Oh, Deer...

Looks like somebody in the Sharpie advertising department has never gotten handknit socks for Christmas. Sad.

Bebe

I have lots to catch up on.
You'll get one thing at a time.
Don't complain, it means more posts.

My bro-bro and sis-in-law have a new addition to their family. She was born in July and the adoption process is trudging along the train tracks toward full Higgins-hood for the little one. She's so precious and I can't wait to meet her in a couple weeks. Here she is:


In proper Annie Grook style, I knitted her a welcome shrug. It's this one, knitted with Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton yarn, with a lettuce-inspired ruffle on the edges instead of the ribbing in the pattern.


Looks cozy.


Thanks, Mo & Mom, for the pictures. :)

Bliss

New apartment (with heat).
New couch (add blanket & cat).
New sock pattern (plus tasty yarn).
Time to sit down and knit (bliss).

Welcome back.

Highlight

For the last four years, I've traveled with friends to Wooster over Memorial Day weekend for the Great Lakes Sheep & Fiber Festival. This year was no different. There were alpacas and bunnies and more sheep than you could possibly count. I got some sock yarn and some more sock yarn and a sock book and a pretty good deal on some pretty blue linen yarn. We didn't get to dye yarn on Monday because it rained all morning and we opted to stay in and relax instead.

BUT!

The COMPLETE HIGHLIGHT of the WHOLE WEEKEND was the AMAZING GRADUATION PARTY I attended on Sunday night!!!!!!!

First of all, here is one of my FAVORITE FAMILIES in the WHOLE UNIVERSE:

(l to r: Tracey, Cydney, Brian & Garret)

Last year, Garret carefully arranged his graduation party for Memorial Day weekend, just so that I could attend! How thoughtful! This year, Cydney did the same. What a family! Tracey and I are already trying to figure out how we can get together again next Memorial Day...

Here I am with the happy graduate... She promised that someday when I grow up I can be as cute as she is.


And here I am with the proud Momma... one of my bestest friends in the whole universe. Congratulations, Tracey... I LOVE YOU!!!

Triple Threat

This is Ollie. He's from Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh. He's made with Cascade 220 and size 2 dpns. I made him for my mom after she saw an octopus at Great Yarns in Everett, WA, last Thanksgiving.

This is Cedric. He's made from the same pattern, only with sock yarn leftovers and size 0 dpns. I made him after I made Ollie, because I saw a ton of sock yarn octopi on Ravelry and fell completely in love.

This is Celia. She's made from the same pattern, also with sock yarn leftovers and size 0 dpns. I made her after I made Cedric, because making octopi with sock yarn leftovers might now be my favorite thing to do.

Celia and Cedric are sweet on each other. Awwww.
I wanna hold your hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand...

Celia now lives with Wendy, and Cedric lives with me.

I already have more sock yarn leftovers picked out to make another one...

and some worsted weight yarn picked out to hold three strands together to make a Giant Octopus!!! Beware!!

Finished!

Sometimes it's not about win or lose. Sometimes it's important just to finish the race.

I didn't officially participate in the Knitting Olympics this year, but I did make an unofficial goal of finishing two separate projects.

One of the projects is my Mystery Socks, both knit at the same time (sort of), started January 1 and finished February 18. I've done better, but that's not too shabby.

Pattern: Jan/Feb Mystery socks from the Solid Socks group on Ravelry.

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Semi-solids, Color: Jade

Needles: Kollage square DPNs, US1.5 (2.5mm)

The other project I finished has been staring evilly at me from the table next to my TV chair since last November. It was sleeveless when I took it to Washington with me over Thanksgiving. By the time I got back to Ohio, it had one sleeve finished, and the stitches for the second sleeve picked up. The week before the new year, the second sleeve was half finished. (Then the mystery sock pattern appeared on Jan. 1, and my focus went elsewhere.) This past Monday, when I was sent home from work early due to the severity of the White Death, I thought to myself, "How ridiculous is it that this project isn't finished yet???" I flipped on the Olympics, and, inspired by the endurance and tenacity of the athletes, I finished...

Calvin's Birthday Sweater!!!!!!!


