One knitter's nightmare is another knitter's dream

And the new owner of the FPS nightmare DREAM is.....Cheryl!!

The best news is, she really wants to continue what I've already started so it's win/win for both of us! YAY!!

Can you believe it, Cheryl just FINISHED a gorgeous FPS and she actually really wants to knit another one!! Here's another lil secret: our Cheryl has a pattern in the new Knitty!! Now clearly this is one of those Knitting Goddesses I previously made reference to :)

Cheryl, if you would please contact me with your mailing info, your SECOND FPS will be winging it's way to your doorstep faster than you can say laceweight sucks rocks! :)

Congrats you crazy woman Cheryl and thanks again for everyone else who bared their souls and their knitting disasters!

Moving forward, here's the cute little FO I mentioned....

It's the Dolly Bag from Rowan

Isn't she adorable?

This was this season's thank you gift for renewing my status as a Rowanette. She's knit with 2 skeins of Handknit Cotton in the Celery colorway and as size 4 US (3.5 mm) Addi Lace needle. The pattern called for a size 6 but I alway have loose tension with cottons and I wanted a very firm fabric because the bag isn't lined.

This was a totally fun knit. I cabled without a cable needle and even the bobbles/nupps weren't heinous cause they are the knit in the front and back of the stitch x5 then slip the 4 stitches over the 5th kind NOT the purl a zillion stitches together on the purl row kind! (::::cough FPS cough::::)

I think the FK Mom has her eye on this cause it is fairly sturdy and not as "Dolly" as the name implies as it is about 8 inches wide at the bottom and 6 inches tall without the handles. If you have the kit I highly recommend this bag for a quick summer knit!

Unfortunately, I didn't make it out for WWKIP day because I had the headache of the century! All the rain and barometric changes completely did me in (altho I did knit in front of my two neighbors so that kinda counts, right?)

I was down for the count but I did manage to start Bonita later in the evening. Then I started her again on Sunday cause as we all know, swatches LIE!!

The pattern calls for a US #5 for a gauge of 5.5 sts/inch. I was a hair under at 5.75 sts/inch so I went down to #4 and 6 sts/ inch, did the math and picked the larger size. Of course when I knit the first full pattern repeat and pulled her off the needles she was ginormous! So now I'm knitting the smaller size with a US #3! It's that pesky tension and cotton thing again! Good thing I happen to have made a recent acquisition of a full set of Addi Lace needles so I had my feathers numbered for just such an emergency! (bonus points if you get that reference - my brother used to do the most hilarious impression of the speaker of that phrase when we were kids and still does on request, heh!)

So even tho this is less knitting than I hoped to accomplish by now, here she is......

Isn't she pretty?
I ADORE the Nostalgia yarn I'm using, it's so sproingy and soft! Plus I love the subtle variegation and how it looks with the beads and the lace! See? I never waxed this poetic about the FPS :)

This is a WIP I'm *really* enjoying!

Of course I can't let that picture slide by without a mention of my current manicure - this is another of OPI's "Brights Collection" called "Call My Cell-ery" . How could you not love that name?? I admit the color is a bit Shrek meets Slime but I'm getting a kick out of matching my manicure to my knits! Plus it's a fun summery color so why not? I must admit however, if I don't knit something red or pink soon everyone I know is gonna think of me as "the weird knitting lady with the funky nails and the handsome and studly cat" Oh wait, they already do :)

Speaking of handsome and studly cats, will this one do?

I think so :)

There's both good news and bad news....

Y'all are so funny! Your guesses on the reason for my exuberance were hilarious but my favorite goes to Madge who wrote:

"Hmm, I'm guessing your parole has ended and you don't have to wear that pesky ankle bracelet any longer. :D"

Cute Madge, very cute!

I wish many of your guesses were correct (new computer, lottery win and world knitting tour with the P-Man all sound great to me!) There were a few of you who got the right answer so let's unravel the tale, shall we?

Here we have my Forest Path Stole. Isn't she lovely?

And a close up...

I love her color and the pattern is much easier than it looks....the kind of pattern that has the world thinking you're a Knitting Goddess when you're really just a warshcloth knittin' chick :)

The bad news is, this fluffy knitter wont be knitting even ONE MORE STITCH on her! Actually that is both good and bad news, heh.

Here's the story....

I learned to knit when I was 8 and knit pretty steadily until I moved to Florida in 1989 (no LYS, knitting was passe and it's HOT here!) That hiatus lasted until about 5 years ago when I was surfing the net looking a hobby for "stress management" (HAR.)

In those 15 years the Internet had been born and knitting had a PRESENCE!! So I came back to knitting with a vengeance but also with quite a bit of experience under my belt, or so I thought.

