Today is a good day!

Well. I have known for a week that my sock pal package was coming. So, for the first time in a LONG time, I actually was looking forward to a Monday. It took forever to get here. But. Alas, it is Monday! YAY!!

Well, little did I know, that a phone call from Florida this morning was to inform us that Chris may very well be employed. We just aren't sure. Its funny! They said he was chosen for the January class. I think we are just so shocked that we can't grasp the fact that....he now has a pretty decent kick but job starting in January!!! WOOHOOO.

But, that wasn't my package!

Then, the mailman came. Chris looked at me as if I was walking in with my monkey package. Nope. I could carry this one! This package was from WEBS and was my yarn for my Central Park Hoodie!! YAY!!!!

But, that wasn't my package!

After stalking the door all day, I got on the phone with the ex to discuss some kid issues and my other line rang! Hmmmm, let me get that. Its from California!

Hello?
Hi, is this Kellie? (Totally sweet sounding gentleman, I gotta tell ya!)
Well, yes it is!
Well, I do believe you just got a package delivered to you!
I DID????
(I run frantically to the door)
OHHH I DID!!!!
You didn't realize that your package has arrived? Its been there for about ten minutes!
Oh no, I have been waiting all day long! (I am frantically waiving for Chris to get the package in the house because.....I couldn't lift it!)

My sock pal's "Hubster" had called to let me know my package was here! So cool!!! Then my super fantastic awesomely wonderful amazing best ever sock pal got on the phone!! And we ripped into the box together! It was so much fun! I was amazingly spoiled. We have spent months talking very regularly in email, getting to know one another, without me even knowing who she was. What is funnier, is that unbeknownst to me, I had forged TWO relationships with her. See.....remember when I might, maybe, could have possibly bought some yarn from Pam? Well, I emailed Pam every now and again, and we even commented on each other's blogs at times. Imagine my surprise when I learned today, after talking on the phone for some time and opening some pretty darn fantastic and well-picked out packages, that my sock pal was in fact Pam! I was shocked and surprised, and giggled hysterically at the fact that there were days when she responded from her secret email account and her regular email account because I never caught on that Pam and my sock pal were the same person! TOO FUNNY!! How she kept it straight, I will never know. And I even joked that Pam was probably sick of hearing about my sock pal, and my sock pal was probably sick of hearing about Pam because I did nothing but sing the praises of one to the other.

I am so lucky, I have forged a fantastic relationship with a fantastic woman, and I just don't even know what I have done to deserve such a wonderful friend.

So, my dear not so secret sock pal, I am so very lucky to have met you. Thank you for being a wonderful friend over the past few months and walking with me through some truly trying times in my life. I'm so lucky that everything aligned just right for you to be my sock pal, and even more importantly, a wonderful friend.

<3

Pictures later...

A quicky

I just got back from knitting student's house. They were having some people over, and they said come on by. So we wrapped Mr. Wyatt up and headed over.

Knitting student's mom greeted me at the door with squeals of delight. And then she showed me....her scarf that she is KNITTING! Knitting student taught her how to cast on and how to knit. She is addicted. She is wanting to come over on Monday so that we can knit together. So she can watch me.

I was astounded. We spent about 1 1/2 hours talking knitting. She was giggly. She was excited. She was intrigued. She wants more. Knitting student told me of her cabled scarf. She has had to start over for the third time. She loves cabling. She just missed three rows of the pattern and *had* to rip it all the way out. Clearly, must teach knitting student how we rip back a few rows instead of starting over.

Pretty cool!

In my knitting news, doing a little test knitting, doing a little finishing of a second sock, and I got Knitscene fall 2006 for the Central Park Hoodie pattern. And ordered Donegal Tweed to go with said pattern. In a color suggested by the husband. Clearly amazing that I got to purchase yarn and that he was interested enough to pick out what color since I clearly couldn't decide which color of yarny goodness would suit me.

Good day! I wish every day could be that full of knitting excitement!!!!

Off to knit some socks!

Thanksgiving sock

I finished it!


One Thanksgiving sock down, one to go. Not too shabby, fantastic pattern, I love the yarn and it fits perfect!

So, I need to start the second one. I might do that tonight. Right now, I have company.






My new knitting student is here. She needed some help with her pattern. And....she wanted to learn more so we pulled out another beginning scarf. Here is her progress on the first scarf.


I grabbed it and snuck away with it to take a picture. She wouldn't understand why one needs to document such events. One day she will learn. Don't want to push it.

Isn't that fantastic? She did all of that by herself!!!! She wasn't sure what the pattern abbreviations were to get any further than that, so now that she is clear, she is sitting in my living room casting on for another scarf.

