What's a Gifter To Do

I saw the friend I was making the Karabella Sweater for this weekend and she is no longer a medium. Thank goodness I did not get any further than I did. I completed the back and half of the left front only, and I was still searching for buttons. Whew, what a save. Not only do I not intend to complete the sweater for her, she provided a wish list for gifts that I much prefer shopping from. BUT I had a brainstorm, I am going to take the back of the sweater seam it up the sides and make a cabled handbag. The portion of the left front I completed can be seamed on to the front as the flap closure. I'll line it - Et Voila.

I received the rest of the KnitPicks sock yarns. I ordered every color way they had left in stock. The pictures in the catalog and online really don't do justice to the actual yarn colors. Therefore, I ordered everything so I could see it for myself. Whatever I don't knit or keep will go out to my Sock and Secret Pals. I had already bought them other yarns, making these hanks a little added bonus. Unfortunately I am not going to get the special items I ordered for them by my November shipping date. It really is a bummer because it was the perfect thing for Christmas. Shoot, this is the only time Herrschners has ever let me down - don't you just hate the word BACKORDERED???

Whoohoo

I received an elegant gift from my SOCKRET PAL today.

The yarn is so soft and smooth. I plan on making something special with it. What a great keepsake box, a soft cushioned place to store all of my stitch markers and options size buttons. The stitch markers my Pal sent me are like jewels. Brilliant. Thanks REAL Sockret Pal :D

Nenah Socks

I have made a great deal of progress on the Grey Sweater and I have almost completed my Smores sock, I have picked up the gusset and began my decreases. I confess that I much prefer the Nenah Gelati top down method to the Knitty toe up method. It is just working up so much faster for me. I tried three socks on two circular needles and it worked fine, it was fun. But I had to separate the triplets to work the heel flap on the top down Smores sock. I have photos, but every time I try to upload photos or add buttons to my sidebar Blogger goes bonkers. So what the hey, me and my Secret Pal 9 are the only ones looking at this blog anyway. Photos can wait. I have started a lovely wrap in the Lime & Violet Lisa Souza yarn. Finally I found the perfect pattern stitch for this yarn. I have really nice blocks of the Lime and the Violet coming out with this stitch pattern. Pretty Pretty. I have not taken my glass needles for a test drive yet. Too much going on already. Luckily my podcasters are back on the airways so I have someone to keep me company. If only I drove, I could get to some of the stitch groups in the city or start one at the Barnes & Noble down the way. BIG SIGH. Other things must come first - like public safety. So I will just have to work the hooks and needles with the company of my computer. Time to kick off Cast On and complete my decreases on this sock tonight.

Mail Call

My superb glass circular needles arrived from Michael and Sheila Ernst. They are beautiful. I also received a butt load of yarn from Webs, Herrschners and KnitPicks. My Country Clare Socks that Rock came from Blue Moon Fiber Arts too. Can you say gorgeous?!?! I ordered a second skein in a different colorway - Highway 30. I got the Half-Pi Shawl pattern from Rosie Knits. I want to try something simple before I start the other lace pattern I bought from KnitPicks. I am using KnitPicks yarn for this shawl though - Gossamer in Caribbean color way.

I still have not heard from my Sockret Pal, whereas my Secret Pal 9 just sent me a note that she has more goodies for me. Both my pals received their packages from me. I am packing up their next ones now. I have three socks to take pics of for the Socktoberfest site.
I started another pattern in the Lisa Souza, I am happy with this one. FINALLY!!!

Isn't my clock cool? I found that on the block of one of the Sockret Pals. Blogger keeps screwing up my site. The posting I created at work did not save, so I am typing this one. Which of course is not nearly as clever as the one I created earlier.

Glass L&V Needles: www.glasspens.com
Socks That Rock: www.bluemoonfiberarts.com
LV Stitchmarkers: Knitz Glitz ==> sidebar

Casting On

I put another couple of inches on my Grey Sweater and started the ribbing on the Grey and Camoflauge socks. I also cast on a top down sock in KnitPicks Smores Memories yarn - YUM. More goodies came in the mail for my Secret/Sockret Pals. I am shipping a box of yarn to my Cousin in Oak Park, MI. I ordered more of the Memories yarn once I saw and started swifting the hanks that came yesterday. I actually had time to do chores, and perm my hair too. It is my wonderful sister's birthday today, and I celebrated that too. Back to work tomorrow.

Stash Enhancement (yes, again)

A couple of Koigus and a Little Lorna's Laces.

They're Baaccck

Lime & Violet are back, and their podcast had me laughing out loud. They are way too much. If you have not checked them out before and are on a budget of any kind, don't go to their blog. They are constantly coming out with really lovely things - glass circular needles by the Ernsts, a glass "do not" drop spindle and many yarn producers hand dying in Lime and Violet colorways. It is beyond addictive, it's obsessive - SERIOUSLY!!!

