Too organized?

Is it possible to be too organized these days? I'll let you decide.

Last weekend, I went to Linens 'n Things and got one of these:



And one of these, for variety...:



...and ended up with this:



As I was installing this madness, Jake said, "You know, I wonder how much of your life revolves around socks." I thought that question was probably best left unanswered.

Smiles,
Erin

Very exciting news!

I've have some very exciting news to tell you. In just one week (on Saturday, February 16th to be exact), I will start a new job - at Haus of Yarn!!!! If you can't tell, I am extremely excited to have landed, well, my dream job.

My current co-workers think I'm nuts to be leaving the music industry for yarn, but they'll never understand. I'm looking forward to being about a thousand times happier. Last night at the sock knit-a-long, the announcement was made and blogless Jan noted that I had smile on my face the entire night - and she was right. So, I guess it's pretty obvious, but if I were to relate how I feel by using a picture, because afterall, a picture is worth a thousand words, this would be it:



Or, maybe this:



Hee, hee. ;)

Anyways...I hope to see you all there - come and visit often!!

Big smiles,
Erin

New socks! Pretty colors!

Here are the pictures of my Embossed Leaves Socks I promised you:



Yes, they are sitting atop a bush. I finally realized that my pictures turn out better if I take them outside. Anyways, here's a close-up:




I love these socks, and I plan to make many, many more. I only made one small modification...starting the ribbing with a knit through the back loop instead of the purl, so that the knit ridge lines up with the center of the first leaves. The fit of these is great, since they're somewhat ribbed, but the Jitterbug I used is also divine. I'm pretty sure I'll have to have every color it comes in. Oh, dear.

That's really all I can report for right now, except for this (this one's for Leah):



I'm really not anal retentive. I swear.

Smiles,
Erin

Many things to show you.

How about a FO to start with?:



Those are some finished Primavera socks. I can't recommend this pattern enough. I pretty much followed it to a "T", except for adding an extra purl stitch to the repeat so that I could have a 72-stitch sock. They fit great, and the Trekking XXL is highly entertaining. I will probably be making more of these.

In other news, I started another pair...and finished another single:



I knit this one using the Stansfield 304 stitch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks and some Panda Silk I scored from the new yarn shop in town, Knit Happy. I went toe-up with these so I could have a very long cuff and did increases up the back to accommodate my thick calf. I really like this sock, and the yarn is a dream...I really do think it should cost a lot more than it does. I'm hoping to score some of it in a solid color at the Haus of Yarn (that is if they have been holding out on me like I'm guessing and have been saving some for next month's sock knit-a-long). Here's another picture, because I like you:



I started a pair of Embossed Leaves Socks using some semi-sold red Jitterbug, but I have yet to take pictures. They are fantastic, though, and I can't wait to show you.

In other news, I have taken up spinning, as most of you know. I'm still learning, and don't really know how to ply, but I like it. Here's a picture from a spinning gathering I went to earlier in the month:



I don't remember her name, but here is one of the ladies showing off a shawl she made out of her handspun. Amazing! You can see half of my new Ashford Joy in the corner. Good times.

And finally, I'll leave you with this:



What's that? That's my good-looking boyfriend standing next to my sweet ride and the new vanity plate he installed for me...that's right. It says "I <3 2 Party". Hee, hee, that is so ridiculous.

Smiles,
Erin

Have you seen these?

Holy cow, these are adorable. I may need to order the gnome.

It's a new year. What's new?

It's a new year, so I thought I'd start out with a bang:



I just completed these tonight. Yep, everybody, that's a completed pair knit with Noro Kureyon Sock (colorway S182), inside the best shoes in the universe. Seriously, I've worn them everyday since I bought them about a week ago, and I'm considering buying a few backup pairs while they're still available. NERD ALERT! The pattern I used is the Pennant Stitch from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I think the pattern gives the socks a cool texture and takes advantage of the long color repeats, but I think next time I knit socks with this stuff (I have 3 other colorways now, making me a total yarn whore), I'll probably knit them toe-up and in plain stockinette to take advantage of the awesome thick and thin texture. Here's one more shot:



Oh, and a close-up:



In other news, I'm working on the second sock on another pair:



These are some Primavera Socks knit using Trekking XXL (colorway 110). I modified the pattern to allow one extra reverse stockinette stitch after each repeat with in the row so that I could have my standard 72 stitches. I am enjoying this pattern immensely and highly recommend it - it's very easy to memorize, and is essentially five rows of ribbing with one pattern row. The sock also fits very well, since it's a ribbed pattern.

I also finished the Gauntlets from Not Just Socks a while back:



These were knit with JUST ONE ball of Regia! The pattern is very simple and a fun knit. I wear these all the time.

I also had a fantastic Christmas - seriously, I think it may have been my favorite Christmas...ever. I was able to spend time with both my family and Jake's family, and had quality time with everyone. It was really fun. It also probably didn't hurt that I got a trip to San Francisco from Jake (going in February!) and a spinning wheel (Ashford Joy) from my parents, although I think I already told you that. I am a little frustrated with spinning right now, but I'm hoping to get some help from some friends this weekend. Oh, joy. Pun intended.

Lastly, I've decided to start taking care of my nails. By taking care of my nails, I mean getting fake ones, done in the nail salon. I don't really know why. It's awfully girly of me and if I keep this up, I could be qualified as "high maintainance", though I not sure I'd give a shit if that was the case. Check it out:



Totally worth it, no? Don't worry, they don't get in the way of knitting.

Smiles,
Erin

2007 meme

Taken from the Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog...

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
I tried spinning!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I think I vowed to lose weight last year. It didn't go anywhere. I haven't made any new ones for this year...I think last year's should probably carry over to this one.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My co-worker, Sam, and his wife, Catie, had a baby girl right before Christmas. It was fun to hear stories about him going through the pregnancy process.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, actually. My Aunt Jenny, who I hadn't really seen in about 10 years, died this summer. It's kind of a mystery as to what went down, but my family was very close with her when we were growing up and lost touch as I grew up, unfortunately. Also, my best friend Amy's father died this year, and I enjoyed his company very much.

5. What countries did you visit?
I didn't even go to Canada this year!

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Another cat. I'd really like a third cat. I'm not holding my breath.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I'll remember the day we sold the house. I don't remember the exact date, but it's memorable. I'll also remember leaving my first "real job", and my birthday party at the Gerst Haus. Good times.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I'm not too sure. Probably not killing anyone at work.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Again, I'm not really sure. I wish I had saved more money.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not at all.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
About 80 pounds of sock yarn.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Probably Jake's. He's the best boo in the world.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
New York, from Vh-1's "I Love New York". Talk about lame. I have to admit that I watched the show, though. It's a true trainwreck, and I cannot look away.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Going out to eat. Oh, and yarn.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
A spinning wheel!! I blame Leah for this. I needed another hobby like I needed a hole in the head, but it's all good.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
"Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John (it's been in Jake's head for 3 weeks now) and "Killer Queen" by Queen.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
Happier.
b) thinner or fatter?
I don't know. I would assume fatter.
c) richer or poorer?
I really don't know. I'd assume poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Traveling. I didn't take enough trips last year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating out.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
On Christmas morning, I opened gifts with my immediate family and Jake, and then at lunchtime we went to Fort Wayne to open gifts with Jake's family. A good time was had by all.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I was already in love!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
That's a four-way tie, between "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "How Do I Look?", "Project Runway", and "The Office".

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate anyone.

24. What was the best book you read?
I didn't read many books. I started to read The Devil Wears Prada, but only made it half way. Lame, I know.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I got the new Collective Soul album, but they're not a discovery at all. I have been kind of soured on the music industry lately.

26. What did you want and get?
Please see question #15.

27. What did you want and not get?
This question will remain unanswered for fear that someone very close to me might kick my ass.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hmmm. I really liked "Superbad".

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Please see question #7. I was 27!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having more money.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
No muss, no fuss. It's sad, but true. I wear easily washable cotton tops with jeans, and most times hand knit socks.

32. What kept you sane?
Knitting, Jake, candy, ice cream, my friends, my family, and my cats.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kenny Rogers.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The price of gasoline. Is that a political issue?

