Just had to share

Have you guys heard about the Shrimp on a Treadmill?

Meme, two names I call myself

Nell of Nell Knits has tagged me with the Four Things thing. So here's a brief post before I show you the fabulous things flying off my needles.

I knit a sweater in nine days. Just gotta block and sew it up! Ohmigod wheeeeee!

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Docent (tour guide)
2. Hostess/macarena performer at Joe's Crab Shack
3. Undergraduate Research assistant
4. Graduate research assistant

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Princess Bride
2. Lord of the Rings
3. The Incredibles
4. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

C) Four places I have lived
1. Suburbs of Washington, D.C.
2. Sasebo, Japan
3. San Diego
4. College Station, TX

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Law and Order (original)
2. House
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

E) I have been on vacation:
1. Paris
2. Berlin
3. Rome
4. Seoul

F) Websites visited daily:
1. email
2. dearabby.com >_<
3. Bloglines
4. Slate.com

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Milk chocolate
2. Mom's sweet potato casserole (not the gross marshmellow kind!)
3. Chicken tempura
4. Chevre spreadable cheese, garlic and herb flavored.

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At Dave's
2. someplace sunny
3. in a more comfortable desk chair
4. at my own graduation (can we skip ahead in time too?)

I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire:
1. Auntie Ann
2. Pam of Lulah's Knits
3. Susie of the Knit Farm (just tryin to help you with your NaBlothingie!)
4. The Knotty Gnome

And since I hate to leave you guys without a picture, here's one of my Thanksgiving gathering. To tell you something about the size of this family... this was a small year.

Bonus points if you can find me.

picture-stravaganza

Wonderful things have been working their way into my home. I went to Target yesterday and found a needle case!



Ok, it's technically a case for makeup brushes, but it was THREE DOLLARS! Squeee! Someday when I have moneys I'd like to buy one that is actually big enough for my straight needles, but for now I'm way more organized than I used to be!



Here is is rolled up. What's that in the foreground, you ask? Why, it's my new Yarn Pirate! It showed up in the mail yesterday. OMG, I love this stuff so much.

So I went to my favorite LYS today to show it off (in the hopes that Mary Charles will finally carry lots of sock yarn) and we talked a little more about me knitting another store sample. So now this has come home with me:



She wants a very simple black pullover to wear around the shop and display when she isn't wearing it. This is Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande and I'm knitting it significantly looser than the recommended gauge, and it has just the most fabulous drape. Lovelovelove. The pattern she gave me calls for a much chunkier yarn and I'm getting 2.5 SPI instead of 2, but I think I can do some Maths and make a sweater that fits. I may see what it looks like on the next needle size up, too, and see if I get gauge with that.

Dad's socks are chugging along and look totally awesome. I think you guys will like these.



Sorry it's blurry, but use your imagination! I love how this angle hides the fact that the sock is at least a full inch longer than my foot and the toe is floppy.

I've been neglecting you

Ack! School!

I'm still knitting, but I've been stressed with school and, as you can tell, my blogging has suffered because of it. Apparently my last post confused some people, but the yarn I won wasn't the yarn in the picture right below it, so I am sorry. As soon as the new yarn arrives I will take a pretty picture and show it to you in its new habitat.

I bought the yarn in the picture at an LYS I'd never visited before, but it's actually much closer to me than either of the ones I've visited before. It's called Nancy's Knits, I think, and is stuffed chock full of yarny goodness. They had some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn which is ever so delicious. I got this solid brown there for Dad's socks after he requested a pair. Like this:

Dad: I like those kneesocks you made
Me: (totally joking) Good, because I'm making you a pair just like them.
Dad: (kind of excited) really?

So, after that, I just *had* to make him a pair, right?



This is where I was a week ago, modeled by the handsome and charming Dave. That weird bit on Dave's ankle is just the other sock. I've since completed both heels and a few rows of the leg. When last we saw these socks I was going to do a 3x2 ribbing, but that really didn't work out either. For ribbing to work really well with this yarn I'd have to do it on size 0s, and I just don't want to. I ripped back what ribbing I'd done and started thinking.

I like the way clocks look. And I wanted something simple. I started flipping through Nancy Bush's book Folk Socks and really liked these Estonian Socks, at least the part of the clock that runs down the heel. (That's what clocks look like, if you haven't heard of them before) So I did a bit of thinking and a bit of stockinette and started knitting those clocks about 2" after the toe increases were finished. It's a little cable done in twisted stitches and works perfectly with the yarn.

I'm using the Baudelaire heel, but instead of plain I have the clock motif running up either side of the heel flap. It looks great, and I'm very sorry I don't have a picture for you fine folks.

My question is this: what do y'all think about socks with clocks? What about toe-up socks with clocks? I'm asking because I'm thinking about posting this pattern here for your own sock-knitting pleasure. I'm really starting to be sold on the whole toe-up thing, and I think clocks are something that can look sophisticated and dressy but not too "girly" if made in a manly color. Everybody loves manly sock patterns! Do you guys want to see this one?

I am teh winnAr

Socktoberfest wound up being pretty great for me. Not only did I finish those fabulous kneesocks (and thank you guys so much for the compliments! warms my heart!) but I also won one of the prizes in the drawing! At some point the postman will bring me this 100% fabulous Yarn Pirate sock yarn. The colorway is called "Punkin Head." I'm so excited! These aren't normally colors I would choose for myself, so this is helping me get out of my "box" and I know I'll love them.


I've finally started my Christmas knitting. I started Dad's socks (the first time) Wednesday before last, the same day I finished my kneesocks. God willing and the creek don't flood these will be toe-up, two at a time on two circs. I started them this way twice, and got about ten rows into the foot the second time when I realized that the pattern I was using just wasn't working out. For one thing the socks were about an inch bigger around than my dad's foot, and the yarn was too dark to show the pattern (Stansfield #10 from Sensational Knitted Socks). I frogged again last night and started just one toe using a simple 3x2 ribbing. This way if I have to frog again, it'll be a smaller loss than the last two times. Eventually I will do the other toe, too, and will knit them mostly at the same time. Maximum yarn usage!


As further evidence that the third time is (hopefully) the charm, this is what I'm trying to knit for my three-year-old cousin. You may recognize this yarn as leftovers from my mitten project a while back.

It all started as a hat. I used my gauge notes from the mittens but TOTALLY BOTCHED THE MATH and wound up with a hat that was supposed to be 20" around but was, in fact, only 16". On top of all this, it was really obvious that I didn't have near enough yarn for a hat. Rather than buy more I decided that what Marianne really needed was one of those wide headbands that keeps your ears warm. And I liked the garter stitch stripes, so I went with that. On the second time, I think I got the math right but the gauge wrong, so now it's 24" around. It fits me perfectly, but I don't need a stripey headwarmer, I need a gift for my adorable cousin. So, that will get frogged again and hopefully the third time will be the charm.

Oh, and speaking of teh winnAr, I did the early voting thing today in a grocery store, and even though I am close to being out of food I didn't buy any food. No idea why. I doubt that too many of the guys I voted for will be winnArs except in all those uncontested elections.

Y'all don't forget to vote! It gives you the right to complain!