The Countdown starts

2 days until Tahoe! Despite my flying apprehensions, I am excited. Last night I spent more time trying to find a knitting project to bring than I did trying to figure out what to pack. Priorities, people! I settled on My So Called Scarf in Kureyon. Easy, quick and portable. Perfect.

My Dye-o-rama pal, Leigh, received her yarn and I am so glad she likes it. Her socks are looking great! Broadripple may be my next sock project.

Socks Finished and Started

I have finished my Jaywalkers! The second sock was done in no time. I am so happy with this pattern. It was fun ans quick and it is the first pair of socks I have made that fit me like glove.

Jaywalker Socks from MagKnits.com

Yarn: Sock Garden from Knit picks in Stargazer Lily

Needles: Addi Size 1

I have already started my next pair using the yarn I dyed. It is turning out a bit different from what I had expected but I like it anyway. Take a look! Wilton dye and Dye-Your-Own Fingering Yarn from KnitPicks.

My Knitting Spot

Following Scout's lead I am showing you my knitting spot. Warts and all. Yes, I know it needs to be tidy-ed up but here is where I sit and what I usually look at while I am knitting.

Much better

The crappy day jinx has worn off. My windsheild is getting fixed today and the software on my phone has been updated. We won't get into the assistant issue. This is a happy post.

I am loving the iPod car adapter. I set it on shuffle and I am good for the day. I used the gift card to buy the Thriller and Weapon of Choice videos and a couple songs. Now I can submit my step-son to even more 80's cheese. He already watched Cannonball Run 2 the other night. Some would call that torture but he was laughing out loud.

Knitting-wise, everything is going smoothly. The first of the Jaywalker/Barbie socks is on the home stretch. I think next time I knit socks I am going to try 2 at the same time. I was almost done with the cuff when I realized how simple it would be. I am sure there will be plenty of other opps for that.

The Simple Shawl is just that. Perfect for watching tv. Knits and purls with a few yarn overs. The Silky Wool is great and lightweight.

My Dye-o-rama yarn is on it's way to England. I think I found another hobby but am holding off at the moment until the stash is down a bit. One Skein Pal yarn will probably go out next week.

Purchases and a crappy day

I thought I would start off with the good- recent yarn purchases. The Cotton Fleece I bought yesterday is missing. I thought I would be good for giving Backyard Leaves another try.

Now for the crap. Do they happen in three's? First I am driving to a casino for work and a huge rock hits my windshield. Right now there is a 8" crack shaped like the eye of a hurricane in the middle of my windshield. I have an appt on Thursday to get it fixed. Once I get to the casino, 3 different employees tell me that my assistant is doing a crappy job with the display cases and it has taken her 4 hours to produce said crap. Great! Then on the way home while calling my husband, I notice some odd contact in my contact list. I try to delete it and 300 blank contacts somehow get added to my phone. WTF?! To top it off the Verizon guy did know jack shit about how that could happen.

I did get my belated mother's day gift. A $15 iTunes card and a FM tranmitter to listen to my iPod in the car. At least that was a bright spot in an otherwise odd and fucked up day.

All that from 1 Beer?

Purly Girls met at a new place last night, a pub. Being the first one there, I pulled up to the bar and got a beer. Is hubby rubbing off on me? I should have heeded the alcohol/knitting advice I often tell myself but never listen to. As more people get there, I started knitting on the Jaywalkers. I got to the point of turning the heel and somehow started knitting for the larger size when I am actually making the smaller size(beer?). So that part was frogged and I start it over. Then I got to the gusset and started knitting the rows opposite of the pattern. Lovely. That was frogged too. So 2 hours of knitting was actually 1 hour of productive knitting. (beer?)

I got home and started the shawl while watching CSI:Miami. Luckily for me the pattern is easy. My hands and eye got tired so I stopped and found a comfortable place on the couch. Half an hour later, I wake up from my cat nap (beer?) and off course have missed the last half of the show. I got the recap from hubby and went off to bed.

I think the beer is off limits for me at any knitting realted event.

What next?

With Lara finished, the question looms- What next?

I started and finished my One Skein pal project yesterday. That was much quicker than I had anticipated. We haven't even officially started swapping.

The rest of the weekend was filled with beers, an M's Game, the da Vinci Code, pizza, laundry and shopping for a new swimsuit (everyone's favorite thing to do). It wasn't until last night, I realized that I only have one project going and nothing really to start on. I can dedicate more time to the Jaywalkers but I feel like I need something else. For now I have settled on a simple shawl pattern I got from the Fiber Gallery. Brainless and/or quick projects seem to be the item of the day/summer.

