Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm cooking on Thanksgiving for the first time (just for Josh and me). On the menu is Alton Brown's city ham, creamy mashed potatoes, whiskey-glazed carrots, and the ubiquitous green bean casserole. For dessert I'm making key lime bars and a Tollhouse pie. (Yes, I realize that two desserts for two people is kind of ridiculous, but we've gotta have choices, people.)

Today is my final furlough day of the year for work (and I hope it's my final furlough day ever). I'm going to spend it doing some cooking prep and knitting, of course. I'm on my final pair of Christmas socks (my brother's). And a few days ago, in a fit of temptation, I cast on for a Mara shawl in Noro Silk Garden Lite:



It's quite lovely but I'm trying to resist the temptation of working on it again until I finish my brother's socks.

The past two Thanksgivings have not been especially happy for me (thanks to various things happening in my life right around Turkey Day), but I'm so relieved to say that in spite of losing my granddad two months ago, and not being with my family in Ohio, this will be a happy holiday for me. I'm feeling very, very fortunate this year.

So happy Thanksgiving, everyone! May it be a lovely day for you all.

My yarn-cation

Really, my vacation could be called a yarn-cation. When I packed my very full suitcase for our trip, I thought "how am I going to fit yarn in here, too?" But it all worked out somehow.

First LYS I visited was Tricoter in Seattle. I wanted to visit Tricoter because it's the only store in Seattle to carry Blue Moon Fiber Arts. We had to drive there from downtown but found it easily with the GPS. It was a very busy place - there must've been half a dozen knitters sitting around tables in the front, knitting and chatting away. But ... no one greeted me. I wandered around, looking for the Socks that Rock, which wasn't easy to spot because everything is arranged by color in the perimeter of the store - lovely to look at, but it makes finding a specific brand or weight of yarn a bit difficult. I made several loops of the perimeter, still didn't spot it, and was about to give up when I noticed some bins near the register that had sock yarn in it. Success! The prices were a bit higher than I expected but eventually a clerk came up to me and told me that everything in the store was 15% off because of the recession. Well, that's cool. Here's what I ended up with:

STR lightweight in Seal Rock:


STR lightweight in Tricoter:


STR lightweight in The Claw:


As I was browsing the sock yarn, I deduced from the conversation that one of the women sitting at the front and knitting actually worked there. But she didn't offer to help as I wandered around with a quizzical look on my face. And the knitters at tables made it hard to get to some of the yarn for sale. It takes a lot for me to be disappointed in a shopping experience (I always give the benefit of the doubt), but I have to say that the Yelp reviews for this store seem to be accurate. Normally, if I feel I've had poor customer service, I won't spend money at the business. But on vacation -- and at one of the few stores that carry my favorite brand of yarn -- I am not about to do that.

On the upside, I met a really nice Raveler and we talked about her Cotty socks in progress and pooling. I wish I had caught her name! I think she was in the Socks that Rock group, too ...

Later that day, I passed up the chance to go to So Much Yarn in Seattle **as we walked by the building.** That takes major restraint, doesn't it??



A few days later, I hit up Coastal Yarns in Cannon Beach, Oregon. They had a great selection of BMFA (including non-sock yarn) and I chatted with the shop owner, who has a sister in Virginia Beach. Small world!



I ended up getting these goodies:

STR lightweight in ST-1 (perhaps my favorite Socks that Rock purchase of the trip):


STR mediumweight in Plankton Ooze:


BMFA Icelandic (really chunky yarn) in Bejewelled:


This will become a Christmas gift hat for my brother's girlfriend. I'm hoping I can get two hats out of the skein, actually!

This brings me to my first yarny stop in Portland: Twisted. I walked in and couldn't believe my ears - my beloved Tom Waits was playing ever so quietly over the speakers! Between that, the copious amounts of sock yarn for sale and the general happy vacation mood I was in, I could've cried of happiness. They have couches and tea available, too. (If I lived in Portland, I think I'd never leave this store.)

