Back on track...uh, sort of.

OK, the book is behind me.

(at least until I wrench it out of wonder-boy's hands and pour through it again....)

Back to the socks!

Had to rip the crochet sock to rework the stitch patter to make fewer stitches around but still have enough pattern reps to get the ripple effect. Still liking it, though the ripples are shallower and therefore more subtle. The heel turned well, and am plotting some decreases to snug up the foot a bit.

Simply Lovely Lace Sock #1 is done. It's only my 4th ever finished knit sock and it reinforced that I have a lot to learn still. I did it to directions, trying it on as I went, but it's just not quite right. I think I'll tweek #2 a bit...longer heel flap and different ribbing (the 1x1 is just too sloppy and once again I find I really just don't like it...so why do I keep doing it?). Which means that I will most likely be redoing #1 when I'm done, but hey, better to have socks I love, right? And I do really love the lace pattern. Fun to knit too.

Of course, another diversion came in the mail today...the latest scarf circle scarf:

...and I have a cabley idea in mind for it too. It needs to go out by the 7th, so it may bump the socks back a bit.

...and the inlaws are coming today for #2s b-day. (i feel positively faint thinking that he's 5 already...) So there is much frantic cleaning/throwing out going on and it will be all Cars all the time this weekend.

And try not to dwell on the unsightly leg attached to the socks...not mine, nope, definitely not mine!

The grandest compulsion of all

No yarn work this weekend folks. Even the socks lose out to Harry.

I finished up around 12:30 this a.m. and was happy to be able to sleep afterwards. Heavy heart today though. It's done and there are some tear jerkers it will take me some time to get over.

SIGH.

SOS...it's an obsession.

Seriously.

It's not like I'll be in the running for any of the contests. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

I have 3 kids. And 2 dogs. And a husband. All of which demand time and attention, darn them.

There are plenty of contestants without diversion that will leave me in the dust.

So why oh why can I only think of socks??

I'm stalking patterns. Online. Library. Every knitting and crochet book I own. I literally go to sleep regretting that I am not staying up to get a few more rows done, mentally reviewing the queue. Need I mention it's impossibly long?

Every other project has officially been laid aside...bye-bye blankets. Hasta la vista, fingerless gloves. Ciao snazzy summer headbands. Ta ta, any socks started before June 21!

Pair number 1 was finished over this past weekend. Quick crochet in DK weight Cestari cotton blend:


Can you tell which I did first? The "tell" of crocheted socks...once they've been worn, they never go back.

I'm happy with them. Soft and squishy. Oh so warm to snuggle up with a book and a cuppa in. Jammie socks for sure.

Feeling better for having finished something...possibly atoning for having spaced the start...I decided to do something different:

Yep, it's a crocheted ripple sock. Off the top of my head. Fabulous Mega Boots Stretch to work the color magic. Amazingly somehow working out first go round. Pray for me.

And because one is just not enough...and as at times the facility with which the afore-mentioned project is coming along is just too surreal:

Knitting. Simply Lovely Lace socks from Interweave. Again in Cestari DK. Love the perversity of doing up girly lacy socks in staunch grey wool.

(and do you see the bag? my fabulous craftstravaganza-purchased bag??? has been languishing with out purpose, but now has become the official SOS project bag of dooooooooom. *nods to L&V, source of my socky tendencies*)

Yep, it's a summer of socks alright. They have even made an appearance at teh soon-to-be tragically-sold-and-therefore-no-longer-accessible pool in my parents' backyard.

...and just for the record, yes, I did cry. AGAIN.

SOS! Secret Pal to the rescue!

After that last post, it should surprise few to find out just how spaced my brain truly is. For some reason I was. Go figure. Always the last to know!

Being house-bound with sicko kiddos at least had one benefit...time to quasi-catch up online. The kids are happy with movies under blankets on the couch, the baby is happy to snuggle on my lap (OK, let's be real..."refuses to leave my lap, grows claws when removal is attempted, and howls like a banshee when floor contact is made"...much more accurate), so I'm happy to surf. Perusing some of my fave blogs I stumbled across post after post about SOS 2007. And the vague recollection of having heard about it on Lime and Violet. And an even more tenuous memory of rushing over and joining up. Did I really do something so foolish as to put MORE on my plate? Checking the SOS blog, yep, seems I did.

Missed the kick-off by a cool 2 1/2 weeks too. So, after checking to see if I was still in the game, not banished for life for being a total and complete dunderhead, with much catching up to do, I pulled out the hooks. It's not "sock" yarn, but I decided to use some of the Cestari cotton/wool stash to whip up some comfy crocheted house socks pronto. All things happen faster with DK weight, right? And let's face it folks, crocheted socks aren't terribly shoe friendly anyway, so might as well make the most of what they are, which is super warm and squishy. Since Wednesday, I have 1 down, 1/2 to go:

Using the lace pattern out of the crocheted sock bible: Crocheted Socks! by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood. Some tweaking of heel and toe required with the gauge change, but with trying it on frequently that just kind of works itself out as you go along.

