Giftmaking continues

It has been like Sockapalooza around here! I got the Tercel socks done. They were a pain as predicted, but turned out well. They are very tight going around my heel, but were fine going around my housemate's heel and K is between us in foot size, so I think they will be fine.

Here is the first sock enjoying some sun at the coast.

Sock done!

Scylla socks, they are for the female partner of the male recipient of the Charybdis (thank goodness spell check has that word....I misspell it every time) socks. I love how they turned out!

Here are the socks for the daughter of the person above. Using the same yarn (just like I did for the socks of their son) and another color. I really love how these turned out!

I haven't taken a picture of the finished product yet, but these socks are done in Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rocks, color way Muddy Autumn Rainbow. I am having a hard time not keeping the socks for myself since the friend they are made for happens to have the same sized sock I do.... You can see the rainbow of the yarn here.

I managed to get the Muddy Autumn Rainbow IN a rainbow one afternoon! Pictures of the full socks later.

 These are the beginning of my next pair. My housemate's cat, Sam, posed with them for me. She even let me put her nose under the crossed needles, but I couldn't get a picture of it. She is a very chill cat. :)

I have completed 8 pair of socks for the project since late August. That is about a pair every 2 weeks. I have cut back on doing some of the ones I planned and switched one gift from a pair of socks to a Moebius scarf. So, one scarf, and 4-5 pair of socks to go...there may be some further changes. We'll see.

It has been nice to have specific goals. I still have to get yarn for 3 gifts though, and I'm not sure how I will manage that on my budget. I'll figure it out though!

Now, back to some work for the business. Hope anyone who reads this is having a great day!

Winter Holiday Projects

The Winter Holiday project progresses smoothly, if not quickly. I'm trying to go quickly, but since my knitting is just slow, quickly is relative. :)

Here are the Charybdis socks. I love how they turned out and my friend's trumpet vine was kind enough to be blooming for pictures a couple of weeks ago!

On Sunday, my friend K and I went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, OR. It was really nice, though very rainy so we only spent a couple of hours. When it is sunny, there are people outside knitting and spinning and with tents all around. Everyone was just crowded inside this time, which was frustrating.

Anyway, I got some yarn and a lovely gold/blue Pashmina scarf.

These will be socks for my friend M. I think it will do her good to have something handmade with love to wear on her feet. :)

These are for the friend I went to the festival with, K. She pointed out the yarn that she thought was cool as well as the colors she liked. It was perfect because I hadn't gotten yarn for her present yet. I had to get Lycra too. I may have to do these socks one at a time. That will be frustrating, but I think in the end they will be really lovely. :)

I already posted an in complete picture of the butterfly socks, but I thought I'd post the better picture I took recently. They are so lovely!!

My other obsession continues. I drew this Celtic knot that is supposed to combine Earth (green), Air (light blue), Fire (red), Water (dark blue). It turned out fairly well I think. I wish I could get more uniform color for the background.

Another Celtic knot. It is huge and I adore the pattern. I am going to try some different colors. There are twelve different strands. I used five colors for this one. These knots are completely engrossing. I love them.

I'm about a quarter of the way through the Scylla socks. I am liking how they are turning out so far. I'll use the leftover yarn from those, as well as another yarn to make socks for her daughter. I haven't figured out quite how they will look yet, but I am sure they will be amazing. :) I have patterns and/or yarn lined up for 5 more pair. :)

That's about it on this front. Business is chugging along and I am really looking forward to a quiet, energy building winter.

Sweater Weather is on it's way

Summer is coming to a close, and there is already a feel and smell of Autumn in the air. It makes me want to knit a big, soft, comfy sweater for myself. I know of two types of sweaters that I would love to make, but the cost for the yarn is too dear for me currently. I do have plans though, and they involve socks, mainly using up my tiny stash. Most of them will be going to friend and family for the winter holidays and I've already got 2 pair done! Not really that many, but I've not been up for knitting lately.

These are for me: a pair of pedicure socks so I can put oil on my feet and still paint my nails! I used some extra yarn I had and made them pretty short. They don't need to be perty.

