Happy Yarny New Year 2011!

More posts coming when I have to get back to a real life schedule again in a few days.  ;)

My First Swap

With a title like that I feel like the whole post should be in primary colors with rounded corners, but then my brain is just a little fried from a stressful week.

I haven't had as much knitting time lately and a lot of the recent knitting time was devoted to a test knitting project.  Said test knitting is now finished, but I haven't checked with the designer to see if I can post photos or discuss it yet, so it's staying hidden for now.

But I have a hard time posting without any photos, so there's this:

The contents of the package I received from my first swap!  The paper in the lower right is a note from the sender and the eyeballs in the center are candles.  The bunch of peanut butter cups aren’t Reese’s, so I’m assuming they're something local to the sender, and the cute mouse is a toy meant for my kitties.  Under the mouse is a cute reporter-style notebook and pen, and the package in the center has HiyaHiya Puppy Snips -- a knitting tool that I had never heard of but is tiny, useful, and adorable!  I probably wouldn't have picked either of the yarns for myself (which is half the fun of the swap idea), but I really like both and I haven’t tried either brand yet, so there's also two new yarns to look forward to.

So the swap was a total success for me, but that's only half of the swap.  I sent out a swap package, too, but to a different person than who sent to me.  It's a swap with fans of the Dizzy Sheep site with just a loose set of guidlines:

the “rules” (pretty flexible - more like guidelines)

1. stash-diving is applauded/encouraged (but you can purchase new yarn if you would prefer)
   
2. MSRP range for yarn is $15-$20 (but if you want to clear out more stash no one is going to stop you!)
   
3. yarn doesn’t have to initially have come from dizzy (but who doesn’t have more yarn from dizzy than they have plans for?) if you clear out non-dizzy yarn you just have room to buy more right?
   
4. including additional small items (esp dizzy themed items and fall/halloween - dizzy tricks and treats etc!) is encouraged.
   
5. Have fun and get creative (esp w/ rule number 4!)
   

And I'm pretty sure my swap "target" is out of town, so I won't know how my package went over for a while.  It was a fun way to destash some yarn and I hope she likes it, but either way it will probably be my last swap, at least for a while.  I found it hard to figure out what to send, how much to spend -- I know it will all work out well enough, but I was stressing about it more than I expected.  So: generally positive experience, fun to try, the stress wasn't really the fault of the swap itself, but not something I'll jump back into right away.

Stitches Midwest 2010: Yarn Purchases

I'm just not quite with it yet this week, so I don't really have new project photos to share or stories rattling around in my head.  But since we were focused while we were still at Stitches, I do have photos of some purchases.  For today, I'll just let them do their own talking.

Fiddlehead Mittens kit - Greens

dipped infinity scarf kit -Blues

We were at Stitches

There was some unintentional blog silence while Xandermommy and I were at Stitches again this year. We just got caught up in things and actually spent very little time in our room other than when we were sleeping. We were on the go a lot and rarely near a computer and didn't even spend a lot of time knitting!

We did end up with a nice room at the end of the hall that was very quiet, which was definitely nice, and we ended up with views like this:

Saturday night

Sunday Morning

Although most of our view was more like this:

Still with a view of Ikea

And after our daily visit to the market on Saturday, the view inside the room was a bit like this:

Combined Stitches Midwest 2010 score!

Not quite the pile we had last year, but certainly nothing to sneeze at.  We were well within budget the first couple of days, even if we might not have quite ended that way when we packed up and headed for home.  We both found things we were specifically looking for and plenty of things that jumped out at us when we saw them.

And it was nice to get home around 5 PM this year, since we both had to roll out of bed and get to work this morning.  Back to the normal schedule that doesn't revolve around constant exposure to knitters and yarn.

Yarn Prize

I finished my Devon socks for the Sock Innovation Knit-Along in May and actually won one of the prizes for the month!  (Any socks entered as finished for the month are included in a drawing by random number generator to determine who wins a prize.)

