Sleepwalker socks in BMFA Rose Quartz

It’s always a thrill for me to finish knitting a pair of socks! I started these on July 18th, and got them done this morning. To me, these are really like a little work of art  that I’ve thrown myself into - the colours, textures, composition….they are NOT just functional, stick these on your feet and walk on them staples…they truly are my objets d’arts…The pattern “Sleepwalker Socks”, designed by Monica Nappe, was super easy to follow and knit up quickly.  Not totally mindless, but certainly not difficult. The yarn, BMFA Socks that Rock  in the colourway “Rose Quartz” was pure bliss to work with. I don’t necessarily pooh-pooh the cheaper less expensive commerical yarns available, and some folks would think that some of us are nuts to spend small fortunes on  hand dyed yarns, but, you just have to work with this stuff to realize that, YES, there is a BIG, BIG difference.

The colour, Rose Quartz, was more in the purple-y zone -I took some photos of the socks along side some purple cone flowers, and the colour is pretty close. I had been looking for something more pinky, but in the end, I really like this colour. So, I got these finished just as we come to an end of our mid-summer long weekend. Next long weekend will be for Labour Day, and honestly, but not officially, summer will be over. That’s a little sad. We’ve had awful weather so far this summer - NO SUMMER - so far….We got 50/50 this long weekend….that’s better than it’s been.

It’s now time to start thinking “autumn” colours…and  to decide what new sock project to start (don’t mention that I’ve got like 4-5 plain jane socks already on the needles)….

Two more weeks at work, and it will be holiday time for us, and son and his GF will be coming home for a 3 week visit.

Can’t wait…………

Look outside the window, and what do I see? Adirondack chairs sitting lonely and unused, the deserted gazebo,  potted herbs growing thin and scraggly, the pool sitting cold and abandoned, and a hummingbird feeder that’s seeing less business than a MacDonald’s after 8pm in a rough part of Calgary town (that’s a whole other story). Every day the skies are grey, rainy and early mornings, usually alive with the sound of chirping birds, are quiet, cold and depressing………..This is and has been our summer so far. Hey, GLOBAL WARMING PEOPLE…..WHERE ARE YOU ALL HIDING??? What we’d give for global warming over here!!! That means, hey…our summer would actually be warm, and we’d actually be outside doing summery things!  Not wearing jackets, pants, and wool socks in our Birkies (but, really that’s okay),  hiding in our houses and watching the days getting shorter and shorter, without having had our fill of barbeques and margaritas….(That’s another thing sitting unused…our brand new purchase of a Margaritaville slushy drink maker…)

And, hey, global warming people…this is not an anomaly….last summer was pretty much the same, and, the one before that not so great…and the winters have been colder and snowier….I’m very sorry, but I am not seeing, nor am I living through any kind of warming trend….sheesh…AND, there does NOT exist a floating island of plastic grocery bags…sheesh….AND, the polar bears are thriving, and Lake Ontario is cleaner than it ever was…AND, I DRIVE A HONDA CIVIC!!! Hey, Mr. McGuinty, where’s my handout for buying a fuel miser car? Why are you giving out $10,000 to people who can afford the trendy $40,000 battery-powered cars (made OUTSIDE OF CANADA). And, the battery-powered cars are going to need POWER (which apparently is in shortage in Ontario already), and where are those god-dammed used batteries going to be hauled off to??  Oh…yeah, we’ll stick them all on the floating plastic bag island and watch them float away…And, geez, while we are at it and for good measure, we’ll throw onboard all the disposable poopy baby diapers apparently that apparently have a hand in this “global warming catastrophe”, because we are really being conscious about our planet  using a diaper service that uses the most harsh bleaches, chemicals and detergents known to mankind to clean the yellow & brown poopy diapers . ..(have you every seen the colour of a pre-solid eating baby’s poop??  No scientific team in the world could devise a dye that  is so deep yellow and permeating if they spent their entire careers trying to formulate it)….Do you think that cold water and mild, little meek Ivory Snow baby clothes detergent is going to get that yellow-stained cotton cloth diaper clean??? And, what do you think makes water HOT?? POWER!! Which we are apparently running out of… Just think about it….(well, that was my little rant for this morning…I sure feel better now…)

