Stripey Socks make me happy.

I finished a pair of socks! Unfortunately you only get to see one of the pair due to camera lens error E18. (I found out my camera is still under warranty and I think I should be fixing it within the week) Anyways, I used Knit Picks Felici yarn in Hummingbird. It is 75% Superwash Merino Wool and 25% Nylon. I didn't really use a pattern but followed along with the Sock Knitter's Companion that I found a link to from Twisted Knitter. Using size 1 dpns, I cast on 68 stitches and started a 3 X 1 rib. After a inch or so, I switched to stockinette and just followed the pattern.

I am really pleased with how well these turned out, I am excited to try an interesting pattern with cables or something now that I am confident I can finish a pair. The new socks had their premiere at work yesterday which is perfect because I almost always wear Danskos to work and they slide off easily. Perfect for showing off newly finished, striped, happy socks. After you wear a pair of socks that were made to fit your foot exactly, how do you ever want to wear normal socks again?

Fad Classic

So I said that I had FO's and I really do. Here is my Fad Classic. I wish I had made it longer and maybe I will one day. This is my first finished garment. Woo-hoo! My boyfriend seemed impressed and the day I wore it work everyone was surprised. I think that they hear me talk about knitting but all they see is the same sock that I only knit during my lunch break. (Which will be the FO for another day. I can't post them all at once, that would be silly)
Hopefully things will slow down a bit here. One of my good friends got married this weekend and I think (I hope) that her wedding was the last of summer responsibilities. I'll have to try to remember to post pictures of her wedding, it was beautiful.
Oh.. and if I don't have new pictures to show, it is because my camera is broken. When I turn it on, the lens comes about halfway out then beeps and the display window reads, "lens error, restart camera.' I will cry if my camera is broken. It isn't yet a year old and I am almost positive it is still under warranty. Besides, it is a Canon and I've heard that they are pretty good with stuff like this.

Coral Garden

Has everyone seen this? I think it is absolutely gorgeous. If I ever get to the point where I can create something as beautiful as this...well, I'll cry, or something.

If you haven't go to the artist's site and check it out. http://hellejorgensen.typepad.com/gooseflesh/

$60 Felt Piece-O-Junk

Yesterday was the first day that I have really been shopping since Fall stuff has been out. I wandered around store after store annoying my non-knitting friend with, "$48!! I could knit that! Those are just *insert pattern* with a 2 X 2 rib at the bottom."

One particularly irritating moment for my friend was when I saw a sweater on sale for $60 dollars that was hand knit. It was knit with really chunky yarn, would only take about 5 hours to knit due to the very holey pattern, and seemed to be knit out of some alpaca blend. Ok, so alpaca yarn is super expensive anywhere I have seen it and $60 doesn't seem to steep. My problem? There were no washing instructions anywhere on the sweater. It had about five tags and not one of them said what kind of yarn was used or instructions for care of the garment. Now you know someone bought that sweater, took it home, then... threw it in the washing machine! $60 isn't expensive for an alpaca hand knit but I do think it is a little pricey for a felted doll sweater. If I had the time or energy yesterday I could have asked the salesperson about the information that was left off the tags. Who knows, maybe when you buy the sweater they give you a little pamphlet entitled, "how to care for your hand knits." I wonder if after you get home and felt your beautiful sweater, does the store give you a refund?

In knitting news...I have not been posting lately because I have been knitting. I have FO's to post about and I promise I will try to post them today or tommorrow... I just had to share my story.

Almost there...

I got a lot of progress on Fad Classic done over my four day weekend. Unfortunately the weekend also involved a bachelorette party which took up most of Saturday and half of Sunday. The second half of Sunday was spent slowly knitting because nursing my hangover seemed to be more important at the time. But, here she is in all of her almost finished glory.I've also been working on a little something when I need a ten minute break from the color teal. Can you guess what it is?

First wash

Not only did I get yarn from Knit Picks, I also bought some Eucalan woolwash. My enormous blue scarf had its first bath last night. I'm thinking I will have to wash it again, the blue color of the leftover water makes me nervous. I don't want to have my scarf get damp from snow and then bleed onto my coat!

It's here, it's here!

My Knit Picks yarn was here when I got home from work today! Oh happy day! Before I get to that, I'll let you in on what has been going on around here lately.

I have been working non-stop because two of my co-workers were on vacation at the same time. This is the main reason why the progress pictures have been non-existent lately. However, to avoid overtime on my next paycheck, I get a four day weekend next week. A four-day weekend is like a birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a snow day wrapped into one.

I finally ripped out fad classic. I got to the point where I made the mistake, but then looked at the rest of it and decided, "oh, hell..." and ripped the entire thing out to start over completely. Why? Just because, I guess. I am actually happy that I did. Now that I have a better understanding of the pattern, I think it looks much better the second time around. I'm almost to where I was before I ripped it out last time. Although this horrible picture just looks like a blob of blue yarn.I have been slowly knitting Natuie from Knitty. I don't know why it has been taking so long. Usually, I love the cute toy projects because I get to practice shaping and they are a quick fix when I want something finished. All of the other toys I have knit only took me a day or two. I started this guy about two weeks ago. That is about when I started working like crazy and before the post office drama, so maybe I have just been in a funk.I also recently bought yarn to knit a sweater that I fell in love with in this months Vogue Knitting. There will be more posts about it one day I am sure, I told myself I would finish Fad-Classic before I started another sweater. The only problem with that is I can start to smell fall in the air. Do you know that feeling? In my opinion, there is nothing else in the world that compares to that. I am a big time summer hater and after the initial novelty of 'ooo.. lets go to the beach' wears off, I am in a bad mood about the weather until very late August/September rolls around.

Oh and because I wanted to show off how bad my 'knitting area' is:Among the wreckage you should spot the following (it's a little game.. if you are really really bored).

• fad classic pattern
• O-wool tag
• reciepts from online bought yarn
• tv and dvd remotes
• Jim's current work-in-progress painting
• pencil
• beginnings of Nautie
• the book that I used to learn how to knit
• scissors
• and of course, an empty glass that at one point was holding a whole lot of vodka and juice

Some serious yarn storage and organizing needs to be done in my house. Unfortunately that just isn't as exciting as knitting. Maybe after I run through my Knit Picks stash I'll do some organizing. I don't think this yarn will last long. All the yarn I got is intended for small projects; gloves for Jim, a couple little Christmas presents, and a hat. Isn't is beautiful? This will be used for socks: A new and improved Norberta from the yarn the pattern calls for: And of course, Sheldon:

Other reasons that I am really happy right now:

• it is 70 degrees and drizzling rain right now in Chicago, which not only is a sign of fall but also reminds of the weather in Madrid when Jim and I were there last fall
• the Notwist is currently playing in my house.. and well, I love the Notwist.
• Jim is quietly sitting across from me in his vintage barber chair that he aquired from a friend and reading. He looks cute.