Gryffindor Dice Bag

For my Sock Kit Buddy...






Good stuff :)

Busy Busy?

Maybe. Not Really. A little.

I've got most of the stuff done for both the Hogwarts swaps I'm doing (photos later today when I have more time) and now I just need to get things boxed and ready. I probably would have been able to post pics this morning but unfortunately my fiance decided to turn the alarm off and just "assume" that I was awake (I wasn't) so I got rudely awakened by his father who came to knock on our door to make sure I was still going to work (I am).

I've been knitting up a storm lately, but I'm worried it's hurting my wrists. I think I'm going to lay off for a while (If I can bring myself to), and also try to lay off using the computer. My job at N.E.W. makes that impossible so I have to try to rest when I get home.. which does suck, of course, since that's when I get to do fun stuff but..

C'est la vie.

More Birthday Stuff (From my SP) & Good News

So today started off shitty..

But it got better. Before I post pics of what I got from my secret pal, I'm going to say first- YAY I GOT INTO CORNELL FOR THE PLANT PROTECTION GRADUATE PROGRAM! YAY!!!!

OK.










Not pictured were some mints (they are pretty good) and some vaseline hand cream. What a way to brighten up my day. Even before I found out that I did get into Cornell I was cheered up by a package.. and then I find out that I DID get into cornell... Yay.

Happy Birthday To Me....

This is what I bought with my birthday present (a gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. From the left the colorways are: Lunasea, Sugarplums, Tanzanite, Thistle, Lagoon (silkie), Lucy.

It's all I can do to keep from starting to knit with it today.. OMG.

Though the colors aren't quite as vibrant as I was expecting (except for thistle, the green in thistle is way more lime than I expected!!), I still love them. I really want to start knitting right away but I have way too much stuff to finish.. baby booties, mittens, a bag for my swap pal.. all that stuff. Yeah. Lots to do.

Be jealous if you want. Just keep in mind I'm not allowed to buy any more yarn (ESPECIALLY SOCK) until I.. knit some of the stuff I have already. I really ought to stash-bust with some stuff for my aunt's bazaar. And maybe some mittens to donate to the thingie they do at work in winter. We'll see. I'm really a selfish knitter at heart.

Rippin' it..

Yeah..

So the project monogamy problem is still here. I've got no less than 4 projects within arms reach right now. Lol.

I abandoned my original idea for the mitten swap. The cables I was doing (2 stitch rope cables) were getting lost in the garter stitch. Have I ever mentioned that I really dislike garter stitch as a background for cables? It just doesn't make them POP as well as reverse stockinette. Garter stitch is so textural all by itself that it just doesn't work for me. Weird, isn't it? How different garter stitch really is from reverse stockinette. Anyway, I didn't actually rip back, I just slipped the 1/2 inch of cuff I had off the needles, cut the yarn, and started over with a regular 2x2 ribbing with the twisted rope cables on the right side ribs.

Much better. This particular color of KnitPicks Gloss doesn't really show the texture so well right now- or, well, moreso what it does is magnifies the texture of the reverse stockinette. It's kind of interesting, but annoying.

Sometime today I'm going to run into the bedroom and dig out my gryffindor-colored worsted weight yarn and get started on the bag for HSKS3. I got a note from Amazon today saying that my order with my Secret Pal's book in it had been lost in the mail so I'm vaguely annoyed by this.. I'm thinking I'm going to just send a skein or two of nice yarn and put the book in the next package but I'm annoyed with that too. Bleck. Ah well.

My ballwinder may be breaking.. and I'm a little worried about it. The handle has started to make a disturbing squeak when I turn it. I'm going to be very upset if it breaks when I just got it on the 15th! Seriously!

Anyway.. off to knit. I have too much to do. And I just remembered I had promised to send my aunt some baby stuff for her church bazaar.. I don't know if she's going to still want them (if she's feeling up to the bazaar after my grandfather dying) but I figure sending some stuff might motivate her and I know that the bazaar would do her good.. so we'll see.

Lacking in Project Monagamy

I'm suffering from an extreme lack of project monogamy right now. I've got up to the end of the second clue for Scherherazade's Slippers and my other set of US2 circs is currently held up with the pi shawl I never finished due to other things getting in the way (read: sock and sock kit swaps) so I don't really want to start the other sock yet, since it would involve too much hassle... I'm starting on the mittens for the mitten swap I'm doing.. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the result but we shall have to see. I didn't really want to do fair isle but I don't feel like devising my own cabled pattern and I don't have the right weight/color of yarn to make the aran mittens in folk mittens right now..

So that's where we are. Because I'm not entirely happy with the mittens I started tonight and because I'm feeling guilty, I've started another pair of Christine's Booties for Elijah (not even born yet and I'm already obsessing).

Every time I look at my WIPs on Ravelry it just gets to me.. y'know? Ah well.. off to do secret projects.

Sutffies

I've finished the socks for my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal and I'm going to be getting those sent out later this week. Yay! No pics yet.

My Swift and Ballwinder finally came! I had some initial trouble with them (see here) but then I read through the instructions more fully and figured it out.



They are from the Mystery Sock Pattern over here It's for a Sock Knitters Anonymous sock contest over at Ravelry. They are really pretty. I don't know if they're going to fit me, and the fabric didn't look that great when I tried it on my foot so I may have to reknit them later but right now I'm just sort of going with the flow. I didn't like that particular color of Dream in Color at first but now it's growing on me so.. Yeah. I'm thinking about waiting for the rest of the pattern and seeing what kind of ankle patterning she does so I can just add some stitches on the foot.. but we'll see.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday!