It’s getting really depressing looking out my backdoor window every day seeing the usual icons of summer sitting unused in the cool, rainy grey days… It doesn’t help that with my poor sore knee, I cannot walk this year. Yep, that would have been the silver lining in this cold, grey clouds of this summer - Erwin and I would be able to hit the trails to hike and walk to our heart’s content without having to wilt away in the heat, and sweat like little piggies….(memories of an 11km hike on Mizzy Trail in Algonquin Park when Erwin, Justine and I got dehydrated and mosquito bit to death, several years ago, but then, that’s another story as well)…

My only solace is that I’m waiting for Chris & Anna to come home for a visit in August, and that at least I can still knit and quilt with bum knees…

My little pretties all sit in a row….waiting to be worked on…(that’s Kiwi waiting for me to go down to my sewing room)…

Erwin's Winter socks in Opal Handpainted

Regia Cotton Weekender socks

Pattern: Sleepwalker Yarn: Socks that Rock in Rose Quartz

So, not is all lost - a lot of people in my family are going to get a lot of socks and quilts this winter…Because we do FREEZE our asses off here each and every winter, and my Honda Civic can hardly make it through the snow covered roads to work in the morning….

I leave you with Ollie…unhappy with the wet day and as miserable about the weather as I am..

C’mon Kiwi let’s go down and get some sewing done….

Ollie whining

Yes, it’s been a long, long time…A long, long time since I’ve posted that is. Too much to do, too little time. Plus, my knee troubles have worsened and I’m pretty miserable most of the time.

Since I last posted, I received the June shipment from Woolgirl - the theme for June 2009 is It’s Raining Cats & Dogs:

Lovely package from Woolgirl

Dream In Color Smooshy

The contents of the June sock kit are awesome, so much swag:

Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in “It’s Raining Cats & Dogs” colorway

A bone calculator

Cute cat & dog notecards

Cute cat & dog stitch markers

Cute animal theme pattern tamers

Bunch of cute little cat/dog pendants

Stickers

Umbrella tape measure

Wooden “paw” needle size gauge thingy

Two patterns (sock & shawl)The yarn is super soft, the colours so look like a brindle dog coat — not a colour I’d specifically would go out and buy, but, hey…that’s what sock clubs are for…to break out of the box a little. Great thing about it is that I  see a pair of socks for Erwin in the future with this yarn. It’s perfect for him!

Speaking of Erwin, I finished his summer weight cotton blend socks

Lana Grossa Cotton blend yarn

And, I’ve already started a new pair for him using some handpainted Opal

Opal Handpainted yarn

Talking about cotton, I also finished my pair of Flame Wave socks done in Cascade Fixation cotton in the olive colourway

Flame Wave socks in Cascade Fixation

I really didn’t like this yarn. It was supposed to knit up very quickly, because it is thicker and the pattern called for 3.5 & 4.0 needles, but with the slight amount of elastic in it, I really struggled with the yarn. It just wouldn’t slide on the bamboo needles…Note to self: why didn’t you try your nickel plated needles duh?

I also finished up a pair of Monkey socks - yes “the” Monkey sock design by Cookie A using super smooshy Indigo Moon yarn

Monkey socks knit in Indigo Moon Yarn - Wine Country

As June wrapped up, and July came barrelling in, the July sock kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (Rockin’ Sock Club) arrivedI love the sticker that I got….sorta sums me up pretty well “I like poetry, long walks on the beach and poking dead things with a stick”…

The colourway is called “Garden Daze” and the colours represent those found in heritage tomatoes

BMFA Socks That Rock "Garden Daze"

I really love this colourway, and can’t wait to cast on. The pattern is for a shortie sock — anklets — but I’m not sure if I want to use that pattern for these socks.

