oh, me, oh my!

Here I thought I'd get a ton of stuff done over the long weekend with my mom here. I guess I did get stuff done, but not the stuff I thought I was going to do! We went to see the totally amazing Christmas light display at the zoo, took a walk in Tryon Creek State Park and played with some of the most giant maple leaves I've ever seen, ran in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning (4 miles - the first two were nice, easy downhill miles and the last two were extremely difficult back-up-the-hill miles), and ate and ate and ate some more. I also managed to get my new shopping cart/web store up and running - check it out!

Since the new cart is up, and there's a little secret hidden away inside, I'm going to make an announcement here. Not only will GYW be your source for amazing knitting patterns (okay, I'm poking fun there - I like my patterns and all, but I do have a little bit of humility, which is constantly at odds with my need to market my wares...), but I'm also going to be selling some exclusive sock kits! I've just placed a couple small wholesale orders with Mama-E's C*eye*ber Fibers and Chewy Spaghetti for some hand-painted sock yarn. Each yarn will come with a sock pattern designed especially for it. If they sell well, I'll be searching for more independent fiber artists to collaborate with on additional kits. If you paint yarn and might be interested in working on something with me, let me know!

I also got quite a bit of knitting done - the sock design I'm creating for Michelle of the Sweet Sheep is almost done after having to be ripped back past the heel flap twice on the first sock (the first time, I had the gusset totally decreased, too, and realized that the stitch pattern just wasn't right on the foot just above the start of the heel flap. Grrrrr!). This week will be all about getting those socks done and starting on the maternity sweater. Can't wait to dive into that box of Bam Boo! I also received a box of five different yarns in the mail that will turn into swatches for the Great Wall of Yarn at TNNA in January. I'm actually going to attend the show this year, and I'm very excited (and a little nervous). I was leaning towards skipping it since Owen is still showing no interest in weaning, but my mom is going to fly down and play nanny for the weekend so I can bring him with me. Yay!

Finally, I got the most awesome box from my Sockret Pal, who has obviously been keeping close tabs on my blog. It was like she's known me for years! I haven't gathered myself together enough to post a pic yet, but it totally rocks. I'll have something up here soon for you all to ogle. But right now, I've got to go deal with a cranky, teething, snotty child. Jealous?

Baby steps...

So, I didn't get the sock update done yesterday. Part of the problem is I start thinking about it and get completely overwhelmed, and then I put it off. The funny thing is, it isn't even that difficult (especially since Stariel did this week's update for me) - I'm just a horrible procrastinator. So I'm going to take this a little chunk at a time. Here is the sock update. I haven't updated your letters yet, so give me a couple days (I'll let you know when I do it). These are all the updates received through mid-day on Saturday. My mom is coming into town tonight, so I'll have some babysitting assistance which should allow me to get stuff done for a change!

In other news, I was on the news again today. Did you all hear about the mom who got kicked off of a Delta flight for breastfeeding? Well, today there was a nationwide nurse-in at Delta ticket counters across the country, and we were out at PDX in full force. The national AP was there, so even if you don't live in Portland, keep an eye out for the story. Rock on, nursing moms!

Here are your socks - thank you for being so patient with me, and thank you Stariel for doing this week's update!

Margot knit three pairs of socks for the men in her life! Wow!



Teri has two pairs for November.

Linda finished one for Socktoberfest.

Melanie has a pair of RPMs

Pat finished a pair of Traveler’s Stockings from Knitting On the Road while she was traveling!



Kris finished some brownie point baby socks.

Emily finished her first November socks.

Khris finished some in Socks That Fit handdyed cotton yarn.

Bettina finished some Conwy socks, also from Knitting On the Road.



Aija finised some beautiful Fuzzy Feet.

Stariel (Hey, that’s me!) knit SSS socks from the Six Socks Knitalong.

Kelly finished a pair too!

Silja made Juicy Business socks.

Christy has quite the collection of stockings for November!

Karen knit socks for her sister.

And Lexa made Fuzzy feet too!

Thanks for the socks, guys! I've also finally done the October drawing. Our winner is Sonya! Congrats! I will be digging into my stash and hopefully get you something before Christmas...

Pure insanity.

I know you've heard this all before, but it seems like I'm insanely busy lately. And of course I keep taking on more projects. Right now, I'm spending hours trying to code a new shopping cart for my website. I want it to look like the rest of my site, so it's taking some work to get everything tweaked just right. It's kind of a pain but in a way I'm really enjoying getting back to my computer programming roots.

I'm also going design crazy. I just finished socks for the Spring '07 issue of Cast-On, and I've been swatching for Classic Elite's Fall '07 pattern line (they were nice enough to send me a big box of yarn, so I figure the least I can do is swatch up some stuff for them). I've also got a couple other magazine submission deadlines I want to try to swatch for, I got a bunch of gorgeous Hip Knits yarn in the mail for some designs I'm doing for them, and I've got that big box of Bam Boo waiting to be turned into a maternity sweater. Whew!

