Have Yourself a Merry Bleeping Christmas* from a Friend in Chicago

*I've been known to drop a few F-bombs, but seriously, Rod and Patty have set a new bar.

While we are here digging out from snowbanks and political scandals, I thought I'd provide a few pictures of my favorite Chicago holiday event, the Christkindlmarket. Vendors from Germany come to Chicago from just after Thanksgiving to December 24 and offer traditional German wares in (unheated) wooden huts, just as they do in Germany and Austria. There are gluwein booths and sausage stands, hot cinnamon roasted nuts, and other delectable treats. In an effort to be multi-cultural, they also include importers of items from South America (warm, woolly hats come in handy this time of year), Ireland, and a few other countries and regions. These folks are at the mercy of whatever Chicago throws at them. On our annual Christmas date last year, it was brutally, viciously windy and cold. This year it was windy and snowing. (Windy can be a theme here.)

The tree at Daley Plaza is an odd one. It is actually constructed of hundreds of smaller trees wired together to form a big tree. Interesting...

Caroling out in the snow.

After the market, we walk a block over to Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's) to see the holiday windows. After that, it's up to the 7th floor to see the Grand Tree in The Walnut Room, then out for dinner. It's one of my favorite nights of the year.

Now that I've completed all of my holiday deadline knitting and shipped out all of the gifts going east, I'm focusing on decorating the house and setting the menu for Christmas Eve. We've decided to skip the real tree this year. I'm doing the wrought iron tree with the fiber-themed ornaments again. I haven't decided what else is coming out, but I think simple is the game plan.

Speaking of Christmas knitting, here's what was on the needles:

Blu for my cousin's baby, Cora Jane

Hats for Stitches from the Heart

Spring Forward Socks (dyed and knit by me) for my Aunt to gift to someone at work

Cat Hat for my cousin

Plus a Brangelina Hat (forgot to photograph that one) made for a giving tree that my friend, Barb, was doing for charity. (If you decide to make one, my experience is that it comes out rather large--even large enough to fit over our disgraced governor's hair--so you may want to cast on fewer stitches.) It certainly wasn't the metric ton of knitting that some people do for the holidays, but those little jeans were a challenge to my patience. The knitting was easy and the finishing wasn't difficult in terms of skill required, but I took them apart three times until the stitching looked good enough to me. I even re-did the little label twice. I must have stitched one of the pockets four times. (I was obsessed.) In the end, I think they're pretty cute. Hope she can wear them more than once or twice.

Channeling My Inner Suzy Homemaker and Calling Carrie Bradshaw

Despite how much I sucked at Home Ec (I kicked ass in shop), I have a pretty strong domestic streak.* I enjoy cooking and baking, and my love of fiber seems to know no bounds. (I will learn to spin, I will learn to spin.) All of a sudden, I am itching to sew. I have been bitten by the Amy Butler bug. So...I ordered a bunch of patterns and some fabric (Purl Soho had a very nice 40% off sale on some charming textiles), made the rounds of local fabric stores, and I am going to oil up the Singer and, hell, yeah, I am going to sew. We'll just have to see how that goes.

I've started and finished a few small knitting projects in the last couple of weeks, including some socks and a few cowls. (I hope cowls don't become the ponchos of 2008--I'm investing far too much time and $$ only to abandon them in a season or two. I have some Quiviut versions in the queue--yum!)

This week I have to choose my projects carefully because the combination of the Alchemy Magician's Scarf (that Silken Straw is unforgiving stuff) and some gardening has wreaked havoc on my hands. After a few rounds, they start to ache--not good, not good at all. So, I am taking it easy and maybe I will use my "down time" to practice spinning.

Yesterday, I went to see "Sex and the City." (I have a serious thing for Mike Logan/Mr. Big, both flawed but very hot characters.) I left wanting to toss all of my Danskos and Borns and invest heavily in Jimmy Choos and Manolos. Not gonna happen, mind you, but it was tempting. I actually have a pair of Manolos that I have never worn. I got them on clearance from Neiman's several years ago (I just totally blew my style cred by admitting they were on clearance), but I never had an outfit to wear with them. One thing I have learned from those Sex girls, your shoes do not have to match the outfit at all. Watch the feet--you'll see what I mean.

