The very day I got my book I cast on for a pair of Spiraling Coriolis using Plymouth Yarn Happy Choices (color #5). In one night (at knitting club) I finished the toe and got up to the point where I was supposed to start increasing for the gusset (i.e. the spiral). Unfortunately I had left my knitting toolbox at home so I didn’t have my stitch markers handy. (Forgive me for the addictional plug, I swear I’m not connected to these people in any way. I highly highly recommend Lizard Toes stitch markers for avid sock knitters). I spent the leftover time at knitting club just glancing through the book and I’m super excited. Can’t wait to try them all!

This month’s mystery sock class was on the 19th. Great pattern as usual, it’s called “Bamboozled”. The pattern was designed for Alpaca Sox yarn and in the spirit of using stash yarn I brought Knit Picks Imagination in the Looking Glass colorway. The stitch pattern is meant to look like bamboo and I tell ya that blue was not cutting it for me. I ripped it out after row 24 or so and started a pair of Hedera instead. I think it will be a better use of the yarn and I’ll just restart Bamboozled when I get my hands on some brown yarn or something more bamboo-ish if you will.

I haven’t been doing all that much knitting or spinning lately cue to the fact that I’ve been putting all my spare time into watching The Sopranos (newest addiction, I just started Season 3 today) and also working out. The weather has been getting a lot warmer so that sort of limits the number of different types of projects I can work on without sweating my bum off. Blankets and large shawls are off limits for the time.

In a place you only dream of, where your soul is always free
Silver stages, golden curtains, filled my head plain as could be
As a rainbow grew around the sun, all the stars I've loved, who died
Came from somewhere beyond the scene you see, these lovely people played just for me

Now if I let you see this place where stories all ring true
Then will you let me past your face to see what's really you
It's not for me I ask this question as though I were a king
For you have to love, believe and feel, before the burst of tambourines take you there

Green grass and high tides forever
Castles of stone, soul and glory
Lost faces say we adore you
As kings and queens bow and play for you

Those who don't believe me, find your souls and set them free
Those who do, believe and know that time will be your key
Time and time again I've thanked them for a peace of mind
That helped me find myself amongst the music and the rhyme that enchants you there

-The Outlaws, “Green Grass and High Tides”

I’m particularly taken with the phrases: “In a place you only dream of, where your soul is always free…”, and “Then will you let me past your face to see what’s really you… for you have to love, believe and feel” and finally, “Find your souls and set them free, those who do believe and know that time will be your key”.

I first heard this song on Rock Band and because of that I find that I like the cover version better than the actual version by The Outlaws. C’est la vie : )

All I have left to work on is my Highland Triangle Shawl which is much less convenient for travelling and what-have-you. Not to mention I still haven’t come to a decision regarding how big to make the center section, either I’ll stop when the pattern says or I’ll sit down and do some math to make it bigger and fit better with the number of stitches I have to pick up around the border. I hope I can make it until Sunday evening when I will be reunited with my stash.

In other news, Bloglines doesn’t seem to be picking up my new posts in any sort of a hurry. On my Blogroll the January 28th post JUST showed up. It makes me wonder if maybe it’s holding onto other people’s posts and holding out on me. Not cool Bloglines.

It occurs to me that I need to go into my Excel spreadsheet of stash and adjust the totals to reflect yarn that has been all used up. On the other end we have newly acquired stash which includes: 2 balls of Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in the Wine colorway, 3 skeins of Knit Picks Shadow Lace in the Jewels colorway which is to become the Pangea Shawl (these 2 yarns are for my February free day, it is important to note that I have actually earned 200 grams of sock yarn but only bought 100. Progress!), and 2 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Night in Moonlight that I got in a trade. A trade that was financially even but in terms of yarn weight I’m the winner! Think DESTASH winner. It was 50 grams in and about 200 grams out. The difference is that she will probably have hers knitted up before I can blink and my new acquisitions will take a bit more time. My friend (Ravelry link) is also trying her little heart out to fine-tune her stash and resist the temptations of yarn for the sake of her credit cards. We have much in common. I’ve been trying to find a good mohair to pair with my Schaefer Anne to make some sort of 2 row alternating color shawl/wrap/scarf. The colors of my Anne make it kind of difficult, white would have been too bright and I had it down to black and a blue that I wasn’t thrilled about. I think the sparkly silver/grey that she gave me will be perfect.

At some point this week I would like to have a Lord of the Rings marathon and just knit my little heart out. It’s a shame that class always seems to get in the way. 9 hours of work on my Highland Triangle would be great!

Looks like the winner is Leyburn Socks using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the Winona colorway! No problem. I’ve actually alread used the stitch pattern for my Ravelympics project. Pattern called Mahayana’s Flying Gloves which I titled my “Honeyduke’s Gloves“. It was a pleasure to make and as the Yarn Harlot says they seem to go inordinately fast. An excellent feature in a pattern I’d say. Oh and it’s toe-up! I have a new passion for toe-up socks. I’ve always felt that they make the most sense in terms of yardage and efficiency but I just now got around to taking the time to learn how.

Current [active] projects include my Mystery Sock Class #12 socks charmingly titled “Cablicious”. The first sock positively flew off the needle and the second sock (which I cast on straight away) is threatening to do the same.  I’ve decided to make these my February socks for my Personal Sock Club ’09. Now officially I drew the bag containing Knit Picks Felici that were supposed to be turned into Jaywalkers but I chickened out about the stripes. I knew I’d drive myself batty trying to keep both socks the same so I avoided them and avoided them until my Cablicious socks fell into their place ever so nicely.

I’m also working on my 3rd pattern from Cheryl Oberle’s Folk Shawls, Highland Triangle Shawl using the positively sinful Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk (sapphire colorway). I’ve finished the first full repeat of chart 1 and also number one of  five 14 row repeats. Follow that? Yeah me neither, moving on!

I’ve also started Cherie Amour using the recommended yarn from handpaintedyarn.com . Quite fun so far but it has been momentarily put in the knitting basket so that I can finish my February socks.

Also on the needles is my Moderne Log Cabin Blanket although I seem to have accidentally purled a stitch many many rows back (in a field of garter stitch) I wouldn’t worry about it but it was a purl on the wrong side meaning it is painfully obvious on the right side. Dropping stitches to fix things in stockinette is no problem but fixing garter is just plain annoying. If I devote just 10 minutes to it I know it will be fine but there are just too many other thrilling projects in the basket right now. It can wait.

Alright then, you can now consider yourselves caught up : D