Monkey Swap Four Questionnaire

The Measurements Shoe size: 6 1/2 or 7 US Foot length in inches: 9 1/2 inches Circumference: 8 1/2 Inches

Yarn Preferences What are your favorite colors? Jewel Tones What color clashes with your wardrobe? None Do you prefer solids or variegated yarns? Variegated What are your favorite brand sock yarns? Scoks That Rock, Wollmeise, Yarn Pirate, Is there a new sock yarn you really would like to try? Sock Pixie, Sunshine Yarns

Cookie A. Patterns List the patterns you do not have but would like to receive: Red Thread Sock, Mona

Allergies Do you have any allergies that your pal needs to know about? (animals, fiber, sensitivity to smoke etc.) None Will you knitting be exposed to animals? No, Will you knitting be exposed to cigarette smoke? No

Shipping What country do you live in? United States Are you willing to ship outside your country? Not at this time.

Monkeys Have Landed!

It's been an interesting week, first this package came from AnaMarie. The package contained an adoreable stuffed monkey, some stitch keepers, a monkey bag, some monkey fabric, a Cookie A pattern and two skeins of Apple Laine yarn. Also this adoreable handmade card.

Then this gorgeous ball of hand-dyed yarn from Jane arrived. Jane dyed this yarn especially for me. She dyed some Jaggerspun sport weight yarn. Now to find the perfect sock pattern for this awesome yarn. Any ideas? Thanks Jane very much. Jane was assigned my angel since we hadn't heard anything from my pal in a long time. She's been an awesome angel.

Then another package came and they contained the most comfortable awesome pair of Monkeys ever. The socks fit like a dream and came at the most perfect time. I have worn them two of three times all ready and I just got them. Also in the package was some Mike & Ike candy, a cute sock bag, a monkey key chain and another Cookie A pattern. I don't know who this angel is quite yet because I also found out that she is Sock It To Me Twice pal. She is an awesome angel. I wonder what her thoughts were when she found out that she was to be my Monkey Pal angel also? Thank you Secret Pal for a gorgeous pair of socks and the awesome package that you put together.

Don't Know What The Title Should Be

I finally got the address from my Monkey Pal, all I need to do now is enclose a note in her package and send it on it's way. Victoria's package has been sitting on my diningroom table also in need of addressing and a final trip to the post office. They'll be put in the post sometime tomorrow morning after my Weight Watchers meeting.

I casted on for my ISE5 pal's scarf on Sunday. I had to frog it numerous times. I started with size 8 needles like the pattern stated, didn't get gauge. I went down to a size 6 needle, didn't get gauge. Casted on with a size 4 needles, got a close enough gauge. I'm knitting the Montego Bay scarf in Handmaiden's Seasilk Sangria. It is absolutely gorgeous. I did have to frog it a couple more times because I kept forgetting a yarn-over. The next time I knit something else, I am going to be doing yarnovers without even thinking! I believe I have about 48 inches knitted. I keep measuring the scarf by holding it up to see about how much more I have to go before it's bigger than me. Nope not yet. By the way, i'm only 5 feet tall. The pattern says that the scarf should be 80 inches after you do all the pre-cutting for the fringe. Well, I keep looking at the remaining yarn and keep thinking I am not going to get an 80 inch scarf. I do know though that when I finish with this hank of yarn, I am done. I casted on with 43 stitches, I now have 41 stitches. Somewhere along the way, I lost two stitches. By the way, if you find them could you please tell them to contact me. I am absolutely loving this pattern and can not believe what a quick knit it is. It is hard to believe how much I have knitted in less than a week's time.

DH and I got a surprise invitation over the weekend. DS called and asked if we would mind having Thanksgiving at their house. I'm not going to pass this one up. Since Mom moved into a smaller place there is no way that we would be able to have it over at her place.

Monday, I got a Halloween costume to wear at my Sunday Weight Watcher meeting. I'm going to be a buccaneer, is that the same thing as a pirate minus the eye patch? Hopefully BD will wear her costume to the Sunday meeting. BD is going to be Marilyn Monroe.

Have you checked on the Winter Preview for Intervweave Knits yet? There are three patterns there that I would eventually like to knit. I like the Henley Perfected, Sweater Girl Pullover and the Tilting Cable Socks. Who knows if I will ever get around to knitting them. I'm not sure if I would add them to my Ravelry queue or not. I am just using the queue for what I absolutely want to knit. Yesterday, in the mail I got my Zelda Bag from Offhand Designs which I ordered through StitchDiva.com. I would absolutely order through them again. The bag came real fast and directly from Offhand Designs. I ordered the Zelda bag, it was a bit smaller than I had anticipated but it will work great for carrying around my sock projects. Eventually, I may order the next size up Zelda bag. Check here for a comparison of the bags. I didn't order the Zelda Grand because I didn't like the handles on it. So I may end up ordering the Zelda Tote. The bags are simply gorgeous and hold up very well.

