Saturday Knit Live

actually posting on a Saturday!

2009-09-12T09:31:00.000-04:00

I finished my Carefree Blog mystery socks last night:

I'm so happy with how they turned out and can't wait to wear them! Adrienne designed a wonderful sock and a fun KAL. The yarn is Tropical Peach Panda Cotton.

I also received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday. I won a prize from Barbara Bretton on the Romancing the Yarn blog. Of course Shelby had to inspect it as I photographed it:

I won a skein of KnitPicks Gloss Lace yarn in the colorway Kiss (hot pink!). It's 70% merino wool/30% silk. I have really been wanting to try a lace project so now is my chance!! She also included a nice tote bag. Thanks Barbara!!

Here is my progress so far on clue 2 of the Nancy Bush mystery sock:

The lace panel on the front:

and the ribbing on the back:

Just below the ribbing, I have started stockinette because the rest of the back of the leg is in stockinette. I have never knit a pattern in this style so it is very interesting! I'm also loving the Panda Silk yarn!! My goal is to finish clue 2 of both socks before clue 3 comes out on Tuesday.

Too busy knitting to blog!

2009-09-07T18:05:00.000-04:00

Both of my mystery sock KALs are going well!

Clue 2 of the SKA yellow sock KAL comes out tomorrow. Here is clue 1:

I have clue 1 knit for both socks. The cool feature of this cuff is a vikkel braid (you can see it at the top along the needle loop) which was very interesting to knit. A little tricky, but not too bad once you got the hang of it. The designer for this mystery sock is Nancy Bush!

I finished one sock of the Carefree blog mystery sock KAL as the final clue was sent to us yesterday:

Here's a close-up of the pattern on top of the foot:

Isn't it pretty??? The designer for this mystery sock was Adrienne Fong.

I still need to finish clue 4 and 5 of the second sock, but the Yankees are playing again tonight so I should make progress on it!

Mystery sock

2009-08-30T12:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo of my latest mystery sock through clue 3:

Such a pretty pattern and fun to knit! Really holds my interest so I don't get bored knitting it.

Yarn is Tropical Peach Panda Cotton.

My other mystery sock KAL starts on Tuesday (I'll be using the yellow Panda Silk).

a quick update with more photos

2009-08-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

I finished another hat for KDO. The pattern is called Gingerbread hat:

I started the Mystery sock from the Carefree KAL blog. Here is my progress after completing clue 1:

That's Panda Cotton in Tropical Peach! I also learned a new cast on which I will probably using for all socks in the future. It's the German Twisted Cast on and makes for a really neat edge.

I just printed clue 2 and will start working on that tonight!

While waiting for clue 2, I worked on my fair isle vest this weekend. I have now knit the 46 pattern rounds and will be starting again at round 1 until the piece measures 12 inches:

And here is the Panda Silk in Buttercup Tones that I'll be using for the SKA mystery sock which starts September 1st:

Blog catch-up

2009-08-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Oh, I have neglected my blog for too long!! So sorry!

I did finish the July SKA mystery socks:

Haven't had a chance to wear them yet, but I think they will fit me. They were fun and I look forward to doing more colorwork socks.

I have made progress on the fair isle vest since the last photo I posted. I introduced the red yarn and am loving how these four colors look together:

Choosing good color combinations is not usually one of my strong points, but I really like these colors! I guess I'm safe with red, white and blue, but I even like how the two shades of blue go together in this project. I haven't worked on this since I finished the mystery socks, but I'll get back to it at some point.

I did start the Yankees socks:

I know, you can't tell anything yet, but those are going to be interlocking NY logos around the top of the sock. These are going to be a challenging knit for me!

1. The needles are tiny - US 0 and something like 96 stitches around right now - ugh!

2. The yarn is a cotton/wool blend (and some nylon or something) - it's Knit Picks Risata - so I'm not loving the feel of it, but I needed these colors and I think the yarn should work well for the colorwork.

3. Sometimes to you have to carry the navy yarn for long distances and sometimes you have to carry the white yarn and I don't know how to "catch" the yarn except when I'm carrying it in my left hand. So, I have to keep switching which hand I'm holding each color yarn in (6 times!) as I work across the row. This is very tedious and is slowing me down. I need to research and see if there's a way to catch the yarn when you're carrying it in your right hand. I was taught in my fair isle class to always carry the yarn you have to catch in your left hand and that's the only way I know how to do it! (I'm talking about weaving it in across long lengths that are more than 5 or so stitches).

Anyway, for all those reasons, I believe the Yankees socks will be a long-term project!

Since these socks were proving to be too challenging at the moment, I decided to cast on another hat for KDO:

Ah, Knit Picks Comfy in Pomegranate, now that is some soft yarn!! So nice to work with. I believe this pattern is called "Gingerbread Hat". I found it on Ravelry. It has cables and is a pretty simple pattern to follow. I'm hoping to work on the hat some more tonight!

The Carefree KAL mystery sock starts on Friday - I can't wait! I will be knitting these in either the peach or blue Panda Cotton that I purchased from The Loopy Ewe. I just can't decide which color to use, but I will decide on Friday!

The next SKA mystery sock KAL starts on September 1st and I plan on participating in that as well! The technique is "knitting with yellow yarn" so I bought some pretty Panda Silk in the colorway "Buttercup Tones". This will be my first time knitting with Panda Silk so I am looking forward to that!

I also bought some Blue Green Wick yarn so I can knit another quick pair of socks when I have the time. I really like the other Wick socks that I knit.

And to end this lengthy post, here's a recent photo of Shelby:

Mystery sock update!

2009-07-26T19:29:00.000-04:00

I ended up knitting the leg of the mystery sock yesterday and today. The colorwork section is complete and now I just need to knit the corrugated ribbing at the top of the leg. This will be the dark brown(almost black) Maizy and the cream-colored Panda Soy.

I think I am going to be on a colorwork kick for awhile! It's so much fun to knit, but challenging as well.

I found a free Yankees pin-striped sock pattern that I want to knit next!!!

There will also be two mystery sock KALs in September (SKA group and Carefree KAL blog group) so I will be a busy knitter over the next few months!!

Finished hat... Started vest... Mystery socks on hold...

2009-07-25T09:43:00.000-04:00

The Flora hat is done!

I had to order some more yarn to finish the top of the hat, but it is now complete! I will most likely donate this to Caps for Kids at Knitters' Day Out this year. I'll probably knit a couple more hats too by the time KDO rolls around.

I have the final clue for the mystery socks, but I started a new project while waiting for clue 4 and I have not touched the mystery socks since!

I finally started the fair isle vest, that I have wanted to knit FOREVER from Fall 2007 issue of Knit Simple magazine.

Here is my progress so far:

This is knit from the bottom up, in the round. I'm using Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed which accounts for the little flecks of color in the yarn. There will also be some red yarn introduced in the pattern further up. I was struggling to like this at first, but now that I've started the fair isle part I am liking it more and more! I sure hope it fits me when it's done!!

a quick Saturday update!

2009-07-18T11:05:00.000-04:00

Here's my progress after clue 3 of the July SKA mystery sock:

I have also finished the fair isle section of the Flora hat and now just need to knit the top of the hat:

And... I finished the Seascape scarf last night!

Whereas, Shelby spent some time sitting at the top of the stairs last night:

FO's and WIP's

2009-07-11T10:48:00.000-04:00

I finished my WWKIP Day socks!

I love that I can pretty much knit a pair of socks using Panda Cotton without even referring to a pattern. Although, I was using the Slipped Stitch Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It's an easy pattern to memorize!

Clue 2 came out for the mystery sock, but I had started a new project while waiting for that and I'm more interesting in working on it than that mystery sock. I cast on my first hat for KDO - attendees donate knit hats for Caps for Kids. Last year, I had so much fun once I started knitting hats, that I knit about 6 hats! There's a photo of all the hats in this blog post from last year.

The pattern I started with is called Flora:

Here's my progress as of yesterday:

I'm using Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn in Sailor (blue) and Grass (green). I love watching the pattern emerge, although there are some lengthy carries between colors so I have to keep switching which hand I'm holding each yarn in! I only know how to catch the carried yarn when it's in my left hand. I'm not sure if there's a way to do it when it's in your right hand. I tried a couple times and it didn't seem to work. But, I am using what I learned in the fair isle class I took at KDO (Knitters' Day Out) last year, so that is good!

I still need to finish the Seascape scarf; I'm waiting for a lengthy car ride where I am the passenger... I wish I would have had it with me when we were stuck in gridlock after watching fireworks last week!

And, I did start clue 2 of the mystery sock last night, but only knit a few rounds so there's not much to show yet. I hope to work on that today and then post a progress photo.

July Mystery Sock

2009-07-03T16:25:00.000-04:00

It's now July, and that means a new mystery sock pattern in the SKA group on Ravelry!

Clue 1 was posted on July 1st and it is a toe-up colorwork sock. The designer suggested using the Turkish cast on which I have not used before so I thought I would try it since the goal of the SKA group is to challenge yourself each month. Well, Wednesday night was very frustrating because I was having major trouble casting on! I tried the Turkish cast on and it came out very loose, so after knitting a couple rounds I ripped it out. I tried it again and did not end up with the right number of stitches on my needles. Then, I dug out my instructions for the figure 8 cast on that I used for the last two pairs of toe-up socks and for some reason I could not get the hang of that even though I found it simple the last time I used it!

So, I took a break and then tried the Turkish cast on again. This time it worked, although I ended up with only 19 stitches instead of the 20 stitches I needed, but instead of ripping it out, I just increased a stitch on the first knit round and it seemed to work out just fine!

My main yarn is Panda Soy in natural ecru. I got this with the gift certificate I won at last year's Knitters' Day Out. The first motif in the mystery socks is cherries, so I needed red and green yarn for the colorwork. I decided to use the poppy red Panda Soy that I had leftover from the May mystery socks, but I was having a difficult time deciding what to use for the green. I did not have any green Panda Soy on hand. I originally wanted to knit these socks in a red, white and blue theme but that didn't work out with the first clue being cherries. I debated about knitting the leaves in blue, but the "blue" Panda Soy I have is really more of a periwinkle purplish-blue so I didn't really think it would work. I looked into ordering green Panda Soy online, but the website I checked was out of stock of the green!

Last night, I started knitting the colorwork section and got to the point where I needed the green yarn. I dug out all Crystal Palace Yarns sock yarn that I have and after considering several possibilites, including some multi-color Panda Superwash, I decided to go with the only green sock yarn in my stash, the single skein of cactus Maizy. I'm a little nervous about this because I tend to knit Maizy on smaller needles than Panda Soy or Panda Cotton, but I decided to just give it a try. So far, it seems to have worked ok.

