Squeaker

Having just realized that I've only posted once this month (Bad monkey!), I thought I'd squeak one in at the last minute, to save the three and a half readers I might (might!!!) have left. (Hi, y'all!)

Another successful trip to Mad Potter, where I stole color ideas from Lisa and polka dots from Wendy, resulted in a new plate. Everybody needs a new plate, right?



That's a dark chocolate brown plate with some white, tan, brown, and various shades of blue polka dots, in case your monitor doesn't want to show you the right colors (and in case my monitor/camera isn't being honest with me). I heart it.

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Something I'm really looking forward to in April is the Spring Sockstravaganza happening at the yarn store with my sock clubbers on the 18th. We're having a day-long event where we're going to dye sock yarn, swap sock yarn, give away scads of door prizes, potluck our lunch, and knit socks to our hearts' content. I can't wait.

In preparation, my friend Lisa, the professional-yarn-and-roving-and-wool-dyer, gave me a brief and informative lesson on dying yarn, so that I'll have a tiny clue what I'm talking about on the 18th. Here's my result:



That's a dark teal with a bright orange, in case you're wondering how I could possibly want to put those two colors together. (This, I explained, is why I wear jeans or khaki pants with solid colored shirts. Tough to mess that up.) I'm actually really excited about winding up this yarn and knitting something with it. Any good suggestions? It's about 200 yards of worsted weight yarn. And its, uh... teal and orange. Thoughts?

So, These Things Have All Been Finished For A While Now...

But, you know how it is. The people you make stuff for are the same people that read your blog, and you don't want to ruin the surprise (although sometimes you ruin the surprise anyway but they really don't mind). So I've had a couple things done for a little while and everybody that they were meant for has seen them, so now you get to see them, too. What a bargain for you.

In February I got to go paint pottery at a cool place in Mason called Mad Potter (teehee, almost as good as Kiln Time, where I used to go when I lived in Dayton), with my BFFs Wendy and Tobie. I almost never go with a plan in mind, and when I found the cutest tea pot, I knew I needed to paint it for my favorite tea partiers.

My mom and her oldest granddaughter, Maggie, absolutely LOVE to have tea parties (and they have the tea sets to prove it). I'm sure that very soon, it will take little convincing to incorporate baby Hallie into the tea party extravaganzas. So, it's not for lack of tea pots that I painted this one, but it was because I thought they might need a tea pot that reminds them of their royalty (and also that Annie Grook loves them VERY much).

This is the other side. This side is to remind them, that, um, the tea pot is for, umm, you know, tea. Or apple juice. Or water. Or margaritas. Okay, not for margaritas. And yes, Wendy, I painted it all by myself.

We have another Mad Potter outing planned for this coming Friday. I can't wait!

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This next project goes to show that word really does get around. My mom is a teacher, and the librarian at her school will have a brand new grand-niece this summer. And, uh, she wanted to know if I would knit something for her. (Now, this isn't a "My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night." type thing... I was a librarian's aide for this librarian when I was in high school, and she is pretty much the coolest librarian ever.)

Anyway, here's a Baby Shrug from Debbie Bliss (free pattern, super fun, highly recommended), made from I Love This Cotton, purchased at Hobby Lobby. Size 8 needles made for a quick knit, especially when making the smallest (3-6 months) size. I couldn't not make it in pink, but I also have a green/white variegated yarn that I want to try, just to see how it works up.

I had this idea in my head for this really cute, creative picture of the shrug hanging on the clothesline (this is not that picture), but the dogs that live next door to my mom were outside and barking their heads off, and I was trying to make sure Mocha (Mom's puppy) didn't harrass the other dogs or run out of the yard, and this was the only clothesline picture I could manage. So do me a favor: close your eyes and imagine super cute, super creative picture of super cute pink baby shrug on super cute clothesline. Awww!

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Last, but certainly not least, and probably my new favorite sock pattern of all time, I would like to present my March Socks! (They were supposed to be my February socks, but I didn't finish them until March, and even at that, I actually should have finished them last November, but I definitely didn't do that, in fact I didn't even start them until after November sometime, and I'm trying not to stress out about it, because they're done, and the recipient finally has them, according to my delivery confirmation from the USPS.)




Oh how I love these socks. The pattern is #03 Marlene, found in the Fall/Winter '08 issue of Knit.1 magazine, and designed by my favorite sock designer, Cookie A. The yarn is Merino Mia, purchased at Great Yarns in Everett, WA, color Mocha. I used my perfect sock knitting needles, size 2 double points. I am proud of my monogomosity with this pair of socks; I didn't knit much on any other socks between when I started and finished this pair, other than one sock I knitted at the store for the Cat Bordhi knitalong.


These socks winged (wung?) their way back to Washington this week to my SIL Morgan, who was meant to have them last November for her birthday, but who totally understands the reasons behind late gifts, and who, fortunately, will not outgrow things I knit for her before I can finish them, even if they are four months late. Thanks, Morgan. Happy belated! I love you!

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p.s. I challenge you all to use the word monogomosity in everyday conversation.