1. Goooood Yarn…, 2. Footless Sock, 3. Doing the Happy Tilli Thomas Yarn Dance, 4. Stitches Loot

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

Mom and I got a little high on yarn fumes.

The Stitches Yarn Market took up most of the top floor of the Cobb Galleria Convention Center in Atlanta.   This was probably the same size as all the Dragon*con vendor rooms put together.  Gi-gantic.

Unable to pass up a costuming opportunity, I dressed as Second Sock Syndrome.  (Viva la Single Sock Liberation Movement!)  Still haven’t finished casting on the second footless sock, but I wore my single sock proudly.  Only one person, the genius behind Creatively Dyed, commented.  She was awesome.  The lack of comments I chalk up to 1. visual overstimulus, and 2. polite knitters.

I particularly love that Mom and I apparently wore our favorite colors and then proceeded to buy things that matched what we were wearing, inadvertently.  Creatively Dyed’s SeaWool roving is spectacular.  Zoom in on my photo to really get into the goodness.  The photos on her website are very good, too.  I started spinning it up last night and it’s sooooo soft.  A little slipperyer (yes, that’s a word now) than the coarse Swalesdale I practiced on, so I’m having to get used to it, but the yarn has a gorgeous sheen.

The Loot:

• 8oz Creatively Dyed Seawool roving in the SR3 colorway
• 2 hanks Tilli Thomas Pure and Simple in Jade
• 1 ball Yarn Place Graceful in Violetta
• Pattern for a twisty artsy beret from MissBabs
• Ebony spiral shawl pin
• Magenta felted flower zipper pouch, made by artisans in Nepal

So now I’m obsessing over what to make with my goodies.  I have a few shawl ideas for the Graceful.  There’s 900+ yards in one ball, so there’s lots of it to play with.  I’m thinking Spring Things or Aeolian.

The Tilli Thomas came with a pattern for a fishnetty stole made on big needles.  I started casting on and got annoyed, but it was very hot, and I may give it another try.  The drape on that yarn!  It’s so smooth and soft.  And I LOOOOVE the color.

Earlier in the day I had seen a few booths with a sister yarn to the Pure and Simple, except with beads and sequins, in the same colorway, but I decided I’d rather put the beads into the knitting myself.  So when I found the little kit of Pure and Simple tucked behind a display in another booth, I pounced on it!  And then I wondered if someone else had hidden it there and wanted to come back for it.  The shop ladies teased me that indeed someone had, and that I’d probably have to fight her if she came back and found me buying her yarn.  I’ll have to try to remember where I bought that from, all the ladies there were very funny!

I had no idea how much fun it would be to spend the entire day in the market.  So many ideas, so many sample knits to feel and analyze, so many pretty colors!  I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

I did manage to finish my handspun beret around dinnertime though.  I think the Guinness 250 helped.  Yum.

So, conclusion?  It’s definitely worth $6 to get into the Yarn Market at Stitches South.  This was my first fiber convention, and I think one of the bigger ones would be a really fun weekend trip.  Might be even more fun if there are people to chat with at lunchtime, but who wouldn’t mind if we broke off into smaller groups to browse.  It would be way too difficult to wrangle more than 2 or 3 in a group with all the shiny around.

I’m not sure what it is.  Maybe having a beverage means it’s time to relax and enjoy the scenery for a few minutes.

I’ve started a few other projects lately.  One of them is a super secret birthday gift!  The other two are a slouchy beret I’m making from some handspun my Mom gave me, which is about the same color as the turquoise in the footless sock above.  You may notice that there’s really just one at the moment.  And that Stitches South is this week.  Well.  That’s what happens when you decide to suddenly start knitting with size 00 needles.  Stuff takes longer.  Did I get the memo?  No, I did not.  That’s ok though!  With legwarmers footless socks this crazy, you can wear them however you want.

The other is an experiment with no real expectation for the outcome, other than playing with yarn scraps.

Spiral knitting!  It’s all done with carefully orchestrated short rows, and I dig it.  I think I may be able to work it into all sorts of things.   The pattern is called Ten Stitch Twist and it’s on Ravelry as a free download.

I think I wish the vendor had given me a tracking number, but then I would have slashdotted the mail carrier’s site with my compulsive page refreshing.  It’s just as well for all concerned.  Friday is when I’ll start to expect it on the doorstep.  Tomorrow!

In the meantime, I’ve been amusing myself with my new Noro Sock yarn, by making some, ahem, “footless socks.”  Yes.  They are indeed legwarmers.  I ride public transportation!  I have to stand outside a lot!  No one will see my cheeto-colored stripey legwarmers!

