I must take pictures of my Sock WIP, my new Blue Moon Fiber Arts Laci yarn in the colorways Valkyrie and Haida, and my new laptop in Midnight Blue. I wish wish wish I could take pictures of the BMFA Lucky yarn that I just received in the latest Sock Club package but I don't want to be a spoiler. However, since I am no longer under any time constraints to get to 52 pairs, I will be knitting the sock pattern that came with this yarn. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!! This is another sock club yarn colorway that I will be buying in all weights, it is gorgeous. I am pretty sure the peach USPS "attempted delivery" card I got was for my first 2008 Year of Lace kit from Canada. I hope so, I am really looking forward to starting that shawl. I have read the word SILK all over Ravelry in regards to the first kit. I have not tried knitting with 100% silk before, I do love silk/wool blends though. So I am anxious to see this first lace kit.

OMG, the book I started reading yesterday was horrible, complete gibberish. I am now reading a book that had me hooked from the first paragraph. I am enjoying this audiobook too (see sidebar for titles), it is like listening to people play a Role Playing game. They travel the tunnels, they pick up power items and spells, they meet monsters and thieves and vanquish them. A nice diversion while I do endless month end processing, lots of processing left to do.

I feel guilty - I don't "love" the finished shawls for a couple of the KALs I signed up for. My original plan was to do the KAL, trying to keep up and watch the shawls/stoles develop along with everyone else. I fell behind, then eventually set them all aside to knit socks. Now I am seeing everyone else's knitted shawls/stoles and a couple of them are not to my liking at all. I never would have purchased the patterns if I had seen them completed and modeled. I see a frog pond in my near future. My hands are in too bad of condition to knit items I will never wear or enjoy. One of them would be okay as a gift, but the other one - nope, I don't think so. I am going to finish the other two lace knit alongs though. The shawls/stoles are beautiful and I cannot wait to get them done. I picture myself wearing them on our Panama Cruise!!! More on lace later. . . much to do in that area!!!

Last bit to do - I must see the Orthopaedic specialist about the knot growing under my thumb. My cousin just had one removed from her hand. Relatively painless, they did it with a laser. First I need to find out the nature of mine, fibroid or ganglian cyst or whatever. My appointment is April 7th, a must do.

Looks like all of the little Slytherins have lost interest in the games for the HSKS4, no one has posted answers to the last quiz. Looks like I will have some pretty Slytherin stitchmarkers to add to my collection. No grading to do Sat. More time to do knitting.

Carpe Lanum

Socking Along

I completed one of the Moda Dea Sassy Socks. I love the pattern and thickness of this yarn, it is an 8 ply. The progress on the Koigu, Shi Bui and Felice is much slower going because the yarn is so fine and the needles much smaller. But I have started the legs of all three pairs. I received the first clue of the Bad Nauheim KAL and the first 2008 Lace KAL kit is being mailed to the US on Monday or Tuesday. So much yarny goodness going on. I am typing this by the way on my new laptop. I finally have a webcam, although I am scared to use it. LOL at myself. I am waiting for my Valkyrie Laci so I can cast on the Icarus shawl for the Arkansas Icarus Shawl KAL.

I have a half dozen Easter baskets to put together. We are having the fam and friends over Sunday. Some of my Cousins and my friends have littluns, so I bought a bunch of goodies for them. I am going to make a German Chocolate Cake and Mac and Cheese (yes, both from scratch - cause that's how I roll).

I received a delivery confirmation from Fedex so I know my HSKS4 pal received her Bag and Kit, I hope she's a happy little Gryffindor. The last trivia challenge for the Slytherins goes out tomorrow. The final prize is a set of stitchmarkers. The theme of the last challenge is Charms and Potions.

