Feeling Better. . .

I am finally feeling better and my cold sore is almost completely gone. Everything else is healing up nicely. I was excused for the first week of performances for Fuddy Meers and just laid around and let Boy do most things. =P I did it for him back in December. He was great about going and getting food, drinks, etc. So sweet of him. =) I am done with run-crew now!!!!! CELEBRATE!!
Boy is back in New Jersey for two weeks and I miss him terribly. It's amazing how I got so used to him being around.
But it's not all bad, this is what I woke up to yesterday. Cute eh?

I haven't really been knitting much lately because I just wasn't in the mood while being sick. It kind of sucked because now I feel behind in my plans of holiday knitting and marina's socks, etc.
Below are Boy's socks. I finally started the second one. it's a really easy knit, I just have to force myself to do it.

I also started a plain vanilla toe-up for myself in my handgefaerbt.com yarn. The colourway is Raptor's Tower. I think she may play World of Warcraft. . .

I also need some help. I don't like the yarn i originally chose for my mom's socks. Help me! Below are some selections I;ve come up with. One is a handspun given to me by Sarah of bellaknitting.com, one is STR lightweight in Knitters without borders, the other is Cascade Heritage. Which do you think?

I also need some help choosing here also. I hate the Lion Brand sock yarn. it's horrible! I pulled some other yarns for my brother's gf Alicia. She lovespink. The skein in the back is some I dyed up and named after her WoW character, the self striping is Vesper yarn and the pink is Koigu that I was about to get rid of. Which do you guys think I should use?

And this is what I fell asleep to after I dragged out all of the yarn and knitting. . .yeah, the face says it all.

Bed Rest and lots of fluids. . .

Yes, I am posting for the second time today. I went to my doctor's appointment today and was told I need bed rest and also to drink tons of fluid. I have been running on gatorade and powerade with the occasional tea. Boy is nice enough to go out and get me a tea from Starbucks and also get me dinner. Of course he's driving my car and using up my gas. I'll forgive him because I am on strict orders that I'm really not allowed to leave my apartment for the fear of being seen by someone I work run-crew with. That order came from my parents and I agree with them. I'm glad I have the time off to get better. I do have a bed-mate to keep me company. His picture is below:

Here is a picture of boy's first sock. As you can probably tell, it's too big for me (the toe is standing up on it's own). He loves it and the colourway. The yarn is STR Mediumweight in Lucy in the Sky. He likes blue. . .

I hate being sick. . .

I had a sore throat on Wednesday because of my post nasal drip. I knew thats what caused it, but when I woke up yesterday I felt like I was dying. I could barely move and was coughing up a storm. I called my dad and told him what is wrong, I also looked up the symptoms of a sinus infection and it at times fit the bill. I'm taking cough syrup, my dad prescribed me and bactrim for now. I'm going to be checked out today at 1:30. The sucky thing is that I still have to work run crew. Last night I was released early because I was so sick and I have been excused from working the rest of the weekend because I received a doctors note. Oh! And on top of being sick, I have a cold sore on my upper lip also. Life is so grand, isn't it? Boy has been helping me by getting food and cleaning the apartment while I'm ill. It is greatly appreciated. This morning I woke up and was losing my voice.
I finished my first pair of toe ups and to be honest, I like it more compared to cuff down because the socks hug my foot better. I also have had a problem with the heel of my cuff down socks slipping while walking. These socks turned out gorgeous!

I also started Boy's second attempt at socks. The first sock pictured below is actually finished, but because I'm sick, I haven't had the energy to cast on the second. He really likes the first one and it fits perfectly. I knit most of it during run crew, so knowing it fits perfectly feels awesome!

I bought 3 skeins of yarn from handgefaerbt.com. It finally came today. The yarn is gorgeous and soft. I love her yarn base. I bought it in Green Elve, Dark Elve and Raptors Tower. I can't wait to cast on with it. =) She also added another skein in with the package. It's super soft superwash merino. Love it!

Below is a picture of all of the finished yarn I've dyed so far. Unfortunately, dying has come to a halt because of my illness. I hope to resume shortly, or when I don't feel like I'm coughing up my insides everytime. I doubt I'm contagious, but we'll see.

Yay yarn. . .

My life has been dying, sleeping, eating, and more dying. Below is a colourway that I made for Stitches this year. It's called Cocoa Swirl.

Below is a sample of my new lace weight, 45% merino, 55% silk. The colourway is Witching Hour. I like how it's come out so far. It contains 900 yards each skein. I have yet to come up with a price though.

