I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack

So I haven't blogged in what, a year? No matter, I'm back now. I'll probably be talking mostly about knitting, but other stuff is sure to slip in. For one thing, I plan to do a bunch of sewing this summer, and I am also itching to make some jewelry. Since I no longer have a glass studio, I'm thinking polymer clay, at least for now.

In the meantime, I just finished my second pair of Rockin' Sock Club socks. I joined my first sock club this year from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. That means I get a skein of their "special" sock club yarn six times a year along with 2 patterns and sometimes other goodies as well. I have to admit that the patterns are at least as exciting to me as the yarn! I made the first yarn into a pair of Cascadia for a friend of mine. I loved the yarn color "Happy Go Lucky" with its highly saturated pinks and reds. Here's what they look like:

Last night I finished my second pair from club yarn. This yarn is called "My Wild Irish Girlie" and It's one of those wildly colored handpaints that I usually love in the skein and in the sock -- not so much. Well, these are pretty cute knitted up. The pattern is called Slip Jig and it was very easy, in fact, by the time I got to the end, it was too easy and I was bored to tears. This is medium weight STR and here's how they look:



I am undeniably compelled to knit socks. I can think of many reasons for this. First, I am a fairly obsessed knitter. Socks are small enough to carry around and work on anywhere. Socks always fit, and wearing hand knit socks is one of life's affordable luxuries. I can try all kinds of things out while working on socks, and even if the entire sock is a disaster, I don't mind frogging it and starting over. It costs so much less to knit a pair of socks than it does to knit a sweater, and I can get a lot of knitting bang for my buck, since I'm usually on size 0 needles.

So I tok a look at my stash this morning and I have more than 30 skeins of sock yarn. I figure at the rate I am knitting socks, this should last me about 2 or 3 years. I probably don't need to buy sock yarn for a while. Let's see if I can resist. I am also ready to start designing my own socks, so stay tuned.

I'm also working on a couple of other projects at the moment. I'm making a ramie/linen cardigan for summer, and I have, after much resistance, caved to Clapotis craziness. I caved, not because I want a Clapotis. I caved because I wanted something I could work on as "social knitting"; something I could work on without paying much attention to it, and I also was seduced by, um, some sock yarn I saw at Maryland Sheep & Wool. The yarn is "Jazz" by Creatively Dyed, and her colors were so amazing, I just had to buy some -- but not for socks!!!

Maybe blogging will keep me honest and working on some of my other UFOs which have lain dormant for quite a while, but let's wait and see.

Other exciting news is that I am planning a podcast with my son Ben who is also a knitter, and quite an accomplished one at that. We're waiting until his summer plans are solidified and then we will begin our mother-son extravaganza. More on that as it develops!

If you have read this far, thanks. Check back soon, and keep knitting!

Frankie Manning 1914-2009

Well, I knit, but I also Lindyhop. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Frankie, taken on his 89th birthday cruise. More to follow.

Couldn't resist

I just had to put something visual on here!

You Are an Argyle Sweater

You are contemplative, brainy, and serious. You don't take much lightly - life is too important for that. You are a very determined person. You don't let anything stand in your way. You think out your actions and act deliberately. You don't waste time, money, or resources.

What Kind of Sweater Are You?

The End of Visual Frustration? Maybe

Ok, I admit it. I've been a slacker. I haven't blogged much. I have been knitting, but not as much as I'd like. But the really depressing "not enough" in my life has been reading. I just haven't been reading. I love books; I love to read and I always have. I have stupidly wondered over the past year or so why I'm not reading. Has my brain fallen victim to entropy? Have I gotten stupid? Well, I was wondering for a while when I realized: I can't ##(**&* see! My contact lenses weren't correcting my vision well enough for reading. Removing my lenses and donning my glasses didn't help. Taking my glasses off has been the only way I could read comfortably, but then I can't see anything at any distance beyond about three feet.