I sent out some rescue yarn to a Ravelry friend - I had the dye lot she needed to finish the gorgeous blanket she is making. She was two rows and a bind off from finishing her gift. I popped 10 yards in the mail to her, she only asked for 3 but I prefer to have too much than just enough, you know?!? She also has me craving the J hook, I want to start an afghan so bad!!! It is national crochet month after all!!!! Maybe I'll make a scarf tomorrow while my cake is in the oven. I have some Wollmeise Zenzi Medium that I plan to make a nice long scarf out of. Hmmm, we'll see. Trying to be faithful to the sock Goddess.

MARCH is National Crochet Month

I must whip up a scarf or something. Maybe a hat, if I can find that darned hat pattern that's been illuding me.

Mystery Sock Bags Revisited

I pulled four more Mystery Sock Yarn Bags last night and cast on four socks. The winners were:
1. Knit Picks Felice in Clay - US size 2 /2.75mm KP Harmony Needles
2. Moda Dea Sassy Stripes - US size 3 / 3.25mm KP Harmony Needles
3. Koigu KPPPM in Purples - US size 1 /2.50mm KP Harmony Needles
4. Shi Bui Knits in Rapids - US size 2 /3.00mm KP Harmony Needles

I have chosen some pretty ToFutsies yarn for my HSKS4 swap Pal. I picked up my shipping box today. I have lots of wrapping to do.

Off to update my Ravelry project list.

Again

I am a bit behind in my posts, I have been interviewing and I finally hired a new AP Coordinator - again. This one was a temp that I hired permanently. My previous new hire had some truly bad luck and only held the position for a week.

I completed the Gryffindor bag and took an inventory of the goodies I am sending with it. Okay I went a bit overboard, I confess, and I have not even decided which yarn I am giving her.

The Bag:




Tools & Accessories:



Sweets and Things:


Hand and Wool Care:


Reading and Writing Materials:

Isn't this knitted owl journal cover the cutest thing ever?? I really want to keep him but now that the blogosphere knows he is supposed to be going to my little Gryffindor Pal, I will have to part with him.


As we all know De-Nial is not just a place along a river. None of the baby sock patterns I picked are any faster than the regular stockinette socks I was already knitting. Heels still have to be turned and gussets have to be picked up - and the needles are tiny. There is a tube sock, but it's UGLY!! So I will finish the 52 Pair Plunge, but probably not on April 1st - foolish to think I could make shawls, scarves, afghans and get all of my sockies done. Heavy sigh. Onward. . .

GWHS Class 77 and 78 Reunion Party

Damn I am old!!! Saturday August 16, 2008 at the Kubuki (previously the Miyako Hotel) in Japan Town there will be a GWHS 31/30 Year Class Reunion. Wow! I know a few people that will be there for sure - GiGi, Bonnie, Jenny, Baron, David, Denise, they never miss one. I better forward the e-mail to Carin and Bernie and make sure they know about it. Oh Washington to thee I pledge my faith and all my loyalty. Hail Washington Hail. (I was a letter girl ;} )

I am almost finished with the Gryffindor bag. I am working on the flap. I then need to add a strap and put in a lining. I definitely have time to add a few pockets. I love pockets myself, so I will stitch a few onto the lining and maybe one on the outside. I was thinking about a velcro dot for the closure of the flap but then I remembered the dragon buttons I have. I will use one of those instead. I will definitely be able to box this package up this weekend and get it in the mail. I have to take pictures though. I have had some non-posting downstream swap pals in the past, so I will be posting my own photo of my package. Voila the HSKS4 is almost done. This week is the Magical Objects Trivia Challenge for my Slytherin Housemates, the prize is a set of Knit Picks Harmony DPNs.

Then it's socks until April 1st. I replaced the bed sock pattern in my repertoire with some really cute baby socks.

