Sock Hunter Episode 2: Trajedy Befalls the Mate**

Imagine my excitement when I spotted this beauty in the tree. The mate to the sock that I spotted mere days ago. My excitement was threefold as I spotted the nest behind her. Surely this is a good sign of more "Go-eth With the Flow-ers*" socks to come. Or perhaps an even more exciting find, a new specie of socks. My heart was pitter-pattering and I feared that the sock had become wise to my stalking when it suddenly flitted to the ground where I captured this rare moment.

Socks in a rare embrace

I was shocked moments later to discover that the mate had met a terrible fate** at the fangs of a black sock stalking cat. I paused mournfully over the remnants of such a beautiful and long-legged specimen. Such is the cycle of life with these socks.

Join the Sock Hunter next time for more exciting stalking of the wild and illusive socks of West Lafayette. ;)

*(Evelyn Clark's "Go With the Flow" socks, knit in Apple Laine Apple Pie in Deep Sea on US 1 1/2 DPNs)

**(No socks were actually harmed in the making of this episode.)

Yummy

Kelli likes PEZ. And I have the perfect little guy to share it with, namely my little neighbor at home who is a PEZ fanatic. Plus, who can go wrong with some tea and sock yarn? Mountain Colors sock yarn, mmmmm. I've never tried it, but it is most definitely SQUISHY! (Socks should always be squishy.) Thanks Imbrium for holding a contest, I am most honored to win it. :)

I also suffered a small indignity today. Mind you, I was headed to the dermatologist to have a mole removed. I had planned on having a mole removed. Said mole was to be removed from one jaw line of said Knitter Bunny. This mole was not removed, in fact it was deemed fine by Dr. Lady Dermatologist. Sadly, this was not to be for a different mole in a somewhat more *erm* delicate spot somewhat south of the panty line. (No, not that far south! Get your mind out of the gutter. ) This resulted in a somewhat achy spot and I'm not feeling 100% tonight. As such, short post.

Hopefully, another episode of the sock hunter will air by Friday. If not, here's why: I'm going to see the Harlot, with Kristi and Pat and Erin and Kellie and oh my! Oh, and, I'm going to get my book signed, see? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, I have the new book!

Sock Hunter Episode 1: Socks in the Wild

I was able to capture this photo of the very rare "Go-eth With the Flow-ers*" sock in the wild. In an attempt to blend in with the scenery it froze trying to camouflage itself with the brightly colored daffodils. I was barely able to snap my picture before this sock had run lightly away on it's 40% wool, 30% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon sole.

This was a grand specimen for it's kind being much longer legged than is generally seen. I feel blessed to have witnessed this rare sock and hope to capture a picture of it with it's mate soon. This is the Sock Hunter signing off.

*(aka Evelyn Clarks Go With the Flow pattern)

Michigan Again

I'm becoming a regular MI visitor. lol I'm headed up to judge another bunny show. If you're in the LaPeer, MI area tomorrow, I'll be at the fairgrounds. :)

I've started another pair of socks, it's one of the patterns in the new Interweave Knits Favorites book. Bet ya can't guess which one. lol

My sweater is on hold for a while, as I'm working on two secret projects. I should be able to blog about one of them in a week or so. :) Terrible sneaky bunny.

I'll see you all on Sunday or Monday!

What a Glorious Day

First, an FO! I finished my STR sock club socks for the first kit. :)

Lovelies on the sock blockers.

Specs:

Needles: US 1 birch DPNs

Yarn: STR Monsoon, sock club yarn

Pattern: Inside Out, sock club pattern by Kaci

Mods: Well, I never switched needle sizes as is recommended as I didn't find any indication where to switch, so I just knit straight on through. Next time, I would use a smaller needle for the toe and foot, then switch for the heel and leg.

I needed some courage today as I was meeting with my committee for the first time to propose most of my plan of study. So I wore my socks, and they are definitely lucky.

I didn't have any problems with the plan of study I suggested. I received valuable information from my committee and I feel as though great progress has been made.

Crocuses under Japanese Maple

But, beyond that, I'm excited because of these. Spring is definitely on it's way.

Scales, the good kind :)

Can't go represent. Indiana to New York is a little too far to go for this bunny. So I'm a little bummed, but not much. I'm playing with a new little toy.



