It's almost over

Here are pictures of my sock club kit that arrived today. You know I'm always excited to see my Blue Moon package with the rest of my mail, but I couldn't help but be a little sad when I got this one. You see it's the next to last shipment in my membership, so it's almost over. I love having something to look forward to and knowing yarn is on the way! I think I have to sign up for the next year. It's like the best magazine subscription ever.

Late to the Party

This is a progress pic of my clapotis. I'm doing it out of the recommended Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Sandridge. Sorry the picture is a little dark, it has been overcast for awhile here.

I was reading an interesting discussion over at Knitter's Review about the popular patterns and if the popularity influences whether you knit them or not. My feeling is that if I like the pattern, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. The clapotis and birch are both really popular patterns on the internet, but I really liked how they looked. Also, just because something is popular among knitters doesn't make it ubiquitous among the general population because the percentage of knitters is not that large. The figure I've heard is about 15% of Americans are knitters or crocheters. So even if everyone knit the same thing, it's not like picking it up at the Gap or something.

A little bit of spinning

Here's my spinning progress so far:

I finally sat down and just started spinning. There are a couple of sections where I had the tension set too tight and didn't get enough twist, but I finally got it set right and things were pretty smooth after that.Now I'm just worried about how to ply it since I love the colors and don't want to muddy them up. My navajo plying stinks, though. Well, I have a little bit more until I need to worry about it.
On the knitting front, my clapotis is coming along. I'm still in the increase section, but I have also been working on these socks:


I feel guilty about how long it has taken me for these socks. They are a gift for a good friend of mine, but I got wrapped up in knitting Birch and now Clapotis. I will finish these socks by Thanksgiving, if not sooner!

I'm done!

My Birch is blocking on my DIY blocking board from Home Depot. This is my first time using blocking wires so please excuse my less-than-straight edges. And here's a close up:
The horizontal lines are the ones I drew on my board to grid the blocking board.
So here are the stats on Birch:
Started: August 30, 2006
Finished: October 15, 2006
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Smoke, 2 3/4 balls
Needles: Size 8 Knitpicks Circulars
Modifications: None!
In case you were wondering, yes, I immediately cast on for my Clapotis last night. My Knitpicks order still hasn't arrived, but I think it will be here today. You know, now that I'm done and don't need the needle tips! It's alright, I'm sure I'll need them at some point.

Nothing Much

Well, there's not a whole lot to blog about for me. Still working on Birch, I'm now on row 160 with 99 stitches left on the needles. I know I'll make my deadline of Oct. 20. Now I'm anxious to finish so I can cast on for my Clapotis. And this time it's not my self-control keeping me from casting on, I need the size 8s for Clapotis. My DH did say, "Why don't you use your Denises?" I admit it freely, I'm totally spoiled by my Knitpicks needles and I want to use them for Clapotis. So I ordered additional tips so this can't happen again! And you can't just order one thing from Knitpicks, so I ordered some of their new wool/silk blend sock yarn, Gloss.
I did go to Cottage Fiber in Kansas City. It was wonderful. The owner was very friendly and she offers Spinning classes. I've never been to a shop that was exclusively spinning. And she offered a sampler pack that I bought so maybe I can get an idea of what I like to spin. I can't wait to go back.There has been a little spinning going on around here. Just working on my beautiful finger roving from Crown Mountain Farms. I think I have about a third of it left. Pictures soon.