I asked around and got the name of a highly-recommended eye doctor. So highly regarded was he that I could not get an appointment, but I was desperate. I went to see one of his colleagues. He dilated my eyes; he refracted my eyes; he advised me to get lasik (I'm not ready). I saw another doctor who spent a long time fitting me with new contact lenses. I got new reading glasses. My "regular" glasses, he said, were the "perfect" prescription. All was (supposedly) well.

Not. After about a week with the new lenses, I was wearing the reading glasses almost constantly. My eyes were getting really tired. I couldn't see my computer screen at work with or without the reading glasses. I'd come home, take out the lenses, put on the glasses and still I couldn't see. This is a bad situation for someone who is about to return to school, to reading many hours a day, in several arcane and foreign languages.

Add to this dilemma an itching, redness and general cranky-eyedness. I went back to the doctor. This time, I got to see the highly-recommended doctor. He comes from a long line of rabbis. He was cool and fun and helpful. He gave me drops and said "come back in three weeks".

I went back today. He said the contact lenses I had been prescribed were too big. He said my glasses were the wrong prescription and that is why I can't read with them on. He said he had to refract my eyes AGAIN to get a good read on what is happening (pun intended).

So now I have new lenses, I'm getting new glasses and a very different pair of reading glasses. My vision is really important to me. I am a very visual person. I really hope I can get some good vision now, read more and get on with things. In the meantime, nine hours later, my eyes are still dilated and I can't really see anything very well.

Good thing I know how to touch type.

I'll be back with photos when I'm able to see them.

Thanks, Yvonne!

I found this interesting; see how many of these you've read:

Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total.

How many have you read?


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien x
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte x+
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling x
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible 1/2 x
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte x
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell x
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens x
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott x
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy x
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller x+
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare "complete"? I'm not big into poetry, so no.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier x
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger x
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger *
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell x
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald x
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens x
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams x+++
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh x
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll x+
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens x+
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis x
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis x
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini x++
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne x+
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell x
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez x
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery x
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy x
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood x+
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan x+
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel x+
52 Dune - Frank Herbert x
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth x
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon x+
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez *
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt x
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold x+
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac x
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (I think I read this; I'm not sure!)
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens x
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett x
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (I tried; multiple times)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath x
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt x+++++++ one of my all time favorite books
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell* This one has been sitting on my night stand for a long time
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker x
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro x+
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert *
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle x+
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad x
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery x
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams x
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute x +
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare x+
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl x
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo x+

Knitting: I finished Bella's mittens and am proud to say they are lovely and warm and soft and no, I have not read the dreaded "Twilight" books. I also finished "that scarf" and I'm loving wearing it. The mittens are coming with me to New York next month.

Startitis

Happy Birthday, Abe!

On a more mundane note, I am very much in the clutches of startitis, and I'm loving it! Yesterday I received a package from Knitpicks containing about twelve more cables for their beautiful "Options" needles and I expect to employ many of them. Currently on the needles: "Stricken" by Cookie A, "Bella's Mittens", "Portrait" by Norah Gaughan, "Irtfa'a" lace shawl, "Mystery Shawl 11" from Goddess Knits, a pair of gift socks from "The Eclectic Sole", a pair of Cat Bordhi "Coriolus" socks, and I am about to begin "Salt Peanuts" by Veronik Avery. ADD is a gift, folks.

Photos to follow soon, including a look at my reconstituted "wall of yarn".

Please feel free to comment with an answer to this question: How do you plan to ignore/obliterate Valentine's Day?

Moved!

I have moved. I am still unpacking. I hate moving! (Who doesn't?) I am knitting. I'm starting a lot of projects because I've been feeling that I don't have enough variety to pick something to take with me to knit. In other words, I've been knitting "that" scarf, and everything else on the needles requires my full attention. So I've started "Bella's Mittens" in an amazingly soft Misti Alpaca Chunky. The yarn is like a cloud and just makes me want to rub it all over myself (oops). I also went to Canvas Works in Olympia with Ben when I brought him back to college. I got some Cascade tweed and I'm going to make it into "Salt Peanuts' by Veronik Avery. I will post pictures soon, but for now, this is the best I can do.