I also visited Renaissance Yarns on Friday. They just opened and one of the owners worked at Pastimes Yarn. The selection was alright. I thought they had a bit too much novelty yarns for my liking but I would go back. I got 2 skeins of Kureyeon on a great blue/green color and some Trekking XXL in pink/cream/tan/brown. My first venture into self-patterning yarns.

Hubby surprised me with tickets to go see American Idol on tour in Sept. We went the first year but have skipped out on the rest. I watch religiously and hate to admit I am excited to go.

Finished Lara!

Here is the finished Lara. I haven't blocked her yet but I think I am going to wear it to work anyway.

I made a size smaller than normal and while I can't close it like it is shown in the book, I am not swimming in it either. Details:

Lara from Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk book
Yarn: Cotton-ease
Needles: Denise size 8

Just about there!

Lara is this close from being done. I have seamed the sides and sleeves and just need to finish the collar and block. I will post a pic when it is finished.

Hubby noticed an interesting feature on our new oven this morning. We have a Sabbath feature for "roasting and baking on Jewish holidays." Being the ex-Catholic school girl that I am, I don't know too much about Jewish holidays, although we did have Sedar meals and Dreidel playing assemblies. Can someone out there explain this feature to me? I think it may have something to do with no working/cooking during the day on holidays but please excuse my ignorance if that is totally off. I would love to know more...

Update on the Corporate Jet: Someone was watching out for me because the jet has already been booked for someone else so we are flying commercial now. I feel so much better now. Yesterday morning I woke up stressing over riding in the jet. I have a dr. appt to get some anxiety meds or something to help just in case the plans change.

2 new stores!

Since my LYS shop closed, I have been looking/hoping for a new store to open that was either less than a 1/2 hour drive and/or had a great selection. I have heard of 2 new stores opening close-by. The Yarn Stash in Burien is where Olivia's once was. Olivia's was a bit too helpful (read: stalking salesperson) so I only went there once. Renaissance Yarn is open in Kent and I think one of the owners worked at Pastimes Yarn. As if I haven't bought enough yarn in the past week (most of it was for my SP), I plan to visit both shops this weekend!

Lara is inching along. I worked on it for a bit after Little League and this morning. If a get a chunk of time tonight, I should finished the sleeve!

Inches to go!

This is it! I only have 5 more decrease repeats and the cuff to go before I am finished knitting Lara. I had a good hour and a half of knitting time on Monday and REALLY hit it hard. Lara should be done this weekend.

I am now a semi-blonde. Yesterday I went in to get my hair done. I got about 2 inches cut off and after much waffling between going lighter or darker, decided it is summer so I will go lighter. I didn't really expect it this light but I am getting used to it. I just did not want to look like the ladies I saw in Italy that have bleach blonde hair, black eyebrows and a moustache- a real natural look! I was really fearing that when I went in yesterday. I don't think I hit that point. It is just taking some getting used to.

Weekend update

I managed to successfully make it through the weekend without going to the Weaving Works sale but did stop by a Pacific Fabric for some yarn for my One Skein Pal. I don't know why I am finding this so hard. Her color preferences are not like mine and I am having a hard time getting over that and finding yarn. I did get a couple of skeins. Now what to make for the final month?

10 more rows to go on the second half of Lara's back. Once I sit and get into the knitting zone, it really doesn't take long to whip out a good chunk of knitting. The June 1 goal is still in reach.

Step-son's birthday party was this weekend. We took him and 2 friends to Gameworks. Between the highly annoying and inappropriate gift-giving friend (gun powder filled rockets?!) and the overall Gameworks atmosphere, hubby and I stopped to have a drink after we dropped off the kids.

I missed the last 5 minutes of Desperate Housewives last night after the 3 glasses of wine I had at Mother's Day dinner got the best of me and fell asleep on the couch. I briefly woke to see someone without fingers and had to ask hubby later if that was something I saw or just imagined. My (step-)Mother's day present is belated (ie. still in process from where my husband ordered it). My curiousity is peaked!

Lara's Progress

I felt like I reached a turning point last night when I attached the right and left fronts and started on the back. After hearing about how big some of the Debbie Bliss patterns run, I decided to make the small. The width shoulf be fine but the length is might be short. If I have to, I could pick up stitches around the bottom and add a rib. I am just happy that I have executed some sort of self-discipline and am getting this baby done.

10 rows!

Of course the one night I miss American Idol, the shocker of sockers happens. I was out shopping at a Nordstrom "private" event with my Mother-in-law. Private in that everyone who charges so much on their Nordie credit card is invited. I almost got sucked into $18 customized flip-flops until I realized that I have a $1 pair from Target that I hardly wear so why spend $18. It was great people watching as the "Bellevue Bitches" ran around spending their alimony, trust funds or high-maintenance wife pay.