Next

I think I am going to focus on my Gryffindor bag now. I have all of my kit goodies already. I went a little crazy, but in my own defense, I thought I should include everything I have needed while knitting. Needles, stitchmarkers, point protectors, row counter, measuring tape, notebook, pattern, yarn, needle sizer, crochet hook and case (the case was on my swap pal's wishlist), wool soak, hand cream, candy, knitting/crochet yarn guidelines, knitting book, yarn/darning needle, scissors, and safety pins. So all I need to do is finish the bag and get it all off in the mail. The bag is my EE KCAL project which needs to be done by March 15th. That will be perfect timing. I have 16 mosaic pattern rows to complete then it's all stockinette from there. I have to make the strap and sew in the lining to finish it off. If I have any time left at all (doubtful) I want to put a few pockets in and on it.











I am working on the bed sock. Okay, the plan was to make smaller socks so I can finish off the 52 PP. But I just don't like this pattern. I think it is way too small and it looks kinda funny. I will finish this pair, and definitely give them away. But I have to come up with something else to reach my sock goal. I will cast on the baby sock tonight and see how that goes. I need to hit the Ravelry pattern directory and see if there are some quick and easy socks patterns, I must find a replacement for this bed sock.

More Socks Done

Three more pairs done. Now I will be switching to the bed sock and baby sock patterns. I have one month to get the rest of the 52 pairs done. Starting to get anxious. But smaller socks have got to go faster. We'll see. . .


#36 Regia Multi Color Effekt Atlantik









#37 Seacoast Handpainted Panda Surf










#38 Jubilee Ocean Wave






Bev aka paletpc
http://newbhs.blogspot.com

A Little of This a Little of That

Three more pairs half way there.



























Perchance to Knit Socks pair 35 of 52













Amazing Gryffindor Bag

Vaccination Successful

The Earthlink Protection team finally found the proper vaccination for the virus my laptop contracted a few weeks ago - ABOUT TIME!!!!! I can now access Ravelry again and I am not getting those stupid blank screens with a status of DONE.

I finished a third sock. One sock completed the Perchance to Knit pair, the other two are the first Jubilee and Seacoast socks in the pairs, I will cast on the second socks tomorrow. I am going to spend the rest of the day on my Gryffindor bag and the Regia Self Striping socks.

I had lots of Lace KAL charts to print out yesterday. Two of my KALs publish the current hints on the same day, and another KAL started. Yay! I went ahead and enlarged and color coded the first clue for the 2008 Mystery Shawl. The Secret of The Stole ii is giving out some great prizes that I am missing out on because I am behind on hints. That's okay, what would I do with more yarn anyway?!? I cannot wait to get back to these projects though.

I have snapped some photos of my bag, I need to take some shots of my sock progress. I will post those tomorrow. I am flirting with the idea of doing my taxes tomorrow. We'll see. First I need to get through the Passport renewal paperwork with/for my Mom. I am taking her on a cruise to the Panama Canal in October. It's always something - cutting into my knitting time, and my Netflix just came . . . :~}

Mental Health Day

I stayed home from work and took a mental health, golf and knitting day. Nothing better than having golf on the TV while listening to an audiobook and knitting. I finished two more socks and the first pattern repeat of my Gryffindor bag. It is storming and our vanpool was not running today. I like the rain, when I am inside looking out. I don't mind taking BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), I have been commuting on BART since 1975. But rain and BART combined?? Not so much!!! I need to stop torturing myself reading my Lace Knit Alongs Yahoo dispatches. Everyone is knitting right along and I have sworn off lace until the socklettes have all been done. I found the Baby Socks and Bed Socks patterns I have been looking for in my pattern stash/collection. They are both quicker knits than the full sized socks I am currently knitting. I will be using left over yarns from the previous pairs I have knit. That should pump up my numbers considerably. I am desperate to get back to my lace knitting. Socks are practical and almost instant gratification, I have on a pair right now keeping my toes nice and toasty. But lace knitting is BEAUTIFUL and AWE inspiring. Every time I finish a hint/clue in one of the mystery shawl/stole KALs I am just amazed that I have produced something so lovely. It is a completely different feeling than just completing a UFO.

