Scavenger Hunt, week 2

I'm not sure if I have to post about this swap specifically every week, but I'm going to do it just in case that's true. I'm losing my mind, did I post about this already? I got something funny, green, and relating to T a few days ago. I think it'll go in the funny category. I had something for Funny, but I'm almost positive that the person I'm sending to already has it. Too bad, I'll have to keep it for myself. :)

The only thing I have left to find is Local. Since we've been asked to not send our packages out before the middle of February, I've got time to work on that. I did get one thing but I don't like it enough to send it. The fiber-related categories are all covered, so I could pick just about anything.

Hmmmm.

Great deal/Great cause

The Breast Cancer Site store has recycled sari silk yarn on clearance. With shipping, 3 skeins were less than $18. Part of the sale goes to supply mammograms to people who can't afford them.

I recently made a the Unbiased Bag (pattern's on Knitty) using this yarn. I probably posted it here before, but here it is again. It's not the sort of yarn you'd want to use for wearables, but it does make a cool tote bag.

I'm knitting a hat

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Originally uploaded by Paula knits

I got all of this stuff this week. There are four hanks of sock weight yarn to dye. The dark purple is Dream in Color Smooshy, the lighter next to it is Lime & Violet Veronica Lake, and the stuff on the end is this month's Yarn Pirate (name starts with a K and I can't remember it). The green stuff is pencil roving. The thing with the Ravelry yarn ball on it is a rough draft of some socks. With all these lovely toys, I'm not knitting socks, dyeing yarn, or spinning yarn.

I did finish a couple more sock knitting totes. There are a lot of people selling similar things, so I've decided not to do that. The totes I'm doing can be done so quickly that I'm planning on posting the pattern. I won't be working on that right away, though. I've got to make over 100 cat toys next week.

Tonight I'm going to go pop in the Battlestar Galactica DVD that Netflix sent and work on Shedir (pattern's at knitty.com). It'll probably be the only time I'll have for a warmup to Knit Attack.

The Scavenger Hunt has Begun

I got the name of my partner for the Knitter Scavenger Hunt. I've also heard from the person who has my name. [Thanks for asking, Pecan Nut. As long as I get some new yarn out of this swap, I'll be really happy.] We have to scavenge up seven things. Four must be fiber-related and one of these must be yarn. The categories are:

• Something local: I have a couple of possibilites for this.
  
• Something round: Nothing yet, although some things could change categories.
  
• Something green: Nothing yet, but I have an idea.
  
• Something related to the letter T: I know what I want for this one, but it could change categories too.
  
• Something funny: I have something fun on order. I hope it counts as funny.
  
• Something hard: I have a possibility for this.
  
• Wildcard category: The category I've chosen is Something smooshy. Clever sock yarn fanatics will be able to figure this out.
  

Yes, I was naughty and ordered myself some sock yarn at the same time as I ordered my partner's yarn. My excuse is that I've not used this particular kind before. I need to know that it's as nice as people say before I send it on. Yeah, that's the ticket.

But it was only one skein

I'm looking for work. I don't have money to use for anything but essentials. I have more hand knit socks than I'll probably ever wear. I have enough sock yarn to entertain my fingers for a long time, even without having a job.

Lime & Violet's Daily Chum appeared today in my Bloglines feeds as it does nearly every day. This picture was on it. The yarn glowed on the screen and the little voice in my head said, "Buy me, it won't affect your credit card balance all that much". I clicked over to L&V's Wool Pr0n shop. I found this colorway, Veronica Lake. There were only two skeins left. A few clicks later it was all over.

I could've been a lot more naughty. I didn't look at any other colors. I only bought one skein. I'm going to use it as a motivator. The next time I try to put off doing something I really should be doing, I'll think of Veronica Lake and just do it.

a few days later I got the yarn today. They sent it quickly with some fun goodies (bag of buttons, candy). However the color isn't what I expected. I like the color I received and I'll be happy to use it. The color I see in the picture is more icy and blue/periwinkle. Maybe I'll use it as an inspiration. I've got a few skeins of Bare from KnitPicks that I can play with.

Bob

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Originally uploaded by Paula knits

This is Bob. I knit him yesterday while listening to Lime & Violet #51. He's a RAK for somebody who I hope doesn't come this way very often.

The yarn's something that I picked up on clearance at Jo-Ann. I don't know why, it must've been really cheap. It's called Life, "A bulky yarn with a festive shimmer". The shimmer *is* kind of festive.

Sock project tote

I got most of the bugs worked out of my sock tote design. I made this one for a swap. Since the recipient does not know who her sender is, I figured it was safe to post these:



I was pretty happy with how everything came out. The recipient isn't a very experienced knitter, so I picked some self-patterning yarn for fun. I'd love to send a fancy lacy pattern, like some of Cookie A's designs, but that'd probably be too much right now. Anyway, I hope she enjoys this.

