Socks on Circulars

I've spent a good deal of my time this week working on my projects in Ravelry. Talk about an organized database - it's great. I've found some neat patterns for some of my stash so I'm pretty excited. One of the many groups I've joined is Mid Penn Ravelers, where I've connected with a couple of local ladies and we plan on getting together this week at our local Starbucks. Should be fun.

I decided last week to try socks on circular needles when I found this tutorial and after a couple of false starts I'm now 3 1/2 pattern repeats into my Wild Kat Socks with Tofutsies. I like this technique as the lace pattern seems easier, when I'm not watching a movie, to remember. No second sock syndrome either. The Tofutsies isn't nearly as stretchy as the Tess Designs and it's a little splitty, but so far I like it.

A couple weeks ago MFB and I went to Pittsburgh for a getaway weekend. Our first stop in the city was scheduled to be Knit One. Well, when we went through all those cars a couple months ago we left the road atlas in one of them. So when MFB picked me up from work that Friday, he had a surprise for me. Meet our friend MIO, or as I sometime refer to him, @$$h()!e. I have wanted a GPS for several months now. I have, and have enlisted several of our friends to, harass MFB to the point that I have been almost hysterical with laughter over the need for one. Now what am I going to tease him about?! The instruction manual isn't real informative, but I was the passenger so I learned. The tunnels into Pittsburgh were closed for the weekend but I couldn't figure out how to get the thing to "avoid" steps in the route so it was pretty funny and the nickname was born.

We made it to Knit One and what a store. Very friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff. The shop was spacious and airy and had a wonderful seating area with magazines, so after about 15mins of waiting for me in the car MFB came in and was quite comfortable. I went looking for yarn for the Second Wave Clapotis KAL. I came away with this from Autumn House Farm. This is Summer Silk, 50% Silk 50% Rayon, in the Rose colorway and I have 800 yards. Come join us there we start in September.

Can you believe August is almost over? I'm so not ready for Fall or Winter.

First Pair for Summer of Socks 2007!

I am so excited to have finished my Monkey Socks! As the post title says, this is my first pair for Summer of Socks 2007, she says like she may be able to finish a second pair. I started these around June 26 and finished them August 15. I love these socks, the pattern, the yarn, the color and the feel. I did make one modification - I added 8 stitches and divided them by 2 stitches per pattern repeat. I've never modified a pattern before, so I was excited that logic worked. This is Tess' Designs Supersock and Baby in the Peach Melba colorway.

New project, deep breath, teaching myself to knit two socks at a time on two circulars. I purchased two Addi Turbo circular US 2 24" needles at my LYS and cast on last night. Starting this at 9:00pm last night was not a good idea. You know the saying, read all the instructions before starting? Why would I do that?! So - ripped back out this evening and will start over.

I joined the Tofutsies Sock Club a couple months ago and have already received two of their limited edition colors and three patterns. I'm actually going to use the first ball of yarn I picked up at Maryland Sheep and Wool and I'm doing the Wild Kat pattern.

I received my Ravelry invite a couple weeks ago and as a couple of my friends here have said, it is the black hole of time! LOL The database is fantastic - it's such a great search engine. If I haven't found you yet and you're there, let me know.

Keep kind thoughts for me will you? I don't know how this circular needle sock knitting thing will go. After I ripped out this evening I discovered I had the needles around my neck, not like a noose YET, but like a necklace.

Woodpecker update: MFB put cheap pinwheels up. The next morning - you guessed it - the little ph is back. MFB then put up a magnifying makeup mirror and covered up the holes with galvinized steel. (poor embarrassed porch) Since then we haven't seen any new damage, but - the roof is low and MFB is tall. He had to move the makeup mirror over about a foot - he forgot it was there *giggle* Keep your fingers crossed!

The Story of Three ... Conclusion

This all started the other day when I said I'm haunted by the number three.

My cell phone was almost three years old. Battery needed to be recharged almost every day, the face of it had a big crack, and it was heavy and bulky. The cost of a new battery was about half the cost of a new phone so I started researching phones. I found one that was perfect, MP3 player, 2 megapixel camera, the new 3G network so it would be fast when I decide to add a data plan once hockey season starts. After leaving Colonial Yarn MFB and I met up at the cell phone store and I showed him what I had decided on. MFB knows a lot more about electronic items than I do as I'm more interested in fiber, so I generally defer to his recommendation. This being said, I was all excited to show him what I found and proud of my research. He hadn't made a decision on the new phone he wanted but we went ahead and purchased the new one I wanted. He talked me into getting the flashy red model. I went to work getting to know the phone.