Ravelry is still not accessible through my Earthlink Protection Center Firewalls. I have to turn off the firewalls to login then I can turn the firewalls back on. I have contracted two deadly viruses since this problem started. I will stick to accessing Ravelry at work, which means Ravelry free weekends!!! That should go a long way towards getting some knits off the needles. I won an E-Bay auction for 20 audiobooks, there were two or three in the set that I really wanted and some new authors I have never read. I have a couple I am giving away. But I ended up paying less than two dollars per book. So I will have lots to listen to as I knit through my Ravelry-less weekends.

Computer network problems abound. Have you noticed? It seems like everyone I have talked to has either gone into a store or bank lately and THE COMPUTERS WERE DOWN. A virus made it through our massive firewall protection at work Wednesday. What goes on??? I love conspiracy theories, as a matter of fact it was one of my favorite movies. The Bay Area is also having too many unexplained power surges and outages. I tell ya, there is more to this than meets the eye.

Knit Simple is one of my favorite magazines. I have knit 2 shrugs, and 2 sweaters from them since I started my subscription. The current Spring/Summer 2008 is the best one yet. There are simple tunics and short sleeved tops that are flattering on anyone. The sizes range from XS-3x. Somebody out there is listening. Most knitters, especially experienced knitters probably won't like the patterns because they are either stockinette or reverse stockinette with patterning only on sleeves or edgings. That is what I LOVE about the patterns. I like the knit stitch, I like the purl stitch. Sweaters in my size take a lot of stitches per row, if I never have to do another 100+ stitch row in the MOSS stitch it will not be too soon. I am a multi-tasker, I don't like only being able to do one thing at a time. I want to be able to knit a sweater AND watch a movie or TV program at the same time. These patterns are exactly what I want. Funny too, this was the last issue in my subscription. I had decided not to renew any of my Knitting or Crocheting magazines because I don't have time to read them. BUT , they made a lier out of me with this issue. I want more of this. They have convinced me to keep subscribing.

Well I am approaching the toe decreases of another sock, got to go get my knit on.

Sock-a-licious

WIPs as of Feb 18, 2008 making lots of headway in my sock knitting. I am trying to get to 42 pairs by month-end. Thank goodness for 3-day weekends.

Progress and Such

I finished a pair of socks last night and cast on another one. I have pulled two more mystery bags.

1. Seacoast Handpainted Yarns Panda
Colorway Surf
Merino, Bamboo, Nylon

18. Interlacement Tiny Toes
Colorway 203 Blue Green Purple
Superwash Merino

Tomorrow I will grade the Slytherin's Arithmancy Trivia Challenges and award one skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock to the lucky winner.

I really miss my lace projects. When I downloaded and printed the clue for Spring Shawl Surprice I really wanted to color code it and get started on it. I can see how pretty clue 4 of the Secret of the Stole ii is too, and mine is coming along so well. BUT I am the KAL police and I am the one enforcing MY rule to finish my 55PP KAL. I signed up my sock swap Gryffindor bag as my project for the 2008 EE KAL. I will have to squeeze that onto the sidebar projects list too.

I will need to do a major photo shoot this weekend. I have yarns that need to be added to my Ravelry stash, finished objects and WIPS to be posted. We are supposed to have clear windy weather - so the lighting should be good for pictures. My box of kit contents came from Knit Picks!! I bought every knitting accessory I could find for my Hogawart's Sock Kit Swap Pal. A knitting kit must have losts of gadgets. I will snap some shots of that haul too this weekend.

Ebony Elite KCAL 02/15/08 to 03/15/08

I have thrown myself into the 2008 Ebony Elite KCAL - does anybody see a (dangerous) pattern developing here??

I am making a tote bag for a swap I am in. I have again modified the Knitty.com maze hat pattern, to create my own pattern. I made up a sock pattern from this hat pattern for a swap last year. I love the slip stitch technique of creating the maze motif. Since I have to make this bag for the HSKS4 by April, I thought making it my EE project would motivate me to go ahead and get it done. Of course I will be using Gryffindor colors this time.

