first Magic Loop class!

I had my first Magic Loop class at yarn-love tonight! It was so much fun. I really enjoyed learning this new technique and after a couple rounds it was really pretty easy! I haven't decided that I like it better than dpns but it is certainly another option.

This is the yarn I decided to buy for my Magic Loop class:


It's Crystal Palace Panda Wool in Magenta. This yarn is 51% bamboo, 39% wool and 10% nylon. It is very nice to work with and is less splitty than Maizy or Panda Cotton probably due to the wool content. The color is really pretty. The pictures don't do it justice. There's some subtle variations that I really like.

Oh - we are making a full-size pair of socks, so it will count for Summer of Socks - yay!

Here is the progress I made after my first class:
That is 60 stitches cast on US 2 addi Turbo Lace 40" circular needles. I'm doing K2,P2 ribbing. I'm debating whether want I want to do ribbing for the whole length of the sock (which I like the look of) or just a couple inches ribbing at the top and then switch to stockinette (which will probably be quicker to knit). I guess I'll just see if I get tired of the ribbing or decide to keep going!

There were two other people in the class with me and the instructor was very nice and helpful. I was happy with the progress I made. Our goal is to try to finish the leg of the sock this week so that we can start the heel next Wednesday. I think I can manage that!

SOS08 update!

Why is Loopy so excited?


Because I finally finished my first pair of socks for Summer of Socks!! Hooray!

The Fall Herbs socks are off the needles!!

Pattern: slipped stitch rib from Sensational Knitted Socks book
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Cotton
Colorway: Fall Herbs
Needles used: US 3 dpns

I'm really happy with how they turned out! They were actually a pretty quick knit, but since I was knitting the Brigits at the same time, it took me longer.

I did start the foot decreases on the Brigit today so hopefully another completed pair will soon follow by the end of this week.

turned the heels!

I finally turned the heels on the 2nd sock of each pair. These still feel like the never-ending socks even though I do like both patterns and the yarn. I'm just ready to move on to a new pattern!

Here's a close-up pic of the Brigit cables:
Short post today!

another mosaic and a sock update

I had so much fun making that mosaic the other day that I decided to make one out of pictures I had taken. I probably should have planned it better, but I just randomly picked 9 pictures from photos I have taken of my various projects and yarn.


Hi Loopy, do you have some finished socks to show everyone???

Loopy is modeling the first socks, but the matching socks are still in progress...
Loopy is wondering "Will these socks ever be done???" So am I...

I am making progress and plan on knitting more tonight. The start of my Magic Loop class was postponed for a week, so that will start next week now. I still would like to finish these 2 pairs by the weekend so that I can cast on a new pair for SOS08!

Quick Saturday update

I am still making progress on the 2nd Brigit sock. I finished the leg this morning and started on the heel flap. The cables were definitely easier the second time through.

Sorry no pictures now, but hopefully tomorrow!

I may cast on the 2nd Fall Herbs sock today to take a break again from the tiny stitches on bamboo needles. I'd really like to finish both pairs before next weekend!

Happy Fourth of July!

Photo credits:
1. Kitty... For Cathy!, 2. "I, Piórko, like Cheese!", 3. Boogie Woogie, 4. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 5. Henrik Lundqvist, 6. The Dr. is IN, 7. Fort St Catherine, Bermuda, 8. Vegan Key Lime Tartletes, 9. Pottery maker, 10. My Little Diva, 11. Twin February Sweaters, 12. 7.2.08 005

I saw this on a few other blogs recently and thought it would be fun to do. You can click on the mosaic picture to see a larger version.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? cathy
2. What is your favorite food? cheese
3. What high school did you go to? Mercyhurst
4. What is your favorite color? blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Henrik Lundqvist
6. Favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
7. Dream vacation? Bermuda
8. Favorite dessert? Key lime pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Pottery maker
10. What do you love most in life? knitting (note: the questions says "what", not "who"!)
11. One Word to describe you: knitter
12. What is your Flickr name? etownknitter

If you’d like to do it too here’s what you do:

Open three windows. One with the list of questions, another open to Flickr and ready to do an image search, and a third to Big Huge Labs’ Mosaic Maker (create a mosaic with 4 columns and 3 rows). Answer the first question, put your answer in the search field on Flickr and choose one of the images from the first page to represent your answer. Click on the photo then copy and paste the url into the #1 spot on the Mosaic Maker. Do that for all 12 questions, then click create and post the results to your blog.

Just thought that would be fun, and a bit of a change from my usual knitting posts. But, I did knit quite a bit today. I am moving along on the 2nd Brigit sock and am almost done with the leg portion. Since the deadline is right about now for the first bi-weekly contest, I obviously won't be entering, but I hope to enter several pairs in the next bi-weekly contest. I want to finish both the Brigits and the Fall Herbs and hopefully cast on the red Panda Cotton for a pair of Spring Forwards!

10,162 stitches

I finally finished the first Brigit sock last night! Hooray!
I just had to know how many stitches this sock was because it felt like it took me FOREVER to knit it. So, I did some quick math and calculated 10,162 stitches. Wow! It's not an exact stitch count, but it's close. Now, I need to knit approximately 10,162 more stitches to have a completed pair of socks to enter in SOS08! I can do this!

I also finished my first Fall Herbs sock:
This is a fun, quick knit to give me a break from the Brigit sock. Although I am looking forward to trying the Brigit cables again with the knowledge I learned from the first sock. Hopefully it will go quicker!

Some close-ups of the Fall Herbs sock... pretty...
I received my confirmation for Knitters' Day Out this week (otherwise known as KDO because we knitters love to abbreviate whenever possible)!! I got into my first choice classes. This will be my first time attending KDO. I will be taking "Introduction to Fair Isle Knitting" on Saturday morning and "Knitting with Beads" on Saturday afternoon. I'm really looking forward to this; it should be a lot of fun! My non-knitting friend is going with me and taking a "Beginning Knitting" class during both Saturday sessions. We will probably also go up Friday night to check out the knitter's market. This isn't until September, so it seems like a long way off now. Although with the way this year is flying by, it will be here before I know it! I need to make sure I knit my caps (a donation to Caps for Kids is part of the registration fee) and do my prep work for the Fair Isle class.

But, I will actually be taking my first ever knitting class starting next week! Up until now, I have been pretty much self-taught, but I have signed up for a Magic Loop sock class at yarn-love. It's a four-week class and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope I like the Magic Loop technique. Up until now I've been a die-hard dpn sock knitter. But, I'm interested in trying this new technique. That's one thing I love about knitting: there's always something new to try and learn!!

That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that I recently saw on the Modern Yarn website:

"Be afraid of skydiving. Be afraid of wild boar. Be fearless with knitting." - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee