Bloom Already!

Looking out my office window towards my back fence I have 6 Japanese Cherry Trees that bloom pink every spring. Every day I look out. I see red leaves sprouting and what appears to be buds, and all I keep thinking is...........

BLOOM ALREADY!!

Enablers.........

Marcy and I are enablers. Yarn pushers. Dealers in wool and free patterns. We tease you with something elegant and fabulous and convince you that you too should learn to knit....Socks.

It was a regular lunch day in the business office, Marcy and I quietly working on our lovely Twinkleberry socks in our fabulous Blue Moon yarns, when Joanne and then Paulette said, "we want to learn to knit socks". I'm pretty sure that they didn't know what was coming out of their mouth. As soon as it hit Marcy's ears and mine alike I think a symphony struck up playing something inspirational because we both began mentally going through our needle and yarn stashes trying to figure out what yarn to start their sock lessons. Marcy came up with some very nice blend from cascade, has a spilch of cashemere in it, and I came up with 100% wool cascade 220 for Joanne.

All they said was, we want to learn to knit socks and then what do you know. They arrive at the office and sitting on their desks are a set of double point needles and a ball of yarn. Enablers, you mention you want to knit, I'll bury you in wool, needles and patterns. Think you can't do it? I'll prove you wrong. Anyone can do it. Everyone should try it. It's a little vacation on Wool Island in the sea of endless opportunity. You can, and I have seen proof, knit anything. Just Google knitting patterns and stand back.

So with that being said, here are the little temptresses themselves that have drawn 2 more sock knitters into our fold.

My Twinkleberry knit in KawKaw by Blue Moon. These are for my mother and I am hoping to give them too her on our trip to Italy. Don't worry I'm not ruining a surprise, she's seen a few of these pictures already. We have a hard time keeping secrets in this family.

Marcy's Twinkleberry in Muddy Bottom Breakdown by Blue Moon. I love this colorway. Who am I kidding, I love all of their colorways. Go to their website, click the link, look at it all, you'll die, right after you max out your knitting budget.

Ahh yes, my finished Super Simple Short Socks. turned out quite nice. Do you like my background?

My yarn had an accident.

Joannes first sock. Light Pink Cascade 22o from my stash of 22 balls. :) She's just working on the leg now.

and here is Paulettes beautiful green sock in a Cascade yarn as well but I'm not sure the blend or colorway. Marcy can give that information in the comments or I'll follow up on Monday.

It's raining right now and they've dared to hint at snow for the weekend again.

Gabby has lost her tennis ball under my desk so I have to fetch it for her before she cries harder than she is right now.

Have a good night all.

Happy Knitting.

updates......

Sorry, nothing like two posts in one day, but I forgot to give updates. As of now I am done with the Super Simple Short Nasturtium socks and I believe, though it's not confirmed that Marcy is done with her BlackRose sock in Just Right Red from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

These are done as of yesterday and I will be giving them to my friend Jenny tomorrow at work. She is quite excited. Made out of Berrocco Comfort Sox 100% Nylon and feels like a dream.

This is Muddy Bottom Breakdown, also by Blue Moon, Marcy is using it to knit Nutkin from Knitzi.com I am using KawKaw if i ever get the freaking thing untangled....Maybe this will help.

This is the start of sock #2 in Meilenweit Fun and Stripes yarn gleaned from my mom's stash when she was cleaning house. http://www.lanagrossa.de/ made in italy 80% virgin wool 20% nylon. I copied this from the label and it says virgin wool on it. I wonder if I am wearing sweaters made from not so maiden wool?

not the best picture but do you see the size of those silver needles, they are like 3 inches long! I can't believe I let my niece sway me towards them, I thought I knit tight before, woooo! I probably shouldn't have photographed the wood and the metal together on a wood desk top that totally matches the wood needle but there you go. :)

It's a process that has an end result......

And it starts with these guys here..........They grow the wool.




After the sheep get a hair cut there is a whole process that I'm unfamiliar with but it starts with Roving and Carding, and then you spin it onto bobbins and then ply it, give it it's final twist, and I know somewhere in there you dye it or hand paint it which is really spectacular and you end up with this at the store.

You see it, you touch it, you quickly pull out your wallet and voila, you have 5 new projects ready to go. (these are called hanks, and unless you want to be an angry knitter you don't want to try and knit with the yarn in this form)What do you do when you get it home? Well that's the next picture.

you untwist it and then put it on your swift like so...

connect one end to your ball-winderand then wind it up so it looks just like these balls here.

this is a fine example of what you don't want to happen. I put it on the Swift wrong and I am now on day 4 of unraveling it.

Once you have your ball all wound, then you can knit it into a pair of socks or into a delicious scarf.

this is the linen stitch scarf i am working on from So Much Yarn made from 2
skeins of sock yarn. It's pretty fabulous!

That's how I do it.

I had a plan.....

