I've been winding yarn. Some handspun yarn, to be exact. Not spun by me, of course. Nope, winding is as close as I'll ever get. The handspun balls are two little mini-skeins of wool from misshawklet, that fellow Knitsmith Lisa found at the Bizarre Bazaar here in Boston, and a skein of angora/merino by Jamie Harmon that I found at Downtown Yarns. I had this idea of collecting a few random skeins of handspun for a long, funky scarf. I'm still looking for one or two more, but after seeing these fun yarns sit on my desk for months, I couldn't wait anymore to wind them up and get started.

And check out this neat new knitting t-shirt from knitiot that we just got in at my LYS.

They have lots of other funny knitting tees and they are sooo cool. We sold three on the very first day we had them in!

You all did such an admirable job of pulling out those old projects gone wrong and putting them right! I ripped out an old sweater and made myself a new one, but still, I didn't finish all my fixing. And I know we've all gotten distracted with new projects now. So, we'll call this knit-along finished, but keep an eye open for a finishing marathon in the fall!

february fix-a-thon

we fell in love with our knits again in february 2005

As always, let me know if you've done more finishing and I'll update this final list!

Reporting in this week...

Diane has finished her colorful Columbine Peak socks
Reina's all done with her cute pink and purple ankle socks
Lara's finished green anklets are so cute!
Bliss' Sweet Valentine socks are gorgeous
Kathy writes that her green variegated Koigu socks are all ready
Chrissie reports that she finished her variegated miter socks (no pictures yet)
Cara's red acorn socks turned out just as incredible as we expected
Andrea sent in a picture of her beautiful variegated Koigu socks
Lu's funky striped ruffle-edged socks were finished while on vaca in Boston!
Emy's lovely cashcotton Broadripples are an official FO (check out her other recent FO's - love that skinny scarf)
Brenda's pretty purple lace socks are done-za
Gwen's mock cable pumpkin orange socks just make me want to smile
Lisa's finished Candy socks are totally cool
Brynne knitted long and lovely pink cable and rib socks for her pal
And Margene knitted TWO pairs of matching Friday Harbor socks, one for her pal and one for her - what a neat idea!

PJ's Waving Lace socks in Koigu were reportedly begun on the island of Maui (note to travellers from PJ: "Socks will return toeless due to lack of imagination on the part of airport security. I mean, what do they think I plan to do with a darning needle?!")
Tracy has started again on a new diamond pattern in KnitPics sock yarn
Phoebe's Crusoe sock is well underway (check out her finished Fixation anklets!)
Sara is almost done with her first pretty blue/green patterned sock
Diane has a good start on a sock in Fixation - only problem, there's purple in it!
Jillz's first sock is bigger than her dog!
Jenn's first sock is so lovely - the back is just as pretty (and read about her adventures in Meg Swanson's Knitting Camp)
Lisa is almost done with her two-color cable anklets
Finally, Angela's "Landlocked" pattern is revealed!
Bente's socks are totally wild
Bethany's first multiringel mini-shell sock is finished
Laurie's mermaid socks are coming along swimmingly (sorry, couldn't resist that one)
Sara is making her way beautifully through her Yukon Leaves socks
Teresa (fellow lover of blue) has started her blue Broadripples
Tammy's scallop sock has been enjoying some time in the pool
Joanne has finished her first Toasty Toes Crusoe sock (loving those colors!)
Alison reknit her first sock in a day!
Cynthia has been knitting on her Crusoe sock and doing some fun dyeing as well
Dorothee has finished her first sock (you know, when the yarn is that pretty, you don't need a fancy pattern)
Lisa has started an orange cable sock (you have got to see her latest knitting pics!)
Blossom has finished one beautiful green Friday Harbor sock
Chris is trying out cables for the first time and they look terrific
And Orli reports that she has finished one sock (no pictures yet, but check out all the postcards her sock pal has been sending her!)

Wanda (the Cotton Ease queen!) has chosen her yarn: Jawoll in pink and green
Now that it's August, Leanne should be just about ready to start the cable socks she has planned
Christine will be using rainbow Opal sock yarn
Lola has big plans for Road to Oslo socks in Blackberry Ridge yarn
Gina's fabulous (and I mean, faaabuulous - can you see me drooling?) sockapal-yarn-za is all ready
Anna has chosen a most lovely Koigu colorway for her pal
And Jenn wants her sock pal to know that she's a little stressed, that and socks suck

Thanks for all the updates, folks! Now, if only one of you could help me get started knitting the socks for my pal. Better start soon, before I become the prime sockapal-loser.

Finally back online after a massive thunderstorm and almost 10-hour power outage. We lost power last night while I was finishing the sockapal-2-za update. I posted the update under UPS power (that's a temporary backup power source for the computer - computer geek husband standard equipment) just in case the power returned while we were sleeping. And as I was finishing up, the boys were woken by the thunder. It was actually the very first time that we've all gotten together to watch a storm in mommy and daddy's bed.

B under the covers, S holding his ears, and lightning in the window

I'm starting a new scarf. (Scarves, they're the new socks!) This one is the Ruffles scarf from Scarf Style. I've wanted to make this scarf since I first saw it in the book, but kept thinking it just wasn't me. Took me a year to figure out I could make one for someone else!

I'm using a few balls of cotton angora that I have left over from mom's Jess sweater and am making the scarf for her friend. I've made a couple of pairs of socks for this friend and she's been very appreciative (best way to get yourself some more handknits, right?). Plus, she said she really liked the yarn in mom's sweater. So she gets a scarf out of it. The pattern is really fun to knit and it'll look great on her.

