Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

Put a sock in it!

My final Secret Pal 8 package arrived from my amazing, wonderful, very cool pal.  (Mine got to my pal, as well...)

Schroedinger, you are wonderful.  Would you all like to see the many ways in which she spoiled me?  Well, it's my blog, so, you're going to see it whether you want to or not ;-)

Exhibit A: Hand dyed sock yarn for me to make my first ever pair of socks.  Dyed for me by Schroedinger, in, of course, my favorite color.  Ahhhh... I adore it!

Exhibit B: She knew I wanted to try my hand at socks, so, along with the amazing just-for-Sam yarn, she sent needles and a how-to book!

Exhibit C: here is where she outdid herself.  Just for my toes, again, in hand dyed yarn, my first ever pair of hand knit socks!  My feet are luxuriating in them now, thanks to a weather change that has finally made it possible to enjoy socks again...  Wow!  Take a look- they are wonderfully cabled and simply perfect.

Ahhhhh...  Now that I have worn my first pair of hand knit socks, I am more eager than ever to try them myself.  Stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, I have a rush quilting project to start tonight- a "3 favorite things" quilt for Train Boy's 3rd birthday on 9/13.  Details tomorrow, but for now, I must cut many 6.5 inch squares.

The one with the free skeeball...

Today I nearly attained a state of nirvana, or lived my own version of an episode of Friends from back when it was still pretty funny.  Because it's nearly Train Boy's 3rd birthday, and because his good buddy turned 3 last week, the two families got together over lunch today at Casa Bonita (scene of its own TV fame, BTW) to celebrate.  As always, the cheap games in the arcade ate some of our tokens.  When my friend complained to the attendant about one skee-ball machine in particular, he reset it for her and returned her tokens.  Apparently, he hit the magic reset button.  The game let us play for free.  Over and over again.  The four kids played.  The four adults played.  We took turns.  Many turns.  It was heaven- skee-ball heaven.  Eventually, the kids got bored and the dads took them to watch the puppet show.  We moms kept playing skee-ball, and having a great chat too.  We played and played and played.  And played.  We discussed stopping and walking away, but then, we'd be the girls who walked away from free skee-ball, and just like Joey and Chandler couldn't turn off the free p*rn, we had to keep on playing.  We discussed perhaps staying and having the dads feed the kids dinner at Casa Bonita, so we could keep playing.  We then decided the dads could take the kids home in one car, and she and I would keep playing until they kicked us out.  But then, the magic ended and the game began demanding tokens again.  We took our huge pile of tickets, let the kids pick out their junky prizes, and went home.  Still, for a few glorious moments, we had free skee-ball.  And doesn't that just make life worth living?

After coming home and trying to return to the feeling of being a mere mortal again, I got the kids to bed and finished the last item for the last package for my Secret Pal 8 pal.  I don't know if she's been blog-stalking to find me, and I hope this doesn't give it away.  I won't say what else is going into this package, just in case.  But, from something she said in her SP8 questionnaire, I wanted to make her something for Halloween- my favorite holiday.  Since my sewing is still waaaay better than my knitting, I decided to make her a table runner, using Kari's wonderful pattern.  I dove into my over-sized Halloween stash, and came up with this.

It uses fun batiks and other fabrics from my stash, and features that really awesome Witchy Woman fabric from a year or three ago. To spice it up a bit, I appliqued two witches to the plain center panel.

The back is a really fun over-sized Halloween-colored polka-dot on black print.  I am SO hoping she likes it!  Tonight I'm packing up this and some other goodies, and sending then out into the world.  This was my first secret pal, and I am hoping I did well.  I know I went over the minimum spending requirement, so I'm not worried about being a cheapskate, but I am hoping that my presents were a good fit and brought her much happiness!  I have sent two other packages... this is the last one!  Then I really have to get my butt in gear for the funky scarf swap.  I'm finding myself paralyzed.  I have 2 ideas, but one might be the wrong kind of yarn for my pal, and the other might not be funky enough.  What's a gal to do??? 

