UPDATES

OK, so I will try and get this posted before naptime. Back to work tonight. Let's see...yarn.

I received this lovely package as we were leaving for the airport two weeks ago. I brought it with me but didn't manage to start the lovely sock.




This was my Hogwarts Sock Swap Kit from Carrie aka Dharmafey. She is a glorious Etsy seller. I have purchased much of her Cosmic Fibers yarns. They are wonderful colorways. The bag she made is a wonderful Polly Juice print on one side and stars on the other. The yarn is dyed from onion skins and she got it from another dyer. The pattern is a lovely lace pattern, I also received KP dpns, yea! Really pretty stitch markers, bookplates and a lovely note. I was well spoiled that is for sure.

I also received my Hufflepuff socks from the Hogwarts Sock Swap . My partner kept her identity very secret, Nymphadora Tonks turned out to be Mandy . She, amazingly enough, knit my socks from yarn from Carrie!!! Isn't that terrific? Mandy sent along some beautiful CP bamboo dpns,a Cookie A pattern(woohoo), Regia yarn, tea, jelly beans(I know the package looks diminished,it arrived that way honest,perhaps the owl ate the jelly beans?)Can you see the stitch markers? FANCY!! A lovely note written on yellow and black fabricy paper. The teeny tiniest little HP sock on a keychain. Mandy sent the pattern for that and knit the sock from the same yarn.













I wasn't too worried about no yarn in Ireland as I knew this was on its way to me..









I purchased 10 skeins of NORO Silk Garden from one of the terrific knitters on another KAL I am in(Dale) and she included an 11th skein!!! Thanks so much Brigitte! And is it my luck that the new Knitty has this pattern for SG?

I also received these two yarns...the TV YARN is from my past spoilee JANA. She has since opened a dyeing studio and has got herself a tidy little business going. She is an ETSY dealer and is just starting to send her yarn to dealers. It is terrific yarn that I had the pleasure of sample knitting with. This yarn is Grey's Anatomy, how could I resist? I have never seen the show but working in an ER, heehee. Also the brown Cafe Au Lait yarn is from Etsy dealer SeeJayne Knit. Glorious, no?

I will wait til next week to update finished objects and works in progress as I want to post some Ireland pics:
SO here are some of the yarn shops that were closed:

Here is an assortment of pics of the gang and interesting places.Thanks so much for looking!

Still On Ireland Time

I knew the 5 hour difference would come into play but....I went to sleep 1am my time and have been up since 4 am my time....guess I should do some knitting. Speaking of...I finshed the second sock of a pair, first sock of a pair x2 , one leg of Socks for Soldiers, the straps of a bag and one third of a sweater back whilst away. It is tough to plan what to knit as Ireland is stricter on getting needles through. I purchased the most perculiar needles before leaving for the trip. They are plastic and unbreakable and the most unusual colors. They took getting used to and seemed to go slow but within a few hours they were very entertaining. I was using an orange set in a red/orange sock I was knitting, very novel to coordinate your needles..lol. There were 5 of us with 4 cameras and I guesstimate 4-5 GB of photos were shot. Much downloading and weeding through. We had such a great time. The boys bought "Irish hats" and DS1 had a beard anyways, but DS2, 17, forgot his razor. I think it should be a law that men have facial hair..heehee...anyways. Man, they looked terrific with their hats and beards. My boys are grown up and wonderful people to hang out with. DS1GF is such a doll. She is wonderful to my sons and DH and me and I am so happy she is part of our family. We didn't want to give her back to her family. DH is 6'6", a big football player sized man, we were "upgraded" to a fullsize van, and OPAL?? It was a stick shift which I was willing to drive but he could not fit anywhere else in the van, he had to drive without sneakers on his size 16eeee feet. The way back seat was a jump seat and once luggage was packed hardly room for anyone. DS2 and I switched off that seat and front passenger. He is 6'4", I am 5'9". Poor little 5"1" GF sat behind DH as only her little legs would fit. DS2 sat behind passenger. If you were the jumpseat passenger you could not see out the left side windows as suitcases obscured your veiw and on the curvy crazy roads you were attacked by the suitcases...it was still a ball though.
I know much talk no pics, this is what I can manage for now. Perhaps later tonight as I go back to work Thursday night.

Knitter's Virtual Vacation Questionnaire

I Have lived in Massachusetts all my life. I live just south of Boston, currently, but grew up just north of Boston.