Well, I think the trials of my candy cane scarf may finally be behind me. I'm paying more attention now and haven't missed any increases or decreases in at least thirty repeats. Now I'm quite pleased with how this scarf is turning out. The Manos Stria has such a nice combination of bumpy, crinkley looking texture and slight uneveness in the color dyeing. They really complement each other well. And a try-on reveals that the diagonal construction makes it drape perfectly for a scarf.

Don't you just love it when yarn and pattern and project come together perfectly?

Okay, it's a shrug and not a scarf, but I couldn't help myself.

I'm halfway through the feather and fan shrug. Still haven't sewn up the entire armhole, so I have to sort of hold it together at the underarm to get the full effect. She is pretty, though, isn't she? I'm hoping to have her all done in time to wear on my next trip down to NYC (and to Downtown Yarns, where I got the pattern) in two weeks. I need to finish my two other scarves - the candy cane scarf and the ruffles scarf - for that trip too, since they are birthday presents.

The lace is lovely, blue and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to knit before I sleep,
And miles to knit before I sleep.

You know, I never really knit scarves before. As a beginning knitter, I didn't start with scarves like many people do. Don't know why, just sort of jumped into blankets and sweaters. And now I find myself knitting scarves like mad. Must be some sort of attempt to make up for my missed knitting childhood, I guess.

This lovely yarn is Morehouse Merino lace weight for their Melody shawl. Shannon made this last year (picked it up when we visited Rhinebeck) and it is fabulous. She got me the kit for my birthday this year. Thanks Shannon!

Another scarf for the store. This is a Karabella pattern to be knit in their own Aurora 8 yarn. Yum! I've never knit with this yarn before, but I've heard wonderful things about it, so I'm very excited to get started.

Hmmmm.... what could that be for? I just can't turn down a good deal on Harry Potter colors. The Jo Sharp was on mega 50% off sale at my LYS and, as for the Lion Brand, can I help it if Lion Brand makes the perfect Gryffindor gold?

I also just ordered this neat felted Waterfall scarf pattern from Pick Up Sticks. Is that not the coolest thing you can imagine making with Cascade 220?

... a visit to the crap store.

Me and the boys had a blast the other day visiting the crap store (nothing against A.C. Moore, it's really just the way the boys say "craft store", remember?). They LOOOOVE the fun fur.

And the $2.00 bracelets.

And that's an Oompa Loompa doll that S has hanging off his shirt. He got it in his kid's meal at Wendy's and wore it the whole day.

Oh yes, we loves us the crap.

S is for super funky scarf

My handspun scarf is fun-ky! I've knit almost all the handspun I have, so I'll have to wait until I get more to keep knitting this one. I hadn't meant to knit it all so quickly, but the power went out again last week after yet another intense storm and as it was only 9pm, I wanted to knit. But what can you knit in the dark by candlelight? Not my lace shrug. Not the short row scarf. Uneven handspun in uneven stockinette was perfect.

And you know what will go perfectly with the funky scarf? My new funky hat.

Minne Pearl, watch out!

I didn't knit it. It was an older store model that was on sale since the store doesn't carry the Cartoon yarn anymore. I slipped it on when I saw it and simply couldn't take it off. It's so fun to wear!

Speaking of funky hats...

a mutual love of funky hats will not save your marriage

I've been watching reruns of The Amazing Race on GSN and I'd totally forgotten about all the knit hats that some of the teams wore in the second season. They all must have had the same idea about wearing a cool hat to cover race-hair. Tara's hat is by far the funkiest, with all kinds of different yarns all mixed together. The hat her ex-husband, Wil, wears is practically gourd-shaped, which does as much to make him look like a joke as the producers did in their editing. My favorite hat however is Paige's. It's got this sort of subtle spiral thing going on that's way cool, see? One of the winners, Chris, also often wears a knit hat, but I wouldn't call it funky. Oh well, I guess funky wool hats don't count for much in a race. Even when the finish line is on a sheep farm.

Oh my, is it Tuesday again already?! Here you go... another week's worth of socks....

First an update from Sockapalooza One:
Sarah finally received the funnest blue and green socks from her pal (those socks had a looooong way to travel!)

Now for some finished 2-za socks:
Lisa's Opal Rodeo chevron socks (I LOVE stripes in chevrons!)
Diana's gorgeous green Koigu socks
Sarah's pretty pink Maine Island Eyelet socks
Julia's fabulous Vera vine lace socks
Deb's fun lacy, stripy Sockotta socks
Maggi's ravishing red wave socks are done, despite having to be almost entirely frogged a couple of weeks ago! (Be sure to check out her new finished Elspeth shrug.)
Jodee's carribean blue Retro Rib socks are all done and are in need only of a photographer
and some applause please for Becci, who also reported finishing her socks

