Pyroclastic

 Drum roll, please! I finished my Pyroclastic socks! Yippee! I can't tell you how much these socks weighed down my knitting. I cast on for these during Sock Summit last year and finished the first sock quickly thereafter. I cast on the second sock, knit a few rows, and that was it. Second sock syndrome. Since then I've pulled them out for an evening here or there while I decided what other projects to get started on but I didn't make any real headway until my knitting retreat in Port Townsend.

Pattern: Pyroclastic by Marlowe Crawford
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Strawberry Lemonade
Needles: # 1 1/2 addi turbo 40" circular
Mods: No intentional mods. I screwed up the instep shaping/ pattern decreasing section on the first sock but didn't realize it until I finished the second sock. Yeah. I won't be fixing that mistake. This is my first pair of socks with arch shaping and while it's interesting I'm not sure that it makes a huge difference in the fit. I'm also a little concerned about how the bias fabric is going to wear over time. I'll call this one a learning experience with the added benefit that the color and lace pattern is awesome.

Dipped Infinity Scarf

 Did I tell you about the crazy amount of yarn I purchased at Sock Summit in July? Well, I still think it was a huge addition to my stash but it will be well worth it if all of my projects end up as lovely as this one. This was my first purchase of the weekend and it's totally squee-able. Totally. I can't wait for it to get cool enough to require scarves just so I can show it off.

Pattern: Dipped Infinity Scarf by Laura Chau
Yarn: Dirty Water Dyeworks Merino Tencel
Needles: US #9 Addi Turbo Lace
Mods: None! Bought as a kit and knit just as written.

Sock Summit

A small portion of my...ahem...hoard from Sock Summit. I didn't intend to purchase as much as I did but lots of people had deals on the last day and I'm a sucker for a good deal. Plus, you know, it's pretty. Last SS I ended up with lots of muted colors on the gray and violet end of the spectrum so I went in with a mind to expand my color palette. I think I did a pretty dang good job. Besides shopping I met a lot of podcast listeners and blog readers (hi Sarah!) and hung out with my friends and ate a ton of great food. All in all it was a great weekend with a good mix of relaxation and social stuff going on.

Top to bottom: StrickenSmitten Shimmer Glimmer DK in Blackberry Diamond, Becoming Art Agave Fingering in Perfect Mango, Plucky Knitter 4-ply cashmere in Roasted Pumpkin, Sincere Sheep Agleam in Neblina, Fiber Optic Foot Notes in Ripple.

Sock Summit

I'm off to Sock Summit this morning with Jessica to spend three glorious days reveling in yarny goodness. There are no classes on the agenda but plenty of relaxing, shopping, and eating...I hope. I've made a little list of possible projects for yarn purchasing and have a couple of items I'm charged to buy for other people but other than that there is no schedule. It's just what I need to unwind from my three weeks straight of work, work, work. Stay tuned for post-Sock Summit goodness.

Sock Summit Part 2; Electric Boogaloo

Going into Sock Summit I had two vendors at the top of my list - Miss Babs and Hazel Knits. I think this was a good plan since I was able to hit their booths immediately, ohh and aah, make my purchases, and then browse the rest of the market place thoroughly. Above - Hazel Knits "Limited Edition" color based on her Aurora Borealis colorway.

Hazel Knits Jay Blue - this is going to be a little sharf (shawl/scarf)

Miss Babs - She had sock yarn in tiny skeins which is enough for a pair of socks for the little one. Above - Yummy Toes Periwinkle

Miss Babs - 2-ply sock yarn in Pewter

Miss Babs - 2-ply sock yarn in Oyster.

This isn't all of my Miss Babs. I went back on Sunday!!! She had some sportweight in her booth at a discount since she's changing her base yarn. I picked a few skeins of that up, including one for my friend, Amanda. The color just screamed - I'm for Amanda! Take me to her! So I did. I also bought two skeins of her Yowza! What a skein! in Ironweed. These skeins are a whopping 560 yards so I'm going to use them as some type of Elizabeth Zimmermann sweater, maybe even a Fair Isle Yoke Sweater. I would have hit up Hazel Knits again as well but Jessica steered me away from her booth. These were my top two favorites of the show with Tactile coming in a close third. If I had unlimited funds that is where I would spend it, and did I mention everyone in those two booths were amazingly friendly? I'm sure being a vendor for several days in a row at something like Sock Summit could be taxing but everyone was super nice. I even chatted with Miss Babs herself and met Wendy from Hazel Knits. Good people and awesome yarn.

Sock Summit - Part One

Technically this is not part one since I already glossed over the madness that is Sock Summit previously but I thought I might share a few things that I bought. A few, since there were way too many! I had to hit up Tactile since they are my number one favorite at Madrona and for natural dyeing. Plus the ladies that work there are so nice! I picked up this skein of red (the color is Brick) merino/cashmere/nylon sock yarn and had to buy it since it was the last one. Duh. I just finished knitting up some red sock yarn so this one can take it's place in my stash.








I also got these super-cute ceramic buttons at a couple of other booths. The ones with the fancy packaging are from an etsy shop at really great prices and lots and lots of sizes and colors. It was really hard to make a decision. The larger green button is from Jennie the Potter and I thought it would be great for one of those single button hats or sweaters. I also bought a nifty pair of earrings from her with knit stitches on them. Cute! Everyone at the Ravelry meet-up was sporting their Jennie-ware on Saturday night. Seriously, there were so many vendors at the marketplace it was hard to make decisions. Knitters aren't the best people to keep you on a budget either. Rebecca and I co-enabled although she did keep me from purchasing duplicate colors of yarn. I would have walked away with a whole bag of gray-blue-lavendar sock yarn if it weren't for her. This is just the tip of the iceberg, more to come in the next few days.

And this one time at Sock Summit....

I totally lost my head and bought enough yarn to clothe a quiver of children. I'm super tired but had a great time and met lots and lots of people. The highlight of my trip was meeting Meg Swansen (eeeeek!!!) and she is so nice and personable and everything she seems to be from watching her dvds, and gorgeous to boot! I hope to have that skin and those cheekbones when I'm her age! I also spotted the Yarn Harlot several times, Anna Zilborg, Jess & Casey, and oodles of other folks that belong to the kniterati. I hung out with fellow Purlygirls Jessica, Jeanne, and Rebecca and had a wonderful time with them shopping and eating and laughing, laughing, laughing. My tootsies are still sore from being on my feet for two days. I'll try and get my act together to post pictures of yarny goodness once I fully recover.