Random Fibers, the sock yarn

I have the most amazing Secret Pal - Mama-E of Cyber Fibers. She made me some sock yarn in my very own colorway, based on the funky fractal picture I posted a couple of weeks ago. Tucked in amongst the yarn are two pairs of earrings that match. Now I have to figure out the best way to show off this yarn. Socks, or a scarf? Any ideas?












The next package that I unwrapped (because I start with the biggest) was this lovely skein of Vesper sock yarn, with a set of coordinating stitch markers, including the RANDOM and FIBERS ones. I'm pretty that this yarn will be socks.















That wasn't all - a big, fragrant block of lavender soap, two yummy candles and some notepaper.













Isn't this the greatest? Once I learned her identity, I made sure to check out Mama-E's eshop. She has a sock club. How long until I sign up for that?

In knitting news, I'm trying to finish Icarus before starting anything else, like the Simple Knitted Lace Bodice. I bought the pattern, but haven't done anything about the yarn. Next up should be the Funky Scarf, since I'm designing as I go. Maybe I'll cast on tonight, to make sure I have needles that are the right size.

Last but not least, DS turned 13 today. Now I'm the mother of two teenagers!

At long last, the loom is complete

Occupying much of the living room, the floor loom is all put together! DH was a great help. I don't know how we would have put it all together if I hadn't taken the class. The directions are very well written, with plenty of diagrams, but knowing what each piece does and how it is supposed to work was invaluable.
The first warp will be a repeat of the third warp from the class, because I saved what was left on the loom. It's the huck lace pattern, and there should be enough yarn for a place mat. It's primary purpose is to see how the finishing works in my washing machine.

Then I have to decide on the next project. Webs had a sale on their cotton weaving yarn, and I bought several cones - pure white, natural, pale orange, pale yellow and a variegated with the white, yellow and orange. I'm thinking baby blankets. DH couldn't figure out how such a small box could be so heavy - usually yarn deliveries are very light weight. Cotton on a cone is much denser than skeins of wool.

The other highlight of the weekend was a yarn crawl with Karen, to several of her favorite yarn shops. I'm all set for most of the Christmas presents that I want to make, as well as the yarn for the Funky Scarf Swap. Just in case, no pictures of our shopping.

Funky Scarf Swap Questionnaire

Are you allergic to any fibers? No fiber allergies.

Do you prefer any fibers over others? I'll take novelty yarns in small doses. Lately the unusual fibers have drawn my attention - soy, bamboo, sea silk, stainless steel. Alpaca is always good.

Thinking back to Scout’s post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky!















Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern? Funky yarn

What are your favorite colors? All shades of green, plum, royal blue, pale yellow

What colors would you never have up close to your pretty face? Orange, rust, brown, beige. I'm pretty pale, so need colors to brighten things up.

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl? Scarf.

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf? Long and thin - I wear them indoors to brighten up work outfits.

What is the climate like where you live? Hot in summer, cold in winter, cold in summer at work due to air conditioning.
Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe? Funky trumps functional.

What else would you like your partner to know about you? No frills or anything fussy - I don't even like buttons on clothes unless absolutely necessary.

Casualities of the Summer of Lace

My SP8 hostess issued a challenge to display all of the unfinished knitted objects in my house. There's not enough bandwidth to show all of the unfinished objects - would probably need to include children, etc in that post. As I collected the neglected projects from their various corners, it occurred to me that most were displaced by lace oriented projects - Branching Out, Broadripple socks and Icarus. Icarus is at the top of the pile right now - I want to keep going while there is some momentum.


Clock-wise from top right we have steggy, just waiting to be put together. The body is sewn up, next is the head, then plates(?) along the spine and legs. Then there is Thuja out of Trekking XXL colorway 28. Sock one is done, but I don't like the toe so need to redo that. No rush on those, at least for a month or two. Then there is Arizona Lace, which is lace but has too many knitting errors for me to be happy with it. It's fate is unknown, but most likely involves frogs. Upper left is the windchime scarf that we learned at my knitting guild - short rows and knitting backwards. It's waiting patiently for winter. Then in the middle is the cotton cable out of Tahki Classic Cotton. I love it and worked on it diligently (cables out of cotton are hard on the hands, so only did a few rows at a time) until all the lace projects kicked it off the table.



The home-based project is Icarus, on which I've finally started to get going. The white line (don't forget to floss) is the end of the first repeat of chart 1. This has a ways to go








For traveling knitting, we have my Cascade Fixation obsession. This is sock #1 of the second set of anklets. Pair number one did very well at tap class last Thursday, very cushioning in my tap shoes.






My Secret Pal is making things worse, by having this arrive at my house:
Knitting Nature

There are several items in there, the hexagon spiral scarf and ram's horn jacket to be specific, that will go on the "To Be Knit" list very shortly.

In other SP news, we have discovered that there are only 3 degrees of separation between my SP and myself. It turns out that the younger sibling of my SP is friends with my daughter. They're all sworn to secrecy and won't tell me anything. Grumble grumble...

FOs and a hint

Branching Out is finished, including blocking, and I'll probably wear it to work tomorrow.

The Broadripple socks are done, and I'm sad that they have to leave - they are very comfortable. My SIL will enjoy them - she picked out the colors.

The Cascade Fixation ankle socks get to stay here, and I'll wear them to tap class on Thursday - someone might get a look at them. The cushy nature of the sock will be welcome for tapping, that's for sure. My first attempt at a short row heel and toe. I like the heel, though with the minimal number of stitches the heel of the sock was a little low, so I crocheted on several additional rows across the back so the sock won't fall off. The variegated yarn hides my wonky crocheting quite well. I had trouble with the short row toe, and getting the yarn in the right place to do the grafting. I may go back to the standard toe for the next pair. Yes, there is a next pair already. I went to Patternworks up in Centre Harbor, and picked up some more Cascade Fixation. My apologies to those who entered my little contest - no one guessed that Patternworks would be my destination.

The solution to my "Where's the lace?" picture:











The Broadripple socks, carefully scattered amongst the beach towels and water paraphenalia. The hot pink sock is on the hot pink towel, and the green sock has its pink toe carefully hidden on a matching T-shirt.

Where's the lace?

Edited to add: There are two (one pair) Broadripple socks in this picture.

We're back from vacation, and before I do anything else I have to get my post up for The Amazing Lace challenge #5. So, without further ado, find the lace item(s) in this picture. I'll post the "solution" in a subsequent post.