New Socks

It seems as though everyone that sees me do two-at-a-time toe-up socks comments at this point that it looks like a bikini top - and I guess they're right! These socks are part of three Ravelry Challenges: The Knitting Purls Toe-Up Knit-A-Long (KAL), the 2009 Sock-Off Marathon (March sock) and the Limenviolet Sock Yarn Marathon (the one I found out I had 12 3/4 miles of sock yarn for). I'm going to use the Pillars of Fire pattern by Terry Ross for this pair and I'm holding off on knitting much now because I wanted a pair to work on at Stitches West, which is coming up this week.

The yarn is Lime & Violet Shuanmi2 Sock that I purchased from the Loopy Ewe (a button to the Loopy Ewe is conveniently provided in the sidebar). It's the Babies Blues colorway which while it has pink the blue is more of a dusty blue than a baby blue.

Since I've been holding off on knitting until I leave for Stitches West, I've been spinning. I bought some teal roving a few months ago off eBay. When it arrived it seemed a bit too intense for even a teal lover like myself. I barber-poled it with some natural and am very pleased with the result. The first skein is off the wheel and weighs in at 5.5 ounces, 480 yards and 18 wpi. I have plenty more of it to spin up so will be back at it when I return.

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 10: Dog On It, by Spencer Quinn is a the first in a new series - A Chet and Bernie Mystery. Chet is a wash-out from the K-9 division of a police department and he's partnered with a private detective who is former member of the same department. What is unique about this series is the mystery is told completely from Chet's perspective. The storyline itself is like many on television for the past 30 years, but I was drawn to this book because of the narrator. I really like Mrs. Murphy mysteries because much of those are told from the cat's perspective, but Chet did not strike me as being as intelligent as the dogs I've been around, and I found that disappointing.

Misti Alpaca - Part II

I finished the Misti Alpaca sweater last night and here it is drying. The color is a little washed out from the previous photo. The earlier photo shows the correct colorway - the flash went off in this one and seemed to wash out some of the color. On the whole, I am pleased with it. It only took 3 skeins of the Misti Alpaca fingering/sock weight. The label gives the impression that it is machine washable. Fortunately, I read a post which stated it felts if machine washed, so I guess I'll be washing this by hand!

The 1300+ yards goes against my 12-3/4 miles of sock yarn in the Limenviolet Sock Yarn Marathon.

52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge/Book 9: For some odd reason, I enjoy reading holiday books out of season. Further, it doesn't seem to matter which holiday. A Highland Christmas, by M.C. Beaton is one the entries in the Hamish Macbeth series. I enjoy Hamish Macbeth's pragmatism and he doesn't lose it during the Christmas season either. He is not a perfect character, however, which makes him all the more likeable. It ends on a happy note for all concerned.

Misti Alpaca Sweater

A few weeks ago, I started a sweater with my Misti Alpaca sock yarn. Today I got to the point where the sleeves attach to the body. It's my favorite place to be on a sweater, because now the end is in sight. It's also an easy inch of knitting and gives me an opportunity to think through the upcoming decreases for the body and sleeve. There is a seven-repeat cable pattern that makes up the rib of the bottom and cuff with a simple lace pattern for the rest of the sweater. i hope to have this completed by the time I leave for Stitches West.

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 8: Fortunately, audio or recorded books are included in the count. This is fortunate in that I do a substantial amount of knitting and driving (not at the same time) in a given week, so I listen to audio or recorded books out of a need for "white noise." Even though it is background noise to some extent, I need for the book to make sense to me. It's no problem when I read, because I can flip back if I have a question, not so with a recorded book - at least not easily. I ran into that problem with Book 8: A Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich. I think I've read everything Erdrich has written and this is probably her most monumental undertaking. The stories and how they are interwoven into one is fascinating - but that's where I needed to be able to flip back. By the end, I think I got everything straightened out in my head, but I really need to go back at the end of the challenge and read the book for myself, because I'm sure I've missed something important. So, A Plague of Doves is a highly recommended read, rather than a listen.

I Can Haz Wollemeise!

For months, I have been trying to snag a skein of Wollemeise sock yarn. Sometimes, I've missed by seconds. This time, my timing was right on the money! I got this skein because someone on the message boards on Plurk was de-stashing. (Thank you yarnbeans!) It's in the colorway Vincent and has mustard yellow, avacado and blue green and various hues and tones in between. Hans is shown giving it a little sniff and both kitties are checking it out before fighting over in the second photo. Hans is more of a lover than a fighter, so he let Greta give the skein a good snuggle. I haven't posted those photos because I'd like to keep the blog at a G-rating. Suffice it to say, Greta is no longer allowed to listen to the Limenviolet podcast, because she obviously understood what they were talking about with regard to Wollemeise.

Pokey Fluff Update: I'm still carding. This week I ran into quite a bit that were second and third cuts. I was very disappointed. I tossed quite a bit that had a staple length of less than two inches. I'm still going to have quite a bit, but my initial estimate of three pounds out of a four-pound fleece was obviously high.

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 7: Still Life, by Louise Penny. This is the first in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. The series was highly recommended to me by one of the members of my Thursday Morning at BagelWorks Knitting Group, Susan M. I pass that high recommendation on to you. This series takes place in a small town in Quebec. Still life refers not just to the still life painting rendered by the victim, but also those who have a still life in that life and change must come to them, rather living pro-actively to any degree. Still Life is one of the best books I've ever read and one of the most artfully crafted. Penny's use of metaphor and simile is outstanding. I understand she develops her characters over the course of the series so the books need to be read in order. I will do that and can't wait to read the the second in the series.

Pokey Fluff

Nope, it's not a cloud - it's Pokey Fluff. Pokey is an whitish alpaca that lives on a farm near Montevideo, Minnesota. I purchased his four-pound fleece at the North Country Fiber Fair last fall, but I was waiting until I found my drum carder to do anything with it. I finally found the carder around Christmas time. (It was hiding in one of the few unpacked boxes in the garage.)

When I found it, I remembered the drive band was broken and years ago and a few moves ago, when I packed it away the manufacturer, Clemes & Clemes, was into skateboards instead of drum carders so I had no idea how to get a new one. Shortly, after I found the drum carder, I discovered Clemes & Clemes was back into drum carders, carders and spinning wheels and a new drive band would only cost me $20. The rest is history.

Even though Pokey's fleece had been picked and washed, there is still quite a bit of guck in it, so I'm guessing I'll have a little less than three pounds of batts. I originally planned to dye the batts and then spin them, but since the batts are so fragile, I think I'll spin them up into a two-ply lace/fingering weight and then handpaint it. I'm only doing two batts a day, so this is will be a long-term project.

Pomatomus Done!

They're done! I feel like I've written so much about them already that there's not much else to say. While I enjoyed making them, I'm not sure if I will make them again. There's so many great sock patterns out there, I feel the need to try others before coming back to these.

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 6: First Eagle, by Tony Hillerman. Fortunately, listening to audio books counts in this challenge and since it's a long way out to Pierre, South Dakota and a long way back, I was thrilled I could listen to a great audio book and have it count towards the challenge as well.

I really thought I had read this one because I have it in hardcover, but I don't think so. In this one, Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee and retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn solve two murders which revolve around a strain of antibiotic-resistant bubonic plague. Not only was this a great story, but I learned a lot more about bubonic plague than I ever wanted.