I’m still working on the deadline projects, but I’d thought I’d share some other random things.

I completed the pea pod sample for the store, I had it all done except for one sleeve and sewing together, and decided it was an excellent little break from all the deadine stuff.  It was fun to knit and I love the way the Curious Creek yarns pool. I picked this color because it looks like peas.

Baby Pea Pod Sweater done in Curious Creek Serengeti Birches in Norway. I still need to select the perfect buttons.

Since I have socks to complete for at least August, September and October, and I’m always looking for inspiration; I joined the Sock A Month 4 KAL.  There are so many cute socks being done. I’m so excited about the Full Toes Ahead August sock, it’s coming out fabulous and the heel treatment is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I sold the Orange Dreamsicle off to a more deservering home.  Juls stopped by yesterday and told me of her orange obsession. I showed her my shawl in progress and commented that although I liked the project alot, I had decided that the orange was not for me nor for the store. We negotiated a deal and Juls left with an inprocess project that was perfect for her.  I get to start it again fresh with another color (I’ve been enjoying just looking at the Harmony color choices) - just as soon as I complete that darned deadline knittng.

eTA:  I plum forgot to thank the beautiful and talented Jennifer, who did the design for the July sock of the month club; THEN knit them up for me!  The colors are so bright and cheerful and are perfect for me.  With my oh, so high thermostat, these will be perfect in the fall.

Aren’t they cute? I love the colors.  Thank you, Jennifer.

Go enter the contest and win some yarn!

Ok, I’m getting restless.  I have a number of skeins of new yarn in the store who are screaming my name.  I even have a few already cast on projects that I’m thinking I’d like to get back to.

But alas, I have deadline knitting to do.  There has been progress but I need incentive to keep going.  I’m going to give you a chance to get yarn and help me. I’m going to list all the projects I have to complete. You can (in the comments) submit dates that you think I will finish each project.  When I complete the project, I will pick 1 name from amongst all those who guessed correctly. That lucky person will get the Full Toes Ahead Sock of the Month Sock Kit for August (when I complete the design, of course ;}).  So read on to see where I’m at and take your best guess. For 1 person who guesses the closest on ALL the projects there will be an extra special treat to be named later (when I figure out something fantastic).

Here are the projects for you to guess on (in order that they SHOULD be - not necessarily WILL be completed):

August - August Sock of the Month club socks and design.  You need to guess when BOTH socks will be completed. I can’t show you a picture since it’s for the club, but I have about 4″ done for the cuff on the first sock.

September (for the Bar Mitzvah):

The Seasilk POTW: The inner panel of the Seasilk Print O the Wave has been completed and the errors on the border chart have been caught and corrected (add an another k2tog on the 2nd to last stitch on rows 9, 11, 13, & 15). I did make 1 other modification to the pattern (no surprise, huh?) - rather than pick up all 600+ stitches and knit rows all the way around, I decided to go straight to the knit on border.  Should save some time and yarn. Isn’t it purty?

The Pink Collar for Princess Costs-a-Lotta.  I’m on the 2nd of 3 skeins for the body plus a crochet border after its done. It uses short rows to create the fullness.

Also in September:

September Sock of the Month club socks and design.  You need to guess when BOTH socks will be completed. It will be a man’s sock using a complimentary yarn for toes and heels.  Design is complete in my head only and hasn’t been started yet. It will be a toe up design, other than that….

October:

Carmel Wave Knit along Shawl for the Full Thread Retreat.  Design fabulous in my head; its been started (perhaps about 4″ on the main panel).  Beads yet to be added in border when center panel is completed. For a picture of start see here.

Class samples and instructions for the Carmel Full Thread Retreat classes in short rows, shadow knitting, and Kumihimo braiding.

So that’s 6 chances to win your own Full Toes Ahead Sock of the Month Club.  Just to get you drooling a little, I’ll let you know that its a custom colorway designed just for us by Seacoast Handpainted yarns.  The yarn is a merino/tencel blend and knits up beautifully. Everyone who’s seen it at the store has just oohed and ahhed over the San Francisco Surf colors.

So help me feel my completion and success love - enter today!

Prince Eats-a-Lotta and friends put together an actober entry which was selected as a national finalist for contest 1!