I was out of town when they announced that I won, but soon found out that I would receive yarn from LittleFreak Yarns.  I was anticipating a lovely skein of a new yarn I hadn't tried before, so I was truly surprised when this arrived last week:

4 skeins!

Not one but four lovely new yarns to try!

LittleSocks by LittleFreak Yarns -a Fingering / 4 ply of 75% Wool, 25% Nylon (my skein was labeled as 440 yards)

Cody

Alaska Souvenirs

I don't go out of my way to buy yarn everywhere I go, but when we were wandering through the tourist shops in Skagway and happened upon the Qiviut Boutique I did take a look.  I mean, it's a shop targeting tourists so it's not likely to be the cheapest, but there was a chance that the Qiviuk there would be a little less expensive than what finds it's way further south to things like Stitches Midwest, right?  Yeah, it seems that pure Qiviuk is rare enough that it's expensive pretty much everywhere.  But they did have two baskets full of a few colors of a blend that was discontinued and although I left them behind at first I did end up going back to the shop to bring a few home with me before we left.

15% Qiviuk, 80% Merino, 5% Mulberry Silk

Like any discount basket, it was full of odd colors that probably weren't the first to sell -- some pale lime green and sort of rosy peachy pinks, but there were a couple that were more neutral.  I hesitated between the pale grey and the natural and finally settled on the natural.  I didn't really want to try to mix and match colors when I wasn't sure what project I would use them for or what yardage I would need.

And different ball bands had different yardage info, so I'm not entirely sure exactly how much I have.  Some bands said 144.94, some said 217 yards, some had 217 yards and were crossed out or taped over with 144.94, and Ravelry claims 217 yards.  So I have somewhere between 434.82 and 651 yards, either of which seemed plenty for something light and soft, so I decided not to worry about it.

I have a feeling these might turn into some sort of loose scarf someday, but I'm not ready to get to that just yet.  For now the yarn itself is the souvenir.

Thrill of the Chase

Although I've had a couple of projects finished for about a month now, I haven't marked them as fully complete or showcased them here because they've been wallowing in a hidden corner awaiting a good soak and some blocking.  Like this cashmere scarf:

It's been finished and off the needles for a while now, but it's delicate cashmere and it's going to require some time to pin out all the points to block it properly, so it's been lost in the shuffle.  And so the only photo I have is from months ago when I was just starting it.

In the meantime I've been working on other things and trying to make my way through some of my stash.  I've been better about avoiding the more common yarns, on sale or not, but still occasionally sucked into the thrill of nabbing some yarn that's hard to get.  Which explains multiple posts about Wollmeise, but also this fellow:

Wexford Merino Silk - Orchard

A one of a kind colorway from Three Irish Girls from a Carpe Yarnem stocking at the Yarnista blog.  I haven't tried any Three Irish Girls yarn yet (purchase justification point #1) and I happened to be at a computer and fast enough to order one skein when the stocking happened (purchase justification point #2).  There are very few skeins and an announced time, so just being at a computer isn't enough, there's also the luck of being fast enough to check out with something before someone else gets it (I've failed on the second part during a different Carpe Yarnem stocking before).

Much like the Wollmeise situation, I tell myself that now that I have something from an update I no longer need to watch the updates or purchase from them when I happen to catch them.  Until I knit with the yarn I already bought from an update.  (Believe it or not, I have already managed to watch a couple of Wollmeise updates without buying anything while reminding myself of this!)

So I'm thinking this vibrant yarn needs to become a simple, squishy scarf to showcase my unique single skein.  It's summer and I might not jump on knitting a scarf right away, but that's what Mr. Orchard is earmarked for barring some other genius idea or suggestion.  Anyone?

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Yellow Brick Road

My Woolgirl Oz Club kit arrived last week, this time with a Yellow Brick Road theme.  Fortunately it arrived earlier than usual this time and that means it was delivered before the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

This time there are just larger bags, which is great for me -- a reusable Wizard of Oz shopping tote and a smaller reversible yellow brick road tote with chocolate brown handles and interior.  There's another small metal tin, a "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" pen, and three sticky note pads, including one to help announce a future optional kit for the Wicked Witch of the West with the phrase "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?".  The adorable picture in the lower right is actually a stack of cute note cards and matching envelopes.