After a very cool spring, it looks like the nicer weather may have arrived. Today was absolutely perfect: sunny with an occasional cloud, warm but breezy, and not humid at all. So long as it stays this way, this will be my view for most of the season:

We are so, so very lucky to have a large balcony on our house. Our next door neighbors to the north have one, too, and it's a very good thing we get along with them because we're only about 5' apart. It is quite a luxury here in the city--both to have neighbors you love and a great outdoor space.

The husband, the boys, and I all got a big dose of quality balcony time today. Actually, Pitch lost privileges for eating flowers and Papel got sent to the dugout for having a battle of wills with a terribly brazen pigeon. There was no contact--just a fierce staring contest that threatened to turn ugly for somebody. Considering I found a squirrel's tail--the entire tail--on the sidewalk next to my house this week, I do not want any part in wildlife carnage. (My cats were cleared of all charges in the squirrel case; they are always limited to strictly supervised balcony time and therefore have ironclad alibis.)

(Get a load of all of those tree seeds. There was a solid layer of them covering the floor before I swept up as many as I could. There were times today when it looked like a blizzard.)

P.S. Those clear plastic shoes are not Carrie Bradshaw-approved. I know that, but they amuse me nonetheless.

*My domestic skills DO NOT include cleaning. I. HATE. TO. CLEAN.

Stop talking about that cake camp!*

*Apologies to Lili Tomlin.

I learned some really cool things at camp, but one thing sticks out in my mind as an Oprahfied "ah ha!" moment. Say you are knitting along with a lovely striping yarn like, um, I dunno, Socks That Rock. Things are great because you've gotten gauge for the pattern AND the yarn isn't pooling. You knit and knit and knit and then you get to the heel. You start your heel flap, blissfully going along as before. You finish all of the heel stuff (turning the heel, picking up stitches, making the gusset) and get back to business knitting around the foot. THEN YOU SEE IT. There in front of you is a big, honking sideways V (> or <) right at the top of the foot. How did this happen? The yarn was striping before. IT MUST BE THE YARN!!! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE #@&*^ YARN! GAH! IT'S TINA'S FAULT!!!** Take a deep breath and stop pointing fingers 'cause there is an explanation. If you do a traditional heel flap with striping yarn, you will inevitably get one of these : < >. It's true. I have found some great examples of lovely socks that demonstrate this phenomenon exquisitely. Here are the Flickr links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indychick_uk/452756125/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/indychick_uk/452755491/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlw_in_pa/1861004668/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/courtneyburch/514798570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oboegoddess/2329505492/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sassenach/812423640/

See the >? So, if you don't want >, don't make a heel flap; do a short row heel instead. But maybe you already knew that. Sorry, just catching up here. I don't know why, but I thought that was fascinating. I guess that makes me a sock geek. (Yeah, like that writing wasn't already on the wall.)

Here is a link to my abridged Flickr set of photos from the week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10744245@N00/sets/72157604656637762/

The alpacas were at Krystal Acres Farm in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We went there the day before travelling to Orcas Island for camp.

**It's not Tina's (Newton, owner of Blue Moon Fiber Arts) fault, by the way. Don't like the way your STR is pooling? Change your needle size. Do some experimentation with gauge. You will be able to get it to stripe--promise.

Reporting from Camp Crow's Feet

First off, let me start by thanking the travel gods--and their minions at American Airlines--for granting my wishes. Our flights and connections were perfect. Whew.


Having never gone to sleep-away camp as a kid, Sock Camp was a taste of what it must be like. There were contests and relays and crafts and skits (yup. skits.) and even a camp song. There were things that cannot be explained to the outside world. Much of what happens at Sock Camp should stay at Sock Camp.

Craft Day produced Sock Monkeys. Mine is the monkey on my back, My Stash. (Yes, that is a teeny, tiny American Express card.)

Cat Bordhi, The Yarn Harlot, Tina Newton (owner of Blue Moon) and Cockeyed (one of the Sockateers) proving that you can knit with turkey basters. I'm not sure why you'd want to, but they did.

It all started with the homework assignment: make a toilet paper roll cozy. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would ever make/need/use one. Frankly, there isn't much in my life that needs a cozy of any sort. Nonetheless, I happily took on the task.

My Hanging Pot for the Potty, complete with fuzzy caterpillar.

While I was pleased with my end product (yes, I know there is a pun to be found there), I was certain that there would be works of sheer art, cleverness, and great brilliance.

The House of Flusher. Edgar Allen Poo has just released The Tell-Tale Fart.

