Busy Day

Last night I finished my Rhinebeck cardigan. Woohoo! So I brought it to work with me, figuring surely I would have time today to weave in the ends and sew on the buttons. That's all I have left to do on it.

But no, sadly I didn't. It was too busy at work to do even a simple thing like that. I didn't even get yesterday's paperwork done. But, I did order a lot of Addi Turbo needles and a lot of sock yarn, Step and Trekking XXL. People will be happy to see that come :) And don't forget, my Harry Potter sock yarn could be here tomorrow. I hope it arrives on time!

So tonight, I am winding up some Christopher Sheep Farm yarn in the color Light Sheep so I can continue on the Penobscot Bay Pullover that I am knitting. I love the Signature Needle Arts needles I am using on that project. And as a matter of fact, last night I ordered a set of size 2 dpn's from Signature Needle Arts. I think I am addicted.

We also recently got a big shipment of awesome ready-made socks from Solmate Socks. They are fabulous! Cotton blend, a bit stretchy, in bright colors, and they purposely do not come in a matching pair. Each sock has the same colors but slightly different patterns. They're about the only non-handknit socks that I wear regularly.

If you're thinking ahead to the holidays, I also got a shipment of lovely Christmas cards from artist David Clough, that show a Camden scene on the front. They've been popular over the years, but they sell out fast, so if you want a card reminiscent of Camden because you live there or because you wish you lived there, stop by and pick some up :)

Cast Off / Bind Off techniques

Ya gotta love the internet. How did we ever live without YouTube???

While I was out on the last knitting cruise, a wonderful knitter named Patti showed a bunch of us how she does a sewn bind off. I had heard of it but had never done it, so I was pleased as punch to see how to do it. Patti finished a wonderful pair of toe-up socks with this technique, and it makes a lovely stretchy edge that looks like a cable cast on in appearance.

So while I was flitting through YouTube looking for interesting videos (well, CAT videos), I did a search for "knitting" just for fun, found a jillion knitting videos, and narrowed it down to cast off/bind off techniques, and there was not only a video of what Patti showed us, but also a bunch of videos showing other bind off techniques I have never even heard of, much less done. So I learned a lot, and I figured you might want to learn a lot too, so to save you time, I have listed the video links below. Go grab some scrap yarn and needles, cast on some stitches, knit a few rows, and try out these different techniques:

Sewn Bind Off like I saw on the knitting cruise

Another sewn bind off

An unusual Double Wrapped Cast Off

Icelandic Bind Off demonstration

Russian Bind Off lesson (very similar style to the Icelandic Bind Off above)

A decorative bind off from Bingbing

Okay, and since it is impossible for me to go to YouTube and NOT find an interesting video related to cats, here is one you must see. It is quite slow-paced, but trust me, you should watch the whole thing. Pull out your knitting to work on while you watch

Advice from God About Finding a Lost Cat

Button, button

I finished my button bands :)

Before I knit the collar (actually as I write this, I am working on the collar), I decided to pick out some buttons. I carry about $10,000 in buttons in the store, so it should be easy to find the right one, huh?

Actually I narrowed it down to about 11. Here is a picture of the finished button bands and the button choices:

I discounted a few of them right away. Here are some pictures of buttons in the running:

I don't know which one to pick. I like dragons, so the dragon one appeals to me. The one that looks yellowish brown is a plastic button that actually matches the color of the sweater MUCH better than this picture shows. The square button echoes the boxy shaped waffle stitch pattern. The little pewter one with the daisy center and swirlys is just pretty. Any suggestions as to which one to pick, are highly appreciated. I have until the collar is knit and the ends are woven in. Place your votes in the comments :)

Happy knitting :)

Crime in Camden

Pfffft. I am so mad.

This fall I put in a lovely window box display of fall foliage plants, which I will say, cost a little wad of change. And today when I came to the store I saw this:
 

Someone pulled up one of my pretty Dusty Miller plants and took it.

