Houston We Have A Problem

I decided that I was going to use my Weight Watchers scale to measure if I would have enough yarn to knit up a second sock with no problems. First up was my Sock It To Me Sock Swap Sock.

I didn't take a picture but tonight was return of the blob. I decided to rewind the leftover Cherry Tree Hill and encountered the blob. The yarn had a totally different idea. I weighed the finished sock and found out that I would have had just enough yarn to complete the second sock. Only the Cherry Tree Hill had a totally different idea. As you can tell there is not one but two balls of yarn. That is what is leftover after the visit of the blob. The yarn now is not enough to make a second sock. Don't worry, I ordered a second skein from The Loopy Ewe last night. That also is the first completed sock. Next up was the yarn and sock for the Hogwarts Sock Swap. I am happy to report that I am going to have more than enough yarn to complete that sock. Also, the yarn decided to behave as I rewound it into a new ball. Tomorrow, I cast on for the second sock. Tonight's football game was a bit of a disappointment. The girls did a few cheers and then were told that since it wasn't a game but a scrimmage that they couldn't cheer. At least we got to see them in action for a little while.

Success Finally Yes!

The Uptown Boot Socks well the first one is almost done. All I have left to do is kitchener the toe and then I can call them finished. They are absolutely gorgeous! I am much happier with my choice of yarn and color. I am using Cherry Tree Hill's Cherry colorway. Pictures to come later. After work tonight I am going to a JV football game. I am so excited, it's the very first game that DD is cheering for as a high school student. It's so hard to believe that my little girl, my baby is now in high school. What's even more amazing is the wonderful relationship that the two of us have.

Flashing My Stash

I'm In

I forgot to post. I'm in Ravelry! My name's Wizgirl. I can see how so much time can be sucked up by it. Over the weekend I took pictures of my sock yarn stash. Check out my next post to see the stash.

What do You Think?

Is she trying to tell me that she wants some knitted socks? I never know what I am going to find on my camera if I leave it out. I did get a message from DD this morning to check my camera. And this is what I found. Hey Victoria, you might have some competition for your socks. She absolutely fell in love with them. She later told me that she did this at 12:30am. There is never a dull moment with DD around.

Thursday Update

DD has been leaving me little notes in my knitting bag. She knows that I will see them first thing in the morning. She's been telling me about how much she likes what I'm working on. Well this morning not only did she leave me a note but took a couple of pictures on my camera. I'll post those photos when I get home tonight. They are priceless. Get this, she even gave me permission to put them on my blog! I did a Ravelry check this afternoon and got a very nice surprise. There are 89 people ahead of me and 17,803 behind me. I figure that I should be getting my invite either sometime tonight or definitely tomorrow. So....that means that I am going to be checking my email inbox quite frequently. I've been working on my Sock It To Me Sock Swap socks. I got the ribbing done all 2 and a half inches of it. Now it's time to start working on the leg. I haven't decided yet if it's going to go fast or not. My knitting bag is getting quite full. I think that I am going to need to clean it out. I absolutely love my knitting bag. It's from Offhand Designs. If you click on the link you'll see the style of bag that I have. It's called a Tonya bag in the Spring Stripes. The bag is a bit pricey but it's nice and roomy. I am very pleased with the bag. I would love to get some of the other accessories that they have. I want to find a something nice to hold my DPNs. I am getting quite a collection of them.

Beginning of a New Sock

I casted on for my Sock It To Me Pal's sock. I should really figure out how many times I have casted on for this sock. I decided to go with a solid color in the hopes that the pattern would show up better. For better or worse, I am going to continue on with this sock. I just hope my pal will like it.

Arrival of Yarn

I received my yarn order from The Loopy Ewe today. One is the yarn that I am going to send my pal for the Monkey Swap 3 and the other will become a pair of Monkeys. I know which one will become the Monkey's can you guess? I haven't heard from my pal. I sent an email out to her about 5 days ago and nothing in return.

Hello Wednesday!

