Whimsical Knitter

More amazing Woolgirl kits!!!

2008-10-16T07:03:00.003-04:00

This was the best month ever! I received the Wicked Witch of the West kit (pics in my last post) and then I received the Woodstock kit and then the "It's Fall Charlie Brown" kit. Love love love these kits!!!

So here is Woodstock!! I do love this little character and I had to go watch a bunch of old charlie brown cartoons on youtube.

Here is the "It's Fall Charlie Brown" kit! Love the colors in this one a lot!

And also out this month is the Woolgirl sock club kit for October!!!! This month has totally been my christmas, birthday, anniversary all rolled into one!!!

I so <3 Woolgirl!!!

2008-10-09T12:29:00.002-04:00

I was fortunate enough to sign up for her upcoming kits and received Wicked Witch of the West earlier this week. What an amazing kit!!! She really goes all out on these kits and I will hopefully be able to get in on as many of them as possible. She had a note about the next Oz kit which is the Good Witch Glinda for February 2009 so I signed up for that one as well.

More clubs!!

2008-10-09T12:12:00.003-04:00

Can you tell that I love my yarn/sock clubs?!! The only problem is finishing some wip's so I can start some new projects!

Year of Lace - September 2008 shipment had cashmere!!!! I was so blown away by the softness! I had decided earlier based on the 2 prior kits that I wouldn't sign up for YOL 2009 but this shipment has made me rethink my decision. The yarn color is hard to describe....it is a light silvery sage in some lights and a light silver in other lights.

Then there is the Rockin Sock Club September 2008 kit! Wow....the color is gorgeous and it is making me rethink my decision to sign up for the 2009 club!! I wasn't planning on it but I think I will have to rethink it.....

The Magnolia Society September 2008 yarn by Madelinetosh was a nice surprise as well. Very gorgeous dark browns for the Intense subscription which is called Black Madeira Fig.

Then there is the final shipment of The Plucky Classics Hitchcock Heroine called Grace Kelly. The base yarn is MCN Sport and it is a light warm sage color. Unfortunately, this color wasn't a keeper for me so it was destashed on Ravelry to fast-fingers devittles.

Had to take a break.....

2008-10-02T13:16:00.005-04:00

Wow...time flies! I meant to take a break for only couple of weeks and it's been over a month since my last entry!

I did get some wip's finished!!

First is the Lucky Lurker's welcome kit - DeKAY Footies:

I ordered some DeKAY yarn but didn't get a chance to knit anything with them. But I had to do the footies asap and they were a quick and simple knit! I especially love the thick cushiony feel on the pads of my foot due to the slip stitch pattern. I've only seen this on the heels but I will definitely be doing more socks with this style soles! I wore these socks everyday for a week with my clogs and they felt great! It's also nice to know that I could get 2 pairs of footies out of a skein of DeKAY!

I also had to do flippant when I saw the pattern on ravelry! What a great way to use up some leftover sock yarn! Here's mines in Mama Blue Sea Merino in Sky:

These can be easily done in a couple of days!

I also finished Jeong's Djangos but I just keep forgetting to take a picture of them.

Now to some yarn porn!! Yay!! I got quite a few club kits within the past month!

First is the 1st Wollmeise Sock Club Kit:

2 skeins of 100% superwash wollmeise in Hollerstaud'n and Buxkranzl.
1 set of Holtz & Stein DPNs - gorgeous wood but I really am addicted to magic loop so I don't see myself using theses.
The pattern that came in the kit was I Mog Di which is gorgeous but looks like it will be as complicated as La Digitessa which I am still knitting on and off.

Then there is the 4th shipment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins which is my absolute favorite!!!
The pattern is gorgeous and I just love the colors of the yarn! I was disappointed with the club kit #2 (washcloth) and #3 (hat) but this definitely makes up for it!

Then there is the Lucky Lurker's September club kit:

The Duet skinny is gorgeous!

Here is the Plucky Knitter's Classic's Hitchcock Heroines August 2008 skein:

It is MCN fingering (my favorite base!) in The Cat. It also came with a cute stitch marker.

I GOT IN!!

2008-08-27T09:13:00.004-04:00

You're probably wondering "What?" and I know you probably won't be able to guess but it is .....THE GREATEST SOCK CLUB EVER CREATED!! lol Still need a clue??

The yarn is gorgeous and I want every color!

Ok...here it is....get ready.....

THE 1st WOLLMEISE SOCK CLUB!

I am so excited!! I was trying to tell myself it didn't matter if I didn't get picked in the lottery and that I really need to save up for Stitches East but I am sooo excited to get in. First shipment should be September (next month)!

Shivaya

2008-08-27T09:08:00.004-04:00

I purchased some yarn from a Shivaya Naturals for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Of course, ravelry was the enabler. I purchased a skein of fingering silk merino and it is gorgeous. The yarn is the same base as You-know-who FSM and the colors were gorgeous. Considering the skein is the same 500 yards but only $35 plus shipping, the price is a great incentive to buy from Shivaya. Here is a pic of Merlot FSM:

Goody Goody!

