Another Catch Up Post

More traveling this week - we took a few days and visited Storyland in North Conway, NH. It's a great smaller amusement park for the younger kids and is very family oriented. We went with a good friend and her two kids and had a great time. As I've mentioned before, I always bring a small project to work on when I go to places like this. There is always some prime knitting time while we are waiting in lines and on this trip, I had my Sock Hop sock along for the ride. Usually people just stare and point and maybe whisper (in a good way) - very rarely do they say anything directly to me. But this time several people asked me about what I was working on and thought it was cool. I was really hoping to bump into a fellow knitter so I could show off the awesome Sock Hop yarn - but that didn't happen. I kept thinking that it would have been neat to bump into Cate and her kids since I think I read that she has brought them to Storyland in the past. Anyway, it was a great couple of days away.

In my last post I mentioned that I am a Summer of Stash dropout. I also told Margene that I must also declare myself a Trekking dropout. That Sock Hop yarn just muscled the Trekking sock right out of my knitting bag. It is wonderful to work with and the fact that it is handspun still thrills me! I really need to practice on my Crown Mountain Farms roving so I can make socks with my handspun.

There was a wonderful box waiting for me when I returned from NJ. MY KSKS package! My pal was Rebecca from Bellamoden. From the quick bits of reading I've been able to do on her blog, I see that she has had a really tough summer so I'd like to give her a big hug and thanks for taking the time to put together a wonderful swap package. I hope she had a great pal who spoiled her as much as she did me! Check this out.


A beautiful felted bag with a great flower pin attached to the front. Koigu in the most beautiful shades of autumn. Fall is my most favorite season and these skeins look just like a huge pile of leaves - the kind you can't resist jumping into. Needles and a pattern (Railroad Rib socks) that I can't wait to try. I think I may order this pattern for my Yarn Aboard sock pal since she knits her socks in a heavier weight yarn and this pattern has the instructions for fingering, sport and worsted weight yarns. Sugar and Cream cotton - also in wonderful fall shades, a cute giraffe stamp and Tootsie Rolls (which my daughter is trying to convince me must be for her). Thank you Rebecca for taking the time to make this so special - especially when I know this hasn't been an easy summer for you!

I leave you with a picture of The Point. Unfortunately I totally spaced out and didn't take any pictures at Purl. Oh, and go over wish Sandy a Happy Birthday!

NYC

There was some knitting related activities during my recent day in New York City. But the day started out with a ride on a ferris wheel. Did you know there is an indoor ferris wheel in midtown Manhattan? It's in the Toys R Us store in Times Square and as soon as my daughter saw it, of course we had to go for a ride. And after the ride, we had to look through the huge toy store. Then we walked over to 5th Avenue stopping at various street vendors along the way. The destination was the American Girl Place which may have been a bad choice on my part since I had no intention of buying my daughter an American Girl doll. Lunch at the cafe was considered but I knew neither one of us would eat $22 worth of food so that wasn't really an option. But she had it set in her mind that we had to go there, so we did. And we looked. We, or rather I, watched people spending ALOT of money. And I did have to say no rather often. I actually do own one of the dolls and am considering passing it on to my daughter once I see that she can take good care of it. With this in mind, I let her pick out an outfit.

Then it was getting time for lunch so I offered her a choice - the cafe at The Point or lunch at Macy's. The answer was the knitting cafe so off we set to take the subway down to The Point. I had checked on the Internet and read that, in addition to desserts, the cafe also served sandwiches, soups and quiche. So, I was rather disappointed when we got there and found out that they only serve desserts. Lunch ended up being a cupcake and a piece of coffee cake along with iced coffee and water. Oh well. But we did enjoy looking around and we picked out some yarn for a hat and scarf for my daughter. And I found a great "I (heart) to knit" t-shirt. Since we were downtown, I figured we may as well head on over to Purl. It was wonderful. Let me just say that I've wanted to see Koigu Kersti ever since I saw the child's sweater pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts which is made out of that yarn. And Purl has Koigu Kersti. And now I have the materials for my daughter's winter sweater. 'Nuff said. Purl also has some Lorna's Laces sock yarn dyed just for them - each skein is 2 colors. White and a solid that stripe. The sample they had looked great. Purl has a lot of yarn in a small space and I would definitely like to come back again. And also spend more time in their fabric store which is a few shops away from the yarn store. I took a quick peek inside and saw beautiful colors, but we needed to head on back to midtown.

