I heart my secret pal

Seriously, she is the cat's pajamas. The bees knees. The shizknit. (Yes, I know I spelled that wrong. Didn't I make a cute pun there? I'm sure nobody else has ever thought of that.)
Anyway, she sent me another package! Can you even believe it? I am still longingly fondling the last stuff she sent me. When I said that I want to start knitting with some of my new sock yarns (but am holding myself back for fear of not finishing Christmas presents), it was that beautiful variegated brown stuff she sent me that I was really thinking of. Anyway, here's what she sent me:

I forgot to mention in the other post how nice the presentation of her packages is (probably because I was too eagerly ripping everything open). She picked out tissue paper to match the color theme of the package (plus, there's a color theme to the package! (it's blue)), and put little notecards on some of the things and cute gift bags/boxes. Anyway, on to the good stuff. In the position of honor in front is 2 skeins of KP gloss sock yarn in Dusk, exactly the color I was coveting. Yum. There are also: cute blue flowered gift tags, apple cinammon tea, 2 little teensy jars of jam, blue sock-shaped point protectors, knitting-themed notecards, and a size 1 KP circular needle. Awesome! How does she know exactly what I will like? I usually think of myself as a pretty picky person.

In other news, I got myself some Lorna's Laces shepherd sock yarn a while back. This place was having a great deal where you get 8 skeins for $46. Why am I unable to resist yarn sales? Oh, but the catch was the 8 skeins were a surprise, although it was guaranteed that there would be 4 sets of 2 so you could make socks out of all of them. Anyway, from left to right they are: Forest (I originally got Liberty, that red white and blue one, but that was before the most recent election and I was feeling most unpatriotic, so I swapped them on the Knittyboard for the Forest color, which I like much better anyway), Sand Ridge, Purple Club, and Happy Stripe. I was a bit unsure on the Happy Stripe when it showed up, but it's grown on me since. It is, as the name suggests, very happy looking!


Anyway, it was this purchase that forced me to admit to J. that maybe I had a little problem and maybe I needed some help. I'm really running out of storage spaces for my yarn stash, which is pretty ridiculous. Our apartment is not that small. Anyway he has taken his role as yarnoholic sponsor seriously and has stated that any yarn that shows up at our front door is to be immediately donated to Goodwill. I made him make an exception for Secret Pal yarn. So I'm once again on a yarn diet. But I have bought 2 pairs of shoes since the yarn moratorium started.

Not much knitting

I have been knitting, but I've only been working on 2 surprise Christmas presents and I'm so paranoid about not finishing them in time that I haven't let myself start anything else, despite the fact that I would really really really like to start knitting some of the many new fancy sock yarns I've aquired. I think it's really nice to knit people gifts, I like giving people unique gifts and obviously something I've made myself is about as unique as it can get (since my attention span is too short to ever make the same thing twice). But at the same time I wish I was a faster knitter, since there are things I'd like to start for myself but feel like I can't until January. Boo.

Anyway, to keep you entertained in the mean time, I'll tell you about some non-knitting things. J. and I have been living the young single no kids high life the last few weekends, which for us means weekend trips.
Last weekend (the 4th) I surprised J. with a trip to the Russian River area (our favorite area for wine tasting, straight north of SF).
We stayed overnight in the beautiful Bodega Bay area:


And then we hit the wineries. This is California's version of fall foliage:


Look! A persimmon tree! I'd never seen one of those before. I thought they were oranges when we saw them from the car, but J. insisted they were persimmons and I thought he was crazy. But he was right.


Then, this most recent weekend since J. had Friday off we drove down to Santa Barbara to visit his sister. On the way we stopped in Monterey for a few hours and went to the aquarium, where we saw (among many other things) some hauntingly beautiful jellyfish.



Can you believe these things are real live animals and not just some crazy made up cartoon or something?

In Santa Barbara we went for a walk overlooking the ocean, where we saw some dolphins and many adorable sea birds, like pelicans and snowy plovers.


And we went to the Elwood Butterfly Preserve, where jillions of Monarch butterflies hang out in the winter. It was amazing. I have never seen so many butterflies in one place before, and it was really warm so they were all flying around like crazy. It turns out that flying butterflies are very hard to photograph. Here's one that kept still for a few seconds:



And I guess, since you've been so good and looked at all my vacation pictures, I'll show you a bit of my WIPs.
This one is an orange surprise:


And here's a pink surprise:


I hope the intended recipients like them!

Blogger sucks, my SP9 pal rocks!

