Like an Old Friend

So, I'm almost done redoing that Monkey sock. It looks a lot better on 0 needles, so I'm glad I did it. I'll probably be able to finish it this weekend.

Heading out tomorrow with Malacat to the Birth Arts Doula workshop this weekend. Kind of like a first step. Maybe even more than the first step I thought I was taking before when I signed up for the AAMI Intro to Midwifery course, which I'm a teeny fraction of the way through, but it is due to be finished and turned in in two weeks. I doubt I'm going to make it. I'm not sure I'm concerned about that right now. I guess I'll see how much of it I can get done and if it looks close, I'll pay for the one month extension on it and finish it up. If not, I'll just go ahead and send for my Orientation materials for the regular Advanced Midwifery course and get busy on that instead.

I went ahead and signed up for the Shop Hop tour with the local Knitting Guild. I hemmed and hawed about it for a good while, but I think it will be nice to get out with a group of people I have never met before and just have a fun day. Why not?

To further spur me on to meeting new people on purpose, the last two weeks I have mysteriously been back in touch with two people I haven't talked to in quite a long time. One of whom I was formerly quite close to. The signs point to something a little more in tune with the universe than just random serendipity, so I'm keeping my eyes open on this one.

Frogged

Sometimes, you just have to start over. I finished the first Monkey sock (as you may recall), but it was just too loose. I admit, I am very new to the whole gauge thing, and with this one in pattern, I couldn't tell how it was going to be until it was mostly done. I could tell then that it seemed like it was going to be too loose, but I wanted to get all the way to the end. So, I did. And yep, too loose.

So, I tore the whole thing out, and I'm going to start again with smaller needles and see how that goes. Surely, I will never get even one sock done before the end of the month now, but I'm going to give it a try.

On other needles, as I was pouring through my stash to find yarn to make that B4 bag with, I came across some yarn I bought back in probably 2004 from Ozyarn (no longer in business sadly), a place in Australia that sold mainly novelty type yarns but they had some great patterns.

I bought 7 balls of this funky, lumpy blue and purply, yarn called Dazzle, which came with a pattern for making a celtic vest. I found the pin, that came with it the other day, and last night, I found the pattern I'd printed out. So, last night, I cast on and started it. It's on super big (5.5 mm) needles, so that's a switch. And now that I look at it, I'd probably really need one more ball of the stuff to make it actually fit me, but we'll see if I can tweak it a little.

'nuff talk. Must work to buy more yarn..!!

Cookies

I bought a whole crate of Girl Scout Cookies. Trying to be disciplined and make them last more than a week this time. But if I don't eat them, someone else will and I won't get any!!

THEN...

I turned around and bought a whole CRATE of Cookie knitting patterns. Will I ever stop eating cookies long enough to make Cookie socks? The world may never know...

I purchased: Twisted Flowers, Rhiannon, Mona, Millicent, and the German Stocking patterns. They're all on her web site. I was disciplined and controlled. I'm pretty sure there are two patterns I did not buy.

Monkey Socks Progress

I 've been working on the Monkey Socks for a bit now. Using Wildfoote sock yarn, in the Purple. Just discovered that the avon bubble bath bottle works pretty good as a blocker in a pinch. I really like the pattern. It's hard to see until you kind of stretch it out a little bit. This is my first shot at a sock with a pattern in it, at least one that came from a graph. I'm rather pleased about it. :)

Not going as quickly as the others so far because:



A. Smaller needles
B. Actual sock yarn
C. I've been working more hours and have had less knitting time (sob)



Well, yesterday, we took a day trip on the train to Seattle. Which meant about 7 hours of knitting time for me on the train. Anyway, so far on the socks. I have finished the repeats and I'm about to do the heel on the first sock (hopefully tonight!) Took me the whole train trip to get that far.

I did spare the family and we went to the Seattle Aquarium, rather than just dragging them on a yarn shop tour. *grin*



I am trying to be disciplined and not buy any more yarn for a while! Okay, until Saturday, but you know, it's the big Spring Fiber Sale! How can I miss it? It will be MONTHS before there is another one. I might run out! (har)


I can always knit when they're sleeping. No one need ever know...


I want to finish up these socks so I can move on to the next fascination, the B4-Bag. My first boughten pattern. I hoard everything free I can find, but this is SOOOO CUTE and looks to be something I could actually DO. It will be my first shot at bobbles... and felting... and including beads in the work... but I SOOO must do it. I have some yarn in my stash that I bought on Ebay a few years ago, from a vendor called Dyeing for Fiber... apparently no longer around (much to my chagrine). The yarn is so beautiful. And I still have some dyed roving in my stash to spin as well. I almost hate to use it, knowing I can't get anymore. *pout* Ah well, on to the next artist.

In other news, there is much fantasizing going on around here about doing some drastic changes to our house, adding on a few rooms, and liberating another to become a mecca of creativity and peace... aka, the craft room. Which means my office will have more space as well, ANNDD... the kids will have their own rooms, which means further, we will have OUR own room. woot! And if we get too discouraged with the crazy making about doing that here, we'll give up, and sell this house and buy one that fits us already. But we have to change our train of thought here somehow, just to get motivated to make some progress one way or another.

Finished Socks!

Finished my second pair last week. Modelled here by my 14yo son's feet. He says they feel soft and squooshy. :)

The Latest Crafting Storm Damage

I bought this yarn on e-bay

- 100% New Zealand Wool ~ 2ply
~ Sport weight
~ 350 yd. double strand skeins
~ 700 yards total (2X350 yd skeins)

I managed to get it for less than 10 dollars total, including shipping. It came in the mail today, so very, very nice... I also bought a sock kit - to make some purple socks for Charlotte. Very yummy and soft...Then I went crazy and ordered a bunch of yarn and some circular needles so I can try knitting socks on 2 circs.

In my lust for yarn, I started browsing Ebay again, and found myself mesmerized by old knitting pattern books and magazines. Particularly those from the 1920's to early 1950's. So classy...

I am going to now stop splurging, at least for now.. Just wait for my purchases to come in the mail. Except that I have this $25 birthday money just begging me to visit the local yarn shop and see what's there...
Can you ever have more than you need?

In other crafts, I am utterly enamored with this magical stuff and I WILL have to buy her book besides. I want to make little felted magical people and animals.

And OTN: Cable-y socks, halfway done on the second sock, then I'm moving on to the actual sock yarn and smaller needles. I may try the Monkey Socks next. Or just some vanilla socks in purple for Charlotte.