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Completed Socks

August 4, 2010 By Judy

Remember when I used to knit socks?  Remember when I was buying sock yarn like there was no tomorrow?  I’m happy to report that it’s been months since I bought sock yarn.  It’s actually been April since I bought sock yarn.  I think that’s a record.  I wonder if my favorite yarn shop, The Loopy Ewe, is missing me.  I can tell you that I’m missing them.  I love buying yarn . . as much or more than I love buying fabric but it’s that realization that I’ll never be able to knit up all the yarn I have that has stopped me from ordering for almost four months.

The fact that I haven’t had a spare minute to sit and knit hasn’t helped either.  I keep a knitting project in the cars and I keep one in my “grab & go” bag so I get in a few minutes of knitting every now and then.  There are at least 6 pairs of socks that are close to being finished.  I’ll have more knitting time now that I’m finished canning tomatoes.

Here are the most recent finishes:

These were made from Wollmeise 100% wool yarn.  I’m not crazy about the stripes but I love the feel of this Wollmeise yarn.  Too bad it’s so blasted hard to get.  These are from the yarn Vince thought was red, white and blue.  It isn’t — it’s fuscia, black and pink.

And, I finished these:

Not sure what this yarn is but it’s a bit thicker than the yarns I usually work with.  It will be great for winter boots.  Again, I like tone on tone type yarn better than stripes.  I need to remember that if ever I need to buy yarn again!

These two finishes means I’ve finished four pairs of socks in 2010.  My goal is 15 pairs so I’d better get to knitting, huh?

Tagged Knitting, Socks, The Loopy Ewe, Wollmeise Filed Under Home & Garden 11 Comments

Post Office Update

April 13, 2010 By Judy

We got home Sunday night and I wasn’t happy that the post office had been delivering our mail but I figured I’d go down there Monday morning, get whatever mail they may have held, explain that I would really like for them to do a better job of holding our mail.

Then when I got online to check everything before I went to bed Sunday night, I went to Loopy Ewe‘s website and checked the status of my last order.  Doppio is the newest fiber from Numma-Numma.  Getting this yarn into my shopping cart and paid for is about like catching a greased pig!  On the Monday before we left town, I happened to be online just when the yarn popped up and I managed to get three skeins.  Then I remembered I wasn’t going to be in town to get mail.  Then I remembered the mail was going to be held so things would be fine.

So, Sunday night when I checked tracking on my package, it said “Delivered April 9, 2010, 11:48 a.m.”  Huh?  Where is it?  It was too late to call the people who took care of the chickens to see if they had found it and picked it up.  Chad said there were no packages on Friday night when he got home.  If I hadn’t already been so exhausted, worrying about this package might have kept me up but . . it didn’t.

When the post office opened at 9, I was there!  Those people are all so nice . . it’s hard to be angry with them.  The lady at the window brought me my mail and there was my Loopy Ewe box.  Suddenly, instead of wanting to be aggravated with the post office, I wanted to hug them all.  I talked to the Postmaster and he assured me that he was not happy with the way the mail stops were being handled and he felt they would work better in the future.  I said thank you! And I rushed home to open my box and check out my new Doppio yarn.

And those Loopy Ewe elves are so nice!  They sometimes sneak little goodies in the box and this one had an extra couple of goodies.

Tagged Doppio, Knitting, Numma-numma, Socks, The Loopy Ewe, USPS Filed Under Home & Garden 9 Comments

The Yarn I Chose

February 19, 2010 By Judy

Remember when I was trying to decide which yarn to use next?  It was going to be one of these.  They’re all described on the linked blog post.

My decision was to use the purple, green and pink Mardi Gras yarn.  But, being the nice girl that I am, I showed Vince the 5 balls of yarn and asked him which one I should use.  It makes my man feel good to help make decisions on things like sock yarn and quilt fabric! :) Not really but Vince never fails to entertain me with his choices.  He chose the one that has the sock started in the above picture.  I asked him why he chose that one and here’s the conversation:

Me:  Vince, pick one of these 5 yarns for my next socks.
Vince:  That one (pointing to the one that has the sock started).
Me:  Why that one?
Vince:  Because it’s patriotic.
Me:  Patriotic?
Vince:  Yes, red, white and blue.  Can have the socks when you’re done?
Me:  Why don’t you let me knit the socks and then you decide if you want them?
Folks, that yarn is pink, magenta and black.  The lighting is excellent in our living room.   How he thought this yarn was red, white and blue is beyond me and no, my man is not wearing pink socks!