These are the socks I made for myself (looking toward winter and the fact that my house shoes are flip flops) out of Madelinetosh, in Brother's Grimm. It is so lovely and soft. I love the subtle green mixed in with the black. I also love the name, as I love the tales and I lived in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) for a while in college. These remind me of the dark beauty of that area. I used a modified twisted cable, but don't remember where I found it!

I need a new picture of this one because I didn't manage to get a picture of the full motif, which is a butterfly. These are for my housemate and I've already had her try them on without her knowing they are for her. :) She really likes them too, which is very gratifying! The yarn is a special dye lot of Sock Candy called Uke Singer from Twisted in Portland. My housemate is vegan and these are a cotton/elastic blend which I adore. I can't wait until Blue Moon starts doing more colors, specifically multicolored because this is, by far, my favorite non wool yarn for socks and I have two people who need it!

This yarn was a gift from a friend of mine who purchased it at a local alpaca ranch, Foothills Yarn and Fiber. She got one skein and I was not sure what to do with it. It would be perfect for super soft socks (I adore alpaca socks), but there didn't seem to be enough of it...until...I realized that my friend L. has size 5.5 feet and really loves these funky colors. Both ladies are friends as well, so it is like a double gift for L.! I decided to embroider the skull (yes, that is supposed to be a skull) as an afterthought because L. loves skulls. I think it turned out very well. One friend I showed it to thought it could be a monkey, skull, or space invader (before I told her what it was), so I was in the ballpark at least. :)

I am currently working on some socks for friends who are a couple. I am hoping to use the yarn I got for them to also make socks for their two kids. We'll see how that goes. I am using patterns called Scylla and Charybdis, because they can be pretty fierce about protecting their home and kiddos. They also appreciate literature and history. Oh, and the really cool patterns I wanted to use used up way too much yarn for my holiday budget. :) I think they will like it.

I have 16 more pair planned, but I may not do them all. We'll see. Mainly I want to make sure my family and close friends have their socks. :) I also have some baby blankets to get done for impending arrivals. It is good colder weather is on it's way because I have a lot of knitting to do!

Dark mark scarf pictures

Pictures of the scarf. It is so very subtle. I hope the recipient can actually see it. :) I think he will really love it. I did explain how it works too, so he didn't think I just sent him a scarf. 

Still working on the lace stole. I haven't wanted to knit or do anything at all the past few days. I have been knitting, but my heart hasn't been in it. There is so much I want to get done! So many things I HAVE to get done. I'd rather sleep, or visit a couple of people I miss.

Toodles.

Busy Business

The keys to my new office are in my hands (or on my keyring). :) I should be able to start moving stuff in on June 17th. I'm hoping to be mostly ready to start seeing patients on June 25th. It might be more like the beginning of July, but getting a deadline for myself is probably a good thing.

I finished the Death Mark scarf. It turned out pretty well, though I did wash the super wash. It is wicked soft now, but a bit fuzzy. I think I'll see if taking my depiller (like my coined word?) to it will help. It is still drying after being blocked. Not the best blocking job ever, but not bad considering I didn't have wires, only a crapload of pins. I will get a picture up soon.

I also have been trying to see about creating a wine cozy, I think I have a picture already up, that I could sell. Trying to see how fast I can go so that I can make them affordable. There is a little wine place that might sell them, but I'll have to have my set up all ready to go. We'll see how it really goes. I am so tempted to make a bunch of baby socks too and try to find a place to sell them in town. No clue where. At least I could be doing something to make cash between patients and marketing/networking opportunities.

I have a whole list of things to do. I wish that I had someone to reliably bounce ideas off of, but I do not. :( Well, people do come along, just not always reliably. Everything will work out is my new mantra.

Toodles. Gotta head to an appointment. I hope that my landlord has our toilet fixed by the time I get home. Til then, I am at the mercy of other's toilets. :)

Toodles!

New office!?

Whee! I have a potential new office space! Terrifying really because I don't even have patients yet, but still thrilling. It seems the best option for the money and I am sure that it will work for what I need initially.

Got to pull together a better budget. Gosh, I hope I can remember everything!

