Time for another blog....

I'll start out with knitting....
I've been working on Monkey like crazy for the past few days. I knitted all day yesterday! I'm working on the foot right now, if all goes well I hope to be done with the first sock today. My very first sock!! I've been using Knit Picks new sock yarn Risata in Grass. It's a really nice yarn. It's very soft, and has a nice stretch to it. I was able to get the proper gauge for this pattern with #2 dpns, which I was really happy about. I always get a little nervous substituting a different yarn in a pattern...which is odd because I don't think I've ever knit a pattern with the yarn it called for. The only complaint I have about the yarn is that it's easy to split the stitch. I think that has something to do with the stretchiness of it, and I really only ran into problems with it when I was turning the heal.


Please ignore the pet hair in all my pictures, I have 3 dogs and 2 cats...it's kind of unavoidable.

I've already got big plans for my next project. This week I plan to order Math Whiz, Smoking Sock (I couldn't find a good picture on knitspot's site, so I linked to the etsy one), and Delicato from Knit Spot. As soon as I'm done with Monkey, I will start on Math Whiz. I'm planning to use some really pretty handpainted merino sock yarn in Specked Pear that I bought from Whorled Peace on Esty.


Just for fun, here's a skein of handspun yarn that I have no idea what I'm going to do with. It's also from Whorled Peace, and it's gorgeous.


Oh...I'm super excited right now because I placed a custom order with Pigeonroof Studios, and its going to be listed today. I'm ordering her superwash sock yarn in Poison and Seaweed. I will provide linkies when they are listed. Seriously...I can't wait. I feel like it's Christmas.

Here are some long overdue pictures of Twiggy Tweed. The yarn is from Peace Fleece.




On to other things...
Last night the hubby and I went to eat at a new Sushi restaurant with a couple of friends. The place was awesome. The food was just as good as our regular haunt, but the selection was 1000x better. They had tons of stuff. I think it took us 20 minutes to figure out what we wanted. All in all I was very pleased. It's a bit farther away...over the river...but it will be worth the drive, and I plan to go back soon.

I have a new blooming Paph. It's my Paph Barbatum. It's not completely open yet, so it was kind of hard to get a good picture.

Knitting adventures

I finished Twiggy Tweed last Friday. As I suspected, the cats did not leave it alone while it was blocking, but they didn't hurt anything. I really love the way it came out. The lining ended up being way to big even though I followed the instructions, but I made it work. Also, I skipped the magnetic snap because the pattern said it was optional. When I finished it, I realized that the snap wasn't really optional (at least for me) because the bag hung open without it. Since I didn't want to take it apart, and I didn't have a magnetic snap on hand, I improvised with one snap from a yard of snap tape that I had laying around. I hope it holds up well.

I tried to start on Coupling, but it didn't work out so well. I think I was completely baffled by knitting it from the toe up, and it was just a bit too difficult for a first pair of socks. So, I started on Monkey yesterday, and it's going great. I've already gotten a few inches done on the first sock; it's really going pretty quick. Maybe once I finish Monkey, I will have a better understanding of how to construct socks, and maybe then I will be able to tackle Coupling.

I mentioned that my Neo. var. Shutennou was in bloom and that I would post pictures. Here they are as promised.

Babblings

Twiggy tweed is blocking right now. Hopefully my cats will leave it alone long enough for it to dry properly, but I'm not counting on it. After it's dry, I'm going to make the lining, and sew it all together. Depending on how long it takes to dry, I should be done tomorrow, or Friday.....more than likely Friday.

Friday I'm using one of my vacation days to stay home and be lazy, so you can probably expect a post out of me. I can't wait, I have so many plans. I'm going to sleep in, stare at the internet, dote on my animals and plants, take some pictures, and do some knitting. Hopefully it will be relaxing, I could really use a day to relax.

My Neo. var. Shutennou is completely opened up. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow or Friday.

See you Friday.

Snap!

Two posts in one day...the first day no less!

I have a couple of blooming orchids and carnivores right now, so I thought I would post pictures. Enjoy!

Another shot

I've decided to try Blogger again. I've done this before a couple of years ago, but ended up deleting it. You can probably expect me to jabber on about Etsy, knitting, wire-wrapped jewelry, plants, and my animals.

I've been working on setting up an Etsy shop, but for some reason I'm nervous about it, so I'm not really getting anywhere with it. I don't really know why I'm nervous about it, I just am. I've always just made things for myself and the people around me, I've never actually sold anything. I worry about people liking the stuff I sell, and I really worry about people being disappointed in what they order from me. It's not a rational fear, I'm just worrying. After all, I love shopping on etsy. I've bought lots of stuff, and I've never been disappointed, so I don't know why I worry that someone would be disappointed in my stuff. I really just need to do it, and not think about it so much.

I've been knitting a lot lately. Right now I'm working on Twiggy Tweed from Knitty. It's coming along, and I'm getting close to being done with it. Next I think I will start on Coupling. I've never made socks before, so I'm really excited about them. Hopefully all goes well, and they don't make me want to pull my hair out.

That's all for now, hopefully I can get a few pictures up soon.