Ready... Read yesterday's post again for all the details on the info you need to submit.

Set... Get out your notes, double-check your foot measurement, rethink those favorite colors.

Go... Click on over to the sign-up page here [link removed], type in your info and you're in! Leave any important notes for me in the "Comments" box (like if you'll be moving soon and will send another address later or you'd really like a Canadian sock pal or whatever). If you have any problems with the system, send me an email and let me know.

I think I'll cap this round at about 200 people. I'll let you know in the comments here if/when we're getting close to that number. Feel free to ask technical questions in the comments as well. We can use them as a little Sockapalooza FAQ. So if you've got questions, read the post from yesterday and glance through the comments here and if you don't see your question, ask away!

Woohoo!

UPDATE: 1:00pm and we've already got over 100 people signed up. Get your info in if you want to join us!

UPDATE: 4:00pm and there are almost 170 people signed up. Still some spots left!

UPDATE: 6:20pm and it's getting down to the wire. Just a little more time for some of you to get home from work, measure your feet and sign-up!

UPDATE: 9:30pm, we're past 200, but I'm not shutting down just yet. If you want in, sign-up now!

UPDATE: Midnight and I'm shutting down the sign-ups. We've got a huge group! This is going to be GREAT!

UPDATE: With the sudden death of my hard drive, I'm stuck working on getting my laptop up and running again instead of progressing with Sockapal-2-za organization. This means that it will be a few days before I get to adding any corrections that you might have sent me to your info. I will send you an email when I have corrected your info. Thanks for understanding!

Out of nowhere the flyer for Wild & Wooly's Bi-Annual Clearance Sale arrived. And I think to myself, 'that can't be this week, they don't have that until June'. Aaaack, it is June! (Not that we Bostonians would know with the crap weather we've been having.) Of course, I got a call the next day from my dentist to remind me that I have an appointment for Thursday morning. "Uh, I'm gonna have to move that appointment."

stalking the store from the car at 6:45am

So I drove out to Lexington this morning for the 7am start and rushed downstairs to the sale area as soon as they opened the doors. Look at all those bags of sale yarn!

the mother lode

In my three years of coming to these clearance sales, I think this is the best selection of yarn yet. If you live anywhere near Lexington, you gotta go! Unfortunately, a terrible thing has happened to me in the last three years. I've become much more sensible about buying yarn. I came home only with a modest bag of Mission Falls wool and Jaeger Trinity cotton. (Passing up Debbie Bliss wool/cotton and Merino DK, Dale's superwash wool Freestyle, loads of Plymouth's Baby Alpaca Grande and Baby Alpaca DK, Southwest Trading Company's Optimum wool and a really cool cotton/elastic yarn called Point.)

Still I have big hopes for this yarn, as ALL of my previous W&W clearance sale purchases have turned into incredible projects (like January and the weasley sweaters). I have no doubt that these will be winners as well.

So, that's the good news. Then I came home. I opened up the laptop to write this post and nothing but loud sounds, a black screen, and general badness. Hard drive dead, dead, dead. Aaaaack! Hubby has rushed off to buy a new hard drive in order to stop my shrieking. (Conveniently leaving his desktop computer free for blogging.)

Oh and to those of you who recognized me at the sale, please remember, I look much better when I've had a shower.

I'm sure you all know what this is.

for those of you who have been on Mars, it's a Clapotis

Yes, I've succumbed and have started a Clapotis. This is very surprising to me, as although I do love the design, I am totally not a shawl or scarf person. But I'm going to a wedding in the fall where I need to wear a fancy little dress and will actually need a lovely little something to keep my bare shoulders warm. And what a perfect excuse to try out that new Malabrigo merino! I'm one skein in and it's as soft as a pillow. And no pilling or felting to report so far - but I have been warned by several people that this yarn is so soft it does tend to felt and pill. Given this tendency, I thought that a shawl might be a better way to use this yarn than in something like an everyday sweater or mittens. So I picked up my favorite colorway, the incredible Sunset that caught my eye when I first saw this yarn. And look at how pretty it is with the very first dropped stitches.

So, it's official, I have joined the masses. In fact, I have become utterly banal. I realized this when my in-laws were visiting last month. We have a tiny little compact car, so when they visit we have to rent a minivan. And then we ended up eating at Applebee's (we'd never been in one before but the boys always insist that they want to eat at "the apple restaurant"). So there I was, sitting in an Applebee's with my minivan parked outside and it struck me that I could have been any mom, anywhere, in Boston, in Ohio, in Texas, and been in the same identical restaurant eating the same food, with the same car outside, wearing my same Gap clothes and Lands End shoes. Thank goodness we were at least all speaking German! And now I will have a Clapotis, like everyone else in blogland. (Anything else we all seem to have to have besides a blog and a Clapotis?)

