Slacking - the long catch-up entry

Wow, it would seem that I'm a totally slacking knit-blogger here, as it's been 3 months since my last posting! I've been knitting, getting kids back to school, working at a new job (yay!), and just generally trying to roll with the punches that this crazy life brings with each and every day. I've learned a few things lately, about knitting and about myself that have been classic "Aha!", smack on the forehead kind of things.

What I've completed: Two shrugs for some of my very favorite eight-year-old girls, who each celebrated a birthday recently - Amanda's Lauren in August, and Holly's Amanda in October. This is Lauren modeling hers at her birthday party; I did add a button and loop to it at her request. The Shrug This! pattern from One Skein Wonders seems to be my go-to choice for little girls' knitted birthday gifts, as this is Lauren's second one, and her mom was pretty thrilled when I mentioned that I was making another one for this year's birthday! I also finished a pair of anklet socks for myself, from a custom-dyed yarn called Snow Angel, dyed for me by my friend Stacy of Nurturing Threads well over a year ago. The color is just lovely, white and black with a bit of stone grey, with a periwinkle purple and a clear aqua blue.

But my favorite item that I've finished since my last update would have to be my Clapotis. I have been wanting to knit one for-evah, and am thrilled to have that under my belt now. I used a cotton-wool blend sock yarn (ONline brand) in a great orange-y colorway that I believe is called Tequila Sunrise. I was determined to get this thing done in time to take it with us to the beach in August, and I did it! It was finished, ends woven in, and blocked beautifully almost before I even started packing for the trip. This picture was taken at the Cracker Barrel in Fredericksburg, VA, which is our breakfast-stop location as we head south to North Carolina.

What I've been knitting: Still working on the mini-socks occasionally; the STR mini skein swap that I joined on the Socks That Rawk group on Ravelry has been great for it, I've done a mini pair in Gertrude Skein, and Muddy Autumn Rainbow - neither of which ever caught my eye in the skein or even in other peoples knitted object, but in a little 24stitch circumference, I really like the Gertrude Skein. I did a pair of baby socks for Steph's sweet little girl, Riley last month - leftovers from 2 pairs of my own Jitterbug socks in moss green and a light pink, that I made stripes and picot hems. Started a Multnomah shawl for my Grandma's birthday gift, out of a rusty red colored Araucania sock yarn, as of right now I'm through the garter section and about 8 rows into the pattern stitch, so I think that's more than halfway through. Grandma's birthday is 11/15, so it's do-able!

What I've designed: A pair of striped socks based on a stitch pattern that I made into a dishcloth over the summer. It came from the Lace edition of the newer Harmony Guides, and while I cannot remember if it had an actual name, I've just called it Harmony Lace. I *LOVE* the socks! They're both done now, though I don't yet have a picture of both of them completed - they went directly into my sock-wearing rotation without a stop for pics on my blockers, lol. They're knit from KnitPicks Felici sock yarn in the now-sadly-discontinued Alexandrite colorway, 2.25mm DPNs, top-down, yadda yadda. I do intend to write this one up, but if you're as impatient as I am, feel free to go grab the lace pattern from my Harmony Lace dishcloth and just use that with your favorite basic sock pattern - which is exactly how I did it!




What I've bought or traded: Shalimar Yarns Zoe sock - a great find and a local dyer, picked up at All About Yarn. KnitPicks Gloss sock (wool and silk, yumm!) that I bought from another Raveler. Berocco Lustra, a gorgeous wool/Tencel blend that I picked out in a creamy white color. Some Lambs Pride worsted in red and black for knitting a Ladybug doll, from Cloverhill, and 2 skeins of Universal Deluxe Worsted in a gorgeous turquoise/electric blue color from Large Marge that has no specific purpose. I've participated in two different STR mini swaps, and gotten sweet little skeins of some great and new-to-me colors in that swap, which are pictured here. I'm sure there's more, as I had a bit of a yarn binge in September!

What I've learned: As much as I like the idea of joining swaps and KALs with other knitters online, I have a very, very hard time with the follow-through. I start out with great intentions, but my ridiculously juvenile attention span kicks in and everything just fizzles out from there. Even something as simple as the SolidSocks monthly KAL on Rav seem to be beyond me. So what I've learned is that I "work" best without limits or expectations (other than those I make myself) on my knitting time.

Where I've visited: In August we took a family vacation to Emerald Isle, NC, which is just my favorite place ever. Sarah and I visited The Salty Sheep yarn shop, in Swansboro, which is about a 20 minute drive from the condo on the beach. We met Peggy, one of the owners, who was charming and engaging, and stayed open a bit later than I'm sure she would have liked on a Friday, to allow us the time to browse and ooh and ahh over their stock. The store is an oasis of natural fibers, and Sarah and I both bought things we'd never been able to see before in person - some Malabrigo sock yarn for me, a Pretty Cheep bag, Malabrigo Lace and some brightly-colored Lorna's Laces for her - some of which has now become an adorable toy.

In September, Marnie and I took a road trip down to Alexandria VA (under 90 minutes from where we live in central MD) to visit two great yarn shops that are a few block from one another. You may think that being this close to your competition would be a detractor, but I don't think there was a single item of yarn that the two stores both carried. It was a wonderful change from the usual KFI-ful yarn shopping that seems to have overcome the Baltimore yarn shopping area, and made me wish (and my wallet cringe!) that I lived close enough to go there more often. We hit Knit Happens first, where Marnie had been to once before. They have a great wall of books and carry many magazines as well, including back issues, a few of which followed me home (I really need to restart my IK subscription, but keep forgetting, so I'm supporting LYSs in the meantime). I was thrilled to finally get a glimpse of a few Namaste bags in person, which was great and disappointing all at once - good because I'd been thinking the newer Zuma was just what I'd been looking for, and disappointing because I learned very quickly that it wasn't what I'd hoped for. Two skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy followed me out of Knit Happens, along with the IK back issues. Next we drove a few miles (silly one-way streets!), got lost (silly knitters who were too busy talking to pay attention!), and finally found Fibre Space - a brand new (I believe they opened in July of this year), open and airy studio-style yarn shop that was just lovely. They had a great selection (we all know my heart beats a little bit faster for a lovely array of sock yarns), and I was followed home by many pretties - a sweater's worth of Malabrigo worsted, a skein of Miss Babs sock in a honey-wheat color, a Pretty Cheep bag (Marnie bought a matching one), and a set of Hiya Hiya 32" circs to try out on socks. I'd also arranged in advance to exchange some trade items with one of the girls who works there (Hi Veronica!), so I also brought home some Shibui Sock leftovers to test-knit, and the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Sock Book.

Along with my new job comes quite a daily commute, but it just happens to take me pretty close to 3 other local yarn shops: All About Yarn in Columbia, Large Marge in Ellicott City, and Cloverhill in Catonsville. I've managed to visit all of them at least once since starting my job in September, and have enjoyed the newness of things that I haven't seen in a while.