bliss, part 2

Part 2

Having pretty much flown straight on to Halifax after the Seattle festivities for legal hijinks courtesy of the good people at the Immigration Bureau (more on that later), I was really cranky and pooped (and very relieved) by the time I got home yesterday. BUT. Look what I came home to -

All for me! Me! Me!

Fits perfectly!

My sockapalooza socks arrived while I was out of the country. Whoo! Thanks Serena! I luf them! The green is right up my alley, the yarn is squishy soft. AND. They fit perfectly! She also sent me my own emergency knitting kit with supplies for a Gryffindor bookscarf (my favorite house). I’ve been meaning to give that pattern a whirl, so now I can! I’ll have something to occupy my time if (you know it’s bound to happen) I get stuck in the pink elevator of doom at work She also made me some pretty stitch markers! My first set of stitch markers that aren’t paper clips or rubber bands. I could get used to this.

While on the subject of sockapalooza socks, Sam (sadly blogless), my sock recipient from across the pond, sent me this picture of her wearing the socks I sent her. I’m so glad you liked them, Sam!

Thanks Alison for organizing the mother of all sock swaps!

 

send off

Happy travels, socks!

I also DIY’ed some sock blockers for my sock pal and myself from vinyl placemats I got in Target. Pretty much followed this great tutorial from Little Sesame Knits. They work really well.

The travelfest begins anew. Seattle then Canada. I hope the travel gods have lightened up.

 

in the bag

The Sockapalooza socks are done! With time to spare before the deadline. My procrastinating self is dumbfounded.

Pattern: Uptown boot socks from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Blues and Purples, size 2 DPNs.

The yarn was leftover from the Clap. My sock pal requested purple socks, and the Cherry Tree Hill yarn fit the bill nicely. It’s purple, but the blues and greens give it a depth and richness of color that I really liked. And it’s so soft. What’s not to love? I hope my sock pal agrees! The color is a bit harder to capture than my meager photographing and photoshopping skills allow, I apologize.

I ended up having to knit a third sock because I lost a sock. Could not find it. Who knows where I lost it. It’ll probably turn up after I mail the socks off to my sock pal. Fortunately, my sockpal has pretty petite feet, so there was enough yarn for another sock. At any rate, apart from that little debacle, this was a fun pattern. Looks deceptively complicated but is really an easy-to-remember 8 row repeat.

 

coming up for air

The summer of travel continues, the latest stops being Washington DC, Dallas and Philly. This leg was relatively free of out-of-town travel oh-crap moments, with one exception (see below). I like traveling. There’s so much of the country I have yet to see. The downside of so much travel though is that I am butt sore from waiting at airports. Waiting for hotels to find my reservation. Waiting for crew members to show up so someone can fly the damned plane. I also worry about the carbon footprint I am leaving, but that is another post for another time. I am glad though, to be home for a little spell before the next fly-around starts.

Requisite out of town travel mishap. A couple of days into my trip, my stupid wisdom tooth (yes, I still have all of mine) got mad at me. So mad that it made my face swell up. It made me look positively chipmunk-esque. Lovely, no? It’s much better now, but oral surgery may be in my future.

Requisite out of town yarn-y purchase. Lorna’s Laces in the Knit Happens colorway. From Knit Happens, of course. Such an adorable, cute yarn store! Lots of squishy, lovely, fondle-worthy yarn. I wasn’t planning on adding to the stash, I swear, but came upon Knit Happens while I was wandering in Alexandria, VA. The yarn just jumped into my arms. Meant to be. Yep, meant to be.

Requisite out of town visit to Chinatown. This time in Washington DC. I always try to visit the Chinatown of whatever city I’m in. Mostly because the hinterlands of Western PA does not have one, and I miss the bustle and the energy of being around, ahem, my people. Not to mention the food! Anyway, the Chinatown in DC was a bit of a disappointment. It’s fairly new, and shows the effects of gentrification. To me, it didn’t feel as authentic. Like it catered mainly to tourists. For instance, while there were a number of good, hole-in-the-wall type eating places (the noodles I had in one of those establishments was super yummy!), there were an equal number of Western chain restaurants (TGIF, Fuddruckers, Hooters) with Chinese signs on them that were sometimes unintentionally funny. Like the rather high end tapas bar whose Chinese signage translates to “Spanish.” Brevity is the soul of wit?

Requisite progress photo of Sockapalooza sock. This is sock #2. Plenty of time to beat the Aug. 4 deadline. HOWEVER. I might have to start knitting a sock #3. Because sock #1? Can’t find the damned sock. Have no idea where it is. I should have enough yarn to knit a sock #3 if I need to, but the thought of knitting another sock is making me twitchy.

 

deadlines

Nothing lights a fire under my procrastinating ass like the realization of looming deadlines. I guess time doesn’t come to a standstill just because I am too busy/ lazy/ unmotivated to do stuff.

Sockapalooza deadline - T minus less than 30 days. Here’s where I am so far. One down, one to go. I’m knitting the Uptown Boot Socks pattern from the Favorite Socks book from Interweave. Really cute pattern. Looks much better on the foot than laying on the floor. I had a moment of anxiety when it looked like the sock was turning out too small, but I think it should be OK because it’s pretty stretchy, and it fits my foot (my sock pal and I have similar sized feet). I hope she likes it.

New Harry Potter movie - T minus less than a week. And of course, the 7th book in HP series is coming in about 2 weeks! I’ve been re-reading Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince in preparation. Not that I’m excited or anything. Nope. There’s been some Gryffindor sock knitting too. I picked up the yarn from a lady I met at a local craft market who dyes her own yarn. At the pace I’m going, it doesn’t look like I’ll finish these socks in time for the movie, but hopefully, I’ll get them done in time for the book. Because what could be better than cozying up with a pair of HP socks while laying on the couch reading the last (sigh!) book in the series.

 

knitting adhd

I’m usually a one-project-at-a-time kind of gal, but there must be something in the water, because I think I’ve contracted startitis.   A mild form maybe, but I’m not used to startitis symptoms. 

Before I start rambling about the half-finished projects I have going on right now though, an Eff Oh! 

A finished case of the clap!  

Pattern:  the super duper ubiquitous Clapotis from knitty
Yarn:  Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock in Blues and Purples, about 1 2/3 skeins.  Size 6 Denise interchangeables. 

The finished measurements are about 18  x 70 in.   I made 18 repeats of the straight row section.  There was some anxiety during blocking that I may have made it way too long, but it turned out great.  I love it!  The Cherry Tree Hill yarn was really soft and nice to work with.   Also, a lot of yardage in one skein. 

I know everyone and their mother (and grandmother) has probably made one of these, and I have to admit I resisted jumping on the bandwagon for the longest time.  But!  Such a clever pattern.  And a really good project for social knitting.