Arrrrgh! The worst thing is, this crap happens ALL THE TIME. I thought maybe since the plants were bigger, maybe the offenders would leave them alone. Also, they have no pretty flowers. Apparently these plant-nappers don't care what they steal, they just want to make the window boxes look bad. I actually called the cops around Mother's Day, because I was losing about a pansy a day from people pulling them out and stealing them. They sent an officer over to look at it, but said there wasn't much they could do. They said maybe I should plant cactus plants instead of my flowers, hahahahahah. I am thinking about it.

The offense apparently happens at night when no one is around. One of the reasons this makes me so mad is that it is so frustrating. I hate it, but can't do anything about it unless I catch them doing it red handed. I can't really stay up all night watching my window boxes every night. I think I will have to put in a security frigging camera in frigging Camden frigging Maine to catch my plant thieves. This really pisses me off. And its not just me. Today after I found it, I went up and down Bayview Street and Main Street and found that other planters and window boxes have been hit, and the owners agree with me that this has been going on for years. YEARS.  I know it's been going on since I came to work at Unique One full time in 1995 or 1996. So either it is one old, seriously deranged person, or it is just a Camden drunkard's tradition. There are at least 3 bars right around Unique One that close late at night.

But to end this post on a bright note, I must share with you the glory of Grace's long efforts yesterday to stock the Jamieson and Smith 2ply jumperweight; it is a glory to behold and it makes me happy to look at it:

I love you Grace!!

So Far, So Good

Hiya :) The button band experiment seems to be successful. Knitting the 101 stitches on one size smaller needles appears to have done the trick:

I have picked up the 101 stitches for the buttonHOLE band (using the original size needles) and I will knit that sometime in the next couple of days (using one size smaller needle), inserting some buttonholes, probably 5. At this point I am kind of making things up a little as I go along. Then I'll knit the collar, hopefully with no problems, and weave in the ends. The final bit will be to pick out buttons and sew them on. I guess I should start looking at buttons tomorrow. Wow, I could be wearing this cardigan next week! Yay!

My next project will be a Penobscot Bay pullover, which is of my own design (very very simple). I sold the original model that I have had in the store, so I need to make another one just like it. Usually I never sell the models when they are still useful (i.e., the yarn and pattern are still available), but this sweater was just so perfect for the man who wanted it, and he's a really nice man. It shouldn't take too long to finish it once I get started.

In other yarn news, we have been getting lots of deliveries here at Unique One, including this giant shipment of Berroco yarns:

You'll be happy to know it is now happily sitting on the shelves, waiting for you to come oooooh and ohhhh over it. I got lots and lots of Berroco Sox, Comfort Sock, Plush, Peruvia, and Ultra Alpaca Fine. It is really yummy! Come see! And while you're there, check out the poster of the Harry Potter sock yarns, coming soon! Oh, and we also got a billion skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2ply jumper weight wool (the Vogue Knitting cover pretty much wiped me out, with people buying 3 skeins at a pop for the awesome Jared Flood Druid Mittens). Grace, God bless her heartily, spent a lot of time today putting it on the shelf, organized and neat, and utterly gorgeous. It is worth it just to come into the store to see how pretty her shelves look. I will post a picture of them tomorrow!

It's the Simple Things....

.... that make me crazy.

Some of  you may have wondered why my Rhinebeck cardigan isn't done yet, since all I have left to do is the button bands and the collar. I have knit on it every day since I got off the boat on Saturday, and it is still undone.

As you may recall, while I was still on my knitting cruise, I finished the second sleeve and picked up the stitches for the button band. I should preface this by saying that when I did my gauge swatch for the project, I knew my stitch gauge was right, but my row gauge was  way off. I have far fewer rows per inch than the gauge required. However, the shaping is not so very row-dependent. I did have to adjust the sleeve shaping some, because of not having enough rows to do all the decreases stated in the pattern, and also because of my freakishly short arms. But, I expected to make those changes because of my different row gauge, and I expected to decrease the number of stitches I would pick up on the button band.