Back on Track

Whoo Hoo!! I finished a sock, cast on another sock, turned the heel on a third sock. I am back on track to finish the 52 Pair Plunge. I am going to get back to my lace and other projects when these socks are all done. I will be pulling two more mystery bags tonight and casting on those two pairs as well. Got to keep things rolling. The Perchance to Knit yarn I am working with has the most gorgeous colors in it, and it is a huge ball of yarn. I am going to have a ton left over. Great yardage, I probably could have made a Forest Canopy shawl with it.

Got Heel?

Hi my name is Bev and I am a Lace Addict. I joined another Mystery Lace KAL
:{ I can't seem to help myself!! I am addicted to lace knitting. It is probably good I did since I also got another 5 cones of Jaggerspun Zephyr lace yarn from Halcyon Yarns yesterday. Photos to follow.

The good news is, I actually turned the heel on one of my socks and will finish the sock tonight. Back in the saddle again. I was managing to keep current with my lace knitting, but I made a conscious decision to finish the 52 Pair Plunge Sock KAL first. I worked too hard on that KAL to not finish it. So I will set aside (and fall unsurmountably behind) in my lace knit alongs until I finish all 52 Pairs.

I got some luscious yarns from Cosmic Fibers. One hank lace and one hank sock yarn. Photos to follow.

Moving on.

Road Trip

It's the first Hogsmeade visit this weekend.

I need to stock up on some pepper-up potions.

I am meeting the other Slytherins for tea at Madame Puddifoot's tea shop.
Then I have to go to Honeydukes for some chocolate caramels and lemon drops.

What, it's February?

I don't know about you but I was just getting used to the fact that it is 2008 already and now it is February. WTF???

I received a VERY nice package from my Ebony Elite Scarf Swap Pal, CrimsonPurls. She made me a very soft Malabrigo Neckwarmer with a great wooden button. She bought me the Caribbean Colorway of gossamer yarn for one of the projects in my Ravelry queue. Can you say YUMMMY - DOVE Chocolate, can you say history? Yep it's all gone. There was an Emerald Green Lattern Moon bag too, and to pamper and take care of me Bee Bar Lotion. Thanks pal, you done good!!!!






I have taken pictures of my completed Hint 2 of the Secret Stole ii. I have printed Hint 3 and I have a guess of what might be. I am really enjoying this project, I guess that is why I am able to keep up with the clues.

Happy Camper

I am a happy camper this week. I completed the second Hint in the Secret of The Stole ii KAL and I should be able to finish Clue 1 in Dem Fischer Sin Fru (The Fisherman's Wife) tonight. Which is all well and good because QUIDDITCH starts TODAY. Any time now as a matter of fact. This will be round one of the Hogwart's Sock Kit Swap 4 Quidditch matches. Go Slytherins!! I have my HSKS4 bag design on paper. I need to buy the yarn now. I have been looking around but I have not seen the right tones for my spoilee's house colors. I also found some choice goodies on Etsy this morning.

There was a slight hitch in my Ebony Elite Scarf Swap pal's package delivery. She resides in Toronto and they are very serious about their delivery requirements. I did not know her phone number :( Hopefully she will have it in a day or two. I hope they don't still charge me 2-Day Delivery fees, I have to remember to check my invoice (note to self). I sent it on Jan. 22, 2008.

Dharmafey mentioned me on her Socks in The City podcast, it always makes my stomach flip flop when I hear my name on a podcast :) I am so glad she was my sock swap pal!! I also just ordered some of her gorgeous Cosmic Fibers yarn. The green is so divine. I cannot wait to add it to my yarn collection.

I received the 1st Rockin Sock Club 2008 package and pattern. Very nice. I don't know why, but I am digging the red yarns lately. I have been told that the color suits me, so that's a good thing

Waving from San Francisco.

The weather is chilly dilly but it is beautiful and clear.

New Equipment

Since I have been having so many technical difficulties lately I thought it was time to get some new equipment.

Wood type: birch Length: 11½ inches Core: Kelpie Hair get your own wand!