After getting my feet wet I jumped in with cockiness gusto and chose a lovely stole in laceweight yarn. Wait a minute! SSK? What's that? I'm a PSSO girl...charts??? we don't do no stinkin' charts...I don't remember knitting being this complicated!! (now, btw, I wouldn't knit anything without a chart!)

Bottom line? I tossed the mess across the room and almost gave up knitting for another 15 years! I picked other projects and things went much better, my skills improving with each new FO. I chalked up that failure to my 15 year lapsed muscle memory and once I got my chops back, I evolved into the semi-goddess knitter I am today :)

What I didn't realize, until this February, is the problem with that long ago stole wasn't so much with my knitting sabbatical and atrophied knitting skills but that I LOATHE KNITTING WITH LACEWEIGHT YARN! Yes, there, I said it! Whew! Do I have to hand in my Knitter's Secret Decoder Ring now? hehe!

Gimme some fingering weight yarn and a set of size 0 DPNs and I'll knit you the Brooklyn Bridge but me and laceweight, not so much!

Yes I've knit shawls since that fubar fiasco 5 years ago but always in fingering weight or above. Either it was what the pattern called for or I was upsizing for fluffy me by subbing a heavier yarn for laceweight.

So.....I blithely sign up as co-hostess of the FPS KAL, not realizing that knitting with laceweight yarn makes me want to poke my own eyes out with my Addi Lace needles :) And I get to loathe all 2700 yards of it!! YIKES!!

So me and the FPS, I'm just not into her.....

Now for the good news! I'm giving her away!!! YAY! A contest!!

I'm giving my FPS away as is, so if you've always wanted to knit the Forest Path Stole, think of this as your way of getting a six tier head start! It's such a shame to waste all that pretty knitting and I would love for someone who isn't adverse to knitting with laceweight yarn to complete the stole and give it the love it deserves.

If you want to knit the FPS, but would rather every stitch be your own, or if you just want about 2000 yards of Juniper colored Zephyr wool/silk yarn after you *snip snip* what I've already knit , the yarn will be yours, do with it what you will....just DON'T tell me, please! I'm sad enough already. (I would be thrilled to know if you do knit the stole with my "head start" however!)

As I said, the pattern is easier than it looks but it is a BIG project! The lace is quite easy and the finished product is stunning....just head over to the KAL blog** and see for yourself! And as I said in my last FPS post, the Addi Lace needles are so fabulous with this yarn, they almost made me reconsider my decision to part company with the FPS! (but even they are not that good!)

So how can you make the FPS (and/or the yarn) your own, you ask?

Why a contest of course!! It's simple, all you have to do is leave a comment sharing your biggest knitting disaster disappointment! Come on, we've all got em! You can share em even if you don't want the FPS, it's cathartic!

You have until this Sunday, June 10th and then I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner. So dish up your juiciest stories and win yourself a Forest Path Stole of your very own! Even Pumpkin says you should....

See? He's doing quality control so the winner wont be disappointed :)

Good Luck!

** I will still be co-hosting the KAL with my buddy Agnes but I'll be cheering the participants on instead of knitting.

Just a little teaser.....

FREE AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll be back to tell you why and reveal a juicy contest next week!

Continue to enjoy the P-Man Live til then!

Have a great weekend!

Blue Wednesday

Nah, I'm not sad, it's just that blue seems to be the color of the moment :)

Case in point, meet Audrey....

She's periwinkle blue and ain't she sweet?
(As always, click to embiggen and note kitty with ever present tongue sticking out, stage left)

Here's a detail shot of her ribbing and lace
(kitty still hamming it up in the background)

The lace is ready for it's close up, Mr. De Mille!

Specs:

Audrey from Elsebeth Lavold Designer's Choice, Book Four The Sophisticated Lady Collection

Size Small (33 1/2 inches) - I'll try to get a modeled shot once it's gifted

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color # 27, Periwinkle - Just under 3 skeins - I LOVE this yarn!!

Addi Turbos US #4 and #6

Mods: The only mods I made was to shorten the body by one inch (I thought it would be a bit more youthful in the slightly shorter length.)

This was a fast, fun knit with lots of va-va-va- voom! I just think it's so pretty and feminine!

As with most Lavold patterns, it's pretty organic...kinda the bare minimum as patterns go. For example, altho the lace is easy enough for a beginner, it never says in the pattern to reverse the charts so the left and right patterns mirror each other. Obvious to most experienced knitters but not to a newbie. Personally I think guidance like that should be in every book, some knitters can be very literal when following a pattern! In addition, I was unable to find an errata page but there is an error in the chart - it was an easy fix, and pretty obvious once you're into the pattern.

I also wish Ms. Lavold would learn to do schematics! There's nary a one in any of the books I've looked at and altho they are not necessary I find they are very nice to refer to when blocking.

Despite those minor whinges, it's a lovely knit and I'm very happy with the finished product.

I also started some new socks....guess what color?


