the nc state fair

the fair has come & gone, and i wrote a big post about it over here. i took a lot of pictures, and i didn't want to clutter things up here, so i divided the knitting/crafty stuff with the other aspects of the fair. so, if you want to see "more", just click that link above.





stuart and i went to the 2011 nc state fair, primarily to see all the crafty knitting & crochet exhibits. we'd been following crochetbug's journey as she created her 2011 nc state fair afghan, we really wanted to see it in person. so, that was our main mission.

we first stopped at the quilts, because sometimes, they do hang the crochet blankets with the quilting.





i really liked this one.





and the one on the left here, LOVE it too! see the nice lady? she goes back and forth slowly moving the quilts from one side to the other, like gently turning the pages of a book.

when she finished, and i didn't see the crochetbug afghan, i asked her where it was. i described it in detail, and she said, "oh, it's down a few rows in a glass case!".

we headed in that direction, and looked at other things along the way ...





such as, cross stitch! i am not a cross stitcher at heart, but i do appreciate the time it takes to do these designs. heck, my little snowman took forever!





and, in the next aisle, i spotted it ...





who knows how they judge things, but the honorable mention ribbon simply doesn't capture the journey of creating this blanket. i think it deserves a blue ribbon.





i snapped a shot of these, as the socks in the center is a pattern i've "tried" to start before. the pattern is called nightingale by vintage purls. i did start it once (it's toe up) and i got stuck on the toe. lol! perhaps i'll revisit the pattern in 2012.





this pair was knitted by a friend of mine. i don't know what pattern she used, but it's a simple and elegant design.

stuart and i finished off the fair with some ice cream before departure.





if you wanna see the rest of the story ... just click here.

public announcement

i'm so busy right now! and i have been, thus the "radio silence".

so, until i have a moment when i can work on pictures, and compose my thoughts, we'll have to do with a teaser .....

last weekend, i went to SAFF. had a fabulous time, of course. purchased, of course. temporarily lost stuart, OMG !!! the panic!!! (sigh)

it is my "busy time" (work-wise), and the knitting has come to a screeching halt (insert sad face here).

hopefully, later this week, i can process my pictures that are piling up in the queue!

looks like candy corn!

'tis the season for candied apples, funnel cake, and candy corn! ... whether it be for local fairs (such as the upcoming NC State Fair) or halloween.

that said, my knitting is looking quite "seasonal".

first up, the candy corn ...





this is my first sock for the october challenge. one of the options was to knit a pattern by designer stephanie etting. i chose her "malachite buttefly socks", since i had purchased the pattern online back in the spring.





so, first sock is done, and i hope to cast on sock #2 some time today, and finish the 2nd sock before the month's end.

i've been doing the sock knitting off & on during the day, and in the evenings, i'm knitting on my bat shawl









i'm on my 4th tier (i think) of bats now. of course, as a triangle gets bigger, it gets slower. again, my goal is to finish before halloween, so i can sport my bats!

what's on the needles

i have a few projects on the needles right now. the purplish bag, on the far left, has my purplish colored socks.
the pink bag in the back has my pinkish test socks. the yellow bag has my latest cast on ...




this pattern is malachite butterfly socks, by one of my favorite sock designers, stephanie etting (verybusymonkey on ravelry).

the black bag has a shawl i recently cast on, to (hopefully) knit by halloween.




and the blue bag in the front has my gretya socks, which i started awhile back when i was just aching for a new project.




yet again, i've probably bitten off more than i can chew. such is the life of this knitter.

greensboro knit & crochet show

this weekend, i went to stay with friends, and we went to the knit & crochet show. i didn't spend much, as i'm going to SAFF next month. and 2 of the vendors i would had purchased from will be at SAFF as well. perhaps, this was mostly a "scouting mission". this was the first time i've been to a show by the TKGA and the CGOA. they had classes, which i really couldn't do, so i went for the vendors. the venue for vendors was kinda small, ... maybe because this was a first for this location, but that didn't stop me from finding "anything". i made only 1 yarn purchase ...

this yarn is called "canopy" and is by the fiber co. this one hank has 200 yards, and i'm going to use it for this pretty little hat. my other only purchase was a zippered pouch, which will be used for notions.

pretty cool fabric, don't you think? i liked her zippered pouches. she has an etsy shop as well. i didn't see much in her etsy shop, but i know she can take custom orders, as she had also brought fabric samples to the show. i LOVE the little bag, and her craftsmanship is perfection.

 i also came home with a crochet magazine (free!).

the ladies at the Red Heart booth gave each of us a magazine for crocheted blankets. she said they were out of the knitting magazine, so i don't even know what it would had been. but, i do crochet, and this magazine is waiting on the bed for my bedtime reading tonight!

 thank you Red Heart yarns!

speaking of Red Heart, here's my latest stash bag ... in burgundy and zebra. i'm close to finishing it. i actually crocheted 1 tier too many, so i am going to rip that back. the bag is tall enough without accidentally making it even taller.

and lastly, i have finally finished sock #1 of a pair i started back in february.

this pair is to be a gift for one of my best friends. he's been extremely patient, watching me work on other projects (from start to finish) while neglecting this poor sock. i will be casting on sock #2 sometime this week though.

the pattern is called escalator socks, and is a free download from ms. sara amoroso.

my latest orphan

i have been knitting, and crocheting a bit. instead of casting on a new project for the month of september, i instead signed up to do a test knit for a sock. the challenge of knitting a test, is actually following the directions. sounds simple enough, right? hahahahhaha! the pattern is called "leaf on the wind", and has not yet been released, but i do have my project page set up over on ravelry. the joy of knitting a test is ... you only have to knit 1 sock ! but, i am going to be "good" and knit the second sock. i have already cast on the mate. besides, it would be a total shame to not use up that lovely STR !

i really am going to do it this time!

a sweater! yes, a SWEATER !!!

when i first saw this pattern, i immediately recognized how simple and wearable this cardigan was. and, affordable.

i found both the booklet and yarn locally. yay! i really prefer to buy locally if i can, when it comes to yarn. but, sometimes, i cannot find the stuff i want locally.

this time, i did.


the pattern is called miro. the yarn is weekend.

i had/am having ... a fabulous weekend! i traveled about 1.5 hours west yesterday morning, danced my __ off, and came back this afternoon.

i had a blast with my friends (old & new). i also visited a little (new to me) yarn shop.

i didn't buy any yarn (as, i'd just gotten this weekend yarn less than a week previous). but, i did get some needle tips! they had the nickel tips from knitpicks available.

i came home, unpacked, and cast on this sweater.

i'm knitting the size small (finished 36") with size 6 & 8 needles. knitpicks needles.

and just when i thought ....

... i was burned out on socks, here i am with a new cast on.

that's what happens when you swear off socks! something beautiful and amazing comes along, something you just cannot resist.

this sock is a test knit for purrlescent on ravelry.


i'm not typically a fan of toe up socks. i haven't done a test knit in some time. but, this pattern was too pretty to pass up!

i'm using some older stash (which, isn't really THAT old, but i'm ashamed it's been in stash since 2006).


the colorway i'm using is in the top left, and is called "cobalt bloom". the yarn in the center was used awhile back for a pair of hedera, and the jade ... crap! hasn't been knitted yet =(

note to self: knit the jade NEXT!