I really believe that brighter colors make you feel warmer.  Or heathery gray.  I know that makes no sense.

And the narrow striping of a yarn with long color changes really is addictive and interesting.  I’m not 2×2 ribbing’s biggest fan, but I can knit on this for an hour or more and not get bored.  The yarn definitely has a rustic feel to it, which may be why it gets mixed reviews on its Ravelry page.  There’s lots of thick and thin going on, and odd little knots  and twists sometimes, but I think it gives it character.

It bores the crap out of the dog:

But he’s not much of a knitter.  And who asked him, anyway?

Last weekend, while I was casting on the Noro footless sock, again and again and again (I finally looked up the length trick for the long-tail cast on.  1/2″ – 1″ per stitch you’re casting on.) I popped over to TribalCon to sit at the Shimmy-A-Thon booth for a few hours.

That’s my bellydance teacher, Kira, on the right.  She is much more relaxed having her picture taken than I am!  I’ve learned lots and lots from her, and I’m really happy to be involved in Shimmy-A-Thon.  It’s a weekend event in September, with workshops and shows and a shimmy endurance challenge that raises money for Cystic Fibrosis.

Stay tuned for spinning wheel unpacking action!  I’ve always been curious about how they ship them, so I’ll be taking pictures as I unpack it.

Image by Mike Monteiro

December was pretty eventful, in a weird sort of way.  I was sick most of the month with two different monster colds, we had family visiting, and I didn’t get nearly as much gift-making done as I wanted to.

Overall though, it was nice.  I’m really grateful that I didn’t have to use much of my paid time off to be sick, at least!

I’m still finishing up a hat for a friend.  I had a few stops and starts with other cable hat patterns, but I decided to go with a pattern I know and love, and not give myself a headache.  It’s The Anti-Craft’s Glaistig, which is very easy, and somewhat monotonous, but very elegant when finished.  I’ve made it twice before, and I think it’s a great unisex hat pattern.  Honestly it seemed a good challenge the times I made it before I started my descent into the depravity of lace knitting.  Now I’m spoiled.

But!  I found a great lace beret pattern which was really super fun, and which I’ll make lots of, I’m sure.  It’s Meret by Wooly Wormhead.  (Ravelry page)  There are lots of variations, and since I used a sportweight alpaca yarn, I made a size larger and one level floppier to get a fairly conservative size for Wendy’s classic style.  I love how she’s paired her hat with a gray cabled sweater in this picture!

If I make it for myself, I think I may go full-on floppy and try to get the same soft drape with whatever yarn I choose.  I have a purple cashmere/merino blend that, although it’s sock weight, may indeed be calling out to be made into a fine-gauge Meret.

Other projects on the horizon:  the Mermaid Kimono ensemble, continuing modifications to the Steampunk ensemble (this year with hot-weather concessions and new headgear), the completion of the Hemlock Ring blanket, and many more.

Also, today is Kasper’s birthday!  He’s 2 today!  This is probably what he’s doing right now:

It's a tough life on the couch.

My manager at work is due in December, so we had a shower for her at work last week.  You may know my anti-pastels-for-children policy, so I jumped for joy when I found a baby hat designed to be made with Noro!

My poor camera is on its way out, so I took these with the not-great camera phone:

Cuffed and uncuffed.  (It’s amazing how similar my Magic 8 Ball is to the size of a newborn baby’s head.)

This hat has such a HUGE payoff for very little work.  I started it during a web design meetup presentation on PHP and the crown shaping is really easy to keep track of in your head.  Well, I’ve had a bit of lace knitting practice, so it might not have been so easy for me a couple of years ago.

Mama and Daddy loved it and I think were both relieved by the pretty colors.  I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the wrapping paper, but it was white with photographs of chimps wearing party hats.   Again, compliments.  I love how being my quirky, unusual self surprises people.  I also love that their surprise surprises me; I so often live in my own little bubble world.

Go say hi to her if you’re on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/people/AuntyM

Here’s an in-progress shot.  You may have noticed a lot of green yarn lately.  Yep, all from that very skein of Cotton Ease.  Very nice cotton/acrylic blend.  I decided to use the green for the teeth because I liked the lower contrast.

Here’s a detail of the horns.  The one on the left is stuffed.  Isn’t that cool?  I love twistie horns.

The eye is crocheted, and I only had 100% wool, so I felted it before I sewed it on.