When I picked up the button band stitches, it was at night, the lighting wasn't that great in my cabin, I was talking to people and not paying that much attention. I picked up my usual: pick up a stitch in each of the next 3 rows, skip a row, repeat; basically, pick up a number of stitches equal to 75% of the number of rows I knit. That gave me 84 stitches. The pattern called for 126. Huh. I knew I would pick up fewer stitches than the pattern said, but 42 stitches fewer? Seemed like a lot. Still, even in the light of day, it seemed to lay right as I knit, so when I got home, I completed my 7 rows of garter stitch and bound off purlwise.

I looked at it. It was okayyy..... kind of okay. It mostly looked good, but the bottom definitely pulled up more. The bind off felt a little tight. I looked at it off and on for a day, thinking about blocking it out, tugging on it occasionally, but ultimately I knew it wasn't right.

So, I ripped it out and picked up 4 stitches for every 5 rows, which was 101 stitches, closer to 126 but more than 84. Kind of halfway between, it sounded like the perfect solution. Also, when I picked up the stitches this time, I noticed that for some stupid reason, part way up the sweater, I'd decided to slip the first stitch of every row, for about 12 inches. That makes a pretty edge, but it doesn't really help with the pick-up-4-sts-per-5-rows action. I don't know what I was thinking, and I don't even remember doing it. Oh well.

I knit my 7 rows of garter stitch on 101 stitches and bound off, a little more loosely this time. I expected it to be perfect, but dang! It was too big! It kind of bowed out in the middle and it just felt too loose. Sigh.

Then I tried to imagine how many stitches fewer I needed to pick up, and how to arrange their placement, adjusting for the slip-a-stitch row beginnings I had done in the middle. It was becoming a Problem Project that had potential for getting set aside indefinitely.

I went into my fixing mode -- the mode I am in when people bring in problems in their knitting, and need me to fix it for them. When I am in that mode, I don't have the option of telling the customer to give up on the project and set it aside. So instead, I said to myself, use a smaller needle. I ripped back to the first row of picked up stitches, and I am now reknitting the button band with one size smaller needles. Hopefully, it will work! It looks good so far. I will keep you posted :)

Viking Kittens

If you're a fan of classic rock music, and you like dressing kittens up in foolish period costumes, then this link is for you:

Viking Kittens!

A Good Day

It's been a good day already. I started by going out to breakfast at Marriner's Restaurant on Main Street in Camden, and it was good food and good company! Then I went to the store for a while and pretty much did nothing .... except write sales slips and stuff purchases in bags because it was so busy. Busy is good :) Susan and I played bite bite bite with the little plastic things that we never have been able to identify that come with the garter bar sets (for machine knitting). The little plastic things look kinda sorta kinda if you squint like miniature plastic clothes pins, with round metal hoops hanging off them. I think Susan really does know what they are for, but I will never use them for that, so I don't care. They are more fun to play bite bite bite with.

AWwwwww come on, you know what bite bite bite is. You make like the little plastic things are battling lobsters and you nip at each other's plastic thing, saying Bite! Bite! Bite!

Sheesh.

So after that, I went out on Penobscot Bay again! But on a different boat this time. Man, it was sooo much fun. I foolishly forgot to take my camera (Dang It!) but trust me, it was a beautiful day for a boat ride :) I went out for a short cruise on the lovely motor vessel Rendezvous.

Rendezvous is a rebuilt World War II Liberty Launch that is currently employed as a cruising vessel, offering fabulous tours of Penobscot Bay, and a few lobster dinner cruises each week, too! If you are in Rockland, whether a local or from away, you really should think about going out on a lovely little hour or two hour cruise or maybe indulge in a great lobster dinner, before the end of the season. You won't regret it! It's a beautifully appointed boat, comfortable, and you'll get great views of the harbor. I saw stuff on our one hour cruise that I have never seen around Rockland harbor before. And!!! TWICE we had a harbor seal come right up to the boat and look at us! One was a huge guy, almost close enough to pat him on the nose! I think that was the closest I have ever been to a seal before. I loved Rendezvous and I think you will too. Hey, it would be a great cruise to take your knitting on! Take a friend :) And don't forget your camera!!!!!

