Happy Feet!



Pattern: Embossed Leaves from IK Winter 2005
Yarn: Mama E's C*Eye*Ber Fiber Sock in Lollygirl colorway
Needles: 2.75 Brittany DPN's

I am crazy about these socks. They are soooo comfortable. The pattern is beautiful, the yarn is amazing (so soft!). Everything about them makes me happy. Especially the fact that they are DONE!



So... project done... what now?

Well, so many options. I STILL need to cast on for the second potomoose sock. I don't know why I haven't gotten around to doing that yet.

I want to re-cast on for Calla.

I want to finish my stuffed chicken. (that sounds like dinner, doesn't it?) And I want to make something from my World of Knitting Toys book.

I want to make more socks.

Earlier today, I had frogged an attempt at toe-up Jaywalkers. (The one's I worked on on the mall in DC...) I decided to rip them because they seemed HUGE. (I must say... owning a ball winder makes the decision to rip sooo much easier.) At work tonight, I cast on for them again.

I had to work at the Baltimore theatre tonight. While I was waiting for the show to start, I cast on for the jaywalkers. I was knitting away when I heard "jeez... are you knitting again??" Surprise! It was my doctor! His daughter was in the show tonight. (She's an understudy.) I got to thank him profusely for the wonder drugs from last week. And, I showed off the new yellow socks. I had been working on them when I was in his office last week, so he saw them in progress.

It's kind of strange running the show there because the lighting "booth" is in the audience. It's this strange little platform that is completely open to everything. So, I've got people talking to me constantly. The most popular question is "Where's the bathroom?" At intermission, I had "the chatty guy" bugging me. Asking a zillion questions that I didn't know the answer to. Hell, it was only the second performance I had ever worked there! Meanwhile, I've got a headset covering one ear. I hear my stage manager call "places" so I tell the guy I have to start the show. And he kept right on talking. Then I hear the SM call for the lights to go down... he's still talking. I finally said "Do you see that the lights are going down? Yeah... um.. I'm the one doing that... I'm kind of working here.." Apparently I was more entertaining than the show.

I'm off to bed. Two kid shows in the a.m. and then back to Baltimore and then WEEKEND!

The Chew and View

I have had A VERY LONG DAY. Two shows, two waiting shifts. My feet hurt. I hate waiting on kids. Ye Old Dinner Theatre is packed with school groups this time of year. I hate them all. We have a little chant we tend to say at the end of a long theatre day performing for kids...
"You chewed! You viewed! Get on the bus and get the fuck out!" That's how I felt about my hateful kids today. Why is it that every obnoxious pre-teen thinks he is the first one in the entire planet to think of pouring salt in his friend's glass? grrrr!

But on to happy things....

I got a fabulous email yesterday. The subject said "You Won Yarn!" Yahoooooo! Heather over at One Crafty Bitch had a survey on her blog. If you answered the survey, you got put in a drawing for free yarn. 317 people responded, two got yarn. And one of them is me! Yay free yarn! This is the second time I've won free yarn!

I am soooo close to finishing the yellow sock. Three more rounds and then a toe decrease and I'm DONE. I had every intention of finishing it tonight, but now that I'm home, I am just too damn tired. I have a decent chunk of free time tomorrow, so I will finish them then. How pathetic is it that I want to go out and buy new shoes to show off new socks? I kind of want leather mary janes or something like that. I may have to shoe shop tomorrow.

I have ripped out Calla in a fit of frustration. My stitch count was off or something. I couldn't get through the first row of the charts. It wasn't adding up. I emailed Shauniell and she very kindly emailed me back. It is obvious that I'm an idiot and (if I haven't mentioned this before...) I cannot count. I have every intention of trying this again. Soon. But it would also be helpful if I had the appropriate amount of yarn, rather than starting with a random ball from my stash. Maybe I will be hunting down Calla yarn at MS&W.

Speaking of MS&W... I found a COUPON! I went to the Morehouse Farm website, just to poke around since I LOVE my new book so much. They have a coupon good for $4 off $30 for their yarn at MS&W. Go check it out. It's making me wonder if perhaps I shouldn't see if I can find any other MS&W coupons. Be sure to check out the page about Ram in a Van book tour. It makes me laugh that the page "baaaa's" at you.

Upcoming knitting events....

5/1 - MD knit nite at Border's of Columbia (off of Dobbin, across 175 from the Panera). 7 p.m. in the cafe. There is some discussion about going out for cocktails afterwards!

