note to self ...

best ever foundation single crochet (fsc) tutorial ever!

SAFF 2013

yet again, mom & i traveled to Fletcher, NC for the event SAFF! i ♥ love ♥ going to SAFF. it's the best fiber-fest within reasonable travel distance for me, and the size of the event is just right if i only have one day to visit.

as usual, they displayed their "Not the tractor show" banner. i did see a couple of vehicles do a u-turn and head back out (one pulling a nice tractor too!). i'm not sure where the tractor show is, but this is the 2nd or 3rd year in the row SAFF has hung this banner at the entrance.


the admission is only $3/person. cheap! we were there right at the beginning, so had no problem finding a parking space of choice.

and it was colder than ......


seriously ?!

we started in the barns (outside). no worries, as we were both dressed in goosedown parkas. and i wore my very cute pompom hat =)

right off the bat, i found the booth for KSC designs. i really like her bags! i didn't need another bag (remember, i got this tote at the last fiber-fest down in sanford). this time around, i wanted a hook case/roll.








my case is now nicely stuffed with  most of my hooks ... with the exception of my steel hooks.

next, i ran across some snowballs! i at first wanted just one. but, there is no such thing as one snowball. a snowballs have friends. so i picked up a couple more. they are felted, and i didn't have to do it myself :p

these cute guys came from a shop called long branch fjord and fiber.


currently, this bunch resides on my mantel in-front of my knitting & crochet library.

once we made it into the arena, my next destination (after the bathroom, (clears throat)) was to miss bab's booth! in the past, i have mostly bought her sock yarns. this time around, i did not get any sock yarn. instead, i was on a mission to buy some of her lace wt. for a crochet shawl.


the shawl is called tricolore scalle (raverly link), and i just started it today (as i had to finish another project first).

it took awhile to figure out my colors, and mom caught the bug and got some too (different color ways) and she's already ahead of me on the pattern. YAY mom !!! (she's got "the bug" ...... )

note: this yarn is $16/hank. mom made a comment, "this is the most expensive yarn i've ever worked with" ... i do agree, it is way more expensive than red heart super-saver acrylic, but it's SO lovely !!!

later on, i made it to another one of my favorite vendors, knitting notions. i have long admired her yarns, and would love to purchase a sweater's worth of yarn, but my sweater-history-completion is sad. it would be quite an investment. and i'm not willing yet to invest in such lovely yarn to only have it mellow in the stash.

this year, however, she had something new! leather bracelets!


i ♥ love ♥ it !!! ... oh, i did want yarn. and i wanted one of the beautiful turned wooden bowls. but, i got a bracelet instead.

the little things keep me happy =)

near the end of our visit, this booth by pandoras yarns had some really pretty dyed lace wt. yarns. i got these two hanks. each hank is 600 yds. i think they will make some lovely shawlettes (either knitted or crocheted).


and then, the ONLY skein of sock yarn (technically) purchased:


this hank is not planned for socks, but a shawl-thing. worst case scenario, yes, ... it will be a pair of socks!

now of course, part of the reason for SAFF is the animals. so, here are my two favorite pictures from the animals outside.




how's that for the end of a post :p

working as fast as i can

(crocheting)!


on this shawl!

i'm doing a test pattern for a designer on ravelry. my deadline is this saturday.


and the yarn is small, and the hook is small (a 2.75mm), and i had to buy these little purple foam things to put over the handle so the hook doesn't just slip and slide between my fingers ....


and i'm running out of time!




i had made some great progress yesterday ... but then spotted a mistake many rows below. UGH.

i ripped back.

so, tonight, i'm about back to where i was yesterday.


i got this yarn last year at SAFF (and i've just returned from my weekend trip in the mountains).

i did not find this vendor this year. however, i'm still loving this yarn. i know the color is eye-searing. that's what attracted to me to it. it reminds me of the hot tropics, frosty lipstick, and fake suntans! it's so not me !!!

i will post soon of my "haul" from SAFF 2013 ~~~

so slow .....

my progress on my projects has come to a creeping crawl. all i can blame is it's the busy season at work, and i want to work on too many different things.

when i last posted, i "had" to sew a project bag as a prize for someone from my SKA group (she had won that particular drawing for finishing a pair of monkey socks).

i made her bag, and still wanted one for myself. last weekend, i popped out of bed and got sewing!


it has a round base, and is lined with white ripstop nylon. i've modeled it after my favorite sock knit sacks from knowknits. mine doesn't have all the bells & whistles (ie: something to hang it with/from, or the special yarn lead in the bag) ... but i love the cotton on the outside, and the slippery nylon on the inside.


when i bought the fabric, i wasn't able to purchase only a fat quarter ... i had to get an entire 1/2 yard.

which, is okay. i think with some creative sewing, i may have enough fabric left to make a third bag.