Pattern: Sherwood from Knitty, Fall 2006

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 50% Cotton, 50% Acrylic

Needles: circulars and DPNs, US7

Size: 6-8 (30" chest)

Sure, his birthday was last November. But this is the FIFTEENTH sweater I've knitted for nieces and nephew, and this is the first time I've been late. And if you're gonna be late, you might as well be REALLY late. Besides, it's still the right season, and it will still fit him (I think), and it should still fit him next winter, too (I hope). And, I've already found the perfect pattern for his 5th birthday, and I need to get started on it very soon.

Plus, it's not about whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And, uh... finishing. Yeah. Finishing.

Three Pair*

I've taught a few Fibertrends Felted Clogs classes at the store this winter, and in order to garner interest in the pattern and the class, I made a store sample last fall. I originally had no interest in a pair for myself, so I made the sample pair to fit Karen, the store manager. However, when they were finished, Joy, the store owner, claimed them for herself, felted one, and left the other unfelted to show the difference in the store.


But then I actually had to teach the class, and I generally like to work on the same project that my students are working on, so I decided to make myself a pair. I didn't want to buy more yarn, though, so I scoured my spare bedroom for leftover Cascade 220 and came up with a big bag full. So I made a pair for me.


Hmm. A bit big. Perhaps I should felt them.


Much better. Super toasty. They stay on my feet surprisingly well, too.

So, I figured I was done knitting felted clogs. Two pair is enough, right? Then I happened to draw Karen's name (the aforementioned store manager) for the store's Christmas gift exchange. What to get her.... what to get her... oh yes! She got robbed of some felted clogs! So I picked out some new colors and got to knittin'.

Pre-felting:


And post-felting, an action shot of the third pair of clogs showing off their practicality and keeping Karen's feet toasty in the yarn store:


There you have it. Proof not only that I can finish complete PAIRS of things for knitting projects, but that I can complete MULTIPLE complete PAIRS of things for knitting projects. But three is enough. At least for this year.

*This post brought to you by the song "Air Force Ones" by Nelly, chorus lyrics re-written here to fit the theme of the post, and hopefully make Brenda giggle:

I said give me three pairs

(cause) I need three pairs

So I can get to stomping in my felted clogs

(Knitters) stomping in our felted clogs

Mystery Medicine*

*Or, The Cure For Second Sock Syndrome

The "knitalong" is a concept that's been around for a long time. The basic concept is that a bunch of people knit the same project at the same time and talk about it, share problems, successes, frustrations, and provide motivation and inspiration to keep going if needed. People have been hosting knitalongs on the internet for quite a while, too, and now that Ravelry is around, it's way easier to find groups of people knitting the same pattern at the same time and sharing their thoughts and ideas about it.

The "mystery project" is another concept that's been hanging around for a bit. The idea here is that somebody designs a pattern for a particular kind of project (a shawl, a scarf, a sock...), and only releases part of the pattern at a time, so that the crafter doesn't know what the finished project is going to look like, and can only go as fast as the designer wishes for them to go.

I've never done an official knitalong OR mystery project before. But 2010 is a new year, and I signed up for both at the same time.

There's a group on Ravelry called "Solid Socks" for people who like knitting socks out of solid or semi-solid colored yarns. They host a mystery sock knitalong every two months. The made-of-awesome part of the current mystery sock knitalong is that the pattern was designed by Lisa, a lady in my sock club here in Cincinnati. How cool is that? I actually saw her knitting the sock last fall when she started coming to sock club, and asked her about it then. And now at least a half dozen women in my sock club are following along with the pattern and doing the same project, along with however many people across the world who are following along in the Ravelry group.

The first clue of the pattern came out on January 1, 2010, and I cast on that day. As of 11:00 tonight, just one short hour before clue 3 is available, I finished clue two for BOTH OF MY SOCKS. That's right people, this mystery thing has inspired me to do both socks at the same time. When I finish, I'm going to have a PAIR of socks done. Behold:



Two cuffs completely completed. I'm either going to have to knit only mystery socks from now on, or cut up my sock patterns and mail them to myself a piece at a time.

Admittedly, I'm also quite motivated by the fact that I will see designer-Lisa at sock club on Saturday and I'm trying to impress her. :)



(The color is better in the other picture, but this one shows off the stitch pattern better, I think.)

Only half an hour till clue 3 comes out!!

No Sitting

Found on www.passiveaggressivenotes.com.