5/3 - I will be in my dyeing class all day!

5/6 - Not only is it MARYLAND SHEEP AND WOOL FESTIVAL WEEKEND... but the lovely Mama E will be hosting the Knit Blogger's Ball at Clyde's of Columbia. Go check out her blog for the groovy details. And also check out the fabu KBB swag you can purchase.

No pictures today. This sleepy girl is going to bed!

I can BREATHE!

I finally forced myself to my doctor's office on Friday. I LOVE my doctor. I've known him for years. His kids have done shows at the theatre, he's a HUGE theatre groupie, and all around nice guy. He agreed that it was allergies and gave me a big bag of free sample drugs. I felt better within an hour of taking them. (Zyrtec and Nasacort, miracle drugs as far as I'm concerned.) The drugs and the weekend of rain definitely eased my allergy woes. I feel much, much better.

On Saturday, I went to Border's to spend the gift card my secret Easter bunny gave me. I was really surprised to see The Yarn Harlot's new book on the "3 for 2" table. Actually - ALL of her books were on the 3 for 2 table. So I bought her new one and two other books.


I haven't read any of it yet. I got distracted by the Jon Krakauer book I bought. I've read a few of his books and generally like them. This one is (so far) really interesting. He writes non-fiction. I won't go into details, but I'm enjoying this book, and it's a short book, so I'm sure I'll be done with it very soon!

Also, in book land, I received this gem yesterday.


A friend of mine got an advanced promotional copy of this and since he doesn't knit, he gave it to me! It will be out for general sale at the end of April. It is a beautiful book. I can't stop looking at it. I read a bit of it last night. There are some nice patterns in it.
Including this, which I LOVE



How cute is this mitten?? It's called "Chickens whistling Dixie."
So cute! (I have NO idea why I am so obsessed with chickens lately....)

I just looked at the vendor list for MS&W and Morehouse Farms Merino will be there... maybe I'll bring this book along and get them to sign it...

Speaking of MS&W...
I am so FREAKING EXCITED. I cannot wait. It will be my first time. Yes... I am a S&W VIRGIN. (Maybe I should get that printed on a tee shirt...) Just looking at the vendor's list makes my pulse race a little. My non-knitting friends think I am completely insane. Thank god I have you people to share my excitement with! Besides the thought of being surrounded by all that glorious YARN, I am also interested in seeing the non-yarn events too. I really want to see the sheep-dog demonstrations.

And of course, I am also excited about the dying class. I decided to join Scout's Dyeorama swap. I figured, after my class, I will be ready to try out some new dying fun.

I got a phone call yesterday from the new Baltimore theatre asking me to come run lights there the weekend of MS&W. Oh how I laughed and laughed! Silly silly deluded people. "um... yeah... SO NOT WORKING THAT WEEKEND."

I'm still working on the Embossed Leaves socks. I think there will be a heel turning tomorrow.


This afternoon in a moment of insanity, I cast on for Calla. I'm not quite sure what I'm thinking. I cast on using a skein of Cotton Classic - I only have ONE skein of it. I think I was just bored. I definitely want to attempt this pattern, but I think perhaps I should be better prepared with my yarn! But I do LOVE the color. It's a bright pink. I'll spare you any pictures since I doubt this is going to go anywhere. I guess I'm just ready to try something new - other than socks!

SOOOO pretty outside today. I finished up a kid show and drove to the Brighton Azalea Garden. Even though I was about a week early in terms of peak blossoms, it was still beautiful. Click on either of the azaleas above to see my little Azalea Garden slide show.

Despite the fact that I am so congested and miserable (I'm back to thinking it's allergies, not sickness) I do like the spring. The colors in this garden were amazing. I am hoping to get back there next week - I think the garden will be at it's peak then.

In knitting related topics...
I finished an Embossed Leaves Sock




I really need to cast on the second one soon - I actually have a little time to concentrate on it. I would like to be able to do a little mindless knitting tonight at the theatre. Sadly, the first few rows of this sock require a little bit of concentration!

And of course, I need to do the second Potomoooose..
and clean my room, and take the dog out, and do some laundry....

Well, it WAS a nice day!

Sick



I kept trying to tell myself that it's allergies, but I have finally conceded defeat. I'm sick. I have a cold. I feel like holy hell. And I am whiny about it.

