I was stuck in class so no appreciating all the cute costumes this Halloween, ah, maybe next year.
Happy Halloween
to all the ghosts, ghouls, and gremlins....

First of all, thank you all for the wonderful "good luck" wishes. I took the test Saturday morning and survived. I find out in six weeks if my attempts were well executed or if it was a noble gesture. Thank youz guyz!

On the knitting front: Yeah! I taught myself how to do a short row heel. Well, I googled short row heel and found this which explained it with lots of photos.

Here it is!
My Socks that Rock.
I have my comprehensive exam this Saturday. Have I studied? No.
The next 48 hours consist of cramfest 2007.
In the meantime, here's the names.

Harlotty.

Mustang Sally.

Hot Flash.

Saturday night, DH and I met up with Jeanne and her husband from Knitting Addiction. For those who loved my sock t-shirt, it's her shop that sells them at a great price. Our dinner at Terrapin (used to be a church but now a restaurant) only lasted three hours. Three hours of laughing hysterically over yarn, gravity, and travels. These self-professing Canadians (they're not but it is our inside joke) are a blast! Dave's stegasauras pork tenderloin combined with the waiter giving us food we didn't order will always be a fond memory (oh and singing the Canadian National Anthem).

Sunday morning we checked out of our B&B after one of the guests approached me. It seems she thought that I might be going to the Sheep & Wool. Do you know what the clue was? My tote bag says "Knit or Die" with a skull and knitting needles. Sunday was super chill. The scenery was stunning.

Ah, yes, I still need to post pictures of my stash acquisitions. Sigh. I feel like a lot of people overwhelmed, tired, and sad to be back in working day. 364 more days to fried artichokes, socks that rock, shelridge farms, and many more things....

DH and I made a weekend out of Rhinebeck. We considered it a postponed anniversary celebration (I was in class during the actual event). We stayed in Millbrook around 30 minutes from my desired destination and ate at a great French restaurant called Cafe Les Baux the Friday night we arrived. The food was yummy, as we shared a cream of garlic soup (one because it was filling and two because we wanted to cut down on the stinkiness factor later). I had lamb in wine sauce and Ben, my little Redcoat, had mussels.

Saturday we arrived early, sorta 9:15 am, we were on line at The Fold for the annual Socks that Rock line-o-rama. Here's the 411: Go in with a team of comrades. One of you stay in line. This is a key position, while the others seek out yarn. And rotate positions as needed. DH obliged as I picked up three skeins (my first STR stash, yeah!). Now, you might want to know what colors you want in advance but I had no clue. On line, I noticed a beautiful Central Park Hoodie who I later learned was Shameeka (who btw was seaming this thing up the night before!). Shameeka also informed me that usually after the stampede is over at STR, there is mostly the pink shades left. Very interesting.

I think the Blogger Bingo was a blast! I met sooo many people who have already been added to my Bloglines and Ravelry Friends list. I loved walking up to people announcing, "I'm a square! You're a square". Granted some didn't appreciate my offbeat humor, I had fun approaching people with such ease (especially because I am super shy). So, here's my no photos rundown: I saw Deb and her mom a gazillion times. I met Necia finally. I talked to Marilyn for a while. I met Rachel or rather introduced myself while she was acquiring coffee. I saw a lot more folks...

Of course, lunch consisted of Fried Artichokes and beer. Love those artichokes!

Other things to know:
I did pick up the samoyed dog yarn. It is actually 50% samoyed, 50% merino wool. It only slightly smells of the dog, maybe I should have inhaled prior to purchase, who knows? A friend knit it up and said it was super soft and incredily warm.
I picked up a Moving Mud closure. I love their buttons!
Thanks to Shameeka I picked up buttons from Briar Rose, which I am loving.
Thanks to RosiG, I am now in love with Shelridge Farms Soft Touch yarn (but they didn't have a lot left when I went).

Here are my photos!

I thought I was using the pillar stitch when I made the red scarf. In reality, I did something different and voila now it is the red scarf pattern. This scarf was made for the Orphan Foundation of America.

Someone was really nice and asked for the pattern to this scarf I made for my FIL. It is a slight variation of the scarf I made my dad. BTW, the photos don't show the basketweave well (oh well) which is obvious when you see it in person and the yarn is very soft and pretty. Here's the details....

Tom's Basketweave Scarf

Abbreviations:
K… Knit
P… Purl

Materials:
SWTC Karaoke
Size 7 US Needle

Gauge:
20 stitches over 4 inches in stockinette stitch (it’s a scarf- gauge is not critical)

Measurements:
8” X 60”

Directions:
Cast on 38 stitches

Border: Knit Seed Stitch (k1,p1) for six rows.

Row 1: k1,p1,k1,k8,p8,k8,p8, p1,k1,p1
Row 2: p1,k1,p1,k8,p8,k8,p8,k1,p1,k1
Repeat Rows 1&2 for ten rows This creates the first set of blocks

Row 3: k1,p1,k1,p8,k8,p8,k8, p1,k1,p1
Row 4: p1,k1,p1,p8,k8,p8,k8,k1,p1,k1
Repeat Rows 3 & 4 for ten rows. This creates the second set of blocks

Keep repeating Rows 1 & 2 for ten rows and then Rows 3 & 4 for ten rows until desired length.

Border: Knit Seed Stitch (k1,p1) for six rows.

Cast Off.

Notes:
I would make the scarf a little smaller if I had to do it again. In rows 1,2,3,4, I would knit and purl 6 stitches instead of 8 and then repeat for 8 rows.

Ok, finally, I reveal the Sanpoku. Now, this is not me. Rather, Norah was very helpful in volunteering to model the sweater.

Here she is...Wicked. I am on the body about to do some increases for my hips. I have another 3-4 inches to go but the stockinette in the round moves quickly. Malabrigo is exactly what you think it is super soft. I am not doing the pocket on this sweater but I am doing the long sleeves, maybe 3/4 length. I am liking the color, thank you so much for the compliments!

I have made progress on the Wicked sweater (photos later this week). I am past the 30 repeats and have my sleeves hanging out on waste yarn and have begun the repeats beneath the arm hole. Malabrigo is truly divine to knit. I already know my next project and um, yeah it involves Malabrigo again.

I did begin Brooklyn Tweed's generic noro stripe scarf. With the yarn my friend Katie gave me and an orphan skein of Silk Garden relaxing in my knitting stash, I cast on for this afternoon. It moves oh so quickly and because of the ribbing looks like stockinette.

Wicked is moving along, but not as quickly since I have a paper and presentation, paper, and audiotaping due.

S0, I leave you with a message from Puffiness...