Finished Leaves and Hunting for Scavengers

A quick thanks for all the comments! It was really nice to see so many lurkers reveal themselves!

As I said, I was really addressing my personal chagrin with my inability to leave comments thanks to my ISP but I'm glad it got so many to say hi! And please never, never think any comment is too insignificant or "unoriginal"....even a "me too" is appreciated and welcome!

I've finished knitting the wonderful Embossed Leaves socks, see?

Specs:

Pattern: Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt for Interweave Knits Magazine Winter 2005

Size #1 (2.5 mm) 40" Addi Turbo circ and Magic Loop method

Koigu PPPM, 2 skeins (with lots left over!) color #616

Mods: As I stated previously, the 1 x 1 rib cast-on suggested in the magazine is NOT the tubular cast-on the designer used. After trying out both I ended up using my standard German Twisted cast-on because I felt it looked best with the twisted ribbing and was more stretchy than the 1 x 1 rib cast-on.

I also added a YO short row heel (without mini flap this time) and rather than the SSK suggested by the pattern to form the leaves, I used a K2tog thru the back look because I find it much "smoother" than the SSK and more closely resembles the K2tog.

Lastly, I grafted the last toe stitches closed rather than the "purse-string" closure the pattern suggests because I felt it would be much more comfortable for wearing.

I loved knitting these beautiful socks....great pattern, quick knit and stunning outcome. I will absoulutely knit these again!


Now the ladies over at JenLa have thrown down the gauntlet of a blog scavenger hunt and far be it from me to shy away from a challenge! So here goes.....

1. A blog which you think people have not discovered. Everything here is pure beauty....her cooking, her home, her knitting, her life.

2. A blog whose author lives close to you physically. Just get as close as you can, it’s all relative. Catherine, who's a bit north of me but she feels like a next door neighbor.

3. An unusual or weird animal picture. Angora on the half shell

4. An entry that made you laugh and got you strange looks from family or co-workers. The infamous "Ass Tree" post

5. An idea you wish you’d thought of. Some hate em, many love em but almost everybody has tried em or wants to! Addi Turbos

6. Something you’d like to knit. Oregon

7. A picture of something you consider beautiful. Kris' view

8. A blog whose author you’d like to one day meet in person. Ack!! there as so many so I'll give you my top 3: Margene Liz and of course La

9. A blog of someone you have already met in person. My patient and wonderful Knit Group organizer, Kim

To sign off, here's the P-Man hanging out in his "garden" (my tablecloth!)


He says, "Even tho it was already 88 degrees here today, Happy Spring to all!"

When all else fails, Meme!

Whenever I visit a friend's house for the first time, I try to bring a little something that says "thanks for having me over, friend" to show my appreciation.
In the blog world, the comments we leave are our gifts that say thanks for entertaining me and allowing me to share a bit of your world!

Now I won't get off on much of a rant about how sad it makes me that I get 300 visitors some days and *only* six comments because I can only speak for myself. I REALLY try to leave a comment on every blog I visit over the course of a week however AOL has other ideas! Haloscan, Typepad, even Blogger wont let me comment on some blogs so this is my way of saying a general "thanks for having me, I love reading your blog and would comment if I could!" to all the truly wonderful bloggers out there who enrich my life in so many ways!

Now would it KILL ya to comment? :)

On to the knitting content.....the pickin's are pretty slim as far as interesting pics go cause......

My Diamond Fantasy Shawl looks the same. I'm on pattern repeat 8 of 10 but the rows are loooong now so progress is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

My Carnival Afghan medallions look the same. I have 18 medallions now but I've decided I need 100 because I want to cover my queen size bed!! I'm gonna be making those medallions for quite a while, good thing I'm loving the crochet! But again, once you've seen a medallion, you've seen em all.

I have made pic worthy progress on the Embossed Leaves socks, see?

I actually think this may be my favorite sock EVER!! The pattern is well written and easy to memorize, goes really fast, looks super sharp and this koigu is just so delicious! The color is so hard to capture...it's got rust, apricot, gold, olive green and it makes me happy just to look at it! I've actually already turned the heel of the second sock so I'll have a finished pair very soon altho I do plan to make these beautiful socks again!

