Relief

It only took 29 days for my Sockapalooza 4 socks to reach their recipient, but that is exactly what they did today! Yippee!!! I am so relieved for a couple of reasons:
1. You never like it when things go astray; and,
2. I can't find the intended backup socks! I took pictures of them on Friday and now I can't find them... I guess that they really didn't want to go to California!

Hederas - oly-oly-oxen free! You can come out now...

Stella

Meet “Stella”...

I picked her up at Have a Yarn when I was on vacation. She is from “Les laines oberlyn” (sorry - I can't find a website for them), 50% Baby Suri, 40% Extra-fine Merino and 10% Cashmere. Isn’t she pretty? “Stella” is going to become my new winter hat – I think – unless she tells me otherwise. I’m considering this.
And some “Fiddlesticks” lace weight “Zephyr Wool-Silk” in “Lilac” also jumped into my bag, followed by 4 balls of “Sisu” in 2 colours. Considering Deb’s comments about the “Sisu” (Splitsu?!), I’m feeling a little worried about it, but the colours were so pretty!

The whole gang. (Sorry about the picture quality and I didn't realize that the Sisu was clowning around and standing upside down...!)
There was also a pattern designed by Catherine Vardy, but that was part of my Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap package.
Other news on the yarn from includes the arrival of package number 2 from the Sweet Sheep Flavour of the Month Club. This month’s colour is “Fiery”!


And the pattern is for a very pretty pair of fingerless mitts, Delicato Mitts from Knitspot.
In project progress, well, there hasn't been much... The Sockapalooza 4 package still hasn't arrived.... Have you seen these socks?
And the socks that I started for Sock It To Me when I was on vacation turned out to rude and evil.... I'm suffocating them in a bag before I gather the strength to frog them. I'll post pics later - I don't have enough energy to share with the evil little things right now. And then the re-think pair, while they're much nicer, just weren't going to work from a measurement perspective... And we all know that it wouldn't be nice to receive a pair of socks that your spoiler knew wouldn't fit. I frogged the first one a lunch and cast back on on the commute home. Sigh...

FFBE Contest # 2

1. What is your favorite yarn for felting, and why?
I'm going to go with the local product - Briggs and Little. Why? It is inexpensive, it felts well, it comes in a broad range of colours and if they don't have the colour you want, it dyes beautifully with Koolaid.
2. Name one person in the swap who is not from the U.S. and tell us where they are from, and link to their blog.
Anna S. is in Finland! (I figured that it would be cheating to say ME!)
3. Find one person in the swap who has a dog, and let us know the name of their dog(s) and link to their blog.
Alana has not one, but 2 dogs! They are Jayda and Flex and you can see their gorgeous puppy faces at the top right hand corner of her blog.
4. Find one person in the swap who has a child or grandchild and link to their blog.
Robin R. has 2 grown human children and three furbabies. (Once again, cheating to say ME!)
5. And finally, tell us if you like October or November more, and why!
Definitely October! We were married in October on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. It is a beautiful time of year. The leaves turn colour, but the days are still warm enough to enjoy and the nights are cool enough for a nice warm sweater - or a bonfire.

This is the third set of contest answers that I have done today. I'd probably better go do some laundry before Mr. Me and the kids get back from a swim at the lake...

SP11 Contest # 2

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
My retractable tape measure. I have lots of tape measures, but I love my retractable one the best... It's neat and tidy and used frequently!
2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?
Don't leave home without it. I take my knitting pretty well everywhere. On vacation, to work, to social gatherings. And I usually take far more than I could ever hope to finish. I mean really, how fast would I have to knit to knit 2 pair of socks during my commute? Or two pair of socks and a shawl during a one week camping vacation... I do try to make sure that the projects are reasonably portable and don't involve more than 2 colours at a time.
3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
Probably the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. My husband and I spent 10 days in Ireland before we got married. We had absolutely fabulous weather but the day that we spent on the Antrim Coast was simply breathtaking.
4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
Hmmm.... That's a tough one. I'm still quite in love with Sensational Knitted Socks and Cool Socks, Warm Feet. And yes, I do own both of them. More Sensational Knitted Socks is trying to tempt me, and I'm afraid that I may succumb to its charms.
5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
Typically, no. And I'll admit the shameful truth that I have never listened to a knitting podcast!
6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
This question is making me very anxious.... I'm going to have to say Green just because the guys in my family wouldn't be caught dead in Pink.
7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
That would seriously depend on what the mistake was and whether anyone other than I might ever know about it. I might go back and fix it, or I might decide to make the rest of the project consistent with the mistake. I'll explain that if I ever get my Camelot Socks done! The soles are wrong, but I quite like them.
8. Where is the most unsual spot you've ever knit?
Probably business meetings, although I only ever knit at the internal ones. I had complaints about it once, but it was just someone being cranky. I asked my VP whether it had bothered her (so I could apologize if needed since it was her meeting) only to be met with a perplexed look. In her view it was productive and wasn't disruptive like people's cell phones and Blackberries!

