Mandi Knits   » Knitting, spinning, crafts, and being a geek.

As promised, here’s an updated picture of my progress on the St. Louis socks.  I’m so loving the Socks that Rock Lightweight yarn!

Pattern: St. Louis Socks by Wendy Johnson
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in “Pondscum”

In case you’re wondering, my “On the Needles” list (in the sidebar) grew today because I decided to force myself to gather up all my unfinished projects to start working through them.  I like having several projects going at once, but right now I have so many that it’s just ridiculous.  It’s overloading my mental-RAM.  Hopefully I can finish a few of the UFOs and then I can start my Christmas-knitting.

Last night I finished up my drop-stitch scarf, which was my oldest UFO (cast on back in January).  I just need to weave in the ends and wash/block it and it will be totally done.  (I’ll post pics soon.)  Tonight I think I’m going to tackle my Bombshell sweater and/or my Lunchtime @ Work socks, which are all but finished.  If I get those two things done, I’ll feel much better.  (*Ahem* Well, those and Nick’s socks, which he’s been buggin’ me about for quite some time…)

OH!  Check out my new Fiberspheres!  Nifty, eh?  These have become kind of a running joke at my LYS — “pink balls”! — but seriously, they’re a great tool.

I’m not sure if they show this on the website, but if you get two of them, you can either use them individually or hook them together, which is great for knitting socks two-at-a-time or for knitting projects where you’re holding two yarns together.

Finally, I’ll leave you today with an updated picture of my yarn and fiber/roving stash, which I recently reorganized.  If you’re especially curious, I labeled what everything is on the photo’s Flickr page.

Before I left to work yesterday morning, I was looking for a project to bring with me to work on during lunchtime.  I nearly always work on socks, but today I was in the mood for something different.

So I dug all the way to the bottom of my knitting bag, and crammed in there was my Gust Scarf.  The poor thing has been hibernating in the bottom of my knitting back since back in April when I cast it on at a class that Julie taught.

I was relieved to find that the yarn wasn’t broken off or tangled up.  I expected it would have been, because it’s a delicate cashmere and silk blend: Filatura Di Crosa Superior.  Working with it, it almost feels like it is going to break apart in your fingers.  (In reality, though, it’s much stronger than it seems.)

I’d put this scarf aside because at the time, it felt too difficult.  I could only work on it in absolute silence, else risk getting my YOs and K2Togs all messed up.  But working on it this afternoon, I discovered how far I’ve come along as a knitter.  Suddenly it wasn’t difficult anymore.  I made it through almost one entire chart repeat in a little over a half hour.  While that’s still slow by some standards, it was pretty fast for me.

I think that knitting lace on socks has helped me progress quite a lot.  Being a bit thicker and less fuzzy, lace with sock yarns just wasn’t as intimidating as this scarf initially was.  Now that I’ve worked my way through some lace with fingering weight yarns, I feel much more able to tackle this.  Now I can’t wait to finish it!  I wish you all could feel it… it’s so yummy.

I also had the opportunity to pick up some really fun new yarn at the knit shop this weekend.  They’d recently gotten an order from Hemp for Knitting.  The allhemp6LUX caught my eye, as did all the lovely patterns.  I wound up with 4 skeins of the allhemp6LUX in the veridian colorway along with this pattern.

I started knitting it on Saturday afternoon and I cast off late Monday night.  It was a super quick knit!  I washed it Tuesday night and it’s was still a bit damp last night, so I left it to dry.  It should be dry enough tonight so I can weave in my ends and sew on the buttons, and it will be ready!

I’ll let you know how it turns out.  I’m really anxious to see how the hemp feels after washing, and I can’t wait to see how it looks on!

It’s so hard to believe that it’s already July.  Being that it’s the first of the month though, you know what that means…

Yup, it’s time for Jimmy Bean’s Wool to put up the new limited edition Lorna’s Laces color for the month!  I already ordered 2 skeins of the July 2008 color, “Fireworks”, in this morning.

I’m such a sucker for those limited edition colors.  I have 2 skeins of Shepherd Sock in every color since January this year.  (You can see all the limited edition colors here.)  Have I knit a single darn skein of it yet?  No…  I know, I’m bad.  But it’s all so pretty!  And Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock is really lovely yarn.

AND a very special delivery arrived today, all the way from the Wollmeise herself, Claudia, in Germany…

The four skeins on the left (2 Sonne, Dornröschen and Red Hot Chili) are ones I’m keeping.  (I think Sonne will be a shawl!)  The four skeins on the right (Campari Orange, Indisch Rot, Birkenrinde and Vincent are gifts for my mom.  I’m working on (hopefully) planning a trip home, and I can’t wait to give them to her!

