Drunk Blue Bees

I think it’s about time for a post regarding an FO, and although I wish it were the Tangled Yoke, I’m still yet to block it so you’ll have to settle for socks.

Drunk Blue Bees

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Pattern: Drunken Bees by Domesticat
Pattern Source: Ravelry or Domesticrafts
Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock in Midnight, 2 skeins
Needles: (2) KnitPicks Circular 24″ size 2.25 mm
Notes: The pattern is definitely not written for a beginning sock knitter since you need to be pretty familiar with the basic construction of a sock. Thankfully I’ve knit enough socks now that step-by-step instructions aren’t always needed anymore, and for the most part I’ve figured out how to substitute the heels and toes I want as well as convert patterns cuff to toe or toe to cuff.

Pattern Comments: If you’re experienced in knitting socks this would be a wonderful pattern to knit that will not only hold your attention while you knit it, but give you a beautiful sock in the end. It reminded me a bit of the Cookie A patterns that you can purchase, except this one was free. Had the designer given detailed instructions in multiple sizes, she could’ve easily charged money for this pattern and deserved it!

Yarn Comments: This yarn was even better than I expected and I’m excited to get off my yarn diet in a few days so I can purchase more. This particular colorway reminds me of the STR shaded solid colorways that Blue Moon Fiber Artisans so beautifully dye, and the yarn itself is soft, spongy and has a beautiful twist. Just in case you’re tempted to try some, I think The Loopy Ewe may have some in stock. Maybe.

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Swan Lake De-Mystified

Shall I say last, but not least, … or are there still a few of you knitting this?

(click for bigger)

Pattern: Swan Lake by Melanie Gibbons
KAL: Mystery Stole 3 (Yahoo Groups)
Source: Pink Lemon Twist (pattern to be released soon to anyone not in the KAL)
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool; colorway 11 (black)
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace circular Size 3 (3.25 mm)
Finished Dimensions: 60″ x 17″

I love that I decided to jump in with both feet and join this KAL. I’ve never done anything like this before because frankly, I’m a control freak. I want to know what, when, where and how with what I’m knitting, so this was a complete change for me.

There are a few things I would do differently if I were to knit this again:

• Pay attention to the blocking instructions. For those of you who have knit and blocked this stole, you’ll notice in the photos that I obviously blocked this incorrectly. I forgot to make the points on the wing side. Please don’t remind me though, I’m hoping I forget about it so I don’t feel the need to re-block it.

• Use a different yarn. I like the yarn, but I don’t love it. I wish I would’ve chosen a wool/silk blend (like the yarn she recommended) because I think I would’ve liked the drape better.

• Use a size 4 (3.5mm) or 5 (3.75mm) knitting needle. Although I think the Addi Turbo Lace needles are amazingly perfect for lace knitting, the size 3 (3.25mm) needles I used didn’t create a fabric that was the overall size I wanted.

• Include the beads. Since I didn’t know what the beads would look like in the stole, and since I was afraid it may look tacky, I wimped out and didn’t include them. If I were to only change one thing about my stole, it would be to add the beads.

Overall, I’m quite happy with my Swan Lake Stole and I’m looking forward to wearing it on my cruise next month for our four year anniversary. I’ll try to get modeled shots of it then.

Also, look what came in the mail! It’s my Loopy Ewe order! (click for bigger)

From Left to Right:

• Panda Cotton in College Prep (freebie)
• Louet Gems Pearl in Burgandy
• All Things Heather Sock in Raspberry
• Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett in Mirage Storm
• ShiBuiKnits Sock in Midnight
• Addi Turbo Lace needles (to add to my growing collection)

This is the second time I’ve ordered All Things Heather and I’m still in love with it! The photo of the Kaffe Fassett yarn from Regia does not do it justice because this colorway is stunning! Also, if you get the chance to order ShiBuiKnits Sock, definitely do! It’s a smooshy, squishy delight, and the color is stunning. This was my 6th order, so I’m now a Loopy Groupie. This is a great thing since now I should be getting notified before she does her sneak-ups. Maybe now I can get my hands on that Wollmeise. I’m coveting the Granatapfel and Gewitterhimmel colorways.