35. Who did you miss?
My family.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
My co-worker, Sam.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Look before you get up from bending over. I can't tell you how many times I bashed my head into something.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I don't want to. There's really nothing appropriate anyways.

I plan to do another "year in review" post shortly. But, since this is a blog about sock knitting, it will be a review of all the new sock yarns I tried out in 2007. It won't disappoint! ;)

I must have these.

(click images for more information)

One more picture:



I'm pretty sure they made these with sock knitters in mind.

KCPSA (Knitting Community Public Service Announcement)

The new Knitty is up! Looks like there are a lot of lovely new sock patterns. Merry Christmas indeed!

Do not let this happen to you.

What's that? Oh, just the current total - 24 single socks. I know I'm usually going around saying "Oh, we don't talk about numbers," but I just had to share. I guess some might find this shameful, but I feel no shame. Here's another shot:



I guess if I had some advice to give to a new sock knitter, I'd just tell them not to let this happen to them. I mean, really. The fact that I still "have" to knit 24 more of these seems kinds of daunting. Oh, well.

Moving on.

I finished the sKNITches toe-ups!



I love these socks.



That's about all the news I have for now - I'm coming back to work today after being on vacation last week. My vacation was awesome. I didn't go anywhere, and all I did was hang out with Jacob. We had a very good time, and it was very relaxing. But, trust me...I still did my chores:


(socks laying out to dry)

Hahahhahahah, I make myself laugh. Happy Monday, everybody.

Smiles,
Erin

P.S.: NASHVILLE KNITTING MEETUP MEMBERS - TOMORROW'S MEETUP IS CANCELLED!! :)

Also.

This weekend, I plan to gather all the singles and give you an updated total and picture. I think we've got over 20 now, people.

Oh, boy...

1.75 FOs!!

I'm so excited. I just finished more socks:



I actually really like these. They're just some simple top-downs made with some sock yarn I scored from this shop. I'm not sure if the seller is selling through etsy anymore, or not, though. Regardless, here are some more pictures:





Of course, once these were off the needles, I immediately cast on for some more:





These are just some simple toe-ups I'm making with sKNITches Syncopation in "Blue Lagoon". This is VERY nice yarn. Highly recommended.

And, finally, I started just one more pair (again, toe-up):



The yarn here is Prism Saki in "Mojave" that I got from the Haus of Yarn. The dye job on this yarn is very unique...check it out!

That's about all I've got for now. I've made a bunch of stash enhancements lately, but you can check those out on Ravelry. But, just so you know, I may be making a slight deviation from sock knitting to make some toys for some tots I know for Christmas - I got this book last night:



Seriously, this book is amazing. I can now make a warthog if I wanted to.

Smiles,
Erin

Oh, how I love you.

These have always been my favorite Halloween candy:



I think I've eaten 37 of them in the past three days. I know that most people think they are totally lame, but I am taking a stand. How can you not LOVE these??? It's peanut butter taffy with an extra shot of peanut butter in the center!!

People are crazy. What's your favorite Halloween candy?

FO report!

Well, I had a fruitful weekend. I've now realized it takes me about a full week to knit one sock. Anyways, here's the pair I finished this morning!:



I actually really like this picture. And the socks, too. These were knit using my basic top down recipe (72 sts on size 1 addis) and some Schaefer Anne. I think I knit the first sock well over a year ago, but they're finished now, and that's all that matters. I don't love knitting with the Anne so much, but I do love the finished product. The only thing that stinks is that I have a TON of yarn leftover. And I mean a ton. I may end up making a pair of toddler socks with that. Here's another shot:



So, that's one less single sock in the pile, but I've recently added three more:



This was knit with some Regia, again, using my basic sock recipe. And here's a finished Wollmeise (but not) sock:



And lastly, one finished Music Man sock:



Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern and short-row heel:



In stash enhancement news, my skein of Merino Stripes from Mama Blue came in on Thursday:



I love this yarn already, and I haven't even started knitting with it. Really, it is gorgeous! I think I may need to cast on tonight...

Finally, I made my weekend-ly trip to the Haus of Yarn yesterday, and picked up many things, including this:



That's a skein of Araucania Ranco Multy. I love the dye job on this one, and also must say that this was very reasonably priced. Whoooopee!