Back from Cruisin'

Hiya :)

I just got home a couple hours ago and I have photos from the last knitting cruise of the year, hot off the press, ready to upload! It was a fabulous cruise, very fun, perhaps a bit chillier than the other 3 knitting cruises this year, but I actually like it a little cold, anyway. It wasn't bad at all, and we had great weather! Luckily we had no rain and very little fog, the sun shone every day, and the nights were cold but not uncomfortable. I do love the heated soapstones we put in the foot of the bunks at night, what a great idea that was!! Nothing like toasty toes to help you fall asleep :)

I accomplished the two knitting objectives I had for the trip: I completed a pair of mohair socks and I finished the second sleeve of my Rhinebeck cardigan. Now I just have to do the button bands and the collar, whack some buttons on it, and Bob's your uncle, I will be wearing it. Yay!

Pictures of the cruise follow in one big galumphing clump, with no captions cuz I am pooped. Enjoy:

Another fine knitting cruise.....

Yep, I'm on day 3? What day is today? Day 3? of the knitting cruise and I think we are having a ball. I am actually writing this from the boathouse on the evening of the 16th. Everyone has boarded; we have a full boat, and now I have a full tummy, thanks to a wonderful meal at Rustica on Main Street in Rockland. I could eat there every day, but it is really better that I don't :)

My dear friend Ann and I had a great dinner, a couple glasses of Pinot Grigio, and a taste of tiramisu for dessert. You must go to Rustica when you are in Rockland.

Everyone is really looking forward to this trip and we certainly have a boat load of knitters on board! Lots of people have come from Colorado, and that's fun :) So many people want to learn things! I can't wait to raise the sails and get to work on helping them with their knitting.

I don't have any pictures for this blog post and I don't actually have anything to say, except woooohoo! I am sailing! And I think I am probably having a great time! I can't wait to get home and tell you all about it and share the pictures.

OH, and what am I knitting on this cruise, you may ask? Welllll... I succumbed to my Rhinebeck cardigan desire, and I brought it on board with me, despite its bulkiness, because it really is all I want to work on. And I found a partly done mohair sock that I think I started last May or June, and I hope I am finishing that pair of socks, too. I hope to have new socks and maybe even a new sweater to share photographs of when I get back to the store on Saturday.

Hope you all are having a great week, and happy knitting!

There Are So Many Talented People In the World....

.... and here is one of them:

(Click here to see a cool video)

Wooohooo! Hope I am having a good time on my knitting cruise! Wheee!

Knitting Cruise Photos

"Hey, you're out on a knitting cruise! What are you doing posting photos??"

hee hee

It's the wonders of technology. TypePad allows me to post stuff to appear on any date. So, I may be out on the water, living it up, knitting, eating lobster, hopefully NOT wearing rain gear, but I can show you photos from the second June Knitting Cruise while I am out on the second September Knitting Cruise, to give you an idea of what I am doing.

The rest of this post is all photos, so I put it all in a photo album. Click the link below to view it! Enjoy :)

Link to the 2008 June Knitting Cruise #2

Another Pair of Socks Done

I love these socks! Alpaca is such a nice fiber to work with. This Classic Elite Alpaca Socks sock yarn is probably my new favorite now; it feels so soft and warm and wonderful. I have a lot left over after completing the pair of socks too; I could probably get a pair of scrap socks out of the leftovers after knitting 4 pairs, maybe even three. I have another skein of this yarn in my stash in beautiful hot fuschia with shots of peach through it.... hmmm.

But I have to finish some unfinished things first. My next object to finish is the Rhinebeck cardigan, I only have a sleeve and button band/collar left to do on that. Unfortunately I will not be able to get it done before boarding the boat tomorrow for the knitting cruise, but I will finish it shortly after the cruise, I am sure. It's really too bulky now to take on board and work on it there. So, I have to rummage around and find 3 or 4 UFO's that are small enough and uncomplicated enough (translation: not needing charts or patterns, which could blow overboard) to take on the cruise. I would prefer to finish something already in progress rather than just start a new pair of socks. I know, where is this new finishing bug coming from??? It is so not like me. But I feel driven to clear up some of my massive STUFF.