Despite my current state of yuckiness, I am knitting, of course. One potomooose sock is DONE! I love it.



One sock done? What's a girl to do? Why.. cast on for a completely different sock of course!


I wanted to work with my fabulous Lollygirl yarn from Mama E. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Miss Mama last night at knitting group. I was knitting away when someone came up and said "who are you? that's my yarn!" I love the colors in this yarn. And the way the stripes are turning out. I think the Embossed Leaves pattern is turning out nicely with this colorway.
It was definitely time to start doing some Yellow/Orange Project Spectrum work!

I'm going to finish this and then cast on for the second pomotomooose.

Speaking of PS... I got word that my postcard pal Maryse received her postcard from me, so I can post it now.


On our day of yarn madness a few weeks ago, Amie pointed out a fun plaid sheep poster in one the yarn shops we went to. It stuck in my head and became the inspiration for my PS postcard. I now have a ton of yellow paper that I don't know what I'm going to do with, but I had fun making this.

Oh... fun news...
I got into the Dyeing to Paint class at MD Sheep and Wool. I'm really looking forward to it. I ordered some yarn from Knitpicks to take with me. It came today. I bought lace weight, but I think I'm going to order a skein of sock yarn to take along too. Ya know I just can't ever have enough sock yarn!

I'm trying to stay on a yarn diet until Sheep and Wool. No yarn purchases (except of course for the class!) until the big weekend. I'm still trying to decide on my budget for Sheep and Wool. I don't want to go crazy, but I've been looking forward to it for so long, I figure a little splurging is in order.

Ok, I need to crawl back into bed. After I take the poodle out - she's so demanding that way!


Oops! I almost forgot to add a picture of this fabulous bunny bread I got for Easter!

Finally!!!

I went to my favorite LYS the other day to pick up yarn for Sarah from the Baltimore Knitting Group. The lady behind the counter said"You have earned a $25 store credit!" I decided to wait and use it another day. On the way home from work that night, I had an epiphany! I can put my $25 towards a BALL WINDER!!!! So for a mere $10, I got this beauty....



Yay!!! I am so happy to finally own one of these suckers. I have been merrily winding all my yarn. Even the hated acrylic. It's just making everything so neat and tidy!

See? Pretty, tidy yarn!


Yesterday was a FABULOUS day. I spent the afternoon with Lolly and 7 other cool knitty chicks sitting in the sun on the Mall in DC. It was awesome! The weather was spectacular, the company was so nice and knitting on the mall is definitely fun. We sat right at the base of the Washington Monument. There were cookies, there was knitting, there was wonderful conversation and there were peeps! (which I can't believe I didn't take a picture of!)
<<<< click on this picture!
Look how blue the sky was yesterday! Those little dots in the sky are kites flying over the Smithsonian. If you click on this picture, it will take you to a slide show of all the pictures I took in DC. There are a few random shots in there - including one of these very Project Spectrum worthy koi.

Many many thanks to Lolly for organizing this get-together. I hope we can all do it again sometime.

Amie saves the day

I'm knitting along on my hippopotomooose socks when I get to chart B. Being a girl that hasn't really knitted from a chart before, I look at chart B and immediately get confused. There are blank spaces on the evil chart B. What the heck am I supposed to do with those??? Since I had to make a trip to the LYS today anyways... (buying yarn for someone else, I swear!) I brought the chart with me and asked the owner if she could help. Her reply? "I hate charts. Umm... I think you should knit the blank spaces." Now even I (girl who hasn't really knitted from a chart before) know that I should not knit the blanks spaces. But I nod and smile and politely thank the woman for her "help."

So... I race on home and send out an email SOS to Amie. HELP! And sure enough, it was Amie's Knitting Help Hotline (created just for me, I'm sure!) to the rescue! She very patiently explained what to do, and I was soon back on track and knitting again. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Amie!

Here's a little progress picture for you. Not terribly exciting. There's a heel, there's a gusset (it's under the needles, really!) Have I mentioned.. I love this sock!



In my last post, I mentioned that I had gone to Ewenique Yarns in Bel Air. So many people commented about it, I feel the need to apologize if I offended anyone with my comment about the name of the shop. For the record, I thought it was a lovely shop. (I just find the name to be a little silly.) The woman working there was very nice. They have a good selection. The store is warm, inviting and SPACIOUS, which seems to be quality lacking in some shops! And how could anyone not like a shop that sells these:


I guess I am on some sort of chicken kick lately, because I'm crazy about these buttons. And it is very fun to say "chicken buttons." I have absolutely no idea what I will use these for, I just had to have them. Oh... and other nice thing about Ewenique yarns is that they gave presents with your purchase! We all got measuring tapes and nail files with the Ewenique name on them.