I finished one of Victoria's socks this morning and it is simply gorgeous. DD even loves it especially the color. So that's one half of my Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 assignment done. The pattern that I picked for her sock is a very easy knit. I memorized the pattern and so that is why I think it went so quickly. I did do some modifications on the heel, gusset and toe. I will explain it all once Victoria gets her socks. Victoria you are going to fall in love with these socks. I am not sure if I am going to want to part with them. I am going to take a break from knitting the second sock to start on my SITM socks which are due a month before the Hogwarts Sock Swap. I wound the yarn up for that sock last night. I ended up having a little bit of fun with the yarn while I was winding it up. Yep, you guessed it. It was starting to get all tangled up. I did triumph and tame the yarn it is all nicely wound up and ready to go. I plan on casting on for that sock during my lunch break. I sent out an email to my Monkey Swap pal over the weekend but haven't heard from her yet. I do hope that I hear from her soon. I am going to send her another email in a day or two but I figured that I would give her time to respond. Have you checked out the new colorways for Socks That Rock? I absolutely love Sugarplums and Gingerbread Dude. There's also a different colorway that I love called Amber. I found some socks knitted up in this color on Tienne's blog. I seem to be moving slowly through the Ravelry queue now. Either that or it just seems so slow since I'm so close to getting my invitation. There are 318 ahead of me as of this morning when I checked. I feel like a kid again waiting for Christmas morning to arrive, wondering what surprises await for me once I get there. Last night Sheri at The Loopy Ewe posted another Sneak Up. I was able to check it out but none of it interested me. Usually, I end up looking for one of the indie dyers that I haven't gotten a skein of yarn from to try (eventually). None of the colors appealed to me. I should be getting my order today for my Monkey Sock Swap pal. I am so excited to see what the Navajo Silver looks like. I had ordered some Fiesta Boomerange before and it was very squishy. Fiesta's colorways appeal to me because I like the Southwest colors. Have you checked out this new blog Lime N Violet's Daily Chum. It is so cool and a lot of useful information. They feature different infomation daily.

Blah, blah ,blah, blah......

I'm still moving through the Ravelry queue. There are 386 people ahead of me. I can't wait to get my invite. For those of you that are on Ravelry, how much of your time has been sucked up? What's your names on there? I'll need some friends to possibly look up. I just found out today that Ravelry has it's own blog, where they talk about their progress. Yarn Pirate announced her new colorways on her blog today. There is only one color that I absolutely like and that 's Malamute. I'm working on the foot of Victoria's sock. I'm hoping to get the first sock finished tonight. Check out Victoria's progress on my sock. She's calling it secret sock number 1. I laughed when I read the post. Now to think of a clever way to disguise her sock. Tonight, I 've got plans to finish Victoria's first sock and then wind up the yarn that I got for my SITM sock. I also am going to stop at Fiddleheads on my way home and pick up some more needles (Brittany's).

I Have A New Love

Needles that is. I ended up busting my Size 1's Crystal Palace Needles in half on Saturday morning. So I had DH run me out to Fiddlehead Yarns to pick up a new set. The sock that I am currently working on is on 4 DPNs. So I bought the Crystal Palace DPNs but decided to buy a set a Brittany's also. The Brittany's are an inch shorter but I am liking them a lot better than the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace needes just seemed a bit more flimsier than the Brittany's, I ended up with a nice wicked curve in my needle. That's how I ended up busting my Crystal Palace needle. I also like the shortness of the the Brittany's. So now of course I am going to have to go and get some Size 0's, 2's and 3's so that I have some around for when I start knitting more socks. I'm still going to check out the Knit Picks DPNs and give those a try.

Deadlines

I thought that I would have a posting where I put all my knitting deadlines down. I have a tendency to forget what is due when. October 5th Sock It To Me Sock Swap October 31st Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 November 1st Monkey Swap 3 December 22nd Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap

Two Moons, This I have to See.

