Only time for "Idiot socks"!

That's right. You know the ones. The yarn does all the pattern work for you. You just have to know how to cast on for the correct size ... knit the ribbing, knit stockinette stitch and know your sock sections. That's it. When you're on the leg you can just zone out as you knit, knit, knit, knit.

Just a little more thought goes into the heel but once you round the bend and get the decreases down to the foot, it's once again just knit, knit, knit ... until the toe decreasing.

Why the only brain work will come when you do the kitchener stitch to weave the toe together at the end. But you don't even need to do that if you do the decreases right down to just a few stitches and draw the yarn thru the loops and pull. But I need a square toe section so I'll make the extra effort to do the kitchener.

That's what I'm up to doing right now. Mindless knitting. Nothing serious because my brain just can't take it right now ...

And then I'm thinking ... well now's the time I should confess to my "other" obsession. A stash obsession. But I'm not talking about yarn stash. Not this time anyway ...

It's about BOOKS ...















But why limit myself to just books ...



Well in all honesty, that's just the tip of the ice berg

AND ...

All the time I have at the moment to take pictures of
my dirty little secret.

[what do you mean ... you KNEW?]

B = Bag

The Ultimate Knitting Bag! And I think I've found it ...
a Jordana Paige.

Yup, this is part of my ABC's Along. B is for Bag. I could have gone with the obvious ... Books.

This is only one bookcase ...
In fact, I was going to reorganize my bookcases when I took pictures of the big pile I had, but Sara took care of both Books and Bookcases in a big way last week. I have a LOT of knitting books but I don't have the wall to wall books [all kinds] that Sara does. Whoa! And I'm obviously envious of her book accumulation, LOL.

But just yesterday I used this wonderful bag I bought from Jimmy Beans Wool. I've been looking for a way of cutting down from 2 bags to 1 [not counting my lunch bag] for my commute to and from work. Guess I'm sick of being known as the "bag lady" of Salem. But I needed something that holds what I need in my handbag and also my knitting and a book or two. This is it! Here are pictures to show you it in all it's glory ...

And I can even nicely add a book in there ...

And take a good look at the fabric covering the outside flap. It looks like Woven YARN! How cool is that?

And B could have been for Boxes.

What do you suppose could be in all those boxes?

[And I'm not even mentioning the ones under bed and in the closet.]

Seed Stitch Fine Yarn Event

REMINDER

On Saturday, February 2^nd, from 5:30-7 PM, at Seed Stitch Fine Yarn, you can knit with Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle, Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine, and An Ornithologit's Guide to Life, in a private setting and intimately get to know her. She will share with you the inspiration for her heartfelt book. The Knitting Circle is based on a life-altering event that is her own life story. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and converse about anything that you would like. Best of all, we will see what she is knitting now! This is a perfect evening to spend with your knitting group or handcraft girlfriends.

Call 978-744-5557 for registrations and join us in the Knitting Circle with Ann Hood $10.

Book signing is FREE from 3:30-5:30 PM, also in the store on 21 Front Street, Salem, MA.

I'm in the middle of reading the Knitting Circle right now myself. I won't miss the chance to meet the author. And I don't go anywhere without my knitting bag these days!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I'm on the subject of books ... here is one that I just got in the mail for my birthday from my best friend, Sammie in Georgia. I LOVE it! Just the neatest little pincushions in this book to handcraft. I intend to make at least one before my "Painting with Wool" class February 17. I love the ones on the cover. They were designed by Jen from Schmaltzy Craftsy.

Did I hear someone say I don't have enough to do already? Hah

How interesting ...

Thanks to FemiKnitMafia, I took this interesting quiz.

What kind of book are you?

You're Babar the King!

by Jean de Brunhoff

Though your life has been filled with struggle and sadness of late,
you're personally doing quite well for yourself. All this success brings responsibility,
though, and should not be taken lightly. Life has turned from war to peace, from damage
to reconstruction, and this brings a bright new hope for everyone you know. These hopeful
people look to you for guidance, and your best advice to them is to watch out for snakes.
You're quite fond of the name "Celeste".