the sock in the picture is my current monkey sock, being knitted with yarn i won in that informal "competition" of finishing the most pairs in august. all i have left of the sock here is the toe. i am on the final decreases. but. i. keep. getting. distracted!

oh, i did finish a pair of mindless socks!!!


kroy. i ♥ love ♥ kroy!


i bought the yarn in the middle of my august of finishing socks. but i didn't start knitting them until after the august frenzy.

i like to have a mindless pair of socks on the needles ... usually kroy ... something that practically knits itself.

but the distractions ... have mostly been of the crochet variety.

my current distraction:


i've progressed a bit since this photo yesterday, but i'm still doubting my yardage. now i'm about 1/2 way through my yarn, and even blocked out, i'm not sure if it will even have the wingspan to wrap around the neck without trying to come undone.

oooh, this is the elise shawl (ravelry link).

i think i will ... continue like a lemming. see how far i get with this yarn. and perhaps if i run out, i will dig through my stash of other leftover yellows i have.




i'm also still working on my flower power lace shawl.


i've started the flower part, and only have 5 more flowers to do. the flowers are a bit slow. but it's going to be so pretty when done!

there is more to share ... but i must get back to my _____ (fill in the blank) (knitting, crochet, sewing?).

sewing

i need to sew a project bag. i have sewn quite a few, but they have always been given away. and the project bag i need to sew before saturday will be sent away as well (but i'm going to make 2! one for me to keep!)



the koi fabric will be for me, and the monkey fabric a gift. i will line the bags in white ripstop nylon.

i actually have enough fabric to make 2 koi bags (but i'll have to use a different fabric for the base), otherwise a fat quarter would be more than enough for a single bag.

and of course, i started digging around the fabric stash and found a few other contenders for small project bags =)

bragging rights!

remember all those socks i finished in august? besides having 12 new pairs of socks to wear, there were other "benefits".

P R I Z E S !!!

yes. swag. i won stuff =)

for finishing the most pairs, i won yarn from mapleweave. she is my sock knitting sole-mate.

to me, she gifted yarns from her various yarn clubs:




this is pretty cool! i've never belonged to a yarn club of any kind, because i'm not willing to gamble. it is a gamble to pay the fee, and get whatever the designer ships.

i'm lucky. all these yarns are so unknown to to me, and they're all beautiful. i'm so tempted to tear off the labels and do some yarn winding now!

but, i will wait a bit, since i'm in the middle of "crochet shawl-landia" and should had finished my summer (now fall) sweater ... and SAFF is coming up.

crochet shawls

i do have 2 pairs of socks on the needles, however, i have also started 2 crochet shawls this weekend.

i have learned how to crochet the stitch "soloman's knot". before actually doing it in this fuzzy yarn that would be difficult to rip, i followed a tutorial, using some classic red heart worsted acrylic.

it's a gradient lace mohair yarn, called patons lace. the blend is acrylic/mohair/wool   80/10/10. in the darker shades, the synthetic is more obvious.
regardless, it's going to be really pretty when finished ... it's going to be the flower power shawl (ravelry link).
the other shawl on the needles is less delicate, but still features a gradient yarn (again, acrylic =)


the yarn is is red heart's boutique "unforgettable". think of it as noro, but 100% acrylic, and not itchy. it comes in some really lovely colorways, but i picked this rather "understated" color for the fall.
the pattern is in both german and english ... and is published on facebook. however, you can find all the links on the ravelry pattern page.
today is a travel day for me, so there won't likely be much crafting today, or until this evening.

i am done knitting socks

not forever ... just until i recover from this:


that was my first pair, finished on august 2nd. ravelry project page here.



my second pair, elm, was completed on august 10th. ravelry project page here.



monkey socks also completed on august 10th. ravelry project page here.



kroy socks also on the 10th. i think these are my favorite! i love the colors! project page here.



and ANOTHER pair finished on the 10th. project page here.



now, this pair (also kroy yarn) was not finished until the following day, the 11th. ravelry project page here.



and these, finished on the 15th. project page here.



believe it or not, this pair is not my favorite. they are beautiful, and they will have a blog post only for them. until then, project page here. finished on the 28th.



i started these in 2008. i finished them on the 30th. they are done! project page here.



jaywalkers completed on the 30th as well. project page here.



finished yesterday. project page here.



and lastly, a basic ribbed pair of ragg socks. project page here.

12 pairs of socks, cast on any time between 2008 and june of this year. before august, i already had at least the 1st sock completed. i think only a couple of the 2nd socks had to be knitted in its entirety. some 2nd socks had part of the leg or cuff, and some i was already on the foot.

i just had to prioritize, and knit the parts i could at home, and carry the "mindless" ones around with me and knit in any spare moment.

what now? i'm not sure. part of me wants to start a new sock. part of me wants to work on my summer (now fall!) tee's. part of me wants to nap.