So, I meant to post this yesterday, but Blogger was driving me CRAZY! It still seems to be not uploading pics at all, but at least now I have been forced to open a Flickr account and learn how to get the pictures from there onto my blog. It's been a slow learning curve. Yesterday I learned how to get pictures onto Flickr. Today I learned how to get multiple pics onto my blog.

Anyway I got an AWESOME (please forgive the many instances of all caps writing, but I need to convey to you how cool my pal is) package from my SP9 secret pal. She (I'm assuming it's a she, please correct me if I'm wrong) is the best! Here's my loot:

Pear preserves made by the pal herself:


I have to tell you, this is great bcs J. is obsessed with jam/preserves/jelly and the like. When I moved in with him I was shocked to find that he thinks it's normal to keep like 4 or 5 different kinds of open jam jars in the fridge (and often several more in the pantry) just to have a wide variety of jams. It took me a while to accept this way of living, I was more of the philosophy that you buy one jar of jam, and then when it's gone, you buy another one. But I have come around to J.'s way of thinking, aided in no small part by his persistence in buying tons of jam. There was one time shortly after we'd moved in together that we had run out of jam (this was back when I was putting my foot down about buying all the jams) and he called and asked me to pick up some jam on my way home from work, so I did and I even bought 2 jars as a concession to him, only to get home and find that he had bought 3 different jars of his own, sneakily having figured out that this would be the only way to get several kinds into the house.

Anyway I digress. I also got some candy:


And a long size 1 circular Addi Turbo plus Magic Loop booklet (hooray):


And last, but by far my favorite, some gorgeous sock yarn made by a company called Sugar Bunny Boulevard, which I had never heard of, but I'm so glad I've found out about it now! It is so super soft and beautiful and I love the colors. I'm thinking it would make a lovely Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.


So thanks secret pal! I'm so thrilled with everything you gave me!

This wasn't in the SP9 package but it is a little bitty punkin that I carved for Halloween. The one from the last post was J.'s (that was before I figured out how to put multiple pictures from Flickr in one blog post).

Happy Halloween!

I did some stuff (and took lots of pictures)

I am pleased to report that the haunting spectre of the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky is almost gone from my life. I finally knit it up into some things that were not immediately frogged.
You may remember that I had 6 bedevilled skeins of it. About 3.5 became this scarf:
I had an idea that I was going to do a very thick scarf with all 6 skeins that would be full of many fancy cables. But then for some reason when I got out my Barbara Walker books to find some cable patterns, I found myself gravitating towards this simple yet pretty knit-purl stitch pattern called seaweed. Maybe because I'm lazy. But I think it turned out nicely.

The coolest part of it is, it looks different on both sides but in a good, either one could be presentable kind of way. Ignore the color in these pictures, the yarn is really much more of a nice olive green than the bird poo grey that my camera wants to show you.
Here's the "front":

And the "back":How do those knitted columns come out all wavey like that when there are no increases or decreases in the pattern? It's a mystery to me.
I haven't blocked it for fear of losing the cool waviness. I think it looks kind of nice in its bunchy way right now, I can't decide. I also can't decide if I am going to keep it or if it will end up as a Christmas present.

Then, with the leftovers I started these:
Comfy footy-type house socks that will be for my SP9 secret pal. She lives in Minnesota. I figure her feet must be freezing. I might be slightly more tempted to keep these for myself if it weren't currently 85 degrees here in San Francisco.
Unfortunately, at the end of all this industrious Superchunky knitting I'm still going to have about 1 skein left. And being a super-anal type I can't just get rid of it, so I guess their spectre will still sort of haunt me.

Also, I finished 1 Pomatomus! Hooray!

Here's the fly in my socky ointment however:
Why is the grafting sticking up like that? In my vast experience of having knitted 6 entire other socks besides this one, I haven't had that happen to me. It looks pretty funky. Did I pull the kitchener stitches too tight? Any advice?

But wait! I have more to show you!
Many, many more sock yarns have come into my life recently.
Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn in Bark Cloth (what the heck is a bark cloth?):
This is for my secret pal, who professes to like autumnal colors best of all. This yarn is a little more orangey-rusty-red than is showing up here. I'm glad that this stuff gets to pass through my house on its way to her so I can feel it first.

I caved and bought some more Cherry Tree Hill Supersock mill ends from this ebay seller:
The auction ended at an incredibly low price though: $23 for 15 oz! Damn! I think some of this might find its way to my secret pal, and maybe the rest will become another Clapotis for my mother, although potentially not in time for Christmas, I have so many other things lined up ahead of it, and I'm a slow knitter.

I won a contest over at the Yarn Pirate's and she sent me some neat Opal yarn:
I'm excited to see what kind of stripey patterns will emerge as it is knitted.