I must say that the pattern is fabulous though.

And I really liked the minivan too. (Hee. Hee.)

I've finally made a start on the second denim baby knit. The denim is not the same gauge as the yarn called for in the original Phildar pattern, so I had to run some numbers before I could get started.

look, set in sleeves on a baby sweater

And now I discover that the baby this is for already arrived last week - doh, I thought he was due in August! No chance I can turn this into a quick knit though. With set in sleeves to sew in, extra ends from the color changes, prewashing, and adding buttons, it's going to take some time. Still, for a Phildar pattern it has mercifully little finishing. There aren't even buttonbands. The buttonholes are simply knitted in to the main piece. Imagine that! The Phildar folks must have cut out early that day.

Inspired by Lisa's great project wrap-up, I've been seeming up sweaters in waiting in an attempt to clean out my knitting basket. I finished the model NBaT last week and now two children's sweaters for fellow Knitmsith, MaryLinda.

Cascade Quattro

MaryLinda doesn't like seaming. But I love seaming up MaryLinda's sweaters. Always a lovely yarn and great basic patterns full of my favorite seams: raglan seams, mattress stitch seams, rolled edge seams.

And here's another one almost done.

Tahki Laña wool

Now giant white bread sits all alone in the knitting basket with dozens of ends everywhere, still missing one sleeve and a collar. But, I fear I might be all seamed out. Summer cottons are beckoning.....

I am big!

The Harry Potter scarf is growing up. Sniff, sniff. I remember when it was just a wee little thing. (Hee, hee.) Its growth spurts have stopped for a bit though while I await the arrival of more yarn.

If only I could slow those boys down a little too.

Sockapal-two-za survey!

A lot of people have contacted me saying how sad they were to have missed the sign-up last week. So how many people are out there who really wanted to join but missed it? Let's have a show of hands.

With this automated system, I should be able to handle the organization end of adding a few more participants, but I'm worried that once we get over 300 sockers, there'll be a lot bigger chance that some people will flake and some pals will be forgotten. If I open up the sign-ups again, you'll have to promise to come through for your pal.

I'll update this post with new info if/when I reopen the signups. Keep your browsers open and Bloglines notifiers on!

UPDATE: I hope you all snuck in over the last two days, cause with over 350 participants, I gotta close it down now. I can't wait to get started and see all the fabulous socks you all are going to make!

Okay, last chance! For those of you who missed the sign-ups last week, I've reopened everything. The sign-up page is up again right here (link removed).

- - - - - - -

One more time, here's the info you'll need to enter:

- BASIC INFO: name, email address, blog address, mailing address (don't worry, I won't be sharing your email or mailing addresses with anyone but your sock pal)
- GROUP INFO: do you want to be in the beginner group? are you willing to ship overseas?
- FOOT AND SOCK INFO: foot measurement from heel to tip of big toe AND foot circumference measured at the ball of the foot as in the image below, plus any other measurements or info that your pal needs to make socks fit your feet

from Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' dream sock pattern

Also include any of the following sock details that are important to you:
fiber preferences - got allergies? prefer summer socks?
color preferences - solids/variegated colors? specific colors you hate?
design preferences - do you like crazy socks? lacy socks? prefer calf length/ankle length?

Include whatever you think your pal should know. If you're up for anything, just say that and your pal can have fun with your socks!

- - - - - - -

If you get the "thanks for participating" page after you submit your info, then you're all set. Next week I should be sending out emails to the whole group.

UPDATE: After reopening the sign-ups for two extra days, we've now got over 350 participants! Sign-ups are now definitely closed. The list of participants and sock pal matches should be coming next week. Can't wait!

Two and a half skeins in and I'm dropping stitches like crazy. What fun!

Picture time, you know what that means.

I found myself at Knitsmiths last week with the wrong needles and unable to work on the denim baby jacket, so I was forced - forced I tell you! - to start Katy with my luscious orange-y all seasons cotton.

S was helping out with the photography again

Oh those cables. Swoon.

