Resistence is Futile

It's that time of year again.
What time you ask? Sock Madness time.
Sign ups started last Sunday and go 'til this Friday. I decided that this year I would not compete. The reasons are as follows:
A) I have crazy fuzzy preggo brain and don't think trying to keep up with the pace will be good for me.
B) I don't feel like diving into the stash to see if I have all the yarn requirements and seriously cannot afford to buy more yarn for the competition
C) I could spend that time working on socks I really like and want to make, instead of busting my butt on patterns that I may or may not like all for the sake of competition
And finally
D)I have way too many projects on the go right now and lately I feel that I have been making some good progress on them (well the current WIP's anyway, not the kajillion UFO's sitting around).
Speaking of the UFO's, a few of them have been getting some love as well. I have had start-itis for so long now, and I think I have now caught finish-itis. Granted, I have started a few new things, I am not completely reformed people.
So anyway, I thought long and hard about it and decided that Sock Madness would have to do without me this year. I am going to practice some self control, exude some will power, etc. etc.

And then I thought:
I know I am going to keep checking the website to see the teasers and the patterns released. And I know I am going to look at Flickr/Ravelry to see the finished socks. And I know I am going to kick myself in the arse for not joining up. Just 'cuz I join up doesn't mean I have to get all crazy sock knitter ninja like. I can quit whenever I want to, and it's free and it's 7 patterns (or more) that I get to enjoy with a few select people before anyone else does. I think we all know though that me being the competitive freak that I am..I will be all crazy sock knitter ninja like, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

So I mentioned that sign ups started on Sunday?

Yeah, I resisted 'til 5 pm, then sent in my sign up e-mail.

Well, It's About Time!!!!!

Man have I been bad about blogging lately! I have had an insanely busy schedule these past few weeks, and I don't see signs of it easing up any time soon.
I am trying to earn some extra cash, and so I have been picking up shifts left and right at the Cafe...and I intend to keep it up for the entire summer, or else when I drop of sheer exhaustion.
But I like being busy. I am trying really hard right now to make positive decisions in my life, and it feels really good!!! But more on that later.......

With all that I have been doing, I have managed a bit of knitting. I know I am not going to reach my goals for this month...but I put on one hell of a show didn't I? Besides, there is always June..and July..and so on...

First, an FO Fresh of the presses:

Have you seen this pattern? Have you made it? It was SO much fun to knit! And fast! I can't wait to see Sophia with this on, although it may be too big for her right now...I made the hat in the medium size because I wanted it to fit her next Winter. She lives in Southern California so I don't think they will get much wear this Summer...but she is going to be one styling baby come October!

Next, we have the Round 6 Sock Madness socks. I just finished the heel on the second sock.

Which one are you liking better? Me, I think I like the one on the right more. I really want to get these done by Thursday so I can meet my Sock A Month goal.

And, I cast on another sock. Can you guess which one it is? Go ahead, it's not that hard..just check the side bar. ;)

Oh yeah, and the Forest Path Stole? Well, I have made some progress on it...but not much. I have just been too tired lately to sit with it. It's not that it's complicated to knit, it's just that my mind imagines it is...I have Friday off, I hope to get some time with it then.

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend and enjoying the start of summer..It's been beautiful up here!

Back to Reality (in more ways then one)

I have to be honest and say I really want to have a big rant session right now, but I am going to try and refrain. I have been avoiding blogging the last few days because I wanted to wait until my temper had calmed down a bit.
But I am not going to rant, I am not going to flame anyone, because I am better then that. There is someone that is extremely concerned that I am going to talk bad about them on the blog, but I think all of you that know me either in real life or from this blog know that I am not that kind of person..no matter what this jackass thinks of me. So there! (And no, I am not talking about B..he's still my hero.)
I don't mean to be vague, and I know you are probably all wondering, "what the hell is she talking about?" I am sorry I can't go into further detail...
But if that person just so happens to read this post (and that person very well might because they are so damn paranoid), you can go away now, I am not going to give you the satisfaction, you are not worth my time or my energy..and my mama taught me better!

And now, back to our regular scheduled programming!!!

