What I'm listening to

I do a majority of my knitting while my Sexy Sailor is out to sea and I hate a quiet house. I'm not talented enough to watch TV and knit so I download all kinds of podcasts to keep me company. Well one of those podcasts is an audio book, Daughter of the Sun by Lonnie Ezell and he's doing a little contest for his listeners. I'm going to be totally stingy here and NOT tell you what the contest is. If you really want to know you'll just have to listen to the podcast. :) I am by no means a writer or a critic so I appologize for my ramblings.

Daughter of the Sun is a fantasy novel with originality. Each chapter pulls you in deeper and deeper to Ezell's realm and leaves you on the edge of your seat. The characters each have a potential for greatness that you can sense just over the horizon. I highly recommend Daughter of the Sun to anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre. So check it out at http://www.lonnieezell.com/

Where did I put those pom poms?

Sock Madness is officially over for me. My opponent finished her pair before I could even finish my first sock. I'm a little disappointed but in all honesty I didn't expect to make it past the first round.

This round's pattern is called Mad-tini and is designed by Karin Bole. It has a really interesting cuff, a neat spiral pattern around the leg, and an Eye of Partridge. It is just challenging enough to be interesting but simple enough that I didn't have to look at the pattern for every single round (once the pattern was established that is).

When the supply list for Sock Madness first came out I ordered some Lisa Souza sport in Earth Birth. Unfortunately with Lisa going to Stitches and then a shipping problem, my yarn didn't get here in time for this round (totally not Lisa's fault). I had ordered some back up yarn just in case and although it got here in time it was really rough on my hands. So I swatched anything in my stash slightly heavier than normal fingering weight and I came up with my Yarn Pirate mernio/tencel in Apple (first picture below). I love that yarn and I love the Mad-tini pattern but not together so once my opponent finished her pair I frogged my sock. It must have been fate because that very same day my Lisa Souza showed up in my mail box! I quickly cast on the Mad-tini again (second picture below) and I am in love!

Lucky Snakes

As if I didn't do enough knitting earlier this week for Sock Madness. I've started a pair of Snakes on a Sock...for St. Patrick's Day! The other day I said to myself, "I don't like any of my green clothing so I think I'll knit some green socks to wear instead. I knitted my Mad Cow socks in a few days so I should be able to finish another pair by Saturday. Right?" Umm NO! I've just finished the gusset of sock number 1 and it's Friday afternoon. I guess I'll be wearing them next year.

Sock Madness Round 1

Mad Cow finished - Wendy's Toe-up
Originally uploaded by yardgnomes.

I think I made it! These are my first socks from Sock Madness. My color choice doesn't really shoe off the pattern but I'm still happy with how they turned out. Since I have HUGE feet I've decided to give these to my sis. I still haven't mailed out her other pair so I can just throw these in her package too.

It's a good thing there is a novice division. Let me tell you these folks can knit super fast! Some people had their socks done in the first 24 hours. Not a single sock..a pair! I on the other hand only just finished my socks this morning (still Monday night in the states).

One down one to go

Quick update. Just finished sock number one for my niece. Sock Madness kicks off on Saturday so I need to finish the second sock before then. :)

What have I done for you lately?

Socks that's what! I finished my sis's socks yesterday! I am so happy to be done with those. They were definitely a learning experience on how to read patterns, mistakes and all. The yarn is Lisa Souza in Can't-Elope. It looks bright orange in this picture but it's really much softer. The pattern is the Maple Sugar Socks.


I finally broke down and bought a new digital camera and wouldn't you know it, less than a week later the old one is found. Where was it do you ask? On top of our dining room hutch hiding behind the molding. I had a couple of my plants up there for the winter and now that it's warming up I decided to move them outside during the day. Had it not been for that I probably wouldn't have found the camera until when we move next spring. Of course now I'm totally in love with the new camera and can't bear to return it. :( Anyways... on with the knitting goodness.


After I finished sis's socks I cast on the socks for my niece (her daughter). Since Sock Madness is so close I decided to do a very basic pattern with k3 p2 ribbing. Let me tell you, I am in L-O-V-E with this yarn! It's Lisa Souza's sock! in Berry Poppins. I was going to try and make two pairs out of it for my niece but now I want to keep the rest of it for myself. I could so make a pair of ankle socks out of it!!


While I'm at it, now that I have not one but two digital cameras I figured I should post a "finished" picture of my very first ever socks. That is Black Pearl (Pearl for short) making sure they are up to snuff. She's our newest rescue kitty. Yes, my husband named her after Jack Sparrow's ship in Pirates of the Caribbean. Sometimes I swear he was a pirate in a past life. I'm tempted to change the spelling of her name to Black Purl. :)