Normally I prefer an elastic yarn (like MegaBoots Stretch or Cascade Fixation) for crocheted socks. By it's nature crochet has little "give" and the stretchy yarn makes up for it a bit. So, these are getting a bit stretched out as I pull them on and off veeeeeeery gingerly, but I think it will all be OK. The finished one is a treat for the feet. Now if we only hand snow and icy hardwood floors....SIGH, winter's so far away!

My plan is to be working on one "challenge" sock and one "easy peasy" sock at a time. For now, crochet will hopefully help me make up for lost time. I want to design a ripple sock too. Maybe granny if I can figure it out. Whee! On the knitting front, this shall be my grand opportunity to make a pair of Jaywalkers and I have my heart set on the new Bellatrix and Fawkes patterns on Socktopia if I can manage them. Even have a skein of Lisa Souza Earth Birth that will be perfection for the Fawkes.

Socks may just save the summer.

...and my secret pal must have been reading my mind. My last package was laid in my grateful little hands by my smiling post-woman this very morning, and here is what I found:


WHOOT!

2 sets of Susan Bates DPNs (a little leery of the metal, but hey, I'll give it a whirl) in the perfect sizes to make the most of my new sock yarn! 2 skeins of Dreams in Color! 2 Skeins of an Italian wool blend that I am too lazy to walk downstairs to find the name of but promise I will put it in next time! The colors are great, so great in fact that I think I shall have to make the Dreams in Color in to an abbreviated Clapotis. Can you imagine breezing through next winter with the yarn equivalent of the Caribbean wrapped around you? I can now!

SP Miranda, you are the greatest!

Did I mention that it's a sanity thing?

Ah summer, how I wish ye would just end.

I know, we're barely into July. Oh how I know. September is so, so very far away, and I need to find a way to make the most of this summer with the kids...we'll only be here once, right? Enjoy them while they're young, right? I get it, problem is I'm outnumbered and I can't. 3 kids under 6, 2 dogs all day is just too much for me to deal with. I'm overstimulated all day every day, just wanting everyone to please for the love of all things sane, just leave me alone for 5 minutes!

I also seem to be in the downward spiral of bad karma. Don't know what I'm paying for, but I sure hope it was worth it, because every time I turn around something else is imploding. I'm trying to get things going in a positive direction, yet I keep getting slapped.

Want the list? Here you go: (if you don't need to hear me whine, skip the monster paragraph below...really, no need to read it, i just need to vent)

2 sprained ankles...or rather the twicely sprained ankle. (try chasing after the amazing 18 month presto climbo with that...don't know how it will ever heal. weight loss dreams that went out the window with surprise pregnancy #3 now are orbiting the Orion Nebula I think...) Parents in crisis, selling the house they've been in since I was a freshman in high school...and therefore the pool! (do i even need to tell you how much that hurts? every time i take the kids up to swim i just cry. they're so little they won't even remember it, and the baby will never even have it to not remember...and yep, am crying again...enough o' that.) Drove to Milwaukee last weekend to leave 2 of the 3 with the in-laws only to have fevers break out. (...so home we all came again...now with 2 pissed off kids begging to go swim, but not able to since said pool is in the backyard of the house that needs to stay immaculate and they have no idea is soon to be not in their life anymore...with the baby that is now sick and needing to be held 24/7. so much for the "finding the me in me again" week...SIGH!) The husband that has a major project closing up right now, not home even when his body is, which is pretty much just to have dinner, put the kids to bed and sleep. And the sock club missed 2 months running. And 2 separate spinning classes nixed as well. And we bought the much a-cursed minivan. How I hate that car. And what are you supposed to say when you go to your sister's "finally done with oral surgery residency" banquet only to have everyone you meet say they've seen and heard so much about your beautiful children, but that your sister never talks about you." Gee, thanks" didn't quite seem appropriate. My husband says I need to sprout thinker skin.

No, I am not enjoying my summer.

But I am enjoying my new summer shoes:


Rocket Dogs. They make me happy. Can you tell that the rhinestones are little hearts? Oh early 80s throwback joy!


So, in the spirit of the shoes, I'm determined to try to make lemonade with the lemons I'm being pelted with. Not quite sure how just yet, can't seem to find the sugar in this mess of my life right now, but hey, if I keep finding little things that make me happy, I'll get me that big, ice-cold glass of loveliness, right? Right?

So, on the quest for the sugar, I've put the yarn, hooks and needles to work.

