Mothkiller Extraordinaire!!!

So, I was just about to close my eyes, and go to bed. I went to take off the light, and I see this thing fluttering around. Oh my God, it is a moth!!! I am in my bedroom, and the closet (where my yarn cubbie is) has the door wide open. What if it flies in there and starts to eat my precious Cascade Magnum, Socks that Rock, and Manos? I instantly get this burst of energy, and rush to get the broom, to wack the thing against a wall or something.

Sidenote - I am not afraid of bugs, but I must kill them before I go to sleep. I fear that they will fly into my nose or ears when I am sleeping. Did I just say that I am not scared of bugs? Yes, but I am afraid of what they can do when I am not watching.

OK. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.....
So, I am trying to wack this thing with a broom, and there is dust flying everywhere, and I realize that the ceiling fan is where this thing is headed, because of the lights. If I wack the ceiling fan by accident, I will have some serious broken glass and trouble falling all over my bed. Not to mention the possibility of loose electric wires. So, I have to come up with a different tactic. How do I get this thing to stop flying, so that I can kill it???

The answer... Super holding spritz for long-lasting curls. I used non-aerosol hairspray. I kept spraying that sucker until his wings got stuck, and he fell right onto my bed. Ewwwww.... now I have to wash the sheets ... AGAIN!!!! (Dust plus moth). I proceeded to pick it up with a tissue, and trash the disgusting yarn-critter. I feel so accomplished now. Changing top sheet that the moth fell on... Laundry day tomorrow. Sleepytime.

Sock Mojo!!!

So, I was happily knitting along with my Jaywalkers and then a problem occured. I tried them on, and they were not snug around my skinny ankles. I was so annoyed. I used a size 1 knitpicks needles, so what was the problem??? Well, knitpicks size 1 needles come in 2.25mm and 2.50mm sizes. Apparently, I have been knitting the smaller version of the pattern with the 2.50mm size. On Ravelry, everyone else knitting with KP Felici is using the 2.25mm size. And, their results look nice and snug, and great. So, to the frog pond I must go. AArrgghh!!!.... there goes 1 week of travel knitting down the drain. Look at how far I got? Well, at least I remember the pattern offhand. Hey, at least trying again is better than droopy socks. Who wants elephant ankles??

On another note, I have been preparing for the Summer of Socks. I have also been practicing using my camera along with my budget lightbox that I created from the Strobist's blog. I actually like the picture results. Hey, it sure beats spending $100 on photography equipment.

So, in order to get myself ready for the Summer of Socks, I decided to split my skeins down the middle to make knitting 2 at a time possible. Did I say that I am loving the 2 at a time Magic Loop technique? Pictures below are the Sit N Knit limited edition colorway from the Plucky knitter. I won it during the SNK raffle at the logo party a while back. Next to that is Lorna's Laces in Bittersweet. In the front is Socks That Rock in the Mustang Sally colorway. I plan to make Nutkins with those. Also, I must add that STR has a lot of weight to it. 81 grams per sock, as opposed to 50 grams for other sock yarns. Hmmm... I may be able to get some baby socks out of it too. We will see.

This bittersweet treat was a gift from Tawana. As a token of my gratitude, I started to make some personalized stitch markers for her. I will take pics of those tomorrow.
It has been 41 days since my self-imposed ban on buying yarn. I am still getting tempted. WEBS tent sale is this weekend, my car is tuned up and running like new, and the GPS is all ready to go. Too bad I already made plans for the weekend. I have a lot of friends visiting from out of town. But if you can get to Massachusetts, by all means, enjoy yourself. I promise, I won't stalk you with jealous hissing.

A Wonderful Knitting Weekend!!!

This is my recap of my past weekend, where I knitted more than I ever imagined I would, but have always wanted to.

I decided to spend Saturday with Tawana, because I haven't seen her in ages, and I miss my friend. So, I walk in and what do I see? Look at this beautiful blessing from God, Karen Joi. Isn't she adorable? Look at those cheeks!! Oh, I held her and she was just smiling and laughing the whole time. So, now I officially have "the touch". Hehe!! She is also wearing the Peapod Baby set that I made for her. It is so wonderful to see the children in the clothes that you make for them. I was overjoyed.
So, my knitting project of the moment was the Bittersweet Climbing Lace Socks. But on Saturday, I was under the gun. I was on a deadline to finish it by 2 PM the next day for the Sit N Knit Sock Exchange. I was having issues that I was not supposed to be having at the eleventh hour. The pattern has lace going up the middle of the sock as well as the sides, but somehow I kept losing stitches.

