The Song of the Daffodil Fairy

THE SONG OF THE DAFFODIL FAIRY

I'm everyone's darling: the blackbird and starling

Are shouting about me from blossoming boughs;

For I, the Lent Lily, the Daffy-down-dilly,

Have heard through the country the call to arouse,

The orchards are ringing with voices a-singing

The praise of my petticoat, praise of my gown;

The children are playing, and hark! they are saying

That Daffy-down-dilly is come up to town!

from "Flower Fairies of the Spring"by Cicely Mary Barker

The post with no title

In case anyone noticed, there was no Saturday Sky or Sock-it-to-me Sunday this past weekend. I do have a very good reason for not doing either. You see this past weekend was the Washington County Fair and we had planned on going for quite awhile. That of course is not the reason. Sadly we were not able to go to the fair. The reason is that lil Nicholas had a fever all weekend long and spent most of his time sleeping or crying. He was a very sad little boy. And that is why there were no posts this past weekend. Today he is doing much better. So here are some pictures from this past weekend.

Saturday Sky over Hillsboro, Oregon

Sockapalooza 4 socks

Pattern: Cascading Leaves by Jeanie Townsend
Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock! in Mombassa
Needles: US size 2 (2.75mm) DPNs

These socks should be done by tonight. Which is very good as they need to go in the mail on the 2nd. Plus I still want to make a cute project bag with some monkey fabric that I have.

Wordless Wednesday

Sock-it-to-me Sunday

I didn't make much progress on the socks although I am about to do the heel flap for Cascading Leaves 1 and have made some progress on the second Jaywalker. The second one seems to not be striping as well as the first one. No biggie. I think it will look great no matter what. It looks like the colors are swirling so far. The plan for the Cascading Leaves is to do the leg of each sock, then the heel flap, etc. That way I will be wrapping both socks up at about the same time. Then I really need to start on a pair for the Chief. His birthday is next month.

Saturday Sky

It was a pretty cloudy day today. But the only thing I was waiting patiently for arrived before lunch deliverd buy UPS - and that was my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I just finished reading it about 15 minutes ago and I am speechless. I can't believe that I finished that book in one day. I will not be posting any spoilers so you will just have to read it yourselves. But it is well worth it.

Owl Post has arrived

Here is the best package for the first round of the Hogwarts Sock Swap!!! Huge thanks go to Robin of Knit Witch. Check out the really cool Hogwarts bag. That is begging to go out with me when I go to the PDX Knit Bloggers events or any other crafty events - like the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival this September down in Canby, Oregon.

The bag was filled with goodies which include:
2 boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans
2 hanks of Knit Picks Gloss in Concord Grape
1 Ravenclaw keychain
1 Harry Potter barrel pen - which I gave to The Chief
2 sets of size 1 DPNs - one from Knit Picks (2.5mm) and the other Chiao Goo bamboo (2.25mm)
1 mini soak wool wash in Flora
1 set of Ravenclaw stitch markers
1 pair of Ravenclaw socks that went on my feet the minute I took them out of the bag. She had used Cherry Tree Hill yarn in the Moody Blues colorway.

So again, a big huge thank you to Robin and also to Rebecca for organizing the swap. Now I can wait patiently for Saturday to arrive and with it the last book in the Harry Potter series.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionaire 2nd Years

What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference?
Shoe size: 9
Length: 9.75 inches
circumference: 9.5 inches.

List your three favorite sock yarns (that I have personally knitted with):
a. Koigu KPPM
b. Lisa Souza Sock!
c. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand?
I would love to try Cherry Tree Hill or Duet Sock Yarn. I keep missing the updates on Loopy Ewe and they had my favorite Duet Sock Yarn - Sailor Girl. I used to be in the US Navy.

Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn?
Vareigated

What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash?
For STR lightweight, "Titania" or "Little Bunny Foo Foo"
For STR mediumweight, "Rhodonite"
For Lorna's Laces, "Black Purl" or "Lakeview"
For Cherry Tree Hill, "Northern Lights" or"Gypsy Rose"

What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?
I have only done sock patterns with ribbing and some simple lace. I have yet to try fair isle. I love Cookie's patterns.

Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.).
I don't have any allergies, but the hubby is allergic to cats.

Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?
Nope. We have no pets and no one here smokes.

Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
Absolutely!

Sign ups are now open for First Years in the second Hogwarts Sock Swap. So if you missed the first round, hurry on over and sign up for the second round.

Sock-it-to-me Sunday

Pattern: Cascading Leaves by Jeanie Townsend

Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock! in Mombassa

Needles: US size 2 (2.75mm) DPNs

Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Daffodil

Needles: US size 1 (2.25mm) DPNs

Saturday Sky and more...

Hillsboro, Oregon

Gryffindor socks
Yarn: Cosmic Fibers Gryffindor Third Years
Needles: US size 2 (2.75mm) DPNs

Big Black Socks
Yarn: Regia Cotton
Needles: US size 1 (2.25mm) DPNs

The Hand Dyed Yarn Swap

Want to learn how to dye yarn? This sounded like a fun swap so I joined up. I have actually only used kool-aid but hope one day to use acid dyes. Right now there are a few spots left. The first round of the swap will only be open to 25 people. The only requirement for this round is to send enough sock yarn for an average sized adult pair of socks and to hand dye the yarn yourself. So click on the button and check it out.

Wordless Wednesday

Sock-it-to-me Sunday

Much progress was made on the second sock of the Big Black Socks at the meetup today. I have about an inch to go before the toe decrease. Plus I am almost done with the Gryffindor socks for my Hogwarts Sock Swap Pal. Now I am just tired after all the excitement. But I am happy to say that I survived my first trip on the MAX train. We are thinking about taking the boys to the Oregon Zoo sometime and riding the train instead of driving there. I think that Nathan would like the train ride.

Saturday Sky

a beautiful day in Hillsboro, Oregon

last thing for the night - I just got my invite to Ravelry. Its about 11:20 and I should be in bed. I'll write more later. I have a meetup tomorrow with the PDX Knit Bloggers over at Knit Purl in downtown Portland. I will be taking my very first ride on the MAX train. Should be fun.

Happy Independence Day

Sock-it-to-me Sunday

I finally finished the gusset on sock 2 of the Big Black Socks. The rest should go by faster. Then the washing before they are sent off to Socks for Soldiers. And then I can start another pair. Either I need to knit faster or I need to work on knitting both of them at the same time. The other socks pictured are for my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal. Round 2 of the swap will officially open up to everyone on July 14th. I changed my mind about the pattern and decided to go with a more simple one so the stripes would should off better. I haven't even started the second sock of my Jaywalkers. All I have done so far is put the yarn into a lil yarn cake to get it ready.