Two moons on 27th August 2007* Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65 Million miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again

A Bit of an Update

I am very surprised at how fast I have been moving through the Ravelry queue. I am 495 away from getting my invite. My thoughts are I should have it by the middle of the week. I can't wait to see what everyone is raving about. I've made good progress over the weekend on Victoria's socks. I am very pleased with how they are turning out. Sorry no pictures but I don't want Victoria to see her socks until she opens her package. I am working on the heel flap for her sock. I've changed the type of heel that I am doing on the sock. Hopefully it will work out. I have never changed part of a pattern before so this will be a new experience. By the way, I can mention Victoria's name because the Hogwarts swap is not an anoymous swap. I know that Victoria is knitting for me and I for her. The secrecy part comes in play that she doesn't know what else I am including in her package, what her stitch marker looks like, nor the socks that I am knitting. I placed an order for my pal's socks from the Monkey Swap 3 exchange. I found the perfect color and a yarn from my favorite shop The Loopy Ewe that she wants to try for the yarn that I need to include in her package. The yarn that I picked for her socks is Fiesta Boomerang in the Navjo Silver colorway. Since I have to knit a pair of Monkeys for this swap the socks are going to be called Navajo Monkey going forward. I also got the Monkey gifties to go in her package also. It was fun trying to find monkey themed stuff. So now all I need is the yarn and pattern and I am ready to start knitting and have everything else to go with the package. I think that I may have all ready mentioned the yarn stash that I received on Friday from The Loopy Ewe well at least part of it. I received the sock yarn for my Sock It To Me Swap. I like the color but it's not one color that I would knit for myself. I am going to cast on for that sock right after I finish the first sock for my Hogwarts Sock Swap. Also in the mail this week came my Booty Club from the Yarn Pirate. The color this month is called Calmity. It is a white, lime green and purple. Also in the box were a couple pieces of candy and a sticker. The yarn is a BFL so it seems to be a bit thicker. Yesterday, we made a trip to Barnes and Noble. I came home with quite a haul of books. They were all knitting related. I found Getting Started Knitting With Socks by Ann Budd. I liked this book because it gave some ideas for knitting patterns for socks but it also talked about the construction of the sock in more detail. I figure maybe it can let me expand on my sock knitting a bit. Next up is Knit Together by Debbie Macomber. I love Debbie Macomber any books by her need I say any more. Next is Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik, I read the synopis of the book and it sounds like it would be a very good read and of course the back drop is knitting. I bought a three book series from Maggie Sefton: Knit One, Kill Two; Needled to Death; Deadly Yarn. I wanted to read a mystery and what a better one to involve knitting.

OTN

I still have pretty much the same things on my needles. Except The Uptown Boot Socks went to the Frog Pond. I ordered some more yarn from The Loopy Ewe which should be arriving any day. I casted on for my Hogwart Sock Swap 2 but I'm not saying what's the pattern it's going to be a surprise. I'm trying to think of ways to cleverly disguise the sock so my pal Victoria will not know what I am knitting. I will say that I am liking what I am seeing so far. I love the yarn and am anxious to start seeing more of the pattern emerge as I continue on with the sock. I have completed the cuff and have only knitted a few rows of the leg. Mom's hat is pretty much at a stand still. As for the Lady Eleanor, well let's say she hasn't visited the frog pond yet. So my question to all of you is...WHAT's on your needles?

Ravelry Update

Well I have been moving through the que with lightning speed. There are 922 people ahead of me. I've moved up 2,753 since July 20th. Not too bad. I figure that I should have my invite with the next couple of days. I am so excited!

