Green Hat

I've been super busy at work. So busy, that I haven't had the time to show you a WIP (work in progress) which is now a FO (Finished Object).

This is the start of a green hat knit from some handspun fiber purchased at MSW2005. The fiber came in a batt curled up into the cutest shape. I fell in love with all the shades of green, and this was one of the first things I spun from MD that year. The yarn has been sitting in my stash for some time, waiting for a purpose.

I was looking for a project that would require the use of lots of cute little sheep stitch markers. Aren't they sweet? My friend, Barb, made them for all fiber friends at Christmas. I'm such a lucky girl!
And someone who has a birthday coming up will have a nice, warm head this winter!

Socret Pal strikes again

You may recall that I joined the Sockret Pal exchange some months back. I lost the button on the blog upgrade, so I will have to make a point to get that added back to the sidebar.

My sockret pal must have super powers, because she(he?) somehow knew that it would snow again here in the PNW and I would need another pair of socks - TODAY! Aren't I the luckiest girl in the world? Two secret packages in two days!

The sockret pal exchange differs from the secret pal exchange in that in the sockret pal exchange, you have to knit your pal a pair of socks!

These are the bluebell rib socks from Sensational Knitted Socks in Shelridge Farm 3-ply, color Sand. Sockret Pal, I put these babies on my feet as soon as I opened the package! They are warm and squooshy and fit GREAT! Thank you so much!

And because us knitters like to pad those priority mail boxes with a little something extra, my pal included 2 batts from Spritely Goods in merino/firestar blends. These batts are so pretty and coordinate well. I'll have to ponder a bit to decide what to make with them. 4.4oz total may be enough for a pair of socks, if tightly spun, or maybe I will make myself a luxurious scarf? Hmmm, something to think about.

Did you notice the dark chocolate in the photo? And the yummy bar of soap? Mmmmm, it smells so nice! Into the kitchen it goes. (with 3 little kids in the house, we do A LOT of handwashing!) Sockret Pal also sent a historical fiction novel, Patrick, Son of Ireland. S/he's been reading my blog, and knew that I am a fan of the historial fiction. The book came from a used bookstore, which is fine by me. I am all for recycling and freecycling of good stuff like this! Thank you so much, Sockret Pal! What a lovely surprise!

Snow Days

Hmm, seems like I have used this title before! The kids will be going to school until July. *sigh*

The kids are enjoying the long weekend, at least.

There has been lots of outdoor time building snow forts and dragon lairs. After all, we have to keep our backyard dragon warm, you know!

DH has been working from home with me, and he got out a bit to capture some of the spectacular light we do not expect to see in January.


I do not have 4WD so my arse is not leaving this house, but the mailman does have a Jeep and some days, you just have to love the USPS.

I received my reveal package from my SP9 and all I can say is, WOW! And, THANK YOU! My SP9 is Lucy from Costa Rica. Her blog is Dimples Designs(how cute is that?). Lucy was an exchange student in the US during SP9, and her blog shows many of her adventures. Lucy, safe travels back to Costa Rica and thank you so much for being a great secret pal! Now - for the goodies. Lucy sent me the most gorgeous set of straight needles. I need to get out a needle gauge to check what size they are, but I know they will be perfect for the scarf knitting plans I have for 2007. Think warm and fuzzy! Then Lucy also sent a knitting pattern a day calendar. I love the concept and have always envied bloggers who have created knits from the calendar patterns. This year, it will be me! Finally, there is a package of cute tissues in pink. It's that time of year and those will come in handy. Thank you again, Lucy, for all the wonderful surprises!

You will also note that Bagel is recuperating nicely in "his" chair. His dogonality is returning, he is "protecting" his food from Mocha and belting out the occassional ahhhoooooooo! I wonder if his hearing or barking ability was somehow injured in the altercation, or if it just hurts his ear to bark, because he stops quickly. I can handle a quieter dog :-) We have taken to feeding Bagel in the living room, a room which Mocha does not go in, and bagel knows that, so he should feel some peace when he is in there. We are looking for a new home for Mocha, which is so sad for DH and I, but we realize that these two dogs have a love/hate relationship and cannot coexist. Mocha is a beautiful girl who plays nicely with the children and loves her humans. If you know of a beagle-free home that can accomodate a large labrador, let me know.

