Sock-ret pal thanks

I revieved my sock-ret pal gift at a great time. It has been a rough week and I really needed those M& M 's Thanks!

Holiday shopping- almost done and out of money
Holiday knitting- getting there,

Mom H's socks- done but ends to be woven in- the pattern is in the sidebar from Funky Knittier Deb-

Mom D's sweater- knitting the button band as we speak- it came out really nice!
Dad's mittens- tops need to be knitted, they need to be felted (my own design)
Grandpa's mittens- on the blocking board
Dad H's mittens- done (completely!)
J's Teacher's hat- done - I really liked the pattern- here is a photo of Nate wearing it and looking like a hoodlum
Linda K's socks- done-
Eileen's socks- done (really a birthday present, but I'll count it anyway)


So, I was finishing up on a pair of mittens this past week and DH said, I really need to buy myself a new hat, mine is too tight and it always feels like it os going to squeeze off the top of my head. He meant his store bought knit hat- I just looked at him. How many millions of hats do I have to knit in front of the guy before he realizes I know what I'm doing? Buy a hat? is he insane. I have a stash that is threatening to take over the living room completly (and would if I had all of fiber in there as well. One advantage of owning a fiber mill, you can sort-of hide your fiber stash admist the bags of wool and no one is the wiser- you just call it "inventory") and he thinks he needs to buy a hat?

Thanks again to my SP9 pal

I didn't have the best of weeks, so imagine how thrilled I was when I got this in the mail from Austria!

Three beautiful skeins of handpainted yarn in a really pretty pink and orange colorway, and a pair of wristwarmers and toys for the brats. You may notice the toys again didn't make it to the photo. They loved it and so did I- Thanks so mucjh- the yarn is beautiful and I'm going to save it for something special for me.


The holiday knitting is coming to a close. I finished knitting the cardigan for my Mom, it needs finishing however. I knitted a pair of socks for MIL, my sister Eileen and my boss. They are all complete. I knit a scarf for my SIL and I made up and knit a pattern for felted hunters mittens for the FIL. I have to make two more pairs, maybe three for the rest of the guys.

My hands hurt. I have been getting up at 4am to knit for a few hours in the morning and I think I like it. My stomach doesn't like all the coffee, but I'm feeling peppier than I have in a while. When this is done, I'm making myself a cardigan, dammit!

Life just gets me sometines

It used to be I came to work and was bored on occassion. I maen like write your own novel type bored. Well that was in a previous job, but even here I occassionaly had a minute to check out blogs or actually update my own.

Used to be things got busy in August and it died out in mid-oct only to get busy again in March. well things are still crazy and it is all of my own fault. I was warned not to do a good job, they just find more for you to do.

Today sucked- really sucked. Last Saturday, I was all set to go to spinning guild- I hadn't been in over a year. I pay the dues and then never go, so I had Tim watch the kids and I was all set to go. Then the car wouldn't start, so I speant all day watching Vanity Fair- the BBC one and knitting on Eileen's socks. So Tim figured out what was wrong with the car, so valve was sticky and said I needed to get a tune up

So I took it in this morning- now I owe them $542 and my ride to the dealership went home sick today

Then I got a call from the school that Nate my youngest threw up at school and I needed to come get him- well no car to go, called the college where Tim works- they don;t know where he is- called MIL, she was all set to go and we finally found Tim

Now I feel sick- $542 for car repairs! just before the credit free christmas? I hope those kids understand why Mommy has nothing under the tree this year. Can I knit more things in just 26 days? I suppose easy fun fur scarves won't make it for all of the neices and nephews will it? Does the dollar store sell anything I can pass off as a real gift?

SP 9 Thanks`

I have been such a horrible blogger this Fall. I have no real excuse, but I was on vacation all last week so there are a few days I can account for.

First and foremost, I want to give a huge thankyou to my sp9 spoiler! I got the below all beautifully wrapped and shipped all the way from Austria! The socks fit great and I can't wait to use the yarn. What is missing from the photo are the gifts she even sent the boys- they grabbed and used these great little puzzles before I could get the photo taken. Thank you so much!

Sock-ret pal package

Thank you so much- sock-ret pal. I needed those M&Mm's that day! My package actually came last week, but I'm just getting to blog about it know. Last week I was on the road for work everyday but Tuesday, so Tuesday was a major clean up day at work.

So, in general it was a lousy week, followed by a worse weekend, so the bright spot of getting goodies in the mail was a bright spot indeed! I'm at home on dial-up so I'll have to add the phnoto tomorrow


We also got our first snow last week, on the 2nd, most of it is gone now, but it was definately there-

Rhinebeck

Well I only live an hour from Rhinebeck, but I'm not going this year. I went last year, and while I had a very nice time a spent quite a lot. This is not a knitting event really. there are a lot of fleeces, and some yarn, but really I think all of the hoopla over this show is crap. I think Rhinebeck is overrated and $10 a person to get in is outrageous.