And the 2-zers still knitting away:
Amysue has finished her first Koigu anklet (sock number two is going on a trip to Cape Cod!)
Carry's pink and purple sock got to take a trip to the ballgame for Stitch 'n Pitch Night (I wanna go!) and then it got to meet and be caressed by the Yarn Harlot
Gaile's first sock is as beautiful as the flowers in her garden
Carola's green Lopi-style fair-isle socks are to-die-for!
Freecia is working on a practice pair of striped Sockotta socks (and the first one is looking great!)
Minnie is making warm, comfy pad-around-the-house socks (Doesn't that sound great? She's not sure, so go tell her how much you'd like a pair of those.)
Emily reports that she's restarted on larger needles and also received a postcard from her pal
Cece has had to put her first sock out of its misery (Very sad, but when it ain't working, what'cha gonna do?! We've all been there.)
Diane and Ingrid met up at a local LYS and knit their sock pal socks together - how fun!
"Moze, you've just turned the heel on your sockapal-2-za sock, where are you going to go now?" -- "I'm going to Disneyworld!"
Sara's sock has survived a dog attack
Renee has finished one sock and is hoping that poetry can inspire her to start the second
Christine has started the second of her rocking, red ribbed socks
Timothy has yarn all picked out. Now he just needs a pattern. Any ideas?
Leanne has begun cable and rib socks in lovely Knitpics sock yarn
Jenny has finished the first of her cashcotton cable and rib socks (isn't it purty?!)
Jaimi has going back to the drawing board to find something worthy of that gorgeous Koigu
Phoebe is almost done with her colorful Crusoe socks
Cathy is practicing all kinds of techniques (she's made a test sock in Cash Iroha - yummmm!)
Medina writes that she'll be making Lacy Arrow patterned socks in Jagger Spun Zephyr, that is, as soon as the yarn arrives!
Purly has started her brilliant blue Go With the Flow socks
Tracy has ditched the double-points and is cruising away on her almost argyles on two circular needles
Lori reports that's she's knitting away on two circs as well, but toe-up and both socks at the same time - she want's 'em done by next week, so she's knitting as fast as she can!
Jennifer has finished sock one in a cool zig-zag pattern
Lola has received her breath-takingly beautiful blue yarn and has great plans for her pal's socks
Anne has finished sock number one - check out this pic for a better picture of the beautiful colors and pattern
Julia has finished the first of her lacy scallops socks in Schaefer Anne
and Amber reports that she has started her socks - she hasn't posted pictures, but she does have a link to a new-to-me Harry Potter Hogwarts house sorter that put me in my favorite house (bonus points to correct guessers!)

Right, about me... would you call this progress?

I wound the yarn. Oh yeah, I'm really on a roll now. Heh, heh. Seriously, I'm hoping that I'll get some good knitting time in this weekend on my trip to NYC. Here's to travel knitting!

I'm scarfing as fast as I can, working hard to make my weekend deadline.

I need to knit a couple more feet of ruffles, so the scarf can be wrapped twice around the neck. The candy cane scarf just makes it around the neck twice at this point, so I only need to knit about one more foot for the tail.

I am having way too much fun knitting these scarves! So different from knitting a top. All the pressure of getting the fit right and all the fuss of getting the finishing right are gone, gone, gone. It's just pure knitting. How delightful!

I'm shrugging as fast as I can too. I've got a ways still to go if I want to wear this to Downtown Yarns this weekend.

It's really starting to look like a shrug now though. I seamed up the first sleeve and have knitted across the back up to the start of the second sleeve. I love how the first sleeve turned out after seaming. It's just the right width, in my opinion: nice and loose, a little bell shaped, but not overly drapey. Perfect!

I think I may need to buy myself a new sundress just to wear with this shrug. Don't you?

After seeing S's weasley sweater every day in the window in the store, I've decided that I have to make myself one. Did I tell you that I actually tried it on? Uh, yeah, I did - I tried on my 4 year-old son's sweater. And it fit great! Granted, it was about a foot too short, but the rest was so nice and snug and the little boy sleeves were perfect 3/4 sleeves on me. Once I saw it on me, there wasn't really any question in my mind that I had to make another one. So I ordered some more of the Felted Tweed from Jimmy Beans.

Now, I thought this was the great red color that my weasley-along co-hostess, Jenn, used for hers (that color, by the way, was called Conker), but it's purple. It's a pretty purple. I like the purple very much. But I really had red in my head for this sweater. I may have to stash this purple and order some red.

So I'm thinking I need to officially re-open the weasley knitalong. I'd love to hear some updates from those I still have listed as unfinished. Anyone else out there planning on making one of these? Any new pattern sources?? That pattern hasn't gotten any easier to find. Any interest in my writing up a standard pattern? And of course, anyone making other Harry Potter knits is welcome to join! Got something you want to make before the release of the next film in November? Join us weasley knitters!

And for the few who are interested, here's the house I was recently sorted into. I'm not as much a fan of the colors (though I loved that Hufflepuff scarf in Prisoner of Azkaban), but I find the principles of the house the most appealing.

HUFFLEPUFF! You scored 8% Slytherin, 20% Ravenclaw, 36% Gryffindor, and 52% Hufflepuff

You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal These patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil. Hufflepuffs are known for their loyal, hard-working, and humble demeanors.

Scarves as of travel time Friday evening:

Three balls of cotton angora knit and I decided it's long enough and bound off. It's twice as long as the longest Lego construction in our house - that's a total of 68 inches acording to the sheep measure.

Two hanks of each color of the cotton stria and the jilly scarf is even longer! The points needed to be blocked out flat though.

On the road to NYC:

there goes that crazy Fung Wah bus

sockapal-2-za sock underway!

I am pleased to report that the birthday scarves were finished in NYC on time and happily received. Mom's roommate "Woody" was even able to model them for their final picture.

And, there's another NYC project that I was rushing to get done for the trip. A secret one.

Surprise! It's a honeymoon cami for bride-to-be, Shannon, who had her shower in the big city this weekend.