Why, blue of course!
This is some Louet Gems Pearl in the color Neptune and the beginnings of Thelonius by Cookie A.

The astute among you will also note that this week's manicure is brought to you by the color blue! This is another by OPI, the Brights Collection called Can't You Sea? I don't often knit with blue but I've had the colorway and pattern for these socks dancing in my head for a few weeks and I guess that fact subconsciously influenced my manicure color choice. I never even noticed til I started the socks today, d'oh!! :)

The pattern calls for a gauge of 8 inches/inch on 1.5 US (2.5 mm) so I decided to try my Knitpicks DPNs for the first time. I'm spot on for gauge but may I say...MEH! I don't get all the hoopla - they are very slick and pointy but they are HEAVY and too short for me! They may be cheap but so are my beloved Aeros
and my Aeros aren't too slippery, are also nice and pointy and a much better length. I do like many of the Knitpicks products but I'm not jumping on the "I heart options needles!" bandwagon! Gimme my Aeros or addi turbos any day!

Speaking of which, you may wonder what has become of the Forest Path Stole....
Well, I'm just not feeling the love. Yes, I'm co-hosting the KAL but knitting should be fun and never a chore. The truth is I LOATHE knitting with laceweight yarn!! I have used bamboo, addi turbos, teflon and nothing makes the knitting more fun but.....:::drumroll::: enter the new Addi Lace Needles. Now this is a needle I could fall in love with and marry, heh! Seriously, these are the BEST. NEEDLES. EVER! I used a pair to knit one lace unit of the FPS (I'm just finishing tier 5). They are super light, nice grab without any drag and oh so pointy!

Now I won't say that they worked miracles and made me have a burning desire to start knitting the FPS again but they sure did help! I have a new project all picked out for WWKIP Day (I always like to start something new) so from now until June 9th I am gonna use my addi lace needles and try to find that FPS feeling again. At least I'll have my blue socks to keep me from going crazy because yes Alison, I really am a 2 project knitter :)

Lastly, as blog mascot and knitting supervisor (see the where's Waldo Pumpkin pics above) the P-Man wants to remind you, if you ask a question in the comments, please leave an address where I can respond OR check back and I'll respond in the comments! Neither the P-Man or I ever want to ignore our fans :)


Happy Wednesday whatever color yours may be!

So much love!

I never realized how many grit lovers there are in Knitbloglandia :)

So now that you all know that there actually IS a World Grits Day, make sure y'all mark your calendars for next year and join Kris for Grits n' Sticks next April 14th!

Thanks for the Blogiversary love too, your comments were all great, heartwarming and quite a giggle! I know, I know, enough small talk....you want to know who won the second annual FKD blogiversary prize!

The winner of the Knit Socks! book and STR yarn, chosen by random number generator, is Suzanne of Knitzanity! Yay Suzanne, the prize is actually winging it's way to your door step already. Hope you enjoy it!

Now for proof of the serendipity that exsists in this wonderful knitblog community, Suzanne was my Sockee for Sockapalooza 2! That's how I knew her address before I even announced the winner -- I'm not stalkin' you Suz, I promise :)

On the knitting front, I finished my "Blackberry Waffle" socks.


Aren't they pretty?

Specs:

Upsized version of Bluberry Waffle Socks

One ENTIRE skein Trekking XXL, colorway #78

US #1(2.25mm) Aero DPNs

Mods: Upsized for fluffy feet, original pattern changed to my standard yo short row heel with mini flap and gusset

These socks came out exactly as I hoped! I think the pattern is well suited to the random striping/marl of the Trekking without either competing in a garish way. The pattern was very easy to upsize. They are VERY stretchy to accomodate the fluffiest of feet as well as anyone who might have special needs because of swelling, diabetes, ect. If they were made in a manly color, they could be equally handsome for the male feet in your life.

I didn't carry the waffle pattern down the instep because I didn't want the "bumps" to cause any potential irritation inside a shoe. I did add a 5x2 rib over the instep for a more forgiving yet snug fit. All in all, I heartily recommend both the pattern and the yarn for any feet you may want to knit for of ANY size!

My Forest Path Stole and I are taking a time out. I've made it to tier 5 but I'm just not feeling the FPS love right now. Agnes, my KAL cohost finished hers (lucky girl!!) and it's stunning -- go have a peek!

I'll definately go back to my FPS soon and I know once I finish I will have a stunning stole of heirloom quality but or right now we need some time apart. Sooo.....

Still being a two project only knitter and having finished my socks, I started a new WIP while I muster up the FPS love again. Here's a lil glimpse...

I'm using a wonderful new to me yarn called Nostalgia by Berroco. It's a cable constructed, very soft, cushy cotton/microfiber blend with a very pretty and very subtle nylon filament running thru it. I'm really enjoying the yarn and this new WIP, any guesses what it is?

Here's a close up so you can see the shiny nylon filament.

I'll save the answer for my next post and I'll leave you with the mighty P-Man hanging out on his favorite window sill...kitty Tivo, dontcha know? :)

Have a great week knit buds!!

Finally some knitting and a freebie

Thanks for all the compliments on my Carnival Throw! I'm very very happy with it and I'm glad you like it too!

Now for the good news....I have 10 assorted skeins of this wonderful Shine left over so I thought, why not share this yummy yarn with someone who's never tried Shine before? So that's exactly what I'm gonna do!


There is more than enough for a tank top, baby items, a mini blanket or even the start of a bigger blanket so if you're interested in trying out one of my favorite yarns drop me an email at FluffyKnitterDeb@comcast.net before midnight Sunday April 8th. I'll use a number generator to pick a winner and announce the lucky recipient next week! Good luck everyone!

Now for some actual knitting! YAY! I wasn't knitting at all while I was finishing up the crocheted Carnival Throw and boy did I miss it!

First up, here's the progress on my Forest Path Stole. I'm on tier #3 and I'm really enjoying it! I LOVE the color I chose (Juniper) and the Zephyr is just so nice to work with.

I do wish I was finished already just cause it's spring and there are so many spring/summer things I want to knit but I'll get there! I'm probably gonna shorten the number of tiers I do because other members of the KAL are finding the stole as written is very long. My recipient is on the petite side and I don't want the stole to wear her instead of her wearing the stole! Alas, that decision is still a long way off tho so we'll see!

On Tuesday my blogging friend Carole posted about sock knitting addiction and I confess I too have a sock knitting *problem* I had to go for my yearly check up last week and I sat in the doctor's off FOR THREE HOURS before I was seen!!! (That's a whole 'nother rant!) and I was without ANY knitting! Oh the humanity!! Oh the abject rage :)

The FPS certainly isn't portable knitting and the Carnival Throw was to big to be carting around! It was the first time I wished I was a more polygamous knitter because I NEEDED A SOCK TO KNIT!! I missed socknitting so much, I was having the ST's (sockphoria tremens) and socknitting withdrawal is not pretty!!

Thankfully all is again right with my world because of this little beauty:

She's knit with the fabulous Trekking XXL #78. I'm using the nice and stretchy Blueberry Waffle pattern for the leg and I'm winging the rest cause this is a gift for a very fluffy footed friend. I just love the vibrant color changes and altho purple is not one of my favorite colors I *really* want to keep this sock! I'm calling it my Blackberry Waffle sock and I just may have to make another for me someday cause the Trekking is just so pretty!

I found something kinda funny the other day. Remember this tank from last year? I got a new knitting book as a gift, the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume One, Knit and Purl. It's a great book with lots of cool patterns that I will definitely use for designing in the future (socks!! I just cannot help myself! heh) As I was browsing thru the pages, I spied this on page 90.....

And then this:
See? I TOLD you it was a Thistle Flower and NOT a Lotus Blossom :)

My adorable P-Man wants you all to have a great weekend and reminds you to send those emails if you want that pretty Shine yarn.

He also wants you to come back next week for yet another giveaway cause his Mom is just full of surprises! Hope your weekend is full of lots of Spring knitting!!

When something is right, you know it

When something is wrong, it slaps you in the face like a dead flounder! Much like my Forest Path Stole in the *wrong* yarn slapped me.

I've been mourning the untimely demise of my FPS so I haven't blogged plus as an aside, Comcast (my ISP) has upgraded their McAfee Security Suite and it caused all sorts of mischief on my computer which left me unable to blog/comment as freely as I usually do. I think these issues have been resolved so I'm baaaaaaack :)

Anyway, thanks for all the imput (and sympathy) on the ill-fated Handmaiden Lace Silk and my FPS.

As gorgeous as the Lace Silk is, the minute I saw the yarn in person I knew it wasn't right for the Forest Path Stole....it's the dreaded brown! The brown was just too stripe-y and really competed with the lace! I knew it and I should have listened to that "little voice" once again but alas, stubborn - FKD is thy name! Without the brown, I think the lovely pink with subtle shots of green would have worked but who knows? I know someday I'll want to make the FPS again so I'll continue my quest for the perfect "rose garden" yarn that I see in my head....subtle cream laceweight merino with shades of pink and soft spring green - oh yeah! Hey at least now I have a *mission* !

The good news is I think the Lace Silk will make a lovely, simple shell or a very simple shawl/stole. A commenter mentioned the Fiber Trends Landscape Shawl and I think this simple yet attractive shawl might be the perfect showcase for the amazing Handmaiden Lace Silk.*** Something to comtimplate for the future but for now, my thoughts have turned back to the FPS!

Yes, I've chosen yet another yarn! Third time's the charm, n'est ce pas? God, I *hope* so, my knitting psyche can't take much more!

