PippiKneeSocks.com

Sit down, pour yourself a cuppa, and pass me the earplugs, will ya?
I’m awaiting a propane delivery, so I can get some dyeing done. Until then I figured I’d flash the latest things to come off the needles…
More Mitts.

3.2 oz 2 ply handspun,
hand dyed, hand cleaned Montadale x Leicester & nylon
with a ply of handpainted domestic
DK wt. on US 3s & 5s

Mr.Pippi heckled them. (But he always heckes my knitting, I hardly every pay any mind to it…)Saying they were too pointy and the thumbs looked like sausages.
Next pair, I’ll go with the afterthought thumb. Thanks Mr. Pipps!

And to prove it hasn’t been all mitts all the time here over at the love shack

Some fulled slippers in Noro Kureyon #88 on US 10s
I tried to get a photo of them in their natural habitat, but, urggg.

And, (yep, one more!) I got on the bandwagon…
Calorimetry from Knitty

I made a few changes..
I cast on 98 st with a handspun DK wt. single on size US 2s (yes, you read that right, US size 2)
I really love the button… Of course, it is from Moving Mud.
I tried my best to get a good close up of it.

Curse you flash photography!
*shakes fist at sky*

Today is my kick off of Project Spectrum V 2.0

Three cheers for Lolly!
I’m normally not a big -along-er, but, I loved the first version and I’m back for more!!!

Have a happy Groundhog day!
I heard the when he came out he made a comment about global warming.

What is worse than knitting 3 feet of I-cord?
Knitting 4 or 5 feet of it, yes…

It seems 5 can’t hold onto things. (Last week, she lost her snow pants at skool, HUGE bummer! I’m really hoping they turn up soon.) So, knitting all that I-cord seems like a time saver compared to knitting a whole new set of mitts.
The self striping yarn (in some of my favorite colors) came from my Dye-O-Rama swap partner, Monica. (& embroidery done with the same yarn….)
Knit on US 1s & 3s
I plan to line them with some fleece, as soon as I can convince Matt to get my 400lb sewing machine out of storage.
I’ve been patiently waiting for some things in the mail.
Yesterday when I went to the box, I pulled out a heavy parcel. In the short time it took me to see it in the box and pull it out, I had convinced myself that it contained a pipe bomb (heavy, thick, hard, odd shape… paranoid much?) Living on the edge like I do, I decided to pull it out anyhow… Then I recognized the return address to be Anna’s. (And I was pretty dern sure she wouldn’t send a pipe bomb to me.) Therefore, safe to tear into.
Much to my glee and amusement, it was packed, and I do mean packed (!) with post-it notes, memo pads & small notebooks of all shapes and sizes.
This is what 4 pounds of notepads look like (less what the kids made off with.)

Thank you Anna!
I’m so shocked when people actually read this here blog. Let alone pay attention to what I ramble about.
So, on that note, anyone have one of these sitting ’round? (I’ll pay postage!)

Now that you are asleep, or have clicked away it’s time for a bit of political spew.
As many a US citizen is aware, tonight is the megalomaniac’s State of the Union Address. I won’t be watching. (Or perhaps I will, if I want my BP to shoot thru the roof.) Watching the resident megalomaniac is like rubbernecking a train wreck. But, I wanted to make a declaration. For the past few years (since 2000) I have referred to that person (?) as the resident (I don’t quite get the whole respect the office thing….) For seven years that person (?) has tried my patience and compassion. It is insurmountably difficult for me to have compassion for him. Anyway, from this day forward I will no longer be referring to that war monger as the resident, he will be referred to as the squatter.
ITMFA, m’kay? Ahh, I feel better that is off my chest. (Thank Maude that this bill got shit canned.)

That’s all I got.
Oh, wait, I lied! I can see my laundry room floor!! (Aren’t you all proud?)
And aside from trying my best to keep up with housework these days, I’m going to do my best to get my yarn wound for an update this week. It has been at the top of my list for a few days now, right underneath take a shower and take my vitamins. (Guess which one I’ve also been neglecting?)

