Knitting and spinning. The fun never stops.

That’s because Little Loopy came to work with me.

He was a big help with some tasks. He did some photocopying for me.

He was less helpful when it came to boiling water for a hot beverage.

You see, the pot was too heavy for him to lift.

You can tell that blog fodder is thin on the ground when I resort to posting photos of Little Loopy frolicking at the office, can’t you?

In other news (and speaking of Loopy), Sheri placed another big order for my new patterns, so I’m working to get those done and shipped to The Loopy Ewe, so they should be back in stock soon. I’m so flattered that you all like ‘em so much. Thank you!

Sock the Second

I am knitting along on my second Summer 2008 sock.

Because I will be spending the evening stuffing patterns in plastic sleeves, I will likely have little progress to report tomorrow.

(Channeling Forrest Gump) And that’s all I have to say about that.

Recipes! Boy Do I Have Recipes!

You guys have been awesome, leaving recipes in the comments for Monday’s post. If you haven’t left a recipe yet for a chance to win a copy of The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper, you still have some time to do so. I’ll pick a winner for the book tomorrow afternoon and announce it in tomorrow’s blog.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad’s birthday. The big parental birthday extravaganza is a week from Saturday (for both my dad and my mom, whose birthday is the 30th), so there will be much more celebrating to come. But if you would like to wish my totally awesome Dad a happy birthday in my comments, please feel free to do so.

Lucy Sez:

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

Thanks for all the recipes all y’all posted on yesterday’s post — keep ‘em coming. Dude, I think I need to get a crock pot. Note to self: google crock pot reviews.

After our deluge yesterday it has cleared up nicely today and the sun even came out. After decidedly autumnal temperatures, I think we are back to spring weather for a while.

And I have finished the first Summer 2008 Sock.

This was great fun to knit. The stitch pattern is a snap to memorize and it is easy to knit. The fabric has a tendency to bias slightly, but the presence of one purled row in the pattern sequence helps to keep it on the straight and narrow. And on the foot, the biasing goes away.

This is a very stretchy pattern, so it is very forgiving, size-wise. It’s also –

- - - -

Okay, I got distracted there and lost my train of thought. I have no idea what I was going to say. The world may never know. Such a loss . . .

Hey, if you wanna finish that sentence, do so in the comments. Feel free to get creative.

I was going to tell you that my five new sock patterns (Alana, Costa, Spring Fling, St. Louis, and Twisted Logic) went up for sale at The Loopy Ewe today. But FPS, they are all sold out! I’ll send Sheri more soon, in case you had one of them on your wish list. I’m so flattered that they got such a warm welcome. It’s always a little scary sending your babies out into the world.

Okay, I need to go cast on the second Summer 2008 Sock.

Lucy is in a pensive mood . . .

Actually, she is probably just wishing I’d stop shoving the camera in her face.

We are getting a *bit* of rain here today. I spent some time today googling for used arks for sale.

Lucy and I thank you for all your good wishes on “Lucy Day.” It hardly seems like it has been five years since Lucy came to live with me. She was in quite an affectionate snuggly mood yesterday. But then, she usually is.

She’s come a long way from the frightened, timid kitty I first met five years ago!

The pattern for the Unnamed Sock has been sent off to Gryphon, along with the sock itself. I’ll be sure to let you know when the pattern is available for sale at The Sanguine Gryphon.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .

It’s a new sock in progress. What a surprise, eh?

This is being knit from ShibuiKnits sock yarn in the Orchid colorway (color #4201), on my ubiquitous 2mm needles. The pattern stitch is easy and fun to knit, and nicely stretchy, too. And it looks good in variegated yarn, so what’s not to like?

I’m calling this pattern “Summer 2008 Socks.” While it is not a particularly creative name, it is appropriate, because this pattern will be a freebie available only to the members of the Summer of Socks 2008. The pattern will be written in at least 3 sizes to make it as versatile and appealing to as many people as possible.

