Way out in the Middle of Nowhere

I was contacted a few months ago about providing some samples for a sample sale.  Kinda hard to explain but I will try.  Sellers of fiber, yarn and anything knitty-handy can provide samples to Phatfiber  and all the samples will be boxed with each other and sent to people who buy them.   I ripped off her store sign , thanks Jessie!  This month, I have sent the sample KIPs with a valentine motif on them.  My sample box from January looks like this:   I've been using the samples of sock yarn, which come from bunkybobos and Actual Size Creations and oh lots more but I tore off the labels (WAHHH).  I'm knitting a mitered square blanket (shawl? , table topper?, oh I don't know yet) from the samples.  Pictures after a bit of work. 

Susan has mad skills.  She dyes these sock blanks  in beautiful colors.  I've had this sock blank for 4 months.  I casted on a pair of socks on my birthday (November 9) on size 0 needles.  This what they look like this morning.  Since my last post, I think I've knitted an inch on them.  They were taken off their circular needle so that I could use the circ on a shawl. Actually, I find it easier without the circular needle to knit them.  I just need a few more size 0 needles.   If you look at what is in my hands in this picture, you will see I am knitting on these socks.   That sleeping dude on my lap? That is my son.  He was all tuckered out from bailing the 4" of water that flooded our basement.  The pressure tank sprung a leak and we spent hours bailing water out in 5 gallon bucket increments.  It's an old basement, with no drain.  

I found out that a friend of mine is going to be a parent, so I thought I'd knit the baby something celtic as a gift.  My friend is as much Irish as I am Norwegian.  And since my Great-Grandmother emigrated from Gundbraldsen Norway in the 1960's...yeah, I'm Norweigian. I found a free pattern called "A Cardigan for Merry" which can be found here .  Which suprise, suprise is a modification of Cardigen for Arwen from Kate Gilbert.  My cabling practice is very old, so I pulled out some red yarn and cast on what it said for the baby sweater.  After knitting a few rows, I stretched it out to check my gauge.   Well, it's big enough to fit me.  That's where gauge comes in.   I'm working on worsted weight on size 10 needles.  The baby pattern says fingering weight on size 2 needles.  THATS where I went horribly wrong.  So here's what I knitted yesterday watching Hellboy for the 80th time.  I'm keeping it and making the cardigan for me.   It's just ...