Frog Is A Four Letter Word

Happy Halloween, gang! Since I was so close to finishing the Socks of Doom #2, I thought it would be cool to complete them on this last day of Socktoberfest. So after the greedy children were stuffed in the oven, I mean, had been given all my candy I knit and grafted the toes.



I should have been cleaning, packing and finishing the bathroom floor since the realtor's showing up early tomorrow morning. But such is the depth of my....hatred for cleaning. Ha! You thought I was going to say "love of knitting". Well, that would be a close fourth after "obsession for coffee" and "love of sleep".

So Shelby started these socks and I finished them to kill of Pollyanna. You can definitely tell (maybe not in the picture) where one knitter left off and the other started. Oh well, they are snuggly, warm and deadly!

Was I the only one here who hung out with ruffians and went on a harmless but liberating misdemeanor spree the night before Halloween? Come on, 'fess up. You egged, you tp'd, you chunked pumpkins. You hung out in the cemetary drinking schnapps and telling ghost stories. Nowadays my only mischief is eating too much of the trick or treat candy and perhaps exercising bad judgment in costumes. Oh yes, and spending too much at Target. (I'll have to take pics since the cool stuff I bought isn't listed on their website anymore.)

Anyway, I have cool news! I won a prize from Karrie at Girl on the Rocks! Apparently Charlie brings me good luck and having him show off yarn scored me some yarn! And it's sock yarn--just what I've been craving. Karrie's finding a new home for it because it's not quite the color she wanted, but I love it.

I have just started the toes on my second Sock Wars pair. I wanted to finish these over the weekend, but I spent most of my time in bed with a heating pad on my back. Now, laying in bed is perfect knitting time, right? But I also needed to catch up on a couple night's worth of sleep, so I didn't get much accomplished. Maybe tonight. Can you believe over 80% of the particpants are now dead?

If you're getting into mischief tonight, be careful! I spent all your bail money at Target!

Gang, the weather is now autumnal! I was riding my bike this morning and wishing I had gloves...so yummy! This evening I guess I will bust out the sweaters and coats from the attic. The weather also reminded me that I need to finish my Mold vest.

But for now, my second pair of Sock Wars socks are moving right along. The second sock is almost up to the same point as the first--halfway through the foot. I'd love to finish these by the weekend so I can slay the next person!

And finally, since I didn't go to Rhinebeck like 99% of the knitblogging world, I did some fake shopping. Karrie over at Girl on the Rocks wanted to feel better about not going and so encouraged us to make up fake swag. If I went to Rhinebeck, I would have bought sock yarn in beagley, manly colors like so:



Charles cracks me up. I woke him up and he's giving me the evil eye, but he's not disturbed enough to actually move. I put the yarn on him, rearranged it, took about five pictures--the whole time all he moved was his eyelid. That is why I love him. He has mastered being a bum.

I don't really remember all those yarns, but the ones with the labels are, from left to right: OnLine Supersocke; Cervinia; alpaca; Lang Jawoll. The others are leftovers from my fingerpuppet exploits. It was fun to dig through my stash especially since I found a ton of stuff I forgot I had!

Okay, I gotta get back to work. Did you go to Rhinebeck?

You know how if you were granted more wishes the first thing you'd ask for is an unlimited supply of wishes? Right. Well just when I have my few winter knitting projects lined up, the mags come out with their next issue that just makes you wish for an endless winter or 48 hours in a day.



I was scrolling through the Interweave Knits winter preview and this Enid Cardigan was my favorite--before I even noticed what yarn they used! You might remember I bought some of the Reynolds Whiskey for M's birthday. I was fond of it then, but now I think I really need to get some! Speaking of other things I'm fond of, the Provincial Waistcoat pattern in this preview kicks ass, too!! Though I don't think I'll be spending the paper for yak yarn any time soon.

Since I really did get such awesome service from Linda, I am going to mention that you can get Reynolds Whiskey and yak yarn from Wear Your Art. As well as most of the other yarns called for in these awesome patterns.

I have been knitting on my second pair of Sock Wars socks, but progress was slow at first as I had to match the gauge of the first sock. The first sock is done to about halfway through the foot, and I wanted to get the second sock to that point and then put them on the same two circs. [I just deleted a rant about a crappy fabric/craft store, because it's my own fault for continuing to shop there.] Let's just say the only craft place named after a signer of the Declaration of Independence at which I like to shop is Ben Franklin.

I wish for more knitting needles! What are your knitterly wishes?

I was in the house cleaning today (shut up, I was too) when I heard the mail jeep coming down the street. I'm convinced they don't fix the squeaky brakes just so peole know it's the mailwoman. Anyway, I peeked out the window in time to see her putting a sock-sized package in my mailbox.

Oh, could this be my bittersweet finale? The fatal blow? They say the one you don't hear fired is the one that gets you. Or some crap. Well, I got wrapped up in stuff and forgot about the mail until almost dinner time! I opened the mailbox and pulled out the soft, squooshy envelope that most definitely held a pair of socks. No, divine mercy, the return address was from my target!! They are her target's target's unfinished socks. It's on to the next round of Sock Wars for me.



Okay, see if you can follow along with me. I killed Dingo Chavez. About the same time, Dingo killed Shelby. Shelby was supposed to kill Nicole, so Shelby sent the unfinished socks to Dingo, who by then had died and sent them to me. So now I have to kill Nicole and that makes me Plan C (?). Fun, right?

