Primate Knits

2007 Year in Review

2008-01-28T12:32:00.000-06:00

Before I start posting about what I have done so far this year, I did want to take some time and review what I got done last year. I made a bunch of resolutions last year and posted them here. I was pretty good overall, although I tanked in some specific areas.

Stash Reduction:

My sock and general stash reduction goals were not met. At all. I was great about this for the first few months of the year, but then I the whole 'dieting' thing got to me and I broke. I am happy that my stash did not get bigger at least - my new acquisitions roughly equal my yarn used. I am okay with that. But this year, well...my resolutions are going to look a bit different.

Organization:

I had pledged to make a database for all things knitting. I started it....and then Ravelry came along. They incorporated everything I wanted and way more. I am absolutely in awe of their vision and execution of this personal database + community + ultimate reference site. Thanks for completing this resolution for me, Jess & Casey!

Want to Learn:

This didn't get much checked off. Overall, I think I improved my knitting abilities, especially in the finishing and colorwork areas. But - most of the specific areas (steeks, cardigans, improving spinning, and entrelac) I didn't end up working on at all. This year I will see what I can do about this.

Projects to Knit or Finish:

Of the 12 sweaters I wanted to knit or finish, I completed 6 of those listed (Hourglass, Erin, Cheesy Puffs, Zara, Rogue, generic grey turtleneck) and subbed Cobblestone for Joseph. While not meeting my goal of 12, I am pretty happy with finishing 7.

All in all, I finished 39 projects in 2007:

7 sweaters
21 pairs of socks
4 hats/head covering stuff
3 scarves
1 kitty pi
1 pair handwarmers
1 bad juju doll
1 pair of warshcloths

I have many of these projects up on Ravelry, but I am still working on getting better about photographing my projects. Especially with my socks. I will try to get better about documenting FOs, and Ravelry is a good incentive to do this. So this is my pictureless, verbous, year end round up for 2007.

Next up - what I have been doing this year so far and resolutions, smesolutions.....

Christmas 2007 FOs

2008-01-15T13:47:00.000-06:00

I was able to get most of what I wanted done gift-wise....although some of the gifts should be more accurately named New Year's gifts, rather than xmas gifts. But, to finish off the year, I wanted to document the final tally for xmas '07.

I was able to finish the second Brigit sock, and the sparkly socks for my mom. Some cardstock, a printer, a few rubber stamps , and some markers and you have four nicely packaged gift socks (brigit socks not pictured):

For my friends in CT, I already had the armwarmers and 1 hat done, and just had to finish these slipper socks. The pattern is Log Cabin Socks. I used Rowan Cork in Delight, and followed the modifications from doggedknits to make them a bit thicker.

All 3 of my LYSs were out of the Fibertrends full soles, so I had to use the 2 piece set. It was okay, but I would have preferred the full soles. Ah, the perils of waiting until the last minute....

I also was able to finish a hat for my sis. This was actually done, washed, and wrapped for xmas eve. I gave her a hat for xmas last year (it was lovely, a wool and alpaca mix), but she felted it accidentally (!). She is a postal worker and I wanted to keep her warm, but I am also no dummy. So, this year, she gets Mission Falls superwash wool.

I found the snowflake chart somewhere on the web, and just winged a pattern from there. I was almost sad to give it up.

So, to tally, for Christmas '07 I gifted:

4 pairs of socks
2 hats
1 pair of armwarmers
1 pair of slipper socks

This is much down from last year, and I am glad I paired down. This was a really busy semester, and it was stressful enough.

And, last but not least, I want to give thanks for my wonderful husband. He got me all sorts of fantastic stuff for xmas, including knitting stuff that I have been coveting for a looong time. Including:

4 balls of Classic Elite Waterlily in a lovely deep brown
2 hanks of Claudia Handpaints in Summer Fields (so excited.....)
2 balls of Lang Jawoll in charcoal and 1 in a blues and dark reds variegate
and 1 ball of SRK On Your Toes which has aloe in it.
He also got me some addi turbos, size 15 bamboo straights, some great books, and some fun games (including Zombie Flux and Zombies: School's Out). I am giddy. Thanks, babe!

Status of the Christmas Knitting 2007

2007-12-20T21:37:00.001-06:00

Honestly. This is so stereotypical of our knitter community it is almost embarrassing. When will I ever really wake up to the fact that, contrary to my normally skeptical self, I can knit a sweater in but a day or two and a pair of socks in but a few hours? And – knowing that every year ends in a gift-giving holiday, and every year I have the best of intentions but sadly overestimate what I can get done – why do I not start holiday knitting in January? Laments aside, here is the list of holiday knitting for this year and the status of each (some good, some.....well, I'm still in self-delusion mode):

One man's pair of socks:

Status: Done! I hope they fit.....

Pattern: Plain Vanilla sock pattern
Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura Wool/bamboo/nylon sock blend
Needles: Size 1
Started: 11/24/07
Finished: 12/12/07

One hat and armwarmers:

Status: Done!

Pattern: Hat – generic mine; Armwarmers - “Hurry up Spring Armwarmers” from SNB Nation
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay in variegated oranges – from stash from a few years ago, which is great!
Needles: Addis size 6 circ.s for hat and size 7 Brittany DPNs for armwarmers
Started: 11/20/07
Finished: 11/23/07

One plain pair women's socks:

Status: Done!

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern
Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes
Needles: size 2
Started: 11/03/07
Finished: 11/21/07

Second pair of women's socks:

Status: 90% done. Only the last toe to finish. This one is easy and will be no problem to finish.

Pattern: Brigit
Yarn: Lang Jawoll sock yarn
Needles: Crystal Palace 1.5 DPNs
Started: 12/08/07
Finished: ------

Third pair of women's socks:

Status: 50% done. First sock done, second sock yet to be finished. Now we see my plans starting to fall apart.....

Pattern: Garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Socka Disco (It's sparkly!)
Needles: Knitpicks 1.5 DPNs
Started: 12/12/07
Finished: ------

I bought this yarn for me.....but it's sparkly. I'm not a sparkly person. Ah, but then Christmas came along, and I had a plan....my mom is a sparkly person. She buys holiday sweaters that light up, flash AND sparkle. Perfect.

Here's where it falls apart; the TO DO list (as of 12/20......uh [*embarrassing cough*] yeah):

Log Cabin Slipper Socks.

Heh heh. Decided last night I was going to do these because I needed one more gift for a girlfriend. I have half a sock #1 done.

