Just cast on

Twelve little stitches. That's all you need to do. Just put aside the devices, leave the laptop in its bag and cast on those twelve little stitches. Begin again.

Pretty Yarn in a Pretty Tree

Spring has sprung into full bloom here in the upper MidWest, bringing with it a craving for new yarn. Now, I am, strictly speaking, on a yarn diet. But that doesn't count for yarn to make gifts. Right?

It started innocently enough . . . .


Plena


Sotobosque

But Darn Knit Anyway had new colors, and I spent the night wishing I had a couple more of them.


Floral


SM Gold

You can see my dilemma, I'm sure.

Now, to get knitting on those gifts.




(All yarn is Malabrigo Worsted Merino.)

You May Want to Cover Your Ears

Squeeee!!!! My invite to Ravelry came yesterday. Talk about the promised land! It's such a neat site, and very intuitive. I'm still feeling my way around, but I've got some profile pictures up, joined a few hundred groups, added a couple of projects, and queued a few things. And on days when I'm feeling particularly OCD, I could inventory my stash and my needles. (Hmmm . . . actually, the needle inventory is a good idea. I seldom have a list with me.) Anyhoo, those of you on Ravelry (which I'm assuming is most of the world because I was kind of a late joiner to the cult), my ID is GloamingOrchid, so stop by and say hello, please!

Socks in the Cities KAL



Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock medium weight in County Clare. I started these sometime in August of 2006 and finished 13 October 2007. I'm excited to have these done, as my grandmother's people are from County Clare in Ireland. I'll get a special thrill wearing them on St. Paddy's Day.



Vesper Sock Yarn in a sport/DK weight in Evergreen. I started these 3 July 2007 and finished 14 October 2007. These got to come with me on the Yarn Hop.

Continuing the Green Theme

Four years and one month after being promised for a birthday present, my mother's felted clogs:



(Obligatory before shot. Cat included for scale.)



Sadly, these puppies still have some felting to do. My father's feet fit into them confortably, and my mother keeps making noises about giving them to him. Nuh-uh. No. Nyet. I'll refelt them next weekend. Knitting these drives me slightly insane, and after the guilt of four years, I'm so relieved to have them (almost) finished.

Distractions

Oooo, looky! I'm blogging!! Will wonders never cease? (I hope not. I need wonder in my life. Soon it'll be all I can afford.)

So, yes, a little discouraged by my complete inability to manage money. Or food. Or exercise. Or anything that is considered to be a sign of a responsible adult, so I will distract myself and everyone else with photos of knitting accomplishments.

First up, finished items:


Clapotis in Malabrigo Amorosa
This only took about 2 years. I may be over my Clapotis addiction. This will be a gift for someone.


Finished pair of socks #1. These took less than a year. (Funny story: Last year, in July, after a 4 month knitting vaccation, I decided I wanted, no, I needed, to knit wool socks. I had 13 pairs going. Made the first of each in about 2 weeks I'm still working on the second socks. Only 2 pairs left to go, though. To be totally accurate, I had two pairs of socks started before I added the other 11. Gidgie stop laughing. I can hear you in Seattle. Where I currently am.)
Art Yarns Supermerino #105. This is my favorite colorway, I have it in 3 other variations of their yarns, too. (No, I'm not obsessive at all. Why would you ask? Gidgie, I mean it about the laughing.)


Finished 2nd pair of socks. Interlacements Toasty Toes in Poppy Fields. I love the orange in these socks, but it must be said that there is a lot of dye still in there. I soaked these 3 times after wearing and they still bled a little in the wash.


Third pair of finished socks. Black Cat Yarns Sock Hop in Mai Tai (Sorry, I got this yarn on eBay but the store and its website are no longer there.) These socks I wish I had knit on smaller needles. Because I have concerns about their durablitity, they are bedtime socks. (I live in Minnesota. My toes get cold in the winter months. Why am I explaining this?)

Next up, a couple of in progress items:


Because on my birthday last year (it's September 28th; I know you wanted to know that so you could mark your calendars), I decided I needed more socks to work on (it was my birthday, I can do whatever silly thing I want to), I started these. Mountain Colors Twizzle in Mountain Tango. This is a wool/silk blend, so I planned these for comfort socks. They are currently in my office at work for when I really need to destress.


Ever wonder how much knitting you can do on a flight from the Twin Cities? Most of the leg of a sock you're designing. Fiesta Yarns Boomerang in Iris. I love this yarn! I love this color. I'll try and remember to get a better picture tomorrow.

And just because:




The lovely ladies at Cider Moon keep sending samples with my orders. They're so pretty!

Forgive me, but I don't actually have time for a spell check right now.