Here’s what sock #1 looks like knitted.

No red.  No white.  No blue.  Figure that one out for me, will you?

Tagged Knitting, Wollmeise Filed Under Home & Garden 20 Comments

It’s The Hunt!

February 3, 2010 By Judy

I do not need any more sock yarn! I do not need any more sock yarn! Please Vince . . don’t be reading this post! :)   The last week or so, my mail lady has been my best friend!  I can’t wait to see her.  That’s all going to change though.  Two more packages and I’m done.  Really .. no more sock yarn.  I mean it this time.

It’s all the fault of those folks over at The Loopy Ewe.  There are yarns that people just rave about and I’ve never even heard of . . and surely haven’t seen or touched.  Everyone knows that the webpage is updated some time on Monday so half the knitters in the world camp out on The Loopy Ewe’s website all day Monday.  I never get anything done on Monday any more.  When I am lucky enough to get some of this can’tlivewithoutyarn, I never even know what color I’m getting . . I’m just sticking it in my shopping cart as quickly as I can and hoping for the best.  Sounds like I really do need a 12 step program, huh?

First, it was the Wollmeise Sock Yarn.  Getting that yarn is harder than getting a 12 point buck!  As soon as it shows up on the website, it’s gone!  If you’re lucky enough to get a few skeins in your cart, you’d better be real quick about checking out because it isn’t yours til you’ve paid for it and if there’s one skein left and someone pays before you do . . it’s going to their house . . not yours!  I got a few more skeins of Wollmeise Sock Yarn so I was happy.  I don’t need any more.  No . . really!  I don’t!

Then I heard that the Wollmeise Twin was heavenly for socks.  After several tries to get that from The Loopy Ewe, I heard that Claudia in Germany (the dyer) updates her web page on Friday mornings at 1 a.m. my time.  I managed to get some Twin straight from Germany!  Goofy me .. I left the invoice on the table and it was all in Euros. Vince looked at it and gasped and said . . doesn’t it take something like two dollars to make one Euro??  Hmmm . . not sure about that!  Let’s talk about something else!

Then there’s the String Theory yarn!  They have one called Blue Stocking and one called Caper.  Caper has 10% cashmere so it makes it a lovely sock yarn.  I’d never heard of it til those evil, evil ladies at The Loopy Ewe put it on their website.

Surely that was the end of the can’tlivewithout yarn!  Oh, no!  There’s Bugga! And it has 20% cashmere!  My feet will love me . . if ever I get socks made with it.  When it showed up last time on The Loopy Ewe’s site, so many of us were trying to get it that we crashed the server.  It’s all named after bugs and it’s as hard to get, if not harder, than the much desired Wollmeise.  In this picture:  Barrens Tiger Beetle, Tarantula Hawk, Sooty Dancer, Black Witch Moth and Death’s Head Hawk Moth.

Good . . I have all the can’tlivewithout yarn there is.  I can stop stalking The Loopy Ewe’s website and maybe I can paint new letters on my F5 key because I’ve worn them off.

What?  Not yet?  Monday I heard . . actually read on Ravelry . . that the update that night would include Numma-Numma.  What the heck is that?  Well, I managed to stalk the website long enough that I got some of that ordered. And then I heard that Sanguine Gryphon would have more Bugga in their Tuesday morning update.  I managed to get a special color called Love Bug and a very hard to find Northern Purple Gold Beetle.

Why can’t I be as disciplined with sock yarn as I am with quilting fabric lately?  It’s the hunt . . it’s knowing that if I don’t grab it now, I may never have another chance to get it . . ever!  I’m done .. really!

Tagged Bugga, Caper, Knitting, Numma-numma, Socks, The Loopy Ewe, Wollmeise Filed Under Home & Garden 29 Comments
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