It's So Squishy

I have a weakness, and that weakness is yarn. The other day Anzula was having a trunk show at Green Planet Yarn, so I thought I'd go over to "Just Look." I thought I'd be safe because of what I did to myself at Stitches West. No such luck.

I ended up with six skeins in the Squishy base. The colors are, starting at the top orange one and going clockwise: Arizona, Black, Boysenberry, Poppy, Charcoal, and Spruce.
Spruce is what started it. I've eyed it for quite some time, but just hadn't managed to get my hands on it. Once I chose one, it was all over.

Who else has fallen down recently? It can't have been just me.

Sock Report

I haven't had any finished project news in quite some time. I'm pleased to share that I have finished not one, but two pairs of socks! First up is the Haleakala. The pattern is by Cookie A and I found them quite enjoyable to knit. I chose to make mine out of Tosh Sock in Nebula. I will note that I had to make my heel flap longer than normal because the tops of the socks are a little tighter due to the pattern, but that was easy enough to do.

I also finished my Days Of Wine And Roses socks, named after the Canon Hand Dyes yarn. It's just a 64 stitch vanilla sock. I had hoped to finish them in time to wear for Valentine's Day. No such luck. I'll just be sure to wear them next Valentine's Day.

As always, Scooter decided to help out during the photo shoot.

At this point, I had run out of projects, so I've started up some new ones. This yarn is Alexandra's Crafts Diamond Lake in the colors Blue Pacific and Navy. They will become a matching hat and mitt set. After a few false starts, the hat is coming along nicely.

Then I decided that I needed a new pair of Tardis socks. The black and white are Koigu. The blue is Knitsch in the color way Tennant.

I've decided to write up my own pattern for these ones. So many of the patterns for Tardis socks have either really large sizes (72+ stitch socks) or are a chart with the instructions "plug into your favorite sock pattern." I don't have a problem with that kind of instruction now, but one of the first pairs of socks I ever wanted to make was Tardis socks and fixing a pattern was way beyond me. So I thought I'd try to make something that a beginner sock knitter might have a shot at. It will have a 60 stitch size and 72 stitch size. So far so good.

Has anyone else knit up Tardis socks?

Laughing In The Face Of Large Skeins

My poor ball winder has decided that it no longer cares to wind yarn. Halfway through a ball, it decides that it's too dizzy, resulting in yarn barf. So after some research (I asked everyone at knit night what winder they have) and seeing that Bethany had the same one that I was interested in, I committed. Look at this beast! It's a Stanwood 10oz ball winder and it laughs in the face of large skeins. Laughs.

After winding this yarn, I promptly worked on a project that didn't involve this yarn.

The day the winder came was a great mail day. My two box bags arrived. I've had this fabric sitting since Stitches West 2013 with the intention of sewing up bags myself. But after purchasing one of the box bags that Maria of A Needle Runs Through It made, I knew that she would do a far better job than I ever could. She said yes to the custom fabric (which I so handily had already washed, ironed, and brought with me) and a week later I got them.  

Check out the interior fabric. For the record, I specified which way I wanted the direction of the print to go, which I know is quite... ah... precise of me. Maria was happy to oblige. For those of you who don't sew (or, like me, do, but don't ever get around to it) I can't recommend these bags more highly.

So that was my happy mail day. I'm so excited to play with my new toys. Has anyone else had a great mail day recently?

Sock Surgery

Ever have a pair of socks that you love, but just never find yourself wearing? I sure did. I love my Sleepy Hollow socks, but when I finished the toes, I made them more pointy than some of my other ones without realizing it. Although it doesn't look like it in the picture, they pulled too much towards my big toes and weren't comfortable to wear all day. So they sat in my mend pile until I finally couldn't take it anymore. 

At first I thought I'd just take a few rounds out of each sock to make the toe wider. So I placed some markers to help me match the socks.

But when I started taking one apart, I realized that these socks needed a more serious solution. So I took out the entire toe in both socks. I knit a few plain rounds before replacing the toe.

And now they are perfect! I wore them the day after I fixed them.

Anyone else have a sock they need to fix but have been putting off? 

