Knit Mainea

2008-02-01T12:03:00.001-05:00

Hey snazzy readers...

I noticed on bloglines that there are still quite a few of you reading this feed... after today, little-earthquakes.net will no longer be mine, thus Knit Mainea at little-earthquakes.net won't either.

Please update your feed to http://knitmainea.wordpress.com

Happy Friday!

2008-01-16T14:55:00.001-05:00

Update: Knit Mainea will temporarily be housed at http://knitmainea.wordpress.com

I haven't set anything up over there... just moved the archives over, so once I get a chance to play around it will look better. Please change bookmarks and bloglines feeds!

2008-01-16T13:33:00.000-05:00

So knitmainea will be moving very shortly... i can keep it here on blogger and host it on blogspot, but hate ads and would rather not have them. I've reserved http://knitmainea.wordpress.com so I can theoretically move it there, too. The reality is, I just don't feel like keeping my personal domain anymore- as much as I loved it, I just have other things I'd rather do than work on it. And to keep little-earthquakes.net simply because of knitmainea seems a slight waste of money.

Knitmainea won't be disappearing... just moving. I'll post the new address once I figure it out!

2008-01-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

It has gone from insanely cold outside last week to 40-degree temperatures this week. With the warmer temps we were able to move enough snow from the front of the garage so that I could actually get my car out (it's been stuck in there for about a month).

I got older over the weekend, too... not that there will be much of a difference between 30 and 31. Still, it was an excuse to have cake, a couple of beers and a dinner out with no kids.

My secret project is coming along fantastic... I like it so much I've already made plans to make another for myself after the Loopy Swap. Still won't show pictures or say anything else.

Happy Monday!

2008-01-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

Two posts in two days! You might want to check to see if the sky is falling, folks. It could possibly fall here if it wasn't so damn cold outside... but single digit temps keep everything well frozen.

Since I didn't remember to add the spinning picture to yesterday's post, here is the spinning:

The Specs: Party Dress, the December 2007 Spunky Club colorway. Corriedale Wool... 4 oz. It's spun super bulky so it's nice and squishy. I found the black I wanted to offset it last night at The Knitting Experience Cafe, so I'm so excited to make some mittens!!

I've also done a few things other than the Christmas projects I blogged about yesterday. A few months back I spun up Aspen, the September Spunky Club color and although I adored the colors and the sheen (merino and tencel, yum!), I had no clue what to do with it since I didn't have a lot (I made the mistake of trying to navajo ply... and... yeah. Half the bobbin ended up as knots in the trash). I finally decided to whip it up into a quick Calorimetry:

I have gotten eleventy million compliments on the colors of this... and this yarn was fabulous to knit with. It's a little on the light side so I won't wear it until after it warms up a bit, but I love it!

I also started a new scarf... I know that is not a huge shock to all of you that frequent this blog. I'm doing Argosy with some fabulous mint green Misti Pima Cotton and Silk blend. This yarn is seriously delicious:

I can't wait to finish it just so I can wear the yarn around my neck all the time.

I'm jumping in on the Celtic Tote KAL that is happening at the Knitting Experience Cafe, but have slacked on picking a yarn. I keep flip flopping between charcoal grey and going totally crazy with pink. I've also started a new project, but since it is going to be given away, I'm not going to post details here.

A real post! Oh em gee!

2008-01-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

It is now 2008... I am still not caught up on my Bloglines (and I only have 35 of them for crying out loud, you'd think I could get my shizz together!), but I actually have some real content to post about! And pictures!

I've decided to not bother going back and putting pictures in of all the stuff from months ago... most of it is in my Ravelry stuff anyway, so if you're really anxious to check it out you can see it there.

But more recent stuff...

I got The Knitter's Book of Yarn for the holidays! Now I'm just trying to convince Amy that she should autograph it because it would make me feel super special. It really is a great book... I was going through it with my friend Julie (who is not a knitter) and she loved so many of the patterns. Speaking of Amy, run, do not walk, to your LYS to get the latest copy of Knitscene. Amy has two wicked cute hoodie patterns in it... both which I need to remember to add to my Ravelry queue.

I also got Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair which I've already finished. As expected, this book is fantastic and funny and I can't wait to pass it on for some of my friends to read.

