I Love KnitPicks.com!!

Well, Harry Potter finally arrived and as a special surprise my yarn and needles that I ordered from knitpicks.com also arrived. I have never used knitpicks yarn or other products before but I have heard great things about them from various people. I am a die-hard Addi Turbo needle gal but after using my KnitPicks circulars, I may be swayed. They are light, smooth, and cheaper than Addi Turbos! Go check them out at KnitPicks. I think you may agree.

Entrelac at last (and UPS stalking)

Entrelac
Originally uploaded by hedgie97.

Well, I'm waiting for my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to arrive today from Amazon.com via UPS. I've been tracking the crap out of it for about two days now. I know that they won't deliver it until today but when I see that my book was "in transit to final destination" yesterday I got my hopes up that it would be here yesterday. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

While I stalked the UPS man online I decided to finally try entrelac. I referenced a site online, The Yarnpath which has a very easy to follow entrelac tutorial. I had no idea what I was doing going into it but I feel like I've got it down now.

I think I will be making a wide entrelac scarf. I'm using Patons SWS in "natural plum." I'm knitting on size US 8 bamboo needles. This entrelac thing is so addictive! I can't stop. Once 10PM came and I realized the UPS man can be "in transit" all night and that Harry Potter will not be arriving before Saturday I decided to stop the entrelac. I will need about 2-3 more skeins to finish the scarf.

Socks!

07202007584
Originally uploaded by hedgie97.

Finally!! I feel a sense of accomplishment with my knitting. I've been trying to unravel the mystery of the sock for about a year now. My first "sock" was more of a tube. It didn't fit very well. I think I knitted it on size 5 DPNs. I used a Lion Brand sock yarn. I didn't really understand gauge either. They kind of fit but were loose and slipped off all the time.

As I became more involved in knitting, I began reading more (more than the Internet). I learned how to knit on 2 circular needles thanks to Cat Bordhi's book- Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. I LOVE this method since it makes sense!! I was finally able to understand sock construction using two circular needles.

After I read Cat's book (and LOVED it- have I said that yet?) I bought the book Sensational Knitted Socks

I was a bit hesitant about the book since I knit my "tube" sock from a sock instructional book and everything else didn't make sense. I bought it though. It was wonderful!! I understood what I was doing. I bought some new sock yarn from the LYS (The Woolie Ewe). I believe it's by Opal and a cotton yarn. I loved the striping.

Anyway, lots of rambling and these are the results. I can't recommend Sensational Knitted Socks enough. Even if you aren't a fan of the 2 circ method there are charts to use for 4 DPns and 5 DPNs. Try it!

Now I'm addicted to socks and have ordered about 8 more skeins of various sock yarn and have spent way more than I needed to spend.

Family, if you are reading this just know you may be getting a pair of socks for Christmas!

We're baaaack!

Rose and I came back from our road trip early. We got back last night around 8PM. I will be updating later this week (hopefully) about everything we did and saw. We cut our trip short since we were both tired and missing our husbands and animals.

Here's how we were welcomed to Pennsylvania. More to come later!