500

Wow! 500 posts seems like a lot to me! When this blog first started, I was just trying to join more in the Knitting Online community. I was active in the Knittyboard forums (this was long before Ravelry) and it seemed like the next step! I never, ever would have imagined this blog would be what it is today. A place where I look forward to sharing with all of you. I have met so many good friends through this blog!

Speaking of friends, I still have a few more pictures to share from Sock Camp (the harsh reality of the real world still stings....can't we just go back to camp!)! Many pictures feature some new and old friends that I spent a lot of time with....The Whos! That was my tribe this year, and we had a great time!! Most of these pictures are from Scavenger Hunt day!


The Whos serving Marge coffee.


The very talented Sivia Harding teaching us a yoga pose.


Don't ask.


Of course we treated Cockeyed to a fabulous glass of wine!



Someone had to rock the "Paula" dress...and oh did SnBLeslie! Check out the shoes!!


Hanging with Josh out by the Totem Pole.



Why yes, that is me, teaching 20 sock campers the Slip Jig. Scary sight.


Love you EttaMae!



Look at that concentration!! We won the scavenger hunt because Tece and Leslie rocked the knit-off!

Speaking of winners.....

Congratulations to the winners from my Merrily Sock Contest! The lucky 5 winners are...

Angela from AngKnits (and I really wish I hadn't seen her current post with 5!! gorgeous skeins of Wollmeise...so pretty!!)

Knitter from Not Your Knitting Grandma

Jana

Zonda from Z Knits...and sews...

Kris from KnittingKris

Send me your emails (either irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com or on ravelry) and I'll email you the Merrily pattern right away.


The best part about the contest was reading everyone's suggestions for what they would like to hear more about on the blog! Thank you!! It looks like some designing posts are in my future (and fortunately, my next few designs aren't secrets!). I love contests, so I think we'll have a few more soon!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Happy Friday!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

A very happy day at camp!

Just one week ago I had a fabulous day at camp dyeing yarn with Tina!! Loved every, every minute of it!



Of course, it was even more fun with Tina's fabulous assistant, Cockeyed!! Oh, I miss you already Debbi!!





It is inspiring just being around Tina's creativity!

So this time we experimented with overdyeing. First, my "uncomfortable" color from camp last year.






Can you believe it turned into this??? I love it!




This gorgeous yarn is just a bit too bright for me, but a very good friend gave it to me! Thanks Marcy!! See, I was thinking of you at camp!


I hope you don't mind that I turned it into this!



We also got to play with 2 STR blanks. Here is my color gradation skein.



I love this one too!




As much as I loved dyeing my own yarn, well, Tina's colors just sing to me! Yes, just a sampling of my new stash!

Here's to a fabulous week ahead! If you haven't entered the Merrily contest yet, go here. Loving all of the suggestions so far- thank you!!!

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Crazy Camp Craftiness!

It wouldn't be sock camp without the crafty! Crafty fun number one involved taking an old or wornout sock and creating a whimsical, Seussical character. I brought my first sock. It is about two sizes too wide and too short! No holes though :)

Meet Pinky Perfect Princess Who!





My fellow "Who" tribe member Ann named her in just about 2 seconds (me, I struggled for an hour to come up with a name). I think Pinky Perfect Princess Who is destined to inspire a sock design! And lil' snowboarder's response to her...."Wooooowwwww!! Is she for me!??" She sure is. We just can't mess up her feathers :)

Crafty fun Day 2 brought buttons. Who knew making buttons would be so fun?!!



Erica captured her new-found-love of Twilight while at sock camp (okay, actually, she was so sick of us telling her how close we were to Port Angeles and Forks that she caved and watched the movies.... now she sparkles in the sunlight...).



My buttons don't sparkle, but still fun! And I think I have a new motto... "Go Girlie!"

Then of course there was the "boobie" homework, being as this was Camp Cattywampus. Remember, I cast on on the plane to camp, so I think these turned out okay.





"My Wild Irish Boobies"



Then there is the Boobie 1 colorway.



My brain has been bubbling with designs since taking my fabulous classes at camp. More about that later.



There was some knitting at Sock Camp too. Mostly on my Merrily Sock. I'm loving how it is knitting up in STR Sassafras.

I think this pattern can work nicely with Socks that Rock! So, let's have a little giveaway shall we. I'll be giving away 5 free copies of Merrily in celebration of my almost 500th post! I think I'm just a few posts away but I need some ideas for anything you'd like to know or see or hear about on the blog! Leave a suggestion and you're entered in the contest!

I'll be back with lots more sock camp photos this weekend!

Happy Friday!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Where to begin..

Sock camp. I just can't even begin to describe the fun of the past week.

Words can't explain all the laughing, fun, and just plain high of being around that many fabulous people, let alone knitters.



I'm sitting at the Sea-Tac airport now and in complete denial that tomorrow I have to return to the real world. I'll just pretend I'm here instead.



Doing this.



With my friends.



Look at all those slip jigs!

I'll be back with more to share. I just wish you could bottle up this feeling and save it!

Happy Camping!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Good morning campers!!!

A good day so far here at sock camp.

Happy Camping!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

We're Here!!

Do you hear that relaxation? Do you feel it? I'm at sock camp. And I'm in heaven.

We arrived a day early to Port Ludlow. This is the view that welcomed us.

Thursday, before camp began, we drove to Port Townsend. Just a perfectly wonderful town on the water. We started out at the Hudson Point Cafe.



And with the bacon cheddar waffle, well we really didn't want to leave.



Let's not forget the crab cakes. Yummy.



But we left the food for the yarn shops.





And then the cupcake shop.



And then, the fun really begins!!!



Happy Sock Camping!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

P.S. Small victory. Four yarn stores. Zero yarn purchases. But um... one sock camp store...well.. come back to see the purchases!

Procrastination

I need to be up in 3 hours for sock camp. I know. I shouldn't complain.

But I thought I should share the state of my camp homework. Crazy sock camp.... we need to knit this. That's right. Boobies.



Here are my boobies at the moment. Thank goodness I have a flight tomorrow and lots of knitting time. Camp starts Thursday. I can do it, right?

I won't give excuses. This is the most last minute my homework has been. But, here is just one distraction.



Lil' Guy's 3rd birthday party!



Yes. His mom is beyond crafty cool. Best cake ever I think. Well, if you LOVE Cars as Lil' Guy does.



He was a happy camper!

Now I'm off to be a happy camper!!!

Happy Camping!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits