Spring Into Summer Dishcloth Swap

1. When did you learn to knit? Who taught you?

My mother tried to teach me when I was about 4 but I just couldn't get the hang of it. When I was around 17 I bought a video called Keeping You In Stitches and learned from there.

2. What was your very first completed object? Your most recent?

The first thing I ever knit was a beautiful yoke neck cardigan for my son. I loved it. It was white with navy and turquoise in the yoke. I wish I knew where it was today. My most recent completed object is a sock for my hubby.

3. What was the very first thing you sent to the frog pond? (pulled out and started over) Your most recent?

First thing sent to the frog pond was a sock. It visited the pond several times and never made it out alive. Most recent was a shawl that I've still not completed.

4. What is currently on the needles for you?

Lots and lots of socks and about a half dozen sweaters.

5. What types of needles do you enjoy working with? What have you tried and hated?

My favorite needles are Addi Turbos. I love them more than any needle I've ever tried and I use them almost exclusively. I tried some old plastic needles when I first started knitting and I hated them.

6. Have you knit dishcloths before?

Tons! I love knitting and using discloths.

7. What was your favorite one?

The Garterlac Dishcloth by Criminy Jickets.

8. Least favorite?

I can't say that I have a least favorite. I've enjoyed all the patterns I've used.

9. Do you use homemade dishcloths or face cloths yourself, or give them as gifts, or both?

Both. We use nothing but handknit dishcloths and I gift them often. I have some cotton chenille that I still need to knit into facecloths. I think I will be knitting them for the bathroom once the remodel is finished.

10. What are your favorite and least favorite scents? (For your body, such as soap/lotion/etc)

I love fruity scents. Flower scents tend to give me a headache when worn on my body.

11. What are your favorite colors?

Blue is my most favorite color but I also love pink, purple, green, black, and silver. There really aren't any colors that I don't like though.

12. What colors (if any) are your bathroom and kitchen decorated in?

White, blue, and green in the bathroom. The kitchen isn't really decorated as it will be the next room up for remodel. I think it will be hunter green when finished though.

13. What other hobbies and crafts do you enjoy?

I like to crochet and do cross stitch although I've not done either in a very long time.

14. Chocolate: Dark? White? Milk? Ew?

Milk! :-)

15. Do you like salty treats? What kinds?

I love chocolate covered pretzels.

16. If you could go anywhere in the world for one day and spend the day any way you wanted, where would you go and what would you do?

NYC for the biggest stash enhancement shopping trip of all time.

17. Do you have any allergies?

Cigarette smoke and pet dander.

Knitters' Coffee Swap Two

1. Whole bean or ground?

Ground. Unfortunately. I still haven't broke down and bought a darn grinder yet.

2. Fully-loaded or decaf?

Decaf but I like a richer roast.

3. Regular or flavored?

I prefer regular but I also like some flavored coffees. French vanilla is a favorite and there are a few others I've tried that I really liked but can't think of right now. I don't like anything nutty.

4. How do you drink your coffee?

A little cream and one Splenda if it's regular and if it's flavored I just use the Splenda.

5. Favorite coffee ever?

Green Mountain Breakfast Blend.

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?

I definitely prefer Green Mountain and the amazing organic coffee my LYS has but I'm not such a snob that I won't drink Folgers.

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?

Biscotti.

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?

None that I can think of right now. :-)

9. Yarn/fiber you love?

Sock yarn is right up at the top of my list as well as any natural fiber yarn.

10. Yarn/fiber you hate?

Acrylic. Yuck.

11. What's on your needles?

Socks. Socks. Socks. Sweater. Sweater. Socks.

12. Favorite colors?

Blue is my absolute favorite. Then comes pink. Purple. Silver. Black. Green. There really aren't any colors that I hate though. And if I don't like something there's always someone else who will.

13. Allergies?

I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and animal dander. My daughter is asthmatic and cigarette smoke can be quite dangerous for her.

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?