Alrighty Then

I have found the pattern I am going to stick with for the Lime & Violet Lisa Souza yarn. Nope no peeking. I want to complete at least 25% of it before I post the first photo. It will take that much to really appreciate the selected pattern. My UFO toe up socks call for an after thought heel. I am not sure I like this method. I will reserve judgment for now, but I like Nenah Gelati's short row heel a lot. I did a test drive on my Lantern Moon circulars - ooh wee, this is the first time I loved knitting a gauge swatch. Glad I splurged on them. The wonderful Pixie Purl has a new podcast out. Lots of stuff going on out there folks, if I wasn't working on keeping count I would have been bouncing through her show notes. I have been chatting with my secrect pal and I hope she likes her gifts. I want to send everything right now, but I can't. I will need to hold out so I have something for each monthly send. Not going to be easy. Our chicks with sticks group was fun, we got to chat a lot about what knitting does for us. Mostly it is for relaxation, I also find it very gratifying to be able to make clothing just for me. In the color, texture and size I prefer. You can't beat that!!

Couture Crochet

Okay I know I am already doing a bazillion things, but I just found a Crochet Along that is attempting to reverse engineer a Ferragamo Crocheted purse that totally rocks. I am there. My Secret Pals and I have been in touch, I am really enjoying my goodies. I just printed the Diamante sock pattern from Knitty.com to use that Yummy blue yarn my Pal sent me. I got a super package from Sheri at The Loopy Ewe. Check out her web site, she gives you as many goodies as you order just about. The shipping was lightening fast too. Not to be outdone, I have also pulled out three more possible patterns for my Lime & Violet yarn.

Sweet Crochet Along

Through various means, e-mails, and links I found a great Crochet Along. It is for the Sweet top down raglan sweater. Details can be found at Crochet Me website. http://www.crochetme.com/node/643/print

My Secret Pal 9 is Awesome

Look what I got from my Secret Pal 9.
This blue is so yummy!!

Secret Pal 9 Contest Answers

~ FAVORITES ~
Actor - Vin Diesel
Actress - Goldie Hawn
Animal - My Dachsund
Band - Hiroshima
Book - Maia by Richard Adams
Bubble Bath - Herbal Essences
Candy - See's Candies California Brittle
Color - Blue
Flower - Sterling Silver Rose
Food - Pizza
Lip Balm - none
Lotion - Cocoa Butter
Movie - Big Country
Song - Unspoken Love
TV Show - CSI Las Vegas
Vacation Spot - Alaska

Heel Time

I am ready to start the heels of my socks - yahoo. I have cast on the
fronts of my sweater. The pattern suggested casting on both the right
and left front panels together to make sure they come out even. I
think that makes sense. I always knit both sleeves at the same time.
I had a little trouble with my KnitPicks cables; the ones I bought to
supplement my set. Those great folks wisked out replacement cables
as soon as they checked to see which ones I needed. Stellar customer
service - KnitPicks is awesome. They are advertising some lovely sock
yarn right now too. I better get my order in, my secret pal happens to
like their yarn and these colors in particular.










My crochet class was a bit disappointing. Only one of the invitees
showed up. But she was great, she started a hat and completed the
crown before she left. Given enough time she will finish it. She could
read a pattern like a pro. I, however, did not start my afghan. I need
to get to that this weekend. I also want to finish my LibriVox
recording this weekend. I want to upload the recording so I can
move on to some other projects.

I discovered that the sock yarn I purchased requires only one ball
for a pair of socks. I am seriously considering listing some Noro and
my extra sock yarn on Destash. I have not seen the color appear on
my Sockret Pals blog, so I won't send it to her. I got another shout
out, this one from Carrie Ann Dennison of BritKnit Cast. I asked her
if she knew of any Crochet Alongs and she mentioned it in the last
episode of her podcast - cool. Maybe one of her listeners knows of a
crochet along, or may want to begin one.

Finite

I finished the back of my Cardigan. So I now have two sweater backs completed.
On My Needles Tonight:
Traveling Cable Cardigan 20 % complete
Camouflage Socks 15% complete
Grey Socks 15% complete
Grey Cardigan 23% complete

Other Projects:
LibriVox recording The Yosemite by John Muir
2 of 7 pages read and edited

On My Needles

My socks and cardigan are really coming along.

Where are my socks?

My posting of my socks on the needles and my sweater in progress seem to have gone missing. I posted them Sunday, hmmm, I will have to recreate that post when I get home. I have been posting t o my knit along sites and neglecting my own. So lets see, what's going on? Monday I got caught up on my podcasts, and sent some e-mails off to customer service regarding my recent orders. I kept getting the wrong pattern, due to similar pattern names. I received the correct one via e-mail last night. So I can work up my gauge swatch for that sweater tonight.

A nice simple pullover.

Tuesday our Chicks With Sticks group reconvened. Much fun. We got to hear about LG's trip to Turkey and her Turkish bath Experience. Sounds like she had a great time. RK has started on her new winter scarf and the colors are bright and beautiful. I added a couple of inches to my Grey Cardigan. Every night I add a few rows to my socks. I have cards to send off to my Secret Pals and my sponsor child. The Lime & Violet knit along starts next Friday, and none of the gauge swatches I worked up look like anything. LG suggested making something solid and using the L&V yarn as an accent. I will look at it from that perspective next week and see what I can come up with by 10-13-06. New podcast and website for Knitty D and The City. I liked the version they had up last week better, but it is a work in progress they say.