Sock Madness Round 6 started last Friday, and this time the pattern was just mind blowing beautiful! And it was also the first time I looked at a pattern and said, "holy hell!" =)
To say the least, I was intimidated..but the competition had to go on...and so I casted on and got started.
We knew before this round started that it was going to be fair isle..but what we did not know was that the designer was inspired by a batik cloth her mother bought on a trip to Indonesia.

I had bought some Lorna's in chocolate and tickled pink..so my batik socks are quite different from the original design..but still cool looking none the less.



Here is the top of the sock (from my view)

And the bottom..oh yes, it is patterned on the heel as well!
It is very pretty but not so comfortable to wear. Partially because of the stranding, and partially because the heel flap/gusset is done in single yarn thickness and so feels looser and lighter then the heel and leg. Maybe if I had double stranded the brown it would feel better?

What, you see only one sock? Well, yes you are correct.

At the time this round started, there was some major drama going on in my personal life (see above), and so I was not as focused on the competition as I should have been.

Between the distractions and the speediness of my competitor, I am amazed that I was able to get even one sock done before she had posted her finished pair! I do think though, that if I had been able to hunker down and focus on the pattern..I could have possilby beat her.

Oh well, such is life..and I got to say I was ready for the competition to be over with..it was consuming my life!

The final pattern is going to be released this Friday. I hope to have the second sock done by then..but if not, oh well, no biggie. I am excited about the final pattern, the sneak peaks look amazing! And the final match up is awesome, I can't wait to see who wins. I have a good idea who it will be, anyone want to place a bet? =)

In other knitting news, I finally got around to getting some pictures of the Argosy scarf I completed last week.

It only took me 4 months to complete..

The yarn is Noro Silk Garden Lite # 2014. And believe it or not, it really only took two balls!

I was worried it wouldn't be long enough, but it is perfect! Well, as much as a scarf finished for the summer can be perfect.. I won't really be able to appreciate this until Autumn comes around.

A word of caution about this pattern...don't work on it when you are tired. It is easy enough, but between the "bind off" stitches on row 1 and the cast on stitches on row 5..it can get a little hairy.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had this almost finished and then realized a huge mistake that had to be ripped out. The mistake was that I had 4 squares going across, instead of 5..and the mistake had been made 6 pattern repeats back. It hurt to do, but I couldn't ignore it.

After I finished it and laid it out to block, I realized that I had made another mistake. In the middle of the scarf I have a few repeats that have 6 squares going across..but it is not noticable and by that time I did not care..

So again, if you decide to make this scarf, let my mistakes be a lesson to you!

Hope you are all doing well and having a fantastic week!

To Whom It May Concern..

Dear Sir or Madame,

This weekend I competed in the 5th round of Sock Madness.

This was the hardest round yet. Although in my opinion the socks are lovely..the pattern had me pulling my hair out..
Seen here are the lovely cables that go down the heel (a nice touch..but the directions to do said heels were as clear as mud!)

After 3 1/2 hours of sleep and a lucky day off when I thought I had to work...

I finished my socks!

This now puts me in the Final Four..I have won the novice division and must now venture out and compete with the experts.

God help me!

I realize now I have a problem. I want to stop, but I can't. Please send the men in the white coats to get me...I will go peacefully.

Thank you,

Melanie

This, That, and the other thing..

Wow! Thank you so much for all the nice comments on the tunic! I really appreciate all the feedback.

After spending some time reviewing the pictures and the actual piece, I must say that overall I am pleased with it. Very rarely do I like the way I look in something when I first put it on, this includes "store clothes"...my original reaction is usually "ugh!". It takes a while before I realize that yes, indeed, I look rather nice in this shirt/pants/etc.

And I wanted to apologize for the, "does this top make me look fat?" comments. That is such a stereotypical thing for me to do. But, I wanted to give you all a little background as to why I am a little obsessed about my weight, so please bear with me. I need to do this for myself as well as for everyone else. If you don't want to read it..please feel free to skip ahead..that's totally OK.

First off, I know I am not "fat'. But believe me when I say that I know what fat is.

I used to be more then 100 pounds overweight. No, I do not have any pictures to prove it..and even if I did, I would not post them on the blog. Even harsher, the period of my life when I was that overweight was the last few years of high school. Yeah, it sucked.
But then I got rid of the weight...and for most of my twenties I was a skinny little thing. And I got lots of attention, it was fantastic. Well, at first it was fantastic..then it got a little excessive.