I've also completed some blue squares to Comfort Jef because Christine is such a good sister and she's hard at work making a beautiful blue afghan for her brother Jef. Pumpkin sends his seal of approval and lots of kitty comfort Jef!


Not much in the way of knitting so I'll share this meme I stole from Kim

A-Age: 39 (and holding, hehe)
B-Bed size: Queen
C-Chore you hate: IRONING!!
D-Dessert you love: Key Lime Pie. anything by either Ben or Jerry, hehe
E-Essential start your day item: Diet Coke!!!
F-Favorite actor(s): Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington, Russel Crowe, Nicolas Cage
G-Gold or Silver: gold
H-Height: 5'3 (on a good day)
I-Instruments you play: kazoo :)
J-Job title: Oncology Clinical Specialist
K-Keeping track of your day: a MILLION lists!
L-Living arrangements: Just me and the P-Man
M-Mom's name: Rosalyn
N-Not liking right now: Condo's Property Management company (Miami Management SUCKS!) More importantly, the situation in South Dakota
O-Overnight hospital stay other than birth: tonsillectomy, cholecystectomy
P-Place you were born: Hialeah, Florida
Q-Quote you like: " I drank WHAT??? - Socrates
R-Right or left handed: right
S-Siblings: 1 younger brother WHO HAS A BIRTHDAY TODAY! Happy Birthday Bro!
T-Time you woke up today: 6:39 am
U-Unique habit: If I see a coin on the ground I will only pick it up if it's heads up (tails is bad luck!)
V-Vegetable you hate: Squash
W-Worst habit: can I tell ya later? wait!! it's procrastination!!!
X-X-rays you've had: torso/internal organs, hand, foot...25 external beam treatments and a 3 day implant as well
Y-Yummy food you can make: Pasta Puttanesca
Z-Zodiac sign: Virgo

Consider yourself tagged if you feel a meme coming on too!

Have a fabulous weekend and to the *Irish* among us (or those that wish they were) Happy St. Patrick's Day!! May the road rise up to meet you and your stash be full of Koigu!

Back to the "C" word, finished socks and more socks

Thanks for all the compliments on my tutorial and my beautiful darning egg! I really love it and it makes doing Special K MUCH easier!

A lot of you asked where I got it and I'm sorry to say I honestly don't know! I found the artisan who carved it in a Net search about 3-4 years ago. After some moves, hurricanes and computer crashes, sadly I have NO IDEA who this talented artist was!

I've googled my fingers to the bone, hehe, but I cannot find anything on the Net like this beautiful object!

My only suggestion is to look at local craft fairs or fiber festivals if you want a new one like mine (and fear using a lightbulb is an accident waiting to happen!)

You can also find vintage darning eggs in local flea markets, antique shows/shops and there are LOTS on EBay and the prices are reasonable. I even purchased one for a friend as a Christmas present from Elann, right Ada?

Darning eggs aren't mandatory for sock knitting but they sure do make things easier so I hope you all find a darning egg of your own!

Speaking of socks, here are my Lacy Scallops that I will be sending to my Sockapaloooza pal in a few months. I hope she likes them!!

Specs:

Pattern: Lacy Scallops designed by Sock Bug

Mods: I used 72 stitches as the pattern called for and got the required 8 sts/inch but my sock pal indicated that her feet are on the fluffy side so I eliminated the calf shaping the pattern suggests. I also worked more pattern repeats for the leg as my pal likes a taller sock. I subbed *my patented* yo short row with mini-flap/gusset heel.

I used Twinkletoes yarn in an unnamed pinky-orange colorway and size #1 US (2.25 mm) Aero DPNs. I've had the yarn in stash for about a year and to be honest it was NOT as soft as I hoped altho it got much better after washing and a final rinse with some Redken conditioner :) Even tho the yarn wasn't great the colorway was glorious!! I actually contacted the artist, Mary Anne, and turned her on to Knitpicks Dye Your Own which is yummy soft because I felt her awesome talents deserved better yarn (and it's actually a few cents cheaper than the Henry's Attic yarn she had been using!) So the good news is if you want to sample some of the nicest dyeing expertise I've ever encountered paired with lovely yarn, head on over to Lotusblossom! Her superwash sock yarn is nice too!

