I can’t believe it’s been well over a year since I last posted. I’ve never really been into writing but I must admit that I like blogging because I get to post pictures of my finished projects and stash.  After 5 years of knitting I am just as addicted as ever- both with the craft itself and the art of yarn hoarding.

I have come into realization that socks will always be my #1 favorite project. I must admit that I am seriously getting hooked into lace knitting. It is just as addictive as sock knitting.  As a result of this new found interest, I have developed an addiction to Wollmeise Lace.  I am now stalking the Wollmeise not just for sock yarn but lace weight yarn as well.  Frustrations are rapidly mounting that I am beginning to think that my luck during updates is close to being gone that I am seriously considering a trip to Pfaffenhofen to pick my colors in person. Yes, I am talking about the yarn shop that holds a lot of Wollmeise- a place where I can shop without pressure (except budget).  I think shopping without worrying someone will steal something out of my cart and taking my time is stress free shopping.  Mind you, my cousin Alex already made 2 trips there for me. She is kind enough to even tell me to just let her know when I want her to go there again.  But how does one survive knowing how much she’s missing out by not being able to physically go and shop there, pet all the Wollmeise in sight and be actually able to say “I’ve been there!”  I think I must go there.  The time has come, I have waited long enough.

On the less important (actually more important) issues that needs to be addressed- well, I have been having really bad left wrist pain.  Really bad in a sense that I need my hand to knit and work (so I can actually have money to support my yarn addiction), and the fact that my left hand is my dominant hand- thank God I knit right handed, can’t even bear the thought of not being able to knit for a long time. So the verdict? Hand surgery on the 19th. We’ll see how everything goes and for the mean time, I am knitting as fast as I can.

Yup. Aside from it’s now only 11 days before Christmas, I officially turned thirteen one this year. Damn I’m getting old. Gone are the days when I don’t have to worry about bills, what I’m going to eat for dinner, or what I’m going to ask for Christmas (well I still worry about what I want for Christmas but I now have to give something in return, and I suppose that’s part of being a grown up).

This year’s been shitty. I made a lot of poor decisions and learned from them. I realized that although I may think the world revolves around me, it actually doesn’t.  So for the coming year I will try to be a better person. I can write a million things about what I’m going to try to change about myself  but I think it’s best that I just do it rather than say it.

With the economy going down the toilet, I can honestly say everyone’s feeling it this time. I work through an agency so getting my 3 days out of the week has been a blessing (yeah, you know you want to react about the word I just used ).  A lot of people have been getting canceled left and right at work and with the holidays just around the corner I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s going to be like for those who lost their job. Fortunately for me I have a “productive” hobby that keeps me busy and out of the malls. I honestly haven’t had the urge to go shopping at all.  With all the people at the mall and horrible parking scene, I would much rather sit on the couch all day and knit. Now that’s spending time wisely.  Well I suppose it’s more like using my spare time or day off using my yarn to make something beautiful- actually, it’s more like getting my money’s worth.

So here’s what I finished last night:

I used Wollmeise in Simply Pink to make Waving Lace Socks.  I’m halfway there. 50% done!

This one is my Yarn Over Cable Socks made with Campari Orange.  The fit of this one is amazing! Wollmeise truly rocks!

I recently finished 3 pairs of socks made out of my favorite indie dyers.  Each time I cast on for a new pair I can’t believe how long it has been since I started knitting and how far along I’ve come- so far.  Socks are my favorite project because of it’s portability and the satisfaction of knowing that each pair I make is different from what the others have made.  I remember my very first attempt in sock making- I used what I called “manufactured yarn.”  Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong in using this kind of sock yarn- especially if you know the recipient might accidentally throw it in washing machine one day.  I still use this kind to this day.  In fact most of my work socks are made out of this type.  However, I have since then became addicted to hand dyed sock yarn.  I have no shame admitting I am a yarn snob and yes, like many knitters, I do collect yarn- but eventually knit them.  In my opinion, you cannot fully appreciate the art of dyeing unless you actually see what its potentials are.  I’m one of those who are crazy about pooling.  I believe it makes my work unique.  I do not stress out about my gauze when it comes to socks.  I am not the type who will frog a project just to get rid of the pooling.  If I don’t want pooling, I will use solid colored yarn and knit a lacy pair.

Going back to my newly finished projects, I present to you my Spring Forward Socks, Alex’s Socks and my Nutkins!

Toby wants his head back. My little cutie patootie.  But he’s more than happy to get his picture taken with his mommy’s pretty socks.

“Can I go now?  I wanna play with Sam.”

“Hey watch it with the bright light Mommy!”  Now I owe him a treat.

Wollmeise.  It brings the best and worst of knitters.  There’s just something about it that makes us want more. Some buy it just to say they have some in their stash, some actually knit with it.  I do both.  I buy enough to have some sitting in my stash and knit the ones I’m ready to let go of.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re all hard to let go.  But I have to have enough to pet for when I’m feeling blue.  A few weeks ago I must admit that I did hoard during an update.  I got 2 of the same colorway so that means I have to let go of one of them.  See I’m not the type I’ll keep one for knitting and one for petting.  For me that would be watching the same movie twice.  And I do not watch movies twice- well, there’s a few of them I would, like Shrek.  Shrek (1,2, and 3) are like my all time favorite.  I’m working on memorizing the lines trust me.  My husband did this all the time with Spaceballs and Caddyshack etc.

Anyway, for those who wanna see what I’ve been keeping myself busy with this morning, here it is.  My birthday present.  A mountain of Wollmeise!

