So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

These were sent off to the UK on Thursday to one lucky buyer! I'm so excited :) The etsy shop is empty now, until I get some new base yarn...

Until then, I keep myself busy with all the WIPs that never seem to make any progress, and tryin to think about what to make for the One Skein Secret Pal swap, and the Knit Sock Kit Swap. No photos yet, sorry...

But last weekend Karen, Evie and I (knitters from work) did get to meet Debbie Bliss over brunch at SNS! I was running late, so I forgot my camera, but Monica captured the event wonderfully! Debbie talked about her experience as a machine knitter, and how she learned how to hand knit, design patterns, and how she chooses her colors (based on what's happening in fashion in Milan!) The most exciting part was that we all got to try on the sample sweaters that were modeled in her books. Here I am in a cute cardi from an unreleased book that comes out in September...I can't wait to get it so I can make this!!!


I also got an autographed copy of her new book, Pure Silk, and hope that Furry will buy me the yarn for the cap sleeve top for my BIG birthday next month. (Furry, in case you're reading this: I need 7 skeins of the pure silk yarn in either turquoise or magenta!!)

Happy knitting on this rainy weekend!

The Long Overdue Thank You Post

I've been so busy this week and haven't had a chance to post till tonight, but I wanted to say THANKS to a few lovely ladies for some great packages!

My Dye-O-Rama pal was Heather from Knittervention. This is a great package! In addition to the gorgeous Merlot Sky colorway she created with ProChem acid dyes, she included some of my favorite goodies, sour Skittles and raspberry sour Altoids, and a cute pencil case for storing DPNs. (Heather, did you know that my needle collection is stored in a really messy bag?!) Thanks so much Heather!

Gorgeous "Merlot Sky" colorway - purples, royal blue and a grey/blue

Contents of my D-O-R Package in all it's colorful and yummy glory!

I received my June package this week from my One Skein Secret Pal! In it was a skein of Wool in the Woods Swan in "Lottery". This is very different than the yarns I'm used to buying for myself. It's 82% rayon, 18% cotton, and really light and summery! Thanks secret One Skein Secret Pal!!!

Yummy Yarn in blues and greens!

Last, and certainly NOT least, is a little giftie I received from a lovely lady Rita (blogless, I think) who made my capelet pattern. She sent me some yummy chocolates from Harbor Sweets. Check out their website - everything is so beachy and summery! Thanks so much Rita!

Seashell-shaped Dark Chocolates! Yum!

I really need to get the capelet gallery up and running now! Send me your capelet photos!

Now for a new swap: I joined the Knit Sock Kit Swap! Can't wait :)

KSKS Meme...

For my Knit Sock Bag Swap Pal...the questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors?
Pinks or Blues with greens

Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks?
I wouldn't call myself a new sock knitter, but I've only been knitting socks for about a year.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
Multi!

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn?
Merino Wool. Superwash. Definitely.

Where do you usually knit socks?
At home. In the car. On vacation. In a box. With a fox...

How do you usually carry/store small projects?
In my Sock Bag that Trek made! (Check out her blog for her ingenious bag ideas!)

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns?
Jaywalker, Pomatomus

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques?
I like all techniques I have learned...they all make me go "wow, that's how you do that"!

What new techniques would you like to try?
Short row toes, german heel, picot edging that won't fall down

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting?
Magic Loop on circs. But I also have WIPs on DPNs.

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Sundara, Brooklyn Handpun, Vesper, Scout's Knitted Swag, Koigu, my own handdyed!

What yarn do you totally covet?
Still covet the Socks that Rock and now Yarntini!

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
Anything Alice Starmore. For the challenge!

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
AddiTurbo circs for socks.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
Malabrigo. Soft and buttery smooth merino.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?
Sour anything!

What’s your favorite animal?
My cats :)

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?
2 cats: Buster (9), Niblet (6)

If you were a color what color would you be?
Azalea/Peony pink

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s)..
anything flowery and stripey!