And finally, I bought myself some Louet Gems Pearl sock yarn, just because I've been wanting to try it out:
Such pretty soft buttery yellow and white plied goodness. Reminds me of sweet corn.

Me me me!

I'm getting sick of knitting things for other people. And I'm nowhere near close to done with my planned Christmas present knitting. I'm also getting really sick of knitting things in boy colors. The cheery respite of the baby booties has long faded away.
So I decided, screw everybody else, I'm making something for me! Me me me!
Voila un demi Pomatomus:
This is more of the Cherry Tree Hill mill end. I am knitting from both ends of the ball as I was getting some horrific green pooling (or flashing? what is the difference between pooling and flashing?) in icky spirals all around the leg of the sock. I think it's mostly better now. Although there are still more patches of green then I would like.

I am generally of the mind that variegated sock yarns are best suited to really plain patterns, as the changes in colors tend to obscure any cool stitch patterns, to my eye at least. But Pomatomus seems to be the sort of exception to this rule. I've seen some awesome Pomatomi in variegated yarn that still really highlight the neat stitch pattern (Cookie's original one from the pattern being the prime example, of course) but I've also seen some in variegated yarn that, in my humble opinion, are hard to identify as Pomatomus because of the colors. So I was a bit apprehensive about starting this project out. I don't think it's the best example of Pomatomus-colorway combination I've seen, but I think the stitch pattern is still noticeable enough.

Remember this?
It's my Clapotis, knit from what is purportedly the same mill end yarn. It came as several skeins of varying sizes that all looked like they were pretty much the same colorway, but I realized a few inches into the sock that the skein I'm using for it seems kind of different. It's all emerald green, magenta, and purple. Where are all the cool light blues and pretty rusty browns from my lovely Clapotis? Nowhere to be seen. It's not a big deal, the colors are still nice, but I'm kind of concerned that the other sock is going to end up looking really different, since the current skein is not big enough for 2 socks.
Twisted ribbing is neat.

Secret Pal 9 questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like almost all natural fibers. I've mostly knit with animal fibers in the past but am interested in trying some cotton or bamboo or others. I'm not crazy about mohair or alpaca if it's too fuzzy, those stray fuzzy guard hairs kind of drive my skin nuts. I'm also not a big fan of novelty yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a needle roll that used to belong to my grandmother, although I mostly use Denises and DPNs, so the Denises have their own case and the DPNs are currently just loose in a drawer.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I learned how to knit in high school but only did it very sporadically until just a few years ago. A friend in high school taught me how to knit. I would consider my level intermediate, I guess.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like woodsy or green scents, or lavendar, or a lot of other florals.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do have a sweet tooth! I love most kinds of chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I've done a little bit of yarn dyeing but it's not really something I want to get too into right now, living in a small apartment. I also like printmaking and sometimes sewing. I don't spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like bluegrass, jazz, folk, rock, I think my computer can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like blues and greens. Not a huge fan of most pinks and neon colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my fiance and our 2 cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear scarves occasionally, hats and gloves even more occasionally, and ponchos never. I live in San Francisco so it's doesn't often get cold enough to necessitate scarves/hats/gloves.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I've just recently started knitting socks and I think those are fun! I also like knitting lacey scarves or other interesting stitch patterns.

13. What are you knitting right now?
2 pairs of socks and a sweater for my fiance. I'm about to start a Picovoli, one of these days.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I mostly use Denises so circular, and I like metal DPNs for socks (I have a bunch of the Knitpicks DPNs). I've been meaning to try magic loop for socks but haven't gotten around to buying long circulars yet. Not so crazy about bamboo (it always seems to snag the yarn).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Hmm, I have a mohair sweater that I started in high school, so over 10 years ago, but it is never going to be finished as I realized that I hate mohair.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas! For the crafts and presents.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Old postcards, and yarn, obviously.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have a subscription to Interweave, and to Vogue Knitting that is just ending. I'd love to try magic loop with long Addi turbos. I'm always coveting various sock yarns, like Socks that Rock, or Knitpicks Gloss, or Lorna's Laces. I'm currently looking for more solid color machine washable sock yarn. I would love to get a copy of a Gathering of Lace, or other good lace patterns (although I'm not so fond of triangular or circular shawls, I kind of feel like they belong on 90 yr old ladies). And I'd definitely love to get my hands on a copy of Jess Hutchisons's Unusual Toys for you to Knit and Enjoy, but that's probably wishful thinking.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd like to try Magic Loop for socks, toe-up socks, more complicated cables (I've done some very simple cables).

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes I'm a sock knitter. I wear size 9.5. I think my foot is like 8" around? I'm not sure.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
May 13.

Arr, thar be some booty!

