Patrick is Finished

The Patrick Sweater is officially finished.  Last Monday (fresh off the plane from Stitches West) I rolled into SIT for a redo of one shoulder whoopsie and then on to do the 3-needle bind off.  Knitdad showed me three different finishing techniques to use on this sweater. After the shoulders, I moved on to the sleeves.  They were attached using a crochet slip stitch.  On Friday he showed me how to do the mattress stitch for the sides. The result, I think, is a nice looking man sweater for a very deserving and stash tolerant husband.

My TOFUtsies arrived from YarnDogs, as promised.  Knitdad said that I would find that it splits a bit...that remains to be seen.  What a cool idea to have special colorways for Stitches West along with patterns in PDF.  What do you think of the colorways?

Yesterday was a work day at Unraveled.  I can't believe that I forgot to bring in the pink Koigu that Jillian requested from the Stitches market.  Sorry!  Hopefully she will be able to drop by when I will be there this Tuesday...the four skeins are already in my car-so I will have them for sure this time.

There was a large order of Sublime (aptly named)...much of it special ordered..to tag yesterday.  Also, Janice was in to work with continuing students on their ongoing projects. Knitdad dropped in and was kind enough to help me sort out the tags. By the end of the day I was too tired to go out to a student concert with Greg.  So I stayed home and finished the first Tidal Wave Sock and cast on the second.  It seems that I am never too tired to knit.

This morning it is a really beautiful Southern California day.   After the gym and breakfast out, we hit some long neglected gardening chores.  Greg is over on the lot clearing shrubbery, so students can park.  I worked in the front for awhile, weeding around the rose bushes.  Spookie is keeping a sharp eye out for tasty morsels that we might uncover for him.

Tidal Wave Sock

If you read the post below you will see where this comes into play.  I am struggling with the picture uploading for some reason...guess I need to talk to my code editing friend, Devra, to sort out the problem.

Non-Buyer's Remorse

I guess that is what you might call it. I passed up the TOFUtsies collecters kit with patterns(in PDF)...that was available from several booths at Stitches West. But this morning it was all I could think about. So I started my search by calling WEBS toll-free number. The news was not good. They said they would be happy to take my order - but they were currently out of stock and could not guarantee that they would receive any more from Southwest Trading Company. Which prompted my call to SWTC! Jonell answered my call and said that she was sure that Yarn Dogs in Los Gatos would be able to help me. Yes, they could. John said that he had one that he would be able to ship me later today.. HOORAY. Now I can relax and knit.

Tomorrow, Friday, I will go over to SIT for another lesson with Knitdad...my goal will be to finish the Patrick Sweater. The shoulders are together(3-needle bind off) and the neck stitches were picked up and the neck is done. I want to take my time with the finishing and do my very best on this project.

I am including a link to the petition to save the Knitty Gritty Show. Click here if you want to sign the petition. Apparently, DIY plans to cut it along with other craft shows as part of a shift in programming focus. Not that I watch it often...but I know several customers who enjoy it on a regular basis.

Here is a peek at my newest project - the Tidal Wave Sock. Knitdad made it out of a black/white TOFUtsie that looked great. My attempt is moving ahead smoothly and a fun knit.

I Survived Stitches West 2008

Yes, it was fun and well worth the price of admission. I went for the "works" package that included classes on each day (Thurs-Sun), lunch on Thursday and dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings. The food was good and the company even better...I had table mates from Australia, Texas, Alaska, South Dakota and California. How wonderful it is to have the instant connection with so many different people...where else would people take their shoes off in the bar to show you their latest sock design?? Sorry for the blurry picture..but I didn't want to miss the shot. It was actually snapped at the Ravelry meetup.

My stash has been increased by another tub full of sock yarns. I lined it all up for you to see. It should also appear on the flicker badge in smaller increments that you can click on and ogle close up. Operating on my theory that I will have to live long enough to knit up my stash..I have probably lengthened my lifespan by another decade this past week. My first stop was for Koigu that was requested by my co-worker at Unraveled, Jillian. Then it was on to a planned stop at Blue Moon Fiber Arts where I met Unraveled1. You never know who you might bump into while standing in a long line. Etta Mae was surprised to see me and complimented my new glasses (French, of course) that were
picked out by Meghan.








Now for some pictures of work by the most well respected sock knitters in the world. It is one thing to study them in print and quite another to see them in person. Yes, they are better in person! I was lucky enough to get into classes with Nancy Bush (sick from too much traveling but still fantastic), Lucy Neatby (I now own all of her DVDs) and Cat Bordhi (love the way she thinks).

Stitches Bound

I will be leaving very early tomorrow to make my flight from LAX to San Jose. It promises to be much fun for the next four days...and way too much yarn! My camera and battery charger are already packed. The homework is done and needles double checked, too. Nothing else to do but wait and try to stay calm so I can get some sleep tonight. Here is my pin collection from Stitches, Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Ravelry. I am an official knitting nerd, I guess. I'll be back next Monday. TTFN

Pictures

These pictures go with the next post...for some reason they wouldn't attach when I tried.

Counting the Days

I am counting the days until Stitches West 2008-if you count "get ups" there are only 2 more until Thursday, when I leave. That sounds good to me...so that's the count.

Today, after breakfast with friends in La Canada, I went over to S.i.T. to move ahead on the Patrick Sweater. The sleeves were finished a few days ago-so it was back to the front to do the neck decreases and finish the sides. All went well until the last few rows of the right hand side. When Knitdad wasn't looking I zigged instead of zagging on a cable. That will have to be ripped out and redone sometime next week. It will just have to wait. While there, I snapped a shot of two needlepoint canvases that are just too funny. They look just like out troop of raccoons, don't they?

Oh, I forgot to mention that I did finish the 2 Socks on 1 Circular project this morning.
They aren't too bad. I think I will try them again and do a pattern from the book this time.