I found it and I was right! It was already wound and was at the very bottom of my sock yarn stash.
Here are the vital statistics:
The Great Adirondack Yarn Company
Silky Sock 70% merino, 20% silk, 10% nylon superwash
Parakeet
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Category: Knitting
Works in progress, finished objects, yarn, patterns
Yippee, WIPW 02/06/13 and a Stash Dive
YIPPEE!
Thanks Mollie aka deepbluerenegade for making me the winner of your 100 Blog Posts contest. I opted for a $10.00 gift card from Mr. Yarn and plan to use this to feed my Shibui Sock addiction. I’ll make my final decision sometime today and get it posted to share the yarny love. I love me some contests!
THE GRANDS
I found this cute pic when I hacked into visited Mr. Iknead’s Shutterfly stuff. I’m a Flickr-phile myself so every so often I check out his Shutterfly to see if I’ve missed something. Here’s this week’s fave –
I love the way the Papoose has her chin in her hand, it seems to be such a “big girl” attitude and the way Babydiva is looking at her, little girl learning from big girl. So cute!
WARNING! STASH DIVING CAN BE HAZARDOUS!
Earlier this week, I got it into my head that I’d misplaced a skein of really expensive (for me) sock yarn and since I didn’t have any socks on the needles, decided I couldn’t go one more minute without getting a pair started and absolutely, positively couldn’t use anything but the misplaced yarn. Naturally, this meant turning my yarn stash upside down, digging feverishly, just knowing it had to be in the next box or bin or bag. Didn’t find it. Looked under furniture. Didn’t find it. Looked in the stash overflow area. Didn’t find it. Instead, this is what I did find – balls and skeins and hanks of yarn that I, either intentionally or unintentionally, had forgotten and this is why organizing/reorganizing your stash can be hazardous – you get caught up in one of two reactions or at least, I did. The “what was I thinking??” reaction or the “OMG, I love this stuff! How could it have been languishing all this time??” When this happens, all work comes to a screeching halt and for the next little while, I’m looking, remembering, fondling and running to Mr. Iknead repeatedly showing him the treasures I’ve found. Mr. Iknead’s enthusiasm for this is so low as to be nonexistent, by the way.
OK, back on track. Anyhow, last night I figured out why, after multiple searches, this yarn is still MIA. It’s because it’s been wound already and I’ve been looking for a hank. I even remember winding it. Today I’m going to search again, but for the correct shape and I bet I find it right away. This yarn has nearly reached “Holy Grail” status in my single minded obsession to find it. Is that odd?
ON THE NEEDLES
Here’s what I’ve accomplished on the Etched Rio Wrap so far, when I wasn’t turning my stash upside down (see above).
I love the color of this Metalico yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, a pinky-gold.
BY THE BOOK
I’m currenting listening to A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Strangely enough, I learned about this book while watching one of those sort of embarrassing shows on the I.D. channel. You know the ones, with bad reenactments and strange voice overs. The author committed suicide back in the early 1970s and after his death, his family found this unpublished novel hidden away, sent it to a publisher and, bang, a bestseller. Interesting book, interesting back story.
Don’t forget to visit Tami Amis blog and Small Things Yarn Along for more WIPW goodness!
Man’s mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
Score!!
WHAT’S UP
On a whim this morning, I stopped in at TJ Maxx , mostly because I’m looking for a sort of duffle/overnight/weekender bag that doesn’t scream ugly gym bag when I carry it. I’ve justified needing one because I’m keeping the road hot between my house in Little Rock and the grands’ house in Stuttgart. I want something at least a little girly and just big enough for a couple of clothes changes and my bathroom/makeup gear. Of course, since I have champagne taste on a beer budget, my ideal bag probably doesn’t exist but I’m going to keep looking.
Making the circuit at TJM, I found the toy department (I didn’t know they had toys) and scored some awesome good deals. I think the most expensive one was a Leap Frog Xylophone for $11.00 that I can picture the grands banging on even as I blog. I checked and yes, it does have an off button. The grands are coming for a visit this weekend, I can’t wait to show them the new stuff! Check it out –
HAPPY THING
OK, I might be the only person on the planet who thinks this is so great. Mr. Iknead finally figured out how to use the wireless thingy on our printer. “Why are you so excited?”, you might ask. I’m excited because I can now print patterns and what ever else my little heart desires FROM THE COMFORT OF MY CHAIR IN THE DEN, IN FRONT OF THE FIRE, WITH MY KNITTING! Now if I could just figure out how to get the copies without moving out of my chair, life would be pretty close to perfect. I think I need to buy more printer paper. As Martha would say, “It’s a good thing”.