Here is my mystery sock after completing clue 1:

It would probably look a little better with a darker green, but I think I will probably just stick with the Maizy. This pattern will also involve a fourth color which is supposed to be a dark brown, so the bittersweet Maizy I have should fit the bill.

If nothing else, this mystery sock pattern will be a fun learning experience!

And, it has finally giving me something to blog about!

Progress...

2009-06-28T15:40:00.001-04:00

Here's a progress photo of my latest projects. I'm hoping to finish these both by next weekend so that I can focus on the July mystery sock KAL. Clue 1 should be posted on Wednesday!!

First WWKIP Day sock is done!

2009-06-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

One sock down, one to go!

Also, Summer of Socks 2009 begins today - the theme this year is Low Stress!!

I am going along with this theme and not making any grand plans for SOS09, but I'm sure I will knit at least a few pairs of socks this summer to play along!

The SKA Group on Ravelry is having a fair isle mystery sock challenge in July, and I hope to use my Panda Soy to knit a pair of fair isle socks!

WWKIP Day, car knitting and puppy Madison

2009-06-15T16:58:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, June 13th, I participated in the SKA group's photo scavenger hunt for WWKIP Day (on Ravelry). There was a list of different point values for photographing your sock-in-progress with various items (an animal, a non-knitter, someone on a bicycle, from 100+ feet up, etc.). I earned 26 points and had a lot of fun. Others earned more points than me, but I have some entries for "funniest pic" and "most unique pic" and there is also a random prize drawing for everyone who entered. Most importantly was that it made for a fun day, so the prizes are really secondary. Here's one of the photos I took from 100+ feet up:

The sock is Panda Cotton in the colorway "Roses" which is gorgeous and I am knitting the slipped stitch rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.

We were in Erie, PA for the weekend and this is one of the first times I was able to knit in the car on the trip. I can't read in a car; it gives me a headache and I haven't had much luck with trying to knit, but I started an easy scarf pattern that I was able to remember without looking at the pattern. It's the Panda Cotton Drop Stitch Scarf, a free pattern on Crystal Palace Yarn's website. I love how it's turning out! I'm using Panda Cotton in the Seascape colorway and I just LOVE the colors:

The scarf is much longer now because I knit it on the way home today too!

I also got to meet my in-law's new puppy, Madison, and she is absolutely adorable! She is a miniature American Eskimo and well-loved:

Tofutsies and WWKIP Day

2009-06-11T18:01:00.000-04:00

Tofutsies socks are finally done!

Close-up:

I started these in September 2008 and finished them in June 2009! I'm looking forward to wearing them, because I think they will fit well.

My Cookie A Sock Innovation book finally arrived! I took it to Office Max to have it spiral bound so it will lay flat. Check out the picture on the first page:

Looks like a sleeping Eskie to me!! How cute!

Shelby says, "Hey, I am cute too!"

Yes, yes you are...

Saturday is WWKIP Day so get out there and knit! I plan on participating in the Photo Scavenger Hunt that the SKA Group on Ravelry is hosting (Sock Knitters Anonymous). Should be a lot of fun. I will be casting on a new pair of socks in Panda Cotton!

May Mystery Socks are done!

2009-06-07T10:22:00.000-04:00

This was the May mystery sock KAL in the SKA group on Ravelry. The name of the pattern is "kiila" which means gusset. As you can see, the pattern design is primarily in the gusset (the area where the sock widens between your toes and heel - for any non-sock-knitters out there).

I wish my cables would have turned out better. I think I should have used the increases the pattern called for (make one) rather than knitting through the front and back loop. I really need to practice this increase and find a way to do this without having holes. But, I think these will be comfy socks. They are my first pair of Panda Soy socks for myself! And my first pair of red hand-knit socks so I will be excited to wear them.

Now, I just need to finish my Tofutsies socks:

I want to finish these this week, so I can cast on a fun, new pair of socks during WWKIP day on Saturday, June 13th!

More bags!

2009-06-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

I decided to make some more project bags using the drawstring bag tutorial from yarnmonster's blog. I cut fabric to make 6 bags:

I have completed sewing four of the bags - just need to add the drawstrings:

Shelby says - "Knitting, sewing... you're always up to something!"

The Loopy Ewe

2009-05-30T17:35:00.002-04:00

I placed an order from The Loopy Ewe this week and it arrived on Friday:

I got two new solid colors of Panda Cotton: Tropical Peach and Deep Water (blue). Both are very pretty and now I have some solid colors on hand in case a new mystery sock project pops up!

I also ordered another bar of my favorite soap: Jasmine Knitter's Hand Soap from the Blue Ridge Soap Shed. I have tried both the Jasmine and Green Tea scents and they were both nice. The bars last a really long time - I think the first bar lasted me almost 9 months usually using it several times a day. This bar seems to be going a little faster, but that's probably because I use it more frequently!

I also ordered the exclusive Loopy Rules set from Karatstix! I've admired Karatstix's products for awhile and when I saw she designed a set for the Loopy Ewe I knew I had to get it! It's a little 2-inch ruler and a sock shaped needle sizer. Cute!

My favorite online yarn shop made my day once again! Thanks Loopy Ewe! :-)

mystery sock; Tofutsies sock

2009-05-27T18:26:00.000-04:00

One mystery sock is complete:

I still need to knit the leg of the other one.

I have also been working on the second Tofutsies sock, so maybe I will finally complete that pair:

FO's

2009-05-16T15:01:00.000-04:00

Finished Objects!

Noro scarf is done:

Circle Cloth is done:

Clue 3 of the mystery socks is also done on both socks, but it was just turning the heel, so I didn't take updated photos yet. Have to wait until Friday for the final clue (leg and cuff) so I need to cast on a new project! Decisions... decisions...

Or I could... work on the Tofutsies socks...

Ahah!

2009-05-13T17:49:00.000-04:00

I finally found the blog post about Cat Bordhi's "learning yarn" that I was describing yesterday!

I think this is such a great idea; now I just need to find out when it will be available and who is selling it. Until then, I'll just have to find some yarn in my stash to use as learning yarn...

knitting progress

2009-05-12T20:54:00.000-04:00

I am still making progress on the Noro scarf. I love the gradual color changes. Here's a photo of the end of the scarf as it's rolled up while I'm knitting it:

And here it is zig-zagged out:

I have finished clue 2 on both socks for the May mystery sock pattern. It is a fun knit. I wish the cables showed up better, but maybe once the socks are complete, they will stand out more:

Since I have to wait until Friday for clue #3, I am continuing to work on both the Noro scarf and Circle dishcloth:

I'm about 3/5 done with the dishcloth. I have two more pattern repeats to go. This pattern is really cool. I'm only having trouble with carrying the yarns up the side where I'm changing them. You can't see that in my picture - ha ha.

I've been thinking that I need to get some practice yarn to start learning the techniques that I am not familiar with. I need to learn to knit Make One increases without holes, because I usually just decide to knit through the front and back loop, but this is not always ideal. I also need to learn how to better carry yarn up the sides of my work, because I'm having issues with how this looks in both the Noro scarf and the Circle Cloth. I'm sure I read somewhere that Cat Bordhi developed a yarn that was supposed to be the ideal practice yarn, but I tried searching online for this today and couldn't find anything about it! If anyone knows if this is available or when it will be available, please leave me a comment! I think it's a fantastic idea! From what I recall, it changed colors so you could see your different stitches and also stood up well to repeated frogging and was a yarn base that had excellent stitch definition. I want some!

I will leave you with a new Shelby photo:

He can't understand why I am this interested in yarn. :-)

Wee Tiny Sock Received and other knitting updates

2009-05-05T18:12:00.000-04:00

I received an adorable blue (my favorite color!) wee sock from my wee swap partner, Lisa. Thanks Lisa!! I did receive it last week, I'm just late in blogging about it. :-)

The Sampler Socks are complete:

I sure hope they fit my friend!!

I cast on a Circle Dishcloth which is a really interesting pattern:

I also knit this Bee Stitch dishcloth, which is such a fun, easy pattern:

Oh, and this is the wee sock I knit for my swap partner, Jessica, using Maizy yarn:

I'm also really enjoying the mystery sock KAL of the "kiila" pattern by Yarnissima. I finished clue 1 for the first sock and am about halfway through the 2nd sock. The next clue will be posted on Friday. So far, the pattern has a little twisted cable pattern up either side of the foot - cute!:

I am trying to cable without a cable needle with this pattern, but last night I dropped a stitch and it was almost a disaster. I still think my cable might look a little funny at that spot, but I managed to get the stitches back on the needles with the right number of stitches and move on. Those little two stitch twists are tricky sometimes!! Reminds me of the Brigit socks...

Mystery Sock cast on!

2009-05-01T22:19:00.000-04:00

I cast on for the May mystery sock pattern by Yarnissima. For more info on Sockdown in the SKA group on Ravelry, click here.

Here's my cast on toe:

I'm using Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Soy in Poppy Red. I think I won this yarn from participating in the Olympic Sox KAL last summer.

Lots of photos to post, but too lazy to post them now.

2009-04-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

I have a cold. :-( As soon as I'm feeling better, I'll post a blog update to share all my latest projects!

The sampler socks are done! I participated in the wee tiny sock swap and sent and received wee socks which I have photos to share. I knit a dishcloth and cast on another. The Noro scarf is still progressing.

And tomorrow, a new mystery sock project begins on Ravelry. I hope I get over this cold quickly!!

Wee Tiny Sock Swap!

2009-04-18T18:38:00.000-04:00

I just signed up for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap over on Yarn Miracle's blog!!

I participated in this swap last year and it was a lot of fun. It will be busy weekend for me, since I will have company visiting, but surely I can fit in time to knit a wee tiny sock!!

Here's the sock I knit for my swap partner last year:

Matching socks and scarf progress

2009-04-13T17:50:00.000-04:00

They match! Hooray! I was worried that this might be a difficult task, but they seem to match fairly closely and I'm glad... especially since I got the magic 8 cast on to work on the first try this time!

Did I ever say what pattern this is? It's the Sampler Socks pattern from knotions.com. This is another of those patterns that I knew I wanted to knit the first time I saw it! It's a lot of fun and my second ever attempt at toe-up sock knitting! I'm also participating in two KALs with these socks, the SKA Challenge on Ravelry and it's my April project for the 52 week Challenge KAL on the Carefree blog. Plus, they are a belated birthday gift for my best friend!

