Here are pictures of the much loved Elfine's socks.

Toe up & lacey they are lovely and so fast. As are all of Anna's sock patterns. Yahaira & I think it may be voodoo in her patterns. How else could they be so fast? Either way I'm not knockin it.

I used my Knit picks "dye your own" sock yarn & 4 packs of strawberry kool aid for the color. I'm pretty surprised by the vivid color (kool aid tends to be a bit flat).

There is nothing I don't love about these socks. While lace is difficult to memorize (for me at least) these follow such a simple pattern that it becomes evident where the stitches go.

Anna has my vote for the best sock patterns. Mind you I've only knit 3 pairs but 2 have been hers & I love them! Love them I say!

Thanks for all the comments about our buttons. It is a really cool opportunity. Hopefully they will sell like hotcakes!

Don't forget tomorrow!

Flash your stash




Go forth & flash ladies!!

Can I not remember to buy batteries for my camera????

My elfine's are done. I will reserve my usual gushing about how great Anna's patterns are until I post a picture tomorrow. Be prepared for deja vu!

In other news this week, I'm tired. I've been working long hours which is fine but it's really left me drained. No time for pilates class & too much coffee. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday! Yippee! I love Fridays!!

I've decided that April will be selfless knitting month. I do a lot, I mean A LOT of knitting for myself. I was inspired by Jennie's post as well as the need for some thoughtful, lovingly created gifts for my friend Kim & my sister, Corrie. I do love knitting for others but I worry that I'll work really hard & have it tossed off as in "oh well I could have bought that at Target". Lucky for me my sis asked for an Accidentally on Purpose vest (and I love her enough to do all that stst) and Kim is a novice knitter who appreciates anything handknit now that she has tried her hand at it!

I'm also doing some stashbusting this weekend by using some random skeins I have to make Jess Hutch's adorable bunny for the babes in my life.

Oh & before I forget, our buttons are now available at Highly Atomic Vintage Clothing in Syracuse, NY. They have been so great to work with & have tons of amazing stuff up in their ebay auctions as well as in their brick & mortar store. Stop by & check them out!

And because I think posts are always more fun with pictures I leave you with Me & Max knitting Isaac's Dr. Who scarf back in January.



Believe it or not he never tries to play with the yarn. He just likes to be a part of the creative process!

I really love being up early on a Saturday morning with coffee & NPR on in the background.

Thanks for all the ideas for names for my Wee one! There were all so great it was hard to choose. I finally decided on "Speck" (short for spectrum) courtesy of Coleen. Oh & Jennie it's not all that "wee", actually the height with ears included is 10 inches.

YAY!! Isaac just walked in with the mail & what did I receive but my postcard from Maryse for the project spectrum postcard swap.



Look at those crocheted flowers! They are so lovely! It's like a little piece of art!! I need to find a place to hang it! Thank you so much Maryse! It's been great fun swapping with you!

If any of you are wondering what I sent Maryse, well I forgot to take a picture of it but, it can be seen here on Maryse's blog.

I didn't get much opportunity to knit this week so I don't have any progress shots. I've decided that Cherie probably won't be finished til' the fall. Just because it's one of those really functional knits. It's slow on size 5's & 6's and I'm constantly distracted by all the new, interesting knits out there. I am determined to finish it though! Even if it's during the hottest part of the summer!

In better knitting news my elfine's will be done any day now! After that I'm taking a break from socks and jumping into birthday knitting for my sister and my friend Kim. I'm undecided on Kim's gift yet but my sister has requested a, get this, Accidentally on Purpose vest. EEK! Talk about boring knitting! Oh well, it's for my sister so I guess I can go through all the stockinette stitch again. *sigh*

Bryony was kind enough to point out that I am one of the last knit bloggers in the world to have not done this meme so, here it is.

4 jobs I've had:
1. Dog walker at a pet resort. Upside it was fun to be around animals all day. Downside? Poop & getting bitten 3 times in one summer!
2. Runner/bartender. This was a great job. I worked at one of the most popular bars inJacksonvillee & got to hang out with some of my favorite bands. The highlights? Meeting Mike Ness, They might be giants, De la Soul & thedead milkmenn. The lowpoint- dealing with blink 182. UGH!
3. Preschool teacher- I think that says it all!
4. Barista- at this job it was clearly more about how short our uniforms were than how good the coffee was.

4 films I can watch over and over:
1. Spinal Tap
2. Ever After
3. Rushmore
4. Spirited Away


4 tv shows I love to watch:
1. Venture Brothers
2. Iron Chef America
3. Lost
4. Law & Order


4 places I've lived:
1. San Diego CA
2. Tuscon, AZ
3. Jacksonville, FL
4. Decatur, GA


4 places I've been on holiday:
1. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2. London/Paris
3. Asheville, NC
4. Cozumel, Mexico


4 websites I visit daily:
1. Bloglines
2. Craftster
3. Etsy
4. Flickr


4 fave yarns:
1. Blue Sky Alpaca
2. Cascade 220
3. Rowan Kidsilk Haze
4. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino


4 websites I'm tagging:

Well as Byronry pointed out I'm one of the last knitbloggers to do this but I will also use the "I'm pointing a finger at" Coleen, Jennie and Horse Power.