What else have I been up to? Our weather in Ontario has been total pits….Bummer Summer as I call it.  But, thank goodness most of the gardening was done before I busted up my knee, everything is blooming away without very little intervention from me….

Asiatic Lily

Except for having to control these bugs….

Asiatic Lily Beetle

Asiatic Lily Beetle Larvae

Which means squishing their larvae by hand….encrusted in the parent’s feces….yummy…..I’m on a mission now…and you don’t need knees to do this!! Like, my sticker says, I like poking dead things with sticks - this is even better, squishing crap-encrusted larvae by hand - no stick between me & the poop covered babies…

Yes, it has been a long, long time…I’m happy to catch up. I leave you now with my bone calculator - forget about diamonds being a girl’s best friend…(the buttons are little paws LOL!!)

It’s only Tuesday - not even hump day - just a day of schlepping off to work and back. So nice though, to take that noon hour walk  at  nearby Stoney Creek trails.The usual suspects were hanging around: male mallards fighting over the birdseed we brought,  a deer in the rushes — too fast for our camera and the usual assortment of crazy squirrels.  We saw a scarlet tananger, but it was too high up in the treetop to take a decent photo.  And, we saw a raccoon, who froze and pretended to be part of the tree as we went by. The mama duck with her ducklings was nowhere to be seen today.

Back at the office, the mail brought a package of books from Amazon: a knitting book and a quilting book.

SPOILER ALERT for Indigo Moon Yarn and BMFA Rockin’ Sock clubs:

I had already received the BMFA May yarn - Pepe la Plume last Friday:

We had gotten hints about the yarn & pattern, all centering around Fraggle Rock - so most, including myself - was expecting a crazy, multi-coloured skein of yarn.But, the depraved dyer, Tina, played a little joke on us, and dyed up this lovely melange of dark purples, plums and lavender. The accompanying pattern is the Fraggle Rock connection, and it looks ……well…pretty crazy. All bubbly and stuff. If I ever attempt this pattern, I think that I’ll use a solid colour, or a semi-solid.

And, today,  keeping with the purple theme, a wonderful surprise from the Indigo Moon yarn club:

Apple Blossoms and Flowering Plum colourway…Yummmy…I absolutely LOVE this colour. It is as dusky and washed out as the photo. It  doesn’t scream “I’m purple”, which I really am happy about. It is so subtle as compared to Pepe la Plume. And, you know what? I love them both. Go figure.

And, finally (not the day…it’s still early and I’ve got things a happening….), got home to discover this in one of my flower gardens:I swear, this was not in the garden when I weeded there over the weekend. How can such an appendage grow in such a short period of time?

The "thing" growing in our flower garden

We are having a cool, but lovely spring this year. This suits me fine. Erwin and I enjoy taking  lunch hour walks at nearby trails, and all kind of little springtime babies have been popping up over the last weeks. Unfortunately I’ve been having knee problems and we have not been walking as much as usual - but, we’ve shortened our walks and we can still get in tune with nature - a little. Physio seems to be going nowhere - I think I’ve just been too hard on this old bod.  But, I just love getting out of the office for an hour or so. That little break just seems to re-energize enough to tackle the afternoon work.

On the knitting front, I hear that RSC has shipped out the May sock kit, and some lucky people have received theirs. I won’t give it away, but apparently something to do with Fraggle Rock.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that mine will arrive soon.

Even though I’ve been knitting every day, progress has been slow since I am so caught up with knitting the Flame Wave socks from Interweave’s Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless designs book. It’s taking forever. I read on Ravelry that this pattern knits up quickly. So, I don’t know why it’s taking me an eternity. I think that the one little M1 is driving me crazy. I mean, I thought that this sock was going to go quickly, being that the needles are sz 3.75 & 3.50 mm versus the usual 2.5 I usually use. And the Cascades Fixation is a lot thicker, but it’s stretchy and doesn’t slide on the needles as well. I’ve got one sock completed and about 1/4 on the other. I’ll get a picture up soon.Good news! The Spring Foward socks recipient, and I can now name names, was Anna (my son’s girlfriend). I sent them to her for her birthday and she loves them!! I am so lucky to have such great sock and quilt recipients.  Anna phoned and was so thrilled to have gotten them, and she said that she has them on all the time. Chris then spoke to me and he told me that she wanted more! The list grows and grows….Does it get any better??

