Excited!

I received my monthly newsletter from the fabulous ThreadBear this morning and was jolted awake when I saw this: "Announcing Workshops with the Fabulous CookieA"! Fabulous indeed! I quickly skimmed the newsletter for the relevant information: 2 workshops, one on top-down sock design and the other on toe-up design, $35 fee... 16 person limit!

I hurriedly dialed the store & they still had spaces (I think my excitement greatly amused the lady on the phone)! So, this September I will be taking a 3hr design workshop with Cookie A.

Oh! And Trek received her socks!

There is is much Squeeage going on today. :)

Note: Please excuse the excessive use of the word "Fabulous" in this post. Apparently I need a thesaurus. :)

Trek's Socks

I've finished Trek's socks!


Overall I'm very pleased. They are drying now and should be on their way to her on Tuesday. :)

I've cast-on another pair of socks (surprise) for another swap I joined. It's a Discworld themed swap called "Music With Socks In" that's being held through Ravelry. The idea is that you make your partner a pair of socks (or send them the necessary items to make their own) and include a cd or 2 in the package. Since there is a possibility that my partner might read my blog (it's not a secret swap) I won't be posting any project details until I've shipped. I'm very excited about this swap. I wasn't able to go with my first idea for the socks, but I think she will love what I'm doing. And the music aspect is great, I'm having a lot of fun going through my collection for ideas!

Edit: Oh! I almost forgot to tell you a bit of exciting news! There's a yahoo group that is dedicated to translating knitting patterns into foreign languages and they've requested permission to translate my MJs pattern! I'm so geeked!

Weekend in Vermont

This past weekend I went with Honey to Vermont for a couple of Circus shows. There really isn't much to relay about the trip. The weather was lovely and I got to actually spend time with a few people that I've met at the shows. Of course, the only pictures I took ended up being far too dark and I've been unable to successfully clean them up so far.

I was able to sneak in a little yarn shopping. There was a gift shop in the tiny town we were at and at the very back there was a small yarn shop, which was stocked with some pretty nice stuff. I couldn't resist picking up this:

2 skeins of Araucania Nature Cotton in sage green. It is incredibly soft! I haven't seen the yarn locally, so that was all the incentive I needed to buy it. I've no idea what I'm going to make with it yet. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about dye-lot if I end up needing more. It's all hand-dyed, so there will be variation no matter what! :)

And the 28hr round-trip drive gave me time to knit this...

Trek's Sock

I've finished the first sock and have started the second. I'm just past the cuff now, but hopefully I finish it up this weekend.

The yarn is really lovely to work with, although it is pooling something awful. Even so, the sock is still quite pretty. I was originally going to do a fancy rib pattern, but the darkness of the yarn hid the pattern. Instead I went with a simple 2x2 rib for the cuff and stockinette for the leg & foot. I did a slip stitch heel for a little oompf.

Now I just hope they fit! :)

Coming Along

I've been a knitting fiend the last few days. I was home sick with a stomach bug on Thursday & Friday and was able to get quite a bit done on my Highland Shawl.

Not a great image, I know. The color is a bit washed out and you can't really see the lace, but that gives you an idea of how much is done. I've finished the body and started knitting the lace edging last night. I really can't wait to finish this, it's going to be so soft & warm! Yippie!

I'm going to wind up the Shibui Sock yarn for Trek's socks today and try to finish my pattern search. My initial thought was to do the Retro Rib Socks by Evelyn Clark (Interweave Knits, Fall 2004):


However, on further thought I think these might be a bit too patterned for her. She said she prefers simple stockingette or ribbed socks. Opinions?

Cast On

This weekend I finally decided to knit something, other than socks, for myself. I finally frogged the Lift & Separate Wrap that I started knitting in September 2006. I had finished the sleeves, but never got around to knitting the body of the sweater and after almost 2 years I figured it was time to reclaim the yarn, which is yummy Alpaca With A Twist Baby Alpaca in fawn.

This is it's current incarnation...

The Highland Triangle Shawl from Folk Shawls. This is the center portion of the shawl and that beautiful trim will be knit on after the body is complete. The lace pattern is fairly easy to memorize and it's moving along rather quickly since it's knit on whopping Size 8 needles! ;)

Lets just hope I don't get too distracted by this...
Shibui Knits Sock yarn in Midnight. Isn't it gorgeous? The color was a bit of a surprise because the website's image showed it as being much darker, but I love it. This is for Trek's socks, although I may have a hard time parting with it. The yarn is super soft & springy! I can't wait to get knitting with it.