Two hats, one for my sis and one for another friend of mine.
My sister's is a must, the other one could be axed if need be.

One more pair of socks
I have little hope here....

So to tally, this is the must stuff that I still need to get done:

one toe on the Brigit socks
the mate to the sparkly garter rib socks for mom
1.5 log cabin slipper socks (oh – and these need to be felted slightly and have soles sewed on, did I mention that?
1 hat for sis (preferably with some fair isle snowflakes....)
One hat and one pair of socks that probably will get axed

As I look at this, I think to myself that this is super easy. I can get this done, no problem. And then I am reminded by the fact that I still have some shopping to finish, none of the knitting is blocked, none of the presents are wrapped, I still haven't sent out seasonal cards, my house is a mess and my niece is coming to stay with us soon, I have baking to do for a few forthcoming holiday parties, and (oh, yeah) there is this whole job thing that I need to be attending to. This seems familiar......

Happy Holidays!

In which she forgets that limbs come in pairs....

2007-12-18T13:45:00.001-06:00

Mama's got a brand new bag....

2007-08-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

I am a utilitarian kind of gal, with a mean obsession with storage. So the other day, my DH and I were at our local general store and I found the coolest new bag for sock knitting. (imagine trumpets blaring):

It is marketed as a tool bag, but is perfect for sock knitting projects. It is made of canvas and so is sturdy, but lightweight, and has four pockets on each side to hold all of your sock DPNs. But wait! That's not all, folks! There are also 4 pockets on each side of the inside for all of your little notions. AND - it has a zip enclosure, with no velcro anywhere that could mess with your yarn.

I'm in love. It's roomy, but not too big to carry around, has places for everything, and is not too shabby looking. To top it off, it was only $10, people. Is it illegal to marry a tool bag? You can find it online here. It is a few bucks more than what I paid at my local Anderson's.

Next up, I finished Rogue. -ish. I still have to sew up the damn hems, but since I could wear it out in public in it's current state, I am calling it done. I will worry about hems at a later date, as the weather is in no way making this a viable clothing option currently.

Details:
Pattern: Rogue
Yarn: Jaeger Shetland Aran in Sage. I used about 7.5 balls for the large size.
Needles: Addis size 8
Mods: I added one extra cable repeat on the body to make it longer
Started: June 15, 2007
Finished: August 10, 2007
Issues: None...this was a great pattern. Well written, very detailed.

And finally, I started a new sweater:

It is Bless from the Cork Collection. I am using Rowan Cork in the Mouse color. Big needles, lofty yarn, and a relatively straight forward pattern. Just what I need.

I should be better prepared

2007-08-08T12:41:00.001-05:00

I love horror films. I love zombie films. Preparing for a zombie apocalypse has been seriously discussed in my home more than once. And yet:

52%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

I need to work on it. But--I do disagree with their questions about guns. Bullets run out, people, and you have to be pretty good with the head shots. Blunt weapons are much better. I'm just sayin'.

Geek out.

Invitations and the resulting addiction

2007-08-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

I have been invited to Ravelry! I am so excited. And impressed. Everyone said that it was addictive, and I really didn't believe them. I was wrong. I have a little OCD with organization anyway, and this is like crack for that. It is also a fantastic resource to see what other people are doing with the yarns in your stash, who else is knitting the patterns you are (or want to). I find myself logging in before I'm aware, and entering projects and surfing while I sit hungry and/or tired. Bad....but good!

I have to admit I am a little bummed, though. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to build a knitting database in Access, and after mapping it all out, brainstorming on what I want it to do, and building some of the underlying tables, I put it away and forgot about it. Then I get on Ravelry, and it's all what I had dreamt up and so much more. I am thrilled to have the resource, and it is way more than what my feeble database skills would have allowed....oh, wait. Why am I bummed? I'm just going to cross it off my list, and thank my lucky stars that they did it! Nevermind!

If you haven't signed up on the wait list, do it now! If you are on, I am under Darwinia. I have only about 10 projects up or so, but am adding more all the time. Here is a screen shot:

More Sweaters!

2007-07-31T15:58:00.001-05:00

I have been a bad blogger. This is nothing new.

Oh well. I will distract from my bad bloggyness with some fun FO's!
First up:

Cheesy Puffs

Pattern: Cheesy Puffs from Knitty

Yarn: Merino/Cashmere blend from SchoolProducts Inc. I purchased a 2.2 lb. cone of this when I was in NY in 2005, and this sweater took all but maybe 160 grams or so.
Needles: Addis size 8 for ribbing, 10 for pattern
Mods: Neck, wrists, and bottom edging all done in rib
Started: January 28, 2007 (Hiatus from end of Feb to June)
Finished: July 4, 2007
Issues: None...although, if I were to do this again, I would do most of it in the round.

Next up:

Basic Gray Turtleneck

Pattern: I used the basic shaping from the retroprep pullover pattern from IK, and then used EZ's math to do the rest
Yarn: Rowanspun DK in Mouse. I used about 5 balls
Needles: Addis size 6 for ribbing, 7 for stockinette
Started: May 12, 2007
Finished: June 1, 2007
Issues: None, I love it. It's a great basic addition to the wardrobe, and it fits great.

I am still behind on the Sweater a Month KAL, but these help. To recap:

January: Hourglass Sweater
February: Zara
March: Erin
April: Cheesy Puffs
May: Gray Turtleneck
June: (here is where I am behind)

I am working on Rogue, and am on the hood. All else knittin'-wise is complete, and one sleeve is already seamed and attached. This will count for June. I am planning to kick it in the ass and do two next month.....we'll see. I need to start thinking about Christmas knitting (OMFG! already???!!??) so, this may change.

I have been knitting socks (15 pairs complete this year) and sweaters (5 done this year) almost exclusively, although I have been puttering with the occasional scarf, hat and some afghan projects. I was working on the sock blankie pretty obsessively while I was working on my dissertation, but I have put that aside for now. I'll leave pix of that for next time, so it will tempt me to post SOON! I normally don't like doing scarves all that much, but with all the sock and sweater knitting, I have been nutty about wanting to cast on for like 15 scarves. Just goes to show, whatever you aren't doing sounds better than what you are.....

I’m Ba-ack!

