Knitting onward... and butterflies

From the comments in my last post, I have a great deal of company in the frog pond. How about we inflate the rafts and beach balls, knitter friends? I'll whip up a couple of pitchers of drinks and we'll have a pool party while we fix these projects! Thanks, Liz, Tiennie, and Kate for sharing some sympathy.

I'm making progress on Section 2 of Clapotis and am loving the colors! I think it will be gorgeous when I start dropping stitches (yes, I said dropping stitches). Try wrapping your head around a pattern where you knit like crazy for miles and then drop stitches for rows and rows and rows... It's already soft and drapey, my Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. A luxury item.

Tomorrow evening Sarah and I are going to hear Annie Modesitt speak! The Knitting Heretic herself. Only 40 people were able to get seats, and she'll sign books afterward. I'm looking forward to this, not just to hear Annie speaking on "if you end up with a fabric you like, you did it right" but also for an evening out! (Mom, did you hear that? Another person touting more than one right way to knit! Imagine that.) I believe Dana is coming in for this one as well and it will be fun to see her again.

Lastly, here's what the kiddos and I did yesterday. The Butterfly House is a large greenhouse full of plants and waterfalls. Butterflies flit freely through the space landing wherever they please, including on the people!

Hold very, very still...

Delighted Absent-Minded Professor

This butterfly would make a great yarn color combo...

"Mom, check out this GIANT moth over my shoulder! Good thing you left your knitting in the car!"

FO's and New Projects

Warning: Knitting content ahead!

First of all, I have a couple of little, quick, FO's to show you. The first is a cute, little knitted bunny that I made for Mayhem for Easter.

See the Longaberger baskets?

It's a quick knit, any slightly fuzzy yarn will do the trick. Best of all, you knit a rectangle and then stitch it together almost like origami. After that you knit a couple of ears. Here's the pattern if you want to make some yourself: Knitted Bunny. (Kelli? You reading this??)

Friday night, when I couldn't sleep, I completed a small hat. This is made from superwash sock yarn and will be headed to The Loopy Ewe's Quarterly Challenge, and then to an orphanage in China. As you can see, the hat is lovingly modeled by my old friend Humphrey. Humphrey came to me from Germany as a gift from my oldest sister when I was 4 yrs. old. The pattern for the hat came out of Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

Having finished my Just Ribbing socks, and taken them for a test run by wearing them all day at school on Friday, I can officially say they are real socks! I love them. They received many compliments. Even our home ec (excuse me, Family and Consumer Science) teacher proclaimed them fabulous. Today I am casting on another pair of socks using Banana Cabana yarn from Cider Moon. This link shows you colorways. Banana Cabana isn't there because it sells out! There's a photo on my blog in another post if you read.

Last but not least, some of you may still be wondering which big project I decided to cast on next. Clapotis? Log Cabin? Well, here it is. In Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb (wool and silk), color Tuscany:

The beginning of my Clapotis. The color isn't accurate at all. It's more red than pink, a wine color, with blue and sage green and tan.

This week I'm checking out a new yarn store in the area called "Yarn Haven" with a fellow blogger Sarah Lou. Watch for the scoop on that after mid-week.

If you're lurking, de-lurk and leave a comment!

Beautiful Birthday Booga Bag

How's that for some alliteration?

My Just Ribbing (aka Wild Thing) Socks will be finished today sometime, and I'll have another FO to add to my sidebar. I'm trying to decide what to start next. Another pair of socks will be started, of course. I've been bitten by the sock bug. My dad has requested a pair, and I'll lovingly oblige. Yesterday my brother and I made a deal where he gets handknit socks in exchange for my receiving a set quantity of his home-brewed beer... The words "Way better than purses," came out of his mouth, referring to the One Skein clutches I made all my sisters at Christmas. But I digress.

Back to what to knit next. My two big choices are to cast on for my Log Cabin afghan or to start Clapotis. I already have the yarn for each. If I start Clapotis, I can knit it along with Sarah Lou, who is just a short way into the project. I know I signed on to knit Sahara as part of a KAL, but making a sweater right now, even a short-sleeved one, just isn't calling to me. It's going to wait.

So what do you think? Log Cabin or Clapotis? It doesn't mean I'll listen to you, but I'm interested to hear what you think, and why.