Coriolis

After a slight internal struggle I decided to frog the Tantalizing sock. It really wasn't progressing as I would like and I didn't want to forge ahead only to be severely disappointed.
After ripping it out, I promptly cast-on the master Coriolis pattern from the same book. Here is the first sock.

Ok, it's a little wonky looking when not on the foot. But when worn...

Much nicer. Here is a better view of the top...
I didn't do any of the suggested variations. Instead I just knit the master pattern with a plain heel. After the heel was completed I knit for another 1 1/2" and then did 4 rnds of 1x1 ribbing. I knit one round of purl, and then 8 more rounds of knit and cast-off. This gave it a nice rolled edge, but with ribbing to keep it in place.

I'm very happy with the way this one turned out and will be casting-on the second sock tonight.

That being said, I have a huge complaint with the New Pathways book. The patterns are revolutionary and, once you muck through everything, fairly easy to knit. However the layout of this book SUCKS! You are constantly having to flip pages just to knit one pattern. For this "master" pattern I had to have 3 pages bookmarked for reference. If I had chosen a variation it would have been more. On Ravelry there have been a lot of people who have taken their copy to Kinkos to have the perfect binding chopped off and a spiral binding installed. I'm seriously considering doing this.

On top of the layout issue, because the patterns are generalized for all the variations (and presumably unwritten variations) they are not specific enough. There were several times where I had to stop and try to figure out what they heck I'm supposed to do, and I'm an experienced knitter and very well versed in sock construction. It's so bad that I think if I knit another project from this book I will have to go through and write everything out beforehand so I'm not constantly searching for the correct page, and possibly missing a step because I didn't pay close enough attention. :(

So, overall I would give the book a B. It really is innovative, but the layout went for style over ease of use and coherency. I would only recommend this book to experienced knitters. Definitely not for the beginner or novice.

Tantalizing?

Well I think I'm slowly coming out of my creative funk without the aid of the spa (I'll save that until I'm really stressed out!). However, I'm not there yet.

A few days ago I cast-on my first project from the new Cat Bordhi book New Pathways For Sock Knitters. I have to say when my sil first showed me this book I was blown away. The patterns are so creative and the construction is quite different. I was so excited when I received the book for x-mas! Imagine my dismay when I discovered that I couldn't just jump into a pattern but had to read the book first, and then actually do math (shudder) to determine the number of stitches required for every pattern! I, who fearlessly knit sweaters without checking gauge, am now required to knit a swatch for every pattern just to determine the number of stitches required! Tsk! :)

Anyways, I dutifully did my swatch and got my numbers and then started knitting Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks.



I have to say that I'm not feeling the love for these. I really like the pattern, but I'm not liking the way this attempt is progressing. I think a froggin is in order.

Now It Can Be Shown

I hope everyone had a safe & happy holiday! With x-mas over I can now finally show you what I've been working on for the last 3 months!

This is the Ultimate Gift sweater by Michele Rose Orne knit in Silky Wool on size 4 (yes, US4!) needles.

This was definitely the most ambitious project I've ever knit and I'm so thrilled that a. I finished it in time, b. it looks nice, and c. it fits! And most importantly, honey loves it!

The pattern was pretty easy to follow, but the staggered cables were a pain to keep track of. Because of that I would rate it a difficult. Really, the most difficult part was sewing it up. I've never made a sweater with set-in raglan sleeves before, but I really like the way it looks!

The other project you've already seen, but here are the completed socks upon the feet of their recipient!
Because a few of you have expressed interest in the pattern I will be writing it up. However, you're going to have to wait a little bit for it. I think I've figured out how to make the pattern work top-down, and want to give that a go before posting it. Also, I think I might have a few people give this one a "test knit" before posting the pattern for general consumption.

Autumn's Bittersweet Heart

That's the tentative name I've got for these socks. I've finished the first & am really happy with it so far. I'm casting on the second tonight and will hopefully get a fair bit done this weekend. I'm really glad I went with the folded picot edge for this, I think it really finishes the sock off well.

I wasn't going to post about them until after Christmas, but I just couldn't wait.

So, Autumn... No Peeking!

Breezey Socks

2nd pair of sockapalooza 4 socks finished! :)

Pattern: Breeze by Jennifer L. Appleby
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in Rose.
Needles: #1 dpns

Notes: I dropped the needle size down from the recommended #2s to #1s & am very glad I did. It would have been far to open otherwise. No other modifications were made.