The shop owner (I think her name was Shannon?) was really friendly as I browsed. They got a delivery as I browsed and were oohing and aahing, and they insisted I come take a look. It was two enormous boxes of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock.

Oh. my. gah. It was like yarn heaven. Each colorway was more vibrant than the next. I ended up buying three skeins:







From top: Jay Blue, Pacific, Purple Hazel.

I also got some stunning red Indigo Moon sock yarn (which comes from British Columbia):


I saw this emerald green yarn and immediately thought of socks for my green-loving mom:



And I got this Socks that Rock colorway I had been coveting - Alf-a:



Only after I picked up all that sock yarn did I even walk to the other side of the store. They had tons of Dream in Classy (including DiC Groovy, a chunkyweight version I had never seen before) but I just couldn't even think about buying more yarn considering my hands were already full with six skeins...

Oh, how I will wish forever that Twisted were my LYS. And that's all I have to say about that.

The next day, I ended up stopping at Knit/Purl, which was only a couple blocks from our hotel. I was only going to browse, and then I saw a wall of MadelineTosh sock yarn, and well, I went weak in the knees ...



That's MadTosh sock in Clematis.

Hand Maiden Cashbah in Masala:


I am thinking this would be a scrumptious Simple Yet Effective shawl. (Yes, I realize I already own two of these ...) The yarn is so soft I just can't bear the idea of putting it on my feet instead of around my neck.

Knit/Purl was a perfectly lovely store. They carried a bunch of fancier yarns - Tilli Thomas, Habu and oh yes they have a wall of Koigu. My purchases were wrapped in tissue paper and sealed with a Knit/Purl sticker - so opening them when I got back to Virginia felt like Christmas!

And that is my yarn-cation, in a blog post. I must admit that I feel rather spoiled (and a little guilty) talking about my yarn purchases on vacation. It is very unlike me to spend that much money in one fell swoop - on yarn or anything more important! But I budgeted for it, and I stayed within my budget, so I'm happy. And I don't think I'll be buying yarn for quite some time!

vacation in pictures (and a few words)

My trip to the Pacific Northwest was really, really lovely. I can't stress that enough. It was just what I needed. We spent time in Seattle first ... (click to embiggen the photos)







... before hitting up the Olympic Peninsula to visit Olympic National Park.







We did some hiking, saw animals (salmon and black-tail deer and starfish!) and spent lots of time reading and (in my case) knitting. Then we drove down the coast to a beachfront condo in Netarts, Oregon.







The beaches in Oregon (and Washington) are just magnificent. They're so wide and rocky and (at least the ones I saw) mostly devoid of homes.

We rounded out our trip in Portland, where I didn't use my camera as much. (Then again, we were there for only 30 hours.) We had breakfast with a friend who used to work with us, and she snapped a nice shot of us.



If you'd like to see more pictures, check out my album at Flickr.

There was plenty of knitting time on the plane and in the car (Josh did all the driving). I knit a sock and a half out of Socks that Rock mediumweight in County Clare before we returned home. I also knit the foot and gusset of my first toe-up sock.

I finished the County Clare socks soon after we returned:



This is the 10th pair of socks I've knit in 2009. I can't believe it! I plan on ending up with a minimum of 12 pairs knit in 2009: I'm making a pair of socks for my brother and dad for Christmas.

As for Christmas knitting this year? I'm making my mom, dad and brother each a pair of socks and my brother's girlfriend a hat. Mom's are done and I just finished the first sock in Dad's pair last night. I've cast on for its mate already. I'm knitting my Christmas socks out of Knit Picks Swish DK - it's a nice workhorse yarn. And that's it for Christmas knitting! I'm glad I don't have a ton of pressure to knit for many more people. I know my family will love whatever I make for them. I'm already plotting for next year to increase my sock production and knit each of them a pair of socks for their birthdays, too ...

I'll be back in a day or two with a post about my vacation yarn purchases. I got some really excellent yarn and I can't wait to tell you about it!

I'm back!

