They've been a long time coming...

When I met Lynn and a bunch of other knittyheads at WEBS she gave me some lovely sock yarn as a gift. I knit so many socks, she said, and she doesn't - obviously I would use this yarn in no time.

Well, that's not exactly true. It was October 2006. When I did finally get around to knitting the yarn the socks took me a month to finish!




Pattern: Yarrow Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Dicentra Designs in Abalone
Started: 7/1/08
Finished: 7/31/08

I'll pretend that I artfully posed the socks on the pile of moving boxes, but that is actually where I'm going to let them sit to dry. This moving thing is crazy!

The fact that the socks took me forever to get around to is actually because I kept having ideas (and ideas, and ideas) about what to do with this particular yarn. I wound it ages ago and then started being indecisive about my pattern choice. I think the Yarrow Rib, which I finally decided on, was a good choice. The yarn is fairly high contrast - yet strangely harmonious! - and any patterning would be lost in it.



So thank you Lynn for the fabulous yarn which will finally get worn as its intended object - just as soon as it gets colder.

Listening to: Wicked Game ~ H.I.M., September Sun ~ Type O Negative

Noro Socks

Yesterday I enjoyed my last day in Seattle by heading to the U-district for their street fair. I finished the Noro socks while waiting for some bubble tea.



Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock #40
Started: 5/11/08
Finished: 5/17/08

There was actually a second knot in the yarn on the same sock right before the toe, but thankfully this one kept the color sequence.

Other than the knots I didn't mind knitting with the Kureyon Sock. The yarn is not particularly soft, but the knitted socks feel much softer than the unknitted yarn, and I'm assuming a couple of washes and wearings will soften them up a bit more. I certainly don't think my feet will have a problem with them. The colors, as usual, are gorgeous.

After that I headed out to Ballard with some newly cast on RPMs to meet up with Chelc and watch the 17th May parade (Norwegian Constitution Day). I don't think I've ever actually *watched* it - in the past I was in it. It definitely seems longer, or maybe it is longer since that was a few years ago. In either case it provided some good knitting time.

After a bit of Rock Band I headed back to home base, packed my bags, and flew back to Boston.

A Very Knitty Houseguest

This week among the blizzards and such, I had Monkee staying with me. It's been a blast - she has been very awesome and has helped me put together IKEA lamps, hang artwork in my bedroom, organize yarn, and she even does the dishes! I am happy to let anyone that awesome crash on my couch for a few days. ;)

Because of her I've also been having a yarn-filled few days catching up with other local knitters and visiting yarn shops.

She arrived on Thursday just in time for the huge snow storm, so we just spent the evening knitting and trying to stay warm. Friday after work we headed to A Good Yarn for some yarny goodness, then out to Harvard Square for some noodles and shopping.

Saturday we went to WEBS for the 2-at-a-time Socks book event. It was pretty interesting and I got a book even though I've already got that method down. I also got some Plymouth Happy Feet and a bit of Shi Bui for some colorwork socks.

Today the weather was crummy once again but we did manage to go over to Cathy's place where I brought her some BMFA Leticia in Rooster Rock that I found in my stash-diving adventures (I have two skeins so I gave one to her) and she managed to whip up an Unoriginal Hat in just a couple of hours.

As for me... still knitting socks.

Listening to: Dope Hat ~ Marilyn Manson, Mayonaise ~ Smashing Pumpkins

As promised, yarny goodness

Well today I had a chance to get to the post office and pick up a couple of packages - the first was from my knittyboard Rut Bustin' Sock Swap partner, who turned out to be Bad Amy!

The outside of the box had pictures of people knitting - one even wearing yarn on her head! The whole thing before unwrapping the little individual packages:



The Thelonious pattern, treats for the furry residents of my household, and star beads - I'm really going to find an occasion to wear those in public!

And after some unwrapping I found these lovely goodies:



The sheep tape measure is just adorable, and I can never have enough tape measures as they seem to always get (temporarily) lost. I find them, stockpile them on my dresser, then take them every time I can't find one in my bag. Eventually I go through older knitting projects and bags I don't use frequently and look under the bed and find them all again.

The Toblerone brings me great joy since I have always longed for one. Now, don't laugh, I'm being totally serious here! I have had the chance to taste Toblerone before, I've had small pieces of other peoples' and I think I had a few mini ones once. However I have never had my very own full size Toblerone, and I look at them and think about how I want one every time I see one in the store! Apparently at those times I always decide to 'be good' and I don't ever buy them.

There's also some Mandarin body scrub, a little peanut butter chocolate nubbin, and a new kind of chai to add to my collection.

And now the yarn you've been waiting for:



Both of these beauties are Fleece Artist mill ends.



The purpose of the swap was to send yarn that busted the recipients "sock rut" - my rut is blue, in case you didn't know. ;) I think my pal managed to do this quite well and still send yarn that I love!

And a teaser for next time... I got my Taste of Germany package!


What? I never said I didn't like my blue rut!

Listening to: Moonlapse Vertigo ~ Opeth, Don't Know Why ~ Saves the Day

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

KBSX2

I'm part of the Knittyboard Sock Exchange - actually I'm one of the people running it - and since my swap pal received her socks I can post them now!

My first pal was Jenneke and I knit her these socks:



Pattern: Little Child's Sock (with modifications) from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Camouflage
Started: 7/31/07
Finished: 8/13/07

Of course she took an even more beautiful picture:



Now to finish the socks for my other swap pal!

Listening to: Intolerance ~ Tool, Cryin' ~ Aerosmith

Well, you've gotta have your yarn!