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?

Hmmm....visit? I am thinking right now I would love to visit Washington state...I am actually thinking of it for next year's main family vacation. I just like the temperature and the architecture. DH did a 6week bike trip through the area many years ago and loved it.

2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?

Well, I just returned hours ago from two weeks in Ireland, I have been there before and to France, England, Canada, bermuda...I think I would truly love to see the Scandinavian countries. There always look so clean and crisp...

3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?

Indeed, we have driven to D.C., Pennsylvania,New York, Florida, Georgia, Ohio.

4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?

I don't believe I have, perhaps when we took the Eurostar train from London to Paris. It travels under the Channel and we were in a first class car, 5 course meal, little lamps on the table, very romantic.....
5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?
I think it may have been when we drove to Orlando in 21 hours, we spent a week or 9 days there with the boys and then their father flew down. We(DH,DSs and I) picked him at the airport and left him with the boys. They stayed a few more days and flew home. DH and I drove home by way of Cape May and a few other stops. It was a terrific vacation.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain.
Yes, every few years I would do the Freedom Trail, tracing a lot of history in Boston. I adore Boston and never mind being a tourist.
8. What's your favorite type of yarn?
If you checked out my blog you would think sock yarn, and I guess that is true lately. But honestly I love Aran yarn, Noro yarn, yes yes Noro yarn, both Kureyon and Silk garden. I adore silk garden.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?
Hmm.....acrylic has it's uses but not for me lately...
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet?
Anything, everything, but I am in a sock mania lately.
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation?
Well, for Ireland I packed a bag, three no four different socks and a sweater.
12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet?
Everything, quilting, sewing,etc
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)
Not me, but DS has major nut allergies
14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?
I love green, purple,burgundy....least favorite is pastels
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?
Savory, sweet :)
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?
Have fun...

Over 3000 kilometers and no Yarn!

So DH figures we drove from south of Boston out past Denver in our two weeks in Ireland. Here is a brief synopsis for now as my plane landed a mere 4 hours ago.
Landed in Shannon drove to Cork
Blarney castle, DS2, DH, GF of DS1 kissed the stone.
Drove from Cork to Bray, County Wicklow....
Wicklow Jail, Avoca(place where Ballykissangel was set)Fitzgerald's Pub
Drove from Bray to Carlingford, County Louth
Stayed at a farmhouse for a week, various day trips...
Belfast, Giants Causeway(as far north as you go before dropping into the ocean)Royal Crowne Pub,Dublin,Trinity College(Book of Kells)we attended a very wonderful reading of the award winning book for 2007 at Project...more later,Belfast Zoo-HUGE
Drove from Carlingford to Bubeg County Donegal(again as far nothwest before falling into ocean
Here DH stopped at the Kilcarra Mill, they don't sell their yarn but the studio there did, HOWever they were closed for the weekend as they were renovating, we found a few other yarn stores, CLOSED, OUT OF BUSINESS, the few we did venture into had less yarn than me and what was there was acrylic
Drove from Bunbeg to Galway
Drove from Galway to Bunratty
So we did much much more than that, but for now I can't think. I will do a proper post in a few dats. But the money not spent on yarn was spent on Belleek and Tara, and still remains for some local purchases. Of course I came home to several packages of yarn from swaps, etsy, ebay, etc. So I don't feel I missed anything.
PICS to follow....

Blogging From Dublin

NO YARN we have been up and down the east coast and nothing, I don't know where they hide it, off to Donegal tomorrow so her's hoping

Socks for Soldiers and Update

OK, some of my swaps are finishing up so I signed up for a very worthy cause. My dear nephew ,a Marine, is going back to Iraq for an extended time. He was there before, with his fiancee, also a Marine, and gratefully they came back physically unharmed. He is a good Marine and feels this is what he needs to do. They were set to get married this fall tentatively and now he won't be back until April or May. I am so proud of him and his family for supporting him, but so scared for them all. I was searching the web for something to do in his honor and came across Socks For Soldiers . This is one of the busiest posting groups I have seen. The socks they are knitting and sending over are phenomenal in number. The "Sarge", Kim, has put so much time and energy into the cause. There is an approved list of yarns and patterns. It is truly amazing. You have the opportunity, after joining the group, to purchase yarn and even a start up sock kit. I just joined last week and made my order and seeing how busy "Sarge" is I said I was going away for a bit so not to rush to mail but if there was a chance to get it to me so I could knit some on a sock while in Ireland...well



Please take a moment and check out the group, sign up if you have the time to knit even one pair of Socks for Soldiers. Thanks so much.

