Sockapalootza!

My Sockapalooza box arrived today! My pal, who completely and totally spoiled me rotten, was Tania of knit1frog2.

Holy guacamole, people, look at the goodies!

Lovely sock yarn! Boatloads of Japanese treats (and my current favorite chocolate bar, how did she know)! The Post-It notes are so cute and perfect. Lately, for some reason, I've been obsessed with bird prints and bird motifs. For example, I just bought some of this Joel Dewberry fabric. If I didn't know better, I'd think that Tania had telepathic ability or some kind of direct line into my brain.

But, I know, you want to see the socks. How incredibly perfect are these?

They are Diagonal Rib Socks from Interweave Knits in Socks That Rock in Nodding Violets. So beautiful, that's all I can say. Tania did an amazing job knitting these ... just gorgeous work.

Coincidentally, the June Carter Swirl socks arrived at their destination today as well. I was thrilled to learn that my pal, Sarianna of May Contain Traces of Knits, likes them. Yay for swaps!

One Little Sock

Pathetically, this is all I have managed to finish lately. Starting things, that I am really good at. Finishing, not so much. These are socks for my niece, who was recently visiting from California with her twin sister, little brother, and Mom and Dad. (Her mom is my little sister.) Olga recently posted about the joys of the auntie gig. It's a nice job if you can get it; I only wish I got to enjoy it more!

Anyhow, Niecie M saw me pull out this yarn one afternoon when I was visiting with them at my mom's and was instantly entranced. She wanted socks from this yarn (Cider Moon Glacier in the highly girly Go-Go colorway). How could I refuse? Now I just need to make three more. Because I certainly can't make a pair for M and not her sweet sister T.

And here's a picture of the beautiful coasters I got from Ashley. I realized the other day that one reason I love them so much is that they remind me of the cover of one of my favoritest albums.

It's been so disgustingly hot here that I haven't touched my sewing machine in weeks, which makes me very sad. (My craft room is on the third floor of my old, un-air-conditioned house.) I've got my fingers crossed for a cold snap, along with some free time.

**********

The other day, Amy Karol of Angry Chicken wrote a very interesting post about reducing the presence of plastics in her home. I have made a little goal for myself of bringing no more plastic shopping bags into my house. I have several reusable bags from the grocery store, which I keep in the car. I usually carry a large bag, so small things can go into that. And, of course, I wouldn't be sorry to have an excuse to sew a bunch of cute totes as well. I'd like to be able to get rid of all my plastic dishes for the kids, but S recently has gone through a "breaking dishes and glasses when frustrated" stage (love you, autism!). I think he's about over it, but I'm not inclined to test it.

I recently saw this New York Times article about the environmental impact of buying bottled water and wanted to bring it to your attention. In general, bottled water is no healthier than tap water, is ridiculously more expensive, and results in millions of plastic bottles in landfills which take literally centuries to decompose. Having learned this, I've decided not to buy bottled water any more. Just a little food (or drink) for thought.

Falling in Love Again

... with Rib and Cables, and Cider Moon. I hope my sock pal loves them, too!

**********
Link-o-Rama!

* Cleveland-area crafters! Have you heard about Shannon Okey's craft studio Stitch Cleveland? It looks to be an awesome resource for every sort of fiber-y, fabric-y love. I signed up for the Katherine Shaughnessy crewel class on July 14th. Squee!
* How cute is this pencil case? You have to get excited about any tutorial that instructs you to use a hacksaw.
* Look at this GORGEOUS cotton that Yarnbee and her friend dyed with Rit Dye!
* Jen's Parade of Beautiful FO's continues with her cute Coachella.
* How could I be so late to the Craft Lit party? This podcast is so fantastic.
* Hungry for some authentic Tex-Mex and Southern fare? Or just want to look at pretty pictures of it? Pop over to Homesick Texan. Your cardiologist will thank me. Do not miss the post on cream gravy, food of the gods.

**********
Thanks, everyone, for the nice compliments on my yarn! I love me an afternoon of Kool-Aid dyeing. It's starting to become a nice little summer tradition!

Actual Knitting Content!

Thanks everyone for all your input on the Sock Pal socks. There seemed to be such enthusiasm for Rib and Cables in Cherry Bomb that I started those first. And let me tell you, from the first stitch, I was very happy. I just love that pattern.

Then the Asbury Park contingent started to speak up and I thought I ought to give that colorway a try with the same pattern. I hadn't even finished the rib before I frogged it. Too much contrast for the cables. Luckily, Amy of stash, knit, repeat had suggested another pattern-- Beaded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. So I started those too.

Look how perfect that pattern is for the yarn! Look how nicely it breaks up the color repeats! This may be my new go-to pattern for variegated yarns.

All this means there is much socky happiness at affiknitty. But I still can't decide which pair will be for my sock pal and which pair I will keep. Sigh.

Swaps!