For the holidays I didn't knit many gifts simply because I knew I'd end up burning out like I did two Christmases ago. The ones I did do, though, were all office gifts and very well received. First up, we do Secret Santa and I drew one of the supervisors. Sue had said to me that she was hoping her gift would be knitted and since she loves green and scarves, I knit her Branching Out in green Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I love this yarn. Like seriously love it. It was fabulous to work with and the end product looked awesome.

Isn't it lovely how Camilla's head jumped into the photo? She wouldn't get out of the way of the camera, so I finally gave up trying. The one thing that I did notice on this pattern is that it says you should be able to get 27 repeats out of the Silky Wool... I think I only got 21 or so before I was dangerously low on yarn. Blocking it made it plenty big, though.
The Specs: 1 skein Silky Wool... size 8 needles... bought at The Knitting Experience Cafe.

My co-worker Sandra has been bugging me for two years now to make her socks... she's a knitter, but not a sock knitter. I finally gave in and made her a pair of Monkeys.

The Specs: Trekking XXL yarn... size 2 dpns... bought at the Loopy Ewe.

I bought the yarn because she originally wanted socks with Christmas colors and this yarn had both red and green in it. I wasn't prepared for how gorgeous the yarn was, though... the way it knitted up was so beautiful. I have enough left over to make some baby socks.

And finally, my boss, Dale, got a new puppy for Christmas and I knew he'd need a new wool hat to walk Jessie.

The Specs: Wool of the Andes... size 8 needles... bought at Knit Picks.

It's just plain 3x2 rib with even decreasing around the top.

I got a fantastic holiday gift from my Loopy Ewe upstream partner... Dorothy... you're awesome! She sent me a pair of wristwarmers (which I am wearing right now) and a matching scarf and some delicious coffee. I came back from visiting relatives to have it there at the door. What a wonderful wonderful surprise!

I've mentioned how much I love the Spunky Club colors... December's color was a special treat and I had to start spinning it immediately. It's called Party Dress and I spun it Super Bulky. It will be mittens... I'm going to offset the colors with plain black.

(photo will be popped in later... either flickr or my internet connection is being a pisshead)

Happy 2008 everyone!

It's December...

2007-12-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

And y'all need to stop posting so freaking much on your knitblogs because I can't keep up! Not to mention you're making my lack of blogging look horribly bad.

Just kidding.

Still no camera battery... and the stuff just keeps piling up that I need to photograph.

We also had a spiffy snowstorm Sunday into Tuesday... with about 10-12 inches of snow. It was pretty for a day, but with current temperatures not even reaching 32F, I've decided that I am already over winter for the year. Too bad I don't get a say, right?

...I should really be spending this time catching up on bloglines...

Books, books and more BOOKS!

2007-11-16T08:23:00.000-05:00

Y'all are going to get sick of pictureless posts from me... especially since I have even more things to show you, but there is some important stuff in the knitting book world to talk about today!

Those of you that have been around here for a while might remember posts of "swatches" and "secret project." And it wasn't just here... it was in random blogs around the knitblog-o-sphere. Then pictures came out... and more news... and finally Jackie was able to publicly announce that yes, she was working on a book of knitting stitches that would be published in 2007.

Jackie asked a group of knitters she knew to help her make the book swatches, and I was honored that I was a part of that group. I met Jackie in summer of 2006 at Kate's and I instantly just loved her to pieces. She is funny and friendly and has this great laugh that makes you smile. And not to mention that when Jason and Kate took us out on the two person tube thingy and sped us around the lake where I am sure I was crushing Jackie (I weigh twice as much as she does!), she never once complained. So the group of us swatched... and swatched... and Jackie was able to not only keep us organized and happy, but did so in the midst of moving from Boston to New York City.

Yesterday was the official launch date of the book... A Field Guide to Knitting!

The book is a pocket sized directory of 200+ stitches, the general amount of yarn used, and the possible use for each stitch. The best part, though... did you notice I said it was pocket sized? It can go right in your knitting bag!

Now, I've read a couple of things here and there about how these are not new stitches and blah blah blah... and no one said they were. The point of the book is to have a reference that you can readily carry with you so you can utilize it when inspiration strikes. It is a wicked cute book and I am just so geeked out over being a part of the project! Jackie... I am so proud of you!!

Next book to talk about... Soft and Simple Knits for Little Ones. I didn't have a hand in its creation, but Chesley did! She helped design some of the patterns and I've got to say, this book is super super cute. Chesley did a fantastic job! I don't physically have my copy yet since I'm waiting for the release party at The Knitting Experience Cafe on December 1st (my book is there... I'm patiently waiting!), but there are at least three patterns in it that I know I will be knitting up.

