LYS Class

I'm very excited! I'm all signed up for the 2 socks on 2 circular needles class at my LYS. It starts Saturday morning. I got my needles and now I'm going to go sort through my stash to figure out what yarn to use. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Toe Up Socks

After one false start, I think I am getting the hang of the toe up socks. I am not completely confident in my wrapping and turning, but I think I am improving. And the Sock Candy Thistle is WONDERFUL. I love it!

My LYS is offering a 2 socks on 2 circulars class. Wish me luck in getting into it! I was on a waiting list for the last one they offered. I'm still trying to figure out how they opened up a new class and didn't first offer it to the people on the waiting list. Ah well!

Rhinebeck: Part Three

Yes, more Rhinebeck purchases.

This is Lorna's Laces in Goldhill and Black Purl. I love them! Black Purl caught my eye first, but I almost didn't find the second skein.

It is a rainy, windy, yucky day. I just battled our two greyhounds to get them outside to quickly pee.



Anyhoo, I neatened up my craft room and now I am going to attempt my very first toe up sock pattern using Wendy's tips from Knitty and Wendy's pattern from her blog. I wound up my Thistle Sock Candy. It is beautiful! Wish me luck! :)

Rhinebeck: Part Two

Blogger has been having lots of brain farts lately. I tried to get in to approve comments and post again on Tuesday and Wednesday with no luck. Not really sure what was going on, but here we are.

This is my beautiful cashmere. Two whole onces! Isn't it gorgeous? It is labeled as taupe and the woman said that it is not dyed, but the natural color of the goat. The farm is in Maine. I'ld love to go visit. The pattern came free with purchase. I have not yet decided if I am going to use that pattern or find another, but either way I am making a scarf for myself.

On Wednesday night my mother and I took a class with Charlotte at AC Moore. My mom has been wanting to learn how to crochet jewelery. Two years ago she bought all sorts of supplies and a book and had great difficulty trying to teach herself. I asked at my local yarn shop if anyone could teach her and no one ever heard of it before. My mother tried several local bead shops with no luck. About a month ago she was at a craft fair and a woman was selling crocheted jewelery and she teaches classes! My mother called me and asked if I would go with her. I don't particularly enjoy crocheting and haven't tried in over a year. So, of course I agreed. *wink*

The class was great. You actually crochet wire into a chain and add beads with each stitch. Then you braid three chains together, add the clasp and you have a necklace. It is easier then I expected. I really struggled at first, but with our patient teacher I soon caught on. On our way out, we bought more supplies and are planning on scheduling time to make necklaces together. I am already starting to figure out who is getting them for Christmas. It is an excellent instant gratification project. We took a two hour class and left with a finished project. Amazing!

I have been listening to Brenda Dane's Cast On. I recently got an i-pod and discovered the wonderful world of knitting podcasts. Anyhoo, Brenda said in one of her podcasts that she only wears hand knit socks. All of her socks are hand knit. What a concept! I love that idea. So, with this in mind, I bought enough sock yarn at Rhinebeck to make ten pairs. I also have some sock yarn stashed. I understand that this is a rather lofty goal and it will take me forever to knit all these socks. I mean, like years. Given all that, I simply love the idea of a handknit wardrobe for my feet and someday I will have it! So Holly Jo, all that sock yarn is for socks. Exact patterns: yet to be determined. I have been staring at Wendy's toe up patterns. I want to use the toe up pattern with Sock Candy: Thistle. But, I am thinking about using some cheaper sock yarn for my first attempt. Decisions, decisions.

As Stacey and Holly Jo pointed out, my husband is both sweet and very, very understanding. He is really good about being supportive of my obsession, I mean hobby. The *only* thing that gets to him is when all of my yarn is around the house. I'll take out a project and start working on it, then another project, and another project . . . I'm sure you know the drill. So he has reason to complain. But, now we have worked out a solution. He doesn't even complain anymore! We have a designated place for all of my knitting things. So if my husband is getting annoyed, one day I'll come hiome from work and all of my knitting will be in its designated place behind a closed door and everyone is happy. That happened to all of my Rhinebeck yarn on Monday night. :)

Socktoberfest at Rhinebeck: Socks that Rock

Since I had such a hard time getting my pictures to upload, I have decided to break this into several segments. Here we go . . .