I really love my kiddos and hubby. And knitting. And coffee. And tea. And don't even get me started on things I don't like or that I'd like to get off my chest. LOL

What I Did While I Was On Vacation...

otherwise known as bed rest. :-)

I finished the second Blueberry Waffle sock (on the left in the picture below) I was working in the original hank of Sol Joy.

I also finished the Never Ending Lagoon Sol Joy sock (on the right in the picture below) knit on a size 1 Addi Turbo. Again, I truly don't recommend using a needle this small. Even though the yarn is truly a joy to work with it's heavier weight was quite hard on my hands when knit on a 2.5mm needle. I was incredibly impressed to find that the finished sock weighed in at 2 oz and I had 1.5 oz of yarn left. That's pretty amazing to me. I worked the sock over 68 stitches with a 2" 2x2 cuff and then worked st st for another 5" to make the cuff a total of 7" long. I then worked the heel flap for 44 rows before turning the heel and working the foot until it measured 9" before I started the toe. The total foot length was 11" and fit (although a tad snug) my hubby's size 12 foot. Quite impressive, no?

Birthday Girl

Thanks so much for all the wonderful wishes for a happy birthday! You all made my day! We didn't do anything out of the ordinary last night. Bran was supposed to work so we planned to order dinner out and eat quick so he could get out early. He ended up not having to go until tonight but we still ordered out. :-)

The birthday goodness continued today when I received this awesome package from my secret pal...

I had to hold the baby back from the balloons so I could get a quick picture. She couldn't wait to play with them. She took them into the cellar and pushed them through the cat door. This amused her far longer than I ever anticipated. She giggled like crazy each time she would pop one through the door. Of course we all pretended to be scared and discussed our theory on how the balloons were getting through the door. We all agreed there must have been a huge mouse in the cellar pushing the balloons out. Pal, thanks so much for the hours of amusement!

My wonderful pal also included some gorgeous River Run CTH sock yarn, River Ripple sock pattern, and organic Dove milk chocolate for my amusement. Yum! There was also a great birthday card and a beautiful picture frame which are always desperately needed around here. Thanks so very much pal for such a great package!!! I can't wait to get that CTH on the needles.

I'm hoping I can some how drag this birthday out all week long. ;-)

Happy Birthday

To me! Yup, today's the day. I'm 35. I love birthdays that end in a 0 or 5. They're just so much more exciting than the rest.


Melissa, one of my amazing secret pal participants, sent me this incredible package...



Which when opened turned into this...



A great journal, shopping list, stationary set, and pencil case that is the perfect size for sock projects. THREE fruity scented candles that smell so yummy. GODIVA milk chocolate. 2 skeins of Panda Cotton in gorgeous shades of blue. And a beautiful hand crafted birthday card. Thank you so much for being so thoughtful and generous Melissa! I am so touched.

I also received my Beverage and Knitting swap-bot package from Andi today...

Which turned into this...

A light-up necklace for the 4th. A really cute wind sock that will get hung out at the pool. Some palm tree party picks. A flip flop magnet. Some Zingers tea that I don't think I'll be able to wait until summer to try. An ice cream cone pen. A beautiful butterfly suncatcher with a "wish" charm. A great hand crafted sachet that smells so nice. 2 skeins of gorgeous On-Line sock yarn in cream, blue, and purple. And a really funny birthday card that totally made me crack up! I love everything Andi! I can't wait for summer now.

I had a wonderful day home with the munchkins today. We got 10" of snow and lots of freezing rain during the night so they had a snow day. They made me some great birthday cards and did their best to keep the disagreements to a minimum. Doesn't get any better than that!

Yarn Junkie

I joined the Yarn Junkies swap over on swap-bot last month. The color was purple. This is what I received from my pal Stacy...




A great big hank of BFL in purple and a smaller hank of hand dyed BFL in shades of purple and pink. So pretty! She also included 2 great stitch markers and a blank note card that I believe was also hand crafted which I used the day I received it to send a note to a friend. Thanks so much for the wonderful package Stacy!

The next round is the color red and I can't wait for it to start. Go check it out. It's lots of fun!