And finally... The Knitter's Book of Yarn. I will be honest and say that I have not yet purchased this book for myself- I have flipped through it, and I've read excerpts from it (there was one in the Winter Interweave Knits), but everything I have read about it is incredibly positive. It seems to be a wonderful reference in yarn properties and what kinds of yarn would be good for what kinds of projects. The neatest part to me, though, is that Amy has a couple of patterns in the book!

I'm super psyched that three friends have knitting books out this fall... I'm super happy for Jackie, Chesley and Amy!! I just love you guys!!

2007-11-15T10:29:00.000-05:00

So the good news is that I am mono free...

The bad news is that all my other tests came back normal, too. Which means I am back to the "who the heck knows what is causing me to want to sleep 11 hours a day."

So frustrating.

2007-11-09T16:05:00.001-05:00

It would figure that just when I have some exciting stuff to show y'all, I am left without a camera. First it was all the snazzy stuff I brought home from Amy's, and now it's a bunch of other new stuff. And no, none of it consists of finished projects... that would make too much sense in a knitblog.

A couple of weeks back, Lisa had a pattern giveaway on her blog... patterns left from the close of Water St Yarns in Hallowell. And I got a couple- a Phildar Children's booklet, a Bernat baby afghan booklet and an old 1950s children's booklet. I love how the stuff in the 1950s booklet is still classy enough for today's children.

Yesterday I got my Ravelry Beta t-shirt which is super cute and fits wonderfully. I love love love it! And I got a surprise package from my Loopy Ewe upstream partner, Dorothy with a pair of gorgeous Monkeys and some fabulous gourmet coffee. She is seriously so freaking awesome- I'm wearing the socks today and have gotten a ton of compliments. They are striped pink and brown and just so great. Perfect fit and perfect pattern. I cannot begin to say how great she is- this is my first swap and I cannot even imagine having a better partner!!

And today I made Loopy Ewe Groupie status... I ordered some yarn to work on a project for my Loopy Swap downstream partner (and no, no more details than that! haha!) and some Trekking for a pair of Monkeys for my co-worker Sandra for Christmas. I was so excited to get the Loopy bag and my Loopy gift- two skeins of Lorna's Laces in Watercolor... Sheri is wonderful!

I did have to go to the doctor today- a few of you knew that I have been sick lately and just really fatigued. They drew blood and will be doing a few tests (anemia, thyroid, bubonic plague...) but my doctor suspects it might be mono. I am 30-freaking-years old and might have mono? Cassie and I have decided that if that truly is the case then I have the dumbest case of mono in history- what with my so active social life and all. Who knew that you might get mono from sitting home and doing nothing special? Ah, the joy.

Hope you'll have a great weekend!

2007-11-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

And as an FYI... I've turned on the comment moderation feature due to about 300 spam comments hitting my blog over the weekend. Eat my word verification thingy, you spambots!

One of those newfangled pictureless posts...

2007-11-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

The digital camera batteries are dead again... they died 2 pictures into my step-daughter's 8th birthday party. Maybe all the screaming kids scared them into cardiac arrest. I know I was close myself.

I've got one 80s Retro Jaywalker done and the toe done on the second. I've also been working little by little on Tempting and another Odessa. Over the weekend I got the brilliant idea to knit up the Cabled Newsboy hat from SnB with some Baghdad Blue Peace Fleece and let's just say it will be frogged this week. I made it too big and I look like an asshat with it on. I'm trying to convince myself that the Peace Fleece also didn't show the cables very well, so it's not just that my head makes the hat look funny.

Yesterday was the Grand Opening celebration of Spunky Eclectic... an absolutely fabulous place. I've said before how much I love Amy's yarn and fiber... and now I am going to add her store to that list. I got some great stuff but without a working camera, I can't show you yet. Just trust me.

I'm saddened to say that it appears my wonderful friend Dave has decided to disappear from the blogging world. I've linked to his posts here before because he's just such a great guy with such a great sense of humor. Dave... I'm going to miss you!

It's November... the clocks have been set back... the leaves are way past peak (that means they're turning ugly for all you leaf peepers out there). Have a fabulous Monday!

2007-10-31T06:45:00.001-05:00

Just want to wish y'all a

HAPPY HALLOWEEN... Happy Samhain...

