The Yarn Harlot, WEBS, Socks, and the Loopy Ewe...

Last Sunday I went to the WEBS hosted Yarn Harlot talk with two friends, Kate and Katie. It was, of course, great! I got a few pictures at the talk then my camera died so I didn't get any at WEBS or around town. Thanks to Katie scouting out our seats, we were only in the fifth row so you can actually tell who it is in the photos, unlike last year. ;-)

Here's Stephanie getting the camera out
more getting ready

And here she is with the sock, taking a picture of the other side of the theater.


After the talk and the Q&A, we went back to WEBS for a bit. The book signing line was already long so we didn't do that (she said she'll be at Rhinebeck again this year and last year I was second in line with no problem so hopefully I'll get one then) but we did get these nifty tour buttons!

I didn't really have any shopping plans but Kate and I both fell in love with this Plymouth Royal Llama Silk and each got it in different colors. It is sooo soft and scrumptious! It might be a lacy scarf, or it might be a hat.

My other purchase was from the button department, which is quite extensive! Especially extensive was the skull button selection! There were five or six different designs, believe it or not. These were voted the two best designs, one of each for Trevor and my sister who is a big skull fan. Project to be determined, or I might just give them to her to add to something on her own.

Next, the socks! I finished them Tuesday morning just in time to wear them to work. I loves them and they got many compliments at work.
Then I cast on my next pair! I'm making a short anklet pair for the summer out of this cute pink, green, and lilac Fixation. I'm doing the leg using the broadripple pattern but then I'm going to drop the pattern because I'm going to wear these with my pink converse sneakers so the foot pattern wouldn't show anyway. Not enough done to bother with a photo yet though.

I needed a needle that The Loopy Ewe had in stock so I ordered that and got one of their cute little tote bags too. It's a good size, good for a baby sweater sized project, or my sock bag and wallet etc.

The hang tag says "Sock yarns don't count as stash!" hee!

This was my free gift from this order, a super cute Loopy stitch marker.

edited to fix a link

Wee Tiny Socks and Loopy Ewe Goodies

Last night I made my wee tiny sock for the swap, tomorrow morning this sucker will be headed off to the UK and its new home.
It's Cascade Fixation in Italian Ices # 9955 out of the Jennifer's Mini Sock pattern I've used before.

This one is for me, it's the same yarn but using the Keychain Sock Blocker Sock pattern that comes with the mini sock blocker. (used size 4 needles with the fixation) Very nice pattern. This is my second mini sock blocker, I had a Loopy credit and I used it to get another one of these for my knitting bag (the first is on my keychain)
and to get this
it's a kitchener stitch dogtag! This ingenious little thing comes from Knitcellaneous the same people who do the mini sockblocker keychains. Here it is at the Loopy Ewe, unfortunately they are out of stock at the moment but I'm sure there's more on the way! Oh, I see they are still available directly from Knitcellaneous. But if you're working toward Groupie status, cough cough... I am also in deep love with Sparkle the Peacock and really want one. But I'm holding off because Sheri said she'll be getting them and you know, I'm a groupie wannabe. ;-)

Here it is again in it's new home attached to my sockmonkey sockbag. Just what I needed to keep the steps in my head!
One more goodie from The Loopy Ewe, this time a freebie! This purchase put me one step closer to being a Groupie and got me this little treat from Sheri!

Fitting into the tiny sock theme, it's a Loopy's Red Sock Kit! Since I can't make it myself (wool) my friend Katie has offered to make it for me. yay!

A few miscellaneous good things

1. More on The Loopy Ewe - I'm set up with them as referring friends so if you don't have an account with them yet and decide you want to order - click through my link on the side! If you do, I get a $5 credit. :-) (shameless request for free stuff now over
2. I am on a dishcloth craze! (which is good considering the number I need done for Christmas) I became obsessed with the petal dishcloth Jenna sent me so I had to tackle that pattern. I made two so far this week and also have a "grandma's favorite" on the needles right now (the striping cotton!) Photos coming soon, I'm not on my own computer at the moment.
3. I have a new job! Only 4 years after Grad School I have a full time job. ;-) And it is even the kind of job I have been wanting. I start November 12th. :-D Unfortunately this working full time thing is coming at the wrong time considering my holiday knitting list to finish. ;-) Hopefully it isn't too cold in there since I won't be able to make my own fetching or dashing until the holiday knitting is done.
   
4. I've also been working on the Tiger Lily socks. I love this color!
   

that's it for now!

p.s. I have a shiny green new ipod nano - does anybody have one and can suggest a case or cover that you like? I'm not sure what kind of thing I want for this one. It is so tiny and delicate seeming compared to my old ipod.

Goodies from The Loopy Ewe

If you knit socks you probably know about the great online store The Loopy Ewe. I enjoy their blog and have browsed the store many times looking at the fun accessories etc. I hadn't ordered yet since they didn't have any non-wool yarns (well it is the Loopy *Ewe*) but! Now they have the Sockina Cotton I have been looking all over for! I had a little surprise money come my way last week and I decided to use it to splurge on a ball of Sockina. The cool thing about Sockina is that it is self patterning - it stripes with a geometric kind of pattern thrown in. That is really rare in a no-wool sock yarn. Here it is! This is colorway 05
Another great thing about the Loopy Ewe is their great service and nifty Loopy Groupie freebie program. First, on the service - my order shipped very quickly even though I ordered on a holiday, my order included a note from Sheri thanking me for the order and a little card with two yarn samples on it, and she wraps the yarn up so nicely for shipping! My Sockina looked like a burrito before I ripped into it:

a note: I opened this package on my lunch hour at work and couldn't wait to take a peek at the yarn but knew I'd want to post this nice wrapping. So I ripped a little hole in the back of the tissue so I could feel my yarn before I could take a photo. ;-)

Now, an explanation of the Loopy Groupie program. Sheri includes a free gifty item with your first five orders from the store, and then with the sixth order you are officially a Loopy Groupie and you get more goodies with that order. More info on the program here. My Groupie gift for my first order was a nice little set of needle inventory cards fastened together with a heart fastener.
Thoughtful, huh? And the Loopy Groupie program makes me want to keep ordering! (Psst, especially if they can find more no-wool sock yarns to carry!) :-)