1.  Holy Gusset Holes, Batman!

This is what happens when I'm bitten by the toe-up sock curse and begin to expound upon how wonderful it is not having to do any work at the end.  Knitting socks should not be this easy, and the universe has shown me that by giving me ginormous gusset holes.  I created these gusset holes while on a plane to Phoenix, and finished the leg of the lolly sock, however, I haven't bound off.  Instead, I decided that this must be a fluke, started the second sock, and am waiting to see the ginormosity of the gusset holes on sock #2 before I decide what to do about sock #1.  If the gusset holes are minimal on sock #1, then ripping it back and turning the heel over, possibly with some tighter stitching, is a complete possibility.  Sock #1 seems to be a tiny bit long for my foot as well, so ripping it back might be a good idea anyway.  I don't want too big socks while I'm modeling these for everyone at Sheep and Wool (see point #4).

2.  I Really Am A Winner!

I received my Jaywalker KAL contest yarn in the mail the other day.  I picked Cara's very own colorway, Prove it All Night.  It is BEAUTIFUL.  And the yarn is so very soft!  I just want to cuddle with it.  She was also kind enough to include one of her fantastic cards and an Orange Chibby.  I love the Orange Chibby.  And it fits into Project Spectrum so very well!

FYI, I'm not photographer.  You can see (not very well) from the picture that Cara is.  Look at the beauty of the card!  The colors and the clarity of all the yarn and the socks just show Cara's genius.  I'm not worthy!

3.  Jinkies!

Over Easter weekend, I was a busy bee.  I upgraded my blogging software and sewed an entire purse - the Velma purse by Amy Butler.  I think I even made my Easter Bunny Ipod Cozy that weekend.  I already put the Easter Bunny Ipod Cozy up, but the purse, I haven't blogged about.  And there's a reason for that.  I'm not sure I love it.  I like it, don't get me wrong, but I thought I would L-O-V-E this purse.  I think it's because the pattern on the fabric isn't centered. 

What do you think?  Is it cute?  Or should I make another one?  I think I can get another yard of the fabric (which I might do anyway, just to make something else), or should I just leave it.  The purse is cute, I give it that, but it isn't fantastic, like I wanted it to be?  Am I being too judgemental?  I'm planning on bringing it to Sheep and Wool, so some of you will have a chance to inspect it up close and personal-like.  I've also been sewing another little something as a gift for a friend.  I can't wait to share it with everyone!

4.  Busy Bee

I knew that once I was no longer based in a training center for my company, I would be doing some travel.  Travel is not bad, and I figured it would be 3, maybe 4, days max, 2 weeks out of the month.  However, looking through April, into May, and onto June, I am going to be busy!  I am scheduled to be on the road each and every week through the first week of June.  Last week, I spent some time in Minneapolis.  This week, it is Monterey.  I will be in Toronto, Denver, Raleigh, and DC/Baltimore over the next month.  I'm loving the fact that I'm going to get some frequent flier miles.  I'm hating the fact that I'm going to get no rest.  Sheep and Wool falls into this time, and it really is becoming hard to justify the time away.  I'm sure that once I'm there, I will feel completely different.  Right now, I think I'm nervous about staying in a hotel room with many people that I don't know.  Thankfully, I've got some of my knitty meetup gang from MD in the room with me.  So excited to spend time with them!  And I'm excited to meet people whose blogs I've been reading for a while.  Eh... my nerves will pass - once I get some rest.  Tomorrow is my time for exploring the Monterey/Carmel area.  I plan on going to the Aquarium, and possibly trying to find some yarn shops.  I also want to take pictures of some of the local foliage.  It really is beautiful here, but the weather is NOT cooperating.  I've been cold since I've been here.  Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, so that will be fantastic.

April, otherwise known to the PS-ers out there (please, don't get that confused with PMS-ers) as Yellow/Orange, has been a busy month for me! I started the month with some PS knitting.

I. Love. This. Hat. It is the PERFECT shape, and its all fuzyy, and ORANGE and STRIPEY! The best hat I've ever made. As a matter of fact, it fits me like a dream... and in one of those knitting oddities, it also fits Gracie. She's four. Her head isn't very big. Like I said, the hat is good.