A Quick Update...

For all of you wondering where to get the pattern for the Trinity jacket...

Adirondack Yarns

The jacket was designed by Sue (the best owner of the best LYS in the whole entire wide world) and is free when you purchase the yarn to knit the jacket. The kits can be ordered on the website. If you let Sue know you found her through the KAL here she'll give you a 10% discount.

It's a gorgeous jacket and lots of fun to knit. Go ahead, give it a try!

I've been doing lots of knitting since I've been on bed rest for the past week. My left leg started hurting early last week and I kept ignoring it hoping it would go away. By Saturday night I finally admitted to myself that it wasn't going away. I also admitted to Bran that I was pretty sure I had another blood clot. I had a DVT in my right leg and several smaller clots in my lungs almost 16 years ago after having Short Man. As long as I live I'll never forget that pain. So I drove up to the hospital and asked if someone was available to do a doppler on my leg. They called in one of the girls from x-ray and within a minute she had found it. This one is in a superficial vein and doesn't present as much of a risk as the DVT I had previously. Thank goodness. But still, to lessen the slight chance of it breaking free and wandering to my lungs I've been told to stay off my feet, keep my legs elevated, and keep heat on my left leg. I know you're all thinking that this sounds like a knitters dream, but it's really not. My elliptical machine is calling my name. And my ass is numb. I want to play on the computer for more than a few minutes a day. And most importantly, I want to wait on my baby dolls who are home on spring break. I want to play games and run around outside. Yes, I'm whining. I go back for a follow up with the doctor on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that they tell me I can get back on my feetsies. I've got a ton of laundry to catch up on after all.

TriKnitty

I've just finished my third Trinity Jacket. I was at the LYS a few weeks back and a wonderful woman wanted one. I offered to knit it. I took a deep breath and asked what color she wanted. I crossed my fingers. And toes. And hoped it wouldn't be...CHARCOAL. Yup. Another charcoal Trinity. Now don't get me wrong, I love the color. It makes a gorgeous jacket. But I'm really looking forward to working it in a different color.

Here she is before being packed to be shipped off to her new home...

Shelby shared her progress on her blog but I thought I'd share it here too. She said she's made lots more progress and I can't wait to see it. Isn't it the prettiest purple you've ever seen?


And last but definitely not least is Jo in her completed Trinity...

Don't Jo and her Trinity make a very lovely pair?

Polar Treat

Here it is, POLAR, the last new color for Sol Joy. I've had so much fun with this. It's been so exciting to see what new color will pop up each week. I think they're all gorgeous and I hope everyone who has tried Sol Joy loves it as much as I do. :-)



Here's what Shaun had to say...

"Catalina Yarns would like to thank everyone for their wonderful response to Sol Joy. The formal launch of the Sol Joy line will occur later this summer. We will announce the launch on Kerry's blog. Until then, you can still obtain hanks of each color via Adirondack Yarns new retail website. Have a fantastic summer!"

Thanks again for a wonderful time Shaun and Sue!!!

i.m. knittified won the drawing for responding to my plea for design help. Congrats! Drop me an email with your snail mail info and I'll send something yummy your way. :-)

Since I'm on a roll with the drawings I thought I'd do another. Here's the deal...

Drop me a note, either in the comments or by sending an email and tell me what you would do with a hank of Sol Joy. Be funny. Be serious. Be creative. I'll pick my favorite entry at the end of the month and give the winner a chance to have their way with some of this luscious stuff. ;-)

Nothing But Blue Skies...

My package from my FCS2 pal arrived. I couldn't wait to get it in the house and get it opened.

First there was this too cute card about a single sock looking for a mate along with a Go Red pin and information on heart disease. Red is my pals favorite color and the Go Red campaign is something she supports. I thought it was so sweet of her to share a part of herself with me.


I thought I was going to fall over backwards when I started pulling out the packages that were inside. As you can see in the photo above there are some cute sticky notes in the shape of the letter K. Then there was this awesome spa kit with lavender bath salts, a hand crocheted cloth, and an awesome glycerin soap that appears to have oatmeal in it.