2008-08-27T09:03:00.003-04:00

I finally have an FO to share with you. My Goody Goody Gumdrops sock (july Rockin Sock Club shipment):

It was a very interesting pattern and a fast knit. I did 2 socks on 1 circ and the only mods were a picot trim cuff and a plain toe. I love the picot trim cuffs....socks look so much more "finished" with the picot cuffs. I learned that a provisional cast-on makes the picot cuffs look better and lays flatter.

Gorgeous....Just Gorgeous!

2008-08-22T19:30:00.006-04:00

Sarah, The Plucky Knitter, had some awesome yarn on her 8/14 update. They were semi-solids which rivaled you-know-who yarns! I lucked out and was able to purchase 5 skeins. From left to right: Emerald Isle, Basil Bliss, Where It All Began, Pomme Fizz and Possibility. Is this gorgeous or what!

Love me some club kits!

2008-08-18T23:27:00.003-04:00

My favorite yarn club shipment came this past saturday! What an awesome club kit!! Here is a pic of my Woolgirl august kit (spoiler pic so don't look unless you want to):

The Theme is "Dog Days of Summer" and the contents are:
Black Tote
Orange Tape Measure
Spindle Cat Studio - stitch marker (it has an open hook thingie)
Lip Gloss from Naiad Soap Arts
Water Bottle
Mini Beach Ball (inflatable)
Rubber Flip Flop erasers
Madelinetosh Sock yarn - Beach Towel
2 Sock Patterns

I also received my welcome kit for the Lucky Lurker Club! What a cool welcome gift! Another spoiler pic so don't look unless you want to!

A half skein of the new DeKAY Duet Sock yarn - I LOVE this base!
A pattern for little footies.

I am already hooked and I haven't even gotten the first shipment yet! I think this will be a permanent club for me!

I've been a naughty girl!!

2008-08-14T07:20:00.002-04:00

I've gone WAY OVER my yarn budget and I was supposed to be on a yarn diet!! I also signed up for all 4 seasons of Sundara's yarn club!! I've been buying and trading for Sundara yarn like a madman so I actually have some Sundara yarn now in my stash. I actually managed to buy yarn on her last 2 updates so stalking does pay off!! lol

Here are some of the goodies that I've gotten within the past 2 weeks:

Sundara Silk Lace - Tuscan Rose over Lemon, Sundara Silk Lace - Granite Falls

Sundara Sock - Blush, Sundara Sock - Charcoal over Cobalt

Sundara Sock - Ivy, Sundara Sock - Lemon Chiffon

Sundara Sock - Tuscan Rose over Lemon

Sunnyside Ellen Silk Lace - Midnight Blue, Sunnyside Ellen Transitional sock yarn - Rose without Thorns

Malabrigo Silky Merino - Amoroso, Malabrigo Silky Merino - Teal Feathers

dkKnits Smoosh Toes - Parfait Today, dkKnits Smoosh Toes - Sugar the Rim

Madelinetosh sock - Logwood, Madelinetosh sock - Clematis

Mama Blue Silk Lace - Smoke (this skein is gorgeous!!!)

Duet Sock DeKAY - Seagreen, Duet Sock DeKAY - Rocker Chick (I LOVE the new DeKAY!!)

Madelinetosh Silk Lace - Graphite, Madelinetosh Silk Lace - Scarlett (darn woolgirl for having a sale on these!! I couldn't resist!)

Miss Babs Yummy Sock - Sinderella

There is actually more yarn that I haven't taken pics of yet. ...and I have a webs order and a Sundara order on its way to me. ...and I want to buy more Sundara season subscriptions and I want to sign up for the Madelinetosh Magnolia Society...... Argh!! I need to step away from the PC and from all the temptation but that is so hard to do!

Decadent Dark Chocolate!! Yum!!

2008-08-07T09:48:00.004-04:00

Look what a little diligence and a swift gets you......

BEFORE:

AFTER:

My Decadent Dark Chocolate.....I think I was hungry when I was thinking of a name for my lusciously soft skein! Thank you Sarah (The Plucky Knitter) for my chocolate fix!!

Now to find the perfect pattern! I believe it is 400 yards so probably a light scarf would be the way to go.

Lovely Madeline Elster!

2008-08-04T18:15:00.005-04:00

My Plucky Knitter Classic shipment for July arrived today! The lovely skein of superwash merino was named for Madeline Elster from the movie Vertigo (Hitchcock Classics is the theme for the 3 months). It was so hard to capture the color, it is more of a gray with lavender tones. Very lovely!