I am also making progress on my striped Noro scarf. It's nice to have these two projects to go back and forth between. Here's a progress shot of the scarf:

New project!

2009-04-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

I'm still working on the Sampler Socks and I did cast on the 2nd sock (I'm almost done with the toe section), but today I felt like a change of pace and cast on for a new project.

It's a skinny version of the Brooklyn Tweed Noro Scarf:

I got the Noro Silk Garden yarn at yarn-love last time I was there. It's my first time working with Noro yarn. The color changes are fun. The yarn is rougher than I'm used to working with, but I really don't mind it. It also goes from thick to thin in spots, but that just gives the scarf for interest.

First Sampler Sock is done!

2009-04-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

This sock was a lot of fun to knit! I have already cast on for the second one!

I know my blog posts have been brief lately, but I'll leave you with a new Shelby photo until I find more time to blog:

Lamb Cam

2009-04-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

Check out the Lamb Cam at Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm!

Also, here is the progress on my Sampler Socks - these are going to be a fast knit!!

Top of the foot:

Bottom of the foot:

so much to blog about...

2009-04-02T18:23:00.000-04:00

I have so much to blog about, and don't know where to begin!

First off, I should post the final picture of my NatCroMo freeform crochet project:

This is my new project for April (more details to follow):

Yarn Miracle is hosting her Wee Tiny Sock Swap again this year and I want to participate! More info about this on her blog. It's a very easy, minimum commitment swap and a lot of fun!

I just got this book from amazon.com and it looks like a wealth of information! I can't wait to find the time to read it and try some of the color techniques it covers.

I'll try to elaborate on all this when I have more time to blog!

harika socks are finished!

2009-03-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

The harika socks are complete!!

Pattern: harika - from Twist Collective
yarn: Maizy in Meadow Mist and Bittersweet
Needles: US 1 DPNs (and circulars to knit the cuff of each)
Cast on: 2/14/09
Finished: 3/28/09
yardage: approx. 410 yards

I also got caught up on my NatCroMo freeform crochet today, but I'll save that for another post.

International Year of Natural Fibers

2009-03-23T18:43:00.000-04:00

2009 has been designated as the International Year of Natural Fibers!

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm is trying to spread the word about this, so click here to read more about it and enter the contest to win the book "Shear Spirit"! Good luck!

N, O, P, Q, R, S - catching up on NatCroMo

2009-03-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

N is for Night
O is for Orange
P is for Peel

Those three are reflected in this picture (I wasn't feeling very creative at this point, so there isn't much of an interesting story to go with it):

Q is for Queen

Using some scrap acrylic yarn in jewel tones, I attempted to crochet a crown:

R is for Russet

Using red and brown yarn held together, since russet is a reddish-brown color, I decided to crochet an oval to represent a potato (russet potatoes):

Ah... my weird inspirations were back!

S is for Stone

Stone made me think of grey, so I found a small ball of leftover grey yarn and started crocheting. At first, I was thinking of maybe trying to crochet a three dimensional round stone or something, then I thought of Stone Mountain Georgia, so I thought maybe I'd crochet a mountain, but what I was crocheting wasn't really wide enough for a mountain. Then I started thinking of old stone churches and the stone that is on the front of my house that goes to a peak, and I decided to aim for a steeple-type shape and ended up with something that basically looks like a skyscraper peeking out from behind my Grape Jam blob:

I'm glad I am back on track with this project. I was feeling uninspired for a bit, but I'm still enjoying working on it, and I'm glad I got some good ideas for the last couple inspirational items.

I have a few more rounds to go on the leg of the second harika sock and then I can start the heel!! I must finish these by March 31st!! Then I need to find a nice, simple worsted weight project. I'm thinking I'll knit up some dishcloths or something. :-)

L, M, and some new reading material

2009-03-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

NatCroMo is moving along and I am still keeping up with the daily inspiration items.

Thursday was "L is for Leaves". I decided to re-introduce the green yarn I used the first day because the colorway was called "Leaf". I was looking through a pattern book for a crochet sampler afghan, and found a pattern stitch called "Palm Leaves", so I thought that would be perfect. So, I just crocheted a small section of this pattern.

Friday was "M is for Mold". Wow, this one really stumped me. All I could think of was to do something in greens/browns/blacks and give it some texture. As I looked through my bag of scrap yarns, I found a little ball of brown yarn that was leftover from some socks I knit for my Dad. It was Wool-Ease in various shades of brown. I hope this doesn't mean Dad's socks look moldy to me! It was kind of funny, because I was actually looking for some dark green yarn that I had knit his gloves with, because I think of mold as being green. Note to self: I need to knit or crochet something for my Dad that doesn't make me think of mold. :-)

Anyway... when I went to add in the brown yarn to my project, the green yarn from Thursday was hanging there, so I decided to switch to a bigger crochet hook and use both yarns together. I love the look of this, especially when they are contrasting yarns. So, I switched to a K hook and decided to use random popcorn stitches to create texture.

Here's how L and M turned out:

I went to Barnes & Noble last night because I wanted to see if they had the new Piecework magazine which I had read about in an e-mail advertisement - and they did!! The March/April 2009 issue features "Textiles for Historical Reenactment". My husband is a Civil War re-enactor and there is also an article in this issue called "Knit Civil War Socks". The articles look very interesting, although I don't know if I'll want to actually knit him authentic socks because they used a really tiny gauge on tiny needles and long socks in solid grey 100% wool at tiny gauge just doesn't sound really appealing to knit. But, I'm still looking forward to reading the articles!!

As I was walking into Barnes & Noble, another book caught my eye: "The Knitting Directory". This book has a lot of information in it and really good knitting diagrams for picking up stitches, cabling, etc. It's also spiral bound so it lays flat - I mean shouldn't all craft books be spiral bound?!?!?!? :-) It also contains a really nice stitch library with a lot of different basic, cable, and lace stitch patterns that I want to try. It seems like a really nice book for the bargain price of $9.98:

J, K, and a finished harika sock!!

2009-03-12T18:06:00.000-04:00

I have two days of progress to share for my freeform crochet:

J is for Jam - I crocheted a splotch of grape jam with some purple cotton yarn I found in my stash that was called "Grape" - perfect!

K is for Knowledge - when I first read this I was stumped, but as I started thinking about it, I thought of using some grey yarn to represent grey matter, and then I thought... why not crochet a little brain! So, I did (or attempted to anyway).

I also finished my first harika sock!!! The toe is complete:

It could look better, but at least the socks fit. I had to decrease on every round, so it isn't the prettiest toe, but I'm still happy with how the sock turned out:

I wish I could get the photos to show the colors in the lighter yarn, but it seems to appear grey in the photos. I guess the contrast is just too high.

I started the 2nd sock last night and my goal is to finish it by the end of March. Time to get knitting!!

I is for Insect

2009-03-09T18:14:00.001-04:00

As soon as I read today's crochet inspiration "I is for insect" I decided to crochet black picot stitch to represent ants marching towards the dripping honey corkscrews from yesterday:

I'm glad I'm still coming up with ideas for each day's inspiration. I may be keeping it simple, but I'm still enjoying this project.

In knitting news... I'm going to try to finish knitting the toe of the first harika sock tonight! I haven't touched it since I frogged back the toe and got it back on the needles.

NatCroMo and harika sock update

2009-03-08T17:29:00.000-04:00

Saturday's inspiration for my NatCroMo freeform project was "G is for Ground". This worked out perfectly for my plan to unify the two distinct sides of my project so far. Ground immediately made me think of dirt and grass so I grabbed some brown and green cotton yarn and began to single crochet several rounds in brown around my entire piece. Then, to create the grass, I single crocheted once around with the green and then did random spike stitches to create the grass effect. I was looking for a good excuse to use spike stitches again, because I first learned them during last year's freeform CAL. Here was my piece after Saturday's crocheting:

As someone in the Ravelry group commented, the ground really grounded my piece!

Today's inspiration was "H is for Honey". So, I got some bright yellow yarn and decided to crochet some corkscrews to represent dripping honey. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out:

My knitting goal for this weekend was to finish the harika sock. I finished the foot pattern on Friday night and started knitting the toe, which was back to the knit two in one color, purl two in the other color. I made it easier on myself this time and put the purling yarn in my right hand and that went much smoother. I can knit in continental style much better than I can purl. But, I did learn to purl with my left hand for the first time with this project, so I can do it! It just slows me down. Anyway, I knit (and purled!) along on the toe until this morning when I reached the 16th round of the toe and thought, this foot is looking awfully long!

I tried it on and it was already big enough to cover my foot and I still had about 10 rounds to go.

So, I thought... do I just kitchener it closed now with 50+ stitches on the needles? No, that would probably look bad. Do I just finish the sock as the pattern is written and give the socks to someone with longer feet? No, these socks were too much of a learning experience and I really want to keep them for myself. They're not perfect, but I like them. After ALL this work, I want to be able to wear them when I'm done! Well, that really left only one other option... frogging... rip it, rip it, rip it... I put it off as long as I could. I went online and got my crochet inspiration for today and crocheted the corkscrews (Hmmm... I could have crocheted more of them, eh?)... I ate lunch... I calculated on paper exactly how many rows I wanted to rip out... I double-checked... I probably checked again... and then I did it:

Then I had to carefully get all 64 of those live stitches back on the needles - yikes!:

I know some of them are twisted, but I didn't care, I just wanted them ON the needles. And I didn't want to have to frog back any further. It really wasn't TOOO bad, 64 stitches are now back on the needles, waiting to be knit (and purled) once again:

Now, my plan is to decrease every round from this point on, instead of the graduated decreases that the pattern calls for. This will get me to the correct number of stitches after 16 rounds instead of the 50+ stitches I had after 16 rounds before I frogged. I'm hoping this won't make the foot look too pointy, but it's the only way I can get 72 stitches down to 28 without having a sock that is way too long for my foot.

I hope this works! I really don't want to have to frog this AGAIN!!

Wish me luck!

F is for Fragrance

2009-03-07T09:19:00.001-05:00

Friday's NatCroMo inspiration was "F is for Fragrance". This made me think of lilac or lavender so I chose some lavender yarn and crocheted a simple shell stitch, bordered by some rows of single crochet.

Today's inspirational instruction has not been posted yet. Whatever it is, I think I will crochet around the entire circle to bring this piece together once again. Although, the contrast is kind of interesting between the big thick red/blue suede/cotton and the dainty lavender and pastel rainbow on the other side.