For take 3, I went with safe and time tested reliable yet equally lovely....meet Mr. Juniper Zephyr.....

Isn't he handsome? It's a lovely bluish green color that reminds me of blue spruce Christmas trees. The zephyr is wonderful to knit with and shows off the lace really well. My only surprise was I found my *usual* favorite lace needles, Aero Teflon/Inox Gray, really sticky and grabby but once I switched to Addi Natura bamboo, everything was smooth sailing. I realize I'm just starting out (tier 2 of 23!!) but I'm having a good feeling, finally!

Maybe now I can resume my KFYS 2007 as long as it doesn't include the glorious ORANGE Trekking I got as a Valentine's Day present from my good friend Judy or the amazingly soft and beautiful ORANGE cashmere/merino blend sock yarns I got as a *just because* present from my generous friend Emma....am I a lucky ORANGE lovin' gal or what? Just look....

Must be because of reading Claudia since I discovered blogs, all the ORANGE love has rubbed off in a big way....or it could be my resident ORANGE....


Some ORANGE love for all the Florida Orange fans since I know you guys miss him when Mom doesn't post! Now if I could just find a Florida GREEN with a pink nose and pink jelly bean feet, all three of my very favorite colors would be covered, hee!

On a much more sobering note, one of our own and a "neighbor" (she's close to Orlando) has had a serious medical crisis befall her so please send Catherine good healing vibes and virtual hugs!

Happy Monday, hope your week is full of your favorite colors too!

***I have listed the Lace Silk yarn for sale here if you're interested!

You help me, I'll help you

Citizens of Knitbloglandia, I need your help!

Remember that beautiful Handmaiden Lace Silk I broke my KFYS 2007 to buy? Remember the glory of that stunning new yarn and the promise of a breathtaking Forest Path Stole? The anticipation of a long planned project in the *perfect* yarn?

In reality....perfect? Not so much......

I've knit thru the border plus two tiers of the entrelac and I'm not sure how I feel about the results which is why I need the help of the collective consciousness that is Knitbloglandia! Tell me what you think.....

Under an Ott Light, completely unretouched

Unaltered, in daylight

as always, click to embiggen for a closer look
I didn't choose a "pretty" black background to highlight the lace nor did I block out the lace to it's best advantage for these pics because I wanted an ordinary representation. Also because the yarn is pure silk, even finished it will not block as dramatically as wool does.

So my friends, tell me what you think and please feel free to be brutally honest!


For the part where I return the help favor, I've found two great products I simply must share!

It's finally back to sock knitting here at Chez FKD after knitting TWO pair of the orange cabled wristers in the yummy Cashsoft DK. Here's my current sock in progress....

This is the new Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace and I think it's a WINNER!! It's a super soft bamboo/cotton/elastic blend that is very bouncy and pleasant to knit with. It's composed of four strands plied together so it can be a bit splitty but not enough to make for a bad knitting experience. I'm using the colorway Fern, the color is anything but subtle but I love *assertive* footwear :)

I want to see just how far the yarn will take me so I'm knitting toe up socks (plus I get to use the Turkish cast on, woot!)

I'm using the Elfine Socks pattern designed by Anna Bell which is think suits the colorway perfectly.

I'm doing Magic Loop on a 40 inch US#1 (2.25mm) which brings me to my next great find!! Magic Loop, while not being my favorite method for sock knitting, does have it's selling points (Turkish cast-on!) especially when executed with a smooth needle with a flawless join like an Addi Turbo. Unfortunately, Addi doesn't manufacture a *true* size #1 needle, their "1" is 2.5mm, not 2.25mm and the resultant fabric is just too loose for my taste. Enter the Hiya Hiya Needle! Pointy tip, smooth nickel finish, slick joins that don't snag yarn, 40 inch length, VERY flexible cables, about half the price of Addi's and a true size US#1. This sock knitter is a happy camper and now you can be too :)

The P-Man thinks all this helping is exhausting but he wants to know.....

If you'll be his Valentine? Happy Valentine's Day!!!

F to the O and new beginnings

Sorry to have stayed away so long, did ya miss me? I've been down with the bug that seems to be going around. Never fear, even tho activities other than sleeping and taking Nyquil have been minimal, there has been knitting!

Add to sickness the omnipresent cloudy, gray skies we've been having and photo ops have been few but we persevere here at Casa de FKD.

Without further ado, my first finished sock of 2007!

Specs:

Oblique Openwork from Sentsational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Evergreen, US #1 (2.25mm) Aero DPNs

Mini-gusset yo short row heel

Bearfoot is one of my very favorite sock yarns! It's supersoft, the colors are glorious and it makes some of the warmest socks you'll ever wear! Plus it's superwash! I love the slightly beefier heft of Bearfoot too, the only drawback being the mohair content doesn't give the fabric much sproing...but a nice rib like the Oblique Openwork saves the day! I hope these socks like their new home in a much chillier climate!

