Actual finished object

I actually finished something! A pair of socks. These are using my Plain Old Stockinette Sock Pattern and Trekking 147. These took way too long to do due to lack of knitting time, but I finally finished them. They are nice and comfy and I love the color! I also have another pair of socks that has been finished for quite a while except that I have a little more embroidery to do. Just a little and that has been taking months just because it's so boring! Hopefully, I'll finish that soon because the socks are really, really cool!


I've already begun the next pair, more Trekking, this time in blues with a little bit of purple. The colors are actually a fair representation on my screen.

Socks and swatches

I don't know if I've posted these socks that I started a while back.

They're Bex from Cookie A's book. Well, I discovered that they aren't exactly good social knitting a couple of weeks ago when I found that I'd somehow dropped a stitch and couldn't find it. I ended up frogging about half an inch, which for complicated cable socks is quite a bit. So, I started a nice simple stockinette pair using some Trekking that has been sitting around for a couple of years.

I love Trekking. Out of all the socks I've made, it's definitely the one I've used the most. The colorways are just plain amazing. I love the way the colors shift just a little bit. They make a pair of plain old stockinette socks something really beautiful and unique. And they've always had some really nice purples, always a bonus. (This one actually isn't a purple, though it seems to have a purplish cast in the photo. It's actually "wine twist" and is pretty accurate on the link.

Lastly, I'm on to obsessing about swatch #2.

See how some stitches lean. Ugh. Need to figure that one out. I think it has to do with the fact that whenever I start thinking about my tension, it quickly goes downhill. I'll try relaxing a bit and see if it helps. I'll show swatch #1 as soon as I get it blocked out.

Obsessive Compulsiveness

Less than 24 hours after having received my TKGA packet that perhaps someone with obsessive compulsive issues in their knitting shouldn't sign up for something like Masters Knitting. It may make me even more obsessive about my knitting, something I didn't think was possible.

Perhaps, you've forgotten just how obsessive I can be, so take a look at the socks I just finished.

Okay, the picture's a little blurry, but see how perfectly they match, even the heels and toes? See that little ball of thread on the left? That's how much yarn I had to wind off to make them match that perfectly.

And yet, until now, there are things I've let slide in my knitting. I've never been very happy with my cast-ons, but I've ignored that. At last week's guild meeting though, someone mentioned something about a purl cast-on. You know, so that you'd be ready to do a knit row? Or for ribbing? Well, I was planning on looking it up, but last night my internet access was down, but I was determined to figure it out. I played around for quite a while, playing with it. I tried drawing it on paper to see if I could figure it out backwards. I tried manipulating my thumb every which way. I got frustrated and threw it down for a little while. When I sat back down, the light bulb went off. What if I put the needle up through the yarn over the index finger instead of the thumb, then yarn over?

Score! So, I worked on that cast-on for a while, switching between that and the normal long-tail cast-on to create a ribbed cast-on.

And that brings me to another thing. My ribbing has always been a bit uneven. Doesn't really show up on socks since they're stretched out so much and it's a smaller thread. But it's glaring on a worsted-weight.

See how the left stitch of the two knit stitches is a bit bigger? Ugh, I figure it has something to do with continental knitting, but I have to figure out a way to make them more even. Maybe I'll practice throwing for a bit for ribbing. It would also probably benefit my Fair Isle as I use the right hand for one of the strands. And if I make it to Level II, there is a bit of Fair Isle required.

This program will either make me a better, more careful knitter, or a more obsessive one.

Personal Sock Club

Note to self: don't have eyes dilated on bright sunny day. Two pairs of sunglasses stacked on top of one another only help slightly.

I've seen the "personal sock clubs" floating around on blogs for a few months now. Honestly, I don't know where they started, but they are a brilliant idea. The basic premise is you pick yarn from your stash, a pattern, throw it into a paper bag. You do several of these and pick them out at random at your own interval. I mean, chances are since you already own the yarn, you'll be happy with it, but there's still an element of surprise. (Really, who remembers every single skein of yarn they own?) So anyway, I started out by dumping some of my yarn and digging out my sock books.