Hel-lo scale. :)

I have a scale that weighs in grams AND ounces. :) Is it silly that this makes me inordinately happy? I purchased this happy little scale at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It wasn't the most expensive scale or the least, but it suits my needs. Now that I have my scale, there will be fewer "oh shit, I think I'm going to run out of yarn" moments. (At least, I'm really hoping that's true.) Plus I can tell how much roving I have when I can't remember how much I bought. (oops) Also, I can tell how much roving is left when I'm spinning. Um, I'm a bit too happy.
Look! Over there! It's yarn on the wheel. Are you distracted yet? Good. I'm going to go slip away and play with the bunny (who is 100% better now).

Spot the Bunny :)

This little bunny needed some extra attention. So I'm a bit busy to do an actual post tonight. A better post tomorrow if I can manage it. :)

Sneaky Bunny

Who Me????

Well, I did finish my first STR sock club. This picture has the truest color.

And I started the second sock.

A close-up of the leg. These cables were difficult to execute!

And the very cool garter stitch toe and heel.

Plus, I had some time and I did a bit of spinning. I'm just trying to practice more than anything. So I spun the little bit of blue roving I had left and it is more of a thick and thin yarn. I wanted to try Navajo- plying and this was my first attempt at it. Definitely need more practice.

Specs: 3 1/8 oz. (90 g), unknown wool, 7 wpi (heavy worsted), approx. 110 yards, spun on my Ashford Traveller on the middle whorl

For this roving, I was doing my best to spin very thin (nope, no lace flyer) on the flyer that I have. I was going to stay with a one ply yarn, but chose to ply this instead. It was just begging to be plyed really. :)

Specs: 5 oz. (146 g), Ile de France x Dorset Cross wool, two-ply, 10wpi (Worsted), approx. 350 yards, spun on the smallest whorl on my Ashford Traveller

This yarn bloomed a lot more than I anticipated which is part of the reason that it came in at a worsted weight. I'm anticipating a bit of change once I finish processing it, but it will likely stay in the light worsted to dk weight.

So this sneaky bunny has been playing with the wheel and working on some secret knitting projects. I'll try to let you all in on the secret soon. :)

Have You Had a Checkup Lately?

Because Bezzie over at Random Meanderings is having a contest to promote cervical cancer awareness. If you've had your annual, pop over to Bezzie's blog, read the contest rules, and enter for a chance to win some scrumptious yarn.

She'll have a monthly drawing and your name stays in the pot until the end of the year (if you don't win the monthly drawing) when she'll pull for a fabulous uber-prize. Or whatever she decides to call it. Plus the divying up of yarn is always fun.

Hey, you need to get that exam done anyway. Why not make it a little more fun?

I sent in my entry, and remember you have all year to get in on the contest. :)

Holy Lace BatMan!

Oh, Great Knitting Goddess, what have I done?

I'm involved with this group called the Lafayette Lacers and there was this guy and he had a camera and I'm in this video thingy and holy shit.

By the way, he only sort of got it right. My grandma did teach me to knit when I was very young, but I didn't remember beyond a month or so. I taught myself to knit from the Lionbrand manual my freshman year here at Purdue University.

I can't believe I'm on the news, me with my shawl, the shawl I knit from Miriam's pattern. EEK!

Back to the knitting

Finished objects.

1. Big Bamboo scarf

Yarn: 2 balls Classic Yarns Cashsoft DK, 142 yds

Pattern: Big Bamboo from the Vogue Stitchionary 2

Needle: US 6 Valley Yarns Bamboo Interchangeable

Mods: I added a partial repeat and a three stitch garter stitch border on each side

This was for a friend, she paid me for the yarn and I knit it the way that she wanted it. :)

2. Toe Sockies!

Yarn: Fleece Artist Left-Overs
Pattern: Just a basic toe up sock shortened and with a cuff done on smaller needles
Needles: US 2 birch DPNs for the toe and foot, US 1 1/2 birch DPNs for the cuff
Mods: Well, I made it into a toe sock. lol

I think Mom will like these quite a bit. She loves to wear clogs and toe socks. And, just for ya'll, here's a very blurry action shot.

Yarn Confessions: Last One!

What can I say about this? I like Amy Singer and I've been eagerly awaiting this book. Plus I had a coupon. I should have bought it from my LYS, but I couldn't resist the siren call of B&N and their membership coupons.

The projects are delightful. I particularly like the shawl that is in the book. I'm in a bit of a shawl craze at the moment. ;)

I also bought some stitchmarkers and this very nice roving called "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" from Aija of Sockpr0n and the proprietess of Zer0 Stitchmarkers on Etsy. I can't wait to spin this up, but I'm going to. I have three more bumps to finish before I get to this.

