MINE ALL MINE!

Yes, it is. I'm so excited! I get to pick it up Sunday.

WIP round up. Now with actual knitting progress!

Here we go. First my Flashy Lace sweater. If I don't get to some interesting shaping soon, this might become a UFO. So. Boring.




Baudelaire, the second sock with a not-so-pointy toe.




Lizard Ridge squares




Aran sandal sock - the first one is DONE! The top



The side


The heel (I love how the patterning goes down the heel. Perfect for clogs and birks)


Creatures of the reef shawl



I dunno, can you see the seahorse and crabs?




And lastly, the sad, sad, RPM socks that need me to rip some stitches out and fix them. How did I cross a stitch four rows back? I was paying attention! GRR!

SP9 contest

Woot! I love contests. So here's my entry. Thank you to our lovely host, Heatherly, for doing this.


1. Where is your favorite knitting spot?

My couch, surrounded by every throw pillow in the room. That really annoys my husband.

2. If you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you do instead?

Wallow in despair? Hmm, I guess I'd still spin.

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why?

Australia, great barrier reef. I am a beachy watery pisces and I would love to swim with all those fish in such clear beautiful water.

4. When you were little - What did you want to do "when you grew up?" Are you doing it?

I wanted to be a vet. No, I'm not doing it, but my husband works at a vet clinic. lol

5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mississippi Mud *drool*

Socktoberfest!

Lolly asks to see pictures of our sock stash. My sock stash is WAY less embarrassing than my lace stash, so I'm happy to show it. See? Not that big. Of course, it doesn't count the 10 pairs worth that are in various stages of completion somewhere else in the house, but never mind that. It also doesn't include the roving I'm spinning that's planning on being socks. Ahem.


And some questions...

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I taught myself. I wanted to start knitting just to make socks. The DPNs and I battled for a while, and then finally we called a truce and I've been a sock fiend ever since.

• What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

My first pair was for my husband in Lion Brand Magic Stripes on size 3 needles. Looking back, the guage is way too loose. But he still has them and wears them. They need a little darning on the heel. That man is hell on socks.

• What would you have done differently?

See "gauge issues" above. I also wouldn't have used Magic Stripes. Ick.

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Socks that Rock! They truly do rock. I completed a pair in the Lapis colorway, and my RPMs (I just typed PMS... Freudian?) are also in STR. I have some Artyarns Ultramerino that I can't wait to use because I can tell I'm going to love it.

• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

We don't use that dirty "c" word on this blog. Not since the Great Star Blanket Fiasco of 2005. Nuh-uh. I have tried magic loop, but I still prefer my DPNs. The other ways just seem too fussy and just ways to avoid using DPNs, and since I don't mind DPNs and actually like using them, they're kind of just way too fussy for not a lot of benefit.

• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I prefer a flap. I have adopted the heel flap from Hedera for all my socks now. Basically you do Sl1, P1 on the wrong side and just knit across the right side. Seems easier to me.

• How many pairs have you made?

I'm not sure. 10? About that.

• Do you have certain patterns planned for some of the yarns? Do you buy yarn and then choose a pattern?
  

I have patterns picked out for two pairs. My last skein of STR will be Anastasia from Minty Fresh. And the Knitpicks Dancing will be the air-conditioned socks from Jackie E-S's sock journal. All the others? I have no idear. I just buy sock yarn and figure I'll worry about a pattern later.

• Does a certain sock yarn you have in your stash take you back to a certain event? (where you were when you bought/received it? what was going on in your life at the time!)
  

All the sock yarn I've bought at the Woolie Ewe in Plano brings back good memories of sitting around knitting with Betty and spending way too much money. ;) Most of the other stuff was bought over the internet, so no, no special memories there.

Da Fair

So this week is the Fair in my neck of the woods. The HOT Spinners and Weavers Guild had a booth, and I was up there most of last weekend. I think I was supposed to be demoing and answering questions and such, but mostly I just played with yarn and wool and had a good time. Oh, and ate funnel cake.

Here's the booth.



While I was there, I spun up this mini-skein of noodlebarf yarn.



And for the what the fuck category, here's a butter sculpture of a cow riding a motorcycle. Bet you've never seen one of those before.

Secret Pal 9! Questionnaire

I'm so excited!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? So far my favorite has been Socks that Rock. I mostly knit with Knitpicks yarn because I know I like it and I don't have a LYS within 75 miles. :( I'm not a big fan of the cotton.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Store them? As in unused needles? HA! In the rare occasion that every needle in the house does not have a WIP on it, they go in a glass jar.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting for a bit over a year, and I taught myself. I guess I'd consider myself intermediate, but I don't shy away from advanced techniques/patterns, and I love trying new things.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Why yes, yes I do.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) Gardenia is my favorite. I like citrusy scents and floral scents. I'm not to fond of sweet scents, like vanilla.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Do I ever. I like anything chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I'm a new spinner.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like country. *paranoid look* Yes, my computer and DVD/CD player can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love blue and purple and green. I really don't care for orange.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married. I have four-year-old twins (boy and girl) and a two-year-old girl. We have a cat and dog.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? No, not really. It's too warm here for that kind of stuff.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? SOCKS! And lace shawls.

13. What are you knitting right now? What am I not knitting right now? LOL A few pairs of socks, Flashy Lace from Knitty, Lizard Ridge from Knitty, and two lace shawls.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Looooooooove it!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circulars and DPNs, and I like them as slick as can be. I mostly use Addis and Knitpicks needles. I have found that I like Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs, but other bamboo DPNs drive me batty.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Oh my. Over a year old.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween!

19. Is there anything that you collect? Dust bunnies? No, not really.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have no knitting mag subscriptions. I do love IK's designs. Vogue, not so much. I really love the Heeere be Dragones shawl pattern, and I'm dying to try some Handpaintedyarn.com laceweight. I have been hesitant to order any because the last time my package was in limbo forever, and it took almost two months to get to me. I'd like to try some Kidsilk Haze, Trekking, Shepherd Sock and CTH Supersock, and Koigu because everyone always raves about those.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'm just getting started in modular knitting. I'd like to do more fair isle, too. I've done a tiny bit of entrelac, and for some reason I have it in my head that I MUST knit an afghan for my couch, and if I do I want it to be entrelac.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yeppers! I've never actually measured my foot. Hmm. I wear a size 9 shoe, and I do have a wide foot but I normally knit sock patterns as is or even a little narrower because I really like them snug.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) March 10th.