2007-05-18T15:09:00.000-05:00

Sort of, anyway. Just to recap: I did pass my defense, so I am officially going to graduate with my doctorate in August. It is fantastic to have the defense done, but I still have finishing up. I need to work on getting the three chapters from my dissertation submitted to journals for publication (1 is close to ready, 1 is far, and 1 is in between), and I also have a grant report to finish up before the end of June. And there is the whole searching for a job thing. All of which I am completely unmotivated to do. But—I have been knitting…..

I finally finished Erin!!!

Details:

Pattern: Erin from Hot Knits
Yarn: Light Green is Cascade 220; Purple, Red, and Gold are Brown Sheep Naturespun; Dark Green and Orange are Jaeger Shetland Aran. (I used way less yarn then the pattern calls for. Way. Less. I kept track so that if anyone is interested in making this, I could give more accurate estimates).
Needles: Addis size 6 for ribbing, 7 for stockinette, and 8 for fair isle.
Mods: Most of body and all of sleeves knit in the round.
Started: Last year
Finished: May 17^th, 2007
Issues: Seaming along a fair isle edge SUCKS!

I am pretty annoyed at myself for taking so long to finish this up, but I am thrilled to have it done. I finished seaming and ripped out and redid the neck. I was unhappy with how the stitches had been picked up on the first neck, and I am much happier with it now. Sometimes there is no good substitute for a complete do-over.

I also have started on a new sweater:

It is in Rowanspun DK in color Mouse, and I am using the retroprep pullover pattern from IK Fall 2002. Miles and miles of plain knitting…perfect for vegging with a movie. I am modding the pattern to be a bit longer in the waist and turning it into a turtleneck. This is going pretty quick, and I am almost done with the body to the point of attaching the sleeves (it’s a seamless in-the-round pattern).

I am totally behind on the Sweater a Month Knitalong that I joined at the beginning of the year. I was off and running in January….but knitting slowed way down for me since. I got my January sweater done (hourglass), and was working on 3 more (Erin, Cheesy Puffs, and Zara in Big Wool). I finished Zara, but decided that I hated it on me and I would never wear it. So, it is in a pile until I get in the right frame of mind to rip it all apart. Does it still count? :)

If I finish the rowanspun turtleneck this month (which I will), then with the finishing of Erin, I will have 3 sweaters for the year. Cheesy Puffs is about 1/3 done, so that could be number 4. I could conceivably get caught up…..I hope they don’t kick me out!

Next time: pix of the sock blankie I started as a worry blanket during the defense prep, and updates to my new year’s yarn diet resolutions (hint—it’s not going so well). Oh—I’ve been spinning a bit, too.

And—just because they are cute:

I fear my monkey may be starving.....

2007-04-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

It has been so long, and I have not been dropping by to give Mono any bananas....but I think he will make it.

So what is going on? Why the long absence? Why no knitting?

I am currently a graduate student in conservation biology here in the midwest. Last semester, I had applied for a grant that would continue my funding until January of 2008. The granting agency takes forever to make decisions, and so from Nov to March, I was in limbo. Trying to simultaneously prepare to finish, while also prepare to gear up for an additional research line in case I got the grant.

In March, I found out that I did not get the grant. Okay, no big deal. I contact my committee to determine their availability for a defense this summer....and I find out that one of them (the one appointed by the graduate college) is retiring as of May 6th, and another is leaving the state for the summer as of May 8th or so.

Arggghhh! So, the defense went from being 'maybe this summer (no grant), maybe next year (have grant)' to being in 6 weeks within the space of a day. Fun!

So, I have been living and breathing my dissertation. And applying for jobs.

I defend May 2nd. I have a job interview in Massachusetts on May 4th (made it to the second round on a very cool research post-doc). Very scary.

Knitting has been minimal, occasionally working on plain vanilla socks when I need a break. After the job interview, I am staying in the Mass/CT area for a few days to see friends (and Webs is about 25 minutes away from the job interview......so I will be coming home with yarn).
I figure, even If I bomb the interview (I have to give an hour long presentation on my research...OMG!), I'll get to go to Webs and see my good friends.

Then, I am coming home and casting on for SIXTEEN projects!!!! Okay, I may need to start back slow.....

Of course, all of this moving on business is contingent on me actually passing the defense........

Wordless .....Thursday?

2007-03-01T10:16:00.000-06:00

A Tale of Three Sweaters

2007-02-17T15:32:00.000-06:00

If you listen to the news around here in NW Ohio over the past few days, you would have thought that the world was coming to a snowy end. We had about 10 inches over a day and a half, and folks were losing their minds. News was doing special segments every few hours to give us an update (yes, it’s still snowing). Everything shut down, including the Universities and schools, so my hubby and I had two snow days off together. It was great!

We cooked all day on Tuesday and made lots of yummy foods for the week, and then hung out together on Wednesday enjoying each other and the fruits of our hard labor the day before. I got more knitting done then usual, so I actually have quite a lot of knitting to update.

Sweaters:

I am working on three sweaters currently:

The Zara sweater: I finished seaming last night and knit the neck. I still need to finish weaving in ends and to block it. I am (and have been) totally procrastinating on finishing, because I am not sure about how I feel about it. It is VERY form-fitting. Rowan patterns require a lot of contemplation on the whole ‘to fit’ size and the finished measurement. They will give you only an inch of ease, but put the model in garment that is 3 times larger, so that you think the sweater will turn out baggy. Or, give four inches of ease in the pattern, but put the model in a garment that is a few sizes smaller, so it appears like it will be form-fitting. And---their shaping for seams is weird. Rowan patterns always hurt. Here is what it looks like currently:

This will be my February sweater, because I can finish weaving in ends in a half hour or less. Can I call it done yet??

Cheesy Puffs: Back is finished, but after blocking I realized it is too long. So, I am going to rip back from the bottom a few inches, and reknit the ribbing. I have cast on for the front, and am a few inches in. I should be able to realistically finish this for March:

Erin from Hot Knits: Finally, I dusted this one off and started her up again. The body has been finished for months, so all that is left is to finish the sleeves. I started one sleeve last weekend, and finished it on Thursday. I started the second sleeve today, and am about half way through the fair isle bit. This one should be done this month, easily. I modified it to be worked in the round, so the only seaming will be in attaching the arms to the body. And—I have been weaving in the ends as I go, so the finishing should be minimal. Here it is:

The third sleeve (below the body) is actually the first thing that I knit for this sweater (sort of a gimundous gauge swatch). Good thing, too. I found out that I need to use a larger size needle for the fair isle to get gauge. I am going to harvest the lighter green, but I am planning to keep the fair isle bit intact. I may felt it and use it as a pocket on a knit bag or maybe sew it up and use it as a Zune cozy or something. Or--I could attach the third arm and call it a Jurby.