Stephen of the Y Knit podcast made a Crapotis. Kate Gilbert would be so proud.

The sock-knitting octopus was the hit of the evening.

It would take several posts to fully describe the camp experience, but here are some highlights:

• Not surprisingly, Cat Bordhi is a genius. What I didn't know is that she is also funny, charming, approachable, warm, quirky, and silly. She joins Sally Melville on the list of women I have a knitting crush on.


• Tina Newton and her merry bunch of crack dealers Sockateers are the hardest working women in the yarn business. Planning a large event with lots of moving parts is hard, hard work. Not once did I see them gripe or grumble. They were unfailingly cheerful and helpful and incredibly nice. While we were there for a good time, they were there to work, yet it always seemed like they were having as much fun as we were. I liked Blue Moon's product before, but I now have a connection to the people who design, dye, skein, label and ship it. They are a fabulous bunch of women; buy their crack yarn.


• I have had the experience of overhearing a conversation of businesspeople passionately discussing issues in their field. Whether it be medical or engineering or manufacturing or architectural in nature, because I don't know the lingo, it feels like they are speaking in a foreign tongue. For five days, I was among knitters. I understood the language and spoke it fluently. There was great freedom in that.


• I got to spend quality time with Toni Neil of The Fold. She has always been very helpful when I have seen her at shows and, in particular, when I went out to her shop for a spinning lesson. That day, she spent three hours with me, helping me to take my wheel apart, and even calling Louet for advice. She went above and beyond. Spending time with her as a fellow camper was a delight. People, I saw Toni buy yarn. She owns an amazing shop that carries Blue Moon, yet she bought yarn. I have already used (and, I'm sure, will use again) that fact as a justification for my own yarn purchases.

Scary stash acquisition photo. Bad stash monkey.

• (A)If you needle felt a sock monkey in public, you may scare the non-knitters who think you are performing voodoo. (B)You can do voodoo on a sock monkey. Ask Chappy.

My friend, Liz, and I had a great time. We met many interesting women (and Stephen!) who have so much talent and enthusiasm for fiber. It was an inspirational experience that will stay with me.

There is so much more, but that's a start. I will be uploading pics to Flickr over the next few days and will post the link when I do.

Vested Interest

I've got several things on needles, some of which cannot be shown yet, but I do have and FO to display. I was attracted to the Back-to-School U-Neck Vest in Fitted Knits as soon as I saw it. I had some stash yarn that was originally intended to be another vest, one I wanted to translate from this Anthropologie item of a few winters ago. Well, that didn't happen, and the yarn (Harrisville Orchid Line, now discontinued), needed to be re purposed.

I did a fair amount of studying on Ravelry, noting mods and looking at fit. The key to this looking good, it seemed, was to make sure that the horizontal rows in the middle hit just below the bust and that the straps were narrowed.

I finished it and wore it on Friday. I noticed that when I sit, I get a crease in the ribbing that stays there. Weird. I contemplated taking a scissor to the bottom and shortening it to that point, but then I think it would be too short. Bah. Otherwise, it is okay.

I'm planning on doing this again with Cascade 220, the original pattern yarn. Next time I think I will only do one purl ridge around the armholes, making the straps a bit more narrow.

I leave for Sock Camp next Sunday. I am pretty excited, though I am a bit nervous. I'm not really sure why since I've never had a problem picking up a technique in a class before. Maybe it's because I have fallen off the sock wagon a bit lately. I've been more interested in larger projects, and I haven't done any work on a sock since I started a pair of Nutkins after the holidays. I hope to have lots of great pics from my week in WA.

Negativity

It is -4 degrees according to the Weather Pixie on the screen and I believe her. Most of my house stays fairly warm in winter--and in summer due to a lack of a/c--but, in typical Chicago fashion, it has porches on the back that were converted to enclosed rooms at some point over the decades. Our computer is in the back room/former porch upstairs and it is nippy up here. My toes and fingers get quite chilly as does the tip of my nose, so computer time is limited these days.

Curtailed computer time means more knitting time, and I have (finally) finished the socks for my niece. For any number of reasons, these were so tedious. It was really the first time that I truly feared the onset of SSS, but they were promised as a gift, so apathy was not an option. I don't love the pooling, and the crossover rib pattern isn't great with this yarn, but I'm hoping she will like them anyway. I also wasn't crazy about the yarn itself. It looked and felt better in the skein than it did while I was working with it. This kid grows like a weed, so she'll be out of them in no time.

