Contest Winner and Other Goodies

Congrats to Scoutj!

To all of you who guessed that the kitty had something to do with a perfectly fine skein of STR ending up as three balls, well, you’re right. To be perfectly honest, it was a combination of the cat and I. You see, when I was taking photos of this bag, I placed the skein of STR inside for a little weight. Then, as I was getting ready to give the bag to its new owner, I pulled the STR out, placed it on the table and left the house. Kally really is a well behaved kitty; she doesn’t jump up onto the counters or the dining table - when someone is home. When no one is home, who knows. By the time I returned to casa de Shitty Kitty, the damage was done.

A short time later, after I took photos of my pretty Koigu and announced the contest, I was a really bad grrl and didn’t put the bag of pretty Koigu up. Shitty Kitty did what she does best and turned that yarn into a snack.

don’t blame me for eating all that yarn - you left it out

Ya’ll sick of me linking back to my site? Yeah, me too. Moving on…

I took this photo of the second Cable and Rib sock Saturday morning:

crazy pooling looks familiar

Last night, I took the following photos:

whaaaa? finished?

and they fit, they really fit ; )

The first time I knit these socks, I didn’t give the p2tog shaping much of a chance. After two rows, I decided to knit this toe complete with Kitchener. Ya’ll, Kitchener doesn’t scare me, but purl bumps and the unknown… oohhhh, the horror! This time, I knit the toe as written and I LOVE IT.

such a lovely toe

the only modification - a symmetrical heel

After weaving in the last end, I cast on the Dublin Bay socks (link opens a pdf). Chris’ finished pair inspired me to start with the retina searing Koigu.

so far, I’m pleased

Thank you for all of your kind wishes for my wrist and arm. All that remains of my clumsiness is a tiny little bruise at the base of my thumb - the tenderness is all gone and I’m (obviously) back to my knittin’ self.

Weekend Random…

meow.

i’m ready for my close up mr. de mille

I finally got around to watching Big Love last night. I laughed my ass off when the co-worker of the oldest daughter started going on about how she wants to serve her mission in the Middle East, because they really need her help, and how her mom is active with Relief Society and YW. Ya’ll, I went to high school with so many clones of that girl. I was often invited to attend YW, you know, church sponsored home ec - a grrls gotta know how to cook and sew and care for fifteen babies.

I’ve spent the entire day typing up documents (original typos and all) that wouldn’t scan onto the network. Even with multiple breaks and frequent stretch sessions, my wrists are killing me, like the good times. I don’t think there will be knitting tonight, but check out the crazy color pooling on this bad boy -

Can’t forget the contest - it’s open until 10PM on Friday March 24 (I’ve loved reading the many reasons for three balls). Originally I had said that I would take guesses until March 31, but, ya’ll, that’s a long way off. I’ll have a random number generator pick the winner to be announced the last week of March. Everyone who has left a comment or sent an email will be entered in the pool. Woot!

kally says: hey chaos, check out my fur! i have stripes, baby!

Out of Control Knitting (and a contest)

One of the side effects of feeling blah about everything was that I started and restarted and then set aside too many projects to name. My knitting bin looks like - oh, words are now escaping me - I’ll just show you.

the Mr. is having a mild heart attack now that my messiness has been exposed to all of the internets

So, when I read about the WIP Wipe Out, I was all, dude, I’m in. My shit is out of control. Out.of.Control. And the stashalong - um, didn’t really accomplish anything other than a few socks and taking photos of the cat. When there’s folks like Teri, Margene, and Susan who are constantly knitting through their project list, the K-ADD I seem to suffer really stands out. It’s time to take a closer look at what resides in the corner of all messes… a list might be in order…

1. Front and center, we have Cherie v2.0. The sleeves are slowly growing. You know, when I started this sweater, I had grand designs of it being my winter break sweater - that it would be finished before spring semester started. Well, it’s spring break and the sweater is still on the needles…

   

2. Oh, my gawd… the Ribby Cardi I can’t finish and can’t let go of. Holy hell. I’ve started and ripped this sweater more times that I’d like to mention. Why? Size. I know how I want it to fit (perfectly) but am unsure on the ease. This time around, it’s the smallest of the small (both medium and small seemed to big - but I never did finish either size before ripping), and I’m thinking it might be too small. I want to wear something under it, but I don’t want a bunch of extra fabric hanging around. I’m hoping I don’t have rip round 500.

   

3. Jaywalkers… no more. The elizagrrl special hand-dyed yarn and the stitch pattern made for one uncomfortable socks. I think I’m going to make some good old fashioned stockinette socks with a simple rib cuff.

   

4. Socks, socks, socks. Look at the lovely little bag of Koigu… just waiting. I keep it on top of the bin because it is so pretty. mmmm… Koigu.

   

5. Also on top of the bin because it is so pretty, two skeins of Manos.

   

6. Next, we have my biggest failed project, MaryElla from Knitty. So, when I followed the pattern as written, the beads bulged in a way that looked like shit. By the time I finally figured out a way to get the beads to line up and not bulge, shitty kitty attacked. One Saturday, last February, I was sitting in the office and set MaryElla down to go grab a drink of water. When I returned, Kally was hunched over the bracelet, chewing on the cotton - the cotton between the beads and the ball of yarn. It has been balled up and stuffed in the bottom of the bin since. I just can’t bring myself to re-string all those beads.

   

7. Fraternal socks for the Mr. I’m knitting them two and a time, toe up, because I don’t know how much yarn is left in the ball, a partial ball to begin with. Looks like a kitty, no? Meow.

   

8. STR and Cable and Rib socks from Interweave Knits. I have made a pair of these before and I lurve them. So pretty and portable.

   

Time for another contest…

Why did one skein of STR wind up into three balls? Email your guesses by Friday, March 31, and the winner will be chosen via random number - all guesses will count, right or wrong. The winner will receive two balls of grey blue yarn, some chocolate, and a little something fun.

Before I forget, I totally realized, after the fact, that I used the wrong E. E should be for eyes. For as long as I can remember, my eyes have received more comments from strangers than anything else - when they aren’t bloodshot, they are both dark and light blue.

i see you…

so does shitty kitty…

Cable & Rib Socks

The color below is a better representation of the actual color.

Interweave Knits Fall 2005

Fleece Artists Merino Dragonfly

October 2005