Now for the crochet portion of today's broadcast! The additional Shine yarn for my Carnival Afghan arrived yesterday and I've already crocheted 4 more medallions for a total of ten! Here's the color scheme......


Isn't it pretty? I'm a green lover but I wanted some punch so I think the "apricot" and "sand" really work well with the greens without being dull or garish!

I love crocheting these medallions! They are so quick and cute and the Shine is so delicious!

Have no fear, I won't be going over to the "crochet side" and abandoning knitting but this sure is fun and different. Plus I'm gonna end up with the machine washable, soft, lustrous, cuddly afghan I've been seeking for a long time!

Just to reinforce that I'm still FluffyKNITTERDeb, I've cast on some new socks....The Embossed Leaves socks from the Winter 2005 issue of IK. See?


Pretty, autumnal Koigu and leaves, more of my favorite things!!

If anyone is making these or plans to, the instructions for the 1x1 rib cast-on the magazine suggests IS NOT the tubular cast-on shown in the pic in the mag!! I did the cast on 3 times as written and altho it's a nice cast on, it is NOT the stretchy cast-on the designer used for her pair! It makes a very solid, not so stretchy cast on so if you choose to use the instructions as written in the mag, I recommend going up a needle size (or 2!) for the cast on!

I also contacted the designer, Mona Schmidt, to discuss the disparity between the pic and the instruction and she sent me a link to her tutorial for the ACTUAL cast on she used!! If you want the links to the correct cast on, you can contact Mona directly. I'm not posting the links myself because as the designer she wants to know who is knitting the socks and any difficulties you're having and the pattern is of course copywritten so I don't feel comfortable posting even part of it!

Having said ALL that, I went ahead and used my standard German Twisted Cast-On cause I liked how it looked with the twisted rib of the sock cuff best of all :)

Whew, long post today....almost no room for the blog mascot yet I know his fans need their P-Man fixes :)

Here's my guy checking out his new digs from atop Mt. Computer Desk! He loves that he can hop on all the furniture and table tops now since all the "knick knacks" are put away because of the ongoing post-Wilma restorations!


This makes him feel like the Master of the Universe I think....oh wait, he is!! :)

Thanks for letting us into your universe, happy knitting!

E is for Egg, Darning Egg that is!

Being an avid sock knitter I'm always on the look out for new patterns, new yarns and new gadgets that make my sock knitting easier and even more enjoyable.

Meet one of my favorites, my Darning Egg!

Isn't he handsome? He's carved from Bloodwood!

I've introduced my Darning Egg on the blog before but in honor of the letter E I thought I would revisit just how wonderful this Egg is!

I'm almost finished knitting the Lacy Scallops that I'm knitting for my Sockapaloooza pal so I was ready to graft the final toe stitches together using the Kitchener stitch, or Special K as La calls it.

Note the incredibly cool sock CHIBI in it's natural habitat :)

As I work the grafting, I concentrate on the the steps....knit front off, purl front on...purl back off, knit back on.....


But I don't worry about the tension of my stitches, I just concentrate on the execution....knit front off, purl front on....purl back off, knit back on.....


Just keep stitching, just keep stitching.....

Off the needles yet all loose and uneven until.....

I slip the sock toe over my Darning Egg and presto! nice even, easily visible stitches......


I use my needle to tighten the stitches one by one, working the slack across the row.......

And VOILA! a perfectly grafted sock toe every time!

I LOVE my Egg but if you don't tell our sponsor, the letter E, I'll tell you a little secret.....If you aren't lucky enough to have an Egg of your own, try a lightbulb :)
Even the dreaded Kitchener stitch is easy with the right tools!!