Simple soothing crochet in colors that make me happy:

It's the Bella Dia pattern for the Vintage Vertical Stripe Blanket. Why I'm making it for my "off to make loads of money and live a horribly interesting life while I tell no-one about my SAHM older sibling" sister, I have no idea. (duh, she is my sister even though I'm piqued right now...) But the new "Cotton Ease " comes in such groovy colors that seemed perfect for a new bed blanket for her new place. I'm weak, I know. (and in case you're keeping track, this does in fact make blanket in progress #4. i did say i was weak, right?)

And I set my mind to conquering the DPNs. My first successful attempt:

(mitten pattern out of "One Skein Wonders" , slightly adapted with patterning at the cuff...rows of k1p1 alternating with rows of knit only...in Cestari 2 ply wool/yak)


For some reason the first flew, no troubles casting on or keeping ladders at bay. The second held ladders galore and I frogged it back at least three times to remedy them. At one point I even had ladders spiraling around as I shifted stitches between needles. (huge thanks to Annie Modesitt and the rerun on Knitty Gritty in which she so clearly showed the simple beauty of not trying to snug up the first stitch, but the second when switching between needles...and for holding them consistently so I could see what I was doing wrong. isn't she just the greatest? join me in sending undying love to the heretic by buying this pattern to send much needed support in time of medical crisis. death to multiple myeloma! and cases of double stuffed oreos for all if that's the ticket...no i haven't fallen off my rocker, read her blog. sometimes even knitters lose their minds it seems.)

And I'm off on DPN mastery project 2: (though I think I have to get a smaller size, this be working up preeeety loose. pattern is for bulky on 8s, I'm working worsted on 7s, think I need 6s.)


Same book. Wavy fingerless mitts/wrist/arm warmers. The loverly yarn my Lime and Violet bud sent me this spring...browns and purples and pinks with bits of blues and greens. In alpaca. Yeah!

Want to help? Bring ice. (seriously. have you seen what the weather's been like here? only plus, low mosquito count.)

The Oh-So-Cute Bag Pattern

This bag kind of made itself, and at the very last minute too. Always nice when that happens, eh? The end of the school year crept up on me once again, and I was in need of a very special gift for a very special Kindergarten teacher. Lucky for me she's the type to appreciate all things handmade. Nothing is worse than putting yourself into something you craft only to see the gift-ee's "oh joy, more crapilicious craftiness" strained expression when you give it to them.

It took me a bit longer as I was figuring it out as I went along, but I have to think you could whip this out in an evening, felt it before bed and have it dry and ready to go the next day.

Here's what you'll need:
3 skeins of Paton's SWS
US K-ish crochet hook...mine is bamboo and not the standard, but as you're felting it anyway, gauge is not critical.
tapestry/yarn needle lingerie bag ivory liquid dish soap washing machine with lots of hot water

This bag is worked in the round, starting with an oval to form the base of the bag by working down one side of a chain and back on the other, increasing each round to your desired size, then decreasing to bring the sides up and angle them in. Once the decreases are done, you work even rounds until shaping the handles. I started working spiral at that point, but I would recommend not. Once it was felted, that part of the bag seemed to twist a bit which made shaping more challenging than it had to be. My guess is that by finishing off each round and chaining up to start a new one that wouldn't happen. I used half double crochet hoping for a nice, dense fabric after felting and that is just what resulted.

Abbreviations
hdc = half double crochet
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
hdc2tog = half double crochet 2 stitches together

**at the end of each round, join with a sl st into the starting chain/hdc and chain 2 to start the next round.

Here we go. (be kind, I've never written out one of my concoctions before...)

Chain 30 loosely. (use a larger hook if you have trouble with this)

Round 1: Hdc into second chain from the end. Hdc again, back into that same chain space. Hdc into each chain space, though 3 hdc into the end chain space. Turn the piece, hdc into the other side of each foundation chain. Hdc into the end space. (the one you started with, it already has 2 hdc worked into it.) Join by sl st into the top of the first hdc.

Round 2: Ch 2. Hdc into base of chain. 2 hdc into next stitch for the next 3 stitches. Work even hdc down row until 3 stitches remain on this side. Work 2 hdc in each of those 3, 3 hdc in the end stitch, then 2 hdc in the first 3 stitches on the other side. Work even down this side, again until 3 stitches remain. Work 2 hdc in each and one in the base of the starting chain.

Continue working in this manner, placing 3 hdc in the stitch at the end of the oval and series of 2 hdc clusters to each side while working even down each side, for the next 3 rounds as follows:

Round 3: 4 stitches with 2 hdc clusters to each side of the 3 hdc cluster at the ends
Round 4: 5 stitches with 2 hdc clusters to each side of the 3 hdc cluster at the ends
Round 5: 6 stitches with 2 hdc clusters to each side of the 3 hdc cluster at the ends

Note that your starting point for each round will not stay the very end cluster of 3 hdc as you keep increasing. It will shift to the 2 hdc clusters at the side. Just pay attention to where you are in the process and you'll be fine.

