The Yarnarian gets grandiose and signs up for 2 different sock competitions!

There are times when the Yarnarian is totally and completely out to lunch! I know that that's hard to believe, but alas, it is true.

This is what the Yarnarian did. She signed up for 2 different sock competitions held at about the same time: Sock Knitters Pentathlon (starting March 1) and Sock Madness 2 (starting around the middle of March, I think). Why did I do this to myself? Me with the tetchy wrists and a business to run (OK a mini-business, but it still takes tons of time) Why? What ever possessed me? Clearly I was NOT looking at the time sequence of these activities. Yarn I have, needles too, but I don't knit that fast any more because of my stress injuries. Knittyvritti, I need my head shrunk!

Well, I shall do the best that I can, but what are the odds I'll get anywhere at all with intensive sock knitting? And me off for some daughter and grandchild doting next week.

Arrgh!

Knitting news: You know that pretty yarn I dyed a couple of days ago just for me? I made about 4 attempts at different intricate lace patterns with it and they were all crummy. You couldn't see the lace for the color changes. So I went back to one of my sock fall backs, and am now knitting a Roundabout. And it is so much nicer. You'll have to ignore the sloppy diagonal of the ssk; it will all clear up when washed. Yay, wool!



So here's what I've been thinking: I should start to dye up semi-solid yarns. Semi-solid in the sense that I use only one color and that varies here and there in value, and this way has a brighter feel than a completely solid yarn. And these yarns would really show off all sorts of lace and cable patterns. And so, today I dyed up an apple green yarn. I wanted pistachio but got apple green instead. But rather pretty. It's hanging up to dry and tomorrow I'll post a pic.

I also did a sort of antique rose/green/tan yarn, which I think I'll like a lot. Very pale and faded-looking. And 4 more, all of which you'll see tomorrow, I hope.

Emily - No tears, just teeth gnashing. Don't you love the word "gnashing"? You could say: "What are you gnashing about gnow?"

Melissa and Erin - I hear you. Almost solids are in my mind. They're coming after the frozen northland trip.

Jo and Bev - Almost solids are coming up. We are crazy knitters, we sock madness ones, not to mention the pentathlon. Where is a shrink when I need her. ;-) but we'll have fun, or dye trying. Didja get the pun, didja?

Kvetching!

I just wasn't in blogging mode the last few days. Schwinkelberries did me in!

Good news and Bad news: Good news: I've listed my new sock pattern, Forward and Back on Ravelry as a freebie. Hubbo tells me I'm nuts to give away patterns, but I kind of like the "give-back" factor. It's a pass-it-forward thing. Bad news: I am going to start to sell more of my patterns. I'll probably go back and forth with this thing.

Everything is quiet here, for which I am most grateful. You can keep excitement, as in that old curse: May you live in interesting times.

I did get to the gym yesterday and had a power house workout. And today I know it. Just a wee bit sore in odd places, like my waist, and inside of my thighs. I felt so good when I left the gym. Even the treadmill zipped along! And then I came home and dyed some yarns, had leftovers for dinner, finished a sock, and started a new pair.

That was yesterday. Today I have the blahs, probably because it's gray and rainy. I do not like days like today. All I want to do is crawl under the covers and sleep. No sympathy is needed; I'm just kvetching! Kvetching, for those of you who are not members of the tribe, means complaining, whining. It's a great word and needs to be used more often. If you are complaining, ok, you're complaining. But if you are kvetching, you are really whining. The answer to someone who kvetches is to say: yeah, yeah, yeah. Get your act together and stop all that kvetching." It can also be spelled qvetching, although I don't know why.

So now, I'm going to stop kvetching and go write some checks and empty the dishwasher, and knit! So there!

MamaMay - Yesterday I was so blah,and today I am a powerhouse! It's bright outside.
That's what a little good weather can do for you.

Jo at Celtic Memory Yarns - It's nice to give something away for free. I'm glad you like my yarns.

Emily - If only I had thought of chocolate. Maybe I should make up for it tonight. I only eat medicinal chocolate. Dark Chocolate!

Schwinkelberries: Part 1.