ETA: Speaking of socks, if anyone has unsuccessfully tried to obtain my free sock patterns, the links are now fixed, help yourself!

February heralded the start of the Forest Path Stole-a-Long and here are my humble beginnings...

I've never knit with pure silk before and this Handmaiden Lace Silk is just dreamy! It's a challenge to knit because it is very slippery but the color, soft smoothness and drape are pure heaven, no crunchy silk here! I'm using Aero Teflon circs, size 3.0mm (a US 2.5) which I found the easiest to tame the slick factor after swatching with Crystal Palace bamboo, Bryspuns, Addi's turbos and Addi naturas - thank god for needle obsessivness, right ? :)

I love how this is starting out I can't wait to get to the actual entrelac!

The FPS has absolutely NO portability at the moment (will it ever? hee!) so the on-the-go project is of course, wristers! (bet you thought I was gonna say socks!)

I'm using RYC Cashsoft DK in Clementine and US #2 (2.75mm) DPNs. OMG, if I ever entertain the notion to knit underwear, THIS is the stuff I'm doing it with! Don't worry I'll spare you that FO but this yarn is so so soft with such fabulous stitch definition it's hard to resist! YUM!! A most hearty thumbs up!

I leave you with a "sort of" action shot of the P-Man enjoying one of his favorite activities....our roof is finally being repaired a mere 16 months post Wilma (you know we don't say the H word around here. Ever.) and the construction has disrupted what is apparently an entire pigeon village! Pumpkin loves to watch the pigeons land on my balcony and window sills all day. When he spots one his tail swishes furiously and he runs to the window, leaps straight up almost 5 feet to the sill and paces back and forth wishing he could join in the pigeon fun.

I took this pic just as he was about to leap for the sill -- P-Man the flying wonder cat!

Hope your week is full of comparable fun! :)

Confession is good for the soul, right?

Or..... In the interest of full disclosure, part 2!

Yep, it's true, I caved AGAIN but I have another really good reason :)


As you know, the Forest Path Stole-a-Long starts on February 1, less than a week away.

Being the co-host, I've been very organized....

I wound my ginormous 1 pound hank of yarn into center pull balls.

I looked thru all my needles to pick what I thought would best suit the yarn.

I swatched with different needles and practiced the lace stitches.

And I washed and blocked my swatch to see what the finished product would look like.

I was organized and ready!! But the little voice inside my head was making quite a bit of noise! In fact she was screaming....

After almost 2 years of denial I finally admitted to myself, that I HATE the yarn I was planning to use for the FPS!

When I ordered it to be custom dyed, I sent a pic of some yarn that was cream, rosy pink and spring green. What I got was perfect except the spring green was actually a neon yellow with a bare tint of green. TOTALLY NOT THE ROSE GARDEN I ENVISIONED!!

Unfortunately, the yellow parts couldn't even be overdyed because the skein came to me with the color already scattered all over (rather than the chunks of color that appear when the hank is freshly dyed and unskeined)

So I kept telling my little voice to shut up and telling myself it looked fine....til 3 days ago when I finally let my inner voice speak her mind.... and tell me it HATES THAT YARN!!!! She (and I) longed for the vision of a rose garden I had in my head.

In light of this sudden ephiphany, I'm not interested in knitting a complicated heirloom quality shawl in a colorway I loathe!! Don't get me wrong, the yarn is lovely and soft by itself and the colorway is beautiful - especially the pink and cream parts. Just not what I've been dreaming of for the shawl that's been on my mind for almost 2 years!

So I was forced (hee!) to purchase four skeins of Handmaiden Lace Silk in the Rose Garden colorway!! Actually I was kinda forced cause I have absolutely no laceweight yarn in my stash! Being fluffy, often knitting with fingering weight rather than laceweight offers enough "upsizing" to spare me any major construction changes so knitting the FPS will be my first journey into laceweight knitting! Here's a pic of the object of my weakness...

Beautiful, isn't it? Even this isn't *perfect* (I don't love the brown in the colorway) but it is stunning and the shawl will be lovely in this shiny, luminous silk! Plus it's a lot closer to my vision than pink and neon yellow!!

The moral of the story? Always listen to that little voice cause she's pretty much always right!

Now Pumpkin says......

Is it any wonder my Mom is fluffy? She has no willpower at all!!! :)

Have a great weekend!

In the interest of full disclosure

I bought yarn! Yes, it's true, I caved!

Now before you get all judgy here's the facts....

I live in a semi-tropical climate (Semi? I dunno, it's pretty damn tropical 51 weeks a year!)

I love to knit socks!

Many of the feet I knit for live in the same semi-tropical climate and/or have enough wool socks.