Round 6: Work the entire round even, placing 1 hdc in each stitch of the previous row.

Round 7: This round introduces decreases to pull the sides up and in. You hdc2tog 6 times (using 12 stitches from the previous row) around each end curve of the oval, then *hdc for 2 stitches and hdc2tog in the third* along the sides.

Rounds 8-11: Work even in hdc.

Round 12: Decreases again, this time to start the inward slant. (If you don't want your bag to do that, just keep working even until you want to shape handles.) This time it's hdc2tog 4 times around each end curve (using 8 stitches from the previous row), and again *hdc for 2 stitches and hdc2tog in the third* along the sides.

Rounds 13-22: Work even in hdc.

Round 23: Handle shaping! Work 12 hdc centered around the end of the oval. Ch 25, skipping over the next 18 stitches from the previous row, then work 12 more hdc around the other end curve. Ch 25 again, skipping 18 more hdc from the previous round and sl st into the first hdc.

Rounds 24-26: Work even, placing 1 hdc in each hdc and ch in the previous round. (74 stitches)

Sl st into first hdc, tie off and weave in your ends.

Felting (OK, this is really, technically "fulling")

I highly recommend using a lingerie bag with this yarn. It sheds like crazy and unless you like hanging upside-down into your washer to clean it out, you really, really want to use one.

Leap of faith. Throw it in the washer on HOT, regular cycle with a scant squirt of ivory liquid. (and an old towel or 2, perhaps a couple of pairs of jeans to help with agitation) Watch it closely as this yarn also felts F.A.S.T. I have never, ever had to do more than one cycle to get the result I want.

Take it out and shape it. (I stuffed it with target bags and paper towels and clipped the handles and top opening together.) Let it dry and presto, bag perfection.

Lost in Summer Vacation...

Wow, totally blindsided by the black-hole-ish time sucking effect of having all 3 kiddos home all day. Though conversely, right now 6 pm seems to take approximately 2.35689 days to arrive. Quite a conundrum. Not enough time, yet the time I have I want to move oh so much faster. I am literally crawling out of my skin at the end of the day from complete sensory overload. Now I know why people paid the big bucks to crawl in those sensory deprivation tanks. Dare to dream.

So when y'all check in and I'm not round 'bouts, think sprinklers and real honest to goodness full sugar fruit punch kool-aid popsicles with these 3 rug rats, if I'm lucky that day anyway.

I have spent some bits of time in the evenings attempting to work on various projects. (when there haven't been a couple of beers after dinner that is...and I have a new summer fave, but more on that later...) Both ripples are stalled for reasons related to heat and humidity and lack of yarn. Difficult to motivate to go yarn shopping for a heavy, body encompassing project when it's 90 every day. UGH. They may be languishing for awhile...

I did whip up a bag off the top o' my head for a teacher gift.


Quite pleased with the results, and this time I did manage to take notes. Took a few hours to crochet once I figured out what I was going for. And how very much do I l.o.v.e. SWS? Felts/fulls/whatevahs like a dream in no time. Will transcribe said pattern post haste.

OK, just don't hold your breath, OK? I tend to be quite a bit over-optimistic about my abilities these days. The poor ripple blog is sadly neglected. I haven't done more than poke my nose in Ravelry in weeks. And let's please not talk about how very far behind I am in podcast land.

Have also been playing in a couple of scarf circles with my friends from the Lime and Violet message boards. May I heartily opine that this is the PERFECT project for a new knitter? Do you know what I'm talking about? You knit 6 inches of a scarf, pop the stitches live onto waste yarn and send it of on a grand adventure. You send it to someone that does another 6 inches and sends it off to another knitter and on and on until your scarf comes back to you 6 feet of multi-yarned, multi-patterned wonderfulness. And the scarves started by all of those playing along filter slowly to you as well, so not only is there knitting, but there's MAIL too! What more could a gal ask for?

Seriously, it's like swatching with a purpose. Not only have I dabbled in lace (yep, I can ssk, psso and yo with the best of them now), but I did CABLES. With a cable needle. And I didn't poke my eyes out, or even want to poke my eyes out.

With that project in mind, headed to the library today in hopes of finding some kind of stitch guide, since I don't have one adn I hit the jackpot....the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume 1. I'm in love. I'm saving my pennies starting now...it shall be mine.

Oh, but first I have to buy a spindle. ;p

On random yarn drops.

You know, sometimes the universe just knows you need boost, and miraculously provides.