SITM Contest # 2

So it's time for the second contest over at the Sock It To Me swap. The challenge is to post about your favorite yarn, including a picture and why it's your favorite yarn. (I have added the extra parameter of it being a sock yarn just because it's a sock swap...)
As far as I can tell, the hard part is choosing just one! However, if I had to choose just one yarn, I'd probably have to go with Fleece Artist Merino. Why? It's from Nova Scotia - go Martime Canadian products! It's 100% wool. It's machine washable. It's handpainted and the colours are gorgeous. And it has a great hand and springiness to it. I'd have to go for a dig through my sock drawer to get pics of all of my FA socks and ask for photos from people for whom I have knit socks with their yarns, but if you look here, you can see what I added to my stash back in February and then you can see what the skein in the middle grew up to be here. The skein on the right is currently travelling as part of the Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap. I tried to purchase a skein for my downstream pal, but that proved to be impossible (demand exceeds supply often) and that skein just about begged to travel. Want some for yourself? Check out their Where to Purchase List.

Cookie Anyone?

Okay, so they’re not edible, but I would if I could… Not one, but two pairs of finished Cookie A. socks. Another pair of Monkeys in Fleece Artist Merino (from my stash – aren’t you proud of me?) and a pair of Hedera in Regia Bamboo.

I need to measure up the Hederas. They may end up being the backup pair of socks for Sockapalooza 4 if my pal doesn’t receive her package by the middle of next week. If I end up shipping a second pair, yes, this time they will be insured. I could have done it easily “in town”, but my rural post office insisted that I couldn’t unless I was prepared to pay significantly more than I had paid for the yarn!.
My apologies for the date stamps on the photos, but older son came back from a day camp sleepover with this burn on his face…

I know that I’m going to have a conversation with the woman in charge of the local youth centre, but I’m not sure how much further I’m going to take it. There were kids at the day camp from K – 12 and it was the result of one of the older kids melting plastic, burning his finger, him shaking his finger to get the melted plastic off and it landing on my kid. Am I impressed? Not particularly.

Swap Updates

I’m with Leslie – this whole swapping thing is totally addictive! With that in mind, I’m trying to keep it under control just to make sure that I don’t make any commitments that I really can’t keep…
That said, my Sockapalooza 4 package arrived early last week! And isn’t it nice?

I love the socks! They are a very pretty colour (Regia Bamboo) and a very pretty pattern (Coupling from Knitty), but even better than that – they fit perfectly! If you read the commentary with the pattern, it is quite funny, which shows that both Krafty 1, my spoiler and Deb, the designer, have great senses of humour! And “bugs” for me – Lindt chocolate. And “bugs” for the boys – Pez. Both rate great big “Yum”s!

I think that I’ll frame the postcard because it is so pretty! Thanks again Krafty 1 - a great package. My poor downstream pal is still waiting for her package and I’m starting to feel a little anxious after that living dangerously decision… If you see these socks on your mail carrier, could you please tie them up with circular needles and call the cops for me?
In other swap news, I have heard from my upstream SP11 pal and contacted my downstream SP11 pal. Now my upstream pal asked me some really interesting, but tough questions. As an example: who is your favourite Star Trek captain? Completely and totally unrelated to knitting, but fun all the same! (James T. Kirk – helloooo…! Is there any other?!)

I countered with: who is your favourite Dr. Who? That would have been easier for me… (Tom Baker, of course!) I’ve started asking questions of my downstream pal, and I’m sure that we’re going to have fun getting to know one another.
I signed up for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange last week, too. I really enjoyed the Spring version, I’m sure at least partly because I had great pals, both upstream and downstream. But even beyond that, I’ve got to say that Anne and her pals run a great swap! The Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap has been equally enjoyable. Speaking of which, my downstream package has been posted. I’m tracking its progress… I really hope that my pal likes it.

