Holiday Questions ~

Here's a holiday question for you ~ What do you do when you have several projects still waiting to be finished before the Christmas deadline, and you have less than seven days to finish them?Here's another question ~ What do you do when you keep casting on projects in your sleep? OK, let me clarify, not "casting on while you are asleep" but dreaming about casting on projects, with yarn that you truly have, and patterns that you really like.....waking up and you are certain that you've cast on, and those projects are nearby....hmmmmm...Try this one ~ What do you do when you have 3 skeins of Natural Dye Studio yarn that have patiently been waiting to be cast on...plus Signature Needles that are empty and whispering to be used?These are the questions I'm asking.....

Sweet Pea Silk ~

The Sweet Pea silk from The Natural Dye Studio is lovely to work with. The colors are amazing and the yarn is oh-so-soft and smooth. Knitting this silk with the Signature Needles is a lovely matching, and I'm enjoying this Birthday Shawl knitting.The directions for this pattern are a bit trickier for knitting in a group, but so far I've done OK...but I do not want to mess up on this one!

Birthday cast on ~

Since I have to work on my birthday (I know, it seems to be unfair, however I am very very grateful to have a job...just wanted to get that up front) I've been worried about my annual, "Cast on a project on my birthday" as then I can refer to it as my Birthday Socks or Birthday Scarf or Birthday whatever.... So far I've done that here and here and here....seems to be mostly socks....Here is my birthday shawl that I've cast on, early, I know, but I thought I needed to be sure to have a birthday cast on before my work day.....This is that wonderful Natural Dye Studio yarn, 100% silk, Precious and I love it! The shawl pattern is called Crow Prints, and I saw it on a knitter while at Madrona Fiber Arts ~ her shawl was beautiful, so I added it to my wish list! (I'm thinking I need to cast on some Birthday socks this weekend!)

International special ~

There are some yarns that are always special to a knitter. Often, it is the yarn that takes the knitter out of the "acrylic at box stores" into the brave new world of natural fibers. What a delightful and wondrous leap that is. Yarn from The Natural Dye Studios fits into that category for me. Internationally made, so that gives it that extra special je ne sais quoi... I've made several projects out of this amazing yarn here and here are just two, plus talked about it here....... When I found out that JitteryKnitter was going to vacation in the same land where this lovely yarn is made, I asked if she could look for some, any kind would do....just some that came directly from its homeland...and being the bestest friend ever, this is what she brought me....Yes, it is sooooooo lovely, and 100% silk.......mouth watering colors called Sweet Pea....The bag is delightful too - how lovely it would be to Knit London, but perhaps someday. I'm now looking for a pattern for this amazing treasure....stay tuned!

Discontinued, really?

Do you ever find the most perfect yarn, after looking high and low, north and south...and knit several projects with happy success...only to find it is now discontinued? Some of my favorite favorite yarns are made by Natural Dye Studios, and I found out they are now discontinued.I was able to find two skeins for U.S. sale on Ravelry, but the others for sale are only in Europe.I will really miss this yarn! The colors are perfectly lovely and saturated, the yarn is soft and springy, and I'm oh-so-sad that it is not being made anymore!I am posting these thoughts about UK yarn in honor of Jitteryknitter who is now on her way there!!! Enjoy!!

More Christmas Gifts ~

I have to show this great picture of how excited someone can be over hand knit alpaca socks. They turned out so beautifully, and are now appreciated very much, indeed!

Great holiday surprise ~ H received two pair of hand knit socks from me!!

Sox on the plane ~

Flying back home gave me some time to work on my alpaca socks. I am at the gusset now, and knit about an inch on the plane during the four hour plane trip.

It has been a long time since I've knit on these....


Why do socks take so long for me, when the podcasters I listen to finish them in days?
~~~~~

The Winner is.....

Monkey Socks by Cookie A. This is the pattern that Rockin13 daughter picked for her yellow alpaca silk sock cuffs. I remembered the pattern as I was running this morning, listening to the DoubleKnit podcast. They mentioned a pattern by Cookie A. and it clicked that my 2007 Birthday socks (pictured here) were knit with deep cherry merino wool from Dye Studios in England using the Monkey Socks pattern. This was a great pattern and I am happy that this is the lucky winner of the "cuffs for alpaca silk" competition!

As the Heel Turns....

Using Queen Kahuna's wonderful method, both heels are turned! I turned one last night during and after Monday Night Football. I turned the second one tonight in much less time ~ perhaps due to less distractions and interruptions? These fun socks are now ready for a delightful cuff pattern, chosen by my sweet Rockin13 daughter. She has picked the same pattern as my 2007 Birthday socks out of deep cherry merino from Dye Studios in England... and I will have to find the pattern I used... as I do not remember which one it was! The 2007 socks are beautiful, I will have to check to see if I have posted a picture of those, as I finished them this year....