The delicious yarn:

It's Yarn Daze Yucatan, a wonderfully soft and squishy DK weight in a blend of Merino and Cashmere; so soft!  And fortunately the yarn is a nice golden yellow that nicely matches expectations for the Yellow Brick Road, so no repeats of the Ruby Slippers kit disappointment.

I am personally entertained at how excited Tin Man looks about the yarn and pattern in this photo:

The pattern has a plain cuff and leg with a road running across the top of the foot from the heel gusset pick-ups to the toe.  At first glance I'm a little concerned about the fit -- a plain stockinette leg with 66 stitches instead of the usual 64 for fingering weight with this heavier yarn make it seem like it might be baggy around the leg and ankles.  It looks like a straight forward pattern otherwise, but because of the size concerns I might not cast on for these until I have time to try them on often as I'm working to fuss with the fit and adjust that part of the pattern, if necessary.

It's a lovely kit with temptingly soft yarn, so I'm looking forward to knitting some amazingly cushy socks!

Knitting the Stitches

I've been amassing too much stash and with a new year comes a new Stitches Midwest and more yarn temptation.  We haven't booked anything or scheduled any classes yet, but at least Xandermommy and I are still planning to attend.

Most of my Stitches Midwest 2009 stash

But months ago, when we started talking about it again, I made the rule that I wasn't allowed to go back this year unless I knit some of the yarn I bought there last year.  I did start my Nonpariel sweater back in February and made a lot of good progress on it, but it's been stalled for a few weeks since it reached the seaming stage.  I am trying to make myself finish it by setting a goal for the end of the month, though.

In the meantime, I felt the need for a simpler project that was easier to travel with and had an easily memorized pattern.  Since my stash is almost entirely sock yarn, socks were an obvious answer.

Miss Babs Yummy in Wisteria and Yummy Toes in Bruin

Rare Gem Socks

Before I caught a Wollmeise shop update I bought a sock kit from Yarnissima, partly under the assumption that it would be the most likely way to try out some Wollmeise yarn and partly because her patterns looked fascinating.

 

Of course, once I read a bit about it on Ravelry I found that at least some people thought the particular pattern I had chosen was one of her most complicated.  I'm not that easily daunted and I really wanted to try knitting with some Wollmeise, but I was also feeling like I'd been knitting too much for myself and was overdue for making some socks for my Mr. Wonderful.  So since I already had yarn set aside for him but hadn't settled on a pattern, I decided it was perfect timing to try out a simpler Yarnissima pattern to get used to her style of sock construction before jumping into the spina di pesce kit.

And so I made my first socks with some of my Rare Gems Mill Ends from the Once in a Blue Moon sale:

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Easter hustle and bustle delayed me, but the We're Not In Kansas Anymore kit arrived late last week and is ready for viewing now...

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

I now have so many little notions/change purse style bags that I have no idea what to do with them, but I was very pleased to see the larger project bag that was included!  There's also a sturdy travel mug, a small "What I Dreamt" notebook, a "We're not in Kansas anymore..." button attached to a keychain, and a small square pendant with a dog tag style chain.

The little button in the lower left is actually a small magnet attached to a card announcing the optional Glinda kit coming up this summer.  I'm sure it will shock the die-hard Woolgirl kit collectors, but I'll probably skip it.  I still haven't made myself go back to the pink yarn from the ruby slippers kit, so I don't really need more pink and everything in the Glinda kit is sure to be as pink as you can get.  Good for others, not good for me.

Again, I didn't get a photo of the pattern, but it has a lovely twisted stitch cuff atop an otherwise lacy sock.  It looks like the lace pattern continues into the heel and toe, but I'm not sure yet whether I'll follow that part of the pattern or modify it.