More Vacation Stuff

One of the best parts of my vacation was going to see The Yarn Harlot in Halifax. She was very entertaining and managed to convince me that I wasn’t all that abnormal! It is so good to find like minded people. I found myself in a room full of people to whom I would not have been embarrassed to admit that I had packed three knitting projects for a one week camping vacation… This is something that non-knitters would never, ever understand! They mistakenly believe that clothes are more important. I would agree on an adequate number of underwear changes, but beyond that? I don’t think so! Knitting trumps clothing for suitcase space just about any day.
Now one of the really nice things about going to see the Harlot was that I got to meet some of the knitters from KOL. You’ll find their link in my sidebar, and even some direct links to some of them… The downside of this is that I am now experiencing “knitting group envy”. Sigh… Don’t get me wrong – despite the fact that I haven’t made it to a meeting of the Fredericton Knitters' Group for a few months, I do enjoy the group. But KOL meets once a week… And they meet in public… And they now have matching shirts… And their leader (at least I think he is their leader) is a monster named Henry!
Getting back to the positive – I will get to meet up with them TWICE in October when I am in Halifax for meetings. No contest. Knitters versus civil servants? Knitters win everytime! Sorry co-workers but I won’t be joining you.
The day after the Harlot, we headed home via Chester Basin and Mahone Bay. Mr. Me wanted to go to Chester Basin, I wanted to go to Mahone Bay… If you’re in the area, drop in to Have a Yarn! It’s a great little shop.

Fall Felted Bag Exchange Questionnaire

How long have you been knitting or crocheting? How did you learn? or from whom?
Well, I'm glad your asked that question - I've been knitting for over a quarter of a century and I taught myself from a library book. It's very difficult to find other left handed knitters that knit left handed.
What was your first felted object, and why did you decide to try felting?
Truthfully, my first felted object remains as a UFO. It was meant to be a felted baby jacket for my niece who is now 14. My first finished felted object was a hat. I decided to make the hat because the samples on display at Wool-Tyme in Halifax (now LK Yarns) were just so darned cute.
What are your favorite colors? Any you hate?
I love pinks, purples, blues and green. I'm not an yellow or brown person, but I do like orange.
What are your favorite styles\types of bags? (Long straps? Short handles? Handbags? Totes? Embellished? Plain? Include links to patterns or photos if you’d like – give your pal an idea of what you enjoy!)
I need straps long enough to place the bag over my shoulder, or at the very least over my wrist. I seem to always need my hands free... And I'm probably more of a handbag gal. Embellished or plain is a tricky quetion! It depends on both the bag and the yarn used to make it. I could go either way on that one... However, I am completely and totally in love with the Noni bags. I blame Crafty Canadian for that... She put a photo of one of their bags on her blog and I've been a goner ever since!
What handbag or bag are you carrying today? Do you use a separate bag to carry your knitting? My usual black leather handbag that I thought would be practical, but that I really don't like... My knitting is almost always separate and can be found in any number of totes that I have depending on the project and / or my mood.
What other things do you enjoy knitting or crocheting?
I've been doing a lot of socks recently, as well as some scarves and shawls. Portability has become an essential criteria for my knitting projects.
What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
I probably tend to use straights more often because I have them. I much prefer bamboo, but don't have the budget to do a complete changeover, so I still have some aluminun hanging around.
What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
I'm going to have to give this some serious thought. I have a memory that malfunctions frequently (I'm blonde...) and I tend to be distracted by "shiny stuff"!
What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
This may seem odd, and I know that it doesn't felt, but hemp! Or a 100% linen yarn. I've only ever knit linen blends.
What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden?
I cross stitch, bead some, sew, cook... I enjoying reading when I have time, which doesn't seem to be too often these days. And while I don't exactly enjoy it, I do lots of laundry!
Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
Buttons and beads.
What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
Salty or spicy! I despise black licorice, or anything involving black licorice - yeah that includes those pretty licoric all sorts. Fortunately, the only thing that I'm allergic to that really matters is penicillin and I can't see any of you sending me mouldy bread...
Do you have any kiddos? (Furry kind count!)
2 sons - 11.5 and 7 years old, 1 male cat (kitten really - he's only 7 months but quite a bruiser) and 2 male gerbils. Add in the husband and I am incredibly outnumbered!
What kind of project best personifies you and why?
This would be more interesting if answered by my husband, but probably less flattering, too! Whimsical. I like things to be practical, but I derive pleasure from things that are amusing or different.
What is your favorite part of Autumn? You can also share a special Autumn memory if you'd prefer!
I love the Fall leaves. We were married Thanksgiving weekend in 1994. The weather in October (remember we're talking Canadian Thanksgiving here) is still pleasant - not too hot and not too cold, but the foiliage is just beautiful. I've promised some follow up shots to this one around anniversary time.
Tell us 3 things you would do if you won 10 million dollars in the lottery.
Pay off my mortgage and the mortgages of my close friends and family members.
Finish renovating my house and property.
Go shopping for yarn and shoes!!!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is many things. It is La Fête Nationale Acadienne, Napaleon Bonaparte's birthday, Independence Day in Congo, Ben Affleck's birthday... But here is the really, really, really important thing about tomorrow: sign-ups open for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange!