He’s asked me to post here and ask all my readers to please, please, please go vote for him.

http://www.actober.com/Vote.aspx

and click on the 4th one from the top (by Ehren Elder)! For those of you who have stopped by the store - Ehren and PEAL are the 2 winders and stockers who often work at the store

Pretend you’re from Chicago (like me) and vote early and often. And please leave a comment here to let us know you voted.

If you happen to watch it, PEAL is the pitcher.

Thanks.

I didn’t want to take any of the deadline knitting with me, as silk and 1 of a kinds don’t mix with beer and popcorn.  So, in spite of the looming deadlines, I started a new project on the train up to SF Giants Stitch n Pitch. We had just received a shipment of Nettle (that’s right made from the plant, like hemp it’s rough and scratchy until it’s washed a time or two) and Knitty had just posted their knitty surprise - a shopping bag.  It was the most productive thing that went on at the game, as the Giants played terribly on Barry Bond’s birthday.

I completed the base of the bag and had just started to pick up stitches around the edge when we decided to leave.

I also started their summer purse which is a slip stitch pattern involving recycled silk and more of the nettle.

Full Thread Ahead was fully represented with over 40 people attending - See anybody you recognize?

Christiane, Amy, Carol, and Allison all got knitting done.  I’m pretty sure Carol is wearing the Lady Eleanor in Karaoke that Allison made for her.  If I recall correctly, that was one of the first sales I made even before I opened the store. I love those colors on Carol!

Kris and Pat are working on their June Full Toes Ahead sock.  Kris is wearing her fabulous Cherry Tree Hill Oceania Swing Jacket.

My family front and center. They were too busy being mad at the Giants to knit. Jennifer is right behind us, I’m not sure how much knitting she got done either.

Honestly, the train rides up and back were more fun than the game.  We left in the middle of the 9th inning and heard all the excitement as we were leaving the ballpark (the Giants who were behind 0-4 scored 4 in the 9th to go to extra innings).  Prince Eats-a-lotta’s friend E-squared had a radio and the boys provided play by play to the fans all the way to our stop in Mountain View.  We got back to the house in time to see the 13th inning when the Braves scored the winning run.

For those of you keeping track, I’ve started 2 new projects not on the deadline list. Hmm, perhaps I need to have a contest to keep me on task? Let me think on it…what would be good for prizes?

Even knitting Goddesses need to take a break from their deadline knitting once and a while.  Even if it is just to take a fun test.

Now do I get a few of those gorgeous mostly nude males that service goddesses to do my bidding while I knit?  Or perhaps a Dark Hunter, dream hunter or two?  After all they should find serving me better than the heifer, Artemis.

Hey a girl can daydream can’t she? Or maybe not if she’s on deadline knitting. (claim my blog insert )

The problem with deadline knitting is that progress pictures are actually quite boring. Same projects but with more to show.

The Print O The Wave is now up to 17 repeats, halfway through the main body.  Since the border accounts for 40% of the yarn (and I assume 40% of the work as well), I estimate I’m about 30% done.  Here it is:

Princess Costs-a-Lotta’s hot pink collar (adapted from the Scarf Style Blue collar) is well underway.  Between the short rows and switching needle sizes, I’m to busy paying attention to be bored with stockinette. I’m really liking the Eden bamboo, it’s silky and shiny and machine washable.

The Carmel Wave Wrap is beginning to look like a little something. I’ve cast on for the body and have about 2″ done. I’m so surprised at how the Jojoland is striping.  I didn’t realize how long the color runs are.

No pictures for the sock of the month socks, but the August design is coming along very well, just a few challenges on working out gauge. I had a momentary blip with the September socks when Rio de La Plata informed me that the yarn was discontinued, but a visit from a yarn rep on Friday yielded a great new find and a terrific surprise for the yarn club in September!

I get 15 seconds.  This story on the Bridal shop 2 doors down aired tonight.

My mom is back on the disabled list. Now its her knee, the one that had a replacement now has an infection and is being removed today, then its 6 weeks of antibiotics and a stay at a halfway house since they’re being administered intravenously. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that she’ll be back in fighting form before Prince Eats-a-lotta’s Bar Mitzvah on September 8th.