♥

Can we pretend that it is still Socktoberfest? I mean, seriously. I planned more socks; I thought about more socks, I started knitting new socks, I oggled beautiful, loving socks.
I loved all the Great Interviews and wonderful tutorials.
Thank you Lolly for putting it together and making it so wonderful!

These were started during Socktoberfest.
I spent alot of time on them, mostly in ripping them. 4 or 5 times?? That’s what happens when you change things on paper, but forget about said changes. (And consequently, revert the changes, then space that out as well, and re revert but cast on the old number of stitches, etcetera etcetera so on, and so forth.) These weren’t what I started out making… They look much different on paper. But, after so much ripping, I had to say ‘eff it’, and I took the easy way out.

Is there anything worse than rainy, early morning, indoor flash photography? Not a whole lot. heh.

On to the NEW!
I went to the mailbox yesterday, and BLAM!

A package from my gurl crush, Boogie
Ohhhh & Ahhhh the colors!!!
I’ve already started swatching (a swatchWhattttttt? Yes, says the Queen of Anti-Swatch)
Just in time for NoroVember
and NaNoSweMo.
Is it just me, or do I smell these two things going perfectly together?
Yessssssssssss.

I did pretty well on my to do list for yesterday. Not everything got done, but I didn’t diverge from it too much.
More of the same today. All kinds of deadlines to be met. And the shop needs to be updated tomorrow.
Today, it seems I have some angry children to contend with. They are 200 kinds of mad at me, mostly due to the fact there is no more candy left for *cough* breakfast. Apparently, I can not be trusted near sugar. Time out for mom….

♥

Occasionally, I do have FO’s… (Yes, for real!)
This is one of those rare events. (Or rarer as of late.)
Some socks, since it is Socktoberfest

They look pretty wonky, lying there on the floor.

They look pretty wonky from this angle, too. Hard to get a good photo of one’s feet with children underfoot.
But, that’s the best I could muster. I have a terrible rash on my feet. (NO! Not from the socks, from the Lupus.) And putting anything on my feet irritates them. Too bad, because my tootsies are cold! (I wonder if sea silk socks would be good?)

Any hoo, the details. You may remember I started knitting them way back here.. (yikes, That was July!)
US size 2 & 3 DPNs
The yarn

Which, you may (or may not) recall me spinning way back here.

• 18 WPI
• hand washed/dyed Vermont rare breed wool
• hand dyed top
• hand dyed nylons
• hand dyed European hemp
• angora (raised by Chris)
• hand dyed silk noils
• recycled silk sari

Sheesh! That is A-lot of hands.. Last I checked, I still only had 2.
Here, is where you can insert a long winded monologue about the pleasure I (we) get from making things with my (our) hands. But today isn’t that day; as i fear it will take me to a place where I am unwilling to go at the moment.
So, use your imagination. Why bother spinning yarn, when you can go to your LYS? Why bother knitting socks, where there is wallfart? Well, you and I know better, now don’t we?

Rock on with your bad selves
♥

Time marches on.

Mid afternoon dark/blue/eerie/gray sky… Vermont winter is coming… The precipitation that is falling is particularly cold.
Darkness is coming on so early.

In case you can’t tell, that is the sun & the moon…..

I should try and welcome what awaits. At least my knitting urges have picked up.

Now back to knitting my Socktoberfest socks while listening to the new Pointy Sticks….

(~Funny, funny, I have no recollection of signing up for Socktoberfest, none.. I’m a notoriously bad KAL’er… and what is even stranger yet, I signed up under my site’s URL, and not my blog… I blame the fever I had a few weeks ago; either that or some Ny-Qil induced fog… yea, that musta been it… But, I’m happy I did, it gives me more of a push to get this pair of socks I’ve been working on, done….)
♥

