Today was the final stop of the 1000 Knitters project, the first book-signing event for "It Itches.", and I was fortunate enough to participate. Speaking of fortunate, nestled around my copy of the book are two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Franklin's Panopticon colorway that my friend won.
to knit with everyone else. It was a wonderful event. I wish I would have taken more pictures, and that I would have gotten over my nerves long enough to get someone to take my picture with Franklin. This is not to say that my camera stayed in its bag all day. There were the campaign signs. My friend, 
Helen, knit a fun hat for Franklin, and he was kind enough to model it for all of our cameras and us.
Then there is my free bag from Interweave along with the yarn left after casting off something you will have to wait to see. Seriously, I had finished it about two minutes before the yarn shop owner announced that it was time to clear out of the store.
I got some new yarn to test knit socks.
Someone learned that he does like to knit.
In fact, he knit his first scarf.
Someone else paid serious attention to a complicated baby blanket.
No, these are not all my drinks, but I am the dyer of the test yarn. 
There were others in attendance, but not all of the pictures I took were flattering. I need to improve my photographic skills. It was a great day, and I even managed to knit a few rows.
Last week was full. However, fun was what kept me on the go. I made it out to be with knitters five times. Yes, five times. There was Skanky Monday at Barnes & Noble. Tuesday was a lonely NAKG at Books-A-Million. Although I was the only one there, I did venture further that day and visited a bit with a wandering Skank when I bought my new books. Wednesday was another Skanky night at 
Starbucks. Saturday was a little stash enhancement. Friday was Stitch 'n' Pitch: The Skanky Edition. I do
not know who won, but I can say a skybox is the best way to do the baseball thing. Bonus entertainment included these bizarre inflatable critters throughout the game, and ended with fireworks.
book. I bought my own copy of Knitting Without Tears. We bought a gift card for Books-A-Million as a Christmas gift for someone who has since moved off. Sorry, sweetie, but we have not seen you since before Thanksgiving and you do not know when we will see you next. Therefore, the gift card became ours again. Anyway, I made my way through the disorganized knitting book section and chose this book. I took the book to the front of the store to pay, and set it on the counter. As I worked to juggle the knitting bag and the purse, the cashier asked the usual discount card question and then turned his attention to the book. "So, what are you going to knit me?" he asked. I replied with a loud laugh. He may have been embarrassed, as he quickly completed the transaction, and I was out the door.
is having in November. Between a flurry of emails and hurried conversations while keeping a lookout for the expectant mama, we decided on squares knit from Knit Picks Shine Sport. Laura would assemble the blanket. The colors were assigned, and the yarn was ordered and distributed near and far. Yes, even the re-located Skank, Brittany, contributed lovely squares. Finally, we gave the love that is group knitting to Christina. I got out my camera and tried to take a few pictures without getting in the way too much. You see a bit of the blanket, and yes, that is the wee one growing away under that grey t-shirt. I am so pleased with the way the blanket turned out, and I think Christina really likes it. It seems like we really surprised her. I hope that the love we put into this blanket follows her son through his life.
and I am going to try to make it into socks. I also share with you my current, favorite, treat. Fear not, my friends, I emptied the wrapper before taking it outside with the yarn for pictures. It was 102 degrees, and one cannot be too careful.
Yep, that is the center panel of Print o' the Wave. I finished that this afternoon. I made it to a NAKG meeting at Books-A-Million and had a great time. I met a new knitter. It is too bad that she had not brought her knitting with her. I hope I was still able to be of some help. I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Annette. I hope my words were able to offer some small comfort and encouragement in her difficult circumstances. I rounded out the afternoon by calling on the assistance of a bookstore employee. I have been waiting for the new IK, and they had not yet placed it out on the shelves. That is no longer the case, and I have a new magazine.Completion of my cardigan is not the only thing I was unable to do this weekend. I missed a birthday celebration of one of the Skanky Knitters on Saturday. Weather was lousy. The wind blew, the rain poured down, and the thunder rumbled. We did not even turn on the computer until Saturday evening. It would have been a good time to knit furiously on Sock Madness socks, but I would have been rattled to not be able to obsessively check the competitors' progress. In this way, it was a relief to have been knocked out of play. Still, the weather was not all that stopped me from participating in the festivities. What has given me the biggest grief this weekend has been my back. It has not been as bad as other times, but it has seemed that at any moment I could be in big trouble. I spent much of the weekend brewing herbal tea to help warm me while I applied cold packs to my back. Once or twice, I was able to stretch my back using my stability ball. If I had felt a bit stronger, I would have done a gentle, beginner yoga dvd. However, I could tell that I was not up to it, so as I worked to achieve the proper balance of not sitting, lying, or standing for too long, I knit. After I had done as much Arwen as I could stand, I knit a new chemo cap.
I used a stitch pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I knit this hat using Plymouth Dreambaby DK. I love this hat. It is soft and stretchy. I think it will be a good fit for just about anyone. I can see myself knitting more of these. I am unsure of my next hat pattern. Maybe I will choose another stitch pattern from this book.
I have been flipping through many sock patterns lately. I am in search of inspiration. I will be engaging in some super-secret knitting soon. I have joined Sockapalooza 4. This is my first time participating in Sockapalooza. I hope to do well and not be a Sockapaloozer. We will get our matches soon. Then I will do more research, and begin knitting. I want to complete these well ahead of the deadline just in case life happens later. I also have some more super-secret knitting to begin. It is unlikely that the intended recipients read this blog, but I will not show you until much later, just in case.
Because I am preparing to knit so much for others, I must definitely have some things on the needles for myself. I have Arwen near the finish line. It will be a race to see if I can finish her before the weather turns so blazingly hot that I cannot wear her. For warmer weather wearing, I have Festive on the needles. I am knitting this top in Cotlin in the Moroccan Red color. It seems that many people are interested in this yarn. I want to finish this shirt and wear it so I can share more of my experiences with this yarn with all of you. So far, I give this yarn a positive score. I liked knitting with it when I used it last month to knit an Odessa. It held up well to the abuse of the beads. There is not much point in taking a picture of the knit at this point. I am working my way up the back. I have worked the waist decreases and am now increasing again. The fronts will be interesting to knit. If I follow the pattern as written, I will be knitting the seed stitch bands using smaller needles at the same time as I knit the stockinette portions on larger needles. I think my Balene II dpns will work perfectly for this. I may knit the sleeves a wee bit longer than what is written in the pattern. My greatest worry for this shirt is that I did not choose the right size. It will not be such an ordeal if I need to rip the whole thing out and knit it again, but I would rather get it right the first time.
great wife, mom, knitter, and friend. I like to read her blog. I don’t tell anyone I know about my blog. I’m pretty sure Christina knows about it, but senses my insecurities and never mentions it. Not only did I leave Monday night with a new book, but also two skeins of Soy Silk. Elisabeth needed some dark sock yarn and I had a couple of skeins of Knitpicks Essentials in Pine. I gave them to her, and I hope they work out well for her. She asked what I wanted in return. I said that it wasn’t necessary. However, she promised to bring me some yarn. This soft, lovely yarn is what she gave me. I am blessed.