Thoughts: Fun pattern, although I'm not very fond of the lace work in this.. it's just uninteresting. LOVE the cabled heel and will have to start incorporating that idea into other patterns!

I liked the yarn & will probably use it again. Its a little splity, but no more so than I expected based on the fiber content. I think it works very well with the pattern.

Overall I'm very happy with the results. I hope my sp likes them as well. Now I just need to pick up a few goodies for her package & get it ready for mailing. I'm going to try and get it out next week, before the Aug. 2nd ship date, since she lives overseas.

FOs, WIPS & Yarn Porn - Oh My!

Things are finally settling down a bit. We were away for the 3rd weekend in a row and I'm really worn out. However, I've done a fair bit o'knittin.
Behold!
The first Breeze sock for my sockapalooza 4 pal. I'm nearly finished with the second sock and hope to have it completed within the next few days. I really like the way these are knitting up. :)

This is the Not-Quite-Straight Scarf. It's knit on the bias and I started it while in Cold Spring. I completed it yesterday and will post the final pic once it's been blocked.

This is the yarn used for the above scarf. It was obtained by a swap on ravelry. It's a handspun/handpainted yarn that was originally purchased on ebay. Lovely pastel colors, that are surprisingly vibrant.

Finished socks made with Calmer. The pattern was self-designed using a Shetland Feather lace panel on the sides. The socks are very stretchy, which is a necessity in any socks knit for my mom. However, I'm not entirely thrilled with the design. Oh well, mom loves them.. and I highly recommend using Calmer for socks.. sooo comfy!

From this lovely little yarn shop in Chicago, the following were purchased...

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
in Bittersweet

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
in Mineshaft

Frog notions holder by Clover
(too cute to be resisted)

The yarns will be used for socks for Autumn & Kris, since they picked out the colors. Can't decide if I will be hanging on to the frog or if I will be gifting it in one of my sp exchanges.

Casting On

When I finished the Embossed Leaves socks I realized that I had nothing else on the needles! GASP! I thus immediately cast-on the Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke that I am making for my niece. I initially did a bunch of math to convert the pattern to a 25" chest and cast-on. I knit about 5 rows & realized that a) I'm not getting correct gauge & b) the needles are really too large for the yarn.

I therefore ripped it out and started again. This time I am using the directions as written for the smallest size, but went down 2 needles sizes. Hallelujah! I Have GAUGE! And, no more math required, since little miss has a 25" chest, but her arms & torso are 18" long already! (Yes, she is going to be really tall!)

I'm a little over 1/2 done with the back and I'm really looking forward to getting to the cables (stockinette can be so boring)!

Not to be satisfied, and frankly feeling a bit inadequate after seeing mammoth stash photos over on ravelry (seriously, get on the list if you aren't already! Love, love, love this site!), I stopped by the LYS on the way home from work & picked up the following.

I am planning on making (surprise) socks out of both of these. I'm thinking of trying Breeze for my Sockapalooza pal with the Hempathy. I'm looking for a pattern that will be good for the Calmer. These will go to my mom & will be cast-on first, since her birthday is in a few weeks. This yarn is soft, very stretchy & (most importantly) will probably hold up to my dad's laundry practices.

Embossed Leaves

Finished another pair of socks!
Pattern: Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt from Interweave Knits Winter 2005 (also in the book Favorite Socks).
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Fingering weight 100% Merino, dyed by me with Kool Aid
Needles: size 2 dpn

Notes: I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out. I made a few modifications to the pattern. I changed the heel from stockinette to slip-stitch and I did fewer decreases on the toe. The pattern called for decreasing down to 4 sts, I decreased to 16 sts and I'm glad I did.. the toe on these would have been very pointy if I hadn't. I really do like this style of toe decrease though, it compliments this pattern very well!

I don't know if I will make these again. The pattern is lovely, easy to follow and goes quickly. However, I find that I like the appearance of the sock better when it's not stretched out (i.e., not being worn). These will be going to my mum for her birthday. Now if I can just keep my dad from throwing them in the dryer...

I would like to thank everyone who participated in my poll. I appears that the overwhelming majority prefers my WordPress blog, so I will be switching over. However, we are going to be running it off our own domain so it will take a few days to get it set up. I will be keeping the blog running here in the meantime. :)

Sockapalooza Socks Done!

I've just finished the Swirling Lace Anklets! Whee!

