Category: I may be knitting a ranch house

They’ve been reviewed endlessly, so I’m not going to spend too much energy on them, but let me say that I adore my purchases from Threaded Bliss Yarns: 

and I’m a dork about signed books, and both of these are, indeed, signed by the lovely authors, which makes them even more special to me.  Mason Dixon Knitting, as has been written elsewhere, is more than just a pattern book; it is a delight to read, to flip through, to distract a girl from miles and miles of flat road.  I’m a fan of Hatch posters, and the Hatch work in the book is just fabu.  I’ll be picking up some Peaches and Creme to make a kimono and a few bibs for a late-June baby shower.  One of these days, after our bathroom renovation is complete, I’ll knit up some linen towels, too.  Beautiful patterns. 

My Dye-O-Rama swap partner was none other than Heide, who won a contest for naming the stuffed beaver I received from Sooz "Purl."  She put together a heck of a package for me, including 500 yards of this lovely blue and brown 2-ply Kona 100% Merino Superwash.  Also in the package were a Dagoba chai chocolate bar and a packet of crystallized ginger (love me some ginger!), a box of fruit sampler tea, lovely stitch markers, a box of green apple candles, a sample of lavender Euclalan (my yarn smells fabu, by the way!), and a bar of apple dumpling soap made in Washington.  Thank you so much, Heide!  The yarn is delish, and I can’t wait to knit with it!

There’s other goodness to show you, too.  Before I moved I won a contest over at JessaLu’s, and look what was also waiting when I arrived on Friday.  Not only did she send me a skein of beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn, but she also sent reflexology gloves and bath salts.  Ahhh…I’ll have a relaxing night soon!

And last, but as they say, not least, is the skein of "Bev’s Nouveau Army" that my girly Carole dyed for me as a going away gift.  I adore this yarn.  I adore her so much, I was unable to put her in a box to be shipped.  She took the 3,500 mile journey in my knitting bag, right where I could see her.   

MWAH to each of you generous ladies. 

In my Dye-O-Rama news, the yarn I ordered arrived just before the move, and yesterday I ordered some Landscape dyes.  The ones I used at Mona’s gave such great results that I picked out five to try a monochromatic variegated scheme for my pal.  They’re being shipped Priority Mail, which means I should be able to dye over the weekend.  Yeah!

So, I now have two local yarn stores.  One, Marji’s Yarn Crafts, is just down the road.  I mean, if I tuned up my bike (which I will.  I want to be a good environmentalist and save gas when I can), I’d be able to hop on it and pedal over there in a jiffy. Marji has expanded her store since the first time I was there, and it is pretty pleasant.  The other is Creative Fibers, about a 20 minute drive away.  Debbie Bliss will be there on June 14, which I’m pretty excited about.  This is a much larger shop than Marji’s, with a bigger class selection.  Of course, there are plenty of other yarn stores nearby, but these are the two closest to me.  Webs in Northampton is a quick jaunt away, and I’ll have to get my girlies here to take a trip there with me sometime.

Ok, time for me to get back to putting the house in order.  Once everything is settled I’ll do Scout’s knitting spot meme again. And, hey, have you taken a look at Barry’s adventures?  If you don’t know who Barry is, go look.  He’s adorable.

Tomorrow:  My Threaded Bliss Yarns loot!

After admiring you.  After working on you with love and attention.  After letting you have your debut this morning, this is how you’re going to act, Shaddie?

Oh, excuse us.  Just a little spat between a woman and her knitting.  Allow me to whine for a second.  I posted her picture only as a thumbnail before.  Maybe that’s the problem, but since this morning’s post, she’s given me nothing but trouble.  I knit when I should purl.  I purl when I should knit.  All easily remedied, but do you understand that until she had her little moment of fame, she acted right.  Now it’s all, "just try to act like I’m going to be cast aside for a pair of socks.  What, two circs give you more thrills than my picot edging?" 

I’m willing to see both sides of this little tiff.  I’m nothing if not fair.  Shaddie got jealous, wanted to make me pay for my thoughtless remarks this morning.  Ok.  Consider yourself paid, darling.  I’ll be faithful.  I promise.