I recently got a snail mail letter from Dorita La Chipa, the world's only known expert on schwinkelberries. Dr. La Chipa, who also is known as DCL (Dorito Chip Lady) works out of a storage closet in an unnamed building on the SI (Staten Island Expressway). Her funding is so limited that this is all she can afford. She and I have been in correspondence for a number of years. Hubbo first mentioned schwinkelberries to me. It seems he found a scrap of paper with information about them on it and of course, DCL's address. No phone; she can't afford it. All her available monies go towards research.

Anyhow, she knows I have a blog, and she thought this would be a good place to disseminate information on the above mentioned schwinkelberries. So, out of pity for this poor lady, who basically lives on corn chips, I've acquiesced, and will occasionally post about these little known berries.

First of all, what are schwinkelberries? They are an aggregate fruit somewhat like raspberries. Aggregate fruit are multiple fruits with seeds from different ovaries of a single flower

They range in color from royal blue with yellow dots to puke green with yellow dots to bright orange with no dots. The orange ones are the subject of DCL's research.

Their natural habitat is in the Liechtenstein area of Europe just on the border between Liechtenstein and the Rhine River. Their fruiting season is from June 5 to July 5. They are so obscure that the only people who know about them, other than Dr. La Chipa, are the inhabitants of a little village of 27 souls on the riverbank. The town is so small that it doesn't have a name. The folks who live there are referred to as "the people who live down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside".

To be continued...

Anonymous - According to Dr. La Chipa, the correct spelling is schwinkelberries. And yes, you can loosen labels from jars with a solution of the berries, water ,and lime juice.

Carolyn - Dorita informs me that she is working on that right now. Although, so far, it seems to produce wrinkles, not remove them. Still, an interesting idea.

knittyvritti - Would I lie to you? Would a fine, upstanding member of society tell a fib? What, are you nuts? Stay tuned for further chapters in the Schwinkelberrie Chronicle.

Today I am a knitter; Yesterday I was a dyer.

I finished the Forwards and Back sock! And I love it. Here are a couple of pictures. I'm going to offer the pattern as a freebie. As you can see, it works so nicely with striping yarn, and it will do equally well with lots of colors.



Yesterday I did some dyeing, mostly for my SOTM club, so I can't post the pictures here. But they really are pretty. And, I actually dyed a yarn just for me! I can't say if this is an original colorway; I think I saw something like it somewhere. So, if it looks like I've copied your yarn, it wasn't intentional. The colors probably stayed in my head. At any rate, it's done just for moi, which is unusual for me. If I want yarn, I'll pick something out of the dye jobs. But as I said, this was in my color brain, so I dyed it.




Read this blog! If you want to read something really different in the knitting world, read the latest 2 entries on Knittivritti's blog.

Coming soon (well later today): Schwinkelberries! Everything you've always wanted to know about them, and everything you have never wanted to know about them. Stay tuned. You will be amazed, thrilled, skeptical, confused, and bewildered!

Today I have clean teeth!

How's that for a heading? I went to the dentist this morning and had my teeth cleaned, of course. Everybody admire my clean toofies. Is this exciting or what?

Knitting News: I made a bit of progress on my new sock. I'm going to call it Forwards and Back because you knit the pattern forwards and then you knit it in reverse. It's a variation on Roundabout socks, and it is a lot of fun to do. Again, only one round of pattern and the next round is plain. Mindless and really pretty. As soon as I finish, I'll post it on Ravelry as a freebie.



Exciting Ravelry news: I uploaded my pattern, Oh Gee, Socks!, onto Ravelry's patterns for download page, and it works. It's so neat. The buyer clicks on download, and pays via Paypal, and then she/he hits the URL for the pattern. I don't have to do a thing! I get email notifying me that the pattern has been bought, and Paypal also notifies me. This is so pleasant. Wow!

I visited the Mommie yesterday. She's rather fragile. She has a little cold and decided not to eat either breakfast or lunch yesterday. And she felt quite wobbly when she stood up. I'm so glad that I hired the wonderful Deborah to help her out. Deborah will give her a hand in walking to the dining room. The Mommie, until a couple of years ago, was a powerhouse. And now she's really a little old lady. But she's happy where she is. And, she's still feisty!

