Sold a bag

I returned from Maine last week to find a check from La Tea Da for one of my felted purses. The problem is that I've been too busy to stop in and see which one sold. I'm guessing it was Weedon Island - that was my favorite. Anyway, I barely cleared enough to pay for the yarn. But, that's not the point. It's so cool to have someone actually want to pay for your stuff. I'll post the right pic once I know for sure. Here's Weedon Island... Also, gotta remember to take a pic of my stash tomorrow for "Flash Your Stash" .

More socks for the family sock list

It always feels so good to finish a project, especially socks. One sock is the perfect project size for me. I like to think of that second sock as character building. That's probably why it feels like such an accomplishment to finish it. Note: This is coming from the same person who has had the nearly finished sweater (below) on the needles for a year, and another long sleeve sweater upstairs with everything done with the exception of attaching one arm. (Yes, the knitting is done - it's just not attached). It's already too hot to wear it this winter, so I think I'll save that one for another year. HA! Thanks again to Theresa for the motivation of the family sock challenge.

Dusted off and De-wrinkled

I pulled this out, dusted it off, and tried to de-wrinkle as much as possible to take the pic. I was inspired by Brandy at Pixie Purls to drag this back out. I started about a year ago and made great progress. But, I got to this point and realized I needed to move to a pair of straight needles to finish the other side. I didn't have size 3. I finally went and bought them, but managed to be distracted by other projects. I hope to finish this for summer. Though, it still may take a while since I'm up to my earballs in socks (not to mention grad work). If you haven't heard Brandy's PodCast, Pixie Purls Podcast , you must check it out. She provides a lot of great information and links. I really like her format.

Sugarloaf and Knitting for Peace

We drove up to Sugarloaf for a couple days of skiing. Yesterday was SO COOOLLLDD. But, today was beautiful. Here's a pic of my son, Alex, perfecting his snowboarding form. Ok, we don't get much chance to get better at snow sports, but c'mon we live in Florida. We love being in the snow. The 2.5 hour drive up and back gave me a chance to catch up on my baby squares and family socks. I started a new alpaca sock, but I don't like the pattern. So, I think I'm going to tear it out and start over. The yarn is heavenly, so I won't mind so much.

Today is about knitting for peace. I'm all for that!

Flying and Knitting and Green Beer

Nothing like a couple flights to move along a knitting project. I can't believe I finished this sock in less than a week. This is Sockotta cotton/wool blend. I love the yarn, but I'm not that happy with the gusset. That still seems a bit hit or miss for me. My hand is hurting a little below my thumb. I think I need to knit something bigger for a while. I did get started on sock #2. I have to do that immediately or I end up with only one sock. ;-)

Spring break started yesterday, so we came up to Maine for some relaxation and skiing (hopefully). It's cold, but beautiful and sunny. We went to King Elder's Pub in Damariscotta for lunch, mostly because we knew we wouldn't get near it for dinner. They're expecting a huge crowd for St. Patty's Day. I picked up some more sock yarn from Pine Tree Yarns (considering this is the year of the sock for me). Damariscotta has a big election on Tuesday to determine whether Walmart will be coming to town. Let's all hope NOT! That is a huge buzz-kill for a small town.

Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone in KnitLand!!!!

New on the Needles - for the Family Sock List

For my next act....Sockotta socks on DPN 2. That's right, I moved down to a 2. So far, so good. This was my only purchase at Halcyon when we were in Maine last month. It was tough to hold back. We'll be in Maine again this coming week for spring break, but I don't know if I'll get to Bath, not to mention all my other yarn haunts. I'm also knitting squares for baby blankets. We started with one pregnant teacher at school. Now we're up to FOUR!!! We need to recruit and train some more knitters if we can ever hope to finish.

Ta Da - Molly's Socks are Finished

Poor Molly. She was my very first secret sock pal. Prior to this, I had not made socks on anything smaller than a size 6 DPN. I had tried, but it just seemed SO small. I made these socks with Opal Dreamcatcher on size 3 DPNs. I hope she likes the socks, but I also know that the next pair I make will be better. I just learn so much from every project.

It was fun making these for someone special. The "stranger" element made me really want to get them right. Not that I don't want to get them right when giving to family members, but there's a certain pressure when knitting for another knitter. These socks traveled to Maine, came with me to visit my mom in the nursing home (she has MS), came along with my son and husband on our boat out in Tampa Bay, and beckoned me from the fireplace hearth when I was working on the computer.

I think I'm ready to move down to a DPN 2. It makes a lot more sense doing it in small steps than going from felted purses at size 13/15 down to a size 0.

Ten seconds (more or less) of fame!

Ok, I'm SO excited. I just listened to Brenda Dayne's new episode of Cast On. Dave from Chub Creek is filling in while Brenda is away. He had a hilarious segment about sewing up his old bathrobe. But, most exciting is that Brenda included my call-in. I'm so honored. This is truly my 10 seconds of fame. THANK YOU BRENDA!!!! (I swear I have a life and I'm not a total geek.) But, is that cool or what? So, here I am posting this instead of...working on the assignments for two new courses that just started this week, planning lessons, writing a paper for my practicum, or FINISHING MOLLY's SOCKS!!!! (I promise I'm close.) Gotta go - - - - time for happy hour!

Willows End Commercial

Another favorite Maine knitting store is Willow's End in Boothbay Harbor. Check out their new commercial. They really are so helpful and they have a great selection. Congratulations!

Keyboard Biologist Knits Sock List

Theresa, the Keyboard Biologist, challenged us to post the list of people we would like to make socks for this year. I can't list mine here because some of my family members read my blog. But, they will appear on Theresa's site as they are finished. So, I dub 2006 "The Year of the Sock". That's how long it will take me to make all these socks. I can't use a lack of sock yarn as an excuse because I have a pretty big stash ready to go. I received the Fortissima Mexico sock yarn yesterday. I can't wait to start those socks. But, I have to finish Molly's first. A big THANK YOU to Theresa for keeping me motivated.

One down, one to go

Molly's first sock is finished. I have really enjoyed knitting with these great colors. I'm pretty happy with the sock design. There are a couple places where the colors don't blend perfectly. But, I guess that's the nature of a multi-colored sock. On to sock #2.