Plus, I bought the book Cables Untangles by Melissa Leapman. Again, those coupons are getting to me. ;) Sorry, no picture. I'm feeling too lazy to go take it.

Yarn Confessions: Socks That Rock Sock Kit

Mmmmm, Socks. That. Rock. This is the coolest kit. I am so glad that I scraped together the money to join. :) **Jessalu! Don't read any further if you don't want to know what's in the kit!**

First off, that binder is awesome. Second, I already put the tiny emergency sock yarn keychain on my keys (hence no picture). I love the pin and the sticker. Sadly, I am not affluent enough to make it to Camp Cockamamie, and I am judging a rabbit show that weekend, so that means no camp for Knitter Bunny.

The yarn "Monsoon" and the pattern "Inside Out!" are so cool. I can't wait to finish these and wear them all around town. I may even wear them with sandals and shorts just to show them off. LOL (Well, maybe not. I don't really wear shorts. Though I do on occassion wear sandals.)

Oh, and did I mention that I cast on for the first sock?

Yarn Confessions: Sundara Sock Kit

These are totally not my colors, but I love it none the less. It was so bright and cheerful on a particularly dismal day. I opened it and instantly felt happier. I can't wait to play with the pattern and see how this bright happy yarn knits up. Plus Sundara always does a great job of explaining the inspiration behind her yarn. Don't you just love that picture of the birds of paradise?

I have the whole week to play with yarn (well, I do have one doctor's appointment, and a few papers to finish) and I am working on my secret project, spinning, biking on Wesley, and focusing on building up my reserves. I have a very busy few weeks coming up and I've finished some projects, but I'll tell you more about that after I finish confessing. Nope, still not done yet. :)

Yarn Confessions: River Knits

I made two separate trips to River Knits. On the first trip I picked up some Dalegarn Baby Ull in blue and beige. I'm thinking of some colorwork gloves or socks. I haven't really decided, but I liked the color combination.
On the second trip I bought some yarn for Jayne and a little yarn for me. Misti Alpaca in a delightful cream. I'm thinking a giant lace shawl with this happy little batch of yarn. :) Elizabeth has a nice selection and the atmosphere in the little shop is delightful. I love visiting (and shopping, I never leave without buying something).

Yarn Confessions: Loopy Ewe

Ok, so before I dive into the good stuff, see that button to the right? Right there, you know, under the "Click Me" heading. Yeah, that one. That button requests Amy Singer come to your town. You can create a request or click on a request to support it. I asked for West Lafayette, actually I'd be pleased with somewhere in Indiana, but Lafayette or West Lafayette would be nice. :) Usually I travel 3-5 hours to see my fave knitting book authors (Indiana is often skipped entirely!) and I would love to bring Amy to Indiana. Any of you Indiana knitters reading this? Would you help me out? Thanks. Now, On To The YARN! :)


I bought Fleece Artist. A lot of Fleece Artist. Actually, this is all Fleece Artist. Destined for five pairs of socks to grace my chronically cold tootsies. I promise you will be shocked and awed by the socks when I do finally get them all knit. :)

As for this batch, well it arrived yesterday. That's Scarlet fleece in Kiwi and Blue Jeans (the big squishy ones) and two skeins of Apple Laine in Deep Sea (oh, the color!). I was a little late getting in on the big website update, but I still snagged some great yarn if I do say so myself. Are you seeing a pattern in my yarns yet? Can you say, "Sock Yarn in Blue and Green!"? Yep. I'm totally on a blue and green kick. :)

Oh, and the Loopy Ewe? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Sheri rocks and the service is fan-freaking-tastic. Three day turn-around time tops (unless there is a huge update, naturally it takes an extra day). I get my package so quickly, I'm always amazed. Plus the benefits are awesome (read: frequent shopper perks!). She also sends along a little extra something that makes the packages that much more fun to open. Hugs to Sheri.

What? You think this is it? Um, no. There is more to come. When I mentioned buying some yarn, the word "binge" might have come up. Hmm, what's that? It didn't? Well, it was. A binge. A big binge. I'm a little ashamed, but mostly, I'm rolling in the yarn. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

Yarn Confessions: Rae's Yarn Boutique

Oh, Rae's was just my kind of shop. Crowded with yarn. So full you almost tripped over the yarn. Bursting with color and oh, I wanted to just live there. I think I might have died and gone to yarny heaven in Rae's.

