Hooker!

Hold on to your hats boys and girls.
I didn't knit all weekend.
Not once.
Not even a little bit.

I CROCHETED...a lot.

I finally found a yarn that wasn't a pain in the butt to work with to make the StitchDiva Celebrity Shawl. Silly me, I bought the pattern a while back thinking I could use that black chenille in the stash. No way did that work, and I haven't felt like messing with it again the last couple of months. Saturday I suddenly felt like it so off to Hobby Lobby I went for the proper materials. I got TLC Amore' which was one of the recomended yarns on the pattern. I have no idea how many yards are in a skein of TLC Amore' since the bastards only put the weight (6 oz) on the label so I got 3, and I hope it is enough. It's a dark moss green, but as the shawl works up I've been thinking I might want another one in the varigated blue/purple/pink.
I started Saturday evening around 5, and as of last night I was on the fourth or fifth row. The first two rows take FOREVER and the shawl has already suffered two cat attacks/ theft attempts. The pattern itself is pretty simple once I figured out I didn't have to chain 6 to start every cluster. This is the first Crochet pattern I've ever really tried to follow even though I've known how to crochet since I was 5. (I usually get all confused and then just make something up myself to look like the picture.) I'm pretty happy with how it looks. Its gonna be huge! I'll take some pictures tonight so you can see what I'm talking about.
Bitterness
I am not going to Maryland Sheep & Wool.
I am not going to Rhinebeck.
I am not even going to the Estes Park Wool Market.
I get no vacation days until after June 24th, and I live too far from everything.
Maybe next year...
Happier Stuff
I AM going to Austin the weekend of June 25-26th via train to attend Rollerderby. That is 30 total hours of on-board the train knitting time right there people.
I AM going to Colorado the first week of August so hopefully I'll get to visit some nifty yarn stores along the way.
The weekend of October 15-16th I will be in a cabin in the woods at Petit Jean State Park with Husband Boy. We had to make reservations a year ahead of time to get this cabin. I will not think about Rhinebeck while I'm there.

The pink sock has a heel and about five rows of leg. yay!
Klaralund has it's second sleeve finished and about three inches of it's second body section. yay!
I had a migraine yesterday :( booo!
I still haven't gotten Julia to check the length on her poncho yet. (big fuzzy black rectangle thing)
My friend Candy recovered a knitting/sewing stand thing for me. It looks fab.
She tried to teach me how to play Canasta, but there are too many rules to learn while freezing your ass off at a skating rink snack bar and getting interruped by phone calls every ten minutes.
I tried to knit the branching out scarf from the new knitty, but I can't find a yarn in the stash that doesn't end up looking too chunky or too fuzzy or just somehow wrong. I really wanted one of the greens I had to work, but oh well. The Koigu looked pretty spiffy, but the resulting scarf came out too narrow for me. Forget that for a while.
The new addi ebay needles showed up, but turns out they sent me 2mm instead of US size 2 (I double checked the auction to make sure it wasn't just my stupid mistake, and it isnt. The auction clearly states US size 2.) I don't currently have any sock yarn that likes size 0 needles. I'm a pretty tight knitter, so that ends up being really stiff fabric for me. Oh well. I sent an email asking about an exchange, but have yet to hear back from the seller.
I haven't taken pictures of anything.
I need to send the person I'm the secret pal of something else for April. I sent her an amazon gift certificate and e-card for March, which Amazon says she picked up but I haven't heard a peep from her in the email or on her blog. I hope she didn't fall off the face of the planet.
I planted more bulbs and put a net over them this time, but the sneaky squirrel bastards still chewed through it and dug them up. Once again I hope they choke. That is all.

Happy Knitaversary To Me

Today is the one year anniversary of the day I learned to knit. I had tried for years to figure it out from poorly illustrated "You Can Knit!" booklets and things, but it didn't click in my head until last year when I found some videos online that I could follow along to.
According to TKGA these are the different levels of knitting skill:

(AB) ADVANCED BEGINNER
Must be able to cast on, bind off, work simple increases, decreases, cables, yarn overs; must be able to follow simple written instructions; must know Garter, Stockinette stitch and basic ribbing stitches.
(I) INTERMEDIATE
Must be able to do all the skills listed in the Advanced Beginner level as well as be able to work in the round using circular needles and double-pointed needles. Should also know how to work with two or more colors while using circular and double-pointed needles; must be able to pick up stitches for necklines and sleeves and correct errors in knitting; must be proficient in argyle (intarsia) knitting, complex cables and yarn-over patterns; must be able to work simple seaming and finishing techniques and follow pattern instructions for garments.
(A) ADVANCED
Must know how to do all intermediate level skills as well as draft and make pattern adjustments to basic patterns, make style changes, knit in a hem, work Fair Isle and stranded knitting; work pocket and border trims with ease (including sewing in a zipper) and work complex knitting patterns.