ETA: If you'd like to obtain a beautiful darning egg like mine, you can get one HERE

Now Pumpkin has a secret too....he wants to show off our new CARPET!! Yes, post hurricane recovery continues here at Chez FKD

He's a bit tentative at first.....


But in minutes my P-Man's right at home and as cute as ever! (even tho this carpet photographs blue it's actually a really pretty dark green)


Now we need all the walls painted and some new vertical blinds for the sliding glass door (instead of the glamorous SHEET that is hanging there now) and Chez FKD will be better than ever.....just in time for hurricane season!!! D'OH!!!

I'll be back to show off the finished and blocked Lacy Scallops as soon as they are dry and I'll show off my color scheme for the crocheted Carnival Afghan because the Knitpicks order is due to arrive tomorrow!

A tale of wayward socks

I've had the free pattern for "Rob's Twined Rib" socks posted on my sidebar since last JUNE when I knit the socks!

Rob is a friend who lives in England (and keeps me supplied with yummy Pear Drops!!) who's birthday is in December. I like to get an early start on my Christmas/birthday knitting so last June I developed the pattern, knit up the socks, had a friend test knit the pattern (thanks Ada!) and put them away to be mailed later in the year.

I was a tad late but I finally mailed them across the pond. After sitting in my "finished gift" drawer for six months, they were finally on their way....only to get lost in the mail!!

I mailed NINE other packages that day, both domestic and overseas, and ALL arrived safely except for the socks whose picture (and free pattern) have become a part of my blog.I was beyond sad!

Well, the good news is the socks finally arrived a week ago!!! Seems customs in the UK was holding on to the package because it seemed "suspicious"!! Yep, now I'm a sock smuggler, hehe....

Anyway, after much ado, I give you Rob's Twined Rib sock on Rob's actual feet!!

Rob loves them and as you can see, they're a perfect fit so I guess it was "almost" worth the wait!

So if you're looking for a manly pattern for the manly feet in your life, help yourself to the free pattern....It's Rob tested and Rob approved, finally!! :)

I'm working on both the Diamond Fantasy Shawl (just started rep 7 of 10) and my Sockapaloooza socks (finished sock #1 and about 3 inches into the cuff of sock #2) and still awaiting more Shine for my Carnival Afghan so I'll update those in my next post.

Hope all our gold medalists are winding down from their Olympic Knitting frenzy, congrats to all who flexed their knitting muscles! Now have a nice big glass of your knitting water of choice and relax!


Pumpkin says have a wonderful week!

Walkin' on the Wild Side!

And the knitting girls sing doo do do doo do do do...... (forgive me, Lou Reed!!, hehehe)

According to my friend and Knit Nite organizer, Kim, apocalyptic events are occurring! Are you ready for another?

Yes, it's true....cover your eyes and protect the innocent....

Fluffy KNITTER Deb has been walkin' on the wild side...

AND CROCHETING!!!
I give you Exhibit A:

These are 2 medallions from the Carnival Shawl from Rowan's Classic Holiday, Book 3. I'm using one of my *favorite* yarns, Knitpicks Shine, an ultra soft cotton/modal blend sportweight yarn.

What, you might ask, has caused this Fluffy KNITTER to walk on the wild side?

When I was about 8 years old I learned to knit and crochet. I was pretty unenthused by the knitting (too fussy, too many needles!) but the crochet really caught my fancy! After all this was in the 70's when acid green ponchos and granny square anything's were all the rage. So I merrily crocheted many a hideous poncho, a granny square vest or 20 (eek!!) and a couple of ripple stitch afghans but shockingly (not!) the crochet quickly lost it's charm and knitting came back onto the radar screen.

I knit steadily for many years, using my crochet skills for the occasional trim or border, but as an adjunct, nothing more.

Since I've returned to the knitting fold these last 3 years, I continue to use my meager and much atrophied crocheting skills, albeit rarely.

In that same 3 years I've been keeping my eyes open for an afghan that struck my fancy. Living in Florida, I really wanted a nice cotton afghan that would be cool enough for warm weather but good to snuggle in when it got cooler or the AC was working full blast :) Alas, nothing knitted really struck my fancy...then I saw the Carnival Shawl. My eyes saw "crocheted shawl" but my brain said crocheted AFGHAN!!! YAY! I could make lots of medallions, sew em together and have the beautiful, cool cotton afghan I've been dreaming of!