That's about all I've got for now, except to say that if you haven't seen this movie, please do yourself a favor and try to at least catch it on IFC. You won't be disappointed. I mean, unless, unlike me, you don't really find ridiculous "hip-hoperas" that hilarious.

Smiles,
Erin

So bad!

...but so good! I couldn't resist. I just got some of this. I can't wait for it to arrive.

In other news, I have 3 new single socks to show you. I hope to take pictures of them tonight. I also went to Cleveland, OH to visit my parents a few weekends ago, and now have 2 yarn shop reviews for you:

Birds of a Feather - This shop, located in The Shoppes of Olde Avon Village, is one I have made a point to visit, pretty much every time I've gone to visit my parents during the past couple of years. The shop is housed in a very big, old barn, which is very, very cool, in my opinion. The bottom floor of the barn is the quilting floor, and the upstairs is all yarn. I like this shop, but the past few times I've been there, I must say that I can't help but wonder if the focus has shifted much more in favor of quilting. I think the last time I had gone to the shop was sometime in the spring, and it really seemed like the yarn inventory had not changed much. I guess time will tell, but I won't be surprised if this shop starts selling only quilting supplies at some point in the near future.

French Creek Fiber Arts - This shop, located right across the parking lot from Birds of a Feather packed A LOT of punch for such a small space. My mother, my sister, and I all walked out with a purchase, which was more than we could say after our trip to Birds of a Feather that day. I scored a solid blue skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock and also a skein of Twinkle Toes from Chameleon Colorworks. This shop had a fine selection of yarns, including Fleece Artist yarns, which I hadn't ever seen for sale at a yarn store. This little shop really is a dream for the fiber enthusiast, as the shop also carries supplies for weaving and spinning. A must visit for sure!

One more thing.

Check out the preview for the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007 issue (available October 16th). Looks like there will be several awesome patterns!!

Holy cool pattern!!

I keep forgetting that MagKnits is now coming out monthly. I checked the site a few minutes ago and came across one seriously cool sock pattern. Check it out! I'm pretty certain these will be on my needles shortly.

Finished Objects!!

I'm long overdue for a post...sorry everybody! I don't really know what's been wrong with me lately. There have been many nights when I've just come home from work and then proceeded to fall asleep at around 7:00 p.m.. Not good. Needless to say the knitting has suffered, along with many other things (like the litter box), but I have managed to finish two pairs of socks! Check 'em out:



These are the Bubble Wrap socks from Sockbug, knit using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in "Bitteroot Rainbow" that I purchased from the Haus of Yarn. Here's the full monty:



Next up, I finished a pair of Leah's Sweater Socks:



And one more shot:



These were knit with some Koigu KPPPM, once again, purchased at the Haus of Yarn. I had to use three skeins, but I think these are magnificent and worth every penny. I also highly recommend the pattern. I modified the heel (standard Sensational Knitted Socks heel vs. the Eye of the Partridge the pattern called for), but other than that kept it the same. They fit very nicely, and are very comfy! Yay, socks!

So, in celebration of finishing TWO projects, I went ahead and cast on for another:



This is the start of the Wollmeise Socks - except I'm not using Wollmeise (I haven't scored any of that yet). The yarn I'm using has been calling to me since I bought it. It is heavenly, and I can't recommend it enough!! I'm going toe-up instead of cuff down, hoping that I can use up every heavenly bit of this stuff.

In other news, I uploaded the rest of my socks projects to Ravelry. I have a bunch of older sweater projects and sweater-type yarns to upload, but all of my sock stuff is now represented.

We also have a bit of stash enhancement. Just a bit - that's all. I got these lovelies from Simply Socks Yarn Company. I couldn't resist:



That's sKNITches Syncopation in "Lagoon"...



...and Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn in "Wisterious". Oh, delish.

And, lastly, Jake had a birthday a couple weeks ago, and I "surprised" him with a small gathering. My friend Brooke made the cake (check out the pics on her page - you won't be disappointed). She also made mine in January. Seriously, though, check this thing out:




The cake and the party were big hits!

Smiles,
Erin