Knitting in pink

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!

The Fitted Tank is dry... and it fits! : ) Fits real well actually! I tried taking a picture of myself. It's not awesome but for now it will have to do.

The yarn is super soft and still looks good, which is a relief. It ended up being just long enough to cover everything that needs to be covered. I will enjoy wearing it with a jacket over it on cooler days like today. I'll have to see if it's too warm to wear on hot days or not.

Stats
The tank was started on May 30 and finished June 11.
Yarn: Less than 3 skeins Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton in Toffee
Pattern: Fitted Tank pattern Alison Williams for Blue Sky Alpaca
Mods: Used size 8 needles instead of 9s. Knit in the round to armholes. Used Kitchener stitch to at the shoulders instead of 3 needle bind off.

Besides the continual sock knitting I am itching to start another top, but there are 3 or 4 I could choose from and I don't know which to pick.

I think I could use this:


to make the Razor Cami.

Or this:


To make Glee, the Ballet Cami or Arbor

I don't actually own Glee yet but all the others are free patterns so I'm tempted to try one of those instead. What do y'all think?

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On a totally different subject. I would like your advice about something else.
Back in April I bought some yarn and a book from 2 different people that were destashing on their blog. Days passed, weeks passed and now more than month has passed and I have not received anything yet. I assume the packages are lost somewhere. If that has happened to you in the past, what have you done? Or if not, what would you do? I'd love to hear you ideas as it would help me to know what to do. Thanks! : )

The knitting and finishing for the Fitted Tank is done. I finished it yesterday.

If you click on the picture to make it bigger you should see very easily where I switched from knitting in the round to not in the round. I am hoping it will straighten out a bit after it is soaked and blocked. The tank is currently taking a bath, a lot of dye is coming out of it, so it is now at its third fifth soak. I'm also hoping that I can stretch it a bit more with some blocking. I did the tank about an inch longer than the pattern suggested but it is still a tad short. The finishing has you pick up stitches and bind them off on the next row at the neck and the armholes. I did do it around the neck but have not at the armholes. The fabric rolls a bit there so I didn't think it was really worth it. Especially since the armhole edging doesn't look too bad. I do still have yarn left so I could do it in the future if I wish.

Update: I just gave up after the 5th bath and decided that it was enough. Although it could probably have used a few more baths. It is now stretched out lengthwise to dry. Hopefully it wont have stretched widthwise too much. We'll see if it was a success once it's dry and I can try it on. I'm guessing the least washes this tank gets the longer it will last. The yarn, Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton doesn't look like it will look good for very long. But I guess I will have to wait and see to confirm that. I'm crossing my fingers that I wont regret having soaked and attempted blocking it... Cotton goes in the dryer, right?

A couple weeks ago I happened to score once more on the Destash blog. Someone was selling a kit for the Blue Sky Alpaca Fitted Tank pattern. I had seen it a while back and had really liked it. Also, a few days before I found the designer's blog which had renewed my interest in the pattern. So when I saw the kit on the Destash blog I quickly contacted the vendor. Thankfully it was not promised to anyone yet and soon it was on my way. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to resist and would cast on right away. And I did, cast on right away. Don't worry, I did do a gauge swatch!

The pattern is written to be knit in 2 pieces, back and front. But I decided to do it in the round up to the armholes, saving me all the purling rows. I still have to figure out how the rest will work but I'll think about it when I get there. Also, the pattern has you knit 12 inches before doing the armholes, but I think I will knit an extra 2 inches to be on the safe side. There is no need to bare my belly if I can avoid it.

I have about 3 inches to go before I get to split for for front and back. I'm really hoping I can get done with it by the end of next week. I'm really enjoying the yarn. It is Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton and is really soft. I'm a little concerned about how it will wear though. But we'll see.