SockTart

Mmmkay. My Secret Pal sent me this package, stuffed to the gills, AGES ago. I’m very very lazy, it seems, when it comes to actually photographing things.

Actually, part of the effort is getting “the right lighting”. I generally do most of my knitting, and hence, most of my knitting photography, in the basement…where the lights are a couple of yellowy pot-lights. For the photo in this post, however, I wound up taking the contents of the Big Envelope of Doom into one of our spare rooms that had a little bit of remaining daylight, a lot of yellowy overhead light, and touch of camera flash. It seems to have worked well.

I’m going to extend a public apology to Melina, my secret pal. She revealed herself to me on November 22nd, and I’ve been a lazy arse about posting. Gah.

At any rate…the STUFF!!! (I squee’ed when I opened the package. Honestly).

1. Cookie A. pattern for Gothic Spire socks. OMG! I have NO idea which yarn I will use to knit these, but…g’damn! I love me some good lacework

2. Tarot Cards! I can’t read ‘em worth beans, but I LOVE to collect them for the imagery. I dream of someday framing some of my favourites. I have a feeling that this deck will somehow figure in this scheme. Joy!

3. Stitch Markers! Not just stitch markers…HALLOWE’EN stitch markers! The nice thing about being a person who does/did chain mail jewelery? I can remove some of the jump rings and replace them with claps so that I can use a few to clip onto actual stitches. I’m funny that way

4. I am all about the sock yarn, yo. Melina spoiled me rotten here….some gorgeous Tofutsies (in purples and fuschias and black), and a skein of Scout’s Swag (!!!!!) in Superwash Merino. The colourway is called “Secret”, and OMG…I think that Scout, Koigu, and a couple of other places use the same blanks. I am going to LOVE this. I finished working with my Koigu not too long back, and have been pining for more. THIS will more than compensate.

There’s also a nice little note from Melina, who seems to share my love of kitsch when it comes to stationery. This little note now sits on my desk so that I can look at it often. Awwww

So yes….I got spoileded really good. THANK YOU Melina! I can’t wait until I can really dig into these goodies

My SP11 Pal contacted me last week to let me know that my parcel was in the mail…wowzers! That didn’t take long…I’m still working on getting stuff together for the person I’m sending things to!

At any rate, all this arrived on Tuesday. I guess that the Mailman woke Robin up, because the package was waiting for me on the landing when I got home.

I descended on this package like a rabid hyena, let me tell you.

I didn’t have this book…and I had been drooling over it at our local Chapters last weekend (I put it aside in favour of one of the Yarn Harlot books that I hadn’t picked up yet). Now I’m glad I did! The yarn that my Pal has sent me (thank you!) is for making one of the projects in the book…the Candy Hearts on page 105. After looking through the book, Robin has told me that there is no way in hell that I am allowed to embroider “WoW” on them. I think he prefers the messages featured in the book (wink wink, nudge nudge).

He also really likes the Bob Dobbs sweater. Something tells me that I may be buying copious amounts of sweater wool sometime in the future. He’s already trying to get me off the sock kick…not that he’s complaining TOO hard. I just finished his Sideshow Husband Jaywalker socks

(This is true…I cast off the Sideshow Husband Jaywalkers. He proudly wore them to work last night. I’m going to have to tackle him this weekend so I can get pictures. In better light than my poor basement affords…)

More questionny goodness on the Secret Pal front….

I’ll probably wind up adding it to the SP11 page that’s currently at the top of this page on the screen (look up.  To the right.  There you go.)

Well, my Secret Pal (it’s a knitting thing, for those who aren’t aware of this Secret Pal thing) wanted colours, so….some examples of colours!  No, I’m not reproducing the pictures here, as I’m not the copywrite holder and don’t want to get into trouble (grin)

Please bear in mind that these are examples for colour reference on my preferences only.  If it’s something I’m severly lusting after, I’ll try to mark it as such

Scout’s Swag: Okies…here you’d be wanting to look at things like Appletini, Bluetini, Hot Tropics, Hunker Down, Needles on Fire, Run like Hell, Secret, and Strawberry Quick.  The Marina Piccola colourway is also pretty yummy.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Shaded Solids: I’m going to preface this by saying that I’ve never worked with Socks That Rock, and I’ve always had a bit of a yen to give them a try; I’ve heard some good things about them.  That said, I find the colourways Hoofle Foofle, Spinel, and Rose Quartz to be quite yummy.  They’re not quite the usual colourways I’d choose, but they’re the kind of thing I’d knit socks for someone else (usually family or friends) out of.

Viola  and Paris from Yarn Pirate are the kind of saturated colours that I enjoy.

I’ve downloaded some pictures from my camera to the hard drive of the computer, so I should have more examples soon.  At least examples of things that actually made it into the house

I have a little project for this weekend.

I have to find references for my Secret Pal…so she knows what kinds of colours I find attractive.

So I’m likely going to be putting a new page in my site called “colours”.  Spelled the proper way, yes, because I am Canadian, and that’s how we roll (grin).

I’ll have links to different colourways that I like.  Some surprise even me.  Yowza.

I promise I’ll do it this weekend.  PROMISE.