As soon as the socks were bound off, I immediately cast on an EZ February Baby Sweater. It only took a few days from start to finish. It would have taken less time but EZ's directions can be, um, skeletal though the pattern is lovely. I also had to tink a few times because I can't count to 7. Thanks to the magic of Ravelry, I scoped out other knitters' projects and made a few mods, including making it totally seamless and not putting in buttonholes all the way down. I am quite happy with it. More details are on Ravelry.

I found out last night that the gender of my cousin's baby will not be known before her shower, so the February sweater is going to my friend Kelli's new daughter Emelia. I know a boy could wear this sweater, but I had visions of it languishing in a drawer because the lace pattern might be considered too feminine should my cousin have a boy. On the other hand, I spoke to my aunt last night, and she wants a granddaughter so badly that she has bought stacks of dresses; this kid may have nothing else to wear but girls' clothing. In an effort to be gender-neutral, I have resurrected the once-frogged Baby Surprise and that will be my gift. It's going quickly, so I may have this finished by the end of the week and it will get there in time for the shower.

I have one more immediate baby project, a pair of Baby Chuck Hi-Top Booties in Illini colors for my former co-worker. I hope to whip through those by the end of the weekend so I can get to some things for me. I have a growing list of projects, as evidenced by my queue in Ravelry, and some upcoming self-imposed deadlines.

My nose is starting to get numb, so it's time to log off. To paraphrase Brenda Dayne, if it is as cold where you are as it is here, put on a sweater--that's what they're for!

Finally...

I received my last installment of the Rockin' Sock Club this month and in it was a grading scale based on how many pairs had been completed. I am ashamed to say that I had made NO pairs from either RSC or the Woolgirl club during the year--sad, sad, sad. Nonetheless, I was determined to rectify the situation before 2007 had bid its goodbye, so I cast on Thursday and finished a pair on New Year's Eve. I present the Inside Out! Socks in the Monsoon colorway:

These socks had caused a bit of consternation out there. Quite a few people had trouble with the fit because the cabling made it tough to get over one's heel. There are advantages to being a slacker, though. I was able to benefit by the trials and errors of others and picked up on a key mod which was handily available in a thread on Ravelry. The pattern is written for the toe to be worked on a size 1 and the balance knit on 0. A few clever folks suggested switching to a 2 on the leg for a looser fit which is what I did to a great result. I was really happy with the striping on the foot. Because of the change in needle size, the striping didn't continue on the leg, but I'm still quite thrilled. The change in needle size did necessitate an emergency call to my husband who walks by a LYS on his way home from the train. Just as I was about to start the leg, I discovered that I either did not have or could not locate size 2 circs. Fortunately, I called his cell just as he was at the corner where the LYS is located and he was able to pick up some Addi Turbos for me--whew.

I hope to finish all of the 2007 RSC socks by the end of the month, though given some other projects on the horizon, that may be too ambitious. I also have three pairs from Woolgirl to tackle--and RSC is shipping the first package of 2008 this month, so I had better get on the (pointy) stick!

This weekend, we had charge of our friends' 10-year-old son. Due to some behavioral and attention issues, this kid can be a handful. I was determined to keep him happy and occupied, so I taught him finger knitting. In the past, he has mentioned that he would like to learn to knit, so I thought this would be a good starting place and would get him used to controlling the yarn. Manual dexterity is not a strong suit for him, and I wanted him to feel like he could master a process without having too many things to keep track of. When we were in the house, if he wasn't sleeping or eating, he was making his chains. The finger knitting kept his attention focused and we had a great weekend with no problems or meltdowns which kept everyone happy. Apparently, he has been proudly gifting people with his creations and he now needs to make more to keep up with demand!

In other matters, this is what we woke up to this morning:

I love it when the snow collects on the trees. (The first pic is the view across the street from my front porch and the last one is a bottle tree in my backyard.) It was a beautiful way to start the new year.

