Just a few more hours...

...and we'll be on our way to the beach! The car is packed, and I mean packed. I hope there's room for the boys! It's going to be a lot of fun. Here's our Top 10 list of what we want to do this next week:

1. Sleep in
2. Relax
3. Eat lots of good junk (guilt-free of course)
4. Relax again
5. Metal detect along the beach (with the new Bounty Hunter Tracker IV)
6. Goof off
7. Snorkel on the Daniel Webster Clements
8. Swim at the pool
9. Look for shells
10. Stay up late

Sounds like we have our work cut out for us. We'll have a computer and wireless card, so I plan on blogging from the beach. I can't promise that I'll post every day, but I'll keep in touch.

Project Update!

Now that I've got my head out of my rear, I'm making pretty good progress on the second sock. My goal is to get it done while on vacation. I also have some Socks that Rock (STR) yarn that's patiently waiting for me to cast on. Not until this pair is done and ends are woven in.

On my needles:

1. Lime green/black felted tote: Yarn--Berroco Vibe. It has been felted and shaped, so it's technically OFF the needles. All I need to do is sew the lining. I even have the lining fabric, I just need to find the sewing machine. It's in the guest room buried under mounds of yarn.
2. Talisman handbag: Yarn--Boho Colors. This is also off the needles and waiting for lining and handles. I just haven't had time to look for the perfect hardware for this. It is so cool and will make a great evening bag. I'm not going to have long yarny handles. It needs something more sophisticated.
3. Zack's afghan: I can't knit on this in the summer. It's just too warm. I'm using Plymouth Encore in heathered blue, red and tan. I chose Encore since it has a high wool content but can be machine washed. Very important. The pattern is something Zack and I came up with, domino or modular knitting. I hope to have it done by mid-September, or when the weather turns cool again.
4. T-shirt bath rug: This one is interesting. I bought a bunch of purple t-shirts at Goodwill and I'm knitting them into a rug. It's not very easy going because the needles are huge. I'm about 1/3 done. It's a simple garter stitch, cast on 10 knit for several rows, bind off all but one stitch, turn and pick up stitches along an edge, knit some more. Totally random.

More photos to come. I plan on posting Zack's afghan pattern when it's complete. Stay tuned!

Knit one, frog too!

I am mental. I'm knitting the second slip stitch sock. I just finished the 14 rows of 1x1 ribbing (again because my tension was for total crap the first time, wait...that would be the second time) and I started on the pattern. It's super easy--72 sts, size 1 dpns; 3 rounds of k3, p1; then a round of k2, yo, k1, p1; then two rounds of k1, slip as to purl, drop the yo stitch, k1, p1. I finished the first 6 rows and started the k3 p1 round, but I didn't p1. I'm not sure why I didn't p1, but it sure bungled up the pattern. I kept looking at it, then at the first sock, back at the second sock. [#$*%&!@] So I frogged the dang thing again, but only down to the ribbing. I WILL NOT START THIS SOCK FROM THE BEGINNING AGAIN. I will not. Cripes. My head must be in my rear end.

Here's an interesting thing I've learned from this...frogged yarn is like knitting with ramen noodles. This second sock just isn't looking as smooth as the first one. I'm hoping that when I block it, it won't look like ramen anymore. Ramen isn't a good look for a sock. I'm beginning to doubt that I'll ever get this one done.

Spinning Update:
I did a test spin on the merino roving. I only spun about a yard and then plied it back on itself. Oh...my...God! So what if it has the faintest scent of cig butt. It spins like a freakin' dream! It's all I can do to not start it right now. But I will wait and dye it first. I'm thinking beach glass colors...we'll see what kind of inspiration I get from vacation.

It Came in the Mail

Important disclaimer: it did not all come in today's mail, if that helps.

