Garish Monkeys Gifted

I pressed on with the socks, and in the end, I think they came out pretty well. The odd striping held up through the gusset section, and duplicated itself precisely in the second sock.

And Tara was thrilled with them, she loved the colors, so it all turned out well. By the by, Tara's birthday party was last night, and it was pretty wild. Much wilder than one would expect from a bunch of drunken Ph.D students, but maybe I should have known better!

I'm off today to Oklahoma City for a conference. I've got hotel room knitting packed away in my suitcase...

...and a plain stockinette sock ready to go for actual conference knitting.

Drive By Post

Just dashing in to say, how freakin' cute is this lunchbox? Love it. (And it matches my blog!)



Also, kelp is accepting submissions for the September edition of Yarnival. Hop on over and send something her way.

Socks, More Socks, and a Poll

My Sockapalooza socks arrived!


Broadripple from knitty in Panda Cotton. They are so soft and silky, and this is a pattern I have looked at several times, but never made.

My pal was Sereknitty, and she also sent along some much-longed for Trekking XXL. Thanks so much--I am looking forward to wearing the socks once it's no longer 100 degrees every day and I start wearing socks again.

Now, for opinions. I started a new pair of Monkeys and they are patterning in the weirdest way. Big bands of pink alternating with bands of yellow and red stripes.

What do you think? Garish or gorgeous? I keep going back and forth on it myself, and I want to make this pair for a friend's birthday next week, so I need opinions, and I need them quick!

Oh! And a heads-up. I am editing the October edition of Yarnival, so start thinking about a post you may want to submit, or start composing that brilliant gem in your head, and watch this space for the submission call.

Posted

One (1) pair of Sockapalooza socks and fun skein of sock yarn

One (1) somewhat sloppily finished baby blanket.

What a relief.

Big Post! Lots of Pictures!

ETA: This is my real inspiration for spinning. If I could ever learn how to make something so gorgeous, I would be very happy indeed!

Oh my God, Eric and I went to a fiber festival today just down the road from Tulsa. It. Was. Awesome! I don't know how those of you who go to the giant ones all the time do it--I brought home so much good stuff. Here's a peek inside the bag I brought home with me. I'll get to all that in a minute.


So, without further ado, let me lead you on a tour of the festival.

This was mostly a gathering of local spinners, dyers, and Alpaca/llama/sheep raisers. I've never seen so much fiber in one place--and I had no idea what one does with most of it

But that didn't stop us from making the round several times, visiting each booth, some more than once, and handling all the fiber, even the oily stuff.



There was just so much to see--and touch!

The above is the East Winds Farm booth (etsy seller NakedSheepStudios). I see she doesn't have any sock yarn up at the moment, but keep checking back because this stuff was beautiful.

She had two varieties--a Corridale/nylon blend (465 yards for $10!), and a Merino/tencel blend (410 yards for $12). Eric and I nearly cleaned her out, buying three skeins each.

One of these will be going to my Sockapalooza pal. I just have to decide which I can stand to part with.

Handspun yarn:

Handspun bamboo yarn (very shiny!):

And this booth had some of the most amazing stuff I have ever seen--silk caps! If you don't know what it is, and I had never heard of before now, I've already googled it for you. Check out the link, because they are just impossible to describe.

These things are so strangely strong to the touch, but filmy and delicate looking. Eric and I each bought two.

Apparently we can either spin them on our new spindles, or just peel off the layers, stretch them out and roll the fiber back and forth to create instant yarn.

I got pink with green, and blue with green, so I'll be able to combine all the colors together when I decide what to do with them.

Endlessly entertaining!

Before we left, we sat down with Janine and Tara to rest a minute. They were also quite the happy little shoppers, so our table was loaded down with our purchases--and my new green spindle!

Janine gave an impromptu spinning lesson, and she made it look so easy. Which I prompty found out it is not once I tried my hand at it. I'll need tons of practice, but seeing the amazing handspun yarns today gives me an incentive to get going immediately!

Excuses, Excuses

I know I haven't posted lately.

And I haven't been knitting any exciting projects, just churning out miters, and working on the Sockapalooza socks.

Baby blanket still not done, but it's a priority for this weekend.

The truth is that my new job is exhausting me, There's so very much to learn, and every day I come home completely drained. It will definitely get better, but after 3.5 years of working at home, this new out-in-the-world schedule is tough to adjust to.

On the definitely up-side, I got paid, and to reward myself, I bought a teach-yourself-to-spin kit from Hello Yarn. Could this be the start of a new obsession?

Stay tuned...

And, just because hate posting without photos

Eddie says hey.

Ah, crap...

...roommate's baby came three weeks early!!!


Finishing the blanket will be a priority this week. I'd better be done by Friday because--Harry Potter!




Welcome to the world, Ally. We're glad you're here, and, I promise, you'll have your blanket soon!