My gunshot Mother's Day frenzied panic attack was drastically moderated by sassenach and her one year domain-o-versary, for which she generously dove into her stash for a "guess how much sock yarn I have" game...and I won.

Seriously, this is virtually unheard of. I never, ever, ever, ever win anything, but this time I guessed bang on perfect. Anyway, led to this landing in my mailbox this week...SQUEE!

(note the sneaky grubby little baby yarn coveter trying to pull a fast one?)

Could not have been more timely. Once again my faith in humanity is pulled up from the depths of despair by a random knitter. I will say it again. We should so be in charge. Of everything. Always.

Sassenach, my eternal thanks, hugs, and quite possibly not so virtual cookies to you!

So, that loverly skein of Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in Earth Birth goes to play with the rest of the sock stash, liberated from their zip-locked prison just for the occasion:


Though the Cherry Tree Hill remained under house arrest for colluding with a certain known grubby-fingered yarn thief...had WAY too much fun in it's toddler enabled maniacal romp through the house:

Off to drug my allergies into submission and reclaim 2/3 of the kiddies. Daddy's out playing this weekend, so they got an overnight pass to be spoiled rotten by my parents...must get there before sugar coma hits.

...and why oh why have my allergies been at an all time high this year? I can stop blaming the hormonal upset cause by birth of #3...sadly, I have figured it out. My favorite part of MN is ablaze and the smoke hit the cities this week. Our air quality is abysmal. But the thought of 75,000+ acres of this burned to char is much, much worse.

Decentralized Project Stashing

I now appreciate the genius of having little project bags tucked about the house. Or at least having several repositories for the working bits and a few spare balls o' yarn.

Why the sudden epiphany, you may ask?

And your answer:

I spent last night FREAK, FREAK, FREAK, FREAKING OUT!!! And without a scrap of yarn within usable distance. Trust me, I would have finger knit if there were even spare shoelaces within reach.

The story:

To cap off my horrendous week of sick-babysitter-means-no-billy-joel-concert-going, spinning-class-canceled, busted-budget-means-no-wool-festival-for-you, can-we-stop-pretending-about-mother's-day joy, some punk, jeans hanging off of his tattooed ass white suburbia living teenager came down into my sickeningly urban yuppie neighborhood with his wanna-be gangsta friends and ended up shot and bleeding all over the sidewalk across the street from my house.

Yes, we heard the gunshots...and saw the blood pool.

Yes, my 3 kids were sleeping less than 50 feet away.

Yes, I want to vomit just thinking about the what if.

And the worst part? The cops were freaking out about why these kids were here. I live in the city. Supposedly people move to the burbs not out of a love for Applebee's, but to stay away from what the city harbors. And the cops are freaked out about why this is happened here, in my urban neighborhood where this never happens.

WTF.

(OK, it sounds bad, but truly the worst part really might have been the sleepless night endured with out a stitch of yarnyness to work on because it was all downstairs and traipsing down to get it past the baby's crib, thus waking him AGAIN at 1:30 am when everyone finally cleared out seemed like a very bad idea. Must decentralize the project stash.)

Yesterday...

Guilty Pleasure: Hubby sneaking home in the middle of the day.

minds out of the gutter folks, now, you know these things don't happen to me, right? wait for it.....

Buzz Kill: Hubby dashing home mid-day after frantic call to pick up #2 at preschool as hyper-feverish, premolar cutting #3 barfed all over me on our way out the door to do just that.

Feeling I can forever and ever do without: The squish of curdled milk baby barf between my toes.

Thank everything the boy stayed home long enough for me to shower.

So, after that, what's a girl to do?

Knit socks.

These are all from the Sock of the Month Club I venture to one Saturday a month at a LYS called Clickity Sticks in Mpls.

The Ruffle Top Sock by Tamara Del Sonno, the owner and designer extrordinaire. My first successful attempt at Tofutsies...loving it now that I'm working it on US Os instead of the recommended 2s.


And another first...Regia Bamboo. LOVING doesn't describe the bliss I'm in working with this yarn. Triumphant chorus in my head. And the rainbow colors are so not me but make me happy. This pattern is a basic K2 P2 rib by Donna Johnson that has the Gerdine Strong heel, with a few tweeks I'm told, which eliminates the need to pick up stitches along the heel flap. ?!?!?!?! Obviously not there yet, but whoopie if it works!


EEEK! Cables! I've started these Irish beauties way too many times, and yes, I have still managed to mess up the braided cable but bugger me if I'm going to rip them out again. They're in Brown Sheep Wildfoot in Desert Grass, which I currently harbor ambivalent feelings about, but I'm willing to give it a go. The cables are going slow, and the chart gives me a headache since knitting charts are quite different from crochet charts and I can't seem to get the gist of why the little drawings mean what they do so I can't remember what they mean without going back to the directions...AGH!