Next came this gorgeous little blue box which had 10 beautiful handmade stitch markers and a little blue sewing kit.

And then there were three...

A really cool box with a blue highlighter pen that dispenses sticky flags for keeping my place, a blue crochet hook for the ones that get away, and you can never have too much gorgeous blue Trekking sock yarn.


Two balls of Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in slate blue.


Two candles (lemon mint and mandarin orange) and some blueberry frost body butter to satisfy my fruity obsession.

A scarf. Hand crocheted. For me. In blue. 100% merino wool. What more can I say? It is amazing! It's long enough that I can fold it in half and do the slip through thing I like so much.

And last but certainly not least is the bag all these amazing goodies were packed inside. My new favorite bag. Hand crocheted. In blue.

And lined. FOR ME. By my incredible pal Emilee.

Thank you so very much for the incredible package Emilee!!! You have truly brightened my day!!!

Vote for Me

I’ve cast on a new sock and am trying to decide where I want to go with it. Here’s my quandary…I’m thinking of using a 12 stitch pattern for the new sock with a cast on of 52 stitches. I’d like to use 4 repeats of the stitch pattern. I’ll be working them on one circular so I’ll have 26 stitches on each needle. About half way through the 12 row pattern there is a cable twist at the beginning of the stitch pattern. Since I’ll have 2 extra stitches for each needle should I:

1. Knit those 2 stitches at the beginning of each needle so I don’t have to start with an awkward cable twist at the beginning of the needle?

2. Knit 1 stitch at the beginning of each 12 stitch repeat?

3. Purl the 2 stitches in the middle of the 12 stitch repeat to separate each repeat?

Leave a message in the comments to cast your vote and a prize could be heading your way soon!

The world at your fingertips...

Earth and Sky




Sue's new website is up so you can now place your order online at www.adirondackyarns.com. Since the site is brand new please contact Sue by phone at 518-523-9230 or email if you experience any problems.

What Was The Question?

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I especially love natural fibers and I absolutely despise acrylics. There, I said it. My name is Kerry and I'm a yarn snob.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a great quilted circular needle holder that I store most of my Addi Turbos in. I say most because it is now overflowing. I need another soon but haven't found the right one yet. I like to store them in their original packaging so I need to find something that will allow me to do that. The rest of my circulars are in a three ring binder in sheet protectors. My straights are in a quilted needle roll and my dpns are in a fishing tackle box along with all of my stitch markers and other little doodads. My crochet hooks live in a zippered leather hook case.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for a little more than 20 years now. My mother tried teaching me to knit and crochet when I was about 3. The crochet caught like wild fire but the knitting not so much. Years later I bought a video, Keeping You In Stitches, that I was finally able to learn from. I guess I would probably consider myself to be pushing advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope, sorry.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Anything fruity. I also like most tree scents too. Patchouli makes me sick to my stomach and most floral scents give me a headache.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Do I ever! I love Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs, Trees, and Hearts but don't care much for the cups. I also love the chocolate covered pretzels from our local candy maker. Yum. And thanks to Shelby, I'm totally addicted to Green & Blacks Milk Chocolate bars. :-)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I crochet and do cross stitch although not much at all to speak of these days. I'd love to learn to spin but don't have room for a wheel and can't seem to convince my drop spindle I'm not an idiot.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love country music. Old, new, makes no difference. I've also recently become quite fond of Norah Jones. My computer does play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

My absolute favorite color in the whole entire wide world is blue. Any and all shades. I also love pink, purple, black, and silver. There really aren't any colors that I can't stand though.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my hubby of 6 years, our 3 children (15 yo DS and 11 & 4 yo DDs), our 2 yo Shih Tzu, and our 2 yo cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I would love to wear mittens. In fact, I bought an awesome Fleece Artist mitten kit but haven't had time to get to them yet. They're calling my name all the while my freezing hands swear. I don't wear scarves, hats, or ponchos. I don't wear scarves simply because I don't have any. If I had one I would wear it. I don't wear hats because my hair is bad enough without adding hat head to its list of short comings. As for ponchos, I'm 4'11" and although I've been losing a great amount of weight I'm still not thin...nuff said.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks are my absolute favorite but I've never met a project I didn't like.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Lots of socks, my 3rd Trinity jacket, a sweater for the FIL, 3 sweaters for my youngest DD, and an afghan.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Absolutely!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Addi Turbo circulars, hands down.