This is my favorite holiday of the year... the sights, the smells, the crisp air. I hope yours is fantastic!

2007-10-17T06:19:00.000-05:00

I went to upload my Hobbitland pictures only to discover that my camera battery was dead. I grabbed an old battery that had just enough juice to upload the pictures, but I haven't resized them for the blog yet. They'll be up someday, I promise!

In other news, it is officially reached "effing cold" temperature here in Maine... in other words, I had to scrape frost from my windshield. I mentioned before that my body temperature is on some other scale- I'll let y'all in on a secret: I run my spaceheater here at work all summer long. I am almost always cold... at night you'll find me bundled up under 4 quilts. However, I am also wicked stubborn and will wear sandals as long as I can in the year. I love knitting socks and wearing them at home, but hate having them on all day long. I feel constricted.

But it is now officially "effing cold" and that means the socks are on. These socks:

The Specs: Hedera pattern by Cookie A, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (don't remember which colorway), size 2 needles.

I am one of those weird sock people that likes pooling in the colors... I think it makes them really neat looking when next to each other. The pattern is really easy- the pattern repeat is memorized quickly. It just took me so long to finish them because of everything else I had on the needles.

And speaking of, here is another finished project... one that I haven't even blogged about. This is my first sweater that needed real seaming (I love you raglan!), and although the knitting is super easy, I admit that I still hate seaming as much as I did when I started. I'd rather Kitchener all day long than seam. Anyway...

The Specs: The Garter Stitch Wee Pocketed Cardi pattern from Lionbrand, Caron Simpy Soft in dark blue, size 9 and 10 needles, cute buttons with a dog in a wagon on them!

I really do love this sweater- the cute little pockets are great! And the buttons!

And finally for today... my current project. A little ways back I got some of Dave's Cabin Cove sock yarn and knew immediately what one of the colors was going to be. Jaywalkers. But not just your everyday Jaywalkers, these were going to be 80s Retro Jaywalkers. This colorway has hot pink, blue, yellow and green, and it totally reminds me of the bright colors I used to wear when I was growing up. I cannot begin to express how much I love these socks and they aren't even done.

Most of the people that have seen them comment on how the socks are "too bright" and "my eyes are burning!" and other such nonsense. All a bunch of haters, I'm telling you. I can't wait to wear them!

2007-10-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

So no excuses... I've just been blog-lazy. But I do have quite a bit to show, and some more to follow shortly since I have pictures from my weekend that I still need to upload. Inspired by the awesome pictures of Hobbitland posted here, Seth, boy, and my brother and I decided to walk some of the trails. Pictures will hopefully be up tonight.

In knitting news, I've finished quite a bit. First up, I started and finished Amy Boogie's Chunky Cardi. I cannot say enough about how much I seriously love this yarn and this pattern.

The Specs:
Spunky Eclectic Chunky Big Ball sweater yarn in Pink Elephant, size 10 needles. The only seaming is a little Kitchener under the arms... everything else is all done together. It took me two weeks to do the whole sweater.

I've gotten a gazillion compliments on it- including a ton at the Commonground Fair from the fiber artists there. I'm trying to convince Amy that she should sell there next year.

Next up, I've also finally finished Danica. Truth be told, this pattern is really easy... I've just had too much startitus to sit and finish it.

The Specs:
Woolease worsted weight in grey, charcoal and heathered pink. Size 8 needles.

It's not as long as I had intended it, but if I had kept going on it it would have languished another 6 months on the needles. I really like the color combo and I was suprised at how nice the Woolease looks.

I've started work on Tempting... it's a super easy knit, but so much plain ribbing is enough to make me want to gouge my eyes out if I work on it too long. However, since it is getting freaking cold outside anyway, it won't be a big deal if it sits for a few months while I work on other things.

Notice the cute Loopy Ewe stitch marker?

On Thursday night Beth and I went to Knitting Night and I decided to start a new project (yes, I know, stop laughing...). I browsed the yarns a bit and then decided on some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a light blue. And cast on for...

Odessa!

I wanted to do a no-bead version, and this pattern is wonderful. Super fast, super easy. It was a great beer drinking pattern, too... easy to memorize so I could keep working on it while I was watching the Red Sox win (Woot!!) and drinking Sam Adams Octoberfests. I was done by Saturday at noon, and I've already decided I am going to make another for a Christmas gift (*waves* hi Julie!).

