Anyway, nothing much going on here (No, Cristi, seriously), but I do have a couple of pictures to show.

First – I joined the Monthly Dishcloth KAL, and the mid-month one for August was the first pattern I did. (I skipped the beginning of the month one). Happily, the pattern came out right about the same time that I got some Sugar ‘n Cream in a swap. So, I cast on, and a few days later,I had this:
I’m gathering a nice collection of washcloths, which is cool. Happily, Kris likes them and uses them in the shower. So, I’ll keep making them. =)

Also, I’ve gotten two more sets of stitch markers from the swap. The orange ones came all the way from Egeria in Ireland. There was a bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate with them, but, um, I must have misplaced it. =) The fishy ones are from Batty. They came with a note that said “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish,” which completely cracked me up. Thank you both – I love them!

Other than that, I’m making some progress on the Christmas gifts, and I’m being good about not “cheating” and casting on anything for myself.

ETA – For those of you unfamiliar with Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, my screen name is a reference to a character, and the 4th book is titled “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish”. Hence the markers from dear Batty.

I’m quite proud of myself on this one, actually. Guess what I did on the shoulders? I GRAFTED them. That’s right – after my kitchener success on the Pomatomus socks, I decided to go for it, and it WORKED!

Also, in the last couple of days, I got 2 packages from the Stitch Marker Swap.

All the way from Scotland, here are my adorable markers from Shonze, with a nifty postcard and a little bag she knit for them.

And here are the lovely ones from Esther.

Thanks to both of you!! I can’t express how excited I have been to get these markers in the mail. Such lovely surprises, and such beautiful and creative work, too.

As far as other knitting progress, the blog may be a little picture-light for a while. I am trying very hard to get my Christmas knitting started, but since some of the recipients read this blog, I don’t really want to give anything away.

I got a lovely set of stitch markers from sgeddes in today’s mail.
Thank you, Shannon! I love them!

Seriously, this Stitch Marker Swap has been such fun. I love seeing what everyone has come up with! There has been some discussion of doing another round. I have gobs of markers now, but I am so tempted to join in again anyway…

ETA: I did it!!!
And with that, a finished pair of Pomatomus socks!
I did modify the pattern slightly by only doing two repeats of the pattern on the cuff instead of three. I was afraid I might run out of yarn. I’m still not totally sure I wouldn’t have, although I have some left over now. Other than that, I followed the pattern, heel flap and all. =)

This is my favorite piece of art in the house.
(Not the shawl, the chair) That is what is referred to in my family as the “Ugly Face Chair”. It belonged to my maternal grandparents and used to sit in their living room next to the tv. When I was a kid, it freaked the crap out of me. I used to make sure that someone (else) was sitting in it, so I didn’t actually see its face. As I got older, I realized how cool it was. When my grandfather passed away in 1997, I told my mother that I really wanted the chair, because it has such clear memories of Grandma and Grandpa associated with it.

Some of the art that I want to have in the house someday are these:

My brother, in addition to being a hair stylist, is also an artist. He has always been super-artistic, where I can’t draw a decent stick figure. (Not to say I’m not creative – I mean art in the sense of drawing and painting.) Anyway, these are a few of his (He has more posted on his MySpace page). He and I are trying to figure out a way to get a canvas from Las Vegas to Maryland without incurring massive shipping costs or having it damaged in transit. Until then, I just check them out on his page.

Now I just have to find the most disturbing objet d’art in the house… We have a lot of geek-centric stuff (Kris’s small collection of wizard stuff, etc.), but I’m thinking that I probably have to bite the bullet and admit that my Oz collection is probably the most disturbing.

Truth be told, I don’t find it disturbing, but when Yorkie was here, she made me promise that if she ended up staying with us, that I had to be sure the Tin Man wasn’t looking at her. And she hadn’t even seen the room yet. I guess I should take that as a hint that maybe it is a little disturbing. =)

And thank you all for your sweet comments on the stitch markers. I really do enjoy making them. And who knows? Maybe I’ll take Ali’s suggestion and start selling them or something. =)

ETA: Today’s mail brought me another set of swap stitchmarkers! Check out the gorgeous ones Turtlegirl sent me!! She said that the Knit Happens colors now make her think of me (since that was our original plan when she came up to visit), so she felt these were appropriate. I love them! Thank you, Cristi!!