The yarn is a nice, squishy yarn from Mama Llama -- Perfect Sock, 100% Superwash Merino.  It seems to qualify as Sport weight, but it doesn't feel particularly heavy to me.  Of course, I just finished working on socks with Socks That Rock in Mediumweight, so that may have biased me a bit.

I really like that it's not a true solid brown -- my skein has sections of russet and greenish hues, so I look forward to seeing how it will knit up.

And of course there's another adorable tiny stitch marker to add to my collection.  I definitely don't use safety pins as stitch markers anymore!

Since I just finished some socks for my Mr. Wonderful (they went straight on his feet, so I don't have finished photos to share yet) and I'm struggling to make myself want to knit the Enchanted Forest socks (dark green, splitty yarn on US1 needles with lots of cables to emphasize the constant splitting), I wound this new yarn and cast on for the first sock last night.  I've barely started, but I like what I've seen of the twisted stitch pattern so far and I'm hoping the sizing works out on my Signature stiletto DPNs.

There are/were many distractions, but the sock knitting continues!

Yarn Score - Package 2

My second Wollmeise grab bag arrived late last week -- a Kunterbunt 80/20 Twin with 5 skeins in a 80% superwash merino/20% nylon mix.  I retrieved them from the bag they arrived in one by one for the surprise of it all and was really pleased with every one.

They're all marked as "We're Different", meaning they don't live up to the colorway they were based on originally for whatever reason, but I'll list their colorway inspiration here from left to right:

• Strohblume (strawflower/immortelle) 
• Feuerwanze (Firebug, June Bug) 
• Merlot 
• Im Jahr der Ratte (“In the year of the rat”) 
• Neptun

The Im Jahr der Ratte has a bit of a blue tinge to it that's hard to see in the photo, and it might be destined for some sort of colorwork project with the Neptun because they seem to really compliment each other well. Otherwise, I don't have a set project for these little beauties yet.

I was itching to cast on with some Wollmeise to see how it knits up, but I couldn't quite decide what they were destined to be, so instead I started some overdue socks for my husband in some of the Socks That Rock - Rare Gems Mill Ends that caught his eye.

They've been great knitting therapy so far, but more on those later.

Yarn Score

Wollmeise.

Yes, I scored some of the highly prized (on Ravelry, anyway) yarn from Germany.  Last year it seemed, at least to a casual observer like me, that the shop was updated roughly once a week and often in the wee hours on Friday mornings for those of us in Eastern Daylight Time.  Totally understandable since the shop is in Germany, but I was never ambitious enough to get up around 2 a.m. before work on Friday morning and stay up for at least an hour or two for a chance at maybe, possibly snagging some yarn.

Recently, though, there have been some updates at a more reasonable EST time on Saturday mornings, and a couple of weekends ago I was actually at the computer to see one in action.  So I bought a couple of grab bags, the first of which I claimed from the Post Office yesterday afternoon - a bag with a pair of 100% Merino superwash skeins in "harmonic shades".

I feel lucky that my random skeins included such beautiful blues and jewel tones!

The other grab bag shipped the same day, but hasn't arrived yet, perhaps because it's larger.  It's advertised as "All in a tumble! Mixed colourways, not matching" and will include 5 skeins in a 80% superwash merino/20% nylon mix instead.

And yes, my yarn stash is already overflowing, so I won't be sitting with a laptop every Saturday stalking the site for updates.  This one Saturday score will give me plenty of Wollmeise yarn to sample and to test the feel of the yarn.  The colors are beautiful, but since I won't get all of these skeins knit up right away I'm resisting the urge keep trying for more just because they're hard to get... at least for now.  I really need to knit more and shop less, but there are so many beautiful skeins out there!

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Ruby Slippers

The Ruby Slippers kit arrived at the end of last week, so it's time to share.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

Still wrapped up:

It arrived packed in a larger box this time, so I wasn't sure what swag to expect.

Unpacked:

I didn't get a photo of the pattern this time, but it includes beads on top of the sparkly yarn, so flashy socks.

