Finished Socks and Ashley's Awesomeness

Pattern: Swirl Socks by Sulafaye
Yarn: Cider Moon Glacier in June Carter
Needles: US 3 Knit Picks Classic Circulars

Sockapalooza socks are done! Hooray! Loved, loved, loved the pattern. Careful observers will note that my socks have fewer swirls than Sulafaye's ... this was no intentional attempt to knit the pattern differently, but rather the sad effect of my apparent inability to read and comprehend. Heh. The yarn ... well, you all know how I feel about Cider Moon Glacier. I am so relieved that I'll be able to send these off in a timely fashion, thus avoiding Blogland Swap-Slacker Ignominy.

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Ashley, doyenne of dogged, made me some absolutely beautiful quilted coasters, in return for which she is patiently awaiting some crocheted coasters from me. I took some lovely pictures of them, which would appear here, except that my frickin' camera is being cranky.

She also did me the honor of tagging me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. This completely made my day. To be recognized as rockin' by one of the rockin'est girl bloggers out there ... well, I was really touched!

In turn, I'm tagging these five Rockin' Girl Bloggers ... all of whom I feel very lucky to know, either in person, or through the Internets.

Preeti of Expressionist Knits is one of my two bestest friends on the planet. She moved to Cleveland about a year ago, and I was fortunate enough to meet her shortly thereafter. I could never, even if I had a bazillion years, tell you all the amazing things she has done for me in that time. Suffice it to say, I'd be in sad shape without her!

Ellen of Knit Sisters ... she's incredibly smart and incredibly funny. Many are the times that I have felt that I didn't have a laugh left in me, only to read her blog and find myself in giggles. Healing stuff, that humor. Plus, she once sent me the kindest, most encouraging email in response to a comment I left on her blog. I have never properly thanked you for that, Ellen ... it meant more than you can know!

Olga of Yo La Tejo was my very first blogfriend. She is brave, funny, smart, and talented, and she inspires me. Mwah mwah!

Cat of Everyday Life is another rockin' blogfriend. She is incredibly generous and kind. As the name of her blog might suggest, she inspires me to appreciate all the little graces and treasures of our day-to-day existence: a lovely vase of tulips, a perfect breakfast, a quiet evening with a book and a glass of wine. She reminds me to be grateful. Thanks, sweetie.

Finally, I'm going to tag Shannon of knitgrrl. If you've listened to the latest Knit Picks podcast or read the new issue of Vogue Knitting, you know how Shannon rocks. I had the distinct pleasure of taking a crewel class at her studio, Stitch Cleveland, recently and had the best time. She is super fun and welcoming. And I've decided she has the coolest job ever: Professional Crafty Enabler.

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Ashley also recently addressed the issue of responding to comments on her blog. Her post was very thoughtful, and she articulated her feelings about blog reading, commenting and responding -- feelings which I share -- far better than I could ever do.

I'm bringing this up because it seems like a good time to let you all know how much I appreciate your comments. The last several years have been difficult ones for me, isolating and lonely in many ways. The community I have found among crafty bloggers has made a huge difference to me. I am very, very grateful to be a part of this.

Also, some big changes are a-brewin' Chez Affiknitty and things are looking up. I'm not quite ready to talk about them with any level of specificity, but the important part for now is that I am becoming increasingly busy. I've not had the time to craft or blog nearly as much as I'd like and the time available for those things is probably not going to increase. So I'd like to say that if you leave a comment, and don't get a response, know that I appreciate it immensely (see preceding paragraph) and it's only lack of time that is preventing me from replying to you personally. Naturally, if I can help with information or similar, I'll do that.

Thanks for your patience, and for just hanging around my little corner of the 'nets. You all rock.

Explain the Silence

Hi everyone! Sorry for the extended silence, there. The confluence of many things going on Chez Affiknitty (including, but not limited to, out-of-town guests and Potter Day) has sapped my time for blogging, and even knitting, much. And sewing? Forget it.

I still intend to do the podcast/music/reading/Etsy seller recommendation roundups, but it may take a little time. In the meanwhile, I thought you might like to see pretty pictures of the yarn that the contest winners chose! Because we all love pretty pictures of yarn!