Vacation was a blast.



(click for a bigger version)

That's me on the big, beautiful beach of Oceanside, Oregon. I have lots of pictures (779!) to go through and upload to flickr ... so I'll be back later this week with a full report, including my yarn haul!

vacation hats

In my last post, I fretted about finishing a hat for Josh before we left for vacation on Thursday. Well, not only did I finish it, I knit another hat, too!

First up - Josh's hat:



Yarn: Patons Classic Merino
US 6 needles, 2x2 rib, 112 stitches
Time to knit: nine days

He has a big noggin, so I was worried about the fit. But it turned out great! I hope it comes in handy as we explore the Pacific Northwest.

I knit this next hat in two days:



The yarn is Farmhouse Yarns Andy's Merino II - a really lofty and soft single ply that feels like it's on its way to being chunky instead of worsted. I used size 9 needles and switched to size 8 once I got to the crown. It is delightfully cozy and I would love to work with this yarn again (if only it weren't $19 a skein ... sigh ... I will be able to get a baby hat out of the leftovers, at least.)



I settled on some vacation knitting, too: I cast on a pair of simple stockinette socks in STR Mediumweight in County Clare (possibly my favorite yarn colorway of all time), and I'll be bringing my toe-up sock-in-progress and my long-suffering Clapotis. This will likely be my last post before our trip - I'll be back with a full report sometime after Halloween!

this and that

I have a few FOs to show off - including one that was finished nearly a month ago. Things have just been so crazy around here, though, that I just haven't had time to blog. First up, a Simple Yet Effective Shawl (rav link):



Yarn: Fibre Company Canopy Fingering in Palm Bud (two skeins, 400 yards)
Time to knit: five weeks on and off
Size: 21” by 46”



This was really dreamy to work with. The yarn has a bit of alpaca in it, though, so fibers kept coming off and making my nose itch. But post-blocking, it's a soft, cozy dream.



Next up is the Birthday Cowl (rav link), made to match my beret.



Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon (about one skein - alternated between two dyelots)
Time to knit: about 3 weeks

Only one picture to show, as my mom snapped it for me during a little break from working at my granddad's house. I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

And finally, a little bit of stash acquisition made when I signed up for Wendyknit's toe-up sock class a few weeks ago.



It's the perfect color for a shawl for my grandma. Now that I've made my mom a little lace scarf, I'd like to make one for my grandma. This is a pale sage green that I think would be perfect for her.

I leave for vacation in less than a week (yikes!) and I have a lot to do before then. I'm making a plain black wool watchcap for my boyfriend (with a huge 24" noggin) and I'm trying to finish it in time to wash/block it before we leave. I need to make a list of restaurants we might want to check out (I've already done this for yarn stores). And, most important to a knitter, I need to decide what knitting to bring! Do I bring my half-finished Clapotis? Yarn for a plain stockinette sock or two? Cast on a unprecedented third Simple Yet Effective Shawl? Decisions, decisions ...

my Granddad

My granddad passed away tonight, Oct. 3. His health had gotten progressively worse since I visited there two weeks ago. He entered hospice care Thursday, my parents arrived this morning, and he passed away with my dad by his side.

I didn't really blog about my trip there two weeks ago - but now I should share that it was truly wonderful. My parents and I arrived at the nursing home, and when we went into his room, he wasn't there. Then we heard this shout from across the hall: "Hey, baby!" where he was in physical therapy. It was a lovely day, sunny and temperatures in the mid-60s, so we wheeled him outside, where my dad gave him a shave and combed his hair.



He was really snappy - I don't know how else to describe it. We were talking about football, and my dad made a crack about Penn State (my alma mater). I responded saying something about how they were in the top 10, and my granddad slyly said, "Yeah, but counting from which end?" Then there was his statement upon seeing a certain nurse leave for the day: "If you ever want to get castrated, well ..." My mom responded with "Well, Dad, I hate to tell you but I don't have the equipment for that!" He laughed and laughed. It really was a wonderful afternoon and I'm so thankful we had such a lovely day together.