Where will the freeform lead next? Stay tuned!!

NatCroMo Day 5 - E is for Eating

2009-03-05T18:38:00.000-05:00

Since I have been using the daily inspiration items to choose my yarn color, I decided to add back in the red yarn because we eat with our mouths and our mouths are red. Not very creative, but that's what struck me as I pondered today's instruction. Since I was back at where I left off with the blue Lion Suede, I decided to pick that up, hold that together with the red cotton, switch back to my big red N hook and work some giant double crochet stitches! Since the yarn was so thick, I thought some space would be helpful, so I did one dc, then ch 1, all the way across. I like the way it turned out:

a little crochet... a little knitting progress

2009-03-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

Day 4 of the freeform crochet project: D is for Drop

My thought process was: Drop... rain drops... rainbows... I chose some rainbow colored cotton yarn from the stash (well, multi-colored anyway) and crocheted a ruffle along the other half of my circle:

Note to self: the next time I do freeform crochet, I really need to get away from just going round and round in a circle! :-) But, that's ok!

If you have access to ravelry, be sure to check out all the other amazing freeform projects that everyone is creating. We're having a lot of fun with this! It's not too late to pick up a crochet hook and play along!!

The main reason I am not investing more time in my Freeform crochet project is because I am still diligently working on my first harika sock which I love! I have finished the gusset decreases (all in pattern, mind you! This was a first for me!) - luckily the chart was really clear and easy to follow - and now I just have to finish knitting the rest of the foot and the toe. And a second sock...

But, here's where I'm at right now:

close-up:

NatCroMo Day 3 - C is for Crab

2009-03-03T18:25:00.000-05:00

For day 3 of National Crochet Month, our Freeform project inspiration is "C is for Crab". I switched to a J crochet hook and Lion Suede yarn in denim and crocheted crab stitch around half of the circle. It looks less like a Christmas ornament now - yay! :-)

Day 2 - B is for Blossom

2009-03-02T18:31:00.000-05:00

I switched to white yarn, since apple blossoms are white and chose a size G crochet hook to go with the yarn. Then I decided to just double-crochet 8 times in each double-crochet stitch of my red-green round.

Somehow, this looks more like a Christmas ornament than an apple-inspired project, but hey, I'm only two days into it! :-)

Happy NatCroMo!!!!

2009-03-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

March is National Crochet Month! Last year, I participated in a Freeform Crochet-along and ended up with this lovely piece of "artwork":

Very strange looking, I know, but it was a lot of fun!

This year, Kaet has come up with a new Freeform CAL and I am going to participate and try to blog regularly since I have a blog now! She will be posting daily clues on her blog here and also on Ravelry in the Crochet Month Party Group.

This year's instructions have a more inspirational theme rather than rule-following like last year.

The March 1st instruction was simply "A is for Apple" and we are to use this as inspiration to choose either our hook, yarn or pattern. Hmmm...

Apple made me think of red, so I got out some red yarns from my stash and also gathered my crochet hooks. Loopy also wanted to help (he claims he hasn't been getting enough blog time lately...):

After taking the picture, inspiration struck!

My N crochet hook was red, and I really liked crocheting with two different yarns held together during last year's free-form crochet-along, so I went and got some green yarn out of the stash (apples are also green!!):

and thus begins my March 2009 freeform crochet project:

The yarn I have started with is Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton in Red and Lion Brand Microspun yarn in "Leaf". Since I had no pattern to follow, I just formed a chain into a circle and then double-crocheted into the circle until I could join my last stitch to my first stitch.

harika progress photos

2009-02-25T20:03:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post some progress photos of my harika socks:

Here is a close-up of the heel:

And here is a photo of the back of the heel, showing the stranding that will be on the inside of the sock:

I actually just finished turning the heel and picking up stitches so I can start knitting the foot, but I had to take a break! The foot will have a new pattern on the sole of the foot, with the pattern from the leg continuing on the top of the foot. This should be interesting to keep track of!

Wish me luck!

scarf done; sock progress

2009-02-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

I finished the Bamboozle Inner Truth Cable Scarf:

Many thanks to Crystal Palace Yarns for providing the yarn to knit this scarf! I'll be sending the scarf to them soon so they can take a good picture of it for their website. :-)

I finished the first pattern repeat for the leg of the harika sock:

The light-colored yarn actually has several pretty colors in it, but I'm having a hard time photographing it because it contrasts so much with the dark yarn. But, so far so good with this pattern! I knit one more pattern repeat and a couple more rows and then start the heel! I believe this pattern will hold my interest, and although it is challenging, it will be a fairly fast knit. My goal is to finish the pair by the end of March.

scarf progress!

2009-02-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a current photo of where I'm at with the Inner Truth Cable Scarf knit with Bamboozle yarn. I've knit 4 full skeins and started the 5th skein last night. So far, so good! I'm hoping to finish by this weekend if not sooner.

I started the harika socks!

2009-02-14T19:11:00.000-05:00

I finally started the harika socks that I have been wanting to knit since the first time I saw them.

I wanted to use yarn from my stash, and I wanted high contrast yarns, so I chose Maizy in Bittersweet and Meadow Mist:

The cuff is very unique and something I have never tried before. You actually knit garter stitch back and forth (not in the round) for several rows which looks like this:

and then you twist it around to form the cuff like this:

Then, you finally join it into the round and continue the ribbing. After about 6 rounds of ribbing, my sock now looks like this:

As I said, this is a very unique sock pattern! It's very challenging, but it is fun trying these new techniques! This is also my first pair of socks using two different colors of yarn, so it is fun to try my two-handed fair isle knitting once again.

And don't worry, I am still working on the Inner Truth scarf! I was just anxious to cast on these socks, so now I have two active projects! (Not to mention my lingering UFO's that I still want to finish for the UFO KAL...)

long time, no update...

2009-02-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the Inner Truth Cable Scarf as often as I can. I am well into the 4th skein of yarn now! I'll have to take a photo this weekend, but for now just imagine the last picture about twice as long. ;-)

Progress and Prize Yarn

2009-02-02T18:17:00.000-05:00

I have finished one skein of the Bamboozle yarn and started a 2nd skein. Here's my progress so far on the Inner Truth Cable Scarf:

And I received a wonderful package in the mail today containing my prize yarn for winning "favorite Crystal Palace Yarns project" in the Carefree Holiday (or not) Knitalong. The project was my fuchsia mystery socks. I won 4 skeins of Panda Superwash, one of CPY's newest yarns:

2 skeins in the colorway "Joyful" and 2 skeins in "Neptune" (Neptune is on the left above).

Panda Superwash is 51% bamboo, 39% superwash wool and 10% nylon. It is sooooo soft!! I can't wait to knit with it!

Finished project... new project...

2009-01-31T12:42:00.000-05:00

I finished the January beaded mystery socks:

and I cast on for my new project, the Inner Truth Cable scarf:

The yarn is Bamboozle with is basically a heavier version of Panda Cotton. The colorway is "faded jeans" which is the same color as my first ever knit socks:

Farm show pics... maybe not...

2009-01-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

Let's see if I can upload pictures today:

Nope... still not working. I don't know why I can't upload pictures anymore! Frustrating!

Well, in knitting news, I have my final clue for the mystery sock. The pattern is available here on Ravelry if anyone is interested. I finished clue 3 of the 2nd sock today so now I just have to finish clue 4 on both socks. My goal is to finish this pair and submit as my January 52 week challenge project!

Sorry I don't have any knitting photos to show! I hope I can figure this out soon!

Clue 3 and PA Farm show

2009-01-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

I am working on clue 3 of the beaded mystery socks now! A pretty eye of partridge heel and now the gusset decreases. Sorry, no pics yet... maybe tomorrow!

I did go to the PA Farm Show today and ate a lot of yummy food (potato doughnut, chocolate milkshake, fried mozzarella, fries and I even sampled corn ice cream - that was a new taste for me!!)

I took lots of pics of the animals there, but I am having a lot of trouble uploading them to blogger, so I'll have to try again another day if I don't get it to work.

Finished clue 2 on both socks!

2009-01-11T18:45:00.001-05:00

Finally got my photos to upload!

Top photo is a close-up of the beaded section and the bottom photo is of both socks completed through clue 2.

harika socks

2009-01-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

I really want to knit the harika sock pattern from the Winter 2008 edition of Twist Collective. Click on the link to see the socks. They are amazing!

I knew I wanted to knit them as soon as I first saw them. Today, I finally purchased the pattern. Now, I just need to find the right yarn. I want a brightly colored self-striping yarn to form the pattern against a dark charcoal grey, or black or maybe even navy background.

I think planning and dreaming about these socks will be almost as much fun as knitting them!

But for now, I need to continue with my mystery beaded socks. I knit quite a bit more after I blogged last night and am just about done with the leg of the first sock, which is the end of clue 2. Just a few more rounds of ribbing and then I'll move that onto stitch holders and knit clue 2 of the second sock. I bet I'll finish that this weekend! Then I can work on some of my other UFO's until clue 3 is posted!

My latest projects...as presented by Shelby

2009-01-09T19:28:00.002-05:00

I finished a scarf that I had cast on back in April! It was yarn leftover from a prayer shawl I had knit out of Lion Brand Homespun. The colorway was called Corinthian and I love it! The photos don't do it justice. Rich reds, purples, greens and golds all subtly appearing and disappearing as I knit. Beautiful! Of course, as I went to photograph the scarf, Shelby appeared to pose with it:
Then he had to lay next to it while I tried to take a close-up picture:
This is the amount of yarn I had left... I finished the skein!!:
Somehow, Shelby managed to avoid getting into that pic. :-)

Even though this scarf lingered in a box for months, when I actually started working on it, it only took me two days to knit! Note to self: find more projects with bulky yarn on big needles! Nice change of pace from sock knitting and a much quicker sense of accomplishment. I still love knitting socks though... :-)

Yesterday, the next clue (clue # 2) was posted for the beaded mystery sock! So, that's what I did last night! I finished the beaded section of sock 1 and just need to finish the leg (I'll probably knit it to 6 inches) and then I can switch back to sock 2 and knit clue 2. This pattern is so much fun to knit! Challenging, but so interesting that I just don't want to put it down!

Here's the progress that I made last night:
It may appear that Shelby was not present for this picture... but he was:

I love Mystery sock patterns!

2009-01-04T13:09:00.003-05:00

I moved sock #1 onto stitch holders and knit clue 1 for sock #2 on Saturday! So, I am now patiently awaiting clue 2. These mystery patterns are so much fun. Instead of feeling like I have an endless sock pattern in front of me, I have a small section that seems easy to accomplish and I don't get overwhelmed or bored. Love it!