Heather from The A.D.D. Knitter chose Peas and Carrots.

And Karen from Yearns for Yarn chose Istanbul. (I have some of this myself.) I should not leave you with the impression that my photography skills have radically improved; these pictures are Gail and Jacki's and they are used with permission.

If you're still visiting here, thanks for hanging in with me through the unexplained absences. Hopefully soon, there will be finished socks and lots of links!

Thanks & Winners

Thanks everyone for the fabulous recommendations! I'll be summarizing them for easy reference over the next four posts. So, really, we all get pressies! Yay!

Were I a woman of affluence, you'd all be getting free yarn. But, sadly, I must rely on the random number generator. Heather of The A.D.D. Knitter and Karen of Yearns for Yarn are the lucky knitters!

Winners should head on over here and pick out a skein of Glacier, then email me with your choice and your snail mail address.

Meanwhile, the first June Carter swirl sock is done!

You all are so sweet and encouraging to suggest that I could finish that other Cherry Bomb sock in the time remaining to me. But, seriously, I have two problems: one, I am a very slow knitter.

And, two, I am constitutionally incapable of remaining monogamous to my projects.

Panic and Forgetfulness (and a Contest!)

The panic portion of this post relates to, of course, Sockapalooza. As much as I love the Rib and Cables pattern, the idea of finishing one and a quarter fingering-weight socks in the next two weeks strikes a little fear in my heart. I really think I ought to put mine in the mail a little early if possible, because my sockpal lives outside the U.S.

Would it be lame to switch to DK socks? Would your opinion be influenced if you knew the DK socks in question looked like this?


The yarn is Cider Moon Glacier, my favorite yarn EVAH, and the colorway is June Carter. The pattern is Sulafaye's, a link to which appears in the previous post. These will have a picot cuff. My sockpal likes picot cuffs. Hmmm... I want to be a good swapper and get my package to her on time. I could never live with the ignominy and shame attached to being a Swap Finker.

Moving on to the forgetfulness portion of the post, I completely forgot my Blogiversary! This past week, I've been blogging for two whole years. Yay! Let's have a contest!

Leave me a comment sometime between now and midnight on Thursday. Because I want pressies for my blogiversary, I want you to give me one of these things in your comment:

1. A summer reading recommendation!
2. The name of the last CD/music download you bought and loved to bits!
3. The name of your favorite Etsy seller!
4. Your favorite non-knitting podcast and why!
5. Any combination of the above!

Through the magic of the Random Number Generator, I will select two people to receive a skein of Cider Moon Glacier in the colorway of their choice. Winners to be revealed on Friday!

The Price of Dillentantism

... is that you rarely finish projects, and therefore have little to blog about. Also, I've been battling a case of the Blahs-Blehs-Blues, which tends to sap one's enthusiasm for most things.

Mostly what I've been doing in the last week or so is a little embroidery, a little sewing, and a whole lot of starting knitting projects. Ravelry really ought to come with a warning label:

Bearing down on me like a vicious tornado is the deadline for Sockapalooza. Naturally, knowing that I should be working on Deadline Knitting only makes me want to do Anything Else. Like sewing a new bag!

I made this from Nancy's extremely fantastic tutorial. I love that it is reversible, allowing me to show off both pretty fabrics. I made the handles shorter than she instructed and included a flannel inner liner in place of interfacing. This latter nifty tip I learned from Amy Karol's book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing. Really, if you have any interest in learning to sew, or already love to sew, you need to run out and buy this book. It is so lovely and inspiring and really full of helpful information.

I swear, in my next post, there will be knitting.

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Link-o-Rama!

- Sulafaye has posted what may be the Ultimate Variegated Sock Pattern!
- Have you heard about Pandora Radio? It's the brainchild of the Music Genome Project. You tell them your favorite song or artist and, through some sort of computer magic, they create a radio station that will play music that has similar characteristics.
- This looks like a delicious and easy refrigerator pickles recipe. If anyone has a similar recipe for sour and garlicky pickles, please let me know!
- Cutest baby booties ever.
- I want to make this sweater right this minute. Must ... finish ... sockpal ... socks!