OFFF and so many other things....

The girls (or, a few of, as two of us were MIA) of We Heart Yarn enjoyed the festivities and getting together at OFFF (Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival) last Saturday. It was a gorgeous day, filled with luscious yarn, lots & lots and lots & lots of fiber, and great conversation. Clockwise from left to right (starting at the back): Michelle from Another Knitting Blog, Jen (Woolgirl), Gail (NK), Shannon, and right in the front is our wonderful friend and knitting buddy, Iris. As I said before, Emily and Julie were MIA, but both for good reasons, so we forgive them this time!

I, myself, didn't go overboard this year, as I have tended to do in the past and like I did at Black Sheep. Although it was only a few months ago, it seems like years, an eternity even, so it justified me spending some money at OFFF, but I did seem to keep it somewhat under control. I can't say the same for others (and you know who you are!), however. But we won't go into that here. Here are a few of the STR colors I acquired:















From bottom to top: Fire on the Mountain, Lucy, and In the Navy.

We (meaning all We Heart Yarners + Iris) also purchased Rocktober in STR medium weight, and have decided to do our own KAL on this very blog, starting October 1st, of course. The goal: First and foremost, to participate in Socktoberfest, this month long "celebration of socks". Secondly, of course, to get the socks done by the end of the month! :) Check out this gorgeous colorway (the blues, yellows, oranges, reds, greens, purples, etc etc etc!) This yarn is just popping with color and asking to be knitted during this glorious month we call October.















What does October mean, after all? Here in the NW part of the country, it means that the days begin to cool and the nights start getting nice and crisp. Trees begin to turn into these brilliant golds, reds, and somewhat mystical shades of orange. October means pumpkins and Halloween and candy. Ghosts and goblins, witches and princesses. It means the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, counting acorns, birds beginning to travel south for the winter. October means football games, the sound of the band playing your school song, and the familiar smile that brings to your face. October means that it's time to finally pull out the winter jackets, that it might rain a little more than it did in September, and that Thanksgiving is around the corner. Crisp honey apples, the smell of burning brush, and pumpkin spice each fill the air. And if you look closely, very very closely, you will see each of these things represented in Rocktober (and so much more!)

Stay posted for more on these lovely October socks. We are not officially supossed to start the socks until October 1st, but rumor has it, one of us has cast on. Hmmmm.........

A couple of updates on finished projects also ~

I finally decided to follow the masses and started to knit with Sweet Georgia Speed Demon. The only thing that comes to mind is "I think I'm in LOVE!!!!!!" The socks knitted up so fast (or I knitted them so fast, not sure which), but either way, they were fast and done before my eyes, it seemed. So this:














Quickly became this:














and this:














and this:















Of course, I had to drive straight away to Dublin Bay in Portland (as they started carrying Sweet Georgia yarn) and purchase some more of this speedy stuff! I am now also the proud owner of Black Orchid and Kissed Speed Demon. NK, shame on you for getting me addicted to this stuff! :)

I will leave you with these two final thoughts....














Isn't Kissed Lovely?

And,














Lady, you are crazy for buying so much yarn! :)

Autumn!!!!

Posted by Neuroknitter

Ahhhh.....finished Boheme's....ala SweetGeorgia!! Soft, comfy...Perfect apparel for the onset of autumn here in the Pacific NW!!

And finished Hedera's...I finished these quite awhile ago, but couldn't remember if I had actually posted about them! Here they are! Knit in STR...in the most awesome County Clare colorway!!! The heels are in a contrasting Dale of Norway Baby Ull yarn...sassy, huh?

What's on the needles now you might ask....hmmmm....y'all will just have to come back and check my next post....!!

Happy knitting!

the first rule of sock wars

posted by Agent S

stardate, 092506.0943.

the sock wars have begun. The universe is in turmoil. And there are mere days to set it right. Although I swore that my days as an assassin were over after the assignment gone wrong, oh, so many years ago, when one is called to action, resistance is futile. This is a worlds-wide war, and there are many able-bodied assassins, willing to do what it takes to accomplish their goals. I, on the other hand, have other…obligations, which have precluded me from zeroing in on my target. Time is of the essence, and failure is unacceptable. The fate of the universe rests squarely on my shoulders, and for that, I must knit. And knit. And knit.

Cute as buttons....

PRAY FOR SUN, PRAY FOR SUN!!!!! (We are having a conference for the next couple of days, and a dinner on a boat, so we are praying for sun!)

by wg

My sis and her 5 children (yes, 5 children) were here a few weeks ago visiting, and, I must say, there is just not an easy way to prepare for having 5 children running wild throughout your home. All of the chidren are 12 and under, with the youngest being 2. It was 4 days of sheer wild and crazy times - someone always wanting to eat, making mess after mess after mess, lots of pulling blankets and hair, fighting over this and that (the typical sibling wars), and on and on and on. There always seemed to be some mysterious stickiness on the floor that nobody knew how it had gotten there (we all know how this goes), some wet spot on the carpet that could be water, or it could be apple juice, or it could be something entirely different, like baby slobber or ????? (I will leave that up to your imagination). I honestly do not know how my sister does it day after day after day! She has asked herself this same question many times over. "You mean I have to get up today and deal with this whole thing over again?" (words directly from her mouth) Oh the love of a mother! Someday it will all be worth it!