Yarns and Odds

A quickie because I have to go to the gym.

I finally decided what to do with that pretty pink, green and white yarn. I've made a variation of my Roundabout Socks and I really like this new pattern. No name yet, but if you have an idea (other than Roundabout Variations) let me know. I'm thinking of Stop and Go". Because you stop the pattern and then you go and reverse it. OK, it's dumb.



Isn't this a nice pattern? When you have stripey yarn, this is a natural way to go. Also good for yarns with lots of colors.

That's it, the whole 9 yards (of yarn, of course)

PS I went to the gym. Can't you tell? I am mighty and powerful.

Mamamay - I answered you on Ravelry.

Today I am a Philosopher! Oh, just read it! Grammie says it's good for you!

Yeah, yeah. Don't groan, just read the post

Let's talk about age. Here's the thing. When you get older, your body also gets older. You ache, you creak, your knees are not what they were. So?

But your head gets better and better. The minute you turn 50, you start to forget words. It's as if your head is stuffed with all kinds of useless information, and you have to sift through all that junk to find a word. But, emotionally, you are ON!!! You can stop reading all those self-help books, all those self-actualization books, all that kind of stuff. Why? Because you know it already!

I worked all those years with people who were a few years older, younger, but mostly around my age. And we all went through the same emotional seesaws. At some point, you learn radical acceptance, and then you get on with your life. And if you don't, baby, you are one unhappy camper. Yeah, you still rant and complain about bad behaviour, crummy restaurants, etc., but you start to find humor in the human condition that you never noticed before.

But still, adolescence is forever, maturity is just a phase. Just so you don't think that you become this rosy-cheeked, optimist. Nah, you're still human and you still do dumb. So?

So, here's my age question of the day: How come, when you're in your 60's (ok, 64!), you don't socialize with younger or much older people. When you go to a party, you hang out with people your own age. You kind of look for each other. And the same is true in reverse. Somewhere in the middle, when you are in your 30s and 40s, the great divider becomes kids. If you don't have kids, you might tend to hang out with other childless people. Maybe because you can't stand yet another poopy discussion. On the other hand, if all your friends have kids and you don't, you can still hang out with them. But do you become friends with someone 20-30 years older than you?

The neat thing about the internet and Ravelry in particular is that it cuts through age, geography, kids, occupation issues. You can create a virtual group of friends.

That's it. No more philosophy until whenever.

Knitting news: I cast on for a new pair of socks, didn't like the pattern with the yarn, so I ripped it all out. Now I have the new ribbing done, and I'm thinking of making an arrow head sock. There's not much point in showing pics of ribbing, so no photos today.

I'm off to do a bit of dyeing. It's so gloomy outside that I need some color to play with.

Holly - My kids are all grown and DD has 5 yr old Miss P. So in my grammie-hood, I tend to find other grammies at parties. The beauty of Ravely is that I "hang out" with kniters of all ages.

When I worked, my co-workers were pretty much my age, although in the last couple of years we added some women my daughters' ages. And we enjoyed each other's company lots.

I think if you have something in common, then that cuts through age lines.

Today I am a Birthday Girl, ok a Birthday Woman!

Yup, it's the annual natal day. I've moved one year further into Old Broad status. I think I see the beginning of a very tiny wrinkle. But compared to the Mommie, I'm a young chippie.

My sweet Hubbo got me the pair of earrings that I picked out (see some earlier post), a card, a cute mug that he found at a thrift shop, a box of teas that I know he found either on significant sale at some store or at a garage sale, and, best of all, one of those little pocket calendars that you get for free at the stationery store. I needed one of those so badly and all that I found that were left were big calendars. Yay, Hubbo! And, he wrapped the tea box up in Chanukah wrapping paper.

