First: I finally finished the Denmark Gefjon! I decided that since it was the reason I learned how to knit, I should probably finish it by my 10th Knitting Anniversary, which was in February. On January 26, 2009, I finished crocheting the last seam and put that puppy on, and here’s how it looked:

Isn’t it pretty? It’s warm and wonderful and I’m kicking myself for not finishing it sooner. It’s the perfect jacket for cold days, even in the snow!

Now, on to the main purpose of this post. On Tuesday, Tim took the day off and we went to IKEA in Bolingbrook, IL. We didn’t go for anything specific, but we’d been talking about wanting to go for a long time. It is my new favorite place. I wish I lived closer (or I wish there was one closer to where I live). The best find of the day? These:

They are octopi that have two little clothespins on each tentacle. Aren’t they cute???  And the top of each tentacle is rubberized, so you can also hang things from them and not worry about them slipping off. And for $6.99 each, I just couldn’t pass them up. The best part? They are perfect for socks. I give you…..wait for it…..the SOCKTOPUS!

Isn’t it the most wonderful thing ever? I wish I’d have purchased 3 instead of just 2. I don’t quite have enough tentacles for all of my handknit socks…though they aren’t usually all dirty at the same time, so I think I’ll be okay. Oh! And the tentacles fold up, so they are also easy to store. Definitely the best thing ever.

Pattern: Hyrna Herborgar from Three-Cornered and Long Shawls

Yarn: Hunt Valley Cashmere lace weight

Needles: Size 4 rosewood 24″ circular

Started: 8/8/08 at 8 pm

Finished: 8/15/08 at 5 pm

This shawl was really fun to knit. It went a lot faster than I thought it would. It’s a birthday gift for my mom, but part of my really wants to keep it. So, I suppose I’ll have to knit one for myself.

They were really ansty to get to the bus stop. Here’s Aaron boarding the bus:

So, how am I going to spend my first day of freedom? I should probably work….and probably will a little. But mostly, I’m watching the Olympics and working on this:

It’s the Hyrna Herborgar from Three-Cornered and Long Shawls. I’m using Hunt Valley Cashmere left over from my Faux Russian Stole. It’s also my Ravelympics project. I really thought this shawl would take longer than it’s actually taking. I won’t have any trouble at all finishing it by the 24th. (Famous last words, right?) It’s also a birthday gift for my mom. She’s been hinting for a while now that she would love a shawl, and I think this one is just perfect. My mom is very petite, and this is a relatively small shawl. I think she’ll love it!

Okay, back to enjoying my freedom. Olympics and Knitting! YAY!

I spent most of the day by myself. Tim’s company picnic was today at Indiana Beach–not my favorite place in the world, so I was happy for an excuse not to tag along. He took the kids and I’m sure they are having a blast. Unfortunately, being alone makes the time drag. I mean really really drag. I watched a movie. I knit on my Faux Russian Stole. I did laundry. Sadly, I cleaned the house on Thursday, so it didn’t need cleaned again, or I might even have resorted to that. Finally 4:30 arrived, and I headed out. We met at Khana Khazana at 5:00, a little Indian buffet restaurant that I adore. Unfortunately, I didn’t do my research ahead of time….they didn’t open until 5:30. Sigh. So, rather than wait, we went around the corner to Noodles. Yummy. Not everyone was able to be there, but all 7 pairs of socks were.

Aren’t they beautiful???!!!  Everyone definitely has a good sense of what colors I like. Here they are close-up.

These are from Debbie. The yarn is Lorna’s Laces in the Tuscany colorway. Just like my triangle afghan.

These are from Elizabeth. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK. Yummy and soft. I don’t know what the colorway is.

These are from Heather. We think the yarn might be a lighter weight version of Extra Stampado, but we aren’t sure…and she wasn’t there to ask. (Curtis’ band was playing tonight. I can’t blame her for wanting to support her son’s musical ambitions.)  

These are from Laura. I have no idea what the yarn is, but I know they are Turkish style socks. The patterns look sort of Peruvian to me, though. Gorgeous! She even blogged about them.

These are from Michelle. I think she gets the award for socks done first. She says she’s had them done for two years!!! Since the very beginning. They are definitely me. The yarn is Bearfoot (one of my favorites!) and I think I even have this colorway is my stash! She knows me so well.

Next are the socks knit by Sam. The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug in the Mardi Gras colorway. Very soft and squishy.

Finally, we have the socks Sheryl knit. The yarn is Fiesta Boomerang. Lovely stuff!

Ladies, thank you all soooooo much for these socks. I love them and will mourn deeply if any of them ever developes a hole! From the bottom of my heart (and my feet) THANK YOU!!!!

First, last week I released my newest pattern: Claire’s Shawl. Here’s a pic:

I’m so happy with how it turned out. It started as the 2008 River Knits Mystery Shawl. It was so much fun watching everyone work through the pattern as the design slowly but surely emerged on their needles. I hope everyone was pleased with the end result.

I’m sitting here on the porch at my parents’ house, watching the kids swimming in the 3ft pool….and trying to decide if I want to work or knit. Maybe I’ll knit this afternoon and work all day tomorrow. I only brought one project to work on: a pair of socks using Panda Cotton in the College Prep colorway. This yarn is wonderful. It’s cool to the touch and just glides along, regardless of how hot it is. I think I’ve just convinded myself to knit….

I’m also working on another Tomato. This time I’m using the Shire Silk yarn I reclaimed from the failed Lacy Leaf Shrug. I’m teaching the Tomato as a class right now at RK, so I’m knitting along with the class. I’m anxious to see how this yarn works in this garment. It’s quite a contrast to the fabulous Malabrigo.