And in the same package, I received this:

Took me a few minutes to figure out what it is! It looks like yarn but definitely not any kind of yarn that I've seen! lol

Then I remembered that Sarah, the Plucky Knitter, had a contest on her blog where someone could win a tangled skein of yarn. I've never won any of the blog contests so I forgot about it and lo and behold I win! I'll definitely take a picture once it looks like a proper skein. It's my favorite lace yarn so I will enjoy playing with it!

I've been Loopified!!

2008-08-04T18:03:00.004-04:00

I was lucky during my Loopy Ewe stalking and I was able to purchase a 2nd anniversary kit! It arrived today and I love it! I love the mug!! I wish they sold it separately so I could buy a second. It has a matte blue finish instead of a glossy paint that I had pictured. And of course, the casbah yarn is yummy!! Here is a pic:

I also finally received some Sundara yarn in the mail from a couple of Ravelry trades.

Sundara Sock in Blush:

Sundara Sock in Charcoal over Cobalt:

And impressive Sundara Silk Lace in Granite Falls. This one was so hard to photograph. The color is more accurate in the darker pic but the close-up pic shows the glossy sheen.

So many yarns and not enough time!

2008-08-02T09:41:00.004-04:00

I have so many yarns to share and I kept thinking about blogging about them but had no time to do it. Anyhow....lets start!

Socks that Rocks! - July shipment....absolutely love it!! Skein of Goody Goody and 2 patterns.

Then I had to get some Mama Blue! Nikki has gotten really popular.....her skeins were flying out faster then she could list them on etsy! But her colors are absolutely gorgeous!

I was trying for some Sundara but I absolutely have had no luck on her website. I can never check-out successfully when she has done an update. From looking on the Ravelry Sundara forum, it looks like the trick is to avoid paypal payments and just use a direct credit card. I'll have to try that next time!! I was able to do a couple of trades for some Sundara yarn for my wollmeise on Ravelry. Can't wait to get them in the mail. Sundara did open up her Seasons Yarn Club and I signed up for Winter and Autumn so far. I am so tempted to sign up for Summer as well. This way, I would be guaranteed to get some Sundara since I have such bad luck at the updates.

Wollmeise updates were suspended for the last 3 fridays so I'll be watching this friday for the next update!

Seven Deadly S(p)ins July shipment is a really cute slothy hat. I wasn't going to do the hat since I didn't think I would wear it or know anyone who would but then I decided that I might as well and I did start it.

More yarn the merrier!

2008-07-21T11:58:00.005-04:00

I received Yarn Addict Anni's Lace Club kit for July. It is not a color that I would have picked out for myself. But the yarn is yummy cashmere!! This was my 3rd club shipment so I have to decide whether I want to renew for another 3 months. If the yarn was a Luscious Lace for all 3 months, I would renew in a heartbeat.

I also received a ravelry purchase of the Lucky Lurker Club July kit. I absolutely love the color and the pattern looks so cute!

It's all about the Wollmeise!

2008-07-19T09:05:00.003-04:00

Here are pics of order #2 (6/27 order) and order #3 (7/4 order). I am still so amazed by the colors.....they are so vibrant compared to my other yarns!

And I got up the courage to undo a skein and wind it up into a yarn cake. Then I started knitting with it! I must have been out of mind! lol

I have been dying to start La Digitessa so I did with my skein of Pfefferminz Prinz (medium intensity). I absolutely love this color and I need to get more! The yarn does have a tendency to curl on itself which I read about on ravelry but the stitch definition is amazing. It is a very smooth yarn and the knitted texture is an almost satiny look. Very lovely and I can see more wollmeise knitting in my future.

Cleopatra is fini!

2008-07-19T08:37:00.004-04:00

I finished my May sock club kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It was an interesting pattern but not one that I would repeat again. Not like Leafling which I loved! The pattern had a bit of a learning curve. I had to initially figure out (memorize) the symbols on the chart but once the pattern was established it was easy to follow along. Then I got a little lost when I started the cuffs and had to re-read the pattern numerous times to understand what I was supposed to do. But here she is:

I learned a new cast-off...the sewn cast-off which is a kitchener cast-off. This is the perfect cast-off for 1x1 rib!

I'm all caught up on my Rockin Sock Club kits and am ready to start on the July kit which I should hopefully get next week.

I got Sloth! Yay!

2008-07-19T08:11:00.002-04:00

I came home and found the July shipment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club! Very interesting pattern but not something I would wear and I don't have anyone that would wear it.......anyways here are some pics:

I think I have another project in mind for the yarns. Guess I'll think on it. I do like the Footprints yarn by The Unique Sheep.

It's Friday I'm in Love

2008-07-11T09:28:00.002-04:00

Remember The Cure Song:
I don't care if monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's friday I'm in love.......