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day. The colors of the leaves were gorgeous and the sun was shining through the leaves. It was cool enough to wear hand knits, but not so cold that we were freezing.

We made a b-line to building A: the infamous home of "The Fold". My husband was shocked at the incredibly long lines of women with their sock yarn. We decided to divide and conquer. My husband got in line and I politely excused myself through to the sock yarn. Several women commented about how brilliant I was to bring my own personal line holder. :)

I scored a beautiful skein of "Lucy" from Wendy Knits. I can already envision them in my brown birk-knockoffs. I just love the splash of blue with the earthy browns. It caught my eye before I realized the model of the great color combo.


"Dreidel" was my first selection. I like the yellows and the blues,which I think will be great in my butter crocs.


"X-mas Rocks" I am less sure of. I like the pinky orange that goes into the yellow. But, I am unsure how that is going to then blend into the green and red. I guess we will see how it knits up.



Apparently I had the holidays on my mind, because I bought 2 skiens of holiday yarn. Anyhoo.

I just love the combination of lime and purple. This is "Thistle" and it is "Sock Candy" which is a cotton sock yarn.

"Saratoga" was a HUGE score for me. I live a town over from Saratoga, which is a fabulous place. I have very fond memories of my grandparents, mother and I taking our breakfast to the track early in the morning during the month of August to watch the horses exercise. These colors are just perfect. Perfectly captured. They are the colors of the horses and the sunrise that I so fondly remember. It is amazing to me how this yarn transports me to that time of my life.

So, I initially found Dreidel, Xmas Rocks, and Thistle before finding my husband in line. He had befriended the woman in front of me and was shocked that I only brought back enough yarn for three pairs of socks. He encouraged me to go back and look again. I'm so glad he did because that was when I found Lucy and Saratoga.

He then suggested that I look around the rest of building A while he was in line. As I looped around again, he was waving his arms. He was all excited because he had heard from the women behind him in line that the "yarn bus" had been damaged in a tornado. For those of you who don't know, Flying Fingers in Irvington, NY would bus people up from NYC to shop in the yarn store. They have a bus with balls of yarn and knitting needles on the top of it. I'm telling you, it was unbelievable to see that thing flying up the Saw Mill! Anyhow, come to find out, my husband had been chatting up an employee of Flying Fingers. Too funny!

Waaahhhh!!!!

I took pictures of all of my loot, but I can't get Blogger to upload it!!

Stay tuned . . .

Oh My Gawd!!!

OK. My husband (a.k.a. the enabler) was very concerned about Rhinebeck. Not for all of the typical reasons that the husband of a fiber obsessed woman might be concerned. But, for a very, very sweet reason. After like the millionth time I said "I'm sooo excited" while beaming and after the primer he received while driving to Rhinebeck about what is important and what we simply MUST find at Rhinebeck: he looks at me and says "I really hope it lives up to your expectations." Sweet. Seriously sweet.

It did. It truly, truly did live up to all of my extremely lofty expectations. I will blog more and have some yarn porn for you over the next couple days. I must now break out of my yarn hang-over and go get ready for work.

Thank you Rhinebeck!

Rhinebeck Here I Come!!

Off to Rhinebeck! I'm soooo excited!!!!! :)

My New Addiction

My husband and I had a little windfall and we each bought a new toy. My new toy is the video i-pod. I am loving it!

I commute at least 30 minutes each way and now Brenda Dane is accompanying me. As you may already know, she hosts the Cast-On podcast. It is WONDERFUL! My commute just flies, and I am actually driving slower, so I can spend more time commuting. Can you believe it? Spending more time commuting?