Plus I am kind of socked out at the moment. I just finished 3 pairs of socks in less than 2 weeks and I think I have had enough now.

Hey! I just posted on my blog for 7 days in a row! Actually I think this post makes 8! woohooo! Let's all knit in celebration :)

We Have All Been There.....

Printers, we hate you forever.

Have you seen this? About the cat vs. the printer? This is the version with subtitles. It made me laugh out loud!

(Click here to see the video.)

... annnnddddd if you liked that, try this slightly longer video about An Engineer's Guide to Cats (Victoria? are you watching??):

(Click here for engineers and cats.)

Sorry, no knitting content today. My Alpaca Socks #2 is still half-done its toe. Only about 12 more rows and it will be a finished pair, but yesterday I was too busy paying bills at the store, and grocery shopping, to knit much. Perhaps tomorrow I will have pictures of something finished :)

meow :) purrrrrr

Orchestral Knitting!

This scheduled event will occur at Conflux HQ on Saturday, September 13, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.

Project Description:: Knitting Jam!
Participants at the Conflux Festival are cordially invited to knit and become a part of a musical knitting orchestra. Both knitters and non-knitters alike are welcome to play/knit on Laure Drogoul’s souped-up, amplified knitting instrument. The Apparatus for Orchestral Knitting amplifies, the sound of the knitting and is mixed and played back live. All materials supplied.
“Apparatus for Orchestral Knitting is a sculptural object, a musical instrument, and a knitting circle’s companion, where the repetitive nature of the craft opens up to produce not only textile but also sound and community.”

Click HERE to read the rest of this article and see pictures of how knitting can be used as a musical instrument!

Knitting Tip: Counting Heel Flap Rows

Today I was working on Alpaca Socks #2 and I did something that I have always done, but the last time I did it was on the boat, and the person sitting next to me said, "What are you doing?!"

I do an apparently unique little thing to help me see if I have made enough rows in my sock heel flaps, and now that I think of it, anytime I do it and someone sees me, it is something they stop and ask about and are happy to have learned the technique. So I decided I should just share it with you.

When I do a sock heel flap, I usually am working over 1/2 the stitches used in the sock leg. Lets say it is a 60 stitch sock on fingering weight yarn with size 2 needles. Over those 60 sts, I work a 2 row pattern of slip one, knit one across the row, followed by slip one, and purl back across the rest of the row. I want to pick up 1/4 of the total number of sock stitches when I pick up stitches along the side of the heel flap, so in this case I want to pick up 15 stitches. So, I want to knit 30 rows in my heel flap, which would create 15 slipped stitches on either side of the heel flap. So far this is typical heel flap stuff, right?

Now comes the trick. Sometimes it is hard to see, or count the rows in the heel flap, due to either bad lighting, age, drunkeness, sugar high, blah blah blah. I noticed the inside of the heel flap had the nice little slipped stitch loops of yarn from the row where you slip one, knit one across. I found I could just slide my free needle up through the yarn loops, and then I could easily count how many rows I had -- two rows for every slip-stitch loop. Or, one stitch to pick up for every slip-stitch loop. Therefore, when I can count 15 slip-stitch loops on the needle that I slide up through them, it is time to turn the heel.

I took a picture to show this, but it was on my cell phone camera, so it is pretty fuzzy. (I'll try to take a clearer picture the next time I make a heel flap.) Hopefully it will show what I mean:

You can count that I only have 11 loops on the needle; I need 4 more, so I have 8 more rows to knit. One other advantage of counting the heel flap rows this way is that you can feel the loops on the needle as well as see them, and that can really help sometimes.

I hope this little trick helps you count your heel flap rows; I think I made this little trick up on my own. It's one of the few things I "discovered", and didn't just read somewhere or see someone else do first, so I feel all happy about it. Have fun :)

Tis the Season....