That's exactly how I feel about Fridays! Especially when I get more Wollmeise!! I was F5'ing since 5 AM EST and then I had to go drop off my hubby and his mom at the airport. I brought my laptop just in case! So I dropped them off and I'm trying to F5 and drive at the same time....hmmm...that was probably a bad idea! I don't think the police officer would appreciate my excuse: but officer, its critical that I get my weekly wollmeise fix or I might go into permanent pms mode!

I pulled into the post office parking lot to pick up my package from Wollmeise since my mailman failed to deliver it me at home earlier in the week. So I get my package and I get in the car and hit F5...lo and behold.....I had like 20 skeins of yarn in my cart! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was so hard going down to 7 skeins....but I managed:

Here is what I ordered - all 100% superwash (pics are from the Wollmeise site):
Suzanne - dark

Lowenzahn - light

Turkis & Karneol - medium

Miss May - medium (pic is of the light intensity)

Johannisbeer und Brennessel - medium

Poison Nr. 5 - medium (YAY!!)

Mitternacht - dark

This was my best order so far......lots of different colors!

I got Fluffy!!

2008-07-06T22:25:00.004-04:00

Hmm....maybe I should rename my blog "Wollmeise Stalker". I definitely have been looking forward to fridays and if it wasn't for my camp buddy Marisol, I would have missed out on the early update Thursday evening! Sneaky Claudia putting up an update early! But here is what I ended up scoring (pics are from Wollmeise's website):

Indisch Rot 80/20 Fluffy - medium (picture is of 100% superwash)

Wilder Mohn 80/20 Fluffy - light

Salamander 100% superwash - medium

Rosenrot 100% superwash - light

Pfauenauge 80/20 Fluffy - medium (this was actually purchased in error on Saturday....Claudia was doing some order maintenance and some skeins were back in inventory temporarily. I thought for sure this order would be canceled but awesome Claudia added it to my thursday order so I guess I will be getting this as well!).

I do love Claudia's reds! But I probably will give up a few skeins to trade for some other colors. Hmm.....maybe I'll get up the courage and wind up a skein soon! lol

Lovely Leafling!

2008-07-06T22:10:00.002-04:00

I meant to post this earlier when I finished it a few weeks ago but I got too excited over my Wollmeise and kept forgetting. Lovely Leafling is finished! Originally I was going to be selfish and keep all my Rockin Sock Club socks to myself but I started thinking about xmas and these socks jumped up and down and yelled "present for mom". So I listened to my socks....maybe I should rename my blog to "sock whisperer"! lol

I absolutely loved the pattern and the cushy heel is awsome. STR mediumweight is fantastic to knit with.....very cushy and a nice change from the lightweight which doesn't have the cushiness. If I liked thicker socks, mediumweight would be the way to go. I definitely plan on adding more mediumweight to my stash...I know any excuse to buy yarn! lol

All in all, a definitely redo....I have a skein of Lover's Leap in Mediumweight which would make a great pair of Leafling for myself.

Wollmeise for moi!!

2008-07-01T14:55:00.002-04:00

I received my shipment of Wollmeise yarn today!! Oh happy day!! I tore the envelopes open and was greeted with this glorious sight:

It only took a week to get here from Germany! The yarn is soft and the colors are amazing! I don't know if I can bear to wind it up into a yarn cake and knit with it. I might have to get duplicates so that I can keep my skeins intact as eye candy and have skeins to knit with! lol Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have luck this Friday for more Wollmeise! I am a Wollmeise addict now!

Yarn Club Addict!!

2008-06-30T20:55:00.003-04:00

I am so addicted to yarn clubs!! I love getting a surprise packages every month. Oddly enough, this does help me curb my yarn spending.

I received my Year of Lace June Kit last Saturday and I love it! I prefer rectangular stoles compared to triangular shawls. Here is a pic of the yarn (Helen's Lace by Lorna's Laces):

Here's a pic of the pattern:

Then today, I received the June shipment of the Blue Plate Special by Chewy Spaghetti:

I absolutely love the yarn....not too sure if I'm going to use the pattern for the yarn though. Here is a close up of the color:

Omigod.....I got Wollmeise again!

2008-06-27T07:46:00.003-04:00

I want every day to be Fridays from now on!! I logged onto wollmeise's website and there was yarn again! Today I got (the pictures are from wollmeise's website):

Gewitterhimmel 100% Superwash - Light

Rittersporn 100% Superwash - Medium

Wilder mohn 80/20 Twin - Light (pic is of the 100% superwash in light since there is no pic of the 80/20 twin)

Tiefer See Wild Thing 80/20 Twin - Light
(no pic on the website but you can see a pic from JanaA's stash here.)

Last night I started clearing out some of my stash sock yarn. I have come to the realization that I will never get to some of my yarn since I have too many. They need to find a good home where they will get the attention and fondling that they deserve! So check out my Ravelry stash to see what I have. I'll be trying to add more every day.

Ode to Woolgirl!

2008-06-25T21:07:00.003-04:00

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My stash can reach..........