I don't know if you remember me complaining a couple weeks back about two of my designs getting bumped (one was the Interweave sock pattern, which is hopefully going to be in the Spring issue instead)... The other day I got a box in the mail from the publisher of the Knitting For Babies book, which was the one I thought I'd been bumped from with no explanation/notification/etc. Well, it turns out there are two versions of the book - a little magazine-like leaflet, which is the one I wasn't in, and a nice spiral-bound hardcover book which my pattern is most definitely in. Yay! It even got a little thumbnail pic in the table of contents. If you happen to see it (it's got a baby in a cute little blue cabled hoodie on the front), my pattern is the Felted Block Set.

And Yvonne pointed out that the Spring Knitscene preview is up, and look who's in it (scroll down to #5 - Rutabaga)! Yay! This was a really fun project to design and knit.

Stariel took care of this week's sock update, but the pizza is here so you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Tomorrow at the latest, I promise!

Your friendly, neighborhood sock update

Coming to you from Norway, here's this week's sock update (this covers all the socks I received through Saturday night), courtesy of Silja.

To start off this post coming all the way from Norway, Chrissy let me do a
guest update on the socks for Sam 2 this week. I have now visited alot of blogs
that I never visited before. I have seen some great things and read alot of
nice posts. So a little Thank you to Chrissy for letting me do this! Thank you
for all the work you are putting into this Project!

And then on to the updates:

Monica has knitted a pair of Opal Zebra socks.

Manda have some cool big blue broadripple socks.

Aimee has knitted some lovely country socks in icelandic wool.

Rebecca finished a pair of really colorful and fun Mt. Hood Socks.

Stariel have some candy colored Dublin Bay socks and Limbo socks at her place.

Kris finished a pair of Fern Leaf Lace Socks in gorgoeus fall colors.

Laura have the socond of the Summer Sock Party Socks done.

Lainie knitted a pair of self designed Cascade Fixation socks and some ribbed Fixations as well.

Tonia got a pair of Lana Grossa Yukon Leaves socks in her blog.

Sillyewe finished off a pair of socks for soldiers

Nancy G got some Fuzzy Feets and a really halloweeinsh Iris garden socks.


Adrienne finished off a lovely pair of Lomabards and a pair of self designed raspberry lemonad socks.


Lisa has knitted a pair of really nice house socks for her Aunt. I like the story behind them!

Joni got some brown magic going on at her blog now.

Debbie has completed another Socks of doom pair.

Aija made up some cuddly Vanilla Footie socks.

Ashely did some blue socks of doom.

Nelda got two pairs done, some stretchy hubbysocks and a pair with yarn from Japan.

And lastly, I finished a pair of Bigfoot socks in Regia Canadian color.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I love Arctic Lace!

Check out I'm A Knitter And I Vote later today for a wrap-up of yesterday's excitement (I'll try not to gloat too much, but yay for a rebalance of power! I don't want a one-party system, especially when the party in power isn't my party!). But this post is all about one thing - lace. And in particular, Arctic Lace, the latest book from author and knitwear designer extraordinaire, Donna Druchunas.



This book focuses on Native American lace knitting in the North American arctic, where they produce wonderful clouds of lace out of quivit (which comes from the musk ox, of all things). Donna follows a quivit trail to the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative, owned and operated by "approximately 200 Native Alaskan women from remote coastal villages of Alaska".



Now, knitting with Musk Ox yarn sounds kind of strange. They are big and, frankly, don't look very soft.



I've never tried quivit before (baby camel is about the most exotic thing in my stash), but let me share with you the first paragraph from the introduction. If this doesn't make you want to knit quivit lace, I don't know what will!

"Picture yourself surrounded by the softest fiber you can imagine. Skeins of yarn, tufts of fleece, delicate knitted lace envelop you. The nearly weightless fiber has the texture of a cloud. The yarn is fine and fluffy, with a hand that reminds you of a kitten's fur. The lace drapes like fine-woven silk. As you touch the lace scarves - in natural taupe and soft, muted colors - you notice a gentle halo lightly framing the stitches, adding a dimension of luxury not quite like anything you've ever seen. Softer than merino, finer than cashmere, lighter than silk, the fiber you are touching is quiviut, the down of the musk ox."

Intrigued? Makes me want to hop a plane to Alaska tomorrow! The first half of the book talks all about the cooperative, the knitters, the history of Native Alaskan knitting and, of course, the musk ox and its wonderful fleece (including how the quivit yarn is produced, starting at the source). There are tons of pictures of the co-op women plying their trade.



