Finished Object Alert!

Finally! I've been trying to post pictures for a couple of days and it finally came out. To the left you have the lovely postcard that the talented Aliastriona sent me. Sadly she doesn't have a blog to link to, but I promise she is incredibly crafty, sewing fairy wings for her neice, painting, knitting, and cooking! Next you have the finished Tubey, finally! I love this sweater. I ended up seaming a teensy bit at each corner of the neckline so I could safely wear a bra and tank top underneath without any wayward straps. I'd read that this was a
problem for other people as well so I anticipated having to do it. My only complaint with this sweater is it's a little itchy. I have pretty sensitive skin so I have to be careful what I wear. I won't be wearing this for long periods of time or when I will be doing a lot of movement, but aside from that -yay I finally made a sweater. This thing was completed so long after the Olympics I don't think it should even count as a bronze. Speaking of Knitting Olympics, remember way back when I said I won a prize. Well, I have since received such prize and have yet to flash it. This is some hand-dyed Lion Brand wool from Sarah.
I really like the dark blues, but I'm not quite sure what i will do with it. It's a smallish skein-maybe enough for a boobholder or a felted bowl or something. Stay tuned for results. Other knitting stuff: Socks! And, yes I used the plural of that item because as you can see I've already cast on for the second one. I'm famous for never finishing things, or actually, getting distracted by the newer prettier yarn (whatever that may be), so the fact that I've already started socky#2 is incredible. I LOVE this sock yarn. I highly recommend it. It's hand-dyed yarn from Dani and WOW. I like the way the varigated looks in stockinette better than the ribbing, but it's beautiful either way. I used a cuff-down method with a short row heel and kitchener stitch on the toe. I need some practice on my kitchener stitch. The toe is a little wonky, but still wearable. Last but not least:
Yarn for dinner, anyone? This is the sock yarn I'm practice-dyeing for Zarah's Project Spectrum-themed sock yarn swap. You should check it out. Friday the 24th is the last day to sign up, and you don't have to have a blog to sign up. (Ahem, Beth, ahem....I hear sock yarn dyeing is more fun in pairs....ahem) I read a tutorial somewhere (sorry, I lost it) on making self striping yarn. I did loooooong sections of orange and yellow (April's colors) so hopefully it will come out. It's drying and needs to be re-rinsed (and soaked with a touch of fabric softener to get rid of the Kool-Aid smell, yuck) and then I will wind it and swatch with it to see how the stripeys will come out. I was really pleased with the way the colors came out, but I had to use a ton of lemonade to get that bright yellow color (15 packets to be exact). The cashier at Kroger thought I was crazy because I must've bought about 50 packets of various kool-aids. (FYI-the big jars of Kool-aid already have sugar in them so can't be used for sock yarn dyeing)

Wow, that's a lot of knitblogging. On a totally unrelated knitting note-guess what movie star came into my work tonight and I totally got an autograph from? Steve Carrell! Yay! I LOVE his movies and shows (Bruce Almighty, 40-year-old Virgin, Anchorman, The Office, The Daily Show, etc). In fact, Doug and I quote his character Brick from Anchorman all the time ("I love lamp"). He is so down-to-earth and nice. I felt a little bad interrupting his shopping but he was really sweet about it and swore he didn't mind. I ran over and bought a copy of the 40-yr-old Virgin for him to sign (I swear I was going to buy it anyway, not just for this occasion). The rest of the night it's all people could talk about it. We don't get too many celebs here in Charlottesville, so it's a big deal. I'd be such a mess if I lived in Hollywood, I'd be gawking at everyone.

Stay tuned this weekend: a sock yarn parade, UFO-sightings, and perhaps another yarn store review.