Sock Yarn

I decided to break down and take pictures of the sock yarn portion of the stash.  The first drawer has a few other goodies inside.  There is some Nevada Sport yarn that will become a Chanel Jacket at some point this winter.  It was purchased from a yarn store in the Galleria back in 1985 and I never found the time to make it.  I have converted the pattern from two needles to a seamless one with three needle bind off for the shoulder seams.  There is also two skeins of CashSoft in a wonderful blue that will become a scarf or cowl.  There is also a skein of Artyarns Regal Silk that has been turned into a cake but has not decided what is wants to become.  And one lone skein of Cathay remains to join the newest acquisition from Ellen for the Deep V Sweater by Erika Knight.

Drawer two contains a lot of Indie yarns.  You may also see a few skeins from Malabrigo.  There is one of their sock yarns in colorway 801 Boticelli Red.  There is one of their lace yarns that was custom dyed for me in a swap.  Three is a their chunky and for the life of me I can't recall the name of the colorway.  I got it from Amy and still haven't done much more than fondle it.  You may also notice the lone skein of Manos Del Uruguay in the middle of the pile.  It too has not decided what to become and until it does, I just fondle it as well.

The funny part of all of this is that most of these beautiful skeins in the second drawer will become shawls, scarves or other pieces and not socks.  What about your sock yarn stash?  What does it look like?  Flash pictures...but I can assure you that I will be instituting a self-imposed sock of the month club myself and will begin posting about that in December.

Friday Fill-Ins #197

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it!


1. While the cat's away I plan on hosting a knitting party for the CLACK family......, just don't tell her.

2. Pumpkin chili was fabuloso!

3. Children in costumes are fun to watch.

4. Tonight, there will be adult beverages and fast food for dinner when I get home from work or shopping or what have you.

5. This may seem odd, but I want to go to a drive-in and watch Alfred Hitchcock movies, and I don't like scary movies.

6. It's time for jeans and 3/4 length sleeves on the weekends and that seems like a fine idea to me!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching the WVU football game on ESPN2, tomorrow my plans include watching The University of Tennessee game at 11:00 AM CST while knitting (of course) and Sunday, I want to sleep in, eat steak and spend time with SF!

Random Recipe

I blame not Martha for this.  I made it with the leftover pumpkin from when Eraser was not feeling well and it was yummy.

Man in Kilt Alert

that is all for now....

Scavener Hunt Swap Package - The Swap Stop

I was sufficiently spoiled with this package, the last one for 2010 for The Swap Stop group.  I am already using the cute little bag.  It has SWTC TOFUtsies inside for a pair of socks that I will be starting today.  The magnet is already on the side of the fridge holding important stuff (coupons for food and dry cleaning).  The yarn has been carefully placed into the drawer with all my other wonderful indie sock yarns that are longing to be used; soon my pretties, soon.  The pattern has been added to the pending pattern pile.  Almost as big as my queue in Ravelry....a bit frightening indeed but several may actually be duplicates of the Ravelry queue.  The treats have not been opened yet, but that may not last all week....I feel a moment of weakness coming.

Eraser will not be amused with this post

Just dashing by to share this link.....Eraser will not be amused!

USS Sock Competition Entry

These are the Shur'tugal Socks by Alice Yu.  The yarn was dyed by Lizzie at Upstairs Studio and is 45% Cashmere/45% Superwash Merino/10% Nylon.  It was a joy to knit and I have about 125 yards remaining from the skein.  I want to make fingerless mitts using the same pattern with it bit I may have to add some other color to have enough yarn to make them.  They will be on display at the store until November 1st.  At that time First and Second place will be announced.  First place gets a set of Addi Lace Click needles and a skein of sock yarn.  Second place gets a $100 gift certificate to the store.  I really want second place....and will trade first with second if I am fortunate enough to win....just sayin....

I can't wait to have them back and wear them....

Public Service Announcement

November 15, 2010 is America Recycles Day.