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

Both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Can I plead the 5th on this???

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Yarn, needles, and patterns.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

50 baby bootees to knit. I have an IK subscription that expires soon and I'm trying to decide if I want to renew or not. I do this every time my renewal date rolls around. I'm not sure why I struggle with it as much as I do because I know I'm going to end up renewing the damn thing in the end.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I'm ashamed to admit that I've still not tried Moebius.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Am I ever! My feet measure 9.25" long.

23. When is your birthday?

April 16th

There you have it folks. Everything you never wanted to know about me and more. LOL

We Have Some Winners

Susan and Tabitha are the lucky winners of some new Sol Joy sock yarn! You'll all have to start stalking their blogs now to see what they do with it. :-)

Everyone Needs A Little

Romance...



You can reach Sue at 518-523-9230 or you can email her too. She's back from Stitches West and can't wait to fill more orders for this awesome yarn!

Am I blue? Yes, I'm blue.

BlueSteps. Love. It. It reminds me of our pool nestled under the trees in the backyard. Can you tell I'm ready for summer? Like always, you can email Sue or call her at 518-523-9230 if you want some of your very own.

I've decided to extend the drawing until the end of the weekend too so if you want a chance to win a hank of Sol Joy just drop me a note in the comments and tell me what you think the ideal yardage is for a sport weight sock yarn.

Knew Knittin'

I have a ton of things on my must knit list.




This isn't one of them. It is pretty though. Isn't it? It's a little top down sweater for the baby (btw Clara, the baby is now 4 but since she's the youngest she's probably going to be stuck with the title for some time LOL) that I'm working in CTH Potluck Worsted in the Jewels colorway. I cast on Monday evening and this is where I was last night before bed.



This is on the must knit list but isn't going as quickly as the sweater.

It's a Sol Joy sock in the Cold Lagoon colorway. While I'm still absolutely enthralled with this yarn I must admit I don't care for working it on a size 1. I don't think it should be worked on anything smaller than a 2. Maybe even a 3. Ever. Seriously. But since this is an experiment in yardage needed I'm doing it. At least I have an absoutely wonderful yarn to work with.

Speaking of yardage needed, what do you all think is a good yardage amount for a sport weight sock yarn? 310? 350? 400? Leave a note in the comments between now and Friday and tell me what you think the ideal yardage would be and I'll enter you in a drawing for some fabu Sol Joy.

Another KAP Update

Laurie has stalled on her jacket while she's waiting for a replacement needle that splintered and cut her finger. OUCH. Hope it doesn't cut into your knitting time Laurie! :-)



Shelby is waiting for her yarn to arrive so she can get started on hers. I hear she ordered the eggplant. ;-)


Jo posted this to share:

Looks like she'll be wearing hers before she knows it.

I've not heard from Barb. I hope she's doing well. :-)

Me? I finished knitting on Saturday and then attached the collar and seamed the sleeves on Sunday.

I'll be starting a smaller version for the baby soon. Will post pictures as soon as I get going.

RedWood

Here it is, the new Sol Joy for this week...




What do you think? I love it! The little bit of color here and there is fabulous. Call Sue at 518-523-9230 or email her if you'd like some. Go ahead. You know you want to. :-)

You Give Me Fever

Scarlet Rose...



I think I'm in love.

Don't forget, if you'd like to order any of the Sol Joy sock yarns you can call Sue at 518-523-9230 or drop her an email. She's super friendly and will be more than happy to get this yarn in your hands as fast as she can. :-)