AGES ago (like, pre-MDS&W) Artsygal had a shop update that included a color I needed. No, truly needed. HAD to have. And really, it was all about the name. (I’m a sucker for a great color name. That name? “Drama Queen” Need I say more? :D

And thank you all for your kind comments about the Emerald dragon. His Sapphire brother was completed yesterday at my regular B&N knitting group, so I just have the Amethyst to go. The plan is to get him finished up today so that I can give him to Sam tonight. (To answer your question, DO, the dragons are a baby gift for a friend. They go with the log cabin blanket I finished a week or two ago.) I’ll get a photo of all three with the blanket once Amethyst is done. And hopefully I can get some with Sam, too.

Well, almost-dragons, anyway.

The Emerald is all assembled and just waiting for his eyes to be embroidered. I’m pretty happy with him. The Sapphire pieces are to the right left, and the Amethyst are to the left right (Sorry - was thinking from the POV of the Emerald dragon…). I am hoping to get them assembled today and tomorrow and get the eyes on all three.

Here we have a very wrinkled, unblocked Chevron Scarf. This has been my stuff-it-in-my-purse knitting for a while now, including while sitting in line for Order of the Phoenix and part of while I was waiting for Deathly Hallows to come out last Friday. It’s made a lot more progress than I had realized. I have another skein of each color, and I’m still debating whether I will use them or not. I’ll see where it is when I finish these two.

Pardon the crappy-ass blurry picture of the Mystery Stole. This is what happens when Kris is busy at work and I feel guilty asking him to take pictures for me. (although last week’s picture was all me!) Well, that combined with the fact that we have houseguests and I didn’t want to wake them up by digging out one of Kris’s tripods. I’m currently ready to start row 263, almost to the end of Chart E. I’m going to do the extra repeat to lengthen it, though, so I’ll be doing that bubble/flower pattern for a while yet.

You may have noticed these in the background of the scarf and stole pictures. What are they? They are my new Monkey Toes sock bags! I ordered them from Momma-Monkey’s Etsy shop (Hey, looks like she’s put up some new stuff. Awesome!), and they came last week. I’m using the one on the left (in the “Fifi” print) for the Chevron scarf, and the set on the right (part of the Menagerie collection, which also included some stitch markers and some gorgeous handspun sock yarn) for my Mystery Stole. The notions bag is perfect for my beads, and crochet hook, and post-its.

The only drawback I can see to these bags? They’re kind of addictive. I totally want another one. Or two. And I might talk to her about making one for the two-at-once sock folk…

*sigh*

Oh, well. I probably won’t see you again before Friday (See about re: houseguests), so have a good one!

That’s how long it took me. I got home at 12:15, settled into the recliner at 12:30, and finished at 6:04. I’m not posting anything about it here for a while (and probably not until after a second reading), because I’m not spoiling anyone.

Thursday evening, Kris and I popped in our copy of HP and the Goblet of Fire, and I worked on the blue Norberta, which I had started at my regular knitting group on Thursday. I got the pieces done by the end of the movie. Friday, I figured I might as well carry on the pattern and popped in HPSS, followed by HPCOS and HPPOA. Finished all the pieces of the purple dragon by the end of COS, so now all I have to do is assemble them. Yay!

I got to Barnes & Noble at about 5, grabbed a table in the cafe, and waited (im)patiently for the mother and 2 kids who were at the only table by an outlet to leave. (Kris was joining me and bringing his laptop, so that table was the only option.) They did, and he got there at about 6. I went over and got my bracelet - my B&N was giving them out with a letter-color combo, and that was how they were calling people up. So, there were about 30 people in each grouping, and they called the green A’s, then the red A’s, then the yellow A’s (Me!). That solved the issue of the HUGE line winding through the store that they had there for HPB. Once I had my bracelet, we settled in at our table. Over the course of the seven hours (I’m insane…) that we sat there, I drank 2 venti Iced Raspberry Mochas (my new fave there) and a grilled cheese sandwich. I am still feeling a little queasy, so I think I may have overdone the caffeine a bit. I worked on my Mystery Stole (the only time I went online since my last blog post was just long enough to print out clue #4), and got through 50 rows. When I decided I was tired of knitting that required concentration, I pulled out the Chevron Scarf, which I need to photograph for a WIP Wednesday - it’s my purse knitting, so I don’t realize how much progress I’ve made sometimes.

When I went upstairs after finishing the book, I put it on Kris’s nightstand, and collapsed in bed. He woke up slightly and said, “Well?” I said “5 hours, 34 minutes.” He stuck his hand out and said, “Tag me.” So, he’s been downstairs reading since. Hopefully he’ll finish sometime this afternoon so I have someone to talk to about it!

Off to catch up on what I missed on the ‘net in the last 2-ish days!