I love the weird and wonderful Hubbo gifts. I'm at the point where I can buy anything (within reason) that I want. I used to buy a lot of yarn, but now that I'm dyeing it, I hardly buy any. And my clothing needs are way down, so that expense is almost non-existent. So, I don't need much and consequently don't buy much. But the Hubbo always finds these interesting things at his thrifting moments. So it's always fun to get gifts from him. I never know what they will be.

We visited the Benster and his parents yesterday. He is the cutest 2 year old in the universe. I'm madly in love with him. What a sunny disposition! He gets it from his parents, who are just wonderful people. I have nice step kids.

And speaking of kids, Minneapolis DD, SIL, and Miss P are coming for part of Passover. And NYC DD and her guy and coming for seder too. So in April I'll have the whole gang here. Plus the Mommie and everyone else. I think I said this already. See, the mind is going south.

Today we're going for lunch at a place in Stockton that serves home-made marshmallows in their hot chocolate. I never, ever remember the name of the restaurant, but it is not the Stockton Inn.

Knitting news: I finally finished the Ripples and Waves Socks. I'm now planning the next one. Will post pics when I have something to post. All I've done is cast on.

Hi, Kay, Emily and Pamudom - Thanks for your birthday wishes. I really had a pleasant quiet birthday.

Holly - That is so true. When you're young, you want presents. When you're on the downward slide from middle age, giggles and a present are just wonderful!

Grace - The name of the restaurant in Stockton is Meil's. Let me tell you about their almond crescent french toast. Whoo Hoo!

Today I am Lazy!

Oh, yes, I'm still in my robe and nightie and it's 11:55 AM in NJ. I will get showered and dressed after lunch. We don't want to hurry this thing.

Knitting News: I put a sock pattern on my etsy site: Oh Gee, Socks!. I tried, oh how I tried to put in on Ravelry, but patterns for sale are just not ready yet. AT least the PDF part of it is still in the works. So, If you would like a copy of those socks, you'll have to get it on Etsy. AND, I don't know how many copies to list, so, if it's all sold out, convo me, or email me, or Ravel me, or comment here, and I'll put up more copies.

How come designing and knitting socks is so much easier than writing up the patterns and selling them? Grumble, grumble!

Family News: Minneapolis DD and I chatted for a couple of hours (!) last night, and she, her hubby, and Miss P are coming for part of Passover. This should be a lot of fun as well as a lot of chaos. Hubbo and I are used to being a pair; we married long after our kids left home. So anytime my family descends upon us, it's very chaotic for us. We're just not used to piles of people around. I love it, because I don't get to see the gang all that often. Seeing Hubbo's kids is easier because we generally go there (Brooklyn and Massachusetts).

So now our little seder has grown to Mammoth Seder! If everyone comes, there'll be 20 of us. It's a little early to worry about this, since Passover is not until Mid-April. But it's as good a thing to worry about as anything else.

And now, I shall do the world a favor and clean up! We're going out to dinner tonight with BF and BFH (Best Friend's Hubby), and we're going to one of our favorite places, The Quiet Man in Dover. Yippee!

Holly - The thought of a big seder is daunting to me. I've only had little ones. In another life, we went to my sister's for seder. I only started doing it about 3 years ago. I managed to get through 60 years of life without having to have one. Now I'm paying for it. Tee hee! Well, it's all close family plus my dearest friend and hubby, and they are so close to us that they're also family. And, most people at the seder are not Jewish, so what i forget, they won't know. Hah! Still, all that food. I do have dishes though. We bought a whole bunch of Pesach dishes a couple of years ago, so I have lots, both meat and dairy. I think it will be fun if daunting.

Knittivritti - Thanks for the birthday song. No chocolate this year, but I did get a big box of tea and other goodies. More on Feb. 17th post.

Today I am a Frog! Kiss me please, because it's Valentine's Day!

Yesterday I was a Princess; today I am a frog. Nah, I just wanted to write that.

It was a lovely day, and I highly recommend it to everyone. If you're a stay-at-home person, give yourself a treat, and if you work outside the home, take a Mental Health Day!!! I'm so energized that I'm going to dye yarn today, and have a doctor visit. But no supper cooking; tonight's our weekly "Eat at Whole Foods Salad Bar" supper.

