Secret Pal Loot and 300!!! W00t!!!

Hey, wow, this is my 300th post! I have no clue how to celebrate that. My bloggerversary is coming up next month (3 years. . . shoot, 100/posts a year doesn't seem like too much, especially if you consider how, er, "talkative" I am in certain forums).

I'm going to celebrate my 300th post with an "open mike". Readers, the comments are your forum now. You don't have to leave a comment that is at all relevant to anything I've written, past, present, or future. It can be completely pointless and arbitrary.

This will either be a really fun experiment, or a really sad wake-up call that I need to have a more interesting blog if I want people to read it.

I took part in a Halloween swap on the Knittyboard recently. My wonderful secret pal, Blu Roux (sadly, blogless), sent me an awesome box of loot:



I made the photo nice and large so y'all can see it clearly. The only things missing are the dark chocolate M&Ms (they didn't make it too far) and the hanging jack o'lantern paper lantern, which was, at the time of this photo, on duty on our front porch for Halloween! The peachy/pink/orange yarn is Noro Cash Iroha (I think that would make a nice little lacy hat) and the red/purple/blue yarn is Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (indulging me with another sock yarn I've never tried!). There was lots of candy in this package -- notice I say, "was". Okay, so not much is gone. I still have half a Ritter Sport, a full bag of Werther's, and the Mallow Creep Frankenstein. I didn't want to eat it all at once, plus we had some Halloween leftovers that we needed to eat.

And that's not all.

A few days later, I received another box in the mail from Ms. Blu Roux:





I couldn't get the color recorded accurately in any photos that I took, so you'll have to take my word for it. It's way more intense that the first photo, and is less monochrome than in the second photo. I think it will spin up to a gorgeous heathered blue. It's 8 oz. (EIGHT!!! OUNCES!!!) of Potluck Roving in the Moody Blue colorway from Paradise Fibers. It's pretty amazing, but I need to be careful where I leave it. I left it on the bed for a while, and came into the bedroom in time to see Ken standing over it, in the same position he is in when he violates the blanket, and he looked rather guilty and moved away quickly. Then I found a wet spot on the fiber -- don't worry, it's from his mouth. He must have picked it up. Still, not good. Kitties aren't supposed to hump the fiber! It's safely back in its bag and box, hopefully away from little black paws.

I think, with the recent round of swaps/SPs, and my purchase at Rhinebeck (which I haven't even posted yet because the photos came out crappy), I'm a little overstashed. Yeah, I know, I've said it before. You know I must be stashed out if I had the opportunity to pre-order Malabrigo Sock from WEBS and didn't. I think I need to catch up on my knitting, and slow down on my buying. Plus, there's really no more room in the stash hutch.

You know I'll come to my senses, though.

WIPs and Swap Loot

I've got a couple of WIPs for you!

First off, the progress on my Dickinson Pullover:



This is the back. This is what is left from the 800+ yard "egg" of yarn:



I didn't want to start the front with what is left, and have to weave in more ends when that runs out, so I started the front with a new skein of yarn. It's slower going. I need to start working more on that, since I'm hoping to be done by Thanksgiving. It seemed like a reasonable goal when I announced it to ZMrK a week ago, but now that another week has passed and I've done two whole rows since then, I'm beginning to wonder. I should be able to get some work done on it this week.

I also finished a sock for ZMrK, which is a "subway knitting" project.



The yarn is from Spirit Trail Fiberworks, and I purchased it at my first Sheep and Wool Festival ever, the NH Sheep and Wool in 2006. The yarn is amazing. It's superwash merino, so it's very soft, and should be warm on my honey's feet. I did these toe-up, because I wasn't sure how long I should have made the cuff without running out of yarn. It turns out that I didn't have much to worry about. I should have plenty of yarn left over for when I have to mend these. Admit it, it happens to you, too. Socks get holes in them.

I took part in a swap on the Rubberneckers forum on Ravelry. Have you seen that forum? If not, I'll explain: have you ever come across a thread on Ravelry that just turns into ugly drama, really fast? And you read it, bottom jaw on the keyboard, and you feel kinda dirty afterwards but kinda want to read another ugly drama thread? The Rubberneckers board brings the drama to you! The threads about the drama threads always end up 3-5x longer than the drama threads themselves, because they get threadjacked by things like sharks, boobs, bats, kids, etc. Sometimes threads just get filled with pictures of LOLCats. This one today in particular made me gaffaw:


more animals

Alright then. So, here is the loot I got in a swap I did with a Ravelry Rubbernecker named Cajunbatchick:



Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn, which I have been wanting to try. Enchanted Knoll Farm fiber, which is gorgeous. Local (La.) food and coffee. A hand-knit "tragically cherry" crawfish that the cats had best keep their claws out of. The stuff is all awesome. I've had some of the gum (pomengranate flavored! It's quite tart at first but then tastes really good), but was too full to sample any of the food yet. I may have a cup of tea in a little while though.

