Sock Yarn Junkie

When I completed the meme. I should have included the fact that I am a Sock Yarn junkie!!! We are talking about a serious addiction. I collect sock yarn. I love to sample different things. I am in to hand dyed right now. I tend to keep to the blues and grays and browns. I need to start branching out because I really have too many, especially when they are in the same color families.

I walked through the dinning room last night and there were 3 skeins on the table. When I came out of the master bathroom, I noticed some on my craft table that I stopped to fondle. I had forgotten about them. I bet I am up to at least 3 Rubbermaid tubs - we talking big boys here!. When Lime and Violet started their sockathon thingie, I counted up my yarn and had enough for at least 50 pairs. This is truly a problem!!!! Especially since I live in the south and no one else in my family will wear wool socks, in fact my children rarely ever even wear socks. Oh well, confession is good for the soul and is the First Step.

These are my most recent completions and acquisitions:

Move Your Fanny

I beg your pardon, no, no, just the name of the sock pattern.
Remember the Tofutsies yarn? I finished the second sock last evening. I am still on track to meeting my goal of a pair of socks a month for 07. The pattern is an arch support sock called Move Your Fanny designed by Gigi Silva for Monkey-Toes Designs and Socktopia.net. (I am a little behind on that project!)

The sample was knit in the same yarn, my gauge matches the pattern, however, I do not like the fabric. The yarn is rather thin, has a slight halo and little stretch. It also has a noticeable odor, I guess that must be the shellfish.

You must admit, the sock looks much better on the foot than sitting on the table!

The pattern called for short row heel, 3'' of 1x1 ribbing for the arch support and then a short row toe. The thin yarn made it difficult to do the short row heel without leaving heels. As for the toes, I had read that term before but did not realize that it meant you decrease down to the toe and then you keep going and pick up the wrapped stitches. You end the sock by Kitchenering the toe stitches to the stitches on the bottom of the sock. I frogged that and went back to my typical toe decrease. I guess the wear on a sock occurs more on the toe than the ball of the foot but I just didn't want that seam on the bottom of the foot, no matter how smooth it was.

The colors are clear and lovely. I can see myself wearing this sock with my Birkenstock this summer on those rainy days of August. I sure hope we have some rainy days. It has been incredibly dry so far this year. Our last storm was two weeks ago. A lightening strike ignited some pine straw in the woods and it took about 10 days but it grew into quite a forest fire. 100 acres were burned but thankfully no homes. The fire has been mostly under control for the last 4 days but there are some occasional hot spots. The odor outside in the morning is horrible, It makes it very difficult to breathe and I live and work miles from the burned area.

Wooly Wonka Fibers

100% BFL Superwash wool. 425 yds in River. There I go with blue again but I love the variation in this yarn. The yarn came in a kit with Boudica, a Celtic-braid inspired pattern by Miriam of MimKnits (designer of the Icarus shawl).

The Knittery

Water Lilies and Cherries in Merino Cashmere Sock yarn. 70% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 20%Nylon. 397 yds. I ordered it from Theknittery.com. This yarn was handpainted in Victoria, Australia. The yardage seems a little short. I had hoped to knit a very patterned sock with this yarn but I am afraid I amy not have enough. The cashmere makes this so luscious. I wish we had feel-a-vision.

Opal Crazy!!

What a wonderful name for a fun yarn. I had been buying mostly hand dyed lately and trying to pruchase yarns I have not used. I have several socks out of Opal so I am breaking the rules but I just could not resist. Doesn't this look like fun?!


Current Constant Companion:
Artyarns Ultramerino in color 104. This is one of the yarns I picked up this fall when I traveled to Dallas. The pattern is another from Socktopia.net by Gigi Silva: Eleanor. It is a simple 12 row repeat that I had memorized after the second row.

Blob Gone Missing

Oh Where oh Where has the Blob been?

I know I have been ignoring the Blob. We had spent a great deal of quality time together and I just didn't feel that she was holding up her end of the deal. She just wasn't growing so I decided to let her have some thinking time. Well, did that backfire or what. The next thing I knew, she had taken my book and scooted out to the porch.

I got the book back and she took the keys and decided to go checkout the scene during Biker Weekend in Myrtle Beach. Now you have to agree, she was a little overdressed since the outfit for the weekend is black leather and thongs, I kid you not! Well, traffic was horrendous and she did not get far before giving up and coming home. I confiscated the keys. (There were some pictures online of the crowds but they really might be a little too graphic!)

At this point we are experiencing some real relationship issues. The Blob has now begun to cuddle up to my arch enemy - the demon cat.

Tonight - the last straw. She is in my favorite TV watching chair. When I inquired as to what she thought she was doing, she responded that the Ott light next to the chiar was very flattering to her. She is becoming quite a DIVA!

Well, vacation is over! It is time to get busy and get this Blob done!

Duck!

Costume Chick got me!
I have had this blog for a year and this is the first time that I have been tagged for a meme. I have been flying under the wire. I don't know whether I should feel thrilled that I am now 'part of the club' or "Yuck, who wants to know about me!"