As a woman and a knitting business owner, I am always fascinated to learn about how other women make a living with yarn and needles. Like the Bohus knitters in Sweden and the lace knitters of Estonia, women all over the world have and continue to contribute to their local economies by producing wonderful knitted garments. It would be nice if it were easier to actually knit for a living in this country, but that's a discussion for another time!

The second half of the book is where the serious lace knitter can get down to business. Donna starts with an excellent tutorial on how to knit lace. Her "Lace Knitting Workshop" is a great place for the lace novice to learn the basics. She covers everything from chart reading to fixing mistakes to what effects different needle types will have on your finished product. She covers all the basic lace stitches complete with step-by-step pictures. At the end of the workshop are a series of sample swatches where beginning lace knitters can practice their techniques before heading on to a more difficult project.

And finally, after you've learned how to properly manage your lace knitting, she starts in on the projects. All of the projects in the book are "inspired by the culture and art of the Yup'ik and Inupiat people." There are projects for all level of lace knitter, from scarves to vests to fingerless gloves. My only small complaint about the book is that the pictures are not in color. The photos are great, but I was left craving more visual stimulation. I guess that means I'll have to knit up a scarf or two so I can look at them in full color! It doesn't detract from the book - I just found the photos on the cover so yummy that I got a bit greedy.

The last chapter in the book is all about how to design your own lace and would be a great place to start if you're interested in designing but don't quite know where to start. She also includes a resource section where you can find numerous places to get your own quivit.

I am very happy to have this book in my collection (and, just so you know, I bought the book and volunteered to review it - it wasn't provided gratis for me to review, although Donna will be mentioning my pattern site as a thank you). As many of you know, I don't really have time to knit others' patterns and so I need knitting books with some real content in them. This has it, and I know I will be referring to it and enjoying the history of the Oomingmak knitters often.

You can get your own copy at your local bookseller or online at my favorite place, Schoolhouse Press, the publisher, Nomad Press, as well as Amazon, etc. I'd also like to mention that Nomad Press is a participant in the Green Press Initiative, which is working to make publishing an environmentally sustainable endeavor. You all know I'm extremely supportive of that! In addition, Donna is contributing a portion of her royalties from the book to the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative. Now, you've heard me mention before how little knitting book authors actually get paid per copy, what with the super-discounting of Amazon and the likes, so the fact that she's donating some of her hard-won proceeds back to the women who inspired the book speaks volumes, in my mind.

Thanks, Donna, for a great book and giving me the chance to review it! If you're intrigued and want to read some of the other posts on Donna's blog tour, check out her blog for more details.

Two very important announcements!

First, of course, get out and VOTE!

Second, remember to stop by tomorrow for my review of Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas. This is a great book, and I've got some fabulous pictures from the author, so you won't want to miss it!

Calling all conservatives!

I am trying to get a few more conservative knitters to join in the discussion over at I'm a Knitter and I Vote. So far, most of the posts are left-leaning apart from Ang, our lone conservative voice (at last, she's the only one who's willing to admit it!). I know there are a few of you who read my blog despite the fact that I'm a crazy Democrat, so if you'd be willing to share your views in a respectful manner, please join us! I don't want the discussion to be too one-sided.

If there are any third-party folks out there, I'd love to get some of you involved as well. Let's show the world how incredibly cool knitters are, and that we can get along even if we totally disagree with each other!

In other news, Portland had a little earthquake around 9:30 last night. I was sitting on the couch when it felt like a train was going by. I lived a half block from the train tracks growing up, but there aren't any tracks anywhere near us now. I was like, "was that an earthquake?" I was pretty sure it was, but didn't know for sure until I heard it confirmed on the news. I love it when the earth moves (as long as it doesn't move TOO much). I can't help it - it's the geologist in me.

Last but not least, I've got a new pattern up! I rewrote the Winter Branches sweater that was in last February's Knit Net and now it's available for your knitting pleasure.



Click on the pic for more info on the pattern. I am currently working on grading it up to size 5X for you fluffy knitters - I'll let you know when the plus-size version is available.

Whoops!

It has been a whole week since I posted last - how did that happen? Part of the problem is that my laptop has been cooped up in my office so it's harder for me to get any internet time during the day (if I let the kids run wild in my office, I always regret it afterwards).

First, I have some very sad news to share with you. My dear friend and your fellow SAM2-er Katrina lost her little brother in a car accident on Friday. I just found out about this and haven't talked to her yet, but I spoke with her husband briefly tonight. She is with her family this week for the memorial service, and I'm sure they would all appreciate your thoughts and prayers as they find their way through this very difficult time. We love you, Katrina!

It almost seems wrong to do a sock update after hearing such devastating news, but Katrina is one tough chick, and I know she'd want the show to go on. So, here I go, trying to make up for a week of no posts with one gargantuan monster post.

