Being productive

I've been on a knitting roll. I finished one of the Twisted Tweed Socks and am working away on the 2nd one. The only thing that is slowing my progress is I finally got the log cabin itch. I found out a friend of mine was pregnant and is having a boy so I figured it was the perfect time to knit my first baby blanket.

I started late Monday night and here is the progress so far:


and an artsy side shot:



I'm really enjoying the flow of this blanket. It's not quite a log cabin - maybe I should call it log cabin inspired. I didn't plan out the color repeats or how many rows of each to do, I am just grabbing yarn and knitting till it feels right. So far so good I think.

I've also finished a pair of arm warmers for Court - here she is when I rudely, I mean lovingly, woke her up and said I wanted a shot of the arm warmers. I put them on her, let her hide, and snapped this shot - I LOVE this shot hehee.


These were knit out of baby alpaca I spun up ages ago. No pattern, just a tube with a hole on the side for the thumb and some k2p2 rib on the top and bottom. If you look close you'll see I embroidered (not very neatly) an L for left and an R for right. Although they are knit so as to be interchangeable, were knit with the same yarn, the same amount of stitches and within about an hour of each other, the fit is different for each arm so Court asked that a designation be made for ease of use. I gladly obliged.

I did go to Rhinebeck but amazingly I didn't buy any fiber or yarn - can you believe that? I figure I recently got in an order of 450 lbs of yarn and I should probably lay off the fiber and yarn ordering for a bit :). I did score some Phenomenal Fudge this stuff is heavenly, some chocolate covered pretzels, honey sticks, a candy and caramel apple, and a large bag of kettle corn. By the way - not all of this was for me - just so you know hehee. I met up with some of the Spiders and we had a greasy, but yummy, lunch - I really wanted the artichokes but alas, the line was too long and I was too hungry. Cathy brought with her one of her cube bags that I ADORE. She emailed me and said she knew I would love this fabric and she was oh so right. It's perfect - if you have been reading this here blog for a bit you'll know why...

SWIRLS GALORE!!! I love it - thank you Cathy.

I also ran into Michelle, owner of The Sweet Sheep who came all the way down from Canada wearing her lovely Mr. Green Jeans Sweater. And of course, I couldn't leave without Chilling with Mama-E for a bit. It was a warm day but she was rocking her Fugl sweater - let me tell you it is so pretty. She also brought me a gift - check out this lovely BFL roving -



I can't wait to spin it up. I think Mama-E is going to have a package delivered to her soon :)

I'll leave you with a picture of Gary - my "special" boy. He was percolating before birth WAY too long. As a result he tends to run into walls, isn't the most coordinated, and I think might possible have narcolepsy (he'll walk around, stop and just plop down and sleep anywhere). Oh but I love him and his giant ears.

Rhinebeck Here I come

Well I'm off to Rhinebeck - I'm making a weekend of it Sheep and Wool on Saturday and hiking on Sunday.

I'd love to meet some fellow bloggers up there - old and new friends, lurkers, customers, etc...

Here is a picture of me wearing the same scarf I'll be wearing tomorrow.



Please say hello if you see me! I'm also a square in Blogger Bingo for Saturday only. I hope you meet lots of people....see you there!

Bring on Socktoberfest

I'm ready for you Socktober! I've already got one pair of socks done and another on the way. Court's ribbed socks are finished and I love the way they came out.

Project Stats:
Pattern: my own - just a toe up sock with a short row heel and a nice and tall 2x2 ribbed leg. Knit on size 3US 56 st.
Yarn: Magic Garden Buttons yarn - 83% NZ wool, 17% polyester. 134 yards/50g ball. Machine washable. I used 2 full balls of blue and one of yellow.
Started: September 21, 2007
Finished: October 4, 2007

My next pair of socks are already underway - Twisted Tweed Socks.

I really like this stitch pattern it looks more complicated than it is and I think it will actually stay up on my leg. I'm already planning on knitting another pair of these and this time I might even knit the stitch pattern down the sock.

A while back, my mom asked - no wait - demanded a pair of socks. After holding her off for a while I finally finished her socks and gave them to her a few months ago. These are baby cashmerino so they are super soft but not the most durable of socks.

She told me she was going to use them as house socks so I figured a cashmere blend yarn wouldn't be too bad on pergo floors. Apparently I was wrong - take a look at moms new...umm mittens?

If you look closely you'll see she wore 3 holes in her house socks. each one had a hole in the heel and one where the ball of the foot is. Apparently she didn't just wear them in the house but she told me she "might" have walked outside on the concrete and stone pavers. Not to mention I have a feeling she threw these in the washing machine quite frequently. Not to worry mom - I've already got another pair in mind for you - and this time I'm adding either a slipped stitch heel and toe or maybe even making the whole bottom of the foot in Eye of Partridge. Eventually I'm sure they too will wear out but hopefully it will take longer than a few months!

Hey here are some kitty pics - these are the two new guys - Divino and Douglass. They are so friggin sweet and amazingly all 4 cats get along rather well. I'm waiting for the day they all are sleeping close enough to get a group picture...how sweet will that be?!