonys. Interestingly enough, if I'd lined them up by size, largest first, it would be Harmony, plain, plain, Harmony, and the two smallest sizes are pretty darned close.

And my pretty #10.5 tips. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go switch those tips out on the secret bag project, and settle in for House.

What's that Mugsy? Oh yeah. Dinner for me. (Which means second dinner for the dogs, because when the Knight's away, I share a lot more. I learned to cook at the firehouse, where the average group was about 15. I don't do meals for one or even two so well.)

Froggin, a Monkey, Harmony and a Penguin

Well, after about a dozen false starts, my poor Sock it to Me pal has a sock in progress. Recognize it? Yep. It's a Monkey. I'm really enjoying the pattern, and the way the Knitpick Memories is working up in it. And yes, those are DPNs you see. Turns out I miss the little buggers when I stay away too long. They're the Addi 2.50 mm #1s I bought during the Sockza crisis. I like them too, but I think I'll be buying the lot of the Knitpick Harmony needles. Every size, every style... Seriously.

Guess what?! That color is also as close to accurate as I can get. It's a fun colorway, and I do hope it will please my pal as much as it is coming to please me. (For those of you serving as my confessors, pause for the SNOL at the irony of that statement. You've earned it.)

Of course, I couldn't stay away from Summer Daze. (More irony; it was in the mid-40s this morning. No Indian summer happening here.) If you click on the photo, you can see my happy, beloved Harmony circs. Honestly, had I ordered a larger size (these are wee 2.25 mm #1s), I think I would carry them around and/or wear them in my hair. They're that pretty, even with the diminished colorations in the wee needles. I'm not a metal girl anymore. I suspect my tried and true metal KnitPick Options will alway have their purposes (wool?), but these lighter, warm, little works of art have my heart. A couple of reviews on the Tofutsies group have challenged their use with variegated yarns, and I don't think you can get more colorful than this one, and I had no trouble at all. Now, I will have to set this treasure aside and focus - FOCUS! - on the socks with a deadline.

Friday night, I made an attempt to channel my inner scrapbooker. She wasn't quick to come out, but she did join hands with my not-so-inner shopper and swipe a couple of baby-related items so I can (get this - multi-crafting!) scrap my photos of the babies and blankies I've connected with my gifts this year. She did leap to the front of the bus during this little project. I love to journal in my scrapbooks, so a cute journal box is always a hit. My sweet consultant punched and cut out all of the pieces for each of us, so all we had to do was follow along with the adhesive of choice, but he's a doll. My stepson likes "pingwings" so it will go somewhere on a page about him.

My September Birthday

So, some of you know better. Either way, humor me. The way I see it, any time I get two boxes addressed to me with knitterly goodness inside, it's like a birthday. It just so happens that the first parcel was indeed somewhat birthday-related. See, my dear Anners knows I like getting gifts much more often than the calendar suggests, so... I got a nearly on my stepmom's birthday present. Talk about being worth the wait! The card had me SNOLing (that's SNorting Out Loud for those of you not in the know - meaning all but um... four of you? who were in on that joke), but I'll be honest and admit that the world stopped while I gently removed the Malbrigo from the package and cuddled it. Of course, the Maizy in a colorway that had to be designed with me in mind was on top, and that will definitely move the Maizy WAY up on my to be knitted list. (Like, um, next?) There was also a nice linen smelling envelope, which is going to my vehicle in just a few minutes, when I head out for the scrappin' group for which I am not prepared. (My knitting Mojo seems to have eaten my scrappin' and stampin' energies, so I'm hoping just being near other scrapperly activities will awaken those all but gone notions.)

Thank you, Anne. Your daily support is gift enough, for a friendship that is about to span a decade. (Yeah... we met in junior high. That's my story...) That you could both surprise me and pick the perfect yarns in the perfect colorways is the best gift a girl could get.

But wait! There's more! My Knitpicks order arrived too. You might be shocked to learn that size 2.25 mm (US #1 in the hard to find version) is not the best size to show you how beautiful the new Harmony needles and tips are, but trust me. (And look hard because you can see green on both tips.) They are lovely, and I will be tossing aside the Quicksilvers at some point this weekend in favor of these little (I mean LITTLE!) works of art. There's also some of their Memories merino sock yarn in a colorway called Red Hat, which has none of the brightness you see in these photos. I may change my mind and use it as originally intended for my Sock it to Me pal, so stay tuned for some better photos.

Finally, I remembered to add a pair of #7 Bryspuns straights to my stash before checking out at Knitpicks. It's a happy little box, and is almost enough to send me to the phone to tell my mother inlaw I think I should stay home tonight.

Oh! I also picked up some Lion Brand Organic Cotton today too. Wow. I made Mugsy ride in the back seat so I could pet the yarn on the way back to work. No, no. He rides in the back seat all the time, because of the airbags. I've seen them break noses and fingers on adult humans, so what would they do to my puppers? Plus, lunch was up front, so really, I didn't drive through town petting yarn. Honest. (And Mugsy didn't snort the yarn either.)