Well, Shelby was using Cashsoft, so god damn right this is fun. This stuff is very dreamy to knit--as yummy as the alpaca I just finished. It's a good thing those needles didn't work on my newly cast-on socks yesterday, because I'll need them to finish these blood red Socks o' Doom.

Oh, what? All of a sudden I'm a (socknitter? sock knitter? sockknitter?) and all you sock/(space)/knitters are snickering like "She didn't hold out long, did she?" Well, goddammit, they're just done so fast! And people go fucking apeshit over a pair of handmade socks. Like I'm going to pass up that kind of glory! "Oh, here. [toss] I made you some socks. I know, they are the best things you've ever had on your body. No prob."

So this post is a little placemarker, really. 1.) to let it be known on this 14th day of Socktober that I just called myself a socknitter, sockknitter, sock knitter, person who knits socks and 2.) so I can record the gauge and needles of this next pair that I cast on. I bought a ball of ONline Supersocke a few weeks ago to make a pair of gift socks. I just did a swatch using my 2.75mm with a gauge of 27x32 and the fabric is way too loose. That's a bitch, too, because I just bought two of those needles to make my Sock Wars socks.

I'm sure I have other needles that will work, but I've been too lazy to get out of the papasan for the past three hours. Things are tiring around here--I'm not saying that to complain. (Haha, just as an excuse to sit in my chair and knit for three hours, right?) This is the first evening I've spent quietly at home this week, so godammit if I want to swatch sock yarn the whole time, I will!

What is it called when your obessions are so ripe they have little baby sub-obsessions? In the case of my vest obsession, literally smaller vests.



Every time a new Anthro catalog comes out, various bloggers show what they like in the latest releases--especially what they want to try to make. This vest pictured above was put in the latest catalog solely for me. Not that I would wear this kind of thing. Bitches, please! Wearing a piece of clothing is only half the obsession. The practical part, but let's not get so picky.

I just like the IDEA of this mini vest. I would like to make one, I would like to have one hanging in my closet or folded in my dresser. I would pet it and talk to it and make everyone try it on. I would like to repeatedly pick out yarns from my stash and write up patterns for a mini vest based on those yarns.

One knitter's "narrow minded" is another's "specialized".

Besides, sock knitters can get obsessed about toe-up socks, or lace socks, or self-striping socks. Shawl knitters can spend hours discussing lace knitting versus knitted lace. Dude, do not even get me started on fair isle knitters and their steeks. You see my point.

And my point is we can justify any obsession, can't we? Ha!

Today my target for Sock Wars received the socks I sent her. I thought for sure I would be dead by now--my assassin contacted me for my address two days after the start of the war! Anyway, this is definitely fun and like one participant said I just wanted to kill someone by sock before I got killed--anything after that is a bonus.

Check out the Sock Wars Flickr Pool for how many variations you can get on one pattern!

For even more lower extremity goodness, check out Socktoberfest Flickr Pool, too.

So now that I've actually finished one pair of socks and I have proven to myself it is possible, I have no excuse not to finish my "First Socks" which will technically be my second. I have also picked up the pneumonia shawl again now that I'm not exclusively sockin' it. Photos in a few days!

My Socks of Doom are loaded and ready to be fired!



I washed them this evening using Soak and hopefully they will be dry enough tomorrow to ship to Tennessee. It was fun to learn how to do two socks on two circs as well as cuff down. I can definitely say I do not like these toes nearly as much as short row toes. The heels I don't know enough about to comment.



Look at that blooming camelid goodness! Mmm. The one thing that seriously irks me about these socks is THE LEFTOVERS!! I realize the nature of the Sock Wars game necessitated a short sock and I really didn't have the time or expertise to convert the pattern to toe-up. But I have enough yarn left for a small pair of socks!

Now who do I know with small feet that could use some spoiling with alpaca socks? N#5, no doubt. But I will probably make him a pair of little slippers and put some grippies on the sole. This yarn is a wee bit too much for inside kid's shoes.

Would y'all like to see how my Socks of Doom are coming? 'Kay.



I guess if these were for me, I'd start the toe soon. But I need to continue to a size 9. Dingo if you're reading, you're going to LOVE being killed by these beauties (also, don't worry. I'll wash them before I send them out). Everyone who has seen and touched these has begged for a pair of alpaca socks.

I thought it was a good time to share a sock pic since it's the official start of Socktoberfest! My other socky plans include finishing my First Socks and making a special pair for a friend, but that's a story for another day.

Would y'all like me to tell you about some places to buy yarn? Of course you would! I just got an email from Linda at Wear Your Art and they are having a sale! Could I friggin' love the Nicky Epstein kits any more? No! Except I could, because they are on SALE! (Ever since M told me about Wishlist.com, my mind has gone crazy with the crafty gift possibilities.)

Speaking of M, I bought her birthday yarn through Wear Your Art and was totally pleased with their customer service and shipping. I told Linda that it was a gift and that I was kinda late with it, and she shipped it out that afternoon! TEE HEEE, I almost forgot to show you what yarn I bought for M--Whiskey and Lush (LOOK AT THAT FACE!!). Are you seeing a theme here? Haha, I found so many cool alcoholic yarns like Margarita, the Yarntini yarns including Cosmopolitan and Grape Ape, this gorgeous Recycled Wine, I mean, Silk, the Absinthe bamboo lace, well you get the picture. M has used Lush before and said it's great, but the Whiskey is new on the market. It looks promising, soft for a wool. I can't wait to hear how it works up.

What's your favorite drunk yarn?