Bad Hostess

I've been MIA for the past couple of months and I know that several people have requested invitations and have not received one yet. I've had some health issues; I don't think it's anything serious, but it's been draining me of a bit of energy lately. BUT there's a light. I have had an offer of help to run the KAL and I hope I can get caught up on invitations. Anyway, I am sorry that I've been such a lousy hostess, but I really do hope between the two of us, Opal and I will be able to give the KAL the attention it really does deserve. Thank you for your patience with me!

Hostess Notes

Hello all! Just a quick note to say Welcome to all the new members. I just sent out a bunch of invitations this morning, but it might be a couple of weeks before everyone shows up on the sidebar. I've been out of town for the past week and am trying to get caught up. I tried putting a big batch of names up on the sidebar before we left, but forgot to save it before I closed the window and lost all my work. Brilliant, huh? (But, unfortunately, very typical of me.) So I have lots of names to catch up on. Once I'm done, I'll ask if I missed anyone.

Other than that, my More Sensational Knitted Socks was waiting for me when I got back and oh, it's a wonderful book as well. Can't wait to see what people make from it!

Question of the Week and Hostess Notes

Here's a question that I asked on my personal blog earlier in the week and thought it was pretty appropriate for here.

Do you darn your socks when they develop holes or do they get tossed?

For those of you interested in darning, but don't know how, here is a wonderful tutorial. It is much easier to repair an area that looks a little thin, but hasn't quite developed a whole yet. You just do duplicate stitches. Since most holes/thin areas are on the bottom of the foot, you don't even have to have the exact yarn you used for the sock. I do darn my socks. I'm getting enough in the rotation that I don't have to do it often, but it does occasionally happen and I just can't bear to part with any of my socks just yet. And it's just part of wearing handknit socks for me.

I'll ask some questions about the More Sensational Knitted Socks book once I get my copy. Mine's on order with another book that's not released for another couple of days. Hopefully, mine will show up soon. I've heard good things!

Hostess notes: I have been better about trying to get everyone timely invitations and up on the sidebar, but there are occasional oversights. Also, I have sent some invitations out that haven't been accepted, so if you're wondering why you can't post or why you're not on the sidebar yet, this might be the case with you. Just email me and let me know; I know my email sometimes catches things like invitations and won't let them through. One more thing, I'm probably going to be scarce for the next week or two, some personal things. So if you don't get an invite immediately or I don't get your name up on the blog, please be patient with me. Thanks for your time. I can't wait to see what everyone makes from the new book!

Hostess Notes

Sorry there hasn't been a question of the week for a few weeks now. I've been swamped by a few things. I am, however, open to suggestions for questions. Just email to the addy in the sidebar with "question idea" in the subject line.

Welcome to all the new members. If you've noticed your name is not on the sidebar (remember I did lose a lot of members' names in the sidebar in the switchover), just drop me an email with "sidebar" in the subject line and in the email body, let me know the name you want on the sidebar and if you have a blog, please list that as well so I can link to you. This goes for new members as well. I'm trying to get caught up again, but don't hesitate to let me know if you're not there. (If you haven't guessed by now, I'm not exactly the world's most organized person.) If you don't have a blog, which is not necessary, I will just link back to the KAL for your name. It was just easier to set up a links list.

Anyway, the question has been asked if this KAL would include the new book More Sensational Socks due out in a couple of days and the answer is "YES!". I love the patterns in the original and I'm really looking forward to getting my copy of the new one.

Take care and have a good weekend. I hope to have a question for you next week.

Question of the Week and More Hostess Notes

I'm going to try to start doing a question of the week and everyone can just answer in the comments. My question this week:

What is your favorite sock yarn and why?

My favorite sock yarn changes periodically, but right now it's Cherry Tree Hill because it's so soft and the colors so vibrant. Just look at my post from a couple of days ago. It's lovely stuff!

And your hostess note: As you can see, I've been playing around in the New Blogger and I've messed up the Members List. If you want your name in the sidebar, please send an email to the address in the sidebar with the subject "name in sidebar". I'm sorry for the inconvenience and I hope to get the buttons back up later in the week as well!

New Blogger, Hostess Notes

Okay, our KAL has been moved to the new Blogger. I don't know if this will create problems for anyone trying to post. I think you might have to create a Google account or you might even need a new invitation. I am not sure, so if you are on the KAL and are having trouble posting, please let me know at the address on the sidebar with the subject "trouble posting". We can now use labels for our posts. For example, I've used "Hostess Notes" and "Baby Cable" for this post.

I've also gotten around to adding a few vendors on the sidebar who sell a bit of sock yarn. I'm not affiliated with any of them personally, but I've either had good service from them or know someone who has. If there are any you'd like me to add, just send an email with "sock yarn vendor" in the subject.

Meanwhile, I've been working on this:

Baby Cable Rib in Cherry Tree Hill colorway Spanish Moss.