Weird meme

Laurie tagged me with the weird things meme. I'm supposed to tell you 6 weird things about myself. The problem is, I don't think I am all that weird. You can decide for yourself.

1. I am a knitter. (but most likely, so are you)

2. I use my kids as background for stash shots.

This is some yummy sock yarn from my FT friend, Jen, in CT. Thanks, Jen! The label says "J. Knits". How appropo!

3. I knit and knit and knit and knit and forget to blog about it.

Arwen, from IK Winter 2006

4. I buy cheese just because of the label.

5. I don't blog about most of my stash purchases because I thinking blogging about knitting (or spinning) is much more interesting.


6. I have a dog with one and a half ears. (eww, ok, so that is probably weird)

You can decide for yourself if I fit the weird bill or not! I'm not tagging anyone since I think some of this falls into the TMI category.

Wallace and Gromit Fans

Get yee to the Central Market in Mill Creek for your very own...



Wensleydale cheese!

St. Distaff's Day Celebration

Yesterday, January 7th, was St Distaff's Day, the day which traditionally marks the end to the Christmas festivities and the return to work; for women, spinning. The NWRSA holds a spin-in to celebrate this day, and for the second year in a row, I was in attendance. Over 150 spinners attended, and there were at least 20 local vendors selling their wares. My small group of friends grew this year: it was a joy to see Lo and Sam in attendance, and this year we hooked up with Annie and Terri as well. Of course, my good friend Barb was there as well, it was so nice to see her spinning something other than the gray fiber for her husband's sweater. Go give her a shout - out because she finished spinning 6 pounds of this stuff! Now if that does not show devotion, then I don't know what does!

Here's a few shots of the gym to show you how crowded it was:

Annie and I, I'm talking to my Mom on the phone so she could be a part of the celebration!


Terri, Barb, and Sam spinning away!


Barb, Sam, Lo, and Tammy, having a great time!

I haven't taken pictures of all the great things I purchased yet, so I will save those for another post.

On a sad note, my Baby Bagel is not the big dog he imagines himself to be. We spent several hours in the emergency vet clinic getting his ear sewn up. He's on pain killers and antibiotics, and pretty groggy. Send healing thoughts for my poor baby!

Actual knitting content

I have been knitting, honest.

First finished object of 2007: a mistake rib stitch scarf out of handspun wool/mohair blend from Persimmon Tree Farm M$W festival 2006.


shhhh.... it's a gift for my Sockret Pal, who has a January birthday.

That's a wrap

One of the reasons I started this blog is to stay in close touch with family and friends. I was warmly surprised on Christmas Day as I made my phone calls, to have numerous extended family members tell me how much they enjoy my blog. I am so glad that people are reading and enjoying it. I would say that is one goal accomplished.

Another reason for blogging is to keep track of knitting accomplishments throughout the year. Last January, the Purling P's suggested 2006 be renamed 200Socks. This sounded like a fun adventure and I happily signed up. In 2006, I completed 6 pair of socks. That's a pair every other month. I'm pretty pleased with this!

Now, for the list (drumroll......)

SOCKS
Sockapaloooza Socks
Little Blue Socks
Sixth Sense Socks
Little Guy Camouflage Socks
Hallowe'en Socks
Sockret Pal Socks

GLOVES/MITTENS
Koigu Gloves for the Peaceful Palms KAL
DS2 Mittens, from handspun

SWEATERS
Koigu T-shirt with Long Sleeves
Decade Aran
Block Sweater
Cece, a Chicknits design, never photographed in its final state, gifted to Sam's daughters as it came out WAY too small
DS2's black sweater from LMKG, which he will not wear :-(

SHAWLS AND SCARVES
Diamond Fantasy Shawl
My So Called Scarf - gift for ISE3
Lucky Duck Scarf, from handspun
Ernie's scarf, from handspun

BABY BLANKETS
Diamond Fantasy Baby Blanket

HATS
DS HAT or would that be Dear Dog Hat?
Dad's Hat, from handspun

THE LIST OF SHAME
or what I did not finish last year
Single Pomatomus, Looking For Mate

WOW!!!!! I cannot believe I finished 5 sweaters last year! Sure, 3 of them were started the year (or 10) before, but still, that's pretty impressive for me! I really tried to focus on finishing what I started, and ripping what wasn't working, which leaves me in a much better place this year than last. I only have one single sock in search of a mate. I enter 2007 with a clear conscience and clean needles! What fun!