I've gotten such great names for my socks, and here's what I've decided at the moment: Ripples and Waves. I know, it's a wimpy name, but it does describe them. The other contender is "Festoon". I love the word "festoon". It just "oons" on the tongue.

I did do one non-royal thing yesterday; I wrote up the pattern for the socks. It was not a princessy moment. Lots of work,and lots of grumbling on my part. But the first draft is done. We are talking 4 charts and 4 written instructions. About 9 pages in total. I sent the file to Judy, and she's going to test it for me. Carolyn has the 2nd of the SOTM socks to test. So lots of socks are going on.

Knitting News: I actually listed a pattern for sale on Etsy.

Facinating stuff: 1. I like using KnitPicks Options needles for my socks. And I use either size 1 (2.25mm) or size 1.5 (2.5mm), which are pretty skinny. They have very sharp points. So sharp in fact, that I poked a little hole in one of my fingers. So now I knit with a piece of scotch tape on that spot.

2. I bought a tea sampler from Tea Noir on Etsy: Cosmo, Mojito, Turkish Delight, and Cashmere. They came yesterday and now I'm having a cup of Turkish Delight, which is delightful. Aren't those great names?

3. I baked bread for the first time in months on Tues. I made a rosemary/thyme/garlic bread, and it is delicious.

4. Last night I watched Super Nanny. Seriously bratty kids. I never watch this show, but I was cruising tv and hit upon this. those kids were so awful and I couldn't resist watching.

5. Real tv: Jane Austen on PBS. We're in the middle of my favorite book of all time, Pride and Prejudice.

6. Loony Valentine's Day tradition. My birthday is Feb. 17, and Hubbo, bless his frugal heart, has figured out that he can get wonderful chocolates really reduced in price if he buys a couple of days after Valentine's Day. So I always get a box of Godiva on my birthday. And he buys it on the cheap. And we think it's funny.

Emily - Happy Valentine's Day to you too. Enjoy your fondue. I haven't had fondue in ages. Yummy stuff!

Anonymous - Even better: Festooned Swags!

Today I am a Princess!

I'm taking today as a "vacation" day. You wouldn't think that a retired person would need a vacation day, but I do. I need to get out of my routine just to refresh myself.
So, no dyeing, reskeining, or etsy stuff today other than taking care of orders.
I plan on a little bit of housework: laundry, dinner (tuna noodle casserole), and lots and lots of knitting and reading.

And, get this, I'm going to wear pretty clothing, aka a lacy shawl over whatever I wear. No jeans, a nice pair of slacks, pretty socks, well I always wear pretty socks, a nice sweater. I shall be a Princess!

My new sock is done. I'm working on the second one. I'm thinking of called it Curves, but I'm not thrilled with the name. What do you think? It's a blah name for a spiffy sock. Any ideas would be welcome.





Two great names so far; Berry Roundabouts and Wink. Thanks, Erin and Melissa.

Pam,you look gawgeous in them jammies.

Ambermoggie: that's another great idea. And your comment just made me realize that I forgot to mail out your yarn for your hospice socks.

Mamamay - I bet you look mighty cute. Preggers ladies always look cute even when they hit the beached whale moment.

Birdy - What a great name! I'll save that one for a lovely lacy scarf.

Hi, Knitt Vritti - Happy Heart Day to you and yours!

Amanda - Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Emily - Thanks. They are a lot of fun to knit.

I dyed, therefore I am. Or something like that.

Dyeing Rules!

I dyed a bunch yesterday and you can see them on the etsy sidebar over on the right. Here they are reskeined, which, as you know, makes a huge difference. I was going to call Wildflower "Circus", but reskeined it didn't look even remotely like a circus; it looked like wildflowers to me.

Winter arrived here in northern NJ. Windy, cold, reminds me of Minnesota. We had such wind coming through yesterday afternoon. It was really scary. No damage to us, but some cold aire it pulled through.

Hubbo story: I forgot to tell you that Saturday, Hubbo and I landed in one of my favorite gift shops in Morristown. He told me to pick out a pair of earrings, which I did. Then he had them boxed and gift wrapped, and told me that they were for my birthday. So now I have a birthday present that I can't open, and I know what it is. He also got me a thumb drive, which I am using.