By the way, if you never hear from me again, it’s because the crazy winds that are keeping me awake have picked up my casita and plopped it down in Oz.  Look for a woman with ruby slippers.  That will be me.

At 11:42 p.m. I finished my Sockapaloooza socks!  They are rather plain, but my pal is a skier, and I imagine her wearing them after a day on the slopes when warmth will be welcome.  I used Nature Spun in "Spring"(hey, my first Project Spectrum item for May!), and I pieced together a pattern from a number of places:  Laurie gave me the number of stitches to cast on, then I looked at Weekend Knitting for an idea of how much ribbing, how much leg to knit (one inch, six inches).  I made an Eye of the Partridge heel, then turned to Sock Knitters for most of the rest of my sock engineering help.

Despite the lack of fancy knitting, I am pretty pleased.  I learned a lot about the construction of socks while making these, and more than anything, I love my newest skill:  knitting two socks on two circulars.  I wish Addi would make circs in different colors to make it easier to know what needle to pick up…the nailpolish wore off of the tip of the needles, although it stayed put near the join.

Thank you, everyone who has donated to Jessie’s Race for the Cure fundraiser.  Not only is she running in the desert (as jickymcjickster pointed out), but Jessie had a baby in February.  And it’s May.  And she’s running this race.  Go on…go make a donation and enter my contest!

I love wireless Internet.  Among the many things I’ve learned from Scout is how to use the wireless capability on Phineas.  Here’s how the night has shaped up for me:  I hunkered down under my covers in bed at about 9:30, skipping the homework and housecleaning I ought to have done.  I used my wireless Internet to search yet again for different sock heel instructions.  Since I’m sort of winging my Sockapaloooza socks, I’ve had a time of it deciding what heel to use.  I’ve decided on the Eye of the Partridge heel.  Since I cast on 44 stitches for each sock, here’s the pattern:

Row 1:Sl 1 purlwise, *k1, sl1 knitwise; repeat* until last stitch, k1

Row 2:  Sl1 purlwise, p19,k1    

Row3: Sl2 purlwise, *k1, sl1 knitwise; repeat* until last 2 stitches,k2 

Row 4: Sl1 purlwise, p19,k1

I’ll have another challenge when it comes time to turn the heel and work the gusset, but I won’t think about it now.  Any tips?  I’d love to hear whatever advice you have.

Part of what is making this such a lovely night (besides actually being in bed before midnight) are podcasts.  I’m listening to a brand new one, Craftlit, created by Heather from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, one of my old stomping grounds (Oh, how I miss you Black Cow).  Here is a list of all the Podcasts I suscribe to–let me know if there are others I shouldn’t miss, ok?   Cast-on, Craft Borg, Craft Lit, It’s a Purl, Man, KnitCast, NPR: All Songs Considered, and Stitch Cast.   

I’ve been knitting and listening to Brenda and Heather share their thoughts and some music.  And through Heather, I discovered this great free audio books site.  Once I’m settled in CT, I’m going to volunteer for them.  I love to read out loud, so why not share the pleasure of books and knitting?

I got an e-mail from Sooz that a special project she’s been working on for me is almost ready.  It’s going to be dam good to get it.  That’s a hint. 

Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of the yarn I dyed at Scout’s house on Monday.  I wanted to learn because I’ve joined Dye-o-rama.  Did you?

Yup, almost a perfect night.  Just need Neal and the mutts nearby to make it just right.

1.  When you join groups such as Use What You Have, avoid going to Village Wools where you will inevitably buy more stuff to have in order to use.

2.  Koigu and Silky Wool are two great yarns that add up to a desire for the Shadow Shawl.  Especially when influenced by evil temptresses.

2.  Two Socks on Two Circs are made easier when Laurie is around to fix your mistakes.

3.  Also easier when using Addis.  Better joins means smoother knitting.

4.  Marking both ends of one of the Addis makes it easier to know what needle to pick up for knitting.

5.  Nailpolish is the perfect marking medium on Addis.