In other news, I am going to Baltimore for a couple of days to a confrence next week and I look forward to finding new yarn to play with.

Saturday night we are taking the kids to the Welsh heritage festival at Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT. We processed a bunch of thier fiber one year and we have always wanted to attend the festival. With Brenda Dayne now in Wales, I feel like a welshwoman already-

SP 9 answers

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I really enjoy wool over everything else. I dislike knitting with eyelash yarns or anything with trailing sticky things.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a roll up case for my straight needles and I’m trying out a solution for my circulars, but generally they all end up in a basket where I keep all of my tools and notions, mixed in with half used balls of yarn and other detritus of knitting.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I would call my self an advanced intermediate. I’ve tried almost everything to varying degrees of accomplishment. I am self taught from a Coats and Clark book when I was 15, and I took a class on continental knitting three years ago. So I have been knitting for 22 years, and really serious knitting for the past 4 or so.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Not yet

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I don’t like scented things, they give me a headache. If I had to choose one, cotton from Yankee Candle

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I like M&M, and can’t eat dark chocolate

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I spin, and felt. I teach fiber arts to a group of elementary kids, so I generally learn new things to teach to them like braiding or beading, but I wouldn’t have sought them out on my own.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like instrumental and soundtracks, I have an ipod and listen to audible books and podcasts when I commute.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I like greens, blues and purples to wear, but I also have a thing for reds, pinks and oranges. It depends on the day.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a husband and two boys, 7 & 9. we have two barn cats, 9 shetland sheep and some chickens

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves, hats and mittens, and shawls- not ponchos. I live in upstate NY and the weather here can get pretty chilly!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Socks at the moment, but I have been doing a sweater that I am enjoying

13. What are you knitting right now? I am working on Christmas kntting, a sweater for my mom, the last sleeve is started at last, I have a pair of socks on the needles for my MIL and a I have an afghan I have started for my oldest son. He likes cozy things.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I love handmade gifts

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I use all of the above and it depends on the project. I’ve always used Addi’s, but recently discovered the KnitPicks needles and they seem to be working out for socks. I like sharp points

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have both and love them very much

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Well I never finished the sweater I started when I was 15, but I finally threw it out. I have a sweater I started from handspun two years ago and ran into design issues. Someday I need to revisit it and finish it.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween, it was when my husband and I met

19. Is there anything that you collect? Dust and yarn

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I would like to get one of the Cat Bhordi’s books on the mobius techniques. I have subscriptions to most of the knitting magazines around.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I am taking a class on steeking in November

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am a sock knitter and I wear a size 10- no idea what the measurement is

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 09/13- just past!

I've decided to become an adult

Not that this isn't like 17 years overdue, but I have decided to be an adult and let some of my yarns go. So, several beautiful things that I bought and now have decided that I can live without are up for sale on Ebay. I now know that I will probably never be sucessful at lace in a major way, so i am selling off the lace weight, some sock yarn in a color I will never use and some Great Adirondack in worsted weight that I bought at Rhinebeck and can't think of what to do with it-

If you do items by seller, my seller name is Highlyn- bid away- this means toys for the kids under the tree this year-

Sock-ret pal answers

I've been paired up and I'm looking ofrward to another great swap-

here are my answers to the Sock-ret pal questions. I have to work on my wish lists.

The basics:

How long have you been knitting? 22 years, but I got back into it about 4 years ago- I’ve been spinning for the past 15 years pretty consistently.
Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? A high intermediate I guess, I don’t have to look at the pattern anymore unless I’m branching out into a new style.

The measurements:

While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. Sorry, wms size 10. Big feet

(fiber related) Favorites:

What colors do you love? Lately I’m into pink, but I also like greens.

Do you prefer solids or variegated? variegated

What fibers do you most love to knit with? wool

Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendors? My LYS, but also Yarnmarket, Patternworks, WEBS and Knitpicks,

What projects (other than socks, of course*S*) do you most enjoy knitting? Felted bags, hats, sweaters and I’ve just started into lace knitting, mostly shawls

(fiber related) Dislikes:

What fibers can you not stand to knit with? To wear? I don’t like to knit with cotton, with cotton/wool blend sock yarn as an exception. I don’t like to wear acrylic too much, and I hate things made eyelash and railroad. I’m not much of a novelty user.

What colors would you never wear? I don’t wear much yellow, orange or lime green, not to say I wouldn’t, but they just aren’t in my wardrobe much.