I also need to STICK to my budget. :) Got some groceries today and am making a, hopefully amazing, lentil soup. It always smells delightful, but sometimes isn't as delightful in taste. I should get my housemate's girlfriend to make us Dahl and ship it. Her dahl is amazing and I would totally pay for that stuff! Got some other stuff too, which should last the week. I have a bad habit of going to the store and grabbing things as I need them, when I could actually start cooking again and save a lot of money. Oh cooking. The lentil soup isn't even hard to make.

Blah blah, I just felt like chatting with whoever actually reads this. I need to come up with some more blog posts for one of my other blogs and get content for my website as well. I decided no TV (which is pretty much only Netflix right now) during the day. I started watching a medical drama last night (oh what a huge, gigantic 28 week premie). It is tolerable, though I think I will be mocking them heartily, see parenthetical premie comment above. Considering that is why I watch medical dramas, this is a good thing.

I haven't been finishing that scarf. The edges are looking kind of funky and I am hoping that blocking will fix them. If not, well I'm not sure what I'll do. I'm just going to finish and see how I like it. Other than that, no handy crafts at all. Oy.

Now that I've taken my "break", I need to get back to that budget. Toodles!

Not so whiny post

Well, apparently the intarwebs decided that my last post, which was full of whining and angst, does not need to see the light of day. It felt good to write it, and I wish I had a copy, but suffice it to say that I'm still struggling and wish I had more physical, people around me, type support. At least the sun is out. :)

So, here are some pictures for you.

My nephew (not by blood, but I have two nephews and a niece by love). I made him that hat, and I think that might be the blanket I made behind him. His mama said that his sunshine socks fit pretty well too. Which means I really should get started on another pair for his first birthday. heh. He looks pretty happy with the hat, though he generally looks pretty happy I am gathering. I am really looking forward to seeing that precious face in person and pinching those cheeks!! EDIT: His dad was happy with the blanket. Apparently, it is the only blanket they got that looks "manly". :)

Finished the surf socks. I really need to get them into the mail, though since the recipient lives in Phoenix and it is almost June (tomorrow!! What??), there probably really isn't a rush. I just want her to know that someone loves her while she is having some real life issues. Ah, another reason for the web to delete my whiny post!!

I did not make this particular scarf, but, as you will see, I am working on one like it. I wanted to make it for another friend who has been having  a hard time. Dark Mark Scarf using Illusion knitting. I will admit I didn't think this would work...but it totally does!!!

This is the one I am making:

I am obviously using a darker green, which I thought would ruin the illusion, but it totally makes it more spooky!! I swear! The sides roll in and I kind of love that it looks like a snake pre blocking. Appropriate, don't you think? I am not doing just as the pattern says though. I have this thing about non reversible scarves and, since I don't do anything fancy like double knitting or reversible knitting, I have knit two scarves and I am planning on crocheting them together. This should take care of the rolling, and make it a nice thick warm scarf with FOUR dark marks on it!! The recipient lives in Seattle and loves to go to Canada, so I doubt he will find that it is too warm. :)

My ever present "helper". We have finally come to the understanding that yarn is not for chewing, which is fabulous. Circular needle cables are still up for debate, but we are working on it. :)

Finally, a present to me. My first date a few weeks ago with the spinner also ended up leading me to these lovely stitch markers that she made. She gave me several the day we spun. I kept meaning to get a picture and finally managed it. I don't use stitch markers often, but this will be better than safety pins when I do. :)

As an update for the future me, or anyone who might be reading. The first first date, J, was really great, then life ate her up. We still keep in touch and I still have her wheel, so hopefully, once life lets go a bit, we'll hang out again. The second first date, A, and I have been out about once a week since (so 3-4 times now). I am enjoying the time, but I don't really see big sparks there, or even little ones, on either side. We'll see how it goes. It will be nice to have another crafty friend though!! The third first date from that busy week, M, and I haven't been out again. It was a nice date, but nothing to write home about I guess. She did have lovely eyes.

I kind of hate dating. Well, I like meeting people usually, but I really want to reconnect with longer term friends and not necessarily get to know a bunch of new people. However, getting to know new people is where I am right now, so I'm trying to suck it up and go with it.