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
Peony.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.
"All of us get lost in the darkness dreamers learn to steer by the stars"

Do you have a wishlist?
Yes, but there isn't much on it.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?
Happy sock knitting, bag making and pattern developing!

Two Years Ago Today

I married my best friend. Happy Anniversary Furry!

We spent a long Anniversary weekend in Spring Lake at a B&B. It was really relaxing, although weatherwise, it wasn't really a beach weekend.

Here is furry in the whirlpool tub looking for a place to have dinner (don't worry, there's no water in it!)


The B&B was so cute, the room came equipped with a lounging teddy bear. When you squeeze his left ear he growls!
Us at dinner at the Avon Pavillion. If you look closely, you can see the moon rising between us.
The moon rose steadily over the Atlantic. It was so beautiful (and hard to photograph!)
Our view from our oceanfront table at dinner. I was trying my hand at "time lapse photography" to get the moon, but I loved the view down the Avon pier.

Today we went to Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant...Anyone from NJ will know...what a blast from our teenage lives this was! We played mini golf and had beer at Martell's, and some yummy ice cream!

What a fun anniversary trip :)

Self Striping Wars

I think I'm in love with Star Wars. I don't know why, but after seeing Episode III, this weekend, Furry put on the original film (I refuse to call it Episode IV: A New Hope, I prefer "Guerra de las estrellas"). It ALL made sense for the FIRST TIME! Does anyone feel this way? I was only one year old when it came out, so I wasn't gung ho as a child, but now all the Empire vs Republic stuff makes sense!

I even bought the Cantina Band song on iTunes! It's so catchy...

Onto knitting content (ok, dyeing content!). I sent off my Dye-o-rama package yesterday! I hope she likes it!!!

Over the rainy weekend I tried my hand at self striping techniques. I don't have any pictures of the dining-room-chair method in action, as I think you've all seen that before.

But, I DO have pics of the colorway. This one is inspired by a purple, pink and green striped shirt I saw at a boutique in town.

Stripe-ed goodness! I'm so excited! My first striper! I used a mix of icing dyes and Fruity Punch koolaid (forest green: green icing dye, one packet lemonade kool aid, pinch of fruity punch kool aid, purple: blue icing dye and fruity punch koolaid, pink: 2 packets pink lemonade kool aid and a pinch of fruity punch koolaid) . This time I used the immersion technique rather than hand-painting. The superwash yarn literally sucked up the color so fast I had to make 2 dye batches for each color! I do see a strange little bit of stray green dye... that didn't mix properly, but I think I'm gonna keep this one.


A Closeup

A mini swatch on size 3s...just to test the striping. Obviously, on size 1s with the amount of st needed for a pair of socks, the stripes won't be as thick!

Oh, and there is another addition over at the etsy shop. One you will find strangely familiar...

FYI - I am knitting. I am working on Fad Classic, finishing the Pomatomus, the wrath-of-my-existence-Grumpecue and finished another Anthropologie Capelet this weekend. FO pics once I weave in ends.

Out on a Limb...

Thank you all for your votes in the poll! Sherbet was the clear winner, but I went out on my own for this one...I'm such a rebel!

My dye-o-rama pal wasn't very specific with her color requests, but I wanted to seem more advanced than a kool aid dyer, although the kool aid was really easy to work with! I had some icing dyes from my Williams Sonoma Cookie Decorating Kit I bought last Christmas (or 2 years ago...actually, maybe three!) It came with blue, yellow, red and green. I mixed the blue and green together, the yellow and green together and used straight blue and straight green and hand painted (with a squirt bottle) each quadrant. Here it is on the swift:



And here it is all skeined up:


And a macro:


Oh, and a Buster...lounging in the window...


I hope my pal likes it! It's off to her this weekend, once I get all the acoutrements!

I hope to have some knitting time this weekend...I haven't picked up the needles in a long time now!!