I LOVE my new space and my eight minute commute to work. Not only that, but Trader Joe's is a mere minutes away.

Thanks again to Secret Sock Knitter who wins the prize for best SP ever.

I have moved!

Just moved to University Place. It is lovely. I will blog soon.

The Jackpot!

I have the absolute best Secret Pal in the world. She has spoiled me silly. Here is just a partial catalog of the wonders that arrived late last week:

I hardly know where to begin. Let's start with the sock blockers. I have never blocked socks, but I sure will start now! If nothing else, socks look really awesome on the blockers. They are small, just like my feet, and I'm quite tickled at having them. I never would have thought to get these, but I KNOW I will wonder how I ever lived without them.

Next, my amazing psychic pal sent some beautiful periwinkle lace yarn. How did you know that I just signed up for my first Mystery Shawl knit along? It called for purple or green or gold lace yarn, and I did not have any of those colors. This yarn is perfect for the project, which I can't describe, since I only have the first clue. I do know that it will be a triangle, and there are beads. I got some lovely AB purple beads which look great with the yarn. Stay tuned for phohtos when I actually begin the knitting.

Next, (I'm already overwhelmed) we have a very funky zipped case, in which the above-mentioned beads and tiny crochet hook are residing. This is an artisan piece, not any off-the-rack fabric case. And inside were beautiful beaded stitch markers and some heavenly smelling beeswax/lavender emollient hand salve(?) in a pretty bee-decorated tin. You are a very attentive pal and you really got my number(s). Wow....

OK, continuing with the overwhelming gifties:Two beautiful sock yarns. I love them both and cannot pick a favorite. I'm glad I don't have to! One is lovely pinks and browns; I have to check out the repeat pattern before deciding what kind of socks I'll make from it. The other is a funky, multicolored hand dyed masterpiece. I love each and every color, and I think this yarn will hold some real surprised when it's knit up.

And on and on....Yummy body butters from Mark, each smelling better than the last. Two vanilla citrus soaps. I can't decide whether to wash with them or use them as sachets in my drawers. A bottle of Eucalan! I love Eucalan. I use it on my handspun and any other wool I wash. So it's my socks' best friend.

Speaking of sachets. This lovely lavendar filled, embroidered little pillow smells great, looks great, and is going to reside with my sock yarn. It keeps the moths away, or so I've heard.

Thanks a gazillion, SP; you rock! Next post I will show you what ELSE came in the box. Yes, unbelievable but true. You have also inspired me to be an even better spoiler to my own Pal.

Don't Play with your Food? Fogettaboutit

Where the line between fun and obsession blur deliciously:

Snowed in and happy

I guess that being snowed in has its advantages. I'm finally getting around to posting to this blog. Sorry for the long silence! First things first: SP13 Question #2 was about holiday knitting. I wasn't going to do any (yeah, right). My daughter decided just last week to go to Buffalo NY over winter break. I hadn't gotten her any Hanukkah presents yet, so I had to get busy.


She had been asking for a hat from my handspun yarn for a few months. I have only been spinning for a few months and felt that my handspun was both poor in quality and precious at the same time, since I haven't done much spinning at all yet. So I have kind of been hoarding the yarn, fondling and criticizing it.
Then I saw Stephanie Pearl McPhee's "Unoriginal Hat" and thought it would be perfect for my bulky, uneven yarn. Here's the result: I must admit that I'm pretty pleased! This was my first spinning with dyed roving. It's from Reflection Farm, and I really love the way the colors came out. Total serendipity, since I had no idea what I was doing in either the spinning or the plying. I hope my daughter wears it and likes it. The really good news is there's enough yarn left over that I can make a second hat for myself, thus continuing the fondling/criticizing cycle for a while longer.

That is the sum total of my holiday knitting.