Okay so riddle me this: what's up with me and orange? There's the clapotis, then this all seasons cotton that I couldn't wait to get my hands on, and even some Jaeger Trinity that I carried around with me for an hour at the Wild & Wooly clearance sale but eventually put back. I'm beginning to suspect that Claudia slipped me something the last time I saw her!

Well, actually, I blame Harry Potter. It all became clear when I went to the yarn store this week to pick up the extra maroon yarn I need to finish the Prisoner of Azkaban scarf. I came home with that yarn and these.

the Harry Potter effect

That's one more skein of Malabrigo for the clapotis (yes, I will need four skeins), one more ball of asc for katy (the cables are eating up yarn at an alarming rate), and five balls of Calmer in maroon for the nothing but a t-shirt that I'm making with my intermediate knitting class (I liked the maroon trim on the model tee so much I wanted to use it for my next NBaT). The bag of yarn was like an accidental cross-section of all the projects I'm working on now and what do you know, it looked like another Harry Potter scarf. (Mmmm..... a Harry Potter scarf in Malabrigo.... drool... ooops, sorry, drifted off there a bit). It would appear that I officially have Harry Potter on the brain. And the needles.

Denim back and fronts finished and ready for washing!

Before...

(yes, there's this shot too!)

... after.

Again, the denim has shrunk mostly vertically, with all the stitches settling in next to each other making a denser fabric. And the pure blue color has been knocked down as single plies in each stitch fade more than others. It's neat!

After finishing my cashsoft pom-pom socks, I wanted to start another pair right away. I hunted through my stash to see if I had any leftover yarn that might be suitable for summer socks and I thought I'd found it: Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino left over from the daisy cardigan I made last year.

But me no likey. The baby cash is doing that weird thing where the stitches make straight lines instead of perfect v's like you like to see in stockinette stitch. I've heard that knitting the ball from the other direction can counteract this effect, so I may try unravelling this anklet and starting again that way.

Of course that would have to be after I finish the Koigu anklets I already started.

And hey, don't you love my bright pink needles?? They're called Comfort Zone needles and they're really neat. I just love the color - perfect for my summer sock knitting. Plus, they're super bendy. Like I needed another reason to love sock knitting!

- - - - - - - - - -

Hey Sockapal-2-zers, I've sent out an intial email to everyone to welcome you, ask a question or two, and most importantly, to test the system that my head tech guy (aka hubby) has set up. So check your inboxes and over-zealous spam filters to be sure you've received it. And email me of course if you signed up and did not receive any email. I should have sock pal matches for you next week!

Summer weather has finally arrived in Boston. That means I'm at the playground for hours every day. And I get to wear all my tanks again!

I'm not getting much knitting done at the park though since the boys need to be changed constantly from their water clothes for playing in the fountain to their dry clothes for playing on the playground. And back again once they get hot and need to cool off in the water again. And then I have to make the water balloons. Oh and then there's the swinging and the rolling down the hill. Can you believe that I'm actually sore after our first few full days at the park!

But at night, with our air conditioner re-installed in the window, I can knit away on all my projects, even the wool ones! Clapotis, Katy, and my Koigu anklets have filled the warm nights so far.

And I've nearly finished the first koigu anklet. Once I'm done with this pair and can check my numbers, I'll be able to post my little anklet/pom-pom sock pattern for you all. I'll get to it one of these nights!

Got my yarn, got my air conditioner, and I'm back in the scarf business! Can you tell what I was watching last night while knitting? Here's a close-up. Yes, it's Prisoner of Azkaban. Can I help it if it keeps coming on tv?

At the end of the movie and the night, I was up to my armpits in Harry Potter!

No not news about Sockapal-2-za yet (give me another minute or two!), but there is more news from sockapalooza one: my sock pal made me another pair! And they are so cool.

stripes - I love stripes!
click for close-up

And a few other cool gifties arrived.

Sock yarn from Shirley and funny pencils from Cara. You gals are the greatest! All your thoughtful gifties really cheered me up while I was working on the Sockapal-2-za organization.

In other knitalong news (there are other knitalongs?!), I guess I've joined Nona's NBaT-along again. A mere one week after my big day appearing in the wrap-up, I started another t-shirt. I'm knitting this one along with my intermediate knitting students and was halfway through the waist shaping before class last night, trying desperately not to get too far ahead.

I'm considering doing long sleeves for this one. What'dya think about that?

One wee denim sleeve.

Well not wee enough perhaps. The sleeve cap has ended up wider than the armhole opening.

love that before after washing comparison, huh?