Meet my bunny, no name yet. Any ideas?

Made from Hillary Lang's nifty Wee Bunny pattern.

Isaac will be home in just over an hour! YAY!!

I agree with those of you that said a little alone time is good. I actually love being alone in the house, which is not to say I don't enjoy my husbands company! It's just the way I grew up. I was a total latch key kid in a neighborhood that had no other kids. Every afternoon I would be home for around 2 hours by myself before my mom got home. I suppose that is where my craftiness sprang from. I was always doing something reading, cooking, painting, cross-stitch, trying to teach the dog to walk on a balance beam (it got really boring in my neck of the woods).

It's served me well over the years especially in dealing with Isaac. Not only is he often gone a couple of weeks a year but we work totally different schedules. While I get home at 5:00pm he gets home at 10:00pm. It gives me a lot of time to knit or sew or watch mindless TV shows he would never watch. As much as I love my time alone I still get excited when I hear his footsteps on the walk! I'm a really lucky girl.

Thanks for all the compliments on the skirt. I am really hooked on sewing. I love skirts and I really can't wait til I really master all those skills. I have this dream of making the majority of my own clothes- either knit or sewn. So this was one giant leap for me!

How about sew a skirt?



My finished skirt for Sew? I knit! as well as a lovely red for Project Spectrum

I used Betsy Ross pattern 001 "One Hot Skirt" and some random fabric I got at Jo-Ann's last year.

I can't express how much I love this skirt. Over at the sew along there were comments made about the skirt being on the actual waist vs. on the hips as so many of us wear our skirts these days. So I made it one size bigger & got the perfect fit on my hips.

Putting in the zipper was the only real challenge I had. I thought I had it on the first try when I realized that I had sewn the skirt on to itself closing part of the waist! OOPS! It was easily remedied but in the moment I was less than pleased.

I can't wait to make another skirt with this pattern & with some skills under my belt! The pattern is really honestly so well written & easy to follow I would highly recommend it to a novice sewer.

So, now I'm off to celebrate! I think I will curl up with a glass of wine, my elfine socks & A Very Long Engagement. My idea of a perfect Saturday home alone!!

Things I adore this week:

1. The Silver Jews

They were one of my favorite bands before I got to see them live on both Friday & Saturday nights. The shows only cemented their place in my heart. I don't think I can put into words how amazing these shows were without sounding like I had been brainwashed by a cult. Seriously. These were the first real shows of the first ever tour of a band that has been making astounding music since 1989. Yes, we all waited long enough.

Pictures from the Athens show are here if you are interested.

2. Cable & Tweed

A lovely music blog I found last week before the Silver Jews shows. Lots of coverage of local GA music. Check it out for some great mp3's & full downloads of both of the Georgia Silver Jews shows.

3. Band Propaganda

I have been working hard on propaganda for the the cadets and their show at (but not affiliated with) south by southwest. If you guys are in Austin on the 18th check them out. Directions & info at Discos Mariscos

Patches:


Shirts:




4. Elfine's socks

Knit up in my "dye your own" strawberry kool aid concoction.

Here's a tease:



These knit up so fast! I have already almost finished one!!

5. Project Spectrum.

It's great fun noticing all the reds & pinks in the world. Wednesday, photos of all the reds & pinks in my world!

Then you guys must love me!!! Sorry for my extra long absence. Time has really gotten away from me!

Last week we went to St. Petersburg Beach in FL to be in Isaac's sisters wedding. We were down there for 6 days & it was really lovely! The weather was perfect, we got to soak up some sun & swim in the ocean (it's one thing I miss about moving away from FL).

Bonnie & Mike had a wonderful ceremony & an excellent reception. It was one serious party! I know they will have a wonderful life together!

We got back into town last night & I am still beat! There hasn't been much knitting or crafting going on but I have things to show from last week!

Like my first ever gocco print! Isaac did the illustration for the buttons I give away with each order in out etsy shop but I saw some serious potential. It makes a really cute card! These are FAR from perfect but it was fun & easy! It's really too bad the gocco has been discontinued. I already stocked up on supplies.

I managed to work on a two in one project today!! Since it's now March 7th I need to get cracking on my Sew, I knit project as well as my Reds/Pinks projects for project spectrum. So today I managed to cut my pattern & fabric for my Red polka dot skirt. I really love this fabric & cutting the skirt wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Hopefully the sewing won't be either!

Tonight I'm working on my postcard for the project spectrum postcard swap. My swap partner Maryse is one crafty cat! In an odd turn of events we have the same exact wedding anniversary, month & day! I guess great minds think alike!

Now, I'm off to dye some sock yarn with Strawberry kool-aid. I think it's destined to become a pair of elfines I know I said I was going to use my bluejeans for them but I want to cast on now & work on something project spectrum related! I think I will save the bluejeans for June!