By the way, this is nowhere near my whole stash. This isn't all of what I made into little bags. I went through my sock books, found patterns I liked, wrote down which book and page number on index cards, found yarn I liked to go with the patterns and threw them all into little paper lunch bags. I ended up with probably about a dozen to begin with and I chose one last night and somehow ended up with probably my favorite pattern, Longbourn Socks (if you're on Ravelry) by the super talented Kristi Schueler.

I didn't even stack the deck, uh, bags; I honestly chose this one at random and I'm extremely happy with it. I'll start it just as soon as I can see properly again.

It did make me realize exactly how much pink and purple I have in the way of sock yarn. I never knew there were so many shades and variations of those two colors ;-)

Socks and stuff!

My posting has become so erratic that I've considered abandoning the blog altogether. I just can't bring myself to do it though. I've made such good friends through it that I just can't do it yet. So, meanwhile, I'll keep posting erratically and maybe try and post more often again.

I finished my Trekking/Cat Bordhi socks:


Pattern: Master Upstream from New Pathways
Needle size: 0s
Yarn: Trekking 05

I also started some new socks in the Ocean Toes pattern (same book) in STR, Romancing the Stone is the colorway, I think:


I also may have ordered a really big item that I've been wanting for quite a while. Anyone want to guess what it might be? Oh, all right, I won't make you wait the eight weeks to see what it is. It's a weaving loom. I've finally ordered it.

Socks!

I've emerged from hexagon hell (yes, hexagons are a pain in the bum when you have done a dozen of them, but I only have four! left now) to finish a pair of socks.

Specs:
Pattern: regular old stockinette
Needles: 0s
Yarn: Trekking (I'm afraid I don't remember the colorway right off, but it's black with some subtle colors throughout)

And I've begun a new pair, also in Trekking, color 05 this time:

I'm using Cat Bordhi's Master Upstream Pattern and I just love this colorway.

I may have joined a sock club from Neighborhood Fiber Co. I loved the fiber I bought from Karida so much that I had to join. I'm looking forward to my first shipment in October.

Hex Coat pictures hopefully will be up on Monday, just in time for my monthly guild meeting. Only four more hexagons to go, just in time for fall.

Socks and Socks

I've made a bit of progress on Frost Flowers and Leaves, but I haven't moved it to a bigger cord yet, so it's pretty bunched up. (Besides it's rainy, so I doubt if I could get a really good picture anyway.) But here is the first munchkin sock to the heel:


I've also started another simple sock for me in my first skein of Socks that Rock.

It's just a feather and fan pattern in medium weight and I'm pretty sure it's "Romancing the Stone" colorway. Just a little something pretty mindless in relation to the rest of the projects.

Socktoberfest!

Before the socks, I went on a county farm tour Saturday. One of the farms was an alpaca farm.

Don't you just love alpacas? They are so very cute and so soft!

Anyway, the socks. Socktoberfest is upon us and it's going to be a laid-back affair this year. I've already begun my socks:

This is some of the Lang Jawoll I've gotten recently. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Knitting Book, the Zigzag Socks. Only I'm doing them toe-up to get them as long as possible. Those are my new Knitpicks Harmony Needles. I really like these needles. They are size 0s, but I do not feel like I'm about to break them (and I'm a pretty tight knitter for my socks). They are very sturdy and very pretty. I haven't been visually distracted by the different colors.