This was not the plan.........See you tomorrow

Great Things still come in SNAIL mail....

http://www.angoravalley.com/ What a fantastic site to buy yarn online! I ordered some yarn yesterday to knit a pair of socks for my mother. The yarn arrived today. That's right, ordered yesterday after lunch, arrived today before I had toast (9:30 a.m. for those of you who don't work with me). It's beautiful. It's springy to the touch and supremely fabulous, but since I've committed to a sock right now and Marcy is finishing her blackrose sock I am going to wait to start this sock for mom. Probably not too long since Marcy is in the home stretch and my sock can always be put down in order to do this one, PLUS I'm leaving for Italy in 2.5 weeks and I'm not going to be silly enough to not pack enough socks to entertain myself with while I sit on an airplane or relax in the hotel in the evenings. So, are you wondering what pattern Marcy and I have decided on this time? It's called Nutkin and it's a free patter on Knitzi, Not to be confused with Knitty. As long as I'm mentioning Knitty can I also mention that I'm going to add these fantabulous hats to my 'knitting to do' list. They are called Fishy. I also know that you are dying to see what sock I'm knitting right now, it's really has become my standby sock pattern. The Super Simple Short Sock by Radiant Twist it's really just the yarn that changes at this point. So without further writing here they are, the yarns and the partial sock.

This colorway is called Wild. I love it. I can't wait till I make it into
something fabulous for my feet.

This is called 'New Country' This is the colorway I chose for Mom and she agrees with me. She likes it. This will be come Nutkin

This is my next Super Simple Short Sock. I love the colors and the stripes are fabulous.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Right Where I Left it.....

It was a normal morning. I was a bit behind, drank my first cup of coffee in the shower, packed lunches, got dressed, yadda yadda yadda. I was meeting a friend for drinks tonight after work and wanted to bring my photo album from Disney World to show her. I also, if you all remember yesterday's little meltdown, had to bring Hey Teach in to work for Marcy to look at and fix, AND while she was doing that I was going to work on my Monster Scarf. One more cup of coffee, load up my large knitting bag, grab my lunch bag, purse, phone, keys and out the door I go. Stop at Whidbey Island Coffee, purchase my 20oz drip two extra shots one equal and a splash of cream please, and ooh let me get that new travel mug you have there, I could use a new one. (not really and I'm sure D is going to give me the hairy eyeball for the purchase, but the mug was pink and it hypnotized me.) Pull out, get on to I-5 heading south, and then something goes off in my head. CRAP, I forgot my lunch. Oh well, not a big deal but still annoying that it's sitting on the counter instead of the seat next to me. Take a sip of coffee, say nasty things about the driver in front of me, perk up as the express lanes come into view, get into the express lanes and proceed into downtown Seattle. I'm running a bit later than I want, but I roll into the garage at 7:25 a.m. enough time to grab my goods and run upstairs to clock in. I look to my right to grab my purse and knitting bag and see........my purse (which is a good thing) and my blue lunch bag. Knitting bag is no where to be seen. Did I leave it at the coffee place? No, not possible, it's a drive through coffee hut. I left it at home. I had a brief moment of panic, followed by a 2 second conversation on how I would justify driving 45 minutes back home to get said bag. That wasn't going to work and I had to get to work. Run upstairs, still a little panicked at the thought that 1. Marcy wouldn't be able to help me with the sweater and 2. that I had nothing to knit during lunch today, or while I waited for my friend to show up for drinks. Double Crap. I see Marcy in the hall and she, as good knitting friend does, starts trying to think of things to do. Can I call Joanne at 7:30 a.m. and ask her to bring me something, no, she's not a morning person, i'd be asking for it if I called her. (no offense Jo but I only talk to you before ten if it's an emergency) Does Wilma have that big bag I gave her a couple months back at her desk still? No. Doesn't Paulette have some extra yarn? No. Will Dennis (Marcy's super awesome husband) bring a spare skein and some size 2 dpn's and I can start a pair of socks? Nope, Dennis is at work, but I hold onto the belief that if he wasn't working and Marcy asked him he would do it, like I said, he's Marcy's super awesome husband. What about Marcy's daughter? Nope, she worked late the night before, but being the fabulous knitter she is, understands the need to have yarn and would have also done if she didn't have a sick daughter and not enough sleep the night before. It's a bit calming to have everyone rally around you and try to fix the problem. I posted on the KnitList, made a vent, suggested that yarn stores in Seattle offer a delivery service for times like these, then began the debate of running to So Much Yarn at 10:00 when they opened, calling ahead of course and asking them to grab any sock yarn and dpn's, wind it please and I'll run in pay for it and be on my way. Well that wasn't feasible either I mean, I do have a job, I'm good at it and I enjoy it and my boss does expect me to perform the duties outlined in my job description. (Ithink at my next review I'll try and see if knitting can be added) I settle down to work and got busy. Next thing you know it's 11:15 and I grab my lunch bag and think 'wow, it doesn't feel like there is anything in here.'

So I'm going pack an emergency yarn kit to keep in my office and possibly drink another glass of wine and go to bed.

Isn't it Obvious......