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem says it all when I think of Jen of Woolgirl! I received my Woolgirl sock club kit and I am in awe! I have to say that her kit was the best that I have ever seen and/or received. This is the June kit:

Here is the April Kit:

Woolgirl is is the definition of awesomeness in my dictionary!!

I got Wollmeise! Yay!!

2008-06-21T07:40:00.009-04:00

I got into work yesterday and I realized that it was Friday so per my normal Friday morning routine, I checked the wollmeise website. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw yarn listed on the "In stock" webpage! I refreshed my browser a couple of times just to make sure and then I went crazy!!

I knew that the inventory wouldn't last long and I was trying to look at the colors/intensity before putting them in my basket. I wish I could buy a skein of every color but I was going to limit myself to $100 worth of yarn.

I've been dying to get the Poison nr 5 medium intensity and when I saw it listed, I put it in my basket and was about to check out when it became sold out! I was in panic mode at this point and I put the Poison nr 5 dark in my basket and checked out as soon as I could! I didn't even look to see what else was in my basket! I was so elated and trying to calm myself down at this point.

I printed out my receipt to see what I did end up getting and realized that I lost my Poison nr 5 dark as well!! I ended up spending $170 on 7 skeins of yarn which comes out little over $24 per skein and this is including international shipping! What a great deal! I know people have sold her yarn on ravelry for $30 easily.

So here is what I ordered (the pictures are from wollmeise's website):

Am kalten Polar - 100% Superwash - dark intensity

Dornröschen - 100% superwash - medium intensity

Pfefferminz Prinz - 100% superwash - medium intensity

Red Hot Chili - 100% superwash - medium intensity

Rosenrot - 100% superwash - medium intensity

Vincent - 100% superwash - light intensity

Wilder Mohn - 100% superwash - medium intensity

It looks like I got a lot of red colors for some reason! Hopefully I can trade one of them for a skein of Poison nr 5 medium!!

A day later and I'm still doing the happy dance! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Early anniversary gift!

2008-06-15T22:05:00.005-04:00

My hubby told me out of the blue that I can have anything I wanted for my 10 year anniversary which is in September. Yarn was out of the question since hubby is already complaining about my stash! Diamonds.....I already have studs, rings and a pendant....I wouldn't know what else to get that I would wear on a regular basis. Hmmm....such a tough choice! I thought long and hard and decided I wanted a better camera! I was serious about photography when I was in high school and college and had a manual 35mm Nikon camera that I took everywhere with me. Then the camera got lost during a move and I never replaced it and things got busy with work and dating.

I looked around on the internet and decided on the Nikon D60, Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel XSi. Of course, I needed to check them out in person to see how they fit in my hands. So I headed to Best Buy and got a chance to play with them. The Nikon D60 fit great in my small hands and the controls were very easy to figure out. The Nikon D80 was too big and heavy and it felt kinda awkward because of the size. I felt like I was going to get a workout everytime I lifted the camera!

The Canon XSi was about the same size and weight as the Nikon D60. The specs were actually better then the Nikon D60 with the auto-focus in the camera and liveview. The only issue was that I couldn't figure the darn thing out to even start taking a picture. I felt very technically challenge with the Canon which is an unusual feeling for me since I've worked in the IT field for about 12 years and am normally surrounded with the latest gadgets. Featurewise, the Canon XSi was the better camera and was about $200 more then the Nikon D60. For the price of the Canon XSi, I could get the Nikon D60 with the 18-55mm VR lens and get the 55-200mm VR lens....that was my deciding factor. I was leaning toward a Nikon from the beginning since my hubby has the Nikon D300 and we could interchange lenses, etc if I got a Nikon.

So I decided on the Nikon D60 and found the best price on Amazon.com. The camera and the 2 lenses cost me a total of $726! Amazon is currently offering a $100 off on this camera and additional lens purchase which made it an even better deal! The Canon XSi w/18-55mm lens was about $830. The price was a huge factor and I won't feel so guilty if I d0 end up upgrading to another camera in the next year or so!

I should hopefully get the camera this week!! And of course, I'll have to reshoot pictures of my stash!! Any excuse to fondle my yarn!! lol

Up the Creek...that is Cedar Creek!

2008-06-15T21:58:00.004-04:00

I kept thinking that I would post something once I did more FO's but I only have one thing finished so far. My Cedar Creeks socks in Socks that Rocks Knitters without Borders:

They fit pretty well and it was a very easy pattern to remember! I will have to try these again but do the picot edge per the instructions.

I'm almost done with my Leafling socks. I decided to give them as a christmas gift so I made them a little longer for ladies size 7 feet. I gotta start knitting for christmas! I can't believe it is already June!

I love my packages! It's like xmas over and over!

