PippiKneeSocks.com

I’m behind….. yes, like as in a horse’s ass. I’m feeling like ass, so, appropriate. A few weeks ago, I was whooped by a Lupus flare, only to walk right into a cold that Bells brought me home from school. (The cold, the gift that keeps on giving) I’ve been having to force myself to do things, like say, get off the lazy-boy. I’m not one to force myself to do anything, so it has been a grueling few days. (weeks? It seems like it has been a long time since I have not been sick with something or the other.)
I have a lot of words today, not so many pictures, if you are so inclined to read on, pour your self a cuppa, or a glass, or a pint & stoke the pipe.
I’ll start with some mohair that I got last week from High View Farm (no website) like the ones I picked up at VTSW
They were a bit dirtier than the last batch, but, overall no complaints here. In fact, as soon as I opened the box, I grabbed and washed a few handfuls & promptly got to dyeing.

That’s as far as I managed to get with that… For two reasons, one being the aforementioned not wanting to get out of the comfy chair, and the other reason; we are running dangerously low on Dawn. Which, by no coincidence, ties into not getting out of the warm, soft chair. (Unfortunately, I am going to have to brave the elements and crazy people and get to the grocery today….. I’ve been putting it off & putting it off, but we are out of everything now. And, by everything I mean, we are out of coffee as of 10 minutes ago.)

Last week kicked off

Knit Unto Others
Which is a wonderful Project, where, we knitters are asked to use our knitting time for the next two weeks (Nov. 18- Dec. 2) To knit for someone who needs the warmth. Since I’m a notoriously slow ass knitter & most of my knitting projects are deadline oriented, I won’t be able to participate in the knitting scene. I am, however offering up a ‘prize’ type thing. The recipient will be able to choose from fibers or a sock yarn, in get this… the colorway of their choice. So, if you have the time or inclination, it is a great project, even without all the great ‘prizes’ people are offering up.

And more with the recent history. (Keep stoking that pipe)
Earlier in the week, The Yarn Museum went live.
It is a real exciting project headed up by Linda of StoneLeafMoon.
If you are a handspinner, please consider submitting to the project.

Be a part of history.

Now, please excuse me while I take a swill of Niquil
Ah, that is better. (Yes, I know, it is daytime…. But, that is all I’ve got & I can’t stand anymore of this coughing, aching, runny nose, stuffy head, fever….)
ANYWAY,
I got a new man this week. This man is GREAT. The best one I’ve ever had. (And that isn’t just the Niquil talkin’)
He comes courtesy of Amy Boogie (No, she didn’t send me Husbeast)
The man she sent me, really the man of my dreams.

according to Amy,
“He’ll always be there for you. Hell, he has no legs so he can’t run away!
He’s comfortable to sleep with and won’t steal the covers.
He doesn’t work weekends, except around the house.
If he pisses you off you can stick pins in him, stab him, set him on fire even and you won’t go to jail for it! “

Exactly the kind of man I’ve always dreamed about. (And more, he doesn’t come begging for the sex from me after I’ve logged an 18 hour day.)
He also came bearing gifts of Delicious soaps from Evermore Soap Factory Which in a few moments I’ll be buying up all their stock, so hurry. This stuff is my new favorite, pushing Lush, aside. (YES! It is that good!) I think the maker of these wonderful pampering tools should be included in the Lime & Violet Holiday Giftacular. (Are you reading that Miss Violet?)
Since my Pool Boy has been dutifully doing my laundry, I was able to knit a few stitches this week.
I’ve thrown in the towel on actually getting anything done for NaKniSweMo, since, whatttttt, the month is more than half over. I’m still pretending it is Soctoberfest. Tho, I’m not going sock bonkers, like some people. (Tho, I’m not doing a TeeVee show about socks, either.)
From my Sebelia colorway… (I dyed it up after I noticed that Jeffery had a huge hole in the toe of his sock… It really irritated me..)

And, since I have huge issues with project monogamy,

I swiped some of the ‘Duval Street’ off of my page. That is one of those up&down sides about having all of this sock yarn. Luckily, a few that I really, really wanted sold pretty quickly, so I wasn’t so tempted.
As soon as They are done, I’m going to give them a soak in soak. (I can never resist a pun.)
Scout sent me some Soak last week….

So, expect a review sometime soon.

