Summer of Stash

After finishing and mailing my secret and complicated project, I was glad to be able to get back to some simple knitting this weekend.

I got quite a bit of knitting done on Blurple Waves, and thought about taking a better progress picture. Of course, I didn't get around to it until after the sun went down, but it works:



As you can see, it covers my double bed, and is almost halfway done length-wise! Java thought she would help me take the picture.



Which was appropriate since her brother Pan was so helpful with my designing earlier.



As for the post title... I've decided to knit from my stash this summer. No new yarn! I have a lovely bunch of yarn already, and I just picked up some more on the LYS tour in May. I figured the summer would be a good time to focus on using yarn I already have. And because I don't think I really showed it much after I moved, here is the stash in its home... the knitting nook.



It lives there with my knitting books and patterns, my spinning wheel, and the little table that I like to photograph yarn and socks on.

Ready for a road trip?

I've been neglecting the blog due to the fact that I'm getting ready for my cross country move slash road trip. Since I've decided that I'm going to blog about it whenever I can find internet, here's the cast of characters.

me, of course

Since you're reading this you probably know about me, so I'll just move on.

my mom



My mom is lovely enough to come out and do the drive with me, so she'll be in on the adventure too.

Java



She's wondering why I keep putting all the fun stuff in those cardboard boxes and arranging them in the living room instead of playing with her.

Pan

Initially Pan was not available for comment since he was busy hiding under the bathtub due to thunderstorms.



But tonight he came out for a brief break from the hiding. He is a little scared but ready for the big trip since he hears Seattle has less thunderstorms.



the iPhone



My new iPhone has agreed to lend its services, including Google Maps, to make the road trip less likely to end in disaster when my mom tells me we're going "in the right general direction".

CTHGSY



Yes, my sock yarn boyfriend is still around and will be moving out west with me.

So, with less than two weeks to go, I'm frantically throwing everything in sight into boxes. The yarn is already packed save a few balls for socks on the road and a couple of WIPs. I packed my books too so my choices of socks to knit are limited to the internet and Knitting Vintage Socks.

I can only hope you're all looking forward to my trip as much as I am. The current plan is to hit the following states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania (day 1), Ohio, Indiana, Illinois Hi MJ! (day 2), and then in some combination of not-yet-planned days Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and finally Oregon.

If anyone knows any good yarn stores in Omaha or Salt Lake City let me know! We'll be on I-80 most of the way, I think, so if there's anything good near I-80 in Wyoming let me know about that too - I don't see any cities labeled on the big Google Map.

Listening to: 1979 ~ Smashing Pumpkins, Credence ~ Opeth

Bunny Thumpers

There's some knitting at the end if you're patient.

There's a contest over at KitKatKnit to measure your cat's "bunny thumper" - the back leg from backwards knee to longest toe. Since my cats are pretty tolerant I figured it wouldn't be such a difficult task, and after a bit of bribery it wasn't!



Java measures about 5.25"



A more in focus Pan measures at just over 5.5". He shifted a bit before the picture was taken so the ruler wasn't quite lined up.

Afterwards they enjoyed the fruits of their labor:



And now for the first knitted FO of the year.... I figured since I had the camera out and the bed was freshly haired up... ;)



It's a sock! Well, sort of. It's a mini sock with Alpaca Sox. I really enjoyed working the yarn, it's pretty soft.

Stay tuned for some *actual* sock knitting in the next few days.

On the way to 100!

Today I finished yet another pair of socks - this one is #97.



Pattern: Madder Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Fabel #671
Started: 10/30/07
Finished: 11/17/07

These were a quick and easy knit once I got motivated to actually knit on them! I used the rib from the pattern, but I did the heel and toe my own way - I find that I prefer a certain heel construction, which is possibly because I have crazy-high insteps. I really liked the yarn - it's similar to Regia, but maybe a little softer.

I finished them up tonight watching the first disc of The 10th Kingdom, which I haven't seen in a very long time.

Also, last night my cats were looking a bit like something out of The Shining sitting on my bed:



"Come play with us!"

Sometimes having matching cats is a little freaky.

Plugging away...

So, how's NaBloPoMo going for you? It's hard for me to say if it's a good or bad thing just yet - I'm not finding it too difficult to blog every day since I *do* knit every day, I just hope it isn't too boring for the readers!

Today was actually somewhat eventful in my knitting world. I got my Ravelry T-shirt:



See, now you know what gauge is for Ravelry. ;)

I baked some banana bread:



And I knit on some neglected WIPs. Clementine and Madder Rib, to be exact. Here's my measly progress on Madder Rib:



Pan likes to help by inspecting the items being photographed.

The yarn, Fabel, was a gift from my fab SP jochibi.*

See, the thing is, I don't really like ribbing. (Yes, I know I just knit an entire sweater in 2x2 rib.) I think this pattern will turn out well in this yarn, but I don't enjoy the actual process of knitting the ribbing much. I often get the urge to cast something on, start it, and then leave it lying around in a sock bag on the top of my dresser stalled at the ribbing, like I did with these guys. Unfortunately for them, they're *entirely* ribbing. I started them in October but then got sidetracked with the Frankensocks and the Secret Spook socks.