And once again, accept my most humble of apologies for the camera that cannot satisfactorily accomplish it's singular task in life...focusing.

Funk Busting

Go.

Just GO.

Now!

HERE.

Guaranteed to make ya smile.

Craftstravaganza!!

Ah, the rogue artsy-craftsy glory that was Craftstravaganza! I tell you now, if you live anywhere within reasonable driving distance of Saint Paul, next year you need to come. Really. Go look. Dare you to get past the vendors page with out getting lost in links for a good hour at least. Do yourself a favor though and stash your cc with some unfeeling, trustworthy soul first. It should truly not be in any possible way accessible before you click that link.

My hands down fave vendor was "I Like You", a local consignment for local artists with attitude. This sock monkeys with arm hair, swilling a beer. Or another with a pink tutu and matching mohawk. Lots of fabulousness along the lines of "reduce reuse, recycle". They even shared the secret of turning your old LPs into kitschy bowls. Love it. I exhibited marked restraint and came away with this "rescued sweater" bag:


and some "reclaimed" modern bibs for #3...love the vintage fabric patches:

And from Sassy Art Goddess, truly the goddess of felted sweater bags...I could have bought them all, but would have felt very badly about the bounced check that would result...this one begged to come home though:

It's now a sweet repository for my latest sock projects. (check out her homepage for the Mamarox animation...l.o.v.e. it.)

And then we come to Aisha. Oh my. Yes, there was yarn. A whole table full of handspun and hand dyed yarn. Spinning batts too...which I could blissfully try to ignore as I don't yet spin...but she teaches classes damn it! At Crafty Planet. In June. AGH!

This is her handspun. Actually quite atypical based on what else was there, but it screamed "make me into mittens" when I touched it. Loverly and soft.


And this. Hand dyed, locally grown wool. She has a local farm she's fallen in love with. They have fancy shamancy French sheep that start with an R...Ramboulitte or some such. Too lazy to go unearth the skein. I'm thinking fingerless mits and a hat. Perhaps a bag though...we'll see. Fabulous and soft and I love the double local as much as I love my CSA. Aisha Celia Designs. Check her out.

That was the extent of my haul, mainly because I made myself turn around and walk straight out the door after buying the second bag. It's a good think I went alone. If I had to stay any longer, I seriously would have bought something from every vendor there, and that's saying somethin'. I'm usually very discerning at most crafty events. Not much usually calls to me. These apparently are my peeps.

...of pointy sticks and hooks

Both have been seeing lots of action since the vacation...which once again we're not going to visit in detail. Just haven't had it in me to finish that draft. See, I have these times when I seem to fall off the face of the earth, but this time, not only did I leave the planet behind, I think I've landed both physically and spiritually somewhere out near poor defamed Pluto.

Can't. Face. Anything.

Have crawled into my shell with my yarn and I sooooooo don't want to come out to play. UGH.

Yep, it's a full-blown, world-class funk.

Trying to crawl out of it with house purging and bits of organizational paraphenalia. Will it work? Stay tuned.

However, I do so very much have projecty progress to share.

Yep, the round ripple is waving once again. I'm totally working out of my head this time, and the decreases are needing a touch of fudging each round, but hey, it's working. Every third row is worked even, with the other two having either 2dc or 3dc shells at the peaks. Still in Plymouth Fantasy Naturale, and I'm still loving it. There will be many, many hanks of this consumed by yours truly in the future, I can assure you. Simply lovely cotton.

And that's the other bit of crochet improv I have rolling at the moment. The idea hooked itself in my brain when it leaped off the pages of Mason Dixon Knitting, wheedeled it's way in through my ear canal and lodged in my cortex, jumping up and down, raising quite the ruckus until I got it on the hooks. (and thank you to The Yarnery for timing their yearly purge just in time to scratch my itch.) Love the rug, but man, that would be a ton of work. And I so hate finishing in all it's many guises. I knew I could spiral much easier in crochet, and I was so right. This is working up in sock yarn and mercerized size 10 thread. To get the look I wanted, I'm working 2 "live" rows consecutively. A tad tricky with the increases, but I really like the effect. Felted wool rug so definitely in the future.

Ah, the tentacles. I do love them. Finished it up while driving to and from Milwaukee. CrochetMe pattern here. Lisa Souza Yarn here. Run. Play. Just remember to come back by dinner.

Ah yes, the socks they are done!! I finally gave in and bought another ball of the yarn since the "just in case" third I initially bought remains mysteriously missing to this very minute. My gauge was a bit looser on #2, so the heel is a bit sloppy. Wish I had taken time to try it on more, but I was rushing to get them done and proceed with yet more socks. Two other pairs already on the needles. Oh yes, I've got it bad.