I should cut this here, as I see the kids running around with bottles of glue, this can’t be good.
♥

PS. Bloggless Lee, if you happen to be reading, YES! I was laughing at your email! I’m sorry I’ve been a slacker in returning email; but, as anyone who has had email correspondence with me in the past few weeks, can attest, I’m not capable of stringing a few coherent sentences together. I’ll call soon!

The shop has been updated!
I’ve added:
4 handspun Bulky thick and thin yarn
1 handspun 2ply yarn
8 colorways of handpainted sock yarn!

As Always, (insert broken record)
You can view everything in the shop using this link or you can see everything that is new

* click for musical accompaniment

All four of you who do, will be Very pleased that I unearthed this little nugget. (It has been on repeat here for the past few days.) Special attention to the Iko. Especially if you have some headphones. Woah.

& Irene, Bob drops a Nice F-bomb durning Truckin.

♥

Scout’s Meme:
1. How and when did you learn how to knit/crochet? Who taught you?
My grandmother Josephine taught me to knit decades ago. Sadly, I didn’t stick with it. A few years ago, I got bit by the bug, and lo-and behold, Scout held my hand while I struggled with re-learning to purl.

2. How has this craft impacted your life? (besides financially!)
It keeps me sane… And If you know me at all (especially in the fleshes) you now how vital this is.
Occasionally, it will make me insane, or obsessed, but, one has to take the good with the bad, no?

3. Pick at least one person to talk about who you have met through the knit-world and why you are thankful to have met them. Feel free to get all mushy.
Egads, only one….. I think 99% of the people I have interactions with, are fiber artists of some sort & I really am thankful for each and every one of them.
But, I would have to say, since I’m going to get gusshy & mushy, it would have to be Amy Boogie. If I think about it a bit too much, I may get all weepy. She has to bethe most generous person I’ve ever met. Every so often I’ll be having a shitahy day, and I’ll hear a knock at the door, and it will be my letter carrier, with a box from Amy.. For no apparent reason. A box of goodies. Packed with chocolates and coffee and stuff for the kids!! It is like she knows when I’m ready to throw in the towel.
When we were living off grid, and I had no communication with the outside world, I wrote her a 20+ page letter. It started to turn into a diary. Unfortunately, I had to use it to light the wood stove.
I know I can tell her anything, and she wouldn’t get judgey on my sorry ass.
We could write entire emails strictly in abbreviations that only we could understand.
Not only is she kind, but she is strong too. She is a WAHM, who is crazy & patient enough to homeschool. (*bows*).
If we were traveling across the country in our ‘EweMobile’ ™ I would feel safe. I know between the two of us, we would be able to change the tires, the oil, and deal with whatever came at us.(Tho, neither of us feel entirely comfortable about wielding chainsaws…..)
I also bow down to her mad knitting and design skillz. I know when I have a question Amy has BTDT & has the t-shirt, (the t-shirt might be stained from all her awesome dyeing!..none the less, she’s got the t-shirt.)
When I have a pattern, I send it to her to proof before I send it off into the big bad world. She never fails to offer support and encouragement. I should have her on the Pippi payroll!!
When I needed someone to rope into doing this she was my go-to-gurl.
I finally got to meet her, in the fleshes, last spring.. I didn’t know weather to laugh or cry. For days after we were home, I felt a noticeable void.
Amy is one of the few people on the planet I would trust with my life.
Everyone should have a friend like The Boogie. And I’m sure everyone who knows her would agree.
The world needs more Boogies!!! I big poofy heart you, Amy!
*attempts to regain composure*

Since I’m all about gusshy. I want to say how awesome my sister is. Today, I got a “just cause” package from her.
‘happy belated Soctoberfest’ she wrote.

For the 9 year age difference, we seem to have the same tastes. (Good movies & drinking… It is genetic. I blame dad for the whole family’s sense of humor, and quite possibly our taste for the booze.)
Thank you Jess! So freaking thoughtful! Now, get up here for a visit!!! (If it isn’t apparent, she actually reads this here blog ~ so feel free to tell her how awesome she is!!)
~
I’m sitting here blogging instead of winding my sock yarn. I’m mistress of procrastination, I tell ya.
I haven’t gotten any of it done. See, I should never “say” I’m going to do things… I find myself NotDoing, 95% of the time.
Today was a good day, and the only thing that makes it even better, is that it is THURSDAY! Survivor!!! I wish you were here Mere, so we could drool over Yul (wow! he’s a youngin!)

