The First Rule of Sock Wars Is...

So I'm visiting Miriam's blog and learned about 2 things...she is having a pre-holiday sale on her fab patterns and a tease to a new KAL called Sock Wars hosted by Yarn Monkey.



The tournament begins when everyone receives their sock knitting target...everyone knits the same pattern as fast as they can and gets it out in the mail. If you receive a pair in the mail before you get your knitted pair out...oh well you are out of the competition. Then what happens is you need to send the UFO that you were supposed to complete to the individual that knitted the pair you received. Then whomever is left at the end on November 24 needs to send a pair to the yarnmonkey. They are declared the winner and get some mighty nifty prizes from the monkey's swag.

Here are some additional tidbits of info:
To enter, email yarn.monkey@yahoo.com with the following details:

Your name/alias
Your address
Your email
Your blog (if you have one)

Deadline for entry: is 8th September 2006
Yarn monkey will post the weight and tension/gauge required for the pattern when signups close. You have 2 weeks in which to amass your artillery (i.e. yarn/needles). And then away you go.

Perfect timing as I will have completed my Hurricane Sock and Toasty Toes way before then. Now if I can figure out Magic Loop so I can knit a pair at the same time...training awaits!

By Jove I Think I Got It

So I tried and tried to figure out the Twisted German Cast-on so I could start the "Dragon Socks" and I just couldn't get it. For some reason the photos weren't helping at all. So of course I went to Amanda at Clothesknit who almost exclusively uses this cast on. She kindly wrote out directions with hints and lo and behold...I tihnk I got it. I tested it out on a bigger target (size 11s)...unfortunately I had to frog my Brioche Bodice and start over...there was a huge hole in the middle...somehow I dropped a stitch and didn't notice. So I just cast on again using the Twisted German. And by jove I think I got it!!!!So the plan is to try it on my size 2s and get my hurricane pal's sock started.

THANKS AMANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The brioche before...(after pic later tonite)

Does it rain in the forest?

The yarn that I ordered from Simply Socks arrived and was waiting for me at the front door when I got home. Thanks Allison for the idea to use this yarn and colorway for my hurricane pal. Yummy Fleece Artist in Rain Forest! That was the good news...the bad news was that I had a yarn winding fiasco! It took me an hour and a half (no foolin') to get my center-pull ball. I don't have a swift so I use a high-back bar chair. I was so excited to get the yarn wound and get started that I wasn't very careful with draping the skein around the chair. Can you say tangle? But in the end I do have my yarn ready to go (with a couple of tiny extra balls). Sorry hurricane pal...just shows you how excited I am to knit up this sock for YOU!

Toasty Toe Sock #1: DONE!

Well my yarn came in on Friday afternoon...Elann's Peruvian Uros Aran (#3427)...discovering a substitute for the discontinued Rowan Cork in a color that my Toasty Toe pal! Way faster than I expected, which was great! Decided to finish off ball #1 of the Rowan Calmer on Friday nite for my Tempting II, which left the weekend clear to start the Log Cabin Socks.
Here's what I started with yesterday at noon:



And here is what the sock looks like after grafting during Big Brother 7 with my fave as Head of Household! And we even went to see Pirates this afternoon...don't want everyone to think I sat inside knitting all weekend.




Done with sock #1! Yippee for me! Love, love, love this pattern. Socks definitely go fast on double-pointed 5s.
Hopefully the yarn that I ordered will arrive so I can finally start my Hurricane Sock (Here There Be Dragons) for my Hurricane Sista!

Florida Bag: Done

Well I did finish knitting the Florida bag on the trip up to Ellijay in Georgia for our vacation. Only problem...none of the stores around town had fabric that I cared for to line the bag or the iron fusing or a pocketbook handle. I had to wait until I got back to Tampa and marched on over to Jo Ann. Found fabric and was told that stitch witchery would work to iron on to the yarn and then the fabric lining would adhere to that. No dice. The Knitpicks Shine Worsted wouldn't adhere to the fusing but the fusing did stick to the fabric. I had to go back out and find invisible thread and hand sew the lining in. I only have my pic not the pic of my step-mother-in-law with the bag (hubby is still in Tucson with the in-laws and no access to e-mail to forward on the pic).


Almost done with E's Trekking socks. They were almost done when (even with point protectors) I managed to knock a whole bunch of stitches off the needles when I went to answer the doorbell. So E didn't have them to go hiking in CO. Here's one sock almost done just before we left the cabin we stayed at in Ellijay.



I also decided to put my Icarus on a slight back burner while I get Mom's b-day gift done ahead of time rather than rush last minute (it's in September). I'm knitting her up another Miriam Felton creation...her Adamas Shawl in Shadow in Sunset. Love this pattern...cast on on Saturday and I'm already done with the third repeat of the body chart. Definitely going to be done ahead of time.

And ssshhhh! I also started two other projects...a Tempting II in a lime green Rowan Calmer and the Brioche Bodice form the Summer IW in Wick by Knit One, Crochet Two.

And I know what yarn to purchase for my Hurricane Sock pal (actually waiting for it to become available) and I know what pattern I will use for Toasty Toes (Log Cabin socks). But haven't started either yet.

All Aboard for Yarn Aboard!

It came! It was on our front porch when we got back to town late last nite! I felt like Steve Martin in "The Jerk" when the phone books come in. Here's the package:




Here's the list of all the places that the radio box has been:



And here's the loot that I received from Emmy aka Lakeknitter in Virginia:


As you can see Vesper sock yarn in Paisley, Trekking #38, #2 Fiddlesticks double-pointed and a Virginia is for Lovers magnet.

And since I have been stashing things together all along for the next stop on the yarn aboard journey, it already went out in the mail!

Can't wait for Yarn Aboard II! Thanks Amanda for such a great knitting extravaganza! You ROCK!