What happened this week in Knittin' Mom land? We had some fun for Halloween, and here we are in our costumes:



(This was the best picture out of a half dozen that were taken. Scary!) And here are our awesome jack-o-lanterns:



This was also my first running week in my training-to-start-my-marathon-training training. I had to do three days of run for 5 mins, walk for 5 mins. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it gave me hope that I was actually able to do it! It gives me faith in the training program. Yesterday I ran around the neighborhood in the rain, which wasn't so great, but on Wednesday afternoon, Owen and I went down to the bike path that runs along the Columbia River. It was ridiculously windy, but the sky was blue, the river was gorgeous, Mt. Hood was glistening in the distance - it was great! The best part about the bike path is not having to either dodge cars in the street or try to maneuver the jogging stroller up and down curbs.

We've had a little bit of cat-related excitement as well, mostly related to her deciding that Sydney's bed is a great place to pee. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I don't like it! We've also been reminded that we can't leave Owen alone in the same room as the cat box...



I think that the poor little face-down baby-doll and the lone sock add to the horror of this picture. I need to figure out a way to get the boy to realize that the kitty box is NOT a sandbox! Kika has also discovered my yarn. She's pretty good about leaving it alone, but there's this bulky alpaca that she is absolutely obsessed with. She kept running into my office and attacking it, so I finally gave in and let her have it.



I got a little goodness in the mail, including this little Halloween-themed batch of goodies from my SP9:



Check out these stitch markers - they are so cool!



Thanks so much, SP! I also got some yarny goodness.



The dark purple skein is from The Yarn Yard and was generously donated as prize yarn by Natalie. The lighter skein is from Mama-E's fall sock club. It is sooooo gorgeous. If you haven't tried her yarn before, you're definitely missing out! I absolutely adore it - stay tuned for an exciting announcement very soon that involves some of it.

Oh, and I've been doing a little bit of knitting as well. My Harvest Sock Swap sock is done (I can't remember if I mentioned that already or not) and is being test knit during the month of November. It's going to be called Autumn in Oregon, and it is pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. I'm also working up a pair of men's socks for the Spring issue of Cast-On as well as some cabled socks for The Sweet Sheep in Michelle's gorgeous colorway Blue Eyed Devil. Love it!

And now, let's see what you all have been up to!

Kat finished some very fall Madder Rib Socks.

Sara is bringin' down the sock stash a little bit more with these two pairs and some early November Beaudelaires.

Christine made up a pair of crazy gorgeous Scale Skin Socks.

Virtuella whipped up two pairs of Opal socks and some early November green toe-ups.

Liz made some Widdershins out of Socks that Rock.

Miki has some cute hamsters and some garter rib socks.

Johanna made some very cute little socks for October.

Uli finished her first pair of toe-up socks and some Socktober Socks.

Rachel made some Elfine Socks.

Lyndsey whipped up two pairs in October.

Jill made some S'mores socks for her Starfish.

On the last day of October, Beth finished her Jaywalkers.

Julie B got started on her Xmas knitting with these little ones:



Jennie made some very pretty Huron Mountain socks.

Joni finished off a pair of birthday socks.

Robin made socks for her husband that he's totally in love with:



Shelby finally finished up her Project Spectrum socks.

Lisa made some ankle socks to kill off some yarn that had been hanging around.

Susie finished some socks for Lily.

Vicki made some orangy Trekking Socks.

Lisa made her first ever short row heels on her October socks.

Angela knitted a lovely pair of Maple Leaf socks.

Michelle whipped up these little cuties:



Just in time for Halloween, Abigail brings us the tale of The Socks From Hell.

Shayla made some Widdershins.

Christa made some Lagoon Garter Rib socks.

Mary knitted some very cool Monster Mash socks (get the details here) and some cabled footies.

Jenipurr made three pairs for October.

Stacey's got some totally awesome DNA socks. Love them!

Tammy finished some STR Citrine socks on Halloween Night.

AmyDe made some socks for her son - you can see them almost done in this post. Once she finished them, he wouldn't let her take them off him to get a picture!

Linda's got Socktoberfest Jaywalkers!

Silja finished three October pairs!

Sprite just barely finished some Artyarns socks (go to the post and you'll see what I mean - yikes!).

And now for the first of the November socks...

Bettina made some awesome orange Traveler's Stockings for her November entry.

Monica made some Sassy Stripes socks. I was disappointed to see that the yarn was a little sketchy - I haven't actually knit a pair of socks out of the Sassy Stripes (it's from Cascade), but I love it so I've been buying it and giving it away as gifts... Anyone else had bad luck with this yarn?

And our final entry for today, Charity, with her colorful little socks.

Happy knitting, everyone! Great socks!