Hopefully no one will condemn me for hogging Wollmeise.  After all, it’s just yarn…. or is it?

So here’s a proof that I do knit with my Wollmeise yarn…

Gosh it’s so nice to knit with this yarn!  The stitch definition is just great.  This isn’t my first time working with Wollmeise but my first project is a Clapotis (yes, still waiting to be finished!)  and I had to use a larger needle on a fingering weight and in my opinion socks showed a better stitch definition. I’m actually excited to cast on the second sock because I want to wear it already!

I did it again!  Fell off the diet wagon with my head held up high!  Yesterday I made a vow to score big on Claudia’s shop update.  Whoever says knitters are selfish, don’t believe them.  They are flat out lying to your face.  You see, knitters are always there for each other. We encourage each other whenever we are on the verge of giving up on a project, especially when we feel like the project is too hard or it’s gotten so bad we just can’t complete it.  We also try to keep each other awake during shop updates.  Last night we all kept each other amused in Ravelry so we all can stay up.  It was hard- especially if you’re used to going to bed by 9pm.  For the most part, I think everyone is happy with their haul.  I know I am! I got 12 skeins! Yeah! After missing TLE’s update earlier this week, I just cannot let that happen again.  I was up during Sheri’s update but other distractions such as cooking got in the way. Phew! Who needs food when you can have yarn? Now just because I got a bunch this morning doesn’t mean I won’t attempt to stalk TLE next week. I can only say I’ll try to restrain myself. Besides, there’s a few more I can add up to my stash. Thanks to whoever came up with the auto refresh feature. I was starting to doze off and for some reason I opened my eyes as the screen just refreshed and voila! And the rest you can figure out! Today will be a good day! I made some new friends and I got Wollmeise- lots of Wollmeise. Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!! Was this all luck or patience with sleep deprivation paid off?

I promised myself I’d stick to my yarn diet till I seriously put a dent on my stash.  I somehow managed to acquire these 2 gorgeous Wollmeise from a swap from Lynette, a fellow Raveler.  I bought a skein of Wollmeise Lace a while back not really knowing what to do with it.  I suppose you can say I only bought it to have it.  You see, I’m not really into lace knitting.  Don’t get me wrong, lace is beautiful and the gratification that comes with finishing one is extremely satisfying.  I’m just not into it.  My passion is sock knitting and I personally think I should leave it at that.

Here’s my Turkis und Karneol and Johannisbeer und Brennessel.  Pretty huh?!  BTW, this isn’t the JB I scored from the Oct 17 Wollmeise update.

I also recently got my first shipment from the Booty Club- Smoke Rings.  I like it a lot I just don’t know what pattern to use with it.  But that’s the least of my problems right now.  I swapped my Neapolitan YP for Emerald City YP.  Blues and greens are my favorite colors so I’m really happy with this swap.  Besides, I have no idea how I ended up with several Neapolitans in my stash.  Panic buying during updates maybe?

And the highlight of my day?  My 2 recent FOs.  They are going home to their owners tomorrow!  The maroon pair is for Mr. Art, our Case Manager in 3C.  The green, peach, brown is for Gennene, our UC.  The maroon one is Regia and the green one is sKnitches Bebop in Dayspa.

For the mean time, I will be patiently waiting for my 5 skeins of Wollmeise in the mail,  another shipment of YP due in the middle of this month, and my Sundara sock yarns sometime in December.  Now if I could only grow more hands, I can certainly knit faster.

I got lucky!!!  I’ve been stalking Claudia’s site since 12am- her time.  I had planned on staying up like I used to when I was working night shift but I fell asleep :(  Fortunately I woke up about 10 minutes after she updated her site and got some of the colors I wanted.  I got 3 skeins- Johannisbeer, Dornroschen, and Simply Pink (I think that’s the name of the color).  I’m happy with what I got- and for the other colors I did not get- I suppose I’ll be stalking the Loopy Ewe.

I spoke to my aunt in Germany the other day and told her my plans for next year- if I’m still this crazy over Wollmeise yarn I just might have to visit Germany and see Claudia in one of their wool festivals there.  This will give me the opportunity to go on a vacation and get all the Wollmeise I want.  Now I just need to work more…….

I’ve been working on this project as much as I can and I learned that I need to pay close attention to what I’m doing and develop a habit of counting my stitches on my increase rows.  I had to frog several rows and I was extremely unhappy.  Right now my pretty blanket is hibernating- this thing called “work” has been taking a lot of my time lately.  Here’s a picture of what I’ve accomplished so far….

Kinda looks nice as a hat too huh?!

Now here’s a picture of who’s been watching me……

Whoa I didn’t realize how long it has been since my last post!  I’ve been keeping my needles busy lately but I just haven’t had the time to post :(  You see, patience is definitely not one of my virtues.  I’m back in FL and unfortunately, my internet connection here sucks! I recently got this laptop connect cards but for some reason it’s very temperamental.  Some days it’s fast and some days I cannot even use it.

I recently joined the Hemlock Blanket KAL.  I’m actually surprised how easy and how fast this project works up.  I can’t wait to finish it!  Aside from this blanket,I actually have 4 orphan socks at the moment- I really need to start making the mates since they are meant to be Christmas gifts.

Oh, something to look forward to- the Yarn Harlot is coming to Jacksonville on the 16th of Oct!  My LYS is sponsoring the event and I cannot wait!   I even took the day off!  Also, Stitches East is coming up- I really wanna go!  But wanting to go and having the funds to go and getting all my heart desires are totally different.