For more information, pelase click the link.

Friday Fill-Ins #196

1. One of my strongest beliefs is everything happens for a reason.

2. The importance of finishing my degree has become huge!

3. The sky is cloudy with a threat of rain and wind and cold, so (if this were a reality in Texas) I can snuggle up with SF, watch TV and knit.

4. The love of friends and family is comforting to me.

5. I always thought I'd be infamous like my relatives, some day in the future that is.

6. I was feeling emotional and other twinges and then I went outside to look at the full moon.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching the Rangers beat that team from NY, tomorrow my plans include knitting and college football (Battle of the Piney Woods) and Sunday, I want to ride the motorcycle and spend quality couple time with SF!

A special message, today is Stephanie's 27th birthday.  I will be calling her around 5 PM to wish her Happy Birthday.  She has enriched my life and touched everyone she has come in contact with.  Bonus, she has given me my first grand child.  I love you Stephanie!

Thoughts on Thursday

This my friends is the 2011 Chevy Camero - Convertible Edition.  This particular picture is from the Neiman Marcus Catalog.  They had 100 of them up for sale for $75,000.00 and they were all gone within THREE minutes.  If I had the money I would have grabbed one for SF.  She is a huge Camero fan and had one back in the day.  She has been lusting after this ever since she knew that they were back in production.  With the convertible edition on the market, rest assured that she will be watching the chat boards and the trade mags to see what everyone has to say about the new version.  I can say that this may be in our garage within the next two years.

This is the latest version of the Dodge Challenger.  The color is Furious Fuchsia.  I saw this yesterday while I was having the oil changed and the tires rotated on the Caliber.  I think it is one of the oddest colors I have seen in a while.  A salesman asked my opinion and I told him it was Butt Ass Ugly and it looked like something one would find in a Barbie catalog.  He acted like it was a personal affront to him.  I don't really give a rat's ass.  I would never pay the 46K for a car that color EVER!  Does that look like a color that a muscle car should be available in?  I think not.  Muscle cars should look tough and fuchsia does not scream "I am a muscle car" now does it?

Eraser wants me to share this story with everyone as well.  She has been a little out of sorts herself the last few days; however, the pumpkin seems to have worked magic on her and all is right with the world.  She wants me to measure her but I know that she is not anywhere near a record holder.  I will acquiesce and measure her just to avoid future issues.

Fall equals crock pot cooking to me and I have pulled out all my recipes and have been deciding what to make next.  The beef stew is amazing.  I'm thinking that I was to make a chicken dish next.  I'm thinking that I want Chicken and Dressing.  I'm also considering pork chops (thick cut) slow cooked in cream of mushroom soup and served over rice too.  I'm also thinking about a cake in a coffee mug as a way to make just enough to handle my sweet tooth.  I found this recipe and I may try it tonight.

I have been trying to get knitting finished up so that I will not get distracted in November for National Novel Writing Month.  I have ten more days to get as much done as possible.  I know I will get a lot done tomorrow.  I have an afternoon and the evening, while I watch the Rangers beat that team from NY.  As for Saturday, I'll be dropping off my socks at Upstairs Studio for the contest.  After that, I'll be parked in front of the TV watching college football.  Sunday, we'll have to see what games are on and what house work actually needs to be accomplished.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program....

Tuesday Temptations

I bet you wonder where my twisted brain is going now....

The first three pictures are of my favorite indulgences at the moment and I blame all three on SF.  She knows I have a HUGE sweet tooth and when she goes to the grocery store she comes home with something special for me.  I love her for that but it means harder work to keep them from ending up on my mid-section or hips.

The last one is my all time favorite actress, not really, but she is the only one I would consider cheating with if I was that kind of person....seriously, she is brilliantly intelligent, in excellent physical condition and is my age.  That means she is older than my stretch marks and that makes her eligible on the dating scale.  I love her smile and her eyes.