♥

I’m giving blogging a go today, even tho bloglines is terribly hysterical.
I know it isn’t just me, so I feel less like a lunatic. If I’ve missed something important of yours, I’m sorry. Not everyone is showing up when they update & bloglines is randomly deciding who has posted 10 times in 5 minutes!! (The first day it started happening, I really thought everyone was going post crazy!)
Things have been busy here, with a side of crazy. (So, normal.)
I’ve been dyeing a bit, spinning a bit & knitting a bit.
Last time I wrote, I had mentioned some FOs.
Shorty socks (that took way too long!)

US size 3s with hand dyed sport weight.(80% wool, 20% nylon)
and since I have issues with project monogamy,
Hemp head

I had put a brim (or 3!) on this one, but wound up ripping it off, each & every time.
US size 8 & 10.5,
Double moss stitch with ribbing
Handspun, bulky+ weight, 60% wool, 40% hemp!
It’s pretty squishy, how I wanted it, hence the double moss stitch.

Since I’m on the subject of FOs I thought I would share Rock star Kay Stanton’s Fo’s with my yarn.

They are for sale over on Pancake Meow.
It is fun seeing my yarn worked up, especially this color shifting one

Time for more coffee, getting eldest off to school & start winding yarn for Friday’s shop update. (I learned my lesson 2 weeks ago, having to wake up at Way Too Early O’clock to wind yarn (and wind, and wind, and wind.)
♥

I’m being semi-tortured at night, by my dreams. For the past month, at least once a week, I have one of those dreams that stick with you during the day. They seem so real, I can still smell the smells and taste the tastes… Today, I did NOT want to get out of bed; I wanted to continue in my slumber land. Yes, it was that good. The best part, you, and you, and you & even you were there!
And there was food and beverages! No knitting, last week’s sticky dream was about knitting. (And Ew! I don’t mean sticky like that!)

I had to wake up to get my shop update done.
A well rounded week, I would say… A bit of something for everyone.

The rundown of what I’ve added:

1 handspun Bulky thick and thin yarn
2 handspun 2ply yarns

2 colorways of handpainted sock yarn
Oodles of hand painted, hand spinning fibers!

You can view everything in the shop using this link or you can see everything that is new

And, I revamped the shipping table. I found that it was being unfair to those who got the handpaints… When I set it up, I was only selling handspun, and that weighs more on the dollar… One day I’ll figure out zones and all of that jazz… That day isn’t today, tho..
One day (again with the one day) I’ll get around to updating the customer creation page & the yarn gallery. (I will!! I know it has been over a YEAR! But, I got tired of other people using it as “inspiration” to turn a profit.)

I have some FO’s to show, but after I got done with the pictures for the update, I didn’t feel much like taking anymore!
(*cough* lazy *cough*)

♥

It’s Don Rumsfeld & he needs a job… (oh, poor Bumsfeld….)
I highly doubt that he will be standing in line at any soup kitchen.
The only thing that would have made my day brighter yesterday, is if W would have stepped down…. (IMPEACH! NOW!)
How must it have felt for W to go crawling to daddy for help with his Residency, yet again?
Watch your backs, nations of the world! We have an ego bruised leader of these here United States, and he may come after YOU next. (Espeically if you have something he wants…)
I am semi-pleased with the outcome of the midterm elections.
A woman speaker of the house!!!
But, we still have a long way to go. (How long will it take us to repair the damage that has been done these past 6 LONG, years??)
After yesterday, 27 states now have rules that dictate who can marry whom… (or, who CAN’T marry whom.)
And, that makes me crazy sad. Love is Love. Last time I checked, Love IS a family value. (Funny, no? Love=Bad; War=Good. Something is terribly wrong with that picture.)

Anyway, enough said.

I’ve got a ton of work to get done today. (Shop update tomorrow.) And Bells the Eldest has been home from school, sick…. (yesterday and today..)
I best get on with all of it.

♥

I understand that it is midterm elections, but I couldn’t resist posting this pic.