I flagged down a cab (my first time actually doing that myself) and we headed on up to Macy's for some lunch and clothes shopping. We got back to my parents house around dinner time, exhausted but happy. During my visit to my parents house, I also visited Modern Yarn and Stix-n-Stitches so I think this means that I am a Summer of Stash dropout. But I had fun and my daughter picked out some yarn so she can make herself a scarf. We are taking turns knitting the rows and already have about 8 inches finished.

Postcard Swap

I received a great purple package in the mail. It was from Jane, my postcard pal. Check out this beautiful purple collage card and bookmark. I'm already using the bookmark in Wendy Knits to keep my place at the sock pattern I'm working on. Jane used pictures of gorgeous flowers for the collage. And sticky note papers "from the Queen" (how did you know, Jane). And chocolate - which I am not sharing!

But this is the absolute best thing. Check this out!

A sock blocker keyring (pattern included!). Of course I had to take the sock off.

This is the BEST!!! I love everything. Jane, thank you so much for making my day. And everyone should go over to her site and check out the cute baby hat and socks she made from STR.

I Can Get Some Satisfaction

After ripping out two socks, I really wasn't feeling it for the sock knitting. In fact, I felt like I had lost my sock mojo. That was originally going to be the title for this post - Lost: Sock Mojo. Then I received some really special yarn (and it had to be for socks). I wanted to try something other than my usual cuff down, flap heel sock so I searched through my books and pulled out Wendy Knits! with her toe up sock pattern. And this weekend, by the shores of the lake at the Maple Park Campgrounds, I started this:


I think I've found my sock knitting mojo once again (hope I haven't jinxed myself with that statement). In case you couldn't tell from the title of the post, this is Satisfaction Sock Hop yarn from Crown Mountain Farms. I can't explain the feelings I had when I first held this yarn in my hands - definitely more than a little bit of awe and a feeling of kinship with the person that had spun this yarn. Knitting with this yarn is just awesome - it's so soft and springy. It's hard to find the words to describe the joy I am feeling when I use this yarn. I guess you need to try it for yourself!!

My spinning has been hampered by the humid weather we've been having. Last week, I would sit down to spin and would end up dripping sweat within a few minutes - not pleasant!! I did manage to spin a little bit of the Sock Hop roving and it looks like I need to try and spin a little bit finer.

I'm averaging about 13-14 wpi and I'd like to get somewhere around 15-17 wpi. Hopefully this week will be a bit less humid and I'll find some time to try again.

I also managed to get my KSKS gift out before we went camping.

Two skeins of Claudia's Handpaints, a bag of Amy's fiber for socks (my pal is also a spinner and has an awesome spindle collection), the bag and a notions case filled with needles, a crochet hook, an orange Chibi set, a great holder for keeping your project secure on double pointeds, and a emory board (because I hate having a nail that snags on my yarn). I also included chocolate and some hand cream along with two patterns - one I bought for her and one free one. My pal was Lara from Spinny Bunt Knits (but don't tell her as she may not have received the package yet). It should be arriving sometime this week and I hope she likes it.

Just Pictures

Here are the pictures that wouldn't load yesterday. First the wonderful gift from Ina. Isn't that a great tomato!! And I love the colors of the roving. Thanks again.

And here's a shot of the bag and the notions case for my KSKS pal.

My finished BFL.

And the new roving that is now on the wheel - The Beat Goes On.