2008-05-30T07:31:00.003-04:00

Look what was waiting for me when I got home yesterday! The 3rd shipment of Blue Moon Fiber arts Rockin Sock Club:

The skein is more purple then blue but for some reason I can't capture that purple color with my camera. I tried natural sunlight, flash, no flash and ott light but they turn out looking blue. Very odd!

I love this shipment! I love Yarnissima's patterns so this is definitely a must-do but I told myself I wouldn't start until I finish Leafling! And I am also out of extra US 1 needles so I have no choice but to finish some wip's to free up a US 1.

The shipment consisted of:
1 Pattern by Yarnissima - Cleopatra Socks
1 STR Lightweight in The Incredible Shrinking Violet
1 Luggage Tag and holder
1 mini-skein

Yesterday was definitely a good day in terms of packages. I also received a shipment from GudonyaToo. I had requested a special order of SmOOchy skin bars in Spa Fusion, Be Delicious, Tahitian Vanilla and Island Coconut! I really loved the vanilla and coconut so I order some of the whipped clean in both. I am so glad Loopy Ewe talked about them in her blog! That SmOOchy skin bars are amazing! I'm not too sure about the exfoliating properties (it is a little rough) but boy o boy....it sure does leave my skin very soft and I don't have to put on body lotion after I shower!! The thing I always hated about body lotion is that it seemed to take forever to completely dry but now my skin is soft and completely dry so I can get dressed right away!

And now I'm off to go check out Amazon's friday sale. Sometimes they have to some really amazing deals like last week's Martini glasses for $20!

Diamonds & Pearls...Oh my!!

2008-05-29T07:30:00.003-04:00

I finished blocking my diamonds & pearl shawl on saturday night and I took some quick pictures before I wrapped it up and gave it to my mom on Sunday for a belated mom's day present.

Excuse the mess in my mom's bathroom. I took a picture after she unwrapped it but she didn't want to be my model so I had to the do the bathroom mirror shot. The shawl was a nice shoulder shawl size. Perfect for summer when you need a light wrap around your shoulders.

Here's a few shots on the blocking board:

I definitely will be knitting another one for myself! This was a super fast knit that can be completed in one weekend!

Drowning in WIPs!!

2008-05-23T07:42:00.008-04:00

I went a little crazy during the month of May and I blame Ravelry!! Too many KAL and too many people posting pics of their gorgeous socks and shawls! Last night, I was trying to decide which project to work on and I realized that I was pulling too many wips out of my knitting bin!! Here is the list:

Leafling in STR mediumweight Lucky:

I wanted to finish before I received the next sock club shipment but I don't think there is any chance of that! But I do have to say that I am enjoying knitting with the mediumweight yarn! I always thought lightweight was the way to go but now I'm not too sure!

Cedar Creek in STR lightweight Knitters without Borders:

I frogged this yarn so many times since I couldn't decide on the pattern. I loved the striping look as seen in JustJen's socks and weebug's socks so I was doing just a simple ribbed socks but it looked too plain so I frogged that. Then I was going to do Cat's Master Coriolis but I guess I measured my foot wrong and it was huge so I frogged that a couple of times and then I saw the STR KAL for Cedar Creeks and started that. Then it started pooling but I kinda like it so I am chugging on.

Another Django on Mama E's C*eye*ber Saffron for my friend's Jeong's upcoming b-day:

I do enjoy this pattern! It does go fast and it looks so nice! I just wish I could do this 2 on 1 circ but I have no idea how to move the stitches from needle to needle without having to take one sock off the needles.

Diamond and Pearls shawl in The Plucky Knitter sportweight MCN in Josephine as a belated mother's day gift:

This is done and it is one definitely fast knit. It just looks so much smaller then I had pictured. I still have to block it so I probably will try to really stretch it out!!

Eunny's Print O' The Wave in Malabrigo Lace Bobby Blue:
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I picked this one back up since I was in a lace mood and now I just want to finish it so bad since I only have 3 more pattern repeats and the edging to do.

My head feels so cluttered right now with all these WIPs whining at me. Ugh...I need a flirtini! Speaking of which, I picked up some martini glasses on Amazon.com for $20 last friday and just received then. They are even better looking then pictured! An amazing deal for $20 and free shipping! Now they are back to $40.

I just need to get some vodka, etc to celebrate the start of the memorial day holiday weekend!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend!!

More packages today! Yay!

2008-05-14T19:35:00.003-04:00

YarnAddict Yarn's Lace Variety Club May shipment:

800 yards (110gr) of Luscious Lace (55% silk/ 45% cashmere). This yarn is seriously yummy! I think this is my favorite new lace yarn.
Celebrations Shawl - looks simple and lovely!
Black tote bag (you can never have too many bags!)
I am so glad that I signed up for this club! It was a great price for 3 shipments of luxury lace yarn & pattern!

The color is more pink then shown in the picture. Here is a better picture of the color.