Anyway, this morning I worked 10 rows on Lara. Pretty proud of myself because the Barbie socks were oh so tempting.

New Goal Set

June 2nd I am going to Lake Tahoe for work. I had dreamed when I started Lara that I would be wearing it there. Well, Lara has taken a seat to yarn dyeing, little league, socks and more. My goal is to have Lara done by June 1st. That gives me 21 days to get it done. Should not be too much of a problem. I have just chosen to work on other things. I need to get my ass in gear so I can work on my One Skein SP project before July (yes, I am a prior planner. It prevents piss-poor performance, as my dad used to say).

We are taking the corporate jet for the trip. I am the most nervous flyer and the thought of flying on and 8 seat plane where the bathroom has curtain for a door and the toilet doubles as an emergency 9th seat sounds far from glamourous. Hubby was going to go but work and limited seats ended that. I am getting anxious already. Plus I am expecting the common old lady knitting jokes as I am travelling with 7 guys who have no qualms about giving me shit. I am sure the iPod loaded with showtunes won't help me either.

Update: Hubby sent me these pics of the plane.
Is that the much loathed toilet? Oh my nervous bladder!

Dye job #3

Last night I wound the last of the dyed skeins (#2 is for my dye-o-rama pal. So sorry no pics yet.) and it only took half an hour! I figured out that when I wind the yarn on the warping board, it somehow gets twisted. Placing the dyed skein ends around chair backs seems to remedy the knot issue. I think I will take it straight to the winder tonight. I wish I was quick enough on my feet to come up with names for my dyed yarns. What to name this? Rainforest? Seahawk? Happy Day? Who knows? All I know is that I cannot wait to use it.

In other dye job news, I am getting my hair done next Tuesday! Darker or lighter-I cannot decide but the greys seem to be multiplying.

Oh- I found my mom a mother's day present. 2 sets of stemless wine glasses. Perfect since they just came back from Napa with lots of wine.

Barbie Sock and Meme

walk
Originally uploaded by lynnknits.

I introduce you to the Barbie socks aka Jaywalker in Stargazer Lily Sock Garden yarn. I really like the pattern and am kind of surprised the yarn in striping so well. But really, this is screaming Barbie and I haven't decided if that is necessarily a bad thing.

My Dye-o-rama Meme

Your favorite colors? I am open to any color!

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? I have only knit socks in Fingering or Sport weight but I open to different weights.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Both.

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? Surprise me. I like it all.

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? yes.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? Holy Fuck-it turned out!

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? Trying out different dying techniques and receiving yarn from others.

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? A couple of times

If so, what’s your favorite dye and method? Kool-aid and a microwave

Do you spin? No.

Have you knit socks before? Yes.

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? Mostly socks but I have made a couple Clapotis with sock yarn.

What are some of your favorite yarns? Cascade 220, Manos, Noro Kureyeon

What yarn do you totally covet? KnitPicks Wool of the Andes- inexpensive for larger projects

Favorite patterns? Something that is more than just stockinette. Variety keeps me inspired.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? A sweater in Manos

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Addi Turbo circs, Denise

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Cascade 220 Quattro- a loyal, dependable yarn but with variety

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Gummy Bears, tea, Dark Chocolate

What’s your favorite animal? Fish

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? No Pet.

If you were a color what color would you be? Depending on my mood- Pink, Brown or Teal

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s). ¾ length sleeve cotton/spandex fitted tee in a dark teal

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? The smell of lilac

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.- Nothing comes to me right now (and you can quote me on that)

Do you have a wishlist? Nope.

Gift Buying Overload

It all begins in April and ends in July. It seems there is a gift to be bought every week. I have made it through my mom's, brother's and step-son's birthdays. Next up, Mother's Day. I have my mother-in-law done (easy-she knits!) but my mom is the hardest person to shop for. She doesn't really have a hobby and is constantly having hot flashes so anything knit is out. She is a teacher so she gets bath gels, coffee gift certificates and other gifts for end of the year presents. She likes tea but how much tea and tea-related items can one person have? I am in dire straits. Once if figure her gift out, I have 3 Father's Day gifts, my anniversary, Hubby's b-day and my dad's b-day to think about.

Knitting news: My iPod cover is finished. I just need to sew a button on the closure. I also started some Jaywalker socks. I have so much sock yarn, I figure I should have a pair going at all times. The first half of Lara is done and I dyed another skein of yarn. Pics soon...

My SP6 is GRRRRRRRRRRREAT!

My final SP6 package was at the doorstep today and wow! Booknits is a wonderful SP. Thank you for being so generous. I am truly overwhelmed by the amount of goodies. She had being going through some tough times during the round and I will keep her in my thoughts.