This roving is really fun to spin and I'll show my sample when it's done. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be VERY hot this week so I'm not sure how much spinning will actually take place. Try to stay cool!

Houston, We Have A Bag

Unfortunately, blogger seems to be having a problem with pictures this morning so we may not be able to show you the bag. The one I had finished last week was a little too short so I made another one from the same materials. I did the buttonhole (yeah me) and inserted a drawstring. I used one of those closure things that you push down on and then slide the cord through. I also made a little notions case and just need to decide on the closure for that - either a snap or maybe a button with an elastic loop to go over it. My goal is to get my KSKS package out this week.

I also received a great package from Ina. I met Ina at the S'nB at Modern Yarn a few weeks ago and sent her some STR paraphanalia. She sent me back some wonderful things - a felted tomato (see them on her site here), beautiful STR roving (color Rooster Rock in Wensleydale Top), Tootsie Rolls and Pocari Sweat (a lemon drink mix that Ina says is delicious - I'll be making it this week as it is supposed to be a hot one!). The felted tomato is excellent as I didn't plant any real tomatoes this year and now I have an absolutely perfect one. And STR roving - how cool is that. I've always wanted to check out their roving. Thank you Ina - fiber people really are the best!

This summer has turned out to be a lot about spinning. I finished the 4 oz. of the BFL that I had mentioned previously. My woolen spinning is definitely not as smooth and even as my worsted spinning, but I definitely did get a thicker yarn. My daughter wants a hat this winter so we'll see how it comes out. The good thing about making a hat is that if she doesn't like it, I'll have an item for Dulaan. On the wheel, we now have some roving from Crown Mountain Farms in The Beat Goes On. I'm doing a little sample first as there is plenty of fiber - 8 oz. of hand dyed superwash merino. And I'm trying for sock yarn.

On the flip side, this summer has definitely not turned into a summer of socks. I have been ripping out socks instead of finishing them. I just wasn't happy with my second pair of Jaywalkers and even though I was almost done with one, I ripped it out. Just couldn't see myself making another. I also ripped out my Pomatomus sock - but not because I didn't like it. I loved it but it was coming out a little bit too small for me. Usually I'd just keep on and make it for someone else, but this is STR in Fred Flintstone and these are for me. So, I'll bump up to a size 2 which means I get to use my Bryspun needles. Hopefully I'll be able to show you some pictures next time. Stay cool!!

Wanna Make A Buttonhole?

Unlike Margene who did her sewing a little too early in the day for a drink, I chose to do mine later on in the evening. So, there was a martini and there was some sewing. I now have a bag for my KSKS pal although I still need to construct the closure. I'm planning on going with a buttonhole and drawstring. I basically followed the instructions for this bag, but decided that a buttonhole might be a bit neater. Unfortunately I have a thing about buttonholes - they intimidate me. Kinda like putting in a zipper (yeah, my Ribby Cardi is still waiting to be blocked and put together, but if I stall on that part, I can put off the zipper installation a little longer). So I put off the buttonhole and started in on a little notions bag - you know to hold some dpns, maybe a crochet hook for picking up little stitches, stuff like that. To put in the KSKS bag. And speaking of KSKS, I heard from my pal. She made my day when she emailed me and now I am a happy camper.

Here is the finished July skein for my One Skein pal. It is approximately 210 yards from about 3.5 ounces of roving. I hope to get it off this week along with some other little goodies. I thought I may try to find some regional treat to include in the package - kind of like a little clue for her. With that spinning finished, I started in on Amy's BFL. Purple for July Project Spectrum.

I'm trying to make a thicker yarn - maybe for a hat - and also practicing my woolen technique. It makes for a much fuzzier yarn and I'm looking forward to plying it and seeing how I did on spinning it thicker. Since I've been trying to spin "thin", it's hard to reverse that thought process and make a thicker single. The woolen spinning is helping a little with that.