oh the possibilities...

This, my friends, is a box FULL of undyed fiber. TEN POUNDS of undyed fiber! I'm just staring at it and thinking of all the things it could become...

And do you see the bag of goodness there at the bottom left? That is a blend of Superfine Merino and Baby Alpaca, and I am in no way exaggerating when I say it is the softest thing I have ever felt in my entire life. There's also some BFL, a couple of different Merinos, and a superwash Merino and Tencel blend. *rubs hands together greedily* I cannot wait to start working with these!

They will all be appearing in an etsy shop near you in the not-so-distant future. :)

May gets a two-fer!

Whew! Amazing that it's barely the middle of May and yet I've completed TWO pairs of socks for my KAL. Here are the deets for those who'd like 'em. :)

Wildflower Day Dreams
This pair is made from that colorful little ball of yarn that I showed you at the end of the last sock post. Came out pretty cute, no? The pattern is Wildflowers, and the yarn is BFL from The Plucky Knitter, in the colorway Day Dreamer. Knit on size 1 dpns (double-pointed needles, non-knitsters)

Wine Under the Tower
These were made for my BFF for her birthday, and thankfully our feet are similar enough in size that I can make socks that differ only slightly in size from mine and they come out just right for her! Everyone else, sorry, unless you've got size 7.5 feet, you won't be getting socks from me. I refuse to make them for anyone that doesnt live in my household...I just need too much "try on" time. This pattern is one that I created myself after finding the Eiffel Tower stitch pattern. I used the stitch pattern over the instep of the sock and subbed in an appropriate cuff, heel, and toe, and voila! An anklet! The yarn is the ever-yummy Dream In Color Smooshy, and the colorway is In Vino Veritas. Knit on size 1 dpns.

If you'd like to look me or my stuff up on Ravelry, I'm Gherkin (of course!).

etsygherkin

pssst! there's a sale going on!

sock-a-month

over in ravelry-land, there are lots and lots of "knit-a-longs". for just about every project you could want to knit, there is an "a-long" to join for it...and if there isn't, you can start one! ...and they will join.

due to my growing stash of sock yarns, i joined a knit-a-long (KAL) for socks...i've got the link down there on the right in my yarny section. it's called the "SAM KAL 5", which is geek for "Sock A Month Knit A Long 5" (this is the fifth round that these group leaders have organized).

we started in january, and i'm proud to say that i have successfully made a pair of socks for each month so far. although somehow it seems my sock yarn stash hasn't decreased any...in fact, it's grown! this KAL has apparently only empowered me to buy more! oh well. ;-)

here are the socks i've done so far...


January:
simple eyelet socks, made from inexpensive Wool-ease. even though it isn't considered the "cream of the crop" as far as yarn is concerned, i have to tell you, they softened up so much after they were washed and i really really love them. i am NOT opposed to using it again for sock yarn. at ALL.

February:
these were made with a wide ribbed pattern that i just made up (really, that's a lot easier than it sounds, don't be so impressed tom! *wink*). it was made from a "sub-par" yarn, one that is probably more regarded as a sock yarn than wool-ease, but i'd take wool-ease over this stuff any day...it was like knitting with a brillo pad, and while it softened a little with a wash, they are no where near as cozy as my wool-ease socks.

March:
now these...i'm pretty proud of. see that sock yarn there? i maaaaaaade that. these are my birthday socks. i spun the fiber into a two ply sock yarn and then made the Dublin Bay socks from it. i love how the shading of colors worked out. yay for handspun, handknit socks! (tom...you are allowed to be thoroughly impressed this time)

April:

this month's sock is in the Charade pattern, and it was made in The Plucky Knitter's new merino/cashmer/nylon sock yarn in the Ida Red colorway. it is so nice. it's soft and fuzzy and cozy and smooshy. i've got to give it up for Plucky, she has got some colors that are just to die for...meh heh heh heh...dye for. alright moving on... anyway, if any of you out there are yarnies, go check her out.

May:
this ball of beauty is to become my may pair. i'm using the Wildflowers pattern, and again this is a Plucky creation. it is her old BFL (Blue Faced Leicester - it's a type of sheep) base yarn in the Day Dreamer colorway.

there you go folks! a little catch-up post. :)

My lives

sometimes it seems there are not enough hours in a day. these are those times. i feel like i'm trying to lead about five different lives all in the same 24 hours that one life should be led in. i've got fiber to dye, fiber to spin, yarn to knit, yarn to crochet, gifts to research/buy/make, a house to clean, and etsy shop to stock, a boy to raise, school to register for, cats to shave, cavities to fill, hair to dye, shows to watch, tax to file, an LLC to create, and ice cream to eat.

let's talk about ice cream for a minute. this week, we bought (in MY opinion anyway) the BEST ice cream, EVAH! it's called "Centennial Cupcake" and it's by Blue Bell....who is the best ice cream maker in my mind anyway. y'all it's ice cream with CAKE in it!! and you know how i love cake. mmmmm.... i'll let you check out the link for the full description. i cannot get enough of this ice cream.

let's see, what else would you care about....oh! here's a couple pics of the little dove's nest that is in our lime tree in our courtyard:
awwww, isn't it sweet?? *pat, pat*

what else? well, i'll spare you any yarny goodness, since the friends who would appreciate that level of geekiness all reside on ravelry, and therefore have already seen whatever i'd put up here anyway.

Anyone been watching BSG?? i havent seen last week's yet, but i am so happy it's back on! i can't believe it's the final season already though, boooooo.

well, short and sweet, people - i'm gonna go dive back in...

zoo for you!

we went to the zoo last week, and by "we" i mean me, boy, chanelle, boy and girl, wannabe, and buggernut. and i'm pretty sure that until i get some kind of prescription allergy medicine, i should never ever go again. ugh. i thought i was going to DIE when i got home...

but i did get a bunch of pics, and the kids seemed to have fun, when we werent running over them with the strollers and they werent falling down.

i took about two hundred (yes! can you believe that!! dang.) pictures, but here are just a handful for your perusement.

and yes, those tortoises are doing exactly what you think they're doing. did you know they sound like cows when they do that? yeah, well neither did we until that day... Never know what you'll learn at the zoo!

Mwah!

Happy Huggy-Huggy-Kissy-Smoochy-Lovey-Goopy-Snuggle-Mushy-Gushy Day.

*wretch*

anyway... i'm REALLY here to give you a cookie recipe...

Egg and Dairy Free Lemon Sugar Cookies
adapted from this recipe on allrecipes
makes about three dozen 2" heart cut outs (YMMV)

Ingredients:
10 TB softened vegetarian margarine
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar (replace all the sugar with 3/4 raw sugar if desired)
1 1/2 TB flax meal
1/4 c warm water
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 c AP flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c 10x sugar
3-4 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place flax meal in the warm water and let it sit for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Cream margarine and sugar together. Beat in the flax mixture, lemon zest, and lemon extract.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough out on parchment paper (it helps to sandwich the dough between two sheets) and cut out desired shapes.
5. Place shapes 1" apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake 6-8 minutes.
6. Cool completely. Then drizzle with icing made from 1 c 10x sugar and a few teaspoons of lemon juice.

enjoy! possibly with your Poopsie-Moopsie-Boo-Boo-Bear?? bleah.