Too Much Yarn

Summer of Socks #2 Done!

I finished Socks #2 (and just in time for the Design-Your-Own Sockdown for June).  You've seen the progress... here's the final product!

A few days ago, I also casted on Scrolls by Charlene Schurch for the July Sockdown.  This is the progress photo (Socks That Rock Lightweight in Midsummers Night).  I know... I know... it's just like the one above - what can I say?  It's my favorite color...

Then, this morning, while waiting for my computer to boot up at work, I casted on this scarf for my niece, Isabelle.  She will be here in a week and I promised her a hand-knitted scarf.  I'm sure I can get this done before she comes.  I will be at the Creative Memories Convention this weekend and there will be times that I can just sit and knit - especially on garter stitch with an increase on the first stitch and decrease on the 15th stitch (EVERY ROW!!) - this is Lorna's Laces Worsted (don't remember the colorway)

and finally, TONIGHT, I casted on these.  I just couldn't resist it... It's pooling, but I just love it when the "gumdrops" pop!  This is the Rockin' Sock Club July Kit. Yarn is called "Goody Goody", pattern is "Gumdrops".

Major Stash Enhancement!

This week was like Christmas in July.  (BTW, if you are a Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Club member and don't want to be your surprise to be spoiled, proceed at your own risk as I'm showing the July kit in this post!).

I'd received a shipment from Woolgirl last week; I've started a "thing" for sport-weight sock yarn.  I've "collected" a number of skeins, but I haven't knitted any, yet.  I think my first pair is going to be Rainy Day by Yuliya Sullivan.  You can find the pattern here.  Anyway, this week's shipment from The Loopy Ewe included several Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport. I've shown you some of the Miss Babs Yummy sock in a previous post.  Here are my LL sport: (one colorway from WG).  From left to right:  Ice House, South Shore, Franklin Panopticon, Maple Grove.

Then, there are these other sport-weight sock yarns:

Left to right: Yarn Love Marione Dashwood - Friendship, Chewy Spagetti Sport - Boyish, Blooming, Remembrance.  Then,

The two on the each sides are fingering so we won't discuss them today... The middle ones are Hacho Yarn from The Mirasol Project: Verde Ripple and Deep Blue Ocean (these are from LYS, The Amazing Threads).

OK... then, these came from Germany!!  I would have like other colorways, but these are better than none, right?  I may trade them off for other colorways..  Wollemeise!!!

Left to right:  Frosch, Campari Orange, Rittersporn, and Dornroshen.

And finally, the July Rockin' Sock Club July Kit. Yarn is Lightweight in Goody Goody colorway.  This month's kit came with 2 patterns!  I am so tempted, but I won't cast on until I finished another pair that I have on my needles first.  I'm resisting SO HARD!

OK - off to do some knitting Alex's baseball tournament. 

Hello Again!

I'm back!  There are still a lot to do relating to my mother-in-law's passing... My husband has written his share of the Thank You cards and I have to address them.  I went to her house with my sister-in-law and took home old photos.  It appears that this woman has only had 3 photo albums in her house and they are the 3 albums she made for her 3 children which had photos of when they were young, a strand of hair of when they were babies, and newspaper clippings (my husband apparently was a STUD when he was in high school playing baseball and football so 75% of his album were newspaper clippings of his team and articles about him!)  The pages are the magnetic pages and as a Creative Memories Consultant, I know that those pages are NASTY for preserving memorablia and photographs.  I've always wanted to remove them and put them in acid-free albums, but out of respect for my mother-in-law, I never did it.  So, now, I've got a new project!

Speaking of projects... I have completed a pair of socks in the past 2 weeks... and yes, they don't match.  This is my way to deal with Second Sock Syndrome.  I actually finished the Spring Forward Socks first (that's the one with the lime, grey, blue colors) and then, I worked on my own design (adaptation from the Shrug I made in June).  The DYO socks is part of the June Sockdown, which means, I have to get it done before the end of this month!

Also on the needles are a DYO which I started that didn't qualify because I took the stitch pattern from a Sock Pattern Book...  I've actually turned the heel on one sock.  This uses Colinette Jitterbug:

I also casted on Scrolls by Charlene Schurch, but I have until August 31 to get that done... I have to decide on a project for Ravelympics and the Amazing Threads Olympics challenge.  This is where I have to cast on durnig the Olympics opening ceremony and get the project completed by the closing ceremony.  It also has to be a "challenging" project.  I'm thinking I may want to try "Two Socks" at a time!

I'm expecting a bunch of goodies this week in the mail!  A Loopy Ewe order, Harmony Knit Pick Needles, and Wollemeise Yarn that I scored one Friday - this is coming from Germany!!  Will show my goodies off when they get here.  I also went with Emily to the Stitch & Pitch event, MN Twins vs. Texas Rangers last Sunday.  I have a couple of photos which I'll put into a layout and post later.

Stay cool - wherever you are!

Not in a mood to blog about knitting...

I hope you'll understand... my mother-in-law passed away.  I had blogged about this on my other  blog.

SOS #1 done!

I finished the Glory Monkeys just in time to make the first deadline - but my name was not drawn for the prize!  But it felt to finish a pair of socks in 12 days.

I've casted on Sock #2 (Spring Forward by LInda Welch) on July 4 and this needs to be completed by July 18.  This is a fast knit.  I'm not using the original yarn I had picked out for this pattern because the Socks That Rawk! group in Ravelry has twisted my arm in using Socks That Rock yarn - so I ended up with Algae.  I like it very much so far...

I recently found a new sock yarn online store - Woolgirl (oh-oh!!!) and I've already placed 3 orders there!  For two weeks in a row, I had orders coming in from The Loopy Ewe and Woolgirl both.  Last week, I just had the one order from Woolgirl.  I found a new yarn from Miss Babs in Sport weight that is like STR - but maybe the heavyweight (just guessing because I don't own any heavyweight yet).  I like the twist of the yarn and can't wait to find the perfect pattern for these:

Then, I also received a surprise in the mail on Thursday...

 

It took me a few minutes to realize that I may have been intoxicated to sign up for the Sock Yarn Cinema Sock Club from etsy.com by Knit!  (sigh!) - Yes, another sock club that I may not be knitting the yarn for a while!  Anyway, what caught my attention was that the July movie is Field of Dreams (one of my favorites movies - not just for the movie itself, but because Kevin Costner is in it as well!).  Thinking I would get a green yarn for the corn fields, I was surprised to get this colorway.  I "didn't get it!" - I asked Emily, "What is the connection with this colorway and Field of Dreams?" - she replied, "A baseball that has been played - white baseball, red seams and dirt".  DUH!!  Yes, this colorway is called "Play Ball".

Is anyone interested in my Namaste Laguna Bag?  I used it once and it just isn't my style.  I love the leatherette and the color and the size - but the metal rings clanging is just not MY STYLE!  If you're interested, I would let it go for $50, shipped (retail price is $59).  Local gals can get it for $42 delivered in the Twin Cities.  Let me know -I'll probably list it on eBay in a couple of weeks.