Avert Your Eyes

If you have to have your socks match:

I did try to match the socks. I wound off the entire ball of Trekking after finishing the first sock, but the repeat was just too long. You can see the pattern repeat if you look at the cuff of the bottom sock, then look near the toe at the last pink stripe before the toe. (If you're really obsessive like me, you can click on the picture for a bigger view.) Anyway, so I wound off the rest of the ball and realized there wasn't enough to make the whole second sock match exactly (I could have made them match to about the toe, but I thought that would drive me even more crazy; I also could have ripped the first one out to the toe and done the toe in a solid color, but I thought that would make me seem overly obsessive or something.), so I just used the opposite end of the ball to make them completely unmatch.

The specs:
Yarn: Trekking color 80 (I love this color, even with the long non-matching repeat)
Needles: My usual size 0 dpns
Pattern: My very own Plain Old Stockinette Socks

I just got some more dpns, some of Knitpicks size 0s in both the nickel-plated and their new Harmony line. The Harmony ones are very pretty and seem very much like bamboo needles from the first impressions. I have not used them for socks yet, but I will let you know how I like them. They come in packs of 6 instead of the usual 5, just in case. I might need to get some of the tips for my Options kit eventually, but I'm happy with the nickel ones for now. I also got some of their cotton linen in various colors for a couple of new small projects which I'll reveal in a couple of days, maybe.

Then again, I might be MIA for a week or two. Halo 3 is out today, after all. Anyone else been looking forward to the conclusion? My DH talked me into playing Halo 1 co-op with him a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since.

New Sock and a Little New Yarn

I went to a little event in PA this weekend called Knitter's Day Out. It's a smallish event where you can take classes and go to the market. It was my first year there and I went with a friend (who, by the way, has FINALLY posted a couple of her lovely shawls and socks, after much harassment from me:-). I didn't take any classes and she did, but it was nice weather to sit outside and just knit. The problem was I had brought only two projects with me. I'm completely and totally sick of 600 stitches per round on the cap shawl and as much as I'm going to love the completed Hex Coat, 100 more rows of knit 1, purl 1 for the back to the armhole decreases just did not appeal to me at that moment. I needed something that could be completed pretty quickly, a quick fix, something to show I've actually made progress on something. Okay, I got sock yarn Friday night. But I didn't have any sock needles with me. I finally found a set of size 0s (my usual size) in bamboo. Me using bamboo that small. Hmm. I was desperate, so I bought them. You know what. I haven't broken them yet.

Trekking in what I'm assuming is a fairly new colorway since I haven't come across it before. I also got this Trekking which is much prettier in person with pinks, browns, burgundies and just a little grey.


I also got a couple of others:


(See, Chris, I still really like purple. That black and purple tweed, which comes with black reinforcement thread, is Lang Yarns, Jawoll Superwash, in case you're wondering.)

I may have picked up some patterns for this pretty shawl (click on the picture for more detail) and some felted animals. (Scroll down for the sheep and llamas/alpacas. Too cute!) I also found a darning egg which I forgot to take a picture of and I'm too lazy to do it now.

Anyway, I had fun, met a couple of Ravelryers, ran into several guild members and got a good chunk of a sock done.

Stole and sock progress

First of all, I finished Book 7 and I refuse to give away anything because that's why I read it so very fast, so I wouldn't find out what happened from anyone else. So I will request that no one give away anything in the comments either, but if you want to discuss feel free to email me at either the addy in the sidebar or my verizon email if you have it. I will say only that several of my guesses about what was going to happen were right, but I've never made the guesses on the blog.

As for pictures, progress of the stole:

I can't seem to get a decent picture of the stole. It's just two diamond patterns away from the edging and I hope to get to that this week. Meanwhile, sock progress has slowed. I only have the cuff and beginnings of a heel for one sock since the last pair:

The yarn is Sockotta. Maybe now that I'm back and I've finished Harry Potter, I'll get back to my regular knitting. Oh, yeah, there is Oblivion which I've finally got my hands on...

As I Said...