I'm kinda winging this one since the original pattern isn't written for the denim and therefore doesn't take into account the fact that it shrinks. Because the denim shrinks mostly lengthwise, I've been knitting everything a centimeter or two longer than the pattern calls for to insure that the finished sweater isn't way too small. But things are a little trickier around the armhole, where the vertical armhole has shrunk, but the horizontal sleeve cap that was written to fit it won't shrink as much. Fingers crossed that this puppy shrinks just enough so I can fit it into that armhole!

Not only is katy eating up a ton of yarn, but she's eating up a ton of time! Man, cables are slow, especially when there's 11 cables in a row that turn every 4 rows. I was knitting on this exclusively (while organizing the sock swap) for what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few nights) and just finished the back.

I'm so in love with this sweater. Those cables are so beautiful, I honestly cannot believe that I made them.

Have we all admired them now? If not, please go back and gaze again upon their loveliness.

Done? Good. Cause I ripped out half of it last night. It was too short. No doubt about it; no denying it; no way out but to rip. Back to the beginning of the armhole she went. Yes, half of katy is gone. Looks like the back will be eating up a few more of my nights. It's not all bad though: more opportunity for me to knit with that delicious copper all seasons cotton, right?

Ten fingers. Ten noodles.

Ten stripes.

And because I'm a mom who can't say no, here's a pic with a boy hand (sans noodles) for scale.

Peter Rabbit is out.

click for a close-up

Cool baby blue is in.

click for a close-up

Although I love those little Peter Rabbits, I just thought that the white was too much against all the blue. I like the smart, clean look of the blue buttons much better on this jacket. Hey, did you notice that I added the collar? Now I get to wash the thing again. And get to see how much that sleeve shrinks up.

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?

from "Sick" by Shel Silverstein

Since I'm feeling sick today, I'll just post some pics from our Father's Day dinner at Bugaboo Creek.

I like Daddy's restaurant

Look, the buffalo is talking!

And the sockapal-2-za begins. Let the updates roll! We're seven days in and I've barely managed to subscribe to your blogs on Bloglines. If you have a blog but not an RSS feed, be sure that you let me know when you've got a sock update, so I won't miss it! And even if you do, it would help if you let me know.

Okay, don't freak out, but Angela is already done with her lovely blue/green variegated socks in a "summery lace" pattern. (You can see the colors better and get a link to the pattern in this post.) Our first finished sock pal socks - unbelievable!

Elsewhere, Grumperina has been hard at work experimenting with some lovely variegated yarn. (And by George, I think she's finally got it!) Bliss is terribly excited about the red, lace socks she making for her pal. Debi has started some sunny socks for her pal. Jillz has started some fun, stripey socks. Andrea has sent in a picture of the fabulous Koigu socks she's begun. Linda has also started a Koigu sock for her pal. And Karen too is going the Koigu route. Illana has started her socks in hand-dyed merino. And one of the Jennifers promises there will be a sock update on her blog today! (PS - There are so many Jennifers in the Sockapal-2-za that she's making a Jennifer Blog Ring. Isn't that cool?!)

In the preparation stages are: Tiffany, who has handpainted yarn for her pal. Tania, who has decided that her pal would like socks in hot pink Cashsoft. Wowza! Anna, who is considering some lovely Lorna's Laces and Knitty's Tangled Garden sock pattern. Mini, who chose some very bright Lorna's Laces (check out her newly finished top too!). Annemarie, who will be making socks out of Patons Grace (neat idea!). Arian, who has picked out some fiery-colored Meilenweit. Rebekkah, who has chosen beautiful Opal handpainted. Carrie, who is going with Koigu (mmmm.... more..... koiguuuuu.....). Mandy, who's considering some pretty pretty No No Kitty yarn for her sock pal. Purly Whites, who even had a little survey to decide what yarn to use. And Jenny, who has posted a list of her preferences on her blog to help her pal make the perfect socks for her! This is so cool to see everyone trying out all these fabulous sock yarns.

And I'm thinking of red socks. Really, Red Sox red socks (like in their logo). How 'bout that?!

Hey, for all of you who said you'd be open to getting some crocheted socks, check out all these awesome socks that Andrea, one of our crocheters, has made.

(Since you didn't get a proper post yesterday.)

My short-row ankle sock pattern is finally up! (There's even a tutorial on short-rowing the PG-R way.) Well, that must mean that I finished those Koigu anklets.

