whoops !

this is not the sock i thought i would be knitting next ... but my size 1 1/2's were on these, and i wanted to free up the needles for my next possible sock adventure. though ... there is still a mate to knit.





the yarn is claudia handpaint, fingering wt. in chocolate cherry. the pattern is fiber trend's peak experience, the angel's rest version.

well, looks like i did find some time to knit tonight ... and they fit! for some reason, i am always surprised that my socks fit. i know they will fit in girth, but i feel like it's always a guessing game when to begin the toe.

for the toe, i usually decrease every other round until i've decreased half my stitches, then every round until about an inch (x stitches) remain across the toe. i figure i can always fudge it to cut the toe off sooner, but it doesn't quite work the other way around.

and, of course i'm itching to cast on for something new ...

which will it be ?

i know my toes are short, so no one bother saying anything about that. the funny thing is, when i see pictures of other knitter's socks with long pointy toes, i get creeped out. i'm sure the long finger-toed folks probably feel the same about flintstone toes.

but, that's not the point! the point is, i'm ready for the toes, but don't have knitting time today ...

did anyone watch boston legal last night? it's so politically incorrect, it's my favorite show on television!



but, back to sock-talk. when i said i might stray ... this is what i was talking about. i've been thinking about my lucy neatby celestial merino i picked up in maryland at sheep & wool. i did a search this morning, but could not find a sock knitted with this yarn, at least not in this colorway (sugar maple), which compels me even more to cast on. i did see several samples of shawls and scarves, but i haven't strayed in that sense, and am not interested in a pretty handpainted shawl.

... almost. almost finished. sockwise, anna is definitely next in my queue. ... well, unless i get blindsided. it could happen. i am not the most faithful knitter ....

like a goooood yarn-ho ......

.... i am dreaming of my next pair of socks. these are anna from rowan magazine 40. i am a recent sucker of knee-hi socks. i am especially susceptible to knitting such socks on size 3 needles ... they knit rather quickly.








i'm going to knit these with rowan's 4 ply soft in espresso, shade 389! .... but i can't cast on until i finish my opal tiger socks !

sockenmulenfest

yes, i know that's not a real german word, but i can pretend, right? the english translation is not as exciting ... sock mule !



well, i didn't know what else to do ...

i am knitting two socks from the same ball ... one knitted from the yarn from the outside, and one knitted from the yarn pulled from the center.

so, when i'm knitting the one from the outside, i put the "inner" sock into a little ziplock and stuff it inside the ball (so the yarns don't tangle as i knit the "outer" sock).

i suppose i could had rewound the ball into two separate balls, using my scale and ballwinder. hmmm ....

by the way, the sock inside has a completed heelflappen (ha! ha!) and i'm about to do the same to the mate.

two pairs beats a ____ ?

i can post these now, because my mom received her package today ... with the yarn for her birds, some 6mm safety eyes, a bicho, a small format crochet magazine, and her cute & amazing blue bird-themed dishcloths !

these were a quick knit, as i made before from this booklet. i only used half the ball of yarn. so, i wonder if i can get two from the remaining (so-called)half?!

next up, tiger striped opal socks !



i took the advice of jen regarding knitting both socks at once, after i knitted my first mean green girly sock. other than purchasing a second set of crystal palace dpns, the process of knitting both socks is rather ... fine. i like the idea of being finished with a sock (pattern) when both socks are finished ... second sock syndrome bites me in the ass every time! but now, it's okay. second sock is only a few rows away ....

pippi kneestockings are finished !

yeah! i finished! and they fit! and, would you believe that they weigh 102 grams and my leftovers weigh 98 grams?

i mostly followed the pattern as written, but changed the heel (the original pattern has the heel knitted in stockinette with a turning i don't really like) and toe (i made the foot a bit longer, and lucked out having my toe end with a 14 row stripe).

and how perfect to finish these socks when lolly is busy posting and preparing for ...



you can read about it here and sign up here. i'm getting excited contemplating what my next socks will look like! i imagine i will be going to bed with a stack of books and patterns tonight, to study.



i was out and about today, collecting some crochet supplies for my mom. i turned the corner and saw these shelves of fun fur and the sign. all i could think was, i hope this is the sign of a dying trend. but, i think lion brand is turning the corner and offering more sophisticated yarns and patterns.



mom decided she wants to make these felted little birds. the yarn used is lion brand's lion wool. i did not get the yarn called for in the pattern, but instead went for paton's classic merino ... it has more yardage for a lesser price, and has a better palette! i just hope she likes the colors i did pick, because i kinda changed my mind after i got off the phone with her. oops.

almost finished !

yeah! i finished a sock!

whooo hoooo !