I knit the cami in Debbie Bliss Cathay in the prettiest orange - because Shannon LOVES orange. It is so soft and silky against the skin. I know this because I had to try it on many times during the knitting. Cathay, as my knitbud Kathy (of Cathay Tivoli tee fame) first told me, grows with its first washing and then later with wear. And it does. This will be one of the only times I say this (because I am bad-example-non-swatching-never-blocking knitting girl and would never tell others to do things that I am too lazy to do, even if they are the "right" things to do), but if you use this yarn (and there's no reason why you shouldn't - it's a delight) definitely knit a swatch and wash it before you start knitting.

Now, I can't wait to see it on Shannon!

(PS - More on my trip to NYC, including all the YARN SHOPPING, after tomorrow's sock update!)

Update-o-rama...

Karen's lovely Dublin Bay socks are all done (go take a peek and read her funny Dear Sock Pal letter!)
Julia's Lacy Scallops socks in Schaefer Anne look so pretty and feminine
Heather's Purple Loosestrife socks have been knitted, washed, and blocked and are ready to go
PJ's Koigu Waving Lace socks were finished on a trip to Maui and back!
Caryn's stripy Broadripples are beautiful (but her recently completed baby blanket steals the show!)
New blogger Suzanne's Holly Spring Homespun cabled socks can lounge in the grass, now that they are all done
Phoebe's Koigu Crusoes are finished too (pics should be posted soon, says Phoebe)
Susan's Cherry Tree Hill wild cherry Go With the Flow socks are so yummy looking (check out the close-up of the lace)
Sara's bright blue lace socks will be even lovelier after a bath and a block (UPDATE: see?!)
Lyme's Regia rainbow ringel socks are all done-za
Barbara's wacky Lorna's Laces pooling socks are awesome
And Shari's cherry red fixation socks are being camera shy (nah, just got an error on the picture - I'm sure Shari will send me another one!)

Diane has finished the first of her Cascading Leaves socks - the deep rich colors are perfect for the pattern!
Amber is making a fun pinky-orange ankle sock with the neatest cuff
Erika has finished a stunninly gorgeous Island Blue butterfly sock
Teresa is knitting a beautiful and simple sock to soothe the soul
Kate has one very cheery sock all done
Liz is starting her second Retro Rib sock (but you must go see her just-finished Flower Basket shawl!)
Regina has been knitting her homespun sock the only way that she can in this heat
Jaimi's Koigu anklets are about as close to being done as socks can get without actually being done
Katie has started over and made the prettiest purple picot edge
Donna's gorgeous lace socks are keeping her humble
Carrie is making lovely, long Koigu socks for her long-footed pal
Amanda has two feet and heels finished - just two cuffs to go and those will be the most elegant socks I've ever seen - they look practially regal to me!
Dorothee is well into her second rich, red, ribbed sock
Kitty Kitty has posted several pics of her first beautiful Broadripple (she's even got a vintage wooden shoe form to try it on for her - how cool is that?!)
Dena's first purple cashmerino sock is looking as beautiful as I'm sure it feels
Christine has finished her first rainbow sock (she's using Wendy's great basic sock pattern)
Sharon has finished her first Strawberry Shortcake sock (you gotta see it, people - scroll down for close-ups of the colors and the pattern)
Linda has been knitting on the road, taking her orangey Koigy socks to the west coast with her
Timothy has (like me!) just gotten started - he's using Opal's cool new Rainforest sock yarn
FemiKnit is about to get started with Artyarns Supermerino in a totally cool green

Sarah has good news and bad news: she's started her tulip lace socks but is having camera woes
Aubyn reports that she's finished the first of her purple mock cable socks and is well into the second
Christine writes that she is knitting, but since she's also been moving, she hasn't been able to post any pictures

And I made HUGE progress on my sock pal's socks during my weekend trip to NYC.

does this count as halfway done?

That's one sock to the toe complete and the second to the heel. I didn't have my pal's exact foot length with me as I got to the toe, so I just put the stitches on a spare scrap of yarn and cast on for sock number two right away. No second sock syndrome here! I love how the colors are coming together. They're so rich and they're not pooling at all. Supermerino goooood.

extreme closeup!

Only one month left to knit, folks!! Just a reminder for everyone who is done, as well as those who will be finishing very soon - remember, we're not sending socks out until mid-September. Got it? DON'T MAIL UNTIL SEPT. 15. (If you've got an international sock pal, send a few days early if you like.) So when you're done, go ahead and make sure you've got a fun postcard from your area to tuck in the package and then hold on to it all until the September deadline, when we can all send them off together. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

My yarn shopping strategy for this last trip down to NYC was to visit those stores I don't get to visit usually. A sort of long-time-no-see, what-I've-been-missing kind of thing. I started at School Products, since they are one of the first to open (and close!) on Saturdays.

first one there! buzz me in!

I let my fingers do the walking and they walked me right over to a store model of a cute grey child's sweater. The yarn was soft and squishy and a little fuzzy. I was intrigued. When I heard that it was Yak yarn, I couldn't resist.

really, it's so soft!

So the boys will be getting fall yakets, probably along the lines of this Rowan Junior pattern. It's about time I made something for them again!

From School Products, it's just a hop, skip and a jump west to get to Habu. They were having a little mini-sale.

look, yarn in the main room

I took my time and fondled all the yarns but left with only happy hands. You gotta bring your imagination with you when you shop at Habu and I wasn't quite imaginative enough this trip to come up with a purpose for their special and unique yarns.

Later that afternoon, I made it over to the Yarn Co., which has to be the busiest, most expensive, and frankly, least pleasant yarn store I've been in. They've got tons of lovely yarns and scores of great pattern samples hanging up, but it's all very "what do you want?" and "well, we write the pattern out if you buy the yarn". I stayed a long time and was tempted by their very impressive selection of GGH yarns, but alas, I couldn't overcome my dislike of the store to buy anything.