Socks make boring blogging, except when you actually have a finished pair to show off:

And the close-up of the pattern:


Pattern: Stansfield 14 from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Sonatina
Needles: 0s

So, this is my second pair for Summer of Socks. I'm just a wee bit behind on my pair a week goal, but that's okay. I'm using up some sock yarn, so I won't feel quite so guilty next time I purchase more. I do plan to make a few more pair before succumbing to the desire to buy more. If I was really good, I'd even wait until I go on another yarn crawl in September up to Knitter's Day Out, but that is September. And I will be a Groupie with my next Loopy Ewe order. Too tempting.

Finished Summer of Socks and a New Pair

One pair down:

Specs:
Pattern: My own plain old stockinette sock pattern
Needles: size 0s
Yarn: Austermann Step

I really enjoyed working with this yarn. I love the wild, girly colors!

And more girly colors:

I'm using a pattern called Stansfield 14 from More Sensational Socks. I think it gives this yarn just enough texture to be interesting. I really like how it's turning out.

I guess my goal for Summer of Socks is one pair a week for the duration of the summer. I think I can manage that. (I most certainly have enough yarn in the stash:-)

More Sock

The socks are coming along. I've finished one and I'm about halfway down the cuff of the other one:


Not much else to report. I've just been knitting on the socks the past week. I really do love the wild striping.

Jaywalker

Well, there has been a little knitting progress. Not much, mind you, but a little. I really do like the pattern for the yarn.

Now for the bad news. You know how everyone who has told me that they've had fit problems with the Jaywalkers have had them be baggy in the ankles. Well, I'm having the opposite problem. Maybe it's because they're toe up or something, but they are too tight in the foot/ankle area. I'm also using 0's instead of the called for 1's, but the fit on the foot is an absolutely perfect fit. I think I'm going to rip back to where the gusset starts and make the gusset a little longer by having two knit rounds between the gusset decreases instead of the usual one. I'll see what that gets me.

By the way, when I said yesterday that I had a serious case of knitting ennui, I probably should have mentioned that I'm just having a serious case of craft ennui. I haven't been working on much of anything. Well, not anything with pictures. I'm reading a really good book by Rebecca Brandewyne (never read anything by her before, but it is good) and a bit less noble, I've been sucked into a computer game called Pharaoh. It's not exactly a new game, but it's one of the highly addictive, micro-management games by the same company that did Caesar. They are basically the same game (except one is set in Egypt and one in Rome). You build a city, making sure the residents have water, food, entertainment, etc. Yeah, sounds really boring to some people, I know. But for the record, I also like Sims.

There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel for my knitting ennui. It involves pink Regia silk though and Sheri is supposed to be getting some in soon. I swatched my cream-colored stuff last night and the gauge seems right, so I may have an exciting project soon!

Houston, We Have Pictures

Well, our old camera (I say old, but it was only 2 or 3 years old) stopped recognizing batteries. It sort of doesn't work if it doesn't recognize the fact that there are good batteries in there. Anyway, we decided to see what has happened to technology in the past couple of years and get a new one. It's smaller and will take some getting used to getting the settings just right, but in the mean time, I actually have pictures to show. Yeah!

First up is my Jaywalker:

It's not bad, but it really is hard to capture the vibrance of the yarn, even with a really good camera. Maybe I'll get the settings just right sometime. As for the sock itself, not much progress.

I've been distracted by this:

It's a cross-stitch I started a while back, but put down. I have the woman's shawl just about done. Yes, it looks huge, but most of the garden in the background are actually only half cross-stitches. But it's still big. Don't worry though; I'll get back to knitting a lot soon. Just taking a short mojo break while I make the transition from winter knitting to spring. Hex Coat is pretty much on hold now until it gets cool again, but I have something in mind for my first spring project. Just have to wait for the yarn I need to come in so I can order it. Then I'll share.

I'm Stuck

This is my new sock:

It's a toe-up and the toe is as far as I've gotten. I can't decide on a pattern for the sock. I love the yarn - it's Interlacements for any one curious, very rich, lovely colors. But for some reason, I can't come up with a pattern. It's frustrating me considerably.