I also have a pair of PS socks in the works.

Made from Mama-E's C*EYE*BER FIBER in the Lollygirl colorway. I. Love. This. Yarn. So very soft, and the color is so subtle. I'm digging the strange, wide stripes that I'm getting, but I'm not digging on the fact that I'm using size 1 needles, and everything is very loose. I'm attributing this to the fact that I'm using Addi-Turbo's - and to Promiscuriosity. Looseness can always be attributed to that...

To end my tribute to yellow and orange, I'll show you a few Project Spectrum pictures that I took this afternoon before the skies opened up and EVERYTHING got wet.

A sure sign that summer is coming soon

You just gotta now where to look for yellow, and it will find you.

I've finished upgrading the blog.  Truthfully, I finished upgrading the blog on Sunday, however, I was trying to get everything to look nice.  I'm still working on that... But whatever... hopefully all that bad blog stuff is over

Some Easter Knitting...

It's an Ipod Cozy

I have a few things in the works for the weekend, number one being change the blog software. Over the past few weeks, I've gotten TONS of Trackback SPAM. By TONS, I mean like fourteen. Easily managed, but I'm sick of managing it. So I've installed new blog software, I just have to figure out how to migrate my past entries into it.

The next project is for Sew? I Knit! The project for the month is a bag, so I'm trying to make a few. The first one is for me, and the other two are gifts, so no sharing. But I gotta say, I'm so proud of my fabric choices for my gift bags that I can't wait to post pics!!! Anyway, the not-gifty bag I'm going to work on this weekend. I'm sewing up a Velma bag from Amy Butler Designs. I was lucky enough to get the fabric and pattern on Ebay a few months ago pretty cheap.

I cut the fabric out last night, and will sew it up today. I've wanted this bag for a while now. It is actually what got me interested in sewing again, though, at the time I became interested, there was no way I could afford both the pattern and the exact fabric. So this bag is like the "dream bag"... or something like that.

I'm also going to work on my toe-up sock project.

I'm actually using a pattern this time around. It is Badcaul, available here. I'm hoping that these socks turn out, because I do like the pattern and I LOVE the yarn, but so far, I'm not digging my toe-up socks. There is a reason behind it, and as soon as I'm done with the change of the software, I'll let you know what that reason is.

Oh, I also have an Easter project in the works. No matter what, I'll post a picture of that tomorrow!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Over the past week or so, I've tried to knit.  I really have (and I did have this wonderful entry all typed up about how I'm trying to knit toe-up socks, but my crappy blog software ate it.  With any luck, I'll post it tomorrow), however, my attention has been drawn to something else.

Yea... I've been spinning. And I finished my first two ounces of Corriedale that I got from Springwater.  I'm planning on plying it with a pink in the same fiber.  It should be cute, but who really cares?!?!?!  I made YARN!!!

Once I was done, though, I had no idea what to do with this yarn.  It looks lovely on the spindle, but, uh... I kind of want to spin other stuff, ya know?  I tried to make a temporary niddy noddy in order to wind it into a skein, but that didn't work so well.

I ended up winding it onto the back of a chair, and I really can't get it off.  Its on there kind of tight.  But my spindle is free.  And the yarn really adds something to the chair

Extreme close-up of the yarn

I was looking through the blog today, and I realized that I hadn't shared my final Secret Pal Package, which I got over two weeks ago. So sorry, Angel (BTW, you never gave me your blog address, so I can't check out where you live in the internet).

First, who couldn't use more sock yarn?

Second, straight from my wish list, is Oddball Knitting. Falafel brought this book to the last Meetup, and I was jonesing to knit up the cat toys in the book (maybe I'll go do that right now). The book is interesting, with lots of great ideas for that leftover yarn.

And last, two sock pattern booklets.

Thank you so much, Angel. You were a fantastic Secret Pal!!!!

I got the best card tonight from my nieces.

Yes, it says "I hope you fell beter Amy".  Isn't that the best??!?!?*   It really makes me happy to be back here, where my little nieces can make me stuff, and I can get it while what they've made me is still applicable.  It ROCKS!!!

I was able to give my oldest niece her sock - the mini-Jaywalker that I knitted up over a month ago.  She seems to really like them.  And I finally got the modeled shot.