I've been a bad blogger. I promised photos of the merino roving and am just now getting to it. The roving has been here for nearly two weeks. It's incredibly soft! So, it lived up to that expectation. However, when I buried my head in it (literally!) there was the faintest smell of cigarette smoke. Like fiber that's been in stored in a plastic bag in a house where there's a smoker, but the smoker doesn't have access to the fiber room. Or maybe the sheep downed a few butts prior to the shearing. Who knows? I'm mildly irritated. Not enough to send it back or complain, but enough to not buy from that store again. I knew I should have stuck with Etsy. I took it to my knitting group (we meet at a local coffee shop/cafe) the other night for show and tell. I asked them to smell it and they can't detect anything. "But you have to stick your head in the plastic bag," I tell them. The majhong players at the next table are now very curious about the habits of knitters. Anyway, I have 8 ounces of it and I'm going to dye it before I spin it up. It hasn't told me what color it wants to be yet, so that will have to wait. Maybe the dyeing process will kill the smoke smell. Ha! (Nearly as fun as dam jokes...)

Next came an impulse purchase on eBay. This is 6 smallish skeins of merino wool boucle that I got for about $10, shipping included. It's probably about DK weight and I'd guess circa 1980 . Each skein is 1 1/4 ounce. That's all the info on the label. I'm not sure what this will be. I'm thinking lacy shawl or wrap. I'm going to dye it first, maybe blues, taupe, brown...not sure yet.

This is what I've been waiting for! The box from Knitpicks. I got 4 more skeins of merino wool sock yarn and a bunch of Jacquard dye. Such pretty colors! As much as I want to jump in and start dyeing tonight, I'm not going to do it. First of all, I need a good spot in which to dye. Second, I don't have time this week. Drat! It will have to wait until we come back from vacation.

Ahh...vacation! Four days and counting...

P.S. My son pointed out to me that bag worms have nothing to do with knitting. Au contraire mon fils. "The cone-shaped bags, which they form, easily identify bagworms. These are carefully interwoven using silk and bits of leaves and twigs from the host plant resulting in a well-disguised covering." Source: Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

They use silk to make their disgusting bag dwellings. I use silk to knit.

Even though they are silk-producing worms, they will surely die. I dye yarn and fiber.

Shall I continue? You see, my dear child, it all comes back to knitting.

Declaration of War

My arborvitae has bag worms.

This bag bastard is openly EATING my tree. If you look closely, you can see his nibble marks. I am completely mortified. This is almost as bad as (and I can barely bring myself to even type it) almost as bad as a moth in my stash. I think I'm going to be sick...

Normally, I'm not one to start using nasty insecticides on my plants, but in this case, it's either spray or cut down the shrub. I priced a replacement arborvitae and it would cost about $200. There's only one thing to do. It's time for the "burning rain of death."

Thanks Hammy!

The Ham-ster (who just so happens to be my biggest fan) likes Knitty Bits! So, I've changed my blog URL. We batted around a couple other names too, but just kept coming back to Knitty Bits. And since my e-mail is knittybits(dot)gmail(dot)com, it makes sense to have the names related.

Many thanks to The Ham-ster for his much-valued opinion!

(...more about The Ham-ster in future posts!)

A Quick Roll in the Stash

I don't know why I ventured into the guest room. I only go in there when absolutely necessary, like to iron something or to clean it before my parents come to visit. Today I didn't need to iron, nor are my parents coming to visit. I went in to roll in my stash a bit.

First question. Where did it all come from? Second question. How can I possibly knit it all?

Surely, I didn't buy it all. There has to have been some sort of yarn mating going on. I seriously don't recall buying 7 skeins (all different colors) of Peaches and Cream cotton yarn. I remember knitting two dish cloths, but I know I only bought 2 skeins, right? Two cones of mill-end wool, roughly 4 pounds, yes, I remember that. The five skeins for the rest of Zack's afghan, yes, I remember. One lone skein of black acrylic, total denial, no recollection at all. And so it went for most of the afternoon. I'm rather proud of myself, nearly all the ball bands were in close proximity to the yarn. I gathered yarn and said bands, stuffed them neatly into ziplock bags, and then piled them on the ironing board, on the floor, on the table, more on the floor. Well...

In all the "rolling" I found what I was looking for, a completed sock and a sock still on the needles. This project was abandoned nearly a year ago because gauge of the second sock was not cooperating. The yarn is (I think) Lorna's Laces (no ball band in close proximity) and they're knit in an easy to memorize drop stitch pattern. When I noticed the gauge issue with the second sock I got ticked and unceremoniously launched it into the guest room. I'm not really sure what I was expecting. The elves didn't reknit it for me so today I frogged it and will start over.

Break out the DPNs.

Sock on!