At my smallest I was a size 4/5. I was skinny. I thought I looked great. And I want to say right now that no, I did not have an eating disorder..at least I don't think I did...I was not always wise in my eating habits, but then, I never have been.

Then when I was 27? 28? I got sick. Real sick. I was dizzy all the time, I had no energy. I could not do any of the things "normal" people did. I was going to school full time, working part time, and trying to manage the household duties (trust me, it was a big house! =) ). But I ignored how bad I felt physically, and instead became extremely depressed because of my limitations.

And then one day I was working a clinical at the hospital, and I nearly passed out in a patients room. Thank God I was with an attendant who noticed what was happening and took control of the situation.

That day I went to a doctor..and had the scare of my life.

She told me I was severely anemic. That my hematocrit was so low that she recommended I get a blood transfusion, and also wanted me to see a specialist right away. I was in shock. I asked if this was a "big deal'" and she said "yes".

It was not until much later that I realized she thought I had cancer. I did go to a specialist. I did not get a blood transfusion,(I felt really weird about getting one) but instead spent an entire day hooked up to an I.V. having iron pumped into my body. That was fun, let me tell you, especially when my skin turned an orangish color and my complexion went to hell for a couple of weeks after that. I had to have a gazillion tests and procedures done. I did not have cancer.

What I had was a body that did not like to create or absorb iron.

So now, I take (or try to take..I am horrible about it)massive doses of iron every day. I eat lots of protein and iron rich foods. And for the most part, I am healthy. And that is terrific.

However, I have gained some weight. About 30 pounds or so..maybe more, I refuse to get on a scale! =) And although I never want to go back to being that sick..it is a little hard to think I will never fit into those size 5 jeans again.

But maybe, with a little more exercise, and a little less french fries, shakes and beer..I can get back into those size 10's. But I am not going to obsess about it. Not anymore. Because I honestly believe that as long as I am healthy and happy..that should be enough.

And I think everyone else should feel that way too.

OK, now on to some lighter topics. Look what B brought home for me:

Aren't they fantastic? I love them!

But wait, there's more! Look what they do to the water:

(Yes, I know it's the food coloring they use on the flowers...but still..it is so cool!) I am easily pleased,.

And finally, some knitting content, with a bit of Scrappy thrown in. What, you thought I would do a post and NOT talk about knitting at all?

This is an update on the store sample mitered shawl I am finally back to working on. It is now officially at the half way point. I have just been knitting through the skeins, letting the colors fall where they may..still, that's a lot of yellow..it will be interesting to see what happens with the rest of the shawl...

Oh, and last..but definitely not least, are my narrowed down picks for the next round of Sock Madness. Round 5 can you believe it? (GULP!)

Yes, I know this picture looks different then the others..I was playing around with flickr trying to get you a picture you can click on..and I think I succeeded.

possible picks for round 5 top view

So give it a click and check out the cool notes I put on it. I am getting more and more computer savvy with each passing day!

Oops! I did it again!

My sincere apologies if that song is now stuck in your head. I understand how frustrating it is. It has been going through my brain for two days now.
And all because of this:


Round 4 of sock madness.

The pattern is called"Mad Weave", designed by Tina Loren. It is so flipping cool! I have to say it is totally my bag baby!

I tried to get a good shot of the pattern. But alas, this is the best I could do. You could always check out the Flickr group to see more wonderful versions.

It's a hell of a lot of fun to knit. To get the weave effect, you have to wrap stitches, slip them for a few rounds, and then drop them off the needle (like doing a cable) while you knit other stitches, then pick them back up and knit them...a little scary, but SOOOOO neat!

Along the sides of the sock are a twisted stitch pattern. This adds a whole other dimension to the design. I like how it gos all the way down the heel, and then splits to travel down either side of the foot.

Love it, Love it, Love it!

Only one problem though....

They are a little big.
OK, a lot big.

Well, 74 stitches, size 0 needles, and Claudia's Hand Painted ( a thicker fingering weight yarn), what do you expect from me? I think I need to knit for the circus..these would fit an elephants feet!

Ah well, they sure are pretty.