I had hoped to make it down to Downtown Yarns to show them my progress on their shrug, but I couldn't squeeze it in on Saturday. I didn't have the shrug finished anyway. Plus, this trip was for the places I DON'T usually visit, and I always visit Downtown Yarns.

Sunday began at Purl. What a wonderful yarn store! We - mom came with - got there when they opened and, despite the fact that the place is no bigger than my living room, we stayed for two hours!

you gotta love a store that has painted the pay phone and bench outside to match it

They might not have much room, but they've got it crammed full of only the best of the best yarns. It's like they took all the yarn possibilities, threw them in a giant vat, waited to see what rose to the top, and then only put those in the store. And the people working there were SOOOO nice. Seriously, can I move in? When we did leave, we had filled an entire shopping bag with yarn.

purl is now officially on the list of stores to visit every time I'm in town

I picked up lots of their custom colored striping Lorna's Laces sock yarn, a little Koigu (I haven't been able to find Koigu anywhere else recently - I thought there might have been a distribution problem, but apparently, it was all just at Purl!), and, my absolute favorite, two hanks of Lobster Pot lace-weight cashmere. Swoon.

We only left Purl because we had to go to the Point to meet up with some nyc knitbuds, whom I haven't seen in ages. The Point is a yarn store that just makes you happy. There's the "eat, knit, and be happy" sign in the window and the fun bins of yarn that hang on the wall (see them in my post from my last trip), and here's a picture of the corner of the store devoted to yarn hanks.

even with a torrential rain storm outside, we couldn't help but smile when surrounded by all this

I met up with cool knitbuddies, Jackie, Valentina, and Cassie. After the rain let up a little, Shannon came to join us too.

panoramic view - photoshop is grand, ain't it?

It's great knitting in a shop with regulars! In addition to feeling very welcome, we got to chat and have a few laughs with Point-man, John, whom I'm sure you all know from his new Knitty pattern. Besides being damn funny, the Point staff was very helpful, even pulling out some shade cards for me when I was being "that person" and having a hard time deciding on some Rowan Cashcotton colors.

must have been the fabulous cashcotton cardigan Jackie was working on that sold me

Well, that's it. Car full of yarn and I was ready to go. What a great trip! I think the next big trip will have to be to IKEA to buy more yarn storage. Heh, heh.

There are so many Weasleys, why not another weasley knitalong? Okay, weasley knitters, get those magic needles ready!

    
pick a button, any button

I've posted lots of links in the sidebar, so check there for info on where to find all kinds of Harry Potter knitting patterns. I'll try to start writing up a pattern soon and MA says she's willing to share the pattern that she came up with. Plus, I'm working on a little something harry potter-y right now, which I should be able to share with you next week!

what could it be?

Got any more links and/or pattern suggestions for me? Let me know!

I got mine.

Which one did you get?

It's been a busy week! After overtime blogging on two knitalongs, a trip with the boys to the yogurt factory, and a day-long yarn storage re-org (look, it's a sock yarn bin!), guess where we went yesterday?

B thinks that turning his back means he's not in the picture

The boys wanted to see grandma, but I wasn't up for another trip down to NYC again so soon, so we met halfway at IKEA.

We ate.

"wheels!"

They played.

B is the blurry one, S is watching Dora

"more wheels!"

And we bought stuff. After a three-hour drive each way, you know we got some good stuff to bring home, right? Wanna see?

Uh, that was fun, but can I knit now?

My funky handspun scarf is done!! I love it so much it makes me giddy. It is, by far, the coolest thing I've ever made. And it's such a surprise, even to myself, that I like it so much.

The yarns (starting at bottom left of picture) are handspun wool from misshawklet, handspun merino and angora by Jamie Harmon, which I found at Downtown Yarns in NYC, and some beautiful "Rose Garden" handspun merino by Julie Lovelace that Maggi sent me from Virginia. (Thanks Maggi!) It was the exact right color for this scarf. Seriously, look!

After adding it, I thought that the last three yarns I'd used worked so well together that I had second thoughts about the chunkier and funkier skein I'd used at the start (you can see an earlier pic here). So I undid it at the color change, unravelled it and turned it into big, huge, hideous fringe.

Funk-ing a!

Lots of finished socks this week! Gentle hint: tis' the season for finishing your socks.*

Melanie's yummy red Koigu socks are to die for
Amanda's bright and stretchy Broadripples are so fun (check out her awesome newly finished tennis vest too!)
Dawn's been busy finishing her red waving lace socks for her pal and some gorgeous Go with the Flow socks for a friend
Lisa's unique cable and ruffle ankle socks are delightful
Jennifer's finished her incredible purple lace anklets and she's a beginner, folks!!
Jaimi's Koigu anklets look divine (and the lace she's added to her new Soleil tank is so beautiful, you have to see it)
Joanne's made some beautiful blue Toasty Toes Crusoe socks (mmmm.... bluuuuuue....)
Jenny's Koigu sweethearts will be going to her sock pal
Lauren's red cable and lace socks were her first cable project!
Liz knit fabulous purple retro ribs for her pal
Judy's brightly colored Crepe Myrtle socks are named after "the only thing that blooms in the South when the weather's this hot"
Nanette finished her lovely blue ribbed socks and started another stunning pair for herself
Kari's Koigu Kersti socks are alliterative (tee hee)
Regina made her beautiful socks from handspun, home-dyed yarn from - get this! - her own sheep (that is so cool)
Yasmin knit her stunning Go with the Flow socks in Knitpics star gazer lily Sock Garden yarn (for those who are considering giving this yarn a try, she says she really enjoyed it - check out the close-up)
Sharon's done with her Mountain Colors Fishtale Cuff Socks in the Yellowstone colorway (don't you just love that color name?!)
Christine reports finished fixation ankle socks and a second lacy pair underway for her pal
and Aubyn's also finished!

