Toe-Up Socks with Heel Flap IV

So after having ripped the sock all the way back to a ball of yarn almost a month ago, I've started them back up again.
I started the toe from a figure-8 cast on without the figure-8's (you just wrap the yarn around your double points and knit off the pair of them... the first couple of rows are like knitting a porcupine, I'll get pictures at some point, it's rather impressive having 4 knitting needles each pointing completely opposing directions) and then increased to 16 stitches per needle.
I'm ribbing the top portion of the sock, it's been just over 2 inches and I'm already sick of ribbing, we'll see how long this lasts.
Hopefully this time will go better than last time and I'll be able to get pictures of my first sock weight toe up socks with heel flaps. I already know I like the concept because that's how I did my SET socks.

Mostly boring week

I'm feeling much better, I'm not sick and my blog is back.
I still have gotten next to no knitting done this week since I've been equal parts exhausted and overbooked. I've been having my schedule this weekend change every couple minutes as I remember what day it is and when things are actually going to happen. I went from thinking NWRSA was today to tomorrow to next Sunday.
Then this afternoon when I went to Tricoter to see a handspinner's trunk show, I locked my keys in the car. This meant that I spent close to an hour and a half instead of the 15-20 minutes I'd intended. The trunk show was lots of fun, the yarn being sold was Tanglewood Fiber Creations 2-ply bulky in some lovely and interesting colorways. Once my car got unlocked I went back inside with my drop spindle and spent a little more time talking and spinning.

OOoh.... I do have a bunch of finished spinning to report... the spinning I took to the RennFaire last weekend, but it deserves it's own post, so it can wait until the digicam gets home.

test

my blog has disappeared and i'm sick, so the only thing i can think of to do to try to recussitate it is make a new post and re-publish the darn thing. i hope it works 'cause after this i'm going back to sleep.

Serenity Movie Review

I know, this is a knitting blog...
However Peacock has posted the most knit-related movie review I've ever seen over at Another-Hobby. It's the sock she was knitting when we went to see Serenity with friends on opening night (a week ago Friday).
My review is much less original. It's also a bit more descriptive... words help with that.
First, I on the way to the theater, I discovered a crepe place, Crepes Voila, nearby and went there for dinner. They had yummy crepes (I had one with smoked salmon, cheese, and spinach) and yummier ice cream, I will be returning...
And on to - waiting for the movie... It was opening night for a show with quite a fan-base. One of our friends was the first one in line and had arranged to get almost 30 tickets well in advance, so we were a large portion of the line-party.. quite the experience on a day that I was feeling slightly less than social, but I think it worked out okay.
The movie itself - I thought it was wonderful. The characters were mostly consistent with the TV show it was based on, Firefly, and none of the gore was gratuitous.. this is not to say that there was no gore, just that if it was there it was necessary for one reason or another. It was a little heavy on 'made-you-jump' type visuals and sound effects for me, but aside from that was really good. I was hoping for something a bit more like the TV show than I got, but at the same time I understand that they needed to present some things differently in order to go from first introduction of the characters to plot and money making. I thought the movie was almost entirely about River, which a friend who hadn't seen the series seconded. This almost annoys me since the series did such a good job of focusing on all the characters in their turn. At the same time in just under 2 hours, it's darn close to impossible to give as much detail to every character as you can do in a season's worth of hour long episodes, do they did a really good job with what they did. If there is a chance to go back to this universe and make more stories, I think there are still stories to tell and I look forward to seeing them.

(edited and posted almost a month later - since I think it's left all the theaters by now Y'all should go see it when it comes out on video )

Secret Pal 6 - Package 1

My secret pal is a sweetie! Her favored method of communication is e-postcards and I've been getting one almost every couple days. She asked that I email her when my package arrived because the postal service has been intermittently eating her mail, but it got here safe and sound and I emailed her and told her it arrived on Monday...


It contained lots of pairs...
2 blank books, 2 balls of recycled silk yarn, 2 balls of eyelash yarn, 2 Nestle cooky bars (one of them... um, vanished before the picture was taken) and 2 scary cute magnets.
There were also quite a few singletons, an instruction book to go with the eyelash yarn, a candle that came in a matching little bag, some tea, some gum, and half of a dark chocolate crunch bar... wait, I think I ate the crunch bar as I opened the package.

The squirrel on the magnets is captioned as saying "I bite," and "I have no excuses for my behavior!" They're perfect warnings for when I'm feeling punchy. I'm less likely to bite physically than verbally, but still... (Kids, don't believe anyone who says words don't hurt. They can and do leave scars...)

The Peacock and I have decided that the eyelash yarn, being nylon, is going to be perfect for an attemt at space dyeing eyelash. Neither of us have tried it before so we may be suprised by the results, but we do know that Lanaset is perfectly happy to dye nylon and it's a nice pale grey that will give us lots of options!

SYNO - Moonlight Madness Received

I got my scarf from PurlyWhites. The pattern is lovelier than I thought it would be, and the finishing work is impeccable. Thank you PurlyWhites!!!



My roomate and I have settled on a truce wherein the scarf belongs to whomever is wearing it at the time. And not a moment too soon, I heard the 'paca bears scheming that if we couldn't sort it out between ourselves, they'd claim it! Bad 'paca bears.

You see it's her yarn. I decided to do this swap if, and only if, I could find yarn from stash, you know, those piles of yarn already living in my house that I'm trying to get used. I was quite close to deciding that I couldn't meet that criteria when she kindly suggested a cotton/tencel blend by Classic Elite from her stash. It was a lovely color and we decided that it could be sent out and we'd determine ownership when the scarf got back.... oops!
Now we're stuck, it's back and we both love it, her yarn, my labor, the only conclusion is to make another one. We have more of the same yarn, but it's in an aqua greenish that doesn't look really good on either of us, so I think we'll have to over dye it. (yay... dye party!)

Wonderfull Weekend at OFFF

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival was lots of fun. We drove down Friday night to stay with one of Shonnon's old friends (and even arrived before midnight).

The next morning Peacock and I went to Vita Cafefor porridge. (I've never eaten there except for breakfast, so I have no comment on most of the dishes reviewed in the linked article). They do wonderfull, slightly odd things for breakfast, I think porridge this time was raisin and macadamia nut in a rice base. I have no recollection of what it was last time, but I think it was something else; rice with nuts and fruits seems to be a reliable expectation.
Then we took the puppy home (he'd behaved perfectly through breakfast), and headed out to Canby for the event.
It was smaller than Blacksheep, marginally less crowded and slightly oddly set up. There were vendors in 5 distinctly different places (the barn, the 4H building, upstairs and downstairs in the other building and outside under tents) and there was no definitive map of where to find any given vendor (well, the information table had one, but you had to go there and ask to flip through the book, so it wasn't convenient).
We were looking forward to the herd-dog demonstrations, and were disappointed that he didn't show up either day, but there was much socializing and shopping and walking (but no woulking (sp??)).

I got lots of neat stuff... Some black raw alpaca that spins up like a dream, sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Mohair locks in red and blue, a bunny hat. The most special purchases were an alpaca teddy bear, and Cheryl Kolander's books (The Silkworker's Notebook, Brilliant Colors with Natural Dyes and HEMP! for Textile Artists).



If my 'paca bear had not been white, I would have carried him around the fair with me. But giving outer expression to my jubilant inner toddler would have put my lovely white alpaca-bear in too much danger of getting dirty, so I packaged him away to be brought back out in the safety of a more controlled environment. During his confinement the 'paca bear got downright possessive of my sock yarn. He's demanding I make him a scarf!