As I mentioned, I am using the ultra soft and easy care Knitpicks Shine and so far the only color I have is the cream leftover from my Kiri. I've planned a striking, earth toned palette including the cream so I'll show off the other colors once they arrive :) The medallions are fun and easy to make and each one takes less than 2 hours! This will be my ongoing, "inbetweenmyTWOknittedprojects" grab-it project. I plan to make about 80 medallions so this won't be completed any time real soon! I'm really enjoying making these and I confess I'm thrilled to be back walking on the wild CROCHET side again!!

In less earth shattering news, this is and will always remain Casa de FluffyKNITTERDeb so KNITTING has occurred as well. In addition to another pattern repeat on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl.....

Here is my in progress Sockapalooza sock!

And look Claudia, my very first picot cast-on!! Isn't it lovely? I may be a picot convert cause that cast-on is just too cute!

My Sockapalooza pal has feet that are on the fluffy side too so I wanted a pattern that had lots of stretch and showcased the beautiful pinky-orange Twinkletoes yarn. I chose the awesome Lacy Scallops pattern from the talented and generous Sock Bug and I think it's a perfect marriage of pattern and yarn, don't you?

Lastly, I leave you with my P-Man because he has some wonderful news! He no longer has to live in the bombed out bare cement floored hovel we have been calling home for the last 4 months since Hurricane Wilma came to visit because....

We have a NEW FLOOR!!!

Doesn't it match his fur beautifully? Apparently, he's a *light oak* kinda guy!

We never realized how slippery this Pergo stuff is, it's kinda like living in a skating rink! My sweet Pumpkin has yet to adjust and he's still bashing sliding into the occasional wall now and again, altho his Mom has so far managed to remain horizontal! Good thing *fluffy* makes a good cushion in cases like this!

Next week, Pumpkin hopes to share another post hurricane hovel home improvement as well! I guess things are always changing when you start walking on the wild side!

Have a great weekend and crochet KNIT lots!! :)

D is for Diamond

Ever since I was a little girl I've been fascinated by rocks and have always collected them.

I'm especially intrigued by crystals so I thought I would share one of my favorites that begin with the letter D....D is for Diamond - Herkimer Diamond!

Herkimer Diamonds were first discovered in the 1700's in Herkimer County in upstate New York.

The Diamonds are found in pockets that form in Dolostone, a mineral formation consisting of Limestone, Magnesium and Dolomite.

This is how they appear when they are being mined.....

More examples....pretty cool, huh?

The surrounding stone is called the matrix. Often the stones are free inside the matrix but sometimes have to be chipped away from the matrix to release the crystal.


Herkimer Diamonds are the clearest naturally occurring quartz crystal. They are double terminated, meaning they have points on both ends. Herkimer Diamonds have 18 naturally occurring facets and none of the crystals in these pictures have been cut or polished in any way!


Most Herkimer Diamonds are clear and colorless. Here are some from my personal collection...

Notice the small "twin" crystal. Less common than single crystals but not especially rare. One rare occurrence is called "Enhydro". This is where some water has been trapped during the crystal formation and remains liquid in a small pocket inside the solid crystal.

This is my rare Herkimer Diamond...a perfectly terminated and faceted SMOKEY Diamond....isn't it lovely?

Some people believe that crystals contain metaphysical properties. It is said that putting a Herkimer Diamond under one's pillow will bring sweet dreams and enhance memory...much nicer than a sleeping pill!

Herkimer Diamonds are not the only Diamonds in my life....Here's my progress on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl....smooth segue, huh? hehehe.....

I've completed four of the ten repeats suggested for the shawl altho I may do less as my Mom is under five feet tall and I don't want a huge shawl to overwhelm her!


