Ramping up for knitting down

December 1st marks my participation, along with several other Ravelers, in a knit-down-a-long (KDAL). We are playing through May 2009 (MD S&W purchases don't count!!). Each participant must knit more yards than she acquires each month to stay "in" the contest. If she breaks even, she can stay in. But, if she acquires more yards than she knits, she "out." The winner gets a free skein of yarn, paid for by the other contestants. In the event of a tie (i.e., more than one contestant standing when we get to the end of May), the person whose "yards knit" minus "yards acquired" is the greatest, wins.

So, as a result of this "contest," and even though Stitches East was just a week ago, I felt the urge to buy. more. yarn. Must. get. more. yarn. before. 12. 1. I picked up a few goodies today and I'm officially ready to hunker down and knit down. Here's what I got today. And now that I've got it out of my system (I hope), game on, ladies!

Here's my new skein of Shalimar Yarns (hand dyed superwash sock, 405 yards). I love this semi-solid colorway! It will be perfect for a baby knit!

I also purchased 4skeins of Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria in beautiful neutral and green colorways today. 116 yards in each skein. The two greens are the same "color" (203), but they don't match identically, which is fine. I can alternate rows and give the knitted piece a rustic look!

Rocky got a special treat today too. His doggie friend Luna turned 2 last week and was kind enough to share her banana cake with Rocky. Happy birthday, Luna!

Patiently waiting for a bite.

Wait...


Yum!

In other knitting news, I cast on for a pair of socks on the way home from the hockey game last night. I bought this yarn (Spirit Trail Fiberworks "Alexandra") at the Takoma Park yarn party in the spring. It feels heavenly knitted up, and I'm happy with the way the colorway is looking as well. I chose a simple pattern (Charade by Sandra Park), since there's a lot going on color wise in this yarn.

Speaking of the hockey game, it was too warm to need our Koolhaases last night, but we snapped one shot with them on anyway. Once we got through the traffic to get to the game, a good time was had by all!