I also went back to my Cashsoft anklets and shortened them a bit. I'd made them a smidge too long and they stretched out another smidge with wear. I decided that two smidges too big was too much. So I opened those toes back up and reknit the toe an inch earlier. If you're planning on using the Cashsoft, you might think about making your socks a little snugger than you usually do.

Some more great links for footie socks:

- the original heel-flap tennis socks are in Vogue Knitting on the Go: Socks

- Spun Mag's summer socks also with heel-flap heels (Thanks Helene for the link!) Look fellow sockapaloozer Jackie made some of these!

- Pom Squad: a toe-up, short-row ankle sock pattern from Magknits

Happy ankle sock knitting everyone! As you can see by the short-row pictures, I'm already enjoying making another pair. I'm using some cotton Sockotta that Deb sent me. Thanks, Deb!

Just about to start the twelfth stripe and the Harry Potter scarf is already as tall as me. Or one boy standing on a bench with his arms up in the air.

I have to say, I've got a little crush on this scarf. Of course, it's for the store and not for me. As much as I like Harry Potter, I probably wouldn't wear a Harry Potter scarf ever. But I've truly fallen for this maroon color (as evidenced by my having started a t-shirt in exactly the same color). And I think I'm finally sold on long scarves too. They seemed silly to me before, but all I want to do now is wrap this long tall drink of scarf around my neck.

Three balls of fabulous Malabrigo in and I'm on the decrease rows finally. Just 10 columns of stitches still to drop!

I call this picture "Boy with Banana Admiring Clapotis" or "Don't Touch it - Don't Touch it". Here's a close-up without the banana making us all nervous.

After I concluded yesteday that the Harry Potter scarf has sold me on long scarves, I looked into my knitting basket and found Clapotis. Hey, it's a long scarf too! And it's for me. Hooray! I know I won't be able to wear this for a while, but I can't wait to finish it now.

T-shirt trouble.

bad, t-shirt, bad

So I'm cruising along on the back of my latest nothing but a t-shirt. I'm in the straight rows between the decreases and increases around the waist and my ball of yarn runs out. I grab a new ball, start knitting, and then, without checking the row count or the pattern, randomly decide that it's time to start the increases. Knit, knit, knit. I finish the increases and measure to see how much longer I need to knit before the armholes begin and I'm WAY off. What up with that?! I only did like 12 rows between the decreases and increases. Whoops! Heh, heh.

The lesson for the day: Always read the instructions. Even if you wrote 'em!

Denim baby sweater knitted, washed, and ready for seaming.

before washing

after washing

And that sleeve cap? Well, the whole sleeve shrunk from 25cm to 23cm in length and from 25cm to a smidge more than 24cm in width. Not so much shrinkage as I'd like to have seen widthwise, but I'm thinking I can get it in the armhole. I think I can. I think I can....

It seems that Phoebe has been as obsessed with Rowan denim as I have, since she was thinking of an NBaT in denim. Wouldn't that be cool?! Oooh, I think it would look so great as a pocket tee, with a little denim pocket on one side.

So here are my thoughts on a denim tee: You can lengthen the t-shirt by adding a few more straight rows before the waist shaping - maybe four to six rows, depending on the size you're making - and a few between the decreases and increases - another four to six more - and then begin the armholes about two and a half inches later than called for in the pattern (that's almost two inches added in the extra rows mentioned above and another half inch to an inch added after all the increasing is finished). Then I'd add about an inch to an inch and a half (again, depending on the size you're making) to the armhole height. On the sleeves, I'd do the increases every fourth row - that'll give you four extra rows in the sleeve - and keep the sleeve cap the same - no need to make that part any more complicated than it already is.

Of course, there's not much yarn in those cute little balls of denim, so I'm going to guesstimate that you'll need about 10 to make the smaller sizes. Lastly, I'm pretty sure that the denim won't have anywhere near the stretch that the Calmer does, at least until it's been worn for a while like your favorite jeans, so if you find yourself between two sizes, I'd suggest considering knitting the larger of the two sizes. You don't want to have to get help squeezing yourself into your denim tee!

Phoebe, you better make one of these, otherwise I'm gonna have to!

Back redone. Front begun.

Finally forward progress again on Katy.

Look what I wore to work yesterday!

why, it's a one skein wonder!