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Must find my mojo

Has anyone seen my blogging mojo? Somehow I’ve lost it and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I used to absolutely love sitting at the computer multiple times a day for hours reading everyone’s knitting adventures, but for the last month (or so) … I’ve barely sat at the computer at all. I’m sure I even owe many of you an email (or two, or three or maybe even four) with a “thank you” for all the compliments on my last pair of socks and the “get well” wishes, but all I can offer at this time is my deepest apology. It does mean a lot to get comments from you even if I’ve failed recently to respond. Please accept my humble apology and know that I’m going to sincerely try to do better at that.

The only thing that really explains my lack of activity in blog-land, is because I honestly just haven’t felt well enough to sit at the computer for any length of time. I’ve been having my fair share of the run around with doctors and I’m fed up to my eyeballs with the whole thing. If you want to know what’s going on, read the next paragraph, but if not, definitely skip it.

The last doctor told me that I probably do have hypothyroidism, but that he wanted to treat my fibromyalgia first. What? Excuse me? Fibro-what? Where did this diagnosis come from? He pretty much refused me the necessary thyroid medication and instead gave me some other drugs instead for the fibromyalgia. So where does that leave me? Well, I have a bunch of free meds I will never take for a condition I’m not sure I have, and still nothing to treat what I think the real problem is. I contacted my insurance company and although it’s going to cost me some money, I’ve opted to refer myself to a endocrinologist. Thankfully I have an appointment Thursday morningand if I can’t get the help I need there I’m throwing myself off the roof of my house. No need to worry though.. I have a single story home, so it’s hardly even worth the climb to the top.

In knitting news, there’s actually not been a lot of knitting in the last few weeks. Currently, I’m finishing up a pair of socks that I’ve been working on for weeks and weeks. I also finally figured out the crochet edge on my shawl that has been sitting unfinished for approximately a month. When I figured out how simple the edging was I was so mad at myself for not attempting it sooner. I think committing to not starting any new shawls until that one was finished was all the motivation I needed and now that shawl is finally blocking.

I’ve also just completed blocking the swatch for the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. I’m so glad MS3 came along and that I joined since this project actually has me excited to knit again. For the last 2 weeks, I haven’t hardly even looked at my needles, let alone knit with them. Now that my swatch is complete, I’m anxiously awaiting the first clue for MS3, especially since I’m knitting with the Lane Borgosesia Cashwool yarn I picked up at the Loopy Ewe. It wasn’t in the budget, but I honestly have been wanting a black shawl for myself and since there was no black laceweight in my stash, I HAD to shop!

By the way, the other photo is just a few more skeins of the Panda Cotton yarn in ivory. I didn’t want the Cashwool to ship all by itself from The Loopy Ewe, so the Panda Cotton joined it in the journey to my home. I think it will be perfect for another pair of summer socks.

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Retail Therapy

Last weekend, during a 48 hour period, I got so stressed about an upcoming pelvic ultrasound test, that I shopped. For yarn. Although it helped calm me down and keep my mind off the test, my dwindling bank account balance did cause some stress for me today, but oh well, the test is over now and everything looks good!

What started it all, was my first purchase. Crown Mountain Farms updated their Sock Hop Yarn and I purchased two skeins of the “Brown Eyed Girl” colorway. Ever since I met DH, he has sung the “Brown Eyed Girl” song to me whenever it’s on the radio, so it’s kind of our thing. He even uses the song as his ring tone whenever I call him. How then could I resist this yarn colorway? (obviously I didn’t) I now understand why people love hand dyed and hand spun yarn. It’s GORGEOUS! The downside though .. now I really want to learn to spin. I’m giving myself one more year though to learn as much as I can about yarn before I jump in. At least that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

The next thing that happened was an email from WEBS telling me their anniversary sale was about to end. I ignored it at the time, but then I was listening to their podcast and they mentioned Cascade 220 superwash on sale. Curses!! There were so many color options I was overwhelmed, but after thinking about it, I decided to go with a masculine color palette to knit some items for my grandsons this year.

