HSKS Questionnaire

Had a power knitting session last night (which means I ignored work and my podcast so tonight will be hell) and finished up all the weaving in of Katie's socks so I could give them to here while she was home from school. I also got the ribbing on my, now, favorite socks finished so I have them on my feet as we speak. No washing and blocking this time! All the sock went directly to feet! Finished the swatch for Mom's shawl and it looks like I can go up a needle if I wish. I'll switch out today at lunch and see what I think. She is a small woman so being a little to tight in the gauge wouldn't hurt. The determining factor will be the look of the fabric in the looser gauge. On the HSKS #3 home front I now have my upstream swapping partner, Jennifer, and my downstream partner (the one I am giving gifts to) is Stephanie! That puts me smack dab between two Ravenclaws! It's a good thing they are such nice people, such good representations of their house. But I am also sure they are wishing they could be in Hufflepuff! So here is my questionnaire for HSKS #3 for Jennifer 1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Hufflepuff of course! 2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? I have become a Knit Picks circular needle fan for socks. The are nice, flexible and much more reasonably priced. I like long cables (32" or longer) and small needles (2.5mm or smaller). I currently knit socks with two circulars or one long needle and magic loop it. My favorite direction is toe up but I knit on double points and top down first so I can really go either way. 3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? I am completely open to new options and new experiences. I leave to my wonderful gifting partner to treat me or challenge me. 4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I'm not Ravenclaw but I have been wondering how to do black and yellow attractively so you don't end up looking like a deranged bumblebee! 5. Do you have any allergies? None :-) 6. If you are swapping scarves - what is your desired length for the pattern? I'm in the sock swapping group and I like my socks with solid patterns, cables or very discrete lace. I have been wanting to knit a pair of knee socks so I can play with the calf shaping. So Jennifer and Stephanie I will be gone from Sept 2nd to the 9th and will catch up with you afterwards! Cheers!

Greetings Jennifer!

Jennifer sent me a wonderful email this evening introducing herself as my 'up stream' swap-ster for HSKS3! It is uncanny how much the Hogwarts Sock/Scarf Kit Swappers have in common. Many of us are also in Knit the Classics, many have gold medals from the Knitting Olympics, in fact you can go down the list and find something in common with each person besides just being in the HSKS 3 group and knitting! Check out Jennifer's site and her Etsy shop she has some wonderful earrings and beautiful stitch marker jewelry. I'm still waiting to find out who my buddy is so until then I'll wait patiently on markers and needles.

Golden Snitches and Knitting

For the most part you wouldn't think that Golden Snitches and Knitting would go together but they do! For those of you active in the knit-o-sphere you know that everything is connected to knitting! Yarn is what holds the universe together...I use to think it was duct tape but now I know better. For those of you who doubt this theory well....don't! Trust me it is safer not to doubt this. So HSKS 3 (Hogwarts Sock/Scarf Kit Swap #3) is about to begin and I'm excited already. I joined on a lark to do knit/swap some Hogwarts related silliness not really understanding the complexity of this group! House points, hidden pictures, Golden Snitch loose in the blog-o-sphere...all of this starting on Saturday and I leave for vacation on Sunday and still need to get my astronomy podcast out!!! I hope my house-mates don't hate me!! I'll have to sneak in computer time on Saturday and Sunday before the camping begins. Oh wonderful Hufflepuffs I will do my best!! Hufflepuff Rocks! (image courtesy of BlueSkyTides) I know we get housepoints for posting the HSKS 3 logo on our blog (which I have done) but do we get extra points for posting it on other blogs??? :-) I'm heading out to Medicine Wheel with Mom and Dad next week and taking my September sock for Sock Knitters Anonymous (SKA), I'm knitting up a pair of Jaywalkers with some Tofutsie Yarn and these are the second pair of a dozen socks to knit. Whee! I hope November's choice is a fast and easy sock since I will be NaNoWriMoing it as well. I have NaNoWriMo-ed for the past four years finishing only two of the four years. Hum, I guess a knitted sock will have to be part of the book or maybe even a major character. We shall see. I need to get my sister Kellie involved in NaNoWriMo she is an outstanding writer who would thrive in the NaNoWriMo setting and we would finally be able to see some of her work! I'm rambling so I will sign off now.

Once you get past the embarrasment...

I unearthed a project today and put it into the official WIP line up. It is one of those projects that got pushed to the bottom of the basket for no fault of its own. It did nothing wrong, it wasn't too hard nor was the yarn too split-y, it was just usurped by something more seductive...like socks or perhaps something more important...like a sweater for a child. So it is back in the light and now on the sideboard AND in Ravelry....so it must be official.

Joiner

So I am a joiner. I like to join groups and I like to belong. I like working on similar project as other it doesn't matter where they are as long as there is a way to share and learn from each other. There may be a hint of competitiveness involved but that isn't the driving force. But being a joiner, in the knittingverse has the undeniable consequence of too many project for one pair of hands to knit. But that hasn't stopped me yet...introducing the next KAL/SWAP... This one looks appealing in that I only have to supply the KIT to knit, not actually have to knit the article! They have some nice well defined rule which bodes well for SWAPping fairness. One of the reasons I pick my SWAPs carefully! I have watched to other Hogwarts themed KALs and SWAPs with interest so when this one came up I just jumped right in! On a different note I have been busily photographing my current projects and I am just about up to date with the WIP. They are currently on the Flickr badge on the right sidebar and on my Ravelry page. Okay enough of that, back to work.

Badges! We need those stinkin' badges

So Brenda Dayne over at Cast On has some wonderful adult "Scout type" badges knitters can earn. I definatly have earned the knitting while intoxicated badge and the Knitting innovation badge....now I just have to decide between the "Happy Camper" or "Badgewhore" banner! I am always jealous come Court of Honor time when I hand out badges to my Scouts so this is just right up my alley. I wonder how the would react to my badges!

Where was I!

Apparently I received an invite to Ravelry a couple of weeks ago and completely missed it in my inbox! How stupid was that! So here I am, resisting the urge to go hit the 'where are you now in the que' button and finally sucumb only to find out I am already in...sometimes I wonder which stash my brain fell into. Any way, I'm off with a new distraction to eat up time I don't really have! Wahoo!

Yet another good cause

Many of you are already long time participants with the Red Scarf program but it looks like our Brownie Troop is going to participate as well! Go Brownies! They are only 2nd graders but we have our college bound big-sister-Senior-Scouts to get them started. I predict some knitting, some crocheting, some knitting machine work, and some knitting loom scarves in the near future. The scarves all go to the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) and are sent with Valentine's Day care packages to kids who have aged out of the Foster Care system and into higher education or trade schools. I am big on education so I love the idea of encouraging them to continue with their studies. I think about my own daughter and all the support she gets from all of her family members...everyone is there to back her up....and it is a little sad to think of someone else not getting the same personal boost. If this helps then I'll be happy.

Decisions....decisions.....

Ack!! I signed up for the Bee Shawl KAL and have the yarn ordered when wouldn't you know it Anne came out with a stole version...Stung! So the dilemma which to knit; Honey Bee Stole (I like Stung better) or Bee Fields Shawl? The names are pretty great either way. Honey Bee Stole Bee Fields Shawl Click image for ordering information I'm not sure if this is going to be for myself or my mother. I was going to make the decision after it was finished. Now I also have MS3-Swan Lake in the works so maybe the second stole will even out the total 'wrap' wish list which is currently at 2 Pi-type shawls and 2 stoles. Then again, maybe I just need to listen to the yarn. Fortunately the amount of yarn I ordered would allow either. Another irony....I'm allergic to bees!