'Tis the season for swapping! I'm doing Sockapalooza 4 and am really excited about it. Summer is such a great time for sock knitting, so the timing is perfect. And the Knit Pligg is such a cool way to keep track of what everyone else is knitting. I really love the "random post" option.

I have my sock pal's information, and I am still in the planning phase. I need some guidance, though! My pal prefers cables or knit-and-purl patterns to lace and I think I can safely say that my color options are wide open. Should I make her...

...the Sundara Bird of Paradise socks (look at these lovelies by Amy of Two Sharp Sticks) ...

...or a pair of Rib and Cables (my favorite pattern, finished ones here and here)?

If I do the Rib and Cables, I am still undecided about yarn. I think I'll use some recently acquired Cider Moon: either Cherry Bomb or Asbury Park. What do you think?

In other swap news...

Late last week, I received my package from my Sound Swap pal ... Margene! I had to giggle when I saw the box sitting on my porch, because I had left a comment on her blog that I hoped she was making a mix for me! She sent the yummiest and prettiest mint meltaways, a very cute needle gauge (I can never find mine, so an extra is perfect!) and a fabulous music mix. I've been listening to it nonstop. Here's the awesome playlist!

1. "Fur Peace" -- Jorma Kaukonen
2. "Favorite" -- Neko Case
3. "Visions of Johanna" -- Bob Dylan
4. "Pocatello" -- Larry McMurtry
5. "River's Gonna Run" -- Sam Bush
6. "Love & Happiness for You" -- Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler (As a Dire Straits fan, I was excited to see this cut!)
7. "Latitude" -- Matt Flinner
8. "Walking the Dog" -- Dan Zanes
9. "Soul Kitchen" -- Patti Smith
10. "I Must Belong Somewhere" -- Bright Eyes
11. "V-Necked Sweater" -- Greyboy Allstars
12. "Up Against the Wall" -- Peter Bjorn & John
13. "Strange Fruit" -- India Arie
14. "5 Shots of Whiskey" -- Hank Williams III (Don't worry, Margene. I love me some twang from time to time. And who better than the Royal Family of Twang and Hard Livin'?)
15. "Ride the River" -- Eric Clapton & JJ Cale
16. "The Fox" -- Nickel Creek
17. "Come Home" -- Willie Nelson & Rickie Lee Jones

Thanks, Margene! I love it! And thank you as well to Jennie, for organizing such a great swap. I put my package in the mail on Friday and it should be arriving at its destination today or tomorrow. I hope my swapee likes it ... I think it's a good mix!

Other Pursuits

I used to frequent thrift stores fairly regularly, and then something happened (kids, maybe?) and I stopped doing it. Seeing other people's finds on the blogs and on Flickr has reminded me how much I like to browse around for unique and cheap things!

Mostly what I like to shop for is dishes. I have this thing about dishes. It might be hereditary, because my mom has it, too. (She doesn't thrift hers, though. When my parents lived in Luxembourg, she got them at the Villeroy & Boch factory store. That's my kind of outlet shopping!) I recently found these out thrifting: the ones on the left are Mikasa and I got a set of six cups and saucers for $5. The lovely little teacup on the right is one of a pair, sadly with no saucers. But both of them cost maybe fifty cents.

1. Mikasa Accent Polka Cups and Saucers, 2. Blue Teacup

Now that I am trying to learn to sew, the linens at the thrift stores call me with their siren song. (Cheap fabric, cheap fabric...) I also like vintage cookbooks from the 1940s through 1960s or so, and also mid-20th century home economics textbooks. A little particular, I know. I hope to be sharing some of my finds on the blog, so get ready for even more non-knitting content! Sorry!

Ebay, of course, is fun for this, and I have purchased some neat things on eBay. But it's not as much fun as finding things in an actual store. Part of the thrill is sorting through a bunch of stuff that doesn't interest you to find the Perfect Thing. Looking for goodies on eBay is like hunting on those commercial preserves where you pay for the animals to be released.* It basically takes all the challenge out of the activity. What do you other thrifters think?

Another little creative project I have going on I am calling Operation Pretty Home. I have never really decorated my house and so it was starting to depress me. I am trying, on a very little budget, to make my house reflect my personality and the things that I love.

1. Bedroom Wall, 2. My Bedroom Mantle

I started with my bedroom. Hung some window treatments, looked around for some pretty things for the mantle, finally put some pictures on the wall. In the picture on the left, I got the Vogue print and the frame for less than $20. The other pictures are an idea I shamelessly stole from Alicia at Posie Gets Cozy. They are scrapbooking papers in frames. That is brilliant. It looks really nice, I think.

Also ... swaps! I am doing Sockapalooza 4 and very excited about planning my sock project for my pal. I'm also getting together a package for Jennie's Sound Swap ... more on all this in the next post!

* Before you ask, no, I do not hunt. I heard about these places on NPR.