It's so late, I need to go to bed to be ready for my first day trying to drop to kids off in two different parts of town at the same time.  Thanks to The Hubby's work schedule, I only have to pull this off alone Mondays and Tuesdays.  The rest of the week, he can drop off one or even both kids!  But tomorrow is all mine.

She rocks...

My secret pal, that is.  Oh my gosh. Saturday was a wee bit sucky (loud crazy kids birthday party, leaky poopy diaper - Train Boy's not mine in case anyone was worried- Princess Girl not behaving even remotely close to her best...)  And then, I came home to a package.  At first I thought it was the new comforter cover I had ordered for our bedroom. The old one is more than 6 years old and has NOT held up well.  But then , I saw the return address was SP... in NY, NY...

And, she MADE me all sorts of goodies.  I've already gushed to her privately, but, allow me to gush about her publicly!  She spun and dyed yarn in glorious shades of purple just for me.

It's merino wool and silk blend.  And it is as luscious as it looks.

She mad me some very personal stitch-markers, that include a graduation cap, cosmo, and sushi!  And she included my favorite Bath and Body Works lotion- a honey she blend.  Very luxurious.

But did she stop there?  Nope... Even though she totally could have.  She made me a sweet little scarf- and, it's a ribbony-novelty yarn, so it is light enough that I wore it out and about today!  Since trying to photograph it on myself proved challenging, I enlisted a willing model.

And, up close:

Our SP hostess has asked us to answer a new little questionnaire, so here goes.

1. What is your favorite season of the year and why?

    Fall.  I miss it in New England, with crisp air and amazing colors, and a break from the heat of summer before the cold and dark of winter.

2. Summer is hot. What do you knit in the summer?

    So far, I haven't been doing so well.  I was trying to work on a shrug, lightweight open stitchwork, but I messed it up, and I am re-starting my one skein sleeves now...

3. If money was no object.....what would you buy at the LYS?

    Um, There are a few random artisan yarns at my LYS I have been coveting, and also a pile of Noro Aurora in color 01 to crochet a shawl that I am in love with. And, lots of nice new Brittany DPNs.  Oh, and, I want to try those new Knit Picks Options circs.  Wow, I want a lot.

4. What are some activities that have become family traditions for your family?

   Hmm, there are lots of annual events we attend every year- RenFest, CC Art Festival, etc.  An annual vacation to visit my folks in SC and enjoy the beach and surrounding areas is probably our favorite. 

5. What is the weather right now?

    BETTER!  It's only in the upper 80s, and it feels balmy and nice...

Anti-climax!

Thank you all for the nice wishes for my review today.  Can you all do it again on Tuesday, please?  There was some confusion here, and my boss was scheduled by her boss, the big boss, for a review at the same time we were supposed to have mine.  Ooops!

Meanwhile, the Booga Bag with the Noro from my beloved Secret Pal (is it weird to call you beloved, o kind stranger?) is done!  Oh my god, the Noro felted up amazingly, and now I'm eying a lot of 10 skeins in color #148 on eBay...  And I am also coveting a book that has a bag pattern I fell in love with.  Ahem, Secret Pal, remember when you said you might have created a Noro monster?  Yeah, you did...  The colors are so amazing, and it's so soft, and, I love it.  Don't you?

C'mon, get closer!

Don't you just want to touch it, a lot? 

I'm feeling much much better- collapsed last night and let The Hubby do all the kid/dinner/etc. work again, and worked on getting myself re-hydrated.  I feel almost as good as new today, and that is just lovely.  Next year, if I go to Estes, I'm packing my own lunch and NOT petting any animals.  Just in case.  Thank you guys, again, for the lovely emails and comments.

I'm the Booga man, that's what I am

Thanks for all the lovely graduation kudos- you guys are the best.  Damn, but it feels good to have that behind me.  Now, when I sit down to knit, quilt, read, or watch TV, I don't automatically feel guilty.  That's a pleasant new sensation!

I mentioned the awesome amazingness sent to me by my Secret Pal.  I came home last Thurs to a box on my front steps, and I saw that the return address said "SP, ... ..."!  So exciting!

