OMG BLOG UPDATE!!! Image Heavy

First, gratuitous pictures of our trip to NC for Thanksgiving:

It was really too cold to go in the water, but that didn't stop Rach and I from going in up to our waists! Oh I LOVE the beach!!!
This is Arden's shawl all done (and in time for X-mas too!) modeled by my lovely girlfriend Rachel. And yes, that is a giant ceramic badger in the lower left corner. Rach loves badgers the way I love llamas and she made it in her Handforming Clay Studio. Leila is poking about in the bottom right there.
Here are my Mom's Monkey Socks all complete. (Thanks Mom for the picture):

These are my Dad's socks.For some reason the first one self-striped beautifully (it was not self-striping yarn) and the second one refused! I cast it on and ripped it out 6 or 7 times before my Dad said I should just knit them and get it over with. Sorry these were late Daddy!(Thanks again to my Mom for the picture):

My Mom has been inspired by the handknit socks I made them and has picked back up her knitting needles after many years away from them. She had never knit socks but I showed her how to make a baby bootie with a heel flap and gusset and she's been feverishly knitting socks for her and Dad since!!! Yay someone to enable and share fibery goodness with!! I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog but my Mom is my best friend and I call her and talk with her every day, so it's exciting to have her as a knitting buddy too! (Like we really needed more to chatter on about!)

Speaking of Mom, she bought me some stash when we went yarn store crawling in Buffalo this January during their visit to buy my laptop (SQUEEE!! I love my new MacBook more than life itself...and it's purple!!!::licks laptop::) I've never tried Flat Feet and I was helping my Mom pick out her first sock yarn ever, so she get me this as a pressie!!!

At this point, chronologically speaking, my life blew up. With the help of my parents I decided to leave school and pursue other things. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but my parents were beyond amazing about it!! I have mental health disorders (those who get squeamish about such things can scroll down, there are more pretty pictures to come) and I've taken time off of school before to deal with them and come back and it was just not working out. I was stagnating there, and using it as an excuse not to grow. I may go back someday, I may not, but for now I am focusing on new endeavors and it has really been good for me!

I still am going to keep the new endeavor a bit secret until I know more, but stay tuned!

I had a spinning swap in January for which I spun this lovely batt from Crystal Creek Fibers (nice transition huh?):

It turned into this yarn: (Photo compliments of my swap partner Hattie because I forgot to take any ::headesk::

 I received this lovely skein in exchange (I don't normally like glitz but this is quite subtle and nice):

I spun up another Crystal Creek Fiber batt (I adore her batts!!) for myself. This is the single, I'll probably do a 2-ply.

These are Mark's Slytherin socks that I just finished (sorry for the lateness Mark!) I'd never done two colors before and I had to wing the heel a bit. If I do another pair with accent heels I'll start further up the heel flap with the color change, do a peasant heel or do toe-up.

This is what I'm spinning right now. The amazing BFL I picked up at the Knox Farm Fiber Festival this fall. I'm going to handpaint it when I'm done.

I still need to make Rach's holiday socks (it's a good thing she loves me), but I need to order size  1 1/2 needles from Knit Picks.

I also need to make my sister's 80's Glam Rock Legwarmers (she asked for them, what can I say, we were children of the 80's) and a BSJ for a friend of the family who is due in April (yikes!). I don't have the yarn (or the money for the yarn) right now so I'm kinda stuck on those.

I'm making the Putting on the Ritz Legwarmers from Knit Picks (these are actually cool legwarmers, not the cheezy 80's kind) for myself and I am done with one. I still need to seam it and I need buttons.

Whew, so much to update on. Hopefully my blog posts will become more frequent again and I promise I'll let you in on my secret soon!!

Finished Socks-New Socks-Stash

The 80's Glam Rock Socks are done!!!



I found out a few things knitting these:

1. I enjoy Kitchener stitching way more than most people.

2. I don't have the willpower to make it through a sock with a peasant heel without picking up the stitches and knitting the heel (in fact I barely made it halfway down the foot each time).

3. I like heel flaps better because it breaks up the monotony of the leg and foot on a stockinette sock. (Again, no willpower with the peasant or afterthought heel)

4. I like the star toe (I might go back and Kitchener the toes on these though because they're just gathered and I want the durability of the Kitchener stitching).

5. My socks are the coolest things ever!!!!


Moving on to pair #3:

I am knitting Coggie A.'s Monkey pattern in Knit Picks Imagination. The colorway is Lost Boys. I'm only down the cuff so I haven't taken pictures yet but here's the yarn:


Some new stash (more sock yarn...and there's more in the mail):

Yarn Lust's Silk Sock in Peacock:


Yeah, my family is getting socks for the holidays. So far I have yarn set aside for Rach and my Mom, but now my Mom convinced me to knit a pair for my Dad too (size 12/13 wide feet!!!). My Sister wants a pair for her Birthday (end of January) and my friend Mark wants Slytherin-colored socks that he may or may not be getting for the holidays.
Ack!
I'm going to be a sock-knitting fool for the next 2 months (well, 3 counting my Sister's B-Day pair and probably Mark's pair).

Happy Daylight Savings everyone!! Enjoy that extra hour of knitting or sleep or whatever you use it for!!

FO's and Help From Orpheus

These are pictures of our kitty Orpheus helping me block Rach's Yule/4-year Anniversary scarf. This is the first project I've ever blocked and boy it's times like these that I'm glad I'm also a quilter, because I've got plenty of rust-proof pins! I finished both scarves on time; sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but school has been pretty busy already.

Awwww...look at him, he thinks he's so helpful!!





Here is Orpheus' Yule present, already a bit chewed.


Here is my sister's Birthday scarf being blocked:

Also a closeup:

I'm pretty satisfied with how both scarves turned out, although Rach's scarf resisted my blocking and has started to curl up again grrr!!

Recent Completed Projects

These are some scarves I recently finished. The first two are made with novelty yarn using single crochet and a size P hook.

The orange and green scarf is worsted weight yarn made with treble crochet and a size K hook; the green edging is done in treble crochet clusters.

A Blog is Born

I have finally broken down and joined the age of the blog. Who knew it would be a traditional craft/art form that would persuade me to it! I have known how to crochet for many years but until recently had never felt the urge to plumb the depths of possibility crochet holds. Now it seems that the drive to explore this fiber art is well on its way to obsession. This blog will serve as a networking tool and showcase for my WIP's and completed crochet projects, as well as any other tidbits I throw in.

Starting right off, here is my very first amigurumi:


This adorable cephalopod is not my pattern but a slight adaptation of PepperKitty's original creation. I made this for a friend of the family's 4-month-old daughter for the winter holiday.

Yarn Used:
Red Heart Soft Baby (In Lilac and Fresh Mint)
Black Worsted (For eyes)