Some actual photos/weekend wrap up

You might have noticed that lately there have been VERY few pix on the blog…and there is good reason for it:  I put the camera battery charger in a “safe place” and could NOT find it.  Until today of course.  Today was a good day because I also found the other skein of Jawoll Sock yarn I couldn’t find for months and can now finish the second black & white marled socks I started over a year ago and have a pair! Photos near the bottom.

So let’s get some photos happening!

This is the cover for a Mix CD for a swap (Elven Music Mix)…I really like it, and it was lots of fun finding all the pictures – especially the elves of color.  I have quite a few elf pictures that I didn’t use, and every time I use my PaintShop Pro program, I learn new stuff.  Of course I can’t remember much these days, so maybe I just re-learned stuff I already knew at one time in the past …  I guess that doesn’t matter because it all seems new to me!  If you’d like a copy of the mix, leave me a comment below and we could work something out.

Last Friday, I had a real comedy of errors tryna get something done for Meg at Yarn Expressions.  Franklin Habit was coming all the way from Chicago to do the last photoshoot for his 1000 knitters project AND the first ever book signing for “It Itches”, his new book (it’s his first).  Meg had asked me to do a few signs for the store, which I did…but I had the VERY DEVIL of a time getting everything to print.  Anyway, here are what the signs were:

and this one:

The idea was to have them done and put up at the store BEFORE Franklin arrived Friday afternoon and Meg would give me something in trade.  I blithely reassured her that of course I would have it done in plenty of time….FAMOUS LAST WORDS!  I was supposed to get them there about 11 a.m…..I didn’t even wake up until 11 a.m.!!  It could have been that I stayed up a teensy little bit too late working on a certain hat….but I digress.  After Murphy’s Law chewed me up, spat me out and left me whimpering on the carpet, I arrived at the store at 3:15 pm and of course, Franklin was already there.  He was lovely to meet and Meg was very gracious about my lack of timeliness and this is what I received:

My very own copy!!!  This is a seriously delightful book; go buy it NOW.  Even if you’ve barely even heard of knitting, trust me, you’ll like it.  Go here and get it for real for real.

And if that wasn’t enough…..check this out:

He signed it and I have the FIRST signed copy on the planet!!! What did I do to deserve that honor?  And look: doesn’t he have the most beautiful handwriting????  He said I got one even before his mother did.  He was very kind to me.  He even said he liked the posters.  :o)

I also found out that I had won something over at The Outlandish Swap.   I’m taking part in this swap (Go Clan Fraser!) and one of the things we do every week is answer a quiz about the books.  This is pretty tough for me because though I do have the books, they are out in the garage….someplace….so what I have accessible is the audiobooks on my iPod.  I listen to them at night whilst knitting, wheezing, and so on and I often fall asleep, so I miss a LOT.  This past week, I apparently 1) answered all ten questions corrrectly and 2) my name was drawn out of the hat and I won a red felted cloche.  I promise to post pics when it arrives.

So then I was awake til the wee hours Friday night/Saturday morning finishing the aforementioned hat.  If you’ve been reading this blog for a minute you’ll remember that I put it to a vote whether to knit Franklin a nice boring everyday winter hat or the DWARVEN BATTLE BONNET ( guess which one y’all chose?).  So the first helmet part I made was HUGE…even after felting, only someone with elephantaisis of the cranium could wear it, so I made a second one (and even had to buy more yarn for it – sheesh!).  That one was much better -normal heads might fit it.  So then onto the beard…which I was making out of a nice soft …. acrylic (gasp!). Yep, I’m gonna lose me charter membership in the Yarn Snob Club for certain this time.   I chose this yarn because 1) I already owned it and 2) it actually looked like a human hair color.

While working on it, about 3 am I noticed something; I have improved as a knitter a LOT.  I was making the beard part out of the pretty, soft yet unforgiving acrylic yarn and most of it is just a rectangle in garter stitch.  On other rectangles (read: scarves) over the years I have had a terrible time tryna get decent edges on the things with absolutely NO success until I heard the tip of slipping the first stitch of every row and Voila!  Nice straight edges.  But after I was about 7 inches into the beard on this puppy, I realized 1) I WASN’T slipping the first stitch of every row and 2)  I had nice straight edges.  It was one of those rare times in life when you can clearly see the progress you are making.  Yeah, yeah, of course you know that you’re striving, but it can be very hard to see the improvement.  I’m not trying to brag; I’m just sharing a lovely little moment I had with y’all.

So back to Saturday around noon – I didn’t take any pictures of it because a)  I spent the morning in a homecoming parade (this is actually true-I can’t make this stuff up)  and then came home and feverishly worked on it for an hour and a half until it was done and then I could take it to the store and give it to him. As I’m desperately trying to braid mustaches and stitch them down without making them look stitched down, I was beset by doubts:  since he said on his blog that he was bored with his hats, what if everyone makes him a hat?  What if he doesn’t see the humorous nature of this Battle Bonnet and detests it?  What if he sees the acrylic and gags visibly?

I should not have worried – he LOVED it!  He put it on and even let me take a horrible picture on my cell phone of him wearing it:

After Louisa and I had our photos taken for the 1000 knitters (Louisa got so nervous, she forgot how to knit. It was cute), we had a few refreshments and then I had to leave.  Louisa’s dance card was very full on Saturday, so I didn’t get to stay and hang with everyone unfortunately.

What I heard about later is that at some point during or after the book signing, he put it back on!  Both Sarah and Cara have MUCH better pictures of it on their blogs.  I’m very flattered and extremely pleased that he’s having fun with it. In a way I’m sorry I missed all that, but mostly I’m glad that I wasn’t there, too, turning beet red with it all. After all, it was HIS day, not mine.  Thanks again, Franklin, for all your kindnesses.  I love the book, I hope you make giant piles ‘o cash on it, write and draw many more books, and I hope you’ll be back sooner rather than later to A-ba-lam-a-ding-dong.

I did say photos in the title, so here are a few more:

Sock blockers I made today out of vinyl coated clotheshangers (using a Louisville Slugger as a mandrel)

The black and white marled socks in progress.  i think they’re gonna be gifts for my bestest friend, Tangela, whose birthday is later this month.

Afghan squares for a swap as yet unblocked (they are drying now…).

MOM: PLEASE DON’T LOOK

I mean it.

I don’t wanna spoil the surprise.

They’re going in the mail tomorrow.

I promise only the photo is next: I won’t write anything even remotely interesting after this (gee whiz, what a way to increase readership…..).

Is she gone?

Ok – here’s her birthday socks (my first pair for Socktoberfest)

Yarn:  Berroco Comfort Sock Yarn

Pattern: Sugar Maple from 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan Oakes

Needle: 29″ Size 2.5 Hiya Hiya

Size: medium

This is my first completed “two at a time” pair.  It *is* kinda fiddly with the 2 balls of yarn, but when you finish, ya got two socks and it’s actually quite fast.  I really liked this pattern; very rhythmic knit.  I think I’ll make a pair for me soon.

AND this yarn is GREAT.  It’s a terrific value ($7.50 for nearly 450 yds!), the colors are good, it’s washable, it’s nice and squishy, doesn’t split, feels wonderful on the needles – I LOVE it.  I even have a good bit left over. I noticed some pilling, but hey!  I’m not complaining and I think mom will really like them.

Tomorrow: I promise- a shorter post.