* I realize that it means that she hopes I feel better, however, the irony of the misspelling is not lost on me.  I kind of wish I would have "fell" better, too, so that I didn't fracture the ankle in the first place.

So yesterday, I hobbled on down to the Urgent Care Center in order for someone who knows what they are talking about to get a good look at my ankle.  I've sprained my ankle(s) before, and I know what a sprain feels like.  The latest injury felt like a sprain for the first few days, but the last two... it felt different.  Not all tight and stiff like a sprain, but more pinchy and sharp... something completely different.  So after I told EVERYONE in the office about *how* I hurt myself (and I'm still maintaining the HOLE story),  a few of the on-site nurses admired a little crochet work I was doing:

While I was waiting on the X-Ray tech and the doc to make a decision, I even finished that scarf there    Anyhow... the doc took a look at my X-Rays and told me that I was fine.  No fractures, no breaks.  HOWEVER... I got a phone call today telling me that, yes, I did in fact fracture the ankle a little bit, and I'm REALLY not supposed to walk on it until I see the Orthopedic doc.  Umm... have you ever tried to unpack and NOT put any weight on your ankle?  No?  I didn't think so.  I'm trying VERY hard to follow the doctor's orders, but it is so very hard... especially when all I want to do is finish with the unpacking.  I think that come Monday, I'm off the foot no matter what.

In other knitting news, I've wrapped up March's Project Spectrum with a bit of a bang.  First, is the scarf above.  It isn't all Pinks and Reds, however, there's more pink than green and I LOVE my scarf!  When Chelsea gave me the yarn to crochet this scarf, I think her exact words were "Here, have it.  They aren't my colors at all".  Well, I didn't really think that they were mine, either, but I liked the scarf so much in the Happy Hooker book that I just wanted to make the exact same thing.  Plus, the yarn I made my scarf from is the SAME yarn as the ACTUAL one in the book - or so I'm led to believe (and if I'm wrong, don't correct me.  I know that Debbie Stoller basically paid for the yarn that my scarf was made from and I think that's way cool).  Now that the scarf is complete, I'm digging the colors.  I even dug them so much that I made a special trip (before I moved, of course) to Knit Happens in order to purchase this:

Yup, that's some Lorna's Laces in the Knit Happens colorway.  Funky, ain't it   I hope it stripes, I hope it stripes, I hope it stripes....

I also finished the Sueet Suede bag.

Made from hot pink Suede yarn, this little bag rocks!  I'm going to sew in some lining, just as soon as I can find some fabric to do it justice.  I'd also like to take a stab at a zipper.  I joined the Sew? I Knit! -Along and this month is bags.  I have sewn before, however, I've never really sewn in a true lining, or a zipper, so this is totally going to sharpen those skills.  To help things out a bit, while unpacking I found a bunch of sewing books that might help unravel the mystery of zippers.

April Project Spectrum officially kicked off today with... well, nothing really.  I did knit on the niece sock a little bit.

There is some yellow and orange in this, however, I'm just aiming to finish these little sockies as quickly as possible - before she grows out of them, basically.  I'm also planning on knitting a hat with some yummy yarn I purchased yesterday.

This is Mango Moon Wooly, and boy is it ever! (Wooly, I mean)  I think that I would call this yarn Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (with all its fuzzy goodness) but on CRACK.  This stuff is the fuzziest!!  And I love it.  I couldn't put it down, and it really did scream Project Spectrum to me.  And it was 40% off.  Who can beat that?!  After the hat and the sock, I'm not 100% sure what to do.  I have enough yarn in my stash to make Samus, and the yarn is Orange (Cascade 220 Heathers).  But I'm frightened of making a cardigan.  Any other suggestions as to what to do with that yarn?  I also have about 400 yards of the orangiest, softest alpaca in the world.  I'd like to make a scarf with it, but who in the world needs an alpaca scarf in April?  Scratch that, I live in Ohio now.  I might need an alpaca scarf in April.  I would also like to continue working on the bridal shawl (remember that?  the one that my cats nearly destroyed?  Yea... that still needs to get completed) but I'm soooo not feeling it.  We'll see where I'm at in a week.

As for now, I have to go to bed and rest my fractured self.