I also decided I need a new hat, so I dug into the stash like a good yarn dieter and found some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in black and I knit up a quick hat:

It’s the Brangelina hat from Crazy Aunt Purl. Super quick knit, and I really like it. I modified it a bit so I could use a tighter gauge, but it is essentially the same. Also pictured is a scarf I knit up from Big Wool in cloak. It may or may not have curling issues, so I am holding out on the hoorahs until after it is blocked and we see its true temperament.

Also—I just wanted to say “Amen, sister” to the Yarn Harlot regarding her Valentine’s Day post. She is fantastic, and I was really moved by her writing. I love to find that other folks are leading thoughtful lives, and take the time to share it with others. There is a reason so many people connect with her.

And on that note….I have to go knit down some more stash…..

February Update (resolutions & sweater progress)

2007-02-10T14:56:00.000-06:00

I was hoping to post on the first (or there-abouts) of each month to do sort of a 'how's that whole resolution thing going' status report. I'm a bit late but here it is:

Stash resolution:
Yarn bought since January 1: 0....nada.....for real....not a skein.
Number of socks knitted since sock stash reduction resolution: 4 (all plain vanilla, 3 for me and 1 for a gift).

Number of sweaters completed for Knit a sweater a month -along: 1 (hourglass, scroll down)

Wow! I have a yarn inventory, which is fairly accurate (my kitchen cotton isn't in there), and according to that I knit 12.81 skeins in January, which is a stash weight loss of 2.38 lbs.

Very cool. A note about that....for the most part, KIP still count as stash until the project is complete. I feel really good about this, and although I am coveting some new sock yarn, I am keeping myself in check. Really inventorying what I have and setting some goals has helped. I took a picture of all of my sock yarn stash when I started this resolution, and have been crossing off skeins that have been knit, and CO means cast on. Here is what the yarn stash looks like today:

As for the sweater a month knitalong:

I have no new pictures to show you. I have pictures, but my hubby has magically made 2 card readers wander away, so I can't get the pix onto my 'puter to show. But here is my verbal accounting:

January sweater: Done

February sweater: Zara from Rowan in Big Wool. Currently front, back, and both sleeves are complete. Shoulders are all seemed, and now I just need to finish seeming the sides, and pick up and knit the neck. Should be done this week, easy.

March sweater: Cheesy Puffs for my DH. The back is 10 rows from completion. Then, I need to block it and make sure that the measurements are alright before I continue. The yarn is coned, and my test swatch shows that it blooms significantly when washed.

My Erin sweater still hasn't been touched. Poor thing.

That's it. I should have pix next week of the cheesy puffs update, and Zara completed.

I hope it fits.....

January Sweater of the Month...Fini!

2007-01-28T17:28:00.000-06:00

Things have been really busy here in el casa de monos. My dh has been grading feverishly because it is the end of his semester, and I am trying to get a chapter of my dissertation written up for publication and apply for jobs so that I can continue to eat and support my yarn habit post-graduation. Run-on sentences are a symptom of the resulting stress and lack of restful sleep.

However, I have been knitting a bit at weird hours. So here is my sweater progress:

Big Surprise....hourglass is done. I was debating on making it a bit shorter, but after blocking I think that I am happy with where it is. I'm officially sticking a fork in this one:

Pattern: Hourglass
Yarn: Rowanspun Aran in Heath
Needles: Addi circs US 7
Mods: Used the same slip stitch edging that Ashley did on her hourglass
Started: Around Christmas
Finished: Around last week (Maybe Jan. 20 ish)

The sweater looks the best (especially hourglassy) when I hold my arms like that, so if you see some freaky chick walkin' down the street with arms akimbo in a purple sweater....it may be me.

On to February's sweater:

These are parts for the Zara sweater from Rowan's Bigger Picture (scroll down for Zara) pattern book. I knit the front and back last night in about 4.5 hours (11pm to a bit after 3 am). This is the speediest knitting ever. Size 17 needles, people. I am not looking forward to sewing it, but all of the knitting is done on this thing except for the neck. If you have a solid day off of work, put in the LOTR trilogy and you get get this one done in day. I keep going on about the quickness of it, because I am still a bit shocked that I got this done in less than 24 hours, with mostly insomniac knitting. I am betting that this will not be the most flattering of knits....but we'll see.

Looking forward, I have swatched for Cheesy Puffs sweater for DH. I think I will start this one next, and do a bit on Erin at some point next month, as well. I'm thinking that I want to get ahead on the whole sweater a month thing, because I doubt I'll be as prolific when it gets warm out.

Also.....I bought a wheel! I LOVE my Lendrum, but haven't had much time to really play a whole lot. I have some starter wool that I am using, so I spun up two bobbins full and plied them, which resulted in this:

Pretty uneven, thick and thin standard beginner fare. I feel like I am getting a bit better at controlling it and being able to keep it up for a longer time. I went through a period on the first day where I kept breaking off and having to restart. I was convinced that I should just pack it up and ship it back. But, I stepped away from it for a while, and when I came back to it I spun for an hour straight -- smooth as could be (albeit very uneven). I have started on some chocolatey wool that my girlfriend sent me for my B-day:

I think that it is more even, but now that I haven't touched it for a few weeks, I 'm afraid that I have lost any gains I may have made. I think that I need to just set aside a day a week and spin in the evening when I get home.

Also....some stash-busting progress. I haven't bought yarn this year. None. I also am keeping track of yarn skein number and poundage so that I can keep track on the whole stash resolutions thing. I will report on that after Zara is done.

And...since the sock stash resolution, I have finished two pairs of socks, and have three more on the needles (cable socks & ribbed lace form SKS, and one pair of plain vanilla pattern). Between the three sets on the needles, I have about 3 socks worth of knitting done. I am kind of stocking up on the completed socks, so that I can order some STR or Fearless Fibers or Fleece Artist in bulk. I am trying to wait to get more sock yarn until I have knitted up 9 pairs (so that I can order 3 skeins). I think that will work.

That's pretty much it. School and some knitting. yup. Have a great week, my non-existent audience!

It's January already? What...we're halfway through?....ohhh...

2007-01-21T14:12:00.000-06:00

Many things to update! I am frankly shocked that we are already more than halfway through this month, but I am trying not to panic.

