New Fiber in the House

Not for knitting - it's still attached to its owner.

I've acquired another dog. His name is Oscar, he's a shepherd-and-something-really-small mix, and he turned up last Thursday as I was moving. Nobody's tried to claim him, so it looks like he's mine.

I'm not sure how Max is adjusting to this. They wrestle a lot, which I think is good, but Oscar's pretty assertive about wanting to be cuddled. I hope that doesn't leave Max feeling left out.

It's amazing how much they look alike. Maybe Max will see Oscar as a bratty little brother!

FO Frenzy

I haven't retrieved the pictures from my digital camera yet, but I'll go ahead and post the list. In two days last week, I finished the "Folds of Function" pocket pouch from Folk Bags, and the "Gull Lace Socks" from Socks Socks Socks.

This means that I've freed up some knitting needles, and some knitting time, to begin this the July/August Sock Club sock. This is a special one - the River Ripple pattern celebrates River Knits' third anniversary. And I've already finished one sock, so I'm right on track for Sock Club!

Secret Pal Reveal

We have a list of potential secret pals on the SP8 blog now. After glancing through the blogs (I'm at work, and killing time while there are no patrons, but there's still a limit to how much time I should waste), nobody jumps out as my potential pal. I'll have to look more carefully.

But before I do, I'm going to make some wild guesses. So, SP, you can give me a clue as to how many I'm right about - or I'll wait for the big reveal.

1. She lives in Louisiana, in kind of a remote area.
2. She's into other crafts besides knitting. I'm pretty sure she dyes. I also suspect spinning or maybe embroidery.
3. Either she has no pets, or she's a much better housekeeper than I am.
4. She's outdoorsy.
5. She's older than me. This is getting harder to be - but I'd guess she's early 40s.
6. She's married and has school-age kids.
7. She's at least somewhat religious.
8. She's been knitting around 5 years. She likes to knit gifts for other people.

These are vaguely in descending order of my confidence in being right, but except for the Louisiana part, these are hunches, not even educated guesses. Now, I can't wait to find out if any of them are right!

Secret Pal Anticipation

The mail brought me this note from my secret pal:

"Hey!

I just wanted to let you know that I've been busy getting your final
package ready! It is going to be full of great stuff! It's going to
be a little sweet, a little spicy, and of course, a little fibery - so get
ready!

Your Secret Pal"

So now the anticipation begins. Sweet? She's already sent me some tasty candy, which I've been enjoying. Spicy? This could be interesting - she's from Louisiana, so maybe something Cajun? Or maybe something for cooking - cinnamon and nutmeg? Or candles? It would probably be easy to guess that "fibery" would be knitting yarn, but there are a lot of possibilities there.

And the biggest question of all: who is she? I know I'll find out all the answers soon, but it's hard to be patient!

New Projects

According to Secret Pal 8, we're supposed to do blog posts once a week. I've been slow to update, largely because I've had a hard time getting pictures - and who wants a blog without pictures?

But I can report that I've started two new projects (yeah, so much for cutting back). One is the "Folds of Function" pocket pouch from Folk Bags, which may wind up on my list of must-have knitting books real soon now. I'm using the skein of Lucy Neatby's Celestial Dreams Merino that I bought awhile ago. There's supposed to be enough for a pair of socks in one skein, but I don't believe it. There's definintely enough for a bag.

I've also taken to doing some sewing from Patchwork Puzzle Balls. Right now I'm working on a tesselating Zs pattern for the soon-to-be Dr. Z. It's a surprise, so a picture will have to wait.