Anne the mail - International Scarf Exchange 3

TADA!

My pal's scarf is finished--but not in the mail yet. I am very happy with the blocked results - it was painstaking to block. There are a few doo-dads I want to put into the package and I'll need to bribe my mom to tote me around to find just the right things. I feel fairly safe that I have not prematurely revealed my identity, but will probably not post to ISE3 website until the package has been officially mailed.

In my quest for the 'perfect Anne scarf pattern', I had run across a headband pattern that lends itself well to this yarn. It was boring to make, but only took a few hours yesterday. I could not manage a decent photo of the final product so I am hopeful that my pal will take a pic with it on and I will post it. If it turns out the headbands are not her thing, it could be a cool re-gifted gift.

This has been a wonderful experience that I will definitely enjoy again. I wish I had been as good and frequent of a pal to XXX as my pal - Knit Purl-has been to me. God does truly send us what we need when we need it.

What's next, you ask? Wellllll....I have my OTHER black bunny wild sock to finish and I did get a fieldtrip to a close yarn store this week (it really tired me out, though). I couldn't resist some bright pink-ish Anne by Schaeffer and a skein of La Boheme by Fiesta in color 1114 Clematis and finally, enough yarn to make a felted Foo Foo bag for Bugg's pal Alyssa (top secret color, but it's cool!)

One more shot for the road....

Yikes! Were those Addi turbos?

Check out this cute video - almost 7 minutes, but cute. Makes me think about my knitting obsession (but only for a second)

The Last Knit

The cure for what ails you

You thought my cure is -- yarn, right? Typically, I would have guessed that myself but I am able to gratefully report that it is truly the care, wishes, and prayers of the ones who pray for you.

I am recuperating at home. What is it about the comfort of your own pillow, pj's, or dog laying his/her head on your lap that makes it so much better? (OK, Darby the ever-caring, gentle terrier will lay his head on your lap anytime - Lucy is the terrified terrier and jumps to run after looking me over).

Thank you so much to everyone who has expressed care and concern - I'll be getting to you individually as soon as I am able.

So...on to the yarn. I had strategically placed an order from The Fold and it arrived while I was in the hospital. My wonderful BDCH dutifully trucked the package to my room for me to smell. My Goodness, WHERE did I find this man!!! It has been tucked into the 'yarn vault' for now.

He also brought cards from my pals - Fiber Guru (It does hurt to laugh) and from my scarf exchange pal - Knit Purl. Sue - my 'faraway knit friend' and Melanie, Bugg's friend. Everyone at church and work... I feel so lucky to have everyone to keep me in good spirits.

I have completed a few rows of my Pal's scarf and have been eyeing the Black Bunny sock that is calling for finishing, but progress is slow. I know it is not about the progress - it is about the process and the healing is woven into each stitch.

Black Bunny'in along - fast and wrong

The excitement to receive a package from Black Bunny yesterday was hardly contained!

The yarn was wound within minutes of hitting my door step and I stayed up into the wee hours to produce this much of my sock. I'm not the poster child for swatching so I will be ripping this down to start anew -- but on BIGGER needles!

Seriously, this yarn is such a dream to work with - I don't even mind.

Imagine how much I will have finished at this time tomorrow!

Packages Received!

I'll admit it - I bought this shirt!

A shop we found while on vacation had a few (in tiny sizes). They can be found at Knitiot Design Studio



This shirt came wrapped in a yarn tied bag - how could I resist?



The post office was very good to me today!

I was beginning to worry - with the yarn for my scarf pal and no pattern to swatch it to and a pattern for the Black Bunny Hop-a-long and no yarn...what's a girl to do?

My Black Bunny came - Cornucopia sock yarn is more fantastically wonderful than I could have imagined! A pattern was already chosen - something I'll post later from an old Stahl pamphlet. Admittedly, I did cast on and have the cuff and almost half of the first repeat finished (give me a break, it is a 47 row repeat!)

The laceweight ordered came in the same package (thanks to Carol for saving me postage) The colorway is CopperBeach and it will have to wait in my stash for a bit while the ISE3 scarf and Hop-a-long socks are being finished.