I am also taking part in a Halloween-themed Secret Pal swap on the Knittyboard. I'm hoping some of the stuff I ordered for my pal comes quickly, because she is out of the U.S. and I'll need to ship this week. Oddly enough, I believe my upstream pal (the person spoiling me) is in the same country as she. I love doing swaps and secret pals, but I always get performance anxiety and worry that my downstream won't like the stuff I give. I wonder if anyone else feels that way? It's usually not someone you know in real life, so you're not sure of her tastes, or what she already has, but you do your best to ask questions and get a clue. Then hope you give a good gift. It's fun when they get their stuff and love it, though.

This morning, I stepped on Ellie's tail and she screamed! Then she hid under the couch. I felt so bad. We went out for a few hours, and when we came home both kitties were looking for food. I gave them a treat and I think I'm forgiven. I have to be careful of that, though. I usually don't wear shoes in the house so it doesn't happen too often -- this was the first time, in fact. ZMrK stepped on Ken's tail, once, but he didn't scream so loudly. Of course, the cats are still underfoot.

Maybe this time, when I say I'll blog more often, I will. I have bloggable moments, and write posts in my head, but they never get up on the blog before I forget them. Pshaw. I need to carry a notebook with me.

I have a freakin' AWESOME Secret Pal!

Who, isn't a secret anymore!
My Secret Pal is the blogless Maiziemama, and see what she sent me!




(without the shadow of my hand holding the camera, this would be a great shot!)



This little batch of loveliness is 4 oz of 100% colonial from CJ Kopec Creations, in the colorway of "Crayons". I think I've ogled this shop's fiber before. It's really lovely stuff. Soft! Like, I would sleep with my face on this soft. (hhmmm . . . knitted pillow cases?).

In other news of lovely stuff I've received in the mail recently, here's a photo of the bag I bought from Momma-Monkey:



The photo is a little blurry and the sock project has been frogged. . . one of the "risks" I mentioned in my last post. I was trying out a stitch pattern for a sock, and that pattern didn't look good with the variegated yarn. I just got a bunch of 32" cord circular needles, and a book with Magic Loop Instructions (thanks, ZMrK!), so I will probably pick a pattern that works with variegated yarn and knit my hand-dyed that way. Then I'll do some cool stitch patterns on plain yarn.

Oh, here's a closeup of the skull:



I love it. I may not just use it for sock projects, as I have some baby hats to knit. They'll fit.

Oh, and Momma-Monkey updated her shop recently, so I suggest going and getting yourself a bag! She has lots of cute fabrics to choose from, and the quality is excellent! Much better than I can do! I can sew, but don't really have the eye for details or the patience to make something look professional. I am so not a perfectionist. I guess this is why I don't have a shop, right?

A local yarn store is becoming REALLY local for me. Circles in Jamaica Plain is moving to my little neck of the woods! So, that means. . . MOVING SALE!!!!!

Here's some Blue Sky Cotton I bought for 30% off:



I also got some in black, but the photos came out poor. I'm planning on making the "Candy Cane" hat from Itty Bitty hats, for my grand-niece-to-be.

Here's some Manos Stria that matches my Gila Monster beer bottle:



Not to be outdone, ZantiMisterKnit posed the green Manos Stria with his St. Pauli Girl N/A bottle:



Yes, it's true. People DO drink beer for the taste. At least in our house!
That Gila Monster beer is AWESOME. I got it at Trader Joe's for about $5.99 for a siz-pack. It is so freakin' good. I also got a really good Malbec for $7.99 that blows the ass out of some of the more expensive Malbecs. I should have taken a pic of that, but -- glug, glug -- it's all gone!

Probably inspired by Momma-Monkey, I was looking around on eQuilter.com and some fabric fell into my virtual shopping cart:





I'm a sucker when it comes to cats.







I was recently told by a friend that I should make cards of some of my photos, and sell them at crafts fairs. I really love taking photos, especially of cats, so maybe there's something there.

All of the above photos were taken at Winslow Farm, an animal sanctuary in Norton, MA. The full set of photos can be found here.

Oh, and speaking of being a sucker. . . our trip to Winslow Farm really sealed it for us. We're ready to bring home another cat. We got the okay from our landlady, and providing we get approved to adopt (and there's no reason why we wouldn't), we hope to be getting a cat tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll have some cute photos to show y'all, and there will not be much fur flying over here!

Secret Pal Spoilage

I got a secret pal package the other day!







The fiber is Ashland Bay Colonial Wool. I'm not familiar with it, but it's very, very soft, and I hear it spins nicely. The subtle strands of color in it should look really nice. I need to figure out how to make the most of the colors.

Speaking of colors, it's a little similar to that of the cashmere I bought a few weeks ago:





I bought a bike today. I haven't had one since I was a little kid with training wheels, living on a steep hill. Then my sister and her friend Natalie went riding down the hill on their bikes, Natalie fell off hers and fell against a fire hydrant and broke her arm. I pussed out on riding my bike after that and never got around to getting one. Until today. It was $10 at a yard sale. It's an old red Puch in good, rideable condition (ZMrK tested it out, even though it's a little small for him). I'll let y'all know if I break my arm.