Diana has finished two beautiful Cascading Leaves socks, but they're not quite a pair yet
Jackie's New England sock was lovely but turned out a bit too big and had to be reknit :0(
Wanda is working on her first Clover Lace Rib sock and is loving it!
Jenna is making great progress on her lacy Opal handpaint socks, despite broken needles and dropping stitches in the subway
NYC Mouse is making the funkiest patterned sock ever
Minnie has finished the first of her handspun anklets and is going to dye them when she's done!
Cece's Heatwave socks are back on track in a fabulous Glitz yarn (you gotta click on the close-up!!)
Mary's first Pretty Comfy sock is pretty pretty indeed
Katie is trying to Go with the Flow, but isn't sure about the twists (p.s. - wanna make a felted Cat in the Hat hat? Katie's got the pattern for you!)
Sydney is working on incredible fair-isle socks for her pal - wow!
Leanne is making cabled socks in the most wonderfully wild colorway
Kristi's rainbow mermaid socks are totally kewl
Marie-France is almost done with one sock, after giving up on the first, beaded version (I think they're both great)
and Timothy has done a beautiful job on his short-row heel

Lola reports that she is working on a swatch for her two-color socks-to-be
Orli is up to the toe of her second sock - go, Orli!
Ms. FemiKnit Mafia was wondering exactly when you are supposed to start the heel on a toe-up sock (any rules of thumb from experts out there?)
Alison (not me) writes that she's working on pink diagonal rib socks by Ann Budd

And me? I've got two toes to go and a bit of a yarn problem.

the toe bone's connected to the other toe bone

Well, when I was in NY and got to the toe on the first sock, I was just a wee bit into my second ball of yarn. I didn't want to work the toe, since I didn't have the exact measurements with me. I didn't have my third ball with me either. So I picked up the same ball and started knitting the second sock from the other end. Now I've used up all that yarn and they're connected. Guess I'll have to rip out a few rows somewhere, huh?

* I'd love to hear from those of you who haven't sent in an update yet or are keeping your socks super-dooper top secret and off of your blog. I'm sure you're all knitting away, it's just nice to be reassured of that fact! So, drop me an email if you can, please.

Some notes for all the weasley knitters out there....

First, keep me updated on your progress, so I can post progress reports here. And let me know if you find other fun pattern ideas!

Who has used the Yarn Warehouse kit and what did you think? Would you recommend it to others?

MA's pattern for her weasley sweater is up! It's an adult size written for worsted weight yarn. Thanks so much for sharing, MA!

If you're using a basic pattern and planning to adapt it, remember that the key design elements of the weasley sweater are drop sleeves, rolled edges at the bottom of the body and neck, and ribbed cuffs. (UPDATE: How did no-one, including me, catch my error there? I've corrected those pattern details, so look again.)

For those of you doing a letter on your own, you can make a letter chart fairly easily with your computer. First, print out some knitters graph paper (knit stitches are wider than they are tall, so if you use regular graph paper, your image will be kinda short and sqat). Put your graph paper back in your printer's paper bin. Using a word processor or an image editing program, type the letter you want in a large size. (Try out all the fonts on your computer or maybe download some Harry Potter fonts.) Print it onto the knitter's graph paper. Voila - chart! You may have to try several different font sizes to get your letter to be a good size for your sweater. And once it's printed on the graph paper, you might just need to go over the chart by hand to neaten things up (sometimes the letter edge is between two boxes, so you gotta kinda decide where you want it to be), but essentially it's all ready.

And stay tuned tomorrow for my new little Harry Potter pattern. There's a non-HP version too, for the less obsessed out there. Wink, wink.

I am in an absolute quandary about my Harry Potter sweater. It was easy enough to choose the colors for my boys' sweaters since I found the yarn on sale in the perfect-sized bundles for them, but I've having a hard time deciding on the right color for my sweater. Should I try to hunt down the red color I had imagined? Or should I perhaps look for black and make a Hufflepuff version of the sweater? I'm also a little tempted by the ginger color. Help, what do you think??

And finally, over a month after standing in line at midnight to get it, I have begun reading Book 6! I've reread 4 and 5 and have a much better sense of who everyone is and what happened before. So, still no spoilers, please!

What do you make if you want a Harry Potter scarf, but don't want to buy 1000 yards of yarn or knit 57,000 stitches? Just make a skinny hip one and tie it around your waist!

And what do you do if you just want to try out a couple of colors of a special, silky yarn? Make a silk tie, that's what! I think I'm gonna try the next one in Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool. Mmmmmm....

Yes, that's right, new patterns are up! Hope you enjoy them.

Time to take a serious look at the project basket and take care of those neglected half-sweaters! Our annual visit to Germany is coming up in mid-September and I've sworn to do my best to get them all done before we leave! I seem to have abandoned each of them in some stage of sleeve work, so it'll be a long slow trip through sleeve hell for me.

First up is katy, my lovely copper cabled sweater. The body is all done, but both sleeves still remain to be knitted. I cast on for the first sleeve at Knitsmiths on Sunday, but had to rip it about an hour later as it seemed a little snug on the wrist. I'm not a fan of the narrow wrist/wide upper arm sleeve shaping thing. Plus, I'm not convinced that I have enough yarn left to complete two full-length sleeves. After considering my options, I decided to cast on about 85% of the stitches that the pattern calls for at the widest part of the sleeve and knit it straight.