Project Notes:

Pattern - Swirling Lace Anklets by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer
Yarn - Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Sage
Needles - Size 1 dpns

Love the pattern! Very well written, chart easy to follow. The pattern stitch is very easy and very quickly memorized.
I think the yarn compliments the pattern perfectly. And I just love knitting with Lorna's Laces! The project ended up using just over 1 skein (I needed the 2nd skein for the toe shaping). I still have plenty left over to do another pair of socks in a smaller size.

I am so very pleased with the way these turned out! I just hope my sp likes them! Since I finished so early, I'm thinking of knitting her a second pair of socks. Maybe Breeze from the new issue of Knitty? I really like cabled heel, but I'm concerned the holes might be too big for my sp's liking... Any thoughts?

Busy As A Bee

That's what I've been the past few days. Honey was actually home this weekend, so that meant we needed to catch up on projects around the house & what-not.

The big project was that we finally got round to striping and staining the deck! It was 3 days of work, but it's finally done and looks pretty good considering we are rank amateurs! :)

Here are some project pics

Before

During

After

The last photo shows the stain as darker than it actually is. I believe that's because the sun isn't quite as bright today.

I did get some knitting done as well. I've just finished the gusset and am a 1/4 of the way through the foot of the second Sockapalooza sock. I'm still on the first skein of yarn too, which means I may have enough left over to make a 2nd pair!
I also finally decided to rip out the Folk Jacket that I had started knitting for my mom back in February of last year. I had finished the back and 1 front piece, then I lost the pattern. I ended up purchasing a second copy of the pattern a few months ago, but realized that my mom has gained weight since I started the sweater and it will no longer fit her. And I don't have enough yarn for a larger size.

However, the beautiful yarn will not go to waste. I will be taking the main color yarn...
And knitting this for my niece.

Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke from
Summer 2007 Interweave Knits

Considering that she is only 9 and, surprisingly, smaller than the model, I am going to have to do a fair bit of math to convert the pattern to her size. It looks like the pattern is sized in increments of 5", so it should be fairly easy to size it down. She is tall for age and very slender, so I think this will suit her perfectly!

Lastly, my dearest friends had their baby yesterday! I'm so insanely happy for them!
Welcome to the world, Declan!

Swirling Lace

I've finished the first Swirling Lace Anklet for my downstream sockapalooza pal! Whee!
I didn't make any modifications to the pattern and I think it turned out beautifully!

The pattern is very easy and quickly memorized, so it knit up rather quickly. I highly recommend it.

I think the yarn color compliments the pattern well. I hope my sp likes it.
Now to cast-on it's mate.

Knitting Along

I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post! I have no excuse, I just wasn't in the mood for blogging. However, I'm feeling much better now and have much to show. (Like the purty flower on the left, what is blooming in my yard.)

I finished the first of the Embossed Leaves socks. I ended up ripping back to the correct number of repeats and then doing a slip-stitch heel. I also didn't do the toe decrease as many times as the pattern indicated, it would have made for an especially long toe. I'm really pleased with the result. I'm about half-way through the second sock.

To change things up, I decided to start working with the gorgeous Manos my honey bought me a while ago. I was originally going to make My So Called Scarf with it, but decided to go with the Snowy Triangle Scarf pattern by Iris Schreier, which appears in Handknit Holidays (love this book!).
I really enjoyed knitting this pattern. It was very easy (I had it memorized after 1 repeat) and I think it works very well with this particular yarn. It knit up super quick too, I was able to start & finish it within 2 days!
While working on the scarf, the yarn arrived for my sockapalooza pal! I had originally ordered in from an online shop, but then I received an email from them that it was back-ordered. Grrr.. Luckily, I found an Ebay seller who had it in stock AND the total cost was less than the other online shop! Whee! I was very happy with the transaction. She got it too me very quickly & sent candy!
Scarf finished & yarn in hand, I got started on the swirling lace anklets yesterday. The lace pattern is very, very easy and easily memorized. I'm half way through the 2nd lace repeat for the cuff and should start on the heel tonight.
Unfortunately my camera is not very good with the fine detail and isn't showing the sock to its best. It's much prettier in person!

I think I'm going to knit a second pair of socks for my pal. I will just have to see how long it takes me to finish these.

OH! I almost forgot to mention that I was gifted a Brother Embroidery machine by the fabulous Jill last weekend. She totally hooked me up and I am totally intimidated by this machine, but I will conquer it! I just need to get myself a stash of embroidery thread!