Big Sur and Morro Bay

Two weekends ago, it was my birthday. And for the first time in 12 years, I wasn't sick for it. (Hurrah!) So I was able to go with Rachael for a hiking weekend. We started out in Big Sur. The color of the water here is unreal.

The first hike we did was the Tanbark Trail. While going up to the top of the ridge, we saw a tree fall. So now we know that if a tree falls in a forest and there are two people around, it will make a sound. Also, it will dawn on those two people that more trees could fall and that maybe they should hike a little faster. Once we got to the top we had lunch and enjoyed the view.

At the top of the trail is the Tin House. It was a house that was apparently abandoned because a metal house in a coastal area expands and contracts so much that the sound is intolerable. Later on a fire went through it and the glass that was left there melted from the heat of the fire. We ended the day by driving to Morro Bay and having a lovely dinner. Our server suggested a hike for the next day.

And that hike was to go to the top of Mt. Valencia. So, the next day we went to Montana de Oro and hiked up the mountain. The view is unmatched. Morro Rock looks so small. 

After wandering down the mountain, we ate lunch by a cove, then headed out to check out the Los Osos Oaks. I wish I could share how much I enjoyed it here. The warm breeze brushed past the oaks and dappled light danced through the lichen and moss. Many of the oaks are hundreds of years old and many have fascinating shapes. This one looks like a cross.

After seeing the oaks, Rachael stayed at the motel and I went over to see Morro Rock close up. It's pretty impressive. Apparently, at one point in time the rock had been mined. Now it is a protected area where Peregrin Falcons roost.

After two days of hiking, I was a little tired. We had done nearly 20 miles at this point. So before leaving Morro Bay we did a small hike around the Elfin Forest. This area is full of dwarf oaks. I think I could spend all day in an oak forest.

All in all, it was a terrific trip. I'll be riding high from this one for quite some time.

Stitches West 2014

This year at Stitches was awesome. I got to see friends, make new ones, and have a good old time. I also took a class with Carson Demers called Swatchbuckling, which was about better knitting ergonomics through swatching (I highly recommend this class. Seriously. I learned how to knit better in a morning.)
I went to Stitches all four days, but for whatever reason, only took two pictures. And by two, I mean that I took one and was in one. So here is the one picture I took. Behold, it is a Celestarium in the wild. This one is by Ashley and was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. Go stare at it on ravelry. One picture has a Tardis in it, which makes it x1000 cooler.

The second photo is of Sarah and I at her booth. Cephalopod hosted the Southern Skies all weekend, since it is made of their yarn, Skinny Bugga! in Charaxes Tiridate. I was quite pleased to see that there was always someone closely inspecting it whenever I passed by.

And now for the damage report. This year I'm a little embarrassed to admit to what I bought. Have you guys seen that pin that says, "I'm on the road to recovery... Just kidding, I'm on the road to a yarn shop." That's how I feel. So here it is, in all it's glory. There is one braid and one skein missing from the picture because they were bought and already gifted to some friends at Stitches.


Day 1 was Thursday. I went in a bit early to drop off samples. And even though it's a market preview and only open for 3 hours, I'm pretty good a buying yarn and fiber.
1. This is a braid of Greenwood Fiberworks Sock Roving in the color way Cider House. I've wanted this ever since seeing Falling Stitches' socks out of it. Of course I got it right as the market closed, so I left it at the both. Guess who has two thumbs and was freaked out when they got home and the braid wasn't in her backpack: this girl.
2. Here's a skein of Dragonfly fibers' Dragon Sock in Mushroom Hunter. I saw it appear on Pan's Needles and I desired it. I might even do the same pattern. It looks so pretty that way.
3. And then there was Canon Hand Dyes. I have been waiting to see her yarn again after she was at KnitLab. I don't care that I haven't finished knitting my other skeins... I had to have more. From left to right is a William base heel/toe, a Charles base in Intermission, a William base in See How I'm Bewitch'd, the next three are Charles base in Cheshire Cat (second variation), I Know We Shall Have A Reveling Tonight, A Rose By Any Other Name..., and in Lewis base, Something's Rotten In The State Of Denmark.