I didn't do as well as I would have like in bowling this week. My first game, I was way off. I bowled a 94, 137 and 133. If I calculated out everything right, I dropped my average by 1 pin this week. My average is about 127. Saturday night, DH and I are joining a couples league. It'll be our first night bowling. I wonder how well I'll bowl then. I am waiting for my average to be higher on that league. I did decide though, that when leagues are done with for the season that I am going to get a new and non-plastic bowling ball and learn how to throw a hook.

Tonight, I have a date with DH. I think I surprised him when I asked him "out". I'm cooking Shrimp Scampi, putting candles on the table and using the good china. Yep, you heard right the good china (that's if I don't kill myself getting it down from the high cabinets.) We borrowed a movie from our son to watch (Ghost Rider). I'm getting dressed up and I told him that he needs to shave and do the same.

What to Call This Post?

I am finding my posts few and far in between and of course without photos. I'll have to take care of that soon. Knitting Daughter and I wanted to get some Mommy and me photos done. I had stopped at Sears on Friday while I was wasting some time before I had to meet my Dad for dinner. I stopped in at the Photo Studio and made arrangements for a sitting on Saturday. When I looked at the price, I decided to add a few more people into the photo shoot. My DS was available and DH was told to show up. Yep, it was family picture time. This was actually the first family professional photo that we have had taken since DS was 1. We never got one done with KD. We had a lot of fun. The pictures that turned out the best were the ones were we were not in the traditional poses. We got pictures of DH and KD, DH and DS, the two kids together, myself and DS and myself and KD. I can't wait to get them back. Sunday, DH, KD and myself went bowling to try out my new bowling ball. Wouldn't you know, I bowl my highest game ever and it wasn't during league night. I bowl on a league every Tuesday. DH and I were talking about maybe doing a couples league together. I mentioned that to one of the girls on my team on Tuesday and guess what? Yep, we're going to bowl every other Saturday on the same league as her and her husband. I'm pretty excited. Should be interesting to see if DH can improve his bowling from what he bowled on Sunday. So far, I am better than he is. Monday was an interesting morning here at work, I walked into my cubicle and almost walked back out. My first thought was this isn't my desk it's too clean. My next thought was "oh yeah that's right I cleaned up on Friday before I left. I have kept it pretty well straightened up and am getting used to it. I used to joke around and say that my desk barfed up all over itself. Last night was strange, I got done with work on time for once and didn't have my Wednesday meeting to do for Weight Watchers. I am going to miss that meeting. Also, I haven't been very good on plan. I've been sneaking a lot of extra sweets. It'll be a miracle if I don't gain weight this week. I am also debating about giving up the position of location coordinator at the center. I don't know what's stopping me. I'll have a lot more time on the weekends and not having to worry about making sure things are done in time. Guess I'll have to send that email out. Homecoming is this weekend for KD. She has a hair appointment on Saturday and is pretty excited about it. After homecoming, the Moms and kids are going to IHOP afterwards (I am thinking not good for watching my weight). I'll have to post a picture of her in her dress and new hairdo. I signed up for yet another swap. This one is Sock It To Me Twice. She's only accepting 50 and if you were in the first one you have priority. I figure the deadline is in March so I should have more than enough time to get a pair of socks knitted along with the other things I have planned. Speaking of socks, I finished the first Monkey on the morning of the 12th. Casted on the second Monkey on the 14th and I am now on the gusset. I am hoping to finish this sock over the weekend get it on the blockers and send off sometime next week! I absolutely can't wait to cast on for the Montego Bay Scarf that I am knitting for my ISE5 pal.

