Look – a PAIR! I knit this first String Theory sock on vacation in Colorado this summer. I loved the yarn so much that I immediately started in on the second sock. However, somewhere between that vacation and the Sock Summit hullabaloo, it got stalled out. Now that the weather is getting cold, I needed the second one done so that I can wear them! I used the Celebratory Socks pattern (free here on my blog under Free Patterns). This was a great combination of one of my favorite yarns plus one of my favorite patterns. A true pleasure to knit up. Several of you have asked when we will have more String Theory. They were busy busy busy with Stitches East and then a retreat, but are now busy dyeing up more orders for us. Watch for it later in November or early December. (We’re also adding in two more of their lines, so that is something to look forward to as well.)
November Sock Club invoices went out today, so if you’re in our Sock Club, check your in-box. It always amazes me how quickly most of you find those emails and pay up so that we can get your boxes out to you! I’ve been busy working on the 2010 Sock Club and am excited about starting up the next one. We’re working with some great dyers and designers again for next year and we have added quite a few more spots for 2010, as well as a fun tweak or two. Details and signups for the 2010 Club will go up in mid-January (so watch the blog and the monthly customer email newsletter in early January).
I enjoyed reading about the things you always really really really wanted when growing up. Many of you felt the same way about Easy Bake Ovens and horses. I laughed when I read Jean’s comment: “I wanted the EasyBake oven and a horse too! Never did get the oven – mom’s argument was that she’d let me use the big oven any time I wanted, Why did I need a tiny fake one?” That was exactly what my mom said. She was always happy to have me do any baking I might want to do in the real oven. Of course nothing really compared to baking a couple of tablespoons of cake batter by lightbulb. I was also glad to read that Helene finally got the dog she has always wanted (and named her Happy)! I love reading all of your blog comments.
Speaking of getting gifts – I’m realizing that the holidays will be here too SOON and I have much knitting to get done. I’m making a list and will share it with you next week. You know, just so you can tell me that 1) I’m nuts or 2) your list is a lot worse. Either response will probably make me feel better.
Sheri wishyoucouldseealloftheyarnboxesthathavearrived
inthepasttwodays.Holycow.Muchphotoinggoingon.
Given that I thought the shawl KAL deadline was 10/31 and not 12/31, which officiallly makes me nuts, it appears I have lots of time for holiday knitting. But…it appears that my list is a lot worse than I thought it was going to be!
Can’t wait for my sock club yarn! The elves have been VERY busy today (which means I have lots of yarn boxes arriving in the next few days that need photoing! Yup. I’m nuts!!
I have two items I simply have to finish for gifts, and then the countless things I want to make – ornaments for friends and such. But I can’t stop spinning and then last night I rather spontaneously cast on for my first project with handspun when there’s a poodle to the north freezing his hind end off because I’m not knitting his sweater fast enough…
After last year where I had two pairs of socks to finish in about a month and a scarf knit with two skeins of the Cascade sock yarn while I was doing Pirates of Penzance, I decided this year I wasn’t making gifts. If I come up with something and have the time, fine. But no gifts by solicitation or request. I just about drove myself batty.
We’ll see if I manage to stay true to that as we get into the beginning of December.
When we were leaving your parking lot on Friday we ran into (not literally) the UPS guy rounding the corner of your lot. We knew he probably had bunches of yarn boxes but we resisted the urge to hijack him. 🙂
Btw, thank you so much for taking the time to present Karen with her gift certificate. I know she was tickled to pieces to get it. Let me see….I think it lasted all of what? about 45 minutes in her hand? lol
Don’t kill me Sheri. I’ve had my Christmas Knitting/Buying list done since September. It’s a spreadsheet with a list of people, items, and approximate knitting hours to completion. I also have the aprox. hours a week I spend knitting in order to calculate when I need to start. I’m currently 2 weeks ahead of schedule, but I just found my gameboy and find I might easily slip behind quickly if I keep playing that instead.
Spring Fling sign ups! Spring Fling sign ups!
Okay okay, I know you were talking about sock club and not the Fling. And I know sign ups will be sometime next month. But I want it to be here NOW!!!
Sorry, horribly bored here at work and get a little slaphappy as a result 🙂 I know you have a hard time picturing this.