After all that, know what I just did? Look at Match.com again and sent a few emails. I even got one back already. That kind of helped my mood too. That's nice, so this post can end on a happy note. :)

Woof

Not much knitting to post. Still working on the Stole-that-never-ends. I'm also working on some socks for a friend. I was already working on them, then found out she ended up in the ICU, so, suddenly, these socks seem so much more important...even though she lives in Phoenix and probably won't need socks for about 6 months, if then. :) Deborah Norville Serenity sock yarn in Surf.

l

I managed to mail off the baby blanket, hat, and socks to the growing boy, as well as the socks for another good friend. Those were supposed to be birthday socks, but since they are about two months late, we are going with lovely surprise socks. :)

Here is a peek at the Stole-t-n-e. You can also see my helper. What is is with knitters and cats? Or lesbians and cats? I got a cat before I ever was either!

I had another date tonight with one of the ladies I've been seeing, but she isn't feeling well so we rescheduled to Saturday. It is a good sign that she felt bad and requested a rescheduling right? :) We get along really well, this one and I, and I enjoy talking to her. This is not the one who spins, but she does knit. I have been communicating with a fourth lady, but she is being slow on the uptake and her opportunities to meet me are diminishing rapidly, both because other people are filling my time, and because I don't like it when people feel flaky.

That is all for now. Still reading Yarnagogo. It is fun, but it does make me wish I was in a LTR again. Oh well, she will arrive whenever she needs to. Until then, I've got a business to plan and stuff to do, right??

For now, I'll enjoy my weekly quality time with this new lady:

I know, I'd be jealous too. :)

Spinning

So, I spent this past Saturday at the house of my first date from last week, J. She and I had yummy food, knitted, and she taught me to spin! She is also letting me borrow one of her wheels, plus she brought roving too, so I can spin on my own. It is really fun and driving me completely crazy, but that is part of the learning process huh?

Here is my first skein (on top of the lace stole I am knitting - which is taking Forevah!!) It is Alpaca and is Navajo plied. So pretty huh?? No clue what I'll do with it, but I'll figure something out, or maybe I'll just keep it and hold it sometimes. :)

Here is a shot she got of me actually spinning. I generally dislike shots of myself, but this one is mostly about the spinning, so it is all good. I have to admit that I'm pretty good at spinning. Even when it is screwing up, which seems to be happening a bunch now that J isn't there to tell me what I'm doing wrong, I can get fairly even thickness and that thickness is generally thin, which means when it is plied it will not be quite so big. I tend to like sock weight or DK weight, so I really want to be consistently spinning very thin singles so they can even out to a lighter weight yarn. J spins like THREAD weight singles....they are so gorgeous. That is my goal.

What I've been working on the past couple of days. I still can't quite imagine actually knitting it up and having it look good. I sometimes forget that I've already spun and knit an entire project! I wonder how much yarn this will make if I Navajo ply it, which I plan on doing, mostly because I have only two bobbins and don't feel like balling it all up to double ply.

So, second dates for two of the three women I met last week. Go me. Not sure about the third. She seems cool, but is pretty busy. I'll probably text her today to say hi. I am really looking forward to my second date with A tomorrow actually. It is at one of my favorite places with a big outdoor patio. I hope it isn't packed! 

If I can just get the rest of my life to start following my home life (which is amazing right now) and my dating life (so far!) then I would be super excited. Mostly, I just need to get money coming in the door. 

And just to add some adorableness....I just can't get over how cute Sam is! She slays me.

Dating

Date number two went really well. She has the same birthday as I do, though two years later, and she is geeky in all the right ways. It is likely I will have a date with a third person this weekend (if I can figure out the time). I'm not a player, I swear, I just also don't want to end up settling for anyone (or them for me) and it takes me some time to get to know people. The first lady will be making me some food on Saturday and that sounds like a great time. Maybe she will help me spin as beautifully as she does!!

