May 10, 2008

Contest Winners

Reading all the contest entries was fun. I purposely did not give any hints or clues, just to see what you all might come up with.

Last Saturday Tina of BMFA rang me and told me to check out their ad in the new Interweave. Devil! It hadn't arrived yet. "Check out page 59," she said. "It's about you." I was left in dreadful suspense. Finally the packages arrived on Tuesday and I opened the magazine to reveal my pattern Trickle featured in the ad, knit in the beautiful Pondscum and Mochaberry colorways. Delight! Several people guessed correctly. But the winner is......

IrishGirlieKnits

Several other people guessed the Elinor tunic. The first email that I got with that response knocked me for a loop. I was so excited about the Trickle Socks being in the ad that I hadn't even looked at the magazine patterns yet. So for that I'm offering a second prize - as yet undetermined sock yarn to be found in my stash. And that winner is.....

Tulip Knits

Congratulations to the winners!

May 09, 2008

Feeling Like a Kid Again

Karin's class celebrated Mother's Day  today with a somewhat unusual event. Her teacher let the kids decide what they wanted to do, and they agreed by vote to host a moms vs. kids kickball game. I haven't played kickball in 25 years or so, so I was sure that I'd be quite rusty, but I surprised both myself and Karin by both my prowess and competitive spirit. I played the first inning with Ellie in my arms in the outfield, even managing to chase down and field a ball despite my precious burden. After that one of the moms who was sitting out offered to hold Ellie and I pitched an inning, catching a ball for an out. In the end, the moms were victorious, scoring 10 points to the kids' 2. There were lots of high fives and congratulations from the kids. Then they treated us to lemonade and cookies. It was great fun and the beaming smile on Karin's face as I scored a run was the best Mother's Day gift I could ask for.

Cimg2225 I promised pictures of WIPs. I only managed one of the knitting WIPs. Here is the Casbah Monkey sock, knit in a beautiful color of Casbah that I cannot identify. It's a toasted burgundy and I just adore it. Casbah is lovely soft and delightful to knit. Cookie's pattern is easy to memorize and quick to knit. I can't wait to finish these so I can give my feet the luxury of wearing them!

S2schapmansprings Lately I've been trying to do more spinning. My wheel has actually seen quite a bit of action, as I'm working on two spinning projects that I'm in love with. The first is my BMFA Sheep 2 Shoe kit in the Chapman Springs colorway. For some reason, teal is really calling to me these days, and the flashes of hot pink and lime green in this make me almost unreasonably happy. The plan is to 4-ply this to a sock weight, since my singles are so skinny. Even when trying to consciously spin thicker I need 4 plies to make a fingering weight.

Crownmountainmerino The second spinning project is three colorways of Crown Mountain Superwash Merino spun together. I'm pulling off a random length of each colorway. Again, I'll probably 4-ply this, and I think I'll get sort of a Trekking-like effect. In this part of the bobbin you can only see the teal and pink, but there's a beautiful purple in there too. The CMSM practically spins itself, it's so soft and beautifully prepared. I just ordered three more colorways, thanks to Jasmin's devilish influence.

Stay tuned for contest results!

May 06, 2008

A Quick Contest

The Summer Interweave Knits just arrived and I'm extra, super specially excited about it. And I'm not going to tell you why. That's for you to guess. Peruse the pages and tell me why this issue is so particularly special to me. Email your best guess to purlsbeyondprice at gmail dot com (use Interweave Contest as a subject line) by midnight Friday, May 9, to win a skein of BMFA STR Lightweight, Regia 4 Fädig Sock Yarn and other goodies from my stash. Winner will be picked at random from all correct answers. Good luck!

Le' me 'splain

No. Will take too long. Le' me sum up.

The past few weeks have been hard. Just a year after Chloe first became ill, her symptoms returned again, with a vengeance. It's been awful to see her in so much pain. Her illness looks like it will require surgery again, so she's out on full medical leave of indeterminate length. Sandi and I are tired and a bit stressed, but between family and a cadre of wonderful friends (you know who you are and we love you!), we should be able to manage.

Longer hours at the shop mean less time spent at home, so while we are completely moved out of the old place (and good riddance - that is its own drama, and I'll just say that we left none too soon), we are still sidestepping boxes and living in the midst of a certain amount of chaos in the new house. Still, it's a far better situation and much more comfortable than we've ever been. I just wish I got to be there a bit more often.

Knitting, too, has taken a back seat. Now and again I gain a row or two on my Basic Black Ariann. Mostly, though, I've been knitting a garter stitch blanket in four (maybe more) colors of STR Heavyweight. And yesterday I cast on a Monkey sock in the most beautiful skein of Handmaiden Casbah. Pictures soon.

Elliealmost4months The Ellie, she grows. And grows. And grows. Today is her four month birthday and I am anxious to see how much she weighs and how tall she is when we see the doctor later this morning. She is mastering eye-hand coordination and grasping toys and bringing them to her mouth. She is able to sit up for short periods of time (sometimes assisted by the Boppy) and has even started scooching herself around on her back to get to items she wants to investigate. The other day she showed a distinct preference for the cream colored Wool Cotton that was hanging out of Sandi's knitting basket. She's a delight and I live to hear her laughter. She is strong, healthy, and about the most easy-going baby I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I'm one lucky mama! Happy four month birthday, my darling baby girl!