Also, as I said with my last mystery pattern, I probably would not have taken on such a tricky beaded project, but since I don't know exactly what I'm getting into, it just seems more manageable.

Challenge

2009-01-03T00:13:00.003-05:00

I completed clue 1 of sock 1 for the SKA January Sockdown challenge!
Here's a close-up of the beads:
I'm using Caribbean Blue Panda Cotton and Deep Blue Sea Miyuki Seed Bead Mix (size 6). I am knitting these on US1 circulars using magic loop (yes, I am still loving the magic loop method!)

I had almost finished clue #1 on January 1st, but then I goofed up and had to rip back to the beginning of the pattern section and re-knit it! Arrrgggh!! I just couldn't seem to fix my mistake because of all the yarn-overs. At least I didn't need to re-knit the ribbing section. I should have been able to fix what I did without ripping back, but I couldn't figure it out!

The trickiest part of this pattern is that when you're adding the bead with the crochet hook, the next stitch is a yarn-over from the previous round. And for some reason, I kept wanting to just drop this off my needle and it would kind of get sucked into where I was adding the bead and then I had lost a stitch! Once I realized this, I was very careful the next time to not drop this yarn-over, but it took some tricky maneuvering with the two needles and the crochet hook to get the bead added, get that stitch back on my left needle to knit it and then knit that darn yarn-over!!!

But, the challenge was worth it, because I am loving how these socks are turning out!

I may move this onto stitch holders and knit clue 1 of sock #2. I'm not sure when clue 2 will be posted, but I'm guessing Thursday at the earliest.

I went back to working on the Tofutsies sock tonight because I really want to finish that pair. Here's my progress on sock #2:

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:16:00.004-05:00

Welcome 2009!! I hope it is a good year for everyone.

January also means that it's time for a new mystery sock pattern! I knit my swatch last night:
I love it! I used some leftover Periwinkle Panda Cotton and the Miyuki seed beads that I got for my bead class at KDO but hadn't used yet and they are so nice to work with! Very consistent and easy to place with a crochet hook (I love how nice and neat the beads sit when you place them with a crochet hook). :-)

So, I think I need to get some more beads to complete this project, but I'm definitely going to get started on it.

The first clue of the pattern is available on Ravelry here.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to knit the mystery socks with the Caribbean Blue Panda Cotton in my stash:
I have also signed up for the new KAL's on the Carefree blog - they are having a UFO KAL to finish our unfinished projects and a 52 week challenge to complete one project each month in 2009. Great motivation (and they're always generous with prizes) so sign up while there are still spots open!

I also have another Christmas knitting project to share, although I had posted pics of these while I was knitting since my Dad doesn't read my blog.

This is my Dad:
And this is my Dad modeling his new hand-knit fingerless mitts (longer, by request, than his previous grey ones):
Any questions?? :-)

Mom's shawl

2008-12-29T17:55:00.004-05:00

This is one of my Christmas knitting projects that I had not blogged about here since my mom reads my blog:
It's a knit shawl using black Caron Simply Soft yarn and just a basic increasing garter stitch pattern. At the beginning and end, I increased at both ends of every row and in the middle section I increased at both ends of every other row. Which gave it a strange shape, but I think it looks ok when she is wearing it:
And here's a picture of Shelby enjoying one of his Christmas gifts from my mom (a dinosaur shaped Nylabone):

Christmas update

2008-12-28T15:13:00.007-05:00

Here's the photo of my first completed Tofutsies sock and as you can see, I have already cast on for the second one:
I had finished knitting the gusset decreases long ago, but in two days I finished the whole foot section and toe! It was nice to have hours to knit on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I wonder how long it will take me to knit sock #2...

I received some yarn as a Christmas gift!!! :-)

I got this:
and this:
The colorful Woobies Wool yarn is 100% British Blue Faced Leicester Fingering Weight Yarn. It's really soft!!! I can't wait to find a project for it. The colorway is called "Anasazi's Sunset".

The other yarn does not have labels, but with 7 skeins, I can use it the next time I find a big project that I want to take on! I usually only buy one or two skeins at a time so I never have enough yarn in my stash for a big project. Now I do!

Here's a close-up of the Tofutsies sock foot:
Also, my grand-niece really seemed to like her socktopus!
I think it's funny that she instinctively put it on her head and in the pictures with the pattern on knitty.com, the kid has it on his head in several pictures. I guess socktopuses are meant to sit on kids' heads!! :-)

One Tofutsies sock finished!

2008-12-26T11:40:00.001-05:00

I finished one Tofutsies sock and it turned out nice and it fits! I'll post a pic as soon as I can. Now, I just need to cast on for the 2nd one!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Most of my knit gifts have been given and well-received. I still have to wrap the socktopus. That will be given tomorrow.

I am now back to working on the Tofutsies sock since it is the one unfinished project that I have had sitting around for awhile.

I am still thinking about knitting the SKA mystery sock in January. It is going to be a beaded sock! I am hoping that I can use the beads I bought for the KDO class I went to in September.

Socktopus complete!

2008-12-22T17:37:00.007-05:00

I finished the socktopus!
I don't have a lot of time to write, but here's some more pictures:
I really don't like embroidering faces, and I'm not thrilled with how this face turns out, but I hope it's ok:
Here's some pics with a light background:
Shelby had to stick his froggy toy into the top of this picture:
Then, he needed to rest:

Socktopus update! 5 down... 3 to go!

2008-12-18T21:34:00.006-05:00

5 legs of the socktopus are complete! For some reason, the legs are not all going the same direction, but oh well! I must have reversed how I was picking up the stitches on some of them. The striped leg is leftover Wick yarn from the socks I knit awhile ago. Very nice and neat to work with! The lavender sock is leftover from some crocheted baby blankets and the light blue sock is Denim Style left over from one of the hats I knit for KDO in September. I like the scrunchy effect I got from the alternating knit and purl rounds as the pattern suggested.

Here's a close-up of the 3 most recent sock legs:
Shelby says "Why don't you show everyone the fingerless gloves that you finished??":
"Here, I will sniff them to make sure they are ok":
"These gloves are boring... they don't have squeakies in them or anything!":
Well, hopefully my Dad will like his new, longer fingerless mitts:
They look almost black in some of these pictures, but they are hunter green. I'm happy with how they turned out!

2 legs done... 6 to go!

2008-12-14T15:08:00.002-05:00

The socktopus is underway! Yes... I know I still need to finish my Dad's fingerless mitt, but this so much more fun to work on! The body of the octopus is Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn in ivory. The increases were a little tough to knit in the dishcloth cotton, so if I make another one I will probably use an acrylic yarn. I think it will be fine though once it's done; just a little tough on the wrists when knitting!

Getting to the socks was such fun! I knit the blue one first using Red Heart Casual Cot'n in the Majestic colorway. I love this yarn, but never know what to use it for. It's really soft! So, I thought I'd make a nice long sock for the octopus. For the 2nd sock, I figured I'd make it a little shorter than the first one and I used Caron Simply Soft in raspberry. This was leftover from the Irish Hiking scarf that I knit. I add a white stripe at the top of the sock for a little contrast.

You can see the yarn I plan to use next peeking in the top left corner of the photo. Some light blue denim style yarn. I think I may make this a "scrunchy" sock and add some purl rounds as the pattern suggests. Fun!

Stay tuned as socktopus continues to gain additional sock-covered legs (tentacles???)!!

Socktopus

2008-12-13T15:25:00.002-05:00

I cast on the socktpus last night! I'm using Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn because I liked the ivory color that I had in my stash. I really think I'd like to make a smaller socktopus out of sock yarn too! Hopefully I'll have a pic to post soon!!

Misc. update

2008-12-12T17:41:00.004-05:00

First, I'd like to thank all who voted for my project in the Carefree Holiday Knitalong! I was so surprised and proud to learn that my Through the Loops Mystery socks were voted the favorite project knit with Crystal Palace Yarns. Those who participated in the KAL were allowed to vote. To see the announcement, click here. I won 4 skeins of my choice of Crystal Palace Yarns and I decided to try the new Panda Superwash. It's a blend of bamboo, superwash merino and nylon. I enjoyed knitting with Panda Wool in my magic loop class and this yarn should be similar, but washable.

I am still knitting along on the 2nd fingerless mitt for my Dad. I finished the thumb increases and now just need to knit the top of the hand and the thumb and it's done. I should be able to work on that tonight!

I also have my next project planned! The new issue of knitty came out this week and as soon as I saw it, I knew I'd have to knit a socktopus!!! Be sure to click on the link to see all the cute pictures. It's a knit octopus that is wearing 8 different socks! Great way to use up some stash yarn and make a cute knit toy. If it turns out nice, I think I'll give it to my grand-niece for Christmas.

The Tofutsies sock is still lingering in a project bag. I have no motivation to continue knitting it right now, but am anxious to cast on a new pair of socks using some stash yarn! I just need to decide on a pattern. There's also another mystery sock KAL coming up in January in the SKA Ravelry group, so I may be doing that!

And since this has been a post with a lot of links, but no pictures, I will leave you with a random picture of Shelby:
This is an oldie but a goodie (this pic's actually from about 5 years ago!). As you can see, he likes to gather his toys and lay close to them. He also usually sticks his feet out when he lays down. Funny boy. :-)

Tuesday Knit Live???

2008-12-09T18:21:00.005-05:00

I've been so bad with updating this blog lately! I updated it last Tuesday, and here it is Tuesday again. I have not been keeping up with updating every Saturday! I will get back on track eventually. I have started the 2nd fingerless mitt for my Dad. I think this is the last Christmas gift that I have to knit. No problem!

I also started knitting some mini sweaters from Berroco's Minutia '08 patterns! I don't know what I'll do with them yet, but they're such fun to knit.

First, I knit sweater #9 using some leftover Lionbrand Microspun that I had in my stash:
Then, I knit sweater #2 using some TLC Cotton Plus (also in my stash):
I think I need to buy or make some little hangers for them...

a wee sock project

2008-12-02T18:12:00.003-05:00

I knit this little sock ornament last night. I improvised the pattern using basic top-down sock construction with a heel flap. I held three strands of sock yarn together: Cactus Maizy, Purple Maizy and Magenta Panda Wool. I cast on 12 stitches using US2 circular needles (magic loop).

It was a quick little project. I'll probably take it to yarn-love tomorrow night and submit it for the Winter Wonder-gar-land contest.