First, I wanted to publicly list my New Year's Yarn resolutions, so that it is a matter of public record. I am currently experiencing stash overload, so to combat this I have made the following rules to help reduce/manage stash and learn new stuff:

Stash Reduction Resolutions:

No new sock yarn purchases unless 300 grams have been used, so for each 3 pairs of socks that I knit, I can buy one new ball of sock yarn. This shall hold until I reduce my current sock stash of about 46 pairs to at least half, about 23 pairs or so.
I cannot buy new non-sock yarn unless I use at least twice that amount. The goal here is to half my non-sock yarn stash.

Organization:

Build an Access database to hold current projects, stash, and "I want to knit" list all in one.

Want to Learn:

I want to improve spinning ability
Learn entrelac
Learn how to do mitered squares
Take a finishing class
Make a cardigan so I can learn how to do a button band (Bristow?)
Steek!!!

Also to help reduce stash, I joined the Knit a Sweater a Month KAL!!!! I think I may be a bit crazy, as I am trying to finish up my dissertation this semester and get my house ready for market, but I really want to work on knitting from stash this year. So....we shall see. My current list of the twelve sweaters that I want to knit this year are:

Hourglass in Rowanspun Aran color: Heath
Erin from Hot Knits book in a variety of worsted yarns
Cheesy Puffs in a green Merino/Cashmere blend that I have from School House Products (For DH)
Rogue in either an oatmealy Cascade 220 or sage green Jaeger Shetland Aran
Rachel from Hot Knits in Rowan Cork
Joseph Sweater in Rowanspun Chunky color:Excaliber (For DH)
Elsie Cardigan in Jaeger Luxury Tweed color: Blue Sea (For Aunt T)
Cyd Vest in Jaeger luxury Tweed
A simple turtleneck in Rowanspun DK color:Mouse
V-neck in Jaeger Luxury Tweed color: Fern
Zara Sweater in Big Wool Fusion
? Wicked? Bristow? Hardangervidda?

The great ( and a bit disturbing) thing is that for all but Hardangervidda, all of the yarn needed to make all of these sweaters is in my stash. All. of. it. I do not need to shop at all. Wow.

As for current January status, Erin exists in the same condition as last year, body done and sleeves not done. I will be working on that as soon as I finish my January sweater:

Hourglass....mostly done. I did the mods and used the same yarn as doggedknits, and am very pleased with it. I ripped back both sleeves (too long), have finished one and am working on the last (6 more rows). The body may also be too long, so after I get the sleeves done I am going to assess the length and decide if I need to rip back the bottom a few inches. I will definitely finish it this month. Yeah!!!

Other things that I am working on/finished this month:

Bad Juju! I made it for a friend of mine who is having a rough time with her boss. Very quick knit, I used Lion Brand Wool-ease from the stash.

I have finished 1 pair of socks this month, and have three pairs on the needles. Fleece artist Ebony colorway using the 3x3 cable with moss stitch pattern from SKS, and some plain vanilla socks in a lovely self-striping:

Some lovely sparkly Socka Disco in the ribbed lace pattern form SKS:

I'm mixed about these, but I haven't ribbed them out yet. I am just putting them away for a bit to see how I feel in a few weeks.

I also want to introduce the newest member of my family:

We'll talk more about him later.....

Good luck to all my fellow Sweater a Month crazy knitters! We can do it! Really. I think....

Amember Me?

2006-12-23T18:38:00.000-06:00

Wow! It's been literally months since I posted last. Lots of work stuff going on, and a heavy Christmas knitting load. But....I'm DONE! I thought that I would be knitting up until Christmas morning, but I actually finished on Wed, and everything has been washed and is now being blocked. I even cast on for a new sweater. Oh blessed, obligation free knitting...I missed you!

Before I get into the fun FO's, I need to finally post the final package that I received from my Spook SP, Fiberfool. She sent me a fantastic package full of yummy candies, some crocheted goodness, a festive towel, and TWO skeins of Opal Sock Yarn. WooHoo!!!

But, wait....what's in that lovely velvet pouch?

Oh Yeah, Baby!!! Fleece Artist in the so appropo colorway, Autumn. She ROCKS!!! Thanks, Fiberfool!

On to the Christmas Knitting. A few months ago, I posted the wish list for what I was hoping to get done. Let's just say I was a bit delusional. But--this holiday was not without victories. First, I finished the Easy Aran Squares Afghan for my Mom:

I adapted the pattern from chunky to worsted weight, and it took a whopping 17 Skeins! Here are the specs:

Pattern: Easy Aran Squares form the Little Box of knitted Throws
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted (200 yds/ball) used 16.75 Balls! Color #999
Needles: Addi circs US 9
Mods: Adapted from chunky to worsted weight yarn

This was good pattern because it is memorized quickly, and is knitted in squares, so it stays portable. But---there was A LOT of finishing. And there was crocheting. After you finish knitting each square, you crochet a border around it. The squares are crocheted together into strips of four, and then each strip is crocheted together. Then, you crochet a border around the whole blanket. It took almost two balls just for the seaming and the whole blanket border alone. Here is a close up of the crochet border detail:

Next, I got my sister's tank done:

Pattern: Moll from the Rowan Cork Collection
Yarn: Rowan Cork in color Plunge
Needles: Brittany straights size 10.5 & 11
Mods: I did a simple edging along the arms that was I-cord ish, rather than there wonky Rowan edging from the pattern

Love the yarn, it was difficult to use it for someone else. It was relatively quick, you can get it done in a week if you have a deadline of some sort, like perhaps Christmas....

I also was able to finish 6 pairs of socks for various folks:

And packaged oh so cute! And also a hat out of Rowan Cork in Plush for my MIL:

This is my first actual pompom (was hubby's idea), which was fun. I also finished 6 warshcloths for gifts.

All in all, I was pleased with what I got done and I did not drive myself too crazy. Although the last bits of the afghan were a bit negative......crochet is not my friend. The projects that I did not get done will just be for next year, and I am at peace with that. I still have not gone back to my original Christmas knitting list and compared the hoped/planned to the executed, but I am guessing I would be around a B- or so. But in my world, there is always a curve, so I am taking an A!

Merry ChristmaHanaKwanzaSolstice to all!

Pictureless Update

2006-11-04T22:02:00.000-06:00

So, it's been awhile! I recently had a pretty devastating computer crash, and although my wonderful hubby spent three stressful days getting it up and running, it is still a bit unstable and I only now have reliable internet.