What's in the box?  Well... way more than I expected, or probably deserved ;-)

A lovely postcard, from someplace I'd love to be right now, and also- 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon in color #153, which is lovely green/teal/purple.  And, she very thoughtfully printed out the instructions for the Booga Bag pattern.  Being me, I couldn't resist the lovely gorgeous yarn, and so, I cast on immediately!  The pattern calls for 10.5 circs and DPNs, and I had 10s, and decided rather than buy new needles (and- gasp- wait! to cast on) I'd simply go with the 10s and have a slightly smaller finished product.  After all, it's a bag, not a sweater!  So, this weekend I KIPed at a birthday party for a pal of Princess Girl, I KIPed at my office (oops- but- it was lunchtime, so that's okay), and I kept going at home.  I have the body of the bag done and have moved on the to I-cord handle- all 5-6 feet of it.

The Noro is simply lovely to work with.  It is knitting up so easily, and has the most lovely texture.  I did rip back about 15 rows at the midpoint of the bag- my 2nd skein started up with a color that made the striping look, to me at least, really off balance, so I went back and very fussily picked a new spot to start.  The ripping back was very good practice for me, and it went well.  I'm not so certain my "pick up and knit" stitches around the base look so hot, so, I'll just have to practice some more... Before I brave socks.  Which, I admit, I'm getting more and more eager to try.

Secret Pal, you rock.  I could not imagine a more thoughtful gift- it's in my colors, yarn I was dying to try, skills that I need to master .  I hope someone is treating you as well as you are treating me.  Meanwhile, I have been working for my own Secret Pal, but, it has to stay secret!!  Shhhh!

Stay tuned later this week- I've started a crochet class, and, well, I won't be getting a Masters in Crochet anytime soon, let's just say!!

Secret Pal 8, New Yarn, and a teeny FO!

Here's a teeny little felted bowl I made with legwarmer leftovers!  This is from a pattern in One Skein Knits, and I blogged the bowl much more thoroughly at the One Skein Knit Along Blog...  Go see what nifty things everyone is up to!  It's pretty damn cool how much fun you can have with just one skein...

Some quick yarn p*rn.

A lovely wonderful friend gave me a belated birthday gift- a yarnmarket.com gift certificate!  I promptly ordered 2 skeins, to make 2 projects I've been eyeing.  #1 is Rowan Kidsilk Haze in 579/splendour.  I'm a little sad as the color of the ball I rec'd seems much more magenta than it did on my screen when ordering. It's a lovely color, but I'm not certain it's what I wanted for my silk sleeves (also from One Skein Knits...)  Hank #2 is Himalaya recycled silk, to make awesome wristwarmers (I'll be making the ones on the bottom left of the photo- the pattern was in my knitting-a-day calendar).  I truly need them at my desk, as my office is in a 100 year old Vistorian house, with crappy single pain windows and lousy central heat.  Whine.  Wish I had them today...  I am in fact wearing my legwarmers again today, as it is rainy and cold and grey and generally blah outside.  (And yes, both of these photos use my new Kaffe Fassett fabric as an inspiring backdrop...)

On to Secret Pal 8.  I signed up for this fun-looking knitting secret pal exchange.  I love to get mysterious things in the mail, although, I have yet to receive my Color-iffic Swap-Orama April package :-(  I'm also looking forward to making new knit blog buddies!  Secret Pal 8 seems to be a super well oiled machine...  And step one is answering these questions for your secret pal, so they can get to know you a little better.  If you're not my secret pal, this may be dull...  You choose how much to read.