Oh and if you are still with me..why the Oops? Well that is the colorway silly!

And the "I did it again" remark?

I lived to see another round. I am in the top eight baby!

And by the skin of my teeth too. I really thought I was going down this round. Linnakat was ahead of me the entire time.

I was ready to admit defeat. I knew it was over when I saw she was on the gusset of her second sock, and I had not even started the heel flap on my 2nd one yet.

But I persevered. I may not be able to win, but I wanted to see how close I could get to her.

I kept hitting refresh, waiting to see her finished socks picture. And as I got to the last few rounds of the foot, then reached the toe..and still no picture from her..I thought, "hey, I am still in this!"

So I got my e-mail ready to go. All I needed to do was upload the picture when I had it. I madly kitchenered the toe (without even looking it up, and I did it right!), wove in the end, snapped a picture, sent off the e-mail, posted the picture to the group..

And I won! And not a moment too soon. Linnakat had her finished pictures up less then five minutes later.

Talk about a photo finish!

OK, so now, I am celabrating with a Pyramid Apricot Weizen (yummy!). Looking forward to my first day at my new job tomorrow..I am a little nervous, but more excited then anything..I have my kittie sitting on my lap while I write this..I got my man sitting on the couch watching Conan on Tivo..and I am thinking to myself..

"What a great way to end a crummy week. Life is good!"

Little Earthquakes.

That basically sums up my week...
If you are a fan of Tori Amos (if you are not, you should be!) then you know the song.
Basically (at least how I see it anyway)..a "Little Earthquake" shakes you up, shifts you around, pulls you out of your comfort zone, and sometimes can "rip you into pieces".
And so much has been going on behind the scenes here at chez stitchinwench. I feel like I have been ripped apart, tossed around, and then glued back together by a three year old.
Earlier this week a blogger friend lost her sweet kittie. My own professor scrappy meowsnshitz is getting on in age. I believe she is about 15 years old now. She is my baby. She has been through so much with me. And although I know someday she will leave me, I can't even begin to think about it.
So of course this week she gave B and I quite a scare. Acting out, meowing in loud and pitiful ways (she hardly ever gets vocal), and being very sluggish. She seems to be back to her old self now, but I am still keeping a close eye on her. The reality of her mortality has been very hard to face..I hope I wont have to encounter it again soon.
Work has been a fright. I don't want to go into details..but there have been a lot of changes in the past few months, and in my opinion, for the worse. I just can't wrap my mind around the decisions the owner has made. We are heading into our busy season, and I do not feel that he has set his staff up for success. His "improvements" have made every one's job three times as hard, and the customers are suffering for that.

But today my friends, a new light has been shining down upon me.
Today I got a new job.
As of now, I am going to work both the current job and the new job part time. Just so that I can get a feel for the new job, and the new job can get a feel for me.
I am extremely excited about this change. I am not sure how into detail I can get..but let's just say that I will be working with yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. In fact, the next time you place an order on line..depending on where you order..I may be the one boxing it up and shipping it to you. And..who knows..there may be some designing in my future.
(I am a little scared about this, considering I have never designed anything before. But I am also very excited..I know I can do it if I tried.)
So my friends,the little earthquakes that happen in our lives are not all bad. Sometimes we need to be torn down, so that we can rebuild and be stronger and better. And hopefully happier.

Now on to some fun news. Sock Madness round 4 starts tomorrow. I can't believe I have made it this far! I have my work cut out for me this round though. The person I am against is FAST! We have been neck and neck finishing socks thus far in the competition. And I know she is not going to be taking a vacation or working or going to a fiber festival. She is in it to win it, just like me.
The yarn specified is another variegated. The original was knitted with Claudia's Hand painted..LOVE IT!..so I will most likely use this yarn:

Claudia's Hand painted in the "Oops" colorway.

However, this lovely yarn has been wanting to be knit up for a while now. Please forgive my nasty rewinding..the yarn is rather fun and "spunky".
This is Socks That Rock in the Blarney Stone colorway...and considering who I am up against..I could use all the luck I can get. (heh, get it blarney stone..luck..duh!)

Of course, I will make my final decision when the pattern is released sometime between 5 am and 9 am on Saturday.