We did have some very fun times while they were here, despite the craziness of it all, and ended up trekking the 9 of us (the 5 kids, my sister, my daughter, my husband, and me) up to the zoo in Portland (which is an awesome zoo, by the way), and we spent the good part of a day there. The kids really enjoyed the butterfly exhibit, which, I must also say, was really awesome. Where else can you go where the most butterflies can land on you, just randomly, and do so pretty regularly throughout the exhibit. It's quite awesome. I took a few photos of the butterflies we encounterd that day. The kids were convinced that the color of your shirt totally depicted what color of butterly landed on you. There actually is a little bit of truth to this, but how much I'm not entirely sure. It really does depend on body temperature and warm and cool colors, I guess. Hmmmmmm........ Well, anyway, they were just beautiful!












































On the knitting homefront, a few days ago I finished the Sundara Test Knit Sweater, in Blue Lagoon colorway. It's lovely, but unfortunately I can only provide photos that don't exactly show off the sweater, as it's not out for publication just yet:


































So, now that this sweater is complete, socks are on the way. I am a little behind in the socks stats, but hope to make that up shortly. Socks are on my mind!!!!

I will leave you with this lovely acquisition I made last night....

















It's Sweet Georgia Speed Demon Sock yarn in the Black Orchid colorway
that I found at Dublin Bay. Yum!

Sockapalooza

by Emily
So I've been a little busy lately - with actual work no less! This may be my first month where I made as much writing as I did at my "real" job. BUT, that is no reason for neglecting my adoring public... or not posting. So here's a little peek at socks I've finished and am working on!
The pink ones are using Sockotta, which Matt got me for our first Christmas together when we had just started dating. I haven't been able to wear them yet as I got so friggin sick of them while I was knitting and knitting and knitting the tiny little yarn.
The green ones are using the Sock Hop I got from the other WHY gals for my bday and knit up using, what else, but NK's toe up pattern. I needed something thick and quick after the last pair! These are just heaven - nothing fancy but sooooo soft and comfy.
Finally, now I'm working on Baudelaire from Knitty, done in BMFA in Amethyst. It's a fun pattern - interesting enough to keep you busy, but easy to memorize and quick to knit. Plus, Cookie even includes optional instructions for high insteps! I didn't pay any attention to gauge, but the smallest size with the high instep modification fits my size 8 feet to a tee. I followed her gusset heel instructions, but did substitute NK's toe as it rules. Seriously. It's the best.

A picture's worth....

Posted by Neuroknitter

...a thousand words...here're some pics (some might be only worth a couple of words...oh well!)

Finished Hippy Crunchy socks in Peaseblossom.

Mods: Picot edge (so out of character for me, no?) and decreased 6 stitches on the sole side following the short row heel to achieve a snugger fit.

SweetGeorgia speed demon yarn in Boheme,

Garden Party,

and River.

A few extra words for inquiring minds: all the speed demon socks are my own patterns, toe up with a figure 8 cast on and a short row heel. rib patterns selected from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I've been fine tuning the fit, but am fairly pleased with size 4 Addi turbos, between 46-52 stitches around the foot, and 48-50 stitches around the leg.

Did I mention, I heart SweetGeorgia!



Dear sweet Gibson playing in 'sock hop' roving in Great Balls of Fire from Crown Mountain Farms!

A spider in our garden (thanks Pete!).

Knit On!

stuck in the frog pond

posted by ssssss




drowning, trying to swim but not quite being able to, living in the pond...i have been frogging like crazy the last few days.

first of all, the str sock club socks. let me begin by saying it's a fabulously gorgeous stitch pattern. and the yarn is simply to die for. let me follow that up by saying, it's not easy. the pattern requires more hard-core concentration than i am willing or able to spare at this moment in time. by sunday, a full month plus from the date this packet was received, i had made it through a mere two of the three pattern repeats on the cuff of the first sock. that's, like, 20 percent or something of the finished product, and we are getting our newest kit in a few weeks. i love the look of the hippie crunchie, but just can't see myself devoting the time to actually completing both socks, especially before we get the new kits. it was a difficult decision, one i wrestled with for a few weeks, but in the end, i decided to dive right in to that murky, algae-infested pond. i frogged. and now, i can use that beautiful yarn to work on a pair of socks that i can actually complete in a timely fashion. that stitch pattern, though - i can see it in a scarf or a wrap, and i don't think this is the last it has seen of me.


and then, last night, i came to a realization regarding the sweet georgia speed demons i am working on (colorway = rainforest). the cuff is gonna be too big. yeah, nk, i know, you tried to tell me, but i wasn't listening. so, i ripped and i ripped and i ripped. and now i have something wierd going on with the yarn, which has caused me to put the socks down before i do any more damage, because it is causing me entirely too much stress. i was a bit zealous in my frogging, and i frogged without thinking it through, so that sweet, soft, lovely yarn is glaring at me from the couch, and i am doing my best to ignore it, because the fear that i will really 'f' it up is strong, ladies, very very strong.



the major problem i have with frogging is that i get a bit angry at both myself and that which i have frogged, and sometimes go foraging for a kinder, gentler project. which means that these skeins of sock hop have been beckoning me...whispering sweet nothings in my ear, something along the lines of:

oh, s, please play with me...i won't let you down...you won't ever need to frog me...i am such an instantly gratifying pair of socks, come play, wind me, cast me on, ignore everything else...fuggedabout rainforest-y greenies...fuggedabout peaseblossoms...play with me...

on another note, if you look over to the sidebar, you will see a running total of socks completed in 2006 by each wehearyarner. as the lovely but way too rational neuroknitter pointed out to me, i padded my numbers just a bit by counting that pair of babysocks as a full pair. to which i responded, well, knit some babysocks then, girl! :) hee. hee. so, i will update that in the next few days, grudgingly taking out the babysocks, because, come on, they are BABY SOCKS!!!