The Specs:
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (only 1 ball!). Size 4 and size 6 needles.

I especially like that this hat is designed to fit a wide range of head sizes so even if your head is unusually shaped, this hat will still fit. The only mod I made to the pattern was to knit to 6" instead of 5.5" before starting the decreases because I wanted to make sure it covered my ears. I'm protesting the cold right now by refusing to turn on my furnace at home (damn oil prices) and wore the hat all day yesterday. And no, before I get hate email or comments, my kids are not cold. For some reason or another, they and Seth run at a totally different temperature than I do and kept saying how nice the temperature was while I sat and shivered. I think if I was to gain any kind of superpower, I would be destined to be "Block of Ice Girl" or something equally as useless.

I'm only a few rows from finishing Hedera... I plan on casting on some toe up Jaywalkers with some gorgeous Cabin Cove yarn. I'll post pictures of those later, too.

Happy October, folks!

2007-09-20T15:38:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that back in December 2006 I was a part of a missionary trip to New Orleans. We helped to distribute gifts to the children of the city and to help clean up one of the neighborhoods. I fell completely in love with New Orleans on this trip... I cannot begin to put into words what the city and the people we met mean to me.

But the Yarn Harlot does an amazing job of talking about it in her latest post... she made me cry at work.

New Orleans... I miss you.

2007-09-06T07:17:00.000-05:00

The wonderful Dave emailed yesterday and noticed that Knit Mainea has been rather quiet lately. And I knew it had been a couple of weeks, but hadn't realized it's pretty close to a month. Oops! To be honest, I keep things updated over at Ravelry and forget to update here.

So here is the past month in a nutshell...

I finished my first toe-up Magic Loop sock.

The specs: 40" Addis size 1, Greenwood Fiberworks cotton sock yarn, no pattern- just simple 3x3 ribbing.

I really loved making this... not only because I found Magic Loop fun to do (although I am not getting rid of my dpns- I like them too much), but because the yarn was super to work with. I'm about half way through the second.

I've become a Loopy Ewe addict.
Yes, yes. Shut up. Four orders in a month isn't that crazy, is it?

I've restarted Mystery Stole #3.
I joined the Secret of the Stole which starts October 5th and figured I should get my ass in gear and finish Mystery Stole first. I was able to breeze through Chart A of Clue 1 in a couple of hours, but then got distracted by the Red Sox game. I'll finish it sometime about the time I turn 50.

I'm working on the ever popular Chevron Scarf.

I'm using Amy Boogie sock yarn in the colors "Strawberries and Cream" and "Poison." Don't you love it? Poison Strawberries and Cream. I've almost gotten my brother's best friend Julie to learn to knit just because she loves how this scarf is coming out.

I went to my first Ravelry yarn crawl.
We started at Purl Diva (Ellen is so adorable!) and I picked up some gorgeous Trekking XXL and some Misti Cotton (no pictures yet) and purchased patterns for the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs and EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket. I've been waiting for the Baby Surprise Jacket to be available sans book simply because it is more easily portable (and there is a huge thread about the legalities of copying a pattern from a book you own to use as a working copy over at Ravelry). Having the pattern separately solves the problem.

And the most exciting thing in my bag from Purl Diva... I got a Wild Woolly! I'll talk more about that in a different post (along with pictures), but if you're curious now, google it... it is such a super cute idea and I can't wait to release my own Wild Woolly into the world.

After Purl Diva, we went to the Knitting Experience Cafe. Chesley is seriously so freaking awesome and I just love her to pieces. My friend Beth (who just learned to knit and is doing amazing) and I are heading down to Brunswick tonight for the Thursday night knitting group. The ladies I met on Saturday were so great and I had such a good time talking with them! Also, if you are interested in knitting pillows and are in the area, check in on Patti's Cable Pillow class. She'll be offering it sometime soon and her example pillow is gorgeous.

We finished up the evening at the Sea Dog... good food, good beer, and super people!

My baby boy started Kindergarten.
Hence all the startitis... I've needed something to keep my mind busy. He loves it and spent all of Labor Day weekend wishing he was at school.

I could also say that I've started Amy Boogie's Chunky Cardigan or that I am almost done with my second Hedera or that I am on a temporary yarn buying diet (balls!). The leaves are starting to change which bums me out a bit. Autumn is my favorite season, but the freaking leaves started changing at the beginning of August. I am still trying to figure out where summer went.