Me? Up at 5 for some silly pattern? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ARSE!

Not My Bag Baby!

So I bet you all are wondering what yarn I chose for Round 3 of Sock Madness.
The overall consensus was to use the Yarn Pirate.
And I thought about it. I really, really did.
In fact, I grabbed all the yarns and reswatched with all of them..and I just was not happy with any of my choices.
So I dove back into the stash and grabbed some Trekking XXL. I have that in droves. I grabbed color # 106, swatched, and decided it was the chosen one.

All that stress, for this:

Now, far be it for me to pass judgement. I have never designed a pattern, and we all have different tastes...variety is the spice of life after all..but the last time I wore socks like this I was in grade school.

Ok, Ok, maybe it was Junior High. I do recall a time when white cuff socks with lace trim were all the rage to wear with high heels. Usually with white tights...and the legwarmers were optional. It was the 80's people, we all did it..don't lie!

But those days are over for me.

It was really hard to get through this round. I just did not enjoy the knitting at all. What you don't see is underneath the cuff there is 35 rows of 2x2 ribbing...ugh!

My "real life" friends (who shall remain nameless) took one look at the pattern and decided to drop out of the competition..I can't say I blame them..but that also made it a little hard to persevere.

Oh, and don't forget I was competing against someone I really did not want to knock out of the competition...

Many people like the socks..and I think that is great. This is just my opinion. And I am sure stuff I like other people would find hideous/gross/ridiculous. For example, my love of dipping my french fies into my shakes. (Yum! You really should try it!)

I also must say that part of the fault is the yarn I chose. I could not get more "5 year old wearing her new Easter socks" if I tried.

See?

What would you do?

So the next round of Sock Madness starts on Wednesday.
This round has thrown me for a loop.
I totally thought I knew who I was going up against this round..but the hostesses decided to shake things up a bit and pair us up differently then we all thought they would.
So now, I am going up against someone I consider a friend. (Hey Kellie!) And although the competition is all in fun.. (that's how Kellie and I made friends ;)..and she is just one out of many wonderful people I have met.)..it is hard to feel competitive when whether you win or lose..you are going to be disappointed.

In the famous words of the late Crocodile Hunter...Crikey!

And that is just the beginning of my woes.

Wait hold on a second.....

B just pulled out the worlds smallest violin.

OK, now that we have the sad mournful music in the background (just pretend alright?). I will tell the second thing that has my panties all in a bunch.

The freaking specs for this pattern.

"gauge: 7 sts. per inch on size 1 1/2 needles with fingering weight yarn."

The gauge and the needles size make sense..but how the hell do you get a good fabric out of that yarn weight? I know I am not the worlds tightest knitter...but seriously? So I thought, "OK fine..I will just use a 2mm needle instead. " After all, going down a needles size or two is nothing new in my book.

Oh and here is the real kicker:

" 2 skeins used..each about 280'ish yards per skein".

That's alot of yarn my friends.

For further clarification we have been told that the designer used big skeins like this with "plenty left over"..and the person who test knit the socks did hers with Lorna's Laces (215 yds. per skein) and also had "some leftover."

Could anyone out there please clarify to me what "some leftover" and "plenty leftover" means?

When we first got the supply list I did what any dutiful competitor would do. I burned a hole in the credit card buying yarn.
And I totally thought I had this one under control.

I bought a skein of Schaeffer Anne (560 yds per skein)..and thought I was golden.

I absolutely love this yarn. I have been looking forward to knitting with it ever since I saw it at The Loopy Ewe website.

The problem is that I am getting about 10 sts. per inch on the 2mm..which would totally slow me down..and also make too small of a sock. And I am not all that happy with the fabric I am getting. I think to be absolutely satisfied with this yarn, I would need to use the dreaded 000's.

OK, so the Anne is out. Right?

So I started to think about other yarns in my stash. Stuff that is categorized as fingering weight, but is a bit thicker.

So I pulled out the Claudia's Hand painted:

For those interested..this is the Oops! colorway.

And then I went for the Socks That Rock:

This colorway is called Blarney Stone.

I get absolutely beautiful fabric with both of these yarns. My gauge is about 8 sts. per inch on the 2mm, so a little off but not too bad. I would not go up to the 1 1/2 size needle though..because again the tension would be too loose for me. And considering that socks are usually a tad bit too big on me, the gauge and fabric seem perfect..so why not just pick one of these right?