This time the bag is more of a black vinyl makeup case with ruby slippers sparkling on the front of it.  I can't see myself using it for knitting really, so it's going in the pile of swag for kids to play with.  The elongated slipper fabric case, though, is a small DPN case with divided pockets inside.  That will certainly see some use, as will the Oz Club fob with the small crochet hook attached, which will be nice to include in smaller project bags for fixing mistakes.

There's also another Oz-themed bookmark hidden behind the yarn in the photo and another great notepad, this time with Dorothy's Shopping List!

TIN MAN: Oil Change
LION: Catnip
SCARECROW: Encyclopedia
TOTO: Pooper Scooper
WICKED WITCH: Valium

Again, probably my favorite part of the whole kit.

The stuffed Dorothy bag is apparently a lavender sachet -- not something easily recognizable for an Anosmic like me, but according to Woolgirl it was intended to grace our sock drawers to help keep pesky moths away.

And the yarn/stitch marker close-up:

Amazing that it includes the tiny ruby sparkling glitter!

Now I know you can't please everyone all of the time, but I have to admit I was really disappointed by the yarn in this kit.  As Xandermommy can attest from our shopping at Stitches Midwest, I'm often drawn to shades of red and of all of the kits listed for the Oz Club, Ruby Slippers seemed to promise a gorgeous red.  So while this is a lovely base yarn and the silver sparkles are totally fitting, the color is really mostly a dusty rose and not even what I would consider a light red.  It's my own fault for having any expectations at all, I suppose, but it's the first time that I have an Oz kit that I don't really want to cast on at all.

So, rather than trying to force myself to want to knit the Ruby Slippers socks, I'm going to put them in time out for awhile.  I still have ambitions to knit every Oz kit, but I'm not sure when I'll be over the disappointment and ready to come back to these.  At this point I think I might go back to the Enchanted Forest socks that got pushed aside when I wasn't quite keeping up with a new kit every month, although I'm working on finishing up my first Socks That Rock socks first.

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Toto

I didn't quite finish my Cowardly Lion socks before Toto ran up to my doorstep, but it was close and they're finished now. But, since I don't have photos of the finished pair yet and Toto arrived a few days ago I'm going to go ahead and show the new kit now with updates on the finished knits later.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The overall shot:

This kit included 2 bags, and happily for me one of them is actually big enough to accommodate a sock project! The lovely Toto yarn is already happily stored in the rainbow bag just waiting for me to cast on. The smaller notions bag is also really cute and made of a sturdy canvas fabric.

Now usually the little stitch marker is a front-runner for the favorite item in the kit, and the Toto stitch marker is no exception, but this kit has additional contenders. First of all, it was tied shut with the cute rubber Toto keychain attached. But my definite favorite for this kit is actually the notepad!

Dear Dorothy: Hate Oz, took the shoes, find your own way home.

Love it!

Now here's a little close-up of some Toto items and a glimpse at the pattern:

Although I know some people weren't looking forward to grey yarn, I have a lot of bright socks and was looking forward to something neutral for a change and was elated to find that it was Miss Babs yarn in the new Windsor base that includes a bit of nylon. Awesome!

And as Xandermommy pointed out, one sock in the pattern photo is neatly striped but the other appears to have pooled/flashed a lot, so there's no telling what the yarn will do with the pattern until I get a chance to try it out.

And of course I have to include a close-up of Toto himself:

Love his little tongue sticking out, of course!

I do have another set of socks in progress with only one finished so far, so I'm not sure how long I'll wait to cast these on, but I'll definitely be tempted to cast them on some night soon even if I don't get to work on them exclusively for a while.

There's one more kit due to ship in January, then the club shifts back to an every other month schedule until the end of the year. There are still a lot of Oz knits and posts to come!

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Cowardly Lion

This kit shipped a bit late, so although it's marked as the November kit it didn't arrive until the second week of December. Then, since daylight outside of standard working hours is hard to come by this time of year, I didn't get it photographed until this weekend. But before it gets lost in the shuffle of Holiday activities, here it is!