Ok, so this post has absolutely nothing to actually do with Harry Potter, but it’s THAT day, so I figured I might as well call it that. :) I’m posting this a little early, and then I am putting myself under a media embargo until after I finish the book. I don’t want to be accidentally spoiled after all these years.

So, the pr0n. This week, we keep with the STR trend, with the 2nd shipment for the Rockin’ Sock Club (Yes, I’ve already got shipment #3. I’m behind on posting pr0n.) - Silkie Socks that Rock in “Walking on the Wild Tide”. These came with a funky fishnet-like pattern, and I decided to order a second hank of the yarn so that I can make them as knee-highs.

Signing off until Saturday!

So, Norberta #1 hasn’t made any actual progress since I posted the pics this weekend, but I did finish up Clue #3 on the Mystery Stole. Here’s how it looks as of now:

Yes, that’s right - for you, my dear readers, I even broke out the blocking wires. (OK, and I really, really wanted to see what it looks like so far.) It’s a GORGEOUS pattern - I can’t wait to see how it continues to progress. There are all sorts of theories about the theme bouncing around out there, but I have no idea what it is.

That and Norberta are about the only things I am working on right now, so that is it for the WIP portion of this post. Now, we move on to some overdue thank you pics.

WAAAAAAAY back when, morgsarah and I struck up an agreement to do a fiber festival swap. I picked up some things for her at Maryland Sheep and Wool, and she picked up some stuff for me at… erm… Taos? Damn, now I don’t remember which festival it was. These are the gorgeous goodies she sent me:

In the front is some hand-dyed Wensleydale roving dyed by a friend of hers, behind that is some merino-tussah and some Navajo churro, and in the back is a Corriedale-alpaca blend. All so, so beautiful!

I also got a lovely, thoughtful gift from Bezzie recently, tucked in a box of hats. (And yes, I swear I will update the Hats for Alex blog soon. Hopefully tomorrow.)

It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign, and it has some very personal significance that I’m not getting into here. Just let it be said that I cried when I saw it, I’ve worn it every day since, and I am unbelievably touched by her sweet gift. Not to mention the 19 (!) hats she sent.

I won a blog contest over at AKKnitter’s blog, and check out my prize:

8oz. of beautiful alpaca, and a grow-your-own pet. :)

Finally, my lovely, lovely Knittyboard SP9 pal “Marie Dent” (who also goes by “Mostly Harmless”) sent me my first package last week:

We have a Wizard of Oz mini activity book, Koigu’s “Take Along Socks” pattern book with three hanks of gorgeous Koigu in front to make a pair of socks from the book, Pez and a cute-as-a-button lamb Pez dispenser, and a Hemp for Knitting kit. The pattern is called Kathy’s Fingerless Gloves, and the yarn (one ball is next to the kit) is Cashmere Canapa in that awesome green. It’s a cashmere/hemp blend and is just so soft. I can’t wait to work with it! Thank you, my dear Marie! You clearly know me really, really well. And I have NO CLUE who you are.

I also picked up some yarn recently for a new crochet project, but I think we’ve had enough pictures for today, so that can wait for tomorrow. :)

So, at my knitting group meetup on Thursday, I finished the Log Cabin Baby Blanket! Amanda even took a shot of me being triumphant with her camera phone:

(And yes, I am fully aware that I look like a complete dork)

This gives a better idea of the colors:

I ended up using 1 ball of the Green, Purple, Periwinkle, and Azure, and just dipped into a second ball of the Blue and Lime. It’s a nice size, and I think it will be a good light-but-cozy blanket for our friends’ little guy.

Speaking of the B&N group and Amanda, since she finally landed in the area on Wednesday, she was able to make it to the group. And I finally got to chat with Lola, who I’ve emailed with and talked to on the Knittyboards and Ravelry, but didn’t actually get to talk to the last time she made it to B&N.

And to go with the blanket, he is getting a set of 3 Norberta dragons. I started the green one Friday night, and after about 3 total hours of knitting time, I’ve got all the pieces knit and just need to assemble them.

I made two minor tweaks to the pattern. I’ve seen on other blogs and on the Knittyboard that the spikes that go down the back tend to be too long, so I skipped some of them. I also decided to do the wings with one strand of each of the MC (Green) and CC (Lime) instead of just the MC. I’m hoping to get him assembled today and finish up the last 10 rows of Clue #3 of the Mystery Stole. It is such a gorgeous pattern - I can’t wait to see what the rest of it ends up looking like!

Or I’ll be in trouble with YPF BossLady. ;) (Of course, she’s had enough trouble fighting with Lenny the Tech-Lack-of-Support Guy that she might not notice…)

I’ve got a lot to catch up on, but it’s been one of those weeks, so I’ll try to get to it this weekend. Until then, pr0n!

