Uninspired.

WOW! I have three downstream pals in various Knitty swaps, and not one of them has made a blog post in the past week! The Knittyboards are very quiet too...

Is everyone on vacation?

Busily knitting or spinning?

Reading Harry Potter?

Me? Well, no vacations, but I did find a great ticket price for my trip to NY in September. Hooray! Non-stop RT flights too! So, that's a bit of good news at least.

Knitting and spinning? Yep. I'm working on a pair of socks that I spun - was knitting during a conference call today and after my boss was looking them over. He said "What would you WEAR those with?" with a skeptical look in his eye... So I gave him the brief description of how Pixie has said she'll wear them, including shoe and hair colors, and he said "Aaaahhhhh...ok." But, since they are a surprise, I can't show you yet. I've been taking pictures along the way though, and will show you when they are delivered.

Am in the process of plying the yarn for LkManitou's socks. Am taking a quick break from that actually...resting my fingers. Have a bandaid on for finger protection as well, which is helping me get farther than I would have otherwise. Yep, can't show you that yet either.

After that? I've decided to spin yarn for my Rut-Busting Sock swap pal too!! I'm so totally gonna spoil her she won't know what hit her! Have found some GREAT sale discounts on things, so have picked up several things... That fiber came from the same dyer that Pixie's socks came from actually, FatCatKnits on Etsy. Will start that roving once I'm done with LkM's.

I did read TWO Harry Potter books this week...finally got my hands on book 6 Saturday morning. Finished it Monday at 9pm. Started 7 immediately. Finished IT Thursday at 9pm! So, one could say I read it in three weeknights. If you want to talk about it, email me. Am thinking I might re-read part of it this weekend before I turn it back in on Monday (only a one week checkout!).

What IS Tencel??

So, this is a question that's been bugging me for a while. Someone said it was "wood fiber"...but how can it be soooo soft and wonderful??

I read somewhere recently where someone was equating Tencel with Acrylic - that bothered me, since I think there couldn't be two fibers that are MORE different from each other. So, a quick search found me Tencel - The Miracle Fiber.

In summary, it IS wood fiber, and I LOVE it! The socks I'm knitting (which started out REALLY strong - two socks, toe up, started Sunday, turned the heels on Tuesday!) are a wool/tencel blend. I spun the yarn, and it's SOOOO soft and wonderful. Oh, and as for the socks...I haven't knitted a stitch since Wednesday morning :( I plead budget exhaustion :(

Oh, and while I'm passing on short bits of things found online, here's a great post about some AMAZING Cupcakes...what a fabulous themed idea for a party!!

New swaps, Old swaps, Everywhere a Swap, swap...

Here's the OTHER reason I haven't been blogging much... I've been busy swapping!

Most of my swaps are from the Knitty Boards, but, there is one that is being held in the NYGK group! It's the KnitFlix Swap, where we prepare a package with a movie, yarn, and other treats. So, here's my questionaire:

Since this is a summer blockbuster swap, would you rather receive a summer action/adventure movie, a light romantic comedy, or a suspense/thriller?

Definitely NOT a suspense/thriller. I love Action/Adventure as well as Chick Flix and Romantic comedies!

What is your favorite film genre or type?

See above.

List 3-5 of your favorite films and why you like them

Hhmmmm.... Old fav - The Sound of Music - it's just such a classic!
Action flix - The Die Hard Series - just saw Live Free or Die Hard - Bruce Willis just doesn't dissappoint!
Chick flix - Coyote Ugly - those girls just kick booty! How To Make An American Quilt - sappy but fun. Ten Things I Hate About You - yep, never really outgrew some of those teeny flix either...

Is that all over the place enough for you?

Do you like foreign films? Would it annoy you to watch a film with subtitles if you are knitting/crafting?

I don't actually own any, but yes, I tend to listen MUCH more than I watch to most TV/Movies. I'm usually watching TV, online, AND knitting all at the same time!

Is there a movie that you've always wanted to see but haven't?

Not that comes to mind at the moment...

Do you have any favorite actors?

Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Matthew McConnahae, John Cusack

What kind of movie night treats do you like? Type of Candy? Popcorn?

My sinful treat is Jelly Bellies, my "approved" treats are Popcorn or Dark Chocolate.

Are you a sock knitter, lace knitter, or hat/mitten/scarf knitter?

Socks, lace, baby stuff, sweaters, felted bags... You name it, I've probably knit it.

What are your favorite fibers?

I enjoy wool blends, where you get the feel of the wool, but softened by the blend. Much cooler for Florida!

What fibers do you dislike or are allergic?

Not a big acrylic or novelty yarn fan.

What are your favorite colors?

Blue, green, purple, maroon... jewel tones basically.

What colors do you not like?

Orange, yellow, pastels.

Is there anything else that your partner should know that will help her spoil you?

I'm also a tea fanatic.

In other swap news...the Rut Busting Sock Swap partners were handed out today, and I'm V excited! Can't wait to put together a box for this partner!

The sock swap is going well...I'm making great progress on the first pair!

Some other tidbits I've received lately include this great picture frame and natural dyeing book from Penny, my Harry Potter swap pal:



This GORGEOUS hand-dyed fiber from my Spinning Swap Pal:



Kelley got me THESE for my birthday! That's a Lantern Moon bag, a felted mini-purse, 3 pair of stitch markers, some YUMMY peppermint soap, a fun little quilted bag...




Oh, and then there's the loot... K and I went to Tampa a couple of weeks ago to do some shopping. First stop was Knit -n- Knibble who were having their anniversary sale. Great prices, and I picked up something for a swap and a couple of things for me - That's 9 skeins of Obsession (at 30% off!) and a skein of Mountain Colors.



Here's the Mountain Colors up close...



After that we went to Uncommon Threads. Sadly their roving was buried behind some shelving that they had to move temporarily, so we couldn't buy any of it. I did find this GORGEOUS Alpaca yarn though!! Oh, and a couple of cool patterns too.



The week after, I was at Chez Casuelle and found a couple of things there on GREAT discounts, so I just couldn't resist...

Finishing things...

I'm sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks, but really, I've been KNITTING!!


You might recall this list that I posted a couple of months ago:

So, MY summer knitting goals:

• Finish the CTH Contest jacket and get it mailed by 5/29.


• Knit the Laurel Fibonacci Stripe top for my former boss by 6/24 (it's a gag gift, and I'll have to adapt it a bit for *him*).


• Finish my Crayon Box Jacket


• Make the gorgeous Scotch Thistle Stole that Ann gifted me with in SP8.

Some things that have been added to that:

• Knit messenger bag for my HP downstream


• Knit bookmarks for my HP downstream


• Spin sock yarn for my Spinning SP


• Spin sock yarn for my Sock Swap Pals


• Knit the Socks


• Work on a special secret project for a Pal


• Fill in the gaps with Guidepost Charity Sweaters

You've all seen the CTH Jacket. I have it back. Details for publishing the pattern are still in progress, I'll update you when I have the specifics.

Here's the vest for my former boss - he was completely surprised, and totally loved it!

Here's the Messenger bag before it was felted - it measured 18x22".

After felting it was more like 10x12". Sadly, I forgot to take the after pic...you should be able to see it soon on LkManitou's blog however. I also made two HP bookmarks, from #5 perle cotton, one in Ravenclaw, the other in Gryffindor. Again, forgot to take pics, but I expect she'll post those too.

Here's the fiber that I got for my spinning pal, from Funky Carolina on Etsy.

Here's what it spun up to...

While I was waiting to finish spinning Pixieriot's sock yarn, I started on a Guidepost Charity sweater for a charity we are supporting. I did 4 inches in one movie and 4 in another, so it's well under way...

I finally finished Pixie's yarn though, and cast on for her socks today! They're coming along very well, but sorry, no pics unless she asks/authorizes it :) This IS the first time I'm knitting my own handspun sock yarn however! So far I'm LOVING it.

There's LOTS more to say, but I need to break this up or I'll never tackle it, so that's the part that you get for now...more soon. Besides, I REALLY want to get back to those socks...