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The overall shot:

Lots of Cowardly Lion swag, including bookmarks, magnets, and a notebook with a Cowardly Lion cover. This time there are some items themed on the illustrations from the book, too, and not just from the movie - little charms and a couple of round glass magnets.

Here's a little close-up of the charms:

The sock pattern is from Irishgirlieknits and although it looks pretty simple the cuff looks interesting and it looks like it will show off the lovely yarn well. This time we have Union Center Knits Whatnot Sock in fingering weight and I love the variation of colors in the skein with hints of russet brown and green.

And probably the best of all of the little goodies:

The super-adorable stitch marker lion holding his little tail -- I'm always amazed people can craft such tiny things with so much detail!

Now since I finished my knit-along socks last night I don't have any socks in progress at the moment, so these might leap-frog the Enchanted Forest socks and get cast on next. My last couple of pairs of socks have been knit with such dark yarn that the lion color looks much more cheery and appealing to me at the moment.

Due to the aforementioned issues with finding daylight the pictures have been slower in coming lately, but look for updates on the knit-along socks and some holiday knits before too, too long.

Bags of Knit

Much like Woot, Dizzy Sheep is a site that offers a deal a day and when things sell out then that's it until midnight brings the next deal. On occasion, both sites offer a mystery deal - a bag of something you buy sight unseen that will likely be worth at least what you paid for it, maybe more, but may also be something you would never have bought for yourself. The yarn-related "Bag of Knit" seems more like a sure thing, since it's almost guaranteed to be useful for some project, but there is the possibility of getting novelty yarn or colors you hate, so it's still a gamble. Of course, some people gets skeins of lovely cashmere, too, so you just hope you're one of the lucky ones.

So when Thanksgiving rolled around and I was still up at midnight to check the Daily Dizzy Deal, I scored 4 bags of knit. A bit excessive, I know, but I'm not always near a computer when the BoKs appear and the chances of getting something awesome seem better when you get more than 1 chance, so I splurged. Anyway, here they are in the order I opened them:

First, 2 skeins of Bristol Yarn Gallery Ashton in black Lovely DK weight, 8 ply Wool, Silk, and Alpaca. Lucky so far!

Next, 1 skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in black and 1 skein of Karabella Lace Mohair in black
Yum, Alpaca and huh... Mohair. I suppose bundling them together means Dizzy thinks I should make something that uses both yarns in the same project, but I've never worked with Mohair before so we'll see. But they're both lovely and soft - so far so good...

Next, Karabella Gossamer in a maroon-ish color with red metallicHaha, there it is, the reason I try to get more than one! It's obviously an expensive yarn, just not one I'd ever pick for myself. No idea what to do with this one, but I love red and it might work for something festive for the holidays, though maybe not something to wear.

And finally, a Bully Woolies Knit Kit in a Box for a Coin Purse.Cute and unexpected! I think it might be similar to something Sariebeth found sometime around Christmas last year, too, so maybe we can get a tiny ludistitch knit-a-long going.

All in all, I was really, really lucky! All of the black is great, even if there's some lace weight stuff in there that I'm not sure what to do with yet. Having someone pick things randomly for you is definitely a way to try to force you to use new kinds of yarn, so I'll see if I can't work some of the Bag of Knit items into some projects in the queue soon. Not that I needed more yarn, but these were some fun little pre-Christmas surprises.

P.S. We need to encourage Xandermommy and Sariebeth to come out of hiding and post again before the year is up! C'mon fellow ludistitchers, there's less than 30 days left in 2009!

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Enchanted Forest/Flying Monkeys

The next kit in my Woolgirl Oz sock club arrived on Monday, this time themed for the Enchanted Forest/Flying Monkeys. It's the first of my Oz kits to arrive before I finished knitting the previous one - partly because I started knitting a sweater and partly because the kits are now coming monthly instead of every other month until the end of the year.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

So here it is all wrapped up like a gift:

And here it is unpacked:

Again, the included bag is a bit small to hold an entire ball/cake of sock yarn, but large enough for the rest of what came with the kit. I admit that on that point I've been disappointed with the kits so far. I only need so many small bags for tiny notions and things, but I could really use some that were big enough to hold a sock project while in progress. At least they've all been unique and of different shapes and styles, though.