And I also received the May shipment of Whimzy Pimzy's Cotton Sock Yarn club. Bamboo cotton yarn in colorway - Herbal Garden Reflection Pond. The color is brighter then shown. The flash washed it out a bit. Either I need a better camera or a lesson on how to accurately capture colors in my photos!

Now I need to finish up some ufo's before I can touch these! I am dying to start my silk/cashmere lace shawl. :(

Updates....updates!

2008-05-14T17:37:00.003-04:00

Ya...been slacking a bit so here is everything that has happened in the past 2 weeks lumped into one entry!

MD Sheep and Wool festival was amazing! I went on Sunday (5/4/08) and there were so many vendors and so much to buy! Too bad I was on a yarn diet and had to limit myself....it was so hard to do! Is this guy cute or what!

I'll post a pic of my purchases when I get a chance. I finally bought some sheldrige farms sock yarn and found tilli thomas yarn at a huge discount. Voile de la Mer for $10 a skein and beaded lace for $15 a skein. They didn't have much left at those prices on Sunday. I also picked up a pretty lace scarf kit from the Unique Sheep.

Finished Django by Cookie A (Mama Blue's Sea Merino in color Sky) at the end of April but haven't posted pics until now. My favorite socks so far. They fit great! I only did 2 repeats on the cuff.

This color is a bit muted in this picture. The above picture is more accurate of the color.

Received the second shipment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club.

Wrath vs Peace

Contents:
1 skein of The Unique Sheep Pima Petite in color Peace
Pattern - Sheepy washcloth & soap sack by Sarah Wilson
Chocolate sheep
2 tea bags
Sheep stitch marker
Peace of Mind - milk & honey soap
Candle
3 mini sheep soaps
Mineral bath salts

Wooly Woolgirl Club!

2008-05-14T17:34:00.003-04:00

Nice surprise from Jen of woolgirl.com. Seven purchases and you become a member of her wooly woolgirl club. What an awesome package!

Woo hoo! Camp Crows Feet!!

2008-05-01T12:19:00.002-04:00

Yup....it happened....I got behind on my blogging. I figured I could do at least 1 post a week but its been a few weeks since my last post. :(

But.....Woo hoo! Camp Crows Feet was awesome!! (Camp Crows Feet is Blue Moon Fibers 2008 knitting retreat for the Rockin Sock Club members) I just wish I took more pictures. Like always I take my camera and never take it out to take pictures!

Of course I had to take home some souvenirs of camp and what could be better then more yarn!!

Here's a shot of the Knotorius Knitters Express bus that picked us up at the Sea-Tac airport. MJ....you are awesome!! You can see Frieda and the backside of Carla. :P

One of the views from the Rosario Resort:

Attack of the Monkeys!!

The snowy ride to the ferry. Who would have thunk it that it would snow on the way home!!

I definitely would like to go again next year but I would probably plan things a little different. I would probably fly in the weekend before and join the pre-camp yarn crawl or just fly in that weekend so that first day isn't so hectic and tiring. I woke up at 3am edt on Monday to catch my 6am flight and didn't go to bed until 11pm pst. That was a long day!!

Django - Cookie A is a genius!

2008-04-12T08:41:00.002-04:00

I started Django this past Tuesday and it is going pretty good. The pattern is easy to follow and I am loving the feel of Mama Blue's Sea Merino.

I wanted to do 2 socks via magic loop but when I looked at the pattern, there are 2 rows where you have to shift 2 stitches and then back and I can't figure out how to do that via magic loop when you have 2 socks on it. In the past, I've had to physically move one sock off the circ, move the stitches and then move the sock back on the circ.....a major pain in the butt! So I decided just to do one sock at a time on magic loop. I've done one cuff and little over 1 pattern repeat. I am very pleased so far!!

Gluttony is good to go!

2008-04-10T08:15:00.001-04:00

Finally finished the 2nd Gluttony sock and I love them! The colors are much brighter in person....my flash washed out the color a bit. I really enjoyed knitting with the Verve yarn and ordered 3 more skeins from Woolgirl for my stash. Then I found out that The Unique Sheep sold it undyed on their website and I bought a few skeins of undyed for my next dying project.

I'm hoping that I have enough yarn left over to do bi-colored anklets next.

Rockin Sock Club

2008-04-09T09:24:00.001-04:00

Just as an update to my blog....here are the first 2 kits for Blue Moon Fiber's Rockin' Sock Club 2008.

Kit #1 - Serendipity pattern - Dragon Dance Lightweight sock yarn:

And the finished socks:

I had enough yarn left over for little anklets:

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Kit #2 Leafling Sock pattern - Lucky Mediumweight sock yarn (hope to get these done during sock camp!)

Year of Lace - Kit #1

2008-04-09T08:55:00.001-04:00

I received this at the end of March and my first impression was......I love it! Great orange-red color and very pretty pattern by Sivia Harding who I adore!