Also... if you happen to go to Ewenique yarns in Bel Air, I highly recommend getting lunch at the wine and cheese place around the corner. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the place. But, they have tasty sandwiches and delicious pignoli cookies!


Oooooh.... and this came today!!!!
I am SO excited about this book. I have been trying to buy this book FOREVER. I ordered one on eBay awhile ago. After I won the auction and paid through paypal, I got an email saying it was out of stock and they refunded my money. Then I ordered one from Amazon. Again, paid for it and everything - TWO WEEKS later, I got an email - out of stock. But Amazon has finally come through. I confess... I really like making knitted toys. And there are some really cute patterns in here. You can even knit your own wombat should you feel the need.

Before I end this long rambly post, I just wanted to remind everyone that Lolly's knitting meetup on the Mall in DC is this Sunday, 4/9. The weather is supposed to be nice, so come on out and enjoy the sun, the company, and some outdoor knitting.

Guess what? Chicken Butt!!!

This past Saturday, I spent the day with a bunch of crazy knitting girls on a wild field trip to four different yarn stores in the Baltimore area. We went to A Good Yarn, Woolworks, Woolstock, and (the revoltingly named) Ewenique Yarns. I'm still surprised that we didn't end up in New Jersey. (We will not discuss Eunny's navigational skills!)

I am quite impressed with myself that I managed to go to four yarn stores and spend just a little over $20, and I only bought ONE ball of yarn. (Remember the Fortissima Socka Colori that I couldn't find ANYWHERE?? I found it!)

While we were at Woolworks, I found a knitted stuffed chicken on a shelf. I LOVED it! Sadly, it was just some random chicken toy they had. Not for sale, no pattern. So, I have since become obsessed with trying to recreate it. I finally got the idea to use Knitty's Kate pattern to make the body of the chicken. This is the boring picture of what I have so far...


It's a chicken butt!!!

The chicken at Woolworks was black with different colored "feathers" (knit triangles) all around it. It also had long red legs - the part I'm dreading. I HATE icord! My version is going to end up being a lot smaller, but hopefully it will still come out ok.

Instead of flashing my stash the other day, I was going to purge my stash of all things acrylic.
I filled three grocery bags. Then I remembered that I wanted to make this chicken, so I am hanging on to some of it for the time being. But... if anyone(local) wants to inherit some acrylic, let me know. Only fair to warn you that both of my housemates smoke (I do not) - so it probably smells very smoky.

The hippo sock is coming along. I'm just starting the heel flap.


I was a little stumped at "purl TBL." I have never done that before. I'm pretty sure I figured it out, but I will be heading over to knitting-help to make sure.

I also cast on this...



This will hopefully be my sock for the woman at Panera's daughter. (Go read Amie's blog for the whole story.) I'm kind of winging it. I have no idea how big a 6-year-old's foot is. The woman said her daughter likes green. I chose this yarn because it has green in it and I think it is sufficiently obnoxious enough to please a 6-year-old!

And finally, I leave you with this picture....




At the theatre right now, we are doing "Secret Easter Bunnies" - same idea as "Secret Santa." We give and recieve presents anonymously until Easter. This was what I found in my light booth this morning. My secret Easter bunny ROCKS!!!! I was trying to convince my stage manager that drinking Appletinis during a kid show is a FINE idea. He wasn't buying it...

Happy April!!

Time for yellows and oranges! I have thoughts, I have plans, I have YARN!


See that on the right there? That fabulous yellow varigated yarn? That is Lollygirl from MamaE. Gotta say - LOVE IT. Great colors, feels great. Can't wait to knit with it.

But, I WILL finish these first!!!



I am so excited about these socks. The yarn and the pattern are working really well together. It's really fun to knit, and after a few rounds, I had a pretty good handle on the pattern to the point where I only have to glance at the chart every now and then. I think I will even manage to get through a second sock without getting bored.

I have more to babble about, but I just realized what time it is. Since I have to work in the a.m. and since I'm losing an hour of sleep due to "springing forward", I think I'm just going to say goodnight for now!