They came, I saw....I knitted

Alrighty then...I finally got my knitpicks order yesterday, and before you could say k1, p2....I was casting on for the next sock. This would be the guy's sock....I'm very excited. Not just because I get to start a new sock, with new needles and a new yarn...but because I did the cast on all by myself with no help from anyone!!!!

This is a first for me. I was so damn proud of myself, that I had to call Lara at some awful hour of the night to tell her how happy and excited I was for myself. Heck, I even gushed to the guy this afternoon when I called him at lunch.

But the kicker to it all is, that not only did I cast on last night...(on 2's), but I cast on yet again twice more this morning. I wasn't sure I really liked the way Soxx Appeal was looking on 2's with the Toe Up Cast On, so....I tried twice more with another ball on my set of 1's (muuuuuch better).

I have to say...this cast on gets easier and easier the more that I do it. I can't imagine why more people don't use this for more than just socks. I know I am sure as heck gonna use it for a few of my bags in the future...it is just easy as all hell and knits up super quick.

Anyway...as soon as I get a chance (and a Flickr) account I will start posting pictures of my FO's, UFO's and SIP's (socks in progress). Now back to my regularly scheduled knitting, while at work....yay me!!!

the bag, the bag....THE BAG!!!!!

Well, I have almost completed the bag for my co-worker...damn, did I really dislike knitting this particular bag. It was a pretty simple pattern that I had used before, but for some reason nothing went quite according to plan with it.

Alas, the bag is all but done. All I have left to do at this point is bind off, whip stitch it shut at the bottom and then felt the hell out of it. There are a few minor mistakes here and there, but nothing that a bit of felting won't hide and smooth out.

I can tell you one thing for certain though....it will be a long time in coming before I knit with Lamb's Pride - Bulky again. I just wasn't real keen on it, the color was pretty...but that was about the only redeeming quality I can say for it.

Now, onto crossing my fingers that my knitpicks order shows up today...along with at least part of my Etsy order. I am mainly concerned with the knitpicks order, since I would really like to be able to cast on the guy's socks this weekend and get cracking on them....

I haven't progressed too much farther on my knee high since I was trying to bust out with the felted bag in time to get it in the washer this weekend. Thank heavens for dating a guy that has his own washer and dryer...cuz that would just suck having to spend a dollar on the washing machine at my place, just to felt a bag....but oh well.

Anyway, I guess I am gonna get back to the grind of actually working. Gotta do something to earn the money to buy more yarn, right??? Then again...as slow as I am today, I will likely either get to knitting on my sock or finish off my latest reading of "Friday Night Knitting Club".

The road goes on forever and the stash that never ends....

OK....so, I said I wasn't going to do it, but for anyone that knows me, knows that I rarely if ever hold back on doing things that I really want to do..It goes without saying though, when it comes to yarn, I tend to give in to my baser desires and BUY BUY BUY!!!!

Well, I gave in and bought a skein of the Comfort Sock that I had been eyeballing the last few times I went into my LYS along with FOUR....yes kids, you read that right FOUR balls of Soxx Appeal in Oceana. This should make some really pretty socks for the guy....I sure as heck hope he realizes just how much knitting is going to be involved in a pair of size 14 socks with 8 inches up the calf to fit under his riding boots. Although if he doesn't, then I guess I will just have to look at it as a chance to perfect my sock knitting skills and learning to work with elastic yarn....LOL

I think I have figured that between all the needles I have coming from knitpicks and the stitch markers I ordered from Etsy I should be good to go for a while. I plan on having all my needles, aside from the 0's, filled within days of them arriving. Blue & Grey Jawool on the 1's (for me), Black & Pink from Lara on the 2's (again for me), Soxx Appeal for the guy on 1's and still on the 2's is my never ending knee-high.

At least there will be a variety of sock knitting to choose from, and by the time most of them are finished I will surely feel confident in my Toe-Up cast on and turning the heel will hold no trepidation whatsoever for me.....ahahahha...NOT!!!

I really do need to finish up a few of the bags that I still have on the needles as well. I feel like I have been a complete slacker about them lately...there they sit in their pretty little bags, all lonely, neglected and such. Naughty knitter that I am....I try really hard not to have too many UFO's in my house at one time....can get really overwhelming when there are just too many.

Oh, I almost forgot....I bought some DPN's last night (in case I get a wild hair to try knitting socks that way, not likely though). Figured it couldn't hurt to have them in the house or in the knitting bag in case I need to pick up the stray stitch here and there and grab it before catastrophe happens. Also, bought a set of kid's shorty plastic needles in 8's to play with.

Gonna try and knit a few face/wash cloths and see if that might keep me occupied for a while. Figure I have plenty of Sugar & Cream cotton as well as a few balls of odd colored Gedifra Frisetto that I have no clue what I will ever do with. Soooo....what the hell...the more I knit from stash, the more I rationalize that I can add to stash. HELL YEAH!!!!

Up the ankle and away we go....

So, I have been knitting away on my sock...so far I am at mid-calf. Before you know it I will be all done with this one and able to cast on to my second one, then I will have my very first pair of hand knit knee-high socks. I am very excited about this, since I have never owned anything like this ever.

I have since put almost all of my other projects on the back burner for the time being. Oh well, almost all of them were for me and were just a mere time filler until I found my true calling as a sock knitter.

Although, I still have to finish a bag that I promised to someone else....would be just wrong to start it, not finish it and leave them hanging....damn if only they knew how to knit, they could finish it themselves.

