Egg Salad with Chicken

Of course, today I must follow the lead of hundreds of other bloggers and start off with the obligatory "cute kid in a costume" picture. But I think we can all agree, this is the cutest chicken you've ever seen, right?





Now that that's out of the way, I have socks!




This is my first pair of toe up, two socks on two circs socks. Wow, say that 5 times fast. I call them my Egg Salad Socks. I fell in love with this yarn at my LYS, and bought it without knowing what I was going to use it for.

Pattern: Vogue Knitting Fall '06, Lace Socks by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: 2 skeins Artyarns Supermerino

The pattern calls for two strands of sock weight yarn held together, but this yarn worked up to gauge perfectly with just one strand. There are supposed to be 3 more pattern repeats of the lace at the ankle, but I ran out of yarn. If I had had 3 skeins it would have been plenty. The best thing about these socks? They were stashbusters. WHOO HOO! Now what am I going to buy to fill up the empty space they have left behind....


ETA: I just checked my site stats, and someone found my site by searching for "fun fur scarf with drinking straws". What? And I thought nothing could be worse than fun fur. Fun fur WITH drinking straws. How? WHY? WHY??? WHYYYYYYYYYYY??????????????

Yarn Forward

If you haven't seen Yarn Forward Magazine, check it out. I was really impressed with the first issue, and can't wait to see what they have in future issues. And the cover sweater? I SOOOOO have to knit that.

I didn't go to Rhinebeck, and it sure was a blast!

Saturday I didn't wake up bright and early and didn't get in my car and didn't drive to Rhinebeck. Wow! That place sure isn't fun! There weren't so many people there! And there wasn't so much to do. I couldn't decide where not to start first. So I'm sure you want to see what I didn't get there, right?



At one of the first booths I didn't see, I didn't buy some yummy lorna's laces in a pretty pastel colorway. And look at that Austerman sock yarn! I didn't HAVE to buy it! One of the friends I didn't go with totally didn't make me buy that laceweight on top there. Right before I didn't leave, I didn't snag some Auntie Marts Sock yarn in the Blue Rain colorway. Whoo! I wasn't exhausted! Don't you wish you didn't go with me?

I am amazed at how much sock I knit with just one ball of Regia Bamboo. Almost two socks!


And look at this. Finished!



Yarn: Regia Bamboo
Pattern: My own basic sock pattern
Verdict: Yummy. They fit great. No droopy ankles here.

I really enjoyed this yarn. There was no pooling, and the only flashing was a tiny streak on the sole. I can definitely live with that.


I am halfway through my first pair of toe up on two circulars, and I think I like it. Alot. The only thing I don't like is the dangliness of the circs, but I am glad that I have added another technique to my repertoire.

Dawbis

A few months ago, I did a paper trade with Dawbis. In exchange for paper, she sent me some artwork using some of the papers I had sent. I was so THRILLED with what she sent me, she is very generous and sent 2 pieces of artwork, and 2 gift tags. If you haven't seen her work, check it out! Her artwork always makes me smile.
These pieces have been sitting in their envelope for a while now, while I searched for the perfect frames. I wanted something with a dark frame, and it had to have space for the quilling and embroidery to not get squished. Jo Annes had 60% off of frames today, and I found just what I had been looking for. I took pictures, but the crappy lighting doesn't do them justice. We are heading into our dark part of the year here in Alaska, so most of the pictures for the next few months will be kind of bleh. Unless I can get organized enough to take pictures for the blog during the 2 hours or so of daylight. Though even those 2 hours are pretty gray.





Even though she wants people to use them, I had to frame the tags. They are just too cool to give away. These are hanging in my downstairs hallway; they make me happy every time I walk past. (I had to get into the hall closet to get this picture!)

10 Knitterly Things About Me

As you all probably know, it the season of Socktoberfest. I was going to do the whole Sock Questionaire, but after reading 50 of them over the past few days, I didn't think I could subject my readers to another one. Soooo..... I'm going to do the 10 Knitterly Things About Me meme! (Aren't you excited?)

1. I taught myself how to knit 7 years ago from a pamphlet that I picked up at Wal mart for less than 5 bucks. I had tried to learn how to knit several years earlier, but couldn't get the hang of it, and gave up. A cute little knitted baby dress pattern caught my eye and inspired me to try one more time.

2. I am left handed, and knit that way. I wish that I had learned to knit right handed. It would have made reading patterns and writing them so much easier.

3. When knitting, I knit through the back loops, but pearl through the back loops, too. But while doing this, I have the stitches mounted wrong, so it actually turns out looking normal. This is a holdover from teaching myself to knit from a right handed knitting book and trying to switch the pictures around in my head. I KNOW how I'm supposed to be doing it, and I keep meaning to start doing it right, but its so easy and faster to keep doing things the way I always have. This makes knitting lace and complex stitch patterns a pain in the hiney , because I have to "translate" them, not only into a left handed version, but also to my wonky backwards style.