So, I started listening to them backwards, and now I am listening to some of the earlier ones fairly randomly. I am listening to the first episode of season two right now. The idea of muses and knitting is a great one, and I am glad Brenda is giving it some attention.

I love this time of year. It is just a little chilly. I have candles lit. There are fresh baked chocolate chip cookies on the table and a lasagna in the oven. My husband and father are finishing up their work days and should be here soon for dinner. It is nice to be Suzy Homemaker every once in awhile. :)

SOCKS!!!

This is my first ever pair of socks. Socktoberfest definitely inspired me to finish them! I took a class back in the spring and finally finished them this week. They are nice and warn and I wore them around the house all day today. Some more info about them are in the post a couple days ago talking all about our first pair of socks. The foot and heel are a little big, but other than that they are wonderful! They are a little oversized (size 6 needles) so I probably only wear them around the house or maybe in my crocs. Oh, and it was a flap heel, not short row. What do I know? I'ld love to learn the toe up method. I printed up Wendy's pattern and I might try it on my next pair if I am feeling especially adventurous. I would love to take a class on using magic loop or doing socks at once on a circular. Socks will be in my future!

A New Button

A new button! Now, remembering how to get it on the sidebar is the fun part! :)

Entrelac Bag: Pre-Felting

OK, so I promised pics of my felted entrelac bag. But, I couldn't find the camera cord. Then I found the camera cord. But, life got in the way. So, here it is pre-felting. It is four skeins of Cascade 220, plus a sparkling novelty yarn thrown in randomly. I didn't have enough of any one color left to do the handles, so I decided to mix it up. I'm not sure if you can see it, but there is a pen in the handles as a reference to size. Post-felting pic to follow . . .

My Sock History

Lolly, our Socktober KAL host, asked about our sock history. I hope you enjoy reading mine.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I took a sock class last spring at my LYS.

What was your first pair?
We used the Knitting Pure & Simple pattern and I chose Mountain Colors yarn. It is a rather large sock and was knit on size 6 needles because it is a beginner pattern and yarn. I'm not sure if they will actually fit in shoes, or if they are just around the house type socks. I highly recommend this pattern and yarn for beginners.

How have they "held up" over time?
They have held up BEAUTIFULLY. Well, ya see, I completed one and just finished the heel on the second. I guess that should be goal number one for this month! :)

What would you have done differently?
Nothing! Everything is a learning experience. I think they are coming out pretty good. I can see one minor mistake on my first sock and, so far, I think my second sock is OK.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Well, I have only used one yarn. I have been adding to my sock stash though! I have more Mountain Colors. I have some cool pink and purple stuff, but I don't remember what kind it is. I also have some Wool in the Woods. I recently bought Opal on sale and some Lorna's Laces. As you can tell, I have big plans! I'ld LOVE to get my hands on some Koigu! I've never fondled it and I am dieing to! Do you think it will be at Rhinebeck? Ohhhh, I hope!

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I've never really crocheted anything. I've knit on DPNs and a little 12" circular needle on the leg and foot. I REALLY want to learn the 2 circulars and Magic Loop methods. My LYS had a Magic Loop class, but I was on vacation for part of it. They had a waiting list and did two more classes, and I couldn't do those either.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I've only done short-row.

How many pairs have you made?
I would have to say I have made three quarters of a pair. :)

A Trip to the LYS

My LYS is Saratoga Needle Arts in Saratoga, NY. Most of the staff is very friendly and they know me by name. I talked to them about the Lizard Ridge blanket and tried to talk them into having a class and maybe a knitalong type of event. They'll be talking to the owner about it. I hope they do! :)

Anyhow, I am all stocked up to knit three hats for the triplets as well as lots of socks for Socktberfest. I also decided to branch out from socks a bit to make Fiber Trends felted clogs. I have REALLY wanted to try these. I have colors for myself and for 2 gender neutral pairs.

I am rushing off to work, so this will be it for now.

Oh, and a teaser . . . I purchased a much lusted for techie toy yesterday for myself. Still trying to get the hang of it, though!