Kris got some great pictures (as if we expect anything less), which he has posted to an album here. For anyone wondering, the crossed out XIV replaced by the XV is because we had all been calling it EdFest XIV, until we were there and someone actually started counting. That would be when we realized it was actually XV. Oops. =)

I did wear the completed Bombshell this weekend, and although I told Kris that I wanted a decent picture of it, this was the best he did. Oh well. I’ll get one at some point. I was working on my next project, Sizzle from Wendy over at The Garter Belt. It’s an awesome pattern, and is coming along quickly in spite of the fact that I can’t count. If the decrease rows say “repeat this 6 more times”, that means you do it SEVEN times total. Duh. So, I got through the back and was partway through the front when I realized my mistake and I had to rip the back to the point where I needed the additional set of decreases. No biggie – it would have annoyed me if I hadn’t done it right. I’m using the KnitPicks needles on this, and I have to say, I am really, really happy with them. There have been lots of reviews on these out there, including a couple from people who were less than thrilled with them (Grumperina found them too heavy for her taste. They don’t bother me, but that’s a pretty personal thing.), so I’m not going to go on ad nauseum. I’ll just say that I personally am very pleased with them, and have ordered a second case and some 24″ circs. That way, once case will hold the interchangeables, and the other will hold the circs. I think that should alleviate the crowding issues in the case.

I am part of the Stitch Marker Swap over on the knittyboards, and I finally finished making all of mine. Here are the 9 sets I made.
The top photo, left to right, are for Clotho42, hotmama, and purrl. The middle ones are for adore_one, PrincessRach84, and tionaknitsinaz. The bottom ones are for merrymom, allwoundup, and jennyknitnpurl. (If you click the linked names, you will see a closer picture of that set of markers) I’m really pleased with how they came out – I hope the recipients all like them, too!

I received my first two sets right before I left for EdFest. The top ones are from AKKnitter, and the bottom ones came from mrsmotter. I am actually using the ones from mrsmotter on my Sizzle shell right now. I can’t wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

Oh, and I’ve also joined in on the silliness of the “blog stalking” over at the boards, so there will be some odd pictures coming up around here. I missed the shoe collection flash, the “what’s under your bed” pictures, and the “freezer flash”, but I’m still thinking about going back and catching up on them. Maybe. =)

Lots of yarn pics to follow, and since it is a gorgeous day, I even took them outside in natural light. I hope Zib is proud of me. =)

The yarn for my Knitting Olympics project arrived today: KnitPicks Shimmer in Flower Garden. I know I originally said I was making it in Gossamer in Carribean, but I gave Kris an option on the yarn and color, and he decided he liked the alpaca/silk option better than the wool. So, Shimmer it is. I need to wind and swatch to prep for casting on next Friday. I’m a little worried about the scale of the project, but I wanted it to be a challenge, and this definitely qualifies. The yarn is posed on the woodpile next to our really scary shed. (Betsy – I think this is a chunk of the branch from the bee incident last summer)

I also ordered some KnitPicks Suri Dream to make Lacey. I was leaning toward either the Fern or the Twilight colors, but Kris liked the Apricot. So, I decided to go with it. I am sensing that perhaps he would like to see me in something other than blue and green from time to time. =) The bench in the picture is really old. My grandfather used to be the borough manager for Aspinwall, PA (back in the ’70s, I think), and this was a bench that was in a park there. When they replaced them, he had two of these on his back porch, both painted yellow. When he passed away, my mother put one of them in the front yard of our house in Pittsburgh. It moved to Maryland with my folks, where it was painted green, and then to Richmond with us. We brought it back to MD when we moved up in 2004. You can’t see it in the picture, but there is a little brass plaque on the back that says “Walt’s Bench”. My uncle had it made a few years ago. Last year, I had a viola plant (My grandmother’s name was Viola) sitting on the bench. It made me feel a little bit like they were still here.

I was out running some errands today, and I picked up the yarn to make the Lacy Pullover from the Winter 2005 issue of KnitSimple (pattern #15). Patons Glittalic in “Pink Sparkle”, Lacette in “Maroon Mist”, and Silverlash in “Maroon Magic”. These are actually the yarns called for in the pattern, which is not normal for me – I almost always sub yarns. I did use a different color, though, so maybe that counts. It is a whole lot of pink, but I figured I would take Kris’s hint and go for it. Anyway, it’s a really pretty shade, so why not?