Contents of Final Package: 2 skeins Lamb's Pride in a great blue, 2 skeins Lorna's Laces in Carnival (yeah-more socks!!!), a skein of Two Waters Fiberworks sock yarn in a yummy pink/ brown combo, a skein of Irish Baby Knits merino in teal/blue/brown, Pursenality Plus book, a set of purse handles, beaded stitch markers and point protectors, scented soap petals, Cadbury Dark Chocolate bar and some Cadbury mini-eggs (not shown because they are already opened).

Thank you again Booknits! You are terrific!

8.5 hours!

That is how long I spent untangling the biggest yarn fuck-up imaginable. The end product, aside from 2 knots where it hit a breaking point and had to cut the yarn, looks great. This pic is a little dark but the colors came out well.

After step-sons's b-day get together last night I was tempted to start winding the other skein but I may have actaully learned from my mistake and at 10:30 with 2 glasses of wine in me, I decided against any yarn realted activity.

Here is a pic of the much brighter kool-aid dyed skein. I have one more undyed skein. I am thinking a blue/green combo. Maybe with Easter egg dyes. Possible weekend project.

BTW: All of this dying has left my knitting projects at a standstill. Hopefully I will get back into the swing of things soon.

Knot the night I intended

Last night after little league and dinner, I decided to take my dyed yarn and wind it into a smaller skein while watching American Idol. Note 2 things: it was after 9PM and I had some alcohol in my system. My 2 red flags for the start of any knitting related project but I looked right past those and moved ahead. I got the yarn onto my swift but then it started to slide towards the bottom and fall off. It just did look good so I hooked it up to the ball winder and started winding it. What a mess!!! Loose strands everywhere. Trying as much as I could to get it to stay, I finaly moved it off the swift. Big Mistake! The mess got even worse and turned into a GIANT knot. By this time it was 10:30 and hubby was off to bed. I told him I would be there shortly. 4 hours, 2 movies(A Walk on the Moon and Mean Girls) and an infinite number of "oh Shit!"s later, I finally went to bed at 1AM and had not made much of a dent. I got up this morning at 6 worked on it for another hour and 45 minutes. I can see an end in sight but the knots just keep on coming. My goal is to have it done before the inlaws come over tonight for dinner. Nothing says welcome to our house like 400 yds of tangled yarn on the floor, coffee table and couch.

I smell like Kool-aid and wool

Ahhhhhh! What a pleasent scent. Wet wool and 4 flavors of kool-aid all mixed together. I am sure it was a savage mating scent to my husband.

Last night I got down to my first self-striping dying attempt. The first try went alright after my near diaster winding the skein onto the warping board. I tried Wilton's for the first time- yellow, brown, green and blue. I am please with the colors except for the blue. It seperated and is now a tie-dyed look of purples, blues and reds. It may look better knitted or even wound into a ball.

Next up good ole kool-aid and the yellow wiltons. This time I went primary with red (cherry), green (artic green apple), blue (berry blue) and yellow. The colors turned out much brighter and more even. I did have a "oh shit" moment when the red mixed in a couple of spots with the green but I don't think it will be too noticable when knitted.

They are drying now and I will post pics later-probably Friday since tonight is little league and tomorrow is Step-son's B-day. He became a man this morning and vacuumed up the biggest spider I have seen when I chickened out.

ready to dye

After a stressful day at work, nothing beats getting this pic sent to my phone from hubby. My Knitpicks yarn finally arrived for Dye-o-rama and the warping board is all ready to go! I am so anxious to get this started. Tonight will be dividing out the yarn, if not dying.

Last night I started (3 times) a cozy for me iPod. I am deteremined to use up some of my stash adn found some easter-y/80's colors lying around. This should be done fairly soon.


Speaking of done. My Dublin Bay socks are finished. I like them but was told by my step-son not to wear them out when here is around. I am sure they will sneak a trip out of the front door some day. Detail:

Dubin Bay Socks from Mossy Cottage
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Vera
Needles: Size 1 circs

What do you knit in the spring/summer?

I don't know if it is just me but the recent issues of Knitty and Magknits aren't giving me much inspiration. It could be that the weather is getting warmer and scarves, sweaters and hats aren't as appealing to knit. I have finished the Dublin Bay Socks (pics to come later) and even though Lara is on the needles, I am looking for the next project. Ipod cover? tried it last night and the gauge was off- frogged. More socks? Likely but need a good pattern, maybe Jaywalking. This may be a good time to dive into the stash and use up the odds and ends I have. One Skein should help with that. I am going to look through it tonight after Little League and hope something hits me. What do you knit in the spring/summer time?