Sorry this bit's a tad blurry, the camera refuses to zoom and focus at the same time. Not a good sign. This is my scarflet. The one I'm sending off to meet the world in my first ever "scarf circle". WHEE! It's in Mohana, a loverly cotton, merino, kid mohair, polyamid blend of German origin, made in Italy. Don't you just love how the yarn world works? The pattern I've adapted from the "Not in the Round Scarf" in Sally Melville's "The Knitting Experience, Vol.2, The Purl Stitch." Fare thee well, little scarflet. Enjoy your adventures.

Hopefully more soon...need to share my Craftstravaganza...off to funk some more.

Catchin' up

Oh, but the posting has been S.L.O.W.

What's been sucking up my time? Here ya' go:

1. 2 kids that can't possibly not pick at each other for longer than 5 seconds if they are physically in the same building together. Thank gods the baby can't talk yet. They pushed the biggest boy (aka "the husband") past the breaking point the other day, when after an entire 6 hours filled with zoo-ish fun, they saw the neighbors come home (and just how they knew they were coming home from the local ice cream joint I will never know, the little buggers have extrasensory abilities, I swear they do) when they were getting ready for bed, which prompted #1 to announce that our family never has any fun and she now wanted to live with Lukas' family because they were better. Am forever grateful to have blissfully been ensconced in a steamy shower instead of witnessing the resultant "fine, you just do that", door slamming, jammies marching down the sidewalk circus. (of course, when #2 got wind of what was up, he pronounced it a fine idea and went along...skipping.) They actually got to their sidewalk (we're urban folks, so don't think they were marching through the streets...their house is all of 10 feet from ours) before turning back in tears. Oh the drama of the return. The wailing. I am seriously afraid for summer.

2. Daily making plans to unpack the suitcases from the trip we took 3 weeks ago now. SIGH!

3. Major planning and implementation of silent auction to benefit the scholarship fund at preschool. As usual was left shaking my head in wonder at the psycho dynamics resulting from a group of supposedly mature women trying to work together. Oh the game-playing. And also as usual am left saying I will think long and hard before joining such an effort again. Yeah right.

4. Which led to much mindless rippling. Have resurrected the big ripple, and I am so loving the new color scheme. Sometimes frogging is fate:

4. (cont.) The rumpled round ripple

is now frogged and awaiting it's next incarnation. Going to try this pattern next. It's all just so soothing. Calms me waaaaaaaaaaaay down. The ripplers are keeping me on my toes too...over 160 No End In Sight Ripple Alongers now, and more over on Flickr.

5. More yarnishy stuff. Made a secret project...yep, you'll just have to find a way to wait for it. It's felted. And it's granny-ish. Also started working out a crochet spiral. Took mason Dixon Knitting on vacation with me and was intrigued by the spiral rag rug, but oh gosh would it be oh so much easier to crochet...and yep, it is. I'm not working with rag pieces right now, but the technique is slick and fun. Will be sure to post about it when I have a good bit worked up. Started my scarf bit for the Scarf Circle I signed up for through the Lime and Violet message boards...this is going to be FUN! The idea is that you start out by knitting a 6 inch scarf bit out of whatever yarn you have languishing about. Then it gets rather chain letterish. You pop the stitches on some waste yarn and mail it to the person next on your list. They knit another 6 inches with whatever yarn they have, and mail it on. My scarf will visit 12 knitters before being bound off and returned to me Sometime in the fall. It will have been all over the US, to Canada twice and even to the UK...sadly much better traveled than it's eventual wearer.

6. And then there be house cleaning (much delayed by the fact that I smashed my shin up good in the process of setting up the silent auction...OUCHY and SWOLLEN...like 9 months pregnant with pre-eclampsia swollen. not good, but I can justify sitting about with my feet up!) and food making and bathtime moderating and nap enforcing and laundry ignoring. Some pressing social issues driving me nuts, but am not sure I want to rant of that sort here...

Anyhoo, that be what I've been up too. Catch ya later...and yes, the next post will I promise be about the trip, the status of the projects I took along...double pinkie swear promise!

I want to have a sectret pal FOREVER.

Once again, this whole Secret pal thing gets a tad eerie.

I literally came home from picking up #2 from preschool, hands full of baby and grocery bags...to find someone in my backyard in the process of disconnecting my power. Do you know how hard it is to make them stop that? To get them to listen for enough consecutive minutes to convince them they have the wrong house? HARD. For future reference, tears apparently have no effect whatsoever. I was like drowning, the kids were scared, it was awful.