No pink socks

tofu
Originally uploaded by Paula knits

Only Ewe has TOFUtsies on sale for 40% off. I don't really need to be spending money right now, but I did it anyway. The ball on the left is what's been in my stash for a while. Pretty, isn't it? I won't be using it for Sock Wars becase there's pink in it. Instead I'll be using the ball on the right. Black and gray is probably the most boring TOFUtsies that exists. At least nobody will b*tch about it being PINK.

This will be my last comment on the subject.

No pink hats

day75
Originally uploaded by Paula knits

I went through my stash and set these yarns aside. I will not be using them in Hat Attack. The chance that my color choice will be dissed in the Wall Street Journal again is slim. However, I don't want to give anyone the chance to complain.

How did I end up with so much pink yarn? I was making a scarf for some breast cancer charity thing a few years ago. It involved as many different pink yarns as I could find. I have a lot of leftovers. Also I LIKE PINK. It's PRETTY. Bite me, pink haters.

Hats

Inspired by Sock Wars, a new knitting battle has been organized. It's Hat Attack. Of course I had to sign up.



I was really amused to discover that I'm now listed as a designer on Ravelry. About two years ago, I did my own version of a Jayne Hat. I put the pattern up on my web site. When I listed one of the hats in my Finished Objects, some Ravelry editor must've found it. I never thought of listing it myself.

Sock project bag

day73
Originally uploaded by Paula knits

This is the prototype of my sock project tote-along bag. It closes at the top with a drawstring, but I haven't decided what sort of string to use. I have several spools of this thin silver elastic cord that I might use. Jasmine (black and white blur at upper right) has already chewed through the cord on this bag. The little monster just loves it. I took the picture with the bag open so the lining would show. The lining fabric is also on the outside bottom.

I've been having big fun going through my fabric stash and creating pairs of fabrics. I've got so many that I may end up selling these when I finally get the bugs worked out. I'm thinking of decorating them with little charms that could double as stitch markers. The markers would have a theme to go with the bag. Wouldn't that be cute?

Danger, danger, Will Robinson

If you're clicking through the Project365 ring, you might want to reverse your direction pretty soon. About 3 or 4 clicks from here, I hit a page that has so much stuff on it that it takes forever to load. I tried to get the load to stop and not only does it not work, it took my browser down.

You've been warned.

More idle speculation and a confession

Sock Wars: the Yahoo list appears to be taking on new members, but no new posts. Could it be that someone with some power got fed up with an email box full of b*tch*ng and moaning? Whatever the reason, I applaud the change. If it's going to announcements only, that should make that location okay for War stuff. My poking around the web on this topic turned up one piece of information I didn't have. The original blog that many of the first War people got their information from had to be abandoned due to the blog being hijacked. That's why a bunch of original warriors in SWI didn't play in SWII.

I missed a second picture in Project365. Day20 was taken, but it's on my brother's camera so I may get it before the project is up. Day22 was cropped out of Day21. Day72, yesterday, was missed completely. It should be of the receipts I have for having my car worked on. I was distracted by the sudden increase to my credit card balance. Who knew front brakes could wear out in 16,000 miles?

I did work on my Baudelaire socks while waiting for the car to be fixed. I should never have used the yarn I did, but I'm not frogging them. The yarn's just too variegated for the pattern to show up well. See?

Scavenger Hunt Swap Questionnaire

1) Do you knit, crochet or both? How long have you been doing it?
Both about 50 years on and off. Really.

2) What is on your needles/hook right now?
There are several UFOs (a sheep, a sweater, among other things). I'm working on Baudelaire socks right now.

3) What is the most frequently used tool in your knitting bag? Tapestry needles.

4) What are your 3 favorite yarns (fiber type or brand)? What are your 3 least favorite?
Favorites are wool or wool blend sock yarns, especially from indie dyers.
Least favorites are acrylics, cotton, and anything that splits easily.

5) What is your favorite color?
Periwinkle, that color that's not quite blue, not quite purple.

6) If you had a 5 minute shopping spree in your LYS, how would you plan your attack?
I'd plan to grab all the good sock yarn and then any expensive fibers I wouldn't otherwise be able to buy.

7) What is your favorite FO and why? (post a pic if you have it!)
My current favorite is a pair of socks I just finished. They are my favorite because I spun the yarn with my very own little drop spindle.


8) What are your favorite things to knit/crochet?
I'm obsessed with sock knitting lately.

9) Do you collect anything?
Not in any formal way.