The colors and quality of Black Bunny is incredible and I can't wait to order more. I've already asked for some red/rust/plum in a worsted weight - I have the perfect pattern chosen and can't wait to receive the yarn after it is ready.




Last week I broke down and ordered this yarn from Scout. It was hand dyed especially for me and shipped right out. The colorway is Harlot's Mums. Each skein is 420 yards - I buy 2 of everything!

Scout has a line of Hurricane sock colors - check them out on her site
I will DEFINITELY want to knit with this soon!


Last but not least, I received the pattern for the

I Love My Scarf Exchange Pal!

Your messages are great. I love the chat and feel sorry for the rest of the participants who should be VERY envious. The excitement is nearly uncontainable.

Hope you are able to catch a few winks to make up for your early morning pattern surfing!

My buddy's pattern has been ordered - I have a wierd quirk that entails always buying at least 2 of everything (you would think I'd have grown up during the Depression). I ordered two possible patterns (at least - heh, heh) and some Koigu and Zephyr yarn that I've been hankering for -- I NEEDED to in order to hit the threshold for free shipping.

Yarn is bliss, pure bliss!

Knitting Wicked

...And knit WICKED I did!

The long Labor Day weekend was kind to me and the knitting goals were accomplished - ALL 3, and here are the photos to prove it.

Little Princesses' sweater is awesome. Some pinks and more yellow would have been more girly, but the finished product is pleasing to the eye. It was going to be shipped this week, but there is a little package to go that is very important and the sweater will have to wait.

During my last visit, I promised a shopping trip and Little Princess knows she needs money from her dad...our shopping is delayed so a package will go out - I will make it back as soon as I can.

How cute can those tiny Calvin's be?

To Little Princess: Keep asking your daddy for money, Aunt Kniterella will be there as fast as she can!

Egebo is also FINISHED - with an adjustment to knit the collar on circulars. The plaited cable turned out nicely and is seamless.

With the way our weather is going, it will probably be worn soon and often this season - bah!

Although Branching Out in Pure Silk did not get blocked, all of the stitches are in - I've made this pattern twice and get a little bored with it. It is a good pattern and is excellent for gifting -- IF you can make yourself finish.

Special Note: Blogger is picture upload is working wonderfully today, the sun is shining - life is good

Mitzi traveled to an Art Fair this summer and thought of me while she was there. She found a scrumptious knitter pin - there was only one left - and she got it for ME! How lucky am I? Good knitting friends are a staple of life and Mitzi is the best!

My far away friend, Sue, might want to nab a few of these for Christmas gifts for her knitting girls!

They have all different hobbies and professions on their site and the craftsmanship is excellent. Most of the photos are of earrings, but you should be able to order the pin if you prefer.

Shout out to Fiber Guru! Theresa FINALLY has an 'official handle' and she hasn't made an appearance on my blog for awhile. She has been wicked busy running to market to purchase loads of good things for Needleworking and gearing up for the holidays (you can't stitch a gift overnight, can you?...) She is teaching on Tuesdays (ha ha, I will see her today!) and her classes are always entertaining. Check out her most recent newsletter and don't forget to sign up for her mailing list!

----I'm off to create something amazing and beautiful!

Knitting Slump? and Tennis

As I labored through the 2nd sleeve of Little Princesses' sweater yesterday, reality hit that I'm in the 'knitting slump'. I am a finishing knitter and have few UFO's - which means I am pretty strict with myself about how many projects I will cast-on before finishing up works in process.

The entrelac sweater will be blocked today and will be a quick sew-up; put on the neck ribbing and it's ready to go.



Branching out which I cast-on during knitacation is nearly finished. I decided to use the entire 2 skeins of the Pure Silk to increase the length.

Egebo is still sitting on the corner of my desk HAUNTING me! It's true, I feel it's presence RIGHT THIS VERY MOMENT - it justs need sewn together - it's been blocked - arggg!

These 3 things must be completed for me to be in tip-top Scarf Exchange conditioning - By the end of the weekend (long) I will have them complete!




Off the subject:
Did you see Agassi's match last night? Oh my gosh, it was FANTASTIC! Wouldn't it be fabulous if he could retire on top? Well, at least make it to the final match? His opponents are being boo-ed and it seems the entire stadium is filled when he plays. Go Andre, we're rootin' for you!