I have since then I’ve found better ways to dye sock yarn in stripes, but this was fun (though a bit hot).

On the warmest day of the year in Maine–I’m from the desert; it NEVER gets hot here–I pulled out PJ’s utility table and set it up under a tree. I used my warping pegs to lay out the yarn. I had made the warp pegs back when I considered weaving (that was a short experiment). I took giant nails (they are about 8″ long and as thick as my little finger), and put two through a 5″x10″ 1″ thick board. I then used c-clamps to attach them to the table.

I covered the table with plastic wrap (I use a LOT of plastic wrap when I dye) and then wound the yarn like a warp. Then I painted the yarn using my favorite colors: Jaquard’s Hot Fuschia and turquoise, some bright blue and a bit of navy. I did some interesting things like tying cotton string every 1/2 inch before using the fuschia dye to try to get a fair isle effect (it didn’t work well).

Here are the socks (you may have seen them last year):

When I was done painting the yarn, I wrapped everything up in the plastic wrap and steamed the whole mess. I like the way it came out, but it was a lot more work than I planned on it being.

Next time I’ll use a shorter warp–I’ve figured out how to get what I want without walking 15 miles to do it.

Currently my favorite chocolate is made by Lindt . . . their Madagascar 60% dark.

It’s not too sweet, has lovely vanilla and floral notes, and perfect mouth feel. I’ve found that although I often love the taste of chocolates in the 70% and higher range, I don’t enjoy the mouth feel. They are usually chalky because there isn’t enough sugar to smooth them out.

Another completely different kind of chocolate is keeping me warm this winter. Mexican hot chocolate, a memory of my youth in California, is rare here in my part of New England. A cup of hot milk with two triangles of Ibarra wisked in are a lovely treat on a cold day.

Mmmm. Now that I’ve talked about chocolate, I need to go eat some!

It was a beautiful day–sunny and warm. I didn’t want to leave when it was time to pack up. Since I only attended three events this past summer, it was precious time spent spinning. I also run to many friends at this Market, so there is a lot of visiting and chatting.

Someone smack me and make sure I take more pictures this summer!

From Summer 07 Interweave Knits, Notre Dame de Grace sweater in O-wool. All I need to do is complete one sleeve, sew it all together and knit the incredible collar (which is the reason why I knit this sweater in the first place).

Pen Bay Pullover for my DH, in Maine Wool, Black Watch. This is the back of the sweater. I’m doing the stockinette parts on the knitting machine, the garter and double seed areas by hand.

Too many socks to count.

From noon and going clockwise: Great Adirondack Silky Socks, Step, Trekking, Regia Sock, and in the middle Regia Bamboo sock.

Every Thanksgiving my family and I volunteer at our Church to do Thanksgiving for 100 people. A whole bunch of incredible volunteers join us, but my DH and I do the coordination and timing (and a chunk of the cooking). Two days of chopping (55 lbs of potatoes, 30 lbs of winter squash, 10 lbs of carrots, 20 lbs of onions, 10 lbs of celery, 15 lbs of turnips), plus more whisking, stirring, and mashing then you can shake a stick at. That’s probably when I hurt my right arm the first time.

Then Christmas knitting kicked in–hats, sweaters, and finishing work. I did get it done though.

Finally, inventory at the store–I moved everything in the yarn department at least once. Every ball of yarn, every book, every notion.

The tendons in my right arm, at my wrist, elbow, and shoulder, have gone on strike. I’ve been told that I can’t do any repetitive motion. Grrrrr. So, I’m not doing much typing and very, very little knitting. Of course other than one week of NO KNITTING AT ALL, I’ve been sneaking in knitting (a bit like drinking on the sly).

So, how do you sneak knitting in? First, you have to make sure no one is watching you. Second, you do it quietly. Third, you don’t do it for long. Fourth, you hide the evidence. Finally, you practice your “I wasn’t doing anything” look when your DH catches you.

In the spirit of Not Knitting I will update you with a list of WIPs tomorrow.

Here are my three kids in front of the tree we picked out for Christmas. I’m including it here so 1) you can see how huge my kids are and 2) you can see the hats they are wearing.

T1 (the tall one) is wearing a hand spun, hand knit hat done in “safety orange”. That’s so you don’t get shot at during hunting season. Each boy has a hat somewhat like this. The color is roving from Ashford, but I don’t know if they still make it. It really is florescent.

T2 (the middle sized one) is wearing a hat in Maine wool (heavy worsted) made on my knitting machine. It was too small for me, so I gave it to him. It’s based on a hat we sell at Unique One called the Reversible Hat. There are four layers of wool over the ears. Toasty!

T3 (the small kid) is wearing one of the very first hats I ever knit. It was for one of his older brothers. I had just learned to knit (note that it has a seam; this is from before I knew how to rewrite patterns to knit in the round). The pattern is Yankee Knitter hats and mittens and is available at the store. I knit it in bulky weight Lamb’s Pride Worsted.

I’ve been drooling for chocolate brown yarns for the past year or so and after trying out about twenty different combinations of yarn, I came up with this:

I love how it came out, even though I don’t think these colors are my best. I’m toying with the idea of knitting another one . . .

But my sister’s family is a pro-ball family. For the last two years she has requested Patriots hats for her gang (she also has three boys, but she wisely gave them each their own initials). These hats are knit in Encore worsted, my yarn of choice for non-hand-washing-families. I made up the patterns as I went along, but did my best to make sure the stripes were each different so the kids couldn’t get them mixed up. I made hats for my DS and BIL as well.

My sister tells me that the Pats did quite well this past weekend. And that her kids all wore their hats as they watched the game on tv.

My dear, rumpled T2 on Christmas morning. He had requested a leather lace rather than the knitted one the pattern calls for. It’s in a dark green–I honestly don’t remember the exact color.

Then I moved on to T3’s sweater. I decided that it would be cool to knit the stockinette parts on the knitting machine. Being the smallest of the sweaters, it went quickly and even the machine didn’t give me too much trouble.

T3 decided he wanted a knitted lace so I ran to the machine on Christmas and attempted to make one. I failed. So, this is what it looks like without the lace. I promise to make one soon. The color is Cornflower.

When I measured T1 for his sweater it dawned on me that he really needed an adult size sweater. He’s really growing up . . . and is growing his hair out. He didn’t want any lace at all, so I changed the pattern for him.

T1’s is in Navy Heather and the stockinette parts went really quickly on the knitting machine! And, yes, it looks like a dark charcoal color, but I was so happy that he didn’t insist on black that I was very happy with what he chose.

I’m still working on T, the DH’s, sweater. The back is almost done. His is in Black Watch (a lovely dark green and black). I put it aside to complete the hats in my post for tomorrow (hey, I’ve gotta keep those nephews happy!).