Has it been two months already?? Yesseriebob, Mr & Mrs Mail Carrier (a couple delivers our mail), showed up with the second club sock kit from BMFA today.

Introducing the newest member of our sock yarn family………….Ms.  Gertrude Skein!

BMFA Rockin' Sock Club March "Gertrude Skein"

And, the Rogue Roses pattern by the Yarn Harlot herself I’m feeling pretty proud of myself, because my guess (after the first hint we were taunted with), was something romantic and colours you would find in an English garden…soft pinks, greens, lavenders.

This just made my day!

Geez, sometimes work really gets in the way of knitting and quilting. But, if I wasn’t out there earning, I would not be able to indulge in my passions. Here we are, Wednesday already, and I’ve barely had time to put in any knitting/quilting stitches.

On the knitting front, I did go shopping with my sil for yarn (see my last post); I got to the heel flap of my first Trekking XXL purples - this sock is in holding pattern right now,  until I see my sil this weekend - I’ll show her how to turn the heel. I’m still also knitting on the sock from hell (most ugly yarn I’ve ever seen — I know that I should rip it out and just put that skein to rest, but I just can’t help it), and I’ve now started Grumperina’s Jaywalker sock. I saw some finished socks in this pattern on Ravelry, and after reading through the pattern - I figured I could do this pattern. And, it is really easy. Once I figured out the K1 f/b (real easy) and the DD (slip 2 stitches together as if to knit and then knit next stitch, then slip the slipped stitches over the knit stich) I started and, well, I think I know what I’m doing. Some pattern is emerging.

I’ m using some Brooklyn Handspun yarn that I picked up at last year’s Kitchener-Waterloo knitting festival - the colours are a little odd — but I was attracted to them: yellow, brown and peach. They labelled it as Root colourway. I will get a photo up asap.

On the virtual knitting front - I received the Spina di Pesce sock kit from Yarnissima to join the KAL with the Yarnissima Ravelry group. It’s  gorgeous, gorgeous blues Wollmeise yarn. The KAL starts on April 4th. This is the KAL that I need to get ready for by learning how to knit toe-up and learn some stitches, plus figure out how to read those charts.

I also received a pkg from Knitpicks with a book from Cat Bordhi “New Pathways for Sock Knitters” - that should help me learn the toe up thing. I also signed up for some Peanuts kits from Woolgirl (have not heard back yet as to whether I go in on those.) And, phew, I joined the Indigo Moon Ravelry group just in time to discover that Indigo Moon will be running it’s first ever Yarn Club!!! I’ll be watching out for that one. And, last, but not least, I’ve been reading the buzz about some people having received their March sock kit from BMFA.

So, considering I’m having a busy week at work, and, now that I put it down in words, I did have time for some knitting related stuff - and the week is not over!!

On the quilting front, I managed to get a quilt in to Jan (long arm quilter) for quilting and I just have to get one last border onto my Holiday Sampler quilt, and then I can drop that one off with Jan as well.

Wow! Imagine how much of this stuff I will get done when I retire (BTW, very long way off). Nice to dream about it though!

“It” finally arrived!! A package today from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Sock Club My first ever sock club kit!I am so excited by this. The wool is gorgeous - My Blue Heaven - and the beautiful pattern is called “Queen of Beads” designed by Sivia Harding. The beads get knit into the socks…YIKES!! Up to know all I’ve done is plain knitting…I think I’m going to need help with this….

The kit also included some “extras” - button, keychain, sticker, and stuff for the binder - which is all VERY, very cool indeed….

This is going to be my year to sock soar…………