I would say that by those rules I'm an Intermediate Knitter, but only because I've never had a desire to do fair isle, I've never wanted to make anything with a pocket, and so far no zippers. I feel like I could probably do all of those things If I wanted to though. I'm not afraid of anything knitting related. I don't understand people who are afraid to try something new in general and especially knit-related things because if you screw up, hey just rip it out, rewind your ball of yarn, and try again.
With that in mind, I haven't really knit anything project related in two days. I've been practicing different cast-ons and bind-offs and swatching lace patterns then ripping them out again. I kick ass at long-tail cast on now. Up to this point I've just been using a knitted-on cast on for everything. Mostly it was working, but it was just too darn un-stretchy for lace. I tend to find my favorite method of doing things and stick with it until it doesn't work for a particular application. I'm lazy like that.
The pink sock is almost up to heel turning length. I ordered some size 2 circular addis from someone on ebay. I'm thinking of starting the second sock on those, then working on it until they are both ready for heels, and alternating work on each sock until they are both finished. Either that or one can be my at home sock and the other can be my carry around with me and work on it when I have to wait for stuff sock.
The big fuzzy black rectangle needs a fitting so I know when I can stop. I think if it was for me I would have stopped it already, but I'm really short and Julia (the person this poncho has to fit) is really tall so I have no idea without a fitting. Fortunately, Julia is going to the movies with me on Sunday so I can corner her with a measuring tape in the parking lot or maybe lure her back to the house and make her hold it up.
Oh, that Iris picture I posted here the other day has won me an umbrella and a single use camera. I sent it in to the local news station's "seasonal snapshots" contest. I'm told they showed it on Tuesday while I was at Stitch N Bitch and they really laughed it up about my name being Elizabeth Taylor. I hate when people do that shit, but oh well. I'm also in a drawing now for a really nice video camera to be given away at the end of the month. The other picture (the one with the chlymidias har har) was sent in to another local tv show's photo contest. I won't know about it until Saturday night. Wish me luck.

Woo!

I didn't die from the sick and it didn't rain ALL weekend, but it was enough to keep me on the couch with antibiotics and tea and sock knitting. I also worked some on Klaralund. Another inch or two of sleeve and I will just have one more back/front piece to do before I can seam it up. YAY! Just in time for summer..haha, oh well I can wear it in the fall.
Ok, you have to go look at my friend Candy's cafepress store. Why? because her stuff is badass that's why. Go see! It was really hard to choose between a bag and a mug, but I went with the bag. The throw pillow is also tempting:

All the profits go to the guy who designed the picture.

And now, what little gardening news I have...things are blooming. Squirrel bastards dug up my bulbs I planted. I hope they choke on 'em. Here are some of the things blooming:

I finished the second sock! YAY! No picture yet, but it looks just like the first one so use your imagination.
I already started another toe-up sock. These socks are going to take much longer than the three days the previous socks took. I'm using actual sock yarn instead of big fat rowan cork- knitpicks sock garden "Stargazer Lilly", which is mostly pinks...size 2 needles. So far the toe looks like a little pink yarn vagina. I am not making that up. I swear. Wait till you see it. You'll say, "Oh, my! Elabeth was right. That DOES look just like a little pink yarn vagina."
I'm being hateful to all the WIP's listed there at the right of this page. I haven't been working on any of them. Nevermind the order I said I'd finish them in. I just can't seem to want to sit down and work on any of them. The poncho is so big now that it is like an afghan, and my legs get all hot having it in my lap so that sucks. The Cheap-Fab has the same issues, and then the scarves are just plain boring. I do occasionally think about working on Klaralund just so I can have it finished, but I wouldn't be able to wear it till next fall at the earliest, and the sock urge has been so strong that resistance has been futile. mmmm socks...mmmm Oh, where was I? Yeah, so I haven't been doing much non-sock knitting this week.

Garden Stuff
Still no progress. It keeps raining on days when I'm not sick so the yard still looks like crap. I'm hoping to not be sick or rained upon this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me and all that.

Sewing
I ordered a bunch of fabric from Reprodepot last week. I really shouldn't have because my check this week is going to be tiny due to being off for inventory and things, but stuff was on sale so I did anyway. Everything I ordered is destined to be made into bags like the one I posted here with the wooden handles. I plan on adding a small pocket to the lining because as I use the first one I made I have noticed that my keys tend to get lost in it. I tote this thing around as a purse/project bag/catch-all tote. Other people may not need a pocket but whatever. It doesn't really add any cost to the bag so I'm sticking one on.
Please Answer This One Question
Speaking of cost, I really do want to know how much you'd be willing to pay for a bag like that or how much you think people would be willing to pay. This in no way obligates you to buy one from me. I just want to know if you saw one hanging in the yarn store how much would you think the price tag said before you looked at it? What price would make you think, "ohh that's not bad!" and how much would be on the low end of "WTF?? She has some nerve trying to charge that much for a bag like that!" For the purposes of this question, pretend the bag is put together in some color/pattern combo that you really like/matches your shoes/rocks your socks etc.

Flash Your Stash Day

So today is the day...I've been enjoying the glimpses of other knit-blogger yarn stashes all afternoon. It has made me feel a little bit better about the volume of yarn and unspun fibers hanging around here.

There are a few new things since the last time I flashed stash. Mostly new is the stuff up there on the top shelf, some handspun on the bottom left second shelf up, and some assorted sock yarn. I took a picture of the unspun fiber stash also, but it just looks like five big garbage bags tied with a knot in the top of each. So yeah, picture that in your head and that's what it looks like. haha

A Bag & A Sock
First the bag closed

& open

I love this bag. How much would you pay? It is about 16" x 18" not including the handles. From the bottom of the opening to the bottom of the bag is a little over 10".


That is the toe-up sock. Words cannot say how much I love my sock...so much I'm casting on for it's mate tonight if that gives you any idea anyway. Here is a closer view of the heel:

OK, that's it for today.