Sunday, September 17, 2006

Absent

Where does the time go? It's been far too long since my last post, which is not like me. Everything is fine. I've just been settling into the schedules of the new school year and adjusting to the new rhythm that brings. I've been following everyone's blogs and it's so nice to hear you all are doing well.

At the beginning of the week, we had a nice visit from Uncle Dan, my sister A.'s husband. He was in town on business and stayed with us for a few days. We got to see a movie, go out to eat, and have a great dinner in. Here is Girlie hitting him up to order something from her school fundraiser.

What a great little salesperson. Thanks for your support, Uncle Dan!

And knitting? Boy, have I been knitting. I still marvel at the thought that my approach to knitting is so unlike any other aspect of my life. In my everyday life, I am loyal and focused. In knitting, I seem to flit from one project to another without warning. Is there such a thing as knitter's ADD? If so, I have it. The good thing is, the projects do get done eventually.

Ho that I am, I've joined several more swaps and knitalongs:
What is not to love about chocolate? Especially when you add knitting to the mix. What's really cool is that my swap partner, Angela lives not too far from me. How did that happen? However it did, I'm looking forward to spoiling and being spoiled by her.

I had such a great experience with SP8, I was happy to hear that sign-ups for SP9 are now open.

Jennifer started this blog for crafters who are interested in keeping up with their beading. I love to do beadwork, but it has definitely taken a back seat to my knitting obsession. If you're interested in beadwork at all, take a peek at this new blog.

I'm very excited about Sockret Pal since my compadre Amanda got me hooked on knitting socks. Thanks, girl! I've never had so much fun!

And sign-ups are now open for Socktoberfest. Count me in!

I missed the Knitters Tea Swap the first time around, so I'm glad they decided to do another round. I do have to admit, I'm a bit of a tea snob. Just ask Chrissy. I have to bring my own tea bags to restaurants, since they rarely serve my favorite. (For the record, it's PG Tips).

Cables, anyone? What I love about cables is how deceptively easy they are to do, yet they look very complicated on a finished object. I learned how to do cables while practicing on a dishcloth, which I highly recommend. But watch out: knitting dishcloths is another highly addictive aspect of knitting!

I've also joined Jennifer's brand new Fiberflix KAL, which will be run in the same manner as Knit the Classics, which sadly I missed out on. Instead of books, the group will be knitting along to movies. I do that already!

And a warning beforehand: I stand little chance of making it beyond the first round of the Sock Wars, but I'm not going down without a fight. The pattern is to be released this coming Friday, and I will probably be a bit scarce for a few days after that, carrying out my top secret mission. Spy stuff, you know. I have several blogger friends who are in the Sock Wars as well, so I may not be the only blogger out of commission for a little bit. Here is my arsenal, all primed and ready for battle.

I've been working on Chrissy's Sugar Free Diabetes Walk Socks, with all their cable-y goodness, and I am loving the pattern. I'm using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which the pattern calls for, and is among my favorite yarns.And a closer look at the cables:

I'm also making sure and steady progress on my Mystery Socks.Gotta love the magic loop!

And in between those two projects, I've been working on a test pattern for Chrissy. I'd love to show you pictures of that, but that is strictly verboten. Suffice it to say that the pattern is a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying myself immensely. No surprise there, since I'm a big fan of Chrissy's work. When I'm finally able to share, you will be the first to know.

And how long has it been since we had a good movie line contest going? Let's go back to the mid 80's with this one:

"You sho is ugly!"

As always, the winner will get a nice chocolatey treat. This time it's M&M's. Good luck to all.

8 comments:

Mommyleek said...

Glad to read an update. Man! If I had that many projects going on at once, and that many swaps and knit alongs, and then threw in three kids and a houseguest, I don't know if I'd be capable of even turning the computer on, much less, take the time to blog. :)

The socks look fabulous! I really like the cables, too. I've been telling myself to stay away from the swaps and KAL's since I really need to be concentrating on finishing school and I have a stack of ever-growing holiday gift knitting I need to attend to first, but man! The temptation!

Can't wait to see the super secret test pattern, too.

Jennifer said...

Chrissy's No Sugar socks look fantastic! I still have to start my Mystery socks. In due time, due time. Glad to see the movie contest is back! I recognize the line, but don't remember the movie...

Mrs. H said...

The Color Purple?

msubulldog said...

A tea snob? I had no idea! You learn something every day. *grin*

The socks are looking great. Yay for Magic Loop! :)

*Whew* that's a lot of swaps. I'm exhausted just reading it!

Mamma said...

I'm so glad you're back. I miss you when you're quiet. I don't know how you're going to keep all those activities straight. And I love the idea of fiberflix. What's better than knitting while watching a movie. I know I'm saving my Black Purl for the Black Pearl!

Stephanie said...

Oh my gosh Unka Shaina those socks really do look great! Wow that is very cool.

haha Dad had such a great time over there. How was your date?? hehe I love ya I'll talk to you later because I want to respond to your songs!!!

Love,
Steph

Maribel said...

How do you find the time to do all these knitalongs ... tell me the secret, I could barely do one, I am so jealous.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the links. Most of the KAL's I was already particpating in but the fiberlix sounds great!!! Thanks for letting me know about it.