Finally some photos!!

2008-11-30T17:01:00.002-05:00

I finished my toe-up Panda Soy socks in cocoa mint!

And I have one fingerless mitt done for my Dad:

This is Lion Brand Wool-Ease in "Forest Green Heather".

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T10:12:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this blog!

I hope to finish knitting my toe-up socks today and I also started a pair of fingerless mitts for my Dad.

not much new!

2008-11-22T14:24:00.002-05:00

Sorry, no new pics today. I'm still working on the toe-up socks and some Christmas knitting projects. I actually bought yarn for another Christmas gift project that I hope to start soon. I'll blog about all the gift knitting after Christmas! Although at the rate I've been knitting, there won't be too much to blog about. But, I'm hoping to complete at least a few projects that I have in mind.

Two toe-up socks in progress

2008-11-15T16:55:00.003-05:00

Each sock is patterning very differently! Oh well... keeps it interesting. They will be a very unique pair of socks! The 2nd sock's contrast colors are lining up into zigzags! With the light blue on one side and mint green on the other side.

Here's the top of the socks:
And here's the bottom of the socks:
As you can see, I finished the heel of the first sock, but I was getting quite a hole when I was trying to resume the rounds for the leg, so I want to take it to class and see if our teacher can help me fix that before I go any further. Meanwhile, I am trying to finish the foot, gusset increases and heel of the other sock so that I have both socks at that point before the next class.

Here's a close-up of the 2nd sock:
Sorry, for the bad lighting. It's a cloudy, rainy day this afternoon.

Toe-up progress

2008-11-08T18:08:00.006-05:00

Shelby would like to point out the progress I have made on my toe-up sock. I actually cast on another toe and tried increasing by knitting into the front and back of the stitch instead of using the M1 (make 1) increase that we were using in our class. I had much better results with this (less holes). The sock in these photos is the new and improved toe-up sock. I am probably going to frog my other toe and re-knit it. I think it may be because I'm a bit of a loose knitter; I just can't seem to avoid holes when trying to knit an M1 increase.

Here is a close-up of my first toe-up sock:
The yarn is Panda Soy in cocoa mint. This is my first Panda Soy project and I love it! It's knitting up into a very nice, soft fabric.

Shelby is bored with all this talk of toe-up sock knitting:
He's sleeping by my feet now. Have a great Saturday everyone!

Toe-up sock class

2008-11-06T17:31:00.004-05:00

Last night, I started my toe-up sock class at yarn-love. It was a lot of fun! I decided to knit fingering weight toe-up socks as soon as I saw this pretty Panda Soy:
There were 6 people in my class, plus the instructor, so it was a little hectic at times with us all asking questions and trying to learn something new and tricky at once, but our teacher was great at answering everyone's questions and helping us all get through our first sock toe!

Here's what I knit during class:
and another view:
I really love this yarn! It was a bit splitty and the first row knitting into the backwards loop cast-on was tricky, but once I got past that it was fine. I've knit with non-wool Crystal Palace Yarns enough that I'm used to working with it. It's so soft and the colorway is beautiful! This colorway is called "cocoa mint".

Our "homework" is to knit the foot up to the ankle before the next class. Basically, we should knit up to the point where we will begin our gusset increases.

I am also working on some Christmas gifts, but I won't post pictures or blog about those here until after Christmas once the gifts are given!!

Mystery Socks are finished!

2008-11-01T08:21:00.005-04:00

I started these on October 1st and finished them on October 31st.

The yarn is fuchsia Panda Cotton and this seems to be the best-fitting pair of Panda Cotton socks I have ever knit! I'll know for sure after I wear them the first time. It seems that the cable pattern gives them a nice, snug fit.

See...

A new mystery sock KAL starts today! If you're on Ravelry, click here to check it out. And, if you're not on Ravelry, why not? It's the most fantastic online source for all things knit, crochet and yarn-related!! Sign up today!

Mini Knits!

2008-10-27T21:16:00.002-04:00

I finished two more mini knit items that I will be submitting to yarn-love's Winter Wonder-gar-land contest!

A mini mitten:

And a mini Christmas stocking (for this one, I was aiming for the "most colorful" category!!):

Mystery Sock update

2008-10-25T17:39:00.005-04:00

I have been knitting along on the mystery socks since my last blog post. I finished the leg and heel of both socks prior to clue 4 being posted on Wednesday. Since Wednesday, I have been working on the foot of the first sock and am just about done. I will move that onto stitch holders and try to complete the foot of the other sock before the final clue is revealed this Wednesday - the toe!

Progress photos:
It really is a cool pattern. Probably not something I would have tried if I saw the pattern first - too indimidating!! - but since I didn't know what lie ahead, I dove in and had a lot of fun! I tried on the first sock today and it seems to fit me very well. So I think I will probably wear these. When I have an outfit that fuchsia socks will go with! ;-) They should be fun summer socks anyway.

Here's a close-up:
And here is a photo looking down at the top of the foot (but off the blocker so you can't see the lace pattern quite as well):
But, you can see that she adjusted the pattern a bit, so the cable "squiggles" don't squiggle out quite as far as you go towards the toe. Very interesting!

I also found out on Ravelry that there is a Magical Mystery Sock Tour beginning in November where a new mystery sock pattern will be posted in each odd month. So, I definitely think I'm going to check this out! November's mystery sock will be slip-stitch colorwork which I have really been wanting to try. I'm looking forward to it! Of course, that will mean two pairs of socks starting up in November and two new techniques, because I will also be starting my toe-up sock knitting class. That's ok though, I am up for the challenge! I just need to find time to also squeeze in my Christmas gift knitting that I have planned...

P.S. For more info in the Magical Mystery Sock Tour, check out the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry!

Photos to go with yesterday's post

2008-10-19T21:29:00.007-04:00

Here's the mini sweater I knit from magenta Panda Wool (leftover from my magic loop class socks).

So cute. :-)

yarn-love (the yarn shop I take classes at) is having a Winter Wonder-gar-land contest in December. You can submit mini knit items to decorate the garland and there will be prizes for most creative, most winter-y, etc. Details here. I love knitting mini items so you can be sure I'll be submitting several items for this!!

As for other completed projects, here is the illusion Christmas Tree dishcloth:

The front (looking at it straight down):

The back:

And looking at the front from an angle... the illusion appears:

See the Christmas tree? Pretty cool, eh?

I am making great progress on the leg of the 2nd Mystery sock. Only about 6 more rows to go and then the heel. I expect to be done with that before the next clue is revealed on Wednesday!

Quick post

2008-10-18T15:56:00.002-04:00

Sorry, no pics. I finished clue 3 of the first mystery sock. It was an eye of partridge heel. Knit it in one evening! So, I will probably move the sock onto stitch holders and knit the leg and heel of the other sock before clue 4 is revealed on Wednesday. So far, I love how the socks are turning out!

I also finished the illusion tree dishcloth. It turned out cool. I need to take pictures!!

On Thursday night I knit another mini sweater using my leftover pink Panda Wool!

Last night I was knitting the Tofutsies sock but probably only got through a few rounds. Tiny stitches don't make for much progress! But it's an easy knit to pick up when I don't feel like thinking or following a pattern. Right now it's just round and round in stockinette until I get to the toe decreases... which won't be for awhile.

Clue # 2 and Illusion Knitting

2008-10-13T19:28:00.006-04:00

I finished clue #2 of the Mystery sock. On the first sock anyway... I chose the cable pattern and the leg of the first sock is complete. Check it out:
It's such a cool pattern! Sorry I don't have better pictures of it; the lighting wasn't great. Here's a close-up of the cable section:
I think it's a really cool pattern so far. Can't wait to see what comes next! Clue # 3 will be revealed on Wednesday!!

I also started a dishcloth using an Illusion Knitting pattern. I've always wanted to try this technique ever since I saw an episode of Knitty Gritty where they were knitting scarves using illusion knitting. You use two high contrast yarn colors and knit two rows of each color while following a pattern of knits and purls. When you look at the knitting straight on, it appears to just be striped:
But, when you look at it at an angle, a picture emerges. Now, I'm just at the beginning so you can't see much yet... but here's a picture from an angle:
Those green stripes at the top in the center are the bottom of the Christmas tree! It doesn't look like much now, but just wait until I finish the dishcloth... :-)

Completed Projects

2008-10-11T17:57:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday. I finished a dishcloth last night:
Ugh, not a great picture, but you get the idea. It's just a dishcloth... ;-)

I also knit a mini sweater for one of my co-workers in honor of her 10-year anniversary at our company. I wanted to put "10" on the sweater in beads. In my bead class, we learned two techniques of adding beads to knitting. Since I had beads strung on my yarn, I decided to try that method first (which ended up being unsuccessful). I did not like the way the beads were looking and I decided to frog what I had knit and start over from scratch. This morning I re-knit the sweater (luckily it is mini!!) and when I got to the beading part, I placed them onto the stitch with a tiny crochet hook. I liked this look much better for this purpose and I am happy to say that the mini sweater is complete:
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The 10 stands out a little more in reality than it does in the picture. I hope she likes it!

I did start the leg pattern of the Mystery Sock on Wednesday but didn't get to far. I decided to go with the more challenging cable pattern that she decided to offer. Since so many were participating, she decided to offer two variations for the leg pattern! So, I need to work on that tonight. The Tofutsie sock is hibernating right now, but I'd like to try to finish at least one Tofutsie sock during Socktoberfest.

I also plan on making more dishcloths soon!

One finished, another started!

2008-10-07T21:34:00.003-04:00

I finished the Bee Stitch cloth:
This was a fun pattern that I will definitely knit again!

Here's a close-up:
Believe it or not, this pattern is all knit stitch; what creates the cool effect is knitting into the stitch on the row below. You can find the pattern here.

I started a new dishcloth tonight that I found on the same website. This pattern was recommended to show off variegated yarn. So far, it's doing a good job:
This is Sugar 'n Cream yarn in the colorway "Summerset".

The next part of the mystery sock pattern gets posted at midnight tonight so I'm sure I'll be sock-knitting again tomorrow!!

Bee Stitch Dishcloth

2008-10-06T18:32:00.006-04:00

I want to knit a bunch of dishcloths this year for Christmas gifts and as part of the Carefree Holiday KAL. I searched Ravelry yesterday and printed out some new patterns.

I cast on the Bee Stitch Cloth yesterday and it is a fun, easy yet interesting pattern. I love the way it's turning out and it should make a nicely textured dishcloth. I am knitting it on my 16" US 7 KnitPicks circulars that I bought for hat knitting and it is working great! I'm really liking it better than working on straight needles. I guess it's just a matter of having the right circulars with nice, smooth joins.