I discovered a new (to me, anyway) author recently.  I love reading period romance novels and have been hanging out at our local library going through the alphabet.  I read 2 by Kinley MacGregor, from her Brotherhood of the Sword series.  I enjoyed reading the redemption of the tortured souls and found out that MacGregor is a pen name - she also publishes under her real name, Sherrilyn Kenyon. I wasn’t going to read any of those books as they are more accurately described as paranormal romance, but figure what the heck, I’d try one. Well, I’m hooked on the bad, mad, and immortal dark-hunters, dream-hunters, and were-hunters.  I’ve read almost the entire series and I can’t wait for the next one to come out.  Even better, I’ve learned that I’m not the only one who’s been bitten - Freecia owns the whole series and has even met the talented Sherrilyn, so I have someone to share the obsession.  My favorite line in the whole series explains why all the heroes are so fabulously good looking - the paraphrase - if you were a greek goddess who could command an immortal army of men, wouldn’t you pick the best looking you could find?

I didn’t take my camera to Kristi’s going away party, so I don’t have any of my own pictures, but you should check out the fun here (Cindy and I compared notes on the POTW, here’s her effort), here, and here.

Kristi (and her sock designing pal, Cookie) was among the first people I met when I started attending the knit nights at the Prolific Oven.  I no longer go to that group (I’m not even sure they’re still meeting there), I never seem to make Boba knit nights (but I really want to), and I don’t get to see her too often, but I will still miss her being local. Have fun Kristi, and remember we’re online! ;}.

Whew, what a day.  From noon to 4pm, we held one of our famous big discount sales in the store and then, for the first time ever, an online only sale from 4pm until midnight (which means we’re still getting orders).

Ok, from noon until 4pm we sold 432 items (all pulled by the customers them selves). At 4pm when the store emptied out of customers, we took a deep breath and boom, the online orders started pouring in and we started pulling yarn off the shelves and have pulled 314  (or so) items through 10:30 pm. 

Here’s the orders waiting to be shipped first thing tomorrow:

Here’s some order’s we need to finish filling the morning (by 10:30 pm, we were out of steam and since they can’t be mailed until tomorrow anyway, we figured we’d start fresh).

Thanks to everyone who shopped in person or virtually!

Well, by overwhelming vote, here, there, and everywhere - the Print o’ The Wave was the choice of knitters all over as the garment to wear to Prince Costs-A-Lotta’s Bar Mitzvah.  Thanks for the all input, I have my marching orders.

Of course, in true HoJo fashion, I then cast on for 3 new projects and picked out yarn for a 4th.  Before you start with the admonitions, these are all required projects and I can only show you one of them.

First, and the most immediate deadline project is August’s Full Toes Ahead Sock.  We have a custom color merino/tencel sock weight from SeaCoast handpainted yarns.  No, I can’t show it to you, but I can tell you the color - San Francisco Surf and I can tell you it’s a lace design - perfect for a summer sock. (And before you ask, July’s design is already done, by the lovely Jennifer, and it’s rockin’).

The next project was my own fault for not keeping my mouth shut. When I put together the marketing collateral for the Full Thread Retreat in October, we thought it would be fun to have a knit-a-long as part of the weekend. So I threw in a line about the “Carmel Wave Wrap”, figuring that at some time in the future (which suddenly became NOW) I would figure it out. Then I presented some of the attendees with the Seaweed Stole by Needle Beetle as the potential project. They thought it was great, until I opened my big mouth. 

“Whew”, I said, “I’m so glad you like this one since I didn’t have time to actually fully develop the design I had in mind for this.” Of course, my peeps at the store wouldn’t let me get away with that and made me explain that I had a seafoam pattern in mind, with a border going in the opposite direction with beads. Well, dear readers, I’m sure you know where this is going - another new shawl in process with JoJoLand’s Melody.  No pictures yet (right now, it’s just 206 stitches and resembles a snake on needles). I’ll share as soon as its start to look like something.

Third, remember at Stitches the new yarn by Ceallach Dyes in lace weight?  Well, a friend of her’s lent us a shawl to show how fabulous the yarn knits up.  There was no pattern for this lovely work, so Ceallach herself developed one so that we could create this for ourselves. It has a unique construction that radiates out from a small square at the upper neck, into a faroese shawl (my favorite shawl shape).  We had a large number of people waiting for this, so I took some time to test knit it through at least 2 of the increase repeats.  Itsn’t it gorgeous?