4. Socks! I love them! I used to scoff at sock knitters, I even tried one a long time ago and was bored to tears. What was wrong with me? Socks are awesome. They are the perfect project for knitting in a waiting room, while your kids are at a playground, in a drive thru line, and even *ahem* at stop lights. (Just kidding. Maybe.)

5. I involuntarily scream at the sight of FUN FUR. I hate fun fur. Oh, how I hate fun fur. I hate most novelty yarns with a passion. It takes a lot of will power to smile and nod when confronted with a proud knitter and her first project, a novelty yarn scarf. Smile and nod. Smile and nod. Try not to look directly AT the fun fur. It can cause blindness. Kind of like the sun.

6. I always have many, many projects going at the same time. There's just too much cool stuff out there! I heard that the knitting "fad" is dying down, and actually was kind of glad. Maybe there won't be quite so many awesome patterns coming out. Then I can get working on all of the 40 or so projects that I want to make.

7. Have i mentioned that I LOVE Inteweave Knits? Vogue Knitting has actually been sneaking it's way into my heart lately, too. But all of the other knitting magazines? Bah! I'll only buy those if I have the desire to knit a fun fur skirt. With kicky pleats!

8. I spin my own yarn, but rarely knit with it. It takes so much work to make, it seems a shame to use it up. So I just put it in a pretty basket and smoosh it every once in a while.

9. I sniff yarn. All the time. It's the first thing I do when I see new yarn. Smoosh and sniff. Today I got some yarn in the mail, and my 2yo daughter was with me when I opened it. She reached in, grabbed a skein, and sniffed. She obviously goes yarn shopping with mommy, A LOT.

10. It's very late, I can't think of anything else knitterly. So here's a pic of Baby right after his first bike ride. The Plumber and I decided to go on a bike ride together, something we haven't done in years. So we had my mom watch the other kids. We searched 3 different stores for a helmet that would fit him, and the only one that we found cost 35 dollars. Don't let the smile fool you. He screamed the ENTIRE time.




Remember Sizzle? Pictures coming soon....

Pleasepleasepleaseplease

Shhhhhhh!!!!! Sizzle is blocking! If we all hold our breaths, it just might fit. Preblocking, it was not so good. Short-fat-man-garment syndrome was rearing it's ugly head. But as it lays stretched out drying on the towel, I am slightly encouraged. I hope this sweater turns out. And my seaming! Oh good gravy, you should see the seaming! It is perfect!

Sizzle, please fit. I know I use the wrong yarn for you. It was an off the wall substitution, and by all rights I should be punished for that knitting sin. But the yarn was so yummy, and you look SO good in tweed. Can't you overlook that little issue and fit well anyway? What about all of that time I spent seaming you? And the gauge swatches? I made gauge swatches! Doesn't that count for anything? Please, I am begging. For my sanity, I NEED you to fit.

Love Your Maker,

Bunchkin

Chocolate Swap Package

My Chocolate Swap package has arrived from Christopher in California. Whoo hoo!
Inside, I found a bag of Japanese chocolates, some Pocky (I love Pocky!), and Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The yarn is Merino Stripes from Crystal Palace.



I managed to hide the chocolate for the whole day. After the kids went to bed, I tried all of the flavors in the Japanese chocolates, snacked on a few Pocky, and nibbled on a couple Reese's. As soon as they woke up the next morning, their superhuman candy detecting powers alerted them to the presence of chocolate, and I was forced to share. Baby gives chocolate Pocky a big thumbs up!


I wasn't sure at first what I was going to do with this yarn, but then I realized it will be perfect for hats for the older boys. Matching chocolate hats! I'll get started on those after I finish the projects I'm working on right now. (Stop laughing. I finish things sometimes. Every once in a while. ) Thanks Chris! Your package is en route and should be there soon!

The Yarn Expo is in Anchorage is tomorrow, and I had planned on having some sock project bags and needle cases ready, but I ended up just going with the needle cases. I finished the last of 10 tonight, after dosing myself with a liberal amount of Reese's. I hope they sell well, but if they don't, at least I have Christmas presents done for all of my knitter friends! I also had a bizarre impulse to make a bag out of men's ties. (Don't ask. I don't know why. ) I bought the ugliest ones I could find at the thrift store, fiddled around, and came up with this. The handles are two ties I left long tied together, and the lining is tye dyed cordurouy. *Fuzzy picture alert*




I am going to try and sell it at the Expo tomorrow, but I won't be sad if it doesn't. Although this is one of my favorite bags, The Plumber hates it! I think its awesome. Long live Tie Bags! (If it does sell, I have enough leftovers to make another one for myself. Mwaaa haaaa haaaa! )