I went to take a progress photo, and of course Mr. Shelby had to jump up and investigate:
And then pose for a picture:
Oh sure, act like you're not even interested in my knitting:
Here's a close-up pic with the flash:
and without:
The colors are more accurate in the picture with the flash, but you can see the stitches a bit more without the flash. Click on any of the pics to see a larger version.

And as for Shelby... he's sleeping by my feet now.

Socktoberfest update

2008-10-04T14:20:00.005-04:00

First, I'd like to share a picture of my mystery sock KAL sock cuffs. I finished the first cuff, put it on stitch holders and am almost done with the 2nd sock cuff. With this method, I may be able to finish both socks at the same time! I know I could do them both at the same time on magic loop but I think it would be too fiddly having both skeins of yarn dangling from the needles. Anyway, here is my first photo of the Mystery socks:
The yarn is Fuchsia Panda Cotton. I cast on 56 stitches on 3mm Addi Turbos using magic loop.

Here's a close-up:
On Wednesday, the next part of the pattern will be revealed. Stay tuned!

I am still working on the first Tofutsies sock. Here's a close-up of where I'm at with that. Still working on the gusset decreases:
Sorry, not a great picture. I should have turned the flash off. But, you get the idea.

Happy Socktoberfest!!!

Socktoberfest and a Mystery Sock KAL

2008-10-01T18:07:00.003-04:00

Well, I think the fair isle sweater vest is going on the back burner for a bit longer. I swatched on my US 7 circulars and the fabric seemed too loose, so I think I need to try US6 circulars which I don't have. I am considering buying the Knit Picks Interchangeable set of circulars, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

So, I was browsing on Ravelry and came across a post about a Mystery Sock KAL (knitalong)! This sounded exciting so I signed up. I have never done a mystery KAL before, but a sock one sounds perfect. Basically, a mystery KAL is where some posts a bit of a pattern and you knit it and then you get the next part of the pattern and so on. (Bad explantion, but I've never done one before, so that's my basic understanding!) Long story, short... the finished item is a surprise!

The first part of the sock pattern was posted today and I think I may cast on tonight with some Panda Cotton from the stash! She recommends a solid color yarn. This KAL is in a Ravelry group for fans of Through the Loops which I believe is a designer and a blog. I will have to check it out! If you want to check out the Mystery KAL, it's on Ravelry here. It's called the TTL Socktoberfest Mystery Sock KAL. I also joined the Socktoberfest group on Ravelry which is a laid back sock knitalong for the month of October!

And now I have a project to use for my participation in the Carefree or not Holiday KAL!!

So, I'm off to cast on a new Mystery pair of socks!! Hooray!

quick update and beginner knitter progress!

2008-09-30T17:21:00.005-04:00

I finally finished the leg of the first Tofutsies sock, knit the heel flap and turned the heel last night. I ended up knitting about a 6" leg because it seemed long enough and although I love the stretchy fabric that Tofutsies is knitting up as, it is like knitting with dental floss on tiny US 0 needles! It is a very thin yarn. But, I think these will be socks that I like wearing so I am persevering!

In other knitting news, I wanted to share my friend's progress after taking the beginner's knitting class at KDO just over a week ago. She has definitely caught the knitting bug and is happily knitting every chance she gets! Hooray! After doing several practice swatches, she decided to try her first pattern, a scarf from a book she had on hand. She sent me her progress photos and I was quite impressed:
and a close-up of her excellent stitchwork:
What do you think? Has she been secretly knitting for years and just not told me?? :-)

I don't think I tried changing colors in my knitting until I'd been knitting for months and she learned how to do it in her first class session! (That's what I get for being a self-taught knitter)

Needless to say, I am very impressed and so happy that she is enjoying knitting as much as I do. It took me quite awhile to convince her to pick up the knitting needles, but now that she has I don't think she'll be putting them down anytime soon. Can't wait for next year's Knitters' Day Out!!

And on the fair isle front... I did swatch in the round for my sweater vest, but it still came out to a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for. I guess it's the yarn. So, I need to swatch on larger needles and see if that gets me closer to the pattern gauge. Otherwise I fear I will knit the entire sweater vest and not be able to get it on! So, perhaps I will swatch tonight if I don't decide to pick up stitches on the Tofutsies sock. Or maybe I'll do both!

Fair Isle swatch and Tofutsies progress

2008-09-28T09:45:00.004-04:00

I started knitting a swatch for my fair isle project yesterday. But, I should probably swatch in the round instead of back and forth or it may throw my gauge off. So, I may rip this out and cast on a round swatch using magic loop. As long as I "get gauge", I should be able to use circular needles that I have on hand and not have to buy any. In this small swatch, I was getting 25 stitches over 4 inches and the pattern gauge calls for 23. But, I think I can just adjust the number of stitches I cast on to get the right size because the fair isle pattern repeats are very short.

I do like how this yarn knits up so I think I will be able with the final product. Oh, and I was using red for the swatch because red will only be an accent color in the final sweater, so I didn't have to worry about using up yarn. But, the main color of my sweater will be navy blue.

And in case you're wondering, I am still knitting the Tofutsies sock, but the progress photo is not that exciting:
It's just a bit longer than the last time I posted a photo! I seem to have plenty of yarn in this Tofutsies skein so I may make the legs 8 inches long. Usually my sock legs are about 6 inches because I'm always afraid of running out of yarn before I get to the toe. That's why I am looking forward to the toe-up sock knitting class!!

I will probably swatch the fair isle again, but I won't cast on for the actual sweater until October 1st. This is going to be my first Carefree Holiday or not KAL project!

Hat photos and new project!

2008-09-27T13:46:00.007-04:00

Here are the photos of my finished fair isle hat. I'm so happy with how it turned out!
And here's a photo of the inside to show that I learned how to weave in my carried yarn and my ends. It was such an informative class!
This fair isle project was so much fun that I can't wait to start another project. So I am finally diving in and trying the fair isle vest that I've been wanting to make from the fall 2007 issue of Knit Simple magazine. I have been talking about making this sweater vest since I first saw it, but now that I have the fair isle skills to go with my dreams, I think it is a good time to take on this project!

I took a pic of the magazine photo showing the sweater so you can see what I'm talking about:
That's what I want to make, but not in those colors. I went to yarn-love this morning to sign up for a toe-up sock knitting class and also to browse for yarn to make this vest. I looked around for a long time picking up and putting down lots of different yarn possibilities. I am very picky about the feel of yarn, but I am starting to tolerate the feel of some wools, even ones that I didn't like before. There was a nylon/acrylic yarn that was a good price and had good color choices, but then I didn't know if I'd want to wear a synthetic fiber sweater even if I would like knitting with the yarn.

Then the shop owner pointed out the Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed which is a cotton/acrylic blend. I really liked the feel of the yarn and I saw some colors I really liked. So, I decided to go for it, and bought the Tatamy Tweed in Navy, Sea Blue, and Cherry (red). I wanted a cream color for contrast and had to choose this from Kraemer Yarns Little Lehigh Pebbles line which is basically the same yarn, but in colorways geared more towards baby clothes. Thus, the colorway name of my white yarn... "First Tooth". :-)

So, this is the yarn chosen for my first knit sweater project:
I hope that the tweed is not a distraction for the fair isle. But, I really like this yarn and can't wait to start swatching! Wish me luck!!

quick update

2008-09-25T20:18:00.002-04:00

The fair isle hat is done! I just need to take a picture. I'm so happy with how it turned out and it fits me, so I just may wear it this winter! Now, I want to try knitting a pair of fair isle gloves to match. I can't find a pattern so I may attempt a bit of designing. Only time will tell if it is a success or a disaster. It will be a learning experience anyway!

I am also making slow progress on the Tofutsies socks. I seem to only knit a few rounds each evening. It's been a busy couple of weeks since I started them. Maybe I'll make some good progress this weekend.

The Carefree Holiday (or not) KAL starts in 6 days and I have no idea what I'm planning to knit for that. The Tofutsies socks won't count since I've already started them. I need to make a list of ideas...

KDO wrap-up

2008-09-21T15:47:00.010-04:00

Well, my friend and I attended Knitters' Day Out yesterday and it was great! First off, I went to pick up my door prize and I won a $50 gift card to one of the vendors at the Knitters' Market! I walked into the Market area and it was the first vendor there and they carried Crystal Palace Yarns! Hooray! So, I immediately spent the gift card and then some at The Colonial Yarn Shop booth and stocked up on more Panda Soy yarn and also picked up some beautiful Merino 5:

So, I was very happy to start the day. Many thanks to The Colonial Yarn shop for their generous door prize! We grabbed a quick breakfast and then my friend headed off to her Beginner's Knitting class and I headed over to my Fair Isle hat class.

The Fair Isle class was great and the instructor was super nice and helpful. She made everything seem so easy and her instructions were clear and before I knew it, I was knitting Continental style and working across my two-colored fair isle rows with both hands! It was great! We had a nice group of people in the class and everyone's hats were turning out really nice. It was interesting to see all the different yarn and color combinations even though we were following the same basic pattern. I made a lot of progress during class and then finished the fair isle section of the hat last night because I was so excited to see how it was going to turn out:
I'm really happy with it! Now I just need to knit the decrease rounds to finish the top of the hat. I can't wait to start another fair isle project. This was so much fun! The yarn is Knit Picks Shine Worsted. It's very soft and nice to work with, although it was fuzzing a lot all over my hands and jeans during class. But, I think that just seems to be from working the yarn through my hands. The hat itself seems to be fine once knit. Here's a close-up of the fair isle:
Yay! First class was a great success. I walked back over to meet up with my friend for lunch and found that she had learned to cast on, knit and change colors! Woo-hoo! We were both making good progress. We went through the buffet line and the lunch was very good; it was a beautiful day so we ate outside. Unfortunately there weren't enough tables, so we sat on a bench but it was fine. Nice to be outside. Then we walked around the market some more, but I didn't end up buying anything else. I sure saw some beautiful yarns though. Some 100% silk that was expensive but amazing!