Strong people make as many mistakes as weak people. Difference is that strong people admit their mistakes, laugh at them, learn from them. That is how they become strong. Richard Needham
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
How Much Is Too Much?
I was poking around in the spare bedroom looking for a misplaced knitting needle and uncovered this –
Mind you, this is in addition to the yarn room stash. I must have planned on knitting something red, ya think? Oh, and I found the needle.
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. Henry D. Thoreau
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
Hit and Run, FOF 02/01/13
OFF THE NEEDLES
They’re finished! The Phloem Socks are finished, with ends woven in, tried on, pictures taken and finally, shown off for this week’s FO Friday.
This one shows a little more detail. Turned out well, I think.
ALMOST ON THE NEEDLES
OK, let’s see –
Towels in dryer – check
Beds made – check
Banana bread in oven – check
Fire started – check
Fancy coffee in cup – check
Dishwasher loaded and running – check
I swatched my newest project last night, Etched Rio Wrap in Metalico Gold Dust, got close enough to gauge, wound the six skeins and I’m good to go. I love the excitement of a new project, this must be what opening night on Broadway feels like! Oooh, there’s my cue!
Sorry about the hit and run blog style this week, I know you understand, it being a new project and all.
What lights a fire under you? Shopping for yarn? Looking at patterns? Winding? Admiring someone else’s project? I’d love to know!
Head on over to Tamis Amis for lots more FOF love.
Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Demosthenes
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
WIP Wednesday 1/30/13
ON THE NEEDLES
I’m still plugging along on the Phloem Socks but on the home stretch for the second of the pair. I really love this pattern and so it will probably show up again on the needles at some point. Hopefully I’ll have it completed tonight, I so want to start the Etched Rio Wrap, I can hardly contain myself. Jeez Louise! I ran out to get a quick pic in natural light and it’s windy and cold. I bet the neighbors across the back think I’m nuts. This is what I imagine is going through their heads, “She takes pictures of YARN, for heaven’s sake. WHO does THAT?”
Phloem Socks from Knitty, Spring 2012
IN AND OUT OF THE OVEN
I made Snickerdoodle bread Monday evening as a special request from Mr. Iknead. My recipe makes two loaves, a good thing since one gets eaten up pretty much as soon as it comes out of the oven. It’s addictive, this stuff. Here’s how it goes:
SNICKERDOODLE BREAD
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. sour cream
1 pkg. Hershey’s cinnamon chips
TOPPING
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.
3. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.
4. Add cinnamon chips and stir into batter.
5. Spoon batter into two regular sized loaf pans (about 2/3 full)
6. Mix 3 tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan.
7. Bake at 350 until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan.
Recipe from Kristyn (Lil’ Luna) on Pinterest – Thanks
NOTE: If you have trouble finding the cinnamon chips, (like me) in the store, there are several recipes online to make them at
home.
Go to Tamis Amis for more great WIPs.
ANSWER TO WHO DOES THAT QUESTION: Fiber fiends, that’s who! ; )
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
Mission Accomplished, After a Fashion
WHAT’S UP
I just spent at least an hour trying to get a new widget on my Iknead2knit blog, but it was like pulling teeth. For all intents and purposes, I’m computer illiterate. I can follow directions, but I have no idea why or what makes everything work. Consequently, it takes forever for me to finally put the right stuff, in the right place and in the right order to make things happen, but this is totally by trial and error, with me trying out different combinations of what, where and why before I hit the jackpot. I do have An Idiot’s Guide To WordPress which is of some help, but is somewhat outdated. Anyway, I finally got it and for my trouble, I have a pretty little periwinkle Yarn-Along widget residing in the Iknead2knit sidebar now. Nice, don’t you think?
BY THE BOOK
I finally finished Michael Hyatt‘s book, Platform – Get Noticed in a Noisy World and it was fabulous. It’s mostly geared to building an Internet platform to promote a product or service, but he has a lot of practical advice for bloggers who want to promote their blog and increase readership. I got a lot of practical information and even better, it’s an easy, interesting read in a format that didn’t get so technical as to being off-putting. Great book!
Next up will be Pam Belluck’s Island Practice. I can’t wait to get started!