But right now….I have to get ready to take the man to work…

Here’s my answers to the questionnaire.  I may just turn this into an easily-found page on its own.  Never know

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
- Ooo.  Good question.  I’m not a big fan of cotton.  It has its place, but unless it’s  blended with some other fibre, it’s a little hard to work with at times.  I hate to admit that I’m not much for the “fad yarn” that you can pick up at Michael’s or Wal-mart.  I’m choosy in my Wally-world/Zellers stash!  Why go for faux suede when you can get chunky black &  neon blue colours instead?  Right?  Right!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
- My straights are currently stored upright in a Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch box.  We bought the scotch for our fathers one year for Yule, and stuck the bottles in decorative Christmas boxes for liquor…so the original sleeve was repurposed for holding my long, straight needles.
I generally keep my Addis in my knitting drawers, and my dpns in a Tinkerbell pencil case that also holds my notions.  The Other Half calls this pencil case the “Tinkerslut case”.  It’s not a very flattering picture of Tinkerbell

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
- I’ve been knitting off & on for about 3 years on my own.  My paternal grandmother was a demon with the needles, and tried to teach me when I was a kid…but it was something I had to teach myself, really.  I blame it all on the Kittyville Hat in Debbie Stoller’s Stitch & Bitch book.  Yeesh.
I’d say I’m at an intermediate level.  I’m not doing any stranded colourwork or knitting any sweaters quite yet.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
-Um….yeah.  It’s pretty out-of-date, but it shows how much of a sewing geek I can be.  If that link doesn’t work, look for the name ArcadiaX.  Because Amazon doesn’t like to make things easy, y’know.

5. What’s your favorite scent?
- In no particular order, Vanilla, Raspberries, Strawberries.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
-I do have a sweet tooth (I loveLOVElove chocolate!) but I’ve found that I’m highly sugar-sensitive.  No, I’m not diabetic.  Sugar makes me fat. Since I cut out sugar, I’ve lost about 40 pounds, with another 90 or 95 to go.  That will make me half the girl I used to be.  In the meantime, I usually suck on sugar-free mints (peppermint or cinnamon flavor).

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
-I cross-stitch, do chain-mail, and sew my own corsets. Well…I’ll be going back to sewing my own corsets when I stop shrinking…

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
-I like a little bit of everything.  Except maybe country.  And rave music, unfortunately, gives me a headache.  I’ve rediscovered a love of 70’s and 80’s rock & new wave respectively, and since our city got an alternative radio station, I’ve been happily grooving away to all the old songs of the 90’s that I used to enjoy when I was a poor art student in downtown Toronto.  Yes I wore flannel.  It was usually paint-stained.  Shuddup.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
- My favourite colours are pinks, purples, blues, and blue-greens.  Normally I can’t stand yellows and rusty colours (oranges, etc), though I’m seeing some interesting solids & chromatic blends. Like that variegated yellow that I’m having the devil’s own time tracking down.  Grr!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
- Two adults, one cat, no kids.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
-Scarves, hats, mittens, gloves and/or shawls.  I haven’t worn a poncho since the 1970’s, and at that point I wasn’t dressing myself so I had no choice in the matter

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
-I am an admitted sock addict.  Booyeah.

13. What are you knitting right now?
- A pair of monkeys in a bright pink Tofutsies sock yarn.  Mmmm…

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
- Handmade gifts are much appreciated.  Particularly since I know the amount of work that goes into them after trying to make a little something for everyone in the extended family these past two Yules.  Never. Again.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
- I loves me my Addi Turbos.  **LOVES**.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
- Thanks to my local yarncrack dealer, I have a swift.  It saves the Other Half (and any friends foolish enough to wander into our house) from having to sit still for half an evening, holding yarn.  I do not have a ball winder as of yet.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
- Ummm….about a year old, I think?  Almost a year?  I was knitting scarves for my brother & my Father-in-law…and, uh…got bored with them….
It is by will alone that I…uh…finished the Dr. Who Scarf for the Other Half.  He’s still paying that one off…

18. What is your favorite holiday?
- Every Day is Hallowe’en, Baby.  No, I’m not a goth.  Not at all. 

19. Is there anything that you collect?
- Dust, according to the Other Half.  But more seriously, about the only thing I’m really “collecting” right now are tarot decks.  Can’t read ‘em worth a heck, but they’re darned pretty.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
- Um….Cookie A’s non-free sock patterns?  I’d love to get my hands on some of the basic Elizabeth Zimmerman books.  I have one of the Vogue Stitchionaries that I’d like more of (I have the first one), and then there’s the Knitting over the Edge books.  I’d love to get my hands on those ones.
I have no magazine subscriptions.  I’ll pick up Interweave Knits at the grocery store or Yarncrack Haven when possible.

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
-No, not really.  If there’s something I want to learn, I generally get a book and figure it out.  See, this is why Granny had such a hard time trying to teach me.  I like Diagrams Where Appropriate

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
-Guilty as charged!  Size 9 and a half foot.  Length: 9.5 to 10″, circ: 9″, approx.  Usually I make the socks just a wee bit smaller than that.  If I actually make the socks to what my measurements are SUPPOSED to be, then they wind up fitting my sis-in-law (size 9/10 feet) or my Mum (size 11 feet).

23. When is your birthday?
- February 7th.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID?
- Yep.  My ID on Ravelry is “Maire”.  Same as my name.  I try to keep things pretty simple