Soon, it was time for me to head to my afternoon class which was Knitting with Beads. My instructor for this class was great too and very friendly. Unfortunately the KDO class list that was provided to us left off some essential items, like knitting needles and the tiny crochet hooks to put the beads on the yarn! Luckily some of us had brought extras so we shared, but it made it a little tricky to make a lot of progress in this class. Although I learned a lot and got the hang of the two methods of introducing beads to my knitting, I was getting tired at this point because it had been a long day of concentrating on knitting! Once we had the technique down, one by one we started leaving the class early and the teacher was fine with that. I think she understood, because 6 hours is a lot of knitting for one day! (Each class session was 3 hours). So, I packed up and headed back to the main building after about 2 hours in the 2nd class. I was too tired to knit anymore! Here's what I accomplished in bead knitting:
And a close-up:
The beads sitting in the fabric vertically in the clusters of 4 (like a diamond shape) were strung on ahead of time and then slid down one by one and placed over a slipped stitch. The beads sitting in the fabric horizontally and stacked in vertical columns were placed onto a stitch prior to knitting that stitch with a tiny crochet hook. Obviously, it helped being in a class to have an instructor show you these techniques! I had printed out some beaded knitted patterns in the past but have never tried knitting with beads until now. It's a cool technique that I look forward to experimenting with. I'm thinking of beaded sock possibilities... :-)

My friend stuck it out for the full 3 hours of her afternoon class session of beginning knitting and learned how to purl, do some ribbing and cast off! I'm so proud!! I'm hoping that next year we can take a class at KDO together! All in all it was a fun, but tiring day. I definitely look forward to attending next year! It was a very well-organized event.

And to top of my day of knitting and winning prizes, I arrived home to find that my OlympicSox prize had arrived in the mail:
More Panda Soy! Hooray! I officially have quite the sock yarn stash now, but I look forward to knitting all of it. It's funny because this exact color of Panda Soy is the first color I picked up when browsing at the yarn shop booth but then I switched to the darker shade of red yarn. How funny that the first color I was drawn to ended up being my sock yarn prize!

Pictures!

2008-09-18T20:58:00.004-04:00

Here's the needle book I knit:
I used this pattern (Needle Book by Frankie Brown) that I found on Ravelry, but only knit the cover and not the "pages". I think it will work well! Much better than the sticky note I had been using for years!!

And here's a picture of my Tofutsies sock I discussed yesterday:
I love how this yarn is knitting up! Pretty, pretty...

We head to Knitters' Day Out tomorrow! Hooray!

2 days to KDO!

2008-09-18T20:58:00.003-04:00

I'm really looking forward to Knitters' Day Out on Saturday! Can't wait! I am back in knitting mode again. I knit a little "book" to store my tapestry needles in and then I started a pair of socks using my tan Tofutsies yarn! It's nice to be knitting a pair of socks again. I missed it. Now, I don't have to decide what project to start every other day (the disadvantage of knitting quick projects). ;-) This Tofutsies yarn was the first sock yarn I bought myself when I decided to start knitting socks (not counting the acrylic yarn of my first practice sock... we don't want to think about that...) Around the same time, my mom had bought my the faded jeans Panda Cotton with which I knit my first real pair of socks and then I just started buying other sock yarn and never knit the Tofutsies until now.

I don't have pictures yet, but I'll try to post some tomorrow. I am knitting the socks using the Magic Loop method on my new US 0 Hiya Hiya circular needles that I bought from The Loopy Ewe. So far they are very nice to work with and I am enjoying using the Magic Loop technique again. I am knitting a 4 stitch ribbing pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks; I believe the pattern is called elongated corded rib. It's mostly K2, P2 rounds with a couple rounds that have yarn-overs and decreases to make a bit of a lace effect. The yarn is knitting up very pretty. I love all the subtle shading this skein has. For now, you'll just have to imagine!!

Care Free Holiday - or not - KAL

2008-09-16T17:44:00.003-04:00

Today, I signed up for the Care Free Holiday - or not - KAL sponsored by Crystal Palace Yarns. As anyone who reads my blog knows, CPY makes some of my favorite sock yarns, such as Maizy, Panda Cotton and Panda Wool. They also make a lot of other cool yarns that I look forward to trying someday! CPY also sponsored the OlympicSox KAL that I recently participated in and it was a lot of fun. It's cool to see all the other great projects that everyone is working on.

This sounds like a fun, no-pressure knit-along and CPY is giving away prizes, so why not sign up?

For more information on the KAL contest rules and how to sign up, just click here.

If you do sign up, please mention that I sent you because I'll get an extra chance at the welcome prize drawing. If you sign up by midnight, October 1st, you can be entered for the welcome prize as well! Hurry because this KAL is limited to 100 people. Good luck and have fun!

Oh, there is also a CPY group on Ravelry now, so be sure to join that as well!

I'm a Loopy Groupie!

2008-09-13T11:27:00.009-04:00

Hard to believe, but I received my 6th order from The Loopy Ewe this week, and am now officially a Loopy Groupie. I knew I was to receive a tote bag and some other little gifts, but I was so impressed with my Loopy gift package!
As you can see, my tote pack is already packed with stuff to take to Knitters' Day Out (KDO) next weekend. In addition to the tote bag, I received a cute Loopy keychain, a cool sock pattern and an amazingly beautiful skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn in the colorway Gypsy Rose.
I know I say I'm not a wool fan, but this yarn is gorgeous and it is merino wool so it is pretty soft. I may still learn to love wool yet! The Loopy Ewe is, by far, the best store I've ever come across and they sure know how to treat their customers well!

After all my hat knitting, would you believe I haven't knit anything at all this week?!?! I've been busy and have also been trying to get some cleaning done, but I can't believe I haven't cast on a project. No worries... I'm sure I'll be back in the knitting mode as soon as I attend KDO.

I did take a final picture of the hats I knit for KDO's Caps for Kids donation:
Notice the Shelby paws peeking into the picture above... he just had to inspect the hats:

And finally, Little Loopy just wanted to say that he is so proud of my being Loopified:
and he'd like to claim the yarn and keychain for himself... Oh, Loopy...

Another hat!

2008-09-08T18:16:00.004-04:00

I finished the Raspberry colored baby hat using the Stitches from the Heart pattern. That's 6 hats for Caps for Kids now. I'll probably move on to other projects now, but you never know. I may just knit another hat or two before KDO.

I also still have to cast on my hat for the fair isle class at KDO. But, that shouldn't take long.

Oh yes, another hat!

2008-09-06T14:29:00.002-04:00

I finished the ribbed baby hat today! This was knit in Knit Picks Comfy yarn in the color Blackberry. Very pretty and soft yarn! I realized I was measuring my gauge wrong, so I didn't have to frog the hat I had started. I finished it on the US 7 needles and it turned out just fine.

I just cast on another of the Stitches from the Hearts baby hats (see my previous blog post) using Caron Simply Soft yarn in Raspberry. (I must be in a berry mode for yarn colors!)

OlympicSox medal ceremonies... and more hats!

2008-09-05T17:40:00.005-04:00

The OlympicSox medals were awarded this week and my Ballad Blues Maizy socks won a medal in each category they were entered in! I received a bronze medal in Water Sports (this was a category for blue socks). You can see the post by clicking here. I won a gold medal in a special medal group awarded for socks knit in Crystal Palace yarn. That post is here.

To see all the socks knit and medals awarded, check out the OlympicSox blog and scroll down through all the fantastic photos in each medal category. So many beautiful knit socks!

I seem to have gone from the Summer of Socks into the September of Hats. I have been knitting one hat after another! Of course, this is just my own un-official event. :-) Hats are such fun, quick projects and you only have to knit one (as opposed to having to knit two matching socks). I will be donating these hats to Caps for Kids when I attend Knitters' Day Out in a couple weeks. This is my first charity knitting and it's been a lot of fun! I'm also using up stash yarn and trying out some of the Knit Picks worsted yarn that I bought for my fair isle hat class.

I knit this hat from some stash yarn that no longer had a label. I think it is a yarn called Denim-Style. I like how the hat turned out:
Last night, I knit a baby hat using a pattern from "Stitches from the Heart". This was from a charity knitting episode of Knitty Gritty. I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn in the color "Grass" - I hope the green is not too strange for a baby, but I like how it turned out. It has some little lace details in the pattern. Also, I knit this in the round even though the pattern is written to knit it back and forth and then seam it up. Here's a pic:
The green is much brighter than it looks in the picture (at least as it appears on my computer). It's a wee, little hat for a newborn; only 5 inches tall!

I cast on another baby hat last night, but I may have to frog and start again with smaller needles. It seems very loose and not the right gauge. I'm knitting this pattern that I saw on Lime & Violet's Daily Chum. I'm using Knit Picks Comfy yarn in Blackberry (a dark purple).

More hat pics to follow, I'm sure!

Sunshine!

2008-09-02T17:57:00.004-04:00

I finished my knit sunshine!
I'm really happy with how it turned out. It was more challenging than I thought it would be, but the pattern was very well written and I love that there were no seams to sew up at the end! I used Lion Brand Microspun yarn that I had on hand. I plan on hanging this by my desk at work.

I forgot to stitch the smile onto it before I knit the back, so I ended up with a small black knot on the bag where I had to secure the yarn:
If I had followed the pattern as written, I should have stitched the sunglasses AND the smile on the front BEFORE knitting the back and the knot would have been hidden inside. Oh well!

Here's a close-up of the sun-rays:
All those increases and decreases were a pain to knit with this yarn on the tiny needles, but I LOVE how it turned out in the end!! And it was only 7 rounds (3 of which where all knit stitch) so it wasn't too bad.

All in all, it was a fun little weekend project! Now, I just need to decide what to knit next. I still have that 2nd "monkey" sock to knit... I think I'll do a few more easy, quick projects before I tackle that!

new projects

2008-08-30T12:07:00.004-04:00

When I saw this cute project on Lime & Violet's Daily Chum blog, I knew I had to try knitting it! It's "Sunshine in My Pocket" from So Knitpicky's blog. So, I cast on last night using Lion Brand Microspun yarn. 128 stitches on US 1 dpns - yikes! I think it would have been easier using Magic Loop but I don't have US 1 circulars yet! It's amazing that with all the knitting needles I own, there's still more that I'd like to buy. The first round was really tricky, but I got through it and knit the second round. I'm hoping the remaining rounds get easier! I can't wait to see how it turns out. I don't think I would walk around with it in my jeans pocket, but I think it would look cute on my shelf at work!

I also did a small swatch for a shawl that I will be knitting for my mom:
It's just a basic garter stitch pattern (knit every row, back and forth) with increases on either end to form a triangle shawl. It was tricky to photograph! I'm using Black Caron Simply Soft yarn because she wants it to be machine washable.

So, those are the projects I'll be working on this weekend! Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day weekend!