10) What are your five favorite things (not necessarily knitting related)?
My cats, my computer, yarn, fabric, watching tv and knitting.

11) Are you on Ravelry? What is your ID?
Yes, Paula.

12) Do you drink tea/coffee/cocoa?
Occasionally/yes/rarely

13) Favorite Sweets?
Carmel and chocolate

14) Any allergies?
Milk and I don't get on well. Otherwise, no.

15) Do you have pets? kids?
Two cats, no offspring.

Sock Wars III: some speculation

stash1
Originally uploaded by Paula knits

It was just announced that SouthWest Trading Company's Tofutsies is the official sponsor of Sock Wars III. Signups begin on (Bloody) Valentine's Day with the War to begin in the spring.

• The only think I think we can be sure of is that the pattern will be designed using Tofutsies. Tofutsies is fingering weight. Scar (SW II pattern, DK weight) was 6-7 st/inch on US 4 needles. Tofutsies is 8 st/inch on US 2.


• Fingering weight is going to slow the whole thing down. Even speed knitters such as myself will not get a pair out in 36 hours. Could this mean that the War will be structured in a different manner than it has in the past?


• I don't think that the sponsorship will make using Tofutsies a requirement. [later: I was right about this.] There are enough vegan knitters and people with allergies out there who won't find the yarn usable. Tofutsies is a blend of superwash wool, soysilk, cotton, and chitin (shrimp and crab shells). It ain't cheap: the skein I have in my stash is marked $16.95. It isn't available at every place on the planet that might have a knitter in the War. I imagine that there will be enough people using Tofutsies, though, to keep SWTC happy.


• Organization/communication will have to improve. The number of participants is expected to quadruple. In the same sentence, they mention 800 participants "in the last game". There were 800 in the original. There were 162 or 164 in the most recent game. That's either 700+ or 3200 people in SW III. (There are around 450 in the Sock Wars Yahoo group at the moment). No matter how you do the math, the chaos that was the original Sock Wars can't happen again. I don't think it is an accident that the participation level dropped from 800 to 160 between the first two Wars.


• I think we can expect a new location for SW III on the web. I can't imagine that 450 or 700 or 3200 people posting on a single thread on a Yahoo group is going to work. I'd go insane weeding through the whining and complaining to find any useful information. I'll keep my whining and complaining here, in any case. :)

I've got my ball of Tofutsies set aside. Yes, there's pink in it, but blue and green, too. I hope I don't get a pink-loathing or vegan or allergic target.

Sock challenges and clubs

• Sockamania-I'm not playing for January. There's no way the socks will fit my legs. They're too long and will not be wide enough.
  
• Sock Knitters Anonymous-I just frogged the mystery sock. The leg was okay but the foot was coming out huge. I'm switiching to Cookie A's Baudelaire. With a slightly shorter leg, these should work.
  
• Rockin Sock Club-December 2007. The yarn and pattern and the ball winder are sitting in a little pile. The pile's sitting next to my sewing machine. Did I mention that I hadn't started the sock bags yet, either? I have an excuse: I still need some supplies that I don't yet have.
  
• Paula's Sock Club 2008-I looked through my personal sock club stash and packed it all up again. I've got other things I want to work on first (Baudelaire, the RSC for December, Ravelry socks I'm inventing, and two different kinds of yarn I spun with my own likkle paws). It's a good thing I didn't sign up for another year of RSC.
  
• Yarn Pirate-I signed up for this, but can cancel my subscription whenever if I need to. Yarn's not expected for a while, thank goodness.
  

Sock bags

day63
Originally uploaded by Paula knits

Julie, fearless leader of Sock Wars, has opened a Cafe Press store. It has Sock Wars merchandise. Profits go into the war chest for Sock Wars III. That's how I justified buying it. Heh heh.

I've got a bunch of sock projects queued up. I would like to have them all organized in their own little bag, so I'm about to make some project bags. The one I got from Melissa in HSKS3 is very handy so I thought I'd make them about the same size. Then I started digging in the fabric stash.

My yarn stash is relatively small. My fabric stash is not. A fat quarter here, a fat quarter there, a yard of something I really like: after a while, it adds up. My original intention was to make a bag or two. I kept coming up with fabrics that looked so cute together that I have to use them. Even while trying to control myself, I've got enough for 5 or 10 bags.

I'm also going to finally finish my Knitting Olympics button bag. It's got many (hundreds) of web buttons printed out onto muslin. I've just got to go back through the fabric stash to pick a lining. I was going to use 'Knitmare on Elm Street', but it needs to be something where it is the outside of a bag. Maybe I'll make sock bags out of it to send to victims in the next Sock War.

It's no wonder I'm not getting much done.