As part of my goals for Summer of Socks ‘08, I’m focusing on “knit it or get rid of it”. Looking at my sock yarn stash, I realized some of it just isn’t my taste anymore and some of it I bought thinking it would be a great yarn to knit for someone as a gift, but after I saw it in person, the color wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Anyway, I think it’s silly to keep yarn in my stash if it’s not something I really love because I know there are probably other knitters out there who’d be more than happy to give these yarns a good home and love them and knit them up into lovely socks and such. So I hope you can find something you like!

Please note that we do have pets in our house (a cat and a dog). Though they don’t roll in my stash or anything, please be aware in case you’re particularly allergic. Our household is non-smoking.

All prices include Priority Mail shipping within the US via USPS. If you’re outside the US, please e-mail me and I’m sure we can figure something out. If you are interested in purchasing more than one skein, I will discount them to account for the combined shipping.

If you’d like to purchase a skein (or two or three…) please e-mail me at mandiknits[AT]gmail[DOT]com and I will send you an invoice via PayPal.

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock (x2)
Colorway: Flamingo (dyelot 0297)
Price: $12.00
Note: I did start to knit one of these skeins and frogged my project, but the yarn is still in good condition

Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet Sock Yarn — SOLD
Colorway: Breast Cancer Awareness
Price: $14.00

Chewy Spaghetti Spaghettioni – SOLD
Colorway: Vintage
Price: $14.00

Colinette Jitterbug – SOLD
Colorway: Jewel
Price: $14.00

Knit Picks Felici (x4) – SOLD
Colorway: Clay (dyelot 24646)
Price: 2 skeins for $8 -or- All 4 skeins for $14

Yarn Nerd 850 MHz Merino — SOLD
Colorway: Ting!
Price: $14.00

Knit Picks Felici (x2) — SOLD
Colorway: Pebble (dyelot 24645)
Price: Both skeins for $8

Cherry Tree Hill — SOLD
Colorway: Fall Foliage (dyelot 1010)
Price: $14.00

Again — if you’re interested in any of these, please do not leave a comment. Please e-mail me directly at mandiknits[AT]gmail[DOT]com. I’ll try to keep this post updated as to what’s been sold so far.

I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: I love my local yarn shop. It’s really my home away from home. I love the employees, the environment of the store, the people who come to sit-n-knit there, and of course all the beautiful products they stock. Every town should have a knit shop like this one, that’s an absolute haven for its local knitters.

Normally I go to my LYS on Saturdays, but occasionally I stop in during the week if I need to pick up an item or two. I stopped in last night to see if the Malabrigo Worsted they’d ordered had come in yet. I’ve never had the pleasure of knitting with Malabrigo Worsted. I do have a bit of their lace weight, and it is incredibly soft and luscious. So of course, I’ve been dying to get my paws on the worsted weight. I was so excited when I found out my LYS was going to start stocking it!

Admittedly, I was a little disappointed when I came in and saw that the Malabrigo wasn’t out on the shelves yet. But it certainly wasn’t a wasted trip (is a trip to a yarn shop ever really wasted, though?). I needed to pick up one more ball of Crystal Palace Kaya for a project I’m wanting to eventually work on. So I grabbed that.

But then Sharon told me that she had the Malabrigo in the back, and asked if I wanted to check it out. Oh, did I ever!

They got in so many beautiful shades. I had the worst time deciding which I wanted to buy. I felt bad because I think I ripped open 3 or 4 packages. Hopefully I didn’t make a big mess (sorry, Sharon!). I finally decided on the “Emerald”, which is really more of a deep teal, in my estimation. It’s gorgeous. I got 4 skeins, which are destined to be a Clapotis. (Or a “Cla-pootie” if you listen to Lime ‘n Violet, LOL — I can’t see the name “Clapotis” anymore without thinking of that!!)

Sadly, though, this morning I saw this via The Daily Chum, posted on the Malabrigo website:

Dear Customer,

We thank you for your continuing support and we hope to be up and running soon

At least it sounds as if no one was injured. How unfortunate though! And slightly ironic, that on the day I finally get to buy the yarn Ive been lusting after, that their mill catches fire. I hope that’s not a bad sign, or I might be banned from buying yarn! I think I’ll go home and hug my Malabrigo a bit tigher tonight.