April 16, 2008

Things I Haven't Got Time To Knit

BodylaptopinterfaceloraxSeriously? Now I'm all for innovative knitting, but this strikes me as just a little bit ridiculous. Jorn sent me the link to the Mr. Gadget post about it. It's supposed to provide "privacy, warmth, and concentration" while using a laptop computer. Sounds like suffocation to me. Remember when your mom tried to pull that too-tight sweater over your head and it got stuck?

April 12, 2008

The Best-Laid Plans

You know the quote, don't you? "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Did you know that it's an adaptation? Robert Burn wrote in "To a Mouse,” “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”

I'm making some major adaptations this weekend. I was all set to head off to Sock Camp this weekend, when Chloe fell ill again. We're waiting to hear more once she sees the doctor on Monday, but for the time being, Camp is on hold and Sandi and I are holding down the fort.

Looking for silver linings, I know that this will make the move to the new house easier, and my butt will be a lot less sore, not sitting in the car for hours on end. Still, I know that I am going to miss lots of laughter and fun at Camp. I was looking forward to introducing Ellie to some of my favorite knitters - and one Depraved Dyer. Have fun, all of you. I'll be with you in spirit!

April 10, 2008

Ellie's Not the Only One With Crazy Hair

Img_1122 Kaelyn's school is celebrating Spirit Week. Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day. She won a prize for her version of "my locker barfed on me." Her do included her hairbrush, mechanical pencils, a paper airplane (courtesy of her friend Michael), and Post-It notes.

We're up to our necks in boxes, moving a couple loads a day until Kevin, Ellie and I leave for Sock Camp. The big move with the furniture and the like will happen immediately upon our return. Blogging is likely to be sparse until then. Tallyho!

April 05, 2008

You Know You're A Grown Up When

Dysonyou jump up and down with joy because you just bought a vacuum cleaner. Moving into a new place with lots and lots of carpet means that my Miele just won't cut it any more. We need serious clean with no fuss. I ordered a Dyson Absolute DC-17 yesterday. Woot! I'm hoping the introduction of the Dyson into our lives will help keep the pet hair and dander at bay and improve all our allergies. Back to packing boxes.....

April 04, 2008

Movin' Up, Movin' Out

The past week has been more than a little bit chaotic. Our landlady is a bit of a freak and we finally had it - to the point where we decided that packing up and moving is a way better alternative to staying here under her unreasonable terms. We've already found a place, a lovely townhouse in Santa Clara, near the girls' schools, their friends and all that good stuff. So now it's time to pack up all our stuff and move house.

Moving with an infant is not a new experience for me. When Kaelyn was about seven months old, I moved from Menlo Park to San Jose. When Karin was four months old, I moved from San Jose to Sunnyvale. I guess it stands to reason that I should move while Ellie is still a baby too. Fortunately, this time we have lots of friends to help. Box packing has already commenced, and the official move will happen after Kevin and I return from Sock Camp. I'm a little stressed, but all in all, we'll be much happier in the new house.

Zomg_b00bs Meanwhile, life at the shop is a laugh a minute. A couple weeks ago we got a bunch of sample sweaters from Rowan and Jaeger to offer for sale in the shop. There was one I was eyeing, a pink cabled number. Very pretty. Until I tried it on and was confronted with the enormity of my current frontal real estate. Click for OMG big. I love the way the cables, when stretched, perfectly frame certain aspects. Needless to say, this is not a sweater I chose to keep.

Crazyelliehair Last night Ellie was really living up to her title of Princess Crazy Hair. It was just the right time of day for the sun to be shining directly in the front door, backlighting the crazy do. Of course by now she's figured out what the camera is, and scowls at it. It's getting harder and harder to get a smiley picture because now she just stares at the camera, wondering what the heck you're doing, flashing that bright light at her. She is still utterly charming, and growing like mad. We're pretty sure she'll top 14 lbs. by her next doctor visit. She can't wait to get to Sock Camp to hang out with lots of new friends and those crazy Sockateers!

March 30, 2008

All the Time, Socks!

Lovelace2Finished socks! I finally finished my Summer of Love Lace socks on Friday evening. I cast these on at the very beginning of the month and then got distracted because I wanted to finish the second cuff at home, so I could steam block it as soon as it was done. Then I was never home except to sleep. Meanwhile, I got all excited about the Ni Socks and Love Lace languished.

Lovelace1 I'm pleased with how these turned out. The turned cuff is an interesting design element, while the plain stockinette feet mean that I will probably wear them more often, since they fit into shoes better.

I made a couple of modifications to the pattern, the greatest being that I cast on for the largest size cuff, then decreased to the second largest size for the ribbing and foot. I know that a 72 st sock works best for me in STR and gives me a snug, comfy fit. Hurray socks!

Cedarcreekheel So it seems that my sock knitting mojo is back with a vengeance. When Carrie suggested a new Cedar Creek knitalong, I pulled out my skein of January One STR and cast it on. I elected not to work the picot at the top, and made the leg slightly shorter. I'll make the heel flap slightly longer than usual, since I'm using the double slip stitch heel which draws in considerably more than my beloved Eye of the Partridge, but provides lots of cushiness. And I love, love, LOVE the colorway. All rich burgundy and brown. Yarn this yummy makes the knitting easy!

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