SP11 Reveal and a FO

When I arrived home, last night, I found a DHL package waiting for me. I was from Karen, my Secret Pal! She sent 4 skeins of yarn, a great slipper pattern from Fiber Trends and some pear soap. The package had a lovely faint scent of pear when I opened it. Thanks, Karen!
The party last night was fun. We heard John Curly speak from Evening Magazine. We all thoroughly enjoyed listening to him talk about his experiences before the days of being a television star.

With all the riding in the car that I did, yesterday, I finished the second Leaf Lace sock! When I sat back in the car to leave the party, I wanted to look at the first sock to see how far I had left to go before starting the toe. I was shocked to find that the sock was not in my purse! However, I thought I knew when to stop. I have never been so happy for a long row count for each repeat, as it was pretty obvious where to end in order for the sock to fit. Arriving home, I went through my purse and the car looking for the missing sock and did not find it! I kept knitting, hoping that it would show up. When I stepped up into the van, this morning, I still didn't see it. After getting out of the van, at work, I decided to make one last search and found it! The sock had dropped out of my purse yesterday morning on the way to work. Since I am at work the picture doesn't show off the detail of the lace, but I really wanted to show that I had them finished! I will have to take a better picture this weekend, though. :)

Hmmm...

I've finished the first Leaf Lace sock and have the second one past the heel already! Once these are done, I really need to get back to Christmas presents. I have more socks to knit and I'd really like to make some mittens, gloves and a pair of fingerless mitts. I still have the high goal of making something for everyone. :) If I don't start knitting for them instead of me, I won't make it!

Tonight we have our first "Christmas Party" of the season with my dh's work. The Snohomish County Dental Association always hold a dinner on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. There doesn't seem to be much of a holiday theme to it. So, after work tonight, I'll rush home, change clothes and then we'll pick up my mom. (Dad, as a dentist, has to be there early.)

Beeaaauuutiful!

When I arrived home last night, I found a package waiting for me. I won a contest through one of my Ravelry groups and the yarn has come! It is Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool, 6 skeins to make this shawl. I have so many shawls either on the needles or planning to be, that it will have to wait a while. Also, the pattern intended is so much like the Luna Moth Shawl which I have on the needles in about the same color of cotton, instead of wool.
After starting the November Sockamania pattern, Ripples, and the ripping it out as I went down a needle size, when I shouldn't, I started Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Socks, instead. I started on Wednesday night and am in the middle of the heel flap, now. The yarn is Socks that Rock Lightweight. This yarn is so soft and beautifully dyed. It is also well twisted so that there are no splits happening when I am knitting. I probably should be working on Christmas presents, but the call of this yarn was too great for me! :)

Next Sock

I started the second May Day Sock, last night. The ribbing is finished and I've begun the chart for the leg. I get so many positive comments from knitters on the color/pattern/yarn combination. It makes me so happy to hear that others like it, too! (This is probably, especially because they are a gift for my Sockapalooza exchange partner, whom I've never met!)

In other sock news, I did frog the Leaf Lace Sock. I will probably hold the yarn to use in the next Sockamania pattern, assuming that it will work better than with this pattern. I could use a larger needle, but don't really need to start another project right now. (I didn't need to when I cast on, but I'm taking it as the voice of reason, this time, and waiting.)

I, also, retrieved the CWS from my pile of WIPs/UFOs. I finished 1 and a half rows. I'm going to try and get another 2 rows done tonight, but only time will tell if I really can stick to it! The group begins the edging on June 1st and I would love to have it caught up so that I can start it with them.

Last weekend, my friend C and I poured over the information for the Local Yarn Store Tour that we received from the ladies at NW Handspun. We looked at the addresses and the map to figure out where we'll go and to how many stores. It looks like we'll visit only about 5-6 from Everett to Seattle. We're not going to go to Bellevue, Bainbridge Island, or south of Queen Anne Hill. Its just too far for the 6 hours that we are going to get. I am really looking forward to it. To top off the day, my dh has volunteered to have dinner and a movie waiting at home when I arrive. He really is great!

Some Lovely Things

I've been working on the Luna Moth Shawl, some more! You can see that it is growing. (The needle it is on is a 60" incher, just to let you know how big it is getting.) I still have much left to do, but am re-motivated to work on it, lately. I really do love knitting lace!

On Monday night, I received this set of stitch markers from my "Stuff Knitters Want" group. I love them and will use them for the next project that I start.

Then, there's the Leaf Lace Sock. I tried it on as I was starting the toe decreases, last night, and think that the yarn is too heavy for these needles. It is also a little tighter than I'd like, so I will probably frog the first sock and re-knit on larger needles. I like the pattern, so knitting it again is fine. Not only that, but the size 1 needles were splitting the yarn a little and the pattern decreases were difficult to work. I think that all of the should be better with a larger needle. I still love them, but may take some time to work on some older WIPs before restarting.

Knitting & Camping

The Curvalicious Cardigan is finished (see picture at left)! I managed to get it all done in time for our camping trip. It was the perfect weight for the somewhat overcast, warm weather we had over the weekend. I rarely took it off, and yet didn't really need another coat, either. (Since we were renting a 1 room cabin at the KOA and our friends had their trailer, we were indoors or sitting around the campfire whenever it was cool enough to need something heavier.)
On the one and a quarter hour drive to the campground, I worked on Snowmen and Skates. After unloading the car into the cabin, I continued to work on it...until I ran out of cream yarn! I'll need to go over to Village Yarn and Tea, to buy another skein. At this point, I switched over to Green Gable. Finishing the skein I was on, and barely starting the next/last one, I tired of the stockinette stitch in the round and moved on to the Luna Moth. This one, I kept working on until Saturday afternoon, when I purchased yarn to start the Leaf Lace Socks from Fiber Trends.

On Saturday morning, our group met to make breakfast. After the cleanup, the kids and guys rented some bikes from the KOA office. They rode around for a while and even let us (my friend C and I) have a turn. They were fun, but made us all use muscles we're not used to! Around noon, we made lunches and took the 20 minute drive to Lake Padden. The kids were happy to run and play on the playground while we took in the beautiful scenery. After eating, we packed the stuff back up to the car, and then walked around the lake. Its about 2.5 miles. The day was so gorgeous and the sun came out just enough to burn the tops of my shoulders around the back of my neck just a little.

After our walk, C & I took the kids and dogs and the guys went for a game of golf. While they were golfing, we went in search of a yarn store. We found NW Handspun in downtown Bellingham. They had a 20% all yarn sale going on for Mother's Day weekend. Who could withstand that temptation! So, I purchased a ball of Louet Gems in a medium purple and the Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Socks pattern. I started immediately, as I was not driving. We also visited Michaels in search of items to make stitch markers. We found some great charms on sale.

At this point we met the guys at the golf course to pick up the keys to the trailer. They offered to take the kids, so we had about 2 hours to sit outside and knit away. By the time I went to bed last night, I had the first sock about 75% done! It looks great, but the yarn is a little heavier than I realized, so they'll be very warm socks, that I'm sure I'll love to wear.