My current work in progress:

1. Cloisters Socks (my own design), knit from Alchemy Juniper in the "Tea Party" colorway, on 2mm needles.
2. Myriad stealth projects.

Needle Necessities

This comment from Al on my last blog post made me smile:

Wendy – we laypersons have to know, how did you get so many size zero needles? Do you use all of them from time to time? I never know how Roseann keeps track of all her needles, except that she has so many projects ongoing.

Al is Roseann’s husband, by the way. I believe he has reasons for wanting to know. ;-)

Well . . . I have a gazillion size zero needles because that’s the size I use for most of my socks. I will often have more than one sock project going on at the same time. Stil, that’s not a very good reason for having so many, is it?

I still have every size 0 needle I’ve ever owned, apart from those that have fallen apart. And there have been a lot of different types and brands of needles created over the years. And of course I had to have them all.

Can you imagine my consternation if I had a burning need for that one perfect needle and it wasn’t in my Tower o’ Needles? The horror!

Anyway . . .

I did actually do a bit of knitting on the True Love Stole. Here it is:

Stole092009

And a close-up:

StoleCloseup092009

And here is something lovely:

Stitchmarkers092009

Stitch markers from Blue Ridge Notions. Aren’t they pretty? They are amethyst & mother of pearl, with one pretty blue & white porcelain bead making up the set. These markers will fit up to a size 7 needle and are beautifully made. Best of all, they are very reasonably priced. They’d make a great gift for a knitter . . .

Lucy thinks salmon treats are a better gift.

Lucy092009

Needle Storage

Gail asked in the comments:

How do you store your needles? Do you keep them in the original Addi bags and sizes together? I’m just beginning to have enough needles that I need to determine a better way to keep them organized.

I have this:

Storage091709

The Tower o’ Needles!

It has a total of ten drawers.

I put each size in a separate drawer (though the larger sizes are doubled and tripled up) and for the most part I do keep them in their original packaging.

The size zero drawer is jammed full. :-)

I’ve had the Tower o’ Needles for several years. I bought it somewhere like Staples or Office Depot. While it not exactly fine furniture, it serves its purpose very well!

In Knitting News

I have turned the heel on my commuter sock.

SIP091709

And I did not knit at all on the True Love Stole last night. I spent the majority of my knitting time working on non-knitting things.

Shocking, isn’t it?

Since this is an “at home” weekend, I’m hoping to get in some quality time with my True Love. :-)

Speaking of true love . . .

I Heart Wollmeise

I loved the comment that Natalie made about the pic of my Wollmeise I posted yesterday:

Claudia is amazing – the picture just jumped out at me & yelled Wollmeise. Mmmm. Perfect colours.

So true. Wollmeise is an original. Ain’t nuthin’ that compares to it as far as I’m concerned. Period. The end.

Several of you asked what I was going to do with my Wollmeise bounty. As I said, I bought it sight-unseen in a grab bag. I figured I’d make socks with it. But don’t those colorways look fabulous together? Here: I’ll post the pic again:

Wollmeise091609

Five skeins of Wollmeise Twin (80/20 wool/nylon) which is a total of 2550 yards of fingering weight yarn. What would you do?

Lucy thinks I should give her a treat. But really, that is her answer to a lot of things.

Lucy091709

Sock Needles

Needles091609

In the comments Dorothy asked:

I was looking at your sock and was wondering what length of circular do you use. I am using a 26″ well two of them from knit picks and I am not quite sure I like the length. For comfortable knitting I need the needle part to be at least 4.5 to 5 inches long. Any thoughts to help me along?

When I first switched to two circulars, I used Knitpicks needles in the 16″ length. Those worked pretty well for me, apart from one thing — the needles didn’t last long. After one or two pairs of socks, the joins lost their integrity, and I’d have to toss the needles out and get a new pair. The Knitpicks needles are dirt cheap, though, so this wasn’t too big an issue.

But I decided I’d be happier knitting my socks on slightly longer needles. I took a look at my 24″ Addi turbo needles and started a pair on them. Big mistake for me! The needle portion of those circulars is longer than the 16″: 5″ compared to a scant 3.5″ for the 16″ long circulars. Unlike Dorothy, I like the needle portion of the circular to be shorter.

But I found a good compromise for myself — Addi turbos in the 20″ length. They have the shorter needle portions like the 16-inchers, but an ootch more cord.

My one regret? Addi Lace needles apparently do not come in the 20″ length. They come in 16 or 24. :-(

Dorothy, I’m not sure if you are wanting a longer or shorter cord on your needles, but if you are thinking shorter, I’m afraid you are out of luck! The shorter cords have the shorter needles.

Eye Candy!

Claudia recently put up for sale in the online Wollmeise shop some “grab-bags” of one-off colors. I bought one (sight unseen) and it arrived today. Check out these babies:

Wollmeise091609

These colors could not be more perfect! Yum!

Meanwhile, Lucy pauses in her play with her Plague Rat to tidy up.

Lucy091609

Bork! Bork! Bork!

It’s been one of those days. You know the kind — when you fix one thing it breaks three other things. Lots of internet weirdness along with work weirdness made me very happy to leave and come home for the day!

Oh, and my email has been borked all day so if you’ve contacted me and wonder why I am ignoring you, it is likely I haven’t seen your email yet. Hopefully the emails I’ve sent today have reached their intended recipients.

Bork! Bork! Bork!

2009_Swedish_Chef

Now, if it had been Bjorked, it would look like this:

bjork_350x435

And if it had been Birked, it would look like this:

birkenstock-iceland

Yes, it has been one of those days. So much so, that I felt the need to Squirrelize the photo of Bjork:

bjork1

And I don’t have much of anything of my own to show you. I’ve got a chunk of knitting done on the second sock of my current pair:

SIP091509

I took this with me to New York over the weekend. I got a total of 10 rounds done all weekend, I think. For some reason, although I knit socks on the subway every day, I don’t like knitting on Amtrak, so I spent the train time reading.  And since the trip to New York was for book signing and teaching classes, well, not too much time for personal knitting!

And I won’t even bother showing you the True Love Stole. It looks pretty much the same as the last time you saw it.

Bottom line? I’ve got a lot to do, but not a lot to say!

But I do have something pretty to show you. :-)

Bracelet091509

This is a handmade crocheted bead bracelet made by Julie of Big Sheep Jewelry. Isn’t it gorgeous?

And just so Lucy wouldn’t feel left out, Julie made her a pretty necklace.

Check out the clasp:

Necklace091509

Here is a pic of Miss Lucy is wearing it.

LucyNecklace091509

And something I received a couple of weeks ago from an anonymous gifter:

Shawlpin091509

One of Rosemary Hill’s shawl pins — in the shape of a sock. How perfect is that??!!

Lucy sez:

Lucy091509

“I’m a princess — I have a necklace!”

Quickie

I’m just popping in to announce the winners in the “suggest music for Wendy’s iPod” contest. They are: Katherine, Melia, April, Gail Lucille, and Tonya. Congratulations to you five and thank you for everyone who suggested songs in the comments. The winners have been emailed, and each win the WendyKnits pattern of their choice.

I arrived home at 9:00 last night from my weekend in Manhattan. This morning was devoted to a lot of errands, and since returning home and finishing the laundry, I’ve done nothing but lie on the couch. Ah, the joys of getting older.

I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully coherent. But I’m not making any promises.

Here is a sign that autumn is coming:

Lucy091409

Lucy is napping on her sheepskin!

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