The yardage.

STR has 360 yds. per skein. Which would mean I would have 180 yds per sock.

The CHP has 172 yds per skein.

That is a far cry from the 280'ish yards per skein that was posted. And I am not sure if either of these would give me "some leftover" or even enough to finish the socks.

I can just see myself getting 2/3 of the way through my 2nd sock at 3:30 am and realizing that I am OUT OF YARN!

So..I guess these are out as well??

Next up, the good old Lorna's Laces. This is what was used to test knit the socks..so I should be totally fine in the yardage department.

And even though my gauge is off..it gives me an OK fabric with the 2mm's.

(Sorry for the bad picture. This yarn is impossible to photograph.)

I guess this yarn would be the most logical choice. But I am just not all that jazzed about using it. I love Lorna's, but there is nothing "special" about it..for me anyway..and the colors are pretty, but, well..I just feel "blah" about it.

And trust me, when you are trying to knit a pair of socks in less then two days..the last thing you want is to feel "blah" about your yarn choice.

So here is my final option. Final because this little dilemma has occupied way too much of my time, and I refuse to dive into my sock stash again. ( I say this and realize that my stash is sitting right next to me..and I have been pulling out yarn at random through out writing this post, hoping one of them will say "pick me, pick me! I am PERFECT!"..Nothing yet.)


OK, here is my final option..and after doing a search..I think this one might be saying "Pick me!"
This sexy little number is Yarn Pirate in the Sonoma colorway.

I adore this yarn..this is the yarn that sits out on the table so I can enjoy its loveliness. This is the yarn I pet when I need soothing.

Now I originally thought there were only 400 yds. per skein, but after the search I just did I believe it is a whopping 480 yds....that is a huge bonus! I think that would allow me to have "plenty left over".

And on size 0's I am getting a nice fabric..not as tight as I would like..but doable. Again gauge is totally off...I am getting about 8 1/2-9 sts. per inch...but I still think that would be alright..(it just would slow me down a little bit..but then again..all my choices will do that.)

So maybe this is the one? I would marry this yarn if I could. And I believe it deserves to "grow up" into something spectacular..so my concern lies in the fact that I don't know what the pattern looks like yet. Will it be worthy of the Sonoma?

Please help me, I am in meltdown! Forget global warming..forget the starving children in Africa. Forget the Iraq war and the terrorists! THIS IS SERIOUS! I can't decide! The fate of the world..I mean my socks...rests in your hands. Don't fail me now!

What would YOU do?

Satisfied!

I feel kind of bad.

For the few regular readers I have..I bet this Sock Madness stuff is getting kind of boring isn't it?
Please bear with me. I promise I have other stuff to talk about..it's just this thing kind life keeps getting in the way of my blogging time. And so when I do blog..it's about the madness that has taken over (kind of.)

Anyway, this is how I spent Thursday night, and ALL DAY Friday:

With the professor next to me almost the entire time.

And I wonder why I have gained 20 + pounds this last year..but I'm happy..(er).

So here they are:

This is my tried-real-hard-to-do detail shot. Didn't work so well did it?

Well, they are really cool. There is a spiral that wraps around the leg, an eye of partridge heel (my first time), and a stockinette foot. Oh and the cuff is way cool as well..It's called an "oblique rib".

The pattern is called (mad)tini socks..hence why this next picture is my feet posing with a martini shaker. Now if only I had had some vodka on hand..I could have used a stiff one after that marathon knitting session!

A reminder: the yarn is LL in Camelot (nicknamed Snickers) and I did them on size 2 Knit Picks Options Magic Loop Style.

Guesstimated time from start to finish??? Around 30 hours. Yeah baby!

And that my friends..is why I am satisfied. The Snickers did me well.

ROUND 3 HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(oh, and by the way...my niece took some adorable pictures of my grand niece Sophia. A more photogenic baby I have never seen. And the best part..in some of them she is posing with my hand knits!..Tune in tomorrow!)

Locked And Loaded!