**Also, I’m sorry to anyone who experienced any difficulties yesterday trying to buy yarn. My cart blew up, but I managed to fix it this morning. (*knocks wood*) A totally stressful thing, it was..**

monday and rain. apropos, really. the weekend was sun-sun-sunny; and warm. a few degrees warmer than i would like, but hell, that is what oak trees and Ac’s are for. i feel fortunate. on thursday, the last time i looked at the weather; ‘they’ (yes, the weather folx are some of “them”) called for rain the next ten days. it seems we were in a pocket of beautiful weather; as my neighbors to the east had rain, and my neighbors to the south did as well. now we are playing catch up. the garden can use a good watering, tho, right? let’s just hope it doesn’t last a week, or i’ll be flirting with being mental again. (*cough*)
all in all, a good weekend. to spite some PMS outbursts. (*cough*) i got a small amount of fiber stuffs done.
more processing my churro fleece. i carded and dyed some up.

to the right is some mohair that i also processed this week, the churro is to the left.
looks really pretty close up too!

it was intended to be part of my project spectrum, june blue but, i’m running way out of time for what i had in mind. maybe i should start on purple NOW.

the weekend was also ripe with church tag sales.
i scored a metric but-ton of broadcloth, some notions, and some old skool fisher price accessories. (!!!)
a ethernet hub. (which, sadly, i can’t use because it has an in-line for cable, and not dsl.. and i can’t hook it up to either or my modems.)
we did have to scale down our normal weekend tag sale rituals; lately finchly the younger has been, how do i put this, very unhappy at said events. he has taken to biting me and leaving big bruises. bells the elder never really bit, so, i just don’t know how to deal. but that shit hurts. i swear i thought he was going to take a chunk out of me a few weeks ago.

last night as i was out doing the dusk garden cruise; examining my baby peppers,encouraging my ‘maters, pulling out offending weeds, etc. i thought it would be a good idea to check the mailbox, since i didn’t do it since thursday… i’m so HAPPY that i did! inside was a bounty!
my dye-o-rama swap.

my dyer was Monica from Two Left Needles. Sher really did her homework, to the left, pink + black sock yarn!! (she calls it pink panther… go see how she made it!)! i feel so lucky, she really put ALOT into my yarn. i hope i can get some new kicks made soon. she also sent some freaking lovely silk roving from interlacements (!!!) and further proof she really did her homework; bunny note cards!
soon, i hope to spoil my swappee just the same. i ordered some new dyes on thursday, and kicked for the fast shipping.. so hopefully today.
thank maude my swappee is understanding; or else i would feel like an even bigger heal.

i took so long typing and taking coffee breaks that the kids are now awake, and in full force. whoopee!

happy monday!
♥

it’s an illness this week, and i couldn’t stop myself even if i tried.
i’m on such a tear with the carder. (not that it is really a bad thing, but i have other things i should do. like my dye-o-rama yarn… but i’m so incredibly low on dyes i would hate to mess it up and waste dyes & yarn. anyway, DoR pal, you are not forgotten; i just want to make you happy….)
anyway, i worked late into the night last night, on blending up some unicorn breath batts.
what an odd name, you say?! well i can’t take credit for it…i sent one to linda of stoneleafmoon and this is what she had to say about it!!!. her remarks totally made me blush, but truth be told, they are very special batts. (OH! and here it is spun up! go look!!!)
so, i made up 5 of them, then put them by the “fire place” (never you mind that dust there!)

and placed an apple, sweet potato, black bean, chipolte burrito next to them, in hopes of luring the unicorn in, to breathe on them. (it has been confirmed that apple, sweet potato, black bean, chipolte burritos are a favorite snack of the northern glitter tail unicorn)
i think it worked.

unicorn breath

• hemp
• vermont alpaca
• silk sari
• nylon

these are so incredibly intense to make; not to mention messy.
i doubt they will find their way to pippi.
i might spin them up, or they might wind up in your mail box. you just never know, i’m tricky like that.

lucky for me, the kids are well, and dare i say quiet they are sucked into a josie and the pussycats video. (does anyone have VHS anymore? yes, this coming from the last person on the planet without an ipod… haha)
thanks everyone for your well wishes for bells the other day! she is doing better, but, now we have run into some other difficulties.
such is life with youngins!!

♥