At this time I would like to say a quick hello to a new viewer/reader of my blog, Hi Mark.

My Monkey Socks for MSS 2 are complete and ready to go. Here is a pic of one, the other is down in my car right now as I finished it at a lecture during College orientation. They are made with one of my favorite stash yarns . It is so nice to work with . I purchased it from Etsy dealer Kindred Spirits Yarn I love the yarn so much once I started knitting with it I went back and purchased two more colorways, which you can see in the previous post. Etsy dealers are wonderful, please do look and see what they have to offer.

I received my package from Knitters Coffee Swap 2. My swap pal was Sydney and she spoiled me to the umpth degree. She sent me two kinds of coffee from a library, A LIBRARY! That is too cool in itself..they smell wonderful and I can't wait to try them. I also received some wonderful orange cookies, thin, crispy cookies, yummy, ans some hard candies, Jo!!y Rancher$ and W3rther$. Those will be going on the plane with me Wednesday. Sydney sent some of the cutest coffee magnetic bookmarks, and a Chibi in a size I have never seen, the needles are smaller than my Chibi which is great as mine are often too big for sock grafting. There is a beautiful skein of yarn in purple and green (woohoo) from an Etsy dealer, yea!!! And a lovely postcard, but Sydney went the extra mile and noted my love of Eiffel Towers and sent a gorgeous ET journal and some ET stitch markers in colors that match the yarn, I am going to have to think she made them. See, one of the markers has the word Paris hanging from it to indicate the beginning of a round. SOOOOOOOO COOOOOL...Thank you Sydney. You have been a terrific swap partner.

Also in from a swap, the final package from Angela Marie my Punk Rock Gift Exchange pal. She has treated me to some wonderful things over the past three months. I am so fortunate to be blessed with her generosity. In this final package she sent me two felted bag patterns. I have seen the one before but not the Noni. I thought I had decided on the bag for my pal in International Tote Exchange 4, but now I am not so sure. Also there was two kinds of yarn. A beautiful turquoisey Cascade and some very interesting very soft roving yarn. I am going to fondle them a bit before deciding what they shall become. Now do you see the special treats? EXTRA SPECIAL treats.....look at the dishcloths/washcloths. I have assume Angela Marie knit them, there is one with a Devil knit into it and LOOK the EIFFEL TOWER!!! Isn't that fantastic?? It is amazing how well my partners know me. Thank you so much Piper , for everything. I hope to run across you again in a swap.

I have received a few more yarn purchases....once again Sheri at Loopy Ewe captured my attention with a Sneak Up. Look at the two yarns I purchased. There is Wooly Bully in the colorway "Fishing with my Father" to make socks for the man with the very large feet and Fleece Artist Seawool, I think the color was called "Harbour". It has sea cell in it and is incredibly soft. I can't wait to try it out. I also received "Gooey" from Merlin the Cat Yes she is an Etsy dealer with an incredible assortment of colorways. She also happens to be a test knitter with me forSocktopia A terrific KAl with monthly themes and exclusive patterns designed by MommaMonkey. Man she does incredible work...check it out.

I think there is one or two more things then I will let you go. My PRGE pal, Julia received her package so I can post a pic of the tote I sent. I love this little tote. It was a free pattern from Hello Yarn It was a very quick knit. Julie seemed to like it as well. She is a terrific lady and I wanted to send something special in her final box.

Finally, you can find Knitting Books in the strangest places. I was shopping in a local chain food store and there was a table with books marked down by 50% So I saw this immediately, recognizing the design of pattern and picked it up. Now keep in mind it was 50% off...yes 50% off 3.99!! Heehee

OK, for my Ireland trip I am bringing

Socks for Soldiers

Monkey Socks I am doing angel knitting for

Test socks for Socktopia

and Isabella

I will update upon my return with progress on these projects. It is two flights, airport time and two weeks of driving around the entire country. Hopefully this time they will not steal my needles in Ireland. Hope everyone has a a healthy safe blessed few weeks in my absence. Remember to hug your family and every so often put your needles down and listen to them laugh.