Yep. The addiction is holding. Fantastic!

More when my company is gone and I have some of my own knitting progress to report.

Socks rock!

So lets see. I am working the gusset on my first Ampersand sock. FANTASTIC pattern. Can't say enough good about it. And I forgot how quickly sport weight socks work up! I'm loving it.

So...when I was knitting my monkey socks for my sock pal, Shanidy, we had a friend and his girlfriend over to watch movies. Well, she saw me working on a sock, and she was interested, but not all that interested. She wanted to *touch* it but didn't want to put it on. I was offended. How could someone not want to put on a knitted sock? But I gave up. Clearly, the future was destroyed. Here I was, with a 17 year old in my house, who did NOT want to try on a hand knitted sock.

But...I persisted. I continued to knit in front of her. She comes over frequently. I showed her the finished pair. Still, interested, but not TOO interested. I knew that somehow something had to get through to her.

Started working on the previously unknittable socks. She was interested. Pretty yarn! Wow, look at that pattern! So neat! How do you do that with all of those needles? Hmmmm, my plan seemed to be working.

Then, Friday I had new yarn and had casted on my Ampersand socks. She came in, and immediately said OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH pretty yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes....the yarn is very pretty. Do you want to....touch it? YES!

I was taken aback! She touched the yarn. She petted the yarn. To be honest, I think she even fondled it. She looked at the sock that was just starting. Interesting. And then she said....

Kellie. Will you teach me to knit?

No words. I literally had no words. Within seconds, I had the swift out and ball winder in motion. She had needles in hand. Long tail cast on? A breeze. Knit stitch? Simple. She left with the yarn and the needles.

Returned today. And said: Kellie. I'm ready to learn how to do more. Purl stitch. Piece of cake. We moved on to yarn overs and K2Tog. Tonight, I showed her my sock yarn stash. I let her touch it too. I'm sure she doesn't realize that the stash is sacred. That no one else has gotten to look at much less pet my yarn.

The kicker......she wants to learn how to knit socks.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better.......then she said....Oh yeah!! My mom said that she wants you to teach her too!!

There is hope for the future of knitting after all.

SIP

So, I figured I'd show some progress. Probably, if I just buckled down on ONE project it would be more impressive. But, I like to have a sock for the mood and here they all are. I have offered to be a test knitter, so if that happens, be prepared for immediate sock knitting progress to stop to allow full attention to said test knitting. I'm so stoked! We'll see :)

Anyway we have:

Pattern: Ampersand
Needles: Two cirs (gulp), size 3
Thoughts: I love this pattern!!!! And, seeing as I just started it, its obviously a quick knit :) The circs, I love them!! I'm sure there is a better way than I started, but I'm waiting for a book to show me the "right" way to do it.






Pattern: Thelonious
Needles: Size 1
Yarn: Louet Gems Indigo
Thoughts: Of course I'm a Cookie groupie, so I love the pattern. The chart is a little new to me, but its going well. I'm not sure I'm sold on the yarn is the problem.





Pattern: Southwestern Socks by Wendy
Needles: Size 1
Yarn: Chewy Spaghetti Saghettoni. This is the previously unknittable yarn. Its being nice, so I guess I'm making it happy.
Thoughts: I love this pattern SO much. And I love the toe up knitting I've got going on. Pretty fun!! And check out those stitch keepers!! Got those from a sock club!!! FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC I tell you. Chris keeps telling me that he is going to yank the needles out because I'm not supposed to be knitting this yarn, as evidenced by five false starts, so this makes me feel better, just in case he is serious.

Also cast on, but not officially started, my Monkeys for my mommy friend. I just casted on and let them sit there. Nice Kel. Real nice.

And, I have picked out this pattern for my Woolly Boully sock club yarn. No pics of that though, cause you know its a club yarn and all. I feel better about having the yarn if I know that I have an *idea* of what I am going to end up doing with it.

So there we go! Fun times in Casa Fulton. The spirit of Soctober continues into November. You know, its always socktober here.

Quiet weekend, please?

Monday...doctor with Chris and Wyatt.
Tuesday...hospital with Wyatt (for dehydration, he is ok now :))
Wednesday...doctor with Wyatt.
Thursday...Interview for Chris (please please please please hire him)
Friday...Mailman with sock club yarn...in Thanksgiving colors.

I immediately wound and cast on for the Thanksgiving socks. I'm using the Ampersand pattern by Susan. And..........in case you noticed.......that pattern is done on two circulars. And. I'm doing the socks on two circulars.

Alert the media!

More later...trying to get little man to go to sleep. So I can knit. Or sleep. There has been so little of both these days.