5:00 p.m. relaxing on the couch with my beautiful Lambs Pride yarn slowing being turned into my Hey Teach sweater and I'm counting stitches as I knit across the first row of the lace chart. My husband walks in, sees me as he usually sees me. Sitting on the couch knitting in the evening. Nothing unusual about that right, except I don't count out loud and he has no idea that i'm having a mental breakdown in my head trying to keep in pattern, count, and knit at the same time. I say quietly 'I'm counting', he went into the kitchen, put his lunch box away etc, started talking to me again, and again I say 'I'm counting' it's possible this came out sounding snarky, I was feeling snarky at that point. It progressed from there and I thought to myself, 'doesn't he see that I'm counting?' Well I figured it out, I got my snarkiness in check and finished the first row perfectly. So well in fact that I figured I could knit in the car while we drove out to Sultan to pick up the race car. I had a plan, it was a good plan, except I didn't have a back up plan.....so when I got stuck I just had to sit there and ride in the car. Read on......

I'm not good with lace but what I lack in skill I more than make up for with false confidence. That's right. If I belive I can do it I figure I can and then get 'pissy' when it doesn't make sense. Which is why I took a picture of the chart for the Hey Teach lace pattern, sent it via text message to Marcy while my husband was driving us home from picking up the race car. I got stuck and no matter how many ways I looked at it I couldn't figure out what to do. Well, Marcy didn't get the text till she was at work so she explained to me what to do, ignore my place markers just work the pattern. I was back on track. Until the last row. I worked through the pattern exactly as it said, yarn overs (add a stitch and makes a lacy hole) and double decreases (takes away the added stitch so you never have more than you are technically supposed to and also creates a pretty little tuck decrease in the pattern) I was doing it perfectly and maintaining somewhat of a fluid conversation during lunch. Can you see my mistake? Knitting lace (for the first time) and 'maintaining' a conversation. Yeah, that's where the wheels came off and I was 2, TWO stitches short, which means I either decreased too much or didn't yarn over enough. Well I began counting, and I was right, I only had 113 stitches on the needle and I was supposed to have 115. *insert some of my favorite swear words* I stuffed it in my knitting bag and decided I would figure it out at home. Well when I got home I went over it again. I didn't miss one decrease or one yarn over, which can only mean one thing....I screwed up farther back......which means Marcy may rip it back tomorrow when she looks at it again. It's stuffed back in the bag for now and I decided instead in honor of it being 20 f'ing degrees here at night and in the morning and oh yeah, in my office (it's really a closet with a cold air return vent, but they fixed it up and I can't complain, it's four walls and a door, I just need more knitwear) In honor of the freezing cold weather here I am pulling out the yarn my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas and I am knitting the Monster Scarf pattern by by Siobhan Keillor. It's simple. The yarn is Rowan Big Wool Tuft in light pink. I like it, I may need to call the yarn store in MPLS for 4 more balls of it, but we'll see.

Anyway, that's my rant for the night. I'm pissy because I'm 2 stitches down and I didn't make it to one yarn class this week.

Good Night!!

According to the Calendar Spring is just around the corner.....

Want to tell that to the weather man?
It's March 9. We are located in the Pacific Northwest, snow isn't an every year occurrence and this year it's occurred way to much for most of us. We don't drive well in snow, secretly I don't think most of us drive well at all but that's another conversation. My friends in the Midwest are going to laugh at me when I say this but, two inches of snow literally delays if not closes schools in the area. I hate being stuck home because of the snow. It happened right before Christmas. Massive storm hit the Seattle area and I was stuck at home.
Well I left work early because north of Seattle was getting hit pretty good this afternoon, of course as soon as I pull into my driveway at 1:54 p.m. the sun comes out and all the snow on our street melts clear, well almost clear, away. Now they are saying that it's supposed to drop to 22 degrees tonight or even lower, record lows, you'll see that if you click on the weather man link tonight. We don't drive well in the snow, tomorrow morning driving on ice is going to look like a drunken performance of Swan Lake.
On the upside it gave me some extra knitting hours tonight.....I won't ever complain about that. I worked more on Hey Teach and I am at a point where I need Lauren at So Much Yarn. I'm not real comfortable with lace and that's where I'm at on the back of the sweater.

I received a text Message from Marcy last night. She too has apparently put February Lady aside for the time being. Well maybe it's just not the right time for us. She's going to finish her Black Rose socks in just right red and I'm going to work on my Super Simple Short Nasturtium Socks and then continue working on my Christmas sweater, knit in my first cashmere yarn bought at Tricoter, another LYS in the Seattle area. But first, my goal is to finish Hey Teach and have it finished by April 2. Seeing as I'm flying off to Parma Italy April 4 I would like to be able to wear it there......So if that's my goal I should be knitting and not writing on here but as I stated above I'm stuck and I need Lauren.

In the meantime I also have the Fascinate Scarf that was a free pattern on Berrocco a few week back. I'm enjoying that as well. :)

So, here are some pictures I just fired off really quick, along with the demise of February Lady, Again, my apologies to Flint Knits, I do love your sweater and I'm sorry I was unable to make it through at this time.......I'll try the smaller version and see how that goes before I commit to that many stitches again.



for those you of you who don't know, this is what I wear when I am downstairs watching a movie and want to knit. Yes, it's a climbing light and yes, I strap that thing to my head. It's adjustable and it works perfectly. In fact, this one is brand new since I wore my old one out.
Good Night.
Drive safe in the morning........