Mugsy would come to my defense, but he's zonked out. We had a rather unplanned visit to the vet this morning. The old boy's allergies have moved to a new level, so children's grape Benedryl won't do anymore. Another allergy med from the people pharmacy, an eye salve for his poor, red eyes, ear drops (the Knight administers those; he and Fred developed a rather shake-proof system years ago), and a shampoo that cost more than mine for his itchy skin should get it all back under control. Good grief. He looks pretty cute though, all snoring in the old comforter here in the study. Fred also survived the trauma of being home alone, which is always a minor miracle, so it really is a happy day.

More yarn shopping tomorrow, but note: it is *NOT* stash-building. I have a felted bag pal you know? And birthdays and Christmas, and...

Boxes First

I stop for boxes containing yarn. Who cares about planes, suitcases or other little details? I got to leave with the joy of new yarn in my heart (but without a hairbrush, not that it counts, because I figured it out in time to stop and buy one en route to the airport), and I arrived home to find more of the same (both yarn and hairbrushes, but the hairbrushes weren't new). As the Knight was trying to get me to the door so he could get me to the airport Tuesday evening, I was admiring the Vesper Sock Yarn that had just arrived. On the left is Meteor, which is a lovely brown/red/turquoise colorway. On the right is Crew, which is just assorted greens and white. The picture hardly does the yarn justice. I've often admired the Vesper colorways, and now I have two to call my own!


When I got home Thursday night, there was another box waiting for me from Knitpicks. There was another pair of 16-inch circs, as I've decided I like that length best for my sockies, and finally, at long last, there was some CotLin to try. (Center, in Moroccan Red.) It feels softer than the other cotton-linen blend I tried, so I'll give it a whirl. My mother inlaw selected some of the Felici self-striping in Hummingbird (on the left), as she was honest enough to admit that she won't be bothered to hand wash hand-knitted socks. I couldn't help but order some of the Firefighter colorway in the same yarn. I don't know whether I'll make them for the Knight or for me, but I want to come up with a little Maltese Cross pattern for them. (No, I still haven't unpacked. I packed light, so there's nothing but dirty clothes and the books from my workshops in there, and the two cookbooks I purchased, but they aren't touching my soiled laundry. However, the yarn has been fondled and blogged, so don't question my priorities!)

Since I don't think Knitpicks does a great job of displaying their colorways, here's a closeup of the Hummingbird. We really lucked out here! My mother inlaw will love it, and I'm looking forward to casting on for her wee little socks. She wears a ladies size 5 (US), so it won't take long at all to whip out some simple socks for her. I will say that the colors aren't quite as bright/neon-ish as my photo shows, but it's a heck of a lot more than you'll see on the company's site, so I hope it helps. Her birthday isn't until November, so I doubt you'll see these socks much before early November.



Likewise with the Firefighter. There's nothing close to the whitish pale gray I captured with my sub-par photography skills. There's a rather solid, true light gray, a dark gray, and some not quite fire engine red in this one. Heaven only knows when I'll cast on with this, because unless there's a pattern I've not been able to Google, I'm going to have to swallow hard, take a deep breath and venture into the land of writing my own pattern on this one. I don't want anything too lacy or patterned, but I do want a Maltese Cross or two on there somewhere, maybe dead center of the front of the leg, between two twists or something?



In other knitting news, Amanda's second sock is into its toe decreases. Then - of course! - I'll whip out Anne's second, "manly" pattern, and then, with whatever is left of a rather busy weekend, I'll tackle the elusive heel of the toe-up Tofutsie. I also need to finalize my plans for my Sock it to Me pal's sock pattern and yarn selections, because that will be my project for next week, and likely, the week after that. I haven't forgotten about my Tea Swap pal either, so that's the NEXT item in the assembly line. My felted bag pal has a pattern, and I need to make yarn selections there too, but since she reads my blog, that's about all you'll hear on that project. I also need to get started on the Knight's blankie when he's not around, but again, SitM and the Tea projects come first! Once those are safely behind me, I can start holiday knitting.

Pout Out Loud

Well, now Knitpicks has failed me too. The 2.25 mm circs are back ordered. I was going to order another book or two, just because I'm ticked and shopping, but that won't happen either.

On an almost happy note, do any of you own this? It's called Total Tote and I can see myself carrying the brown or green one year-round, and NEVER being without at least a sock to knit in public (or at work when the inlaws aren't there) again. Unfortunately, Knitpicks is now on my pooooooo list - did I mention my Cotlin was back ordered and the date kept slipping closer to fall? - so unless someone lets me know that this is available and as wonderful as it looks, I won't buy that either.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me.

Guess I'll go knit socks.

(Picture me with my full anyway bottom lip poked WAY out, stomping back to the living room. I'll be pulling out the August Tofutsies Sock of the Month yarn and pattern, cuz I have #2 circs.)