It's all about the feet

I have to say, I'm not a big sock knitter. It's not that I mind them, I just don't wear handknit socks. (I hear the GASP!) I've made several pair of socks for myself, but I have found them just too hot. And, even though fingering weight yarn is pretty thin, the finished socks are a little thicker than I like to wear on my feet.

In my knitting career I've knit many socks, and I've certainly enjoyed making them. But they've always been for me, and never for someone else. And when you know you're making them for yourself, and you're PROBABLY not going to wear them because they'll be too hot, like all the rest you've made... well, it takes the fun out of it.

So why, then, am I'm experiencing a real joy knitting my current socks? It could be that the yarn (A Piece of Vermont Bamboo Blend Sock Yarn) is just gorgeous - is it the color? The shimmer? The super soft bamboo and merino blend? Or is it the pattern I am doing? Heartstrings Fiber Arts Down and Up Lace Socks? A very different - and fun! - kind of sock pattern, which is yielding gorgeous results.

It could be both of those things. But I think the REAL reason I am enjoying knitting these socks is that I am making them for my mom, and I know she is going to love them. It's just a little giftie for her - her birthday is next Thursday, two days after her double knee replacement surgery. I'm sure she's not going to be feeling her best, and she'll definitely be resting a little to recover from the operation. So I thought that a nice pair of cozy handknit socks would be just the ticket. I'm pretty certain that she'll get a warm & fuzzy feeling each time she slips her feet into these socks. She'll know that all of my love went into every little (yes! LITTLE!) stitch while I was knitting these. So it's a real sense of satisfaction that I am getting by knitting them. It's cool! Way better than making socks for someone who doesn't appreciate it (like myself!)

And speaking of socks, today we received a box from Conjoined Creations... with our latest order of Flat Feet sock flats: This time we received the Kaleidoscope colorway, too, since many of you had requested it. I have to say, checking in this order is tough. They don't mark any of the flats, so you are kind of left guessing when it comes to figuring out which flat is "cool brights" - "cool subdued" etc. I put on my thinking cap and sorted it out, and then took an armful down to the shop, where I was met with excited customers!

We've been very busy this week and last week, and we had two nice women from Canada in today who were thrilled with the Flat Feet - one of them snapped up my favorite flat. They were really excited at the yardage. She looked at my sample sock and then I showed her how much yarn I had leftover and she was glad she'd be able to get a nice length sock out of a flat. We were also talking about the toe up socks, and I described my Down and Up Socks to her. Luckily I had brought in my sock, so I grabbed it from my bag upstairs, and she thought it was great. We're going to have to reorder that pattern!

Back to the cold weather

So I know it was in the 70's in Vermont the entire time I was in Florida... and I arrived back to see everyone else had been out in the sun just as I had... well, maybe not as much! Now today it is in the 40's and I am frozen to the bone.

It was a super vacation, and once I kicked my awful 2 week cold, I was really able to shut down. For many of you, a vacation means lots of extra knitting time. Sometimes it means that for me too, but my work is ALL ABOUT knitting. So when things get hectic and I am consumed by work, a vacation can mean NO KNITTING, and that can be a really good thing. I did a bit of crochet during the trip down, and off and on during a couple of the car rides. And then I did NO knitting or crocheting until the night before I left, when I picked up my Flat Feet sock. It felt really good, just to turn everything off.

We had fun at Discovery Cove - the girls loved it. I fed some tropical birds - they landed on us and ate from our hands - it was kind of freaky for me. I saw the movie "The Birds" at a very impressionable age and I'm just not really fond of flying creatures when they get that close to me. But I did manage to hide my fear (for the girls' sakes) and Helen was certainly brave! she had a kookaburra (?) on her head for about 10 minutes and she loved it.

Like me, Marc was not thrilled with birds landing on him.

So I guess the bird gave him a little gift, to make him feel more (or less) comfortable. They say it's good luck...

I tried snorkeling for the second time in my life, and the last. I realized that it's just not for me. Am I scared of fish? Possibly. Claustrophobic? Probably. After two attempts to snorkel, I was hyperventilating, so I gave up. But that's okay! Marc took some great pictures with his waterproof camera, so I don't feel like I missed a thing.

So if I am scared of little fishies, how can I be completely comfortable swimming out in the middle of a lagoon all by myself with a HUGE dolphin? That's the big question. But that was super fun, and definitely a memory. We did the dolphin swim with the girls and my parents and it was really great. We met four dolphins: Jenny, Yoko, Rose and Daisy. Pictured with me is Daisy - very sweet.

My "purse" if you will, for the vacation, was the new Lexie Barnes Jinx Hobo bag. It was great to have a bag I could sling over my shoulder. I also LOVE the fact that I could reverse it to a solid... you know sometimes when you are wearing a print, you don't want your bag to compete too much with the clothes. It was perfect as a beach bag - it kept all the sand out, and water... it's waterproof! It held my book, lotions and sun hat. The two zippered pockets were perfect for my camera and wallet.