And what are all these?  Pieces that I would like to add to my collection.  Some are blue diamonds.  Some are Sapphires.  Some are Rubies.  Some are black diamonds.  Some are green amethyst.  Some are chocolate pearls.  I think that I deserve some more bling and these are calling to me in very loud voices.

At this very moment, there is beef stew cooking in my crock pot.  It is loaded with turnips, parsnips, carrots, baby red potatoes, onions and celery.  Plus the perfect beef and spices.  I'll be making cornbread as soon as I get home.  After I eat, I'll be finishing the secret knitting so that I can get it gifted this week.  That means that I'll be able to post pictures this week of the socks and this item.  I may even be close to being able to get a good shot of the shawl too.

What is tempting you these days?

Friday Fill-Ins #195

1. Wow, it's almost time to start National Novel Writing Month!

2. The YarnLuvinLizzie Chubby yarn I'm using for a surprise knit is simply beautiful.

3. My favorite way to start a day is a warm hug before getting out of bed and then after starting my coffe, a really good hug and kiss.

4. SF went out for groceries last week and in addition to flowers she walked in the door holding a pumpkin.

5. I look out my window and see the water gently falling over the ledge of the spa into the pool while watching the breeze sway the palms and the sun dancing on the water.

6. Crock Pot cooking is what I've been thinking about lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SF returning to me from her training in Dallas, tomorrow my plans include getting my hair done, riding the motorcycle and some NCAA Football and Sunday, I want to do whatever SF and I decide to do!

Thoughts on Thursday

Random thoughts cross my mind today....

For instance, I want to buy some of the beautiful pins I found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store.  If I was in NYC I would just spend a day at the Museum.  It has been years since I was in NYC.  SWCNLBN is from Upstate NY and folks from that part of the State wish that NYC would slide off the map, so we never went there, EVER.  What a shame all those wasted years.  Oh well, the past is the past and I am ready to re-discover places I have missed the last twelve years.

I have been knitting up a storm even though I have not added any pictures.  I keep putting it in writing here so that you all will hold me accountable for the pictures.  I finished the second Shur' tugal sock today and will do the Kitchener later when I am at home and have total silence.  As many years as I have been doing it you would think that I could do it anywhere.  Alas, no way.  I still need to concentrate even with the wonderful key chain that Amy gave me in the last swap.  The socks are so cozy.  Lizzie did a wonderful job with the dying process and I am so glad that I was able to see it in process and then turn the hank into these lovely socks.  I hope to get them soaked and blocked by the end of the weekend so that I can drop them off next week for the contest.  Officially, we don't have to get them to the shop until the 23rd, but I don't want to tempt fate.

I have also been knitting away on the USS Lehmus-huivi.  I had made it all the way up to almost twenty-five repeats when a small child picked it up and it slipped off the needles.  Totally my fault.  I did not have point protectors on it when I laid it down and I didn't have a life line in it either.  With no wee little ones in the house any longer I hardly ever use point protectors, unless I am packing the project to transport it some place.  As for not having a life line in place, there is just no excuse and I knew fate would get me for that.  I wanted to cry; however, the parents were mortified enough so I just graciously picked it up and put it on the dining room table to fret over after they left.  Aside from having to unravel it all and start over I learned a few very important lessons.  Lesson one is to always use a life line with lace of this sort.  Lesson two is to always use point protectors on lace of this sort.  I am finally back at the twenty-five repeat place and need to get some pictures taken.  It is stunning even though it has not been soaked and blocked.  I can only imagine how wonderful it will look when it is done.

The Red Hot is in limbo.  Why?  I loathe and despise seaming.  In fact if I didn't feel that way I could already be wearing it.  When I am finished with the Lehmus-huivi I will be seaming it together.  I must admit that the Rowan Calmer was a joy to work with and I am looking forward to making more things with it.