Hmm.. maybe they went to stitch heaven, but I couldn't find them. So, instead of going crazy, I decided to omit them.

And the socks came out lovely... ahem... at 10:30 AM the next morning. I knit on Saturday until I was knitting with my eyes closed, then I managed to really sleep in my bed and wake up at 8 AM on Sunday to complete it.

My sock exchange recipient Meghan was happy, so I was happy. Plus, she really liked the orange Nail Polish that I got for her as well.
I also received a pair of socks from Ileana, and I love them. The pattern is called BroadRipple. I think it looks amazing in the Fire Colorway of Colinette Jitterbug.

Who says Jitterbug has no yardage? Look at how high these babies are up on my leg!!!

Here is a birdseye view of everyone's socks. How cool is that??

And, this guy was checking us out the whole time. He was so busy staring at us, and wouldn't even say hello. How rude!!!

So, I started immediately to make a pair of Jaywalkers. I needed something portable to take on the train with me. So, I grabbed my Felici yarn from my last Knitpicks purchase, and got crackin'. I found that not all skeins are wound in the same direction, as I have opposite stripe patterning going on.

I figured I could live with it, but by the time I got off of the train, I was going nuts, so I decided to rip it out and start again. This is where I left off after my commute home from work. I can't really see the pattern yet, but it will appear soon enough.

I also decided to make some stitch markers that don't dangle, to make sock knitting much easier.

So, that was my lovely weekend. More surprises later on this week!!!

The Challenge is still on!!

Hey everyone. So far CarrieM is the only person who has agreed to take the challenge. So, there are actually 2 more slots open. Come on guys!! I wanna give some stuff away!!!

Speaking of giving stuff away...my friend Deborah is having a contest on her blog. Check it out!!!

So, how was my weekend? Yesterday I met up with Saunielle for some Indian food and....

Pinkberry!! It was great!!! This is my caribbean creation. Original Pinkberry topped with pineapple, mango, and coconut. Sadly for people outside of the state, it is only sold in New York and California currently. But if anyone every takes a trip to the city, I can direct you to the closest one. I am starting to feel like I have visited all of them.

Here is my sock progres so far. I am working on some other stuff too. More to come soon, I promise. Question.. does it not look like a bikini now??? hehe!!!

Ok, so I was really happy that I was making progress..... then look at what I found??? A dropped stitch!!! AAARRGGHHH!!!!!! Don't you just love knitting socks??? My mom (non-knitter) was near me when I realized it and she says " Hmmm.. that's a lot to take out". Really??? Gee, I would have not even known that. Thanks mommy, for pointing that out. arrgghh!!!!! 2 socks at a time means two socks have to be tinked back at once, so you don't lose your place.

Challenge!!!

For the first three people that reply to this post, and who re-post this challenge: you win!!! For your prize, I will send you a gift. It might be something I’ve made, or something cool from my hidden stash of fabulousity. It might be a mix CD, or a rubber duck, or a book I think you might enjoy. A love letter, a useful object, or something else that is awesome or maybe just taking up room in my house. Whatever it is, I promise I will get it to you in 365 days of your posted comment or less, and I will need your snail mail.The only thing you need to do to receive your gift is PARTICIPATE. Be one of the first three journalers to reply to this, (make sure I can contact you via e-mail) and post this very same thing in your journal, and YOU are the lucky giftee. Just ‘cuz.

I got this challenge via BajanKnit's blog. I want to say thanks to Two Cables N' A Frappe for linking it to her blog. Hehe!! I am also happy to connect with another Caribbean knitter. I know it's hot down there, but we still can knit cool stuff!!!
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Knitting update! I am in love with Magic Loop. Why???

1. It freaks out the nosy people on the train. The look of curiosity/astonishment/confusion on their faces it priceless.


2. I get to do two socks at a time, and I don't have to worry about bamboo DPN's snapping in my pocketbook, or the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome.


3. This girl on the train said "Excuse me Miss....are you making a bikini??". Hmmmmm.... I am going to leave that one alone. Well, at least she was polite. Ahem... does this look like a bikini to you????