Stinkin' Tinkin'

Like for most of us, knitting is my outlet. It's the thing that is supposed to keep stress at bay. Hah! Last night, I came home late from work after a particularly trying evening meeting to find that my husband was still stuck at work which meant I wouldn't have any quality time with him before he left for a business trip at 5am this morning. (He's worked all or part of the last 5 weekends and has been putting in a lot of late nights, so I was looking forward to maybe an hour or two of face time. Not to be.) And, our Internet was out, so no Ravelry to fill the void. I was primed for a big, fat pity party. So, I put on my favorite flannel cowboy pajamas (the apparel equivalent of comfort food) and sat on the couch to work on my sock. It's a simple sock, just garter rib--a no-brainer, right?! I was so engrossed in my funk that I forgot the knit rows between the K2, P2 rows. Just plain forgot. When I realized it, I had to tink a bunch of rounds. Sure, I could have performed surgery with a crochet hook, turning Ps into Ks, but that would have taken just as long or longer. So, I got nowhere. Well, I did have those 20 or so minutes before I realized my mistake, so I guess those counted toward reducing my stress level, but the next 30 or so of undoing undid that. My evening was a Kinks song turned up to 11.

Quoth the Raven, "Never Mind"

Holy Humvees, people, what is with this weather?! 88 and sunny? We here in Chicago often get cheated out of spring--we go right from winter to summer--but if we lose fall, too, I am outta here. (I know, I know, it's warm everywhere, not just here.)

Halloween is a favorite holiday 'round these parts, and I can remember many a sad October 31 when I had to wear my winter coat over my costume. (I really, really hated that when I was of trick or treating age.) It doesn't appear that kids are going to have to worry about that this year unless things take a sudden turn.

I've done just a bit of Halloween decorating this year. Last October, due to a crazy, crazy time at work and in life, I couldn't see my way to put out any rats, bats, or even a single spider. I'm easing back into it this year. I have a wrought iron tree in the living room (it was my fiber-decorated Christmas tree this past December), and it is full of crows and ravens. There is a buzzard hanging out on an antique birdcage. Tippi Hedren would not even consider darkening my doorstep. The skulls, skeletons, and rats, however, will probably have to wait until next year.

Instead of finishing the last few inches of Garnet Wings, I pulled out a UFO sock and worked on it this weekend. Never mind that it is too freaking warm for socks. Never mind that--though I love to knit socks--I hardly ever wear socks, even in Chicago winters. (I have h0t feet. I mean that literally, not in the fet1sh-y kind of way. My mother says I have ugly t0es. ) Never mind that I have a plan to wear Garnet Wings in a few weeks. Never mind.

(I am still having paragraph spacing issues here in Bloggerland. Anyone else having the same experience?)

Playing Catch-up

Hi y'all,

Things have been a blur, so linear is not where it's at with this post.

I received my first Woolgirl Sock Club package.



Nice job, Jen. I am a sock club joiner (Rocking Sock Club, anyone?), but have yet to actually make any of my socks. I will...someday.

The Husband and I went to Renegade last week. It was big and huge and huge and big. In all fairness, I don't love street fairs. Put the same event in a park, and I am happy as a piginpoop. (Side note: I'm on the Kentuck countdown!) The sheer volume was overwhelming. There were fabulous things (great jewels including one of my etsy faves LusterBunny), clever things (I'm blanking on the clever at the moment, but I know it existed), and even free things (Etsy Labs was giving out really yummy tubes of lip balm. Pink Grapefruit, yum!) Overall though, I found the sheer volume to not be advantageous. It felt a bit repetitive and maybe a little diluted. (But, I have heard others say that it was fantastic.) I was seriously holding back, though. I stayed at least a foot away from any yarn that was there. (I know Corinne and Bonne Marie indulged!) There was some gorgeous jewelry. (Items with birds on branches were particularly appealing to me.) In the end, in honor of the coming holiday, I bought a little skull pin from LusterBunny and a Bat Pack (four black heavy paper bat cutouts) from a shadowpuppet vendor. That. Was. It. I swear, I've been trying to be good. I had a little falling down a week or so ago when some Sophie's Toes showed up in my mailbox and I ordered and received a Tracy Eichheim spindle. I got a Lamb Rim Spindle and have Llamas on order. (I've gotta be honest, I'm probably not going to ever spin a ton this way, but I love them as art objects.)