Yeah, I know. The winter holidays are not for another three and a half months. BUT... now is the time to start knitting fun holiday stuff, so you have it already made for decorating for the Big Day. I ran across this free pattern a couple days ago, and these miniature sweatures are so darn cute, I wanted to start making them right away. I haven't started making them yet, but I think they are awfully cute:

The very best bit is that the patterns for these little darlings is FREE FREE FREE from Berroco.com!!! It's just like a holiday gift! Click HERE to go get the pattern!

..... walks off humming Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.....

One down, one to go

My lovely Alpaca Socks #1 is done! Yay! I have already started the second one. I think after this pair of socks is done, I am socked out for a bit. I plan on working on the Rhinebeck cardigan next, hopefully finish it by the end of the month. Woohooo!

I have to start thinking about what easy, little yet interesting projects to take on my knitting cruise next week. Hmmmm, I will have to look around and see what's already on the needles. I think I have a few scarves started around here somewhere.....

Giddy with Cat

Okay, quick update. Nick and Nora did live through their vet visit quite well, although Nora shall henceforth be known to me as The Creature Who Pees. She can't seem to get to a vet without performing some sort of unsanitary body function. The problem is, when you haul a soaking wet cat out onto the exam table, and it's pee.... well, you're just not making a big hit. Sigh. And..... unfortunately I have to take her back *again* in a couple weeks for some dental work. She's gonna love that.

But let's talk about Nicky and what a good boy he is. Yesterday when I was taking pictures of my knitting projects, he insisted on helping, so I nabbed a few pictures. Enjoy:

Nicky wuvs his mummee.

Ya know how most knitters have a particular fiber that is their favorite to knit with? Nicky's is obviously alpaca. He completely ignored everything else I hauled out of the bag, but when the pink alpaca came out, he went nuts! Or maybe he has a thing for pink. Anyway, here's the play by play:


Alpaca Wrestling

The alpaca is winning....

Bite the alpaca! Bite it!!Bite!

Alpaca? What alpaca? I can't imagine what you mean, mummee. Purrrrr.

I loves my Nicky Boy. And despite my moaning and groaning, I love Nora too.... and Grace, of course!!

I'm baaaaack

Now that July and August are behind me, I can start getting some stuff done! I can't believe how the summer days slip by so fast.

So. I went on a second fabulous knitting cruise in June, and then suddenly it was September and I have already gone on the first of two September knitting cruises! That means I have had (counting on fingers to make sure...) yes, I have had THREE lobster bakes. Yum! And... have met fabulous people, seen gorgeous scenery, viewed beautiful knitted goods, and solved a few knitting problems along the way. It's been great. I took quite a few pictures during the second June knitting cruise, and I will post them on a (soon) later date. For some reason, I really didn't take any pictures on the September cruise. Huh. Sorry bout that. I will try to get more pictures on the last September Knitting Cruise which, by the way, I board in about a week, on Tuesday, Sept. 16! woooohoooo! Lobster bake #4 coming up :))

You might wonder, what have I been knitting? Well I will tell you. On the two June knitting cruises I knit most of a sweater, "Rhinebeck" from Lisa Lloyd's book A Fine Fleece. It is an easy knit, which makes it perfect for a knitting cruise. Actually I haven't done anything too hard lately because of my brain-deadness. I have only one sleeve left to do and also the button band/neck. Pictures:

I'm knitting it with Hemp for Knitting Hempwol, in a color which purports to be purple but which most people view as a brownish gray. I like it. The yarn is not overly heavy, as it is 65% wool and 35% hemp. This makes it feel like a year-round fabric, warm in the winter but comfy in a cool summer evening too. The hemp gives the fabric wonderful drape and silkiness, and a lovely sheen. The fibers were apparently blended and spun, and then dyed, because the hemp did not dye like the wool, giving the knitted fabric a tweedy texture which shows up well in the waffley knitting stitch used in the sweater.