And, of course, the River Knits Mystery Shawl is still on the needles. The sport weight version is flying along, but the laceweight is taking a bit more time. Even so, the laceweight Malabrigo is a joy to knit with, so I don’t mind that it’s taking longer.

Finally: It’s time for the RK Secret Pal exchange to start! YAY!!!  This is always so fun. I posted my questionnaire on the River Knits Secret Pals 2007 blog. I’m having great fun shopping and planning gifts for my pal. I hope she enjoys her gifts as much as I’m enjoying picking them out.

I finished Aaron’s Wonderful Wallaby some time ago:

He loves it. He especially loves that it’s “electric blue.”

I also finished my Tomato, which I blogged pretty extensively about on the River Knits Blog.

In case you didn’t know, Malabrigo is now my very favorite yarn ever in the whole world.

Now, on to the current project: The Lacy Swing Top from the Sept/Oct issue of Crochet Today!  This is the center square:

See how the very center is kind of wonky? No? Here’s a closer look:

Now you see it. Yeah, I hate that. So I’m trying again, using a smaller hook just for the very center part. We’ll see how it turns out. The yarn is Silk City Silk Denym in a dark green. It’s been in my stash for a while. Honestly, I bought a full 1 lb cone of the stuff, then didn’t have any idea what to do with it. This seems to be the perfect project. I’m anxious to get the second square completed so I can move on the to the next step. Hopefully using a smaller hook for the center will solve my wonky problem.

BTW: I’m also still working on the River Knits Mystery Shawls. Once I get one finished, I’ll post more about the details.

But, let’s back up a minute and talk about the knitting I did today.

Traditionally, there are two days of the year when I always cast on a new project: January 1 and August 5.  The first is New Year’s Day and the second is my birthday. Both carry the same philosophy: New year, new project.  And these can’t just be any project. They must be something a bit challenging. This year, one January 1, I cast on the Faux Russian Stole.  I only have 1 1/2 repeats left before it’s finished. If I finish it in 2007, it will be the first time I’ve finished a New Year’s project the same year that I cast it on. It’s totally doable. I can see myself wearing it at Christmastime.

Which brings us to my birthday project. Last year, I will admit that I didn’t cast on a new project on my birthday. Instead, I ripped out an entire sweater because I hated the way it looked on me. And I wasn’t about to waste 17 balls of Noro Kureyon on an ill-fitting sweater. But this year will be different.

I have 5 skeins of Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino and a plan. Of course, I can’t share my plan with you because it’s the River Knits 2008 Mystery Shawl*. So you won’t get to see finished pictures until June 2008. But, I’m hoping to have the shawl finished by October or November. I also believe it will only take 3 or 4 skeins of this yarn, so a mobius scarf may be in line for the leftovers. (By the way, the color is Tuareg, and I love it. After spending a good portion of the afternoon with this yarn, I can honestly say I’m in love.)

I was also gifted with a lace blocking kit from Tim and the kids and two skeins of Malabrigo and a book from Elizabeth and Michelle:

I thought the combination was a little ironic. No Sheep for You and two skeins of wool yarn. But I like irony. This yarn (and the lacweight version above) is heavenly soft. I haven’t decided yet what these two wonderful skeins will become….maybe mittens and a neckwarmer. Or a shrug. Or a little shoulder shawl. It will speek to me and tell me what it wants to be in time.

All in all, definitely a good birthday. I’m thankful to be a year older. Now I’m going to go do some online browsing because I have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket.

*More on the 2008 River Knits Mystery Shawl as we get closer to 2008. I can tell you this: I’m working on writing the pattern (and test-knitting it) in three yarn weights: lace, fingering, and sport. I’m excited about it and greatly enjoying the knitting.

Like everyone else in the civilized world, I spent last weekend reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

To some, this would mean a complete loss of knitting time. However, when you just have something in plain stockinette in the round like….oh, I don’t know…. a Wonderful Wallaby, you can make a surprising amount of progress while reading 759 pages!

I’ve worked on it a little since finishing the book, but the bulk of the knitting was completed while reading. If you choose to knit while you read, I have one word of caution. Pay attention to what color yarn you are picking up when you are ready to knit stripes. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up with this:

Those aren’t two different dye lots of green. They are two completely different colors. Silly mistake, but at least it isn’t glaring. At least they are both green.

Other knitting I’ve been doing: The MS3:

I haven’t started Clue 4 yet because I’ve been busy reading. However, that’s on my agenda for this weekend.

Yesterday, I started this:

It’s the Stag Bag from the current issue of KnitScene. If you want to make one, but you’re a little intimidated by it, I’ll be teaching a class on it at River Knits this fall. Come join us. (BTW: I’m in love with this yarn! It’s the new Ultra Alpaca Light from Berroco. YUMMY!!!)

Finally, I’ll leave you with something….um……interesting. Last week, I went to the library to pick up a book that was on hold for me. While I was there, I decided to look at crochet books. I *always* look at the knitting books, so I thought this would be a nice change. Well, I found this:

Yes, that’s a man smoking a pipe and crocheting. Inside the book, there’s this picture of the same guy:

Isn’t that a riot?!  The best part is that this book is REALLY great!  There’s tons of good info and excellent illustrations. As well as the standard bizarre garments. (Warning: All of the instructions are British, so if you decide to check out this book sometime, be forewarned. The terminology is a little different than what we use in the States.)

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. Now, I better get back to work!