Of all the things one could photograph at an art fair, this is what I chose:

I'd seen this little bit of spin on the side of a garbage truck earlier this summer. So, take heart! No need to feel guilty about all of the waste we are creating that is clogging up our environment and taking up space in landfills. We are making wildlife habitats. Whew, I feel so much better now. I'm going to hop in a Hummer, drive two blocks to the store and buy a whole bunch of juice boxes, frozen dinners, and other over-packaged items so that I can help make the world a better place for wild animals. (Don't get me wrong, I love animals--but I think there could be more pleasant places for them to live and play than human waste dumps*.) That is "spin" with a capital "S"!!!!!!!! (Now, if the C1ty of Chic&go could get its act together on the issue of recycling, I would be much happier. The blue bag system is a mess (but we still try), and only certain wards now have recycling trash bins. Even if people don't use them for their intended purpose, winter is coming and people need some way to save their parking spaces!

*I once owned a used postal Jeep that I bought for $400 at the post office in New Haven, CT. I drove that Jeep up to Boston for the summer (yes, the seat was on the right, and I had a mail sorting table to my left), then down to Tuscaloosa for my first (um, only) year of grad school. When I left, I sold that Jeep to an old man in a laundromat who wanted to use it to take his dogs to play at the dump. They loved the dump and he loved taking them there. He gave me $500 for it ( a $100 profit!!!) and I took the train back to New Haven. The point of this story is that some animals do like to play in dumps, landfills, and the like, I guess.

Checking In

Hey there. I thought it was time to make an appearance. Guess what...I'm knitting again. This week I finished these:



and this:



Okay, the book isn't knitting, but it is the first thing I've read in a long time that has nothing to do with work. That alone is an accomplishment.

The socks are another pair of Monkey Socks, this time with a ribbed top. I did an Eye of Partridge heel just for kicks. The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug in Bright Charcoal. Love the colorway, love the pattern, but I am afraid that the combination of the two doesn't do a lot for either. C'est la vie.

A few notes about Jitterbug:

• I've found it to have occasional odd bumps and tufts which you have to deal with the way you would a knot.
• The color is crazily inconsistent. If you are doing a project with multiple skeins, definitely alternate.
• The yardage isn't all that generous. You might need two skeins if you are making taller socks than mine. I have a bit left over, but not a lot. (Brenda Dayne talked about this on Cast On this week.)
• Those issues aside, I really like it and have another pair started in a different pattern and colorway.

There is still a lot of other stuff going on here, so posting may remain spotty. I will have reports from the Michigan Fiber Festival and Stitches in August, so check back.

Monkey/Business

On the knitting front, the Monkey Socks are finished. I love this pattern, especially with the picot mod. I also love this yarn. It's Piece of Beauty and it is great stuff.


It took longer than expected to finish them, but I am thrilled with the result. (A 70-hour workweek will keep you away from the knitting, that's for sure.)

That's the Monkey part of the post. On the Business side, I am leaving my job. I told the board a week ago Friday, and I have given them November (December at the latest) as my end date. It was a really difficult decision, but I feel it is the right one for me. Depending on the desires of my replacement and of the board, I may take on project work for the organization. I'd like to keep my options open; the company has been a part of my life for so long, I can't see walking away entirely.

What am I going to do with all my new found free time? I'm looking forward to spearheading the plans for renovations on the house, cooking again, and getting back east to see my grandparents more often. I'd like to lose a few pounds, too, so I'll need to dust off ye olde treadmill. Oh, and I'll be knitting more, too.

Doing It in Public

You dirty birds--I mean knitting, as in Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Unlike last year which was dreary and cold, we had a warm, stunning day on which to flaunt the craft. The crowd was a bit smaller than 2006, but every bit as enthusiastic. I had a great time with many of the regular Thursday night KIP-sters, and it was really fun to see so many gorgeous WIPs on the needles of others. I made some progress on the second Monkey (crazy week--no knitting until today), and I should have a pair soon.

Knitwerks was offering a discount to WWKIPD attendees, so I took the opportunity to stop down. Cheryl has done a nice job with the space, and she has some great yarns. I picked up two skeins of Dream in Color sock yarn. Gorgeous looking stuff.

Speaking of Dream in Color, I received the Tulip Cardigan kit I ordered from Lettuce Knit on Friday. Adorable. I want to make one for me, only I'd need much, much more yarn.

I didn't take any pics of Knitfest 2007, but I did add a picture to the "Husband Pointing at Things" gallery.

Slow, Slower, Slowest

I wish there were more progress to report but, alas, things are s-l-o-w. Sitcom Chic is coming along. I am up to the part where you put down the body and cast on the sleeves. So, I did as instructed and put it down. l'll be back to it, but I needed a break from the stockinette, and so I decided to monkey around...