During the last cruise I finished a pair of mittens (meaning I only had to weave in the ends on one mitten. I really took them in case it got cold.) I knit the cover item from Vogue Knitting's Fall issue, Jared Flood's Druid mittens. I loved knitting these:

I wet blocked the mitten on the left; the mitten on the right is unblocked. The unblocked mitten is prettier, but the blocked mitten, while more smooshed and not as crisp looking as the other, is nonetheless softer and nicer to wear. I put them on on the boat and held up my hands to display them, and found the the wind would blow through the unblocked mitten, but did not blow through the blocked mitten as much, making them warmer. The wet blocking made the fibers bloom, filling the air pockets between stitches.

On the same cruise, I finished a pair of socks I began knitting during the July 12 & 13 Blues Festival in Rockland. I had finished sock #1 and had sock #2 about 1/3 done. So I finished that pair of socks. Wooohooo! They are made with Knit One Crochet Too's Soxx Appeal, a lovely wool blend that has lycra in it, making the socks stretchy. They are wonderful to feel, very soft and silky. I love them very, very much! Pics:

So after I finished that pair of socks I worked on another pair. Back in March a lovely sales rep gave me a sample skein of Opal sock yarn to try, and I dutifully cast on to try the yarn. Sadly after about 3 or 4 inches of sock #1 I got sidetracked and completely forgot the Opal socks. While packing for the September knitting cruise, I ran across them and said, sure, why not try to finish them? so I finished the Opal socks. They took longer as they were on 64 stitches instead of 60 and they are knit 2, purl 2 all the way down, which is a little slower than plain stockinette. Here are the little darlings:

I ordered the Opal sock yarn in the Harry Potter colorways, available this fall, a little before the next Harry Potter movie comes out. I have previewed the colors and they are gorgeous! The yarn is great to work with, a nice cushy wool blend. I was not too excited about the color of the above-pictured socks, but the Harry Potter colors are lovely. More on the Harry Potter sock yarn in a future post :)

These luscious Alpaca Socks from Classic Elite were the carrot that got me to finish all the other stuff. This alpaca knits like a dream and it feels so good, it should be illegal. I love it. And that hot pink little bag is a KnowKnits knitting pouch, which is the handiest darned thing. It snaps onto your belt loop or wrist and you can wall all over creation, knitting away. It's lightweight so it is really comfortable, and they aren't expensive either. Yes, I sell them at Unique One so I might be a teensy bit biased, but hey, I only sell stuff that *I* like, after all! Pic:

In non-knitting cruise knitting, I have some sweaters I am working on. A Penobscot Bay Pullover in Christopher Sheep Farm wool:

I am using Signature Needle Arts needles.... I love them very much. These gold ones are size 8. I got the teardrop shaped end and the stiletto points. They are a dream to work with! Close ups:

And see? these needles are something I love but I don't sell them at the store, you have to go to www.signatureneedlearts.com to buy them. Yeah, they're pricey. Oh well.

But! a wonderful, fabulous free thing that I discovered is GREAT for knitting is the little special safety pins that the Life Is Good T-shirts tags are attached with. They are shaped like little light bulbs, with the catch at the bottom, and they are great for marking stitches. I think they also could be used as stitch markers on really small needles, like ones or twos. I will have to experiment. See it:

Last week or so, I started another little short sleeved, summery top using Micro Bamboo Spray (a sport to DK weight bamboo & acrylic yarn from Schachenmayr Nomotta) and I mostly started it to have an excuse to knit with my new blue size 5 Signature Needle Arts needles. This yarn is utterly yummy, so soft and silky and good to wear next to the skin. You can get the yarn at Unique One. Pictures:

And finally, this morning I started a pink scarf in Misti Alpaca chunky. I will tell more about the scarf on a later date, but soon. Here is what I have so far:

This morning started off with a vet visit. You know how those can go. This morning it was Grace's turn. She got poked and prodded and got all her shots. She is a real trooper, no crying or whining was involved. She was a VERY GOOD GIRL. Here is a picture of her after her return:

Doesn't she look happy? Now it is Nick and Nora's turn; they have an afternoon appointment. You know how Nora is. Wish me luck.

(More on cats tomorrow).