...and then I found this in my spam:
Yes, my new SP10 pal hit it so far out of the ballpark it may reach poor Pluto. There just aren't enough words to tell you how this touched me today of all days. So, I won't even try, but know you have my undying thanks, mystery person of mine!

(and did I ever tell you my super-de-duper Lime and Violet Exchanger was NotScarlett? you should totally check out her blog, it's every bit as great as her presents!)

Getting post rules!

I tell you, this surprise package thing is just the best. If I could give myself amnesia, set up a bunch of mailings for myself throughout the year, then un-amnesia myself, I so would. This is just the bestest!

So, we got home from our "late Easter" celebration at my parents'. (Yep, the "Mom, we're going to be driving home from Milwaukee on Easter, sorry we won't be making it this year" conversation somehow mutated into Easter being postponed a week in obnoxious, definitely un-savior-ish style...complete with egg hunt, more chocolate than is good for anyone (not to mention my 14 month old), leg of lamb and for some reason brand spankin' new Razor scooters of the Barbie and Hot Wheels variety. I swear, my mom has lost her wits. She needs some sort of grandmother 10 step program...) Anyway, frazzled would be a good description of the condition of my brain...or maybe I mean scrambled...

Anyway, there in the mailbox is the tiniest, cutest mailer envelop I have ever seen, absolutely covered in Canadian customs forms. And inside? The cutest retro-80s-ish stitch markers made by Graphic Design Chick. SQUEEEEEEEEE! Thank you Secret Pal 10 Pal! I love them!

And what have I been working on? Well, something SECRET to be revealed at a later date. TO be a late birthday present truth told. So zip yer lips.

But there has also been this:

Yep, am rippling again, and it's gooooooooooooood. (and yes, that is the baby's easter rabbit adroning the Donna Kooler's. sans head...oops.)

(still working on the vacation post...those goodies to come!)

oh April.....

Let's just pause a minute to compare shall we? Do you mind? We'll get to the good stuff in the next few days, I promise.

April as seen out my front door this morning:

Poor, poor optimistically sprouting plants...how the 80s of a few weeks ago so cruelly tricked you.

April as seen from our balcony on Indian Rocks Beach, just outside of Tampa last week:

Oh, but The Fates are cruel...

NotScarlett, you ROCK!

LOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE for Not Scarlett, my super-stupendous Official Lime and Violet pRon Exchange exchanger!

Not only did she send me the afore blogged super-excellent package and Loopy Ewe gift certificate, but when we finally traipsed home from Florida (no worries, mates, there are many, many more blog posts on that coming...cartrip crochet, balcony knitting, sun, waves, shells, Busch Gardens and oh so NOT fabulous-o Sea World, more sun, more waves, more knitting seaside yet more passenger seat crochet and even a kidless night out! oh soooo much to talk about!!!) anyway, home we limp, tired, full of sand, crabby after 5 hours in the car...and WHAM, BAM, BIFF, there on my floor lies BIG package. For ME. I was stunned. Poor thing, waiting forever to find out my reaction, but oh, the timing couldn't have been more perfection. One should always find such waiting after 2 days in planes and cars with small children. I believe I shall start sending mineself post.

Anyhoo, take a gander at this:

I mean, is that extra, extra credit or what? This gal, she's gained herself a huge mess of karmic protection with this one. Color me 5 shades of SPOILED!

To recap, that would be:
2 hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Lakeview (land o' 10, 000 lakes swoon!)
one hank of Lisa Souza Sock in Marsquake (otherworldly swoon!)
2 packages of mmmmmmm Dove chocolates
a sheepy journal and matching magnet
a sheepy keychain with sneaky hideaway pouch containing luscious lip balm (love me the burt's bees btw) and cuticle ointment I'm dying to rub in. (**wonders why she hasn't done that yet and resists the urge to trot off to indulge...must finish post!**)
AND one copy of One Skein Wonders along with one copy of Candi Jensen's latest, Knitting Loves Crochet. (love me the Candi Jensen, the woman just knows her stuff, knitting or crochet. will have reviews of both upcoming too btw...)

GASP, I may need to lay down.


I am simply totally overwhelmed.

Sarah, your generosity is astounding. My faith in humanity is restored. Strangers can be kind to strangers. We can all get along. We do care, damn it! The good DOES in fact outweight the bad. YEAH!

Let's take a closer looksee at the yarn, shall we?

Mmmmmmmmmm, Lisa Souza. And the Marsquake is absolute perfection for me. All warm and earthy and inspiration struck her when she was actually Looking at Mars in the heavens. Makes my geeky sci-fi heart go pitter pat.

And just look at the colors in this Lorna's. Really cool-ly lovely sock-ish wonderfulness. Soft as soft can be. Me thinks this may be my first pair of "jaywalkers"...YIPPEE!

More on the vacation later, must go bond with my new yarn...