What's going on...

I have no new knitting progress or lack of progress pictures today. Well, I do have pictures but they are in my camera at home and I'm at work.

I received a package from my Secret Pal yesterday. I'll post all the juciy bits on that later with pictures. But I will say it was a very AWESOME package!

I've frogged about 3 seperate projects in the last couple of weeks. One of them being socks for my sockapalooza... which I'm having a rough start with. Mostly dumb errors on my part. But I may change the yarn I'm using and go on a differant path. Another frog was one the front of my brown alpaca/wool vest. I messed up the ribbing and stitch count. I hadn't gotten very anyway.

That's all for now. I'll leave you with some kitty kat porn today!

More New Stash ( yeah, like I needed it )

This last week the LYS had a sale on some Berroco Ultra Alpaca. The new colors are coming in for the Fall and they're making room! My kind of sale! I got some in Fern and Cobalt Violet. I have enough of the Fern to knit Ticuna from their free patterns site. I only purchased two skeins of the Cobalt Violet.. I'm thinking of mixing it with some other colors and felting up a bag of some sort. By the way, the greens are more darker in life.. the morning sun kinda washes it out... no that I'm complaining about the sun! Shine on!

I also got some Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in the Purple Iris colorway on sale too! I'm thinking now I must've been on a Green and Purple kick.

Not much new on my Monkey Sock progress. I messed it up on my trip to Ohio and was so annoyed with it I hardly touched it at all! Nearly 24 hours cumulative time on the bus ride and no knitting to show for it. I just wasn't feeling the love for my knitting back I guess. When I got home I ripped back and picked up again. Now I'm on the heel. I'm just happy to be at the heel!

New Stash

Last week before I left for the weekend I received another package from my Secret Pal.
Today I'm getting around to posting about it. Little late on posting... but I definately thanked them as soon as I got it! My sp sent me the Vogue Stitionary book. Which is very cool and is loaded with differant fair isle patterns. I love it and can't wait until I get a chance to practice with all the yarn she sent too! Theres a couple of skeins of Koigu Kersti and some chocolate bars. There were actually three bars but of that theres about one and a half left. I also got a sticky pad and some really pretty handmade stitch markers! Also not pictured but totally awesome non the less... were the special edition stamps with matching envelopes that were stamped on the day of issue. One was the Vermont State bird/flower and the other were the 4 stamp set of Cats. Very cool if your into stamp collecting! I have to admit that I've lost my enthusiasm for the new self-stick stamps. To me they're just fancy stickers. I like collecting the old ones better.
Thanks secret pal.

On another note Ohio was great. I probably spent too much but you'll have that. Glad I could help out the local economy there! I have to post this picture I took of this basket Building!

Greetings from Dresden Ohio!

No pictures to post yet. Just posting a quick note from Ohio. I'm out here for the Longaberger Collectors Club Gathering event. No yarn here just lots of baskets! Plenty of pictures and sock updates next week.

PS. My secrect pal sent the best package ! Sock yarn... and chocolate and stitch markers too! More on that next time as well. Thanks Secret Pal your the best!!!

Now she wants socks!

Conversation from Easter Sunday at my moms..........

Mom- "Who are you knitting those socks for?"

Daughter- "Me."

Mom- "Who are knitting those other ones for?"

Daughter- "Me too. I'm knitting both of these pairs for me."

Mom- "Oh........" ( in a clearly dissapointed tone)

Daughter- "You said you didn't think you could wear my knitted socks. You said they were too thick." (spoken in a "Mimic my Mother" voice only a daughter can pull off)

Mom- "Oh well, I think I might be able to wear them with my new wool clogs...I could wear thinner ones.... I think. "

Daughter- "Sure!!!!! Now you tell me. Now you want socks!"

All talk and no new pictures

I have no new pictures to post of my progress... so I'll just tell about it instead. I've finished one sock of my Monkey socks so far. Looks awesome. I've started the second one and I'm maybe about a third done on the top so far.
I had to rip back my other sock of the Lorna's Laces that I had started. I messed up the pattern and there really was no fixing, so I frogged back to the cuff. I've restarted the pattern. I thinking maybe a lifeline wouldn't hurt on this pattern.
I started another new project... actually there are two new ones that I haven't blogged about. At work on break I've been working in a Ribbed Turtleneck Pullover in the Silky Wool. So far so good. It seems kinda lightweight for a wool/silk blend. I should've washed the swatch to see how it would bloom up.
Also I started a new Crewneck Vest in the Peruvian Sierra Aran from elann. I'm about ready to start shaping my armholes on the back. I've been motoring along on that. The pattern is a combination of one from an old Family Circle Knitting and an Interweave Knits issue.

So those are my new projects... now I'm gonna recap on some old stuff thats been hanging around too long. I was looking at my knitting pile this Winter/Spring and decided there were some things that could be frogged. One in particular is a sweater I've mentioned before. I bought the sweater kit at one of the local craft shows. I had completely drooled over the yarn at previous shows. I finally decided to splurge and purchase one of the kits. It's a mohair boucle handpainted yarn. It's really a gorgeous colorway.. called Mixed Berries... raspberry, blueberry and a tealish green. The pattern in the kit was for a roll neck with ribbed bottom and cuffs. At that time I wasn't a fan of the ribbing.. I was stuck on making all my cuffs and hems in the roll. So I modified the pattern... casted on, frogged, and casted on a few times before I finally had something I liked. However as I knitted the body in the round the colors began to pool and pool and pool and I liked it less and less. It languished for extended periods of time before I finally got as far as I did last winter. I felt like I HAD to finish it... that I'd come so far.. sleeves finally done and attached. So close to the neck area. But after being mere inches away from complete last May, it went back to the WIP pile again. Nearly a year ago now. Now after some time thinking about it, I've decided that the pooling is whats holding me back. I don't like it. At least not on a sweater. I know if I finish it, it will only lay in the closet and never see the light of day either. I think it's time to let go of the sweater and the guilt that I should finish it because it was a "kit and thats what it was supposed to be." The pooling only happened on the body and not on the sleeves. I'm wondering how it would be differant if I tried it on straights and maybe at a differant gauge. Either way I love the yarn, love the colors but this pattern isn't working for me!