Geekdom is surprisingly relaxing.

It was a lovely long weekend. We had Mr. Ninja's sister up for the week - it's been nice sending Mr. Munchkin to go and play with her at 6 in the morning. (Hey, we're not a Bed and Breakfast ... company's gotta earn their keep somehow.) I kept myself busy.

Made a geeky sample binder with all of the Ghetto Malabrigo colourways that I had samples of.

Spun a lot.

This is superwash sock yarn. It's ... very pink. I'm almost certain that this will get knit up into gifts. For whom exactly, not sure.

But this is for moi - it's the first bunch of roving from Abby's Yarns Batt Club. Not sure about the fibre content, but there's definitely firestar in there. The glitter soothes my soul.

Have also been experimenting with the magic loop method of knitting in the round ... with rousing success. Started a toe-up sock two days ago (cast on in Lunenburg of all places.) Am now almost at the cuff. This is staggeringly fast for me, and it's been definitely less stress on my wrists. I think I'll be sticking with this method for now. Have to justify the Addi Turbos somehow.

In other news, I'm going to flog some co-ops that I'm a part of:

1) Dharma trading company - If you're looking for dyes for yarn or other projects, Dharma's the place to go. They also have fabrics and blank clothes for dyeing as well. This co-op is being run by a Canadian group - they will be taking orders for the co-op until the 27th.

2) Malabrigo - This is the real stuff, people. Just the worsted at this point. The prices are good (wholesale rates), but I'm not allowed to post the group's information - if you're interested, email me and I'll get you the details.

That is all. Oh and quick question about Ravelry - why the hell won't it recognize my Flickr account? Grrr. I can't post the stash photos until it does...

Ready, set ...

And we're off. Got my Monkey socks done - please excuse the flash photography.

Also got a quickie hat whipped up for Mr. Munchkin - the kid is growing out of everything, I tell you. He needed a new hat for the fall, and I had a need to see him in something with a pom-pom.

And for those thinking "awww, what a cutie", take a look at the destruction that he hath wroth ... in the time that it took me to take some leftovers out to the composting bin. (approximately 2 minutes flat)

And say it with me now... "Four year olds should not be given access to paint bottles." Needless to say, he spent some time in his room thinking about what he did and apparently of ways to placate Mommy. Who has never needed a drink more in her life.

And here's my pile of stuff ready for tomorrow's KOL stash swap. At the front, you can see my entry ticket - Fleece Artist Silk/Cashmere 2 ply. Other stuff there includes Sari yarn, a whack of Malabrigo, lots of sock yarn from the Natural Dye Studios, handspun Ayany yarn from an African co-operative (can't get it anywhere in North America!), some Knitpicks sock yarn, a few skeins of handspun, and others that I can't remember atm.

Many, many, many thanks go out to both Steph and Terra for their contributions to both the door prize bag and the goodie bag for each participant. It's going to be an interesting night, I think.

Back on Track.

Alright, inspiration whacked me over the head last night (insommnia's a great thing). I've just been working on "make-busy" projects for the last little while to keep my hands busy. The crochet strip there is destined to be yet another of the ubiquitous ripple blankets infecting the blogosphere. It's been a fun project with which to refresh my crochet skills, but man does the kitchen cotton split. I can't work on this while Mr. Munchkin's awake, as I curse while working on this thing. A lot. In several languages. And with great vehemence and the occasional rabid foam-flecked spittle.


I confess, I'd forgotten how fast crochet goes...and how big it gets when you're not watching. The blanket was originally supposed to be just a throw for the couch, but it is apparently large enough that it fits a king size mattress. Whoops.


And here we have 1 and 1/4 of a pair of Monkey socks for me. It's like all of my handknit socks decided to commit seppuku simultaneously. I'm down to these and one pair of pink socks. Not sufficient for a Nova Scotian winter, sez I. So, I'm going to be knitting socks like mad. And not just for me...the inspiration that I was talking about earlier took the form of what I should be knitting = Christmas socks for all! (Well...immediate family. I'm not completely insane yet.)

I can totally do this. In total, I need to knit one pair of silk socks (wool allergies), five pairs of men's socks (hooray for self-striping yarn and boring patterns), one pair of munchkin sized socks and two pairs of femme lace socks. That's only 8 grown-up pairs and 1 kid sized pair... given that there's 19 weeks left until Christmas, I figure that I'll have to knit a pair every two weeks or so and that's plenty of time, eh? Of course, complicating things is that fact that I'd like to spin the wool for some of the socks, but we'll see how that goes.

The other fringe benefit of this decision is that I'll be working the stash...no new wool allowed into the house until a sizeable chunk has disapparated. And speaking of stash reduction - once Fall term starts, Mr. Ninja will be teaching on Tuesday nights. (*insert wailing here*) So I'll not be showing up at KOL until possibly after Christmas. So, with that in mind, I think that I'd like to organize a stash swap/giveaway for the KOLers sometime soon.

