Bread and Water

Super Sox Box Swap contest question: What is your favorite beverage and snack while knitting, and why?

When I knit, I like to have bread and water as a snack, except without the bread. So it is just plain old water. I choose water over other (far more delicious) beverages mainly for it's calorie free properties, and also because if I drink wine the whole time I knit, then I will end up with very wonky knitted items...

Thank you supercrafty Betts!

Betts, who is clearly supercrafty, is too good to us. She made DillyDally Knitter and I little tiny sock necklaces- she knit the socks on size 0000 needles, and then added them to the necklaces that she also made herself. They are adorable- thank you Betts!!!


Sock necklace, modelled by Dawn (who is thinking "Can I have the other sock please? I have been wearing these stupid high-heeled shoes since, like, 1974 and they are killing me. And who thought shoes with big holes in the bottom were a good idea anyway? I mean seriously."


Betts also made us these- most excellent. She bought the tiny blocker keychains, and then knit the socks herself using a special yarn for each of us. We love Betts! Oh- she also made us delish butternut squash soup, but that is, ummm, loooong gone!

YPF.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Silkie Socks That Rock: Walking on the Wild Tide

(this is the Socks that Rock Club yarn from April)

Hand Dyed cotton sock yarn, dyed by your's truly...

This is what it looked like before dying. It came from a friend's annual yarn swapping bash, and I got six skeins of it- when I dyed them I somehow missed this one!

Ok, ok, I know it is not yarn... it is a peony in my yard, and this is the first time that it has bloomed!

Super Sox Box Rocks!

Super Sox Box Swap Questionnaire:

1.What are your favorite colors?
Jewel tones- sapphire blue, ruby red, deep orange, deep pear green- you get the idea! Oh, and I love grey.

What colors make you cringe?
Candy pink and shamrock green. I guess I have bad memories of the "preppy" early eighties!

2.Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks?
I have been knitting socks for about three years, but for the first two of them I just knit a tube with a toe and a heel- not even ribbing! Recently I have been inspired by DillyDallyKnitter (a sock goddess) to advance my skillz somewhat, so now I use actual patterns and everything!

3.Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
I like variegated solids or multicolored yarn.

4.What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn?
Superwash merino or superwash and nylon.

5.Where do you usually knit socks?
On the couch, in the car, at my LYS... wherever!

6.How do you usually carry/store small projects?
In a drawstring bag or small handbag.

7.What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? Any favorite designers?
I guess my fave pattern that I have knit so far is "Roza's Socks" from Interweave Knits. I like Cookie A., but have not been brave enough to actually knit one of her patterns yet. I also love Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks book- the traditional patterns are so pretty!

8.What are your favorite sock knitting techniques?
I am traditional- I like top down on DPNs. I honestly think that I just like the way the DPNs look- all fancy and like I am doing something important.

9.What new techniques would you like to try?
Different heel techniques- I can currently do an afterthought heel and a flap heel, but I know that there are lots of other interesting variations out there! Also, fair isle... I have the yarn, but not the courage.

10.Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting?
DPNs

11.What are some of your favorite yarns?
Hand painted yarns- no particular brand, although I always love "indie dyers"

12.What yarn do you adore and yearn for? What yarn makes you happiest?
I yearn for Joseph Galler Pashmina (loads and loads of it)- I knit a small project with it once and it was woooooonnnnderful. It is way out of my budget though! What yarn makes me happiest? I guess hand dyed yarn- the colors are so pretty, and each one is a little bit different.

13.Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
A great big soft fluffy sweater made of chunky brightly colored cashmere.

14.Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
I would kill for Holz & Stein size 0 sock DPNs- do they even make those? Barring that, I like regular old bamboo 5 inch DPNs.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
I don't know.... but if I had to date someone from Gilligan's Island I would go with the Professor. Does that help?

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Sweet or salty?
Citrus fruit flavored jelly beans- I ate 4 lbs of them at Easter...

Do you collect anything?
You mean besides handbags?

What is your favorite scent?
Citrus, rosemary, lavender

Will you be celebrating a birthday, anniversary, etc. between now and the close of the swap?
Nope!

What’s your favorite animal?
The jellyfish. (just kidding)

Do you have pets?
5 cats, 6 goldfish and some guppies.

What are their species/names/ages?
Minette (cat), Ponette (cat), Friday the 13th (cat), Bijoux (cat), Ramona (cat)
Godfish 1, Goldfish2, Goldfish3, Goldfish4, Goldfish5, & Goldfish6
Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, etc. etc. etc. (guppies are very prolific)

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.What is your motto in life?
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. (this particularly applies to fun fur)

Do you have a wishlist? (ie: Amazon, B&N, a LYS, online store, etc.) Please list link here.
No- sorry!

Anything else you’d like to share with your Sox Box pal?
Yay sox!

Any allergies to be aware of for this swap?

Coffee, Tea?
Both!

Anything Else?

intrepid sock yarn shoppers...

This past weekend, DillyDallyKnitter and I were at it again as the intrepid sock yarn shoppers. On Friday evening, she let me know that Purlesence had received a new shipment of STR...

I shared my opinions with her and we decided that it was worth the trip. After all, it was sock yarn, which is almost always worth the trip! So, bright and early Saturday morning, we were off! We did our usual shopping, and just as we were pulling out of the parking lot, we spied this:

Viva Video/The Lace Museum! That sounded way too good to pass up. We werent 100% sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we turned around anyway. And lucky for us, it really was The Lace Museum.

There was lace everywhere, and of all types. Knitted lace, crocheted lace, tatted lace, needle lace, and lace made from hair- you name it, and it was there! And there was a very nice lady who showed it all to us, with a big wooden pointer.

It was all lovely, and some of it took over 30 hours per square inch to make!

There was a nice gift shop too, and so I started my holiday shopping early by buying this:

Isn't it lovely? That is hand worked needle lace on there!