I have cast on and ripped that Monkey more times than I have ever ripped anything else. First, I screwed up on one of the YO rows, went to backtrack and mucked things up terrifically. Then I cast on and knit all of the ribbing only to have the dear husband accidentally yank out one of the needles when (the nerve!) he tried to make some room for himself on the couch. I could have picked up the stitches, but it almost seemed easier to start over. So, I cast on, knit 4 repeats of the lace pattern and THEN decided I didn't like the way the ribbing looked. Rrrrrrrip. I really think I need to do the picot edge mod that's been making the rounds. I believe that will make me happier. This yarn (Piece of Beauty) also tried to be a plain old stockinette sock with an Eye of the Partridge Heel. In fact it WAS a sock, finished, kitchenered, and everything, but I decided to rip that, too. (It's not me, it's the yarn! No...it's me.) I love this pattern, and I simply can't stand for the sock not to be perfect when I finish.

UPDATE: Yes, the picot edge is the way to go. Don't ask how long I fiddled with that until I got it looking like I wanted it to. But now all is right with he world--the Monkey loves the picot.

I hope you had a great weekend. I didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but that's pretty typical. Just for fun, here are my "8 Things":

1. I love watching the Indy 500. I watch no other races throughout the year and I could care less about IRL standings. It's all about the engineering on the Indy cars and the strategy for me. I have no desire to go to The Brickyard and I would refuse the chance if offered.

2. My favorite play is The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen. (I just did a Google search, and those words put together in a sentence do not produce any matches. Huh, go figure.)

3. A few months ago, I was obsessed with the song "Kentucky Rain" by Elvis. I'm not sure how that happened since I've never been a huge Elvis fan.

4. That being said, I have been to Graceland twice. Both times it was because work brought me to Memphis. If given the chance, I'd go back again even though the Lisa Marie (his plane) seriously creeped me out.

5. I have a collection of over 450 floaty pens. I love them. (Yup, I have some from Graceland.) I also have some floaty toothbrushes and keychains but no lighters or (huh?) orange peelers. My favorite ones are advertising pens. And I only buy the original Eskesen floaty pens made in Denmark.

6. I also have a collection of penny medallions. I prefer the hand-cranked machines; the fully automated ones feel like cheating. Clearly, I've got a serious kitschy streak, at least when it comes to travel souvenirs.

7. My favorite summertime meal is fresh sweet corn-on-the-cob, tomatoes straight off the vine with a touch of salt, pepper, and apple cider vinegar, and my grandmother's home fried potatoes with plenty of Heinz ketchup. I think I need to take a trip back home to PA during corn and tomato season.

8. When I was born, three of my great-grandmothers were still alive. The last one passed away when I was 17. Three of my four grandparents are still alive. The younger of my two grandmothers became a grandmother at 38, three years younger than I am now.

Another Fine Pair

I completed these this evening and they are happily blocking.

I finished the first one weeks ago and it sat alone in a project bag while other things took precedence. I vowed to cast on and finish the second one (the left? the right? Thing One...Thing Two?) this weekend. The incredibly nice weather today threatened to do in my plans, but I persevered. I did knit on the front porch for a bit, but the nice weather had everyone out and I ended up talking with my neighbors more than I was knitting. (We hardly see each other in winter, so we had to catch up and share the neighborhood gossip.)

The socks are done in the Crisscross Lace Sock pattern from Briar Rose done with Sophie's Toes Iced Coffee colorway. Here is a close-up:

Sock yarn has truly become an obsession, evidenced by the latest acquisitions:

There are more skeins of Sophie's Toes (I think Emily's color sense is quite fabulous), some STR (missing from the photo shoot is the Lagoon colorway from the recent sock club shipment), Jitterbug, a skein from White Willow (an Etsy seller), and Piece of Beauty, which I cannot wait to knit with. It may be the squishiest sock yarn I have ever felt.

Next up in the queue will be the Rockin' Sock Club socks. (I'm not sure how I feel about the colorway or the pattern, but I am looking forward to trying a toe-up sock.) I've added to the knitting book library recently, so a larger project may be in the offing, as well. I've also ordered bunches and bunches of Elann's Sonata to make a miter square blanket, inspired by Cara's efforts. The Sonata is just a hair thinner than Tahki Cotton Classic and a whole lot less expensive, so I'm hoping it will be a good substitute. They don't have black, though, so that's a bit of a drag. I'm thinking of it as a very long-term project, with squares completed in fits and starts.