I'm a bit late for Talk Like a Pirate day. But look, booties!
Some of J's friends had a baby girl a few weeks ago, and despite the fact that I really don't know them that well (although they are lovely people) I was so overcome with the urge to knit little cutesy girly baby things that I had to make little Annika some booties for her wittle tootsies! The impetus for this project also partly being that I have been slaving away on some very manly, and hence kind of boring, projects. One being J's sweater (which is about twice as far along as the last picture I posted of it, but what's the point of posting more, the front looks just like the back, boooooring), the other being a mystery Christmas project so even if I wasn't bored with it I still couldn't post any more pictures in the risk of revealing the secret. I was just looking through my closet the other day and thinking that all my clothes are brightly colored (mostly blues and greens) and I should really aquire some more neutral colored clothes, but now I'm thinking I'll have to buy them instead of knitting them, because apparently brown colored things don't hold my attention very well.

Anyway here's some info about yon baby booties.
Pattern was a freebie found here. I have to say this pattern kind of sucks, in that there is no gauge mentioned but it doesn't call for a specific kind of yarn, just DK cotton. But I guess you get what you pay for. It was partly for this reason and partly because I was being picky and indecisive that I ended up making 7 bottoms and almost 4 tops to wind up with 2 useable ones of each. The rosette pattern was another freebie, but a totally non-sucky one. Incredibly simple and took about 5 minutes to make each but I think they turned out really cute.
The yarn for these were from some totally random skeins that I think I got in a dollar bin at a yarn store in Seattle ages ago, actually I think it might have been a bin of bags of skeins for a dollar, so these skeins were probably like 20 cents each, go cheap knitting! The blue is a superwash wool and the pink is 50/50 wool/acrylic. I'm not sure how often baby booties need to be washed, probably depends on how much the baby in question likes to stick her be-bootied foot in her mouth, but I figured machine washable baby items were definitely the way to go.
The booty part was knitted on US size 5s and the rosettes on US size 3s.

Here's Paddington being a helpful model again:

Off the wagon

Remember when I said someone should take my credit card away? I wasn't joking. Why do I feel compelled to purchase yarn at rates ten times faster than I can knit it up? But look how pretty!I went a little nuts when knithappens had a big sale at the end of August.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Buck's Bar. I don't know what Buck's Bar means, but oh how I love it.
What is this strange hold that sock yarn has taken on me? Fleece Artist Merino in Parrot. Tropical bird colors for my feet!
A big ol' pile of Noro Cash Iroha for the Hourglass Sweater that I have been threatening to make for months. It's really much more of a violet-ish color in person. Unfortunately, I ordered ten skeins but the store only sent me 9, I hope this doesn't mean they are out. I was planning on making the size that calls for 9 skeins but it seems like everyone that makes this sweater is running really short on yarn, I was even nervous about getting through with 10.I was thinking of making the Hourglass with a contrast color trim, ala this one. I have this 2 skeins of this baby blue stuff, that I think is some kind of wool-silk blend. It was originally knitted into some ill-fated wrist warmers that are just too big and look silly. So I think it will be happier to take its place as part of a sweater. If I can get enough yarn, that is.

Clapotis

Clapotis is done! This was such a quick, mindless knit, but so cool looking at the end! And of course dropping stitches on purpose is always fun. My denises came unjoined from the cord a few times during the knitting process and my scrambling to keep all those dropped stitches from unravelling seemed kind of funny, when I was purposefully dropping other ones.

I went a little nuts with the pictures since I actually made the effort and braved the passerbys' gawkings to go out to the front porch to get good light, so I have several non-fuzzy pictures instead of my usual 1 or 2 out of 30 or so.

Anyway here it is blocking (doubled up):

Pretty pretty colors (there are several knots in the finished product, one of which you can see here, which is entirely my fault, somehow I ended up making several huge snarls out of my center-pull ball and just broke the yarn instead of dealing with it):

Modeled by the porch railing:And the chair:

And by me!Specs:
yarn - Cherry Tree Hill Merino Supersock - a mill end, so I don't know what the name of the colorway is. I love the colors in this yarn - especially all the blues. And I think Clapotis is the perfect pattern for a variegated yarn, since any pooling is made much less obvious by the big stripes of dropped stitches. The yarn itself is very soft and smooth and lightweight, I think this is the lightest scarf I've made yet.
needles - Denise size 5s

I've started one of my Christmas projects already. Here's a glimpse that hopefully doesn't reveal what it's going to be, since the recepient may be lurking:
Mmm pumpkin. This is Knitpicks Essential in Pumpkin, the color really reminds me more of pumpkin pie filling. Mmmmm...