Have a knitterly wonderful day!!!

Learning curve.

Knitting and crochet is fun. Especially when you learn new skills.


I just finished the hat portion of the Glitter Alpaca Hat and Scarf Set for Deborah. The best part of it all.... it fits her perfectly, and She LOVES It. Here is a picture of her with it on.


Here is a closeup of the flower that I learned to make today. I really like it. Hmmmm... maybe I will make one to pin to my jacket or my hair. We will see.



But before that, I had to get right back to knitting. I casted on for a pair of Climbing Lace socks made with Lorna's Laces Bittersweet.

Can I just tell you how much I am loving this colorway???

This sock is very special to me, because it is my first attempt at Magic Loop, as well as Two-at-a-time socks. I have read the Two-at-a-time book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. However, it explains socks with the Cuff-down orientation. I am trying something totally different here with the Toe-Up version. I did the Magic 8 caston technique for the toes. I am currently still in the beginning stages, with many more increase rows to go. Deborah was right there next to me as I tried to get the first rows completed. 2 funny things happened.

1. I knit the tail end instead of the working yarn for one turn, so I had to tink back the front and back of one sock, and the front of the other. The lesson I learned...Don't mess up, because you may just have to take out both socks. If I were working one at a time, I wouldn't have that problem. Then again, I would have the problem of SSS, and I am trying to challenge myself to make as many FO's as I can in the next 89 days..so I don't need that disease slowing me down.


2. I was yapping to Deborah, and I said "As long as I don't knit them together". I look down, and I see siamese socks. LOL!!! She could not stop laughing at me. As soon as I said it, I realized what I had done. I got so wrapped up in the knitting process, that I continued with one strand of yarn instead of switching to the next one. You think I could have paid attention to the colors??? Of course not. That was a classic moment.

Happy knitting everyone!! More updates later.

Temptation is calling.. I've been wanting you so bad I could cry!!!

OK, let's be real. I said that I would not buy yarn for 100 days, about 10 days ago. So, I am 10% closer to my goal, and I get my first bout of temptation.

It all started with my mom (the woman who doesn't want to learn to knit, but wants me to always knit stuff for people). Her coworker had a baby girl and moved out of the state. Another coworker will be visiting her in 2 weeks, so she asked me to make something to send with her. Since I have the 2-at-a-time sock book, I said "hey, why not?" I saw a nice pattern for baby socks in there, and I have been dying to open my Knitpicks needles, and learn the technique. Wait.. did I mention that I joined a secret sock swap and the sock must be completed by the end of April, and I have not cast on yet??

Anyway, back to the story. So, I decided to go to the Point before my mom came up with this yarn-buying excuse. If my memory serves me correctly, I though I saw the tickled pink colorway there, which would be perfect for the girl. My mom said that she would give me the money, so technically, I was allowed to buy it. I get there, and there is no tickled pink. :-(
I searched the store and found tofutsies in a nice pink color. Then I was told by all of the women in the store that knitting baby socks was pointless, and tofutsies would take forever on size 0's. So I just gave up the baby sock-knitting idea altogether. But I had this whole sour grapes emotion going on, because I didn't get what I wanted. Ahem... when I get pregnant, I am making matching socks for baby and mommy, dammit!!! Ok, I have vented, and I am calm now.

So, I stared back into the Lorna's Laces section. I fell in love with two colorways. Irving Park (I wanted to use that to make the Wicked sweater, but there was not enough yarn at Modern Yarn a few weeks ago, so I didn't buy it), and Hawaii (I just loved how the turquoise and purple played off of each other). On a side note, the father of the baby girl is from Hawaii. Anyway.... I was finding a million reasons to justify buying it. Then, I looked at the crochet hat that I was making for Deborah, and I just thought of what she would say if I broke my vow. So, I left yarnless. :-(

I drowned my sorrows in a large Pinkberry Yogurt treat.

I have another picture to show you. I bought a scale last weekend to help enable my two-at-a-time sock knitting. I love this scale because it tells time, and measures in both ounces and grams. Deborah's hat has a few more rows to go before completion. I hope I can start on those secret swap socks tomorrow.


So, I decided to make a baby hat with some leftover Cascade 220 Superwash that I have in my stash. Aren't you proud of me?