* Funny thing... I was looking back at that post from when I first got the Fabel yarn and I realized I had written about buying thread to sew my Spork. Well today I actually did some of the sewing on Spork too! I need to locate the bag that contains the straps and clippies to hold the flap closed, but I had the bag itself with the shoulder strap and I sewed the ends of that strap together and sewed them to the sides of the bag so the Spork is now usable.



It's a little smaller than I thought it would be, which may be due to the felting - I didn't use the same yarn as specified in the pattern - and it's also a little more floppy than I'd like. Although, after the success of helping Rachel line her bag and my recent experiences with sewing on my knitted items, maybe I'll line it...

But, at any rate, it's a very good pattern and produces an adorable bag. It would also be really easy to size up or down, or to change the shape, just by doing some simple math.

Another kind of needle

Well, I finished a pair of socks for KBSX2 this weekend, but those will be secret til my partner receives them. However, Sunday I went to a friend's house for some swimming and a bit of sewing:



I'm making a denim skirt. We did a lot of it on Sunday including pockets, which I'd never done before, but I still have to get a zipper so I can finish it.

Today I got to meet Helen who was here in Boston on her honeymoon. She has a lovely new husband who was very tolerant of having to meet some weird internet knitter on his honeymoon, and he even took this picture of us - ignore the strange mischievous grin:



He only made fun of us slightly for whipping out a pair of socks in a graveyard to pose for a picture. ;) We did a good portion of the Freedom Trail and had some coffee in the North End.

And since it's been sparse on the knitting lately, here are some cats to make up for it:

Java likes to help me knit.



Pan is just too lazy.



Listening to: Only Happy When it Rains ~ Garbage, In My Waking Life ~ Saves the Day

It's been a while!

Another pair of socks was kitchenered yesterday!



Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Sockotta
Started: 5/30/07
Finished: 6/13/07

I modified the pattern to fit a woman's foot and made the cuff a little shorter as part of that. I also used a traditional heel instead of a Dutch heel, and used a wedge toe.

As far as my KVS goal goes, I had a bit of a dilemma. I knit a single Infant's Fancy Silk Sock for a sample, and I couldn't decide whether to count it or knit two more. After talking with some other knitters at WWKIP Day I decided to count it - the goal was to knit all the patterns and the consensus was that knitting a single sock still counts as knitting the pattern.

So, with that decision, this pair brings me to 3/24 on my KVS goal!

And some socks I didn't knit:



Java is the fashion police, but Amanda says handknit socks are always in style- matching or not!

The weekend approaches quickly

This weekend is going to be very exciting, but somehow I keep forgetting to blog about it!

I'm taking a little road trip with my knitting friend Rachel down to Maryland for the Sheep & Wool festival! I haven't been to Maryland yet (the festival, that is, I have been to the state), although I have hit Rhinebeck two years in a row now, but it's still very exciting. I'm also excited because I get to see Amanda's DC house and other kitty and dogs.

Oh, and then there's yarn too.

All in all it should be a great weekend, and I'll try to remember to actually take pictures.

In other news, I think Pan is trying to tell me something:



Listening to: Rusted Wheel ~ Silversun Pickups, Stand Inside Your Love ~ Smashing Pumpkins

Plodding along...

Knitting progress is being made, though currently on many projects and because of that nothing is getting finished lately.

As you've probably noticed I go through phases of finishing and phases of casting on, and another finishing phase is right around the corner. But until then...

I've finally started some socks with the Black Bunny Fibers sock yarn that I bought a couple of months back. So far it's doing the zig-zag pooling thing, but I don't mind.



Pan makes a good knitting helper.



The pattern is the Eleanor from Socktopia. It was a speed knit-along this weekend, but I totally forgot about it and didn't realize the pattern was up until Sunday afternoon. Not that it would have helped much, I worked both days this weekend and moved my fish tanks on Sunday morning.

It was sock laundry day today (ignore the ugly tile colors in my bathroom).



That's not even all the socks, there are a couple of pairs hanging on the towel rack and a couple more on a towel in the living room. Good thing the roommate is gone. ;)

Listening to: A Smart Kid ~ Porcupine Tree, H. ~ Tool

Rockstariel Strikes Again!

Today I got another package from my amazing SP, Rockstariel.



Pan showed an interest in my package right away. After I read the card (which my SP designed just for me - featuring pictures of my pets!) I learned this was a "Wild Kingdom" themed package, so for that reason I present the following events as they occurred.

I unwrapped some of the little packages to discover that some of them contained kitty toys! Pan began loving his right away.



Then Java arrived to see what all the fuss was about, and Pan decided that both toys were his.



I opened the package containing stitch markers modeled after my fish! These are just beautiful and simply amazing. They're from Wee Ones on etsy.



At that point I noticed Java had escaped with one of the toys and taken it down to the floor away from Pan.



I found that my SP had sent a hippo-shaped Kinder biscuit, a cute postcard, the fishy stitch markers, the cat toys, an adorable notepad, and a t-shirt for me which says "Mind the Stash" but in the "Mind the Gap" style. :D I tried to get a group picture of my SP goodies (minus one cat toy) but Pan had his tail covering one of the more amusing items.



I moved it onto the t-shirt, see? There's the notepad where I can jot down all of my cats' most secret thoughts!



Thank you so much, Rockstariel, for all the wonderful goodies and the effort you put into my package. As you can see the kitties fully approve, and I agree with them.

Listening to: Ghost of Perdition ~ Opeth, Wake Me Up When September Ends ~ Green Day