I also saw that the Regia Silk was on sale, and since I’d wanted to try it for some socks, I ordered a bit of that too.

Finally, during the last part of the 48 hour time frame, I had an urge to check out The Loopy Ewe and wouldn’t you know it, Sheri had just done a shop update. I received my order today, but I’m going to hold off on showing you those acquisitions until next week. Besides, I can’t stop snuggling or sniffing or fondling the yarn long enough to take photos.

Despite no photos of socks in progress for almost a month, I have been knitting socks. Since I’d finally finished Molly’s Matinee Coat, I allowed myself to start a pair of socks and chose to knit Falling Leaves by Jessica Landers from the Fall 2005 issue of Knitty.com. Unfortunately, after working the pattern up until where the gusset begins, I decided that the pattern either wasn’t working for the yarn, or that I didn’t like how I was knitting the pattern. The center vein of the leaf design is created by working a k2tog and a ssk side by side which creates a sort of ridge. Personally I didn’t care for it, so I frogged the entire thing and started over. This time, I chose the Monkey pattern by Cookie A. I’ve knit it once before in a beautiful yarn that didn’t work with the pattern, so I thought I’d try again. So far I’m thrilled with how these are turning out and it’s so fun reworking the pattern toe-up. I’m trying to take meticulous notes and each time I convert a pattern from cuff-down to toe-up, I feel a bit more confident in my skills.

I only have another pattern repeat or two before I’ll be casting off, so I’m now dreaming of what socks I’ll knit next.

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Yarn Collecting & Weekend Recap

I think it’s time to close the PayPal account and hand my credit card to DH. Since I have had some health problems lately and don’t have a lot of energy to be out and about, I’ve spent a lot of time inside sleeping, watching movies, a bit of knitting and online shopping. Yesterday, I received an order from The Loopy Ewe, today I received an order from KnitPicks and then today I placed an order with Peaches & Cream (which is the fault of today’s post from Amy).

First up, yesterdays delights from The Loopy Ewe! Two skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in camouflage, a skein of Louet Gems in white, and The Loopy Ewe tote. The tote is definitely larger than I’d expected and will easily carry my current sock project (or two). Since this was my second Lorna’s Laces order, there really wasn’t much oohing and aahing although the camouflage color will be perfect for DH. I must confess that the favorite part of the order was the Louet Gems sport weight yarn. It’s obviously not due to the color, but the yarn feels amazing! I’ll probably be casting on with this yarn next. It’s too tempting not too!

What’s not pictured is a skein of Lane Borgosesia Cashwool in Red, because it’s being returned. Not because the yarn isn’t absolutely fabulous, but because I do not like the color. It looked like a true red on my monitor, but when I received it, I thought “ICK, that looks like neon red”. The Loopy Ewe has a wonderful return policy, so I’m mailing it back to her tomorrow.

Today, from KnitPicks, I received their lace weight Shadow yarn in Sunset Heather. I also ordered lace blocking wires, but for some reason they didn’t arrive with the yarn. Oh well, it’s much easier to fondle yarn than blocking wires. I was hoping the yarn would be good, but I was honestly surprised at how nice this yarn is for such a low cost. I purchased 3 skeins of it which totals to be 1,320 yards for only $7.47. I’m not sure what lucky shawl pattern I’ll choose, but whatever it is, it won’t matter since the yarn is so lovely.

Obviously I’ll show you what I ordered from Peaches & Cream when it arrives and obviously I’m planning to knit a dishcloth or two (or three or four).

The grandkids had their last itty bitty t-ball game on Sunday. It was played at the Lake Elsinore Diamond where the Lake Elsinore Storm plays. The Storm is not only the farm team of the San Diego Padres MLB team, but I also discovered that their logo is the best selling logo worldwide for the New Era Cap Company.

