my camera isn't broke!

i thought my camera was dead, but apparently it has just become picky about using rechargeable batteries. I have a green camera! speaking of green, although i am terribly behind, The Purloined Letter has been chronicling her family's efforts to be more conscientious of their choices and how they impact the environment, their community, local businesses, etc., and it has been really awesome to read and quite inspiring. I am all about the baby steps, I do use rechargeables whenever possible, and got those funky swirly light bulbs today for my office and hall (kitchen is next, Ott in the living room) and I have been really careful about my water usage (if it's yellow let it mellow, but I've been doing that for a long time,) and keeping my apartment like the batcave it is. I also accidentally realized my waste management people here do indeed pick up recycling for free, which I was thrilled about, and also have arranged for friends to get some bins. I don't read any kind of media really, be it newspapers, magazines (other than knitting related of course) or watch the news, but while waiting in a doctor's office read some interesting and disturbing articles about our environment and that, along with The Purloined Letters blog, was inspiration enough.

Well that was an unintended paragraph, but I'm glad. The real moral of the story is, though, that her blog re-ignited that "I do count" voice within me. Small changes I make really can have an impact, as can yours.

So the camera isn't broken, so I have some better pics of Monkey and Branching Out, and here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Here's Branching Out, which I realized last night actually CAN go pretty fast if you actually find time to sit down and knit on it. Interesting concept. I really wish my YO's were more even and I know blocking might aid in that a little, but other than that, I'm enjoying it thoroughly.

Here we have the Monkey. The colors are WAY better in this picture and that pleases me. It is Shepherd Sock from Lorna's, my first time using it, and I am freakin HOOKED. LOVE the stuff, Grumperina wasn't lying.

The colors are, from cuff up, Vera, Motherlode, and Mixed Berries.




And here is some recently acquired Schaefer Anne, in colors some number and some other number. (sigh, I hate that.)



Kinda neat actually, I had ordered a bunch of Lorna's and a skein of Schaefer Anne with the intention of giving it to Christine because I missed her b-day and just because she's great, but wanted her to have a choice, so let her pick between 2 and she chose the Lorna's. I really loved the Schaefer I got, but it had this copper in it that was disturbing me the more I looked at it, but it turned out Beff loved it. So on a visit to Uncommon Threads, I called her and asked if she wanted anything and told her about the wonderful Anne she had gotten from the show and she asked me to find her one like mine and I was like, well, what about just mine? Teehee. So I was then able to pick out a new hank for myself in trade for the one Beff was going to buy from me and I picked out the top one after MUCH narrowing. I started with like 8 hanks for real and it took me and 3 other people to make the final decision. I am THRILLED with the decision though. Something really neat I noticed about Anne when this was happening is if you open up the hank and hang it like over your hand or arm and hold it in some good light and like move it slowly around pulling downwards, the colors are literally breathtaking. To watch the shading that happens is like whoah. I am freakishly excited about starting socks with it, it will someday be the teosinte socks that Christine introduced me too. LOVE them.

the other hank has an adorable-on-several-levels story with it. BFF adores her birthday socks and i have been threatening to make her another pair in fingering weight yarn ever since. i have already bought enough for 2 pairs with her in mind, but since we were together at the store (total awesomeness in itself) and the Schaefer Anne had just come in from the TNNA show, I just grabbed an armful of colors I liked even a little and dumped them on the table in front of her. I was like, yo, it's sock yarn. she was tickled by this and she looked up at me and in the cutest voice was like, if I buy this, would you make me socks? And I was like OMG! Of course! BUT, I have this Branching Out I'm working on due for a birthday and then I have Sockapalooza to attend to.... it might be a little while... and she was like, will you teach me to knit socks? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! She's since had second thoughts, especially after letting her in on the necessary techniques for sock knitting and how she'd have to start with squares and such, but I think we're getting closer to BFF knitting. But even if she never does, that's cool too, she still totally made my day by asking me to make her something, appreciating and choosing the fiber, and even considering learning, plus we had a nice time at the LYS and she got to meet Rosemary and Sarah. It was a good day. :)

and that's all for now, work beckons. :)

-kb out