I'm In!

It is official, I'm a member of the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. I know it's a lot of money but hopefully part of it will be my birthday present from my mom (keep your fingers crossed). I'm very excited I can't wait to get the packages and the new colors, but the thing that pushed me over the edge to sign-up was the designers, I can't wait!

I don't know if I will have time to knit them because I have procrastinated on my thesis (it would be great if it could just start/write itself) but I know I can stash them away and have something to look forward to when I'm finished, what a treat that will be.

I was nervous that I wasn't going to get in since I waited until the 6th to send in my paperwork but it looked like more than a few people did not renew their membership.

I can't wait to get the first package in the mail, mail-carriers watch out of Socks that Rock addicts!

A HUGE Stash Enhancement!

For a very long time I was very good about not adding to the stash . . . but it seems that I might have caught the YarnHarlot's falling down and standing back up with purchased yarn, but in my defense I have been planning this for a while, and I purchased over a long period of time, it's my own sock yarn tasting.

This whole thing started with the acquisition of Vesper Sock Yarn, as previously stated I had been stalking this yarn for over a year and finally the correct planetary alignment took place (i.e. there was yarn when I checked her site) and so I bought me a skein. Then I was looking into investing in a sock yarn club the idea of getting yarn and a pattern in the mail was intoxicating. But I didn't want to invest that much money into something I had never tried (my justification techniques are amazing) and there were "brands" out there that I had wanted to try.

First up Socks that Rock lightweight in colorway Lucy, this is not new yarn but I wanted to make a pair of socks out of this for my mom for her birthday at the end of the month, and we used to have a cat that looked a lot like Lucy so I know she will love the colorway.

Second, Socks that Rock lightweight in colorway Dixie Chick, not something I would normally pick but as ItShe says it's good to go outside your "safety zone". I love how bright the colors are.

Third, Koigu KPPPM in colorway Eggplant Berry #527, I chose this to make me a pair of CookieA Monkey Socks with a picot edge, can't wait to cast-on.

Fourth, Red Rocks Fiber Works, in colorway Two Tickets, found this at Knitting in La Jolla, it was at the time exclusive to two or three shops in the country, I love her colorways and would love to get more.

Fifth, Scout' Swag in colorway Zulu Knitty, which I have coveted ever since it was made, love the colors.

Sixth, Yarn Pirate in colorway Culture Club, I'm a child of the 80's and this brings me right back to the days of jelly shoes and Garbage Pail Kids. This colorway is so bright I gotta wear shades, no seriously look at the pink it's so bright it reflecting off the beige chair, all on its own.

So after all this stash enhancement, I'm so excited I have such great yarns to choose from for the next few sock patterns, but what I think I really want is to be a member of the Rock'n Sock Club, by Blue Moon Fiber Arts, because frankly I have always been in love with their yarn and the 4 designers that have signed on this year might just push me over the edge. Stay Tuned!

Get Out the Broom!

So that last time I posted the Sox were going to the World Series, we won on Wednesday and Thursday then it was off to Colorado for the Red Sox and off to Vegas for 6 days for Big A and me. First and foremost 6 days in Vegas went surprisingly well, we were there for SEMA (a huge car event) and it was nice to see people from all over the country from Big A's car club. Thankfully we did not spend a lot of time gambling, we went shopping, we went bowling (both hotels we stayed in had bowling alleys), ate a lot and hung out at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino bar. But for game 4 all of our friends indulged us by hunkering down for 4 hours to watch what we hoped was going to be the last game of the World Series (and thankfully it was, although it would have been so great to win it at home you take a win whenever you get it). I had started this sock the day before the Series and knitted on it a little bit for game 1 and 2, and not at all in game 3 (I was bowling) but kicked it into high gear for game 4. So here is my very lucky sock World Series Sweeping Sock:

It was the first time I had done color stranding in a sock (I didn't really love it, but it was cool) and the first time I did an afterthought heel (thanks to ItShe who told me how to do it). I think it came out to look a lot like the Boston Red Sox sock. I have started the second sock, and I have to start the pair that I'm making for my mother's birthday, I think they will be Jaywalkers with a picot edge.

We are going to the World Series!

I will say that the Sox love to give you a hell of an ending, and the entire time the ALCS was going on I was knitting my Rocky Horror Picture Sock Show to distract me from throwing things at my TV. I tend to get very involved in watching the Sox play and this entire series gave me an ulcer (and I still have some from 2004) my stomach can't really take a World Series (nerves and stomach be damned, bring it on Colorado!)