The weather! Yikes, it's been scary here. Now, if I still lived in Massachusetts or Vermont or even New York, this wouldn't be such a big deal. But here in the Puget Sound area, we just don't get snow. It rarely gets below freezing, and if it does, it doesn't last long. I won't give you a rerun of this story; there is much weather to be had everywhere now. I do, however, live on an island. There are many, many large old evergreens all over the island, and the power lines are NOT buried. We lose power frequently. During the last wind storm, we lost part of the roof and were without power for a week. With the temperatures hovering in the teens and lower and with winds predicted upwards of 50 mph, the kids and I had a family meeting and decided to get out of Dodge. We are fortunate to have a dear friend in Tacoma with whom we are now camped out. Here are a couple of views this morning:Since I started this post, the sky has gotten even darker. I think there is more snow on the way. In the meantime, my kids have been knitting as well. Dalya made a hat based on a character from South Park:

She also has crocheted Kenny, and is moving on to Kyle or Cartman, I'm not sure which :Please don't ask me why the test is suddenly underlined I don't know and I can't seem to change it. This is not a link!
Finally, my son Ben has started knitting a hat. Black, of course, since he is nineteen and very cool. I'm trying to convince him that colors are fun (and a lot easier to see when you're knitting!). Here is his first knitting in the round. I'm impressed. Of course, I'm his Mom:


Well, that is it for now. I have some essays to write that I MUST finish today. I have some very dark chocolate to help me with the process. Stay warm!

New Hair Day

I've been a bit promiscuous with the hair color lately.I've gone from blonde to less blonde to red/pink/yellow/orange to this, which I really, really like. Thanks, Aura for the photo, which I lifted from your blog. This woman is a color genius and she is well worth a trip to Tacoma WA from just about anywhere. So what do you think?

Meanwhile, I did, in fact, teach my son to knit and he has really taken to it! I didn't want him to learn with crummy needles and cheapo yarn, so we went and got him Addis and I let him pick the yarn. When he said "This one just leaped out at me," I knew we had another member of the club. I'll try to get a picture of him in the act.

Life has been quite challenging lately, and I really don't want to say any more than that right now. Suffice it to say, I am working very, very hard to keep things positive. To Secret Sock Knitter: I will try to be more communicative!

Later.

Now Hear This

All of us must raise our voices against the armies of hate and fear.

It really has been

...one of the worst days ever. Not in a dramatic like I totalled the car sense, but in a "I'm so stressed that my head is going to explode" way. Nevertheless, I look on the bright side, at least when I can. And perhaps I should, as one piece of news I received is that I have a severe vitamin D deficiency. Now, I saw my mother experience the excrutiating pain of SURVIVING malignant melanoma. I have worn sunscreen religiously ever since. And where did it get me? Vitamin D deficiency! Which, apparently, is not such a small deal. OK, enough. Here's something to look at:
This sock is made from Blue Moon's socks that rock mediumweight in a colorway called Titania. I think it is no longer available. It's been fun knitting this Cat Bordhi "sockitecture" so far, but I'm not yet in love with the sock. We'll see when I have a pair.

This yarn is from the first roving I tried dyeing. I rather like it! The yellow yarn is merino and was a challenge to spin, as it was the first merino I ever tried to spin! I found that spinning "from the fold" really made a difference, and I "learned" it from Abby Franquemont on youtube. She is a fabulous teacher, and I hope to get some actual instruction from her some day, to augment the "virtual" instruction online.

I also finished something, but since it is a gift, I can't post a photo right now. Stay tuned.

SSShhhhhhhhhhh-----don't tell!

If you are a knitter, you will get this. If you are not, just forget it. Don't spread it around, but imagine how I feel: my 18 year old son wants to learn to knit! I want to scream, but please, let's keept this quiet. We don't want to scare him. Here's the item I made him that seems to have sparked his desire:
I will report here on progress. Now please, please, don't tell anyone!