THE GRANDS
Bigdaddy and Bigmommy came to visit over the weekend with the Papoose and the Sprout and did we ever have fun. That is, until the middle of the night, when the Sprout decided after her 3 a.m feeding that no, she absolutely, positively DID NOT want to go back to bed and made her statement in screams so high pitched that only dogs could hear. Poor Bigdaddy and Mommy were a little frayed at the edges as she has been doing this for the past month or so (she’s only four months old) and, of course, all the commotion wakes up the Papoose. Then, they have two unhappy babies going at the same time and then stuff just sort of snowballs. Mr Iknead and I were able to lend a hand so Bigmommy could catch up a little bit on the sleep she’s been missing, but, being a mommy also means that you’re never really “off duty”, and sleep with at least one eye and one ear open all the time. They know perfectly well that this won’t last forever but at 3 a.m., it’s hard to remember this and not get discouraged and frustrated. Ah yes, the joys of young parenthood…. FLASH FLASH FLASH I just received a message from Bigmommy practically shouting “She slept from 10:30 p.m. last night to 8 a.m. this morning!” They tried a different swaddle and it worked! Bigmommy says she feels like a different woman today! Hurray!!!
Reformed Sleep Thief (we hope)
I love the way she smiles with her whole face!
POP THE QUESTION
What’s your go-to for a good night’s sleep?
If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
My Winter Tonic
TRENDING NOW (what’s that mean anyway?)
Any time one of us had the droops or doldrums, especially in winter, my grandmother always said we needed a tonic. She never gave us a tonic, just said one was needed, which was probably a good thing since when I hear the word tonic, I think of cod liver or castor oil, both of which are off the scale on the official Disgust-O-Meter. My own personal winter tonic is this:
Take one cold and cloudy day
Add a nice fire and some knitting
Mix in a couple of grands, chocolate milk and cookies
Monitor closely as not to miss anything
and
Watch your contentment rise
Repeat as often as necessary
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
The Papoose Gives the Sprout a Clean Bill of Health
ON THE NEEDLES
I’ve done very little knitting the last day or so, still working on the second Phloem Sock; I did remember that I promised a quick show and tell of the Metalico yarn that The Yarn Mart ordered for me and it’s more beautiful than I remembered –
Here are the stats:
Metalico
50% baby Alpaca and 50% raw silk
All natural/No dyes
Gold Dust
This is going to transform into Sarah Smuland’s Etched Rio Wrap and I can’t wait to get started. The softness and shimmer of this yarn is amazing. Check out the Blue Sky Alpaca website for a look at the pattern.
POP THE QUESTION
What’s your favorite winter tonic?
The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment. Tony Robbins
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
Get your WIP, Get your WIP Wednesday here! – 1/23/13
ON THE NEEDLES
This week’s WIP Wednesday offering is the second Phloem sock from Knitty, using Shibui Sock that I’ve named Sand and Sky. I loved the way the first sock took shape, with a botanical bent and so I was probably a tad bit over confident when I cast on the second. I just dove right in, not an unusual plan for me. After all, I finally had the pattern down and what the stitch key showed, right? So, last night, about two inches into it, I went back just to review something in the pattern and noticed that I’d completely forgotten to do the cuff. I waffled about just forging ahead and pretending it was OK but I just couldn’t, I knew it would bug me just knowing it was supposed to have a cuff but didn’t, so I frogged and started over. I can rest easy now. Yes, sometimes I tend to have a perfectionistic streak a mile wide and sometimes it serves me well, like last night. So here’s the do-over.
THE GRANDS
Remember Babysis, the Papoose’s baby sister? Well, I changed her name from Babysis to Alfalfa Sprout, as in Our Gang/The Little Rascals. She has a huge, no holds barred cowlick on the crown of her head that is so freakin’ cute I almost can’t stand it. I just thought that Sprout was a better fit than Babysis. See what I mean?
I wasn’t kidding, was I?
THE GREAT WASHING MACHING CRISIS
It’s over, it’s really, finally over – at least until another appliance gives up the ghost. Got my new, fancy washing machine delivered and hooked up. I think I did at least 15 loads that first day. Man, does laundry pile up or what?! Mr. Iknead laughed when I took a picture to share. I think he thinks posting pictures of washing machines is a little odd, but I tend to blog things that I’m happy about and things that interest me and I’m definitely both about my new washer. I think it’s very handsome, myself. To each his own.
NOT ON THE NEEDLES, YET
The Yarn Mart just called and said my special order yarn, Metalico Gold Dust, has arrived so I’m hot-footing over to pick it up. Pictures and description later, it’s calling my name.
Want more WIP Wednesday? Check out Tami’s Amis, you can’t miss.
You never truly understand something, until you can explain it to your grandmother. Albert Einstein
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
Blue Monday?
IS IT REALLY?
I read a Facebook post this morning naming today as “Blue Monday“. Since I’d never heard of this before today, a quick Wiki search yielded this, “Blue Monday is a name given to a date in mid-to-late January stated, as part of a publicity campaign by Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year. However, the whole concept is considered pseudoscience, with its formula derided by scientists as nonsense.” Thanks Wiki, I owe you one.
