Loopy's May Shipment

Spoiler Alert - If you haven't received The Loopy Ewe's May sockclub shipment, don't read below.






















Here is my sock club package. It included an accessory pouch, loopy peppermints, a poem, & pattern. Most of Loopy's kits include that. They are nice but it also included some bling, a stitch saver (a crochet hook on a key ring for fixing dropped stitches). The yarn is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




Wollmeise . . . yes, I know - envious? It is a custom colorway named Pillars of Fire. It ranges from a deep cardinal red to scarlet & ends with a burnt orange color. Gorgeous!!! I want to cast-on right now but a new sock madness pattern is released Friday morning. I already have 9 WIPS. Must . . resist . . .Wollmeise . . . must . . . resist. . . . . stay . . . strong . . .

TTFN

Secret Pal

I have a wonderful secret pal. This package was left for me & it includes many wonderful things. I appreciate the thought & effort my pal took to create this package. The candle is very interesting. It is bamboo & tiger lily scented. We enjoyed the aroma around the house. I look forward to reading my books when I have some interrupted time this weekend. It also included sticky notes & a memo holder. Cool beans.

I think my favorite part of my gift was the photos of my own work. I'm not sure how she (or he) got them - maybe through flickr. At first, I though wow, they gave me knitting postcards. Then, a moment or later I realized that it was not just anyone's knitting, it's my knitting. The pictures were put in between the pages of one of the books. Thank you secret pal.

I finished up another pair of Sock Madness socks. I'll post about them & my other WIPs this weekend.

TTFN

What? Needles has a Non-Sock FO!

Yes, I have finished a non-sock project. It has been awhile since I've finished a project that wasn't a sock. In between sock madness rounds, I couldn't stand the feel of sock yarn & small needles so I cast on a shawl using worsted weight yarn.



Pattern: Forest Canopy by Susan Lawerence. This pattern is also available through the Ravelry Store.
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Pansy Golightly (2 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks Interchangeable, US Size 9 (5.5 mm)
Cast-on: March 29 Bind-Off: April 10 Blocked: April 19
Modifications: I used worsted weight instead of DK, 16 pattern repeats instead of 12


Here is a better picture of the texture. It is before blocking.



In other news, I finished my round 3 socks last week, cast-on round 4 tonight, & cast-on French Market Bag last night. More details later.

TTFN

AARGH!

Imagine Charlie Brown's cry of frustration after he believes Lucy won't move that football again . . . AARGH! That's the sound I made today.

I never knew I could be so competitive until I joined Sock Madness 2. I told myself that I wasn't going to worry about the 3rd round. Then, I received the 3rd round pattern, Slippin' Stripin' Socks. It came on a Thursday evening. I had lesson planning to do, my house was a mess, my children needed help for their school projects. . .I was behind in all areas of my life. But, there was this pattern, calling my name. ". .. Carol, cast me on . . . come on, you know you wanna . . . Carol . . ." Normally, I'm strong but I bowed to the pressure that was the pattern.

The sock had a totally new to me construction, knit with 2 strands of lace weight yarn. I cast on using JaggerSpun Zephyr in Emerald and Black. I knit until bed Thursday night.

I got up early Friday morning & finished the lesson planning that I needed for that day & wrote an algebra quiz. As soon as I finished, I knit until it was time to leave. After school, I went to my daughter's softball game. Of course, I knit while I was there. I ended up leaving early because I got a migraine. I was unable to knit the rest of the day & went to bed at 6 pm.

Saturday, I was still having problems with light sensitivity & recovering from the migraine so I didn't get to any of the softball or baseball games. I did use the time to knit & took several naps. Here's my sock Saturday morning. . .




I knit as much as I could Saturday & Sunday. I had to help the kids with their Science Fair projects & go get my taxes done. I decided that my grading & lesson planning could wait until Monday morning. The Sock Madness divisions were filling up quickly. About 9 o'clock Sunday night, I started to grow weary. My hands hurt, I was tired, & I wasn't sure I could continue. For a minute or two, I debated about staying up all night to finish the socks & still go to work. Then I toyed with the idea of staying up all night & calling in sick. Finally, I did the right thing & put my socks down so I could go to bed. When I got up at 4:30 Monday morning, all divisions were full.

As you can see, I was so close.



I'm full of "if only"s . .if only I didn't get a migraine Friday. . .if only I stayed up later Saturday night. . .if only I didn't help my kids & ignored my husband . . .I might have advanced to round 4.

I'm sure my family is happier now that I'm out. My husband supported me the first & second rounds. I don't think he was too pleased about this last round.

I plan to continue & will knit all the other rounds as the patterns are released. Maybe I can increase my speed so I'll get even further next year.

A Big Whine

I don't normally talk about my health but this post will be about that.