First off, yesterday I got a great package from my Knittyboard SP9:



Lovely Fabel yarn, star potholders/jar openers, a tea straining basket, Werther's (non-melty candy) and a bit of double wrapped chocolate which was only slightly melted.

A closer pic of the yarn:



And now for the title story...

Today while I was getting ready to go out and meet chemgrrl and her mom, who were in town for a few days, the doorbell rang. This is a strange occurrence - and a confusing one, I barely recognize the sound of my doorbell - since my friends usually call to get me to come down rather than ringing the doorbell, and since I didn't have any expected visitors. I grabbed some shoes and headed downstairs, but no one was there. I looked in my mailbox, saw a package slip, and then saw my mailman heading up to a house a couple doors down. I went after him and asked if I could have my package. He handed it to me and said "Well, you've gotta have your yarn!" I agree completely.

Inside was my newest Yarn Pirate shipment:



After that I headed out for the aforementioned meeting. Zanti and Alexis were there too. We went to Windsor Button, where I was a good girl and didn't buy any yarn - I did, however, get blue thread with which to sew on the straps for my poor neglected Spork. We walked around the Boston Common and Public Gardens for a bit, and then chemgrrl and her mom headed off to continue their Boston adventures and the three of us headed up Newbury to go to Newbury Yarns and Lush. I didn't buy any yarn there, either, but I did get a couple of bath bubble bars. Now I just need to get a stopper for my tub (it's the old claw foot kind) so I can utilize them.

Wow!

I got home today to find my belated birthday package from MJ. Now, let it be known that she did actually send me a package near the time of my birthday but due to address confusion it was returned and she sent it again - this time with a few extra goodies.



Yes, she knit me socks! Waving Lace from Favorite Socks - and they fit great.



The starry thing is an awesome circular needle holder - and on the back a zippered pocket. She pointed it out with a note:



Thank you so much MJ!

In other news, I finally got a picture of the sock I knit a while back.



Pattern: Infant's Fancy Silk Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Tofutsies

I knit a single sock because it was a store sample, but I've decided to count it in my KVS goal.

In other news, here's a picture of my Secret Solstice package from Cassandra - she has better pictures of the goodies on her blog including some awesome skull wristwarmers!



And last but not least, a little word about the podcast. Thanks to all of you who have gone and listened to it so far! As of this moment we've had 72 listeners - not bad for the first couple days!

I've heard some positive and some negative things so far - I know the sound quality is a bit echo-y (hopefully the addition of the couch to my living room will help with that!) and that the editing is not perfect. Unfortunately Audacity got mad at me during editing and made a few parts of the original file silent, so the editing was a little more severe than I had hoped. Oh, and next time we will make sure to put Amanda closer to the microphone! Ah well, live and learn right?

Thanks for everyone who has given us kind words and encouragement!

Listening to: Endless Dark ~ H.I.M. , Rocks Tonic Juice Magic ~ Saves the Day

Maryland Sheep & Wool - Part II

Well, it's a little longer than I intended, but here goes:

We got up bright and early Saturday morning, hit Starbucks on the way, and headed to the festival. We arrived at about 8:10 (gates opened at 9) but discovered that they were already letting people in and there were lots of cars.



It didn't take me long to make my very first yarn purchase!



The other person in the picture is the one who dyed and named my new yarn!

After we got through what we thought were all of the buildings we got some funnel cake and sat down in the shade of a barn to knit.



At this point it was 11am and we were already almost yarned out. Rachel met up with us a little later, but headed off on her own to go through the parts of the festival we had done already.

But after a little break and going to meet some Knittyheads we discovered we had missed the main building! Of course we had to stop there too, and buy a little more yarn. Then it was time for the blogger meetup, where I got to meet Adelle my SSS pal, along with many other great bloggers.

Soon after we met Rachel again and headed back to Amanda's house just missing the rain! When we got home we lined up the yarn - the blue part is mine:



We did a little bit of celebrating Cinco de Mayo...



complete with socks!



And then tucked in for an early night preparing for the very long drive the next day.

THE END

But, as for news since I came back, look at the awesome package I got for winning the Loopy Ewe blog contest!



Perchance to Knit - awesome! Thanks Sheri!

And stay tuned... this weekend I head to New Hampshire Sheep & Wool. :)

Listening to: Her Silence ~ Sculptured, Cheer ~ Saves the Day, Sang Real ~ Dredg, The Kill ~ 30 Seconds To Mars

Maryland Sheep & Wool - Part I

Thursday night Rachel picked me up and we headed to her house in Connecticut to spend the night. Her family has a very old house, especially for a west coast girl like me, so I was rather fascinated with the oldness of it all.



Above is the barn and outhouse, and below is a keyhole in one of the floorboards.



We got up Friday morning and headed down to Maryland via Philly where we stopped at Rosie's Yarn Cellar and got lunch - I had a vegetarian cheesesteak!



Rachel dropped me off at the airport to meet Amanda, and then headed into Baltimore to meet her friend. Amanda and I went to the Nautilus diner to meet Trillian and Turtlegirl for some dinner. Since I had finished socks in the car (and I didn't bring my blockers - I'm not that crazy!) I decided to make them pose with the socks. The other patrons quite possibly thought we were totally nuts.



The socks are Lichen Rib from Knitting Vintage Socks (1/24 for my goal). I'll post more project details when I have a better picture of the socks from the recipient.

We had a lovely dinner and got a group picture before heading back to Amanda's for the night.



Coming soon... Part II!

Listening to: Wicked Game ~ H.I.M., Weaken ~ God Lives Underwater, Dose ~ Filter