Over the last week or so the birthday presents Jeremy bought for me and that I bought for myself have been trickling in- I got the present from his mom today.

A $100 gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts!!!!!

Okay, so I spent way more than $100 on myself but still, I figured they'd give me MAYBE $50, I didn't expect that much, so I'm definitely happy.

I spent about 1.5 hrs trying to decide what to get, and I ended up getting STR in the following colors: Sugarplums, Lunasea, Lucy, Thistle, Tanzanite & some Silkie in Lagoon. I went over the $100 a bit but still, I knew that would happen- And I don't mind. I would have gone over paying for shipping anyhow so the extra $19 for another skein of STR Lightweight was worth it.

I can't wait till it gets here!

Anyway, I've finished both of the booties and now I'm just doing some 2-stitch Icords for the ties. I love two-stitch icords- they are SO MUCH BETTER.

OH, also, my Kauni came from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions a couple days ago. It's entirely unremarkable in the ball that they have it in because you can't really see the stripeyness- I'm thinking about rewinding it when I get my swift and ballwinder (another birthday present.. I hope they come today). Just so I can see the stripey colors all in the cake..

Speaking of cake, I had some this weekend but I want more now.

Baby Booties

From this...


to this......


From this pattern. I want to make tons. I'm using my Brittany Birch 5" dpns for this.. I love them. Even though they stab me in the hand.

I want to make tons more of these booties in all different colors and stuff. Yay!

I should have KNOWN

I knew I should have waited before buying the KnitPicks Options set. Yep. Guess what? They have Wooden Options now. And they're not just any wood- they're really pretty COLORED wood.

*sigh* I'm torn between getting my metal options set together and selling off the whole thing and then getting the wooden thing, or buying just the wooden tips (if I buy the same ones that come in the set it comes out to be just slightly cheaper than buying the whole set, which isn't.. well, that great considering) and keeping my metal options.

The thing is, I don't really like the big metal options. They're too heavy, and I like the TINY needles for socks and stuff but really, the big ones just hurt my hands. So the wooden ones.. Oh, they'd be sweet.

But I really shouldn't spend the money. Really. Truly. Sigh.

Ah well.

Birthday Goodness

So, my birthday is coming up on Wednesday. Yay VIRGOS. Anyway, I'm slowly getting some of my birthday stuff because there are three September (early September at that) birthdays in the house.. So today we had our celebration. A nice autumn colored cake with lots of frosting flowers (what can I say, I REALLY like frosting flowers). I got a copy of the newest Sims 2 expansion, which won't play on Jeremy's new compy for some godawful reason (sigh), but which I'll install on his older compy and play there since my poor lappy is NOT doing well enough.

But, also, I got a loopy Ewe Package:


First, I spent a bunch of birthday monies on some more Dream in Color, because Sheri got some more in stock. I'm done, though. Seriously. DONE. I can't buy any more of this stuff.. Too much. Also I will be destashing on Etsy soon.




I also picked up a tiny sock blocker Keychain, and knitted a sock for it out of some extra yarn that was included in my order to make a "Red sock." I liked it better for the blocker, hee hee. I want to make a bunch of little socks to stick on it, though. It'll be fun.

Jeremy's parents picked me up a gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts but it hasn't come yet. Once I get that I'll be buying yarn from them, but that'll be the last of it. Blue Moon Fiber Arts seems to be really slow on the orders and doesn't update the order status much, which is kinda annoying.. Oh well. I'm not really worried about it yet given how long my last order took to get from them.

I'm still waiting on a swift and ballwinder (!!!) from KnitPicks and then that'll be it for my birthday. Good stuff. I also got a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Jeremy's uncle Brad, and I'll be spending that later on. Probably on knitting books. Yay.

Okay, Enough

Alright, this has to stop. The Loopy Ewe put a little bit more Dream in Color Smooshy Sock up...

And I got 4 more skeins. After I use my gift card to Blue Moon Fiber Arts.. that's it. No more yarn. None.

No more. But I'm going to LOOOVE what I have. But no more yarn for me.. just yarn for swaps and stuff.

Happiness

Despite the awful smell in the house today, I'm feeling good. Wanna know why?





Let me tell you.. I'm in love for life. I am also thinking I will be ordering from Sheri again because she really has such a variety. When I get my birthday money from my fiance I'm totally going to go NUTS. Hah! Now, I was a little worried after the fact- I could only pick 2 skeins and I knew I needed to get them NOW because Dream in Color is one of those yarns that sell out REALLY quick because everyone wants it.. No waiting for my birthday money. So I said "2 colors.. that's it (for now)" The Spring Tickle was a shoe-in.. but choosing my second color was hard. The pictures at The Loopy Ewe were not what I had seen over at Sonny & Shear so I wasn't sure which pics to trust.. Ultimately I decided to trust Sonny & Shear since theirs seemed a bit brighter.. and picked out Visual Purple. So I was nervous..

But the purple was just what I wanted and wonderful.. Yay! Can't wait to knit with it- but I promised myself I'd finish the Ravenclaw socks for my sock swap pal first.. and then I need to make a Gryffindor dice bag (I'm matched up with a Gryffindor.. Again! lol) for the sock kit swap, get together the yarn I'm going to send them..

Then maybe I'll knit a pair of socks for myself. I think I need to stay out of the next sock swap, lol.