Knitting in pink

My Internet connection went out last Thursday and I only got it back yesterday afternoon... Do you know how horrible that is? Thankfully I was able to check my emails a couple times at other people's house but there was no way I could work or blog until my connection came back up. What a relief!

Anyways, I've been working on my socks. I have 3 one the needles now, which brings my total of single socks to 5. I'll post an update with pictures later this week. In the mean time I'll just show you some loveliness:

Both of these were new arrivals at yarn4socks and I just couldn't resist.

On the left is Madelinetosh in Nasturtium with which I'm planning to knit Flint Knits' Marigolds. I just love nasturtiums, they're one of my favorite flowers. I just wish they didn't attract bugs as much! On the right RubySapphire color Yovana, available August 1 in the store. I'll be saving the yarn for a pair of cheery Monkeys. Can you believe I still haven't knit a pair yet?

The only thing I've been knitting in the last month or so are socks. Nothing but socks. I can't even remember last time I knit on my Razor Cami.

While on vacation I worked on 4 different socks:

My Yarntini Home plain sock, of which I finished the first sock,
A sock that will be disclosed fully in about a week or so,

I knit on the second sock of my Sockapalooza socks, which are all set to go to their new owner



I started a pair for DH out of some Regia Strato Color bought at Knit 'n Knibble while in Tampa.



Since I've been back from vacation I started yet another sock...



I'm using Sunshine Yarns in Bloom and the pattern is Snicket socks from Magknits. I was inspired by Isel Knits' beautiful version. The yarn will be available at yarn4socks in September as part of our Artist of the Month. We're very lucky to have Sunshine Yarns available for that occasion.

Now I'll be alternating between the Snicket and the Regia socks until the first sock is done. Then I'll go back to the first two and finish the pair. When I'm all done I'll have 4 more pairs of socks done!

I finished my Sock pal's socks. The second sock was finished yesterday and they were promptly soaked and blocked.

Here they are, all pretty on their sock blockers:

It took me about a month to knit the first sock and about 2 weeks to knit the second. Of course, there were other projects I was working on, but as the deadline started looming I decided that I really needed to get working on those exclusively. And now they're done and I can get back to starting more socks... lol!

Now I just have to get a couple things together and make a pretty little package and they will be on their way to...
Of course I'm not telling! I do hope they fit!

I've been back since Saturday but it's been pretty busy with work and catching up that this is the first time I get to sit down and update my blog. Every day I've been like: I need to post about this, I need to post about that... Sorry about this long hiatus, hopefully it won't happen again! : )

More pictures of my vacation are available here

Vacation went super well. Sanibel was a pleasure, our condo was awesome and the beach beautiful. I think I fell in love with Florida. It was hot but not unbearably so. Central air is really an amazing invention. We were really careful with the sun and I just got a tiny bitty sunburn on my lower legs.

During vacation I knit, a lot. Assembled a 1000 piece puzzle, went to the beach or the pool, did a bit of shopping and met up with some friends. On Thursday we drove up to Tampa and I got to spend some fun time with Alyson (who drove all the way from Orlando) and other gals from the Tampa area. Go see Alyson's post about our meetup right here. It was a great fun meeting all you guys and I hope to see you again soon! BTW, Alyson, I'll be in Orlando October 10-17... Hope you'll be there!


The horrible golden glow of a Tampa Barnes and Nobles


I managed to stay on top of Bloglines by reading about 50 posts a day. So I only had over 300 to read when I got back! Lol! I apologize in advance to all the people who commented before I left, I will get back to you! Also, I have to admit that I did a lot more skimming than actual reading this week, so I'll be back to commenting on your blogs soon!



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On Monday I had the pleasure of receiving a package from my Special Swap Pal, Stress Reaction. Go check out her beautiful spinning!
This month's theme was Spring, and this is what she got me:



A Burt Bees kit, some Bath and Body Works lotion and body spray in my favorite smell, a pretty notebook with a suede cover, a candle, some seeds, some sweets and some more sweets yarn. I am so lucky, she got me some Duet sock yarn in Chantilly Lace and some Yarn Pirate in Neapolitan, very yummy tout ça!
Thank you Leah! Sorry it took me so long to post all this loveliness!

I received today my last package from my pal for Secret Pal 10. My pal was Fat Chick Crafts. I had found out pretty early who she was as we both had won on the same contest and I recognized her moniker. She's been a great pal and we've enjoyed writing back and forth. Every package from her was such a treat and once again she picked some great things for me.

In the top picture you can see two balls of merino rovings, a very awesome book that I've wanted to get for quite some time and the most amazing piece of stitchery I've ever seen. My Pal stitched me this beautiful scissors fob. I've never seen anything like this before. She's a very talented stitcher, you can see what she's been working on lately on her blog. If you click on the middle picture you'll be able to see all the details of that little cushion. She even stitched both our initials on the back with the year it was made.
The bottom picture is of goodies from Minnesota where my pal is from. The jam looks extremely yummy, I can't wait to taste it : )

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I've been working on a lot of socks lately. I finished my first Sockapalooza sock and cast on yesterday for the second one.



I've also reached the ribbing on my plain Yarntini socks. I'm doing my first twisted 1x1 rib and I find it really pretty so far. I'm hoping it will fit me as well as a regular 2x2 ribbing.



The third sock I am currently working on is the store's August Sock Club sock. I'll just show you a detail...



I'll be working on/finishing these socks on vacation next week on Sanibel Island in Florida. I'll probably be the only one knitting socks on the beach but that's fine with me! The Yo Yo and I are planning to get together in Tampa on Thursday so if you'll be around just give us a shout out!

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I know, this is getting long, but just one more thing:

You might want to close your eyes if you're extra sensitive, because this is going to hurt.



This is a picture of the underarm of my new Fitted Tank after I wore it for the second time. My new deodorant seems to have bleaching effects...What you see is the inside, but the outside is just as bad. The other armhole isn't bleached quite as bad but still. I wanted to scream when I saw that. Now I'm not quite sure if there is something I can do about it. Any suggestions?

My trip to the Adirondacks was a great success. The lodge was comfortable. DH and I got to spend quality time with friends that live quite far away. We hiked, did some rafting and some canoeing. There also was quite a bit of knitting and spinning and even a trip to the most amazing store. Old Forge Hardware is quite the general store: you'll find hardware stuff, camping and fishing gear, kitchen equipment, decorations, clothing, a bookstore section, furniture and even a knitting section. My friend and I were quite impressed by the selection of books, yarns and accessories there. If you're in the area it would definitely be worth the visit, if only to visit the store itself. Also, if you're ever in the area there is another stop you must do. In North Creek, on route 28, there is Gore Mountain Alpaca Farm. The owners are extremely friendly and will talk about their alpacas and let you go into the field with the alpacas and even touch them. I had a great time there and would have loved to stay much longer.

The alpacas had just been sheared a couple weeks ago and were super cute. The group that you see are about a dozen females with the two babies. About 4 of the females were pregnant and are expecting this year. If you want to get more information or see more pictures just let me know.

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Tomorrow pictures of what I knit and spun while on vacation!