Wild Sock!

Close, but not the same...these two skeins of Lisa Souza Sock! were dyed on the same day, by the same dyer. They're a different as night and...some other night. The skein on the left is lighter, and contains more vibrant teals and purples. The skein on the right is uniformly darker, except for the white patch that the dye missed. When I shook them out to hang them over the chair, I found that both skeins have this white patch. It's a little more pronounced on the darker skein, because the rest of the colors blend together so much more thoroughly.

One of these skeins is taking a trip to the post office, being traded for the Rowan Cotton Rope book so that I can find something to do with my other Stitches impulse buy -- too many skeins of aran/bulky black cotton. There's no wrong choice here. Really, neither skein has problems that a little grape Kool Aid wouldn't fix. I leave it to my swappie to decide.

:-)

Secret Pal Package! Wheeee!

Just when I needed something good to land on my doorstep, this package arrived. Unbelievably cool stuff, wrapped up in polka dot ribbons!

Buddy the Cat tried to lay claim to all of it, but we've talked it through and now I think he understands that it's all mine. (You'll have to sleep some time, the Woman. Mark my words. It's only a matter of hours until at least one of those things is in my mouth. - BtC.)

Here are the details:

- Circular point protectors
- Sock-shaped point protectors - so cute! I've never seen these before.
- Sweater-shaped DPN holders - even cuter!
- Coiled needle holders
- Stitch marker rings
- A variety bag of aluminum cable needles - way cool, since I only have the grooved wooden ones, and they're kind of awkward to use
- Self-coiling tape measure
- A cool little knitting gauge
- Barrel shaped counter - made for fitting onto a straight needle. No more trying to tie the other kind to my needles with waste yarn!
- A gorgeous set of glass needles with pale green ends. You can't see the ends in this picture, but trust me, they're beautiful
- Two balls of Berroco Medley in 'Louvre'. The colors in the balls are lovely, aquas and fuschias and greens - like jewels half-buried in sand. I can't wait to make something out of them
- A needle case with a built-in accessory case
- Calendar of knitting thoughts
- Four handcrafted stitch markers

This was so much fun to open, and it's all so cool...I'm really overwhelmed. Thank you, S.P.!

Gloomy Day

I'm unwell. I started feeling a little off last night, just a little cough but still, not quite right. By this morning, after a night of relentless, dry coughing, I'd developed a vigorous cold. It's the kind of cold where I can move about the house, but not really get anything done. I have all day to be knitting, but the last thing in the world I want to do is knit.

It's raining outside. The dog's going stir crazy. Buddy the Cat's upstairs on my bed, avoiding me because I've let the dog into the house on what would traditionally be a 'Buddy Day'. We used to have 'Buddy Day' when I'd take time off from work. I'd put Lucy outside in the morning, and I'd sneak around the house pretending not to be here so she wouldn't know that I'd stayed home and that Buddy had monopolized my time. Now, before anyone gets any ideas, I should point out that I only did this on nice, sunny days. She'd never get left out there in the rain or the fog. It's a pretty yard. It's no hardship for her at all. I love my sweet, simple dog. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! We remodeled the kitchen last year, and now there's a glass door out to the patio. There's no hiding from Lucy anymore. Thus, no more 'Buddy Day'. And Buddy hates me for it.

So, catless, free of any beauty products, unwell, and a little rumpled and cranky, I decided that this would be the very best time to take pictures of the Graphite hat. I finished it a few days ago, but I can't get Accountant Boy to model it. "I'm wearing a dress shirt. It won't look right." "I haven't shaved." "I've just shaved. I don't look outdoorsy enough." "Honey, it's midnight and I have to go to sleep." Fine. I'll do it myself.

It's very much like the blue hat I made for my dad. In fact, knowing how my mind works, the length and the direction of decreases are probably the same for both hats. I really like the decreases in the ribbing, because I've managed to keep the top of the hat from swirling like a nautilus shell. I like that effect in womens hats and when it's intentional, but not in this kind of cap. You can't really see the details in this yarn, but it's pretty cool. I should write down how I did it. Maybe next time I make one, I'll remember to take notes and publish a pattern.

Hey, I said I wouldn't use liquor bottles for BABY hat modeling. I never said anything about us grown-ups. Thanks for the help, giant bottle of Grey Goose! (Grey Goose -- "Honk-honk!")

And finally for today, my yarn came in from my swap with Lumay from the knittyboard. It's gorgeous. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. It's hand-spun, hand-dyed chunky wool, and if I had to guess at the yardage, I'd guess about 300 yards. I'm going to measure it with my handy dandy fishing line meter. Suggestions?