Sockapalooza Swap

Last Thursday I got the most fantastic pair of socks from my Sockapalooza pal, Maria.  She knit the Broadripple socks from knitty, with a few adjustments, like a garter short row heel.  They fit perfectly.

Aren’t they lovely?

Not only did she knit me these perfect fitting socks, she sent along a number of great items with them, including incense, a lovely little coin purse (which I will use to hold onto stitch markers) and a sock knitting bag all the way from Ecuador.

Maria was also kind enough to include remainder of the Cookie A handpainted yarn that she picked up from Stitches West earlier this year.  I actually went the Stitches West and planned to purchase Cookie A yarn and patterns, but when I saw that Cookie was working the booth herself, I got sort of intimidated by the possibility of meeting a real life knit designer.  I ended up skipping her booth, but I am kicking myself for it now that I can see first hand how great the yarn is.  At least I’m not the only one to be in wonder of Cookie A.

In order to get over my fear of meeting knitting personalities that I greatly admire, I took two (!) Amy Singer classes when she was here in the bay area a few weeks ago.  In the first class (No Sheep For You) there were some technical difficulties with the slide show that went along with the class, so the start of the class was a bit rocky.  Then one of the other class participants kept asking Amy over  and over again to speak louder as she couldn’t hear her.  (In my head I’m thinking, wow, I can’t believe that someone is actually yelling at Amy Singer).  When the woman asked for the third time for Amy to speak up, Amy very nicely asked if the woman could relocate to a seat closer to Amy so that she could hear her better.  The woman refused.  I couldn’t believe it.  I guess that not everyone has the fear of knitting celebrities that I do.

I am making slow but steady progress on the Tuscany Shawl from the second class.  I am using Baywood Yarns Luxury DK (50% merino, 50% silk) in the Blackberry Jam color.  I did, in fact, buy this yarn at the Nine Rubies booth at Stitches earlier this year.  The picture doesn’t really do this yarn justice as it has a wonderful sheen that is not visible in the photo.  It is also very, very soft.  Also, if you have a chance to take an Amy Singer class (or visit Purlescence Yarns where the class took place), go for it.  The classes were a lot of fun and the shop has a great vibe, a friendly staff and some awesome yarns.