I have been drooling over two projects from elann.com, and I finally broke down and ordered the yarn for them. I had considered both of these for the Knitting Olympics, but I knew I would never get the Flickering Flames Skirt done in 16 days, and since I already have the KnitPicks Faroese Peaks Shawl on my needles, I was afraid I would be bored with the Flower Petal Shawl. The skirt will be done in Endless Summer Collection Luna in “Polished Ebony” (yes, lace in black, which was the other thing that scared me about getting it done), and the shawl will be in Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca in “Malt Heather”. I originally wanted to make it in “Chocolate Truffle”, but they keep going out of stock on it, and I like the lighter shade, too. The Pure Alpaca is lovely yarn, and quite soft. It should make a very snuggle shawl. The Luna is a cotton/rayon blend with a very pretty shimmery/matte mixed finish. I think the skirt will look really cool when it is finished.

While I was in Omaha, my postman brought me some presents. To the right are swapped goodies from alicec, knotty knit picks, and bheangrrl from the Knittyboards. On the upper right are some stitch markers that alicec sent me as a thank you for donating some leftover yarn to the knitted digestive system she is working on with her daughter. Below that is part of a set of stitch markers that bheangrrl sent me (the others are already in use on the Faroese Peaks Shawl). I forgot to put the bracelet in with it, but she also put in a beaded memory wire bracelet (the kind that coils around your wrist). The bracelet is made of blue beads specked with black, and I’ve been wearing it just about every day, because I feel like it goes really well with jeans, and I love it! The Toblerones and note cards are from knotty knit picks. There, um, might have been another Toblerone bar and some Ferrero Raffaello candies, but they seem to have disappeared. I’m sure Kris took them. You believe me, right? Right?

Today, along with the yarn, my postman brought me these lovely stitchmarkers from kdavies (also of the Knittyboard), along with some patterns that I forgot to photograph. She sent me three Heartstrings patterns – the All-over Lace Faroese Shawl, the Hanging Vines Stole, and the Oak Leaf pattern, all of which are very, very cool. I was very excited to see that the stitch markers (which are much less blurry in person than in the picture) go really well with the Shimmer I am using for the Knitting Olympics and will therefore probably be used for that project.

I did finish Kris’s Vintage Velvet scarf the other day, but I haven’t remembered to get a picture of him actually wearing it. I gave him the option of felting it or not, and he has decided that he likes it as is, so we will not be felting it. I made a little more progress on his socks while watching the Pittsburgh-Denver game. Since Pittsburgh won, I will be working on them during the Super Bowl, wearing the same yellow turtleneck and black sweater that I was wearing that day. No, I’m not at all superstitious, why do you ask? We’ll be watching the game here, and I will probably be a nervous wreck. I am not a huge football (or any sport, really) fan, but I am loyal to my Pittsburgh teams. I will pretty much always root for the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins, no matter how they are doing or where I live. We are planning to have some friends over for the game, and I may make Primanti’s-style sandwiches, just for a Pittsbugh touch.

On that note, one final thought:
GO STEELERS! ONE FOR THE THUMB!

I got another of my swap packages today. I sent furrworld a whole bunch of acrylic that is left over from my crocheting days, as she is involved in Project Linus.

She sent me these:
I think I won in that trade. =) They are beautiful!

This is the yarn that DonnaSC sent me in exchange for some Manos wool. It is a fingering-weight wool, handpainted by her husband. The colors are absolutely spectacular – bright citrusy greens, rich burgundy purples, and bright deep blues. Just fabulous. I cannot wait to decide what to make from it – the difficulty is going to be in finding a pattern that will show it off! I think it would make an amazing shawl – really warm and snuggly, and absolutely striking.

This is some Noro Blossom that tangledblue sent in exchange for some KnitPicks Gossamer. It’s such a beautiful combination of colors – I am trying to decide what to make with it. Tangledblue said she made an Edgar scarf with it – I might do that. She also sent me some other goodies – isn’t she sweet? There is some really yummy lemon-lime hemp-based lip balm, and the cards are recipes for a bunch of natural remedies and treats that I definitely want to try.

Thank you both – you guys rule! This was my first swap experience on the boards, and I will definitely not hesitate to do it again!

So, I spent some time with the digital camera and the yarn that I have decided to offer for swap. Here it is:

Bernat Satin in Sunset, 2 full skeins and 125 g left over of partial skeins – about 540 yards total.

Blue Sky Cotton in 616 – light blue and 618 – light purple. There is 83g of the blue (about 125 yards) and 79g of the purple (about 118 yards)

Here’s hoping they can all find a good home!