Forest Path is coming along very slowly. I'm now about to begin on tier 6. It looks pretty much the same as the last picture, so really no point in pictures.

My presentation went well; thanks for all the "good lucks". I basically got my stuff together, had a general idea of how I wanted to go about it and totally winged it. I showed how to make and use button molds and how to make canes. In May, I'll be helping with a spinning demonstration for the guild.

I baked bread yesterday - kneaded the dough myself and out from the oven came just about the best bread I've had in a very long time. Nice silky texture on the inside, crisp, but not tough crust. And all whole wheat.

New Socks and More

My new socks:

Pattern: Oriel from Sensational Knitted Socks; it was my first toe up sock and I might just be hooked. I only had a few yards leftover. I've been asked about the toe-up heel flap and here's a closeup.

It's from SKS and really is a neat thing. You work it back and forth along the heel and pick up the stitches along the bottom of the heel instead of the back and then you work around, decreasing as you go up and working the slip 1, knit 1 between stitch markers for the back of the heel. The heel flap really does cup the foot on the to up heel very nicely. I highly recommend trying it.
Yarn: Apple Laine in Blueberry. I really need some more of this stuff. Gorgeous and feels so nice. It has wool, mohair and a little bit of silk and nylon.
Needles: Size 0s, my usual. I love the fabric with 0s.

Now for the more:

Tonight is my polymer clay demonstration at my knitting guild meeting. I'm going to demonstrate how to make polymer clay buttons. Here are some of the buttons I've made with molds. The two upper ones on the right were painted after baking with artist's acrylic paints and then varnished with a polymer clay gloss and the rest (except for the pink one which was not touched at all) were decorated using a brush and Pearl-Ex powders before baking, then varnished after baking. The tutorials on buttons are on the sidebar. Wish me luck.

Socks and Stupid Groundhog

My first toe-up sock is just about done. I'm to where the ribbing starts, but I've started the second sock so I can get it to the same spot and make sure the ribbing has the same number of rounds. (Just in case the two skeins had just a little difference in yardage.)

I might just be a convert to toe-up socks. These fit very well, snug just the way I like them, and I think I'm happy with the toe-up heel flap.

I'm not happy with the groundhog or the weathermen right now. It actually looks like the weathermen might have been smoking something been just a wee big off in their prediction of 1/4" of ice for Sunday as of Saturday night. I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, does this look like 1/4 of an inch of anything to you?

Nope, more like 6 inches.

I thought the silly little groundhog said "Early Spring". Hmph. Hard to believe in December, when the weather was an unseasonably warm 70 degrees, I was wondering where my snow was. I'm so over the white stuff now. I'm ready for spring and daffodils and birdies making a nest in our nesting box. Yet, still chilly enough for all my pretty socks.

WIP Wednesday

My progress on the Forest Path Stole:

I'm to the second rectangle on Tier 5. Coming right along.

Progress on the toe-up sock:

You may not really be able to see but that's the Oriel pattern from SKS. I think the yarn is competing with the pattern, but I sort of like it. I'm about to start the toe-up heel flap from SKS. This is the Apple Laine yarn and good news is that I don't seem to be having any allergy issues with this yarn. And that's really good because it's a heavenly yarn with wool, mohair, a little bit of silk and nylon. Really nice to work with and I think I might have to be on the lookout for when Sheri gets some more in.

What else have I been doing? Inspired by Jen, I decided to make some bread. Okay, I didn't grind my own flour (Jen's mill looks pretty cool though) and do it all by hand; I used storebought flour and dug out my bread machine, but this is what came out.

It's made with stone-ground wheat flour from Bob's Red Mill with honey for sweetener and a few slivered almonds thrown in. So much better than storebought wheat bread and I know exactly what's in it - no high fructose syrup, no white, stripped flour. I think I might try making more whole grain breads. This one turned out so good, delicious.