Anyone Wanna Come for a Visit? No???

Nancy very kindly enquired after our new swanky tent, and I can report that it is home safe and sound without any sort of incident. However, given what Mr. Me and older son found in the cellar (it really is a cellar complete with rock foundations and dirt floor), I may be considering living in the tent fulltime. Yup - even in the Winter...

So? Anyone want to come for a visit??? What do you mean you don't like salamanders?! (I don't care how many times the kids ask, we are NOT keeping it.)

Vacation Recap

So you all know from the “Sockrifice” post that we spent some time at MacLeod’s Beach, 2 nights to be exact. It is a very nice campground and I would suggest that it is a good spot for my fellow tenters. We also spent one night in Charlottetown, PEI, hanging out with some “mucky-mucks”… Only thing more fun would have been this pair in their respective kilts!

And then a couple of nights in Baddeck, Nova Scotia at the Bras d’or Campground - loads of fun! The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is decidedly worth the effort although I’m not quite so convinced about Giant MacAskill. Then one night in North Sydney after a day at Louisbourg… Louisbourg is amazing! We saw the usual historic exhibits, but the highlight had to be the archaeological dig that was in progress. Very, very impressive, supplemented by friendly and knowledgeable staff at the dig site.


And we got "mooned" by some ducks and picked up a couple of French marines!

Around the Cabot Trail,

MacLeod’s Beach, a night in Halifax with the Yarn Harlot for Miss Me,

a day in Mahone Bay and Chester and then home! All in all a good vacation, even though it wasn’t particularly restful. Now there is clearly more to it than that (like the stash I bought in Mahone Bay), but some of that may follow later!

Destination: Wollongong, Australia

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my Virtual Vacation swap package arrived on Thursday, and I think that the following words are appropriate: Wow! Awesome! Amazing! I was actually speechless for a few moments and anyone who knows me will attest to how incredibly, incredibly rare this type of occurrence is! My spoilee was Donyale, and she spoiled me quite nicely, thank you!
There was a skein of Australian wool sock yarn that she dyed herself (colourway: Urban Grind), 2 balls of Lana Gatto "Cabiria", an incredibly different and unique scarf that floats and flies when you wear it, it is made out of some of Donyale's hand spun and some other novelty yarns (this will match my hot pink cut velveteen jacket perfectly - photos later in the Fall of me wearing it!), tourist information on Wollongong and surrounding area, some Australian stickers and temporary tattoos, a magnet, a set of 2mm Crystal Palace bamboo needles, a magnetic row counter, a pattern booklet of cushions and throws and last but not least - a tube of Vegemite all wrapped in the most lovely paper with Australian flora and fauna on it! Now - I'm going to try and get all of the photos in order to match the list - wish me luck!






Oh, and Donyale's work is marketed as "Moggy and Me". Thank you again Donyale - its a TERRIFIC swap package that will bring me much enjoyment. I'm sure that I've forgotten to mention everything, but that's just because there is so much!

SPll Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I prefer to knit with natural fibres. For me that includes things like Tencel, Rayon and most other natural based manmade fibres. It’s probably really only the petroluem product yarns that I object to – like 100% acrylic! Soft is good, too…
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I’ll interpret that as meaning other than in UFOs… I have a couple of recycled pickle jars for the straights. The circs hang off of the curlicue sort of thing on my sewing room curtain rod. (Measuring tapes hang on the other end.) My DPNs typically live in an odd black nylon case of sorts that my mother bought me… I have no idea what its intended use really was!
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I taught myself how to knit from a book, borrowed from the library. I’m a lefty, who knits left – just try and find someone to teach that! I was about 15 when I learned. I’m probably at the intermediate to advanced end of things, depending on just how cocky I’m feeling on any given day.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No, but if this changes, I’ll make sure I update this. It could prove useful for not only swaps but family members…
5. What's your favorite scent?
I like the scents of Jasmine and Vanilla.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Not exactly a sweet tooth – my favourite candies are sours!
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I sew, do a little bit of cross stitch, a little bit of beading… I cook. Sadly, although I own a spinning wheel, I do not yet 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 most music, but least favourite would be classical music, followed by country. And my computer can play MP3s.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like pinks, purples, blues and greens. I’m not a big fan of either brown or yellow, but I do like orange.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married, 2 sons (7 and 11 ½), 1 male cat and 2 gerbils (also male).
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes to all 4.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I’m really enjoying both socks and lacy shawls and scarves these days.
13. What are you knitting right now?
A variety of socks, a shawl, an afghan, a few sweaters… I think that I may have developed knitting related ADD – do you think that I need help?
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Oh – tough question. I don’t have any strong preference, although I am enjoying bamboo more and more all the time. I really like my Pony Pearls, too, but don’t really enjoy knitting with my inexpensive plastic needles anymore – but I’ll probably keep them for sentimental reasons.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I have a yarn winder, but alas, no swift…
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Is there a prize for the oldest UFO? No??? Too bad…! My oldest UFO that was started by me is a felted baby jacket that I started 14 years ago.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
I’m not sure! Thanksgiving maybe. Sometimes it is good to take a few minutes to just be grateful for everything we have.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Beads and buttons. I like to have something a little bit different.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
A skein of either Socks That Rock Yarn or Jitterbug. I can’t get either of them locally – maybe in the region, but not anywhere all that close. And I have a subscription to Interweave Knits - love it!
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I’m sure that there are, but I just can’t think of them right now. I’ll edit if something comes to mind, okay?
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, I am a sock knitter. Feet are 9.75 inches by 9.75 inches. I typically wear a size 9 (North American) shoe, medium width.
23. When is your birthday?
July 4, 1964.
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
No – I’m not on Ravelry.

