And it just keeps coming..

This was a shot out our front door this morning:



You'll notice my husband - who is 6 foot 2 inches - and our PT Cruiser on the other side of the snow berm that's built up over the last week from the plow and shoveling. Judging from the walk, we had about 4-5 inches overnight. We came home early today and there were another 3 inches or so, and it's still snowing. They keep telling us it will stop.. I'm not sure I believe them.

In the meantime, I've been less than motivated on the knitting front, but I did pick up the Baby Camel Tussah Silk Top that I got from my Secret Pal*:



I had to go back to this picture:



to be sure I had actually made some progress. I mean, I know I had, but it was sort of hard to tell without having a prior progress picture as a mark.

* My Secret Pal from SP9 seems to have been attacked by Real Life(tm). She started a new job about the same time the swap started and that seemed to suck up all her energy and time. I haven't heard from her since getting an email during the last week of the swap in February asking me to re-send my mailing address as she'd mislaid it. I did, but never got a final package or another email revealing who she is; because I know what it's like when Real Life(tm) attacks, I've not wanted to pester her and risk making her feel guilty, but that means I have no idea who she is. :/

Stockings with Clocks & SP9

The stockings with clocks, from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks, with a pattern modification as requested by the largesse project organizer to add three inches to the height of the leg before the calf decreases, are finished and blocking:



You can see the pattern a bit better now that they've been soaked a bit, but it's still hard to get it to show up very much in a picture. Also, if you look closely you can see the graft line on the front stocking - I had to rip out the graft once because the seam stitches weren't lined up properly and in so doing, must have picked up a bit of dust that got worked in with the second graft line, which is also slightly tighter than the rest of the stocking. I expect with a little wear, it will become less noticeable.

I took a series of photos of the process I used to add in the extra three inches in the first stocking (I was reminded of the pattern modification after the first stocking was already complete and decided adding in the three inches would be faster than reknitting almost the entire stocking - which it was) and will likely post a sort of "tutorial" type thing on it in a day or two.

Oh, and I've revealed myself to my Secret Pal from SP9! Everyone stop in and say hi to Barb! She knits and crochets, has just learned to knit socks, and can't refuse her two gorgeous little girls, even when she's making something that she really wants for herself. *smile*

Bed time.

Hopefully I'll be able to find time tomorrow during daylight* to take pictures of the following:

• The first singles from the baby camel/silk top roving I got from my Secret Pal. I found one of the spindles I was given a while ago by Pixel that was light enough that I thought I could give it a go. It's a bottom whorl spindle, so I had to remember how to do the half-hitch thing, and the shaft could use a once-over with some fine-grain sandpaper, but I was still able to get a decent start on it.
• The first of the largesse stockings. I cast on for it Sunday and except for some adventures in spacing the calf shaping decreases due to slightly larger row gauge and completely forgetting to start the clock pattern at the appropriat time, I'm finished with the calf shaping and the clock.
  
• The first Peek a boo sleeve, to date. I worked on it through Friday and it's about half finished I think. The stockings will likely go faster than I suspected they might, though, so I'm not too concerned about finishing Peek a boo in time for the intended birthday.

Tomorrow night I also need to package up my last package for my Secret Pal. I've rather enjoyed spoiling her, but I can't go into it more until she gets the last package. *smile*

* This is, unfortunately, unlikely. I'm in meetings from 8 until 4 straight, without even a break for lunch, and I suspect that the last half hour there might be spent trying to put out whatever fires might have erupted during the day. I will try, though.

Box o' Goodies!

Whee! I got a wonderful box of goodies from my Secret Pal today! Thank you so much, Pal!



It's chock full of fun stuff. The back left corner is a bag of Cadbury caramel truffles.. mine! All mine! In front of that is a snowflake shaped box of bath confetti; I can't wait to try this out - it's toasted almond scent and the little confetti flakes look like snoflakes, too.. this is pr'bly the only way I'm going to get a white holiday this year, so that makes it even better! In front of the bath confetti is a "Bi Tien" handblown, handpainted (from the inside) glass ornament.



It's really lovely and I'm thinking I should pick up one of those little mini shepherd's crook things that will sit on a suface to hang it from because it deserves to be displayed more than just for a few days. The little box it came in is also very neat - it's fabric covered and lined the perfect size to hold small treasures when the ornament isn't using it.

In the back on the right is a spiral bound journal that had two little scrapbook bits tucked inside:



If you click the picture to make it big it will orient properly, too.. not sure why it won't in the thumbnail.. Anyway, the little bits are adorable - the one of the left is three mini skeins of yarn and tiny little knitting needles and the one on the right is a knitting basket with more tiny yarn and needles. I think the journal needs to become a project journal for me - I'm terrible at keeping notes on things I've made and I inevitably end up trying to remember if I followed the pattern exactly or not when I'm making the second sock or sleeve. Maybe a journal will remind me to take better notes..



The real jewels, though, are these gorgeous handmade stitch markers that my Pal made for me. I have to admit, I'm not usually a fancy stitch marker kind of girl, but after seeing these up close and personal, I just might be a convert. I've already got them placed in Peek a boo and they are *SO* much prettier than the little white plastic ones (and they don't dig into my hands when I hold them on the needles). And they really just look so lovely that it makes me happy to see them as I'm knitting. The pink ones are a little smaller (presumably for smaller needles) and just so delicate and the bluegreen ones remind me of bright, sunny skies and the ocean (yes, even with the mitten charm!).



This lovely gorgeous soft lusciousness is baby camel and tussah silk top roving. *drool* It's *so* soft, and the color will complement the camel down that I got at the state fair, I think, so I can't wait to spin them both up and contemplate something truly luscious to make with them. I keep sticking my hand in the bag to pet it and it's really gorgeous stuff. Definitely motivation to dedicate a day to spinning as a New Years Resolution!

The little splash of color in the top photo that stretches across the roving is a set of four (three now) flower suckers. They're very cute and quite tasty!

Thank you again! It's all wonderful and made this grey dreary day so much brighter!!