that's a lot of sock ! but, it was a fairly quick knit, because of the gauge. i usually knit socks with finer yarns and needles. i still have to weave in some ends on the inside color changes, and probably eventually put some elastic in around the ribbing. they fit nice and snug around my legs, but i'm not going to give gravity the opportunity to turn my socks into ankle warmers.

this sock weights 52 grams. so, here's where knitting theory comes in ... with 4 skeins of naturespun, one could easily knit 2 pairs of socks (though the second pair could not have as high a leg or as long a foot). or, the knitter could use the leftovers for a pair of gloves !

so, before second sock syndrome strikes, i should get off this computer and cast on for the mate.

but, before i do that, say hello to a little bug-a-boo finger puppet. this was knitted by ms. rrrrrrita ... his little arm fell off, and i thought he was just too cute! he was suppose to be donated for a benefit auction, but i guess not too many people would want a 5-armed bug. and of course, i ooooh'd and awwwww'd enough to drop the hint that it wanted to come live with me!

don't be like me !

i started knitting these socks yesterday, and only got as far as the ribbing. i figured it was a good place to stop, because i just didn't get the instructions on color changes. i had misread the instructions! i thought "k first st of rnd with both the old color and new color" meant knit the entire round that way ! i think we can blame that big ole wine bottle in the previous post for an error in judgement ?

so, once my head was clear ... at 4am this morning .... i got back on track with my beautiful pippi kneestocking ....



i have about 10" of leg knitted. i have not tried the sucker on. don't ask why (and now i'm afraid that if i do it might not fit!)(but i'm on gauge, so i'm not really worried)(really!). i'm just enjoying the speed of knitting a sock on such few stitches with size 3 dpns. after i finish the stripe i'm on, i will have two more stripes to knit before the heel.

edit: i'm sitting here at my computer, with my sock on! and it fits! i love it even more now !

overlap

sometimes, two worlds can collide, or ... overlap .....



... sometimes you have fleas and need to bomb the apartment ... and you need to vacate for awhile ... but don't want to really go anywhere ... so you camp out on your upper porch ... with monkeygirl, knitting, crochet, phones and wine.

i got some knitting done ...i started (gosh ! i'm such a great starter !) the pippi kneestockings from deb stoller's stitch 'n bitch book. i am using the yarn called for, in colors i like, and i am on gauge .....

i spy ...

... something red ! as i don't have any of my own knitting to share today, i will share my neighbor's! i spotted this handknit sock sunning in the window yesterday as i was leaving.

and where's my knitting? it's on pause. i've had one of those days where i can't bear to be challenged in any way, so i'm crocheting something fun.

but, here's the scoop: lady eleanor needs to be dunked in woolwash and blocked ... a trial blocking ... to see if i like her fabric on the needles i'm using. i had a small (rude) revelation yesterday ... my gauge kinda changed when i started knitting & purling backwards vs. turning my work all the time. oops.

i'm also working on a sock, with my claudia handpaint (again). though i am on the gusset, i don't feel terribly committed to this sock. hmmm .... poor claudia ..... it almost makes me want to knit with some of my reginald instead. i kinda feel like i need a sure thing ... like size 1's and 72 sts.

ps

... guess what i'm working on ?

a prize in the mail !

it's so much fun to get something fun you didn't expect in the mail. mom and i call these things prizes (short for surprise). when mom was visiting over the weekend she stocked up on some sugar'n cream from a.c. moore. i got three balls to make the ladybug potholder. it's actually quite large, so i think it's really a hotpad (my finished measurements were 8.5" x 9.5" !).

i finished this the other day, and sent it out with yesterday's mail. well, she got it in today's mail, and called me all excited, ready to tear the envelope open!

it was a lot of single crochets ... front and back. the next photo is of the backside of the front. the instructions said to strand the colors not in use across the back. i did that with the red and black, but crocheted from both ends of the white. it's like intarsia, in knitty-speak.



and all that stranded mess is sandwiched between the two pieces (the back is solid white), and then single crocheted around the edges. it's so cute, i'm going to have to make one for myself! i have plenty of the black and red leftover, but i used up every bit of the white.

i am such a dork. i accidentally opened a piece of junk email because i thought the subject line said "ultimate SOCK tip!". in reality, it said "ultimate STOCK tip". imagine the confusion and disappointment ....

friends in the park ....

my mom came to visit this past holiday weekend, and i asked her to bring her crochet with her (which also meant she would bring contraband yarn i could play with!). i already had the white cow, as it came as a prize in the mail. but the blue cow had been living with her ... and while she was here, i started the cookies-n-cream cow. the colorway is actually called salt & pepper print by sugar'n cream.

i don't know how many potholders and hotpads a girl needs, but these are so cute! i am thinking of putting magnets on the backs of them so i can display them on the refridgerator.

mean green girly socks are finished!

the toes were knitted twice (because the first time was so much fun!)(or because i screwed up?) each.