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

But I'm not sure if that's really me. So I retook the quiz and this is what I got.

Does either one ring a bell?

You're Loosely Based!

by Storey Clayton

While most people haven't heard of you, you're a really good and
interesting person. Rather clever and witty, you crack a lot of jokes about the world
around you. You do have a serious side, however, where your interest covers the homeless
and the inequalities of society. You're good at bringing people together, but they keep
asking you what your name means.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

AhHa ... and I thought the name "StitchingNut" was pretty clear.

[Well I've given it a lot of thought since Monday and I've decided the first one is the closest to being correct about me. One more piece of the puzzle ... ]

And while we're doing tests ... here's another one.
HA, I like this one!

What Rhonda Means

R is for Rich H is for Heavenly O is for Old N is for Nice D is for Dramatic A is for Arty

What Does Your Name Mean?

Mail Call ... Whoohoo!

Hot diggidy dog, I got my sock from the Wee Tiny Sock Swap in the mail today! All the way from Michigan. Hand knit by Jan who's blog is tbd-dog lover, knitter, ...

It is the cutest! And of course it's in one of my very favorite colors too ... Orange ... what else?


And take a close look ... [click on a picture to enlarge it] ... it has a CABLE going right up the side of the leg. Jan, you are so clever! Thank you, thank you ... it's going to have a special spot right on the sock blocker attached to the zipper of my Sock Bag [which I carry everyday]. And there's a special spot by my knitting chair for your really cute little note card. Where did you find such a cute card? Oh ya, I see the contact name on the back and it's Major Knitter. I think I want to frame it!!

I got more mail ... a book from my friend, Cynthia. I sent her a book and she sent me, The Friday Night Knitting Club. Good for bedtime reading. Little did she know, but I was also her secret Wee Tiny Sock Pal and my little mini sock was in with the book I sent her. Yup, that's right Cindy ... I had a good chuckle over that one, LOL. And it was sure hard to keep the secret too!


And last but not least ... not by a long shot ... I finally bought some Cashmere! Whoohoo, I said Cashmere with a capital C. And the only reason I could afford such a luxury is because Lion Brand had this luscious Concerto hand-dyed cashmere yarn [that's right, 100% cashmere] on sale for only $19.95 ! So that was $27. 90 with the shipping cost but the original price was over $45 without shipping. Good gosh, normally I would only touch, brush a skein against my check, and put then put it back for someone else to splurge for the cost. But this time, considering the sale's price ... well you see why I got it and it's really is sooooo soft and luscious. I may just pet it for awhile before I make anything with it. But it's there for the knitting as soon as I find the right pattern. Which BTW, I want something that is worn against my neck... so maybe a cowl? It's 106 yards ... hope that's enough for something ... I'm open to suggests.

So now I'm off to pet my yarn!

Not only a knitty weekend ... I got some knitting books!

Oh ya? So what's new, huh? Does the Stitchingnut have a whole library already? Should she add more to it? Well ....

I did! And look at what I got from Nordic Fiber Arts ... ooooo, I love these!!

So I'm ready for next winter's Christmas knitting, LOL.

And I'm ready for this week's Mini Sock Swap with Yarn Miracle.

The mini sock blocker doesn't go with the sock in the mail, but I wanted you to see the size of that sock blocker. Isn't it the cutest? A mini sock pattern comes with it and they can be purchased from Felt Up ... I got a few for gifts a while back and just hadn't made the socks yet. But these socks were done in the pattern from Yarn Miracle. I'll use the other pattern next time.And do you want a sneak peek of my tea cozy? The one for the Seed Stitch Fine Yarn store contest. It's due March 31st so I'm still working on it. I need really good light when I work on it, so I work on it mostly over the weekends. But I better do some during the week now if I want to get everything on there that I envision.

Nope, nope you can't see anymore ... that's just a peek for ya!