After the kids game, there was a break to give the grandkids their medals and grab a bite to eat before the Storm played their game on the field. Since the grandkids sold the most tickets on their team, they each got to accompany one of the players out on the field before the national anthem. Since it was miserably hot that day and #2 didn’t get his nap, he was a bit too grumpy to do this, but #1 was out in left field with his hot off and over his heart. So cute. Too bad my camera couldn’t capture it since he was so far away. Must be time to ask DH for a new camera.

During all the waiting around between each game, I got in some great knitting time on my socks. I believe this is my first Knit in Public photo. DH looked a bit puzzled when I asked him to take this photo, but then he obviously decided not to question a woman sitting in 80+ degree temperatures with pointy needles.

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Oops I did it again!

I placed another order with Sheri at The Loopy Ewe. That darn free shipping and handling for orders over $50 gets me everytime. That also happens to me with KnitPicks and their $45 free shipping limit. Oh, and did I fail to mention I also placed an order with them on the same day? Somebody please help me. So are you wondering what I ordered? Guess you’ll have to wait until everything arrives so I have photos of it. (he he he)

Did I hear you just ask what’s on my needles? (Or, were you cursing me for not telling you what I ordered?) Well, not pictured is the Handsome Triangle Scarf and the Matinee Coat because there’s not much of a change in either. I just cast off a square for Julie and it’s currently blocking although I don’t have a photo of it. I did start a sock though! I know, you’re not surprised. I mean, how could *I* not have a sock on my needles? This is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn in the Green Mountain Madness colorway and I’m knitting it into the Snake River Socks pattern. I love the yarn, I love the pattern, and I think I may give these to my mom for Mothers Day. After all, she does live next to the Snake River.

I also received my order from Sundara Yarn. I ordered this sock yarn back in March and had honestly forgotten about it so it was a very nice surprise to see Mr. Mailman bring me a package. I ordered this yarn for 3 reasons.
1.) She lives in the city I was born and left my heart in: Seattle, Washington.
2.) The yarn is named after one of my most favorite trees: Cherry Blossom.
3.) Her yarn always sells out and I was curious to see if the yarn is as good as I’ve heard.
Although I haven’t knit with it yet, I can say that I’m very thrilled with my purchase even though with the shipping and handling costs, I doubt I’ll order very often from her in the future. We’ll see if I still say that though after I knit with it.

I also received the sweetest surprise from Entrelac. I was commenting to her that I needed a contrasting stitch marker so I could identify the center of my shawl and before I knew it, I had this beautiful blue Swarovski crystal marker in my mailbox. She even sent me this one from her personal collection … for free! I am in love with these dangle free stitch markers and I’m definitely impressed by Ana and her amazing turnaround time and customer service.

Inspired by Teyani’s post, here’s “my knitting spot”. This is where I usually sit to do all of my knitting. DH and I have been married for almost 4 years, and the first 2 1/2 years were spent sitting on the sofa next to him. However, when I learned to knit, I then discovered that this chair was more comfortable than the sofa, so I moved and poor DH has had the sofa all to himself. He probably prefers it though since when we used to sit together and he’d start to doze off, I’d tap him to wake up. Now he’s across the room and when he dozes off to sleep during a movie we’re supposed to be watching together, I just ignore him and keep knitting. He gets his beauty rest, and I work on my knitting. We’re both happy.

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Try not to hug the mailman

I love the anticipation of waiting every day for the mail when you know you have something arriving, but when you get two items in one day, it’s difficult not to hug the mailman.

After receiving my first order from The Loopy Ewe, I now know why everyone loves Sheri so much! I had a difficult time narrowing down my yarn choices on her website, but I let Project Spectrum be my guide and I stepped out of my comfort zone to purchase only yarns in shades of green, pink and yellow. I also decided to try out some new yarn companies. I mean, how can you say you adore Socks That Rock if you’ve never tried Fleece Artist or Lorna’s Laces and such?

from top to bottom:
Fleece Artist Basic Merino Socks in Nova Scotia
Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Tickled Pink
Cider Moon Glacier in Congo

Not only did I receive my order in just a few days of placing it, but everything arrived packaged beautifully. The skeins of yarn were wrapped in white tissue paper and finished off with The Loopy Ewe seal. In addition, my invoice included a personal handwritten note from Sheri as well as needle inventory cards and small sample yarn cards of Regia Silk and Regia Bamboo. I will most definitely be purchasing more yarn from Sheri in the future.