Then I read about the yarn issues on ravelry and I started getting worried. I wasn't ready to start the shawl yet but I went ahead and wound my skein up on Monday to see if I was having the same issue with multiple breaks and the color rubbing off.

I have 3 breaks....1 looks like it was there during the dyeing process (you can see the white of the yarn where the dye didn't touch) and 2 look like they were knotted after the dyeing process.

The 3 knots wouldn't have been a big deal but the color rubbed off on everything it touched. I was wearing a white shirt and somehow managed to rub the skein again me so I ended up have orange marks on my shirt. I wore latex gloves to do the winding since I like to use my hand to guide the yarn into the winder and that glove was a mess! I should have taken a picture before I threw it out but I was worried about more dye stuff getting on the kitchen table and table so I threw it out as soon as I was done! I ended up with orange smear marks on the kitchen hard wood floors but I was able to get it out with soap and water. The table luckily is glass and wiped clean. The white shirt is a no go....I tossed it in the washer and it still has orange marks.

Needless to say, I will not be knitting with this skein....I won't have the dye constantly rubbing off on everything it touches or I touch with my dye covered hands. I've already emailed the YOL group and requested a replacement skein.

The odd part is that I have about 10 skeins of Claudia Silk Lace and I have not had a problem with any of them. Their yarn is beautiful with a nice glossy shine and it is wonderful to knit. It appears that the YOL order of 200+ skeins probably threw off their dying process and some of the dye jobs got screwed up. I've heard that some people do have good skeins which has none of these problems.

Mondays aren't so bad after all!!

2008-04-09T08:12:00.001-04:00

Look what I got in the mail! :) I really love the mailman when he brings me such packages.

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Yarn from Mama Blue (http://mamablue.etsy.com):

Blue faced leicester sock yarn in Ruby (I've never knit with BFL but I heard that it is the poor man's cashmere so I thought I would give it a try):

Sea merino sock yarn in Girl:

Sea merino sock yarn in Sky:

Simple merino sock yarn in Preserves:

Simple merino sock yarn in Talula:

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Miss Babs is having a sale on her website (www.missbabs.com) and I couldn't resist ordering a few:

Yummy fingering sock yarn in Pouty:

Yummy fingering sock yarn in Bluegrass:

Yummy fingering sock yarn in Evelyn:

Yummy fingering sock yarn in Lola:

Monkey is off my back!!

2008-04-09T08:07:00.001-04:00

My monkey is done and I love it!! I definitely will do this pattern again but I will probably do the no purl monkey next time.

New paint job!

2008-03-29T10:11:00.001-04:00

I just got my Buell Blast painted and she looks so cute now! It is painted in a powder blue metallic with purple and blue butterflies. The work was done by East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass in Manassas, VA.

I keep calling my motorcycle a "she".....but I should pick a name. Any suggestions?

Vogue Knitting Magazine Spring/Summer 2008

2008-03-29T09:58:00.000-04:00

I just received my issue this week and fell in love with this sweater! I already have yarn for it but I'm going to be good and will finish Monkey and Gluttony first before I cast on.

Monkey socks!!

2008-03-29T09:46:00.001-04:00

Here is my 2nd current project - Monkey by Cookie A. I adore her designs. Yarn is Shibui Sock Yarn in Orchid on size 1 us needles....2 socks on magic loop.

Gluttony Sock - Seven Deadly S(p)ins

2008-03-29T07:47:00.001-04:00

On to the knitting! :) I currently have 2 projects that I am actively working on. Of course I have a bunch of ufo's that hopefully will get completed in the near future.

Gluttony socks from the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club purchased from woolgirl.com. 4 colors of Verve from the Unique sheep to knit into socks that gradually changes colors. I'm a big fan of 2 socks magic loop but I figure with the yarn changes, I might confuse myself too much and end up knitting with the wrong strands. And I'm glad I stuck to 1 sock magic loop because I did confuse myself a few times with changing the yarn strands.

Here is the start of gluttony sock #1. I am really loving the feel of this yarn!

Here is completed gluttony sock #1:

Seven Deadly S(p)ins Club - Kit #1

2008-03-29T07:36:00.001-04:00

Seven Deadly S(p)ins Club - Kit #1, originally uploaded by rwroberts.

Received on Thursday, March 13. Kit contained the following:
4 colors of The Unique Sheep Verve sock yarn and Gluttony sock pattern
1 Keychain Sock Blocker Sock Kit containing blocker, and The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes Yarn in Tradition
1 set of dpn holders
1 Woolgirl Pen
1 Bag of Jelly Bellys

Time to join the blogging world!

2008-03-29T07:19:00.000-04:00

I balked for the longest time in creating a blog but I realized that I spent many hours every day reading everyone else's blog! So I figure, maybe they have something here. Every blog that I read.....the people are so creative!! Maybe I will get more of my knitting projects done knowing that I might possibly have viewers to keep me motivated!