Many of said feet have requested cotton sockage but as we obsessed avid socknitters know the choices among cotton sock yarns leave something to be desired. Oh some are pretty indeed but since cotton has no memory there's a high incidence of Floppy Stretched Out Sock Syndrome (FSOSS), even if the sock has some wool/nylon content.

Enter the addition of some sort of "elastic" to conquer FSOSS, socknitters rejoice! But....and there's always a but, right?.....But, the cotton/elastic yarns are all on the somewhat *fluffy* side being of at least a sportweight density. Cascade Fixation and Socks That Rock Sock Candy are two that come readily to mind - both lovely yarns but of a thickness that can make any shoe a tight squeeze!

Where oh where are the soft, thin, pretty, STRETCHY fingering weight cotton yarns of a socknitters dreams??

When I decided that 2007 was to be my year of knitting from the stash, I made my rules short and sweet...don't by yarn and sock yarns DO VERY MUCH COUNT!! In fact, without sock yarns I would have a pretty anemic stash and as the sockyarn stash stands now, I believe I could cover a good many of the feet in Ft. Lauderdale and still have leftovers :)

The one caveat I did not disclose was that I had heard a rumor....yes, there was a long awaited STRETCHY fingering weight cotton sock yarn on the horizon and I knew that I would be indulging.

And so I have.....

Rosewater, Fall Herbs and Painted Iris

This is Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace. It's a bamboo, cotton and elastic blend and it's as soft as a baby's bottom! And it's fingering weight! And it's light and comes in lots of dreamy colors, both variegated and solid! Woo hoo, I'm bending my Brittany's with joy!

I haven't swatched yet but when I do I'll give y'all a full review.

So what can I say, the flesh is weak but isn't it a woman's perrogative to change her mind? :)

What have I been doing since my last post? Well, lots of knitting has occurred but not lots of picture taking. I knit a second pair the Wine and Roses Mitts because my sis-in-law fell in love with them when she was here for Dad's funeral. I also knit my big footed brother as well as a friend some felted clogs that look very much like these....his in a dark aubergine Galway and hers in a funky grass green heather with bright tangerine trim Cascade 220.

I'm eagerly awaiting the start of the Forest Path Stole-a-long that starts on Feb. 1. We're up to 40 participants now, woot!! So while I wait it's more of the little projects for me. I cast these on this morning:


It's my first green sock for the Green Sock unKAL!!

It's the Oblique Openwork pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I'm using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Evergreen colorway. It's hard to capture the color but it's a rich blend of spruce, olive, teal, navy and a bit of burgundy. So soft and pretty! I adore knitting with Bearfoot!

Since the knitting pics are skimpy I aim to appease with two beautiful non-knitting pics here at Chez FKD so I give you....

My first Saturday Sky of 2007

It was such a clear, glorious day with cool ocean breezes and warm, golden sunshine...it's days like these that make me realize how lucky I am to live in a place where cotton socks rule :)

As always, my handsome Florida Orange bids you adieu

(I just love it when he tucks his little feet in like this!)
and says have a great week with lots of even stitches!

It's the little things...

Wow!! We have 20 participants for the Forest Path Stole Along! I'm totally tickled!

I think it's gonna be a great KAL because so many knitter's have had this project in the queue since the pattern came out in the Summer 2003 issue of IK and you know they say misery loves company :)

For anyone else considering joining, first let me say entrelac LOOKS much harder than it is! If you can pick up stitches, entrelac is easy!! The FPS is a perfect intro to entrelac as well because you have fairly large blocks and so don't have to worry about the constant flipping, flipping, flipping (because the knitting is directional) that can be a tad annoying when you're doing entrelac with smaller blocks.

The stole looks impressive and "complicated" as a whole but in reality there are only three lace patterns throughout and they are pretty basic, easy lace patterns. These three patterns also have the benefit of being really intuitive which makes the occasional screw up easy to recognize and fix before you've knit another 100 rows!

So if you are still on the fence about joining, be like Nike and "just do it"! It will stretch your knitting horizons and be lots of fun!

I finally wound my ginormous hank of yarn, it took me 90 minutes to do and that was with a ball winder and swift! It is a full pound of yarn so it's about 3000 yards but still...But here is the fruits of my labor - I swatched!!

The color on my monitor is a little bright but it's pretty close and I LOVE it!! It's just what I wanted for my FPS stole!

I swatched with #3 (3.25 mm) in both a Crystal Palace bamboo DPN and a Bryspun DPN. I like the feel of both so I'll decide which I prefer as February 1 draws closer. I washed and blocked my swatch and I'm very happy with the fabric and the openness of the lace....I can't wait to get started!!

Now for the part everyone's been waiting for....the contest!

Of course the quote is from Dirty Dancing...I really thought the movie quote was an obscure one - apparently not for those hard core Patrick Swayze lovers and brilliant residents of Knitbloglandia! Alas there can be but one winner to whom go the spoils so :::drumroll please::: the winner selected by random number generator is Kristyn of Crazy Knitting Fool!! Your crimson laceweight merino will be on it's way this week with a couple of extra surprises too -- -- congrats grrlfriend!