We were also walking down the street and I was way ahead of him. So of course he yells "Roofie, slow down" at the top of his lungs. He's so much fun.

Knittivritti - If you look at Ravelry under ruth (moi), you'll see some scarves I made with sock yarn. I used Iris Schreier's patterns, which were a pain to figure out, but once that was done, moved along nicely. I'm also in process of making a tam using my sock yarn. But don't hold your breath for that one, because I'm in serious sock mode. Is there any reason why you don't wear wild socks? DD #1 won't wear them because she's a New Yorker who basically wears black.

Yarns and Odds

We had such a nice day yesterday. We didn't do much of anything but it was so pleasant. Hubbo is a thrift shop junkie, so we went to an upscale one in Morristown, where we bought 1 paperback cookbook to replace my falling-apart one for the grand price of 10 cents! Big spenders.

Then off to Barnes and Noble to buy Interweave knits and some paperback fantasy/vampire books for moi. My reading tastes are odd. I tend to like fantasy, mystery, some historical fiction, and Jane Austen. But the books have to be well-written. Badly written anything does not please me. The only time I read trash is when we're on vacation at the Cape. Then trash is what's on.

Lunch out and then home. Told you; it was a nothing day, but pleasant.

Yarnie stuff:

My new sock is coming along very nicely. I've changed the pattern on the instep just for the fun of it.



I dyed up 6 skeins today. You'll get to see them probably tomorrow. My favorite one of the bunch is Cherry Blossoms. It talks to me.

Teeth and Socks

I had an emergency appointment with the dentist yesterday. A part of my tooth fell out, and the area felt tender. Yup, a cavity. A big cavity. Under a partial crown, no less. A now-filled with cement cavity. And you guessed it: a probable root canal in that tooth. I like teeth to behave themselves and quietly do what they were made for: chew. Root canals are not my favorite activity.

I went to Hubbo's dentist, a very pleasant, kind (as in novocaine) dentist. I called my old dentist and he now has no listing. Not a good moment for a practicing dentist. I guess he's not practicing. But this new guy is very close to my house, and Hubbo likes him very much. So I switched. And now I need to set up that rc appointment. He's pretty sure that I'll need one sooner than later. I'm going out to Minneapolis at the beginning of March, so I don't want a tooth moment then. So, I'm going to be an adult and call for an appointment. Notice that I'm in a mature phase.

It's nice to have a blog, where I can post these exciting events in my life and get to drive some poor reader to fall asleep. So now onto the main event:

Knitting!

I started my new sock with that pretty ball of yarn in yesterday's post. I like both yarn and pattern very much.




Thanks, Emily and iabrenda. Toofies are a pain in the mouth. Snarl. I'll call the endodontist on Monday and get this thing taken care of before I fly out to Minnesota.

I'd rather knit!

Deniasha - I like teeth, except when they don't behave. Thanks for your sympathy.

knittivritti - Spewing is good! We can call you the volcanic knittivritti!

politics

Politics. Read or ignore.
So what do you think about Super Tuesday? Here comes my soapbox! Skip if it offends you. Nah, read it anyway; it's good for you.

I think this is the most exciting election process in decades! Since I'm a liberal New England/Mid Atlantic states person, I'm of course solidly in the Democratic camp. I love the Obama/Clinton dynamic. Here's my perfect ticket: Clinton for president, and Obama for VP. This would give him the necessary experience to run again for pres. I'm hoping that this country has finally gotten past the "no woman, no black" crap. Prejudice is dumb, not based on reality, and constricting to the country's welfare. Really, boys and girls, it's time we moved on from this stuff.

Republicans - I like McCain. He seems middle of the road to me and not mired in conservative extremism. I could live with him. He can talk to both sides of the aisle, and doesn't represent just one group's way of thinking.

I'm very opinionated, but I welcome all comments arguing with me. That's the beauty of this country. We are not a monolithic entity, but a conglomeration of many peoples, religions, and races.