There are currently twelve other projects on the needles on my Ravelry Project Page.  Wait, technically Red Robin is done except for the buttons.  I don't consider it finished yet because I couldn't use it without the buttons.  I must rectify that this weekend as well.  Goals for the rest?  You bet I haz dem.   One of them is a secret project that will be finished in a week, no later than two.  As soon as I'm done with that, I will be finishing up the Lehmus-huivi first so that I can get it to Lizzie.  Next will be the Traveling Woman followed by the Multnomah.  After that, I will get the Turn a Square done.  From there it will be a toss up to get the ones with the least amount of work done so that I can turn up the volume on to the ones that will remain.

I really want to see if I can get 10 Shawls in 2010 done.  I'm not sure if it is a reasonable goal, as I only have six completed that meet the requirements.  The Lehmus-huivi, Traveling Woman and Multnomah would get me to nine.  We'll see.  I have a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock that may become a Citron but we'll see if I can get to it before the year ends.

I also wanted to toss out this link.  I had to laugh at first but then I printed the flyer and thought about it a little harder.  I think I'm into it now and will be considering the options so that I can participate.  I also have items to send to Amy for her work as well.

Okay gang, I have rambled long enough....

Monday

What does one do an a generic Fall weekend?  It seems that as of late I have not been in the mood to be outside as much as I should have been.  Fall is an odd time of year here in this part of Texas.  The mornings have been crisp and I have enjoyed my early morning runs outdoors.  The afternoons have been mild, for us that is always a plus.  And the humidity levels have been low.  All in all, the perfect weather to want to be outside doing something.  But me, no way.  I have felt like a slug, a mole or a bear that wants to hibernate.

I think that it was part of some weird depression and it just had to work its way out of my system.  Thankfully, it has done so.  It happened to do so on a Monday of all days, but I'll accept that and move onwards.  Funny how the mind and the body work against us, regardless of what we plan.  These two devices hold their path and make us deal with them before allowing us to move on the path we thought we wanted.

At the moment, I am sitting in the Crane Garden in the Dunn Tower of the Methodist Hospital.  For the next two days I will be sitting here with a laptop as part of my job.  Hospital lobbies are interesting places indeed.  I am camped out with knitting (Shurt'ugal Socks) and a book (The Victorian Internet) as well.  Sitting here on the laptop does not garner much attention from onlookers at all; however, when I start to knit or read that anonymity disappears.  Even the dogs that were here for a while got less attention than I did while I knit.

Normally, knitting allows me to blend in.  I'm not sure why it seemed so foreign in the setting today.  Usually people get comfort from watching me knit.  I can only surmise that today it evokes memories of a lost loved one and has made them a wee bit melancholy.  I do not take it personally, I just observe and forge on.  At the moment, there is a wonderful piano concert being played in the lobby, so the voices have lowered and the mood has lifted.  The Starbucks seems to be the loudest noises to be heard.

Back to the weekend.  Friday I left work at 12:30 PM and headed to Upstairs Studio.  In was hoping that the gals there could kick the funk right out of me.  No such luck.  I did enjoy their company and had a great time fondling yarn combinations for a hat.  I headed home hoping that the cats, dogs and SF would be the answer.  No such luck.  SF was out on the motorcycle.  The dogs were happy to see me for supper and a trip outdoors but not much else.  The cats, well, after all they are cats and it is my job to serve them.  I headed to bed at 7:30 when not even more knitting or any reading could snap me out of it.  I felt doomed.

It is amazing what the power of human touch and TLC can actually do.  At some point in the night SF pulled me up against her and I slept like a rock against her back until 9:00 AM.  That may not seem late, but I normally get up at 6:00 AM on Saturdays.  After we ate, we had a heart to heart conversation, which both of us had been avoiding but knew we needed.  After we were done and in agreement, it felt as if a HUGE weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  Both of us looked relieved.  We decided to get cleaned up and take the motorcycle out.