SP13

Here I am back for more of Secret Pal. This was so much fun last time, I just have to play again. Here are my answers to the questionnaire. I'm answering them again because maybe I have changed a bit since the last go-round.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I like so many yarns, it's hard to answer this. I love natural fibers; I haven't met one yet that I didn't like. I'm not fond of scratchy wools, and I don't really like the feel of acrylic, although in some blends it is quite practical, like things the kids will throw in the washer and dryer. I lust after Malabrigo, which I haven't used, and other soft hand dyed yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I recently acquired a nifty little binder style case for my circulars. I don't use straights very often, but have some lovely wood ones in my Bagsmith knitting bag, not really stored, I guess, just there. I have yet to find good storage for my double points, which I guess is why I'm always losing at least one.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I started knitting when I was 7 or 8. My mother taught me, but she taught me to knit into the back of the stitches, so my knitting was twisted. I re-learned from a book, and I've been learning things from books ever since. I would consider myself an advanced intermediate. There isn't much knitting that can scare me, but I think my technique is not great, especially when it comes to altering patterns and some finishing techniques. I did pass Level 1 of the Knitting Guild's Master Handknitter program, but I have balked at attempting Level 2. It's more fun to knit things than swatches.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do have an amazon wish list, and my username is AbbyC

5. What's your favorite scent? Philosophy Pure Grace, which smells like soap and water, fresh baked bread, lilac, lavender, stargazer lily, night blooming jasmine, vanilla.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I like cheesecake and ice cream, but I don't like candy much. I do eat small amounts of very dark chocolate -- strictly for health reasons, of course ;D

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I do spin, and I LOVE it. I'm a beginning spinner and not very skilled, but it is like meditation therapy to me. I make lampwork glass beads (on a torch) and that is a fun and somewhat dangerous addiction. I also sew, and have been making clothes since I was 8 years old. I do a little quilting. I used to make cloth dolls obsessively, but haven't done that in a while.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) What kind of music do I not like would be an easier question to answer. And that answer would be "country and western". I'm also not a huge fan of free form jazz. That said, I like many kinds of music. My 160 GB ipod is almost full! On it you will find, for example: The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Mozart, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, The Who, Vampire Weekend, Chris Thile, Bob Dylan, Of Montreal and on and on...

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Purple is my favorite. I also like red, pink, periwinkle, deep yellow, pumpkin, browns, black, some greens. No color I don't like, but there are colors, such as pale blue, that don't like me.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Two teenagers, one siamese mix cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I like scarves but don't wear them much. I like hats and do wear them, I love mittens and hate ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Socks, lace, hats, gloves. I have yet to make a sweater that I am crazy about wearing, although I am fond of my tilted duster. I prefer wearing cardigans to pullovers because I often feel too warm, but my hands and feet get cold, thus the love of socks and mitts.

13. What are you knitting right now? "We Call the Pirates" hat for my son, Whisper cuff cardigan from "Inspired to Knit", Coriolus socks from Cat Bordhi's latest book, and I am about to start the irtfa'a faroese shawl by Anne Hanson.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Sure.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Depends on what I'm knitting. I mostly use addi turbos for everything, but occasionally I stray to wood needles, straight or double points.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes to both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? I have one ghastly sweater that I started about three years ago, DaCapo by hanne Falkenberg. I will never finish it. I don't like the colors, and it is the size of a small city, for some reason (garter stitch, I assume).

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? My favorite holiday is Purim, a Jewish holiday that falls in February or March, usually. In winter I observe Hanukkah. My second favorite holiday is a tie between Passover and Yom Kippur. Really.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Books, music, yarn, fiber, glass. I aspire to collect those amazing figures like the ones at myplasticheart.com They are very spendy!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I would like to get Franklin Habit's book. I don't think I need any needles. I mentioned malabrigo. Of course, I love Socks that Rock and anything from Blue Moon. I reserve the right to add to this list!

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Lots of spinning techniques. I'd like to get better at intarsia and learn to do cables without a cable needle. As mentioned above, my finishing techniques could be better, and I still need to learn proper fitting. Robin gave me a great book to help with that, but I haven't had time to take advantage of it yet.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I love knitting socks because: my feet are small (size 5 1/2), the yarns are gorgeous, they are quick to make, they need no blocking (as far as I can tell) and they always fit. Wearing hand knitted socks is a little heavenly.