Back to Knitting

I spent the last couple of days dyeing and reskeining and I finally finished both "Oh Gee, Socks". I'm about to start a new pr of socks today. I have the yarn picked out. My new base yarn, which I think I'm going to like very much. Here's a pic of the yarn, all ready to go.


I started a fair isle type of tam and I'm using leftover sock yarn, plus dyed a skein in black/charcoal/lt gray. I just dumped the yarn into the dye solution, squooshed it around, wrung it out, and came up with a non-solid yarn, which is what I wanted. Here it is, very early in the game.



And, Here are some new yarns that are going the Etsy route.





And take a look at this honey of a yarn. I'm keeping this one for me. If I like how it turns out as a sock, I'll dye up more like it. I dyed this in a short skein, not my usual large skein, so I want to see how it works up. This type of dyeing is easy for me to duplicate.


Creative - Whew you didn't hit me over the head with my political views. When are you going to Stitches? May you come home with all your stock sold!

Blog peeping and bad pun

I dyed a bunch of yarns today, some for me to try out, some for the sock club, and some to sell.

That's today's news. But take a peek at these blogs today. Some interesting pics and blogs:

If you want to see some awesome Africa pictures, take a look here, at the knittyvritti site.

Pics of a pretty shawl by Evelyn Clark. I love lace knitting! Here.

New Mexico and awesome color knitting here.

Jen is destashing. Help her out to make more room for more stash here.

Bad pun of the year. If Eliot Spitzer (gov of NY) manufactured soda, the firm could be called "Spitzer's Spritzers".

Jen - You're welcome.

Knittivritti - Your pics are special!

Escalator Socks now on Ravelry!

Remember the Escalator Socks I talked about earlier? Well, I figured out how to upload it onto Ravelry. So, if you want the pattern, you can now download it from Ravelry. I have yet to find a free way to list it here. I'm doing a lot of teeth gnashing about PDF docs.

Awesome Carolyn vetted it for me, and she contributed an explanation for the wonky stitch movement on Round 13. Let me tell you how hard it is to write up a pattern. You don't see your own mistakes. And what's clear to you is not to others. All I have to say is: "Yay, Carolyn!"

Other news: not much. I dyed like a crazy woman on Sunday, and you'll start to see the results over on the right on my Etsy column.

I tried out my new sock yarn. I dyed up one skein in it to see how it dyed, noble person that I am. It's got great yardage, and takes the dye beautifully. When I dye up some more, I'll list it as Rose yarn. So both grand-girls are now famous. Hubbo will have to come up with something for the 2 boys.

KnittiVritti - Nope I never did figure it out. I did, however, figure out how to upload a PDF file onto Ravelry. That was pretty easy, once I actually did it.

Oh Gee, Socks!

It's here. Hot off the needles. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "Oh Gee, Socks". It looks so much better in the real world. Click on it to get the full effect.

Now I have to write up the pattern and make a PDF for it. Hubbo does PDF stuff. And then I'll post it as a freebie. This is one delightful sock to knit, and I'm off to do the second one.



Jen, Thank you.

I'm high on Ravelry.

Yeah, Ravelry! Casey put in this feature that enables me to see who is knitting, queuing, marking as a favorite, commenting, etc.on my pattern(s). Wow! It's so gratifying to see so many folks liking Roundabout Socks. I'll have to do more. What an ego trip I'm on. I am insufferable, and you can throw marshmallows or skins of yarn at me to calm me down.

If you haven't put your name in on the Ravelry list, do it NOW! You won't get any knitting done for a while because you'll be so sucked into cruising the site. But people list a gazillion free knitting and crocheting patterns, and there are over 3200 subgroups.


Yarnie news: I have a new sock yarn that I'm going to play with. 75% wool/25% nylon, with over 450 yards. Undyed, it looks a tad thinner than my usual yarn, Penny. Dyeing changes the yarn a bit. No time today to dye, and anyhow, I'm somewhat dyed out, but probably on Sunday I'll play with it. I'm going to call it Rose. You know, that PennyRose thing. Not that Rosie cares, or Miss P for that matter. It's a Grandma moment.