Everybody wants a rock...

Catch the Clap

Clapotis close-up
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

...seems that everyone else has. I finished this, lo, a long time ago for my grandmother's birthday. Still need to mail it out - I am so behind on the mailing side of things, as well as the blogging side of things. In Silk Garden 8, on US 8 Addi turbos, Clapotis from Knitty. I twisted all stitches beside the drop (knit-side and purl-side), along with doing mirrored decreases; these suggestions came from Needles&Hooks. I also purled the drop stitches on the right side instead of using markers; this is a common tip on the internets, and I forget who originated it. I did a swatch, mostly for my own amusement, since it is not the sort of thing that really needs one.

Full-length shot:

Xtreme Dinos

Xtreme-knitting.com Dinosaurs
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Since my Monday trash pickup is today, this can still count as Geeky Monday. I'm showing my bias by going through my backlog of geeky geology knitting first...

Xtreme-knitting's Jennifer Rose Thurston created these three cute dinosaur patterns: Bronty, Trice, and Mr. Stegs: PDF pattern.

State fair overview

My Roscalie Vest
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Yes, competition in our state fair is pretty intense. My Alice Starmore Roscalie vest only placed fifth. Trendy mosaic knitting captured the top awards. At least the dressers liked it - it was prominently displayed. (I noticed they hung an unplaced aran cardigan prominently, too - the competition was particularly fierce in the cabled categories).

Katie "Sonith" placed first with her leaf lace shawl - go Katie! (Entry forms are handwritten by the people who take the entries, and then interpreted by someone else again - it is interesting to see how the names of the winners morph from year to year.)


The sea-foam scarf pattern was a free Wednesday clinic at Borealis Yarns - first Wednesday of the month from 6-8pm, if you were wondering. One of them snagged a place in the lightweight scarf category:


And, apparently sock-monkey knitting is all the rage this year, at least in machine knitting! This post would not be complete without at least one of the dresses. The boobie sock monkey dress hasn't been getting as much love, so here 'tis:

Apparently a sock monkey bikini is in the works too. These are really love 'em or hate 'em - personally, I love them. If I have to wear a dress, let it be one of these.