See the diamond in the center? That’s cast on first, then stitches picked up around the outside, for the main shawl pattern.  I love the way the vines come out of the points of the diamond. This Dolphin Paradise colorway was designed just for me and its so lovely. Unfortunately, this goes on time out while I complete the projects I HAVE to finish on deadline.

The fourth, has yarn and needles selected, but hasn’t started yet. It is a capelet from Scarf Style in hot pink Eden Bamboo for Princess Costs-A-Lotta to wear to Prince Eats-a-Lotta’s Bar Mitzvah.

For those of you not keeping track, that’s 1 pair of socks (including pattern) due by August 1 (and one more pair not yet mentioned for September 1), 1 POTW shawl and capelet due by September 8th, and 1 Carmel Wave Shawl due for October 1. Try not to distract me, OK? ;}.

I’m usually a very decisive person. Scan the options, eliminate the outlyers, narrow down to the finalists then create the must haves and narrow again.  Usually THE CANDIDATE reveals itself to me and I’m able to move on comfortably. But, every once in a while, there comes a conumdrum and I have trouble making a decision. This usually a clue that I should listen to my gut; that the decision I think I made is still not quite right. What,  you ask,  can possibly have me indecisive?

Well, it’s my clothes for Prince Eats-a-Lotta’s Bar Mitzvah. I’ve started the Invito print top and its coming along nicely, and is something I would definitely wear;  its just not what I had invisioned wearing for THIS event. So this needs to go on time out for a while.

 When I see myself standing up on the bima, I keep seeing the Serrano.  So will I wilt?  Will I pass out, being too hot? Well, i won’t know if its too warm until I’ve finished it.  So back to work on it I go.

 Then I started thinking, what if I just wore a shawl instead of my tallis? The Print O’ The Wave would be perfect, so perhaps I should finish it?

Anybody want to voice an opinion and help me make up my mind?  Or absent that, cheer me on or kick butt to keep me focused?

 As you may recall I am working on the Serrano to wear to Prince Eats-a-lotta’s Bar Mitzvah in September.  Suddenly, this last weekend, I had an epiphany, it’s wool (even thought its sock yarn), and it’s long sleeved. Ok, you say, it is after all it IS a sweater.  Well, September in sunny California is one of the warmest months of the year.  And I’m someone who wears open toed sandals in winter because I have such a high thermostat.

What does all of this mean? It means I started another sweater - this one a short sleeved top down in a cotton blend. It’s sort of inspired by this sweater:

By that I mean, I’m using the same yarn, Invito by Cascade and mine’s knit from the top down.  After that, any similarity is only coincidental.  I’m using a different color (blues, of course - color #07 pictured below),

different neckline treatment (key hole is right where my bra strap needs to be, mine will be v-neck) and longer sleeves (cap sleeves are so unflattering on me). I’m not using the pattern , instead opting to use my favorite raglan sleeve calculator. On size 7 needles it’s moving right along, I’m already about halfway though the raglan increases.  Pictures in a future update.

I’ll still finish the Serrano, because I love both the pattern and the yarn, but it won’t be for the big day, just some day.  later……

Yesterday, Trish came into the store to show me these:

Cute little felted buckets she made for carrying her small knit project in.  The right one is done in our new Poems and the left in Karaoke (her’s were some of the now sold out goofballs from Stitches). 

I need at least 1 of these so, when Trish told me she adapted a free pattern from the internet, I immediately began searching for it online.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was the project bucket from no other than Lucia  and that the original was lounging at our store!

Even better, Lucia herself stopped by for a visit during sock club knit time. She giggled with me about that story.

On Wednesday, I got a chance to show off the Krista Tee.

It came out pretty good and it fits. I added 24 rows on each sleeve to make it a short sleeve rather than a cap sleeve.  I wore it before blocking because I wasn’t sure if I had enough crochet around the neckline.  After a full day of tugging at the shoulders to cover bra straps, I decided that an extra row bringing it in slightly would be perfect.  Hopefully, I’ll crochet and block this weekend.

This just in.  I got my invite to Ravelry - now which project(s) will I put on hold while updating and wandering around? I think its very cool, but its going to take away alot of time from other things ;}.