Did I miss anything? Not enough detail - just ask!

Post Heavy Day - Contest Over at Cass' Place

Congratulations to Cass on 222 posts. Check out her contest here - hard to choose the answers since we all have more than 2 favourites in all of the categories requested!

Oh and speaking of contests, there was absolutely, positively no way that I was every going to have time to find everything in the Virtual Vacation scavenger hunt, but if any of you are still looking:
I knit socks.
I don't really care if I travel to Hawaii - I'd rather go to other places in the United States.
I knit lace
I felt.
I have a cat.

Sockrifice

How many of you have had the nasty experience of runaway socks? I don't know what it is, maybe its the working conditions, afterall being in a potentially hot, damp and stinky environment isn't my idea of a good job, but a surprising number of socks simply disappear... This happens most often in the laundry as the socks find the magic doors in the washer and dryer, and know the password to get out and move on to sockutopia. While we miss them, I think that many of us applaud and admire their ambition to move on and find a better life. Fortunately, handknit socks tend to be much happier in their lives and socks, and far fewer of them simply leave without a word.
During our stay at MacLeod's Beach one of younger son's answered the call of the sea, leaving behind a stranded, bewildered and heartbroken mate... I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. The sock left behind sacrified itself to the great sock god by throwing itself upon a funeral pire. I can understand it's grief, but what I really hope is that it has found peace and changed our sock kharma.


Okay - so it was really just a campfire... Younger son has been playing in the surf our first night at the camp and had managed to get his socks and Crocs wet. So Mr. Me suggested that he take them off and play in the surf in barefeet... Fine - that makes sense. The only problem was trying to find a sand coloured sock in the sand at dusk! We could have just placed the lone sock in the trash, but the boys thought that a "sockrifice" would be far more fun! It got some odd looks, but whatever - it made the kids laugh! And considering this view, I can't say that I blame the other sock for wanting to stay on the beach.

Mail Call!

I just love getting mail! So long as it isn't bills, that is. One of the nice things about getting back from vacation was all the mail waiting for me. We arrived home Wednesday evening - 8ish. After unpacking the car, getting milk for Thursday morning's coffee was a must and that just happened to mean that I had to pass our community mail box. (I hate the community mail box, but I'll save that for a mid-winter rant when the door is frozen shut - okay?)
On Wednesday there was my prize from Megan's blog contest and an order from Knitpicks. My prize was a copy of The Gift Knitter, a very cute book with knitted designs for both 2 and 4 legged babies! Now many of my friends have already finished their families, or will never have children for a variety of reasons, but Mr. Me's cousin's wife (still with me?) is pregnant! What could be better?!
And the Knitpicks package was books, too! Fitted Knits and Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee Casts Off.

So Wednesday was clearly book day... And then came Thursday.
Thursday's mail brought an order from Simply Sock Yarn - 2 balls of Cascade for a pair of gardening gloves for my Mom for Christmas, 1 ball of Opal Tiger for socks for the boys and 1 ball of Panda cotton to finish these. Yum! But - even better than the yarn was my swap package from my Virtual Vacation spoiler, Donyale from Australia!!! It is a great package and is decidely worthy of it's own post, so photos and details of my amazing package will follow shortly. I'm still taking it all in! Lucky, lucky, lucky me!