The Oz pill box is divided into thirds inside, which although tiny will probably good for keeping stitch markers. The "Don't make me get the Flying Monkeys" button is actually a mirror on the back, which is fun. But my favorite accessory might be the little plastic boxy looking thing with colored circles - it holds a full-width post-it pad on one side and then a rainbow of post-it tabs on the other. Awesome! (Post-it tabs are things I've seen other people put to good use before but haven't yet tried. Now I have no excuse not to.)

This time there weren't quite as many goodies, but twice the yarn and 3 patterns!

There's a full-size sock pattern for the forest yarn (Curious Creek Wasonga), and both a Flying Monkey anklet and Flying Monkey fingerless mitts pattern for the Mama Llama DK. Now I'm not a huge fan of pink and I don't think it quite fits with the Flying Monkeys theme (I think they have more red than pink), but I think the anklet pattern looks fun and it will probably be what I cast on first. (Especially since my size 1 sock needles are still in use for the Emerald City socks, doh!)

But , it's getting to be that busy time of year again and so this is the first of my Oz kits that I haven't cast on within the first few days. I just have too many things going on so I'm not exactly sure when I'll get to them. My flying monkey isn't happy about it, but he's just going to have to wait his turn.

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Emerald City

The next kit in my Woolgirl Oz sock club has arrived, this time themed for the Emerald City. It also marks the start of a new Oz kit every month! Most of the year the club is on an every other month basis, but starting with this kit there will be one every month from September (this one was late and shipped in Oct., but was listed as a Sept. kit) through January. I seriously need to learn to knit a lot faster!

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

So here it is all wrapped up like a gift:

And here it is unpacked:

The green corduroy fabric is a zippered bag from Sheila D - a bit small to hold an entire ball/cake of sock yarn, but large enough for the rest of what came with the kit. There's also another nice pen, this time with an appropriate green highlighter on top. The little Emerald City stitch marker is adorably detailed and was obviously a labor of love, and the Emerald City tin is going to be great for keeping track of little knitting accessories.

Although I held out the first night, I was anxious to try the Madelinetosh tosh sock yarn and cast on the next night (although this photo includes progress from a few nights):

I was also looking forward to trying my new Kollage square metal sock needles. I bought a set of US size 1 in anticipation of needing them for one of the Oz kits since some of the fingering weight sock yarn seems to require tiny needles. I already like working with them, but this pattern has been going really slowly for me. I think it's partly the tiny needles and partly the fact that I've acquired so much yarn in my stash and feel like I'm not knitting nearly fast enough.

But I'm trying to avoid burning myself out so I've been working on my first adult-sized sweater, too. It's nice to be able to switch to bigger needles and an easy pattern that doesn't require a lot of concentration on charts. I don't think these socks will be all that complicated, just a long labor of love. Plus, there's the possibility of some fall knits that might steal my attention, too, so we'll see.

Too Quiet

It might be noticeable that although I did manage to get through all of my Stitches recap, things have since stalled and it seems that none of us have anything to blog about. But it's not true.

There hasn't been a complete lack of knitting - I've finished a new pair of socks and started the second sock of a pair that has been waiting in the wings too long - there's just been a lack of photographic proof. I've been traveling on the weekend and much busier after work than usual and by the time I have a little spare time before bed I sit down for a quick bit of knitting instead of snapping photos of said knitting.

But, there is the promise of a little more spare time on the horizon, so I predict new knitting photos soon...ish. After all, there are more Woolgirl sock kits (both in hand and on their way) and even the start of my very first sweater attempt, just waiting at home for me to have time to pose them and give them their proper photo shoots. In the meantime, here's a random yarn photo and a reminder of ambitions to keep working through the stash!