The crickets are getting loud out here

Just a brief update to prove that I am not dead or disappeared (although I am stuck under a load of unpacking/SAHM-ing/generally trying to pull my self together-ing). There has been some knitting (SYB, TdF socks), more spinning (I've finished plying all the Yarn School Corriedale and hope to wash it tonight) (and I've started on Devil's merino, which she has requested be made into a blanket), and some LYS stalking (I've discovered this one around the corner from the girls' new school, but I have not yet made it in to check it out).

Our sea freight is scheduled for delivery on Wednesday, which makes it just about 4 weeks from packing up to arrival. I'm just glad it all made it hear without falling off the side of the ship! We do now have a landline, so broadband should be just around the corner, along with expanded posting soon. Thanks for all your patience, and stay tuned!

A cubic buttload of sock yarn scraps and some wire

In the spirit of working on UFOs, let me update you on the progress of the Sock Yarn Blanket, aka my Albatross.

As you can see from the layout, it's moving along. I'm actually starting to think that maybe this puppy might see the end of the line in this century. I am ignoring the fact that I still have to fill in all those little triangles around the edges. Denial is a wonderful thing.

And, since you haven't seen an actual picture of the thing in more months then I care to admit, here it is:

And here's the stash of sock yarn scraps waiting for incorporation. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the pile. I may end up not having to repeat yarns, which would be awe-inspiring.

Boo's birthday is at the end of the month. I'd like to pretend this will be done by then, but I suspect this will be a "Welcome to London" present for her instead. So be it.
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My first experience knitting with wire:

Pattern: Bijouterie by Rosemary Hill, Knitty Winter 2008
Yarn: 30 gauge sterling silver wire (white beads) and 32 gauge silver-plated Artistic Wire (red beads), very small amounts of each, beads from here.
Needles: Bamboo US 2/2.75 mm needles
Comments: OK, knitting with wire is weird, but strangely satisfying (hello instant blocking!). These two pairs took me less then two hours to do, even with Alias Season 1 on the tube. I ordered the wire in December, hoping to have them done for Christmas presents, but it arrived two days after we went North, so no dice. I love them, and have ideas for all sorts of other incarnations for future gifts. Quick, easy, and gorgeous - what could be better?

Oh, right

I've not been feeling the blogging love recently - too much time in front of the computer at work, and lots of projects that are making progress, but aren't getting anywhere close to completion, making for somewhat dull reporting. I'm hoping for a bunch of completed objects soonish, but here's the current state of affairs:

1) Gathered Pullover: one sleeve done, need to pick up stitches for other sleeve and redo the neckline. I love the top-down set in sleeve cap. I think it's going to become a standard technique.

2) Ironman's Christmas socks: should be finished tomorrow, just it time for the August installment of the SAM knitalong. Next month's installment is scheduled to be Azure in StR In the Navy.

3) I finished the last 2 oz of Maldives yesterday, but haven't yet taken pictures to share.

4) My Ravelympics project continues on - it's still a big black blob with beads ever so often, but it's moving along. I'm torn between three or four repeats of Chart B - it may depend on how long the rows take me after 3 repeats.

5) SYB is limping along, but I'm running out of scraps to use. I don't really want to start recycling them yet, so I either have to put it aside and knit socks faster, or start cracking in to unused skeins. Hmmmm...here's where it stands though.

That's about it. Keep your fingers crossed that I get my butt in gear to take some photos so I can post some of these soon to be FOs.

SYB Update

I have slowly been plugging away on the Sock Yarn Blanket. It is a much better project to work on during the Olympics then my actual Ravelympics project - lace and beads do not make for good TV watching. Although they do make for much muttering and cursing from my corner of the living room. For the same reasons, the SYB is a good Thursday knit night project - I am much more successful if I talk and knit garter stitch at the same time.

Here's the current state of affairs:

Slowly but surely it moves. I think I'm now 20% done, so maybe by Christmas? Of course, if I finish this one for Boo for Christmas, I'll have to get the Duck blanket done for Devil, just to be fair.

I'm starting to think about how to fill in the missing triangles along the sides. I can't decide if I should try to keep the orientation of the garter stitch ridges, or just pick up one stitch in the valley and knit a triangle to fill in. Any suggestions?

Oh bugger, or: I should have believed in EZ

The sock yarn blanket has been limping along. Wait, no it hasn't - I knit six squares and then chucked the thing in the closet for a month. At my last Knit Night*, I brought it out again, since I got a pile of sock yarn scraps from various people. I looked at the "squares" I had (and by "square" I mean "oddly-shaped trapezoid"), and decided to try a garter stitch square just to see how it looked.

Oh, this is a whole 'nother ball o' wax kiddies

On Friday I was stuck at home with the AC guys, again, and I obsessively worked on garter stitch squares. So I went from this

to this

to this (!) in less then 24 hrs. Now I'm stalled out again working on other projects, but I'm much happier with how this is working out. And knitting every row is so much nicer then all that damn purling!

* we had a destash/swap party at Whole Foods and I got rid of a bunch of stuff, and ended up with much, much more. 2200 yds worsted wool in blue/grey/brown anyone? I sense a cabled Ironman sweater in my future. Assuming we do move across the pond that is, because I'm not actually trying to kill him by heat stroke.