Since I'm eagerly awaiting the start of the FPS KAL I've been working on assorted little things and short term projects. My first FO of 2007 were my two scarves for the Red Scarf Project but alas I sent them off with no pictures.

Then I jumped back on the wristers frenzy for these Koigu cuties...

About 2/3 of a skein of Koigu PPPM #450, size #1 (2.25mm) DPNs, my own basic pattern.

And these...

More beaded wristers from Regia Silk 6 ply, size #1 (2.25mm) DPNs, about 50 amethyst rainbow 6/0 seed beads per wrister, #11 crochet hook same basic pattern, less stitches. I just love making these - they're so easy and so cute and everyone in my family wants a pair so more will be coming :)

On the needles now is a pair of extra large felted clogs. Sashquatch my brother liked the clogs I had made for my Dad but they were too small for him so my tiny footed sis-in-law appropriated those and I'm making a giant pair for FKBro -- in dark aubergine, bless him - at least he didn't choose black :)

Anyone who's visited FKD for more than a minute knows I love green!! I can't wear it near my face (I look ill when I do) but I love to look at it! I also love to knit with it for those that can wear it, like the recipient of Ruben (who was blown away I might add - woot!!) But it's my opinion EVERYONE can wear green on their feet!

Now, I love green and I love to knit socks so when I saw this button, I had to have it! Isn't it the cutest button? It's not a KAL** so there is no link, it's just for folks who love green, love to knit socks and love to knit green socks!

So yoink this cute button (on your own server please!) and knit up some pretty green socks too! **I cannot for the life of me remember where I found this button so if you are or know the artist please leave a comment so I can give you credit!!
ETA: the artiste is Maritza of Knotty Bits...well done Maritza!

I leave you with the face of absolute innocence....




Would you buy some used catnip from that face? I know I would :)
Happy Monday!!

Quite the little joiner, aren't we?

ETA: OMG! OMG! I just found out I won the Heifer International Drive grand prize over at Wendy's, WOWIE, WOW, WOW!!!! Thank you and happy birthday, my friend!!!!

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled programming :)

Everyone have a great New Year? Good!! Now lets get the real party started!!

First, thank you so much for the compliments on Ruben. I'm very proud of him too and I think his new owner will be thrilled! I can't wait til Ruben reaches his final destination - there's nothing like the feeling of having your handknit gifts truly loved and appreciated!

Next, let's usher in the new beginnings with a little contest!!

The title of this post is a movie quote. Leave a comment with your best guess and I'll use a random number generator to see who wins this: (plus knowing me, I might just toss in an extra surprise or two, hee!)

880 yards of oh so soft, handpainted, almost solid laceweight merino in a gorgeous crimson colorway!! Now put your thinking caps on cause you know you want it (and remember all you KFYS 2007ers, GIFT yarn doesn't count!)

So why all the post holiday glee and movie quotes about joiners you ask? Well, we here at Casa de Fluffy Knitter Deb are co-hosting our first knit-a-long!! WOOT!!!

My good bud Agnes and I have been admiring this stunning creation:

It's the amazing Forest Path Stole! Isn't she lovely?

And we thought, hey there must be other knitters out there having nightmares dreaming thinking about this challenging creation so misery loves company the more the merrier, let's have a knit-a-long!

So we created a Blog

And Agnes made some beautiful buttons {that you can save to your own server please}

And now we are extending an invitation - if you're interested in a challenge, love (or want to fine tune) your entrelac and lace skill set, and play well with others this is the KAL for you!

We plan to start the KAL on February 1** so those of you who are interested have a month to obtain the pattern (information on obtaining the pattern is on the FPS blog!) and choose a yarn that makes your knitting heart flutter with joy!

Head on over to the FPS blog, look around and leave us a comment if you're interested in joining us cause I predict a fun time will be had by all! Support, camaraderie, someone who understands the urge to toss your needles across the room while a blood curdling scream escapes from your lips....what more could a knitter ask for? :)

What will I be knitting with you ask? This:

I purchased this on my birthday before last (!) specifically for the Forest Path Stole so it's been crying from the stash for far too long. (The green isn't quite as neon as it looks, it's a very hard color to capture!) I haven't swatched yet so I have no idea what size or type of needle I will use. Actually I'm kinda scared about winding that giant hank...I usually use a nostepine to wind my skeins but I think even my ball winder may spontaneously combust on this one!

So come join Agnes and me and have some fun!! Don't forget to leave your contest guesses here in the comments, and your interest in the KAL over at the FPS blog! I'm so excited!! :)

** latecomers are welcome if you can't make the Feb. 1 start date and you don't need a blog to join, we will post pics at the FPS blog if you like.