BY THE BOOK
I’ve several “balls in the air” as far as reading goes. I’m listening to two very different books, one of which is Shirley Jackson‘s Haunting of Hill House, an old school horror story and Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist, by Paul Linde. I call the Shirley Jackson book old school because, at least so far, it relies on the setting, the reactions of the characters and creepy foreshadowing to send chills up the spine, instead of blood, guts and over-the-top violence found in a lot of current horror stories. I suppose what I’m really trying to say is that the creepiness of Hill House is psychological, with ideas that hook themselves in your head, that can’t be shaken, becoming more and more poisonous, malignant and frightening as time goes by. I’m telling you, it’s creepy.
I FIXED IT!
So, I had this crocheted, summery sweater that I loved and the last time I wanted to wear it, I noticed that it had a huge ladder across the back, where apparently a stitch had come undone or dropped or some such thing. I temporarily arrested it with a safety pin and put it aside with the promise to myself that I’d give it a good look, figure out where the problem arose and fix it. Today I gave it the look I’d promised, decided it was similar enough to a dropped stitch when knitting to try the crochet hook method, and IT WORKED. It really, really WORKED! It’s not perfect but it’s so much better than it was, I’m really rather proud of myself. Take a look and tell me what you think.
Before
After
Yep, more than a little proud of myself.
One joy dispels a hundred cares. Confucious
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
FO Friday 01/18/13
ON AND OFF THE NEEDLES
This week’s FO Friday is Meg White’s Cabled Hat, a free Ravelry pattern. Turned out right nice as a friend of mine would say.
A quick knit, with just enough fiddliness to keep me interested. I think the yarn is some I picked up at Hobby Lobby a while back, I Love This Yarn 100% wool. Due to our (Mr. Iknead’s and mine) new austerity plan, I’m working toward losing at least a little of my yarn snobbiness. I’m trying as hard as I can to bring Mr. Iknead, a very thrifty (read tightwad) guy over to the dark side, knitting him a pair of soft, warm, merino socks, I think it might be working. The upshot of this plan is that in order for me to be able to stay home, baking and knitting, I have to scale back on some things, like high end sock yarn. Ouch.
I’m still working on the Phloem socks using a happy discovery of two hanks of beautiful Shibui Sock that I found during a stash dive. Hopefully by the next FO Friday, I’ll have them ready to wear. I loves me some Shibui!
BY THE BOOK
Another casualty opportunity to cut back is with my book and audiobook habit. I downgraded my Audible membership and have been using our local library instead. I love the downloadables, both e-books and audios and I’m nearly always at the ten book limit at any given time. One I’m listening to now is Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psy.chiatrist, by Paul R. Linde. Fascinating.
IN THE OVEN
Have butter and eggs sitting out, getting ready to make Sour Cream Pound Cake, a recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, a wedding gift 33 years ago. It’s been well used and well loved, judging from the stains and sticky stuff between the pages and is the first cookbook I grab when thinking about what to have for supper or what to bake when my sweet tooth kicks in. A classic and a favorite.
Check out Tami Amis blog for more FO Friday goodness.
Simplicity is the key to brilliance. Bruce Lee
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To Share Is Human
To Share Is Human
WIP Wednesday 01/16/13 and Home Again
ON THE NEEDLES
Here’s my current WIP for this week. This sock actually started out a really fiddly Celtic cable, but after about five rounds, I knew it was way over the top too fiddly to work on while visiting the Stuttgart grands, sent it to the frog pond and restarted, this time on Rachel Coopey’s Phloem, from Knitty Spring/Summer 2012. It’s also fairly fiddly but doesn’t require a cable needle, a definite plus when keeping company with a very curious and busy two year old.
The yarn is one I ran across while stash diving looking for a good take-along project for my Stuttgart visit. It’s Shibui 100% superwash merino, color 6001 and since I believe everything should have a real name, not just a number, I’m calling it Sand and Sky. Nice, I think.
BACK IN THE NEST
Bigmommy brought me back home this morning and as much fun as I had with the babies over the past few days, it sure is good to be back. Back where my chair is dented in all the right places, my pillow is always perfect and I know where the toilet paper is kept. Funny what things make homes homey, isn’t it?
THE CRISIS CONTINUES
The great washing machine crisis is now in its fifth day and I don’t mind telling you that the laundry has somehow learned to multiply and seems to be doubling itself by the hour. Really though, the new kid on the block is to be delivered and hooked up between three and five o’clock this afternoon. I’m thinking positive and have already separated darks from lights, delicates from heavy duty and hand knits get to solo. No unintentional felting allowed, zero, zip, zilch, none, not on my watch, nope.
Don’t forget to check out Tami Ami’s blog for more awesome WIPs.
It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
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mud&string 