I’m with Sara, as much as I want to be a part of the Sock Club in 2010, I so want to come back to Spring Fling 2010 so that everyone holds my hand while I get my tattoo 🙂
I’m trying to knit more presents this year, but I think should have started much earlier than I have. Story to tell: So, we are a one car family, so when DH needs the car (he’s retired), he will drive me to work and come back approximately 9 hrs later and pick me up. Just to make sure I’m utilizing all of my knitting time, I will knit in the car on the way to work and on the way home. The only problem with this is I have to be at work at 7:00am, and until the time changed, it has been dark outside. So, I’m in the car with a flexible flashlight attached to my coat happlily knitting away–people think I’m crazy when I tell them what I’m doing! Glad the time changed so it’s not dark outside anymore.
I’m trying to go the knitting/crochet route this year for all the Christmas gifts. LOL, I guess we’ll see how it works out since I haven’t started any yet….. but my Christmas list is really short, luckily. Gotta get started soon!
Btw, I love the socks….. and such a pretty colour. 🙂
All I want for Christmas is an additional week between now and Christmas! I like to make gifts for our relatives because I enjoy the process and they seem to appreciate the effort, but I’ll admit readily that I’m swamped this year.
Carol’s note above reminded me of when DH and I both worked downtown and commuted together. I always drove and he brought along counted thread needlework projects, so he got an extra hour or so of stitching time in every day. Lots of samplers got done over about eight years of driving together. Now that I don’t work downtown, my available knitting time has increased dramatically but his stitching time has plummeted, so we actually take weekend daytrips in part so that he can catch up on his stitching!
I baked quite a few cakes in my Easy Bake Oven and it was fun times, for sure! But I quickly graduated to the ‘big’ oven which produced much more satisfying results!
I’m trying to keep the Christmas knitting to a very few people who haven’t received knitted gifts from me before. At least that’s my story today…
I realized today I have NINE knitting projects for Solstice this year. (At least, it seems like a lot to me!) 1 hat, 6 scarves, 1 pair of socks, and 1 pair of gloves. It’s a good way to both do some stash-busting and some stash-acquiring! I guarantee you’ll be hearing from me this weekend Sheri!
I had the Easy Bake Oven, but I never got the pony. *sigh* But I was a pretty lucky child, so I can’t complain too much.
I only have three Christmas gifts to knit! A pair of socks, a cowl, and a darling headband. Totally manageable. What I need to do is get the yarn ordered for my shawl…assuming I can find what I really want. I am just impossible these days. 🙂
I made my list now I’m changing it and adding more projects to it. Not sure why since I freaked last week about whether the original list would be done in time for Christmas. I think I realized that I can’t weave placemats for the “hair/pedi girls” and the “doggie camp girls.” So they’re getting mitts maybe and the guys are getting the “scraper mitts” in 101 One Skein Wonders. I decided anything that doesn’t get done in time for Christmas 2009 will be given in 2010.
I’m always amazed at how quickly the email comes that says “your package has shipped”. This time I’m sure it was within minutes of the time that I clicked the paypal button! You and your elves are truly phenomenal!
Celebratory Socks are my favorite sock pattern too! I knit socks for my daughter almost nonstop. I do keep a few for myself. But, I have discovered that I am “allergic” to some yarns. What I am allergic to, my daughter gets! I think scarves and shawls make the best Christmas presents. Oh yes, hats too.
My son and daughter are older – last year we decided to make memories instead of giving gifts and we had a blast! One day we went to the Phila. Museum of Art and looked at the suits of armor and rooms of furniture from who knows which century, baked cookies, another day we went to Color Me Mine and chose a piece of pottery each to paint (coffee mugs, dish, etc. – they fire what you paint and you pick your item up anothe day) We have a memory album FULL of photos that I worked on and we still have fun remembering what we did and the fun we had. One of the deciding factors was that no one could really remember what they had received for a gift in previous years.
As far as gift knitting – I have 2 very dear friends that I am knitting the Mom’s Cabled mitts for, and I will probably knit something for my son and his fiance to be – maybe matching hats in blue their favorite color. I found 2 beret patterns I may use for my DIL to be – the Beckett Beret or the Grace Lace Beret – both free patterns I found. I knit for those who I know will not only appreciate the item but who I also know will properly take care of it (handwash, etc) Not everyone wants to. But for me – handmade is always best and any handmade item anyone has given to me – I have always treasured. So my to knit list is not long – my knit for me list IS long – but each project gives me much comfort to work on. And now I must try the Celebratory Sock pattern – very pretty and feminine and I have several yarns in my stash that would show that patten off well.
