OMG flat feet!

once again, it's been forever. many things... work sucks, life sucks, computer crashed, lost everything, no internet for 5 days, stuff sucks. i just haven't been in the blogging mood, nor have i read any blogs either. bad bad bad knit blogger, shame on me, and i'm sorry.

i'm still not really in the mood, but there's something i HAD to share with all you sock knitters out there. it's kinda top secret, but not so much now. :) audrey got a package from Conjoined Creations, who I have to say I haven't heard of up until this point, and in the package are two "flat feet" sock yarns with a request for samples to be made by their knitter of choice and sent in. they asked that nothing be said about it until 11/15, but I just got it yesterday, so I'm free to rave about it. teehee. i'm honestly not sure if any of this will stick when/if it goes into production, but as of right now, it's an 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon handpainted sock yarn. aside from the colors, which are freakin fabulous, the really cool thing is they come in flats! who'da thunk it? check it:



isn't that neato???? i had some issues getting it started, not by any fault of the manufacturer, i'm just a little challenged with string. it had really pretty edgings on both sides in a waste yarn that you would unravel to start knitting.


i've decided to work on Marigold since I saw them at Christine's and really wanted to make them but they're a bit girly for me and I have to make a women's medium for this project, so it seemed a perfect choice.

i haven't finished one repeat yet even, but here is my progress so far, couldn't wait to get started!!!!



initial thoughts on this yarn? LOVE. LOVE LOVE LOVE. the colors are GORGEOUS and my photos of course do not do them justice. the only downside, if it is even truly a downside, is the yarn comes out of the flat swatch incredibly coiled, as you can see and if any of you are fellow froggers, you're all too familiar ;) i feared this in the beginning, but really am not noticing an effect on my stitches. (ETA: the paperwork states that immersion blocking eliminates any crimp, which I kinda figured, but just FYI) it is definitely soft, but not insanely so, but i expect further softening with washing and blocking, and will certainly keep you all posted on that. there has been no true splitting whatsoever, but an occasional (twice so far I think) separation, i guess you could say, where just the tiniest thinnest little thread mingles with a stitch from the row before, which is easily rectified of course. of course what is SO incredibly cool about this is that there is no hank to wind, no ball to worry about, no knots, no tangling, no nothing, you pull the yarn as you use it and it unravels smoothly and beautifully from the swatch, that i assume is done by machine. according to the paperwork that came with the sample, these will be released to the public around the holidays, at least to the stores that did the samples, and at TNNA in January. oh, i forgot to mention one part. I GET A SET FREE FOR KNITTING THE SOCK! :)

since i'm finally here writing and speaking of worrying about hanks and winding and such... look what i got for my birthday!!!!!


a winder is on the list for the chanukah fairy, but it is working just beautifully with my thumb too. :) the knitters threw me a surprise birthday party and omg did they all spoil me!!!! the swift was from barb, who also made me a custom knitting pouch that i forgot to photograph, but will. i also got some gift certificates to the yarn shop, which i partly used for this:


you might remember i got 2 delicious hanks of the color on the right last year and debated forever what would it would be best suited for. it is my FAVORITE malabrigo color, but i can't remember the name right now and am too lazy to get up. it is something vaguely close to loco barranaqua. i know that is SOOOOOO not even right and i apologize, but just in case any of you are desperate to have it now, that should be close enough. :) anyway, i made myself clogs with it but someone felted them for me and forgot to check them and they magically felted down to that person's size.... i'm not mentioning any names, but it starts with a B and ends with an eth. hahahahahahaha, but yeah, so i needed new clogs for me, so i went with those colors.

i also got a gift card to joann's and found out that if you look hard enough, they are carrying the Namaste bags that, if you read part 1 of my recent interview with Marce, I have been lusting over. between the gift card and a 50% off coupon, I got this bag for a STEAL!!!! behold!

LOVE this bag even more than I expected I would. I will note ONE complaint I have about it. If you notice the zippered closure on the front of the flap in the first picture, that appears that it would be a nice sized pocket that would fit printed out patterns, magazines, etc. safely, but NO! It's an illusion. Because of the magnetic snap closures found inside the flap towards the bottom, the room is sharply curtailed to barely fit a small knitting magazine, such as Knit.1 or KnitScene. Those fit mostly okay. I just wish there was a nice pocket that would keep patterns and such smooth without folding. Other than that, LOVE it. It is plenty roomy and it features the zipper on the bottom to expand 1-1/2 inches if necessary, too, ample pockets on the inside, including the center zippered one, which I like, and several smaller pockets for notions and such. I kinda wish there was a small zippered notion pocket, but that is really not a complaint, I am very much in love with my new bag.

i was truly, truly spoiled and surprised for my birthday, and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends. i haven't had a birthday party since i was like 7 at the ground round in new york or something. they really made me feel super special. i got all kinds of other goodies that i will have to share another post because i didn't photograph all of it yet, but I will say that some folks got together and special ordered me THE FREAKIN COOLEST SWATCH EVER from England. :) I had seen it like over a year ago and have wanted it SO badly. I have learned that I can't share things like this that I want with a certain person, whose name I shan't mention, but it starts with B and ends with eth, because she takes mental notes and has the memory of an elephant apparently. i thought you had to wait, but i found a link for it:

don't be jealous. it's actually clear, not white, just to clarify.

so, yeah, along with some other special people that i am truly grateful for, the knitters made what could have been a yucky birthday (don't dare ask or guess which one and if you know it, dont' say it or else) really really wonderful.

oh, here's another clog. :) I'm teaching my class, part 3 is tomororow (or today) and it's going well. this was the sample i used, beth's new clog was the felted sample. teehee. malabrigo upper, inner sole, and cuff, cascade on the outer sole... again, can't remember colors except the cuff and inner sole is called pearl and it's actually a really subtle blend of like grays, natural, and a very faint purple... it's pretty awesome. these are for a christmas gift.



and i've got one sleeve done of kenobi




back, done, one sleeve, done, left front, started. just 1-1/2 more fronts and a sleeve to go. i would like to get to wear it this cold season, but not going to count on it.

okay i must get some work done before i go to bed. i do hope everyone is doing well and your holiday knitting is frogless! if i don't post before, wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! even though much is yuck in my life right now, i still have so, so much to be thankful for, and i don't just mean presents. ;-) this means you, i'm grateful for all of you and grateful to the fibers that brought us together like a big yummy afghan :) xoxoxoxoxox

-kb out