Monkey See, Monkey Knit

My Monkey socks are coming along nicely. I'm now at the heel flap of the second sock. And since this is the only thing I have on the needles at the moment, I'm starting to look at my stash and my ravelry queue a little more frequently.

And by look at my stash, what I actually mean is buy new yarn. Connor and I went to Michaels to get  a sketchbook. I made the grand mistake of looking at the yarn. I figured that my yarn snobbery would keep me safe. I was wrong. A few months ago when I was contemplating what color work socks to knit next, I thought about knitting Sock Lover's Socks. Nothing in my stash is quite right for the pattern and I really wanted a skein of Paton's Kroy in Blue Striped Ragg. I didn't know they had the yarn, but there is was, just waiting for me to buy it. As for the two other skeins, I have plenty of plain colored yarn, but after the debacle of the Sheep May Safely Graze socks I thought it better just to buy yarn that I knew would match.

Speaking of which, ravelry has put my Sheep May Safely Graze on their Sept 1st, 2015 eye candy post. Very exciting! Thanks to those of you who noticed and wished me well. I actually didn't notice initially because it was below the fold. But once I scrolled down....

I've also been quite busy behind the scenes. Other than keeping a household going and doing responsible adult things... like budgeting... I've been working on designs again. This is Dragonfly Fibers' Damsel yarn in the Spanish Moss color way. I know what I want it to be, but getting the numbers to come out right has been a fight. I'm getting closer to knitting it every day.

And finally, I have a pattern coming out within the next few days. My goal is Friday, but we shall see.  

Bear Ears Den

It's been on the to-do list for awhile, but there is now a Bear Ears ravelry group called the Bear Ears Den. So if anyone has pattern questions or just wants to chat, this is where I'll be hanging out. At the moment, we are working on a project that has to do with taking pictures of Celestarium shawls with celebrities that have space themed jobs. Hope to see all you ravelers over there.

In other news, I spent a week purging my room of all sorts of stuff. Turns out I was really into hoarding pens. The good news is that now that everything (and I do mean everything) has been filed/sorted/cleaned/given away, I am finally getting back to The Book and other commitments. I plan to work on the next photo how-to post in the next week or so.

Solace In Solas

I'd been a little hesitant to buy yarn from people on ravelry because "What if I got ripped off?" That had been my excuse until I found some impossible-to-get yarn that I had to have and someone on ravelry was selling it. Short story, I now have a skein of String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn in Caper Sock - Solas. I don't even know what I want to make with it, but it's 400 yards of awesome. (Feel free to suggest patterns. I'm kind of leaning towards a scarf at the moment, but who knows.)

After breaking the ice, I searched ravelry and got some Malabrigo Worsted in a color that I hadn't been able to find at any local shops. Given the choice, I much prefer to get my yarn at local shops even if it is a few dollars more. It's important to support local shops.

My Oma sent me a surprise package of some craft booklets she had found while cleaning her house.

My favorite is definitely the 1964 sweater collection. There are a bunch of sweaters representing different countries. I may have to make myself the French Jacket. It has subtle detailing which I find quite attractive.