So, here is what I've got so far - on a designated KOL night, everyone brings stash and/or UFOs that they'd like to trade. Two stipulations though - 1) you have to bring one *nice* tradeable item (yarn preferable, I'd say). This would help to avoid the problem that the Loop apparently ran into with their swap - most people just brought their crap stash, and those who brought something nice got screwed over. 2) Play fair - don't take more than your share. That was another problem that was present at the Loop swap. But I'm not really worried about the KOLers in this respect - we all know each other fairly well...so reprecussions are totally a viable option (no scones for you!) (Kidding! Well...sorta. They're damn good scones.)

But other than that - bring half-balls, projects-worth of yarn, unfinished objects that just don't speak to you, whatever. We'll have four blankets spread on the floor (no half-naked rolling in the yarn please...yes, I'm looking at you Henry) - 1) good stuff 2) UFOs 3) partial balls 4) everything else. Hopefully, everyone will be able to find something that they'll be happy to give a new home to.

Sound good? I'll keep you all updated - I imagine that it'll be sooner rather than later.

Hooray!

The socks from my Sockapalooza pal arrived yesterday! And they are stunners. I am totally overwhelmed at the generosity of my sock pal, eKNITabeth, you lovely knitting goddess, you. She is the moderator of the 52 Pair Plunge, and I'm very happy that I was lucky enough to have someone so dedicated to sock knitting making my pair. *grin*

See! They fit beautifully, and they're so comfy. And check this out - she filled the box to the brim with goodies too.


I feel so totally spoiled. I'm thinking that the burgundy is telling me that it wants to be a pair of Embossed Leaves socks for someone special. Thanks again eKNITabeth, I will be enjoying these socks for ages to come.

Itchy Fingers.

Major case of startitis over here. I think that it probably stems from a lack of real project ambition...see, I was going to knit myself a sweater after I finished Mr. Ninja's beast. Buuuuut...what with being pregnant (and it's going really well! Week 12 and going strong. No more morning sickness but the poultry aversion still there), there's not really any point to knitting something for myself since my body's going to be changing so much in the next year or so.

So, what to knit? I made another dishcloth (mindless knitting) from this pattern, and I'm progressing nicely on the new Monkey socks. I would put in a pic of the socks, but natural light has been in short supply over here. But I want something to make that's new to my fingers! And exciting! Something to justify a lot of exclamation points!!! Christmas knitting? Baby items? Dare I say it ... a crochet blankie? I've been toying with picking up crochet again (I know the basic stitches, but my skills are how you say...ass-end rusty?)

I think that I'm just bored with my stash...hmmm. Maybe a stash swap is in order? That's a kind of project too. Sorta?

Gah.

Fluffer.

Had a bright and shiny post all written up about the philosophical nature of knitting and it's relationship to time and space, but upon reading (while actually lucid) - it's steaming pile of doo-doo. Thus, a quickie post to catch up with.

Yarn Harlot was awesome - her Halifax visit has been well documented by the KOL crew (yay gang!) - and there was much rejoicing. I feel that I should apologize to the Harlot - I forgot to bring a WIP to the talk, so had to cast on (twice, oooh the shame) for a new pair of Monkey socks. Not a smart idea when you're in the front row. *cringe*

Have been spinning up a storm. In an attempt to rein in my yarn/fibre spending, I've joined three "of the month" clubs. Two fibre ones (Funky Carolina and Abby's Yarns) and one yarn. That, in addition to the occasional yarn co-op (speaking of which, Yumiko's co-ops kick ass - I'm very much looking forward to the Be Sweet co-op.) should satisfy my need to spend on yarny type objects.

This is what I made of the Funky Carolina one - it's 100% soysilk, and man did it ever leave me and the surrounding furniture covered in fluff.


But it's so purty...clearly, I need more practice spinning silky, slippery fibres, as the yarn's a bit on the uneven side. Now I gotta go and research how to set the twist on soysilk - I wonder if it behaves like wool at all?

Sockapalooza Done!

Got the project bag finished. (Why yes, that fabric should look familiar - I made my circular needlecase out of the same stuff. My fabric stash is nowhere near as large as my yarn stash...I am a bit nervous about getting my Ravelry invite - I am not looking forward to actually cataloguing what is lurking in the corners of my craft room.)


Included the rest of the skein (should my pal decide that she wants to re-knit them or somesuch) and two beaded stitch markers for good measure. And it's in the mail! Phew.


Have been casting around for a new project to knit, and have been coming up at a loss. I have a lovely single skein of laceweight cashmere...I'm thinking scarf, but have not been able to find inspiration in form of a pattern. Anyone have any suggestions?