We went to the Mucky Duck to get concert tickets for the November Sisters Morales show.  From there we went to Casa Buick GMC to test drive a vehicle so that I could get a free tee shirt and get registered for the Terrain that will be given away during this year's Lone Star Rally.  I test drove and Acadia.  I love it but it is a gas hog and is really expensive!  From there we took the scenic way home.  It was almost 7:00 PM when we got home and the dogs were way past due for their supper.  I fed them and SF got our dinner ready.  We didn't even turn on the TV until almost 8:00 and that was just to see some of the college football scores.  We were both so tired that we went to bed at 9:45.

Sunday was just as wonderful.  Again that comfort of sleeping up against the one you love.  We slept until 9:00 AM again.  If the dogs and cats could have taken care of them selves I think we would have stayed in bed longer.  Alas, that is not the case.  After breakfast, we agreed that I would do house work and she would tackle the palms.  So the day went.  We both seemed happy and back on the same page.  The evening was quiet and we spent quality time together before we both drifted off to sleep.  She will be out of town the rest of this week, leaving very early Tuesday morning.  I will miss her now that we are "back to normal".

I have been knitting up a storm and now that I feel better I'll get some pictures up and post about all the projects.

Have a great week and don't forget that no one can read your mind.  If you have something to say, please say it.  You will feel better and it could be the very thing that the other person needed to hear as well.

Friday Fill-Ins #194

1. My favorite month is November because it starts to make me feel like nesting and doing even more special things for those I love.  Not to mention my mom and SF were both born in this month..

2. Fall knitting is like a fresh breeze.

3. I love to sniff freshly wash and dried clothes.

4. Eggs Benedict is what I like to have as a treat for breakfast.

5. The hobby I enjoy most is knitting.

6. A new Wizard of Oz is in the making, oh my!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting to bed early, tomorrow my plans include as much time outside as possible and Sunday, I want to sit pool side and knit!

Finally Friday

Okay, so it is October 1st!  Today officially starts Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Just a brief fly by to update the happenings at Chez RubyRingz.  The weather here is WONDERFUL.  My morning runs have been conducted outdoors and it feels so much more healthy than running on the treadmill.  The evenings are a sheer delight and enjoying a cup of hot tea while reading poolside before bed is beyond words.

Knitting has been transpiring as well.  The Red Hot was going well until the sleeves.  Sleeve One was finished and I thought is was long but paid no attention.  I was mid-way done with the second one when I realized that I was going to need a seventh skein and that just didn't seem right.  I measured the first sleeve and it was about seven inches too long.  The pattern is very poorly written and I should have caught on to that sooner.  So, I ripped out the first sleeve back to the transition point where the lace turns into the stockinette stitch and laid out my own increase pattern and am now almost to the portion where I begin the binding off and decreases for the cap.  Obviously, this means that it was not finished in time to be considered part of the KAL that I was participating in.  I am a bit disappointed but I will survive.

I have also been working on the Bamboo thread shawl and the Sock Competition entry.  They are both coming along nicely.  I have no new pictures of the shawl but I will get some soon.  As for the socks, I will not post pictures until I am ready to drop them off for the judging.  I want them to remain a secret until then.

Okay, back to work so that I can get everything done and begin a relaxing weekend.

Friday Fill-Ins #193

1. My back is looking strong and sexy these days as a result of the work outs at the gym.

2. My hair, while cute, is looking wild.

3. Leaves are falling all around, the places where my friends live but not here in my part of Texas.

4. I'm working on tactics to help stave off forgetfulness.

5. Healing is sometimes hard but to move forward, one must process, forgive and move for to let it happen.

6. Knitting on three projects at the same time and reading my third book for Banned Books Week is what I've been up to lately!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet evening finishing up my last Banned Book Week selection and time with SF, tomorrow my plans include a long overdue ride on the Motorcycle, knitting on the USS Sock Competition entry and College Football and Sunday, I want to enjoy the wonderful weather and be spontaneous!