It's an easy pattern as lace goes and very intuitive so altho not completely mindless, it's a lace pattern I would recommend to a knitter early in her lace knitting journey! I'm really enjoying knitting this and I'm crazy about how great it looks in the Blue Heron Cotton! (and no blocking, tee hee!!)

Today there's a guest kitty visiting Chez FKD....Pumpkin wants you to meet his new friend.....

This is my neighbor Brooke and her new baby Annabelle! Isn't she a cutie?


Annabelle is a Blue Point Himalayan. Her breeder lost her home during Hurricane Wilma but managed to get the cats out and now is doing business out of a trailer so Brooke was happy to give this sweet girl a new home....and based on my last post, a new girlfriend for the P-Man can't happen soon enough!


AWWWW!
I chose a pattern for my Sockapaloooza pal and it looks great with the Twinkletoes yarn but I'll save that for next time!

Have a great week and I hope you find the Diamonds in your life!

Secrets, socks and Pumpkin takes a lover!

I was tagged by Catherine for this meme: 5 things in my fridge! I didn't want to list the mundane stuff everyone has so I thought I'd share the unusual. Here are my fridge "secrets"...

1- 12 oz. jar of capers - I love to put these in my pasta sauce!
2- a bottle of concentrated cherry juice - there is something in cherries that is really good for arthritis and because cherries aren't available year round, cherry juice does the trick!
3- A Lemon Pepper cooked chicken from Publix
4- A liter bottle of Bacardi Limon
5- Limes - ALWAYS! Never know when a girl's gonna need a Mojito some knitting water :)

I'm not tagging anyone, if you want to share your fridge secrets, have at it!

Now for the real secret......I can finally reveal the secret beaded gift project!!

It's the Beaded Shapley Shawlette!!
Here she is basking in the sun

You can see it on the lovely recipient here. Go pay Agnes a visit and tell her how beautiful she looks and how gorgeous ALL her knitting is!

I finished the FKDad Trekking socks and I must say I think they look spectacular!
The Trekking just knits up so well!! Here's the sock:


and a close up of the many colors

Specs:

Trekking XXL 100gm color #68
2x2 rib, YO short row/mini gusset heel
8sts/inch -- 72 sts on #1 US (2.25mm) metal Aero DPNs

I love how soft and handsome these knit up and I hope my Dad does too!

I neglected to post a pic of the handsome P-Man in my last post and apparently his adoring fans missed their Pumpkin fix so I'm making up for my faux pas by giving you a pictorial of Pumpkin's latest escapade....

A few weeks ago, Bliss lost her precious teacup poodle Bunny but she also got 2 new additions to her family in the form of two adorable puppies. Bliss asked her readers to help her with some names and for all those who participated, she would draw a name and send a yarny prize! Guess who won? Why FKD of course!

Bliss sent me some lovely Wildfoote and Sockotta sock yarn AND a gorgeous skank of the most beautiful, green New Zealand Merino/CASHMERE yarn.

I had the yarn sitting on the couch so I could admire it and of course Pumpkin came over to see what new goodie had entered his domain.....


He gave the yarn a good sniff

and became mesmerized by the siren song of the cashmere

He begain his kneading *push-push* routine and he was really going at it!
In fact, his ardor became a bit well....vigorous ......


So I took the skank away and placed it on top of my TALL dresser in my bedroom.....

When I came back from the kitchen I found this:


He jumped up on my dresser, grabbed his new love, jumped back onto the couch with her and um, renewed his display of affection!!

I mean, the P-Man's got good taste choosing cashmere but really!! I dunno Bliss, does this make us in-laws in some bizarre parallel universe? hehehe....I was gonna make slipper socks for me out of this but having this yarn on my feet might well send Pumpkin over the edge!! Maybe he'll be the only cat in the world with hand knit cashmere mousies :)

Enjoy your week and to all our Olympians, both in Torino and Knitbloglandia, GO FOR THE GOLD!!!!!

Cotton, the fabric of our lives...

Forgive my sounding like a commercial for cotton, I couldn't resist!

I've gotten a lot of very complimentary feedback on my last post (thanks everyone!!) and I wanted to clarify the no blocking/no shrinkage issue.