The Tools:

Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood? I prefer wood for sweaters, and metal for socks

Circs or Straights? Circs for socks, straight for mostly everything else (depending on the project

DPNs or Magic Loop? 2 up on circs

Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like? Not that I can think of

The Extras:

Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link!

Do you like sweet, sour or salty? (or all of the above? *S*) sweet and salty- like chocolate covered pretzels

Do you have any allergies your pal should know about? (Certain foods, smoke, pet hair, etc) no allergies

Favorite scents? Scents you can't stand? I’m pretty sensitive, but I like lavender and lilac and hate vanilla

Do you collect anything (other than yarn and knitting toys of course)? No main collections, but I like hummingbirds and little interesting, funky things

When is your birthday? (month and day is fine!) Sept 13

Do you spin? Dye your own yarn? I both spin and dye my own yarn

Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better...

Favorite authors- Jane Austen, JK Rowling, Sue Grafton, Janet Evonovich, Nora Roberts. I love trashy romance especially if it has a cowboy or babies in it.

Favorite TV- we have been watching old Adventures of Brisco County Jr lately as tv sucks, but I also try to watch Lost and the Amazing Race

Favorite Movie- Pride and Prejudice- the Colin Firth version

Back to Normal- or what passes for normal

Last week was not a good week- I ended up getting sick and then having to run the kids around because they too were ill- Let's hope things will get back to what passes for normal soon-

So, my one skein swap partner gifted me with a great pay it forward gift. I took a photo and left the camera at home- but it is some hand-dyed merino and beads to spin some beaded yarn- I can't wait to get started!

In other news, I begin teaching fiber arts again today at Nate's school. Last year I taught an hour every Tuesday afternoon, this year I have two hours every other Monday. We can certainly use the extra time. it seemed like the kids learned alot, but they never accomplished anything. So with the time we can tackle bigger projects and I can have some time with each kid. We start today with tie-dyeing and finger knitting with big loops. Another thing I learned is the kids need a lot of finger work before they learn how to hold needles. They lack some fine motor control at thier age- 6-9 so we started doing a lot of braiding and other small objects to increase thier finger control.

I have to go back and redo the whole teaching curicullum soon. I went to AC Moore and dropped a bundle on supplies for this next year. One thing I got intop last year was having no idea what I was going to teach that week and rushing to get it all together on Monday nights, or even Tuesday morning. I need to be more organized about it this year.

I also never put anything away last year and I still have bags of materials all over the living/fiber room with kids half finished projects and unopened bags of beads etc. So, I need to take care of that as well- With everyother week, I least I shouldn't have to scramble as much to come up with fun ideas all the time!

I'm lying

It hasn't been 36 days since I bought yarn! I'll admit it. I took my incoming class to the high ropes course at Parson's in Albany on Saturday and I broke the yarn diet-

Well, Karen's sale is still going on and I found some Lorna's Laces Swirl for only $7 a skein, so I bought enough to make the Flower Basket Shawl. Karen threw in a bunch of free patterns also. As I have plans to make my sister a shawl with it- Can I call it Christmas shopping instead of yarn buying? I didn't buy any sock yarn however, so I was behaving on that side of the shop.

Well, then yesterday I stopped at Walmart and bought some Lion Brand Homespun. I admit it I am a yarn snob, I rarely will even look at this stuff. it is my assistants birthday next week and she has been strongly hinting she would like a hand knitted gift. There is no way in hell I'm allowing any of my coveted stash yarn to end up in her house and ultimately in her washer. So, I decided a quick shawl in Homespun is appropiate. If she never wears it or does decide to wash it I won't need to cring when she tells me the story about how she "accidently" felted it. Have I ever mentioned- she's a moron- I hate to say it but it's true- she's a moron and I can't fire her.

So I'm only lying about the yarn buying, not about her being a idiot- that is true

I'm veklempt

I'm not even sure if I spelled that right- the big boy started at his new school today. He is nine and it isn't like he hasn't been going to school prior to this. Jake started at his new public school today. For the last six years he has been at a small (less than 30 kids total in the school) private Montessori school. He had the same teacher for most of those six years.

It is hard to let go of the special school he has been with and let him go to the public school. I know he will be fine, and I'm having a hard time not letting mt trepidation show. We seriously agonized over home schooling this summer. Between my crazy schedule and Tim's adjunct teaching schedule, it just couldn't work out at this point. So, we had to make this decision. He will be fine, I have to trust that I have raised a strong, smart kid who can deal with new situations and will be stronger for this experience.

I realized how sheltered he was at a point earlier this year, we went to McDonalds and Jake was really having a problem with going to the counter to order a McFlurry. So, I have been making a point to have him make phone calls to grandma or friends and talk or to pay for his purchases at Target. He is old enough to begin interacting with the world more fully.

Yes, he will be fine and he will make friends- all will be well- that is what I keep telling myself anyway.