As for the purchases, some Malabrigo in a delightful soft blue and purple colorway, Socks That Rock in Downpour and Henpecked (this one washed out), and some Alpaca With a Twist Fino in the most gorgeous green. I couldn't stop petting the STR. I wonder if the Blue Moon Fiber Arts people would mind if I rolled in the yarn in their shop. Hmmm, probably. Well, I'll just have to dress myself in some STR socks instead. :)

Yarn Confessions: Threadbear

Ah, yes. Threadbear was indeed an excellent day. I purchased the new book from Interweave, Favorite Socks. I also bought some lovely Alpaca With A Twist Baby Twist and Mountain Colors in Sierra (the Sierra is a gift) on sale. In addition I bought 7 skeins of Cascade 220 in the purple heather color that I am intending for a sweater. Quite a nice purchase if I do say so myself. Any ideas on which sweater I should knit?

More yarny confessions to come tomorrow. Stay tuned. ;)

My version

This is the Lightweight Mountain Peaks shawl by Miriam of Icarus fame (photographed at work). I made no modifications to the pattern barring a larger needle size to balance my yarn choice.

Yarn: Hand dyed single ply lace weight Merino wool from Spin*n*Knit on eBay

Needle: US 4 Susan Bates Circular (slightly blunt tipped for this)

I'm very pleased with how this turned out except for an error** in the border. I had contemplated sending this to State Fair, but I will knit another shawl instead. This was a great little practice piece to work with. I love Miriam's patterns; well written, easy to read, and a great finish. I'm working my way up to larger and harder lace. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely relative!

Yarn Confessions start tomorrow. I'm going to limit them to my purchases at each store. It's going to take a few days. So delight in my gluttony. I've been impulse buying with the bunnies being sick. I bought quite a bit more than I realized too. Oops!

**ETA: The more I look at that sentence, the less I like it. What I meant to say was, I made a boo boo in the border and it really sticks out to me. Not that Miriam had an error. Her pattern was error free. (Not idiot proof though, I started the border three times before I figured out that my printer hadn't printed one of the symbols. Duh!)

Busy Busy

I'm busy busy. Here's something to tide you over until I can put up my yarn confessions.

Cold, Cold Michigan

Sadly my get-together with Kristi and a few other Michigan bloggers was cancelled. Happily, Scrappy is back on his feet, er, diaper and sucking down his college tuition in pricey formula.

(It was a little touch and go there even getting to Lansing on Friday evening. I don't like driving in such as windy weather.)

Even though my plans were re-arranged, I had a great time in Michigan. I really feel like I've recharged my bunny batteries even though I'm very tired. I was finished judging by 2pm on both days and, of course, I had to hit the yarn stores. First I popped up to Rae's Yarn Boutique where I was fortunate enough to meet Rae herself. Oh, and finding her shop, um, I had trouble. I also turned the wrong way up a one-way street, but saved myself by swinging into a parking lot. (I may have also stared forlornly at her shop sign trying to figure out how to get into the lot to park. )

Having purchased some particularly "oooo" worthy yarn, I then drove to Threadbear. When I say drove, I mean that I promptly passed the correct exit and had to turn around at the next exit and drive back to my original exit. I might have also cursed very loudly to myself. It was pandamonium there (as there was a LARGE sale going on), and I walked around with a very glazed look on my face for a good, oh 60 minutes before I was able to find something. I was, once again, dumbstruck by the sheer amount of yarn. Having said this, I'm not sure that I could survive Webs.

Once I was able to drag myself out of Threadbear, I made my way back to my hotel room for a quick regroup before my dinner with Erin. I suppose you could say that I was a little yarn fuzzled, because when I stepped into my room I was carrying my yarn haul bag from Threadbear instead of the pair of boots I thought I had picked up. Oops!

Needless to say, I then had a fabulous dinner/evening of chatting with Erin. Who, by the way, feels the same way about tomatoes as I do: raw and soup equals ucky, sauces equals yum. Odd aren't we? :)

My trip back to West Lafayette was uneventful, but I was glad to be home. Plus I worked on some paperwork that I needed to finish. I am, however, still quite tired and looking forward to a nice regroup before I give my presentation for class tonight. I have many yarn purchases to confess and I will do my best to have an ongoing series of entries over the next few days.