Hodge Podge

Wow, it's been 10 days since my last post. Sit back-relax and let's get caught up! I've decided to cut back a bit on my activities with Weight Watchers. I work as a leader, receptionist and location coordinator for two different locations. My full-time job was starting to interfere with one of my meetings and in the future I could see it getting only worse. I called my boss and told here that I needed to give up my Wednesday night meeting and also the location coordinator position for that location. I'm not sure if the members know or not. I'm still working on the Monkey socks for the Monkey Swap 3 exchange. I just finished the first pair this morning. It took me about 11 days to get one pair knitted. I really didn't do a whole lot of knitting over the weekends. I have all the extra goodies to go with the socks so now it's just a matter of finishing them. Lately, I've been using my Weight Watchers scale to measure the knitted sock and the leftover yarn to see if I have enough to do the second sock. This morning when I weighed them, they both were so close. This is going to be interesting. I just hope that my gauge doesn't change. In Hogwarts Sock Swap news, i'm waiting for Victoria to give me her address so that I may send her package off to her. The socks have been done for weeks now. I finally also decided what else I am going to include in her package. I'm not saying a word because I know she reads the blog and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. Stay tuned for pics later though. I am anxious to finish the Monkey socks so that I can start on my ISE5 scarf. I don't know if I mentioned or not but I decided to do the Montego Bay Scarf from the Interweave Knits Summer 2007 magazine. I have picked Handmaiden's Sea Silk in the Sangria colorway. Last Saturday, knitting daughter, her friend, DH and myself trekked up to Milwaukee to visit Ruhama's. Well DH came along for the ride. Knitting Daughter and her friend went into the shop with me. I was very much lighter in the pocketbook. My main reason for going there was to score some yarn for the Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap. I had finally decided on the pattern, which I am going to knit the Clapotis. I looked at all the projects on Ravelry to determine what yarn I wanted to use. I had narrowed it down to two- Colinette Jitterbug, or Koigu KPPM. Once we were in Ruhama's I had a hard time deciding which colorway to use. The girls decided for me. They chose something in Koigu KPPM. I'll post pictures a bit later. I purchased 4 skeins but am debating about making a return trip for the 5th skein. I figure that both scarves should be a quick knit and I should be able to make the beginning of December deadline for sending them off. By the way, both pals are overseas and in the same country no less! While we were at Ruhama's knitting daughter found some yarn that she liked and asked if I would get it for her. She decided that she wants to make a scarf. The only stitch she knows is the knit stitch. I casted on 25 stitches for her. She is finished with one skein and is working on the second one. I'll have to get a picture of the scarf and maybe her knitting it! She is doing much better this time than the last attempt. I've only had to fix it one time, and so far there are no holes!

On to the Monkeys!

I should have posted this a few days ago. Over the weekend, I finished Victoria's socks. They are washed and blocked. But most important of all they are dry! I just need to gather a few more items and also get her muggle address so the owl can deliver the parcel. I absolutely love these socks and everyone else that has seen them. Once Victoria has received her parcel stay tuned for the pics of her socks. I casted on a yesterday for the Monkey Swap 3. I just finished the cuff during lunch and am now on the leg. I am knitting these in Colinette Jitterbug in the Florentino colorway. Click the link to see the color. I also have been in constant contact with my pals for the ISE5 and Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap. Both pals seem wonderful. For my ISE5 pal, I've decided to knit the Montego Bay Scarf in Handmaiden's Sea Silk, Sangria colorway. And for my Christmas Around the World Pal, I'm going to do the Clapotis or another Montego Bay scarf in Sea Silk as well but I haven't decided on the colorway.

Did Someone Place A Charm On My Sock?

I swear someone must have placed a charm on Victoria's sock. I had to frog it once because I had messed up big time. Then I messed up again but I swore I wasn't going to frog it again. I was more than 4 inches into the leg. Then it happened again. I had to rip back again, but this time it was 6 rows instead of 2. I am still trying to figure out how in the world I got the pattern to work out with 2 stitches missing. If someone could explain that one to me I would be forever grateful. Victoria, you're second sock is misbehaving but I am hoping that that it will behave now. Just this morning, I finally turned the heel. Now to shape the gusset and onward to the foot and toe. Sign-ups are now complete for the International Scarf Exchange 5. Dorothy says that there is enough people signed up from around the world that we should all have an international pal. That should be pretty cool. I am anxious to get my pal's information so I can purchase the yarn and put it in queue to be knitted up after the Monkey Socks. The hostess for the Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap is going through and doing the matches also so I should have that information also. That one is going to be a little bit tougher to decide what to knit. There are really no guidelines that say you must knit a scarf or a sock. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what I come up with. Either that or I will post a question on the blog and ask what everyone is thinking about knitting up for their pal. My Sock It To Me Pal has been patiently waiting for her socks. They have been completed, washed and blocked and are now ready to be put in the post. I got the box but want to add one more goodie to the box which I am thinking about doing tomorrow and will hopefully get it in the post tomorrow. Saturday, I had my first foray into dyeing. I took a class to do some Kool-Aid dyeing at Fiddlehead Yarns in town. I had a great time and Nan is such a wonderful teacher. I am going back to Fiddleheads tonight because Nan is going to be there and has offered to help me fix my Sven Sveater. The collar is a bit wonky and doesn't look right. I tried this morning to find my container of yarn that contains the leftover from the project but DH decided to bury it in the back of a closet amongst millions of boxes (ok, not millions) so that I would have to go through everything just to get to my yarn stash. I am hoping what we frog will be enough to fix the sweater without having to get any more yarn. I figure I might have time though to go on an excavation to get at those boxes by the time I finish the sweater. Tonight, I DD's first high school dance. She is so excited. Her best friend is coming over to the house to get ready for the dance. I'm excited for her also. She doesn't it know it yet, but I'm going to be taking pictures of this momentus occasion. I still haven't started on the socks for my monkey pal. I want to finish Victoria's socks first. I find that I do better when I work on only one project at a time. At least then I can remember where I left off.