March 25th I woke up with the funny sensation that I always have before I get a migraine. About 10 am, the right side of my face really started hurting. So, I took my Imitrex and went to bed. About 2 o'clock I realized this was not a migraine & figured I had a cold. I pretty much stayed bed the entire last week of my vacation. I had planned to get my lesson planning for April finished so I would be ready for the next couple rounds of Sock Madness. For the next few days I was weak, achey, & congested. I only had the energy to be up & about for an hour or so. Then, I'd be exhausted for the rest of the day. When I'm sick, I go to bed for a day or two and my immune system kicks in. Being sick for this long was new to me. I have to admit, I was getting very whiney & feeling really blue.

I went back to work on Monday. I didn't feel well but was hoping that getting back into the swing of things would help. Little did I I know. . by the afternoon I was having a hard time concentrating & no voice. I came home to find that the 2nd Sock Madness pattern was released when I was at school. By the time I saw the pattern many people were already 1/2 finished with the first sock. I knit for a couple of hours and went to bed.

I got up Tuesday and felt fine but I had no voice at all. I went into school & only made it until 9:30 & then I quickly wrote subplans and made arrangements for other teachers to take my students. I came home, slept & didn't knit on my socks at all. A few people finished their socks already.

Wednesday I arranged for a sub. I called to get a same day doctor appointment. None were available, I'd have to go to urgent care. I hate going into urgent care. If I felt good enough to get dressed, drive for a total of an hour, & sit in a waiting room for 3 hours, I wouldn't need a doctor. I finally decided to go anyway. At least I was able to knit for about an hour of the time I was waiting. Then I was too tired to do any more. I was told that I had a sinus infection but it was really irritating my throat. I was told to stay home through the weekend. Oh darn, more knitting time. I was given antibiotics & a stronger decongestant. It was a good thing that she told me to stay home. I was feeling much better Thursday but still had no voice. I tried to watch my daughter's softball game but only made it 30 minutes before I had to come back to bed.

I spent Thursday & Friday mostly on the couch knitting & not talking. My throat killed me. Here's what my Sock Madness Round 2 socks looked like Thursday morning . . .



I finished about noon on Friday . . .



The name of the pattern is Reversai because the sock looks exactly the same on the inside and out. It has a garter stitch heel, foot, & toe. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Devon. I am disappointed that the pattern doesn't show very well. By the time I realized that it wasn't showing, I didn't have time to switch yarns & hope to finish in time. I need to stock up on my solid yarns for sock madness & the sock pentathalon. Most of the patterns are complex & need a simple yarn. I was hoping to knit from my stash instead, my stash is growing. Ugg

I am pleased to announce that I came in 16th out of 35. Only the first 20 participants in each division get to advance (80 out of 140 move on to round 3). I am feeling better but my throat still hurts & I don't have much of a voice. It will be interesting to see how tomorrow goes. I'm looking forward to going back to school but I don't look forward to all the talking I will have to do!

end of whine . . .

TTFN

Dr. Pepper Zombies

I've entered myself into Sock Madness 2, a knitting tournament based on college basketball's March Madness. Knitters were divided into 4 divisions of about 58 people each. The first 40 people finished with their socks advance to the next round.

We were given teasers about the pattern a couple of days before it was released. It was described as a "scary pattern & to think of Michael Jackson's Thriller video. I didn't really have any scary yarn but I found yarn in my stash from The Knittery in a wool/cashmere blend. I thought it looked a little bit like dried blood.



I got my copy of the pattern about noon on the 13th. I knit as much as I could and finished at 2:30 am on the 16th. I was really afraid that I wouldn't finish in time to advance. It took me 40 hours to get these socks done. I knitted my fingers to the bone. See?



Actually, the yarn had excess dye & bled on me. Here are the finished Zombies taken at 2:29 a.m. I was the 14th to finish in my division.



. . . and a better picture . . .



This was my first eye of the partridge heel . .



The cuff pattern reminds me of a muscle. . .

.

. . . and the drop stitch was fun too.

These are the most comfortable socks that I own. The fiber is warm (my feet are always cold) & the pattern hugs my feet. Not too tight or too loose.

I've named the socks Dr. Pepper Zombies after the only soda that I'll drink - Dr. Pepper. They match my Dr. Pepper t-shirt perfectly.

The next round won't start until April 1st so I have time to get caught up on stuff before I drop everything to knit nonstop again.

TTFN

Things about Me

I know that I've been pretty silent lately. First, life got in the way & then competition knitting came along. Since my last entry, I've finished 4 or 5 pairs of socks. More about them later. Today, I'm answering the tag I got last month when I was really sick:

4 jobs I held
Pizza Joint Asst. Manager
Hotel Desk Clerk
Newpaper Carrier
Teacher

4 movies I like
Harry Potter (all)
The Lord of the Rings (all)
Star Wars (all)
Field of Dreams

4 places I've been
Italy
Holland
Scotland
Washington, DC

4 places I lived
England
Germany
Arizona
New Mexico

4 TV shows/programs I watch
Heroes
Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Tudors
24


4 Radio-shows I listen to
No radio - just podcasts
Cast-on
Lime & Violet
Daily Breakfast
Pottercast

4 favorite foods
Ice cream
Chinese
pastries
Cadburry Creme Eggs


4 places I'd rather be
Walking in the snowy mountains
the beach
Scotland
stranded alone on an island for 48 hours