All cotton does shrink, it's the nature of the fiber.

Mercerized cotton is specially treated with Sodium Hydroxide, sometimes referred to as "gassing" to increase strength, luster and shine, affinity to absorb dye and resist shrinkage.

Mercerized cotton will shrink slightly, mainly in length rather than width but in a garment like a cotton shawl, the difference is negligible....altho I HIGHLY recommend swatching and washing/drying the swatch so there are no surprises!

Pure Cotton is a fiber with no memory, resiliency or elasticity. This is why it can cause wrist pain in some knitters because the "give" of animal fiber is missing. Because of these properties, cotton doesn't benefit from blocking in that it won't gain in size but a good bath will certainly even out the stitches.

Every lace knitter knows and anticipates that the true beauty of knitted lace is revealed in the blocking, when the stitches are opened to their true lace capacity - but this is ONLY true when WOOL(and alpaca to a lesser degree) is used. Because of the inelasticity of cotton, pretty much what comes off the needles is what the finished product will be! If you look at my Diamond Fantasy Shawl in progress, you'll see that the yarn overs are quite open and the shawl almost looks blocked already.

When I finish a cotton shawl, I give it a good soak in cold water with some baby shampoo to even and smooth out the stitches, then a trip thru the spin cycle to get rid of most of the moisture, toss it in the dryer on low heat and voila! Perfect shawl with NO BLOCKING!! Here is an example of another shawl I knit with Blue Heron Cotton, Cotton Faroese Shawl close up and Not so close up

More good news is LINEN and HEMP have the same properties as cotton so shawls with all these plant fibers, altho not the easiest to knit with (linen!) do have the benefit of saving many a back with no blocking!

I've also been asked where I get this lovely laceweight cotton. My source is Carla at Chez Casuelle - good source for Blue Heron Mercerized Laceweight Cotton in tons of colors and what she doesn't have, she will order for you...and 10% off for first time customers plus free shipping and a 20% preferred customer coupon on your next purchase! (NAYY - altho I wish I were, hehe)

Thus ends today's lesson, Everything You Wanted to Know About Cotton But Really Didn't Care Enough to Ask! :)

So why not expand your horizons and knit with something unexpected?

On a much more jovial note, I totally nicked this from Lorette because it gave me the best chuckle I've had all week! Place your name in the box, click GO, and find out some little known facts about yourself too!

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Debi!

1. The only Englishman to become Debi was Nicholas Breakspear, who was Debi from 1154 to 1159!
2. Worldwide, Debi is the most important natural enemy of night-flying insects!
3. A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but Debi can not.
4. Red Debi at night, shepherd's delight. Red Debi at morning, shepherd's warning.
5. Debi has often been found swimming miles from shore in the Indian Ocean.
6. Debi can fly at an average speed of fifteen kilometres an hour.
7. Debi is the world's tallest woman.
8. If you lace Debi from the inside to the outside, the fit will be snugger around your big toe.
9. Debi kept at the window will keep vampires at bay!
10. Debi once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Enjoy your chuckle and keep knitting!

No more secrets

The SECRET beaded thingy is finally done, in all her 2000 beaded glory!

She's on her way to her new home, I hope her new owner likes her as much as I do....she came out quite lovely and it was hard to give her up!

I'll post a pic once she reaches her destination.

I was suffering post-beading depression so I needed a new project on the needles STAT! And what came to my rescue? Why it's a brand new lace shawl....it's the Diamond Fantasy Shawl....in COTTON -- because yes, Virginia, C is for Cotton!

This is the beginning of the Diamond Fantasy Shawl, designed by Sivia Harding. It's a very cool pattern that incorporates knitting the border as you knit the body of the shawl by binding off as you knit along...brilliant!

I'm using my very favorite cotton, Blue Heron Laceweight Mercerized Cotton in the colorway Flax. The color on my monitor is pretty true....it's a subtle pinky lavender, light yellowish green and beige colorway that looks almost like a strand of tiny pearls because the mercerized cotton is so shiny!