It makes me happy to think of Bill Haverchunk in office. The country in which I live, surely wouldn’t be in this state of crisis. Even tho Bill loved Dallas, he would not lead a nation into war for his own personal interests. Perhaps that is because Bill has a big rocket, and proudly dresses up as Jaime Sommers. I believe in my heart of hearts that Bill would have listened to me, when I gathered in the streets with hundreds of thousands of other US citizens, to say “NO” to waging war. If not, he would have succumbed to the peer pressure from other nations & the hundreds of thousands of people gathered around the world who shouted “NO” to this war.
It is hard to fathom all of the life that has been sacrificed to this cause. The families who sent their mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, husbands, aunts, uncles, fathers, neices, nephews off, for what? Oil. To make a child an orphan? To make a mother childless; a widow?
Make no mistake about it War Is Not a family value.
For those of you who have friends or family fighting, my heart is with you. And as I cast my ballot today, I’ll be wishing them a speedy return home to you. (Not that our current Resident ever would listen to what opposition might lay in the House or Senate. This hopeful person likes to believe that in a Democracy, my voice may be heard…. Naive?)
(I can almost hear the nearly silent click of the computer mouse, removing my subscription from various bloglines…. That’s okay. I try my best to keep my politics out of my blog, as I know people come here to look at fibery goodness, rather than read the depressed political rantings of a person who has lost faith in her country.)

If you are still here and reading, you get fiber talk now. How lucky!
If you are a regular reader of this here blog, you may have guessed that I love color. Color is my favorite component in my spinning; followed closley by texture and fiber content, mostly seeing how many different types of fibers I can manage to cram into one yarn, and still have it “work”.{Not to be confused, with the whys of my spinning; which is if i didn’t make things with my hands, I would surely shrivel up and croak.}
And, if you haven’t guessed by reading this article. I’m pretty enamored with how color play works with different plying techniques. As of late, I’ve been pretty obsessed with multi ply. And the colorplay that resides within the layers of multi ply. The really fun thing for me about this is being able to predict accurately what my yarn (and fabric) is going to look like. I’m geeky like that & find it terribly exciting.
I don’t usually show these little babies off here in blogland, maybe because they are small, yardage wise; or something. But, I took some time out yesterday to spin a bunch of 5, 6, and 7 ply yarns. This was my favorite.

5 ply, mostly purples, lavenders and brown. (Lucky me, i was able to jam pack it with fibers ranging from A-W. ~alpaca, mohair, silk, nylon, merino) Fun fun! The idea of a yarn like this, is instead of being bold in color, it is going to have more of aura, and feeling of color.That becomes way more apparent when it is worked up into a fabric. Yay Yarn!

Speaking of great colored yarn, especially for you NoroVemberists out there. Let me direct your attention to the current issue of MagKnits, and this pattern by the beloved Boogie.
The month of November is choc fula fibery goodness, no? In honor of NaKniSweMo I will over come my deep irrational fear of steeking. I’m pretty behind the game, as I have yet to pick a yarn, let alone cast on. Maybe I can participate in spirit. In my mind I’ll be knitting a killer cardi. (In my mind I’m a phenomenal do-er! Clearly, I need more hands + hours in a day!)

& More with the color.
I recently sent a box of fiber & spindle kits to Scout; they arrived last night, and she already has them up in her shop. She is on the ball, that one.

If you are still reading; I’m impressed!
I’d like to thank everyone who got in touch with me about attending the talk I’m giving next month. I had no idea there were so many locals reading my blog! (I never know if anyone is reading unless they comment/email.) Anyway, with the local response I did get, it made me realize that there may possibly be interest in a local workshop. I’ve been toying with the idea for a few months, but I didn’t think there would be much of a local audience. Apparently, I was mistaken! So, that idea goes back on the burner. It would be good for me, to cut my teeth, so to speak, before the Lime & Violet retreat. If you are interested in any of the mentioned events, contact me for details. And/or, if you are here reading, leave a comment; I don’t know you are here unless you do!

I think there was something else I wanted to say (could you believe that, as if I hadn’t been long winded enough)
But, it is time to get gurl chile ready for skool. Plus, my computer fan has been running since I turned the sukah on. I find it so irritating, that I’m about to do the unthinkable and turn the thing OFF!

Remember today, vote with your head and your heart.
♥

After my very productive week, I hit a wall yesterday… It was big, and brick, studded with lead.
Anyway, perhaps I paid some penance today. Since I goofed off all day yesterday, I had to wake up at 5:30 to start winding my yarn for Pippi.
Yes,The shop has been updated!
I’ve added:
1 2ply yarn
7 (YES! seven) colorways of handpainted sock yarn

Oodles of hand painted spinning fibers!

& spindles are back in stock.

you can view everything in the shop using this link or you can see everything that is new
♥