I have been in contact with my first love for a while now and recently had a dream where we were in a submarine and all this crazy stuff happened. I told him about the dream, but I refrained from mentioning all of the making out we did in said dream. I don't want to tell him, but I wanted to tell someone I guess, so hi world, here ya go! Not that anyone is reading this, so I'm fairly safe. Anyway, he had a dream about me, no details beyond I was in it and I had his back. Part of me wants him to have romantic dreams about me, but in reality, I don't want romance with him anymore, but I miss the closeness we once had. Oh well. Being in some communication with him is good. Unfortunately, his partner seems to be rather jealous of me...not that she needs to be, and I find that frustrating. I am so not a threat to her!!

Anyway, maybe I just miss kissing people. I wonder if any of these ladies are good kissers and would be willing to make out a little, but not have it be a binding sort of relationship thing right now? Probably not. Oh well.

I got a phone call, so I got distracted. I forgot what else I was going to talk about. Gonna log off now and head to bed soon! Toodles.

Project update

Today was actually a very productive day, something I haven't had much of lately. I had a lovely breakfast with a friend, did some yard work, bought food and a new cat tree for the kittehs (their old cat tree finally died), and grocery shopped (long overdue). Not much by many people's standards (or my old ones), but recently it seems like a lot. Now I'm catching up on some TV and writing. I do need to put that cat stand together...

I had a lovely date (in two parts) on Saturday with a new lady who also knits and spins. She has a spinning wheel. Is it strange to find that very alluring? :) We seemed to have a connection, so we will be having another date this weekend, she has offered to cook and show me her wheel. Oooooo! I probably have another date on Tuesday night, with a different person, who also knits. I'm not quite ready to settle down yet, but I am enjoying meeting new people.  

It is sunny, quiet, and cool in the house. Just one of those gorgeous days that Portland gives you to remind you that 1) she can be kind and 2) why you decided to move here in the first place. When the rain and cold of winter make you dream of moving to southern AZ, she pulls out a day like this and says,"It's so hot down there...don't you want to stay here with lush, beautiful me? See how I shine in the sun?" And you sigh as you agree that moving to the desert is a horrible idea. Of course, the next day, she may slap you with a freezing rain, or clouds for a week, but you remember how stunning she is in that sun and you hunker down to wait for summer. I love it here.

Here are some of the projects I've finished in the last year or so. I haven't been very prolific, but I have been happy with what has come off of my needles. 

This is what I have dubbed the Harry Potter Blanket. The colored squares were designed by Marie Wright as individual squares, I think a lot of people may use them as washcloths. I designed the black squares, I posted a picture of them a couple of posts ago. They have a lightening HP on them, like the movies have. Unfortunately, the black makes it difficult to see. The blanket turned out really well. I made it with Shine and this is probably one of my favorite cotton blends to work with. I'm repeating some of this information from the previous post, but I thought it would be nice to have it with the finished picture. I am considering selling this, but I haven't decided yet. I may just bundle it off to Seattle to my friend K.

Got some baby blankets done this past year too. The following two are both the same design, Pine Forest Baby Blanket. It is simple and lovely and really easy to do without a lot of thought once you get the pattern down. The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage, which has recently become a big favorite. It is cushy and lush and the colors are brilliant! This one is in Norway Spruce:

And this is in Byzantine:

Another baby blanket (yes they have been arriving all year!) This is the Sheldon blanket again, but in Lion Brand Homespun. Hate the yarn, liked the final product. Famile likes it too. :)

 Now, I usually despise novelty yarn, but a friend of mine asked me to make a scarf out of Sashay (in Tango, seen here) and then sent a bunch more yarn (most of it novelty, unfortunately but some sock yarn!) and said she wanted it as her Christmas present. How could I refuse? It is fiddly and I had to make up my own "pattern" for the scarf because the directions on the ball made no sense, but I love how it turned out. Enough to go buy more in Salsa for a scarf of my own. It isn't horrible, just slow going.

The hats that I currently have are awful and it is always a good idea to have a good cap (or three) here in cold, wet Portland. I grabbed some Madelinetosh chunky (in Charcoal and Ox Blood) and made Andrea Goutier's Hurricane Hat. It was simple and I get lots of complements. :) The Ox Blood one isn't done. I also had enough to make a wee hat for my nephew!