It was also great on the plane - just the right size for a bottle of water, some paperwork, my wallet and my knitting... which I'm glad I had! I was in shorts and the air was blowing something FIERCE on the plane. Poor Helen was freezing, so she used my Flat Feet as a little lap blanket. She would give me about 1 yard of yarn to use at a time - she loved unravelling the flat.And now I'm back to work, getting ready for the big anniversary sale... on May 16th and 17th. Lots of goodies! Lots of SAVINGS!

A time to relax

I made it. I'm officially on vacation - as much as I can ever "officially" be on vacation, that is. After working my butt off for days, testing our new website and running into many "issues" that delayed the launch of all the new features... from last Tuesday, to last Thursday, to Monday of this week, to Tuesday of this week, to today... and then I got down here and plugged in my computer and guess what... it's delayed again until tomorrow. WOW has this been stressful.


When you work so hard for weeks on something, and then it's just out of your hands... And the hands that are trying to fix it, well, it's just not getting fixed fast enough. So as my plane got further and further from Vermont, and closer and closer to Florida, I definitely felt the stress lifting from my shoulders. At least I have left things in very capable hands while I'm gone (for which I am eternally thankful!) I just hope that when I check my website tomorrow afternoon, it is the NEW one, and not the current one. That would be a relief.


So we're here in Orlando for 4 days - doing a little Sea World, a little Discovery Cove and a little Aquatica. Tomorrow is a rest day - a hang at the pool day - a general unwind day, which is most needed. Then we are heading to Miami to hang out with a great college friend of mine. We have plans to ride the high seas on their boat - which is always interesting as her husband does deep sea fishing and we've been able to see him bring up some amazing catches on past trips. Then a jaunt across the state to hang with my parents in Sanibel and to finish up the trip with some gold old R&R. Lots of driving time for sure! I only brought my Flat Feet socks for knitting - I think I was in a bit of a funk when packing. The whole website stress thing just really drained me, that and being sick. I couldn't even get excited about packing my knitting projects. And that's always the MOST FUN part!


I also brought two crochet projects. The first is a granny square bag I am designing out of Cotton Rich DK. I brought my 200 Crochet Blocks book and on the plane I tried out a few squares. I couldn't get into it though, perhaps it was all the screaming children and babies on the plane - I have never flown IN to Orlando before and I never have been on a plane with so many children!


My second crochet project is some sort of flowery things out of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed... I guess you might call them granny squares, in a way. All I know is that I saw one in a book, wanted to try it, and it's a lot of fun, so I am making a bunch of them in different colors, and then I hope to fashion them into some sort of a fun scarf. Stay tuned. It could work, or it could be a disaster!


Anyway, others will be posting this week to pitch in, but I leave you with two happy kids on a balcony...

Green is a sign of spring...

Or maybe just a color we like to knit with? Things in our part of the world are starting to look and feel a bit more like spring. We're certainly not seeing any green leaves or grass yet, but spring bulbs are pushing up, and the landscaping crews have been out in full force this past week, taking advantage of the warm temperatures. So even though it is still very brown and dead looking, there are small signs of spring trying to make themselves noticed.

And here's some more green that's sure to be noticed! Barb finished her Fairisle Tote last night - and I'm going to take it home and felt it this evening. It is gorgeous! It's actually 2 shades of green Cascade 220 - Black Forest #9405 (which is a dark green that really almost looks black) and Chartreuse #7814. I can't wait to see it when it's felted!And I have started knitting my Flat Feet - I picked a Cool Bright flat, which is mostly bright green, turquoise, a lighter blue and a bit of periwinkle. It is knitting up VERY nicely! I really like it. I thought I would mind the fact that the yarn is so kinked, but after about 5 minutes I didn't even notice it anymore. I do notice that on my knit to purl transitions (which for me are always a bit looser) it will benefit from being thrown in the washing machine. Because the yarn is kinked, those sections look a touch uneven. It looks fine on the rest of the sock, and the label does say that you will want to wash them when you are finished to get the stitches to block out. Fun fun.Speaking of warmer weather, my spring vacation is starting on Wednesday and we're heading way down south to Florida. I am SO excited to go, and to pick out some fun little knitting projects to take with me. After all, I have 4 flights, and a couple four hour-long car trips that are just begging for some knitting. I may (don't freak out) just focus on crocheting this trip. I've been having a lot of fun with crochet, and there are some projects that I've been dreaming up, so we'll see.

Here's a little shot of Sophie and Helen at GOTR (Girls on the Run) this week. As you can see, still chilly and brownish looking on the ground, but they are having a blast. So great to get outside and get in some healthy exercise!