I am a swap ho!

You all know that I am a sock ho and yarn ho, but did you realize I'm also a swap ho? And since new swaps are popping up all the time, and I can't resist signing up for any of them, well...you get the picture. Yesterday I went and signed up for Secret Pal 8 and the One-Skein swap being run by Interweave. Yes, Interweave has decided to jump on the bandwagon and promote the One-Skein book by hosting a swap. Of course, you don't have to buy the book to be in the swap (you have to knit your swap partner something out of a single skein as part of the swap), but I'm sure they're hoping most swappers will. I'm not too upset by that, since I love Leigh and hope she sells lots and lots of books... I still haven't bought it, but I'm going to very soon so I can get it signed.

Since I can't neglect the swaps I'm already in, I got started on my Sockapaloooza socks on Monday night at knitting group. Here are some toes:



As you can see, I've got a ways to go... Good thing I've got another month! Boy, that deadline sure snuck up on me.

I just got an update on the new issue of Spun (you know, the one with my pattern in it). Tara was hoping to have the issue up a couple of weeks ago, but it sounds like it got delayed yet again and will hopefully be up sometime next week. Keep an eye out for it! I'll let you all know as soon as it's up, although you guys usually see these things before I do.

In kid news, Owen is officially a walker. Yesterday he spent most of the day toddling around the house, and when Bill got home, he noted that Owen doesn't crawl anymore. Oh, boy. I am sort of excited to be able to put him down when we're out in public (since he can't run away yet) and not have to worry about him crawling around in the dirt. I know this picture has nothing to do with walking, but it is proof as to why I have difficulty doing the dishes during the day:



Isn't he helpful? I don't mind him getting his paws on the clean dishes so much (apart from the knives and forks, and the fact that he likes to drop the plates on the floor), but I can't stand him digging around in the dirty ones. We have a super-duty dishwasher (since I don't do rinsing) and the stuff goes in there pretty darn funky. Since telling Owen "no" is like talking to myself, loading the dishwasher with him around is just not happening these days.

The other night, he was helping me knit:



How helpfully helpful of him, huh?

Okay, on to the socks. You guys have sure gotten busy fast! I can't believe how many socks are being knit.

Karen finished some Stansfield socks made out of lovely Cherry Tree Hill yarn.

Roberta finished some springy socks for her lucky sock pal.

Quikeye made some fantastically gorgeous Child's First Socks from NB's Knitting Vintage Socks. Oh, how I love that pattern!

And we welcome back Adelle who started out strong in January, missed a couple months, and is now back with an awesome pair of fancy rib socks for her A.

Lu knit up a cute little pair of child's socks for charity.

Jill took advantage of a ridiculously long plane trip (Honolulu to Atlanta, anyone?) to finish up some Embossed Leaves socks in the Keohinani colorway from Mama-E's C*eye*ber Fiber.

And speaking of Mama-E, she knits, too! She finished up a pair of Jaywalkers in her Mama-E colorway. She's also doing a Project Spectrum sock club, and has only 10 spaces left. She'll send you a hank of her lovely non-pooling sock yarn each month that has been dyed in the Project Spectrum colors. I can't join because that would mean I am a complete Sock Addict's Club failure, but those of you who are knitting socks for Project Spectrum should definitely check it out.

Kristy got the itch to knit up these gorgeous stripy socks immediately after finishing her March pair:



Choomon finished yet another pair of Super Secret Socks. Let's wish her luck with her design submission, too!

Dani finished some Jaywalkers on April 1. So close, but not close enough for an M. She's got an incredible stash flash up, too. You've got to check it out.

Jen finished some very leafy-looking Embossed Leaves socks.

Sheri knitted up a pair of Socka socks and will be posting the pattern soon so you can knit your own. (Hee, hee! I just typed "owen" instead of "own" there.)

Christy made some Fancy Silk Socks (another Knitting Vintage Socks pattern) for her lucky mom.

Leah finished some March socks but got bounced when she tried to e-mail me. So...I'm giving her a late "M".

Whew! You guys are keeping me so busy. I'm going to have to change my blog to be the "sock-a-month" blog. I guess I do find time to talk about myself plenty, though. That's the price you pay for joining my knit-along - listening to me talk! (Or, rather, reading what I type.)

Time to prepare the house for an onslaught of toddlers. At my last mommy discussion group, we made a pledge not to clean the house before the others come over since it makes us all feel like everybody else has domestic skills and we don't. Well...I'm going to take that pledge to heart this afternoon. The house is a complete disaster, and other than putting up my knitting, scissors and the computer (things my kids have learned to leave along but are a magnet for other people's kids), I'm not gonna do a darn thing about it. I hope my friends appreciate my sacrifice and feel better about themselves after visiting my pit of anti-domesticity! Of course, they already know not to let their kids into my kitchen if they don't want them to eat old cheerios off the floor...