23. When is your birthday? February 24

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Yes, Abbyknitz (big surprise there, huh?)

I can't help myself

I simply must share the voice of reason, and outrage, here, once again.

We are in grave danger

I must take a break from the joys of knitting, spinning and other creative endeavors to share this video with you. This is from Keith Olbermann's show on MSNBC. He rightly calls out a phenomenon so serious, so dangerous, and so extreme, that everyone who calls her or himself an American MUST pay attention. Watch, and then do what you can to ensure the safety of ALL Americans. Educate yourself. Think for yourself. And please vote.

Glad you're not incognito, Robin

So, due to circumstances beyond somebody's control, my Secret Pal was not able to play. But lucky me! I get to be spoiled by the wonderful SP Hostess with the Mostess (?) Robin! I came home from work the other day tired and a bit cranky. There were two packages awaiting me from amazon.com, or so I thought. I opened the first one and "Huh? I didn't order this! What is this book?" Well, that book is Custom Knits, and I had never seen it. And I thought I had seen just about every knitting book out there that was worth seeing. So I looked at the cover. Hmm, I'm not crazy about that sweater and I don't surf. I leafed through the pages. Hmm, some nice sweaters, but nothing is knocking my hand-knitted socks off. I checked the mailing label to see who was supposed to get this book that had been delivered to me by mistake. Well, no mistake, and not from amazon, either! It was from Robin! Wow! A gift! I don't get too many gifts, being a single parent of two teenagers. Well, I decided to look at the book a bit more. I have no idea who reads this blog, but FYI, I have ADD. So when I looked at the Custom Knits, I did just that, I looked. Then, oh, then I sat down and READ the thing. It is simply AMAZING! This is the book I have needed since forever, and THANKs to Robin, who obviously carefully read the answer to question number 12, I now have this incredible tool at my disposal. You see, this is not a book about finding pretty sweaters or even more, pretty pictures to knit. This is a book about knitting garments that you love to wear; that fit. I am absolutely in love with this book. If, like me, you have knit one too many sweaters that look good on anyone but YOU, run and get this book. Well, just go to your computer and order this book. It is a treasure trove of information and wisdom. Not only does this amazing woman Wendy Bernard show you how to knit with nary a seam to sew up, she gets down to the knitty gritty (pun intended) of figureing out what the heck you SHOULD knit that you will actually wear. Also included here are instructions for making your very own, custom dress form with a t-shirt and duct tape. I remember years ago seeing this technique in Stitches magazine and I always wanted to do it. Now I am inspired to actually make the thing. I know it will be a shock to see my actual, real shape hanging next to me, but a dress form is a marvelous thing -- trust me, I went to F.I.T. way back when. Robin, this was the absolute most perfect surprise. Thank you so very much.

Now, if that wasn't enough to make my week, the next day this little package appears, and inside were the loveliest stitch markers ever. They are fimo and in my favorite colors. Again, Miss Robin is an astute reader. I know this is true. Look, aren't they cute? Thanks again, my not-so-secret pal. You rock!

I have much more to blog and blather about, but right now, pizza calls. I've made some from scratch for my son's last dinner at home before leaving for college. Yikes! How did this happen? Seems like he was just a baby yesterday. Well, he's a magnificent, sweet and smart young man now.

Pizza time. Back later.

Do the Puyallup!

I'm not the biggest fan of the Puyallup Fair. Usually I go and end up spending too much time looking at things that simply don't interest me. Or, I get sucked into someone's sales pitch and buy some widget or other that I neither need nor want, and it ends up not working as promised anyway. But this year was different! I made a day of it with my friend Robin, and saw and did exactly what we wanted to see and do. Of course, the fiber-bearing animals were at the top of my list. Here are some of my favorites. Aren't their faces just heart-melting? I asked someone last week what really distinguished sheep from goats. He ridiculed me, but from the sign below, I'm obviously not the only (city girl) one to be confused! Oh, and yes, I know none of these is a sheep! Sheep photos and a special thanks to Robin Martin SP Angel in my next post.