a good day for monsters!

i belong to the danger crafts group on ravelry. it's one of my favorite groups, as everyone is happy in that group. it must be all the monster-knitting. monsters make people ♥ happy ♥ . every so often the group has a swap. i had never participated in a swap before joining this group. my first swap was last spring, when i knitted bea for a gal in texas. in return, she had knitted me a tony and coco! and later in the year, i did an exchange/swap with another gal up in massachusetts. i knitted her sammie the sock monster ... and she knitted me a jerry & beatrice! as you can see, there are some "extras" included within the swaps. we have a $10 budget for extras, which does not include shipping your package. for my latest swap, i got my package yesterday! i cannot yet share what i made for my partner, but i can share everything she sent to me =) let me just say, OMB! first of all, i love it ALL. the precious monster here is named Penelope, the Empathetic Monster. this pattern is not in rebecca danger's book, but is available as a pdf download on her website. the sweet little owl with penelope is a wee stuffie and the pattern is called owl puffs, and is designed by Jenna Krupar (or, RetroLemon on ravlery). i mailed her package yesterday morning. i can only get to the post office on saturdays, since they open AND close on weekdays, while i'm at work. when she gets hers, i will share the goodies here as well.

beyond cute!

i do crochet. i learned crochet first. YEARS ago. and, i do love both. but, when it comes to a project, i can decide, which technique is better for the project or design. sometimes, crochet is instant gratification. such as here, with a PONY! i have a work friend, who's so sweet, and one of those insanely "good nature d" persons. one day, i asked her, "what would you like?" her response? ... "a PURPLE PONY!" sigh sarah had seen this pattern before, because (dummy me!) i showed it to her at work. she LOVED it. and, she's the kinda girl that sincerely loves things. over this thanksgiving holiday, mom & i hit one of the local craft stores, where i found some yarn perfect for the project. too cute? yes, i know!

something(s) finished, at last!

wouldn't you know, when i finally finish my noro gloves, the weather turns unseasonably warm?! at the very least, the warm dry air helped them dry out on the porch today. i used the basic pattern from ann budd's _The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns_. and, for some reason, glove #2 came out a bit smaller than the first. i'm sure my hands aren't the same size either, so i'm not going to fret over it. bottom line, i have a new pair of very warm gloves! i let them soak in some wool wash, and it really helped relax the fabric. before, they were quite stiff. they didn't grow nor shrink. they are the closest thing to perfect (aside from being 2 different sizes :p ) finished object #2 is a finished pair of socks ... i started these immediately after SAFF in october. i purchased both the yarn and pattern from the miss bab's booth. i knitted them for the october SKA challenge. i still have 2 other pairs of socks to finish, plus various other "obligations" (ie: a monster for my swap group, a couple of knitted/crochet toys for friends, etc). i got these yarns today too ... the brown cotton is for a washcloth, and the other two (magenta & brown) are for a jerry monkey.

a single glove

there is always knitting going on around here, but not always enough time to share it properly.

a few years ago, i knitted my first pair of gloves. i used the basic pattern from ann budd's  _The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns_. that pair did "fit", though a bit on the big size.

i decided to give it another go, in a worsted weight (you know, for that instant gratification). this time i used some stash sent to me not too long ago, ... some noro silk garden.

the fit is certainly better than my first pair years ago. but, like socks, you gotta knit 2 !

so, i'm off the computer now, to cast on glove #2, just in case the weather turns cold.

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.