• What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?  Well, I’ve been addicted to felting so, from lack of other experience, Lamb’s Pride and Cascade 220.  I want to branch out more.  Dying to try Noro of various sorts.  I haven’t tried anything I hate, yet.  Although, I did make a little purse out of fun fur, and it made my hands very sweaty.  TMI?
• What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?  Um, a tote bag.  Lame, I know. I’m planning to make a needle case from the stitch n bitch book.  Someday soon.  Really.
• 3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?  I am a slightly past beginner.  I can make more than a garter stitch scarf.  But the idea of a sweater gives me chills… (Both of excitement and fear…)
• 4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list  Yup, there's a link up in the left sidebar of ths blog, but I just realized, it is SORELY out of date!
• 5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)  Hmmm, honey.  Love honey.  Also, fresh clean smells.
• 6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy  Hell, yeah.  Love me some Take 5s (with pretzels in the candy bar- anything sweet and salty all at once makes my day) but my all time favorite is a British creation called a flake…
• 7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?  I quilt- my first passion.  I embroider a little- who doesn’t love sublime stitching?  I am learning to crochet.  I DO NOT spin or dye. Yet.  And, when I don't have sewing or kntting in my hands, I've probably got my camera.  I am hoping to take some photo shop and digital photo classes over the summer, but it's an old passion of mine...
• 8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)  I can play MP3s, and have a happy new iPod (thanks, lovely husband!).  My music taste is pretty wild.  Stupid rule of thumb: if it sounds like it came from the Garden State soundtrack, I probably like it.  I also have a slightly embarrassing love of broadway musicals- Rent, Wicked, Phantom, etc.  Johnny Cash is my god.  And, don’t forget Elvis!  And old school Goth.  See, all over the place.
• 9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?  As you can probably guess from the layout of this blog, purples.  I love purples.  And colors that go with purples.  Blues, greens, pinks, reds.  Preferably bright vibrant ones.  If you look at my quilt photos on flickr, you can see where I usually go, colorwise.  Less favored would be yellows and oranges, and at the bottom of the list, earthy shades- fall colors.  Brown is bad in my book, unless mixed with pink or trendy turquoise…
• 10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?  Married for nearly 7 years- oh my god.  2 kiddos, 5 year old daughter Princess Girl and just past 2.5 year old son, Train Boy.  Also, 3 cats, 2 goldfish, and a dog.
• 11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?  I wear scarves, the occasional hat, prefer fingerless gloves/wristwarmers, and love ponchos.
• 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?  I’m so new, I’ve been really addicted to felted bags.  I would be happy with a bag for ever day of the year, I think.  I’m branching out a bit, and want to try other things.  Wristwarmers are next on the list!
• 13. What are you knitting right now?  Cupcake and bowl from One Skein, about to start wristwarmers and arm warmers (one skein as well).
• 14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?  Does anyone not????
• 15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?  I prefer circs- aluminum mostly but if the yarn is super slippery, I like bamboo.
• 16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?  I own a winder I have yet to use. Mostly because I am semi-broke, and try to only buy yarn on a project by project basis.  I have a fabric stash big enough to last a lifetime, and am trying to keep yarn under control, in a good way.  The Himalaya pictured above will be the first yarn to go on my winder...
• 17. How did you learn to knit?  Lovely wonderful friend got me started, others have helped, books are good, and I love online videos!
• 18. How old is your oldest UFO?  Quilting- 8 years.  Knitting- 2 weeks.  Before you hate me- remember- I’ve been making easy projects, I’ve only been really knitting for 6 months, and, I like instant gratification, so I’ve been picking simple projects.
• 19. What is your favorite holiday?  HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 20. Is there anything that you collect?  Not exactly, though I love kitsch.  I trawl thrift stores seeking out things others have junked, and these things bring me joy.  And, anything with a garden gnomes, or sushi themes…
• 21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?  I have no knitting magazine subscriptions yet.  Want some, just don’t know which one would be best for me…  I am dying to read Knitting Without Tears and Ann and Kay’s book. And more.  I tend to test drive knitting books from my local library, and if I love them, I then go buy them.
• 22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?  Socks.  I want to try intarsia when I get brave enough.  Also, cables.  Not so very interested in lace.
• 23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Ah, see above.  I’d like to try- am working past the fear.  I’m a size 7.5/8 shoe, US.
• 24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)   12/23. Crappy Xmas birthday that was always forgotten when I was a kid.  Me bitter?  Nah…

So, that's me in a nutshell (Help, I'm trapped in a nutshell!!)  Secret Pal, whoever you are, I hope we both have a blast!!!