Happy Thursday!

2007-08-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make.

It's not a secret that I hate, loathe and despise metal needles because they make my hands ache. I don't know whether it is the fact that they don't have any give to them or the fact that they are generally heavier than bamboo or the fact that they are more slippery. I just hate them... anyone that can use them without a fuss deserve a freaking medal in my book. Seriously.

Months ago I was trying to find a way to learn Magic Loop without having to resort to using metal needles, but it seemed that the only decent bamboo circular needles that I could find in a small enough size with a long enough cord were Crystal Palace, and the reviews were kind of "eh" in either direction. Some people seemed to find the cord a royal pain in the ass and some people liked it. Others thought the join on the small size needles was crappy. And to be honest, it really bugged me that I would have to order them online because no one within 200 miles seemed to carry them.

While I was in Oklahoma I bought an Addi Turbo size 1 with a 40" cord... but it sat in my knitting bag because, once again, I hate metal needles.

And then I threw caution to the wind and cast on for a toe-up sock.

People, I freaking love this needle. It is smooth, the tips don't clank together like other metal needles, and because of the plating, it is not super slippery. It is working like a dream with the cotton yarn I am using. I do admittedly have to be a little careful because they still occasionally make my hands a little crampy if I knit too long, but nothing compared to the other metal needles I have used.

So yes, I admit. I was wrong about metal needles in general... because Addis are awesome.

I also want to apologize for the *squee*ness of the Loopy Ewe posts... I'm just a new Loopy Ewe-er, and I can't help my excitement. Honestly, I would be happy ordering from just three places for the rest of my life- Spunky Eclectic (my dealer!), Cabin Cove (again, *poke* Dave *poke*) and the Loopy Ewe. The downside would be that my sock yarn would take over the house and Seth would probably divorce me. Sock yarn doesn't really count as stash, right?

2007-08-14T07:58:00.000-05:00

Sneak-up at the Loopy Ewe... go... go now before the neat yarn runs out!! Loopy Ewe link is below...

Yarn Porn!

2007-08-10T09:42:00.001-05:00

I don't have much to show in the way of WIPs or FOs... I have done maybe 2 more lace pattern repeats on my Hedera socks, frogged (again) my Mystery Stole 3 because one of the kids accidently snagged it and yanked it off the bookcase the other day dropping about 20 stitches, and I've started a pair of toe-ups using some Greenwood Fiberworks yarn I had in my stash (I'm trying my first ever Magic Loop socks!). Instead, I have something better to show you...

First up, I'm constantly singing praises of Ravelry, and here is another reason why. People can list yarns they want to destash, and other members can snap them up. I've helped a few people destash things (some Lorna's Laces, some Zephyr...) and here is some that I had to grab because not only have I never heard of this yarn, but it is sparkly. It sent my "Ooh SHINY!" reaction into overdrive!

Wool in the Woods... 2 skeins... color Lottery. Isn't it neat? I have no clue what I am going to use it for- it would be neat colored socks, but probably scratchy as all get out. Any ideas, dear readers?

And next, I got some really sweet yarn porn from The Loopy Ewe. Never been there? You need to go. Now. I'll even add a link that will open in a new window for you IE users. I'll wait until you get back.

Click here NOW

Back? Did you order? Because you should... seriously. The yarn is gorgeous, it will be shipped super fast, there might just be some free stuff in there, and if you order more than 5 times you can become a Loopy Groupie. My order even came with a handwritten note from Shari. Here is what came:

Fleece Artist Merino in Lily Pond

Claudia Hand Painted Fingering Weight in Sea Dreams

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Somerset

I had the urge to jump online and order a whole mess more just so I could lay in it and roll around. And to be honest, the Fleece Artist Lily Pond is such a delicious colorway that I am considering ordering more. I think it would look lovely as a lacy scarf. Now I just need to get my hands on some Cabin Cove Mercantile sock yarn (*poke* Dave *poke*) and I'll be happy!

2007-08-03T06:40:00.000-05:00

I think I've figured out what my issue is with updating my blog lately- I'm just too hot and lethargic to sit and write all this stuff down. Procrastination... why do you torment me?

I got my newest issue of Vogue Knitting the other day in the mail... the 25th anniversary edition. I'm only about half way through it, though, because I keep getting distracted in the evening by shark week on Discovery... remind me never to go swimming in deep water... ever. Or at least let me lose some weight so I don't look so much like an elephant seal.