Jaywalkers Done!

I feel like that home improvement show where they look at the project and then do the great big done! over it- at long last (3 weeks maybe) the dratted Jaywalkers are complete. Things imrpoved after I bought the new KnitPicks needles. Now I think I need the whole set and may ask for them for my birthday.
I stopped the pattern at the leg and did the foot in plain stockinette to get this project complete. I did some k2tog and SSK's to get the stitch number back in line after converting to stockinette and it lined up perfectly with the gusset.

And that goes to show I can indeed make top down socks if I choose to. Good to know-

So, I immediately cast on for the plain widdershins, hated the toes, ripped it back and did the short row toes that I like. I'll try to do the heels widdershins style however. The best part, I used stash yarn for these, some Brown Sheep Wildefoot I have had for years. I tried to knit this 4 or five times and always hated working with it. On the bamboo needles, it split all the time and then I tried on thr Addis and finally gave up. It seems to be working much better on the KnitPicks, these will be a birthday gift for my assistant. I know she won't appreciate them, but maybe it will stop all the poorly veiled hints about me knitting for her. Then I can give a snarky comment back about her socks. Hereis a link to a pair that Nat from KnittingNatty made. I only hope mine come out so well. I think I will do the legs in a lacy rib.

One Skein Pal

My One-Skein Pal revelaed herself-

Fyberduck aka Sara Morris from Eugene, OR

Fyberduck is an alumnus of University of Oregon in Eugene- Go Ducks!

My older sister Eileen is a duck as well!
Here is her, Sara's blog and a photo of the great mittens she sent! They are hand-dyed dk and I have already used them- We went camping this weekend in the Adirondacks and it has been quite chilly lately-

Thank you Sara!

My one-skein pal also recieved her box of goodies- and here is it on her blog
I find it odd that both my upstream and downstream pals were from the same general area-
I was really pleased with the felted bag I made for my pal and I have bought the yarn to make myself one- I got the cutest button to go with them- I chose the button first and bought the yarn to match.

Dyeing Purple

I spent some time alone this weekend- The kids were with Tim, so I spent some time dyeing sock yarn. I really pleased with the color. It came out as a light to dark periwinkle. First I had to reskein it to a longer length- then soaked it in Synthrapol. I drained it and just covered the yarn with cold water. I was afraid hot would encourage the dye to dissipate too much. This is after 10 minutes of the dye being in the water.

The copper curled thing is the water pipes coming into the washing sink in the fiber mill. Tim designed them, and they work really well.

This is after 30 minutes in the water. I expected the yarn on top of the pipes to suck up the color, but it didn't so I stuck it under water for a minute or so- And here it is hanging on the fence- well this is sideways of course, I couldn;'t get the picture to go the right way- but I'm really happy with the yarn

Steeking class

Now that I am all signed and sealed- I can talk about it. I am going to take a steeking class at Web's in November. I began a sweater of my own design well over a year ago. It was to emcompass the eleven natural colors of Shetland wool. (We raise Shetland's, so it seemed appropiate).

So, I need to know how to steek to cut the armholes. As this is all in homespun Shetland, I'm a little nervous about doing so- also because of the way I knit it, I can't reclaim all of the colors if I screw it up- so I thought a class would be in order.

That and I've always wanted to visit Webs. I love the website, I can just imagine what it will be like in real life.

But I have been productive

So, even if the Jaywalkers aren't going well, I have been productive elsewhere in the house-


I picked berries - and made a pie








The pie was really good-

I still hate these socks

I'm still working on these Jaywalkers. I remember being able to knit a pair of socks in a weeks or so, but these are going on a month and I'm now just turning the heel- I can't wait until till these are done.

I made a commitment to myself to not begin a new pair until these are done, so I'm trying really hard to stick to it. So, I'm a little further along than here, but I will do this even if it kills me. I love the yarn but hate the knitting.

and things continue to go downhill

I came into work late today as I had to go to Jake's new school to register him. I got a distressing email that the president of the University had died the day before in a swimming accident. I'm not sure how I feel, the whole place feels like it is in turmoil.

I hate turmoil- I really just feel like going home to hide and knit.

Bad News

It seems like when things appear to be going well- they always have to change. I was just at the Periwinkle Sheep last week and was so impressed with all that Karen has done with the shop in the past three years- the yarn quality and the diverse imventory has all gone way up- it was definately turning into my favorite LYS- and it was reachable on my lunch hour- perfect for clandestine yarn shopping-

Well, Karen has decided to close her business- as we did the same earlier this year, I know how hard it is- making the deicison once made, was the best thing for us, but making that decision was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Karen, we are all there for you, and I'll miss the shop

good news, the sale begins on August 15th, so the yarn diet is officially over and I actually have some money to spend!