Lovely Gifts and a Work in Progress

The first awesome gift I got was from a giveaway off of Jenny's blog. She sent me some chocolate and some yarn. The chocolate was immediately consumed. I haven't used the yarn yet, but it sure is pretty:

It's Malabrigo sock in Violetta. I love that hint of blue that you can see in the yarn if you make the photo bigger:

My friend over at Leonorasfoto (who in addition to being a knitter is an awesome photographer) and I did an impromptu pattern and yarn exchange. I sent her the yarn for the Northampton Neckerchief and she sent me the yarn for Ulmus. She also packed in a few other goodies for me (and Georgia). Here is a lenscap holder that fits onto my camera strap, which is just awesome:

The yarn, which is a really amazing alpaca. From a local (to her) Norwegian store.

Super cute card:

Little wallet for Georgia (with a tiny charm bracelet inside, which Georgia has not taken off yet):

Lastly, I've been working on Georgia's sweater for the past few days, and have made quite a bit of progress:

And I've been working on a secret toy for the kiddo for Christmas, as she asked me for one. I'm making this guy. As she doesn't read my blog, I don't have to hide it, but right now I have both legs and the body completed, and it doesn't make for a very good photo.

New Skills

Today I learned how to cable without a cable needle. Fancy. It's still as slow as cabling with a needle, but I'm hoping that my speed will pick up as I practice it more. Also, trying to learn how to cable without a needle is not really a good activity for the subway.

I'm doing this on Georgia's sweater. Here's a picture of the first two inches (or thereabouts) of the body:

The sleeves are done for this sweater, so alls I need to do is finish up the body. And then steek! I'm learning all kinds of new stuff for this sweater. The section to be steeked is visible towards the back of the photo, in the center. It's that strip of plain stockinette.

I also got a package from Jenny, as she had a giveaway on her blog and I won! We have decimated the chocolate (that happened yesterday), and I left the yarn at home, so I couldn't get a picture of it in the sunlight, but I promise to try in the future.

Busy. Lazy. And Busy.

Here are the finished pix of the Herbivore. I gave it to my SIL, and she loves it.

Yarn: Madelinetosh Pashmina
Needle: US 6 (4mm)

Georgia took the last photo. Then she took a bunch more. THEN she decided that SHE wanted a DSLR for herself, because it is "so much better than the littler cameras."

That is the last time I let her play with my DSLR. At least until she gets older. The light was really gorgeous and we took some awesome photos out by the river that day. I stuck them up on my other blog, here (cute pix of the kid), and here.

Anyway, I'm knitting away on Georgia's sweater. Got both sleeves done and started on the body this morning. I will hopefully have it done by the end of November.

I will eventually have pictures. The sweater is very pink, and the Briar Rose is, as always, a dream to knit with. I don't know why I don't buy from them when it isn't Rhinebeck, but I should. They're just great. As always, I am not being paid to shill for Briar Rose, but it sure would be nice. I would totally take yarn as payment. Hint, hint.

Finished Object: Herbivore

However, due to previously mentioned secret status, I can't really post pictures here.

I can post a Ravelry link, as the recipient is a non-knitter. You can find it here.

Georgia got a picture of me modeling it. It's a pretty good shot too!

Finished Object: Tide Pooling Socks

I finished my Tide Pooling socks (my rav link) today, and they're pretty awesome. The second sock was disastrous, and I had to rip and re-knit three times.

The first time, I'd gotten all the way up to the toe and discovered I'd dropped a bunch of stitches when I was doing the gusset decreases. Oops.

The second time, I'd picked up the stitches wrong.

The third time, I got all the way to the toe, kitchenered it, and then discovered the sock was a half inch shorter than the other. Sigh.

Anyway, here they are:

Interestingly, even though I had the exact same gauge and everything, the blue pooled pretty badly on the second sock, right above where I started the heel, and then went back to striping around the fot. Also, on the second sock, the white stripe is much more prominent than it was on the first sock.

Anyway, here's another shot:

Not too concerned about the lack of matchiness, and I adore these guys. So YAY!

Oh, and I also finished the Herbivore, but still need to block it. I think that's going to a friend who may or may not read this blog, so I won't post pictures, however, I will post a link to my Rav page.