Arrival of Yarn

I received my yarn order from The Loopy Ewe today. One is the yarn that I am going to send my pal for the Monkey Swap 3 and the other will become a pair of Monkeys. I know which one will become the Monkey's can you guess? I haven't heard from my pal. I sent an email out to her about 5 days ago and nothing in return.

Hello Wednesday!

I finished one of Victoria's socks this morning and it is simply gorgeous. DD even loves it especially the color. So that's one half of my Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 assignment done. The pattern that I picked for her sock is a very easy knit. I memorized the pattern and so that is why I think it went so quickly. I did do some modifications on the heel, gusset and toe. I will explain it all once Victoria gets her socks. Victoria you are going to fall in love with these socks. I am not sure if I am going to want to part with them. I am going to take a break from knitting the second sock to start on my SITM socks which are due a month before the Hogwarts Sock Swap. I wound the yarn up for that sock last night. I ended up having a little bit of fun with the yarn while I was winding it up. Yep, you guessed it. It was starting to get all tangled up. I did triumph and tame the yarn it is all nicely wound up and ready to go. I plan on casting on for that sock during my lunch break. I sent out an email to my Monkey Swap pal over the weekend but haven't heard from her yet. I do hope that I hear from her soon. I am going to send her another email in a day or two but I figured that I would give her time to respond. Have you checked out the new colorways for Socks That Rock? I absolutely love Sugarplums and Gingerbread Dude. There's also a different colorway that I love called Amber. I found some socks knitted up in this color on Tienne's blog. I seem to be moving slowly through the Ravelry queue now. Either that or it just seems so slow since I'm so close to getting my invitation. There are 318 ahead of me as of this morning when I checked. I feel like a kid again waiting for Christmas morning to arrive, wondering what surprises await for me once I get there. Last night Sheri at The Loopy Ewe posted another Sneak Up. I was able to check it out but none of it interested me. Usually, I end up looking for one of the indie dyers that I haven't gotten a skein of yarn from to try (eventually). None of the colors appealed to me. I should be getting my order today for my Monkey Sock Swap pal. I am so excited to see what the Navajo Silver looks like. I had ordered some Fiesta Boomerange before and it was very squishy. Fiesta's colorways appeal to me because I like the Southwest colors. Have you checked out this new blog Lime N Violet's Daily Chum. It is so cool and a lot of useful information. They feature different infomation daily.

Deadlines

I thought that I would have a posting where I put all my knitting deadlines down. I have a tendency to forget what is due when. October 5th Sock It To Me Sock Swap October 31st Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 November 1st Monkey Swap 3 December 22nd Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap

A Bit of an Update

I am very surprised at how fast I have been moving through the Ravelry queue. I am 495 away from getting my invite. My thoughts are I should have it by the middle of the week. I can't wait to see what everyone is raving about. I've made good progress over the weekend on Victoria's socks. I am very pleased with how they are turning out. Sorry no pictures but I don't want Victoria to see her socks until she opens her package. I am working on the heel flap for her sock. I've changed the type of heel that I am doing on the sock. Hopefully it will work out. I have never changed part of a pattern before so this will be a new experience. By the way, I can mention Victoria's name because the Hogwarts swap is not an anoymous swap. I know that Victoria is knitting for me and I for her. The secrecy part comes in play that she doesn't know what else I am including in her package, what her stitch marker looks like, nor the socks that I am knitting. I placed an order for my pal's socks from the Monkey Swap 3 exchange. I found the perfect color and a yarn from my favorite shop The Loopy Ewe that she wants to try for the yarn that I need to include in her package. The yarn that I picked for her socks is Fiesta Boomerang in the Navjo Silver colorway. Since I have to knit a pair of Monkeys for this swap the socks are going to be called Navajo Monkey going forward. I also got the Monkey gifties to go in her package also. It was fun trying to find monkey themed stuff. So now all I need is the yarn and pattern and I am ready to start knitting and have everything else to go with the package. I think that I may have all ready mentioned the yarn stash that I received on Friday from The Loopy Ewe well at least part of it. I received the sock yarn for my Sock It To Me Swap. I like the color but it's not one color that I would knit for myself. I am going to cast on for that sock right after I finish the first sock for my Hogwarts Sock Swap. Also in the mail this week came my Booty Club from the Yarn Pirate. The color this month is called Calmity. It is a white, lime green and purple. Also in the box were a couple pieces of candy and a sticker. The yarn is a BFL so it seems to be a bit thicker. Yesterday, we made a trip to Barnes and Noble. I came home with quite a haul of books. They were all knitting related. I found Getting Started Knitting With Socks by Ann Budd. I liked this book because it gave some ideas for knitting patterns for socks but it also talked about the construction of the sock in more detail. I figure maybe it can let me expand on my sock knitting a bit. Next up is Knit Together by Debbie Macomber. I love Debbie Macomber any books by her need I say any more. Next is Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik, I read the synopis of the book and it sounds like it would be a very good read and of course the back drop is knitting. I bought a three book series from Maggie Sefton: Knit One, Kill Two; Needled to Death; Deadly Yarn. I wanted to read a mystery and what a better one to involve knitting.

Monkey Swap Three Questionnaire

Monkey Sock Swap THREE Questionnaire The basics:Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I consider my self an intermediate knitter. The measurements: Shoe Size: 6 1/2 or 7 Foot circumference: 8 1/2 inches Foot length: 9 1/2 inches Yarn Preferences: What colors do you love? Orange, Fall Colors but not a lot of green in them some is ok. Do you prefer solids or variegated? variegated Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? wool or cotton What colors would you never wear? don't really have a color that I would never wear What are your favorite brands of yarn? Socks that Rock, Scout's Swag, and Yarn Pirate Are there any new brands you would like to try? Sock Pixie, Wollmeise, Posh, Sundara, Sunshine yarns. I have Wollmeise and Posh in my stash. I'll get around to knitting them someday. I've been reading up on Sock Pixie yarns. They sound wonderful. Someone on the Knitter Review's Forum thought that her yarn base might be Louet Gems. Cookie A. Patterns: Which of her patterns have you already knit? Only Monkey Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? Gothic Spire, Mona Sock, and Thelonius Other pertinent information: Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? Doesn't matter Do you have any allergies? No known allergies Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? Nope Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? Not on Ravelry yet but should be within the next couple of days. I will post my Ravelry name on my blog once I get my invite. Once I get my name on Ravelry I will update it here. SIGN UPS FOR THE MONKEY SWAP THREE ARE STILL GOING ON UNTIL AUGUST 31ST. COME JOIN THE FUN!

Frogged Yet Again!

The Uptown Boot Socks are going to the Frog Pond again tonight. Don't get me wrong I love the color but the pattern is just not working with the color that I had chosen. I was going to use Claudia's Hanpainted in the Peppermint Mocha colorway but it's just not working. I even took a photo of the sock just to see if the pattern would show up in the photo. Nope it didn't show a thing. So it's back to the drawing board. I am going to try to locate some yarn in a semi-solid color. I should have been almost finised with the second sock by now. Since I can't work on The Uptown Book Socks, I figured that I would start on Victoria's socks from The Hogwarts Sock Swap Two. I received the gorgeous Slytherin yarn and just have to get it wound up into it's neat little pancake balls. I've all ready picked out the pattern. I am going to try to keep that a secret since Victoria is probaby reading this blog. (Hi Victoria!). I'm eagerly waiting to find out who my pals are for the Monkey Swap 3 and the Christmas Around the World Swaps. The Monkey Swap is open until August 31st but I'm not quite sure about the Christmas Swap. I think that I am done signing up for swaps for now. Although there is going to be an ISE5 swap that I have been throwing around the idea of participating in. I know I need to start getting photos on my blog. That's coming. I need to post the photos of the wonderful socks my pal Lori sent me from the Sockapalooza sock swap they are simply gorgeous. More about that in another post.