I finished one Hedera for Summer of Socks...

I love how the lace looks. I haven't gotten any further than the cuff of the second, but at least it's on the needles. I'm eyeing some sock yarn in my stash and thinking about starting a toe-up pair and making the pattern up as I go along.

Today is Friday... the day we Mystery Stolers find out what the theme is. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near the current clue. This is what my mystery stole looked like last weekend:

And... this is where I am at now:

I stupidly had been pulling on the lace as I was knitting to look at the design... and pulled it too hard at some point and broke stitches, which then started to unravel to the bottom. I still haven't frogged the first attempt... I'm thinking maybe about tying it off and using it as a rag or something. A reminder that I need to be a little more careful with my laceweight.

July in the Spunky Club was called "Celebration" and it was fantastic! The day I got the package I started spinning it... I did it as a two ply and somewhere around DK weight or so. I've only got about 150 yards, so I don't have a lot to knit with, but I am thinking it might become some knit mary janes. I loved taking two totally different colors and plying them... I love the stripey-ness of the yarn. This was also my first time using Shetland wool, and I must say that I love being able to smell the sheepy smell in it. The downside is that one of my cats seems to be attracted to it as well, so I've had to make sure it is kept way out of her grasp.

The singles as I was spinning:

And the plied yarn:

I taught my friend Beth the knit stitch last night... I love seeing new knitters!!

2007-07-17T06:56:00.001-05:00

I've been really slacking at the updating lately... mostly because I am either frantically knitting or because I am sucked into Ravelry.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my next up socks for Summer of Socks is Hedera. I'm using some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and I could not have picked a better pattern for this colorway. Seriously... I love the way that these are striping!

The pattern calls for a size 1 needle, but I am using a size 2 and they seem to fit perfectly so far. The hardest thing with this pattern is going from knitting socks with 5 dpns to using 4... I had to rearrange how I normally hold my dpns.

I've also jumped on the Mystery Stole bandwagon this year! I've never done it before, and wasn't sure what to expect, but I am really enjoying it. I can also say with certainty that now that I am working Clue #2, it is easier to follow than Clue #1. I tinked back more times with Clue #1 than I should have because I so easily get sucked into the Red Sox games and lose which stitch I am on. I am up to row 141 on Clue #2 and expect to start Clue #3 tonight.

And... that's all the updating I can muster right now... I haven't had any coffee yet.

Back from vacation!

2007-07-06T06:35:00.000-05:00

It is grey and foggy outside and would be the perfect day to sit home and knit, but alas, I am here at my desk in my work cubicle. Oh, the joy. I did start a new project last night, though... next up for my Summer of Socks project is Hedera in some beautiful Lorna's Laces. I already love the way the colors are pooling (I know so many people hate pooling, but I like it) and hope to have pictures to show after the weekend.

My vacation was to Oklahoma City to visit with my church Lifegroup and be part of a baptism bash for some of us. Yes, yes, I am aware that this is a knitting blog and not a religion blog, but there is actually knitting related content involved! After getting recommendations from some folks at Ravelry for area yarn stores, I checked out the Gourmet Yarn Co. They were so friendly and the selection was wonderful! I knew that they stocked Claudia Hand Painted, so that was first on my list for yarn I needed to look at. I also recently joined the Mystery Stole #3 knitalong, so I was hoping to find some nice laceweight.

What I brought home:

Claudia Hand Painted in the Tropicana colorway (which is so awesomely vibrant I just want to eat it up) and Lane Borgesesia Baruffa Cashwool in white for the Mystery Stole. I've decided to go with no beads just to keep things less complicated- if I want to try it with beads later on, I can do another. I also picked up some Addis to try Magic Loop and some Crystal Palace dpns for Cass. I'm going to teach her to knit socks this summer.

I had intended to knit on the plane to finish my Monkeys, but most of my airplane time was spent sleeping instead. I have finished them, though... yesterday during my work lunchbreak!

I seriously love love love this pattern. The Specs: Monkey pattern by Cookie... STR lightweight in Mustang Sally (thank you Adelle!)... size 2 Clover dpns. I already have plans to do this pattern again.

Before I left I mentioned that I had finished the second pinwheel baby blanket, but didn't grab pictures until the day I left on vacation.

I hope that little baby River-Kate loves it! The Specs: Caron Simply Soft in off-white and Red Heart varigated... size 8 Denise needles. It was slightly smaller than the first one, but since River-Kate is still only 6 weeks old, I think it will work out ok.