In other news, I did finally get my check from Uncle Sammy....YIPPEEE!!!! Put in my order for some new needles from KnitPicks, got some more 2's, a set of 1's and an 0 on the way. This just means more socks to play with at one time in case I get bored with a color. I haven't bought any yarn yet...been looking at a ball or two from Opal Sock Yarns, think this would make a nice pair of socks for the Harley-Davidson fan I have been seeing lately. Who knows, I may just buy two balls, knit him some socks and them done in time for his birthday in JULY!!!! Then again...those can be done on my 1's along with some Jawool that I have recently gotten back (should make some pretty blue and grey socks) and then there is the sock that Lara was working on for me that I need to knit a bit of so that she can turn the heel and I can trek on up the leg on that one. Those should be SEEEEEXY, though...hot pink viscose toes and heel, along with black foot and leg....MORE knee high's baby!!!! WOO HOOO....I'm starting to see a trend here.

The irony is though, I was gonna buy a shit load of yarn with my income tax money, but as of yet...I haven't bought a single skein. I did, however, buy new furniture for my apartment, this way I can sit and knit or read in the comfort of my home. The cool part is that I bought a futon, so...anyone that needs a pad to crash on for the night is welcome to come over. Hell, the futon bed is bigger than my bed is. I guess I really am the benevolent host....either that or my ass needed something of substance to sit on when I read and knit. LOL....

Anyway...I am sensing that it is time for me to cook breakfast since there is a pan now sitting on the stove and the guy is stumbling round the kitchen...coffee cup in hand. Still wondering where my cup of coffee is...hmmmm....have to work on that one....

Have a great day and here is to thinking that Junior will win the Daytona 500 today...woo hoo...racing and knitting...HELL YEAH BABY!!!!

Just thought I would see how easy it was to blog on the go.....hmmmm

toothpicks & paperclips....oh my

OK...so this would be my inaugural post. I'm not sure if I will have anything of any great interest to post, but I will give it a shot.

I guess first and foremost I should tell you a bit about myself. I am 31 years old, live by myself in the old part of East Plano in an apartment that used to be a storage closet. I have a serious addiction to yarn and all things knitting related, along with a passion for movies, books and food.

For the most part my friends are my family and they are by far and away the most important thing in my life. My best friend (most people think we are sisters...HAHAHA), is my knitting guru and I am sure that her name will pop up from time to time in this blog....but anyway.

As far as knitting goes, I work on some pretty basic projects. I like to knit bags, hats and things of that sort. I am currently working on my first sock, which is what the title of this blog eludes to. I was sitting at work the other day (which is where I do a LOT of my knitting), looking at yarn on the internet and realized that most of the yarn I was coveting was sock yarn....so, I figured maybe it was time to learn how to knit a sock.

I had already planned to take a beginner sock class at the Woolie Ewe (my favorite LYS) as soon as I got my income tax check into my hot little hands...but alas, as usual I did not have the patience and just could not stand the wait. This led to my stand MO...."Laaaarrrraaaa....will you please teach me how to...insert technique here". Which luckily was received with a resounding, "Sure will, when and where?".

So, there I was Friday afternoon learning how to do a "Turkish Cast-on" for Toe Up socks, while sitting at Mr. Wok eating an afternoon snack. I was surprised at how easy and fast it was to cast on, and the yarn (colorway 310) that I am using for this particular sock is LOOOOOVELY.

So, as usual, I have gotten off track. Started the cast-on on Friday...knitted all Friday night...again on Saturday morning and afternoon, more knitting yet again at Stitch & Bitch Sunday afternoon. Everything seemed to be going really well for the most part. Dropped a few stitches Sunday morning while at the guy's house, this was where my TOOTHPICK save came into play....eheheh...

This was how it played out....
ME: "Grrr...Hey hon, are there still toothpicks in the cabinet?"
GUY: "Yeah, why?"...
ME: "umm...I dropped a few stitches and don't have a crochet hook here with me."

So, minor cursing and slight struggling come to pass and I have picked up my lost stitches. Nothing major or catastrophic, just some mild angst and annoyance. Gotta love the handy dandy toothpic!!! NOTE: I HATE dropping stitches...cuz I suck at picking them back up again.

Onward and forward now we trek. Sunday night, Lara and I manage to turn the heel on my new sock in preparation for Monday morning "work knitting"...feeling all proud and such, I try it on....too small. We commence to froggin' the little bugger and try again. Success!!!! Now I have the wonderful knitted object that actually resembles a sock and not just a really pretty tube.

Alright, Monday arrives. I take my sock to work for a daily does of knitting at my desk while on the phones. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, seemed to go right on Monday. I dropped stitches left and right, including a runner that went almost 6 rows down into the turn of my heel.

Enter PAPERCLIP!!! Yet again, I have left home without my crochet hook...DOH!!! So there I am taking a call from a customer and freaking out all at the same time as I am trying to pick up stitches and listening to a customer scream in my ear. All I wanted to do was ask the person to give me just a moment while I picked up my stitches and I would then be able to give them my undivided attention.

But, needless to say...I managed to get the stitches picked up and figured out (YAY me!!), but I promised myself to wait until I finished work for the day to touch my knitting again, for fear that I would drop more stitches and just get too frustrated.

Insert deep sigh of relief here....left work, had some culinary therapy (again, at Mr. Wok) and commenced to knit again...starting on my increases up the back of my sock....

I haven't picked up my knitting yet today. For some reason, working internet retail can really make a girl hate her favorite holiday....Valentine's Day....sheesh!!!

Anyway....I hope this didn't completely bore anyone...I will try to have some pictures posted of my FO's soon and pics of sock in progress to follow....

Happy Knitting....