So last night after watching the Sox and the Tribe battle it out in a very good game 7 (sorry Tribe, if it was anyone but the Sox I would have been pulling for you). I finished my sock 2 hours after the Sox won the American League Pennant. I really can't tell you much about it, actually I don't remember knitting most of it at all, the top of the first sock I remember and the middle of heel flap and turning the heel of the second one, but really I don't remember much of anything else because the game was on. I'm sorta nervous about playing the Rockies, they have a combined ERA of 2.08 . . . yes 2.08. Well hopefully Beckett will get us off to a good start come Wednesday.

Here are some pictures of the finished sock:




And in honor of the Sox going to the World Series I'm making pair of Red Sox out of Louet Gem because (being the good baseball fan that I am) I know that I knitted a pair of socks in the last series and we won so I have to knit a pair of socks this time too (supersition has its place, I don't want to make the Baseball Gods angry).

What's that Wally? You want to see my sock?

This post is in honor of the Red Sox play-of game tonight at 7pm (EST), go Sox!

For those in the know you will recognize the celebrity posing with the two socks, for those that don't know this is Wally the Green Monster. Wally the Green Monsta (properly pronounced with a Boston accent) is posing with his new friends Lefty and Righty, who are mascot versions of the famous Boston Red Sox. And as a knitter and a sock knitter you gotta to love a team that has mascots that are socks, really it couldn't be better.

So here is my version of the picture above, this is my Wally the Green Monster only available from the Boston Build-a-Bear location (loving made for me by my friend and shipped across the country to me in the original box, you have to love that) with my Rocky Horror Picture Sock Show (in progress).

And I will close with a quote from Bull Durham "Hit 'em where they ain't boys!" GO SOX!

Stitch This!

But in a slightly different way, ever since I have finished my Cables and Os I needed a bit of a knitting break, trust me after working 7+ hours a day for 4 days straight you'd need a break too. So this is what I have been stitching on, handmade pillowcases with hand embroidered messages for each recipient. I love to personalize gifts and this is no exception, each one will have a personalized message for the person that it will be given to, Christmas isn't that far away. The first one was going to be for me as practice to see it I was any good at it and to see if I liked freestyle embroidery (as opposed to cross-stitch, which I know I don't like, no offense to those that do, more power to you!). I knew I wanted to make it car-themed since oh so many of our car events start before 6 am and I always bring my pillow so I can attempt to catch a bit more sleep. So I found old-school pin stripping flames fabric at JoAnn's and decided it would say "Dreaming of more Horsepower" since the main focus has always been more horsepower. I was excited to start a new craft and told Big A all about it, after I explained it he said "I want one!", so the pillow became his and I had to find something else for me. Here is his:

And so I found new-school "fire" fabric for me and I came up with "Dreaming of a 6.4 liter Challenger" and this is how it came out:

So after a little practice I think I have a basic understanding of what to do. I want to add different kinds of stitches to my repertoire, but hopefully it will all work out. And it's so much faster than knitting, amazing what happens when you don't have to make the fabric. There are many more "dreaming" pillowcases to come, perhaps it will be the first in the series.

And on the knitting front, since my skein of Vesper Sock Yarn is here I might have to cast on for another pair of Jaywalkers. I know there are a ton of other things in my queue, but I just need a fix before I tackle Big A's sweater for the final time (damn that sweater). I knew that if I could ever get my hand on some Vesper that Jaywalkers were what I wanted to make with them since the stripe would be awesome. The colorway is Strange Little Mama, but it always reminds me of Rocky Horror (which I have always loved, and love to see "live") so that's what I'm calling them The Rocky Horror Picture Sock Show.

Happy Anniversary!

(Photo Credit Suzanne Camarata)

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary, and this is what Big A got me! I'm so excited I asked for a nice camera but I wanted a small one that I could take with me without adding a lot of bulk or weight, and as always he did a super good job. Big A is really good at shopping for electronics and since he knows all about photography and cameras it was a match made in heaven.



I love it, it's so small and light, here is picture of it next to my Lantern Moon Sheep Tape Measure for scale (since most knitters know how big the tape measure is). It's great and it has a really big screen, and it's so slim. Now I won't have to take the big gigantic, super expensive, single lens reflex digital camera (that Big A got for his Doctorate graduation, which I'm always afraid I will break). I can't wait to take it to Wicked so I can take pictures of ItShe and I this weekend.

I have been stalking a certain sock yarn for over a year now, and this week I finally had the correct planetary alignment. I have been checking this website for over a year and I'm always 2 or 3 days late and there is never any left, but on Tuesday I finally got me a skein and it came in the mail today. Here it is, Vesper Sock Yarn, in Strange Little Mama, I love all her colorways, check it out here.




I few last pictures, here is one with the camera and my cupcake pincushion from Betz White. and one last picture of our wedding cake, I wish I was in Boston so I could got buy a slice (it was from Konditor Meister in Braintree) it was delicious as it was gorgeous!