If you haven’t yet signed up for the Summer of Socks 2008, you still have time — sign-ups close May 15th. So hustle yourself over to the SOS ‘08 sign-up page and get yourself signed up. Note that you *must* have either a blog, a Ravelry account and/or a Flickr ID to join.

Speaking of Socks

I revised my Sportweight Gusset Sock (pdf) pattern to cover a range of 4 sizes, from small to extra-large. It can always be found by clicking on the “free patterns” tab at the top of the blog.

Hey Grandpa! What’s for Supper?

I recently got review copies of the book The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper. I’ve really been enjoying delving into its pages. Not only does it have many drool-worthy recipes, but lots of good tips and basic information.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the look-out for recipes for stuff that is yummy, healthful, and relatively quick.

Would you like a copy of The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper? I’ve got one to give away, as I received two copies. Here’s what you’ve gotta do to be entered in the drawing for a copy of this book:

In the comments for today’s entry, leave me a recipe (or a link to a recipe) for an easy and healthful dish — it can be an appetizer, soup, main course, side dish, dessert — pretty much anything. Leave this comment by 5pm Eastern time on Thursday, May 15. I’ll choose a winner at random from among the comments.

Don’t be alarmed, by the way, if you leave a comment and it doesn’t show up right away. If there is a link in your comment, it might be held in the spam filter, but rest assured, I do check the filter a couple of times a day and release all non-spam comments. Sort of a catch and release kind of thing.

Lucy doesn’t understand the concept of catch and release. She is all about the catch. But not right now. Now she is all about the nap.

Today is not only Mother’s Day, but it is “Lucy Day.” It was five years ago today that this little bundle of sweetness/nuttiness came to live with me.

Lucy and I are celebrating quietly at home.

I have a completed sock:

This is the sock knit from the colorway to be named later from the Sanguine Gryphon. How is it that I am knitting from an unnamed colorway? I’ve created this design for Gryphon - it will eventually be available for sale in the Sanguine Gryphon shop.

In other news . . .

I was lucky enough to win a prize in the recent Ravelraiser event. I won a zipped pouch from Splityarn. I love Caro’s zipped pouches and fun stitchmarkers.

Here is the pouch I just received as my Ravelraiser prize:

I recently purchased a couple of pouches from Caro in a fun houndstooth check:

As you can see, all of them coordinate beautifully with my latest purse acquisition.

Lucy sez:

“Momma is too busy playing with me to post a long blog post today. Happy Mother’s Day!”

My new sock is taking shape:

I am very happy with the way it is turning out, so it will live to see a heel!

By the way, the Costa Socks pattern will be available at The Loopy Ewe soon.

Speaking of sock patterns, I’ve updated my basic toe-up slipstitch heel sock so that it now has instructions for 4 sizes: small, medium, large, and extra-large. Previously it was written for just medium and large. The pdf of this pattern is here.

You can also get to it from my Free Patterns page which you can access from the tab up there at the top of my blog. (Picture me pointing up to the top of the page.)

Allow me to clarify/add to a couple of things I mentioned yesterday.

1. When I said that I spent the whole day yesterday fighting off the terminally befuddled and confused, what I really meant was that I spent the whole day fighting off drooling idiots.
2. I brought another apple to work today, purchased at the same time as yesterday’s oddly pigmented apple. This one looked normal, and tasted good.
3. I know that 2.0 magnitude earthquake is laughable. I was making a feeble attempt at humor when I said it was a “whopping 2.0 in magnitude.”

Thank you.

A Couple of Worthy Causes

Janice is training to run a marathon in November to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Janice is one the nicest people I’ve ever met, and the photo in her blog (and on her donation page) of her with Jared, a little boy with with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia) brought tears to my eyes. Go Janice! I’m delighted to support you!

And Claudia, another fabulous knitblogger who I’ve been lucky enough to meet in person, is doing her annual fundraising to fight Multiple Sclerosis. Claudia’s donation page is here. Go Claudia! I’m delighted to support you too!

Lucy sez:

“Give til it hurts. I’d donate some of my Wildside Salmon if it would help . . .”