Speaking of a bit of a drag (ahem), I am digging The Riches. I love, love, love Eddie Izzard, and he and Minnie Driver are quite fabulous. Try it...you'll like it.

Giving It Another Whirl

Last Sunday Blogger ate my post. I was so annoyed that we didn't speak all week. (Note: I've somehow taken to assigning humanistic identities to things that don't have them. For example, now that we FINALLY have TiVo out of the box, I've begun saying things like, "I wonder what TiVo did while we were out." and "Why does TiVo think we would like 'Jackass'?". I know... I sound like a lunatic.)

So, MORE THAN A WEEK AGO, I attempted to counteract some pretty major work stress with yarn therapy. Emily Parson updated her etsy site and I dove in. I bought Rustic Cabin, Lush, Iris Garden, Muir Woods, and Midnight Sky. And, as some of you know, when a popular seller does an update, you have to be on it. I must have refreshed my computer forty billion times while Emily did her update to see what she was posting next. And I attacked it with a competitive zeal. I learned my lesson last time: just because it is in your cart doesn't mean it is yours. It can be snatched out from under you by some sneaky yarn ho someone else before you know it (just like the wedding dress sale at Filene's), hence five skeins. And this was after I'd already hit Blue Moon Fibers:

Oy. I am going to have to knit socks from now until the end of the time to get through the sock yarn stash, a stash that didn't even exist until less than a year ago when one day I woke up with the need to knit socks. I've heard that the same thing happens to some people about having kids. I'm sticking to socks. They'll never want to borrow the car even if I do start talking about them like they're people.

Valentine's Day S*x

Oh, yes. So worth the wait. And it feels so, so good.

Hey, what do you think I'm talking about? I finally finished my socks, see?

They're not complicated, they're not perfect, but they are finished and they fit. I love them!

I'm all ready to start my next pair. I've wound a skein of Emily Parson's Sophie's Toes (Iced Coffee colorway) into a ball and I am ready to go as soon as I go through my bazillion patterns and pick one.

Catch up

Re-entry was hard after New York. Because of that trip and the trip to AL that preceded it, I worked 19 days in a row. I check email and voicemail while I am gone, but things pile up. It is a very busy time for me at work with grant deadlines looming, board meetings happening, and other things that keep me on my toes, hence the lack of postings.

I may finally finish the pair of Schaeffer Anne socks I have been working on since I purchased the yarn in Little Rock. I had one completed and realized to my horror and utter dismay that I missed a stitch while kitchenering and it took a quick trip toward the instep while I tried the sock on.

AAAAAAAAACK. @#**%! Undo. Rip. Rip. Rip. Re-do. Re-do. Re-do. And so on...

The toe is ready to go once again, but this time I vow to kitchener in better light. I am almost finished with the heel flap of its mate, so we may have sockage this weekend if the mailings I have to do for work go quickly (yes, being the boss is very, very glamorous!) and don't result in too many paper cuts.

Looking ahead, I'm not sure how 2007 is going to play out in terms of fiber-related trips. I would definitely like to go to Maryland again this year. It would be fun to go with the niece again while she is still young enough to think I am the coolest person she knows. Someday she won't think that anymore, so I have to gain maximum benefit now. (I hope she keeps up her interest in knitting because that child is going to inherit one hell of a stash upon my demise. Given some of my OCD tendencies, she will also very likely inherit a bunch of unworn clothes with tags still on them, ridiculous amounts of jarred condiments, boxes and boxes of unburned candles, a fabulous array of cowboy boots, and so on. None of it will make sense and I don't envy her the task of disposing of it.) I would also like to go to Michigan, too. Wisconsin was a disappointment (although they had WAY better shower and restroom facilities than Michigan), so I doubt I'll make the trip. I haven't yet checked to see if Rhinebeck conflicts with Kentuck , but if it does, Kentuck wins out due to my loyalties to S.A. and Sandra. (Not to mention my love of collard greens, purple hull peas, and sweet tea.) In July I am going to go to the Joseph C. Campbell Folk School for a Nuno Felt class. I heard about the school from some fellow campers when I was at the Michigan Fiber Festival and I was intrigued. When S.A. called about it the other day, I jumped right on it. I swear that I will count the days.