I got the coke. I got the candy. I got the ready-made food.
I got Ice cream (Neapolitan sandwiches and slow-churned yellow cake batter).
I got beer.
Was going to buy myself some "incontinence pads" (Depends)..but I thought that might be going a little too far....=)
Hey that astronaut lady did it!
Oh man, did I just say that? Sorry all, I don't mean to offend!

I got the yarn wound and ready to go..and I swatched. Holy moly! I got gauge on the recommended needle size..well, there is a first time for everything!

The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Camelot. Exclusive to Angelika's Yarn Store..(this place is great!) But as I have already said on Flickr...it reminds me of Snickers..damn..I forgot to pick some of those up..you know I am going to crave them!

But the most important thing I did to prepare?

I stocked up on the drugs.

Round two of sock madness begins tomorrow. I am competing against a woman in Japan! How cool is that?

As B just said, "East vs. West..It's a battle to the death". That's a little dramatic don't you think? Oh, he just amended his statement, it is now "A battle to the cuff/toe."

My competitor has had some issues getting her yarn for this round..I feel kind of bad, like I should wait until she gets her yarn so it's a fair fight..

But, then again..we were all given the supply list weeks ago..and they say all is fair in love and war... (she did order her yarn, but the post people screwed up and she never got it..total suckage there!)

I have so much to talk about. But I am going to save them for later posts. Got to make you come back for something!

BTW, Debbie, if you get this far..I am still working on FPS. Slowly but surely....the madness and store sample has caused a bit of a glitch in my progress..but I still love it!

Still Waiting...

All that craziness of last weekend with the sock knitting. I finished Sunday..it is now Thursday, and we are still waiting for 2 more people in my division to finish.
Don't get me wrong, I am not picking on anybody. My division is the "novice" division after all. And even though I may be considered a novice by the amount of socks I have completed..the ones I have made thus far have made me quite experienced.
I have done both cuff down and toe up socks. I knit lace, I understand cables, I know how to read charts. I have done color work. etc. etc.
And I get that many of my team-mates/competitors are brand new to the joy of socks. I am cheering them on whole heartedly....

It's just hard to be patient when this is staring at you:

Begging to be knit.

I know they will all get there day..but well..the wait is hard.

So go, go, go my fellow novices! Turn those heels, do that extra repeat, kitchener those toes..(or if you are doing them toe up) bind off that cuff!

At least I have a few things to distract me (see side bar)..but they are not keeping my attention. My heart is all about the madness right now.

I even started a new project..I know, I know..to try and get some excitement around here..it's OK, but I feel guilty about all the other stuff OTN's. And to be honest, I am having a really hard time concentrating on anything. All I can do is sit for small periods of time with one project or another, before I get up to check the stats of the competition once again.

It's official, Sock Madness really does cause madness..at least for this knitter.

It Has Begun..

I signed up: Sock Madness 2007


I chose the yarn:

(Crystal Palace Bamboo Cotton in Fern and Sprite Green)

I Knit:

And knit some more.........

I finished!

And I had more then enough yarn left over..even though I had a last minute freak out and almost swapped for different yarn.

I did these on size zero Addi's in Magic Loop.

Started March 10th at 6:30 am (yes that's correct)..and finished March 12th at 12:30 am.

Other contestants finished these in a day..the first pair were finished in about 7 hours. Now that is CRAZY!

Good news........I am on to the next round.

Right now, I am tired. But that was SO much fun! I am really pleased with myself that I finished so quickly.

I work well under pressure..maybe I need a competition for all my UFO's...

Excited? Who me?

Not at all.
Just because Sock Madness starts tomorrow, and I have been looking forward to it since November, is no reason for me to act like a kid waiting for Christmas.

It's not like I have yarn for ALL 7 patterns lined up and ready to go..or that I have had that done for over two weeks. Nope, not me.

Err, well. OK. Maybe I did..but it's not like I ordered more yarn (Apple Laine and J Knits) from The Loopy Ewe just in case I was not happy with my solid color choices. (The Regia and Frog Tree.) Nope, not me. I am the queen of self-control.

Wait..I think I just heard the Mailman........

False Alarm. OK where was I? Oh yeah. I am the queen of self-control.

Alright FINE! I did order more yarn from The Loopy Ewe. And I have had the yarn selected for over 2 weeks, and I am acting like a child who can't wait for Christmas.