We have my mom's sock. The yarn is Tempted Glam Girl in Roxanne. I'm not really liking how it's knitting up, it has a felted look to it. I assume thats from the silk content.

More holiday knitting. My dad's socks will be knit out of my Wollmeise Amazonas. The cotton will be knit into dish cloths for my grandma, if and when I get to them. I have 3 skeins.

I will also finish the second Ohio State sock for my dad. I knit the first one over a year ago. . . .

And the Dying Begins. . .

I have over a month until Stitches Midwest, but it would be nice to get the dying done this month. It hasn't been as stressful as last year's because I now have my Fricke and I've cut down on how many variegating yarns I produce.
Below is today's dying. We have Sex Kitten and Camo Girl. I'm starting with 5 of each colourway and then moving up when I know how many skeins I have total. I am only taking two base yarns this year, Celtic and Woodland. My Woodland yarn is on it's way here. I am also going to be trying a lace weight soon.

I have been experimenting with the roving I have. I've finally made the decision to dye it. Oh fun. . . LoL

I have put Boy to work. I showed him how to work the Fricke, how many yards go in each skein, how to tie the yarn and where to place it. Below is most of his progress. Impressive eh? These skeins are just waiting to be dyed.

I frogged the other toe up sock for multiple reasons:
1. I didn't like the colour.
2. I didn't like the non-existent pooling
3. While working on run-crew we only have black lights backstage and the dark yarn made me think I was going blind.
I started over on Friday with Hazel Knits Artisan Yarn in High ocTANG. I'm liking how this is coming out. Some of the heel stitches are looser than I'd like, but oh well. Next time. It's more snug than my cuff down socks and because I wear a size 10 1/2 to 11, I'm always afraid of running out of yarn. Not anymore. =P


OOOO and I'm off until next Friday. YAY!!!!

Goodies!!

I finally took another step in my yarn business and purchased printed cards instead of printing bands. The bands were becoming expensive and took forever! This way all I have to do is write (hoping soon print) the colourway names on the cards. Below are pictures of them. Tell me what you think?

A close up.

I have started my first EVER toe up sock. Yes, I am a sad one. I've been knitting socks for quite a while and never could figure out the whole toe up thing. =/ I used This Tutorial and used it for the toe and will also use it for the heel. This is the easiest and most understandable way to do short rows for me. It's in plain english. . .thankfully! The yarn is Plymouth Happy Feet. I'm not very fond of how the yarn is pooling, or not pooling, but oh well. I've started it and might as well finish it.

I have also added to my stash, like I need more yarn. I bought another skein of Hazel Knits yarns because the stuff is just addicting! I also purchased some Cascade Heritage. I've read great reviews about it and had to try it myself. Everyone knows that when you buy a skein of yarn in a solid, you need to buy another skein. I ended up with 4. =/

Below is a picture of 12 of my new colourways that are currently up in the shop. the colourways will remain at least until Stitches Midwest is over. I will be helping Toni at The Fold again and my yarns will also be for sale at her booth. Thanks Toni!

Ahh. . .Holiday Knitting. . .

Yes, I said it. It's July and I have until Thanksgiving to finish all of my projects. Most people will be receiving socks or a hat. My dad will hopefully be receiving a sweater and socks. We shall see if that is a little over ambitious for me. Below is a picture of most of the sock yarn that hopefully by November will be in the actual shape of socks. We shall see.
The red Sparkly yarn (Tempted Glam Girl inRoxanne) is for my mom, the green STR being knit into Brigid's is for my sister, the purple and yellow (spunky eclectic) is for my grandma, the yellow is for my grandpa, the Numma Numma is for my brother, the pink is for my brother's girlfriend, and the other green ones ended up being for me. Not pictured: boy's STR in Lucy in the Sky in mediumweight, dad's sweater, and cascade heritage that is still in the mail.

Here is a close up of the Toasty and Glam Girl yarns. This was my first order from Loopyewe.com.

Below we have three beautiful balls of merino/mohair blend fiber from the Spunky Eclectic fiber club. It;s beautiful when it's in a ball, but when I drafted it and started spinning it, YUCK. The balls of fiber are not the same and it looks bad being spun because the colors don't blend well. =( So sad, such soft fiber too.

Sign-ups for the next MacKintosh Yarns Sock Club are up in my etsy store. This is limited to 25 members. The sign-up will be up until August. Thank-you!