This is going to be a Mother's Day gift for the FK Mom because I've only knit her warmer shawls and here in Florida, cotton shawls are a must! This colorway is so perfect for her, I hope I can hold out til May....cause we all know I can't keep a secret, right La?

I've said many times I'm not a big fan of pure cotton cause it hurts my hands but this Blue Heron Cotton is lovely to work with...great hand, so smooth and shiny, a dream to knit with and stunning colorways! Can you tell I'm a fan? :)

The added bonus? Mercerized cotton needs no BLOCKING! When it's finished it gets a nice bath and a turn in the dryer and voila! Perfect cotton shawl! Thank you C for bringing cotton to my knitting world!

I'm still working on the beautiful Trekking socks for FK Dad, I'm about to turn the heel on sock #2.

Even tho I haven't had the greatest luck with the whole secret pal thing, being an avid sock knitter and having participated in version 1 and 2, I couldn't resist signing up for Alison's wonderful

I haven't settled on a pattern yet so while I finish the Trekking socks I will be searching for the perfect pattern for this:


This is a skank of Twinkletoes sock yarn that I was saving for myself but when my sock pal mentioned she had a recent onset of orange love, I knew that this was the yarn for her! I can't wait to marry this beautiful yarn with a complimentary pattern that makes my Sock Pal go "squee!!!!" when she gets them in 3 months! Thanks once again for hosting this event Alison, this time with over 600 participants!

I leave you with a picture of my beading supervisor. My handsome guy is preening in front of the 2 Rubbermaid tubs that house my many beads and crochet hooks. My P-Man is fascinated with beads to it seems.....he stares at those tubs, plotting how to get to the goodies inside that make such cool noises. Now if my bead stash looks like this, can you imagine my yarn stash? Oy!


Hope your week is full of fine fiber and to those in training, remember.....athletes carb up before their big events and chocolate is a carb :)

Just a quickie

I love knitting *secret* gifts for friends who read my blog but it doesn't make for great blog fodder! I hoped to have finished the secret beaded knitting but alas the knitting gods were not smiling....

I found a crucial mistake I made and had to tink back 4 rows of 200 stitches each including removing the beads! I accidently split one stitch into two and it threw off the whole stitch count for all the subsequent rows....which of course didn't become apparent until 800 stitches later! And then to make matters even more interesting, the tinked yarn got completely tangled and said knot took me about an hour to return it to something usable. YIKES! What a fubar situation!

Note to self: Seduction merino/tencel is splitty and slinky...PAY ATTENTION!! :)

So needless to say, the secret beaded thingy is still on the needles but I hope to finish it in the next few days....which means a new project is very close on the horizon....YAY!

I can't show project #1 so here's project #2:

Some Trekking XXL socks for FK Dad!


This is color #68 in a simple 2 x 2 rib because the yarn is so pretty, I wanted to keep the pattern simple. Besides, FK Dad is pretty conservative so these socks may be a bit outside the box for him. I've used Trekking before and I like this yarn very much but this my first time with this marled, tweedy sort of colorway and I just LOVE it! The yarn is composed of four different colored strands plyed together but the really cool thing is the strands change color every 6 - 12 inches so the colors are always changing and morphing into each other and no two rows are alike! I find myself knitting just one more row to see what comes next! Very unique and fun yarn, I'm sure my Dad will love it. (click pic for a closer view)

Addendum: I've gotten lots of queries about a good on line resource for Trekking as it seems it's realtively hard to find. My favorite vendor for everything, especially sock yarns like Bearfoot, Lorna's Laces and THE BEST selection of Trekking (including the elusive #100!) is Judy at www.theknitter.com - great selection, really fast service and NO SHIPPING :) Go have a visit, you wont be sorry!

To make up for the skimpy knitting content, I bring you some beautiful Florida sky. Our landscape is mostly brown and we don't have any majestic mountains but we do have really amazing skies!

This was our sunrise yesterday morning.



And another view



Lovely, right?
Here's my favorite assistant checking out the view from his favorite perch on my front windowsill too!



Be back soon with a new WIP (I hope)! Have a great week everyone!