Knitting it this way should result in a wider cuff and a narrower upper arm. And as soon as I get nervous about my remaining yarn, I can start the sleeve cap without worrying where I am in the increases. That's the plan, at least. So far, this sweater has required a good deal of reknitting and reworking, so I can't really expect the sleeves to be any different, can I?

Nbat is next in my project wrap-up visit to sleeve hell. The first sleeve is finished and the second is well underway.

I've taken to slipping on my pajamas right after the boys go to bed and knitting away until I'm tired, but not too tired to read a couple of chapters of Book 6. After a couple nights, I'm halfway through both sleeve and book!

Not sure how these sleeves will fit. I suspect they might be a little long. Of course, I won't be able to say for sure until I finish the dang intarsia panel on the front of the tee and can set the sleeves in. Why am I avoiding finishing it?!

We left our giant white bread retro-striped vintage-styled sweater looking like this, with one sleeve in and a whole mess of ends hanging out. Now she looks like this:

Two sleeves in and no ends.

Just the collar and she's done! You know, this trip through sleeve hell hasn't been too bad so far.

Necessity has forced me to figure out a way to knit and read at the same time.

I've got so much knitting to do before we leave for our trip to Germany - including knitting this Karabella scarf for the store - that I have been feeling slightly guilty putting it all down each night to squeeze in a little Harry Potter Book 6 reading before bed. I've been trying to knit a little, blog a little, and then read a little each night, making steady progress on my projects and savoring the new book as slowly as I could stand. And I was succeeding, that is until fellow knitsmith and Harry Potter fan, Shireen, who when I saw her just this Saturday at the store was still 200 pages behind me in the book, came in to Knitsmiths knitting group yesterday and told me she was done with the book and I had to finish it. She seemed serious.

So, I just finished. We may now discuss.

ATTENTION: I'm not filtering these comments for spoilers, so those of you who aren't done yet, don't look!

This update is so big (and more to the point, it's taking me so long to go through the updates) that it'll be coming in two installments! Here's the early edition....

Finished pals:

Bente's multipatterned socks are a blast! (and check out her shadow knitting project too - wow!)
Rachel's beautiful cashmere chutes and ladders will be a real treat for whoever gets them
Carola's Lopi-style fair-isle socks are totally cool
Nicole's Opal socks have a neat textural pattern to them that really does fun stuff with the self-striping yarn
Jenn's colorful Sock it to Me Harlequin socks are so cheerful
Beate's kool-aid dyed "sweet fruit" socks are simply delicious
Jessie has finished hot pink lace socks in Rowan Calmer for her pal and says they are dreamy
Christine's striped Opal socks are ready for their long trip (hint, hint!)
Hayley's socks are done (no pics yet - perhaps they're shy)
Robin's Cherry Tree Hill Serengeti Broadripples sound incredible (oh Robin, I gotta see a picture of these!)
Suzie has finished her luscious red lace socks
Jessica's white tweedy lace socks are in a German yarn that visited Bali and was knit in Missouri (oooh, very international socks!)
Cass' wild socks answer the question: "what's black and white and red all over?" perfectly!
Jillz Railroad Rib socks in Mystical Creations sock yarn are going to be perfect for her pal
Daniele reports finished Go With the Flow socks in seafoam green Lang Jawoll
Amy's regia ankle socks look divine ;0)
Ellen's striped socks are lovely
Minnie tied-dyed her anklets and they are a riot! (you gotta look at her finished Stegosaurus too!)
Jennifer's stripy socks are done - only her second pair ever! (they're in there - she's been busy!)
and Carla, who is almost done with her Koigu Dublin Bay socks, sent in pics of knitpals' Jodee's Retro Ribs and Lydia's cable rib socks both in stunning Tess sock yarns

Still sockin':

MA is counting the stitches to a finished pair of socks - over 8,000 so far! (you've got to read her last weeks posts of sock drama!)
Joan's socks (she's trying out two different styles) are both breathtakingly beautiful
Amy is working hard on blue striped Lava Flow socks (be sure to check out her fabulous Mariposa tank!)
Lindsay's pink/yellow variegated socks have a fish on them!
Karlie is working on TSS (the second sock) of her beautiful purple/blue Gull Wings socks
Michelle has had some setbacks (she doesn't like to talk about it) but is now on track with a gorgeous Friday Harbor sock in Brown Sheep Naturespun
Deena (who's gone and gotten herself a blog of her own!) is making the pinkest pink socks ever
Beth's stretchy blue lacy socks are almost done
Vicki's green padded footlets look sooo cute (she's unsure about them - so go tell her they look great!)
Nicole reports that she's been knitting and frogging, but making progress - the Vesper sock yarn she's using is awesome though!
Sara was almost finished with alpaca cable & rib socks when her husband spotted them! She's getting more yarn to start new sock pal socks right away. (Look at the great bags she's making now from felted sweaters - incredible!)
Cori is making beautiful blue lace socks for her pal
Mandy's River Rapid socks are so great - perfect colors for the pattern - and should be done very soon
Jennifer writes that her Lorna's Laces "classy slip-up socks,' from the Knit Socks book, are coming along very well, but they are cutting into her Harry Potter reading time (just kidding!)
Lou has dyed her pal's yarn to perfection and is now knitting those gorgeous colors into an incredible pattern
Moze's second purple stripy sock have been travelling and is almost finished!
Emily finished one lovely lace sock before sock tragedy struck
Carrie's first Bernat Hot Sox hot tamale ankle sock is so awesome (I hope she's my pal!)
Sarah, after struggling with pooling issues, is now on track with her third try
and Freecia is apparently a freak - or her yarn is (check it out!)

