So Much

Wow, I've had a lot going on with me since my last post on Friday the 13th. I received some great packages, took some wonderful classes, had a surprise inspection, umm, I mean spontaneous visit from my mother-in-law, and have been knitting, knitting, knitting!

First of all, I want to say a big thank you to my Knitters Tea Swap 2 pal, Laurie, who made me feel very spoiled. Here is a sampling of what she sent me:

The most adorable little tea set with a book all about tea (isn't it cute?)

Some very tasty chocolate Seville cookies, and omigosh my favorite peanuts in the whole wide world. This is a family program, so I will just let you read the name yourself. (I don't know why some of the pictures are sideways--they aren't that way in my file--please forgive). She also sent some tasty Chai tea with flavored honey sticks, and a bag of my all-time favorite tea, PG Tips. But that's not all.Be still, my heart. She said she had wanted to make me a tea cozy with Noro Kureyon but had run out of time, so she graciously sent the yarn and pattern instead. And finally, she included two skeins of Lorna's Laces in the Purple Iris colorway. What a great package. Thank you so much, Laurie! I love it all.

Now, what better way to celebrate Socktoberfest than to take a weekend of classes with the incomparable Nancy Bush?

Here we are posing with all the socks from her book Knitting Vintage Socks. If I look like I'm freezing, well, I was. The air conditioning worked in the empty building, but not the heat. Small price to pay to gain a weekend's worth of fabulous knitting tips, and to be in the presence of someone so enthusiastic about knitting. Nancy's style was calm and soothing--right up my alley. Chrissy and Amanda were also there, enjoying it right along with me.

As an added bonus, Nancy will also be doing a slideshow at the Tigard Knitting Guild meeting this Thursday. How did I get so lucky? Speaking of the Guild, I have volunteered to be co-editor of the newsletter this year with Chrissy. It should be a lot of fun.

I also received the socks that my Sock Wars target was working on for me to finish.(Again, absolutely no clue why the picture would show up sideways). But what you can see is the sock that Mamie started on the left, which is toe up. I've never knit a sock toe up, and don't know how. I will probably learn eventually, but I really don't mind, in fact I enjoy, grafting the toe of socks, so it's not really high on my list of things to learn to knit. My plan was to start the second sock (the one you see on the right) and finish that before dealing with the toe-up piece. That way if I was eliminated, I could send the toe-up piece for my assassin to deal with. But now I've almost finished my sock--I just have to do the toe grafting and it's done. This is where I would like to get some more experienced knitters' opinions about what I can do with the toe up piece. Is it possible to start another sock from the top down, get to the point where the toe-up piece fits, and do some sort of 3-needle bind off to connect them together? Or would that leave a funny seam? Or should I just stop whining and learn how to finish the sock toe up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, aren't the colors of those socks just fantastic? I hate to give them away. The yarn is Regia Crazy Colors, #5404. I'll be keeping my eyes open for this yarn in the future.

Also, I have to say that I am still loving the International Sock of Doom pattern the second time around. I think it looks good and it's super fast and easy to do. I plan to make more socks with this pattern as gifts.

And along with the unfinished socks, Mamie also sent me the cutest little skein of variegated green/yellow wool yarn that she hand-spun for me. I love it, love it, love it. Thank you, Mamie! I would be thrilled to share a picture with you, but Blogger is saying I'd better be grateful that I was able to load the pictures that I do have on this post. I'll be sure to add it in a future post, because it's fabulous.

Finally, in response to the uproar I got over my entry in the 5 Spooky Weird things about me, specifically #5 (I have been in the same room with a known serial killer--repeatedly), I thought I'd do a little contest. Some of you already know how this occurred, but for those of you who don't, the first person to answer this question correctly will win a cream-colored 50g ball of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora yarn (80% cotton, 20% angora). This yarn has been discontinued, so it's getting harder to find. But I digress.

Here is the question:

How did Katrina come to be in the same room with a known serial killer--repeatedly?
A. He is a distant relative of mine.
B. He was a patient at the dental office where I used to work.
C. My childhood babysitter's sister was one of his victims.
D. I was a juror at his trial.
E. I attended high school with him.

Obviously, for discretion's sake, I won't be mentioning his name or any other identifying details.

Good luck to one and all.

Oh, by the way, in your haste to be the first person to answer, please don't forget to give me some advice (if you have any) on how I should handle the toe-up sock. Thanks so much.