The next day I discover there is no voice activated dial which I assumed was standard as it was on the old phone. We confirmed that the phone I bought could be returned within 30 days - and the saleslady asked if we still had the box, because if we returned the phone without the box, we would be charged a $25 packaging fee. We were glad she mentioned that as the box was sitting in the trash. So, back to the drawing board. Two days later I returned phone #2 for phone #3. #3 is not flashy red and the camera is a 1.5 megapixel, but I really like this one.

Moving on now, MFB and I have done a lot of renovating of our 125 year old home. We found some kitchen taps over the 4th of July weekend we both liked but I had to talk him into purchasing as they're a little modern for our house but a very clean design. We bought them from his favorite toy store, but it happens to be about an hour away from home. The next day he has the water turned off and the old taps out then opens the box and there is this scratch on the plate. This is a good brand name and was pricey enough to perturb us. He went ahead and installed this and we thought we'd live with it. The taps didn't work right from the beginning, dripped just bad enough. Two weeks later we bought set #3, installed it then returned set #2.

You're still here? Well then I am going to show you the other yarn I picked up at the Colonial Yarn Shop in Shiremanstown. This is Claudia Hand Paints in the Red Wagon colorway. It reminds me of watermelon. 100% Merino Fingering Weight 175 yards/50 grams. I haven't decided which sock pattern yet.

The Story of Three - Part 1

This is the story of three, or as MFB refers to it, The tale of Two Volvos.

The Volvo S80 we've had for the last four years reached about 160,000 miles and we were considering replacing it after we replaced the mass air fuel sensor for the second time. The discussions became more frequent after we discovered the oil leak it had was the master seal. Then one day I said, the car smells of gasoline, and he said no it's oil. Really, it smelled like gasoline. We contacted a wholesaler we met at the car show a couple months ago and started shopping. We spent a couple of weeks of test driving. One car with twin turbos that he loved and I - not so much. I love speed and performance but thought this might be a little too fast, and wasn't fond of the body style. I almost changed my mind when I saw these really cool cubbies in the front doors that were perfect for storing traveling knitting projects. But I can't buy a car simply because I could hide stash in it, right? RIGHT?

What we bought was a 3 year old Volvo S80 with a low pressure turbo. Fast, extremely comfortable, and enough after market goodies to keep you know who busy on the weekends for the rest of the summer. I actually wasn't with him for the test drive or purchase as I was out of town on a business trip. It came home with him on a Wednesday night. I got home on Thursday night, and Friday after work we take it to Grove City. It was comfortable and roomy, just what we were looking for.

On Monday I drive it for the first time and as I leave work to head home, the check engine light comes on. MFB drives the car, and the light goes out. After some work at a dealer we take it back to the wholesaler. He calls us two days later and the problem is going to require surgery that may take two weeks. In the same breath, the wholesaler tells us that they have another car which is almost an exact twin to the one now in the operating room. They offer to take the car they sold us back and to sell us this twin as a straight across trade. They did everything they could to make the situation right and we are very happy with the 2nd new car. The customer service this wholesaler showed us is something one doesn't always see these days, and now we see why customers from all over the Eastern states travel to buy vehicles from them. That's my story of three Volvos in a month.

I didn't mention it but the wholesaler is almost two hours away in Manheim, near Harrisburg. The day we went to pick up Volvo #3, we drove MFB's Stratus and I took my knitting with me - naturally. While he was swapping out the XM radio for the second time, I sat in the wholesalers office knitting. All of a sudden, MFB said "didn't you want to go find that yarn store on the West Shore? Why don't you head out?" So head out I did, after finding out that Volvo #1 did indeed have a fuel line leak along with the oil leak - Hah!

I needed a GPS to find this yarn store and of course I didn't have one. I called the yarn store, she gave perfect directions but do you think I could follow them? I drove past the exit by a good 10 miles, and ended up calling the store 3 times. These are the times where I wonder where I would be without my cell phone. I finally arrived at The Colonial Yarn Shop in Shiremanstown and came home with a couple of yarns that I can't find at my LYS's. Here's a skein of Colinette Jitterbug in the Jay colorway. It has a sock pattern on the label but I haven't looked closely to see what it is.

The Story of Three to be continued.