Day 2, I had my author signing, which might have kept me from going really nuts.
1. Here is Spincycle's Dyed In The Wool in the color End of Summer. So lovely.
2. Is Miss Babs' 2ply Yummy in the colors (left to right) Rain Forest, Prince Charming, Coffee Break, and Biker Chick. Rain Forest and Prince Charming are going to become a Drogue for my Mum. Coffee Break was bought because I saw it on HeyPorkChop's instagram page and have no self control. Here is her blogpost about them. I've also been looking for the prefect Halloween yarn. I've looked for so long I don't even know what I'm looking for anymore. But Biker Chick seemed like it might fit the bill.
3. I didn't buy this, Mum did. It's a Tardis tin with little Dr. Who themed stitch markers from Slipped Stitch Studios. They let me change out one of the markers so I wouldn't have a weeping angel. They are too scary for me.
4. Tyler and I went to RedFish Dyeworks together. This might have been a miscalculation on my part. I only wanted one braid but left with 2. (Or three, but one was gifted) There aren't color ways on them, but the orange one is 50/50 Camel/Silk and the bluer one is 50/50 Merino/Silk.
5. I got black and white Koigu because I wasn't happy with how my Cascade was matching up with my Knitch yarn. Koigu matches the Knitch much better.

Day 3 was the day I had my class, so I was only in the marketplace for less than half the time it was open. Krista and I also waited in the crazy Knitmore Girls line so we could give them our Halos of Hope hats.
1. I passed this braid the day before but came back for it. It's Wonderland Dyeworks 75%BFL/ 25% Tussah Silk in Red Riding Hood. Go buy a braid from their easy store. Their fibers just shimmer. You'll thank me later.
2. I got a little silly gift for my Mum at A Needle Runs Through It. It's a triangle bag with Hedgehogs on it.
3. Every time I passed Cephalopod's booth, there was one less skein of Skinny Bugga! in Strawberry Crab. Then there were two left and I couldn't take it anymore. (I got David to buy the last one.)
4.Went back to Dragonfly Fibers. This is a skein of one of their newest base, Damsel, in Spanish Moss. I don't know what it will become, but it will become some sort of design.
5. Then I realized that one of my missions during Stitches was to get some lace weight. I have two skeins in my stash, one is alpaca (too fuzzy for swatching) and one is possibly a cobweb weight. That's it. Anyways, would you believe that I still haven't bought Anzula despite having touched it every time I'm at Green Planet? Well, now I have some Touch My Lace in the Grace color way. Also, Sabrina, the dyer/owner is awesome.
6. As part of the "I have no lace" cure, I also got a skein of Mithril from Verdant Gryphon so I can swatch up an idea. I should have bought a skein on Thursday. It was slim pickings by Saturday. At least they had some of the Forest Clearing still there!

Day 4 I went in 15 minutes before the market closed on purpose. I had to pick up my samples and needed to avoid being tempted. The plan worked. 

So, all in all, I had a great time. (My wallet didn't, but I did.) Now I'll need to be disciplined.... until next Stitches.... or whenever.

Beyond The Pines and Equatorial Nights

Here we are on the eve of Stitches West 2014, and I'm pleased to announce that I have not one, but two new designs out. First is Beyond The Pines, a shawl inspired by the way light flits along the tops of the trees in the mountains during a sunset.

This top-down shawl is designed in order to use every last bit of yarn. The striped section can be repeated as many times as desired before working the final solid section. It's available on ravelry and bear-ears.com. Also, the sample will be at the Spincycle booth (841).

The second design is a follow up in the star series: Equatorial Nights. This infinity scarf features all the constellations along the celestial equator.

Equatorial Nights can also be found on ravelry and bear-ears.com. This sample will be at Canon Hand Dyes booth (847).

If anyone happens to be going to Stitches West this year, I'll be there every day, so do stop me to say hi. On Friday the 21st, I'll be doing a signing for Lit Knits from 11:30AM-12:30PM at the Purlescence booth. (804,903). Hope to see you all out there.