And I will have to start knitting after the Holidays as my sister in law just found out she is expecting their first and they have been trying for over 8 yrs to have a baby. I will do what I like to do and knit a matching pr of socks for mom and baby.
A matching pair of socks for Mom and baby! That is the neatest idea, Diane. I will remember that one.
I’m knitting 4 pairs of socks (2 socks finished) for the in laws, one hat (finished), one scarf (started) 5 or 7 purses from One Skein Wonders and a shawl. I don’t know if I’ll get it all done. I just spent a week on a pumpkin hat that got too big so I closed in the bottom and made a regular pumpkin out of it. I took it to work and have been getting lots of compliments, so it was worth it. :0)
Just wanted to mention that Happy, the love of my life (don’t tell my daughters or my husband), was bred and raised to be a Guide dog for the blind. Happy never made it completely through guide dog training (yes she is a dropout). When people donate several thousand dollars to the guide dog foundation they get to name a puppy. Someone named her Happy, I don’t know why but it is perfect. My neighbor raised her so I knew her as a puppy. Then she went off to guide dog school and she made it through to the very end. I don’t know why they didn’t accept her as a guide dog but less than a third of the dogs pass. Puppy raisers get first dibs when a dog gets rejected so my friend passed her to me (with more donations to the guide dog foundation). So Happy came to my home knowing my smell and with her familiar bed and toys waiting for her. Unfortunately, I now spend every night watching tv with a 60 lb dog on my lap and not getting any knitting done. But we’re all happy now.
Making a knitting list with just 7 weeks until Christmas eve is going to make you crazy. You probably have to reconsider your craft and bake for people instead – a couple of gifts per day instead of ??? long. I made my list in early October and, after some knitting and realistic review, have already sliced and diced people off the hand-knit list and onto the “easy” list. Or you can do like I did for my kids (9 & 11) last year – they each got a bag of yarn and a photo of the pattern. That way I didn’t have to hide my knitting from them. It made them happy to know the project on my needles was for them too.
Good luck!
Love those socks! Very pretty pattern! I may actually be able to post a sock pic soon myself. 🙂 Something I’ve been working on since Fling. (And yes, what Sara said: I’m on pins and needles waiting for sign ups!)
As for gifts, I’ve actually got one done because I needed to do it for the LYS as a sample, so I’m ahead of myself (but still incredibly far behind in spite of the small size of my gift list). There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing. But, we just keep knitting. And crocheting. And baking. 😎
What?! Holidays!? It’s November already?! uh-oh.
I started knitting for the holidays in August somewhere but of course I plan for my own lazyness. I knew I’d lose interest after a bulk of the work was done and then just pick it up and power through the rest last minute. Of course this year there were complications so I had to get it done this week. *sigh* Other holiday projects are well at hand at present. Give me about a week before Christmas before I start freaking out again. Ah aren’t the holidays wonderful?
As for the Easy Bake Oven I didn’t have one either. However my mom bought me one of the kits with the little pans and the mix and helped me use the big oven. Not quite the same I know but I got to eat the little cakes which is all I really wanted anyway. Years later I saw a friend of mine do the exact same thing with her daughter and it warmed my heart.
I am making 2 Girasole’s, 6 pairs of socks, 1 scarf, 6 mittens, 1 shawl that jazz, 6 hats and probably a couple of extra somethings in case i forgot someone. Not enough hours in the day. wish I could just sit and knit all day. The second Girasole is for my daughter. It is the last thing I will be knitting. she knows she is getting that so if it is not done no problem. Still waiting for her to decide on the color. She is just glad she is getting one as a blanket.
I am knitting for only a few people this year. My husband is getting a pair of socks, my sister is getting a great scarf, and the rest will be bought, unless knitted gifts get added and finished. I decided there would be no pressure on the knitting this year…we’ll see if I hole to that, lol!
meant to say hold to that!
That’s a great sock pattern, and you chose a beautiful yarn for it.
My Christmas knitting is going pretty well, I’m probably about half way there. I need to make three hats, two pairs of mittens, finish the toes of three pairs of socks and weave a few scarves. Then I have to start my Christmas sewing!