This picture is from November 2008. I was in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving and my family and I had breakfast with Granddad at his favorite - his only - breakfast place. This is how I will remember my granddad - in his watchcap outside of Tom's on the South Side. I'll be going to sleep tonight thinking about all the Saturdays he came out to our house in Eighty Four, Pa., to help my dad build a deck, and how he always took time to show me basketball moves. I am exhausted and can't think of much else to say except that I'll miss you very much, Granddad.

Happy Socktober!

Just stopping by to wish everyone a happy first day of Socktober!

I have finished eight pairs of socks this year (seven of which can be found here). I'll definitely have at least three more finished (all gift knits) -- maybe not in Socktober, but definitely before the end of the year (because two of the three are Christmas gifts). That means I just need to knit one more pair to make it a pair a month for all of 2009!

I am slooowly working on my toe-up socks:



Pattern is Dead Simple Lace Socks from Wendy Johnson's new book.

These are on the back burner for now, though -- I've got two other projects that are taking priority right now - my vacation cowl and socks for my running buddy. My knitting goals for my weekend are finishing the cowl, which is 75% done, and casting on the mate to the first sock, which is done. I'm hoping I can get to the heel of that sock this weekend. Shouldn't be too hard, since they're relatively short-cuffed:



What are your knitting priorities right now?

Your eyes do not deceive ...

That is a toe-up sock!

I found out via e-mail Thursday night that there were a few openings in a toe-up sock class with Wendy Johnson (of Wendyknits) Saturday morning. I had heard about this a while ago from my SnB pals but wrote it off because I thought they were afternoon classes, and I work in the afternoon. I called the yarn store immediately Thursady night, got signed up, and went over first thing Friday morning to pay.

Class was very fun -- a whirlwind of learning Judy's Magic Cast-on followed by learning a toe-up slip-stitch heel. I can't even believe I made this heel from the bottom up:



Wendy was very fun. A bunch of us stayed after class to have lunch with her, too. Here are some of my SnB gals and me with Wendy (and our heels!):



(I am sorry your head is cut off, Tasha!!)

I bought Wendy's new book, "Socks From the Toe Up," and had it signed ... and I've already cast on for the Dead Simple Lace Socks in Dream in Color Smooshy (as seen in the first pic). Here's hoping I pull off my first pair of toe-up socks! I'm knitting them on DPNs but think I will soon succumb to the lure of the circular needles ... I worked on some in class and they were dreamy and oh-so easy ...

first lace

Back in June, I knit my first shawl and thought "yay! My first lace!" Well, I'm here today to amend that statement, for now I have *really* knit my first lace:



Pattern: Ishbel
Yarn:: Socks that Rock lightweight in Mustang Sally
Recipient: My mama
Time to knit: about 3.5 months (thanks to my ineptitude with lace, which I will explain below)
Mods: omitted charts D and E (details on Ravelry)

This was a secret knit for my mom's birthday -- I didn't want to post about the FO until I gave it to her in person, which I did this weekend.



I had some issues following the charts ... I started by knitting the small stockinette but made mistakes in early lace rows, so I frogged and knit the large stockinette size instead. (This doesn't make much sense ... if I had problems with the lace on the small size, I shouldn't have made it bigger, because it increased the odds of making more mistakes ...)

However, this meant I used a LOT more yarn, and I frantically contacted a few Ravelers to inquire if they had any leftovers from their projects in the same weight/colorway. Raveler Scathach was awesome and mailed me more than enough. But, um, as I tried to work the final few charts, I kept messing up, and in a fit of frustration, I ended up binding off after chart C, meaning I never had to use her yarn. I hung my head in shame and mailed her scraps back, and she was super cool about it. Thanks again, Scathach!



My verdict: This was a fun knit -- an excellent first lace project. I hope to knit it again (and, um, I'll knit all the charts next time).

I hope you like it, Mom! I hope you take a picture of you wearing it so I can post about it here.