I GOT VD!! (And a whole lotta other things!)

Look! I got VD! Of course you knew I meant Valentine's Day, what else were YOU thinking?? Ali from Knitty got us started, and the infection spread quickly! Here's what Silly Rabbit sent me! Piles of candy! A Handmade(?) Card that's lovely, and BEAUTIFL LaceWeight Merino from KnitPicks! The yarn is Gossamer and the color is Sweet Pea! How perfect for VD!

Here's a close-up of this scrumptious yarn! I'll have to see if I can find a nice stole that I can make from this...

It's been a month of packages around here (does that mean I'm involved in too many swaps??) This package is from my WONDERFUL SP8 Pal, ChickaChickaKnitChick07! (Love the name!) Anyhow, she's been diligently studying my original survey, stalking me here (sorry it's been so long since I've updated - a friend got on me about it yesterday, and I knew I had a lot to say, so here I am...), and sending me additional surveys!! She's definitely done her homework! Here's my first package (well, most of it...I didn't take pics at the time, sorry). This yarn is REALLY cool! It's the new TOFUtsies from Southwest Trading Company (makers of SWS Soy/Wool yarn). Pretty cool stuff, it's 50% Merino, 25% Soy, 22.5% Cotton, and 2.5% Chitin (pronounced kIte-in so I'm told). Chitin is fiber from the shells of shrimp and crabs and is naturally antibacterial - how cool is that? The colors are perfect and I can't wait to make a pair of socks with it!

The other item pictured is a Knitter's Journal! It's got lots of little inspirational things, but also has lined paper on one side of the pages and graphed on the other! Just perfect for 1) Recording all of the stuff I knit this year - I think it'll be interesting to keep a list. 2) Making design notes for my Original Design garment!

What's this she says? Original Design Garment? Yep, it's now official (the money's been spent!), Cherry Tree Hill is having a design competition for a large sized garment from their Sock yarn, and I'm entering! I spent nearly 5 hours yesterday at Chez Casuelle, my LYS and supplier of this yarn nirvana. I have a design idea in mind, but had to pick colors...wow, that's tough with so MANY amazing colors in stock! Once I found a set that I thought I liked, I did some swatching, testing colors next to each other, etc... Did knock out one of my original colors from the running and picked up another color...one very similar to the Sweet Pea above actually! So, I have my yarn! Am finishing up a pair of socks today, then I can start some more swatching, look at the interactions, get the gauges, and figure out stitch details... Sorry, I'm not posting any specifics here, but if you knit with me on a regular basis you'll be seeing a lot of this project over the next few months.

After I left Chez Casuelle, I headed home (it was nearly 7 when I left!), but decided to stop for dinner on the way. Stopped by an Outback Steakhouse (at 7:30pm on a Saturday night! - oops!) It was mobbed. The woman at the front said 65-80 minutes, but I might find something first come - first served in the bar. Was stalking a couple of spots waiting for people to leave when a woman at the table behind me said "Excuse me, but are you by yourself?" Then, "Well, I am too, and I have this whole big table, you're welcome to share with me!" She had managed to snag a 4-top and was feeling kinda silly all by herself with the restaurant so full. So, I sat down and had a lovely dinner with a complete stranger! It was a nice conversation, we talked about knitting (I was working on the sock), life, family, dating... Was kinda funny actually, since she lives in Leesburg but had been in Orlando all day. I had started my morning in Orlando then spent the afternoon in Leesburg! So, we were headed in nearly opposite directions and both stopped at the same place in the middle :)

Upon my arrival home, I found a pretty flowery package in the mail!! Yep, this was from the Knitty Sock Exchange that I did with Mokolua! Here's what she sent me:

The socks are beautiful! They're made from Cool Wool Merino 2000 from Lana Grossa. She was afraid to send candy lest it melt...ok, probably not a serious concern right now (glances at the Temp stamp on the computer - Ooohhh 48'F!), but it works anyhow since I'm not really big on candy. So she sent me yarn instead!! Perfect! While there's definitely such a thing as too much candy, there can NEVER be too much yarn! The yarn is Louet Gems in Grape. It actually looks darker in the photo because of the shadows, but it is a lovely purple color. And it's superwash for socks too! Also enclosed is an AMAZING box of tea! It's from the Hawaiian Tea Company, and is a Passion Fruit tea. Had a cup last night and it was WONDERFUL! I love fruity and unusual teas, and this one is a GREAT one! Thanks SOOOO much Beth!

Here's the closer detail of the socks - they fit great and are very comfy!

I sent a pair of socks her way last week, which I haven't posted here, since we agreed that they would be a surprise... So here are the socks that I made for Beth:

These are a colorway called Crazy Woman from Mountain Colors. I loved the way they striped. The pattern was from Knitting on the Road. Beth reports that they fit perfectly, which is great! I figured they would, as they were just a touch on the tight side for me, and her feet are slightly smaller than mine. Here's an attempt to show you the stitch detail:

So, that's most of the NEW news...there is of course a lot of old news that I haven't exactly covered. One Item I've been meaning to put up is the photos of my "Judy Pascale Vertical Vest" from the class that we took in November. I loved this vest, as it was my first "whole design" project. Ok, well, not whole design, since Judy gave us the basic structure, but it was completely sized for me, based on my measurements and gauge. It is knit in KnitPicks Gloss - Burgundy, with beads from AC Moore. The beads are a variegated Rose Quartz mix. It's interesting, but somewhat disconcerting, to see how the various beads fall and interact. So, here's the up close pic.
Since the vest came out SOOO well (and so quickly - I completed it within 1 month!), and I had extra yarn, I kinda got a little crazy... So I decided what I needed to go with the vest was a pair of matching socks! These were done with Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern, then I invert the cuffs, went up a needle size, and beaded the outsides of the cuffs. Here's the full effect:

On another mostly undocumented front, I had a great time in NY when I went in January. My niece is gorgeous and it was so great to meet her! Here's a pic of my mom with Ava from just before I left (so she was a day short of 3 weeks old).