I have been the worst blogger here lately. And the worst knitter, too. I'm supposed to be working on things for other people, and it just isn't happening. Christmas is less than a week away, and I'm nowhere near being done with what I need to knit. The good news is that after today, I'm on vacation from work. So I'll have some time to knit. The bad news is that I don't feel like knitting the thing I decided to knit. I feel like knitting these:

Yup, I received my Kureyon from Little Knits, and they are just calling my name! So much so that I may have knit a square already.

This square is from the first ball, color 156. And I think this is my favorite square so far. The second ball, color 165, is producing not-so-drastic color changes, so I think I need to rip and restart. And I haven't ripped open the third ball, color 180. I'm saving that til the weekend. I'm really hoping Santa Claus brings me Kureyon. My boss got me a $35 American Express gift card, so that is going directly toward the purchase of Kureyon.  Do you think I'm obsessed?  Why yes, yes I am.

I also finished my first quasi-Rolling Thunder sock.

OK, so it looks nothing like Rolling Thunder, as it doesn't have the beaded cuff.  But it is the same garter rib pattern as the original pattern.  Close enough in my book.

I haven't posted too much about the Blue Moon Fibers Socks that Rock sock club this year.  But I do want to share the lovely yarn that I received in the mail on Saturday.  First, this month's offering is beautiful.

Here is Mustang Sally - and the photo is too dark.  The color is almost solid red with corals running through it.  I really am pleased with this color, and with the pattern to support it.  I'm really going to have to get off my bum and get cracking on some STR sock club socks.  I think, however, that this may become a different sock.  We'll see, because I'm itching to cast on.

I also received, as my gift, a Rare Gem.  I believe that this is a one-time-only colorway, and I absolutely love this!!!

Again, the photo is too dark to really get a good feel for the blues and reds and greens running through this, but needless to say, it is beautiful.  And its in the lightweight, which I love!

Last week, I received an e-mail telling me that the winter knitty is up. Well, being the knitty-phile that I am, I totally went over and checked it out. And boy, I'm impressed! So very many cute things to knit up, not the least of which is Sheldon.  Every time I look at knitty, I'm amazed at all of the creativity in this world.  And that's just the knitting community.  And... and that's just a select few.  So many talented people are out there, and I'm in awe to be a part of that!

With that in mind, I decided to go for it and try one of the sock patterns that grace this issue of knitty.  Typically, I'm not a patterned sock kind of girl, but I'm willing to try new things.  And since I finished both socks that I had on the needles this weekend... oh wait, didn't I show you pictures of that?  No.  Well here we go.

First, I finished the Jaywalkers.

They are slightly too big, but I'm hoping a trip through the washer might help that out.

And the sockret pal sock is finished.  Only one more to go by the end of, like, March.  Totally do-able.

So as I was saying, I decided to try out one of the sock patterns, and since the next yarn in the sock yarn rotation was some Lorna's Laces Tuscany, I decided to knit Rolling Thunder.  Try as I might, I really couldn't get the beaded cuff down, so I really simplified it.  Basically, I'm just doing the garter rib.  But one of the big draws to that sock was the heel.  I love how the heel flap has the garter rib carried into it.  So, I sort of followed the pattern.  And I love it.

Most of my socks lately have had a short row heel, so this was a nice change of pace.  And the colors are simply gorgeous! I gotta say these socks will look quite nice with my new shoes.

I really, really, really wish I had some very organized, profound things to say in my blog. But truth be told, my life is too random for that to happen. I've been knitting, yes, but I've been super busy with other things. Its the holidays, so of course life is super-hectic. Add to that the hopes for a social life outside of holidays, and you really do get bogged down with life. I'm not complaining AT ALL, but I've just been so busy. And I've had very little time to knit. This is compared to the DAYS of knitting time I had in the early fall, where I could finish a pair of socks in a week. So seriously, I guess it is all just balanced out.So what have I knit?

1. Lizard Ridge - I love the squares! We all know that, but I just have to share. The new square was knit in colorway 40, which I received from Holly last week. These squares knit up so quickly, and I love the fact that I'm getting to where I don't even have to think about it.
   I broke down yesterday and ordered some more Kureyon. I was truly trying to wait to see if Santa Claus would bring me some, but I found a good deal on Little Knits, and needed to order something from there anyway for my Coffee and Knitting Swap Pal. I can't wait to knit more squares. As a matter of fact, I might go ahead and follow Zarah's advice and "Frankenskein" my squares (knit the squares out of leftovers from previous squares). I'm pretty sure that's what the pattern wants you to do, too, but the way Zarah put it just sounds better.

   Oh, I also realized that the last square I knit was knit on size 7's instead of size 8's. I'm going to see if blocking helps, but if not, I might be redoing it.

2. Sockret Pal sock - My sockret pal will receive these socks at the end of the exchange, so she'll know who I am by then, which makes me not worry too much about posting pictures on my blog.

   At first, these socks looked Harry Potter-ish. Must have been the maroon and yellow. But now, they just look fun, and bright, which is exactly what she said she wants in a sock. I'm just doing a 3x1 rib on the leg and foot of the sock... nothing spectacular, but I'm liking the way they are coming out. If I can get a bit of knitting in this weekend, I should finish sock #1. I'm not sure I'll be knitting, because... well, I have things going on

3. Jaywalkers - OK, so I've been working on these socks FOREVER. And they are, officially, driving me nuts. I love the finished product. However, I hate knitting them. It takes me a while to get into a groove with this pattern, and I'm not digging on the fact that they are all lumpy and stuff. I know that once I wash them, the socks will smooth out, the wool will relax, and the socks will be lovely. However, I'm not enjoying this knit. I'm waiting for the product. So, in this case, and in most cases, I'm a product knitter. I really do enjoy the process most times, but really, not this time.

   One of my main issues with these socks was my 16" Knit Picks circular needle. The needle portion was too short for the increases (knit into the front and back of the stitch). I upgraded to a 24" and things are going much more smoothly. I think that I can finish these socks up fairly quickly, if only I had time to knit.

Other things I've been dealing with...

1. Cell Phone Issues - When I decided to move back to Ohio, I signed up for a Verizon account. The cell phone I got was all fine and dandy, but it didn't receive calls in my house. I worked with Verizon to try to upgrade the software on my phone, to no avail. I knew that I couldn't get a new phone for two years, but the least they could do was try to help me out. Nothing. Finally, the week of Thanksgiving, they decided they could exchange the phone I had for the same model, though the exchange would be refurbished. This is fine with me. But check it out...
   This phone has so many problems... not the least of which is that the outside screen does some funky things. I hope you can tell I didn't invert the picture. You can see that the Verizon logo on the phone is the right way, but the numbers in the time are all backwards and upside down. Sometimes they just wouldn't show up, and sometimes they looked like this, but NEVER were they correct. And the phone would randomly turn itself off. It was possessed, I tell you... possessed! So they sent me another one. The new one (same model) won't ring. It vibrates, but doesn't ring. Fun times. I have finally convinced the kind folks at Verizon that they need to stop giving me this LG model and change it out for something else. I should be receiving a new cell phone today. YAY!!!
2. Cutest Cats EVER
   

   
   They miss me because I'm never home.  And I miss them, too.  Aren't they just adorable?