And you know what? It feels great!

So the yarns you see above are

At top:STR (the wound stuff)..not sure of colorway, I need to dive for the label..and Yarn Pirate in Sonoma. I am still not sure which one is going to make it into the competition. The STR is ready to go..but that Yarn Pirate is screaming at me!

On the Far Right: Schaefer Anne in The Strawberry Fields Colorway. This is stuff is HOT! And I have a whopping 560 yards of it. I can't wait to see the pattern designated for this yarn.

Next the the Schaefer Anne: Lorna's Laces (of course!) sport. In the Camelot colorway. I could not resist considering I am also a member of the Knitters of Avalon KAL.

In the middle: The blue is Regia Silk, and the red is Frog Tree Alpaca. These 2 will most likely be replaced by the last minute yarn purchased from..you guessed it..The Loopy Ewe!

And finally on the far left: 4 skeins of Crystal Palace Panda Cotton. There has been some buzz about this yarn..and now that I have some and have swatched with it, I can understand why.

It's soft and springy and the price is definitely right. Plus the cute little skeins are adorable. Everything about this yarn says "happy" to me.

And that is why I am so happy that my first socks will be done with this yarn.

I am thinking the green combo: (Fern and Sprite Green).

But if these colors are not contrasting enough for the first pattern..then they will be saved for a later pattern. (We know there are 2 patterns calling for a skein each of solid and variegated.)

So here is my back up..no flash because that yellow is hard to photograph!

The colors are yellow (duh) and college prep.

Plans for today:

Get yarn and needles set for the 300th time.

Set coffee maker to go off around 6 in the morning (pattern e-mails around that time.) What can I say? I am hard core!

Work on FPS and Jaywalkers

Set up my Books on CD.. I have One for the Money, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and The Secret Garden all set to go,and I am currently listening to A Confederacy Of Dunces.

Read some Myst's of Avalon

Get ready for my hot date with B tonight. Dinner at a new restaurant, and a play.We are so cultured!

Thank goodness I have a hot date with B tonight..otherwise I think I would positively burst with anticipation!

Tinkin' the day away..

Yeah, you heard me.

After finishing Wicked..(oh yeah she's done..and I love her! There will be pictures as soon as B gets home to take them. =) ). Where was I? Yeah. So after finishing Wicked, my sanity has been restored. I gained the courage to pick up the Forest Path Stole and rip out the triangle that went bad.
I am happy to report that FPS is now out of time out. After e-mailing with the designer, I have now got clear instructions on how to continue in the pattern. There is nothing to see as of yet. I have only tinked out the mistakes. It feels good to know that she is ready for action though!

But that is not the only thing that needs tinking. As listed on my sidebar I have been working on the Mystery Shawl (a Group from Goddess Knits.) Basically every week you get a new clue..totalling 5 clues. I got in on the action late..and so I am only starting clue 3, even though all the clues are out and many people have finished. So it's not really a mystery anymore..but I digress.
Anyway..I have been wanting to get some progress done on this because the new Mystery will be starting soon..and of course I am going to join..but I feel that I should have this one done before starting a new one.
So last night I got busy finishing the 2ND clue, and moved on to the 3rd, and quickly realized that I was 3 stitches short. I guess having 2 beers did not help matters any.
So I have tinked back 2 rows..and I am still coming up 1 short. I think I missed a yarn over somewhere..so that means tinking 2 more rows. Don't worry, I am OK. Believe it or not, all this tinking has been therapeutic.
Think about it, how often in life can you tink back a mistake you made? Never. You just have to learn from it and move on. Hopefully.
Wow. I'm like smart and stuff.

So here is the sum up of things. The mystery shawl is getting tinked. The FPS is back in action. Wicked is done. The Pirate hat is getting some love. And I started a pair of Jaywalkers. What? Did I forget to mention that?

And the one thing I am itching to work on? My Faina scarf..but I feel I need to finish up a few things first.

Oh crud..and March is a day away...that means new goals! And Sock Madness starts March 10Th.

Thank goodness I took the night off from work!

(Stay tuned..there will hopefully be a post on Wicked sometime this evening.)

P.S. Have you ever seen the word "tinked" used this much in one post? LOL!