And again I surprise myself by falling for a mega-popular pattern that's been making the rounds on the blogs. But Stefanie's One Skein Wonder was just too cute not to try out. My only problem: I'm not a shrug girl, especially when it comes to a tiny shrug of heavy worsted weight yarn. Skimpy + bulky = I don't get it. But I so wanted to make one! Then it suddenly occured to me that I have several individual balls of Calmer leftover from the various nothing but t-shirts that I've made. Now a tiny shrug in my favorite, lightweight, super-soft cotton yarn, that I can do. I bought the pattern Friday afternoon, dug out the "tinkerbell" blue Calmer scraps from the model tee and my calculator to recalculate for my gauge and started knitting that night. On Saturday, I picked up a second ball of the Calmer (the smaller gauge made it a "just more than one skein wonder") and finished it up to wear to work at the store on Sunday.

I really like this silly little thing. Mine is a bit looser than the original since I was experimenting with the numbers all the way, but I can definitely appreciate the extra little bit of armpit and upper arm coverage. It's so fun to wear. I can so see myself pulling this cutie pie on over a tank. It's brilliant! I may have to make more. Heaven knows I've got plenty of "one skeins" left waiting to become wonders.

BIG sockapal-2-za update today!

First, there's two more pairs of finished Sockapal-2-za socks:

Annie's fun multicolored socks
Illana's incredible hand-dyed orange socks

Already underway are:

Bliss' red lace socks
Jessica's blue Whitby
Melanie's Koigu lovelies
Janine's fur-trimmed orange firecracker socks
Siri's open twisted rib socks on vacation (you can see the pattern better here)
Penny's fabulously aqua socks
Alexandra's lacy Meilenweits
Ada's beautiful white lace socks
Rebekkah's spinning socks (look at the fair-isle she's working on!)
Heather's Jungle Stripe, aka Loosestrife, socks
Tania's hot pink Chutes and Ladder socks
Tiffany's up to the heels!
Katherine's Regia sock is pooling! (see the finished first sock here)
Linda's orangey socks
Karen's beautiful Dublin Bay socks
Julia's first lace sock
Amysue's Koigu ankle socks

Planning away are:

Cathy has a ton of yarn to choose from
Johanna has got her Koigu all ready
Liz has luscious hand-dyed yarn from Holly Spring Homespun
Linz is considering a Pretty Petals design
Niter has dyed some yarn, in get this, the colors of Sprite, for her sock pal - too cool!
Blossom is going with the Friday Harbor Sock from Knitting on the Road
Kathy searching for the perfect pattern for her Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn
Nanette has found the most wonderful looking yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (seriously, you have to see it!)
Michelle is going cotton (check out the Regia Surf socks she just finished!)
Christine has gone back to the drawing board with her beautiful red Koigu
Diana made a try with antifreeze green Koigu
Allena is trying to decide between several beautiful shades of Knitpics Sock yarn (check out her pictures of Prague too!)
Ina is thinking about some Cherry Tree Hill Green Mountain Madness (ooh, that's a great name, isn't it!)
Carolyn has been practicing socks by making my ankle socks while waiting for some Meilenweit to arrive
Renee has put together a little list of sock suggestions
AND Femiknit Mafia is squeezing in practice sock knitting time whenever she can. I love it!

This weekend at the store, I spotted fellow Sockapal-2-zers Karen, Grumperina and Paula scoping out the sock yarns. Go see what they got! And while I was working I was on the hunt for the perfect red sock yarn and managed to find this gorgeous yarn for my pal: Artyarns Supermerino in the most fabulous reds and purples.

finally, a good picture
man it's hard to photograph reds!

And that's what little boys are made of.

wanna see the big picture?

Baby denim jacket all done! Soon this cute little guy will be on his way to the cute little guy he was made for. But wait, hold your "awwww's" until the end, please.

Look, it's twin booboos. Double awwwww.....

(As always, for pattern info, you can check the project's page in the "finished projects" gallery or the project archive page.)

I've been working hard on my latest t-shirt. First I had to catch up with my intermediate knitting students (whom I'm making the tee with) after my my mess-up last week. So I quickly knitted my way through the armholes, neck and shoulder shaping on the back.

I decided to try out Theresa's latest Knitty technique for neck shaping on the neck here to see if it would helpful in making a neater line for picking up stitches later, since that seems to be the thing people are having the most trouble with.

Sure looks nice. We'll see how it works when it comes time to add that contrast color on the neck.

After catching up, I then had to race ahead of my students so I could show them some of the techniques to come, like the intarsia. Woo hoo!

Any guesses as to what I'm putting on my tee? Would a close-up help? (Linda, no guessing now. I know you already know what it is!)