No swag

Want to see the photos of all of the fabulous swag that I got from my much anticipated trip to Bonnie Knits?!? Well, there are none, due to the fact that I didn't find anything I liked in the sale bin, and she was fresh out of Koigu. I didn't walk out empty-handed though. I bought another pair of 2.25mm addis, so I now have two sets of sock knitting needles to work with. Why? My plan was to start on some Koigu socks for me with the second set of needles while still working on fiance's socks (why, of course I was going to finish them!!). Anyway, you all know what needles look like, so I won't bore you with a photo. Bonnie did say that she was planning to get some more Koigu in stock, so I guess I will finally meet my yarn destiny at her new location.

Anyway...the socks. I am now four rows away from finishing the gusset increases, and if all goes well, I will finish the increases today during my lunch hour. I haven't made fiance try them on for a few days/several rows, so I don't know how close I am to the back of his ankle. I was really far the last time (as you can see in the photo below), so I have a feeling I'll be knitting some plain rows to get there. For a while, I was so excited about them that I was making fiance try them on every few rows, but I think he was getting a little irritated with that.

In other knitting news, my friend Lori and I are getting together to knit tonight, and she is going to help me with some lace knitting. She is a very good lace/cable knitter, and somehow, charts make sense to her, unlike they do to me. Instead of the Branching Out scarf from Knitty (which I tried to start and failed), I will be making the leafy lace scarf from the latest issue of Vogue Knitting. Lori's already working on that pattern (and made revisions to it, no less!) and hers is coming out gorgeous. I hate to be a copycat knitter, but I'll take the help where I can get it, thank you.

Oh, and next weekend is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. With the road trip, hotel and rampant yarn buying that I would do, it is out of the question this year, budget-wise, but I hope that I can talk fiance into going next year. So, anyone out there in blog land going?

Forgetful knitter

So, I took my camera to the knitting meetup last night, put the bag on the back of my chair, and forgot about the damn thing until we were all packing up to go home. I also think that I left my drinking cup on the table, realizing when I was about a mile away from home that I didn't remember throwing it away (sorry B&N cafe staff!). Regardless, last night was a very good time, and I got some work done on the "Socks for the Fiance With the Gargantuan Feet":



and here's a shot of the happy couple:



I still have so, so far to go to reach the back of his ankle. I wonder how he'd feel about foot binding? Um, just kidding.

In other crafting news, I bought some pretty fabric at JoAnn's that I've had my eye on for a few weeks:



That's going to turn into a skirt, once I re-do my guest room and set up a little table in there for my sewing machine, and my mom's serger, which I borrowed (she hates it when I borrow her serger- clearly I need one of my own). Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to the bad weather that the weather service is calling for this weekend so I can actually re-do the guest room. It doesn't need that much done to it, really. Just some furniture moving and curtain and mirror hanging, and I am excited to do it. Also on tap for this weekend is a trip to Bonnie Knits. My excitement level is building by the hour.

Yardwork=pain

I know that I am out of shape, and I know that I am not a good laborer, but I didn't expect our yardwork to kick my ass this badly. I am hurting today after this weekend of trying to get our yard/garden in order. Of course I didn't work on Grover at all, but I did start the gusset increases on fiance's socks, which wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I'm moving right along on those and hope to get to the heels soon. Unlike most people, I am perfectly happy doing row upon row of unchallenging stockinette or 2x2 ribbing, so I am looking forward to starting the cuffs.

I also just found out that my favorite LYS is moving, and having a moving sale. Must. Remember. Yarn. Diet.

Too cute...

Umbilical Cord Hat pattern from Stitch and Bitch
yarn: Bernat CottonTots in Very Berry
needles: two 20" addi turbo circulars, size 4.5mm

This was a very fast knit, even for slow knitter me. Now back to Grover. I promise.

Thanks to Tara for your comment on the hat-in-progress. Anything pink and for babies is sweet, isn't it? I don't think I've blogged too much about it, aside from the occasional mention, but we're getting married on October 1st. When we got engaged in December '03, I thought I had so much time to plan the wedding, but it's coming up really fast and I have so much to do that it's a little alarming. I see you're getting hitched as well- when's your big day? And the beginning of your paisley lace shawl is gorgeous!

People just keep having babies...

Must be something in the water. Here is a hat that I started yesterday (after an unfortunate day of yardwork) for a charming new girl named Isabella (don't you love that name?):



There's nothing like knitting for little girls, don't you think? I'm following the "Umbilical Cord Hat" pattern from Stitch n Bitch and using Bernat Cotton Tots yarn, which is so nice and light and cottony that it just screams springtime. I love the colorway too, but the photo doesn't do it justice. It's a nice quick break from the wool baby sweater for sure. Speaking of Grover, I neglected it while I was sick last week, but I've got about 1-2 inches of sleeve left to go, the ends to weave in and the buttons to sew on, and that's it. In other knitting news, I started the "Branching Out" scarf from the latest Knitty with my previously-blogged-about Alpaca Cloud yarn, but my gauge is off (too loose to really see the lace well) and I ended up three stitches short in row seven, so I put that away in disgust. I purchased some smaller needles and will take it up again soon, since it really is a pretty pattern.

In wedding planning news, we've booked our first activity for the honeymoon! On October 5, we'll be taking a tour of the Old Brewery in Tadcaster- birthplace of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, fiance's favorite beer. October 5 is also fiance's birthday- what a birthday gift!

blah

I've been in bed most of this weekend trying to fight off a cold, so no photos of a finished Grover, as I'd hoped. I'm about a third of the way through the second sleeve, but I still need to go to the fabric shop and buy buttons and weave in ends to finish, so I'll likely be another week. I tried to play around with the alpaca cloud yarn from Knit Picks, but just got frustrated and had to put it away. I am looking forward to getting back to the fiance socks, and maybe I will try to knit on those a bit from bed tonight. In other news, I am seriously ready to see the end of snow. I can't believe that just a few days ago it was 70 degrees and I was walking around coatless, and now it is snowing...again.