The camera-shy:

Anna is making up a pattern for her pal (but is keeping it all hush, hush so her pal can't guess, so we'll have to wait until September to find out more)
Lindsay writes that she is working on the Lealt Socks from Vogue Knitting Socks in Lorna's Laces and her husband Lucas is making the Bed Socks from the same book in two shades of alpaca yarn (ooooh, that sounds heavenly, doesn't it?)
Janine says that she's almost done with her socks - she's just finishing the "orange fuzzy cuff" - oooh, that sounds fun
New blogger Tara doesn't have any pics up yet, but says she's working on sock number two
Rebecca reports that one Cherry Tree Hill sock is almost done!
Jen is working (secretly) on Meilenweit Cotton socks and is on the cuff of number two
Felicia reports that she's knitting away on kool-aid dyed socks (this kool-aid dyeing thing is really starting to sound like fun!)
Gaile hasn't had time to post an update, but writes that she's on the heel of her second toe-up sock
Alynda says she has had some heel issues and after four tries has decided on an afterthought heel - love that solution!
Anita writes that she's working on retro ribs in Lorna's Laces
and Amanda is down to the toe on her first sock

These are all the updates I received before the weekend. I didn't do anything on my socks before the weekend, so I got nothing. In fact, if you didn't know that I spent four hours working on this post, you'd think I'm getting lazy! Wink, wink.

Thanks so much to all of you who sent updates! It's a good feeling to know that so many of you are already finished or very near to it. Great job, everyone!

Here's your "late" edition of the update (and be sure you caught the big early edition here):

Feet up and done:

Tammy's Shelridge Farms merino scalloped lacy socks have been blocked and blocked some more and are ready
Dorothee's beautiful rich red ribbed socks are all done (I loved this yarn so much, we did a little yarn swap - check out my new yarn below!)
Becci has also finished rich, red ribbed socks
Amanda's purple Lorna's Laces little shell socks are stunning (best wishes to Amanda riding out the hurricane!)
Leanne's socks are the perfect combination of green and yellow, cable and ribs
Sharon's strawberry shortcake socks look positively edible
Tracy's green almost argyles are great (I gotta get that pattern!)
Erin is all done with her silky wool petticoat socks
Kate's orangey/red socks have converted her to short-row heels
Chris' Cherry Tree Hill Nantucket Red cable and ribs are lurvely
Femiknit Mafia's green supermerino anklets are gorgeous
Shannon knit the Friday Harbor socks in space dyed yarn (look, she's got a new blog!)
Marlana's made Flower Power cable and ribs
Cece's Cherry Tree Hill Glitz Heatwave socks are small and sparkly
and Rebecca reports that her Lorna's Laces Icehouse socks are all done

Getting there:

Cathy has the legs done on her lovely Unst lace socks
For Amy, the third time's a charm for finding the right yarn and pattern for her pal
Katie has started her second sock and is boring the garden gnome to death
Jenna's first green lace sock looks at home in the garden
Kelly has finished her first colorwork sock, Vermont, and will be starting New Hampshire next
Em has been keeping her socks secret - only one little black and white pic for us to get excited about
Melissa's green patterned sock looks awesome - she says there may be some ripping though due to sizing issues - you still got time, Melissa; you can do it!
Linda may be distracted, but she's still making progress on her orange Koigu lovelies
Lori's beautiful cable/lace sock is on world tour!
Wanda's lace rib is so pretty
Timothy has done it again: outsmarting the second sock syndrome by knitting the second sock first - clever man!
Anna is working on her second sock (check out her gorgeous green Elfine socks - free pattern!)
and Renee did struggle with second sock syndrome, but is hanging in there (pics coming soon, she says)

And here it is - no not progress on my sock pal socks, I didn't get to that! It's the incredible sock yarn that Dorothee sent me from Germany.

wanna see a close-up?

Each strand is gorgeous and the color combination is really delightful. I can't put this on my feet! I've got to come up with something really special for this stuff! Thanks so much, Dorothee.

Back to knitting (at least for a day or two - sorry weasleys, I gotta knit sometime!) and back to katy.

I wasn't sure that I could get full-length sleeves out of the yarn that I had left (and it's a discontinued color, so there's no more to get), which is why I went with the straight sleeve style. My plan was to knit straight until I couldn't possibly imagine finishing the sleeve cap with the remaining yarn and then to start the sleeve cap (I've come to learn that I tend to underestimate how much yarn is left). So I knit and knit, cabled and knit, and after about 8 rows of chanting 'oh, I've gone too far - oh, I've gone too far', I worked the sleeve cap and bound off. Took exactly two of my four remaining balls, which means that I should be able to make the second sleeve the same length. Okay, I'm good on yarn, fine. But there was still really no way of knowing just how long that sleeve would look until I set it in the armhole.

And then tried it on. Would it be a good 3/4 length sleeve, as I suspected? Would it be some sort of too-long-for-3/4-length, too-short-for-full-length, did-your-arms-grow-or-something size? Or would it, when set in, magically become much longer and be full length? Suspense, drama, seaming. And....

Must be all the Harry Potter I've been reading. A little knitty felix felicis* maybe?

* (SPOILER ALERT - Don't click these if you don't want to know the end of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) Felix Felicis defined and for those involved in our HBP discussions from Monday, check out this article at Mugglenet