Por moi? Et SP neuf.

And that's about the limit of my French. So, rough day at work Friday, but I came home to not only my awesome SRS package (thanks, Meera!) but a note from my SP9 pal! Plus I have knitting news, pictures of her Beckiness, my SP9 questionnaire, and pictures of my swag. So, this is going to be a super long post -- sorry.

Swag

Check out this gorgeous silk/merino Meera dyed just for me!



You can see more of her stuff at her etsy store or her blog. I absolutely love the colors and although the patterns she sent me were for either gloves or wrist warmers (Voodoo Wrist Warmers and Urban Rustic Gloves, both from Knitty -- not Meera's fault, but how annoyed was I when I saw a pair of ribbed gauntlets after I spent all that time designing a pair! To think I could have just gone to Knitty and saved myself the trouble! The thumb is totally different, though, and mine are stretchier, which I like. But still.), I think I'm going to spin it up and knit something fun for the Beckster, though I might keep the pink for me. These are the kinds of colors I just love to put her in, and anything that's yummy next to her skin is a winner for me.

And, here's a pic of the card I got from my spoiler:



Isn't it lovely? It looks handmade and I think it's just adorable. I can't wait to see what she sends next! I have some serious plans for my spoilee, too...haven't decided if I'll share them here or not.

Becky


Isn't she just the cutest thing you ever saw? Yeah, me, too.

She hates carrots, loves her mommy and daddy, and is transitioning well to formula. Tomorrow, we try bananas.

Knitting

I seem to be constitutionally unable to finish a knitting project on a deadline. Translation: I did not finish the second ribbed gauntlet in time for Otherworld (good thing I didn't rip out that first non-ribbed one, huh?). Now, I am not willing to take full blame for this -- Chris went and found a route to Pomfret that shaved an hour and a half off our travel time. An hour and a half! I'm all for less time in the car, but that seriously cut into my knitting time. Those of you who are keeping track will realize that also means I didn't get nearly as much done on my Rhinebeck sweater as I thought I would. In fact, I didn't knit a single stitch last weekend. Things are not looking good for me to meet that deadline, either. People who are expecting something for Christmas, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Knitting lessons, on the other hand, are going incredibly well. Erica and Avy both are doing well (even though Erica doesn't think she is). It's funny to watch the two of them and how differently they approach knitting. Avy is definitely a process knitter -- she even taught herself to purl a couple of weeks ago because it was the weekend and I wasn't around and she decided she wanted to know. That Monday she brought in about a foot and a half of a perfect stockinette stitch scarf with a lovely little purl ridge pattern that she'd made first by accident and then decided she liked out so figured out how she'd done it and just kept going. Erica, on the other hand, sees knitting as a means to an end. She wants to make stuff. When we walked into the yarn store to buy the yarn for the scarf she's making, she was already planning her next five or six projects. Since I am, at heart, a project knitter much more than a process knitter, I totally understand where she's coming from. I tend to teach myself new techniques only when I want to make something that involves them.

SP9
(Apologies to my fab spoiler -- I really did mean to get this up sooner. It's been a rough week.)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I wasn't a yarn snob until just recently -- I think maybe because my time is so much more limited now, and also because I finally feel confident that I can do beautiful, expensive yarns justice. I've also just started knitting socks, so having to buy less of the good stuff to complete a project is a definite bonus. Right now I'm loving Lisa Souza. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. Oh, and I'm allergic to guard hair. Yes, it's an allergy, and no, it's not to lanolin, dye, or any processing chemical. There's an actual rash, and it happens with anything that's from an animal and isn't merino, alpaca, or superwash. No, I do not count silkworms as animals.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A little makeup case. I just got a new one to replace the one I'd been using for the past 6 or so years -- it was getting a little skeevy.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Hmmmm...I would say it depends on what I'm making. I'm advanced at cables and bobbles, intermediate at lace, and definitely a beginner when it comes to color work.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Technically yes, but no not really. I have things on my B&N list, but they're really just there as reminders (and mostly for my husband), so let's just pretend I said "no."

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Although I like most fruity stuff, I have some kind of weird allergy to something that's used in lots of scented products so I always have to sniff stuff before I buy it.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes, but I'm trying to lose the rest of my baby fat (and then some).

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I: spin, weave, dye, do paper crafts, sew, quilt, make jewelry, make soap, embroider (okay, the last two I haven't done for awhile, but I still have all the supplies and will probably get back to them one of these days).

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have nearly 5,000 songs on my MP3 player -- please don't send me more music!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love purples, greens, blues...lately I've been on an orange kick, too. Oh, and reds...yummy. Really the only color I don't like is pale yellow, though I don't mind a spot of it here and there in a variegate.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have the best husband ever and a super sweet daughter (see Becky, above). No pets right now (well, Slappy and Austin, but they live down at the junkyard).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, yes; hats, yes (usually to match the scarf); mittens, no (thinking about modifying the gauntlets to have a foldover...but what would I do about the thumb?); ponchos, yes.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Sweaters, hands down. I am loving socks, too, though.

13. What are you knitting right now?
What am I not knitting right now? I've got the Rhinebeck sweater, the rest of that second gauntlet, my second Sock, the baby sweater to replace the Mexicali, the Manly Muffler, the sweater I want to submit to Knitty. Probably more that I can't remember.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Love to!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Wooden circs (or DPNs for socks). Bamboos are my economic second choice...though I did just find (and buy) a bunch of rosewoods for about the same price as bamboos from Herschnerr's. I lust after glass needles -- damn that LimeNViolet!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I am lucky enough to own two of each.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
We don't talk about The Paisley Sweater of '90.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
International Talk Like a Pirate Day

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Hobbies, apparently.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Hmmmm...nothing I can think of. I'm intersted in Socks That Rock, but am waiting until Rhinebeck when I can touch it for myself to jump on that bandwagon. I subscribe to IK and VK...also Spin Off and Handwoven (which I know are not knitting magazines, but are still fiber related so I thought I'd mention them).

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I think I'm finally ready for Fair Isle...I'm going to do the We Call Them Pirates hat in the sadly discontinued Crystal Palace Romance. Mmmmm...luscious.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have knit an sock...not sure that makes me a sock knitter, but I do plan on knitting additional socks, so maybe. Measurements are not handy at the mo, but I have big feet. I didn're realize how big until I knit that sock.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
Feb. 28. It was not a leap year, so no, I was not "almost a leap year baby" (can you tell I get that a lot?).

posted by Laura Y. @ 3:02 PM