Monkey Swap Three Questionnaire

Monkey Sock Swap THREE Questionnaire The basics:Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I consider my self an intermediate knitter. The measurements: Shoe Size: 6 1/2 or 7 Foot circumference: 8 1/2 inches Foot length: 9 1/2 inches Yarn Preferences: What colors do you love? Orange, Fall Colors but not a lot of green in them some is ok. Do you prefer solids or variegated? variegated Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? wool or cotton What colors would you never wear? don't really have a color that I would never wear What are your favorite brands of yarn? Socks that Rock, Scout's Swag, and Yarn Pirate Are there any new brands you would like to try? Sock Pixie, Wollmeise, Posh, Sundara, Sunshine yarns. I have Wollmeise and Posh in my stash. I'll get around to knitting them someday. I've been reading up on Sock Pixie yarns. They sound wonderful. Someone on the Knitter Review's Forum thought that her yarn base might be Louet Gems. Cookie A. Patterns: Which of her patterns have you already knit? Only Monkey Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? Gothic Spire, Mona Sock, and Thelonius Other pertinent information: Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? Doesn't matter Do you have any allergies? No known allergies Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? Nope Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? Not on Ravelry yet but should be within the next couple of days. I will post my Ravelry name on my blog once I get my invite. Once I get my name on Ravelry I will update it here. SIGN UPS FOR THE MONKEY SWAP THREE ARE STILL GOING ON UNTIL AUGUST 31ST. COME JOIN THE FUN!

Hogwarts Business

Victoria here's your yarn for your sock.

Sock It to Me

I should have posted this awhile ago. But look what my Sock It To Me Pal sent me.

A Mama Llama project bag, hand made soap, some sample of Soak and some Jolly Ranchers.

I did it again

What did I do again? I frogged these socks. I am knitting the Uptown Boot Socks but the pattern isn't showing up with all the detail in the pattern. I am going to order some more yarn from The Loopy Ewe in hopes that it will show up. If it doesn't than I was not meant to knit that sock. The yarn is Claudias Handpainted in the Peppermint Mocha colorway. The sock no longers exists, it had a visit to the frog pond this afternoon. I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough yarn to finish the sock.

Sockapalooza Pics!

Above is the wonderful package that my Sockapalooza pal Lori from Massachussets sent me! It was like Christmas when I opened the package. She decorated the side of the package with these stickers and wrote Socakapalooza on the side of the box. The contents of the box: one pair of yummy Jaywalkers, extra yarn for repairs, shower gel and handlotion from Bath and Body Works in my favorite scent, some chocolate from her area, some tasty blueberry spread from her some state of Maine, some gorgeous stitch markers, a couple of postcards showing where she's from and a gorgeous pen which is not pictured that she made just for me. I absolutely love how the pen writes. I do apologize for not having it in the photo.

The socks are Jaywalkers. Aren't they simply gorgeous. I had requested orange socks. The socks are made of Schaefer Anne. The funny thing is I remember seeing these posted on her blog but didn't think anything of it. The stitchmarkers you can't tell the gorgeous purple of the dark beads but they are so pretty. I oohed and aahhed them when I opened the container that they were in.

She was and is such a wonderful pal! Thanks a lot Lori.

Frogged Yet Again!

The Uptown Boot Socks are going to the Frog Pond again tonight. Don't get me wrong I love the color but the pattern is just not working with the color that I had chosen. I was going to use Claudia's Hanpainted in the Peppermint Mocha colorway but it's just not working. I even took a photo of the sock just to see if the pattern would show up in the photo. Nope it didn't show a thing. So it's back to the drawing board. I am going to try to locate some yarn in a semi-solid color. I should have been almost finised with the second sock by now. Since I can't work on The Uptown Book Socks, I figured that I would start on Victoria's socks from The Hogwarts Sock Swap Two. I received the gorgeous Slytherin yarn and just have to get it wound up into it's neat little pancake balls. I've all ready picked out the pattern. I am going to try to keep that a secret since Victoria is probaby reading this blog. (Hi Victoria!). I'm eagerly waiting to find out who my pals are for the Monkey Swap 3 and the Christmas Around the World Swaps. The Monkey Swap is open until August 31st but I'm not quite sure about the Christmas Swap. I think that I am done signing up for swaps for now. Although there is going to be an ISE5 swap that I have been throwing around the idea of participating in. I know I need to start getting photos on my blog. That's coming. I need to post the photos of the wonderful socks my pal Lori sent me from the Sockapalooza sock swap they are simply gorgeous. More about that in another post.