Well, I am supposed to tell you 7 little known facts about me and tag 7 others.

1. I am a rather boring and serious person.
This character flaw makes this meme rather difficult since I am sure you don't want to be bored and I am not sure how creative I can be!! My family always teases me since it sometimes justs goes right over my head.

2.I have a Ph.D. and a rather professional, high stress job. Very few people outside my professional life know about the advanced degree. I have always felt that if I need the title to gain respect, it was a waste of money. Instead, I appreciate seeing the effect of the degree in my pay check!! The degree just evolved out of my curiosity and wanting to know more and also because I couldn't decide what I want to be when I grow up. I have worked in a school district for 30 years but have played many roles. Every time I changed jobs, I had to go back to college.

3. I must knit daily or I go into withdrawals and pout! I must have this time to myself. It is my Yoga, my 'therapy'. I used to quilt and have won several ribbons. As my children aged and became involved in sports, it became more difficult to quilt.

I began knitting socks so that I could have a small project to carry with me.

I would love to learn to spin. I live in the Coastal Region of SC and have not found any spinning resources in this area. I am not planning on giving up - it is something I will do.

4. My 17 yo daughter teases me that I am addicted to reading blogs. Now why would she find it funny when she has a My Space account. I guess Mom's are supposed to be old fashioned and uninformed.

5. My family does not know about the blog. DD may have guessed but we have never discussed it. This is my private space. With 2 teenagers, it is sometimes difficult to have any private time or thoughts. It seems we have the most important discussions when I am in the shower. Why is that????

6. We seem to take in 2-legged and 4-legged strays!
DS brings home boys that have problems at home and need a haven. We had an extra 'son' during his senior year. There are 2 at the house this month. Both husband and I have worked as counselors in a former life. DS seems to have 'caught' it from us.

DD brings home the 4-legged kind. We have 4 dogs, 1 cat and 3 horses. This is a challenge since we live in a golf course community. When we reached 13 cats, I told her she would have to shut down the rescue mission if she had any plans to go to college, I just could not afford both!

7. The common joke among the folks I work with is that when we retire, we want to be the greeter at WalMart. I think this is becoming a rather popular goal. Well, instead of WalMart, I joke that I am going to be the posture child for Melanoma when I retire. I have had one spot removed from my leg and have a scar in the shape of an x about 2.5 inches square. It was just on the surface of the skin but they still took all the tissue down to the muscle and I will have a very close relationship with my dermatologist for the rest of my life. He is rather cautious and biopsies often. We joke about connecting the dots!!

Well, that is me. Scars and secrets and all.

Constant Companion.

While waiting for the missing directions to reappear, I have begun a new sock. I must have a sock underway at all times, a Constant Companion - just in case. I have set a goal of one pair of socks a month this year. I have been on target so far but had not started this month's pair.

This is an ankle high with arch support knit in. The pattern is titled: Move your Fanny and it is available through Socktopia. I am knitting it with Tofutsies and just now when I went to the blog to copy the URL for this post, I realized that I am knitting it in the same colorway. Not intentional, we just have good taste. Anyway, the design is by Stariel.

Correction: The sock was designed by Giga Silva for Monkey-Toes Designs and Socktopia.net. The sample was knit by Stariel.

This yarn is made of:
50% Superwash Wool
25% SOYSILK brand fiber
22.5% Cotton
2.5% Chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells!)

It has a slight shine and a slight odor! Hmmmmm, not sure about this yet.

Switching Teams

Last spring I developed Tendinitis in my right hand and had to have an injection. The injection was not a very pleasant experience but it worked wonderfully and I have been knitting relatively pain free. I am a thrower and at that time, someone recommended that I try continental so that I would have options and it would relieve my hands to be able to switch up now and then. I had no problem with knitting in Continental so I have been doing my garter stitch Tie-Dy sweater using that technique.

Previously, I had been able to knit and read at the same time if the project were a simple one. I have not reached that comfort level, as of yet, with the continental method. I wonder how many repetitions it takes to build muscle memory?

I thought that I could also purl in continental. Then I viewed a video that someone had linked to her blog and realized that I did not. Since I am directionless, I have used my lunch break yesterday and today to knit a gauge swatch for a new project using the continental method while watching this video: .

It feels less awkward today and By George, I think I've got it!

Up a Creek Without a Paddle

I have done it again!!! I have lost the directions for the sweater I am knitting. Have no fear, I made a copy of them so that if this happens, AGAIN, I would have a backup. Now, where is the copy!!! It is unbelievable how many times I do this. I thought having the backup copy would work but I can't find the backup!!!! I guess I will need to get by the bookstore to look at the magazine to get the two numbers I need to finish the sweater.

3/4 done

I have finished the front of the Tie Dyed T-Shirt. The colors in the photo are not great. Check back to the previous photos to check out the color. The grey carpet really greys out the color. I have not had much knitting time this week. I hurt my back this past weekend and have been flat on my back. The chiropractor did not help much so I had to go the drug route. It is at least comfortable now.