Now for a mess of socks. I didn't do anything special on any of them except the last two:

Serenity in Cinnamon. These are a bit loose, so I am adjusting for other socks made with this yarn.

We wear flip-flops as shoes in this house (old old wooden floor with tiny nails that pop up, one needs to stay shod), so Tabi socks are the way to go when it comes to winter socks. (it also stays chilly in the house so we definitely want socks with our flip-flops!!) I'll probably start a few for my new housemate at some point...

The final product of the toe I showed earlier. Mini Mochi in Earthy Tones.

Cascade yarns Eco Alpaca in Chestnut Twist, which is ridiculously soft and I've already worn a hole in these over the winter!! My ex requested a full body suit complete with feet, mittens and a hood after she touched it. I dubbed these the Alpaca Socks of Yumminess.

Chroma Yarn from Knit Picks, in New England.

These are my "sunshine socks". The color made me think of sunshine, something that is usually in short supply here in the winter. I adore them. More Madelinetosh! This time in Chamomile, which seems just right for a naturopath...calming, sunny, herbal. :)

I used the tail end of the Chamomile to make these wee socks for my nephew (need to mail them before his feet get too big) and finished the cuff with the purple left over from my niece's socks. They are adorable. Oh, and for size reference, those are tiny daffodils.

For my dear friend A, who does not wear wool well, but has a perfect foot size for experimenting with different sock ideas, Crystal Palace often comes to the rescue. This colorway is BBQ sauce. I adore it. The pattern is a modification of one I have in a stitch dictionary called a Turkish Chain. I like how it turned out, though it doesn't have quite the same look as the original stitch. My housemate modeled for me (as I have gargantuan feet) and then one of the socks promptly disappeared during their pre-mailing wash. I hope it comes back soon. 

That's all for now. I've got a lace shawl on the needles as well as some plain socks. Neither is really ready for the camera. I hope I can properly block the shawl...I'm not a big blocker. I guess that is what the intarwebs are for huh? :)

Have a lovely day, to anyone who might read this.

New year, new everything

It has been over a year and what a year it was! 2012 kicked my buttocks and I was happy to see it go. I graduated from naturopathic medical school, studied a lot, took my medical boards, spent 2 great weeks with my family and friends, spent two fairly miserable weeks in Montana (though it is so beautiful there!, broke up with my girlfriend of 4 years, and still lived with her for almost 4 months after we broke up! Oh yeah, and two of my best friends moved out of state. Whew.

2013 started out so much better though. A freshly empty house (the ex brought a majority of the furniture into the relationship...thank the goddess I still had my bed and that I got the dresser), an AMAZING new housemate, who's praises cannot be sufficiently sung, a short new romance that really helped me over a bit more of the hurt, a newly minted medical license, some new friends, and a ton of support from my old friends. I am truly blessed.

I've been reading www.yarnagogo.com which is written by Rachael Herron. I read one of her knitting books and just loved it. Now I am vicariously living through her life from 10 years ago via her blog archives. I see some of what I am going through in her posts, though she is infinitely more cool than I am/ever was and she knits things that are so much more interesting than I do. Though, I do wonder if we always thing what we make is just ok, and even the most simple things that others make are just so amazing!! Works of art really!! Anyway, makes me want to be a knitting blogger who becomes famous and well read. Doubtful, but who knows! Maybe if I update this thing more often and change the name to something more catchy, I could. Yarn...stat! :)

I have more pictures to add and I will do that over the next few days. Maybe writing on this, relatively unseen blog will help clear out the rest of the cobwebs and get me moving on more important things like my practice webpage and activist blog. Not yarn activism, but size activism. Yarn activism though....save the sheep? Yeah, not really a thing huh?

Lots to do tomorrow though, so this cat is headed to bed. I thought I'd throw up one of the pictures I'm most proud of recently. This blanket is going to my friend's new baby (I wish I could take it personally). I knitted some of the Oregon coast into it on my birthday trip out there this year and couldn't resist making sure it got a good picture with the ocean. He'll love it.