This, my friends, is what happens when knitters destash…

No, *I* wasn’t the one doing the destashing.  I barely have a stash by the standards of most knitters.  (My sock yarn stash is mildly impressive and I have a weird affinity for dishcloth cotton, but I’m lacking in everything else.)  No these are the treasures I added to my stash after a friend of mine decided that she needed to clean out some of her yarn.  She had three garbage bags full.  I only took one of the three, and I already have no idea where I’ll put it all!  Not that it matters, I’ll find some place!  I did have a heck of a good time dumping it all out in the middle of our living room floor (while my husband was still at work of course) to sort through it.

I managed to fit it all into one storage tub.  That storage tub is sitting in the middle of the floor in my office/craft room though.  I really need to clean out the closet in that room so that I can store tubs-o-yarn in there.

I’ve really been on an anti-sock-kick lately.  I know.  My friends at The Neighborhood Knit Shop were concerned I might be ill.  No need to fear, nothing is wrong!  I’m sure I’ll be back to knitting socks in no time.  I’ve just been in the mood to knit other things lately.

I knitted up a Ballband dishcloth the other night.  I’ve been meaning to knit one for a long time.  It’s such a fun, clever pattern.  I want to make some more and mod them to be Swiffer-covers.  I think that is such a clever idea — saves money and they’re washable/reusable so you’re not tossing more junk into landfills.

I also started knitting up Deb’s Hug Me Shrug.  It’s this fun shawl/shrug pattern that wraps around your shoulders and loops through itself in the front so that it “hugs” you.  It’s another one of those things I’ve been meaning to knit for quite a while.  I finally bought the pattern last week and started knitting it on Saturday.  It goes so fast!

I’m using Schaefer Sandra yarn in the “Jeanette Rankin” colorway.  I’ve had this yarn (4 skeins worth!) in my stash for quite a while.  I really struggled with finding a good pattern to use it with, but the “Hug Me” is absolutely perfect.  I think I’m going to bring it to work and keep it in my cubicle to wrap around me when I get a chill.  (Which is often, our office is usually COLD!)

I’m hoping to finish the Hug Me later this week, then I’m going to get back to my Bombshell sweater, I hope.  So much to knit, so little time!

Finally, I had to share with you my new little buddy, Little Loopy from The Loopy Ewe.  Ain’t he a cutie-pie?

Sign-ups for Summer of Socks 2008 have begun! Sign-ups close on May 15th and the knitalong runs June 21st through September 1st.

I didn’t participate in this knitalong last year but I thought it sounded like fun so I signed up.  And besides, you know me and the sock-knitting.

Also, how damn cute is THIS?!  It’s a ’stache for your stash.  Hehe.  Karrie is selling these ‘Stache Sachets in her Etsy store.  According to her description, they contain all sorts of lovely things to repel icky stash-munching beasties like moths.

I think I need to order one of them.  They’re too darn cute to pass up!

No new knitting-news to share today; I knit one row of the heel flap on a pair of socks for my husband last night and promptly fell asleep.  Maybe I’ll work on some lace knitting tonight…

So, as I hinted yesterday, I got an awesome order from The Loopy Ewe the other day:

The highlight was a hank of Wollmeise Lace yarn. Is that not stunning? The name of the color is “Pfauenauge”, which I think translates to”Peacock” in English. (Any German-speaking individuals want to confirm this?)

I’ve had quite a time winding it tonight though. There’s 1,740 yards on the hank and it was a bit tangled. UGH. I’ve managed to get most of it wound, though I broke it at one point so it’s in two center-pull balls.

I also got two hanks of Claudia Hand-Painted Yarns Fingering-weight in “Peppermint Mocha”. I thought it would be a fun color to use for some Christmas socks!

And…

I also got LOTS of new sock patterns. I ordered a few of them, but some were thrown in as “bonus” items, I guess! (It’s no wonder Sheri has so many loyal customers… she’s a-maz-ing!)

Here’s the new patterns I got (with links to Ravelry so you can see what they look like if you want):

• Asparagus Cable Socks by Wendy Johnson
• Garden Path Toe-Up Socks by Wendy Johnson (I’m in *love* with this pattern!)
• Snapdragon Toe-Up Socks by Wendy Johnson
• Loopy Laces Toe-Up Socks by Wendy Johnson
• Dancing Tulips by Monica Jines
• Karen’s Socks by Monica Jines
• Hearts-A-Plenty by Monica Jines
  
• Coins by Monica Jines
• Victorian Swag Socks by Monica Jines

… So I have plenty to keep me busy for a while (sock-knitting-wise anyway). I’m still looking for the “perfect” pattern to use for the Wollmeise. I want a BIG lace shawl of some sort, I think. But I just haven’t seen anything I really like yet. Any suggestions? (Nothing too difficult — though that may be impossible when talking about lace…)