I ordered some Socks That Rock from Blue Moon a few weeks ago, so you’ll see them in the next few weeks. Today, we have Lightweight in “Knitty Rocks”, which pretty much sums up my opinion, so I had to get this color. :D

Happy weekend, all!

So, since the lovely Jacque awarded me the title of Rockin’ Girl Blogger, I now get to do the same with 5 other people.

PennyKarma - You crack me up with your tales of your crazy in-laws, and the Aldis, and your run-ins with crazy parents. How you keep that amazing sense of humor is beyond me. You are raising three adorable, amazing kids, inspiring us all to find our own Power Panties, and knitting while you do it all!

Bezzie - The McGuyver of the knitting world. You do the most amazing things with the simplest stuff you finds around the house. The amazing thing to me is that you never seems to think you’re as brilliant as we all do - you claim it’s all just being a cheapass! And you’re the only person I know who does actual yarn PORN… Lupe and Shawnee are the highlight of Flash Your Stash for me.

Morgsarah/Teleknitter - I am living vicariously through your adventures of starting a microfarm with your hubby, and I dream of someday spinning stuff HALF as gorgeous as you do.

Mary, Mary - Beautiful yarnography, and a hugely generous heart. Who else but you could have decided to just give away lots of your stash, just because. And I smile every time I see my license plate frame and think of you.

ZKnitter - Another awesome yarnographer, and a kickass seamstress. I love the needle cases you are making, and I know that once you open an Etsy shop for them, you’ll take the world by storm!

You all rock!

First, thank you all for your lovely comments on my Molly Sleeves. I’m kind of in love with them, so it’s nice to see that other people like them as well.

Now, on to the pr0n! This week, we have some pre-yarn. This is some spinning fiber I picked up at (all together now) Maryland Sheep & Wool. Which means that I’ve managed to make the S&W pr0n last for 2 months after the festival. :D

This is some merino roving I picked up from Cloverleaf Farms. The color is called “Rose Quartz”, and I have 2 braids of it, so 8oz. all together, I think.

Next week will be, I believe the very last of the Sheep and Wool pr0n. Luckily, I’ve gotten a few other goodies in swaps (ok, and with the occasional purchase), so I shouldn’t HAVE to buy anything for YPFs for a while. :D And I still need to photograph a fair amount of my stash for Ravelry, so some of those may pop up here as well.

I’m not quite done with clue #1 for the Mystery Stole, but clue #2 came out today, so I’m hoping to catch up this weekend. I’m really enjoying it so far, and I think the pattern is very pretty. I should have pictures for WIP Wednesday next week. I also discovered that the last clue comes out the day before a wedding we are attending in August. I wonder if I can finish the last clue in a day and get it blocked in time to wear to the wedding…

Have a great weekend, all!

So, I finally got to start the Mystery Stole. I didn’t have a chance this weekend, because we had a friend of ours visiting, so I waited to cast on until Monday night at my once-a-month knitting group. I made it most of the way through chart A while I was there, and finished up the rest of the chart yesterday. I still need to do the second chart, but here’s where we stand at the moment.

What’s this odd pile? Those are all the ends trimmed from weaving in on the Molly sleeves.

That’s right! The Molly Sleeves, they are done! (See, Cristi - tree bark!)

Full Flickr set here.

Pattern: Molly Weasley Style Bell Sleeves, from Jo at Fruitcats.com
Yarn: WEBS Valley Yarns Longmeadow cotton/microfiber in 13 colors, 1 to 2 balls of each.
Hook: US size H Clover Bamboo
Jacket: Old Navy

I really enjoyed this one. I wasn’t sure if I would encounter second-sleeve syndrome with these, since I’m known for it with socks, but I really had fun making them. You know, in spite of that little setback with screwing up the second cuff and needing to re-do it. Jo has reminders throughout the pattern to weave in your ends as you go, which I blissfully ignored. It might have made the weaving in go a bit faster, but it also would have made ripping back that second cuff a (bigger) nightmare, so I think I’m glad I waited.

Big BIG thanks to Alice, who suggested attaching them to a denim jacket, and to Maryanne, Roxy, and the other ladies at my kickass knitting group, who encouraged me in the madness that was this project.

In other news, I got a lovely, lovely compliment yesterday. Jacque over at This Kitten Knits awarded me a “Rockin’ Girl Blogger” award (’tis over in the sidebar, there). I am so flattered, and really touched at her kind words. I love her blog, and adore her designs (have you seen that Nereides stole? Gorgeous!), so this means that much more to me.

And in the”OhmygodSQUEEEEE!” department, have you read yesterday’s post from the Yarn Harlot, wherein she raves about the addictiveness that is Ravelry? One of the patterns she linked to was my “Jack Sparrow Socks”! And bunches (almost 2000 at last count) have clicked through to check it out. I can’t believe it.