So a quickie update:

I did get my retroprep pullover and socks done for Halloween. It was down to the wire, folks. I love them both, but the sweater especially. I will post pictures later.

Hubby and I are chaperoning a high school trip for the next 11 days. DH is a teacher at a local private school, and he is doing a class on travel writing. So, we are taking 9 teenagers cross country on amtrak. It should be fun! I will post pictures when I get back.

I am hoping to post occasionally along the trip, but we will see how my internet access goes.

That's mostly it. And I have to be on a train in 7 hours.

I've been spooked!

2006-10-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

I got my first knitty Sppoky secret pal package today. Very exciting! It is so fun to receive halloweeny stuff in the mail. I love this! So without further ado:

My special gobliny secret pal sent me an awesome pot holder that she made with her very own gobliny hands! It is double thick, and so beautiful! She also gave me a big bag of peanut butter kisses, for which I am currently having to fend off my husband. I also got a mummy pin (already on my fleece), Witchy windchimes (already on my front door) and Halloweeny stickers, which I can't wait to use. Thanks, secret pal!!!!

And on the knitting front:

This is my retro-prep pullover in Goblin. I am 14 inches into the body, and am working on the first of 2 sleeves. This is a completely seamless pattern, so I have to get the sleeves up to 18 inches or so each and join them to the body and then start doing the whole yolk thing. I am really excited. I think I am going to be able to wear this by the end of the month. Unfortunately, my Halloween socks are not such a sure thing. I have cast on, and am about 2 or 3 inches into the first leg, but....I can't stop working on this sweater!! So, it will just depend on how fast I can get the sweater done. Of course, I should be working on Christmas knitting....but I will gladly get back into that when the sweater is on my person in all its gobliny-green glory!

Christmas Status and Selfish Knitting

2006-10-10T17:02:00.000-05:00

I tend to be a rebellious kinda person, so all this 'have-to' knitting was making me a bit buggy. Not that I don't want to knit for others, I love to. But it was starting to feel like homework. I've been kind of apathetic about knitting, wondering from WIP to WIP. I finally figured out that I needed to start something fun to mix in with the gift knitting. And I went looking and found this:

No, not the monkey, the sock yarn! It is fun fun fun sock yarn in (get this) Trick or Treat Colorway from Girl on the Rocks' Etsy Shop. I just got it in the mail today, and LOVE it!

I also am trying this again:

It's the Retro-prep pullover in Goblin. I really want this, and I guess having to frog half of the body (see September posts) didn't change that. So, I cast on again and am about 4 inches into the body. My goal is to wear this sweater and my trick or treat socks on Halloween.

As for Christmas Knitting, I finished square #3 fon my mom's afghan, and crocheted, ripped out, and crocheted again 2 of the squares together and I think I have that down. I am also half way done with the front of my sister's Moll tank in Cork, and my BF's Austermann socks look like this:

I feel okay about where I am at with the gift knitting, and I am excited again now that I have some really fun stuff on the needles. We'll see.....

I am in the spooky SP in Knitty and sent my first package off the my downstream gal on saturday. I hope she likes it! I also sent a pattern to my upstream. I hope I'm using the right lingo, this is all new. Anyway, I am really excited about this, and am having a hard time stopping the shopping for my downstream. I made some fun stuff, too, but am keeping mum until after this is over.

That's it for now. I leave you with this pic of two of the sweetest cats ever....at least for the few moments I caught them on camara.

Delusions about Christmas knitting, take one

2006-10-01T19:11:00.000-05:00

Last year was my first Christmas as a knitter, and I went way overboard. I felt that I should knit everyone in my family something, and that is what I did. Unfortunately, this resulted in such wrist issues by the end of December, that I couldn't knit for a month afterward. In order to get a grip early on this year, and determine if what I want to get done is feasible, I got out the Christmas list, the yarn, the patterns, and what I have already finished. This what it looks like:

Some are definites, and others are it-would-be-lovely-ifs. Some of the definites:

This is the Mom pile. I am going to make her an afghan for Christmas. I need to knit 12 aran squares, all of the same, easy cabling pattern, give them each a crochet border, and crochet them together. I have 2.75 of 12 done. I think I can do this, as long as I keep up on it. I figure if I get about four done a month, I'm on track. There is also a ball of sock yarn set aside and some cotton for warshclothes, but these are not imperatives.

This is the sister pile. Her socks are done (I'm trying to do socks for everyone, or-at least all the women in my fam). The sweater is Moll from the Cork Collection in the color Plunge. I am about 1/3 done with the back. I think this is reasonable, too. I have two warshcloths done for her, and would like to get one more done, but these two would be just fine.

This is my best friends in CT pile. My girlfriend in CT is addicted to handmade socks, and I am her supplier. I have one pair in Mountain Colors Bearfoot done, and a pair in Austermann Step on the needles. I have enough for 3 more pairs set aside, but would be okay if at least got a total of 3 done. I am also planning on either knitting her the slipper clogs or a felted purse. I think I will go for the clogs, since I knitted her hubby a pair for his b-day and he really likes them and I can do the purse for her birthday in May. Her hubby is going to get a Christmas stocking out of Mountain Colors 3-ply, but I still haven't figured out what I am going to do for the intarsia design.

Completed list:

Socks for Aunt T
Socks for Aunt C
Socks for Sis
Socks for BF
2 Warshcloths for sis
2 warshcloths for Aunt C
3 Warshcloths for Friend B
2.75 of 12 squares for Mom

it-would-be-lovely-ifs:

Luxury Tweed Sweater for Aunt T
Sweater #2 for DH
soft facial washcloths out of the organic cotton chenille from stash
Something for Dad
Something for Grampa
(Oh--and there are 3 sweaters that I want to get done for me this fall: Hourglass out of Rowanspun aran, Retro-prep out of Goblin, and Erin).

On a happy note--If I come close to achieving any of this, it will mean a significant stash reduction, especially in the sock yarn area. Which is a happy excuse to buy more yarn after the holidays!

I'll try to do a monthly status report. Hopefully, this will keep me on track and will keep me from adding too many more things. We'll see if this is realistic, delusional, or if the wrists will need braces by the end of '06....

FOs, WIPs, & SEX!

2006-09-28T11:47:00.000-05:00

(I am not normally one for acronym alphabet soup, but knitting acronyms are so fun!)