On the left, unfelted.  The hardest part was getting the horns to line up and twist the way I wanted them, but they’re pretty forgiving once they’re sewn on.  You can smoosh them and twist them if you really need them the be symmetrical.

All wrapped up and ready for the shower.  I’m philosophically opposed to pastels for children.  An interesting side effect?  Compliments on the wrapping since it tends to stand out.  Cool.

No action pictures yet, but he’ll grow into it soon.  His mama tried to put it on, but alas, her head was too fully-grown.  Still, a high compliment indeed.

I’m starting small. Here’s a picture of a Ballband dishcloth/swiffer cloth I made recently:

It was really fun to knit. I love the slip stitch pattern. Mine didn’t really end up fitting my swiffer all that well, but I may just use it as a scrubbie in the kitchen anyway. It took hardly any yarn, so the most expensive part of it is the labor. It did take longer than I expected, but that always happens to me with garter stitch. It’s really sturdy and I like the colors. I think mixing multi-colored yarn like the pattern suggests will be fun next time around.

Another small project:

Yoda! It’s a great little pattern (Ravelry link), so much fun to make. Lots of tiny pieces, but it goes so quickly that it didn’t bother me at all.  The birthday boy loved it.  Who doesn’t love getting Yoda for their birthday?

Stay tuned…

The top-of-brain projects:

• Brain Slug – a birthday gift
• Toe-up Jaywalker socks – are being difficult.  I can’t find a gauge, they’re taking a long time with the tiny needles I chose, so I’ll probably leave them at home.
• Fibonacci Cowl – (Ravelry link) The one I’m making is loosely based on this.  Mine isn’t Moebius-like.  I’m just not that cool.  One math reference is enough for now!
• Prickly fingerless gloves – I don’t think I have any yarn for these but they’ll come in handy.
• A trio of floopy berets: Rose Red, Star Crossed (Ravelry link), and Bounce – I can’t decide!  I might have to make them all.
• Carillon - A cropped cardigan whose pattern isn’t quite written yet – go look at the picture though!  If you’re on Ravelry, please encourage the designer to finish writing the pattern!  I told her I’d be happy to help her size it up to a large.

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting Halcyon Yarn!  So I’ll have some supplies to look for there, as well as try out their spinning wheels.  I don’t know how many are available to store visitors, but they carry wheels from Ashford & Kromski; Louët, Majacraft & Schacht.  Dangerous.  I have only tried Mom’s Hitchiker and a Louet S-15 which was damaged.  I didn’t really care for either, but I think everyone’s preferences can be wildly different.  I’ve been lusting after the Majacraft Suzie and Little Gem for forever.  Thanks to our failing US Dollar, their price has been going up and up.  The Louet company has a couple of base models which are really reasonably priced, so I’ll definitely try one of those out.  They come unfinished, but it might be fun to do a little trompe l’oiel painting.

Wish me luck and keep an eye on my Flickr account for some good ole fashioned cellphone photo blogging!

Life has been pretty busy, and all of a sudden it got COLD.  I just want to post real quick while I’m taking a little break from work.  While I was sewing up the Polonaise, I managed to finish off two other great projects that I’ll blog about shortly.

1.  I finally made a duct tape double!  You saw her peeking out from under the mini-bustle!

2.  I made a really cute monster hat for the little one who was growing inside one of my duct tape double partners.

Those will get their own posts.  Other than that, I photographed all of my stash, except for the two balls of chenille yarn I used for the steampunk hairpieces.  I have a stupid amount of yarn.  Stupid.  Having pictures of all of it will really help me “shop the stash” and actually use the stuff I’ve already paid for.  In theory.

I recently started a little minisweater/shrug based on the free pattern from One Skein Wonders.  Many people have many problems with this project.  First, it’s only one size.  I guessed and sized it way up to accomodate my larger frame, but it definitely is no longer a One Skein Wonder.  I’ll take some pictures soon and you’ll see what I mean.

I tried out a new technique!  I inserted cables in between the raglan yarnover increases, and it is a fantastic detail.  Not too showy, but sophisticated.  I’m really in love with this idea lately.  You’re going to be fussing with the raglan shaping anyway, why not put a delightful little detail in there while you’re at it?

This weekend I’m going to a webmaster convention in town, and next week I’m visiting my parents up in Maine.  I’m really excited.  I’m going to bring lots of knitting and take lots of pictures.  Mom got us an alpaca fiber spinning gig at a fall festival and I am really excited about that.  I’ll be spindle-spinning as I don’t have a wheel, but if there’s a wheel there, you can bet your something-you-don’t-normally-bet that I’ll be trying it out.