So here's the latest.
This is a picture of a sock I was working on when I visited the Getty Museum in LA this summer. It is in Panda Cotton, a simple rib knit sock. They are finished now and very comfy to wear. I resisted knitting socks for eons. Then I started and became terribly addicted. I thought "Why would I knit something to be hidden in shoes?" Answer: Buy Mary Janes to show off socks. 
This is a scarf I made for a very good friend's birthday in August. It is silk with the bead prestrung on the yarn. I did a simple feather and fan. I really loved working with the fiber and enjoyed the pattern. 
This is yarn that I bought at Knot Another Hat in Hood River, Oregon, while we were visiting there with a friend from Florida. The shop is absolutely worth a visit if you are ever there and it has the best views I've ever seen in a yarn shop. It was a lovely day. I haven't done anything with the yarn yet but stashed it. It will be socks eventually.
These are some things I picked up at a yarn store in Salem, Oregon at a shop whose name now eludes me. It was a lovely little shop. I spent the day hiking with friends at Silver Falls State Park and then bought yarn. Not much can be betterI had wanted a color wheel for a while. I still can't figure out how to use it. The pink silk I knitted into a feather and fan. .
By far the best yarn store/yarn experience I had all year was visiting Quarter Stitch in New Orleans. I hadn't been to NO since college and obviously, it has changed significantly. The French Quarter is largely unscathed and this lovely yarn store was between my hotel and the Cafe du Monde where we walked for breakfast every day. Though we only had one free day, I managed to spend a fair amount of it in this shop. Another knitter was travelling with me and she loved this shop as much as I did. I didn't even photograph my purchases (they wrap everything up like presents) but suffice it to say that the yarns, the shopkeepers and the setting were superlative in every way. The following pictures give you just a little taste. 
These are the aforementioned panda cotton socks completed and on my happy feet. 
This is a "mancho" that I made for my husband. We laughed about it when we saw the pattern but then he said, "It DOES look pretty cozy" and, as he is always cold in winter, the mancho was born. He never wears it out of the house and does enjoy it. This is actually crocheted. Bulky wool and a lot of it. My knitting resolutions are to knit a mile of yarn between January 5th and February 5th (this is part of a web challenge), to decrease my stash and to finish Timothy's cardigan that I cast on a year and a half ago. It is completely done except for the joining and finishing. I also want to complete at least one lace project.
Maybe I'll blog too. Maybe not. If I do, I promise I'll work on layout and links.