SEX:

I am weak, people. First, because even now I am totally procrastinating on what I should be doing, which is working. I have a report due on Sept. 30 (yup, that's right, in 2 days) that I am completely ignoring currently. And if I am going to procrastinate on that, there are a multitude of things that I could be doing around the house. Instead, I have spent the morning knitting, taking pictures, and reading posts on knitty. Second, I am weak because I have been on a yarn diet since the fiber festival in August, and I totally broke it over the past week. In a big way. Take a peek:

The purple pile is Rowanspun Aran in Heath, which I am going to use for the Hourglass Sweater. The grey pile on the left is Rowanspun DK in Mouse, with one skein in Mist(the lighter color). I wanted the Mouse to make the Retro-prep Pullover, and whatever extra I have will be used with the Mist to make a scarf. The Red & Cream Skeins are for a fair isle Christmas Stocking for my grampa. SO--this is a gift investment and is completely exempt from guilt. The Patons Merino on the left is for felted projects, also for Christmas, which should also be exempt. The 2 balls near the top are from Schaefer. One is Anne and one is Lola. The colors are amazing....and I couldn't resist. I have no excuse for these 2. The Anne will be used for socks, and the Lola will be used for gauntlets. The Knitting Ganseys book is to help me design my next sweater for my hubby, which I already have the yarn for. A total investment. I should have known that I could only be good for so long.....

FO's:
Speaking of sweaters for hubby...I have some FOs to share! Blogging about the sweaters helped me get over the hump and start working on them again. Here is a pic of my hubby's Manly Sweater:
I still have to block it, but other than that, it is completely done. Oh--and I used Lion Brand wool-ease for this. My DH wanted washable and easy, so that's what I did. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as enticing to work with. I also seamed the Erin Sweater at the shoulders and knit the ribbed neck. I think I am really going to like it, so I am going to start on the sleeves soon. But--I don't like how the neck looks where I picked up the stitches, so I am planning to redo that after I get the sleeves done. I also finished the boogie vest:
I still need to block it, but it is otherwise done. I'm not sure that I love the neck. It turned out like it was supposed to, but I would prefer more of a V-neck. I am still debating on if I want to rip it back or not. I used Lopi for this, which I bought from Webs when they had their spring sale. I bought it because I hear so many people talking about Lopi, and I had never used it. The Boogie vest was a good, small project to take it for a test drive. I have to say, I don't think I will use it again. I felt like I was getting rope burns when I was knitting with it and I can't have it touching me at all when I have it on. On the good side, I love the colors that they have and it is super warm. I think for hard core, durable outerware, this would be a good yarn.

And now:

WIPs:
I started a new sweater for me, because I am also putting off Christmas knitting. I have had rowanspun dk in Goblin for months, and have been really excited to start knitting the retro-prep pullover. I really wanted to begin knitting with it to try it out before I bought the Mouse. I like it a lot, and I love the knitted fabric. However, as I was taking pictures for this blog, I noticed this:Can you see it? How 'bout now:

I had forgotten that I had bought a single ball to check the color before I bought the bag to make the sweater. Out of 11 possible choices, I (of course) grabbed the one ball that was a different dye lot when I cast on. The dye lot is one number off, people . So all the remaining balls match the dye lot of the second ball I used. Which means that if I rip this out to make sure everything matched purty-like, I have to rip everything out. All. Of. It. Makes me want to giggle and rock back and forth on the floor. I love this sweater, and was so excited that I would be done in another week or so, if current pace continued. Bummer. I think I may go back to Christmas knitting.

I came to knit socks and chew gum...and I'm all outta gum

2006-09-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

Over the summer, I traveled quite a bit. Mostly on business, but my hubby and I also went to see our best friends who live in Connecticut. My travels had one thing in common: in each place I found at least one yarn store. I was mostly sane, with a bit of nuttiness when I found ArtFibers in San Francisco (oh the silk!). While I normally can't justify buying anything that I can find at my LYS, sock yarn tends to be the exception to this. I had a decent sock yarn stash, and had bought a bit here and there over the summer at each place I found. In August I went to Florida to do some research, and was left to my own devices for a week. I found a yarn store in Gainesville, Yarnworks, where the ladies were really nice and they had tons of sock yarn. The longer I stayed and talked with them, the more balls of sock yarn I picked up. On the way back to my hotel one night, I stopped at a craft store that was literally next door to the hotel, and they had lion brand magic stripes sock yarn on clearance for $2.50. Seriously. I bought some for me, some for my girlfriend back home, and some to knit up as gifts. Half of my suitcase was sock yarn. When I got back, my LYS was having a sale on sock yarn for the month of August. Dear Zeus, what's a girl to do? All of this stash acquisition ended up being added to the existing stash, and now looks like this:

It's enough for 40 some odd pairs of socks. And I really want to add some Lorna's and Mountain Colors and Fleece Artist and STR and some plain colors to do fair isle (like for arrgyles), but how can I justify acquiring more, when I have all of this???

Thankfully, I love knitting socks, and I have already knit up four pairs out of this, and have a bunch more that will be going out as Christmas gifts. I love having a stash, but I am a bit overwhelmed and am looking forward to knitting this down. I am much faster at knitting socks than I used to be, but whoa. It's gonna take a while. I am hereby going to pledge that I will reduce this by 25% before I buy more. I think this is reasonable since I am totally going to count the four that I have already done. I think I can resist ( unless I come across Fleece Artist...that is soooo an exception). And just because I have a picture handy, these are the socks that I have knit for myself over the past year:

I have knit this many again for others as gifts. Notice the plain vanilla that I normally use. I do want to start experimenting with more patterns, but I always seem to have other complex projects going on, and plain vanilla is a comfort.

So that's a glimpse at my sock addition. Later we can talk about my warshcloth issues. And--as an added bonus, blogging about the sweaters that haunt me helped. I will have a big FO post coming soon. I guess I did exorcise some of those demons!

Sweaters that Haunt Me.....

2006-09-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

Maybe I should have saved this for Halloween, but I wanted to exercise some demons. I have been knitting since February of 2005 or so, and have completed 2 sweaters. Skully from the Stitch-n-Bitch book, and Martha from the Rowan Cork Collection pattern book. Skully killed me a bit, mostly because I was new to knitting when I started it and I thought that knitting with wool & mohair was a rational way of spending some time over the summer. I had to rip out each sleeve 2ce and also the bottom of the back once (I now pay way more attention to row count). Overall though, it was a good experience, and I am really proud of that sweater. The second, Martha, was completed for the knitting olympics and so was done in 16 days. I procrastinated a bit with Skully, but by and large they were both done in a pretty quick timeframe.

Then came the Manly Sweater. My DH wanted a sweater, and I like to make him happy. Because he's cute and sweet and all that good stuff. He deserves a sweater. However, I didn't realize what a commitment this was going to be. He is around a 54 inch chest and is 6'4". That's a lot of knitting. Also, he is not all that interested in color. It took me awhile to even talk him into allowing me to do a little stripe just to break the monotony. I started this sweater around early spring of this year. I was doing pretty well on it, and then I just hit a stretch of apathy. It has looked like this for four months:
How ridiculous is that? One more seam. I also have to rip the sleeves back a bit so that I can add a ribbed cuff, but one seam will make this into a functional sweater. What's my deal? Is it the complete overload of grey? Miles and miles of grey, oh my?

But if monotomy is my excuse for Manly sweater procrastination, then what is up with the second sweater that I have hit a stand-still on? This one is Erin from Hot Knits. I just loved the whole idea of this one. It had the sort of rainbowy thing that (as demonstrated in my last post) i have an issue with and because it was fair isle, I could use up some stash. So, this is what it has looked like for the past 4 months:

The sleeve is actually a giant gauge swatch. I have to redo it because the fair isle at the bottom of the sleeve is too tight, which I remedied on the body. I converted the pattern to in the round, which now I''m not sure was a good idea, but it definitely made for easier fair isle and weaving in as you go. I just can't bring myself to pick it back up. Why? I love the yarns that I am using, and there is an end in sight. And look at that fair isle:What a fun pattern! And yet-the thought of picking it back up makes me want to lie in the fetal and eat lots of chocolate. I think I need a WIP support group. A cheerleader mayhap, who will come over and use positive reinforcement techniques with chocolate rewards as I inch closer to the sweater...and slowly pick up the needles....and knit my first few stitches. Oh, and the chocolate has to have zero calories so I don't outgrow the sweater before I finish it. That's reasonable isn't it?

Hopefully going public with this will give me the push to pick up those needles again with these sweaters. I have been knitting other things in the mean time (which is for another post), but I am not allowing myself to start another sweater until I have these done.

How do you make yourself finish WIPs?

Fiber Festival Part 2 .....(way late, sorry!)

2006-09-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it has been multiple weeks since I last posted. I started this blog to talk about knitting and share the stuff I do with other knitters (my DH can only nod and smile so much), but then I get kind of overwhelmed when I get behind and then I just haven't been posting anything. SO (breath after very long sentence), I am just going to de-stress and post a little at a time and try to do it more often. *sigh* much more relaxing.

I am going back to the fiber festival, because I took all sorts of photos of the fun stuff I bought, and I simply must share!
So-first. Bad Amy and I started at Mielke's Farms and got little bags of samples of a bunch of different fibers: corn silk, soy silk, real silk, merino, some blends. It was fiber heaven!

I also got a drop spindle there. Bad Amy and I are both saving for a wheel, but I wanted to be able to play with the fibers in the mean time. Next, we went to see the Silver Fox Ladies and scored some Camel, Yak, Linen, and some beautiful dark superfine alpaca fibers. So exciting! We were then off to Sandy's Palette (she is so nice!) where I scored some beautiful hand-spun and hand dyed sock yarn, some mohair and some silk:I found BUFFALO for super cheap (okay--relatively.....) which was very exciting, and then I got some very nice wool roving from Centennial Farm Wools. I also picked up the softest alpaca ever from Circle R ranch and a bunch of black mreino roving from (?) that made my heart go pitter-patter and was sheered from Percy the sheep. Then--my inner child, who(m?) grew up in the 1980's came out and would not be denied:
This is from Blackberry Ridge, and it is a great pattern. I have to admit, though, it was the colors that sold me. Rainbowy! I just had to have it. Speaking of absolutely having to have something:
This is superwash merino sock yarn called Grandma's Blessing from Briar Rose. It is gorgeous and I can't wait to knit this. But--I must wait until I am a little farther with my Christmas knitting. This is most of my fiber fest booty. Oh wait! One more thing. I got some really soft fiber from Sheepy Thyme Farm. It was really soft, and very nice. The thing that made me really need it though, was the label. Take a look:

Yes, that's right - mutant sheep and angora blend. How cool is that? My husband thought that it was great, so added bonus that he felt it was a necessary purchase.

So this was our adventure at the Michigan Fiber Festival. Definitely a worthwhile, fun, event. I can't wait to dig in. Last, but not least, a pic of what we looked like after it was all over:

Fiber Festivals...or, how to spend a lot of money on animal hair

2006-08-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

I went to the Michigan Fiber Festival this past sunday with fellow knitter and foul temptress Bad Amy. We left at the ridiculous hour of 6 am so that we would not miss anything, and we were rewarded with a really fun time. It is the first fiber fest I had been to on that scale, and I must say I was a bit overwhelmed. I have taken a spinning class, and am saving for a wheel, so my main goal was to get samples of different types of fibers as a sort of beginner spinning kit.

First, lets just talk about the animals. Domestic breeding does some funny things to critters, and I spent much time laughing at these guys:

Angora bunnies. So soft, so silly looking. They were just giggle worthy. And...I think they know how silly they look. Which makes them a bit odd behaviorally. Overly hoppy. And also, I am convinced that these two were conspiring against us. Much like a bunny version of Pinky & the Brain.

Next were the llamas. Also funny looking, but more in a Shaggy meets rastafarian way. I really liked these guys, but they were pretty skiddish, and had no interest in pets from strange humans.

Now, I did fall a little in love. Most of the sheep were a bit skiddish, too, and weren't too interested in getting close to people unless there was food involved. Which is pretty smart and normal sheepy-type behavior. But there was one.....he came up to the fence to check me out and when I started scratching his chin, he was mine. I wanted to bring him home so bad. I was trying to think of reasons why smuggling a sheep in the back of my tiny Saturn compact back to the city would be rational (he could reduce my yard duties by keeping my lawn mowed.....), but then I remembered the preemptive threats of divorce that were issued to me if I returned with anything alive in my car. Now, my husband is an extremely loving, generous, and kind man who puts up with a large yarn stash and a ridiculous amount of yarn talk. However, he was raised on a farm with livestock and so has no delusions as to the amount of work that it takes and the amount of poo that they produce. But, I will always have memories and this picture of my sheepy romeo:

So sweet.....

I'll post pix of my purchases tomorrow, and you will be amazed at my restraint.....ish.