New Spinning... from the batt purchased at the Frolic that had the layers of pink, yellow and blue. Instead of spinning it all together, I separated each layer to spin each color by itself. Originally I had planned to spin and do a 3-ply with the three colors, but after spinning the pink and the yellow, I decided to just ply the two of them together. I don't have much yardage, but I love the way the colors work together.

And I also plied up the rest of the Nightshade from the Spunky Club...

The Mystery Stole #3 Clue 2 is up... and I haven't even started Clue 1. I think I need about 17 more hours in my day.

2007-06-28T06:46:00.000-05:00

So I'm easily distracted... that's the only way I can explain why I have yet to do the latest update. And since I leave for Oklahoma tonight (well, Manchester, NH tonight and Oklahoma tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn), chances of it magically appearing here are slim to none.

I hope all of you have a spiffy next few days... I *promise* I will update once I get back from vacation (and theoretically, my monkey socks will be done by then!).

Fiber Frolic... a little late.

2007-06-24T18:40:00.000-05:00

In the last post I said I was going to be posting a review of the Fiber Frolic. And... two weeks later, here it is. Better late than never??

Fiber Frolic, Saturday June 9:
My best friend Cass drove down from Bucksport and we headed to the Windsor Fairgrounds about 10am or so. The sky was overcast... the temp a little chilly... so I think the number of attendees was down a bit. I should note that this was my first Frolic... as soon as we walked through the gate it was like a little patch of Heaven. Tents and buildings full of fiber... fiber animals all over the place. We trucked over to Amy Boogie's booth first because I was trying to be really good about my budget and knew that if I didn't hit Amy's stuff first, I would be out of money by the time I did. And knowing that she had been working on some fabulous batts, I *had* to pick up some stuff. Her sock yarn was also on my radar for the Chevron scarf that is making the rounds in knitblog land.

As always, Amy's booth was busy... but can I just say how fabulous she is? There is just no one like her... her stuff is beautiful and she just has the best personality. I picked up a couple of her batts and a couple of skeins of Maine Sock yarn for the scarf. I was also eyeing a drop spindle, but decided not to get it.

Cass and I walked around the rest of the grounds... browsed and touched great fiber and scratched sheeps' heads. The bummer is that I had forgotten my camera and so I didn't get a single photo of Saturday.

What I brought home...
This is a batt of plain ol' wool... but I just loved the color blend. To be honest, I don't even know what farm it came from or what type of wool it is. It spins up wonderfully though... although that is for another post!

The two skeins of Maine Sock for my Chevron scarf...

The two batts I bought from Amy... I am *dying* to spin up the sparkly one, but I want to wait until my thin spinning is a little more even. I have no specific plan for them yet, but I would love to just roll around in them!

Cass and I had been walking around and had just loved touching the camel- silk blends that we had come across, so I picked up a little one just to try it out. This stuff seriously feels like buttah!

And this is my total luxury purchase... it's a half pound of merino and tussah silk mix. This stuff actually made me weak in the knees when I touched it. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can spin decent laceweight and turn this into a shawl.

Fiber Frolic, Sunday June 10:
I wasn't planning on going again on Sunday, but Sebastian was stir crazy, we didn't have a lot of cash on hand, and the weather was gorgeous and warm.

We watched the sheep dog demonstration first... Sebastian got the biggest kick out of watching the dogs chasing the sheep.

And now animals, animals, animals!

Cass and I had talked to one of the farm owners of these gals on Saturday... the spotted one is Mama and the other is Baby. Mama would start to growl if Baby would wander too far away from her. It was actually really cute!

This was my favorite rabbit in the whole Frolic. His body had been shaved, but his big fuzzy head had been left untouched. He looked like a lion.

And more animals!

What I brought home...
Well... remember that drop spindle I mentioned almost picking up at Amy's booth on Saturday? It came home with me on Sunday.

It's a Schacht... and I seriously love it. I never thought I would love a spindle as much as my wheel, but I've got to tell you... this is close. Very close. I'm currently working on spinning some white alpaca that I bought months ago from Village Farm Alpacas and hope to have enough to maybe do the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave.

I've got more stuff to show... some recent spinning, my second finished pinwheel baby blanket... but I'm going to put that in a different entry (hopefully this week since I leave for Oklahoma Friday morning).