On the same day, I also received another set of 10 stitch markers from Team Entrelac. They arrived just in time since I’ve started my next (first?) lace project. It’s hard for me to put into words how ideal these markers are. There’s not a single open gap or rough edge (burr), so I’m not scared of it snagging the delicate laceweight yarn, as other makers have done before. I also love how beautiful each tiny bead is, so it looks like jewelry for my knitting. You also can’t beat the price or the speed at which she ships! Both my orders arrived on my doorstep in less than 48 hours! It seems that she doesn’t have a lot of her stitch markers on her etsy site since she’s trying to open her own storefront, but you can see all of her stitchmarkers here. Go ahead, take a peek, she makes them in ALL sizes!

I finally decided on a pattern for the dark navy Grignasco Regina that I purchased when I was with Laura at our LYS. The photo shows the beginnings of A Handsome Triangle (page 32) shawl from Victorian Lace Today. So far, I’ve completed 80 of the 212 pattern rows and since it’s a triangle shawl knit from the bottom point up, I increase four stitches every other row, so progress is just starting to feel slow to me. I’m probably being either daring or stupid for jumping right into an intermediate pattern for my first lace shawl, but if all goes well, this should be a nice present for my mother-in-law (mum) for her June birthday.

DH & I entertained ourselves for a few days by finally adressing our landscaping problem. The sprinkers were all checked and broken ones replaced. New sprinklers were added to two areas that only grew dirt. 5 palm trees were added (2 in the backyard and 3 on the side yard of our corner lot). Last but not least, half the backyard was re-seeded for grass, since the dogs tore up the old pathetic grass that used to be there. This is just the beginning though. Hopefully soon (after recovering from all the money those palm trees cost), I’ll be adding all sorts of blooming plants.

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Socks, Sweaters and Stitch Markers

I’m slowly but steadily working on the Baudelaire‘s by Cookie. I had the most surreal moment the other day. I sat down in my favorite chair with these socks, turned on TIVO and discovered a new episode of Knitty Gritty had recorded. Since this show can be a hit or miss, I wasn’t too excited until I started watching the episode and realized that not only was the featured guest the designer of the socks I am knitting, but she was demonstrating the socks I am knitting. It was so surreal. This pattern was thankfully written toe-up and although I’m not using the figure 8 cast on she uses, because I prefer Judy’s magic cast-on, I really like the method she uses on her short row heel. She doesn’t wrap & turn, she turns and then does a wrap in the form of a yarn over. It works very well and there is no ridge on the heel with typical short rows, which is especially nice. I’m actually a bit further up the leg than what this photo shows, so by next week, they will be complete.

Time to block! I honestly didn’t enjoy knitting this Matinee Coat very much, and it’s probably because it has quite a bit of acrylic in the yarn. I’m also frustrated with the sister I’m knitting this for, so that could be part of it too. The pattern was easy to follow, but what’s with no schematics? Figuring out the finished dimensions will definitely be interesting.

I’m not sure where I saw these originally, but I’m sure glad I did. These are stitch markers from Team Entrelac. When I worked on my shawl (that is still in time-out), I used pieces of sock yarn as stitch markers. It worked okay, but I really wanted to find some very small, lightweight stitch markers with no rough edges and no openings that the lightweight lace yarn could escape through. After looking over these markers with my critical eye, I know they are going to be ideal for my next laceweight project. In fact, I think they are going to be so perfect that I’ve just placed my second order for another set of 10.

By the way, you’ve got to take a look at the new yarns that The Loopy Ewe added to her site yesterday. I placed my first order with her and will be receiving sock yarn I’ve NEVER tried before – Lorna’s Laces, Cider Moon and Fleece Artist. YUMMY!

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